Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing...

Nothing!

Chapter 7

Place: The Rocky Mountains,

behind a secluded cabin...

Time: During the events of chapter 6...

            The mid-day sun shone down through the trees

on the face of Helena Kyle, who was currently perched

on a giant white pine tree, she stretched lazily as

she stared over the landscape. 'It seems like

yesterday,' she thought to herself, 'the day Mom died...

Lord I miss her! The days afterward, seem like a dream...

Uncle Eddie managed to get custody of me, despite his

criminal record and his disability...but he could only

gain custody of me if someone moved in with us as a

co-guardian to me and a watchdog for Uncle Eddie.

Enter one Dr. Margaret Cranston, the very doctor who

saved Uncle Eddie's life! Of course at the time we

thought she did not know what she was getting into...

little did we know what we were getting into!

                                    ***********************************************

Flashback

Time: A month after the death of Selina Kyle...

Place: Gotham City, the apartment of

Dr. Margaret Cranston...

            Sixteen-year old Helena Kyle frowned in

concentration as she carefully painted on the

half-finished portrait of Selina Kyle...the radio

was blasting out her favorite rock songs and tears

were silently running down her face. She had been

working on the portrait of her mother since the

day of her mother's funeral...she rarely left

her room except to eat or to use the bathroom...

despite the best efforts of her godfather

and the good doctor.

            Currently, her godfather was in physical

therapy and Dr. Cranston was in surgery...so she

was left alone in the apartment...suddenly the

music stopped, turning around Helena looked

over the room...but nothing was there! Frowning

even more, she went to turn the music back on...

but was stopped by a queer chuckle. "Whose there?"

she shouted as she looked around the room once

more, this time through the cat-like eyes she

inherited from her mother...seeing nothing. Her

eyes shifted back to a dark blue, "I'm going

crazy," she muttered as she turned the music

back on and started once more on the portrait...

End Flashback

                        ******************************************

            "I wasn't going crazy despite what I believe

at the time," Helena thought to herself, "But what

was going to happen would change my life forever..."

                        ******************************************

Flashback

That night at dinner...

            "So, how was your day Helena?" asked

Edward Nigma as passed a dish of potatoes to

Dr. Cranston.

            "It was all right," she said as she played

with her food, "I nearly got the portrait done...

but..."

            "But?" questioned Dr. Cranston as she put

the potatoes on her plate.

            "But I keep getting the feeling of being

watched all day, and then there was this queer

laugh..." Helena never finished her sentence as

the good doctor slammed the potato dish on the

table and stood up with hands on her hips.

            "Grandfather!" Dr. Cranston bellowed,

"Show yourself!  Honestly, how many times

must I tell you? I am nearly forty and most

certainly not your little girl anymore!"

            "Uh...Margaret? Is there something wrong?

I do not see anyone here?" questioned Edward.

            "Margaret, now...is it? What is happening

between you and my granddaughter, Mr.Nigma?"

questioned a mysterious voice as it gave a

queer chuckle.

            "Grandfather," growled out Dr. Cranston

furiously as her eyes suddenly glowed a soft

white, "Two of us can play this game, and you

were the one who taught me! Show yourself!"

            Suddenly, a man with black slouched hat

and a red scarf around his mouth appeared out

of thin air, both Helena and her godfather gave

a startled yelp, the mysterious figure said as

his black cloak swirled around him, "I am still

the master, my dear child...and you will always

be my little girl. Are you going to introduce me

to your guests?"

            Dr. Cranston rolled her eyes in weariness

as she muttered, "How grandmother ever put up

with him! Aggh! Helena, Edward this is my

grandfather...the Shadow."

            Helena frowned in confusion as she asked

her pale godfather, "The Shadow? Wasn't that the

name of the bogyman vigilante that you used to

tell me about Uncle Eddie? I thought you told me

he wasn't real?"

            "Bogyman!" yelled the Shadow as he howled

with laughter.

            "I thought he wasn't real," muttered the

Riddler in fear.

            "Oh, he's real all right," muttered Dr.

Cranston as she slumped into her chair, "And a

real big pain in the neck!"

            "Now, Margaret," chided the Shadow as he

calmed down, "I only wanted to make certain you

were safe, I am pleased that you have reform...

