Reese placed Helena on one of the stretchers in the infirmary. He turned
her slightly so that Dinah could remove her coat. When Dinah tried to pull
her arm out of the coat. Helena groaned.
"Wouldn't this be easier if we just cut the coat off of her?" Reese asked concerned.
"Ah .and have to die a slow, painful death when she wakes up. I don't think so." Dinah tried to be as gentle as she could as she took off the coat. Dinah grabbed a scanner from a nearby table and began to pass it over Helena's body.
"Good Dinah, now I need a scan of her back. Reese can you help Dinah turn her over?" Oracle asked
When Reese turned her over, Helena half opened her eyes and grunted in pain. "Easy Helena, everything is going to be alright. I just need to turn you over so that Dinah can scan it."
"Hurts." Helena whispered, as she closed her eyes and fell into a deep, healing sleep. Reese's heart ached, it hurt to see her under these conditions. He felt guilty about what happened to her.
Dinah finished scanning, Reese walked over to Barbara hoping that she would have some results. "How is she?"
"Bane really did a number on her." Oracle pointed to some of the images on her computer screen."She has bruises all over her body, a concussion, two broken ribs, one of which has punctured her left lung." Barbara took a deep breath before she continued. "she almost fractured her clavicle so I need to immobilize her shoulder. That punctured lung worries me, though."
"Barbara, look at this." Dinah pointed to on of the scan picture taken of Helena's head
"What's that, Dinah?" Oracle looked at what Dinah was showing her.
"Look..." Dinah took the keyboard and opened the file of a similar scan. "This is the one I just took, the second one over here is the one you took three weeks ago."
"When we discovered the reason for the headaches." Oracle looked at the second scan.
"Look, the abnormality is gone. The scan that I took today is very similar to this one." Dinah opened a new folder. "This is a scan of Helena's head from two months ago that you took. As you can see it's almost identical to the one from today."
Barbara looked at Dinah, "This could very well mean that her headaches will be gone. That last shock that Live Wire gave her must have alleviated the problem and return her brain to normal functions, well as normal as Helena can be."
Dinah smiled, "I guess we will have to wait until she wakes up to be sure."
"Yes," Oracle looked at Reese "Ok, I have work to do, if you would please excuse us, Reese."
"Can't I wait here?" Reese asked.
"No, no, go to the kitchen, Alfred is there and he will be able to get you some dinner." Barbara answered as she looked back at her computer screen.
* * *
Dinah called Reese when Barbara finished helping Helena. He found her cutting Helena's hair near forehead so she would be able to put gauze on a cut.
"I don't believe that cutting her hair will make her happy." Barbara sketched a slight smile. "I'm finished. She is going to be okay Reese. I can repair her lung. Her meta-human powers allows her to recover fast."
Reese looked at Helena sleeping, and he caressed her cheek with his fingers. Barbara had placed her corset and had splinted her shoulder. Oracle took off the gloves and she placed them on a table.
"... Oracle..." Reese hesitated a moment "... my father's to blame..."
"Your father's to blame...?"
"My father is behind this."
Dinah stopped to make room for some insturments on a tray and she turned to see him. Oracle rotated her chair and looked Reese.
"Do you mean that he planned everything from jail?"
". He escaped one month ago from the prison." Reese lowered his head.
"What are you saying?" Dinah exclaimed "Hawke ran away and you say anything to us?"
"The police decided to maintain secrecy...." Reese put his hands on his waist.
"You must tell her!" Dinah claimed, "You must us!"
Barbara watched the test tubes and glass of the laboratory begin to tremble.
"Dinah!" she lifted her hand "Calm down.!"
"How could he hide something like that?" Dinah was furious "He killed my mother! And now almost killed Huntress!"
" Yes, but he is my father!" Reese responded loudly.
"Do you two want to lower your voice?" Barbara requested "Helena is resting! Dinah, control yourself or you will break something!"
"I don't understand you Reese, I don't understand how you could hide that from Helena knowing how important is. I don't know how you can tell her you love her!" Dinah decided to leave and avoid the foolishness. She walked to her room. Reese was heart-stricken, he put his hands on his head.
"Oracle."
"You only had to trust her" Oracle interrupted his sentence "Reese, excuse me, but we could avoid this... look at Helena, Bane almost killed her!"
"I know that, I know, I had the hope of catch him before. I never imagined that my father will do that to her..."
Oracle lowered her head and crossed her fingers, she tried to contain her irritation and anger. "Have you thought of how Helena will react when she finds out that you hid this from her?"
"I didn't think that my father would back for vengeance, I only imagined that he wanted to escape and to hide. I understood that until I intercepted the thief that gave to me the copy of the plans. He told me Al Hawke was helping Live Wire, that he had returned looking for revenge against Huntress, because she had interfered in his plans that night in the cellar when Black Canary died. He organized the competition with Live Wire, he called all his criminals acquaintances, he called Bane...."
