Chapter 28 Lost in the Arms of Destiny

Five.

Tim Drake looked out upon setting sun beyond the city that he once dreamed of calling his, back when his plans included replacing Bruce. Before the ugliness that made him quit, which forced Cassie into the position.

Now, she was dead. Because of him, she was dead.

"Already missing the view?"

Tim chuckled and faced the speaker in the doorway. "It hasn't even been an hour since I turned in my resignation, Robin LaToye. And already you're kicking me out?"

The older looked down, chuckling. The orange rays of the sunlight brought out the most beautiful shades in her dark skin and graying hair, Tim noticed. "Of course not, Mr. Drake. Just wondering if you were going to miss it."

Tim smiled briefly. "Robin, you're the boss now, you can call me Tim." He looked out the window again. "And I miss a lot of things."

Four.

Robin joined him at the window, standing on the opposite end. "You know, you never did announce a replacement for the Wayne Foundation."

Tim's voice was steady as he spoke. "You know as well as I do that only a Wayne can head the Wayne Foundation."

Robin looked at her former boss, skeptically. She'd worked with him long enough to know he was apt to talk with hidden meanings she didn't fully understand. She had hoped it would stop once he was no longer her boss. "Bruce can't live forever, Tim."

"I know that."

Robin wished her confusion had evaporated. "I don't understand."

He looked at her with a small smile and clasped her shoulder. "You will, soon."

Three.

The intercom buzzed and interrupted the moment. Tim's assistant's voice filled the silence, "Mr. Drake, there's someone here to see you."

Tim answered back, "Send them in." Then turned to face his successor again. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." She began to walk to the door, it was already opening to admit Tim's guest. "Next time, I'll be sure to bring a measuring tape." She acknowledged to the person who entered before making her exit.

Tim gave a brief chuckle at Robin's joke, before greeting the woman who had entered. "Barbara, so good to see you."

Two.

"How are you holding up, Tim?"

Tim felt himself close off immediately at Barbara's "innocent" questioning. She always was a meddler. "I'm fine."

She rolled closer to him. "Please, that's the same 'fine' Bruce and Dick give before they wind up pummeling someone or pass out. Tim, tell me the truth. None of that macho bullshit, you'd give Bruce or Dick."

"It's Helena." Barbara looked shocked; clearly it wasn't the answer she'd been expecting. "She's too young and inexperienced. She's green and it's going to get her killed. I was thinking, maybe I should take Batman's place like I was always meant to."

Barbara really looked shocked now. "No."

"Don't give me that Barbara. I'm younger than Dick, even Cassie, and I have more experience then Helena will ever have. I've recovered from the Joker incident, I'm ready."

Barbara lightly grasped Tim's wrist. "Tim, no."

One.

Tim removed his wrist from Barbara's hand. "Why not?"

She fixed him with that same stern gaze she gave Dick when he was being a stubborn ass. "Your family, for one."

"That's what secret identities are for."

"They get compromised." She sighed. "A superhero with a family is like a thief looking for that last big score."

Tim gave her an odd look. "You've been spending too much time with Selina."

"Hear me out. Thieves are always looking for that steal that will set them up for life, and then they will retire to that island in the Caribbean. It never happens though; it's just false hope. Superheroes have that same pipe dream, only in a different form. It's that one last save, the final event that will allow them to retire. Like the world will just be saved and stay that way someday. Then they can settle down and do the family thing. It's that ray of hope that keeps us going, and if you return Tim, it's false." She looked up at his face with hopeful eyes. "We need you to be our happy ending, Tim."

He couldn't return her gaze. "I'm not so happy."

Boom.

Tim felt the vibrations through the floor before he heard the noise. Out his window, he saw pieces of the Gotham skyline crumble.

The sun went out and the city was plunged into darkness.

Helena studied the Bat computer again. It couldn't be, no way was it that simple. She double-checked her information. Sure enough, she was correct. All the dots were connected now, her adoptive parents' killer found.

She thought about the adoptive adjective, it was true, but it was only months ago they were simply her parents. How had Bruce and Selina become her real parents so quickly? Did she see them as her parents?

"Turn off the video feed."

Helena started. She didn't know how he managed to sneak up on her, no one else ever did. She whipped around to study Bruce's face he was deeply concentrated on the screen. She typed in the commands to follow his instruction, wondering if he saw the conclusion she'd come to. A final keystroke and the feed appeared. Then again, he might have always known.

