Surprise! I was on a roll last night. The muse has struck and she wanted this chapter out first. An author knows that when the muse is working, you don't interrupt her. *Forgive any typos and errors. I promise to take care of them in a bit. The story should still be enjoyable, however. Not too many anyway. Enjoy!
Warning: Some Strong Language, Peril . . .
"So, what options do we have left?"
Dick looked at the three lawyers across from him. They had been working on Elle's case for about a week, and they were nearing the end of the meeting. Names and addresses had been exchanged of the psychiatrists that Elle had used and interviews arranged. But the hearing was looming over their heads and had yet to have been approved for a move to Gotham City.
Kelly Bartholomew shuffled her papers. She was a lovely black woman with an amazing bone structure and startling pale brown eyes that looked almost yellow in certain lighting. Cat eyes, was Dick's first thought. She was as sharp as those cheekbones, asking smart questions and giving what Dick thought was sound advice. No wonder the law firm snapped her up shortly after she had passed the bar.
On either side of her were two other lawyers. Men is power suits that radiated strength and competency. Carl Solomon was one of the partners of the firm, and was here simply because of who his clients were. He was comfortably taking a backseat to Ms. Bartholomew, as this was her area of expertise. On her other side was Jarrod Osborne, a lawyer specializing in both business law and with some experience with hereditary law.
Bruce sat with Dick upon his invitation, and he seemed to be satisfied with their performance based upon much of what had been discussed. His relaxed manner eased the tension in Dick's shoulders more than anything.
Kelly sighed. "Good news and bad news."
"Bad news first." Dick wanted it out of the way. He preferred to take care of potential problems and then end the meeting on a good note.
"The request to have the hearing moved to Gotham City has been denied," she told him, not unsympathetically.
"But Elle is a resident of Bludhaven and has recently moved here to Gotham City. The travel is a hardship, and as she is the one who is being judged . . ." Dick snapped.
"It isn't a judgement as you might see in a criminal investigation," Kelly corrected him.
"This affects every aspect of her life," Dick argued. "Of our lives. An unhappy verdict will decimate her . . . Us."
"I understand," Kelly tried to placate him, "But the fact remains that Miss Hamilton had been a resident of Chicago for more than six months last year. She owns a home there, and the business in question is based out of that city. The judge doesn't agree that it is a hardship for her to attend the hearing in Chicago as planned."
"Barely more than six months," Dick said. "She moved here in mid-July."
"It is more than six months by those two weeks. It is past the cut-off date." Kelly reminded him.
Bruce set a hand on Dick's shoulder. "Calm down. This isn't the most important thing we're facing. We can still work with this."
Dick glared at him, although his ire wasn't directed at his adopted father. No, Dick's anger was saved solely for the source of Elle's troubles; her half-brother, Aiden Marcel Hamilton.
"She requested the hearing be moved to prevent the likelihood that the judge assigned to it of being bribed . . ."
"Dick," Bruce interrupted.
He took a breath. "Being financially influenced to concede the verdict in favor of her asshole brother's unfounded accusations."
Bruce sighed and leaned back in his chair. He was glad, too, that Dick had insisted he attend the meeting with him. His son was a powder keg just waiting for a spark, but at least Bruce's presence kept him in his seat and his voice within the polite decibel range.
"We will continue to request that the judge to sit for the hearing be assigned at the last minute. At the moment, that is the best we can do." Kelly told him. "And we have requested an increase in security during the hearing as well. The threats on your lives will be taken into account and arrangements made to ensure Miss Hamilton's and your safety."
"Thank you," Bruce nodded.
"Okay, enough of that," Dick grumbled. He shrugged his shoulders to loosen them once again. "What is the good news? We can use a bit of that."
"We requested time, citing the travel arrangements of several of our key expert witnesses, and it has been granted. We have a six week reprieve from yesterday's date. The date being set tentatively around March fifteenth." She continued quickly before Dick could interrupt another time. "I realize this could be seen as good and bad depending on your outlook."
"I would have preferred sooner rather than later," Dick huffed. The sooner we get this over with, the better.
"Miss Hamilton wasn't of the same mind," Kelly pointed out. "She wished to have more time in which," the lawyer smiled here, "to arrange for a proper wedding."
Dick blinked. He had expected to be married by a judge, and hadn't given it much more thought than that . . . But yeah, he knew that Elle was a romantic who would love a traditional wedding. But most society weddings took a year or more to plan, and however much time she could possibly be awarded by the judge wouldn't be nearly enough . . . Unless, perhaps, a couple of checkbooks could sway the outcome during the planning of it.
