"Again!" Arthur yelled to the girl who simply nodded in reply.
It had been a crazy three weeks of training for Dina, first with just the coach but eventually and gradually with the other people in her group.
In a way, she felt like a superhero. During the day she would go to school and practice gymnastics like she was the most normal teenager in all of Gotham City; but at night, she would turn into Sparrow, scanning the internet for any signs of the "Robin". She had received several leads from both black and white hat hackers, but none of them had produced "Robin" like she had wanted.
As the weeks went, she go to know the members on her team better, learning the important facts that she needed to know if she planned to survive the competition.
First there was Raquel Ervin, a strong gymnast with a great deal of experience. While she certainly had been in a lot of competitions, most of which she had won or received high scores, she wasn't haughty about it. She was arguably the best gymnast that Gotham High had, and yet she was also one of the nicest people that Dina had ever met in all of her fifteen-years of life. She was also Dina's greatest competition in the group, but she honestly couldn't bring herself to hate her.
Second was Irma Ardeen, a pretty blonde with a great deal of talent. She was nice enough, but she liked to keep to herself, interacting with people only if she was required to and spending most of her time glued to the side of Garth Ranzz, her boyfriend who always seemed to be present at practices despite the fact that he wasn't a part of the team. The only thing that caused Dina to dislike her was the fact that she tended to correct others without seeing any fault in herself no matter what anyone said to her.
The final girl on the team had been Katie Willows, who had broken her ankle when she had missed her grab on the higher uneven bar. While she wasn't allowed to compete, the coach had been gracious in allowing her to sit in and watch, giving pointers to the other gymnasts only if they asked or needed it.
Two boys were required to finish the five-member team, so Arthur had convinced one of his students on the swim team to join the group. It was quite apparent that Kaldur Ahm felt more comfortable in water, but he was talented nonetheless. His skills on the rings were unparalleled and his advice was better than anyone would have guessed. Although he seemed like a fish out of water with a team he had been practicing on for a year, he seemed more comfortable with the coach or Raquel.
The last member of the group was Roy Harper. A hot-headed and temperamental senior with a knack for questioning authority and perfect pommel horse routines. His red hair was a color that matched his personality to a tee, his anger a constant problem. Yet, he was talented like all the other members, willing to go the extra mile despite his problems with his uncle Oliver, who just happened to be the principle.
Then of course, there was Dina who had joined the team late, causing quite a bit of tension between the members. Irma had instantly taken a dislike to her due to the fact that she had been on the team for years while Dina just up and joined. She had to say that he feelings towards the blonde were rather mutual. Roy seemed indifferent to her joining, while Kal and Raquel gladly welcomed her, claiming that it was nice to see some new talent.
"Nice, nice. Keep that up Dina. More height on those rings Roy! Smoother Dina, smoother!" the coach called to his students, folding his arms over his chest and tapping his finger against his chin.
"I need a full spin in the air on that next vault Irma!"
"Keep those legs together Kal!"
"Go again Dina,"
"More speed in your turns Raquel,"
The day was filled with practice, each gymnast unable to escape the watchful eye of Coach Arthur Curry. Eventually, he knew that he couldn't work them any harder or else they would collapse from the sheer exaustion of it all.
"All right, that's enough practice for today guys. But I'll see you all here tomorrow after school," he called to the five teenagers in his gym, each of them groaning at the prospect of what tomorrow held.
"So glad today is over at least! I don't think I could take another practice vault!" Raquel said, sitting up on the padded tumbling mat that she had decided to sprawl out on.
"Oh I know! I think I have blisters on top of my blisters!" Dina teased, folding her legs into an indian position as she joined her dark-skinned friend.
"I enjoy a good workout, but I do believe Coach Curry was aiming for perfection and we just could not deliver it. I think I disappointed him," Kaldur pointed out, the disappointment in his voice causing both girls to feel sorry for him.
"Hey! It's alright Kal! We all were just having an off day today I think. Right Dina?" the dark-skinned girl asked her fellow female.
