Chapter 5
Time: Twenty-Four hours ago...
Before the events of chapter 4...
Place: Gotham City...
Helena's apartment
above the Dark Horse Saloon...
A dark figure silently made it's way through
the apartment, the figure took in the apartment's
ragged décor as well as the fact there were clothes
thrown carelessly around the apartment. The figure
shook his head in disbelief, and then looked at the
device within his hand...slowly he made his way to
the portrait of one Selina Kyle...he stopped
momentarily as he gazed longingly at the portrait
and then with resolved he searched for the secret
mechanism that the device informed him was near
the portrait, finally he found it!
As the wall swung open and the lights came on
automatically within the secret room, the figure
gasped in astonishment as he gazed at the room's
contents. He was expecting equipment that one found
when discovering a vigilante's lair...he was not
expecting an artist's studio! As he gazed around his
eyes came into contact with several pictures, awards,
as well as diplomas that hung from the wall...
Pictures of a young Helena Kyle with her
mother or godfather, sometimes both of them...
diplomas from the University of Paris awarding
one Helena Kyle with a bachelor's, master's, and
finally a doctor's degree in the fine arts,
specifically historical arts and animation...
the awards were for one 'Tabby Knight'
alongside the awards were samples of her
award-winning comic strip "Heroes and Villains"...
However, a certain framed article
interested the figure the most...the
article was dated fifteen years ago and
it stated: "An Interview with Tabby Knight
by Clark Kent...alongside this article,
a legal document signed by one Clark Kent
stating that he would not revel to anyone
in public or private who Tabby Knight truly
was...the figure growled in anger as he took
this particular frame from the wall and
stormed from the mysterious room in a fury...
*********************************************
Later at the Watchtower...
The Justice League, (consisting of Superman,
Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash, Plastic Man, Green
Lantern, and the Martin Manhunter), were in a middle
of a meeting when the Batman stormed in...
"Batman!" yelled a furious Wonder Woman,
"How dare you come in here! You know very well
that we kicked you out..."
But she never finished her statement as
the Batman threw at the Man of Steel the frame
that he had 'borrowed' from his daughter's
apartment; Superman caught the frame before it
could break into his face, "Batman, what..."
but he trailed off as he glanced what was in
the frame, "Oh, no," he softly said as he
became very pale.
Everyone remained silent as the stared
between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel;
everyone could sense the tension in the room,
finally J'onn asked, "Is something wrong?"
But neither Superman nor Batman
answered the Martian, instead Batman
growled out, "Where is she?"
Superman remained silent, but the
other heroes glanced at each other in
confusion, "Where's who Bats?"
questioned Plastic Man.
Again no one answered, Superman
finally stood up, "I'll be back...I need
to think this through..." he said as he
left the room, he could hear the Batman
shout out, "Why do you need to think this
through? Where in h*** is my daughter?"
***********************************************
A few minutes later...
At the Fortress of Solitude...
Superman sighed as he rubbed his face
in weariness; he was currently seating in the
'living room' of the great fortress waiting
for one of his robot companions to bring back
a piece of Martha Kent's apple pie that he
had stored here along with other food items.
Finally the robot came into the room with a
small tray, "Here is your pie as well as the
glass of buttermilk you order Master Kal-el."
"Thanks, Ra-1," he told the robot as
he took the tray, "Ra-1, how many times have
I told you not to call me 'Master?'
"Numerous times, master," replied the
robot, "But it is in my programming to do so.
Will there be anything else?"
"No," he sighed as he made a mental
note to change the robot's programming just
a tad, right now he had bigger problems to
tell with, "However, I do not wish to be
disturb for a time, if anyone calls and it
is not a world-ending type of emergency,
tell them I need some privacy."
"Even Lady Kal-el?" questioned Ra-1,
"Or Master and Mistress Kent?"
Wincing as he thought of Lois's
reaction of being called 'Lady Kal-el,'
he muttered to himself, "I'll definitely
will have to tweak that programming,"
and then out loud he said, "No one, Ra-1.
If my family calls just tell them I'm
having a bat problem at the moment."
"Very well, Master," said the robot
and then left the room.
Sighing, the Man of Steel reached
for his buttermilk as he pondered his bat
problem, 'I should have never taken that
assignment,' he thought to himself, 'If I
knew then, what I know now...I would not
be in this mess! On the other hand, I would
most likely be in this mess anyway...Lord...
even after all this time...I still can not
believe what Catwoman and the Riddler have
managed to hide right underneath Bruce's
nose!'
