Chapter 27

Helena felt the rail car slow down to a stop and knew they had reached the Batcave. She heard the cockpit open and then felt her mother lift her out of her seat. She started feeling better as she knew relief was just around the corner. She hoped her father wouldn't be too freaked out.

As Diana flew her across the Batcave she heard the sound of familiar voices. She opened her eyes briefly and saw Lois and Clark talking to her father. Clark looked to be in good health, and she was slightly perturbed he wasn't out there fighting if he wasn't incapacitated. She knew her parents probably felt the same way.

"Oh my God," she heard Lois say.

"I'll be alright," she replied so they would know she wasn't close to death.

"The jar of clay is up in Helena's room," her father informed them. "I thought she would be much more comfortable up there."

"Let me treat her," Lois said to everyone's surprise. All eyes turned to her. "The three of you have some important things to discuss," she said in reference to the triumvirate.

"I'll carry Helena up and then leave the two of you alone," her mother said to the old woman.

They walked quietly as Diana carried her daughter to her room, with Lois following right behind them. Helena remembered the one rule her father had about the manor; no costumes were ever to be worn in it. He didn't want their worlds to get blurred. The only exceptions he made were the times when the manor had to be used as a base for the League. She guessed he already had everything set up.

Diana carried Helena up to her room on the third floor and laid her on her bed. She had to lay Helena on her stomach as her back was so badly burned. She was hesitant to leave her daughter when she was so badly hurt.

"Don't worry about her, Diana," Lois told her. "I'll take good care of her."

"Thanks," Diana replied before she left the room.

Lois watched Diana walk out of the room and then looked back to Helena. As she did so she thought back to the first time she had seen the girl.

Lois was inconsolable after Clark's death. Every hero made their best attempt to comfort her, but she found everything they told her meaningless. She had never expected Clark to die and was completely unprepared for dealing with it.

To Lois's surprise, the most understanding hero ended up being Bruce. He understood there was nothing anyone could say or do to make her feel better. He suggested the best thing for her was to get away for a little while in order to find some peace and quiet. He offered to fly her to Themyscira where she would not be bothered fi she didn't want to be.

On the flight there Bruce told her about Helena's birth. She found it hard to be happy for her friends, given the loss she had just suffered. She promised Bruce she would be by to see the child.

On Themyscira, the Amazons took good care of her. At her request, they mostly left her alone. They brought her meals to her and seemed pleased to do so to help her out.

Lois was there for a full day before she started feeling guilty she hadn't made her way over to Diana's room. When Alexa brought her lunch she asked to be taken to Diana's. The Amazon led the way and Diana was overjoyed to see her.

"I'm so happy to see you," Diana said when she saw Lois. She moved to get out of bed.

"You don't have to get up," Lois said as she walked to her. The two women embraced.

"I'm so sorry about what happened," Diana said. "I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better, but I know from experience there is nothing."

The fact that Diana told her the truth was actually comforting to Lois. She held on to the embrace as that was making her feel better, also. Diana broke it when the baby let out a cry.

Lois walked over to the cradle to take a look at the girl. She yawned as she woke up from her nap. She tried to free her hands from the blanket that was wrapped around her, but couldn't quite do it. Lois looked smiled as she looked down at the adorable girl.

"Do you want to hold her?" Diana asked.

"Of course," Lois answered.

Diana climbed out of bed and lifted Helena out of the cradle. She handed her over to Lois and the woman held her gently. She looked down at the girl as she finally freed her hands from the blanket.

"She is absolutely beautiful," Lois told Diana. She offered the baby her finger and Helena grabbed it. "My, she's strong," Lois exclaimed when as the baby squeezed it tight. "She's going to make one hell of a hero."

Lois glanced over at Diana and noticed the look she had on her face. She could tell something was wrong. "Did I say the wrong thing?" Lois asked.

Diana sighed. "Right now I'm trying not to think about Helena becoming a hero when she grows up."

"Do you want to talk about it at all?"

"I wouldn't mind, it's just Bruce and I are worried for Helena now after Clark's death."

