Summary: Ra's evil plan must be stopped. Can Dick and Bruce stop him? Or will evil triumph over good? A surprising twist will leave you shocked at the conclusion of this chapter.
Author's Note: In this chapter, when I refer to Barbara, keep in mind that she is Sora now. I thought it would be less confusing to keep referring to her as Barbara rather than Sora. Sorry if it doesn't help.
Chapter 11: Believe in Me
Dick stared hard at Barbara for a long time before the shock wore off his face. He turned desperately to Bruce as if he had the answer to their present predicament, but Bruce merely stared at Barbara. It didn't take long for him to figure out what it was that Ra's had done to her. He opened his mouth to say something, but Thalia beat him to it.
"Father, how could you? She was an innocent soul . . ."
Ra's eyes narrowed at his daughter, "I had to find someone who was strong enough to handle the transfer. It was clear to me that you were too weak, and then I remembered that our good friend the Detective had his flock of fledglings. The girl showed promise, and with the right instruction, she could be exactly what I needed".
"The right instruction? Father, you tortured her. You ripped her mind away from her body. You tore away her soul!" Thalia shouted.
"To make room for another mind and soul . . . Sora's", he replied.
Dick couldn't take this anymore. What had they done to his Barbara?
"Bring her back now!" Dick growled as he lunged at Ra's.
Ra's took a step back from the fuming young man and smiled, "I'm afraid I can't do that. The young girl you knew is now lost in some alternate state . . . her mind is trapped in a maze created by her own thoughts and memories. There is no way back from that . . . her mind is too weak and broken down to find it's way back".
Thalia kneeled at her father's feet and grabbed his hand, "Father what has become of you? Where is the father I once knew? He is lost . . ."
"He's not lost, daughter. He realized that he's been fighting for a world that does not exist. Nor shall it ever, for there will always be some battle to be fought", Ra's said, pulling Thalia back up to her feet.
Thalia eyes filled with sadness as she turned away from him, "Then my father truly is lost . . ."
"You have too much compassion my daughter. You sympathize with others in their misfortune, and yet you allowed me to go through with all my plans all these years. You never tried to stop me once", Ra's said.
Thalia turned to face him once again with tears in her eyes, "Yes father, I did try to stop you. I thought that by loving you and showing you my loyalty that you would finally see . . . you would see that there were things worthy of the world you dreamed of".
"There is nothing worthy left in this world. The only thing that was worthy was taken away from me. But now it has returned . . ."
Thalia took in a sharp breathe, "I'm sorry to hear that father", she said in a hurt voice.
Thalia stepped away from her father and stood beside Bruce. Ra's looked at her for a long time before he turned away from the three of them. He grabbed Barbara's hand and pulled her behind him. They walked towards the door and as he reached the threshold, Ra's glanced at Ubu and paused for a moment.
"Kill them. All of them".
- - - - - -
Ra's command echoes off the walls of the room. His guards had soon surrounded the three of them. Dick and Bruce instinctively drop into fighting stances, ready to take them on. The first guard charged at Dick, but he trapped the guard's forearm and pivoted, planting his foot firmly into the guard's ribcage and leaving him gasping for air. Two guards came at Bruce, but he unleashed a series of kicks, blocks, and punches which seem effortless yet effective. Another guard grabbed Dick from behind and attempted to choke him, but Dick twisted out of the hold. The guard was soon after thrown over his shoulder. To Dick's surprise, the guard landed on his hands and performed a series of flips with a final spring back off the wall towards Dick. But he should have expected as much, as many of these guards had been members of the League of Assassins.
Dick ducked to avoid a flying roundhouse kick and turned around in time to grab the guard's foot and give it a quick twist, sending the guard spinning into the ground with a sickening crunch. Bruce was fighting with a new set of guards, one of which he backhanded so hard that the force knocked the guard to his knees. Another guard leaped at him, but Bruce rolled to the ground sideways and blocked his attack. Flipping to his feet, Bruce executed a jumping roundhouse kick to knock the guard clean off his feet before smashing to the ground. Bruce landed naturally into a crouched position before standing up straight and advancing forward. Dick followed, knocking down two thugs in the process with a few well aimed punches.
Bruce reached for something in his belt, revealing a few batarangs and bolos. He uses them to take down most of the remaining guards, leaving only a handful and Ubu left. Ubu smiles and removes two ninja swords from their sheaths behind his back. Bruce glances at Dick, who raises his eyebrows at him in surprise. Things were starting to get out of hand. The remaining guards charged at them, with Ubu following.
Dick ducked at the first punch, using the guard's obvious surprise to his advantage to uppercut him and then elbowed him in the ribs. The man crumbled to the ground, coughing up blood. Bruce used his last batarang to stop one guard from attacking Dick from behind, then spun around to block off an attack from another guard. Dick fends off a few more guards to see that there are only two more remaining, both of which are attacking Bruce. Then he spots Ubu going towards Bruce from behind, swords ready.
