I had a dream last night. I was standing alone in the hallway of this very old building and there was this organ playing in the background. I walked towards these doors that were in front of me and when I tried to open them they were locked. I tried every door and they all were locked. None of them would budge no matter what I did.
I turned around and just above this organ playing I could hear this tapping sound. It sounded like wood hitting the tiled floor. It was coming closer and closer to me, but I didn't feel the urge to run. So I just stood there and waited for whatever was coming to come. Eventually this woman appeared and she had this walking stick, which I figure was making the tapping sound, and she turns to me as she passes me and tells me, "You can't unlock the doors to the inner mind if you have no key."
Of course I have no clue what this means so I ask what she's talking about and in true dream form she just repeats what she just said. That's when I decided to wake up because obviously this dream means nothing and is a big waste of my time. It's a waste of my time, just like trying to talk to some non-person is a waste of my time.
I don't know what Barbara keeps on expecting me to find out about this reptilian foe, but I'm not getting anywhere. I got further trying to talk my science teacher into believing that it is possible to defy gravity and I still lost that argument in the end...even if I do have my facts straight. It's near impossible trying to feel something from something that isn't real.
I feel like I'm putting my hand on a wall and waiting for it to tell me its inner secrets. Only if these walls could talk...but they don't so it's a lost hope. I've tried talking to the person behind the...well the fake person and I've gotten nowhere.
I haven't learned anything. I tell her to talk and she goes on and on about needing to be strong enough. I can't make sense of any of it and I refuse to try any more. Helena can't talk to her and Barbara hasn't had much success either. We can't talk to her. I refuse to try. I refuse. This is me refusing. My foot is down. I'm tired of helping the person who's evil. That so wasn't in my job description when I applied to be a superhero. Well...there really wasn't any type of job description in the first place but if there were that wouldn't be part of it.
Unless of course, it fell under that category of doing things that one might not want to do, because I think I've actually been briefed about that. I think it falls under the greater good somewhere, but I'm not too sure how much I care about that good yet.
"Dinah, she's asking for you."
How long have Helena and Barbara been standing behind me this time? They do that sometimes; just stand and stare at me waiting for me to finish thinking about whatever it is I'm thinking about.
"Barbara I told you that I'm not going to talk to her anymore." I cross my arms in front of me as I turn to face them. I'm resolved about this. I have put my foot down.
"You're the only one she talks to. We've tried but she won't...we need you now Dinah."
Why does Barbara say those things? Like I don't know that she needs me? Of course I know. How could I not know? I've been told so ever since I woke up from whatever la la land I had taken my little mind vacation in. "I don't want to talk to her anymore. I'm not getting anywhere with her either."
"Dinah I understand but if..."
"Barbara if she doesn't want to do it then don't make her."
Finally Helena speaks up. I knew she didn't want me talking to the thing in the first place, but she wouldn't say anything because she wanted me to make my own choice and I made it but now I'm making a different one.
Barbara looks to Helena then to me and she knows she's outnumbered here. I'm stubborn and won't budge on this position and Helena is backing me up. We're just going to have to find another way to work this out.
I stand firm.
BOPBOPBOP
Okay so I'm sitting across from the phantom again. She's just staring at me and not saying anything. I don't know why she was asking for me before if she wasn't going to talk. This whole thing has been a waste of my time a waste of my efforts and a waste of resources. I have no idea why I let Barbara talk me into doing this again. I don't even know why Helena decided to jump the fence and take Barbara's side on this. I just do not see the point to any of this.
I don't even know this woman's name. I know nothing about her except for the fact that she keeps on threatening me and everyone I care about with bodily harm if she's not released soon. Well she says that and that she needs someone strong enough. I still haven't been able to figure that one out.
All I really know is that she has an affinity for green leather and while she's not real can kill people with poison. She's been here for a week. I've been with her for almost just as long. Didn't I have my foot down?
"I guess I should ask you your name since you're unwilling to tell me anything else," I tell her as I sit on the other side of this nifty little holding energy field thing that Barbara came up with.
"You don't care what my name is," she not very surprisingly snaps back at me.
