CHAPTER 2
"Dick Greyson? You're Nightwing!" Helena said in awe.
"That's me. I know I've been gone from Gotham for so long, and I missed you growing up, but indeed you have grown up to be a beautiful young woman. You're eyes are a dead give away, that's how I knew it was you. So tell me, did your father train you to fight this way?"
"No, my father has disappeared from Gotham. I have no idea where he is, and right now, I can care less." Helena replied.
"Bruce left Gotham? What could possibly cause Bruce to quite being Batman? That's not the Bruce Wayne I know."
"Well, the 'Bruce Wayne' I know is an abandoner. He abandoned me! He left when my mother was murdered by Clay Face. He didn't come to console me or even take me in."
"You're mother is dead? Helena, I'm so sorry!"
"It was more than the murder of my mother that made Bruce leave. The Joker hired Clay Face to have her killed. The Joker, before he was killed, wanted my father to suffer, so not only did he have her killed, but he tried to have Barbara killed."
That information got to Dick. "Barbara Gordon? Batgirl? Please don't tell me she was murdered too!"
"She's alive," Helena replied. "She's the one that raised me since my mother died, and trained me to be the Huntress."
A great relief came over Dick. "Glad to see that she's okay and still here fighting crime in Gotham. So where is she? Is she still working as Batgirl?"
"Since the day she was shot, she could never again be Batgirl."
"Why?"
The sound of police sirens began to echo through the streets. Helena looked around and then back towards Dick. "You'll see for yourself. I think that sound means it's time to head off. As of late, the police and I are in the middle of a misunderstanding. Follow me."
* * * *
Barbara and Dinah were alone at the clock tower. Helena was out roaming New Gotham so this was the perfect time to find out what has been bothering Dinah. "I still don't understand what you are upset about. I'm your English teacher, so what?"
"So what? We live together, and now I can have you nagging me at home about my English homework!"
"I am not going to nag you about completing your homework here at the clock tower, however, in the classroom, I will treat you the same as any other student, and you are to treat me as you would any other teacher."
"No, I would have to treat you better than I do any other teacher," Dinah muttered underneath her breath.
Barbara looked up at her suspiciously as the elevator reached the top floor. "Are we going to have to have a talk about your performance in your class rooms?"
They heard the door open so they both knew this conversation was going to continue later. Helena came walking into view, with a smile on her face. "Hi guys! We have a visitor that you may want to meet, Barbara."
Coming up from behind Helena was someone Barbara had not expected to see again, and that fact was clearly apparent on her face. "Dick?"
"Hi, Barbara!" He smiled. Dick and Helena joined Barbara and Dinah onto the platform. Dick was looking at her sympathetically. "I can't believe that your paralyzed. I thought you would still be working with Bruce and Tim."
Barbara had mixed emotions about seeing Dick again, and Helena noticed it almost immediately. "Yea, It's no fun, but I've dealt with it."
Alfred entered the room, and there was a pleasant smile on his face. "Master Dick! Indeed this is a very pleasant surprise to see you again!"
"Hiya, Alfred. Please," Dick looked at everyone in the room, "I go by the name Richard now. I'm not a young man anymore." Dick smiled. "Helena has filled me in about what's been happening here in New Gotham since my departure."
"That's good," Barbara replied. "Now you can fill us in on about you, as in why have you not kept in touch and why you left, and why you chose now to walk back into our lives?" Barbara looked at him, with a little frustration in her voice.
"Fair enough," Richard conceded. "I know you must be a little sore at me, Barbara, and you have every right to be. I have not followed events here in Gotham for a long while. Well, obviously Bruce and I had our differences, and that's why I quit being his protégé and went solo and became Nightwing. For awhile, things were going great, and Bruce even found himself a new Robin. What you probably didn't know is that the disagreement between Bruce and myself had intensified greatly. It was about the time Helena was born when I had enough and left Gotham for good. I wanted nothing to do with Bruce at that time.
