Barbara was already sitting at the table, dressed and enjoying a cup of coffee, as Dinah groggily clomped down the stairs. She made a valiant effort not to scowl at how well-rested and awake her mentor appeared, but sometimes it was nauseating how much energy Barbara had in the morning.

Dinah took a few steps closer and unconsciously slowed her pace as she noticed how stiff Barbara was sitting. The coffee she was sipping didn't help either, as she seemed to raise the coffee mug to her lips at too regular of intervals. Her stomach clenched itself into knots as she finally got a good look at her mentor. The look on Barbara's face was somewhere between concerned and annoyed, and Dinah could feel herself becoming increasingly distressed as she wondered just where on the continuum Barbara actually was.

'If you avoid her now it'll only be worse later,' she thought, willing herself forward. 'And it's only Barbara. What's the worst she's done to you?'

Each step taking more effort than the last, Dinah finally sat down across the table from Barbara and waited cautiously for the worst.

"You went to bed a little early last night," Barbara commented after a few moments.

Dinah cursed to herself as she remembered how soon she had turned out the light. 'Stay calm. Why was the light out if I wasn't sleeping? ...Okay, I was definitely sleeping then. Maybe I don't feel well. Oh, man, I can't train if I'm sick. I had a project that I stayed up late working on! Stupid! Then the light would've been on, not off! Maybe I had a project night before last and stayed up so I was tired last night. Perfect!'

Barbara was still waiting for an answer.

"I had a math test... quiz yesterday," she corrected hurriedly, realizing that Barbara would have known about a test, "and I stayed up studying for it so I was tired last night and decided to just go to bed."

Barbara raised an eyebrow. "You look like you didn't sleep at all."

She hadn't.

Dinah just shrugged and looked down, suddenly unable to meet her mentor's gaze. "Guess I slept too much."

"A rare occurrence in this household," Alfred said, setting a plate of scrambled eggs and a glass of milk in front of her.

"Thanks," Dinah said automatically, frowning as she tried to figure out if she'd imagined the skepticism in his voice. Just whose side was he on, anyways? "What'd Detective Reese have to say?" she finally asked.

Barbara sighed and decided to let her change the subject. "He thinks the abductor could be meta because the descriptions of him don't match one another."

"You don't sound convinced," Dinah said, beginning to eat. She was surprisingly hungry after not eating much at dinner.

"I'm not. Descriptions never match exactly. Memories aren't perfect-"

"Unless you have a photographic memory," Dinah interjected, looking pointedly at her mentor.

"Even then," Barbara said seriously. "Even assuming all of the witnesses got a good look at the same thing, they would still describe it differently. And on top of all of that, the police are asking people a day after the abduction if they saw anyone suspicious. The witnesses are likely describing many different people, since not everyone views the same things as suspicious."

"But people should notice some creepy guy hanging around little kids," Dinah pointed out.

"Not necessarily," Barbara explained. "If the murderer has an average face, and likely he does because kids wouldn't go with someone of whom they were already afraid, parents and teachers might assume he's supposed to be there or even think that they've seen him before. And, if his face is average enough, that alone would account for all the discrepancies in the descriptions."

Dinah nodded and then reconsidered. "Wait, I don't understand that last part. How could a regular face make people see different things?"

"It wouldn't," Barbara clarified. "But if it's average, then it's forgettable."

Dinah frowned in open confusion. "But if people forgot... then they wouldn't tell the police that they'd seen someone... right?"

Barbara smiled and shook her head. "Not everyone's as honest as that. There was a survey once, where half of the American public thought that the Public Affairs Act of 1975 should be repealed or was doing a good job," she said as if that ended the matter.

"Well... was it a good act or whatever?"

Barbara sighed in exasperation and rubbed her temples for a few moments before she answered. "It doesn't exist," she said, as if her point had been obvious. "People just wanted to help and express their opinion."

"So the descriptions that the police have might not be telling us anything," Dinah ventured slowly.

"Exactly."

"So the guy's not meta?"

"Well, he could be, but I doubt he has the ability to change his appearance."

"But Detective Reese thinks he can."

"Right."

"So we still don't know anything!" Dinah cried, slamming her fist against the table.

Barbara started and raised both hands palms outward. "Easy, Dinah."

"But we're not getting anywhere!" Dinah insisted, running her fingers through her hair.

"We're making progress," Barbara said. "The morning news shows have all reported on the murders and it was on the front page of the newspaper, so all of the teachers and parents should be on alert now. By this time tomorrow, the public will have put the pressure on the police department and there will be undercover officers at every school. On top of that, the perpetrator hasn't been to any of the elementary schools twice. The field's narrowing, and even if we don't catch him right away, no one else will be hurt."

Dinah wasn't convinced, but taking out her frustration on Barbara wouldn't help matters, either. "Well, that's good at least," she said quietly, already ashamed of her outburst. "I'm gonna go finish getting ready for school."

Barbara watched her young charge go, walking so quickly that she was almost running away. Something was definitely wrong there, and it was more than just Dinah trying to escape her emotions... Although that would explain her recent sleeping patterns...

"She seems quite nervous these days," Alfred commented, clearing the table.

"Helena was the same way," Barbara said, looking up at him. "Always waiting for the other shoe to fall."

