Chapter 6: PACK YOUR THINGS
Dinah walked into the clock tower with her bag slung over her right shoulder, where she found Barbara talking on the phone.
"Thanks Reese," She said. "I'll bring her over when she wakes up…of course… bye."
Dinah watched as Barbara hung up the phone and turned her wheelchair so she could face her.
"Dinah," Barbara smiled. "I'm sorry for leaving you at school. A crisis came up."
"It's okay. I was studying with Gabby," Dinah said shrugging. "What's the crisis? Is it that girl, Alexis, you mentioned this morning?"
"Yeah. Something is happening and she's in the centre of it. Her uncle, the person who looked after her, was killed today in a drive-by shooting," Barbara said taking off her glasses.
"Oh my gosh! Is she alright? Where is she?"
"That's the thing. I knew once child services got a hold of her I wouldn't get near her. So at the moment she's in the spare bedroom sleeping."
Dinah looked at her in a mix of confusion and shock. "Are you sure this is a good idea Barbara? I mean she's fifth-teen!"
"When I took you in you were barely a year older," Barbara replied shot back.
"That was different! Firstly I came after you, secondly I had no one to care about me and thirdly I'm Meta!" Dinah countered.
"She has no one to care about her either. She's turning into a Meta as we speak and..." Barbara began but was interrupted by a weak voice.
"Ms Gordon?"
Barbara turned around to see a pale Alexis standing on the stairs. Mascara stained her face and she looked embarrassed to be standing there. Barbara hadn't heard her coming in and obviously neither had Dinah.
"Alexis," She smiled giving Dinah a look saying if she mentioned anything she was dead. "How are you feeling?"
Alexis shrugged avoiding Barbara's gaze.
Barbara cleared her throat and carried on. "Right then… I spoke to Detective Reese and he said that you can go down and pack your things."
"Thank you," Alexis said politely.
"Okay let's go then. But first, let's get your makeup cleaned up," Barbara smiled.
Alexis nodded gratefully and made her way over to Barbara and Dinah.
Barbara pulled up outside of the address Alexis had given her. The house they had arrived at was nice looking but not too expensive. It was in a good area for New Gotham standards and was about twenty minutes away from Gotham High.
The pair exited the car to be met by Reese who helped Barbara into her chair.
"Alexis this is Detective Jesse Reese, the man you spoke to on the phone. Reese this Alexis Turner," Barbara smiled, lowering herself into the chair.
"Nice to meet you," Reese said shaking Alexis' hand.
"Likewise."
They made their way up the driveway and stopped at the door. Alexis pulled out her keys fumbling slightly to get them into the lock. This didn't go un-noticed but Barbara left it for the moment. They entered the house and paused.
"My room's the first on the left," Alexis said quietly. "How much do I need to pack?"
Barbara glanced at Reese quickly and he nodded.
"Due to the sudden and unfortunate circumstances of this case we have given temporary guardianship to Barbara for the foreseeable future. So we need you to pack everything or everything you can at least. We will let you clear the rest of the house after the funeral and the reading of your Uncle's will," Reese said.
"Ms. Gordon you really don't have to do that. You barely know…" Alexis began.
"Alexis, its fine. I would much rather have you stay with me that have nowhere to go," Barbara said gently. "And please, call me Barbara. We are outside school."
"Thank you Ms… Barbara," Alexis said correcting herself quickly after nearly saying Ms. Gordon. "That means a lot to me."
"Now Alexis, do you need help packing or anything?" Barbara asked. "I'm sure Reese wouldn't mind helping me up the stairs if you do."
"I'm not sure," Alexis replied quietly. "I mean I think I might have to get a suitcase down from the attic though. I'll need help to get the latch open but after that I'll be able to get in fine."
Reese nodded and followed Alexis up the stairs and she showed him the latch she needed opened. He opened it easily and then turned to her and gave her a sceptical look.
"That's pretty high up and there doesn't seem to be a ladder. Are you sure you can get up there?" He asked.
Alexis nodded and motioned for him to stand back. From where Barbara was positioned down stairs she could see Alexis quite well and watched as she took a few steps back. Confused at what she was doing, Barbara shouted up.
"Alexis, whatever you're doing, please be careful."
Alexis gave a slight nod before taking a run up. She jumped up a bit, planted her right foot on the wall beside her, pushed off from it and grabbed the entrance to the attack. She hung there for no more than a second and then pulled herself up with ease.
Barbara and Reese stared at the attic entrance in shock and it took a few seconds for Barbara to get words out.
"Where did you learn to do that?" She asked.
Alexis stuck her head through the entrance and looked in Barbara's direction answering the confused redhead.
"Fully trained free-runner and gymnast."
