Hunter's Night

By Serena

A/N: Thanks so much, everyone! :)

I'm so sorry for the long delay. I'm nearly finished with my next novel, and I need to finish it and get to my agent before school starts back up in a couple weeks. I'm an illustration major, and all my classes are studio. So, it's going to be a bit crazy.

Thanks for your comments! Glad you all liked the Dinah cameo. Don't worry, she'll be back. And as for the Harvey Dent characterization... I know a lot of people don't like the fact that he's kind of a jerk. There's a purpose for that, I promise. But we'll be seeing him again, too, and he might show a different side. No pun intended.

Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

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Alkyone

Alkyone sat at the kitchen table, typing on the computer, with Cass lying in her lap, flipping through a picture book. Lazy jazz music played through the kitchen. Dick was off doing homework with Diana, giving Alkyone and Cass some much needed time together. Alkyone had never been one to show much emotion, but she held a special bond with Cass. Like Diana, she understood Cass without needing words. It was a mutual connection between the three of them - not only as highly skilled warriors, but as mothers and daughters.

Alfred entered the kitchen after a time, wearing a short sleeved gray polo shirt and black slacks. Alkyone, engrossed in her research, didn't even see Alfred until he came up to her and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Hello, dear," she greeted with a smile.

"Hello, darling. I was wondering," he said, taking a seat to her right, "If you would be interested in going out tonight."

Alkyone looked at him, startled. "You mean just the two of us?"

Cass looked up at him, upside-down, now interested. A second later, she sat up, smacked a kiss onto Alkyone's cheek, and hopped off the bench, bolting out of the room.

Alkyone and Alfred watched her leave, bemused.

Alkyone started laughing. "I think she knew when an adult conversation was coming," she said.

Alfred smiled. "I was indeed implying just the two of us," he said, amused. "Now that the house is full..." He reached out, took her hand. "We haven't had a night to ourselves in a long time."

Alkyone smiled. "No, we haven't. I've missed having the house to ourselves sometimes."

"Well, in that case... I'd like to take you out to dinner and perhaps a show, if you'd like. I believe the Phantom of the Opera is playing for a time at the theater, if you'd like to go."

"Sure! I've never been to the theater... but I enjoyed the movie."

"All right, then," said Alfred, pleased. "I'll have Bruce get us tickets, and afterwards we'll grab dinner."

Alkyone tried to repress her excitement. "Sounds good."

Helena Bertinelli

The night was young, but the Huntress was a bit tired. Teaching took its toll; and she still had several more papers to grade. Not that she was complaining. She'd gotten a fantastic job at a private school recently, and she was finally able to move out of her crappy apartment and get something halfway decent. She planned on inviting Diana and the other girls over for a housewarming party. Four wild Amazons and Diana crammed into an apartment with a few beers... that sounded like a party, Helena thought with a grin.

And Etta... Etta had been in her thoughts recently. She wondered how her old friend was doing. She'd lost touch after high school, but she'd always known Etta would go somewhere big.

Not like her. She scoffed at herself. She had good friends. People that cared about her. She was a hell of a fighter, and great with kids, but that was about it. And somehow she attracted the strangest guys.

Q. Why was she thinking about him again? Self-righteous ass. He was a pretty good cop, though. Trustworthy, she guessed. Whatever.

She stifled a yawn and swung down over another rooftop, perching herself on a gargoyle. The city was fairly quiet this evening. Even so... she felt something stirring. It was a shadow, a warning in the back of her head. It was hard to place, but she knew that Diana had been uneasy... not only because of the Grayson boy, but because of something else.

She heard shouts from nearby; turning sharply, she jumped down and landed on a balcony, overlooking an alley in the Narrows, near the docks. Figures moved; fists and guns flashed; and she was just about to enter the conflict -

Wait. She knew those figures. Well, two of them, anyway. And she burst out laughing and sat back to enjoy the show. In mere seconds, all of the figures except two were lying on the ground, unconscious.

