Okay, now I all know you're waiting to hear the always redundant, ever creative excuse for the delayed posting of this chapter… would you believe that I forgot I didn't post it? Heh, sorry about that. Thanks to rain1657 and redladyreba for the reviews. Means a lot.
The day was warm and clear as Dinah walked down the side walk on her way home. It was perfect daydreaming weather… the kind of day when it was a sin to be indoors.
Dinah's eyes suddenly widened as she realized the phrase that had just passed through her head. It wasn't that the saying itself was bad... just where she had heard it. Her foster mother back in Opal had often used it as an excuse to get Dinah out of the house for a few hours. The full saying went: "This type of a day is a gift from God, and it's a sin to be indoors."
She stopped walking, closed her eyes tightly, and clenched her fists at her sides for a few moments, wishing she could wash away the influence of her foster parents. But she had internalized their words, if not their thoughts, somewhere deep inside of her and didn't know how to get them out.
Idly, she wondered if cleaning her mouth out with soap would do the trick.
And then her heart grew heavy as she wondered if there was a similar ritual for cleaning her mind and soul.
She adjusted the straps of her backpack, moving them higher on her shoulders and then looked upwards in preparation to resume her homeward trek.
Dinah stopped mid stride as she realized she was back at the cemetery.
She laughed a little and rolled her eyes at herself. Really, she should have seen it coming. It's not like the cemetery had moved any time soon. If it was on the way home from school the last time she had walked home, then it would be again.
'Duh,' she thought to herself.
Remembering what had happened the last time she had stayed in that spot for too long, Dinah looked upwards into the branches of the trees and looked for the squirrel that had thrown the acorns at her. It was there, all right, balancing on a small branch that looked way too small to hold that squirrel. It was relaxed on all fours and calmly watching her.
"Truce?" Dinah asked, raising an eyebrow.
Predictably, the squirrel remained silent.
"I'll take that as a yes," she said, giving her full attention back to the gate of the cemetery.
For a moment she considered going in, but she didn't feel like it.
Really, there wasn't any reason to. Black Canary wasn't even in there. There was just an empty casket and a head stone.
'It's so typical!' Dinah thought in sudden anger, clenching her fists at her sides. 'Even when she's dead, she's not here!'
Carolyn Lance hadn't been a black canary; she had been a scarecrow. She had all the appearance of life but was just hay on the inside. Her only function had been to scare away all of the dark shapes coming to prey on the defenseless.
And now all Dinah had was a list of her accomplishments and a hole in her heart where a mother might have been.
Black Canary had definitely lived the life, though. Dinah had spent countless hours pouring through Barbara's database as she researched the heroes who had come before her. Of course, that was back before she had realized that the Black Canary was her m- Well, back before she knew who she was, anyways.
How many people's lives had been touched by Canary… only because she gave up on her daughter?
It wasn't fair.
'Is that what makes a hero?' Dinah wondered despairingly, looking up into the clouds. 'Choosing one life over another? Or even many lives over just one that you're supposed to take care of.'
Helena's mother hadn't. But, then, Helena's mother hadn't been a hero.
Only… maybe she was. Much more so than Black Canary.
Dinah shook her head bitterly as if she could knock the ideas into some sense of order. Black Canary and Catwoman seemed to be opposite sides of the same hero. Maybe that was why they had never gotten along. They were alike in all the wrong ways, and polar opposites in the ways that had mattered. It was a wonder that Barbara could be friends with them both.
The teen's jaw dropped open in sudden realization.
'Oh, duh!' she thought, smacking her forehead with her good hand. 'Of course Barbara was friends with both of them. She's both of them all at once. She's the hero with the drive for justice and the mother who would never leave her child.'
Actually, when she thought about it, so was Helena. Sure, she had inherited her mother's need for adrenaline and thrills, but she had also inherited her mother's sense of loyalty and family… along with her father's thirst for justice.
No wonder Black Canary and Catwoman had seemed the embodiments of two sides of the same hero!
Once again, Dinah adjusted the straps of her backpack with her good hand and walked towards the clock tower. She had been out long enough.
It was time to go home.
Helena ran as quickly as she could to the end of the building. At the last possible moment, she put her foot on the very edge of the roof and dove off into space.
The wind rushed passed her ears and through her hair. The necessity to get to the club fueled the adrenaline and made the moment of near flight that much sweeter.
The sound of Barbara's sigh coming through the comms just barely registered above the wind.
: They're gone, Huntress.:
The roof of the next building was quickly rising to meet her. Helena stomped her landing furiously and straightened, running her hand through her hair in frustration.
"How long did they take this time?" she asked, even though she wasn't sure she wanted to know. She had a bad feeling that she was going to be sorry she asked.
