Chapter Two: Identity
They strolled along the park at dusk. Usually, Helena wouldn't be caught dead in a park, day or night, but Nate had convinced her to walk across with him. She hadn't done it for pleasure, however, she was just protecting him from the delinquents who frequently robbed people there.
"Did you enjoy yourself today?"
Helena scoffed. "Getting mugged, spending hours at the police station, spending hours at the hospital, going back to the police station to get my things, and then having to deal with you all day? Yeah, it was fun."
Nate grinned. "No need for sarcasm."
Helena felt herself grin back. "Who are you? Didn't you have something to do today, soldier boy?"
Nate froze and glanced at her. "Soldier boy?"
"Am I wrong? You hold yourself like a soldier, very stiff. At the station, you were very easy with all the "sirs" and bureaucratic shit. It also didn't help that you're wearing military issue dress shoes."
Nate looked down and laughed. "So I am. No, you're right. First Sergeant, at your service." He mock saluted her and when he put his hand down, it 'just happened' to wind around her waist as they walked. "And you? What do you do?"
"You already know that...I'm a kindergarten teacher."
"And before that?"
Helena shifted uncomfortably. "What do you mean?"
"Your body is lithe but muscular. When you found out you'd been mugged, your stance became combative. I'm thinking you've had training in some sort of martial arts. Since when do kindergarten teachers need that?"
"Been in a public school lately?" Helena joked, though her voice was strained as his words struck a little too close to home. "Why are you checking out my body anyways?"
Nate grinned but recognized the diversion tactic. "It's a nice body."
Helena smiled back as they neared her block. "I work so hard on it."
Nate gave her a leer. "I can tell."
She drew her key from her purse and shrugged off his arm. At the bottom of the stairs, she turned to him, making it clear that she wasn't letting him up. No matter how grateful she was that he'd stayed with her all day, obviously not doing what he had planned, she wasn't the type of girl who jumped into bed with people she didn't know.
"Thank you for staying with me."
"It was my pleasure, Helena," Nate replied, bowing and kissing her hand jokingly. Helena laughed and waved him away.
"Now go do whatever it was you were supposed to be doing when you were staying with me," Helena said as she started up the stairs to her door.
"Helena!"
Helena called and studied Nate as he yelled her name in the middle of the street. "What?"
"Have dinner with me tomorrow?"
This man is certifiable, was all Helena could think as she nodded. He was cute, so she could overlook the air of surreality that had clouded this entire day. She watched as Nate gave a small wave and walked away into the shadows. For some reason, he made her smile, something that was rare in and of itself these days.
Helena removed her pile of mail from the box and struggled to get her door to open. It had a habit of sticking and required a little more force than should have been necessary to open.
When the door opened suddenly from the inside, she forgot all her training. The only reaction she had was to drop her mail to the floor, and that was more from being startled than from trying to get combat-ready.
"Who was he?"
She shouldn't be surprised. Why shouldn't she be surprised? Was it because her life could never be simple? Was it because it was her luck that just when she was relaxing, something else had to pop up? It was something, and it wasn't good.
"What do you want, Vic?" Helena asked, kneeling down and retrieving her mail and slowly walking into the dark living room. The sun had set now, and Vic hadn't turned on the lamp when he'd let himself in. She set set down the pile of bills and magazines and turned the lamp on before moving further into the room.
Vic watched as Helena stretched, pulling the hair pins from her hair as she did so. That long, luscious mane of coal hair fell down about her waist. He'd always loved her hair, loved the way it caught the light and became almost blue with its highlights. Helena laughed as she realized what he was looking at and startled him out of his reverie.
"I was concerned. Your name came up on my computer."
Helena gazed at him deeply before continuing through the living room and into the hall. Vic followed. "So, what'd I do now?"
"Nothing, yet. It said you were mugged and hurt," Vic continued to follow her, all the way into the kitchen where she retrieved a water from the fridge and turned to glare at him.
"Keeping tabs, Vic? Oh, no, I'm sorry...Question." Helena gestured to his faceplate, knowing him well enough to know that he preferred to be addressed as Question when he was in disguise.
"The Justice League prefers to know just what members, non-members, and prospective members are doing that gets them into criminal reports."
Helena smiled. "And just which of those am I?"
"You'll be surprised to know that they're considering letting you back into the League."
Helena smiled bitterly. "Been campaigning for me, Q?"
"No. Batman has."
Helena jerked in surprise. "What?"
"I was as surprised as you. Apparently, since he wasn't in on the vote to evict you, he feels he should have had a say."
"Doesn't matter, Q."
Question stared at her. "What do you mean?"
"I might not want to go back."
"Even if they ask you back?"
Helena shrugged. "Who wants to work for hypocrites?"
"I thought helping people was your life?"
"No...the children are my life now."
"And that man?"
"What man?"
"The one who yelled your name?"
"What about him?"
"How does he play into this?" They kept their voices neutral, both refusing the give the other any emotion.
"He's fun...doesn't ignore me." Her tone was just a bit cutting as she murmured her response.
Question sighed. "I didn't ignore you. I was-..."
"Busy, I know." Helena smiled and brushed past Question on her way to the front door.
"If you were to join the Justice League..."
"Which they haven't even offered yet."
"...then we would be together more often."
"So you say..." Helena smiled as she held open the front door for her.
"You know who he is, don't you?" Question asked as he walked out, stopping at the last minute to ask her that question, referring to Nate.
"Nate? Of course, I'm not the complete imbecile the Justice League seems to think. He's Captain Atom, sent here to spy on me for the Justice League."
Question laughed. "Not spy, judge. It's the last step in seeing if you're ready to return."
Helena stepped close and ran her hand down Q's facemask. "I know. Further proof that I don't need you."
With that statement in the air, she pushed Q out the door and shut it in his face.
