= = = (* Connected *) = = =
A lot of time had passed. Almost two months, in fact. Barbara had helped the younger girls assist in the arrest of a minor crime lord trying to replace the slowly dispersing remainder of the Hawk family. With Al behind bars, and Frankie Spitz dead, the rest of the mob was at a loss, and most of what was left had fled to the safe hold in Las Vegas. They would not be missed.
Helena and Dinah on the other hand, were closer than ever. Over time filled with training, sweeps, and the odd stake out; hiding quietly on roof- tops and in the H2 for hours; had led to the two girl talking again. That talking led to repaired friendship, moving slowly into light flirting, and soon anyone who looked at them could tell mow much they cared for each other at a glance.
Dinah got a job as a waitress at No Man's Land, and idea of Helena's so she could earn some extra spending money and be around more Metas her age. She enjoyed it, and Gibson was very understandable with her hours, making allowances for her 'Extra Curricular Activities' and the slight emergencies it could cause in her daily work-habit. Helena's boss at the dark horse, on the other hand, was not as forgiving. But, the two girls now worked similar hours, allowing them to be more synchronized. They could also swap stories at the end of the day about terribly annoying customers, and this was now almost a tradition to see who could come up with the worst one while training.
For the past month or so, Dinah had been trying to help Helena with her 'Huntress' problem, but to no success. IT seemed that Dinah herself had practically been another person that night. She couldn't remember anything she seemed to know about psychology, and more than that, she couldn't get Helena and Huntress to separate in her mind as they had over two months before. And although their success seemed to be movie backwards if moving at all, they kept trying.
Sitting in the training room, hand clasped in each other's, they were silent. Or, at least, not speaking. Helena's mind, however, was saying a whole lot. It seemed that every time Helena tried to quiet her mind, Dinah got more and more glimpses into it. She tried to block them out, but the more Helena tried not to think about certain things, the more the blonde caught her thoughts.
Right now they seemed to center around their hand holding. Helena was thinking about Dinah's hands, and how soft they felt. Dinah didn't mind these kind of thoughts, but they weren't always this tame. A little over a week before Dinah had received a pretty clear shock from Helena, which contained a slight fantasy of hers. It basically evolved the brunette taking hold of the blonde's hands, pulling the girl forward onto her body as she rolled backwards, and then commencing in kissing her quite vigorously. Dinah didn't know what happened next because she'd pulled her hands out of the older woman's grip before the evidence of what she'd seen appeared upon her face.
"Ugh!" Dinah grunted in frustration, pulling her hands away. "This isn't working! I can't even get you into my head lately, it's just your thoughts, and no you!" Dinah yelled as she kicked a set of collapsible sticks across the room. Helena sighed, though a smile could be seen forming on her face. "What's wrong with me? Why can't I get this stupid power of mine to work?!"
"Calm down Kid," Helena said affectionately, "You're probably just forcing it too much. Besides, I think we should go with Barbara's idea of trying it again while you're asleep. It could be the key to all of this." Helena said, smiling as she pointed to her head. Dinah smiled and clamed slightly. Looking at the clock, she sighed huffily.
"Shoot, we have to get to work." Dinah said as she picked up her towel and patted her face with it. Helena watched, and chuckled. She knew that the younger girl had a very strong ethic, but still, it was funny to watch Dinah take her job of delivering drinks and bar food to the people at No Man's Land.
"I take it you're not eager to go tonight?" Helena asked, and she sipped her water. Dinah scoffed and pulled her hair out of the tie to shake it out.
"No exactly." She grunted. "It's Friday. The same group of guys that are there every week will show up, talk about how they're going to be the next Justice League. They can't even control their powers completely! They're jerks. They'll stay until they run out of money, order their last round, and when I drop it off, the lead guy'll slap my ass and ask me if I want his number." Dinah was too busy trying to finger comb the knots out of her hair to notice Helena's eyes shift into Huntress mode, but Helena was able to shake it off before she asked her next question.
"He slaps your ass?" She asked incredulously, "You can take on some of the worst street burglars in New Gothem, why not lay it on him?" Dinah just laughed as she headed towards the stairs down to the main level.
"I like my job, and I don't want to get fired. Besides, as more and more time goes on the tips get bigger, as though trying to show they're nice guys. I'm never going to believe it, but it keeps me from losing my temper." The blonde laughed, and Helena was able to hold back the urge to find these guys and break their fingers.
"Sweep later?" Helena asked she Dinah headed into the bathroom, taking her shirt off as she passed through the door. Dinah turned around and smiled, not clan on only her shorts and a sports bra.
"Count on it." closing the door and leaning against it, she couldn't get the slightly glazed-eye look of Helena's out of her head. Chuckling, she listened as the brunette made her way to the elevator, and made up her mind.
{Okay, enough of this beating-around-the-bush, Flirting-without- consequences crap . . . I think I've kept her at arms length for long enough.} Dinah smiled and hopped under the stream of warm water. {Now, how I take the next step . . . that's the hard part.} But the young girl couldn't help the smile the spread across her face at the prospect of perhaps letting Helena's little fantasy become a reality. {That is,} she thought suddenly, {Assuming she'll let me.}
.
= = = (* Work Ethics *) = = =
There they were. The group of maybe five boys, the numbers change every week, and once again they were talking about how they were going to take over the city, but make it a better place. Dinah dropped off another tray of drinks to a table near by, and wondered which one of them might become the next Meta-Crime-Lord. {It's bound to happen,} she thought, {One of them will take their 'witty' banter seriously, and they'll become ambitious. Then Helena and I will have to kick the snot out of them when we catch them, and then Roscoe the Weight-lifter can smack *their* ass when they all get thrown in Jail.}
It was thought like these that kept Dinah smiling when they called her over to collect their empties and order what she hoped would be their last round. Sure enough, when she dropped the array of Sodas and snacks off, the taller blonde boy slapped her ass. Grimacing, and considering for what seemed like the 100th time why she didn't take Helena's advice in kicking their ass, Helena tallied up their bill and left it on the table.