"From there, I moved to the far end of New York and worked as Nightwing there. Crime was very slow there, so eventually I decided to retire from Nightwing and go into business. I now own a multi-million dollar business of my own, nowhere near the money Wayne Corp. brings in. Anyway, just recently I happen to have discovered that these things were being distributed in the streets." Richard threw a small green square object over at Barbara.
She caught it and began to inspect it. "What is it?"
"When I tell you, you are going to know exactly what I am talking about and why I am gravely concerned. They are being called venom patches."
Barbara looked at him in disbelief and in horror. "I prey to god that this is a joke!"
"Wait a minute, did I miss something?" Helena said, stepping in between the two of them. "Venom patches? What is so horrible about that?"
"You don't know the half of it, Helena. Your father faced many villains in his lifetime, but none so deadly as a villain named Bane. He had the strength of a thousand man, and it's because of a poisonous serum called Venom. The more he used it, the more powerful he became," Barbara replied.
"So, you think Bane is back in New Gotham?" Dinah asked.
"I doubt it," Richard replied. "At least, he, himself, is probably not here. You see, he has disappeared, and no one knows exactly where he is. The venom which he used to give him strength was also killing him. We believe his addiction to Venom became so strong, that it became his life force. Without Venom, he would die within hours. That was when he disappeared, and chances are he is probably dead."
"Then who would bring these Venom patches back out and distribute them out into the streets?" Barbara asked.
"I have done research, and the result of my research has brought me out of retirement and back here to New Gotham, because I believe the person responsible for dealing the patches is currently here. No one knows his true last name, but he calls himself Alexander Bane, and claims to be Bane's son."
"Bane had a son?" Helena repeated in disbelief?
"There's no way to confirm if he is or not. All I know is that he is responsible for the venom patches hitting the streets. I am going to bring this man down and get his drug off the street. The drug is giving all of it's users super strength, and is starting to cause riots through out New York."
"Whoever this Alexander Bane is, he must be stopped," Helena agreed. "Well, you've come to the right place. It looks like we're going to be partners!"
"I can use all the help I can get right now. This is far bigger than I had first anticipated." Richard looked over at Barbara and saw the lack of enthusiasm in her face.
"Dick Greyson? You're Nightwing!" Helena said in awe.
"That's me. I know I've been gone from Gotham for so long, and I missed you growing up, but indeed you have grown up to be a beautiful young woman. You're eyes are a dead give away, that's how I knew it was you. So tell me, did your father train you to fight this way?"
"No, my father has disappeared from Gotham. I have no idea where he is, and right now, I can care less." Helena replied.
"Bruce left Gotham? What could possibly cause Bruce to quite being Batman? That's not the Bruce Wayne I know."
"Well, the 'Bruce Wayne' I know is an abandoner. He abandoned me! He left when my mother was murdered by Clay Face. He didn't come to console me or even take me in."
"You're mother is dead? Helena, I'm so sorry!"
"It was more than the murder of my mother that made Bruce leave. The Joker hired Clay Face to have her killed. The Joker, before he was killed, wanted my father to suffer, so not only did he have her killed, but he tried to have Barbara killed."
That information got to Dick. "Barbara Gordon? Batgirl? Please don't tell me she was murdered too!"
"She's alive," Helena replied. "She's the one that raised me since my mother died, and trained me to be the Huntress."
A great relief came over Dick. "Glad to see that she's okay and still here fighting crime in Gotham. So where is she? Is she still working as Batgirl?"
"Since the day she was shot, she could never again be Batgirl."
"Why?"
The sound of police sirens began to echo through the streets. Helena looked around and then back towards Dick. "You'll see for yourself. I think that sound means it's time to head off. As of late, the police and I are in the middle of a misunderstanding. Follow me."
* * * *
Barbara and Dinah were alone at the clock tower. Helena was out roaming New Gotham so this was the perfect time to find out what has been bothering Dinah. "I still don't understand what you are upset about. I'm your English teacher, so what?"
"So what? We live together, and now I can have you nagging me at home about my English homework!"
"I am not going to nag you about completing your homework here at the clock tower, however, in the classroom, I will treat you the same as any other student, and you are to treat me as you would any other teacher."
