Dinah came closer to her friend. Helena's face was ashen, and was breathing
so shallow in the oxygen mask, she felt an enormous feeling of guilt and
sadness wash over her as she looked at Helena.
She sat down and took Helena's hand, "Forgive me Helena, it's all my fault. If I hadn't helped him, you wouldn't be in this condition. If anything happens to you I will never forgive myself."
Dinah noticed that the beep of the monitor began to slow, she stared at Helena, "No" she mumbled, she hesitated for a second, knowing Barbara wouldn't like what she was about to do, but she couldn't stand by and watch Helena die. Dinah looked around to see if anyone was in the room. She grasped Helena's hand tighter and entered Helena's mind.
* * *
Dinah was suddenly standing on a great cliff; the sky was covered with black clouds. The trees and surrounding area was desolate and dead. She began to call Helena's name and suddenly, looking below she saw her. Helena was in a large pit with quicksand all around her and sinking fast. Only Helena's head and arms were visible, her eyes were closed.
"Helena!" Dinah looked around the side of the cliff for a way down, and half slid half fell down to the side of the bank.
Dinah screamed Helena's name, again. Helena opened her eyes half way, and looked around dazedly.
"Where am I?" She thought and realized that she was trapped in quicksand. "How? The last thing I remember is the infirmary and Barbara. What the hell....? ..How did I get here?..." Helena tried to clear her head as she began to sink further....
Dinah came closer to the bank and touched the thick gooey mess, it was thick but if she were to try to step in it she would sink too. She pulled a dry trunk and she left the half on the bank and threw the other half into the quicksand, Dinah lied on top of the trunk as she tried to reach Helena with a branch. Dinah extended the branch toward her.
"Helena! Try to stretch out to reach the branch!" she shouted.
Helena saw the branch moving at short distance, and she stretched out trying to touch the tip but she couldn't, she sunk more and had to raise her head to breathe.
"Oh God." Helena said.
"I won't leave you here, Hold on!" Dinah screamed looking for something else to try to get Helena out of there.
* * *
As Barbara wheeled herself back into the room, she saw Dinah asleep in a chair with her head on Helena's bed. Barbara wheeled closer to them she realized that Dinah was sweating and she was holding onto Helena's hand. She noticed Helena's heartbeat was slow and irregular and that her breathing was rapid and shallow. Dinah's hand trembled at the force of which she held Helena's hand.
"Damn" she mumbled, "Dinah I have told you a thousand times not to do this!"
* * *
Helena closed her eyes, fatigue was overtaking her, and she didn't have the strength to fight. Dinah started to cry as Helena sank further into the quicksand.
"Take it easy, Dinah." the girl heard Barbara's voice, she turned, and looked Barbara stopped behind her.
"How...did.you...?" she asked.
"We'll talk about it later. What I need you to do is calm down and concentrate. I Want that you concentrate, focus your mind on Helena." Barbara said.
Dinah closed the eyes and she began to concentrate.
"Focus, Dinah. Focus everything you have on lifting her out of there. You can do it, Dinah I know you can." Barbara tried to motivate her and noticed that Helena's body began to move toward Dinah.
"Good " Barbara said "Good, Dinah don't loose your concentration." Helena began to slowly lift out of the quicksand, she was halfway out of the quicksand, when suddenly Dinah felt something grab hold of Helena. The girl was pulled back into the quicksand and began to sink once again.
"Don't lose concentration Dinah!" Barbara exclaimed, "Hold onto her!"
"Barbara, something is pulling her away from me!" Dinah told her without looking away from Helena. Dinah felt herself being pulled into the quicksand. A force pulled her off the ground and dropped her into the quicksand.
Suddenly they heard laughter. Ra's was on a rock observing them at a short distance.
"I lost Bastet with your little trick." he smiled "Now it's fair that you lose her for real."
"What is he doing here?" Dinah asked to Barbara.
"Hold onto Helena!" Barbara ran toward Ra's, he brandished his sword.
"Let us end this once and for all!" he exclaimed as he swung the sword toward Barbara.
Barbara avoided the impact and she kicked him the ribs. Ra's hit her with the back of his hand. Barbara looked for an opening to grab the sword out of his hand.
Dinah levitated herself out of the quicksand. She reached back in to try to keep Helena's head from going under. Ra's mental link with Helena was too strong; she continued to sink lower into the quicksand. Dinah was loosing ground fast; Helena's head was just about to go under.
Ra's swung his sword and narrowly missed Barbara, but sliced her shirt. "I believe that, even after everything you do here, Batman's daughter will still be able to complete her journey. He laughed, "Don't you understand, that Bastet will help to save the world?"
