Helena Wayne looked out into the dark Gotham night, letting her
thoughts roam where they would. The cowl of her black costume was pulled
back, her short black hair pushed back by a single swipe of her hand.
Over her breasts the stylized purple bird logo stretched out it’s wings,
the name and symbol she had chosen in honor of her foster mothers.
The door behind her opened, and Barbara Gordon-Lance made her
way out to the porch to stand by Helena’s side. The metal braces on her
legs, a gift of Wayne enterprises, made it possible for her to walk, but
it wasn’t always easy on her.
“You’re thinking about that girl, aren’t you?” Barbara teased
gently.
Helena blushed tellingly. Yes, she had been thinking of B-ko,
but she wasn’t going to admit it. “Of course not,” she answered with as
much dignity as she could possibly muster.
“You lie terribly,” Dinah Lance walked over to stand by her
wife. The blonde put a supporting arm across the redhead’s shoulders.
Under both her adopted mothers’ gaze Helena wilted slightly.
“All right,” she softly admitted, “I was thinking about her.” She looked
out at the city again, “I guess I’m a bit disappointed she didn’t invite
me along to meet her mother.”
“You want to meet her mother?” Barbara said with a smile. She
looked mildly offended, “But you haven’t even introduced her to us yet!”
“Mom,” Helena protested.
“Don’t tease her,” Dinah chuckled. She looked at Helena
thoughtfully for a moment, “Who knows, this one might actually be
serious.”
“Gee, thanks,” Helena smiled slightly. She reached back and drew
her cowl forward, letting it settle about her face as her entire
attitude changed. Helena Wayne was gone, Kestrel was here. “I’m going
out on patrol,” she said quietly, “be back in a couple of hours.”
“Be careful,” Barbara managed to get out before the dark figure
completely disappeared into the night. She stood there a moment, Dinah
at her side, before looking up at her and quietly saying, “I don’t know
if I’ll ever get used to Helena calling me Mom.”
“You’re the closest thing to a mother she’s had,” Dinah pointed
out quietly. She looked down at Barbara and asked, “Does it bother you?”
“No,” Barbara shook her head with a smile, “I’m glad.”
Kestrel moved like the bird that was her namesake, using her
lines and hooks to gracefully soar from building to building. It was
never that quiet in Gotham, and every now and then she would descend to
the street level.
Muggers, gunmen, purse-snatchers, they were all dealt with using
the same fluid grace and deep strength. They had taught her well,
Barbara and Dinah, creating a fighter of incredible skills. Couple that
with her sparring with both the original Nightwing and Cassandra Cain,
and you had a fighter almost without peer.
“Haii!” the attacker came at Kestrel, kicking up swiftly only to
be stopped by a forearm block. The girl in red, green and black swiftly
recovered, striking blow upon blow against Kestrel’s guard, but not one
of them got through to the kid’s obvious dismay.
“What do you think?” the quiet voice came from behind Kestrel.
“She telegraphs her moves,” Kestrel answered as she continued to
block, “she hasn’t got enough upper body strength just yet and,” she
noted the girl’s panting, “her endurance needs work.” Ducking down
smoothly she executed a simple sweep kick, dropping the girl to the
ground of the alley. She threw a punch to her face, stopping it just
above the stunned girl’s nose. “On the other hand,” Kestrel smiled, “she
does have potential.”
Kestrel rose, and taking the girl’s hand pulled her up to her
feet. The little redhead was quite athletic, and she filled out the
Robin outfit nicely. Oddly, instead of a mask she wore a pair of
oversized sunglasses.
The black clad figure walked up the dark alley towards them,
smiling slightly despite the fact that her mask covered her entire face.
She wasn’t that much taller than Kestrel, but there was a strong
presence about her. Her uniform looked much like Kestrel’s did, but
instead of a purple bird emblem hers was golden.
“Raven,” Kestrel smiled and shook her former partner’s hand. She
grinned, “So this is the new Robin you were telling me about?”
Raven gave a dignified nod.
Kestrel looked over at Robin and gave the embarrassed girl a
gentle smile, “Lets go up to the roofs, we can talk more easily up
there.”
They used their lies to quickly ascend the building, and once
there Raven slid her cowl back, revealing the face of Cassandra Cain,
while Kestrel unmasked as well. Robin pulled her sunglasses off and
nervously said, “Hi, I’m Carrie Kelly.”
“Helena Wayne,” she shook the girl’s hand with a smile.
“You’re just... I mean... wow!” Carrie finally blurted.
Helena had to fight the urge to laugh at the awed look on
Carrie’s face. “So how long have you been doing this?” she asked her.
“A few weeks,” Carrie said with a blush.
There was a disturbance a few streets over and Carrie gave a
expectant look at her partner. Raven smiled, “Go on. We’ll back you up
if needed.”
A grinning Carrie was off like a shot, slipping her sunglasses
on as she went, while Helena and Cassandra followed silently behind to
keep an eye on her. “How did you meet her?” Helena asked Cassandra
curiously.
In the alley below them, Robin startled the criminals with a
loud cry before dropping right into the middle of them. Kestrel noted
that her fighting style was pretty chaotic, but she was holding her own
against the thugs quite efficietly.
“Carrie made up her own Robin costume, and was going out at
night fighting criminals with no training at all,” Cassandra smiled
slightly, “so I tracked her down to try to convince her to stop.” She
shook her head ruefully, “Instead, I found myself agreeing to train
her.”
“Both you and Tim, I guess?” Helena asked, and Cassandra nodded.
She smiled slightly, “Where is Nightwing tonight, ayway?”
“Talking with Bruce. It seems Mr. Wayne has built a suit of
Bat-armor to ‘help out’ occasionally,” Cassandra smiled.
“Knowing him the way that we do, he’d be out every night,”
Helena agreed. She hesitated a moment, “Do you think it bothers him that
none of us chose to take on the Bat name?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Cassadra replied. She smiled grimly,
“He’s always understood that the Bat was his mantle alone, especially
after the disasterous attempt Azrael made to try and replace him. Bruce
Wayne is the Batman, none other.”
Down in the alley the criminals were down, and Robin was
standing atop one waving her fist in the air. “Winner and new champion!”
she crowed.
Helena looked over at Cassandra, “I can’t wait to see you
teaching her the stealth skills.”
Cassandra looked down at her with a sigh.
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