Truly, Madly, Deeply

++Dinah++

I sat among my swirl of conflicted emotions and tried to ride out the hurricane. It was like my soul was trying to escape…

At long last I could level with my best friend… and I had no idea where to even start. Add in the lingering endorphins from the fight earlier, the whole hit by a car thing and Shan’s continued touchy-feeliness… I was ready to scream. We three had commandeered the workout room so that we could drag in piles of bedding and cushions for a proper slumber party. From my room just down the hall, I listened to Gabby’s voice. “Mom, please. I’m at Dinah’s place, how much trouble could I get into? Yeah, I know I’ve never been here before, but Miss Gordon was uncomfortable with having a student around. Yes, sophomore English… the cool one that did the Shakespeare readings in class. Yeah, you do remember, cool. I dunno why she’s suddenly okay with it, but Dinah needs some girl time. Oh ha ha, very funny. Yes! No! Okay, okay, I’ll tell her, I promise. I’ll get it tomorrow, I promise. G’nite mom, love you too.”

Something clenched up hard and tight inside me.

G’nite mom, love you too.

Fire, the spider web of ropes, the pride and pain in her eyes.

G’nite mom, love you too.

All those years wasted…

Her death because she had come back for me.

G’nite mom, love you too.

Tortured by my own memories, I jerked to my feet. Half blind with tears, I lurched over to the punching bag. Something had to give, something had to break, the pain was gonna eat me alive, tear me limb from limb in its desperation to get out. After holding it in for so long, letting it free was a terrifying flood that I wasn’t certain I could survive.

It was rote to yank on the padded half gloves, slap the Velcro sloppily shut around my wrists. Only months of Helena smacking me in the head to remember made my body protect itself even that much. Cowhide and sand shuddered under the impact of my fist. The shock echoed up my arm, rattled across my shoulder, spine and skull. That shock wave cracked the gates, started the trickle that would become the flood. Terrified, but needing it so bad that I physically ached, I poured myself into attacking the bag. I’d done it before, had learned from the master of punching-bag catharsis, but this time was different.

Agony and tears choked me, made my lungs ache…

My mother’s face, so full of pride as I reached out with everything I had to pull off that goddamn collar…

I couldn’t stop the flames…

I couldn’t save her.

++Shan++

The pain in Dinah’s blue eyes was so close to the surface. Since the moment I had first met the pale gaze, I knew this moment would come. Gabby stepped hesitantly into the room, eyes fixed on the drama being played out. It took a moment for her to obey my ‘come-hither’ wave, slinking across the room like a nervous cat. At my side, she sank to the bedding and almost leaned up against me to watch Dinah in silence.

“This is the kind of pain that few understand,” I whispered softly. “She needs this, but she’ll need you once she falls apart. You’ll see what I mean.”

I had done this myself. When the pressure got to be too much, the pain and loss and sorrow was like a deadly infection. It had to be lanced.

The girl was stronger than she looked; the dead weight of the bag was really pushing back now. Her thin t-shirt was wet with sweat, tendrils of soaked hair escaping from the loose ponytail to frame her flushed face. Dinah’s features wore a twisted grimace of pain that had nothing to do with the punishing blows to the bag. Something had to give.

And boy, did something give.

I had gathered that Dinah was more powerful than most realized, but I hadn’t even been able to hazard a guess until I saw that three-ton car fly. Staggering back, she flung her hands at the bag, a strangled cry of rage tearing loose from her throat.

And the wall shattered like glass.

The bag burst like a balloon, equipment exploded and a dust cloud roared out to fill the room. I was utterly stunned by the display, frozen with the realization of what I had seen. It was loose, the rabid beast of pain inside her, crying for relief in the fog of dust. Grabbing Gabby, I waded in, my safety be damned. Every animal instinct in my psyche responded to that wounded sound, that incoherent and guttural plea for help.

