Note: To see a picture of what I picture Hel’s beast of a car to look like, check out   http://corvetteactioncenter.com/specs/1969/

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom

++Shan++

“Be careful,” Ro warned us through the com link. We’d spent all day modifying my helmet to interface with the Delphi and now we’d find out what the system could do for us. “There’s no one scheduled to use that dock, so your hunch that this is some kind of illegal operation is damn likely. I can’t get any real specific info for you, I’m not the miracle worker, but I’ll keep an eye out as best I can. If things get ugly, I’m ‘porting in.”

“Got it,” Helena agreed softly as we crept closer to our goal. The sounds of voices grew louder as we slunk among the cargo to get as close as possible. Close enough to get a nose full of their collective stench, Helena and I traded eager glances and I watched her eyes flare red and the pupils pull into tight vertical slits. It was time to kick some ass. Helena went at them headfirst while I performed a flying leap from above worthy of my monkey genes. These idiots were thugs, brutish forces of muscles and little brains. We had both and had no problem beating the hell out them with either. The idiots did as much damage to one another as they were trying to do to us. A few lucky hits landed, but they only made me angrier and more feral. There were no words for the feel of the animal energy in my veins, the release of the primitive needs I strove so hard to confine. It was hard to not seriously hurt them, rake them with teeth and claws and break their bones. Every instinct in my genes wanted them unable to hurt me or my packmates. They needed to be stopped by any means necessary. I knew that I hurt the bad guys worse than was always necessary. I couldn’t help myself. Fists, feet, elbows, face shield, and Slinky beat a swath through the drug dealers as Helena and I approached the boat.

It took a surprisingly long time for the bullets to start ringing out. Now the fight got trickier as we were forced to keep the wall of thugs between the shooters and us. I actually was winged twice, being the larger and slower of the two opponents. Huntress snarled and sassed her way through the trash and performed a superhuman leap onto the boat to trounce the gunmen.

“Shan! Squeaker, the police are coming! Huntress, get the hell out of there,” Ro yelled into my ear, burning through the haze of instincts and pain. All my sore muscles were crying for mercy now. Even as I looked around for Huntress, she leapt off the boat and landed gracefully beside me.

“There are a few dozen more onboard, but they won’t be able to get away. Unfortunately, neither can we.”

“Oh, please,” I snorted and grabbed her by both arms. The memory of the roof of the Corvette was still strong in my mind and the familiar darkness swallowed us both. She was struggling and snarling as we rematerialized a foot above the black paint to thump solidly down. “Holy shit! What was that?!?” Helena yelled in alarm.

“Congrats,” Ro chuckled throatily through the com. “You’ve been teleported.”

“Davie! C’mon,” I yelled internally as I realized that the fire escape was empty.

“We’re finishing up some business. Just give me a minute.”

“We don’t have a minute! I can already hear sirens!”

This was my greatest fear. The authorities would get their hands on me and I would wake up in the confines of that lab. I was damp with chilled sweat with just the thought. “C’mon,” Helena muttered under her breath, anxiously bouncing on the balls of her feet beside the car. “C’mon.”

I could catch wisps of a fearful pair of men, a determined Gabby, running through dark staircases. “Hurry!” I yelled and it seemed like a lifetime before the two women crashed through the door of the building they’d been hiding out in.

We barely escaped the sweep of the police lights.

++Gabby++

Davie didn’t want me following her to the top of the building, that much was glaringly obvious, but I was gonna stick to her like glue, dammit. I had been terrified and thrilled to watch the anarchy of the fight through the binoculars. Then Davie had gone to the top of the building and the fight was suddenly very personal. Man, she could move like a prizefighter, like someone from a martial arts movie. But I had never heard the crunch of real bones breaking or really heard a person scream in pain. It was horrifying.

Then the guy with the broken arm got up and there was something in his eye that made my whole body cold. He really meant to do something awful to Davie and she was occupied with the other guy. Something clicked in me, some deep and primitive place that kept our species from dying out. I lashed out with legs made strong from a lifetime of serious swimming, punched him dead in the face with every ounce of fear in me.

It was agony. Not just the swamping pain in my hand, but the feel of his punished flesh and the noise it made. I was too horrified to move, Davie was grabbing me, dragging me down what felt like a thousand stairs in total blackness while my mind ran in panicked, gibbering circles.

Shan grabbed me, tossed me roughly into the kitted-out backseat of the car and was so close on my heels that I was smashed under her weight as the Corvette peeled out, slamming Davie’s door and making her yelp, “Ouch!” Shan panted against my neck and shivered. “I know who was waiting for that shipment. The name Hawke mean anything to you?”

