Post by adrini on Jul 21, 2013 18:35:00 GMT -5
Dinah took a deep breath and walked to the corner of the room where their luggage was secured. Following, Oliver saw her open the door and walk onto the concrete. He grabbed her hand as they walked to the terminal.
“Are you sure you're safe?" He looked around the area, already on edge. "I can hire a messenger."
“Wouldn't be safe for them, the Court's claim was cleared. I should be fine." Dinah swallowed and gripped his hand tighter. "Just stay close."
"Always. Let me know if you want to leave, we can go home anytime." He could see her fear as they walked to the door.
They had reached the car rental desk, where they had reserved a car in her name to avoid any unwanted attention from the press, the hotel room was reserved in the same. This was supposed to be a quiet trip.
Driving to the Marriot extended stay in the central business district Oliver pulled out his phone for it’s GPS only to have Dinah laugh.
“I drive around this town in my dreams half the time.” She put the car in drive. “I got this. Just make sure we have change for the tolls.”
Oliver nodded and pulled out a few rolls of quarters, dimes and nickels. “I noticed you and Ted getting along a little better.” He said.
Dinah turned onto the highway and quickly got in the left lane. “Ya, he lost a student. Man acts tough, and he is, but he’s just as hurt as anyone when he loses someone.”
Oliver had the GPS on just to see how much she remembered. So far she was getting it perfect. “Someone you knew?”
She nodded and quickly took a turn on to ‘The Spine’. She was not a gentle driver, though she did seem to fit in around here. It was a city that did not believe in defensive driving. “Only vaguely. Met the kid a few times, held the bag for him. Wish I had made the time now, but there’s nothing for it.” She stopped when they got in line for a toll and after checking the amount they owed pulled the coins from the rolls. “He’s still upset with me, I guess. I mean, I’m still not ‘Little Bird’ to him, but he’s willing to be Uncle Ted again. Plus he’s accepted you, which is the important thing really.”
Oliver rubbed his neck. If by ‘accepted’ she meant punching him around several times a week, yes. Then maybe that was how the man showed affection.
She laughed at the look on his face. “If he didn’t like you he wouldn’t have agreed to teach you Ollie. I know he’s gruff but that’s the world we come from. I’m not as far away from it as you think myself.” They had made it to the gate and she threw the coins into the basin. They were quickly pushing eighty again.
If he ever needed a getaway driver he knew who to call. “I’ll get you there.”
She moved quickly into the far right lane. “I’m counting on it. There's a lot I'd like to leave behind.” They took an early exit and hit another toll on the way into town. Oliver wondered just how many of these thing there were, Dinah tossed the coins in the basin again almost without noticing.
She narrowed her eyes for a moment. Suddenly she went the wrong way down a one way street for a few seconds and drove into an abandoned parking garage. To say he was confused would be an understatement. “I assume you know what you are doing.” He said.
She nodded and took another turn in the dark maze he didn’t even know was there. “It’s rush hour outside if you’d rather take an hour to go five blocks.” She replied. “I had an old safe house around here. Saves time when you don’t want to waste it on traffic.”
Oliver realized she was showing him a part of her old world, of the person she was once. The stories she had told him were becoming a lot more believable. They would also be more entertaining if he didn’t know about the plethora of scars her modest clothing covered, the horrors she had survived. It occurred to him the base wasn’t the first time she had been hurt. He tried not to think about it.
She suddenly stopped and parked the car. Looking out the window he saw a sign for the hotel on the wall. She was already popping the trunk and pulling out the bags. He got out of the car and she locked the door after him.
Realizing how she was acting she got an embarrassed look on her face. “Sorry, force of habit.” She shook her head.
He smiled. “It’s kinda fun actually.” He grabbed his bag and led them to the elevator. “It really is right out of the movies.”
>--)->
Dinah put the code in the data pad, her grandmother’s birthday, and felt the latch disconnect. Standing at the foot of the ladder, also hidden, Oliver watched and smiled.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” She asked, pushing the trap door open. “It’s not as cool as it sounds.”
She felt his hand push her legs up the ladder. “I’m sure.” He said and smiled somewhat, no trouble yet. “Start climbing, wench.”
She laughed and crawled into the large area. She had stumbled into this unfinished floor of the parking garage years ago while running away from White Canary who had managed to track her down without her teammates. It had become her fortress of solitude in the dark days that came soon after.
She saw Oliver stand up and look around. “It’s you.” He said. “Give it a few years and our room will start to look like this. I can only stem the tide so long.”
Dinah laughed. It was true. She had covered the plaster walls with cotton print tapestries and banners. The furniture was salvaged from her family home. A small fridge was in the corner where she held her simple meals for after missions with a cheap electric kettle for the now stale spice tea that sat next to it.
“At least it’s homey.” She said. “I just need to grab a few things. You didn’t have to come with me.”
“I wanted to.” He said warmly. He was taking pictures, no doubt to be sent to Thea. “There are a few years you aren’t ready to talk about yet. I respect that. Seeing places like this is my only way to learn things right now.”
She smiled. “Someday.” She said, opening wall compartments and pulling out small items that she then put into the bag. “It's hard not to be overwhelmed right now.”
“Still not letting you go.” He said lightly. “Sorry.”
Her mood lightened and she looked around the place. She was putting a few boxes in the bag when she heard breathing nearby.
