Chapter 8
Helena kept her body flat against the subway tunnel. Trains were rushing by every few minutes and it was becoming quite annoying. Helena was sticking a sonar device against the wall every few feet and trying to pick up the sound of voices or the images of some bodies. So far she was getting nothing.
"I'm really getting far away from the bar," she said to her father through the communicator. Helena had tried to listen through the wall of the underground office to the meeting she thought was taking place inside. She heard nothing, and her father surmised they had actually moved the meeting to some spot in the secret tunnels. She was now working to try and find that spot.
"These tunnels could go on forever," her father said to her. "It would make sense they would try to be as far away from the bar as possible. You need to keep searching."
Helena thought it was easy for her father to be saying that from the safety and comfort of the Batcave. Another train went by and she hugged the wall. When it was gone she moved the device down another ten feet. This time, she was able to hear some distinct voices being picked up by the thing. She got excited and told her father she had something. She moved down another ten feet and put the device against the wall again. She looked at the computer monitor on her gauntlet and read the output it gave of a room full of gang members. She took note of everyone's position in the room and hoped they wouldn't move around too much in the next minute.
"I found them," she said to her father. She took out her crossbow and backed away from the wall.
"You're going to have to find a way in there," he replied to her. "I can talk you through this."
Her father started telling her a bunch of things, but she wasn't listening to him. "Dad, you have to remember I'm not like you."
That stopped him from talking. Helena thought of a flash arrow and one magically appeared in her crossbow. She pressed a button on her mask and shades dropped over her eyes. She knew they would protect her vision from the flash burst.
"You're going through the wall, aren't you?" her father asked.
"Of course," she replied. She ran towards the wall at full speed and broke through to the other side. She immediately fired her arrow and the space in front of her was filled by a bright flash. She rushed towards the gathering and started everyone out.
When she burst through the wall she had noticed a blue haired man at the center of the group. She had guessed he was the big guy they were looking for. Unlike everyone else he was unfazed by the flash of light. He took off running immediately further up the tunnel. When Helena had subdued all the others present, she ran after him.
Helena switched her mask to infared as she followed the man through the pitch black tunnels. She followed the footsteps of the man who had run away. There was a long stretch of tunnel before it turned. Helena figured the man would be trying to flee at full speed. When the tunnel reached a turn she took it at full speed. She didn't expect the man to be waiting for her and he was able to get a solid hit in when she turned the corner and came upon him.
She slammed hard into the wall, disintegrating it. She was shocked by the force of the blow and knew she wasn't dealing with a normal human. She had no time to be fearful of whom she was facing. Instead, she tried to run through who might have that kind of strength and what that might tell her about his weaknesses.
"What happened?" her father yelled at her.
"I don't have time to talk, Dad," she said as she got up and charged at the man. She started fighting him and he held up well. The man fought with a certain desperation that indicated he was extremely scared of being caught.
Helena kicked him and the man was able to grab her leg and toss her against the wall again. Helena cursed herself over the dumb move she made. She was afraid the man would try to run again, but he stayed as he seemed determined to make sure Helena would not be able to follow him if he ran.
"I didn't think there were superheroes like you in this city," he said in a gravelly voice.
Helena guessed he wasn't expecting there to be someone with super powers here. "I'm glad I can surprise you," she said as she got up and charged back at him.
She thought back to everything her father taught her about fighting someone: reading their moves and finding the patterns, then using their own moves against them. She did just that and in short order was able to get him pinned on the ground.
The man fought and squirmed to get free, but she held firm. "I won't let you send me back," he yelled. "I won't go back to that hell."
Given his super powers, Helena guessed he wasn't talking about jail. Given his strength, she guessed he might be from Apokolips. "You're not going to be sent back any place where you might have to fear for your life," she tried to reassure him.
He didn't appear to hear her as he worked to free his right hand. He got if free for a second before she grabbed it again. In the moment he had it free he activated something that caused a red light in his body to start blinking. Helena recognized immediately what it was and jumped back before the man blew. The force of the explosion lifted her up in the air and caused her to fly back a good distance.
"Helena," her father yelled at her.
