Chapter LV

They had hardly sat down when Gabrielle’s cell phone shrilled out an announcement of an incoming call. All three of them looked at the clock, then at one another. She shrugged, not recognizing the number, and lifted the phone to her ear, even as she said, “Hello?” She jerked it away immediately when a piercing screech rang out over the speaker, causing Kara to slap her hands over her ears. Xena was almost as swift in her reaction, and Gabrielle stabbed the off button to end the noise. After a moment, she lifted her head and spoke to The Machine. “What the hell was that?”

“Gabrielle?” came Root’s voice over the comm. “Are you all right?”

She looked at her two compatriots who were shaking their heads and tapping at their ears. “I suppose we will be when the ringing in our ears ends. What the hell was that?” she asked again. “Can She get a bead on where that came from?”

“Working on it, but her theory is that was Saligia’s first attempt to locate you, because she swears there was something in the wire, so to speak.”

Gabrielle pinched the bridge of her nose. “Wonderful,” she muttered. She looked up and met two pairs of blue eyes. “Guess we need to move the timetable up to moving out tonight.”

“I concur,” Xena replied. “Let me go make some phone calls to get things started, while you and Kara finish up on the logistics of getting everything there and in place. Whoever finishes first can call on Aphrodite, if they’re not back here by then.”

“All right. We’ll be quick.”

“Yeah… me too.” Then she disappeared back into their bedroom, intent on acquiring as many large trailers as she could manage locally - in South Dakota as well as New York - even as she started packing up the things they would need to be gone for a while.

************

“So, how did you get Superman to agree?” Gabrielle asked curiously after they had worked out as many details as they could manage, including where to place the trailers and how closely together they needed to be. Now, she waited for Supergirl to answer her question. “I assume J’onn was a little more amenable to the idea.”

“He was,” she smiled, extending her arms and donning her suit. “I think he likes being out in the field whenever he can; this is a bonus because he can keep an eye on me.”

“Still?”

“Yeah… he’s always gonna be Space Dad, no matter how old Alex and I get.” She rolled her eyes and giggled. “You should see the list of interro… I mean, questions he has for potential suitors,” getting a snicker out of Gabrielle. “Poor Maggie - I thought she was gonna shoot him… or herself… before he was done with her.”

“Yikes! What about Clark?”

Kara shrugged. “I didn’t ask. I told him. As the eldest of the House of El, and the oldest surviving ruling family, it wasn’t like he had a choice.” She heard Gabrielle hum and turned her head. “Why? Did he refuse to help you with something?”

Gabrielle shook her head. “Not exactly. He just didn’t want to take Xena and me seriously.”

Kara cocked her head and frowned. “I’m not sure I understand.”

Gabrielle extended her hand, and Kara took it immediately. She pulled her to the stairwell and took her down one level to the gym area. Kara frowned and opened her mouth to protest, but Gabrielle held up a hand to forestall her, continuing to lead them over to a corner of the room that was enclosed. She placed her hand on the doorknob. “I know we don’t have much time, but I guarantee you Xena is packing while she’s on the phone. And you need to know about this… especially since you’re going to be using an enormous amount of energy specifically for us tonight. We want to make sure we don’t deplete you, and I think you’ll appreciate this far more than the DEO facilities.” She opened the door and flipped on the light.

“I don’t….” She stopped talking when her jaw dropped to her chest as she looked around. It was the most state-of-the-art sunroom she had ever seen. Just standing here, she could feel herself growing stronger… like she was outside in the warmth of Earth’s sun. She looked at Gabrielle, who was smiling at her.

“This isn’t simulated sunshine. This is the real deal. We developed a way to capture and store it until it’s needed. We’re still working on making it more accessible, because it’s not like you can really carry this around with you, but for now, when you need this, it’s here for you.”

“This is incredible,” Kara whispered, looking around again. “Do you think when this is all over, could I maybe come and look at how you built this? It might be something I could replicate on the West Coast. Not that I would need it as often, but….”

“Kara, we’ll make sure you can build your own out there. You do most of your work in National City. You need this there because that’s where you get hurt, and that’s where you heal.” Gabrielle found herself caught in what would have been a crushing hug, had Kara not been painfully cognizant of just how strong the sun made her. As it was, they lifted from the ground again. “Um… Kara? The floor?”

“Oh… right. Sorry,” setting them both back firmly on the ground. “I just…. Thank you, Gabrielle. Thank you so much! This is… I don’t even have words.” She paused, then frowned as something occurred to her. “You tried to offer this to Clark once, didn’t you?” Gabrielle nodded, but didn’t elucidate further. “Let me guess - he dismissed it as nonsense.”

“Pretty much. We never mentioned it again, and we dismissed him as of little consequence to our lives.”

“Yes, he’s started learning humility, but teaching him has been a slow process.”

“We never quite understood how Lois put up with him. I mean, she’s quite the feminist where everything else is concerned, but the moment she’s with him….” Gabrielle shut off the light and closed the door, then took Kara by the shoulders and turned her toward the security pad. “Let it scan your eyes,” waiting for Kara to follow her instructions. Then she led her to a glass door and opened it, pulling Supergirl to the balcony, then turning her to face the door there. This time she took her hand and placed it on the scanner. “Now… both doors are set and coded to open only to you. The inner door is the most important one; we can’t have mundane human beings going in that room. That much concentrated UV could kill them pretty quickly.”

“What’s the outside lock for? I’m about the only one that could utilize it, so....”

“But you’re not the only one, and we value our privacy. Trust me… if someone broke in, we’d know, and the results wouldn’t be pretty.”

Kara had more questions, but she knew they were running short of time. “That’s fair,” she conceded. “It is your home, after all. Listen, I’m going to go round up Clark and J’onn.” She extended her hand, Gabrielle looked at her with a hint of confusion in her eyes. “If you’ll give me your phone, I’ll put my number in. As soon as Xena is ready, you call, and we’ll start moving those trailers.” Gabrielle passed her phone over, and in a minute, she heard Kara’s phone ring. She reached into her boot and pulled out her device, ending the ringtone before sliding it back into place. “There… we’re set.”

Gabrielle nodded. “Thank you, Kara. It shouldn’t be too long.”

Kara winked. “See you soon,” then she shot into the sky and headed to Metropolis. She wanted to have a word with her baby cousin.

************

Gabrielle had only just stepped back into the gym when her phone rang again. It was another unknown number, which made her loathe to answer, but before she could debate too hard with herself, Root came over the comm unit again.

“Gabrielle, She says to answer this one. It’s Special Agent Jane Rizzoli.”

Gabrielle frowned, not sure why Jane Rizzoli would be calling her instead of Xena, then realized Xena was probably still making phone calls of her own. “Special Agent Rizzoli? This is Gabrielle. What can I do for you this evening?”

“I’m sorry to call so late, but after what you said earlier, I figured you should know as soon as possible. We think Maura - Dr. Isles - has one of those boxes you were talking about.”

Gabrielle blinked. Surely it wasn’t that easy. Then again, she had noticed that many of the people she had once called friends in her first lifetime had a way of staying in her life through their descendants, so anything was possible. “Agent Rizzoli? Could we switch this call to FaceTime?”

“Only if you call me Jane,” she said with a smile in her voice….

… that was apparent on her face as soon as the screen was activated. “I can do that. Is Dr. Isles with you?”

“Maura, please,” she replied as she tilted her head into the frame.

“Of course. Could you show me the box?” Lifting it gently together, they held it up for Gabrielle to see, then Maura held on while Jane moved the camera around it so Gabrielle could see all sides of it. “Well, you’re right - it’s one of the boxes for sure. It’s the Celtic box and its cardinal sin is lust. Thank you for not opening it. We don’t have time for that right now.” She took a deep breath. “Do you have a way to get to South Dakota tonight?”

“I suppose we could hire a plane, though it’s really very late for something like that,” Maura commented. “We were planning to fly out first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Commercial?”

“First class, but yes.”

Gabrielle smiled and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply a lack of culture or means because you’re flying commercial. My concern is carrying the box on that sort of flight where TSA might want to open the box; where it could get you pulled aside for a private screening; where there is a greater risk of it being lost or stolen from you.”

Maura nodded slowly. “I see your point. Of course, I made the reservation before Jane found the box.” She looked at Jane then turned back to Gabrielle. “Do you have an alternative?”

“I think I might. Stay near your phone and be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. I may be able to arrange something. I’ll let you know.” She gazed at them a moment, then smiled. “Thank you for calling me. You don’t know what a relief it is to know we’ll have all seven boxes on our side.”

“Gabrielle? Is he really as bad as he sounds?”

“He’s worse. He destroys because he’s bored, and he can. That is why we have to destroy him.”

Jane nodded. “All right. We’ll go finish packing while we wait for your call.”

“Thank you, ladies. It shouldn’t be very long.” Then she hung up and headed back to the stairway.

************

Xena had only just hung up the phone with the last of the dealers, when it rang. She looked at it warily - after what happened with Gabrielle, she wasn’t in any hurry to have it happen again. She recognized the number, however, and stabbed the speaker button as she continued to work.

“Myka?”

“Hey, Xena. This is Pete, actually. Mikes lent me her phone to call you because she didn’t feel right giving out your number. Listen,” he went on before she could interrupt, “your friends Bo Dennis and Lauren Lewis are here, as well as Sam Carter and Janet Fraiser, and of course Helen Magnus and Kate Freelander. We’ve already got them settled in for now, and they’re separated just like you asked. Fortunately, they totally got it, so no issues. We just got word that Olivia Benson and Alex Cabot should be here within the hour. Claudia is checking out the Tesla device and Mikes and Helena are working on Vitruvius’ water wheel.” He squinted, even though she couldn’t see him. “Are you sure it’s safe to take all this stuff outside the Warehouse?”

“If they put it together the way I laid it out for them, yes. Hopefully, it won’t be outside the Warehouse more than a couple days. Trust me, Pete, if it wasn’t urgent, we’d find another way, but we don’t have time for that. That’s why Arthur is taking care of Asimov’s shield. Once it’s in place, it should contain any damage if either of the other two artifacts fail.”

He squinted again, wishing he had asked for a video chat. “How do you know all this stuff? I’ve been an agent for years, and I still don’t know most of what’s here.”

“You stay around long enough, you’ll learn. You can’t help it.” He wanted to ask more questions, but before he could formulate his next query, Xena was speaking again. “Thanks for the update, Pete. Gabrielle and I will be there shortly.” Then she hung up and headed to find Gabrielle. Aphrodite and Athena should be back soon.

************

“No, Carter.”

“But Mom….” His voice trailed off when hazel eyes looked up from their packing and glared. He dropped his gaze and mumbled, “I bet Emma gets to go.”

“I bet she doesn’t,” Cat snapped. She glanced at the sweater she’d just folded and put it into her suitcase. Then she took two steps until she could reach out and touch him, thankful he didn’t jerk away from her, though she did feel him flinch beneath her touch. “Look, honey, I know this sounds fun and exciting, but in reality, it’s really quite dangerous. People could get hurt… even die.”

He wrested his eyes back to hers instantly, unable to stop them watering. “Then why are you going?? You don’t need to do this.”

“But I do. You’ll understand why when you’re older; just like you’ll agree with my decision not to let you go.”

He snorted. “Yeah… that’s not gonna happen.”

“Watch your tone, young man, or I’ll send you to your father instead of giving you time with Adam,” bearing his angry stare until she felt him deflate.

“That’s not fair!”

“I know. But you’ll find that life rarely is.” She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, then stepped back to finish packing her small travel bag. “Olivia has promised to look in on you boys, so if you need anything, let her know. She can make it happen.”

“Well, since she’s the President, I would hope so. What time is Adam due?” he asked as the doorbell rang.

“That should be him,” Cat replied with a nod of her head in the direction of the door. “Go let him in. I need to talk to him before I go.” She watched him out the bedroom door, then closed her eyes and released a slow breath. After a moment of stillness, she zipped her luggage and picked it up, closing the bedroom door behind her as she made her way to the living room. She hesitated a moment as she reached the doorway, stopping to watch her two sons. Though they hadn’t grown up together, they had formed a relationship based on friendship and common interests, which was bringing them closer to being brothers every day. She wondered what Adam was showing Carter to make him smile so big, but before she could ask, Adam saw her watching them and turned to her with a smile.

“Hello, Cat.”

“Hello, Adam. Thank you for coming so quickly. Are you sure you’re up to this?”

“Mooooo-ooooooom,” Carter whined, drawing twin grins from his mother and brother. “I’m not a kid.”

“Yeah, ya kinda are,” Adam said as he reached out a hand to mess up Carter’s hair. “But that’s okay. I kinda like having a kid brother.”

Carter blushed but couldn’t hide the genuine grin those words put on his face. Cat chuckled silently, but she couldn’t stop the grin that formed either. Adam just laughed and opened his arms to them both. They all enjoyed the brief hug, then Cat stepped back and pulled them both to the couch. “Come along,” she said, patting the space on either side of her. “Just a few last-minute things, and then I’ve got to go.”

************

Olivia hid her face behind her hands as her shoulders shook with silent sobs. Natalia walked up and held her from behind, tightening her hold as Olivia sank into her embrace. There were no words - none were necessary… right now, anyway. There would most certainly be conversation later to deal with the blow they had just been dealt by the daughter they both loved. Olivia stiffened when a knock sounded on the door.

“Mom? Dad’s here,” Emma called out into the closed bedroom door. She waited a moment, but when she didn’t hear any sound or movement, she continued. “Right. So, um… I’m just gonna go now.” She sighed slowly. “Bye.”

She turned and made it almost to the stairs when the door flew open, and Olivia Spencer stood heaving in the light of the hallway. Emma’s eyes widened, but she didn’t move. She knew her mother was angry, but more than that, she knew she was hurt. So, she simply stood and waited. Olivia took a deliberately deep breath and then another, visibly trying to calm herself down, when she heard Philip call up the stairs.

“Emma? Honey, is everything all right?”

Before she could reply, Olivia had pushed past her and was flying down the steps at much too rapid a pace. Fortunately, Philip was standing close enough to catch her when she fell, before any real damage was done. She immediately started swinging her fists, though she only got in one or two licks before both Emma and Natalia surrounded her, and the fight drained out of her as they slumped to the floor together. Philip was on the bottom of the pile, grateful that only Olivia had landed on top of him.

Emma started to stand, and Olivia held on tighter, causing her to almost fall. Only exceptionally good balance kept her mostly upright. She looked at Olivia, and through the anger, she could clearly see hurt and confusion. “C’mon, Mom. Let’s move to the couch. I’m pretty sure you’re uncomfortable, and I know Dad and Natalia are.” She stood slowly and extended her hand. “C’mon,” she urged again. “I promise it’ll be all right.”

She studied her daughter for a long moment, then took the hand that was proffered even as she ignored Philip’s groan when she pushed up off of him. She offered a hand to Natalia, who accepted it and hung on even after they were seated on the couch. Emma moved back to help her dad, who simply rolled onto his side and propped his head on his hand as he waved her off. She took the hint and walked back to her mothers, kneeling in front of them. They deserved at least part of the truth.



Chapter LVI

“First of all, you don’t get to be angry with Dad. I called him and asked him to come get me.” She held up a hand to forestall their protests. “We all know you both want to go to Wherever, South Dakota, to help Xena and Gabrielle. Maybe you’re even needed there… I don’t know. But I do think it’s important for you to be there - both for you and for them, and for whatever reason they’re going there in the first place.”

“You don’t know?” Natalia asked.

Emma shook her head. “No. I didn’t ask. Some of what happened in New Orleans was kinda weird and scary, and if this is gonna be more of the same, I’d rather stay here. That’s why Dad is here; I called him. I’m pretty sure I’d be a distraction… to you guys at least, and I get the feeling this situation can’t afford any kind of distraction. So, I decided to take myself out of the equation.”

“Is that why you want to move to New York? You want to take yourself out of our equation here?”

“No, Mom. One has nothing to do with the other. My staying with Dad is so you and Ma can go do what you need to do to help. My wanting to move to New York is strictly for me. It’s something I want to do.”

“But why? What does New York have that Springfield doesn’t?” Olivia asked, then frowned as three sets of disbelieving eyes turned her way. “Okay, so that was a stupid question.”

“Maybe instead of asking what New York has, you should be asking what it doesn’t have.” He looked at Emma. “You could have come to me, you know.”

“How did you…?”
“What are you…?”
“Emma…?”

Philip pushed himself up slowly until he was sitting upright, then he held out a hand to Emma. She squeezed the hands she held, then slowly rose and moved to her father’s side. Philip tugged gently on the hand closest to him, and she slid into place by his side and curled into him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead before turning back to her mothers.

“Emma is being bullied at school. It’s nothing she can’t handle, but it’s making her uncomfortable. And while we all know she could kick ass and take names, she’s not sure she wants to make that particular statement.”

“She told you this??” Olivia asked, her heart breaking at the fact that Emma couldn’t - or wouldn’t - confide in her.

Philip smiled tenderly and shook his head. “No. Not at all. Her friends Deadman and Rayon?” the nicknames earning him a smack across the belly and a teenaged glare that made him laugh. “They told their dads what was going on. I play golf with Devon’s dad, Mike and Ron’s dad, Winston. They mentioned it to me last week… right after Emma and I talked about her going to New York to go to school.”

“Is this true?” Olivia asked quietly, watching Emma nod slowly. She sucked in a deep breath. “Why didn’t you come to us?”

Emma sat up straight and met Olivia’s eyes. “Because we all know your tendency to overreact where I’m concerned, and there’s not a lot that can be done… not really. Besides, I had started doing research about Dalton and the classes there before this became a real problem. It was just the last straw I needed to push for a change. And Dalton will fast track me to the career path I want to follow.”

“I… excuse me,” Olivia said brusquely before standing and escaping to the kitchen. Surprisingly, Natalia didn’t follow her but kept her focus on Emma.