"You want me to write my personal number on that tab and call it even?" He said, putting on what he must have thought was a charming smile. Dinah just laughed sarcastically and turned to leave.
"Jason, you're such a dork!" One of the boy's friends yelled, "You always ask her to take you're number, and every time she shuts you down. Just give it up dude!" Dinah chuckled as she heard this, and wiped down a freshly emptied table. She didn't even notice 'Jason' behind her until she almost ran into him.
"You sure you don't want this?" he asked, holding out a slip of paper that was sure to have his number on it. "Because I won't offer it again." he said it as though it was supposed to make the thing sound more appealing.
"I'm sure." She said chuckling. She started to walk away, when he grabbed her shoulder again. "Look, buddy," she said, now getting irritated, "I'm seeing somebody, and I'm not gonna be looking you up any time soon even if I were single; get me?" she said angrily. He frowned slightly, and came in close to whisper to her.
"Look, just take the paper, please? I've been betting for the past five weeks that you'd take my number, and every time I loose I have to pay for the drinks. Please, just do me this favor, and I'll leave you alone, alright?" Dinah felt sympathetic, but only for a second. God only knows what this boy would tell his friend even if she simply accepted his number for show.
"Then take my advice; Don't be so cocky next time?" she said with a snide edge. She picked up her tray and made her way back into the store room, dropping the glasses into the steamer to be cleaned. When she stepped behind the bar, and started to untie her apron, she saw Jason walk up to her with the money to pay the bad, a pretty deep scowl on his face. She just smiled at him, and counted up the money and her tips, as she got ready to leave. Saying good-bye to Gibson, she grabbed her bag and headed out the door.
Dinah stood out side the front of No Man's Land collectables for a minute, putting on her coat and putting her money into her bag. She took a few deep breath of the cooling November air. When the hairs on her arms suddenly stood on end, she knew it wasn't the cold, however. Looking up she saw that Jason stood just a short distance away from her, just looking silently, her face still stony.
"I want my money back." He said coldly. Dinah was confused, then she saw two of his friends step out of the shadows behind him, and she suddenly understood. "The streets aren't safe for a girl at this time of night . . ." he drawled as his friends came to stand beside him. "Maybe I should walk you home?" it was a threat, though it was said with a sort of sickly sweetness.
"I can get home just fine, thank you." She said quickly, making sure not to panic over this confrontation.
"A bit of advice," he said as two guys could be heard leaving the shadows behind her, "Don't be too cocky?" just then the roar of a motorcycle could be heard running up the street. It pulled to a screeching halt at the curb next to Dinah, who sigh with relief silently.
"Hey D." Helena said jovially, tossing her the only helmet. "Ready to go?" she asked. Dinah nodded and swung her leg over the back of the bike as she strapped the pulled the large black helmet over her head. Helena looked around the crowd of guys and raised and eye-brow. As she revved the engine and pulled away down the street she tried not to think about how good it felt to have Dinah wrap her hands around her middle and hold her tightly.
"Tell me I didn't just save you from something back there?" Helena asked as they stopped at their first light. The blonde flipped the shaded plexy- screen up on the helmet and smiled sheepishly.
"I could have handled it." Helena scoffed slightly and revved the engine again as the light turned green. Grabbing hold of the brunette again suddenly she nodded the visor down again.
"You could take on five humans, maybe, but five angry Metas . . . ? I have to wonder, Kid." Dinah nodded silently, and trying to concentrate on holding on instead of the speed at which the older woman was going.
"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that those are the guys that have been harassing you?" Dinah nodded slightly, and Helena chuckled. "Let me guess, he was tired of getting turned down?" Another nod, and Dinah was forced to close her eyes. As the two pulled up into the parking space just out front of the tower, Helena's expression became serious. "You know you have to report them to Gibson now, right?"
"I know. I'm going to tell him on Monday. The next time they come in, he'll take their pictures and post them on the No Admittance Board." Helena nodded happily as they made their way up to the Clock-face. Stepping into the main Delphi area, they were greeted with distracted hellos from Barbara who seemed to be preoccupied with something on the computer.
"What's going on?" Helena asked as she sat on the Computer desks. Barbara just sighed and nodded towards the screen. There seemed to be an Open E- Mail from her school account, and she was writing a response in another open window. It was a rather rude letter from what must have been a very pissed of parent. Bryan Tickson's father, Dinah realized, as she perused the E-Mail as well. He was pissed, and he was planning a meeting with the school board.
"Well, like father like son I guess." Dinah said as Barbara rubbed her eyes. {Gabby may have been right,} Dinah thought, {Barb might be a workaholic, and it looks like it might be catching up with her. She looks like she could *really* use a vacation. Good thing Winter break is coming up soon! She looks like she's benefit from a rest}. Suddenly her attention was caught by something else. Helena was looking at rather critically. Here eyes became Feral, her body switching into huntress, as the brunette slowly made her way over to the blonde.
"Kid," she growled almost gently, as she slowly slinked behind the girl, making her shiver. She places a hand on either shoulder, and as the woman leaned in closer around her shoulder, past her ear, she realized what Helena was doing. {She's sniffing me?} Dinah thought, a little surprised. "Why do you smell like liquor?" she asked her quietly in her ear, though Barbara turned around to glare at her the second it passed the you brunette's lips.
