Lifetimes
By Carla
DISCLAIMERS: All the characters and locations belong to DC or Warner, I'm just playing around with them. Helena-oriented, but other characters play a big role as well.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, this is it for this week, I hope you like it, thanks for all the reviews and I promise to get back to writing the moment I'm back at my place.
Chapter VIII: Victims
Bruce Wayne stared at his son, lying on his bed, sleeping peacefully. What a different story from the one they had lived for almost three days now, not knowing if his boy was going to pull through it or not. Luckily, it took more than a bullet to finish Dick Grayson.
Dick was smiling now, Bruce noticed. He was probably dreaming of his days at the zoo, about taking high risks, about taking over the night disguised as Robin, or now that adolescence had hit, probably about Barbara Gordon. But he was dreaming, he was happy, he was at peace, or so Bruce hoped.
He had done all he could to help this child when his parents died, because he saw such promise in him. And now, he had become more than just his ward, Dick Grayson was his son, Bruce had adopted him, and loved him as such and more.
Parents are supposed to keep their kids safe, not to dress them up and expose them to all the crazy rogue gallery of Gotham. But he had done it. And now, Dick was lying on his bed.
They had been facing off against the Joker... "The biggest fish!" Dick had called him, alluding to his smiling fishes, and his status among his enemies. Then, before Batman or Robin could react, the Joker had shot Dick. That damned clown had shot his boy, his son. That had been as close as Bruce hd ever wanted it.
Dick loved being Robin, Bruce was sure of that. But that wasn't important anymore.
I am the mission.
His own voice was calling out to him.
I am the mission.
But Dick isn't.
I am the mission.
I am a grown man, Dick is almost a child.
I am the mission.
I don't need him for the mission.
I am the mission.
I am and me alone.
I am the mission.
Dick was probably going to hate him. He couldn't bear the thought of his own son hating him, specially because he loved Dick so much, even if he had no idea how to express it. But when worst came to worst, he couldn't bear the idea of Dick hating him, but he welcomed it against Dick dying.
Dick's Robin costume was on a chair nearby his bed. Bruce took it in his hands. It was over, the game was over, there are some things men simply can't risk. The costume was not as important as his son, the mission was not as important as his son.
I am the mission.
And if the mission kills Bruce Wayne, if Batman kills Bruce Wayne, that's fine, for I am the mission. But Robin won't kill Dick Grayson.
"I'm sorry son." he whispered, kissing softly the young boy's forehead. Then, he walked away from his room, taking the Robin costume with him.
Years ago, Joker had almost killed his son, Dick Grayson. Then, he had successfully killed his second child and Robin, Jason Todd. After that, he had put a bullet in Barbara Gordon's spine and had Selina Kyle killed. And now, he was two seconds shy of killing his only daughter, Helena Kyle.
He'll be damned.
He hadn't used a batarang in years, but it was like riding on a bike, it came natural to him now that he needed it the most. The batarang got the clown right on the hand. The distraction gave Black Canary enough time to mentally move the grinder, and for Nightwing to help Helena out of the mess. Joker was now staring at him.
"Batman," the clown said, a sick smile appeared on his face. He said it like a whisper, he was savoring the moment, drinking on the presence of his greatest foe. After so many years, they were standing on the very same place. Batman against the Joker, with Batman's family on the line of fire.
"Joker," he reciprocated, in his grave tone of voice. All action surrounding him stopped: Harley Quinn walked towards Joker, standing by his side. Nightwing was as well at Batman's side in an instant, and Black Canary soon joined them. Huntress was now standing on her own, she healed as fast as Selina did, he noticed, and was standing near Canary.
::Batman, get out of there.:: he heard Oracle's voice, ::Some of the neighbors called the police, all the noise has drawn attention. Reese is trying to distract the bystanders, but when the police gets there... Joker will kill them.::
"I know," he replied.
"What now, Batsy?" Joker was smiling and he noticed, for the first time, Harley Quinn was looking strangely from him to Huntress and back at him, mouthing something she didn't finish saying. He made a quick note of that and continued addressing Joker.
"What do you think Joker?"
"Well, I was about to kill the Huntress here, but I guess you'll object to that... wait just a minute there, champ..." Joker looked to be deep in thought, Batman knew what was forming in his sick mind, it was rather obvious, "This kid is Catwoman's... man! You actually did Catty!"
"You bastard!" Helena launched herself to Joker but he was faster, probably because of desperation, since she was the meta. He grabbed her by then waist, "Let go the hell out of me, Batman! I'm going to finish the job you wouldn't!"
