Authors' Note: Hang in there, dear readers. We are both still safe, and hope that all of you are as well.
A note about the cats in this chapter: most of Selina's named cats are based on real-life cats we know, or own. Norway and Batty really are sisters, Norway really will climb your clothes and perch on your shoulder, and Batty really does demand the Bat-tax and get into hilariously awkward predicaments. Little Norway just got spayed yesterday, and she's pretty miserable - she's stayed bundled up in a plush blanket with us most of the day. Much to the chagrin of our Nicki (on whom we based the regal Miss Kitty), who normally hangs out on our bed. Coauthor Anissa is entirely too worried about Norway making a swift and complete recovery, so prayers for Norway's healing and coauthor Lois' sanity during this time are appreciated.
Without further ado, the chapter.
"Guyot-Perrin timed that press release perfectly," Mercy Graves admitted. "Their stock price soared right before the exchanges closed for the holiday."
"And now they don't have to reasonably prove anything until after the new year," Lex Luthor grumbled. The two of them were nearly alone at the compound; in this time zone, it had been Christmas Day for several hours already, and most of their people had been given leave to celebrate.
That was Mercy's doing, not Luthor's. He didn't care much for holidays, seeing them as a waste of time, but the people he employed did cherish that waste, so Mercy had convinced him to allow for the inevitable drop in productivity. It was only a day, after all.
"It's likely they do have a substantial lead on production," Mercy replied, looking over the data siphoned from Guyot-Perrin's servers. "We're not able to get as much information as before, but from what I can see, they'll have a prototype solar panel as good as ours by second quarter. I suspect that, once they had fresh samples, Wayne Enterprises caved and began working with them. They're the only ones with security this good."
"I do so hate letting the al Ghuls get away with this," he mused. "I know, I know, it's not worth it to pursue them."
"And if we make enemies like that, it just serves to embolden all the little fish in the pond," Mercy reminded him.
"I know. There aren't that many people of our caliber on this side of things. And no one has the resources the League of Shadows does." That was galling, to have to hold back. Ra's al Ghul and his daughter had entirely too much money, influence, and manpower. The one thing Luthor did have against them was a Lazarus Pit on the grounds here, and apparently that wouldn't be active again for a century or more after it had been used once.
Just as well. That kind of immortality was dangerously tempting.
Lex sighed. "Still, if we see an opportunity to black their eyes without too much fear of retribution…"
"Oh, of course," Mercy said, smiling her cold smile. "I'd be delighted to."
Both of them chuckled, but Lex turned at the sound of a door opening. Scion strolled into the room, his eyes mapping it in a glance before he focused his gaze – and his trajectory – on the table at which Lex and Mercy were sitting. As always, Lex looked upon what he had wrought with a sense of wonder. This single success out of hundreds of failures, this one case where Krypton's mighty technology had not failed his goals, was a source of surpassing interest and equal caution.
The boy looked quite ordinary, black-haired and light-eyed, fair-skinned despite his constant exposure to sunlight and artificial UV rays. A little slim for his age, but not frail. He was, most of the time, obedient and respectful, perennially curious about the world outside their lab. Scion knew, of course, that it wasn't safe for him out there. Luckily his confidence in his powers hadn't subsumed his natural caution.
Mercy was of the opinion that if he did get loose, he'd find his way back quickly. This was the only home he'd ever known, and they were the only people to whom he had any attachment. The way children of his age were treated by the general public, with fawning attention or dismissive condescension, would be off-putting to him, with his adult vocabulary and restraint.
Lex thought the same, but the boy might wreak all manner of havoc on the way. They'd tried to raise him like a true Kryptonian, with that culture's typical touch-aversion, in order that he might be as authentic as possible to the mostly-functional AI they possessed. As he grew up, he'd conceived a great dislike for being touched, and a willingness to defend his personal space vigorously. Lex and Mercy had encouraged that simply by backing him up to the staff members who made the mistake of patting him patronizingly on the shoulder, and now no one dared intrude on him.
Everyone knew what he was, and the regular tests of his powers showed that they were growing exponentially. No one knew when or if those powers would ever top out. He already had most of the well-known ones, including heat-vision. And invulnerability. Only Mercy and Lex were comfortable around him now, and even so, they were wary. Trying to confine a subject as intelligent and inquisitive as this would be counterproductive, though, so he had the freedom to explore most places in the compound. Very little was off-limits, and that was only for his own safety. He already had a healthy dread of kryptonite, and he'd never been intentionally exposed to it.
"Good morning," Lex said to him.
"Good morning, Luthor, Ms. Graves," he replied solemnly. "It is very quiet today. And what is the meaning of this?"
He placed a snow globe on the table in front of them, something he must have found on someone's desk elsewhere in the facility. Inside it, a miniature Santa Claus stood with one hand upraised, a sack of toys over his back. A decorated tree stood beside the figure, and the ground was snow-covered. Overall, it definitely couldn't be called art, but it had a certain humble cheer that Lex supposed some of his employees appreciated.
"An icon of a particular holiday being celebrated today," Mercy answered for him. "It's common, but we do not observe it. Many of the employees do."
Scion raised his brows in a request for more information, and Lex stepped in. "You've read about Christianity. Today is Christmas."
"I am aware," the boy replied. "I do not understand why a man in a red suit carrying toys is part of the iconography."
"Crass materialism," Lex told him, smiling a little. Very few children under ten could pronounce 'iconography', much less use it naturally in a sentence. This one had had the benefit of Lex's tutoring from the moment he could speak. "There is a long-standing tradition of giving gifts at Christmas. One of the Christian saints, Saint Nicholas, was known for his charity. Over time, various traditions merged to portray him as someone who brings gifts to good children each year on the supposed anniversary of Christ's birth. Much of the current practice is bound up in retailers' efforts to convince people to spend more money than they can actually afford. The entire last quarter of the fiscal year becomes a frenzy of greed and gluttony. Most years, a specific toy becomes the one item every child must have, and adults will physically assault one another in stores to obtain said toy. Frankly, it's ridiculous."
Scion frowned. "There are days when I suspect your entire species is ridiculous, Luthor. Present company excepted."
Mercy shrugged. "Any culture, examined from the outside, will have nonsensical contradictions. I happen to agree with you. For generations, adults have spent vast amounts of time and energy trying to maintain their children's belief in Santa Claus. The realization that it's all a fiction is considered a watershed moment in a person's young life."
The boy sneered. "In that case, you have my gratitude for sparing me such foolishness."
Lex chuckled. It often surprised him to feel pride in Scion; he had never intended to feel anything for the boy. Scion was a tool, a particularly well-crafted one that had already proven useful. Craftsmen appreciated their tools, of course, but rarely took pride in them.
Then again, Scion was a tool Lex himself had crafted. His superlative success reflected on his creator. Perhaps pride was only logical.
