Post by Batman (Bruce Wayne) on Jan 24, 2013 18:00:42 GMT -5
Those who remain after the fire
Story By: Batman, Catwoman, Cassandra
Heroes: Batman, Huntress, Batgirl II
Villains: Firefly
Plot: Troubled and lonely, Huntress attempts to covertly siphon a small amount of money out of Bruce Wayne's bank account and accidentally withdraws $500,000, Huntress quickly finds she has bitten off more than she can chew. Filled with memories of her past she reminding her of the people she once knew and the firestorm that lead her to this point in time. The firestorm of events that took away her parents has left Helena to wonder, "who remains after the fire?"
Helena Wayne: Helena sat at the table in her kitchen, the sun setting outside of the window casting an orange hue across the white tiled floor and wooden cabinets. Hair pulled back from her face in a low slung pony tail, she scrolled down a webpage slowly with the scroll mouse on the center of her laptop keyboard. Blue eyes scanning the information on screen Helena moved to the bottom of the page where it was plain she was looking at a bank statement for one Bruce Wayne. Her finger hesitated over the left mouse button where it registered transferring money from his account to another account listed offshore. It was a measly five thousand dollars, hardly something to throw up a red flag on but still her teeth worried her lower lip. “Just do it, it’s not technically stealing.” Helena tried to convince herself, black pants covered leg bouncing in her nervousness under the table. “Just…borrowing with intent to pay back in the far future.” Moving her hands away from the keyboard for a moment she reached up, running her fingers through her hair effectively tugging it loose from the pony tail. Fucking moral dilemmas, if her mother was there, she would have transferred 10k and gone on a shopping spree before paying bills. She needed the money, and until she got a copy of her social security card, or tax ID number it was turning out impossible to get a job that wasn’t paid under the table while she wore some slutty clothes and had to bat her eyelashes for tips. Taking a deep breath she sat back at the table and squinted at the laptop screen. “Just push the button.”
“The mind is a powerful tool. Capable of remembering a life time of memories, processing information, compute numbers, translate communication, interpret signs and signals…ah yes. It does have a system back-up like an advanced computer…It does have a ‘firewall’ instinctively this ‘wall’ rises when people are cornered or threatened. Change is something terrifying to the mind and sometimes our computers, erm…our mind, cannot adjust. We must simply embrace what we do not know and accept it for simply being. If you choose to reject your fears and fight it then you are delaying the healing process. You are in luck…I have just the thing to cure you of *your* fears, Doctor…Tell me…What. Is it. That. You. Fear?” “S-...Scarecrow…” “…Then let us begin the healing…” <c>
-A scream of sonic proportion would ring in the ears of the airfield as Bruce Wayne stepped off the private jet wearing a business suit and sunglasses over his eyes. Carrying a briefcase he had a few Wayne Enterprises executives following behind him as he went off the plane. He entered a limousine and drove off.- “Everything well, sir?” –Bruce stared out the window as the car drove on.- “Sir?” –Bruce then spoke.- “I’m going to need supplies…Going to be building something over the next few days…” –Alfred nodded.- “I’m sure Mr. Fox can assist you in your new project.”
Helena Wayne: She closed an eye in a wince as she made a dramatized movement to press the enter button on her number pad on the laptop. “Here goes nothing.” It was all too easy to gain access into the financial account of Mr. Wayne, after all she knew everything about him that mattered. As she began to press the key the kitchen phone rung shrilly, echoing in the silence of her kitchen and she looked at it quickly, planting her hand down on the keyboard. Standing she moved to the phone and yanked it off of the receiver, heart pounding in her chest. He knew? Snorting softly she answered it. “Hello?” An automated voice to help fund the Gotham PD slithered out of the phone and she wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Why don’t you donate to me?” Helena said into the phone and slammed the device back down on the receiver. Moving to the computer she sat down then furrowed her brows as it stated ‘Transaction Complete’ across the screen. “Well, that was easy.” With a shrug and a smirk, she moved to click off the page then noticed something wrong, something so wrong that it made her stomach clench and her body go cold. “Oh no, no, no fuck no!” Grabbing her laptop, she shook it hard. The five thousand dollars had been changed to five hundred thousand dollars as she had smashed her hand down on the number pad. “I am so grounded…” Would have been the normal response of a teenage girl having done wrong. “I am so…dead.” Helena Bertinelli dropped her forehead down on the table with a thud, the 5k would have slipped under the radar…but 500K was a completely different story.
-Bruce stared out the window of the car. His mind thought back to his training spent over the past month that when finally the words of Alfred spoke.- “Sir?” –Bruce blinked a few times and then looked at Alfred.- “Yes?” “Are you going to answer your phone?” –Bruce nodded.- “oh…right.” –The limousine pulled into the gates of Wayne Manor, iron bars standing erect at 20 feet, a barren field of a grass lawn with a winding road leading to the front of the house itself. Bruce picked up the phone and spoke into it.- “Hello?...What?...How much?...Oh…You need my authority for that? Wait someone hacked into the system and transferred funds from my account to another? Alright uh…I’ll talk to my accountant about this.“ –Bruce hung up the phone, Alfred glanced at Bruce in the rear mirror.- “Going to talk to Mr. Brook, sir?” –Bruce shook his head.- “My *other* accountant…” –Bruce wiggled his eyebrows at Alfred before slipping out of the car and towards the flight of stairs carrying his briefcases. Bruce dashed up the stairs and through the doors to place his cases down in the living room as he walked towards the elevator to the batcave. As the elevator stopped he spoke into the darkness. A chilling echo rolled.- “Lights.” –the power would begin to flicker when suddenly the Bat computer screen lit up, flood lights along the metal platform turned on to light the area with a blue glow. Bruce took off his tie and then his jacket to place them on the table next to the computer.-
Helena Wayne: Helena stayed with her head on the kitchen table for a full ten minutes, her mind coming up with as many horrifying and unexpected ways things could go for her at this point in time. She was happy her “roommate” wasn’t there at the moment, glad to not have to explain her sudden bout of depression, to not get a small lecture on how stealing is bad and glad for not having to explain her past to him if she didn’t need to. It was still a bit surreal, all of it, every last moment of it she had been living. Lifting her hair slowly, she gazed through her dark hair at her computer screen, would Bruce already be trying to track who stole the money? It wouldn’t be hard for him to figure out the account wasn’t so much hacked as accessed, like the person knew all of the information they needed to, including the password, the only thing that was bypassed was his voice approval, and she was surprised how easy that was. An icon came up on the bottom of her screen as the bat computer was turned on. Helena reached out to the keyboard, bit her lower lip then clicked on the icon. Almost as soon as the computer came on in the bat cave, it powered down, screen going black. Maybe she could figure out a way to transfer the money back before he got it up and running. If anything else, she could continually remote shut down the bat computer like a brat turning off their neighbors TV with a universal remote.
-Bruce sat down and opened began typing on the computer pulling up bank records while bypassing the security, immediately he pulled up the websites information and defense grid to see the hacker’s access point, he collected the IP address and sent it routing through the world when it began narrowing towards Gotham, Bruce traced the IP to internet providers locking down on a list of households with the service in a corresponding IP from the computers router. Immediately locking onto a list of houses, Bruce pulled up a list of names when he stopped at Helena Bertinelli that stood out. Bruce stood up and began walking towards the armory to suit up, emerging moments later wearing the batsuit. Batman charged towards the Batpod to storm out of the cave towards Helena’s apartment. Batman would arrive moments later staring down at the apartment from the outside as he stood two rooftops away using his helmets binoculars to spy on the building.-
Helena Wayne: The sun had set completely, and there was nothing more that she could do until the bank over seas opened in the morning. The process of trying through a website she couldn’t understand the language to and google translate was doing nothing for was extremely frustrating. Helena sat back in her kitchen chair, weariness setting in as she closed her eyes. After a few moments she reached out and shut the laptop screen with a soft click though she wanted to throw it out of the window. Standing up slowly, she could be viewed easily through the kitchen window which because of its height lacked curtains. Three stories up, and facing the sun, the kitchen was probably her favorite part of the small apartment. Her dark hair moved in front of her face and she reached up to brush it back when a cold chill ran down her spine. Turning to look out of the kitchen window she scanned the building next to hers, scanned the windows then looked up at the roof, not being able to see anything through the darkness. “Don’t freak yourself out Wayne.” She huffed and turned to move to the fridge to grab a drink.-e
-Batman came to stand before window overlooking the kitchen, however; in the darkness of the room she would notably spot an orange and yellow glowing symbol upon Batman’s chest outlining a bat. Batman’s chin was pitch black, his ears seemed to connect with the ceiling as darkness barely allowed for a hump to appear between both ears. He was hunched over with his knees bent and back curled to perch forward. He was a demon, a monster, an image to fear. White eyes narrowed tightly at her. She knew why he was here and likewise in turn. All that was left was an explanation as to why.-
Helena Wayne: Helena grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a long drink of it then turned, looking out of the window again. The sight of the bat symbol caused her to choke and she spit out the water with a short scream. “Jesus Christ!” Her reaction was followed by a blush at her language her eyes already narrowing into a steel blue glare as she marched to the window and yanked the blinds shut. Heart pounding in her chest, Helena turned on her heel and ran out of the kitchen to her bedroom, quickly grabbing her crossbow from the top of the closet, strapping her utility belt to her waist where it hung low on the fabric of her black yoga pants. There was no way in hell she was going to be able to put on her uniform if he decided to come inside, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to be unarmed. Moving back to the living room, she was an interesting sight to see, the posture of a warrior, cold eyes that reflected Bruce’s own at times, and in a natural teenage bum outfit, yoga pants and a tank top, armed like the Huntress.
-Helena would hear the glass windows smash open as she reached for her crossbow, darkness would swarm around her as the cape of Batman consumed all sides of her and Batman threw himself against her, his hand grabbing towards her wrist holding the trigger of the crossbow. He brought his lips close to hers that his breath of rotten meat and vegetables left him. This intimidation wasn’t the only point; his nose was nearly pressed against hers as those white eyes glared into her blue eyes. His other hand would grab onto Helena’s throat, attempt to choke hold her and lock her face to see his. His grip was firm, a guillotine almost with its constriction, his thumb sliding up her neck vertically, whilst his fingers gripped her throat horizontally.
-Batman growled at her.- “I’m only going to say this once. Who are you and where is Helena Bertinelli?” –His words spoken to her as though she were an enemy, it was in that moment her skin could almost imagine an electrical charge of 10,000 volts running through her body as small pricks dug into her skin grazed by the small hairs along its surface. If she were in his shoes and his potential suspect was clayface, she might’ve brought the 10,000 volts into the situation as well or in some other manner. But what was her give away?-
Helena Wayne: ‘Too fast.’ Helena jerked back from him, trying to jump away but he snagged her wrist, the weight of his armor sending her off balance. Her finger squeezed the trigger, sending a bolt flying into the wall with a dull thud. She cried out as his hand came around her neck, but the sound was of anger not of fear, even as he shoved his face into hers, even as she knew the danger of the situation there was that fury that seemed to come from her every time he tried to intimidate her, and never was she intimidated no matter his best effort. He had a hold of her right hand, his other hand wrapped around her throat, but her left hand was free and she came up with it, fast and hard to slam her fist straight into his chin, a move that would dislocate most people’s jaws, rendering them unconscious. “Let go of me!” Helena snarled at him, blue eyes spitting fire.
