Cassie's sneakers slapped against the asphalt as she jogged up the steps and into the back entrance of the GCPD. Her hair, which had originally been pulled back into a bun on her head, was now blowing freely in the wind, the curls brushing over her neck and face. The chill bit at her skin, permeating through the jacket that she was wearing to cover the off-shoulder blue shirt she'd yanked on after she saw the news conference on the Arkham breakout.
Upon entering the bullpen, her blue eyes flitted over the crowd and the loud talking, policemen hauling shouting criminals into cells, before she finally spotted who she was looking for.
She stormed up the steps, but none of the three men seemed to hear her. Harvey was speaking once she got behind Jim and Ed's eyes flitted towards her in surprise, but she didn't hear what he was saying before her temper flared and took hold over her voice.
"James Peter Gordon!"
Both detectives turned to her as she stomped by her brother's desk, eyes blazing. "Have you lost your mind?!" She cried, letting her bag fall to the floor with a soft thud! "Do you really only have," She checked her wristwatch, "17 hours left of your job to catch this guy?"
"Good to see you too, Cas." Jim told her dryly, but inside, he was incredibly glad his sister was ok. And seemed to look much healthier, too. He could tell she'd caught up on sleep since working at Wayne Manor; the dark circles under her eyes were nearly gone, and her skin was much brighter. But she only narrowed her eyes, face darkening at his humor.
"You know what, J, your whole 'stick it to the man, fuck everyone, save my pride' thing isn't that cute anymore."
"Well, if you stopped shouting at me," he told her, resisting the urge to smile at how red his sisters ears got when she was pissed, "then I'd be able to tell you my plan."
"You have a plan?"
"No, he doesn't." Harvey chimed in.
"Speaking of plans," Ed chimed in, putting down the newspaper he'd been holding and bending at his feet, "Given the general mode of attack, may I suggest…" He grabbed two large pairs of black, rubber boots and showed them to the detectives. "You both wear your department issued galoshes out in the field."
"Galoshes?" Harvey spoke up, face screwed up in distaste. Cassie snickered.
"Aw, you two will look so cute with your rainboots on." She joked, then ducked her head as Harvey threw a wadded-up piece of paper her way.
"In the event of electrical misadventure, your footwear should be insulated." Ed explained, then turned to Cassie regretfully. "Sorry, Cassie, I would give you a pair but the department doesn't carry anything below a women's nine."
Cassie only nodded at him and reassured him it was ok as Harvey rolled his eyes. "No, mom," he said exasperatedly, "I'm not going to wear my rubbers on the case."
Jim turned his partner, eyebrows raised, before standing and stretching out his hand. "Give 'em here, Ed. Thanks."
A small prick of relief touched Cas's chest when she realized her brother wasn't going in completely blind and unprepared, but her thoughts were interrupted by a new voice.
"Detective Gordon?"
A woman, a beautiful woman, had come up the steps to the desk clump. Cas stayed in her usual spot, perched on Jim's desk in between he and Harvey, but she didn't miss how her brother shot out of his seat. She looked at the woman again, then back at her brother, eyebrows raising. She looked to be about her brothers age and was also his height, with short black hair and warm brown eyes.
And who is this?
"Dr. Thompkins." He greeted, shoulders rigid, and the woman smiled.
"My friends call me Lee."
Cas turned to look at Harvey, smirking a little as she mouthed the word friends to him. He rolled his eyes at the younger girl's antics, but both turned their eyes and ears back to the interaction.
"Congratulations, you got your job back!" Lee was saying, and Jim shrugged.
"Depends on how you look at it." He informed, tone underlined with regret, and Cas felt her heart jolt in her chest when she checked the time again.
Holy shit, Jim, are you flirting or catching a serial killer?
"I know you're busy with the escapes," Lee told him, "That's why I'm here."
"Is everything ok?" Jim interrupted, eyes narrowing in concern, "It must be chaos down there."
Oh, she must work at Arkham! Cas made the mental connection as Lee nodded, eyes still a little starry.