"I'm alive," she answered. "The guy had a bomb implanted in his body."
"I've seen that before," he answered.
"He was afraid of being sent back to wherever he came from. I would love to know what could have had him so scared."
The prince floated above the ground in the direction of the mountains. He moved slow as he wanted to scan the ground below him. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for, but he knew there had to be something that would look out of place.
His mother floated up next to him on her hovering circle. "What are you doing my son?" she asked him.
"That slave that ran away was running to something, I want to know what it is," he replied. He continued looking over everything with his x-ray vision. He spotted a cave in the distance that looked like it contained some things. He flew over to it with his mother following him.
He walked into the cave and inspected everything. He found a Mother Box and picked it up. "This is what he was trying to get to," he told his mother when she reached the cave and stepped inside.
"This place is just full of stuff," she said as she looked around. "I wonder why. . ."
Lashina fell silent as something caught her eye; she bent down and picked up a string that had three electronic beads attached to it. She held it up so she could inspect it.
"What is that, Mom? Do you recognize it?"
"Yes Lash-El, it's Brainiac. This might be just what we need to take over and rule Apokolips."
One Month Later
Shayera walked slowly to the Watchtower control room. She looked down at her feet as she shuffled along. When she got the news she had a message from Thanagar, but not from Rex, her heart sunk and she started feeling sick. She knew the only reason for a message like that would be if something had happened to Rex.
As she walked along she thought about the connection she had always felt with her son. Thanagarian society was atheistic in nature. Included with that was a disbelief of psychic powers and connections. Shayera's disbelief in the latter had softened with the birth of her son. She had always felt a mental connection with him. She always instinctively knew what he was feeling. There were times she swore she could even sense when he was in trouble.
She couldn't feel anything now. It made her worry, but she tried to tell herself it was good news she couldn't feel him in pain or distress. The thought occurred to her he could be dead, but she believed she would know if that happened.
The doors opened for her as she entered the control room. She looked up and could see a Thanagarian elder on the communicator viewscreen. Her mind started racing with what he might want.
She continued walking slowly to the viewscreen. She looked around at everyone else in the control room; they were all going about their business and not paying any attention to her or the Thanagarian on the viewscreen. When she was the proper distance from the screen she stopped and waited to be addressed by the Elder on the other side.
"Lt. Hol," the elder began. Shayera found it strange the elder used her military rank to refer to her. "It is my duty to deliver some very unfortunate news to you," he said in a very dry voice. Shayera's legs almost gave out when she heard what he had to say. She pulled herself together as she knew she needed to hear all the details. "Upon the arrival of your son to Thanagar, the Gordanians decided to give the people your son's scalp as payment for your sins. You should know there were several Thanagarians, including your parents. . ."
Shayera didn't want to hear anymore and started punching the viewscreen with all her might in anger and anguish. Her cries and screams drowned out the last few words of the Elder that made it through before Shayera destroyed the speakers. When the communicator was demolished to a heap of junk she completely broke down. She curled up in the fetal position on the floor and wrapped her wings around her to form a cocoon and hide from everyone else. Her cries and wails filled the control room as everyone came running to comfort her.
Helena rode her bike at almost 100 mph through the woods that led to the Batcave. She was on patrol when her father ordered her back. She could tell by the tone of his voice something was wrong. She wondered what she had done.
She rode through the holographic rock face and slowed down as she made her way through the tunnel. When she reached the cave she cut the engine and let the bike fall to the ground next to the Batmobile. She ran up to the computer area where her father was sitting.
"What do you want?" she asked him. He stayed in his seat with his back to her. She could see his hands were clasped in front of his chest, and he was resting his chin on them. She knew this pose meant he was in deep thought. She decided not to say any more until he was ready to talk to her.
"I have some horrible news," he said in a heavy voice. "I received the news just a little while ago. Shayera got a message from Thanagar. It said Rex had been executed for her crimes. I'm sorry this happened to your friend."
Helena was shocked by the news; she had trouble believing it could be true. "How do they know he's really dead? They could just-"
"They killed him by Thanagarian crucifixion; an ancient and gruesome way of execution where the wings are ripped right from the body. Death occurs after they have bled out. The Gordanians are sending her his wings as proof of death. They won't give her the body."
