Ellen came to when she felt a cool breeze on her face. She opened her eyes and saw the Gotham night sky above her, devoid of moonlight or stars. She blinked once. Where was she? What had happened? Then she remembered. Batgirl, Bolton, gunshots, blood, Marisol-Marisol! Ellen bolted up and wildly looked around. She wasn't in the alley anymore. It looked like she was on a rooftop. Now she remembered. Those guys that had been with Bolton, one of them took Marisol, two of them had grabbed her, before-
"Hey." Ellen slowly turned to look behind her at the sound of the voice. Red Hood was sitting about three feet away, staring at her through that creepy red helmet. "You up?"
Ellen scooted away from him. "What the fuck!?" she shrieked.
Red Hood has his hands up placatingly. "Relax, Kiddo. You're safe."
Ellen's heart was still hammering in her chest. She was right now less than five feet away from a guy who had just killed two guys in front of her. "What do you want? Are you gonna kill me?" she asked.
Red Hood let out a small chuckle at that. "No. Like I told Batgirl, I don't hurt little girls. Besides," he said, getting up and walking towards her. "There are some things I'd like to talk with you about."
"Things?" Ellen repeated. "What things?" She kept a wary eye on the vigilante as he stopped next to her, then held his hand out. She cocked her head at it, then looked back up at him.
She had the feeling that Red Hood might be rolling his eyes under that helmet. "Don't worry, I don't bite." Ellen bit her lip, then gripped onto his hand, allowing him to pull her up to her feet. Now that she was only separated from him by a few inches, she could see just how big he was. He was tall, taller than her Dad at least, and he looked like he was pretty strong underneath all that leather. "Now," he said in a deep voice. "Just what's been going on here?"
Ellen pulled her hand away and glared at the vigilante. Her fear had been replaced by anger. "Seriously!? You're interrogating me right now? I don't have time for this! I have to save Marisol!" Ellen turned sharply to the alleyway. The blue pick up truck was still there, but it had started. "He's gonna get away with her!"
"No, he's not," Red Hood said. He grabbed Ellen by the arm and dragged her towards the edge of the roof. "You can explain to me while we get to my bike."
Ellen wrenched her arm out of his grip. "What about Batgirl?" she asked. "She got shot!"
"Do you want to go down and check on her, or do you want to go with me to save your friend? Your choice, Kiddo."
Ellen bit her lower lip. She couldn't just leave Batgirl, not after everything she'd done for her. Then she saw the pick-up start to pull out of the alleyway and she clenched her fists. She'd come this far. She wouldn't let Marisol down again. "Let's go!"
"Good girl." Red Hood gestured for her to follow him back down towards the fire escape. Out of the corner of her eye, Ellen saw Batgirl stirring by the beige car. I'm sorry, she thought.
Red Hood's motorcycle was parked just out of sight around the corner from the alley entrance. "So," she heard him ask. "What's the story?"
"My friend's brother saw the guards do something at Arkham," Ellen explained. It still didn't fully make sense to her. "These guys kidnapped her to make him do something, that's what she told me before Bolton came."
"Bolton?" Red Hood repeated as he revved up his bike. "Lyle Bolton?"
"Yeah." Who was Lyle Bolton anyway? If he worked at Arkham, then maybe that was where he'd met her Dad and formed some kind of grudge, but how did Red Hood know him? Just what the Hell was going on? "Then they wanted to take me and use me against my Dad."
"Probably shouldn't have said you were Riddler's daughter, Kiddo," he said. The bike came to life. He inclined his head towards her. "You got a helmet in your backpack?" Ellen removed her backpack long enough to remove her helmet, strapped it on and swung the backpack over her shoulders before sitting behind Red Hood on his bike. This was insane, she thought. Red Hood was a killer, he was a gang lord himself, he was the best chance Marisol had now. She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Hold on tight," she heard Red Hood say. Then he hit the gas peddle and the bike flew out of the alley. If Ellen had looked behind her, she would have seen her father.
