Hunter's Night
By Serena
A/N: Thanks so much, everyone! :) Yes, I do realize this is a lot more intense than Hunter's Moon, but it really does fit with the tone of Gotham, and how things are going to be headed. Although, we'll get to some light stuff, especially when it comes to the family moments. :) One thing I absolutely love about Dick is his humor.
MAN OF STEEL. LOVED IT. Exceeded my expectations. Expect fanfiction incoming. I have some fan art already on my Tumblr and Facebook page. I know a lot of people had issues with it, and I agree the characters could've been more fleshed out, but overall, I really enjoyed it. I still see Henry Cavill as Bruce, however. While I really liked the relationship between Henry and Amy's Clark and Lois, the Smallville Lois and Clark will always be my favorite.
QUESTION - I was thinking of starting a video podcast, maybe doing a kind of question/answer type of thing. I've been wanting to do my own videos for a while, but honestly, it's all a bit intimidating. Thoughts?
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Cass and I got to the hospital about forty-five minutes after Bruce. I wore a blonde wig and thin glasses, and wore simple, loose yoga-esque clothing. Cass held my hand tightly and in her other, clutched her stuffed tiger closely to her chest. We weaved through the various halls, and as we passed more and more injured people in wheelchairs and in beds, Cass's grip tightened on me. I myself was no stranger to hospitals due to Mom's cancer, but for that very reason I felt uneasy. I didn't need those reminders. Squeezing her hand, just as much for my own comfort as hers, I finally turned down the hall with her and located Barbara's door. I heard low voices - Bruce's and Jim's. Opening the door quietly, I went in with Cass.
Bruce sat in one of the chairs a few feet to the right of the bed. Jim stood right at Barbara's bedside, holding her hand with his. When we entered, he looked up for a moment.
"Diana," he greeted, his voice rough.
"Hi, Jim," I replied quietly, and went to Barbara's other side. "Hi, honey." I gently placed my hand over hers and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
"Hi," Barbara replied, cracking a small smile. "Thank you for being here, Aunt Di. It means a lot to me and Dad."
She was such a strong, mature young woman. I couldn't help but be impressed and startled by her composure.
"You and your father were there for me," I told her warmly. "It's my turn to get you Oreos." I took a pack out of my purse, set it on her nightstand, and smiled. "Don't tell your father." I winked at Jim, who managed a faint smile.
Barbara grinned. "My lips are sealed." She looked over at Cass, who stood somberly by my side. "Hi, Cassie. I like your dress."
Thanks, signed Cass after a moment. I like your hair. It's a pretty color.
"Thanks." Barb smiled. "Who's that?" she asked, glancing at Cass's stuffed tiger.
Cass looked down at her tiger and released my hand, moving around closer to Barbara's head. She then lifted herself up onto her tiptoes and carefully placed the stuffed tiger into the crook of Barbara's arm.
His name's Lucky. He's my good luck tiger. You can have him, signed Cass.
Barbara lifted one hand and signed, Thank you.
I felt tears threatening my eyes. That stuffed tiger had been Cass's constant companion from day one, a gift from me. I'd had a stuffed animal, a horse, when I was younger. And for her to let her tiger go... to give her to Barbara made my heart clench. Cass had experienced nothing in her life but pain and darkness and abuse, and for her to be reaching out, helping others, trying to make up for what she'd done... it broke my heart.
She was so full of love, and not for the first time, I was humbled to be her mother and be there to witness her growth.
Bruce Wayne
After staying with Jim and Barbara for about an hour, Bruce had to take his leave. He exited the room before Diana and Cass and closed the door behind him, slipping his hands into his pockets. As he turned down the corner, a passing doctor caught his attention, and he turned sharply.
"Tom?" Bruce did a double take.
The doctor had also turned back to look at him, and a surprised smile broke out on his features. "I'll be damned. Bruce Wayne, the man himself." He pulled off his glove and held out a hand, which Bruce clasped and shook with a firm, enthused hand.
"I didn't know you were back in Gotham," Bruce said, pleasantly surprised. "I thought you were in England. Oxford, wasn't it?"