Helena stood emotionless. She thought little of herself and the loss of a close friend of hers. All she could think about was Maril and how inconsolable she must be over losing the love of her life. She ran through all the conversations the two of them had over the past month about her engagement and upcoming wedding. She couldn't get out of her head the image of Maril's joyous face as she discussed the kind of life she was going to have with Rex. Helena couldn't even imagine how devastated her best friend must be.
"Have you talked to Dick?" she asked him.
"He was the one who told me the news," he began. "He said the minute he told her she flew away. He has no idea where she is and he wanted you to-"
Helena didn't wait around to hear what her father had to say. She took off and ran to the Batwing. She knew exactly where Maril would go to hide, be alone, and think about Rex. It was someplace Helena and Maril had spent a lot of time with him, but a place no one else knew held any value. She climbed up to the Batwing, entered the cockpit, started the engine, and flew out of the cave and towards Metropolis.
Rex opened his eyes and looked around what he believed had to be heaven. He was confused as the place he was in was damp and dark. He also thought in heaven he would feel no pain, but his back was still killing him where his wings had been pulled off. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought he was still alive.
"You look like you're coming to," he heard an old and husky voice say.
Rex tried to look around to see who was talking, but he felt too weak to move much. He heard the footsteps of the man walking around and he saw the man's feet in front of his face. The man leaned down and he looked up into the face of an old Thanagarian that looked familiar to him.
"Am I dead?" Rex asked, thinking the man could give him some confirmation.
"No, they threw you in here to bleed out, but I heated up some rocks and cauterized the wounds. It was a rough process, but it saved your life. You should remember that when you see how ghastly the wounds are."
Rex blinked a couple times. He wasn't sure whether or not he should actually thank the man for saving his life given the condition he was in right now.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"This cave is kind of the body dump for the prison camp. I was the first one thrown in here over two decades ago and left to starve to death. What the Gordanians didn't realize when they threw me in here is that this cave is the home of more than enough rodents and bats to eat."
Rex thought about the timeline. The man had likely been in here since Thanagar fell, back when his mother betrayed them. He wondered how the man had survived down here all this time.
"Do they know you're still here?" Rex asked the man.
"Not at all."
"They don't know about you despite all the bodies they throw in here?"
"They never come in here for long or go very far. They just drop the body and leave. I normally stay hidden in the back."
"Am I the first live one they've dropped?"
"No, normally I let them die. There isn't enough wildlife down here to feed me and someone else for too long."
"Why did you save me then?"
"I heard them talking about who you were when they brought you in here. I felt I owed it to your mother to save your life."
When the man mentioned he knew his mother he instantly remembered how he knew the man. He recognized him from old news footage of the Thanagarian invasion of Earth."
"Hro Talek?" he asked.
"You know me, I'm surprised," he replied with a smile.
"I'm sure my mother would appreciate what you've done for me, but how are the two of us going to survive here?"
"When I first came here I discovered a small opening to the surface. I've worked all these years to whittle a large enough opening that I could fit through. It is still too small for me with my wings. You, on the other hand, are now missing your wings. You should be able to squeeze through it once you are healthy enough to climb up there.
Helena set the Batwing down on the hill overlooking the Metrotower. It was nighttime in Metropolis, but the city was lit up like a birthday cake. The Metrotower facing her was a different story. It had been deserted by the Justice League several years ago.
The Metrotower had once been just as hustling and bustling as the satellite Watchtower. A lot of superheroes wanted to be in Metropolis, they wanted to be close to Superman. As Superman's status lessened and the new and larger moon Watchtower opened, many superheroes chose to exclusively operate out of the moon tower and ignored Metropolis. It soon became pointless to keep the tower operative.
Back when the Metrotower was still active, it served as another home for many of the children: Helena, Rex, and Maril often spent time in the Metrotower while their parents were busy with League duties. They often came up to the hill to get away from all the prying eyes of the adult superheroes. They would climb the tree, look out at the city or stars, and talk and dream about what they would do when they grew up.