Lex let himself smile fondly. "You're very welcome. Above all else, we do strive to keep your life rational."
"And I am glad of it," the boy said. He looked at the snow globe and shook his head disdainfully. Then with a nod to them both, he went back out.
Mercy looked after him, and shrugged. "Most children his age would be willing to believe anything for presents."
"He's always gotten anything he wanted," Lex pointed out. "And he is very unlike any other child his age."
Mercy nodded, watching the boy thoughtfully. "They're never going to know what hit them," she chuckled.
…
Christmas morning, the Lane-Kents and Whites woke up leisurely. Kala had been up with the dawn and took over the kitchen alongside her father, starting coffee and breakfast for everyone. Once breakfast was done, they would also get the main meal started, since the turkey took a long time to roast and they were dining a little early this year.
As Kala ducked past her father to get a whisk, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. Laughing, Kala hugged him back. "I love you, too, Daddy."
"I do love you. And I miss having you and Jason all to ourselves," Clark admitted with a fond smile. "At the same time, I'm so proud of you, Kala, for everything you've done. I guess that's part of having children – you miss them when they grow up, but you're excited for them, too."
She kissed his cheek. "Yeah, well, you lucked out in the kids department. Not everyone can say their daughter is a bona fide rock star. And we're halfway through the tour. Pretty soon I'll be home again enough that you'll be sick of me."
"I am lucky, and I could never be sick of you," Clark agreed, and gave her another squeeze. Somehow just that brief hug restored a lot of Kala's equilibrium, and she set about making breakfast with a light heart.
By the time the bacon started frying, everyone was up and moving around. Christmas morning was the one day of the year when Ma and Pa Kent had eaten breakfast in the parlor, around the tree, instead of at the table. Jason and Elise were continuing the tradition, and though he headed into the kitchen to help cook, Kala shoved him back out the door with two mugs of coffee. "Not today, Dopey. Merry Christmas, get lost," she told him gently. "Enjoy being catered to for once. Your life's about to get crazy."
That got her a grateful smile. "Merry Christmas, Elvira. And, oh God, tell me about it," Jase groaned, kissing her cheek briefly, but he went to sit with Elise gratefully. Soon they were all arranged around the tree.
Kristin, as the youngest, was in charge of distributing presents once they all finished eating. She'd no sooner sat down in front of the stack piled around the tree than her eyes narrowed. "This one wasn't here yesterday morning," she said, pointing to a package wrapped in plain green paper.
With a merry gleam in her eye, Kala smirked with evil glee. Yep, absolutely waiting for that one to be seen. "Open it last. I made a quick run last night, before everything closed."
Looking at her, Kristin rolled her eyes. "Isn't that cheating? Using your powers for last minute gifts?"
Now Kala grinned. "Time-honored Lane-Kent tradition, I'll have you know."
That set the whole family chuckling; Lois especially laughed aloud, and elbowed Clark, who smiled at that. "Yeah, cheating, maybe. But this one's been dragging me all over the country at the last minute since before we got married. He even used it as an excuse to get me out of the house so he could ask me to marry him!"
That got a pleased, very genuine smile from Dad, who beamed right back at her. "It was worth it to see you surprised," Clark told her.
Oh God, there they go. "Don't complain, Dormouse," Kala warned Kristin, nimbly switching the subject. "Every year I fly the Dopester to Paris for a little holiday shopping, and nobody ever dislikes those gifts."
"The Dopester?!" Jason said, flinching, glaring at her. Oh, that expression of disgust and outrage was a thing of beauty. "Ugh, lose that one."
That had the exact response Kala had been hoping for. "Okay, Iguanaman," Kala laughed at him.
Kristin started handing out gifts, and they all got down to the serious business of opening them all. Jason and Elise had already gotten everything they needed for the twins at a baby shower, so these gifts were strictly theirs. Every package included a hand-written coupon for a free meal or a night of babysitting; the rest of the family knew just how much having children could turn a life upside-down.
All three married couples had gotten each other touchingly thoughtful gifts, as usual, which left Kala and Kristin rolling their eyes. There were a few playful gifts, too – Kristin got a hundred dollars to spend, but Richard had gotten it in dollar coins and frozen them in a large block of ice. Her expression unwrapping the foam cooler was dubious, and then when she lifted out the ice block she just looked at her father despairingly. Lana sighed and cradled her head in her palm. Ah, Daddy Richard's gifts never changed, bless him.
Among Jason's other gifts, Kala had found a small Godzilla figure he didn't already own. Of course, she'd also found a dollhouse trash can to fit over its head, and a pair of even smaller toy iguanas, to which she'd attached pink bows. Elise burst out laughing. "Canhead Godzilla and his baby lizards," she chortled. "Wait a sec, where am I?"
Truthfully, Kala hadn't found an appropriate representation for Elise, but Jason stepped in smoothly. "Your awesomeness can't be contained in a figurine. It'd be like opening the Ark of the Covenant or something. You'd melt everyone's faces off."
It was clearly the right answer, from the way his wife glanced at him, shooting him a grin. Laughing, Elise added, "Yeah, and the Mothra position is taken. Awkward as that may be."
That was yet another family joke, the twins never having guessed the relationship between the two kaiju. The family tended to try to forget it, too. "Don't make it weirder," Kristin warned.
They were all feeling cozy, with good food and good gifts and the particular warmth that came from being on the inside of a shared secret. Most of the time Kala had mixed feelings about her double life; having to hide things from the people closest to her just hurt. But with Kristin now in the know, her immediate family circle was enclosed with the group of people who knew she was Kryptonian and loved her even knowing that. And Kala basked in the safety of being known and loved.
The very last gift was the one in green paper, which Kristin picked up with her auburn brows cocked dubiously. "It says, 'To Little K, From Big K.' Kala, when did you get this?"
"Yesterday," Kala admitted. "I managed to sneak out for a bit right after lunch. I was gonna go get something similar for your birthday, but … you'll see why you got it early."
Still eyeing her sister, Kristin tore the wrapping paper and opened the box. Her mouth twisted in a wry smile, and she lifted out a dark green t-shirt with the Slytherin crest front and center. "Look, when I said I was leaning into it, that was not a hint."
"What did I miss?" Richard asked.
Kala smirked at her little sister. "Someone decided she was going to get the truth about my boyfriend out of me, by whatever means necessary. Joke's on you, Dormouse, because I'm headed that way after we eat."
Kristin pouted a little at that, but she also noticed the box was still rather heavy. She began to pull things out, wrapped in tissue paper: a coffee mug with the house crest and 'ambitious' written on it, a pair of knee-high green and silver striped socks, a beautifully-made house crest keychain, and finally, a small green enamel pin that read, 'Head Girl'. Holding it, Kristin looked up at Kala with a smile. "Okay, you're a jerk, but you're a jerk who spoils your little sister. I love you, Big K."