Blake had all but thrown the girl into the backseat before he started the pickup, hitting a trash can in his haste to get out of the alley. He took a sharp left turn and drove west down Main. Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, he used the other to dial Bolton's number. "Pick up, damn you, pick up," he muttered. He'd seen Pierce and MacIntyre get shot. He'd known them for almost ten years. He realized that the hand that was holding his cell phone was trembling. Goddamn Red Hood. He didn't sign up to face off against that maniac! Finally, Bolton picked up.
"Yeah?"
"Lyle," Blake said. "Did you see-"
"Yeah," Bolton answered. It occurred to Blake that Bolton sounded almost scared.
"What do we do? Should we call Strange?"
There was a pause before Bolton spoke again. "Every man for himself. Sorry, Blake." Then Blake heard the phone disconnect. He stared at it in disbelief and growing anger. This whole thing had been his idea, Burns was knocked out in the Narrows somewhere, Pierce, MacIntyre, and Morton were dead, and Bolton was bailing on him now? That son of a bitch...
"Let me out!" the girl shouted from the backseat. "What are you going to do to Ellie, you creep!?"
Blake let out a cry of frustration and threw his phone towards her. She shrieked and barely dodged the phone. "Shut up!" he shouted. He put his hand on the steering wheel and considered his options. It was almost three in the morning, and there were only a few cars out in this part of town now. Where was he exactly? Then he saw a sign on his right. Gotham West Side Bridge. Two Miles. Then he calmed down. No one would be on the bridge this late. He'd get there, pull over, and toss the brat into the river. He checked his rearview mirror. No sign of any cops. Then he caught movement. A motorcycle was coming up behind him. It was a few blocks down still, but it was gaining speed. He could just make out the driver's...red helmet. "Oh, Jesus!" Blake hit the gas.
The other cars, street signs, and the occasional vagrants on the streets were indistinct blurs to Ellen as she and Red Hood practically flew down the streets. She could feel her hair whipping about her face, obscuring her vision of the blue pickup slightly. The creep must have made them, for she could see it picking up speed, even crossing center line to get around another car. "Bastard," she heard Red Hood say. "I'm gonna hop up on the sidewalk, hold on." He veered the bike to the right and Ellen tightened her grip around him as she felt the bike hop onto the sidewalk. She thought she could see someone dart out of their way and she squeezed her eyes shut. She felt her stomach give a little jolt as the bike went back to the street level. She opened her eyes and saw that Red Hood had managed to close the distance. The blue pickup was now three cars ahead of them. Red Hood pressed the gas pedal and Ellen let out a little yelp as they surged up even closer. Two cars ahead now. They were so close Marisol, just hang on a little bit longer.
The blue pickup suddenly veered left, turning against a red light and almost colliding into an oncoming car. The screeched to a stop, honking its horn loudly. "No!" Ellen shouted, watching as the pickup haul ass down the street. "He's getting away!"
"Watch this." Red Hood took a sharp turn left, going around the car and following the pickup. Ellen held on tight as Red Hood avoided parked cars along the narrower street. The pickup made another sharp turn right, trying to shake them again, but Red Hood let out a low laugh. "Oh no, you don't." He turned right and hopped the curb again. Ellen turned left and watched as began to draw closer to the pickup. She let out an excited whoop in spite of herself. If Marisol wasn't in danger, this would almost be fun.
Edward watched as the pickup and Red Hood's motorcycle disappeared down a side street and hit his steering wheel with a closed fist. "God damn it!" he shouted. He'd already started out two blocks behind them, and even with him pushing his dark green convertible as fast as he could, there was no way he could catch up to how fast they were going.
"Calm down," he heard Black Bat say. She'd never gotten herself fully strapped in, instead hanging on to the handlebar above the passenger door. "That street leads to Grace St."
"I know where it leads," Edward snapped. As soon as they reached the spot where the pickup and the motorcycle had disappeared, Edward stopped the car and craned his head left, only to see no sign of either vehicle. He let out another frustrated shout. He had to find them. He had to get Ellen back.
