Dinah sat at the table silently, her hands clenched into fists, and tried to hear what Barbara and Helena were saying in the other room. She was angry at them for talking about her behind her back, and angrier still at the fact that they thought she didn't know they were talking about her.
Just how stupid did they think she was?
On second thought, maybe she didn't want to know.
Dinah sighed in frustration and ran a hand through her hair, trying to get a handle on her anger and anxiety. She did feel guilty for thinking such things about the closest thing she had to a family, but mostly she resented them for making her feel that way.
Really, when you looked at it, it wasn't her fault, anyway. First, they had wanted her to go with Canary, then they had said that she couldn't go on sweeps, and now they were talking behind her back. It was enough to make anyone suspicious.
Dinah had tried everything she could think of to make them see things differently. Barbara had said that she could stay home from school for a while, but she'd gone. She had done every scrap of homework her teachers had assigned her, even Algebra! She had even begun training before Barbara asked.
But none of it worked. She still felt concern and worry coming from both of them.
It was downright annoying... and as each new measure failed, she could feel herself becoming more and more desperate.
"Hey, Junior Superhero," Helena said, taking a seat across from her. "You didn't eat all of Alfred's spaghetti, did you?"
Embarrassed, Dinah finally realized how little she had eaten. "Don't worry. I was sure to leave you plenty."
For a split second, Barbara froze mid-transfer from her wheelchair to her chair at the table to exchange worried glances with Helena, confusing the teen.
"You know," the brunette started slowly, "I was just kidding. You don't have to worry about me. If... well, let's just say you were sad about something... you shouldn't worry about bringing it up, even if you think it might make me sad, too. I'm a big girl. I can deal with missing my... spaghetti."
Barbara groaned.
Helena looked over at her questioningly and shrugged.
"I'm fine," Dinah tried to assure them both. "This case is bothering me a little bit, but-"
"Are you sure it's the case?" Helena asked her seriously. "Couldn't it just be... you know, that the case is giving you an outlet for your emotions so that you can cry and be angry at someone without facing your mother's death?"
Barbara glared at Helena as she ate.
"Geez, Hel, where'd you get something like that?" Dinah asked, trying not to grin. "Dr. Phil?"
The blonde watched with veiled amusement as her mentor dropped her fork.
"You know, on second thought, something that deep could've only come from Alfred."
Barbara almost choked.
Dinah stood up and pounded her back helpfully.
"I know what you're going through," Helena said. "When I lost my mom, I lashed out at everyone-"
"Do I look like I'm lashing out?" Dinah demanded. "I. Am. FINE!" she insisted, stomping to accentuate each word.
Realizing how that must have looked and sounded, she closed her eyes tightly for a few seconds and added, "I admit that I'm frustrated. But that's because I've been doing everything right and you still won't let me on sweeps!"
"You need time to deal with this," Barbara said gently, waving the blonde back to her seat. "You can't carry your anger at Carolyn's death with you and still be effective on sweeps."
"You guys are assuming that I wanted to go with her," Dinah said, making no move to sit back down. "I didn't. You're the ones that wanted me go with her."
Too late Dinah realized that she had sounded like she was glad her mother was gone.
Well, maybe she was.
"She was your mom," Helena insisted. "How could you not have wanted to get to know her?"
"Why?" Dinah demanded, eyes flashing. "Do you want to get to know your dad?"
"Leave him out of this," the brunette said between clenched teeth. "He left right when me and Barbara needed him!"
"And the difference is...?"
"Enough," Barbara said quickly. "This stopped being productive a long time ago."
"That's what I've been saying!" Dinah insisted exasperatedly.
Before Helena or Barbara could respond, something that sounded suspiciously like a school bell came from the Delphi.
"What's that?" Helena asked, rising from her seat.
"Detective Reese must have triggered the bat ring," Barbara answered, again making the transfer between chairs. "I made it different from the other alarms so we could know another body hadn't shown up."
"Did you have to make it sound like the bell at school?" Dinah asked. "I have this strange urge to finish up the last of my homework."
"It's what I had access to," Barbara said with a shrug. "Wait, you're still trying to complete homework assignments as the bell rings?"
"You have access to everything," Dinah said, frowning. "You're you."
"You didn't answer the-"
"I'll take care of the alarm," Helena said, beginning to exit the room. "You guys just finish your dinner."
"Did I just hear you suggest that you would touch my computers without my supervision?" Barbara demanded, her tone clearly telling both her protégés that there wasn't a safe answer.
Helena froze. "Uh... of course not. I would never say something so stupid."
"Not stupid," Barbara said, maneuvering her chair ahead of Helena. "Suicidal."
"Right," Helena said, following meekly behind.
Dinah trailed them both. "When do I get to answer the ring?" she asked.
Barbara sighed. She pushed her chair to the screen and started typing on the keyboard, making a location appear on the screen. "When you start going on sweeps."
"And when will that be?"
"It will be when Helena and I both think you're ready to be back on the street."
"I repeat..."
"Look, Dinah," Barbara said as gently as she could manage, "it's not that we think you're doing something wrong or that there's a magic amount of time that will pass before you've dealt with Carolyn's death. It's the simple fact that we can't expect you to be okay so soon after it. And it won't be safe, for you, Helena, or anyone else, to have you out there if your mind or your heart isn't on the job."
