Ohhh... thanks so much for your post. IM glad you are enjoying this little Helena Kyle as me..... Thankyou Thankyou, thankyou....

Facing my fears

Barbara woke up, dizzy, she half opened her eyes. Helena had her head resting on her shoulder and her left arm around her neck; she smiled and kissed her forehead. She moved her arm gently and stood up. She walked toward the bathroom and opened the door, she stepped in and, suddenly, she found herself in the street.

A cold wind was in the air; She looked around, where was she? It seemed to be a deserted street, she didn't like it, she wanted to step back, but she turned and found a brick wall.

"Hi, Batgirl."

She looked behind her, Voodoo was there; she looked at herself, she was dressed as Batgirl. "I'm dreaming again," she said to herself, "I'm dreaming."

He threw a knife and she moved in time, but the blade scratched her arm. He threw another knife and she rolled to avoid it; she moved her hand to her waist and taking her batarang, she threw it at Voodoo, who ducked and avoided the impact..

"How do you feel, Lady of the Bats? Want to finish with all of this?" he laughed.

"What do you want?" Barbara growled, annoyed.

"I want you." He ran inside a large, very old building.

She raised her eyes and observed the building, it was grey and all the windows were covered with pieces of wood; it looked abandoned and was really odd. It was surrounded by other similar, but smaller, buildings. Newspaper blew down the empty street. She looked around, there was a sign on the wall: "Madison street."

She needed to face him and stop the madness. She went toward the building, her fists in balls.

"Barbara?"

She heard Helena's voice and looked up.

"Barbara?"

"Helena?" She tried to figure out from where the voice came.

"Barbara, wake up," Helena said.

Everything around her turned blurry, she blinked.

"Barbara." She heard Helena's voice again in the shadows.

She shook her head and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw were Helena's strange cat eyes shining in the darkness over her.

"Barbara, wake up." The child shook her shoulder gently with her hand.

The red head was sweating. "I'm okay..." she mumbled rubbing her temples.

"You were having a nightmare, you moved like crazy..." The kid moved to a side.

"Me?" Barbara sat up slowly and turned on the night lamp. "Im sorry..."

"Are you okay?" the kid asked.

"Yes, yes... it was just a bad dream"

Helena looked at her arm and touched it with her index finger; she looked at it. "You are bleeding."

"Uhhh?" She turned her head and saw her finger; she looked down at her arm and saw a thread of blood on it. She opened her eyes wide and touched it, it was a wound. "Damn..."

"What happened to you?" the kid said.

"I must have scratched myself." Barbara said, stunned, and stood up. "I'll clean it."

She went to the bathroom and closed the door. She turned on the cold water in the sink and washed her face. That couldn't have been a dream. She looked at her arm, the cut was made by a blade. She recognized it. What the hell was happening? Voodoo was challenging her?

She lowered her head and closed her eyes.

"What happened to you last night?" Selina poured coffee in Barbara's mug at the kitchen table. She had taken Helena to school and had returned to have breakfast with the red head at her home.

"A nightmare... nothing important," the red head said; she was still dressed in her pajamas and opened the newspaper.

Selina watched her with the coffee pot in her hand. She put it on the stove and rested her back on the counter crossing her arms. "May I see your arm?" she asked.

"Pardon?"

"May I see your arm?"

"Why?"

"Just curious. When I took Helena to school, she told me you had a cut on your arm after she woke you from a nightmare."

Barbara closed the newspaper and, in a bad mood, she pushed her sleeve up. Selina saw a small bandage on it.

"So, it's not a scratch," the blonde said, worried. She sat next to her and fixed her eyes on her.

"No, it's not a scratch," the red head removed the bandage. "It's a cut made by a blade. A knife blade."

That was clearly a knife wound, Selina glared at her. "How? You?"

"No, him... In my dream he threw a knife at me that scratched my arm. The scratch is this. The dream was not just a dream. I need to get out of here."

"Why?"

"He could try to hurt you or Helena." Barbara couldn't hide the annoyance on her face.

"No, you stay here until we know what the hell is happening." Selina said with a firm voice.

"Selina, you..." Barbara sighed.

"I know what this is about," the blonde interrupted "I worked many years on the bad side, remember? I know how many of these guys think. And from the profile that you gave me, he is trying to make you to commit suicide. Don't ask me to leave you alone now."

"Selina, this is my case. This is my problem."

"And you are my friend."

Barbara raised her head. She could read the determination on Selina's face. She closed her eyes and moved her hands through her hair.

"Let me help you," the older woman said.

"You can't." Barbara mumbled.

"I can, just let me help you." Selina took her hand "Barbara, you are young, smart and very mature for your age; strong, but impetuous and impulsive. Sometimes you have to stop. I can't tell you what to do or not, but I have more experience, take it and don't play with your life. Please. You are physically exhausted. You need to recover before trying to face him again."

Barbara bit her lip and nodded.

Barbara lay on the couch in the living room, watching a movie while Helena drew distractedly on the floor. She had decided to follow Selina's advice and stay there another day. She still felt tired and sleepy. She had slept almost all day, but in all her dreams that old building appeared. The image was on her mind and she tries to figure out what it meant.

Her eyes fixed on a piece of blank paper on the table. She sat up and took it, her eyes scanned the floor and she picked up three colors. She began to draw on the paper.

Selina finished some appointments and arrived at her home. It was a cold night. The weather channel had announced a big snow storm that weekend. She hoped Barbara would be calmer after the pills that she had given to her. She was really nervous about the Voodoo guy and after reading the files, she even more worried.

"I'm home," Selina said, putting her coat on a chair.

"I'm in here!" Helena said.

Selina walked inside the living room, her child was drawing on the table, her colored pencils were everywhere, the television was on, and an empty plate with pieces of pop tart next to her. "I see you had fun."

"The teacher told us to draw a map of the United States, with the capital cities in red," Helena explained.

"Oh, I see," Selina sat next to her looking at the map. "You are doing it well."

"Looks like the United States?" The kid raised the paper.

Selina blinked and took it between her hands, she examined it a few seconds. "Yes, yes, look like the United States."

Helena glared at her. "Mom, it's upside down!"

Selina laughed and gave her a kiss on her head. "I know, I'm joking."

"Funny, very funny."

"Where is Barbara?"

"She went out." Helena took a red pencil.

"What?"

"She was drawing all afternoon with me and, suddenly, she said she needed to go," the kid answered, distracted with her homework.

"Drawing?" Selina frowned.

"A house...all afternoon the same house. Don't tell her," Helena looked at her mother, "but it was an ugly house."

"What house?"

"I asked her, she told me she saw it in her dreams."

"Show it to me." Selina began to feel really worried.

Helena looked around and moved her hand down the table, she looked between the papers and took some of them. She gave them to her mother.

The blonde took them and examined the papers. There were more than ten drawings, as Helena said, the same building in several sizes, but with the same colors; the walls were grey and the windows brown, with a broken sign at the entrance that was over a wood door. The word "Madison" was written around it many times, too. "What the hell?" she thought feeling a chill on her back. The final paper had an inscription: "Madison Street" She remembered, Madison Street was in a zone that was going to be rebuilt to construct a commercial center. It was closed.

"Helena, tell me, what time she go out?" she asked.

"Thirty minutes ago, I think."

Selina stood up and went toward her bedroom. "I'll be right back, honey."

The kid nodded. Selina closed the door to her room and took the phone. She pressed the buttons and bit her lip. After a few seconds she heard a familiar voice.

"Hi, it's me, Selina." She looked at the drawings that Barbara made. "You know I don't like to bother you, but I really need your help, it's an emergency."