"…thirteen buildings in the downtown Gotham area have been destroyed. The amount of people injured and killed in the blast is unknown as of now and the police have been refusing to release any information at this time…"

Bruce spoke again, much closer now, causing Helena to jump again at his voice. "Cross reference the destroyed building with a map of Gotham City, look for a pattern."

Helena stopped herself from commenting that's what she was about to do. She didn't need to start a fight with him right now. She typed quickly and the buildings were highlighted quickly on the map. The map showed five buildings in a row down one street and five more buildings in a row parallel to them with three buildings in a row connecting them. Helena rose to get dressed. "Pattern's pretty clear, that's an H."

Bruce followed her, but allowed her privacy. "Helena, you need to know who you're dealing with tonight."

She emerged from the dressing room, "I know."

"Not just your parents' killer, you need to know who he is…"

She turned and placed a hand on his arm. "No, I know."

He understood. "How long?"

She glanced at the clock on the screen. "A minute, maybe two. How long have you known?"

He ducked his head down. "I wanted to see if you could figure it out. It was a test. Stupid." He looked at her evenly again. "Helena, you could die."

She looked away for a moment only to meet his gaze again. "I know. But someone has to do this."

"It doesn't have to be you. I know I pushed you into following me, but I was wrong to push you into continuing my work. Let Jason deal with this, don't…"

"Stop." Bruce listened and focused in on his daughter again. "I'm not your replacement, you're irreplaceable. I'm not you heir; I'm your daughter. I'm a product of you and the decisions you've made. But I love the rooftops. It suits me so well. I am proud of you and your accomplishments. One person cannot save Gotham, but you've proven one can make quite a difference. I cannot replace you, but I swear I will make damn sure that your accomplishments have not been in vain. I alone cannot save Gotham, but I can protect it." She let her words settle before switching gears to a more playful tone, "So can I take the car out tonight?"

Bruce looked at Helena and felt he was really seeing his daughter for the first time. She was him. "The plane would get you there faster. He's making a statement, I'm sure he left something for you, you need to get it before the police do."

"I'm not a pilot." She began to walk towards the Batmobile.

"Then I guess it's the car or the bike."

She stopped mid-step. She looked behind, "Bike? There's a bat bike?"

He looked at her as though she were slow. "Yes."

Her eyes lit up like Bruce imagined they would've at a proper gift. "Where is the bike?"

He led her to the hidden garage where the other equipment was kept. She ran up to the bike and immediately tried to start it by placing her palm on the touch pad. It didn't recognize hers. Bruce used his own palm to reprogram the bike and give her access. "Why the bike? Dick and Tim always complained about not getting the car."

"Because Dick and Tim were boys, and they always want place so much pride on their toys. Any woman, on the other hand, would take something powerful and vibrating between her thighs over a car."

Bruce was slightly horrified. "You are too much like your mother sometimes."

She flashed him a smile as she started the bike.

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before she could leave. "This is serious. You could die tonight."

Her face dropped to match his tone. "I know, but at least I'm going out fairly happy." After the words left her mouth she found she agreed with them. "I'm happy, all things considered."

Bruce looked into a reflection of his own eyes. "Be safe. I love you."

She looked back. "Yeah."

With a swift kick and acceleration, she was off, leaving Bruce standing in the proverbial dust, completely helpless to her fate.

Bruce had been right, Helena had to steal it from the Commissioner who'd arrived before her, but the bastard had left a clue for her. Unlike the Riddler he didn't even try to disguise it's meaning. The slip of paper just read, "Pier 41."

She encountered muscle, but they were easily taken care of. As she laid out the last guy, slow clapping met her senses. She tried to pinpoint its source but didn't see him until he revealed his position from the shadows.

He was tall with a gaunt face, dark features upon it. He walked towards her with an arrogant air. She approached with her own swagger, removing any seduction from it, knowing it would be no use on him anyway.

He stopped his approach, and smiled cruelly, thin lips curling over white teeth. "Hello Helena. It's nice to finally meet you. Got my messages I see."

She didn't return the smile, just stopped walking towards him. "Can't say it's such a pleasure for me, Damian."

A/N: A lot of you guessed that big reveal already. What can I say? I'm too lazy to write a great mystery. Well, the end is within reach, kiddies, only two chapters left. So review, as I'll need the motivation if you want the rest quickly :)