"Well, well, well, Batsy's little girl has a big mouth on her, hasn't she Harley?" Harley barely nodded, looking intensely at Batman. Helena's comment had stung Bruce, but he didn't let go, this wasn't her fight, it was his, it had always been his.
"It's you an me now Joker!" he said, tightening his hold on his daughter. He could hear the police sirens now, they were close. Joker heard them too, but with Batman around, e was probably more interested in his archenemy than in shooting policemen.
"Afraid not right now, Bats, but soon. Don't call me, I'll call you." And the Joker sent out a blast, cracking what was left of the roof, he and Harley were already running away, while the four of them were trapped in the remains. Luckily, the clown didn't intend to kill them right then, not until his final battle with Batman. All he had time for was to push Helena to the floor and cover her with his body, screaming for Black Canary and Nightwing to get down as well.
Once the tumbling down was over, they found the most unseen way to get out, since a bunch of curious were already gathering around. When they got a few blocks away, in an empty alley, they finally stopped to catch their breaths.
"Nice rescue, Batman." Nightwing said once he had calmed down, "Thought you didn't have the costume?"
"Alfred." He aswered.
"Got it."
"What now?" Black Canary asked.
"We get back to the Clock Tower, plan with Oracle and Black... well, Carolyn." Batman could see young Dinah Lance smile, she was probably proud Batman was now acknowledging her as the Black Canary. Kids. He didn't really like them. Which brought him back to...
"You okay, Huntress?" he asked. Helena was crouched, her head in her hands. He put a hand on her shoulder and she snapped.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Pardon me?" he asked.
"Helena..."
"Not now, Dinah! What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"The job," he answered calmly.
"Not yours anymore. You left New Gotham, we don't need you here anymore. 'I' don't need you." She started to walk away.
"Didn't look like it back there." Batman shot back, he would force this girl to talk even if he had to tie her to a chair. His comment made her stop. She turned, her eyes looking just like her mother's... whenever she was about to use her cat-o-nails on him. He braced himself for it.
"Look, Wayne, this is the deal: We have to work together to stop this scumbag, I get that. But, we're not friends, we're not team mates, we're nothing. I'm my own woman now, I don't need big bad bat to take care of me, and if Joker kills me... I rather have that than owe you my life. Let's get the job done, so you can run away far from Gotham again, alright?" Then, Helena climbed in less than five seconds a twenty-story building. Canary and Nightwing were just staring at him, until he finally started walking towards the car.
"Come on, back to the Clock Tower."
"Batsy is back! Can you believe it, Harley?! Batman is back in town... for me to kill!!!" She could hear her dear Mistah J talking, but she wasn't really paying attention to the words. She was thinking, linking... she knew so much of Helena Kyle, she was her therapist after all! And gods, the girl had a troubled mind! She actually did like that about her. And after all, she was Catwoman's daughter. Harley had never disliked Selina, she had been fun, she had been good... if a little annoying acting like she was queen of the world all the time. One thing no rogue was that happy about though, was the fact that she had this... tie, to their sworn enemy, the Batman.
The truth of the matter was Catwoman had been quite taken with the Dark Knight. Dark and broody was sexy, that much was true, but Catwoman had seemed to be unable to make her mind between being a rogue or a member of the bat-squad. Harley knew her Mistah J had Catwoman killed, and she understood his reasons. That was not about the kitten, but about her bat-boy-toy.
When Harley had met Helena Kyle, two facts had struck her: First, she had Selina's personality, that was a good thing, she had hoped to work with that, with her inner rage; second, she didn't look like Selina! She had this feline sexy look about her, like her mom, but she didn't resemble her. And that had brought up the issue of the father... man, she was so happy about going back to her dayly job... she had finally cracked the big secret... SHE! Harley Quinn! HARLEY QUINN! H-A-R-L-E-Y... Joker's sidekick, everyone had treated her like just a sidekick all the time back in the old days... but Two-Faces never cracked the secret, Penguin, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, none of them, not even Joker himself... she knew now.
"HARLEY!!!" she heard him yell and all of a sudden she was flying towards the wall, "Are you listening to a word I'm saying???"
"Sorry, Mistah J... but I know how to make it up to you..."
"Really?" Joker asked. Harley stood up and walked slowly towards where he was now sitting, making herself comfortable on his lap. She started kissing his neck, "Well, I'm still waiting, Harley!!" she heard him say.
"While you were gone, Mistah J..." she started, still caressing him, "I got back to my old job."
