"There was another killing," Reese said, leaning over the table. He yawned
as he moved and his body made several loud cracking and popping noises. He
rather impolitely told it to shut up.
"Same creature?" Barbara asked, bringing up the police reports. She frowned. "Same creature."
"Is it real?" Reese said suddenly. "I mean didn't the Joker tell Helena that she had created it?" He shook his head. "Of course it's real; I saw the body of the guy it maimed."
"I think the Joker was just trying to make Helena question reality," Barbara put in. "Because this thing is definitely real."
"So can we stop it with bullets?"
She nodded slowly. "Yes." She turned towards him. "I ran one of the blood samples that we were able to get off one of his victims. He's not a meta but he is a mutate. Like a wolf and a man."
"Like a werewolf? I mean are we going to need silver bullets?"
"Possibly," she said, sounding skeptical. "However whatever he is, one of his powers isn't a protective shield of any type. He's primarily a hunter but his skin is soft and vulnerable to attack. And by the by, silver bullets are just a bad myth. If you shoot it in the heart, it's still dead."
"Thanks for the Brothers Grimm update. Okay then, so I go get him," Reese said. He reached across to the table where he had placed his holster. He had taken it off as a sign of respect to Barbara who hadn't seemed terribly fond of the weapon. And considering what had happened to her, well then that certainly made sense.
"I'm coming with you," Dinah said. She leapt to her feet. She felt the need to move, to get her blood pumping again. Being so close to all of the pain and fear circulating around in the Clocktower was making her feel like four walls were moving in on her.
Reese looked up and shook his head. "No, you need to be here with Helena in case she needs you."
"There's nothing else I can do," Dinah replied with more than a hint of bitter sadness, She looked at Barbara. "Right? Either the wall works or it doesn't."
"That's true," Barbara admitted. She locked eyes with Dinah and offered her an understanding look. She could see the confusion creased into the blonde's brow.
"Well don't you need her for the hypnosis?"
"Careful Detective or I'd think you don't want me around," Dinah said dryly.
"No," he said quickly. "That's not it. I just..."
"And we will," Barbara said softly. "But you're still wounded and really in no condition to be taking on this thing by yourself. Accept the help, Reese." She shook her head. "You and Helena are more similar than you might like to admit. Both too stubborn for your own damn good."
He sighed and blew out air between his teeth. "Fine."
Dinah smiled. "Then it's settled then."
"Hey wait though," Reese said suddenly. "So you don't you need her for the hypnosis then? At all?"
"No," Barbara said. "I can do that part. That's more method than it is mind. I've done it before."
Dinah lifted an eyebrow. "Sounds like another interesting story. I'm keeping track."
"So am I," Reese put in dryly. Then he glanced at Dinah. "Okay then, saddle up."
"Ready to rock," she answered.
"Good luck you two," Barbara said softly. "And hopefully by the time you get back, I'll have some answers."
"Does that mean you'll be off comm?" Dinah asked, a slight edge of panic in her voice.
"I'll have you on the speakers but I won't be in the control room so if something happens, Alfred will have to alert me. I need perfect silence. Any distraction could keep Helena from settling into the right state. And God knows it's already difficult enough."
"Nothing will happen," Reese reassured her. He reached out and touched Dinah's elbow. "Come on."
Dinah nodded at him and then followed him out the door. Barbara dropped her head. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Be careful," she whispered into the cool air of the room. "God, be careful."
Alex Tzechovia was the kind of guy who liked to dance in front of his mirror. He was thirty-three and perpetually single but he enjoyed the time that he spent talking to his friends on the computer and playing the game he affectionately called Evercrack. The people who had created it called it Everquest but it was all really just the same thing. Hours spent in front of his P4 trying to get even cooler weapons and more impressive powers.
Alex also liked to sing. The fact that he was rather hideous at it was simply no deterrent. He would gaze into his bathroom mirror for a long minute, envisioning himself as some sort of music god and then he would break wildly into song. He was a big fan of Ricky Martin so swishing his butt around was also a necessity.