Realisation hit Barbara instantly. Barbara knew that Alexis did no sport whatsoever at school as she was never away at competitions but Alexis' build suggested otherwise. She was tall and skinny but had a strong muscular presence. She seemed at a high fitness level but Barbara now knew way. Both those sports focused in on cardiovascular endurance, muscle strength, flexibility and so on. Barbara should know. She used to be a gymnast before the Joker put her in a wheelchair.
While Alexis was rummaging about in the attic Reese helped Barbara upstairs. They made it up easily and Barbara was getting settled back into her chair as Alexis slotted a large suitcase through the hatch. Reese grabbed it and backed up slightly as Alexis got down. She climbed out and landed in a crouch. She then silently led Barbara into her room as Reese waited outside.
Alexis' room was the room of a typical teenager. The walls were covered in posters. They ranged from famous free-runners and gymnasts to T.V shows and movies. It was a decent sized room with a bed pushed into the far corner and then a desk at the bottom. A wardrobe and chest of drawers sat at the other side and a large bookshelf full of novels and informational books. The only thing really different was the tidiness and organisation. From experience, Barbara knew teenagers could be extremely messy. Helena was and so was Dinah. The only messy area was Alexis' desk.
It was covered in what looked to be circuits, wiring and anything that would be needed to build an electronic device. From the looks of it she was working on something as there were intricate sketches stuck to the wall in front of the work area. Barbara wheeled herself over to take a closer look as Alexis started taking stuff out of the wardrobe.
"This is a very intricate design Alexis," Barbara said after a few minutes of silence. "Who taught you this?"
"My uncle," Alexis replied quietly. "He taught me the basics and then left me to it when I surpassed him in skill level. At the moment I'm working a drone type device but I'm having difficulties with the power cells. I can't get the balance right. The power either overloads the entire circuit or isn't putting enough in to get it to power up."
Barbara nodded, impressed at Alexis' abilities and then said, "Is there anything I can help with? Packing wise?"
"Ah," Alexis said thinking. She then walked over to the side of her wardrobe where it meet the wall and grabbed a black metallic briefcase. "Can you pack up equipment please? It'll make packing faster."
"Sure," Barbara said, taking the briefcase. She opened it up to find the briefcase was separated into sections and compartments for different components. Barbara was impressed. She set the briefcase on the bed which was directly beside the desk and got to work.
In her peripheral vision she could see Alexis go back and forward between her wardrobe and the suitcase. Alexis had a variety of clothes for different occasions from the looks of it. Barbara saw dresses, sweats, leotards, t-shirts, jeans... There seemed to be an abundance of sportswear being packed.
"You own a lot of sportswear," Barbara said.
"I train every day. I spend hours perfecting techniques or working on fitness," Alexis responded, folding the remains of the clothing in the wardrobe and putting it in the suitcase. Alexis then turned to the chest of the drawers and started to pull things out.
Barbara then noticed she didn't own as much clothing as other girls her age usually would. But Barbara decided not to push any further. There would be plenty of time for that later. So Barbara remained silent, pondering about who Alexis really was.
Forty minutes later the majority of Alexis' belongings were packed and ready to be put into the car. Barbara was silently putting Alexis' books into boxes alongside Reese while she was in the bathroom and downstairs. She needed to gather toiletries and medication. She had been gone for about ten minutes and Barbara had no idea what was taking her so long but just as Barbara was about to go looking for her, Alexis reappeared with a wash bag in one hand and a sandwich bag full of what seemed to be medication in the other.
"Wow… That's a lot of meds," Barbara said.
"Ah, yeah, I have a lot of health issues slash allergies that require a strict diet and meds. I also have a depression disorder and sleeping problems," Alexis said, staring at her feet, slightly embarrassed
Barbara looked at Alexis in shock. Alexis never showed signs of health issues or allergies. She was never off school and always seemed to be in good spirits. She didn't seem to be unhealthy.
"Well we can sort out all of that when we get back to the clock tower," Barbara said with a smile in an attempt to make Alexis more comfortable. "For now let's finish packing and get back to the car."
"Yeah," Alexis nodded as she walked over to the suitcase.
She placed the wash bag and sandwich bag into it and started to zip it up. At the same time Reese and Barbara taped up the boxes. Before bringing anything down Reese and Alexis quickly moved to get Barbara down the stairs, Alexis carrying the chair and Reese Barbara. In just over ten minutes they were ready to leave. But just as Alexis was about to leave the house she hesitated in the doorway. She looked behind her almost unwilling to leave.
"Don't worry," Barbara said. "We'll be coming back."
She grabbed Alexis' arm gently causing Alexis to involuntarily flinch away. Another thing Barbara would have to address.
"Okay," Alexis said weakly. "Yeah. Of course. We'll be back."
And with that Alexis left the house but barely seconds later she was on the ground, an unknown assailant pinning her down.