Lois could tell why Diana might have been hesitant to bring up the subject. "It's okay. I need to be able to talk about it. What's the exact problem?"

"Bruce and I are worried about her in ways we haven't been before. After seeing Clark die, my daughter seems so much more vulnerable now. I don't want her out there. I want her to be able to keep her safe."

As Lois looked at Helena she could understand what she was saying. She wised Clark could have stayed out of the fight. If he did he might be alive now, but a lot more people would be dead.

"Bruce is convinced he can train her to face anything, but I'm skeptical."

"You can't hold her back," Lois said. "It's not in the DNA of your family to sit back and do nothing while others suffer. Years from now, I don't think you are going to have the option of keeping her out of fights."

Lois looked hard at the burned and blackened back of Helena as she grabbed the canister of clay. She wondered if there was any life Helena could have lived that would have prevented her from ending up in this position.

Helena was feeling so much pain she didn't even think about the fact her parents and Superman were cutting her out of an important conversation. This situation was something that happened often and she was always upset how she wasn't included. It was something that should have been even more acute now, given that they were the only four members of the League that were free.

"I hope you don't mind me taking care of you," Lois said to her. "Your mother was way too bent out of shape over your injuries. It really is best that she not see you too much like this."

Helena lifted her head up and looked over herself. "I didn't think I looked that bad," she said.

"Even your father never managed to look as bad as you do now," Lois replied.

Helena snickered over what Lois said. The two of them shared a certain bond as they often found themselves on the outside of the triumvirate. Helena was surprised that Lois volunteered to leave the three alone as she was often just as frustrated as Helena for not being included in things."

"Let's get your gauntlets off you," Lois told the girl. Helena could feel Lois wrap her hands around the end of one of the gauntlets. She looked back and saw Lois's white hands wrapped around her black skin. She was apprehensive about how this would work, but knew they had to be taken off. She held her fingers out so Lois could pull it straight off.

"You ready?" Lois asked.

Helena closed her eyes and nodded her head. She though Lois might give her a warning. Instead she just yanked it straight off without saying anything. Helena let out a soft cry.

"My father always told me the best way to deal with injuries was to move swiftly and make the pain intense, but short," Lois told her. Helena often forgot Lois's father was a general who raised his daughter's as soldiers.

Lois moved to go to the other side of the bed and yanked the other gauntlet off without saying anything.

"I thought you might be a little perturbed my parents and your husband are making plans and keeping us out of the loop."

"It does irritate me a little," Lois replied as she lifted the canister of clay up onto the bed. "But I had a feeling you would have a bug in the cave that your father would not be able to find."

"I don't have one in the Batcave," Helena admitted. "My father is actually too adept at finding them. I do have a bug hidden in my mother's tiara, though."

Lois got a laugh over Helena's cunning. "I'm surprised you're not listening in right now?" she said.

"I didn't want to give it away," she replied.

"Do you have a transmitter on you?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's on the back of my utility belt," she replied. "Why don't you grab it for me?"

Helena lifted herself slightly so Lois could unbuckle the belt. She then slid it off Helena's body. "Which compartment it is in?" she asked.

"The one in the exact middle of the belt," Helena replied. "It's disguised as a vial of shark repellent."

"That's a good one," Lois replied. "It's something you would never use and something no one else would ever need."

She turned it on so the two of them could listen in on the conversation of the triumvirate. While they listened Lois started rubbing the clay over her wounds. Helena could feel it working instantly, even though she knew it would be a while before it completely healed her.

"How is she?" Helena heard her father ask.

"I'm not sure," she heard her mother say with her voice cracking. "I've never seen anyone with injuries like that. I don't know how she's handling it."

"She'll heal up. The clay works miracles on you two."

"I almost wish it would work slowly so she won't be well until all this is over," Diana said. "My mind would be put at so much ease if I knew she couldn't be out there, putting herself in danger."

"I don't think that's going to happen," Bruce said. "You'll have to break her legs to keep her here. I'm sorry, but she takes after me too much."

Helena was angered over her mother's desires to keep her out of danger. She was every bit the superhero they were and if they weren't going to avoid danger then she should not have to either. She was heartened somewhat by her father sticking up for her.

