[Open]

[raptorcanaria]

Characters: Dinah Lance and OPEN
Date: July, all after Clueventure
Location: Wood Sector, and wherever you need her.
Situation: There are ideas and commitments that Dinah started before being distracted by detective work. Now she intends to follow up on them.
Warnings/Rating: Blood, wounds in the Arthur thread.
I started with prose, but will switch to action if you'd like.

General Starter: She found it in the wood sector, a courtyard formed by four trees growing from each corner, growing and intertwining together above, walled by hedges that have been growing out since the last master left. As soon as she had a spare morning and the presence of mind to do so, it is here Dinah returns.

She keeps the name and cleans first the sign painted so neatly in Chinese: “The Jade School of Kung Fu, overseen by Grand Master Shifu.” She doesn't know what happened to the Grand Master, but a dojo cannot be left unused, and she plans to honor this Master she never met by returning his space to the use it was intended.

She sent messages to the people she knew were interested in training with her, to let them know where they could be found, then she set about trimming the hedges, sweeping the building and the courtyard, and transforming it into a usable dojo again.

Comments

ARTHUR: Some time after Clueventuring, wood sector.

[raptorcanaria]

After seeing what was happening to Asti under the wood sector, all Dinah could think about was how much Arthur needed to see this. Shortly after the families moved back in, therefore, she approached one family to ask if she might be allowed back in with a friend who cared deeply for Tu Vishan and would want to see the damage for himself.

They agreed more readily than Dinah expected, and she let Arthur know where to meet her, “because I need to show you what was being done to Asti.” Because there are some things you just cannot describe in words.

[relentlesstide]

When he got the message, he had come, immediately regretting that he couldn't make it down to help out himself. It came down to not being able to leave his wife, honestly, not with her struggling. Their marriage still feels a little fragile to him, fragile enough that he didn't want to leave her side when she needed him, even for this.

Still, this part at least had been in Dinah's capable hands, and the fact that she actually thought to show him, to tell him what her team had found, means a lot. So he shows up outside on time, looking a little more awake and alert than he has since the power loss really started. "Dinah? I'm here."

[raptorcanaria]

"Arthur, thank you for coming."

She reaches for him when he arrives, and hugs him quickly and meaningfully. "I'm sorry for calling you out like this."

She knows he's got things at home that are important, and she hates calling him away from his wife when she needs him.

"But I really think that you need to see this. They were poisoning him."

[relentlesstide]

"Of course I came." There was no way he would refuse, not when he won't be gone for more than a few hours anyway. Mera still needs him, but he needs to see this, needs to know what happened. He returns the hug briefly, but tightly; Dinah is one of the people he's a lot less sea-urchin-y with. "Don't worry about it, I'm glad you called me."

He pauses, a note of horror creeping into his otherwise controlled expression. How could anyone... Arthur can't wrap his mind around what would make someone want to poison such a kind, wise being. "Show me."

IDIOT BOYS: The prison under the palace, the 13th

[raptorcanaria]

It wasn't hard to find out what had happened to Bart, Tim and Kon. It wasn't very hard to be permitted to visit them in prison, even though that involved owning up to some measure of responsibility for any of them, which right now she's not sure she wants to own up to.

What is hard is preventing herself from laughing at them from her position of freedom, and admitting that she probably would have done the same thing.

It's with the best of poker faces that she asks:

"What were you thinking?"

[backinakidflash]

Bart was sitting in the near corner of his cell, half leaning on the bars but with his head thrown back against the wall. This has been a long day, and, while he'd been eager for the distraction that approaching footsteps might bring (or, you know, the food they might bring), he was revving up for an argument the second he could make out that the approaching person was a human.

"We were thinking that they asked us to check into stuff for them, and then they tried to hamstring us the second that we started getting anywhere," he replied. The annoyance was clear, but it was also clearly not directed at her. "We were headed back to the site."

[raptorcanaria]

With the annoyance not directed at her, Dinah has very little difficulty letting it flow past her. Contrary to expectations, she's not here to lay into them.

Much.

"Hamstring, how? By continuing the investigation themselves?"

At least part of this is a real inquiry. She's already got the official version.

[backinakidflash]

"Yes!" He was absolutely adamant on this and twisted around onto his knees so that he looked directly out of the cell. Eyes scrunched up against the light, Bart laid it out for her. "Come on! If they wanted to do the investigation themselves, they would have done it! That Evandau guy doesn't put up with crap, you think he wouldn't have just marched into that warehouse and demanded to see everything?! I don't know what they're playing at, but that purple goop they're smearing all over the turtle meat isn't the only thing that stinks."

