I was in and out for the next two days, or so they tell me. It passed in a haze of comings and goings, watching the Bat and his sidekick, together again. I could track what was happening from how hard the various pieces of armor dropped onto the floor above me, in the room Dick was currently sharing with Oracle.

The night I heard him fling a gauntlet across the room so hard the impact reverberated down the wall and knocked a perfume bottle off the dresser, I knew something big had changed. I got up, towing my IV pole like a large, ungainly metal puppy, and made my way out to the lab where Batman crouched over a microscope as he did every night, unraveling the newcomer's toxin.

He didn't even raise his head. "You should be resting." His voice was dark, angry. Frustrated.

"What happened?"

He turned, violently. "She's gone."

"What do you mean, gone?"

"Skipped town. No way to track her. And we still know NOTHING!" He got up, stalking across the room to the computer workstation, his cape swirling around him menacingly.

"Where do you think she'll go?"

He threw up his hands. "Damned if I know. Somewhere that can't bring the heat like we can. Central City, maybe. We almost had her. SO CLOSE!" He let out a growl, animal-like in its ferocity. Words had, apparently, failed him.

"So we'll chase her when she turns up. Whatever. A delay is a good thing, it'll give us time to get me and Black Canary back into action." I tried to sound flippant about it. Given my altered state of consciousness, I have no idea if it worked.

He didn't seem to share my apparent confidence. "And how many people will die in the meantime? How much stronger will she get?"

I shrugged. "Nothing we can do about it now. Que sera sera and all that."

He was on me in seconds, hands like steel gripping my upper arms. "And if those people were your family, your friends? Would you be so callous then?"

I considered, not letting him see how much his hold was hurting me. "Yeah, I would. We can't win them all. Sometimes, we're just gonna fuck up. Doesn't mean we'll quit."

He shoved me away, roughly, and turned to pace. I staggered, catching myself on the IV pole. Yeah, I was back at fighting strength, sure. At my prime, I came close to taking him down. Now he was throwing me around like a rag doll. This could only end badly when I hit the streets again.

I gave up, making my way back to Dinah's room and settling back in. I tried to sleep, but my mind refused to let me, playing back images as memories that had never happened. My father in the mystery woman's embrace. How would she have changed him? He was always so gentle with my mother, and with me. Would he have become violent? Hit her? And Dick... if he had gone for sex, instead of violence, would I have let him? Would he have fucked me right there in that alley? And would I have enjoyed it?

I finally fell asleep to the real memory of his hands on my skin and his lips on my neck, and in the dream that followed they were no longer Dick's hands, but the Batman's larger, rougher ones. His laugh was cruel as they closed around my neck, our bodies interlocked, the greatest pleasure mixed with abject terror as I struggled futilely and felt my vision go dark.

I woke sweating, still shaking from the vividness of the nightmare. Working on routine, I took my temperature as I pulled my hair back into a sloppy ponytail and picked out clothes for the day, a tight black t-shirt and low-rise yoga pants. Dinah's wardrobe was growing on me. Nobody had offered to get anything from my apartment, and I hadn't asked. I had to admit a certain curiosity about when Oracle would notice, but it was a given that she had bigger things on her mind. Until she did, I was spared a big pile of laundry, and I wasn't complaining.

The thermometer beeped and I glanced at it. 98.8. "YES!"

Dick poked his head in. "Helena, what is it?" I waved the thermometer in his face.

"SOMEONE is going home today!" I couldn't help myself, and I'm pretty sure I did some sort of stupid dance. He shook his head, grinning at me.

"We have to get the doctor to okay it. I'll make an appointment for this morning. But I am NOT missing work again. If you start hallucinating, I'm leaving you there this time and letting them treat you for delusions of heroism." His words were harsh, but the tone was teasing, and I grinned back, carefully stripping off the tank top I was wearing and easing it over the IV bag.

He beat a hasty retreat. Damn. There went that bubble.

The doctor said exactly what we expected - I could go off the IVs, onto antibiotic pills, and I could go home. I was still off work for another 4 days, and I was supposed to take it easy. Yeah, right. I smiled, nodded, and in my mind already planned out the workouts I would need to be back in top form as quickly as possible.