"This is my mom. Mom, this is Mr. Brixton. I brought him home to eat. I think he's lost."
"Good to meet you. You're welcome to whatever we have. I know it's horrible out there."
Wade sat down at the table glad for the shelter of a civilized home. "Thank you."
"So. What do you want to know?"
"Um…I don't remember much. I know my name, I know my parents names, but they don't live in New Gotham. And, Barbara. I know Barbara."
"Well. I can tell you that you're a counselor at our school, that you drive a really great yellow jeep, and that there's a rumor going around that you're dating Ms. Gordon." The boy smiled.
"Really? Is she good looking?" He laughed at the fact that the students knew so much of what was going on in the school. "I don't remember her." His smile faded at relenting to this fact.
"Ummm. Well, she's nice, she's a great teacher, well…as teachers go…and she's … umm.. crippled."
"What?"
"Well, she's in a wheelchair. We don't really know anything about it. She told us the first day that she'd been in a car accident and that she can't walk and that's all she said about it…"
Wade's face was even more confused as he tried hard to put together all the pieces in his mind.
"…but she's really pretty. She's got this red hair." He blushed as he began to describe Barbara's physical appearance aside from using a wheelchair.
"Red hair? It's Barbara, it has to be. I remember the name Barbara and her having red hair."
"I have my yearbook. We can see." The boy jumped up eager to help put together pieces of the puzzle.
Wade was anxious waiting for the revelation.
"It's her. Barbara Gordon. Why didn't I know her name was Barbar…."
"Let me look." Wade stared at the picture and was almost immediately overcome with memories. Memories that didn't fit into the counselor school teacher scenario.
"Mr. Brixton?"
"Yah?"
"Is there something wrong?"
"No, it's just that nothing fits together yet. But you've helped a lot." He took a bite of a banana and continued flipping through the yearbook. "What about a clocktower?"
"The Clocktower? The one downtown?"
"I guess."
"What about it."
"I need to go there."
"How about you crash here tonight, in out of the rain, and I'll take you in the morning."
Wade was exhausted and cold and the sound of a warm bed wasn't something he could justly refuse.
…
"What are you going to do Helena? Drag me along through the streets? That's ridiculous. I'll be fine. I'm stronger. It won't happen again." Barbara wasn't doing a great job trying to convince the girls to go out and get things fixed on the outside and leave her alone to get her computers up and running.
"No way. I'm…we're not leaving you again. Dinah and Reese have teams set up and Gibson has a meta-team set up. They are going to do sweeps and some final clean up. I'm going to stay here and…"
"Baby-sit. Not a…"
"Save it Barbara. Call it what you want. I'm staying."
"Look. I…" she struggled to push herself to the computer platform. "Look, I've got the alarm system functioning again and none of you even know the codes yet. I'm going to have to be alone some time. I'll not be a prisoner in my own home. Helena, think about it, if you were in my place, you'd be fighting me tooth and nail."
The girls looked at one another and then at Alfred. "Barbara, you've only been on your feet for a few weeks…"
"Nice choice of words Helena." Dinah shot an angry look at Helena.
"You know what I mean. You can't…"
"There's a lot I can't do. Just give me a couple of hours of peace. Alfred will be around if I need anything."
Thinking back on Barbara's point about her not wanting to be a prisoner, Helena identified and relented. She knew she was needed on the street; they had to find Wade. "Fine, but Alfred has restrictions. Bathroom breaks, food, that's it!"
"Yes Ma'am!" Barbara mocked.
"I just know you two. If I didn't set you straight, you'd be waltzing around the clocktower using that stupid…"
"Helena. Shut up. I get it. Just go out and do your job." Barbara disgustedly released the brake on her chair and slowly turned to leave.
"Bar…" Helena stopped herself. Though she wanted to say more, it felt kind of good seeing just a glimpse of Barbara taking charge of the situation again. "Come on Kid."
"Nuff of the 'kid' thing. We've discussed it."
"Fine." She settled for mussing up the blonde's neatly combed hair instead.
…
"Well, did she say you couldn't help me up to the computers? The ramp isn't on my 'can do' list yet."
"Very well. Will you be needing anything else Ms. Barbara?"
She looked around the familiar platform. The screens had mostly been replaced and rehung. Most of the computers were also back in place. "Helena said they recovered backup discs?"
"All of your discs are there. Just waiting for you."
"Then I guess I can take it from here." Moving up to the first computer, she used her right hand to pull the keyboard to her lap then to place her weaker hand onto the keys. As the computer presented a prompt, she discovered it would have to be slow hunt and peck with the right hand as her left wasn't quit up for responding just yet. "Good thing no one is currently depending on me for speed. This is pathetic." She said to herself.
Alfred looked on for a few minutes then left with a little concern.
After a couple of hours, Barbara had only managed to get the basics up on one computer. Mentally, she was more than up for the task, but physically she was completely frustrated. As she tapped the last key, the large screens above lit up one by one. She wasn't prepared for what she saw. They were frozen on the entranced eye that had destroyed the city. Quickly, she turned back to her computer and, much to her surprise, flew with both hands over the keys rattling off a line of characters that brought all the screens to blue almost immediately.
"Nicely done. Seems you could use a break now."
"Actually I could, but I'd like to go down and work out for just a bit. I'd like to try some things to get my hands to respond like that always. Could I get you to give me a push?"
"My pleasure." Alfred helped Barbara down to the gym where she began putting on some weights in an effort to convince Alfred she was fine on her own. "Is there anything else?"
"I'll be fine. Why don't you give me an hour down here then come and make me stop. I don't want to overdo it." She smiled knowing that even if she was doing a bad job of convincing Alfred she wasn't up to anything, he'd do as she asked without questioning her.
"Back in an hour then." With that, he left her alone.