Lois picked up on the anger Helena was feeling over her mother's comments. "Don't be angry at your mother. It's tough for her to see you like this. She's worried about you and taking it a little too far."

Helena felt Lois was right. Her mother wasn't trying to treat her like a child. The thought struck her that this was how her father must have felt whenever one of them tried to tell him he was too old to be a superhero.

Lois finished up with her arms and started working on her back. Because of the direct hit she had taken that was by far the worst spot. It was painful to feel the clay working after it had been applied.

No sound came out of the communicator and for a moment Helena wondered if it had stopped working. Her fears were put to rest when she heard her father's voice coming over it.

"As nice as it might be to let Helena sit this one out, we are going to need all the help we can get. We are facing a threat like none we have ever faced before. Clark can tell you all about it."

Helena buried her face in her pillow as she felt the pain of her back and tried to think of something to distract herself. Lois took off her boots and started applying the clay to her legs. Helena felt assured that shortly all the clay would be applied and she would be healed soon after that.

"I know the two of you know all about my time as Darkseid's pawn, even my relationship with Lashina." Helena wondered why Clark would bring up that. She knew it couldn't be easy for Lois to hear about it.

"It appears. . .it appears that the leader of Apokolips now is my son by Lashina." Helena could hear her mother gasp over the communicator. She was so shocked she lifted herself up. She looked back at Lois, who had a pained look on her face.

"Did you know about this?" she asked her. Lois nodded without saying anything. She continued applying the clay to Helena's legs as she looked like she was fighting back tears.

"When the forces appeared over Metropolis I flew out to confront them," Clark said. Helena laid her head back down so she could concentrate on the conversation coming through the communicator. "I had just about reached the fleet when something came out of nowhere and hit me so hard it knocked me back. I righted myself quickly even though I was shocked someone else could move so fast I wouldn't have been alerted to them before they hit me.

I looked around to find out what hit me, but couldn't see anything that would have done it. In a flash someone appeared in front of me. I felt like I was practically looking in a mirror. I figured out quickly who it must be, but he made a point of telling me just to make sure I knew. He gave his name as Lash-El.

He charged at me again and we exchanged punches as he pushed me all the way to the ground. When we hit it I thought I could counterattack, but I started feeling weak. I recognized the feeling as Kryptonite before I saw the glow coming out of a compartment on his belt. He took it off his belt and held it towards me. He told me that he was unhurt by it because while it took away his Kryptonian powers, he still had his New God strength. He dropped it a short distance away from me. He told me he needed something from me, but it wasn't time to try and get it from me just yet, he didn't have his leverage. He said my planet would soon be under his thumb and once it was I would have to do what he wanted me to. He said he would be back the next morning to fetch me. He walked out of the range of the Kryptonite and then flew away."

There was a moment of silence coming from the communicator. Helena could feel every wound had been rubbed with clay. She glanced back at Lois and saw her with her head down. She was either deep in thought, or waiting for the conversation to begin again.

Clark's voice came through the communicator again. "I was slowly able to crawl away from the Kryptonite and fly up into space. I looked all over the planet and saw the Apokolips forces had been victorious everywhere, except here." Helena had to smile over the fact that her ability to keep Gotham safe brought Superman here. "I went back to Metropolis to find Lois and tell her everything. She suggested we risk coming here to get your help and advice."

There was silence once again coming from the communicator. "You did the right thing," Diana told him.

Bruce spoke up now. "I've followed the tactics of the invasion force from whatever sources I have been able to utilize. The plan they pulled off has been quite remarkable. They seemed to know exactly what each hero would do to stop them and they were able to use that information to capture them."

"It must be the information they extracted from my mind when I was their slave," Clark said.

"It can't be that," Bruce replied. "They even knew what the younger superheroes would do. They must have been studying us extensively and developed their plans from that. While I don't know anything about this Lash-El, it would seem to me that he has someone or something aiding him. I don't think I could come up with a battle plan like that."

