CHAPTER 5
Barbara were using her invention to allow her to have full use of her legs, however she looked forward to the near future where here little invention would not be needed any longer. For the first time in a long while, she was wearing her batgirl suit, but it made Dinah very uncomfortable being around her wearing that ridiculous costume. Why couldn't she be more like Helena and herself and just go out the way she was? Helena and Dinah never hid themselves in costumes.
The two of them had snuck into the graveyard without anyone noticing. Barbara had a hand held device that was wirelessly connected to Delphi to help her pinpoint where the excavated grave was.
"According to Delphi, the grave should be in this direction," Barbara said, pointing a gloved finger in the direction Delphi was pointing.
"So who do I call you: Oracle or Batgirl?" Dina smirked towards Barbara.
"You really do not like my costume, do you?" Barbara said looking to Dinah.
"It is kind of embarrassing," Dinah admitted.
"You would have totally hated Bruce's costume then." The two women walked to the heart of grave site to find a casket dug out from under the ground in front of a tombstone. That was what they were looking for. Dinah stopped, a few feet from the casket, causing Barbara to take two steps beyond her before she realized that Dinah had stopped. "What's wrong, Dinah?"
"I'm not going any closer to that casket. I'm freaked out as it is." Barbara laughed as she stepped up to the coffin. The skeletal remains were still there. Nothing seemed to be missing from the coffin. "Nothing seems to be missing."
"That's what I was afraid of," Dinah said. She refused to go near that coffin. The thoughts of seeing a decomposing body made her stomach turned. How Barbara was able to handle it was beyond her.
Barbara turned and stepped up to the tombstone to get a closer look. "Well, according to the tombstone, this is Fire Fly/Inferno. It appears that he is dead after all."
"Then who did Helena and I fight with yesterday?"
"This is extremely puzzling. Nothing adds up, unless…" Her train of though was interrupted by a loud thump. Barbara turned around to find Dinah lying unconscious on the ground. Standing above her was the man in question, Inferno.
"You are just too damn smart," he said with an evil grin. "Nothing gets by the all knowing Oracle. Nice costume. Who should I call you: Oracle, Bat Girl, or Barbara Gordon." Inferno body began to take on a new shape. Barbara ripped her mask off, now knowing full well who she was up against. Now standing before her was a female form, with blood red hair. Just seeing her made her feel the scar on her forehead from the time she crashed her face into one of Delphi's computer screens. "Raven. I should have known. This is why you dug up Inferno's flames, so you can come in contact with it and become hom. You blinded Huntress intentionally!"
"Oh, very good, Barbara. Indeed, I am impressed."
"Why go through all this?"
"That's a reasonable question with a very good answer, since I could have kicked her ass any time of day. She killed my husband. She saw fit to make me suffer, so I am going to make her suffer. First, I took away her sight. Next I will make both you and Dinah suffer by watching me destroy Huntress before I kill you two. Call this, a little warning to hand to Huntress. She better watch her back, because I'm coming for her, and I know where the three of you live. I have broken through your security twice before, and I can do it again just as easy."
"Over my dead body am I going to allow you to hurt Huntress," Barbara growled at her.
"No, not over your dead body; just your crippled body," Raven leaped at Barbara, sticking out her right foot to kick Barbara across the face, but she crossed her wrists in front of her face to reflect the kick. When she landed, Raven went in with violent kicks and swings. Barbara used her arms and occasionally one of her knee caps to block the attack. Barbara back flipped, and while in motion, her feet kicked Raven under the shin on the way up and over the other side, allowing Barbara to land back on her feet.
"Not bad for a crippled woman. Your little invention is quite nifty," Raven said rubbing her chin from that upper cut kick. "Hi ya!" Barbara yelled as she leaped, bringing her right fist behind her, planning to deliver a hard punch in her face. When she was close enough, she brought her fist forward in full force.
Raven stepped aside, reached out and grabbed her arm while still in mid air. She violently pulled on Barbara's arm, causing her to flip and come crashing onto her back, still with Barbara's arm in hand. Barbara yelped in pain. That was not good for her spine to say the least.