-The tense moment adrenaline pumping as a bolt thumped against the wall. Batman’s body was nearly pressed against Helena’s that when her face came to smash into his chin, he simply turned his and absorbed the hit with the back of his helmet.- “We can do this your way…” –Batman’s hand on her throat clutched as he pulled on her wrist and throat to slam her face first into the door frame of her closet, a successful enough move that she would feel the door frame collapse against her face while also causing her face to suddenly become numb from either lack of blood flow or the direct impact. Batman wouldn’t stop there and continued to swing her around his body pulling her out of the closet and into the wall on the other side of the door frame.-
-Once he had slammed her in place he would release her wrist and punch her in the stomach giving her a jolt of the electricity attempting to break her from a Clayface cover and weaken her from being able to fight.-
Helena Wayne: Her left hand came up and she stumbled with him, blocking most of the impact with her hand and forearm but slamming her lower lip on her knuckle. ‘Why does it have to be like this? ’She didn’t cry out and didn’t have time to recover from the move as she was being swung around again the wind getting knocked out of her lungs as she impacted with the wall. ’If he kills me it’ll be okay. Things would be set right wouldn’t they?’ Blood fell from her lip as she impacted, splashing onto his gloved hand and as he released her wrist she coughed then let out a short scream as the jolt sent every muscle in her body clenching, making her teeth grind together. “Hn!” She went completely weak in the next moment, like a rag doll, held up by her neck in his grip, head bowed. ‘Helena Wayne, your parents would be so pissed if they found you getting your ass kicked by this guy.’ The thought seemed to go in an out of her head, like a whisper, but still she didn’t move.
-Batman caught her body as it fell limp, he wrapped his arms around her.- ‘She’s not clayface.’ –Batman placed her onto the bed and pulled off his belt the cryptographic sequencer to scan Helena’s hand and then her eyes and blood. The sequencer began to decode before his eyes the sequencer was quickly assembling information on the DNA, but they weren’t matching to Helena, Franco, or Maria Bertinelli. Batman’s eyes dashed across the computer screen rapidly taking in the information as it was assembled. He took hold of her wrist and handcuffed her right wrist to the bed.- “That was just a sample of 10,000 volts of electricity…And there are at least a dozen other items within this place alone I could begin showing you how I can dismember you and leave nothing for the police to find except the blood you’ll be spilling.”
Helena Wayne: Helena didn’t resist as he moved her, her body staying completely limp in his arms and staying that way as he laid her down on the bed. Her eyes remained open, staring almost blankly at the ceiling as she took inventory of what she was carrying on her belt, and focused on making sure her body was going to function as well as she needed it to. She waited, breathing normally as he pulled out his cryptographer, and began to scan her, eyes not blinking, body not moving. When he lifted her hand up, hand cuffing her to the metal of her bed she blinked, only once and slowly as if clearing her vision. His threat fell on deaf ears, as her heart pounded in her chest and she waited until the moment he would look down again. With the speed of that compared to Catwoman she twisted her body, the comforter wrapping around her right leg which she swung around to kick him in the side and to protect herself from getting jolted again. If she were to distract him, the screeching of metal would have been heard the moment her leg moved as the bar to the headboard came loose, and she swung it like a baseball bat with enough force to equate to someone going for a homerun, right against the side of his head where she’d know if she hit hard enough she’d make his detective vision activate randomly and go berserk.
-He was suddenly smacked by her as her movements went so fast that he slammed into the wall, his detective vision wasn’t activated but he was caught off guard by her agility. He picked himself off the floor and knelt to look at her while holding the cryptographic sequencer. He closed it and placed it onto his belt.—“Ugnn…We’re not done until you tell me where Helena is.” –Batman hunched his back lowering his head some as he took a defensive posture in a non-conventional fighting stance kneeling on the ground with his kneel planted to keep his upper body supported. His knuckles had dented the floor at some point when he came crashing down onto it.-
Helena Wayne: Helena rolled off of the bed, the sound of the handcuff sliding free from the bar distinct as she used it’s newly found freedom to the piece of metal in her hand. Wiping the back of her left hand over her mouth to get rid of some of the blood from her sluggishly leaking lip she watched him with cold and accurate eyes, moving a foot up to kick the twin bed hard into him since he was crouched. “She’s standing in front of you, idiot.” Fury colored her words, and tears thickened them, she wanted to curl up and just forget about the night already. Though her eyes remained cold they welled with the tears that started to choke her up, her muscles were in protest, nearly shaking from the jolt she had received but she didn’t show it, and tears could have been mistaken for her anger easily. “You are *nothing* like him.”
-Batman watched for a split second the bed slide towards him and he leaped over it, tumbling on the ground before hurling a snapflash at her shoulder, if it struck her it would delay by a second after sticking to her skin, it would ignite spinning her as it threw her into the wall at 15 miles per hour.- “And you are *not* Helena Bertinelli!” –Batman charged at her with his rows of teeth grinding against each other as he flew towards her with a kick intending to cut off her next move.-“Considering the circumstances…*I’m* right. You’re *wrong!*” –If the kick succeeded he would grab Helena by the bicep and throat to slam his head against hers before smashing her head against the wall again.-
Helena Wayne: Suddenly, things seemed a bit easier as he dove over the bed, her body shifted, watched his movements and sidestepped the snap flash, it hitting the wall behind her, and she kept her eyes on him. “You’re in *MY* house, attacking *ME* out of no where and you’re the right one?” As he kicked she ducked out of the way, bringing the bar up to cloths line him across the barred chin with the metal piece of the headboard she had detached. Her movements had changed, and suddenly it was like she knew everything he was going to do. Whether or not she’d made contact with the bar, she still leapt out of the way of arms reach, but not before her left hand had snatched an explosive batarang from his belt as she passed, showing once again Catwoman like reflexes.
-He watched as she predicted his moves, he slapped the bar away from his chin as she took the opportunity to steal an explosive batarang, though he tapped a button on his belt and dashed along the wall.- ‘She knows my style. Predicting my moves. She’s seen me work, but she’s not Deathstroke…She fights like Selina.’ –Batman tapped his wrist bracing his left shoulder towards her to protect himself, his cape wrapped around him, he appeared as if preparing to shoulder slam, but she would hear clicking of his bracers the batarangs within them opening and preparing to be released. However, as he lunged at her he swing his fist aiming his batarangs at her while also punching towards her chest.-
Helena Wayne: She turned to watch him, holding onto the bar still, as he stopped, looking protective of himself she was already walking backwards, the sound of the batarang charging up in her hand as she activated it a high pitched noise that was almost comforting to her ears. ‘Watch the bracers, watch the left.’ As he lunged she jumped backwards, her right arm extended behind her with the bar straight out towards the bedroom window. It hit first, the sound of the glass shattering just moment before she curled her body inward almost in a ball, all but one of his batarangs flying passed her, the successful one striking her in the bared shoulder. Her eyes didn’t leave him as her body crashed through the window. “Boom.” She said to him, throwing the batarang down right in front of him, it exploding as she fell backwards out of the third story window.
-She wouldn’t hear an explosion as Batman deactivated the batarang but, he would be right behind her diving at her from the three story window, aiming to tackle her before opening his cape to land them down safely onto the ground. If he successfully caught her, he would stop and say while punching her in the stomach for another electrical charge.- “I’m not done with you yet!” –Batman pressed his advantage, she was simply equipped with a belt that was probably half full of ammunition and detective equipment, leaving most of the rest to be on her ability.- “You’re in *my* city!”
Helena Wayne: Cursing mentally when the explosion didn’t go off she watched as he dove after her, only having enough time to pull the piece of metal from her shoulder as he tackled her. Already wearing down, she grabbed onto his upper arms when they landed, her body jerking in response to the electrical charge he gave her, making her cry out in pain but this time there was a sharp cry of “Dad!” with it, like the begging of a young girl for everything to just stop, she just wanted to be saved in that moment as her muscles seized up once again before her body went limp in his grasp, the metal pole dropped from her hand and clattering to the ground.
-Batman heard the clattering of metal ringing to exactly that of a gunshot after his father was struck down. Batman held Helena’s limp form in his arms. He knew the story of Bertinelli, warned her couple of times to cease her vigilante spree. Batman tapped his belt and then used the handcuffs already attached to her wrist to cuff her. He picked her up and fired his grappling hook towards the window they just jumped out of and brought her back to the damaged bedroom and placed her down and took off the Huntress’ belt and began walking away from her to collect the Batarang.- “Talk to me…” –Batman knelt on a single knee while staring at her. His eyes glaring at her, but his teeth no longer visible rather his lips held an expressionless appearance, often used under a lot of situations such as when he’s being a detective.-
Helena Wayne: She was done struggling as silent tears ran down her cheeks, it was just too much, all of it was too much and she never stopped to just think about it. This was absurd, the whole thing was completely absurd and instead of taking the chance of making a new life, she chose to be the Huntress. The anger was useless at this point as she pushed it all down, saved it for another day, she did exactly what she didn’t want to do, she buckled under the pressure of being someone else, but as he brought her back to the room, laid her down she just stared at him, her eyes not hate filled, or angry, instead she just looked broken. When he told her to talk to him she simply curled up, pulling herself into a protective ball and bit the inside of her cheek. ‘Maybe he’ll beat you to death. That’d be some sick irony…’
“I know you hacked into Bruce Wayne’s bank account…I’ve been watching you for a while now…What tipped me off…” –Batman looked at the floor of the night stand and reached into a pile of clothes and jewelry to pull out a golden cross.- “Helena Bertinelli was a believer…She would never have said ‘Jesus Christ...’” –Batman’s hand held the golden cross’ beads around his hand as the cross dangled from his hand spinning gently back and forth with a slight polish and shine to it. Batman’s gaze remained on her, his poker face maintained as he watched her curl up and defense.- “She would’ve fought to the death. She would’ve killed me or died trying…How long have you been assuming her identity?”
Helena Wayne: “I didn’t hack into it, I put in all of the information. Bruce Wayne’s information, yours.” Helena shifted to push herself up at his near insult, had it been anyone else, she would have fought to the death, she would have died trying, but no matter how different he was from what she knew, there was still that feeling that she couldn’t separate from her mind, her heart weighed her down like a ton. As he hung the cross, she made a sad noise, grabbed it from him and curled up tighter, holding onto it almost protectively. “Since I got here. Don’t ask me where she is, because I don’t know…”
-He yanked the cross back from her preventing her from snagging it, holding it to bribe her.- “You are aware that unauthorized access into someone’s bank account is considered hacking even if you have the information. What is your real name?” –He gently dangled the cross in front of her, almost offering it to her if she answers it to his satisfaction. He brought his hands in and pulled out his Cryptographic sequencer as he prepared to open it. The results would’ve identified her bloodlines, but he was giving her the opportunity to tell him the truth, had she been Bertinelli, he wouldn’t have given her the chance to tell the truth, but she wouldn’t have known that.-
Helena Wayne: Helena tightened her jaw and squeezed her eyes closed for a moment, breathing in and out shallowly through her nose. ‘What will happen? He won’t believe me, it doesn’t matter if he does.’ She argued with herself as she opened her eyes again, this time looking up at him, her eyes clear and determined. “My name is Helena Wayne.” A soft clicking would signal the cuffs being let loose from her wrists, having grabbed a bobby pin from her pants pocket as she had curled into herself. She watched him, judging his expression as she waited.
-Batman stared at her for a moment when he couldn’t help the smirk tug at the corner of his lips.- “I’m done doing things your way.” –Batman opened the Cryptographer as the DNA breakdown displayed biological parentage linked to Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, Thomas Wayne, Martha Wayne, Maria Kyle, and Brian Kyle. Batman’s eyes widen underneath his mask.- “Whoa…” –Batman said with his deep and raspy tone.- “It’s…not possible…Are you from the future? Why did you wait so long to tell me? Does Selina know?”
