Chapter 9: Confusion
A/N I wish to tell you had major insecurities about this chapter.... For your sake I sent it to Zako who told me to post it or else...well coming from her that's a dangerous thing (don't even try and deny it Z) So here it is and all responses are welcome.....and if you don't notice it italics are thoughts.....
Arrendi
Disclaimer: Ahh hell I don't own them k?
"Who the hell are you?" asked one of the gangsters shooting up from his chair.
"I would ask the same of you, but it would waste valuable time." Said Katarina politely and sent the man flying backward without another thought.
"Get her!" another gangster yelled. Katarina smiled, for some odd reason she was feeling particularly devilish and extraordinarily energized, and slightly silly as well.
"To use powers, or not to use powers, that is the question." She sighed "To use!"
A gangster charged her but found himself trying to run on ice instead and when he fell a convenient box knocked him unconscious. Another gangster gave her a try and snuck up behind her to find himself hanging by his ankles from the ceiling, and his pants left upon the ground. By this time Katarina was laughing so hard she was crying at the gangsters sad attempts to injure her, but one gangster actually thought logically about the fight and held up a small silver cross, probably stolen. Katarina just began to laugh harder and actually fell to her knees because she couldn't breath right.
"Do I..." she gasped briefly trying to get a hold of herself "Look like a vampire to you?"
With that she swung her legs out and performed a rapid kick to the mans ankles and brought him to the ground. A shadow soon passed over head making the girl briefly look up. What she saw was a very large bat. Smiling Katarina faded into thin air leaving the gangsters to fend for themselves.
On the street outside Katarina appeared behind a trashcan and entered the back door of a store. At the counter she inquired about where she was, what time it was, and how far it was to Jump City.
The clerk looked at the oddly clad girl and said "Your in Gothem, it's about midnight, and it's about a hundred miles to Jump City."
"Thank you." Katarina said politely and walked out the door. Outside the small shop she slumped down against a wall. A hundred miles was too far to hitch a ride, and she knew that she was lacking of energy to do a jump that far. She was confused about the odd situation that had occurred and wondered what she had actually seen on the roof of the gangsters surrounding company. A big bat, what had Pitro called Robin's mentor again? Batman. The name made Katarina smile; surely he would help her get back to Jump City. A roaring noise spooked Katarina, and soon after a black car shot out of the alley from which she had just come. Katarina recognized the car from a picture at Titans Tower, and headed after it. After twenty minutes of fallowing the racing automobile, Katarina finally watched it disappear into brush in the woods.
Great! There isn't a house for miles is there? I just returned from Hell, and I am lost, cold, alone, and the one person I am mad for is probably beating the crap out of himself because I am quote on quote dead!
Katarina looked up and down the road trying to spot some kind of intelligent life. The only thing she saw was an ornate mailbox of wrought iron attached to a brick column. Why anyone would put that there, she hadn't a clue, unless it was like a back entrance.
Geeze Katarina get a little stupider and you can trip over yourself!
Katarina walked towards the mailbox only to be greeted by a sleek black antique car pulling out the driveway. The car came to a slow stop and the window rolled down to reveal a handsome man in his early thirties.
"May I help you? It's awful late to be running around alone out here." He said in a low smooth voice.
"I was fallowing Batman, I am a friend of his apprentices, but he disappeared and I need to get to Jump City." Katarina said, and then mentally kicked herself for being so revealing to a total stranger. The man smiled and said "Hop in I think I can help."
The car turned around and they headed back down the long winding driveway. In the front seat sat an elderly butler dressed in a black suit with white hair, and big glasses. Katarina noticed that the road twisted and turned as to block out the steadily more obvious mansion.
"You say you are a friend of Robin's?" the handsome man in the seat next to her inquired.
"Yes, I recently met him and we became quite close."
"Really? The only friends I was aware he had that he had met recently died recently as well." The man said "By the way you may call me Bruce."
"Well Bruce, I was dead but I am also a demon, and by the way my name is Katarina Cristo but you can call me Kat." Kat said in an even, but controlling voice.
"Your more open now then you were five minutes ago." Bruce said stepping out of the car and holding the door open for Katarina.
"I can read your mind Bruce, or shall I call you Bats?" she said smiling.
"It's too late to get you back to Jump City now, the Titans will have locked up, but you can call from downstairs." Bruce said in his even tone.
"Downstairs?" Kat said a little confused by the hero's statement "You have a telephone in the basement?"
"Fallow me Miss." came a thick British accent "I think you would much rather take my way then his."
The butler led the girl to a large silver closet where he pressed down on a silver button located in among the tea set. The silver closet swung aside to reveal a dark stairway made of stone walls. Silently the butler led Katarina down the stairs and into the biggest underground cavern she had ever seen.
"Whoa!" gasped Katarina looking around. Bruce sat at a large console twenty feet away typing in various codes and numbers. Seconds later Robin appeared on the screen.
"What is it Batman?" Robin asked rather irritated to be awoken from his restless sleeping.
"I found a friend of yours wondering around near the back gate. She wanted to come home, but I thought it was little late for that." Bruce answered in a gravely tone of command.
"Robin go back to bed I'll talk to you in the morning." came Katarina's clear sweet voice.
"Is that..... It's impossible! She's dead." Robin said his mouth agape.
"That's what I thought, but apparently she's not."
"Robin..." Kat whispered coming up to behind Bruce's shoulder "Go back to bed. You need sleep."
Her tone had softened considerably, and her face was creased with worry. Robin looked worse then she did, and that was saying something since she still had the bruises and cuts inflicted upon her by her family. Katarina felt a little funny, she was having all sorts of mood swings, but now her concern for Robin took over.
"Demy's in your head even though she's gone to Hell. You need to get her out; you have to fight her on it." Katarina said wishing she could caress the teen boy's cheek "Try to sleep, the team needs you."
Robin tried to say something but Katarina took a wild guess and punched a button to turn off the screen. Bruce smiled at her, a rare occurrence, and stood up to leave.
"You can stay the night here, and in the morning we'll take you back to Jump City."
"Thank you for the hospitality Mr. Wayne. I appreciate it." Katarina said sincerely "And forgive my erratic behavior, I think I might need a little meditation."
"After coming back from Hell Miss, I'd think you'd need a good bath and some relaxing tea." came the heavy British accent of the butler.
"Tea is an excellent idea Alfred and the bath too. You look as if you could do with some first aid." Bruce added.
Katarina blushed "Mmmm the family reunion didn't go so well."
With that Bruce, Katarina, and Alfred headed up the stairs to the main house. Far away in Jump City however, trouble was brewing. Two criminal master minds were meeting to discuss the downfall of the Titans.