"Ollie. Take form." She said clearly, glancing to him.
He did, looking confused. "Them?"
"I think so." She heard herself say. She felt a punch just miss her right side.
"Di!" Oliver cried as he saw the form emerge from a dark corner.
She grabbed the arm when it tried to attack again and threw the talon to the center of the room.
"I'm fine. Could use some help though." She took an air leap and kicked the Talon, a woman, in the back.
She saw a sudden dark look come over his features. He flipped to her location and pulled his quiver from the bag, quickly putting it on and snapped his bow into full size. In a moment he had an arrow pointed at the cloaked female form’s throat. She seemed somewhat surprised at the man’s expertise.
“If she is touched again and I will make it my personal mission to see you and your kind taken down for good. She is no longer a concern of yours. Leave now.” He said.
Dinah swallowed at the tone, she had never heard him be anything but jovial or professional. His willingness to kill, if needed, was audible. There would be no guilt.
She dodged a projectile aimed at her arm and snapped her attention to the matter at hand. “We’re a party of four.” She said.
Oliver nodded for a moment, something in his eyes settling. He flipped the Talon off the ground and engaged her in his personal mixture of archery and hand to hand.
Dinah focused on the the direction the blade had come from. A stockier, male figure walked out holding more of the knives in his hands.
She rushed forward and deftly kicked the blades to the floor, there was no need for them in this. He quickly side flipped and showered fast, hard hits that she had to focus to block.
Dinah fought the man for some time, the length getting lost in the rush of battle. She was ashamed of how much she had missed it.
>--)->
Oliver noted, as he fought the dark clad woman, that this was only his third real fight. She used dirty fighting, meaning he had to be careful with his blocks and attacks.
Once on her feet again she had tried to reach Dinah again, he had blocked her movement. This process had repeated. Di was holding her own against a similarly dressed man nearby.
He dodged an attack aimed at redirecting his attention to the left and used his bow to spin her to the right and the very space she had hoped to escape. It had to have been almost half an hour since the fight first started, and the two assailants were just as fresh. The same could not be said for him.
The woman jumped in the air for an aerial attack, something that he had gotten used to blocking thanks to the training he had started with his better half. He gripped her feet as she tried to attack and twisted them, causing her to land on the floor. She quickly got up again and hit him with a series of core attacks that were getting harder to deflect.
“Di, we could use some extra help just now.” He said, using a chop block form to attempt to injure the woman’s wrists. It hadn’t worked yet. ”They just keep going.”
Di cried out a battle command and from his position he could see her execute a complicated series of leaps, falls and blows that put the man off center for a moment. That moment soon passed.
“You’re in the way.” She said, knocking more blades out of the man’s hand. “I’m not hurting you.”
“I know your signals, just do it.” The woman tried to run to the blond again, he hit her in the back to halt her progress.
He engaged the woman as saw Di flip a few feet away to get the range she would need. They had never used the scream in practice, but they had practiced the tactics.
“Enough. We’re done here.” Said a new male voice.
The woman flipped back with a scowl on her face at first, though she soon beamed.
Oliver looked to the source and felt his face turn white. The man had Dinah’s head pulled back by her hair and was holding a blade to her throat. There was a fine drop of blood already falling out of the fine line that had already been cut.
“Stay out of the haven, and out of our business or the next time I have her like like this you can take her home in a box.” He said, he held her under the knife for a few more moments before the woman opened the trap door and the two left.
He rushed to Dinah, who had fallen to the floor and started coughing to recover.
“Di.” He said and gently checked the skin of her neck. “Did they hurt you?”
She shook her head, wincing. “Just a scratch. Payback for last time.” She took the offered tissue to clean up the blood.
Oliver took a deep breathe as she winced at the motion. “Payback for what?” He asked. He had pulled the first aid cream from the bag and was very carefully applying it. The look of pain on her face vanished.
She smiled as the cream washed away the burning feeling. “Winning.”
>--)->
Looking at the clock Roy groaned. It was already after nine. He had three meetings worth of data to go through and then the final files before he could call it a night and go home.
Rubbing sleep out of his eyes he stood up and walked to the coffee bar. He pressed the controls for a double espresso shot in his latte when he heard a loud “poof” behind him. It was louder then he thought it would be. “So are you going by Cheshire or Jade today.” He said without looking. “Dinah said you like both.”
He could almost hear her sit up. “She’s here then?” He heard her say, there was a sincere hope in her voice.
He started putting sugar in his coffee. “Out of town for a couple days, but she’ll be back soon.” He was being somewhat short but he was also running on five hours of sleep and was hoping to get more that evening. “She’s been looking for you. Something about having mistakes to make up for.”
He turned and saw her. Her arms were crossed and she was most definitely pouting. He also had to admit that she was beautiful. Oliver might go for the classic blonds but he had always preferred a more foreign look. It took him a moment to gather his words again. “She wasn’t sure if you would show up or not. She’ll be glad to see you.” He willed himself not to be affected by her, it wasn't easy.
The dark skinned beauty pouted again, he had never seen curves like that. He never knew they made women like this. “Make up for that?” She said dryly. “Not likely.”
