Chapter 17
Wonder Woman flew to the high-tech district and hovered over the warehouse she had visited the previous night. Bruce had said she should simply return to the warehouse, the Dopple Gang would be waiting for her, and this time they would have a proper message. Diana was skeptical, but didn't know Gotham like he did and had no standing for backing up her feelings.
Wonder Woman had avoided talking to the police. She thought Bruce would want to give them a head's up about what they were doing, but he thought it best they keep things to themselves right now. He thought something was being orchestrated specifically to target superheroes; the police would be unlikely to deal with it and would just be putting themselves in harm's way.
The warehouse looked dead. There were no lights emanating from the windows. Diana was skeptical anyone was inside, but she knew Bruce wouldn't let her leave without checking it out. She descended to street level, and couldn't hear any music coming from the warehouse like the day before.
"I think there is no one in there," she said to Bruce over her comlink. "Could this be some kind of trap for me?"
"We have no idea who the Dopple Gang is working for, but if there is going to be a trap set for you; it won't be at this warehouse tonight. Someone went through a lot of trouble setting things up, and they didn't go through all that trouble just to spring a simple trap inside a hideout. Go in and see what you can find. While they may not be trying to hurt you, they might be playing games with you. That means any information they might have left might be rigged for destruction if you don't do the right thing."
"I understand," she said to him. She walked up to the door and opened it quietly. It was dark inside, as she had been able to see from outside. While there was no loud noise, Diana listened carefully to try and detect anything soft.
Diana thought she heard a whimper, and walked further into the warehouse to try and hear it better. The sound was stronger and Diana could tell it was coming from the middle of the warehouse. She wasn't afraid of giving away her position, so she had the star on her tiara illuminate and provide some light for her to look around.
When her tiara illuminated, the whimper turned into a muffled voice. Diana ran in the direction of it and found Catwoman bound and gagged on the floor between the couch and armchair.
Diana knelt beside the woman and pulled the tape from her mouth. "Thank God you found me," Catwoman said, obviously relieved. "I was worried you might not show up."
"So, your compatriots expected me," Diana said to her. "Were you left behind to give me a message?"
"Not really," Catwoman answered as Diana finished untying her hands. Catwoman rubbed them and then went to work on her ankle restraints herself. "I was left behind like this because I didn't want to go along with what they had planned."
"And what was that?" Diana asked.
"The rest of the guys are looking to start a gang war. Not just any gang war, but the biggest one the city has ever seen. They want to bring this city to its knees."
"What made them want to attempt that?"
"They were getting tired of being seen as nothing more than fanboys. They wanted to be respected and feared just as much as the super villains they emulated. They wanted to live in the old days."
"How did they get the gangs on their side?"
"Each one went to a gang and propositioned them to be their minions, just like in the days of old. They were all laughed at, but they all told them of heists they could pull. The gangs all pulled off the heists they were told to, and came to believe their super villain would truly be able to make them more rich and powerful than the others."
"How were they so good at finding heists the gangs could pull off?"
"A lot of the guys are expert hackers, they can find shipment schedules, crack security codes, you name it. They gained the trust of the gangs fairly quickly, but tried to stay separate so no one would ever connect them."
"So you guys always made sure to have alibis when a gang pulled something."
"Exactly, and as they led the gangs to more successful heists, they gained more trust. Of course, with every gang pulling better heists, they all became jealous of one another. For the past week, they have been feeding this hatred and jealousy. Each Dopple Gang member is set to unleash their gang on the city tomorrow night. They have all told their gangs they have plans for wiping out all the other gangs."
"And why didn't you want to go along with it now. You obviously didn't have a problem before."
"I never adopted a gang like the others," Catwoman said as she shook her head. "I mainly did it because I thought their grand plan could never succeed. If I had known it could, I would have stopped them long ago. It wasn't until just earlier this day that I realized it was going to succeed. They are going to get their gang war."
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Diana told her defiantly.
"Be careful what you believe," she heard Bruce say in her ear. "She might be a plant left behind to give us this message for a reason."
Diana thought what Bruce had said was ridiculous, there didn't appear to be any ulterior motive to revealing a huge gang war was coming to Gotham. She didn't feel like asking him for his opinion on what she should do. He would most likely want her to interrogate the woman to find out if she was lying or not. As far as Diana was concerned, that would only waste time when she could be out investigating the situation for herself.
