Innocent Blood: Chapter 4
By Marcie Ann Gore
Rated PG13 to R
Standard disclaimer applies; I don't own anything but Beth, other original characters, and the story.
"But whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it was better for him that a millstone was hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." -Matthew 18:6.
The Dark knight asks, "Do you have any idea if your mother or father was in the Huntsclan or if the mark was random occurrence that they discovered by chance?"
"I don't know. At first, I was led to believe they were both born to the clan, but knowing I was kidnapped practically from the womb, I wonder now. I know other kids were taken from their families. That makes me wonder even more.
"We will get to the bottom of the mystery of your parentage, but we have to solve these murders first and take down the whole evil organization," Batman says.
"I agree," Rose replies. "Are Green Arrow and Black Canary available to go to New Zealand and Australia to search for two missing pregnant Huntsgirls?"
"Yes, along with Speedy and the Birds of Prey," Oracle says.
"I sent a 'friend' to investigate a murder in the UK," Batman says.
"You know about the murder in England?" Laushi asks.
"Yes. After we hung up I started looking for patterns in murders around the globe. There have been similar murders on six of the seven continents over the last six months. All but three have been females between the ages of 13 and 19.
The rest have been males in roughly the same age range," The Dark Knight explains.
"This is much worse than we feared," Lau shi says.
"Yes. They seem to be 'cleaning house'; what could've prompted this?" Bruce wonders.
"Could they have discovered the prophecy you told me about," Batman asks.
"Possibly, but they most likely noticed the rebellion on their own."
"Prophecy?" Jake asks.
"Yes. One from The Middle Ages that was seen by the great-great-great Grandmother of Kara and Sara. She had a position as the official oracle of the council in the 1300s her name was Elisabeth," Laushi says.
"The prophecy says a group of Huntsmaids of mixed blood shall find true love and their true selves. Together they shall put an end to the hated ones. Their leader shall have hair of gold and piercing blue eyes. She shall love the new dragon. Their eternal love shall change the world for those with magic and the mundane. True heroes from the mundane world shall aide then in their task," G says.
"That's pretty specific," Roy says.
"Yet, every time a young dragon fell in love with a Huntsgirl, that dragon would think his paramour would be the one we have been waiting for. The physical description of the leader was only recently rediscovered. "As well as the last part,"
Jake Whispers, "That Sounds like Rose."
"If only we knew if Rose has mixed blood; that is, magic blood and mundane," G says.
"How often have dragons gotten involved with Hunts members?" Nightwing asks.
"A handful of members over the centuries," G says with a smile. "Remarkably, most instances of this have been true love," G says. It seems G has been hiding something.
"I wonder if my parents were that kind of couple," Rose asks.
"It is possible" G says
"If I told the Council how I feel about Rose, would I be thrown out of the order?" Jake asks.
"Who says they don't already know?" G says.
"Where's Uncle Wally?" Beth asks
"Uncle Wally went to look for evidence," Dick tells his daughter. Right after this, there is a gust of wind and Wally appears in the room.
"Found a pregnant girl with a mark next to a cave in a camping area in upstate New York," Wally says, at top-speed as usual. "She was beaten up."
"Where is she now?" Batman asks.
"Roosevelt," Wally says, finally calming down "The Nurse said she could be interviewed. She's awake and lucid."
"This is where one of you kids can help. One of you can interview her; a child might put her at ease," The Dark Knight says. The kids discuss it.
"Beth needs the field experience," Robert says.
"Lian's older," Iris says.
"Neither of them have powers," Her Twin says.
"You don't need superpowers to interview someone," Lian says.
"Whoever you chose will go with an adult," Dona reminds them.
"I think Beth's the friendliest of us," Lian says.
"She's also faced down evil before," Iris says. They all finally agree it should Beth's turn.
"It's a good thing I packed my training costume," Beth says.
"I'm going with you," Selena says stating a fact. There's no room for argument.
"YES, Sensei," Beth says with a smile, bowing.