However on the night in which he looked into the mirror and saw the bloodied muzzle of the ugliest creature he had ever laid eyes on starring back at him, he swore to give up music.
And then he screamed.
The creature lunged at him and managed to catch the tale of his shirt. It stretched the white fabric until it ripped and sent Alex spinning to the ground. He turned and starred up into the inhuman eyes of the monster.
"Please, no," he said, shaking. His mind whirled as he tried to remember if he had any weapons in his apartment.
The creature lurched forward, its jaws wide open and dripping saliva.
And then he heard three gunshots. Bang. Bang. Bang. One right after another. He sealed his eyelids together and waited for the end. When after almost a minute all he heard was silence, he finally opened his eyes.
"Hello?" he said weakly, looking up and into the eyes of the dark man who was holding a gun.
"Detective Reese," the man said, extending a hand. "Gotham PD." He pointed to the blonde next to him. "This is Dinah." He noticed that the door to his apartment was swinging wide open behind the new twosome.
"Is it dead?" Alex asked, staring at the furry body on the ground. His eyes lit briefly on the blonde standing next to the cop and he frowned, wondering why a civilian had been brought to a crime scene. The thought was fleeting however as his fear retook him.
"Yes, I think so," Reese replied, following his gaze. Dinah moved off and started to gaze into rooms, like she was looking for some type of clue as to why the creature had attacked this man.
"How? How did you know and what the hell is that thing?" Alex asked. Then he tilted his head. "Am I even awake?" He pinched himself hard and then squealed at the pain.
"Yes," Reese said with a chuckle. "I saw it enter your window. You really should shut it at night. New Gotham is not always the safest of places."
Alex nodded. "Getting that." He stared down at the body. "Uh, Detective?"
"Yeah?" Reese asked, looking around the apartment. He was taking in all of the action figures and models that were scattered about. This guy was serious nerd material. He smiled a bit when he saw several discarded empty pizza boxes.
"I think it's moving," Alex said, moving behind Reese.
"Reese!" Dinah screamed suddenly.
He turned and felt the creature barrel into his chest. One of its long talons tore through his shirt and took a large hunk of flesh from his abdomen. He cried out in pain and tried to shove it off. The creature, obviously very hurt, continued to tear. He felt it cut towards his stitches. The doctors were going to be very pissed and so much for getting back on duty anytime soon.
"Little help here," Reese called out, just barely dodging a blow that would have likely decapitated him. "Good God, fuck this hurts." He hissed in pain and then reached up to try to put his hands around the things' throat. All he felt was a tangle of sticky fur.
"I'm trying," Dinah exclaimed, her voice shaky. Her eyes were wide open and she was staring directly at the creature, trying to muster up her powers. A moment later, the monster was thrown into the glass mirror. It howled and then collapsed again. She blinked, suddenly very afraid of the force of the powers within her. They had grown so strong so quickly. It felt fantastic but it also terrified her. She wondered idly if Helena felt the same way about her powers.
Reese pushed himself to his feet, both his chest and his face torn up. Blood streaked down him and was pooling around his leather boots. He reached down and picked up the service pistol that had been knocked from his hand when he had been attacked. He checked the bullets to make sure they were still in place. Each of them was gleaming brightly. A shiny perfect silver.
"What the hell is it?" Reese asked, moving towards it.
The creature was on the ground, howling in agony. It looked up at Reese and the young cop searched its eyes for humanity. All he saw was pain. And fear. God, so much of that.
"Werewolves aren't real, right?" he asked suddenly. His brow creased as he stared at the creature. Something tickled his mind and refused to let go.
Dinah shrugged. "You'd have to ask Barbara."
"I did. She said she didn't think they were." He paused for a moment. "Can you save one? I mean, make it human again?"