"I love you too, Little K. And if we've got a Slytherin in the family, she's gonna be the best damn Slytherin there ever was. Go catch me a basilisk or something."
"With our luck, if she did, Jason would want to keep it for a pet," Elise sighed. Kala smiled at her; with all the holiday prep out of the way and dinner cooking, Elise was much calmer. She sat on the love seat beside Jason, her fingers threaded through his, her free hand resting on the rather dramatic curve of her belly.
"You know, there is a lizard in the pet trade called a basilisk," Jason pointed out, and everyone groaned as Elise loudly vetoed the idea.
…
Jay had spent most of Christmas Day just trying to stay out from underfoot. Everyone was there for the main meal, served at noon, and they exchanged gifts beforehand. Jay had sweated a little about what to get them all; he could figure out Bruce and the boys and Alfred, Selina would at least laugh at something cat-themed, and he'd picked up some good Sicilian wine for Helena, but what the hell did you get Babs? Or Dinah? Shit, what about Lian, what did nine-year-old assassin babies even like? Even Doc Leslie was here, and Jay had broken down and asked Alfred what to get her.
He was at least having some fun, though, because with all of them under the same roof – plus thirty-some fuckin' cats – things got hilariously weird. Selina started it off, of course, by giving Helena a hug and planting a necklace on her. It gradually became clear that Selina was going to give out all her gifts via stealth and sleight of hand. Just because she could.
Jay avoided her, because he didn't like anyone being able to reach into his pockets without him knowing. He should've known it was hopeless; she managed to sneak cufflinks into Bruce's pocket, but her triumph was getting a pair of earrings actually into Dinah's ears without Dinah noticing. His own gift appeared in his pocket, a simple card thanking him for an anonymous donation made in his name to one of the charities that provided free health care for at-risk children. "Smooth," Jay admitted.
"I'm the best at what I do." Selina purred.
Alfred walked into the parlor where they'd all gathered with a tense expression. He had been slightly mollified by his gift, a very large bottle of expensive gin, but now he fixed Selina with a laser-like stare worthy of a Kryptonian. Behind him, Leslie was trying and failing to contain laughter. Alfred simply said, "Miss Kyle, would you please assist me in the foyer?"
"Oh, no," Selina groaned, and Jay followed, because the damn cats were funny.
One long strand of garland hung down from the the archway above the foyer, the lights blinking, and halfway up its length the large black cat, Batty, clung by her claws. Her weight made the garland revolve slowly, and when she saw three humans approaching, she called out a strident mrraaahhh for help. She was currently some fifteen feet off the floor, which was apparently too high for her to jump down.
An answering maow sounded from right behind Jay, and in the next second he felt claws pricking their way up his jeans and his shirt, until Norway perched herself on his shoulder. She let out her demanding cry again, close enough to Jay's face to make him wince in the wash of her salmon-scented breath. "Ow, you presumptuous little…"
Leslie stayed in the doorway, so as not to further spook the cat. "Selina, how'd she even get up there?"
"Who even knows. She might've tried to climb the wall to play with the ribbon and got herself stuck when the garland came down. Alfred, I am so sorry. They're not this much trouble at home." Selina looked genuinely chagrined.
"I would assume that you have learned over the years to avoid tempting them with decorations, a skill I regrettably lack," Alfred said, with great dignity. "When I approach, she climbs further up the garland, and I would prefer not to get out the cherry-picker. I shall bring the ladder for you."
"We might not need it," Selina said, and walked over to where the end of the garland hung just above her. Holding her arms out, she called, "Batty-Bat, come on, girl. Mama's got you. Jump, baby."
Batty gave a yodeling, complaining cry, and Norway on Jay's shoulder yelled again. The big cat hunched her shoulders, and Jay thought she was going to climb higher, but instead she launched herself off the garland and fell with no evidence of feline grace whatsoever.
Selina caught her, having to dip almost to the floor to break her fall, and Jay winced. He'd seen Batty leap with her paws outspread and her claws unsheathed, but somehow Selina didn't get scratched. She cuddled Batty close, petting her soothingly, while the big black cat made an astonishing series of complaining noises. "It's okay, Baby Bat, I know, you're a silly girl to scare yourself like that."
Jay looked up at the dangling garland, and said, "Hey, Alfred, maybe we should get Donna to tack that back up. No sense bringing out the heavy equipment when we have a flier in the house."
Selina kissed the top of Batty's head, the cat's grumbling subsiding to a purr. "Do Amazons use their powers for such trivial purposes?"
"Fixing the Christmas decorations so Alfred has one less thing to do is hardly trivial," Leslie replied, and Norway meowed in seeming agreement, making Jay wince.
"I shall certainly inquire," Alfred said. "Thank you, Miss Kyle."
He turned to go, and Selina called after him, "Thank you for not throwing me and my cats bodily out into the snow, Alfred. I know it's a whole other level of chaos beyond what Bruce has ever brought home."
Alfred paused for a smile. "On the contrary, Master Bruce has brought home all of his children, who certainly introduced an unprecedented amount of chaos into my life. You and yours are merely compressing all of it into a few days."
"Personally I rather like the house being full of the pitter-patter of tiny feet," Leslie put in, linking her arm through Alfred's on their way out.
Selina smiled sheepishly as they left, and then looked at Jay. "Well, merry Christmas, anyway."
Jay sighed and stretched, Norway finally leaping down from his shoulder. "Yeah, merry Christmas."
She arched a brow at him. "Oh come on. It's only another couple hours, then your main present will show up."
Jay glowered at her, but Selina only laughed.
…
Christmas at Wayne Manor was going to be a capital-E Event, and Kala knew it. She had been thinking about it all day, a constant backdrop to all her conversations. Honestly, she felt torn. Part of her wanted to stay here with her family, on one of the most family-focused days of the year. Elise needed all the support she could get, and having Kristin in the loop was a change to the overall dynamic that needed to be explored before they could all truly settle into it.
But she hadn't seen Jay at all in almost two weeks, and his texts had an undercurrent of anxiety. He really wasn't used to being home full-time, or having his whole family around, too. Kala couldn't decide if it was the constant proximity driving him nuts, or the fact that he sort of liked it. No matter the reason, she yearned to be with him, and maybe alleviate some of his concerns.
She also just missed him. Kala couldn't help laughing at herself; she was damn near pining like some romance heroine. At least she'd finally get to see Jay again today.
It was Lois who finally rumpled her hair and took the nearly-finished cup of hot cocoa out of her hand. The main meal was finished, and the desserts were polished off, but Kala had been in the parlor, lingering over the cocoa. Her mother looked at her with wise eyes and said, "All right, kiddo. Time to fly."
All Kala could say at first was a very eloquent, "Huh?"
