Bluejay: The Protégé of Black Canary

The Nest

"So, now what?"

I pulled in my door and slid onto the leather seats of Dinah's car again. Because I wasn't petrified with fear this time, I was free to observe the car better. The car was definitely some sort of sports car. Too bad I was clueless when it came to vehicles and didn't have a idea to what it was.

The windows were dark and tinted, and bulletproof too, as I'd seen earlier. The vehicle had that nice, new car smell to it. A little pink tree hung from the rear view mirror. The car had smooth black leather, and heated up nicely in the warm sun. I enjoyed it, and tried to relax, sinking onto the seat, but I couldn't stop fidgeting.

Dinah buckled her seatbelt and blew a lock of blonde hair from her face. "Now? Well, once we're on the road, we're going to switch car colors to throw off anyone looking for you." She said simply.

Dinah shifted the car into into reverse and pulled out the the parking lot, and soon the neon Rosie's sign faded behind us. I fiddled nervously with the strings of my jacket.

"Where are we headed? The Hall of Justice? Like an underground bunker or...?" I trailed off, waiting for her to finish and explain what I was supposed to do now that I was a target under their protection.

Dinah took a glance away from the road to smile at me. "You'll be staying with me."

My stomach dropped. I waited for her to tell me she was kidding, but she never did.

"You?" I sputtered in shock.

Dinah pretended to look offended. "What? I'm not that bad of a roommate." She chuckled a little bit.

"No, it's not that..." I tried to amend. "I'm going to be living with you?"

I started to freak out. My finger tapped impulsively on my leg, while my heart started to thrum in my chest.

"I informed the Justice League of our agreement. We believe the best way to keep you safe is to have you close. Besides, it'll be easier with training you like I promised."

"I can't just leave! My dad-!"

"Will be fine. It's you who we need to worry about right now." Dinah finished for me.

Whatever was written across my face- panic, most likely- made Dinah's features soften. She switched to a soothing, calm tone.

"It's going to be okay. Remember, this is only temporary."

On the inside, I was hyperventilating, screaming, and wanted to yank my hair out. This whole situation was bonkers! How had things escalated so quickly!? I'd lied to Dinah about who I was working for at Gotham Hospital. I'd lied to a member of the Justice League. Dinah said she wanted to help me. I believed her, but she didn't know the whole truth. And I didn't intend to ever let her have it either. If I was ever proven wrong, Dinah could simply call off our agreement, and I could be placed in prison for all I knew!

Dinah's promises meant nothing to me. This was going to be harder than I thought. I was going to have to become a lot tougher if I wanted to emerge from this without loosing my head. So I needed to play it cool, and get my crap together. I examined Dinah with caution, squinting my eyes at her ever so slightly. It didn't take long for Dinah to notice my staring. Taking a quick glance away from the road, a small smile tugged at her pink lips.

"I thought we were past that whole 'suspicion' thing" Dinah said.

"I'm just making sure you're not going to sneeze or anything." I explained casaully, giving her a one shouldered shrug.

Dinah's expression was a mix of slight amuse, and confusion.

"What? Oh, because heaven forbid I sneeze." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.