"Jeez, I can't believe you guys dragged me here."
Kara slumped as the three girls stopped in line, shoulder to shoulder, at the end of the long, brightly lit hall. Just as she finished her dramatic eye roll, she happened to glance over and caught the eyes of the blonde next to her on the final arc of their identical trajectory.
"What, Kara? Think you're too good for this? Think there's nothing a great, amazing Kryptonian can learn?" Cassandra's friendly berating quickly ended as her tone took on a slightly haughty tone. "I basically have the powers of the gods, but you don't see me complaining."
Stephanie couldn't help but round out the trifecta of eye rolls upon watching the stare down now occurring between her two friends: Kara and Cassie were the perfect personifications of that idea that the people most similar to you are often the ones you find the most annoying, namely because they mirror not only the good, but the bad. And while there was a lot of good rolled up in these two – incredible power and strength, the golden hair and ocean blue eyes that most California girls would die for, and a wardrobe that consisted of so much red and blue that they could often be mistaken for each other from behind – there were also a few bads, particularly their penchant towards competition with each other.
"I don't think I'm too good to be here, Cassie," Kara whined. "It's just that it's a Saturday night, and there are so many better places we could be right now."
"I think you can pass up one Saturday night's worth of parties for a little self-improvement," Stephanie muttered as she watched her friends' eye war finally end in a stalemate.
In front of them laid a set of perfectly polished double doors and, to the side, a large white board covered top to bottom in a strong, straight print. As Stephanie squinted to focus on the text, she didn't know if it was due to the multi-colored markers used or the fact that the letter i's were all dotted with small smiley faces, but somehow even the words seemed sunny and welcoming.
Keeping Calm During the Storm: The Use of Meditation During (and After) the Fight
Awareness & Observation: An Introduction to Investigative Techniques
She knew she this was a good idea. This was going to be so much fun…
…so much fun that for a moment she was so caught up in excitement and the feeling of her cheeks stretching toward her ears that she almost managed to block out the simultaneous sounds of a (very familiar) groan and a discrete giggle.
"'Landing the Punch: An Exploration of Hand-to-Hand Combat'?" Cassie whispered incredulously through her laughter. Noticing Stephanie's dissolving smile at the bottom of her intense glower, she tossed her hand, tilting her head to the side. "Oh come on Steph! These names are a little lame - even you have to admit that."
"Look, Cass," Kara chimed in, reaching over Stephanie's shoulder and pointing at the white board with a finger tipped in chipped baby blue polish. "It's a session for you."
All three girls now read the last session title on the board.
A Lesson in Humanity & Humility: Coping with Feelings of Superiority
"That's a little like the pot calling the kettle black, don't ya think?"
"Would you both just shut up!" Loosening her hands from the clinched fists that were balled at her sides, she raised a hand to brush loose wisps of blond hair from her forehead as she let out a sigh. "You guys both agreed to come because you know it means a lot to Dawn and the other girls - you saw how excited she was when she talked about their new 'community improvement' initiative at the tower the other day. Now just shut up and let's go."
"Welcome, welcome! So glad you guys could make it!"
A tall, leggy woman in jeans and a tank top half walked, half skipped toward them, her teeth gleaming as much as her long, pale hair.
"Sorry we're late," Stephanie muttered, arcing a quick glare over her shoulder at her two friends. "We…umm…got lost."
"Lost? Really, Steph? Couldn't come up with anything better than that? As though you don't know every passageway and cave Gotham has to offer…"
A figure appeared from around one of several accordion partitions set up throughout the room, effectively dividing the single, vast space into various neat compartments. Within seconds, Stephanie reconciled the indignant voice with the crooked, friendly smirk in front of her and ran up, catching the woman somewhat off guard with a tight hug.
"Helena! It's been so long!"
"Yes, yes…," the woman muttered, grimacing as she attempted to slowly roll her head and take a step backward to loosen her thick, black waves from underneath the girl's death grip, "…definitely a long time. Let go now, please."
Stephanie cleared her throat and mentally chastised herself as she quickly stood upright, straightening her sweater: sometimes excitement and adrenaline just got the better of her.
"Kara, Cassie," Helena announced as she came to stand next to Dawn, "nice to see you again."
The two girls were just addressing the acknowledgment when a door slammed, causing all heads to turn toward the noise. Five sets of eyes stood in waiting and on alert for several seconds, as the very back of the cave was the only area in shadow. As a slightly shorter but equally leggy woman strutted toward them, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Just how many cows do you think die on a yearly basis just for Dinah's wardrobe?" Kara whispered over Stephanie's shoulder, causing her to cringe: you would think someone with, like, supersonic hearing would learn how to 'whisper' so that her statements are not heard by everyone in the room.
Taking a moment to observe everyone's reaction, she saw Cassie trying not to snicker, Helena puckering her lips and shaking her head ever so slightly, and Dawn's eyes going wide. But even her lips were wearing a hint of an upwards curve. Probably because…
…Kara's observation was not completely off base: Dinah did live up to her name, in an entirely black ensemble, including a black leather jacket, black sheer button down, and skintight black leather pants. Her face was stern, but if she heard Kara's comment, she didn't pay it any heed.
"Hate to break up this little reunion, but we've got work to do."
"Oooo…maybe this will be fun after all," Kara sang as she clapped her hands silently. Shifting her eyes back and forth, she scanned the other faces leaning over the table around her. "No offense, of course."
"God, Kara, you really need to control that bubbling cauldron that is your mouth sometimes." Cassie just closed her eyes and looked down, refocusing on the paperwork in front of her.
"None taken, of course," Dinah stated with a slightly mocking inflection. "Now, as I was saying, although I hope you guys will take something away from this night yourselves, upon further discussion, we realized you three might be better served on the opposite side of the desk, so to speak."
"We think, given your experience and, well, your ages, that the girls here might relate better to you than to us," Dawn continued. Picking up on Helena's exasperated look, Dawn paused, swallowing quickly. "Not indicating that anyone here is old," she muttered, folding her arms across her chest, "but we're simply trying to give these girls the best chance they've got. They've all presented themselves as potential members of our community in some way, mostly through vigilantism but a few through the possibility of metahumanism or in some way exhibiting other extra ordinary characteristics. I think it is our responsibility to help them in any way we can."
"Yes," Helena chimed in, sounding as though she only half bought into Dawn's diatribes. "Basically, we want you three to help us run the sessions. Steph will be with me, seeing as we both obviously know a lot about investigation. But your power sets-" she trailed off, gesturing back and forth between Cassie and Kara, "are unique so we are leaving it up to you guys to duke it out as to which session you want to help with."
"Weren't there four sessions listed outside?" Kara questioned, narrowing her eyes with an obvious attempt at remembrance.
"I'll do the session with Dawn," Cassie jumped in, only seconds after Kara began speaking. "I learned all about meditation during my time on Themyscira. It was practiced almost every day."
Dinah anchored her hands to her hips, her lips curled up into a grin that anyone who didn't know her would almost call sadistic. "I guess that means you're with me," she murmured with a slight thrust of her chin in Kara's direction.
The attempt of intimidation was not lost of the deceivingly petite girl but was completely disregarded. "Let's go, then," she chirped, a tight, toothless smile on her face. "This really will be fun."
End of part 1