"We're getting by just fine, thanks for asking."
Luckily, Harvey had clearly had enough of the meet cute BS, cause he cleared his throat loudly. Both parties shook their heads, as if they'd forgotten where they were, and Cas suppressed a snicker.
"Oh, right," Jim cleared his throat, "this is my partner, Harvey Bullock, and my younger sister, Cassandra Gordon."
"Hola." Harvey greeted, rising to his feet, and Cas waved. But the woman was staring at her, smile widening.
"Oh, of course! The one from your photograph, is that right?"
Cas cocked her head at her brother, confused at what the doctor meant, when Harvey interrupted.
"Who's your little friend there?"
The blonde's eyes were drawn to the small doll Lee had been carrying. It was creepy looking, but also kind of familiar. She narrowed her eye's, head tilting to the side as she focused on it. Where had she seen that face before?
"Oh, this is why I'm here," Lee explained, "one of the women in my wing is a pagan sorceress."
"Of course." Jim muttered, and Cas kicked his calf lightly as Lee continued.
"She's very popular. The inmates make dolls to look like people that they want to curse, then give it to the sorceress to curse them in exchange for soda and candy."
"I curse you all the time, you never give me candy." Harvey complained, looking over to Jim, and Cas chimed in with a smirk.
"Ironically, I always stole his Halloween candy, and he always cursed at me."
Jim leaned back and gave his sister a playful pinch on the shoulder as she swatted his hand away. Lee watched them with an amused smile before continuing.
"I asked her if Gruber had ever given her a doll to curse, and she said yes." Lee turned the doll towards them, and Jim reached out to hold it as Lee continued. "This is the doll, his name is 'Mr. M.'"
"Mr. M…" Cassie murmured, watching as Jim turned the doll over in his hands, eyes narrowed in a similar expression. Suddenly, Jim's eyes widened, and he held the doll up towards his partner and younger sister.
"Who does this look like to you?"
"M…," Harvey repeated, then his own eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. "Holy shit, M! It's Maroni! Jack Gruber worked with someone during those bank robberies, and whoever it was sold him out! That fits perfectly!"
Jim put the doll on his desk and snatched up his coat as Harvey did the same, turning to Lee as he did so. "Thank you so much, Lee, this is incredibly helpful."
"Oh, of course!" The woman reassured, smiling. "You owe for a double six-pack of root beer, though."
Jim smiled back, looking a little distracted, and the two sat like that for several seconds before Harvey cleared his throat again, now looking insanely annoyed. Shaking his head and blinking, Jim bid Lee one more goodbye and then he and his partner ran out the door.
Cassie, however, stayed on her seat on the desk. She watched the exchanges between the two, and once Jim was out of the building, she turned back to the woman, giving her the friendliest smile she could. "So, doctor, huh? That's pretty awesome."
"It's definitely interesting at times, believe me." Lee chuckled, then held out her hand. "It's wonderful to meet you; Jim talks about you a lot."
"He does, huh?" Cas asked, smirking a little. "I'm sure he gripes about his kid sister following him around."
"Oh, no, actually! Not at all. He's got this picture in his wallet of the two of you, and he brags about you quite a bit. Tells me you're a registered EMT and are currently working as a nanny for Bruce Wayne." Lee smiled warmly. "He's incredibly proud."
It wasn't news to Cassie that her brother was happy she'd found a more stable job with better pay and less bloody carnage on an every-shift basis. But hearing that her brother had bragged about her, and was so incredibly proud of her, actually shocked Cas. Jim wasn't cold by any means, he loved his sister and she loved him. But he also had never been one to verbally express his emotions, and even less so after his stint in the Army.
So, realizing that he'd bragged about her, that he stated out loud how proud he was, made Cas's chest feel a little warmer.
"Shoot, I've got to be to the asylum soon." Lee stated as her watch beeped. Looking back to the young woman, she shook her hand again. "It was wonderful to meet you, Cassandra."
Cas waved her other hand. "Just Cas or Cassie is fine, Dr. Thompkins. Only Jim calls me that."
