Barbara smiled and stepped on her fingers. Huntress growled and moved her
arm back.
"Barbara stop this!" she yelled. Barbara shook her head in disdain. "Why do you always have to complicate everything?"
"Maybe because I'm as stubborn as you..." she tried to climb up again but Barbara stepped on her again. Huntress slipped back and held on desperately to the ledge. She looked down, she couldn't survive a fall so high, more than 100 floors. She forced her fingers into cracks on the wall, using them for balance.
"Looks like the infamous Huntress is in trouble now," Barbara smirked.
Huntress noticed that something was wrong with Barbara. The redhead staggered back away from her, the buzzing in her head growing to a deafening level. Everything in front of her turned hazy and then went black altogether. Her eyes rolled back and she tumbled over the edge.
"Barbara," Helena screamed. She reached out for Barbara's hand and just did manage to snag it, stopping her mentor from completing the mortal fall. She cried out, feeling her arm breaking in two. Now she was hanging on with one hand to the wall and the other one holding Barbara. The pain was damning and intense. She moaned softly.
Huntress gritted her teeth. Barbara was heavy and her hand on the wall was hardly a steady thing. Huntress tried to lift Barbara but it was difficult, her hands were wet because of the rain and Barbara was slipping out of her hand. Not to mention the fact that her arm was shattered and only the strength of her will alone was keeping Barbara from tumbling.
"Barbara wake up!" she shouted and growled. Her mentor's dead weight was pulling her down; and her shoulder and arm weren't helping "Barbara wake up, please!" Huntress begged. "I can't hold you!"
"Helena!"
Helena lifted her head. Dinah was up above her, the rain drenching her. Somehow or another she'd finally gotten herself free. "Help me!" she shouted "I can't hold on any longer!"
Dinah kneeled and crawled on the ledge until she reached Helena. Helena felt her fingers slip. "Dinah!" she screamed, sliding a few inches. Water splattered against her face, momentarily blinding her. Dinah caught her arm a half second before Helena's grip completely slipped away. Helena cried out feeling her hurt arm stretch; but she didn't release Barbara. Dinah tried to move her up but they were too heavy for her.
"I'm losing Barbara, she is slipping out of my hand..." Helena clenched her teeth. "I can't hold her any more." She shook her head. "God, please no..."
Dinah looked down. Without releasing Helena, she tried to grab Barbara "She's too far from me, try to lift her up."
"My arm isn't strong enough..." Helena looked at Barbara in anguish. "I think it's broken."
"You are bleeding" she said realizing that Helena shoulder was injured.
"Just hold her please."
"Could you hold your own weight if I release you?" Dinah asked.
"Just hold her!" Helena growled.
"I can't let you fall!"
"Dinah! Hold Barbara!"
Dinah closed her eyes and extended her hand. Helena suddenly felt that the pressure on her shoulder had decreased. And she saw Barbara moving up. Suddenly, she felt herself moving up too. Dinah began to crawl back slowly.
"It's working!" Helena said. Dinah lost her concentration and the brunette slipped down. Helena tried to hold her hand somewhat unsucesfully. Dinah almost jumped and grabbed her arm to prevent her from falling. Both sighed with relief.
"Don't talk while I'm working." Dinah grinned, relief washing over her.
"Could you please hurry?" Helena asked. "I'm tired..."
Dinah nodded and closed her eyes again. She began to move her again up. Helena suddenly felt a very strong force pulling her up. She turned slightly and saw that Reese had bent over and was yanking them both up, his hands around her waist. He used the back of Barbara's shirt and pulled her onto the ledge. "That was close," Huntress stammered, bending over and clutching her hurt ribs. She had been spread out and everything had been pulled apart. She was on fire.
Dinah dropped down next to her, exhausted. "Wow," she said. "Wow." "What happened to you?" Reese asked noticing the blood seeping down Helena's back. He slid his arms around her and pulled her into the sitting position, frowning when she cried out. She closed her eyes and pooled her strength together, irritated by her show of weakness.
"Mad Hatter... Forget it now, we need get that device out of Barbara's head. That thing is hurting her. I'll take her to the lab. Tie that damn dwarf and his henchmen up while I prepare everything."
"But your arm..." Dinah said. "Helena, you need medical attention. It's broken..." she noted, watching the way her friend was holding her injured arm. In fact the entire left side of her body appeared to be badly injured.