The creature lunged forward and grabbed at him, its jaws wide. Reese fired three times and then fell backwards, bowled over by the strength of the attack. He cursed as he hit the ground with a loud thud. His side exploded in agony and he felt the rest of the stitches break open.
"Oh Reese," Dinah said, sadness in her voice.
"What?" he asked, still staring up at the ceiling. He hissed in pain as he tried to move.
"He's dead now," Dinah told him. She moved over to the corpse and turned the body over. "And no, apparently you can't save one." She reached out and ran her fingers over its eyes.
Reese finally found his footing. With a grunt of pain, he moved over towards where Dinah was crouched. He bent down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said.
He dropped his eyes and followed her gaze, as she looked upon the corpse of a young man, no more than twenty, who was lying in a gory pool of his own blood.
She shook her head. "Sometimes I hate this job."
"Okay, let's go back a few weeks. Let's go back to the day before you were kidnapped. What do you remember?" Barbara prompted. She was leaning forward in her chair, gazing directly into the wide blue eyes of her young charge.
"When?" Helena drawled, sounding almost drugged. She had placed Helena into a very light trance so that she could just access the very top layer of the girls' mind. Going any deeper would be hazardous to everyone's health and mental well-being.
"Let's go over the full day. From when you woke up until when you went to bed."
"I woke up at my apartment. I showered. I broke my nozzle again. Soaked my bathroom. Leonard's gonna be pissed."
Barbara smiled. "Okay, about what time was that?"
"Noon."
"That's about right," Barbara said dryly. "Okay, then what did you do?"
"I went to the Clocktower to check in. You were already at school and so was Dinah. So I went over to check out all of the activity logs."
"Why?"
"I wanted to see what was going on that you weren't going to tell me," Helena replied. Her voice sounded so drugged and out of it, a side effect of the hypnosis.
Barbara considered scolding Helena for her intrusion but decided that it was pointless. Especially in a hypnotic state. That said, it did pass her mind to plant a suggestion that would keep Huntress out of her files. Reluctantly she decided against it. It probably wasn't the best idea in the world to add to Helena's mental issues.
"Okay. How long did you stay there?"
"I had Alfred make lunch for me. I stayed until about three and then I went to see Dr. Quinzell."
"Scheduled appointment?"
"No. My usual appointment would have been on the following day but she called to say that she had a conference to go then and that she had a spot for me if I would like to come in immediately. There was nothing else going on so I said sure."
"Okay," Barbara said thoughtfully. She had never pressed Helena about what she talked about in her counseling sessions no matter her curiosity. She was extremely hesitant to start doing so now. "Did anything strange happen there?"
"I don't remember," Helena replied, eyes still staring straight forward.
Barbara blinked. "What do you mean you don't remember?"
"I walked in and sat down. She told me were going to try a relaxation method. I must have dozed off. When I woke up, she told me the hour was over."
"That's odd. She just let you sleep?"
"Yes. I just slept. That's all, I slept."
Barbara frowned and looked up at Alfred who had entered the room. She wheeled over to him and then the two of them moved out of the room. "That sounds strange, right?"
"Indeed," Alfred admitted. "Miss Dinah just called in. She and Detective Reese are on their way back."
"I take it they were successful?"
"They didn't provide details. She just asked that I have medical supplies ready."
"Great," Barbara said with a sigh. She ran her fingers through her hair. "Something feels wrong here. Dr. Quinzell goes out of her way to call Helena in for a session and then lets her sleep through it? Am I being too suspicious?"
"Trust your gut," Alfred advised. "It rarely leads you wrong."
She squeezed his forearm. "Tell me when they get back."
"Yes, of course," he said, before turning away. She watched him for a moment and then turned and went back to Helena's side.
"Okay. After you left Dr. Quinzell, where did you go?"
"I went to No Man's Land for a drink. Then I went back to the Clocktower."
"That was about eight?"
"Yes."
