Title: What If I Stumble?
Author: Shawn Carter
Email: wolfpackproductionscomcast.net
Website: Eventually. I'm working on it.
Feedback: Always appreciated.
Rating: Let's go with an R to NC-17 rating on this one. Adult situations. Suggestive dialogue. Language. Violence of both the physical and sexual nature.
Disclaimer: Tollin/Robbins created this fantastic show. The WB screwed it. Summary: As things finally start to come together, the team learns that they are not yet out of the woods. The Joker makes a final stand that could have deadly implications.
Notes: This takes place obviously instead of Feat of Clay and Devil's Eyes. I am incorporating a few comic characters. They are DC characters. Apparently there was a producer interview where it was said that BOP occurs in a timeline ten years ahead of SMALLVILLE. Thus any half-assed throwaway comments about Superman can be attributed to that.
Additional Notes: This is the final long story in this saga. I would DEEPLY advise getting caught up or reading the previous stories if you never have before you begin or you might be lost. In any case, sorry it took so long. Unfortunately life and work interfered. Now that both have settled back in to a steady rhythm I hope to come back with some degree of force.
Here's the story order along with some links to help get you caught up if needed. Please keep in mind that the stories weren't necessarily written in this order but reading them like so might help with future events. Also, they will all eventually go through a full re-edit and I'll probably reconstruct the actual HTML code- I know some of the fonts are too large but I just wanted to get 'em up.
Everybody View From In To Be Devil You Path of If I Stumble?
You're reading it mate.
Music Notes: The title and lyrics are DC Talk and the Eagles.
Further: As always fanfic.net screws up my periods and commas. Sorry.
"What if I stumble, what if I fall?
What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
What if I stumble, and what if I fall?"
"Lighten up while you still can
Don't even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand
And take it easy"
He paced about anxiously, his hand pressing his miniscule cellular phone to his ear. Dust kicked up beneath his boots but quickly settled. He used his free hand to pull his jacket tighter around his torso. His fingers trembled a bit, catching on one of the buttons.
"So she's awake?" Detective Jesse Reese asked as he stared down at the black asphalt of the street in front of him. The night was icy and cold around him but the cops were out in force. There had to be twenty uniforms and a handful of shields milling around.
He of course was on paid medical leave and no one save McNally seemed happy to see him there. After he had gathered some cursory facts about the latest victim of the creature, he had slipped into the alley so that he could get an update on the brunette crime fighter that try as he might, he just couldn't get out of his head. She had been drawn into some new disturbed mind-game that the Joker had devised. Luckily, her family was equally resourceful and they had gone in and pulled her out of his sick and twisted la-la land.
"She just woke up," Dinah told him. She yawned but quickly caught herself. "I think she's pretty confused. He's been messing with her head for so long that she's not sure what's up or down. Barbara is trying to bring her up to speed."
"I'll be over shortly," Reese said quickly. He sighed as he watched the crime scene. The kids that were trying to gather evidence seemed like they were already clueless. He heard the coroner suggest that maybe a wolf had climbed three stories into a locked apartment and torn the victim to pieces.
Crazy shit. Typical New Gotham police work.
"Reese?" Dinah asked suddenly, drawing him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"Can you do me a favor?" Dinah asked.
He nodded slowly. This was the girl who had risked her own life to save Helena's. He was now indebted to her. Even if he wasn't sure exactly why just yet. "Anything."
"Can you stop on the way here and get me some McDonalds?"
Reese laughed. Still a kid. "Sure," he replied. "No problem."
"So what's to stop him from just dragging me back into that world?" Helena asked. "I mean, if I had died in there..."
Barbara placed a hand on her arm. "You didn't though. And we're working on the other part. I still don't know exactly how he's gaining access to your dreams."
Helena shook her head. "Crazy. I don't understand exactly. I can't remember much of it but what I do...Barbara...it was so real."
"It was meant to be. It felt real for Dinah as well."
"I know," Helena mumbled. She was once again sitting in the oversized leather recliner on the balcony. Dinah was leaning against the door and Barbara was seated in her omnipresent wheelchair. She shifted slightly and felt a sudden strong surge of pain rip upwards from her legs.
She sighed in relief.
"What?" Barbara asked with curiosity.
"My legs. They hurt. My legs hurt."
"Do you want some..."
"No. God, no. I never thought I'd be so happy to actually be in pain." She reached down and touched one of her bandaged limbs. "They remind me I'm still here. This is real. I...I need that."
And she did. Over the course of less than three days, the Joker had nearly broken her will. He had drawn her into some strange bizarro universe where she had been put on trial and sentenced to death. He had almost even convinced her that the world would be a better place without her.
Almost. And so damn close.
"I know," Barbara said with more than a hint of sadness. "I let you down."
"Bullshit," Helena replied, blinking. "You have never let me down. We...we just haven't figured everything out yet. Right?" There was more than a hint of desperation in her voice.
"Right," Dinah replied, moving to crouch between them. "But how do we keep her from dazing out again?" She very lightly touched the arm of the chair, being careful not to graze Helena's hand.
"That's where you come in," Barbara said, watching the young blonde closely. They had already asked for so much from the young telepath. And she had come through in a massive way. Suffice it to say, Dinah had completely earned her keep. Not like she ever needed to. She was family.
"What do you mean?" Dinah inquired, more than a slight hint of panic in her voice. After all that she had seen in Helena's mind, she wasn't exactly eager to make a return trip. That said; she'd do it again in a heartbeat if that was what was necessary to protect Helena.
"I think it may be time to take your mental powers to the next level," Barbara said cautiously. She watched Dinah carefully, searching her eyes for fear. She saw plenty of it but decided to dismiss it as understandable.