"Med school," replied Tom. "Yep, served my time." He grinned. "I started here about a month ago, actually. Been so busy, haven't gotten the chance to stop by and say hello. But it looks like you've been busy, too - getting your dad's company back on track... partying it up... getting to know the ladies of Gotham."
Bruce forced a grin. "And here I thought you would've only heard the bad rumors," he joked easily.
Tom barked out a laugh. "Turned a new leaf, huh? You're a changed man, Bruce. From what I remember, you were a quiet kid, and didn't like losing at chess. We should play a new game, see who comes out the winner this time. I'm not going to say it won't be me... but it'll probably be me."
"We'll see," replied Bruce. "It has been a while. Things change."
"Can't argue with that." Tom held up his gloved hand. "Didn't see myself as a surgeon when I was a kid. Now, after Oxford, med school... gotta say it's one of the best decisions I ever made."
Bruce nodded in agreement. "I was sorry to hear about your mom," he said more somberly. "I heard she left you everything."
Tom's face grew tight for a second, then grave. "Yeah. Her will was pretty clear. Used the money to go to med school - you know how expensive it is these days. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here today. Funny thing is she died from cancer... and if I'd gone to school earlier, maybe I could've done something about it. But... what are you gonna do, right? After my father's death, she started to lose it, I think. Maybe it was just her time to go. "
"I'm sure she would've been proud of you," Bruce said. "You used the money for a good cause - and now you're helping other people with that education."
Tom shrugged. "I do my best. One day at a time, you know?"
"Absolutely," said Bruce. "My friend's mother also struggled through cancer, quite recently, as a matter of fact. She's doing well now, but you never know. We're keeping an eye on her. So I understand where you're coming from."
"I'm sure you do," said Tom sincerely. "Hey, I gotta get back to work, but let's catch up sometime soon, huh? Grab a couple beers?"
Bruce nodded, although he didn't drink alcohol. "Sounds like a plan."
"Great. Well, back to the grindstone. Good to see you, Bruce," said Tom with a smile and nod, starting back down the hall.
"You, too," replied Bruce.
He turned, continued down the hall, his hands in his pockets. His mind was running in so many directions. He had to first find the best doctors for Barbara Gordon, and ensure she had the best of care and everything she needed. Secondly, he had to find the rock Tony Zucco was hiding under, and ensure that he and his thugs went to jail for a very long time. Preferably with several injuries. And thirdly... it had been strange, if not good, to see Tom again. Tommy, he used to call him. It brought back memories... memories of his childhood.
And those memories brought him right back to Dick Grayson. His fist clenched, and he pulled off his tie, unbuttoning the first button of his shirt, at his collar. Time to do some digging. Maybe he should have another chat with Salvatore Maroni.
Right now, a punching bag at his office was calling his name.
Dick Grayson
He'd been at the Wayne house for several weeks now, and already he was noticing some very odd things. Firstly, he got the feeling that conversations were suddenly hushed when he entered the room - or that they would start talking about something else. He hadn't heard anything specific to cause suspicion... it was more of a feeling. Secondly... Cass... he knew there was something about her no one was telling him. She rarely smiled. And despite her not being deaf, she couldn't talk, and he noticed that she had a hard time reading. He heard Diana trying to help her sound things out, but despite Cass's mouth moving, no sound came out. And thirdly... there were four very odd women living in the house with them. They seemed like older sisters to Diana, but also friends of Diana's mother... it was just very weird. They were all beautiful, and very intense. They spoke a strange language sometimes, when they thought he wasn't listening. He had no clue what it was.
Overall, it was just a slightly strange experience. Not bad - not at all. They were all doing their best to help him deal with everything, he knew it. Diana was warm, reminded him of his own mother. Bruce was trying, but he was more stern, and not around as much. Dinners finished quickly, and after dinner, he felt he hardly saw Bruce, and even Diana and Cass sometimes. It was a big house, but sometimes he just felt like they had disappeared.