"And you stayed until almost eleven?"
"Yes."
"And then?"
"And then I went hunting."
"Then you went home?"
"No. I bumped into Reese. We made a date for coffee for the next day."
"All work and no play I see," Barbara quipped. "Okay. Was that about the time I contacted you?"
"Yes."
"And then you went home?"
"Yes."
"Did you go straight to bed?"
"Yes."
Barbara made a face. "Did you clean out your wounds first?"
"No."
She could swear that Helena was almost smiling. She suppressed an urge to lightly slap the girls' arm. "Okay, I want you to focus. Try to recall what happened during your counseling session. Did anything seem strange or off to you?"
Helena paused for a long moment and then she said, "I slept. That's all. I slept."
Barbara frowned. "Okay Helena, on the count of three I want you to return to the waking world. Any suggestions you have in your mind should be ignored."
"Okay."
"One. Two. Three."
Helena blinked and then yawned. "My back," she said suddenly, grimacing in pain.
"Your back?"
"Ow. It hurts."
Barbara moved to her side and gently pushed her forward. She lifted up the back of her shirt and examined Helena's olive colored skin. "Now that's odd."
"I don't like that," Helena muttered as she felt Barbara running her hands over her back. They were so soft and warm.
"You have what looks like an injection hole on your back. It's very faint."
"Uh, why?" Helena asked, a bit of fear and a lot of anger in her voice. She was getting mighty sick and tired of being screwed around with.
"I don't know," Barbara admitted as she ran a nail over the tiny indent that was located just at the base of Helena's spine. "Stay here."
"Not moving very far these days," Helena replied dryly. "Can I sit back?"
"No, not yet," Barbara said as she wheeled out of the room.
"Great," Helena muttered. She stared down at the leather of the recliner she was sitting in and made note of the cross patterns. It occurred to her that it wasn't real leather. "Nice Barb."
"Okay," Barbara said as she re-entered the room.
"Whoa! Whoa! Hell no!"
"It won't hurt much," Barbara insisted as she lifted up a long metal needle. "I just need to see if there is any residual fluid inside of the wound. It could tell us if something was injected or removed."
"There isn't another way?" Helena asked desperately, shrinking away from the oversized needle.
"No," Barbara said firmly. "Now stop being a baby and hold still. We're lucky this is even here after almost four weeks."
"Wait. What?"
"Hold on," Barbara said as she inserted the needle into the small hole. Helena hissed in pain and then fully cried out. She made several loud gagging noises and then rolled forward into Oracle's arms. "Helena?"
"Fuck that hurts."
Barbara wrinkled her brow. Helena was typically very tough so it was unlikely that she was complaining about a simple needle prick. Even an especially invasive one. Barbara backed up a few inches and then examined the wound. Then she whistled. "Wow."
"Ugh."
"You're okay," Barbara reassured her. "I think some type of drug was inserted into your brain stem." She continued to gaze down at the large spot of red swelling that had appeared around the now disturbed wound.
"Great. Lovely. Can you make my back stop exploding?"
"Right," Barbara said. She took another needle out of the bag she had brought into the room and injected it into Helena's arm. Huntress tossed her an angry look but then sighed.
"Okay, first, you ever stick me with anything ever again, I'll kill you..."
"I'd like to see you try," Barbara replied dryly, her eyes already locked on whatever sample she had taken. There was a faint cream colored substance clinging to the walls of the needle she was holding.
"Second, thank you. That feels much better."
"Good. Hang out; I want to run this through all the computers. See what we're dealing with."
"Hanging," Helena reassured her. She dropped her head back against the rest. "Can you turn the TV on though? I'm missing Springer."
"Sure," Barbara said absently. "But it'll rot your brain."
"Barb?"
"What?"
"No commentary, huh? Just turn the TV on."
"Oh sure. Sorry." She reached across and snapped the twenty-five inch television on and then beat a hasty retreat towards her lab, her mind already spinning with possibilities.