Oracle looked away. If she would knew that Al Hawke was free, maybe she would be able to figure out Live Wire's plans beforehand and avoid the beating that Bane gave to Helena. She felt irritated, but tried to control her self. Reese walked around nervously.
"The thing that worries me right now, is that I don't believe that this has finished. He will look for Huntress, he won't stop until he traps her, like he did Black Canary. He wants to kill her."
"Huntress is safe here, and for that reason don't worry." Oracle took a deep breath. "Tomorrow I will help you find Hawke, but. you must tell her everything. your confession is going to be hard for her, she trusts you and it is difficult for her to trust anyone, you know that. It will hurt her a lot, maybe more than."
"I will do it, but not now, I have to catch him before he tries to trap Helena again." Reese walked to the elevator "I want to avoid him hurting her again. It is my duty."
"Reese, it would be better if you talk to her, not me. It's going to be worse if you don't do it."
"I can't stay here just looking!"
"You did! You stayed looking without saying a word to us!"
"I will tell her, I promise, but first I need to catch my father."
"And in the meantime? What do I tell her?" Barbara was mad "I can't hide the fact that Hawke is out to kill her!! Dinah knows this and she is not going to keep this secret because she knows that Helena's life and her life is in danger."
The door was closed. Oracle felt rabid and angry, she remained silent.
"Problems Miss Barbara?" Alfred's voice took her out of her thoughts.
"Many. and very big" Barbara turned to look at him "Where is Dinah?"
"She is locked in her room, I believe that she is very bothersome."
"I understand her."
"I prepared some coffee in the kitchen."
"Thank you, I need it but. Could you help me first to take to Helena to her room?"
"Sure." * * *
Reese's office phone rang, he answered distractedly. When he heard the voice on the other side of the line he got up of his seat.
"Father, where are you?" he exclaimed.
:: I can't tell you.::
"What do think that you are doing?"
::What are you talking about?::
"You almost killed the woman that I love!"
:: You have a relationship with her?::
"If I have a relationship with her or not, that isn't the fact, you organized a competition to hunt a girl! That is madness!"
:: Reese, I didn't call you to speak of her.::
"Leave her alone! I won't rest until I catch you! Where are you? "
::Sorry Reese, I can't tell you. I will call you when you are calmer..."
"Don't touch Huntress! I never will forgive you!" Reese only heard a deep silence and later the communication was cut. Full of fury he whipped the headphone against the desk, he took his sack and he left the station.
"Wouldn't this be easier if we just cut the coat off of her?" Reese asked concerned.
"Ah .and have to die a slow, painful death when she wakes up. I don't think so." Dinah tried to be as gentle as she could as she took off the coat. Dinah grabbed a scanner from a nearby table and began to pass it over Helena's body.
"Good Dinah, now I need a scan of her back. Reese can you help Dinah turn her over?" Oracle asked
When Reese turned her over, Helena half opened her eyes and grunted in pain. "Easy Helena, everything is going to be alright. I just need to turn you over so that Dinah can scan it."
"Hurts." Helena whispered, as she closed her eyes and fell into a deep, healing sleep. Reese's heart ached, it hurt to see her under these conditions. He felt guilty about what happened to her.
Dinah finished scanning, Reese walked over to Barbara hoping that she would have some results. "How is she?"
"Bane really did a number on her." Oracle pointed to some of the images on her computer screen."She has bruises all over her body, a concussion, two broken ribs, one of which has punctured her left lung." Barbara took a deep breath before she continued. "she almost fractured her clavicle so I need to immobilize her shoulder. That punctured lung worries me, though."
"Barbara, look at this." Dinah pointed to on of the scan picture taken of Helena's head
"What's that, Dinah?" Oracle looked at what Dinah was showing her.
"Look..." Dinah took the keyboard and opened the file of a similar scan. "This is the one I just took, the second one over here is the one you took three weeks ago."
"When we discovered the reason for the headaches." Oracle looked at the second scan.
"Look, the abnormality is gone. The scan that I took today is very similar to this one." Dinah opened a new folder. "This is a scan of Helena's head from two months ago that you took. As you can see it's almost identical to the one from today."
Barbara looked at Dinah, "This could very well mean that her headaches will be gone. That last shock that Live Wire gave her must have alleviated the problem and return her brain to normal functions, well as normal as Helena can be."
Dinah smiled, "I guess we will have to wait until she wakes up to be sure."
"Yes," Oracle looked at Reese "Ok, I have work to do, if you would please excuse us, Reese."
"Can't I wait here?" Reese asked.
"No, no, go to the kitchen, Alfred is there and he will be able to get you some dinner." Barbara answered as she looked back at her computer screen.
* * *
Dinah called Reese when Barbara finished helping Helena. He found her cutting Helena's hair near forehead so she would be able to put gauze on a cut.
