Chapter 14

The landing ramp for the Javelin space cruiser opened and the travelers started making their way out of the ship. Dick and Richie were waiting to greet them. Helena was only slightly surprised to see that Maril wasn't there. She knew the girl had a lot of things to attend to and likely was not going to have a lot of time to be social over the next few days.

Dick and Richie greeted everyone. Helena stayed back as she wanted to ask the two of them some questions in private and hoped she would get the chance to do so after everyone else had been greeted. Dick spent a long time with Shayera before coming and talking to her last. "Can you give your bags to Connor to take to your room?" he asked her without really greeting her.

"Uh, yeah, sure, why do you need me to do that?" she asked.

"Maril wants me to take you to her room so she can talk to you privately," he replied.

"Oh, sure," she said. She grabbed her fiancé and made sure he grabbed her bags. Dick then announced to everyone that Richie was going to take them to their quarters. Everyone else followed him and Dick led Helena in another direction.

"So I heard your mother is watching Gotham and Bludhaven while you're away," he said.

"Yeah, she has my father to guide her through all the intricacies of the criminals in the city. I'm kind of worried about how that is going to work."

"Oh, I'm sure Bruce will last at least one night before he gets completely exasperated. He'll probably be suiting up in no time."

Helena laughed even though she wasn't sure if Dick was actually joking. He knew Bruce well and knew it was a very good possibility he would hit patrol again. "That's what I'm afraid of," she said in response to him.

As Dick led her through the halls of the palace Helena took in the unique architecture and decorations of the alien building. She had traveled here once before as a young teen with Maril and Rex. She had been fascinated by everything, but had been happy to return to the familiar surroundings of Earth after two weeks. Helena thought it was going to be tough for Maril to consider the palace home when it was so different from what she was used to on Earth. It certainly wasn't going to make having a complete stranger as a husband any easier.

The two of them reached a large and ornate door that Helena assumed was Maril's. Dick knocked on it and an unfamiliar female voice answered that they should come in. "I am never going to get used to going through servants to talk to my daughter," Dick told her as he opened the doors.

The two of them walked in to find Maril discussing her schedule with her lady in waiting. A young teen was standing off to the side. Given the high pitch of the voice that had told them to come in, Helena guessed this was the person who had spoken.

Maril's lady in waiting put her digital notepad away and told Maril she would follow up with the Thanagarian delegation. She exited the room by herself.

"Rheandr'a, you can leave me now. If I need anything I will contact you," Maril said to the teen. The teen bowed to Maril and exited the room.

"I should leave the two of you alone," Dick said as he gave his daughter a hug. "I'll be seeing that all the Leaguers are settled in, so I probably won't see you again until the morning."

"Good night, Dad," she said to him. She glanced at Helena as she embraced her father and Helena smiled back. The two of them watched her father as he left. Helena wanted to wait until he was out of earshot to begin talking, and she guessed Maril was feeling the same way.

When Dick was out of sight, Maril came over and embraced her tightly. Helena held her back just as tight. Maril rested her head on Helena's shoulder as she started whimpering and crying.

In an instant Helena realized how stupid she had been for even thinking about staying in Gotham and not coming here. Maril needed her here. There were others who could watch Gotham, but only she could comfort Maril as her best friend. Crime fighting was not the only way to help people.

"It's going to be okay," she told Maril. Like her father, Helena normally wasn't one to belt out platitudes like that, but she couldn't think of anything else comforting to say. Besides, this was one time where the words actually meant something. Maril was strong and she was going to be okay. She was going to get through her mother's death. She was going to get through her arranged marriage.

"It's so tough knowing she's gone," Maril said to her friend. Her voice didn't crack or show any signs she was too overcome by emotion. She was holding together well enough.

"I know it is," Helena replied. "I can't even imagine how much it hurts to lose her." Helena had never been so glad that at least one of her parents was immortal.