Helena Wayne: Helena watched him silently, saw the smirk, knew what it meant, he wasn’t going to believe her, but it was okay, he’d see it himself. When he opened up the Cryptographer she continued to watch his face, registered the shock, and expected all of the questions. “I’m not…from the future.” Helena skipped his next question, then shook her head at the last question. Sitting up she left the cuffs laying on the bed and leaned over, tangling her fingers in her thick dark hair, resting her elbows on her knees and closed her eyes. “I’m just…from a different place, and ended up here…like an alternate universe or something. I don’t know…”
-Batman stood up straight and holstered his cryptographic sequencer.- “That still doesn’t excuse what you did…Why did you need the money? You knew I would come for you...You should’ve asked.” –Batman leaned to her to take the handcuffs off her and placed them onto his belt. His gaze remained on her, the white eyes of his mask no longer narrowed intensely, rather just sharp in appearance. His mask curved to appear like an aggressive animal with a sharp and wrinkled nose for snarling. Most likely different than the Batman of her universe.-
Helena Wayne: Helena’s shoulders remained slumped and she continued to stay hunched over, fingers tangled in her hair, her entire body hurt, her apartment was a bit of a wreck and even thought he knew things didn’t feel better for her at all. ‘I wish Connor was here.’ She found herself thinking then pushed the thought from her mind. She wouldn’t have risked him like that, even thought she could see he was strong, just so incredibly naive. “It was only supposed to be five thousand dollars, wouldn’t have been flagged, wouldn’t have been a problem, you never would have known or missed it.” She hardly seemed bothered by the wrongness of her actions, after all she was the child of Selina Kyle.
-Batman watched her as she explained and then he insisted.- “I’ll transfer the money to your account. I’ll have the bank recognize it has a typo on Bruce Wayne’s error since the 500 is still being processed at the bank…” –Batman began walking out of the room and towards the kitchen window that he entered from. He suddenly didn’t like her living arrangements, spotting different imperfections as to where people could infiltrate and break into the building unnoticed to the untrained eye. Why did he care? Despite the fact she wasn’t exactly his daughter, he was the only family member she had available and if Bruce, hypothetically had a child, and wasn’t personally able to protect them, he would’ve wanted the next best thing. He didn’t know if she was from the future or a mirror universe, the theory bugged him, teased him some.-
Helena Wayne: Her shoulders went a bit rigid when he spoke of just transferring her the money and she lifted her head, looking after his cape as he simply strode out. ‘No, sorry for beating the shit out of you. Sorry to have destroyed your apartment, by the way, how are your parents these days?’ Helena felt bitter inside, and the taste in her mouth was just as bitter, because now she felt vulnerable, like she had a weakness that wasn’t there before. Looking around her trashed room and at the broken window she moved her hands to rub her bare arms slowly and fought back more tears. ‘Pull yourself together Hel. Sleep in the living room, fix up the place tomorrow the best you can, and hope the landlord doesn’t kick you to the curb. You’re on your own, you were on your own the minute she died in his arms, and he sacrificed himself for Gotham. It was two months ago, they died right before you got here. It’s time to move on.’ Laying back on the bed slowly she pressed her palms to her eyes. “Damnit…”
-He looked around and saw the place.- ‘She is not my daughter…She’s not *your* daughter…Bruce was an idiot for thinking that something could last. The child has Mom and Dad issues…She’s not a woman. She’s a little girl clinging to the past.’ ‘It’s our compassion that makes us different. Whoever Selina Kyle is from that world, she’s apparently not the one we know…’ ‘Or the Bruce and Batman from that world isn’t like *us.* -Batman shook his head looking back towards the bedroom.- ‘No. She has a passion for crime fighting. Thievery of Catwoman’s skill. They’re a mirror to us…but different.’ ‘It worked for them…’ ‘It could still work for…’ ‘No.’ –Batman began walking towards the bedroom to look at Helena.- “Do you…need…” –Batman’s chin clutched and stiffened before unclipping his helmet and sliding it off to reveal Bruce Wayne’s face full of sorrow and compassion.- -She wasn’t just a stranger to him, but she was now an example of ‘What if’ Bruce had tried to work things out with Selina. Prior he wasn’t sure if there was someone suitable; strong enough, to bear his alter ego, his mental issues. Now Helena Wayne is present and it only proves that Selina Kyle could be the one.- “Do you need anything from me?”
Helena Wayne: Helena didn’t hear him coming back to the room, she continued to lay there, palms pressed against her closed eyes, her mind lost in the past, and weeping for what was lost, she hadn’t grieved, hadn’t had time, hadn’t had the energy or the right push that would collapse her into that dark place, one she was scared to go to. As she heard his voice her whole body flinched, stiffened then she pushed herself up in one fluid motions as if to say, I’m strong, I’m capable of handling myself, I’m not weak. She watched him, jaw muscles clenching as she fought against the lump in her throat and then as he removed his helmet her lower lip hung open and her face paled. She’d seen pictures of him, of the Bruce Wayne here, she had come up against Batman many times, but now that she was faced with the man who was lost to her a sob bubbled up out of her and she quickly moved a hand to cover her mouth as tears spilled out of her eyes uncontrollably. Did she need anything? She needed everything, but she wouldn’t ask, wouldn’t ask for a damn thing of this stranger who probably felt sorry for her. Helena shook her head no barely, fingers of her free hand twisting in her covers until her knuckles turned white. Her body was positioned, like she wanted to leap across the room to him, and her muscles shook from holding herself back. Slowly her hand lowered from her mouth and she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry I took your money.” The tone, the way she warped her words to make things seem less important than they were, mirrored Selina’s perfectly.
-Bruce Knelt before her and looked at the floor while slowly clearing his throat. His eyes studied the floor boards before he looked up at her.- “You should know that-….when my parents died…my world was plunged into darkness. I felt alone. And that no one else would understand me…I’m not making excuses for your father’s behavior…but when I needed a father, Alfred stood up to be that figure. I know the trauma of losing your parents. I know it better than you think…The rage and anger. The questions that go unanswered…What I-uh…can tell you…is that some nights are brighter than others…And I want tonight to be one of those nights for you. It’s the least I can do.” –Bruce placed his hand on her knee and gave her a solid stare suddenly changing from compassion to determination.-
Helena Wayne: Her back straightened as he knelt, he took a position that her father would sometimes, and as she watched him with her devastated expression slowly changing that to the mask that Bruce himself so often had she remained silent. They had their own Alfred, he had taken great care of the Wayne family, great care of her, and probably would have remained by her side throughout everything if she had stayed. “My mother died suddenly, and my father died doing what he did best. Protecting his city.” She said suddenly, her voice soft but not weak. “I was his Robin, it was my mother’s idea, and he hated it at first, then between the both of them I was trained. But in the end I couldn’t save him, I just had to watch as he told me to live, and then he died.” Her eyes were dry now and she cleared her throat, almost embarrassed. “I’ll continue to live for the sacrifice my parents made, and I’ll do my job here, in Gotham.” There was a finality to her statement, that almost dared him to tell her she couldn’t, dared him to try and stop her. It was what she had left, in her world she was destined to become Batman, things were different here, but her resolve remained.
“Did you ever think that your father intended for you to live your life and not his?” –Bruce removed his hand, knowing her determination, the same tone Dick Grayson used before he became Nightwing. Once a boy with a bright smile suddenly a man with resentment. Bruce; her father, probably would’ve grilled him for not stopping her. Bruce stood up and placed on the mask of Batman.- “If you’re working in Gotham, you’re working under my command, Helena. Not as *Robin* and not as *Batgirl* or *Batman.* You’re Huntress. And that’s all Gotham needs you to be. Are we clear?” –Like a switch, his personality changed.-
Helena Wayne: “I am living the life I should.” ‘It’s all I have.’ She watched him stand, was momentarily sad for the loss of contact between them, then as he put on the mask her face hardened, to reflect his tone. In was in that very instant that it was crystal clear she’d follow his direction if he proved himself worthy to her, he might have her father’s name, and be Batman in this world, but respect in her eyes was earned, not given and Helena never gave it freely. “We’ll see.” Was all she said, another challenge to his authority, another thorn in his side.
-Batman turned and left almost shrugging off her challenge and attempt to be something on his radar of concerns. Bruce worried about her, at 32 years of age; he had no children of his own, but had already experienced the lost of one child and another that has gone rogue on him. Helena was falling in line with the later, following in the steps of Bertinelli. Batman fled the apartment with only the sound of a cape flapping like a set of wings. He could’ve been silent, but he wanted her to know that he was no longer around and she was presently alone. Batman returned to the batpod to drive back to the Batcave to begin processing the new and discovered data. He would also begin looking up the whereabouts on Selina Kyle.-
Helena Wayne: Looking after him again, Helena felt better as he left this time, he’d stayed long enough that she locked everything away again, she wouldn’t cry herself to sleep, she wouldn’t allow herself to dream about her parents, she would just do what she needed to do. Rolling her injured shoulder she looked at the wound covered in dry blood from one of the batarangs and blanched. Maybe she’d take a sick day from school and clean up her place instead. With that idea in mind, Helena stood and grabbed the comforter off of the bed, closing her bedroom door behind her she flopped down on the couch and wrapped up in the blanket that smelled like Connor. She imagined him being off somewhere, meditating, sleeping in a tree, or whatever it is he liked to do in his off time, and with that in mind, she fell asleep.
...
The 12th floor of the large industrial building was blazing with flames, embers dropped from the height and fell towards the ground, the man inside, Derek Muney coughed as his unconscious body was left buried underneath flaming pillars and beams, his brown hair covered his ash while his business suit was covered in dirt and ash and scorch marks. Office workers inside began fleeing as they dashed through the fire and attempted to escape, one unfortunate soul would find herself daring fate as she would look below to see the drop towards the ground. She looked across the street and hoped that she could build enough momentum and speed to glide and break through, possibly survive better than her odds with the fire. She leapt and immediately began to descend straight down, with a blood curling scream she plunged towards the ground leaving the burning building when the wings of Batman spread open and he grabbed her by the waist, his right hand clutched to a grappling hook gun’s handle while they flew over the streets below lit up by orange lights. Batman commanded her.- “You’re safe.” –Batman landed on the ground and released the woman from his grip; his gaze looked towards the burning building to see what else had to be done. Tapping the side of his helmet, the detective vision became active and he was able to see the layout of the building with the simple twitch and movement of his eyes. – “Circle the building and look for as many people that you can. There could be more trapped in there.” -Batman said into his microphone.-
Cassandra Cain: *She would be standing top of a near by building, standing only about 7 stories tall. Her black cape would blow in the night air, as her eyes would set upon the flaming building. Her form would be slightly accented in a orange blow from the flames. Her boot would dig into the edge of the roof she stood upon. Her eyes would catch movement from the corner of her eye, Hearing the screaming female plummet towards the ground before being caught by the familiar figure of Batman. Gliding through the air, she would loose track of them as he would reach the ground. Hearing the command in her head she would, nod, if only to herself. She would not response in words, as there was no need to, he knew, a directive given was a directive followed. Her hand reached down to her yellow blt as she would grip a small batarang with a cord attached. Twirling it above her head she would launch it at the building letting it grip a near by window. The flames may weaken the structure, but her light frame should fine enough to travel over. Her feet would push off as her cape would flow behind her, as she would glide through the air breaking through a window on the 6th floor of the building. Rolling across it before spinning up to her feet. The flames would lick all around her, her suit flame resistant and keeping her body temperature normalized as she would begin to move through the building. Under her mask, at the urging of Bruce, was a small filter, to help cleanse the air to keep the smoke and flames from entering her lungs. She would still not speak, just move throughout the floor of the building, it appeared to be a floor of offices, cubicals and office equipment. Slightly intimidating looking, she would move through picking and removing debris as it would crash around her a little bit. Batting flames away from her as she would move the narrow alleys of the floor, she would find a three people huddled on the ground, over an unconscious fourth person.* It will be fine…*Her voice slightly distorted by the filter and her mask as she would couch down next to them. Moving her hands down to her waist as she would pull out several smaller versions of her filter from her belt.* Here. *Her arms would reach down to the unconscious man to lift him up onto her shoulders, with a light grunt.* Follow.