Roy sighed, he didn't know their history. Jade also didn't know theirs. “I'm really not going to get involved in what happened five years ago. I'll openly admit that I don't know anything about that.” She looked up, slightly surprised, and sat on his desk. “But there are things you need to know as well. The family is going be more than a little touchy if you go after Dinah right now.”
“What did the princess do now?” There was incredible bitterness in her voice. Roy increasingly didn't want to know what the history was.
“The ‘princess’ almost died.” He stated, wondering how she would react.
For all her bitterness Jade looked at him with alarm. “What? How?”
“You would know more then me on this, to some extent.” He said. “We ran into a man named Cavanaugh on our last mission. They had a history. He cut her leg open and if we had gotten her to the clinic any later we would be having a funeral instead of a wedding.” He had seen Oliver when he was convinced she was fading, he looked like he was trying to fade away himself. He shook his head of the image.
“Shit.” The woman said. “Bastard finally did it.”
“Not doing it again, but I suppose he did.” Roy said. He was honestly enjoying talking to her, more when she wasn't being bitter though.
Jade sat closer to him on the desk, too close. Her long silken black hair brushed his shoulder.“So she got him back? Figures.”
The bitterness was back again. “No, she fell down and almost bled out. I was there.”
Jade was surprised. “Then who killed Cavanaugh?”
Roy took a sip of his coffee so he could answer lightly, wondering if she would be open to a date where she didn’t talk about relatives, if only to start. He pointed to the benign looking photograph of himself and his boss from some years back on the desk.“Ollie. Took him thirty seconds.” He looked at her meaningfully. “Largely because he took his time.”
Jade's eyes went wide but she nodded.
“Well done, Di.” She said after a moment.
>--)->
She pulled up at a ratty looking building in the barrens, it was in dire need of a paint job and several roof tiles were missing. She smiled sadly at the old place, there were a lot of memories here. Oliver didn't seem as impressed. She adjusted the choker around her neck before she got out of the car. The cut was shallow, but had become swollen. She was hoping the choker would be seen as an reminder of her mother.
They pulled out the boxes from the trunk of the car and carried them to the shack. The nearby neighbors gave them dirty looks and she saw Ollie hurry a little towards the door. She knew enough to stay calm and keep eye contact. She had almost forgotten her keys when she was packing, as she didn't need them as much anymore. She never thought she would need the black and yellow painted one that sat on it's own ring again.
The key worked and she opened the door to find the place pitch black and just as musty as she remembered. Without thinking she flipped the light switch and reached for the paint can in front of the door to keep it open while they loaded in supplies and tech. Oliver looked at the place, he was intently interested. It made sense that he would be. This is where most of her stories began or ended.
“Took you long enough.” Said an electronic voice from the corner. He or she was wearing a large cloak with a sizable hood in black and purple. One of the new kids, high drama must in style just now. She and Kate mostly just kicked people. Followed by her screaming at them mostly for fun.
Oliver started to talk but she motioned for him not to. “Serious injury, unavoidable delay.”
“I know.” The figure said.
Oliver took the hint and moved the last of the boxes into the room. She moved the paint can out of the way and allowed the door to close.
“Replacement costume parts, tech, it's all there. Properties are closing by end of day. That's the list unless I forgot something.” She nodded to the pile. The figure, now that Dinah was looking at it was female, moved to inspect the boxes.
She raised eyebrows with Oliver as he watch the figure open packages. There were several thousand dollars worth of gear there, but not a ‘thank you’ to be heard. The way the world worked here. No one trusted each other, even when they needed to.
“It's all here.” The voice said. “You can go.”
Dinah smirked and walked to the back wall. “You have my foot locker.” She said gently. “Also pictures from my Mother. I'm taking those with me. Then I'll leave.” It wasn't open to discussion.
She could feel the teen glare at her but dismissed it as unimportant. The teen was at the beginning of her story, still stuck in the passion and the drama. It was a heady time. Dinah was at the end of hers, it was also a period worthy of respect.
Oliver was watching the two and only shook his head. He followed her to the wall where the old lockers were lined up. “Hell of a life.” He said softly as she operated the combination.
She smiled at him. “Sometimes.” She also said softly. “They also don't seem to have a leader. We had Ted, Shiva and Mom. Chances are they are in way over their heads.” The door swung open.
A years worth of dust floated out of the box, combined with the smell of gym clothes she hadn't washed before she left. Oliver left her to have a moment and took the pictures from the wall. She pulled the backpack off her back and began filling it, it could be gone through later. Oliver returned shortly and smiled at the pictures plastered on the sides.
He smiled at one when she had just shown up, she was about fifteen. “I would have had the biggest crush on you.” He took it and smiled before pocketing it. She has a feeling it would end up on his desk.
“I would have thrown you against the wall.” She smiled. “This guy, I forget his name, had dumped me the month before. Men were dead to me.”
“His loss.” He said and winked, stealing a kiss. “Mine now.”
She took a moment to look at the now empty locker and smiled. If this wasn't final she didn't know what was. The locker closed with a small bang.
She could feel her connection to the place fade a little. She had what she needed from it. Oliver could see her stand a little straighter as she closed the bag. Hand in hand they walked to the door.
>--)->
She eyed him as he worked. “What are you doing?”
“I'm working Jade.” He finished his first edit of the day and sent it out. “I do that.”
“Too often.” She said. He could tell that she couldn't figure him out just yet. Point him. She grabbed a mug of coffee for herself, he got up to get one also.
