zerocharliexray | [oom] a beautiful night in Gotham City

"Not at all," Bucky says, easily. Idly, it occurs to him to wonder if Zinda's world is the same as that of some of the others he's met at the bar, off and on, but there's no way to know. Best to treat everyone as a new acquaintance, no matter who he might think he recognizes, if that happens.

"We'll even promise to stay out of trouble."

"Scout's honor," Sharon confirms, though she watches the activity down the hall with curiosity. Flying people aren't exactly new, what with Thor and Vision, but they're still kind of a novelty.

So is being in another world. Even if right now it's just another building.

Zinda gives them both a grateful glance, then turns and strides to the closed door, rapping gently on it with a knuckle.

"Canary?" she says, softly. "It's me. Can I come in?"

It's been a hell of a - week? Day? Few hours? But Babs is finally asleep and Dinah is just sitting in the chair next to her bed, watching her best friend sleep while she listens to the ringing chimes on the end of her cell phone, Dick Grayson having left his phone god-knows-where again, and not replying to any of his voicemails.

She's not thinking of Dick, though. Nor is she letting herself get lost in pain and worry about what she'll do if the operation doesn't work. She's running through battle plans and tactics for taking the Twelve Brothers down with the rag-tag team she's managed to assemble.

(Was this a gift, Babs? Did you somehow know that the best thing to keep a Canary from breaking down is to point her at some violence?)

When the door knocks, she doesn't start. She just hangs up the phone and stands.

"I'll come out," she says.

But first she leans over the sleeping Oracle and plants a kiss on that cool forehead, knowing that leaving her now could mean leaving her for the last time.

("Kick its ass, Batgirl" she whispers, so quiet she's not even sure Clark will hear it down the hall.)

Then she opens the door, enough so Zinda can see the sleeping patient behind her. "Everything okay, Zinda?"

Zinda's glance slips past her for a second, to the sleeping woman behind her. Hang in there, Skipper, she begs, silent, then meets Dinah's eyes, which are tired but still so clear and determined. "Peachy, hon," she says, keeping her voice low so as not to wake up Babs.

"Brought you a lil' somethin'. Can you step outside for a sec?"

Edited 2022-05-11 12:23 (UTC)

"Sure."

Dinah nods and closes the door behind her when she steps out, without looking behind her at the bed. That way she can tell herself she's only stepping out for a moment, she'll be right back. She pushes her hair out of her face and searches Zinda's for a sign of what this new present might be.

"What is it? You know if it's a weapon..."

She can't use it, not against Rabbit and his brothers. It won't fly with them.

"Not a weapon," she promises, and smiles as she slings a friendly arm around Dinah's shoulders, turning her so she can look down the hall where Sharon and Bucky stand, waiting. "Volunteers."

She waits a beat, then explains. "Picked you up a couple fighters. Or, one, anyhow," she amends. "He's got super-strength. Not sure if that's exactly kosher with the Brothers. But she's not enhanced."

"He's cute."

What? It's just plain facts, and it's something to say as Dinah looks over, smiling faintly at them and waving from the distance to cover the inevitable awkwardness of the fact she's obviously sizing them both up as potantial combatants. She wraps her other arm around Zinda's waist in return and lets herself be lead over.

"Where did you get volunteers at this late hour?"

"I know," Zinda says, a little wistful. "But taken."

She cants a cat-that-got-the-cream-grin at the Canary. "We-ell... they're not exactly from around here, if you know what I mean. This is Bucky Barnes," she introduces, lifting her voice as they come up, "and Sharon Carter. Kids – "

That's to Bucky and Sharon as she gives the Canary an affectionate squeeze. "Meet the Black Canary. Dinah, to her pals."

The blonde woman Zinda's leading over is blue-eyed and pretty, and the casual way she looks over her and Bucky makes every bell in Sharon's head ring at once. She studies the newcomer right back, watching the way she centers herself around her core, the way those calm blue eyes flick over her and Bucky.

She doesn't look dangerous. But then, the dangerous ones never do. "Hey," Sharon greets her. "Heard you could use an extra fist or two."

"Hey."

With that one looks out of the way, Dinah gives a more welcoming expression, and extends a hand to them both in turn.

"Wouldn't say no," she confirms. "So far we've got seven against twelve, and I could handle another on my side."

And given the circumstances, and the knowledge that what Zinda can be like sometimes, she adds: "Did Lady B tell you who we're up against?"

"She told me," Bucky says. "I gave Sharon the basics. Figured you might want to provide the intel to your team yourself. Strengths, weaknesses, strategy, that kind of thing."

His handshake is firm but not too hard; he's never been the kind of guy to have an interest in those kinds of power games.

"Zinda also said nobody enhanced, but if there's a way to work around that, I've got a few fighting skills myself. Otherwise, use me where you need."