He knew nothing about this stuff. He and Babs hadn't managed to get to the planning stage either before she had called it off the first time, or later during the second time he had asked her.
He bit his lip, thinking about his engagement to Koriand'r, or Starfire as she was more commonly known here on earth. They had gotten much farther along . . . He almost cringed remembering exactly how and when that wedding had gotten called off. Kori had done pretty much all of the planning with the help of some of the other Titans. Dick had only needed to show up. He ran a hand through his hair.
It wasn't often that he thought of Kori and what might have been. All in all, he thought he came out of that one all right. Had he truly loved her? Yes, once upon a time . . . Did he love her still? No . . . Not in the way she deserved. He had grieved the death of that relationship for a time as well, but life had a way of delivering up something even better right around the corner.
How close he had come to never meeting Elle . . . Or meeting her and not being free to have . . . This! He couldn't imagine a love any better than what they shared right now, and he wasn't foolish enough to want to search for anything more, even if the bond would have let him. It was why he worried about her.
Funny, he had worried about Babs, too, but she got angry with him for it. Kori? He had worried more for the enemy than Kori. Elle, however, might get frustrated with him, but then she would smile, kiss him sweetly on the mouth, and thank him for it.
Dick worried about Elle now, too, but for an entirely different reason.
He hadn't told Elle anything about Kori . . . Her upset after finding Bab's ring was bad enough. He knew he would have to come clean with her eventually about it, however. The last thing either of them needed was for that fiasco to come out before Dick could screw up his courage enough to tell her about it himself.
He wondered how long he could possibly put it off.
Elle watched the city pass her by. It was going in the wrong direction, though, and she swallowed hard as saliva flooded her mouth. Flying backward sucked!
She patted at her forehead with her sleeve and glared at Jason who, of course, was ignoring her. He was scanning the buildings they were flying over as was Roy sitting on the opposite side of the helicopter. She risked peeking out the window and immediately regretted it. But she also noticed they were flying lower than they had coming in from the airport.
Elle cleared her throat.
"Are we supposed to be this low?"
Jason appeared to finally notice her. "No, we shouldn't be," he admitted. "You're looking a little pale," he noted as he released his seatbelt and moved to up to the passenger seat opposite the pilot.
"Shut up," she groaned.
She couldn't hear the conversation, and truthfully wasn't entirely interested in it. Her concentration was on retaining as much of her lunch as possible during the next fifteen minutes or so. They weren't that far out, but fifteen minutes seemed depressingly like an eternity.
Roy looked over at her. "You don't look so good. Are you feeling all right?"
Elle swallowed again as she shook her head. "I can't travel like this," she told him just loud enough for him to hear. "It makes me ill."
"Ew," the redheaded archer leaned slightly away from her. "Um, do you need an airsick bag?"
She smirked and took some small comfort in that Roy suddenly was looking a little green himself after her confession. She gave up. They were just going to have to deal . . .
"I'm sorry, but I have to move," Elle panted.
Jason glanced back just as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "Hey! What are you doing? Sit back down and buckle up, Elle!"
The look she threw at him should have fried him to a crisp. Unfortunately, it did not, so she ignored the way he groused and stood up.
"I have to change seats," she managed to gasp out.
"Bullshit! You need to sit back down where I told you and fasten up."
Jason unhooked his own and twisted as if he were going to come back there; she supposed in order to force her back into her seat. She wondered how he would look wearing her lunch, and thought it might even be worth getting sick to enact this small sense of vengeance.
At that moment there was a sharp crack; like a rock hitting a windshield, and then abruptly, the helicopter pitched to one side and several things happened at once.
Jason looked at the pilot and lunged for the controls.
"He's been shot," he yelled to Roy. "We're under attack! Get Elle back in her seat!"
Roy had turned in response to the lurch and Jason's voice. He reached for his seatbelt in order to be able to reach for Elle. But Elle fell toward the door; her hands out to somehow catch herself! One hand grabbed the lever and suddenly the door fell away! It just wasn't there anymore . . . Her balance off and her hand being jerked with the door's lever, Elle fell out of the helicopter!
She screamed as her body fell free of the vehicle; only her grip on the door's lever prevented her falling immediately to her death. The helicopter dipped and swung sideways as Jason fought to regain control before the copter crashed into the side of one of the buildings. Her eyes widened as the helicopter's blades whirled dangerously close to her. They were flying almost sideways!