“Have they hurt you, Jellybean? Have they made you do things…?”

“No! No… nothing like that. They just like to make me uncomfortable, and short of me actually hurting one of them, I don’t think there is any way to make them stop. I don’t want to do that if I don’t have to… partly because I’m fairly certain they’ll try to turn it around on me and make me out to be the bully.”

“And you think running away is the best option?”

“I don’t look at it as running away. I prefer to think of is as taking the steps I need to accomplish the goals I’ve set for myself. And if I go now, it puts me ahead of the curve as far as my contemporaries are concerned.”

“You’ve given this a lot of thought.”

“I really have. I was hoping to convince you to allow me to do an interim program this next summer. Now I would like to just stay there and finish my education.”

“And you don’t think you’d be bullied there?” Natalia asked. “People tend to be the same everywhere, honey. And we can’t protect you there.”

“You can’t protect her here either,” Philip commented softly before Emma had to point that out. “None of us can.”

Natalia nodded slowly, acknowledging the truth of his words. Then she slapped her knees and started to stand….

… only to be stopped by the negative shake of Emma’s head as she rose. “Let me,” she said softly. “She needs to hear this from me.” Natalia simply nodded her agreement and clasped her hands together as Emma disappeared into the kitchen as her mother had. She turned and looked at Philip.

“You really think her going to New York is the right thing for her?”

He stood with a few creaks and pops and winced as he tried to stretch out the sore caused by Olivia’s fall on him. “I would have said yes regardless of the bullying. It’s something she really wants, and I think she’ll excel there.”

Natalia smirked. “More than she is here? She’s already on the fast track to being valedictorian.”

Philip shrugged. “Yeah, but shouldn’t she enjoy the journey?”

************

Emma crossed into the kitchen silently, though she recognized the exact moment her mother became aware of her presence by the stiffening of her spine. She stood in the doorway and watched Olivia as she maintained her gaze out the window over the sink. There wasn’t much to see - not this close to Halloween. Much of the livestock had been moved closer to the house and barn, and Natalia’s garden had been stripped bare and put away for the winter. So, there really wasn’t that much to focus on that was truly worth the attention it was being given. After a few minutes of silence, Emma spoke. “Mom?”

“Not now, Emma.”

“Then when?” she demanded immediately. “This is important; we need to talk about this.”

Olivia whirled from her spot at the window and pinned Emma with her stare. “Like we needed to talk about you being bullied?” running a frantic hand through her hair. “When, exactly, were you going to mention this?” She opened her mouth, but Olivia shook her head no. “I am so tempted to tell you no about going to New York because you lied to me.”

Emma looked affronted at the accusation. “I haven’t lied to you!”

“You didn’t tell me about being bullied - lies of omission are still lies!”

Emma bit the inside of her cheek to keep from responding harshly. She took a deep breath and met Olivia’s eyes squarely. “Let me ask you this,” waiting for Olivia to agree. “If I had told you about the bullying earlier - especially before I had a plan in place for how I wanted to handle it - what would you have done? Really.”

“Aside from killing a couple snot-nosed kids and making their parents lives hell? I dunno, but I wouldn’t mind finding out either.” She paused as she realized she had just proven at least part of Emma’s point. She turned back to the window and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t like you running away from this.”

“What do you want me to do then?”

Olivia sighed and shook her head, turning back to the window, though her sight was turned inward. “I dunno,” she offered quietly. She snorted. “That’s actually not true. I’d like you to stay here - you’re too young to be leaving home… leaving me already. I’d like you to stand up for yourself and beat the snot out of those kids. They need to learn better, and there’s no one who could teach them quite like you could.” She felt Emma take a breath and shook her head again. “I know you don’t want to do that - I even sort of understand why… a little bit. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s what I want.” She sucked in a slow breath and released it, then turned to face Emma squarely. “Do you really think New York will be different… that it will treat you any differently than Springfield will?”

“Yes,” she replied quickly and succinctly. “For several reasons. I already have two mentors who are former students at Dalton - Caroline and Cassidy Priestly.”

Olivia’s eyes widened. “How did you even…?”

“I told you I’ve been working on this for a while. When I decided to start researching this as a real possibility, I remembered that at that first convention in Orlando, Miranda Priestly had two daughters with her. I actually met them that day at the Magic Kingdom when I was out with Xena and Gabrielle - they agreed to be my ladies-in-waiting for the parade. It didn’t make us friends, exactly… not with that awkward age difference between child and teenager, but they were so nice to me, and we had fun together. So, I asked Gabrielle if she could put me in touch with Miranda - which she did - and Miranda put me in touch with her girls.”

Olivia frowned. “Isn’t the age thing still a little awkward? I mean, you’re a teenager, and they are young adults, aren’t they? Twenty-three? Twenty-five?”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Not quite twenty-two. They are both set to graduate college this year, and Caroline is still in the City… at Columbia.”

“And she’s willing to mentor you?”

Emma nodded. “She’s offered to be my sponsor, actually. That makes me like a legacy.”

Olivia nodded slowly. “What are some of your other reasons?” Emma frowned, and Olivia rolled her eyes. “You said there were several reasons you thought going to New York would be different,” watching Emma nod. “So, what are they?”

“Oh… well, honestly, I won’t have to worry about you and Dad going to jail for beating the snot out of those snot-nosed kids and their idiot parents.”

Olivia snickered. “It would be worth it.”

Emma looked at her seriously. “Not to me, it wouldn’t. I would much rather you be here at the farmhouse with Ma, making babies together or something,” her words causing a red flush to travel up both their faces. “I would rather Dad be with Beth and living his best life, and I know that neither of you will be able to let it go if I’m here. And we both know that Xena and Gabrielle will make sure nothing like that happens to me.”

“You don’t think they will go to jail?”

Emma snorted. “I think we both know that’s not even a possibility.”

Olivia nodded. “That’s true. I wish I could figure out how, though. That would be an awesome superpower to have… and a very convenient one,” waggling her eyebrows.

“Does this mean you’ll let me go? Dad’s onboard, and I think Natalia will defer to you about this.” Emma gave her a little smirk. “Besides, we both know you’ve been looking to expand the hotel into New York’s boutique scene. I figure this will provide the impetus you need to do it.”

Olivia held up her hand, and Emma clamped her lips shut. “Natalia and I will talk about this, and we will talk about it with your father as well,” ignoring the bit about the hotel business for the moment. “IF we decide to let you go ahead with this, then I will discuss it with Xena and Gabrielle. Once everyone has agreed, I expect you to confront your bullies publicly,” watching Emma’s face pale. “You don’t have to hurt them - not like we both know you could - but I want them called out and embarrassed. They deserve that much humiliation.”

“I’ll….” Emma cleared her throat. “I’ll try,” she whispered.

“That’s all I ask,” Olivia said, opening her arms, then wrapping them tightly around her daughter as Emma rushed into them and held on with all her might. She took a deep breath and kissed Emma’s cheek, not surprised to feel Natalia’s arms close around them both. More surprising was that Philip was able to gather them all into his embrace. What was truly astonishing, however, was the way it didn’t feel awkward or forced - it felt like family.

After a moment, Emma made an effort to release her hold and move and found she had no escape from all the arms surrounding her. “Li’l rmm, guys,” she muttered, her face pressed into Olivia’s shoulder. Her words had an instant effect, and all three adults relaxed their holds on one another and stepped back enough so that Emma could stand on her own. She looked at each of them and smiled, though her eyes were a little watery. She walked to Olivia and put her arms around her again, hugging tightly for a moment before she pulled back and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Mom.” Olivia cupped her face but didn’t say a word. Emma clasped her hand and squeezed lightly, then released it, so she could face Natalia. “Thank, Ma,” she said quietly, taking her hands and lifting them to her lips. It had become their thing when Emma was still a child, because she knew Natalia’s hands had done much of the work that took care of her and her mommy. They were the hands that were folded in prayer when she prayed for them; and they were the hands that healed so much of the pain they - especially Olivia - had known in their lives.

Natalia loosened one of the hands Emma held and moved it to cup her face, much as Olivia had done. She smiled at her, the tears in her eyes freely flowing down her cheek, though her smile was as bright as sunshine. “Oh, Jellybean… you will always, always be welcome. I’m so happy and proud to be your Ma.”

Emma kissed the hand she still held once more, then turned to Philip, who was watching with pride and a hint of a tear to which he would never admit. He held out a hand. “You all done being mushy, Kiddo? ‘Cause you and me got places to be and things to do and….”

“Hey!” Olivia broke in with a mock glare, though she couldn’t hide the twinkle in her bright green eyes. “Don’t you be doing anything with my kid that’s gonna get her into trouble!”

Philip gave Olivia such a look of hurt innocence, she nearly started laughing. Emma’s clasp held one hand firmly, and the other came up to cover his chest in mock outrage. “Why, Miss Olivia,” he drawled, causing both Emma and Natalia to cover their mouths to keep from laughing aloud. “I have no idea what you mean! I am a paragon of virtue.”

Olivia snorted. “You’re something, all right. Go on and get out of here. We’ll let you know when we get to Nowhere, South Dakota, and we’ll try to keep you abreast of what’s going on there.”

“And you’ll let us know if you need anything, or if there’s any way we can help,” Philip instructed.

Olivia merely nodded, but Natalia extended a hand and held onto Philip for a long moment. “Thank you, Philip,” was all she said, but it was enough to convey everything she needed it to.

He released her hand and turned to Emma. “You got your stuff together?” waiting for her to nod. He lifted her hand to his lips, then offered her a flourishing bow as he doffed an invisible hat. “Then let us away, dear lady, e’re break of day.” He threw his hand up in a vaguely Vogue pose and assumed a snotty position with his nose stuck into the air as he ushered them from the kitchen. Emma followed suit, well used to her father’s ridiculousness. She gave Olivia and Natalia a curtsey and a nod, then followed Philip out of the kitchen without a backwards glance.

Olivia and Natalia remained still and quiet until they heard the sound of Philip’s car fade into the distance, then they turned and looked at one another.

“So… are we gonna talk about this?” Natalia asked.

Olivia shrugged but wrapped an arm around Natalia’s shoulders. “I suppose we need to. But I think we should go get the rest of our things together and get to the airport. We have places to be and not much time to get there.”

“You think we’ll be there very long?”

“I think it’s gonna be an interesting couple of weeks… at least.”

************

Helena had dropped Barbara off at her dad’s house and Dinah at the Clocktower before turning the Humvee towards Wayne Manor. They had talked about it briefly on the flight back to Gotham - mostly because Helena wanted to be there for Barbara while she confronted Jim - but the fact was, they were short on time and splitting up was the most efficient and sensible way to get things done quickly. Helena had volunteered to go to the old family homestead - which had frankly shocked Barbara almost speechless, since they all knew Bruce Wayne was back in town and that Helena’s issues with her father were significant and ongoing.

Helena had shrugged when confronted and said, “Just because I don’t like going there, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be the one who does. Alfred made sure I knew how to find things, and the BatCave has been coded to recognize me. It won’t do that with Dinah, and we don’t have the time to wait for you… not when I can just go ahead and take care of it.”

Barbara just looked at her with amazement, realizing that something fundamental had changed for Helena and that she was maturing in unexpected ways due to the Saligia crisis. Dinah, however, felt the need to comment.

“That’s surprisingly mature of you, Helena.”

Helena cocked a dark brow. “Yeah, well… don’t get used to it. My tolerance for adulting is still in negative numbers,” causing Dinah to snort. Barbara simply gave her a knowing look as they loaded themselves in the Humvee and headed out. Now she was pulling under the portico at Wayne Manor, looking at the old gothic building with a hint of revulsion. Then she sighed and cut the motor, stepping from the vehicle and making her way through the unlocked door into the house. In mere moments, she was in Bruce’s office and making her way down to the BatCave.

She hesitated briefly when she saw him sitting at the bank of computers with his back to her. She deliberately made her way toward the accouterment she’d come to pick up. Halfway across the floor, she heard him clear his throat, and she closed her eyes just before he spoke.

“Hello, Helena.”



Chapter LVII

She didn’t stutter-step but only by sheer force of will. She continued moving toward her destination, though she did answer him quietly. “Hello, Bruce.” With her back to him, she didn’t see the shattered look on his face at her use of his first name, but she felt the air around them shift as he shuddered.

He kept his eyes fastened on his screen, as though the fate of the word depended upon his focus, and asked, “Can I help you… find something?”

She stopped directly in front of one of the cases she needed and shook her head. “No, thanks. When Alfred showed me this place, he made some pretty clear notes for me so I would know where everything was and what it did. I never expected to actually use it, but….”  She shrugged and removed the vest she’d come for and slid the door closed with the touch of a finger. She walked to the next case - one that required a password as well as biometric confirmation of her identity. When it was finally open, she quickly scanned the inventory before removing the few things Barbara had asked her to retrieve. She placed them in the backpack she’d brought along and slung it over her shoulder, then carefully closed the door. She grabbed the vest that had been leaning against her leg and turned to face Bruce’s stiff back. She sighed. Sometimes, being a mature adult sucked.

“Are you sticking around?” she asked bluntly. She wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, but somehow, Bruce managed to straighten his spine even further. She winced slightly, because it looked like it hurt.

He sat completely still, barely breathing, as he tried to find his best response. Finally, he simple confessed, “I’d like to,” he said quietly, “if there was a reason for Bruce and not just Batman.”

“Look at me,” she commanded. If she was going to try to give him a chance, then he was going to face her like an adult. He swung the chair around immediately, and she swallowed to contain the gasp of surprise at the amount of pain that radiated from his eyes. She couldn’t stop the feral shift of her eyes, however, and his mouth dropped open in shock at the ready confirmation of her untamed nature. He snapped his jaw closed instantly, and he clenched his jaw, because in that moment, she reminded him greatly of her mother, whom he still missed fiercely. She waited another moment, until she was certain he had himself in hand. “I don’t like you,” seeing the defeat well in his eyes at her pronouncement. “Trust me, that’s a step up from the hatred I’ve had for you for years because of what happened to Mom and Barbara. They deserved better from you, and so did I.” She put her hand on his chest and held him still when he would have gotten up and walked away… again. “No!” she said forcefully as she kept him in place with one hand. “You’re gonna sit there and listen… especially if you really meant what you said about wanting to stay.”

He nodded and lifted her hand from his chest, feeling her tremble beneath his touch. “I’ll stay,” he confirmed as he released her hand. He watched as she clenched it the moment he let go, but instead of swinging at him, she took a deep breath and dropped it to her side. She looked him squarely in the eyes, her eyes clearly golden and slitted, and he held her gaze this time without flinching. She nodded slightly in satisfaction.

“As I said, I don’t like you. I’m not trying to be hurtful or even angry about this - I’m trying to be honest. I’m also working on releasing my dislike of you.”

“Why?” he interrupted. “Not that I don’t appreciate the effort… even if it’s not for me… but nothing has changed. I’m still the same man I was when Sel… your mother was… was murdered and when Barbara’s body was destroyed.”

“Are you? Really? Can you sit there and honestly say nothing has changed about you since that night?” He looked at her thoughtfully, but he didn’t respond vocally. She studied him another moment and shook her head. “The truth is, I’m not doing this for you; I’m doing this for me.” She looked down at her hands and flexed them. “I have a friend - a mentor - who has been through… God, so much… in her lifetime, and she lives with regrets over some of the things that have happened every single day of her life,” Helena shook her head, and her dark hair fell into her eyes. She looked back up and pierced him with the fierceness of her gaze. “I don’t want to live with that kind of regret. She’s taught me that; that hatred and discontent hurts no one except the person doing the hating. I’m not going to have enough time with Barbara as it is; I’m sure not gonna waste it hating you.”

Bruce’s blue eyes sharpened. “Is something wrong with Barbara… other than the obvious, I mean?”

Her augmented eyes made her glare feel like it burned through his chest, but he maintained his stoic expression. “Noooooo,” she drawled slowly, “but I missed years with her because of my childishness and anger. I’ll never get that time back.”

He nodded intently. “So… where does that leave us?”

Helena shrugged. “I think that’s mostly up to you. You need to decide if you’re in this for the long haul, and you’re gonna have to give me time to get over my anger at you. Maybe you can use that time to grow up a little,” seeing his eyes flare with quiet fury but refusing to back down. She continued as though he hadn’t reacted. “Maybe make peace with yourself and those you’ve wronged… however inadvertently.”

“I’ll think about what you’ve said,” he acknowledged after several long moments of silence. “And I’ll still be here when you get back. Maybe we could find the time to sit down and talk some more.” He offered her the barest hint of a smile. “Maybe you could introduce me to your mentor. She sounds like an amazing woman.”

Helena snickered. “She is… and so is her wife,” seeing him slump just slightly at her words. “Sorry,” she said with sympathy.

He shook his head. “It’s okay. Maybe I could meet both of them.”

“Maybe,” she said noncommittally. “But meanwhile, I need to go. We don’t have much time before all this comes to a head, and we need to be in place before it does.”

He stood then, and though he towered over her, he could still feel the raw power she exuded. He reached out a hand toward her but dropped it before he actually came in contact with her. “Are you sure this is safe?”

The grin she gave him was both rakish and dangerous. “I’m pretty sure it’s not. That’s why I like it!” waggling her eyebrows. “Gotta jet,” she added, before disappearing into the elevator that would take her back up to the mansion. Bruce slowly sank back into the chair he’d been sitting in when she arrived and turned his attention back to the screen. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice Alfred’s arrival until the man lightly touched his shoulder.

“Master Bruce?”

“Huh? What, Alfred?”

“I’m sorry, sir. I called your name several times, but you didn’t respond. Is everything all right?”

Bruce sat silently for several minutes, and Alfred contented himself with straightening up around the Batcave. Eventually, Bruce stood and walked to the elevator. “I think it will be, Old Boy,” he responded with a hint of his former good humor. Then he stepped into the elevator and disappeared upstairs. Alfred looked around the room with a stunned expression.