END CHAPTER 2
"Same creature?" Barbara asked, bringing up the police reports. She frowned. "Same creature."
"Is it real?" Reese said suddenly. "I mean didn't the Joker tell Helena that she had created it?" He shook his head. "Of course it's real; I saw the body of the guy it maimed."
"I think the Joker was just trying to make Helena question reality," Barbara put in. "Because this thing is definitely real."
"So can we stop it with bullets?"
She nodded slowly. "Yes." She turned towards him. "I ran one of the blood samples that we were able to get off one of his victims. He's not a meta but he is a mutate. Like a wolf and a man."
"Like a werewolf? I mean are we going to need silver bullets?"
"Possibly," she said, sounding skeptical. "However whatever he is, one of his powers isn't a protective shield of any type. He's primarily a hunter but his skin is soft and vulnerable to attack. And by the by, silver bullets are just a bad myth. If you shoot it in the heart, it's still dead."
"Thanks for the Brothers Grimm update. Okay then, so I go get him," Reese said. He reached across to the table where he had placed his holster. He had taken it off as a sign of respect to Barbara who hadn't seemed terribly fond of the weapon. And considering what had happened to her, well then that certainly made sense.
"I'm coming with you," Dinah said. She leapt to her feet. She felt the need to move, to get her blood pumping again. Being so close to all of the pain and fear circulating around in the Clocktower was making her feel like four walls were moving in on her.
Reese looked up and shook his head. "No, you need to be here with Helena in case she needs you."
"There's nothing else I can do," Dinah replied with more than a hint of bitter sadness, She looked at Barbara. "Right? Either the wall works or it doesn't."
"That's true," Barbara admitted. She locked eyes with Dinah and offered her an understanding look. She could see the confusion creased into the blonde's brow.
"Well don't you need her for the hypnosis?"
"Careful Detective or I'd think you don't want me around," Dinah said dryly.
"No," he said quickly. "That's not it. I just..."
"And we will," Barbara said softly. "But you're still wounded and really in no condition to be taking on this thing by yourself. Accept the help, Reese." She shook her head. "You and Helena are more similar than you might like to admit. Both too stubborn for your own damn good."
He sighed and blew out air between his teeth. "Fine."
Dinah smiled. "Then it's settled then."
"Hey wait though," Reese said suddenly. "So you don't you need her for the hypnosis then? At all?"
"No," Barbara said. "I can do that part. That's more method than it is mind. I've done it before."
Dinah lifted an eyebrow. "Sounds like another interesting story. I'm keeping track."
"So am I," Reese put in dryly. Then he glanced at Dinah. "Okay then, saddle up."
"Ready to rock," she answered.
"Good luck you two," Barbara said softly. "And hopefully by the time you get back, I'll have some answers."
"Does that mean you'll be off comm?" Dinah asked, a slight edge of panic in her voice.
"I'll have you on the speakers but I won't be in the control room so if something happens, Alfred will have to alert me. I need perfect silence. Any distraction could keep Helena from settling into the right state. And God knows it's already difficult enough."
"Nothing will happen," Reese reassured her. He reached out and touched Dinah's elbow. "Come on."
Dinah nodded at him and then followed him out the door. Barbara dropped her head. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Be careful," she whispered into the cool air of the room. "God, be careful."
Alex Tzechovia was the kind of guy who liked to dance in front of his mirror. He was thirty-three and perpetually single but he enjoyed the time that he spent talking to his friends on the computer and playing the game he affectionately called Evercrack. The people who had created it called it Everquest but it was all really just the same thing. Hours spent in front of his P4 trying to get even cooler weapons and more impressive powers.
Alex also liked to sing. The fact that he was rather hideous at it was simply no deterrent. He would gaze into his bathroom mirror for a long minute, envisioning himself as some sort of music god and then he would break wildly into song. He was a big fan of Ricky Martin so swishing his butt around was also a necessity.
