Saturday, in the middle of January. It was a day that would be etched in my mind forever. It started like any other Saturday I could remember. I woke up at noon and made myself some brunch. I then studied some files for my up and coming litigations on Monday. Afterwards, I hung out at the mall with Steph for the rest of the afternoon. We then proceeded to the Cave to meet Batman, Robin, and Bloodhound, who were already waiting to go on patrol. Steph and I changed into our alternate personas, with myself as Pantherette and Steph as Batwoman.

When we joined the others in the main chamber of the Batcave, Batman questioned, "You two have fun shopping?" He paused, then added sarcastically, "Not that you never get to shop, or anything."

Ignoring his comment, I answered, "It was great. We picked up a couple of dresses and a pair of shoes."

"Well, at least they didn't walk away with the whole store, like usual," Bloodhound teased.

"Cute," remarked Steph.

We all left the Batcave to prowl the streets of Gotham and the patrol went fairly normal, until Bloodhound and I hit the old downtown section, a slum infamous for underground activities and typical to a large city like Gotham. That's not what was unusual.

We were sitting on a roof of an apartment house when we saw Deathwish stirring up trouble. I hadn't seen him since he had killed my sister and niece and I still had a score to settle with him. He and his men were trying to steal something, though I couldn't tell what it was because it was in a crate.

I called Batman on my watch, "We've found Deathwish and his guys in a heist. How are things over there?"

The Dark Knight's bust appeared on the screen, "We've got a murderer over here and are going to be busy for a while. I know how you feel about him, Pantherette. Don't get out of control."

"I'll be fine. Pantherette out."

"Shall we?" Bloodhound joked.

"But of course."

We swung down in front of Deathwish and his men. "Long time no see, Deathwish."

"Ah, Pantherette and Bloodhound. What a nice surprise! It's been too long, Pantherette. I see you changed you outfit."

"Among other things. I believe I still owe you one."

"Hmm, is that so?" He walked to the box and pulled out a laser gun, pointing it at us. "Wouldn't want you to even it up now, would we?"

I should have guessed, I thought.

"I need to test my new weapon. Who should die first? The Cat or her friend so that I can watch her in pain?"

"Neither." I threw a Catarang at his hand but it harmlessly bounced off and fell to the ground. All it did was help him make up his mind.

"Ha! Nice try, Pantherette. My turn." Deathwish pointed at the laser at me and shot. I tried to dodge it, but I waan't having a good night.

I coughed and opened my eyes to see Bloodhound's face. "Oh, my head," I mumbled and then unconsciousness creeped over me again.

The dim lights of the Batcave hurt my eyes as I opened them slowly. I tried to remember what had happened. When I did, I shot up and gasped.

"Mistress, you're awake, thank goodness."

I turned to see Alfred holding a tray. "Where's Bloodhound?"

"Uh,...well, he went after Deathwish."

"What?! All by himself?" I jumped up immediately.

"I really think you should rest some more, Mistress."

"I'm not sitting on my butt while Bloodhound gets beat up, and that's final!"

Alfred sighed to himself as I got on my Catcycle and drove away.

As I drove, I flipped on the tracker for Bloodhound's 'cycle. I saw that it was at the same spot where we had found Deathwish. That's not right. Duh, he can't ride both of our 'cycles at once, so he took mine. He must have grabbed a spare. I then flipped the tracker for Cycle 1. Bingo. I pulled a quick U-turn and sped off.

My next task was to make a call to an old friend. I flipped on the communicator in my helmet. "Oracle, are you there?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on going anywhere."

"Good, I need a weakness of Deathwish's. Anything to give me an advantage."

"Alright, hold on."

I dodged cars in traffic while I was waiting for Oracle to get back to me.

After about five minutes, I heard the whistle of the radio and Oracle's voice, "Okay, I've got something. On the right side of his neck right below his chin is a weak point. A hard blow directly on that spot should break his neck."

"Thanks, buddy. Pantherette out."

"Wait, what are you…" tried Oracle, but I turned off my communicator and concentrated on driving.

Bloodhound was making a run at Deathwish when I busted in the door of an old factory. I noticed that he was pretty beat up already. Both Bloodhound and Deathwish turned to look at me.

"Mind if I join the party?" I teased.

Deathwish took advantage of this distraction to punch Bloodhound, knocking him unconscious. He smiled sinisterly, "Quick recovery, Pantherette. But to no avail, I'm afraid. I'll finish now what I should have done three years ago."

I prepared myself for the fight. I ran towards him, jumped up, and kicked. Deathwish grabbed my leg and swung me into a wall. I figured that I broke something, but what worried me the most is that my back ached. Ignoring it, I got up and decided to try a different tactic. I pulled out some smoke balls and hid them in my hand. I ran at Deathwish again, then I threw down the balls, causing a thick screen of smoke to rise at his feet. His disability gave me a fighting chance. I disappeared behind him, high kicking the back of his head. He turned around quickly, but I was faster and got him again from behind. By the time the smoke had cleared, Deathwish was on the ground, but not for long. When he stood up, he was angry.