Her mother shook her head slightly. "Kala. I love you, we all love you. But it's not fair that you haven't been able to go see Jay yet. Go on. We'll catch you back in Metropolis. It's not like you can't fly in and see us all anytime."
Richard had come up behind her, and added, "Now that Kristin knows – well, now that we know she knows – you can fly over to our place too. Gotta admit, I'm proud of her."
Lois' mouth curved up in a smirk. "Who knows, maybe you can bring Jay over to our place for the next holiday. Your aunts will love that."
Kala blanched. At Thanksgiving, she'd managed to deflect most questions about Jay, although her aunts had briefly given her a little hell for not bringing him over. Aunt Maggie in particular looked suspicious because of the scant information, but then, she'd been a police officer for over thirty years. Suspicious was her natural state. Tobie and Cat and Lucy were only interested to see how much trouble she'd gotten herself into.
If she actually brought Jay to a gathering of her whole family? Not only would that make blatantly clear all the things they both avoided saying, Jay would probably fake a heart attack to get away from all the journalistic scrutiny.
Lois looked at her shrewdly, and not for the first time Kala thought that her mother could see every thought flickering across her mind. She didn't need to say anything; her hazel eyes, the same shade as Kala's, were warm with understanding. Of all people, Lois knew what it was like to be hopelessly in love with a man, to count the hours until she could see him again, how to try to act like it wasn't constantly in the back of your mind, and to worry about the collision course of her life and his.
Jason surprised Kala by sneaking up behind her and hugging her, lifting her off the ground. "It's okay, Elvira. You're allowed."
Feeling a little guilt that she was being so damned obvious about it, Kala looked around at all of them with a dismayed expression. Christmas was only once a year, the only time the lot of them were guaranteed to be in one place. She was going back on tour soon and it would March before she was free to go wherever she liked, whenever she liked, for however long she liked. Every trip would be stealing time, until then. "I'm never the first to leave," Kala complained, meeting all of their eyes.
"Mostly because you're scoping out leftovers," Lana said gently, taking her turn to hug her. She glanced at Richard and smiled. "It really is all right, Kala. Even if it's just this once. Even I ran off with a man on Christmas."
"And we're all grateful to you for taking that troublemaker off the market," Lois cut in. Lana just shot her an amused look, Richard cuffing at her.
When Kala would've whined again, Clark put a hand on her shoulder. "Sweetheart, we understand. Give Alfred a hug from all of us."
"And flip the bird at Bruce and Babs for me," Elise added, rising to take her turn to hug her. "Give Tim a high-five, though."
As the girls had a moment, Richard had stepped behind Lois to rest his chin on her shoulder, his ex looking back and up at him. "You still love me."
"Well, clearly I love you, Richard. All these years and I haven't gotten rid of you yet," Lois laughed, nudging him with her chin. She reached back for a one-armed hug that said more about their friendship than any words could.
Kala felt entirely wrapped up in her family's warmth, immensely grateful to have all of them. Even Kristin got in on the act, poking her gently in the side. "You can go, if I can watch you take off. This whole flying thing takes some getting used to."
That was a huge understatement, she knew from experience. Oh, the baby of the family had so, so much to learn now about life with Supers. And she had to admit, Kala herself was really looking forward to it. "Tell me about it," Kala laughed. "Try being the one doing the piloting, after hoping for it for ten years."
"And in dramatic fashion, too," Clark sighed, the two of them sharing a look. Remembering, Kala had to laugh again, hugging her father. Yeah, teenage life with her had been almost too much for Superman, she knew.
Jason told Kristin, "She used to try and kick-start it whenever Dad flew us up to the Fortress. She'd just let go of his arm and drop. One time he waited until she was less than ten feet off the ground to catch her. Still didn't stop her."
"Do not fly with her," Elise warned. "Kala's a born adrenaline junkie. I let Jason's ex-girlfriend fly me around when I really need to commute."
"Kala flies like a fighter pilot," Jason added.
Richard, who had been a fighter pilot, chuckled. "No, she's way more maneuverable than any jet. That said, I'd have a lot of problems if I had the powers."
Kala just rolled her eyes. The same things were always trotted out every time powers were brought up. So, she liked fast. She'd been born to it. "You'd be as bad as me, Daddy Richard, and we all know it. Okay, all right. Of course you can watch the takeoff, Little K. I guess I'll grab my stuff, if you're all throwing me out."
"We're not throwing you out," Jason correcting, walking over to her and Dad and hugging her again. "But we all know you miss him. You said yourself that you haven't really seen him since our birthday. You miss us, too, but it's easier to see us. Smallville and Metropolis are both a lot safer than Gotham, after all. We get more downtime."
"And you've also been moping for a week," Lois pointed out, the lot of them chuckling warmly.
Yep, absolutely so much for being subtle. They knew; better to just accept that. Leaning against her brother, Kala sighed. And they were right; she'd promised to be there tonight and the hour was getting later. It was a week. When she got home, there would still be two weeks before she had to meet up with the boys. If she tried really hard, there was still a chance to see them all one more time. "I love you, Jase. I love all of you. Thank you."
Clark tugged ever so gently on a lock of her hair. "Sweetheart, we just want you to be happy. And Jay makes you happy. Go to him. We love you; we'll always be here for you."
And that was almost enough to make her start crying. Kala managed to duck all of them, hurrying upstairs to grab her bag, and stuffing the new plush throw she'd gotten into it alongside some clothes. When she went to head out, Kristin was at her door. "Kala, you really are hung up on this guy," she said wonderingly.
Yes, Kala's heart said, but all she admitted aloud was, "We haven't seen each other in weeks."
The redhead crossed her arms, looking thoughtful. "Still. It's Gotham. I hear stuff about that city, and I can't believe Mom ever lived there."
"Lana was living in Bristol. It's the rich side of town, so it's usually safe. The cops come in minutes, and everyone has alarm systems and fences and gated communities," Kala explained. "The work is downtown, and the East End. There are expensive places around there, but mostly it's the poorer part of Gotham. And it's where all the bad guys like to play. Gotham would be bad enough with the gangs and the mob, but once you add the masks…" She trailed off, shrugging. What was there to say? Gotham had one of the most dangerous rogues' galleries out there.
"And you go there all the time. To fight those people." Kristin sounded like the words tasted funny in her mouth. "I've heard you scream bloody murder when there was a spider in the bathroom, but Elise said you went up against some of the big names."
Kala had to stop and think about it. "I don't … well, okay. I go there to protect the ordinary people. The ones who can't shrug off a bullet or a knife. If the bad guys wanna hurt them, then they have to deal with me."
Kristin cocked her head, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Do you know your whole voice and expression changed on that last word? Like you were my dorky Goth sister right up until you said that, and suddenly, boom, there's the Blur."
