CHAPTER 4

Bill Donaldson was sitting in his recliner coughing. All his strength had been zapped from him by this rare fatal virus that he had been cursed with. He could not run his smuggling business with this wretched disease. He had gotten away from his business to come to New Gotham in hope to find a cure. He knew about people who have all sorts of interesting powers called Meta-humans. Not many in the world knew of their existence. An interesting fact drew him to come here to New Gotham: the fact that one out of every four citizens in new Gotham was a Meta. New Gotham was crawling with Meta's, more than any city. Perhaps he will be lucky enough to find a Meta with healing powers here in New Gotham and then kidnap him and force him to use his powers to heal him of this disease.

There was a knock at the door that disturbed his thoughts. Perhaps it was one of his men coming to check up on him. He was expecting a few of his men to arrive and help him find a meta. "The door is unlock, if you know how to use the door handle that is."

He heard the door open followed by it shutting just 2 seconds later. Entering the room was the last person he had expected to see. Commissioner O'Reiley, the New Gotham police commissioner. "Well, Commissioner, what brings you to my humble abode?"

Commissioner O'Reiley grinned. "This visit is of a personal nature, so you may call me by my true name; Bane."

"Bane? Not the Bane, one of Batman's archrivals?: the one who broke his back?"

"In the flesh," he smiled.

"You should be an old man now…ack…ack,,," A coughing frenzy interrupted his sentence. "Yet you look like you're still in your prime."

"A little morphing formula of mine helps me keep my youthful looks and disguises me allowing to play Gotham's commissioner until the appropriate time, but let that be our little secret."

"You don't even know me. What makes you think…cough…cough…that you can trust me?"

"Well, Mr. Donaldson, because I have a feeling that we are about to become very good friends."

"I'm listening."

"I know about the virus that is killing you, and I know that you have come here to find a meta-human who may have the power to heal you."

"Okay, you're point?"

Bane sat down on a chair across from him and lean back. Bill Donaldson showed no signs of fear towards him, which made him, in Bane's mind, incredibly stupid. "My point is that we can help each other. You want a Meta-human with the power to heal, and I want one special half-Meta who happens to be the daughter of Batman. Our desires are closer than you might think."

"You've got my attention." Bill wheezed before falling into another coughing fit.

"If you try to kidnap anyone in New Gotham, you will draw the Huntress' attention. That is when we need to work together. I will find you your meta-human if will set up a trap for the Huntress when she comes to the rescue and hand her to me."

Bill thought about the offer for a moment before the expression on his face clearly gave Bane his answer. "Sounds like fun. You've got yourself a deal. So who wants the Huntress, Bane or Commissioner O'Reiley?"

Bane grinned. "I want her to suffer slowly, and the best way for that to happen is to see her rot in Arkham Asylum. Call it a desire from the police commissioner."

"Okay, commissioner, consider the Huntress hand wrapped and delivered. He began to laugh until it caused another coughing spell.

* * * *

Dinah returned back to the clock tower with a sigh. Instead of spending tonight with Jeff, she was stuck at home with nothing to do tonight. Like always, she returned to find Barbara on the platform working on one of the many computers.

"I'm home," Dinah announced waiting for a reply.

"You're not going out with Jeff, tonight?" Barbara asked, turning her wheelchair around to face Dinah.

"No, he has two exams to study for tomorrow, and thanks for intruding on my privacy."

"If you're talking about what happened at the school, I had no intention of embarrassing you at school. I didn't even know you had a boyfriend until Helena suggested it. I was only handing one of my students back his class notebook."

Dinah was quiet, which usually meant that she conceded. She joined Barbara on the platform. "So, what are you doing?" Dinah stood behind Barbara and looked on the screen over her shoulder. Two words stuck out to Dinah, and they were like daggers piercing her heart: Jeff Chadwick. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Dinah, it's not what you think…"

"You're do research on my boyfriend! So what is it? Are you trying to invade my privacy even more or are you trying to pin a crime on him and ruin our relationship? Tell me Barbara, what it is!"

"It's neither Dinah, let me explain; it's not what you think it is."

"I'm listening."

"Look at my fee."

"What? Look at your feet?" Dinah was extremely insulted by her trying to change the subject without giving an explanation. She was coming up with a distraction without her catching on, and it was extremely insulting.

"Just do it, Dinah," Barbara said with authority.

Dinah snorted as she looked down at her feet. Her anger quickly turned into astonishment as she saw Barbara move her ankle. "You're…you're moving your ankle."

"Yes, Dinah. Something strange happened to me, and I have full feeling in my legs and use of them, though it will take a year of rehabilitation before I can walk normally again. I will be able to walk again because something strange happened to my back. Something healed it."

"And you think Jeff has something to do with it?"

"It's a possibility, but not certain. Remember I felt a little light headed as soon as Jeff handed me his homework? That might be what healed my back. I need to know what happened so I know if it's going to be permanent or not. I have no intentions of exploiting or investigate him for criminal activities. He seems to be a very nice boy."

Guilt began to flood into her heart for all the things she had said. "I'm sorry Barbara. He's my first boyfriend and I really like him. I don't want him to think of me as a freak or something."

"It's okay, Dinah," Barbara smiled.

"As for him being a meta-human, that thought never crossed my mind. Nothing unusual has ever happened when I was with him."

"If he has the gift of healing, he hasn't had to use his power in front of you. Anyway, it looks like Delphi can not confirm if he his meta or not," Barbara said.

"Delphi might not be able to, but I can."

"Dinah, you don't have to if you don't want to. I don't want you to risk your relationship on my account."

'No, I want to do it for you. You have a right to know," Dinah smiled, placing a hand on Barbara's shoulder.