Siblings
"Thanks for helping me
move these boxes downstairs, Dick," Clancy said, "That was a good idea to give
this stuff to the Wayne Foundation; I
just hope it gets to the people of Gotham.
With the weather turning so much colder now, these warm clothes will
help." The things they were carrying
had belonged to Mrs. Anderson who had been an elderly lady living alone on the
floor above Dick. Everyone had thought
that it was dangerous for her to live in Blüdhaven alone, but when asked, she
had said that she had lived here her whole life and couldn't imagine living
anywhere else.
"No problem, Clancy," Dick
said, "And don't worry about it getting to the people of Gotham. The Wayne Foundation is very careful that
everything they receive goes right to the people that need it most." Although the box he was carrying was
ackward, and he couldn't see his feet as he went down the flight of stairs,
Dick was actually glad for the exercise.
All the time he's put into his police training had left little time for
nighttime pursuits, and he was starting to feel a little restless. "The Waynes really helped me when I nee.."
"Dick, watch out!" As Dick put his foot on the next step, to
his surprise the step moved! The next
thing he knew, he was at the bottom of the stairs, with the box on top of him,
and there was a sharp pain in his left arm.
"omygod, are you ok, Dick?"
"Um, no, I don't think
so," Dick said as he started to sit up painfully. Clancy rushed to get the box off him. "I think my arm's broken.
What was that, anyway," Dick said looking around. His eyes rested on a child's skate. "Oh."
* * *
"Well at least now you get
a vacation from the academy," Babs said, trying to make it sound like a good
thing. Babs hardly ever left home; she
hated to be reminded that she was now limited to getting around in a
wheelchair, but when she had heard that Dick had been hospitalized for
overnight observation, she would have left in a heartbeat if there hadn't been
an army guarding the borders of Gotham.
As it was, she and Dick were forced to communicate by phone; she was one of the few people in Gotham to
still have phone access. Clancy had
brought Dick in, he had told Babs, but she had had to get back to the
building. Nice girl, Babs
thought, she looked like your typical young Asian woman until she opened
her mouth and that lilting Irish accent came out. Dick had told her that Clancy wanted to be a surgeon, and that he
was hoping that he could find a way to get the Wayne Foundation to help her
without her knowing his connection.
"Yeah, and from Nightwing
too," Dick sighed. "I haven't been out
in so long, and I really am needed right now. It's frustrating—I can't imagine
that Bruce would let a broken arm stop him."
"Oh give me a break,
Dick. You of all people should know
that Bruce is as human as they come.
Speaking of Bruce, do you want me to tell him about you're little
trip?"
"Nah. I'll be ok, and he has enough to worry
about. Besides, he'd probably try to
ground me. This is bad timing," Dick
sighed. "With all the new people coming
from Gotham, Blüdhaven really needs a protector, and Bruce has his hands full
with Gotham even if my ego did let me call him for help."
"Understood. It's just something about calling your dad
to come solve your problem—I've been there, trust me." Barbara's father was the
police commissioner of Gotham which meant he tended to treat any problem she
might be having, minor or otherwise, as a case to be solved which frustrated
her to no end. But she couldn't ask for
a better father, so she had learned to live with it. "Well why not go across instead of up?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Dick said, puzzled.
"Call Sarah. I know she's feeling left out. She wants to come help, but she knows better
to come without Bruce's permission.
Besides, I would imagine you and she would make a good team; after all
you two grew up together."
"Yeah, that's true. Sounds like you talk to her a lot more than
I do these days."
"Yeah. She's been a great
help with my trying to deal with this damn chair. I guess because she went blind when she was a teenager, I feel
like she has the best chance of understanding what I'm going through." Babs knew that Sarah had been blinded when
she was kidnapped from her New Orlean home by mutant-hunting government
officials. During her 'stay,' they had
experimented with her mutant ability to absorb without harm any toxin that
didn't exist naturally in the human body.
Their usual method of keeping her under control was to beat her, and the
injuries she had sustained had resulted in her blindness.
Sarah still spoke with a
Cajun accent, but all her years in Gotham had watered it down so Babs could
actually understand her most of the time.
She had been a ward of the thieves'
guild; she had always had wild stories about jobs she had done with that
family, although they had always been told in Bruce's absence. Babs remembered
when Dick had told her that Bruce had caught a girl in his home who had claimed
to be his daughter. Bruce had known
that he had a daughter in New Orleans, although of course he had never told
anyone, except maybe Alfred. In an
effort to get her out of the life of a thief, he had offered Sarah a home in
Wayne Manor. She hadn't accepted then,
but she had kept in contact with her father, and had finally reluctantly come
to live with Bruce and Dick when she lost her sight.