A freaky cat growl rumbled up from Helena and I cringed. Davie twisted to wiggle her fingers deep into Shan’s hair. “I’m sorry Mikey, I didn’t mean to freak you out. I needed to find out who was behind this. Sit up and the let Frisky here breathe. You did good Gabs, thanks.”

“Ro,” Helena snarled as we sorted ourselves out in the back. “Get Reece on the phone. I need to talk to him.”

Ignoring the others, I fussed over the obviously freaked out Shan. She was gray under the white fur, eyes dilated and skin clammy. Her soft, irregular purring was disorienting and stressed-sounding. “Shan? You okay? You’re fine now, we’re all fine.” Since Davie couldn’t reach anymore, I stroked the short, bunny-soft fur on her head and let her lean into my shoulder. We were so cramped into the back of the low-slung monster of an old muscle car that I could barely move. I loved old cars and someone had done a damn nice job in installing smaller bucket seats in the front so that a backseat could be added to the sports car.

“You got him patched into the com? Great. Jesse? We have a problem. It seems that your old man, or someone using his name, is running drugs into the west docks. Yeah, I know how you feel. You better start digging; because this is gonna get stupid kinds of ugly.”

Even I had a bad feeling about this.

At the clocktower, we were only seconds behind the familiar H2. Dinah barreled out of the passenger side and nearly suffocated both me and the still-silent Shan. “Oh, thank God you’re both okay. I was so worried.” Shan snaked an arm around each of us and squeezed until she earned squeaks. The tail brushed over my back and Shan snuffled quietly into Dinah’s hair.

“The cops freaked me,” she whispered as I heard the whir of the lift letting Miss Gordon onto the pavement.

“Are you two okay?” She asked and both Davie and Helena rumbled affirmatives. “Come upstairs and let me look you over.” More grumbles. “Humor me. You too, girls.”

I knew better than to disobey that tone, even if we weren’t in school and pulled away only far enough to tug my pals over to the elevator. We were crammed in claustrophobically tight and Helena complained, “This damn thing is too small for this many.”

“Good thing it’s an express to the top then,” Miss Gordon sassed at her. Shan didn’t look so bad now, her color and body language calmer under Dinah’s soothing attention. Before the doors were even fully open at the top, long arms reached in to yank Shan into a bone-creaking hug. I could hear the frantic purring from four feet away. Ro rubbed her head roughly into her twin’s matching mane and the last of the tension drained out of them both. An arm snaked out to paw Dinah into the huddle, and then Davie and the rest of us pressed in close. A tail, Ro’s by the lack of covering, slithered out to wrap around Miss Gordon’s shoulders. She reached up to rub whatever happened to be the closest back. Their acceptance, the rough petting in my tangled curls and the visceral press of their bodies made me feel like a part of them. The horror of hurting that man drained away for the time being, soothed by this new family I was making. No matter how strange the whole gang of them were.

“I don’t wanna be locked up again,” Shan murmured in a soft voice that sounded like a terrified child, not this magnificent warrior and friend.

“I know,” Ro hummed. “Me either. I’m just glad you’re home safe. Come have some popcorn and relax.”

It was only a single bag of the microwave popcorn, but we all got a handful to crunch on while the twins and Miss Gordon went to the massive computer with the weird name. “Call her Barbara,” Said a strange voice and I looked around. There was a weird quality to the sound, like it was echoing around in my head like a bad special effect. “I know you’re curious about what we can do. Right?” Unnerved, I looked around, but no one was paying attention to me. Then Davie looked right at me with those deep, dark eyes, so black that I couldn’t see the pupils.

“Is that… you?”

“yes. Tonight you earned my trust and my respect. You’ve never hurt another human being before, have you?”

I could hear her, but her mouth never moved. It was bizarre. “No. It was awful.”

“Good,” she answered me out loud. “Hurting should never be done casually. It’s one of the few things that separate us from our enemies. Come sit with Dinah and I while the others debrief.”

It wasn’t until I rested my weight on my hand to sit that the pain registered. Collapsing to the cushions, I hissed in agony as the white-hot sensation lanced up my arm. “Gabby?” Dinah’s voice broke through the haze and her hands were on my shoulder and arm. “Let me see. Oh boy. Barbara! We might have something broken over here.”

Teary-eyed, I let them fuss over me. It was far easier once Barbara had given me a couple of pills for the pain. That, and having Shan curl up around what felt like my whole body and purring like a gigantic lap cat. It was kinky and soothing all at once, distracting me from having my aching hand manipulated all over.

