zerocharliexray | [oom] a beautiful night in Gotham City

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[oom] a beautiful night in Gotham City

The door she opens leads into a handsome old building with high, gracious ceilings. Down the tastefully appointed cream-colored hall, figures are bustling in and out of a room; some dressed in normal civilian clothing, others... not so much. "They're settin' up for the surgery," Zinda explains, and nods to another door not far from them. "That's where the Skipper is. Canary's in there with her, I think."

She looks from Bucky to Sharon and back again. "Mind waitin' while I go fetch her?"

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Dinah smiles fondly, as ever, deligthed that people are saying good things about her best friend.

"Thanks. Are you coming back, or heading to the bar form here? You'd be welcome either way. Dr Cross is one of the best in the world."

He moves a little closer and she sets her hand, brief and light, at the small of his back, just as a little reminder that she's here and in one piece.

One very sore piece, but one piece. The vibranium suit absorbs impact like nothing else, but she still feels exactly like she'd gotten pummeled by a bunch of fighters better than her. And her jaw is probably going to swell up.

Worth it, though. Every bruise and ache and pain is worth it. She glances up at Bucky. "We should probably at least stick around to say bye to Zinda," she points out.

He nods to that. "We'll never hear the end of it if we just skip out," he says, with the barest flicker of amusement before it vanishes into stern determination. "And that way you can get checked out by the docs."

Bucky nods to Dinah. "We'll come back with you."

Dinah nods. Hopefully, if Babs is out, she can throw Bucky and Sharon at Pieter and distract the doctor while she slips her very-injured body into Babs' room to check on her.

Ted and Connor are waiting at the car, but with Wildcat hovering protectively at the driver's side. It gives Dinah the opportunity to curl up in the shotgun seat, nursing her aching ribs. Connor sits directly behind her, his arm draps over the back of the seat so she can lean on him.

The tension has dissolved comploetely now - it's godo to be with family again.

It's a quiet ride back to the headquarters. Sharon leans her head on Bucky's shoulder and closes her eyes, exhausted and cataloguing the various aches and pains across her body. The other fighters seem to be in a pretty similar state; Connor lets Dinah lean on him, and Ted Grant lifts his hand off the wheel to pat Dinah's knee, tired and fond.

"Good job with the boat," she murmurs to Bucky. "That was a pretty big boom."

"The crew decided to be smart about it. They didn't take too much convincing." He sounds entirely too matter-of-fact about that, he knows, but maybe it'll pass unnoticed. "That left a clear line of fire for Zinda."

He shifts enough to change the angle of his shoulder so she can rest more comfortably.

"Pretty clever plan."

"I'm just glad it worked."

Considering how many of the brothers had been left, versus how many of them. She nudges her head against his shoulder and exhales, relieved all over again. "It's very tiring, getting your ass kicked."

Not all of them have a super-soldier's accelerated recovery period. Sharon nudges the back of Dinah's seat with her foot. "Good call on pushing them for a draw."

Dinah rolls her head back, peering over her shoulder at them.

"It was the only call, really," she says. "If we'd beaten them they'd hunt us down until one side was dead. It's a matter of honour in their world."

A world Dinah has one foot in, and she knows it.

"This is better," Sharon agrees.

"But if they end up giving you more trouble and you need a hand again, just let one of us know. Zinda can find us at the bar, or leave a note, or something."

She's confident that Bucky would want to come back and lend a hand, and it's not even a question for her. "Maybe not, like, soon, though."

Because ow.

"I will not hesitate," Dinah assures her. "One thing you learn quickly in this job is how to call for help."

Connor clears his throat, to interrupt. "Never as early as you should, though."

"Calling for help at the last minute is a tried and tested way of superheroing," Dinah objects, but she does nod at Sharon. "And it's mutual, of course."

"Things are pretty quiet where we are these days," Sharon tells her, "so hopefully we won't need to take you up on that. But I appreciate the offer."

She watches the unfamiliar city roll by as they drive, Bucky's shoulder warm under her head.

"Quiet," Dinah repeats wistfully. "I remember quiet."

"When?" Ted asks, which makes her shrug.

"There was like a week after I left Seattle. It was boring," she adds through a facetious smirk. "I didn't like it."

Ted barks out a soft laugh as he turns the car into the Justice Society private parking lot.

"Think I saw Big Blue flying off," he says. "Guess that means they finished with your friend."

Hopefully that's a good sign, and not one that things went terribly wrong. She stretches as she gets out of the car, then winces at the protestations of sore muscles.

