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Constance was busying herself by reading a newspaper. It was a slow day; there wasn't much for her to do. She worked as a general surgeon. It was rare that there was nothing to do, but when these days came by…it was just awful.

The newspaper wasn't much help, most of the front page was miserable stories that the press loved to dress up and show it to the world. On the third page there was a dedication to the latest serial murders done by the criminal known as Killer Moth. Essentially a weak man compared to the rest of Gotham's freaks, but a murderous swine in the end.

Constance glanced at the clock, running her hand through her hair; it was a habit she picked up from her mother, Harleen White.

There was a shuffle in the corner, and the surgeon asked herself if someone else in the room. She hadn't noticed anyone come in, and yet she turned around to see another female standing over her, so close that her face was right next to Constance's.

"Boo." Annie said, grinning madly. She was a light brown haired female that had a lean built body, with light blue eyes that didn't seem to go well with her at all. "What a pretty thing you are, today…" Annie glanced at the title of the page Constance was reading in the newspaper, "What are you doing with this depressing trash?" She said in a suggestive tone, reaching down to take the newspaper away from Constance. Annie was a big flirt, much like Constance was to her superiors, however unlike Constance Annie liked to do more than flirting, which was more her own personal interest than the surgeon's.

"Hmm, I don't know, maybe reading?" Constance indulged in Annie's flirting game, pushing the other out of her face, before she could take her newspaper. "And get your own." She scolded, she hated it when people read over her shoulder; it was creepy.

"Hey! Okay, jeez." Annie sat down in a chair, in the far corner opposite of Constance. She knew when to stop with the flirting, but she liked to test where her limits were. She waited for Constance to say something, but she didn't say anything for a while since she was finishing reading the column.

"You know I hate it when you come in my office between shifts." Constance groused suddenly, as she folded the papers onto her desk. "I already get enough trouble from my associates."

"Why? Think people will get ideas?" Annie sighed, fairly bored from being ignored for some second rate writer. She slumped in her chair and held her hand up with her palm, her fingers caressed against her cheek.

Constance frowned, tapping her fingers on her desk to discourage Annie from staying long. As much as she wanted to encourage a good attitude from her, she was hardly up to humoring her desire for close contact. "Yes. This is my work, maybe we could hang out after I get-" She started to talk; having a clear line between on-duty and off-duty, something Annie didn't seem to have. If she did, she wasn't aware of it because she didn't know Annie's personal life too well.

"Can't." Annie cut the working girl off, sitting up straight and stretching, "I have things to do during the time you're off. And doc, I just love you so much I simply must see you." She grinned, glancing at Constance's cat calendar that was hung up by the door.

"I don't see why you still hang around; I sewed you up a year ago. I'm sure you have more important things to do." Constance exasperated, her mind flickering back to when she first met Annie. It had been…interesting to say in the least. Often she'd work on villains who suffered injuries mainly caused by the city's dark knight, but Annie was more difficult. For mainly two reasons, One, she was an alien, and was a hybrid too. So she shared anatomy that was both similar and dissimilar to a human's. Two, she clearly had been in a hell of a fight. It didn't look like a fight with a goody-goody boy scout, but rather another much larger and brutal scoundrel too. One of those fight-or-die ordeals.

Annie giggled; she had an eerie laugh that seemed to reflect how twisted she was deep down. Constance suspected - or a better word for it would be theorized – that it was due to some childhood trauma. But not knowing exactly Annie's species, Constance could never be for certain why the young woman was the way she was. For the past year Annie wandered around like an alley cat, making some more of contact with Constance, and every time, never - in any conversation, note, or otherwise - had Annie ever mentioned about her childhood.

"I want to be here when you finally do that one thing that'll never happen." Annie slurred, snapping Constance out of her thoughts. The surgeon glanced up at her ex-patient, watching her gaze. Constance wasn't exactly sure if Annie was trying to be amusing, or trying to get on her nerves. The "one thing" mentioned was that Constance wanted to change the criminals she saved. She figured if she showed them the least bit of kindness, they would change their ways. Despite not doing so, they kept running back to her.

