3510 South Michigan Avenue was a low-slung stretch of glass and steel, only four stories high but spanning two city blocks. Meg could have taken the stairs but she was still tired from a disturbed night, and in no mood to exert herself in any way. Helena Bertinelli stuck her hand between the closing elevator doors. The tall woman had black hair, sharp brown eyes—and a past Meg would rather not remember.
"Fancy meeting you here," Helena said.
Helena might have been attractive if Meg could forget the image of her torturing a man as he begged for his life.
"Something wrong?" Helena Bertinelli asked when Meg's silent staring exceeded five seconds.
"No," Meg said, masking her unease. "Just didn't expect to see you here. Did the commissioner invite everyone?"
"Invite? No, I'm just dropping something off," she answered, waving a sealed manila envelope in her left hand. "You having a party or something?"
"Or something," Meg replied before turning back and giving the elevator doors her full attention.
"Detective, go right in," Ruth Cawfield said to Meghana Chander. The look she gave Helena was calibrated to stop her in her tracks
"This is for Barbara Gordon," Helena explained to Jim Gordon's indispensable aide. "I have to place it in her hands myself."
"Is she being served?" Ruth asked. She calculated whether she was strong enough to knock the tall woman down and sit on her so her boss could escape.
Helena's smile, which resembled the grin of a mountain lion, was in no way reassuring. "No, just some research material she requested."
The information they got from the two men, Meg thought as the skin on her arms became covered with goosebumps.
"I'll let her know you're waiting," Ruth said before Meg stepped into the breach.
"I'll tell her." Meg turned her attention to The Huntress. "See you later."
Helena eyed Meg like a tiger inspecting its next meal. "Looking forward to it."
Meg continued on her path into the commissioner's office. She turned her head to give Helena one last look. She almost collided with Barbara who was in the process of walking out.
Meg said as she pulled up just short of impact. "Sorry." It should have been an awkward meeting given how their last encounter went, but Meg's mind was still distracted.
"You OK?" Barbara asked.
"Yeah," she replied before dropping her voice to a whisper, "she just gives me the creeps because, well, you know."
"What's she doing here?" Barbara asked. Her own voice was little more than a whisper as she looked over Meg's shoulder. The woman was as tall as she was. And owing to a mistake made by Kate, she knew Barbara Gordon's secret identity.
Meg turned again to view Huntress. "She has research material for your hands only."
Helena looked back at them, seeming in no way discomforted by their combined attention.
Barbara knew the source of the information contained in the large envelope. "Shit."
"Well said."
Meg and Barbara parted ways, one heading out, the other heading in. But the separation was brief. When Barbara returned the envelope was already open. She held the contents in her hand as she scanned the pages. It was all cops occupying the large room except Barbara. Meg still didn't know if she had any official status.
Does her father know she was probably at the brewery? Does she hold some official but secret position? Like the some CPD version of the CIA?
A conference table stood at one end of the room. The opposite end held a large desk that had many neat stacks of papers on it. The midday light entered from two sides of the room. The gray skies outside were overcast but not threatening rain. Commissioner Gordon stood behind his desk, his phone pressed to his ear as he listened. John Dorazio gave Meg a friendly nod, and she returned the silent greeting as she took the seat to his left. Barbara was on her second read through of the interrogation report and was highlighting sections of particular interest.
How do you transcribe someone screaming?
Meg wondered what she was highlighting. She didn't expect to find the unvarnished details of the interrogation. She would bet real money that the heading at the top of the first page did not say Things We Learned When We Tortured Fredo Giancona's Men.
"Kristen's running late," Commissioner Gordon said as he traversed the distance between his desk and the conference table. "She said we should start. We can catch her up later."
John saw the look on James Gordon's face. It was not a good look. "Something up?" John asked.
"Freddy's left the country. His flight landed at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport yesterday. He could be anywhere now. We assume he's still in Italy. Kristen thinks it's a waste of time asking the Italian government for help."