"You deceived Bastet to come here and you used an innocent person to achieve your evil plan, you bastard!" Barbara shouted.
"One persons life is meaningless compared to the lives of an entire planet!" Ra's rushed with fury against Barbara, she bent and picked up a stick off the ground and began to defend herself from the furious attack. Dinah observed Barbara's disadvantage against Ra's, they fought on the cliff above the quicksand.
"No, no" she began to repeat "Focus, Dinah, focus." Dinah stood up "Focus." Suddenly, she ran toward the quicksand and levitated herself over it and fell into Ra's. "That was damn good," she thought. Using both hands, Dinah hit him in the neck. Barbara took advantage of the opportunity and twisted the sword out of Ra's hand. Barbara then punched him in the face.
"Release Huntress!" she screamed at him.
"Never!" Ra's surprised Barbara knocking the wind out of her by elbowing her in the stomach. He was about to hit her again, but Dinah grabbed his hand. Ra's turned.
"My small apprentice," he said pointing at Huntress "It will be a pleasure to kill you, after I kill her first."
Ra's stunned Dinah with a swift kick that propelled her to the ground. Dinah lost her link to Helena and she began to sink faster into the quicksand. Dinah screamed and tackled Ra's; both of them fell off the side of the cliff and toward the quicksand. At the last second, Dinah reached out and grabbed a root that stopped her fall. Ra's fell into the quicksand. Dinah looked down into the quicksand for Helena, but Helena had disappeared.
"Calm down" she closed the eyes "Relax, focus, focus." Barbara leaned over the side of the cliff and saw Dinah; she realized what she was doing. Helena's body surfaced as Dinah was levitating it to the side of the quicksand.
"Go! Barbara go to her!" Dinah screamed her "I can climb up by myself." Barbara ran towards the bank. Ra's lost his hold on Helena when he fell into the quicksand and began to sink. Barbara grabbed Helena by her jacket and pulled her towards the edge of the quicksand, she was covered in mud.
"No!" Ra's exclaimed as he struggled to reach Helena, but he sank faster. Dinah looked down as Ra's disappeared under the quicksand. Dinah sighed in relief as she began to climb up the side of the cliff.
Barbara placed Huntress down on the ground and cleaned the mud off of Helena's face, she took her pulse, the girl wasn't breathing.
"Come on Helena, breathe.damn you breathe..." she told her and began to try to resuscitate her. "Come on Helena, fight!"
She sat down and took Helena's hand, "Forgive me Helena, it's all my fault. If I hadn't helped him, you wouldn't be in this condition. If anything happens to you I will never forgive myself."
Dinah noticed that the beep of the monitor began to slow, she stared at Helena, "No" she mumbled, she hesitated for a second, knowing Barbara wouldn't like what she was about to do, but she couldn't stand by and watch Helena die. Dinah looked around to see if anyone was in the room. She grasped Helena's hand tighter and entered Helena's mind.
* * *
Dinah was suddenly standing on a great cliff; the sky was covered with black clouds. The trees and surrounding area was desolate and dead. She began to call Helena's name and suddenly, looking below she saw her. Helena was in a large pit with quicksand all around her and sinking fast. Only Helena's head and arms were visible, her eyes were closed.
"Helena!" Dinah looked around the side of the cliff for a way down, and half slid half fell down to the side of the bank.
Dinah screamed Helena's name, again. Helena opened her eyes half way, and looked around dazedly.
"Where am I?" She thought and realized that she was trapped in quicksand. "How? The last thing I remember is the infirmary and Barbara. What the hell....? ..How did I get here?..." Helena tried to clear her head as she began to sink further....
Dinah came closer to the bank and touched the thick gooey mess, it was thick but if she were to try to step in it she would sink too. She pulled a dry trunk and she left the half on the bank and threw the other half into the quicksand, Dinah lied on top of the trunk as she tried to reach Helena with a branch. Dinah extended the branch toward her.
"Helena! Try to stretch out to reach the branch!" she shouted.
Helena saw the branch moving at short distance, and she stretched out trying to touch the tip but she couldn't, she sunk more and had to raise her head to breathe.
"Oh God." Helena said.
"I won't leave you here, Hold on!" Dinah screamed looking for something else to try to get Helena out of there.
* * *
As Barbara wheeled herself back into the room, she saw Dinah asleep in a chair with her head on Helena's bed. Barbara wheeled closer to them she realized that Dinah was sweating and she was holding onto Helena's hand. She noticed Helena's heartbeat was slow and irregular and that her breathing was rapid and shallow. Dinah's hand trembled at the force of which she held Helena's hand.