However, Diana was around more, as she home-schooled Cass and now him, and he found himself enjoying the experience. Diana had so many stories. She was so full of life, so vibrant. The world around her seemed like a shadow, dark in her glowing light. She was so warm, so loving. Just like his mom, but in a different way. Mom had been reserved, calm, and his father had been a little more humorous. Mom had been quiet, gentle. But Diana... she was bursting with energy, she was glowing. She did nothing by halves.
One uncommonly warm evening, Dick was sitting on the couch, playing on his Nintendo DS, while Cass sat next to him, watching Beauty and the Beast. Diana came in, wearing knee-length leggings and a light tunic shirt, with her short red hair down, holding her iPad. She looked up at them, smiled, and collapsed on the couch beside Dick.
"Hey, kiddo. How's it going?"
"Good," said Dick. "Is Bruce coming home tonight?"
"Should be."
"I know Bruce works late," said Dick. "But he's not around very much."
Diana looked regretful. "I know, hon. He tries. He's just... really busy. But he does his best. I've tried to clone him, but you know..." She sighed, shot him a grin. "Hasn't been successful yet. Can't say I'd mind another Bruce," she added jokingly.
Dick smiled. "So you guys are married?"
"Engaged. Not sure when we're actually going to get married... haven't really had the time to set a date, with everything going on..." She rubbed the back of her neck, and a shadow passed over her eyes. Dick wondered if it had something to do with the girl named Barbara Gordon, or something else.
Dick hesitated before asking, "Do you know if they're really going to get Zucco?" He meant Batman, not the police.
"They will," she replied firmly. "I have no doubt about that. Zucco will be found and taken down." There was a darkness in her voice, and it lowered considerably. Dick resisted the urge to shiver. That voice had sounded strangely familiar... as if something from a dream or a nightmare...
Then, she blinked, and smiled faintly. "C'mon." She patted his knee. "Enough sitting inside. It's really warm outside right now."
Cass paused the movie, jumped off the couch, and held out her arms. Diana laughed, swung her up onto a piggyback, and took off down the hall with surprising speed.
"C'mon!" sang Diana. "There are fields and grass and stars awaiting us!"
Dick grinned and raced to catch up with her. They ran down the halls, past Artemis and Philomena, past Alkyone, and finally out through the back door and out into the fields and rolling hills. The sun was setting, and the grass was cool. Diana looked as though she wanted to fly, and spread out her arms, pretending to soar like a bird. Finally, they all collapsed on the ground, Diana in the middle, with Dick and Cass on either side.
They were all silent for a long, peaceful moment. Dick looked up at the sky, now lighting up with stars.
"There's Orion," Diana pointed out eventually. "And there's the Cygnus, the swan. And there's the great bear, Ursa Major." A pause, then she added, "The constellations are full of myths and legends. Greek mythology had the gods place constellations in the sky to remember great warriors, heroes, or loved ones. The goddess Athena," and her voice grew a bit hard, "placed a constellation in honor of Andromeda, the wife of Perseus. The god Dionysus placed a crown of stars in the sky for his love, Ariadne. It's called the Corona Borealis, or Corona, for crown."
Cass signed something, and Diana smiled.
"No, I don't have one up there. Not yet, anyway," she added teasingly.
Dick was silent, staring up at the stars. "You think my parents are up there?" he murmured after another long pause.
"Of course they are," said Diana. "They each have their own stars. Their own constellation, just for them. So they're always there, watching over you."
Diana's arms came around both him and Cass, and Cass curled up into her side. Dick found himself leaning into her, too. He up at the sky, comforted by her words.
For the first time in two weeks, he didn't feel alone anymore.
After Dick had gone to bed, Cass and I met Bruce down in the cave. He was already suited up, minus his cowl, and carefully reading the screen. When we entered the cave, Cass was practically bouncing up and down with anticipation. Bruce turned towards us, and eyed Cass with a careful, cautious expression.
"Your suit's here," he said, his voice already lower. "And you've been training hard these past few weeks. We'll do a test run tonight, take it easy. If something big comes up, you go to the car and wait for us to come back. If necessary, I'll have the car drive you home. You always obey us, follow our lead. If you get out of line, or decide to try something reckless, you're out of the suit and back in training until I see fit. Understood?"