Barbara was knocked out of
her thoughts by an alert sounding on one of her terminals. Dick heard it too, and said, "Sounds like
you have to go. Thanks for the talk."
"Anytime, Dick, you know
that. Take care of yourself."
"Will do, I promise. I'm
going to call Sarah. Thanks."
"Oracle out." Although she had used a formal sign off,
Dick heard the smile in Barbara's voice, and found himself smiling as
well. After a moment of thought, Dick
got himself situated, and with the help of a nurse, dialed Sarah's number. "Hi,
Sarah, how are you doing?"
"Dick? Wow you know just when to call. I was just trying to figure out a way to get
out of grading these semester finals."
Dick laughed to himself. Ever
since she had become a college professor, Sarah had complained about grading
papers. She liked the teaching, she
said, she just didn't like the grading.
"Well how's this for an
excuse? Want to come down for a
visit? Maybe put on those claws of
yours?"
"Sure. Now's a good a time as any. It will give me a chance to get my mind off
things up here. But why call now? I've been waiting ever since the first quake
to get a call. But you know dad, never
needs help from anyone to protect his city."
"Yeah I know. I'm only 30 minutes away and I can't get
invited in either. I've had a bit of
an..accident. Fell down the stairs and
broke my arm."
"Ouch. Are you ok?"
"Yeah, just a bit of a ego
bruise. They've got me in the hospital
overnight."
"Well at least you'll get
some rest. I'm sure you've been running
yourself ragged; you've got too much of dad in you whether you like it or
not. I can be down there tomorrow, but
I'll have to drive since the airport in Gotham is no more. And I'll have to come down myself, so that
means coming as Shadowhawke."
"No problem. By the time you get here, I'll be out, and I'll meet you at my
storage shed. And I'll have everything
brailled for you by the time you get here."
"Very funny, boy
wonder. See ya soon."
* * *
As Sarah approached Gotham
City, she was overwhelmed by the bumper-to-bumper traffic going the other
way. It hurt to see so many people
abandon her second home, she thought, even though she knew it was the best thing
to happen. She just hoped that they
would return when Gotham was back on its feet.
It was going to get back to
its feet. Many people spotted
Shadowhawke's car and waved and cheered. Gotham is calling her heroes back
to her, Sarah thought, Even when her guardian refuses to, she added
bitterly. Though she knew he loved her,
Sarah found it very difficult to have a father that didn't show his love or
allow her to help him. At least she had
had Dick to grow up with. It had been
difficult to go from a whole clan of elders to one father and 'grandfather,'
but Dick had helped her to adjust.
Sarah had never actually
seen Gotham, except for that one day long ago, and from its rooftops, but she
loved the feel of her hometown—the feel of an aloof, graceful city reaching for
the sky, silently ignoring the corruption and crime. Not at all like her first home, New Orleans, which takes all the
corruption and covers it in bright colors and revelry.
Sarah arrived in Blüdhaven
and was met by Dick in the warehouse.
"It's nice to see you again, Dick," Sarah smiled and gave her brother a
hug taking care not to bump his immobilized arm. "How's it going? Besides the arm I mean."
"Umm..not bad I
guess. It's a good thing I'm
right-handed. Blüdhaven is hanging in
there too, considering all the new residents from Gotham. Haven't heard anything about Gotham except
what I get from Babs. She says Bruce is
back. I don't know why I always worry
when he disappears like that. You'd
think I'd get used to it."
"Because it's what
children do," Sarah said. "I can't tell you how often I've worried about
Dad..doesn't matter that he's been doing this long before I was ever
around." Sarah took off her mask and
detached her black-on-the-outside/blue-on-the-inside cloak which attached to
the backs of her legs just under the knees, to her wrists, and to the back of
her neck. Dick had always been amazed
that Sarah would take off her mask first since it was equipped with a STAR Labs
technology that allowed her to see, but Sarah had always shrugged when asked,
saying she was used to it. Her mask
looked just like Nightwing's, except that it had no eyeholes, and it attached
magnetically to nodes that lay just under her skin at the temples. Her bodysuit was black, with red and blue
armbands and legbands. She wore a silver belt that included her father's bat
symbol on the buckle and silver calf-high boots. Dick remembered when she chose her costume. She had chosen the blue stripes to honor
Batman, and the red to honor Daredevil, the hero that had proven to Sarah that
a blind person could have a 'superhero' identity. Dick watched as she felt for the tag of her gray Columbia
sweatshirt and put it on over her costume.