Roy shot an arrow into the opposite door and used a connecting line to lower himself towards her. He reached out a hand.
"Grab hold," he yelled to her. "I'll pull you inside!"
Elle didn't know if she could force herself to release her grip on the door voluntarily. It was a struggle, but she tightened her hold with one hand and reached for Red Arrow with the other. Several pings and another loud crack sounded around them. Elle could hear it even above the noise the helicopter was making.
Someone was still shooting at them!
"Shit!" Elle could hear Jason yelling from his precarious position in the copilot's seat. "Plan B. Get her out of here!"
Roy grabbed Elle's free hand. Terrified, she let go with the other, trusting Dick's friend to pull her to safety.
Instead, he looked her in the eye and said, "Trust me. You're going to be alright!" And then he let go . . .
"Nooooo . . .!"
Elle's screamed as she began free falling toward the hard asphalt below. They were an easy sixty stories high. Six hundred feet! She was going to plunge six hundred feet to her death! Oh God, Dick! Dick would die with her! The stray thought crossed her mind that Dick's friends sucked!
She was falling backward; facing the sky and the helicopter she was just a passenger in. The helicopter was in trouble, she could see. Jason was obviously having trouble getting it to straighten out so the he could put it down on one of the rooftops. If the blades struck one of the buildings, however, it was all over for them as well.
Her shrieks were cut off as powerful arms closed around her.
What? She swung her face around to her . . . rescuer?
The face, inches from hers, was breathtakingly beautiful and at the same time . . . vaguely wrong; alien. Her face seemed slightly larger, longer, and sharper than hers . . . Did that make any sense? She didn't think so either.
The alien woman had a deep golden skintone unlike any other Elle had ever seen before. Her emerald eyes were missing the whites and the irises were just a slightly deeper shade of green that the rest. Her bright auburn hair flowed around her; not whipping in the wind as was Elle's, but almost as if it were flames!
Oh my God! Was her hair on fire?!
"I have you," the woman's silken voice promised.
And she did . . . somehow! They were no longer falling, but flying!
Elle wrapped her arms around the woman's neck. The wind blew any words Elle might have said away as they streaked across the sky toward . . . She squinted against the wind; her eyes tearing in reaction. What was that below them? Elle struggled to make sense of it as the tall buildings fell away and only open air remained.
A tower loomed in the distance; growing exponentially as they neared . . . A large building, and then . . . A hanger! That was a hanger for planes! They were at the airport! The alien woman had flown her to the airport!
The wind died away as they slowed in descent. Soon they had landed on the tarmac just outside of one of the open hangers. The woman set her down carefully.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
Elle had no idea how to answer that question, so she concentrated on forcing her spaghetti legs to hold her upright. They were shaking so hard, it was a little embarrassing, but Elle told herself that she had just fallen out of a damned helicopter, so she should be allowed a little leeway. It took her a couple of moments longer that she thought it should have to get herself under control, but the moment she did, she turned to her rescuer to thank her.
And gasped.
Elle looked up and up. The alien had to be over six foot tall! All in all, she was larger than life; slightly . . . more . . . than even a very tall human woman. Her shoulders were a little bit broader; her arms slightly larger while still appearing slender and in proportion to the rest of her body . . . And what a body!
She would put an hourglass to shame. Her long-sleeved, purplish-gray armor barely covered her breasts and her belly was completely exposed. Her shorts were a similar material or metal, or whatever the hell it was, as her top. She wore thigh-high boots, wrist bands, and a collar of sorts.
And her fire hair seemed weightless as it flowed around her.
Aliens existed . . . Elle knew that. She had met Superman for heaven's sake, but the Man of Steel didn't radiate heat, or danger, or power the same way as did the woman in front of her. Elle felt overwhelmed and more than a little bit awestruck. Whoever or whatever this woman was; Elle knew that she didn't shy from danger or violence. She seemed to embody both of those aspects.
A warrior . . . The word seemed to fit better than anything else in her vocabulary.
"You never said," the alien repeated, "if you were alright."
Elle opened her mouth and closed it; trying to gather her thoughts. Was she alright?
"I-I . . . uh, I think so," she stammered. "Thank you . . . for saving me."
The alien smiled at her. Her teeth looked brilliant; large and straight . . . And to Elle's everlasting relief, fangless.
