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Resigned to Fate

Dinah felt numb. She had spent the last hour walking aimlessly around the Kingston campus, Helena's words playing over and over again in her head. Eventually, when the feeling of dread settled in the pit of her stomach, the blonde decided it was time to turn in for the day.

The trip back to the dorm room felt long, sluggish. It was like her feet had been turned into cement blocks. Barbara was waiting for her there. And despite the frightful nature of Helena's message, it was still juicy intel. And Dinah really didn't look forward to sharing it with her red-headed friend.

When Dinah arrived at their room's door, she simply stared at the wooden slab for a moment. She knew the moment she walked in there, she'd have to share Helena's message. She had to. She couldn't keep that kind of lead to herself. Not with Helena and so many other innocent girls at stake.

…But once she told Barb about the planned meet-up, then it was no longer a what-if. It was real. As real as the incident in the locker room.

She had Matthew Reston's most prized possessions in the palm of her hand. And it felt good.

Dinah shook her head and forced herself into the room. There she found Barbara waiting for her, the red-head sitting at her desk, pouring over a mess of notes. Beyond her, the bright glow of her computer screen.

Barbara threw a quick glance over her shoulder then, her eyes lighting up at the sight of her friend. She swiveled around in her chair next, facing Dinah completely.

"Dinah, where have you been? I've been worried sick!"

The blonde frowned, confused for a moment. But then she looked past Barbara at the room's single window and saw the orange glow of sunset.

Oh, Dinah thought. I must have been wandering longer than I thought.

"I've been out. Walking." She told Barbara then, her voice low and flat. She tugged off her hoody and tossed it onto her bed. She sat down beside it and let herself fall back onto the mattress. Letting loose a decidedly unfeminine groan of combined exhaustion and frustration, the blonde brought her hands to her face in a half-hearted attempt to smother herself.

That would solve my problems, wouldn't it? I wouldn't have to deal with this Brotherhood bullshit.

Beyond the veil of her thoughts and private misery, she heard Barbara speaking.

"Walking." The other woman repeated in muted disbelief. "Well, now that you've gotten some fresh air, we can go over the new intel I've gathered."

"Have you found a way into the Brotherhood?" Dinah let her arms flop to her sides, inhaling deeply through her nose. "Or anything that makes our job easier?"

There was a flicker of hope that maybe, maybe Barbara pulled some magic Batgirl shit and found them a new lead. Because if either of them could do that, it'd be the one trained by Batman.

"No." Barbara answered in a clipped voice, unknowingly snuffing out Dinah's tiny flame of optimism. The blonde felt the dread sink to the pit of her stomach all over again. "On the contrary, what I discovered today will probably only make our job more difficult. Unfortunately."

"Right." Dinah made a noise of disgust then, somewhere between a grunt and an angry curse. "Lay it on me, Barb. I could use more bad news."

"The Headmistress is under Brotherhood control."

Dinah shot up from the bed. She leveled a cold, hard stare at Barbara.

"You sure?"

"I saw her wearing a ring. Same look as the others." Barbara leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands.

Dinah frowned. Headmistress Kaplan had given off some strange vibes during their first meeting in her office, but they had initially ascribed that up to the usual upper-class Gotham snobbery. But looking back, it might have been the Brotherhood's doing all along. Molding her into some teen's fantasy of a sexy Headmistress. Not even a snotty blue-blood deserved something like that.

Huffing through her nose, Barbara continued, "She was probably theirs before we even got here. Before Helena even got here. And she said her husband gave it to her. I looked up her file. No marriage license, Dinah."

"So she was either lying or we've got a mystery man to deal with." Dinah sneered at the thought. "Great. A new target."

She was really getting tired of this web-of-conspiracy bullshit. She hated it almost as much as the mind control. And, of course, the rape.

There was really nothing else to call it, not when the Brotherhood had stripped these women of their free will.

"Potentially a new target." Barbara insisted. The red-head rose from her chair, hugging her arms to her belly. She paced a bit between their twin beds. "Honestly? I've got a bad feeling."

She's got a bad feeling? Feh.

"Barb, you don't know the meaning of the words." It was unfair. Dinah knew that. Barbara was on the frontlines right beside her, dealing with the same twisted, fucked up shit that she was. But that didn't stop the bitter words from spilling from her mouth.