Deathwish rushed me. I put my hands on his chest, rolled backwards, and tried to use his momentum against him. Instead, he grabbed my wrist as I rolled, so he used the momentum to throw me into a pile of boxes. This time, I knew that some of my ribs were broken because there was a sharp pain in my side every time I moved. Somehow, though, I managed to stand up.

Deathwish walked towards me. He slapped me with the back of his hand. I had tried to block it, but I flew a few feet to the side before landing on the ground very hard. I was furious and I struggled to rise, but my body wasn't responding.

With Bloodhound and myself down, Deathwish had nothing between him and the feared laser gun. He acquired it and stood in front of me. "This time, Pantherette, the gun is set on kill. Goodbye."

Once again, I urged my body to move, but nothing happened. I tensed, waiting for the blast as Deathwish's finger tightened on the trigger. The next thing I knew, I was flying a few feet to the side. I turned my head around as soon I could, only to see Bloodhound getting hit by the laser beam.

"NOOOOO!" I screamed. I scrambled towards Bloodhound as the shot ended. I cradled his head in my arms, while tears started streaming down my face. "Why?" I screamed at the limp body, "WHY?!?"

After a few seconds, I cleared my mind of anything except rage and anger. Turning to Deathwish, I vehemently charged, "You will pay!! First my sister and niece and now…my fiancé. You won't live to see tommorrow."

"Those were your sister and niece? Ha ha ha. You can't beat me, Pantherette, but it will be fun watching you try. HA HA HA!!!"

The cruel laugh echoed through my head. I reached into a back pouch on my belt, grabbing my retractable Bo. I pushed the button and it shot open. I stared Deathwish in the eye as I twirled my weapon. I pounced towards him, pretending to kick at him. He reached for my leg, but it never came. Instead, I knocked the laser gun out of his hand with the Bo, watching it break into many pieces when it hit the ground. That takes care of that. Completely surprised, Deathwish turned around quickly. "That was my favorite weapon!" yelled the huge criminal. He charged at me, and I was facing the other way, so I turned, holding my Bo out. It caught him in front of the ankles, knocking him down.

I started to swing my Bo at Deathwish again but he grabbed the other end and threw me. Still, I held on and landed on my back. I struggled up again, but I feared the worst since I didn't have much feeling in my legs. I then used all my strength and momentum to push towards Deathwish with the Bo, jamming it in to his hand. He screamed in pain, letting go of his end.

Now that I had regained control of my weapon, I started twirling it around myself, oblivious to all pain I might have. I waited for Deathwish to get up. When he did, he was angry and blind with pain. He charged me with all his might and I flipped over his head. This caught him off guard and his momentum caused him to run into a window of the office. I followed him in, but I used the door.

I found Deathwish on the ground, bleeding from the shards of broken glass. I flinched at the sight of wires and electrical parts showing, but I didn't let it stop me from doing what I knew I would do but never thought I could. I jumped on top of him, causing him more pain. I didn't care. I lifted up my Bo, and with one swift blow, hit the spot that Oracle had said would brake his neck. I smiled at the satisfying 'CRACK'.

I left the office, feeling a little dazed. I started walking towards where Bloodhound was lying, but gave in to the unconsciousness creeping in to my body and collapsed to the floor.

Haze was all I saw until I rubbed my eyes. Then I saw Batman's face forming in my vision.

"You're okay," he elated.

I smiled and threw my arms around his neck as he pulled me into a sitting position. The smile didn't last long as I started crying, never wanting to stop. "He saved me, Batman. He gave his life for me," I sobbed, "Why?"

Batman started to pick me up, "You should get back to the cave, you're really hurt."

"Wait," I protested, "Let me say goodbye."

Batman complied and let me go. I pulled myself over to Bloodhound. I took off his mask and his key necklace I had given him. I kissed his cheek and tried to get up, but my whole body ached and my legs wouldn't respond. Batman came over to me and picked me up. I didn't mind. This was when I noticed that Robin and Batwoman were there. They tried to smile at me, but I fell unconscious again.

I blinked my eyes slowly, adjusting to the lights of the Batcave. It felt like déjà vu except for all the faces that were above me. They were all there, everyone who I had called family for so long, except for Grant. On one side of the bed my eyes passed from Alfred to Bruce and to Steph. On the other side were Tim and Dick.

I can't believe he's here after what he did. Alfred leaned over to give me the diagnosis. "I won't lie to you, Mistress Lennon. You're pretty bad off. It will be a at while before Pantherette hits the streets again."

"Well, give it to me."

He sighed, "You have a concussion, three broken ribs, one ankle is broken, the other is sprained, your right wrist is severely sprained, and I don't need to tell you about all the cuts and bruises."

"Not to mention a killer headache. That's not too bad overall."

"I haven't given you the bad news yet." He paused, then continued, "A couple of the disks in your back have slipped and it damaged your spinal cord…"

"You mean…" I interrupted.

"Yes, your legs are paralyzed. The good news is that it is only temporary, but I don't know when you'll make a full recovery."

