A Caged Bird
Chapter Eight: A New Purpose, Part One
by: angellwings
"What's going on, Arrow? We didn't have patrol scheduled for tonight, so why are we meeting?" She asked him with slight irritation. "I blew off Mrs. K's home cooked dinner for this so it better be good."
"I need you to do me a favor." He said simply.
"What kind of a favor?" Canary asked suspiciously.
"Act as a look out for a, um, colleague of mine." Came his vague reply.
"A colleague? What kind of colleague?"
"Our kind of colleague. He'll be inside the Luthor Mansion at One O'clock. I need you to signal him in case there are any unwanted visitors." He said quickly.
"Breaking into the Mansion? The only person in the world that I know is capable of that is Clark Kent, and if he's the guy you're talking about you can forget it." She growled.
"Not the only person in the world, Bird Lady." A voice said from behind Oliver. Oliver sighed in frustration and asked the person to step forward.
"I told you to wait until I had explained the situation." He said as he glared at the young man.
"What's the big deal? It's not like she's not used to the paranormal. I mean she almost dated Clark." He scoffed.
She sighed, "Did not need the reminder, thank you . . . and who the hell are you?"
"Bart Allen at your service." He said as he swiftly kissed her hand.
She grinned sarcastically at him and pulled her hand away, "I believe I was called here to help YOU, not the other way around. Seriously Arrow, I am not a baby sitter."
"I'm not asking you to be. He'll take care of himself, just warn him when some one approaches." He said with slight aggravation. Dinah had been in a weird mood lately, and he was getting sick of it.
She sighed as if it were a major hassle, "Fine, but if you get him captured; you're cleaning up your own mess."
"I believe you're as interested in the information as I am." Arrow hinted suggestively.
She glared at him slightly, "What does that mean? Please tell me that does not mean you've been investigating 33.1 with out me, because if I found out that all those 'patrols' you asked me to help out with were ways to gain your own information I would be mighty pissed, Queen. That's my investigation and you know it. Chloe and I can handle it."
He grinned maliciously at her, "What happened to Clark? Isn't he in on it too?"
She growled in warning, "No, no he's not, and I plan on keeping it that way, got it?"
"Got it." He said with a smirk.
She sighed in frustration and resignation, "So, all you need me to do is be a look out?"
"Yes, and then report back when you're on the way to the rendezvous point." Oliver said in a commanding tone.
"Okay, I'll do it," She said through gritted teeth, "But from now on, I better be involved in this investigation."
Arrow nodded, "Deal. Now, you two crazy kids play nice."
Bart was in and out at the speed of light with zero interference, and the three of them met in Metropolis. She followed Arrow inside a deserted warehouse with her bike, and was greeted by a monster, sleek, black jet. They were three lockers off to the side with different symbols and names on the doors. There was a small kitchen, and a huge screen with several blue prints on display. To the left was a large, tall, water tank that held what looked to be a lake full of water. There was an attractive blond guy stepping out of the tank with his shirt off. She squinted at him thoughtfully. She knew him from some where but . . .
"Oh my God," She said as she recognized him, "A.C.?"
He glanced down and squinted at her as well and then let out a loud laugh, "Dinah? Did Queen pull you into this too?"
She ran to meet him as he came down the ladder. He spun her around quickly and dipped her dramatically.
She rolled her eyes and shoved him away, "Show off."
He winked, "Of course."
"You two know each other?" Oliver asked in a bored tone.
"Helped him escape the wrath of the Penguin on one of Bruce's busier nights." She said with a grin.
"Uh huh, and then I turned around and saved you from that shark of his, remember?" He asked.
"Yes, I remember, no need to rub it in." She said as she stuck her tongue out at him.
"So, what have you been up to over the past couple of years?" He asked.
"Oh, you know, the usual. Kidnapped, experimented on, escaped, and currently hiding out in Podunk, USA. Yourself?" She said casually.
"A little bit of the same, and then I started working for Ollie." A.C. Told her with an understanding nod.
She snapped her head in Oliver's direction, "What'd you do? Form your own Super SWAT Team? You didn't try and recruit Maddie for this did you?"
"A Kid? Are you insane?" He asked her in shock.
"Don't tell me you consider the hormonal speedster over there to be an adult?" She asked him sarcastically.
"I'm not a kid, I'll be 18 in six months." Bart protested with a glare.
"My point exactly." Dinah said as she rolled her eyes.
"Look, Dinah, your my fourth, last, and only female recruitment are you in or out?" Oliver asked plainly with a sigh.
"It's not like I can ethically refuse, you know?" She asked him in a bored tone.
He grinned victoriously, "I know."
She growled lightly, "Fine, I'm in."
After meeting Victor, the other member of Ollie's little group, she returned to Smallville. It took her longer than Bart, of course. Nearly two hours, but that was pretty good time considering the drive was supposed to be three hours. She pulled her motorcycle into the cellar, and made her way back to her room using the only grapple that Bruce lent her. She dropped back in through her window stealthily to find Bart leaning against her door frame.