Then, Helena jumped down and came up to them, grinning.

"Aunt A?" Helena demanded.

One of the two figures turned to face her.

"Hello, my dear," said Alkyone warmly.

"Hey!" Helena threw her arms around her foster mother. "Look at you! Out on a hot date?"

Alkyone laughed. "Something like that." She grinned up at the rugged butler.

"Hey, Uncle Al," Helena greeted, hugging Alfred as well. "How you doing?"

Alfred returned the hug with a short but firm embrace before pulling back and regarding her. "Quite well, my dear. You look much better. Wound healing well?"

"Pretty much. So... where you guys off to? Why are you here, beating up a bunch of drug cartel goons?"

"We were supposed to see a show," said Alkyone dryly. "But you know how it is... you run into a couple of muggers and then find out they're part of a drug operation, so you realize that you have to take down the whole op while you're at it."

Huntress grinned. "I can see where Bruce and Di get it."

"I was a bloody soldier," said Alfred, irritated as he easily dismantled one of the assault rifles. "I don't need a bunch of bloody gadgets to get the job done."

"Alfred, you old dog," laughed Helena, punching him lightly in the arm. "Forget Bruce and Di... I think you two should be crime-fighting."

"Bruce's and my interpretation of crime-fighting is a bit different," said Alfred grimly. He cocked another rifle, aimed it at the ground. "He refuses to use guns. I understand his reasons... but as for me..." He shook his head.

"Lock and load, baby," said Alkyone, cocking another assault rifle.

"I am sorry about this, darling," Alfred apologized. "I did want to make sure you had nothing but the finest." He reached out and wiped a bit of blood off Akyone's cheek. Not her own, Helena noticed.

"Dearest, this has been the best night I've had in years," Alkyone said.

However, their moment was interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up. While Alfred and Alkyone tensed, Helena growled under her breath. She knew that car. And she knew the person who owned that car.

"Oh, lovely," muttered Helena, as the man stepped out. "Just the man I wanted to see."

"What the hell is this?" Lieutenant Victor Sage demanded, striding up to them.

"Evening, Lieutenant," greeted Alfred coolly.

"I already have enough vigilantes in my city," said Sage. "I didn't expect you two to get involved."

"You're one to talk," said Helena.

Alfred and Alkyone glanced at each other and shrugged.

"We were attacked; we dealt with the situation," replied Alkyone, her gaze suddenly cold. Even Helena was a bit intimidated by the Amazon's icy stare.

Sage glared at her. "The situation being your taking down an entire drug cartel in the course of four hours."

Alfred rested his rifle on his shoulder. "We did what we had to do, Lieutenant. Let's just leave it at that. If anything... blame it on the butler," he added with a small, sardonic smile. He held out his arm to Alkyone. "Shall we, my dear? I'm famished."

"I am, too. Take care, sweetie," Alkyone said to Helena with a warm smile. "I'll see you soon. Lieutenant, goodnight." And together, she and Alfred strolled off down the street.

Helena watched them go, smirking. Then, she felt Sage turn to her, and she stiffened. "Hey, Q," she greeted smoothly. "Nice night."

"Your friends seem to be infectious in their vigilante crusade," said Sage.

Helena shrugged. "Guess so. You don't mess with an ex-MI6 agent and an Amazon captain, Q. Just don't. And..." She made her way up to him, poked him on the chest. "You keep bashing vigilantes, but you make a damn good one." She threw him a devious grin, sauntered by him.

"Where are you going?" he demanded.

"To get a burger," she said. "It's late, I haven't eaten anything but a protein bar, and I'm starving."

He didn't reply, just stood there with his hands in his pockets, brooding.

Helena hesitated, then cast a look at him over her shoulder. "You coming or what, Q?"

Sage turned to her, startled. "I was under the impression -"

"I'm hungry, and so are you. Let's go."

A pause, and he straightened. "I'll drive," he said, and opened the car door for her.

Helena stared at him for a moment, and then jumped in the passenger seat. "Ooh, baby-doll," she drawled, excited.

