Dinah felt Huntress body finally stop seizing and the muscles relax.
"You'll be okay, you'll be okay" the blonde said softly; Huntress had her
eyes half open and her mouth trembled lightly. Dinah touched the back of
her head again, Helena was so damn feverish. Dinah turned her gently on her
back and moved her short hair. She could see the bruise where Mad Hatter
had installed the device. Alfred looked at it too.
"She is in shock, we need to take this thing out of her," he said.
"Yes, and we need to get her out of here before they find her again." Dinah removed Helena's comm earrings and held them up to Alfred. "It'll be better if we go to the dockyards."
"Yes," Alfred agreed, understanding that Dinah rather suspected Oracle to know exactly where they were. And now she was intentionally trying to dupe out her mentor."Let's go."
Dinah unsnapped Helena's necklace and dropped it the ground. Alfred dropped to his knees beside her. "I will carry Miss Helena."
* * *
"How is that you didn't find those damn girls?" Mad Hatter shouted smashing his fist against a table.
"They were gone when we arrived." Skimmer explained. "We just found the earrings and the necklace."
"I hate those girls!" Mad Hatter shouted.
"Dinah said they're were heading to the dockyards." Oracle said. "Heard it over comm before they removed it." She shook her head. "It was that damn device, I told you it was a problem."
"Don't fuck with me!"
"She was rejecting the device! I told you!"
"Great! Now I hope that her brain just fried, that should be her punishment. Find them!" he pointed at her "You are the smart one here! Keep sending her the signal to bring the blond girl here!"
"I'm doing it but that will cause her more pain. or kill her." Oracle tried to explain.
"Just do it!!!!!" Mad Hatter yelled. "That damn bitch will obey or die!"
* * *
Dinah and Alfred were in the secret room inside the Manor. The small blonde paced, worried sick for her friend. Alfred placed Helena on the surface of a large desk. He moved to place a towel beneath her head and winced at the heat he felt when he touched Helena's skin. She was burning up.
"Bring me ice from the fridge" he asked to Dinah. She ran to the kitchen while he examined the neck of the girl for several minutes with the help of the equipment that was there. He checked the results of the test on the screen.
".Alfred?" Helena mumbled suddenly.
"Miss Helena, you are safe now."
The girl groaned softly. "My head."
"You will be okay." He pressed her hand. He had noticed her immune system was protecting her working almost as an autodefense biological system; it was destroying the device slowly. Unfortunately it was fairly painful process. Dinah entered with a bag of ice. Helena heard her steps and she turned to see her. When she recognized the blond girl, her eyes changed to feral mode and tried to stand to catch her but she couldn't and groaned taking her hands to her head. She dropped back down and fell unconscious. Alfred held onto her to keep her from knocking her head against the desk. "What is happening Alfred?" Dinah asked.
"Miss Dinah," Alfred started, moving Helena back to the desk. "It seems as she is rejecting the device and her immune system is destroying it. " He showed her the scanner with a high resolution image on the screen.
"We need to take it out!" Dinah looked worried at Helena. "It's killing her."
"The device is installed next to the brain, we don't have the equipment to take it out." Alfred wiped Helena's forehead and put the ice bag behind her head. "She's having another seizure," Dinah said reaching out to hold Helena still. "This is like a short circuit in her head, between the signal that the device is receiving and her brain waves. Maybe if we could block the signal.. Yes we could do that!"
"How?" Dinah looked around.
"We can close this room hermetically. Over there is a second door." He stood up and went to the wall, he opened a small box and pushed an orange button. A metallic door slide down and covered the original one.
Dinah looked at Helena .She had her eyelids half opened and was breathing in short fast bursts. Dinah noticed that the seizure had apparently stopped. "Helena.?"
Alfred touched Huntress neck "It's okay." he used the scanner on her head again. "The pressure appears to have subsided. Now we sit and wait. Her body must do the rest to heal her. That is her nature." "Barbara is going to be pissed. I sent a virus to Delphi's to block her. She's going to come after us pretty hard now. Including you. She has to have heard you on comm. She surely wants Huntress back and her computer software."
"Yes, but in the meanwhile come with me." He said looking at her. "Let's get your wounds cleaned up. She certainly gave you quite the beating."
Dinah chuckled. "She did indeed."
* * *
Barbara ran a hand over her forehead, stopping to rub at her temples. She could feel the frustration and anxiety mounting in her. Somehow or another, Dinah had not only hacked Delphi but she was even managing to keep her mentor from taking control back. Barbara was pissed and the headache that was starting to grow by leaps and bounds wasn't helping one bit. Mad Hatter walked up to the platform at the Clock Tower. He was in a very bad mood.
"Did you find them?"
"No, but I have great news for you. I should have the equipment working again in just a few hours. At that point I'll be able to reinstall the damaged devices.. Im going to hack the police database and send them files of Huntress and Dinah...list them as dangerous. When they find them; I will know immediately and we will intercept them."
