Barbara arrived late that night, she had been working with the lawyers
preparing the defence to be shown the next day in Court. She went to the
kitchen and opened the refrigerator. She smiled, good old Alfred had left
her dinner ready with a small card. She prepared coffee and later wheeled
to the table to eat in silence and looked at Delphi's.
That place gave her a new perspective look for her future. She always had been thinking she would be Batgirl all her life, a guardian of the night; she had never thought that something would stop her, because she was a hero; but she was wrong.
Later she had felt all her world fell down, no hopes, no choices, no future. There had been dark days and nights when she for the first time in her life, felt really defeated. Until that moment she realized how important it was to her to breath the cold air and just be over the rooftops balancing and jumping. That feeling of freedom; the night, the stars, the lights of the city, all that was part of her life and her soul. With out that she thought she could never survive, but she did it.
She had rediscover her self working as a cybernetic crime-fighter; she had found being disabled wasn't an obstacle to not keep on going. And know that someone needed her, like Helena, made her grow and trust in her self. And in some way was a challenge to help her and recover all the things that she had lost. She knew she needed to work so much more by, first making her feel secure and later teaching her to trust more in her self. She knew the kid was panicked with the idea of being alone again. Helena had a strong character and the determination, she just needed to face her fears.
Suddenly, she felt two arms around her neck and Helena kissing her on the head. She looked at her surprised, she was almost like a ghost, she never heard her walk in.
"What was that for?" she asked.
Helena sat in the next chair, she was wearing her pajamas. "Nothing..."
"I'm going to put a bell around your neck. I'm wondering why I haven't done it yet; one of these days you are going to scare me."
"I'm sorry." Helena gave her a light smile and, crossing her arms on the table she rested her head there watching her eat. "Where have you been?" "Working, I'm changing the equipment for the Delphi and I'm preparing the requirements."
"Everything is fine?"
"Yes of course."
"Barbara, are you my legal guardian?"
"Yes..." Barbara looked her with curiosity.
"Why?" Helena asked.
"Why?" The red head was surprised.
"Yes, why? You told me, you two were enemies. How did you become friends?" Helena raised her head and rested her cheek in her hand.
"Don't feel offended. She was an excellent criminal. Batman and I always were behind her, more often Batman than me, I imagine it was a pride thing between both and they felt attraction for each other. One rainy night, I heard noises in a jewlery store, I went inside and I saw her conversing with her partners. They wanted to kill the owner; she just wanted the diamonds. She had to fight against them to save the owner's life, forgetting the diamonds. I went down to help her, they were overwhelming her." Barbara remembered moving her coffee. "I started to fight and I didn't realize that one of the men pointed a gun at me. Your mother hit the man in time to stop the bullet from killing me. Suddenly, the police arrived and a cross fire started. She was hurt in her shoulder but she could escape, she was extremely agile. I followed her, which was difficult, she ran very fast, but she was bleeding too much and she fell unconscious, luckily she fell from the rooftop to a balcony. I took her to my apartment."
"She was a catburglar, why did you help her?"
"Well, she had saved the life of a man and my life. I owed her one and besides, she technically didn't steal anything that night, she was innocent. I knew she had committed many robberies but I didn't have proof against her, and without proof you can't be guilty. It's the law." Barbara explained sipping a bit of coffee. "She surprised me by fighting furiously trying to defend that man's life, a man that she didn't know, and later saving my life when we were enemies. I guess she was a criminal, but that didn't matter anymore, and I was wrong."
"I needed to take off her costume to heal the wound. When I took off her mask I discovered she was Selina, Bruce's girlfriend. I knew her, but as Barbara Gordon. When she woke up she was really afraid to find that her identity had been discovered. I asked her to trust me, that I was just trying to help her and I took off my mask. She was surprised when she saw me, she couldn't believe it. We talked about her reasons for being a burglar and my reasons for being a crime fighter. We respected each other that night; she was a burglar with an honor code like mine and we kept our mutual promise to keep our secrets safe."
"Which honor code? You talk so much about it." Helena asked, curious.
"Your mother was a catburglar but not a killer. She didn't kill like us, our word has a value and we never betray, we never lie. We respect our enemies. She stayed in my apartment almost three days. It was in that time that we got to know each other and became friends. When I took her to her house I remember saying to her: 'Just be careful, because if I catch you, you sure will be in jail a long time' She smiled and answered me 'First you need to catch me'. Of course I never could do it."
Helena smiled feeling proud of her mother. Barbara could see her eyes shining and told her: "Your mother was a hero too, you know that?" Helena opened her eyes surprised, Barbara smiled "Your mother helped Batman once to save the city from Scarecrow, a criminal that poisoned all the citizens and him. She was very helpful and she told me it was then that they began to feel attraction for each other, and this attraction grew when he discovered Selina was Catwoman. I don't know exactly when she discovered he was Bruce Wayne. It was strange, a crime fighter in love with the Queen of the Criminal Underworld."
