Barn Storming
Gotham Heights
They rode home in silence.
Both were confused.
They kissed.
One wanted to ask questions.
One didn't have any answers to give.
Meanings, both were struggling to find meanings in what happened.
He hadn't looked at her since the club.
She took this to indicate he regretted what had happened.
He was confused about the emotions behind it.
He was spoken for. Lois.
She was interested in another. Bruce.
They arrived back at the house, he turned off the car and they headed inside.
They were in the same room, yet she felt the distance between them.
They were in the same room, yet he was much too aware of her.
She asked if he was coming to bed.
He said he wasn't tired and would be up later.
So many words were just on the tip of her lips, but she just nodded and headed upstairs.
He went out on the patio and sat wondering what he was going to do.
She changed into her nightgown and slipped under the covers.
The bed suddenly felt much bigger without him.
She turned off the light and tried to sleep, but one thought repeated in her mind. He kissed me.
It was an intoxicating kiss. Her lips still tingled at its memory.
For a brief moment she felt the passion he usually kept hidden.
It had spoke to something deep inside of her, desires she still didn't fully understand.
She found she didn't regret a moment of it, but thought that he did.
Had she ruined everything, she wondered? Could one kiss do that?
Was he feeling guilty about Lois? Or Bruce?
She hadn't thought about Bruce all day.
This had started because of Bruce.
Should she be feeling guilty about Bruce? Or Lois?
Had one kiss changed her feelings? Could it do that?
Even if it had there was Lois.
He was spoken for.
How long she lay there going over and over it in her mind she wasn't sure.
She heard him moments before the door opened.
He seemed to stop just on the other side as if deciding whether to come in or not.
She found herself holding her breath, suddenly desperately wanting him to come in.
The door finally opened and she could see his silhouette in the hall light.
He seemed to stand there for a moment just looking at her.
She couldn't see his face to read his expression.
He silently came in and closed the door behind him.
A sense of relief filled her.
He moved to the other side of the bed and slipped under the covers.
There was a moment when she thought he would speak, but then he rolled onto his side, his back towards her.
She glanced over, her lips parted to speak, but words didn't come.
She reluctantly closed her eyes, thinking perhaps tomorrow they would talk.
The Watchtower
Zatanna sat with her head in her hands as Shayera, Mari and Wally discussed her love life. She was so confused. Her 'friends' were only adding to it. When the thought had first entered her mind, it had seemed so simple. Clark's a nice, handsome single guy; maybe they could have dinner or something. That was as far as she had thought it out.
She had made the mistake of offhandedly mentioning it one night to Shayera. She of course told Dinah, Mari and Wally. Things seemed to spiral out of control after that and now everyone knew about it. If it wasn't bad enough sitting here listening to these three discuss her love life as if she weren't there, somehow she'd gotten mixed up in whatever was going on between Bruce, Diana and Clark. She'd only wanted to go to dinner or a movie with a nice normal guy for once and now she was stuck in some sort of passion play.
She was so confused.
Mari and Wally were currently heatedly discussing whether Zee should go for it and sleep with Clark. Wally, of course, was all for it. Zee just groaned as she heard this.
"You're supposed to be my friends, why are you torturing me like this?"
"You know we haven't even discussed Lois Lane in this,' Shayera chimed in.
Zatanna slowly raised her head, her fingers running down her face. She glared at the three, as she slowly rose up out of her seat.
"Enough! I give! I'm not interested in going out with Clark anymore,' she shouted. Zee turned her attention to everyone in the cafeteria. "Did everyone hear that? You can all stop discussing my love live cause I'm through! I don't want to go out with Superman anymore, okay? It's too hard! I give up! Are you all happy? God, I think I'll just go out with the first normal guy I meet!"
A balloon suddenly popped up next to her. It was Plastic Man and he had a huge smile on his face.
"I said a normal guy."
His smile faded as he floated away. The entire cafeteria was quiet at that moment.
"Um, ah, Zee, honey?' Shayera finally spoke up. "The only people that knew about your crush were the three of us and Dinah."
Mortified, Zatanna looked at Shayera.
"W-W-What?"
"We didn't tell anyone else about your love life,' Shayera explained.
"Or lack there of,' Wally added. Zee gave him a look; but there were more important things at the moment.
"You-You mean,' Zee gasped.