"Well, that's just fucking great," John said. "He had Van Dyke killed. No doubt in my mind. He hired Van Dyke to handle those three guys. And no fucking way Van Dyke went after two cops and a State's Attorney without getting Fredo's official okey dokey."
"I agree. But Bill Van Dyke's dead, and Freddy's in the wind. We've got nothing. Except for the four men that the State are holding in protective custody."
Barbara laid the sheets of paper in front of her. "We've got a bit more than that."
Ruth Cawfield chose that moment to make an appearance.
"The caterer from El Siete is here.
"Want me to stick around?" Jess asked Beth. Her voice held more concern than Beth had heard before. Kara heard it as well.
"Not on my account," Kara said as she looked at the woman who she had only met once before. The time she had accidentally bumped into Aric and Beth in Central Park.
"We'll be fine," Beth added, "not to worry."
"I've been worrying the entire Uber ride over here," Jessica answered before turning her attention to Kara. "Don't destroy the building. It's one of the few in Harlem that I like."
Jessica Jones didn't allow either woman time to respond before she disappeared back the way she came. Left alone finally, the two women stood for a moment and took stock of each other. Kara was only an inch or so taller than Beth, possible a few pounds lighter, though it was hard for Beth to tell. What she could see was a blond head of hair over a set of clear blue eyes and a complexion that bordered on perfect. It was much easier for Kara to size up her host, which she did quickly. She saw an attractive women with brown hair and green eyes, completely devoid of makeup. Her posture as she stood motionless reminded Kara of her sister Alex. Her weight was perfectly balanced. Shoulders back, arms relaxed. A soldiers posture, or a warriors. Looking deeper Kara couldn't detect any sign of the catastrophic injury that Beth had so recently experienced. And despite Kara's efforts to hide it, Beth could see where her eyes lingered.
Beth traced a line with her left index finger starting from her left cheekbone before moving slowly down her jawbone to her chin.
"All of this was gone," Beth said as calmly as she could manage. The slight hesitation and quiver in her voice did also not go undetected by Kryptonian hearing. Kara gave Beth credit for the fortitude she displayed.
"That must have been terrible," Kara said gently as she unconsciously lifted her hand to touch the repaired skin and bone. She caught herself before her fingers made contact, and Beth made no attempt to pull away. Both women realized then that they were still standing in Beth's kitchen, inches from the door that Jessica had just closed.
"Come on in," Beth said. "I'll give you the tour."
It wasn't a large apartment. But it equaled Aric's tiny rented house in square footage. The small dining area that separated the kitchen from the living room held a large white plastic bag that said EA Dumpling beneath the image of a smiling cat.
"You got us dumplings?" Kara asked, her brilliant smile appearing. "I love dumplings."
Beth's own face broke into a slight smile."Aric said it was a toss up between pizza and dumplings."
"That was very nice of you," Kara said honestly, "thank you."
They passed into the living room which had a flat screen TV at one end and the doors leading to the bedrooms and bathroom at the other, one of which was closed. Kara didn't need her augmented hearing to know why the door on the right was closed, or what was behind it.
Mmmrrrh, a prominent shepherd whine announced. The owner of that sound had identified two voices, one of which he had not heard in quite some time.
"Hey, bubba," Kara said affectionately as she got her first glimpse of Tyler in many years through the wooden door.
Whining turned into barking, at which point Beth thought it best to unleash the hounds before the neighbors complained.
Laurel's apartment was a bit larger than Beth's but she had the advantage that, except for times like this when she had a guest -which was usually Sara- she had it to herself. At the moment, as Trish stood at the open front door and accepted delivery of her Pelican 1615TRVL Air Travel Case, she was the sole occupant. She wheeled the heavy luggage into Laurel's living room. Her inspection the hidden telltales told her that no one had managed to overcome the biometric lock that kept the contents of the case safe from prying eyes. Sara had left a few items behind in the spare bedroom -Sara's Room as Laurel continued to refer to it- that would certainly draw attention if anyone tried to pass them through airport security. But Trish's case would light up DHS warning lights like a Christmas tree. Still, it was nothing compared to what the heavy hitters transported in a custom Kawasaki C-2 or the Aethonan Heavy Lift Vehicle that just barely fit inside the modified aircraft. Working for Kyle Richmond came with a few perks. One of which was not having to fly commercial while towing a shitload of gear.