"I don't believe that cutting her hair will make her happy." Barbara sketched a slight smile. "I'm finished. She is going to be okay Reese. I can repair her lung. Her meta-human powers allows her to recover fast."
Reese looked at Helena sleeping, and he caressed her cheek with his fingers. Barbara had placed her corset and had splinted her shoulder. Oracle took off the gloves and she placed them on a table.
"... Oracle..." Reese hesitated a moment "... my father's to blame..."
"Your father's to blame...?"
"My father is behind this."
Dinah stopped to make room for some insturments on a tray and she turned to see him. Oracle rotated her chair and looked Reese.
"Do you mean that he planned everything from jail?"
". He escaped one month ago from the prison." Reese lowered his head.
"What are you saying?" Dinah exclaimed "Hawke ran away and you say anything to us?"
"The police decided to maintain secrecy...." Reese put his hands on his waist.
"You must tell her!" Dinah claimed, "You must us!"
Barbara watched the test tubes and glass of the laboratory begin to tremble.
"Dinah!" she lifted her hand "Calm down.!"
"How could he hide something like that?" Dinah was furious "He killed my mother! And now almost killed Huntress!"
" Yes, but he is my father!" Reese responded loudly.
"Do you two want to lower your voice?" Barbara requested "Helena is resting! Dinah, control yourself or you will break something!"
"I don't understand you Reese, I don't understand how you could hide that from Helena knowing how important is. I don't know how you can tell her you love her!" Dinah decided to leave and avoid the foolishness. She walked to her room. Reese was heart-stricken, he put his hands on his head.
"Oracle."
"You only had to trust her" Oracle interrupted his sentence "Reese, excuse me, but we could avoid this... look at Helena, Bane almost killed her!"
"I know that, I know, I had the hope of catch him before. I never imagined that my father will do that to her..."
Oracle lowered her head and crossed her fingers, she tried to contain her irritation and anger. "Have you thought of how Helena will react when she finds out that you hid this from her?"
"I didn't think that my father would back for vengeance, I only imagined that he wanted to escape and to hide. I understood that until I intercepted the thief that gave to me the copy of the plans. He told me Al Hawke was helping Live Wire, that he had returned looking for revenge against Huntress, because she had interfered in his plans that night in the cellar when Black Canary died. He organized the competition with Live Wire, he called all his criminals acquaintances, he called Bane...."
Oracle looked away. If she would knew that Al Hawke was free, maybe she would be able to figure out Live Wire's plans beforehand and avoid the beating that Bane gave to Helena. She felt irritated, but tried to control her self. Reese walked around nervously.
"The thing that worries me right now, is that I don't believe that this has finished. He will look for Huntress, he won't stop until he traps her, like he did Black Canary. He wants to kill her."
"Huntress is safe here, and for that reason don't worry." Oracle took a deep breath. "Tomorrow I will help you find Hawke, but. you must tell her everything. your confession is going to be hard for her, she trusts you and it is difficult for her to trust anyone, you know that. It will hurt her a lot, maybe more than."
"I will do it, but not now, I have to catch him before he tries to trap Helena again." Reese walked to the elevator "I want to avoid him hurting her again. It is my duty."
"Reese, it would be better if you talk to her, not me. It's going to be worse if you don't do it."
"I can't stay here just looking!"
"You did! You stayed looking without saying a word to us!"
"I will tell her, I promise, but first I need to catch my father."
"And in the meantime? What do I tell her?" Barbara was mad "I can't hide the fact that Hawke is out to kill her!! Dinah knows this and she is not going to keep this secret because she knows that Helena's life and her life is in danger."
The door was closed. Oracle felt rabid and angry, she remained silent.
"Problems Miss Barbara?" Alfred's voice took her out of her thoughts.
"Many. and very big" Barbara turned to look at him "Where is Dinah?"
"She is locked in her room, I believe that she is very bothersome."
"I understand her."
"I prepared some coffee in the kitchen."
"Thank you, I need it but. Could you help me first to take to Helena to her room?"
"Sure." * * *
Reese's office phone rang, he answered distractedly. When he heard the voice on the other side of the line he got up of his seat.
"Father, where are you?" he exclaimed.
:: I can't tell you.::
"What do think that you are doing?"
::What are you talking about?::
"You almost killed the woman that I love!"
:: You have a relationship with her?::
"If I have a relationship with her or not, that isn't the fact, you organized a competition to hunt a girl! That is madness!"
:: Reese, I didn't call you to speak of her.::
"Leave her alone! I won't rest until I catch you! Where are you? "
::Sorry Reese, I can't tell you. I will call you when you are calmer..."
"Don't touch Huntress! I never will forgive you!" Reese only heard a deep silence and later the communication was cut. Full of fury he whipped the headphone against the desk, he took his sack and he left the station.