Perhaps more quickly then she had in weeks, she pushed herself over to the table where Helena had tossed the transponder and brought it back into position. She held it and stared at it for a few minutes before smiling and putting her now-feeble fingers to work. Getting it back into working condition was easy, but she needed to do something to sustain her for a longer period of time and compensate for the loss of her hands. It needed to be stronger and last longer if she was going to take the risk again.
Her hour almost up, she went back over to the mats and reached up for the rings above and grabbed hold. She heard the door open, right on cue. "Boy, you are prompt aren't you?"
"Is that all you've got?" It was a man's voice, but definitely not Alfred's.
"Reese?" She let her arms drop back down to her lap.
"Yah. Sorry if I scared you. Helena sent me down to bring you back up. We've got wine. We had a really good night." He stood in front of Barbara and folded his arms. "You O.K.?"
"I'm getting there…I think…most of the time I think I'm getting there."
"Give me your hand." Squatting beside the chair, he took her hand and began massaging it. "Looks like you've come a long way."
"Does it? It was a big deal that I finally got my left hand up to the keyboard tonight. Kind of pathetic."
"It's not. It's great. I thought we lost you."
"Me too. I'm trying. Besides, you don't really know what you're getting yourself into Detective." Barbara smiled and gave him her other hand.
"That has been in the back of my mind, but I'm up to the challenge if you are."
"I'm the least of your problems. It's Helena we have to worry about. And she's been spending a lot of time with Dinah, so we may have our hands full. I just hope she doesn't get too used to being in charge around here."
"She's ready for you to take it back at any time. Can I help you upstairs or do you have it?"
"Actually, I'm pretty tired and I hate pushing this stupid thing even when I'm not. So, yah, that would be great." The two went back up stairs and joined the others in some wine and celebration at the progress each had made, both in and out of the clocktower.
Finally, the night, the most normal night they'd had since Harley took the clocktower, was coming to an end. "I'm bushed guys. Barbara, do you want me to help you tonight? Shower? Whatever?" Dinah got up taking one last bite of a brownie.
"Ummm…yah. I could use a bath actually. Helena? You staying here or going home?" Barbara pushed her chair back from the table.
"Reese and I are going to check things out on the streets one last time, then I'm going home to get some more clothes. I'll come by in the morning to pick you up Kid. We've still got a lot of clean up out there."
"Sounds good. You two have a good time." Dinah laughed and inadvertently took Barbara by the shoulders and began pushing her toward her room.
"Hey, hey. I got it. What's the hurry?" Barbara took the rims of her chair in her hands and made her way to the elevator.
…
"I've got to go down to the high school. Can you help me get there? There's got to be something that can help me find Barbara."
"Sure Mr. Brixton, but I've heard there's still a lot of gang trouble down there."
"It'll be fine. We won't bother them. I just need to get into my office or her classroom."
Wade and the boy made their way down to the high school. The streets were getting less and less crazy. Seemed the GCPD was doing their job, with a little help from Barbara as usual. Meanwhile, Dinah and Helena continued to comb the streets in their spare time for any sign of what happened to Wade's body.
As they neared the high school, Wade felt the presence of people following him. "Brent. I want to you run ahead and go back home."
"I don't think I should leave you." The boy looked over his shoulder and saw that they were getting closer to being entirely surrounded by a group of angry, territorial, street people.
"Brent, go! When I start running, you start running. I'm running into the building, you go home."
The boy relented having decided to go for help instead. "Fine."
Reaching the steps of the high school, Wade turned soon enough to see the bat swinging toward him. He couldn't move out of its way fast enough and suddenly he felt the blow and all the air leave his body. Worse than that, there was pain as he hit the steps and fell limp.
"Stay off our turf. You don't belong here."
"Go back to where you came from Man."
Having no other choice, Wade laid still until his assailants left.
Dinah and Helena stopped to question several people in the park across the street from the high school and were getting nowhere quick when they were distracted by a boy running across the park.
"Hey! Wait! Dinah, go get that boy. He might know what's going on around here."
"Sure. I get to do all the running."
"Go Dinah!" Dinah took off after the boy gaining on him with surprising speed.
"Hey kid! I can help. Stop!" Finally, the boy stopped.
"They are going to kill him. There are tons of them."
"Slow down. Who?"
"Mr. Brixton. They ganged…"
"You're kidding right? Did you say Brixton?" Dinah couldn't believe it could possibly be Wade, alive? Grabbing the boy by the shirt, she ran back over to Helena. "Helena, we've got a very serious problem…or it's good news, but it's…"
"Dinah…stop. What is the problem?"
"Wade is alive, or at least he was a couple of minutes ago." She turned to the boy. "Where is he?"
"He's at the high school. He made me leave him alone. There are lots of gang members there. I didn't…"
"It's fine. We can handle it. Go on." Scared, the kid ran away. "Come on Dinah." The girls ran toward the school. The closer they got, the clearer the figure lying on the steps became.
"Dinah, it's him."
"Wade?" Helena fell by his side and tried to wake him. "He's been hit or something, he's bleeding. We need to get him to the hospital."
"We need to tell Barb…"
"No! Not until he gets through this. I won't get her hopes up again. Come on. Help me get him to the hospital."
They lifted Wade's body and carried him to the Hummer where they then drove him to the hospital. Both of them were confused as to what to do about their new predicament. Neither of them wanted to get Barbara's hopes up, but they knew it would do her so much good to know Wade was actually alive. Still, he was in very bad shape. They knew they had to wait.
"Try to get a hold of Reese, Helena."
"I've tried this radio a million times. Coms are so much better. The GCPD really needs to step into the future."
"Let's just get back home." Having taken Wade back to the hospital where he was whisked off to surgery immediately, they drove quickly home, still in a quandary about how to deal with Barbara.