"I'll just call you when it happens." She offered, leaning back to study Annie, Thinking back, she was her first "evil" patient, and not to mention her first failure. After that, Constance failed at her goal a lot. That amused Annie. It amused her that she couldn't change people.

Annie stood up and walked over, and leaned herself in close, "Why not discuss it over a dinner? " She asked eager to try and at least get to know Constance more. "I hardly know anything else about you…" Annie whined, "You're always so …formal."

"Maybe you should just do like I suggested, and stop bothering me at work." Constance suggested, raising her eye brow. She wondered why Annie never bothered her off work, and why only during the week days. After all she didn't always work weekends, so Annie had plenty of time to bug her then.

"Maybe tonight I'll come over, with some roses…wine…" Annie proposed with a content look on her face, trying to win over Constance to her side.

Suddenly the door opened, an orderly stood in the door way. The young man stared in surprise at the two ladies, "I- I'm…uh, just came to give this to you." He explained, not sure if he would be in trouble for interrupting.

Constance shot up, her hand pressed against Annie's face, pushing the other away. "I have work to do," She said to her, grabbing the clipboard containing the medical report, she closed the door, leaving Annie with her crazy thoughts.

"Hmmm…."
_________

Constance glanced down at the battered body of Killer Moth. She didn't know how she was going to save him. The operation wasn't scheduled until tonight anyway; the rooms were crowded with other patients and over-crowded with doctors already. She glanced down, gently removing her mask. She saw a man who could stop this pain, stop his way of crime. In essence, she saw someone who could become a good man.

"Hey there…" she said softly, pulling up a chair so she could sit by him, "I'm going to be your doctor." She placed her hand gently over his. His were large, but also bruised and weak.

"Hello…" He said softly, possibly responding to the warm environment she was creating. Killer Moth glanced up to see his doctor, smiling. She had been by Killer Moth's side for some time now, just talking, trying to calm him before she fixed him up. Make him better.

"Why do you do this?" Constance asked, finally.

Killer Moth looked up at her, "Why wouldn't I?" He showed no remorse really for killing those people.

Constance frowned, frustrated. Why wouldn't he change? Why? She had shown him nothing but kindness, trying to get him on the right path! And here he was, smiling like he did nothing wrong.

She could feel herself grow hot with rage, which wasn't like her. She usually kept her cool, but she was afraid that this time she would go off the handle. "I have to go outside." She stammered, pinching her nose to help distract her from the remorseless murderer beside her. She caught a glimpse of him smiling. Smiling after murdering that family, that lonely neighbor, and who knows who else. He was so happy. He didn't deserve to be happy.

She could imagine herself stabbing Killer Mother over and over, until he was chopped up into neat tiny pieces.

Constance found herself sitting outside of the hospital; she was sitting on the stairs that lead to the grand and wide entrance. It was a nice place, she had to admit. But she found her co-workers…to be trash.

She saw Cadence, a southern big mouth, who was only here because her father was rich and important to the hospital's funding. She usually avoided her, since she clearly disapproved of how kindly she treated the injured criminals, and Constance tried to avoid her also. But today was the day Cadence was drunk to high hell, running around the hospital grounds, off-duty, and no doubt to make a scene in front of her colleagues. Today the bets were off.

"C-Constance, "she slurred, staggering towards the upset surgeon, "Hey..hey..want to know what I think of you?" Cadence spat an annoying giggle that was not like that contagious giggle Annie had in comparison.

"Cadence, you're drunk. Maybe you should go home." She suggested, standing up to ward off against Cadence, in case there was violence involved.

"Ha-ha…You're so…hic…funny." Cadence leaned forward, toppling onto Constance, who supported her. "I think…you're an idiot…not…-hic- because you're cold, but ...Because you can sit down next to…those those…freaks and be so nice to 'em…ha-ha…" She pulled herself up so she could whisper into Constance's ear. "I think you're a freak, just like them too."

