“…so we all had to run as fast as we can, and we just barely made it back to Jason’s car before we got in trouble,” Stephanie laughed, watching closely for a smile across the table on Cassandra’s mouth. “So it was a pretty bad night but it’s fun now that we look back on it.” She picked up her small black piece, moving it to another spot on the go board, and nodding. “Your turn.”
There was indeed a smile on the other girl’s lips, but a small, distracted one. She took a few seconds to look at the Go board and made her move, nodding back to Steph. Cass had been able to teach the game to her friend during their free time, and although Stephanie wasn’t particularly good, she seemed to be enjoying herself immensely. They had been playing for a long time now, a single game that had been broken up by Stephanie’s stories, Garfield’s distractions and Cassandra’s own wandering mind.
“You should totally come back home with me some weekend,” Steph grinned as she studied the game. Cassandra looked back up. “Yeah, you should! Jason and Carrie and everyone would love to meet you. Not that I’ve told them anything mind you,” She clarified, and made another move. “Just I think you’d like them, it’d be neat to have more people together. And you could use some fun, don’t deny it.”
Cassandra’s expression was hard to read, but the general idea was clear. How could she go out and enjoy herself, after the message that the Titans had received the day before? Red Hood was in a small conference room with Dinah right that minute, and Cass was still bristling about being left out of the planning. They had to be planning, no matter what they had told her, or refused to say.
“Come on, don’t sulk,” Steph chided her. “It’s your move…” She trailed off, and Cassandra leaned back in her chair, folding her arms as they both noticed what had happened. “Oh wow….I won!” Steph laughed, but quieted down as she looked back at her friend. “You let me win, didn’t you? I never beat you…everything okay?” She asked, then smacked her forehead. “I mean, God, I know it’s not…wanna play again?”
The other girl shook her head and stood, heading out of the room and toward the sunny training grounds outside, with a sound that was just loud enough to be a sigh.
*****
The conference room in Titans Tower was nicely-furnished, meant to be used for everything from meeting with visiting politicians, to holding press conferences, to surprise birthday parties, or whatever else the Titans came up with. Today, the plush chairs and free vending machine gave the room a much less serious air than it deserved. Black Canary and Red Hood sat across from each other at the long table, speaking quietly.
“Thank you for taking the time to be here, it’s saving me a ton of trouble finding Cain,” Dinah said to the man she was coming to trust.
A lip twitched under Red Hood’s mask. “I couldn’t have done anything else with the information. The highest priority is to keep Kasumi safe, and we can meet that goal much better together than we could separately.”
Dinah leaned back in her chair and rested her feet. “So if you’ve got this right, and I’m not saying you haven’t, it’s going to be a pretty rough fight just to get to him.”
“But worth it. Cain’s men and women have been trained extensively, but their powers are minimal when compared to the Titans. Even without Kasumi.”
“I don’t think I’m convinced we have to leave her behind,” Dinah said, still thinking hard. “I don’t really like leaving her out of the conversation, really. It’s her fight, isn’t it? This is going to affect her more than anyone else here.”
Hood’s voice was stern and steady when he spoke. “Do you honestly think that there is no danger of Kasumi losing control if she did confront Cain? Do you think that you can trust her to keep her cool, to continue to restrain herself in the face of the man who turned her into what she is today?”
“She’s come such a long way,” Dinah started to protest, but he could see the doubt in her eyes.
“But is it worth the risk now?”
Dinah thought for a long moment, and then sighed. “Alright. You’re right, and I knew it before. I just want so badly to trust her. She’s a good kid. But I can leave Spoiler here to keep her company and keep her from following.”
“What!?”
Both of the adults turned quickly toward the wall behind them, where the voice had come from. After a moment of silence, the tiny green fly dropped down to the ground and morphed into a fluffy, sheepish green lamb on the floor.
“Beast Boy, you know way better than to be in here without invitation.” Dinah stood with her arms folded across her chest.
He switched back into his normal shape, ignoring Dinah’s reprimand. “What’ve you got against Spoiler, huh? If I remember right, she was the one who got all those HIVE goons, right? She’s awesome, she oughtta come along with us!”
