After a couple of years of maturity and some trial and error, I'm going to do a rewrite of my Helena Wayne story because the last one was...meh. I could have done better and I wrote myself into a corner.

So, let's start anew.

Issue #0

Baby Blue Eyes

Pinewood Hospital, Brookline

09/07/2007

21:00

Selina's body ached all over, her skin caked in sweat, with a thick smell of blood in the hospital room. Her short brown hair was damp and clung to her cheeks and her green eyes were closed tightly.

"One last push, Ms Dubrovna," the Nurse with faded red hair told her.

Selina gritted her teeth, digging her nails into the side bars of the bed. Her legs were spread further apart. She screamed, scrunching her face up tightly until her pale skin was flushed red, and with one final push the baby came out, piercing the air with its screams.

She breathed shallowly, collapsing against the bed as the baby – her little baby – was taken into the doctor's hands, as its umbilical cord was cut.

Selina felt dizzy, barely having enough strength to speak. The baby was tiny, wriggling around as the nurse wrapped it up in a towel.

The nurse smiled and moved closer. "Congratulations, it's a girl."

Selina could barely register what was going on as the baby was presented to her. Her lips strained upwards when she stared at her daughter, a pair of bright blue eyes – Bruce's eyes - staring back at her. The little baby's face was chubby and the tiny amount of hair on her head was black.

Selina shakily held her daughter in her arms. She was so small. The baby girl stared up at her, the crying faded into confused whimpers.

"Hello," she said quietly, rocking her slowly. "Hi." She smiled widely, feeling a swell of warmth.

The baby blinked and sucked her tiny fist.

Selina let out a shaky sigh.

For the first time in her life, she felt like she'd actually fallen in love.

She called her Helena.

Gotham City

09/07/2023

00:50

The city lights hid the stars from view, not a cloud in sight. A young woman observed the city from a High-rise, with loose black hair and a dark purple, pointed, the mask hiding most of her face. The slim costume covered her from the neck downwards, with the large white cross emblem on her chest and purple shoulder pads fastened in place. Her purple utility belt was full to the brim, with matching gloves and boots firmly in place. Huntress took a big whiff of the polluted air and smiled to herself as she stared out at the city.

"Huntress," Robin's voice rang in her ear.

She smiled slightly and touched the com-link. "You called?" She strained her gaze to the tower further up, where she could see the faint outline of Robin's form.

"An alarm just went off at the jewellery store on East Loxbone Street," he informed.

Huntress smiled crookedly and pulled out her grappling hook. "Race ya?"

"You're on," she could hear the smile in his voice, acting his age for once.

She released the hook and jumped, swinging down, the wind rushing through her hair. She dived onto the next building, flipping back onto her feet as she broke into a run.

There was something about racing through the air that sent a shiver down her spine. It was like she was dancing, going faster and faster until she hit the unavoidable end. It made her fingers tingle.

Huntress arrived at the jewellery store two seconds before Robin, as the Boy Wonder landed across the street. His forehead creased and his face scrunched up a little from behind his domino mask.

She smiled to herself and approached the building from behind while he followed. She quickly brought up her holographic computer to send a message to the cops.

The robbers had gone in from the back door, broken through the locks, by the looks of it, and were now quickly trying to gather all the loot they could hold. The getaway car was parked down the side-alley, but Robin could deal with that on his own.

She pressed her finger to her ear. "I already called the cops, so the car's all yours, shrimp," she whispered.

"Oh, Gee, thanks," he replied dryly. She glanced over her shoulder to see him preying down on the car, approaching from the shadows.

Huntress moved slowly, peeking her head from around the door. There were three of them; mid or late thirties, thickly built and only two of them were armed. A Crossman C12 and a Glock G19.

She'd only need to be gentle with these three, they weren't the big game.

She threw two small bombs at the armed guys. The bombs latched onto their guns and stuck like magnets, melting the weapon.

"The fuck?!" The big guy was the first one to notice, practically trying to rip his trousers off. The other guy collapsed onto the floor and screamed when the hot metal burned him.

"Shit," the third guy– dirty blond with a bad rash –tried to run, scrambling to the far side of the room.

She swooped in and attacked the blond hitting him in the gut just when he pulled a knife. She disarmed him, twisting his arm back, before grabbing his head to slam it against the floor, knocking him out.

The stolen goods scattered onto the floor like marbles.

She threw a Birdarang at the second guy when he tried to run, hitting him in the head. Robin zoomed in and kicked him in the face, flipping him over onto the ground. Then Robin shot two Birdarangs at the last guy left who was trying to limp away, pinning the guy to the wall.

She flipped over to the man and punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious, hurting her knuckles. "How did we do?" She looked back over at her partner.

The scrawny, raven-haired, boy checked his Holographic computer for the time and frowned. "Two minutes."

"Damn it," she murmured. Twenty seconds longer than last time. Huntress sighed and walked over to him. "Let's tell Batman it was a minute."

The corner of Robin's lip twitched upwards. "Let's say a minute and a half to be safe."

She grinned and ruffled his hair. "Come on, let's tie them up and get out of here."

Boston

11/02/2013

14:00

Selina sighed and stepped into the St Camilla's Elementary school, readjusting the bag on her shoulder. She ran a hand through her short black hair as she walked down the hallway towards the principal's office.

