So, this is it....

[black_canaryii]

She couldn't help but lift a hand to her cheek to dab away the tear that dared to spill over her eyelid. How could this happen? She felt as if a huge breath of fresh air had been pushed into her lungs, despite the dingy smog that clung to the thick, Gotham air. "Coming home" usually had that effect, especially after she'd been gone for so long

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[black_canaryii]

With a smirk, she began to step out of the shadows.

Then suddenly, she stopped. Dead in her tracks. She couldn't move. She heard nothing. Felt her entire body grow cold. She'd been in sticky situations before, but this pretty much took the cake. If only because she was dealing with her heart--something she was never that great with.

What is he DOING here? she thought, feeling returning to her body as her heart sped up.

She couldn't just stay down here, she could hear the sound of a window breaking from the 25th floor of that derelict, brick building that she was supposed to be busting into right about now to deal with whatever domestic disturbance was going on--but she was frozen in her spot, staring at Pieter across the street, passing by while she remained in the shadows.

"Pieter," she whispered to herself as she slowly stepped from the alleyway, as if mesmerized.

The sudden sound of a woman screaming caught her attention and jerked her head up to the 25th floor once more. A woman hung from the window, screaming for help while--what Dinah assumed was her husband--held onto her wrists, trying to keep her from falling.

Dinah sprung into action, "outing" herself as she sped across the street, crossing right in front of Pieter, pretending she didn't see him, even though she knew he'd know better.

[nation_jsa]

The sound of breaking glass and screaming caught the attention of the good doctor as well, and he reflexively turned toward the sound.

He heard the sound of boot-shod feet running toward the building as the woman they belonged to rushed right past him and--

Oh. Oh, he knew that scent.

"Dinah."

Or, more likely, the Black Canary. Perhaps this situation called more for Dr. Mid-Nite than Dr. Cross.

[black_canaryii]

Dinah bounded up the building as quickly as possible, grabbing ahold of ledges and pipes as if she were on a simple rock wall. "Hold on!" she yelled out to the pair hanging precariously out of the window. She bounded into the building from one of the windows and ran through the building, listening for the correct room. Upon finding it, she kicked in the door and ran to the man, struggling to pull the woman into the window and helped him pull her up, careful not to cut the woman on the shards of glass.

Suddenly, as soon as the woman was pulled in, the man turned on Dinah, swinging at her, managing to land one huge fist hard on her face, knocking her back as he shouted "This is between US! I had everything under control, woman!".

Canary growled at the man from her position on the floor, playing submissive for a moment while she rubbed her face. "Really? Did you REALLY just go there? Trust me, you do NOT want this. Not with the night I've been having." She jumpped to her feet, ready to put this loser out of his misery considering all of the anger bubbling in her at the moment.

........despite herself, she couldn't help but wonder if Dr. Mid-Nite would come crashing in. Perhaps if he did it wouldn't exactly be a bad thing--Dinah felt angry enough to kill someone.

[nation_jsa]

Why crash in when there was already an open window?

Pieter changed into his costume as speedily as possible and made it up to the window just in time to overhear the exchange between Black Canary and the soon-to-be-very-unfortunate thug.

"Believe me, sir, she is speaking the truth," he said as he knocked the remaining glass shards out of the window frame with a cape-wrapped forearm. "Black Canary, I'll see to the woman's injuries."

Dinah hardly needed assistance with this insignificant thug, and he was hardly going to patronize her with the offer.

[black_canaryii]

Somehow, despite her earlier catch in her throat, and worry about an encounter with Mid-Nite, Dinah's own anger pushed all of that to the side at the moment. She kept her eyes trained on the man, and dispensed of him quickly, leaving him drifting in and out of conciousness.

She quickly dusted off her shoulders, and adjusted her jacket before she turned to Mid-Nite, where he was busy helping the poor, frightened woman. "Dr. Mid-Nite," she said in greeting, although her voice was a little softer than she had intended.

[nation_jsa]

Pieter spoke quietly to the woman as he bandaged the lacerations on her arms and did what he could for her bruises, assuring her that she was safe and that they were here to help her. He'd witnessed this kind of thing more often than he cared to recount, and it never ceased to fill him with loathing for the perpetrators. There was no excuse for it; something he made a point of reassuring the woman, that she had done nothing to deserve this assault.

"Black Canary," he greeted her back, giving the unconscious man a cursory once-over. Oh, she was good. The cretin was going to be hurting tomorrow, but there wasn't anything that might result in his dying before the police and paramedics arrived.

[black_canaryii]

Suddenly, and without warning, she felt a small smile curl into the corners of her mouth. It was strange, given the situation at the moment, but she couldn't help herself. After a swift kick to the groaning man at her feet's gut, she moved to his side, kneeling beside the woman that he assisted. She laid a gentle, reassuring hand on the woman's shoulder, although she didn't take her eyes off of Mid-Nite.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what brings you to Gotham?" It was obvious she was putting him on the spot. Dinah had never been very subtle.

[nation_jsa]

There wasn't much to assist with at this point, but Pieter was hardly about to complain about extra help calming the woman down.

"There's a medical conference being held here this weekend," he said. "I like to keep abreast of new techniques and information."

His heart flip-flopped as the breeze from the broken window caught her scent and wafted it under his nose.

"I wasn't sure whether I ought to call ahead or not."

Pieter wasn't about to put her on the spot, but it would be nice to hear that his sudden (technically coincidental) appearance in her town wasn't entirely unwelcome.