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“You mean to tell me that he wouldn’t speak around you, just to keep you from speaking, never taught you to read or write,” Jason and his new sister were safely ensconced in Cass’s Hong Kong apartment, curled together on the small couch, as they shared stories about their lives.
“Not a word,” Cass nodded, “wanted me to learn to read language of the body.” Jason thought that sounded horrible.
“You had no way to communicate and you still managed to survive on the streets by yourself. That’s pretty badass Cass. I mean awful, but badass.” Jason couldn’t help but be impressed, he’d lived on the streets too, that sort of handicap would have made it ten times worse. “Our dad sounds like a real piece of work; I hope I never run into him.”
“Me too, he was all I knew for a long time. A bad time.” Cass shivers a tiny bit, definitely a subconscious move. Time to move on to a different topic.
“You know, for twins we don’t look much alike.” It was true, he had spent most of the long voyage back up the river staring at his new sister, memorizing her face. They didn’t share a common feature, except maybe their nose, but noses were pretty generic.
“You take after our father, I look like our mother.” Cass replied with a smile.
“I’m surprised you can look at me then,” Jason said with a sigh. Cass slipped her hand into his, another small soft touch that she liked to ply him with.
“I like to look at you, you don’t look the same. Same eyes, mouth, but mom’s cheekbones, my nose,” she had noticed it too. “You don’t remind me of him, just you.” Jason smiled, glad not to remind his sister of bad memories.
“Bed time,” Cass said, breaking Jason out of his thoughts, it was late, so late it was almost early.
“I’ll sleep here,” he said gesturing to the couch, Cass laughed.
“No, I cannot fit on the couch, your whole legs would hang off. Share the bed.” Jason was uneasy, he’d never had anyone sleep near him, mostly out of fear of attack, but also from his violent nightmares.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, my nightmares can get pretty bad, I kick.”
“So do mine,” Cass said kindly, “so do I, but sleeping next to someone makes it better.” She sounded pretty decisive, and Jason had learned pretty early on that when Cass made up her mind, she was going to get her way. He resigned himself to sharing and went to get ready for bed. He had one of the best nights of sleep he’d ever had, maybe there was something to this sharing a bed thing after all.
It had been a week since they had arrived in Hong Kong. Cass had gone back to doing whatever it was she did during the day, while Jason sat confused and listless around the apartment. Before he met Cass he’d known exactly what the future held- he would continue training while building his reputation as a top-notch assassin, making serious money and traveling the globe doing what he had been trained since nine years old to do. Now however, his promise to Cass not to kill took that plan right off the table. Hence the confusion- while he had been highly educated there wasn’t a diploma or paper trail, how did a guy with no technical schooling get a job?
Was he even still technically alive- all his passports were in fake names, had Jason Todd been declared dead in Gotham after his disappearance? Shit, what did he actually have going for him at all aside from a kick ass sister and the ability to kill a man hundreds of ways (a skill he could no longer use)?
He heard Cass come home, and the rustle of bags she brought with her, but made no move to greet her, trapped in his cyclical thoughts. He felt a tap on his forehead that drew him back to the present.
“Big thoughts?” Cass asked with curiosity painted on her face.
“Ugh, yeah, big thoughts,” Jason agreed without elucidating.
“Wanna talk?”
“No I’m fi-" Jason stopped, it'd never get better if he kept everything inside like he'd done with Shiva, "you know what yeah actually we can talk maybe you’ll have an idea.” Jason told her, Cass sat next to him pulling her legs up and getting comfortable. He turned his body towards her and poured out his frustrations.
“One, I don’t know if I’m legally dead, if I am, do I fight it or just pick an alias? I don’t have a formal education or paperwork so how do I get a job? Do I want a job? What job could I do, do I want to do? What am I supposed to do with my life now? I can’t live on your couch forever.” Jason petered off, his voice hitting a high whining octave that annoyed himself.
“That’s a lot.” Cass stated, grabbing his hand and playing with his fingers like she enjoyed doing. “First, you can stay with me forever, I’d like it.” She beamed up at him and he couldn’t help but to smile back. “We can look and see if you’re dead, research. I think maybe too early for a job or worry about job.” She looked up at him, a thoughtful expression on her face. “What do you like to do- not fighting or training but what other things do you like?”
Jason thought for a few minutes, he’d really not been allowed to do too much, no real hobbies aside from weapon maintenance and practicing his skills, but there were some things.
