Twenty three years later…
Dark Horse Bar.
"Two beers and a whiskey," Helena said to the customer and turned to the bar.
:So, are you sure about that: Barbara asked over the mic.
"Yes, ask Dinah." The brunette was wearing red pants with a white top. She took an empty glass and poured whiskey in it. The Dark Horse was full of customers that Friday night.
:I'll wait until she comes back from the movies.:
She turned and walked toward another customer. "Nice, I work hard all day and every time the dessert disappears from the fridge, the first suspect is me, and the most probable guilty party, who stole your dessert, is at the movies having fun."
:Not my fault you always stole it.:
"Not today…. Your scotch, sir."
"Talking to yourself again, Kyle?" A patron of the bar smirked at Helena.
The young Kyle rolled her eyes and turned back to the bar. "Thanks to you, my friends think I'm crazy."
:Since when do you care about what other people think of you? See you.:
"Bye." Helena turned and saw a woman seated at the bar. She froze and couldn't avoid staring at her. The woman had a mask covering her face and gloves on her hands. She wore a long brown coat.
"Sorry," the woman said, noticing her discomfort, "I had an accident years ago, I'm burned and people don't like to see my skin."
"Oh… I'm, I'm sorry." The brunette felt stupid, the poor woman must have met many people that looked at her as a freak, "I didn't mean..."
"Don't worry. Always happens."
"Want something to drink?"
"Would you please give me a…?" The woman fixed her eyes on the pendant around Helena's neck, an Egyptian golden eagle. She had seen that beautiful jewelry before. She knew it. "…Nice bird."
The brunette lowered her head and looked the pendant. "Oh… thanks."
"It's a rare piece of jewelry from Egypt. May I see it?"
"Sure." The young woman leaned down and the woman took the necklace between her fingers.
"My God… This is a very rare piece," she whispered.
"Excuse me?"
"I have studied Egyptian art. This is the Victory Palette of King Narmer, 3200BC. I can't believe it!" The woman seemed to be really excited, looking at the old pendant. "This palette commemorates the victories of King Narmer, also know as Menes, the first Pharaoh and the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt." She gave the pendant back to the brunette, who raised a brow "It's a very valuable piece. You must take care of it. There were just five pieces made; two are at The Cairo Museum, another one in London and the other two were lost, antiquities traffickers stole it from the tomb in 1916 and historians think they are in private collections. You have one of them, so… only one remains missing."
The brunette hesitated a second, knowing the dark life her mother lived. She moved back. "Well, I don't think so… it's just a gold pendant, I don't think it's priceless, it's small."
"The legend says that they are part of a puzzle, and that, if you put it together, it shows you the place where the treasure of King Narmer is hidden. For that reason, people have been looking for the two lost pieces. How did you get it?"
"It was my mother's."
"Your mother?"
Helena took the piece between her hands smiling, "She liked it so much. But I never asked her where she bought it." It was best to move away from this topic, the brunette thought, "Want a drink?"
"Oh, yes, yes… Bourbon, please."
"Right." The brunette extended her hand and took a bottle behind her and a glass with her left hand, placing it on the bar.
The woman kept her eyes locked on the pendant "And…" she said, "your mom let you wear it tonight?"
The brunette was becoming uncomfortable; she hated talking about those topics. "She died a few years ago. Sorry, I have work to do."
"Barbara Ann Minerva, nice to meet you," the woman said in a hurry, extending her glove-covered hand.
"Helena Kyle." She gave her a slight smile and took her hand.
"Oh… I'm sure your mom had a nice name like yours."
"No," the young woman shook her head "her name wasn't Helena."
"No?" the woman said with interest, "but a name just as beautiful, I'm sure. What was her name?"
"Selina. I'm sorry. I have work to do."
"Thanks, no problem."
The woman sipped her glass, watching the movements of the brunette. Watching her carefully, her eyes narrowed, yes, she moved like her. Maybe she wasn't as tall as her, but she had her silhouette, her grace. Yes, she was not lying, she was Selina's daughter, and, obviously,… Catwoman's daughter.
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First day of the school week, the garden was full with cars and students. The big hummer was parked in a place reserved for teachers. The High School had offered her reserved parking spot for people with disabilities, but Barbara had refused it. She didn't like feeling different.
The redhead maneuvered herself onto her wheelchair then closed the Hummer door. Dinah was there in time to give her the briefcase.
"Ready for your test?"
"Yes Barbara, thanks for tutoring me in math last night, it really was useful."
"Math is easy."
"Helena doesn't think so."
"Helena is allergic to science."
Dinah giggled.
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A woman sat on a bench in the school park, observing the two women in the distance. She opened a pack with chocolate and bit into it. Her gaze was fixed on the redhead; she had followed each one of her movements since the Hummer had arrived.
When Barbara and Dinah disappeared behind the doors of the High School, the woman sat there silently for a few more moment, her eyes fixed on the Hummer. When she finished the chocolate, she licked her fingers and walked toward her own car, parked a few yards away.
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The night fell over New Gotham. It had been a rough day and the brunette, after her double shift, wanted action; she finished changing her clothes and walked out of the Dark Horse, covering her earring with her hand. "I'm ready, I'm on my way." Hearing Barbara's voice every night sometimes was annoying, but she accepted it as part of her life and sometimes, when she felt alone, she turned on her mic to hear her. Maybe if Barbara didn't have as much of a maternal attitude, it would be better.
:Hurry up, we have a lot of work to do: She clearly could hear the sound of Oracle's hands typing over the keyboard.
"Great, I want to kick some ass." But on the other hand, maybe it was that maternal side thad made her feel like she had a home. "Did you find your dessert?"
:Yes, I apologize.:
"It was the kid right? I told you…" she turned the corner and went toward a dark alley.
"Yes, but you're usually the one who steals my desserts."
"Not always. How was your day at school?"
:Boring, meetings and meetings. I'm not a fan of the meetings.:
"I hate…" Helena's senses warned her of danger; she moved guardedly and turned back in time to see a shadow falling over her. Her unknown assailant hit her on the chest with both feet, making her crash to the ground.
:Huntress: Oracle heard the thud and the grunt.
Before the brunette could react, the shadow was over her again. She felt herself being lifted by the back of her coat by an inhuman strength that threw her against the wall; her head hit the bricks roughly, stunning her. A hard punch to her lower back caused a terrible sharp pain in her side. Some kind of rope looped around her throat and pressed it. The brunette coughed and placed her hands between her neck and the rope, trying to breathe.
Her attacker pushed her against the ground using the rope. The grip around her throat tightened and Helena turned, trying to stand up, only to find a hard fist against her jaw.
Strong hands took her by her lapel and smashed her against the wall. She was sure her head had broken into a thousand of pieces and fallen to the ground. Feeling totally stunned, she moved to her side, instinctively trying to stand up again, but the stranger didn't give her any opportunity;
A hand on the back of her head forced her face down against the cold dirt of the ground and the other one ripped at the back of her coat. She could barely hear Oracle's voice in her head, calling her. She blinked, trying to focus, and realized the hand on her face had claws, one of them a few inches from her left eye; that was not good, what was attacking her? Something warm and wet fell on her left eye, blinding her. She was sure it was blood. Her blood.
She felt, then, the cold, sharp claws of the other hand around her neck and shivered when she heard the loud the growl of something inhuman.
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