Dinah sighed and put a hand on Garfield’s shoulder. “It’s not that simple, Beast Boy. Spoiler is a whiz kid and we’re lucky to have her, but it’s not going to be the same kind of fight. Cain and his team are some of the most highly-trained fighters in the world. Spoiler just doesn’t have the strength to take them on. We’re hoping someday she might be able to hold her own, with enough training, but right now I’d be too worried. You’d be too worried. She’d be in too much danger for me to let her come.”
Garfield didn’t look convinced, and Hood spoke up. “I believe it would be in Kasumi’s best interest, as well,” he said. “From what I’ve seen, there’s no one better at keeping up a light spirit, and Kasumi will have a very dark spirit indeed. She’ll need a friend. Or she may do something far too reckless.”
“Well, I guess. She is pretty good at that.” Beast Boy gave a long look at Red Hood, and shrugged. “Fine. But don’t anyone say I don’t stick up for her, got it? Nobody messes with the Beast’s girls,” he said more proudly, snapping imaginary suspenders over his costume.
Dinah chuckled, and Red Hood stood, nodding to him. “We will be fine without them, especially with Raven’s help. But you may want to think on a more…mature handle for yourself, while you have the time.”
Black Canary started for the door, sending her orders behind her to the other two. “Gar, you go get the rest of the team together. Hood, meet us at Cain’s location, try to stake out the area if you have time before we join you. I’ll give Spoiler her assignment, and we’ll try to be there in one hour. Let’s go take down Cain.”
Hood nodded and the three of them left the room, but Garfield caught up to Dinah before they ran into anyone else. “Hey…you sure it’s cool to listen to this guy?”
She waited until she was sure that Hood was out of earshot, and then nodded. “I know what you mean. I wish I knew more about him. But I had Oracle do some checking. He seems legit. Even before we ran into him, Red Hood’s been spotted crime-fighting around the area. Moving around a lot, but he’s down in the books as a good guy.”
“Sure that’s enough?” Beast Boy asked in a dark tone that sounded so strange in his mouth.
“Not sure, no. Not a hundred percent. But there’s too much on the line here. Oracle checked her own sources and it’s all pointing to Cain. And if we’re wrong about Hood…well, let’s just hope we’re not. It’d mean too much to be able to catch him now.”
Beast Boy finally nodded, and shifted into a small bird, taking off through the tower’s open center to find the rest of the team.
*****
When her door opened, Cassandra already seemed to know what to expect. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor in a meditative pose, and looked up calmly when Dinah entered, already interpreting the look on the woman’s face. Before Dinah could begin to speak, Cass held up a pad of paper that already read,. “You want me to stay behind.”
Dinah nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. “I think it’s for the best,” she said gently. “Believe me, Cass, it’s a hard decision.”
The pen flew across the paper again. “You are afraid of me?”
“Not like that,” Dinah insisted. “But from what you’ve told us, from what I’ve learned about Cain…” she stopped and sighed. “I’m not afraid of you. But I think he might have too much reason to be. I’m afraid you would get…reckless. I’m afraid
he would get reckless. This could be our only chance for a long time to capture him.”
A new sheet of paper, “I would be calm. I am not happy.” The hand paused again, and Cassandra noticed her own racing heart, the beads of sweat over her brow, and she crossed her own words out. “I understand.”
“You and Spoiler will stay here. And I promise you this,” Dinah continued, “once Cain is captured, you’ll have all the time in the world to face those demons. At whatever pace you need.”
Cassandra put down the paper, nodding slowly and returning to her pose, closing her eyes to end the conversation. The air stayed heavy with still-unspoken fears long after she heard the T-Jet take off, without her.
*****
In a short while, with the speed of the jet and the skill of its pilot, the rest of the Titans were approaching the location of David Cain’s hideout. They had been prepared as fully as Dinah could make them for what they were about to enter—the home base of one of the most dangerous killers in the world, and several of his friends. Dinah was finishing her rundown, looking each present Titan in the eye as she spoke. “Oracle’s going to be monitoring the mission, and she’ll send help if we need it. This is big, really big. So everybody make sure you’re being careful. Are there any more questions?” She asked, just as the five-minute warning call came from the cockpit.
