This second chapter, I must say, took more than I though. It was supposed to be simple, and to make the story roll, but it ended as something quite different…
It turns out that there are so many consequences when the Catwoman (Selina Kyle before, now Irena Dubrovna) is shot that this chapter two is mostly about that. I think it's maybe a chapter that is a little too long, but I did try to be coherent, and I just hope I didn't repeat myself.
You will also notice the presence of Robin and Nightwing here, and maybe this needs a brief explanation from me about the way I approached them. I have no intention of making them less than they are, like less smart, for instance, but I also don't want any of them to look younger versions of Batman. I tried to make Tim more like a curious teenager, who is still learning (although he knows his business, of course).
Nightwing, however, is a character I find particularly interesting these days, and I wanted to show him as I see him: he is sensible and empathic, opposing to Batman's harsher, dry manners. Well, you'll see.
Anyway, I appreciated that you are following my story, and I wanted to thank the reviews I got. I hope you enjoy this second chapter, and beware that chapter three is already in progress. Again, I would be very thankful for any feedback you could give about the story, or even about my English use.
Finally, I forgot the disclaimer in chapter one. Here it goes: all character here belongs to DC (I think), but, I promise, they don't belong to me.
And now, good reading. Have fun!
AliaAtreidesBr
Robin got off of his motorcycle, taking a deep breath. Checking the hour, he realized he had just reached thirty hours straight without sleeping, and now, as he arrived at the familiar Batcave, he could feel the effects of the lack of sleep finally catching up.
"Master Timothy, welcome."
"Hey, Alfred…"
The butler approached him.
"I trust you don't need medical care…"
"No, I'm fine. Not even a scratch, believe it or not…" Tim glanced around, immediately recognizing the car Bruce had used last night. "He's here already, isn't he?"
"Seems very concentrated in his work, more than usually, if possible…" Lowering his tone: "He wouldn't even let me treat the wound in his leg… Nasty injury."
"Yes, I know."
As they walked, Alfred talked:
"We are waiting for Master Richard, he is running a little late, but, well, his task involved a great deal of convincement…"
"Dick has a way with words. He'll make it."
"Yes, I believe so." They reached the main floor of the cave, where most of the technological equipment was. The noise of Batman furiously typing on the computer's keyboard was the most distinctive sound in the room, and he gave no sign of noticing Robin's presence – although Tim knew it was impossible that Batman wasn't aware of everything that happened in his cave.
Robin quietly approached Bruce, who was seated on his chair and had all his attention turned to the computer. He was running background and profile information on weapon dealers, or so it seemed to Robin. Bruce wasn't wearing his cowl or gloves, but, other than that, he appeared to be using the same uniform since the night before: he had blood all over him, the distinct scent was strong and unpleasant, dry blood that belonged to the Catwoman, Tim knew that much. And his left leg, as Alfred pointed out, was merely wrapped in what looked like improvised bandages, bandages that were already soaked with blood, so soaked that small drops were slowly falling to the floor, and a small pool of a bright red color grew near Bruce's boot.
"Hm… Hey, Bruce… Maybe you should do something about your leg, you know…?"
"Did you get it?" He asked without looking at Tim, not even for a second.
Robin sighed. "Straight to the point, right?"
"Yeah, I got it…" Searching the backpack he carried, Tim took from there what looked like the very ruined remains of what once was a leather suit. "Or what is left of it, anyway. It wasn't too hard, you know? I found it in the hospital's emergency room, just sitting there, in a plastic bag, waiting for someone from the police to take it…"
A brief glance was all Bruce gave it, then turning his attention to the computer again. "Good job", he said, quite unexpectedly.
"Thanks…" Encouraged by the fact that Batman had even complimented him, Tim risked a question: "By the way, why do you need it? What kind of evidence you think…"
"That's not why I asked you to take it."
Tim used a hand to scratch his own chin, a teenager's chin where no beard grew. "Okay… Now you got me."
"I didn't want anyone else to exam it, that's all."
"Why…" The answer finally hit him. "Oh… You didn't want anyone examining those clothes and discovering it's the Catwoman's uniform, right?"
As Bruce grew silent, completely focused in his work, Tim realized his deduction had been an accurate one.
"So… about this leg of yours…?"
"I'm fine." Bruce's answer sounded more like a growl than like an actual sentence.
"Okay, okay…!" Tim crossed his arms over his chest, and, sighing, turned his attention to the computer screen. Information about dozens of people showed there, Bruce crossing words and references while working at the same time on data about what looked like a fragment of some kind of ammunition.
