Alfred entered to the study of the Clock Tower with a tray of coffee.
Helena was in the living room doing her homework. Barbara was reading some
papers, her semblance was serious. She looked at Alfred.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"Selina's lawyer sent me a Court order." She gave him the paper "The lawyer thinks that I don't have the capability to take care of her because I can't walk, and because of all her problems in the last months, he considers her to be dangerous."
"Selina's lawyer? Why he is doing this?"
"He thinks that I'm useless and that Helena is walking around in the street with a Uzi. This man doesn't understand that Helena had the common response of a hurt and fearful kid: rebellion."
"Yes, but the difference is that she is half-meta..." Alfred looked at Helena who was distracted, copying a lesson in her notebook in the other side of the second floor..
"Yes, and she could do things that normal kids couldn't, such as escaping by jumping out of a high window or knocking out policemen." Barbara took a sip of coffee.
"Can she hear us?" Alfred asked in low voice.
"No, I don't think that would be an ability that she would develop." Barbara looked to the place were Helena was working "I guess that she would jump higher distances and run faster. Maybe with training she would move faster, and it would help her to control her temper. And to control her changing pupils when is mad, excited or scared; I don't want people to begin asking questions or investigating her. She has been with me almost two months and she looks happy, well, in her possibilities. She hasn't given me any problems and she is very smart, her profesor told me that she is now at the same level as her classmates; she lost almost three months of classes."
"And what happened? She accepted the idea of her father helping you by giving you a building and equipment?"
"Oh my! That was very hard work, she is more stubborn than Selina and Bruce put together. But she finally accepted, took a lot for me to convince her, but she finally accepted. She feels resentful against him. That worries me."
"Have you talked with him?"
"No, I don't know how to find him, he just disappeared. I don't know how both would react if they ever come face to face. Helena would never be the same. She, like me, has ghosts that follow her, ghosts that maybe someday we will escape. She cries often at nights but sometimes she lies to me and tells me she is okay, I think that she tries to show that she is strong, and it's hard for her to open up to me."
"It's too soon." Alfred pointed out.
"Yes, it is."
"Oh..." Alfred raised his brows "I thought you didn't know..."
Barbara glared at him. "Alfred... How did you know that she lies to me sometimes? She told you?"
"No, I figured it out because you didn't say anything to her. She thinks she is a very good liar and that you haven't noticed it; but the truth is that she is a very bad liar and I don't want to break her heart."
Barbara smiled and moved her head "Yeah, you're right. I hope she trusts me soon, and she stops her little lies. Well Alfred, I need to contact the lawyer for Wayne's Foundation; I think this will finish in court and I need to talk with him. I don't want to take Hel to a Court House, she has suffered so much and this is not fair to her."
* * *
Helena felt much better, she was back at her school with her friends and Barbara wasn't acting like a mother, she was more like a very good friend; she listened to her and always had time to help or give her advice; she gave her space and let her be her. But she couldn't avoid lying, in common habit of teens, when she went to a party or escaped to some place with her friends.
Before her mother's death she had been very popular and friendly. She tried to continue her life but the sadness of losing her mother was with her almost all day. The idea to some day locate her mother's murderer kill him never left her the following years.
She entered looking for Barbara in the Clock Tower with her school bag on her back. She saw Alfred polishing silver in the kitchen and walked in there.
"Where is Barbara, Alfred?" she asked taking an apple and sitting in a chair.
"She's not here, she had an important appointment."
"Not here yet? Where would she be? She told me that she couldn't wait for me at the school. What happened to her?"
"Happened? What do you mean?"
"Well, she never left me at the school. The last few days she has been distracted working in the library or in Wayne's offices. I asked her but she told me she is signing legal papers for my house and her apartment."
"And?"
"And I don't believe her..." Helena bit her apple.
"She has alot of work to do, Miss Helena. Now she is working to change the equipment here, she wants to find a better computer system."
"I know, and I asked her not accept money from him."
" 'Him' meaning Master Bruce?" Alfred rose his brown looking her.
"I don't want anything from him." Helena said in firm voice. "I don't want to indebt anyone to him, I don't want to feel obligated to see him later."
"You don't like him, but you don't know him."
"So..."
"But with his support he helped Miss Barbara to trust herself again and with the Wayne's Foundation patronage she would not have access to this equipment. The latest in technology is here, the Hummer was adapted especially for her, and she can drive it with just her hands and have very nice accessories inside, like the computer. You know that a regular person could never do it. All this is really expensive."
"Yes, I know, she told me. Barbara and I had a long discussion about that. I asked her move us to my home but she told me and she's right, that she couldn't develop herself as well as here. This place is special for her, she can move very well and do everything for herself. I accepted all this just for her." Helena raised her finger "Just for her, listen to it well."
