The grounds were familiar to Helena but with her training her senses to the smallest attention to possibly insignificant details soaked her brain. It was summer time in Gotham, but even so, Helena had grown used to the snowy mountains that surrounded her every turn.
The children were out of school, but at the manor they were put to use with chores and fun extracurricular activities or for the older children looking for work so as to not become criminal homeless teens and actually make an honest living with no broken families. Orphans seemed to breed orphans and broken homes in Gotham. She knew not as to why she actually loved Gotham, even though Helena knew that it was the ulcer of America.
Before knocking on the door to Alfred's home, Helena braced herself for the worst yelling of her life. Helena left Alfred after he was in the hospital, but with encrypted phone calls over the past year she made sure that her surrogate family was doing ok. After knocking, there was a long pause, it made Helena listen to her own pounding heartbeat, and feel her face blush of shame.
An older lady, a nurse it seemed, answered and allowed Helena in.
"Are you Miss Helena?" she politely smiled.
"Yes, I'm here to see my granddad, Alfred." Helena returned the happy tone with a false nature.
Helena followed the older lady to the living room, and Alfred nearly choked on his tea.
"Helena! Thank God, I was so worried! I saw the note, but I called James and Lucius so many times…What the hell happened?!" He implored.
Helena ashamedly told her tale of everything that he needed to know; of course she spoke cryptically since the old nursemaid was there. After she was done, his face darkened.
"I won't allow this." His tone was firm, like any true father.
"I wasn't even leading a double life when you were hurt. In my mind, this gave me more skills to protect you, and others with." Helena argued.
"It does more damage than good, if you become like your father then all of us have a big bull's-eye right on our heads!" He fought back.
Helena shook her head, "In this city people are born victims and they lay back and take it. I refuse to be a victim anymore. It's a vicious cycle of lawlessness breeding and multiplying like bunnies on Viagra. Once this city becomes tolerable, then will I turn myself in. Even outside of this, I've never had a normal life, and if you think this is going to kill any chance, you're wrong there too. I've never been normal, that's not going to change. The only thing that will change is the fact that I'll be a civilly disobedient citizen placing criminals under citizens' arrest and beating them within an inch of their lives only to put them away in hopes that the dirty legal system isn't bought or bullied to release them back into the public. Even so, I'll be there." Helena finished, looking upon Alfred's grave face.
"Well, seeing as you don't have my consent, you still have my love and support, Helena." Alfred submitted, Helena replied, "Thank you, you still have my love though I know this is difficult to see this repeated again. By the way I know I'm not the only one, I read Bruce's works. That Blake boy, I know what he did after Bruce left."
The door closed after the nursemaid locked herself out of the house, leaving the silence fall upon Helena and Alfred.
"Dick Grayson's family was murdered and they changed his name under witness protection to John "Robin" Blake. I thought that story would encourage you to not have a double life, even with you ignoring your parent's fate." Alfred said quietly, sipping his tea.
Helena smiled, "Any of Bruce's protégés had a tale of woe, why is his daughter any different?"
"Well, I was hoping you'd be the last of his children to have his misery like all the others. They ended up dead, insane, or imprisoned. Sometimes, all of the above. I don't want that for you." Alfred mumbled, now drinking scotch.
Helena raised her eyebrow, "What do you mean his 'children,' and don't say that his students were like his children. Do I have siblings?"
Alfred swallowed hard on his little slip, "I see his personal life, only his crime-fighting adventures, made it into that computer's database in the cave."
"Continue please." Helena ordered, leaning forward. "Who else is there, what do you know?"
He paused, visibly sweating at the secrets he had known for so long, "From what I know, and possibly from what your father knows, there are two others."
"Who are they?"
"Well technically, they are both half-brothers. One is older and the other is younger than you. The younger one is attending the school here, his name is Terry McGinnis, and he's 11. His mother died of drug overdose and was brought by your father directly here."
"Who was his mother?" Helena interrupted.