"No, I would have to treat you better than I do any other teacher," Dinah muttered underneath her breath.
Barbara looked up at her suspiciously as the elevator reached the top floor. "Are we going to have to have a talk about your performance in your class rooms?"
They heard the door open so they both knew this conversation was going to continue later. Helena came walking into view, with a smile on her face. "Hi guys! We have a visitor that you may want to meet, Barbara."
Coming up from behind Helena was someone Barbara had not expected to see again, and that fact was clearly apparent on her face. "Dick?"
"Hi, Barbara!" He smiled. Dick and Helena joined Barbara and Dinah onto the platform. Dick was looking at her sympathetically. "I can't believe that your paralyzed. I thought you would still be working with Bruce and Tim."
Barbara had mixed emotions about seeing Dick again, and Helena noticed it almost immediately. "Yea, It's no fun, but I've dealt with it."
Alfred entered the room, and there was a pleasant smile on his face. "Master Dick! Indeed this is a very pleasant surprise to see you again!"
"Hiya, Alfred. Please," Dick looked at everyone in the room, "I go by the name Richard now. I'm not a young man anymore." Dick smiled. "Helena has filled me in about what's been happening here in New Gotham since my departure."
"That's good," Barbara replied. "Now you can fill us in on about you, as in why have you not kept in touch and why you left, and why you chose now to walk back into our lives?" Barbara looked at him, with a little frustration in her voice.
"Fair enough," Richard conceded. "I know you must be a little sore at me, Barbara, and you have every right to be. I have not followed events here in Gotham for a long while. Well, obviously Bruce and I had our differences, and that's why I quit being his protégé and went solo and became Nightwing. For awhile, things were going great, and Bruce even found himself a new Robin. What you probably didn't know is that the disagreement between Bruce and myself had intensified greatly. It was about the time Helena was born when I had enough and left Gotham for good. I wanted nothing to do with Bruce at that time.
"From there, I moved to the far end of New York and worked as Nightwing there. Crime was very slow there, so eventually I decided to retire from Nightwing and go into business. I now own a multi-million dollar business of my own, nowhere near the money Wayne Corp. brings in. Anyway, just recently I happen to have discovered that these things were being distributed in the streets." Richard threw a small green square object over at Barbara.
She caught it and began to inspect it. "What is it?"
"When I tell you, you are going to know exactly what I am talking about and why I am gravely concerned. They are being called venom patches."
Barbara looked at him in disbelief and in horror. "I prey to god that this is a joke!"
"Wait a minute, did I miss something?" Helena said, stepping in between the two of them. "Venom patches? What is so horrible about that?"
"You don't know the half of it, Helena. Your father faced many villains in his lifetime, but none so deadly as a villain named Bane. He had the strength of a thousand man, and it's because of a poisonous serum called Venom. The more he used it, the more powerful he became," Barbara replied.
"So, you think Bane is back in New Gotham?" Dinah asked.
"I doubt it," Richard replied. "At least, he, himself, is probably not here. You see, he has disappeared, and no one knows exactly where he is. The venom which he used to give him strength was also killing him. We believe his addiction to Venom became so strong, that it became his life force. Without Venom, he would die within hours. That was when he disappeared, and chances are he is probably dead."
"Then who would bring these Venom patches back out and distribute them out into the streets?" Barbara asked.
"I have done research, and the result of my research has brought me out of retirement and back here to New Gotham, because I believe the person responsible for dealing the patches is currently here. No one knows his true last name, but he calls himself Alexander Bane, and claims to be Bane's son."
"Bane had a son?" Helena repeated in disbelief?
"There's no way to confirm if he is or not. All I know is that he is responsible for the venom patches hitting the streets. I am going to bring this man down and get his drug off the street. The drug is giving all of it's users super strength, and is starting to cause riots through out New York."
"Whoever this Alexander Bane is, he must be stopped," Helena agreed. "Well, you've come to the right place. It looks like we're going to be partners!"
"I can use all the help I can get right now. This is far bigger than I had first anticipated." Richard looked over at Barbara and saw the lack of enthusiasm in her face.