"Dinah..." Helena opened her eyes "Touch me."
The blond looked at her with confusion.
"Just... touch my hand... please."
Dinah stepped back "Barbara told me not to talk to you."
"Damn." Helena fell to her side. Her entire body felt funny and strange, almost like she was falling into a dark shaft devoid of light. Dinah saw the odd iron collar around Helena's neck at that moment.
"What is that?" she asked looking her friend. She hesitated for a moment before walking toward the Huntress and kneeling down beside her. She took a hold of Helena's wrist. Suddenly she was in her mind and was shocked by what she was seeing; Barbara drugging her. Dinah could feel the brunette's anguish as she had tried to escape from a clearly compromised Barbara. Also, there was something about the redhead trying to contact someone called the Mad Hatter.
Helena was telling the truth.
"Helena?" Dinah felt her heart beat faster "Helena?" she slapped her gently on the cheeks.
"He is coming, " the brunette mumbled. "Shut down the elevators..."
"Who is coming?"
"He.wants Clock tower.... she called him..."
Dinah didn't know what to say. She looked at Helena who had been strongly drugged. She took a hold of the manacle and tried to unlock it, but it had an electric code and she didn't know it.
"Close the doors... he is coming..." Huntress mumbled almost sleepy.
Dinah stepped into the corridor and started down towards Barbara. She stopped when she saw the elevator door open. Mad Hatter walked in with his henchmen. Barbara wheeled over to him. They talked as two old friends. Dinah stepped back and ran to the cell.
"Too late, I think he is here!" Dinah said kneeling down next to Huntress and trying to open the chains, "He is a small man but he's got some big thugs." She began to randomly punch in numbers.
"Go." Helena pulled her arm away.
"I can't leave you here!"
"I'll be okay... I promise kid," the brunette said to her.
"Helena, I'll take you with me."
"Alfred, look for him. He can hide you. Tell him everything; he knows Barbara, how she thinks, he is the only one that can help us."
"I can't Go!"
"Alfred knows how hide you. If she catches you ... we are lost."
"But Helena."
"Damn! Go!" Helena grumbled fighting against the drug to avoid fell sleep "Please! There is a door... hidden on the balcony... there is a ramp... it's like a slide and takes you six floors down. He is at Wayne's Manor."
"I'll be back for you." Dinah felt helpless because she couldn't do anything for Helena at that moment. She ran toward the balcony and looked for the hidden door. She found it at the back of the Clock Tower and jumped inside. She plunged downward until she crashed into a group of trash bags.
She stood up and ran as fast as she could to the stairs. She knew it would be dangerous to use the elevators. Barbara had control of all the security systems
* * *
"She ran away!" Barbara said annoyed "I'm sure she talked with Huntress."
"Why you didn't you prevent it?" Mad Hatter was angry.
"I was distracted," Barbara said plainly.
"Where is the Huntress? Why you didn't install one of the devices into her head?"
"She damaged the gun. She hit my hand and it crashed against the floor. I have her locked up in a special cell."
"Where is the pistol?"
"I need to fix it. It was broken when it hit the floor." Oracle felt ashamed at letting down her new master.
"Oracle," Mad Hatter shouted, "I don't like the mistakes. Let me see this 'Huntress'."
Barbara wheeled toward the cell and he followed her.
"How did you to trap her?" he asked.
"Trust"
"Trust?"
"Helena trusts in only one person in this world: me" Barbara smiled "Her trust in me was her downfall. Barbara opened the door and Mad Hatter walked in and stood gazing at the semi-conscious girl lying on the floor.
"What happened to her?" he took her chin and raised her head.
"I drugged her," Barbara explained "She will be okay in less than a hour."
"I don't want any more mistakes this time!"
"Yes master." Oracle said.
"Bastard..." Helena mumbled.
"Oh, a spunky girl. Now that's good." He smiled. "Oracle, please fix that damn pistol, I want our dear Huntress to join us as soon as possible.