We nearly tackled Dinah in a clinging dogpile of a hug as the dust settled. There was some half-empty storeroom beyond the physical manifestation of her pain. It looked like most of the crates and random bits of things there were in poor condition at best. “Oh God… mom,” Dinah sobbed brokenly. “I… couldn’t save her!” The punishing grip on my bruised ribs made me wince, but I took the pressure for her sake. “I couldn’t save her! I watched her die! And… and…”

There was movement in the corner of my eye. The flicker of darkness and quicksilver speed, her slitted red eyes nearly gleaming in the damaged lighting of the big room. Like a ghost, or a memory, the Huntress glided across the floor. All threat and comfort, she reached out a hand for the young woman who had been her fighting companion for so long.

“C’mon kid,” she whispered in a voice heavy with her own pain. “You don’t have to do this one without me.”

It was a sobering moment, watching them embrace tightly, drawing strength from the other.

“We’ll always remember them, right? It’s the best legacy we can give them both. I’m sorry I wasn’t ready to be there for you before, but I am now. Just let it out.”

My own losses welled up as I watched them share tears. Smith had come for us, destroyed the only family and normalcy we had ever known. His lackeys had driven Miss Honey insane, destroyed her reputation in the little town she loved so much. My mind shied away from the memories of the woman, gray and unfocused, barely a wispy shadow of her formal self. There was so much evil and pain that had damaged all of us…

Where did it end?

++Gabby++

It was my own, personal episode of the twilight zone. The whole gang of them dragged in more blankets and pillows and workout mats until there was a massive nest we could all curl up in like a litter of puppies. They told me about this life they led, scouring the city for crime and the sacrifices they and their families had made. Little of the details made sense, but I got the gist of the pain and triumphs. Dinah lay sprawled between Helena and I, with the twins curled together with Miss Gordon nearby. The woman they had introduced as Davie stayed close, watching over the interactions with calm dark eyes. In those hours of darkness I learned more about the city I had lived in all my life than I thought was possible. I heard all the stories as a kid about how the earthquake had destroyed Gotham. My parents had been among those young hopefuls drawn to the rubble to rebuild and I had grown up with the modern metropolis. Helena and Miss Gordon had seen it first hand and our differences in age, status and background made the picture of our home city all the richer.

The others were transplants, drawn to the growth and a variety of needs to be here among the chaos of New Gotham. Dinah had been dragged here by a vision of the destruction of two lives. The shared pain of Helena’s murdered mother and the agony of the bullet that had put Miss Gordon in the wheelchair. I didn’t pretend to understand what the whole telepathy and telekinesis meant; I just took them at their word.

It was sobering to realize the depth of dedication these women had. No matter what life threw at them, they continued to dedicate themselves to a city that had no clue they even existed, much less what this life cost them. That kind of selflessness sobered me, making me really feel what they did. I was a part of this now, and I would do right by them.

After some sleep, I felt both better and worse. My internal clock was all screwed up by the long, emotional night, and I had no clue what time it was. Some corner of my brain told me that I was late, before another corner smacked it with the knowledge that it was Saturday. Damn good thing too, because I sure as hell felt like the morning after. I had fallen asleep curled up half beside and half against Dinah’s sprawled body. In sleep, she was more relaxed, but the pain still lingered around her eyes and mouth. On her other side, Helena sprawled loosely with the same expression on her features. Once more vowing to keep their trust, I gently set my hand on Dinah’s stomach. She woke with a jerk that nearly set her elbow crashing into my skull.

“Hey, just me. You could use a shower I’ll bet and I’ll stand watch, ‘kay?”

Carefully, we slipped away from the pile of bodies and off to Dinah’s room. She was filthy from her workout last night and the dust that had clung to her. Honestly, she looked like some kind of holocaust victim. I needed one too, but not as bad as she did. Poor D still looked kinda shell shocked by her emotional night and I took her in hand. There was a dresser that I scrounged into, hoping there wasn’t anything embarrassing stashed away. Thankfully, I came up with sweats and a baggy shirt with no incident.

“Where’s your towel?” With towel and clean clothes in hand, I tugged her to the bathroom. “Go shower and I’ll be right here, okay? I’m just gonna grab your desk chair and something to read.”

“Gabby?” God she sounded awful. “Thank you.”