Helena Wayne: It had taken a good chunk of the day to clean up the glass from the kitchen, repair that window and the window in her bedroom. Changing the position of the bed she had pushed it across the room to hit the dent in the floor from Batman’s fist. Hanging curtains had proved to be difficult, her still sore body and shoulder paining her as she tried so she had delegated it to Connor. He had been more than helpful, if not a little bit irritating with his hovering concern for her. She had seen worse fights, had dealt with more serious injuries and had to remind herself to be flattered at the way he reacted. As the news story came on in the living room about the fire Helena paused to listen and before it was over, she was walking from her bedroom, out of the door and down to her motorcycle as before the story was even over. Speeding out of the back alleyway, the Huntress weaved in an out of cars, taking sharp turns and using back streets as she made her way to the blaze. Leaping from her bike as it slid to a stop, hidden in yet another alley she looked up in time to see Batgirl move from her rooftop to that of the burning building. “Let’s hope he managed to tell her I’m not an enemy.” Huntress muttered under her breath as she pulled out her grappling gun, aimed and fired. The wind caught her hair and cape and her shoulder ached from the effort of holding on and Helena cringed as she felt the blast of heat from the flames. Fire wasn’t her favorite. Crashing through a window she tucked her body into a roll as she landed, cape shielding her from the flames as she stumbled out of a room and into a hallway, keeping low. “Hello?” Calling down the hallway her blue eyes narrowed at the sound of coughing and quickly she moved to an office, silently hoping the ceiling wouldn’t cave in on her.
“Sir, I’d hate to be a bother but, I have some more news.” –Batman flew towards the top of the burning building via his grappling hook, when his gaze took sight of another burning building a few blocks down.- “Now is *not* the time, Ace.” –Alfred alias “Ace” sat at the batcomputer typing on the keyboard.- “It appears another fire has broken out at Shreck Corps building.” –Batman nodded.- “Got it. I’m already on my way…Batgirl, see what you can do, I’m head south, six blocks.” -Batman jumped off the roof of the building and dived towards the ground before spreading his cape to intake the wind. He glided across the city moving towards the flaming building when he saw a man walking through the flames wearing a full black armored suit with large bug eyes. Batman tapped his helmet.-
“Ace, I have a lead on who is causing the fires. It’s Firefly…Pull up information and inform Gordon about Garfield Lynns” “Got it, sir.” –Firefly stared for a moment watching Batman approach as the distance between them closed Firefly launched into the air with his jetpack and began hurling fireballs at Batman; Batman dived and tumbled onto the roof of a department building. Firefly fired two more fireballs before blasting off into the sky. Batman rolled and dodged the blasts but, the fire would begin spreading around the rooftop.-
Cassandra Cain: *Moving back the way she came with her new ‘crew’ she would make her way back to the broken window which she came through. Pushing debris from the way, carrying the man over her shoulders. He was not that heavy but he did slow her down some. Her eyes kept watching and keeping on the look out as the debris would fall around her still and getting worse. Her body would shift through before reaching the window she came through. The cable cord still attached the floor above them. She would look over the edge as the smoke would billow from the window. The cord reached a few feet from the street below. She would set the unconscious man down as she would pull out small hand pads and hand them to the people with her.* Just..grip and slide. Tuck your knees on the landing a little bit… *She would instruct them as she would pick the man back up and grip the cord* I will be waiting… *She would leap from the window and side down the cord letting her feet hit the cold concrete ground of the alleyway she would set him down next to the building she came from as she would help the other three as they would slide down to her.* …Law enforcement is around front…get them.. *She would collect the devices from the people as her eyes would scan, seeing a motorcycle as she would look up at the building. Seeing a broken out window however, the glass was not broken out but in. Learning a little from Alfred, pressure should force the glass outwards not inwards..meaing..Her hand would grip her grapple gun as she would aim at the broken window and fire. She would now speak into her microphone, “Company here..investigating.” Letting it snag and carry her body through the air. Her cape would flutter behind her as she would spin and flip into the window as the hook unhooked itself as she would attach the gun to her waist. Standing up fully she would gaze around. This was not the best place for a fight, it had to be quick, no time to wait to learn their style. Her black boots would begin to move deeper into this floor of offices.*
Helena Wayne: Huntress kicked over a burning desk, it crashing loudly into the wall while her hand shot out, dragged out a man who had been cowering under it and pulled him to his feet. “Come on, hiding from it won’t do a damn bit of good.” Moving to another window she glanced out then with a firm grip of his arm she pulled him out of the office and pulled him down the hallway to the end of it, where a fire truck was waiting and firemen below were holding out a trampoline. “Okay, you’re going to have to jump.” The larger man who was coughing and sobbing grabbed hard onto her arms. “N-no, I can’t, I’m afraid of heights!” Wincing at the pressure on her healing wound from one of Batman’s batarangs the previous evening she hissed out a breath, her voice turning more tense and firm as she knocked his hands away. “You either die in here, or you jump.” Turning to the window she struck out with her foot, her heavy soled boot crashing through the glass as the heat was pulled out of the window, smoke causing her to cough some. “I can’t!” The man exclaimed and Helena leaned, looking out of the window at the firemen below before turning to him. “Okay then.” Reaching out she grabbed his arm, took a step towards the window and pulled his limb up above her shoulder, then with a grunt of effort she leaned down and flipped him over her head and out as he let out a terrified scream. “I don’t have time for you to be scared.” Muttering Helena gave a satisfied nod as he landed on the trampoline then scrambled up to hug one of the firemen. A moment later her earpiece picked up a proximity interception from the communications between Batgirl and Batman, and she looked back over her shoulder. “Great.” Huntress mumbled as she moved towards the door of the office heading out to the hallway.
-Batman rushed towards a fire extinguisher and spoke into his microphone.- “Negative. If you see Firefly, do not engage him alone, Batgirl.” -Batman sprayed the hose extinguishing the flames. He carried the extinguisher towards the last flaming building to see the executive office of Charles Daggett on fire, Batman sprayed the area before throwing the metal container and arming his Freeze pistol. He fired three shots at the walls freezing the material and preventing it from burning. He aimed at the ceiling and fired another three shots and eliminated the fire. Charles Dagget was still alive, but Batman narrowed his eyes before grabbing Charles by the collar and lifting him off the ground.- “This is the second building Firefly has gone after…What did he want?” –Charles shook his head.- “I don’t know…He wanted money. I told him to screw off.”
“Alright” –Batman dropped Charles and began walking towards the opening to the building. “Just remember, Firefly is still out there and if he gets word you’re still alive…” –The man blinked.- “What? What will happen?” –Batman smirked and then jumped out of the building to spread his wings and glide to a distance where Batman oversaw the Dagget building.- “Batgirl, is your situation under control? –Batman had holstered the Freeze pistol and patiently watched what Charles would do.-
Cassandra Cain: *The flames blocked out most sound, as the fire was roaring at this point. Her body covered in a sheath of an orangish glow as she would move through the offices. She was not looking for cilivlians at this point. The owner of the bike could be the one responsible for the fire. Her eyes casting from behind her mask as she would move, at a much quicker pace now. Her cape rustling behind her. Her eyes focused upon, the search now, scanning to see if she can find this person. Turning corners as debris would fall around her, before she would hear the sounds of a scream from outside the building as she neared the area. She would not speak back to Batman as she was on the pursuit, she did not want to give herself away. As she would turn a corner, her eyes would come into contact with Helena as she exited into the hallway. Standing about 10 feet away, her eyes would gaze over the dark-haired female. Cassandra stood there in her dark suit, completely covered, no visable trace of her skin exposed. Her stance would widen as she would drop herself a little bit into a fighting posture. The female was armed, uniquely armed, but armed nonetheless. She would take in her form, from toe to top of the head. Her stature was similar to hers, except slightly taller. The female was the Huntress she heard of but why was she still here. Her gaze would narrow, it would all make sense to her. It is possible she could of started this fire, perhaps to get a mark.* You..are under arrest.
Helena Wayne: Huntress raised a hand up, knocking a piece of burning debris off of her shoulder quickly and was thankful that her suit had seemed rather suitable for being in extreme heat. The glare of the fire and the smoke made her eyes water as she hunkered down a bit lower to the ground to take a shallow breath. ‘I need to get one of those re-breathers, it would come in handy about now.’ As she moved into the hallway, a dark form caught her attention and she turned to face Cass fully and quickly, her body hunkering down into her own fighting stance, right leg sliding out behind her as she lowered herself down. It was a girl smaller than herself, Batgirl, she recalled as if the yellow outlined symbol on her chest didn’t give her away almost instantly. The low rumble before the cracking of support beams sounded on a floor below them and the building seemed to shudder as one of the floor collapsed, sending ash and embers down from the ceiling above. Huntress didn’t look away from the one in black, and hunched her shoulders, making her cape fall around herself much like Batman would to conceal her hands and posture and to protect herself from the annoyance of smaller debris. ‘Shit.’ Helena thought as the other female finally spoke. “Last I checked, B&E to save someone’s ass was a good thing. Though if you’re going to arrest me for coming in here you might want to check your hypocrite gauge, it’d be flashing in the red about now.”
“Rebecca, get me some cleaners in here now. Call Jeramiah…These clowns think they can mess with me. Last thing I need is Batman poking around here. The police can hardly keep a leash on him.” –Batman tapped his ear piece and spoke.- “Ace, I placed a bug on Charles Dagget. It appears he’s somehow involved with Firefly’s attacks. Which gives reason to believe they *are* purposeful. Finding out how Dagget and these other executives are involved may solve where they are.” “Very good, sir…And it would appear that Batgirl is still at the burning office center…” –Batman armed his grappling gun and leaped into the air before releasing the hook forcing it to latch onto stone to swing him through the air with his cape flapping behind him as he held to the gun. “Got it, I’m on my way. If she’s fighting Firefly, she’s in over her head…Last time…Robin and I were fortunate enough to bring him and Killer Moth to justice.” “Mhm. I recall that story sir. Perhaps focusing on the task at hand is best.”
Cassandra Cain: *Her eyes stayed focused upon the female as she would lower her stance. Feeling the floor rumble, her footing would not miss a beat, not moving as peices of the building started to rain down a little bit into the hallway. Every second was precious as the structural soundness of the building weakened with each flicker of flame and passing second. As the ash would shoot up around her, her eyes stayed focus upon the female. It would glitter to her suit, as she would not brush it from her form.* Arson *Is the only phrase that leaves her lip. Her black boots push off the ground, causing the floorboards to creak and crack as she moves forward. Her body at a sprint to cover the ground between them quickly. Her left hand curling into a fist as she would thrust it forward aiming to strike the female at the very bottom of the sternum, below her bust. Right after the punch was thrown contact or not she would shift to Helena's left to attempt to land several more well placed and powerful with both fists now. Her fists flying with extreme speed but losing no accuracy. She needed to end this quickly and arrest this ‘Huntress’ before the building would come down around them. Her eyes never leaving the female, no matter where she moves, like a hawk watching its prey.*
Story By: Batman, Catwoman, Cassandra
Heroes: Batman, Huntress, Batgirl II
Villains: Firefly
Plot: Troubled and lonely, Huntress attempts to covertly siphon a small amount of money out of Bruce Wayne's bank account and accidentally withdraws $500,000, Huntress quickly finds she has bitten off more than she can chew. Filled with memories of her past she reminding her of the people she once knew and the firestorm that lead her to this point in time. The firestorm of events that took away her parents has left Helena to wonder, "who remains after the fire?"