“I can't say I mind the company, but you'll have to leave when my meetings show up. I only have a few of them today though.” He told her when he sat down again. She was looking around the room, currently on Oliver's desk looking at the photographs. Ollie had printed off a number of pictures of himself and Dinah, which while sweet also distracted him. Made him itch to leave at the end of the day. Jade didn't seem to mind them too much, he could swear she was smiling sadly.
“She never said goodbye.” He heard her say. “Just left in the middle of everything.”
Turning he sighed. That was something Dinah would have to answer for. “I know, she's trying to make amends for it. She'll be back tomorrow.”
Jade nodded and sat down on his desk again. “And then she's gone forever.”
Roy looked at her, wishing he knew if she was the type to accept hugs or really any form of comfort from others. “She's getting married, not dying. Ollie is a good guy, you'll like him. She'll be fine." Roy then realized she likely was referring to the days when they ran together. “We’re also starting our own little super hero team here. Why not join? You and Dinah would be head of the class with your history.”
Jade picked up the half eaten bagel and began munching again, smiling at his comment. “True” she said. She considered the question. “Maybe I can go to the wedding, then. I’d love to go to the wedding.”
“How would you like to be my date then?” He asked, as smoothly as he could. He finally had an opening.
She looked up. “Are you serious?” She asked.
He got up from his desk and walked over to her to face her. He wanted this woman in a way he had never felt before. If Oliver could bring home a superhero from africa and be planning a wedding two weeks later he could ask her 'sister’ to the wedding as a date two days after meeting her.
“Completely. I don't like the bad blood between you and Di, but I like you. I really like you. Frankly I don't see what you have to be jealous about anyway, as far as I'm concerned you're far more attractive and seem to be alot more fun. Please, please say you’ll give me a chance!” He dropped to the floor and play begged. He was rewarded by her giggle, easily the most perfect sound he had ever heard.
“Well, when you put it like that.” She pulled him closer.
He hadn't been hoping for a kiss this early but if she was offering he wasn't going to turn it down, nor any that followed.
“I do insist on a test drive.” She whispered after a few minutes, he smiled as the last threads of restraint fell away.
Self control was a thing of the past. “Just give me the word and the door is locked.” He said, finally free to feel the curves that had been driving him crazy. To say nothing of that long, beautiful neck to nibble on.
She arched and laughed softly. “Who said I wanted you to lock the door?"
>--)->
That night Oliver woke up to find the former native missing from their bed. He got up and pulled on his robe. He found her looking out the window at the docks from their penthouse at the Kane's Casino, it was a view he loved.
“All that and you still can’t sleep?” He walked behind her and looked at the site, and understood better. It was the docks Jason had been killed at. “Something we need to talk about?"
She nodded. “What you said today, about taking the Talons down. Did you mean it? You would do that over me?” He touched her neck softly. The swelling was down, and the wound had scabbed over. At the moment it was wrapped in gauze and treated with medicated gel. He wasn't taking any chances no matter how shallow it was. He had come close to loosing her once.
He wrapped his arms around her. She knew the answer to that, but he didn't mind speaking it.
She needed to hear things like this right now.
“More than just the Talons, but yes. There isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you. Something I’ve noticed goes both ways.” He felt her rest her head on his shoulder.
She sighed. “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.” She said. “I want a life with you. Whatever that takes. Life without you sucks." She made a face and buried her face in his neck.
He laughed softly. That feeling was mutual. "Yes, I meant it. Ted lost a beloved student, you suffered hells that are unspeakable and the people here are terrified. It needs to end. We were here for a one day visit and they couldn't even leave us alone. That man threatening you was the last straw. This has gone on too long, they're going down. That its gotten this bad-" He shook his head.
Dinah shook her head and took a few steps away. “You can't just say that and expect it to happen. People have tried, they’ve failed. We really tried."
“I’m not saying I’ll do it alone, or that it will be fast and easy. I’ll start small. Roads and bridges, Infrastructure. Make the schools better, a few programs to lift people out of poverty. Lex wants in, I’m sure Bruce would be willing to help. We’ll do our part, draft others willing to do the same. Avoid direct attacks for a while, use misdirection, misinformation. It will be nice to focus on something other than stock prices every minute of the day. They can’t hit us all. They can be beat."
Dinah looked unsure. "They can hit us, and they don't play. They'll go down fighting, even if they are out numbered."
"So they can go down now?" He smirked. She resigned with a shake of her head.
"It means putting a few things off. I'm not having a kid in the middle of the Court insurrection." He nodded. It was a fair point.
"We have a couple years. We were waiting anyway. We can do this, Di." He knew it. Years of underground contacts from his visits to haven were swimming through his head. The sins of the past had a point after all. "You and I. At least to start."
"That means building a network and gathering data banks?" She was already calculating her own contacts. "We'll have to get in touch with Jade and Kate. The new kids and Clue. See if Dragon will come back. Shiva is somewhere, if she hasn’t done completely dark side. Which she likely has. Kate would know."
He looked at her. "Clue? Shiva?"
She laughed. "You have a ways to go, my love. There is way more going on then even your sneakiness was able to uncover. Lets just say there are a few defenders we can start with."