Sage slammed his foot on the gas, and they sped away into the night.

"You've been busy," he remarked after a moment.

"So have you."

"I'm sure you've heard about the newest addition to the Bat-clan," he said, somewhat dryly.

"Batgirl? She's such a cutie," Helena said, grinning. "A total sweetheart. But don't let her fool you. She's a better fighter than probably anyone on this planet, and I'm not kidding."

"She's adopted."

"Yes. Bruce and Di have been retraining her since she was taught to kill by the age of six."

"Six?" He shot her a startled look.

"Yep, six. Her birth parents are two of the most deadly assassins known to man. But one of them trained Diana for two years. She gave Cass to Di and Bruce to make sure Cass wouldn't ever have to be in that situation again. But Cass has those killer instincts, so they're training her in the right way."

"Sending a six year old child out onto the streets of Gotham -"

"She's eight, and trust me, she can handle herself better than you and I."

Sage was silent as they pulled up to a Five Guys and parked in a shadowed spot nearby. There was an awkward pause.

"Double bacon cheese with onions and fries, large ice tea," Helena said sweetly.

Sage gave her a look. "Anything else?" he added sharply.

"No, that's fine. And I did say please."

Sage shook his head but returned with two orders about ten minutes later. Helena dug into the bag and stole a couple of his fries.

"Hey," he said, sulkily, "You have your own."

"Yeah, but they always taste better when they're someone else's."

Sage muttered something under his breath and drove until they reached a secluded area near the park. Helena wondered what the hell she'd been thinking, going anywhere with him - especially after she'd told herself that she didn't want to see him again. But there was something... something she missed about her interactions with Question. Sage was such an oddball - but so was she.

"I thought," he said after a long pause, "that you wanted to end all contact."

"I thought you were pro-vigilante," she said. "Being a rather good one yourself."

Sage sighed, took off his fedora, and ran a hand through his thick red hair. "I think I might leave the force," he said suddenly.

Helena nearly dropped her burger. "What? Why?"

"I can't get anything done. I might get into journalism."

"Q -" Helena hesitated. "Vic." And he looked at her sharply with those bright green eyes. "Vic, don't do that. You're one of the few good cops in this city. Gordon needs you. There's no reason why you can't be a cop and a vigilante at the same time."

He gave her a long, steady stare.

"Don't do that," she muttered. "Freaks me out."

"You never answered my question."

"What question."

"Helena ... why are you doing this? And don't ask me what, you know what I mean. You didn't want to speak to me again."

"You kinda freak me out."

"Likewise."

"Good. So we're agreed."

"No, that doesn't answer my -"

"Question?" she said, grinning.

He glared at her.

"You're the one with all the answers, Q," she breathed. "You figure it out." And before he could say anything, she threw the car door open and disappeared, food and all, down the alley. She felt Vic staring after her, and waited.

"Damn it," she heard him mutter; and she grinned. She'd snitched his fries.

Alkyone

"I'm sorry the evening had to end like this, my dear," Alfred apologized as they walked through the park, holding her hand in the crook of his arm.

Alkyone laughed, pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Dearest, like I said... this was the best night I've ever had. Not only did we have a fabulous dinner, but we got to take down an entire drug cartel in the course of a few hours. It's been just perfect."

Alfred smiled. "Likewise, darling."

"We kicked ass."

"Indeed we did."

"We need to do this more often."

"Most definitely."

"I haven't felt so alive in ages!" she tilted her head back, threw her arms out wide, and drank in the cool spring night air. "I feel so young, so ageless..." She said dreamily. She opened her eyes and laughed as Alfred took her in his arms. "I've never been so happy," she whispered.

Alfred's eyes grew dark and gentle. "Neither have I, my darling," he said, taking her in his arms.

"You're such a romantic, Alfred," said Alkyone with a teasing grin. "Who knew the rough, ex-soldier old butler would be such a caring gentleman?"