Dinah shook her head. "I don't understand."
"Neither do I," Helena admitted. "Not that that is unusual with you, Gordon."
Barbara favored her with a bemused grin. Then she turned her attention back to Dinah. "We need you to construct a mental wall around Helena's mind."
"Oh," Dinah said, her voice squeaking a bit. "Is that all? I thought you had a real challenge."
Barbara touched her shoulder. "After what you've already done today and the courage that you've shown, this shouldn't be a problem at all. You'll do just fine."
The only response Dinah had was to swallow.
Hard.
"So, how does this work?" Helena asked, gazing up at Barbara and Dinah. She was still seated in the leather recliner but they had moved everything into the relatively warm sanctuary of the living room of the Clocktower. "I mean, do we do like a Vulcan mind-meld?"
Barbara considered Helena's words for a moment and then finally shook her head in the negative. "Not exactly."
"Well then how exactly because I can't say as that I'm all that eager to have anyone else playing around in my head," Helena insisted. "One maniac is quite enough for one day." She glanced over at Dinah. "No offense."
"Of course," Dinah said, barely paying attention. She was deep in thought, wondering just how badly she was going to screw up her best friends' head. And knowing full well that before she started, she had to find the inner courage to do what had to be done or all was lost. She had to find a way to dip back in the desperate darkness that was Helena's mind. The first trip had been terrifying.
"So, what's the how?" Helena demanded.
"The dumbed down version?" Barbara asked with a hint of an amused smile.
Helena tossed her an irritated look. "Yes and thank you so much for calling it that. You ever wonder why I flunked half of my classes?"
"You were drinking and partying too much?" Barbara replied. "Not to mention the boys..."
Helena snorted. "Well I'm sure that's partly true as well..."
"Which sounds like a great story for later," Dinah cut in. She was shifting nervously from foot to foot. "But I'm already a bit freaked. If we wait for too much longer, I might lose my nerve completely."
"Okay," Barbara said nodding. "The basic premise is that Dinah will enter your mind and create a protective wall around your psyche. Like a firewall."
"I have no idea what that means," Helena replied with an annoyed sigh.
"It's what I use on the computers to keep you from downloading your porn movies."
"You like porn? I thought that was a guy thing," Dinah said, a bit of the fear draining away as she gazed at Helena with naked amazement.
"One time and it was for a school project. She'll never let me forget it," Helena replied quickly. She tossed off a quick wink in Dinah's direction. "Personally I think Barbara was just jealous. It was pretty hot shit."
Barbara snorted. "No comment."
Helena shot her a look but chose to change the subject. "Okay so she's creating this firewall in my head which should keep the Joker out. But for how long?"
"Well that's just it; we don't know."
"Wonderful," Helena sighed. She settled back into the chair and closed her eyes. As if she was praying for strength and control.
"Which means that as soon as you've been protected..."
"It's clown hunting season," Helena said dryly. Barbara searched her young charge for even the slightest hint of humor but all she saw was an icy cold resolve. Involuntarily, Barbara shivered a bit.
"Right," Barbara mumbled. She tried to lock eyes with her but Helena quickly evaded her. The woman known as Oracle frowned. "We don't kill."
Helena rolled her eyes. "Let's not go there."
And there it was again; that same suffocating twisting darkness that was always nearby. Always just waiting for the right opportunity to swallow Helena whole.
Barbara nodded slowly but that didn't make the dread in her gut vanish. Something was telling her that this story wasn't likely to have an easy or quick ending.
"Okay," Dinah said, bouncing a bit. "How do I start?" Her eyes were locked on Helena but she was speaking to Barbara.
Oracle spun her chair towards the blonde, insanely relieved to have anything to think about besides Helena's intentions towards the Joker. She'd deal with that later when it became imminent. For now, getting the so- called firewall up and blazing was far more important.
And absolutely imperative to their success.
Not to mention survival.
Barbara Gordon sighed loudly, her exhaustion obvious. "Carefully," she finally replied softly. "It's the only way."
Helena snorted. "Not my way."
He entered the Clocktower at just after two in the afternoon. As the elevator rose up towards the control room, he wondered if everyone would still be sleeping. He tapped his watch and sighed.
He had meant to return hours earlier but the investigation into the corpse had delayed him. That and he had actually allowed his eyes to droop for a few minutes. By the time he had come back around, it had been several hours later.
The doors slid open and he stepped into the large room. The air smelled clean and crisp, like the doors to the outside had been open all night.
"Huntress? Helena?" He tried both names out on his lips and found that both stirred him.
"I believe they are in the living room, sir."
Reese turned and smiled at the old butler. Alfred Pennyworth. His police file said that he had formerly worked with Bruce Wayne of Wayne Industries. How he had come to work for Barbara Gordon wasn't exactly clear but his loyalty was. "Thanks. That way?" He pointed towards the stairs that led to the catwalk.
"Yes, sir."
Reese turned to say something else but stopped when he realized that the butler had already vanished into thin air. He chuckled a bit and then headed towards the stairs.
The living room was apparently on the upper level and next to the training room. He hadn't quite fully figured out the layout of the Clocktower just yet but from what he could gather, none of it made a bit of sense. Rooms were just anywhere and everywhere.
"Reese," Helena said, looking up at him from the recliner. She looked tired but she was smiling.
"Welcome back to the waking world," he said with a smirk. "Again."
"Back for good this time," Helena reassured him. Then she looked at Barbara. "So does this mean she has free access to my head?"
