Chapter 12
Helena walked along the bloodied floor of the abandoned bar. She inspected the dead bodies that had deposited the blood on the floor. There were three of them scattered around the bar. They had all been killed in an obvious hit, most likely another gang trying to take out the competition.
"What do you make of this," the commissioner asked her.
"Looks like three henchmen caught up in the middle of a gang war. I've been seeing a lot of this recently. For some reason each gang in this city is trying to assert its power. I'm afraid a bloody war is going to break out here."
"Luckily we have you to prevent anything like that happening," the commissioner said to her. Helena was always uncomfortable whenever others implied she could do absolutely anything. She had her limits, she couldn't do everything. This was looking to be one such time where that might be true.
"It looks like your crew can do the dirty work here," she told the commissioner. "I've seen everything I need to. I can get the forensics results off the police computers myself."
Helena went out the back door without worrying about being inconspicuous. Her father always tried to sneak away when no one was looking to keep up the mysterious reputation. Helena never felt the need to do those kinds of things. Her powers gave her enough of a reputation.
Helena jumped up to the roof of the bar and looked up at the sky. Few stars were visible, but the nearly full moon was. Night had just started and there was already one bloodbath. She wondered if there would be any more before the night ended.
Helena had left the Batwing a couple of buildings away. It was on top of a much taller skyscraper. She jumped up on top of a nearby apartment building that was ten stories tall. She jumped over to a higher office building and then up and over to the skyscraper where she had left the Batwing.
When Helena came down she was shocked to find her mother waiting for her. "Checking up on the job I'm doing?" she asked.
"No, Helena," her mother replied simply. There was no anger in her voice because her daughter was being snarky with her. There was also no playfulness either. There was only sadness.
"Then what are you here for?" Helena asked. She jumped into the cockpit as she waited for her reply.
"I had some news to deliver that I though you would want to hear from someone in person," her mother said as she leaned over the cockpit.
Helena knew immediately what she was talking about. "Maril's mother passed away, didn't she?" Helena asked.
"Yes, we just got word a half hour ago. If you want to try and contact Maril, I could watch. . ."
Helena didn't let her mother finish her sentence. "Maril can contact me if she needs to. I'm sure she is busy with political duties and I have a city about to blow up in war. We can talk later."
Helena closed the cockpit on her mother and took off from the building. Diana watched the Batwing fly across the city. She thought about the coldness her daughter had exhibited when talking about Koriand'r's death. She said the kinds of things her father would have said. She wondered how much of it was difficulty over dealing with the death of her best friend's mother, and how much of it was a true coldness she was developing. Diana was beginning to worry about her daughter. Her best friend was moving to a new planet and her marriage to Connor was looking like it was never going to happen. She was growing more distant from the rest of the league as well. Diana worried her daughter was turning into an extreme loner. As much as she didn't want to intrude in her daughter's life too much, she thought she should at least have a talk with her about some things.
Lal Talek walked through the halls of the presidential palace. Her boots clanked against the marble floor. The palace had been abandoned after the Gordanian takeover of Thanagar and laid dormant for two decades. When Warhawk's ascension to power gave the Thanagarians their own government again, he insisted he reside in the presidential palace for its symbolism. He cared little about how it looked, though. He didn't need the fancy accommodations to live.
The hall Lal walked down was completely bare. There was little indication the head of a planet lived there. In a way, the plain accommodations were much more fitting for him. She reached his bedroom door and knocked on it. While it was the middle of the night she knew Rex had been having trouble sleeping lately and that he was likely awake. "Come in," she heard him yell from behind the door. He didn't bother to ask who it was.
Lal walked in and found Rex lying in bed with his hands behind his head. He was staring up at the ceiling. She could see his face in the moonlight and it appeared he was not tired at all. "I have news for you, sir," she said to him as she bowed.
"You don't need to do that," he said in reference to the bow. "You knew me when I was nothing, you are equal to me."
"I am not, sir," she said to him with confidence. "I was not the one who led the resistance to victory. "
Rex sat up as she talked. "What was the news you had for me?" he asked.
"We just received word from Thanagar that Queen Koriand'r has passed away," she informed him. "From what we know, Maril has not yet been presented with the proposal the Elders had for uniting our two nations. They must be telling her soon, though."