"I'm dealing with so much, I don't know if I can handle it," Maril confessed. Helena's best friend had always been seen as a little fragile; a wallflower who avoided conflict and other dangers the world threw out. Helena understood how people could see this from her outward appearance, but she also knew deep down Maril was unbelievably strong. This was one of the few times she was living up to her outward appearance.

"You are going to be fine," Helena said as she broke the embrace and moved back so she could look Maril in the eye. "I have known you your entire life, and you above all superheroes have never been hesitant to put yourself in danger, because you have empathy for others that is unmatched in the League. That is why you are going to make a great Queen. You care for your people so much and you haven't even been crowned yet. They will recognize the empathy, the feelings, and the respect you have for them. They will adore you for it. Look to them Maril, for they will give you strength."

Maril smiled at her friend as the tears stopped. "Thanks, I needed that."

After Diana made sure the two horses had enough hay to eat she started brushing their manes. They really didn't need it, but it felt good to spend some time with the two horses Bruce had gotten her so many years ago. As she brushed them she felt bad that she had completely forgotten about them over the years.

She remembered back to how surprised she had been when Bruce bought them for her. Bruce had never liked the idea of keeping pets if he didn't have time to take care of them, and taking care of horses was a lot of work. He knew how much she loved riding on Themyscira, and he wanted her to feel at home at the manor and have the ability to do all the things she loved.

While Helena had never shown much initiative in taking care of the horses on Themyscira, Troy and Prince looked to be in very good condition. "So, is my daughter taking good care of you guys?" she asked the horses.

"Yes, she takes very good care of us," a voice similar to Mr. Ed's said from the barn door.

Diana laughed at Bruce as she looked over at him. "That is the worst Mr. Ed impression I have ever heard. And how long have you been standing there?"

"I just came out here a second ago," he replied. "And I had no idea you knew who Mr. Ed was."

Diana went back to concentrating on the horse. "Whenever Alfred caught me watching a new show on television he would always stress I needed to watch the old shows if I really wanted to see the best man's world had to offer. He showed me where to find them. After Bewitched, Mr. Ed was my favorite. Diana continued brushing the mane. "I'm surprised you kept these horses."

"I didn't keep them in case you came back, if that's what you're wondering," he answered. "The horses really seemed to like it here, and I knew Helena would want to ride them one day, even if she didn't spend a lot of time here. I guess I thought the horses might help attract her here."

"How did you know she would even be interested in riding?" Diana asked.

"She always used to look out the window at you whenever you rode," he replied. "When she could talk she said she wanted to ride the horses, just like Mom."

Diana was stunned by Bruce's admittance. "I never knew that," she told him. She felt bad she never knew something like that about her daughter.

"I never told you because I thought you might actually put her on a horse's back," Bruce answered.

Diana laughed over his concern for their daughter on that account. "She could have been thrown off and into the sea and she would have been fine, even at that age. You never understood Amazonian physiology well."

Diana continued brushing the horse, but was bothered by something. "I can't believe she never told me herself she wanted to ride a horse at that age."

"I told her never to say anything to you about it."

Diana shook her head over the remark. "She always listened to you and did exactly what you said. With me, on the other hand, she always had to do the opposite of what I told her."

"You should have seen us when we patrolled together. She never listened to me all that much. Speaking of that, the sun is going down," Bruce said as he looked outside. "The criminals will be coming out soon."

"I guess I better get ready to go out," Diana said.

Diana zipped up the back of her costume and adjusted her breastplate. She was quite proud of the fact she still fit in her costume perfectly after fifty years. Over the millennia all the Amazons had learned to keep their weight constant. However, since Diana had lived in the world of mortals she became proud of being able to keep her body lean while others had trouble.

She adjusted her bracelets and tiara and then made sure her lasso was securely hooked at her waist. She exited the changing tent to find Bruce fumbling around with something in his chair in front of the Batcomputer.

"Do you have some new gadget from Wayne Industries you're trying to get to work?" she asked him.

"No, this is just our standard old spy camera," he told her. "I know you might not like it, but it's best if you wear this. I need to watch everything you do."