"I'm fine," Helena said impatiently. "We have to help Barbara now. She doesn't have much time." She shook her head. "Gibson needs assistance too." She looked at Reese and Dinah. "Guys, now."
Reese shrugged and then bent over to pick up Barbara. He scooped her up in his arms and started towards the lab. Dinah stayed back a moment, her eyes scanning over Helena. A hard look from the brunette finally made her break towards where Hatter was lying, still dead out.
"Good," Helena muttered and then followed after Reese.
* * * *
Huntress took off her coat, she was wearing a sleeveless shirt. The entire front and back it the fabric was stained bright red. A look down at her arm showed that it was already swelling and discolored. She lifted the shirt up and glanced down at her ribs. She hissed in pain and then shook her head. It would have to wait. "Helena no..." Reese said, sliding an arm around her to keep her in place.
"It's not bothering me," she lied. "Don't worry about it."
"You're bleeding everywhere," he insisted, eyes drifting over her. "And we need to set your arm."
"There isn't time for that now," she replied shortly. "That thing in her head is killing her. She could die at any moment. So you know what, let's not worry about me."
Reese knew that it was pointless to try to argue with her; her mind was made up. He backed away from her and crossed over to the far table, looking for some type of leather strap. Huntress connected the monitors to Barbara. Her pulse was weak and thready. Helena unhooked the transponder that was attached to Barbara's back and passed the scanner over her neck. She frowned as she looked at the images on the computer. Dinah entered the lab with some towels.
"They're all secure in the holding cells," Dinah informed her. "They're not going anywhere. How's it going?"
"She passed out because of the device, we need remove it using that weird pistol thingee." Helena explained. "Where is it?"
"I'll do it," Reese offered, his eyes locking on a small silver pistol sitting on a metal tray next to one of the scanners. "Is this it?" He picked it up.
"Yeah I guess so."
Dinah scowled when she noticed that Helena was still bleeding heavily, drops of it splattering to the ground. "We have to get you cleaned up."
"Not now dammit," Helena growled, now throughly annoyed. "So enough already, I'm fine." She crossed over to Reese and took the gun. She turned it over in her hand, examining the clip. "Dinah," she said. "Put that collar on Barbara."
Dinah did as she was told, frowning as she snapped the metal collar around her mentor. It seemed so wrong and disrespectful.
"Helena, let me do it," Reese urged. He put his hand over hers. "You're too unsteady right now."
"I'm okay." Helena prepared the gun. "But you're right." She looked down at her hand and noticed that it was shaking. Reluctantly she gave the gun to Reese who fit it in the collar. He pressed the trigger. Barbara's body shook lightly. The trio watched the monitors in silence for several long minutes, all of them on edge.
"Her pulse is improving." Dinah said taking the scanner and moving it over Barbara's head. She sat in front of the computer screen. "The device is gone. She will be okay."
Helena sighed loudly, dropping down to the chair next to the bed. She closed her eyes and put her head against the wall. It had been a hell of a night. Reese bent over and removed the collar from around Barbara's neck. She turned her over so that she was on her back and placed a light blanket over her. Dinah called Alfred.
Helena moved downwards putting the elbow of her good arm on her leg, she dropped her head into he hand. After all the tension, the fight and the adrenaline gone; Helena began to relax and to feel all the weight of the last hours over her shoulders "Im tired..." she mumbled. She felt Dinah's hand on her good shoulder.
"Now let me help you, okay?" Dinah asked, eyes wide.
"I'm okay, Dinah." Helena growled. "We need to help Gibson and the others first." "You're fine?" Dinah snapped. "Okay? Really? I guess I didn't realize soaked in blood and broken bones was fine. Have to remember that." She used the flat of her palm to force Helena down. "What happened to the bandage around your ribs?"
"It bugged me," Helena replied. "Gibson. We have to help him..."
"And we will but right now my concern is you. Now shut up and let me help you before I jam a needle in your ass."
"Go ahead and try," Helena snorted. Then she lifted an eyebrow. "A needle?"
"Sure," Dinah grinned. "Barbara always has something available to her to knock you out if you start getting too obnoxious."
"I'll remember that," Helena sighed, her eyes slipping closed.
