Later that night, Helena perched on the corner of the roof of the building across from the lab. "I never said thank you for siding with Bruce about letting me stay at the manor," she told Selina. The two were alone on the roof, scoping the area and waiting until exactly 1:22 in the morning to begin their break-in. "The apartment I was staying in for the job was nice, but it's not the same as being in a house."
"You grew up rich, didn't you?"
Helena did a double take. "Is it that obvious?"
Selina raised an eyebrow. "You just said you rented an apartment for a one-week stay in Gotham, rather than getting a hotel room like a normal person. Also, no normal person would refer to Bruce's place as "a house." "
"I needed privacy. I thought it would be more convenient."
Selina shook her head. "Only people with money think like that."
Helena didn't know what to say to that, and the two of them sat there in silence.
"So, you and Bruce," Helena said finally, "are you two…"
"Are we what?" Selina's glance was withering.
"Nevermind." Helena decided her mother was a lot pricklier at nineteen than at fifty. Usually that look was reserved for much weightier offenses.
Bruce seemed more open to her, more approachable. Selina, on the other hand…Helena wasn't sure what Selina thought of her, but she didn't think it was particularly flattering. Was it bad to want her teenage version of her mother to like her so much? She wanted to ask, Remember when I was little and you told me not to tell Dad you were teaching me how to pickpocket, but he found out anyway because I kept stealing his wallet? Remember the summer we tried to see how many Audrey Hepburn movies we could watch before school started, and we somehow dragged Cass, Steph, and Babs into watching them all too? Remember when you took me to the art museum, and I every time I told you I liked a painting, you told me the best way to steal it, and I could never tell if you were serious or not, but I loved every moment? Remember that Saturday we tried making beef bourguignon from the Julia Child cookbook? And it took hours but in the end it actually tasted so good that even Alfred approved of it?
But of course Selina couldn't remember, because those things hadn't happened yet.
Helena sighed. "Have I offended you in some way?" she finally asked. "Or do you just not like me?"
"I have nothing against you," Selina said, not looking away from the building that was minutes away from being their target. "I just don't know you."
"If we're going to do this, we are going to have to have some level of trust. You have to trust the people on your team, or you'll fail."
Selina barely hid a scoff. "I don't know who told you that, but they were wrong. Trusting others is exactly the thing that will get you killed."
"My mom told me that, and I think she'd know more about it than you," Helena said, nettled. "Besides, you trust Bruce."
"That's different." Selina said. "I know Bruce. I know him enough to trust that he'll always do what he thinks is the right thing, even if it's the stupid thing."
"And you'll always do the smart thing, even if it's the wrong thing?"
Selina shifted her position and looked at Helena. "Your mom. How'd the trusting work out for her?"
Helena felt the corner of her mouth lift in an almost-smile that looked exactly like her father's. "Pretty well." She didn't think she could look at Selina without her face giving her away, so she stared out into the skyline and added, "Mom didn't have a great childhood, but she learned that some people are worthy of trust. And she taught me the same."
Selina let out a breath. "Well, I guess I can't blame you. Maybe if I had a mother I would be just as enthusiastic about defending her, even if she was wrong."
"My mother is wonderful," Helena felt she was pushing it, but she wished she could somehow let Selina know. She wanted her to know that she was wonderful, but how could she? Helena licked her bottom lip. It felt dry, and she wished she had chapstick. "She's not perfect, though. Sometimes she can be a pain." Like now.
Selina let out an unamused laugh. "Yeah, well, I'm sure she's better than mine was."
"Sorry," was all Helena could say. Selina had never liked talking about her mother. She knew Maria Kyle had left Selina when she was a kid, but not much more than that. And of course, Helena's grandfather was a blank even Selina didn't have any information on.
"Yeah. There was a time I thought…" Selina's voice trailed off. "See? Trusting. That's why I don't. I let myself trust my mom for a couple lousy days...even Bruce could see through her and I—" She stopped and just shook her head.
"Bruce?" Helena's brow furrowed. She didn't know Bruce had ever met Selina's mother.
"I doesn't matter," Selina said. "Forget I said anything." She looked annoyed that Helena had managed to pull her into this conversation. If she was honest, Helena was surprised that she'd been able to.