"What am I looking at?" Robin knew he could have understood it by himself if given time, but as Bruce constantly went back and forth on the archives, there wasn't enough time to actually read something.
"Our most solid clue." The screen finally showed pictures and lab results about the diminutive piece of bullet. "The only physical evidence I was able to collect was this: a fragment from one of the projectiles that hit Selina, and, luckily, allocated in my leg."
"Oh, yes, I can see how lucky you were, getting shot and all…"
"Tim…" A severe look silenced the teenager, who just mumbled a shy "sorry" before finally quieting. "Anyway, I removed the fragment inside me, and examined it carefully." He displayed a sequence of pictures, showing a huge variety of ammunitions. However, among them only one had its name highlighted. "And this is it."
"I see… So that's what hit Catwoman. And I suppose this information shortens our list of suspects by… I don't know, fifty different weapon dealers?"
"Maybe. But if this hit man bought so much as one bullet in Gotham, I'll know about it." Batman raised from his chair, and Tim noticed he had that look – the scary one, the one that meant he was into it with his heart and soul, and he would never let go.
The doctor, a blond woman around forty, was trying to explain it to them:
"… and we were able to contain the blood loss, but we are still worried about her heart. The explosive ammunition caused her clavicle to shatter, and bone shards, as well as pieces of the bullets, spread in her body, causing multiple hemorrhages…"
Dr. Lark was her name, and she had been brought from Metropolis to take care of Selina. Holly wasn't sure about what was the meaning of that, but she knew it was bad. Sixteen hours straight in the operation table, and this doctor was telling them it wasn't enough? This fancy doctor from Metropolis, a blond Barbie who had cold blue eyes, was saying that Selina wasn't cured? Was she saying that…
"Is she going to die?" Holly just couldn't hold her tongue anymore; she just couldn't quietly listen to a bunch of things she didn't understand, while all she wanted to know was this: was Selina going to die?
"Oh, Holly…" Karon was by her side, holding her hand protectively, but as Holly popped the question, the young woman raised both hands to cover her face.
The doctor, however, didn't show any emotional reaction to the question, not even a blink of surprise. "She probably gets this kind of question all the time", Holly considered.
"We don't know yet." There was no hesitation in the doctor's tone, although her answer sounded less mechanical and distant then when she was listing all those technical information about the surgery. "But we're doing the best we can for her, and her chances are… improving."
"I see…" That wasn't the answer Holly was looking for, but it was better than no answer at all. She put an arm around Karon, who was already sobbing.
"We'll know more in a few hours, since…"
The heavy steps of two men approaching interrupted Dr. Lark, and they walked to stand just a few feet from the doctor. Both men wore suits, but, other than that, they didn't seem to have more in common. One was a black middle-aged man, probably weighting twenty pounds more than he should, who had a big moustache that covered his upper lip, and the look of someone that doesn't let anything easily escape his attention. His companion, however, was a tall and thin man, white, in his forties, and he had a placid expression permanently imprinted on his face. Both, however, had one distinct characteristic that Holly couldn't help noticing: they smelled like cops, and were, beyond any doubt, cops.
"Oh, great…" Holly couldn't think of many things that would make this day worse.
"Sorry to interrupt you, doctor…" The one that had the moustache spoke, displaying his badge as Dr. Lark coldly stared at them. "I'm Sergeant Davies, and this is Detective Crowe." He smiled to the doctor, then glancing at Holly and Karon. "Our business is with these two young ladies here."
Dr. Lark's brows moved for the first time in the last hours, a sign of her obvious contempt:
"This is a hospital, detectives, and it's hardly the place to…"
"It's okay, Dr. Lark." Holly's words caused both Karon and the doctor to stare back at her in confusion. "They are here to talk about Irena… aren't you?"
"Yes, miss." Detective Crowe, the thin one, answered her. "We just have a few questions, and we hope it won't take long…"
"We know it's bad timing", Sergeant Davies picked from where his partner left, "but to get the guy who did this to Ms. Dubrovna we should get all the information we can as soon as possible."
"All right", the doctor said. Then, turned to speak to Holly and Karon, clearly not including the detectives: "I have to go back to the O.R., but we'll keep you informed."
"Thank you, doctor."
"Excuse me."
She left, purposely ignoring the police officers. Sergeant Davies followed her with his eyes, an intrigued look on his features, while Detective Crowe spoke:
"Are you girls okay to talk?"