Helena Wayne: Helena sat at the table in her kitchen, the sun setting outside of the window casting an orange hue across the white tiled floor and wooden cabinets. Hair pulled back from her face in a low slung pony tail, she scrolled down a webpage slowly with the scroll mouse on the center of her laptop keyboard. Blue eyes scanning the information on screen Helena moved to the bottom of the page where it was plain she was looking at a bank statement for one Bruce Wayne. Her finger hesitated over the left mouse button where it registered transferring money from his account to another account listed offshore. It was a measly five thousand dollars, hardly something to throw up a red flag on but still her teeth worried her lower lip. “Just do it, it’s not technically stealing.” Helena tried to convince herself, black pants covered leg bouncing in her nervousness under the table. “Just…borrowing with intent to pay back in the far future.” Moving her hands away from the keyboard for a moment she reached up, running her fingers through her hair effectively tugging it loose from the pony tail. Fucking moral dilemmas, if her mother was there, she would have transferred 10k and gone on a shopping spree before paying bills. She needed the money, and until she got a copy of her social security card, or tax ID number it was turning out impossible to get a job that wasn’t paid under the table while she wore some slutty clothes and had to bat her eyelashes for tips. Taking a deep breath she sat back at the table and squinted at the laptop screen. “Just push the button.”
“The mind is a powerful tool. Capable of remembering a life time of memories, processing information, compute numbers, translate communication, interpret signs and signals…ah yes. It does have a system back-up like an advanced computer…It does have a ‘firewall’ instinctively this ‘wall’ rises when people are cornered or threatened. Change is something terrifying to the mind and sometimes our computers, erm…our mind, cannot adjust. We must simply embrace what we do not know and accept it for simply being. If you choose to reject your fears and fight it then you are delaying the healing process. You are in luck…I have just the thing to cure you of *your* fears, Doctor…Tell me…What. Is it. That. You. Fear?” “S-...Scarecrow…” “…Then let us begin the healing…” <c>
-A scream of sonic proportion would ring in the ears of the airfield as Bruce Wayne stepped off the private jet wearing a business suit and sunglasses over his eyes. Carrying a briefcase he had a few Wayne Enterprises executives following behind him as he went off the plane. He entered a limousine and drove off.- “Everything well, sir?” –Bruce stared out the window as the car drove on.- “Sir?” –Bruce then spoke.- “I’m going to need supplies…Going to be building something over the next few days…” –Alfred nodded.- “I’m sure Mr. Fox can assist you in your new project.”
Helena Wayne: She closed an eye in a wince as she made a dramatized movement to press the enter button on her number pad on the laptop. “Here goes nothing.” It was all too easy to gain access into the financial account of Mr. Wayne, after all she knew everything about him that mattered. As she began to press the key the kitchen phone rung shrilly, echoing in the silence of her kitchen and she looked at it quickly, planting her hand down on the keyboard. Standing she moved to the phone and yanked it off of the receiver, heart pounding in her chest. He knew? Snorting softly she answered it. “Hello?” An automated voice to help fund the Gotham PD slithered out of the phone and she wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Why don’t you donate to me?” Helena said into the phone and slammed the device back down on the receiver. Moving to the computer she sat down then furrowed her brows as it stated ‘Transaction Complete’ across the screen. “Well, that was easy.” With a shrug and a smirk, she moved to click off the page then noticed something wrong, something so wrong that it made her stomach clench and her body go cold. “Oh no, no, no fuck no!” Grabbing her laptop, she shook it hard. The five thousand dollars had been changed to five hundred thousand dollars as she had smashed her hand down on the number pad. “I am so grounded…” Would have been the normal response of a teenage girl having done wrong. “I am so…dead.” Helena Bertinelli dropped her forehead down on the table with a thud, the 5k would have slipped under the radar…but 500K was a completely different story.
-Bruce stared out the window of the car. His mind thought back to his training spent over the past month that when finally the words of Alfred spoke.- “Sir?” –Bruce blinked a few times and then looked at Alfred.- “Yes?” “Are you going to answer your phone?” –Bruce nodded.- “oh…right.” –The limousine pulled into the gates of Wayne Manor, iron bars standing erect at 20 feet, a barren field of a grass lawn with a winding road leading to the front of the house itself. Bruce picked up the phone and spoke into it.- “Hello?...What?...How much?...Oh…You need my authority for that? Wait someone hacked into the system and transferred funds from my account to another? Alright uh…I’ll talk to my accountant about this.“ –Bruce hung up the phone, Alfred glanced at Bruce in the rear mirror.- “Going to talk to Mr. Brook, sir?” –Bruce shook his head.- “My *other* accountant…” –Bruce wiggled his eyebrows at Alfred before slipping out of the car and towards the flight of stairs carrying his briefcases. Bruce dashed up the stairs and through the doors to place his cases down in the living room as he walked towards the elevator to the batcave. As the elevator stopped he spoke into the darkness. A chilling echo rolled.- “Lights.” –the power would begin to flicker when suddenly the Bat computer screen lit up, flood lights along the metal platform turned on to light the area with a blue glow. Bruce took off his tie and then his jacket to place them on the table next to the computer.-
Helena Wayne: Helena stayed with her head on the kitchen table for a full ten minutes, her mind coming up with as many horrifying and unexpected ways things could go for her at this point in time. She was happy her “roommate” wasn’t there at the moment, glad to not have to explain her sudden bout of depression, to not get a small lecture on how stealing is bad and glad for not having to explain her past to him if she didn’t need to. It was still a bit surreal, all of it, every last moment of it she had been living. Lifting her hair slowly, she gazed through her dark hair at her computer screen, would Bruce already be trying to track who stole the money? It wouldn’t be hard for him to figure out the account wasn’t so much hacked as accessed, like the person knew all of the information they needed to, including the password, the only thing that was bypassed was his voice approval, and she was surprised how easy that was. An icon came up on the bottom of her screen as the bat computer was turned on. Helena reached out to the keyboard, bit her lower lip then clicked on the icon. Almost as soon as the computer came on in the bat cave, it powered down, screen going black. Maybe she could figure out a way to transfer the money back before he got it up and running. If anything else, she could continually remote shut down the bat computer like a brat turning off their neighbors TV with a universal remote.
-Bruce sat down and opened began typing on the computer pulling up bank records while bypassing the security, immediately he pulled up the websites information and defense grid to see the hacker’s access point, he collected the IP address and sent it routing through the world when it began narrowing towards Gotham, Bruce traced the IP to internet providers locking down on a list of households with the service in a corresponding IP from the computers router. Immediately locking onto a list of houses, Bruce pulled up a list of names when he stopped at Helena Bertinelli that stood out. Bruce stood up and began walking towards the armory to suit up, emerging moments later wearing the batsuit. Batman charged towards the Batpod to storm out of the cave towards Helena’s apartment. Batman would arrive moments later staring down at the apartment from the outside as he stood two rooftops away using his helmets binoculars to spy on the building.-
Helena Wayne: The sun had set completely, and there was nothing more that she could do until the bank over seas opened in the morning. The process of trying through a website she couldn’t understand the language to and google translate was doing nothing for was extremely frustrating. Helena sat back in her kitchen chair, weariness setting in as she closed her eyes. After a few moments she reached out and shut the laptop screen with a soft click though she wanted to throw it out of the window. Standing up slowly, she could be viewed easily through the kitchen window which because of its height lacked curtains. Three stories up, and facing the sun, the kitchen was probably her favorite part of the small apartment. Her dark hair moved in front of her face and she reached up to brush it back when a cold chill ran down her spine. Turning to look out of the kitchen window she scanned the building next to hers, scanned the windows then looked up at the roof, not being able to see anything through the darkness. “Don’t freak yourself out Wayne.” She huffed and turned to move to the fridge to grab a drink.-e
-Batman came to stand before window overlooking the kitchen, however; in the darkness of the room she would notably spot an orange and yellow glowing symbol upon Batman’s chest outlining a bat. Batman’s chin was pitch black, his ears seemed to connect with the ceiling as darkness barely allowed for a hump to appear between both ears. He was hunched over with his knees bent and back curled to perch forward. He was a demon, a monster, an image to fear. White eyes narrowed tightly at her. She knew why he was here and likewise in turn. All that was left was an explanation as to why.-
Helena Wayne: Helena grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a long drink of it then turned, looking out of the window again. The sight of the bat symbol caused her to choke and she spit out the water with a short scream. “Jesus Christ!” Her reaction was followed by a blush at her language her eyes already narrowing into a steel blue glare as she marched to the window and yanked the blinds shut. Heart pounding in her chest, Helena turned on her heel and ran out of the kitchen to her bedroom, quickly grabbing her crossbow from the top of the closet, strapping her utility belt to her waist where it hung low on the fabric of her black yoga pants. There was no way in hell she was going to be able to put on her uniform if he decided to come inside, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to be unarmed. Moving back to the living room, she was an interesting sight to see, the posture of a warrior, cold eyes that reflected Bruce’s own at times, and in a natural teenage bum outfit, yoga pants and a tank top, armed like the Huntress.
-Helena would hear the glass windows smash open as she reached for her crossbow, darkness would swarm around her as the cape of Batman consumed all sides of her and Batman threw himself against her, his hand grabbing towards her wrist holding the trigger of the crossbow. He brought his lips close to hers that his breath of rotten meat and vegetables left him. This intimidation wasn’t the only point; his nose was nearly pressed against hers as those white eyes glared into her blue eyes. His other hand would grab onto Helena’s throat, attempt to choke hold her and lock her face to see his. His grip was firm, a guillotine almost with its constriction, his thumb sliding up her neck vertically, whilst his fingers gripped her throat horizontally.
-Batman growled at her.- “I’m only going to say this once. Who are you and where is Helena Bertinelli?” –His words spoken to her as though she were an enemy, it was in that moment her skin could almost imagine an electrical charge of 10,000 volts running through her body as small pricks dug into her skin grazed by the small hairs along its surface. If she were in his shoes and his potential suspect was clayface, she might’ve brought the 10,000 volts into the situation as well or in some other manner. But what was her give away?-
Helena Wayne: ‘Too fast.’ Helena jerked back from him, trying to jump away but he snagged her wrist, the weight of his armor sending her off balance. Her finger squeezed the trigger, sending a bolt flying into the wall with a dull thud. She cried out as his hand came around her neck, but the sound was of anger not of fear, even as he shoved his face into hers, even as she knew the danger of the situation there was that fury that seemed to come from her every time he tried to intimidate her, and never was she intimidated no matter his best effort. He had a hold of her right hand, his other hand wrapped around her throat, but her left hand was free and she came up with it, fast and hard to slam her fist straight into his chin, a move that would dislocate most people’s jaws, rendering them unconscious. “Let go of me!” Helena snarled at him, blue eyes spitting fire.