"Do you know where anyone is right now?" she asked Catwoman.
"I know where every gang's hideout is," she answered. She proceeded to list the names and locations of all the hangouts she knew.
"Got them?" she asked Bruce. Catwoman didn't seem curious at all about who she was talking to.
"Yes, I can tell you how to get to each place," Bruce replied. "I still don't know if we can trust her. I believe someone else is behind all this. I know you would rather just check out all the places she gave you. So I guess we'll just have to do things your way."
Diana suppressed a smile over Bruce's surrender. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked Catwoman. "Do you have a safe place you can go to?"
"Yes, I have some friends I can stay with," she answered. "I don't think I have too much to worry about with any of them. If they wanted me dead they could have killed me instead of tying me up."
"Which makes me think she's delivering a message someone wants us to hear," Bruce said to Wonder Woman.
"If you need protection, go to the police," Diana told her. "You needn't worry about them throwing you in jail if you need help."
Diana flew out the door and up into the night sky. "Do you really not understand what just happened back there?" she asked Bruce as she flew.
"Apparently not, explain it to me," he said.
Diana smiled at the role reversal she was experiencing. "I wasn't being duped back there. I'm not like you and Helena. If one of you gets the hint there is a trap you try and find out all the information you can to disassemble it. On the other hand, I have no trouble walking into the trap and springing it. I figure I can take their best shot."
"It is such a good thing you sent Helena to live with me so I could train her," Bruce replied. Diana noticed how he emphasized the 'I'.
"You have little choice but to help me. Tell me where I should go first."
Bruce told her to go to the hangout at the docks. She went there and found it empty and abandoned. There were no clues there that might have told her where the gang had fled. Every other place she went to was the same story. She spent the entire night checking out every gang hangout that Bruce had in his database. Finally, as the sun came up she returned to the cave.
"Something big is definitely about to occur," she said to Bruce the moment she saw him back at the Batcave. Neither one made mention of whether Catwoman was telling the truth or not. It suddenly didn't matter. "All the gangs have gone into hiding. It's a common military tactic, retreat from your known strongholds so you're safe from any counterattack. Since every gang has done it, they must all plan on attacking somebody, just as Catwoman said. We need to find a way to stop it."
Bruce turned around in his chair to face her, but didn't look at her. He sat there brooding. "We need intel," he told her as he looked up at her. Diana wasn't sure what Bruce was doing, but he appeared to be looking her over. "Strength is not going to be much use right now. I need to spend the day out, go incognito and see if I can get anyone to tell me anything. Then maybe we can get to the bottom of this gang war and who is manipulating everything."
Bruce got out of his chair and walked to the storage cabinet holding his old Batman equipment and costumes. "You can't go out there Bruce," she yelled at him as she followed him to the cabinet. "How do you possibly think you're going to be able to extract any information from anyone?"
Bruce came out holding a costume she knew well. "Matches Malone should still be known to a few people at least. I should be able to find out a great deal if I go out as him."
Diana recognized the look in Bruce's eyes and on his face. She hadn't seen it since he retired as Batman. He was feeling useful again; he was living his life's purpose. She knew inside he must be feeling alive for the first time in a long time. Despite how great she knew he must be feeling, she just couldn't let him go out and put himself in harm's way.
"You can't do this, Bruce. There has to be another way," she said to him softly. She was surprised he didn't get angry at all. He just looked back at her with a determined expression on his face.
"This is the only way to find out the information we need to stop the war and find out who's manipulating everything." He walked upstairs to the manor and disappeared to put on his clothes and make-up to turn into Matches Malone.
Diana wanted to run or fly after him to stop him, but she didn't do anything. She wanted to stop him and tell him she was worried for him, their daughter was worried for him, but she stood motionless. She wanted to tell him he was being paranoid thinking there was some big mastermind behind everything. She stayed where she was though as she knew it was all hopeless. She had this fight with him before, and she lost every time. As she stood defeated, she hoped that by going out as Matches Malone he would be able to find out something that would aid them in stopping this gang war.
Helena lied awake in bed for hours. Connor was able to sleep just fine, and the fact she didn't want to wake him up kept her from tossing and turning. For several hours, she just stared at the ceiling and thought about things.