* * *
Dinah was able to escape from the building undetected. Now she had to find a way to get to Alfred. She stepped up to the curb figuring to catch a taxi. Precious minutes ticked by as she attempted unsuccessfully to wave one down. In desperation she jumped directly into the path of an oncoming cab.
"TAXI!!!!" she screamed holding her arms up and in front of her. Her breath caught in her throat as the cab refused to slow. Dinah scrunched her eyes closed, waiting for the impact. There was the squeal of brakes and the smell of burning rubber tickled her nose. She cracked open one eye and exhaled slowly. The cab had stopped less than inch away from her. Dinah ran to the passenger door, jerked it opened, and hopped in.
"Wayne Manor. On the double," she said to the startled cabdriver.
* * *
Fifteen minutes later Dinah was racing through the extensive gardens of Wayne Manor. She knew she would find Alfred tending the roses as he always did on Mondays.
"Alfred!" Dinah cried, hoping that he was nearby.
"Miss Dinah, what are you doing here?" Alfred asked surprise clearly written across his face.
"Alfred, something terrible has happened," Dinah babbled clutching at his jacket. " The Mad Hatter somehow managed to implant a device in Barbara. She lied to me and made me believe that Helena was out of control. I helped her to chain her up. She drugged her and I didn't know what was happening and,.." she rambled on breathlessly.
"Miss Dinah, calm down." He asked. "Breath."
"I don't have time," Dinah took his arm. "They are after me because I know everything. I need to hide! We need to get out of here. She will look for us here!"
"Who knows that we are here?"
"Barbara! Mad Hatter is controlling her mind! She's got Helena! I couldn't help her!"
"Come, let's go inside the house and explain everything to me." Alfred tried to calm the girl.
* * *
An hour later Huntress was sitting on the floor trying to think a way of a way to escape now that the drug Barbara had administered had worn off. Barbara had designed this room to hold the most dangerous of criminals. Helena was used as the guinea pig to test for any weaknesses in the system. Many tests later the cell was deemed to be escape proof.
Helena knew it was useless to try to break the chains since they were composed of titanium but she gave it a try any way. Her hands were shackled behind her back and were attached to a short length of chain that anchored her to the wall. The cuffs were electronically controlled and could only be opened using the keypad outside the cell door.
Now this Mad Hatter creep had Barbara under his influence. Helena knew that she had to escape before they were able to fix the gun. The good thing was that Dinah was safe. The bad thing that she was alone and had Mad Hatter, Oracle, and all of the Clocktower's amazing technology after her. Helena heard the door open. She saw Oracle wheeling in followed by Mad Hatter. She stood up to face them.
"Well, well the infamous Huntress..." Mad Hatter drawled. "So you are the young lady that managed to escape from my last two traps?"
"I prefer notorious but hey whatever. Hey how about you and I go fix this whole mess. Alone?." Helena grumbled and looked at Barbara hoping she would remember her.
"It's not necessary Huntress, I know how strong you are, for that reason and that reason alone you are still alive. I need your specialized skills to control this city. Oracle is doing a good job helping me." He touched Oracle's shoulder. "You were a bad girl, you broke my gun. Did you know that they are very expensive?"
"Son of bitch." Huntress pulled her at chains.
"Hey, hey, calm down." Mad Hatter said. "As soon as I get ready the implanter and the device you will see my friendly side... But right now we need to know something. The plan called for you and your blonde friend to be working for me now; but you screwed all. The blonde ran away after talking to you, I'm sure of that. If not, why else would she run away right before I arrived?"
"Where did Dinah go Huntress?" Oracle asked.
"I don't know." She grumbled.
"You don't know or you don't want me to know?" Oracle wheeled over to her. "She took off her necklace to avoid being located." She raised the necklace and the earrings that Dinah abandoned in her flight from the Clock tower. "You two were talking for almost 5 minutes. What did she tell you?"
"I was drugged remember? You drugged me! I don't know." Huntress yelled to her.
Oracle took out one of her escrima sticks striking Helena quickly across the thigh.
"Damn! That hurts Oracle!" Huntress yelled jerking back in pain. "Wake up!"