Holly nodded her head in agreement, while Karon just made her best to contain her sobbing.
"Need a glass of water, miss?" Davies had reached one hand to Karon's trembling shoulder.
"No, no, I'm fine…"
"Right…" Detective Crowe took from the inside pocket of his jacket a small black hardcover notebook and a pen. "So… I believe you are Holly and Karon…"
"Yes."
"And you both live with Ms. Dubrovna, sharing an apartment with her at the East End…?"
"We do."
"I see." Now Detective Crowe had one hand on his chin, and stared at the girls with a look that could be described as curious.
"We share the apartment", Holly explained, "but Irena actually owns it, and we pay nothing. She… she took us in, actually."
"How generous of her." There was no irony in the detective's tone, but Holly knew perfectly well it wasn't just an innocent remark.
"It sure is."
Sergeant Davies' expression showed how suspicious he felt about that:
"May I ask you why Ms. Dubrovna was so generous? What reason did she have to take you in? What was in it for her?"
"She is good person, okay?" It was Karon that suddenly snapped, her voice betraying all her anger. "She does it because she loves Holly, and there's nothing sinister about it!"
"We… we've know each other for a long time." Holly took Karon's hand into hers, a gentle and caring gesture, but also one to warn Karon she should be careful with her words. "Irena is like a big sister to me, and, for a while, she was all I had in the world."
"Big sister, right?" Crowe took notes. "You were – sorry, are – close, wouldn't you say?"
"I guess." Holly knew the officer was up to something, circling around before asking the question he really wanted to ask.
"She ever mentioned someone threatening her, or someone that might wanna hurt her?"
"Did she ever…" Catwoman had many enemies, more than Holly could count. And although Selina wasn't the Catwoman anymore – or at least not as a full time job – a fair number of those guys could have tracked her down and discovered her new identity. Honestly speaking, the list of suspects was as extent as the number of people Selina had robbed – when the Catwoman was on the wrong side of the law – or locked – when the Catwoman decided to go clean. Adding those numbers together, probably thousands of people.
"No, she never mentioned anyone…" Better keep things simple.
The cops exchanged glances.
"I see…" Crowe raised an eyebrow. "Tell me: doesn't Ms. Dubrovna have a child? A baby girl?"
Holly sighed: "Yes."
"And where is she now? The baby?"
"She's with a friend." Karon cleaned her throat. "I think I'll have that glass of water now, detective…" She smiled.
"In a second, miss." Sergeant Davies didn't seem prone to get any water glasses now. "So, the little girl is with a friend? A trustworthy friend, I imagine…"
"Very. Very trustworthy."
"You know", Detective Crowe's expression was now almost intimidating, "we believe that the person who did this to Irena might go after her child."
None of the girls spoke.
"We would like to have you and the baby under police security."
"No need."
"No, not at all."
"That's it!" Sergeant Davies spoke in an angry tone, a finger pointing at the girls, his other hand on his belt. "You girls are obviously hiding something! I tell you, you better spit it out all you know right now, or we'll bring you down to the station!"
"Easy, Jackson, easy…" Crow put a hand on his partner's shoulder. "You're scaring the girls…"
"You're damn right I am!"
"Good cop, bad cop…", was Holly's thought. This conversation was turning out to be pretty amusing.
"Now, ladies…" Detective Crow gently smiled. "Tell us, and, please, spare us of the nonsense, will you? Where is Ms. Dubrovna's child?"
Holly glanced at Karon, who was nervously biting her nails, and considered that this would happen sooner or later. Unfortunately, it happened sooner then she thought, but still…
"Okay." She sighed. "I'll tell you where she is…"
As Holly entered her apartment – using the window, as usually -, Karon approached her while holding Helena in her arms.
"Oh, thank God you're here!" Karon's eyes had the unmistakable appearance that denounced something was wrong.
"What happened?"
Karon opened her mouth to answer, but another voice – a male voice – interrupted her.
"Catwoman?", he asked, despite the fact that Holly was wearing her Catwoman's uniform at that moment.
"Yes." She stepped forward, putting herself between Karon and that voice coming from a dark corner in her living room.
"We need to talk."
He showed himself, approaching the pale light that was coming from the open window. A man, wearing a blue mask that covered part of his face, and a close-fitting black and blue garment, his dark hair covering part of his face and hiding his eyes in shadows; all and all, he had the general appearance of an athlete, looking more like a gymnast than the crime fighter he actually was. He was young and good-looking, for as much as Holly could see, and she could easily guess who this person was, even though they had never met before.