“Still don’t know why Kasumi isn’t here,” Mas had her feet up on the seat in front of her, boots throwing dust into her brother’s hair. “Spoiler, too, why are we going in here weak?”
Black Canary walked through the aisle and swatted Mas’ legs to push them back to the floor. “As I explained before,” she said pointedly, “Kasumi is too close to the situation and opted to stay behind. An offer that will stand for all of you if you ever need it.”
“So, great for the team,” Mas shrugged her shoulders. Menos turned around in his seat to give her a pleading look.
From the other side of the aisle, Raven trained her gaze on the speedster. “You did not seem as though you liked Spoiler enough to be upset about this,” she said matter-of-factly.
“What, really?” Mas turned around in her chair again, “She’s a little peppy for me, but come on, after the stunt she pulled against all those guys? I’m no
idiota, I want us to win this thing!”
Beast Boy leaned forward in his chair as the plane made its descent. “We’re going to win this thing. We just gotta get focused and argue later, okay? I promise, Carla, I’ll be your personal whipping boy once we’re home,” he added with a joking wink.
“Listen to green-genes,
chica,” Cyborg said evenly. “We just gotta do this. So let’s do it.”
“Let’s do it!” Beast Boy echoed, pumping a fist into the air.
Menos leaned back toward his sister again. “Nice of you to worry, though,” he said with a soft chuckle.
Before any other comments could be made, the plane was landing and Canary signaled for them all to get out. “Alright, you all know the drill. Zinda’s going to swoop back every fifteen minutes, and we’re not leaving without everyone we came here with!”
With little more than a nod to one another now that they were on the ground, the Titans made their way forward. They were in front of a large warehouse, reinforced with strong walls and few windows, looking menacing enough to keep away intruders while still being inconspicuous if you weren’t looking closely. There was one main entrance, and only one side door, both carefully guarded.
It was Beast Boy’s job to take care of the guards. The team reached the smaller door first, and he skittered toward it, low on the ground as a field mouse. He drew in his breath and compressed his ribcage, popping out on the other side of the doorframe unnoticed. From his vantage point, he could make out the two armed guards stationed in front. The main floor of the warehouse was wide and mostly-empty, but there were no footfalls that Beast Boy could hear, or feel through his small body. When he was sure that it would go unnoticed for long enough, he shifted quickly into a long, thin snake, jabbing sharp fangs into the ankles of both guards.
They fell to the ground without a loud thud—Beast Boy shaped himself into a large, extremely fluffy sheep and set himself behind them. The thick wool muffled the sound as the guards fell on him, and he let them slide soundlessly to the floor before opening the door for the others. “Coast’s clear. They’ll be out a couple hours, but don’t worry, they’ll get up again,” he grinned to Canary.
“Nice work,” Cyborg smacked Beast Boy’s shoulder proudly. “Now come on, let’s go find our bad guys.”
Dinah reached her hand up to hear ear and nodded at the message she got through her communicator. “Alright team, Oracle’s got her eyes out, and Hood’s on the other side of the building. Be careful, be sneaky, and let’s find Cain.”
*****
“Your move.”
Cassandra’s fingers tapped across the board, and moved another of her black marbles on the go board. She nodded back to Stephanie, and their quiet game continued.
Neither of them had said much since being left behind from the mission. It had only been a short while, the girls didn’t even think that the rest of the team had made it to their destination yet, but it already felt like forever. Cass kept looking over at Stephanie, expecting her usual run of conversation, but the blonde was uncharacteristically preoccupied. Steph didn’t even notice that her next move trapped her, and Cassandra had to snap her fingers in front of her friend’s face in order to tell her that she had lost.
“You wanna do something else?” Steph asked, sighing as she put the board away. When Cass nodded, she continued. “This is so lame…There’s gotta be something we can do, right? Besides sitting here forever?”
