DISCLAIMER: Hard as it is to believe, I still don't own them. That honor belongs to Tollin/Robbins, DC Comics, Warner Brothers, and a whole host of others whose names I don't recall. I write for my own entertainment and have not made a penny off of this story.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is yet another of my attempts to subvert the whole "a picture is worth a thousand words" notion by using a thousand words to paint ten pictures. It's just a light, silly sort of story, but one that amused me. Hopefully it will amuse you as well.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To cheerfuloceangazer[at]gmail.com
A New Gotham Halloween
By ocean gazer
Barbara Gordon stared incredulously at Helena Kyle. She couldn't quite keep the sarcasm out of her voice when she said, "You do realize, Hel, that dressing up like yourself defeats the whole purpose of wearing a costume."
Glancing across the room, Barbara caught Dinah's stifled laugh and smirk, before she turned her attention back to Helena.
The brunette pouted for a minute, then turned all the force of her considerable charm on Barbara. "But you have to admit I'd have the best outfit. I'd blow all of the other Huntresses out of the water."
Barbara rolled her eyes again. "No."
"Raggedy Ann? Are you fucking kidding me?"
Dinah winced at the strident note in Helena's voice and held up her hands in surrender. Okay, so she'd actually had second (and third and fourth) thoughts about picking out that particular costume for Helena, but what was done was done. They were due at the mayor's party in an hour; it was a little late to try and come up with an alternative.
All she could do was hold up her own Winnie-the-Pooh outfit and offer, "Wanna switch?"
Under other circumstances, the horror on her teammate's face might actually have been funny.
Barbara sipped her champagne, trying to look attentive even though she'd long since stopped listening to the prattling politician beside her.
She glanced surreptitiously at her cell phone, not sure whether to be relieved or annoyed by its silence. Dick, a.k.a. Nightwing, was patrolling New Gotham while they were at this fundraiser, but she'd half-expected him to need backup. She didn't doubt his prowess as a crime fighter, but it stung to think that she, Helena, and Dinah were superfluous.
With a sigh, she mustered a smile and turned her attention back to the most boring man in the world.
Helena took a healthy swig of bourbon, smirking as Dinah's eyes narrowed in disapproval. The kid had already snapped at her about how she was acting out of character for the costume she was wearing.
Helena rolled her eyes at the thought. She might currently have red hair and a triangle nose, and be wearing red and white striped socks and a blue dress with a white apron, but she wasn't some cotton-headed doll with a heart-shaped tattoo that read, "I love you."
Hell to the no.
She was the Raggedy Ann from the evil twin universe. The kick-ass one.
Dinah moved away from Helena, annoyed with her teammate for being so insufferable about the costume and the party.
It wasn't like any of this was Dinah's idea. No way. She'd rather be out patrolling the streets. But the mayor had invited Barbara, who'd then roped them in. If Helena should be annoyed with anyone, it was Barbara.
Dinah looked over at the woman in question and couldn't help smiling. Barbara looked awesome – dressed as a pirate with her wheelchair turned into a ship.
It was a burst of genius. Then again, what else would she expect from Oracle?
When her cell phone rang with the special tone she'd assigned to Dick, Barbara was across the room, heading for Helena, almost before she'd finished excusing herself.
Helena's eyes sparkled as she said, "Please tell me we're blowing this popsicle stand. This is the most boring party ever.
Barbara nodded and the younger woman cheered. "Meet you outside!" Helena shouted as she raced over to grab Dinah and hustle her out of the room.
Barbara looked up apologetically at the bemused and befuddled mayor. He shrugged and said, "Kids these days."
It took all of her self-control not to laugh.
Dick was ensconced in a dark alley near the docks. It took him aback when Barbara, Helena, and Dinah slipped in beside him, still in their costumes.
He hissed, "Are you trying to blow your covers? Half of New Gotham saw you at that party. If anyone puts two and two together--"
An elbow in the ribs interrupted him. Helena's whisper was icy. "Have you been paying any attention to the people wandering around tonight?"
Just then, a quartet with two Winnie-the-Poohs and two Raggedy Anns walked past the mouth of the alley.
He sighed. "I see your point."
Dinah took a deep breath and eased in to the warehouse behind Nightwing. Helena and Barbara were slipping in through a door on the opposite side, flanking the men inside.
In the dim light, she could just make out the glint of metal as the gang of smugglers unloaded a shipment of illegal weapons.
Her adrenaline surged as they inched closer. Twenty criminals; four crime fighters. At one point in her life, she'd have thought those were bad odds.
Then again, at one point she'd thought dressing up for Halloween was the closest she'd ever get to having an alter-ego.
Helena gave a feral smile as she faced off with her last opponent. She could have knocked him down already, but wanted to burn off some energy. Not to mention it gave Barbara, Dinah, and Dickie more time to secure the other men before the police arrived.
Tall, dark, and stupid glared at her and tossed another punch her way. She sidestepped it with ease.
He shook his head. "Give it up, Raggedy Ann. Someone sweet and innocent like you shouldn't--"
Helena snarled and decked him. He fell to the floor unconscious.
She was definitely the evil twin version.
Barbara wheeled into the Clocktower living room, a tray balanced carefully on her lap, heading over to where Helena and Dinah were sprawled on the couch.
She set the tray on the coffee table, as twin pairs of blue eyes shifted from the TV screen to her.
She smiled. "Hot apple cider and donuts."
Helena and Dinah both grinned in response, each grabbing a mug and a donut. Parking her chair next to the couch, Barbara picked up her mug, as they settled in to watch a so-bad-its-funny zombie flick.
She couldn't think of a better way to spend Halloween.
The End