Dinah took a deep breath and sighed in defeat. If she pushed harder, she would only convince them that she was angry. "Okay. Fine."
She took a few steps toward kitchen, and then stopped and looked around herself in confusion.
Barbara laughed. "She was gone by the time I told you that you could answer the bat ring when you started sweeps."
"So this is how Detective Reese feels," Dinah said bitterly. "I thought there was a rule against using powers to settle domestic disputes."
"Settling disputes," Barbara corrected, "not running away screaming from them."
Dinah frowned. "I would've noticed if she'd run screaming."
"Don't take it personally. She just doesn't like conversations involving feelings."
Dinah snorted. "Ya think?"
Barbara chuckled. "Just go finish your dinner. Reese is waiting for Helena near the alley where the latest body was found. I want to see if he has any more information for us before I join you."
"How can you eat after something like that?" Dinah asked, frowning.
Barbara paused for a few moments before answering. "You never get used to the injustice of it all... the absurdity and the cruelty. But, with enough years on this job, you do get used to the gore."
Slightly disconcerted, Dinah went back to the kitchen and continued pushing the food around her plate.
That discussion had been getting heated. Helena had waited just long enough to see the address flash across the screen, then she was outta there!
Of course, the kid was going to be mad at her for leaving during the middle of an argument. And, she had to admit, it hadn't been exactly fair to leave before hearing her out completely. Maybe she'd apologize later.
Eh, probably not.
Huntress hopped across the rooftops where she was able, and, heh, she was the Huntress, so she was able to quite a bit. But as she got closer to Reese's location, she noticed that the building Reese had chosen to wait behind was only two stories high and had skyscrapers on either side. So, to maintain her level of mystique, she had to go to ground level, walk to the building, jump to the roof and then swoop down.
She was sure Reese did it on purpose.
Which, of course, only made her want to scare him that much more.
He was standing with his arms crossed, waiting with his back against the wall. She waited, crouched above him in the shadows, for him to look towards the street. When his head was finally turned, she landed silently in front of him and waited impatiently for him to turn back.
But it was all worth it to see him jump.
"Huntress!"
"You called, Detective?"
"Regretting it right now," Reese said, shaking his head. "Would it kill you to land in front of me every once in a while?"
"What?" Huntress asked sarcastically. "And miss this wonderful reception?"
Reese sighed and put his hands in his pockets. "Do you know about this latest string of murders?"
Huntress pouted like she was insulted... and then repeated the information Oracle was feeding her. "Four murders, if you include the boy found just now. All boys with blond to sandy hair, aged four to seven, taken from their schools after the day had ended. If you consider the lack of witnesses, it's highly probable that they went willingly."
"Lack of witnesses?" Reese repeated skeptically. "Highly probable?"
Huntress knew what he was getting at, but ignored it. She sighed in mock exasperation and continued to repeat Oracle. "It would have made a scene if the children had not gone willingly, and there would be more witnesses."
Reese shook his head again. "The 'lack of witnesses' is actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Now, we questioned all of the teachers and a lot of the students at the schools and some of them report seeing a strange man around the time that the kids were abducted."
"You have a description?" Huntress asked eagerly.
"No. That's the strange part. All of the descriptions were either too vague to be helpful, or they all contradicted one another."
"So... where do I come in?"
Reese rubbed his head with one hand, and looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I was wondering if this guy could be a metahuman."
"You think the perp's changing their appearance," Helena stated. "I'll look into it."
She paused for a moment, making sure she was actually hearing footsteps coming their way. "As always, Detective, a pleasure."
The footsteps came closer and Reese finally heard them. He looked towards them, and when he looked back, she was gone.
Before Helena had even finished talking to Detective Reese, Dinah made some excuse about homework to leave the room. Considering the whole school bell incident, it was believable cover. Dinah shut the door behind her and sighed; that probably wasn't the end of it, either. Barbara never forgot anything and would probably want to check her homework in the morning.
Dinah halfheartedly opened up a few books, but everything that was due the next day was already done and she didn't really have the energy to do anything else. She just felt so tired all of a sudden...
Resignedly, she undressed and put her pajamas on, shaking her head in disgust at herself the whole time. She was going to sleep right after dinner! That was so not cool.
But, to Dinah's consternation, she found that as soon as the light was out, she was too afraid to close her eyes. Instead, she put on her headphones and began surfing for a good station. But lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, only made her think. And the truth of the matter was that she hadn't slept through an entire night since Canary had come for her.
Black Canary. Her mother.
Sure. Whenever she felt like it, anyways.
Barbara probably knew that she wasn't sleeping at night. It was hard to hide anything from the Oracle. Dinah laughed to herself a little. It was even harder to hide anything from the person who raised Helena Kyle through her teen years.
Barbara probably thought she was having nightmares about her mother's death like Helena had.
Dinah sighed sadly. If only it were that simple. But in her nightmares, her mother showed up alive and well and wanted to get to know her again.
And it was so terrifying that she was afraid to go sleep.
