She thumbs through several books she had kept that belonged to her mother and comes across several poems written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. She at first could not fathom her mother's interest in poetry until reading one titled The Lady's Yes. The last lines had a rather emotional arrow shaped impact on her as she felt her heart race just a little.
The woman could have easily been writing about Vic.
Pure from courtship's flatteries.
By your truth she shall be true-
Ever true, as wives of yore-
And her Yes, once said to you,
Shall be Yes for evermore.
The words made her miss him even more, but she sorely hopes he'll call or even better reappear at her doorstep. She calls him, no answer, the same thing happens for the next few days, and little by little she starts to worry just a bit.
[+++]
Helena is not a terribly patient woman yet she had forced herself to grasp the concept of being so with Question. It paid off at times yet a few days of not getting through to him on her cell had worn down her patience. She begins to worry so she suits up with such speed that she finds her purpose is no longer to punish Mandragora, but to keep the one truly good element in her life… well… in her life. Then she realizes she has very little idea where to look for him aside from mentions that he has a place in Hub City, which is unfamiliar to her. It took time to get there from her current location on the outskirts of Bludhaven, and it did earn her an unexpected encounter with Nightwing.
She had not been back in this area much since assisting the jailbreak of the imprisoned costumes during the brief yet mentally taxing Thanagarian Occupation.
"I didn't expect to see you back in this area if ever Huntress," comments Nightwing.
"I didn't intend to be here, but I haven't been able to reach Question," responds Huntress.
"So it is true you are dating the League's conspiracy nut," remarks Nightwing.
"Lay off the insults Dick!" hisses Huntress.
"Easy Helena, I wasn't trying to be insulting!" retorts Nightwing.
"I'm sorry, I am worried about him, I know he has this dropping out of sight act though something feels wrong about it… sure it would take time to crack the files… but he could spare the time to answer me."
"If there is anything I have picked up from Batman… it would be the long hours and lack of human contact… Question struck me as being like that when I first met him… you are probably…"
"Worrying for nothing… sure… well if Barbara or Bruce ever dropped out of sight for almost half a week… you wouldn't be losing it would you?"
"I'd be concerned but it is what this line of work means to our personal relationships… it is an almost killer for them…. I meant emotionally killer, not physically."
"You think I am being paranoid… paranoid like him aren't you?"
"I just find it surprising you could be worrying about someone who disappears and vanishes in a way Batman… Bruce… has never done… and that you would actually be in love with him too."
Huntress clenches her jaw yet refrains from hitting him for all the things he keeps insinuating about her. The clench in her jaw lessens at the words 'in love with him'. Her shoulders slump before she turns to get back on her bike, she had a distance to go in order to reach Hub City.
She feels Nightwing's gloved hand on her shoulder and he hands her a scrap of paperwork with an address on it. A slight smile forms on her face and she leaves him with a light punch to the shoulder. He appears to be rubbing it like it hurts though it is likely an exaggeration unless she really hit his arm harder than she thought. The wind again causes her cape to flow with the breeze passing through the roadways she is taking to reach Question.
[+++]
Question's place in Hub City is a far cry even from her well kept apartment and a smaller space in contrast to Batman's Batcave hidden beneath the expensively decorated Wayne Manor. She searches for some indication of which unit is his because Nightwing's directions only brought her as far as the building and so she looks for names on the mailbox slots. She spots one that only has initials on it.
"V.S. as in Vic Sage… is that you Q?" whispers Huntress.
How many men have a name like Victor Sage anyway? Right now he is the only Vic Sage matters to me.
She dashes upstairs and catches a faint stench in the air so she follows it. The corridor is fairly well lit yet the apartment building did look like it had seen better days. The stench to a lesser degree finally leads her to the unit belonging to V.S. She pulls out her lock picking tools and manages to unlock it though it takes more than a few minutes. The noises are audible and it sounds like his voice except he is rambling or ranting about something. She bypasses several locks before reaching the knob lock and then the door opens with ease.
"Screening your calls? You haven't answered the phone for days," exclaims Huntress.