Dinah bent over to examine the shoulder wound. She looked up at Reese. "It's pretty deep." "How the hell did you manage to hold on to Barbara out there? You have a broken arm, shattered ribs and a split shoulder. Christ, I'm dating Xena." Helena snorted. "You wish. And the answer? Practice. Lots of practice getting out of really bad situations." She frowned. "Most of them self- inflicted." She chuckled to herself and then cried out, the pain sliding through her. "Okay, now that hurts."
Dinah heard a soft moan and turned her head; gazing at the redhead who had opened her eyes. "Barbara?"
Helena looked her mentor. "Is she awake?"
Barbara shook her head and looked around confused.
"Barbara are you okay?" Dinah went to her. Helena tried to stand up but Reese held her down, his arms wrapped around her. He started to bind her arm down, attempting to set it.
Barbara blinked and was shocked when she saw her two protegees soaked and Reese there; both girls had a terrible look about them and and Huntress was covered in blood. "What the hell...?" she sat up almost inmediately.
"Long story." Dinah said touchung her elbow "How do you feel?"
"Im feel a little woozy but, I'm okay other than that." She looked hard at Helena. "What the hell happened to you."
"A small fight." Helena smiled feeling exhausted. "Remember the devices and robberies?" Dinah explained "A man called Mad Hatter was behind all that. He trapped you and installed one of those things in your head. "
"I remember; a woman in the school asked me for help; it was a trap. They took me to a storage and..." she shook her head. "Later. Dinah, get me my chair. Come over here Hel," she ordered.
"I'm fine, " the brunette muttered. She tried to stand up but found that she lacked the energy. All of the adrenaline and fight was long gone. She hissed in pain, her hand going to her side. Reese picked her up into his arms, cradling her against him.
"Reese, put her on the bed," Barbara instructed. She locked eyes with Helena. "Where are you hurt and try not lying."
"Where isn't she hurt?" Reese snorted.
"Oh it's nothing, just a little knife wound. Lotsa blood," Helena protested as Reese laid her on the bed. "Barbara, you should be lying down."
"Later, on your side..."
Helena moved slowly to her side; she dropped her head against the pillow and sighed. She heard the sound of Dinah re-entering the lab, pushing Barbara's chair in front of her. Barbara slipped into it and moved over to examine Helena. She lifted her protégé's shirt and gasped in horror.
"Good God Helena, how many people did you take on?" Barbara run her fingers across Helena's stomach, examining the web of bruises that surrounded her shattered ribs.
"Just you..." Helena mumbled, looking away.
Barbara was stunned. "What?"
"I was fighting against you..." she closed her eyes, the muscles in her entire body were sore "God, I want sleep a week."
"Oh God, don't move" Barbara picked up one of her med kits. She glanced over at Reese. "I need to work on her. Will you two head down and try to help out anyone who might have been affected?"
"Sure..." he walked toward Helena and caressed her hair. "I'll back in a few hours. Don't go anywhere."
"No worries," she drawled. "Even if I wanted to I doubt that I'd be able to. I know Barbara. I know that look." She sighed. "Besides, I'm hurt. All hurt."
He chuckled lightly. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead, leaving his lips against her skin for a few seconds. "We really fought? Her and I?" Barbara asked Dinah, concern in her eyes. "I don't remember anything."
"Yep," Dinah said cautiously. "You kind of threw her off the balcony."
"Oh," Barbara said, eyes wide. "Yeah, oh," Helena laughed. "Short version? You're a real pain in the ass when you're a criminal. Let's not do that again, okay?"
"Deal," Barbara replied, still looking shell-shocked. She bent over a counter and started rummaging through a drawer for gloves.
Dinah leaned down next to Helena and whispered into her ear: "How much time to live do you think I will have when she finds out that I infected Delphi with a virus and that I deleted and stole her files?"
"Less than me when she discovered that I stole the mascot of the football team." Helena whispered "Did you make a copy of all of the files?"
"Of course but it's still going to take her at least three days to get it all back up and running again. Did that on purpose." "Then you're just plain dead," Helena quipped. She nodded to Reese who was leaning patiently against the wall. "You guys had better get going. Help Gibson."
Dinah nodded. "Right." She started towards the door and then she turned back towards Helena. "Maybe on the way back I'll stop by Wayne Manor. That place is cool." Helena just laughed.