Giving her a sad little smile, Kala said, "I think all three of us do it. And we don't really think about it, either. All of us are two people, minimum. Jason's the least divided. But Dad and Superman and Mr. Kent around the office, and then me with the Kala you know and KLK and the Blur." And the Empress, Kala would never forget her shadow-self, but this wasn't the time to explain it to her sister – who was the age she'd been when her psyche had fractured.
Looking at Kristin, it was hard to believe Kala had survived those events at the same age. At sixteen she'd thought herself basically an adult; at twenty-four she realized she'd still had much of her childhood left inside her. Luthor and Zod had burned a lot of it away, and she'd enjoyed being treated like a kid for a couple more years, not having to take adult responsibility just yet.
Now she did, and for all of Kristin's intelligence and insight, she wanted her sister to be able to hold on to some of that innocence a little longer. Let her believe that heroes weren't complicated, just for a few more years.
To that end, Kala grinned at her. "Wanna see why they tell you not to fly with me?"
Kristin grinned back. "I'm my father's daughter. I think they underestimate me. You know how much I like roller coasters."
Laughing, Kala headed back into the room and opened the window. "You can see five miles down the road from here," she told Kristin, who followed and looked out alongside her. Kala checked, seeing no cars on the road, no one outside the other houses on the road either. "See the big oak tree at the bend?"
"Yeah?" Kristin asked, and Kala took off. She couldn't break the sound barrier so close to the house, so she pulled for height first, and then kicked in the speed. Five miles in fifteen seconds, she hit the tree with both boots just hard enough to knock the snow off its branches, and then she was back, slowing down abruptly. It honestly took her longer to vertically depart from and approach the farmhouse than to cover the horizontal distance, and there was still a rolling crack like thunder as the air she'd displaced slammed back together in her wake.
Kala ended up back inside the room, and Kristin turned from the shaken tree to her sister with her blue eyes gone wide. From her perspective, Kala had just disappeared and reappeared, with only the sonic boom and the falling snow to prove she'd covered the distance. "No freaking way," she whispered, and then laughed. "Kala, that's cool! That's seriously the coolest thing I've ever seen!"
"I went up before I went out," Kala explained. "Jason would be real mad if I broke all the windows. The thing is, if I take someone with me, they can't be hurt. Our bio-field protects us and whoever we're carrying, but your body still tries to tell you that you're going to die at that speed."
"I can see that," Kristin said with a little shake in her voice. "Wow."
"It's pretty wow," Kala admitted, and drew Kristin into a hug.
The redhead squeezed her extra-tight, asking, "Can you actually feel that?"
Kala laughed again. "Yes, we're not numb. We can feel everything. The invulnerability just stops us from taking too much damage. I can still feel getting hit by a car, it just doesn't hurt as much as it should."
"You got hit by a car?" Kristin asked, looking dismayed.
"Long story. I promise, Kristin, I'll answer anything you want after I get back from Gotham," Kala said, kissing her forehead. "I've gotta go."
Kristin smirked, "Go on, then. I hope your boyfriend knows he's lucky."
"He does," Kala told her, and soared off at a more reasonable pace, aware of Kristin watching her. She kept going up until the farmhouse looked no bigger than a postage stamp below her, checking the air around her for birds or aircraft. Only then did Kala plot her course, and let herself fly like she was really in a hurry.
…
In the middle of the afternoon, Stephanie woke up to the smell of food. She and Cass were still camping in the Tribesti mountains; they had a rough idea of where the League of Shadows' compound was, but Shiva's people hadn't tried to take it yet. And they still didn't know what was there that Shiva wanted so much. It seemed remote, and lightly guarded, as if it didn't matter to Ra's al Ghul. The whole mission was frustrating as hell … but the news she got from Gotham made her glad to be away, for once. Babs had told them about Joker's increasing violence, and Steph wanted no part of it.
It had been years since Steph had had a traditional American Christmas dinner, and she'd mostly resigned herself to pining for the memories. A roast chicken was usually as close as she could get. Her palate had adapted, and treating them to a spread of delicious side dishes was now part of her own Christmas tradition.
And somehow, this year Cass had come through to scare up a decent meal. She was unpacking a basket full of things, fresh bread, a crock of soup, a wrapped package of meat pies, savory vegetables … Steph's mouth began to water, but her natural caution sent a frisson of warning down her spine. "Cass, I love you. How did you get all this stuff?"
Cass looked down, embarrassed. "Stole. Left money."
"Sweetheart, you didn't have to do this for me. Thank you," Steph told her. She knew Cass wouldn't have stolen from a poor family, she wouldn't take food from the mouths of those who needed it. But some prosperous trader was going to be very angry, if perplexed by the money left behind.
Cass herself had been raised without holiday traditions. She'd celebrated Christmas because Steph and Doc Leslie did, but she didn't subscribe to any particular religion, either. For her, this time of year was simply about the people she loved best. And Steph had never needed words to know that she was part of that elite group.
Steph cupped her girlfriend's face, and kissed Cass gently. All the isolation and worry and danger was worth it for Cass' smile.
…
Kala touched down in Gotham with a little guilt nagging at her. Normally she was the last to leave a family gathering, and not even explicit permission to go could shake the feeling that she was neglecting them. She pushed it all aside, focusing on the present, and the reunion she'd thought about for days.
For a moment, Kala stood on the front lawn, looking up at the lighted windows. The Manor had been trimmed in tasteful white lights, and she could see the enormous Christmas tree in the main foyer. I should've come to help them decorate that, it's thirty freaking feet tall, she thought, and shook her head. Alfred had the situation in hand.
She would've expected everyone to be indoors, but she heard a faint crunch, a squeal, and laughter from around back. Jay's heartbeat was back there, too. Kala headed that way, curious; she hadn't recognized the voice. Her boots squeaked in the snow, and the chilly breeze plucked at her coat. She'd tucked her hair under a scarf to fly, but pulled it down now, a few stray snowflakes catching in the inky waves.
Kala rounded the corner of the house to see Tim running flat out, arms scything, and then he dove behind a bush, rolling as he landed. That covered him in a dusting of powder, and he caught sight of her then. She couldn't help laughing at his expression, but he did manage to call out, "Duck and cover, K!"
Unfortunately, she hesitated a second too long, and got a snowball to the face. Again the laugh she'd heard before, and now a high voice calling, "Got you! Headshot!"
Kala wiped snow from her eyes and saw a little girl of maybe ten, her hair as black as Kala's own beneath a wool hat with a bobble on top. She came to a halt, looking at Kala curiously. "Daddy?" she called over her shoulder. Kala noticed her arm cocked back, another snowball at the ready.
A tall red-haired man was following her, wearing a scarf that matched her hat, and he closed the distance quickly to put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Hi," he said, his tone friendly, but his green eyes were quietly assessing. "You must be Kala – very few people can get past security."
