Disclaimer:
The characters herein contained are the property of Warner Brothers,
Tollin-Robbins Productions, and DC Comics.
Author's Note:
This is the very first fan fic I ever wrote. Hope you enjoy.
And now…
Power Outage
"I should be out there," Helena Kyle complained gruffly as she stood looking out over the city. She was in a particularly foul mood and really needed someone to hit.
Barbara Gordon turned away from the computer console that she had been studying to regard the other woman.
Helena was in full Huntress mode, dressed from head to toe in black leather. Her hands were stuffed inside the pockets of her floor length duster as she stared out the glass doors that lead to the balcony. Unable to stand still, she bounced lightly on the balls of her feet to release some of her pent up energy.
Barbara sighed. "Relax, Helena."
The younger woman made an irritated noise low in her throat.
"Trust me," Barbara continued. "No one is going to be out in that storm tonight. Not even crime lords and super villains." As if to accentuate her point, a huge bolt of lightning lit up the sky, illuminating the New Gotham skyline while its accompanying thunderclap roared deafeningly overhead. Sheets of rain drenched the city streets below. "The National Weather Service is issuing a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for the entire state until 8:00 A.M. tomorrow morning. It looks like Huntress is off duty tonight."
"Uhgh," Helena groaned. "What am I supposed to do now?"
Barbara laughed. "Well, you could help me." Barbara laughed again as Helena shot an icy glare in her direction. "Okay! Okay! Forget I mentioned it! Why don't you go take out your aggression on the bag in the training room?"
"The bag's no good, Barbara," Helena whined. "I need something that will hit back."
"Don't look at me. I've been researching the activities of the Montessini family and I think I'm just about to be able to link them to the murder of that City Councilman last week."
Helena sighed in frustration.
"Why don't you go ask Dinah?" Barbara suggested. "But I wouldn't get your hopes up. She's been holed up in her room all week studying for finals. She probably won't agree unless she's ready to take a break."
"Right." Helena dashed up the stairs to the second level, praying that Dinah was sick of studying. She had just about reached Dinah's bedroom door when another bolt of lightning lit up the sky. Thunder shook the entire clocktower and the room was suddenly plunged into total darkness.
"Who turned out the lights?" a voice called just before a body slammed full force into Helena. "Oof. Who's there?" Dinah sounded both frightened and annoyed.
Helena caught the girl by the shoulders, steadying her before she could bump into anything else. "Watch out, Dinah."
"You girls okay up there?" Barbara called.
"Yeah, we're fine," Helena called back. "We're coming down."
"Um, Helena? I can't see to get down there."
"'S okay, kid," Helena replied, taking Dinah by the hand. "I can." Helena felt her eyes shift, enabling her to see as clearly as if it had been daylight as she slowly lead Dinah to the staircase and down into the clocktower's main room.
Helena squinted as a single beam of light shown directly into her eyes before sliding past. "Delphi's down," Barbara announced.
"Backup generator?" Helena questioned.
"It's down, too. That last bolt must have struck pretty close, if it didn't hit the tower itself."
"It hit the tower?" Dinah didn't like the thought of that.
"It's okay, Dinah. Tall buildings get struck all the time. It usually just knocks out the power for a couple of hours. I'm sure the lights will be back on soon." Barbara turned to Helena. "Hel, would you grab the extra flashlights and candles from the kitchen?"
"No problem." Huntress easily scaled the staircase and reached the second level kitchen. Locating the flashlights and candles, along with some matches, she flung herself over the railing and dropped effortlessly beside Dinah.
"Geez, Helena!" Dinah jumped a mile.
Helena couldn't help but grin. "Sorry."
Barbara took the matches and candles from Helena and wheeled her way into the living room. Helena handed one of the flashlights to Dinah and the followed Barbara, who was now arranging candles on the coffee table.
Helena flopped down on the couch with a groan. "What are we supposed to do now?"
"Well," Barbara drawled, "we could sit down and have a conversation like normal people."
"And talk about what? Boys and makeup?" Helena replied.
"Okay, then. We could play a game."
"That's a great idea," Dinah agreed, enthusiastically. "Let's play Truth or Dare!"
Helena snorted. "No way, Blondie."
"Oh, come on, Helena," Barbara prodded. "It could be fun. Besides, do you have any other suggestions?"
"Fine," Helena conceded with a huff. "I'll play. But only until the lights come back on."
"Goody!" Dinah squealed. "Who wants to go first?"
"I will," Barbara volunteered, smiling as she watched Dinah settle happily in an arm chair. "Dinah. Truth or dare?"
"Um…truth?"
"Are you a natural blonde?"
Dinah giggled. "Yes."