"Yep, you just blurted it out to the entire League."
"Oh My God, I'm going to die of embarrassment,' Zee exclaimed as she collapsed back into her seat. Mr. Miracle and Big Barda were walking by and they glanced over at her.
"Her and Superman, huh,' Scott said.
"She seems a little small and thin through the hips for him if you ask me,' Barda replied.
"You say that about everyone, honey."
Another groan came from Zee's lips.
"Raeppasid," she whispered and vanished from the station.
The Watchtower – Personal Quarters
Dinah Lance's emotions seemed to run the gambit, but mostly there was anger. It wasn't the hot explosive kind that Plastic Man seemed to bring out in her, but a cold simmering anger. What she hadn't told anyone else was that her and Ollie hadn't slept together in over a month. Other than up here on the tower they hardly spent any time together anymore. Something had changed between them.
He was still the carefree charmer fighting for the little guy he'd always been, but Dinah wasn't the same wide-eyed young woman that fell for him. When they'd first met she had been so young, God, so young. He was significantly older than she was, but she was attracted to him just the same. Oh, at first she'd hated him, thinking he was an egotistical jerk, but slowly she'd come around. She'd been so new to all of this and he was sort of a lover/mentor to her.
She knew monogamy wasn't Ollie's strong suit. At first she'd tried to dismiss it and tell herself it meant nothing, but the longer they were together the harder that became. She'd caught him once again flirting with another woman. If that wasn't bad enough, it had been right here on the station. He didn't even seem to understand how that undermined her with everyone. She wasn't that same fresh young kid, she had grown into her role and become a leader.
Maybe that was when things started to change, she thought. While he had been supportive when she was elected to be chairwoman of the League, she felt a chill come over their relationship. At first she just thought it was the rigors of the new job, but as time went on she noticed it was his excuses that caused them to see less of each other. She'd tried talking to him about it, but he just played it off with a wink and a smile.
She'd realized their roles had changed. She didn't need a mentor anymore and he was increasingly not there as a lover. While still a young woman, younger than most of the original members, she had worked hard to gain their respect. Maybe more than any of the younger members she had pushed herself. There was still a part of her that loved sitting around with Zatanna, Wally and Shayera teasing and laughing at and with each other, but her role as chairwoman was something she took very seriously.
Was that the problem between her and Ollie? She could still remember the look on his face the first time she ordered him on a mission. It was shock, as if he couldn't believe she was ordering him, her mentor. He hadn't said anything, just nodded and got on the transporter platform with the rest of the team. When the mission was over, he hadn't returned with the others. Was it so hard for him to understand she didn't need a mentor anymore? She needed a lover, a man who was an equal. Maybe an equal wasn't what he needed.
It went round and round in her mind until she just grew tired of fighting it. Not every relationship is meant to be forever. Sometimes when people grow and change, they grow apart. A relationship can't remain static or it slowly dies. She couldn't be that innocent young woman that looked to him for all the answers anymore. She'd seen too much and worked to hard to still play that part. Maybe it was as simple as she couldn't give him what he needed anymore.
As hard as it was, she couldn't dismiss his wandering eye anymore. There were no more excuses to make. She deserved better. The frustrating part was there was really nothing to do. He wasn't going to change and she already had.
There was another matter she could do something about. As she pulled on her gloves, a grim, determined look came over Dinah's face. A while back she had been working for Oracle investigating a new biker gang moving into Gotham called the Lost Souls. Like all criminals they were drawn to Gotham because of its location and corruption. In the grand scheme of things, they were a minor player with dreams of getting bigger.
Dinah had reached out to a girlfriend of one of the leaders. In exchange for information, Dinah had promised to help her leave that life and start over. At first the woman had been too terrified of her boyfriend, but over time Dinah had been able to gain her trust. The information she finally gave helped get several of the senior gang members locked up. Working with Oracle, Dinah had found a battered women's shelter where the young woman was taken in. They would provide her with a new start and new name.
That had been six months ago. Oracle had just sent Dinah a text saying the shelter had been firebombed and the young woman was in the hospital. It didn't look good for her recovery. Dinah blamed herself for it. She had forgotten the first rule in Gotham; enough money can buy you anything. The ex-boyfriend had been responsible, but everyone was too frightened to testify against him.
