The Fox and Hawk

THE FOX AND HAWK by BILLA1

Disclaimer: The Characters Batman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Superman, Vixen & Flash their respective secret identities are all owned by DC Comics. This story is intended for my own pleasure and is not for profit. It has been posted to this site for others to read. Places and characters not own by DC Comics are my own creation. This story is based on characters from The Justice League Unlimited Animated Series episode: Wake the Dead written by Dwayne McDuffie and Bruce Timm. Major thanks to Merlin Missy for her beta on this story.

The Fox And Hawk

Rating: (PG)

Synopsis: SPOILER: Shayera Hol and Mari Jiwe Macabe meet in the Watchtower cafeteria after Wake the Dead.

"How much was it?" asked Mari Jiwe Macabe, also known as the Vixen.

The cashier had an uneasy look on her face. She mumbled something under her breath about not wanting to get caught between elephants mating and finally answered Macabe sheepishly.

"It was seven dollars and forty-five cents."

Macabe smiled at the cashier, "Did she pay for it?"

"No," the cashier answered frowning. "She's on Superman's account for the next two weeks until her account is established."

Macabe's smile widened a little bit. She looked down at the cashier's name tag and back into the woman's eyes. "Helen. Helen, please put her lunch on my account. Lunch, today and tomorrow, okay?"

"But she's Superman's guest," the nervous woman stammered.

"Yes, she is. But for lunch today and tomorrow she's mine." Macabe stopped smiling and glared at the woman. "Okay?"

Helen nodded, picked up a pencil and wrote the billing correction on a pad of paper near the register. She nervously smiled at Macabe who smiled back.

"Thanks," Macabe said softly, her eyes twinkling as she looked at Helen. "It's very important to me to pay my debts."

Macabe turned from the cashier and looked out into the cafeteria. There weren't many heroes in there today eating lunch but even if there had been a crowd it would have been easy to spot the winged woman.

She was sitting in a corner by herself with her back to the door and to the other lunch room patrons. Macabe took a deep breath, let it out slowly and stood a little straighter. Showtime! She strutted to the table where the winged woman sat.

Without asking permission or waiting for an acknowledgment of her presence, she sat down at the table. Shayera Hol looked up.

"How's the special?" Macabe asked.

"It's not," Hol answered. "I'd like to be alone."

Go be Marlene Dietrich some place else. "That's fine with me," Macabe whispered leaning forward. "But you didn't need to come back here to be alone. You could have been alone anywhere."

Hol started to stand up. "Apparently I can't be alone here."

Macabe smiled. "Stay. Sit. You can be alone if that's what you want. I'll leave. The thing with Grundy could have been very bad for me today. I just wanted to come over and say thanks."

Hol nodded and sat back down.

You could at least say "You're welcome." Macabe continued, "I read in the file that Grundy was your friend." She paused, nervously drummed her fingers on the table for a moment and then looked Hol in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I know what it's like to have to kill someone to protect the innocent."

Macabe sighed deeply. "I had to kill family."

Hol looked up. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm not. It was necessary - just like it was for you today."

Hol nodded her head, understanding.

Macabe leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. She then leaned forward and spoke in a low voice. "When I was a little girl, my father told me the fable of the Wolf and the Shepherds. It goes like this: A wolf, passing by, saw some shepherds in a hut eating a leg of lamb for dinner. Approaching them, the wolf said, "What a clamor you would raise if I were to do the same as you are doing."

Not seeing a reaction from the woman seated opposite her, Macabe stood up. "The lesson from this story is some are too apt to condemn in others the very things they do themselves."

Macabe tapped the table once and said, "Lunch is on me. Oh. By the way, I didn't see 'Old Yeller' in his movie collection at his apartment. I guess he outgrew that." She smirked, "Nothing there but John Wayne movies."

Hol smiled and in a soft voice said, "He's a good man."

Leaning over the table, Macabe answered, "Yes he is. A very good man. Maybe someday, we'll get together and compare notes."

"Someday," Hol answered.

Turning to walk away, Macabe grinned, "See you around campus and domo arigato gozaimasu."

As she walked away, she heard the winged woman say softly, "Gomen nasai. Dou itashimasshite."

Macabe stopped, spun around and stood next to woman.

"Get out of here," she laughed. "Did you just say 'excuse me' and 'you're welcome' in Japanese?"

Hol smiled.

Macabe giggled. "My, my. I may have underestimated you. What are you doing for lunch tomorrow?"

"If you're buying, I'm right here."

Macabe sat back down at the table across from the winged woman. "Yes indeed, Shayera Hol. I may have underestimated you."

John's stomach rumbled, reminding him it was lunchtime. The cafeteria would probably be busy, but he could grab a sandwich and go, he reasoned. If he was very lucky, he wouldn't run into either of his two biggest preoccupations along the way.

It wasn't especially busy, he could tell from the rumble of conversations he heard. He heard ... That was Mari. He knew her laugh anywhere.

John glanced down the hallway --- no one looking his way --- then risked a quick peek into the cafeteria. Sure enough, Mari was sitting at a table in the corner. She was not alone.

His first impulse was to rush in before the bloodshed began. His second was to stay where he was and reconnoiter. The two women were talking, too quietly for him to eavesdrop. Shayera said something that made Mari giggle.

Appetite gone, John wondered how much groveling it would take for the Guardians to assign him to the next available deep space mission.

END