Alfred saw her frown. "And that bothers you."

"It's not her," she said, sinking against her chair. "Dinah's been through so much for someone her age... more than I realized at first. But she's always seemed so open and trusting."

"But she was not," Alfred pointed out. "She did not trust you with her true last name for many weeks."

"Even when she lied about her last name, she let us see the real her," Barbara insisted. "And for someone who felt abandoned by her mother and then wasn't accepted by her foster family... that must have taken exceptional courage. If we refused her because of her last name, we would only be refusing the last name. If we refused her because of the true self that she showed us, we would be refusing who she is."

"Now that courage is gone and she has closed herself away."

"Exactly. The problem is, I can't figure out why," she said, beginning to feel a headache coming on. "And the only way I'm going to find out why she won't open herself up, is if she decides to open up and tells me."

"Perhaps her mother's return made her confront her previous abandonment," Alfred suggested.

"It's possible," Barbara said slowly, "but it doesn't explain why she won't talk to me or Helena about it. Even if she did feel abandoned, we've always accepted her."

"Perhaps she is afraid that you will view her differently since you know who her mother was."

"We always knew that her mother left her in foster care," Barbara said, frowning anew. "Having known her mother should make her think that we care about her more, not less."

"That is true, Miss Barbara," Alfred agreed, beginning to move to the kitchen. "Whatever the problem, I'm sure you are quite capable of finding it and solving it."

"Thanks, Alfred," Barbara said, smiling. Then she went to find her aforementioned charge before she made them both late for school.


'This day just sucks,' Dinah thought in frustration as she made her way through the crowded cafeteria to Gabby's table.

First, she had blanked during a quiz because she was so tired. An English quiz, no less! Barbara was gonna be pissed. Then, between classes, she had run straight into Matt Kendle, only the cutest guy in school. Then, in P.E., she'd actually fallen asleep as her teacher explained... well, whatever she had been explaining when she fell asleep. And, on top of everything else, she had dreamed that her mother came back and-

Dinah caught herself right before she ran into two jocks arguing in the aisle. She tried to keep her food from falling off the tray, and if it had to fall, keep it from falling all over herself or someone else. In a few seconds she had it all under control. Blushing, she covertly looked around to see if anyone else had noticed.

"No, I can't go," some jock right in front of her complained.

"Why not?" a somewhat skinnier jock named John asked. "You said yesterday that everything was cool."

"Yesterday it was. But then some chick with a dad who's a policeman made handouts for everyone's parents at my brother's school. So now, I have to pick him up and stay home to baby-sit him."

Dinah tried to move passed them, but they were taking up the whole aisle.

"Aw, man! That sucks."

"Tell me about it! Some guy's taking kids? Ask me if I care. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, that guy can have my brother!"

"Hey!" Dinah demanded. "Do you have any idea what happens to those kids?!"

She wasn't sure who was more surprised, the jock or herself.

"Hey! Do you have any what it's like to mind your own business?" the guy taunted.

Dinah flushed in anger and embarrassment... and then there was just anger. "How can you be so selfish? Everyone deserves a good home with people who love them!"

"Whoa, there, zipper girl. I think you're taking this a little too seriously. It was just four kids-"

"Just four kids?!" Dinah practically screamed, edging forward until her tray was almost touching his chest. "Have you seen the pictures of the bodies? Some guy is taking kids away from families they want to be with and you won't even defend your own brother!"

People were beginning to stop and stare at the odd scene in front of them. Dinah had always been so quiet, and even though she was a little bit shy, she always seemed to have a smile for everyone. Seeing her pick a fight with a football player who had to outweigh her by a good fifty pounds looked so off that it was almost humorous.

Gabby joined the crowd, looking for a good time to pull her Dinah away.

"Your friend's lost it!" a junior named Patrick said, his voice oddly hushed.

The jock, easily a foot taller than Dinah, was beginning to get seriously freaked out by this weird girl who had always seemed to be so quiet. In near desperation, he pushed her away from him.

The food on her tray went flying everywhere as Dinah stumbled backwards, dropping her tray. She stared at him a moment in disbelief... and then slugged him right in the eye.

The jock (Rick, some part of her mind registered) fell backwards. Sluggishly, he got to his hands and knees and made like he was going to get up.

Dinah, her training kicking in, moved in closer to take away the advantage that his height and longer reach gave him.

The skinny friend pushed her away from Rick, so she clocked him one, too.

And then the whole football team seemed to join in, half of them trying to get at her and half holding their friends back in fear that this obviously insane girl would be murdered right in front of them.

Dinah was trying to determine friend from enemy when she felt someone on her back, trying to pull her away. She jabbed her elbow backwards and felt it go a ways into something soft. She heard a low 'whoosh' that meant she had knocked the air out of somebody, and the arms around let go. She whirled around with a raised fist, ready to strike again.

Gabby was bent over on the ground, wheezing, one arm raised to shield herself and the other around her ribs. She couldn't say anything, but her eyes held a mixture of surprise, betrayal, and fear.

"Gabby! I'm... I'm sorry," Dinah stuttered, lowering her fist and taking a step forward.

That's when the principal appeared in the doorway with Barbara in tow.

Things just went downhill from there.