“I like to read, I never got to read anything other than schoolwork but some of the books were fascinating. I like to cook, I always had to for myself- simple things: high protein, carbs for energy, fuel basically but I think I’d like to experiment if I could.” Jason felt good about this, he was on a roll. “Languages, I like to learn new languages, I’m pretty good at it. Physical things- not just training, but things that get the muscles going, we used to play street soccer a lot in Gotham, I picked up basketball while working in Detroit. I liked learning to do first aid, sewing people up, helping them instead of hurting.” Cass held up a hand to stop him,
“Lots of jobs, writer, chef, translator, trainer, doctor, but worry about that later. We should do these things. You can cook, I don’t like it. We’ll get some books, teach me another language or I can teach you sign language,” Jason nodded smiling. “Not good for you to stay in all day and night thinking, get out and do.”
He listened to his wise sister, instead of haunting the couch all day he went out. He explored the neighborhood, found a bookstore and bought an armload of used books, played Mahjong with some older gentlemen in the park, and took over cooking their meals. Cass was most appreciative of the last one, always complimenting his food and taking him to local restaurants so he could find new recipes he wanted to try. His favorite so far being Tang Yuan dumplings.
Jason had just finished making those same dumplings and some Orange Chicken, and was waiting for Cass to return from the LaundrYup so they could eat. He wanted to talk to Cass tonight, he had been watching her, and though their relationship was still young, he noticed some signs that she was hiding something. Standing by the window a lot, sighing, her reaction times were a little off when they spared, agitation when certain stories broke on the news, whatever it was that was bothering her Jason wanted her to know she could talk to him. After all, talking to her had helped him greatly, maybe he could repay the favor.
Of course, it was also his anxiety kicking into high gear- maybe she wanted him to leave but felt bad for him, maybe she couldn’t afford the both of them and needed a second job. Did she have a first job? He didn’t know how she got her money, he should look into that actually.
“Why you think so hard?” Cass’s voice dumped him out of his thoughts, he jumped sky high and poked a hole in one of the dumplings he’d been scooping out of the steamer. When had she gotten home? Better question, when had he gotten comfortable enough here to let his guard down enough for her to sneak up on him?
“Thinking about you.” He told her truthfully as he gathered up plates, utensils and drinks for their dinner.
“Aww, cute, why you think about me so hard?” She asked, helping him after watching him juggle their drinks for a while. They sat everything down on their coffee table, arranging it just so, to take up some time, not knowing where to start. He sighed and just grabbed the bull by the horns.
“You’ve been acting off,” he starts off with, “like something’s wrong, is it something I can help with?” She paused where she was stuffing a dumpling in her face, chewed slowly, taking her time formulating her answer.
“Need to tell you something, big something, not sure how you will like it.” She paused, her lips twisting before she admitted, “I want you to like it.” Okay, that meant most of his worst fears about what this could be were unfounded.
“I’m sure I will then, if it’s something important to you, something you like.”
“Very important, big part of me.” Oh, he thinks he knows where this is going. He puts his plate down and turns towards her, he had never had anyone come out to him before, he wanted to be ready to support his twin.
“Okay, lay it on me.” She nodded, then straightened her shoulders. Here we go, he thought.
“I’m a vigilante,”
“I accept- wait you’re what now?” He must look like a goldfish, opening and closing his mouth like a fool. What?!?
“You’re mad,” Cass said quietly, shrinking in on herself. Jason shook his head then grabbed for Cass’s hand.
“Not mad, look at me, read me,” he demanded reassuring her. She studied him for a moment before relaxing.
“Confused,” she said, “why?”
“I, well honestly I thought you were going to tell me you’re gay, this is just an unexpected brain shift.” He smiled at her and she grinned back.
“Am gay, but I never thought you’d be mad about that.” She admitted, he laughed.
“Ditto, I’m gay too for the record, well bi,” he told her before getting serious. “Okay so explain the vigilante thing to me.”
And explain she did, tripping over her words in her excitement. Cass told him, cautiously at first, about how it allowed her a safe way to use her training, and kept her skills sharp. But as she went on it became more about helping people, saving them, making up for the death she’d caused, and most importantly about the sense of family she had with the other vigilante’s she worked with. By the time she was winding down she was practically begging him to come out with her that night, just to watch at first, to see if maybe it was something he’d like to do with her. Of course, there was only one thing he could say in the face of his sister’s excitement.
“Yes, I’ll come out with you, it’ll be fun, right?”
Fun might have been a little too far. It was a nice night, weather wise, so that was a plus. But the mask she had him wear was too small and pinched the corners of his eyes, and made his peripheral vision all out of whack. Also, it was kind of boring, Cass hadn’t gone out since he got there, so she didn’t have any solid cases, they were just swinging around the city (swinging was the best part), waiting for something to happen. He was doing his best to keep his body language happy and upbeat, but he was honestly bored.