However on the night in which he looked into the mirror and saw the bloodied muzzle of the ugliest creature he had ever laid eyes on starring back at him, he swore to give up music.
And then he screamed.
The creature lunged at him and managed to catch the tale of his shirt. It stretched the white fabric until it ripped and sent Alex spinning to the ground. He turned and starred up into the inhuman eyes of the monster.
"Please, no," he said, shaking. His mind whirled as he tried to remember if he had any weapons in his apartment.
The creature lurched forward, its jaws wide open and dripping saliva.
And then he heard three gunshots. Bang. Bang. Bang. One right after another. He sealed his eyelids together and waited for the end. When after almost a minute all he heard was silence, he finally opened his eyes.
"Hello?" he said weakly, looking up and into the eyes of the dark man who was holding a gun.
"Detective Reese," the man said, extending a hand. "Gotham PD." He pointed to the blonde next to him. "This is Dinah." He noticed that the door to his apartment was swinging wide open behind the new twosome.
"Is it dead?" Alex asked, staring at the furry body on the ground. His eyes lit briefly on the blonde standing next to the cop and he frowned, wondering why a civilian had been brought to a crime scene. The thought was fleeting however as his fear retook him.
"Yes, I think so," Reese replied, following his gaze. Dinah moved off and started to gaze into rooms, like she was looking for some type of clue as to why the creature had attacked this man.
"How? How did you know and what the hell is that thing?" Alex asked. Then he tilted his head. "Am I even awake?" He pinched himself hard and then squealed at the pain.
"Yes," Reese said with a chuckle. "I saw it enter your window. You really should shut it at night. New Gotham is not always the safest of places."
Alex nodded. "Getting that." He stared down at the body. "Uh, Detective?"
"Yeah?" Reese asked, looking around the apartment. He was taking in all of the action figures and models that were scattered about. This guy was serious nerd material. He smiled a bit when he saw several discarded empty pizza boxes.
"I think it's moving," Alex said, moving behind Reese.
"Reese!" Dinah screamed suddenly.
He turned and felt the creature barrel into his chest. One of its long talons tore through his shirt and took a large hunk of flesh from his abdomen. He cried out in pain and tried to shove it off. The creature, obviously very hurt, continued to tear. He felt it cut towards his stitches. The doctors were going to be very pissed and so much for getting back on duty anytime soon.
"Little help here," Reese called out, just barely dodging a blow that would have likely decapitated him. "Good God, fuck this hurts." He hissed in pain and then reached up to try to put his hands around the things' throat. All he felt was a tangle of sticky fur.
"I'm trying," Dinah exclaimed, her voice shaky. Her eyes were wide open and she was staring directly at the creature, trying to muster up her powers. A moment later, the monster was thrown into the glass mirror. It howled and then collapsed again. She blinked, suddenly very afraid of the force of the powers within her. They had grown so strong so quickly. It felt fantastic but it also terrified her. She wondered idly if Helena felt the same way about her powers.
Reese pushed himself to his feet, both his chest and his face torn up. Blood streaked down him and was pooling around his leather boots. He reached down and picked up the service pistol that had been knocked from his hand when he had been attacked. He checked the bullets to make sure they were still in place. Each of them was gleaming brightly. A shiny perfect silver.
"What the hell is it?" Reese asked, moving towards it.
The creature was on the ground, howling in agony. It looked up at Reese and the young cop searched its eyes for humanity. All he saw was pain. And fear. God, so much of that.
"Werewolves aren't real, right?" he asked suddenly. His brow creased as he stared at the creature. Something tickled his mind and refused to let go.
Dinah shrugged. "You'd have to ask Barbara."
"I did. She said she didn't think they were." He paused for a moment. "Can you save one? I mean, make it human again?"
