Pour Some Sugar On Me

++Gabby++

A quiet knock woke my poor bleary ass up. Blinking in confusion, I looked around the strange bedroom. “Miss Gabby?” Smooth British accent, calm tone, the squeak of a door, looking over the other shoulder, I saw Alfred hovering in the doorway. A glance down told me that I was covered in a t-shirt and relatively decent. Goddamn if my hand didn’t really hurt…

“Hey, Alfred.”

“I believe that you may be requiring pain medication. And perhaps food and coffee?” Without waiting for an answer, Alfred came in with a tray while I just stared at him. “Now, if you will prop yourself up against the headboard, you can enjoy your breakfast.”

While I had never been a poor kid exactly, my existence had been strictly no frills. This room I was in was bigger than my parent’s! It was also the lap of luxury with a big, deep bed and heavy furniture. And those rooms upstairs that Helena had taken were like a movie set. Now, I had an honest to God British butler bringing me breakfast in bed. This was too wild… and a bit uncomfortable too. It didn’t stop me from digging into the plate full of fluffy pancakes though, because I was starving. The little pills in a paper cup went down with some really rich coffee that made me salivate even more. Shit, maybe Helena would marry me… or at least adopt me. The food was amazing. Too bad it was obvious there was something truly complicated and hormonal goin’ on with Helena, Ro and Miss Gor... Barbara. Bet that would be a carnal storm worth getting caught in. I let my mind wander into serious fantasy territory while I awkwardly ate with my unbroken left hand. Finally, I climbed from the bed, wondering where Dinah and Shan had gone and checked that I was wearing pants before wandering downstairs. Voices on the ground floor led me to the huge kitchen, where everyone but Shan and Di were hanging out. Helena’s voice rang out as I walked closer. “Well, that’s what you get for not knocking!”

In the kitchen, Helena was waving a Poptart animatedly in Dick Grayson’s face while everyone looked on in amusement. The man looked a little sour and put out. “Yeah well…” he hedged and Helena gentled.

“Look, man, I love her, I’ve always loved her, y’know? Be happy that I got to help put that grin on her face.”

It certainly wasn’t the most eloquent of declarations, but the look on Barbara’s face made it poetry. Even Ro grinned and I was captivated by the obvious signs of a very wild night all over the three of them. Bites and hickies decorated their different shades of skin and I knew I was never gonna get over my various crushes now. Certainly not after seeing the evidence of what must have been quite the wild night painted all over them. Dick ran his fingers through his dark hair and it stood out crazily. “Yeah, I know what you mean,” he grumbled and flashed Ro an almost accusing look. “Are you a part of all this mushiness too?”

Ro shrugged with forced nonchalance. “No, I’m just the entertainment.” When Helena and Barbara both made sounds of protest, Ro held up a hand to stall everybody. Davie merely leaned back in her seat and stared thoughtfully over the rim of her mug. It seemed obvious that she knew what was coming. “You guys have been incredible to me, really. It’s just…” Her gaze was thoughtful as she hunched down into her chair, looking confused and painfully introspective.

“Miss Honey,” Helena broke in matter-of-factly and suddenly went to sit on the table by Ro’s knees and stare into the white woman’s face. “Tell me about her.” The gentle tone made my throat tighten up. A touch on my shoulder made me jump, startled to find Shan standing right behind me, soaked and tousled looking. Her expression was the weirdest combo of emotions: protective and pained and thrilled among other things. A gesture drew my attention back on the unfolding drama in the kitchen, where Ro sat stiffly, her arms crossed protectively across her body, Binky twitching in spastic agitation. Helena had her toes perched delicately on the chair between her legs and Barbara had leaned her head on one white shoulder, stroking her tense bicep. The violet eyes were more and more distant and unfocused, Ro’s expression both fond and melancholy.

“I don’t know what drew me… us to her barn, way on the outskirts of town. I liked the way she smelled, and that she sang to her cats to make them happy. I followed her to what I learned later was the schoolhouse, full of the scents of happy and content children, something I had never encountered. I think I was in love with her that first day, watching her interact with those kids, and I wanted that so bad I couldn’t stand it. But I knew that people would see me like all people had always seen me, different and freakish. I wasn’t like others, I smelled and looked different and had to be controlled and cooped up because I was different.” Her voice was soft and childlike, and Shan was so tense that I thought she was gonna pull something. While Ro’s voice kept talking, I kept my eyes on her twin, all too aware of Di pressed up close to Shan’s back, stroking her arm. “It was a long time before she finally saw us, but I think she knew we were there. I almost cried and ran when she looked so shocked at my appearance, maybe even a little bit afraid. But I had one of her cat’s baby kitties in my hands and I guess that she realized that I couldn’t be too scary if the cats trusted me. I’d gotten so feral by that time that her speaking was only confusing to me. So she coaxed me the same way she did the cats, she hummed and sang until I was calm. Shan was shy, but she came around in time, once she realized; like I did, that this human wasn’t going to hurt us.” There were tears now, running slow tracks through the peach fuzz on Shan’s cheeks.