"Have you been drinking?!" the red-head sounded completely shocked. Obviously she knew that alcohol was not something that Dinah was into, and this was odd. The blonde raised an eye-brow and gave her mentor a sarcastic look.
"I do work in a bar, you know?" The blonde shot back sarcastically. "Someone tried to run out on their tab, and wasn't looking where they were going. Spilled a whole tray of half-empty glasses on my apron. I washed off a little, but I guess it still seeped through." She brushed her hands down her shirt, and when she noticed a small maroon stain, she showed it to Barbara, she chuckled.
"Hazard of the job." Helena chuckled, eyes normal again. Dinah nodded, and sniffed her shirt lightly. It smelled like Coke and Vodka mixed with Kalua and rum.
"Ugh, I stink . . . I'mma go take a shower and get ready for sweeps, alright?" Barbara, now back to work, just nodded and waved vaguely, while Helena watched her as the blonde backed all the way into her room.
.
= = = (* Call Of Duty *) = = =
About thirty minutes later, Dinah came running out of the bathroom, clad in only a towel. The sound of the Delphi going off calling to her. By the time she reached the monitors she'd just enough time to see Helena, who'd just jumped into the elevator, staring at her wide-eyes as the doors closed. There was a little, red light blinking on the large map.
"There's been a breaking at New Gothem Savings Bank, Helena's going ahead to see what she can do. Get dressed, I think this could be bad." Dinah nodded, and darted back into her room to get dressed. As she was hurriedly putting her ComSet on, the coat Helena had given to her caught her eye. Taking an extra second to think, she quickly slipped it on and headed back to the Delphi area. Clicking on her mike she, she looked over the screens.
"Update?" she asked the anyone who might answer.
[ This is gonna get ugly. ] came Helena's voice in her ear. [ Looks like seven guys, two Meta, five human, or so I think. One of the hostages has been shot, there's a phone in her hands, so I think there might be police on the way. ]
"They are." Barbara said, typing away and enlarging the map, where three blue dots could be racing along the map towards where the bank was. "One of them is Reese, the other two are rookies in training." Barbara sighed angrily, "What can you see?"
[ Well, I've just learned why the Meta's are here. ] She replied, voice sounding surprised, [ What seems to be the lead guy is breaking into the Safe . . . with his bare hands. ] The two women left in the clock-tower looked at each-other for a second, then back to the monitors, seeing that the cops weren't far off. [ His hands, they turn into, like, Lava, or Hot Coals . . . he's melting right through it. ]
"Well, seven guys sound a bit much, Helena, wait for the cop to get there, they're about three blocks off. Meet up with Reese, tell him what's going on in-side."
[ Got It. ] Barbara watched as the little blue dots marked 'P' came up on the block where the bank was. Barbara started typing furiously, and a few seconds later, the live-video feed from the back's surveillance came up on the screen. Sure enough, right at the vault doors, stood a man who seemed to be slowly melting his way into the door. They must have underestimated the thickness, however, because even through the silent feed, the two crime- fighters could see that the others were getting angry with him, yelling for him to hurry.
"I'm going out there." Dinah said, slipping her collapsible sticks into the backs of her boots.
[ WAIT! ] Helena called through the Coms. [ Don't come out here, D. Reese and I might be able to handle this on our own, and I don't want you in any unnecessary danger. ] Dinah's face contorted into one of anger.
"But I'm you're partner!" she yelled loudly, "Not Reese! Besides, I've already been battle tested, this isn't new to me!" Helena could be heard sighing, then a second set of foot-steps could be heard approaching. The aforementioned cop could be heard talking to the brunette through her comes. As they were chatting, Dinah was watching the monitors.
"Uh, Helena . . ." She said haltingly, "Something's going on."
[ What is it? ] she asked, worriedly. The blonde couldn't quite tell. The man who'd been melting through the doors had stopped once the cops had arrived. He was now standing in the middle of the bank, his hands stretched out on front of him, and something seemed to be growing between his palms. It was a dark sphere, she the man holding it was smiling menacingly. Suddenly he took it in one hand, and as one of his human associates opened the door, he tossed it out the bank like a bowling ball.
"DUCK!" she yelled. There was a loud explosion through the ComSet, and the effect had left the bank in ruins, they'd assumed, because all the Cameras were out. "HELENA?! HELENA?!" Dinah called desperately into her mike. There was only silence. A few seconds later, she could here the woman coughing, trying to catch her winded breath. The blonde felt her heart start beating, and she slumped onto the floor. {Oh god . . . Talk about Hazard of the job! She ever does that to me again, *I'll* kill her!}. in the background they could hear a car being started, and men yelling.
[ They're getting away! ] Helena yelled, her footsteps clapping into the mike. The shish of wind could be heard, and they knew the woman was roof- hoping after the would-be-bank-robbers.
"I'm on my way!" Dinah called, grabbing the H2 keys, and heading to the lift.
[ No! After that, I *know* you have to stay in the Tower! ] Dinah fumed and made her way down into the garage.
"I'm coming Helena, and you can't stop me! You can't take these guys on alone, and you need my help. Besides, I'm not gonna let you. Now where are they heading?" She heard a click, and knew that the brunette had turned off her ComSet. "UGH!" Dinah yelled as the doors opened. Slamming an angry fist into the wall of the elevator, leaving a rather large dent.
[ Give me a second to hack into the back-up GPS, ] Barbara's voice called into her ear, sounding rather annoyed herself. [We can track her and I'll send the trail to the On-Star system in the Jeep. No Get Going!] Dinah nodded, and could hear the red-head madly typing away. As soon as the turned the engine on, the little screen blinked on, with a little purple 'H' making a zig-zagged line across the city.