"Brainiac!" Clark yelled. Helena could hear a loud pop which indicated Superman had slammed a fist into his hand. "I can't believe I didn't notice it before. He was wearing a head band with three dots on it. I didn't think much of it at the time, but it has to be Brainiac. The two of them have bonded together."

Helena could hear the fearful sighs come from all of them. "At least now we know what we're up against," her mother said.

"Do you have any idea what he wants you for?" Bruce asked.

"None, this whole invasion could just be him acting out against me. He might be trying to humiliate me and build himself up in his mind."

"If he is bonded with Brainiac it can't be that," Bruce said. "The computer would never go along with it. I think this entire operation was put in motion by him and he is the key to all this. Lash-El is just the muscle he's manipulating. We have to think about what he wants from you, Clark."

"Brianiac has been after the information in the Fortress's computer for a long time. This could be his method for finally getting it."

"It seems a bit far-fetched, but I don't know if there is any other explanation," Diana said.

"It does seem odd that he would go through this entire invasion for it," Bruce said. "There must be some bit of information he knows is in there that he needs desperately. He must figure if we know it we would do everything to stop him from getting it."

"We can't just assume he is after something big," Diana said. "He has a mission to carry out to collect information, which is everything to him. While it might seem to us like carrying out this invasion merely for information is overkill, he doesn't see it that way."

"Diana is right," Clark said. "As long as we don't know he is after anything more we can't risk the lives of anyone in order to protect it. That is why I am going to make sure I am back at the spot he left me tomorrow."

"So you're just going to give into him," Bruce said. While his words sounded like an admonishment, Helena recognized the tone of her father's voice. He wanted Clark to confirm his plans, but he was not against them. He had accepted that passivity seemed to be the right approach here.

"We can tail you in the invisible jet," Diana said.

"There will be no need for your help. I will simply do what is asked of me."

Helena bolted upright out of bed. She couldn't believe what she was hearing out of them. They were completely ready to surrender unconditionally to Brainiac. She had to get down to the cave and speak her mind.

"If you're going to go down to the cave, can you at least put on some clothes," she heard Lois say to her. She was holding out an oversized T-shirt.

"You know me well," she said to Lois as she realized Lois would have had to grab the shirt before she ever got up. She grabbed it and put it on. She tried to stand but faltered a little.

"Let me help you," Lois said as she came over and offered her body for Helena to lean on. Helena was a little concerned the old woman would not be able to support her, but she proved to be made of sterner stuff then she realized. Together the two of them walked down to the study.

Helena thought about the conversation the triumvirate had while they walked. "Clark told you what he was going to do before you came here, didn't he? You brought him here so someone would convince him to fight."

"Yes, I thought that person would be your father," she replied.

"I know it's hard to believe, but he has actually gotten soft," she said. "Luckily for you, I haven't."

The two of them walked through the study and stopped at the entrance to the Batcave. They looked down the staircase at the three superheroes below. Clark was the first to notice them.

"Lois," he exclaimed.

"Helena, what are you doing?" her mother asked.

Lois started to walk down the stairs, but Helena stopped her. "I can make it on my own," she told her. She started walking down the stairs herself as she talked to the others.

"I can't believe you are just going to quit like this," she yelled as she struggled to make it down.

"We don't have much choice," her father said. She knew he was taking the lead as he was the person she would most likely listen to. "The army of Apokolips has annihilated us. There are only four of us left."

"We can break out the rest of the League," she retorted as she reached the foot of the stairs. "We know where they are being held. We can make a plan for breaking them out, and then we can fight as one. They beat us before because we were spread all over. If we form our own army we can use divide and conquer against them. We can beat them at their own game."

"It's risky," her father said. Helena nearly jumped for joy at the thought he was breaking down. If she could win him over he could help her bring the other two around. "No one there is going to be in good shape. We don't know how well they would be able to fight."

Helena's hopes crashed to the ground. Her father wasn't on her side after all. He was looking for reasons to give up just as much as the others.

"I'm sorry, dear," her mother told her. "The chance we have to take is that Brainiac doesn't want anything other than harmless information. If he has anything more extensive planned later we will have to deal with it when the time comes. He is a machine with extreme focus and once he has what he wants he will leave us be. He will take his forces back to Apokolips and focus on something else."