"Damn" she mumbled, "Dinah I have told you a thousand times not to do this!"
* * *
Helena closed her eyes, fatigue was overtaking her, and she didn't have the strength to fight. Dinah started to cry as Helena sank further into the quicksand.
"Take it easy, Dinah." the girl heard Barbara's voice, she turned, and looked Barbara stopped behind her.
"How...did.you...?" she asked.
"We'll talk about it later. What I need you to do is calm down and concentrate. I Want that you concentrate, focus your mind on Helena." Barbara said.
Dinah closed the eyes and she began to concentrate.
"Focus, Dinah. Focus everything you have on lifting her out of there. You can do it, Dinah I know you can." Barbara tried to motivate her and noticed that Helena's body began to move toward Dinah.
"Good " Barbara said "Good, Dinah don't loose your concentration." Helena began to slowly lift out of the quicksand, she was halfway out of the quicksand, when suddenly Dinah felt something grab hold of Helena. The girl was pulled back into the quicksand and began to sink once again.
"Don't lose concentration Dinah!" Barbara exclaimed, "Hold onto her!"
"Barbara, something is pulling her away from me!" Dinah told her without looking away from Helena. Dinah felt herself being pulled into the quicksand. A force pulled her off the ground and dropped her into the quicksand.
Suddenly they heard laughter. Ra's was on a rock observing them at a short distance.
"I lost Bastet with your little trick." he smiled "Now it's fair that you lose her for real."
"What is he doing here?" Dinah asked to Barbara.
"Hold onto Helena!" Barbara ran toward Ra's, he brandished his sword.
"Let us end this once and for all!" he exclaimed as he swung the sword toward Barbara.
Barbara avoided the impact and she kicked him the ribs. Ra's hit her with the back of his hand. Barbara looked for an opening to grab the sword out of his hand.
Dinah levitated herself out of the quicksand. She reached back in to try to keep Helena's head from going under. Ra's mental link with Helena was too strong; she continued to sink lower into the quicksand. Dinah was loosing ground fast; Helena's head was just about to go under.
Ra's swung his sword and narrowly missed Barbara, but sliced her shirt. "I believe that, even after everything you do here, Batman's daughter will still be able to complete her journey. He laughed, "Don't you understand, that Bastet will help to save the world?"
"You deceived Bastet to come here and you used an innocent person to achieve your evil plan, you bastard!" Barbara shouted.
"One persons life is meaningless compared to the lives of an entire planet!" Ra's rushed with fury against Barbara, she bent and picked up a stick off the ground and began to defend herself from the furious attack. Dinah observed Barbara's disadvantage against Ra's, they fought on the cliff above the quicksand.
"No, no" she began to repeat "Focus, Dinah, focus." Dinah stood up "Focus." Suddenly, she ran toward the quicksand and levitated herself over it and fell into Ra's. "That was damn good," she thought. Using both hands, Dinah hit him in the neck. Barbara took advantage of the opportunity and twisted the sword out of Ra's hand. Barbara then punched him in the face.
"Release Huntress!" she screamed at him.
"Never!" Ra's surprised Barbara knocking the wind out of her by elbowing her in the stomach. He was about to hit her again, but Dinah grabbed his hand. Ra's turned.
"My small apprentice," he said pointing at Huntress "It will be a pleasure to kill you, after I kill her first."
Ra's stunned Dinah with a swift kick that propelled her to the ground. Dinah lost her link to Helena and she began to sink faster into the quicksand. Dinah screamed and tackled Ra's; both of them fell off the side of the cliff and toward the quicksand. At the last second, Dinah reached out and grabbed a root that stopped her fall. Ra's fell into the quicksand. Dinah looked down into the quicksand for Helena, but Helena had disappeared.
"Calm down" she closed the eyes "Relax, focus, focus." Barbara leaned over the side of the cliff and saw Dinah; she realized what she was doing. Helena's body surfaced as Dinah was levitating it to the side of the quicksand.
"Go! Barbara go to her!" Dinah screamed her "I can climb up by myself." Barbara ran towards the bank. Ra's lost his hold on Helena when he fell into the quicksand and began to sink. Barbara grabbed Helena by her jacket and pulled her towards the edge of the quicksand, she was covered in mud.
"No!" Ra's exclaimed as he struggled to reach Helena, but he sank faster. Dinah looked down as Ra's disappeared under the quicksand. Dinah sighed in relief as she began to climb up the side of the cliff.
Barbara placed Huntress down on the ground and cleaned the mud off of Helena's face, she took her pulse, the girl wasn't breathing.
"Come on Helena, breathe.damn you breathe..." she told her and began to try to resuscitate her. "Come on Helena, fight!"