Rex was moved by the news of the Queen's death. "Leave me," he practically shouted as he held his head in his hands. She quietly walked out and left him to grieve in private.
Maril sat before the Elders with her hands in her lap. She was playing around with them nervously. She had just been told the plans they had for uniting Tamaran and Thanagar. She saw the need for Tamaran to form the alliance with Thanagar, but she was hesitant at the idea of having to marry a complete stranger.
"Do you understand everything?" the Head Elder asked her. She looked up at all the Elders around her. They were seated around her in way that made her feel like a student being looked down at and inspected. It made her forget she was the royal who was supposed to rule over them.
"I understand it all," she replied.
"You might want to take a day to think about it," the Head Elder told her.
"I agree to it. I'll do it," she replied. Her reply was so quick she actually surprised herself. She had said yes almost entirely on instinct. In a flash her mind had gone through all the pros and cons. She knew unifying with Thanagar was in the best interest of Tamaran. The personal cost of it was high for her; she was agreeing to an arranged marriage with a man she didn't know. The cost didn't seem so high when she reminded herself she was convinced she may never find love again after the loss of Rex. At least, she knew she could never have with anyone else what she had with Rex.
The faces of the Elders all showed joy over the news she had agreed to their proposal. Maril got up to leave. "Can you stay behind?" the Head Elder asked. "There are details we should work out."
"They can wait," she said to him, asserting her power. "I need to contact someone about an important detail of my upcoming marriage. This is one detail this council is going to have no say over."
Helena flew the Batwing into the cave and docked it in its perch. She jumped down from it as she took off her helmet. It had been a long and tough night and she was anxious to get out of the costume and put the night behind her.
"You look like hell," her father said to her as he looked back at her from the Batcomputer."
"That's because the city's going to hell," she said as she leaned on the computer console to rest. She stretched out her neck and looked up at the ceiling as she stretched out. "It's never going to end, is it?" she asked her father.
Bruce couldn't reply to his daughter's query. Her question reminded him of the doubts he had about whether or not his career had been successful. He had taken up the mantle of Batman in order to end crime in the city. Instead, his battle had turned into a never ending war. Even his daughter, who was ten times as powerful as he was, seemed to do little more than tread water in their war against crime.
Bruce was saved from having to answer his daughter's question by the Batcomputer announcing there was an incoming call for Huntress, from Nightstar. To Bruce's surprise his daughter didn't immediately kick him out of the cave so she could answer the call.
"Your mother found you tonight, didn't she?" Bruce asked her.
"Yeah, she told me the news about Starfire."
"I think Maril wants to talk to you about it," Bruce said as he got up to leave.
"I know," she said as she took his seat. She refrained from bringing up the live feed.
"I'll go up and make breakfast," Bruce said to his daughter.
"Isn't it a little early?" she asked.
"It's dawn out, you didn't notice that when you came in?"
"I guess my mind was on other things." Bruce went up to the manor and left her. Helena punched through Maril's feed. Her face appeared on the monitor before her.
Helena tried to read her face to determine how her friend was feeling. Helena saw a look of strength on her face, but little sadness.
"How are you doing?" Helena asked her friend.
"My mother passed away a couple hours ago," she said without answering Helena's question.
"I know, my mother informed me," Helena replied. "You look like you're holding up well."
"Yes," Maril replied. "I have been preparing for it for a while now. Also, I have too much responsibility now to let myself fall to pieces over her death." Maril paused for a moment. Helena wasn't sure if it was because she needed to collect herself emotionally or if it was because she was thinking about what she was going to say next.
"How is everyone else doing?" Helena asked.
"Myfather has been stoic and emotionless since I got here," Maril answered. "He is really taking after your father. I'm sure he will be proud to here that. My brother was inconsolable right at the time of death. I just saw him a minute ago and he is much better now."
Maril paused for a minute as she chose her words carefully. "I needed to talk to you about one of the responsibilities I now have as the incoming queen of my nation," Maril began. She took a deep breath as she prepared herself for what she needed to say. Helena was puzzled Maril was having trouble spitting out what she needed to say.
"I know you probably aren't going to like hearing what I have to say," Maril began. "The Tamaranean Elders have determined it is in the best interest of Tamaran to form a close alliance with Thanagar, and-"
"Thanagar is still under the thumb of the Gordanians," Helena pointed out as she interrupted her friend.
