“The echoes are a little too loud, Mom.”muttered a girl with emerald green eyes as she helped an older woman up the steps.

“What has that, Helena?”asked the woman.

“Nothing, Mom, nothing. Ugh, I hate the scent of so many different perfumes mixed in the air! I only came just because you wanted to come. Otherwise, I’d be at home, for certain.”she said.

Looking up at the bright lights her pupils visibly contracted.

“But it’s for the animals.”she said to herself. “And that’s always a good cause!”

“With this we should be able to raise at least ten million more. Especially auctioning some of your works.”her mother told her.

Helena nodded.

“I hope so. Adela and Luna are such a good models. Well, everyone else is, too. I guess I’ll go and see about those refreshments.”Helena walked away, toward the refreshment table.

“I’ll take care of that,”her mother said. “Why don’t you go and greet the guests, instead.”

Helena turned, and walked towards the entrance instead, and greeted each person as they walked in.

“Looks like it’s going to be a nice party.”Terry said. “I never thought you were interested in helping wildlife.”

“Not really.”Bruce answered shortly.

He knew it was useless to ask anymore.

Before long, most if not all the guests had arrived, so Helena left the door. Most of the guests were older people, of course. She had little in common with them, other than perhaps wanting to protect wildlife. She went through all the people who were invited, and the one who had showed up through her mind. Just about all of her mother’s guests had come, except maybe one or two. And one who hadn’t been on the list, she knew, as she had written the list. Probably just one of the guest’s assistants, or something. She walked toward the balcony.

“Hello,”she heard a voice speaking to her.

Turning, she saw the uninvited guest, as she thought of him. After all, he wasn’t invited, at least he hadn’t received an invitation.

“Terry, I think. Um, an assistant to Mr.Bruce Wayne, who was guest number one, on the list.”Helena said.

“I’d have sworn you weren’t paying much attention at the door.”he said.

“I always remember useful information.”she answered him. “Besides, why else would you be here, if not as someone’s assistant, or the like? After all,”she gestured toward the room at large. “there’s only older people here, so you’d have to be accompanying one of them, and I would have remembered him. He is, after all, the one person I was almost certain would not have arrived.”

“I was pretty surprised myself. I’ve never seen him go anywhere, except maybe two or three times in the years I’ve known him. This really must something special to have gotten him out of that house. What about you? Are you working here?”he asked.

Helena shook her head.

“No, my mother’s the one in charge of the party, and I’m for that reason.”she looked over the balcony, at the city. “She thinks that we might be able to raise quite a few funds here. And we might stay awhile. The weather here will be a change from the cold winters in most of the cities of Europe.”

“You lived in Europe? Schway. So, you’ve never been in Gotham before?”he asked her.

She shook her head.

“I imagined it a little different, but then I only know from my mother, who lived here years ago, and from pictures she’s shown me. They look ancient.”she told him. “Somehow I thought the city might be like that.”

“And what was Europe like?”he asked.

“That depends on what city you’re in. I’ve been to Paris, you should see some of those fashions over there, London, Madrid, Sevilla, Barcelona, Venice, the only problem there is, obviously, the canals, Monte Carlo, but that’s too noisy, although you can find a lot of people willing to risk money on just about anything, Petersburg, those palaces are not just ancient, they’re amazing. And gigantic. And I’ve performed in some of the theaters. For the same reason my mother is giving this party, for the wildcats. I dance ballet.”she told him. “But I’m glad to be here, in Gotham. Apart from the fact that my mother has told me about this place, I’m hoping to meet someone, even if it’s the last thing I ever do in my life.”she said, with a determined look in her eyes, as they scanned the city back and forth.

“So you and your mother help wildlife.”

Helena’s eyes snapped back to Terry.

“Yes.”she said. “And, I’m going to school to become a veterinarian. I can help more that way, as well. Domestic animals as well as wildlife. And what about you?”she asked. “You’re simply Mr.Wayne’s personal assistant?”she asked. “Oh, no, I have to go,”she could hear footsteps, which she recognized as her mother’s. “My mother’s coming this way.”

Terry turned toward the crowd.

“I don’t see or hear anyone.”he told her, puzzled.

“I probably have to go oversee something, or perhaps she wants to introduce me to someone.”

Selina walked out onto the balcony. She stopped in her tracks, then seized Helena’s arm, and pulled her away.

“I’m sure Bruce wouldn’t want the help hitting on his daughter.”she said to Terry, as she pulled Helena inside.