"Well, then you can call me Lee."
Cassie heard the commotion before it even entered the bullpen, and she looked up from her spot sitting in Jim's chair with her feet propped on the desk, reading a book, just in time to see Maroni and several of his goons walk through the door; they all looked like they'd been both burned and hit by a truck. She raised an eyebrow as one of the goons put an unconscious form on the desk and Maroni sat down, immediately barking out an order for coffee.
As Jim and Harvey bounded up the steps, she closed her book and swung her feet down, nodding at Maroni. "So, let me just take a stab and say Gruber or Buchinsky or whoever managed to get a few hits in?"
"Yeah, some kind of silent bomb." Jim confirmed, grabbing some papers. "Looks like they all got some nasty burns and a painful shock, but they'll live."
"And why is Maroni here?"
"Cause your brother's kind of cuckoo, baby Gordon." Harvey explained tiredly, then looked over at Jim. "When you use a goat as bait, shouldn't the goat be out in the jungle, not in the house?"
Maroni was now surrounded by cops and was laughing boisterously as he told them anecdotes. Jim nodded his head towards the bullpen. "This house is the best defended spot in Gotham. Buchinsky is crazy and arrogant and resourceful. Wherever Maroni is, he'll come after him. He'll enjoy the challenge." Suddenly he paused, then turned to Cas. "Speaking of which, you can't be here."
"What?" Cas cried, jumping to her feet. "What was that crap you just said about this being the 'best defended spot in Gotham'?"
"Buchinsky had a long rape record, Cassandra." Jim told her indignantly, eyes narrowing. "There's no way I'm risking you like that."
"Oh, please, I'm not afraid of some pervert." Cas scoffed, but Jim unfolded his arms, taking several angry steps towards his sister as his jaw set.
"Damn it, Cas, I said no! You can't be here!" Jim voice raised, and the conversations around them quieted as several pairs of eyes fell on the arguing siblings.
Cas's hands were clenched by her side, her knuckles white, as she glared up at her brother. A part of her knew he was right, being around when a convicted violent rapist was going to show up was kind of a horrible idea. But hearing him order her around and treat her like a child kind of squashed all instincts of basic self-preservation, and another part of her brain wanted to risk it just because he was trying to talk to her like that.
However, just because Cassandra Gordon was insanely stubborn and horribly prideful did not, by any means, make her stupid. She knew her brother had full jurisdiction to have her escorted out or put into custody until the danger was over. Jim Gordon didn't want to jeopardize his relationship with his sister, but he'd take her alive and hating him over still on good terms and dead.
So, with one final glare, she grabbed her stuff and stormed past him, purposefully slamming her shoulder against his enough to make him stumble. The room had struck back up into the usual loud chatter and work, but several watched as the young woman stormed past the holding cells and towards the back door, beautiful face twisted into a scowl.
But she didn't make it.
The lights flickered, a low buzz filling the air. Cassie's steps slowed, then halted as she looked around. The buzzing was getting louder and louder, and she felt the hair on the back of her neck physically stand on end when it first happened.
One of the lights overhead burst, sparks raining down on Maroni and the cops around him. They all cried out and ran for cover, arms covering their heads. Another burst, and another, and then large bolts of electricity were upon them.
They hit the floor, they hit the desks, they hit the lamps. Cops and convicts alike were shouting and running around, leaping over desks and the railings upstairs in a desperate attempt to escape the dangerous lightning bolts. A female policeman screamed as she was struck and tumbled down the stairs while several convicts screamed in pain as they were shocked by the bars in the cells.
A loud creaking interrupted Cassie's mad dash for cover, and she turned to see one of the light fixture's beginning to separate from the now-fried wires. A young man with dark hair was standing underneath it, his back to her and clearly unaware of the danger.
Impulsively, the blonde dropped her bag and bolted forward, slamming into the man's side right as the fixture fell to the spot where he'd been standing.