“Welcome to the superhero life,” Helena chuckled, not unkindly and ruffled my and Shan’s hair both.

“Well, congratulations,” Barbara sighed, when she looked at the x-rays that she had taken. The woman had an x-ray machine in her apartment. Wild. “You have a hairline fracture in your hand. That center knuckle is busted. Let me get you splinted up and then I can manhandle the rest of you.”

“Kinky,” Helena chuckled, but moved aside to let Barbara and Davie wrap up my poor hand.

“You wish, Huntress,” Barbara sassed back and stroked my head soothingly. “We’ll take a look at it in the morning. See if the swelling has gone down.”

“Huntress?” I asked to try and keep my attention away from the ache.

“Code names,” Helena quipped easily and gave me a thrill by leaning over the couch and scooping me up into impossibly strong arms. I couldn’t object to being manhandled, so to speak, by this gorgeous woman, not to mention I was getting a serious case of loopy on painkillers. “I’m Huntress. Watch my eyes.” Intrigued by her proximity and whatever was the next superhero shocker, I did as asked. They were a bright, crystal blue, until a flaming red erupted from within. It was crazy, watching the crimson sweep out over the blue like spilled paint, and her pupils suddenly pulling tight and vertical. Stunned, I watched the red cat’s eyes settle into an almost violet and felt the subtle shift in her body. Where holding me had been an effort, now it was easy, there was a strength to her that was impossible to miss. “My mother was a metahuman, like Dinah and Davie and the twins. I’m stronger, faster and stealthier than I could possibly make you believe. Dinah can throw stuff with her mind, and read minds with a touch, and she’s Canary. The twins can teleport along with all the cool genetic critter enhancements and Davie’s a kick-ass telepath called the Prophet. No offense kid.”

“None taken,” Dinah sighed. “I just haven’t had a chance to explain the touch telepathy.”

“It’s okay,” I chimed in trustingly. “I think my weird-shit-o-meter is about full up today.”

Laughter echoed about and Shan stood up to throw both arms around us. “We don’t love you for your subtlety, Hel. Go put them to bed and I guess we’re next to be doctored.”

“Right. Back in a flash.”

I was too tired to even get undressed and was unconscious before her hands had left my body.

++Barbara++

It was strange how unselfconscious the twins were about being naked. Shan stiffly stripped down to her furry hide and leaned into her sister to be nuzzled and fussed over. Even through the varying lengths of white fur, the bruising could be seen. With practiced hands, Davie mapped out the blunt force trauma and pronounced it nothing to worry about. “Go sleep,” she shooed the girls fondly and they headed for the lift.

“Take the bed,” I called. “You’ll sleep better there.” They blinked at me for a moment and changed direction. I then turned to my partner of eight years to begin the post-fight exam we both knew so well. “Helena, I made some calls while at the manor today. Dick needed to know about the legal proceedings, being the other heir, so I contacted him. He’s willing to stay for a few days while the Delphi will be down.” Looking up at her, I saw the scowl on her face and sighed. “Please. I’m scared to death having my safety net gone. Do this for me?” Okay, it was perhaps childish of me to pull a guilt trip, but I was truly frightened of being out of touch with my girls.

“Argh,” she groused and raked her fingers through her hair. “Yeah okay, it makes sense.”

“Yes. I think Alfred’s in contact with Bruce, because things are going far too smoothly. Speaking of which, you need to go see the lawyers tomorrow.” Helena groaned at me and I forcefully turned her around so that I could examine her back. “There’s no stopping the process now. You’re the most excitement Wayne Industries has seen since the earthquake. People are going to be very surprised by you.” I could feel the nervous gulp all the way down to the small of her back.

“Barbara,” she whispered nervously and Davie paused where she was examining the still-healing collarbone. “You’re gonna stick with me, right?” I pressed my hands to the birdlike tattoo inked across the small of her back.

“Helena, you’re stuck with me whether you like it or not. We’ve been through too much together. Now, I think you’re irritatingly undamaged, so go sleep.”

“Will you be in?” She asked me softly, big blue eyes scared and vulnerable. I had planned on staying away from the temptation of the bodies around me, but I could never tell her no.

“Give me a few to lock the place down.”

“Okay.”

Davie regarded me silently, putting up her hands in a placating gesture after an intense moment. “Luckily, Gabby saved me from any serious injury, just a few bruises. There’s a reason I wear body armor and make the twins do the same. I was foolishly not wearing the helmet, and nearly got my brains bashed in for it. You’d think I’d have learned by now.”

Her self-deprecation made me smile. “No, there’s no school on how to be a superhero.”