"I had free access," Dinah corrected. "It was scary." She was trying to make it a joke but it was anything but. If you liked darkly naked places that felt like utter desperation, well then Helena's head was an ideal vacation spot.
Barbara shot the young telepath a warning look. "It's just a protective wall."
"A protective wall?" Reese queried. "What are we talking about?" He crouched down next to Helena's chair. He reached out and squeezed her hand. She grinned seductively down at him.
Helena sighed like she was humoring him. "In order to keep the big nasty out of my skull, Dinah went in and created a firewall in there all the while snooping around for Barbara."
"That's not true," Barbara protested.
"Which part?" Helena cracked. Then she waved her hand dismissively. "Doesn't matter. My brain is a lockbox."
"No it's not," Dinah said with a short smile. When Helena glared at her, she just grinned in response. Better to make a joke of it than to actually let Helena think that some of her secrets had been exposed to air.
"Okay, so we have Norton's Utilities in Helena's brain...will that actually help?" Reese queried.
"More like Dinah's Utilities," Barbara corrected.
"Who? What? Utilities?" Helena demanded, looking confused. Dinah just blushed and looked away.
"It's computer software that has a firewall in it," Barbara said quickly. She knew that her young charge had absolutely no interest in what she was saying so it made little sense to draw out the explanation.
"Oh." She glanced up at Reese. "You're a computer geek too?"
"You sound upset," he noted.
"You have no idea how much babble I have to put with because of Barbara and her precious babies. And by babies I mean her computers."
"That's a little overdramatic," Barbara insisted.
"No it's not," Dinah said for the second time. She was grinning fully now.
"I can build a computer but I'm not a geek," Reese put in.
"You shouldn't be ashamed," Barbara said, still glaring at Helena.
"Yes you should," Helena laughed. She wrinkled her nose again. "But I'll forgive you this time as long as you promise to never again reference computer programs and my head in the same sentence."
"Deal," he grinned. The he turned back to Barbara. "So is she safe?"
"For now. But who knows how long it will take him to break down the wall."
"Are we sure he can?" Helena asked, the humor now drained away. There was an almost frantic and desperate edge in her voice. She had been invaded once and it had nearly destroyed her. A second time would likely kill her.
Barbara shook her head. "No. No, of course not. But I'm not willing to take that risk."
"That's all fine and dandy but how do we get to him to stop him?" Helena exclaimed. "Reese had to pull every string he had..."
"And then some," Reese inserted.
She glared at him but continued, "Just to get me ten minutes with him. And I was watched like a goddamn hawk."
"And after the stunt she pulled where she tried to attack him, I doubt they're going to let her in for an encore performance," Reese added.
"Wait a minute," Barbara said, spinning in her chair to face Reese. "You said he touched her and you thought that he did something. Do you recall what?"
He shook his head like he was trying to remember what had occurred in that room. It had only happened hours earlier but his memory already seemed foggy. "He reached across and touched her hand..."
"I don't remember," Helena said with a frown. She looked up at Barbara. "I remember jumping across the table and Reese grabbing me..." she turned her gaze on him. "And by the way you coped a very cheap feel-up there."
Reese just grinned but wisely held his tongue.
"Go on," Barbara prompted, shaking her head in exasperation. Getting Helena to relay a story was always a time consuming endeavor.
"He pulled me back and then nothing. I don't recall what happened after that until I woke up here a few hours ago."
"He touched her hand. A few minutes later she was catatonic," Reese filled in. "Then you agree with what I said earlier? You think he did something to her." It was a statement not a question.
"I don't know. The Joker doesn't have any actual powers. He's not a meta. He's just...different."
"The guy has green hair and a white face. That's not normal human shit."
"It's a very long story," Barbara sighed. "There's acid involved and it can wait for another time."
"Sure," Reese said nodding. Then he glanced at Helena who was glaring at him. "I didn't mean any offense. Why are you so damn sensitive about this whole meta thing?"
She sighed. "Forget it. It's not important."
"No, it is," he insisted. "You're the one who told me that metas and humans are different. Humans don't generally have superpowers, right?"
"Right," Helena agreed, looking irritated. She had the sense that she was about to be talked down by the handsome cop and it rather annoyed her. She hated when someone else was right. It was bad enough having to put up with Barbara and her oversized brain but she had figured that she might have had the upper hand on Reese at the very least.
"So when I say that green hair ain't exactly human, how am I insulting you?"
"You're not," Helena admitted. "I'm sorry. I'm just on edge."
"Well you need to get off your edge. You're safe now."
She snorted. "I've heard that before and oh look how this saga continues to go on. And on."
"Then I guess we deal," Reese said. "And you toughen up."
"Okay, what the hell are you talking about?"
"You're the one letting this guy screw around with you," Reese taunted. His eyes were locked on hers.
Hers were in turn snapping blue fire. "I didn't let anyone do anything to me. In case you didn't notice, the guy took a sledgehammer to my legs."
"The guy shot me in the stomach and carved his initials into my side," Reese replied. He took a step towards her and placed a palm on her cheek. With his thumb he scratched lightly at the faded scar on her skin. The one that looked like a sloppy J. "So we deal."
They were looking at each other with a breathless intensity. Barbara shivered a bit as she recalled the feeling. There had many a moment when her feelings for Dick Grayson had left her stumbling for solid ground.
"Okay, Detective, then why don't you tell me what your wonderful plan is? You know the one where we stop the Joker from trying to kill me."
"I guess that all depends," Reese said softly.
"On what?"
"On whether you're ready to start fighting back."
"I've been fighting back," she protested.
"You've been lying down and letting him fuck with you. He's pretty much had his way with you." He tapped her head. "He's so far in here that he owns you."