Bart's mouth flattened into a straight line. "They know something. They aren't playing fair. They got us to break in, they got a kid knocked out in the process - they got two speedster guinea pigs for their little toy. And then, when we bring them back their missing cop and try to go back to find out what the heck is going on - which they told us to find out in the first place, b.t.w., suddenly they're all 'nope.'"

There was an exaggerated pop to the p. "You're done. And we're supposed to just... what, exactly? Walk away? Grife. Let's see you walk away."

[mrsarcastic003]

Tim scowls a little, folding his arms across his chest and glowering in Dinah's general direction--and in the direction of the dim patch behind her that somehow never gets any light from her flashlight. Hi, Bruce. He sees you there.

Even if he can't actually... see you there.

"We had an investigation to finish. One that they asked us to undertake. We were thinking we'd like to actually, you know. Finish it."

[raptorcanaria]

She stares right back at him, leaning back in her chair with the flashlight still sitting in her lap.

"And you had to keep the gizmos for that."

Thank goodness for the shadow provided by the light. She can work on keeping the smile out of her voice. Tim didn't need the devices, but that he'd throw himself on the line for his friends... she'd do the exact same thing.

[mrsarcastic003]

"Well. We wanted to get back to the site quickly." Because Hei To and company were planning to take over the investigation, and none of the three of them had wanted that. "The Bart Express was the quickest means. Obviously."

BUT YOU LOVE THEM! Laugh and find another chess partner :|!

[tactile_telekinesis]

Kon was already bored. He didn't regret their decision and only wished that they had gotten back without the other device being grabbed. Being here only made him hate Evandau more, despite the fact that really, it was his own fault. Not that he's ever going to agree to that though. Ever.

He's never been in prison here before. He's been threatened though. It's not a place he wants to come back to.

So when he hears Dinah he gets up from his sitting position by one of the walls and walks over. He huffs and blows up at the curl that falls over.

"C'mon BC, like you would have just sat back and did what you were told."

THIS IS NOT FUNNY except it totally is.

[raptorcanaria]

"Funny how I've managed to make it this long without being arrested, though."

She does what she wants, but only when she knows she's going to get away with it. She's almost smiling though: he has a point. If she thought she could get away with it, she might have tried what they tried.

"How's your stay so far?"

JAIME: The Metal Sector, a mechanic's, after closing.

[raptorcanaria]

Punching in enough hours and salvaging enough parts has finally paid off enough that Dinah has (with Jaime's help) nearly finished building her own motorcycle. It looks notably different from anything she's ridden before, and the difference in technology from what she's used to means it doesn't quite reach the speeds she's used to reaching while chasing after Oracle's leads. For all that though, it will soon be a working, usable motorcycle that will get her around the city.

As it nears completion, however, she's become distracted by a second motorcycle, abandoned by its kedan owner as being unsalvagable, something Dinah refuses to believe. So after agreeing to a price that is probably much higher than the thing is worth, she's put it aside and covered it with an oily blanket.

When Jaime arrives, he's in for a surprise.

[escarabajo]

Lending Dinah a helping hand's been great for keeping his mind off how quiet the inside of his head is, with the Scarab still out of commission-- not to mention great practice. He's helped out in his dad's garage, but he's never actually helped make something. And for all their hard work, the thing's starting to look pretty good.

Today, he's eager to get back to work, so after wrapping up whatever odd jobs he'd done for the day, he heads to the metal sector to meet up with Dinah and see what progress has been made.

"Hey, Dinah," he says, poking his head into the shop before walking in completely. The covered... whatever it is catches his attention first, and his eyes go straight to it. "What's that thing?"

[raptorcanaria]

when Jaime arrives, she's distracted by her own work, her hair tied back out of her face, crouching down by the engine with a wrench in her teeth. When he arrives, she shoots him a smile, but it's not until he asks the question that she takes the wrench out to answer him.

"Why don't you take the cover off and have a look?"

She's standing by the end of the sentence.

BATMAN: Earth Sector

[raptorcanaria]

Dick first showed her the place, so she knows it's secret enough for some level Bat-use, which is more than could be said for the much more open dojo. Part of her makes an internal comment about offending his delicate bat-sensitivities, but she knows that's more a reflex to make Helena and Babs laugh than anything else. There's no point, here.

But she gets there before nightfall, giving a cursory check for watchers in the full knowledge he'll be more thorough, and starts stretching out while waiting for him to appear.

How long has it been since they did this? She can't even remember if they ever have.

[cowled]

She's correct in that assumption, though it would rankle Bruce to know that Dinah Lance, of all people, could predict him so easily. Better her than an enemy, he supposes, but he mislikes anyone knowing him too well when he didn't specifically grant them that knowledge.

Still. She's... earned it, he supposes. More than most.

