"Two dead cops…This is demented…"
Alex's face seemed clearly unpleased, staring at the TV mindlessly even if her favorite show was on.
AJ was lying on her owner's lap, sometimes looking up at her and trying to lick the worry off her face.
Blizzard was sprawled on the floor before the couch, sometimes looking up at his owner as if wondering what was going through her head.
A stiffened tail and laid back ears meant aggression, but the look in her eyes showed anxiety…
Midnight walked back around the front of the couch in his pacing, and stopped momentarily to check on her again.
The two males hadn't known the wolf girl nearly as long as AJ, but they'd grown fond of her puppyish ways and cared for her.
"Who else is going to get killed? Mom? Harvey? Uncle Bruce?"
"No one else."
Blue eyes blinked, looking down at AJ in surprise.
"Baby girl…?"
"If this is worrying you so much, make sure no one else dies."
"…Right."
A determined look crossed Alex's face, causing her eyes to harden…
"I won't let anybody else get hurt. Not anymore."
Blizzard seemed to smirk, resting his head on the carpet…
"I knew you'd get back to yourself…"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pulling the black hat snugly over her ears and making sure her tail wasn't visible, Alex followed her mother onto the platform with Harvey.
The commissioner had died, as had a judge she had heard of, the night the fundraiser had been 'disrupted'.
Sitting on a chair, her nose twitched as scents mingled in the air…
Bruce had been busy in the bunker analyzing evidence from the crime scene, and had warned her to stay alert.
Eyes downcast and ears at attention, she tried to tune out the mayor's speech…
A smell made her head snap up, pupils dilating as shots rang through the air, one aimed for the mayor.
Gordan took the first bullet in the back, but time seemed to slow as a second one cracked the air…
'NO!'
Bolting from her seat, not even registering that it toppled over, she took the blow in the stomach, the pain too intense to register at the moment…
"ALLIE!"
Her hands went to her abdomen, meeting warm gushing blood, and she pressed her palms against the wound as a high-pitched whine escaped her throat…
"ALLIE!!!"
Rachel caught her daughter's toppling form, pressing her own jacket to the wound.
Harvey's eyes were wide as he watched the crimson life fluid spread, saw the pain mirrored on their faces…
"M-Mommy…v-vial…"
Rachel fumbled inside her daughter's belt, finding a vial of clear liquid.
"Dr-Drink…"
Alex's breaths were becoming ragged…
"T-To change b-back…f-for the s-surgery…"
Understanding in an instant, she carefully tilted her daughter's head up as she popped open the vial, putting the rim to her lips…
As Harvey lifted her up for a policeman to take, her tail and ears slowly receded…
By the time she came around, Alex's ears were human and she had no tail.
The change was only temporary, as Faux had pointed out to her, and was only to be used in emergency situations.
After having retrieved the bullet, the doctors had sewed her up and given her blood transfusions.
Her stomach was wrapped up thickly, and an IV drip was attached to her hand as well.
'Man…I must have been out for a while…'
Crystal eyes found her mother, who was sleeping leaning on the bed, face peaceful.
'I didn't mean to worry her…'
Sitting up with some difficulty, what with the stabbing pain in her stomach, Alex poked her mother's cheek.
"Mommy? Mommy, time to wake up."
"Hm?"
Rachel groggily opens her eyes, shooting up into a sitting position at the sight of her awakened daughter.
"Allie! Are you feeling alright? Do you need more pain meds? What were you thinking?! Do you know how worried I was?!"
"I'm getting the picture, mommy." Alex soothed, smiling.
"I'm fine, by the way."
Rachel huffed a bit, but couldn't help a smile.
Her daughter was a headstrong spirit with the stubbornness of a bull, but she had a heart of gold…
"Any reason why you decided to get shot?"
"Well, I wasn't exactly planning on it. It's just one of those things that happens."
Blue eyes turned worried…
"Is Gordan okay? And Harvey?"
"Harvey's fine, but…"
Rachel didn't know if she wanted to tell her daughter that Gordan was dead…
Of the cops that Alex knew, she seemed to like Jim Gordan the best, and was known to hang around him whenever her mother dragged her over.
He was a father, and had taken the role of watchful mentor with the young girl when she'd shown interest in the world of law enforcement.
He was sweet with her, and gentle, always sending a little something to her on birthdays and Christmas, a gesture often returned with handmade sweets.
To tell Alex that he'd been shot just before she had…
Died as she'd taken a bullet to the stomach…
Rachel knew how much all this death was affecting her daughter, and that her crazy stunt had been an attempt to stop it.
"Mommy?"
Worry filled crystal eyes, and Alex took hold of her mother's hand.
"But what? Is Gordan okay?"
"Allie, honey…He died protecting the mayor today…"
Tears swirled in the blonde's eyes, but she held them back though a whimper escaped her…
"I…I'm sorry, mom…I should've moved faster…"
"It's not your fault, honey." Rachel soothed, putting a hand on Alex's forehead as a sob escaped her chest…
"You couldn't have done anything for him. Just relax and rest."
"But…"
"You're not going to do anything until you're healed."
"I'm the only one that can find him! Mom, you have to understand!"
"No excuses."
Rachel was firm on this, and was not going to budge.
That psychotic had already sent her daughter to the hospital once, she wasn't going to have Alex go LOOKING for him.
The blonde was brave to a fault…
"Until those stitches come out, you're not going to be fighting crime."
Looking put out, Alex rested back on the hospital bed…
"Where are AJ and the other dogs?"
"At Bruce's penthouse. Alfred is taking care of them."
"What time is it?" The teen wondered, yawning as her eyes threatened to close…
"It's getting late. Why don't you rest-?"
A cell phone ringing cut Rachel off, and she answered it as Alex studied her hand, seeing a silver sheen that warned of her claws returning.
Looking up once the call was over, she noticed her mother's worried eyes…
"Mom?"
"Harvey says we're being targeted. We need to get to the penthouse."
"How?"
"I'll sign you out. I need to get some painkillers for you, and you'll need to use a wheelchair."
"A superhuman that needs a wheelchair…Never thought I'd see the day…"
Smiling at her daughter's unhampered humor, Rachel set out to do just that.
'I hope that this whole mess doesn't mess with her too much…She can be so sensitive…'
