Toward Healing, chapter 7
"Helena, where are we?"
Helena found herself standing in the middle of a deserted street, still clutching Dinah's hand. The brunette studied their surroundings. The street was obviously near the center of New Gotham, surrounded by high rise buildings, though in the colorless mindscape, there was oddly not a person in sight. Helena recognized this place.
"We're outside Barbara's apartment," Helena spoke softly, almost reverently. "This is where she lived before… This is where the Joker shot her."
"I don't understand. Why isn't Barbara here? Whenever I go inside somebody's mind, I always go right to wherever they are." Dinah was apprehensive about this unexpected occurrence.
"Did you really expect Barbara's mind to be like everyone else's?" Helena questioned, trying to ease the girl's anxiety.
"No, I guess not," Dinah laughed a little.
"Come on, kid. Let's go find her."
Traveling through the colorless, peopleless world was unsettling for both young women, but soon they found themselves standing outside the door to Barbara' apartment. Helena reached up and fingered the numbers on the door. "This seems like a lifetime ago, and at the same time, like yesterday," she whispered.
"You lived here?" Dinah asked quietly.
"Yeah, for a while. Before we moved into the clocktower." Helena turned the doorknob silently and stepped cautiously inside.
Dinah found herself standing in the same small apartment that she had observed in Helena's memory. The television was on in the living room and Dinah could hear the shower running in the background. Helena moved closer to the television, apparently engrossed in the news program that was playing. It was only when she heard Helena gasp that Dinah too turned her attention to the screen.
"We have a breaking story," a female reporter announced. "A fatal stabbing in downtown New Gotham. Reports coming in that the victim is the infamous Selina Kyle, the mysterious and beautiful business woman once accused of leading a double life as a jewel thief called Catwoman."
"Helena!" A breathless gasp from the back of the apartment broke the flow of the report.
"It is now confirmed. She is dead at the scene."
Helena clapped a hand over her mouth, stifling the sob that threatened to escape. Dinah moved to comfort her, grasping the older woman's shoulders and holding tight.
"Catwoman is survived by her only daughter, Helena."
Wet footsteps slapped against the floor as a young Barbara Gordon, clad only in a plain white robe, dashed toward the telephone.
Dinah clutched Helena's shoulders tighter, amazed to observe her mentor's former physical prowess firsthand, as the reporter continued her story.
"Ms. Kyle has been romantically linked to the enigmatic millionaire, Bruce Wayne."
A surge of light and a clap of thunder assaulted the girls' senses just as the building's power went out. Barbara looked up from the telephone, startled as three slow knocks sounded on the front door.
"Helena!" Barbara cried, running for the door.
"No!" Helena choked out, surging forward only to be caught in Dinah's firm grasp.
"No, Helena," Dinah insisted. "You can't change the past."
Helena stopped struggling.
Barbara yanked the door open. A sharp pop and a flash of light and Helena was horrified to see Barbara's body propelled backward in slow motion, almost suspended in midair before hitting the marble floor with a sickening thump.
"Knock, knock. Who's there? Batgirl. Past tense." Maniacal laughter filled the room. Bright red blood pooled around the still form, it's vibrant color a stark contrast to the black and white scenery in the mindscape world.
Dinah had seen this event before. It was precisely how she had dreamed it years ago. But Helena had only pieced together what had happened from hearsay and rumor. Barbara had refused to talk about it. But now, seeing the horrific nature of the brutal attack, seeing the terror and pain that her friend was forced to endure. Alone…
A sob tore itself loose from Helena's throat. She jerked herself free from Dinah's grasp and sank to her knees beside her fallen mentor. "I'm here, Barbara," she sobbed, smoothing back the damp red hair from Barbara's forehead. "You're not alone," she whispered fiercely. "I'm here." Cradling the redhead's broken body in her arms, she rocked back and forth slowly, whispering repeatedly, "I'm here. You're not alone. I'm here."
Dinah watched the scene with tears streaming down her cheeks. Barbara did not respond to Helena's attempts to comfort her. Dinah knew that Helena could not change the memory, that Barbara might not even be aware of Helena's actions, but the blonde knew that Helena needed to react in such a way, if only to ease some of her own misplaced guilt over the event.
A brief moment passed as Dinah watched Helena cradle her mentor's still from and then the scene changed.