Both Cassie and the young man hit the floor, grunting in pain, and Cas inadvertently landed on top of him as his back met the floor. Groaning, she put her hands on either side of this head and went to push herself off when she saw who was on top of, and her eyes widened in shock and indignation.
"You!"
Oswald Cobblepot stared up at her in shock and some confusion, then realization dawned on him. "Cassandra Gordon?"
That was the last thing out of his mouth before the buzzing crescendo into a loud, sharp, snapping noise. Pain flared up her arms and into her chest and head before the world went completely black.
By the time Cassie had come to, it was clear someone had shifted she and Cobblepot. She was laying across his chest, much to her dismay, and she scowled at him as she pushed herself up. Officers around her were slowly coming to, and as she stood, Jim ran over to her. He frantically pulled her up, sitting her on a chair and checking her over for wounds. But, thanks to landing on their enemy, she'd managed to avoid any head injuries upon being electrocuted, which was more than anyone else in the building could say.
Once Buchinsky was arrested and put on a truck back to Arkham, her brother was reinstated. She watched proudly from where she was cleaning a cut on her cheek, sliced by a piece of glass from the light fixtures above her.
"Cassandra Gordon."
She paused in gently wiping the saline-soaked cloth against her face and turned, face dropping into a glower when she saw who was behind her.
"What do you want, Penguin?"
He clearly noticed the vitriol in her tone by the way he pursed his lips, but then smoothed his face over. "I wanted to come and thank you for saving me. That's both Gordon's now who have spared my life."
Cas scoffed and dropped the rag into the bowl of saline, smirking as the man flinched when some of the saltwater got on his clothes. "Don't thank me, Cobblepot. I didn't recognize you. If I'd known it was you, I would've just left you there."
His face dropped in shock, but the expression didn't hold for long. Soon, a smirk grew on his face. "Yes, I suspected that much."
She turned, still perched on the desk, and crossed her legs as she sat up straight. "So, is this the part where you start begging me for help like you did with my brother?"
Cobblepot chuckled, then shuffled closer. Cassie couldn't hide her sneer as he stepped closer, but she also didn't move. She wasn't going to be the one to back down.
"I've actually learned my lesson when it comes to you Gordon's; so stubborn, so prideful. See," his eyes flickered over her face before going back to her eyes, "I've learned that I don't need to go dragging you into the underworld of this city. You'll just keep coming back, you're addicted, you can't help it." He shook his head, smirk widening into a wicked grin. "I mean, why else do you keep coming back here?"
"I'm helping my brother-"
"Oh, come now," He cut her off, making her jaw tighten. "You keep coming back because you love this, Cassandra. You love the adrenaline rush, the excitement, the risk."
"Is there a problem here?"
Jim's hard voice made Cobblepot jump, and the two looked over to see her big brother and Bullock, both standing shoulder to shoulder. They were glaring at the man in front of Cassie, and it was then she noticed how close they'd gotten; they were practically breathing the same air.
"Of course not!" The man exclaimed cheerfully, backing up several steps. "Just thanking your dear sister for helping me." He turned to Cassie again. "Be sure to get that cut properly looked at, Cassandra. I'd hate for you to gain any scars from this city."
They were well-meaning words, but none of the parties there missed the veiled threat. They all glared as he limped towards the exit.
"Can the criminals in this town get any worse?" Cassie muttered as she picked the rag back up.
The loud sounds of sirens, car horns, and shouts of angry pedestrians had all faded into background noise for Cassandra. She'd lived in this city for so long that she noticed the silence quicker than she noticed the noise.
The clouds overhead offered their same pale, gray rays of sunlight as she stepped out of the market, brown grocery bag clutched in one arm. Bruce and Alfred had just returned from Switzerland that morning, and she was due to work tomorrow. They'd offered her a chance to come along, but she'd been reluctant to take the vacation with everything going on.
She was running through dinner options for herself and Jim that night when she rounded a corner-
-and smashed right into another person.
