Hello. I know most of you don't know me. However, I'm not new to the Birds of Prey fandom. This is my first try at a femslash story. I guess I should issue all the standard "Don't like, don't read", and "I don't own the characters" disclaimers here.
I'd also like to point out that this is a sequel to another writer's story, "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" by meremortal2k3. I spoke with her and she was rather positive and really wanted to see what I'd come up with. I even sent her this first chapter to see what she thought. I guess due to technical errors or something I never got a response. I took that as a bad omen for a while, but I decided that I should just post it. So, here it is...
The title is the title of a Linkin Park song. It seems fitting for some reason.
Chapter One: Double Booked
Sunlight poured through the windows as Helena Kyle woke. She'd had a busy night. She'd managed to stop a mugging, a jewelry store hit, and a kidnapping. As she finally got out of bed, she looked in the mirror at her bruises and cuts. The bruises were gone, and most of the cuts were healed. The rest could be covered up by makeup and clothing. She smiled at her reflection.
"Damn I'm good," she remarked and went to take a shower.
An hour later, she was stepping into the Clocktower. Barbara Gordon was at the kitchen table reading a book.
"Hello Helena." she spoke without looking up from her book. "Did you get enough rest last night?" She looked up and saw that Helena didn't look nearly as bruised as she had the previous night. The redhead smiled. Alfred came to the table with a tray of food and set it in front of an empty chair.
"Good morning, Miss Helena. Would you like something to eat?" He glanced at her. "I take it from the grin on your face that you would. Enjoy."
"You know," Helena started. "I really like this place better than I did before. It feels more like a living space now. Better for Dinah." She sat down at the place Alfred had made for her and proceeded to eat. She looked around to where the Delphi had been; there was now a living room in that space. They had completely changed the layout and made access to the Delphi a bit more secure. They had both decided that since Harley Quinn most likely still had the schematics of the clocktower somewhere, that a revamp was necessary.
"I really think you should just move--," Barbara began. Wrong move, Gordon. Time to go. Definitely time to go.
"Stop right there," Helena interrupted. The redhead held her hands up in retreat as she wheeled herself to the elevator. They'd had the conversation about Helena moving into the Clocktower before, and it hadn't gone well. "Dinah should be down soon," she told Helena just before the elevator door closed. Helena had offered to drive Dinah to school that morning, since Barbara had a teachers' meeting that was considerably earlier than regular school hours. "Is Dinah ready for school yet? I'm being generous by taking the time to drive her. She must think I'm also being generous with my patience. I have a life, too, ya know!" She was speaking to Alfred, but spoke loud enough for Dinah to hear her. Helena made no mention of why she was really being so impatient.
Gabby. She wanted to see her before classes began, and it wasn't helping that they hadn't seen much of each other in the past few weeks. It had been five months and Helena had yet to tell anyone about their relationship, and it didn't help that she lived a double life. The gourmet baking lie wasn't really helping matters; it really was the worst cover story ever, yet Barbara continued to stick with it. Although, Helena had decided to at least learn how to bake a few things in order to keep up the gourmet baking front and Dinah had managed to survive eating Helena's most recent batch of cupcakes.
"Alright, I'm coming," Dinah called out as she hurried down the hall and out of her room. She took a look at the breakfast that Alfred had prepared, and sighed. "Sorry Alfred. You know how much I hate to see food go to waste, but Barbara would kill me if I was late for school." She and Helena left the tower and made their way to Helena's car.
"You know, Hel, with all the money that you're entitled to, you could at least fix this car if you're not gonna get a new one." Helena shot her a look. "Or, I could just be happy that we're spending this time together. Can I at least turn on the radio?"
"Sure, ki-- I mean, Dinah."
When they arrived, there was no sign of Gabby. Helena just drove off; classes were going to begin in a few minutes anyway. She sighed as she drove off.
Gabby stood at the window, books in hand. She smiled as she saw Helena talking to Dinah, and upon looking at the time, let out a low groan. "I really hate Fridays, and I really hate chemistry," she mumbled as she made her way to class. The classroom was nearly empty when she arrived to take hedr seat, and filled quickly. Dinah entered and took her normal seat next to Matt. The three exchanged glances as the teacher entered the room and began the lesson.
"So, who can tell me the difference between alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes?"
Gabby sighed as she reminisced about a few minutes earlier. She had watched Helena walk back to the car, and she could tell that the image would replay in her head all day, along with other memories of the beautiful older woman. Today was going to be a long day.
"Helena!" Reese smiled as he finally caught up to her. "Do you have to walk so fast? Oh well, I should thank you. Catching up to you is a very good workout."