"I asked you something, answer me!" She said. "We can do this the easy way." She grinned almost wickedly. "Or we can do it the fun way."
"Huntress" Mad Hatter said, "I know that your friend's mental powers are very dangerous. I don't want any problems with her. Tell us where she is and maybe we won't have to torture you."
"You know what? I forgot. But guess what? If I did know, I would never tell you!" Helena hissed at him. She turned back to Barbara. "Oracle it's me! You can fight against that damn device!"
"I'm asking you nicely. What did you tell Dinah?" Oracle asked again.
"I didn't talk with her..."
Oracle's hands became a blur of motion. She struck Helena in the stomach with the butt of one stick and used the other to nail the brunette in the skull. The girl who called herself Huntress fell to her knees in pain. Helena was really pissed but she couldn't hurt her mentor not while she was under the spell of Mad Hatter. "I'm not asking you Huntress!" the redhead shouted. "I want the answers. Now."
"Don't. bother...I don't....I wouldn't..."
Barbara slapped her with such force across her face that she saw stars and felt a trickle of blood escaping her nose. Oracle leaned over her and grabbed her throat with one of her hands. "Don't play with me Huntress," she growled. "I'd prefer not to hurt you but I will if you don't start talking."
Huntress clenched her teeth against the pain. "I don't know."
Oracle hit her hard in the ribs with her stick. "I'm warning you again, don't try to be smart. I know you, remember that." The red head pushed her back against the wall. "Want to see me angry? Is that what you want? I need find Dinah. Come on; let's do this the easy way. I want to know what you told Dinah."
Huntress kept silent, lowering her head.
Mad Hatter moved his hand and the two henchmen behind him moved toward her. One of them grabbed her painfully by the arms, pulling her to her feet. Before she could react she felt a hard blow to her stomach from the other man. She bent over in pain as she was stuck immediately two more times. She hadn't anticipated the blow so she just tried to endure it.
"No! What are you doing?" Oracle glared at the Mad Hatter.
"Looking for answers."
The blond looked at her with confusion.
"Just... touch my hand... please."
Dinah stepped back "Barbara told me not to talk to you."
"Damn." Helena fell to her side. Her entire body felt funny and strange, almost like she was falling into a dark shaft devoid of light. Dinah saw the odd iron collar around Helena's neck at that moment.
"What is that?" she asked looking her friend. She hesitated for a moment before walking toward the Huntress and kneeling down beside her. She took a hold of Helena's wrist. Suddenly she was in her mind and was shocked by what she was seeing; Barbara drugging her. Dinah could feel the brunette's anguish as she had tried to escape from a clearly compromised Barbara. Also, there was something about the redhead trying to contact someone called the Mad Hatter.
Helena was telling the truth.
"Helena?" Dinah felt her heart beat faster "Helena?" she slapped her gently on the cheeks.
"He is coming, " the brunette mumbled. "Shut down the elevators..."
"Who is coming?"
"He.wants Clock tower.... she called him..."
Dinah didn't know what to say. She looked at Helena who had been strongly drugged. She took a hold of the manacle and tried to unlock it, but it had an electric code and she didn't know it.
"Close the doors... he is coming..." Huntress mumbled almost sleepy.
Dinah stepped into the corridor and started down towards Barbara. She stopped when she saw the elevator door open. Mad Hatter walked in with his henchmen. Barbara wheeled over to him. They talked as two old friends. Dinah stepped back and ran to the cell.
"Too late, I think he is here!" Dinah said kneeling down next to Huntress and trying to open the chains, "He is a small man but he's got some big thugs." She began to randomly punch in numbers.
"Go." Helena pulled her arm away.
"I can't leave you here!"
"I'll be okay... I promise kid," the brunette said to her.
"Helena, I'll take you with me."
"Alfred, look for him. He can hide you. Tell him everything; he knows Barbara, how she thinks, he is the only one that can help us."
"I can't Go!"
"Alfred knows how hide you. If she catches you ... we are lost."