Diana tried to suppress a smile over Bruce's statement. He had spoken with a gruff voice that was close to his Batman voice. She found it cute he was being tough and authoritative with her. She knew it pained him to be stuck in the cave always watching someone else, but she was thankful he hadn't yet felt the need to actually try and get back out on the street.

"Give me your tiara," he commanded her.

"It's really not your style, Bruce," she said as she took it off and handed it to him. He showed no amusement over her joke.

He fitted the camera in place and handed it back to her. "Try to keep it on straight, or else I won't be able to watch everything."

She put the tiara back on and saw her view of Bruce on the screen of the Batcomputer. There were some loose hairs in the way of the lens and she pushed them away. Bruce handed her an earpiece.

"This is my own communicator," he told her. "It's a lot like the League's, but there's nothing you can do to turn off my voice."

"I could always just make sure it falls out and gets broken," she told him with a smile.

"If you do that I'll have to come out and replace it," Bruce said to her as he tried to suppress a smile.

"Good comeback," Diana replied. It was smart of him raising the specter of going out on the streets, something he would know Diana feared.

Bruce turned around in his chair and started working on the Batcomputer. "The criminals aren't exactly going to wait for you to go on patrol so you can catch them."

Diana flew out of the cave, thinking about how little Bruce had changed over the years.

Helena and Connor enjoyed a sunrise breakfast out on the balcony of their room. Maril had made sure they had servants to attend to their every need. The spread they set for the two of them was immense.

"I could get used to this," Connor said to his fiancé. Despite their wealth, neither Helena nor Connor were used to servants attending to them. Their superhero lives made hiring an army of servants a huge risk for them. For Helena, she was starting to remember what it was like to have Alfred around.

"I wouldn't mind the servants, but I could use a place with a little more privacy," Helena said to him as she looked around. Their balcony looked over a courtyard in the center of the palace. They were surrounded on all sides by the balconies of the other rooms. Helena tried to identify the balconies that had a good view of theirs.

"Still as paranoid as ever," Connor exclaimed. "I've never been able to tell, is it genetic, or is it something that was just instilled in you by your father."

Helena didn't answer him as she felt like she was being watched. The servants had told them they would leave them in peace, so it wasn't someone from the wait staff. She turned around to see who it was and immediately recognized Rheand'r, the young teen girl who had been in Maril's room the previous night.

"I am sorry to bother you during your meal, Mistress Wayne," she said as she bowed apologetically.

"I take it you have a message for me?" she asked the girl.

"It is a little more than that," she began. "Princess Maril is sorry she could not inform you earlier that the Thanagarian leader is set to arrive shortly. Secrecy was extremely important on this matter and the people who could know of the general's arrival had to be kept to a minimum. Despite this, the princess would appreciate your presence as she greets him and welcomes him to our planet. I have brought some Thanagarian clothes for you to wear and have laid them out on your bed for you."

Helena looked at Connor to tell him she would have to leave. "You can go," he told her. "I'll just have to eat all this wonderful food myself."

"Just because you don't have to put on the costume and patrol, doesn't mean you can completely let yourself go," she said to him in a joking manner. She got up and went to check out the clothes on her bed she was supposed to wear. She knew Tamaranian clothes were skimpy, but figured it couldn't be any worse than her superhero costume.

"I see the socks, but where's the rest of the outfit?" she asked Rheand'r.

"That is the outfit," Rheand'r answered. "I know it doesn't look like much, but it really stretches out."

Helena looked at the girl skeptically. "Don't worry, I'll help you put it on," Rheand'r answered.

When Diana awoke she had no idea what time it was. There was no light in the room as it was completely shut from the outside world. Over the years, Bruce had converted the manor into an impenetrable fortress. Piece by piece, walls were removed and replaced by steel plates, which were then covered up with the wall that had been removed. Every window was surrounded by blast doors which could be closed to cover them.

Bruce had undertaken the project after the Thanagarian invasion, when an assault had been made on the manor while the League was hiding out there. It was one of the few precautions he took that Diana had to admit was not due to an irrational paranoia. She always thought it was good that the League had a secret safe house like the Manor.