It was a bolt from the blue, a stunning flash of inspiration that left me breathless.

There was no school for superheroes…

Or Metahumans or those that might need direction to stay away from the dark side, and… I had to calm myself down.

“What?” Davie asked with a cocked head and I smiled enigmatically.

“I have an idea, but it can wait. See you in the morning.”

++Frankie++

I was so mad I could spit nails. All my plans were shot to shit now, and it was going to be a bitch to piece something back together in the ruins. Not only had the drug shipment been commandeered, but a very large quantity of hired help had been lost to police custody. Damn that baby bird and her girlfriend. I’d spent the better part of fuckin’ year rebuilding the shattered remains of the Hawke empire after the boss had cut out. All those goddamn loyal years of service to Al Hawke, getting my goddamn neck busted by that freak assassin after trying to get the bastard to back off…

Even now I could hear the dark chick freak fussin’ over me, gettin’ me to the hospital and all that shit. I’d bet my left nut that she was the one that hit the boat. Here I was, lucky enough to survive gettin’ my neck broken, but not enough to have one damn drug shipment go my way. There was gonna be hell to pay with the cartels.

Shoving away my fear that somehow Hawke would find out what was going on and send someone to kill me, I concentrated on my phone again, determined to wade through the seemingly thousands of phone calls I was making to try and salvage something from this mess. The old man was in jail and I was gonna survive this goddammit! Served him right to rot in jail at the hands of that damn kid of his.

Suddenly the limo lurched like it had hit something. Great, this was all I needed! It lurched again and I began to wonder what the hell was going on. Then something smashed through the window to my right and I automatically hit the floor. I knew I should have gone for the bulletproof model! Then there was the thump of feet on the roof and the sunroof exploded into a million shards of glass that rained down on me. “Dammit!”

“Hey there, cutie.” A jovial female voice called from above me. “We need to talk. Oh, I know what you’re thinking. No good conversation starts with, we need to talk, but you’ll wanna hear this I promise. C’mon, lemme see those baby blues,” she cajoled like an insane cartoon character and I couldn’t help but look up. In the growing light of dawn, I could see a wild shock of blonde hair and some kind of crazy red and black outfit. “That’s my boy. Now, you have a bird problem, right? Well, do we have a ton in common. Lemme knock over a coffee stand and I’ll tell you what we’re gonna do.”

“Listen lady,” I had to growl at that point, even as I seriously doubted that lady was the right term. “I don’t know who the hell you are, but…”

She was nervy enough to drop into the passenger’s compartment and grin manically at me. Oh shit, I recognized her. She was the whack-job that had hypnotized the whole city back before Christmas. Quinn something or another. Dammit, now what did I do? There was a certifiable crazy in my car, wanting to talk about taking down the baby bird and her flock. Wait a minute…

Suddenly intrigued by the possibilities, I drew my dignity around me and shook off the glass. “You could have just knocked,” I deadpanned and she chuckled.

“What can I say? I like to make an entrance. Let’s see, one dark, one blonde, both fast and annoying and full of all kinds of fun little tricks, right? They scared your boss off, made you pick up the pieces, they keep knocking over every little scam you try to piece together? Am I getting warm? Is there a prize if I guess right?”

The perversely inappropriate, kid-on-too-much-sugar energy was disorienting and more than a little disturbing. “Yeah, if you’re talking about that god-damned baby Canary and her dominatrix-on-speed sidekick, then yes, they piss me off. Do you have a point here?” I had tried to kill both of them on numerous occasions, but some wacko dressed like Wesley Snipes in Blade had stopped a rain of bullets intended for the Huntress, and I was still smarting from my goddamn Charger classic car being given a flying lesson courtesy of the baby Canary.

Something was twining into the car like a hungry snake, a great, thick, thorny length of what looked like some kind of… vine. Welcome to my own personal Twilight Zone. Great. “Oh, Frankie,” she purred seductively and I winced. “I can help you. They can’t fly on luck and virtue forever, now can they?” her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper as she slid across the glass-speckled seat. “I know things about them that I’m not supposed to know. Doctor-patient confidentiality, you understand. But since she pissed me off.” The maniacal smile took on a cold, predatory edge that made me glad she wasn’t pissed at me. “I’ll break the rules.” Then she was all smiles again. “Not that rules are for people like us, right Frankenstein, old boy?” She slapped me on the shoulder and cackled madly over her own joke.

“Yeah sure, whatever you say lady.”

“Oh, call me Harley, all my friends call me Harley.” She smiled coldly again. “And we are going to be good friends, aren’t we, Frankie?”

