zerocharliexray | [oom] a beautiful night in Gotham City

"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.

"Another one?" Sharon says, with an amused glance at Zinda and Bucky before falling into step. "I'm getting quite the collection of living legends."

Zinda laughs. "Guess that's so," she agrees. "I haven't told the Canary about the Sarge here before... not really, anyhow."

"We're not like coins or stamps," he protests, although mildly, as he walks along beside them.

Dinah makes a mental note to ask, but it's not entirely pressing and besides, she's got enough of her own in her rolodex.

"You can tell me your life story when we're done," she promises him as they get to the door to the JSA's training room, on which she raps a fist before opening.

"Wildcat? You ready to get moving?"

The man in the room is older but powerfully built; broad-shouldered, tall and heavily muscled. He's dressed in a close-fitting catsuit, and is busily winding wraps around his knuckles as he looks up. "Hey, kiddo," he says, gruff, and comes over to greet Dinah, pressing a fatherly kiss to her hair.

Zinda laughs and leaps forward to hug him, exuberant. "Ted Grant!" she says, fondly. "You old warrior. Lookin' trim as ever."

He makes a fondly exasperated sound and pats her back, then turns a gimlet eye on Bucky and Sharon. "Who're your friends?"

Edited 2022-05-11 19:51 (UTC)

"Bucky Barnes," he says, then tips his head sideways to indicate her as he continues, "Sharon Carter."

The other man holds himself like a fighter, which isn't really a surprise given the situation, and there's something subtle about his stance that makes Bucky think he's got more than a little experience as a boxer.

"Heard from Zinda about the trouble, and came to help."

Dinah curls into Ted's embrace briefly, unable even with strangers there to avoid the temptation of his warmth. It's only for a second, though, and she stands back to introduce them properly.

"Ted 'Wildcat' Grant," she says. "Longest running heavyweight champion of all time, cornerstone of the Justice Society of America, and original cat themed superhero, accept no imitations."

It pays to keep your uncles off guard with compliments.

"Sharon's going to be with us," she explains. "Bucky and Lady Blackhawk are going to target the boat - make sure the crew are off safely so the cargo never makes dock."

Sharon's mouth twitches at original cat-themed superhero -- T'Challa would probably have an opinion about that -- then offers her hand to Ted Grant to shake, her expression open and frank. "Boxer, huh?"

His hand engulfs hers, his grip firm without being painful. "Nice to meet you, champ."

"Taught me everything I know about the art of pugilism," Dinah says proudly, watching the greeting.

She adds: "Green Arrow's going to meet us here then we'll meet Huntress and her team at the dock."

And when Ted turns a questioning look on her, she shakes her head. "The younger Green Arrow."

Bring Ollie to a fist fight? She's not entirely desparate.

Zinda turns to Dinah, tucking her hands into the back pockets of her blue jeans as she does. "Where do you want us?" she asks, canting her head at Bucky.

"Guessing I should go pick up the Aerie One?"

Dinah nods at that, turning away from Ted and Sharon to focus on her and Bucky.

"We'll distract the brothers," she says, deciding 'distract' is a fun euphemism for 'get our asses kicked.' "Get them off the ship and onto the docks.

"They won't have any other guards, Bucky, so you shouldn't have any problem clearing the crew off the boat. We don't need more blood shed than we can help."

"Clear the crew before dealing with the boat," he confirms. "Got it."

Whether the crew's innocent or not doesn't really matter. There's no need for wholesale slaughter.

Besides, he doesn't do that any more.

"And then get yourself off," Dinah continues, flicking her glance over to Zinda. "And when he's clear, babe, I assume the Aerie One's got something that'll deal with the rest?"

"Got just the thing," Zinda confirms, her usual grin back on her face.

"When you're ready, just give me the signal and I'll blow that ship and everything on it sky-high."

That grin is impossible to resist - Dinah has to smile warmly back at her, grateful again for her friends.

She'll have to make sure that Zinda understands to launch the strike whether Dinah's conscious to give the signal or not. But that will come later.

And before she can says anything else, the door opens, and another man peers in - this one young, with almond eyes and brown skin that poses a stark contrast to his short cropped blonde hair. His outfit, as close fitting as Ted's, is green and brown, and from behind his head an array of green-fletched arrows can be seen.

"Dinah?"

"Connor!"

Dinah holds a hand out to wave him in, and he grasps her hand in both of his, both of them glancing over the other with cautious fondness.

This was not how Dinah wanted to mend this bridge, but it is what it is.

"Thank you for coming."

"Any time."

Sharon studies the newcomer with shuttered interest – an archer, like Hawkeye, she guesses.

Hopefully he's decent with hand-to-hand, too. She waits until he turns to glance over her and Bucky, quizzical. "Sharon Carter," she introduces herself. "This is Bucky Barnes."

She tips her chin at Zinda, standing nearby. "We're recruits."

"Interdimensional travelers," Dinah offers, and that's apparently perfectly normal because Connor nods, putting a closed fist in an open palm to bow to each of them.

"It will be an honour to fight by your side," he says, sincerely.

Dinah has only a short time for introductions, before she nods at Zinda and jerks her head to the door. "Shall we?"

"You got it, sis."

Zinda guides Sharon and Bucky back out, then falls into step with Dinah as Ted and Connor take up the rear. "Y'know I won't be able to hold position for long," she points out to Dinah as they walk. "And we're gonna have to stay in contact so I know when Bucky's clear and when to take the shot."

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