Van Dyke's safe is open finally, Laurel's last text had claimed, they're going through it now. Kristen asked for a report, and photos of everything.
Trish thought it was meant to be good news to cushion the bad news she had shared minutes before.
Giancona got away. Boarded a flight to Rome two hours after the shoot out.
Technically it hadn't been a shootout. None of the women assaulting the mob stronghold had used firearms of any sort. Helena had used a bow. That had not gone unnoticed by the North Aurora Police Department. They'd called their larger neighbor to the east with a request for information. Jim Gordon hadn't had to feign ignorance, but only because their call had preceded Barbara's verbal report on the incident. It was one in a series of incomplete recitations of information. Laurel and Trish hadn't shared everything with Kristen either. Everyone who was currently in custody -barring the two men Helena and Sandra had taken- was being held incommunicado. What came out of their mouths when they finally appeared for arraignment was tomorrow's problem.
Trish broke the red and white Polyethylene Terephthalate tape that displayed the words Diamond League in repetition. She flipped up the black plastic cover and pressing her right hand to the glass surface. Even without enhanced hearing she would have heard the whine and click as the five internal latches released. It took her a few seconds longer to release the five manual external latches. She opened the case to reveal a collection of equipment that she knew like inside and out. She could close her eyes and recite the complete inventory form memory. She smiled before a thought occurred to her.
Shit, how am I going to get this thing back to New York?
Owing to the fur covered bundle of energy, and his level of happiness at seeing Kara again, and having two of his favorite people in the whole world together and all to himself, Beth thought -and Kara agreed- that their meeting should be moved outside. So the dumplings went into the fridge and the three of them went out the door and down the stairs. There was an added chill to the late November afternoon, the sun hiding its face behind a layer of cloud. Kara wore a coat only so she would not draw attention, while Tyler's fur was more than enough. Beth was the only one who felt the chill. And even though she was positive -mostly, but what did she know- that the new parts were identical to the old ones, she would have sworn that the left side of her face felt colder than the right side.
Tyler zig zagged a path in front of them at unpredictable distances. Kara had forgotten what he was like on walks. "I see he still hasn't learned to stay out from underfoot"
"Can't teach an old dog new trick I guess," Beth replied, not having the energy to come up with something more original.
"How old is he now?" Kara asked.
"He just turned thirty-one earlier this month," Beth answered. The mutt in question, almost as if he was aware that they were talking about him, walked back to them. He placed his ample right side against both of them, his smile prominently displayed.
"He looks great," Kara said as she scratched his large noggin.
"Aric lets him age for the first half of the year, and then makes him younger. Something about maintaining tissue homeostasis."
Kara laughed out loud. "Yeah, that's Aric. Never use one syllable when three will do."
The three of them continued on their way, Tyler taking the lead.
"So, you wanted to talk to me?" Kara said finally when their tour of Harlem resumed. Tyler lead the way at the end of his leash, his radar ears rotating as if he was scanning the neighborhood.
"I did," Beth began before falling silent. She wasn't sure how to proceed. Her silence went on long enough that Kara though she might need a boost of momentum.
"Something about what we found in New Jersey?"
"Not exactly. That was how it started. But what happen...when I was..." It was like someone had put a lock on the words so that she couldn't say them out loud.
What happened in the brewery...when I was shot...when I almost died, why can't I say the words?
Kara had experienced enough trauma in her life to recognize when someone was struggling with their own. She didn't need Aric's ability to know the source of Beth's.
"When I was younger, I almost died. I was beaten really bad by other Kryptonians. They put me in a coma. I gave as good as I got, but there were four of them. They cut their losses and left. Haven't seen them since. It took a long time for me to shake it. The feeling of vulnerability. Knowing that if they'd kept it up for just a minute more I would have died. Up until then, I didn't think anything could touch me. Boy, was I wrong."