"Mary McGinnis, a photojournalist he met at one of his birthday parties." Alfred continued, "While you told me your euphemistic story in front of my dear nurse, I feared that you already know him. The other is the son of Miranda Tate, but her real name is Talia Al Ghul, daughter of Ra's Al Ghul and sister to the infamous Lady Shiva, or Nyssa Al Ghul. Their son as I heard took over as the new Ra's for the League of Assassins/Shadows. I think his name is Damian. I'm not sure of what surname he took." Alfred finally spelled out.
Helena felt immediately sick. "Helena, are you ok?"
Helena realized this, tumbling out of the room; she barged into the bathroom and threw up. Alfred hobbled at the door, "Helena, do you need water?"
All Helena could do was moan in disgust. "I just told you that the new Ra's trained me, and you tell me that Damian is my half-brother? Ugh, kill me."
"What happened?" Alfred was quickly worried.
"I had a Star Wars moment. I didn't like it, but I think he did." Helena managed to say without barfing again. Alfred seemed bewildered, "He kissed you? If you're Luke then I guess he's the Princess of Assassins." His joke made Helena cough up more contents of her stomach.
Leaving her be, Alfred waited in his chair, as Helena cleaned herself up before returning. Upon her sight, he started to giggle at her discomfort; she could only angrily glare at him. "It's not funny."
"After all the things that's happened, I think it's very comical." Alfred mused. Helena pursed her lips, "Well my dearest granddad, if you excuse me I have a job to do." Alfred smiled, "Love, if you need help just call."
"Thanks, you know what bothers me?" Helena asked while pausing in the doorway. Alfred looked up from his paper, "Yes?"
"I think Bruce is an ass considering he never called you Dad. For the record you're my dad. He's not. He's just Bruce to me." Helena said before leaving. She left, and Alfred thought how true her words were.
Helena went inside to the grand room where the headmaster's office is. "Excuse me, where might I find Terry McGinnis?"
The headmaster looked up, "He's in his study hall third door on the right. I presume that you've come to adopt?"
"No, I found out he's my half-brother today. I just want to meet him." Helena said. The headmaster just said, "Make it fast Helena." Walking off, Helena found the boy sitting in the hall reading a book about alien abductions. Knocking, the teacher looked up from her fat glasses saying, "May I help you?"
"I'd like to talk to Terry real quick." Helena said. The boy looked up with bright brown eyes, exactly like hers. They looked guilty, like he planted a cherry bomb in the teacher's bathroom. The teacher nodded her fat face, and Terry bolted from his chair towards Helena, and they left toward the gardens.
Sitting at the outdoor furniture, Helena sat, while Terry did the same.
"Hello Terry, I'm Helena Bertinelli. I also go by Helena Wayne. I'd like to tell you something, and ask something important, may i?" The kid just nodded completely bored, "So you're like related to the dude who owns this damn place? Sucks to be you, I heard he died choking on his own vomit and stuff."
Helena laughed, "Funny you should ask about him. Terry, I found out today who your father was. The reason I'm here is because we share the same father, and I'm your half-sister." The words brought slight interest and disgust, but overall indifference.
Helena continued, "What I wanted to ask was, if you have no one else to take care of you, if you want, I could take you in. I know I'm not a close friend, and we really don't know each other, but I figured family ought to count for something. I could take care of you, get to know you, but only if you want."
Terry spoke, "Look lady, I know you're some rich bitch just tryin' to adopt to make yourself look good in the papers, but I ain't buying-I don't want to be a bought pampered pet."
"Look, I know what happened to your mother, and I can relate. So listen up you little shit, because I may have inherited my wealth, but I'm doing this for the sake of family, not for media fame. I happened upon that wealth because when I was ten years old I saw my parents murdered by the Mafia and my home was burned to the ground. I only found out that those people who raised me weren't even my real parents, because my real ones abandoned me by choice not chance. One another note, my boyfriend was a beaten up kid from the Narrows and Crime Alley who is now living in the streets, because he doesn't want my help. Lastly, my own granddad was mutilated almost to the point of death, but somehow he miraculously says good morning to me. Now, if you don't think I know emotional pain, I sure as hell do. If you think wealth comforts me, you're soooooo wrong there too. I'd give it up in a heartbeat if that meant helping others and getting my family back-got it?!"