"Nightwing, isn't it?" She relaxed a bit, now convinced their visitor didn't represent an immediate threat. Still, it was pretty strange that the man was there, and quite disturbing that he knew where she lived.
"That's right." His tone, that sounded at first dry and distant, had now a gentler modulation, almost kind. At that moment, she knew: he wasn't like Batman, not this one. Holly could perfectly see him as a man out of that uniform, probably a guy with a life, a job, a girlfriend… Yes, he was probably the best example of what Selina would call "a good kid", wasn't he? So different from the Bat, who didn't look like human at all…
"So… What can I do for you, Nightwing?"
She noticed how he hesitated before answering, and how he even bit his lower lip. "Oh, there's something wrong…!", were the words that passed through her mind.
He finally spoke: "I'm afraid I'm the bearer of bad news."
Holly turned to face Karon, but the other woman looked just as confused as she was herself. "He wouldn't say anything until you get home…"
"It's Selina, isn't it?" Holly knew it to be true. Something had happened to Selina, something bad, so bad that the Batman send one of his sidekicks to their home.
"She was shot", Nightwing suddenly said, and he too seemed to be very shaken by the fact. "She is alive, but in very bad shape."
"Oh, my…" Holly covered her face with both hands, trying to regain some control. She felt Karon's hand on her back, a touch meant as support, but not very effective, since Holly could feel how Karon trembled herself, and hear as she spoke the words that were in Holly's mind: "Selina, oh, no, Selina, what are we going to do…"
Taking a deep breath, Holly spoke in the most firm tone of voice she could fake. "Where… where is she?"
"Gotham Central Hospital", he promptly answered. "She is in surgery right now, and I assure you she is in good hands."
"I… we… we have to go there…"
"I understand."
To Holly's surprise, Nightwing stepped forward, placing an arm around her shoulders.
"Please, seat down." He led her to the nearest couch, than turning to Karon: "You too, miss. Please, let me help you with the baby."
He reached his arms, offering to take the child. Karon, however, just convulsing hug the little girl. Bothered by Karon's sudden movement, one year old Helena grumbled and called for her mother.
"I'm fine!" Karon walked to the couch and sat near Holly.
"He's just trying to help, Karon." Holly took off her Catwoman's cowl and glasses, not really caring about revealing his identity to that man. Hell, he probably already knew it, anyway. "Really, I must go to the hospital. Let me change, and…"
"Actually", Nightwing interrupted her, "there's something we should discuss first."
"I…" Holly pressed her own fingers against her temple, now realizing she had a strong headache. She was confused and shaken, and she honestly had no idea of what to do, except she knew Selina needed her, and she had to go to the hospital and be there for her. "Discuss? What… what do you mean?"
"You'll have difficult days ahead of you, no matter what happens to Selina… I mean, Catwoman."
Both women said nothing in response to that, Karon occupied in calming Helena, while Holly just waited for the rest of Nightwing's statement.
"She wasn't just shot, but she was shot as the Catwoman."
"What?" That was new information to Holly. She immediately turned to face Karon: "Did you know about that…?"
The other girl just opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
"Great, Karon! That's just great!"
"She… she said it was important… and personal!"
"You could have at least toldme when I got here…! I feel like an idiot!"
"Ladies, ladies!" Nightwing's tone was heard above theirs. "This is not the time for this kind of discussion, I believe. We must set our priorities."
Again Holly and Karon turned their attention to the man standing in front of them.
"Look", an angry Holly spoke, "I appreciate your concern, and thank you for telling us about Selina, but I think we can handle from here."
Nightwing crossed his arms.
"I'm afraid is not that simple." He sighed, and for a moment his glance went from one girl to the other. "We have reason to believe the attack wasn't random, but actually a direct attempt of murder."
Holly shivered: "Someone trying to murder the Catwoman?"
"Someone trying to murder Selina Kyle."
"Oh, my God…" Karon was visible shocked, and again she held the baby against her chest.
"Yes." He approached the couch where both women were, kneeling near them. "I know this must be disturbing, but we can help."
"He's really sweet…", was Holly's thought. She wasn't into men, not sexually speaking, but if she was, this Nightwing guy would certainly have gotten her. "How can… how can you help? And who's 'we'?" She couldn't avoid the ironic tone in her sentence. "You and Batman?"