Mr. Nigma."

            "Thanks...I think," whimpered the Riddler

as he thought to himself, "And I thought the

Batman was bad!"

            Once again the Shadow barked out a creepy

laugh as he said, "I am much worse than Ms. Kyle's

father, Mr. Nigma."

            "H-how?" stuttered the Riddler.

            "He can read your mind," Dr. Cranston told

the Riddler, "Grandfather, would you please stop

your melodramatic acts and sit down like a 'normal'

human being?"

            "Very well," replied the Shadow as he

disappeared, suddenly a gray-haired man in a

dark business suit appeared before them,

"Is this better?"

            "Much," muttered his granddaughter as

she set another place at the table.

            "That's your grandfather!" shouted Helena,

"He's a hottie!"

            At the same time, her godfather yelled,

"Your Lamont Cranston CEO of Cranston

Enterprises!"

            Once again, a slight chuckle escaped Lamont

Cranston as he told the shock pair, "Thank you for

the compliment, Ms. Kyle...I always appreciate a

compliment from such a lovely lady such as your self.

However, I must correct you Mr. Nigma...my grandson

is now the CEO of my company...as well as certain

other businesses. I'm retired now, much to my wife's

relief."

            "Hmph!" muttered Margaret Cranston, "Retired!

You certainly do not act like someone who is retired!"

Noticing her guests confused looks, she explained,

"My baby brother, John Cranston, took over Grandfather's

mantle as the Shadow a few years ago. Unfortunately,

Grandfather still enjoys terrorizing the criminal

underworld for a past time! He needs to try something

new! He is most definitely not a young man anymore!"

            "Margaret, really," Lamont Cranston told her,

"You wound me to the core! Your only as young as you

feel, according to the old saying. At least I am not

taking up your grandmother's hobby, just be thankful

that she is focused on John at the moment and not you

my dear!"

            "What hobby is that?" whispered Edward to

Margaret.

            Margaret Cranston snorted in disgust as

she replied, "Matchmaking, Grandma would like

nothing better than to see John and I settled

down and start giving her great-grandchildren!"

Sighing, she placed a spare table setting and

asked her grandfather, "So, what brings you

here besides to check up on me? You would not

have reveled your identity so easily to

strangers."

            "You know me too well, Margaret,"

Mr. Cranston told her and then turned his

attention to Helena, "I've come to make

an offer to you Ms. Kyle."

            "To me?" asked Helena in surprise.

            "Yes," replied Mr. Cranston, "You are

quite similar to me, Helena. If you truly

desire to avenge your mother's death and to

protect the innocent...then I am willing

to take you on as my apprentice."

            "What?" yelled Helena, Margaret, and

Edward in surprise.

            "I believe you heard me," Mr. Cranston

calmly replied as he dug into his meal, "And

you just told me Margaret that a needed a new

past time."

            "There is no way in h%&* that my

goddaughter is getting into the very

thing that murdered her mother and nearly

got me killed!" Nigma shouted out.

            "I believe that is Ms. Kyle's choice,"

Mr. Cranston told him, "Besides, she is already

going down the very path you wish to prevent her

from taking, today...for an example...she tried

on her mother's mask for a few moments.

            "Helena!" shouted her godfather in outrage.

            Helena blushed a deep red, but managed to

explain, "Well, nobody, including the Batman, is

doing anything to catch the man who actually killed

my mother! He's too busy escorting the Joker to

some prison in California!"

            Mr. Cranston barked out in a huge laugh

suddenly...Helena, Edward, and Margaret stared

at him in shock...finally, he said with amusement,

"You have not told her who her father is?"

            "H-how?" stuttered Edward in fear.

            "I know," Mr. Cranston, said simply, "Well?"

            "I...Selina...did not want her to know..."

Edward muttered.

            "Know what?" demanded Helena, "Just who is

my father?"

            "You can not keep these type of things a

secret forever," Mr. Cranston as he glanced at his

granddaughter, "Believe me...I know from experience.

Do you wish to tell her or shall I?"

            Edward Nigma stared at his goddaughter;

he opened his mouth and then closed it again.

With a shake of his head, he replied,

"I-I can't...I-I just can't..."

