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Bruce finally let her go for a walk alone. She could have gone completely alone long ago, really, but she didn't want to upset him.
A upset Bruce wasn't angry, dangerous, freeze like like her previous master — they said that was her father, but how could a father treat his daughter like that? Bruce was her father. Whoever Cain was, that wasn't the right word for him — but he was sad, like a cartoon cat, and Cass didn't like seeing him sad. He almost oozed pain, but not physical one. There wasn't a bone she could set to make him feel better.
So she obeyed requests — never orders – that would upset him if disobeyed, instead of evoking laughter-annoyance-love, like when Dickie tumbled down the banister of the manor stairs and ended up doing a somersault. Bruce and Alfie looked worried, which Cass didn't understand. Dickie could have done a much more difficult trick, but then they would definitely have been upset.
But she was distracted. Today she had a mission.
She'd gone out after Batman a couple of times — and even though she wasn't with him, she had Spoiler on the line, so technically Cass wasn't alone — but that was late at night, when the streets were mostly filled with criminals and victims. It was a different story during the day and evening, but she had speech therapy during the day and didn't feel like leaving the house.
So. Evening.
Cass puts on the navy blue sweatshirt she stole from Babs and her favorite star-print leggings. She doesn't look too expensive, but she doesn't look too innocuous either. Cass is sure Bruce would haul her out of the station if she attacked someone in self-defense, but she'd rather just not get caught.
The streets are much busier than they are at night. People are coming home from work and school and scurrying in and out. Damian is probably still in his classes, and Jason and Dickie will be taken home soon. She's not sure where Bruce is, but he'll be fine either way.
Cass isn't exactly familiar with Gotham's neighborhoods, and without Spoiler in her ear, she's a little lost in the streets, but she's confident she can get home in time. Cain compared her to a dog, and while she doesn't understand what's offensive about that, she agrees. And one of the qualities of a good dog is always returning to its owner home. To her dad.
The street is becoming a bit more crowded with trees than the rest of the city. They're arranged in small rows of three, and sometimes there are benches underneath them. These are suspicious benches, and the people around them are also much more suspicious than in the last neighborhood, so Cass quietly climbs a tree and watches from there.
That's how she spends the next hour. She has a few bars in her pocket, so she doesn't go hungry. The bars can also be used instead of popcorn, which Steph likes to eat when she's watching people through the cameras. Cass isn't much fan of popcorn: it's tasty, especially the cheesy kind, but it leaves a nasty feeling on her hands. But watching people is still fun.
She expected them to be bad, but they're not doing anything malicious. People just walk faster than they would in other places and look around and behind themselves more often. It's the sign of a criminal, but also the sign of someone who lives in a dangerous place. Her whole family has similar habits. Cass is sad that so many people in Gotham have these habits.
She sees something happening in an alley and climbs down from the tree, running into the next alley. It takes only a moment to reach the roof. She silently descends on the other side and listens.
They are definitely criminals. They have guns, and a lot of them, although they hide them. The way they cornered a man in the middle of the evening is disgusting. She doesn't know the language they're speaking, but the man looks more irritated than scared, even though he's trying to feign fear. She hears the safety click and is about to jump down and help the man when she realizes it's not one of the bad guys' guns.
Words aren't spoken, but the silence in the alley changes so quickly that they all —including Cass — turn toward the entrance. A tall, broad-shouldered man stands there in a red mask. No, a red helmet. It's Red Hood.
Cass reassesses the situation as Red Hood approaches, silently but dangerously. She can defeat petty criminals — easily. Bruce won't even know she was here. She can defeat Red Hood — but she'll probably attract attention. A witness could get hurt. She could get hurt. Bruce will definitely know.
Red Hood makes some kind of hand gesture, and she translates it before she realizes it's Greek sign language.
"He says get out of the way."
That's not really what he said. Unless it's some other sign language than Greek, those signs were supposed to mean "are you okay?". So Red Hood knows this man. Maybe that's why this man was attacked. So if she intervenes, he won't shoot the man.
The gangsters glance nervously at each other until one of them steps forward. They're all terrified. Cass would be impressed by their willpower if it weren't so stupid. They're no match for the Red Hood. And they obviously know it, because they're speaking English, not the language they used to curse.
"Y-you're tired us of sending us off our territory! W-we paid the last boss well, but y-you! You always want something else!"
The Red Hood makes a couple more gestures. Cass translates them as "what idiots" but the man says, "You're breaking the rules."
If possible, the criminals tense up even more. Batman is trying to keep her — how ridiculous — and Jason and Dickie — she understands why — away from Gotham's underworld, but they know enough about it to protect themselves. Red Hood and his gang have taken over a lot of territory. Fast. Well-coordinated. Tough.