Maril seemed upset by being interrupted. Either that or she didn't like the point Helena made. She looked around the room she was in, then leaned closer to the screen and talked quietly. "Thanagar is close to declaring its independence under the leadership of its new emperor," she said. Maril moved back from the screen. She lowered her head as she thought of something. Helena knew the news she wasn't going to like was coming. Her mind raced with what it could be.
Maril lifted her head back up so Helena could look at her as they spoke. "I misled you slightly when I said Tamaran is merely going to form an alliance with Thanagar. The truth is we are going to become one nation with them. This will take place after I am coronated as queen. The day after my coronation I am set to marry this Thanagarian emperor and together we will rule over the combined nation of Tamaran and Thanagar."
When Maril was done speaking her eyes shifted all around the room. She had trouble focusing on Helena as she was afraid of what her reaction would be. It took Helena several moments to fully comprehend what her friend had told her.
"Are you insane?" she blurted out at the screen. "When were you first presented with this little proposal?"
"A couple hours ago," Maril admitted.
"A couple hours! A couple hours!" Helena was extremely incredulous with what Maril was telling her. "You made a major life decision like this in a couple hours."
Maril's facial expression changed and she appeared angry with Helena's reaction. "This decision wasn't about me; it was about the Tamaraneans and the Thanagarians. I have billions of people to think about here. You're the princess of Themyscira, has it never occurred to you there might be sacrifices you would have to make if you were to assume the throne there."
What Maril said made sense to Helena. She hated the idea her friend had to be the one to make sacrifices like that. She hated the idea Maril had to be the one to give up the idea of ever finding love again.
A thought struck Helena as she went over what Maril would have to give up if she married this general. She initially didn't feel it would be appropriate to ask Maril about it, but then thought she should be able to ask Maril anything, especially something this important.
"Maril, I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to answer honestly, okay," she said to her friend.
"Okay," Maril replied tartly.
Helena took a deep breath as it was her turn to say something to Maril she was not going to want to hear. "I want to make sure-I need to know you are truly doing this because it is what is best for your planet. I don't want to ever think that you agreed to this because it frees you from having to look for love. I know ever since Rex died-"
"It has nothing to do with Rex," Maril answered in haste. Helena was a bit skeptical of her reply since she answered so tersely, but she trusted her friend not to lie to her.
"Okay then," Helena answered. "I trust you when you say you're doing this for your people. But I don't think you have had the chance to think about everything this might entail. You don't have great love for the Thanagarians right now. Being married to one could be a real trial for you. If you can't handle the marriage, or can't stand ruling the Thanagarians, this could really blow up in a bad way and make things much worse for both your planet and Thanagar."
"I know it might be tough," Maril admitted to Helena. "But I am going to have to learn to put my feelings aside about the Thanagarians. We have been trained to do this kind of thing, remember. We were trained to put our feelings for our fathers aside when we went on patrol with them."
Helena wasn't sure if Maril had cited the best example. Helena remembered all the patrols she went on with her father. She was never supposed to worry about him; she was only supposed to worry about the crime victims. It never worked out that way; Helena was always keeping one eye on her father to make sure nothing happened to him. From conversations she had with Maril she knew she did the same thing.
"I'm sorry I doubted you so much," Helena said with remorse. "You're responsible and I should have known you would never have agreed to this without thinking things through."
"Don't feel bad," Maril said. "I'm far from perfect, and I need people like you to check me on things. I wanted to talk to you partly to make sure I had examined all angles of this. Also, I had something I wanted to ask you. I was wondering if you would be my Maid of Honor?"
For a moment all of Helena's fears and reservations about Maril's marriage disappeared. She was flattered the girl would ask her to be her Maid of Honor. While Helena knew she would have doubts all the way to the moment of the wedding, she tried to concentrate on the fact her friend might at least be able to have the ceremony of her dreams.
"I'd be honored to be your Maid of Honor." Maril's face beamed with joy upon hearing Helena's reply. "Just don't put me in a really ugly dress," Helena said with a smile.
Maril laughed hard at Helena's joke. Helena detected relief in Maril's laugh. She guessed it was the first time the girl had laughed in a while.
"You don't have to worry about what kind of dress I may try and put on you. Because of the proud warrior history of Tamaran it is traditional for the attendants to wear military attire. I'm sure you have some Amazonian armor that would be good for this."
