Chpt. XXVII: For Cheyenne

Dick rode his motorcycle down the road as the sun set behind the city skyline. As he drove, time felt like it was slowing down. It felt as though he was stuck in time, in a never ending moment. A moment where suddenly all he could think about was Cheyenne Freemont. All that he could wonder of was whether or not he could find her again. He began to cry about the possibility of never finding his childhood love.

"Stop," Dick thought to himself. "You have Barbara, now."

"But it doesn't mean that Cheyenne means nothing anymore."

As the inner conflict within himself grew more and more intense, he slowly began to become more and more frustrated. He almost didn't notice the long yellow police tape pulled across the entire block in front of him.

Dick pulled the handle back, braking the bike to an abrupt stop. He slowly parked the bike on the curb to the left & sat up from the bike. He turned back to look across the street. The warehouse that Dick assumed was supposed to be across the street was completely burnt to the ground. The foundation was completely destroyed. The building itself was reduced to charcoal & rubble. The alleyway was blocked off as well by yellow tape.

"Oh my god," Dick gasped softly to himself. He slowly made his way towards the alleyway where the entrance to the warehouse was. Dick stepped underneath the yellow tape & suddenly a strong whiff of sulfur hit him strong. Dick's eyes began to become a little watery. Dick rubbed his eyes, but began to believe it wasn't the strong odor affecting him. He felt his heartbeat begin to race as well. He felt panicky as he returned to the last place Cheyenne was. He wanted to call out into the night for Cheyenne.

Dick stepped through the dirty alley. He could see ash all around the walls & ground. It was unsettling. It haunted Dick as he walked through the reminder of that horrid night.

Dick stopped in his tracks. He sensed someone nearby. Dick began to survey his surroundings. He strained to look into the shadows that surrounded him, but he couldn't make anything out. Dick took a few steps towards a dumpster, where he saw a small figure slowly emerge from behind the dumpster.

Before Dick could even react, he began to choke. He felt his throat closing, suffocating him. Dick clawed at his throat but felt nothing wrapped around it. The figure stepped close to Dick with their hand held out towards him. Suddenly, Dick's feet were lifted off of the ground. He was being suspended from the ground.

Dick's heart began to race with panic. He tried to scream, to call out for help, but all that came from him was a weak squawk.

"Oh my god," the figure finally spoke after they stepped close enough to see Dick's face. Dick was suddenly dropped onto the ground, like gravity had just decided to apply to Dick. He massaged his throat. He felt sort of okay, but was still terrified.

Dick looked up at the figure. "Rachel," he said, looking at the dark eyes of her pale face underneath her black hood. He stood up & began to approach her. Suddenly Rachel's hand shot up, stopping Dick in his place with another invisible force against him.

"No," she said.

Dick took a step back. "Rachel, it's me."

"Yeah, I remember you, Dick," she spat coldly. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

Before Dick could respond, Rachel began again. "You know what, don't tell me. I don't want to hear you speak a single fucking word. I can hear everything right now. I hear your heart racing with fear & anxiety. I can hear your mind screaming Cheyenne's name, as anyone could hear it. It's like you think you're actually doing something to find her. It's like you think you're doing something FOR CHEYENNE. Well, you're fucking delusional if you think you're here because you care about Cheyenne. If you did, you would've been here that night, & you would've fought alongside us against Constantine. But no, you cowered away. You ran from that smug son of a bitch & left us to fight him on our own."

Dick opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly Rachel appeared in front of Dick, like a ghost appearing right before a person to jump scare and haunt them. "She died, Dick. Cheyenne died that night. After the building was burning down, Constantine brought a ceiling beam down on us. It crushed Cheyenne. She didn't make it out. Constantine ran away, & Kori & I tried to lift the beam off of her, but the fire was too much. We barely made it out alive. And now she's dead."

Dick let all of this sink in. First, his fingers went numb, then his hold hand. Next, he felt the tingling sensation rise up to his face. He couldn't feel his face. His heart began to beat slowly, but hard. Each heartbeat felt stronger than the last, & each one brought Dick a second closer to screaming out in rage. He felt his stomach become light, as though his organs had begun dissolving. He was a mess.

Dick kneeled down on one knee, then slowly sat down on his bottom, & laid his legs out. He sat with his hands in his lap, trying to twiddle his thumbs together. He couldn't fumble them right. "I...am SO...sorry, Rachel," he whispered, staring at the ground. "I really am. I...that night was...it was such a day for me. I had met up with a stranger who offered to help me find the girl I fell in love with growing up. I met a witch who actually read my mind. I found the girl I had planned to run away with. I saw her do impossible things. I saw a man light his hands on fire & shoot balls of flames like it were a normal day. I saw a lion come to life from a neon light. Now, this isn't an excuse for what I did. You're right, I was a coward that night. I wasn't prepared. I came back into town expecting things to go back to how they were. I wanted to run away from my problems, find a familiar face, & run away with her so that I wouldn't have to face anything. I wanted things to be the way they were. But now I know things always change. This whole goddamn city change. Cheyenne changed...but she's still the girl I loved. I never got to properly show her that love. And I lost my chance. I lost her. I'm so sorry."