-The tense moment adrenaline pumping as a bolt thumped against the wall. Batman’s body was nearly pressed against Helena’s that when her face came to smash into his chin, he simply turned his and absorbed the hit with the back of his helmet.- “We can do this your way…” –Batman’s hand on her throat clutched as he pulled on her wrist and throat to slam her face first into the door frame of her closet, a successful enough move that she would feel the door frame collapse against her face while also causing her face to suddenly become numb from either lack of blood flow or the direct impact. Batman wouldn’t stop there and continued to swing her around his body pulling her out of the closet and into the wall on the other side of the door frame.-
-Once he had slammed her in place he would release her wrist and punch her in the stomach giving her a jolt of the electricity attempting to break her from a Clayface cover and weaken her from being able to fight.-
Helena Wayne: Her left hand came up and she stumbled with him, blocking most of the impact with her hand and forearm but slamming her lower lip on her knuckle. ‘Why does it have to be like this? ’She didn’t cry out and didn’t have time to recover from the move as she was being swung around again the wind getting knocked out of her lungs as she impacted with the wall. ’If he kills me it’ll be okay. Things would be set right wouldn’t they?’ Blood fell from her lip as she impacted, splashing onto his gloved hand and as he released her wrist she coughed then let out a short scream as the jolt sent every muscle in her body clenching, making her teeth grind together. “Hn!” She went completely weak in the next moment, like a rag doll, held up by her neck in his grip, head bowed. ‘Helena Wayne, your parents would be so pissed if they found you getting your ass kicked by this guy.’ The thought seemed to go in an out of her head, like a whisper, but still she didn’t move.
-Batman caught her body as it fell limp, he wrapped his arms around her.- ‘She’s not clayface.’ –Batman placed her onto the bed and pulled off his belt the cryptographic sequencer to scan Helena’s hand and then her eyes and blood. The sequencer began to decode before his eyes the sequencer was quickly assembling information on the DNA, but they weren’t matching to Helena, Franco, or Maria Bertinelli. Batman’s eyes dashed across the computer screen rapidly taking in the information as it was assembled. He took hold of her wrist and handcuffed her right wrist to the bed.- “That was just a sample of 10,000 volts of electricity…And there are at least a dozen other items within this place alone I could begin showing you how I can dismember you and leave nothing for the police to find except the blood you’ll be spilling.”
Helena Wayne: Helena didn’t resist as he moved her, her body staying completely limp in his arms and staying that way as he laid her down on the bed. Her eyes remained open, staring almost blankly at the ceiling as she took inventory of what she was carrying on her belt, and focused on making sure her body was going to function as well as she needed it to. She waited, breathing normally as he pulled out his cryptographer, and began to scan her, eyes not blinking, body not moving. When he lifted her hand up, hand cuffing her to the metal of her bed she blinked, only once and slowly as if clearing her vision. His threat fell on deaf ears, as her heart pounded in her chest and she waited until the moment he would look down again. With the speed of that compared to Catwoman she twisted her body, the comforter wrapping around her right leg which she swung around to kick him in the side and to protect herself from getting jolted again. If she were to distract him, the screeching of metal would have been heard the moment her leg moved as the bar to the headboard came loose, and she swung it like a baseball bat with enough force to equate to someone going for a homerun, right against the side of his head where she’d know if she hit hard enough she’d make his detective vision activate randomly and go berserk.
-He was suddenly smacked by her as her movements went so fast that he slammed into the wall, his detective vision wasn’t activated but he was caught off guard by her agility. He picked himself off the floor and knelt to look at her while holding the cryptographic sequencer. He closed it and placed it onto his belt.—“Ugnn…We’re not done until you tell me where Helena is.” –Batman hunched his back lowering his head some as he took a defensive posture in a non-conventional fighting stance kneeling on the ground with his kneel planted to keep his upper body supported. His knuckles had dented the floor at some point when he came crashing down onto it.-
Helena Wayne: Helena rolled off of the bed, the sound of the handcuff sliding free from the bar distinct as she used it’s newly found freedom to the piece of metal in her hand. Wiping the back of her left hand over her mouth to get rid of some of the blood from her sluggishly leaking lip she watched him with cold and accurate eyes, moving a foot up to kick the twin bed hard into him since he was crouched. “She’s standing in front of you, idiot.” Fury colored her words, and tears thickened them, she wanted to curl up and just forget about the night already. Though her eyes remained cold they welled with the tears that started to choke her up, her muscles were in protest, nearly shaking from the jolt she had received but she didn’t show it, and tears could have been mistaken for her anger easily. “You are *nothing* like him.”
-Batman watched for a split second the bed slide towards him and he leaped over it, tumbling on the ground before hurling a snapflash at her shoulder, if it struck her it would delay by a second after sticking to her skin, it would ignite spinning her as it threw her into the wall at 15 miles per hour.- “And you are *not* Helena Bertinelli!” –Batman charged at her with his rows of teeth grinding against each other as he flew towards her with a kick intending to cut off her next move.-“Considering the circumstances…*I’m* right. You’re *wrong!*” –If the kick succeeded he would grab Helena by the bicep and throat to slam his head against hers before smashing her head against the wall again.-
Helena Wayne: Suddenly, things seemed a bit easier as he dove over the bed, her body shifted, watched his movements and sidestepped the snap flash, it hitting the wall behind her, and she kept her eyes on him. “You’re in *MY* house, attacking *ME* out of no where and you’re the right one?” As he kicked she ducked out of the way, bringing the bar up to cloths line him across the barred chin with the metal piece of the headboard she had detached. Her movements had changed, and suddenly it was like she knew everything he was going to do. Whether or not she’d made contact with the bar, she still leapt out of the way of arms reach, but not before her left hand had snatched an explosive batarang from his belt as she passed, showing once again Catwoman like reflexes.
-He watched as she predicted his moves, he slapped the bar away from his chin as she took the opportunity to steal an explosive batarang, though he tapped a button on his belt and dashed along the wall.- ‘She knows my style. Predicting my moves. She’s seen me work, but she’s not Deathstroke…She fights like Selina.’ –Batman tapped his wrist bracing his left shoulder towards her to protect himself, his cape wrapped around him, he appeared as if preparing to shoulder slam, but she would hear clicking of his bracers the batarangs within them opening and preparing to be released. However, as he lunged at her he swing his fist aiming his batarangs at her while also punching towards her chest.-
Helena Wayne: She turned to watch him, holding onto the bar still, as he stopped, looking protective of himself she was already walking backwards, the sound of the batarang charging up in her hand as she activated it a high pitched noise that was almost comforting to her ears. ‘Watch the bracers, watch the left.’ As he lunged she jumped backwards, her right arm extended behind her with the bar straight out towards the bedroom window. It hit first, the sound of the glass shattering just moment before she curled her body inward almost in a ball, all but one of his batarangs flying passed her, the successful one striking her in the bared shoulder. Her eyes didn’t leave him as her body crashed through the window. “Boom.” She said to him, throwing the batarang down right in front of him, it exploding as she fell backwards out of the third story window.
-She wouldn’t hear an explosion as Batman deactivated the batarang but, he would be right behind her diving at her from the three story window, aiming to tackle her before opening his cape to land them down safely onto the ground. If he successfully caught her, he would stop and say while punching her in the stomach for another electrical charge.- “I’m not done with you yet!” –Batman pressed his advantage, she was simply equipped with a belt that was probably half full of ammunition and detective equipment, leaving most of the rest to be on her ability.- “You’re in *my* city!”
Helena Wayne: Cursing mentally when the explosion didn’t go off she watched as he dove after her, only having enough time to pull the piece of metal from her shoulder as he tackled her. Already wearing down, she grabbed onto his upper arms when they landed, her body jerking in response to the electrical charge he gave her, making her cry out in pain but this time there was a sharp cry of “Dad!” with it, like the begging of a young girl for everything to just stop, she just wanted to be saved in that moment as her muscles seized up once again before her body went limp in his grasp, the metal pole dropped from her hand and clattering to the ground.
-Batman heard the clattering of metal ringing to exactly that of a gunshot after his father was struck down. Batman held Helena’s limp form in his arms. He knew the story of Bertinelli, warned her couple of times to cease her vigilante spree. Batman tapped his belt and then used the handcuffs already attached to her wrist to cuff her. He picked her up and fired his grappling hook towards the window they just jumped out of and brought her back to the damaged bedroom and placed her down and took off the Huntress’ belt and began walking away from her to collect the Batarang.- “Talk to me…” –Batman knelt on a single knee while staring at her. His eyes glaring at her, but his teeth no longer visible rather his lips held an expressionless appearance, often used under a lot of situations such as when he’s being a detective.-
Helena Wayne: She was done struggling as silent tears ran down her cheeks, it was just too much, all of it was too much and she never stopped to just think about it. This was absurd, the whole thing was completely absurd and instead of taking the chance of making a new life, she chose to be the Huntress. The anger was useless at this point as she pushed it all down, saved it for another day, she did exactly what she didn’t want to do, she buckled under the pressure of being someone else, but as he brought her back to the room, laid her down she just stared at him, her eyes not hate filled, or angry, instead she just looked broken. When he told her to talk to him she simply curled up, pulling herself into a protective ball and bit the inside of her cheek. ‘Maybe he’ll beat you to death. That’d be some sick irony…’
“I know you hacked into Bruce Wayne’s bank account…I’ve been watching you for a while now…What tipped me off…” –Batman looked at the floor of the night stand and reached into a pile of clothes and jewelry to pull out a golden cross.- “Helena Bertinelli was a believer…She would never have said ‘Jesus Christ...’” –Batman’s hand held the golden cross’ beads around his hand as the cross dangled from his hand spinning gently back and forth with a slight polish and shine to it. Batman’s gaze remained on her, his poker face maintained as he watched her curl up and defense.- “She would’ve fought to the death. She would’ve killed me or died trying…How long have you been assuming her identity?”
Helena Wayne: “I didn’t hack into it, I put in all of the information. Bruce Wayne’s information, yours.” Helena shifted to push herself up at his near insult, had it been anyone else, she would have fought to the death, she would have died trying, but no matter how different he was from what she knew, there was still that feeling that she couldn’t separate from her mind, her heart weighed her down like a ton. As he hung the cross, she made a sad noise, grabbed it from him and curled up tighter, holding onto it almost protectively. “Since I got here. Don’t ask me where she is, because I don’t know…”
-He yanked the cross back from her preventing her from snagging it, holding it to bribe her.- “You are aware that unauthorized access into someone’s bank account is considered hacking even if you have the information. What is your real name?” –He gently dangled the cross in front of her, almost offering it to her if she answers it to his satisfaction. He brought his hands in and pulled out his Cryptographic sequencer as he prepared to open it. The results would’ve identified her bloodlines, but he was giving her the opportunity to tell him the truth, had she been Bertinelli, he wouldn’t have given her the chance to tell the truth, but she wouldn’t have known that.-
Helena Wayne: Helena tightened her jaw and squeezed her eyes closed for a moment, breathing in and out shallowly through her nose. ‘What will happen? He won’t believe me, it doesn’t matter if he does.’ She argued with herself as she opened her eyes again, this time looking up at him, her eyes clear and determined. “My name is Helena Wayne.” A soft clicking would signal the cuffs being let loose from her wrists, having grabbed a bobby pin from her pants pocket as she had curled into herself. She watched him, judging his expression as she waited.
-Batman stared at her for a moment when he couldn’t help the smirk tug at the corner of his lips.- “I’m done doing things your way.” –Batman opened the Cryptographer as the DNA breakdown displayed biological parentage linked to Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, Thomas Wayne, Martha Wayne, Maria Kyle, and Brian Kyle. Batman’s eyes widen underneath his mask.- “Whoa…” –Batman said with his deep and raspy tone.- “It’s…not possible…Are you from the future? Why did you wait so long to tell me? Does Selina know?”