++Helena++

How I hated seeing her hurt like this, and climbed off the table to wrap myself around her larger frame in a full body hug. “Go on,” I breathed softly in her hair, feeling Barbara cuddled up beside us both.

“When Shan and me got a little bit older and figured out that we were getting adult needs, it wasn’t easy to seduce Janelle, but I was determined. It was then that I really knew how I felt, so crazy about her than little else mattered. We were smart enough to learn everything that we could get our hands on, living odd hours so that we could use the library and the computer at the school when no one was there. That’s why we called her Miss Honey, we loved Roald Dahl’s books, and Matilda was our favorite. She was our Miss Honey, the one who took us in and taught us to be kind and smart and loving. Taught us we weren’t freaks… ” Sobs completely stopped the heartfelt confession while Ro clung to me with desperate strength. They were those wracking, painful ones that came from way the fuck down in the gut and hurt like hell. In the long run they made a person feel better though, so I clung back and hoped she’d get the rest of the story out. “Then Doctor B found us,” Ro whispered and her grip turned fearful and her breath strangled. “She was our primary keeper, the main scientist that raised us in the lab, and she terrifies us. She was so cold, we were just things to her, lab animals, and it was awful when all we wanted was somebody to love us! And she wouldn’t let anybody else love us either…” Shaking like an earthquake, it took a minute before she could continue. “She got a hold of Janelle and did something awful to her. She didn’t even know us when we got her back, her eyes all empty and distant.”

There was little else to say, just hold her and look over to where Dinah and Gabby were trying to comfort a traumatized-looking Shan. She gripped their hands for a moment before creeping over to wrap herself around our little huddle and purr softly. Cats didn’t just purr in contentment, but also when traumatized, very ill or in need of comfort. They certainly weren’t purring in contentment now, but a lot of things made more sense about the twins, the good and the bad. I was determined to help them get this Doctor B off their tails once and for all. We had a lot to accomplish today to get us closer to stopping Harley and her crew, but for now I remained wrapped up in my growing family and let them draw strength from me. There would come a day soon enough where I would need them to do the same for me.

It took some coaxing as a group effort, but we got the twins settled into a nap on one of the living room sofas. Once they were asleep in a big furry pile, Dinah and I drifted back into the kitchen where Davie gestured for us to join the others. The same agitated and disturbed expression was on Dick’s face, and I almost felt bad for him stumbling into the middle of this. “What did she mean, a lab?” The man bluntly asked and Davie sighed, running agitated fingers through her black curls.

“Shan and Ro were genetically engineered by a mad scientist off of the western coast of British Columbia or Washington state. Somewhere in the San Juan islands. Sevarius Smith was the man behind the experiments, and he used almost exclusively metahuman DNA, because those genes are already in the process of evolving and changing. Their natural power cropped up when they were ten years old and they teleported away from the lab and eventually to the mainland. They ran loose like animals for about five, almost six seasons. A schoolteacher, Janelle Carter, found them and gave them a home. Doctor B, her real name is Julia Blackwell, is still chasing the twins to this day, not only to get them back, but those nanites they stole as well.” Grumbling in agitation, Davie stared blankly at the tabletop. “I started hearing the rumors about the same time B did. Unfortunately, B got to Janelle first. Near as I could tell, she used a combination of telepathic manipulation, drugs and brainwashing. Janelle’s effectively in an unresponsive, nearly vegetative state. She’ll respond to basic stimuli, but little else. It was ugly in her head, like walking in broken glass. B’s been so close on our butts ever since that I’ve never had a chance to get back to her and see if there’s anything I can do. I arranged for Janelle to be kept in the custody of some metahuman pals of mine outside of Boston.”

I looked at Barbara, seeing the same thought in her beautiful eyes. Maybe, once this was all over, we could give this other family a safe place to heal. “Will you tell me where she is?” Barbara asked softly and all eyes went to her. “We can try and help heal her. It’s doubtful that even your evil Doctor B can get into this place.”

Davie looked horribly torn and I jumped in. “At least think about it.”

She only nodded.