"You can't tell anyone," he warned, drawing her closer. "Even I have a reputation and identity to uphold."

"Your secret's safe with me, dear."

"I can't begin to tell you what a relief that is." And he leaned down and kissed her.

Jim Gordon

Jim rubbed his temples, staring at the mounds of endless paperwork piled on his desk. Although he knew he should've been pleased with the fact that he'd been elected Commissioner, he hated the paperwork more than anything. He stared at the dusty picture of Barbara, his now ex-wife. He touched it distantly. They had been happy once. Briefly. A very, very long time ago. But how long had that moment lasted? She had never been supportive of moving to Gotham, and of course, he couldn't blame her. She couldn't handle the fact that he might never come home. She'd been in hysterics every time he answered his phone one ring too late.

But Barb. His precious daughter. The last joy in his life. He couldn't lose her. He thought of her, thought of her never walking again. He put his head in his hands, his heart breaking once again.

He needed to catch that bastard. He needed to find the sick psychopath that had shot his daughter. He didn't know what he would do when he caught him. Because he would. He would catch him.

"Jim?"

Jim looked up to see Batman standing near the window, shrouded in shadows. Jim rose to his feet, nodded wearily.

"Thanks for coming," he said, slipping his hands into his pockets. "I know you guys are about to start patrol... But this has been on my mind for a while now."

"What's the problem, Jim?"

"It's Barbara. No, she's fine," he added hastily, noticing Bruce's concerned frown. "No, it's nothing urgent." He hesitated, then added, "I've been thinking about this for some time now. As you probably know, I don't have any immediate family - and Barb, my wife, has pretty much cut off all ties with me."

A pause.

"I'm sorry, Jim."

"Don't be. It was a long time coming. But seeing as how I'm the only family Barb has..."

"She doesn't talk to her mother?"

"No," said Jim wearily. "She refuses to speak to her again. And as Diana's really taken up the reins, and I know Barb thinks of her as an aunt, a second mother, really..."

"She's a smart young lady," said Bruce. "Brilliant, actually. She has an eidetic memory."

"She does? I knew she was smart, but she never told me..."

"She's several grades ahead," said Bruce. "She'll graduate college by the time she should be done with high school."

Jim shook his head. "Doesn't surprise me. All the more reason to -" He hesitated again. "Bruce, I'll be frank. I wonder if you and Diana would agree to be her godparents."

Bruce stared at him. "You want me to be her godfather?"

Jim had to keep reminding himself just how young the Dark Knight really was. Barely older than a college graduate. "Yes. If you would agree to it."

"Of course," Bruce said quietly. "Diana and I would be honored."

"Thank you," said Jim, relieved. "I'd just like to know that if something happens to me... that she'll be taken care of. I know you would take care of her even if you weren't her godparents, but it'll make me feel better knowing it's legal and binding."

Bruce nodded heavily. "I'll have the papers drawn up."

"I'll let Barb know. And thanks, Bruce. You don't know how much this means to me... How much it puts my mind at rest."

"I have a daughter, too," said Bruce grimly. "Trust me, I know."

Another pause. And Jim reached out and shook the Dark Knight's hand.

"Thank you, Bruce."

"You don't have to thank me," said Bruce quietly.

"Yes," said Jim. "I think I do." He turned, glanced at his phone when it started buzzing on the table. "Have you - " But when he turned back to Batman, the room was empty.

Jim shook his head. "Still don't get how he does that," he muttered under his breath.

Cassandra Cain

Cass waited on an adjacent building as Mom and Dad sneaked into a mob hideout to either question the men inside, or hopefully find Zucco. While Cass despised waiting, she knew the value of patience, and she would not disobey her father again. After a few moments of quiet, she heard a shout followed by blaring gunfire. Tensing, she waited, crouching, ready to spring into action. A moment later, a man flew out the back door, gasping and shaking, and sprinted down the alley.