"Guilty as charged," she said, and stepped forward with her hand out. "As long as Uncle Bruce doesn't put anti-aircraft missile launchers on the roof, I'm good. You're Roy Harper, right? From Star City?" Dick had told her the former Titan would be at the Manor, too, but not for how long. Kala had hoped she'd get here in time to meet Dinah's son.
He shook with her as the little girl spied Tim and flung a snowball at him. Tim dodged and ran as she chased him, and the redhead laughed. "Yeah, I'm Roy. That little tornado of destruction in human form is my daughter, Lian. Tim's the only one she hasn't managed to nail yet, so she's on a mission."
Kala grinned; this was so perfectly the way she expected a Bat family Christmas to be, it was hard not to laugh. "Oh, so I take it that she's already tagged Jay? I'm going to enjoy razzing him about having a blind spot without me."
"Got him second, right after Bruce," Roy told her. "Sneaky kid, she had a second snowball in her pocket and beaned him in the back of the head while he was laughing at Bruce."
"I like her already," Kala said. "So what rules are we playing under? Boys versus girls?"
"Lian versus everyone, right now," he replied. "We're just trying to blow off enough energy that she'll actually go down for a nap at some point. Come on around and join us. With you here, we can make it girls versus boys and it'll be a little more fair."
That earned him a highly-amused grin. Of all the situations she had expected to walk into after Christmas at the farmhouse, this was the exact opposite. "Unless a whole bunch more people showed up than I expected, it's still not fair if I don't downplay it," Kala teased, following him into the back yard.
"Yeah, but both the grown-up girls have powers, so it works out," Roy replied easily. "Hey, Jay! Quit sulking, I found you a reason to smile!"
Across the powdered lawn, Jay looked up, snow on his coat and in his hair, and Kala saw that he'd just clotheslined Tim, who landed sprawling. Lian gave a triumphant cry and shoved her snowball down Tim's shirt. Amid the general laughter and yelps of discomfort, Jay came to Kala with his gaze never leaving hers and grabbed her in a bear hug. Kala squeaked in surprise when he did it, laughing in amusement and bone-deep relief. Nothing had changed in the time they'd been apart, then. With a happy sigh, she settled into the embrace, hugging him back. "Well, hello. Did you maybe miss me a little, Red?"
His answer was a kiss that made Roy whistle, Kala slipping her fingers gratefully into his hair, and then Jay drew back. For a moment, they only grinned at each other, Kala chucking softly. "Save me from my family," he said, only half joking. "Dick's talking about going caroling. You're the only one who can carry a tune, so that'll be a disaster. Let's fly to Australia or something."
No surprise there; at least things were going about the way she had expected it would. Honestly, she had been quietly amazed when he had let his family talk him into being here, but relieved nonetheless. It was an amazing step forward, especially for him. The way he had been playing with Lian made it clear that it hadn't been all that bad, but she knew what he needed to hear. Reaching up to touch his cheek, she nodded slightly. "If you really want to, we can. Any time. I just didn't bring a swimsuit," Kala replied, her voice pitched low, and saw his eyes widen in surprise.
"Nah, I'm kidding," Jay said, but the tension knotting his shoulders began to relax. "I see you met Roy and Lian. Kid's got her mom's aim."
"Hey, I'm the best shot in the crowd," Roy cut in. "Lian gets it from both of us."
Cheshire. That was the one thing she had not quite been prepared for; she knew something of Roy's history, but had to admit it was more Titans gossip than it was anything else. In all the interactions in the hero community she had had thus far, she really hadn't run across the Arrows much before Dinah, most of which had been face-to-face this summer. Jason had given her the basics on what had happened to Arsenal, but she knew little that had been proven beyond he was Dinah's adopted son, more hers than Oliver's these days. Substances issues back in the day, issues he had worked hard to put behind him. Former founding Titan. Close friends with both Nightwing and Troia. And that he, the same as Jay, had somehow gotten himself mixed up with an older female assassin. The only difference was, Roy had a pretty little souvenir of the encounter, the adorable snowball-launcher that she had encountered moments ago, a child he had brought home and raised mostly on his own. That said, there were a lot of incorrect rumors about she herself. The best she could do was to accept Roy only on what she could learn on her own. "I don't think I've met Lian's mom," Kala said, letting Roy set the tone.
Roy gave a low chuckle. "Jade's smarter than to take a hit on a meta, so you probably haven't. You'd know her as Cheshire."
"Yeah, Roy had his bad-girl phase, and got a pretty cool kid out of it," Jay taunted. Kala elbowed him in the side, arching her brow with a glare no one else could see. At least he had the grace to look embarrassed.
Roy, misunderstanding why she'd elbowed him, just said, "It's fine. He's gotta trash-talk me. It's how he deals with his insecurity when there's a hotter hero around."
"Please, you soulless ginger," Jay scoffed. Kala snorted, having made up her mind that she could very easily like Roy Harper, and Jay caught her by the waist, tugging her almost off her feet. "The hottest hero in the place is this one. Literally. Running on solar power means her body temperature's a couple degrees higher than normal." Still, his tone made it clear that meant 'hotter' in multiple ways, and Roy's grin said he agreed.
Kala couldn't help blushing; having him make much of her to others was still something she was getting used to. "Shut it, Jaybird," she muttered, smiling despite herself.
Lian squealed, then, and all three of them whipped around. She'd tried to pounce on Dick, and he now carried her over his shoulder, laughing as he walked toward Kala. "Welcome to the Wayne Family & Friends Snowball Fight," Dick said, and set Lian down again to hug Kala.
She squeezed him tight, and said, "Before I forget, Mom and Dad, and Jason and Elise, all send their regards. Glad to be here, though. I heard Lord Grimdark himself was the first one to go down."
"Lian's ruthless," Dick teased.
"I think we've more than established that that's a useful trait in a girl," Kala replied, waggling her brows.
"Oh yeah. She converted him to her cause, and he's been making ammunition for her. Everybody forgets how much Bruce loves kids until you let him play with one." Dick himself looked utterly content; his investigative skills weren't all he had in common with Bruce.
Kala was glad to see them all, about to suggest another game, when she saw Lian, Tim, and a third person walking toward them. She started to smile, then saw who was with them. All the warmth ran out of her expression as she recognized Donna Troy. She stiffened a little, and felt Jay's arm tighten around her.
Donna walked up without a word to the rest, focused only on her. Funny how just by being there, she could make Kala feel every bit younger and shorter and less trained; that dressing-down had made her feel like a stupid kid. No matter that it had been months ago, Kala could vividly recall the dull flush of embarrassment she'd felt.
Before saying a word, Donna reached into an inside pocket of her coat and brought out a small branch that looked dried, though several clusters of dark green leaves still clung to it. She held it out to Kala, and raised her eyebrows a little. "This is how we do things on Themyscira," she explained. "The proverbial olive branch, asking for peace between us."