"Hola, senorita." He said with half a smirk.
"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked with a scoff as she slid off her hood.
"I promised Mrs. K I would stay here tonight. Didn't want me staying all alone on the streets or something like that."
"Sounds like Martha Kent." Dinah said with an affectionate smile.
"Just thought I would play Prince Charming and make sure you arrived safely." He said with a wink.
"The last thing I want, Kid, is a Prince Charming." She said with a bitter laugh.
"You know what I find weird about wants?" He asked from the door.
She shrugged carelessly, "What?"
"The last thing people want is usually the first thing they need." He said with a flirtatious smirk.
She rolled her eyes to ignore the strange irony in his words, "Good night, Bart."
"Good night, Di." He said as he suddenly vanished from the door way. She closed the door and glanced suspiciously up and down the hallway to make sure he really had gone to bed. She sincerely hoped Oliver knew what he was doing.
She woke up that morning to be greeted by the sight of Bart chowing down in the kitchen.
"Oh, sick." She mumbled as Mrs. Kent came into view beside him, "Who's the pig?"
Her ignorance was feigned, but it wasn't exactly like she could let Mrs. Kent know she knew him.
"Di-Bonnie, don't be rude." Mrs. Kent scolded.
"Sorry, Mrs. K. You eat a lot of food for a guy your size . . . I'm Bonnie, by the way." She said as she grimaced at him while he shoveled down food.
"Bahd" He said with a mouthful of food. She gagged and looked to Mrs. Kent pleadingly.
"Bart, don't talk with your mouthful." She told him with slight amusement.
He gulped down the food in his mouth, "Sorry, Mrs. K."
"Bart is a friend of Clark's that visits us whenever he's in town." Martha told Dinah warmly.
"Oh, yeah, well . . . Welcome back to the Kent Farm." She said with a sigh as she sat down beside him.
"Speaking of the Farm, Bonnie, you have some chores today." Martha said with a small grin.
"Are you serious? It's not enough that I have to work today? I have to do chores too?" She complained as she sagged her shoulders.
"You've been here long enough, it's time you helped out." She told her kindly.
"Right, So chores now, breakfast later?" She asked skeptically.
Martha merely nodded, "Start with straightening up your room."
"Yes, Ma'am." She answered with a smile as she headed upstairs.
It took forever to straighten up her mess of a room, and when she finally finished she just happened to hear the end of an argument as she came down the steps. She heard Bart's voice and Clark's raised tone.
"Then tell me why you're stealing form Luthor Corp."
"I just-I can't."
"I'll find out for myself then."
"Look I'm sorry I can't tell you all of my secrets Clark. Okay, I thought a guy like you would understand that." Bart's disappointed and conflicted tone could be heard floating up the stairs.
She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and met Clark's hurt gaze head on.
"Yeah, Clark, you'd think a guy like you would understand that." She said with a steely glare, "Well, Farmer Brown, I'm off to work. The Talon waits."
She froze as she approached the truck and her ComLink buzzed. She shivered and the vibration in her ear, "God, that is so weird."
She quickly recovered from the new feeling and answered the call. "What's up?"
"Bart's going in for more info in a few minutes. Keep tabs with him while he works will you?" Oliver's voice asked from the other end.
"Sure thing, patch me through." She answered automatically.
"Hey, Di. You there?" She heard Bart ask in his signature cocky tone.
"Yeah, I'm here, Kid." She answered quickly.
"Good, I'll be in Mexico shortly so keep in touch." He told her firmly.
"Sure thing."
There was silence for a few seconds, before she heard Bart's voice again, "Approaching Luthor Corp. facility." which was followed quickly by, "Once I get to the computer I'm shutting off the ComLink. Ollie said they might be on to our frequency."
"Alright, be sure to contact me as soon as you're out."
"Aw, worried about me, are you?" He asked with an audible grin.
"Shut it, Kid, and just be careful, okay?" She said with a sigh.
"Please, no one can catch me." He said proudly, "Cutting off connection."
She got in the truck, and began to drive off toward Main Street. She expected to hear from Bart a few minutes later, and was very worried when eleven o'clock came and Bart still hadn't contacted her. So, she slipped out the back, and called Oliver discretely.
"Have you heard from him?" Was the first thing she said after Oliver answered.
"Not since he was approaching the facility, you?"
"Just before he entered he shut off the link, and since then I've heard nothing." She said worriedly.
"Somethings wrong, I can feel it." He said with a sigh, "Victor and A.C. Are meeting me at my apartment to plan a rescue. I suggest you join us."
She nodded before remembering Oliver couldn't see her, "I'm on my way, right now."
Alright, so that's the first update I've posted in A LONG TIME. I hope you all like it. More coming as soon as I can figure out how to convincingly fit Dinah in the rest of the episode.
Enjoy!
angellwings