"Of course. I mean, did you see how horrible my landings were!?"
"You're right! Your landings are the best on the team! If you messed up, then that means we have a couple inches of wiggle room!" Dina pestered the girl playfully.
"See Kal! We all have off days. Even Little Miss Perfect Trieson over here!" Raquel said, jabbing an elbow towards the fifteen-year-old.
"Hey! I'm far from perfect!"
"With routines like that you were,"
The group instantly turned from their jovial selves to serious, their faces turning downwards into frowns upon hearing the one member none of them wanted to come in contact with, speak.
"I mean, were you trying to fail in front of Coach Curry?" she asked snidely, her one hand on her hip as the other rested on the top of her pink gym bag.
"I think she was trying to make your routines look better Irma," Raquel shot back, a smug look of victory on her face as a look of mixed horror and disgust crossed the blonde's.
Irma let out an indifferent huff and walked passed the group and into the empty hallway of the school, the double doors of the gym swinging wildly behind her.
"That's Irma for you," Raquel muttered, rolling her eyes at the blonde girl's overdramatic exit. "What are you gonna do now Dina?" the darker girl asked, standing up to retrieve her coat and grey and navy gym bag.
"I've got a new software I wanna try out on my computer," she explained, sliding her arms into the sleeves of her winter jacket.
"Girl! When are you gonna make time for yourself to have a little fun?" Raquel asked.
"To me, encryption codes and diverse algorithms are fun," Dina replied emphatically.
"Suit yourself!" she muttered in reply.
"What about you Kaldur? What are you going to do for the rest of the day?" Dina asked the taller boy, moving the conversation away from herself.
"I was hoping to get some swim practice in. there is no harm in keeping one's body in good condition," he replied, slinging his navy blue and red gym bag over his other shoulder.
"Well I am going home and eating a whole box of Twinkies while watching as many different Cinderella movies as I can before I fall asleep. You're welcome to join me if you want to," Raquel presented to the other girl, looking at her with a hopeful expression as they exited the gym.
"No thanks!" Dina giggled, shaking her head at the offer.
A shrill beeping sounded through the empty hall, bouncing off the walls and encasing the trio in the high-pitched sound.
"I gotta go!" Dina yelled, running ahead of her fellow gymnasts.
"You sure Cinderella isn't trying to get your attention?" Raquel called after her, cupping her mouth to make the sound travel better.
"Save me a Twinkie!" Dina shouted back, give a half-hearted wave above her head before she rounded the corner and was out of sight.
She was out of breath as she burst through the front door, wheezing from the pure exhaustion. She collapsed to the floor in a pile of sweat and shivers, the beginnings of colder weather starting to settle into her very bones.
The fridge seemed to be beckoning to her, a beckoning that she gladly accepted, opening the door to the appliance and staring in, hoping that her mom had decided they needed more yogurt or had made cupcakes.
"Jackpot!" she whispered upon discovering a red-lidded container with cinnamon rolls.
"Must be leftovers from the baking class. Hope their Diana's" she thought to herself, reaching for the container and licking her lips in anticipation.
Diana Prince was one of Selina Kyle's closest friends and an incredible baker. She had convinced Selina into taking a baking class with her and to Dina's pure and total delight, her mother had said yes. Now, their fridge contained countless goodies, some made by Diana and others made by Selina; all of them perfect prey for the fifteen-year-old.
Dina took a deep bite into the first one she could get her hands on, moaning as the flavors of cinnamon and sugar burst to life on her tongue. She was so happy her mom had said yes to a baking class.
"Sarina? That you?" the voice of her mother called faintly from upstairs, breaking the girl's sugary moment with the sweet roll.
"Yeah Mom!" she called back up, hastily packing away the rest of baked goods and placing them silently back in the refrigerator.
"I thought I told you to ask before you eat any of my baked goods,"
Dina jumped at the sound of her mother's voice directly behind her, whirling around and slamming the fridge door in the process. How could she do that? Dina swore she was like a cat when it came to stealth and speed.