++Barbara++

It had been a long afternoon, and I went down to the Batcave to work on the Delphi. Most of the system was activated, but it wasn’t nearly as secure as I needed it to be. Alfred was there with Gabby assisting him in whatever he was doing, which looked like puttering about. I paused to look over at the large lumps on the other end of the vast underground platform, knowing all to well what was under those black tarps. Those were the technological heritage of the Bat legacy. Part of me wanted to go over and pull them away while part of me cringed in horror of the memories. There was no time now for nostalgia and I shrugged the ghosts away. “Alfred? Did you get those schematics I sent you?”

“Of course Miss Barbara, right over there. The processor is already linked into the Delphi.”

“Great, thanks. Let’s see what we can do to help out the flea circus here.”

It amazed me really, that Ro trustingly let me keep these two pieces of amazing technology. Not only the nanites’ powerhouse, but also the heavy brick of a hard-drive with all that information on it. Thankfully, Sevarius Smith had been a levelheaded mad scientist and the ports in both devices were standardized. The hard-drive easily plugged into the back of the massive bank of hardware that was the guts of the Delphi and the circus had a plug specifically fitted for the hard-drive. Information scrolled across the screens like machine gun fire, terabytes of it. This technology was more than two decades old and the intricacy of it boggled the mind. What had Smith created in the meantime? My mainframe was actually struggling to keep up with the flow. While that was getting set up, I went to the little device that Alfred had pointed out. It looked like some kind of science fiction egg trailing wires in all directions. A touch made one of the tiny windows open like the iris in a camera lens, to show the seamless interior, mirror smooth. It was easily ten times the size of the tiny device Ro had worn around her neck most of her life.

“Excellent,” I chuckled.

“Miss Barbara?”

“Nothing Alfred, just muttering to myself. If Ro’s willing to try and fix my spine, the least I can do is make the odds as good as possible.” As though conjured by my thoughts, Ro wandered into the Batcave, scratching lazily at her belly and I tingled at the memory of those hands on and in me. One glance at the hardware chaos on the counter made her grin wearily. She looked better for a nap, but not by much. Disgorging all the old pain about her true love had worn her out. Looking around and scenting the air, the violet eyes took in her surroundings with feral efficiency before returning to me.

“There are bats living here,” she noted, nose wrinkling at the faint smell of decades worth of guano at the edge of the platform we were all on. “Where are we?”

Ah, the moment of truth. “This is the Batcave.” Ro flashed me a flat look that spoke clearly of ‘duh’ and both Gabby and I laughed. “Seriously, this is the domain of…”

“Batman,” Ro added in softly. “Davie told me the stories about him. You knew Batman?”

Memories washed over me and Alfred looked sympathetic. “I… I was Batgirl,” I managed to get around the lump in my throat. Now the pale eyes were astonished and Ro came over to crouch at my feet. There was a strangled noise behind me and we both looked back to see the strangest look on Gabby’s face.

“I had a Batgirl doll,” she said quietly and made an odd face. “My dad loved all those old stories. Said Batman saved him once from a mugger. I really thought my old man was cracked.”

“No, Batman was all too real.”

Ro trailed a finger over my knee and thigh until I almost giggled at the broken, tickly sensation. “That’s why the Joker came after you,” she mused gently. “Not just to hurt Batman and your dad, but because you helped stop him. God, Barbara… wow.” The admiration both warmed and embarrassed me, even as the sympathy brought tears to my eyes. “Some of the stories made the circuits, but I don’t think anyone made the connection, but now that I know, I can’t believe I never put two and two together.” A sudden grin made me smile back. “You should hear the rant from Davie in my skull. She’s all cheesed off that she never figured it out. She’s speculating on the new guy upstairs.”

“Tell her to ask him herself. I was still a teen when I realized that my dad knew Batman and I took it on myself to start running the night alone. I actually had several run-ins with Helena’s mother that taught me a lot. When Batman finally tracked me down, it was another few years before we realized that we knew each other. There’s something to be said for hiding in plain sight.”

“Helena’s mother?”

“You’ll have to ask her for that story,” I smiled and she pouted mockingly until I leaned over and gave her a friendly kiss. “Now you’re mine forever, because you know all my secrets.”

Ro chuckled into the kiss, deepening it for a moment before rubbing her face over mine. “With pleasure, Oracle. I see you got impatient.” I had to follow her gesture to the egg to figure out what she was talking about. It startled me to see Gabby standing nearby; I kept forgetting the girl was here. She had a focused, intense look on her face and I felt embarrassed at my friendliness with Ro.

            “Hey, you offered me a once in a lifetime chance. I’m excited,” I teased lightly, forcing my attention away from Gabby’s intensity.