Kala didn't know how to take that, made worse by all of them watching her expectantly. She glanced between Jay and Dick, both of whom looked hopeful, but found no guidance there. So she looked at Donna and shrugged. "I wasn't aware we were at war."
Donna sighed. "Kala, I wronged you. Not only was I fundamentally wrong about you, your character and your motives, I made it worse by calling you out in front of all the Titans you just rescued. There really isn't an excuse for that; I don't do well without plans and procedures. Trying to wing it almost always blows up in my face. But that doesn't give me the right to bash you. I'm sorry for all of it."
The formality of it made Kala feel awkward. She hadn't stopped to think about the fact that Troia would even still be here at this point and had not seen this situation occurring at all. "People make mistakes, Donna. It's not a big deal. Besides, if you hadn't lit into me, I wouldn't have come here and trained with Jay, and I wouldn't be where I am now. So maybe some good came of it."
"It is a big deal," Donna said. "A founding Titan blows her stack at you? That's not how we welcome people to the team."
That level of adamant frustration in Donna Troy left Kala floored and blinking. This … really had not been anything she'd ever expected to hear from her, ever, not to Kala herself. Especially now that Kala was sleeping with Donna's ex, which she was sure was not a point in her favor. An apology from Troia had never been something that had entered her mind, and not like this, ten minutes into Christmas with the Waynes. But it clearly took a lot for the Amazon to do this, put herself out there. In light of that, she told her the truth as it now stood. "It made me train that much harder, push myself further. You had a point and I tried to take that to heart," Kala pointed out. "And, to be fair to you, I never asked to join the Titans. Why would I expect a welcome?"
"You still shouldn't have been snubbed, especially not by me. I'm supposed to know better. So please, accept my apology?" Donna raised the olive branch, almost hesitantly, and Kala saw in a flash that she expected to get the whole speech and antique gesture flung back in her face. She was steeling herself to bear that with grace, and might even think she deserved it.
A few months ago, it would've be so satisfying to rip her to shreds … but Kala had come a lot way in the months since their encounter and, deep down, she was her father's daughter. She couldn't see how obviously Donna was trying to make this up to her, admitting she had been completely wrong about Kala, and not respond to it. Besides, Donna was making a point of doing this in front of a couple of Titans, owning her mistakes, being honorable. All of that appealed irresistibly to Kala's own best instincts.
She took hold of the branch, and met Donna's gaze with no more hesitation. "You're forgiven, Donna. And … thank you. It wasn't the most comfortable way of doing things, but maybe I needed a kick in the pants. At the very least, I got a cute former Robin out of the whole deal."
Donna smiled like a sunrise, and Kala saw why everyone idolized the Wonders. "Thank you. I'm glad you can see it that way. And that Robin is cute, as long as he keeps his mouth shut." She let go of the branch, cutting her eyes at Jay.
Who glowered at the nickname and the description. "Tim's Robin, so lay off. And cute is for puppies. Don't make me puke."
Kala managed not to smirk; he hadn't complained when she called him Robin. "Aww, but you're so given to moments of unequivocal preciousness, how can we possibly resist?" Her tone was playful, and she batted her eyelashes at him teasingly. Oh, she was going to pay for it, but that surly look on his face? And knowing the way to apologize for it later? Worth it.
Jay lowered his head to look at her seriously. "Ha ha, real funny. Now put the stick on your mantelpiece; I don't think Donna's apologized maybe more than four times in her life."
"It's because I'm usually right. You should try it sometime," Donna shot back, and Kala couldn't help a bark of laughter. It was nice to see someone else score a point with her ever-mouthy Jaybird. While the rest turned to Donna, Kala glanced at Jay, her gaze softening to apologize for playing a little too much.
He accepted it by rumpling her hair. "Hey, Don? I was right about K. I'll take that and be proud of it, thanks."
"Yes, you were," Donna admitted, instead of continuing the banter. "I'm glad you corrected me on that."
Kala raised an eyebrow at that; Jay hadn't mentioned anything about setting Troia straight. He only grinned at his ex, and said, "Maybe you should listen to me on a couple other things, too."
Donna's eyes widened for a second, but then she covered her reaction; Kala wondered what the heck that was about. Probably something she didn't wanna know.
In the meantime, Lian had patiently toted snowballs back and forth between the ammo dump Bruce had made for her, and the circle of adults. As soon as they all stopped talking, she shouted, "Snowball fight!" and began pelting them all.
…
While everyone else was outside flinging snowballs at one another, Selina crept off to a corner of the attic that just so happened to be out of range of any potential listening device in the main house. It was dry, and cold, and dusty, but she really didn't want to be overheard.
She dialed the new number, and it only rang twice before being answered. That was because she'd left a voicemail yesterday saying she'd call around this time; they were keeping the phones off with the sim cards removed, so as not to be tracked. Honestly, she hadn't expected anyone to answer despite her request. This was more her holiday than either of theirs.
Still, she smiled to hear Harley's voice. "Merry Christmas, Selina!"
And right behind her, probably leaning close, was Pam. "Merry Christmas. Which of your boyfriends are you spending it with?"
"The richest one, of course," Selina laughed. "All his kids are home, it's a riot out there. I swear he's trying to go full Jolie and get one from every continent. Merry Christmas, girls. How are you both holding up?"
"I feel like I'm bein' held up," Harley complained. "Anonymity and safety is nice and all, but it's just weird pretending to be normal. There's like, a family of four on one side of us, and three college kids on the other. And here we are with Bud and Lou and some of Pam's babies. Still, at least no one's noticed."
"Good. Keep it that way until you've ironed out all the details," Selina said firmly. "I want to see you both before you leave. I'm going to miss you both so much."
"We'll miss you, too. Hey, kitty, you could always come with. Three's never been a crowd when it's us. And I'm sure no matter where we fetch up, you can find another hunky billionaire to spoil you." Harley sounded hopeful, but they all knew it wasn't going to happen.
Selina just sighed. "But where could I find myself another Bat? Maybe when things cool down, I can come visit."
"Bats are overrated," Pam grumbled.
Deciding to change the topic, Selina said, "Have you been watching the news at all?"
"Nah, 'cause most of it's bad. For us, anyway," Harley answered. "Why, what's he done now?" She didn't need to name Joker. Honestly, she never had.
Selina was glad to be able to offer something positive. "This isn't about him. It's about you. Harley, do you realize you're becoming a folk hero?" And then over the increasingly disbelieving demurrals, Selina told her all about the harlequin pattern showing up around the East End. The murdered pimp had been the first, but there had been other incidents since, not all of them quite so dramatic. A price-gouging laundromat had had all of its machines jammed so that they ran without change being put in. A particularly usurious pawnbroker had arrived to find his shop broken into, with nothing taken, but a large hornets' nest had somehow been shoved inside. Selina focused on the humorous tales, but there had been two more murders, both clearly self-defense by battered wives. She skimmed those to tell Harley about the three women who realized they were all dating the same man, and who had gotten together to burn his clothes and spray-paint his car before heading out for breakfast together.