Cassandra nodded, having the same thought. She reached for her paper, handwriting still stilted and childish, but growing smoother with every day of practice. “Do you want to practice fighting?”
“Nah, not really,” Steph sighed again, standing and stretching. “Already getting my ass kicked at board games.”
“When you fight better you will go on the missions,” Cass wrote.
“Let’s just face it, I’m never gonna be as cool as you,” Steph chuckled. “But man…you oughtta be there. This whole thing is just lame. And here I am, and how am I supposed to be keeping you from running off to fight…?”
The girls looked at each other again, and they both grinned. Cassandra dropped her pad and went for her room, while Steph bounded up the stairs to her own. “The car still oughta be ready to go on the mainland, I don’t think it’ll be that long a drive if we floor it! If anyone asks, I couldn’t control you, okay, Cass?” she yelled out from her room.
Pulling her costume over her body and her mask tight over her eyes, Cassandra nodded.
*****
On the highest floor of the old warehouse, David Cain paced. The news had just come up to him of the break-in, and he was still deciding what needed to be done about the Teen Titans.
“She isn’t with them? You’re sure?” Cain turned to the woman and man standing behind him, the one with a white veil over her face, the other with a scowl on his aged face.
“We are sure, sir.”
“Then she’ll come,” Cain insisted, continuing to pace the floor, and he nodded, coming to a stop facing them. “She’ll be here. She wouldn’t let her friends suffer alone. Go ahead and fight. Keep them here until she comes. Be careful…my daughter has grown quite attached to these Titans. Don’t kill them unless you have to. Or I’ll have you face
her wrath.”
The man and woman nodded, and swiftly left the room. Cain resumed his pacing, craning his head around the window to look at the jet. She would come to him. She would be his again.
*****
A booted foot slammed into the side of a man’s cheek, and Mas landed on the ground only to leap for her next target. The alarm had sounded only moments ago, when one of Cain’s assassins had finally noticed the Titans inside the building. It had taken only a moment for the large hallway to fill with dangerous fighters, and the Titans were ready for them.
The first line of defense had already gone down, the final member felled by Carla’s kick. These were the people in training, those trying to prove their worth to the League of Assassins by working their way up the ranks. They wouldn’t make it now.
“Cyborg, left! Beast Boy, behind!” Canary called out, her voice self-amplified and warning the boys where their attackers were sneaking up. Her guidance and eagle-eyes gave the Titans an advantage; the four men they were fighting now were highly trained, but each was fighting on his own. With Black Canary’s direction, the Titans were a true team.
One of the assassins pulled out a taser, jamming it into Raven’s back. She went down with a startled cry, and he grinned—only to have the smile wiped from his face an instant later. Menos reached a hand out as he passed by and twisted the taser around, sending the same powerful shock right to the man’s spine. Raven stood again, strong if swaying slightly, as her attacker fell, and Menos grabbed her arm to help her steady herself. “Alright there?”
Raven nodded, turning her attention immediately to the rest of the fight. “Yes, I’ll survive. Healing is one thing I know well.”
“Good thing,” Menos took the time to glance down at the unconscious assassin, before racing back off.
Black Canary’s voice echoed through the hall again, as she leaped away from the sharp dagger held by another of the fighters. “Code Delta, have at it!” She called, ducking down as soon as she heard Cyborg’s footsteps behind her. The unlucky man took a swing just as her head disappeared, and found his arm caught in Cyborg’s shimmering hand.
“Bad luck, man,” Cyborg shrugged, and wrenched the man’s arm backward, popping his shoulder out of its socket.
At the order, Mas y Menos had sped away from the group and down the hall. ‘Delta’ meant that the remaining enemies could be taken care of without them, and that the scouts should keep moving, still trying to search out Cain.
They both skidded to a halt when they found the woman standing in the middle of the hall, waiting calmly with her sword out.
“Turn back, children,” she said in a soft and lilting voice. Her head was veiled, only her eyes uncovered. The rest of her body was mostly bared, tight white fabric covering her chest and woven into a skirt, showing off every strong muscle. The scimitar in her hand was shining with something more than the light in the room.