Cass nodded shortly. Although I had gotten used to her hard expression when we trained together, it never failed to unnerve me a little. She transformed into a soldier, into a carbon copy of her mother. Although something in her eyes was different from Shiva's... Shiva had that coldness, that sheer black willpower to end life, knowing she held it in her hands. Cassandra would not be another Shiva. But I could still see that instinct to fight lurking in Cass's eyes.
I went over to one of the storage containers and opened one of them, motioning her over. "Here it is," I said. "Try it on."
Cass took the pieces of the suit pulled off her outer garments. Like Bruce and I, she wore an under-armor tank top and leggings. I helped her into the suit and slipped the full-face mask over her head.
"What do you think?" I said, standing up. "Mr. Lucius Fox made it. He's a friend of Dad's, works with him. He had this specially made for you."
Cass moved around, twisted, flexed, and tried to see if she could move in the suit. Then, she ran around the room and did a cartwheel, then a few double backflips.
I grinned and shared glances with Bruce. "I guess it works."
She nodded eagerly.
Bruce studied her, nodded, satisfied, and turned to touch a few buttons on the keyboard. Then, he faced us, and was about to put on his cowl, when I went up to him, changing into my armor as I walked, and reached up behind his neck to take his cowl and mask. His grim expression softened slightly, and he let his hands fall to his sides, and then they went to my waist. I pulled the cowl over his head, tugging it firmly into place, and finally met his eyes - or rather, the lenses.
To my surprise, he leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to my lips. After a moment, he pulled back.
"Time to go," I said, and motioned to Cass anxiously waiting by the Tumbler. I turned to her, nodded. She jumped into the back seat, and I flew over and got into the passenger's seat. Bruce fluidly jumped down into his seat, and the roof of the Tumbler closed down.
"One of these days," I said, "I'm going to drive."
Bruce shot me a look.
"Oh, please, baby. I know how to drive."
Bruce slammed his foot down on the gas, and we took off through the tunnel and into the rainy night.
"You are something else," muttered Bruce as we sped through the forest.
"Something good," I said archly.
"So you keep telling me."
"Honey, I am the best, greatest something you'll ever get," I reminded him.
He didn't respond, but grasped my hand, squeezing it for a second, before pulling away.
He shifted gears, and we took off into the night.
Thirty minutes later, we were perched on a rooftop, with the cool wind blowing around us. Cass was perched on a gargoyle, unfazed by the sheer height and drop, waiting for our signal to move.
"Shouldn't be long now," uttered Batman. We were both listening in for a pair of Zucco's thugs to arrive at a designated drop-off of a shipment of leftover weapons from the Gotham War.
Then, I heard the squeal of tires, and I saw a large truck pulling into the alley below. "Here we go," I said, and rose into the air.
Bruce shot his grapple gun into the air and took off over the rooftops. Cass denied a flight with me and took off after Bruce. She was so light on her feet, and was startlingly able to keep up with Bruce's quick pace. I flew along beside her, watching her like a hawk in case she should stumble. But she anticipated every move, knew exactly where to put her feet, how to angle her body.
"She's good," I said, unable to hide my awe. "She's very good."
Batman's only response was a nod, but I knew he thought the exact same thing. She would be better than her mother, and that was a terrifying thought.
"C'mon, love," I said, taking off, "Stay with me."
And together, we dropped to the ground.
Bruce dropped down onto the truck before the thugs could even get out, smashing directly onto their windshield. They shouted, guns blaring, and tried to scramble out of the truck. Batman grabbed the driver, smashed his head into the steering wheel; and I flew down and ripped the passenger door off, then hauled the other one out, throwing him into the wall with one hand. With Cass watching from atop the truck, Batman dragged the driver over to my side, throwing him beside his partner. The passenger was still conscious, and tried feebly to pull his gun out. Before I could kick it away, a Batarang sang through the night, knocked it right out of his hands. He stared up at Cass, who easily did a flip off the truck to stand beside me.
