The Writers Guild Presents: 12/13/13

Gotham city in December was more then just cold. It felt destitute. Bleak even. Like a parent that had turned away. Like the city itself stopped caring. Huntress felt lonely. Not that she would admit it to anyone. Not even Dinah.

'Or maybe,' Huntress mused 'Maybe you just miss Babs.' She tugged her cape a bit tighter around her. She was wearing her thick, insulated winter costume. But the wind was brutal and merciless. It blew her hair around and pulled at her suit, seeking an opening to sink its icy teeth into her. It was no secret to anyone how she felt about the transition from Babs to Wendy. She was glad that Babs was walking again, and was back in the hero game.

Wasn't she?

She shoved the thought away. Of course she was happy for Babs. And she would get used to Wendy. Probably. Dinah seemed to have adjusted to the change very well. Which struck her as odd, given how close she and Babs were. 'Or maybe some people can handle loss.'

'Loss? No. Change.' Huntress mentally corrected herself. Babs wasn't dead. Just....not around. Zinda had also dealt with the changes rather well. She had cried when Babs had given the news she was leaving. And there had been an uncomfortable amount of hugging. But she was military at heart, and more then willing to follow "Skippers" orders. And orders were that Wendy was the new Oracle. Zinda was out at some bar right now with Hank and Don. That thought brought a brief smile to her face. Zinda at a bar was Zinda having fun. She just couldn't see why people would go to a bar to be depressed. So she was probably in a drinking game or buying drinks for the bar, or just generally making a "rukus" as she would say.

A police siren in the distance brings her mind back to the present. Another thing about December in Gotham, For all the goodness and charity it inspired, it also brought out the ugliness in people. The number of muggings went way up in December. Though that's not why she was patrolling tonight. She was out here breaking one of the hero rules. Never work out personal issues on the job. 'Well, more of a guideline then a rule really.' She smiles again, despite the protests from her rapidly chapping lips. Firing off a grapple line, she swings toward the sound of the sirens, silently cursing whomever had made the half-mask popular.

* * *

Huntress hangs from the frozen fire escape and quickly assesses the situation. Times like this, it paid to look before you leaped. One older man being backed into a dead-end ally, two guys. Teenagers. 'What is wrong with the youth today?' She shook her head to herself. These weren't desperate thieves. Just some stupid, privileged kids looking for trouble. 'And they just found some.'

She drops to the ground behind them. "You boys would have been better off caroling tonight."

"Oh snap! Its Catwoman!" One of them grins stupidly, and then more stupidly, pulls out a knife.

"Catwoman? Now i have got to hurt you on principle." She pulls a throwing knife from her belt, and puts it in his shoulder with a flick of her wrist. Hardly more then a flesh wound. He would be fine with a few stitches. Not that you would know by the way he started yelling. He would remember that wound for a while. Good. Maybe he would think twice before pulling a knife on someone again.

The other guy threw a weak punch that Huntress caught easily in one hand, and force palmed his elbow the wrong way with the other. Then chopped him across the throat. She was really holding back. But these were just kids after all. Her communicator beeps in her ear.

"What? I'm working."

"Its me Huntress." Dinah replied evenly.

"Oh hey." Her tone softened noticeably. "Hang on a minute. You." She points to the kid with the knife wound, "Go to the hospital. And you" She looks at the other kid, still gagging a little. Go home. I don't want to see either of you out after dark again." They run down the street together, one holding his shoulder and being hurried along by his friend. "Do you need a hospital sir?" She turned to the old man.

"N-no. I'll be fine. I live close by." He smiles but Huntress can see his hands tremble with left over anxiety. "Merry Christmas young lady."

That made her stop. She had never been wished a merry christmas of the job before. For a moment she forgot how to respond. "Oh. Uh, Merry Christmas to you too." But he's already shuffling away.

"Huntress?" Dinah speaks in her ear, making her jump. She had forgotten Dinah was on the line.

"Yeah. What's up?"

Dinah paused. This was not a conversation she wanted to have. But she was the only one Helena would listen to. Really listen. "You've been kinda distant since Oracle left. And more then a little cold around Proxy."

"Are we really having this discussion now?"

"You brush me off when i try to bring it up around here..."

"I'm on patrol. We can go over this later." She fired her grapple gun, and flew up toward the roof top.

"Your supposed to be off patrol tonight. We can't be out every night. You get tired, then you make mistakes."

"I stopped a mugging tonight. So its good thing i decided to work instead of party."

"The bad guys were still out there when Oracle gave us the night off." Dinah gently reminded her. Another pause. "I miss her too. But we have to adapt. Have to stay a team. And i need your cooperation for that." Silence. "Huntress?"

"We'll talk later." She replied quietly, ending the call.