The Sting Cannes on the French Riviera boat: the Seraphim out of Milan Comte deRenaut de su Mer. daughter Talia Raymond de su Mer Pit location: Tiburon Cay, south of Villagrande in Bosqueverde Spoilers: Birds of Prey 31-35. This is essentially a rewrite of the "Big Romance" plotline that ran through issues 31-35 of Birds of Prey. It needed to be done, because: * The arc as written required Dinah to be incompetent, inexperienced, and DUMB. She is none of those things. Black Canary is a founding member of the JLA and has been a hero for approximately as long as Batman. She's an experienced solo operative and team player. More to the point, the story hinged on the idea that she *did not recognize* Ra's al-Ghul, one of the DCU's foremost super-villians and the man who'd nearly killed the JLA in the "Tower of Babel" storyline a few months previous. This was, in the opinion of this author and other fans, patently ridiculous. * Dixon, with his typical disregard for the rest of the DCU, chose to ignore the fact that Talia al-Ghul broke with her father after the events of Tower of Babel, going on to become CEO of LexCorp. She was also (mis)characterized throughout the arc as a shrieking, unstable harpy. I...choose not to see her that way. * To provide the necessity for Dinah to be dumped in a healing Lazarus Pit and thereby restore her Canary Cry (the impetus for the entire storyline), Black Canary was beaten nearly to death by Ra's henchman Ubu. This particular Ubu (Ra's has had successive followers by this name) was NOT the infamous Bane, but a random thug. Chuck Dixon himself rates Black Canary as one of the DCU's most experienced martial artists. While I grant that even an expert can be taken down by surprise, chance, or bad luck, she should have been able to escape Ubu without taking mortal wounds. So. The rewrite. al-Ghul = the Demon Use snake-lady from Detective instead of Talia? check timing. Black Canary in The Sting The voice in her ear sounded resigned. "You know this is a terrible idea." "Yeah." Black Canary trained her binoculars on the yacht floating innocently on the water. "When has that ever stopped me before?" A snort of laughter, followed by a pause, and then a question. "You're sure you want to do this?" With the question came an unspoken, implicit statement of support. Dinah was sure she was going to need it. "After what he did to the JLA? You damn betcha." After a moment she added, "I owe him a little payback for J'onn and Arthur, if nothing else. I owe THEM that." On the other end of the line, Barbara Gordon heaved a sigh. "This is *Ra's al-Ghul* we're talking about. Not some run-of-the-mill megalomaniac. He's a lot more dangerous than--" "I get it, Oracle," Dinah interrupted. "He's way out of my class. Nearly took down the whole JLA. Super-dangerous. I hear you. But I've got a plan." "Mind letting me in on it?" Babs sounded ticked. Maybe she was used to coming up with all the strategies, but she wasn't *here.* So, tough. They were a team, and that occasionally meant the tactics had to be Dinah's call. Dinah grinned ferally. "We have a date." *** She hadn't, actually, intended to throw herself at the world-class ecoterrorist super-villain. Dinah had been on *vacation,* dammit, a well-deserved break from the nonstop action movie that was her life as Oracle's partner and as a member of the JSA. [check when Dinah quits JSA] After an unscheduled trip to Apokolips, Babs being hunted and nearly caught by a vengeful Blockbuster, an unpleasant visit to Gorilla City, and a harrowing jaunt into the *past* to find Cheshire and her Ravens, Black Canary had EARNED the time off. So, naturally. She'd been sunbathing on the beach at Cannes on the French Riviera when a young woman, very earnest, had approached her. "Forgive me for intruding," she said with an indeterminate slight accent, "but my father was wondering if you would like to join him for dinner tonight." She pointed to an anchored yacht, the largest and most elegantly outfitted in the marina. Dinah looked over and whistled. "Wow. Swanky. I'm sure a guy with a boat like that doesn't lack for attention...so how do I rate?" The woman smiled shyly. "Actually, I took it upon myself to ask you. He saw you from afar, and commented on your beauty. It has...been a long time since he expressed any interest in a woman. He has been alone for many years. So I thought..." "Thought you'd set him up, huh?" Dinah sat up and looked at her more closely. "Well, I am on vacation, so... what the heck. Sounds like fun." She smiled. "Sorry, didn't catch your name?" "I am Talia. My father is Raymond, the Comte de su Mer. Eight 'o clock, then? And please, dress casually." "I'll be there," Dinah said softly. Talia gave her a smile and headed toward the yacht, moving gracefully. Dinah watched her go with narrowed eyes. "Talia, huh?" She gathered up her towel and headed into the small tourist town. Once she was out of sight of the boat, she touched a small stud on the back of her earring to open the connection and said very quietly, "Barbara?" "Here," Oracle answered promptly. "Bored already?" "I only wish." She chewed on her lip. "What can you tell me about a count named Raymond de su Mer, and a yacht called the Seraphim?" "Give me a minute." Dinah waited while Barbara worked her technological investigative magic. The intake of breath told her Babs had found what she'd expected. "...oh, damn. Dinah, that's an alias--" "--for Ra's al-Ghul," Dinah finished for her. "Thought so." "He's *there?* You saw him?" "Not him. His daughter. Listen, I'll get back to you later. I've got an errand to run." "Din--" Oracle started to protest, but Dinah shut her down. Right now, she had to think. And go shopping, because really, 'dress casually' or not, she hadn't brought anything to wear worthy of a boat that classy. Or of the man on it... ...definitely 'elite', albeit thoroughly evil. Dinah had no doubts he knew who *she* was. Obviously, she wasn't supposed to know the reverse. Did the Demon really think she *wouldn't* know the face and name of the man who'd nearly killed two of her oldest friends? *** One "simple" dress (which had strained her credit to the limit) and a little covert surveillance later, she called Barbara again. "Okay, go ahead and yell."