"Just thought I'd start off easy," Barbara answered Helena's questioning look. "Okay, Dinah. Your turn."
"Okay. Um…Barbara. Truth or dare?"
"Truth," Barbara answered, confidently.
"Does Oracle really know everything?"
"No," Barbara admitted without the slightest hesitation. "But don't tell anybody," she added with a wink.
Dinah smiled, triumphantly.
"Okay, I guess that makes it my turn again." Barbara considered her options. "Helena? Truth or dare?"
"Dare." Huntress was far more comfortable with daring right now than she was with truthfulness, even though she knew she was with the two people that she could trust most in the world.
"Great," Barbara replied, as if she had known all along what Helena would choose. She had, in fact, been counting on it. "I dare you to go to the kitchen and get us all something to drink."
"Come on, Barbara. You can think of something a little more challenging than that."
"You didn't let me finish," Barbara scolded, teasingly. "I want you to get us something to drink without using your meta advantages. In fact, I want you to do it blindfolded."
"Oooh," Dinah taunted.
"Still not much of a challenge," Helena pretended to complain. She was actually a little excited. Maybe Barbara was right. Maybe this game would be a fun way to kill time. Enthused, she stood and allowed Barbara to secure the blindfold that she had somehow produced--from where, Helena didn't want to know.
"Okay. Here goes," Helena said as Dinah giggled at the sight of the big, bad Huntress blindfolded and taking baby steps forward with her hand stretched out in form of her face. Barbara couldn't help but chuckle at the sight herself.
It was only a couple of minutes, and a few loud thumps and muffled yelps, later that Helena reappeared with drinks in hand. "Tada!" she announced, ripping off the blindfold and passing out the drinks: a Perrier for Barbara, a ginger ale for Dinah, and a carton of milk for herself.
"Well done, Huntress," Barbara praised, taking the Perrier and further settling into the couch where she had moved from her chair during Helena's quest. "It's your turn," she prompted cocking an eyebrow.
"Wonderful," Helena drawled, settling into the opposite end of the couch. "Okay, kid. You're up. Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
Helena grinned almost evilly. "When was your first kiss?"
Dinah paled slightly, but answered softly, "Two months ago. Matt Kendall." She sighed, knowing that Helena had expected her to say it had been a lot longer ago. "It was different back in Opal," Dinah began to try to explain. "Everyone knew who I was. Nobody wanted to touch the town freak, let alone kiss her."
Helena's eyes softened and her grin faded. "I'm sorry, Dinah. I didn't know."
"It's okay," Dinah answered, her voice cracking slightly. "I'm not the town freak anymore," she finished in a near whisper.
Helena leaned forward and grasped Dinah's hand. "That's right," she agreed earnestly. "You're not a freak."
Dinah met her eyes and smiled a little. "Okay," Dinah laughed slightly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, embarrassed slightly. "I guess that means it's my turn...Barbara. Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"If you weren't a school teacher, what would you be?"
"Ooh. That's a tough one." Barbara paused. "I would probably be a librarian."
Helena snickered.
"Don't laugh, Helena. I have way too many interests to narrow it down to just one. The cool thing about librarians is that they get to be an expert at everything."
"Cool," Dinah commented.
"You have your choice of any occupation in the world, and you would choose to be a librarian?" Helena sounded shocked and mildly disgusted, but Barbara knew it was just an act.
"Fine. Whatever," Barbara pretended to be irritated. "Helena, you go. Truth or dare?"
Helena took a deep breath before answering, "Truth."
"What's your favorite thing about being Meta?"
"The freedom of flying," Helena answered with a shrug, as if the answer were obvious.
"Flying?" Barbara clarified.
"Yeah. You know, that feeling of weightlessness that comes leaping from rooftop to rooftop before crashing to the ground. Flying."
Dinah sighed softly at the image, wondering if she would ever experience anything like that. Barbara too was lost in thought, remembering well the feeling, yet knowing that she would never again experience it.
Dinah broke the extended silence "Excuse me. I'll be right back." she reached for a flashlight and carefully made her way to the downstairs bathroom. When she returned she found that Helena had made another trip to the kitchen, presumably not blindfolded this time. She had brought back another Perrier, a ginger ale, and two more cartons of milk, along with a plate of chocolate chip cookies that Alfred had left for them.
"Thanks, Helena," Dinah said, reaching for a cookie.
"No problem, kid," Helena replied. "Let's see. Before nature called, I believe it was my turn." She studied each of her prospective victims before making her choice. "Barbara. Truth or dare?"
"Dare." An auburn eyebrow arched in a silent challenge.
"I dare you," Helena began slowly, building the suspense, "to chug this milk."