She then put on her jeans and shoes as easily as any sighted person. She
stuffed her mask and cloak into a backpack, pulled out her white cane, and took
her brother's good arm. "All set."
After a quick subway ride,
Dick and Sarah were back at his apartment and going up the same stairs Dick had
fallen down when Dick saw Clancy coming down the stairs carrying a box. "Oh, hi, Dick! I see you got your arm fixed
up. I'm so sorry—I feel so bad."
"That's ok, Clancy. This is my sister, Sarah Wagner. She's down from upstate for a visit. Sarah, this is Brigit Clancy, superintendent,
and friend," Clancy, noticing Sarah's white cane, looked uneasily at Dick.
"Hi, Brigit, how are you?"
Sarah smiled, feeling the familiar tension.
"I'm fine thanks, Sarah.
And call me Clancy. Didn't know Dick had a sister. Come to think of it, I don't know anything about his family. And I didn't think anyone came to Blüdhaven
for a vacation, even if it's to visit family," Clancy smiled. "Do I hear an accent?"
"Yes," Sarah answered, "I
lived in New Orleans until I was 15. No matter how long I'm out, I never quite
lose the accent. I hear yours,
too—Irish?"
"Yep. Born in Hong Kong,
raised in Ireland. I've had fun playing
with people. They don't expect an Asian
girl to have an Irish accent." She grinned at Dick—she had done just that to
him when they met in person for the first time, having had spoken on the phone
beforehand. "Oh, Dick, I'm calling a
tenant meeting to discuss the problems with non-residents using the common
areas." Then, adding almost to herself, "I sure wish I knew how to get a hold
of Dr. Fledermaus." Dick surpressed a
wince, stealing a glance at his sister.
Sarah looked like she had just tasted something sour, but hid it
quickly.
"Well, if he's never here,
I don't think he'd care about missing a tenant meeting about the common areas,"
Dick suggested.
"Yeah that's true."
Clancy said. Visibly breaking that
train of thought, she continued, "Oh well, I have to get the rest of this
stuff downstairs. Talk to you later,"
Clancy continued down the stairs, and
Dick and Sarah went into his apartment.
"Have a seat—about 4 paces forward there's a chair—I'll get us something
to drink."
"Sounds good," Sarah said
as she sat in the offered chair. "Dr.
Fledermaus?" she started. She had a
hint of teasing in her voice. "You
know, my German has gotten a whole lot better since I married Kurt. What would Dad say?" Sarah grinned.
"Yeah, I know. I figured I could afford to be cute. I don't think anyone would make that
connection--it would be an awful stretch.
Here..it's spring water." Dick handed his sister a glass, and went back
to the kitchen to retrieve his own.
"Anyway, I already have a tentative agenda for tonight. Lots of people seem to be disappearing. I thought we could track what happened to
them. Whaddya think?"
Sarah let out a short
laugh. "Well if they've been kidnapped,
the kidnapper is basically a thief, and since he's probably an amateur, I
should have no problem tracking him fairly easily. I know it's easy to forget,
since I'm such a good girl now, but your old friend Fingers isn't the only
thief in your mists," Sarah grinned.
"Didn't think it would be
a problem. I'm guessing now isn't a
good time to mention that Roy was supposed to come by yesterday. I called the
Titans Tower, and Donna said that he left on time, and Clancy said she hasn't
seen him, so I'm kind of worried. Keep
an eye out for him too, ok? Might be that he found some attractive young
thing, and it's tough to believe that an amateur thief, as you put it, would be
able to take him, but I think he would have shown up by now."
"Roy. That's the red-headed, smartass archer,
right?"
"Um..yeah..that would be
Roy. He's trying to grow up..really..I
think.."
Sarah laughed. "Yeah. He's cute.
I think I even dated him once."
She grinned.
"Very funny. Seriously, you were a Titan for a while--how
can you forget him?"
"Oh I don't. I remember him well—I was kidding
around. For some strange reason he was
always one of my favorite teammates.
Don't ask me why."
Dick nodded. "I know what
you mean. There's just something about
Roy. He makes you laugh in spite of
yourself. Well, whaddya think? Think you can find Roy and the other missing
people?"
"Yeah. No problem for
Batman's kids, right?" Sarah said facetiously.
"Yeah, that's the spirit,"
Dick said sarcastically.