Helena was waiting outside the office, sitting in a chair with an ice pack held to her cheek, her long black hair hiding half her face.

Selina felt a swell of protectiveness rise up inside of her. She let out a deep breath and reigned in her temper. "Kitten?" she called softly, coming to a stop in front of her little girl.

Helena looked up, blue eyes shining brightly. "Hey, mama…" her city accent thick.

The older woman sighed and stroked back her daughter's hair, tilting her head back. "Who won?" Her lips set in a thin line.

A smile crept its way onto her daughter's face. "…Me."

Selina tried to hide her smile, sitting down. "Girl or boy?" she asked.

"Boy." Helena lowered the ice pack, revealing the purple bruise on the lower side of her cheek.

The woman stroked the bruise, letting out a slow sigh. "What did he do?"

Helen scowled. "His name's Hank, a-and he's always picking on my friend Kelly," she answered quickly. "And it ain't fair, mama. He's mean. I just… I just wanted him to stop." Her shoulders tensed as her scowl deepened. "I didn't mean to hurt his nose…"

Selina remained silent, looking at her thoughtfully, not sure whether to praise or scowled her. Catwoman would have smirked and told her to keep up the good work, but then again a cat-burglar wasn't the model parent figure.

"You did the right thing standing up for your friend," Selina finally said, stroking her hair back. Helena smiled. "But, violence isn't always the answer." The smile faded. "And, I don't want you getting in trouble because of some thick-headed punk." She sighed again and cupped her daughter's cheek. "You understand?"

Helena's lips were set in a thin line. "…Yes, mama."

She smiled faintly and kissed the top of her head. "Good," she replied, holding her hand. "Now come on, let's go face the beast," she whispered playfully, glancing over shoulder at the door, making Helena grin.

Batcave, Gotham

09/07/2023

02:00

The sound of a motorcycle echoed around the cave as Huntress drove in with Robin. Old relics, vehicles, training equipment, and the Batcomputer decorated the room.

Huntress parked next to the Batmobile and removed her helmet, her gaze wandering over to her dad who was sitting in front of the computer, his cowl lowered. She smiled faintly and dismounted the bike while Robin was already half-way towards Batman, his helmet carelessly left on the floor.

"Slow night?" Boy Wonder spoke, flipping towards the older man whose gaze was transfixed on the screen.

Batman hummed lowly, not tearing his face away from the screen as he browsed through some police records. "Crime's low," he replied grimly.

Huntress arched an eyebrow as she made her way over, removing her mask. "The end is neigh," she remarked ominously.

Tim smirked as he perched on a railing near the computer. Batman finally looked at her, narrowing his eyes. "How was your night?" he asked, glancing over at Tim briefly.

She shrugged. "Just a few robberies, a mugging, nothing big." She sighed and crossed her arms. "Not one bruise or scratch, it was like we were fighting training dummies. Only took a minute and a half."

"Don't be cocky." Dad turned to her fully. Tim's smirk disappeared as he looked away, kicking the air. Her lips pursed. "This isn't a game, Helena," Batman coldly reminded her, returning his attention to the screen as he steeped his fingers. "It's a school night, you two should head upstairs," he added after a moment.

Tim jumped off the railing while Helena narrowed her eyes in irritation as she started to take off her heavy boots. She stared at her dad, wondering why he was more wound up than usual. He looked tired, which was peculiar seeing how he'd been getting a whole five hours sleep this week.

He wouldn't tell her what was wrong even if she asked.

Her irritation faded slightly, knowing what he could be like when he got into one of these moods. Helena walked over to her dad, boots in hand, and sighed, kissing his cheek, making him tense. "Goodnight, daddy," she murmured, turning away.

Tim was waiting for her by the entrance, standing there in his training pants and vest, ready to go upstairs. She unzipped her costume and slipped out of it like she was shedding a second skin.

"…Goodnight," Dad replied gruffly when she was at the edge of the stairs.

She smiled to herself and followed Tim up the stairs.

Roxbury, Boston

02/10/2014

22:35

Helena stirred awake, holding her stuffed kitty tight to her chest. The small toy was a dirty grey with big green eyes, the left eye was cracked from the time that nasty, smelly, girl from down the hallway had smashed it against the elevator.

Her eyes opened when she realised her Mama wasn't in the double bed with her. She frowned, sitting up to look around the dim room. The street lamps shone through the window like a nightlight, illuminating the cluttered room.

"Mama?" Helena got out bed, her bare feet hitting the carpet. She held her kitty closer to her chest and walked over to the door.

She gently creaked the door open, revealing the living room and kitchen but no one was there. "Mama!" she called louder, feeling a swell of fear. She strained on her tiptoes to turn on the light, illuminating the apartment.

Maybe Mama was in the bathroom.

Helena hurried to the bathroom and twisted the doorknob, expecting it to be locked, the door opened but no one was in the bathroom.

She looked around, afraid something bad was hiding in the shadows. "Mama!" Helena scrunched up her eyes because Mama wouldn't leave home this late without telling her or tell their neighbour Rachel to watch her.

Helena hunched her shoulders and sat down on the couch. Maybe her Mama had just gone outside to smoke, or gone to get groceries…

So, Helena curled up on the couch and waited...