"We can't catch them like this," Black Bat said, once again stating the obvious. "We need to figure out where they're going and head them off."
Edward was about to snap at her again when the rational side of his brain stepped in. "Right," he said. "You're right." They were in the border neighborhoods that separated the West Side from the Narrows. Red Hood's motorcycle was heading after the pickup truck, going west. If Red Hood had Ellen, that likely meant that the driver of the pickup had Ellen's friend. Arkham Island was off to the Northeast, so they couldn't be headed that way. It was in the pickup driver's best interests to lose Red Hood, dispose of Marisol Sanchez, and make a getaway. And the quickest way he could do all three things was-"They're going to the West Side Bridge," Edward said. He hit the gas and took off straight down Main. The vast majority of Gotham City was built on an island, with a series of bridges that connected the western section of the island to the more suburban mainland. The West Side Bridge was the smallest of these bridges, used more to accommodate industrial interests than the upper and middle-class commuters who worked in the city interior. It did, however, have one feature that would serve Edward's purposes brilliantly. He just needed to get there before they did.
If he didn't, odds were good that he'd never see his little girl again.
They were almost perfectly parallel to the pickup now. The windows were tinted, but Ellen could just make out someone moving about the backseat. Red Hood veered to the left to land the bike back down on street level, and Ellen came face to face with Marisol. Her friend's eyes widened, and Ellen could see her mouth forming some words, probably her name. Ellen could see the driver too, that big creep. He was looking at them, or rather, at Red Hood. He looked terrified. much to Ellen's satisfaction. Her boldness back, she raised a hand up to him and displayed her middle finger. The driver's face curdled, then he veered the pickup right towards them. Ellen let out a shriek as Red Hood hopped back onto the curb. "Fucker," he growled. Then he removed his left hand from the handlebars of the motorcycle and moved it to his belt. When Ellen caught sight of his hand again, she realized that he was holding a pistol. She watched as he aimed it towards the pickup.
"What are you doing?" she shouted. "You'll hit Marisol!"
"I'm not aiming at the cab," he explained. He aimed the gun lower. "I'm going to take out his tire, try to slow him down a bit before we hit the bridge."
The bridge? Ellen looked up ahead and realized that they were maybe three blocks away from the West Side Bridge. Shit, she thought. If this creep made it across the bridge, he could get out of Gotham with Marisol. That couldn't happen. "Do it!" she shouted.
"Hold on," Red Hood said. He took aim at the tire and fired, but the bullet bounced uselessly off the rim. "I'm going to need to get closer," he said. "Hold on tight!"
"What do you think I've been doing!?" Ellen snapped.
Red Hood just laughed. "Sassy little thing. Almost thought you were afraid of me." She was still, just a bit, but she was more afraid for Marisol. She did as he asked though and held on as he steered the bike off of the curb again, once again driving almost right beside the pickup. The driver saw them and once again, aimed his truck at them. Ellen grit her teeth. She'd had just about all she could take from this guy, from his friends, from this entire night. This time, as the truck came closer, she loosened her grip on Red Hood. "What are you doing?" she heard him ask.
"You can't get his tire if he keeps trying to run us off the road," she said. They were alongside the bed of the pickup, which was, thankfully, uncovered. If she jumped at just the right time, she could make it. Or she could be a mangled mess on the road. Ellen bit her lip. "I'm gonna jump in and distract him."
"Wait, what!? Kiddo-" The truck was almost directly alongside them. One more inch and it would collide with them. Ellen thought of Marisol, Batgirl, Gramma, her father, and her mother before she let go of Red Hood and stood up. She almost toppled over due to the speed they were going at, but somehow, she remained steady. She turned her body to the left, took a breath, and jumped, holding her arms out. She half expected to land on the pavement, but instead, the upper half of her body was in the bed, her legs dangling precariously over, just a few inches from the asphalt. With all of her strength, Ellen managed to pull herself all the way into the bed of the truck. She collapsed once she was inside, her breath coming in deep gasps. Then she pulled off her backpack, unzipped it, and pulled out her hammer. She got to her feet, wobbling unsteadily, and made her way to the back window of the pickup.