Out the last of my illegally gotten millions on a busted drug shipment, I appeared to have little choice. “Sure, Harley, I’ll help you kill the birdling and her girlfriends. What do you have in mind?”

“Well, you see, I’m out on a little recruitment drive. I’ve heard rumors that there’s someone in town that just has to be mine. It’ll be Christmas all over again!” Then something happened, her eyes went all freaky and the last thought I had was that I shoulda killed her when I had the chance.

++Jane++

Carrie had spent most of our time together telling me about Metahumans. Rather than feeling like an expert, I was still fairly baffled by the whole concept. The amnesia hadn’t affected my cognitive abilities, but the lack of background knowledge was infuriating. I felt like I should understand what she was talking about. Especially since it was her mother that could sense other metahumans and claimed I was one of them. It was more than good will that had made Kelly take me under her wing. They both kept telling me that I was a metahuman too. With no memories of my past, I could barely comprehend being more than what I was, cleaning up after humanity. Yet, I felt as though I was in a too-small space and wanted freedom so badly I could taste it like coppery blood in my mouth.

Threatening to slip into melancholy, I was startled by the door crashing inward, nearly ripping it from the hinges. Kelly stomped in like a pissed off bear and her green eyes swung around the room. That’s not what made me cringe though; it was the strangers behind her. New to the family or not, I felt protective and Kelly wasn’t acting like herself. Carrie was on her feet and at my side in a flash. The wild-haired blonde clapped her hands like a happy kid and looked around. “What a charming little hovel! Thanks for the invite, Arcanine. And you two must be Jane and the darling Carrie. We’re going to be such good pals!”

Kelly was acting wildly out of character and it was terrifying. Carrie pressed against my arm, clinging to me for reassurance. The almost maniacal danger in Kelly’s eyes was frightening. Then the blonde was suddenly only a few steps away and I was forced to return my attention to her out of a sense of self-preservation. Suddenly her eyes swirled inky black, a fireworks show of gold flecks in the depths.

“Will you do anything I ask?”

Of course I would. What kind of silly question was that? “Yes.”

++Dinah++

It was time.

Being up at the asscrack of dawn freakin’ sucked with the hours I normally kept, but I understood that we needed to be done today. Harley would surface with the night and we needed to be prepared. Ro yawned hugely as she slumped past me to where only the bare bones of the Delphi now stood. Her tail caressed my belly and snapped my attention back to the process at hand. “C’mon Don,” she chuckle-rumbled and I followed meekly. I liked the nickname of Donatello, third of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It made me feel a part of the twins and Davie as much, if not more than Barbara and Helena. Davie wandered out and went for the coffee I had brewed before coming over and helping us out. With quick hands, Ro unscrewed the casings of the various computer gear and pulled out part of their guts to hand it to me and I would bag it, carefully mark it with an incomprehensible string of alphanumeric gibberish and pack it away in packing peanuts. Some of the hardware was bubble-wrapped and stacked on the moving cart we’d rented and prepped for being moved downstairs.

“Wow,” Barbara’s voice rang out and we all looked up to see her in a burgundy business suit. “It looks like you’re nearly done. I wish it wasn’t so nerve-wracking to have all that empty space.” The tweaky tone of voice was unmistakable as a monitor to her stress level. The Delphi was her baby and even computer boob that I was; I knew that she’d spent years building a truly remarkable machine.

“The basics will be up and running before you know it,” Ro assured her softly. “You’ll see.” Helena strode out next, looking relaxed yet distinctly uncomfortable in her casual business drag.

“You look awesome,” I chimed in and she flashed an uncomfortable grin. There was a deep slit up the right seam of her conservative black skirt for a peek of garters to flash when she moved and the electric blue silk blouse was unbuttoned just this side of rakish. “And oh-so-very you,” I added with a chuckle that she echoed softly.

“Thanks, D. Wish me luck everybody.”

I couldn’t help but snicker at Ro striding over to nuzzle Helena, going as far as to lick the tip of her nose. “They’ll love you,” Ro purred intimately and Helena smiled and Eskimo kissed the taller woman.

“Yeah, they will, won’t they?”

“That’s the spirit,” Shan crowed as she left the bedroom. “Break a leg you two.” Hel only leaned away from Ro to accept a quick nose-pet from Shan and a frisky smack on the butt. “I’m sure that Alfred can help us get settled in at the mysterious Wayne Manor. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

Barbara stroked Slinky when it trailed lovingly over her arm and chair. “Thanks. The coms should link us all up if anything happens. Be careful today.”