Her adrenaline was crashing and it was making her giddy. Elle started laughing; unable to help herself. She was alive! Not a broken, greasy mess on the city streets and not forced to deal with a hungry, flaming-haired, warrior princess with fangs.
Life was good!
Oh God! She was hysterical.
"You must be okay, so I can go and check on the health of my companions," she said.
Elle could feel the strum of her low voice as it shivered through her. The strange woman had a great voice; the odd thought came out of nowhere. She glanced around her and recognized her father's plane . . . Her plane, now.
"I'm fine," she told the warrior woman. Elle realized that the alien was talking about Jason and Roy; that Jason must have asked her to assist today. It was a very good thing that he had, she thought. "Please, go and help them! Don't worry about me."
"I did not detect any threats here," she assured Elle. "You should be safe, but you should wait on your aircraft until I or one of the others return."
"What's your name?" Elle asked all of a sudden. "Who are you?"
The smile came back. "I am a friend of a friend," she said. "My name is Koriand'r of Tamaran. The people of earth call me Starfire."
Starfire turned away and her hair looked like it flared as if someone had blown on a flame, and she took off into the air; gravity was apparently forgotten when it came to her. There was a faint red trail from behind her that briefly allowed a lowly, earthbound woman to follow her path in the air before it faded from sight.
She was going after Jason and Roy. Elle thought that if they could just stay alive long enough for Starfire to reach them, that they would be okay. Elle put a hand out against the wall of the hanger to steady herself. She didn't see her pilot, but she had called to say they were on their way, so he should be nearby.
Elle walked back toward the jet a little unsteadily, but under her own power at least, hoping the door was open so she could enter. As she did, she couldn't help thinking about the alien woman. She obviously moved in the same circles as other super heroes, although Elle hadn't heard of her personally. But then she only knew a few of the names of some of the Justice League members. Heck, she hadn't even known what city that Batman worked out of before moving to Bludhaven . . .
She had said she was a friend of a friend. Did she mean Jason? Elle frowned slightly as the thought crossed her mind that the warrior woman could have also been referring to Dick.
Feeling somewhat intimidated, Elle thought it had been difficult enough to come to terms with his engagement to the former Batgirl. Elle couldn't imagine what sort of self-esteem crisis she would be facing if Dick had dated someone like . . . . What did she say her name was? Koriand'r . . . Starfire.
Elle shook herself. This was ridiculous! Was she going to question Dick's relationship with every female super she ever hears tell of? Elle climbed the steps and entered the jet.
She suddenly needed a drink.
Jason ran up the steps into the jet barely thirty minutes later.
"Elle? Where are you?"
Jason was furious when Kori had returned to help them. He had already managed to land on a rooftop, but it hadn't been pretty. But any landing you can walk away from was a good landing.
They had searched the surrounding buildings for their sniper, but had found no one, although Jason was pretty certain he found the apartment from which their would-be assassin had operated. The owner was out of town, and the no one was aware that anyone had been using it either long-term or even in just the last hour.
So, while he and Roy had, with Kori's help, discovered where the man or woman had been holed up, but that was it. Everything appeared to be wiped clean of prints belonging to anyone but the owner and anything else that might have left a clue to whom their enemy was.
Starfire and Roy entered the plane behind him. Roy paused to admire the plush interior causing Kori to bump into him.
"Damn it, Kori! You were supposed to stay with her," Jason snapped.
"She said she was fine, and even told me to go help you," Kori argued calmly. "I had found no signs of danger, and trusted that she knew herself well enough to speak to me the truth."
"Gah! This is Elle we're talking about here. Dick told me she nearly died after interrupting a mugging," Jason groused. "She doesn't always know to stay where she'd be safe. That's why he sent me with her, and why I asked you two for your help!"
He pushed further back into the plane. There was another two doors back here. One, he knew belonged to the lavatory, and assumed the other was some sort of . . . Yes, bedroom. He blew out a breath. Elle was sprawled across the queen-sized bed. He stalked over to her; reaching out to shake her a bit.
"Elle? Hey, wake up," he barked. "I need to see if you're alright."
She rolled away from him. "I'm fine," she told him. "Why wouldn't I be fine?"
His eyes widened behind his mask. "Are you kidding me? You just fell out of a helicopter while some nutjob was taking potshots at us!"
"Go away, Jason," she snapped.