"But Helena."
"Damn! Go!" Helena grumbled fighting against the drug to avoid fell sleep "Please! There is a door... hidden on the balcony... there is a ramp... it's like a slide and takes you six floors down. He is at Wayne's Manor."
"I'll be back for you." Dinah felt helpless because she couldn't do anything for Helena at that moment. She ran toward the balcony and looked for the hidden door. She found it at the back of the Clock Tower and jumped inside. She plunged downward until she crashed into a group of trash bags.
She stood up and ran as fast as she could to the stairs. She knew it would be dangerous to use the elevators. Barbara had control of all the security systems
* * *
"She ran away!" Barbara said annoyed "I'm sure she talked with Huntress."
"Why you didn't you prevent it?" Mad Hatter was angry.
"I was distracted," Barbara said plainly.
"Where is the Huntress? Why you didn't install one of the devices into her head?"
"She damaged the gun. She hit my hand and it crashed against the floor. I have her locked up in a special cell."
"Where is the pistol?"
"I need to fix it. It was broken when it hit the floor." Oracle felt ashamed at letting down her new master.
"Oracle," Mad Hatter shouted, "I don't like the mistakes. Let me see this 'Huntress'."
Barbara wheeled toward the cell and he followed her.
"How did you to trap her?" he asked.
"Trust"
"Trust?"
"Helena trusts in only one person in this world: me" Barbara smiled "Her trust in me was her downfall. Barbara opened the door and Mad Hatter walked in and stood gazing at the semi-conscious girl lying on the floor.
"What happened to her?" he took her chin and raised her head.
"I drugged her," Barbara explained "She will be okay in less than a hour."
"I don't want any more mistakes this time!"
"Yes master." Oracle said.
"Bastard..." Helena mumbled.
"Oh, a spunky girl. Now that's good." He smiled. "Oracle, please fix that damn pistol, I want our dear Huntress to join us as soon as possible.
* * *
Dinah was able to escape from the building undetected. Now she had to find a way to get to Alfred. She stepped up to the curb figuring to catch a taxi. Precious minutes ticked by as she attempted unsuccessfully to wave one down. In desperation she jumped directly into the path of an oncoming cab.
"TAXI!!!!" she screamed holding her arms up and in front of her. Her breath caught in her throat as the cab refused to slow. Dinah scrunched her eyes closed, waiting for the impact. There was the squeal of brakes and the smell of burning rubber tickled her nose. She cracked open one eye and exhaled slowly. The cab had stopped less than inch away from her. Dinah ran to the passenger door, jerked it opened, and hopped in.
"Wayne Manor. On the double," she said to the startled cabdriver.
* * *
Fifteen minutes later Dinah was racing through the extensive gardens of Wayne Manor. She knew she would find Alfred tending the roses as he always did on Mondays.
"Alfred!" Dinah cried, hoping that he was nearby.
"Miss Dinah, what are you doing here?" Alfred asked surprise clearly written across his face.
"Alfred, something terrible has happened," Dinah babbled clutching at his jacket. " The Mad Hatter somehow managed to implant a device in Barbara. She lied to me and made me believe that Helena was out of control. I helped her to chain her up. She drugged her and I didn't know what was happening and,.." she rambled on breathlessly.
"Miss Dinah, calm down." He asked. "Breath."
"I don't have time," Dinah took his arm. "They are after me because I know everything. I need to hide! We need to get out of here. She will look for us here!"
"Who knows that we are here?"
"Barbara! Mad Hatter is controlling her mind! She's got Helena! I couldn't help her!"
"Come, let's go inside the house and explain everything to me." Alfred tried to calm the girl.
* * *
An hour later Huntress was sitting on the floor trying to think a way of a way to escape now that the drug Barbara had administered had worn off. Barbara had designed this room to hold the most dangerous of criminals. Helena was used as the guinea pig to test for any weaknesses in the system. Many tests later the cell was deemed to be escape proof.