The creature lunged forward and grabbed at him, its jaws wide. Reese fired three times and then fell backwards, bowled over by the strength of the attack. He cursed as he hit the ground with a loud thud. His side exploded in agony and he felt the rest of the stitches break open.
"Oh Reese," Dinah said, sadness in her voice.
"What?" he asked, still staring up at the ceiling. He hissed in pain as he tried to move.
"He's dead now," Dinah told him. She moved over to the corpse and turned the body over. "And no, apparently you can't save one." She reached out and ran her fingers over its eyes.
Reese finally found his footing. With a grunt of pain, he moved over towards where Dinah was crouched. He bent down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said.
He dropped his eyes and followed her gaze, as she looked upon the corpse of a young man, no more than twenty, who was lying in a gory pool of his own blood.
She shook her head. "Sometimes I hate this job."
"Okay, let's go back a few weeks. Let's go back to the day before you were kidnapped. What do you remember?" Barbara prompted. She was leaning forward in her chair, gazing directly into the wide blue eyes of her young charge.
"When?" Helena drawled, sounding almost drugged. She had placed Helena into a very light trance so that she could just access the very top layer of the girls' mind. Going any deeper would be hazardous to everyone's health and mental well-being.
"Let's go over the full day. From when you woke up until when you went to bed."
"I woke up at my apartment. I showered. I broke my nozzle again. Soaked my bathroom. Leonard's gonna be pissed."
Barbara smiled. "Okay, about what time was that?"
"Noon."
"That's about right," Barbara said dryly. "Okay, then what did you do?"
"I went to the Clocktower to check in. You were already at school and so was Dinah. So I went over to check out all of the activity logs."
"Why?"
"I wanted to see what was going on that you weren't going to tell me," Helena replied. Her voice sounded so drugged and out of it, a side effect of the hypnosis.
Barbara considered scolding Helena for her intrusion but decided that it was pointless. Especially in a hypnotic state. That said, it did pass her mind to plant a suggestion that would keep Huntress out of her files. Reluctantly she decided against it. It probably wasn't the best idea in the world to add to Helena's mental issues.
"Okay. How long did you stay there?"
"I had Alfred make lunch for me. I stayed until about three and then I went to see Dr. Quinzell."
"Scheduled appointment?"
"No. My usual appointment would have been on the following day but she called to say that she had a conference to go then and that she had a spot for me if I would like to come in immediately. There was nothing else going on so I said sure."
"Okay," Barbara said thoughtfully. She had never pressed Helena about what she talked about in her counseling sessions no matter her curiosity. She was extremely hesitant to start doing so now. "Did anything strange happen there?"
"I don't remember," Helena replied, eyes still staring straight forward.
Barbara blinked. "What do you mean you don't remember?"
"I walked in and sat down. She told me were going to try a relaxation method. I must have dozed off. When I woke up, she told me the hour was over."
"That's odd. She just let you sleep?"
"Yes. I just slept. That's all, I slept."
Barbara frowned and looked up at Alfred who had entered the room. She wheeled over to him and then the two of them moved out of the room. "That sounds strange, right?"
"Indeed," Alfred admitted. "Miss Dinah just called in. She and Detective Reese are on their way back."
"I take it they were successful?"
"They didn't provide details. She just asked that I have medical supplies ready."
"Great," Barbara said with a sigh. She ran her fingers through her hair. "Something feels wrong here. Dr. Quinzell goes out of her way to call Helena in for a session and then lets her sleep through it? Am I being too suspicious?"
"Trust your gut," Alfred advised. "It rarely leads you wrong."
She squeezed his forearm. "Tell me when they get back."
"Yes, of course," he said, before turning away. She watched him for a moment and then turned and went back to Helena's side.
"Okay. After you left Dr. Quinzell, where did you go?"
"I went to No Man's Land for a drink. Then I went back to the Clocktower."
"That was about eight?"
"Yes."
"And you stayed until almost eleven?"
"Yes."
"And then?"