Helena jumped out of the Batwing cockpit and started walking slowly towards the lone tree on the hill. She thought back to the time she spent with Maril and Rex up here. She thought about how much she often felt like a third wheel on the trips. From early on it was obvious Rex and Maril had a special connection. A connection that would lead them to one day marry.
Helena was just a few feet from the tree when she saw Maril sitting on one of the branches. She stopped, suddenly feeling like she should not bother Maril if the girl wanted to be left alone.
"You can come up here, Helena," Maril said in a somber voice. Helena took note of the fact that Maril spoke clearly without her voice cracking. There was sadness in her voice, but no hint she was in the middle of sobbing.
In a flash Helena jumped up through the branches and stood on a branch adjacent to the one where Maril was sitting. She looked out at the city too, but glanced at Maril to see what her facial expression was. Helena saw no tears glistening in the moonlight off her skin, like she expected. There was also no sign of sadness on her face. There was just the sign of stoic determination. Helena smiled a bit, she was proud of the way her friend was handling the situation.
"Hasn't changed much; the view, I mean," Helena said to Maril.
"I was thinking the same thing," Maril replied. "It hasn't changed, but we have."
Helena smiled over what Maril said. She remembered back to how when the three of them used to come up here, they could all sit on a branch together and it would barely lean. Now, the branch Maril was sitting on was straining under her weight.
"We're older and bigger, that's for sure," Helena said to Maril. "But in who we are, I don't think we're any different."
"Why do you say that?" Maril asked her. Her voice was soft, in a stark change from earlier. It appeared her emotions were starting to get to her after all.
"Do you remember what we used to talk about when we came up here?" she asked Maril. She continued without waiting for an answer. "We used to talk about the great things we were going to do: fighting for justice, winning battles, saving people's lives. Mostly, we vowed to do whatever was right. You and I have taken up our mantles and done that, and we both know Rex was going to do the sa. . ."
Helena found herself overcome with emotion in an instant. She let out a couple sobs as tears welled up in her eyes and slowly rolled between her cheeks and mask. She suddenly couldn't stop thinking about Rex and all the things he was never going to be able to do.
She felt a pair of hands on her mask, and then felt it being pulled off. She stopped crying long enough for the tears to clear out of her eyes so she could see. With the metal Amazonian gauntlets on she was unable to simply wipe the tears out of her eyes. When she was finally able to see she saw Maril checking out her mask. She was floating in the air.
"I never got a good look at this before. Your parents really made something special for you." She looked back up at Helena and noticed the tears in her eyes. She reached up and wiped them away with her thumb, taking one eye at a time.
"I can't believe I'm falling apart like this. I came here to comfort you. I'm the one who should be strong and emotionless. It's in my genes to be emotionless."
Maril smiled. There was still no hint of tears in her eyes. "I've been crying long enough. I'm done for the moment. I'm concentrating on other things right now."
Helena looked down at her mask. Maril was holding it with her right hand. Helena looked over at her left hand. She had her engagement ring on; she never wore it with her superhero costume. She was fiddling around with it with her thumb, moving it back and forth.
"What are you concentrating on now?" Helena asked her friend.
Maril tried to look through the tree and up at the stars. She couldn't see very clearly. "Can you follow me up to the top?" she asked Helena.
"Sure," she replied. Maril handed Helena her mask and flew up over the tree branches. Helena hung the mask on a branch and jumped up through the branches. She paused briefly on the broken top of the tree trunk, thinking about how it had been split open after being struck by lightning several years ago. After the brief pause, she climbed up to where Maril was floating and stopped, looking at the night sky with her.
"You know where Tamaran and Thanagar are, don't you?" Maril asked her.
"Of course," Helena answered. "You and Rex pointed them out to me almost every single night."
Helena scanned the sky and found the faint star out by itself that represented Tamaran. She looked over a little to the cluster of stars that represented the empires of Thanagar and Gordania, although now it was really all Gordanian territory.
"Do you remember the distance between Tamaran and the Thanagarian territories?" Maril asked.
"Yes, eight light years," Helena answered. "Of course, with hyperspace travel the distance is practically negligible."