“We will,” I called out and flashed my best grin to my guardian. She returned the gesture and let Helena lead the way to the elevator. “Okay troops, let’s do this!”

What felt like a lifetime later, I was regretting my gung-ho attitude. Exhausted to my bones, I slumped to the floor and tried to gain my bearings. Between moving all of our personal stuff and the extensive help from my telekinesis, I was wiped. Suddenly strong hands wrapped around my shoulders, kneading deeply into the tension. Purring softly, whichever twin it was sat close to my body, thighs caging me in, and the tail wrapped around my waist nice and tight. Too tired to resist, I leaned my head forward and let her hands massage where she wanted. Something brushed over the spot behind my ear; the purring was a little louder, warm breath on my neck… I startled only a bit when the softest of kisses made my head tilt away completely against my will. That soft mouth vibrated the tiniest bit with the purring and translated onto my sweaty skin. Something mysterious and strong uncoiled deep in my gut, spreading like heat through my guts and muscles. Part of me was screaming to get away from the sensations, part of me wanted to remain perfectly still and see if the predator would catch me. She nosed in more closely into my temple, mouth tasting my hair, setting my poor hormones aflame.

Then she licked me, right up the jugular and the purr turned into a near-growl that made me gasp and jerk away. Stunned by the feeling, shocked but liking it, I stared into violet eyes that seemed as surprised as my own.

And we started giggling like uncomfortable little kids. We kept doing this, and I wasn’t really sure what to think. Not that I was in any condition to think, and she felt really good so close to me and the wet spot on my neck was driving me nuts and her eyes were so pretty…

The violet gaze started to duck away and I leaned in to rub noses with her and if our lips brushed just a little… I liked making Shan blush, the color warm and subtle under her dusting of fur. I knew it was her, it didn’t matter how much she looked or didn’t look like her twin, they didn’t fool me, nosiree. I knew this one was mine…

++Davie++

Ah, teenage hormones. If they were any cuter, I’d have to smack them up alongside the head. They broadcasted like a rock concert and I could hear every thought and emotion in all its teen-angsty glory. Argh…

It wasn’t easy to telepathically tune them out, but I concentrated and turned my attention back to the task at hand. Thank the Almighty that I could read that they just might be serious about one another once all the puff and ruffle was done with, so I let them be. The twins had never needed a parent in me, and I had never wanted the role. They needed an older sister and a mentor and the occasional cuff to the skull to behave. I could do that in spades. Binky suddenly coiled loosely around my neck and shoulder, petting over my skin and falling away. Glancing up, I caught Ro’s toothy grin and an eyeroll that spoke volumes. Our shared humor bubbled up and echoed around the cavernous loading bay. Gabby had been watching her friend and Shan cuddle with an intensity that amused me, but looked over at the explosion of laughter. There was something behind the blue eyes, but I restrained the urge to pry. There was some envy going on there, and I didn’t need to be a telepath to know it. Shan and Dinah rubbed noses again, the almost-kisses sweet and shy. As much as part of me wanted to let them be, we had work to finish.

“C’mon soldiers, we’re not done yet. A few more things and then we get to do all this in reverse across town.” Much groaning and grumbling accompanied the budding couple climbing to their feet and helping finish the job of loading the van. Gabby was excused from all labor because of the spectacular purpling that crept out from underneath the splint on her hand. Instead she was in command of the laptop computer from hell that Barbara had turned into a mini-Delphi. It had remained quiet except for the random blips of regular police activity.

And at last the truck was full.

Everything the women of this place had deemed irreplaceable had been crammed into what looked like a medium-sized bread truck. “Get in, and let’s get out of here,” Ro instructed and pulled a baseball cap over white hair and pointed ears alike. There were a million day to day skills that both Miss Honey and I had ensured that they knew, despite rarely being able to use them. The girls could eat at a fancy dinner party; they could operate heavy machinery, and fix plumbing. They could also drive both standard and manual transmission vehicles, up too an eighteen-wheeler. I took the passenger seat while the others crammed into the back.

“Lead the way Leo,” I chuckled as Ro put on a pair of inky dark sunglasses to protect her albino-pale eyes and we left the clocktower behind. The most nerve-wracking part of the trip was pulling into open air and wondering if something nasty was waiting for us. It was doubtful that any of us took a deep breath as we breezed across the city waiting for something to jump out at us. It was a beautiful city, hints of old Gotham peeking out from the reconstruction. We’d managed to time our trip in between lunch hour and peek rush, so we made good time and soon crossed over the enormous bridge leading to the mainland. The thick eastern forest quickly swallowed us up and Dinah quietly directed us to our destination. We ended up moving along behind a black limo and my cell phone rang. “Hello.”