She doesn't mean to sound angry with him even though she is just a little, but until lately she never felt prone to worrying about anyone in the way she worries about him. His fedora is on a nearby table and there is the stench of course. He looks like he's been in those clothes ever since he left her apartment the morning after they had come close to having sex though both felt too tired to make anything more than clumsy gestures that indicate a state of arousal. The lack of energy in both kept them half dressed as they slept in her bed. He seem so pure in his moves towards her in the early hours of that morning and now it almost felt like she is seeing a side she's never seen of him before and it almost scares her yet he had stood by her through the situation with Mandragora. It is not about repaying him for it or to even the scales.
His rambling continues and she inches her way towards him after opening the window.
"Q, Are you alright?" asks Huntress softly.
He barely answers before snatching the fedora from the place where it sat ever since it fell off his head during the pacing. She could see the signs of it in the inexpensive carpeting. He dashes out the door and she hears the slam. He left his laptop on, Q is usually very privacy minded, so whatever he found must have given him cause to leave in a hurry, but what she had yet to find out. Huntress plops down in front of the laptop and activates the last video file he accessed from the decrypted archives. It is a video simulation of the White House's Oval Office or at least how it might look with Luthor as President. Then she hears Superman's voice. Her eyes remain fixed on the screen as the scene unfolds before her.
"There are at least six different ways I can stop you right now," comments Superman
"But they all involve deadly force, don't they? And you don't do that," snorts Luthor.
"No. You need me. You wouldn't be much of a hero without a villain, and you do love being a hero, don't you? The cheering children, the swooning women - you love it so much it's made you my most reliable accomplice!" continues Luthor.
"Accomplice? What're you-," retorts Superman.
"You could have crushed me any time you wanted. And it wasn't the law or the will of the people that stopped you - it was your ego. Being a hero was too important to you. You're as much responsible for this as I am! So go ahead, fix it somehow. Put me on trial, lock me up - but I'll beat it. And then we'll start the whole thing all over again," cracks Luthor.
"... I did love being a hero. But if this is where it leads...I'm done with it," concludes Superman.
The screen turns completely red after Superman's eyes glow, which meant he used his heat vision. Her limbs felt unable to move even though she knows she must get to Q before he does something he will regret possibly. She shuts off the laptop then takes it with her as she dashes out the door and realizes he has something of a head start on her plus no longer being a member of the League she had no way to track him, but there is one person though it would mean going to Gotham. She could only hope he would be open to listening to her about Question.
Once downstairs again she slides the laptop in the compartment hidden under the back part of the bike's seat. She climbs onto the bike then takes off Gotham bound. All along the way she watches for signs of Question's passage because something like a 1967 Pontiac GTO does not go unnoticed by other drivers, bikers, and truckers.
[+++]
It is near night fall by the time she passes into Gotham City and still no trace of him. She refrains from cursing at almost all the other drivers getting in her way, but of course she still draws attention to herself except it is not the Bat silhouette that she would expect. A vehicular electronic jammer causes the bike to shut down on her once she had managed to pull over into an alleyway.
Batgirl lands in front of her and Robin lands behind her.
"What are you doing in Gotham Huntress?" demands Batgirl.
"If it were him I might be nervous, but I see both of you here yet no Batman," responds Huntress.
"Nightwing did send a message that you were active in Bludhaven except said you were off to Hub City to find Question," continues Robin.
"I was looking for him, I found him, but then he took off because of something he saw in the decrypted files that he pocketed from that Cadmus front," whispers Huntress.
"We have to stay on patrol otherwise one of us would be going back with you, so if you find Batman tell him to contact us somehow… the city is rather unforgiving tonight…"
What we do is a thankless profession Barbara… I learned that long ago.
Huntress once back in control of her bike zips off in the direction of Wayne Manor. The manor house rests atop a hill that ends at a promontory overlooking the water. She parks outside the manor's garage yet as she goes to ring the bell at the front door. It opens and there to greet her with a frying pan in hand is Alfred Pennyworth.
"Miss Bertinelli… what brings you here this time of night?"