"The shrink thing?"
"Yep. And Huntress... Helena Kyle, was a client of mine."
"Are you kidding?!"
"Nah-ah... I knew she was Cat's kid, never knew she was Bat's too. But during our sessions... she did share with me her father's... civilian identity." Joker was looking at her straight in the eye now, she could see understanding downing on him.
"You mean..."
"Batman, is Bruce Wayne..." she whispered.
He smiled.
"Black Canary?" was the first thing Carolyn said as Batman, Nightwing and her daughter entered the Clock Tower.
"Hope you don't mind..." Dinah smiled back at her.
"How could I? You're worthy of the mantle, I know it."
"Thank you!" Dinah hugged her, how much had she missed her little girl's hugs, her very presence. She was thankful to the heavens she had even another chance to be a part of Dinah's life, she wasn't going to blow it this time around. As she saw Batman sit heavily on the couch, taking his mask off, she could only wish the same for her old friend.
"Where is Helena?" Oracle asked.
"She's not here yet?" Nightwing shot back.
"No... what...?"
"She took off." Batman said. Carolyn and the others knew better than to push him on the subject.
"Okay... she's probably messed up with this Harley Quinn thing..."
"What IS this Harley Quinn thing, Barbara?" Carolyn asked, still not sure about what ties Helena Kyle had with the Harlequin.
"She's Helena's therapist." That did it. Carolyn could see Bruce's head snap up and Dick... well, being Dick he was about to make a comment and laugh at the INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS situation... but that was just Dick Grayson.
"What a sec, Babs... Helena has been taking psychological advice... from... Harley "The Whacko" Quinn!!! Is this for real?!"
Well, put it that way, it was pretty damn funny... Carolyn decided to better hid her smile, since Barbara was shooting daggers at Dick with her eyes and Bruce was about to lose it.
"This is not a joke!"
And there goes Batman, she thought...
"If anything, this is a liability. We have no idea how much information Helena has shared with this woman, and Joker already cracked that she's my daughter! Now, we have to deal with the situation as fast as possible, before it becomes any more volatile. Oracle," he addressed Barbara, "track down Huntress, we need to make a plan, all of the players are to be here. Tell her she won't have to talk to me if she doesn't feel like it, but to get the hell here!" With that, Bruce walked away, to the balcony of the Clock Tower, were he could see New Gotham.
"They had a fall out." Dick commented off-handedly. Oracle just nodded and went to call Huntress. Carolyn patted her daughter's shoulder and went to join Bruce Wayne.
The sight was amazing, it was inspiring... all the people below, they depended on them, on what they were about to do... and they didn't even know it. But Bruce Wayne was probably not thinking about them right now, probably for the first time in his life.
"Give it time," she said. Bruce didn't even acknowledge her presence, so she continued, "She just met you, Bruce, she's mad. When she comes around..."
"Why is she mad?" he asked. It was a simple question, but she could see it was tearing him up, "I never knew, Carolyn! Barbara and Selina hid her well... Why do I feel so guilty, even if I had no chance to change things..."
"Because you failed your daughter. Best intentions, best excuses, those doesn't change the fact that you failed your daughter." They remained in silence for a beat.
"I didn't know you had a daughter," he finally commented.
She smiled.
"Yeah... I hid it well too. After I left..."
"You mean after we broke up... I'm sorry about how everything turned out, Carolyn. I was damaged, shouldn't have allowed it to happen..."
"I wanted to, I pretty much insisted on it. And I knew you weren't over her. You aren't over her even now." She smiled sadly, so did he.
"Selina was... I just loved her so much, and she loved me... and she's responsible for this whole mess. She played me... she lied to me, she took my child away... and I still love her. I see her reasons, I just... it would have been so much easier if she had told me."
"You don't understand, Bruce..." Carolyn sighed, "You couldn't. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but Selina took the right decision." She could see Bruce's eyebrow get up. "I know, I don't like saying it either, but I can understand her as a mother."
"Dinah's father..."
"He's not the issue, and no, I never told him, wasn't about him."
"How can you...?"
"I know you're sensible about this issue, Bruce, but Dinah's father was better off. You and Selina are a whole different story."
"How come? What Selina did..."
"She wasn't thinking about you. Get that, Bruce. Dinah's dad was some guy I met, he had a family, a wife, kids, a normal life. He was a meta, but he hated his powers, he never used them. I was a vigilante in the line of fire the whole time. He regretted our affair every day since. Would it had been good to tell him? Or Dinah?" Bruce just stared at her. She trusted this man with her life, that was the only reason she was telling him all of this.