Bruce had told her a long time ago how to deactivate the system enough to open a single window, but she couldn't remember what it was. She knew Bruce well and knew she could use that information to figure out what the deactivation protocol would be. She knew he had set everything to be voice activated and knew she just needed the right password.

As she racked her brain it hit her. "ThomasandMartha," she said as one word. "Open the window," she added. The blast doors receded and the sunlight engulfed the room. It took a while for her eyes to adjust. When they did she walked to the window to look outside. From the position of the sun she guessed it was 3 pm. She had slept for six hours and had another seven before she would have to go out on patrol again. Her first night had been uneventful. The way Bruce and Helena had talked about what was happening in Gotham she expected a busy night. Bruce, in his normal paranoid self was convinced that the easy night she had was just the calm before the storm. He was convinced something major was going to happen soon.

Diana went and pulled her video communicator out of her bag. She wondered if Helena would be free and thought about calling her. She wanted her opinion on what was going on in Gotham, but realized it would likely be little different from her father's. As much as she would have liked to speak with her daughter she felt the girl had better things to do and didn't want to trouble her with what was happening back on Earth.

"You could have told me we were short on time from the very beginning," Helena said to Rheand'r as she admonished the girl. "If I had known what the time frame was I would have moved a little faster."

"If you had been able to get dressed at a decent pace, we wouldn't be short on time," Rheand'r fired back. She was trying to lead Helena through the halls to the landing platform where General Warhawk was expected. They moved slowly as Helena had to keep stopping to adjust her tight fitting outfit. Rheand'r wondered how the young woman made it as a superhero when she supposedly wore a similar outfit as her superhero costume.

The two of them made it to the platform and they were both relieved to see the General had not arrived yet. Rheand'r stayed back as Helena made her way through the royal guards that surrounded Maril. She took her place by Maril's side.

Maril took a quick glance at her and then focused back on the sky as she was expecting her future husband to come at any time. "Nice of you to show up," she said lightheartedly. Helena glanced at her and could see Maril suppressing a smile. She looked over her friend's outfit and noticed she was wearing a very elegant dress that fully covered her. As Helena glanced around she saw was easily the most scantily dressed there.

"Thanks for the outfit," Helena said to Maril. "I thought there would have been a little more to Tamaranean formal wear, though."

"There normally is," Maril answered. "What you're wearing is something experimental a designer here has been working with. It hasn't exactly caught on."

Helena could see Maril was trying hard not to laugh. "Couldn't resist playing a little practical joke on me, could you?"

"Consider this my revenge for the time you let me spar with Artemis and told me she would go easy on me," Maril replied.

"This really wasn't smart Maril," Helena replied. "I get to choose what you wear for my wedding, remember."

Maril didn't get a chance to reply as Warhawk's shuttle appeared in the sky. It flew to the edge of the platform and extended its landing ramp. The doors opened to reveal a cadre of Thanagarian guards. They descended to the landing ramp and were followed by a man meeting the description Helena had heard of Warhawk.

Helena was unable to blink as Warhawk descended the ramp and she got a full look at him. She was surprised his face was covered completely by armor. It made her wonder what he was hiding. While the armor covered a good portion of the rest of his body, Helena was able to make out a number of things about him. He appeared young; she knew that it must be a relief for Maril he was close to her in age. He was also massive and strong. He also moved with no hints of permanent injuries. Helena smirked a little over the thought there were worse things than marrying a huge, muscular hunk of a man.

Helena took a quick glance over at Maril as Warhawk walked up to her. Maril was still and unfazed by him. She curtsied before him, as custom demanded. "I welcome you to Tamaran," she said softly as she had to look up at him.

"As an emissary of the Gordanian territory of Thanagar, I am pleased to accept your greeting," Warhawk said. His voice was extremely deep. Helena had spent a decade hearing her father disguise his voice and she knew he was doing the exact same thing. Once again, she wondered what he had to hide.

