16666/Twas the Night Before the Night Before Christmas

Twas the Night Before the Night Before Christmas
Date of Scene:	24 December 2023
Location:	Barbara's Penthouse (Clocktower - 25th Floor)
Synopsis:	Kate and Babs exchange gifts, and plans for the Holidays.
Cast of Characters:	Barbara Gordon, Kate Kane

---

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara's penthouse home is a festive sanctuary right now. Soft lighting accents the deep dark wooden floors, and the various decor of reds, yellows, oranges and dark chocolate hued leather furniture. But to top it all off, a large ten foot Christmas tree sits by the northern wall, reaching up toward the center of the north clock-face. The tree is lit with all manner of twinkling lights, and all manner of ornate ornaments, with a well lit golden angel sitting at the peak of the fancy tree. Other decorations line shelves, the walls, and the fireplace that resides in the center of the open floor plan of this tower penthouse.

Barbara herself? Well she's parked up at her computer station that resides on the north western corner of the penthouse floor plan. She's seated in front of her bank of monitors, dressed casually in black track pants, a zip-up hoodie of dark grey, and a pair of fresh new sneakers of black and yellow hues. She's holding a bowl of Captain Crunch, with a spoon raising up a full load of golden crunchy cereal toward her mouth, her eyes on her central monitor as she reads something unfolding across it, some program she's been refining for her Green Energy company...

It's a casual night in the somewhat hermit-like home of the redheaded Barbara Gordon...

Quiet Holiday music plays on speakers set all around the interior of her home, not overly loud, just providing a nice and subtle backdrop.

Kate Kane has posed:
There's the soft chime of the elevator doors opening, and Batwoman, aka Kate Kane, is standing there. In costume, of course, since she's coming here on alleged business. Mostly alleged, anyway, as she has a small gift-wrapped bundle in her hands, along with a fairly good sized Tupperware container. Which might be a bit odd, but she had it stashed in the back of her motorcycle for the trip over to the Tower.

When she sees Babs working on the computers and eating Captain Crunch, she sighs internally and walks quietly over towards her. Not looking to be stealthy on purpose, but it's just habit at this point as she meanders close to her fellow Bird. Her ruby lips curl into a smile below the cowl as she says, "Do you ever take a night off? You're worse than Bruce." She tilts her head, holding the small gift-wrapped package, as well as the tupperware.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs knew that Kate was on her way up, of course she did though. Her security systems in the tower were impeccable. The tower was designed for the Birds of Prey to have a home away from home, with every member having an apartment located inside the tower's living levels. Plus with all of the ammenities of gym, training, tactical, and more... it was a literal fortress for the Birds of Prey.

Nevertheless, when Kate arrived, and crossed from the central lift across the living room toward the area that Babs was perched up upon, the redhead set her bowl down and stood up. With a grin she met Kate at the steps down from her computer area. "Happy Holidays." She tells her as she descends the five steps toward Kate, noting the package. "Oooh. You're so kind." She says as she reaches out to accept it. "And this /is/ my night off. You don't see me in my gear do you?" She asks, a half-cocked grin cast to the other woman as Barbara turns toward her Christmas tree, and steps toward it now, moving gingerly as she crouches to pick up a box decorated in crimson and gold wrapping. Standing up again, she turns to offer it back to Kate. "This one is yours. I've been working on it for awhile... I dunno if it's up to your standards, but... We'll find out."

Kate Kane has posed:
Kate laughs softly, "Well, it's not really my holiday, but I also was afraid you were eating... well, *that*. So I brought you something." She grins and offers the tupperware to Barbara, "Latkes, my grandmother's recipe. I suspected you needed some warm food in you, so there you go."

Accepting the gift, she smiles, "And you shouldn't have, Babs... Barbara. Thank you. Should I open it now or wait until Christmas?" She chuckles, looking like she might want to say something else, but doesn't quite manage it as she studies the box that she's been given. Her own gift for Babs is a bit thinner of a box, almost like an envelope but just a bit thicker.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara steps over to one of the leather sofa chairs in the center of her living room, where she sits back against one of the chairs leather arms. She just grins at Kate as her eyes drop down to the food container. ""I love eating food that I didn't have to make myself... So I accept it as a absolutely great gift." She tells the other woman as she watches her with the big box she'd given her. "And either way, I gotta make sure to give you something, or my conscience couldn't handle it." She says with a continued grin before nodding toward it.

"Open it up, by all means."