It was easy to hug her, and I put every ounce of my strength behind the embrace. “You’re welcome. Anytime.” We stood there like that for a long while until Dinah sighed softly and leaned back to grin weakly.

“I knew I could trust you.”

“Yep. Now shower. I’ll be right here.”

Once the door shut, I slumped down the wall, completely forgetting about the nearby chair. My whole world had been turned upside-down in a night. My best friend was what I would have thought was a freak only a day ago. She was a night vigilante that fought crimes that would baffle the police. There were hundreds of Metahumans like her. Good and bad, they lived in deliberate obscurity because they knew that the world wouldn’t accept them. As though conjured by my thoughts, one of the twins appeared in the doorway to my right to look around. For a brief moment I was able to just look at her through the lens of all my new information.

They would never be accepted by the normal people. All that people would see was the sinuous tails and the while fur. It made my heart hurt; because I got really good vibes from both of them and Shan had obviously been a good pal to Dinah.

“Hey,” the twin greeted me softly and I realized by the stiffness in her movements that it was indeed Shan.

“Shower,” I answered the unspoken question and watched her sniff at the air like a dog. “She’s gonna be okay. I always knew there was more to Dinah than meets the eye; it’s one of the things that kept me fascinated with her. She just needs somebody to lean on for awhile ‘til she gets her strength back, y’know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Shan grinned and carefully lowered herself down beside me with a groan. “She caught my eye from the start, mask and all.”

“Mask?”

“Yeah, she wears a half mask on patrol. Hell, I wear a full armored helmet. Protects the identity in her case and keeps people from freaking over my looks in me and Ro’s case.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to the resignation in her tone. She was right, no matter how much anyone might want to object. Even now, I wanted to stare at her exotic animal fur and ears. It was too easy to forget the kind personality behind them. The resigned sadness in her eyes spoke volumes when she held my fascinated gaze.

“That sucks,” was the most eloquent thing I could come up with and earned a quirky little grin. “She likes you a lot, y’know.”

Shyly, Shan ducked her head down to hide behind her crossed arms. “Yeah,” she mumbled. “I like her too. A lot.”

“I like you too.”

And that simple statement earned me a big, happy smile that made the morning much brighter.

++Ro++

Something tickled firmly into my ribs, prodding deep into that soft spot just below the curved bones. Binky shot out as my brain stirred to life and caught at the offensive poking object. Helena giggled at the grip around her ankle and wiggled her toes into my side again. I finally cracked open an eye as Binky jerked hard at Helena’s weight. “Alright you pain,” I groused good-naturedly. “I’m up. Now c’mere.” Since Barbara was cuddled up against my chest and Davie was at my back, Helena took the dent in the bedding where Shan had lain recently. She leaned over Barbara to nuzzle at me for a moment, and then pressed affectionate kisses to the red hair before snuggling in.

“We needed to talk about that,” she mused softly and Barbara stirred lazily. “I’m actually kinda glad that it’s out in the open now. Avoiding talking about our moms wasn’t doing either of us any good. At least the workout room is bigger now.”

The abrupt change in subject made me blink for a moment, then Helena smirked and gestured behind me. In the emotional storms, I had forgotten about the damage that Dinah had caused. Nearly the entire back wall was blown out, scattered debris making it look as though a grenade had gone off. “Wow.”

“Yeah. I never realized the kid had it in her. I’d hazard a guess that the ‘kinesis is affected by her emotional state.” I gave her my best ‘duh’ look and earned a playful slap on the hip. “Smartass. Gonna have to find a good therapist that won’t turn out to be a sociopath,” she added and rolled her eyes. I remembered the story from last night about the woman who had attacked the teens from the alleyway. There was a blood feud shaping up fast and it was going to be an ugly one. I already knew where my talents were going unless they sent me and my packmates away.

“I want to stay.”

Yep, that had been my voice that said that. I hastened to explain myself.

“I want to stay because I like you and Barbara and Dinah and Gabby and Alfred. I want you to let me stand with you in this. I want them back in Arkham. I want a family.”