* * *
Shadowhawke started in the
area of Blüdhaven that Dick had observed to be the area with the highest
incident of kidnapping. She was on the
rooftop of a building thanking God for the insulation in her suit and watching
two boys in a shouting match. The kids
didn't look like they lived on the street—at least not full-time—and they
seemed like brothers to her. One looked
about 11 and the other 17, but they both were white had the same sandy blonde
hair and similar slim builds. The
17-year old had a makeshift cart. Shadowhawke couldn't quite make out what they
were saying, but she wasn't particularly trying. She wasn't quite sure why she was watching the argument, but
something was odd. It was starting to
snow, and that always did cause problems with her visor. Her visor allowed her to see all the
normally visible wavelengths plus the infrared and ultraviolet spectrums, but
in inclement weather all the wavelengths tended to blend together even more
than usual. Well at least the kids below
stood out on the infrared lengths like a sore thumb. "Dick, you there?"
"Yep, all ears. What do you see?"
"The snow is messing with
my visor readings, but I have a pretty clear picture considering. Couple of brothers in a shouting match.
There's something strange about the scene though..I can't quite put my finger
on it," Suddenly it hit her, "Wait..I think there's someone huddling in the
corner. Let me listen." He must be really cold, Sarah
thought, to not have shown up so well on the infrared band. Sarah started to listen with hearing that
even the experts once suspected was mutant, and could make out the argument.
"But mom said to take each
one we find!" the younger boy was saying.
"Look at him, Jim, he's
old, and he's way too far gone. Mom's
never been able to help them when they're that sick."
"It doesn't matter! He at least deserves to be comfortable! Get him warm!"
"Sick?" Shadowhawke said
to herself, "something's definitely going on."
Then into the comlink, "Dick, something's up. Sounds like the boys are arguing on whether or not the person in
the corner is too sick to help."
"Sick?" Dick replied.
"Yeah that's what I
said. Sounds like someone is running
some kind of clinic. I hope the missing
people aren't victims of some kind of contagion—we've already been there." Although Shadowhawke had not been in Gotham
at the time, she had known through Oracle that the epidemic that had spread
through Gotham had almost killed Tim Drake, the current Robin. Shadowhawke's attention went back down to
the scene below, "Looks like they're moving.
And they're taking the man with them. I guess the younger boy won. I'm going to follow."
"Ok. I'll be here."
Shadowhawke followed the
boys pretty closely through the streets of Blüdhaven. They were too busy trying to keep their charge in the cart to
notice the tail, and they soon stopped at the steps of an abandoned
church. They went in, and Shadowhawke
looked for a less obvious entry. She
found it in the form of a second-story-high broken window, and went in,
silently swinging to a rafter. The
scene below her was like something out of a war movie. There were makeshift beds on the floor as
closely packed as they could be, and most were occupied, and there were
children lying on the abandoned pews.
There was one woman who had an air of authority and looked like she
hadn't slept in days. She was working
meticulously over a patient.
"My God. Looks like it's what we feared." Shadowhawke relayed the scene to her brother
and took the scene in more detail. "Oh
God, I found Roy," Shadowhawke
breathed.
"What? Where?" Dick
sounded concerned.
"Near the front of the
room. He looks bad, Dick. And it looks like he's out cold." From her vantage point, Shadowhawke could
see that Roy was lying on his back with his head lilted to one side. He wasn't moving, and a blanket was
protecting him from the cold, tucked up over his shoulders.
Shadowhawke's attention
was taken off Roy when suddenly the patient the woman was working over became
violent, and grabbed the woman by the throat.
The woman had been taken off guard and was in trouble. "I'm on the move. I'll keep the line open." Shadowhawke shot a line to a nearby
rafter and swung down to the scene.
She landed next to the struggle—she didn't want to hurt the patient
badly—and quickly broke the patient's grip on the woman. The patient fell back down, and the woman
staggered back, looking shocked at Shadowhawke.
"It's ok," Shadowhawke
said soothingly, "Sorry to jump in on you.
I was investigating the disappearances when I saw the boys," she
indicated the two boys who were still setting up the new occupant in a spot
near the back, "What is happening?"
The woman looked at
Shadowhawke and sighed, "I don't know, to tell you the truth. My sons—the boys you followed—and I started
to notice that people were getting sick.
I'm a doctor, and the hospitals wouldn't deal with them, and I couldn't
not help, so here we are. " She waved
her arms indicating the room. "Most of
them are really sick. I'm only treating
the symptoms—since I don't know the cause I can't stop it, and some have
already died. This old church has a
crypt and my sons and I have taken them
down there." The woman's sons, having noticed the rescue, came rushing to their
mother.