"I'm off!" she called, putting the car into third as she hauled out of the parking lot, speeding through the city streets. She watched as the Cop cars near the bank were flipped back right-way-up, as the one car that seemed to have survived was heading in the wrong direction after a few blocks. Dinah looked at the screen, seeing that the line was heading slowly towards the shore, twisting as though trying to lose someone that might be following. She quickly headed to the Docks, knowing that there was no better place to hide.
She arrived just in time to see them slam the entrance closed, and Helena to land almost on the hood of the H2. Turning to face the still angry blonde, the brunette didn't look too happy either. Quickly stepping out of the car, the blonde slammed the door, and pulled her sticks out of her boots.
"I told you to stay in the tower." Helena said, a mix of pleading and angry. "I don't want to see you get hurt."
"And I can't stay in the Clocktower *knowing* that if I don't come and help you, you *will* get hurt. I can't just sit back and let that happen, so don't ask me to." With that she looked to the now locked door. She sighed angrily, and then back at the Jeep, thinking that maybe she could use it to smash her way in.
"Follow me," Helena said quietly, going around the side of the building. "All these warehouses have sky-lights that are really easy to open, so all we have to do it get up on the roof." When they reached the fire-latter, they saw that it was broken, and the closest rung was almost two-stories up.
"Shit!" Dinah cursed quietly, stomping her foot, obviously not happy with the turn of events.
"Jump on my back." Helena said, still looking at the broken fire-escape.
"What?" Dinah said, shocked and confused.
"If you jump on my back, I can get us on the roof. Now wrap your arms round my neck, and wrap your legs around my hips, like a piggy-back-ride." Dinah blushed profusely, but did as she was asked. "Ready?" the brunette asked. Dinah simply squeaked. The next thing the blonde knew, they were hanging from the rung, then the world turned on it's end as the older woman flipped them onto the roof another two stories up. As the girl slowly let go, she felt her knees shake slightly as she set them on the ground again.
"Wow." Helena smiled, and walked towards the nearest sky-light. Dinah was still slightly grounded to the spot. {I knew she was graceful, powerful . . . but I guess I never realized how much so.}. Shaking herself out of her slight daze, she walked over next to Helena. "Okay, where are these scum- bags?" Helena pointed at them through the glass, and saw that they all seemed to be yelling at the Lava-Man. Telling him that it was their fault the heist went wrong.
"alright, looks like you're gonna have to grab hold of me again." Helena said, looking around the room below.
"Why?"
"Because, we're four stories up, and there's nothing to land on anywhere near the skylights." She silently opened the hatch, sighing when it didn't creek. "You'll have to hold on and I'll jump down, okay?" She looked at Dinah as saw that the girl was suddenly very pale. Helena smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine. I won't let anything happen to you." Dinah nodded, obviously trusting Helena's good intentions, but not sure how far that'd get them.
[ Be careful you two, ] Barbara said into their ears, [ We don't know how well armed they are. ]. Helena Lifted her arms, turning her back towards her blonde counterpart. As Dinah climbed on, holding tight with her knees, she felt Helena place a hand over her own.
"When we drop in there, I want you to go for cover first, alright?" The brunette said quietly, turning her head so she could look at the blonde. "I'll head right for the lead Meta, that'll distract them, then you go for the humans. Alright?" Dinah nodded, and gripped the brunette firmly as she stood on the sill, preparing to drop.
"Helena?" Dinah whispered urgently. The older woman turned her head to the side again, and saw that the blonde was nervous. Hesitantly, Dinah leaned forward and place a quick kiss on the half-Meta's cheek. "Okay, I'm ready." She whispered in a small voice. Helena laughed, and dropped, the sudden free-fall causing Dinah's breath to catch.
They landed so silently, it almost scared Dinah. The girl hopped down and ducked behind some creaks while Helena charged the Lava-Man with a series of flips. IT seemed that the only person that'd noticed their entrance was a rather slow man with a hand gun, who opened fire of where he'd seen Dinah hide. Ducking to get out of the line of fire, the blonde heard her brunette counter-part start fighting with what must have been the Lava-Man. Once she heard the man trying to reload his gone she extended her Sticks, and jumped into the fray.
Helena was having trouble with the Metas. The leader's hand must have been started, because they were glowing like hot embers, and Helena was doing her best to avoid them, though the small of burnt leather could be smelled in the air. The other meta, who Dinah saw was a levitator, was floating around Helena and kicking her in the back as she tried to fight.
Running behind her partner, she smashed the levitator in the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground. Rising into the air again, the two faced off. He kicked out, and Dinah ducked. Righting herself, she swung hard at his stomach, his lack of a solid brace causing to go sailing though to air and fall about 20 feet off. Fallowing the man as he shakily got to his feet, she started fighting with a vicious ferocity. It didn't take long before he was on the ground unconscious.
"SHOOT HER!" Came the leader's call. Dinah just had time enough to turn and see the other five goons raise their guns and open fire on the stunned brunette. {HELENA!} The older woman turned her back on the firing squad just as the first shots ripped through the air, whizzing towards her.
But not a one touched her. As the shots stopped for all but one bewildered shooter, Helena turned around to see that the bullets had been stopped in mid air. They seemed to be frozen in time, stuck, though they still glowed with their heat. As the five men dropped their guns and stared, Helena raised a hand to one of the suspended slugs. Pulling her hand back, burned, she looked on as the men ran from the building. All of the sudden, the bullets fell.
And so did Dinah.
.
