Barbara unlocked her innocuous looking wooden front door and drove her wheelchair into a cramped entrance. Helena followed her inside. A feminine computer voice greeted them, "Hello Barbara."
"Delphi please let me in. The woman with me is Helena, she is a guest," she answered smiling at Helena's crooked thin eyebrow shooting up in surprise as the next door admitting them to her actual entrance slid open.
"I see that you're still a technological sorceress," Helena remarked as they stepped into the wood paneled entrance.
"I think you might be surprised Helena," Barbara found herself remarking as if Helena was just another old friend visiting. All the memories of the years they had spent together fighting to keep New Gotham a safe place came crashing down on her and for a moment she was glad for the silence that ensued as Helena followed her into the living room.
She knew that Helena was surprised by her living room. It wasn't some command central for a group of super heroines or a technological playground for some genius. Her taste for that had more or less disappeared after losing Helena and Dinah. It was a large airy room with a hallway leading down to her bedroom, guestroom and the elevator to the basement in one end, walls filled with shelves of books only a few of which were technical instead of philosophical or historical, a large section of couches in front of a huge set of windows, a fireplace and ending at the other end in an open kitchen that she actually knew how to use. Green potted plants, indirect lighting and pastel colors dominated the thickly carpeted room. The only apparent technology was a plasma TV screen standing in front of the windows.
"Wow," Helena commented and looked around the room again.
"Take a seat," Barbara commented and mentally directed her wheel chair into the kitchen.
Barbara drove over next to the couch and put down the tray carrying her food, two glasses and an opened bottle of wine. "Helena… I would like to apologize," she said.
Helena just looked at her with incomprehension written all over her face.
"Back then before the Joker got us, I was not fair to you… I secretly blamed you for Wade's death. I was pushing you away," Barbara tried to explain. And in her mind she suddenly saw their last evening together.
Over two years earlier. It was less than a week since Harley had been defeated. The interior of the Clocktower still looked slightly battered. The clock face looked like it was the only thing that had fully recovered from Harley Quinn's takeover. Barbara Gordon sat in front of the Delphi system tapping away at the keyboard ensuring that Harley hadn't left any ugly surprises behind. "Ouch," she heard Dinah moan as Alfred pressed an ice pack against one of her more recent bruises.
"Say Kid, what kind of trick did you pull on those guys who attacked you? They looked kind of bruised all over," she heard Helena ask Dinah. Suddenly a feeling of revulsion welled up inside of her, but she forced it down again. Helena and Dinah had just been out on patrol for the first time since the riots and there had been quite a number of thugs roaming the streets for a Wednesday.
"It was just the latest weapon in my immense arsenal," Dinah said her voice filled with imitated arrogance and laughter, "It is kind of a shockwave. I can make one or two of them easily if I am fully rested. It's something I came up with… when… well you know Harley." And silence fell over the group sitting up on the mezzanine overlooking the Delphi area, while Barbara tapped nonsense into a text prompt to cover for her own teary reaction. She just barely managed to sniffle away the suddenly fresh pain and forget the image of Wade's body lying on the cold floor of the Clocktower, before several of her screens began blinking red as Delphi sent her a silent alarm.
Her news and police surveillance programs had picked up one of her highest priority keywords. Forcing herself to be calm Barbara tapped in the commands to silence the alarm and call up the information Delphi had captured. As the text and images scrolled up on her screen and illuminated her face, she couldn't help muttering another curse on Harley Quinn.
Upstairs Helena and Dinah had finally begun talking again, while Alfred had wandered off to clean up the kitchen and then probably calling it a night. "So is Gibson talking to you again?" Helena asked referring to Gibson's solemn promise not to talk to Dinah again after she had given a complete description of his insanity to the other metas at "No man's land." She had found it quite funny except of course Gibson.
"You know Gibson; he never stays mad for long. I gave him a little pout and some begging eyes. His resolve pretty much melted at that point," she triumphed.
Helena grinned widely and gave Dinah a fake shocked look. "You kids are horribly manipulative these days," Helena said, when suddenly Barbara rolled up to them in her wheelchair.