He crossed to her. The only thing he regretted was that they would have to wait longer to start their family. Just the concept of a mini Dinah sounded wonderful. "Can I count on my wife to fill me in?"
Dinah smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Least a wife can do."
“Are you sure you're safe?" He looked around the area, already on edge. "I can hire a messenger."
“Wouldn't be safe for them, the Court's claim was cleared. I should be fine." Dinah swallowed and gripped his hand tighter. "Just stay close."
"Always. Let me know if you want to leave, we can go home anytime." He could see her fear as they walked to the door.
They had reached the car rental desk, where they had reserved a car in her name to avoid any unwanted attention from the press, the hotel room was reserved in the same. This was supposed to be a quiet trip.
Driving to the Marriot extended stay in the central business district Oliver pulled out his phone for it’s GPS only to have Dinah laugh.
“I drive around this town in my dreams half the time.” She put the car in drive. “I got this. Just make sure we have change for the tolls.”
Oliver nodded and pulled out a few rolls of quarters, dimes and nickels. “I noticed you and Ted getting along a little better.” He said.
Dinah turned onto the highway and quickly got in the left lane. “Ya, he lost a student. Man acts tough, and he is, but he’s just as hurt as anyone when he loses someone.”
Oliver had the GPS on just to see how much she remembered. So far she was getting it perfect. “Someone you knew?”
She nodded and quickly took a turn on to ‘The Spine’. She was not a gentle driver, though she did seem to fit in around here. It was a city that did not believe in defensive driving. “Only vaguely. Met the kid a few times, held the bag for him. Wish I had made the time now, but there’s nothing for it.” She stopped when they got in line for a toll and after checking the amount they owed pulled the coins from the rolls. “He’s still upset with me, I guess. I mean, I’m still not ‘Little Bird’ to him, but he’s willing to be Uncle Ted again. Plus he’s accepted you, which is the important thing really.”
Oliver rubbed his neck. If by ‘accepted’ she meant punching him around several times a week, yes. Then maybe that was how the man showed affection.
She laughed at the look on his face. “If he didn’t like you he wouldn’t have agreed to teach you Ollie. I know he’s gruff but that’s the world we come from. I’m not as far away from it as you think myself.” They had made it to the gate and she threw the coins into the basin. They were quickly pushing eighty again.
If he ever needed a getaway driver he knew who to call. “I’ll get you there.”
She moved quickly into the far right lane. “I’m counting on it. There's a lot I'd like to leave behind.” They took an early exit and hit another toll on the way into town. Oliver wondered just how many of these thing there were, Dinah tossed the coins in the basin again almost without noticing.
She narrowed her eyes for a moment. Suddenly she went the wrong way down a one way street for a few seconds and drove into an abandoned parking garage. To say he was confused would be an understatement. “I assume you know what you are doing.” He said.
She nodded and took another turn in the dark maze he didn’t even know was there. “It’s rush hour outside if you’d rather take an hour to go five blocks.” She replied. “I had an old safe house around here. Saves time when you don’t want to waste it on traffic.”
Oliver realized she was showing him a part of her old world, of the person she was once. The stories she had told him were becoming a lot more believable. They would also be more entertaining if he didn’t know about the plethora of scars her modest clothing covered, the horrors she had survived. It occurred to him the base wasn’t the first time she had been hurt. He tried not to think about it.
She suddenly stopped and parked the car. Looking out the window he saw a sign for the hotel on the wall. She was already popping the trunk and pulling out the bags. He got out of the car and she locked the door after him.
Realizing how she was acting she got an embarrassed look on her face. “Sorry, force of habit.” She shook her head.
He smiled. “It’s kinda fun actually.” He grabbed his bag and led them to the elevator. “It really is right out of the movies.”
>--)->
Dinah put the code in the data pad, her grandmother’s birthday, and felt the latch disconnect. Standing at the foot of the ladder, also hidden, Oliver watched and smiled.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” She asked, pushing the trap door open. “It’s not as cool as it sounds.”
She felt his hand push her legs up the ladder. “I’m sure.” He said and smiled somewhat, no trouble yet. “Start climbing, wench.”
She laughed and crawled into the large area. She had stumbled into this unfinished floor of the parking garage years ago while running away from White Canary who had managed to track her down without her teammates. It had become her fortress of solitude in the dark days that came soon after.
She saw Oliver stand up and look around. “It’s you.” He said. “Give it a few years and our room will start to look like this. I can only stem the tide so long.”
Dinah laughed. It was true. She had covered the plaster walls with cotton print tapestries and banners. The furniture was salvaged from her family home. A small fridge was in the corner where she held her simple meals for after missions with a cheap electric kettle for the now stale spice tea that sat next to it.
“At least it’s homey.” She said. “I just need to grab a few things. You didn’t have to come with me.”
“I wanted to.” He said warmly. He was taking pictures, no doubt to be sent to Thea. “There are a few years you aren’t ready to talk about yet. I respect that. Seeing places like this is my only way to learn things right now.”
She smiled. “Someday.” She said, opening wall compartments and pulling out small items that she then put into the bag. “It's hard not to be overwhelmed right now.”
“Still not letting you go.” He said lightly. “Sorry.”
Her mood lightened and she looked around the place. She was putting a few boxes in the bag when she heard breathing nearby.
"Ollie. Take form." She said clearly, glancing to him.
He did, looking confused. "Them?"
