Ok so this isn't really beta'd well…I just finished churning this out and it's late…but since I've got someone begging for more cough cough midnight cough I thought I'd go ahead and post this little bit anyway. Hope you enjoy it and I'm working on more!

RMB

Castle Wyvern

Manhattan

2:15 am

The wealthy couple watched from the safety of their security room as the small army of mercenaries broke up into groups and began to swarm through their home. Looking over at his wife, David Xanatos grinned and flexed his fingers over the controls.

"Ready my dear?"

She flashed him a sexy grin. "Always. Just remember what happens when you cheat."

"What if two groups converge on each other?"

"Only then can you focus on more than the one group," she conceded, as they set the parameters of the impromptu contest they were staging.

"They one with the most men down wins and the loser will be at the winners mercy when all of this unpleasantness is done with."

"Deal."

"Go."

Fingers began to dance over controls, and the control panels came to life as the two billionaires brought the castle's defense systems completely online. Down in the depths of the castle, lights began to blink on as large doors slid back along a high wall to reveal the Xanatos' patented Steel Clan.

Their eyes began to glow red as their systems were brought online and ran a quick diagnostic before awaiting commands. Seconds after being brought to life, the massive robots smoothly rose from their resting places, and began to march out of their storage area to track down Canmore's intruding forces.

Several stories below, in the Aerie Building……

Puck was having the time of his life and Alex was enjoying it as much as he was. Animals and people had been running around the floor in complete chaos, helplessly trapped in a demise of their own making. There had been more than enough soldiers to make an animal for every letter of the alphabet…after all this had to be at least a little educational. Once Alex had accomplished that, he had set the animals and people free together and was watching how they interacted- or their lack thereof.

After he had tired of that, Puck had the boy take several of the more aggressive soldiers into one section and turned them loose on the boy as he worked on developing his defense shields and attack skills on the unlucky participants of their new lesson. Alex had been shown by Puck how to form a shield and how to use his magical abilities to forms spells to both defend and attack. But the boy had never been put in a situation before where he could put that knowledge to the test.

Needless to say, he was a little hesitant at first. But his mentor coached him through the lesson, despite their test subjects protests, and Alex quickly got the hang of things. Soon enough he was holding a shield of his own, powerful enough to withstand direct blows from several enraged human men. He was also finding new and creative ways to deflect any oncoming attacks. Glancing at the clock, Puck was very pleased with young Alex's progress in such short time. He only hoped he could keep the boy distracted or at least wear him out enough that he wouldn't remember what was going to occur in just over an hour.

Wayne Manor

New Gotham

2:15 am

Helena took the steps to the mansion two at a time, Reese and the doctor struggling to keep up with her as she hurried to get the limp body in her arms out of the cold. When had it begun to snow? She wondered absently as she nearly kicked the door down in her frustration to get inside.

She turned around in the massive foyer, lost as to where she should bring Dinah. Leslie finally caught up with them and nodded towards the study. "The Cave," she instructed, a little out of breath. "The equipment I will need to monitor her is down there."

Helena was in the study and heading down the stairs in a flash. So caught up in her own emotions was she, that she didn't even notice the telltale signs of another's presence in the Cave until she practically slammed into a figure exiting the training room. With a sharp gasp Helena looked up and stumbled backwards, her eyes locked on a pair so much like her own.

My God, she thought numbly. It's him.

Bruce Wayne stood there, silvered hair wet from a recent shower, the towel dropping to the floor forgotten. He was clad only in a pair of workout pants, his still chiseled and heavily scarred upper body open to her stunned scrutiny. Father and daughter stood there for nearly a minute, simply staring at each other, neither knowing what to say….if anything should be said.

Then Reese and Leslie arrived, and Helena's gaze ripped from his, though not before he saw those blue orbs glint gold for a brief moment as her lips curled in a small snarl. Turning his head, Bruce's eyes settle on those of his old friend, and he smiled, grateful that at least one person was glad to see him still alive.

"Hope you don't mind me commandeering your equipment again Bruce," she said to him as she walked over to a wall of monitors and pressed a button.

As the special medical bed slid out from the wall, Leslie waved Helena over, and began to attach various monitors and nodes to the young woman.

"Anything for friends…and family Leslie," he answered softly.

Helena's eyes flashed more fiercely this time, and his practiced eye didn't miss the slight trembling in her sleek frame as she struggle to curtail her temper. Falling silent, the Dark Knight realized that this probably wasn't the right time to have the argument that was bound to happen. Dinah was obviously injured badly….how he could not readily discern.

Seeing Bruce's close scrutiny of the young woman, Leslie answered his question as she began programming the equipment to begin scanning the teen. "She overtaxed herself. Dinah is both a touch telepath and a telekinetic. Guess things took a turn for the worse, and Dinah lost control when her emotions took over."

He couldn't help it. And it was like she was waiting for it. But his years of mistrust of those with meta abilities took over and his natural reaction – though very minute- was to grimace. Not a full facial grimace by any means. But his eyes hardened, and his jaw tightened, and that was enough to set her off.

"What?!" Helena shouted at him, startling everyone in the room.

Blinking, Bruce Wayne cleared his face of any emotion and turned to look at his volatile daughter. "I don't believe I said anything," he remarked flatly.

"No you didn't…but I saw that look."

"And what look would that be."

"Um Helena maybe," Reese began nervously as he moved to grasp her arm gently.

"Stay out of this Reese," she growled at him. Her eyes were completely feral now, and Bruce found himself captivated by those golden orbs. "Does this frighten you?" she hissed at him, noticing his unwavering gaze at her eyes.

"Barbara told me all about your mistrust of people like us. Is that why you ran off? Couldn't handle that fact that your daughter was half-freak?"

"Helena!" Leslie snapped.

The snarl that echoed through the Batcave was as vicious as any of them had ever heard. "No!" Helena shouted. "I don't care what you think of me Mr. Wayne, because I have a family here with Dinah and Barbara and Alfred. Don't you dare disrespect Dinah for what she did tonight……she did a lot more for me than you ever will."

With those angry, spiteful words, the brunette turned on her heel and fled the Batcave. Not before several sharp ears picked up the sound of her choked sobs as she threw herself off the edge of the platform and disappeared into the darkness below. Reese jerked, fear and concern on his face.

"There's a ledge forty feet down," Bruce assured him hoarsely. "And several more after that. She'll be okay."

Leslie looked from where Helena had jumped back to the man that had brought Gotham's worst criminals to their knees. She had only seen Batman and Bruce Wayne look defeated once before- and it was right before he left. She had sworn to herself that if he ever came back, she wouldn't let him quit again for as long as she lived. Right now, he harbored that same vacant, lost look again.

"She's got her mother's temper and her father's stubbornness," Leslie said with a wry chuckle. "It's been an emotional night for her, Bruce. Let her cool off and then you can start to mend the fences later."

"If that is even possible."

"It is…have faith."