Amazon crouched on a rooftop, watching the traffic below her as she pondered her latest invitation. There had been a near accident earlier that day when a driver's brakes had stopped working. She had stopped the car from crashing into a bus, and kept the frightened driver company until the ambulance arrived. Afterward, a woman had stopped her and asked if she would be willing to stop by the children's hospital, since meeting a hero would brighten up the lives of a lot of sick children. She was tempted, certainly, but she wasn't sure she actually wanted to go. She had never been around children before, and wasn't sure if she knew how to act around them, or how to treat them. For that matter, she had never actually been a child herself, or at least she had no memories of being one. To be honest, the whole idea actually frightened her.
"Boo."
Amazon turned to see Black Arrow on the rooftop behind her. The tall, black-clad African-American woman grinned at her from under her hood. "How's the apartment hunt going?"
Poorly. "It's fine. I thought you were tracking a gun runner."
Black Arrow came up beside Amazon and leaned on the low wall at the edge of the rooftop. "The drop isn't for another hour, and I thought I might ask you for a hand anyway."
Amazon raised an eyebrow at her. "So you came all this way to ask me in person? It'd be easier for Oracle to relay the message."
"She's busy tracking that blur in California. Besides, I can give you a ride back on my bike."
That wasn't the whole truth. She probably wanted to talk about Diana's determination to go it alone, as well. Couldn't they understand? She owed them a great debt for her freedom, and she accrued more debt the longer she relied upon them for support. She needed to rely on herself first, and then she needed to find a way to repay the debt. "I'll help. You said an hour?"
"Hour-ish." Arrow grinned again. "C'mon."
It was more like half an hour. The two women crashed the drop, set in an abandoned warehouse, and had the entire situation under control within ten minutes. Black Arrow asked Oracle to call it in to the police, and then the heroes retreated to a nearby rooftop to watch as a few squadcars arrived and the gun runners were arrested. Judging from the reactions of the policemen and women, this was a group they had been after for a while.
"They look pleased," Arrow commented. "As good as it is to do things on one's own, it's always nice to get a hand, isn't it?"
Right on cue. "You talked to Oracle, didn't you?"
"I always talk to Oracle," Arrow smirked. "I don't know when you decided this was such a big secret, Di, but it isn't. Never has been. Hell, after I stopped a pawn shop robbery last night, the owner asked me if things were running smoothly with you. You don't exactly live in the shadows, Di. Now c'mon. What's eating you?"
"Nothing's eating me. What makes you think I'm being eaten?"
Black Arrow stared at her a moment, then snorted with laughter. "Figure of speech, Diana! You actually thought I..." She broke off, chuckling, and shook her head. "I was asking what was bothering you, not chowing down on you. And don't tell me it's nothing, 'cause it's obvious that there's something. So c'mon, tell me."
Diana felt her cheeks warm a little. She felt embarrassed every time she made a mistake like that. At least it hadn't been a public one, and she wouldn't make it again. She recovered herself quickly. It threw her enough, however, that she told Arrow about the invite before she realized what she was doing.
Black Arrow was silent a moment, nodding. "Y'know, I never thought about it before, but you really have no experience with kids, do you? That would be a concern, wouldn't it?"
"You think so?" Amazon grimaced. "I'd hate to turn her down-she seemed so eager to have me come-but..." She trailed off, leaving the rest unspoken.
Arrow nodded. "I get it. But y'know, Green Lantern would have something to say about that." Amazon gave her a sideways look. She had met her once, and the Lantern had seemed to be a friend of Black Arrow and Oracle, but Diana really didn't know her all that well. Arrow continued, "It's what her power is all about, really, and it's something she had to learn along the way. Her ring works off of willpower, you know."
Amazon nodded. "So Oracle has told me." She watch the last squadcar pull away, leaving the street dark and empty.
"Well, her power is vulnerable to yellow-"
"The color?"
"Yep." Arrow grinned. "See, while green is the color of will, yellow is the color of fear. And if GL lets her fear get the better of her, her constructs won't be able to effect yellow very well. She becomes vulnerable. However, if she's able to overcome her fear, she doesn't have any problem."
Amazon sighed a little, feeling a bit impatient. "And what does this have to do with me?" She suspected that she knew what, but she wanted to hear Black Arrow say it.
"It has to do with you, Diana, being afraid." Amazon tensed, about to object, but Arrow kept going. "Don't deny it. And don't worry. Fear is normal. But what you've got to do is what GL does. Overcome your fear. Face it."
"I'm not-" Amazon began, but Arrow turned and gave her a hard look. It was the sort of look that Amber called the Bat-glare, and Diana had only seen Brittany use it twice before. The first time had been on a doomsayer who had set up shop outside their apartment and refused to move-at least until she used the look on him. The second had been on a suspect in a mugging. He ended up confessing to five muggings, three of which the police had not previously known about. Apparently, it was just as effective on heroes.
Amazon sighed, slumping her shoulders. "But...what if I mess it up? I don't know how to act around children."
"So ask." Arrow said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And one of us could accompany you, if you want, and we'd be happy to do so. We're your friends, after all." She paused, then added, "Trust me, Diana. It's okay to ask for help now and then."