"Hey Reese," Helena smiled at her friend. "Sorry, I'm kinda in a hurry. I told Dinah I'd pick her up from school." She paused, listening.
"What? Is something up?" he realized that she was listening to her comm set.
"No. Dinah just needs to learn to go offline when making out with her boyfriend. Heavy breathing, other odd sounds—and then they wonder why I go offline all the time."
Reese laughed. "So, how are you?" he finally asked. She saw him rather often, but since their break-up they hadn't really talked beyond friendly banter and crime-related intel. "I'm good. Great actually."
"Hey, how about I go with you to pick Dinah up from school. I know you probably drove, but it'll be nice to walk and talk to you for a while. What do you say?"
"I say... Alright. And, it'll give you a chance to tell me all about this new gang we're investigating."
Jesse grinned. "Yeah, it will."
They made their way through the city to New Gotham High and stood at the school gates talking for a few minutes. Reese needed her help to bust the new gang. "There's word that they're gonna hit Club Echo tonight. And we're gonna need to go undercover to get these guys. If I go with another cop, we'll definitely stick out. If I go with you, well... you'll stick out, but in a way that won't get me killed."
They shared a laugh. Helena noticed that she was hearing absolutely nothing from Dinah's comm. She grinned.
"So, how 'bout it? You down for Club Echo tonight?" Reese asked.
"Of course," came the reply.
"Alright then. I'll see you tonight." Helena watched as Reese walked away and smiled as she sensed someone come behind her. She recognized the scent and turned around. "Gabby."
The younger woman smiled.
She quickly scanned the area to see if anyone was watching, and captured the younger woman's lips with her own. "Let me guess, you've been sent as the distraction while Dinah makes herself look presentable."
Gabby nodded. "So, gorgeous, are we still on for tonight?" she asked Helena. Damn, Helena thought. I forgot about my plans with Gabby!
"Actually, Gabby.. I'm really sorry, but Barbara kinda ruined a batch of muffin tops and she won't make another one unless I'm there to help make sure it comes out right. They have to be rush mailed tomorrow morning. I'll make it up to you, okay?"
Gabby gave a small grin. "Okay." Helena could see Dinah in the distance, adjusting her comm set. As Dinah got closer, Gabby said goodbye and walked away. Helena grinned mischievously at Dinah. "I wonder if Barbara heard?"
"If Barbara heard what? What is it? Did something happen?" Barbara inquired over the comms.
"No, nothing." Helena watched as a blush crept up Dinah's cheeks. "We're on our way home, and then I'm off to work so I can finish my shift. I have to meet Reese at Club Echo tonight. We're gonna catch us some criminals."
"And it gives you an excuse to party on the job," Dinah remarked. "No fair. Why don't I get to go?"
"Because, you're a minor, and, although you have a fake ID, you're only supposed to use it if Huntress really needs backup. However, tonight, she has Reese."
"Well, I'd be going out with Helena, and that's not much of a party anyway, so I'll sit this one out and help monitor them from the Delphi"
"Hey! What's so bad about hanging out with me?"
"You cramp my style. I mean, at least Gabby helps me out when I want and need help. You just scare off anyone that even glances at me. If I can handle criminals, I can handle a few guys that wanna push their luck."
"Well, it's a habit. You're my sister, of course I'm gonna be protective."
Dinah smiled. "You're such a softie!" Helena slightly grimaced. "Hey, don't tell anyone that, okay?"
A few hours later, Helena was dressed in her hottest, yet most comfortable club gear. She and Reese met up a few blocks away from Echo and made their way in.
"Oracle, do you copy?" Helena asked, ensuring that she still had contact with the Clocktower.
"I've got you loud and clear Huntress. Does Reese have his comm?"
"Yeah, I got it O," Jesse responded.
"Good. I've got remote surveillance on the perimeter and the interior of the club. You look sharp, detective," Barbara noted.
"Thanks."
"What about me?" Helena asked, feigning offense.
"Oh, please, Huntress. You already know you look good."
"That is true," Helena replied. "See anything yet?"
"Not yet. Blend in, have a drink, dance. I'll give you guys a heads up when something happens."
"You heard the woman. Now be a gentleman and ask me to dance," Helena ordered. Reese smirked and held out his hand to her. "Would you like to dance, miss?"
"Of course I would." Helena took his hand and the two made their way to a prime spot on the dance floor. They could see almost everything in the bar, but could still blend in.
Two hours later, Reese was getting Helena a drink. She took a sip and smiled.
"No alcohol. So I guess this really is a case and not just an excuse to get me drunk enough so I can have my way with you," Helena remarked, a grin creeping across her face. The two had found a nice spot to sit in and stayed for a while. Oracle hadn't seen any suspicious activity, so they had decided to sit down for a while.