* * *
"Barbara stop this!" she yelled. Barbara shook her head in disdain. "Why do you always have to complicate everything?"
"Maybe because I'm as stubborn as you..." she tried to climb up again but Barbara stepped on her again. Huntress slipped back and held on desperately to the ledge. She looked down, she couldn't survive a fall so high, more than 100 floors. She forced her fingers into cracks on the wall, using them for balance.
"Looks like the infamous Huntress is in trouble now," Barbara smirked.
Huntress noticed that something was wrong with Barbara. The redhead staggered back away from her, the buzzing in her head growing to a deafening level. Everything in front of her turned hazy and then went black altogether. Her eyes rolled back and she tumbled over the edge.
"Barbara," Helena screamed. She reached out for Barbara's hand and just did manage to snag it, stopping her mentor from completing the mortal fall. She cried out, feeling her arm breaking in two. Now she was hanging on with one hand to the wall and the other one holding Barbara. The pain was damning and intense. She moaned softly.
Huntress gritted her teeth. Barbara was heavy and her hand on the wall was hardly a steady thing. Huntress tried to lift Barbara but it was difficult, her hands were wet because of the rain and Barbara was slipping out of her hand. Not to mention the fact that her arm was shattered and only the strength of her will alone was keeping Barbara from tumbling.
"Barbara wake up!" she shouted and growled. Her mentor's dead weight was pulling her down; and her shoulder and arm weren't helping "Barbara wake up, please!" Huntress begged. "I can't hold you!"
"Helena!"
Helena lifted her head. Dinah was up above her, the rain drenching her. Somehow or another she'd finally gotten herself free. "Help me!" she shouted "I can't hold on any longer!"
Dinah kneeled and crawled on the ledge until she reached Helena. Helena felt her fingers slip. "Dinah!" she screamed, sliding a few inches. Water splattered against her face, momentarily blinding her. Dinah caught her arm a half second before Helena's grip completely slipped away. Helena cried out feeling her hurt arm stretch; but she didn't release Barbara. Dinah tried to move her up but they were too heavy for her.
"I'm losing Barbara, she is slipping out of my hand..." Helena clenched her teeth. "I can't hold her any more." She shook her head. "God, please no..."
Dinah looked down. Without releasing Helena, she tried to grab Barbara "She's too far from me, try to lift her up."
"My arm isn't strong enough..." Helena looked at Barbara in anguish. "I think it's broken."
"You are bleeding" she said realizing that Helena shoulder was injured.
"Just hold her please."
"Could you hold your own weight if I release you?" Dinah asked.
"Just hold her!" Helena growled.
"I can't let you fall!"
"Dinah! Hold Barbara!"
Dinah closed her eyes and extended her hand. Helena suddenly felt that the pressure on her shoulder had decreased. And she saw Barbara moving up. Suddenly, she felt herself moving up too. Dinah began to crawl back slowly.
"It's working!" Helena said. Dinah lost her concentration and the brunette slipped down. Helena tried to hold her hand somewhat unsucesfully. Dinah almost jumped and grabbed her arm to prevent her from falling. Both sighed with relief.
"Don't talk while I'm working." Dinah grinned, relief washing over her.
"Could you please hurry?" Helena asked. "I'm tired..."
Dinah nodded and closed her eyes again. She began to move her again up. Helena suddenly felt a very strong force pulling her up. She turned slightly and saw that Reese had bent over and was yanking them both up, his hands around her waist. He used the back of Barbara's shirt and pulled her onto the ledge. "That was close," Huntress stammered, bending over and clutching her hurt ribs. She had been spread out and everything had been pulled apart. She was on fire.
Dinah dropped down next to her, exhausted. "Wow," she said. "Wow." "What happened to you?" Reese asked noticing the blood seeping down Helena's back. He slid his arms around her and pulled her into the sitting position, frowning when she cried out. She closed her eyes and pooled her strength together, irritated by her show of weakness.
"Mad Hatter... Forget it now, we need get that device out of Barbara's head. That thing is hurting her. I'll take her to the lab. Tie that damn dwarf and his henchmen up while I prepare everything."
"But your arm..." Dinah said. "Helena, you need medical attention. It's broken..." she noted, watching the way her friend was holding her injured arm. In fact the entire left side of her body appeared to be badly injured.