He might have taken her word for it and left if she hadn't sniffled immediately afterwards. Frowning, he moved around the bed and sat down beside her. He studied the tears that streaked her face.
"You're not okay," he stated. "Are you hurt, though?"
He could deal with a few tears, as uncomfortable as that made him, as long as she wasn't injured.
"I lost my briefcase," she sniffled.
He blinked. "I think we can get you a new one. Maybe I can send Kori back after it."
She shook her head as she wiped her eyes on the bedspread. "My cell was in it," she explained. "The phone on the plane isn't working. I can't call Dick! He must be worried out of his mind by now."
"Nah, he couldn't have heard about this yet," Jason reassured her. "The news stations are fast, but not that fast."
His own cell had been damaged when it fell out of his pocket and cracked the casing. They just didn't make them like they used to. Maybe Roy had his. Anything, if it would calm her down, he thought. He felt a prickle behind his own eyes, incongruously. What the fuck?
She kept shaking her head, even as she pushed herself up. "He'll know, Jason. He would have felt it."
"Felt . . .?" What the hell was she talking about? "Look, if you need to call him, let me see if Roy has his phone on him."
"Are you two okay?" Elle asked, wiping her eyes again. "I'm sorry. Adrenaline crash, I think."
"We're fine," repeating her earlier assurance back at her. "I was able to land the thing safely on top of one of the buildings."
"I'd have never forgiven myself if you were hurt," she told him.
"Elle, I'm here as your bodyguard. It's kind of my job to be willing to get hurt in order to keep you safe."
"But what would I have told Dick," she gaped at him, "if something happened to you?"
"Dickhead's first priority will always be you, sweetheart," Jason laughed, a little relieved when the urge to cry began to fade.
"What would I have done, then, Jason?" She smiled at him and touched his face.
Jason stared at her. His heart picked up its beat when he realized she was sincere. It had been too long since anyone had truly cared about his well-being. Oh, Alfred had always made him feel like he was important, and Dick wasn't the worst; just annoying as hell. But in the privacy of his heart, he could admit that maybe the idiot might miss him if he died . . . And stayed dead, this time.
But Elle had somehow taken their odd group and become attached to each of them. She had a way of making you feel as if you were one of the most important people in her life.
Jason snorted and stood up. He was getting maudlin. Time to grab the pilot and get Elle back to Gotham and Dickweed. He shook his head in wonder. How did Dick always seem to find the good ones? The asshole needed to pick one and leave the rest to the other poor schmucks.
Elle moved to follow him out. He thought that if Dick didn't get this one secure, Jason would have to beat some sense into him. If he had to pick just one, Elle was a good choice.
"How are you, Roy?" Elle asked as she moved into the main cabin.
"You aren't mad at me because I dropped you, are you?" Roy kept his distance until he could learn the answer to his question.
Her eyebrow rose as she answered him. "You could have warned me, and then said there was someone standing by to catch me, you know."
She appeared calm, so he smirked and sat in one of the chairs. "And why would I have wanted to do that? I only wish I could have gotten a picture of your face."
Elle stepped close and grabbed his hat off of his head suddenly. She slapped the top of his head with it, and then handed it back.
"Ow," he yelped, startled. It hadn't hurt, though. He followed up with a grin.
As Jason moved back outside to search out the pilot, Kori and Elle sat down near him.
"So, Starfire," Elle began, "how do you know Dick?"
Roy's eyes bulged and he nearly leapt to his feet, but it was already too late. "Kori, don't answer that!"
But Kori was smiling sweetly as the words simply tumbled out. "Oh, we were engaged to be married once. Unfortunately, the minister was murdered and the ceremony was necessarily interrupted."
REACTIONS?
Uh Oh . . . Oh, come on! You had to know that was coming!
I tweak Starfire just a bit. Her costume is similar to the more modern version that we're seeing out now, but I made Kori out as more of a mix, but closer to what she was in the earlier Titans. She is taller than Dick; can look Jason in the eye, in fact. She is an alien, and I try to bring that out. If I could pluck Starfire out of the comics, this is how I imagine her to really be. Again, her history, like Roy's, is convoluted and confusing, so sorry now to any purists out there. She is how the Koriand'r would be from this particular dimension. Hopefully, still likeable, though.
Jason is going to be so pissed! But it's his own fault. He should have told her specifically not to say anything, right? Not sure how that would have worked out. Starfire wouldn't think she would need to lie about it. Oh well . . . It had to happen sooner or later. ;D