"My mom was called the Queen of the Criminal Underworld?" Helena raised her head.
"Yes, I found her sometime later as Selina, the woman, and we had a good time; but I couldn't catch her as Catwoman. Almost a year later she dissapeared." Barbara finished her dinner and cleaned her mouth "One day some years ago I saw her in the street. I thought she had come back to continue her criminal career. I asked her and she laughed, telling me she quit that life. I couldn't believe it. She invited me to her house. I went there for two reasons, first, she was funny and a very good conversationalist; second I was trying to discover if she was lying to me or not. And she wasn't liying to me, she told me the truth, that day I meet you."
"Yea, I remember that, I thought that you were a giant."
Barbara laughed. "Really? Well, I remember you were very small, just a child. Your mom continued a normal life and I my career as Batgirl; we saw each other often and she and Bruce sometimes went out but she didn't talk so much about him."
"When did you now about 'him' was my father?" Helena asked resting her head again in her arms.
Barbara took a seconds before answer "It was just a few years ago that she confessed to me that you were his daughter and asked me to keep the secret to protect you; that same day your mother asked me if I would take care of you if something happened to her, I said yes and that's all, we never talked about that again. Three months ago when her lawyer came here and told me that she had given me your custody in her will I felt terrible. I had failed her, and I failed you; she didn't want you to suffer and I, lost in my own pain, forgot you, and you needed someone, you were alone. I'm sorry."
Helena kept silent a few seconds and then said in low voice, "You were hurt and in the hospital; wasn't a good time for you or for me, but it wasn't our fault. And now I'm not alone, I'm with you."
"Yes, now we aren't alone." Barbara brushed her hair.
"And I'll stay here always?"
"As long as you want, this is your home."
"And no one will take me away from here?" Helena asked frightened, waiting for her answer."Am I safe here? Would you stop someone from taking me to that jail again?"
"Do you know about the lawyer?" Barbara could read the fear in the girl in her eyes.
Helena just nodded. Barbara hugged her, kissing her forehead. "Don't worry, you will never go back there. Nobody will touch you again, I promise it Helena, I give you my word. And you now know that a hero never lies."
Helena hugged her back strongly, she felt secure in her arms; a security that she had lost when her mother was murdered; a security that she was afraid to lose again. A security that Barbara was determined to gave her back again.
That place gave her a new perspective look for her future. She always had been thinking she would be Batgirl all her life, a guardian of the night; she had never thought that something would stop her, because she was a hero; but she was wrong.
Later she had felt all her world fell down, no hopes, no choices, no future. There had been dark days and nights when she for the first time in her life, felt really defeated. Until that moment she realized how important it was to her to breath the cold air and just be over the rooftops balancing and jumping. That feeling of freedom; the night, the stars, the lights of the city, all that was part of her life and her soul. With out that she thought she could never survive, but she did it.
She had rediscover her self working as a cybernetic crime-fighter; she had found being disabled wasn't an obstacle to not keep on going. And know that someone needed her, like Helena, made her grow and trust in her self. And in some way was a challenge to help her and recover all the things that she had lost. She knew she needed to work so much more by, first making her feel secure and later teaching her to trust more in her self. She knew the kid was panicked with the idea of being alone again. Helena had a strong character and the determination, she just needed to face her fears.
Suddenly, she felt two arms around her neck and Helena kissing her on the head. She looked at her surprised, she was almost like a ghost, she never heard her walk in.
"What was that for?" she asked.
Helena sat in the next chair, she was wearing her pajamas. "Nothing..."
"I'm going to put a bell around your neck. I'm wondering why I haven't done it yet; one of these days you are going to scare me."
"I'm sorry." Helena gave her a light smile and, crossing her arms on the table she rested her head there watching her eat. "Where have you been?" "Working, I'm changing the equipment for the Delphi and I'm preparing the requirements."
"Everything is fine?"
"Yes of course."
"Barbara, are you my legal guardian?"
"Yes..." Barbara looked her with curiosity.
"Why?" Helena asked.
"Why?" The red head was surprised.
"Yes, why? You told me, you two were enemies. How did you become friends?" Helena raised her head and rested her cheek in her hand.