( To Be Continued . . . )
A lot of time had passed. Almost two months, in fact. Barbara had helped the younger girls assist in the arrest of a minor crime lord trying to replace the slowly dispersing remainder of the Hawk family. With Al behind bars, and Frankie Spitz dead, the rest of the mob was at a loss, and most of what was left had fled to the safe hold in Las Vegas. They would not be missed.
Helena and Dinah on the other hand, were closer than ever. Over time filled with training, sweeps, and the odd stake out; hiding quietly on roof- tops and in the H2 for hours; had led to the two girl talking again. That talking led to repaired friendship, moving slowly into light flirting, and soon anyone who looked at them could tell mow much they cared for each other at a glance.
Dinah got a job as a waitress at No Man's Land, and idea of Helena's so she could earn some extra spending money and be around more Metas her age. She enjoyed it, and Gibson was very understandable with her hours, making allowances for her 'Extra Curricular Activities' and the slight emergencies it could cause in her daily work-habit. Helena's boss at the dark horse, on the other hand, was not as forgiving. But, the two girls now worked similar hours, allowing them to be more synchronized. They could also swap stories at the end of the day about terribly annoying customers, and this was now almost a tradition to see who could come up with the worst one while training.
For the past month or so, Dinah had been trying to help Helena with her 'Huntress' problem, but to no success. IT seemed that Dinah herself had practically been another person that night. She couldn't remember anything she seemed to know about psychology, and more than that, she couldn't get Helena and Huntress to separate in her mind as they had over two months before. And although their success seemed to be movie backwards if moving at all, they kept trying.
Sitting in the training room, hand clasped in each other's, they were silent. Or, at least, not speaking. Helena's mind, however, was saying a whole lot. It seemed that every time Helena tried to quiet her mind, Dinah got more and more glimpses into it. She tried to block them out, but the more Helena tried not to think about certain things, the more the blonde caught her thoughts.
Right now they seemed to center around their hand holding. Helena was thinking about Dinah's hands, and how soft they felt. Dinah didn't mind these kind of thoughts, but they weren't always this tame. A little over a week before Dinah had received a pretty clear shock from Helena, which contained a slight fantasy of hers. It basically evolved the brunette taking hold of the blonde's hands, pulling the girl forward onto her body as she rolled backwards, and then commencing in kissing her quite vigorously. Dinah didn't know what happened next because she'd pulled her hands out of the older woman's grip before the evidence of what she'd seen appeared upon her face.
"Ugh!" Dinah grunted in frustration, pulling her hands away. "This isn't working! I can't even get you into my head lately, it's just your thoughts, and no you!" Dinah yelled as she kicked a set of collapsible sticks across the room. Helena sighed, though a smile could be seen forming on her face. "What's wrong with me? Why can't I get this stupid power of mine to work?!"
"Calm down Kid," Helena said affectionately, "You're probably just forcing it too much. Besides, I think we should go with Barbara's idea of trying it again while you're asleep. It could be the key to all of this." Helena said, smiling as she pointed to her head. Dinah smiled and clamed slightly. Looking at the clock, she sighed huffily.
"Shoot, we have to get to work." Dinah said as she picked up her towel and patted her face with it. Helena watched, and chuckled. She knew that the younger girl had a very strong ethic, but still, it was funny to watch Dinah take her job of delivering drinks and bar food to the people at No Man's Land.
"I take it you're not eager to go tonight?" Helena asked, and she sipped her water. Dinah scoffed and pulled her hair out of the tie to shake it out.
"No exactly." She grunted. "It's Friday. The same group of guys that are there every week will show up, talk about how they're going to be the next Justice League. They can't even control their powers completely! They're jerks. They'll stay until they run out of money, order their last round, and when I drop it off, the lead guy'll slap my ass and ask me if I want his number." Dinah was too busy trying to finger comb the knots out of her hair to notice Helena's eyes shift into Huntress mode, but Helena was able to shake it off before she asked her next question.
"He slaps your ass?" She asked incredulously, "You can take on some of the worst street burglars in New Gothem, why not lay it on him?" Dinah just laughed as she headed towards the stairs down to the main level.
"I like my job, and I don't want to get fired. Besides, as more and more time goes on the tips get bigger, as though trying to show they're nice guys. I'm never going to believe it, but it keeps me from losing my temper." The blonde laughed, and Helena was able to hold back the urge to find these guys and break their fingers.
"Sweep later?" Helena asked she Dinah headed into the bathroom, taking her shirt off as she passed through the door. Dinah turned around and smiled, not clan on only her shorts and a sports bra.
"Count on it." closing the door and leaning against it, she couldn't get the slightly glazed-eye look of Helena's out of her head. Chuckling, she listened as the brunette made her way to the elevator, and made up her mind.
{Okay, enough of this beating-around-the-bush, Flirting-without- consequences crap . . . I think I've kept her at arms length for long enough.} Dinah smiled and hopped under the stream of warm water. {Now, how I take the next step . . . that's the hard part.} But the young girl couldn't help the smile the spread across her face at the prospect of perhaps letting Helena's little fantasy become a reality. {That is,} she thought suddenly, {Assuming she'll let me.}
.
= = = (* Work Ethics *) = = =
There they were. The group of maybe five boys, the numbers change every week, and once again they were talking about how they were going to take over the city, but make it a better place. Dinah dropped off another tray of drinks to a table near by, and wondered which one of them might become the next Meta-Crime-Lord. {It's bound to happen,} she thought, {One of them will take their 'witty' banter seriously, and they'll become ambitious. Then Helena and I will have to kick the snot out of them when we catch them, and then Roscoe the Weight-lifter can smack *their* ass when they all get thrown in Jail.}
It was thought like these that kept Dinah smiling when they called her over to collect their empties and order what she hoped would be their last round. Sure enough, when she dropped the array of Sodas and snacks off, the taller blonde boy slapped her ass. Grimacing, and considering for what seemed like the 100th time why she didn't take Helena's advice in kicking their ass, Helena tallied up their bill and left it on the table.