Jesus Christ, Jason thought as he watched the kid stand up in the bed of the pickup truck. He'd known there was something special about this kid. This kid, this stupid, lucky rookie, jumped off a motorcycle going over 60 miles an hour and into the bed of a pickup truck going the same damn speed without getting herself killed. Holy shit. Where had Nigma been hiding this kid!? Jason averted his eyes from the girl and towards the driver, who seemed to be just as shocked as he was. The driver's attention was solely on the kid as she made her way up to his back windows. Perfect. Making the shot would be easier without the extra weight of the passenger too. Jason fired again, this time, hitting the tire. The shock made the truck veer to the right a bit, knocking the kid, Enigma over. Jason jerked his head when he heard her let out a little shriek. Shit, he hadn't hurt the kid, had he? Within a moment, she was up again, still holding a hammer firmly in her hands. The truck made a sharp right turn, still somehow going with one tire rapidly losing air. Jason veered right as well to avoid being hit, falling a bit behind the truck. His eyes narrowed when he realized why the truck had made the turn. They were at the bridge now. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a dark green convertible pulled over on the side of the road, near the bridge's maintenance building. A worker at this time of night? He didn't have time to think about it as soon he saw sparks flying from the metal rim of the now gone tire rubbing against the asphalt. He could also see Enigma banging away at the window with her hammer. Probably trying to get her friend out. Jason smirked. Good girl. It would be over soon.
Edward had barely shut off the car alongside the main entrance to the bridge before he was unbuckled and out the door, running at top speed towards the maintenance building just to the right of the bridge's entrance. The West Side Bridge was unique among the city bridges in that it was a Bascule bridge. From the maintenance building control room, bridge engineers would use hydraulics to open the bridge up from the middle to allow boats to pass underneath. The best way to stop the chase and get Ellen and her friend back was to cut off the pickup drivers' escape route and box him in. Edward was at the door and attempted to push it open, only to find it locked. He jiggled the door uselessly. Somehow he'd managed to beat the other drivers here, but it would be for nothing if he couldn't get this damn door to open!
"Stand back."
Edward looked behind him and saw Black Bat holding what appeared to be a spray can in her hand. "And just what good is vandalism going to do us!?" he shouted.
"It's exploding gel," she said calmly. Too calmly. Did nothing phase this girl? She gently pushed him to the side and sprayed gel onto the door lock and frame. "Stand back," she said again. This time, Edward listened, his curiosity piqued by the device. Once she was done, Black Bat took a few steps back and pressed the top button on the dispenser. The gel exploded, blowing the door off of its hinges and sending it falling to the ground. As soon as the path was clear, Edward stepped over the door and into the control room, turning on the light switch. It would be a simple matter to turn on the mechanism to open the bridge, he just needed time. Then he heard the distinctive sounds of tires screeching and a motorcycle engine. Time was something that was in short supply. Edward got to work.
Ellen barely noticed the bridge as the truck began crossing it. All she saw was Marisol, looking at her through the truck's back windows, her dark brown eyes wide. Ellen gestured for her to move back. "I'm gonna break the window!" she shouted. "Look out for glass!" Marisol seemed to understand her and moved out of the way as much as she could. Winding the hammer back with all her might, Ellen swung it at the window. At first, it bounced off. Ellen swore. She swung back and hit the window again. This time, a crack formed. She swung back again and aimed at the crack. This time, the window shattered, sending glass into the truck and onto the bed. Rolling her sweatshirt sleeve over her hand, Ellen reached in and cleared away as much glass from the window frame as she could.
"Ellie!" she heard Marisol cry out.
