BRRRRRINNNNG!!!!

Ah! For once, Barbara didn't dread the sound of the bell signifying the end of class and the beginning of a stampede of teenage feet as each student fought for the right to leave class first. For once, Barbara Gordon actually welcomed the annoying trill of the bell. As soon as the last student left the classroom, Barbara shut the door, locking it behind her. This was her free period and she needed to find Helena.

Barbara quickly steered her chair toward her desk, grabbing her suitcase as she went. She tugged the laptop from the suitcase and set to work on locating Helena. Barbara hoped against hope that Helena had decided to turn her comms back on, but as luck would have it, Helena was intent on keeping silent. If Helena didn't turn her comm. units back on, Barbara had no chance of finding Helena via GPS signal.

Guess we're going to have to do this the hard way.

Sighing, Barbara tapped away at the keyboard, her fingers a blur as they entered commands and interfaced with other computers. It was what she liked to call the Duck and Run maneuver – interfacing with a bunch of servers and stealing their IP addresses, leaving an indiscernible trail behind her in an effort to trick whomever it was that might attempt to backtrack her movements when she finally happened upon her target. Anybody who tried to discover who had hacked into their highly sensitive, highly classified computer would likely backtrack to an IP address far across the county in some small town that was an insignificant spot on the map. If they made a move on that addy, they would discover that the individual they were seeking never existed in the first place. Barbara smiled. She was extremely worried about Helena, but there was no way she could deny how much fun it was to hack a secure system.

A stray thought stole the smile away as Barbara realized that her hunch might actually lead her in the wrong direction. If she was wrong and Helena was in trouble, she would have wasted precious minutes that could possibly save her life. And Helena had often needed saving since the death of Selina...

She thought back to the night she learned the tragic news of Selina's death…a night that ended in yet another tragic event visited upon herself. She had just returned from helping Batman bring the Clown Prince of Organized Crime to his knees. As she took a much deserved hot shower, allowing the stress and strain from that night to drain away with the water, she listened to a newscast of the events taking place that night.

Criminals at the scene insist they were attacked by a mysterious masked vigilante who they call Batman and his partner, Batgirl. Veteran New Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon refused to comment, only to say that two unidentified law-enforcement agents were responsible for bringing The Joker into police custody and denied reports of any Batman or Batgirl at the scene…

She had smiled at that last comment. Her father, the former New Gotham City Police Commissioner, James Gordon, would never have admitted that he was allowing two costumed crime fighting vigilantes to help him clean up the streets of New Gotham. He would keep their presence a secret…especially since he didn't know the identity of either Batman or Batgirl. James Gordon never wanted to be made a fool of. If he didn't know the identity of the two caped crusaders who just helped save New Gotham, he was damned if anyone was going to ask him embarrassing questions about that fact.

We have a breaking story: A fatal stabbing in Downtown New Gotham. Reports are coming in that the victim is the infamous Selena Kyle, the mysterious and beautiful businesswoman, once accused of leading a double life as the jewel thief called Catwoman. It is now confirmed. She is dead at the scene. Catwoman is survived by her only daughter, Helena. Ms. Kyle has been romantically linked to the enigmatic millionaire Bruce Wayne.

Barbara had instantly thought of Helena and rushed to the phone when a knock sounded at her door. Thinking it was Helena, she rushed to open it, only to discover that she was sadly mistaken.

KNOCK, KNOCK!

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Batgirl, past tense!

BANG!

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

Barbara was jolted from her thoughts by an insistent knocking on her classroom door. Turning to see who it was, she half expected the clown-painted features of the Joker to be peering through the window pane. Instead, it was Dinah, looking a tad bit worried at having found the door to Barbara's classroom locked. Barbara quickly steered herself to the door and unlocked it, but to Dinah's surprise, she didn't invite her in.

"Barbara, why did you lock the door?"

Barbara brushed a stray lock of red hair from her face as she tried to put on a strong front for her teenage ward.

Just because I'm worried about Helena, there's no reason to get Dinah upset.

"Sorry," she said, displaying a sheepish grin. "Things have been crazy today and I just needed a few moments of peace."

Dinah stared at Barbara for a moment, a knowing look clouding her features, then suddenly perked up. "Well, everyone's been acting a bit weird today. Considering the date, I can understand why. That's why I'm here – to take your mind off of things by buying you lunch…albeit the nasty cafeteria style lunch, but lunch nonetheless. I mean, after all, who can actually concentrate on the past when there's all that noise around them…not to mention having to watch your food to see that it doesn't actually start crawling off your tray…"

The teenager's good humor was infectious and Barbara couldn't help but laugh. She was about to tell Dinah that she would be delighted to join her for some rotten cafeteria food when they heard a beep come from Barbara's laptop. Frowning, Barbara hurried toward the laptop. Her brow furrowed as she read the words that had appeared on the computer screen.

"Oh no," she muttered.

Dinah strained to see the information that had her mentor so concerned. Peering around Barbara at the screen, Dinah realized that Barbara had hacked into one of the computers at Arkham Asylum. She was currently looking at the inmates' visitor logs, specifically that of an inmate named Clayface. Dinah gasped at the name of Clayface's most recent visitor…

Helena Kyle.