She shook a bit and then recoiled from the touch. "He's not," she said weakly. Suffice it to say, her words weren't terribly convincing.
"Reese," Barbara said softly. She wheeled her chair over towards them. "Maybe that's enough for tonight."
Reese turned on her, amazement in his eyes. "You know we don't have a chance if she doesn't fight back. Why are you coddling her?"
"I'm not," Barbara insisted. "But she's been through a terrible ordeal."
"I remember," he told her. "I carried her out of that building." He looked back at Helena. "It scared the hell out of me." He paused for effect. "This scares me worse. I've never thought you couldn't beat anyone. Since the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the toughest person that I had ever met. You could kick anyone's ass and do it with a stupid saying on your lips..."
"They're called quips," Helena put in dryly, her eyes still locked on Reese's. She had tried to break contact but try as she might, she found herself utterly lost in him.
He ignored her. "Now, I don't think there's a chance in the world that you could beat him. I don't think you could beat anyone. And I'm not talking your legs. I know those will take time to heal. I'm talking anything. You're weak."
She reached across and hit him. Hard and with as much force as she could put behind her fist.
"Helena, no!" Barbara cried out, seeing the sudden movement by her angry young protégé. Dinah jerked forward as if to intercede.
It was far too late. Reese spun back and hit the ground. His hand went immediately up to his torn lip and he wiped blood away. He gazed upwards with a strange look in his eyes. It almost looked like relief.
"Reese," Helena started. "Jesse..."
"There," he said, his lip already swelling. "That's fight. Now try putting that towards your enemies."
"I'm sorry," she said.
"Don't be," he replied, standing up. He waved off Dinah who had taken a step towards him. He stood up and looked at Helena. "I like the fight in you." He paused, feeling a bit nervous. "It's what draws me to you."
"What are you saying Reese?"
"I'm saying that if you were just any girl, if you were just any human, I might not have run as fast that night to get to you."
"That a lie," she replied dryly. "You're Dudley Fucking Do-Right. You'd have come running for anyone."
He sighed. "Fine. But I wouldn't have needed to get there as badly. Do you understand that at least?"
She nodded slowly. "I think so." She had the sense of mind to feel a bit unnerved by her audience but couldn't seem to care. Their eyes were locked hard on each other and so much was passing between them. So much was being said without words.
"Intense," Dinah said under her breath. She was watching the twosome gaze at each other with a passion that seemed to swallow the room. Maybe they were confused about their feelings for each other but no one else was. The young blonde swallowed hard and remembered a warning she had received earlier in the night about getting too close to Helena. Getting too far inside.
It was bound to be a hell of a ride and it didn't exactly guarantee a smooth departure or a successful landing. In fact, it almost promised neither.
But it would certainly be worth writing home about.
"Good," Reese said. Then he looked at Barbara. "So tell me then, how do we bring the fight to him?"
"Hypnosis? Do you think that's a good idea?" Dick Grayson asked, his voice crackling over the phone line. He sounded tired and hassled, like it had been a terribly long shift. Just the same, he was apparently relieved to hear her voice. This was the first time they had spoken since he had returned to Bludhaven. Inwardly she made a vow to call him just to talk after this whole thing had been put behind them.
"No," Barbara Gordon admitted. "But the Joker's not a natural telepath so he has to have gotten into her head someway or another. We need to know how."
"I guess I'm more worried about what you don't want to find in there," Dick cracked. "How's the kid holding up?"
"Considering all that she's been through?"
"Yeah."
"Fine, I guess. I didn't see that dream world she was in but Helena's had someone try to mess with her head before and she beat him back. This was apparently too real for her."
"Your mind can sometimes be your worst enemy," Dick said with a sigh. "It was Bruce's."
"That's true," Barbara admitted. "Sometimes I wonder if she's too much like her father. She's got Selena's wildness but all of his inner turmoil. She always seems like she's so drawn to the edge of the cliff."
"Like she's just looking for a reason to jump?"
"Great, now I'm suicidal," Helena snorted as she entered the room. She was wobbling but she was still walking, putting just a bit of pressure on her wounded legs.
"Helena, I really think you should use the cane," Barbara insisted.
The brunette snorted. A few days earlier Barbara had offered her a walking cane, like the kind old rich men used to look important. She had told her young charge that it would help her movement and keep her from putting too much weight on her injured legs. Helena had roundly defeated the idea. She wasn't about to ruin the fashion statement with an ensemble piece that just didn't fit. Or something like that. Mostly though it was pride. Using a cane meant that she had been hurt badly enough to not be able to stand on her own. That just didn't work for her.
"Hello Dick," Helena said, turning towards the monitor.
"Helena," he said warmly. "How are you?"
"Not suicidal," she cracked. "But thanks for caring so much big brother."
"You know I do," he replied. "And no offense was meant by what we were saying."
"You know," she said sighing. "I think I've already been insulted enough for one day. Called weak and now suicidal. I think I'm going to find a nice warm bed and I'm gonna test out my new firewall."
"Goodnight, Helena."
"Dick," she drawled. She tossed an annoyed look at Barbara and then wobbled from the room. She was immediately met at the door by Dinah who slid an arm around her and helped her towards the bedroom. Reese was standing a few feet away, watching with concern.
"She's certainly in a good mood," Dick said. "Injuries?"
Barbara laughed. "No, she's always in that mood."
"Lovely. Okay then, you're sure about this?"
"No," Barbara admitted. "Not at all. But I don't know what else to do."
"It's you, Babs. You're doing the right thing," he assured her.
She closed her eyes and let his words wash over her. "Thank you," she said. "I needed that."