"Exactly." He didn't seem to care about her tone. "And others." He smiled, his first smile since he arrived at the apartment, and Holly was glad to see that his smile was a pleasant one, youthful and kind. "Selina has many friends, maybe more than she thinks."
"And more enemies too", Karon said, an undeniable bitterness in her words.
"True. And that's why I'm here." He stood up. "I'm going to take Helena to a safer place."
"Take Helena…?" Holly moved her head side to side, an unconscious gesture of denial. Next to her, Karon was too surprised to say anything. "What are you talking about? She… she is not going anywhere…!"
"Please, Holly. Listen to me." The fact the he used her first name didn't pass unnoticed to Holly. "Whoever shot Selina probably knows who she is, where she lives, who are the people she loves. We don't know why she was shot, we don't know who did it, but I know this: if Selina survives, this guy will return to finish the job; and who knows what kind of atrocities he will be willing to do?"
"Still… give Helena to a stranger…"
"We are not going to do it!" Karon's words sounded definitive.
"Beatrice Collins." That was Nightwing's simple statement.
"What?"
"Beatrice Collins." He vaguely pointed to the window. "She died yesterday, just a few blocks from here."
"I… I heard about it…" Holly shivered; she heard about it, and she was planning to investigate, but Selina suggested she should work in a drug dealer's case tonight.
"Selina was investigating it when she was shot, and Batman believes there's a connection." He pressed his lips together, hesitated for a few seconds. "Batman believes Beatrice Collins might have been killed for the sole reason of attracting Selina, only to set a trap for the Catwoman."
"Re… really? That's… that's so…" Karon was visible disturbed by that information.
"That's how this guy works. And he will have no problem in use Helena if he has to."
"Damn!", Holly silently cursed. He was right. He was right, and she was out of options. Truth was, she couldn't protect Helena, not like they could. She spoke:
"If we agreed on that… Where would you take her?"
Again Nightwing smiled: "We have just the place."
"So, after you received a phone call from the hospital telling Irena had been shot", Detective Crowe had a distrustful and tired look on his face, and was repeating the same question he had already made twice, "you, willingly and spontaneously, decided it would be a good idea if baby Helena was left under the care of Bruce Wayne…"
"Yeah."
"Yes, that's right."
Sergeant Davies had his arms crossed, and he stared at both girls in disbelief:
"Tell me again: how did you even know Bruce Wayne?"
"Oh, we don't!" Holly promptly answered. "Irena knows Bruce Wayne, and I knew that." She paused, and briefly glanced at Detective Crowe: "We are really close, you know? Irena and I"
The detective merely nodded his head: "Of course you are."
"I found his number in Irena's cell phone, so I called him…"
"And he agreed in taking responsibility for a child he has nothing to do with?"
"Actually", Holly assumed a thoughtful expression, "I talked to his butler first. Really polite man."
"I bet…" Sergeant Davies' sarcasm was obvious.
"Anyway, Bruce Wayne was sleeping, or something like that, but when I told the butler it was an emergency, and that Irena had been shot, well, he agreed in waking up his 'master', or whatever he calls Bruce… Rich people!"
"And then you talked to Mr. Wayne, and he agreed…"
"Well, first he called his lawyers. Then he agreed in taking Helena."
"Right." Detective Crowe took notes. "And yet, he did it for no other reason than the pure goodness of his heart, because Ms. Dubrovna and Mr. Wayne are nothing but friends…"
"Yes."
"He's not, by any chance, Irena's boyfriend…?"
"No, no way!"
"Still, he troubles himself by taking care of someone else's child."
"It wouldn't be the first time, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well… Wayne is a philanthropist, right? And he did take in all those orphans, didn't he? Like… doesn't he have this boy, son of his dead neighbor, or something, living in his home right now?"
Sergeant Davis took a deep breath: "We'll see about that… I'll be sure to check this story with Mr. Wayne and his butler."
"And we'll send a couple officers to take care of your safety…"
"Again, it's not necessary…"
"We think it is, miss." Detective Crowe had an eyebrow raised, and stared the young women gravely.
"All right…" Holly agreed with a sigh.
"I think that's all, then... for today, that is."
"Yes, we'll probably be back for more questions." Crowe took a pipe from his pocket, and placed it between his lips. "Maybe then you'll have better answers."
"Let's go, Crowe." Sergeant Davis turned to leave. "And good night to you girls."
"Bye…" Karon waved briefly, trying to not betray her relief for the fact the detectives were leaving.