Selina stood, her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, her mouth drawn into a thin line.
Dina swallowed hard before she took another bite of the cinnamon roll.
"Put it back. Now," Selina ordered her, none of her physical actions wavering as she spoke.
Dina bowed her head and groaned as she opened the door again and took out the container, putting the half-eaten treat back with the others of its kind.
"You're not allowed to finish that until tomorrow after practice. Now go up to your room. I'll call you back down when dinner's ready,"
Dina dejectedly made her way up to her room, the sound of her mother muttering under her breath almost burning in her ears. She wiped at the tears beginning to form in her eyes as she entered her room, closing the door behind her. She always hated when she disappointed her mom, especially when she knew that she knew better.
She quickly changed out of her gymnastics gear before she opened her door again, not wanting to miss when Selina called her for supper.
Through blurry eyes she turned on her computer, a message popping up as soon as the machine had powered up. She wiped away the tears with the back of her hand, attempting to see what was on her screen better.
The message blinked with a bright light, the words jerking the teen out of her slum.
"Heard you've been looking for me,"
It was him. And he had contacted her on her home computer.
She knew that it had the same system as the main computer back at the FBI headquarters she had been working at, but that didn't occur to her in the moment.
"I might have been," she typed in reply, noticing that the website was an under-the-table sale site for tech that was most likely stolen or created by hand. Myriads of gadgets were listed along with outrageous prices, the ones claiming to be one of a kind being bid on with price tags as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars.
She only had to wait for a minute before she received a reply to her message.
"That's not exactly confirming or denying what I said, Sparrow,"
She smiled slightly after reading that.
"Well if you must know, I have been asking around about you,"
"Ah! The truth finally comes out!"
Dina let out a short breathy laugh at that, smiling a little bit more as she realized that her tears had started to dry.
"Anyhow, why were you looking for me?"
"I wanted to thank you for your assistance with MR. Seventy-two the other day. You really saved my skin,"
"Actually, you did that all on your own. You are a very capable hacker, Sparrow,"
Dina blushed at the comment, before she shook her head, bringing herself back down to earth before she really had a chance to take off.
"Focus Sarina," she told herself bringing her attention back to the screen.
"Keep up the good work. You might just catch me one day,"
Dina was alarmed by his message, typing a reply as quickly as she could but to no avail.
Robin was gone.
She sighed as she sank back into her chair, running her hands through her hair.
"Sarina, supper," her mother's voice called up from the bottom of the stairs.
She replied with a short, "Coming!" before she bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen.
As soon as she saw Selina placing two plates of food on the table, Dina couldn't suppress the tears she had been trying so hard to.
"I'm so sorry Mom!" she cried, running into the older woman's arms.
"Oh, Kitten! I forgive you!" Selina said, combing the girl's dark hair.
"I just don't want you to fill up on sugars and carbs. You know how you get when you've had too much sugar,"
Dina nodded in reply, sniffling.
"I do what I do to protect you. You know that right?" Selina asked, pulling away from her daughter's embrace so that she could look her in the eyes.
Dina nodded, looking into a pair of eyes so similar to her own.
"Thanks Mom," she whispered, hugging the woman yet again.
"You're welcome Sweetie. Now, how bout we eat, hmm?"
"Sounds good," Dina said, rubbing her running nose on her shirt sleeve and smiling warmly at the woman before her.
"Good. Now go blow your nose,"
Dina laughed as she grabbed a tissue from the box in the living room and then returned to the delicious looking meal awaiting her at the table.
"This looks amazing Mom,"
"Glad you approve. You're gonna need to keep your strength up for competition next week," Selina said as she sliced into her chicken, popping the piece she had cut into her mouth.
"I forgot it was next week! Time has gone by so quickly!"
Selina looked across the table at her daughter, taking in the girl that she had become.
"Yes," she sighed.
"It certainly has,"