END CHAPTER 1-
Author: Shawn Carter
Email: wolfpackproductionscomcast.net
Website: Eventually. I'm working on it.
Feedback: Always appreciated.
Rating: Let's go with an R to NC-17 rating on this one. Adult situations. Suggestive dialogue. Language. Violence of both the physical and sexual nature.
Disclaimer: Tollin/Robbins created this fantastic show. The WB screwed it. Summary: As things finally start to come together, the team learns that they are not yet out of the woods. The Joker makes a final stand that could have deadly implications.
Notes: This takes place obviously instead of Feat of Clay and Devil's Eyes. I am incorporating a few comic characters. They are DC characters. Apparently there was a producer interview where it was said that BOP occurs in a timeline ten years ahead of SMALLVILLE. Thus any half-assed throwaway comments about Superman can be attributed to that.
Additional Notes: This is the final long story in this saga. I would DEEPLY advise getting caught up or reading the previous stories if you never have before you begin or you might be lost. In any case, sorry it took so long. Unfortunately life and work interfered. Now that both have settled back in to a steady rhythm I hope to come back with some degree of force.
Here's the story order along with some links to help get you caught up if needed. Please keep in mind that the stories weren't necessarily written in this order but reading them like so might help with future events. Also, they will all eventually go through a full re-edit and I'll probably reconstruct the actual HTML code- I know some of the fonts are too large but I just wanted to get 'em up.
Everybody View From In To Be Devil You Path of If I Stumble?
You're reading it mate.
Music Notes: The title and lyrics are DC Talk and the Eagles.
Further: As always fanfic.net screws up my periods and commas. Sorry.
"What if I stumble, what if I fall?
What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
What if I stumble, and what if I fall?"
"Lighten up while you still can
Don't even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand
And take it easy"
He paced about anxiously, his hand pressing his miniscule cellular phone to his ear. Dust kicked up beneath his boots but quickly settled. He used his free hand to pull his jacket tighter around his torso. His fingers trembled a bit, catching on one of the buttons.
"So she's awake?" Detective Jesse Reese asked as he stared down at the black asphalt of the street in front of him. The night was icy and cold around him but the cops were out in force. There had to be twenty uniforms and a handful of shields milling around.
He of course was on paid medical leave and no one save McNally seemed happy to see him there. After he had gathered some cursory facts about the latest victim of the creature, he had slipped into the alley so that he could get an update on the brunette crime fighter that try as he might, he just couldn't get out of his head. She had been drawn into some new disturbed mind-game that the Joker had devised. Luckily, her family was equally resourceful and they had gone in and pulled her out of his sick and twisted la-la land.
"She just woke up," Dinah told him. She yawned but quickly caught herself. "I think she's pretty confused. He's been messing with her head for so long that she's not sure what's up or down. Barbara is trying to bring her up to speed."
"I'll be over shortly," Reese said quickly. He sighed as he watched the crime scene. The kids that were trying to gather evidence seemed like they were already clueless. He heard the coroner suggest that maybe a wolf had climbed three stories into a locked apartment and torn the victim to pieces.
Crazy shit. Typical New Gotham police work.
"Reese?" Dinah asked suddenly, drawing him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"Can you do me a favor?" Dinah asked.
He nodded slowly. This was the girl who had risked her own life to save Helena's. He was now indebted to her. Even if he wasn't sure exactly why just yet. "Anything."
"Can you stop on the way here and get me some McDonalds?"
Reese laughed. Still a kid. "Sure," he replied. "No problem."
"So what's to stop him from just dragging me back into that world?" Helena asked. "I mean, if I had died in there..."
Barbara placed a hand on her arm. "You didn't though. And we're working on the other part. I still don't know exactly how he's gaining access to your dreams."
Helena shook her head. "Crazy. I don't understand exactly. I can't remember much of it but what I do...Barbara...it was so real."
"It was meant to be. It felt real for Dinah as well."
"I know," Helena mumbled. She was once again sitting in the oversized leather recliner on the balcony. Dinah was leaning against the door and Barbara was seated in her omnipresent wheelchair. She shifted slightly and felt a sudden strong surge of pain rip upwards from her legs.
She sighed in relief.
"What?" Barbara asked with curiosity.
"My legs. They hurt. My legs hurt."
"Do you want some..."
"No. God, no. I never thought I'd be so happy to actually be in pain." She reached down and touched one of her bandaged limbs. "They remind me I'm still here. This is real. I...I need that."
And she did. Over the course of less than three days, the Joker had nearly broken her will. He had drawn her into some strange bizarro universe where she had been put on trial and sentenced to death. He had almost even convinced her that the world would be a better place without her.
Almost. And so damn close.
"I know," Barbara said with more than a hint of sadness. "I let you down."
"Bullshit," Helena replied, blinking. "You have never let me down. We...we just haven't figured everything out yet. Right?" There was more than a hint of desperation in her voice.
"Right," Dinah replied, moving to crouch between them. "But how do we keep her from dazing out again?" She very lightly touched the arm of the chair, being careful not to graze Helena's hand.
"That's where you come in," Barbara said, watching the young blonde closely. They had already asked for so much from the young telepath. And she had come through in a massive way. Suffice it to say, Dinah had completely earned her keep. Not like she ever needed to. She was family.
"What do you mean?" Dinah inquired, more than a slight hint of panic in her voice. After all that she had seen in Helena's mind, she wasn't exactly eager to make a return trip. That said; she'd do it again in a heartbeat if that was what was necessary to protect Helena.
"I think it may be time to take your mental powers to the next level," Barbara said cautiously. She watched Dinah carefully, searching her eyes for fear. She saw plenty of it but decided to dismiss it as understandable.