"And then I went hunting."
"Then you went home?"
"No. I bumped into Reese. We made a date for coffee for the next day."
"All work and no play I see," Barbara quipped. "Okay. Was that about the time I contacted you?"
"Yes."
"And then you went home?"
"Yes."
"Did you go straight to bed?"
"Yes."
Barbara made a face. "Did you clean out your wounds first?"
"No."
She could swear that Helena was almost smiling. She suppressed an urge to lightly slap the girls' arm. "Okay, I want you to focus. Try to recall what happened during your counseling session. Did anything seem strange or off to you?"
Helena paused for a long moment and then she said, "I slept. That's all. I slept."
Barbara frowned. "Okay Helena, on the count of three I want you to return to the waking world. Any suggestions you have in your mind should be ignored."
"Okay."
"One. Two. Three."
Helena blinked and then yawned. "My back," she said suddenly, grimacing in pain.
"Your back?"
"Ow. It hurts."
Barbara moved to her side and gently pushed her forward. She lifted up the back of her shirt and examined Helena's olive colored skin. "Now that's odd."
"I don't like that," Helena muttered as she felt Barbara running her hands over her back. They were so soft and warm.
"You have what looks like an injection hole on your back. It's very faint."
"Uh, why?" Helena asked, a bit of fear and a lot of anger in her voice. She was getting mighty sick and tired of being screwed around with.
"I don't know," Barbara admitted as she ran a nail over the tiny indent that was located just at the base of Helena's spine. "Stay here."
"Not moving very far these days," Helena replied dryly. "Can I sit back?"
"No, not yet," Barbara said as she wheeled out of the room.
"Great," Helena muttered. She stared down at the leather of the recliner she was sitting in and made note of the cross patterns. It occurred to her that it wasn't real leather. "Nice Barb."
"Okay," Barbara said as she re-entered the room.
"Whoa! Whoa! Hell no!"
"It won't hurt much," Barbara insisted as she lifted up a long metal needle. "I just need to see if there is any residual fluid inside of the wound. It could tell us if something was injected or removed."
"There isn't another way?" Helena asked desperately, shrinking away from the oversized needle.
"No," Barbara said firmly. "Now stop being a baby and hold still. We're lucky this is even here after almost four weeks."
"Wait. What?"
"Hold on," Barbara said as she inserted the needle into the small hole. Helena hissed in pain and then fully cried out. She made several loud gagging noises and then rolled forward into Oracle's arms. "Helena?"
"Fuck that hurts."
Barbara wrinkled her brow. Helena was typically very tough so it was unlikely that she was complaining about a simple needle prick. Even an especially invasive one. Barbara backed up a few inches and then examined the wound. Then she whistled. "Wow."
"Ugh."
"You're okay," Barbara reassured her. "I think some type of drug was inserted into your brain stem." She continued to gaze down at the large spot of red swelling that had appeared around the now disturbed wound.
"Great. Lovely. Can you make my back stop exploding?"
"Right," Barbara said. She took another needle out of the bag she had brought into the room and injected it into Helena's arm. Huntress tossed her an angry look but then sighed.
"Okay, first, you ever stick me with anything ever again, I'll kill you..."
"I'd like to see you try," Barbara replied dryly, her eyes already locked on whatever sample she had taken. There was a faint cream colored substance clinging to the walls of the needle she was holding.
"Second, thank you. That feels much better."
"Good. Hang out; I want to run this through all the computers. See what we're dealing with."
"Hanging," Helena reassured her. She dropped her head back against the rest. "Can you turn the TV on though? I'm missing Springer."
"Sure," Barbara said absently. "But it'll rot your brain."
"Barb?"
"What?"
"No commentary, huh? Just turn the TV on."
"Oh sure. Sorry." She reached across and snapped the twenty-five inch television on and then beat a hasty retreat towards her lab, her mind already spinning with possibilities.
END CHAPTER 2