“I know,” Ro smiled fondly and half stood to kiss me thoroughly once more. “May I?” Still flustered from the kiss, I nodded and she flopped down into the rolling office chair I’d had brought in for her. “C’mere Gabby, and we’ll wow you some more with additional secrets.” Binky started to sway more intently in the air as the teen moved in close and Ro became engrossed in the information on the big plasma screen. Rather than make her explain what she was doing, I merely pulled up beside her and watched. “Okay,” she said after some intense programming and the circus suddenly had a green light gleaming faintly beneath its clear surface. “You wanna see how they work? This is an easy task, watch.” Looking down at her own chest, Ro plucked something from the white fabric. “See?” I shook my head and she raised her clenched fingers to the light. Between her fingers was a single strand of hair, gleaming darkly burgundy-brown in the glare.

“Helena’s hair?”

“Really, this is all it takes. All a person’s DNA is included in every cell, so this is all the bugs need.” With a gentle touch, the flat window on the flea circus shimmered slightly and Ro dropped the hair onto it. For a moment it didn’t move, then like the Titanic, the hair tilted to one side and began to sink through what had been a solid, clear surface.

“Wow,” Gabby breathed in fascination and I nodded in agreement.

“They can control the molecular cohesiveness of the windows. That’s how they pass back and forth when involved in a project. Here we go.”

My eyes were drawn away from the vanishing hair and up to the Delphi screen. Already, gigabytes of information were blazing over the enormous plasma screen before us. There was a smaller window open that showed what I had been working on before this. Leaning back with satisfaction and waving a lazy hand at the screen, Ro purred, “the genetic makeup of Helena Kyle.” It was so strange to see the woman I was mad about reduced to a river of numbers. “Oh, and I had an idea,” Ro suddenly jumped into action, swooping over the keyboard and pulling up another window. “Normally, the little powerhouse there,” a gesture confirmed that she was talking about the flea circus, now done eating the lone hair. “Is the brains of the operation. It controls every move the nanites make via electronic signals. It’s gonna take the buggers weeks to fix your spine, so I was thinking that some of them can be programmed as supervisors to keep the others working in chain gangs.” The mental image of tiny convicts all in a row made me laugh out loud and the other two looked at me oddly. I kissed Ro quickly and gestured at the computer keyboard.

“Just a funny mental image, go on.”

“Well, now it’s just a matter of programming them to the specific of an individual job, and that just takes a little time.”

“How do you do that?” Gabby asked and Ro chuckled.

“Do you use computers?”

“Sure, at school all the time.”

“So, you know how Windows works, right?”

“Sure,” she shrugged, not sounding sure at all, and Ro grinned.

“When you put your cursor on a button and push it, you release a complicated series of instructions to the computer’s hard drive that produces the desired result.”

“Right, I’m with you so far.”

“Good. The nanites work on similar principles. If I had to cold program the bugs every time I used them, I’d grow old and die before they built a single circuit or human cell. What I have is a ton of already programmed generalized tasks that can be tailored to a larger, more specific task.”

Gabby looked thoughtful, rubbing her lower lip and Ro smiled fondly. I knew how she felt. Young Gabby Anderson had always been a damn bright kid, occasionally to the point of annoying her teachers, as I had experienced first hand. She was one of those students that teachers loved and dreaded, the ones that made us work really hard to mold into something greater than they were.

“So, it’s like tailoring the Windows setup for an individual user.”

“Exactly.”

“Cool,” Gabby smiled at having some of the mystery solved and I chuckled.

“Oh,” I suddenly broke in and gestured to the haphazard setup that Alfred had cobbled together in the last few days. “I almost forgot. There are materials that I noticed on the hard-drive that you need for utilizing the nanites on a biological project.” Curious, Ro stood to wander over and study the rack of clear plastic containers. “The materials are already at near-microscopic sizes and in the same saline solution that the fleas live in.”

Touching each container as she named it, Ro murmured, “Iron, zinc, silver, gold, calcium, tin, salt, potassium. Wow. And damned if this chemistry set doesn’t look like something from a mad scientist movie!”

“Finest medical suite that money can buy. It’s more chemicals than I’ve ever seen in one place before.”

“Well, hopefully little of this will be used, but I’ve never sic’ed the little buggers on something as delicate and complicated as gray matter before. If they can build me and Shan, I’m pretty certain that they can rebuild your crushed spinal branches. The rest of the stuff is just really basic reconstruction for them. And…” she had noticed the metal ‘egg’ and bounced over. “I know what this is! Sweet! With this kind of refined materials and this kinda breeding ground…” Pausing, Ro turned and fired me an incendiary look from under her shaggy bangs. Prowling over, she leaned over to kiss me with single-minded thoroughness, kicking my already wild hormones into overdrive. “You stand an incredibly good chance of walking again.”