"There's always been animosity between the Thanagarians and Tammaraneans," Maril pointed out. Helena knew the recent history well, despite being a planet of proud and powerful warriors, they stayed out of the war against the Gordanians, no matter how much the Thanagarians pleaded with them for help.
"It was my mother's diplomacy that helped open up Thanagar for visitors again. She has always done what she could to fight for Thanagarian freedom without making an enemy of the Gordanians. I keep thinking she should take a new course. I want her to take our army and attack the Gordanians and Thanagarians. I want them all to pay for what they did to Rex."
Helena was astonished by the vengeance Maril was feeling. Especially the way she was focusing on retributive justice. Her father had told her much about his internal cries for justice after his parents died and how he channeled that into a desire to seek justice for everyone, not just revenge against the killer of his parents. Helena knew her father passed this ideal on to Dick, and he passed it on to Maril. Helena was saddened her friend was appearing to go against everything she had been taught.
"Do you really mean that?" she asked Maril, unsure if she wanted her to answer.
"No, I don't," Maril answered. Helena immediately sighed with relief. "I like to believe it would accomplish something, but there is nothing which could bring Rex back, thus there is nothing to do."
There was silence between them for several moments as Helena didn't know what to say. Maril ended up breaking it. "We won't even be able to give Rex a proper burial," she said softly. "They aren't going to give us his body."
"That's what my father told me," Helena said.
"I need to see his body," Maril admitted. "I need to see it for closure." Maril looked at Helena. From the look on her face Helena could tell Maril had something difficult to say. "You're probably going to chastise me for saying this," she began in sheepish whisper. "I don't think he's actually dead," she added as she looked over at her friend with her head tilted.
"I would never chastise you for holding onto hope like that, Maril," Helena said. "I don't take after my father in all areas," she added with a smile.
Maril smiled back. Helena could see the smile was a bit forced. Despite her earlier appearance of strength, a look of sadness and despair was starting to creep back on to her face.
"It's not blind hope," she said as she looked back up at the stars. "I don't feel like he's dead. I think if he was really dead, I would be able to feel his spirit. I believe he would be able to talk to me from the grave. This might sound crazy to you. . ."
"I'm the last person to believe the dead don't live on somewhere or somehow," Helena said without waiting for Maril to finish her thought. "My mother has been to the underworld, after all."
Maril stopped looking at the stars and started looking down at the ground below. "I feel like I need someone to tell me it's crazy," she said. "I can't spend the rest of my life believing he's not dead. I'm going to need a lot of help convincing myself he is truly dead and is not coming back."
The two girls were interrupted by the sound of a Javelin spacecraft landing nearby. "Connor?" Maril asked.
"I called him on my way here, I thought you could use a couple more friends to talk to," Helena answered.
Maril seemed displeased by the additional company. "I think I would like to be alone right now," she said as she flew straight up in the sky. Helena would have told Connor to go away, but Maril took off before Helena could say anything to her. She jumped down to the ground to greet her boyfriend.
"I guess I scared her off," Connor said as he walked up to Helena.
Helena was going to tell him all about the conversation she had with Maril, but as she thought about it she couldn't speak. With Maril gone she was breaking down. She ran to Connor and threw her arms around him as she broke down crying.
Helena started thinking about what the loss of Rex meant to her. Before she went to live with her father she spent almost all her time on either the Watchtower or the Metrotower. Rex was the only other kid who lived in those two places as much as she did. He was her oldest friend and she was going to miss him greatly.
As she continued crying into Connor's shoulder she became thankful that Maril and Rex were at least able to get engaged before he died. She thought about her and Connor, and the possibility something might happen to one of them.
"Marry me," she said into Connor's shoulder.
"What was that?" he asked.
"Marry me," she said as she stood back and looked him in the eye to see what his reaction would be. "I don't want to take the chance one of us will die before we have a chance to get married."
"You just ruined everything," he said. While his words were harsh the tone of voice he said it in was playful.