Babs rises up from the chair's arm, and strides toward her nerdy kitchen (decorated like her favorite video game, the one with the vault-dweller.) She sets the container of food down, and moves to gather up a couple of plates and forks from a drawer.

Inside the package, Kate will find a brand new motorcycle helmet with what looks like a pretty fancy internal HUD system built in to it... Should she turn it over, she'll even hear a little pleasant voice greet her by name, as the lights inside the helmet's display switch on.

Kate Kane has posed:
Kate sits down on the couch, looking curiously at the box. Quickly, she opens the gift, her enthusiasm betraying her and when she sees what it is, she laughs very softly, "Oh my... Barbara, you shouldn't have. I love it." She puts the helmet on, experimentally, and she blinks, "Is this your voice? It sounds perfect." She smiles and takes the helmet off, watching Barbara working in the nerdy kitchen.

"I'm afraid mine isn't nearly as exciting, but I wanted to get you something that you'd hopefully find useful." Indeed, it's a mix of two things. One, a tin of Mexican hot chocolate that's exceptionally hard to find. Two, a small letter proclaiming VIP membership in a hot chocolate service that will deliver (to the appropriate front address) enough cocoa monthly to provide all the Birds in residence with their chocolate fix.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs is just all smiles as she hears Kate's reaction to the helmet. "It's a derivitive of my voice, yeah. Maybe a bit altered to be a bit more pleasant... Get my jaded undertones out of it." She jokes with a grin before she grabs some of the hot chocolate packets up. "Oh hell... I'm going to have some of this evrey freakin' day..." She says as she moves to prepare cups instead. "The others will love it too. Though they're a little hard to get gathered up lately. Everyone's been so busy this year."

Once she gets the water heating up, she heads toward where Kate is, and once more sits down on the arm of the furniture in the living room. She looks toward the other woman then. "It's wired in to my AI systems, so you have access to all my automated drones. They'll feed you information about everything happening around the city, as well as all sensor information coming from the GGE Blimp airship." The Blimp being something Babs bought about this time last year. It's a Birds of Prey air ship that is under the guise of being a Gordon Green Energy advertisement that flies around the city...

Kate Kane has posed:
Kate laughs, "You say that like your voice isn't pleasant enough already." She grins a bit, "Just the right amount of jaded undertones to make it worth hearing." She looks over at Babs and nods, "Yeah, it's been a pretty crazy year, for all of us. Here's hoping 2024 is going to be a little more manageable. But I'm planning on being around a lot more often to help out here. If that's okay, anyway." She gives Babs a warm smile.

When Barbara explains what the helmet can do, Kate grins wolfishly at that, "Oh my, you do know how to make a girl happy. I can definitely make use of that on patrols, for sure."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The talk of her voice has Barbara doing that lopsided grin again from her perch on the arm of the sofa. "I gotta change it a little bit. I don't want to get called a narcicist... Well, anymore than I already do. I guess you have to accept a certain amount of it when people see you as a shut-in hiding in her tower all the time. Oh well."

She upnods at Kate then, her hands on her lap. "You going to play Santa Kane, and try and track down the others to give them their fancy hot chocolate?" She inquires before she glances over her shoulder. Once more she rises up to head back toward the kitchen. She gathers up a pair of mugs to prepare them both a glass of the sweet drink. "Don't tell anyone my greatest weakness is chocolate, okay?" She calls back over her shoulder.

Kate Kane has posed:
Kate laughs, "Your secrets are always safe with me Babs." She grins, "And I'm pretty sure if one of us is a narcissist, it's me. I mean, come on, I wear a bright red wig and ride a motorcycle in my tight black outfit."

She then adds, "And yeah, I figured I'd make a few runs to give everyone their gifts by Christmas Eve, I just wanted to make sure you got yours first. And also I really don't trust myself trying to sneak down a chimney. Jason and Cass would point out the window is /right there/ after all."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
With the cups prepared, Babs moves back toward the living area of the open room. Her black and yellow sneakers move with a near-silent stride toward the sofa, stepping around it and offering Kate her mug. With a grin on her pink hued lips, Babs takes a seat on one of the dark hued cushions before she samples her own drink. She visibly melts at the sweet taste of the hot chocolate. "God, that is good." She quietly appraises, sounding quite pleased by it.