I snort. "You're right I don't. I don't care about you at all. You've killed a lot of people and you tried to kill me. My caring for you ran out a long time ago." I'm tired of being nice to the evil lady.
"You don't understand."
This is NOT the first time I've heard this. It's not the second or third either. I'm tired of it. "You're right I don't understand. I don't want to understand anymore. I would really just like you to go away."
"If I go away then I die." She yells at me. "I can't go away. Do you think I want to live like this? Do you think if I had a choice that I would?"
"I don't know what you want. You tell me you want a family just like everyone else, then you say you don't want to live like you are living..." I shrug. "Frankly I'm at a loss. The only reason I'm sitting in front of you now is because someone very important to me asked me to do this for her. Personally, I'd just like you to fade away like a bad dream."
She turns her head to the side and looks at me curiously. "You would sentence me to death?"
Would I? I'm not a killer. I've never killed anyone in my life. I've injured, maimed, and freaked some people out severely, but I've never killed anyone. I don't know if...the ability is there the anger is definitely there, but that's not who I am. It never has been. I've always been more into protecting than avenging. I leave the avenging to Helena.
"I'd want to," I eventually respond. "I'd really want to, but I couldn't. I value life too much. Even yours. I'm guessing that's a sentiment we don't share."
"I didn't want them to die!" She screams and jumps into the energy blast which only throws her back. I jump back as well because even though I know she's not real and I know that she's not leaving her prison anytime soon, she still kind of scares the hell out of me and I'm pretty sure she knows it.
"You killed them." I tell her as soon as I recover from my slight bout of absolute fear.
"But I didn't mean to. They couldn't handle me. They couldn't hold me long enough."
"What the hell are you talking about? Hold you long enough for what?"
"To carry me back!"
"Carry you back where?"
"To myself, my home, my family!"
She falls down to the ground and she's crying. It's not the kind of crying where there are just a few tears either. I believe this type of crying would be called sobbing.
I refuse to feel bad for her. "What were you doing killing people then?"
"I needed a host, a host to bring me back."
I think I'm catching on to things here. "You need a host to bring you back to your body?" She nods at me and begins wiping her tears away with the tips of her fingers. "Why do they need to look like you then?"
She shrugs. "I just thought they could handle me better. They couldn't."
"Of course they couldn't handle you. They were all human. You're meta."
"Which is why I need someone strong enough to carry me back."
"Why can't you just get back on your own? You seem to be moving around okay without a real body."
"I don't know. I can't jump back in; I can only be transferred back in like I was ripped out."
Oh well that makes perfect sense, I think. "How were you ripped out?"
She looks at me for a long time. I guess she's not sure if she wants to answer me or not. She has that certain look people get on their faces when they're not sure they can trust someone yet, and I don't see why she would have a problem trusting me. I haven't done anything to her. I'm not the one that was trying to kill her.
"I was in an accident and fell into a coma."
Well I'm sure that'll do it. "Okay," I nod because I don't know what else to do. I have to think about things now. I actually have to stop and think.
"If I get you back to your body you won't hurt anyone? No one. You'll just walk out of here go to your body then we'll be done?"
She nods vigorously. "That's all I've ever wanted to do."
"Well that and you tried to kidnap me...how did you get those other guys to appear anyway?"
"I can pretty much bring anything I want to life."
"Well that's a true gift...really."
I know I shouldn't do this. This is a bad idea. Actually I think this is what bad ideas are made of, but if I give myself too much time to think about this then nothing's going to get done and she'll be stuck here and her body will be stuck somewhere else and there will be much unhappiness to go around.
Helena and Barbara are going to kill me but...I go over to the control panel and turn off the energy field. "If you do anything at all with my body that I don't like then I'm going to push you out and make sure you never get back to yours." I don't even know how I would go about doing that but...well I had to say something menacing to the person who's going to take over my body. "Okay...so how do we do this?"
"Just give me your hand." She reaches out to me and I know my hand should be meeting hers but it's like lead at my side. I shouldn't be doing this. This is a bad idea.
"Dinah what are you doing?" That's Helena. She's on her way over here. I don't have anymore time to think about this. I help her out and hope with all that I am I get through this or I die.