"I'm here to see Batman… to see Bruce… I need to track down Question…"
"You are a little late for that Helena… he was here earlier… we talked… but it didn't end well."
"What do you mean didn't end well?"
"I think you should come down to the Batcave… it is not that I don't trust you Alfred… but this is a very personal matter for Helena right now."
"I understand Master Bruce."
They descend into the cave and she notes that there is a trace sign that Batman had been jabbed by a narrow sharp object in the last few hours.
"What happen to you?"
"Question happened."
"What did he do?"
"He shared his latest findings about Cadmus with me and then we talked about something that the Founders have kept to themselves since before the Thanagarian Occupation."
"You mean the Justice Lords… don't you?"
"How you did…ugh… never mind either he told you or you have seen the files too… if Dick's last message about you going to Hub City means anything."
"I made several attempts to phone him and no return calls from him either. By this morning, I couldn't wait anymore yet I had next to no idea where to look for him. I was going to ask you, but Dick intercepted me on the way in one sense of the word."
"He gave you address, you went, you found him looking unkempt, crime fighting workaholics like myself or Vic often tends to forgo the amenities though in his longer brooding or tangents… he often forgoes much more than hygiene."
She remembers the smell, but then she also remembers the uneasiness in the way he was carrying himself as he had run out the door and then there was still all the data she skimmed through after the simulation clip of President Luthor's assassination.
"I spoke to him, but it was like talking to a wall… then he took off and that's when I found the simulation videos of events that were cited to have taken place in the Justice Lords reality. He had previously spoken at some length about missing footage and tapes from that day especially the prison where Luthor was being held at the time. He also spoke about classified and forged documentation for repairs to the prison even though officially the whole thing allegedly never happened at all."
"It did happen and now he fears it will happen again so he just might try to kill Luthor himself thinking it would save the world and the reputation of the League as well as Superman."
"What? Why would he do that?"
"He is convinced that Flash would be killed by Luthor just like President Luthor killed Flash in the Lords reality, and like in the Lords' reality he believes Flash's death would trigger Luthor's assassination in the Oval Office."
"Oh God, why Vic… why are you doing this?
Huntress covers her eyes as the woman, as Helena starts to cry behind the mask, and Batman pulls back the cowl. He goes over to her and allows her to cry onto the chest area of the Batsuit.
"If we are to stop him, we have to get Metropolis," sniffles Huntress.
"You'll have to go… I have to get to Waller to stop whatever she might do if something happens to Luthor or Cadmus simply decides to move ahead with the plan otherwise."
"I can't dissuade Question or find Question on my own."
"Find Jimmy Olsen, he carries a watch that emits a signal that only Superman can hear, if Superman is planet side now… he'll come to wherever you have Jimmy… now go… I have other things to do."
Batman pulls the cowl back up and wipes off the Batsuit before jumping over into the Batmobile then the vehicle zips off into the tunnel that connect s to the bridge that regulates the vehicle/back door entrance to the Batcave. It will be a bit of drive to get to Metropolis, but right now, she didn't care how tired or achy she felt, she had to save Question, even from himself if she had to and before she mounts her bike she wipes her eyes. It is the first time she had sadly cried for someone other than her dead parents.
[+++]
She arrives in Metropolis after pushing the bike to max for the third time today and it is getting even later. She had gotten a good photo description of him and Olsen happens to be a red head, almost like him. Huntress pushes the comparison out of mind to focus on the task of using Jimmy's watch to bait Superman. Jimmy Olsen never even felt the blow because it is quick and sudden at least in her estimation. She takes him to a rooftop then binds him to a chair as well as gagging him, no use in him calling for help, but she would not harm him though the fact that she attacked him could constitute assault in some places. The watch looks like an ordinary watch until examining it more closely and the signal is not difficult trigger as Superman probably saw to keep it simple in terms of activation.
At last she thinks she knows the signal trigger so she presses it yet she hears nothing. Of course it is probably on a frequency only heard by individuals with a particular kind of hearing like Superman. There is another sound, one that is unmistakable the so-called famous whoosh that precedes the Man of Steel's arrival when flying in from somewhere at rather high velocity for anyone else, but him.