And at every scene, the same red and black harlequin patterns. Some of them were after the fact; the domestic violence situations were obviously not put up by the perpetrators. But the cops were paying attention. "Women in the East End are through putting up with men's bullshit," Selina said, as she rounded out the last story. "It's a whole movement. You inspired people, Harley."
"I never really thought about bein' a role model," she said, after a thoughtful pause. "Okay, as Dr. Quinzel, yeah, back then I thought it. Now? As me? Shit, nobody should be lookin' up to me. And this is … just weird, y'know?"
"I know. But if someone like Joker can get taken down by a woman he mistreated, then none of these bastards have a leg to stand on anymore. Personally I'm rather pleased. There's too many women in the world who don't stand up for themselves," Selina said, treading carefully.
Harley just laughed at her. "Yeah, but you're Catwoman. Nobody ever tells you what to do."
"They try, I just don't listen," Selina clarified. "The Bat finally figured out I'm not one of his soldiers. I don't have a good read on what he's thinking with this whole situation, by the way. He knows it's not you doing it, he would've caught you by now. But the attention it's getting … so far just websites and blogs. Once it hits the papers and the morning news, you'll have to be even more careful."
"We are being careful," Pam cut in. "This is unfortunate timing. If Joker decides to investigate these situations, at best it will distract him from hunting us. Perhaps he'll even cross paths with your Bat. At worst…"
"At worst it pisses him off even more," Harley said. "But hey, he already wants to kill me. In some over-the-top gory way that reasserts his fundamental superiority as the scariest bastard in town. We always knew, if we screw up and he catches any of us, we're dead. This doesn't really make it worse. And maybe it makes things better for a lotta people who needed to get away from guys like him."
"I suppose we can only be philosophical about it. There's nothing we can do at this point to change it," Pam mused.
"We've done all we can," Selina replied. "The Southards are safely out of the country, I'm locked in behind the best security in town with a Bat on speed dial, and you're both deep undercover. How long have you got, before you leave?"
"A few days. I'm just waiting to hear back on the plane," Pam told her.
Selina had to bite her lip at that. A few days, and two of her closest friends would be going as far as they could get from Gotham. Sure, she could visit, but it wouldn't be the same. The three of them had argued, at times, to the point of drawing blood, but it didn't change how much Selina was willing to risk for their safety. She cared about them, and they both cared about her.
One of Selina's feline traits was her selfishness. She told people to their faces that she only looked out for number one, and she ordered her life to suit herself, never compromising for anyone else. She called it independence and self-reliance, and really, they were all sort of the same thing. Except when what she wanted would cause harm to someone else.
She couldn't put the way she'd miss the girls above their safety. But then, she knew in her heart that she wasn't as selfish as she tried to be. What would've been best for her was staying out of this whole thing; she should've never gone to check on them in the first place, never let herself be talking into robbing that bank which had painted a target on her back for Joker. The smart, self-preserving way would've been to distance herself, not help Harley get in touch with her sister and get Bruce involved with protecting the Southards.
Selina remembered seeing an article about a mother cat who'd had kittens in a house that caught on fire. Five times the cat walked into the flames, bringing out her babies one by one. Firefighters in full protective gear battled the blaze, while one small cat kept running in with nothing but her wits and her love for her kittens. By the time she got the last one out, her ears were burned off and her eyes were swollen shut, most of her fur was singed off and she had blisters on her paws. But all five kittens survived, and so did their brave mother.
From the moment Miss Kitty had looked deep into her eyes and given her the intuition that Harley and Pam needed to run to survive, Selina had felt that same grim determination to drag them both out of harm's way by the scruffs of their necks if necessary. She was lucky, so far, that she hadn't gotten burned yet. But with every move Joker made, she felt the air around her growing hotter. Sooner or later, things would burst into flame, and Selina could only hope that she'd gotten herself and everyone she loved out of the fire's path.
"I'll drop by tomorrow," she told them, focusing on the present. "I should be able to shake my protection detail long enough to come see you both, and the boys."
"I'm looking forward to it," Harley said, with a hopeful note in her voice. "I'm sorry, Selina, we didn't exactly get to do any Christmas shoppin' this year."
"Harley, I don't care. The best gift you could ever give me was putting that bastard in the hospital and getting yourself away safely," Selina told her firmly.
"Amen to that," Pam said, and all three of them pretended not to be a little choked up by it.
…
After making dozens of snowballs for Lian, Bruce went inside for a cup of hot mulled wine, letting the children sort things out amongst themselves. They would do better without him underfoot, anyway, which was why he'd let Lian tag him first.
He stood in the window watching as Donna confronted Kala, proffering a literal olive branch. Kala seemed uncertain at first, but they made amends just in time for Lian to get bored and attack them all with a flurry of snowballs. Smart little girl, that one. She'd bear watching as she grew older.
All of the kids – he still thought of them that way, despite Lian being the only one under eighteen – exploded into motion. Kala was simply gone, snow kicking up in her wake. Donna fell back laughing, grabbing up a handful of snow. Tim dodged behind Lian, gently tossing a snowball at her. Dick laughed at their predicament, and Jay whipped a snowball into his face.
Then Roy shouted something, and Bruce's three sons broke away with him, leaving Donna and Lian running for the ammo dump. Kala met them there, and Bruce admired the way Roy had gotten her and Donna to work together so quickly and naturally. They stood in a rough triangle with Lian as its sharpest point, and the boys circled around trying to tag them.
Kala was fast enough to hit incoming snowballs out of the air, which let Donna and Lian work on offense. The boys, despite outnumbering them, weren't landing any hits. Bruce waited with a small smile, knowing one of them would decide on strategy instead of this frontal assault.
Eventually they all faded back to the limits of their throwing range, Jay and Roy taking cover behind a bush. Tim and Dick moved to flank the girls' position, trying to work their way into the trees. Donna and Kala weren't having it, though. They defended their chosen spot vigorously.
"A charming scene," Alfred said beside him, and Bruce startled, not having realized the butler had entered the room. He gave a rueful smile; the Batman's habit of appearing and disappearing vexed his colleagues, and they would all have been delighted to know that it happened to him, too. Pretending not to notice his employer's surprise, Alfred continued, "One wonders if one might have made an error, in letting a solitary boy retain those habits. The next generation certainly seems to benefit from a more social setting."
"You can't change the past, Alfred," Bruce demurred. Something – the Christmas spirit, the sweet spiced wine, the snow falling past the window – made him add, "You were the best example I could hope for. I've been very lucky to have you."
"Indeed you are, sir," Alfred said, a twinkle in his eye.