"You did a great job!" He clapped his hands loudly, excitement flushing his face. "That's wonderful news."
Barbara didn't respond, she put her fingers over the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. The headache was too strong, but she needed to keep working.
* * *
Many hours later Alfred was checking on Huntress. She was on the couch in the living room covered with a blanket. It was amazing; her injuries had almost completely disappeared. The only real scene of her recent trauma was the fact that her left eye was still bruised and jaundiced. Her cheeks however had regained their normal healthy color. He moved her head forward. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that the contusion on her back had faded away. Dinah walked into the small room, her arms wrapped around her chest. "She looks better." Dinah said softly.
"Yes, the injuries from the beating that they gave her have almost disappeared." Alfred bent to clean out the small cut that was still over Helena's eye. "And the device is gone. Her inmunological system destroyed it. How are you?"
Dinah had a scratch over her forehead and a bruise next to her chin. "Ok. I'm okay, she hits hard." she sat on a chair looking at one of the computer monitors nearby. "Is something wrong Miss Dinah?"
"I have been looking over Helena 's test and that device. something worried me."
"Oh?"
"Helena rejected it because her biological system noticed a strange organism inside her, right?"
"Right." Alfred confirmed.
"So that thing must be a biological chip and as I can see, the chip slowly destroys the higher brain function when it forces to people obey. That man that Reese found was dead because of the chip. The meta-human healingl system of Helena identified it and destroyed it as soon as possible. but.." Dinah bit her lip.
"But?"
"Barbara is not meta, that thing is killing her slowly and she doesn't realize it. In a person of Barbara's mentality that could be useful as a weapon, after it destroys her brain."
Alfred looked her in silence.
"We need to rescue her soon." She turned to see Helena lying on the couch, still dead out. "But we can't do it without her."
"Her body needs rest to full recover but she is doing much better."
"I understand that but I need her to wake up. We have to get to Barbara before it's too late." She took a deep breath. "The problem is she is controlling almost the entire city. Alfred. By now I'm sure she's rebooted Delphi and has control of it again. I could interfere with her radio signals but that won't but us much time. And God knows how many weird little tracers she put in his when she was just normal Oracle. In any case, she is hunting us now. This is way worse than a nightmare." "We need to bring her back." Alfred sighed. "I'll bring you something for lunch."
"Thanks." Dinah muttered, lost in her thoughts. She crossed her arms and leaned over the chair. She needed Helena to wake up; she needed her help to stop Barbara and to rescue her. She felt her heart jump when she heard a soft noise behind her. Helena was coming around. She kneeled next to her.
"Helena?"
"She is in shock, we need to take this thing out of her," he said.
"Yes, and we need to get her out of here before they find her again." Dinah removed Helena's comm earrings and held them up to Alfred. "It'll be better if we go to the dockyards."
"Yes," Alfred agreed, understanding that Dinah rather suspected Oracle to know exactly where they were. And now she was intentionally trying to dupe out her mentor."Let's go."
Dinah unsnapped Helena's necklace and dropped it the ground. Alfred dropped to his knees beside her. "I will carry Miss Helena."
* * *
"How is that you didn't find those damn girls?" Mad Hatter shouted smashing his fist against a table.
"They were gone when we arrived." Skimmer explained. "We just found the earrings and the necklace."
"I hate those girls!" Mad Hatter shouted.
"Dinah said they're were heading to the dockyards." Oracle said. "Heard it over comm before they removed it." She shook her head. "It was that damn device, I told you it was a problem."
"Don't fuck with me!"
"She was rejecting the device! I told you!"
"Great! Now I hope that her brain just fried, that should be her punishment. Find them!" he pointed at her "You are the smart one here! Keep sending her the signal to bring the blond girl here!"
"I'm doing it but that will cause her more pain. or kill her." Oracle tried to explain.
"Just do it!!!!!" Mad Hatter yelled. "That damn bitch will obey or die!"
* * *
Dinah and Alfred were in the secret room inside the Manor. The small blonde paced, worried sick for her friend. Alfred placed Helena on the surface of a large desk. He moved to place a towel beneath her head and winced at the heat he felt when he touched Helena's skin. She was burning up.
"Bring me ice from the fridge" he asked to Dinah. She ran to the kitchen while he examined the neck of the girl for several minutes with the help of the equipment that was there. He checked the results of the test on the screen.
".Alfred?" Helena mumbled suddenly.
"Miss Helena, you are safe now."
The girl groaned softly. "My head."
"You will be okay." He pressed her hand. He had noticed her immune system was protecting her working almost as an autodefense biological system; it was destroying the device slowly. Unfortunately it was fairly painful process. Dinah entered with a bag of ice. Helena heard her steps and she turned to see her. When she recognized the blond girl, her eyes changed to feral mode and tried to stand to catch her but she couldn't and groaned taking her hands to her head. She dropped back down and fell unconscious. Alfred held onto her to keep her from knocking her head against the desk. "What is happening Alfred?" Dinah asked.