A motorcycle roars into the lot and comes to a halt, and Helena dismounts in a swirl of black and purple before striding over to them. Sharon recognizes the bravado in her movements, the way she hides her aches and hurts with a slightly stiff gait. It's familiar.

"Dinah," says the other woman as she comes up. She glances at the building, looking strangely reluctant. "...You should go check in on her."

"Yeah," Dinah agrees, already a few steps towards the door before Helena had arrived. But she stops fully, and turns to her friend.

She puts out a hand, palm turned up, and tilts her head, both welcoming and insistent, unwilling to accept any refusal.

"And you should come too. Come on."

She's not going in without her, but she's also not staying here for a second longer.

While Dinah and Helena are talking, Bucky turns to Sharon, his eyes narrowing as she winces mid-stretch.

"You can get checked out now or when we go back. But you are getting checked out," he tells her. "Your choice where."

Sharon makes a face at him. "When we go back," she says, then pauses and thinks back over what she'd said. "Except Shuri might ask questions about what happened."

She muses for a second. "I guess I could tell her fell out of a tree."

Over with Dinah, Helena hesitates, then slips her gloved hand into her friend's. "She might not want to see me," she points out, but even to Sharon, who has no idea what any of this is about, she sounds unconvinced.

Too late, Huntress. Dinah pulls her closer, entwines their arms despite the many rbuises making this a bad idea, and refuses to lt her go.

"No," she says firmly. "She'll want to see you. You can't go anywhere without seeing her first."

Babs refused to go anywhere without trying to make things right with Helena - and that wasn't an easy thing foor Babs to do. Dinah cannot let her two best girls rip themselves apart through sheer ~~bat-attitude~~ stubbornness.

She barely spares a glance for Bucky and Sharon. They're welcome, of course, but if they choose to return, that's for them as well.

She makes a face at the look he gives her and follows Dinah and Helena in as they enter the building. They opt for the elevator, for which Sharon is fervently, if silently, grateful -- stairs just seem like a bad idea, right now -- and the door opens to a far more relieved and relaxed scene than the one they'd left. Doctors are chatting with each other in the hallway, smiling and pleased, only to be shoved aside as a blonde bottle rocket comes barreling down towards them, golden curls flying.

"Sis!" Zinda skids to a halt in front of the elevator and flings her arms around Dinah and Helena as they step out, her cornflower blue eyes misty with happy tears. "Y'did so good, gals. And the Skipper -- they say -- well, just go'n see for yourself!"

Dinah does not let go of Helena - almost worried that if she does the Huntress will vanish into the shadows right here in Justice Society Headquarters. She just pulls them both into a hug with Zinda, casually wincing as a rib protests.

"Good work back there, Lady B," she says. "Couldn't have done it without you, or your reinforcements..."

Now she turns back to Sharon and Bucky, nodding her thanks again, despite the fact that she's half dragging Helena towards Babs' room.

"Hey, could you maybe distract the doctor as Huntress and I pay a visit?"

Look, she knows the avoiding-a-doctor habit, she does it herself. That doesn't mean she's going to let other people get away from it.

"You should anyway, hon," says Zinda, disentangling herself and lifting Sharon's chin to cluck at the bruises on her face. "Dr. Mid-nite's just over there -- yoo-hoo, Pieter? C'mon over here 'n check out this pal of mine, wouldja?"

She waves at a tall, semi-masked man who glances up and makes his way over. Sharon, too surprised to stop her, only grimaces and winces when the grimace tugs at a sore spot on her cheek. "I'm wearing armor," she protests. "Check the others, they don't have a vibranium suit."

"Sharon." It's almost dangerously level. "Don't argue. Please."

She deflates at the look on his face and the tone of his voice and turns to Dinah and Helena with a sigh. "Go on," she tells them. "I'll give you two a head start."

"After we've seen Babs, Pieter," Dinah says, with her firm leadership tone in place. "You can poke at me all you like when I've seen her."

She shoots Sharon and Bucky a look of infinite gratitude, though, and drags Helena over to Babs' room, where she almost barrels into Jim Gordon, coming out to see what the noise is about.

"Is she...?" Dinah asks.

"She's fine, Dinah," he says, "come on in."

Another glance at Sharon, and Dinah disappears into Babs' room.

Sharon gives them all a speaking glance as she allows Pieter to escort her into one of the other recovery rooms, and Zinda chuckles as she comes to sling a friendly arm around Bucky.

"Wanna go in with her?" she asks. "I can wait out here with you, if not."

He looks after them for a second, considering, then shakes his head. "Might as well let her think she's pulling a fast one on me about how much she's hurt," he drawls. "For now."

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