“Excellent job, Miss Helena,” he congratulated his young charge in absentia. “I didn’t think it could be done.” Then he finished his tidying up and headed upstairs himself. He still had chores to do.

************

Barbara had been so proud of Helena choosing to go to Wayne Manor to pick up the things she wanted to take with her - especially since she knew how much Helena disdained the place - when she would have preferred to have stayed with Barbara. She turned to wave to Helena as soon as she heard Jim approaching the door, though she noted Helena waited to leave until after the door was open and Jim Gordon was ushering her inside. They didn’t speak immediately; instead, she followed him down the short hallway to his office. He held up their favorite bourbon, and she nodded, accepting the glass and taking a small sip as soon as he passed it to her.

He sipped his own and sighed, taking a seat beside her in front of the fireplace and looking at her curiously. “So, are you going to tell me what this is really about?”

She took another sip of alcohol, then set the glass on her lap and focusing her eyes on it. “Why didn’t you tell me about the box?” she countered.

Jim cocked an eyebrow as he studied her. “I didn’t know it was anything of importance. It was something of your Aunt Barbara’s from long before we got married. She never talked about it, and I never asked. I just figured it was a family heirloom knick-knack that held some kind of sentimental value.” He looked at Barbara and smirked slightly. “We all have one or two things like that.” Then he sobered. “But she never mentioned anything about it being special or important.”

Barbara studied him for a minute, then nodded her acceptance of his words. She sighed. “This is going to sound like something out of a faery tale book, but I assure you… everything I am going to tell you is absolutely true. You’ve heard us mention our friends Xena and Gabrielle?” waiting for him to agree. “Well….”

************

Jim Gordon sat completely still for several minutes when Barbara finished telling her story. She studied him with concern, watching him carefully as she counted his measured breathing. She finally relaxed slightly when he blinked and focused on her again. He cleared his throat and looked down at the glass he still held in his hand, lifting it to his lips and taking a swallow before meeting her eyes again. He chuckled. “That was um… quite a story. Are you absolutely certain about this?”

She looked at him wryly. “Dad, when have you ever know me to make up stories? Especially ones as outlandish and unbelievable as this one?”

Jim wisely didn’t mention some of the more outrageous things he’d heard come from her mouth when she still had the use of her legs and was operating as Batgirl. He cleared his throat again. “Sorry, Dear,” he proffered with a smile. “It just sounds so… unbelievable really.”

She sighed. “I know. But I assure you that everything I just told you is the honest truth. Even Gabrielle wouldn’t make up something like this… even if she could.”

“And you’re sure about this Saligia character? That he really is as vile and evil as they claim?”

“I know I’ve never seen anything scare either of them like this has. You’d have to meet them, Dad, but this is real. He is real, and he’s looking to destroy them and anything else he can manage.”

“And this box is going to help you help them,” he said dubiously.

“The talisman inside it will.”

Jim pinched his lower lip between his fingers. “Can I see it? The charm?”

Barbara shook her head. “No. We’re keeping the boxes closed until it’s time to confront this guy. It’s… not safe to have them open before then.”

His frown deepened. “You know this… how? And how is it going to be safer when you’re confronting this… being?” He rose from his chair and move back to the bar, tilting his glass back and finishing the last swallow of bourbon before he measured out another three fingers’ worth. He took another long sip, then turned back to find Barbara watching him with hooded eyes.

“Is there a reason you’re being so antagonistic about this?”

Jim resumed his seat and took a moment to study her carefully. He could feel her anger rolling off her in waves, but her expression remained completely composed. He tilted his head at her thoughtfully. “I wasn’t aware I was being antagonistic,” he replied softly. “You have to understand, Barbara, this is all new. I consider myself to be intelligent and well-read, and yet, in all my years of study, I’ve never come across a character known as Saligia; never heard anything about these talismans; never seen a mention of Guardians. Surely you can understand my curiosity.”

She nodded slowly. “Of course. You’re generally not quite so… forceful… about asking questions.”

“Unless I’m interrogating a suspect,” he said with a smirk.

She grinned. “Exactly! And last I checked, I’m not a suspect… nor a witness. However, I know the things I know about Saligia and the talismans because of the things Xena and Gabrielle have shared with me. And it will be safer, because all the talismans will be in one place - that’s how we are going to defeat him.”

“Your friends Xena and Gabrielle told you this as well?” She nodded; he frowned. “Seems to me, you’re putting an awful lot of faith into those two women. Have they earned that respect?”

Now Barbara looked affronted, and it showed in her clipped response. “They have earned my respect; my loyalty; my trust. They have given….” She shook her head and looked down at her lap. “They have done so much for me… for Helena and Dinah - I couldn’t even begin to pay them back. So, I give them my friendship, because it’s the only thing they’ve ever asked for in return.” She took a deep breath and met his eyes squarely. “I don’t expect you to understand or even agree with my decision, but I do expect you to trust that it’s my decision to make.” She put her unfinished bourbon on the edge of the desk, then placed her hands on the wheels of her chair. “I’m sorry, Dad. I don’t know what I’ve done to suddenly earn your disdain, but this is something I have to do. Not just for Xena and Gabrielle; not just for the greater good. This is something I need to do for me.”

She would have turned and rolled back down the hallway, had it not been for Jim Gordon’s swift reflexes, honed by years of police work. She looked down at him, stunned to see him kneeling at her feet, but before she could reprimand him, he placed a finger on her lips and shook his head.

“I’m sorry,” he said simply. “I haven’t met these women, and suddenly I found out that they’re putting my little girl in real, mortal danger. By your own admission, he’s worse than anything Gotham has ever seen, and you have to admit, we’ve had more than our share of horror. I don’t… I know you’re a capable, grown, adult woman, but I don’t like the idea of you deliberately walking into a situation like this.”

“Does it help to know that I’m not walking into it alone?”

“Not really,” he confessed honestly. He stood and slipped into the chair beside her. “In fairness, I don’t think it would matter even if I did know these women. Pretty sure I’ll still worry.”

She reached over and covered his hand. “I expect you to worry; that’s part and parcel of being a dad, from what I can tell. But I also expect you to trust that I know what is best for me.”

“Like you did with Batgirl?” watching as her eyes widened but seeing no other giveaway to the truth he’d just admitted to knowing. “I know she is why you ended up in that chair.”

“She is also why I have to do this.” She squeezed the hand she still held. “I know you don’t understand; I’m not sure I can explain it. But it’s important to me to be part of this.” She looked down when he tangled their fingers together, and she bit her lip to stop the tears she could feel building behind her eyes. “Even if I wasn’t a Guardian, I would still choose to be part of this.”

Jim studied her bent head for several minutes, then took his free hand and lifted her chin until their eyes met again. “You’re right,” he replied. “I don’t understand; I didn’t understand Batgirl either. But despite the fact that I reserve the right to worry and be concerned on your behalf, I will always be on your side. So… if you feel like you really need to do this - be part of taking down this Saligia character, then go with my blessing. But,” he stressed, holding up a single finger and boring his gaze into hers, “I expect a full report from you when you get home. And I want to meet these friends of yours.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she answered, with just a hint of a smile.

He grinned at her in return. “See that you do, young lady. Now,” he continued as he leaned back in his chair. “Where did Helena go? I fully expected her to come in with you.” He wiggled his mustache and sipped at his drink. “She’s quite the fierce protector where you’re concerned.” He chuckled. “Did you know, she gave me quite a talking to when I gave her the shovel talk?”

“Dad!!”

“What? I thought it rather humorous, and don’t say it wasn’t necessary, my dear. You’re still my daughter.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I have to say, she handled it much better than some of those boys you brought around… even Dick Grayson.”

“DAD!!”

About that time, the doorbell rang, and Jim met Barbara’s eyes with a twinkle in his own. “Saved by the bell, as it were. Probably Helena, if we’re taking bets. She’s never very far away from you.” He stood from his seat and took a step toward the door.

“Yes, well… I doubt she wanted to stay at Wayne Manor a moment longer than she had to,” her words causing Jim Gordon’s head to whip around so fast, she could hear the bones snap back into alignment. She rolled past him and out the door, not surprised to hear the second ring. Helena had never been known for her patience, and she knew they were on a time crunch. She opened the door just as Helena lifted her hand to knock. “No need for that, Hel. It just took me a moment to get around Dad,” jerking her head back in the general direction of Jim’s office. “I think we may have broken him.”

“We, Red?? I just got here.”

“Hmm. And you just came from Wayne Manor. Pretty sure Dad never expected to hear something like that about you coming from me.” Helena smirked in response to Barbara’s smile.

“Happy to oblige, I guess,” as she crossed the threshold. “You about ready? Dinah’s about done, and the jet is fueled up and ready to go.”

“Yes. Just let me tell Dad goodbye. Then you can tell me how things went at the Manor.”

They made it to the doorway of his office to find Jim standing with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Helena. Her eyes widened momentarily, but she immediately straightened and returned his gaze stolidly. He pointed a finger at her. “I expect you to look out for this one and bring her back home safely. Bring yourself back safely, as well,” he added gruffly.

“Dad!!”

“Her life before mine, sir. You know that.”

“Helena!!!”

“I do,” he agreed. “But you need to take care of yourself too. And when you get back, I want to hear about your visit to Wayne Manor.” He shook his head. “Never thought I’d see the day….”

“I don’t think any of us did… including Bruce Wayne. However, it was necessary, and we all survived.” She extended her hand, and Jim pulled her into a hug. She patted his back firmly, then stepped out of his hold. “We’ve got to go.”

He leaned down and gave Barbara a brief embrace, though he continued to hold her hand. “Be careful… both of you. All three of you, actually. And let me know when it’s over. I’ll want to hear all the details.”

“As soon as we can, Dad.” She released her grip and he did the same. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

“I doubt that,” he argued with a smile. “See you soon,” he called after them as they headed down the hallway.

“Later, Jim,” Helena called back as she opened the door and ushered Barbara out ahead of her. He waited until he heard the door close and the vehicle start up and pull away before he drained the last of his glass. Then he walked out of his office and up the stairs without a backwards glance.

He never saw the shadows shift and fade away.



Chapter LVIII

David reacted remarkably quickly, drawing his sword and pointing it threateningly at Aphrodite and Athena when they spontaneously appeared in the war room. The few soldiers he had with him did the same, but all Aphrodite could manage was a smirk. She moved David’s sword to the side with the tip of her finger, commenting, “I can’t remember the last time so many men’s swords came to attention for me so quickly. It’s a little flattering, actually.”

Athena wanted to snort, but instead, she simply said, “I don’t think they’re kidding around, Dite.”

Aphrodite waved her hand and instantly, there was a clang of metal hitting the stone floor. Each of the men was looking at his hand and endeavoring to shake out the pain of being burned. David’s confused glance met her steely gaze, and he swallowed hard at the resolute tone in her voice. “Neither am I,” she assured the assembly. At that moment, Snow White rose from her spot behind Regina’s big desk.

“Who are you and what do you want?” her voice firm and barely wavering.

“That’s Aphrodite and her sister, Athena,” Emma said as she crossed the threshold into room with Regina at her side. “What the hell is going on here?”

“We were wondering the same thing,” Snow replied before either Aphrodite or Athena could speak. “We were busy setting up plans to find… whatever it was that destroyed the Wish Realm. They just sort of… popped in… in the middle of everything.”

“I wouldn’t, Lover Boy,” Athena warned as David made a move to pick up his sword. “You think what she did to you was rough?” jerking a thumb in Aphrodite’s direction. “She’s the Goddess of Love - she just wanted to get your attention. I, on the other hand, am the Goddess of War,” standing to her full height and allowing her eyes to blaze for a moment. “I’ll do more than get your attention.”

“Leave it alone, Dad,” Emma instructed before David could make a move. “They’re friends, and they’re on our side.”

“So, they’re going to help us find and destroy whatever it was that demolished the Wish Realm?” Snow demanded. “Where were they when all this was happening, hmm?”

“We were trapped in the mausoleum,” Aphrodite answered, “but thanks for asking. As for Saligia, he has already moved on. He’s no longer here for you to find nor do battle with. I’d suggest you focus your attention on cleaning up the mess he left behind and taking care of your dead.”

“How dare you…??”

“Mom!” Emma cut in before Snow could start ranting. “She’s right.”

“And what of the Wish Realm?”

“I’ll take care of that,” Regina responded. “It will have to be carefully dismantled to protect and strengthen the rest of the kingdom.”

“Can you… do that?”

Regina cocked an eyebrow at her. “Do you know of anyone else qualified?” Emma placed a calming hand on Regina’s back, and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning her attention back to Snow White. “There is nothing left there, Snow… just some empty buildings. There is no more author, so there’s no reason for it to remain. It’s useless at this point. At least dismantling it will redistribute the magic into the spell that protects the Kingdom instead of leaving a gaping hole.”

Snow considered her words for a long moment, then nodded slowly.  “All right. How soon can it be done?” She held up her hands. “I’m not trying to take over your position as queen, Regina, but this is… unnerving.”

“It’s at the top of my to-do list,” she promised, “but first, Emma and I need to go with Aphrodite and Athena. We have some unfinished business with Saligia. I’ll put a patch on the Wish Realm for now. Nothing permanent, but it should hold long enough to protect the Kingdom until we return.”

“What about Killian’s pyre? Emma, you can’t just....”

“Mom....”
“Snow....”

Emma and Regina exchanged glances, then Regina gestured for Emma to go ahead. “Mom, Killian would understand. Hell, he’d be first in line to go up against this asshat. We need to be a part of this.” She stepped forward and grasped Snow’s hands, looking her directly in the eye. “Light his pyre; send his spirit on. He and I already said our goodbyes. It’s okay.”

“I don’t like this,” Snow said carefully, after a moment’s consideration. “But I do understand your need for revenge or satisfaction or whatever you’re searching for from this creep. Just be sure you both come home safely. We’ve had enough death and destruction around here to last lifetimes.”

“That’s the plan,” Emma stated. She turned to the two goddesses that were patiently waiting. “Is there anything we need to bring?”

“Enough to be comfortable for at least a few days,” Aphrodite started.

“But no electronics of any kind,” Athena finished, holding up a hand before Emma could complain. “That comes straight from Xena and Gabrielle. No one is permitted to have them; they think he’s learning to trace them using the electronic signal they emit. It’s serious enough that even Cat Grant agreed to the condition without arguing.”

Regina and Emma exchanged glances, then shrugged and placed their phones in the top drawer of Regina’s desk. A quick spell locked it, and they turned back to the goddesses. “Give a few minutes to pack a bag, and then we are at your disposal.” Regina frowned. “Are you transporting us, or do I need a spell to take us back to the land without magic?” She rolled her eyes at their smirking countenances. “You know what I mean.”

“We do,” Aphrodite confirmed. “That totally depends on you. I know it was… like, majorly unpleasant… for you to travel with me before. But either way, we need to be leaving, you know, like yesterday?” shooing them toward the door. “So, if you could kinda just… get the lead out, maybe?”

Both women cocked an eyebrow at her verbiage but simply exited the room the way they’d come in without another word. Athena turned to Aphrodite, only to find her head tilted in a listening position. Before she could ask, Aphrodite looked at Snow White. “Is there a mirror nearby?”

Snow frowned but pointed out the door. “In the hallway,” she commented.

“Thanks,” Aphrodite said as she left the room. A second later, they heard her talking. “Hey, Gabs. What’s shakin’?”

David looked at Athena. “Is she okay?”

Athena smiled gently. She liked this one. He wasn’t a truly competent warrior, but he had the heart and courage of a lion, and she could appreciate that kind of strength in anyone. “She’s fine,” she assured him. “She’s using our version of FaceTalk. It sounds like she’s speaking to Gabrielle.”

“Face Time,” Emma corrected as she entered the room from the opposite door. She set a small bag on the desk. “Why is….” looking around. “Why is Aphrodite FaceTiming Gabrielle?”

“Because I don’t, you know, have a phone,” Aphrodite replied as she stepped back into the war room. “Are we all set? ‘Cause we need to jet.” She looked around and frowned. “Where’s Regina?”

“Right here,” she answered breathlessly as she walked into the room rapidly. “I had to put the patch on the Wish Realm,” not surprised to feel Emma whip around to face her. “It’s all right, Miss Swan. I’ll need your help when it comes time to dismantle the area, but the patch I could manage on my own.” She glanced around the room. “Are we all ready?”

“Just waiting on you two lovebirds to decide the travel plan,” Aphrodite said without inflection, though she didn’t miss the way they both blushed.

“If you think we can do this alone, I think I’d prefer it… no offense.”

“Totally don’t blame you, dude. That first trip did a radically crap number on you. And we need you both at the top of your game.”

Regina couldn’t help the flinch that crossed her face, though she was quick to mask it. “Yes,” she conceded, “I’d rather not have a repeat if we can avoid it.”

Aphrodite nodded. “All right.” She turned to Athena, but before she could continue, Emma spoke.

“What kind of help do you need from us?” cocking an eyebrow at the surprised looks from both goddesses. “What? You said you needed us at the top of our game. That means you need our help with something. So... what gives?”

“Short version? We need to try to recreate what you did at the mausoleum, but over a much wider area,” watching them nod in understanding.  Now,” looking back at Athena. “Can you stay here until they’re sure they can get to….” She swung back to Regina. “Are you going to New York or straight to North Dakota?”

“Um, Dite?” Athena interrupted before either Emma or Regina could respond. “Didn’t they tell us somewhere in South Dakota?”

Aphrodite scrunched up her brow in thought. “Did they? I remember it was Underwear, Dakota,” drawing a smirk from Regina; a snort from Emma; and a raised eyebrow from Athena. She huffed. “Okay... so maybe it wasn’t Underwear, exactly.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “I think it would be a radically awesome idea if you babes just scooted on to Xena and Gab’s place in New York. You know how to get there, yeah?” waiting for both women to nod. She turned to Athena. “Can you make sure they get there... with or without your help? I’ll meet you back there in a few.”

