Place: The Clocktower in New Gotham
Time Frame: The morning after
the last chapter...
Barbara Gordon sighed as she rubbed her eyes wearily,
'Damn,' she thought to herself, 'Where can she be?' Suddenly,
she heard the doors of the elevator open; turning around,
she sighed with disappointment as Dinah stepped out. "Any
luck?" Barbara asked the younger woman.
"Afraid not," replied Dinah Lance, "She left her
earrings and necklace at 'No Man's Land' with a note."
"What does the note say?" questioned Barbara as
she turned back to her computer to continue her search.
"It says," answered Dinah, "And I quote: 'I'll be
back when *they* are no longer here or expected in town.'"
"Terrific," muttered Barbara, "Dinah, I know that
Carolyn is your mother, but when I get my hands on her..."
She trailed off, her eyes narrowing with fury as she
imagined punching the life out of the Black Canary.
"I know; I'm not exactly happy with her, either,"
admitted Dinah, "Where do you think Helena went?"
"I don't know, but we better find her before her
brothers and father do," Barbara told her as she quickly
searched the Internet for any ideas on where Helena had
run off to.
*******************************************
A few hours earlier, in the apartment of
Detective Jesse Reese...
Detective Reese let out a startled yelp as a familiar
voice called out, "Reese." Quickly, he turned on the lights,
pointing his gun toward the unexpected intruder. He then
sighed with relief as he put his weapon once again into
his holster. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
Huntress shrugged her shoulders as she replied,
"I just thought you would like to know I'll be out of
town for a while."
For the first time since he'd noticed her, Reese saw
a black duffel bag beside her feet. "Why are you leaving?
Does this have anything with that conversation you had with
your invisible friend?" he questioned her in concern as
well as curiosity.
"Yeah," mumbled Huntress sadly as an unexpected tear
came down her mask. Wiping it away with annoyance, she
stated furiously, "Some unexpected people will be in New
Gotham, and I rather would *not* be here when they arrive."
"Are they dangerous, Huntress?" asked Reese with even
more concern, "I've never seen you run away from anything."
"I'm not running away!" she protested as she turned
her back to him in order to hide her tears. "They can be
dangerous, but they don't want to harm me."
Moving slowly toward her, he asked, "So, if they
don't want to hurt you, what do they want with you?"
"They want to talk, but I do not want to talk to
them! I do not even want to meet them!" she shouted with
a mixture of anger and sadness.
Huntress tensed as she felt Reese put a comforting
hand on her shoulder, "Why don't you want to talk to them,
Huntress?" he whispered as he gently turned her around so
that they could speak face to face.
"I am not telling," she mumbled, sounding like a
lost little girl as tears ran freely down her face,
despite the mask she wore.
"Shhh," muttered Reese as he brought her into an
embrace. As she cried on his shoulder, he told her,
"Everything will be okay, Huntress; you don't have to
talk to them if you don't want to. Look, I'm starting my
vacation today; where were you planning on hiding?"
"I don't know," sniffled Huntress, "Somewhere
that no one will find me."
Reese became lost in thought for a few minutes.
Finally, he proposed, "Why don't you come with me on my
vacation? I was planning on a camping trip in the Smokey
Mountains -- why don't you come with me?"
"But... you don't even know my real name!" she
protested, "How can you be sure my... these people
won't find me in the mountains? Why are you helping me?"
"I'm helping you because you look like you need
to get away from New Gotham as much as I do. Everyone
deserves a vacation now and then," he told her.
"Besides, thousands of people go to the Smokey Mountains
to go camping. There is no way that anyone can find
you there."
"You don't know these people," she muttered in
disgust, "But I suppose I could give it a try..."
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What's the catch?"
"The catch is that you trust me," Reese told
her as he removed her from his embrace. "Agreed?"
Huntress stared at him in thought; finally she
reached up and removed her mask. "My name is Helena,
and that is all I'm telling you for the moment!"
she told him.
Reese smiled with pleasure as he agreed,
"For the moment. Nice to meet you, Helena."
********************************************
Later that day, in a private condo of Wayne Towers:
Tim Drake cursed as he shut off his portable
computer and pulled off his earphones. "Dick!" he
yelled, "We have a problem!"
"What's the problem?" questioned Dick Grayson
as he browsed through the phone book trying to find
the phone number for Papa's Fast Pizza Delivery.