"I think so." She heard herself say. She felt a punch just miss her right side.
"Di!" Oliver cried as he saw the form emerge from a dark corner.
She grabbed the arm when it tried to attack again and threw the talon to the center of the room.
"I'm fine. Could use some help though." She took an air leap and kicked the Talon, a woman, in the back.
She saw a sudden dark look come over his features. He flipped to her location and pulled his quiver from the bag, quickly putting it on and snapped his bow into full size. In a moment he had an arrow pointed at the cloaked female form’s throat. She seemed somewhat surprised at the man’s expertise.
“If she is touched again and I will make it my personal mission to see you and your kind taken down for good. She is no longer a concern of yours. Leave now.” He said.
Dinah swallowed at the tone, she had never heard him be anything but jovial or professional. His willingness to kill, if needed, was audible. There would be no guilt.
She dodged a projectile aimed at her arm and snapped her attention to the matter at hand. “We’re a party of four.” She said.
Oliver nodded for a moment, something in his eyes settling. He flipped the Talon off the ground and engaged her in his personal mixture of archery and hand to hand.
Dinah focused on the the direction the blade had come from. A stockier, male figure walked out holding more of the knives in his hands.
She rushed forward and deftly kicked the blades to the floor, there was no need for them in this. He quickly side flipped and showered fast, hard hits that she had to focus to block.
Dinah fought the man for some time, the length getting lost in the rush of battle. She was ashamed of how much she had missed it.
>--)->
Oliver noted, as he fought the dark clad woman, that this was only his third real fight. She used dirty fighting, meaning he had to be careful with his blocks and attacks.
Once on her feet again she had tried to reach Dinah again, he had blocked her movement. This process had repeated. Di was holding her own against a similarly dressed man nearby.
He dodged an attack aimed at redirecting his attention to the left and used his bow to spin her to the right and the very space she had hoped to escape. It had to have been almost half an hour since the fight first started, and the two assailants were just as fresh. The same could not be said for him.
The woman jumped in the air for an aerial attack, something that he had gotten used to blocking thanks to the training he had started with his better half. He gripped her feet as she tried to attack and twisted them, causing her to land on the floor. She quickly got up again and hit him with a series of core attacks that were getting harder to deflect.
“Di, we could use some extra help just now.” He said, using a chop block form to attempt to injure the woman’s wrists. It hadn’t worked yet. ”They just keep going.”
Di cried out a battle command and from his position he could see her execute a complicated series of leaps, falls and blows that put the man off center for a moment. That moment soon passed.
“You’re in the way.” She said, knocking more blades out of the man’s hand. “I’m not hurting you.”
“I know your signals, just do it.” The woman tried to run to the blond again, he hit her in the back to halt her progress.
He engaged the woman as saw Di flip a few feet away to get the range she would need. They had never used the scream in practice, but they had practiced the tactics.
“Enough. We’re done here.” Said a new male voice.
The woman flipped back with a scowl on her face at first, though she soon beamed.
Oliver looked to the source and felt his face turn white. The man had Dinah’s head pulled back by her hair and was holding a blade to her throat. There was a fine drop of blood already falling out of the fine line that had already been cut.
“Stay out of the haven, and out of our business or the next time I have her like like this you can take her home in a box.” He said, he held her under the knife for a few more moments before the woman opened the trap door and the two left.
He rushed to Dinah, who had fallen to the floor and started coughing to recover.
“Di.” He said and gently checked the skin of her neck. “Did they hurt you?”
She shook her head, wincing. “Just a scratch. Payback for last time.” She took the offered tissue to clean up the blood.
Oliver took a deep breathe as she winced at the motion. “Payback for what?” He asked. He had pulled the first aid cream from the bag and was very carefully applying it. The look of pain on her face vanished.
She smiled as the cream washed away the burning feeling. “Winning.”
>--)->
Looking at the clock Roy groaned. It was already after nine. He had three meetings worth of data to go through and then the final files before he could call it a night and go home.
Rubbing sleep out of his eyes he stood up and walked to the coffee bar. He pressed the controls for a double espresso shot in his latte when he heard a loud “poof” behind him. It was louder then he thought it would be. “So are you going by Cheshire or Jade today.” He said without looking. “Dinah said you like both.”
He could almost hear her sit up. “She’s here then?” He heard her say, there was a sincere hope in her voice.
He started putting sugar in his coffee. “Out of town for a couple days, but she’ll be back soon.” He was being somewhat short but he was also running on five hours of sleep and was hoping to get more that evening. “She’s been looking for you. Something about having mistakes to make up for.”
He turned and saw her. Her arms were crossed and she was most definitely pouting. He also had to admit that she was beautiful. Oliver might go for the classic blonds but he had always preferred a more foreign look. It took him a moment to gather his words again. “She wasn’t sure if you would show up or not. She’ll be glad to see you.” He willed himself not to be affected by her, it wasn't easy.
The dark skinned beauty pouted again, he had never seen curves like that. He never knew they made women like this. “Make up for that?” She said dryly. “Not likely.”
Roy sighed, he didn't know their history. Jade also didn't know theirs. “I'm really not going to get involved in what happened five years ago. I'll openly admit that I don't know anything about that.” She looked up, slightly surprised, and sat on his desk. “But there are things you need to know as well. The family is going be more than a little touchy if you go after Dinah right now.”
