Black Bat #1 – Rebirth
All characters who appear in this script are the property of DC Comics. This is just a fanfiction issue made by a fan who wants to read about Cassandra Cain, even if he has to write it himself.
It's not made to be sold or distributed in any way. It's pure nonprofit.
I have tried to keep things up to date but seeing how many facts are still vague in the new DCU a lot of things will probably be of recent comments by Gail Simmone we can aren't sure if Cassandra even was Batgirl.
This can be seen as the beginning of a run or a the frist part of a mini. By issue 4 I will have ended the Rebirth-arc and there will be a setup for future stories and a new setting, supporting characters and so on.
Still read it and enjoy it =)
Writer: Oscar Andréasson
Introduction page:
She is Cassandra Cain. A young girl at 16 who have faced more hardships then anyone ever should. Raised to be a child of violence and murder she became the second Batgirl. A weapon to be aimed at the people who prey on others. A girl who could read peoples body movements like we read language. Understand what the shift in your stance, the sudden movement of an elbow would lead to and answer it with a counteraction.
Bruce Wayne refocused her life and actions to serve something bigger than them both. The virtues and values of Justice.
Barbara Gordon let her continue her legacy as Batgirl. Trusting the girl with one of her most valuable gifts she had. In return she got a dear friend, a sister by bond rather then blood.
Later on Bruce left the city to renew his purpose. He left Cass in the city, trusting his old friend Harvey Dent to guard Gotham and it's inhabitants. Dent failed and Deathstroke the Terminator captured Cass. A man who believed that Batman and Robin had stolen his own daughter to fight with them as a hero. He then thought he would do the same and steal Cass to be his lost daughter of crime. Justice for a twisted man.
Cassandra was forgotten and misunderstood by the heroes she had fought with. Only one person in the end believed enough in her to question this recent conversation to Evil. Tim Drake had seen the effects of Deathstroke and his serum before and as robin he had been close to Cass. He took a gamble and injected her with an antidote. It worked.
Still Cass was not the same. Having lost her ability to read body language affected her severely. She instead gained a full understanding of at least 2 languages. The serum Deathstroke injected her with changed her neural patterns. Where it elevated Deathstroke to something higher then man it just made Cassandra normal.
Now she calls herself Black Bat. But she doesn't feel whole, she feels lost. So she seeks out a way to repair what has been done
Page 1:
Panel 1(Large): In the dessert. A dessert storm is ravaging the land. It leaves nothing but destruction and chaos in the sands.
Panel 2 : A city is seen in the center of the storm. It's unaffected by the storm.
Page 2:
Panel 1-3: The city is made of simple clay houses. A road passes through the street.
We follow it. It leads to a large cave.
Panel 4-5: Inside the cave it's silent and eerie. Deep within it in the darkness a single shape can be discerned from the darkness. It's a girl.
Page 3:
Panel 1: The Girl is Cassandra Cain. She's meditating. Sitting cross-legged. Her cloths are simple, they look ceremonial. Her hair is shoulder length. Its messy and gives the appearance that she hasn't taken care of it. Her face has a scar on the right cheek. The result of some injury, it looks like a knife wound or at least something sharp.
Panel 2 (large): A vision appears in the darkness in front of her. It's like a hologram, a dream painted on the blackness.
It shows a young girl being instructed in swinging a weapon. The man instructing her looks at her with pride.
Caption: Before words there where movements. The man taught her how to read them, speak them. He showed her how to kill. Precise movements, clear and focused. He taught her to talk the language of combat.
Page 4-5:
Double spread:
Inside the cave we can see Cassandra sitting with the back towards us. Above her visions appear. From left to right a series of visions appear in a bow above her. Small scenes painted in a way that makes it resemble projections on smoke. Windows to the past.
First: A young Cassandra (age 4-5) is standing in a room with David Cain(age 40). David has given her a present. The box is opened and Cassandra is lifting a tanto dagger from it.