Athena latched onto her arm. “Is everything okay? Are you all right?”

Aphrodite patted the warm hand, then loosened Athena’s grip enough that she could twine their fingers together. “Everything’s fine. Apparently, my new gig involves being a pick-up specialist,” frowning when Athena started chuckling silently at her. She slapped at her with her free hand. “Not what I meant!”

“I know. But that particular title has been yours since birth,” lifting their twined hands to her lips.

Aphrodite preened just a little bit, then grew serious. “Gab asked if I could go pick up a couple in Boston. They have the last box.”

“Excellent! One less thing to worry about. I’ll take care of Emma and Regina. Then I need to contact Artie. I expected her to have been in touch before now.”

“Radical. I’m outta here,” Aphrodite announced as she disappeared. Snow looked at the small pile of rose petals scattered around the floor.

“I’ll take care of that,” she stated as she walked to where Emma and Regina stood. She opened her arms, and Emma stepped into them, rolling her eyes and patting Snow’s back when she held on for dear life.

“Little tight, Mom,” she choked out. Snow released her hold immediately, though she didn’t pull completely away; she allowed her hands to clench around Emma’s biceps.

“Sorry, Honey,” she replied with tears in her eyes. “Just... be careful, all right? This guy sounds like a lot of bad news, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.” She let go of one arm and held out that hand to Regina. She accepted it gingerly, then winced when Snow tried to pull her closer into an awkward three-way hug. “Either of you,” with a pointed look at Regina. “We’re family.”

“We’ll look out for each other,” Emma said, not surprised to feel David come up behind her and Regina and wrap them in his arms. It only lasted a moment, then he released them, and Snow stepped back as well. Regina and Emma reached out and clasped hands, and with a wave of a hand, disappeared in a swath of purple and white swirled smoke.

Before Snow could call out to them about the bags they had left behind, they reappeared in front of Athena. “We’re going to need your help. We can transport to the line, but without dismantling the protection spell or losing our memories, we can’t get past it.”

Athena nodded. “Not a problem.” She extended a hand. “Ready?”

Emma scooped up their bags and nodded. “Ready,” she confirmed, as she and Regina wound their arms around each other, and Regina took the hand Athena proffered. In another second, they were out of sight. Snow looked around and took a deep breath.

“Well, let me take care of this, then I guess we need to start forming clean-up and burial details. If we work together, we should be done by the time Emma and Regina return.”

David nodded and retrieved his sword from the floor, sliding it into its sheath before looking at his men. “You heard the lady. Let’s get to work.”

************

Jane had whipped out her gun and had it pointed at Aphrodite before she finished materializing. Aphrodite lifted a hand and pushed it aside with a single finger, grimacing as she did so. “What is it with you warrior types and wanting to point weapon-y type things at me today??” She motioned down the length of herself. “Good guy here. Duh!”

Maura placed her hand on Jane’s, forcing her to relax and lower her arm. “We’re sorry. We were expecting you; we just weren’t expecting you like that.” Aphrodite glanced down, trying to determine how they had been expecting her. She hadn’t changed or anything, so.... She looked up when Maura grasped her hand. “No... I mean, most people don’t literally pop into our living room.”

“Oh, right, right. Sorry... I thought Gabrielle would have told you about that.” She looked around carefully. “Are you ready to go?”

Jane slid her weapon back into its holster at her hip and nodded. “Yeah... just let me grab the bags. Thank you for doing this, by the way. Sorry about the gun.”

Aphrodite waved her off. “No worries - you’ve got radical reflexes. You’re just not the only gnarly person to target me today, and it’s a majorly tiresome when you’re the Goddess of Love.”

“What’s that like?” Maura asked, with a hint of giddy excitement.

Aphrodite felt Jane’s hackles go up, and she turned to Maura with a kind smile. She’d seen there was some kind of degeneration when Maura had grabbed her arm, but it was well beyond her scope to understand or heal it. “A little bit like you’d imagine, I guess - warm and fuzzy and frustrating - but also a totally massive amount of work.”

“Is it worth it?”

Aphrodite looked at Maura, then to Jane and back again and grinned. “You tell me,” she said, offering a blinding smile. Maura reached out, and Jane dropped a bag to accept her hand.

“It’s worth everything,” smiling beatifically into Jane’s eyes and leaning into her touch when she reached over and cupped her face.

Aphrodite clapped her hands together. “There’s your answer. Now... are we ready?”

Jane brushed her nose against Maura’s, then withdrew so she could pick up their luggage. Then she turned to Aphrodite. “Give the word,” she said, smiling when Maura wrapped both hands around her bicep. Aphrodite took her other side and did the same thing, then gave her an impish grin.

“Aye, Special Agent Rizzoli,” she replied, affecting an Irish brogue that brought a smile to Maura’s lips and even charmed Jane. “The word is given.”

“Did you just quo...?” but the rest of the question was lost to the ether as they vanished from sight.

************

Both Jane and Maura stood stock still with their eyes closed when they felt warmth surround them and smelled the scent of fresh cookies. Aphrodite released her hold on them and stepped towards Xena and Gabrielle, a look of confusion on her face. “I dunno what’s wrong. They were perfectly fine a minute ago.”

Jane sucked in a deep breath but kept her eyes closed. “You’ve never really considered what that travel feels like to a mortal, have you?” Aphrodite turned and looked askance at Xena and Gabrielle, who shrugged back to her. Jane blinked open dark brown eyes. “It’s like....” She paused and pinched her lip between her fingers. “It’s like you can feel each atom and molecule separately, and yet you’re still aware of being.” She shook her head. “It feels like an eternity, even though I bet it only lasts a second.”

“Bout that,” Aphrodite agreed. She looked between them. “You guys, like, know each other, right?”

“Yes,” Gabrielle responded. “Welcome to our home; I just wish it was under better circumstances.”

“Maybe when this is all over?”

“I think it’s going to be a must,” Gabrielle assured them with a smile. “Now... are you sufficiently recovered? Aphrodite needs to deliver you so she can come back and get me.”

Jane and Maura nodded slowly, even as Aphrodite frowned. “What about the Warrior Babe?” she stage-whispered. “And where’s The?”

“Athena went back to Olympus to talk to Artemis. She was having difficulty reaching her in Univille after she dropped off Regina and Emma.”

“UNIVILLE!!” Aphrodite exclaimed loudly as she snapped her fingers. “I knew it was Un... something!”

“Yes. The accommodations are set up a few miles out of Univille proper. Look for Claudia - she’s taking care of getting everyone settled.”

“You got it, Boss,” Aphrodite said with a salute, then she nudged Gabrielle. “But seriously, what about Big X?”

“Don’t worry about her,” Kara said with a clap on Aphrodite’s shoulder that caused her to wince in reflex. “I promised her a ride.” She turned to face Jane and Maura. “Hi!” said brightly as she exuded energy and light. “I’m Supergirl.”

“Special Agent Jane Rizzoli. My partner, Dr. Maura Isles.”

“I’m happy to meet you both. Maybe we’ll be able to talk more when this crisis is taken care of.”

“We’d like that very much,” Maura assured, then turned to Aphrodite. “Shall we go? The quicker you get us there, the quicker you’ll be able to return for Gabrielle.”

“And the more recovery time we’ll have,” Jane muttered.

“Let me try something,” Aphrodite proposed with a scrunched-up nose, turning them to face one another. “Now, hold on tightly,” she instructed as she wrapped her arms around them both. She glanced up at the three women watching her. “Toodles!” she said with a wave of her fingers, then the trio disappeared.



Chapter LIX

Xena and Gabrielle turned their attention back to Kara. “Did everything go okay?” Gabrielle asked.

Kara nodded briskly. “Yes. It was quick and easy once we got a rhythm going, and Myka and HG were busy making sure there would be running water and electricity by the time most of the women start arriving.”

“And Clark didn’t give you any problems?”

Kara’s expression darkened. “He didn’t dare. And I think you might find him at your doorstep sooner rather than later with an apology. You don’t have to accept it, of course, but I would count it a favor if you would at least hear him out,” accepting their silent nods as capitulation.

Xena grinned. “How was the sunroom? You’re practically glowing.”

Kara squeed and clapped her hands together as she bounced on the balls of her feet. “Oh my Rao, you guys... it’s awesome! I love it; Love It; LOVE IT!! Thank you both so much!”

“What’s all this gnarly loving going on without me?” Aphrodite demanded with her arms akimbo, even as mirth danced in her blue eyes. Kara turned and mimicked her stance, then slowly walked around the Goddess of Love, her cape draping dramatically behind her.

“Not bad,” she commented, snickering at the outraged countenance Aphrodite suddenly sported. “A little more practice, and you’ll be able to go pro.”

“A litt... pra... go p....” she sputtered indignantly, then turned to Xena and Gabrielle. “Did you...? Are you....?Can you believe...?” She turned again to find Kara covering her mouth with her hand in an attempt to hold back her laughter. She looked back to find Xena and Gabrielle and realized they were quite entertained by the whole process. She narrowed her eyes and fixated on Kara. “You think you’re funny, don’t you? I’ll have you know I’m old enough to b....” She paused when she understood exactly what she was on the verge of confessing. “I coulda changed your diapers, Kiddo.”

Kara arched a brow at her. “Maybe, Love Goddess, but I’m pretty sure diaper changing and super-heroing don’t fall into your purview very often,” offering her the tiniest hint of a smile.

Aphrodite studied her a long moment, then faced Xena and Gabrielle. “Better keep an eye on this one. She’s tricky.”

Kara lightly bumped their shoulders together. “C’mon, Grandma - let’s get these two to South Dakota. The sooner we take care of this nimrod, the sooner we can parrrrrrrteeee!” frowning slightly at the odd taste the word left in her mouth, though Aphrodite was too busy squeeing to notice.

“Oooo... Girl, I like the way you think!” She held out her hand to Gabrielle, who accepted it with alacrity and the lightest clench of acknowledgement. “You ready, Cutie? Got everything you need?” smiling wider when Gabrielle held up her small bag. “Excellent! We’ll see you two righteous babes in a few. Later!” she gushed with a wave, vanishing without leaving a trace.

Kara frowned deeper. “I thought she left sparkles or something.”

Xena smirked. “She usually does; it’s her way of making a statement. But sometimes, she’s too excited or nervous or in too much of a hurry. I think it was a combination this time... partly because she rarely gets to have Gab all to herself for a few minutes.” She noted Kara’s look of confusion. “Spit it out, Supergirl. You’re not gonna offend me if you ask,” having a good idea what was causing the expression.

Kara studied her a moment longer, until she was satisfied Xena meant what she said. “I don’t mean to pry? Cast judgement? I dunno, exactly,” waving her hands around distractedly. “And I realize it’s not really my business, but I’ve been given to understand that most humans prefer monogamy in their relationships... especially those as tightly bonded and long-lived as yours. It doesn’t bother you to have them just... go off together like that? I mean,” she continued hastily, even though Xena’s countenance hadn’t shifted at all. “Aphrodite is at least a little bit in love with Gabrielle. Did I miss something?” snapping her jaws together with an audible click when she finished.

Xena made her wait another minute - hands clenching, though that was the only visible hint of her nervousness. Finally, she cocked her eyebrow. “Are we so different than other species you’ve met?”

“In some ways, no. But in others? Vastly so.”

Xena nodded her understanding. “At some point, I’d like the chance to sit down with you and talk about all this,” smiling at Kara’s rapid agreement. “But to answer your question, I know Aphrodite is a little bit in love with Gabrielle. It’s not something new, and the fact is… many of the people that have met her are… at least to some degree; it’s been true since we met. It just gets her into less trouble these days,” she added with a wry smile. “It’s not something I’m particularly thrilled with, but I do understand it,” shrugging her shoulder slightly. “The important thing is that I trust Gabrielle, and although she loves Aphrodite dearly, she’s not in love with her and never has been. And Aphrodite recognizes that. However,” she continued, holding up a hand to keep Kara from interrupting, “Aphrodite was also the one who kept Gab from losing her shit during the time we were apart - gave her a place to hide when she needed a break from humanity; was a friend and confidante; did what she could to aid her search for me; lots of little thing that were important for Gabrielle’s mental and emotional well-being. And she was all Gabrielle had for a long time.” She shrugged. “So, if she needs a few minutes alone with Gab every now and then, I’m not going to begrudge either of them that time together.”

Kara parted her lips to speak, but before she could utter a word, Alex came across her earpiece. “Hey Supergirl - everything all right? I’m reading you as stationary, and I thought you were going to give us a lift to South Dakota.”

“Everything’s fine, Alex. Xena and I were going over a few last-minute details. I’m going off comms in a minute, and I’m going to fly Xena to Univille before I come get you guys. You’ll have to be ready to go as soon as I get there.”

“Come again, Supergirl?”

Kara sighed. “About which part? You know we can’t have comm units of any kind, so I’m gonna leave mine here. I have my reasons for coming back... even if I’m not providing transportation for anyone. And Xena asked if she could fly with me out there. I was pretty stoked about that.”

“Um, Ka... Supergirl, you do know she’s spoken for, yeah?” almost able to feel the blush flowing over Kara’s face and neck.

“Not what I meant, Alex!” said through gritted teeth. She glanced up to find Xena ostensibly absorbed in a book that had been resting on the table between them. “This just makes me feel like I’m really contributing something... that I’m helping in ways that matter.”

Alex chuckled, causing Kara to blush again, though this one was much less fierce than the first. “Kara, I’m teasing. We both know you’ll be contributing more than most of the rest of us combined before it’s all over. Anyway, Vasquez, Maggie, and I are at the desert facility with Lucy. We’ll be waiting for your arrival. You be careful, all right? Love you.”

“Love you, too, Alex. See you shortly.” She removed the earpiece, then took her phone out of her boot. She turned to Xena just as she looked up from her reading. “I guess I should have asked first. Do you mind...?” hefting her electronics. “I just figured I’d probably come back here to recharge if I’m able.”

“We meant it when we said you were always welcome,” Xena replied, extending a hand as she stood. Kara passed her things over without hesitation. “Let me put these in the vault with the rest; then we can go.” She squeezed Kara’s shoulder as she moved toward a small alcove just off the bedroom. “Thank you, Kara.”

Kara’s forehead creased as she frowned. “Um... for?”

“Taking me flying.”

“Oh... it’s my pleasure, truly,” smiling in reflex. “Sometimes, Alex just likes to be an....”

Xena held up her hand. “I was the middle child - only girl - between two brothers. I get it.”

Kara scrutinized her a moment, squinting her eyes as though that would help. She tilted her head thoughtfully. “Somehow, I don’t think your brothers ever teased you like Alex does me... though that is definitely preferable to hatred and indifference I got from her when I first arrived.”

Xena crossed the threshold and walked swiftly to the vault, activating it when she was close enough to do so. The door swung open silently, and she stepped in, placing Kara’s things inside and walking right back out. She shut the door and spun the dial to assure it locked, then she stepped back out where a pensive Supergirl stood looking out the window. Xena mentally squirmed. It wasn’t that she couldn’t do sensitive chats; it was that she hated having to do them. She moved so covertly - or Kara was so lost in her thoughts - that she actually startled Kara when she touched her arm. Fortunately, Xena’s reflexes had been honed over millennia, and she was moving before Kara even started to turn around… eyes glowing.

Kara blinked after a long second, realizing that there was no one behind her and that she wasn’t under attack; her eyes cooled back to their normal blue. She turned to find Xena just beyond her on the roof and tilted her head as she stepped outside and closed the door. “How did you even…? I have super hearing - how did you sneak up on me??”

Xena shrugged, not about to confess how near a thing it had been. “Stealth is a necessity to a warrior… even more so in my day than it is now. And I’ve had a long time to hone my technique.”

Kara looked at her a moment longer, then nodded her head. “I suppose you really have, haven’t you?” She smiled. “Are you ready?”

“Almost,” turning to grasp her bag. She kept her back to Kara, then spoke softly enough that only Kara’s super hearing enabled her to understand her words. “You should know that Alex never hated you.”

Kara sucked in a surprised breath. She had never expected Xena to say something like that… not given all the things she had heard about both her and Gabrielle since their initial meeting. Gabrielle was known to be the one that did sensitive chats; Xena was just happy not to. She released her breath slowly. “What makes you say that?”

Xena turned and met her eyes squarely, studying her for a long moment. “In some ways, you and I are a lot alike. My older brother, Toris, had a problem with me from the time we were little, and I was sure he hated me, especially after….” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “It wasn’t until we were adults that I understood how much of his issue with me, was his jealousy of me.” She met Kara’s eyes again. “You’re very lucky, Kara, because Alex is a pretty smart cookie. She figured things out for herself and became amazing in her own right, despite the pressure and expectations Eliza put on her.”

“I take it your brother never came around?”

Xena shrugged. “He did… eventually, thanks mostly to Gabrielle. I think we were even almost friends the last time I saw him.”

Kara stepped forward and put her hands on Xena’s shoulders. “I’m going to hug you now,” she proclaimed, then did just that. Xena allowed the embrace for a long moment, knowing Kara was one of the few people she could hug with all her considerable strength and not injure. She felt Kara tighten her own hug carefully, and she smiled.

“Thank you, Kara,” she said as she stepped back.

Kara’s smile was blinding. “I am good for that any time. You give great hugs!”

Xena snorted. “Yeah… let’s not let that get around. Everyone will expect them all. the. time. And ain’t nobody got time for that.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Kara assured with a hand on her arm. “I get it about preserving the bad ass image. Alex is all over that whole idea,” she added with a giggle. Xena rolled her eyes. “C’mon, Boss Lady - let’s get you to your heartsoul.”

Xena slipped her bag onto her body and walked behind Kara, then put her hands on the blue clad shoulders. “All right, Supergirl - up, up, and away.”