Helena sat patiently next to Connor as he flew the Javelin ship through the air. He was supposed to be taking her to some island in the middle of the ocean. It was supposed to be a surprise he was going to reveal when he proposed to her. For the moment, Helena wasn't saddened by the death of her friend. She was feeling joy over the fact Connor had been making plans to propose.
The sun rose on the horizon as they flew east. An island appeared below them, Helena was surprised how it was all alone out in the middle of the ocean. Connor brought them closer and Helena could see the landscape of the island. It was a mix of tropical and temperate forest that reminded her of Themyscira.
Connor brought the jet down gently and immediately stood up and offered his hand to Helena. "May I escort you outside, my lady," he said.
"Yes, you may," she said as she took his hand. He led her out and gave her a moment to look around the beach they were on.
"This place is beautiful," Helena exclaimed. "How did you find this?"
"I didn't, your father did. He bought it years ago as a place he could live with you and your mother. He knew his marriage to your mother was strained by the fact that they had to keep it a secret, or else people might ask too many questions of how Bruce Wayne came to be married to Wonder Woman. He thought this place would be isolated enough for them to spend time together."
"How do you know all this?" she asked him, stunned by what he was revealing.
"When I asked your father for your hand in marriage, his main concern was how we were going to live together. He told me about this island and told me it was ours if we wanted it, we should just consider this our engagement present. By chance it happens to be an equal distance between Gotham and Star City."
Helena was smiling slyly at Connor and he wondered what she was thinking. "What are you smiling about?" he asked her.
"You went to my father alone to ask for my hand in marriage, you're braver then I thought," she said with a smile.
"I had to change my underwear afterwards, but I didn't have the heart attack I was expecting."
Connor made Helena laugh and it sounded sweet to his ears. He heard Ted speaking to him through his communicator and telling him the ring was being beamed down. He found it in the sand and knelt down to grab.
Helena had walked over to him and he took the ring out of its box. "Will you marry me?" he asked her.
"Yes," she answered. He took her hand and removed the gauntlet, then put the ring on her finger.
"I can't believe everything you told me," Lal Talek said to Rex as she replaced the bandages on his back. "If my brother is alive and nearby, I have to go and get him out."
Lal Talek was Hro's sister. He knew she would likely be living on the family estate. It was a hundred miles from the camp he had escaped from, but in planetary terms that was not far at all. With his injuries the trek had been grueling, but now that he was safe in her house, his wounds were finally getting tended to properly.
"He told me we are not to worry about him," Rex told her. "He said rescuing him would be too dangerous. We have a bigger mission to attend to."
Rex could hear Lal sigh. "If my brother is anything like what I remember, he must have told you to raise an army and overthrow the Gordanians. That is a hopeless dream. Our goal should be to find a way back to Earth for you. I knew your mother. She is going to go crazy believing you are dead."
Rex didn't get a chance to reply as a knock came on the door. He could hear the voices of two Gordanians as they announced they needed the occupant to open the door. Lal helped Rex hide in a closet and then she answered the door. Rex was able to look out through the blinds and see everything.
When Lal opened the door the two Gordanians barged through it. "We're looking for an escapee," one of them said. "Do not get in our way."
Lal was silent as the two began moving around. They both had their guns raised and were looking at something on them. Rex figured they had scanners on their blasters that would allow them to detect his presence. When one of them pointed the scanner at the closet he was in, he could see a smile come across the face of the Gordanian. He stayed silent and slowly moved towards Rex's position. Rex guessed the man wanted the kill all for himself. Rex waited for the Gordanian to get near. When he was close enough Rex burst out the door and quickly wrestled the gun away from him. He fired it and the blast tore the Gordanians chest open.
Rex turned the gun in the direction of the other Gordanian who dropped his immediately. "Please don't shoot me," he yelled. "I'll leave and never tel anyone about this. I swear."
"Your comrades will be looking for you," Rex pointed out.
"I can hide out. I swear to you."
Rex thought about his situation, he knew he couldn't trust the man. He had always been taught never to kill, especially in cold blood. He tried to think of reasons to let the man go, but none came to mind. Rex pulled the trigger and blew the Gordanian's head off.
Lal was stolid as she watched everything. "We better get out of here before others show up," she said. "You better have a plan for us surviving."