"You want me to write my personal number on that tab and call it even?" He said, putting on what he must have thought was a charming smile. Dinah just laughed sarcastically and turned to leave.
"Jason, you're such a dork!" One of the boy's friends yelled, "You always ask her to take you're number, and every time she shuts you down. Just give it up dude!" Dinah chuckled as she heard this, and wiped down a freshly emptied table. She didn't even notice 'Jason' behind her until she almost ran into him.
"You sure you don't want this?" he asked, holding out a slip of paper that was sure to have his number on it. "Because I won't offer it again." he said it as though it was supposed to make the thing sound more appealing.
"I'm sure." She said chuckling. She started to walk away, when he grabbed her shoulder again. "Look, buddy," she said, now getting irritated, "I'm seeing somebody, and I'm not gonna be looking you up any time soon even if I were single; get me?" she said angrily. He frowned slightly, and came in close to whisper to her.
"Look, just take the paper, please? I've been betting for the past five weeks that you'd take my number, and every time I loose I have to pay for the drinks. Please, just do me this favor, and I'll leave you alone, alright?" Dinah felt sympathetic, but only for a second. God only knows what this boy would tell his friend even if she simply accepted his number for show.
"Then take my advice; Don't be so cocky next time?" she said with a snide edge. She picked up her tray and made her way back into the store room, dropping the glasses into the steamer to be cleaned. When she stepped behind the bar, and started to untie her apron, she saw Jason walk up to her with the money to pay the bad, a pretty deep scowl on his face. She just smiled at him, and counted up the money and her tips, as she got ready to leave. Saying good-bye to Gibson, she grabbed her bag and headed out the door.
Dinah stood out side the front of No Man's Land collectables for a minute, putting on her coat and putting her money into her bag. She took a few deep breath of the cooling November air. When the hairs on her arms suddenly stood on end, she knew it wasn't the cold, however. Looking up she saw that Jason stood just a short distance away from her, just looking silently, her face still stony.
"I want my money back." He said coldly. Dinah was confused, then she saw two of his friends step out of the shadows behind him, and she suddenly understood. "The streets aren't safe for a girl at this time of night . . ." he drawled as his friends came to stand beside him. "Maybe I should walk you home?" it was a threat, though it was said with a sort of sickly sweetness.
"I can get home just fine, thank you." She said quickly, making sure not to panic over this confrontation.
"A bit of advice," he said as two guys could be heard leaving the shadows behind her, "Don't be too cocky?" just then the roar of a motorcycle could be heard running up the street. It pulled to a screeching halt at the curb next to Dinah, who sigh with relief silently.
"Hey D." Helena said jovially, tossing her the only helmet. "Ready to go?" she asked. Dinah nodded and swung her leg over the back of the bike as she strapped the pulled the large black helmet over her head. Helena looked around the crowd of guys and raised and eye-brow. As she revved the engine and pulled away down the street she tried not to think about how good it felt to have Dinah wrap her hands around her middle and hold her tightly.
"Tell me I didn't just save you from something back there?" Helena asked as they stopped at their first light. The blonde flipped the shaded plexy- screen up on the helmet and smiled sheepishly.
"I could have handled it." Helena scoffed slightly and revved the engine again as the light turned green. Grabbing hold of the brunette again suddenly she nodded the visor down again.
"You could take on five humans, maybe, but five angry Metas . . . ? I have to wonder, Kid." Dinah nodded silently, and trying to concentrate on holding on instead of the speed at which the older woman was going.
"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that those are the guys that have been harassing you?" Dinah nodded slightly, and Helena chuckled. "Let me guess, he was tired of getting turned down?" Another nod, and Dinah was forced to close her eyes. As the two pulled up into the parking space just out front of the tower, Helena's expression became serious. "You know you have to report them to Gibson now, right?"
"I know. I'm going to tell him on Monday. The next time they come in, he'll take their pictures and post them on the No Admittance Board." Helena nodded happily as they made their way up to the Clock-face. Stepping into the main Delphi area, they were greeted with distracted hellos from Barbara who seemed to be preoccupied with something on the computer.
"What's going on?" Helena asked as she sat on the Computer desks. Barbara just sighed and nodded towards the screen. There seemed to be an Open E- Mail from her school account, and she was writing a response in another open window. It was a rather rude letter from what must have been a very pissed of parent. Bryan Tickson's father, Dinah realized, as she perused the E-Mail as well. He was pissed, and he was planning a meeting with the school board.
"Well, like father like son I guess." Dinah said as Barbara rubbed her eyes. {Gabby may have been right,} Dinah thought, {Barb might be a workaholic, and it looks like it might be catching up with her. She looks like she could *really* use a vacation. Good thing Winter break is coming up soon! She looks like she's benefit from a rest}. Suddenly her attention was caught by something else. Helena was looking at rather critically. Here eyes became Feral, her body switching into huntress, as the brunette slowly made her way over to the blonde.
"Kid," she growled almost gently, as she slowly slinked behind the girl, making her shiver. She places a hand on either shoulder, and as the woman leaned in closer around her shoulder, past her ear, she realized what Helena was doing. {She's sniffing me?} Dinah thought, a little surprised. "Why do you smell like liquor?" she asked her quietly in her ear, though Barbara turned around to glare at her the second it passed the you brunette's lips.
