FIC: A Different Way of Thinking 8
What it Means to Be a Hero
Part 2: A Different Way of Thinking (8)
By adliren
“So let me get this straight. You have a crossbow because your cousin does medieval reenactments?”
Gabby nodded her head when she heard the blatant disbelief over the spare com Barbara had given her. Remembering that he couldn’t see her from his position driving the bike, she wrapped her arms tighter around his waist and replied.
“Yeah. Daniel got really into that whole knights and ancient combat thing. He used to take me with him when we were younger. I still know how to use it, and it should be just the thing to discourage some vampires.”
“Amen to that.” She heard his slight chuckle in her ear as the bike roared out of the city. Moments later he continued. “I still can’t believe Barbara let you come.”
“Well, I figure she knew she couldn’t stop me.”
The moment Gabby had heard Dinah cry out over the cell phone, there was no question. She knew she should just stay out of the way and let the experienced crime fighters handle it, but she couldn’t. Minutes after she had heard the exchange between Dala and her best friend, she had called Dick and told him what had happened. He had promised to try and locate Dinah immediately, but it wasn’t enough. She found herself going through the closet, looking for the antique, but fully functional, crossbow her cousin had given her as a birthday present.
A quick ride on the bus - with the occasional passenger looking at her nervously as she clutched the canvas wrapped weapon - and she was at the clock tower. She had arrived just in time to meet Dick on his way up to speak with Barbara, and now they were both preparing to confront a cult of vampires.
When had her life gotten so strange?
Of course the answer was very simple - when she had met a girl in History who had stood up and told the entire class that her hometown was known for inventing the zipper. From then on, nothing had been the same. And even though Gabby knew there was a definite chance she could die tonight, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Several silent miles later, Dick pulled the bike onto the side of the road. He helped Gabby down, and they both pulled off their helmets. Curly blonde hair and shorter dark stands blew around their heads in the stiff breeze.
Dick pointed with an outstretched finger to a hill off in the distance. “That’s where Oracle said they should be. I don’t want to alert them with the bike, so we’ll walk from here.”
Without waiting for a reply, he started off in the direction he had indicated. Gabby quickly pulled her crossbow off the back of the bike where she had secured it and started to follow.
As they drew closer, she noticed a faint square of light shinning through the darkness. Soon, she could tell it was coming from a window in the upstairs of a large, decaying . . . castle. She had thought Ralston Castle was just a name thought up by an old man with too much money and not enough common sense, but the structure in front of them definitely deserved the name. At least it made carrying a crossbow seem a little less ridiculous.
She wondered why only one light was on in the entire building, and then quickly decided she didn’t really want to know.
Dick ran the short distance between the tree cover and the wall, pressing himself up against the crumbling stone on one side of the thick doors. He held out his hand, motioning for Gabby to do the same. It was an awkward dash across the dying grass with the crossbow in her arms, but she managed it, stopping at Dick’s left side as she tried to control her breathing.
“Oracle, do you copy?”
“I’m here, Nightwing. What do you see?”
Barbara’s voice sounded tiny and caused Gabby to jump when it suddenly echoed in her ear. How did Dinah do this?
Dick took a quick look around. “So far, nothing. There’s a light on, so someone has obviously been here recently, but no sign of any guards.”
“Alright, Nightwing, what do you think?”
“I think Huntress and Canary are in there, and we’re going to go and get them.”
Dick’s voice was hard and determined, and Gabby looked at him with new eyes. Usually the handsome crime fighter gave the impression of a carefree young man, so this was a side of Dick she had never seen before. Suddenly she could see why a legendary figure such as the Batman might choose to trust him with his life.
“Be careful, Nightwing.”
Feeling a surge of confidence, Gabby grabbed an arrow from the quiver at her hip and loaded it. When Dick nodded to her, she was ready, and rose smoothly to follow him around the side of the castle.