Caption belonging to it: He was her first father, a man far from perfect. Still he loved her. The only way a man who teaches his daughter to kill can.
Second: Cassandra is wearing a black stealth suit and hiding outside of a window of a large house. She is standing on a ledge left of the window. Inside the window a couple of businessmen are discussing. In her belt the dagger is attached.
Third: She is inside the room fighting some bodyguards. One of the businessmen are standing behind the guards and looking scared.
Fourth: A man is dead. Lying with his back limp over the back of the chair. The dagger impaled in in his chest . A frightened Cassandra is looking at him. From her left hand blood is dripping.
Caption: Before his death he was no one for her. Now in death he has changed her life.
Five: Cassandra is walking in a crowd of people. Her stealth suit still on. On top of her suit she has a large coat, trying to hide the armor. Trying to blend in. Above her on a rooftop a silhouette of a man can be seen. The man is searching for her.
Caption: She fled. From murder, from her father, from her life. She fled from herself.
Six: Cassandra living homeless in the streets of Gotham. Hurdled up with some other poor people trying to shield themselves from the cold wind.
Caption: A girl with no future and too much past. The kind of girl Gotham devourers and thrives on.
Page 6:
First panel: A picture of Gotham city being cracked in the middle. Parting the picture in two halves.
Second panel: A view of a street in Gotham. All the buildings are damaged by the quake and the street is in bad shape, cars are turned over and parked everywhere.
In the center a building is burning. Looters running outside of it. One of them holding a Molotov cocktail.
Third panel: The same street that we saw Cassandra being homeless on before. The difference is that now many more have joined her in poverty and despair.
Fourth panel: The same bunch. All of them looking weak and sickly. Dying from starvation.
Caption: Someone needed to bring them food. She was… I was young. Strong. So I went.
Panel 5: Cassandra wearing clothes that are worn and ragged. In her hands she is holding a bag of food. She is jumping between some damaged parts of a road. In the middle of the road it has cracked open into a gaping hole. She is jumping at the sides where large chunks of the road and destroyed buildings are making it hard to move.
Panel 6: A girl is holding Cassandra's hand. Helping her to get over a pile of rubble. The girl is smiling at her.
Caption: I was spotted by one of Oracles men.
Page 7:
Panel 1(Large): Oracle tower. Barbara is in a wheelchair in front of a lot of monitors. She is smiling at Cassandra.
Caption: I was introduced to Barbara Gordon. The Oracle of information. She didn't know who I was but she trusted me. She asked me if I wanted to help.
Panel 2: Cassandra sitting and watching Barbara instructing people from her behind her monitors.
Caption: She was not like my father. She felt and moved with a glow, a glow that drew me to her. She became my older sister, my mother. Every female role you can think of. For a short time she was my world.
Panel 3: Batman is standing in Oracles tower. He is looking grim. His eyes are focused on Cassandra who is hiding behind Oracle.
Caption: Then he came. My second father. The savior of Gotham. I still wear his emblem with pride.
Page 8:
Panel 1: Cassandra stands in her Batgirl suit. Oracle and Batman standing behind her. Barbara looks proud. Batman indifferent.
Caption: With Barbaras blessing I became the second Batgirl. A girl who couldn't understand more than the simplest word, but was born to fight.
Panel 2: Cassandra as Batgirl fighting random thugs.
Caption: I fought criminals.
Panel 3: Cass-Batgirl fighting two-face.
Caption: Disturbed men.
Panel 4: Cass fighting David Cain.
Caption: Confused men.
Page 9:
Panel 1-2: Cass as batgirl fighting Shiva.
Caption: Confused and disturbed women.
Panel 3(Large): Cass in simple black cloths knocking down Shiva. Cass has small injuries over her body, her left arm is broken.
Small insert panel: Cass gently touching the face of a unconscious Shiva.
Caption: Finding out who is my mother.
Page 10:
Panel 1: Inside the Batcave. Cass meeting Tim as Robin.