"I am glad to hear that," Maril replied. "I have had my staff working overtime to prepare for your stay." She glanced back at the servants that had lined up behind her and Helena. "There will be servants posted in your quarters to attend to any needs you had. A member of my staff will be by to inform you on when we will be meeting to attend to business."

When Maril referred to the servants Helena saw Warhawk cock his head and look in their direction. He didn't stare long as his eyes eventually fell on Helena. "Who is this?" he said in his deep voice as he looked at her.

Mari looked at Helena and blushed. "This is Helena Wayne, my closest friend form Earth. She will be advising me in these next few days. I thought you should get to meet her right away."

Warhawk quickly cocked his head away from Helena and back at Maril. "Would you command one of your servants to show my staff and me to our quarters?"

"As you wish," she said. She looked back at one of the servants and cocked her head in his direction. The young woman ran up and bowed to him.

"I will be happy to lead you to your quarters," she said with a smile. Warhawk started following her, and his staff started pouring out of the transport. Helena watched as they followed and disappeared into the palace.

Diana walked out of the changing tent as she adjusted the tiara in her hair. Even though she didn't exactly have anything Bruce hadn't seen before, she still protected her modesty in the tent. It just seemed like the appropriate thing to do, given their situation.

Bruce was at the Batcomputer looking through the police files. Commissioner Gordon had let him hook up the Batcomputer to the police network a long time ago. It was a one way connection, of course. Bruce could see anything on their computers. The connection saved Bruce and Gordon the trouble of having to set up clandestine meetings to exchange information. They had secret folders for depositing encrypted files that allowed them to communicate.

Commissioner Essen-Gordon kept her husband's protocols in place and transferred sensitive information to Batman through the link-up. From what Diana saw on the screen Bruce was going through some very sensitive information right now.

"Anything good on there?" she asked him.

"Just one thing," he said in his gruffy Batman tone. "An anonymous phone call was made that said the Dopple Gang is up to something big."

Diana snickered at the name Bruce said. "The Dopple Gang? There is a group out there which actually wanted to be called that?"

"They call themselves that because it fits their idiom. They dress and act like the old villains; Joker, Riddler, Catwoman. They are actually a very minor gang, little more then fanboys and fangirls. They've been around quite a while. They started out as a group of young kids who wanted to do little more than copy their favorite super villains. Of course, they had a rather simplistic view of what their "heroes" were like. The originals never did more than carry out pranks and petty crimes. They were jokes to everyone except to the aging super villains who didn't like the idea the members of that gang would be their legacy. They had some run-ins with the Joker and the Riddler in particular. I saved them and convinced most of them to give the gang up, but the idea of the Dopple Gang wouldn't die. The second version of the gang cropped up around the time Helena became Robin. They were much more than fanboys. At that time most of the super villains were out of Arkham and retired, although it wasn't known for certain that they had all given up the villainy permanently. The second DoppleGang operated by selling their services to gangs that wanted to throw the police off their scent. They would make it look like one of the old super villains had committed the crimes of the gang or criminal that had hired them. Helena and I found a way to shut them down and disband them.

The group that the goes by Dopple Gang now is much more like the first one. The primary crime they commit is loitering, but every once in a while they will try and pull an elaborate prank to remind people of what the super villains of old were like. Helena has never considered them much more than an annoyance, but I always got the hint they were willing to take their crimes further if the right opportunity presented itself."

"And you think they are actually up to something right now?"Diana asked.

"They could be. I have been expecting something big to go down for a while. If someone was planning something they would be a good group to bring into the fold as each member has delusions of grandeur. They would be easy dupes for someone looking to pull something."

"So do you know where to find them?" Diana asked.

"They have a warehouse in the tech district," Bruce answered.

"I didn't know there were any abandoned warehouses there."

"They didn't exactly take over an abandoned one. The father of their Penguin is a computer mogul. He gave them the warehouse so they would have someplace to hang out that was away from any real centers of crime."

"Sounds smart, can you give me directions as I fly there?" Diana flew out of the Batcave before she got a reply. She hadn't asked Bruce a question, she had given him a command.