"Aw, not another one!" whined the thug. "Are you ****ing kidding me, man?"
"Language," I warned just before I knocked him out.
Twenty minutes later, after interrogating the first thug with no results, the second man was hanging off a skyscraper by his feet. Batman held him precariously, with Cass crouched on the ledge beside him, watching.
"What, is this good cop, bad cop?" sneered the thug, glaring up at us.
"Oh, no," I said silkily, my voice low and throaty. "This is Gotham. There is no good cop."
And Batman let the thug drop. The man fell about thirty feet before Batman shot out his grapple gun and hauled him back up. Grabbing him by his foot, Batman glared down at him.
"Where is he?" growled Batman. "Where's Zucco?"
"I don't know!" shouted the scrawny thug.
"You'd better stop lying to us," I told him silkily, hovering in front of him. "Or he just might let you hit the ground this time, Pauley."
The man gaped. "How'd you know my name?"
I stared at him for a second. I had just made a wild guess, more of a stereotypical Italian mobster name. Bruce gave me a look behind the cowl. He knew I'd just been guessing.
"You don't get to ask questions," I told him coldly. "Tell us where Zucco is."
"I won't!" gasped the man. "Just lemme go!"
"You asked for it," growled Batman, and let him drop.
The man screamed, plummeting to the ground. He hit a bush on someone's balcony and continued falling. I watched him, and inches before he hit the ground, I flew down and yanked him back up. I hurled him into the air back up towards Bruce, who shot out his grapple gun and caught the man back the back of his shirt. Still screaming, the man swung back and hit the side of the building. Bruce hauled him up by his collar.
"Where. Is he?"
"I don't know," gasped the man. "I swear."
"Last chance," I hissed, and came up behind him, quickly wrapping my lasso around his neck and jerking back. It glowed, hummed with power, and he screamed again. "Tell me where Zucco is."
"I don't know," he gasped out automatically. "Last I knew he moved to a safe house in the East Side to get away from you guys."
"What's he planning?"
"I don't know," he sobbed. "Just let me out of this thing."
"Where are his safe houses?" demanded Batman.
"There's one on Hanover Street," gasped the man. "I don't know the exact location. Another one in the West side... but I don't know where."
I karate chopped the back of his neck, and he tumbled forward, unconscious.
"Hanover?" I said.
"Hanover," answered Batman.
Cass nodded.
But as we were about to take off, Bruce's com beeped. "Gordon," he said. I turned on my com to listen in.
"Sorry to bother you," said Jim on the other end. "But Harvey Dent is here, and he wants to meet with you. Both of you. Remember I told you last week?"
"Now?" Bruce demanded sharply. "He's there now?"
"Afraid so," answered Jim grimly. "This guy doesn't give up. He's been trying to see you for the past month or so."
"We're right in the middle of something," snarled Batman. "He can wait."
"We did say we'd meet with him," I reminded him.
"Not now."
"It's still early. It'll only be for a few minutes," I said. "We can drop this guy off while we're there. It'll be on the way to Hanover, anyway."
Bruce hesitated. "Fine. Only for a few minutes."
"Great. Thanks. Sorry about this," Jim muttered. "But Dent is starting to get on my back. I'll meet you guys there. I have to drop Barbara off at rehab."
"I'll have Alfred pick her up," said Bruce immediately.
"No, that's not - "
"Yes, it is," I interrupted. "And while we're at it, we can have Barbara come to our house and get her private rehab, so you don't have to take time out of work to bring her there and pick her up."
Jim made a frustrated noise. "I can't owe you like this -"
"Hey. We've talked about this, Jim," I reminded him. "Family. All right?"
He sighed after a moment. "All right. See you in a few. Gordon out."
Dent was waiting impatiently, slowing striding back and forth on the rooftop. Jim was not present yet.
"Wait here," Bruce ordered Cass, and he took off into the sky. When Dent's back was turned, he alighted on the roof behind him. I hovered in the air, waiting to ambush Dent once he faced Bruce. Dent turned finally, jumped, startled, as he saw Batman standing there.