**********************************************
Flashback
Time: Fifteen Years Ago...
Place: Central City Airport...
Clark Kent sighed with relief as he
stepped into the busy airport; he hated to
fly...in planes! If he had to fly, it would
be under his own power...thank you very much!
As he attempted to recover from his
flight, he heard a voice shout out, "Mr.
Kent! Mr. Kent!"
Clark Kent looked up and gasped at
the sight before him, there was Edward
Nigma alias the Riddler, standing before
him in a business suit. The Riddler had
once been a great adversary of the Batman,
but for the past few years he seemed to be
in a semi-retirement after he moved his
operations to Central City.
Noticing his shock appearance, the
Riddler said, "Ah...so you recognize me? I
just hope you remember your confidentiality
agreement you signed before we agreed for
you to do this interview?"
Coming out of his shock, Mr. Kent
replied, "Yes, I remember, Mr. Nigma.
Tell me are you Tabby Knight, the one
I am suppose to interview?"
"Oh, no! My dear man!" stated
Mr. Nigma as he led the reporter to
his car in the parking lot, "I'm Tabby's
godfather and one of the CEO's of
Labyrinth Publishing!"
"Oh...then why?" questioned
Mr. Kent as he entered the car, but
was interrupted by the Riddler.
"Why do I continue to do what I
usually do?" asked Mr. Nigma as they
drove off, "Well...partially to stay in
touch in the game in order to give Tabby
information for her comic strip, and
partially out of boredom. I just love
driving the Flash crazy with my riddles!
(Laugh) That boy is nothing like his
Uncle Barry!"
"Hey!" protested the reporter,
"His not that bad!"
"Oh, of course his not! His not
bad in catching my...er...colleges whom
use more muscle than brains...but he is
just so young! And very impatient! I do
realize he has has some brains in that
thick skull of his, but he rarely uses
them! Someone needs to teach him that
as well as some patience! And since his
elders are too busy or they think he is
a carbon copy of his late uncle...well...
I suppose it might as well be me!
Otherwise if he runs into someone who is
not as merciful as I am...well...you
get the picture."
"I suppose," Clark Kent grudgely
replied as he made a mental note to spend
more time with the young Flash.
They remained silent to one another
for the rest of the drive, finally they
stopped in front of a secluded cabin within
the Rocky Mountains, "Here we are," stated
Mr. Nigma, "Now before we go in, you must
know that Tabby's real name is..." he was
cut off as a young voice shouted out,
"Uncle Eddie!"
Looking toward the roof, the men
gasped, one in amazement, one in concern
at the sight that was before them...a
fifteen-year old girl sat cross-legged
on the rook with ease. As Clark Kent used
his unique vision, he observed that the
young girl had long dark hair wrapped in
a pony tale and dark blue eyes; she was
wearing a baggy black shirt with blue jeans
and a pair of sandals. As she gave a
brilliant smile to the men below, she
yelled out, "Hey, is that the reporter
from the Daily Planet? He's early, and Mom
has gone to the market to get dinner!"
"Helena Louise Kyle!" bellowed
Edward Nigma; "You get your butt off that
roof right now!"
"Ahh," whined Helena, "But, I like
it up here! You and Mom used to do it all
the time!"
"That was then, this is now!"
yelled Edward, "Get down!"
Rolling her eyes in disgust,
only Clark Kent could hear her mutter,
"Adults!"
Concerned, he asked Nigma, "Won't
she need a ladder to get down?"
"No," he replied, "She's a half
meta human, her mother is Selina Kyle...
you may know her as Catwoman."
"Oh," muttered Clark as he watched
the young girl jumped down from the roof
with ease.
As she made her toward the men, she
introduced herself, "Hey, as Uncle Eddie...
er...told you, I'm Helena Kyle...I am also
known as 'Tabby Knight', the genius behind
'Heroes and Villains,' star of Labyrinth
Publishing, and possible the only person next
to Superman that old Lexy Boy would love to
discover my secret identity and thus cut me
to pieces...literally."
"Helena!" yelled her godfather in
protest as they went into the cabin.
"Well, it true!" protested Helena.
"Of course, it's true," Edward told her,
"But he's the least of our worries if..."