Hope was such a mercurial thing, uplifting and terrifying all at the same time. While Ro proceeded to press my head back and kiss me until my head swam, my brain still obsessed with the lure of walking again.

“I say, Miss Ro…”

Poor Alfred’s voice trailed off and Gabby chuckled throatily. Ro ran her tongue around my upper teeth and growled so that my skull vibrated before leaning back to look at the butler. “What can I do for you?”

“There is a package for you from a pharmaceutical company.”

“Great! That’s the last puzzle piece, thanks Alfred. Here, Babs, these are for you.”

Inside was a big, rattling bottle of… prenatal vitamins. “I don’t get it, I’m not pregnant.” Ro chuckled at my confusion, kissing me quick and hard before tapping the plastic bottle with a nail.

“No, but those give the nanites their basic building blocks, same as they would for a fetus. That’s all I’ve ever used, but your back will be more complicated than broken bones and whatever else. We should get the bugs into their new home so that we can get started as soon as possible, huh?”

“Please!”

++Alfred++

Being a gentleman’s gentleman, I was unsure how to accommodate all of these… women. As much as I may have enjoyed spending time with them within the confines of the Clocktower, having them here at Wayne Manor would be a very different proposition. There were changes coming, and they were not to be of the minor variety, I suspected. As though conjured by my thoughts, Miss Helena’s voice rose to an agitated volume, clearly carrying into the kitchen where I was working.

“Look! I’m not wearing some ridiculous sci-fi getup that makes me look like some roof-dancing freak! I don’t have a life, but I will damn well dress like I have one!”

Oh dear, I seemed as though my interference would be required. Wiping my hands on a dishrag, I stepped into the great room to regard Miss Helena pacing in the manner of a caged animal. Miss Davie watched her with a fascinated and frustrated expression, and I knew exactly how she felt. Master Bruce’s volatile child was an endlessly fascinating puzzle of complex emotions and desires. It was both disturbing and gratifying that Miss Barbara had taken the girl in hand… so to speak. There was some doubt that any other living person could handle the wildcat.

“Miss Helena?”

My voice drew her blue eyes over to me, her expression calming instantly. Heaven only knows why, but I had always soothed her wilder side. Like a pet cat, she padded over to me as though seeking affection, but refusing to ask for it. She was indeed agitated today; her eyes flickering about almost nervously and I tried to determine why she would feel like this.

It was so glaringly apparent that I was quite disgusted with myself for not determining her needs more quickly. Like any animal, domesticated or otherwise, she was within a new territory and was understandably skittish. Gently, I reached out and set my hand on her tense arm. It wasn’t in my nature to be ‘touchy-feely’ as Miss Helena might phrase it, but it seemed the right thing to do.

“I think I may of some assistance with this dilemma.” Nodding silently, the girl trailed after me, Miss Davie in her wake. Nearly nine years I had had Wayne Manor to myself, and the isolation had grown quickly tedious. So I had learned many tasks in that time. “Once your father left, I was alone here at the manor and quickly learned all manner of talents relating to your particular line of work.”

I was forced to admit that I was secretly amused at the shocked and awed expression on Miss Helena’s face when the light clicked on. “Wow…”

“This was where the Batsuits were designed and built,” I explained and gestured the two women inside of the cluttered room. “There is all manner of personal armor within the confines of this room. Perhaps we can come to a compromise that suits your fashion sense.”

Then Miss Helen’s eyes came to rest on what I had hoped she would notice and perhaps even approve of. In more than eight years, I had grown to be very familiar with many quirks that made up Helena Kyle. There were times when Miss Barbara pushed the girl too hard, attempting to make her fit a role ill-suited for her. Miss Helena was a free spirit in the most archetypical sense of the word. On the other hand, she was desperate for acceptance and family. The constant conflict showed in her every action, in every movement and word. Years of watching her inspired me to artistic heights and I was quite proud of the accomplishment.

It was a suit of armor. But not just any suit of armor. Every line of stitching, every layer of flexible armor costing hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars per square foot, every line that would hug her lithe frame had been put in very specifically for her psychological needs. Just like her mother, Helena Kyle was a cat, and cats were insistent upon looking suave and dignified. While many wouldn’t be caught dead in such a get up, it suited this feline woman perfectly.

“Oh, oh Alfred,” she squeaked out in childish delight. “You made this for me?” Bouncing over to the empty suit, Miss Helena hurriedly stripped out of her shirt and I prudently turned away. “This is perfect, how the hell did you know?”

Watching Miss Davie watch Miss Helena with a small smile, I replied, “The conflict over armor and masks has always been a sore topic between Miss Barbara and yourself. This was my way of weighing in on the subject.”