"You always ambush people like this?" Dent said edgily.
"Yes," I said coolly; and Dent whirled around to me. He gazed at me, his eyes roving over my form, to my lasso, and back to Batman.
"Every time," added Jim, entering through the door. His head was down as he typed on his phone, seemingly undisturbed by our intimidating presence. Dent, clearly uneasy, looked at Gordon, irritated, for some sort of guidance. Or, rather, he was annoyed that Gordon did not find us as threatening as he did.
"Took you long enough, Gordon," said Dent.
"I had drop off my daughter at rehab," said Jim, still not looking up from his phone.
Batman's eye lenses narrowed.
I glared at Dent. "Quit bitching and tell us what you want," I said, my voice guttural, low.
Jim snorted. Dent shot me a dirty look.
"Got quite a mouth on you," said Dent.
That sounded more sexual than a chatising comment.
"Got quite a pair of fists, too," I said sharply, "that'll go right through your skull if you say something like that again."
Dent colored. "I don't respond well to threats," he warned, taking a step towards me.
"Do I look like I care?" I snarled. I rolled my eyes and added in Themysciran to Bruce, "Our eight-year-old daughter is ten times more mature than he is."
Bruce's mouth twitched upwards in a smirk. I knew he was ready to knock out Dent.
"What did you just say?" demanded Dent, looking between us. "What did you just say?"
"You called this meeting, Dent," growled Batman, taking an intimidating step forward. "You wanted to see us. Tell us what you want, or we leave. You're wasting our time."
Dent sighed shortly, rubbed his chin. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm on your side, and I want to be in the loop." He turned to Gordon as well.
"Well, keep pulling those innuendos, Dent," said Gordon dryly, "I'm sure that's helping these guys trust you."
Dent's jaw clenched. "Look, my record is spotless. I'm sure you can find my records. You'll see I'm clean."
"As clean as you want it to be," growled Batman. "I know about your time at IA. Quite the infamous nickname you had there."
Dent colored. "If you're talking about the name I got from a couple of corrupt cops, then fine, believe whatever you want to hear. I thought you were the World's Greatest Detective. I didn't take you for an idiot."
Batman's head titled slightly. I knew he was ready to strike, or just leave. But before he could respond, a small figure shot out from the sky and onto the ledge of the roof. It was Cass, and she appeared ready to take Dent down, likely seeing him as a threat. Batman's lenses narrowed.
"A kid?" exclaimed Dent, startled. "Now you have a kid working for you? Who's this one - Batgirl?"
"Not your business," I said coldly.
"The hell it's not," snapped Dent. "That's child abuse. I could report you to the state."
"Report who?" replied Batman icily. "This was a waste of our time. Until I see you're doing more to stop thugs like Salvatore Maroni and his turf war with the Russian, you're not getting anything from us."
"But wait," started Dent. "I didn't mean -"
But Batman had already shot his grapple gun into the air and took off into the sky. Cass took off after him, and I shot one last glare to Dent before soaring after them. The second we disappeared into the air, Batman halted on a rooftop and rounded on Cass.
"I told you to stay where you were," he snapped.
Cass shrugged.
"Don't you shrug at me, young lady," he ordered. "One more stunt like that and I pull you out and back into training for the next three weeks. Am I clear?"
Cass nodded slowly.
"Good. Now let's go." Batman gave her one last stern glance before shooting off into the air again.
Cass glanced at me, signed, That man didn't look nice. I just wanted to help.
"I know, hon," I said. "But you need to do what your father says. It's for your own protection. We work as a team, as one unit. If we don't work together, bad things will happen. You need to follow orders."
She nodded. Okay. I'm sorry.
"It's your first night," I told her. "Don't worry about it. We just have to keep moving... Batgirl."
She gave a salute and jumped into the night sky.
Thoughts?
Well, there you go. If you guys don't know who this new character is... Don't spoil it for yourself. Trust me. I'm sure most of you do know who it is, though.
Also... we're going to be getting some cameos coming up in the next few chapters or so. Stay tuned! :)
- Serena