Dinah was a rather exceptional girl not just as a person, but she was gifted with several supernatural abilities amongst those touch-based telepathy, this also left her rather more sensitive to people's moods and emotions even from a far. The small corner filled with couches suddenly felt awkward to her as always now when Helena and Barbara were close. Furthermore Barbara looked pale and her eyes had an almost fearful glint to them.
Barbara saw her girls look to her in surprise and confusion. She knew it had become rare for her to join them here after their sweeps and wind down the evening with them even before Harley had wrecked the sanctity of the Clocktower. Now she was bringing them even worse news and she couldn't help feeling a little like having betrayed them for being inattentive.
"I have bad news," she forced her voice to remain rock steady, "apparently I was right to fear that Harley had a bit more planned than just causing chaos. My fears that she left behind some surprise to leave us blind to this, have also been proven right."
Barbara rolled closer into the light of the small overhead lamp. "Somehow during the riots last week she secured the release of several of the Joker's goons from both prison and Arkham. She made sure that Delphi didn't register this in its information streams and that Delphi would also remain blind to what they did next. They struck in three places. First they gained access to STAR Labs technological database and made off with a more or less complete copy, then they stole something from a STAR Labs facility apparently some kind of weapon and then tonight as I finally got the last of Harley's garbage out of Delphi, it picked up the last thing. They sprang the Joker from jail," she looked from Dinah, who had only an abstract idea of the real evil of the Joker over to Helena, who looked a bit worried and ashamed. In her mind Barbara couldn't help adding, "And it is your fault Helena."
"So what do we do now?" Dinah had to ask.
Helena quickly came up with an answer. "We find that bastard and shove his ass back into jail. Right," Helena turned her face towards her.
Barbara sat in contemplative silence for a few moments wrestling with her memories of the past of opening the door and allowing him in. "Yes, but I think we should be really cautious. I will call some old friends and ask them for advice. And the Joker might not even be heading back here, he might choose to go elsewhere to rebuild his empire," she heard herself explaining, while feeling almost removed from the person speaking. She had an unerring sense that he would be coming to New Gotham and that he would seek to find out about Harley Quinn.
"I am also a bit worried about our safety here in the Clocktower at least until I have upgraded the security system. Also you two have to be really careful out on sweeps in the future. The Joker loves setting traps and any simple mugging might just be a honeyed trap for you two especially when he finds out we defeated Harley," Barbara explained.
"She knew our secret identities. She might have left information for the Joker about us," Dinah said almost at a whisper, and Barbara once again felt a pang of joy for having the blonde girl as a part of the group, she was showing good instincts and forethought. She also considered revising her opinion on Dinah's incomprehension of the danger. She had forgotten that Dinah had seen her loss of mobility in a vision a long time ago and in her nightmares since then.
"That is certainly possible. We should consider security measures for the School, The Dark Horse, your apartment Helena and No man's Land," Barbara said.
"I don't think we should take the threat too seriously either. It's probably not that serious that we need to completely change our lives over this," Helena commented and shot Barbara a glance. She understood that Helena didn't want to demoralize Dinah, and she wanted to avoid having their lives further thrown out of whack by their fight against crime. Barbara found the very idea typically foolhardy and shortsighted typically Helena.
"We shouldn't play it down either. This is the Joker; he was your father's greatest enemy for years. He paralyzed me and I am sure he had everything to do with your mother's death too. Dinah and I will be extra careful when we go out and so will you," Barbara dictated.
"You're overreacting Barbara. You're letting your fear control you!" Helena rose from her seat and paced past her, leaving Barbara feeling uneasy as so often when someone ignored the fact that she could just turn around and follow their movements.
Her unease was not helped by the anger she felt at Helena for her words. "And you don't have enough fear or maybe it is just a thick skull. Let's not forget here Helena that the only reason the Joker got out of prison is Harley Quinn. And the only reason she was in a position to help him that is you Helena," Barbara said venomously as she turned her wheelchair to face the pacing woman. Behind her Dinah winced at the words.
"I knew it. I knew you would beat me over the head with that mistake the first chance you had," Helena yelled, "Well I am not gonna stay here for another lecture on my general stupidity." And with those words Helena vaulted over the iron bars, landed elegantly on the hard floor and stormed towards the elevator.
Barbara regretted her words to this day as they sat in her mountain lodge near the town of Jackson, Wyoming.