Dick starts charging at Ubu, when something catches his eye. He bends down to pick up a discarded ninja star. He aims and throws it at Ubu. The ninja star flies through the air and nicks Ubu's arms, causing one of the swords to fly out of his hand and land at Dick's feet. He growls out in anger and turns to face Dick, his other sword still in hand. Dick picks up the sword at his feet, the metal scratching the floor's surface as he pulls it up in front of him. Good thing he knew how to use these things.
- - - - - -
I woke up with a start. I had been asleep for a few hours. I was still exhausted, but felt a little more rested than before. I had been going through all my memories, trying to get to as many of them as I could. This whole ordeal had taken a lot out of me. I couldn't figure out why this had happened to me. The worse part was that I couldn't remember anything without looking into the memories in the pools that surrounded me. There were so many of them, they seemed to go on forever. I went up to the nearest pool and splashed some water on my face. I glanced down at the pool, deciding whether or not I should look into the memory it held.
It's not like I have anything else to do. My memories are all I have now.
As I peered into the pool, the water began to swirl, revealing the memory it contained. There was ice everywhere, all around. It was so cold that there was a mist covering everything. I saw myself sprinting down a hallway. It looked like I was running away from something. Charging after me came two huge polar bears. I gasped at the sight of them, but kept running with all my strength. I remembered this . . . when Mr. Freeze kidnapped me to try to use me for a transplant to save his wife, Nora. I saw myself franticly push the button for the elevator, then slip in and the doors closing just as the two animals crashed into it. Such a close call . . . The next thing I knew, I was watching as I emerged at the upper level and faced huge flames engulfing the deck. I ran out into the flames.
A few moments later, Batman and Robin emerged from the smoke. Mr. Freeze began shooting his freeze gun at them. The two heroes found refuge, only to be frozen inside of it. I could hear Robin pounding at the ice and yelling. I soon saw the reason for his distress. I had climbed up a ladder to escape the flames, only to be trapped at the top of an oil container. It wouldn't be long before the flames would cause the entire place to blow. An explosion sent me flying into the air, but my vigilante reflexes kicked in and I grabbed a pipe on the way down, swinging around it to slow down my descent. I still landed roughly, crouching over in pain.
The next scene showed me helping a small boy into the cockpit of the Batplane, Robin at the controls with Nora. As we lifted off, pulling Batman along on one of his grapple lines, the entire structure exploded and was engulfed by the sea. I remembered watching the last of the debris disappear and Robin smiling at me and making a joke about not knowing how to swim. Wait . . . I remembered.
A sickening feeling gripped my heart when I finally realized . . . it wasn't Robin who had saved her . . . it had been Dick. Dick had saved her . . . Barbara Gordon, not Batgirl. Dick Grayson had gone to great lengths to save her from Mr. Freeze. And he had done it because he loved her.
He does love me.
- - - - - -
While Dick and Bruce were fighting off the guards, Thalia had slipped away after her father and Barbara. She knew the corridors and passageways like the back of her hand, having roamed them as her playgrounds for years during her childhood. She crept down a hallway, her hand on the gun at her hip. She stopped abruptly and whipped around at a sound behind her. Nothing. She turned back around, pulling out the gun and raising it in front of her. She continued to sneak down the hallway slowly, her eyes darting all around, searching for any movement. But there would be no need for that.
"Why can't you understand, daughter?" came Ra's voice from far ahead.
Thalia stopped, lowering the gun and hiding it behind her back.
"You need to be stopped father", Thalia said.
Ra's raised an eyebrow, "Do I?"
Thalia stared at him. Dick and Bruce would be here any moment. She had to do this now, before they could stop her.
"Remember when I was little and we lived here for a few years? And every summer you would take me up in the mountains and we would look at the stars? Do you remember father?" she asked.
Ra's nodded, "You always begged me to take you again and again. Once you were old enough, I sent you away to school. You never forgave me for that. You missed the mountains".
"No father. It wasn't the mountains I missed", she said sadly.
Ra's looked up at her.
Thalia looked him in the eye, "It was you that I missed. The same father I miss now", tears were forming in her eyes.
"I'm right here daughter", Ra's moved towards Thalia.
A tear ran down Thalia's cheek, "No father . . . you've been gone a long time now".
BANG!
Ra's face was shocked as he looked down at his chest. Blood was staining his shirt. He grabbed at his chest, only to see his hands come away covered in his own blood. He dropped to his knees. Barbara had run up to his side and grabbed his close to her. She helped him lie down on the cold stone floor. Thalia watched the scene, sobbing openly. Ra's looked at his daughter, his face filled with emotion.
"I'm sorry", whispered Thalia.
Footsteps echoed from behind them. Bruce and Dick burst into the hall, panting.
"We heard a shot", said Bruce.
He was silenced by the scene that met him. Ra's on the ground, gasping with his last breaths, Barbara hugging him to her chest, and Thalia sobbing and throwing the gun away like it was the devil itself.
Dick went up to Ra's and kneeled next to him, "How do we get Barbara back?"