Kara’s eyes narrowed. “Oh no, you did not just….” even as she levitated them just above the floor

“Sure I did,” Xena bantered. “Time to put your money where your mouth is, Zor El.” Kara didn’t say another word. She simply shot them straight up into the air, then leveled out so she was horizontal, and Xena was on top of her back, just looking over one shoulder. With no warning, she sped off at the speed of light, leaving only the burst of the sound barrier being broken behind her.

************

“Dude,” Claudia greeted Gabrielle almost the exact moment she and Aphrodite appeared in the Warehouse. “I am so glad you’re here. We’ve got a bit of a situation.”

Aphrodite kept a hold on Gabrielle. “I’ve got to get back to Olympus… see what the hold-up is and what kind of progress is being made for getting the rest of the gods together for this thing. But I’ll be back as soon as I can. Don’t start without us, yeah?” giving Gabrielle a wistful smile.

“We’ll do our best,” Gabrielle promised. She leaned over and brushed a kiss over Aphrodite’s cheek, smiling at the light blush that crawled up her fair features. “Thanks for the ride.”

Aphrodite smiled rakishly, trying to hide her embarrassment. “Anytime, Cutie - you know that. Later!” she said with a wave as she disappeared. Claudia just looked between where she had been and Gabrielle and shook her head. She’d learned a long time ago when to ask and when to leave well enough alone. Besides, from what she could discovered in the records of the two of them, Xena and Gabrielle were something beyond… and not to be trifled with.

Gabrielle turned back to Claudia, impressed with her self-restraint. “So, what’s your situation, and how can I help?”

“Well, the good news is - all the trailers are here, and Myka and HG have pretty much finished getting them wired and plumbed, so to speak. And all of your Guardian people are here except for….” She looked at her notes. “Um… Barbara Gordon, and she is actually on her way as we speak. She and her partners… partners?” She looked at Gabrielle. “Is that right? She has more than one partner? I’m only asking because we’ll have to alter their living arrangements. We only set aside space for the Guardian and a single individual to share.”

“Not in the sense you’re thinking, though they are a family. Helena is her partner; Dinah was her ward, though legally, Dinah is old enough to be her own person at this point. They do still share living space, though Dinah won’t expect to in this situation.” Gabrielle pinched her bottom lip and frowned. “She will need a singular space to stay, however.”

“Oooo-kay,” Claudia said slowly. “Is there a reason she gets special treatment, or…?”

“Yes,” Gabrielle said. “And not just because I said so. But it’s not my secret to share, so if you want to know, you’ll have to ask her. Nevertheless, it is imperative for her sanity, if not her very well-being.”

Claudia nodded slowly. “I’ll see what I can do. Do you think she’d be okay staying at Lena’s with us?”

“Possibly. Alone would be best, but we can try. Surely half a dozen would be easier to manage than several hundred.”

“Totally, dude. Now, we have another problem. How are we supposed to get everyone here… or you know, to the battleground area where the trailers are? There aren’t that many buses that come around here.”

Gabrielle rubbed her forehead. “I’m pretty sure Xena arranged something. I’ll as….”

“What did I arrange?” Xena asked as she and Kara landed just ahead of the sonic boom. “Thanks for the ride, Supergirl,” said with a twinkle and a smirk as she stepped away from the Girl of Steel.

Kara grinned. “Any time, Boss,” she assured before she was rising into the air once more. Then in the blink of an eye she was headed toward California. Claudia just blinked.

“Was that really…?”

“Yep,” Xena replied succinctly. “Now… what did I arrange?”

“Oh… um, buses… to bring people out here from the airport. Your Guardians all rented their own transportation so far, but the rest…. Even if they double and triple up, there aren’t enough rental cars in the state for the number of people you told me to expect. And there just aren’t that many buses that come out this way.”

“I hired two buses to meet the planes as they arrive. When a bus fills up, it will head back this way, and they will continue to go back and forth until we have everyone here.”

Claudia’s mouth snapped closed. “Oh. Cool,” she said. “That takes care of all I’ve got right now.” She turned to Gabrielle. “I’ll go see what I can do about your friend. Artie may know of some way we can help her, so she can at least come to Lena’s and not be stuck in a cave or something.”

Gabrielle smiled at her. “Thank you, Claudia.”

“Yeah… sure. Glad to help,” she offered with a wink as she snapped her fingers and pointed at them. “Later.”

They watched her walk off without a backward glance, then turned to one another. Gabrielle walked into Xena’s arms, holding on tightly and breathing deeply as Xena embraced her completely. She snuggled up as close as she could, gratified when Xena’s cheek rested on her head.

“How was your flight?” she asked, a hint of a smile in her voice.

“I need to learn how to do that,” she confessed, feeling Gabrielle’s laughter bubble up between them.

“I don’t think that’s a learned skill, my love.”

“Eh… maybe. But it sure would be cool if it was. How’s Aphrodite? I got the feeling she needed a little one-on-one Gab time.”

“Maybe, but she didn’t stick around to get it. She left almost the minute we got here. Something about going back to Olympus to find out what’s going on up there. She expected folks to be here already… especially Athena and Artemis.”

“You think something’s wrong?”

“I think something’s not right. And that means nothing good for us.”

“Oh boy.”



Chapter LX

As women arrived at the airport, they were escorted to a separate area to board the waiting bus or to wait for the next bus to arrive. They greeted one another like the friends they were, but the atmosphere was subdued… as though the seriousness of what they were doing had finally impressed itself upon their minds. At the moment, many of the New York contingent had arrived, as had most of those hailing from Washington, D.C., because those coming from the East Coast were among the last to roll into this next-to-last stop on their journey.

Most had taken seats, partaking of the refreshments that had been prepared for them and sharing quiet conversation. A few paced back and forth in their own small space, conscious of the need to respect each other and those around them.

Aware that Sam’s attention was centered on something internal, Brooke McQueen had crossed the room to talk to Sarah Mackenzie, knowing Sam would share when she was ready. Meanwhile, Sam MacPherson had focused her attention out one of the few windows that graced the building. There wasn’t much to see… even in the brightness of mid-afternoon. For one thing, the building they were being housed in was somewhat out of the way from the main terminal area. For another, aside from the pretty scenery in the distance, there just wasn’t a lot nearby that was particularly interesting.

In fairness, her attention wasn’t even remotely on the panorama in front of her. Instead, she was working on an idea that had occurred to her on the flight out. She nearly jumped out of her skin when an unfamiliar hand landed on her arm, and she whirled around with her hand raised and her eyes sparking fire….

… only to find Cat Grant holding up a hand and looking at her with an expression that was half annoyance and half amusement. She cocked an eyebrow in Sam’s direction, and Sam dropped her hand, though her ire remained. She put her hands on her hips and arched her own brow. Cat cleared her throat to keep from chuckling out loud.

“I’m sorry if I startled you, but I did call your name several times. You are Sam MacPherson, correct?”

Sam frowned but nodded her head. “Yes, but um… how did you know that, Ms. Grant?”

Cat rolled her eyes. “Please. False modesty doesn’t suit anyone - certainly not a Pulitzer prize winning journalist.” Her expression softened slightly when Sam dropped her gaze to the ground as a light flush slid up her cheeks. “I was wondering if you had a moment to talk,” causing brown eyes to widen as they came up to meet hers.

Sam felt her anger at being disturbed melting away at Cat’s words. Despite her upset at being interrupted, she could tell Cat was being quite genuine in her desire to talk. “Yeah… sure!” she replied enthusiastically. “Would you like to sit or…?”

Cat shook her head and turned to the window. “No. I’m quite comfortable standing here.” Sam nodded and resumed her study of the world beyond the window. “What were you thinking about… when I approached you?” Cat asked suddenly into the silence. Sam turned and looked at her, but Cat kept her gaze on the outside world.

Finally…. “Why?” Not accusing or angry, but full of honest confusion.

Cat sighed. “I recognized the look. You’re on the trail of a pretty big story… or at least you think you are. I’d bet you’re trying to figure out if there is one worth pursuing here.” Now she shifted her entire body so she could observe Sam and still see the outside world. “You have to know that there is no story here… not one that can be told, anyway.”

Sam chuckled, though there was little mirth in the sound. “That’s rich… coming from you. I remember a time when nothing wouldn’t have stopped you from telling this story. Because we both know there is a story here… but you’re right - it’s not one that should be told. However,” she continued before Cat could interrupt, “I was thinking about this whole situation, and something about it just doesn’t… add up; it doesn’t feel right.”

“Would you like to share?” Cat asked quietly when the silence started to drag on too long.

Sam shrugged beside her. “I dunno. Do you think you could treat me as a colleague and an equal and not some hack kid that’s never been around the block?” She turned and faced Cat directly, meeting her eyes stare for stare. “I freely acknowledge the incredible things you’ve done in your life, and that you’ve done for women in our profession. But I’m a big girl - I’ve done my time in the trenches, and I know how the world works. I’d appreciate a little respect… or at least the courtesy of the benefit of the doubt until I give you reason to lecture me.”

Cat smirked, and Sam cocked her eyebrow again, though she didn’t speak. “It’s nice to find someone who knows they are an equal and demands the respect that commands,” Cat replied, watching with twinkling eyes as Sam smirked. “Now… that said, will you answer my question?”

Sam considered her for a long moment, then turned back to the window. “Would you find it a little… odd… to know that the Horseman seems to have made a home in New Orleans?”

Cat frowned. “How do you mean? I hadn’t heard that little tidbit… that she’d been found.”

“Probably because I didn’t share it,” Sam murmured.

Cat turned her head to study Sam in silence for a minute, then refocused her attention back out the window. She certainly didn’t want to draw undue attention to their conversation. “When did this happen?”

“About thirty minutes after everyone decided they needed to do this. I just looked in the most logical place first.” She shrugged. “Kinda made me wonder how hard people were trying to actually find her… because if anyone else thought to look there, I sure never heard about it.”

“So, why didn’t you share?”

Sam tilted her head just enough that Cat could see the smirk on her lips and the eyebrow that had crawled up her forehead. “Really? C’mon, Cat… you know the answer to that question - the selfish as well as the unselfish.”

Cat gazed at her a moment longer before she nodded firmly. “Yes… I suppose I do.” She looked back out the window. “What were you thinking about so hard then - if you’re not telling people about the Horseman, and you’re not out to tell this story? Because you were considering something pretty serious awfully hard.”

Sam shrugged again. “I’m mostly trying to figure out why New Orleans. I mean… I get that it’s a popular place for ghosts to hang out or whatever, but the fact is, there are a number of places around the world that have a much richer haunting history, and that’s without even taking into consideration the battlefields. I mean… I know if I was gonna try to build up an army that was going to fight some kind of epic battle, I’d be more likely to start with soldiers that already had training. So, again… why New Orleans? What is there that caused her to choose that as a home base? Especially since that Saligia guy hasn’t been anywhere near there.”

Now both of Cat’s brows went into her hairline. “And you know this how? Not even the government is aware of what’s going on with all this at the moment. There certainly isn’t any news of Saligia’s whereabouts.”

Sam smirked. “Before I became a writer of children’s and young adult books, I was a pretty decent investigative journalist.”

Cat chuckled. “Yes… you were. Obviously, you still are. I was a little surprised to hear you were getting out of the business to write books. You can do both, you know.”

Sam shook her head. “No, I really can’t. I made a promise.”

“A promise? Let me guess,” motioning to the ring on Sam’s finger. “Your SO doesn’t like what the job entails,” said with a slight lip curl, though Sam couldn’t tell if it was disdain or amusement.

She sighed. “You’ve done this gig - you know the commitment it takes and the danger we face sometimes.” Cat tilted her head and eyed her speculatively, but merely nodded her head in agreement with Sam’s words. Sam glanced back to find Brooke looking at her with concern, but she smiled and shook her head, then turned back to Cat. “You don’t know me or Brooke, but  let me give you the Cliffs’ notes version to help you understand - she was nearly murdered by her so-called best friend when we were juniors in high school,” seeing horror dawn in Cat’s eyes. “Nic ran her down with her Jaguar,” feeling the blood drain from her face as it had that fateful night. She felt Cat reach out a hand to steady her, and she clasped on to it in an effort to remain upright. “Sorry,” she whispered softly. “Even after all these years….”

“Sammy?” Brooke’s voice came over the buzzing in her ears. “Are you all right?” giving Cat a hard glance before focusing her attention solely on Sam.

“I’m fine, Baby… promise.” She accepted the glass of cold water Cat had retrieved and thrust into her hand. “Thanks, Cat.”

Cat eyed her another moment before she reached into her purse. “Here,” she said, handing over a share-sized M&M bag. “If anyone asks, I’ll deny it, but Kara got me hooked on these damned things years ago. I’ve learned to keep some with me constantly for times when my sugar drops like yours did,” giving Sam a viable out without revealing anything.

Brooke seized on the bag and ripped it open, dumping a handful into Sam’s palm. “Thank you, Ms. Grant,” she said before meeting Sam’s eyes sternly. “I knew you should have had more than a drink on the plane.”

Sam tossed the candies in her mouth and chewed swiftly… even as she shook her head. “You know I can’t eat when I fly, Princess.” She swallowed. “Can you see if there is any milk?” she asked quietly. “M&M’s just aren’t the same with water.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Cat stated. Brooke studied her another moment, then nodded crisply.

“I’ll be right back.”

Sam waited until she was out of ear shot, then turned back to Cat. “Sorry. I really haven’t eaten since last night.”

“Maybe, but we both know that isn’t all that caused this; either way, I don’t want to anger your girlfriend.”

“My wife,” Sam correctly with a smile. “We’ve been married for almost ten years now.”

Cat chuckled. “That explains the stink eye,” nodding her head in the direction from which Brooke was suddenly coming, juggling several cartons of milk. “Should I…?” trailing off when Sam vehemently shook her head, even as she turned to greet Brooke.

“Thank you, Love,” she said softly as she accepted two of the four cartons Brooke carried. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” the hint of loss and sadness easily heard by Brooke’s sensitive ears. She shoved the other two milk boxes at Cat, then took Sam’s face in her hands.

“Still here, Sweetheart,” she reminded Sam gently. “Not going anywhere without you.” She frowned. “What brought this on?” glaring over Sam’s shoulder at Cat, who had turned her regard back out the window but hadn’t moved away. “You haven’t had an attack like this in a while.”

“And we haven’t faced a danger like this… ever,” Sam reminded her. “I’m all right, Princess… I swear. And Cat had nothing to do with this. I’m actually lucky she was close by with chocolate. Otherwise, it could have been downright embarrassing.”

Brooke studied her another long minute, searching Sam’s face for a hint that she wasn’t telling the truth. Satisfied that Sam was telling her at least part of the truth, she nodded. “I’m going to go make you a sandwich, and you’re going to sit down and eat.” She looked at her hard. “You should have done that as soon as we got here.” Sam opened her mouth, but Brooke shook her head and continued. “I know you’re preoccupied with something, but you can’t neglect yourself for that.”

“I know… sorry. Thank you for taking such good care of me.”

“My privilege, Sammy,” caressing Sam’s face and smiling when she leaned into her touch. She bent her neck and brushed a kiss over Sam’s forehead, then raised her eyes to look at Cat, who kept her attention on the world beyond the window. “Ms. Grant, can I get you something?”

“No, but thank you for asking,” Cat replied. Brooke nodded and headed back to the tables to acquire something substantial for Sam. Cat returned her attention to Sam, handing her two milk cartons Brooke had unceremoniously shoved at her moments before. “You might want to finish these while they’re still chilled.”

Sam set the empties at her feet and accepted the full containers, shaking them carefully before opening them and guzzling them quickly in succession. “Ah,” she commented when she finished. “That hits the spot.”

“I hope you left room for some food, Sammy,” Brooke called out as she approached. “I made you a pretty good sandwich,” hefting the food she carried. Sam’s eyes widened slightly. She was pretty sure she’d seen pastrami’s and Reuben’s in some of the Jewish deli’s in New York that were smaller than the monstrosity Brooke was carrying towards her.

“Um… Brooke? Honey, how many people did you make for? Because I’m pretty sure I can’t eat all that.”

“I figure you can eat half, and Ms. Grant and I can split the other half,” meeting Cat’s eyes and continuing before she could protest. “I know you said no, but I think this may be the last time we get to eat something that isn’t a military ration for the next few days. I figured you might be more inclined to eat knowing that little bit of information.”

Cat’s eyes widened, and she looked a little green around the gills but nodded gamely.  “Well… when you put it that way….” She motioned to the chairs lined up a short distance from them. “Shall we take a seat?”

“Yes,” Brooke agreed. “And then you can tell me what brought up the night of our junior prom,” looking at Sam knowingly. “You only ever relive that night these days if you have to talk about it. So, either Ms. Grant asked, or you were sharing with her for some reason.”

Sam snorted. “Anyone ever tell you you’re too smart for your own good?”

“Yeah… Harvard - when they put Summa Cum Laude after my diploma,” she answered cheekily. Then she looked between them with a serious expression. “Now… why were you…?” pursing her lips when Sam’s fingers rested on them.

“Shh. Cat and I were talking about investigative journalism… and why I can’t do that. Why I promised….”

Brooke took Sam’s hand from her mouth and held it tightly as she turned to Cat. “She told you about prom night?” waiting for Cat to acknowledge the truth she already knew. “Did she tell you about her time in Europe during the terrorist bombings?” releasing a shaky breath as Cat shook her head. She swallowed hard and continued. “She was in France and got caught up in something that… that could have k…killed her.” She released another slow breath and smiled tremulously when Sam caught her free hand and brought it to her lips for a kiss. She squeezed the hand she held tightly and continued. “As it was, she was in a coma for several days and still suffers from some lingering side effects. She promised me when she came home that she would never put herself in that kind of jeopardy again.”

“And yet here you are.”