Dinah shook her head. "I don't understand."
"Neither do I," Helena admitted. "Not that that is unusual with you, Gordon."
Barbara favored her with a bemused grin. Then she turned her attention back to Dinah. "We need you to construct a mental wall around Helena's mind."
"Oh," Dinah said, her voice squeaking a bit. "Is that all? I thought you had a real challenge."
Barbara touched her shoulder. "After what you've already done today and the courage that you've shown, this shouldn't be a problem at all. You'll do just fine."
The only response Dinah had was to swallow.
Hard.
"So, how does this work?" Helena asked, gazing up at Barbara and Dinah. She was still seated in the leather recliner but they had moved everything into the relatively warm sanctuary of the living room of the Clocktower. "I mean, do we do like a Vulcan mind-meld?"
Barbara considered Helena's words for a moment and then finally shook her head in the negative. "Not exactly."
"Well then how exactly because I can't say as that I'm all that eager to have anyone else playing around in my head," Helena insisted. "One maniac is quite enough for one day." She glanced over at Dinah. "No offense."
"Of course," Dinah said, barely paying attention. She was deep in thought, wondering just how badly she was going to screw up her best friends' head. And knowing full well that before she started, she had to find the inner courage to do what had to be done or all was lost. She had to find a way to dip back in the desperate darkness that was Helena's mind. The first trip had been terrifying.
"So, what's the how?" Helena demanded.
"The dumbed down version?" Barbara asked with a hint of an amused smile.
Helena tossed her an irritated look. "Yes and thank you so much for calling it that. You ever wonder why I flunked half of my classes?"
"You were drinking and partying too much?" Barbara replied. "Not to mention the boys..."
Helena snorted. "Well I'm sure that's partly true as well..."
"Which sounds like a great story for later," Dinah cut in. She was shifting nervously from foot to foot. "But I'm already a bit freaked. If we wait for too much longer, I might lose my nerve completely."
"Okay," Barbara said nodding. "The basic premise is that Dinah will enter your mind and create a protective wall around your psyche. Like a firewall."
"I have no idea what that means," Helena replied with an annoyed sigh.
"It's what I use on the computers to keep you from downloading your porn movies."
"You like porn? I thought that was a guy thing," Dinah said, a bit of the fear draining away as she gazed at Helena with naked amazement.
"One time and it was for a school project. She'll never let me forget it," Helena replied quickly. She tossed off a quick wink in Dinah's direction. "Personally I think Barbara was just jealous. It was pretty hot shit."
Barbara snorted. "No comment."
Helena shot her a look but chose to change the subject. "Okay so she's creating this firewall in my head which should keep the Joker out. But for how long?"
"Well that's just it; we don't know."
"Wonderful," Helena sighed. She settled back into the chair and closed her eyes. As if she was praying for strength and control.
"Which means that as soon as you've been protected..."
"It's clown hunting season," Helena said dryly. Barbara searched her young charge for even the slightest hint of humor but all she saw was an icy cold resolve. Involuntarily, Barbara shivered a bit.
"Right," Barbara mumbled. She tried to lock eyes with her but Helena quickly evaded her. The woman known as Oracle frowned. "We don't kill."
Helena rolled her eyes. "Let's not go there."
And there it was again; that same suffocating twisting darkness that was always nearby. Always just waiting for the right opportunity to swallow Helena whole.
Barbara nodded slowly but that didn't make the dread in her gut vanish. Something was telling her that this story wasn't likely to have an easy or quick ending.
"Okay," Dinah said, bouncing a bit. "How do I start?" Her eyes were locked on Helena but she was speaking to Barbara.
Oracle spun her chair towards the blonde, insanely relieved to have anything to think about besides Helena's intentions towards the Joker. She'd deal with that later when it became imminent. For now, getting the so- called firewall up and blazing was far more important.
And absolutely imperative to their success.
Not to mention survival.
Barbara Gordon sighed loudly, her exhaustion obvious. "Carefully," she finally replied softly. "It's the only way."
Helena snorted. "Not my way."
He entered the Clocktower at just after two in the afternoon. As the elevator rose up towards the control room, he wondered if everyone would still be sleeping. He tapped his watch and sighed.
He had meant to return hours earlier but the investigation into the corpse had delayed him. That and he had actually allowed his eyes to droop for a few minutes. By the time he had come back around, it had been several hours later.
The doors slid open and he stepped into the large room. The air smelled clean and crisp, like the doors to the outside had been open all night.
"Huntress? Helena?" He tried both names out on his lips and found that both stirred him.
"I believe they are in the living room, sir."
Reese turned and smiled at the old butler. Alfred Pennyworth. His police file said that he had formerly worked with Bruce Wayne of Wayne Industries. How he had come to work for Barbara Gordon wasn't exactly clear but his loyalty was. "Thanks. That way?" He pointed towards the stairs that led to the catwalk.
"Yes, sir."
Reese turned to say something else but stopped when he realized that the butler had already vanished into thin air. He chuckled a bit and then headed towards the stairs.
The living room was apparently on the upper level and next to the training room. He hadn't quite fully figured out the layout of the Clocktower just yet but from what he could gather, none of it made a bit of sense. Rooms were just anywhere and everywhere.
"Reese," Helena said, looking up at him from the recliner. She looked tired but she was smiling.
"Welcome back to the waking world," he said with a smirk. "Again."
"Back for good this time," Helena reassured him. Then she looked at Barbara. "So does this mean she has free access to my head?"
"I had free access," Dinah corrected. "It was scary." She was trying to make it a joke but it was anything but. If you liked darkly naked places that felt like utter desperation, well then Helena's head was an ideal vacation spot.