Their luck held. Nightwing was able to shoot a grappling hook onto the roof and climb to one of the upper windows. Gabby held her breath as Dick forced it open with only the faintest protest from the neglected hinges. Motioning that he would go first, he maneuvered his muscled body smoothly through the small opening. Moments later, his gloved hand reappeared, motioning her up. Gabby swung the crossbow onto her back and started climbing, wishing she had been better at the rope climb in gym. Reaching the top, Gabby handed him the crossbow and shimmied through the window, much less gracefully, she was sure.
Automatically accepting the weapon that was handed back to her, she stared in trepidation. White sheets covered the furniture and dust was layered thickly on every surface. Gabby fought off the urge to sneeze just from the sight alone. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans as she followed behind Dick as he crept farther inside.
Holding out a hand to stop her, Dick cautiously peered into the next room.
“Oracle, we’re inside. What can you tell us about the layout of this place?”
They both held their breath waiting for the reply. Several seconds passed with no answer.
“Oracle, do you copy?”
When the voice did not respond a second time, Dick and Gabby turned to look at each other with worried expressions.
“Oracle, are you . . .”
“You don’t need to bother. Your Oracle can’t hear you. In fact, she’s not hearing much of anything right about now.”
The voice was high pitched and grating . . . also terribly familiar. Gabby immediately recognized it as the woman Dinah had been talking to just before she was kidnapped. Feeling her heart speed up, she watched as a tall, thin woman emerged from the shadows, flanked by three other men who seemed to slip in and out of the darkness at will.
Glancing at Dick she raised her crossbow, pointing it at the nearest vampire. She guessed it was time to find out if she had what it took to be a hero.
************************************************************************
“Come on, Helena, don’t do this to me.”
The computer monitors cast a sickly glow on her skin, the only illumination in the tower except for the faint moonlight creeping in through the balcony windows and the face of the clock.
Barbara made sure her mike was off after Nightwing’s last transmission. He and Gabby were now in position to enter Ralston Castle where hopefully they could retrieve Dinah and Helena without too much trouble. Especially since the Monk wouldn’t be there to try and stop them.
No, if Barbara had anticipated correctly, and she knew she had, the vampire would be showing up right about . . .
“Hello?”
There was no answer, but Barbara thought she could detect a slight shifting of the shadows throughout the room. It was nothing obvious. She couldn’t point to a particular patch of dimness and say, yes, that one had moved. It was more like the entire mass of darkness had suddenly altered in some indefinable way.
“I know you’re there. You might as well come out.”
Barbara lowered her hand casually - or so she hoped - finding the folded batons tucked under her chair. She desperately missed the days when she could have faced this threat on her feet, merely so she would be able to turn and scan the entire room. Now, however, she was forced to settle for facing the balcony doors and trusting her trained senses to alert her to any possible attack from the rear.
“Why don’t we stop playing games? You obviously came here for a reason, so let’s get it over with.” Barbara tried to inject a hint of condescension into her command, hoping to draw her assailant out.
It seemed to work because moments later her eyes were drawn to a red robed figure standing casually by the ramp. If there had been anyone around to tell, she would have sworn nothing had been there seconds before. Barbara was now perversely grateful she wasn’t on her feet, since she would have given an embarrassing jump.
“All right, Oracle, no more games. I’m looking for Batman, and I think you know where to find him.”
The vampire continued to lean casually on the railing, somehow managing to seem even more horrific in this relaxed pose. Looking at him, Barbara could almost forget what he was, but some instinct kept shouting that this being was like nothing she had ever encountered before. He wasn’t a meta or genetically altered experiment. He was an enemy out of humanity’s darkest nightmares. A creature who had in all probability existed for centuries, and if she didn’t find a way to defeat him, he would gladly drain her blood and leave the corpse rotting on her hardwood floors.
Finding her voice, she looked directly into his boiling crimson eyes. “What makes you think I know where he is?”
Before she could blink, the robed figure was at the edge of Delphi platform. He didn’t make any threatening moves; instead he merely ran a hand over one of the Delphi’s hard drives.
“Such fascinating equipment. Humanity has come so far, so quickly. When it first began, I was afraid. Afraid that this . . . what was it called . . . ah yes, brave new world, would grant you the power to hunt down and exterminate my kind once and for all, but in fact it was just the opposite. You humans became complacent with your technology. You no longer looked at the night as something to fear. You even forgot that it once held anything to be afraid of.” If she hadn’t been focusing so closely on those bone white hands softly caressing her beloved computer, Barbara might have noticed the sadness coating the terrible voice.