“Man of few words you are, Alfred Pennyworth. Hey! This thing is silk lined! Fuckin’ sweet!”

“To reduce chaffing.”

“Stop ogling, you dirty old lady,” Miss Helena sassed and Miss Davie laughed in delight. “And what are these fastenings?”

“Self-healing zippers. It is a technology that Master Dick discovered some time ago. The material works on similar principals as Velcro, only far stronger. It will ensure that the suit is expedient to get in and out of.”

“No shit, turn around.”

It was perfect. Wrapped in supple black from the neck down, Miss Helena already looked more secure to my practiced eye. Striding over, I tugged at the long seam running at an angle from her abdomen to her shoulder blades. Thankfully, they appeared to be lying against her skin in the manner that I had hoped. Chaffing was a constant danger with these suits and even such a trivial distraction could be a matter of life and death. “There are a variety of modifications made for your body type,” I explained and ran experienced eyes over the suit now that she was filling it out. “When Mistress Harley,” I sneered mockingly and Miss Helena grinned in delight. “Is once again safely in custody, I will tailor this to you if there are any problems with it.”

Blue eyes filled up with bright tears and I smiled fondly. There was something very simple and childlike about this young woman, as hard as she tried to hide it behind her aggressive façade. “This is…” her soft voice trailed off and my smile deepened.

“I know,” I soothed gently and then was all business again. “Your mother in her day would have killed for something that made her look this good.”

The attempt at humor earned me a laugh, for which I was grateful. Then I was suddenly startled by strong arms being thrown around my neck in a rough hug. It was only for a moment that I felt all of her strength and gratefulness, before I was abruptly released and Miss Helena was fussing over me. “Shit Alfred, sorry. I didn’t mean to mess you up.”

“No, that’s quite all right. I’m quite accustomed to your enthusiasm. Perhaps you should find your teammates and allow them to comment on your new attire.”

“Yeah!” She crowed and was gone from the room in a flurry of activity. For a moment, Miss Davie only eyed me quietly before she chuckled.

“You did mean, of course, that she should go show off and preen?”

“Oh,” I scoffed mockingly. “Perish the thought. She requires a chance to ‘strut her stuff’, if you will. Miss Helena’s powers are directly affected by her mood and I would very much like her to return to this house alive and intact.”

Miss Davie smiled in understanding and nodded before wandering farther into the armory. “You’re a good man, Alfred.”

++Ro++

We had been slaving away at the Delphi all day like sled dogs. “Ready for a change of pace?”   It had been so long since Davie had been in my head, that I was almost startled by the feel of it.

“Sure, what did you have in mind?”  

“Alfred tells me that there’s quite the arsenal of toys down there.”

“Dirty old lady.”

“Pain in the ass.”

“Flatterer. Does Dick know anything about them?”

“You tell me! You’re the one hanging out with Batgirl.”

“It’s really bugging you that you didn’t figure than out.”

I didn’t need to see Splinter’s face to know that she was scowling and grousing. Davie hated missing clues and it made me chuckle. Barbara looked over and I flashed a grin, to which the beautiful green eyes ducked away from and she flushed prettily. She was such a sensual creature, bold and shy by turns. I’d enjoyed teasing her mildly all day and smelling the shifts in her body. So I slid my chair over until it nudged up against hers and nuzzled in her hair. “Ready for a break?” Hands paused over the keyboard as I nibbled at her ear, and my hands came to rest on her body. Breath sucked in shakily as I flirted and her smell shifted abruptly. “I’ve been neglecting you today, hmmm?” I slid a friendly hand up her thigh, but was thwarted by the sound of the nearby elevator arriving. Gabby had been sent off on an errand and I assumed that it was her returning, so I leaned away from Barbara’s heat.

Imagine my shock at the picture of Helena draped loosely in the doorway, smiling wickedly. “Meow,” she chortled and sauntered out of the elevator with a sensual sway that made me drool. By the way Babs stiffened under my hand and caught her breath, she was as floored as I was. Someone had made her a costume… not merely a covering to keep her safe and her identity a secret, but had captured her personality in the canvas of inky black. It ran over her like a loving second skin, stitched in artistic lines that didn’t merely run from top to bottom or back to front, but drew the eye to follow her feline lines. It was amazing.

“Now that’s a catsuit,” I admired and Helena laughed in happiness. God, she was preening and strutting like a peacock, utterly delighted by the way she looked in the outfit. It was amusing and sexier than hell to watch her move like a runway model showing off.

“Isn’t this thing amazing?” Helena gushed and sauntered over to straddle Barbara’s lap. “If you’d made me one of these years ago, I’d have stopped hassling you over a costume.”