It took an enormous amount of strength for Ra's to lift his head up and look at the boy. He smiled and motioned him closer. Dick leaned in.
"She has to believe . . . in herself and in you. She loves you. Sora told me she loves you very much. It was her love that made her so strong. And it will be her love that will bring her back".
And with that the man known as the Demon's Head died.
Barbara looked up at Dick and said, "Call for her".
- - - - - - -
"BARBARA!" the name echoed all around me.
Who was calling me? I couldn't see anyone for miles around. Where was it coming from? I scanned the wood all around me, but I saw nothing but more and more pools and trees as far as the eye could see. I looked above me as well, only to see the leaves from all the trees. I walked towards where the voice was coming from, or at least where I thought it was coming from. It seemed to be coming from one of the pool at the far edge of the wood. I walked faster as I tried to reach it before the echo faded. I stopped in front of a pool and saw that it had a mist surrounding it. Next to it laid a burned out torch in the grass. I suddenly remembered that it had been in my hand when I arrived here. I guess I had left it there while I had been exploring the memories all around me.
Hold on a second. That voice . . . it sounds familiar.
I knew that voice. It was Dick's voice. Where was he? I peered into the pool, but the mist did not clear around it.
"Barbara", it was like a whisper coming from the water.
It was Dick. I dropped to my knees and yelled into the water.
"Dick, I'm here! In here! DICK!"
No answer. He couldn't hear me. It was then that I heard another voice.
"He doesn't love you"
The voice was inside my head.
Yes he does! He risked everything for me!
"But he also left you without saying good-bye. He left you all by yourself"
No, that wasn't true.
That's not true. He told me it wasn't my fault! He left because he needed to figure things out. He and Bruce . . . they were having problems.
Laughter.
"He was having problems with Bruce . . . because of you. You betrayed him. He simply blamed Bruce for dragging you into a dangerous situation"
No! Bruce didn't drag me into anything. I made the choice. It was MY choice! Dick knew that. He was just mad at Bruce.
"If he knew that, then why would he leave you? He did leave you"
I finally saw it. I finally knew why.
He didn't leave because he didn't love me. He didn't even leave because he was mad at me. He left because it was all too much for him. It was too much, living in constant criticism and the shadow of Bruce. I know now because I lived it. I know what it's like knowing you can handle the job and then being shot down every time. Nothing you do is ever right and you just have to escape. He couldn't stand Bruce controlling his life anymore. So he rebelled . . . he left. It was the only thing Bruce couldn't stop him from doing.
"You don't know what you're saying"
Yes I do. He does love me. You're little game is over. I'm going back home.
"And how do you plan on doing that?"
"By doing this!" I shouted out loud.
I whipped around a dived into the pool. The last thing I heard was screaming coming from behind me.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
It felt like I was falling forever, suspended in time. Memories flashed before me eyes.
I was five years old, talking to my dad.
"Daddy, do you believe in Magic?"
"Sometimes it's hard not to, sweetheart"
Now I was ten and upset.
"I didn't mean to hit him dad, honest"
"That's not the story I heard Barbara"
Fifteen and laughing.
"These stupid parties are so dumb, right Grayson?"
"They're not that bad"
"And why is that?"
"Because of you silly"
I was twenty years old.
"I made reservations at this really great place for the weekend"
"Dick, you didn't have to"
"I want this weekend to be special Babs"
"It already is"
The night that Dick left.
"You know how much I love you, right Babs?"
"Cut it out Grayson, you're making me blush"
"I'm serious"
"So am I. If you must know, yes. And I feel the same way"
Just and Dick and I were about to kiss there was a flash of bright light.
- - - - - -
A loud groaned escaped my lips and my hand went straight to my head . . . huge headache. My eyes blinked open. There was a face staring down at me, a concerned look on their face. I stared up at them and a smile crept on my lips.
"Dick?"
Dick's face broke out into a grin and he hugged me tight. I could see Bruce standing behind him.
"Are you okay? Can you remember what happened to you?" Dick asked gently.
I nodded, my head still pounding. Dick helped me up to my feet. I saw Ra's dead body on the ground, Thalia quietly staring at it.
I stared at the young woman, "Looks like everyone won their battles", I said quietly.
Bruce glanced at Thalia himself, "She's had a rough time. What she did . . . it took a lot of courage. But he left her with no other choice".
I nodded again, understanding fully what had happened now.
Dick held my hand tight as the four of us made our way out of the castle.
"Ready to go home?" he asked me.
I grinned at him and kissed his cheek, "I thought you'd never ask".
Dick smiled and pulled me in for a kiss. This time I didn't pull back. I pressed him closer to me and kissed him back.
- - - - - -
Looks like this is the end of our adventure . . . sniffs. I know it's sad, but don't despair. Stay tuned for the Epilogue. Hope you enjoyed the story. Let me know your thoughts on it . . . maybe I'll write some more. READ AND REVIEW!
- Lady Artemis -