Ellen reached her hand through the frame. "Grab my hand! I'll pull you out!" Marisol hesitated for a moment before she grabbed tightly onto Ellen's hand. Ellen dropped the hammer and reacher her left hand into the window as well, bracing her body against the back of the truck's cab and pulling Marisol through the gap with every bit of strength she had. Slowly, but surely, Marisol inched her way out of the cab and to the relative freedom of the truck, wincing a bit as stary pieces of glass cut her forearms, unprotected by her short-sleeved shirt. "Almost there," Ellen said. "You're almost there, Marisol!" Her words of encouragement seemed to be just what she needed, for as soon as Marisol's front half was out of the cab, she used her arms to push herself all the way out. Ellen braced her friend to steady her as she stood up in the bed.
"Ellie!" Marisol shouted again, her dark curls whipping about her face. "What do we do now?" The girls flinched at the sound of another gunshot and fell over when the truck suddenly seemed to drop a few feet. Ellen pulled herself up and looked to the right. Red Hood was right alongside them, and he'd shot out another tire. Why wasn't the creep stopping though? She felt Marisol tug on her hand. "Ellie! Look! The bridge!"
Blake had watched this Enigma kid break his window and pull her friend out with his jaw dropped. How-just who was this kid!? It occurred to him that if he reached behind him, he could grab the Sanchez girl's leg and pull her back in, but he'd need to take his eyes off the road to do that. If he did that, he could easily go through the meager railing set up along the bridge and plummet into the water below. So instead, he watched as the Sanchez brat joined her friend in the bed of his pickup. Red Hood was still alongside him, his gun aimed at his right rear tire now. Maybe if he veered right at just the right time, he could still ram Red Hood, knock him off the bike, send the girls flying, still get out of this in one piece, he looked ahead and let out a scream when he realized that the road ahead of him... was rising? It was rising! There were no boats in the water, why was the bridge opening up!? Who- Then Blake realized it with a cold chill. Nigma. He was here too. And Blake had just attempted to kidnap his daughter. Red Hood was here, Nigma was here, Bolton had abandoned him, there was no way he was getting out of this alive. Then he felt the truck jostle, and he knew Red Hood had taken out the rear tire too. The car would come to a stop any second now. He looked to the rearview mirror and saw the girls standing in the bed of the truck, pointing and shouting at the bridge. They probably thought they were saved now. Blake grit his teeth, then gripped hard onto the steering wheel. Well, if he was going to go, he wasn't going to go alone. He let out a final, exhilarated laugh. Screw you, Nigma.
Ellen fell over and almost landed on Marisol when the truck made a hard left. "What the fuck is he doing!?" she shouted. "He can't turn around! Not with two tires gone!"
"Ellie!" Marisol screamed. "He's going for the edge!"
Ellen looked up and realized with horror that Marisol was right. The creep was heading for the railing, the flimsy metal strands that kept people from going over the edge, and even though he was slowed by the loss of both of his right tires, he'd go through it any second. Ellen grabbed Marisol's arm and dragged her to the back of the bed. "Jump!"
Marisol looked at her and shook her head. "I can't! What about-"
"Do it!" Ellen shouted. Time seemed to slow down the closer the truck made it to the edge. Five. Four. Ellen shoved Marisol over the edge, hoping that the slower speed of the truck meant she wouldn't be too badly injured. Three. Two. She heard Marisol scream and watched her roll on the asphalt a bit, but pull herself up. She thought she heard her scream her name. Ellen put her heads on the edge of the truck bed, ready to follow.
One.
Ellen watched the road disappear and felt herself falling. It was too late. She was falling with the truck. She'd saved Marisol, but she was going to die. In a flash, she saw her life pass before her eyes. She saw her mother, Gramma, Marisol, Joe, Red, Jon and all their friends, her father, Auntie Nina and Deirdre, Batgirl-
Batgirl's words came to her in a flash. Press the top button to shoot it and the side button to retract. Ellen reached into her sweatshirt pocket and pulled out the grappling hook. She pointed it upward, aiming at the bridge above her, that seemed to be getting further away from her with every second. Top to shoot it. She fired, hoping against hope that her aim was true. Then she felt the line go taut. He had connected. Side button to retract. Ellen gulped and pushed the side button. She was airborne then, shooting upwards towards the bridge. She heard a great splash beneath her and realized that it was the car impacting the water. She didn't look beneath her to see it for herself, keeping her eyes on the asphalt and steel that was getting closer to her now, and she held onto the hook as tightly as she could. Finally, she stopped, just a foot away from safety. She dangled a bit, trying not to panic. "Hey!" she called out. "Somebody! Pull me up!" Red Hood appeared over the side then, reaching an arm down to her.
