Heartbreaker found herself standing at the front door of the Queen residence. As was not surprising, it was raining in Seattle; fortunately, she was kept dry by the front porch. She knocked on the door softly, and was somewhat surprised when the door opened. She immediately recognized Dinah Queen, looking a bit worse for wear. Her eyes had bags under them, and her hair was somewhat disheveled. It looked as if she had not slept in days.
"I'm sorry to bother you, Mrs. Queen. I'm with the Justice League," Heartbreaker said, immediately tapping into her emotional psyche, draining it of almost all emotion. She would need to be lucid, if she was to give Heartbreaker any information as to why Olivia had been targeted.
"Please, come in," she said, standing aside. Heartbreaker entered, noting the warm, somewhat lived-in feeling of the house. On the wall were paintings, and one she noted had Olivia's signature in the corner. "I'm sorry about the mess; I haven't been around very much."
"No need to apologize," Heartbreaker insisted. "I think we should sit down and talk. It's about your daughter."
Her face grew worried, and Heartbreaker was having difficulty keeping a thumb on her emotions. "Olivia? What's wrong?" she asked, as she sat down on the couch.
Heartbreaker sighed, strengthening her control. "Unfortunately, Mrs. Queen, your daughter is dead; at least, for the moment."
"Olivia…what do you mean?"
"Darkseid had kidnapped her." Immediately, Dinah's emotions rocketed almost out of control. She managed to get somewhat of a hold back on them, and continued on. "We mounted a rescue effort, but we failed; he atomized Aidan West, and then your daughter. We suspect he'll reconstitute her once he has a chance, but I needed to ask you; is there anything in Olivia's history that would make him target her?"
Again, there was the mix of emotion. Trust me, she whispered directly into her emotional center. For your daughter's sake, please trust me.
"I can't speak for Aidan, but…yes, there is….one thing about Olivia. She doesn't even know the truth."
That was a start. "Yes?"
Dinah hesitated; there was doubt still, and a deep, deep pain, anger and misery and a touch of hope someplace hidden deep. "Ollie is not Olivia's real father."
"She told us," Heartbreaker said.
"No," Dinah said, shaking her head. She refused to look up, wringing her hands. Heartbreaker noted that the tips of her fingernails were starting to trace pink lines across her skin. "I had to lie to her. I couldn't tell her the truth, but she already knew half of it; that Ollie isn't her father. It….it was twenty years ago. Darkseid had attacked earth; he was planning on changing history. To do that, he tried to remove the heroes. Some he killed; some he tried to…to steal their history. Of course, we stood our ground, together. They fought valiantly, but it was a losing battle. Darkseid breached our defenses." The pain was growing deeper now, too deep for Heartbreaker to keep a hold on. Dinah's voice filled with tears. "He came after me, and…..and Ollie…kind Ollie. He was the one who suggested that he'd take responsibility for the child."
Heartbreaker felt her own emotions spike for a moment. It was the last thing she had expected from Dinah. "You're saying that Olivia's father…"
"Is Darkseid. Yes." She lowered her head again, shamefully, wiping tears from her eyes. "Her dead aim? I know it isn't from practice and skill alone. The blood is starting to manifest, just as her canary cry did, only a week ago."
"We were aware of that," Heartbreaker told her. "Batman had let us know."
"Ollie suggested that we get married once the baby was born. It took us four year, but eventually it was official. We figured everything would be all right."
"This makes no sense," she said. "He took her as his bride only hours ago."
Dinah shook her head. "He may not know," she said. "I was afraid for so many years, that he'd return, try to take her from me. From us. But he never came to check on his daughter. I thought, after fifteen years, he didn't know. I thought she'd be safe, that the secret would be safe."
"So, her and Aidan's child would be a direct descendant of Darkseid?" Heartbreaker pressed. Dinah nodded. "That may explain it. I'm...I'm truly sorry, Mrs. Queen. I didn't know I'd be dredging up such bad memories."
"It was bound to happen some time," she said. "After the accident, and Olivia was so adamant about saving him. It hurt, to see the look on her face when she realized that Ollie wasn't her father. I had to make up something to make her feel better. I…I can't tell her the truth. I couldn't then."
Heartbreaker sent her as much emotional reinforcement as she could. "Don't worry, Mrs. Queen," she said, and part of her wasn't believing what she was saying. "We'll get your daughter back, and her child. I'm sorry to leave so quickly, but I have to speak to the Wests, see if there are any secrets in Aidan's past that may be compounding with Olivia's...heritage."
"She deserves better, if for no other reason than why she was born," Dinah said, finally lifting her eyes. She could see the pain in there; her husband was still in a coma, her daughter and grandchild dead, and a painful truth having been dredged up from long-hidden recesses of the mind. Somehow, this woman had overcome all of that. It was no small feat, and even Heartbreaker was impressed.
"We'll get her back," she said, standing up. "We won't let Darkseid win this one."