"Miss Dinah," Alfred started, moving Helena back to the desk. "It seems as she is rejecting the device and her immune system is destroying it. " He showed her the scanner with a high resolution image on the screen.
"We need to take it out!" Dinah looked worried at Helena. "It's killing her."
"The device is installed next to the brain, we don't have the equipment to take it out." Alfred wiped Helena's forehead and put the ice bag behind her head. "She's having another seizure," Dinah said reaching out to hold Helena still. "This is like a short circuit in her head, between the signal that the device is receiving and her brain waves. Maybe if we could block the signal.. Yes we could do that!"
"How?" Dinah looked around.
"We can close this room hermetically. Over there is a second door." He stood up and went to the wall, he opened a small box and pushed an orange button. A metallic door slide down and covered the original one.
Dinah looked at Helena .She had her eyelids half opened and was breathing in short fast bursts. Dinah noticed that the seizure had apparently stopped. "Helena.?"
Alfred touched Huntress neck "It's okay." he used the scanner on her head again. "The pressure appears to have subsided. Now we sit and wait. Her body must do the rest to heal her. That is her nature." "Barbara is going to be pissed. I sent a virus to Delphi's to block her. She's going to come after us pretty hard now. Including you. She has to have heard you on comm. She surely wants Huntress back and her computer software."
"Yes, but in the meanwhile come with me." He said looking at her. "Let's get your wounds cleaned up. She certainly gave you quite the beating."
Dinah chuckled. "She did indeed."
* * *
Barbara ran a hand over her forehead, stopping to rub at her temples. She could feel the frustration and anxiety mounting in her. Somehow or another, Dinah had not only hacked Delphi but she was even managing to keep her mentor from taking control back. Barbara was pissed and the headache that was starting to grow by leaps and bounds wasn't helping one bit. Mad Hatter walked up to the platform at the Clock Tower. He was in a very bad mood.
"Did you find them?"
"No, but I have great news for you. I should have the equipment working again in just a few hours. At that point I'll be able to reinstall the damaged devices.. Im going to hack the police database and send them files of Huntress and Dinah...list them as dangerous. When they find them; I will know immediately and we will intercept them."
"You did a great job!" He clapped his hands loudly, excitement flushing his face. "That's wonderful news."
Barbara didn't respond, she put her fingers over the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. The headache was too strong, but she needed to keep working.
* * *
Many hours later Alfred was checking on Huntress. She was on the couch in the living room covered with a blanket. It was amazing; her injuries had almost completely disappeared. The only real scene of her recent trauma was the fact that her left eye was still bruised and jaundiced. Her cheeks however had regained their normal healthy color. He moved her head forward. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that the contusion on her back had faded away. Dinah walked into the small room, her arms wrapped around her chest. "She looks better." Dinah said softly.
"Yes, the injuries from the beating that they gave her have almost disappeared." Alfred bent to clean out the small cut that was still over Helena's eye. "And the device is gone. Her inmunological system destroyed it. How are you?"
Dinah had a scratch over her forehead and a bruise next to her chin. "Ok. I'm okay, she hits hard." she sat on a chair looking at one of the computer monitors nearby. "Is something wrong Miss Dinah?"
"I have been looking over Helena 's test and that device. something worried me."
"Oh?"
"Helena rejected it because her biological system noticed a strange organism inside her, right?"
"Right." Alfred confirmed.
"So that thing must be a biological chip and as I can see, the chip slowly destroys the higher brain function when it forces to people obey. That man that Reese found was dead because of the chip. The meta-human healingl system of Helena identified it and destroyed it as soon as possible. but.." Dinah bit her lip.
"But?"
"Barbara is not meta, that thing is killing her slowly and she doesn't realize it. In a person of Barbara's mentality that could be useful as a weapon, after it destroys her brain."
Alfred looked her in silence.
"We need to rescue her soon." She turned to see Helena lying on the couch, still dead out. "But we can't do it without her."
"Her body needs rest to full recover but she is doing much better."
"I understand that but I need her to wake up. We have to get to Barbara before it's too late." She took a deep breath. "The problem is she is controlling almost the entire city. Alfred. By now I'm sure she's rebooted Delphi and has control of it again. I could interfere with her radio signals but that won't but us much time. And God knows how many weird little tracers she put in his when she was just normal Oracle. In any case, she is hunting us now. This is way worse than a nightmare." "We need to bring her back." Alfred sighed. "I'll bring you something for lunch."
"Thanks." Dinah muttered, lost in her thoughts. She crossed her arms and leaned over the chair. She needed Helena to wake up; she needed her help to stop Barbara and to rescue her. She felt her heart jump when she heard a soft noise behind her. Helena was coming around. She kneeled next to her.
"Helena?"