“Davie, it’s Barbara. I’m guessing that’s you right behind us.”

“Is that’s you up there? Nice wheels.”

There was a muffled scuffle and Helena’s voice suddenly sneered into the phone, “it’s a status symbol.”

“I know. Better get used to it baby. How’d the meeting go?”

“They were waiting for me. I feel like a new zoo attraction. But they pretty much gave me whatever the hell I pleased. It’s kinda strange.” The mixed emotions were palatable in her voice and across the distance between us. Tapping Ro, I gestured for her to follow the limo.

The gate loomed up out of nowhere, a monstrosity of wrought iron as tall as a decent sized tree and at least as old. “Wow,” I breathed into the phone I had forgotten about and Hel grumbled something as it sounded like the phone was snatched away from her.

“See you up top,” Barbara told me and the line went dead.

“What’s up?” Ro asked, pulling off the cap now that we were on private property.

“I’m guessing that Helena isn’t happy about all this. Can’t blame her really. All this is trivial without a father.” No one had anything to say to that and we watched the old growth forest around us as we wound deeper and deeper up the well-maintained driveway. It felt like forever before the house erupted out of the wilderness.

Across a vast sea of perfectly manicured hillside rose the Wayne Manor, a sprawling Gothic edifice to old money. Brooding and secretive and master of its domain, the mansion was an entity unto itself. “Wow,” Shan breathed at my shoulder and I reached up to skritch her scalp. “Nice crib.” The teens giggled at the slang and I merely pulled the soft hair into the crook of my neck until I earned the low purring. We hadn’t been able to spend much time together lately; me and my sidekicks and I missed the intimacy of their presence. Shan nosed into my hair and sighed softly, the sound equal parts happy and melancholy. I knew exactly how she felt.

++Dick++

Helena had been surprisingly good company today, and positively restrained in her behavior around the cadre of Wayne Industries legal eagles. I was waiting for the fallout, because Helena Kyle had never been one for restraint. Only this time, she seemed earnest and serious about what was going on. Why she suddenly wanted a piece of her genetic heritage was beyond me, but the Manor that she requested custody of was a big part of it. Since Barbara was still such an integral part of her life, and I secretly knew that Bruce had smoothed the way, all of her requests had been granted.

It had been a long time since I’d been to the Manor and a bittersweet cloud of memories descended on me. It was here that I had come of age, here that I learned to be the man I’d become. Now Bruce’s estranged and enigmatic daughter would carry on the family tradition here. At least I really hoped she would. “Welcome home,” I said seriously as we three stepped out of the limo and I sent the rented driver on his way. Babs took a moment to get settled while Helena hovered until she earned a laugh. They had always been so tight together; the ties between them ran deeper than friendship or blood. The bread truck crunched to halt in the gravel driveway and the engine died.

Now, I had been briefed on the new girls, sure, but the key word was brief. An attractive, compact woman with a wild shock of inky curls swung out of the passenger side and stretched in the warm sunlight like a cat. “That was a pleasantly uneventful trip,” she spoke up in a lightly accented voice.

Then the driver stepped out and I could only stare.

I had seen some strange stuff in my life as a superhero, but she was very unusual. Good thing Babs and Helena had warned me about their tailed friend. Cocking her head curiously, the white woman eyed me and her head moved like she was scenting the breeze. “Dick,” Babs spoke softly. “This is Rowan Jones and her mentor, Sister Mary David, the Prophet.” Rowan Jones strode over with that same liquid grace that Helena was so good at and extended a hand. “Ro, this is Dick Grayson.”

“A pleasure,” she murmured in a smooth second soprano voice and I automatically took her offered hand. I don’t know why I expected her to feel different, but she certainly didn’t. Her strong hand was all calluses and bone and tendon and warm skin. The quirk of her half-smile reminded me vaguely of Babs’ teasing grin and I felt myself smile back.

“Pleased to meet you. Welcome to Wayne Manor.”

There was a quick round of introductions for Rowan’s identical twin, and her teen companions. I knew Dinah’s story, and was impressed with Gabby’s bold friendliness. Part of the reason I had been so willing to come back to New Gotham at Babs’ request was to see Alfred.

“Master Dick,” he greeted me warmly at the door and I only hesitated a moment before wrapping the old man up in a suffocating hug.

“Good to see you.”