"Don't feel offended. She was an excellent criminal. Batman and I always were behind her, more often Batman than me, I imagine it was a pride thing between both and they felt attraction for each other. One rainy night, I heard noises in a jewlery store, I went inside and I saw her conversing with her partners. They wanted to kill the owner; she just wanted the diamonds. She had to fight against them to save the owner's life, forgetting the diamonds. I went down to help her, they were overwhelming her." Barbara remembered moving her coffee. "I started to fight and I didn't realize that one of the men pointed a gun at me. Your mother hit the man in time to stop the bullet from killing me. Suddenly, the police arrived and a cross fire started. She was hurt in her shoulder but she could escape, she was extremely agile. I followed her, which was difficult, she ran very fast, but she was bleeding too much and she fell unconscious, luckily she fell from the rooftop to a balcony. I took her to my apartment."
"She was a catburglar, why did you help her?"
"Well, she had saved the life of a man and my life. I owed her one and besides, she technically didn't steal anything that night, she was innocent. I knew she had committed many robberies but I didn't have proof against her, and without proof you can't be guilty. It's the law." Barbara explained sipping a bit of coffee. "She surprised me by fighting furiously trying to defend that man's life, a man that she didn't know, and later saving my life when we were enemies. I guess she was a criminal, but that didn't matter anymore, and I was wrong."
"I needed to take off her costume to heal the wound. When I took off her mask I discovered she was Selina, Bruce's girlfriend. I knew her, but as Barbara Gordon. When she woke up she was really afraid to find that her identity had been discovered. I asked her to trust me, that I was just trying to help her and I took off my mask. She was surprised when she saw me, she couldn't believe it. We talked about her reasons for being a burglar and my reasons for being a crime fighter. We respected each other that night; she was a burglar with an honor code like mine and we kept our mutual promise to keep our secrets safe."
"Which honor code? You talk so much about it." Helena asked, curious.
"Your mother was a catburglar but not a killer. She didn't kill like us, our word has a value and we never betray, we never lie. We respect our enemies. She stayed in my apartment almost three days. It was in that time that we got to know each other and became friends. When I took her to her house I remember saying to her: 'Just be careful, because if I catch you, you sure will be in jail a long time' She smiled and answered me 'First you need to catch me'. Of course I never could do it."
Helena smiled feeling proud of her mother. Barbara could see her eyes shining and told her: "Your mother was a hero too, you know that?" Helena opened her eyes surprised, Barbara smiled "Your mother helped Batman once to save the city from Scarecrow, a criminal that poisoned all the citizens and him. She was very helpful and she told me it was then that they began to feel attraction for each other, and this attraction grew when he discovered Selina was Catwoman. I don't know exactly when she discovered he was Bruce Wayne. It was strange, a crime fighter in love with the Queen of the Criminal Underworld."
"My mom was called the Queen of the Criminal Underworld?" Helena raised her head.
"Yes, I found her sometime later as Selina, the woman, and we had a good time; but I couldn't catch her as Catwoman. Almost a year later she dissapeared." Barbara finished her dinner and cleaned her mouth "One day some years ago I saw her in the street. I thought she had come back to continue her criminal career. I asked her and she laughed, telling me she quit that life. I couldn't believe it. She invited me to her house. I went there for two reasons, first, she was funny and a very good conversationalist; second I was trying to discover if she was lying to me or not. And she wasn't liying to me, she told me the truth, that day I meet you."
"Yea, I remember that, I thought that you were a giant."
Barbara laughed. "Really? Well, I remember you were very small, just a child. Your mom continued a normal life and I my career as Batgirl; we saw each other often and she and Bruce sometimes went out but she didn't talk so much about him."
"When did you now about 'him' was my father?" Helena asked resting her head again in her arms.
Barbara took a seconds before answer "It was just a few years ago that she confessed to me that you were his daughter and asked me to keep the secret to protect you; that same day your mother asked me if I would take care of you if something happened to her, I said yes and that's all, we never talked about that again. Three months ago when her lawyer came here and told me that she had given me your custody in her will I felt terrible. I had failed her, and I failed you; she didn't want you to suffer and I, lost in my own pain, forgot you, and you needed someone, you were alone. I'm sorry."
Helena kept silent a few seconds and then said in low voice, "You were hurt and in the hospital; wasn't a good time for you or for me, but it wasn't our fault. And now I'm not alone, I'm with you."
"Yes, now we aren't alone." Barbara brushed her hair.
"And I'll stay here always?"
"As long as you want, this is your home."
"And no one will take me away from here?" Helena asked frightened, waiting for her answer."Am I safe here? Would you stop someone from taking me to that jail again?"
"Do you know about the lawyer?" Barbara could read the fear in the girl in her eyes.
Helena just nodded. Barbara hugged her, kissing her forehead. "Don't worry, you will never go back there. Nobody will touch you again, I promise it Helena, I give you my word. And you now know that a hero never lies."
Helena hugged her back strongly, she felt secure in her arms; a security that she had lost when her mother was murdered; a security that she was afraid to lose again. A security that Barbara was determined to gave her back again.