Caption: I also found friends for the first time.
Panel 2: On a rooftop. Cass is standing in a fighting stance. Being ready for an attack. Spoiler is jumping at her from behind. She is without her hoodie(or pending on redesign she might have never worn one). We can see part of her face or the whole(artistic choice).
Caption: Meeting Stephanie Brown.
Panel 3: Inside a restaurant. Steph and Cass are sitting at a table. Both of them are in everyday cloths. Steph is handing Cass a large banana split with 15 candles in it.
Caption: getting a best friend.
Panel 4: Cassandra giving Superboy a kiss.
Caption: Cute boys.
Panel 5: the whole batfamily leaping into action at a large crowd of criminals(Artistic decision, might be war games).
Caption: A family.
Page 11:
Panel 1: At Gotham harbor. Bruce, Dick and Tim leaving for their "one year later" training. Two-face as Harvey Dent waving them off. Cassandra is hiding in the shadows on a nearby rooftop.
Caption: Dealing with sudden isolation.
Panel 2: Cassandra on a rooftop fighting Deathstroke.
Caption: Being hunted by predators.
Panel 3: Cassandra running from Deathstroke. Cassandra is looking bruised. Her costume is torn at places.
Panel 4: Cassandra lying defeated on the ground. Deathstroke standing above her, his shadow falling over her face.
Panel 5: Deathstroke is holding a needle and syringe with a green liquid in it. It looks toxic.
Caption: In a way he killed Batgirl that day.
Panel 6: A black panel. The only thing is a caption box.
Caption(colored with Deathstrokes colors): "I tried to persuade you, make you see why this is for the best. But it seems words are lost on you my dear"
Page 12:
Panel 1: Deathstroke training Cassandra. He doesn't look pleased.
Caption: The serum changed me. It was made to be the biggest performance enhancement ever made. A super-serum. But the results proved dangerous for the brain, it changed it to much. So it was abandoned. For me it robbed me of my ability to read body language. It made me a lesser fighter.
Panel 2: Deathstroke sitting at a table and planning something with some other villains. Cassandra standing a bit away by herself.
Caption: When he saw what had happened he lost his interest. He was like that, switching emotions on and off like a machine.
Panel 3: Cassandra standing in the middle of a bunch of league of assassins members.
Caption: Ra's al Ghul was temporary gone and some people looked at me to fill his place. I was not myself at this point. It feels like looking at a movie about some other girl when I try to remember it.
Panel 4: Cass and other members of the League are fighting Tim as Robin.
Caption: In my disturbed state I tried reaching out to my friends. Fighting them for some absurd reasons. In hindsight we should be lucky I didn't attack Steph at school or some other revealing location.
Page 13:
Panel 1: Deathstroke approaching Cass with a suggestion.
Caption: One day Deathstroke wanted me again.
Panel 2: Deathstroke and his east titans attacking teen titans headquarter.
Caption: This time as a pawn to bring back his daughter Rose.
Panel 3: In the remnants of TT's headquarter. Cassandra is corned and being hold by Superboy. Robin is holding a vial of antidote.
Caption: Tim saw his chance and tested a theory he had. He cured me. I can't thank him enough for that.
Page 14:
Panel 1: Hongkong. Cassandra is walking the streets. Alone in the crowd.
Caption: Being cured doesn't mean that everything is fixed. My ability to read body language was gone and I could now speak and think in complex structures. I was not Batgirl anymore either, Stephanie had taken that mantle. She had my blessing and hoped that it would be better for her then it was for me.
Panel 2: Cass fighting in her ronin-costume. She is fighting some triad members in an alley.
Caption: Still at heart I was the same.
Panel 3: Cass in Black Bat costume fighting Cricket.
Caption: I even got a new identity and villains.
Panel 4: Cass lies unconscious. Cricket is jumping away from the scene.
Caption: Still things was different. I was less then I had been.