There was a pause before Barbara answered: Three minutes and thirty-three seconds.:
See? She knew she shouldn't have asked.
"How the hell are we supposed to catch these guys, Oracle?" she demanded, kicking the short wall on the edge of the roof.
: They'll make a mistake eventually: Barbara said, for what had to be the thousandth time. : They always do.:
She shouldn't have asked that, either.
"Them screwing up doesn't mean a thing if I'm still on my way to the club," Helena said angrily. "I thought you said installing taps on the video cameras would help!"
: They did help: Barbara said defensively.
"Yeah, you got to tell me that they left, instead of me getting there too late to make a difference." Helena rolled her eyes. "Big help."
: They'll make a mistake: Barbara insisted firmly. There was a pause and then she continued wryly: We just have to hope that they don't kill anyone until then.:
Helena felt her anger disappear at the resignation in her mentor's voice. She ran a hand through her hair once again and sat on the edge of the roof.
"Three minutes and thirty seconds to rob every single person in a club," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "It would take a guy just off Survivor longer to eat a double bacon cheeseburger."
: Three minutes and thirty-three seconds: Barbara corrected automatically.
"Whatever," Helena said, rolling her eyes and pushing herself up. "I'm heading over to the warehouse district."
The sound of clicking keys actually stopped as Helena leapt up back the way she had come.
: What: Barbara asked, nonplussed.
Helena could even picture her frowning and looking over the monitors at nothing the redhead tried to figure it out.
: Why in the world are you going to the warehouse district:
"There's always something happening in warehouses. When do you ever see bad guys killing one another or kidnapping someone or making their master plan in anything other than warehouses with vague looking wooden boxes?"
Helena had crossed six rooftops, one alley, two main streets, and circumvented a rooftop swimming pool before the sound of clicking keys resumed. Apparently, Barbara had decided not to comment on that.
'She knows I'm right,' she thought to herself smugly. She had only taken a few more steps forward when the miniature speakers in her earrings crackled to life.
: Huntress, Reese has triggered the bat ring.:
Maybe her night was looking up, after all.
"Where?" she asked, slowing to a stop.
: The club that was just robbed.:
Maybe not.
Helena sighed. She wasn't in the mood to talk about these guys. On the other hand, maybe he'd have some new information.
With this in mind, she moved quickly and was overlooking the club within minutes. Reese had chosen an alley on the other side of the street. His arms were crossed in front of him and he leaned his back against the wall. He was trying to look relaxed and nonchalant, and was failing miserably. Even from her perch across the street and up several stories, she could read the tension in his body language.
'That guy needs to learn how to relax,' she thought, shaking her head at him. Since that wasn't going to happen any time soon, she'd settle for scaring him. No one was passing by, so she wasn't likely to get a distraction.
'Can't surprise him,' she thought, considering. She was quiet, but there was no way she was going to get the drop on him when he knew to expect her. Suddenly, a grin somewhere between wicked and playful spread across her face. 'Actually, that gives me an idea.'
She looked around herself and leapt to the roof of the building next to her, four stories higher. She slowly backed away to the other side of the building and ran forward to make a flying leap to the four story building across the street. To her ears, she made a racket, but she had learned enough about normal hearing to know that no one else would hear her. She slowly crept forward and peeked over the edge to double-check Reese's location.
He was doggedly looking straight in front of him, expecting her to somehow manage to sneak up behind him. His back was against the wall of the building across from the one Helena was perching on.
Grinning, she put her hands in her pockets and stepped forward, letting gravity pull her to the ground.
Reese literally jumped and would have fallen backwards had his back not been against the wall.
"Wow, Reese," she said, a raised eyebrow replacing the grin. "You really need to switch to decaf."
Reese's gaze went back and forth between Huntress and the roof above him several times before settling on the brunette standing in front of him.
"What?" she asked innocently, her hands still in her pockets. "You said to land in front of you next time."
Reese just shook his head and took a few seconds to get his heart rate back to normal. "We found the murderer beaten in his own home, along with an unharmed boy. You come out in the day now?"
Helena wrinkled her nose. "I'm the Huntress, Detective, not Batman. I won't burst into flames in the daylight."
: Bruce never burst into fl-:
"But that wasn't me," she finished quickly. "Dinah solved that case."
"Really?" Reese asked, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Hey," Huntress started protectively, "Dinah's just as-"
"That's not what I meant," Reese interrupted. "That guy… he was beat pretty badly… I just thought…"
At Helena's pointed glare, he paused.
"Look, never mind," he said, shaking his head. "What do you know about the Animal Gang?"
"Only that they're fast." Helena shook her head in frustration. "I can never get there in time to stop them."
"What if I could get you on the inside?"
Now he definitely had her attention.
: How can he get you on the inside: she heard Barbara ask.
"How can you get me on the inside?" she repeated, watching him carefully.