“What did the princess do now?” There was incredible bitterness in her voice. Roy increasingly didn't want to know what the history was.
“The ‘princess’ almost died.” He stated, wondering how she would react.
For all her bitterness Jade looked at him with alarm. “What? How?”
“You would know more then me on this, to some extent.” He said. “We ran into a man named Cavanaugh on our last mission. They had a history. He cut her leg open and if we had gotten her to the clinic any later we would be having a funeral instead of a wedding.” He had seen Oliver when he was convinced she was fading, he looked like he was trying to fade away himself. He shook his head of the image.
“Shit.” The woman said. “Bastard finally did it.”
“Not doing it again, but I suppose he did.” Roy said. He was honestly enjoying talking to her, more when she wasn't being bitter though.
Jade sat closer to him on the desk, too close. Her long silken black hair brushed his shoulder.“So she got him back? Figures.”
The bitterness was back again. “No, she fell down and almost bled out. I was there.”
Jade was surprised. “Then who killed Cavanaugh?”
Roy took a sip of his coffee so he could answer lightly, wondering if she would be open to a date where she didn’t talk about relatives, if only to start. He pointed to the benign looking photograph of himself and his boss from some years back on the desk.“Ollie. Took him thirty seconds.” He looked at her meaningfully. “Largely because he took his time.”
Jade's eyes went wide but she nodded.
“Well done, Di.” She said after a moment.
>--)->
She pulled up at a ratty looking building in the barrens, it was in dire need of a paint job and several roof tiles were missing. She smiled sadly at the old place, there were a lot of memories here. Oliver didn't seem as impressed. She adjusted the choker around her neck before she got out of the car. The cut was shallow, but had become swollen. She was hoping the choker would be seen as an reminder of her mother.
They pulled out the boxes from the trunk of the car and carried them to the shack. The nearby neighbors gave them dirty looks and she saw Ollie hurry a little towards the door. She knew enough to stay calm and keep eye contact. She had almost forgotten her keys when she was packing, as she didn't need them as much anymore. She never thought she would need the black and yellow painted one that sat on it's own ring again.
The key worked and she opened the door to find the place pitch black and just as musty as she remembered. Without thinking she flipped the light switch and reached for the paint can in front of the door to keep it open while they loaded in supplies and tech. Oliver looked at the place, he was intently interested. It made sense that he would be. This is where most of her stories began or ended.
“Took you long enough.” Said an electronic voice from the corner. He or she was wearing a large cloak with a sizable hood in black and purple. One of the new kids, high drama must in style just now. She and Kate mostly just kicked people. Followed by her screaming at them mostly for fun.
Oliver started to talk but she motioned for him not to. “Serious injury, unavoidable delay.”
“I know.” The figure said.
Oliver took the hint and moved the last of the boxes into the room. She moved the paint can out of the way and allowed the door to close.
“Replacement costume parts, tech, it's all there. Properties are closing by end of day. That's the list unless I forgot something.” She nodded to the pile. The figure, now that Dinah was looking at it was female, moved to inspect the boxes.
She raised eyebrows with Oliver as he watch the figure open packages. There were several thousand dollars worth of gear there, but not a ‘thank you’ to be heard. The way the world worked here. No one trusted each other, even when they needed to.
“It's all here.” The voice said. “You can go.”
Dinah smirked and walked to the back wall. “You have my foot locker.” She said gently. “Also pictures from my Mother. I'm taking those with me. Then I'll leave.” It wasn't open to discussion.
She could feel the teen glare at her but dismissed it as unimportant. The teen was at the beginning of her story, still stuck in the passion and the drama. It was a heady time. Dinah was at the end of hers, it was also a period worthy of respect.
Oliver was watching the two and only shook his head. He followed her to the wall where the old lockers were lined up. “Hell of a life.” He said softly as she operated the combination.
She smiled at him. “Sometimes.” She also said softly. “They also don't seem to have a leader. We had Ted, Shiva and Mom. Chances are they are in way over their heads.” The door swung open.
A years worth of dust floated out of the box, combined with the smell of gym clothes she hadn't washed before she left. Oliver left her to have a moment and took the pictures from the wall. She pulled the backpack off her back and began filling it, it could be gone through later. Oliver returned shortly and smiled at the pictures plastered on the sides.
He smiled at one when she had just shown up, she was about fifteen. “I would have had the biggest crush on you.” He took it and smiled before pocketing it. She has a feeling it would end up on his desk.
“I would have thrown you against the wall.” She smiled. “This guy, I forget his name, had dumped me the month before. Men were dead to me.”
“His loss.” He said and winked, stealing a kiss. “Mine now.”
She took a moment to look at the now empty locker and smiled. If this wasn't final she didn't know what was. The locker closed with a small bang.
She could feel her connection to the place fade a little. She had what she needed from it. Oliver could see her stand a little straighter as she closed the bag. Hand in hand they walked to the door.
>--)->
She eyed him as he worked. “What are you doing?”
“I'm working Jade.” He finished his first edit of the day and sent it out. “I do that.”
“Too often.” She said. He could tell that she couldn't figure him out just yet. Point him. She grabbed a mug of coffee for herself, he got up to get one also.