Barbara shot the young telepath a warning look. "It's just a protective wall."
"A protective wall?" Reese queried. "What are we talking about?" He crouched down next to Helena's chair. He reached out and squeezed her hand. She grinned seductively down at him.
Helena sighed like she was humoring him. "In order to keep the big nasty out of my skull, Dinah went in and created a firewall in there all the while snooping around for Barbara."
"That's not true," Barbara protested.
"Which part?" Helena cracked. Then she waved her hand dismissively. "Doesn't matter. My brain is a lockbox."
"No it's not," Dinah said with a short smile. When Helena glared at her, she just grinned in response. Better to make a joke of it than to actually let Helena think that some of her secrets had been exposed to air.
"Okay, so we have Norton's Utilities in Helena's brain...will that actually help?" Reese queried.
"More like Dinah's Utilities," Barbara corrected.
"Who? What? Utilities?" Helena demanded, looking confused. Dinah just blushed and looked away.
"It's computer software that has a firewall in it," Barbara said quickly. She knew that her young charge had absolutely no interest in what she was saying so it made little sense to draw out the explanation.
"Oh." She glanced up at Reese. "You're a computer geek too?"
"You sound upset," he noted.
"You have no idea how much babble I have to put with because of Barbara and her precious babies. And by babies I mean her computers."
"That's a little overdramatic," Barbara insisted.
"No it's not," Dinah said for the second time. She was grinning fully now.
"I can build a computer but I'm not a geek," Reese put in.
"You shouldn't be ashamed," Barbara said, still glaring at Helena.
"Yes you should," Helena laughed. She wrinkled her nose again. "But I'll forgive you this time as long as you promise to never again reference computer programs and my head in the same sentence."
"Deal," he grinned. The he turned back to Barbara. "So is she safe?"
"For now. But who knows how long it will take him to break down the wall."
"Are we sure he can?" Helena asked, the humor now drained away. There was an almost frantic and desperate edge in her voice. She had been invaded once and it had nearly destroyed her. A second time would likely kill her.
Barbara shook her head. "No. No, of course not. But I'm not willing to take that risk."
"That's all fine and dandy but how do we get to him to stop him?" Helena exclaimed. "Reese had to pull every string he had..."
"And then some," Reese inserted.
She glared at him but continued, "Just to get me ten minutes with him. And I was watched like a goddamn hawk."
"And after the stunt she pulled where she tried to attack him, I doubt they're going to let her in for an encore performance," Reese added.
"Wait a minute," Barbara said, spinning in her chair to face Reese. "You said he touched her and you thought that he did something. Do you recall what?"
He shook his head like he was trying to remember what had occurred in that room. It had only happened hours earlier but his memory already seemed foggy. "He reached across and touched her hand..."
"I don't remember," Helena said with a frown. She looked up at Barbara. "I remember jumping across the table and Reese grabbing me..." she turned her gaze on him. "And by the way you coped a very cheap feel-up there."
Reese just grinned but wisely held his tongue.
"Go on," Barbara prompted, shaking her head in exasperation. Getting Helena to relay a story was always a time consuming endeavor.
"He pulled me back and then nothing. I don't recall what happened after that until I woke up here a few hours ago."
"He touched her hand. A few minutes later she was catatonic," Reese filled in. "Then you agree with what I said earlier? You think he did something to her." It was a statement not a question.
"I don't know. The Joker doesn't have any actual powers. He's not a meta. He's just...different."
"The guy has green hair and a white face. That's not normal human shit."
"It's a very long story," Barbara sighed. "There's acid involved and it can wait for another time."
"Sure," Reese said nodding. Then he glanced at Helena who was glaring at him. "I didn't mean any offense. Why are you so damn sensitive about this whole meta thing?"
She sighed. "Forget it. It's not important."
"No, it is," he insisted. "You're the one who told me that metas and humans are different. Humans don't generally have superpowers, right?"
"Right," Helena agreed, looking irritated. She had the sense that she was about to be talked down by the handsome cop and it rather annoyed her. She hated when someone else was right. It was bad enough having to put up with Barbara and her oversized brain but she had figured that she might have had the upper hand on Reese at the very least.
"So when I say that green hair ain't exactly human, how am I insulting you?"
"You're not," Helena admitted. "I'm sorry. I'm just on edge."
"Well you need to get off your edge. You're safe now."
She snorted. "I've heard that before and oh look how this saga continues to go on. And on."
"Then I guess we deal," Reese said. "And you toughen up."
"Okay, what the hell are you talking about?"
"You're the one letting this guy screw around with you," Reese taunted. His eyes were locked on hers.
Hers were in turn snapping blue fire. "I didn't let anyone do anything to me. In case you didn't notice, the guy took a sledgehammer to my legs."
"The guy shot me in the stomach and carved his initials into my side," Reese replied. He took a step towards her and placed a palm on her cheek. With his thumb he scratched lightly at the faded scar on her skin. The one that looked like a sloppy J. "So we deal."
They were looking at each other with a breathless intensity. Barbara shivered a bit as she recalled the feeling. There had many a moment when her feelings for Dick Grayson had left her stumbling for solid ground.
"Okay, Detective, then why don't you tell me what your wonderful plan is? You know the one where we stop the Joker from trying to kill me."
"I guess that all depends," Reese said softly.
"On what?"
"On whether you're ready to start fighting back."
"I've been fighting back," she protested.
"You've been lying down and letting him fuck with you. He's pretty much had his way with you." He tapped her head. "He's so far in here that he owns you."