            "Very well," Mr. Cranston told him

and then turned his full attention to Helena,

"I said earlier that we were similar Ms. Kyle..."

            "Yes," Helena told him uncertainly.

            "You know what evil lurks in the hearts

of men, Helena...just as I do," explained

Mr. Cranston, "You inherited that trait from

your late mother, the Catwoman. But, like myself...

you have a strong sense of justice and a desire

to protect the innocent. You inherited that

particular trait from your father, the Batman."

            It was one of the few times in her young

life, Helena was completely shock, finally, she

stuttered out, "Y-your joking! Isn't he,

Uncle Eddie?"

            Edward Nigma shook his head sadly as he

answered, "I'm afraid not, sweetie. The Joker,

and every criminal in Gotham knew that your

mother was the lover of the Batman. When you

were born...she tried to continue her way of

life with my help, but it became too much. She

feared that the Joker would, as I did, find

out about you and who your father was. That

is why we hid your very existence from your

father and his merry band as well as the Gotham

underworld...we feared for your life, Helena!

The reason that your mother was killed was not

only due to the fact that she was once Catwoman;

it was because she was the Batman's true love!

I discovered this a few days ago from...err...

a former college that the Joker hired a

criminal known as Clayface to kill your mother,

Helena...you know the rest."

            Helena remained silent during her

godfather's explanation, silent tears ran

down her face...when he finished she let

out an anguish howl and raced to her room.

            "Helena!" yelled her godfather.

End Flashback

                        ******************************************

            "Helena!" yelled the voice of her

mentor, she looked down from the tree,

and there stood Lamont Cranston,

the Shadow.

            "What?" she yelled, " 'He' hasn't

figured out who trained me has 'he'? We

kept it a secret from Al and Barbara just

as you requested!"

            "I know, Helen!" he shouted, "We

are overdue for a long talk, and I can not

hold a conversation with you if you're up

in a tree! Come down!"

            Rolling her eyes, she leapt from

the tree and landed gracefully in front

of her mentor, "What do you want?"

            Lamont Cranston sighed with weariness,

'She is indeed very much similar to me', he

thought to himself as he said out loud, "Helena,

we need to have a little chat about forgiveness."

            "Forgive whom?" she asked sarcastically.

            "Helena," he warned her in a dangerous

voice, "Do you remember what I told you about

what I had done before I became the Shadow?"

            "Yes," she answered, "You became a

drug lord in China after the first World War."

            "Before that," he told her, "When I was

an officer assigned to protect the Czar's family."

            Remembering his graphic description

of the massacre, she replied, "Yes."

            "Very well, what I did not tell you was

that one member of the Czar's family survived,

her name was Anastasia," he informed her.

            Helena's eyes widen in shock, "That old

tale is true! I thought she died with the rest

of her family!"

            "She did die in a way," he explained,

"I managed to save her from the massacre, I

gave her a new name and life in America...

then I went to China to loose myself in grief

and anger over what I failed to do...protect

the Czar's family. Years later, in about...oh...

1936, I met Anastasia again, except her name

was now Hannah White. She had grown up into

a mad woman, filled with grief and anger at me

for she never forgave me for not protecting

her family. She went on a killing spree,

destroying anything that had emotional value

to me...she nearly killed Margo before I

shot her in the head."

            "Wow," muttered Helena softly.

            "Wow, indeed," he continued, "For I had

killed the last living child of Czar Nicholas,

the last emperor of Russia.  I felt extremely

guilty, over what I had done Helena. Remember,

when I told you we were very similar?"

            "Yes," she replied with curiosity.

            "You are also similar to Anastasia," he

told her, "When I took you on as pupil...I wanted

to help you deal with your grief and anger...

I did not want to see another young girl end up

like the poor princess who survived her family's

massacre."

            "But I am not like her!" she protested.

            "Oh, but you are!" said her mentor, "You

have never forgiven your father, just as Anastasia

never forgave me! Your father feels just as

guilty for your mother's death as I did that cold

day the Czar's family was massacred...in fact...

I still feel guilty for the massacre. It's

something that is not easily forgotten...and I

dearly wished that Anastasia could have forgiven

me...for maybe it would have helped me to forgive

myself."  And with these words of wisdom...he

left his student in the forest to think about

what he had just told her.

TBC...