New To The Family

Chapter 17: Intruders

In the days that followed, Helena gave Damian exactly what he wanted, her absence from his life. She had tried, really she did, but it was clear that he didn't want anything to do with her. She thought she'd be able to change his mind and have a real sibling bond with him, but that hope was almost gone after their fight.

She considered what she had learned during that time, how Damian was jealous of her. Now just of her, but of her mother too, and the relationship she had with their father compared to his own mother. That included the different relationships each of them had to their own mothers. Envy could be a powerful thing; was it any wonder it was one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Not only that, it seemed he was insecure, almost threatened by her and her abilities, as if he saw her as someone trying to take his place, not just in their father's life, but now in his friends'. She supposed that was one of the biggest factors that made him begin acting coldly towards her once again, when he saw how well she was interacting with them.

But what did he expect of her, to always just stand in the shadows so he could feel secure? To hide who and what she was so he wouldn't feel jealous? It wasn't her fault she had unique abilities. It wasn't her fault her father held more affection for her mother and had a better relationship with her than he did with Talia. And it certainly wasn't her fault that she had a better relationship with her mother than he did with his.

Still, she did acknowledge that she went too far with what she had said. The circumstances of her brother's birth must have been a sensitive topic for him. But then again, he had brought up the subject and provoked her into giving her rather harsh response. She regretted what she had said, even if it was true, but he had ticked her off.

If there was any hope for salvaging or building their relationship, she certainly didn't see it. As long as Damian held these feelings and continued to see her in this negative light, she didn't know how things would ever improve. She just hoped he would be able to come to terms with his feelings and reach out to her. But until then, she would give him his space.

That had been a little over a week ago. It was now late at night, and Helena was sleeping. Yet even as she dreamed, she had a keen sixth sense for danger, which was how she sensed the approach in her sleep. On reflex, her eyes snapped open and she lashed out at the dark figure standing over her bed.

She never landed the blow. Her hand was smacked away, and something was placed over her mouth. Her mind just barely registered the smell of chloroform before it began to take affect. She struggled, but her muscles were already failing her and she was losing consciousness. A natural sleep she could wake up from when in danger, but a chemical induced one was something else, and she soon dropped off into a much deeper slumber.

Even so, her body's rapid healing allowed her to fight off the affects of the chloroform faster than a normal person, and she climbed out of the depths of unconsciousness. She became aware of several things right away. First, she was no longer in her bed, and second, she was no longer in her pajamas. In fact, she was in her Huntress costume. How she had gotten in it, she had no idea. Had whoever chloroformed her dressed her in her suit? If so, why? They even left her with her utility belt.

She wasn't the only one here either. She sensed another presence. Sitting up, she found Damian, in full Robin getup, lying down beside her, unconscious. They were still in Titan Tower, in the communication room. The large screen lay before them, powered on. On the screen, someone was sitting in a rotating chair, their back to the camera.

Huntress scowled, not sure what was going on. Where were the other Titans? How had someone gotten passed the security system? Why were they here? What the hell was going on? Had that Clayface person found her?