Panel 5: A rooftop in Hongkong, Cass and Tim fighting Cricket together. Out of the foggy landscape that we have seen the memories appear on a hand moves through it and disrupt the scene.
The hand belongs to Deathstroke.
Page 15:
Panel 1(large): Deathstroke is standing in the cave holding Cass by her throat with one hand.
DS: That's because you belong to me.
Panel 2: DS throws Cass down to the ground.
DS: You think you can escape me?
Panel 3: Cass roles up to crouching directly from the fall.
DS: You think I'm done with you?
Page 16:
Panel 1: Cass leaps in with a flying kick against DS.
Panel 2: DS avoids the kick. Trying to strike her with his left hand.
Panel 3: She blocks the attack and uses the force of the blow to get some distance between them.
Caption: I haven't escaped him. I'm not done with him. Not yet.
Page 17:
Panel 1: DS lunges toward Cass. Cass avoids it. She is swinging her left foot up into an arc above him. Aiming at the back of his head.
Caption: I must fight him. Fight everything he has done to me.
Panel 2: The kick hits. DS goes down into the ground.
Caption: I can't make any mistakes. He's too good for that.
Panel 3: DS gets back to his feet.
DS: Now that's the girl I was looking for. Someone with a little sting in her.
Panel 4-6: DS is back in close combat with Cass and he's delivering a series of blows at Cass. She is avoiding them barely.
Caption: No mistakes.
Page 18:
Panel 1: DS swipes with a dagger and some of Cass clothes get torn.
Caption: I must be faster.
Panel 2: She hits his hand, making him drop the knife.
Caption: I must be…
Panel 3: She jabs against his head. He backs away a bit.
Caption: faster
Panel 4: Cass hits with a push kick.
Caption: I…faster.
Panel 5: DS misses with a kick. The kick instead crushes some stones right of Cass.
Caption: I…
Page 19:
Panel 1: She suddenly see DS movements before her. (it's illustrated by having a green outline be where his moves are supposed to go). He's about to throw a punch aiming at her gut.
Caption:..
Panel 2: She easily dodges the punch. Moving out of the way. We can see another punch coming at her from his other arm.
Caption:…
Panel 3(large): Cass bows down so she is below the punch. Kicking DS at one of his knees first (destroying his balance) and then quickly using the momentum of his punch to throw him over her shoulder. (so she extends on leg to the right and her arms to the left.)
Page 20:
Panel 1: DS hits the rock wall hard.
Panel 2: Cass picks up the knife he dropped.
Panel 3: She throws it next to his head.
Panel 4: She steps out of the Cave. She looks sweaty but happy. Behind her we can see the body of Deathstroke becoming fog.
Panel 5: The lair of someone. A red signal lights at a monitor board.
Panel 6: A person notices it. We can't see the face of the person.
Page 21:
Panel 1: Cass is sitting waiting outside of the village. A plane lands in front of her.
Box: 2 days later.
Panel 2: Out of the plane Tim walks. He is wearing his Red Robin suit but looking relaxed.
Panel 3: He goes to meet Cass who stands up.
Panel 4: They embrace each other in a hug.
Page 22:
Panel 1: Inside the plane. Tim is driving and Cass is sitting next to a computer.
Tim: I made a voice command program for you.
Tim: Do you understand?
Panel 2: Cass nods at him. She looks at the computer.
Tim: Well it seems you have retained enough cognitive functions to understand me. That's good.
Tim is smiling at Cass. A friendly smile.
Panel 3: Cass speaks to the computer. She is having problems with speaking.
Cass: Geo-for-c-e
Cass: Rav-age-r
Cass: Bea-st-Boy
Pictures of Geoforce, Beast Boy and Ravager are on the screen.
Panel 4: Tim has put the plane on autopilot and walked over to Cass. On the computer screen there are small pictures of Beast Boy, Ravager, Geoforce, Red Robin and Cass. In the Middle is a large picture of Deathstroke.
Tim: It has to be for justice. Not revenge.
Cass: Yes.
To be Continued!