If the legal system couldn't punish him, Dinah would. The way she was feeling right now, she hoped there was a struggle. She felt like kicking someone's ass tonight. She flipped open her communicator and contacted Oracle.
"Oracle, send me the latest satellite images of known gang members."
"All right, but if you're going in, at least wait until I get some back up."
"Barbara, I'm not waiting,' Dinah replied. "This is personal. Now send the images or I'll just find them myself.'
There was silence on the line for a moment.
"All right, I'm sending them."
"Thank you."
Slipping on her black leather jacket, Dinah set out from her quarters with a determined stride to her walk. She headed straight for the transporters. Plastic Man was in the hallway. He had transformed himself into a little red wagon.
"Buenos noches, la jefa! I'm ready for your next command!"
"Get out of my way."
He quickly rolled to the side as she stormed by him. The look on her face told him it wasn't a good time. Dinah made it to the transporter and walked up on the platform. Mr. Terrific was manning the controls.
"Gotham,' she said. "I've already sent the specific location to the computer."
Mr. Terrific nodded and started the sequence, transporting Dinah down.
Gotham – Moments Later
The black Ducati Monster roared out of the darkness and headed towards the waterfront. At breakneck speed it weaved in and out of traffic, the helmeted rider never slowing down for anything. Inside that helmet, Diana had put in her earbuds and was playing her IPod at full volume. The band Low's song Murderer was just starting as she raced towards the gang's last known location. The throbbing beat of the bass seemed to reverberate through her entire body like a shot of adrenaline. Her gloved hands flexed as she expertly maneuvered her way through traffic.
She reached the waterfront in record time. The warehouse where the gang members were had guards stationed at the front door. Flipping her visor up, she gunned it straight for them. As they heard the sound of her motorcycle, they raised their automatic weapons to fire. They were already too late, as she unleashed a scream that blew a huge hole in the wall and knocked the men to the ground.
She went airborne, the music overwhelming any other sound. Bullets whizzed by her, but she didn't stop. Executing a perfect slide, she managed to catch one of the bikers between her biker and a metal table. The crunch of his legs was followed by a scream, but she was already on the move. Vaulting off the bike, she somersaulted in the air, taking out another biker with a powerful kick to the face. She let her momentum drive him into the floor, shattering his shoulder.
Countless hours of training on the station and with the best teachers kicked in. Every movement was fluid, practiced a thousand times till she did it without even thinking. Bones snapped under her hands and feet, as she moved from one opponent to the next, never giving them a moment to regroup. She pulled her helmet off and used it as a weapon, bringing down a man from the catwalk. If they were surprised to be attacked by this beautiful woman, it didn't last long. All too soon they fell before her.
She reached the last one, a spinning kick knocking gun from his hands. She could see his lips moving and knew he was shouting curses at her, but the music drowned him out. She recognized him. He was a friend of the boyfriend. There was a satisfaction to the feel of her fist making contact with his face. She hit him again, his nose shattering, blood gushing everywhere. He feebly tried to hit her, but she easily blocked it and hit him again. He started to fall, but she held him up.
"Where is Ramón?"
She shouted this, even as she hit him again. His mouth didn't move and she drew back her fist once again, but someone caught it. Whipping her head around, Dinah was face to face with Batman. He reached over and pulled out her earbuds.
"I don't think he can answer you, Dinah."
She looked from Batman to the biker. His head lolled back and when she released him, he slumped to the floor.
"It doesn't matter,' she offered. "The message has been sent."
Gotham Heights
She woke at the sound of the car pulling out of the driveway.
He was leaving.
Casting off the covers she moved quickly to the window just in time to see the car's taillights disappear around the corner.
She stood at the window looking at the empty street.
Disappointment seemed to wash over her.
Had she already missed her chance to talk to him?
Picking up her robe, she slowly made her way downstairs.
A frown marred her beautiful features.
She was unhappy.
She smelled coffee and headed towards the kitchen.
On the counter a white cloth covered something and there was a note on top.
As she moved towards it, she was unexpectedly nervous.
Her fingers were trembling as she picked it up.
It was his handwriting.
There were only two short lines on the paper.
"Went to Metropolis. Be back later."
A sense of relief seemed to fill her.
She reached for the white cloth and picked it up.
A smile came to her face.
It was a bowl of fresh blueberries.