The confession stopped me cold, the fear of rejection freezing me. There was a strange look on Helena’s face. It was a distant, thoughtful expression and when she spoke, it was as though she were a million miles away. “We can’t stay here, it’s not safe anymore. It hasn’t been safe for a long time, but this is home.” Her nose wrinkled up in fearful distaste and I nearly grinned at the expression. “I guess this means I need to deal with my daddy issues, huh?” Not having a clue what she was talking about, I nodded anyway, figuring that she would explain herself in time. Determination replaced the vagueness and Helena leaned over Barbara to give me a quick, hard kiss. “I’d like you to stay, and I’ll bet we could get the boss lady here to agree.” Ducking down to rub up and nip at Barbara’s half-exposed ear, Helena purred out her name until the redhead stirred and moaned lazily. “Barbara. C’mon sexy, up and at ‘em.”

“Mmmm… what? Where?”

“How hard will it be to move the Delphi?”

The deer-in-the-headlights expression on Barbara’s normally composed face was hysterical but I fought down my inappropriate laughter.

“Move? Move the Delphi? What are you talking about?”

“The kid’s been nagging me off and on that we should move to the manor. I’m admitting that she’s right; we’re not safe here anymore. I hate to uproot you, but I won’t have them come after you or anyone else. Please Barbara.”

Her tone was soft and pleading and Barbara was still trying to wake up enough to process what was going on. “You want to move to the manor? You’ve been adamant about not being near that place since you were seventeen.”

“My family wasn’t in danger before. Not like this.”

While I might not understand what they meant by ‘the manor’, I could see that this was an old issue between them. Barbara nodded and cupped Helena’s cheek tenderly. “I’m proud of you. I’ll get the wheels in motion just as soon as I can get up. There’s going to be a ton of paperwork and things you understand.”

“Yeah, I know, but I’ve put it off long enough. Let’s put daddy’s millions to good use, huh?” Millions? What the hell was she talking about? “Oh, and Ro here wants to stay.” Now the green eyes swung over to me and I smiled weakly.

“If you’ll have us.”

“I’d like that, Ro. Go check on your sister and the girls. Things are about to get crazy around here.”

Helena was up in a flurry of motion and had Barbara back in her chair before she scampered out. “What did I miss, Leo?” Davie asked and I glanced back into her night-black eyes.

“Honestly, I have little idea. I’m missing pieces of the puzzle, but Barbara and Helena will fill us in once they realize we have no clue.”

“You do know who owns this building, don’t you?”

“What?”

“Actually, about half of New Gotham.”

“What does that have to do with…” and the pieces started to click together. “You think her father is Bruce Wayne?”

“That’s exactly what I think. And no, I didn’t scan her. I’ve met the man a few times and there are… similarities between them. It fits with the ‘millions’ comment.”

“How do you know this?”

“I have connections, Leo, m’boy.”

There was no doubt in my mind that there was a much larger story behind the nibblets I was being given by all parties, but there was no getting past that expression. Davie could be utterly implacable if she needed to be. I would school my patience and bide my time until all the pieces were in my hands. Nothing like a great hunt to get me fired up!

On the balcony outside, I glanced down to see Barbara deeply engrossed in the Delphi and Helena was nowhere to be seen. Just to my right, movement drew my eye to where Shan stepped out of the bathroom. “The girls are in Dinah’s room.”

Rubbing noses with her, I took stock of my twin’s appearance. She was stressed and tired from all this unknown with Dinah and the others. “We can stay. And it appears we’ll be helping them move to some manor somewhere.”

“What? Really? When did all this happen?”

“How’s your back?”

“Sore. Don’t change the subject.”

“I’m not. That’s all I know.”

“We can stay?”

It was a profound and scary thing these women had offered us. We were too small a pack, we three. We were desperate for socialization and company. These three strangers and their packmates of Alfred and now Gabby, were fulfilling a need we had never really acknowledged. Now we would earn our place in this new pack that was forming. Abruptly, I grinned and dragged Shan down the hallway. “C’mon, let’s tell the girls.”