My hand finally leaves my side. "What's your name?" I ask as my hand is enfolded in poison lady's.
"Sarah." She answers and I don't really feel like she's talking to me anymore but from inside of me. I feel different now. I'm seeing everything through this thick haze and it's all in slow motion. I actually feel like I'm paralyzed. I'm just aware of everything but in control of nothing. I'm not liking this feeling. It was a bad idea.
Helena is standing in front of me. She's talking to me but I don't understand any of it. Her hand is cupping my chin and I can feel her warmth...but I still can't hear her. I'm saying something. I don't know what it is. Helena looks angry now. She's grabbing my arm and forcing me to follow her. I stumble once but quickly gain my balance and am able to keep up with her brisk pace.
We're with Barbara now. She doesn't look happy. Her face is set in a scowl and mouth has become almost a straight line. I've never seen her like this before. I think I'm going to be in trouble if I survive this. Why didn't I just listen to myself when I said letting Sarah into my mind was a bad idea. I should really listen to myself more often...or less often however the case may be.
I'm stumbling again. I feel weaker. I'm saying something to Barbara now but I still can't hear anything. Wow I feel like I'm going to pass out. I have that feeling that people usually get when they've been hanging upside down a little too long. I think I need to take a little nap. I need to rest. Staying here is hard.
Wait. I think Barbara is trying to tell me something now, but I can't understand her. I need to learn how to read lips. Helena is in front of me again. I wonder where she came from. She's saying something too. Don't what? I can't do what?
Wow. I'm tired. Sarah's in control now. She needs to take me back to her body. Why aren't we leaving yet? Helena is still trying to tell me something. It's the fifth of May? I like the bay? I'm a good lay? I don't know what she's...oh it's 'don't go away'. I don't know where I would go away to. I just want to rest a little bit. I hear that sleep is actually good these days; four out of five doctors recommend it.
She's trying to tell me something else now? Okay I need to concentrate. I need to bring all that great superhero stuff to the forefront now and concentrate on the words that are being said by those gorgeous, luscious, beautiful lips. I really like her lips. I like the way they feel on mine. I like how they feel on my skin. I like the way they feel when she's...wasn't I supposed to be doing something?
Yes. I need to concentrate. Helena's looking a little frustrated now. Maybe she needs to take a nap too. I don't think she's been sleeping too well lately. That's probably partially my fault. Actually it's probably all my fault. I haven't been sleeping that well and I don't like to be up alone. Helena keeps me occupied.
Okay. I really need to pay attention now. She's trying to tell me something that must be very important. "Don't fall asleep." Wait. She doesn't want me to fall asleep? And since when did I start hearing voices that weren't my own in my head? Ah...she's touching my hand.
"Dinah you have to stay with us. Stay in control until we can break you two apart."
I don't know if I can do that.
"Dinah, sweetie, you have to. You have to or you'll die."
How was she able to hear what I thought? Can people hear what I think when they're in my head or are they just hearing what I'm saying in my head? I should really think about this after I take my nap.
"Dinah you can't take a nap. I'm going to get you to the hospital as soon as I can but you have to stay awake. I know it's hard, baby, but you're just gonna have to do it."
Well I guess if she insists I could stay up for a while longer.
Oh hey she's picking me up now and she's taking me somewhere. We're moving pretty fast. This is actually kind of fun...in a stomach churning type of way.
There are a lot of lights in this city. It also seems like there's a lot of buildings too. We've seem to have landed on every single one. She's really pushing herself hard. I can tell she's getting tired, but that seems to be okay because we're at the hospital now. There are a lot of beds in a hospital. Beds that are good for sleeping in...dreaming in.
I wonder where we're going now. Hey, look that woman looks a lot like me. I bet that's Sarah. She looks like shit. Her face is really pale and her hair is greasy. When's the last time someone decided to give this body a bath?
Helena's trying to get my attention again. I thought we already worked out that I couldn't understand her? Oh...she's holding my hand again. It feels nice.
"Dinah?" She's in my head again. I haven't figured out yet if she can hear my thoughts or if she just hears me talking to myself. I should think about that.
"Dinah that doesn't matter right now. You need to put her back in her body."
I need to do what to who?
