Chapter 54: Beauty

"The Phantom is supposed to be making an appearance at a club in Southern Texas. He seems to have come back to U.S. for a while, but we fear not long enough to catch him." Dinah spoke as she pointed to the screen. The cave was quiet, which made sense regarding the fact that everyone else was outside enjoying the cold ocean water and warm temperatures. Still listening to Dinah, I nodded, agreeing with everything she said even though I knew for a fact that I'd do it my own way.

"Got it?" I nodded again. "Good. Now, I'd recommend preparing while I go tell Roy the good news. You only have three hours to get to Texas before The Phantom will make his appearance." I nodded - again - and watched intensely as she left down the hall to tell Roy the "good news" - whatever the hell that meant.

I walked to my old room, the one I had slept in merely six times ever, and changed, stripping out of my clothes and putting on a strapless bra to go with the strapless dress I was wearing to the club. Zipping up the zipper underneath my arm, I stared at myself through the mirror, my eyes tracing each noticeable curve on my body as if it were my last look at myself.

The dress was tight, tighter than the one I had worn to Dinah's wedding by far. It hugged my curves and shimmered gold every time I moved. It was plain, in moderation, but the gold color and sequins covering the whole dress - head to toe, figuratively - made it look more complicated than my own life. The dress stopped midway at my thigh, and my heels were matching, the gold perfecting the image of myself and bringing out what little flecks of gold were near the iris' of my blue eyes. My black hair fell down neatly, curling loosely as it hit halfway to my elbow. I sighed, staring at myself as Dinah walked in behind me. Smiling.

"God. What I'd do to look as good as you always have." She spoke quietly, admiring me through the mirror. I took another breath, pulling up the top of the dress one more time to hide my black strapless bra.

"If you mean slutty, I can think of a million things in your apartment's closet that'll do the trick." I huffed, reminding her that even though she and Oliver were now married and that she was on the television a little more than she's used to - as Dinah Lance, that is - she still had yet to get rid of her old apartment. And her old closet, which was filled with clothes that should've been illegal.

"I mean that as a compliment. Belle Rev's a tough place, everyone in the League knows that. And this dress, it's shows more skin than I've really seen you flaunt before. It's almost shocking to see you looking so... perfect in the dress." I rolled my eyes at Dinah's words.

"So basically you're saying that you're surprised that people didn't get the chance to cut me in prison? Thanks. Appreciate the concern of my mental stability." I spoke my words sarcastically and I could physically see Dinah cringe at my words.

"I'm just trying to compliment you..." She said quietly, turning away from me and heading back for the door. Even with the little light coming from the lamp at the desk, I could see her clearly, walking away from me solemnly in depression.

"Dinah..." I said, and she stopped, looking back towards me. I was now facing away from the mirror. Away from myself, and the monster I'd become on the inside and outside. "I know. I know that you're trying to compliment me, and I appreciate it. With all the hell I've been through and all the people I've seen and done unmentionable things to, and vice versa, I don't feel like a woman anymore. Prison's... different. Everyone's the same sex, yet no one gives a fuck about anything you stand for. We all just... crawl, attempting to be at the top of the bloody chain that's our life, and no one stops us. There's no expressing yourself, there's no imagination, there's no freedom. It's hell. Literally."

"I'm sorry." Dinah said, looking down and then back up at me. "I don't understand what you went through and I probably never will. But I'm serious about this. You look... gorgeous, even if that dress isn't what anyone would imagine beauty looks like - a skin-tight dress and heels higher than the Empire State building. You look beautiful, and sometimes I'm jealous of it."

"What are you talking about? Jealous? Of me? Dinah..." However we got into this conversation didn't matter, what mattered was where Dinah was coming from. Dinah was a beautiful woman. Way more beautiful than me. So how and why would she be jealous of me? Age? Height? My skin being barely a tint darker than hers?

"Sarah, just look at you. Every woman in the League - and probably the Team - admires you. You're proportions, your style, the way you walk. It's all perfect. You're like a supermodel, in a hard shelled casing and stuck in a world where beauty has never been defined and you've learned only how to use the assets you were born with. Don't you see it?"

"Dinah. I don't know where you're coming from, or how you got there, but the fact is that you have nothing to be jealous of. Look at you. You have everything. Everyone should be jealous of you, and they probably are. I mean, I am. Not only do you have looks that could pass off as the most beautiful woman in the world, but you have the life. I mean, you help people for a living, saving their lives yourself and donating to charity's for good causes. You're married, and happy, and hell, in a few years you'll probably have mini Oliver and Dinah's running around the house which kinda scares me just thinking about it. Back to the point, you have it all. Own it. Live it. Breath it. For me, at least. So I don't have to hunt you down and scream bloody murder for no reason. Now, excuse me, but I must be speeding things up here so I can go strut my stuff for rich bastards with too much time on their hands, blood covering them from head to toe, and wives ready to beat their asses when they come home smelling of alcohol and another's girls perfume."

"Whatever. Have fun with that..." Dinah said as I grabbed my coat and left. I wasn't giving Dinah any time to act accordingly to my previous... speech. And I wasn't ever going to let her do that. But I knew Dinah would come along at some point in time, anyway, so at that moment I pushed all thoughts of her aside, and thought about what I was going to have to do.

Open you're arms for your first born daughter. And please, don't be prepared for the hell I'm bringing with me, Father.