"I'm sure I can find something," Helena replied.
Maril looked around again. "It looks like I have business to attend to now. I will contact you again about traveling out here. Please feel free to tell whoever you want. I know a lot of you were planning on coming out for my mother's funeral."
The screen went blank and Helena let out a deep sigh. She had put on a brave face for her friend, but she had serious doubts about what Maril was doing. She had to trust her friend to do the right thing. There was a lot of politics involved and while Helena didn't understand a lot of it, she knew Maril had to make her decision based on what was best for Tamaran.
Helena finally changed out of her costume and put on cutoffs and a T-shirt. As she changed she thought about Maril's wedding and having to leave Gotham when it was descending into turmoil. She was going to have to back out on the wedding. She had made an oath to protect the city and she couldn't break it, even for her best friend's wedding. It was a sham of a marriage anyway. Helena was sure Maril would understand.
Helena walked through the steel door and into the study. The sunrise was clearly visible through the windows of the study. After she pushed the clock back into its place she went to the window and took a moment to look out at it. The sunrise meant most of the criminals of Gotham would be staying inside and resting, unlike the rest of the residents of the city. The criminals would rest and plan for the schemes and attacks they wanted to carry out that night. She would rest up also and be ready for them.
The smell of cooked bacon reached her and she walked into the dining hall to see what her father had prepared. There was a plate of bacon and eggs with cheese at her place. She sat down and immediately started eating. Her father came out a few seconds later with his plate, plus a plate of muffins, which he laid on the table between her spot and his.
"Do you mind if I ask how Maril is holding up," he said as he sat down. Helena was amazed how domesticated her father could be at times.
"She's doing well," Helena replied. "She's been expecting this for a little while. She said her brother and father were doing okay as well. I just thought I would tell you in case you were actually worried about Dick." Helena snickered as she said that last part in jest. She always kidded her father about the way his former ward thought he didn't give a shit about him.
"Was that all the two of you talked about?" her father asked.
Helena was hesitant to answer. She knew telling her father about Maril's upcoming marriage would be a long conversation and she didn't feel like talking a lot right now. She quickly changed her mind as she realized it would be good to have his advice on the issue.
"Maril told me that Tamaran and Thanagar are going to be united into one nation. It's going to become official when she marries the Thanagarian general who just rose to power."
She paused so that she could give her father a little time to digest what she told him. "Was this the first time she told you about it."
"Yes," she answered. "The Elders had come up with the plan and presented it to her right after Starfire passed. She accepted it right away. It was definitely hasty, but it looks like it was obvious this was best for Tamaran."
"Even though she's family in a bit of a loose way it looks like she is keeping up the tradition of making personal sacrifices for completing one's duty.," Bruce said. Helena wasn't sure if her father was being sarcastic or serious.
"She asked me to be her maid of honor," Helena informed him.
"That's great news," her father said, genuinely happy.
"I don't know if I'm going to be able to do it," Helena confessed. "The city's in turmoil and needs me. And Maril's not exactly having a dream wedding. It will be okay for me to miss it."
Helena heard her father's silverware slam against his plate. She jumped in surprise over his actions. "What's the problem?" she asked him.
"You can't miss the wedding," he said in a loud voice.
"But the city-"
"The city will survive," her father yelled as he interrupted her. "There is an entire league of superheroes that can look over it while you are gone."
"None of them are me," she protested.
"Your mother won't hesitate to help us out by looking over Gotham," he told her. "You might know that you don't have any powers she doesn't have."
"She doesn't have my training, remember. She doesn't know this city like I do."
"She'll have me to help her out. Together we're two thirds of the Triumvirate. We have dealt with situations much worse than a single city in flames. We can handle whatever is happening."
"I don't want to take the chance that something will happen when I am away," she pleaded with her father. "I know how despondent I will be if anything happens that I think I could have prevented."
"You can't think like that," her father said to her. His voice had a much different tone to it now. He was soothing instead of loud and angry. "I have worried about you lately and the distance you are placing between yourself and others. I have recognized a lot of destructive traits in you that I used to engage in myself. I know you made an oath to protect this city, but you can't let it consume you. You can become obsessed with everything you could protect if you had just a little more power or just a little more time. You need to learn to rely on others and let go. You need to nurture your friendships and I'm not talking about the benefits to your mental health. The friendships we have go a long way towards nurturing alliances. I wouldn't have the working relationship I do with your mother and Clark if I wasn't good friends with them. Our friendship has given us a level of trust that has been invaluable in several battles."