"Have you been drinking?!" the red-head sounded completely shocked. Obviously she knew that alcohol was not something that Dinah was into, and this was odd. The blonde raised an eye-brow and gave her mentor a sarcastic look.
"I do work in a bar, you know?" The blonde shot back sarcastically. "Someone tried to run out on their tab, and wasn't looking where they were going. Spilled a whole tray of half-empty glasses on my apron. I washed off a little, but I guess it still seeped through." She brushed her hands down her shirt, and when she noticed a small maroon stain, she showed it to Barbara, she chuckled.
"Hazard of the job." Helena chuckled, eyes normal again. Dinah nodded, and sniffed her shirt lightly. It smelled like Coke and Vodka mixed with Kalua and rum.
"Ugh, I stink . . . I'mma go take a shower and get ready for sweeps, alright?" Barbara, now back to work, just nodded and waved vaguely, while Helena watched her as the blonde backed all the way into her room.
.
= = = (* Call Of Duty *) = = =
About thirty minutes later, Dinah came running out of the bathroom, clad in only a towel. The sound of the Delphi going off calling to her. By the time she reached the monitors she'd just enough time to see Helena, who'd just jumped into the elevator, staring at her wide-eyes as the doors closed. There was a little, red light blinking on the large map.
"There's been a breaking at New Gothem Savings Bank, Helena's going ahead to see what she can do. Get dressed, I think this could be bad." Dinah nodded, and darted back into her room to get dressed. As she was hurriedly putting her ComSet on, the coat Helena had given to her caught her eye. Taking an extra second to think, she quickly slipped it on and headed back to the Delphi area. Clicking on her mike she, she looked over the screens.
"Update?" she asked the anyone who might answer.
[ This is gonna get ugly. ] came Helena's voice in her ear. [ Looks like seven guys, two Meta, five human, or so I think. One of the hostages has been shot, there's a phone in her hands, so I think there might be police on the way. ]
"They are." Barbara said, typing away and enlarging the map, where three blue dots could be racing along the map towards where the bank was. "One of them is Reese, the other two are rookies in training." Barbara sighed angrily, "What can you see?"
[ Well, I've just learned why the Meta's are here. ] She replied, voice sounding surprised, [ What seems to be the lead guy is breaking into the Safe . . . with his bare hands. ] The two women left in the clock-tower looked at each-other for a second, then back to the monitors, seeing that the cops weren't far off. [ His hands, they turn into, like, Lava, or Hot Coals . . . he's melting right through it. ]
"Well, seven guys sound a bit much, Helena, wait for the cop to get there, they're about three blocks off. Meet up with Reese, tell him what's going on in-side."
[ Got It. ] Barbara watched as the little blue dots marked 'P' came up on the block where the bank was. Barbara started typing furiously, and a few seconds later, the live-video feed from the back's surveillance came up on the screen. Sure enough, right at the vault doors, stood a man who seemed to be slowly melting his way into the door. They must have underestimated the thickness, however, because even through the silent feed, the two crime- fighters could see that the others were getting angry with him, yelling for him to hurry.
"I'm going out there." Dinah said, slipping her collapsible sticks into the backs of her boots.
[ WAIT! ] Helena called through the Coms. [ Don't come out here, D. Reese and I might be able to handle this on our own, and I don't want you in any unnecessary danger. ] Dinah's face contorted into one of anger.
"But I'm you're partner!" she yelled loudly, "Not Reese! Besides, I've already been battle tested, this isn't new to me!" Helena could be heard sighing, then a second set of foot-steps could be heard approaching. The aforementioned cop could be heard talking to the brunette through her comes. As they were chatting, Dinah was watching the monitors.
"Uh, Helena . . ." She said haltingly, "Something's going on."
[ What is it? ] she asked, worriedly. The blonde couldn't quite tell. The man who'd been melting through the doors had stopped once the cops had arrived. He was now standing in the middle of the bank, his hands stretched out on front of him, and something seemed to be growing between his palms. It was a dark sphere, she the man holding it was smiling menacingly. Suddenly he took it in one hand, and as one of his human associates opened the door, he tossed it out the bank like a bowling ball.
"DUCK!" she yelled. There was a loud explosion through the ComSet, and the effect had left the bank in ruins, they'd assumed, because all the Cameras were out. "HELENA?! HELENA?!" Dinah called desperately into her mike. There was only silence. A few seconds later, she could here the woman coughing, trying to catch her winded breath. The blonde felt her heart start beating, and she slumped onto the floor. {Oh god . . . Talk about Hazard of the job! She ever does that to me again, *I'll* kill her!}. in the background they could hear a car being started, and men yelling.
[ They're getting away! ] Helena yelled, her footsteps clapping into the mike. The shish of wind could be heard, and they knew the woman was roof- hoping after the would-be-bank-robbers.
"I'm on my way!" Dinah called, grabbing the H2 keys, and heading to the lift.
[ No! After that, I *know* you have to stay in the Tower! ] Dinah fumed and made her way down into the garage.
"I'm coming Helena, and you can't stop me! You can't take these guys on alone, and you need my help. Besides, I'm not gonna let you. Now where are they heading?" She heard a click, and knew that the brunette had turned off her ComSet. "UGH!" Dinah yelled as the doors opened. Slamming an angry fist into the wall of the elevator, leaving a rather large dent.
[ Give me a second to hack into the back-up GPS, ] Barbara's voice called into her ear, sounding rather annoyed herself. [We can track her and I'll send the trail to the On-Star system in the Jeep. No Get Going!] Dinah nodded, and could hear the red-head madly typing away. As soon as the turned the engine on, the little screen blinked on, with a little purple 'H' making a zig-zagged line across the city.