Dick continued to stare at the ground by his feet. He saw Rachel's black boots slowly approach him. She knelt down to be at eye level with him. He looked into her eyes. He felt his eyes fill with water. She tilted her head slightly. "I loved her too, Dick. I took care of her when she ran away. I taught her how to use her powers, & how to control it. I gave her the love that she never had from her parents, or from anyone else. I was there for her. She never realized how much she meant to me...and I may never be able to tell her either now."

Dick stared into Rachel's eyes. He loved Cheyenne. So did Rachel. It made sense now; they both lost someone they loved, along with their chances with her.

Dick slid across the ground, closer to Rachel. "You're right. You were there for her in ways I wasn't. But I grew up with her. We knew each other in ways that no one else did. We had something special too. And it's gone now. I know what you lost. But it's okay." Dick reached for Rachel's hand and squeezed it in his palms. "Cheyenne once told me something. We were in the orphanage, & I had just woken up from a nightmare. I had screamed. She woke up & asked me what was wrong. I said 'I saw my mommy & daddy fall.' She nodded & said, 'It's okay.' I will never forget this next thing that she said. 'No matter how dark & scary the world seems, there will be light.'"

Rachel looked up at Dick. "She said that?"

Dick nodded. "Yeah. At the time, I didn't get it. But I fell back asleep right after. But growing up, I always thought back to that & thought to myself, 'Cheyenne was way too young to have just come up with that herself. She must have read it or heard it somewhere.' But after a while, it didn't matter. Because regardless, the words stay true. There will always be light."

Rachel shook her head. "I don't think I have the luxury of having hope in a hellish city like Gotham."

Dick nodded. You're right. We really don't. Not in this dark place. But we owe it to her. We owe it to Cheyenne to stay hopeful & find the light in the darkness."

Rachel nodded softly. She slowly sat down beside Dick. He looked into her eyes, which were lost in space. It looked as though she was trying to come up with a way to say something. Dick waited. He let Rachel take her her time.

After a few silent moments, Rachel finally spoke. "Dick...that night...after the fire, when the police came, Constantine fled the scene. Kori & I had to hide from the cops. Then firefighters came, & some other CSI agents or whatever. But then one white van pulled up towards the back of the scene. Some guys in black SWAT looking armor came out. They came straight into the alleyway, where Kori & I were hiding. They took Kori, DIck."

"Wait, Kori was arrested?"

"No, no, they didn't. They shot her with a tranq or something. She got dizzy, & then they just snatched her body up. Cops don't do that. I think these guys were up to something else."

Dick nodded. He thought about what Rachel had said. SWAT looking soldiers came out of a white van and kidnapped Kori. There wasn't a lot of detail to go off of.

"Rachel, you said a white van?" Dick asked. Rachel nodded. "Did the van say anything on it?"

Rachel thought about it for a moment. "I don't remember. Codnius, I think. Something with a C."

Dick shook his head. "Cadmus," he said.

Rachel looked at Dick. "Who?"

Dick slowly stood up from the ground. He held a hand out Rachel. "I think Cadmus took Kori. They're a military science research organization. I think they're behind a few of the city's latest bombings."

"Oh my god," Rachel said. "Terrorists kidnapped Kori?"

Dick sighed. "No, they supplied the terrorist. His name is Nolan Drake. He's been on my tail for a little bit. His attacks on the city are part of a bigger agenda, & he's using Camdus' weapons to take over. I plan to infiltrate their military base & destroy their weaponry, & hopefully stop Drake."

Rachel scoffed softly. "That's fucking crazy, Dick."

Dick shrugged. "It might just work, though. I have Roy on board to help me on the field. I have a girl who is willing to tap into surveillance."

Rachel eyed Dick. "Okay…"

Dick stared at Rachel. He had hoped he wouldn't have to spill it out. "I could use your help too, actually."

"What the fuck, Dick? They're going to lock me up & cut me open the second they catch me."

Dick shook his head. "You're fucking supernatural. I'm sure you can manage a few bullets."

Rachel sighed, shaking her head slowly. "Dick...I don't know…"

Dick grasped Rachel's hand again. "Look, I know this is a lot right now. Everything is changing, I know. I know it isn't easy to deal with. I'm having a rough time to deal with this right now too. But we HAVE to do something about this. Things are changing. Evil is emerging out of the shadows, & we're being pushed into hiding. We won't get anything done if we hide. We need to come out of hiding & get shit done. This is how. We can make a good change, we can make a difference. We can stop these attacks. We can find Kori, Rachel. We can save Gotham, but we can save Kori too."

Rachel's eyes were staring off into space again. She was silent for a long while, but finally spoke again. "For Cheyenne."

Dick felt a tug on his heart. He slowly nodded. "Yes," he said. "For Cheyenne."