"Maril is going to live a world away," Helena said as she tried to make one last protest against her father. "She won't be much of an ally for me there."
"You never know when she might prove invaluable," her father replied. "The two of you have a special relationship that you should not simply toss aside. If you throw this friendship away I know you will regret it."
Helena didn't bring up the marriage her parents had thrown away, as that stood in contrast to a lot of things her father was trying to say. Some things her father had said did make her question how her parents were going to be able to work together when she was away.
"Are you and Mom actually going to be okay working together? The two of you can certainly have your. . .disagreements."
Her father smirked over her statement. "Your mother and I don't quite have the disagreements you think we do. We still know how to work together. You can go to Tamaran and you won't have to worry about us one bit."
"With my authority as the future Queen of Tamaran, I accept the proposal put forth for the union of Tamaran with the planetary nation of Thanagar." Rex watched as Maril announced her nation's acceptance of the unity proposal. He was only listening in on the conversation; he was not taking part in it. Lal was acting as his emissary and was doing all the talking for this.
"The transition will be difficult, I know," Maril continued. "I know I will be a young and inexperienced queen, but my mother has left me an administration full of experienced and talented individuals. I have heard the story about Warhawk's rise to power and am very impressed by the qualities he has displayed. I am sure he has a team around him that will be able to work with us and seamlessly unite our two countries as one."
Rex hung his head over hearing Maril say she admired him as Warhawk. She was likely just trying to be diplomatic about her attitude towards her future husband. She likely saw him as an authoritarian monster. When she found out the man she thought of as a monster was her old lover, Rex knew it would not go over well. The Maril he knew would be strong enough to deal with it, but he had no idea how much she had changed over the years.
For a moment he watched her without listening to what she was saying. He looked at her face closely. For a moment at least, he stopped telling himself he had to be emotionless. He stopped telling himself he had to put his past with her behind him. He took in all her features. She looked more beautiful to him then he remembered. For years he had told himself his memories of her beauty were idyllic, but now when he looked at her he felt his memories had not done her proper justice.
His heart ached over the thought they would never again be able to experience the great love they had before they were separated. There was a second where he thought he could break into the conversation and tell her he was still alive. In his mind she would start crying and thanking X'Hal he had been returned to her. He pushed this thought out of his mind as he realized it was a fantasy that would not be coming true.
He went back to studying her, this time examining her demeanor. She had just lost her mother a couple hours ago, yet she appeared on the screen strong and stoic. He wondered if this bore any resemblance to the way she had acted when she heard he was dead. He thought about Galfore's statement she had been scarred by the loss, and wondered how true this was.
He started listening to her again so he could gauge her emotional state from her voice. Her words were clear and concise. There was no breaking of her voice. She sounded calm and confident. She talked and acted like a born leader. She would be a great queen, as long as nothing he did screwed things up for her.
Her voice sounded more joyful as the conversation turned to the arrangements for the wedding itself. She appeared authentically happy that she was a least going to marry.
Rex thought back to all the plans Maril had for her wedding. While the two of them spent little time together engaged, Maril had dropped hints for years about what kind of ceremony she wanted. She had ideas of getting an elaborate Tamaranean dress custom made. Helena would be her maid of honor and would be dressed in full Amazonian battle armor, fitting with Tamaranean tradition. The thing she was most excited about of course was the planned release of doves and a variety of birds from Tamaran and Thanagar.
He wasn't listening that closely to hear if she was mentioning some of the things she had planned for her wedding since she was a little girl. He did hear Lal ask Maril if they would need help with attending to the Thanagarian traditions. Maril said it wouldn't be a problem as a Thanagarian women she knew who resided on Earth would be coming for the funeral and could help with the wedding.
Rex almost collapsed over the thought his mother would be there. It was going to be hard enough to have to reveal himself to Maril. He knew he could never stand to let his mother know he was still alive. She would be heartbroken and completely disappointed by what he had become. He had become everything she had raised him not to be. If she was going to stay for the entire ceremony he would have to hide his identity until she was gone.