"I'm fine," Helena said impatiently. "We have to help Barbara now. She doesn't have much time." She shook her head. "Gibson needs assistance too." She looked at Reese and Dinah. "Guys, now."
Reese shrugged and then bent over to pick up Barbara. He scooped her up in his arms and started towards the lab. Dinah stayed back a moment, her eyes scanning over Helena. A hard look from the brunette finally made her break towards where Hatter was lying, still dead out.
"Good," Helena muttered and then followed after Reese.
* * * *
Huntress took off her coat, she was wearing a sleeveless shirt. The entire front and back it the fabric was stained bright red. A look down at her arm showed that it was already swelling and discolored. She lifted the shirt up and glanced down at her ribs. She hissed in pain and then shook her head. It would have to wait. "Helena no..." Reese said, sliding an arm around her to keep her in place.
"It's not bothering me," she lied. "Don't worry about it."
"You're bleeding everywhere," he insisted, eyes drifting over her. "And we need to set your arm."
"There isn't time for that now," she replied shortly. "That thing in her head is killing her. She could die at any moment. So you know what, let's not worry about me."
Reese knew that it was pointless to try to argue with her; her mind was made up. He backed away from her and crossed over to the far table, looking for some type of leather strap. Huntress connected the monitors to Barbara. Her pulse was weak and thready. Helena unhooked the transponder that was attached to Barbara's back and passed the scanner over her neck. She frowned as she looked at the images on the computer. Dinah entered the lab with some towels.
"They're all secure in the holding cells," Dinah informed her. "They're not going anywhere. How's it going?"
"She passed out because of the device, we need remove it using that weird pistol thingee." Helena explained. "Where is it?"
"I'll do it," Reese offered, his eyes locking on a small silver pistol sitting on a metal tray next to one of the scanners. "Is this it?" He picked it up.
"Yeah I guess so."
Dinah scowled when she noticed that Helena was still bleeding heavily, drops of it splattering to the ground. "We have to get you cleaned up."
"Not now dammit," Helena growled, now throughly annoyed. "So enough already, I'm fine." She crossed over to Reese and took the gun. She turned it over in her hand, examining the clip. "Dinah," she said. "Put that collar on Barbara."
Dinah did as she was told, frowning as she snapped the metal collar around her mentor. It seemed so wrong and disrespectful.
"Helena, let me do it," Reese urged. He put his hand over hers. "You're too unsteady right now."
"I'm okay." Helena prepared the gun. "But you're right." She looked down at her hand and noticed that it was shaking. Reluctantly she gave the gun to Reese who fit it in the collar. He pressed the trigger. Barbara's body shook lightly. The trio watched the monitors in silence for several long minutes, all of them on edge.
"Her pulse is improving." Dinah said taking the scanner and moving it over Barbara's head. She sat in front of the computer screen. "The device is gone. She will be okay."
Helena sighed loudly, dropping down to the chair next to the bed. She closed her eyes and put her head against the wall. It had been a hell of a night. Reese bent over and removed the collar from around Barbara's neck. She turned her over so that she was on her back and placed a light blanket over her. Dinah called Alfred.
Helena moved downwards putting the elbow of her good arm on her leg, she dropped her head into he hand. After all the tension, the fight and the adrenaline gone; Helena began to relax and to feel all the weight of the last hours over her shoulders "Im tired..." she mumbled. She felt Dinah's hand on her good shoulder.
"Now let me help you, okay?" Dinah asked, eyes wide.
"I'm okay, Dinah." Helena growled. "We need to help Gibson and the others first." "You're fine?" Dinah snapped. "Okay? Really? I guess I didn't realize soaked in blood and broken bones was fine. Have to remember that." She used the flat of her palm to force Helena down. "What happened to the bandage around your ribs?"
"It bugged me," Helena replied. "Gibson. We have to help him..."
"And we will but right now my concern is you. Now shut up and let me help you before I jam a needle in your ass."
"Go ahead and try," Helena snorted. Then she lifted an eyebrow. "A needle?"
"Sure," Dinah grinned. "Barbara always has something available to her to knock you out if you start getting too obnoxious."
"I'll remember that," Helena sighed, her eyes slipping closed.