He lurks briefly in the rafters, watching her. She matches the visual profile for the Dinah Lance he knows, and her movements correspond to within 99.6 percent. He's certain it's truly her, and her from their own shared world, but he wouldn't be Batman if he weren't paranoid. Everyone who dons the cowl is in their own way, Bruce was just the first to make it a hallmark.

After a time, he drops down, changes into something a little less Bat. Dinah's an excellent martial artist, he doesn't need the body armour against her. Masters know how to strike without leaving a mark, or causing lasting pain. A few moments later he emerges silently, dressed in simple slacks and a tank-top. He says nothing, merely waits for her to notice his arrival.

[raptorcanaria]

It's not being able to predict him, she would argue. It's being able to trust him. Maybe he'd prefer put it in different terms, but as far as Dinah's concerned, being able to predict her teammates is just part of being on that team.

And whether he likes it or not, she's convinced they're all part of a team, here.

As he watches, she shifts from simple stretches to forms to warm up. After training with Korra and clearing out the doju, she's had kung fu on her mind, and without much consideration slips into Northern Shaolin forms. She's in the middle of 'Pierce the Heart' when she notices him, and finishes it completely before acknowledging him, or even looking in his direction.

"Hey."

She realizes on seeing him like this that they haven't really. Because she can't remember offhand ever actually associating with him while he's out of costume - taking the cowl off occasionally is one thing, this is coming without any of that body armor. She's surprised at how surprised she is, and also relieved. She's fought people wearing armor, obviously, but a sparring session should be just hands and feet and hearts.

"Hope this place is okay? It's a bit more private than my new place of business."

[urbanmagic]

She hadn't seen the courtyard until a kedan points it out to her, interrupting her from her trek to the same clearing she had been occupying since she first got to this place for her practices. They weren't all that frequent, but she's claimed the spot as her own, doubling as a meditation spot from the business of the other districts. It was only when she was asked if she had known the person by the dojo, as they had the same motives, that she had checked, curiosity winning out over the need to train.

She wasn't sure who Shifu was, but the dojo was a lot bigger than her clearing, and if someone was going to build this up for training, it wasn't a bad idea to check it out.

She finds Dinah trimming the hedges after a while, not quite placing a name to the face just yet, but she didn't look like a Shifu to her.

"Hey there. Are you the owner of this place?"

[raptorcanaria]

Dinah hears her approach, but doesn't turn around until the girl addresses her, when she puts her sheers away and turns to smile at her.

"Well, I'm not Shifu. But I don't know if he's coming back, so I moved in, hi. Are you interested in learning? Or looking for a practice space?"

[urbanmagic]

"Fair enough," That at least explains why the name, Chinese maybe?, didn't match the face. At least she wouldn't be asked to call her Laoshi or something. That would be weird.

"Can't have one without the other, I figure. What kind of lessons are you teaching anyway?"

[alphatar]

Looking at the dojo entrance, Korra tilted her head and read the Chinese sign.

“The Jade School of Kung Fu, overseen by Grand Master Shifu.”

She folded her arms and moved her mouth to one side. “Po’s master?”

Recalling the panda’s visit, Korra wondered if Po knew that Shifu had been in Keeliai before. Before her time surely. Intrigued by the sign, Korra continued through the entrance and began pulling off her jacket, shaking her hair out afterwards. Dinah wanted to see Korra while the dojo was closed, and while Korra wasn’t too sure of why, she was very fond of Dinah and didn’t question it.

“Dinah?” she called out as she set her jacket on a seat bench against the wall. “Not late, am I?”

[raptorcanaria]

Dinah hasn't met Po, which is a great pity for everyone involved. So her knowledge of Shifu continues to be 'he was a kung fu master and htis was his dojo.' When Korra arrives, she's lighting a few gas lamps around the central courtyard, in the middle of which she's found a large shallow tray to fill with water, giving the appearance of a shallow pond.

"Korra!" She grins cheerfully and waves on her way down the ladder. Just because she wants to talk about a serious subject, that doesn't mean this isn't another training session between friends.

"You're not late. I was just closing up. How're you?"

[alphatar]

Her name being called out from above isn’t what she was expecting and Korra looks up to see Dinah climbing down.

“I’m all right I guess. Been really busy lately” Not the kind of busy Korra ever wanted to be either, but really there wasn’t much she could do about that. Just nod, try not to roll her eyes, and say ’Yeah, I know.’ when whoever giving her the lecture was done talking.

“Dojo looks good.” Looking at the lamps and the water that reflected during the night made it a pretty sight.

“So what’s with me being here?” She wasn’t flippant or annoyed, but curious as to why Dinah wanted to meet her at the dojo instead of the usual spots. Korra hadn’t seen Dinah since the clinic debacle happened and she finished recovering, mentally, at Jack’s suite.