Her eyes dart back over to the other on her right, and with a light smirk she nods once. "Cass is probably the only one I'd think, of us, who actually would use a chimney as a viable point of entry in to a home. I... I wouldn't want to risk being known as the one who got stuck inside one, requiring the GCPD to get the jaws of life. That'd be a /little/ too embarrassing, and lead to my voice getting even more laced with jaded undrtones."

She grins toward Kate then. "How is everything else working? Your suit good? Need any upgrades while you're here?"

Kate Kane has posed:
Kate smiles, "Everything is good to go with it. No complaints whatsoever." She takes a sip of the offered cocoa, then sighs, "Oh yes, this definitely is perfection in a steaming cup." She chuckles, "And I'm pretty sure Damian already *has* gone down chimneys, several times in fact. If I didn't know better I think he wanted to be ready to catch Santa Claus in the act so he can get more presents." Her eyes twinkle a bit at that, as she turns to regard the woman on her left.

Kate chuckles after a moment, "You're just too good, you know that right?" She sounds a bit rueful at that, for some reason, taking another sip of her cocoa.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara turns to more face Kate then as she reclines in to the corner of the sofa where it meets its own arm. She raises her right leg up to bend it at the knee and lay it over the cushion, as her cup is held between her hands over her lap now. She flashes a grin at Kate at the Damian comment. "That's not likely to fly anymore. He's like six feet now, taller than I am." She responds, as her cup is raised up for another sip of the silky chocolate deliciousness.

When she lowers it, she flashes a smile then. "Well. I dunno about that. But I had a decade in that cursed chair to try and prepare for a day where I might be able to get out of it again... Call it, years of mental planning on how to improve myself, should I ever get a chance. Turns out I got it, somehow. But, really, all I want to do is help make all of you safer." She pauses, staring at the other and smiling just a little. "We lead ridiculously dangerous lives. I lose sleep over worrying about all of you, admittedly..."

Kate Kane has posed:
Kate smiles, "Well, I always worry about you, Babs. And it's hard to think of Damian as sprouting like that, I still think of him as the obnoxious nephew that loved the authentic Xiphos I got him for his birthday. Guess that means I'm getting a bit old." Not that she's that much older than Barbara, really, but sometimes it's just the mileage.

"And look, you do an amazing job keeping us all safe. And I appreciate that you want to be focused on that. It's just..." She grins, looking a bit sheepish, "You should get out and have fun once in a while. Relax. Take the load off. Burning the candle at both ends isn't going to work long term." She gets a wry smirk, "You don't have to go Total Party Girl like I did, but still... doing a little bit of it, or even just going out with some friends, isn't a bad idea."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Whilst Kate speaks, Babs indulges in another sip of her drink, the feeling of the warmth through the mug feeling good on her hands that she keeps wrapped around the base of. When she lowers it, she has to let out a little laugh, and glance away toward the far side of the room where the fireplace crackles with lit flames dancing within it. "Hey, I get out at least once a week, maybe once every two weeks for Roller Derby. Harley finally recruited me to join her team in Brooklyn... It's been, a learning experience. I'm sure she'd bring you on too. She loves having ringers on the team, as she describes us."

She holds a faint smile then as she listens to the soft Christmas music playing in the background. "I know I should get out more than that, but... living this life takes up a lot of time, ya know?" She raises the drink up for another sip then.

Kate Kane has posed:
Kate laughs, "Oh Roller Derby? Absolutely I'm all in for that. I need to wear a wig and make an alias though, because I don't want any paparazzi tailing me there." She nods, "Yeah, I know. This does take up a lot of time. All the more reason to make some time." She pauses, then looks curiously at Babs, "So... um. What are you doing Christmas night? I imagine you'd be with your family for most of the day, but what about after that?"

Totally innocent question. Really.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara raises her left hand up to stroke some of her red hair back behind her head, the majority of it is tied back in a sloppy bun on the crown of her head, with a random number of locks laying around the sides of her face. She nods her head a few small times toward Kate's summation of Christmas day. "I'll be at my father's until around... Oh... four or five, maybe. We have some cousins coming in from upstate New York that we haven't seen for awhile. But I don't have any plans to stay past 5, at most." She says in response before taking another quick sip of the drink.

When she lowers it she nods a pair of quick times. "I'd be happy to meet you somewhere, though. I /might/ get called in to Wayne Manor, but I'm not sure. I think we're doing something tomorrow night with them... So if we do it tomorrow night, I doubt we'll meet up again Christmas night. But, those Waynes... You never can be sure." She flashes a subtle grin.