Helena Wayne: Helena watched him silently, saw the smirk, knew what it meant, he wasn’t going to believe her, but it was okay, he’d see it himself. When he opened up the Cryptographer she continued to watch his face, registered the shock, and expected all of the questions. “I’m not…from the future.” Helena skipped his next question, then shook her head at the last question. Sitting up she left the cuffs laying on the bed and leaned over, tangling her fingers in her thick dark hair, resting her elbows on her knees and closed her eyes. “I’m just…from a different place, and ended up here…like an alternate universe or something. I don’t know…”
-Batman stood up straight and holstered his cryptographic sequencer.- “That still doesn’t excuse what you did…Why did you need the money? You knew I would come for you...You should’ve asked.” –Batman leaned to her to take the handcuffs off her and placed them onto his belt. His gaze remained on her, the white eyes of his mask no longer narrowed intensely, rather just sharp in appearance. His mask curved to appear like an aggressive animal with a sharp and wrinkled nose for snarling. Most likely different than the Batman of her universe.-
Helena Wayne: Helena’s shoulders remained slumped and she continued to stay hunched over, fingers tangled in her hair, her entire body hurt, her apartment was a bit of a wreck and even thought he knew things didn’t feel better for her at all. ‘I wish Connor was here.’ She found herself thinking then pushed the thought from her mind. She wouldn’t have risked him like that, even thought she could see he was strong, just so incredibly naive. “It was only supposed to be five thousand dollars, wouldn’t have been flagged, wouldn’t have been a problem, you never would have known or missed it.” She hardly seemed bothered by the wrongness of her actions, after all she was the child of Selina Kyle.
-Batman watched her as she explained and then he insisted.- “I’ll transfer the money to your account. I’ll have the bank recognize it has a typo on Bruce Wayne’s error since the 500 is still being processed at the bank…” –Batman began walking out of the room and towards the kitchen window that he entered from. He suddenly didn’t like her living arrangements, spotting different imperfections as to where people could infiltrate and break into the building unnoticed to the untrained eye. Why did he care? Despite the fact she wasn’t exactly his daughter, he was the only family member she had available and if Bruce, hypothetically had a child, and wasn’t personally able to protect them, he would’ve wanted the next best thing. He didn’t know if she was from the future or a mirror universe, the theory bugged him, teased him some.-
Helena Wayne: Her shoulders went a bit rigid when he spoke of just transferring her the money and she lifted her head, looking after his cape as he simply strode out. ‘No, sorry for beating the shit out of you. Sorry to have destroyed your apartment, by the way, how are your parents these days?’ Helena felt bitter inside, and the taste in her mouth was just as bitter, because now she felt vulnerable, like she had a weakness that wasn’t there before. Looking around her trashed room and at the broken window she moved her hands to rub her bare arms slowly and fought back more tears. ‘Pull yourself together Hel. Sleep in the living room, fix up the place tomorrow the best you can, and hope the landlord doesn’t kick you to the curb. You’re on your own, you were on your own the minute she died in his arms, and he sacrificed himself for Gotham. It was two months ago, they died right before you got here. It’s time to move on.’ Laying back on the bed slowly she pressed her palms to her eyes. “Damnit…”
-He looked around and saw the place.- ‘She is not my daughter…She’s not *your* daughter…Bruce was an idiot for thinking that something could last. The child has Mom and Dad issues…She’s not a woman. She’s a little girl clinging to the past.’ ‘It’s our compassion that makes us different. Whoever Selina Kyle is from that world, she’s apparently not the one we know…’ ‘Or the Bruce and Batman from that world isn’t like *us.* -Batman shook his head looking back towards the bedroom.- ‘No. She has a passion for crime fighting. Thievery of Catwoman’s skill. They’re a mirror to us…but different.’ ‘It worked for them…’ ‘It could still work for…’ ‘No.’ –Batman began walking towards the bedroom to look at Helena.- “Do you…need…” –Batman’s chin clutched and stiffened before unclipping his helmet and sliding it off to reveal Bruce Wayne’s face full of sorrow and compassion.- -She wasn’t just a stranger to him, but she was now an example of ‘What if’ Bruce had tried to work things out with Selina. Prior he wasn’t sure if there was someone suitable; strong enough, to bear his alter ego, his mental issues. Now Helena Wayne is present and it only proves that Selina Kyle could be the one.- “Do you need anything from me?”
Helena Wayne: Helena didn’t hear him coming back to the room, she continued to lay there, palms pressed against her closed eyes, her mind lost in the past, and weeping for what was lost, she hadn’t grieved, hadn’t had time, hadn’t had the energy or the right push that would collapse her into that dark place, one she was scared to go to. As she heard his voice her whole body flinched, stiffened then she pushed herself up in one fluid motions as if to say, I’m strong, I’m capable of handling myself, I’m not weak. She watched him, jaw muscles clenching as she fought against the lump in her throat and then as he removed his helmet her lower lip hung open and her face paled. She’d seen pictures of him, of the Bruce Wayne here, she had come up against Batman many times, but now that she was faced with the man who was lost to her a sob bubbled up out of her and she quickly moved a hand to cover her mouth as tears spilled out of her eyes uncontrollably. Did she need anything? She needed everything, but she wouldn’t ask, wouldn’t ask for a damn thing of this stranger who probably felt sorry for her. Helena shook her head no barely, fingers of her free hand twisting in her covers until her knuckles turned white. Her body was positioned, like she wanted to leap across the room to him, and her muscles shook from holding herself back. Slowly her hand lowered from her mouth and she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry I took your money.” The tone, the way she warped her words to make things seem less important than they were, mirrored Selina’s perfectly.
-Bruce Knelt before her and looked at the floor while slowly clearing his throat. His eyes studied the floor boards before he looked up at her.- “You should know that-….when my parents died…my world was plunged into darkness. I felt alone. And that no one else would understand me…I’m not making excuses for your father’s behavior…but when I needed a father, Alfred stood up to be that figure. I know the trauma of losing your parents. I know it better than you think…The rage and anger. The questions that go unanswered…What I-uh…can tell you…is that some nights are brighter than others…And I want tonight to be one of those nights for you. It’s the least I can do.” –Bruce placed his hand on her knee and gave her a solid stare suddenly changing from compassion to determination.-
Helena Wayne: Her back straightened as he knelt, he took a position that her father would sometimes, and as she watched him with her devastated expression slowly changing that to the mask that Bruce himself so often had she remained silent. They had their own Alfred, he had taken great care of the Wayne family, great care of her, and probably would have remained by her side throughout everything if she had stayed. “My mother died suddenly, and my father died doing what he did best. Protecting his city.” She said suddenly, her voice soft but not weak. “I was his Robin, it was my mother’s idea, and he hated it at first, then between the both of them I was trained. But in the end I couldn’t save him, I just had to watch as he told me to live, and then he died.” Her eyes were dry now and she cleared her throat, almost embarrassed. “I’ll continue to live for the sacrifice my parents made, and I’ll do my job here, in Gotham.” There was a finality to her statement, that almost dared him to tell her she couldn’t, dared him to try and stop her. It was what she had left, in her world she was destined to become Batman, things were different here, but her resolve remained.
“Did you ever think that your father intended for you to live your life and not his?” –Bruce removed his hand, knowing her determination, the same tone Dick Grayson used before he became Nightwing. Once a boy with a bright smile suddenly a man with resentment. Bruce; her father, probably would’ve grilled him for not stopping her. Bruce stood up and placed on the mask of Batman.- “If you’re working in Gotham, you’re working under my command, Helena. Not as *Robin* and not as *Batgirl* or *Batman.* You’re Huntress. And that’s all Gotham needs you to be. Are we clear?” –Like a switch, his personality changed.-
Helena Wayne: “I am living the life I should.” ‘It’s all I have.’ She watched him stand, was momentarily sad for the loss of contact between them, then as he put on the mask her face hardened, to reflect his tone. In was in that very instant that it was crystal clear she’d follow his direction if he proved himself worthy to her, he might have her father’s name, and be Batman in this world, but respect in her eyes was earned, not given and Helena never gave it freely. “We’ll see.” Was all she said, another challenge to his authority, another thorn in his side.
-Batman turned and left almost shrugging off her challenge and attempt to be something on his radar of concerns. Bruce worried about her, at 32 years of age; he had no children of his own, but had already experienced the lost of one child and another that has gone rogue on him. Helena was falling in line with the later, following in the steps of Bertinelli. Batman fled the apartment with only the sound of a cape flapping like a set of wings. He could’ve been silent, but he wanted her to know that he was no longer around and she was presently alone. Batman returned to the batpod to drive back to the Batcave to begin processing the new and discovered data. He would also begin looking up the whereabouts on Selina Kyle.-
Helena Wayne: Looking after him again, Helena felt better as he left this time, he’d stayed long enough that she locked everything away again, she wouldn’t cry herself to sleep, she wouldn’t allow herself to dream about her parents, she would just do what she needed to do. Rolling her injured shoulder she looked at the wound covered in dry blood from one of the batarangs and blanched. Maybe she’d take a sick day from school and clean up her place instead. With that idea in mind, Helena stood and grabbed the comforter off of the bed, closing her bedroom door behind her she flopped down on the couch and wrapped up in the blanket that smelled like Connor. She imagined him being off somewhere, meditating, sleeping in a tree, or whatever it is he liked to do in his off time, and with that in mind, she fell asleep.
...
The 12th floor of the large industrial building was blazing with flames, embers dropped from the height and fell towards the ground, the man inside, Derek Muney coughed as his unconscious body was left buried underneath flaming pillars and beams, his brown hair covered his ash while his business suit was covered in dirt and ash and scorch marks. Office workers inside began fleeing as they dashed through the fire and attempted to escape, one unfortunate soul would find herself daring fate as she would look below to see the drop towards the ground. She looked across the street and hoped that she could build enough momentum and speed to glide and break through, possibly survive better than her odds with the fire. She leapt and immediately began to descend straight down, with a blood curling scream she plunged towards the ground leaving the burning building when the wings of Batman spread open and he grabbed her by the waist, his right hand clutched to a grappling hook gun’s handle while they flew over the streets below lit up by orange lights. Batman commanded her.- “You’re safe.” –Batman landed on the ground and released the woman from his grip; his gaze looked towards the burning building to see what else had to be done. Tapping the side of his helmet, the detective vision became active and he was able to see the layout of the building with the simple twitch and movement of his eyes. – “Circle the building and look for as many people that you can. There could be more trapped in there.” -Batman said into his microphone.-
Cassandra Cain: *She would be standing top of a near by building, standing only about 7 stories tall. Her black cape would blow in the night air, as her eyes would set upon the flaming building. Her form would be slightly accented in a orange blow from the flames. Her boot would dig into the edge of the roof she stood upon. Her eyes would catch movement from the corner of her eye, Hearing the screaming female plummet towards the ground before being caught by the familiar figure of Batman. Gliding through the air, she would loose track of them as he would reach the ground. Hearing the command in her head she would, nod, if only to herself. She would not response in words, as there was no need to, he knew, a directive given was a directive followed. Her hand reached down to her yellow blt as she would grip a small batarang with a cord attached. Twirling it above her head she would launch it at the building letting it grip a near by window. The flames may weaken the structure, but her light frame should fine enough to travel over. Her feet would push off as her cape would flow behind her, as she would glide through the air breaking through a window on the 6th floor of the building. Rolling across it before spinning up to her feet. The flames would lick all around her, her suit flame resistant and keeping her body temperature normalized as she would begin to move through the building. Under her mask, at the urging of Bruce, was a small filter, to help cleanse the air to keep the smoke and flames from entering her lungs. She would still not speak, just move throughout the floor of the building, it appeared to be a floor of offices, cubicals and office equipment. Slightly intimidating looking, she would move through picking and removing debris as it would crash around her a little bit. Batting flames away from her as she would move the narrow alleys of the floor, she would find a three people huddled on the ground, over an unconscious fourth person.* It will be fine…*Her voice slightly distorted by the filter and her mask as she would couch down next to them. Moving her hands down to her waist as she would pull out several smaller versions of her filter from her belt.* Here. *Her arms would reach down to the unconscious man to lift him up onto her shoulders, with a light grunt.* Follow.