"Well, for what it's worth, I'm sure you're nothing like her."
Selina didn't answer.
"Selina, really," Helena tried to see Selina's face in the darkness. "I'm sure you'd never…you'd never treat your children that way."
Selina rolled her eyes. "Like someone like me would ever risk having a kid."
"You don't want any?" Helena said in surprise, her heart clenching in her chest.
"I didn't say I didn't want kids. I said I wouldn't have any. That's different." Selina stood and pulled her black mask over her face. "It's time."
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Helena said, standing and reaching for her own mask.
"Got your crossbow?" Selina ignored her question.
"Yeah." Helena grabbed it and leaned on one knee against the roof, trying not to think about her mother's words. This roof was slightly higher than the one on the lab, which would make gliding down easier. She'd done like operations a million times before. She aimed and the crossbow released.
"Not bad," Selina said approvingly. Maybe you're useful after all were the words she didn't say, but Helena heard all the same.
After securing the zipline on their side, Selina slid down first and Helena followed.
"You know, I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit," Helena said. "Nobody has to turn into their parents. Why wouldn't you be a good mom?"
"People like me…we don't make good parents. Nobody raised me. She laughed, but it was more mocking than amused. "Can you imagine it? Me, carting around kids to soccer practice and going to PTA meetings? It doesn't happen. Nobody raised me. How would I know about raising someone else?"
"You raised you. And you didn't turn out so bad."
"You don't even know me. I don't even know why you care." She pushed past Helena. "Shut up and give me the key card."
Selina certainly made Helena sigh a lot. She fished the key card out of her pocket and handed it to Selina, who slid it on the door. It opened effortlessly.
"Besides," Selina glanced back at Helena just before they went in. "I'm a thief. What kind of role model would that make me?"
"You're doing wonderful, Kitten."
"Robin, Mom, Robin," Helena said, exasperated. "It helps me remember that we're not just practicing in the cave."
"Of course," her mother said seriously, but Helena could tell she was trying not to smile. In all their years, there had never been a slip-up with names while on patrol, but Helena worried that if mom kept using her pet name for Helena, one day Helena would break the batfamily perfect record. It was hard enough to remember that she was assisting Catwoman, not "Mom"—and she'd been Robin for two years now.
Not, of course, that her mother went easy on her—sometimes, Helena wished she could be under Dad's supervision. He didn't work her as hard, probably because his instinct to protect her sometimes came at the cost of his teaching.
Mom's specialty had always been focused on the woman of Gotham, especially those in less than ideal circumstances. She and Dad had been working on a sex trafficking ring for the past month, and though usually both of them preferred to keep Helena out of that line of investigation, today Selina had allowed Helena to come with her as they watched one of their suspects. It was woman, which surprised Helena. She'd always assumed that all sex traffickers were men—how could a woman do something like that to other women? But money, she'd learned, was powerful temptation to everyone, regardless of gender.
"She doesn't look like a bad guy," Helena said. She looked like a woman who presided at fundraisers and charity dinners, not back alleys.
"You should know by now that appearances can be deceiving," Mom said.
Helena knew it, but sometimes she liked sharing her observations aloud, even if she was aware they sounded naïve. They watched as the woman met a darkly-clad man. They spoke together animatedly, but Helena couldn't hear what they were saying. The woman handed the man something, but Helena couldn't see what it was.
"It's a flash drive," Mom whispered. As soon as the woman left, she nodded her head towards the man. Helena knew it meant they were to follow him.
Helena felt her heart rev up in excitement, as it always did, as she followed her mother. She always got nervous a split second before facing anyone, but that nervousness always disappeared the moment she got in on the action. Instinct and training always backed her up, and she rarely faltered.
The man entered an empty warehouse down the road. Helena took note of the address as Mom crept along the side of the warehouse and entered through the second-story window. Helena followed. The second story was really more of a catwalk looking down into the rest of the building, with was filled with old crates. Mom signaled for Helena to stay put, and then she leapt over the railing, landing on her feet directly behind the man.
He turned towards her, and Helena saw his face. She hadn't seen him before, and he looked incredibly ordinary and forgettable—probably a blessing in his line of work.