"Take my hand!"
Ellen reached one hand up to Red Hood's keeping the other tight on the grappling hook. She reached out as far as she could and felt his firm grip around her hand, pulling her up and over the railing. Ellen let go of the grappling hook and collapsed against Red Hood, letting him gently place her on the ground. Then Marisol's face was in front of her, tears streaming from her eyes.
"Ellie!" she cried, wrapping her in a hug. "Are you okay!? I thought you died!"
Ellen let out a shaky laugh, unbuckled her bike helmet and tossed it to the ground, then returned her hug. "I'm okay, Marisol. I'm okay." She rubbed Marisol's back as her friend cried. It was over. It was really over now. Marisol was safe. They were safe. Then Ellen thought she heard another voice call her name. A male voice. She let go of Marisol and sat up, looking past her to see two figures running up to them. One was in black, probably Black Bat. Batgirl had said she was coming with Red Robin and-Ellen saw another figure running ahead of the one in black. A man in a green suit. He was calling her name. "Dad," she murmured. Ellen pushed herself up to her feet and began running on shaky legs to the figure. "Dad!" she cried out. Her vision was blurring now and she ran faster to him. "Dad!"
Her father's arms were out and open as he ran up to her and she launched herself into them, almost knocking him over with the force. He had his arms wrapped tightly around her, almost picking her up off the ground. "Ellen," she heard him. "Ellen, Ellen, Ellen." She felt his body shake a bit and she realized that he was crying. This caused her to start to cry in earnest now.
"I'm sorry Dad," she sobbed against him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just wanted-" she felt him press his lips on the top of her head and went still. He'd never kissed her before.
"I know," she heard him say soothingly. "I know, sweetheart. It's going to be alright. You're going to be alright. I'm going to take you home." Ellen sniffled, then hugged her father tighter. He did love her. He really did.
"Hey, Eddie. Long time no see."
Ellen felt her father stiffen at the words and looked behind her to see Marisol, watching the scene with big eyes, and Red Hood, giving her father a wave. Ellen then squeaked a bit when her father roughly pushed her behind him. "Get out of here," he snarled. Ellen looked up at his face and gasped. He was angry now, angrier then she'd ever seen him, glaring at Red Hood and actually baring his teeth. "Get. Out. Of. Here." She'd never heard that tone of voice from him before. Was it the voice he'd used as a Rogue? It sounded like he would actually try to fight Red Hood if he got any closer. She tugged on her father's coat in a silent plea. He reached behind him to gently pet her head, not taking his eyes off of Red Hood for an instant.
Red Hood scoffed. "Really? This is the thanks I get for looking after your kid?"
Ellen heard her father let out another low growl at that. He was seriously going to fight Red Hood. Black Bat stepped in between the two men then. "We can take it from here," she said calmly. "And we both know which one of us would win."
There was a long pause before Red Hood shrugged. "Whatever. Tell the boss I said hello." He then walked away from the small group of people, towards the motorcycle that lay on the road. He pulled it back up, then looked back towards Ellen and gave her a small wave. "See you round, Enigma."
"Over my dead body," Ellen's father said.
Red Hood said nothing and revved the engine on his motorcycle. He drove past them and back towards the entrance of the bridge, back to wherever he came from. As soon as he was out of sight, Ellen saw her father relax. "Well then," he said in his normal tone of voice. He looked up at Marisol, who still stood frozen. "I believe it's high time to get you back to your parents."
Marisol's eyes lit up, then became troubled. "My brother-"
"That's being taken care of as I speak. Now, let's go."
