Chapter 8: Interaction


Nightwing would be transporting Helena back to Earth, via a recently "borrowed" Batmobile, and wasn't in the mood to answer questions. He was worried about seeing Batman, and Helena more than anyone, knew why. So, of course, she did what only she would do...she teased him.

"I wouldn't mind saying bye to everyone, seeing as I'm being forced to take a vacation."

"We don't have time."

"That's always your excuse. 'Huntress, we can't have sex on the roof, we don't have time!' or 'Helena! Put your clothes on! We don't have time!'" Helena screeched in a perfect Dick Grayson impression. Dick looked pained, but just kept on wheeling her down the hall, ignoring the snickers of some passing by Leaguers.

Even as Helena geared up to tease him again (she wasn't getting the reaction she hoped for, you see, he wasn't even blushing!), the Dark Knight himself stepped from the shadows and in front of their path. Helena was naturally optimistic (even if it bordered on sarcastic). "Heya, Bats! Nice to see you let me almost die. That's love for ya."

Batman looked at Helena without moving a muscle. No effect at all. "Is she medicated?"

Nightwing sighed, and patted Helena on the head. "Don't I wish?"


"Have you ever played eight-ball before, old man?" Nathaniel asked, chalking up his cube. Question straightened and though it wasn't seen, he smiled.

"Old man?"

"You seem old."

"I have no face."

"It's the way you carry yourself."

"I'm younger than you."

"That whole non-face thing doesn't help."

"Huntress obviously found it attractive."

"Huntress eats oreos with spaghetti. She doesn't have the best taste."

Q smiled again as he leaned down to aim his cue stick. "Obviously...she's dating you."


"I see Alfred let you take one of the spares."

"Don't get mad at him. I took it without him knowing."

"Strange, since I told him to tell you to take it before you arrived there."

"Not all of us have the money you do."

Batman shrugged. "My company is doing well this year."

"Bludhaven isn't. If you'll excuse us," Nightwing gestured for Batman to move, and Helena, silent throughout the entire exchange, knew that Bats wouldn't. He was here for a reason.

"I want to talk to you."

Nightwing shrugged. "I don't want to talk to you."


"How did you make that shot?" Nathaniel asked, as Question thoroughly cleaned the table. Nate didn't even get a chance to shoot.

"Simple trigonometry. Any genius could do it. Play again?"

"Sure, but this time I start."


"Boys, I'd love for you two to have it out, since you're both in my territory a lot, but can we move this elsewhere? You're attracting an audience," Helena explained, and the two men realized that they were now almost surrounded by "innocent" bystanders. Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter among them, though they seemed to be there more as backup for Batman than as helpless gawkers.

Batman took a step back. "We'll talk while we go down to the hangar."

Nightwing grinned, though it was more a gnash of the teeth than anything. "Nothing to talk about."

Helena sighed, and gently touched Nightwing's hand where it clenched the handle of her wheelchair. He was slowly pushing her through the crowd, which was quickly dispersing. In sotto voice, she asked, "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Knew this would go down one day."

"If I wasn't so weak, I'd kick his ass for you."

Nightwing laughed, a masculine laugh women get from time to time when they say something a man thinks is silly. "I'd pay to see it."

"Don't patronize me."

Dick leaned down and brushed a kiss on her forehead. "Not patronize, placate. I'm seeking to placate you."


The game was going better than the last one. For Captain Atom. This time, he cleared the table. No shots for Question.

"We appear to be on the same level of skills," Question commented from his seat in the corner. "Why don't we make this interesting?"

Nate stood up, and starting pulling the balls from the old-fashioned pockets of the table. He racked them together, and answered Question carefully. "What kind of interesting? Money?"

"No," Question said, walking around the table to aim. They were just playing straight pool this time. Simpler, but lengthier since there were more balls to get.

"Then what? For Huntress?"

Question paused, not having thought of that. "I'd doubt she'd appreciate that."

"So? This is just between you and me." Nate studied Q, knowing that his answer would show him exactly what kind of man he was dealing with.

Q knew what Nate was thinking, and contemplating playing to the man's fears for a few minutes. In the end, he was still the good, if slightly demented, hero of infamy, however. "How about League duties? You take my League duties for a month."

"If I do that, I'll have no spare time."

"Imagine that," Q replied sardonically as he aimed his cue and let it slide. The balls scattered, but didn't go in.

"I'll have no time for Helena."

Again, he repeated. "Imagine that."

"If I win, you take mine?"

"Yes."

Nate smiled, and took his place at the table. "Then I'll have plenty of time for her."

"Don't count on it."


The hangar was silent, except for the hushed murmurs of techs in the control room. The trio stood (or sat in Helena's case) for a few minutes. Finally, Helena spoke.

"Yo! Can we get this convo on the road? I'm tired, hurting, and hungry."

"You're also cranky," Nightwing supplied.

"Thank you, doctor. Next time, you can fall off a building."

"Will you push me, so I don't have to look?" Nightwing asked jokingly, though he was still tense.