“Wow,” Gabby breathed at the main foyer. Even Helena looked suitably awed by the ponderous age of the mansion. Generations old, the building was a living testament to history and success. The main foyer was a massive expanse with a pair of curved staircases framing a set of double doors that I knew led to the rest of the entertaining areas. Sprawling rooms full of priceless antiques swept out from the foyer, lit by enormous banks of windows. “You could get lost in here.”

“And you haven’t even seen the rest of the house,” I smiled and watched the new kids slowly fan out into the spaces. Rowan and Sister Mary David stuck with Helena while the blondes were with Killashandra. I looked down at Babs, noting the loving and indulgent smile quirking her mouth. How I adored her and wished that things could have been different. If wishes were horses…

“Refreshments, anyone?” Alfred swept into the room with a pitcher of lemonade and a collection of glasses. It coaxed everyone back into a group to indulge in the traditional summer fare. Shan sniffed at Dinah’s cup and her nose wrinkled up.

“Those are real lemons.”

“Oh course.”

“Sorry Alfred, that’s one of the tastes and smells that messes with our senses.”

“Ice tea then?”

“Thank you, that would be great.”

During the tour that Babs and I conducted, Helena was noticeably quiet and broody. She reminded me so much of her father in that respect. Bruce had always made stoic broodiness an art form. There was the Olympic-sized pool, a workout room that was still pretty cutting edge despite being eight years out of date, showers and rooms everywhere. There were places I had utterly forgotten about until I stuck my head through the doorway. Every room was filled with memories for me and I could tell that Babs was feeling the same way.

In any house, people gravitated to the kitchen and the Manor was no exception. There were a half-dozen small kitchens in the place, but the palatial set up on the ground floor was the real heart of the house. Alfred had made his to-die-for spaghetti that Babs and I playfully growled at each other over like the kids we had once been. Alfred looked so happy with the crowded table that he was ready to cry. I watched Helena as she methodically worked her way through a plateful that impressed me with her appetite. There were flashes of caressing tails over her skin that would make her smile faintly before returning to her melancholy.

I held no love for Helena Kyle. In so many respects she was a disruption to my past and to my history with both Bruce and Barbara. But at the same time, I could feel for her, could recognize the fierce independence of her mother. We had all respected Catwoman, even as often as we were friend or foe of the amazing woman, and had always respected her. None of us had expected her to just drop the life of off and on crime for the blue-eyed minx that sat across from me now. Barbara had accepted the change, befriended Selina Kyle and built a new life around that friendship. Then Selina had been killed, Barbara shot by the Joker and Helena Kyle was as integral to the new Barbara as the Batgirl suit had once been.

After dinner, Helena did something totally unexpected.

She went to top floor and imperiously strode into the rooms that were practically hallowed ground. Even Alfred seemed a bit unnerved by the audacity of her slim frame prowling through Bruce’s private penthouse. He was such a painfully private man; even I had rarely been in this place. The others were unaware of the history here and Helena brashly just didn’t care.

“So it’s mine now?” She suddenly asked almost belligerently, looking me dead in the eye.

“Yes,” I whispered, the thought almost paining me and I was quite surprised. I had never wanted the manor or the history clinging to it. Better that Bruce’s biological offspring should have it.

“Then this spot is mine, this whole sweet penthouse. It’s time this damn spookhouse was made into a home again.” Grinning manically, Helena grabbed a drop cloth protecting the priceless furniture underneath and wadded it into a ball to chuck at me. Barbara laughed almost nervously, like she was uncertain she should and Helena flung another sheet. I couldn’t help but choke on my own snicker as the white cloth tangled over Babs and her laughter exploded from her.

So dissipated the ghosts of the past to make way for the future.

To Be Continued…

This song cracks me up, it’s cheesy and bouncy and pointless fun. I think I was just going for contrast to this very serious chapter. As a note on Wayne Manor: I was a fan of the first two Batman movies, but hated the crappy flicks that came afterward. There is so much history with that house that I needed to work with it. Once Harley escaped, it was insane for them to stay in the clocktower. I’m sure that the tower is quite safe, but not like the manor. It was a logical progression of events to me.

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom

By the Venga Boys

If you’re alone and you need a friend

Someone to make you forget your problems

Just come along baby take my hands

I need a lover tonight

(Chorus)

Oh, oh, oh, this is what I wanna do

Oh, oh, oh, let’s have some fun

Oh, oh, oh, one on one, just me and you

Boom, boom, boom, boom

I want you in my room

Lets spend the night together

From now until forever

Boom, boom, boom, boom

I wanna go boom boom

Let’s spend the night together

Together in my room

Oh, oh, oh, everybody get on down

Oh, oh, oh, Venga Boys are back on town

(Chorus)

 

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