She shook a bit and then recoiled from the touch. "He's not," she said weakly. Suffice it to say, her words weren't terribly convincing.
"Reese," Barbara said softly. She wheeled her chair over towards them. "Maybe that's enough for tonight."
Reese turned on her, amazement in his eyes. "You know we don't have a chance if she doesn't fight back. Why are you coddling her?"
"I'm not," Barbara insisted. "But she's been through a terrible ordeal."
"I remember," he told her. "I carried her out of that building." He looked back at Helena. "It scared the hell out of me." He paused for effect. "This scares me worse. I've never thought you couldn't beat anyone. Since the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the toughest person that I had ever met. You could kick anyone's ass and do it with a stupid saying on your lips..."
"They're called quips," Helena put in dryly, her eyes still locked on Reese's. She had tried to break contact but try as she might, she found herself utterly lost in him.
He ignored her. "Now, I don't think there's a chance in the world that you could beat him. I don't think you could beat anyone. And I'm not talking your legs. I know those will take time to heal. I'm talking anything. You're weak."
She reached across and hit him. Hard and with as much force as she could put behind her fist.
"Helena, no!" Barbara cried out, seeing the sudden movement by her angry young protégé. Dinah jerked forward as if to intercede.
It was far too late. Reese spun back and hit the ground. His hand went immediately up to his torn lip and he wiped blood away. He gazed upwards with a strange look in his eyes. It almost looked like relief.
"Reese," Helena started. "Jesse..."
"There," he said, his lip already swelling. "That's fight. Now try putting that towards your enemies."
"I'm sorry," she said.
"Don't be," he replied, standing up. He waved off Dinah who had taken a step towards him. He stood up and looked at Helena. "I like the fight in you." He paused, feeling a bit nervous. "It's what draws me to you."
"What are you saying Reese?"
"I'm saying that if you were just any girl, if you were just any human, I might not have run as fast that night to get to you."
"That a lie," she replied dryly. "You're Dudley Fucking Do-Right. You'd have come running for anyone."
He sighed. "Fine. But I wouldn't have needed to get there as badly. Do you understand that at least?"
She nodded slowly. "I think so." She had the sense of mind to feel a bit unnerved by her audience but couldn't seem to care. Their eyes were locked hard on each other and so much was passing between them. So much was being said without words.
"Intense," Dinah said under her breath. She was watching the twosome gaze at each other with a passion that seemed to swallow the room. Maybe they were confused about their feelings for each other but no one else was. The young blonde swallowed hard and remembered a warning she had received earlier in the night about getting too close to Helena. Getting too far inside.
It was bound to be a hell of a ride and it didn't exactly guarantee a smooth departure or a successful landing. In fact, it almost promised neither.
But it would certainly be worth writing home about.
"Good," Reese said. Then he looked at Barbara. "So tell me then, how do we bring the fight to him?"
"Hypnosis? Do you think that's a good idea?" Dick Grayson asked, his voice crackling over the phone line. He sounded tired and hassled, like it had been a terribly long shift. Just the same, he was apparently relieved to hear her voice. This was the first time they had spoken since he had returned to Bludhaven. Inwardly she made a vow to call him just to talk after this whole thing had been put behind them.
"No," Barbara Gordon admitted. "But the Joker's not a natural telepath so he has to have gotten into her head someway or another. We need to know how."
"I guess I'm more worried about what you don't want to find in there," Dick cracked. "How's the kid holding up?"
"Considering all that she's been through?"
"Yeah."
"Fine, I guess. I didn't see that dream world she was in but Helena's had someone try to mess with her head before and she beat him back. This was apparently too real for her."
"Your mind can sometimes be your worst enemy," Dick said with a sigh. "It was Bruce's."
"That's true," Barbara admitted. "Sometimes I wonder if she's too much like her father. She's got Selena's wildness but all of his inner turmoil. She always seems like she's so drawn to the edge of the cliff."
"Like she's just looking for a reason to jump?"
"Great, now I'm suicidal," Helena snorted as she entered the room. She was wobbling but she was still walking, putting just a bit of pressure on her wounded legs.
"Helena, I really think you should use the cane," Barbara insisted.
The brunette snorted. A few days earlier Barbara had offered her a walking cane, like the kind old rich men used to look important. She had told her young charge that it would help her movement and keep her from putting too much weight on her injured legs. Helena had roundly defeated the idea. She wasn't about to ruin the fashion statement with an ensemble piece that just didn't fit. Or something like that. Mostly though it was pride. Using a cane meant that she had been hurt badly enough to not be able to stand on her own. That just didn't work for her.
"Hello Dick," Helena said, turning towards the monitor.
"Helena," he said warmly. "How are you?"
"Not suicidal," she cracked. "But thanks for caring so much big brother."
"You know I do," he replied. "And no offense was meant by what we were saying."
"You know," she said sighing. "I think I've already been insulted enough for one day. Called weak and now suicidal. I think I'm going to find a nice warm bed and I'm gonna test out my new firewall."
"Goodnight, Helena."
"Dick," she drawled. She tossed an annoyed look at Barbara and then wobbled from the room. She was immediately met at the door by Dinah who slid an arm around her and helped her towards the bedroom. Reese was standing a few feet away, watching with concern.
"She's certainly in a good mood," Dick said. "Injuries?"
Barbara laughed. "No, she's always in that mood."
"Lovely. Okay then, you're sure about this?"
"No," Barbara admitted. "Not at all. But I don't know what else to do."
"It's you, Babs. You're doing the right thing," he assured her.
She closed her eyes and let his words wash over her. "Thank you," she said. "I needed that."
END CHAPTER 1-