"Hey, I know you!" The
younger boy said, "You're from Gotham, aren't you? So are we. What?" The
last was said in response to his mother's warning look.
"Yes, I'm from Gotham,"
Shadowhawke smiled. "Name's
Shadowhawke."
"I'm Jim," the boy
answered. "And this is my brother Dave, and my mom, Dr. Pamela Sørseth." His mother's name was said with pride.
"Glad to meet you,
Jim." Shadowhawke was brought back to
the problem at hand and remembered her brother's friend. "Actually, I believe I know one of your
patients," Shadowhawke walked to where Roy was lying on the floor. He looked like death herself. "Oh God," Shadowhawke whispered, kneeling
next to him. Then, raising her voice,
but not taking her eyes off him, said, "His name is Roy Harper. He's the marksman known as Arsenal."
"That explains the weapons
we found on him. I'm hoping he's not
some killer." Dr. Sørseth said the last as a question.
"He is one of the good
guys, if that's what you mean," Shadowhawke was intentionally vague, knowing
Roy didn't have that same dislike of guns that had been engrained into herself
and Nightwing.
"Well, he's one of the sicker ones," Dr Sørseth offered. "We found him in an alley near Blood
Square." On his way to Dick's,
Shadowhawke thought.
"Do you know what's
causing the illnesses? Or how it's contracted?" Shadowhawke asked.
"No, like I said, all I
can do is treat the symptoms. It
doesn't seem to be contagious; my sons and I still seem to be well, although I
take blood samples every so often to make sure."
Shadowhawke started to
examine Roy more closely. "I might know
someone who can help you, and I think I
can get her to come. She's blind, so
she'll probably get her brother to bring her.
The illness seems like it could be caused by some kind of biotechnical
virus." Shadowhawke smoothed Roy's hair as if to comfort the unconscious
man. Of course she was speaking of
herself, and of course Dick would bring her.
She had seen the symptoms often enough to recognize a technical
contaminate, but like her brother, she had a strong line between Shadowhawke
and Sarah Wayne-Wagner. Dr. Wayne is an
expert in biotechnical engineering; Shadowhawke knows enough to get by.
"The person you have in
mind wouldn't be Sarah Wayne, would it?" asked Dr. Sørseth.
"Yes. Why, do you know her?" Sarah didn't recall
meeting this woman, but with all the people she's met in her work, she couldn't
keep track of them all, especially considering that if she had met Dr. Sørseth
as Sarah, she would of course not recognize her face now.
"Oh, no. I just know the name from med journals. I've tried to keep track of her work to a
degree since she's also from Gotham. I
have to admit that I find it fascinating that she's blind. Proves that anyone can accomplish anything
if they set their mind to it."
"Wayne? Oh! She's Bruce
Wayne's daughter!" Jim, who along with his brother had been standing next to
his mother all this time, suddenly seemed to be listening again. His brother poked him. "I always did reports on Mr. Wayne and his
family. Especially Dick. I always thought it would be interesting to
be in the circus." Shadowhawke heard a laugh in her comlink, indicating that
Dick had heard the boy's comment.
Shadowhawke laughed. "Yes, I guess it would be," she said. Then,
to Jim's mother, "I'll let Dr. Wayne know what's happening, and I'll take some
blood samples of various patients to her.
She'll probably be able to get here tomorrow afternoon."
"Great. Meanwhile it's about time for me to do
another blood check on myself and my boys.
Would you like me to include you too?"
"No, that's fine. I'll have Dr. Wayne check my blood if you
think she should." That was the last
thing Shadowhawke needed. Her mutant ability
allowed her to keep toxins in her bloodstream, and she had some pretty strong
ones in now. She thought right now a sample of her blood would burn through any
slide Dr. Sørseth tried to prepare.
Not many people knew that she was a mutant, let what alone her ability
was. Except the Joker of course. She frustrated him pretty well. A
life-saving side effect of her power was that her body produced an anti-toxin
to any toxin it was exposed to—she never did figure out why the anti-toxin
didn't just cancel out the toxin. That
had saved her father's life once—they had been fighting the Joker, and he
managed to hit the Batman with his venom.
In the interest of time, Shadowhawke had scratched some pretty deep
marks into her father to get the antitoxin into his bloodstream using the metal
'hawk's' claws she had created.
Across the room a patient
started to cough violently, and in the
spirit of her family, Shadowhawke took advantage of the distraction and hoisted
herself silently to the rafter above.