Dinah bent over to examine the shoulder wound. She looked up at Reese. "It's pretty deep." "How the hell did you manage to hold on to Barbara out there? You have a broken arm, shattered ribs and a split shoulder. Christ, I'm dating Xena." Helena snorted. "You wish. And the answer? Practice. Lots of practice getting out of really bad situations." She frowned. "Most of them self- inflicted." She chuckled to herself and then cried out, the pain sliding through her. "Okay, now that hurts."
Dinah heard a soft moan and turned her head; gazing at the redhead who had opened her eyes. "Barbara?"
Helena looked her mentor. "Is she awake?"
Barbara shook her head and looked around confused.
"Barbara are you okay?" Dinah went to her. Helena tried to stand up but Reese held her down, his arms wrapped around her. He started to bind her arm down, attempting to set it.
Barbara blinked and was shocked when she saw her two protegees soaked and Reese there; both girls had a terrible look about them and and Huntress was covered in blood. "What the hell...?" she sat up almost inmediately.
"Long story." Dinah said touchung her elbow "How do you feel?"
"Im feel a little woozy but, I'm okay other than that." She looked hard at Helena. "What the hell happened to you."
"A small fight." Helena smiled feeling exhausted. "Remember the devices and robberies?" Dinah explained "A man called Mad Hatter was behind all that. He trapped you and installed one of those things in your head. "
"I remember; a woman in the school asked me for help; it was a trap. They took me to a storage and..." she shook her head. "Later. Dinah, get me my chair. Come over here Hel," she ordered.
"I'm fine, " the brunette muttered. She tried to stand up but found that she lacked the energy. All of the adrenaline and fight was long gone. She hissed in pain, her hand going to her side. Reese picked her up into his arms, cradling her against him.
"Reese, put her on the bed," Barbara instructed. She locked eyes with Helena. "Where are you hurt and try not lying."
"Where isn't she hurt?" Reese snorted.
"Oh it's nothing, just a little knife wound. Lotsa blood," Helena protested as Reese laid her on the bed. "Barbara, you should be lying down."
"Later, on your side..."
Helena moved slowly to her side; she dropped her head against the pillow and sighed. She heard the sound of Dinah re-entering the lab, pushing Barbara's chair in front of her. Barbara slipped into it and moved over to examine Helena. She lifted her protégé's shirt and gasped in horror.
"Good God Helena, how many people did you take on?" Barbara run her fingers across Helena's stomach, examining the web of bruises that surrounded her shattered ribs.
"Just you..." Helena mumbled, looking away.
Barbara was stunned. "What?"
"I was fighting against you..." she closed her eyes, the muscles in her entire body were sore "God, I want sleep a week."
"Oh God, don't move" Barbara picked up one of her med kits. She glanced over at Reese. "I need to work on her. Will you two head down and try to help out anyone who might have been affected?"
"Sure..." he walked toward Helena and caressed her hair. "I'll back in a few hours. Don't go anywhere."
"No worries," she drawled. "Even if I wanted to I doubt that I'd be able to. I know Barbara. I know that look." She sighed. "Besides, I'm hurt. All hurt."
He chuckled lightly. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead, leaving his lips against her skin for a few seconds. "We really fought? Her and I?" Barbara asked Dinah, concern in her eyes. "I don't remember anything."
"Yep," Dinah said cautiously. "You kind of threw her off the balcony."
"Oh," Barbara said, eyes wide. "Yeah, oh," Helena laughed. "Short version? You're a real pain in the ass when you're a criminal. Let's not do that again, okay?"
"Deal," Barbara replied, still looking shell-shocked. She bent over a counter and started rummaging through a drawer for gloves.
Dinah leaned down next to Helena and whispered into her ear: "How much time to live do you think I will have when she finds out that I infected Delphi with a virus and that I deleted and stole her files?"
"Less than me when she discovered that I stole the mascot of the football team." Helena whispered "Did you make a copy of all of the files?"
"Of course but it's still going to take her at least three days to get it all back up and running again. Did that on purpose." "Then you're just plain dead," Helena quipped. She nodded to Reese who was leaning patiently against the wall. "You guys had better get going. Help Gibson."
Dinah nodded. "Right." She started towards the door and then she turned back towards Helena. "Maybe on the way back I'll stop by Wayne Manor. That place is cool." Helena just laughed.
* * *