Helena knew it was useless to try to break the chains since they were composed of titanium but she gave it a try any way. Her hands were shackled behind her back and were attached to a short length of chain that anchored her to the wall. The cuffs were electronically controlled and could only be opened using the keypad outside the cell door.
Now this Mad Hatter creep had Barbara under his influence. Helena knew that she had to escape before they were able to fix the gun. The good thing was that Dinah was safe. The bad thing that she was alone and had Mad Hatter, Oracle, and all of the Clocktower's amazing technology after her. Helena heard the door open. She saw Oracle wheeling in followed by Mad Hatter. She stood up to face them.
"Well, well the infamous Huntress..." Mad Hatter drawled. "So you are the young lady that managed to escape from my last two traps?"
"I prefer notorious but hey whatever. Hey how about you and I go fix this whole mess. Alone?." Helena grumbled and looked at Barbara hoping she would remember her.
"It's not necessary Huntress, I know how strong you are, for that reason and that reason alone you are still alive. I need your specialized skills to control this city. Oracle is doing a good job helping me." He touched Oracle's shoulder. "You were a bad girl, you broke my gun. Did you know that they are very expensive?"
"Son of bitch." Huntress pulled her at chains.
"Hey, hey, calm down." Mad Hatter said. "As soon as I get ready the implanter and the device you will see my friendly side... But right now we need to know something. The plan called for you and your blonde friend to be working for me now; but you screwed all. The blonde ran away after talking to you, I'm sure of that. If not, why else would she run away right before I arrived?"
"Where did Dinah go Huntress?" Oracle asked.
"I don't know." She grumbled.
"You don't know or you don't want me to know?" Oracle wheeled over to her. "She took off her necklace to avoid being located." She raised the necklace and the earrings that Dinah abandoned in her flight from the Clock tower. "You two were talking for almost 5 minutes. What did she tell you?"
"I was drugged remember? You drugged me! I don't know." Huntress yelled to her.
Oracle took out one of her escrima sticks striking Helena quickly across the thigh.
"Damn! That hurts Oracle!" Huntress yelled jerking back in pain. "Wake up!"
"I asked you something, answer me!" She said. "We can do this the easy way." She grinned almost wickedly. "Or we can do it the fun way."
"Huntress" Mad Hatter said, "I know that your friend's mental powers are very dangerous. I don't want any problems with her. Tell us where she is and maybe we won't have to torture you."
"You know what? I forgot. But guess what? If I did know, I would never tell you!" Helena hissed at him. She turned back to Barbara. "Oracle it's me! You can fight against that damn device!"
"I'm asking you nicely. What did you tell Dinah?" Oracle asked again.
"I didn't talk with her..."
Oracle's hands became a blur of motion. She struck Helena in the stomach with the butt of one stick and used the other to nail the brunette in the skull. The girl who called herself Huntress fell to her knees in pain. Helena was really pissed but she couldn't hurt her mentor not while she was under the spell of Mad Hatter. "I'm not asking you Huntress!" the redhead shouted. "I want the answers. Now."
"Don't. bother...I don't....I wouldn't..."
Barbara slapped her with such force across her face that she saw stars and felt a trickle of blood escaping her nose. Oracle leaned over her and grabbed her throat with one of her hands. "Don't play with me Huntress," she growled. "I'd prefer not to hurt you but I will if you don't start talking."
Huntress clenched her teeth against the pain. "I don't know."
Oracle hit her hard in the ribs with her stick. "I'm warning you again, don't try to be smart. I know you, remember that." The red head pushed her back against the wall. "Want to see me angry? Is that what you want? I need find Dinah. Come on; let's do this the easy way. I want to know what you told Dinah."
Huntress kept silent, lowering her head.
Mad Hatter moved his hand and the two henchmen behind him moved toward her. One of them grabbed her painfully by the arms, pulling her to her feet. Before she could react she felt a hard blow to her stomach from the other man. She bent over in pain as she was stuck immediately two more times. She hadn't anticipated the blow so she just tried to endure it.
"No! What are you doing?" Oracle glared at the Mad Hatter.
"Looking for answers."