"Paparazzi trailing you around seems amusing to me. Maybe I should program some AI phone calls to mislead them, route that in to your fancy new helmet..."

Kate Kane has posed:
Kate laughs softly, "Okay, let's say I pick you up at six, we can hit some parties, mingle, and just have a fun night out. I'd say what's the worst that could happen, but in our line of work that seems like a really bad idea." She winks at Barbara, then hmms, "I'm sure Bruce will have me over for Christmas with most of the family, but I should be free by then."

She grins, "And yeah, I'd love to have that AI thing, just to have the paparazzi leave me alone when I'm being Kate. Which is what I'm planning, so no helmet. We'd actually have a limo. So no designated drivers either." She hmms, "And I really can't wait. You might get a few photos taken while we're out, though. Just a fair warning." She makes a bit of a face at the thought of paparazzi, but they are part and parcel of who she is after all.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The response about the paparazzi has Barbara laughing lightly. She has to shake her head at the very idea of it. "I don't mind having a few pictures taken. But when it gets to people digging through your trash, or chasing you at high speeds down the highways... I'd rather avoid that level of insanity."

She casts a smile over toward Kate. "Limo sounds nice though. As does doing a bit of a Kate Kane Reality Tour with you..." She playfully chides, since the rundown of activities sound oh so very Kate, afterall.

"But yes, believe it or not, I am capable of going out. I just choose not to." She adds with a glance to her left where her computer station resides atop that raised dias. "I like my World of Warcraft, and spying on bad people with my drones, you know?"

Kate Kane has posed:
Kate laughs softly, "Okay, that's fair. And I would never try to take your World of Warcraft or especially spying on bad people away from you. Because that makes it so much easier for me to punch said bad people into next week." She pauses, considering a moment, then she gives Babs a smile.

"But, I'd like to share a bit of myself with you, and see how you like it. And I really would like someone I could trust and respect with me on the Kate Kane Reality Tour." Which sounds like she's going to have T-shirts made for that, based on how she likes the sound of it.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
On the coffee table in front of the leather sofa, Babs' phone vibrates when it gets a ring. She sits forward, laughing lightly again, as she drops her right sneakered foot back down to the rug on the floor. "I'm sure it'll be great, Kate. You're always a blast to hang out with. You're the rock star of this group, afterall, right?" She asks as she sets her cup of hot chocolate down, and raises her phone up to stare at the number. She sets the device back down then, perched on the edge of the sofa now, she shakes her head softly. "Unknown. Likely means someone wanting me on an official capacity. We've been dealing with some work stuff lately, meetings and such all this past week." Babs says with a slight exhale of the stress of those meetings still fresh in her mind.

She turns to look to Kate again, still summoning up a light smile for the other. "So there are ulterior motives to me going out for some fun with you. In so far as to say... I've needed the break."

She glances Kate over in her suit then. "You going out again tonight, for another patrol? Or have you been out at all already tonight?"

Kate Kane has posed:
Kate grins, "I have motives among motives, Babs. But don't worry, my main goal is to make sure we have a good time." She stresses the 'we' ever so slightly, then she nods at the question about patrolling. "I haven't been out to patrol yet, but I figured I'd go out after I was done here. I just wanted to make sure you got some real food in you and not that preprocessed sugar cereal." She grins at Babs.

"And hey, I need to make sure you're working at peak capacity, Babs. Which means I get a bit nosy about how you're taking care of yourself." She smiles a bit wider at that, then finishes her cocoa, "But, I suppose I shouldn't procrastinate the patrol tonight. Despite enjoying the company very much." She rises gracefully to her feet, and winks at Babs, "Plus, this gives me a chance to break in the new toy you got me."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Another laugh is illicited from Barbara at the talk of her cereal. She leans forward to pick her phone, and her cup up, before she rises back up to her full height again. "Don't judge me for my love of cereal... I'm gonna do a hundred laps in the pool come morning. I'll work it off. I always do..." She says with a smirk cast over her left shoulder as she walks back to the stairs leading up to her computer dias level.

"Hook in on the helmet, I'll keep you company while you're out there tonight. I'll have some drones stick close to you too." She states, as she sets her phone down by her main keyboard, gathers up that bowl of creal, and starts back down the steps toward her kitchen. "Thank you for the food and treats too, Kate... I won't argue that I need someone looking after me too..." She smiles warmly across the room toward the Batwoman as she strides back in to her nerdy kitchen of pale greens and sky blues.