"I tapped into Oracle's communication system
just as you asked," replied Tim, "Oracle has been
busy yelling at Black Canary over what's she done."
"And this is a problem?" asked Dick.
"The problem," continued Tim, "Is that Huntress
has apparently left town with some detective she has
been working with for some time. Oracle wants Black
Canary to get her butt here immediately and take
Huntress' place temporarily as guardian of New Gotham,
while she tries to track down the Huntress --
with Alfred's help."
"Great," muttered Dick, "And I just finished
unpacking. Does Oracle have any idea where they could
have gone to?"
"Somewhere in the Smokey Mountains," replied
Tim as he took out a road map and gazed at it in
concentration. "They could be in North Carolina or
Tennessee, according to the map."
"Clear across the country," mumbled Dick in
frustration. "Little sis certainly doesn't do
anything small. Wait a minute! Some detective?
What's this detective's name?"
"According to Oracle's database," answered
Tim as he began to plot the quickest way toward the
Smoky Mountains, "the detective's name is Jesse
Reese, and he's the illegitimate son of Al Hawk."
"Our sister is alone with a mobster's
bastard son!" yelled Dick.
Tim looked up at his brother in confusion,
"What's wrong with who he's related to? According
to the database, Detective Reese is nothing like
his father. In fact, he hates him, and the last
time they met, Detective Reese personally
arrested his father for blowing up half of
the harbor."
"Tim, little bro," Dick Grayson told him
gently, "I know that you usually do not pay
attention to such things, but we have a sister now.
She's alone with a man, on a vacation to a place
that some people believe is the most romantic
vacation spot on the East Coast. Now, what does
this piece of information tell you?"
Tim remained silent for a moment, and then
his face took on a look of panic that equaled his
older brother's face. "We got to find her! I'm not
ready to become an uncle!" he shouted out loud.
"You finally get it!" yelled Dick Grayson
as he rushed to grab the suitcases from the closet.
"Do you want to call Dad before we leave?"
questioned Tim as he packed his computer.
"No," replied Dick Grayson as he rushed toward
one of the bedrooms. "Let's try to find her first --
before we tell him that she may be trying to make him
a grandfather!"
TBC...
Time Frame: The morning after
the last chapter...
Barbara Gordon sighed as she rubbed her eyes wearily,
'Damn,' she thought to herself, 'Where can she be?' Suddenly,
she heard the doors of the elevator open; turning around,
she sighed with disappointment as Dinah stepped out. "Any
luck?" Barbara asked the younger woman.
"Afraid not," replied Dinah Lance, "She left her
earrings and necklace at 'No Man's Land' with a note."
"What does the note say?" questioned Barbara as
she turned back to her computer to continue her search.
"It says," answered Dinah, "And I quote: 'I'll be
back when *they* are no longer here or expected in town.'"
"Terrific," muttered Barbara, "Dinah, I know that
Carolyn is your mother, but when I get my hands on her..."
She trailed off, her eyes narrowing with fury as she
imagined punching the life out of the Black Canary.
"I know; I'm not exactly happy with her, either,"
admitted Dinah, "Where do you think Helena went?"
"I don't know, but we better find her before her
brothers and father do," Barbara told her as she quickly
searched the Internet for any ideas on where Helena had
run off to.
*******************************************
A few hours earlier, in the apartment of
Detective Jesse Reese...
Detective Reese let out a startled yelp as a familiar
voice called out, "Reese." Quickly, he turned on the lights,
pointing his gun toward the unexpected intruder. He then
sighed with relief as he put his weapon once again into
his holster. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
Huntress shrugged her shoulders as she replied,
"I just thought you would like to know I'll be out of
town for a while."
For the first time since he'd noticed her, Reese saw
a black duffel bag beside her feet. "Why are you leaving?
Does this have anything with that conversation you had with
your invisible friend?" he questioned her in concern as
well as curiosity.
"Yeah," mumbled Huntress sadly as an unexpected tear
came down her mask. Wiping it away with annoyance, she
stated furiously, "Some unexpected people will be in New
Gotham, and I rather would *not* be here when they arrive."
"Are they dangerous, Huntress?" asked Reese with even
more concern, "I've never seen you run away from anything."
"I'm not running away!" she protested as she turned
her back to him in order to hide her tears. "They can be
dangerous, but they don't want to harm me."