“You’re still not in a mask,” Barbara noted faintly, her hands and eyes wandering over the lines of the armor.

Helena stuck her tongue out like a petulant kid and reached up to cup her own breasts in her hands. “I’m not flashing any cleavage, which kinda bugs me, but after that last knife wound, I kinda liking this high-collared Mortica Addams look. I’m armored up and can still be seen in public, y’know?” I chuckled at her show-offing feline antics and reached out to give her a friendly swat across the ass. The material of the suit was thick and heavy, but quite flexible.

“It’s great,” I enthused. “What’s it made of?”

“Don’t know, don’t care,” Helena cackled and squirmed on Barbara’s lap from my spank. Abruptly, she yanked open the weird zipper well past the line of her breasts and grabbed Barbara’s hand to slip it beneath the material. “It’s lined in silk so it doesn’t chafe, can you feel?”

By the glaze in Babs’ eyes, I seriously doubted she was aware of anything but Helena’s soft skin. Blue eyes gleamed wickedly as Helena leaned over her lover, pressing their bodies together, writhing sensuously like a cat in heat.

“I like the way it feels,” Helena growled, tugging Barbara’s head back with gentle handfuls of red hair. “It’s slippery and warm in here, like your body around my hand, or the way I get thinking about you.”

Nibbling delicately at Barbara’s parted lips, Helena teased unmercifully, licking and nipping, but not actually kissing. Until Barbara whimpered softly and breathed out, “please.” Smiling beatifically, Helena kissed her long and deep and slow. It was one of the hottest, most erotic things I had ever witnessed.

Then the hum of the elevator broke up the intoxicating moment and Helena licked the tip of Barbara’s nose. “Later,” she growled sensuously and bounced to her feet to sashay her fine ass over to the elevator. It was a promise and a threat.

“She’s going to be the death of me,” Barbara whispered faintly and I smiled sympathetically.

“Yeah, but what a way to go.”

Once we’d gathered up everybody in the Batcave, Dick took most of the gang in hand and went to the mysterious tarp-covered shapes. I actually heard Davie gasp as the largest was dramatically unveiled. “The Batmobile,” Dick explained and we all admired the sleek lines of the big vehicle.

“Big deal,” Helena scoffed. “It doesn’t look all that different than my car.”

Barbara chuckled softly and picked up a remote control from the console behind her. Across the ledge, the others jumped back as the Batmobile hummed to life. Like it had a mind of it’s own, the whole vehicle began to change. Great sheets of armor fanned over the empty wheel wells, the passenger bubbles and other vulnerable points for protection. It whirred and groaned as the entire rear end yawned open and a massive engine rose from the car’s superstructure.

“Wow,” Helena breathed and looked annoyed that she was so impressed. While I focused on programming the nanites, the others were drafted into getting the various vehicles into working condition. The little flying wing in the shape of the bat symbol was certainly the most interesting. Thankfully, with Alfred’s TLC and foresight, it was basic maintenance, fluids and tires and the like.

“Hey. This things a beaut,” Shan crowed and we all looked over. In my line of sight, Barbara stiffened and turned back to the Delphi. Through the scatter of bodies, I could see the streamlined bulk of what appeared to be a motorcycle. It took a minute for Shan to pick up on the tension in both Barbara and Dick. I scooted closer and touched Barbara gently.

“It was yours, wasn’t it?”

The tears in her eyes were answer enough.

In the end, it was decided that I would man Batgirl’s sleek machine, with Dinah as my passenger and partner. When Shan started to protest, Barbara just held up a hand and crisply explained herself. “This is business and the last thing anyone needs is hormones distracting them. You’re with Huntress, Mikey. Davie, if you go with Dick in the Batwing to keep telepathic communication open, that’ll let Shan and Helena take Robin’s bike. They’re fast and maneuverable and less conspicuous than the Batmobile. It’s been awhile since Gotham has seen that beast. With the Delphi slaved into Batman’s old systems here, I can track the bikes and the wing, and control them if absolutely necessary. Tonight we take the fight to Harley. This has to stop and it’s up to us to do it.”

As the afternoon grew towards evening, I imperiously called for a power nap, swinging Barbara into my arms when she objected to leaving the Delphi alone. But Helena pulled the fastening open nearly to her navel and the protests died. We loved her long and slow and thorough, before falling asleep in a sloppy pile of sweaty bodies and soft breathing.

++Doctor B++

It was unforgivable, what I had been reduced to. A scientist of my caliber was to be clamored for, not reduced to scrabbling in the shadows like filthy vermin.