A startled cry left her lips as she hit the ground, her groceries spilling out of the bag and onto the concrete. She groaned, scowling as she realized an entire carton of eggs has shattered across the pavement and the jug of milk had bounced so hard when it hit the ground that the cap had popped off, the white liquid leaking out of its packaging.
"Would you-" A young voice started to speak, clearly angered, until she looked over at him from her spot on the ground. He stopped speaking as they met eyes.
He was younger, roughly her age. His hair was red, redder than she'd ever seen before on a person, and his skin was pale against his dark, ratted clothes. He had green eyes, ones that were wide as they made eye contact.
"I'm sorry, you ok?" She asked, wincing as she moved to stand. Her voice seemed to snap him out of his shock, and he stood, moving to help her up.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He responded, looking her over. "I hope I didn't hurt you."
Cassie couldn't help but notice that his tone was much different than it was when he first started speaking, but she let it slide, giving him a small smile. "No, just some scrapes, it's fine." Her gaze moved down to the ruined groceries, and she sighed. "Can't say the same for my groceries, unfortunately."
"Oh, here, let me help." He offered, bending down to help scrape the ruined portions back into the bag. The food was clearly wrecked, and halfway through cleaning it up, Cas decided to just cut her losses; she'd need to go back into the market.
"Thanks." She told him sincerely as he helped her dump it all into the trashcan. "Sorry I didn't notice you, the bag was a little too tall for me."
"No, don't worry about it, I should be the one apologizing." He told her, holding up his hand. "Just have a lot on my mind, y'know?"
"Tell me about it." She agreed, tucking a blonde curl that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. They sat in a somewhat awkward silence before she spoke up, hoping to get her errands finished now that she was behind. "Um, thanks for helping me, and I'm sorry again." She started to turn and walk back, but his voice stopped her.
"Wait! Um," As she turned back around, he gestured between them. "Why don't I help you?"
"You don't have to-" She started, but he cut her off.
"No, please, it would make me feel better. I can even help you get them home." He offered, looking somewhat hopeful. Cas bit her lip, looking towards the store and then back at him.
"Well, I'm not sure I know you well enough to follow me home," She turned down, then smiled. "But I would appreciate some assistance, I guess."
The boy's face broke out into a wide grin, wider than she'd ever seen before, and he nodded, moving to walk with her.
"Maybe we should start with some introductions." He told her, then held out his hand as they walked. "I'm Jerome."
Cassie shook it, smiling at him. "Cassie, nice to meet you."
Cas would be lying if she said she didn't somewhat enjoy Jerome's presence; for one thing, he was close to her age, being only a year younger at eighteen. He was also pretty funny, and usually got a laugh or two out of her during their time together. But something was throwing her off.
Jerome was kind of shy, he had a tendency to smile at the ground or say his words in a very hesitant voice, but part of his demeanor set Cas on edge. She could tell that being shy wasn't his first instinct, especially when angered. When they were leaving the market that same day after he helped her, some guy had bumped into them and rudely told them off. She saw rage flash in Jerome's eyes, but he seemed to take a deep breath and calm down, snapping back to his regular, puppy dog stare. Like he'd flipped a switch. The whole thing made the hairs on her neck stand on end.
She'd followed up on her statement that he couldn't follow her home; she knew better than to trust a complete stranger, especially in Gotham. But they'd exchanged numbers before separating. As she walked off, she could've sworn she felt him staring at her.
Cas was back to work that next day; it was good to be around Alfred and Bruce again. She didn't realize how much she missed them until she was back in the manor, laughing with Alfred as they cooked lunch and dinner and helping Bruce with his research. Selina hadn't come back around, despite Bruce and Alfred going out on daily rides to search for her in Gotham's streets. For several days, things were simply routine and normal, which Cassie had never been so grateful for.
But as she was walking out of the manor to head home one night, a loud crash and shattering glass made her jump. Her heart went to her throat, and she bolted towards the study where she knew Bruce was.
By the time she got there, he was already storming out, tears streaking his face; it was clear he'd been crying for a while.