"Hello." Mom's voice was friendly. "Up to no good tonight, are we, Mr. Lewis?"
Evidently, his face was familiar to Mom. He lunged toward her, but she was faster. She moved backward and her whip, coming from nowhere, caught the arm he had raised against her. He stumbled and fell to the ground. To Helena's surprise, he didn't try to untangle himself from the whip—instead, he wrapped it around his arm once more and pulled, trying to wrench it from Mom's grasp.
She was prepared, and let it go when he pulled. Not expecting her action, he had overcompensated the force, and fell backward. He threw the whip away from him and charged towards Mom. He threw a punch and she dodged it, kicking him in the leg. More prepared now, he barely registered it and pushed her against the wall. Mom pressed herself against it with enough force that she was able to kick him in the stomach with both of her legs.
Movement distracted Helena and she realized two more men were entering the room—no, three. Another man entered from another door. Helena grabbed something heavy and hard from the floor—she thought it might have been a wrench, but it was difficult to see in the dark corner of the room—and crept up behind him. She hit him just hard enough to knock him out, and he fell to the floor, immediately incapacitated.
Surprise, Helena had learned, was the best tactic.
Unfortunately, she had lost that opportunity to take on the other two men, who had heard her.
"I'll take the kid, you get the Catwoman!" One of the two men said.
The second man smiled when he saw her. It was not pleasant.
"The Robin, huh?" he noticed her ponytail. "I thought the Robin was a boy. This will be fun."
I've been Robin for two years! Helena thought peevishly. Why is everyone still always expecting a boy? She didn't have time for her personal annoyances, though. The man was coming on her fast, and she had to move quickly. Luckily for her, the man, while strong, was incredibly sloppy. He didn't know how to use his weight to the best advantage, and Helena knew how to use it against him. She could tell he was getting frustrated that she wasn't as easy to take out as he had expected. He was sweating hard, and his eyes looked less predatory and more furious. He pulled out a knife. and aimed for her chest.
Helena turned just in time, but still let out a cry of pain as the knife went through the skin. Gritting her teeth, she let the pain fuel her as she fought back. Besides, he'd just unintentionally given her a weapon. Bracing herself, she pulled the knife from her arm and lunged towards the man. It caught him in the stomach, and he stumbled back. Helena let out a gasp and held her arm. The knife wound wasn't a shallow one, but she didn't think she was in danger of bleeding out soon, either. She prepared herself to face the man again, but when she looked up, the man was fleeing, holding his stomach, and she could hear sirens in the distance.
Helena looked back towards her mother to find her tying up the two now-unconscious men she had been battling. "I called your father," she said. "The police will be here in momentarily. I think they'll find all three of these men are wanted by the state."
When Mom saw Helena, she grabbed one of the men's shirts and ripped it, to use as a tourniquet and bandage for Helena's arm.
"Did you know who he was? The first man, I mean?" Helena asked, holding her arm as they walked back toward the bike.
"He's been on our list of suspects for a while now. He's not one of the leaders, but—" Mom held up the flashdrive—"if this is what I think it is, it will help us a lot."
"I'm sorry I let the other man get away. Should we follow him?"
"With you bleeding like that? Not a chance. We've done enough for tonight."
"It's fine, Mom. Really."
"No arguments. You're too much like your father. That arm could be falling off and you'd tell me you were fine. Besides, it's a school night."
"I'm homeschooled!"
"And somehow that means you are immune to the ravages of exhaustion?"
Helena grumbled. "You sound like Alfred when you talk like that."
Mom made a face. "That's the scariest thing anyone has ever said to me." She got on the bike and her face softened. "Get on behind me. You've done enough saving the world tonight." She smiled and put a hand on Helena's shoulder. "You did good...Robin."
Maybe it's a little unrealistic for Selina to open up like that to someone she barely knows, but I couldn't resist giving her and Helena a conversation like that—Selina's own experience with her mother was so rocky and messed up I couldn't imagine it not affecting her own perceptions of what she'd be like as a mom.
Also…homeschooling seems a very good option for those who are in the vigilante business and therefore in the habit of staying out late all night. And I promise I am not saying that just because I was homeschooled and am therefore very biased :)