"I know, I know," muttered Helena and
then started reciting a lecture she had heard
a thousand times before, " 'Don't joke about
such things Helena! If anyone in the criminal
underworld, particular the Joker finds you and
knows whose daughter you are...you're as good
as dead!' Sheesh! I get the point! Besides why
are you so worried you and Mom both taught me
to defend myself? No...wait let me answer myself...
'there are worse criminals than either of us
were Helena, do not underestimate them...
especially the Joker!' Gads...anyway...what's
your name Mr. Reporter-from-the Daily Planet?"
"Helena, manners..." reprimanded her
godfather as he sank into the lounge chair
in the living room, while Helena jumped on to
the sofa, "And don't jump on the furniture."
Clark Kent tried not to laugh as he
went to the rocking chair, he could not
decide which was funnier the sarcastic young
teenager or a famous criminal lecturing the
said teenager, finally he answered Helena's
question, "My name is Clark Kent."
"Ohh," squealed Helena in excitement,
"You do nearly all of those Superman stories,
can you tell me any good gossip relating to
him? Every since we got back from Paris,
I haven't had any good material! It's a real
shame too...the JLE gave me such great
material, and in huge amounts as well!"
Mentally wincing at her idea, Clark
Kent replied, "I'll see what I can do..."
****************************************************
Later that evening...
During dinner...
Clark Kent sighed as he put down his fork,
the interview was nearly finish and the dinner he
had was magnificent, "That was terrific," he told
Selina Kyle, "I never realize..."
"That a former criminal such as myself
could cook so well?" Selina finished his
sentence for him, (Laugh) "Well, I had lots of
practice...even before Helena was born."
Noticing the look in her mother's eye,
Helena immediately pounced, "Your thinking
about Dad...I know you are! Who is he?"
Selina sighed as she put down her fork,
"Helena, your godfather and I both told
you that..."
" 'It was too dangerous!' quoted Helena,
"What is so dangerous about knowing who my
father is?"
"Helena," sighed Selina wearily, "This
is neither the time nor the place to have
this discussion."
"It is never the time or place!" yelled
Helena, and then she stormed up to her room.
As the adults stared after her, Clark Kent
stated, "Maybe I should leave, I have that flight
to catch back tonight..."
"That's perhaps for the best," agreed Edward
Nigma, "Selina will you be all right?"
"I'll be fine," cracked Selina as tears came
down her face, "I'm sorry that the evening ended on
such a bad note...if you'll excuse me..." Then she
raced up the stairs in tears.
******************************************
Later ...
As they toward Central City, Clark Kent
asked the former criminal, "May I ask a favor
Mr. Nigma? I know this is none of my business
and you will most likely not answer my question...
but...who is Helena Kyle's father? I promise
on my word of honor that I will never tell a
another soul."
The Riddler, however remained silent,
but just before the reporter left the car to
go into the airport, he said, "Tell me Mr.
Kent, do you think you can share the burden
that Selina and I share? The secret that we
dare not tell due to its great burden? Or
the danger if the Joker or any other Gotham
criminal ever found out our secret? Then
riddle me this my dear Mr. Kent, what happens
when a bat meets a cat under the blue moon?
That is the answer to your boon, if you tell
it...it shall be your doom." Then he drove
off into the night...
Clark Kent stood there silently for
a few minutes, pondering the riddle, finally
the answer came to him, "Oh, dear Lord,"
he muttered in disbelief, "Bruce..."
End Flashback
******************************************
Place: The Watchtower
'That was one of the few time that I ever
wished I could get drunk,' mused Superman to
himself as he entered the monitor room of the
Watchtower, the Green Lantern was on duty, "
Where is 'he'?" he questioned the young man.
"In the meeting room where we left him,"
replied the Green Lantern, "Supes, what is going
on? Does Bats really have a daughter? He would
not show us that frame he threw at you no matter
how hard we tried."
Superman smiled sadly as he answered the
questions in the order that they were given,
"I'll explain later, and yes he does." Then he
left the room, he found the Batman in the darkened
meeting room staring out the window that overlooked
the planet and the rest of the cosmos. "Batman,"
he stated simply.
"Superman, where is she? Please tell me...
she's not in Gotham," pleaded the Dark Knight
softly.
"She may be at her childhood home with
her godfather and his family," Superman told
his friend, "I'll take you there, if your ready,
old friend."
"I've been ready since the Black Canary
sent me that package," the Batman replied sadly,
"Take me to her, old friend. Its past time that
I met my daughter."