"I can see your reasons, Carolyn... I would've loved Helena."
"I know, Bruce, and I'm sure so did the thie... Selina. But can you look at me, straight in the eye, and tell me you would have given up the mantle? For Selina? For Helena? Would you have stopped being a hero?" He was back in silence. She knew she had hit home. Good, he had to admit some things to himself as well.
"No," he finally answered, "But I would have taken some time off, I could've taken a step back, spending more time with my family..."
"That just isn't enough."
"How can you...?"
"That's what I did, Bruce!" she almost screamed, "When Dinah was born, I did all that, and when she was six years old, someone planted a bomb in her bedroom. After that, I couldn't do it to her anymore, I gave her up. We met again a few moths ago and she just hated me. The only reason she's even talking to me now is because she thought I was dead... don't fool yourself, Bruce. When someone like us is faced with this kind of decision... you have both, you know? You're either a hero, haunting at night, half the world your enemies, or you're someone's parent. Selina gave up The Life for her daughter, you and I, we couldn't give up The Life, and I ended giving up my child. You're right, you're not as much as fault with your daughter as I am with mine, you can work on that."
"I am," he whispered so softly she almost missed it "She knows this... Selina knew me so well... she knew I wasn't about to give up The Life, even for our baby, that's why she took off. And then... when I left... she was alone, and she was mad, and all she understands is that I allowed her mother's killer to walk away."
"He was locked away..."
"She wanted him dead."
What could she say? She just slowly started to walk back to the living room, there she saw Nightwing and Dinah talking, her daughter felt her eyes, and waved at her, smiling. Carolyn just smiled back at her.
"She'll come around, Bruce. Trust me." And then she joined her daughter.
"Hey there." He smiled at the woman lying over his car. She smiled back at him, but he could read the tiredness on her face. He had been helping to evacuate the ares of the 'mysterious confrontation' at the pet shop. His car was on a safe distant, so no one could see either of them now.
"Everyone's alright?" she asked, as Reese encircled her waist with his arms and kissed her slowly.
"No casualties," he finally answered.
"Good."
"What about you?"
"Dinah, 'Wing and Batman are probably back at the Clock Tower. Joker and Quinn left as well."
"Why aren't you back at the Clock Tower."
"I wanted to see you." This time, she was the one who kissed him.
"That's sweet," he smiled, "But a lie. What's going on? You should be back with your friends sketching a plan... hell, I should probably be there as well!"
"I just..." she started.
"What happened Helena? I was evacuating the zone and next thing I heard was you saying good-bye over the com system! I couldn't even get inside, the cops were around me! Then all of a sudden you're alright..."
"Okay... the thing is, Joker had me. I was good to go Reese, no way to escape, 'Wing and Canary... that's Dinah now, couldn't help me... at the last moment, he showed up."
"Batman?"
"He saved me, he stopped me from killing Joker and when the rooftop came down he shielded me with his own body."
"And that's a bad thing...?"
"Why did he do it Reese? Why?!"
"Helena, he's your father..."
"How can you be the father of some woman you just met! And I don't need him, I can't need him..."
"Helena..."
"You don't get it, Reese... I don't know him, I can't trust him. For all I know he can act like he cares about me now and leave town the moment Joker is taken care of."
"How do you know that?"
"Well he IS big in running away... and I can't take the chance. I just can't and I..." she couldn't quite finish her sentence.
"You're starting to wish you could?"
"I... I don't know. He's my father... that won't change just because I will it to change... And you were right, my mom would have wanted for me to give him a chance... He doesn't seem like a bad guy, does he?"
Reese smiled at her and caressed her cheek, she was as eager as a little girl, and she was starting to calm down.
"Yeah, he does."
"I snapped at him, Reese."
"What do you mean?"
"After he saved me... I was so... I don't know, shocked I guess... and I just said hateful things out of the blue, for no reason, because I was so damn scared..."
"Go to him and take them back."
"I can't do that?"
"What do you have to lose?"
"EVERYTHING!! Can't you see it? After what I have said, he's probably going to forget all about me now... he's going to leave and never look back, and I rather he do it sooner than later when I..."
"Get attached..."
"I just don't know what to do anymore, and then Joker on top of things... and Harley! Damn it, she's my shrink!"
"WHAT??!"
"I've been taking anger management therapy..."
"Are you kidding?? All this time... this is you trying to control your temper??!!" He was almost laughing now.
"Do you mind?" she asked him.