“Here we are together. That makes all the difference. If Nic had succeeded in killing me, Sammy would have been alone. If that bomb had killed Sam, I would have been alone. We promised one another we wouldn’t do that to each other… not with what it took to get us together.”

“You don’t think you could find happiness without one another?”

Sam and Brooke faced each other and communicated silently for a long moment. Then they turned back to Cat and Sam responded. “First, let me point out that we are both very happy individually. Brooke loves being a lawyer, and I’m having the time of my life writing creatively. I had forgotten how much fun writing can be, and creating my own world?” She grinned. “What a rush.” Then she sobered. “But us together? That’s everything… it’s completion. So, being without one another… especially not by choice? It wouldn’t be… fulfilled happiness. Contentment, perhaps. And maybe, one day, contentment would be enough. But we have happiness… joy… bliss now. Why wouldn’t we try to hang onto it as long as we can… together?”

Cat looked between them, almost able to feel the love that flowed from them. She nodded slowly. “I see your point. I think the world could use a little more of that, actually. Might make it a little more tolerable place.” Before she could continue, however, a stranger stepped into the room and all the women present quieted down to hear what was being said.

“Ladies, my name is Special Agent Pete Lattimer. If you could get your stuff together and follow me, I think there’s just enough room to accommodate all of you on this bus. We’ll be going kind of out to the middle of nowhere, and it takes a couple hours, so if any of you need to um… freshen up before we leave, I’d suggest you go now. As soon as you’re ready, we’ll scoot on outta here.”

A number of women headed to use the facilities one last time, and Miranda Priestly approached Pete. “Peter,” causing his eyes to widen and his spine to straighten like he was still in the Army. “Are we the last to arrive?”

He cleared his throat. “Not quite, Ms. …?”

“Priestly. You may call me Miranda.”

“Right… Miranda. Um, no. I believe there are two more small groups due in shortly. One from Gotham, and the other, the rest of Xena’s colleagues from New York.”

Miranda nodded slowly. “Very good.” She met his eyes squarely. “What do you think of our chances, Agent Lattimer?” making it clear she was asking the professional.

He blinked and swallowed. “I think Saligia won’t know what hit him. He has no idea what he’s in for.”

************

And somewhere in the hidden recesses of Mt. Olympus, there was an otherworldly chuckle. “Oh no, my insignificant human friend. It is you who has no clue what is coming.”


Chapter LXI

“Are you sure about this, Bruce?” Helena asked as he maneuvered the Batplane until it was almost on top of the Warehouse coordinates Xena had had Claudia transmit to them. Having him decide to join them had been unexpected… and uncomfortable. But he was certainly more qualified than any of them to fly the state-of-the-art jet, and Xena had said that any and all help would be welcome, so…. He bit his lips to keep from lashing out at her - questioning his parenting skills was understandable - but he had been doing the vigilante thing since before she’d been born. He released a slow breath and nodded sharply.

“Watch,” he commanded, then flicked a switch. Almost immediately, Helena realized that the Batplane was
a very advanced Harrier when the exhaust shifted to vents that were perpendicular to the ground. Then he set the machine down with the lightest touch, not at all surprised to see several people standing in front of the small door he had spotted, all with guns drawn and pointed in their direction. He turned and glanced at Barbara, who was already rolling toward the rear ramp. He just shook his head and remained where he was, knowing they would call him if he was needed.

Barbara exited the plane… only to immediately become stuck in the mud and rock that existed beyond the metal ramp. Without a word, Dinah lifted the chair just enough and Helena assumed a place behind, placing her hands on the chair to guide it… and give the impression of pushing while Dinah was doing all the work. Barbara remained silent, knowing the impact they were making.

They came around the side of the plane - a woman in a wheelchair; her companion ostensibly pushing her chair along through unyielding clay; and a young, seemingly unarmed woman. Jinks tilted his head at them as he studied them, then lowered his weapon slightly as he took a step forward. “State your business,” he said firmly.

Helena opened her mouth, but before she could make a snarky comment, Barbara covered one of her hands and squeezed lightly in warning. Then she spoke. “I’m Barbara Gordon. This is my partner, Helena Kyle, and our dear friend, Dinah Lance. You should be expecting us; Xena and Gabrielle would have told you about our imminent arrival.”

Jinks looked at them for a long moment, then turned back to his companions and nodded; they were telling the truth. The Warehouse agents lowered their weapons and looked back and forth at one another. “Yeah,” Myka drawled slowly. “But we never expected you to arrive right here.”

“Oh. Well, these are the coordinates we were given.”

By this point, both Pete and Jinks had moved closer to the Batplane to investigate what they saw as a great, big toy. When Pete lifted a hand to touch, Bruce decided it was time to announce himself. “Step away from the Batplane.”

Pete jerked in response, frowning as he tried to find from whence the voice emanated. “Who said that?” For his answer, Bruce slid back the shielding that covered the cockpit while simultaneously hiding most of the high-tech equipment. He didn’t say a word, expecting his presence would be enough to answer any questions without having to actually reveal anything. Pete studied him a long moment, then turned to Jinks. Though he was still a little put out with the man for his part in Pete’s marriage debacle to Myka, Pete and Jinks still had a lot of ‘guy things’ in common - and among those things were comic books and superheroes. They exchanged glances, then Pete muttered out of the side of his mouth. “Is that who I think it is?”

Jinks shrugged. “It kinda looks like the Batman, but c’mon, man! He’s a comic book character!”

“The same could be said for many of the things you deal with on a daily basis,” Gabrielle reminded the two men as she stepped from the front door. HG and Myka had been conversing with Barbara while Claudia went to find Xena or Gabrielle. Fortunately for all of them, Xena had felt the Harrier’s approach, and Gabrielle had immediately headed out to greet them. Unfortunately, she and Xena were at the far end of the battlefield area greeting the rest of the woman that had made the trip, and it took her longer than expected to make her way back to the Warehouse… even with the shortcuts at her disposal. “How about you go back to whatever you were doing, and I’ll take it from here?”

“Aw, man….” Pete whined. “I hate doing inventory. Can’t we just stay and meet the Batman?”

Helena leaned down and whispered into Barbara’s ear. “If they don’t stop calling him THE Batman, I’m gonna do something drastic,” allowing her eyes to flicker feral for a moment. Barbara patted the hand she still held, and Dinah covered her mouth to hide her snicker. Meanwhile, Gabrielle had wrapped a hand around a bicep of each man and started leading them away.

“Perhaps if he’s willing later, you can both meet him. But right now, he and I have some business to discuss. And we need to get the Birds settled in their quarters.”

“The Birds? I thought….”

Gabrielle mentally slapped herself on the side of the head. “It’s a term of endearment,” she said before Pete could get started on a ramble. She felt Jinks look at her sharply, but the look she gave him caused him to simply nod his head in agreement with her unspoken directive. She turned to the women who were patiently waiting for her instructions. “Myka, could you and HG escort Barbara and Helena to their quarters, please? And Claudia, if you would wait with Dinah in the office?” watching them break up into their smaller groups and head inside. She escorted Pete and Jinks to the door and nudged them gently… especially when they hesitated and looked back with more than a hint of curiosity and longing in their eyes. She arched her brow and shooed them into the tunnel, waiting until the door sealed closed before turning back toward the Batplane.

Bruce met her eyes, then jerked his thumb toward the back of the plane. She nodded her understanding and walked around to the ramp. Then she made her way inside, and Bruce closed the ramp behind her.

************

“So, um….” Pete started as he and Jinks caught up with the rest inside Artie’s office. “How do you know the Batman?”

Helena’s hands tightened on the handles of Barbara’s chair, causing them to creak under her strength. Five sets of eyes widened at the sound, and Dinah moved until she was standing right next to her. She placed a hand between Helena’s shoulder blades and rubbed lightly, helping her release the fury before she turned to Pete. “It’s BATMAN. Just BATMAN. Not THE Batman… just BATMAN. Got it?”

He noticed her eyes flicker from blue to gold, but he didn’t comment. Instead he held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Batman… got it. So… how do you know him?”

Helena looked at him with a deadpan expression, her eyes back to their normal blue. “He’s my dad,” she replied. Pete started laughing.

“No… really. How do you know th… Batman?”

Just then, Artie came into the office. “Pete, aren’t you and Steven supposed to be doing inventory?” motioning them toward the Warehouse floor. “Go on… shoo. Inventory’s not going to do itself, you know.” He turned back to the women watching him. “Which one of you is the empath?” studying the three strangers before settling on Dinah. “I have something for you,” dropping the armload of stuff he was carrying onto a nearby workbench and beginning to paw through it. “I’m Artie, by the way.” To his surprise, the woman in the wheelchair spoke.

“I’m Barbara Gordon; this is my partner, Helena Kyle, and our dear friend, Dinah Lance,” feeling like a record that had a needle stuck in a groove.

“So, you’re the Guardian,” he stated, but before he could pursue that, his hand clasped the object he’d been searching for. “Aha!” he exclaimed and came around the bench. Helena automatically shifted to stand in front of Dinah, and Artie tried to go around, only to have Helena move with him. “Do you mind?” he grumbled as he tried to push past her to get around…

… then realized that not only was she not budging, but she was actually pushing him back away from her. He stared at her, intending to berate her for interfering, but froze when he watched her eyes migrate to their feral form. Before he could formulate any of the questions suddenly rolling through his brain, Helena leaned forward and poked him in the chest with a firm finger. “Before you start shoving people around, Little Man,” she rumbled in a purr, “you better be sure your attention is welcome.”

Startled, he went on the defensive. “What??  What did I…? Who do you think…?” He put his hands on his hips and looked around at the women watching him. “Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but I was asked to try to find something to protect this young woman from all the crazy, emotional crap flying around here right now,” waving his hands wildly before putting one against Helena’s chest and pressing fruitlessly. “So, why don’t you just….”

He heard the growl just before he felt her grab his arm and clench. Artie reacted instantly, clutching at her arm as he dropped to his knees. Dinah stepped forward as Barbara rolled up, both of them calling out to Helena; Artie wisely remained silent, though he did signal to Claudia, HG and Myka to stay still and calm. Obviously, something more was going on here than met the eye, and he certainly did not want the issue exacerbated any further.

“Helena!”
“Kitten?”

Dinah took Barbara’s hand and placed it on Helena’s back and covered it with her own. Then she nodded and waited for Barbara to talk.

“Hel? Sweetheart? He’s on our side. He’s not trying to hurt Dinah. Okay? He’s trying to help protect her.”

Helena turned and studied Barbara’s eyes, then she rotated her head toward Dinah. “You’re all right?”

Dinah nodded. “I’m all right.”

Helena considered her for a long moment, then nodded her head slowly, though she didn’t move from in front of Dinah or Barbara. It was into this scene that Gabrielle walked, and she stopped moving the second she crossed the threshold and realized there was a situation. Barbara and Dinah both looked at her and shook their heads, and she walked around to meet Helena’s eyes. When she saw Artie still on his knees, but not gasping in pain, she stepped between him and Helena and put her hand over the hand on Artie’s arm. Then she lifted her other hand to cup Helena’s cheek.

“Helena? It’s Gabrielle. Do you recognize me?” noting the confusion in the deeply gold, slitted eyes. Helena cupped Gabrielle’s face with her free hand and gently stroked the skin.

“Gabrielle? What’s happening?”

“I’m not sure, but we’re gonna find out. I need you to release Artie, though, okay? He’s a friend and an ally, and he was just doing what I asked him to do,” smiling sadly when Helena tilted her head in confusion. “I know that whatever Darius did to you in New Orleans has kind of screwed up things for you. I was hoping to give Dinah an option that didn’t require you to lose more of yourself.” She looked around and sighed in realization. “However, it looks like bringing you into the Warehouse may have… complicated… things for you. Do you think you can let go of Artie now? He’s not going to hurt anyone.”

Helena nodded slowly, and just as slowly relaxed her hold on Artie’s arm until her hand dropped to her side. Strangely, he didn’t escape; instead he continued to watch the situation before him unfold with scientific curiosity, loath to disturb the tableau by moving. Helena shifted her free hand until Gabrielle’s face was cradled in both palms. “Help me,” she whispered.

“I will, Hel… we all will. Let’s get you and Barbara and Dinah back to the Batplane. I’ll let Xena know you’ll be staying aboard there instead of in the other accommodations we had.”

“What about Batman?” Barbara asked. Given Helena’s unexpected feral reaction to what she had perceived as a threat, she wasn’t sure putting Bruce and Helena together for an extended period of time was the best idea… especially if another solution could be managed.

“We could put him up here… in your place,” Claudia suggested. “Or I know one of the trailers was being reserved for the guys that have shown up for this little shindig.” She snapped her fingers. “That reminds me - a guy named Dyson got here just ahead of these guys. I sent him on out to you, but I don’t know if he arrived before you left.”

Gabrielle nodded. “He did. He’s pretty light on his feet when he needs to be,” unwilling to reveal more about his shapeshifting abilities if he hadn’t already done so. She had a feeling a lot of secrets were going to be revealed before this was all over. She chanced to wonder what sort of consequences would follow, then she turned her attention back to the emergency in front of her. “I’ll send Batman in as soon as we get to the plane… if you can get him settled?” looking at Claudia.

“Oh sure… yeah, yeah,” she agreed.

Gabrielle nodded. “Could the two of you come with us, please? I’m not sure how set the Batplane is for overnights, so we might need to bring some things out there to make it comfortable… or at least bearable.”

“Certainly, darling,” HG replied before Myka could speak.

“Um… Gabrielle?” Artie spoke hesitantly, waiting for her to acknowledge him. She turned and met his eyes, and he smiled briefly before clearing his throat. “When you get a few minutes, could we talk?”

She nodded. “Absolutely. Just let me get everyone here settled, and I’ll be right in.”

“Thank you,” he acknowledged, then he rose from his place on the floor and seated himself at his desk aa he began sorting through the things still piled haphazardly on top of it. Gabrielle caught sight of one particular object, but she figured it would be better to get Helena out of the Warehouse first. She’d have time to address that and any of Artie’s other concerns in a few minutes.

************

If Bruce was surprised to see a gaggle of women come strolling out the front door of the Warehouse, no one except Gabrielle was able to see it. Barbara and Dinah were too focused on Helena, and neither Myka nor HG knew enough about him to even question. However, when he realized that Helena was actually being supported between Gabrielle and Dinah, he rushed down the ramp to meet them.

“What happened?” he demanded, scooping Helena up into his arms as she collapsed. He swiftly returned up the ramp and headed into the small area he had set aside for medical emergencies.

“We need a place for the Birds to stay; here would be best if it can be managed.”

“Of course,” he agreed immediately. “But, um….” He motioned around the tiny med-bay that was part of Batplane that he had led them to. “I suppose one of you could sleep in here, but the rest will have to make do with the chairs in the main part of the plane.” He shrugged. “I’m usually the only one that uses the Batplane for more than simply transportation, so I never considered….”

HG stepped forward. “I have something that might work, but you’ll need to remove some of the seating. And cover some of the electronic equipment,” gesturing toward the panels and stations that pretty much covered every inch of the behemoth. Bruce’s eyes widened, but he nodded, and she and Myka left to recover the items they needed.

Just then Helena started to stir. She blinked her eyes open slowly, though Gabrielle was quick to note that they had shifted back to their normal blue. She jerked back in surprise when she realized she was cradled in Bruce’s arms, although she didn’t fight and struggle as he had honestly expected her to do when she discovered her circumstance. He met her eyes but didn’t loosen his hold. “How do you feel? Do you think you can stand?”

She took stock for a long moment, and he watched in fascination as her eyes went inward. Finally, she nodded. “Yeah… I think so. I’m really tired, though… exhausted, even.” Bruce set her carefully on her feet, though he didn’t back out of reach in case something changed. Helena wobbled slightly, then turned to look at Barbara, who was studying her with a confounded expression on her face. “Red?”

Barbara rolled forward until she was right next to Helena and grasped her hand. “What do you remember, Hel?”

“Um… somebody threatened Dinah?” she said as she dropped into Barbara’s lap and curled into her body. “I’m so tired, Red,” scenting her neck carefully as her eyes closed. Barbara flushed the color of her hair at Helena’s public intimacy, but her arms tightened around the woman in her embrace. Not that Helena wouldn’t normally try to make Barbara blush or squick Dinah out by flaunting their physical relationship a little bit, but this was beyond that. She was never one to admit weakness or need - especially in front of someone she looked up to… like Gabrielle; or someone to whom she had something to prove… like Bruce.

“I know, Kitten,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.” She looked up and found compassion and understanding in Gabrielle’s eyes; concern in Dinah’s; and confusion in Bruce’s. “I think we need to let her sleep for now. Whatever happened was really draining for her. We’ll just have to wait until she’s had some time to recover before we try to figure out what happened in there.”

“I’m pretty sure I know what happened,” Gabrielle supplied. “Helena was exposed to an artifact.”

“An artifact?” Myka repeated as she and HG made their way back into the rear of the plane. “You mean the one Artie was trying to give to Dinah?” dropping the bag she carried to the floor.

Gabrielle shook her head. “I don’t think so. He wasn’t trying to give her a whip, was he?” Three faces blushed brightly, and Gabrielle and HG exchanged amused glances.

“N… no!” Myka stammered. “It was a pair of glasses.” She frowned in concentration. “They belonged to Wilhelm Wundt, I believe.” Gabrielle’s eyes widened in horror and HG just shook her head.

“I remember those,” she said softly. “I don’t think they would be the best choice for an empath.” She looked around before noting the unspoken question in everyone’s eyes… except Gabrielle’s, who simply nodded for her to continue. “They can help repress the ability to feel the emotions of others, but they can actually rob you of your ability to feel anything at all,” feeling Dinah shudder at the prospect. “It was rumored that Jack the Ripper had possession of them for a short while, though we could never prove it.”

“And Artie thought those would be appropriate?!?” Myka asked in a horrified voice. “He’s usually a lot more careful about things like that.”