"Why did they do it?"
"They did it because that's what they were programmed to do. They weren't people, not in the sense of you or me. They looked like people, but what they really were was engineered biological weapons, designed by a scientist on Krypton. They were called World Killers."
Beth had never heard of them, but she wouldn't have expected to. Not the sort of thing that Beth's group of mercenaries, or Many Hands, or Daughters of Lilith, would have taken on. The name alone was enough warning for mere mortals to steer clear. More evidence that she and Kara ran in different circles.
"Did Aric heal you?"
Kara shook her head of blonde hair. Her blue eyes were focused on infinity as her mind went back in time. "It was years before I met him. No one healed me. Not like Bellevue could give me an IV or anything. But I heal faster than humans, and eventually I recovered. Alex, that's my sister, nursed me. She told my boss I was in a car accident. Luckily no one bothered to check her story."
"Wow," was all Beth could find to say. Supergirl almost died. As holy shit moments went, it was a biggie.
"So we have that in common, amongst other things," Kara said. "We were knocked down, but we got back up. Lived to fight another day. Eventually."
"How long did it take for you? The eventually part?"
"Three months, more or less. Plus my sister's love. And my body weight in ice cream."
"I had this image in my mind of you as perfect. Blonde, and blue; beautiful, and bullet proof. I didn't know you could be hurt."
"Bullet proof, sure; but perfect? No. And I can be hurt. Physically, like you just heard. But emotionally I'm just as paper thin as everybody else. I've got no extra abilities to survive a broken heart."
"Did someone break your heart?"
"No. I broke that all by myself."
It was like the floodgates opened up at that point for Beth. She talked about her life, and how she and Aric met. She talked about what they shared, what he and Kara could not. And she talked about what she'd said to Aric in Kate's apartment, and the walls that they'd both started building almost in that moment.
"Even after I almost died, after he save me. Healed me. Mentally and then physically, After I felt his love for me, the way it washes over me in the grey place, I still reacted like a jealous..."
Beth had been talking as she glanced at Kara and saw the tears running down her face. "Hey, are you OK?"
Kara moved her hands and head in the universal sign for I don't know. "Why could we never have that? Why didn't I get to share that, to feel that? What's wrong with me? What did I do that whatever runs this fucking universe kept that from me?"
She was crying for real now, and in a flash Beth remembered what Jessica had said.
She's not over him, not by a long shot.
Beth stopped and pulled the slightly taller woman into an embrace. Tyler took that as a signal to return and lend his warm presence to the tender moment.
"I'm sorry," Kara said after a moment, "I don't usually cry like this unless my sister's around. It's the only time I feel safe enough to let it out."
"I'm the one that's sorry," Beth offered. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"You didn't upset me, not really. You just reminded me of what I was never able to have."
"How did you learn about it? Did he tell you?"
"Eventually. After one of his ex-girlfriends showed up and begged him for just one more time. The first time it happened I thought they meant sex. Which I at least understood, given how good... But the way she talked it was like he was her drug dealer and she was begging for a fix. When he explained it I wasn't sure I was understanding him properly."
their drug dealer. It was verbatim how Aric had described some of his relationships. Those women who hadn't heeded his warning and become addicted to the feel good chemicals that flooded their brains as they merged with him. He was nothing to them other than a path to their next high.
"They crossed the line," Beth said simply. "The line he says we should never cross. I know enough about brain chemistry to predict that some of those women, denied their drug of preference, switched to something just as addictive, but deadlier."
Kara's head was nodding as she answered. "One of them did. She died of an overdose. It was the year after we met. Fifteen years after they'd dated, and he still took it hard."
"He has a lot of guilt, about a lot of things," Beth said, having no intention of going into detail. "And it all tends to blend together into one huge weight on his soul."
Kara smiled slightly at Beth's description. "You put it very poetically. I can relate to that. I've fucked enough things up in my life, on a scale that normal people rarely reach."
Beth hadn't ever considered the down side to being superhuman.
"With great power..." Beth started.
"Comes spectacular screw-ups," Kara finished with a wry smile.