Those damned twins would pay for their betrayal and for driving Sevarius over the edge into madness. After capturing that schoolteacher in hopes of using her for bait, Sevarius insisted on having her sent back to the main lab. I knew from the start that it was a bad idea, with those Seventeens able to teleport. For nearly three days I had prowled the forest with my mutate assistants, as they could track the Seventeens better than I. Sevarius had kept the lines of communication open and I had listened to the destructions the twins had wreaked on the lab.

Something in Sevarius had snapped.

Oh, I had always known that he was capable of extremes, with his kind of genius came a certain kind of madness. The return of his lost masterpiece to bring on him what looked like revenge had been too much. In the ensuing chaos, everything and been destroyed, leaving me with only my incomplete copies of the research and two mutates, Twenty-six and Thirty-two.

The burn of Sevarius’ betrayal still burned hot after all these long three years and I consciously slowed the race of my thoughts. How dare he destroy the lab! No, I must be calm, smooth, icy, no one could touch me or break my concentration. Those damned Seventeens would pay dearly for their escape, which had set off the chain of events cumulating in Sevarius’ death and my exile.

With the lab destroyed, I needed those nanites to begin again and nothing, but nothing would stop me. I was so close! I had nearly had the one while in that filthy alley before the car had performed an act that only the freakish metahumans could have performed. The blonde girl, I was guessing by the way she stared so intently at the vehicle. I always hated that Sevarius had been so insistent that we use metahumans in the experiments. I had very nearly walked out on him more than once, but he was brilliant and the sheer scope of the work kept me there. As though conjured by my thoughts, Twenty-six crept from her corner to sit by my clenched fist. There was little point in hitting her when she was behaving, even if it might relieve some of my frustration. If the little freak wasn’t so valuable to me, I would have killed her years ago and she knew it.

The only bright spot in my life was that the maddening Harley Quinn had kept to her promise. While this lab was unspeakably primitive to the standards I deserved, it was far better than I’d had recently. There was chance I might actually be able to accomplish something here. Leaping to my feet, I ignored Twenty-six flinching away and strode over to the exam table. Nothing would be accomplished by brooding and I had things that needed to be done. After tailoring the super-drug that Harley wanted, I could concentrate on furthering my research as much as humanly possible under these conditions.

After all, I must be prepared for the success that now lay close enough to grasp.

“Twenty-six!” I barked harshly and she nearly tripped over herself to scramble to my side. “We need to finish those calculations and prepare for our guests.”

Wincing, the little freak did as I demanded, bouncing over to the computer bank and getting to work. I couldn’t care less about what she wanted or did not want. She was nothing more than a smart animal created to facilitate the advancement of genetics begun by Sevarius Smith. The fact that she was valuable for her abilities with machines was the only reason she was still alive. Just like those damnable Seventeens, she was too smart for her own good. Only her fear kept her loyal, but as she grew older, I knew that she would begin making alterations to my careful psychological conditioning. Soon her usefulness would not outweigh the trouble of keeping her around. But all of that would be of no matter to me once I had the Seventeens back in custody and could start the research back up. The four mutates would be enough. They would have to be enough.

To Be Continued…

I really hated writing in Doctor B’s POV, but her voice needed to be heard to shown so that you can see just how awful she really is. Harley is easy by comparison. Why this song you ask? Honestly, I’m beginning to wonder myself. Like I’ve done before, I think perhaps that the lightness of the song offset the darkness of the chapter. Just remember that there’s hope driving them. And hope, together with teamwork, will bring them home.

Pour Some Sugar On Me

By Def Leppard

Step inside, walk this way

You and me babe, Hey, hey!

Love is like a bomb, baby, c’mon get it on

Livin’ like a lover with a radar phone

Lookin’ like a tramp, like a video vamp

Demolition woman, can I be your man?

Razzle n a dazzle n a flash a little light

Television lover, baby, go all night

Sometime, anytime, sugar me sweet

Little miss innocent sugar me, yeah

(Chorus)

C’mon, take a bottle, shake it up

Break the bubble, break it up

Pour some sugar on me

Ooh, in the name of love

Pour some sugar on me

C’mon fire me up

Pour your sugar on me

Oh, I can’t get enough

I’m hot, sticky sweet

From my head to my feet yeah

Listen! Red light, yellow light, green light go!

Crazy little woman in a one man show

Mirror queen, mannequin, rhythm of love

Sweet dream, saccharine, loosen up

You gotta squeeze a little, squeeze a little

Tease a little more

Easy operator come a knockin’ on my door

Sometime, anytime, sugar me sweet

Little miss innocent sugar me, yeah

(Chorus)

You got the peaches, I got the cream

Sweet to taste, saccharine

Cuz I’m hot, say what, sticky sweet

From my head, to my feet

Do you take sugar?

One lump or two? 

 

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