Constance forced that conversation to stop early. An operating room had finally been opened to practice on her next patient.

"Just like them, huh?" she repeated to herself out loud, not believing what was just said to her.

The surgeon rubbed her face with cold water, frustrated at Cadence's drunken slurs. This was it, this was the moment where she would fix Killer Moth, let him out into the world where he would do what he would always do; cause harm, kill somebody, get the tar beaten out of him by Batman and then end up back here. She would try to be nice him, try to change him, but the circle would go on and on, until one of them stopped, or died.

Two orderlies pushed the cart that supported Killer Moth, they stopped, so he was next to her. Final words and all those things were in order about now, she supposed.

"Hello…doctor." He smiled, he seemed eager to be put back together. Constance looked down at him, not sure how she was feeling about this whole thing. She could feel one side of her want to fix Humpty Dumpty so he could sit on the wall again. On the other hand, the other side, she wanted to push him off of the wall and mock all the broken pieces.

"Are you going to change?" She asked, her face was sealed in a frown as she glanced down at him, ignoring his greeting.

"Again.Why would I?"

Constance could feel herself slipping to the push-him-off-the-wall side.
Annie sneaked by the hospital guards, with ease too, since she was using that neat trick. She was well dressed than she normally was; she had on a plain black T shirt and blue jeans on. It wasn't those cheap holey jeans; it was those nice ones kids had to wear for uniform. She could have passed as any hospital visitor.
She held a rose in her right hand and an expensive bottle of wine in her left. Sure, without that money she couldn't eat for a few days but she knew it would be worth it. She walked into Constance's office with a pleased look and an accomplished skip to her walk, but what she saw nearly zapped the life right out of her.

She saw Constance sitting in her chair sobbing, her sleeves were bloody and tears streaked down her face. Annie walked in slowly, her footsteps awoken Constance, metaphorically. She wasn't too happy that the first person she saw was Annie, expecting the girl to come right out and start mocking her. Annie may have left that impression on Constance, despite having never smiled when talking about the things she's done.

"Hey champ," Annie soothed, as she came closer she could see no cuts on Constance, so she figured something went wrong during work. "What's wrong?" She sat down, this time next to her instead of across from her.

Constance stood up and shoved Annie into the wall with her hands, her fury for once showing itself. "Why? Is this funny to you?" She screeched, her face red from tears and anger. Annie stood there, dumbstruck, suddenly worried and not so turned on by Constance now. But she did feel something must have gone wrong during the practice.

"Is it so wrong that I want people to change for the better?" Constance continued to verbally harm Annie, dominating over the weaker minded one. "Is it wrong that I don't want to see you back here bleeding to death?!"
Constance was so sick of this, so sick of giving and giving and not getting any thing back. She was sick of Batman, sick of how he let them repeat a cycle. It was revolting that the people of Gotham called him a hero. Though she finally did what he couldn't do: end it.

Annie stood there, taking this all in. She thought about all the times she joked about how much Constance wanted to change people; she thought how much she ignored the chances to help her. She also thought about how she failed her…

Annie glanced down to the blood stains on her shirt; Constance's fists had feebly pounded on Annie's shoulders during her outburst. The wine bottle was broken on the floor, the rose crushed under Constance's red-stained work shoe.

"Why won't any of them ever change?" Constance asked, closing her eyes, she didn't notice how nervous Annie was. Annie had already figured that Constance had killed someone, most likely a criminal. And Annie was one herself. So what was to stop Constance from killing her?
But…looking down at those crying eyes she didn't see a killer, she saw a woman who spent so much of her life trying to help people only to be spat on. She only wanted to help others…

Annie placed her hands on Constance's face, and tilted it up. "I'll change for you." She promised, smiling with that grin she had when she first met her. She wanted to give her the thing she wanted most, because if Constance was happy, she was happy. She would do it for her, even if it wouldn't save her now.