"I'm off!" she called, putting the car into third as she hauled out of the parking lot, speeding through the city streets. She watched as the Cop cars near the bank were flipped back right-way-up, as the one car that seemed to have survived was heading in the wrong direction after a few blocks. Dinah looked at the screen, seeing that the line was heading slowly towards the shore, twisting as though trying to lose someone that might be following. She quickly headed to the Docks, knowing that there was no better place to hide.
She arrived just in time to see them slam the entrance closed, and Helena to land almost on the hood of the H2. Turning to face the still angry blonde, the brunette didn't look too happy either. Quickly stepping out of the car, the blonde slammed the door, and pulled her sticks out of her boots.
"I told you to stay in the tower." Helena said, a mix of pleading and angry. "I don't want to see you get hurt."
"And I can't stay in the Clocktower *knowing* that if I don't come and help you, you *will* get hurt. I can't just sit back and let that happen, so don't ask me to." With that she looked to the now locked door. She sighed angrily, and then back at the Jeep, thinking that maybe she could use it to smash her way in.
"Follow me," Helena said quietly, going around the side of the building. "All these warehouses have sky-lights that are really easy to open, so all we have to do it get up on the roof." When they reached the fire-latter, they saw that it was broken, and the closest rung was almost two-stories up.
"Shit!" Dinah cursed quietly, stomping her foot, obviously not happy with the turn of events.
"Jump on my back." Helena said, still looking at the broken fire-escape.
"What?" Dinah said, shocked and confused.
"If you jump on my back, I can get us on the roof. Now wrap your arms round my neck, and wrap your legs around my hips, like a piggy-back-ride." Dinah blushed profusely, but did as she was asked. "Ready?" the brunette asked. Dinah simply squeaked. The next thing the blonde knew, they were hanging from the rung, then the world turned on it's end as the older woman flipped them onto the roof another two stories up. As the girl slowly let go, she felt her knees shake slightly as she set them on the ground again.
"Wow." Helena smiled, and walked towards the nearest sky-light. Dinah was still slightly grounded to the spot. {I knew she was graceful, powerful . . . but I guess I never realized how much so.}. Shaking herself out of her slight daze, she walked over next to Helena. "Okay, where are these scum- bags?" Helena pointed at them through the glass, and saw that they all seemed to be yelling at the Lava-Man. Telling him that it was their fault the heist went wrong.
"alright, looks like you're gonna have to grab hold of me again." Helena said, looking around the room below.
"Why?"
"Because, we're four stories up, and there's nothing to land on anywhere near the skylights." She silently opened the hatch, sighing when it didn't creek. "You'll have to hold on and I'll jump down, okay?" She looked at Dinah as saw that the girl was suddenly very pale. Helena smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine. I won't let anything happen to you." Dinah nodded, obviously trusting Helena's good intentions, but not sure how far that'd get them.
[ Be careful you two, ] Barbara said into their ears, [ We don't know how well armed they are. ]. Helena Lifted her arms, turning her back towards her blonde counterpart. As Dinah climbed on, holding tight with her knees, she felt Helena place a hand over her own.
"When we drop in there, I want you to go for cover first, alright?" The brunette said quietly, turning her head so she could look at the blonde. "I'll head right for the lead Meta, that'll distract them, then you go for the humans. Alright?" Dinah nodded, and gripped the brunette firmly as she stood on the sill, preparing to drop.
"Helena?" Dinah whispered urgently. The older woman turned her head to the side again, and saw that the blonde was nervous. Hesitantly, Dinah leaned forward and place a quick kiss on the half-Meta's cheek. "Okay, I'm ready." She whispered in a small voice. Helena laughed, and dropped, the sudden free-fall causing Dinah's breath to catch.
They landed so silently, it almost scared Dinah. The girl hopped down and ducked behind some creaks while Helena charged the Lava-Man with a series of flips. IT seemed that the only person that'd noticed their entrance was a rather slow man with a hand gun, who opened fire of where he'd seen Dinah hide. Ducking to get out of the line of fire, the blonde heard her brunette counter-part start fighting with what must have been the Lava-Man. Once she heard the man trying to reload his gone she extended her Sticks, and jumped into the fray.
Helena was having trouble with the Metas. The leader's hand must have been started, because they were glowing like hot embers, and Helena was doing her best to avoid them, though the small of burnt leather could be smelled in the air. The other meta, who Dinah saw was a levitator, was floating around Helena and kicking her in the back as she tried to fight.
Running behind her partner, she smashed the levitator in the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground. Rising into the air again, the two faced off. He kicked out, and Dinah ducked. Righting herself, she swung hard at his stomach, his lack of a solid brace causing to go sailing though to air and fall about 20 feet off. Fallowing the man as he shakily got to his feet, she started fighting with a vicious ferocity. It didn't take long before he was on the ground unconscious.
"SHOOT HER!" Came the leader's call. Dinah just had time enough to turn and see the other five goons raise their guns and open fire on the stunned brunette. {HELENA!} The older woman turned her back on the firing squad just as the first shots ripped through the air, whizzing towards her.
But not a one touched her. As the shots stopped for all but one bewildered shooter, Helena turned around to see that the bullets had been stopped in mid air. They seemed to be frozen in time, stuck, though they still glowed with their heat. As the five men dropped their guns and stared, Helena raised a hand to one of the suspended slugs. Pulling her hand back, burned, she looked on as the men ran from the building. All of the sudden, the bullets fell.
And so did Dinah.
.
( To Be Continued . . . )