| Vinton Burwell developed a bank heist scenario. Though the specifics aren’t known, it involved passing himself off as a plumber and leaving little evidence. He was thus able to repeat his trick on multiple occasions over the years. However, he got unlucky. An early heist of his in Happy Harbor had been accidentally witnessed by Barbara Gordon (Batgirl), then a tween. She had seen Burwell-as-a-plumber enter a local bank whilst whistling Yankee Doodle. Years later, this allowed Batgirl to deduce the truth about a recent heist in Gotham. Burwell was still using the same plumber clothing and van, and still whistling Yankee Doodle. Her perfect memory brought up the similarities with the old Happy Harbor heist, and she arrested Burwell. When the flabbergasted Burwell asked how she knew, Batgirl boasted that she remembered everything. |
| Burwell spent more than three years in prison. While locked up, he realised that if Batgirl remembered everything, then reading her mind would yield incredible treasures and secrets. He contacted an unscrupulous engineer, whom he paid using hidden stashes from his previous heists to develop his mind manipulation technology, adopting the identity, The Fugue. |