"Jimmy?" calls Superman.
"Not quite," answers Huntress.
Huntress crosses into his direct line of sight dangling the watch between her ring and middle fingers.
"Some kind of hypersonic signal right?"
She looks at him trying her best to conceal her emotions from him.
"Keeps good time too."
She can hardly believe she is able to speak in such an aloof manner to a man who could kill her in so many different ways if he felt so. He closes the distance by zipping directly in front of her and snatching the watch from her hand. She is not really holding it that tightly anyway.
"What do you think are you doing?" demands Superman.
"Your little pal is fine," sighs Huntress.
He sees Olsen bound and gagged to a chair. His annoyance among other things is clear from his face even with the gag.
"I was just trying to get your attention. You guys need a hot line," continues Huntress coolly.
Olsen muffles something through the gag and Superman informs him, he'll be free in a few.
"This better be good," grunts Superman.
"Question's been missing for almost a week. Just before he disappeared he was behaving oddly… I mean oddly for him. He saw a simulation of you killing Luthor, freaked out and ran off."
Superman does show some sign of worry now, as for why even Huntress cannot be certain yet he does the reflex motion to try to raise Question on comlink. She suspects he would not be answering Superman just as he did answer her calls or when she spoke to him face to face before his disappearing act.
"Question? Question, this is Superman, come in."
No response, no surprise there, but another dead end maybe.
"Channel is open yet no response. J'onn should be able to track it."
Superman unties Jimmy than flies him back to his place. He returns with sympathies from Jimmy about Question's disappearance it was more than she expected considering how she used Olsen to lure Superman, but then Olsen had his own fondness at one time for Superman's cousin Kara too. She supposed he grasps what it means to worry about someone important to you.
[+++]
J'onn traces the signal to a waste disposal facility, specifically outside in the heaps of garbage, and there in plain sight is his comlink. It is intact and she starts clawing away at the dirt yet Superman pulls her back to her feet. They took him alive is the conclusion that Superman offers to her.
"If Cadmus has him, we'll never find him," groans Huntress.
"Sure we can, we have been keeping tabs on Cadmus for months. We know exactly where they are," comments Superman.
Huntress conceals surprise yet also frustration.
"You knew and didn't do anything?" responds Huntress.
"The Justice League plays by the rules. We will move when we have valid evidence, but not before now. We will move within the limits of the law," retorts Superman.
Huntress fumes on the inside knowing that kind of evidence would take too long and by then Question could be dead or worse.
"That's why I quit."
"As I remember you were fired…"
When I say 'quit', I mean I quit believing in playing by the rules and right now it does me no good to abide by the rules with Cadmus up to something and Q missing because of his investigations into Cadmus. However if you want to be technical yes my actions regarding Mandragora got me the boot from J'onn.
"Although you may have a point this time," concludes Superman.
"So…" probes Huntress.
"You and I will do this together, but we are doing this off the books," states Superman.
You do look a bit intimidating now, but at least maybe this way we'll get Question though none of this will end well that is certain yet it is the only way to get him back alive in my mind.
[+++]
It is too risky to teleport and going in on foot is just as dangerous even with Superman for backup or rather point man given the way he is likely to crush many things with his bare hands. She follows him to the deceptively dilapidated warehouse that sits atop the multi-level facility that currently serves as Cadmus' answer to the Monitor Hub aboard the Watchtower II. It is expected that security will be on full alert once Superman's S –logo is seen on camera, maybe even before then. Huntress likewise finds herself with security personnel on bikes of their own with mounted energy weapons firing from them. She drops back and jumps from her bike to one of theirs then tosses the guard off his vehicle before using it to blast her way through the rest of his squad. They did however have enough time to call for backup.
"Just perfect," groans Huntress.