“So it became easy to prey on the fringes. Feedings that would have roused the authorities and sent mobs gathering in the street before, were now regarded as simply another death added to the uncounted millions. I should have been content, but I found that it wasn’t enough. I missed the thrill, the challenge, so I found a new way. I formed the Brotherhood to help me adapt to this new existence.
“I found humans willing to serve me. Imagine it, the prey walking up to the predator and asking for employment, all in the hopes that I would someday make them over in my image. It never ceases to amuse me.” The Monk laughed, and it was a terrible sound to hear. Barbara flinched and shrank back in her chair. “So I began to gather my followers and we traveled the world. Feeding where we wished without fear or consequence. Then we came to Gotham.
“It seemed like such a promising city. We made ourselves comfortable in a castle just outside the city, which provided a welcome sense of familiarity. We began to feed on the unwanted rabble on the streets, but we didn’t realize someone was protecting them.” Barbara wavered at the loathing that was suddenly present in the vampire’s tone. “It was only a matter of time before I crossed paths with the Batman and he began to make my life miserable. But I got my revenge. Kidnapping his girlfriend and turning him into the very monster he was trying to fight.”
“That’s all very interesting, but you still haven’t answered my question.”
The Monk’s eyes widened in surprise. She belatedly realized he hadn’t expected her to be able to respond. He had been trying to lull her with his voice, his story simply a means to gain control over her mind.
He clearly didn’t know who he was dealing with.
The vampire shrugged with careful nonchalance, a strangely appalling movement considering the source. “You are the Oracle. You’ve made it your mission to know everything that goes on in this city. I simply made it mine to know everything about you.”
“How?” Barbara was getting a very bad feeling about all of this.
The figure smiled, revealing sharp canines. “Some people say not to trust the advice of madmen, but I found it quite helpful - or rather advice from a particular madwoman.”
“Quinn.” She said the name without inflection, and watched as the vampire inclined his head briefly.
“Yes. She was most helpful. She truly hates you with a passion that is quite astounding. From her I was able to learn all about the powerful Oracle and her team of vigilantes. Of course, she didn’t know of events that happened after you sent her to Arkham, but it was easy enough to track the girl and Nightwing.” The vampire spread his arms wide, as if trying to embrace the entire room. “You see, we share the same passion. We both know that the best way to victory is through knowledge of your enemy. So tell me, Barbara Gordon, if Batman didn’t inform the former Batgirl where he was going, who would he tell?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m really tired of all the dramatics.” Barbara raised her hands and snapped her batons into a guard position. “Batman may be gone, but Gotham still has protectors. You won’t be feeding on any more of its citizens in the future.”
Barbara wasn’t at all sure she could handle this threat; the memory of Helena’s wrist when she had stumbled into the clock tower was still fresh in her mind. Shaking it off, she realized it didn’t matter. She had done her job. Hopefully she had given Nightwing and Gabby the time they needed to rescue Helena and Dinah. That was all that was important.
The Monk took one look at her and laughed. It was cruel and mocking and set the redhead’s teeth on edge. “Oh, I have no intention of fighting you. I’m not such a monster that I would attack a cripple in her wheelchair.” Barbara felt fury shoot through her, but only steadied her hands and firmed her jaw. “No, I won’t be the one to kill you, Oracle. I’ve saved that pleasure for someone very special.”
The vampire gestured, and suddenly her reflexes alerted her to a presence behind her. With a practiced move she dropped one hand to the wheel of her chair and rotated until she was facing sideways to the Monk. From this position she was able to keep an eye on the robed figure, and at the same time face the newest threat. What she saw caused her to cry out in shock.
Helena stood on her other side, the tan skin pale in the moonlight. She was abnormally still, something Barbara would never associate with the normally chaotic meta-human. When the brunette’s mouth opened slightly, Barbara was able to glimpse sharp fangs.
“Like father, like daughter, Oracle.”