Diary of Bruce Wayne
29th July 1999
Khristiana, where are you? What kind of atrocities is that monster Arcane putting you through? I knew something terrible was going to happen. I had this same feeling just before finding out Jason was trapped in that damn warehouse, but this time I will not fail. For two whole nights I've been searching for answers and clues, the others can't seem to understand why. I wish I knew where you are right now, give me a sign, a signal... Anything to let me know you're ok.
Wayne Manor
Jazz was running away from Damian again when an angry Bruce Wayne almost stood on him.
"Hey big man, what's the matter?" Jazz said looking at him as Bruce slams his fist on the wall.
"It's Khris... She's been taken by Arcane, for the past two nights I've been trying to find her." Bruce said angrily, suddenly feeling the need to look at himself. He looks at a dark picture, using the glass as a mirror... His eyes were beginning to change. Knowing what this ment he walks off to his room and slams the door shut.
Moments later Paulo walks in and picks up Jazz. Looking at Paulo, Jazz asks.
"Is he going to be ok? His eyes say not... But he's Batman, so sooner or later he'll be fine, right?"
"I don't know Jazz, Khris thought she cured him of the bloodlust. We need to find her fast... Or he's going to lose control." Paulo replies looking worriedly at Jazz, before John appears saying,
"What exactly is all the fuss about? If I were you guys I'd leave the twice damned bitch in whatever shit hole Arcane has her in. Not that it's..."
He didn't get to say much more. Paulo drops Jazz and quickly transforms, grabbing John by the throat and begins to squeeze, growling right in his face.
"Be quiet!... *Humm* I always wondered what it would be like to have a chew toy."
Grinning as he feels John gulp under his furry grip.
Langstrom's Secret Laboratory
Widow wakes again in her cell, feeling the pain in her mouth. Feeling like she couldn't talk, scream or become angry. Tears running down her face in frustration, the paingetting worse. She could feel her mind slowly being forced into by the Rot, worming it's way through her synapses to her memory center. But something within her was pushing back, looking at her arms she notices the arm with her signature spider, it was lightly glowing green. The fight with Ivy gave her a new gift, a link to the Green. Sitting cross-legged she began to meditate, reaching out to the Green, hoping to be able to communicate with Swamp Thing.
"*Swamp Thing... Alec can you hear me?*" She mentally called out. Reaching further until a voice in the dark broke her trance.
"So you have a link to the Green, interesting. Why are you still being so stubborn? Just tell me who or what you are?... I'm starting to lose my patience with you. If you're going to keep at this nonsense, I'm going to arrange a playmate to visit you, maybe that might loosen that sharp tongue of yours."
"If you're so damn curious about me, let me the fuck out of here and I'll give you the worst moment in your life. You have tried to mind control me into giving up who I am. If you were a little more polite, I will talk happily. All you have to do is free the Howlers and stop what you're doing to them. But seeing as I know you won't, the only thing you're getting from me is this... Ask your laboratory pets who is the Red Widow?" Widow growls
"So you can talk for longer than a few seconds, that is good... So let us talk. No more experiments, unless you're playing for time." Arcane said coming out of the shadows.
"Why exactly should I play for time? Nobody knows where I am. I've only just found out that I have a connection to the Green. Now I know thanks to that shit you injected into me, I also have a connection to the Rot. I'm more complex than you know, I adapt, evolve if you will, with every single thing that happens to me... Just be warned Arcane, push me too much and you will end up regretting the connection I now have." Widow warns sternly.
Grinning at her defiance, Arcane summons black congealed tendrils of the Rot. Watching in fascination as Widow struggles against them as they pull her towards the wall. Walking up to her, he chains Widow to that very same wall. The tendrils holding her head fast to the wall as Arcane pulls out an empty syringe putting the needle into her neck drawing blood saying.
"It is about time I found out exactly what you are, seeing as you won't answer my questions. You're on limited and borrowed time, once I am done with you I am going to pass you on to Langstrom for serum testing, and very few get to survive that experience."
Letting the tendrils drop her heavily to the ground, Arcane walks away smiling at his little triumph.
"You son of a bitch! You're going to regret every moment of pain you have put me through! My friends will find me eventually and when they do you'd better not be in Gotham!" Widow screams at him, straining at the shackles.
Turning back to her Arcane says grinning through the bars,
"When your friends get here you'll be DEAD! And less of the colourful language, it's so unbecoming of a lady."
Silence washes over the room as Anton Arcane walks away. Widow slumps to the floor. She had to get out of there, despite Arcane being a mad man he was right. She was on borrowed time, any longer in that blooded cell she will snap and become feral... Lost to the rising bloodlust in her veins, or most likely dead from over experimentation. Moments later a dark robed figure walks in, a cat-o-nine tails in hand. Rising the hand the whip cracks against Widow's exposed skin cutting it deeply. As she looks up at the robed figure she notices a camera in the corner of the cell, Arcane has been watching her this whole time. Feeling each cut of the whip painfully as the robed figure continues relentless, eventually beating her into unconsciousness.