Superman fends off jet troopers armed with Kryptonite based pulse guns, which prove to be tiresome as well as painful though he can handle it at least by using cold breath to freeze the weapons. They however like the bikers start attacking in greater numbers. He instead reverts to simply closing the distance then dragging one after another into the direction of one of their comrades by physically slamming them into each other. The engagements continue until an alert signals, which probably means they are being drawn back inside to shore for an interior fight.
[+++]
Huntress runs in through a breach made by Superman at the front of the structure yet waiting inside for them are Task Force X minus Plastique. Superman had known they were short a member yet it did not matter, they are still formidable between Flagg and Lawton. However this time Lawton is back in full gear or at least a battle suit that resembles his old Deadshot look. As for Flagg, he is wearing a different kind of battle armor that puts him on near even footing with Superman. Superman engages Flagg while Huntress takes on Lawton. As for Harkness, he is securing other entry points to the lower levels while Fugate apprises the three of any changes in defense strategy most likely.
"How did Cadmus manage to get you Lawton?" queries Huntress.
"How did you get mixed up with that traitor and the Kryptonian, Bertinelli?" goads Lawton.
Huntress closes the distance, but Lawton fires off two AP mini-rockets at her. She somersaults repeatedly to dodge then slides on the floor elbowing him in the pelvis. He falls to his knees catching the backwash of mini-rockets explosion.
She jumps back to her feet then upon turning around sees Superman still fighting Flagg. Flagg can hold his own well, but tonight Superman is clearly in a mood. The resistance thus has been manageable, but this is a delaying tactic clearly. Huntress spots Harkness and with greater ease than with Lawton, she knocks him out too.
"You find a way down yet Huntress?" yells Superman.
"I found one that Harkness didn't get to in time, he's taking a nap right now," shouts Huntress.
Superman catches one of Flagg's punches and then the other.
"You are breaking and entering government property. You are attempting liberate a criminal arrested for treason who is so far charged with theft of government data as well as the attempted murder of Lex Luthor," cites Flagg.
"Likewise, I find your agency guilty of conspiring to eradicate the Justice League, sabotage of the Watchtower, hiring criminals to infiltrate the Watchtower, capturing and possibly torturing a member of the Justice League," counters Superman.
"The people won't stand for this."
"The people don't know how afraid you are of us."
"You led an invasion of our world, you failed to prevent two since then, you barely derailed the near destruction of Earth on countless occasions, and between the lot of you have stacked up a rather large deck of villains who otherwise would have not come together to counter your numbers… you are all a threat to humanity."
"Not all of us have powers with the exception of myself and a handful of others, but of course you mistrust anyone who acts outside of your control… what is more your agency is financed by Lex Luthor… while claiming to be reformed, he isn't exactly guilt free either."
"At least Luthor and many others have the gall to stand up to you. You think all that ability gives you leverage to throw around..."
"Good night Colonel," comments Huntress.
She slugs him in the midst of his tirade.
"Both sides have valid points, but this war Q was afraid of… we have to find a way to avert it or settle it quickly because… destroying ourselves over philosophical disagreements is definitely idiotic."
"Agreed, but for now I'll settle on shutting down Cadmus."
"Right now, I just want… need to get Question out of here and away from these lunatics."
They burst through another reinforced door and look downward. It is a long drop yet it is likely that this is not the only entry point to this facility. However it is the only one they have found so far. Superman descends by flight whereas Huntress fires a titanium reinforced grappler to the ceiling then plunges over the edge of the stairwell.
"I'll be there soon baby… just hold on a little longer," whispers Huntress.
I won't let them hurt you anymore, they won't take you away from me, whatever you thought you had to do, I forgive you, the only thing that matters is getting you back, I don't know what I do… without you.
She lands next to Superman who is staring at a much heavily reinforced door lined with highly concentrated lead.
"You can't see through it can you?" guesses Huntress.
"Nope, but it is still coming down," answers Superman.
His foot connects with the door, which snaps the whole middle section down and all she hears next is gunfire. A whole squad armed to the teeth starting shooting away though the bullets all bounce off Superman so she stays behind him.
"We should be passed the lead shielding by now. I should be able to find Question with my infrared vision."