"Anytime, babe, anytime."

Batman watched this silently. "Is it really necessary to have her here?"

Something in his tone irked Helena. "Since I was there for the aftermath, there's nothing I don't know already, Bats. Embarrassed?"

"I don't get embarrassed."

"Not even when you steal your adoptive son's girlfriend?" Helena asked bitingly. Nightwing grasped her shoulder in a tight grip.

"I can handle this."

"Then handle it," Helena replied.

"Bruce," Nightwing started, before Batman cut him off.

"Nothing happened. Nothing you think happened, at least."

"I know nothing happened. It doesn't matter. The feelings between Barbara and you were still there."

"You didn't have to run away. We should have dealt with it."

"I was hurt. I didn't want to deal with it. I wanted to forget it."

Helena knew intimately how far he'd run. Right to her. Batman's "nuisance", a vigilante who wouldn't be scared out of Gotham. It wasn't just stubbornness that made her stay in Gotham, though that had been it at first. Gotham City was home, and she wasn't leaving. When Nightwing had realized just how deep Batgirl's feelings for Batman had been, he'd been less than pleased. He'd run away to Huntress, a friend. She hadn't minded helping him forget for a bit.

"Dick, we never meant to hurt you..."

"I know that. I know neither of you would set out to do that. I was going to marry her, Bruce! I had the ring! I was going to ask her that week. Then, I hear that...and it's like...you know what? I don't want to talk about this! I have to take Helena home."

Nightwing wheeled Helena over to the plane they were taking and lifted her into his arms. Even though anger was keeping him so taut that it was like he was going to break with one touch, he was gentle with her. Wordlessly, Batman watched as Dick levied himself into the seat beside her and prepared to leave. With one announcement from the control room, he walked away. The hangar decompressed, and the ship dropped into space.

For a few minutes, neither of them spoke. Finally, Helena couldn't stand it anymore. So she asked the question that had been on her mind since his outburst. "The ring...the ring you gave me that weekend. It was her's?"

"Yeah," Nightwing replied monotone. No emotions attached to the word, just the word.

"You want it back?"

Nightwing smiled grimly and reached over to pat her uninjured hand. "No. You keep it. You deserve it more."

"Because I don't hurt you?" Helena asked, lightly, but still seriously.

"Because if you did hurt me, you'd come out and do it. You don't hide things, Helena. It's not in you."

Helena sighed and looked out the window. "If only that were true. Secrets are something I'm very good at."


The game was tied. Both players had three balls on the table, and the eight ball. A small crowd had gathered around them to watch. Entertainment was sparse up in space. Though it was mostly quiet, every once and a while, Q caught mention of some big showdown between Batman and Nightwing. Whatever it'd been about, doubtless Huntress had only made the situation worse. Huntress didn't like Batman, and Q knew it had something to do with Nightwing, but it was the one thing he'd never been able to figure out, much to his chagrin.

Nathaniel rounded the table, taking in his options. He had his balls all over the table, and one of them was cornering the eight ball. If he tried to get it in, there was a fifty/fifty chance he'd send the eight ball in before his own ball, and then he'd lose automatically. On the other hand, one of Q's striped balls also cornered it, so he might send it in if he tried for it too.

Nathaniel watched as Question watched him (or at least he thought he was...damn faceless man). "This is it, Q."

"I'm aware," Q replied with a twist of amusement.

"Wanna take back that bet now?"

"Just shoot the cue and stop yapping."

Nate smiled, and with a shrug that had the assembled superheroes tittering, bent over to shoot. Nate had decided what he was going to do, and with a twinkle in his eye, he aimed for the balls nowhere near the eight ball. He missed on his second shot, which left him with two balls on the table, and an eight ball. Q chuckled under his breath. Without even thinking on it, he aimed for the striped ball right next to the eight ball. With clear-cut precision, the white ball hit the small crevice between the striped one and the eight ball, sending the striped one into a pocket and the eight ball into the middle of the table.

The crowd cheered loudly as Q then cleared the table and won the game. Nate lightly laid his cue on the table and watched as the superheroes around him exchanged money and started to trickle away. Q wordlessly began to put the pool equipment away. When they were suitably left alone, he spoke.

"That last move is the reason you and Huntress will never work."

Nate immediately got defensive. "And what does that mean?"

Q shrugged, and started moving the pool balls to a separate container in the cabinet. "You're safe. You do safe things, like a good boy scout does. Huntress hates safe," Q turned to look at Nate, "and in the end, she'll leave you because of it."

"And I guess you're dangerous enough to keep her intrigued?"

"I don't have to be. I'm not safe. I'm insane, you know. Not much more dangerous that."

"This doesn't make it true. And I'm not rolling over just because you say to."

Q shrugged again. "It wouldn't be fun if you did."

Nate shrugged and started out the door, only to pause. "This whole situation would be easier if I didn't like you." With that, Nate left and the room was completely empty.

Q had to laugh and whispered into the air. "Well, I don't like you, so it's easy as pie."