"Oh, come on, Helena," Dinah burst out. "You can come up with something better than that!"
"Actually," Barbara didn't look so confident now, "she can't. She picked the perfect thing. She knows I hate milk."
Dinah was surprised.
"In the hospital, after I was shot," Barbara began to explain, "I had to take a lot of pills. The nurses always gave me milk to take them with. And it was always slightly warm."
"Eeewww."
"Oh, yeah," Helena agreed with another evil grin.
"So, anyway," Barbara continued, glaring at Helena, "I haven't voluntarily drunk milk since."
"Yeah, well, there's no time like the present." Helena unceremoniously dropped one of the cartons of milk onto the table in front of Barbara.
The almighty Oracle shuddered at the thought of what she was about to do.
"Come on, Barbara," Dinah encouraged. "You can do it!"
The redhead smiled slightly as she reached for the carton. Within ten seconds, Barbara had successfully drained the vial liquid. Triumphantly, she slammed the now empty carton down on the coffee table as if she were a frat boy finished chugging beer, not a techno-geek school teacher chugging milk.
"Yay, Barbara!" Dinah cheered, clapping her hands. Even Helena briefly joined in the applause.
"Thank you. Thank you very much."
Dinah almost fell off her chair hearing Oracle's Elvis impression.
"Okay. Okay," Barbara began as soon as they had composed themselves. "It's my turn now. Dinah. Truth or dare?"
"I'm probably going to regret this, but...dare."
"I dare you to take that cookie from Helena."
Helena glanced up, a half-eaten cookie poised at her lips. She glared at the redhead. 'Why does she always have to make me out to be some horrible beast?' she thought. 'You'd think that she, of all people, would be above stereotyping and broad generalizations. But then again, she does know me awfully well.' The thought brought a rueful smile to her lips. 'Guess I'll have to surprise her then.'
Dinah, meanwhile, was debating the best way to launch an attack against the Huntress. Especially when Huntress knew that she was going to do so. Wait a second. Did Helena just wink at her? It has happened so quickly that Dinah thought she must have imagined it. But when it happened again, Dinah had an idea. "Helena, may I please have that cookie?"
"Sure. Why not?" Huntress handed over the cookie with a smile. "There are plenty more where that came from."
"Thanks!" Dinah exclaimed, triumphantly.
"Helena, you never cease to amaze me." High praise from Oracle indeed.
Helena just smiled. "Guess that means it's the kid's turn then."
"Barbara. Truth or dare?"
"I think I'm going to be sticking to truth for a while. I'm guessing dare could get dangerous."
"You've got that right," Helena interjected.
"Okay, truth it is." Dinah paused, her expression serious, her eyes a little worried. "Barbara, can I ask you..." she trailed off.
"You can ask me anything, Dinah." Barbara had been expecting her paralysis to come up sooner or later, and frankly, she had thought it would have been a whole lot sooner.
Dinah cleared her throat. "What do you miss most? I mean about not being able to feel your legs. Besides being able to walk, of course."
Helena was impressed. She had often wondered the same thing, but had never had the courage or the opportunity to ask. But then, they had never played Truth or Dare before.
"I miss a lot of things. It's hard to name just one, but I'd probably say that stretching is among the things I miss most."
"Stretching?"
"There is nothing quite so satisfying as waking up in the morning and stretching every muscle in your body, especially your legs," Barbara explained. "It's not quite the same when your legs don't work." She smiled ruefully at the thought before posing her next challenge. "Helena. Truth or dare?"
"Truth." Helena was feeling a little better about the truth aspect of the game at this point. Barbara and Dinah had both opened up and revealed very personal things about themselves. Maybe Huntress could open up a little too.
"What is your favorite song?"
If ever there were a time to open 'up and share something personal, this was it. Helena swallowed hard, then answered, "' Honestly Love You.' Olivia Newton John."
Dinah's jaw dropped. Barbara's eyebrows practically arched right off her face, but there was something in Helena's voice, something in the earnest, even vulnerable expression on her face, that prevented either of them from making a teasing comment.
Helena felt it was necessary to explain. "It was my mom's favorite son. She used to play it all the time. She even walked around the house singing it. And sometimes, when I couldn't sleep," Helena's voice grew softer as she remembered," she would wrap me in her arms and sing to me until I fell asleep."
A tear slid down Dinah's face at the image.
Barbara spoke first, softly. "You never told me that."
"Yeah, well, we never played Truth or Dare before."
"True."
"Okay. Dinah?"
Dinah wiped her eyes and smiled expectantly at Helena.
"Truth or dare?"
"Truth?"
"Who do you like better, me or Barbara?"
Dinah burst out laughing. "Do I really have to answer that?"