Wayne Manor
Finally calm Bruce comes out of his room, Clark waiting at his door blocking his way out.
"Lobo is in the cell downstairs and I just had to break up the fight between John and Paulo. Zatanna and Swamp Thing are trying to find a way to find her. Bruce, you need to talk to me, what is wrong with you?" Clark said not moving from the doorway. Seeing that Clark was not going to budge on the matter, Bruce invites him into his room and they both sit down on the comfy chairs.
"Two years ago I became like Khris, she warned me of the complications of being a Dhampir... When she injected me with a cure we had both formulated, both of us thought I was cured of the effects of being a Dhampir. Now the bloodlust has returned and I can't control it without her. I need her Clark, I need to know she's safe." Bruce said with a sigh.
"Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped make her more safe by taking her to the watchtower. Is it not enough that you kept the fact she's your half sister a secret this long? Now you tell me you're a what?... Dhampir." Clark said understanding but annoyed that Bruce had kept this big secret from him. Placing an understanding hand on Bruce's shoulder Clark says calmly,
"We will find her... One way or another."
With that Clark leaves the room, leaving Bruce alone.
Langstrom's Secret Laboratory
Waking painfully from the floor, one of Widow's eyes is sealed shut. Most likely bruised and swollen, clasping her cross close to her chest she suddenly remembers her link to Bruce. Moving slowly as she cleans the floor with her torn jacket. Drawing a summoning circle within a ward circle from her own blood, she then drips blood on all the stones in the cross. It begins to glow, throwing a stone at the camera in the corner to deactivate it. She didn't want someone snooping in on her magic, she sits cross-legged still chained to the wall.
"I call on you my allies, hear my voice, walk through the door." She said as a glowing rose gold door opens, beginning to say the words again to open the door wider she collapses from bloodloss. The door closes a shadowed figure of Arcane smiling through the bars, he had witnessed the whole thing. Saying to the unconscious Widow,
"So you know blood magic... That makes you even more valuable to me and more interesting... Miss Van Helsing." He leaves laughing, as Widow slowly bleeds out.
Wayne Manor
Suddenly the manor becomes a clamour of raised voices and angry shouting. Bruce storms out of his room to find everyone in the main hall looking at a glowing rose gold light. Suddenly he hears a weakened voice in his head instinctively pulling out the cross Widow gave him. It's glowing faintly... Bruce runs down the stairs seeing Paulo and Lobo both holding crosses too.
"Did you hear the call?" Paulo said to Bruce as he was looking at his cross.
"It was faint... Weak even." Bruce said looking at Lobo wondering how he got out of his cage.
"Well let's not stand on ceremony, Red needs us..." Lobo begins to walk towards the light before it disappears, just as suddenly as it appeared.
"She's alive then, that is good news... Isn't it?" Boston said floating down to look at the three of them.
"Wait - there is some residual magic here, she's holding on... Sort of keeping her foot in the door. John stand there, Bruce you there, Paulo there and Lobo you there." Zatanna says pushing each one to a spot almost like compass points. Bruce being north, John South, Lobo West and Paulo East. Zatanna stood in the middle and reaches out with her magic, tethering it to Widow's waining magic. Opening a magical window just big enough to look through but not enter. They all see Widow bleeding on the floor in a double magic circle, bruised and scared. Suddenly a bright light appears in the circle of allies. It is Ambrose, seeing his friend in trouble he winks at Zatanna before jumping through the window to where Widow is. The magical link gets severed.
"Damn it I lost the link... What was that little creature?" Zatanna says looking at both the worried looking faces of Bruce and Paulo.
"That was Ambrose, Khris's one time constant companion. He's a Pixie, and a reliable ball of magical mischief. He will find a way to let us know where she is." Said Paulo almost smiling at this stroke of luck.
"Well she don't look good, but from my guess... If the little mite don't come back soon, she might not make it out of this alive." Lobo said bluntly.
"All we can do is wait. In the meantime tell me how it is you both got crosses from her too?" Bruce demanded crossing his arms across his chest.
"Well Khris already told you about who I am. I took the same vow and oath as you, but that was a century and a half ago now. His on the other hand I don't know what she was thinking." Paulo said before looking at Lobo.
"Hey let the Main Man speak for himself. Oh 'twas about 15 or so years ago now. One of my space dolphins crashed here on earth... Red saw he was injured and she nursed the poor critter back to health. Little did I know this happened when I found her, I thought she was killin' him. We had a fight - I lost, but she saw the good in me... So I took her oath and made my vows, we've been pals ever since." Lobo said looking kind of sad.
"Something else is happening... A new connection to the Green has been made. I'm sure I heard a voice calling to me." Swamp Thing says just as the others begin to walk to the lounge.
"Who's voice? Ivy's?" Bruce said calmly but with intrigue.
"No... Lady Van Helsing." Swamp Thing replies causing the room to fall silent at this revelation.