Superman's heat vision melts the guns so the soldiers drop them and fling themselves at him. He throws them all, but more flood the corridor from other sectors. Something or someone else got his attention leaving her to fight the soldiers alone yet it had given some release for her strained nerves to take out her frustration on them. She would beat them up, but they would live after a few days in casts and plenty of bed rest presumably. They keep coming and coming yet she holds out well. It is the best workout she has had all week, but still she had to find Q, find Vic.
Superman reappears after a few moments. She feels a snappy retort coming on as he looks quite determined to finish this just as she does now.
"Next time go to the bathroom before you go on a mission," cracks Huntress sarcastically.
"Let's go," commands Superman.
Another reinforced door gives away to an interrogation chamber with a rather ragged looking Question restrained to a vertically inclined metal table top. Superman again closes the distance between himself and Question's interrogator hefts a gun.
"Don't be stupid. Drop it," orders Superman.
The strange Asiatic looking interrogator does as he is told and puts his hands in the air.
"Sorry, not good enough," snaps Huntress.
Her punch sends him clear across the room before she pulls her crossbow on him. There is the glint a bow ready to fire and the fear in the man's eyes. She thought about killing him until Superman calls out to her. She pulls back and shoulders Question once he is freed from the restraints. Superman takes point again. Huntress had seen him wracked by the contents of the Cadmus archives, but this is worse because they had beaten him, tortured him, yet through it all he is babbling about things like 'encoded in amino acids.'
"Lean on me we are getting out of here," murmurs Huntress.
She restrains from doing any number of things right now like almost killing the interrogator or slaughtering the soldiers who followed the orders to hold him here. Other things as well, darker things, things that Question would prefer she definitely not resort to doing because of how he went to such lengths to prevent her from fulfilling her childhood revenge against the fat man.
"C'mon babydoll. It is all right."
Superman relates his plan for their exit until they both clearly here the drawl of Captain Atom's accent.
"That won't be necessary Superman."
"Good to see you Captain. Cover our flank."
You shouldn't have trusted him Superman. He is not our side anymore at least if Question's suspicions about him are right.
"I'm afraid you misunderstand. I am speaking as an officer of the United States Air Force."
"Bad time to grow a sense of humor Cap."
"No joke ma'am."
Damn some times I wish you could be wrong baby, but you are usually right.
"I'm currently assigned to General Eiling's Special Projects Unit. My orders are to prevent you from taking Question out of this facility. So how is this gonna go down?"
Captain Atom's gloved fist begins to glow redder than the glove's red shade.
What kind of radiation is that?
Superman and Captain Atom stare each other down. Nobody moves, nobody blinks, and the realization in mind is getting in was actually the easy part, but getting out is another story.
As for Captain Atom, his involvement in this situation began with his role as handler for Question's transfer from Lexcorp to Rockefeller Air Force Base prior to his final transfer to this facility.
Duty bound indeed, but I am still taking Question away from the likes of you Atom. This is not over yet.
A/N 1: The poem quoted reflects she is driven by love to rescue him because its not just owing him for what he did for her. The only overlap between this one and the previous chapter is the scene in Vic's apartment yet the rest occurs after Question's taken by Cadmus.
A/N 2: Another Watchmen reference is Rockefeller Air Force Base. As for the appearances of Nightwing, Batgirl, and Robin, they merely make verbal cameos. Nightwing apparently makes a silent cameo as a shadow on a rooftop within the first several minutes of Grudge Match. His crouching position makes him almost identical to the stone gargoyles.
A/N 3: The previous segment's Batcave scene connects with Huntress meeting with Batman after he begins to recover from the sedative he intended to use on Question. She tries to elicit his help in finding Question, but he is going off to find Waller instead to find out what Cadmus' next move will be. As for her sidetrip to Metropolis to find Jimmy, that's self-explanatory.
A/N 4: The dialogue is only partially lifted from Question Authority again. As for rest, that's my doing. Her behavior/thinking about/towards Question in some ways parallels Question' in regards to her in the duology segments set during Double Date episode.
