Birds of Prey - Twisted Desire Ch. 07

Lilith gave a sweet smile. She reached forward then to place a hand on Dinah's shoulder. Her touch was warm, but Dinah felt a shiver travel down her back.

"I know you're eager to get to the real fun stuff. The Brotherhood treats their own very well, I promise you." Lilith teased, giving Dinah a suggestive look. The blonde's stomach twisted at the other woman's implication, but she kept silent. Lilith's eyes rose up and down Dinah's body, the brunette pursing her lips in thought. For a brief moment, Dinah believed the softball coach was eying her up. Then the other woman spoke again. "But our ceremonies require a little more... ceremony. You were informed of the dress code, weren't you?"

Dinah nodded. She remembered Reston's words to her from last night. As much as she hated herself for it, she remembered his words vividly... Along with everything else from her lowest, most humiliating failure.

Big, fat cock... Throbbing, veiny bastard shoved right down your throat...

The blonde brawler swallowed, almost reeling as crystal clear memories of Reston swarmed her mind then. The sight of him, the scent of him, the taste of him... It was so real, it was almost as if it was happening all over again.

Dinah dragged herself from that nightmare... And forced herself back to an equally wicked reality.

Lilith was still standing before her, patiently awaiting her answer. The blonde gave a short nod.

"I was told an outfit would be provided for me." Dinah said. Her voice had become quiet. Small. Everything the Black Canary wasn't. And Dinah felt shame.

Lilith's pale green eyes lit up. The softball coach looked very pleased, excited at the chance to perform her duties... And Dinah felt her stomach turning as she thought of what kind of twisted duties that poor woman had been given. What she had been tricked into enjoying.

The other woman let Dinah's hand slip from her fingers as she slowly stepped back. She turned around then, revealing that her shimmering, silk dress was backless... And that she wasn't wearing a bra.

Of course she isn't, Dinah thought bitterly. She belongs to the Brotherhood now.

Lilith cast an expectant look over her shoulder.

"If you would follow me, Miss Blake." The woman practically sang. "Tonight's an important night for you. We'll find you some more appropriate garb."

- - -

Barbara watched.

From her perch high on a towering tree, she watched as Dinah climbed the steps to the doors of Timm Hall. She watched as she knocked with the bronze heart. She watched as the doors opened on their own. And she watched as her dear friend and ally crossed the threshold into the Brotherhood's domain.

It didn't feel right. Batgirl was supposed to be a woman of action, not a spectator. But this was the way it had to be. Dinah was the one who earned an invitation, not Barbara.

This was supposed to be their ticket to victory. A week of being undercover, acting as live bait, and playing the Brotherhood's game... It all led to this. A way into the heart of the twisted, sexist cult that had already taken one of Barbara's dear friends. Tonight was the night that Batgirl and the Black Canary brought down the Kingston Brotherhood.

And yet Barbara felt dread twisting in her belly. The redhead frowned, continuing to watch Dinah through her WayneTech binoculars. She was going to keep a close eye on her friend, her sister... She owed it to Dinah to have her back. After all Dinah had done for their mission, to do anything less for her would be shameful.

But then the large, red doors of Timm Hall closed shut right as Dinah walked through the doorway. Barbara's heart skipped a beat, but the young heroine stayed calm. She could still listen in on Dinah using the bug she planted on her hoodie when the blonde set off for tonight's ceremony.

Switching her earpiece over to the right audio channel, Barbara could hear Dinah's voice... As well as the voice of another woman. She listened in on their brief conversation, but nothing they spoke about gave her any useful intel.

Finally, the other woman spoke again.

"Tonight's an important night for you. We'll find you some more appropriate garb."

And a moment later, the audio feed grew grainy and rough. Too messy for Barbara to parse out anything.

"Damn it." The redhead muttered. Listening in through the bug was no longer viable.

Batgirl's gloved hand tightened on the tree branch above her head, keeping herself steady on her perch. She weighed her options as she stared intently at the red doors of Timm Hall. It did not take very long to make a decision.

Batgirl was going in.

As team leader, it was her duty to have Dinah's back. And with Dinah preoccupied with whatever ritual bullshit the Brotherhood had in store for tonight, Barbara was the only one in position to gather any intel that could be inside that building.

Really, she didn't have a choice. Or at least, that's what Barbara told herself as she descended from the tall tree. Down the branches Batgirl climbed, jumping and flipping with the ease only a master of gymnastics possessed. Finally, Batgirl landed, her yellow boots thumping upon the dark soil at the base of the tree.

From across the small courtyard, Timm Hall loomed large. It towered over Barbara, over Batgirl. Insurmountable, it seemed. But Batgirl had faced insurmountable odds before.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Barbara whispered under her breath. Then she was moving forward, her long legs powering beneath her. Her yellow and black cape flowing in the wind, Batgirl charged towards the enemy stronghold. And though she felt worry in her heart, so too did she feel renewed vigor.

They were so close to the end. She could feel it.

Tonight was going to be a reckoning.