D and D

"So, is this really what you had in mind?" Dawnie asked, hiding a yawn as she watched her brother run on the treadmill next to hers.

"They're trying to help," Don said. He flicked a glance at Cisco and Caitlyn who were crowding around a monitor. "Just go with the flow, sis."

Dawnie rolled her eyes. She maintained her speed and felt the familiar jolt of hunger start roaring from the bottom of her stomach. Dawnie ignored it as she'd done so many times in the past.

It was at that time she felt the shock. She nearly stumbled at the small sting, glancing at her brother. Don's eyes had widened ever so slightly as well. She glanced at her wrist, biting her lip as her communicator surfaced onto the skin of her arm.

She glanced at Cisco and Caitlyn, but they didn't seem to notice any abnormalities. Hiding a relieved sigh, she yanked the sleeve of her sweatsuit down. Don mimicked her action.

"That's enough. You can stop," Cisco said, frowning at the monitor. "See that? Should that be that high?"

Dawnie obediently slowed down. She glanced to the other side of the treadmills where her mother was waiting impatiently.

"So, what's going on with them?" Iris asked.

"From what we can tell," Caitlyn began.

"Potty break," Don smirked, grabbing Dawnie's hand and yanking her away.

"I wanted to hear that," Dawnie mildly protested though it was hard to keep the smile off of her lips.

"It's all yada-yada anyway. I don't understand it. You don't understand it. Probably the only one who would understand it is good old Brendan, but we all know he got scooped up by that think-tank in Washington." Don stopped a few feet from the entrance to the Pipeline, the place where dangerous metahumans and villains had once been warehoused.

Dawnie frowned at him and held up her communicator. The screen obediently enlarged. An at once familiar, and yet unfamiliar face showed up.

"Lucy?" Don said, staring at the image.

Lucy's smile widened. She glanced from Dawnie to Don.

"I was wondering if you could come out to play?" She asked, a finger on her cheek.

"Always for you, Luce," Dawnie said. "When and where?"

"I'll get Court to send you the place. I've got to go get snacks and stuff." Lucy laughed. "This is going to be epic. You won't believe all the stuff we found out!"

Dawnie rolled her eyes. Whenever Lucy had said that in the past, things happened. Whether they were good things or bad things always depended on if they got caught. Most of the time, they hadn't gotten caught.

"Where are you two off to?" Iris asked, standing in front of the entrance to Star Labs.

"Just going to see some friends," Dawnie answered with a boneless shrug.

"And who might they be?" Iris persisted.

"Just buddies from school," Don lied with a charming grin. "You want us to make normal friends, right? Can't do that without going to hang out."

"I—" For once, their mother was speechless. Dawnie could practically see the wheels turning in her head. "You do need normal friends. It's not right that you don't have any."

Dawnie felt insulted. They had friends. They had plenty of friends. Whether they qualified as normal or not was not her concern. She forcefully controlled her expression; Kaylen had once told her that she was an open book and that those were the ones that got spoiled the fastest.

"We'll be back in a couple of hours or so. Going to do movies and stuff," Dawnie managed.

Her arm moved and her fingers brushed her communicator on her other arm. It hadn't sunk back down which she was taking as an indicator that there really was something serious going on that Lucy was now involved in. Lucy found the most trouble, almost without looking. It had to be a superpower of some sort…

"Then have fun. You still have a curfew." Iris's gaze flew between them.

"Will do. Back soon," Don said, pecking her on the cheek before seizing Dawnie's hand and accelerating off.

Dawnie glanced back to see their mother staring after them thoughtfully.

"Someone really tried to kidnap you?" Dawnie asked, horrified.

"Did they mistake you for someone else? Had bad taste? Death wish?" Don nattered, grinning as he opened the bottle of energy drink.

"Ha-ha," Lucy said to Don, rolling her eyes. She turned to Dawnie and grasped her hands. "I'm fine. He didn't succeed. I'm here, right? With Court?"

"Always a pleasure," Court intoned. He fished out a bag of chocolate miniatures. "With peanuts or without?"

"It's chocolate. Does it matter?" Don asked, taking a handful.

"So, what did the kidnapper really want?" Dawnie asked as she led Lucy a little away from the boys.

"I dunno. Court says that maybe it has something to do with the kids?" Lucy flopped down on the overstuffed sofa.

Currently, they were meeting in a deserted furniture store. The security had been compromised by Court, and there weren't any patrolling security on-site. According to their surveillance, there was a drive-by check every two hours or so to which Lucy had pooh-poohed.

Dawnie disregarded Lucy's assessment of security and was concerned about her wellbeing instead. Lucy had always prioritized everyone else's wellbeing over her own, and it had always made both her and Aarti upset. She frowned at her friend and tugged on one purple pigtail.

"Lucy! Focus," she chided.

"Fine, fine. He mentioned overlords before he croaked. Probably another braindead idiot follower, perhaps?" Lucy pulled free and twirled the pigtail around one finger.

"Lucy! This is serious!" Dawnie glanced at Court who offered her her own bag of chocolates. "Thank you, Court. As usual, you know exactly what to do."

"I don't always know," Court protested. He seemed meeker and milder than he usually was which put up Dawnie's back.

Court was always quiet, but when he became that quiet, it was because he was plotting something. Dawnie looked at her brother who shrugged to show Court hadn't told him anything.

"Well, has anyone talked to San or Aarti?" Dawnie finally asked.

"San's incommunicado for some reason and Aarti doesn't wear her communicator." Court cracked open a can of soda and took a sip.

"How did she get it off? They come off?" Don asked, staring at his own on his wrist.

"She asked; I told her how. No problem," Court shrugged. He opened a bag of chips. "The problem is Ella."

"Ella? What about Ella?" Dawnie turned towards Lucy, a frown forming.

"We found out that she's not where she's supposed to be," Lucy admitted. She dug her toe into the floor and rotated her ankle. "I've been busy, and I should have followed up, but that's what adults are for!"

"But these adults didn't do what they're supposed to," Don sighed. He polished off the last chocolates in the bag. "So, are we going to go get her?"

"We need San," Court suddenly said. "Not for what he could do, but for who he is. They'd have a field day if he showed up, but with us around…"

"—No one could keep him," Lucy finished.

"Well, San isn't incommunicado with me," Dawnie said. She slowly smiled. "However, after last time, perhaps we should meet somewhere my mom doesn't know about."

"Agreed," Don chimed in, laughing.

Dawnie shrugged at Lucy's suddenly sparkling eyes. Then she grinned.

"Things happened. Enough said…"