"Oh my gaw…" I was stunned. I didn't think it was possible for me to be out of action long-term. With Grant gone, I was worried what might happen if Batman needed more back up. Gotham seemed to be going berserk with crime lately.

Dick, like always, could read my mind. "It'll be alright, Len. Nightwing is going to stay in town for a while."

"But only until I'm on my feet, literally. Then you can return to your Teen Titan geeks."

Dick looked sincerely hurt and almost I enjoyed seeing him in pain.

"We-ell," Alfred butted in, "I think it's time for Mistress Lennon to rest."

"It's okay, Alfred."

"I should think not, Mistress."

"Yes, mother," I replied sarcastically.

Everyone, except Dick, called goodbye as they ascended the stairs to the manor. He was sulking.

I sighed, thinking of Grant. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I thought of happy memories and times when things felt perfect. I looked at my left hand, noticing that my engagement ring was still there. I smiled faintly at it and quickly fell asleep.

Fuzzy. I heard voices. Two of them, seemingly conversing. I concentrated harder and identified them. One was Bruce's and the other was…Babs? I decided to listen in.

"...only heaven knows how she kept going long enough to kill Deathwish," Bruce was saying.

"Yeah, but only hell knows how she felt when Grant was killed. Even Batman has never killed a man."

I was rubbing my eyes open as Bruce answered, "True, and Lennon is the most easy-going person I know, yet something ruthless comes out when she dons her Pantherette costume."

"It's called years and years of living with gangsters in my house," I called out, "You try it and see if you don't flip out when you see crime."

"You're awake," Babs elated.

I turned my head to see Bruce and Babs walking, the latter rolling, towards my bed. I smiled, "Long time no see, recluse." "Well, you know," she answered, "The same dreary computer screens get boring after a while. Besides the fact that you visited me last week."

"Last week? Isn't it only Sunday? And I know I visited you on Friday."

"Actually, it's Tuesday. From what I heard, you slept all through Sunday and only woke up for the first time yesterday evening."

"Whoa, time really does fly."

"Anyway, I brought you my spare wheelchair to use, since it's only temporary. I'm not trying to rub it in or anything."

"I know, Babs. Thanks. Did our mother hen say I could get up yet?"

Bruce answered, "No, and I'm going to agree with him, but that never stops you."

I grinned, "Good point. Um, did you put in an elevator while I was asleep? Or did Babs roll down the stairs?"

"Actually, I've been putting in an elevator for a while. I wanted it in case of an occasion like this. But the rule is, if you're not in a wheelchair, you can't use it. Guess that means I climb the stairs."

"Well, well. You've gotten soft in your old age. Help me out of here."

Bruce grabbed the extra wheelchair from where Babs and him were previously standing. He brought it over to the bed and picked me up ever so gently. As he was putting me down, I commented, "I could get used to this."

I rolled around for a bit to get a feel for the chair, but I was favoring my right wrist the whole time. My sides with the broken ribs were shooting with pain, but I wasn't about to tell Bruce and Babs. "Alfred is gonna kill me," was all I said.

Babs laughed and pointed the way to the new elevator. As we rolled in, Bruce called, "See you at the top."

The door closed and Babs pushed the up button. "Len, you're doing alright about Grant?"

"Yeah," I sighed, "I'll survive. It's just that I didn't get to say goodbye. About all I can do is remember what good times we had while he was here. If I go around blaming myself, I'll turn out like Batman did after Jason was killed. It feels so much like a storybook, since he sacrificed himself for me."

"You've always been good about bouncing back from things like this. I don't know how you do it. The most devastated I've ever seen you was when Dick left, but then you found Grant. And now Grant's gone and Dick's back, but I heard you weren't getting along with him."

"I don't think I can forgive him just yet. Having him here reminds me of how he hurt me and I'm already in pain over the loss of Grant. It's too much for my poor heart to handle."

"Yeah, I guess so," agreed Babs quietly as the elevator doors opened.

Babs let me roll out first. I looked and saw that the elevator led to the living room. Bruce was in his chair waiting for us and Dick was nowhere in sight. We rolled to a spot across from him as Alfred strode into the room.

"Mistress Lennon! What are you doing out of bed?"

"Taking a stroll. Say, Alfred, would you be a dear and get me some lunch or whatever time of the day it is?"

Alfred spun back into the kitchen saying, "Lunch it is."

Bruce now tuned towards me to ask, "Lennon, could you tell us what happened that night, if you don't mind? We only have bits and pieces of the story."

"Sure." Then I told Bruce and Babs everything. I told them about finding Deathwish and me getting shot. Then I told about Bloodhound going by himself to face off Deathwish and me chasing after him. I told about how I fought Deathwish because Bloodhound was unconscious and myself getting knocked down by Deathwish. Lastly, I told them about Grant's sacrifice for me and how I killed Deathwish in a blind rage. The room was deathly silent when I had finished.

Bruce finally broke it, "I called Grant's parents and told them it was a car accident."

"A plausible story," I sighed, "I just wish they could know that their son was brave and died a hero." My hero.