++Davie++

With the twins firmly ensconced with the teens and Helena engrossed in this sudden upcoming move, I was left at loose ends. “Would you like some help packing?” I finally broke in and both Barbara and Helena blinked blankly at me. Then the blue eyes turned thoughtful.

“Guess I need to get rid of my apartment, huh? And Drake’s pretty much sick of my wacked schedule… so…”

“You sure you want to give that up?” Barbara asked softly and Helena grinned.

“I want blonde and psycho locked up, and Clayface and whoever the hell else is stupid enough to stand with her. Wonder dad would be proud that we rate our own reoccurring badguy.”

Both Barbara and I chuckled darkly over that one. That’s how I found myself halfway across town helping Helena pack. It was a typical bachelor pad, except that it was conveniently located above the bar she would no longer be working at. “This place is cool,” I commented neutrally and she grinned wickedly.

“It’s a single woman’s filthy den of sin, admit it.”

She was a riot and I smiled willingly. “If you insist. Good thing I’m not your average nun, or I’d take a ruler to you young lady.”

“Tease.”

After a few hours of bantering back and forth, most of her stuff was packed in a few boxes and she was noticeably favoring that arm.

“I’m not much for things,” Helena explained absently as she rubbed her broken collarbone. “And most of my crap is still in the clocktower, unless Dinah’s temper tantrum on the wall busted them all up. Mom’s stuff.” That enigmatic comment was accompanied by a one-armed shrug. “Would you like a drink? I need to go have that conversation with my boss downstairs.”

“Sure.”

The Dark Horse bar was a surprisingly tasteful place, in that ultra modern, slick kind of way. The thin crowd was mostly young and beautiful and on the prowl. I could see that the place appealed to Helena’s animal instincts. The good-looking fellow behind the bar grinned flirtatiously and brought my white wine promptly, so I made certain to leave him a decent tip. When Helena left the back room, she looked sad, relieved and a bit irritated. “And I can’t even drink because of the painkillers,” she muttered in annoyance as she commandeered the stool next to me and waved the bartender off. “Drake was already thinking he was gonna need to replace me. Guess I’ve been spending too much time away from here.”

“The life’ll do that to you,” I sympathized and she scowled. “You thought you were immune?”

“Not… immune exactly. I’ve just tried so hard to be above it. Barbara’s always tried to get me to follow the stereotype and I hate it.”

“Stereotype?”

“Yeah the whole wear-a-mask and lurk in the shadows and have no damn life stereotype.” Before I could comment further, she sighed heavily and wouldn’t meet my eyes. “And I think that maybe she was right all this time.”

“She does seem the type,” I soothed quietly and earned a curious look.

“Type?”

“To be right.”

That comment made Helena chuckle, half in annoyance and half with an adoration that warmed me. “Yeah, she is that. I think I need to get home and bitch and complain and suck up now. Someone can be hired to come get those boxes tomorrow.”

“Sure. Lead the way.”

The ride back to the clocktower was mostly a comfortable quiet, broken up by a few rounds of our earlier bantering. Once we stepped into the living area up top, even I felt the change to the space around us. Ro was seated at the Delphi, knees tucked up under her chin, looking broody and bored. “How’d it go?”

For a moment, neither Helena nor I answered, as I was watching the Huntress in action. The second she’d stepped into this space, she’d dropped into alert and threatened prowling mode. The change in the place was affecting her deeply. “They’re gone,” she growled and Ro looked shocked.

“No! Helena, not like that. Alfred took your pack to the manor. Barbara asked me to watch the Delphi while she was gone. Shan’s cleaning up the workout room.”

For a long moment there was no reaction, those blue eyes shading red sweeping over the space that felt so different already. Then I realized that things had already been moved around. Half of the monitors for Delphi were missing, and the living area was half packed up. That’s what was affecting Helena so deeply.

“Guess I wasn’t ready for how different this place was gonna feel now that we’re leaving.”

“Helena?” Barbara’s voice sounded out softly from the speakers. “We made it here safely and the security system is as kick-ass as I remember. Did your afternoon go okay?”