"Barbara it was a long time ago. I realized it even back then you were angry over Wade and losing the sanctity of the Clocktower. I couldn't really fault you. I made a stupid mistake and included someone without any real emotional ties to us on our secret. I won't do that ever again I know that for sure," Helena explained as she reached out to pour herself a glass of wine, while Barbara slid herself into a comfortable position on the couch and began eating knowing Helena well enough to know that she would ask for food, when she was hungry.
Helena studied her friend as she ate. The room felt very quiet to her and for a while she just gloried at the rapidly darkening view of the valley and trees outside. Her thoughts wandered back to that night two years ago as well.
It was raining as Helena Kyle made her way across the roofs of New Gotham every massive jump taking her away from the Clocktower and the words that had hurt her. The wind whipped around her, her coat rippled with the force of her movements and water sprayed from her as she landed on every roof top. Finally she came to a halt on a spot near the police station, where Reese was posted. Instinct not planning had led her there, and so she stopped and contemplated what to do while her light sensitive eyes searched the windows of the building.
Reese Hawke was feeling annoyed but for once not because of some case. This morning he had learned that his dear father had once again refused to give up any information on his organization or any of the big syndicates. Still his day was almost over and he was looking forward to one of the first evenings of relaxation since Harley Quinn had taken over the Clocktower. His car's lights blinked once as he pressed the button on his key and it unlocked. "Hi," the voice of Helena Kyle rang out through the light drizzle coming from the sky.
"Hi Beautiful," he greeted her and turned around to look at the woman, who had transformed his life simply by her presence this last half year.
"Reese, I need someone… to talk to," she said with rare vulnerability in her voice.
"Let's get out of the rain," he said and gentlemanly opened the door to the passenger seat of his car.
Helena watched Reese walk around the car and get into the driver seat. "What is up?" He asked.
"I… Well I guess you know by now that the Joker got out of jail," she said.
"I have heard, but what does he have to do with you," he said and turned in his seat to look at her.
Helena stared out the front window. "He was Batman's archenemy and Harley's boyfriend. Barbara is sure that Harley arranged his escape while she had control of the Clocktower and that he's probably coming here to New Gotham," she explained. Reese didn't speak. "He cost me my mother's life and Barbara the use of her legs the last time. And she blames me for his escape," she said and hid her teary eyed face in her hands.
Helena felt Reese's warm hands grab her hands and she let him slowly slide them away from her face. "Helena, I don't say she is right to put more blame on you or that her reaction wasn't motivated by something like fear, but you must realize that you made a mistake. You're going to be reminded of it from time to time. You guys need to stick together right now, maybe more than ever. Don't let your shame or Barbara's fear drive you apart. There may be issues between you now, but you'll work around them and in the end this will just be a memory," he said.
Helena sat in silence as conflicting emotions warred in her eyes, until she smiled and leaned over to give Reese a kiss. "I think we're going to be an excellent couple you and me," she whispered before they locked lips again.
A few minutes later they were heading down the streets of New Gotham heading for Helena's apartment above the Dark Horse, when Reese's mobile phone began ringing. He pulled over and answered it. "Detective Reese, this is Oracle, can I speak to Huntress please?" Barbara asked.
"Sure," he answered and handed the phone towards Helena. "Oracle needs to speak with the Huntress," he said smiling at their codenames.
"Yes," Helena answered not feeling entirely like she had forgiven Barbara's comment earlier yet.
"Turn on your com, please Helena," Barbara asked over the phone. Helena nodded and reached back to activate her necklace.
A few moments later, while she was handing Reese his phone back, she heard, "Thank you," coming from her earrings. "Huntress, one of my sources has given me a heads-up that he has seen some well-armed hoods with clown make-up heading into a warehouse down by the docks. Would you mind going on a careful scouting trip down there?" Barbara sounded careful as if she feared what she might get as an answer.
"Sure no problem," Helena answered. She turned to look at Reese, but found him already parking his car at the curb.
"Duty calls huh," he said.
"Yeah… See ya later," she remarked and climbed out of the car just as it rolled to a stop. Soon she was once again traveling quickly across the rain slicked roofs of New Gotham heading for the harbor.