She thought mostly about Rex and Maril, and what their marriage was going to be like. The entire day she had been sure Maril would be overcome with joy when she found out Rex was alive and he was the man she was marrying. As she lied awake she began to doubt that and believe she may be wrong.
Helena had been caught off guard by Maril's speech when she skipped over the portion on how she shared ideals with Warhawk. The fact Helena had been caught off guard by the actions of her friend made her question if she truly did understand her friend well enough. She started wondering if her friend would truly have the reaction to finding out Rex was alive that she believed she would have. From time to time, Helena tried to calm down by reminding herself she was being irrational; Maril still loved Rex and would give anything to have him back. There was nothing he could ever do that would change that.
In an attempt to get her mind off Maril and Rex she thought about her parents and what they were doing back on Earth. She felt bad about leaving when the gangs in Gotham were going through a period of boldness and going on crime sprees. She wondered how her parents were dealing with it. She knew she should have confidence in them, but also thought about how her father was old and her mother was inexperienced with Gotham. She felt bad about not contacting them and getting an update on the situation. She knew it would be the middle of the night over in Gotham and her father would have her mother on patrol still. Since her mind was restless and she couldn't sleep she decided to find a communicator and call home.
Helena got out of bed and put a robe on over her nightgown. She walked to the door and when she opened it she was shocked to find Maril standing in front of her. "What are you doing?" she asked her friend.
"I-I don't know exactly," Maril replied in a sheepish voice. Her eyes were darting around as she couldn't seem to look Helena in the eye. "I just needed to talk to you, but when I came down here I couldn't bring myself to knock on the door and wake up the two of you. I've been standing out here for a while," she admitted. She shook her head as she talked. Helena could see she was in turmoil, and she didn't have to be the world's greatest detective to figure out it was her upcoming marriage that was causing her so much emotional strife.
Helena embraced Maril and gave her a tight hug. "I'm here for you if you want to talk about anything," she said to her friend. As she broke the hug Maril wiped a tear from her eye.
"You look like you were heading somewhere," Maril said in a soft voice. "You have better things to do then talk to me. I should go."
"Maril, how can you think that?" Helena tried to say in a reassuring tone. She always found these kinds of talks difficult; "You're my best friend and you always come first in my life. I was merely suffering from insomnia and thought it would help to take a walk. Why don't you come with me?"
Helena just started walking and Maril followed her, obediently. Helena had learned her way around the palace over the last two days and decided to slowly lead Maril back to her bedroom. She knew with the state the girl was in she probably wouldn't notice where she was heading.
Walking slowly, Helena was able to take in the beauty of the palace for the first time. The walls were composed of plates of diamond shaped metal with crystals placed at every intersection of four diamonds. The metal was reflective which gave the feeling of walking through a hall of mirrors. In a nod to the past, the hallway was illuminated by gas lamps. The decor of the hallways gave Helena the feeling of walking through both a futuristic space station and an old fashioned castle at the same time.
The two walked in silence for a while. Helena expected Maril to open up with what was bothering her, but the girl stayed silent. Helena decided to start the conversation herself. "You're thinking about Rex, aren't you?" she asked.
"Yeah," Maril answered in an almost apologetic tone. "I thought I would be able to get through the wedding without thinking about him. I thought I was over his death, but-"
Maril paused for a moment and Helena took the opportunity to finish her thought. "But you find yourself thinking about what you lost when he died, and how you're never going to have the life you thought you did."
"Exactly," Maril replied simply. She seemed relieved that Helena had said the words she was having trouble getting out.
Helena bit her tongue. She thought she could end all of Maril's problems by telling her Rex was still alive and he was the man she was going to be marrying tomorrow. She stayed silent about it as she knew Rex had to reveal the truth to Maril himself.
"I've spent the entire week here fighting his memory," Maril said, still speaking softly. "Ever since he died it has been difficult for me to come here. I know I've used the excuse of my father's retirement and my obligation to protect Bludhaven as the reason for not visiting more, but the truth is I have too many memories of my trip here with Rex that crop up whenever I visit."
"I remember that trip well," Helena said.
"You don't know this, but, but-"
"But that trip was the first time the two of you made love," Helena replied.