Drawn by the voice, Helena wandered over to stand beside Ro, looking up at the huge central monitor as though searching for her partner. “Yeah. It’s just weird not having either of you here.”

“Hey,” Dinah chuckled wearily. “That’s sweet. This place rocks; I think you’re going to like it here. It’s like a big old stuffy college.”

“Where’s Gabby?”

“We took her home. There’s a lot of questions and explanations that we’d have to go over because of this place. It seemed easier if the two of us came here.”

“Is she safe?”

“I… I don’t know,” Dinah said in a tight, fearful voice.

++Helena++

I understood Dinah’s fear all to well. There were few that could be close to us, as secrets drove wedges into relationships. Despite my unease over the changes to the clocktower, I sucked it up and turned to Davie. “C’mon, we’re going to go get her. Ro, see if you can scrounge together with Barbara to have Gabby’s family win some trip or something. Get them out of New Gotham for a while until we nail Harley. Shan!” The other twin poked her head out of the room upstairs and cocked her head quizzically. “Stay alert, in case we need you.”

“You got it,” Shan called out as Davie and I scrambled for whatever gear we were going to take along. While I normally wouldn’t bother with weapons, my damn shoulder ached. A couple of painkillers, a change into work clothes and I was ready. Only moment later, Davie stepped out in her armor.

“Let’s do this,” Davie muttered and yanked on some thick gloves. The twins watched us go in silence.

What the hell had Barbara and Dinah been thinking? They just sent Gabby home, after Harley had seen her? I was seeing red at how ugly this could potentially get. Throwing myself behind the wheel of the beautiful old ’69 Corvette, I turned the key and the engine roared back to life. “Okay, Leo, give me an address,” I spoke out clearly so that the com picked up my voice.

“On it. Head down Madison towards the docks, her building isn’t far from them. I’ll guide you from there.”

“Thanks.”

“You okay?”

“Peachy,” I growled and paused. The voice hadn’t sounded right, the internal stimuli foreign to me. A spare glance at the telepath beside me only earned that calm gaze she was better at than even Barbara. “I’m worried.”

“I know. So am I.”

“Okay,” Ro suddenly piped up in my ear. “Turn left onto Miller. We’ve got a local contest rigged, Barbara had to give me a hand from the manor, but we pulled it off. She’ on your forth left, which is Oak Grove. Look for the Brentwood apartments and she’s unit 212. I’m making the phone call now to give them the good news. Play stupid.”

“Y’know, I could almost be insulted.”

Ro just chuckled softly in my ears as we searched for a parking spot. The building wasn’t the greatest, but it was no slum either. There was no kind of real security and I was relieved that I could help get Gabby’s family out of potential harm’s way. Davie was looking even more overheated in her armor than I was in my clubbing/patrol gear.

“I’ll stay back here. I don’t think the outfit really fits the occasion.”

Focusing on Davie’s internal ‘voice’, I broadcasted back, “okay. Keep an ear out on me.”  I could see her startled expression as I tossed her my keys. “And don’t mess my car up.”

“Yes dear,” Davie snorted and vanished into the warm evening. I stepped forward to deal with the all American blue-collar family alone. The giggling woman that answered the door was teary-eyed with happiness and trying to be polite. I couldn’t help but grin winningly. “Yes?” She said. “Can I help you?”

“Wow, you look like you’re having a great day. I’m a pal of your daughter’s. We were supposed to go play tonight.”

Okay, dressed like I was, maybe ‘play’ was a bad word. “Hussy,” Ro chuckled into my ear and I refrained from scowling. Mom eyed me for a moment before bursting into peals of laughter. Gabby and an equally blonde boy of perhaps nine or so poked their heads around the corner. Both looked surprised at my presence.

“Hey Gabs,” I called out jovially. “Dinah sent me over to retrieve you so that we can hang out.” Than made mom focus again.

“You know Dinah?”

“Yep, I’m her adopted sister, Helena Kyle, pleased to meet you. I figured I’d be a chaperone, not that the girls need it, they’re both great.”