"Dinah you need to put Sarah back in her own body."
Oh, Sarah. Yeah she was the one that wanted to kill me.
"Yes she was. Now put her back in her own body."
But I don't know how to do that.
"Sure you do; you just have to think about it."
She sounds a little scared. She shouldn't be scared. I should be scared I don't know how to put her back in her own body.
"Neither of us have to be scared, Dinah. Just...you know what to do. I know you do."
Well when she puts it that way then I guess all I really have to do is put my hand on Sarah's forehead like so and just kind of will Sarah out of me.
"Ow." I'm being held in Helena's arms and my head really hurts. But on the plus side of this I can actually talk again. I'm still really tired though.
I maneuver in Helena's arms so that I'm looking up into her eyes. I'm not too entirely surprised to see tears there. I'm sure she's not too surprised to see the same in my own.
"What the hell were you thinking?" she asks me before she places a soft kiss on my forehead.
I don't know. I guess it was, "I thought about what I would do to get back to you if I was lost."
Helena doesn't have a chance to respond because Sarah is moving on the bed. I stand up and look down into the face of the woman who...well I just look down at this woman.
She reaches over and takes my hand. I can feel things from her now. She's happy. "Thank you so much," Her voice is hoarse, probably from disuse.
"Welcome home," I tell her then turn to leave. I'm happy she's got her life back but for me the cost was just too high. Helena is following me out and as we reach the door a man steps through with a little girl sleeping in his arms. He doesn't notice us at first, but I'm guessing that because his attention is immediately drawn to Sarah.
His big brown eyes light up and he rushes across the room. He screams her name and the girl in his arms wakes up.
"Mommy?"
"Oh baby come here."
This is what Sarah wanted to get back to. She wanted her young child and husband back. This is what she fought and killed for. I still think the price was too high...but I wouldn't take that young girl's mother away from her now or ever again.
Epilogue
When we get back to the clock tower Barbara is waiting for us with some hot chocolate. We all sit around the kitchen table and sip on our warm drinks. Barbara doesn't yell at me for what I have done. I'm not too sure I really expected her to. I made one of those really big decisions tonight and I have to live with it. I've reunited a family but who knows how many Sarah tore apart. Those families will never get justice.
I'm not too sure what Reese could tell the jury for that murder trial. The offender was in a coma at the time. It's kind of the perfect alibi.
So this is the life of the superhero huh? I get to sit around here with my very attractive girlfriend and very cool mentor and friend. Who still hasn't told my girlfriend that she's leaving on a romantic getaway with her surprisingly sweet boyfriend. I wonder how Helena will react to that when the subject does arise. I could bring it up now, but I won't. Until she starts telling me about all the secrets of the clock tower then I'm not going to be telling her about Barbara's personal life. Plus, I don't gossip. Often.
"So Dinah how are you feeling after letting someone invade your body?" Okay so maybe Barbara will start yelling at me.
"Are you telling me that you wouldn't do the exact same thing I did?"
"No." Barbara and Helena answer together. I kind of actually believe them too.
"Of course you would. We're heroes. We do the right thing."
Barbara turns and asks Helena, "I haven't let anyone take over my body recently have you?"
Helena shakes her head no.
"Okay for a fact, I know that both of you are lying."
It takes them each a moment to catch up to what I'm saying but they eventually do. Unfortunately Barbara's the only one that blushes. Helena just looks at me and smirks.
"Cute," Barbara responds.
"I know."
Barbara shakes her head and Helena reaches over and takes my hand. "Next time you decide to let anyone who isn't me invade your body; please let me know about it first. At least give me a chance to try and talk you out of it."
I know what she's admitting to me. I shouldn't have made this choice on my own. We're a team. My body is no longer my own...in a way...I guess.
"Next time you both will have full knowledge before someone takes over my body."
They both nod and I know that we're okay now. I'll probably have a few nightmares about this later on down the road, but we're okay. I'm okay. I'm here with my family and we're just fine. The only person missing is Reese, but I think it's going to take a while for both of us to actually get used to caring about each other in the family sort of way. I could always use the advice of a big brother though. Tomorrow I'll definitely give him a call.
THE END