"I got it." Alfred said trying to sound serious.
"Okay, now back to our first discussion point. What happened with her?"
"Is that a question or is it the topic of discussion?"
"Alfred! You know what is happening! Tell me!"
"Miss Helena, a butler is always a very discrret person." Alfred pointed out.
"You are not a buttler remember? You are an Alfred. This would be our secret."
"Miss Helena," Alfred finished polishing the silver and cleaned his hands, "you and I could write a book with all 'our secrets'."
"So it's really easy, it's just one more." Helena's eyes shone and she smiled.
"If Miss Barbara finds out she will kill me."
"No, remember that her Honor Code prohibits a hero from killing. I would like to help her if I can." Helena looked at him with puppy dog eyes and took his arm. "Please, tell me, please."
"Okay, but just promise me that you won't say a word to her or I will tell her about the escape you made to go to that party last Saturday." Alfred said to her.
"That is blackmail!" Helena protested.
Alfred smiled and nodded.
"Okay, okay" Helena raised her hand "I promise."
"She felts very stressed. Your mother's attorney is trying to take away the legal custody of you that your mother gave to Miss Barbara. He is fighting for the state to take care of you."
Helena turned pale, "I don't want to go back there."
"Barbara doesn't want you to go back there again, either. She is preparing her defence working with the lawyers of Wayne's Corporation to prevent the lawyer from taking you to the court to testify or take you back to the DYFS while the case is resolved. His first argument is that she is a disabled person and that she doesn't have the capability to take care of any girl. His second argument is that you are a rebellious girl..."
"...That had been in a Detention Center." Helena added lowering her head.
"I'm telling this to you because it will be good if you help her by avoiding getting into trouble, everyone has an argument against Miss Barbara; she didn't want to tell you, she doesn't want you to worry."
"Why is my mother's lawyer doing this?"
"Because he thinks it's the best for you and for her."
"He doesn't know me, he doesn't know those awful places! He just has to follow my mother's orders. I will never go back there!" Helena grumbled.
"Miss Helena, Miss Barbara is going to fight against everything to protect you, be sure of that." He touched her shoulder, she gave him back a light smile.
Helena kept it to herself that the idea of going back to the Detention Center or the Orphanage frightened her. She looked at her watch nervously; waiting for Barbara was better than trying to sleep.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"Selina's lawyer sent me a Court order." She gave him the paper "The lawyer thinks that I don't have the capability to take care of her because I can't walk, and because of all her problems in the last months, he considers her to be dangerous."
"Selina's lawyer? Why he is doing this?"
"He thinks that I'm useless and that Helena is walking around in the street with a Uzi. This man doesn't understand that Helena had the common response of a hurt and fearful kid: rebellion."
"Yes, but the difference is that she is half-meta..." Alfred looked at Helena who was distracted, copying a lesson in her notebook in the other side of the second floor..
"Yes, and she could do things that normal kids couldn't, such as escaping by jumping out of a high window or knocking out policemen." Barbara took a sip of coffee.
"Can she hear us?" Alfred asked in low voice.
"No, I don't think that would be an ability that she would develop." Barbara looked to the place were Helena was working "I guess that she would jump higher distances and run faster. Maybe with training she would move faster, and it would help her to control her temper. And to control her changing pupils when is mad, excited or scared; I don't want people to begin asking questions or investigating her. She has been with me almost two months and she looks happy, well, in her possibilities. She hasn't given me any problems and she is very smart, her profesor told me that she is now at the same level as her classmates; she lost almost three months of classes."
"And what happened? She accepted the idea of her father helping you by giving you a building and equipment?"
"Oh my! That was very hard work, she is more stubborn than Selina and Bruce put together. But she finally accepted, took a lot for me to convince her, but she finally accepted. She feels resentful against him. That worries me."
"Have you talked with him?"
"No, I don't know how to find him, he just disappeared. I don't know how both would react if they ever come face to face. Helena would never be the same. She, like me, has ghosts that follow her, ghosts that maybe someday we will escape. She cries often at nights but sometimes she lies to me and tells me she is okay, I think that she tries to show that she is strong, and it's hard for her to open up to me."
"It's too soon." Alfred pointed out.
"Yes, it is."
"Oh..." Alfred raised his brows "I thought you didn't know..."
Barbara glared at him. "Alfred... How did you know that she lies to me sometimes? She told you?"
"No, I figured it out because you didn't say anything to her. She thinks she is a very good liar and that you haven't noticed it; but the truth is that she is a very bad liar and I don't want to break her heart."