"Sure... sorry."
"Good... It happened Reese, I was this close to kill him with my bare hands, but Batman stepped in... I was just so mad... I want to tear the Joker apart with my hands and I want him to suffer, for as long as I can make it last, he should suffer as much as mom did when that henchman stabbed her, as much as I have every day since..."
"Hey, hey, hey... he will, Helena... he's back to jail the moment we get to him..."
"That's not good enough!"
He was surprised that her eyes changed to cat-looking, even though she wasn't about to get into a fight... at least he hoped so.
"Okay... never mind now... just calm down, okay?" He took her in his arms and was happy that she didn't pull away. Her head was resting on his shoulder, her arms around his waist.
::Huntress... Report, Huntress.::
"Damn it!" Helena exclaimed.
"What?" Reese was surprised.
"You don't have your com on, do you?"
"No."
"Oracle's calling me."
"Oh." He searched frantically for his com system so he wouldn't miss the rest of the conversation.
"I'm here, Oracle," she answered.
He got his com system on.
::Huntress, you have to get back to the lair, NOW! We need a plan... and I have some things to tell you.::
Reese noticed Oracle sounded mand apparently Helena was as surprised by this as him.
"Alright, I'm on my way," she answered.
"What about me?" he asked.
::Reese? Good. Get back to the police station and make sure none of your colleagues gets close to us or Joker... I'll call you when we need your help.::
"Fine, just keep me posted."
::Deal. Huntress, now.:: and that was it.
"Guess I should leave." Helena said.
"Yeah... Be careful, okay?"
"Promise... you too?"
"Sure thing. Come here." He kissed her one last time, before she smiled at him and made her way back through the rooftops.
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING???" was the first thing Oracle said... well, yelled at Helena, the minute she got back to the Clock Tower.
"I was with Reese." The younger woman seemed confused.
"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it! What were you thinking, Helena?"
"You know what, Barbara? Cool off, I don't know what your problem is..."
"My problem? My problem?! Well Helena, my problem is that you came this close to commiting suicide." She had taken Helena aback with her accusation. Helena was good at hiding her emotions, but Barbara could read some things about her no one else could. This time, it was there for about half a second, but she knew the look that crossed her face. She was surprised... She had got caught.
"What the hell are you talking about?" she shot back.
"I know you, Helena, I do. I've seen you walk away from bigger messes and I know that, up until this moment, the one thing I could count on was for you to never give up. Why?" No answer, "Why so easily? Why with Joker?"
"I wasn't..."
"Stop lying, please. Why did you do this? Why were you giving up jut like that..."
"I..."
"Helena, please..." she begged.
"I don't know." Helena finally whispered, "I just... I thought that was it, over..."
"It was not..."
"But I wanted it to be over..." Barbara noticed Bruce Wayne standing by the doorway, Helena's back to him and Huntress' senses were a bit off at the moment, so she probably didn't feel him.
"You're so young..."
"I'm so tired, Barbara... I'm just making all this thing so much harder... I just thought he was going to kill me... I didn't intend it that way but... for a moment... I felt relieved."
"Relieved?"
"That I wouldn't have to deal with all this mess anymore... my life, that I would see my mother again and she would protect me... I don't know."
"Please Helena, never, ever, do this again." Barbara could feel tears falling down her cheeks and Helena seemed very lost at the moment.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."
"I know."
"I don't want to die."
"Good, I don't think I could live with the idea of you dying, Helena... you know that, don't you? I know you hate this part, but I love you, I want you to be okay, you're my family."
"I know."
"Good." Barbara caressed her cheek, smiled at her, and wheeled away. She could see Bruce was now about to approach her daughter.
Bruce was trembling as he made his way to Helena. He just couldn't believe what he had just heard... His daughter had almost allowed the Joker to kill her... And she hadn't done it because she wanted to kill herself. She had just wanted everything to stop... he could sympathize with it, but he couldn't be one of the bad things she wanted to fade away.
"Helena..." he whispered when he was close enough. The girl almost jumped from her skin.
"Where you listening the whole time?" she asked composing herself.
"I'm sorry, I never meant to..."
"I can't believe it..."
"Damn it, Helena! Just allow me to talk for five minutes and then if you still want me to, I'm out of your life, but let me say this."
She was surprised by his outburst, he could tell, but at least now he had the chance to have this conversation with her.