“Or what?” Mas put up her fists, standing back to back with her brother.
“Or Curare will cut you down,” the woman replied, and charged toward them.
The fight began in a whirlwind of movement. Menos jumped just as Curare was about to reach them, landing on her other side and locking hands with Mas. Together, the twins raced in a circle, drawing the wind around them into a small tornado, with Curare in the center. Mas’ cocky laugh whipped through the room with the air, followed by her angry shout as the scimitar blade sliced through the winds and downward. The strike didn’t hurt very much, but it was precise enough to force the twins to release hands, sending them barreling toward opposite ends of the hall.
“We don’t go down that easy!” Mas called, speeding toward the warrior again.
“Good. Neither do I.” Curare’s sword slashed through the air again, her speed unable to rival that of the twins, but her skill undeniable. Another furious shout rang through the hall as the blade grazed over Mas’ spine.
<”You bitch! Get away from her!”> Menos shouted in Spanish, propelling himself forward even faster. He jumped at just the right moment, his foot coming up into the air exactly as Curare lifted her head toward him. The
crack echoed in the woman’s skull as her head flew back, and she staggered backward.
Another loud sound hit the Twins’ ears, and the fight was over almost before it had begun. Red Hood was standing behind Curare, his own sword in one hand and her dazed body draped over the other. He had heard the fight from another part of the warehouse, and took advantage of the set-up that Juan had given him to slam the hilt of his sword at the back of her neck. There was no expression on the blank face, but his tone was proud. “Nice work. Good timing.”
Mas stood again, gritting her teeth and more determined than ever through the pain in her back, and she nodded at Hood. “Yeah, lucky us.” She turned back to her brother, “Come on, we gotta be close.”
“Sure you’re okay?” Menos asked, grabbing her arm in his, but she tore it away to stand on her own power.
“Just peachy, so let’s go already!”
Before he ran after his sister, who was already halfway down the hall, Menos gave another grateful look to Red Hood. “The others are down the hall, they’ll catch up soon,” he said, and sped off once more, still searching for the team’s true target.
*****
Spoiler and Kasumi had arrived at breakneck speed, following the GPS signal of the T-Jet. From outside the warehouse, they could still hear the thumps and shouts that meant the fight had started without them. The pair wasted no time, bounding straight through the front door.
“Let’s split up, and I’ll yell if I find anyone,” Spoiler tossed a grin to her friend, glad to be back in the action. Kasumi nodded in return, and the girls split. Kasumi ran up one flight of stairs, and Spoiler in the opposite direction.
Steph’s path was unblocked as she made her way up in the warehouse, looking in every room and glancing through every corridor for any sign of life. “Geez, all this time, all that driving, all that worry and no one’s…here…”
She stopped, standing still in the doorway as he turned to face her. “Um… Kasumi. Kasumi!” Steph shouted out as David Cain stepped towards her.
“Ah… Thank you for calling my daughter,” he said with a grin.
“Yeah well… if you want her… you’ll have to go through me first!” Spoiler told him.
“Fine by me,” Cain replied, cracking his knuckles.
*****
Kasumi however was too far away to hear Spoiler as she ran through the building. She quickly came across the bodies of Black Canary and Raven. Checking them, she sighed with relief when she realized they were just unconscious, knocked out by some kind of gas. Hearing the sounds of battle from farther down the corridor, she stood and kept moving.
As she approached the next room, Mas tumbled out to the floor, Menos following shortly behind her. “Speed alone does not a great warrior make,” Kasumi heard a familiar voice say from inside the room. She knelt beside them, making sure the siblings were okay.
“Cass… what are you…” Kasumi held up a finger to silence Menos, before motioning back down the hall towards Raven and Canary.
“See how tough he is if he doesn’t sneak up behind us,” Mas muttered, while getting to her feet. She was about to head back into battle, when Cass put a hand on the other woman’s shoulder. Kasumi nodded towards their two unconscious teammates. “Right,” Mas nodded in understanding. “You just give him one for us,” she told Cass before her and her brother headed back to watch over the others.