“I can't say I mind the company, but you'll have to leave when my meetings show up. I only have a few of them today though.” He told her when he sat down again. She was looking around the room, currently on Oliver's desk looking at the photographs. Ollie had printed off a number of pictures of himself and Dinah, which while sweet also distracted him. Made him itch to leave at the end of the day. Jade didn't seem to mind them too much, he could swear she was smiling sadly.
“She never said goodbye.” He heard her say. “Just left in the middle of everything.”
Turning he sighed. That was something Dinah would have to answer for. “I know, she's trying to make amends for it. She'll be back tomorrow.”
Jade nodded and sat down on his desk again. “And then she's gone forever.”
Roy looked at her, wishing he knew if she was the type to accept hugs or really any form of comfort from others. “She's getting married, not dying. Ollie is a good guy, you'll like him. She'll be fine." Roy then realized she likely was referring to the days when they ran together. “We’re also starting our own little super hero team here. Why not join? You and Dinah would be head of the class with your history.”
Jade picked up the half eaten bagel and began munching again, smiling at his comment. “True” she said. She considered the question. “Maybe I can go to the wedding, then. I’d love to go to the wedding.”
“How would you like to be my date then?” He asked, as smoothly as he could. He finally had an opening.
She looked up. “Are you serious?” She asked.
He got up from his desk and walked over to her to face her. He wanted this woman in a way he had never felt before. If Oliver could bring home a superhero from africa and be planning a wedding two weeks later he could ask her 'sister’ to the wedding as a date two days after meeting her.
“Completely. I don't like the bad blood between you and Di, but I like you. I really like you. Frankly I don't see what you have to be jealous about anyway, as far as I'm concerned you're far more attractive and seem to be alot more fun. Please, please say you’ll give me a chance!” He dropped to the floor and play begged. He was rewarded by her giggle, easily the most perfect sound he had ever heard.
“Well, when you put it like that.” She pulled him closer.
He hadn't been hoping for a kiss this early but if she was offering he wasn't going to turn it down, nor any that followed.
“I do insist on a test drive.” She whispered after a few minutes, he smiled as the last threads of restraint fell away.
Self control was a thing of the past. “Just give me the word and the door is locked.” He said, finally free to feel the curves that had been driving him crazy. To say nothing of that long, beautiful neck to nibble on.
She arched and laughed softly. “Who said I wanted you to lock the door?"
>--)->
That night Oliver woke up to find the former native missing from their bed. He got up and pulled on his robe. He found her looking out the window at the docks from their penthouse at the Kane's Casino, it was a view he loved.
“All that and you still can’t sleep?” He walked behind her and looked at the site, and understood better. It was the docks Jason had been killed at. “Something we need to talk about?"
She nodded. “What you said today, about taking the Talons down. Did you mean it? You would do that over me?” He touched her neck softly. The swelling was down, and the wound had scabbed over. At the moment it was wrapped in gauze and treated with medicated gel. He wasn't taking any chances no matter how shallow it was. He had come close to loosing her once.
He wrapped his arms around her. She knew the answer to that, but he didn't mind speaking it.
She needed to hear things like this right now.
“More than just the Talons, but yes. There isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you. Something I’ve noticed goes both ways.” He felt her rest her head on his shoulder.
She sighed. “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.” She said. “I want a life with you. Whatever that takes. Life without you sucks." She made a face and buried her face in his neck.
He laughed softly. That feeling was mutual. "Yes, I meant it. Ted lost a beloved student, you suffered hells that are unspeakable and the people here are terrified. It needs to end. We were here for a one day visit and they couldn't even leave us alone. That man threatening you was the last straw. This has gone on too long, they're going down. That its gotten this bad-" He shook his head.
Dinah shook her head and took a few steps away. “You can't just say that and expect it to happen. People have tried, they’ve failed. We really tried."
“I’m not saying I’ll do it alone, or that it will be fast and easy. I’ll start small. Roads and bridges, Infrastructure. Make the schools better, a few programs to lift people out of poverty. Lex wants in, I’m sure Bruce would be willing to help. We’ll do our part, draft others willing to do the same. Avoid direct attacks for a while, use misdirection, misinformation. It will be nice to focus on something other than stock prices every minute of the day. They can’t hit us all. They can be beat."
Dinah looked unsure. "They can hit us, and they don't play. They'll go down fighting, even if they are out numbered."
"So they can go down now?" He smirked. She resigned with a shake of her head.
"It means putting a few things off. I'm not having a kid in the middle of the Court insurrection." He nodded. It was a fair point.
"We have a couple years. We were waiting anyway. We can do this, Di." He knew it. Years of underground contacts from his visits to haven were swimming through his head. The sins of the past had a point after all. "You and I. At least to start."
"That means building a network and gathering data banks?" She was already calculating her own contacts. "We'll have to get in touch with Jade and Kate. The new kids and Clue. See if Dragon will come back. Shiva is somewhere, if she hasn’t done completely dark side. Which she likely has. Kate would know."
He looked at her. "Clue? Shiva?"
She laughed. "You have a ways to go, my love. There is way more going on then even your sneakiness was able to uncover. Lets just say there are a few defenders we can start with."
He crossed to her. The only thing he regretted was that they would have to wait longer to start their family. Just the concept of a mini Dinah sounded wonderful. "Can I count on my wife to fill me in?"
Dinah smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Least a wife can do."