"I don't blame you... for wanting to make all this thing stop... I've been there so many times... That's just running away, and you're right. I did that, but you were about to do it yourself now... All I'm saying is that when things get too out of hand, our first impulse is to run away. I don't blame you, I have no right to, but... I can't be one of the things you want to forget, I can't be the one pushing you over the edge. I want to get to know you, and I want to be your father, but that doesn't matter... This is about you, not me, what you need, and if that's me disappearing from your life, I'll do it." Silence, she wasn't even looking at him anymore. He took it as a sign and started to walk away.
"Did you love her?" her voice made him halt. Thanks God.
"So much..." he whispered, turning back to face her, "Never before and never after have I loved anyone quite the way I loved your mother... She was beautiful, brilliant, funny, crazy, dangerous, bold... She was everything I could've dreamed of."
"She always loved you, she told me so."
"Did she?" He could feel the tears threatening to come down his face.
"Yeah. And that the only reason she left was that she knew you couldn't give me the life she wanted for me."
"She was right... I'm so sorry Helena, but..."
"You had to be Batman?"
"Do you know why I took the mantle?"
"No... Barbara tried to tell me a couple of times, I never really listened..."
"When I was a kid, I was walking down an alley with my parents, we were mobbed, and then they were both killed... right there, in front of my eyes... I wasn't older that ten... and I saw their lifeless bodies... So I decided never to allow it to happen again, that no other kid would live through that... and for all of the lives I've saved, for all the kids that didn't go through that... my daughter did... I can never apologize enough for that... Selina was killed because of me, and I wasn't there to protect her... or you." He looked at her intently, she looked just like a little girl and he wanted to take her in his arms so badly, to allow her to get the rest she needed, protect her from her own demons... But he couldn't, not just yet.
"I felt so helpless..." she started, "I was sixteen, I saw that man stab her... He was standing there, knife in his hand... the knife was tainted with her blood... he let it fall and ran away... I yelled for someone to catch him but no one moved, and I couldn't bring myself to leave her side... I was trying to stop the bleeding, to get her to open her eyes... but she didn't... and now, I save so many people on a regular basis and I couldn't help my own mother..."
"I know... I understand, Helena, more that anyone else could."
She looked back at him, he released the breath he didn't know he was holding.
"I'm mad at you... I'm not sure why, but I just am..."
"I know."
"You abandoned me... and I know you never knew about me... But I was so scared and I thank God I had Barbara with me... but I... I... I needed you."
"I wish I could've been there... I wanted so badly to be there..."
"All I ever wanted for you was to find that bastard who stabbed my mom and kill him... but you wouldn't do it."
"I wanted to, I still do... But I can't do it."
"Why not? If you loved her so much..."
"That's why I can't, because I love her. Because that wouldn't bring her back to me, because that wouldn't be the man she fell in love with... and truth be told, I don't think Selina would've approved of that... she had this... amazing and incomprehensible code of ethics, probably only made sense to her," he couldn't hide his smile, "One thing that was set on stone for her: she wouldn't kill, not ever if she could help it. I couldn't do it. Less can I now, with you staring at me... I can't do it now because Selina went to such a length for you not to follow on her footsteps... I can't Helena, I'm so sorry."
They stared at each other for about thirty seconds, in which neither of them said a word, until she finally spoke again.
"I can't promise I won't kill him."
"I know. But you must know, I won't let it happen." She smiled, "What was that for?"
"You're the second to make that promise to me."
"See? Then that's taken care of." Another awkward pause.
"If you're leaving New Gotham," she looked at him, and he noticed the vulnerability in her eyes, "Tell me now."
"Do you want me to?"
"No... not yet..." she amended.
"Then I won't... I know I'm not a father to you yet, but I want to be... I want to get to know you... to earn your trust... and I want you to know me as well. Can we... please, do that?"
"We can try," she answered, looking shyly away. "I can't promise anything."
"I know... but I'm willing to take my chances with you." She smiled at him, and it was the single most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire life. His daughter was smiling at him, for the first time ever, his child was smiling at him, no hatred on her face, just nervousness, for what was about to happen, for the future ahead of them... a noise interrupted them.
"What the hell is that?" he asked.
"Delphi Alert!" she said, running towards Oracle's monitor room, he followed behind her. The image that greeted him, he would never forget for as long as he would live. In one of the monitors, there he was, Joker.
Not only that... Joker was smiling back at him... and he was at Wayne Manor. Bruce would recognize his own home... and worst.
Joker was pointing a gun at Alfred's head.
Alfred.
"I'm here, Batman... or should I call you Bruce?" Joker started, following with one of his hateful laughs. "Come and get me... or the old man is a goner."