“Arthur can’t be held entirely responsible for his oversight,” Helena confessed. “We didn’t put anything about Jack in the notes because it was only speculation on our part.”

“What does that have to do with Helena’s reaction?” Dinah asked, voicing the question most of them had.

“I don’t know if she could sense anything about the glasses,” Gabrielle began, “but there was also a whip in the things on Artie’s desk. If I’m correct, it’s the whip that belonged to PT Barnum,” watching understanding fill HG and Myka’s eyes while the rest slid into confusion. She turned to Barbara, keeping Bruce and Dinah in her periphery. “The whip absorbed the anger and rage of the cats it was wielded against. For someone like Helena….” She let the thought lay, ignoring the puzzlement the Warehouse agents projected, even as understanding dawned for the others.

Batman stared at them a moment longer, then shook his head. “Do you want to leave her there,” nodding at Barbara’s lap, “or should I move her to the bed?”

HG started. “OH!” getting down on the floor. “If we could get these assembled, this might be a little more viable. That way, Ms. Gordon can utilize the bed,” causing Barbara to stiffen… until she realized exactly what HG was working on.

It only took a few moments, and the luxury hammocks were assembled and hung. Batman took Helena in his arms, ignoring the disgruntled mewing when he removed her from Barbara’s arms. He laid her gently in the hammock, smiling slightly when she curled into herself. Dinah followed and covered Helena with a heavy blanket, then they turned back to Gabrielle.

“All right. I need to go talk to Artie, and Batman, you need to come inside so Claudia can get you settled,” shaking her head slightly when his lips parted. He closed them without speaking, and she turned to Myka and HG. “If one of you could contact Xena and ask her to bring some extra supplies back with her, I’d appreciate it,” seeing them both nod. She looked at Barbara and Dinah. “I’ll be back in a while, and I’ll bring some MRE’s with me.” Dinah’s stomach growled unexpectedly.

“Or we can bring some out in a few minutes,” Myka volunteered. “We have enough… especially if Xena’s going to bring more back with her.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Gabrielle agreed. “So, let’s go… sooner started, sooner finished.”

Dinah and Barbara watched them go, then turned back to one another. “What a way to start.”


Chapter LXII

“This is a nightmare,” Gabrielle groaned as Xena dug the heels of her hands deeper into her neck and shoulder muscles. “Gods, that feels so good,” she muttered, dropping her head into her hands and leaning forward as she felt the knots giving her a headache begin to loosen under Xena’s touch. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

Xena chuckled. “Yeah,” she said, lifting Gabrielle’s head until their eyes met. “But I never get tired of hearing it. C’mon,” taking one of Gabrielle’s hand in hers and tugging lightly. “Come lay down and let me do this right, then you can tell me what happened after we split up to stress you out so badly.”

“You mean aside from Saligia and the logistics of this whole thing?” Gabrielle smirked, even as she did as Xena asked. Automatically, she slipped out of her clothing and slid into the unfamiliar bed. She winced slightly at the rough sheets, and then promptly forgot about everything as Xena’s naked body knelt over her buttocks, and those magic hands returned to her body and methodically started to decimate any pain she felt. She fell into a golden haze of bliss, though she was acutely aware of everything around her - the silence of a room that was soundproofed for privacy; The smell of her arousal and Xena’s mingling together; the heat between their bodies; and the delight of every place Xena’s skin was touching her.

After a bit, Xena leaned over, allowing the hardened tips of her breasts to graze along the soft skin of Gabrielle’s back. Gabrielle shuddered lightly as goosebumps followed in her wake. She cracked open one eye and smiled into the face nestled so close to hers. “You’re a goddess.”

Xena snorted but couldn’t erase the pleased twinkle from her eyes. “I know of a few real goddesses that might disagree with you about that. Now… you wanna tell me what wound you up so tight?” She slid off Gabrielle’s body and onto her side, waiting for Gabrielle to roll over so she could spoon her properly.

Gabrielle sighed. “Really?? We’re gonna talk about this right now?” still laying on her stomach and peering at her from one partially opened green eyeball.

“You don’t think it’s important enough…?” smiling rakishly when Gabrielle sighed again and rolled over into her body. She let her hands run lightly up and down the skin she could reach, keeping their arousal at a steady hum without allowing it to overwhelm them. She felt Gabrielle shudder under her touch and let her incisors elongate, scraping them along the juncture where neck met shoulder without piercing the skin. Gabrielle turned suddenly and tweaked her nipples hard, causing Xena to gasp at the unexpected assault.

“Time to put up or shut up, Warrior Princess,” she demanded, grabbing Xena’s arms at the wrists and slamming them over her head into the pillows. She didn’t say anything… simply gave Xena a commanding stare, lifting her head regally when Xena nodded her surrender. It wasn’t often that Gabrielle demanded and commanded, but when she did, Xena just held on for the ride… and this time was no exception.

************

They lay blissfully sated, Gabrielle on top of Xena and tucked under her chin, tracing absent patterns across the warrior’s skin. Xena, for her part, stroked Gabrielle’s hair and back, a lazy smile etched on her lips. She felt Gabrielle shift and looked down to meet darkened green eyes.

“I love you,” Gabrielle whispered seriously.

Xena grinned affectionately. “I know. I think you established that pretty clearly.” She put her hand under Gabrielle’s armpits and pulled her forward until their lips could meet for a timeless moment. “For the record, I love you too,” she said when they parted. “You feeling better now?”

“Oh yeah,” Gabrielle drawled. “Totally relaxed, though I wouldn’t object to another round or six….”

“Insatiable,” muttered with a smirk.

“… after I tell you about what you missed while you were out in the field.”

Xena shifted until she was laying on her side facing Gabrielle. “So, tell me. Did you make it back here in time for….” raising an eyebrow when Gabrielle clapped a hand over her lips. She let her tongue peek out and just touch the skin at the center of the hand, and Gabrielle jerked away as though she’d been caught on fire. She narrowed her eyes, but Xena just grinned impudently at her.

“Hush and let me tell it,” she stated with a finger pointed in the warrior’s direction. Xena mimed zipping her lips, and Gabrielle just stared at her for a minute with her eyebrow cocked in disbelief before she returned to her story. “Bruce asked if he could stay, and that was before we discovered we needed the Batplane to house the Birds.”

“He’s sure Gotham is covered?”

Gabrielle nodded. “He’s in touch with the Watchtower in case something bad enough happens that would compel him to return. But Helena dared him to stick around, and that’s what he’s trying to do.”

Xena nodded slowly as she considered the words. “I don’t see how having him here would be a bad thing - though that could change on a dime if he and Helena have some sort of blow up - and the plane is serving a purpose, I suppose. What’s that all about, anyway?”

“You wanna tell me why Artie had PT Barnum’s whip first? Because I don’t think it was a random choice on his part. Xena, you know how much anger there is in that thing!” when the warrior had the decency to look sheepish. She glared at Gabrielle’s admonishment, then sighed.

“I know, but imagine being able to harness it to use against Saligia.”

“And could you? Harness it?”

“Yes,” unequivocally. “Gabrielle, the one thing I have always been able to focus is anger. It’s where part of my strength comes from… still. No matter how much I have changed, that is still a core part of who I am… who I have always been. That… passion is part of my warrior psyche. I figured whatever I could do to boost that strength would work in our favor.”

Gabrielle nodded slowly. “That’s fair. I didn’t think of it like that. And you’re right - in any other situation it probably would… work in our favor, I mean. The problem is, we can’t know how an artifact like that could affect anyone else.” She sighed. “Helena had an adverse reaction to simply being in the whip’s vicinity. She went feral beyond her control.” She held up a hand before Xena could ask. “Not completely. She was still aware enough not to do too much damage, but she couldn’t stop herself from reacting harshly to something that just wasn’t called for. She revealed herself to Artie, at least.” She rolled her eyes. “That was quite the conversation, though he was understanding about it.”

“So… lot’s of questions, huh?”

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. “You have no idea. He’d really like to talk to Helena directly, despite the fact she almost broke his wrist when he tried to push her. I told him he’d have to wait until this was over, and then only if she’s willing to talk to him.”

Xena nodded. “Artie’s not stupid - single-minded in focus, maybe, and blunt, for sure, but stupid has never been a problem. And we know he knows how to keep a secret,” motioning around them.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Helena does decide to talk to him… if only to ease the guilt she feels for attacking him. I’m a little concerned, though. Do you think they are shielded enough out there? After all, we have an entire mountain, and these rooms are soundproof.”

“Thank the gods for that,” Xena mumbled, causing Gabrielle to blush prettily, though she couldn’t hide the light dusting of color across her own cheeks either. While she wasn’t at all embarrassed by the love they shared or the many ways they chose to express it, she knew Gabrielle held their intimacy as private and kept it close to her heart. And that made her sensitive to, and protective of, their privacy. She cleared her throat. “I don’t think they’ll have a problem. Bruce tends to stay decently ahead of the curve, so the shielding on the Batplane should surpass anything currently in use.”

“Even by a god… or a would-be godling?”

Xena snorted. “Even then. After all, you don’t go looking for things you don’t know are there in the first place.” Gabrielle nodded, but she didn’t respond otherwise, and Xena frowned. “What else is bothering you?”

“How did Dyson seem to you?”

“Tired… maybe a little frustrated. I think what happened in Storybrooke affected him more than he’s willing to admit. It didn’t help that he was told he couldn’t talk to Bo.”

Gabrielle shook her head. “I still don’t get that little triangle. If I was Bo, I’d be more than a little miffed about the fact that Lauren and Dyson arbitrarily decided how they were going to ‘share’ me. But I also know that if I was Lauren, I’d be fighting tooth and nail to do everything in my power to make sure I stuck around for however long Bo was going to be alive… even if it meant becoming Fae myself.”

“What makes you think she’s not?”

Gabrielle studied her face for an extended moment. “You know something.”

“I know lots of stuff. I suspect lots of others,” Xena replied with a smile. “But in this case, Lauren actually asked me some questions that point to that possibility. However,” tracing a line down the center of her body from collarbone to bellybutton, still feeling the slight tension that sung through Gabrielle’s form, “that still doesn’t tell me what’s troubling you.” She chuckled softly at the disbelieving look Gabrielle was giving her. “C’mon, my Bard,” she said, placing her palm flatly between Gabrielle’s breasts and lifting Gabrielle’s hand to rest it over her own heart. “You get cut, I bleed, remember? I can feel the unrest, and frankly, I’m not real crazy about it.”

“Yeah, me either,” Gabrielle confessed. She shifted just a bit, until their bodies were touching along their lengths. “Where is Aphrodite?” she asked without a segue. “I can’t believe it would take that long for her and Athena and even Ares to get the gods on Olympus motivated to come down here. So… where are they? Are they staying away by choice, or is something sinister keeping them from helping?”

She would have continued, but Xena placed two fingers over her lips. Gabrielle tried glaring, but it was a little ineffectual given their current familiarity. “I think we need to assume the worst - that they’re not coming, and that they’re being kept from doing so.”

“By who, though? The why seems pretty self-explanatory.”

“The obvious answer is Saligia. But I’m pretty certain he would need some inside help to accomplish something like this.” She bit her lip, and Gabrielle remained silent, fascinated as always by this side of the warrior. She sighed. “Ares is the most obvious choice - he’s betrayed us before, and his M.O. is the kind of chaos and mayhem that Saligia is so fond of. That being said, he’s almost too obvious. He has to know that all of Olympus and many of the other pantheons are keeping an extra close watch on him because of his history. Most of them wouldn’t hesitate to take him out if they even suspected he was dirty.”

“So where does that leave us?” when the silence threatened to drag on for too long.

Xena shrugged. “I’m not sure. Like I said… Ares is the most obvious, but he’s certainly not the only option.  I can think of a few tricksters off the top of my head that have done little to benefit mankind - Eris, Laverna, Loki, Kokopelli, Lugh, and Veles. If one of them is involved….”

“So, what do we do?”

“I don’t know that there’s much we can do… other than move ahead like we planned.”

“And if Ares betrayed us again? Xena… he knows everything.”

Xena shook her head. “Not everything.” And she proceeded to lay out the parts of her plan to which no one else was privy. Gabrielle smiled - it was just like old times.

************

“Are you guys sure you want to stay here?” Casey asked as she cleaned off her desk and put things way for the duration.

“Honestly, no,” Santana answered instantly. “But someone needs to monitor The Machine while She monitors everything else, and Britt told Root she and Hum… Kurt would take that responsibility. I’m not leaving her here unprotected. No offense, Lady Hummel,” she added, leaning around Brittany to look Kurt in the eye. He shrugged.

“None taken, this time, because we both know that no one will protect her - or me, for that matter - better than you will.” He turned his focus back to Casey. “The truth is, we’d all rather be there in Nowhere, South Dakota with the rest of you. But someone needs to stay here and oversee everything - what’s happening here, and what’s happening there. There’s every likelihood that we may be able to catch something that could make a difference for you guys just because we’re looking at the bigger picture.”

Casey nodded her head. “Brittany?”

Santana nudged her wife when she realized Brittany wasn’t listening. She turned and looked at Santana with a goofy smile. “Did you know that the majority of your brain is fat?”

Santana’s eyes widened, but she didn’t miss a beat. “I did not. That would explain a few things, though. But hey… Casey was asking you a question,” nodding her head toward the woman patiently watching them with amusement.

Brittany tilted her head. “You think we’re funny? Like not just gay; or not just funny weird; but like actually funny?”

“I think you’re adorable and well-suited to one another,” she responded. “I do think some of your conversations are funny and entertaining.”

Brittany nodded seriously. “That’s fair. So, what can I do for you?”

“I just wanted to be sure you guys were okay to stay here.”

“Oh, sure… I can’t leave Lord Tubbington here alone.” She leaned forward and whispered loudly. “He can’t be trusted to stay away from cigarettes, and I don’t trust The Machine not to have them delivered for him.” She leaned back and raised her voice to a normal level. “And I can’t take him into a fight. He tends to cheat, and that usually costs him a life. I’m pretty sure he’s down four or five lives at this point. Besides,” she added without hesitation, “I promised Root I’d hold down the fort here so she could go be with Shaw. She’s gonna be the liaison between us and you, and I can’t do that job. Plus, Kurt’s gonna help me and Sanny’ll be here, so we should be all right.” She looked Casey in the eye. “You just need to make sure everyone comes home.”

Casey nodded solemnly. “I’ll do my very best.” She looked around her office, and then motioned them to go ahead of her. “I’m gonna go get my bag,” she said as she turned to pull the door firmly shut, “and then….” only to trail off when she saw Ian standing next to the elevator with both their bags. She couldn’t stop the adoring smile from crossing her face, and a smile of contentment that was only a little smug graced his features. She looked back at the other three people in the small hallway. Santana and Kurt both sported smirks, and Brittany’s smile was almost as bright as her own. Casey shook her head lightly and dropped her eyes to the ground, though her smile never left her face. She cleared her throat and returned her gaze to her friends as she walked to Ian’s side. “Okay, since I don’t need to go fetch my bag - is there anything any of you need before we leave?”

“We’re all set here,” Santana spoke up after they shared a brief glance. “Hummel’s got his kid coming to stay, and everything is stocked. We’re good. You go do what you need to do to get this settled and get back here ASAP. I don’t wanna be stuck babysitting by myself for too long, all right?”

Everyone heard exactly what she wasn’t saying, and there were nods all around. “As quick as we can,” Casey assured her. “Promise.” With that, they picked up their bags and scooted into the elevator. In another moment, they were gone.

Santana, Brittany and Kurt studied one another again for a long moment before they, too, headed for their assigned workstations. It was going to be a long few days… at least.

************

Shaw was waiting at the car when the elevator dropped Casey and Ian in the basement garage, and she frowned at them when they approached. “That’s all you got? What the hell took you so long??”

“Sorry,” Casey replied. “Last minute stuff.”

“We better not miss the good stuff because of your last minute stuff,” she grumbled as she opened the door.

“Sweetie, let them be. We had last minute stuff, as well,” giving Shaw a knowing smirk. Sameen rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop the blood rushing to her face either. She cleared her throat.

“You want me to drive?” Ian asked, barely controlling the flinch when Shaw leveled a look at him. He held up his hands. “Hey… just asking.”

She tossed him the keys. “Why not? I didn’t get much sleep today,” smirking when she saw him blush in embarrassment, glad to know she wasn’t the only one a little self-conscious. “C’mon, dude… don’t tell me you and Red didn’t. I figured that’s why you were late.”

He opened the driver’s side door and slid in behind the wheel. “A gentleman never kisses and tells,” he replied, ignoring the guffaw that came from the passenger beside him. He wasn’t going to reveal the conversation - nor any of the other activities - he and Casey had shared. Some of it was meant to stay private between them. Other parts of it would become public knowledge when Casey decided it was time for people to know. As it was, he was quite happy with the way the last twenty-four hours of his life had gone, and nothing - not even Shaw’s teasing and ragging - was going to affect his contentment in life.

They arrived at the airport in a reasonable amount of time, and Ian drove them directly to the hangers where the private jets were parked. Shaw, having quieted down when she understood Ian wasn’t going to respond to her goading, gave him terse directions on where to park the car. Their jet rolled out of the bay, and he pulled the car in, knowing the techs and mechanics would seal it up as soon as they were done. The four of them exited swiftly and walked to where the plane waited, boarding quickly and preparing for take-off. Despite everything - despite knowing how dangerous this trip had the likelihood of becoming - they were anxious and excited to get started.

“Hey! Wait for us!” The sound of running footsteps was heard, then the plane bounced as six sets of feet hit the stairs consecutively. Lucy and Amy were the first to enter, immediately followed by Scud, Janet, Dominique, and finally, Max. They stood around the doorway panting for a long moment… until the steward eased by them to slam the door shut, then urged them to find a seat. They scattered quickly into the empty chairs, with Lucy and Amy taking the places closest to Casey and Ian.