They heard as Davies and Crowe walked down the corridor, and when they finally entered the elevator. Only then, when the detectives were surely out of sight and unable to hear them, Karon spoke:
"Think they suspect something?"
"Maybe." Holly showed with a movement of her shoulders that she wasn't caring so much. "But that's the thing with the police: they can't do much with suspicions, just with facts."
"I guess you're right."
Holly was biting her lower lip: "I hope I am. And I hope Batman gets this guy soon, or we'll be facing lots of trouble…"
There was something about Intensive Care Units: it was one of the rare places that the Batman didn't dare enter.
Across the street, hidden in the shadows of the statues of gargoyles that adorned the buildings, he could see the hospital and wonder…
Dr. Lark, who had come to Gotham to treat Selina because of Bruce Wayne's insistence and, undeniably, because of the indecent amount of money he offered her, had called Wayne Manor just before midnight. She spoke with Alfred – "Mr. Wayne is in a business meeting", he explained – and describe to him in details how the surgery had gone, and how, amazingly, Ms. Dubrovna survived the procedure. According to Alfred, who had, of course, immediately reproduced the conversation through the cave's communicator, Selina was in the I.C.U. of Gotham's Central Hospital, with one of her kidneys irremediably lost; on the bright side, however, her heart was working, and the multiple hemorrhages seemed to be under control. Still, she was in coma, and the doctors had no idea of when – if ever – she was going to wake up. Considering she would survive, of course - and Dr. Lark most optimistic guess was that Selina had a 50/50 chance of, somehow, live through all this.
He couldn't actually see her right now (no windows in Intensive Care), but, if he closed his eyes, he would have a faithful picture of her. He could imagine her lying on a hospital bed, her eyes closed, tubes that would go inside her, needles piercing her skin. She would be immobile, nothing but her chest would move, slowly going up and down, up and down… Her body would be scarred, holes and sewed cuts, catheters coming out of her, machines making noises and telling… telling how alive she was.
And he, all he could think about was how hurt she was, how her body – body he once loved and touched, a body he knew himself, her beautiful body, he could see it in his mind if he wanted too, all the lovely, all the sensual details… - had been violated, broken, harmed. He could only wonder about the pain and suffering, but, right now, he had no way of relieving it.
"I'm so sorry…"
He wanted to do something for her, and yet, there wasn't much else he could do. He was trying to play his part as Batman, looking for the one that had done that, looking for the murderer, looking forward to find him (or her), wishing he could have a few moments alone with this person, just-a-few-moments, and he would teach this hit man one or two things about pain… "Wrong!", his mind would warn him; he had no right. No, when he finally find this guy – oh, he was going to find him, no matter what, nothing, no one on this Earth would be able to avoid this – Batman would do what he had to. No, he couldn't hurt the criminal, at least not as much as he wanted to, not as much as he wished he could hurt, punish the person that did that to Selina…
"But if she dies…"
She couldn't. She wouldn't. No, Selina can't die.
His mind wondered about Helena, Selina's kid. A baby girl, cute, adorable, maybe more than most baby girls are; he wouldn't be able to tell because, truth to be told, he didn't know much about babies. However, he knew about Helena, he knew about that child, whose mother was now lying in a hospital bed, Selina, Helena's mother. Selina, a mother. He had problems, at first, with accepting the woman he knew as Catwoman, the woman that once was his girlfriend, now had a child. A child changes everything, he knew that much. Changes everything for a regular, ordinary person, and it sure would change everything for a crime-fighter, for a masked hero.
It changes everything for two people that cared about each other as they did…
And yet, he now thought about Helena, baby Helena that would at this exactly moment be sleeping in one of the rooms in his own house, the child that had Selina's eyes, the little girl he was now so worried about, so worried that he told Dick and Tim to stay in the house and watch over her. His chest ached at the thought that something could happen to that baby, ached almost as much as the thought that Selina could… she could…
"Please, don't let her die…"
He never really believed in God. He never really believed in greater forces that would perform miracles. He never asked anyone or anything for a divine, magical intervention. All his life he believed in himself, and he believed in strategy, and he believed in training. He never blamed intangible things like destiny or fate; he never even counted on this thing people call luck. He was one to believe in responsibility and in using his own hands to model the world. And, most certainly, he never, never considered he would one night look up to the night sky and beg the favor of unknown forces.
Like he was doing now.
"Whatever it takes, just don't let her die."
And he hoped with all his heart that someone was listening.