"Rules of the game, kid."
"Okay, fine. I love you both equally." She smiled at Helena, growing serious. "Helena, I look up to you so much. You are the best big sister and friend a girl could ask for. Just being near you makes me feel safe. I want to be as good a superhero as you are. To be as strong, as brave, and as noble as you are. You saved me; you showed me that I wasn't alone in the world. You are my hero and I love you."
Helena had to struggle to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes. That wasn't exactly what she was expecting when she had prompted the question. She managed a shaky smile at Dinah, who continued.
"And Barbara, you took me in when I had no where else to go. You taught me about what I was and showed me what I could be. I owe you so much. I have never met anyone as selfless or as courageous as you are. There is no one in the world like you. You've given me more than I could have ever dreamed. You've given me a home, a family, and a purpose. And you've given me a role model. Not as Batgirl, or as Oracle, but as Barbara Gordon. I want to be like you, Barbara. To have just a little of your wisdom, your selflessness, your strength...that's all I could ever hope to be. I love you, Barbara and I want to say thank you. I'm not sure that I could ever say that enough. Thank you for everything that you are and thank you for everything you do."
Barbara wasn't as successful as Helena at holding back the tears. Nevertheless, she managed to smile at the young blonde. "I love you, too, Dinah."
Dinah's heart swelled. "Okay...before we risk breaking down into a love-fest that would drive Helena insane, I think it's my turn. Helena. Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Have you ever been in love?"
Helena's expression was serious as her eyes focused on some distant point that no one else could see. "No," a tiny smile began to form on her lips. "But I'm starting to believe in the possibility."
Dinah grinned as Helena forced her mind to stop wandering and cleared her throat.
"Barbara, you're up. Truth or dare?"
"Truth." By now, it was obvious that "truth" would be Barbara's standard answer.
"Would you give it all up?" Helena began softly, her heart hammering in her chest at the very idea of asking her mentor the question she was now asking. "Would you give it all up? Batgirl, Oracle, crime fighting, everything if it meant that you would be able to walk again?" Helena's voice was barely more than a whisper as she asked the question she had wondered about for seven years. Instinctively, she knew that Barbara loved what she did, that she believed in their work, but she had always wondered if it was really worth all that Barbara had given up, the sacrifice of her legs, the sacrifice of her personal life, the sacrifice of allowing a broody, self-centered teenager into her life. Would Barbara have given it all up if she could? Would she have changed things? Would she have lived her life differently had she know how things were going to turn out?
"No, Helena," Barbara replied, her voice soft, but earnest. "It wouldn't be worth the trade. I would be giving up too much. I would be giving up myself. I do what I do because it's who I am. Being in this chair doesn't affect why I do what I do. It only affects how I do it. But it wouldn't just be myself that I would be giving up. I would be giving up the two most important people in my life. You and Dinah." Barbara paused and drew a shaky breath. Tears glittered in her emerald eyes. "The two of you mean more to me than anything. Don't think for a minute that I would trade either of you for anything, not even the ability to fly. You are my family and I love you both."
Barbara wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Dinah also had to wipe away tears. A lump the size of a golf ball had formed in Helena's throat. Who knew that Truth or Dare could be so emotional? Silence filled the clocktower as each woman was lost in the revelations the game had provided.
With a sudden click and whirr, the power cam back on as suddenly ash it had shut off and the room was bathed in almost blinding illumination. Helena and Dinah both groaned loudly and covered their eyes.
Barbara laughed. "I guess that's the end of our game."
"That was the deal," Helena reminded her, standing and stretching.
"Well, now that the lights are back on, I'm going to bed." Dinah chuckled at the irony of her own statement. "Thank you both."
"Thank the power company, kid. We didn't have anything to do with it."
"No, not for that. For playing a game that I know you really didn't want to play and for opening up more than you normally do. I know that's hard for you guys. Thank you for letting me see a little bit more of who you really are. I really do love you guys." She hugged Helena hard, a little surprised when Huntress responded in kind. "Goodnight, Helena."
"Night, kid."
"Goodnight, Barbara." Dinah kissed Barbara on the cheek.
"Goodnight, Dinah," Barbara replied, squeezing her hand.
The teenager scampered to her room, closing the door softly behind her.
"Well, I'm going to head off, too," Helena announced. "The storm's died down a lot and I know you're dying to check the Delphi." She bent down and put her arms around the other woman, an unusually tender gesture for the Huntress. "Goodnight, Barbara."
"Goodnight, Helena. Take care of yourself."
With that, Helena Kyle disappeared into the darkness. Oracle wheeled over to the Delphi System to run a systems check. The moment of abnormal normality returning to the routine of their extraordinary daily lives.
The End