She laughed to herself when she heard Jim realize her disappearance and
say, "Whoa, she really is from Gotham."
She reported to Dick that she was headed back, and left through her
original point of entry.
* * *
"Dick, we've got to
wait. We can't go there now, and you
know it." It was early morning, and
Sarah, having just returned from the church, emerged from the bathroom after
showering and changing into blue sweats.
She still had her towel with her, and was rubbing her hair dry. "We have to give the illusion of Shadowhawke
contacting me. We can work from here
though. We'll go this afternoon, ok?"
Dick sighed. "Ok. I just feel so helpless."
"Well, I suppose I'm more able than most blind
people, but I still need help. You can help me." Dropping her towel on a nearby
chair, Sarah tied her still wet shoulder-length hair into a tight bun at the
nape of her neck. Despite the sweats
she was dressed in, Dick saw the transformation into the college professor she
is at home. "Ok, where do you keep
your equipment?"
"Mostly next door. 'Dr. Fledermaus' keeps it for me," Dick said
with a grin. "I created a trap door in the wall. Over here." Dick led Sarah to the wall. "Here on the
bookshelf. Hmm," Dick eyed Sarah's
height relative to the shelf, "About one shelf above your eye level, fourth
book from the right." Sarah estimated
the directions with her hand, and, releasing his sister's arm, Dick guided her
to the intended book. "Pull" The
bookshelf turned and they stepped into the neighboring apartment. "Not original, I know, but it gets the job
done. Ok, layout of the room. The floor plan is opposite my
apartment. There are a few computer
consoles to your right," Sarah laid her hand on the desk, "Unfortunately none
of them are set up for vocal output.
Across the way—straight path— is the chem lab."
"That's what I need. I have some blood samples of different
patients," Sarah thwarted the rest of the room description. She made her way
across the room, holding one hand out to catch the table. Dick followed and got a blank slide. "We'll take Roy's first," Sarah said as she
took the offered slide from Dick and put the sample in place.
"So what do you think this
is?"
"You know how closely I
keep an eye on the government. Sort of
like a Big Sister to Big Brother. Well
about a year ago I caught wind of a new technological virus, and I started to
work against it," Sarah put the slide under the microscope, "Look and tell me
what you see."
"How do you do this at the
university?" Dick asked as he put his eyes to the microscope being careful not
to bump his broken arm.
"Grad students," Sarah
grinned, "What's the verdict?"
"There's something like little claws attacking the red blood
cells."
Sarah sighed. "Yep, that's what I was afraid of. The good news is I'm just finishing up an
antidote. About to go to human tests. Can you get me a link to home?"
"Yep, it will have to be
through Babs though." A quick call to
Babs' Crays created a link to Sarah's lab at the university. She quickly downloaded the formulas to
Dick's machine.
"Ok, I've got the formula,
now I need the ingredients. Have any
contacts at local think tanks or universities?
If not, I can probably pull my weight as a prof at Columbia."
"Babs has contacts. Maybe
she can get one of her people to send over what you need." Dick when to the
computer console and brought up the vidiphone on a secure line, "Hey, Oracle,
you there?"
"At 8 am this better be
good. How's your arm?" Oracle looked as
though she had been woken up.
"It itches. Sarah's here. Last night she found a hidden clinic that was treating patients
with a biotech virus. Fortunately she
already has a formula, but she needs ingredients to make the antivirus. Can you help?"
"Sure thing. How're you doin', Sarah?"
"Good, Babs. You?"
"Hangin' in there. I see you already left a copy on Dick's drive. Let's see… Yeah this is no problem. I've got some people at Risa Tech who can
get this for you. I'll have them
deliver it as groceries, ok? With
Dick's broken arm it shouldn't cause suspicion. Let me know where this clinic is and I can have more sent the
same way."
"Great, Babs, thanks,"
Dick said.
"Glad to help, Oracle
out."
Dick hung up the line and
turned to his sister who had taken a chair near the desk. "Ok, so we wait for the components, make
the formula and go to the church."
"Yeah," Sarah paused.
"Dick, I've never had such close contact with the same person as myself and as
Shadowhawke in such a short span. With
my accent, I've wondered--do you think she'll see through the costume?"
"Naa..If people don't see
that Clark is Superman, with the close contact with people he has as both, you
should be ok. Even with that Cajun
accent of yours. Your blindness provides a unique cover."
"Yeah, I guess you're
right." Sarah seemed convinced, and she
let the concern slide away. She stood
up and headed back into Dick's apartment.
Dick followed her. "I'm going to take a little cat nap before the
components arrive, ok?"