"Is there something wrong?" Barbara asked after a short silence. The woman was a saint, something Dinah had come to know a long while back. She had to be in order to come out of the Batman's tutelage such a calm and reasonable person. Dinah wouldn't have lasted a day dealing with that kind of bullheaded stubbornness.

Barbara was a better friend than Dinah deserved, she realized. And that still didn't stop the next smart-ass remark from leaving her lips.

"Barbara Gordon, master detective." Dinah winced as she said it.

But Barbara didn't get angry, didn't lower herself to trade barbs. Instead, she crossed her arms and gave Dinah a look.

"Dinah…"

You have too much patience for me, girl.

Dinah leaned forward, averting the other woman's penetrating gaze. She bit her lip. She had to tell her. This wasn't something to avoid. Not when they were already deep in shit.

She had to get it over with. Like ripping off a bandaid.

Or getting a bikini wax…

"I've got an invitation to the Brotherhood ceremony." Dinah blurted out. She swallowed next, breathing deeply through her nose. Still she did not meet Barbara's eyes. Instead, she stared off into space, hoping she'd get lost in the emptiness.

"That's… That's great news. We've finally caught a break." Barbara's voice picked up, the girl clearly excited. And it came like a stab to Dinah's gut. "Where's the ceremony being held? What time?"

"I don't know. I don't actually have the invitation yet. I need to accept it in person. Tomorrow evening." a bitter taste settled in Dinah's mouth. She swallowed that, too.

"From who?"

This time, Dinah did meet Barbara's eyes. "Who do you think?"

A silence followed, a heaviness that fell across the room. Dinah spared another glance at the window and noted that the sun had finally gone down. The room's only source of light now came from the dim lamp on Barbara's desk as well as the glow from her computer screen.

"Oh." Barbara finally said after a long moment. Another quiet moment followed, but shorter this time. "I thought you said you weren't-"

"I know what I said." Dinah snapped, her jaw tight and clenched. "You think I'm looking forward to seeing that animal's face again?"

See his face again. That stupid self-satisfied smile. Those hungry eyes.

Dinah shivered then, her arms curling around her belly, her thighs clamped shut. She tried drawing her body into itself.

Her body…

His hands on her body… His fingers slipping under the waistline of her shorts, grabbing handfuls of her ass… Groping, squeezing… Claiming her body as his own…

Her lips on his neck… The taste of his skin… The scent of his body… Her hands… Her hands filled with…

With…

Dinah's belly did flips. Something bubbled up in her throat. No, it wasn't vomit. It was… A sound. A noise of disgust? Perhaps. But Dinah swallowed it back down, exhaling through her nose.

"You don't have to do this, Dinah." Barbara's voice cut clean through the blonde's despair. "We can still find another way."

It was a nice thought. And a truly touching offer. And it was proof that Barbara was every inch a heroine. But Dinah couldn't accept it. She knew better.

"No." She admitted, finally accepting the dreadful mission. "Your lead was a bust. We're out of time. We need that invite, Barbara. I… I need to do it. For Helena."

So there it was. Dinah was going to face him. Tomorrow evening, Dinah Lance had a date with the devil.

"I'm sorry." Barbara spoke softly, taking a seat beside her friend.

"Hm." Dinah put on a brave face, giving the red-head a small, half-hearted grin. "Not as sorry as Reston will be once we've dismantled his little boys' club."

At this point, it was only bluster. A show of spirit, proof that she wasn't out of the fight. Maybe they'd make those words mean something. The perfect ending to this whole mess: Her, Barbara, and Helena together. The Birds of Prey taking on the Kingston Brotherhood.

And the Black Canary personally smashing Matt Reston's teeth in.

"Do you want me to shadow you? In case you need back-up?" Barbara offered, ever the protective leader.

"No." The word came firm and loud. Loud enough to cause Barbara to jump a little in her seat. It was the last thing Dinah wanted. She couldn't stand the thought of her friend watching, witnessing what she would have to do in exchange for the ceremony invitation.

The blonde gave an apologetic look. Then she mustered up what little fire she had left and planted a confident smile upon her face.

"That's unnecessary. I'm the Black Canary, remember? I'm more than enough woman to take on Matthew Reston."