Dinah smirks at his attempt, giving Zinda a sideways look of amusement.

"No superpowers in combat," she confirms-slash-clarifies, because if it was about enhanced people, she'd be on the sidelines herself. "If we don't meet them on their terms, we'll be targets for the rest of our lives.

"But - " she adds quickly, because her mind had been rushing while trying to get her team together " - I could still make use of you. While we take on the brothers, there's still a large cargoship arriving in Gotham that we really don't want to reach its destination."

She darts a look at Zinda again. "You too, Zee. You didn't think I'd bench you, did you?"

"You'd have a heck of a time tryin', sis," Zinda chuckles. "Though I don't think I'll be much use in the fight, unless it turns into a bar brawl."

Nearby, Sharon shifts. "Bucky can stop the ship," the other woman says, with easy confidence. "I'll go wherever you need another fighter."

Good, that's the right answer, Sharon.

Dinah smiles briefly at Zinda, once again thanking whichever gods might be listening that she has been blessed with such good, dedicated people to surround herself with.

And with someone (a soldier?) on the ship and Zinda in the air, that part of the plan is in place. Even if they all die, the shipment won't reach Gotham.

Then she nods at Sharon.

"Twelve brothers, all trained from birth to be unbeatable. I can guess you might not know much about the martial arts world in this universe, trust me when I say each individual one of them is one of the best on the planet, even the kids."

And she really doesn't want to lead anyone into battle with them who isn't prepared for that.

Edited 2022-05-11 17:22 (UTC)

"That good, huh?" Saying she was an Agent of SHIELD won't get her anywhere; saying she was Captain America's protective detail won't help, either. Neither will mentioning training with Black Widow, back in the day.

She doesn't look at Bucky. He knows she's not at the top of her game right now, and that even if she was, she wouldn't consider herself one of the best on the planet.

But she survived an encounter with the Winter Soldier. She can survive this, too. She studies Dinah -- the Black Canary -- and shifts her weight a little, centering herself. "Well, you could audition me, if we've got time, but since we probably don't..."

She shrugs. "Nobody's unbeatable. I'm a solid fighter. Muay Thai -- traditional and Belgian. Capoeira. Boxing. Tae Kwon Do. Jiujitsu. I'm not a grandmaster, but I'm good. Very good."

It might - Dinah's High School boyfriend was a Young Avenger, and she's familiar with that corner of the multiverse, but also she knows the multiverse is big and they could be from anywhere.

She shakes her head. "You're right, there's no time, and - you're right, no one's unbeatable. But some people think they are and that's what I'm hoping to use."

She lifts her chin slightly, pushing her bangs out of her eyes.

"So, one more question. How good are you at retreating?"

Some idiots never know when to stay alive.

"Uh..."

Now she really doesn't look at Bucky. "I've been known to retreat on occasion," she says, delicately, and willfully ignores any expression he's making. "But I'm not here to get myself killed. This is your show. If you call a retreat, I'll listen."

I'm not here to get myself killed. She better not, is all he can think, and he silently promises himself that when they get back - because they're both coming back from this - he'll train with her as much as she wants to make sure every single skill she's got is as refined as they can make it, and to hell with his former reservations.

The expression on his face is utterly sour, but he stays silent.

Dinah, who knows damn well when people are not looking at people, finds her eyes flicking over to the direction Sharon's didn't. What she sees on Bucky's face makes her suddenly need to choke back the urge to laugh out loud.

She definitely feels like she knows the type.

"Okay," she says to Sharon. "If I give the order, you open a door, get back to the bar, and scream for - whoever's running the medbay these days, okay? Don't stick around for a debrief."

She doesn't like it -- and her expression says she doesn't like it -- but like she'd said, this isn't her show. "That's a solid copy," she says, and finally does give Bucky a wry glance. "She sounds like you."

"Good," he says, levelly.

Dinah, fishing in her pocket, pulls out a hair tie and scrapes her hair back into a pony tail, knowing she'll need it later, and offers Sharon a rueful smile.

"I promise I'm usually a blast of sunshine and rainbows. I've just got a lot on my plate right now."

"Don't sweat it." Sharon's mouth quirks in a crooked half-smile in return as she shakes her head. "We can all hang out and get to know each other after we've sent these brothers packing. He smiles, sometimes, too," she adds, tipping her head towards Bucky. "Don't let the grim stoicism fool you."

For all her teasing, the look she shoots him is fond.

Dinah's attempts not to laugh are getting closer to failing.

"Oh you're in Gotham now," she says. "On the grim stoicism scale that hardly ranks. Which reminds me..."

She glances over her shoulder at Babs' room, before starting to lead the way further down. "Come on, you want to meet a living legend who you've probably never heard of?"

She'll pick up Ted, then Connor, and rendezvous with Huntress' team to go over battle plans.

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