"No problem. I'll give you a wake up call." Dick took a seat and picked up a book on
criminology, preparing to use the downtime constructively. Even with his broken arm, he still had
homework.
When the 'groceries'
arrived, Dick had the delivery boy put them on the table, and sent him away
with a very good tip. He went to the
couch where his sister was sleeping and shook her awake. "Groceries are here."
"Ugh" was Sarah's
response. She rose not very gracefully
and stretched. She had taken down her
hair, and it had irregular waves from being tied wet. She and Dick went back to the lab, and worked quickly and
silently to produce as much of the antivirus as the 'groceries' would permit.
* * *
It was about one in the
afternoon, and Sarah and Dick had just arrived at the church after creating
enough of the antivirus for Dr. Sørseth's
sickest patients. "Hello, Dr. Sørseth.
I am Sarah Wayne, and this is my brother Dick Grayson," Sarah started the
introductions.
"Glad to meet you, Dr.
Wayne, especially considering the circumstances. Do you think you can help these poor people?"
"Yes, fortunately. In fact I've been working on an antivirus
against just what I think you have here.
Shadowhawke told me you have a young man here named Roy Harper. May I see him?" Sarah felt her brother's impatience.
"Yes. Do you know him too?"
Dick spoke up, "He's a
good friend of mine." He lead Sarah through the patients following Dr. Sørseth
to Roy. They approached Roy, and Dick
helped Sarah to kneel beside him, and then stepped over his friend and knelt on
the other side. Sarah extracted Roy's
arm from under the blanket, and pushed up his sleeve, mindful of the scars on
his arm. She already got questioned
about his weapons, she didn't need to be questioned about his former
involvement with drugs. She felt for a
vein with her first two forefingers—this was going to be a challenge with Roy's
veins being such a mess—and held her other hand out to Dick. He handed over a syringe already prepared
with the antivirus.
Sarah explained as she
administrated the antivirus to her brother's unconscious friend, "Roy is the
first human to receive this—it cleared the virus in a about half a day in
previous experiments." She pulled the needle out, and handed the syringe back
to Dick. Dick took it, and Sarah put
her newly empty hand on her brother's shoulder. Squeezing his shoulder, she said softly, "It will be ok."
After tucking Roy's arm
back under the blanket, Sarah stood up, and Dick followed. She turned to Dr. Sørseth and said, "Ok,
show me your sickest patients. I have
about 25 doses here, and we'll set you up with the ingredients and show you how
to make it. Dick, why don't you stay with Roy." Dick, looking grateful, nodded,
and sitting crosslegged where he had been kneeling a moment ago, laid his good
hand on his friend's arm.
"Thanks, Dr. Wayne. It's good timing that you were in Blüdhaven. You're quite known in medical circles,
but I didn't realize you had a brother
in Blüdhaven."
"Of course, Mom!" Until
this moment, Jim had been watching Dr. Wayne in silence, but now he piped
up. "Dr. Wayne is Bruce Wayne's
daughter, and Mr. Grayson was raised by him! Mr. Grayson moved to Blüdhaven
about a year ago!"
Sarah smiled at the sound
of Jim's voice. "I've been away for so
long, I've forgotten how my family makes the front page of the 'society
pages.'"
"Not so much that, Dr.
Wayne, but Jim has always be interested in your family. He keeps talking about running away to the
circus."
Sarah laughed, "Not to New
Orleans, eh?"
"Nawlins?" Jim looked
puzzled.
"New Orleans, honey," Dr.
Sørseth offered.
"Oh," Jim blushed,
"Naa…sorry"
"That's ok, Jim, why don't
you help me check on the rest of these patients while your mom does her work?"
"Ok!" Jim beamed. He looked over at Dick, "That sick man is a
good friend of Mr. Grayson's?"
"Yes, but Roy will be ok,
don't worry."
"Good," Jim lead Sarah to
a young boy on a pew near the front, and Sarah began to examine him, feeling
his forehead, and taking a pulse.
"Dr. Wayne? Can I ask you a question?" Jim asked
timidly.
"Sure, Jim."
"What's it like to be
blind?"
Sarah's been asked that
question before, but it always seemed to take her for a loop. "I'll be honest,
Jim, it's tough. It's harder to get to
goals. And you have to learn how to let
people help you. I've always been one
to do things myself."
"How do you do everyday
things? Umm..like how do you match
clothes?"
"I get someone to mark
them with little knots in the tag. The
knots tell me what color the item is. See?"
