CHAPTER 9

Bill Donaldson returned his focus to Jeff. The Huntress was no longer a threat, and now there was no one to get in his way of being free from this deadly disease eating inside of him. "Now, you are going to use your powers and heal me, or you will die. It's your choice. You can't be the only meta-human with the power of healing in the world." Bill bluffed, knowing that there may not be another meta-human with his powers. The boy wouldn't know that, but this was desperate times, and he had less than a month to live. This boy was his only hope and he was going to force this boy to heal him at any cost.

The front door was thrown open violently, startling everyone in the room. Entering the room was Dinah, who was wearing Helena's black cloak which was usually part of her costume. Bill was furious, how could there be another Huntress? From what he has heard, the Huntress didn't have any partners. "Kill her, you idiots!" Bill wheezed before falling into a coughing fit.

The two furthest goons pulled out their hand guns. Dinah reached out and with her powers, ripped the guns out of their hands. The two goons closer to her came at her from both sides. The goon on her right went to punch her, but Dinah stepped back and instead the goon punched his partner, knocking him out cold. Dinah turned to the other and spin kicked him across the face, sending him crashing into the wall.

That left two more goons and they cautiously approached her, obviously not having a battle plan ready. They came at her with bruit force, as Dinah had expected. Both of them swung their fists at the same time, hoping that one of them would get her, but they were not thinking third dimensionally. She ducked under both fists and implanted her fists into their chests, causing them to take back 3 steps. Dinah leaped upward and kicked one of them in the neck, sending him crashing into a wall, taking him out of the equation and leaving just one goon.

Dinah used her power to throw the other man through the doorway into the kitchen where he hit the kitchen sink counter. He collapsed on the ground. Bill screamed in rage as he pulled out a switchblade and came at her. Dinah made a perfectly timed back flip so when he was close enough her foot would kick the wrist holding the knife, kicking the knife out of the hand. The knife got stuck into the roof. Dinah immediately after recovering from her back flip, jumped up and kicked Bill in the side of the face sending him flying a few feet before landing.

Dinah ran to Jeff who had stood up when Bill began his attack on Dinah. "Dinah! Thank god you're alright!" Jeff said as the two of them hugged.

"Thanks to you," Dinah replied.

"Ahem!" Helena cleared her throat, still on her elbows and knees with the heavy net over her. "Some help here will be appreciated."

"Oops, sorry," Dinah apologized, running over to Helena and pulling the net off of Helena. Helena stood up and stretched. "Are you alright, Helena?"

"I'm fine. I have to say, I am quite impressed. You were fantastic here tonight."

"Thanks, Helena," Dinah smiled.

Behind them, the sound of a weeping caught all three of theirs attention. They turned to see Bill weeping. "All I wanted is to be cured from this disease. I meant no harm to the boy. This diseases is slowly eating away at my internal organs. I have very little time to live, and I became desperate. Please forgive me!" Bill cried, tears were pouring from his eyes.

Dinah was about to curse at him but Jeff stepped forward. "All you had to do was ask for my help, and I would have helped. There was no need to go through this charade of kidnapping me."

"Jeff, you wouldn't be able to help without jeopardizing your own life," Dinah said, stepping out besides him.

"This disease is attacking his organs, and that I can do without danger to myself."

"What are you thinking Jeff. You are not thinking about… This man kidnapped you and threatened to kill you! These goons were carrying real guns, he's playing with your mind, Jeff." Helena warned.

"He's going to jail for what he's done, but there is no need for him to die," Jeff said kneeling down besides Bill. He placed a hand on the back of Donaldson hand. Bill looked up at him, surprised that he was kind enough to heal him. He could feel the healing of his body taking place and a minute later, he felt fresh and new. Jeff stood up and looked down at him.

"You did it! I'm healed!" Bill said excitedly as he stood up to his feet. "You healed me, even though I kidnapped you and threatened to kill you!" Jeff did not say anything; he just watched as Bill stretched and took a deep breath for the first time without coughing. "Thank you, boy! I am indeed indebted to you!" he said. Before anyone realized what was going on, Bill pulled out another switchblade and jammed it into Jeff's stomach.

"Jeff!" Dinah screamed in horror!"

Bill grinned as he watched Jeff collapsed to the ground. In his hand was the bloody switchblade that he used to stab him in the stomach. Furious, Dinah leaped over Jeff's body and kicked him across the face. Bill crashed on top of the wooden chair, causing it to shatter as he laid their unconscious.

Dinah sat down besides Jeff and he placed his head on her lap. Her eyes were filled with tears ready to stream down the side of her face. "Jeff?"

His eyes gazed up at her. "Dinah?" He said hoarsely. "I'm so sorry, Dinah."

"Please don't talk. You have to save your strength. We'll get you to a hospital," Dinah cried.

Jeff coughed and wheezed. His face was already starting to become pale. Dinah knew she was seeing his life seep out of his body quickly. "Dinah, I love you. I want you to know that."

"I love you too," Dinah cried.

"I see that you have so much potential in you. I pray that you will discover it, and when you do, I want you to have this gift, and I hope it will help you keep you safe." Jeff reached up weakly and touched Dinah's face. She felt very strange. She didn't know what he was doing to her, but she trusted him with all her heart. Thirty seconds later, his arm dropped limply and Jeff had taken his last breath.

"Jeff? Jeff?" Dinah embraced Jeff's body as she wept. A tear formed in Helena's eye as she walked up to Dinah's back and placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.