She goes to a room to dress. She comes back a few minutes later in a black leather suit. It's similar to Catwoman, but nowhere near as tight, and a cowl with a chestnut-brown ponytail hanging out from it, reminiscent of her mother's times as Batgirl. She has a pair of long black boots and black gloves with spaces for claws similar to her comb to be activated if necessary. "I've arranged for a psychiatrist to witness the interview. Hayley, would you go with them as a slow way of introducing the girl to the truth of the Magic world?" Batman asks.
"I'll go in human form," Hayley says.
"Yes, then change in the room if she seems strong enough handle it," He says.
"YES Sir," both girls say and join Selena for the trip the hospital.
A while later they arrive at the hospital. A woman from the Hospital's Social Services department greets them. She's tall with red hair and green eyes in a pale pink business wear.
"My name is Dr. Chase. I'll be monitoring the interview as the Jane Doe's advocate. She isn't a complete unknown anymore. She told me her name was Emily not long after she woke up .She appears to be 5 ½ months pregnant from the ultrasound but doesn't appear to be that far along, just looking at her," Dr. Chase says. "The baby seems to be developing well but is small."
"How old is Emily?" Selena asks.
"She's 16 from what we can tell; bone scans show her bones have fused, which means she's stopped growing. Dr. Carver, The ER doctor who first treated her, says my college Dr. Mills tried to treat her but she seems scared of males touching her. "
"We looked for the signs of sexual assault, but there were none to be seen by the time we got to her," Dr. Carver says. "But that doesn't mean she wasn't attacked. Just the physical signs have been washed away and/or healed. Her mental state seems to point to abuse besides the physical wounds that lead to her being hospitalized."
"First, we need to get security badges for you both. I recognize you as Catwoman, former cat burglar and associate to Batman," She says. "But who's this young lady who looks like a cross between you and the Batgirl I grew up knowing?" Dr. Chase asks.
"This is my sidekick, Miss Kitty." She gives Beth a look that says "I'll explain calling you my sidekick later." Miss Kitty Just nods and follows the women.
She leads them through several check points to a secure room with armed police officers at the door. "Bruce Wayne paid for the extra security for some reason," Dr. Chase tells them
Dr Chase knocks on the door. "Emily, May I see you? I brought visitors," she asks. "They may look A bit odd to you, but I assure you they're here to help you," Dr. Chase says. Emily nods ok. Dr. Chase gestures that's it's ok for the three to enter.
They're greeted with the sight of a fragile girl who looks painfully thin compared to her pregnant belly. Her light brown hair lies lifeless on the hospital pillow. The young girl's brown eyes are look tired and red. They portray no excitement about the new life growing in her. The only movements the girl makes are to occasionally place an oxygen mask over her mouth. A nurse comes to look at the print out from the fetal monitor attached to her. There's an IV in her arm.
"I have pneumonia, among other things," Emily finally says.
"You're Emily?" Selena asks
"Yes ma'am," she says nervously, "Emily Rhodes, for lack of another name."
"I'm Catwoman," Selena says. "This is my friend Miss Kitty."
"She's so cute; she's just a kitten," Emily says with a smile. Beth blushes
"She must think you're cat people," Hayley whispers. "You can play along or not, but she seems comfortable with the idea"
"What are you, a dragon?" Emily asks Hayley
"Yes, little sister and second to The American Dragon," Haley says. "You want to see my dragon form?"
"If you don't mind. I'm really comfortable with dragons; my baby's father is the Greek dragon; probably why they sent that man to kill me. I ran from the L. A. Base as it was my turn to be intimated with "Prize" baby batter. They did a pregnancy test just before. I ran before they could get the results.
Hayley dragons up.
"How cute," Emily says.
Hayley grins of course.
"I knew I was pregnant already with Franco's Baby," she says. "I managed to stay one step ahead of their death squad with help from my friends; some other Runaways, some sympatric rebels. I was hoping to hop a boat to Athens to be with Franco. I was going back to the abandoned building I share with other runaways after a day selling Jewelry we all make for money when a guy hit me with a fighting stick of some kind. He seemed to be targeting my most personal spots, including my Baby. I managed to remove his mask and saw he looked Chinese. I saw his hands, no mark. I figured he was an outsider they hired for the job. Just before I Went out, he said his name was David Cain, and said something about the shame of me, a daughter betraying her family. He probably only said his name because he thought he'd struck a fatal blow."