Moving slowly toward her, he asked, "So, if they
don't want to hurt you, what do they want with you?"
"They want to talk, but I do not want to talk to
them! I do not even want to meet them!" she shouted with
a mixture of anger and sadness.
Huntress tensed as she felt Reese put a comforting
hand on her shoulder, "Why don't you want to talk to them,
Huntress?" he whispered as he gently turned her around so
that they could speak face to face.
"I am not telling," she mumbled, sounding like a
lost little girl as tears ran freely down her face,
despite the mask she wore.
"Shhh," muttered Reese as he brought her into an
embrace. As she cried on his shoulder, he told her,
"Everything will be okay, Huntress; you don't have to
talk to them if you don't want to. Look, I'm starting my
vacation today; where were you planning on hiding?"
"I don't know," sniffled Huntress, "Somewhere
that no one will find me."
Reese became lost in thought for a few minutes.
Finally, he proposed, "Why don't you come with me on my
vacation? I was planning on a camping trip in the Smokey
Mountains -- why don't you come with me?"
"But... you don't even know my real name!" she
protested, "How can you be sure my... these people
won't find me in the mountains? Why are you helping me?"
"I'm helping you because you look like you need
to get away from New Gotham as much as I do. Everyone
deserves a vacation now and then," he told her.
"Besides, thousands of people go to the Smokey Mountains
to go camping. There is no way that anyone can find
you there."
"You don't know these people," she muttered in
disgust, "But I suppose I could give it a try..."
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What's the catch?"
"The catch is that you trust me," Reese told
her as he removed her from his embrace. "Agreed?"
Huntress stared at him in thought; finally she
reached up and removed her mask. "My name is Helena,
and that is all I'm telling you for the moment!"
she told him.
Reese smiled with pleasure as he agreed,
"For the moment. Nice to meet you, Helena."
********************************************
Later that day, in a private condo of Wayne Towers:
Tim Drake cursed as he shut off his portable
computer and pulled off his earphones. "Dick!" he
yelled, "We have a problem!"
"What's the problem?" questioned Dick Grayson
as he browsed through the phone book trying to find
the phone number for Papa's Fast Pizza Delivery.
"I tapped into Oracle's communication system
just as you asked," replied Tim, "Oracle has been
busy yelling at Black Canary over what's she done."
"And this is a problem?" asked Dick.
"The problem," continued Tim, "Is that Huntress
has apparently left town with some detective she has
been working with for some time. Oracle wants Black
Canary to get her butt here immediately and take
Huntress' place temporarily as guardian of New Gotham,
while she tries to track down the Huntress --
with Alfred's help."
"Great," muttered Dick, "And I just finished
unpacking. Does Oracle have any idea where they could
have gone to?"
"Somewhere in the Smokey Mountains," replied
Tim as he took out a road map and gazed at it in
concentration. "They could be in North Carolina or
Tennessee, according to the map."
"Clear across the country," mumbled Dick in
frustration. "Little sis certainly doesn't do
anything small. Wait a minute! Some detective?
What's this detective's name?"
"According to Oracle's database," answered
Tim as he began to plot the quickest way toward the
Smoky Mountains, "the detective's name is Jesse
Reese, and he's the illegitimate son of Al Hawk."
"Our sister is alone with a mobster's
bastard son!" yelled Dick.
Tim looked up at his brother in confusion,
"What's wrong with who he's related to? According
to the database, Detective Reese is nothing like
his father. In fact, he hates him, and the last
time they met, Detective Reese personally
arrested his father for blowing up half of
the harbor."
"Tim, little bro," Dick Grayson told him
gently, "I know that you usually do not pay
attention to such things, but we have a sister now.
She's alone with a man, on a vacation to a place
that some people believe is the most romantic
vacation spot on the East Coast. Now, what does
this piece of information tell you?"
Tim remained silent for a moment, and then
his face took on a look of panic that equaled his
older brother's face. "We got to find her! I'm not
ready to become an uncle!" he shouted out loud.
"You finally get it!" yelled Dick Grayson
as he rushed to grab the suitcases from the closet.
"Do you want to call Dad before we leave?"
questioned Tim as he packed his computer.
"No," replied Dick Grayson as he rushed toward
one of the bedrooms. "Let's try to find her first --
before we tell him that she may be trying to make him
a grandfather!"
TBC...