Dropping down from the sky, Cass tackled the man to the ground, rendering him unconscious with one hand to his neck. But she heard a noise behind her, whirled around -

A crowbar missed her face by inches as she ducked and rolled over. Another man - she'd missed him! She bit her tongue as the second man took off down the alley and turned the corner. Cass jumped to her feet, raced after him, fired her grapple gun into the air, and swung up, pushing herself off a wall and surging forward. She stared down at the adjacent alley, only to realize with startled frustration that she'd lost her target. The man had disappeared. She alighted on an apartment railing in the dark, narrow alley, and mentally kicked herself.

"Psst," someone hissed.

Cass turned sharply, stared across the narrow, quiet alley. It was a boy looking out of a dark window. He looked around her age, maybe a year or two older. He pointed down the alley.

"He went that way," he whispered across the alley.

Cass stared at him, then looked down the street. She nodded, hesitated, and gave him a small wave, taking off down the alley.

The boy waved back, watching her go.

Only a few minutes later, Cass spotted the man still running. He finally halted, looked around frantically, and made another call.

"We were ambushed!" he snapped. "It was the Bat and the Amazon bitch! What? Look, you rat, I know what I saw! She was deflecting bullets, damn it! The rumors are all true!" A pause. "Yeah, well, then get the hell over here! They got another one with 'em now, a Batgirl!"

Cass resisted rolling her eyes. These guys were so stupid. Dangerous and stupid.

She was about to throw a batarang at his head, when he kept talking.

"No! You ask Zucco how the hell he wants to deal with this. What? Maroni? He what?" Another pause. Then, he laughed. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me. You think a couple of bullets are gonna take out those two? I barely escaped with my life. Now, are you comin' to get me or not?"

Cass tensed. What was the man talking about? Whatever it was, it had to be important. She whipped a batarang down at his head; and when it sang into the back of his head, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Cass jumped down, picked up the phone.

"Jonny? Jonny, you there? Jonny, pick up!" another voice shouted. The voice cursed and hung up.

Cass slipped the phone into her belt and slipped a steel cable around the man's foot after tying him up. Dragging him back down the alley, she glanced up and saw the boy peering out of his dark window, searching for something. Her, she realized. He was waiting for her. When the sound of the man's body dragging on the ground alerted the boy, he strained to see through the dark. Then, the boy's eyes locked on Cass.

"You got him?" whispered the boy.

Cass tugged at the man.

The boy grinned. "Sweet."

Cass waved and shot her grapple gun into the air, hauling the man up with her. The boy waved back, something curious shining in his green eyes.

Although we still had no direct location on Zucco, Bruce, Cass, and I were making excellent progress. The man she had taken down and hauled back to us had given us good information - on Zucco, on Maroni... And he told us that there was a possible new player. Something big was going down, and although he couldn't say when, Bruce and I knew that Maroni had upped his game. But what the game was... we still didn't know.

When we finally got back to the Cave at around five in the morning, Cass was still bouncing with excitement and eagerness. She jumped out of the Tumbler after Bruce, practically skipping beside him. She grabbed his hand, held it tightly as he first removed her mask, then went over and turned on the computer. After the screen started up, he turned down to her.

"You did good, Cass," said Bruce, pulling off his cowl and staring down at her with undeniable pride in his eyes.

Cass beamed up at him, threw her arms around his waist. He hauled her up into his arms.

"I'm proud of you, baby girl," he told her quietly.

I grinned at the pair of them. But then, I heard a noise, and startled, I whirled around and saw a flash of red in the dark. I lunged forward, snatched the fabric, and yanked the figure out from the shadows.

And Bruce and I stared down at a wide-eyed Dick Grayson.

Told you, signed Cass.

Thoughts?

So sorry for the long delay. I've been working double-time on my latest novel.

If you guys could pray for me... I'm waiting to hear back, once again. :) The writing process is a long one.

Expect more cameos coming up. And for everyone who's clamoring for Dick to become Robin... we'll get there! :) And the plot will thicken. But I really wanted to have some fun moments in this chapter before things get darker.

- Serena