Keeping her hold onto Barbara's arm, she leaped over her, causing Barbara to roll onto her stomach. Swiftly, she raised her left leg, heel facing down and brought her heel down, dead center into Barbara's back, where her device was. Barbara again yelped in pain from the hit, but even worst that that, the device allowing Barbara to walk had been destroyed. She was once again back to the limited use of her legs. Barbara tried her best to crawl away from Raven but she stepped in front of Barbara's path. "Pathetic. No wonder why it is so easy to kick Huntress's ass. Twice I had her in position for the kill, and twice I spared her, just for the hell of it. Believe me when I say, this next time, there will be no mercy to be found."
* * * *
Barbara opened her eyes to find herself back at the clock tower. Alfred was nursing her bruise over her right eye brow. Sitting next to her was Dinah, who had a ice pack held to the back of her head. "What happened?"
"I was hoping you would be able to tell us," a familiar voice came up from behind her.
She turned her head to see Richard Greyson kneeling besides her. "Richard!" she wrapped her arms around him. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard about what happened to Helena and about your regaining the use of your legs. What were you thinking about going out as Batgirl? You have been away from it for too long, you can't just continue where you left off. "
Barbara sighed, knowing he was right. It would take years of training to get back to where she once was before being paralyzed, and right she was just to old to begin training once again. She had thought regaining the use of her legs would give her back the life she once lived, but she was only deceiving herself. Never again would she walk the earth as Batgirl. "I'm beginning to realize that. So how did Dinah and I get back here?"
"That was me," Richard replied.
"So what's the deal with Inferno?" Helena asked.
"We've got a serious problem on our hands. The person you and Dinah were fighting was not Inferno, he has long dead."
"Then who the hell was it?" Helena said agitatedly.
"Helena, It's Raven."
"Son of a bitch!" Helena spat.
"Did I miss something? Who's Raven?"
"She's a powerful shape shifting Meta-human," Dinah replied, remembering full well that she had broken her nose in their last encounter and caused her a month of agony.
"Like Clay Face?"
"Similar to Clay face, but more dangerous. She not only can change her appearance, but she obtains her host's powers and fighting skills."
"Does she keep their powers?"
"No, she only has the powers while she is morphed into the host. When she morphs, her powers and abilities morph with her. This makes her one of the most dangerous villains we have ever come across."
"She's the one that attacked you and Dinah?" Richard asked.
"Yes. She is bent on making Helena suffer for the death of her husband."
"Figures," Helena huffed.
"Helena, she attacked us to get you riled up. She plans to kill you Helena. Twice she came to killing you Helena, but she was right when she said that it was by her choice not to. This time, she's not holding back. She won't settle until you are dead."
Helena was getting more furious, but did not know how to let it out. She continued to listen, trying to think about what she should do.
"Oh god, I forgot! How about Danielle? She'll go after Helena's best friend for sure!"
"I'm on it!" Richard said, as he jumped to his feet and made his way towards the exit.
Reese walked up to Helena and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright, Helena? We're not going to let anything happen to you."
"I think I'm going to be sick to my stomach. I am so helpless, I can't even finish a fight on my own." Helena sat down, rage trying to find a way to release itself. "Barbara, take my bandage off."
"Helena, it's too early. You must let your eyes heal."
"I want to know if I have any hoping of seeing again. Is that possible right now?"
"I guess it is. It's against my better judgment, but okay. Alfred, can you get me…"
"The scissors? Already ahead of you, Master Barbara." Alfred walked up with the scissors in hand.
Barbara was not in her wheelchair, so she knew she wasn't going to be the one cutting the bandage off. Alfred didn't have to be asked as he walked behind Helena, who was stilling sitting on a chair. "Now Helena, close your eyes, and don't open them until I say. If you are going to get some or all of your sight back, the instant release of light after a long period of light will hurt, so keep them shut. When you open your eyes, you may see only light, your vision may be blurry, or tunneled. If any of these three are true, then this is a good sign that you will regain some or all of your sight. That's the best you can expect immediately when you eyes have not had much time to heal. If you don't see anything, then…" Barbara could not get the words out of her mouth.
"Then I'm going to be blind for the rest of my life," Helena finished the sentence for her. Let's do it.
