"Night, Sarah," the bespectacled redhead called out as she walked out of Caroline's Diner, searching her bag for cigarettes.
Looking down at her from the roof of one of Gotham's ubiquitous skyscrapers, the city's prodigal daughter could feel her heart racing.
"I need to get it...perfect this time," Cassandra Cain-Wayne spoke into her voice recorder. Her younger brother, Tim Drake, had remembered how much she'd liked the one she'd had back in Bludhaven and had gotten her a new one as a "Welcome Home" gift.
Not allowing herself to blink, Cassandra leaped from one rooftop to another as her old friend walked down the street. She wasn't prepared to let this moment end.
"When Stephanie came back...I wasn't...right," the Black Bat spoke. "Didn't say...how...how happy I was. How much I'd missed her."
A cold gust passed by, the young woman on the street shivering in the Winter cold while Cass remained unphased in her thermal uniform.
"Took so long...to see Barbara. She cried...more than I did."
Brenda Miller, former Bludhaven cafe owner, turned her head up toward the tall buildings on the opposite side of the street. She had no way of seeing her, but Cass could feel her gaze, her heart pumping even faster.
"Not this time."
Many things had changed in Gotham while Cassandra had been away. Dick had become Batman, something which had bothered Cass until their father had returned. To be Batman was her destiny, but she could accept her older brother pinch hitting for her this time. Damian Wayne had become the new Robin, which lead to a less than civil first meeting between the two. Someone she didn't know much of anything about had taken on the role of Batwoman. A new Azrael had a risen, Cass planning on having a chat with whoever it was bearing her fallen friend's mantle. Stephanie Brown had grown exponentially both as a hero and as a person, something which delighted Cass, much as it pained her to call someone else the first name she'd ever known.
And of course, there was Brenda, one of Gotham's newest citizens.
However, with change, there were constants. The city was still infested with criminals of the superstitious and cowardly variety, Alfred still took care of her in a way that only Alfred could, and regardless of what colors they'd put in front of their names in the wake of their mantles being taken, there was still almost no partner Cass preferred to Tim.
"There's no way to do this "perfectly"," Tim said, flawlessly executing a bo kata on King Shark. Cass smirked. Steph wasn't the only one who'd improved.
"Come on!" King Shark shouted, exasperated. "I'm a shark! I need to eat! And I thought everyone loved killing Nazis, even you "heroes"!"
Red Robin and Black Bat shared a glance. Once they were finished with the surprisingly vocally talented King Shark, they were going to be letting off some steam on his dinner menu.
"Just go to see her and tell her how glad you are to see her again," Tim said while Cass, moving faster than the former Boy Wonder could see, delivered a series of blows to King Shark's head, knocking him unconscious. As Cass stretched her impossibly powerful arms, Tim continued. "Trust me, I've had a lot of dead friends come back. She'll be just as happy to see you."
Unlike far too many of their friends,but much like a certain eggplant, Brenda had never truly died, having been out of town when Chemo was dropped on Bludhaven. Cassandra couldn't believe her ears when Alfred had told her that she'd survived and moved to Gotham.
"It's not that easy," Cass said while Tim threw a capsule down at King Shark, encasing him in containment foam. "I can't...just talk to her. Need to know what I'm gonna say."
Tim turned around, giving his full attention to Cass.
"I thought your social skills had gotten a lot better while you were away. They certainly seemed that way when we were dealing with The Architect."
Cassandra scratched her head.
"They have. I've learned...a lot. But I'm still...me."
"Of course, of course," Tim replied, self-loathing in his voice. He hated putting his foot in his mouth, possibly insulting Cass. "Well hey, why not start by telling her how happy you are to see her and then invite her to your party this weekend?"
"Uuuuuuuugh," Cass let out a dull-toned groan, sliding her hand across her face. She'd made it clear to Alfred that she didn't want a big 20th birthday party, but he'd insisted on still having a family dinner. She would have fought him on it, but it was Alfred.
And even Bruce seemed enthused about the idea.
Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Tim and Damian would all be there of course. Stephanie and Barbara too. Barbara had even managed to track Onyx down for the event.
Cass found the whole idea uncomfortable, but at least it would be a manageable number of people and all people she knew. All people who were her family or who she saw as family.
Maybe Brenda would fit in there.
"I'll think about it," Cass said. "Now, come one." She threw a couple quick punches at the air. "Monsters."
Tim could see that Cass was still upset from the conversation. Making sure his actions were clearly foreseeable as he approached, her gently laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Plan 58?"
Cass smiled.
She loved Plan 58.
The next morning, Cass stood outside Caroline's Diner, taking a series of deep breaths.
"Got this," she paused. "Got this."
Walking into the diner, Cass's eyes darted around the restaurant looking for Brenda, paying no attention to the rush of people getting their breakfast. She knew exactly what she was going to say and she was not going to be thrown off by Brenda seeing her first.
"Oh my god!" an unmistakable voice shouted.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, Cass's mind echoed, as she put on a terrified smile, slowly turning around toward the direction of the voice.
"Cassandra!" Brendra cheered, wrapping her arms around her.
Cass could still salvage her script. Still say what she had planned.
But all she could do was tear up, embracing Brenda tightly.
"I had no idea what happened to you. I was worried you might have come home before the city was destroyed!" Brenda expressed as she let go of Cass.
Cass said nothing. And she didn't let go.
"Hey, sweetie, you okay?"
Cass hugged her tighter, mucus running from her nose.
"Thought...you were dead. Thought...my fault."
"Brenda, get back to work!" a male voice screamed.
"Taking an early lunch, Emmanuel!" Brenda shouted back, before immediately returning her attention to Cass. "Hey, let's get out of here. Okay?"
Cass nodded furiously, holding on for a few more moments before letting go of Brenda and walking out of the diner with her. Embarrassed, Cass wiped away her tears with her sleeve.
Unfortunately, she'd forgotten about the make-up she was wearing.
"I don't remember you ever wearing mascara," Brenda joked, trying to lighten the mood.
The majority of the time, Cass couldn't care less about her appearance or what anyone thought of it.
But for Brenda, she'd wanted to look nice.
"Dumb idea," Cass muttered under her breath.
"So," Brenda said a bit awkwardly. "What have you been doing all this time?"
The true story of everything she'd been through since Bludhaven was so ridiculously dumb that even other heroes had a hard time making sense of it. But there were certain true events she could mention.
"Went to...China," she started, staring into Brenda's beautiful blue eyes. "Helped people. Took...dance classes."
"That's really cool!" Brenda exclaimed. "I've just been working here. Trying to get enough cash to open up my own place again, you know?"
Cass's eyes widened. This was something she could do for her. The Wayne Foundation had helped her before after all. And with Tim's suggestion from the previous night, a plan began to form.
"Yes." Cass paused, carefully thinking about what to say next. Every part of Brenda was screaming that she was ecstatic to see Cass. That as far as she was concerned, nothing had changed between them.
But that wasn't enough for her.
"Um, my family is...having a dinner for my birthday. Would you...want to come?"
"Your family? I thought…"
"No, not...my dad." Cass recalled that she'd mentioned Cain to Brenda. "I was adopted."
"Oh!" Brenda expressed surprise. "That's cool." Her face filled with concern. "Not by that old guy you came in with a few times, right?"
Cass laughed.
"No. No, that's Alfred. I'm...a Wayne."
Saying that out loud, Cassandra realized she'd never done so before. It felt good.
"I'm happy for you," Brenda smirked. "Must be weird living in Gotham, sharing a name with the city's royalty and all."
Cass tilted her head to the side.
"Wait...you don't mean…" Her jaw dropped. "Holy crap."
Cass smiled. "So...come?"
Brenda took a moment to answer, wrapping her head around the fact that the girl she'd once mistaken for an impoverished sex worker was now among the wealthiest people in the world.
"A party with you? At Wayne Manor?" She put a hand on Cass's shoulder. "I'd have to be pretty stupid to say no."