Marisol stepped forward then, awkwardly rubbing a scraped elbow. "It's, um, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Nigma."
Ellen's father let out out a laugh at that. "It's nice to meet you too."
Ellen let out a small laugh too when she remembered. "Batgirl! What happened to Batgirl?"
Her father looked down at her with a quizzical look. "Red Robin took her to a clinic in Park Row, why?"
Ellen chewed her lip and looked at her feet. "I wanted to thank her," she said. "And to say I was sorry. She got shot trying to protect me." She looked back up at her father to see that he looked almost stricken. Black Bat came up to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"She'll be okay. And it wasn't your fault. I'll tell her you sent your regards." She dropped her hand from Ellen's shoulder and was about to walk past her father when he said something too.
"Tell her I sent my thanks as well. And my apologies."
Black Bat raised an eyebrow, then smiled slightly. "I will. Let's go."
Ellen nodded, realizing just how heavy her eyelids felt. Now that the adrenaline of the night was wearing off, she realized just how tired she was. As soon as she was in the passenger seat of her father's car, she shut her eyes. She was sound asleep in seconds.
When Ellen woke up, she was lying on her back in her bed. She blinked for a moment, then turned her head towards her clock. It was well after noon. Had it all been a dream? Marisol, Bolton, Batgirl, Red Hood? She looked down at her clothes and realized she was still wearing her sweatshirt and striped tights. It wasn't a dream. It had really happened. She'd really been a superhero for a night. She let out a giggle despite herself. Wait, how had she gotten back in her Gramma's apartment? Then she heard a noise from the kitchen and realized who had to have taken her home. She jumped out of bed and ran to the living room.
Sure enough, her father was sitting at the kitchen table in front of a laptop computer. He looked up when he heard her enter and smiled. "Well, look who's rejoined the living!"
Ellen bolted to him. "Dad!" He got up from the table and accepted her hug, hugging her back. "What happened to Marisol? Is she okay?"
"She's fine," he reassured her. "I dropped her off at her home this morning before we came here. There were tears all around, as well as many questions about your welfare from Mrs. Sanchez." He stepped back a bit to give her a stern look. "I don't think I need to tell you that you're in very big trouble."
Ellen gulped. "Are you going to tell Gramma?"
"About the fact that you put on a costume and decided to play superhero, almost getting yourself killed God only knows how many times? No. She'd never let me near you again. About the fact that I caught you sneaking out in the wee small hours of the morning looking for your missing friend, which while not the full truth, also not a lie? Yes. I already have, actually." Ellen cringed. Gramma would never leave her alone for a weekend again. "Believe you me," he continued. "The three of us are going to have a very long, serious discussion about the lack of supervision, among other things when she gets back. And I think it goes without saying that you're grounded for the foreseeable future."
Ellen nodded. This was going to suck, but still, it wasn't as bad as she was afraid it might have been. "What about Miguel?" she asked. "Marisol told me that she got kidnapped because of something he saw. Is he okay?"
Her father smiled at that. "As a matter of fact, I'm waiting to hear from a friend about that now! She should be calling-" a ringing sound from his shirt pocket interrupted him. He pulled out the phone, then raised a finger at Ellen. "That would be her now, actually." He raised the phone to his ear and took a step towards the living room before answering. "Penelope!" Penelope? Right, that was Doc Young's name. "About time! When is-" his face drained of color. "What?" he asked. "When?" He listened for a moment to whatever Doc Young was telling him, then turned back to Ellen with a shocked expression. Ellen felt her nerves begin to shake. What had happened? "I see," he said dully. "I see. No, I'm with Ellen now. I'll tell her. Thank you, Penelope." He hung up the cell phone, placed it back into his pocket, then ran a hand through his hair. He let out a long sigh, then turned to face Ellen. She realized that he was concerned. "Ellen," he said. "Sit down, sweetheart."
Ellen took a seat at the dining room table. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Is it Miguel? Dad, what happened to Miguel?"
Her father took the seat across from her, then reached out to hold her hand. "I'm sorry. Miguel's dead."