Helena Wayne: It had taken a good chunk of the day to clean up the glass from the kitchen, repair that window and the window in her bedroom. Changing the position of the bed she had pushed it across the room to hit the dent in the floor from Batman’s fist. Hanging curtains had proved to be difficult, her still sore body and shoulder paining her as she tried so she had delegated it to Connor. He had been more than helpful, if not a little bit irritating with his hovering concern for her. She had seen worse fights, had dealt with more serious injuries and had to remind herself to be flattered at the way he reacted. As the news story came on in the living room about the fire Helena paused to listen and before it was over, she was walking from her bedroom, out of the door and down to her motorcycle as before the story was even over. Speeding out of the back alleyway, the Huntress weaved in an out of cars, taking sharp turns and using back streets as she made her way to the blaze. Leaping from her bike as it slid to a stop, hidden in yet another alley she looked up in time to see Batgirl move from her rooftop to that of the burning building. “Let’s hope he managed to tell her I’m not an enemy.” Huntress muttered under her breath as she pulled out her grappling gun, aimed and fired. The wind caught her hair and cape and her shoulder ached from the effort of holding on and Helena cringed as she felt the blast of heat from the flames. Fire wasn’t her favorite. Crashing through a window she tucked her body into a roll as she landed, cape shielding her from the flames as she stumbled out of a room and into a hallway, keeping low. “Hello?” Calling down the hallway her blue eyes narrowed at the sound of coughing and quickly she moved to an office, silently hoping the ceiling wouldn’t cave in on her.
“Sir, I’d hate to be a bother but, I have some more news.” –Batman flew towards the top of the burning building via his grappling hook, when his gaze took sight of another burning building a few blocks down.- “Now is *not* the time, Ace.” –Alfred alias “Ace” sat at the batcomputer typing on the keyboard.- “It appears another fire has broken out at Shreck Corps building.” –Batman nodded.- “Got it. I’m already on my way…Batgirl, see what you can do, I’m head south, six blocks.” -Batman jumped off the roof of the building and dived towards the ground before spreading his cape to intake the wind. He glided across the city moving towards the flaming building when he saw a man walking through the flames wearing a full black armored suit with large bug eyes. Batman tapped his helmet.-
“Ace, I have a lead on who is causing the fires. It’s Firefly…Pull up information and inform Gordon about Garfield Lynns” “Got it, sir.” –Firefly stared for a moment watching Batman approach as the distance between them closed Firefly launched into the air with his jetpack and began hurling fireballs at Batman; Batman dived and tumbled onto the roof of a department building. Firefly fired two more fireballs before blasting off into the sky. Batman rolled and dodged the blasts but, the fire would begin spreading around the rooftop.-
Cassandra Cain: *Moving back the way she came with her new ‘crew’ she would make her way back to the broken window which she came through. Pushing debris from the way, carrying the man over her shoulders. He was not that heavy but he did slow her down some. Her eyes kept watching and keeping on the look out as the debris would fall around her still and getting worse. Her body would shift through before reaching the window she came through. The cable cord still attached the floor above them. She would look over the edge as the smoke would billow from the window. The cord reached a few feet from the street below. She would set the unconscious man down as she would pull out small hand pads and hand them to the people with her.* Just..grip and slide. Tuck your knees on the landing a little bit… *She would instruct them as she would pick the man back up and grip the cord* I will be waiting… *She would leap from the window and side down the cord letting her feet hit the cold concrete ground of the alleyway she would set him down next to the building she came from as she would help the other three as they would slide down to her.* …Law enforcement is around front…get them.. *She would collect the devices from the people as her eyes would scan, seeing a motorcycle as she would look up at the building. Seeing a broken out window however, the glass was not broken out but in. Learning a little from Alfred, pressure should force the glass outwards not inwards..meaing..Her hand would grip her grapple gun as she would aim at the broken window and fire. She would now speak into her microphone, “Company here..investigating.” Letting it snag and carry her body through the air. Her cape would flutter behind her as she would spin and flip into the window as the hook unhooked itself as she would attach the gun to her waist. Standing up fully she would gaze around. This was not the best place for a fight, it had to be quick, no time to wait to learn their style. Her black boots would begin to move deeper into this floor of offices.*
Helena Wayne: Huntress kicked over a burning desk, it crashing loudly into the wall while her hand shot out, dragged out a man who had been cowering under it and pulled him to his feet. “Come on, hiding from it won’t do a damn bit of good.” Moving to another window she glanced out then with a firm grip of his arm she pulled him out of the office and pulled him down the hallway to the end of it, where a fire truck was waiting and firemen below were holding out a trampoline. “Okay, you’re going to have to jump.” The larger man who was coughing and sobbing grabbed hard onto her arms. “N-no, I can’t, I’m afraid of heights!” Wincing at the pressure on her healing wound from one of Batman’s batarangs the previous evening she hissed out a breath, her voice turning more tense and firm as she knocked his hands away. “You either die in here, or you jump.” Turning to the window she struck out with her foot, her heavy soled boot crashing through the glass as the heat was pulled out of the window, smoke causing her to cough some. “I can’t!” The man exclaimed and Helena leaned, looking out of the window at the firemen below before turning to him. “Okay then.” Reaching out she grabbed his arm, took a step towards the window and pulled his limb up above her shoulder, then with a grunt of effort she leaned down and flipped him over her head and out as he let out a terrified scream. “I don’t have time for you to be scared.” Muttering Helena gave a satisfied nod as he landed on the trampoline then scrambled up to hug one of the firemen. A moment later her earpiece picked up a proximity interception from the communications between Batgirl and Batman, and she looked back over her shoulder. “Great.” Huntress mumbled as she moved towards the door of the office heading out to the hallway.
-Batman rushed towards a fire extinguisher and spoke into his microphone.- “Negative. If you see Firefly, do not engage him alone, Batgirl.” -Batman sprayed the hose extinguishing the flames. He carried the extinguisher towards the last flaming building to see the executive office of Charles Daggett on fire, Batman sprayed the area before throwing the metal container and arming his Freeze pistol. He fired three shots at the walls freezing the material and preventing it from burning. He aimed at the ceiling and fired another three shots and eliminated the fire. Charles Dagget was still alive, but Batman narrowed his eyes before grabbing Charles by the collar and lifting him off the ground.- “This is the second building Firefly has gone after…What did he want?” –Charles shook his head.- “I don’t know…He wanted money. I told him to screw off.”
“Alright” –Batman dropped Charles and began walking towards the opening to the building. “Just remember, Firefly is still out there and if he gets word you’re still alive…” –The man blinked.- “What? What will happen?” –Batman smirked and then jumped out of the building to spread his wings and glide to a distance where Batman oversaw the Dagget building.- “Batgirl, is your situation under control? –Batman had holstered the Freeze pistol and patiently watched what Charles would do.-
Cassandra Cain: *The flames blocked out most sound, as the fire was roaring at this point. Her body covered in a sheath of an orangish glow as she would move through the offices. She was not looking for cilivlians at this point. The owner of the bike could be the one responsible for the fire. Her eyes casting from behind her mask as she would move, at a much quicker pace now. Her cape rustling behind her. Her eyes focused upon, the search now, scanning to see if she can find this person. Turning corners as debris would fall around her, before she would hear the sounds of a scream from outside the building as she neared the area. She would not speak back to Batman as she was on the pursuit, she did not want to give herself away. As she would turn a corner, her eyes would come into contact with Helena as she exited into the hallway. Standing about 10 feet away, her eyes would gaze over the dark-haired female. Cassandra stood there in her dark suit, completely covered, no visable trace of her skin exposed. Her stance would widen as she would drop herself a little bit into a fighting posture. The female was armed, uniquely armed, but armed nonetheless. She would take in her form, from toe to top of the head. Her stature was similar to hers, except slightly taller. The female was the Huntress she heard of but why was she still here. Her gaze would narrow, it would all make sense to her. It is possible she could of started this fire, perhaps to get a mark.* You..are under arrest.
Helena Wayne: Huntress raised a hand up, knocking a piece of burning debris off of her shoulder quickly and was thankful that her suit had seemed rather suitable for being in extreme heat. The glare of the fire and the smoke made her eyes water as she hunkered down a bit lower to the ground to take a shallow breath. ‘I need to get one of those re-breathers, it would come in handy about now.’ As she moved into the hallway, a dark form caught her attention and she turned to face Cass fully and quickly, her body hunkering down into her own fighting stance, right leg sliding out behind her as she lowered herself down. It was a girl smaller than herself, Batgirl, she recalled as if the yellow outlined symbol on her chest didn’t give her away almost instantly. The low rumble before the cracking of support beams sounded on a floor below them and the building seemed to shudder as one of the floor collapsed, sending ash and embers down from the ceiling above. Huntress didn’t look away from the one in black, and hunched her shoulders, making her cape fall around herself much like Batman would to conceal her hands and posture and to protect herself from the annoyance of smaller debris. ‘Shit.’ Helena thought as the other female finally spoke. “Last I checked, B&E to save someone’s ass was a good thing. Though if you’re going to arrest me for coming in here you might want to check your hypocrite gauge, it’d be flashing in the red about now.”
“Rebecca, get me some cleaners in here now. Call Jeramiah…These clowns think they can mess with me. Last thing I need is Batman poking around here. The police can hardly keep a leash on him.” –Batman tapped his ear piece and spoke.- “Ace, I placed a bug on Charles Dagget. It appears he’s somehow involved with Firefly’s attacks. Which gives reason to believe they *are* purposeful. Finding out how Dagget and these other executives are involved may solve where they are.” “Very good, sir…And it would appear that Batgirl is still at the burning office center…” –Batman armed his grappling gun and leaped into the air before releasing the hook forcing it to latch onto stone to swing him through the air with his cape flapping behind him as he held to the gun. “Got it, I’m on my way. If she’s fighting Firefly, she’s in over her head…Last time…Robin and I were fortunate enough to bring him and Killer Moth to justice.” “Mhm. I recall that story sir. Perhaps focusing on the task at hand is best.”
Cassandra Cain: *Her eyes stayed focused upon the female as she would lower her stance. Feeling the floor rumble, her footing would not miss a beat, not moving as peices of the building started to rain down a little bit into the hallway. Every second was precious as the structural soundness of the building weakened with each flicker of flame and passing second. As the ash would shoot up around her, her eyes stayed focus upon the female. It would glitter to her suit, as she would not brush it from her form.* Arson *Is the only phrase that leaves her lip. Her black boots push off the ground, causing the floorboards to creak and crack as she moves forward. Her body at a sprint to cover the ground between them quickly. Her left hand curling into a fist as she would thrust it forward aiming to strike the female at the very bottom of the sternum, below her bust. Right after the punch was thrown contact or not she would shift to Helena's left to attempt to land several more well placed and powerful with both fists now. Her fists flying with extreme speed but losing no accuracy. She needed to end this quickly and arrest this ‘Huntress’ before the building would come down around them. Her eyes never leaving the female, no matter where she moves, like a hawk watching its prey.*