“Suck up,” Ro taunted and I wanted to smack her. Mom seemed impressed by the Kyle charm though, and smiled winningly.

“Well, come in. The household’s in a bit of an uproar right now. We just received some amazing news.”

“Really? Good, I hope.”

“Yeah!” The boy exploded. “We won a trip to Disneyland! And a bunch of other cool places in Los Angeles! We leave tonight! My dad’s boss just called and said it was a work thing and we were cool to go!” Seemingly embarrassed by his enthusiasm to a stranger, the boy vanished again and his mother chuckled.

“We’re excited and shocked. It was some kind of Wayne Industries drawing and we were the lucky employees,” Mom gushed and I felt suddenly very, very odd. My father, absent all these years, dead or alive somewhere, and I was inheriting an empire I could barely wrap my brain around. Wonder if she’d pass out if I told her who I was?

“Probably.”

Davie’s ‘voice’ startled me and made me think. After closing the door, Gabby’s mom returned to the bowels of the apartment, leaving me with the curious daughter. “I’ll make up for you missing the trip,” I explained quietly. “But we need to get you somewhere safe and them out from underfoot. I’ll make up the missed trip to you later, I promise.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’re as good as your word, Helena Kyle,” Gabby grinned slowly, the suggestiveness in her tone unmistakable. “Come in and help me bullshit my way out of this.”

I’d had to drag ‘Miss Gordon’s’ name into it more than once, but since Gabby was eighteen and needed to study for finals and not go play, the parental units finally caved. By the time they and the brother, a shy cutie named Sam, were ready to go, I was cat-on-caffeine jumpy about a surprise attack. Ro the Oracle sub had a shuttle bus waiting that we followed closely to the airport to ensure their safety. Only after the plane’s lights vanished into the night did my tension subside even a little.

“So, now what?” Gabby asked matter-of-factly.

“Now we keep you safe,” I shrugged and led the way back to my car. Something was nagging me like mad.

“So, just ask her already. Sheesh.”  Davie taunted and I realized that she was doing it to get me to open up. “To get what you want from your inheritance, you’re going to get put through the wringer. This might be good practice.”

“Right,” I muttered as we headed back to the city. Gabby eyed me strangely from the backseat. “Hey Gabby. Does your dad like working for Wayne Industries?”

“He seems okay with it. I mean, it’s like any big company, right? There’s good and bad. It’ll be a long time before he can retire and he gets frustrated trying to support me and Sam and my mom. College is gonna be a bitch, that’s why I’m waiting at least a year, so I can get a job and some money. My folks take great care of me and Sam, but we don’t live fancy, y’know?”

This was the part I knew I was going to hate, the massive gulf that the Wayne money would put between me and the rest of mere humanity. It was bad enough that my shadow life was like that. Mom was no slouch for money and success, but Bruce Wayne was in a rare class of the insanely rich and powerful. And Barbara was starting the wheels that would make it mine.

“So, if I told you I was Bruce Wayne’s only blood heir, what would you say?” I couldn’t fault the teen for the bark of laughter.

“That’d be wild,” Gabby cackled and something caught my eye. All talk of Wayne Industries was forgotten, as my secret identity was called for once more. It was a ship, far out on the docks and there was just… something about it and the activity around it.

++Davie++

I picked up instantly on Helena’s shift in perspective and followed suit. The predator was active now and she was on the hunt. Smoothly, she pulled into a spot and killed the engine. “See that cargo ship at the end of the pier?” She hurriedly pointed out and I looked. From this distance, it was hard to see any details, but I tried. Then a pair of binoculars was yanked out of the glove compartment at my knees and shoved into my hands. “Take a look and tell me that doesn’t look a drug shipment.”

Her suspicion was enough for me to look through the optical lenses and focus my power along my line of sight. From this distance, I wouldn’t be getting any details, but that wasn’t what I was after anyway. There was a man with a clipboard, his mannerisms screaming ‘supervisor’. Only, the cut of his clothes didn’t suit this dirty place or the nearly complete darkness of this dark corner of New Gotham’s western docks. His surface thoughts were nervous, yet icy calm about what he was doing, and who was above him in the chain of command and the illegal nature of his powdered cargo. It was enough for me.