Terry looked at his sister wide-eyed, "I'm sorry, I just thought-"
"Well think before you judge kid. Offers still up, think on it. But a word of advice, you really shouldn't piss me off." Helena glared. Terry was silent for a good whole minute.
"You're really intimidating, you know that? Like worse than the fourth kind kinda scary." Terry half laughed and half swallowed. Helena startled him by chuckling at this. Checking his wristwatch he said, "I gotta get going, it was nice meeting you. I'll try and be nicer next time. Oh, um, I wouldn't mind living with you if that's ok." Terry said sheepishly. Helena smiled, "Of course."
Before he walked off, he gave an awkward hug of thanks, and slowly went off to class. Helena left for the greenhouse; she had work that needed to be done.
All Terry could think to himself was how much he didn't need to shoplift in the city streets anymore, now that he found out his sister is loaded.
The place was not quiet, dimly lit, and cool. Helena immediately got to work, turning on the master computer to use its new insight to figure out occurring cases to work on in the field. As it was updating, Helena worked out on her own armor. Everything but her armor and weapons was here, the police feeds, database, lab analysis equipment, vehicles, everything.
Helena pondered at her symbol she'd take on. Tapping on her desk she noticed the robin ring she had on, it started her train of thought. The bird reminded her of the fact that she's American, but an eagle is too obvious. The tattoo of the criminal that hurt Alfred was about hunters, just like the dark moon she stared at. If Jason was an anti-hero with her, she'd be like Artemis and he'd be Orion the Hunter and their dog Sirius (oddly enough, after Helena left, Alfred got a German Shepherd/Lab mix and named him Ace). Hunters…Huntress…it's perfect.
Helena knew that she'd have to leave a calling card for the media to pick up on so that criminals will learn to fear her. Societal theatrics were vital.
Helena knew that she had to take something familiar from both her parents' costumes. She designed it in such a way that would make her less vulnerable to knives and gunfire. The neck of the Batsuit she left, along with the shoulder guards and the arm gauntlets with blades attached to deflect and block or even break swords in melee combat. The chest had the bat symbol on the pectorals, she'd have to make her own Kevlar chest plate with her symbol of the cross with the angular bird in the center (it looked like two sharp crosses one larger than the other and the small one on top-like her father's symbol).
This most likely had to do with her Italian Catholic influence, the cross, the bird symbology of the Holy Spirit-the dove as an angel of peace. It was known only to her, the meaning of the symbol, but the four dagger or swords united in the center should strike fear into the hearts of evil.
Her combative boots had a thick chunky heel, removable for little weapon trinkets, like smoke bombs, vials, and key picks, just in case. Her leg guards had gun holsters-she feared no weapon use in spite of what others think. The utility belt had all kinds of left over bat-shiruken from her father's supplies. Attached to her utility belt were two loops on either side of the hip like fallen suspenders. The purpose of these was for pulling over her shoulders and using the harness to parachute if needed.
Shin guards added to her boots, the last thing to fix was her Mass Effect styled abdominal armor and back. The mask and cape Helena pondered on for a moment, before completing her full bodied head-to-foot armor. The goggles she attached to the sides antennas and a curved blade in the shape of the bat ear. It may look like a bat ear in the shadows, but it Helena detached the ear; she could use it as the knife it really is. The cape was a memory mesh, which could help her glide from dangerous heights.
Once all the functionality and structure of her armor was completed, she over sprayed the iridescent purple highlight over the black, x-ray blocking, radar absorbing, heat-deflecting, fire/water/bullet/tear proof armor.
Helena was done with this. Now all she needed to do for her selected mission; was to paint her eyes so the clear goggles revealed nothing, and so Helena dressed into her armor like her father and put on her mask like her mother.
Helena was ready to face Gotham as its new Dark Knight.