Barbara smiled and moved her head "Yeah, you're right. I hope she trusts me soon, and she stops her little lies. Well Alfred, I need to contact the lawyer for Wayne's Foundation; I think this will finish in court and I need to talk with him. I don't want to take Hel to a Court House, she has suffered so much and this is not fair to her."
* * *
Helena felt much better, she was back at her school with her friends and Barbara wasn't acting like a mother, she was more like a very good friend; she listened to her and always had time to help or give her advice; she gave her space and let her be her. But she couldn't avoid lying, in common habit of teens, when she went to a party or escaped to some place with her friends.
Before her mother's death she had been very popular and friendly. She tried to continue her life but the sadness of losing her mother was with her almost all day. The idea to some day locate her mother's murderer kill him never left her the following years.
She entered looking for Barbara in the Clock Tower with her school bag on her back. She saw Alfred polishing silver in the kitchen and walked in there.
"Where is Barbara, Alfred?" she asked taking an apple and sitting in a chair.
"She's not here, she had an important appointment."
"Not here yet? Where would she be? She told me that she couldn't wait for me at the school. What happened to her?"
"Happened? What do you mean?"
"Well, she never left me at the school. The last few days she has been distracted working in the library or in Wayne's offices. I asked her but she told me she is signing legal papers for my house and her apartment."
"And?"
"And I don't believe her..." Helena bit her apple.
"She has alot of work to do, Miss Helena. Now she is working to change the equipment here, she wants to find a better computer system."
"I know, and I asked her not accept money from him."
" 'Him' meaning Master Bruce?" Alfred rose his brown looking her.
"I don't want anything from him." Helena said in firm voice. "I don't want to indebt anyone to him, I don't want to feel obligated to see him later."
"You don't like him, but you don't know him."
"So..."
"But with his support he helped Miss Barbara to trust herself again and with the Wayne's Foundation patronage she would not have access to this equipment. The latest in technology is here, the Hummer was adapted especially for her, and she can drive it with just her hands and have very nice accessories inside, like the computer. You know that a regular person could never do it. All this is really expensive."
"Yes, I know, she told me. Barbara and I had a long discussion about that. I asked her move us to my home but she told me and she's right, that she couldn't develop herself as well as here. This place is special for her, she can move very well and do everything for herself. I accepted all this just for her." Helena raised her finger "Just for her, listen to it well."
"I got it." Alfred said trying to sound serious.
"Okay, now back to our first discussion point. What happened with her?"
"Is that a question or is it the topic of discussion?"
"Alfred! You know what is happening! Tell me!"
"Miss Helena, a butler is always a very discrret person." Alfred pointed out.
"You are not a buttler remember? You are an Alfred. This would be our secret."
"Miss Helena," Alfred finished polishing the silver and cleaned his hands, "you and I could write a book with all 'our secrets'."
"So it's really easy, it's just one more." Helena's eyes shone and she smiled.
"If Miss Barbara finds out she will kill me."
"No, remember that her Honor Code prohibits a hero from killing. I would like to help her if I can." Helena looked at him with puppy dog eyes and took his arm. "Please, tell me, please."
"Okay, but just promise me that you won't say a word to her or I will tell her about the escape you made to go to that party last Saturday." Alfred said to her.
"That is blackmail!" Helena protested.
Alfred smiled and nodded.
"Okay, okay" Helena raised her hand "I promise."
"She felts very stressed. Your mother's attorney is trying to take away the legal custody of you that your mother gave to Miss Barbara. He is fighting for the state to take care of you."
Helena turned pale, "I don't want to go back there."
"Barbara doesn't want you to go back there again, either. She is preparing her defence working with the lawyers of Wayne's Corporation to prevent the lawyer from taking you to the court to testify or take you back to the DYFS while the case is resolved. His first argument is that she is a disabled person and that she doesn't have the capability to take care of any girl. His second argument is that you are a rebellious girl..."
"...That had been in a Detention Center." Helena added lowering her head.
"I'm telling this to you because it will be good if you help her by avoiding getting into trouble, everyone has an argument against Miss Barbara; she didn't want to tell you, she doesn't want you to worry."
"Why is my mother's lawyer doing this?"
"Because he thinks it's the best for you and for her."
"He doesn't know me, he doesn't know those awful places! He just has to follow my mother's orders. I will never go back there!" Helena grumbled.
"Miss Helena, Miss Barbara is going to fight against everything to protect you, be sure of that." He touched her shoulder, she gave him back a light smile.
Helena kept it to herself that the idea of going back to the Detention Center or the Orphanage frightened her. She looked at her watch nervously; waiting for Barbara was better than trying to sleep.