"Bruce," She started, but he ignored her, moving to storm past her. She grabbed his arm gently and positioned herself in front of him. "Hey, stop." She ordered firmly, checking over his person for wounds. "What was that? I heard a crash, are you ok?"
"I'm fine." He told her, voice angry. But even she could hear the slight tremor in his tone. "Selina lied."
"What?"
"She lied!" He suddenly shouted, and if Cassie hadn't had so much training with aggressive people, she may have jumped back from the rage in his voice. "She lied to me! She never saw my parent's killer, she just didn't want to go to juvie! It was all for nothing!"
"Bruce-" She started, but he was already running away, rounding the corner before she could stop him. "Bruce!"
But he was already gone, and Cas paused in chasing him. Whatever he was dealing with, chasing after him wasn't going to help; he needed to calm down. It occurred to her that something was still broken, and she turned on her heel, moving to enter the study.
Alfred was already there, sweeping up pieces of glass. A defeated sigh left Cas when she saw that the crash had been the snow globe Bruce had gotten Selina as a gift; she must have been there, and that was how Bruce found out.
"So, he told you then?" Alfred asked, pausing in his cleanup. The blonde nodded, running a hand through her curls and setting her bag and coat on the couch.
"He did. I'll have to call my brother, make sure he knows if he hasn't already been told. That way, he can find some more leads."
Alfred snorted derisively, shaking his head. "Like he's got any others at this point."
His words and tone made Cas freeze in her movements to grab her phone from her coat pocket, and she paused, turning to the butler with narrowed eyes. "Excuse me?"
Alfred looked up from his sweeping and opened his mouth but saw the look on her face and shook his head. "Nothing, don't worry about it, Cassie."
"No," Cassie said, tossing her coat back onto the couch and bracing one hand on it while the other went to her hip, "You clearly have an opinion, Alfred, so let's hear it."
The older man straightened, then set the broom to the side, clearly trying to come up with the right way to express it. "Well, I think we can all agree that Detective Gordon hasn't exactly had any breaks in the case except for a false accusation and now a false witness."
"And how is that his fault?" Cas demanded, feeling her blood start to go hot.
"It's not, but I think maybe he's become more of a hinderance than help; all he's done is give Bruce false hope."
"Alfred, he's the reason that Mario Pepper isn't still named for the murders." Cassie told him, voice beginning to rise, "If it wasn't for him, then the real killer would be getting off scot-free."
"I just think that Master Bruce would be better off if he were to find these leads with his own skill." Alfred argued back, and Cas's mouth dropped open, eyes going wide.
"Oh my hell…" She whispered, staring at him, "Oh my- so that's why Bruce is so gung-ho about doing this on his own, you're encouraging him!" Her voice rose to a disbelieving shout, and she felt fire start to seep into her chest. Alfred straightened, his own eyes blazing.
"I love that boy, alright, I'm just trying to ensure he knows how to survive the real world!"
"The real world?! Holy shit, Alfred, the 'real world' is downright cruel when you're on your own! I can't believe this!" She cried, raising her hands to her head and then letting them drop. "I mean, here I am trying to get Bruce to talk about his feelings and open up to other people in a healthy way, and you're encouraging him to be a hermit!"
"He's not a hermit, he's smart! The boy's got to learn how to stay strong in conditions that are less than ideal, you can't always depend on other people!"
"You mean he can't depend on the wrong people?" She shot back, and her fury increased when Alfred paused at her words. "Yeah, I know how you feel about Selina. You don't exactly hide your hatred for the twelve-year-old girl!"
"So I don't want him hanging around a common criminal, that's wrong, then?" He shouted, looking affronted. "Not ever person has good in them, and I was right! She couldn't be trusted!"
"She's not some common street criminal, she's a kid!" Cassie returned, now feeling her anger pick up to a point where she couldn't stop. Like when you pushed a snowball down a hill. "And what about her do you not like, hm? She's not some preppy, high status, sugar and spice little girl? That she throws it back at you, encourages Bruce to think outside the box and not like some unfeeling soldier?"