Maril stopped walking as her jaw nearly hit the floor. She was absolutely stunned over the revelation Helena knew what had happened all those years ago. "How did you know? Did Rex say something-"
"I figured it out at the time," Helena replied. "My father taught me to be observant. It's part of the whole world's greatest detective thing."
"My father never taught me that stuff," Maril said as she began walking and following Helena again.
"According to my father, yours never learned that stuff."
"You know, it was my father's marriage to Barbara that had me on such a high that trip. I know my parents love each other very much, but my father and Barbara were the two that had the very special relationship. They were the two that were always fated to be together. Throughout their lives they found each other again and again no matter what happened. The two of them were fated to be together. At their wedding, you could tell they had something special that only a rare number of people ever get to experience. I sincerely believed Rex and I were like that."
Helena found her eyes welling with tears as she listened to what Maril said. Helena wanted to tell Maril she and Rex were fated to be together. The fact they were getting married despite everything that had happened to them was proof of that. It took a lot of willpower for her to remain silent. She had to turn her head away from Maril for a moment as she fought back the tears.
Maril didn't notice what Helena was doing. She kept walking and talking without missing a beat. "When we came here with Rex I really felt like I was embarking on that kind of relationship with him. I know I was young and naive, but I thought Rex and I had a connection that could never be broken. The feeling of having that kind of relationship was just euphoric. It was a high that never went away."
Maril let out a sigh as she lowered her head and looked at her feet as she walked. "The feeling we were supposed to be together no matter what, made it so hard for me to believe Rex had been killed. I thought it was metaphysically impossible for Rex to die before we could have been married."
The two of them walked in silence for a while until they reached Maril's bedroom. Helena slowed up and Maril followed suit. When they slowed down, Maril lifted her head and looked around, finally realizing she had been led to her bedroom.
"I guess this means you expect me to go back to bed, put everything out of my mind, and get some sleep," Maril said to Helena.
"Does that really sound so bad?" Helena asked her friend.
"No," Maril replied softly.
"Come on, I'll tuck you in," Helena said tongue in cheek. Helena was joyous she got a laugh out of Maril. She hoped this little talk had helped Maril get some things off her chest. Helena followed her friend into the bedroom.
Maril slipped off her robe and threw it over the chair to her make-up table. She crawled into bed and pulled the covers up around her. Helena sat on the bed and rubbed Maril's arm. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked her friend.
Maril looked out the open window as she replied to Helena. "I think so," she began. "I just need to focus on the duty I have to do this. That will get me through the day."
Helena stood up and began to walk away. She was halfway to the door when she heard a faint sob come from the bed. She stopped in her tracks as she realized Maril was trying to fight from crying.
Helena realized Maril needed more comforting and walked back to the bed. When she reached it she saw Maril with her head buried in her pillow in an attempt to muffle the sound of her sobbing. Her body shook with every cry.
Helena slipped out of her robe and let if fall to the floor. She lifted up the covers and got under them. She slid over to Maril and pressed her body against the girl's as she wrapped an arm around her.
"I'm here for you Maril," she whispered in the girl's ear. Helena's presence appeared to sooth Maril as her cries and shakes subsided.
"I can't stop thinking about what I'm never going to have," Maril said as she continued looking straight out the window. "I had conceded I was never going to have love again, but I never thought I was going to be completely alone. I'm going to have a marriage with a husband who doesn't know me and may never care for me. I'm going to have to live on this planet away from my friends. I'm going to have no one in my life."
Helena realized for the first time just how bad of a situation Maril believed she was putting herself in. Helena couldn't share her sadness as she knew the truth that Maril was definitely not going to have the kind of loveless marriage she feared. She also knew what Maril needed was just some company for this night. She knew the girl needed to realize she was not going to be alone.
Helena pulled Maril closer to her with her left arm. With her right arm she began stroking her hair and pulled it back out of her face. Helena leaned over Maril and kissed her on the temple. Her lips lingered on Maril's skin for a long moment to make sure the girl could feel the affection.
When Helena was done with her kiss she nuzzled her face against the back of Maril's head. She could feel the tension Maril had leaving her body. "I love you Maril. You don't have to worry about being alone," she said softly to the girl. "I will always be here for you. I promise." She continued holding Maril as the two of them fell asleep together.