“I see you still need training, young one,” Kasumi heard as she looked into the room.
“Yes, Sensei,” came the reply from Curare. She slowly got to her feet, drawing her sword. She moved towards Red Hood as he and Cyborg also got to their feet. It didn’t take long for Cass to figure out what had happened as she looked at the fourth person in the room. Sensei. Despite his age, the elderly man was one of the most dangerous members of the League, responsible for training and disciplining all new recruits. Cass knew his style: he had most likely attacked the Titans from behind, knocking most of them out.
Red Hood ducked as Curare attacked, her own sword clanging off his, while Sensei circled Cyborg, gauging the young man’s defenses. After a few useless attacks against him, Sensei reached into one of his pockets. That was when Kasumi made her move. Pulling off her mask, she dashed between the two, catching the gas pellet Sensei had thrown in the fabric.
Her appearance shocked Sensei for just a second, which was all it took from Cass to slip her mask over his head, the gas pellet exploding inside, causing him to collapse. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Curare’s blade slice Red Hood’s sword cleanly in two.
Red Hood took the defensive, easily avoiding her attacks, while glancing for something to deal with Curare’s weapon. Cass drew her own sword, moving towards the two. “The one who is all!” Curare said. “I have wanted to test my skills against you for a long time.”
Cass merely stepped up, blocking Curare’s first attack. She kept her distance, Curare’s blade designed to cut through all but the hardest substances like a hot knife through butter. But Cass knew her, she had grow up with the other woman, and knew all her moves, her strengths, her weaknesses and every little opening in her defenses.
Like she had just done with Sensei before, Cass took advantage of that knowledge. When Curare made her next attack, Cass struck. She allowed her sword to be shattered. Taking advantage of that millisecond distraction it causes, she slipped past Curare’s defenses, disarming her and knocking her down. Curare’s started to get back to her feet when Red Hood struck again, once more knocking the woman out.
“Thank you,” he said to Cass, but she was already gone, continuing on her search.
*****
“Stay down!” Cain said as he watched Spoiler struggle to her feet. “For some reason my daughter has taken a liking to you. I do not wish to hurt you more then I have to.”
“Tough,” Spoiler spat. The fight had been pretty much one sided. Although Cain was obviously not trying to seriously harm Steph, the blonde seemed to have no intentions of staying down. She stood once more; Cain sighed and prepared attack again, when suddenly Cass was between them, arms wide as she guarded her friend.
“NO!”
Both Cain and Steph gasped in shock at the sound. It was hoarse, from a throat that had never spoken before. But it was strong, unwavering. “Cassandra?” Cain said.
“No!” Cass spoke again. “I… not…weapon! I… am… what I choose!”
Cain looked at his daughter, speechless for what seemed like ages. The three were still standing like that when the rest of the Teen Titans entered the room. Cain looked at this new family his daughter had gained, then he looked back at her and nodded. “Okay,” was all he said before pulling out a smoke pellet and dropping it.
By the time the smoke had cleared, Cain was gone.
*****
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Steph asked a few days later. The police had taken most of the league members into custody; however there was no sign of Cain or Sensei.
Cass nodded, picking up the bag that held what few items she owned when the bus arrived. “Want to find… who I am,” she told her friend.
“You take care,” Cyborg told her, the team gathering around to bid Cass farewell.
“Yeah. It’s going to be too loud without you here,” Carla added.
“You know you’re always welcome here,” Dinah told Cassandra, Cass nodding in return. The rest of the group said goodbye and finally Cass got back to Steph.
“I could always go with you?” Steph suggested, half-jokingly, trying to fight back the tears.
“Must do this… alone,” Cass replied. “You stay. No following.” Steph nodded, giving Cass a big hug.
“Now that's a nice sight,” Garfield said, watching the two embrace. “Hey! What’d you do that for?” he shouted a second later, rubbing the back of his head where Vic had smacked it. Cass gave a soundless chuckle at Gar, got onto the bus and gave the group a final wave. And then she was gone.
For now.