He was aimlessly star gazing when Cass turned to him with a mischievous grin, she gently booped him on the nose.
“Tag, you’re it,” she said before taking off, grappling gracefully to the next rooftop. Oh, it was on. He jumped up and took off chasing after his sister’s laughter. They ran from rooftop to rooftop, chasing, tagging and running away in turn, his chest hurt from laughing so much, and his cheeks were straining from all the smiling. It was the happiest he could ever remember being.
That was interrupted by a startled shout, they had recently crossed into Sham Shui Po district, and while it might have nothing on Crime Alley, it was a favorite of petty criminals. They both made a quick jump to the next roof and swung down to the fire escape. Below them an enterprising young man in a shoddily tied bandana mask and a shakily held knife was trying to divest a tired looking man in a retail uniform of his wallet, phone and watch. Cass put up both hands in Y shape and pressed them downwards. One of the first signs he learned, Stay.
He nodded and sat back as Cass dropped soundlessly to the ground behind the assailant. She applied negligible force, honestly, and used very little in the way of her prodigious skill, but still had him unarmed and restrained in seconds. She and the man spoke quickly, though Jason couldn’t hear them, and when they finished the man turned away and walked back to the safety of the street lights and Cass made a call to the local police.
He thought that might be the end of their night, but the real trouble came on the walk back towards home. Laughter and jeering could be heard coming from an alleyway, not the light hearted laughter from earlier, but cruel, mean-spirited amusement.
They entered the alley, melting into the shadows, what they found there made Jason see red. A gang of nine men had two teenage girls trapped in a circle, they were jeering and catcalling, reaching out to tug on the girl’s school uniform skirts, and trying to untuck their shirts. Both girls were crying, holding their bookbags tightly in front of them, shying away from grasping hands. Jason took a step forward to handle the situation but Cass grabbed his arm, motioning him to stay there, to stop anyone from escaping while she handled them.
Cass attacked in a whirlwind, high kicks to the head, flat palmed strikes to the face, she whirled her way into the circle and pushed the girls back, so they were to a wall, protected by brick on one side and Cass on the other. The gang seemed split, a few stupider ones just saw another victim to play with and pulled out knives and one even had a length of chain. The smarter ones started edging backwards, ready to escape, however Jason lay waiting for them at their exit.
After Cass had knocked out six of the nine the remainder went to flee, however they bumped right into the stone wall that was Jason. He smiled, a deathly rictus that had once made a man at a bar piss himself, then started to take down his own portion. A few heavy punches had two down for the count, the last one brandished a knife, with one wrist strike Jason was wielding the knife himself. He advanced on the trembling man, knife held in an underhanded grip. He could feel Cass’s eyes on him, watching but not stopping, as if she trusted him not to do anything he shouldn’t, he felt buoyed by her trust.
“You are so lucky,” Jason told the man, with a shake of his head before hitting him in the head with the butt of the knife. This time he made the call to the police, while Cass calmed the two girls. They were wary of Jason so he patiently followed them from the rooftops while Cass escorted them home.
Afterwards they returned to their home, a little wired from the fight but done for the night, after showering and getting ready for bed they laid there, both consumed with thoughts, sleep a far distant dream.
“How did you know I wouldn’t kill him tonight?” Jason asked, finally caving in to his curiosity.
“You promised,” she replied simply, “you have honor, wouldn’t break a promise.” He smiled in the dark, basking in the faith his sister had in him, making him resolve even harder not to let her down. Make no mistake, he still fully believed that some people deserved to die, and those men did for what they had planned for the two little girls. But the memory of the grief and pain on Cass’s face when he killed their mother held him to the new path he had chosen.
“Some of them deserve death,” he said.
“Maybe,” he felt her shrug. “But that is not our job,” she said, “we are like police- not judge, not jury. We stop, we aren’t god.” He mulled that over, and could agree. If he thought of it that way, they were like another leg of the justice system, just another cog, not the whole machine.
“Did you like?” Cass asked him while he was ruminating.
“I did, it was nice to stretch the muscles so to speak, I’ll have to see about the case work you were talking about earlier, not sure I’m much of a detective, but I liked it.” He had honestly, sure some of it had been boring, but he felt good about helping, saving those girls.
“You’ll come out with me, be vigilante too?”
“Yeah, someone needs to watch your back.” He smirked as she elbowed him. He wiggled around getting comfortable, when one last question pulled at his mind.
“Hey Cassie, you don’t have a job, right? Where are we getting the money to afford this apartment?” She giggled and turned over, ignoring him. “Cass, seriously, where?”