"If you're wrong about what he is after, you could be dooming the Earth and the entire universe to destruction," Helena scowled at her mother.

"We would need an army to take on the invasion forces, and we don't exactly have one," her mother pointed out.

"Maril and Rex," she blurted out as she didn't have time to think about what she really wanted to say.

"What's that?" her father asked. Helena sensed a hint of intrigue in his voice.

"I told you about them before, Dad," she replied. "They should have received J'onn's distress call. They will be here with their army to aid us."

"You can't expect-"

"This is their home. They will come with their armies as soon as possible." She was feeling better and was able to walk over to the computer. She started working through scenarios on how quickly they could make it here from Tamaran. "If they move quickly they could make it here by tomorrow afternoon. Knowing them, they will be moving quickly."

"If they were to leave with most of their army, they would be leaving Thanagar open to attack by the Gordanians," her mother told her. "We can't count on them coming."

"Yes we can," she shouted at them. "They will take the chance Thanagar will be able to defend itself. They will not be able to sit around and think about everything that is happening to their friends and family back here. Go up and ask Barabara and the twins if you think they will stay away. I would tell you to ask Dick, but he can't exactly talk right now."

Helena looked mostly at her father as she talked. She knew he was the easiest to win over and thought he would also be swayed by the way she brought Dick into this. She was trying to remind him of the family connection they had to Maril. He had to know Maril would take after them and put everything on the line to come to the aid of her family.

"Helena's right," he finally said, softly. "They will come. They will be here tomorrow, exactly as she said."

Helena could barely control herself; she was so overcome with joy. She had her father on her side and now it was two against two. She had a feeling her mother and Clark would not want to look weak. They would agree to fight as well.

"By your calculations, the Tamaraneans won't get here until after Clark is supposed to meet with Lash," her mother informed her. "Do you expect us to stage an attack with blind faith they will show up in a timely manner?"

"We've taken bigger chances in the past," Clark reminded them. Helena took this as an indication he was on her side. There was some life in his voice, whereas before there had only been despair. There was silence among the group for a short while, and a feeling seemed to grow among them that they were going to do it; they were going to fight back.

"Well, it was your idea to fight," her father reminded her. "I take it you have a plan on what we should do."

Helena felt heartened that her father and the others were apparently willing to put so much responsibility on her shoulders. She tried to keep her focus on the fact they were in a dire situation and she needed to come up with a great plan considering their odds. "Let's assess what we have she said. There's the four of us, Lois, Barbara, and the invisible jet."

"I'm going to have to meet with my son, or else there will be hell to pay," Clark reminded her.

"Yes, and that will be a good time to stage our attack," she said. "Brainiac must have left you alone because he feels the need to lead his forces personally. When he comes to fetch you the army of Apokolips will be leaderless and that will be a good time to strike. We need to hit the prison camp and free the League."

"How do you suggest we hit it?" her mother asked her.

Helena thought for a minute because she wanted to have a fully formed plan when she told them about it. "We can take the invisible jet and sneak right in to the camp," she began. "The sneak attack will be extra successful if someone gives us a distraction first." She looked at her mother as she talked. "Mom, since you're the one least trained in stealth techniques, would you mind being the distraction."

"Not at all," she answered as she looked back and forth between her husband and daughter. Helena wondered what was going through her mind as she realized the two of them would be attacking the camp together.

"Dad and I can fly right up to the prison complex in the jet. We can blast a hole in whatever prison they have and then free the others on foot."

"Who's going to fly the jet?" Diana asked.

"Lois can do it," Helena replied. She knew the woman was always a little perturbed by not being able to participate in the superhero adventures her husband and friends did. The woman did have piloting skills, though, and they were needed now.

Lois was obviously happy, but Helena could feel Clark felt differently. "Are you sure there are no other options?" he asked.

"Barbara should stay here and coordinate the Tamaranean forces when they arrive," she said. There was silence all around as it seemed like the plan was set.

"It looks like we have a plan," her father said. "Perhaps we should all get some sleep in preparation for tomorrow."