The Huntress prowled the roofs of New Gotham's industrial harbor area heading from warehouse to warehouse. Helena landed effortlessly on a concrete roof and walked across the still wet surface to peer inside the dirt encrusted windows. She swore that if she didn't find those goons soon, she would be calling it a night. However quite unexpectedly she saw three guys dressed in black and wearing clown make-up through the window. They were apparently moving some stuff from some wooden crates into a van parked inside the warehouse. Helena debated what to do and decided that having a chat with those goons about the plans of their boss might be just the information they needed. "Oracle, I have them in sight. Three goons loading a van with something from the warehouse I am at," she said.
"Try to follow them, when they leave. I would like to know where they are based," Barbara's voice said.
"Sure," Helena answered and hunkered down on the cold roof. She alternated between watching the goons work and looking at the clouds breaking the moonlight as it played over the water in the harbor. After almost an hour the goons finished and climbed into their van. Helena had felt more than a little bored and as she got up to follow them, she suddenly smiled wickedly and ran quickly over to the side of the building, where the van would exit the loading ramp.
The van barreled through the streets of New Gotham like it was involved in a high speed chase. Helena heard the guys inside argue. They were apparently late for an important appointment. She was however seriously contemplating beating the crap out of these bastards as they were inadvertently making it harder for her. Helena shifted slightly as she continued to cling to the roof of the van by her fingers, her coat flapping wildly in the wind.
Helena felt the van slowdown and the driver aimed for an ancient factory building that looked like it had only received few repairs when the big quake had struck Gotham and nobody had taken care of it since. As the vehicle rolled through a broken gate, she rolled left and threw herself of the van to land elegantly on her feet a yard or two from the old gate security building. She made her way inside and hunkered down to remain unseen from inside the building. "Oracle do you know what factory is at my position?" She asked.
"Yeah, it is the old Daggett Heavy Industries building. It is condemned, but none has torn it down, because the grounds are supposedly heavily polluted and there is of course also the problem that it would cost a lot to remove that armored concrete colossus," Oracle answered.
"The clowns went there," Helena reported and rose slightly to catch another look around.
"Good we will set up surveillance. I think you should call it a night," Oracle suggested.
Helena rolled her eyes. "Why? I haven't seen the slightest hint at any danger. I think I should take a look inside," she said.
"Helena no please, I don't want the Joker to know that we know one of his probable hideouts yet. If we're really lucky, the surveillance will reveal his presence and we can move in and get him. But first I need to get the right equipment together and then you must set it up without getting seen. And I can't be ready before tomorrow night at the earliest," Oracle explained.
"Alright that sounds like a good plan. I think I will call it a night then. I will be heading home, so I will see you tomorrow night at the Clocktower," Helena said and turned off her com link. She knew Barbara well enough to know that she would follow her movements for a while to make sure she did what she had said she would do. Helena rose from her hiding place and headed for the gate.
"Why leave so soon kitten," a voice she didn't know asked her. Helena whirled around and to the side. On the field of concrete leading to the factory stood a single man clad in a white shoes, suit and hat. However his green hair, insanely wide smile and white skin gave away his identity. "Now you're not going to stop me from doing my civic duty are you?" He asked.
"I pummel you unconscious, then I am gonna throw your ass back behind bars," Helena said and rose into a fighting stance.
The Joker just laughed and shook his head as if filled with pity. "No, actually little kitten you are gonna come inside and crawl into your cage, or… your friends over there get a tunnel dug leading from ear to ear," he gesticulated towards a row of 3 men who stepped into view on the field to his left. They were holding a couple of coworkers and her boss from the Dark Horse. Helena for a short moment considered her chances of attacking the men, but she knew they were too far apart for her to catch them all before it was too late. A cold knot formed in her stomach as she rose out of her fighting stance and slowly lifted her arms in surrender. "You're actually more clever than Harley gave you credit for," the Joker remarked as he walked closer. Suddenly he opened his hand and a bolt of electricity arced towards her from some device. Pain enveloped her. She tumbled to the ground thrashing from the jolt. She looked on unable to move as the Joker bent over her with an outstretched hand and touched her. Blinding pain filled her again and as she slid into the numbing darkness of unconsciousness she heard the Joke say, "Shoot them." Three shots rang out.