Barbara were using her invention to allow her to have full use of her legs, however she looked forward to the near future where here little invention would not be needed any longer. For the first time in a long while, she was wearing her batgirl suit, but it made Dinah very uncomfortable being around her wearing that ridiculous costume. Why couldn't she be more like Helena and herself and just go out the way she was? Helena and Dinah never hid themselves in costumes.
The two of them had snuck into the graveyard without anyone noticing. Barbara had a hand held device that was wirelessly connected to Delphi to help her pinpoint where the excavated grave was.
"According to Delphi, the grave should be in this direction," Barbara said, pointing a gloved finger in the direction Delphi was pointing.
"So who do I call you: Oracle or Batgirl?" Dina smirked towards Barbara.
"You really do not like my costume, do you?" Barbara said looking to Dinah.
"It is kind of embarrassing," Dinah admitted.
"You would have totally hated Bruce's costume then." The two women walked to the heart of grave site to find a casket dug out from under the ground in front of a tombstone. That was what they were looking for. Dinah stopped, a few feet from the casket, causing Barbara to take two steps beyond her before she realized that Dinah had stopped. "What's wrong, Dinah?"
"I'm not going any closer to that casket. I'm freaked out as it is." Barbara laughed as she stepped up to the coffin. The skeletal remains were still there. Nothing seemed to be missing from the coffin. "Nothing seems to be missing."
"That's what I was afraid of," Dinah said. She refused to go near that coffin. The thoughts of seeing a decomposing body made her stomach turned. How Barbara was able to handle it was beyond her.
Barbara turned and stepped up to the tombstone to get a closer look. "Well, according to the tombstone, this is Fire Fly/Inferno. It appears that he is dead after all."
"Then who did Helena and I fight with yesterday?"
"This is extremely puzzling. Nothing adds up, unless…" Her train of though was interrupted by a loud thump. Barbara turned around to find Dinah lying unconscious on the ground. Standing above her was the man in question, Inferno.
"You are just too damn smart," he said with an evil grin. "Nothing gets by the all knowing Oracle. Nice costume. Who should I call you: Oracle, Bat Girl, or Barbara Gordon." Inferno body began to take on a new shape. Barbara ripped her mask off, now knowing full well who she was up against. Now standing before her was a female form, with blood red hair. Just seeing her made her feel the scar on her forehead from the time she crashed her face into one of Delphi's computer screens. "Raven. I should have known. This is why you dug up Inferno's flames, so you can come in contact with it and become hom. You blinded Huntress intentionally!"
"Oh, very good, Barbara. Indeed, I am impressed."
"Why go through all this?"
"That's a reasonable question with a very good answer, since I could have kicked her ass any time of day. She killed my husband. She saw fit to make me suffer, so I am going to make her suffer. First, I took away her sight. Next I will make both you and Dinah suffer by watching me destroy Huntress before I kill you two. Call this, a little warning to hand to Huntress. She better watch her back, because I'm coming for her, and I know where the three of you live. I have broken through your security twice before, and I can do it again just as easy."
"Over my dead body am I going to allow you to hurt Huntress," Barbara growled at her.
"No, not over your dead body; just your crippled body," Raven leaped at Barbara, sticking out her right foot to kick Barbara across the face, but she crossed her wrists in front of her face to reflect the kick. When she landed, Raven went in with violent kicks and swings. Barbara used her arms and occasionally one of her knee caps to block the attack. Barbara back flipped, and while in motion, her feet kicked Raven under the shin on the way up and over the other side, allowing Barbara to land back on her feet.
"Not bad for a crippled woman. Your little invention is quite nifty," Raven said rubbing her chin from that upper cut kick. "Hi ya!" Barbara yelled as she leaped, bringing her right fist behind her, planning to deliver a hard punch in her face. When she was close enough, she brought her fist forward in full force.
Raven stepped aside, reached out and grabbed her arm while still in mid air. She violently pulled on Barbara's arm, causing her to flip and come crashing onto her back, still with Barbara's arm in hand. Barbara yelped in pain. That was not good for her spine to say the least.