“Care for some backup?”

“Yeah, I suppose I should. Shan, you up to it?”

I felt outward with my powers, searching for Shan’s familiar mind, separating it from Ro’s. They were so far away that I had to close my eyes and tune everything else out for long moments. Like filtering out a single conversation in a noisy room, I focused in on Shan’s mind until the bond was nice and tight. Gripping the link with sheer willpower, I slitted open my eyes and focused on the surroundings. This was never easy, giving the twins coordinates, and I had to be absolutely certain I knew where I was sending them. The potential repercussion of sending them to the wrong place, or time, was mind-boggling. Without consciously moving, I was out of the car and vaulting up onto the hood. Helena’s bark of annoyance was ignored as I climbed onto the roof and got my bearings.

“Got it.”  Shan whispered softly and I stepped back down onto the hood. From the corner of my eye, I could see Gabby lean out of the open car door curiously. Then Shan materialized out of nowhere, like a frame of film. First the space there was empty, and then her body was thumping down onto the car to crouch and catch her breath.

“Wow,” Gabby breathed. “That is the neatest trick.”

“Paintjob!” Helena roared. “Hello! Get the hell off!” Giggling guiltily, Shan and I dropped to the filthy pavement and got into the mindset of ‘serve and protect.’ “Pains in my ass,” Helena grumbled as she climbed out of the car and slammed the door. “Are you up to a fight, Shan?”

“Yeah, I should be fine, just stiff and a little sore. The car was only a glancing hit and not moving all that fast. Good thing that commuter had decent reflexes. You can count on me.”

“Okay. Davie, there’s a fire escape over there where you can keep an eye on us and keep Gabby close. Out on the street like this isn’t safe.”

“Deal,” I agreed easily and crooked a finger at Gabby to get out of the car. “Leave me the keys incase we need to make a quick getaway.”

“Good idea, just don’t mess up the paint anymore.” Pressing the button to set the automatic system up, Helena tossed me the keys and settled her coat more securely around her body. “Ready partner?”

“Lead the way,” Shan replied and, like figments of the imagination, they vanished into the night.

That left me to go to the fire escape, only to find the bottom ladder well above my head. “It’s at times like this that the world is conspiring to make me feel very short,” I growled and Gabby suppressed a snerk of amusement. So I turned and gave her a mockingly dark look, couching and offering my linked fingers as a step up. “You go get the ladder then.”

Gamely, Gabby stepped into my hands and let me haul her up to grab the retracted emergency ladder. We were quickly at a vantage point where we could watch the boat and I settled in to watch the fight through Shan’s eyes and help where I could.

To Be Continued…

This was an odd choice for this chapter, more of a foreshadowing of later events then what actually happened. As Shan, Dinah and Gabby interacted, I could see parts of this song being very true. Without the sexual overtones, it also reminds me a bit of what could have been with Dinah and Carolyn.

Truly, Madly, Deeply

By Savage Garden

I’ll be your dream

I’ll be your wish I’ll be your fantasy

I’ll be your hope

I’ll be your love be everything that you need

I love you more with every breath truly madly deeply do

I will be strong I will be faithful

‘Cause I’m counting on

A new beginning

A reason for living

A deeper meaning

(Chorus)

I want to stand with you on a mountain

I want to bathe with you in the sea

I want to lay like this forever

‘Til the sky falls down on me

And when the stars are shining brightly in the velvet sky

I’ll make a wish send it to heaven then make you want to cry

The tears of joy for all the pleasure and the certainty

That we’re surrounded by the comfort and protection of

The highest power

In lonely hours

The tears devour you

(Chorus)

Oh can’t you see it baby?

You don't have to close your eyes

‘Cause it’s standing right before you

All that you need will surely come

I’ll be your dream

I’ll be your wish I’ll be your fantasy

I’ll be your hope

I’ll be your love be everything that you need

I’ll love you more with every breath truly madly deeply do

(Chorus)

 

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