She knows he has a long list of rules for protection. She's heard he kills for breaking key rules.
Cass can't let him kill these people.
Hood takes two more steps forward, forcing the brave man to take two steps back, and at that moment she jumps off the fire escape, landing between Hood and the criminals. She hears the safety click, but realizes it's him again. He doesn't want to accidentally shoot her. Good.
"You can't kill. It's not fair. They should be sent to prison, not shot."
She can't see his expression behind the helmet, but Cass doesn't need to. He's reserved, worried, surprised. None of it looks aggressive, and she takes a step forward. Hood makes a noise that could be taken as a snort, judging by the amusement she sees, and then points at the men behind her. He makes a series of gestures for his translator, which Cass interprets as "Did you see that?" but the man voices it as "Get out. You're lucky the girl intervened."
The criminals flee like rats from a ship. Cass watches them go, memorizing their faces and gait. She and Steph will find them later. She turns to Hood and the remaining man, and examines him for the first time, and it...
"El!"
They look at each other in surprise.
Nathaniel looks completely different from what she's used to. He's not wearing a suit, but a regular hoodie with a picture of two flasks and a lettering, and instead of tailored trousers, he's wearing ripped jeans. For the first time, she notices that he, too, has a hidden gun.
Cass knew her El was connected to people like her. But she hadn't suspected that he...someone's dog, too.
She frowns at the Hood, and apparently exudes enough menace, because he takes a step toward the wall and raises his hands. He looks nervous, confused, what should I do? and tries not to show that he's looking at Nathaniel.
Her handler — her friend — sighs resignedly and sits down to be level with her. He looks worried, irritated, and very tired. She sees sadness in him, the same sadness that Bruce sometimes sees when he looks at Damian. El — El is afraid that he'll lose her.
Cass makes the first move, reaching out and hugging him over his hoodie. They don't hug often, El always tenses up from too much affection, but right now she needs to get this across. She's not going anywhere. She's not leaving him. He's not losing her.
It's not right away, but El hugs her back. She notices his arms tremble slightly and presses closer to him, hoping he understands. That she will protect him. She glares at Hood, and he flinches. Smart.
"He's not hurting you?"
Hood makes a strangled sound, distorted by his helmet, but she's not talking to him. El turns to face her, and there's a strange amusement in it.
"Is that all you care about?"
“Yeah,” she smooths his blond hair back, not surprised when she sees…orange. Okay, she is surprised. Cass had a strong suspicion that Nathaniel’s hair was, in fact, a nice wig, but she hadn’t expected orange. Well. It could be their shared secret. “I just want to know you’re okay. Otherwise,” she turns back to Hood and smiles the way her first and only master taught her. She doesn’t want to admit his lessons can be useful, but she likes when bad people are afraid to hurt the people she loves. “I’m coming for you. With Batman.”
“Batman?”
She nods. El makes a funny noise, and she pats his shoulder, urging him to stand.
“Batman gave my dad his number. I can call him anytime.”
Hood looks confused, surprised, scared. Nathaniel tries not to laugh out loud; she can see it in every cell of his body.
"I– I promise I won't hurt Nathaniel?" He throws a surely panicked glance at the man in question, and he nods. Cass adds, "And promise you won't use him for anything he doesn't like."
She can see why El ended up...one of the Hood's men. He seems like a good bad guy, from what Cass knows. Bruce is wary of him, but Damian — she's not sure how to describe how Dami feels about the Red Hood gang, but he definitely has a soft spot for his right-hand man.
Hm.
Cass stares at the Hood, the way Steph taught her. It works as effectively as her former master's glare.
"Give him to Kestrel. Kestrel is good. I trust him."
The men exchange glances over her head. The Hood looks like he just wants to drop everything and run. This is funny. Nathaniel is one step away from covering his face with his hand — she recognizes that gesture from Alfie. He's tired of the situation, but at the same time he loves the participants too much to be truly angry. And he's also amused by it all.
"I— I'll hand him over to Kestrel. I promise."
Cass nods. Hood nods back. He almost yelps when she leaps onto his shoulders, using him as a springboard to climb the fire escape. El watches her go.
It's only after she's reached Steph's computer club and is playing Hades, which she's been enjoying so much lately, that she realizes Red Hood was supposed to be mute. This is unexpected. She decides to put this information aside for now, because otherwise Bruce will ban her from walking alone for another six months, and Cass wants to run across rooftops.
She has a new mission. She needs to make sure El is living well outside of work. People with good money don't work for crime bosses. Usually.