Keeping her hold onto Barbara's arm, she leaped over her, causing Barbara to roll onto her stomach. Swiftly, she raised her left leg, heel facing down and brought her heel down, dead center into Barbara's back, where her device was. Barbara again yelped in pain from the hit, but even worst that that, the device allowing Barbara to walk had been destroyed. She was once again back to the limited use of her legs. Barbara tried her best to crawl away from Raven but she stepped in front of Barbara's path. "Pathetic. No wonder why it is so easy to kick Huntress's ass. Twice I had her in position for the kill, and twice I spared her, just for the hell of it. Believe me when I say, this next time, there will be no mercy to be found."
* * * *
Barbara opened her eyes to find herself back at the clock tower. Alfred was nursing her bruise over her right eye brow. Sitting next to her was Dinah, who had a ice pack held to the back of her head. "What happened?"
"I was hoping you would be able to tell us," a familiar voice came up from behind her.
She turned her head to see Richard Greyson kneeling besides her. "Richard!" she wrapped her arms around him. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard about what happened to Helena and about your regaining the use of your legs. What were you thinking about going out as Batgirl? You have been away from it for too long, you can't just continue where you left off. "
Barbara sighed, knowing he was right. It would take years of training to get back to where she once was before being paralyzed, and right she was just to old to begin training once again. She had thought regaining the use of her legs would give her back the life she once lived, but she was only deceiving herself. Never again would she walk the earth as Batgirl. "I'm beginning to realize that. So how did Dinah and I get back here?"
"That was me," Richard replied.
"So what's the deal with Inferno?" Helena asked.
"We've got a serious problem on our hands. The person you and Dinah were fighting was not Inferno, he has long dead."
"Then who the hell was it?" Helena said agitatedly.
"Helena, It's Raven."
"Son of a bitch!" Helena spat.
"Did I miss something? Who's Raven?"
"She's a powerful shape shifting Meta-human," Dinah replied, remembering full well that she had broken her nose in their last encounter and caused her a month of agony.
"Like Clay Face?"
"Similar to Clay face, but more dangerous. She not only can change her appearance, but she obtains her host's powers and fighting skills."
"Does she keep their powers?"
"No, she only has the powers while she is morphed into the host. When she morphs, her powers and abilities morph with her. This makes her one of the most dangerous villains we have ever come across."
"She's the one that attacked you and Dinah?" Richard asked.
"Yes. She is bent on making Helena suffer for the death of her husband."
"Figures," Helena huffed.
"Helena, she attacked us to get you riled up. She plans to kill you Helena. Twice she came to killing you Helena, but she was right when she said that it was by her choice not to. This time, she's not holding back. She won't settle until you are dead."
Helena was getting more furious, but did not know how to let it out. She continued to listen, trying to think about what she should do.
"Oh god, I forgot! How about Danielle? She'll go after Helena's best friend for sure!"
"I'm on it!" Richard said, as he jumped to his feet and made his way towards the exit.
Reese walked up to Helena and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright, Helena? We're not going to let anything happen to you."
"I think I'm going to be sick to my stomach. I am so helpless, I can't even finish a fight on my own." Helena sat down, rage trying to find a way to release itself. "Barbara, take my bandage off."
"Helena, it's too early. You must let your eyes heal."
"I want to know if I have any hoping of seeing again. Is that possible right now?"
"I guess it is. It's against my better judgment, but okay. Alfred, can you get me…"
"The scissors? Already ahead of you, Master Barbara." Alfred walked up with the scissors in hand.
Barbara was not in her wheelchair, so she knew she wasn't going to be the one cutting the bandage off. Alfred didn't have to be asked as he walked behind Helena, who was stilling sitting on a chair. "Now Helena, close your eyes, and don't open them until I say. If you are going to get some or all of your sight back, the instant release of light after a long period of light will hurt, so keep them shut. When you open your eyes, you may see only light, your vision may be blurry, or tunneled. If any of these three are true, then this is a good sign that you will regain some or all of your sight. That's the best you can expect immediately when you eyes have not had much time to heal. If you don't see anything, then…" Barbara could not get the words out of her mouth.
"Then I'm going to be blind for the rest of my life," Helena finished the sentence for her. Let's do it.