Sarah pulled the back of her sweatshirt to show Jim the 4 little knots
shaped like a backwards L. "That stands
for 'ble' in Braille, which is my shortcut for 'blue.'"
"Cool. I know you're a college teacher, right? How do you correct your students' homework?"
"Boy, you've thought about
this, haven't you?" Sarah smiled. Jim
shrugged. "I have my students send me their
homework over the university's electronic mailing system. My computer is
equipped with voice output."
Jim nodded. "Dr. Wayne? Can I ask you another question?"
he asked with a downcast voice. Sarah
could tell that the impending question had been on the boy's mind for a while.
"Shoot."
"Is it ok to take drugs if
it they let you help people?" Jim asked
the question so quietly, Sarah wasn't sure she would have heard it if she had
had a sighted person's hearing.
"Well it depends," Sarah
said gently, "Why? Is your mom taking
something to stay awake?"
Jim nodded, forgetting
that Sarah couldn't see him, and then said, "Yeah."
"It's ok, we'll help your
mom. It might not be today, but I'll
make sure she gets help, ok? Do you
know where she keeps what she's taking?
Can you get me a sample?"
"Yeah, I can. Thanks, Dr. Wayne." Jim sounded relieved.
The pair worked in silence
as Jim led Sarah around to various patients that evening and into the
night. The next day she was laying a
cool cloth on a young boy when suddenly Dick called, "Sarah, he's waking up!"
Sarah got up suddenly and started to move before Jim reached her side,
resulting in her tripping over a patient.
Jim, in motion when he heard Dick's exclamation, quickly reached her
side, and guided her around the others to Roy.
Sarah knelt next to Roy,
"Roy? Can you hear me?" Roy's eyes were
fluttering open, and, after a minor fight with the blanket to free his arm, he
raised his hand to his head as he let out a groan. "Roy? How do you feel?"
"Yeah, I hear ya. Like I've been run over." His eyes opened
completely, and focused on Sarah, then on Dick, "Sarah? Dick? You're arm? What
happened?"
Not sure if Roy meant what
happened to him or to Dick's arm, Dick answered, "You got very sick, and were
found by a doctor who brought you here.
Sarah saved your life with a new antivirus. My arm's broken—long
story—I'll tell you later."
Roy looked at Sarah. "Saved my life? God, and I thought I could handle a trip to Blüdhaven."
Sarah responded, "Truth is
I don't think your illness was an accident.
I don't know why you and the rest of these people were targeted, but I
suspect it won't be hard to figure out."
Roy groaned again, and
attempted to sit up. With Dick's help
he succeeded, bringing his knees up and putting his elbows on his knees. He rested one forearm across his knees while
keeping his other hand to his head.
"God knows there are enough people who'd like to see me dead. Don't know of any in Blüdhaven off hand."
Dropping his hand, Roy looked around, "This is the first time I've been to
church in a while. All these people are
sick?"
"Yep," Dick answered, "Why
don't you rest for a bit, and when you feel up to it, we'll move you to my
apartment."
"I can go now," Roy
staggered to his feet, "I think I've been on this floor long enough." He padded
himself, "Where are my..uh..things?"
"Over there," Dick pointed
to the corner. "I'll get them. Sarah?" Sarah understood that her brother meant
for her to spot Roy. He was still a
little shaky on his feet.
"I've got a question," Roy
said, "If I was so sick, why wasn't I taken to a hospital?"
Sarah answered, "Dr.
Sørseth said the hospitals are refusing patients with these symptoms. Just the tip of what's making me think this
isn't an accident."
Dick returned with Roy's
'things,' which had been put in a backpack, and Roy tried to take it from
him. "No, I'll carry it," Dick
said, slinging the pack onto his free shoulder. "You have enough to worry about
just trying to move yourself." Resigned
and tired, Roy nodded.
"Dr. Sørseth?" Sarah
called. She imagined that the doctor
had come to the scene, but that Sarah had missed her arrival while fussing over
Roy.
"Yes, I'm here."
"We're going to go, and it
looks like Roy's coming with us. I'll
make the necessary arrangements for the components you'll need to make the
antivirus, and here are my formulas." Sarah held out the papers, and Dr.
Sørseth took them. "It's actually a
pretty simple formula. If you have any
questions, call the number I wrote at the top."
"Ok, thank you, Dr.
Wayne."
Sarah said her goodbyes to
Jim, and with Roy between the siblings but requiring no support, the trio left
the church. "You realize what a
sorry-looking group we are." Roy said,
amused, as they made the trip back to Dick's apartment.