"I'm in a dancin' mood. Let's get back on the floor." Helena got to her feet, took Reese's hand and led him to the dance floor. The song crossfaded to a slow song, and Jesse pulled her closer.
Being so close to Helena was beginning to take its toll on Reese. It was taking all he had to concentrate on the mission. Her scent was intoxicating, and feeling her warmth—she just felt so good. Before he could stop himself, he pressed his lips to hers in a tentative kiss. When she didn't pull away or show signs that she objected, he deepened the kiss.
Dinah made a mental note of the kiss to use as ammunition in case Helena ever decided to tell Barbara about what she heard earlier in the day.
"Hey, Gabs, wait up!" Gina was a bit flustered as caught up to Gabby inside Club Echo. She'd had to charm the bouncer into letting her in. She wondered why Gabby hadn't had that problem, but shrugged it off. Gabby was a bit more mature and it probably showed was all. She took a step in front of Gabby and took a look at her. There was something wrong. Gabby seemed slightly confused.
"Maybe someone had one sip too many," Gina commented. When Gabby still didn't speak, Gina took her hand. "Gabby? Are you alright? Let's go sit down." The two made their way to a couch in the lounge area and sat down. "Okay, how many fingers do you see?" Gina asked, holding two fingers in front of the curly blonde's face.
Gabby's mind was reeling. She just saw Helena, kissing her ex boyfriend. She considered confronting them, but an argument would draw Helena to the question of how she and Gina got in, which would be bad, considering that Helena's ex was also a policeman.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she saw two fingers in front her face. "Two," she told Gina and laughed.
"You were really scaring me." She tucked locks of blonde hair behind Gabby's ear and brushed her thumb across her cheek. "Are you okay?" Gabby leaned into her ex girlfriend's touch. She smiled and pulled the long haired brunette closer, and leaned in for a kiss. Soon, the kisses were more intense.
Reese and Helena continued to dance in silence. It was just part of the cover, Reese tried to convince himself. Helena had decided that as well. She wanted to know why there was awkward silence all of a sudden. Why could neither of them come up with something witty to say?
"Huntress, Reese. They're outside the back exit. Find a way outta there and get them before they get into the building. Do not blow your cover. There may be a few of them inside as well. Take out the ones outside, and then the rest will come looking. There's three of them, all armed."
Reese took Helena's hand and led her out of the club. As they headed to the back exit, Helena thought she spotted a familiar face. As she got closer, she recognized the blonde curls, now underneath a woman with long brown hair. No, it's not her. Mind on the mission, Huntress, she told herself, until she got close enough to smell her. It was her, kissing someone else. Someone else was touching her. Helena's eyes suddenly changed; they were now cat-like. Anger was building up. As she followed Reese out, she calmed herself down. She knew she needed focus if this bust was going to go as planned.
There had better be someone there I can hit, though, Huntress thought as she and Reese sauntered out of the back exit of the club. They continued their cover. Reese was soon into his "intoxicated" act, all over Helena.
Helena smiled and played her part. "Right here?"
And, surely as planned, the thugs promptly saw an opportunity for a quick mugging and came out. "Sorry to ruin such a tender moment, but, you two just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Give us everything you got." Reese straightened up, turned around calmly, took a step toward them, stone-faced.
"I don't think so."
One of the others quickly grabbed Helena and held his gun to her head. "What you think now?"
Reese turned his attention to the man holding Helena. "I think you shouldn't have done that. You're lucky if you survive."
"Really, what you gonna do to him?" the leader asked, with a chuckle. Reese grinned. "Me? Absolutely nothing." Helena managed to get from the thug's grip and she'd grabbed his gun as he realized he wasn't holding her anymore. She rolled her eyes. "I hate guns."
She ducked as the man tried to punch her. No matter how he tried, he couldn't land a decent punch on her. Finally, she delivered a roundhouse kick that connected with his head, knocking him to the ground. She narrowly dodged a bullet and pounced on the man who'd shot at her, knocking his gun out his hand and kicking it far out of reach. She'd gotten a good grip on him and swung him into a nearby wall.
"Okay, I see two coming your way from inside the club. Get ready," Oracle instructed.
Helena scaled the building and stood on the roof as Reese found a shady spot to hide in. The two men came out and Huntress jumped down and as she landed, knocked their heads together, knocking the two unconscious. Reese handcuffed the only conscious one; the one he'd fought.
"Why do you get to have all the fun?" Reese asked as he called for backup. When he was done, she was no longer beside him. "After all this time, I'm still not used to it. Goodnight, Oracle, Huntress, Dinah."
"Goodnight, Detective." Reese smiled as he took off his communicator and stowed it safely in his pocket.