“Should we even ask?” Casey queried with a raised eyebrow.

Lucy shook her head, gratefully accepting the water bottle held out to her by the ever-present steward. “No. This is what happens when you let amateurs do the work of professionals,” she snarked, though she couldn’t hide the twinkle in her eyes.

“Lucy!” from Amy.

“I heard that,” snarled Max. Dominique looked out the window, but she couldn’t hide her smile. Janet and Scud just ducked down in their seats and tried to become invisible.

“I know,” Lucy said with a wicked smile. “You were supposed to.”

“LUCY!!”

“What?” she whined, earning her a look from Amy. She sighed. “All right… Jesus! Take all my fun,” she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest when Max shot her a triumphant grin.

“Really?” Amy asked innocently, pulling Lucy’s arms away from her body. “All your fun?” placing Lucy’s hands on her thighs. A satisfied expression settled on Lucy’s face and Max frowned.

“No joining the mile-high club on this flight!” she shrieked. Everyone burst into to laughter, and Lucy took a moment to steal a kiss.

“Maybe not all my fun.” she confessed, then leaned back as the plane took off.


Chapter LXIII

“Holy crap!” Gail Peck exclaimed. “I haven’t seen lodging like this since my college days,” she said, throwing her bag on the top bunk.

Ziva snorted. “I think it’s nicer than what we had in boot camp,” referring to her days in the Israeli Defense Force.

“Either way, it’s still better than sleeping on the ground in tents in South Dakota,” Holly commented, “especially since there is a very real chance of snow here this time of year.” She looked at Ziva and Abby. “Just because we come from Canada does not mean we are any more fond of the snow that the rest of humankind.”

Abby held up her hands in surrender, while Ziva merely raised an eyebrow. “No judgement here. I personally don’t mind a good snow - when there is a chalet with a warm fire and hot toddies to enjoy,” smiling when both Gail and Holly nodded firmly. “Otherwise, I’m quite happy to park myself on a beach and soak up the sun while a cute cabana boy brings me mai tais on the regular.”

The other three snorted in laughter, and Ziva commented. “As long as we are not in the desert. That’s a little too much heat, if you ask me.”

Gail shook her head. “I can’t even begin to imagine. That’s like… NO.”

“The heat is a more preferable option than the sand. That gets into places where nothing should go… ever!” her vehemence causing the rest to chortle.

Holly shook her head. “Shall we go and see what the rest are up to?”

Gail frowned. “There’s nowhere to sit except on our bunks and nothing to do except whatever we brought with us. Do you really think everyone else is going to be any different?”

Holly rolled her eyes. Sometimes, her girlfriend deliberately chose to be obtuse. “No, but I’m sure for a little while, no one is really gonna want to settle down. It’s early, for one thing, and even for someone who doesn’t suffer from claustrophobia, these rooms are remarkably small. I don’t think spending an excessive amount of time in here is conducive to good mental health.” She turned to Abby and Ziva. “Not that there is anything wrong with the company,” she assured them. “But none of us are particularly used to this type of environment.”

“Not anymore,” Ziva agreed. “I did not care for this part of training. I was much happier when we were allowed to be outside doing something… although picking up cigarette butts wasn’t a thrilling past time either.”

“Ooh… you guys had to do that too?” Gail asked as she opened the door. “That was part of Academy training as well. They claimed it was to help see the details; I always thought it was geared towards torture myself.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Holly said as they exited the trailer, and all eyes turned her way. She blinked when she realized that apparently everyone - not just their trailer mates - had decided outside was a better place to be than in at the moment. She cleared her throat softly, as she heard someone address her.

“Who’s being ridiculous about what?” Dr. Temperance Brennan asked.

“Oh, um….”

“They were just discussing some of the vagaries of military and police training,” Abby supplied helpfully, smiling when understanding dawned in several pairs of eyes.

“Is that anything like hazing?” Cindy Thomas asked, then held up a hand to forestall any answers. “Asking for my personal understanding… not as a reporter.”

“I think we should establish a few ground rules,” Cat Grant cut in, not surprised to see a number of heads nod in consensus. “First, we need to remember that we’re all on the same side here - not as journalists and law enforcement personnel, but as friends who have come together to help our friends,” seeing several more heads nod in accord. “To that end, I propose that we treat this a little bit like Vegas. Whatever happens here and is said here, stays here. No one is allowed to use anything revealed while we’re here to write a story or make an arrest or whatever. Everything stays here.”

“Even for you, Ms. Grant?” queried Andy Sachs. “After all, it’s highly possible that you could learn things that could be beneficial to our government to know.”

Cat cocked an eyebrow. “Especially me. Just because I work for the government, it doesn’t mean I trust the government. Some things are meant to stay secret,” not meeting Sam McPherson’s eyes but feeling her gaze nonetheless.

Emily Charlton cleared her throat. “Given your reputation and the empire you built from digging up and revealing secrets, that’s quite a statement,” the brash woman offered quietly. She looked around at the shocked hush that followed her words. “Whaaat? I read things besides Runway, you know!”

Cat smiled, even as she nodded slowly. “It is, and maybe even as little as five years ago, I would have thought differently. But even an old bitch can learn new tricks… especially when they’ve learned them the hard way,” this time not meeting Kara Danvers’ eyes. She sighed. “Some things deserve to be kept private; other things need to be. There is no benefit to putting this story out there for the general public. It will only cause panic and misunderstandings. And if we’re to be the support we need to be, that means we have to trust one another.”

“You should probably all listen and agree,” Supergirl said, landing neatly next to Cat and standing shoulder to shoulder with her. “She speaks from a place of hard-won wisdom.”

“So, you trust her, Supergirl?” Miranda Priestly asked.

Kara looked at Cat and held out a hand, smiling when she accepted it and linked their hands together in a show of solidarity. She nodded. “Enough that she knows things about me that almost no one else on this planet does,” pointedly ignoring her sister’s horrified expression. “She has been my friend, my mentor, and my confidante since I first made my appearance as Supergirl.” She raised her eyebrow and smirked. “She named me, after all.”

There was silence for a moment as the congregation of women considered what they’d heard. Then Jo Polniaczek stepped forward until she was standing on Cat’s other side. “I’m not sure what the issue is here. We all know Ms. Grant’s right. And honestly, after the whole murder thing we dealt with at the Orlando convention, trusting each other should be a piece of cake. I mean, we all got through that okay, right?” nodding when the women murmured their assent.

“Excuse me?” Cat interrupted calmly. “What murder thing?”

“Oh… yeah,” Jo chuckled nervously as she scratched the back of her neck. “You missed all that, didn’t ya?” watching Cat nod firmly as her eyebrow arched. Jo cleared her throat. “We’ll um... we’ll get one of our storytellers to share that with you.” She looked around at the assembly. “That seems fair, right?” garnering more approval. “Let’s be honest, most of us already trust one another to some degree. After all, we kinda already know some not-really-nice stuff about each other, and no one’s made a big deal outta that. Let’s just treat anything else we find out the same way, yeah?”
 
Supergirl, Cat and Miranda nodded their approval, and the rest called out their agreement. Then Cindy cleared her throat. “So, um… now that we’ve established our ground rules,” bowing slightly in Cat’s direction, “can somebody answer my question?”

“What was the question again?” Nikki Beaumont drawled after a long, silent moment, causing laughter to ripple around the space.

“I’m glad you asked,” Dr. Melinda Warner stated with a giggle. “I didn’t want to be the only one who lost track in all the extraneous discussion.”

“Oh… you weren’t,” Sabrina Duncan added with a smirk. “Kelly, Kris, and I were trying desperately to figure it out between us.” A beat. “We weren’t succeeding very well.”

“Well, before we forget again,” Cindy interrupted with a hint of asperity, “can I get an answer? Are the odd rituals practiced in military and police training a type of hazing?”

All the lawyer types looked around at each other, not quite sure who had enough moxie to be honest about this one. Unsurprisingly, a throat cleared self-consciously before a Texan walked into the center of the gathering and began to speak in a raspy drawl. “Technically,” United States Attorney Abbie Carmichael replied, “it could be considered hazing in that it is an unwritten ritual that every recruit is made to suffer through to some degree. Is it actually hazing?” She shrugged. “It really depends on the activity involved. Picking up cigarette butts to keep the grounds clean? Not really; that’s a multi-purpose activity that has the benefit of annoying the crap out of those made to participate,” garnering chuckles and nods from those in the know. “However… repeatedly slapping an achievement pin into someone’s chest over and over while the blood runs and they pass out from the pain? Yeah, it is.”

Cindy folded in on herself, covering her breasts with both hands. “Okay… owwww.” She screwed up her face in imagined pain. “Is that really a thing?”

“Yes,” Ziva replied sharply, “though that kind of activity tends to be more a ‘guy thing’. Or at least it was for us. Women tend to be more vicious,” raising her own eyebrow in response to the number arched in her direction. She sighed. “Remember how it was when you were a child? The girls were generally mean if they didn’t like you, whereas the boys acted that way when they did like you. Hazing of women by women tends to be a lot harsher than any other type of hazing in my experience. You have to prove your worth, and they know there’s little likelihood of proving sexual harassment charges against another woman.”

“What happened to the whole ‘sisterhood’ idea?”

“Oh, it exists. But you have to earn your place first.”

“I think that’s true almost everywhere,” Blair Warner commented slowly, thinking aloud. “If you come from money, as I did, you have to prove that it’s not nepotism that got you ahead, or that you didn’t buy your place. If you come from a rough neighborhood, like my Jo did, you have to prove your toughness to everyone around you; if you’re a young woman, you have to be twice as tough to get half the respect. And heaven forbid you step out of your accepted social circle, because the old biddies will eat you alive if you show any weakness… at least until they fall in love with your bad boy or girl.” She turned and smiled at Natalie Green and Tootie Ramsey. “Fortunately, there are exceptions to every rule - women we have learned to trust through shared experiences - and those women are the ones we call sisters and friends.”

“I agree,” Sara Sidle said unexpectedly, blushing when all eyes turned her way. She had no trouble defending her work, but she didn’t normally bring attention to herself otherwise. Even with the success of her company and the respect she had garnered from many of the women gathered together, she still found it easier to resort to old habits rather than stand out. This, however, was important enough to her for her speak up. “But I also think we have to make the choice… the decision… to find those exceptions.” She cleared her throat. “Becoming part of this group of women that gathers together every year for this convention was a decision we’ve all made to find those exceptions for ourselves. I personally was able to reconnect with some old friends because of it,” nodding at Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh and Dr. Claire Washburn. “Through them, I was able to meet some new people,” allowing her gaze to meet the eyes of Angela Montenegro, Lindsay Boxer, Jill Bernhardt, Lilly Rush and Penelope Garcia. “And I was able to form stronger ties to my own team - people that were once barely teammates are now friends,” smiling at Catherine Willows, Wendy Simms and Sophia Curtis.

“I know we’ve been welcomed like old friends,” Maggie Sawyer interjected, glancing at her partner Alex Danvers when she felt her hands squeezed in encouragement. “It was one of the things we most enjoyed about joining the convention this year; it’s one of the main reasons we were determined to be part of this… this… whatever it turns out to be. Because you don’t let family stand alone.”

“What is this convention you all keep talking about?” Regina Mills asked. “I feel like we’re missing something important,” motioning between herself and Emma Swan.

“Who are you?” Olivia Spencer asked abruptly.

“OLIVIA!” Natalia Rivera, looking aghast at the impertinence.

Olivia looked at her and shrugged her shoulders. “What? It’s a fair question.  Out of the hundreds of women here, we know - or have at least met - almost everyone here at one time or another. Only these two and her,” motioning toward Wynonna Earp, “are completely unfamiliar. Given that we’re supposed to trust one another, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask who they are.”

“Are you serious??” Emma cut in. “Did it occur to you that we might be here because Xena and Gabrielle trust us? How else would we know…?” She stopped speaking when Regina took her hand. She looked down and met Regina’s eyes, then rolled her own and shrugged, though she couldn’t quite keep the sad smirk off her face. Regina turned back to Olivia.

“I am Regina Mills, and this is Sheriff Emma Swan from Storybrooke, Maine. We’re here because that freak of nature killed Emma’s husband, and Xena and Gabrielle told us we were welcome to be part of his destruction.”

Olivia had the grace to look abashed. “I’m sorry for your loss,” she murmured in Emma’s direction. Emma nodded sharply at her but didn’t otherwise respond. Olivia turned toward the others that were unfamiliar to her. “What about you?”

Wynonna looked up from her study of Peacemaker and gave the woman a sardonic smirk. “I’m here because Ares brought me to deal with the people from Purgatory.”

“Wait… Ares?” asked Dr. Camille Saroyan. “The actual God of War?”

“Is it really so hard to believe?” Emily Prentiss queried. “After all, we’ve all seen hints that Xena and Gabrielle are significantly different than we are on the most basic level. In fact, I’m pretty sure we’ve seen them with the Goddesses of Love and Wisdom. Who’s to say the God of War doesn’t exist as well?”

“Are we certain that’s really who those people are?” Mary Shannon asked. “Do we have proof…?”

“Does it matter?” Jennifer Jareau interrupted.

“In this case, no,” Dana Scully replied. “There is much more to life than our reality allows us to believe unless we see with our own eyes. However, there is proof enough that they are something beyond what is our normal… much like Saligia is. To this point, they’ve been on the same side as we are. We can only hope it stays that way. They would be an asset in destroying him.”

“Do you think we can defeat him?” Kate Todd asked uncomfortably. “We’re all human,” not seeing the look Regina and Emma exchanged. “How do we beat something supernatural?”

“We have to trust that Xena and Gabrielle have a plan in place to do just that,” Major Lucy Lane responded. “As adamant as they were about us understanding the danger that coming here could be, I can’t believe that they don’t have some sort of idea how to get rid of this guy.”

“And it sounds like they have at least some access to those with supernatural abilities,” Judge Elizabeth Donnelly contributed. “One would assume - as dangerous as that is - that they’ll use everything at their disposal… because this creep sounds like a real douche.” Chuckles followed her matter-of-fact pronouncement, and the tension around them relaxed.

“Okay… so,” Colonel Sarah MacKenzie said after a moment, turning back to Wynonna. “Purgatory? Like that place in between heaven and hell that priests are always warning about?”

“Not exactly,” Wynonna replied. “It’s a little town located in the Ghost River Triangle in Alberta, Canada.” She shook her head. “It’s… complicated.”

“Of course it is,” Nora Delaney commented wryly. “That seems to be the watchword around here.”

“God, isn’t that the truth!” Brooke McQueen agreed.

This time, there was all-out laughter, and the remainder of the anxiety dissipated from the large group. Serena Southerlyn was among the first to recover. She cleared her throat. “So, it sounds like we need our storytellers to share some stories with us.” She turned and looked at Wynonna. “I personally am interested to hear about this complicated place known as Purgatory, because I may be a lapsed Catholic, but I remember very clearly sitting in catechism class and learning all about that place. Sounds like you may have a better story to tell.”

“Well, I don’t know that I’d say better….” She trailed off when she realized how many earnest glances were being directed her way. She shrugged. “I’ll tell you what I can, but you’re gonna have to suspend your disbelief. Purgatory is a place very much affiliated with the supernatural,” noting the looks of skepticism and disbelief being thrown her way. “First, though, I wanna hear about this ‘murder thing’ you were all involved in. It sounds quite… intriguing.”

“Oh… it was something, all right?” Tracey Kibre agreed with an unladylike snort. She looked around. “Who’s going to tell it?” waiting until her eyes fell on Sam MacPherson. “I think it should be you, Sam. You were our first storyteller, after all.”

Sam exchanged a look with Cindy Thomas, who nodded enthusiastically, then she looked at Brooke. “Go on, Sammy,” she encouraged quietly. “You’ve got this.” She leaned over and kissed her wife gently, then rose to her feet.

“Okay, but you all should probably shift around so no one is behind me. I can project some, but I’m never gonna be able to be that loud,” causing some of her closer friends to titter just a bit and a blush to rise on her face. “Yeah, yeah… whatever. Just move,” she instructed.

“Make sure you tell about the talent show too,” Kelly Gaffney demanded, then added, “please,” with a smile. That drew a smirk from Sam, who clapped her hands together, and started telling her tale.

************

“Xena?” Claudia called out over the intercom. Any other time - or person - she’d have simply gone to their quarters and knocked on the door. But the vibe she got from them - mostly Xena, but even Gabrielle to some degree - was one of inherent danger. That, coupled with the obvious fact that they were a couple, caused her to exercise a bit more caution where they were concerned. It only took a moment, and Gabrielle had activated the visual monitor attached to the comm device.

“What’s up, Claudia?” asking with a smile on her face. “Sorry, Xena went to get something for our dinner. Can I help you?”  Claudia’s brow furrowed in confusion. Where had Xena gone to get something for dinner? No one had exited the residential area of the Warehouse - she’d have seen them come by her. She was startled back to the present by Gabrielle’s concerned expression and the calling of her name. “Claudia?”

“Oh… sorry. Totally spaced there. I just wanted to let you guys know that your plane just touched down at the airport, so your friends should be here in a couple hours. Also, there is someone at Leena’s named Darius Chansirèn looking for you. And…” she looked at her scatter notes, “a Trick McCorrigan called. He said it’s urgent that he speak to you.”

Gabrielle pinched the bridge of her nose. “Thank you, Claudia. I’m sorry you’ve gotten stuck with secretarial duties.”

“S’cool,” she assured Gabrielle with a smile. “How do you want to handle it?”

“Xena should be back in just a few minutes. We need to talk to both of them, so we’ll come up to the office together as soon as we can. Thanks.”

“No prob. I’ll be here,” waiting until Gabrielle shut off the Farnsworth before closing her own. She sat thoughtfully still for a minute, then shook her head and resumed her work.

Part 8