"We think we know who's in charge of the Animal Gang," he said. "Now, there's not enough evidence to convict. Not even enough to get a warrant to search the warehouse."
: And not enough to get an undercover cop to go in: Barbara finished.
"Who is it?" Helena asked.
Reese shook his head. "This has got to be by the book. You're in all the way or you're out on this one, Huntress."
: I don't like this: Barbara said. : I'll accept that you don't wear a mask, but I don't want you going undercover. That's what got Carolyn killed. Come back to base and let's see what we can find on our own, first.:
Helena crossed her arms in front of her and frowned slightly. She hated ultimatums and she hated being given commands. But the situation intrigued her.
"You don't have to decide right now," Reese offered, thinking all of her annoyance was directed at him. "Meet me a couple of nights from now and we'll talk it over some more."
Helena nodded. "Good night, Detective."
And then she was leaping up, back the way she had come.
She knew Barbara didn't like it, but Helena's instincts were telling her that going undercover was the only way these guys would be caught. They were too clean and too efficient to mess up, and the police might never get enough evidence on them to arrest. The only way these guys were going down is if they were caught in the act. And the only way they were going to be caught in the act, is if someone on the inside gave the police the heads up.
A week or two ago, Helena would have given Barbara's judgment more worth. But the last time Helena had trusted Barbara's judgment over her own instincts, Black Canary had almost taken Dinah.
And that mistake had almost sent Dinah over the edge.
No, this time Helena would be sure to trust her instincts… no matter what anyone else might have to say. She was going to stop the Animal Gang.
Barbara watched the spectacular sunset through a window in the dining room. Dinah was sitting across from her, but they had both decided not to wait for Helena. She had a lot of errands to run since she would be spending the majority of her evenings working undercover in the Animal Gang.
Barbara had to admit that it wasn't a bad plan. She had spent most of the night trying to come up with anything that would keep Helena from having to go undercover, but there was literally nothing. Helena had the skills to make herself an asset to the gang, and she had the genuine attitude that would mask her ulterior motives.
At first, Barbara had been concerned that it would give Reese too much of an opportunity to discover Helena's identity, but this had proved not to be the case. Helena would need to be working under a cover identity, anyway. They would keep as many of the details as close to her real life as possible, but since they needed to catch the Animal Gang in the act, Helena would not be wearing a wire and Reese would not hear her talking about herself.
Satisfied that she had thought out most of the problems, Barbara turned her attention to Dinah and had to stifle a sigh. The teen was staring out the window again. Barbara watched as she slowly pushed her favorite, Alfred's famous spaghetti, around the circumference of her plate. True, she didn't seem as despondent as she had for the last several weeks, but she still wasn't talking.
Barbara was afraid that Dinah had regressed into distrust… and that had certainly gone on long enough.
"Dinah, are you all right?" the redhead asked.
"Fine," she replied distractedly.
"How's school?"
"Fine."
"How's Gabby doing?"
"Fine."
Monosyllabic answers. Never a good sign. Maybe she was-
Barbara cut that train of thought off quickly. Speculating and making assumptions on Dinah's behavior was what had caused the problems last time.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked instead, making her question as specific as possible while still open ended. The last thing she needed was to ask a question that the teen could answer 'yes' or 'no' or 'fine'.
Of course, she could still answer 'nothing'…
Dinah finally looked over. "The Powerpuff Girls."
Barbara blinked several times as she tried to think of what possibly could sound like what she thought she heard. Finally, she shook her head and asked, "What?"
"The Powerpuff Girls," Dinah repeated. "Have you ever thought about it? We're just like them!"
Barbara, always the articulate intellectual, managed to stutter, "Huh?"
"Think about it," the teen said, gaining momentum. "Okay, they have a redhead, blonde, and brunette, and so do we. The redhead's the leader, the blonde is the happy one, and the brunette is the one that everyone's afraid to mess with."
Here Dinah paused and looked at her guardian expectantly. Barbara raised an eyebrow but nodded at her to continue.
"Okay, here's the kicker: they're all taken care of by the professor, who knows everything and is way older than the rest of them."
Barbara laughed out loud, wondering what Alfred would think of the comparison.
"Helena did say that she'd be Buttercup," Dinah reminded her, grinning.
"That she did," Barbara agreed, smiling. She would let the comparison between herself and an animated cartoon character go for the time being. She was just happy that Dinah was still being open, and that she had been lost in happy (albeit odd) thoughts.
As Barbara thought about it more, she realized that there were worse things with which to be compared. Didn't the Powerpuff Girls always save Townsville? Wasn't there always a happy ending?
'And,' Barbara reflected, watching a very-pleased-with-herself Dinah finish her spaghetti, 'it's certainly good to have Bubbles back.'