"Of course not, but she and Bruce, they're…" He trailed off, looking frustrated. "Well, they're different! He needs someone that's-that's more like him!"
Cas stopped, completely unable to respond. It dawned on her right away what he meant, and she stared at him, lips parted in shock and disgust. She started to speak, then stopped, shaking her head. Bending down, she grabbed her coat and bag and stormed out of the study, not looking back, even when she heard him call for her.
"Cassandra!" He shouted again, and this time a hand grabbed her arm and turned her around. It took everything in her not to slap him clean across the face. "Stop it, where are you going?"
"Home; I'm not going to be a part of you raising Bruce to think that everyone who isn't a Wayne is beneath him. It's disgusting." She started to turn away again, but he pulled her back.
"It's not like that, I'm just trying to teach him that there are certain things that must be done on your own! That's how the real world-"
"The real world?!" She cut off, voice rising to a shout. "And what do you know about the 'real world'," She quoted the word aggressively with her fingers, "huh, Alfred? Do you have any idea how bad things are in this God-forsaken city? People are dying on the streets, kids like Selina are sleeping in cardboard boxes at night and being fucking sold for profit, and you're in this big house trying to act like it was wrong for Bruce to want to help?! You're actually trying to tell him to avoid having feelings of empathy and compassion!"
"Don't you come judging me!" He shouted back, pointing an angry finger at her, "You've never raised a child before, you've never-!"
"Never what? Never suffered?!" Her voice rose to a roar, and her eyes were so bright with rage that Alfred almost took a step back; she looked like she was seconds away from hitting him. "What is it about Selina that you hate, huh? You hate that she wears black all the time, you hate that she talks back? Or what about the fact that she curses, or that she's constantly at risk of being locked up in juvie? Cause guess what? So was I!"
Her statement actually shocked the butler into silence, something she'd never been able to do. He stopped, eyes going wide as she panted slightly, jaw tight as she stared back at him.
"My brother was gone; away on deployment. My mother worked two jobs to support me and at the time was still getting sick; her cancer diagnosis was just down the road, and my father was dead before I was even born. I started getting mixed with these seniors when I was a freshman in high school, and they eventually got me to start selling cocaine for them. It went on for almost a year until Jim caught me sneaking out while he was home on leave. He and my mom fought to keep me out of jail, but it didn't work. I was locked up for nine months. Should've been a year, but I got out on good behavior."
Alfred was still silent, and he shifted, clearly looking for words, but she wasn't going to wait for him to explain himself.
"And you know what? I know men like you. Men who look down on those of us who were in shitty situations, who had to make the hard choices. So, you'll forgive me if I don't want to wait around for Bruce to turn into some stuck up, purist nightmare that you're gunning for." She yanked her coat on aggressively, lips twisted into a snarl. "Consider this my resignation."
And with that, she stormed towards the door, angrily slamming it shut behind her.
"I didn't think you'd agree to come."
Cas looked up from her cappuccino to see Jerome smiling at her, his own mug clutched in his hands. She smiled, tucking another curl behind her ear.
"Yeah, well, I had a pretty bad day yesterday. Thought to myself, 'I could use some laughter'." She gestured to him with her mug as she raised it to her lips, "Then lo and behold, you called me."
"Yeah, I've been working up the guts to dial your number." He chuckled, looking somewhat sheepish. "I didn't think you'd agree to see me again. Plus, I was pretty sure it was a fake number."
Cas rolled her eyes playfully. "Trust me, I don't give out fake numbers. If I thought you were a serial killer, I wouldn't have given you the time of day."
The two laughed together, and Jerome took a sip of his coffee before looking back at her.
"So, what do you do?"
"I, uh," She paused, searching for the right words, "I'm an EMT, technically, but I just got done with a job as a nanny."
"Oh, how long were you a nanny?"
"Honestly? About three months." She told him, chuckling ruefully. "I actually just quit yesterday; that's why it was so bad."
"Horrible kids?"
"No, actually." She denied, feeling her face shadow with regret as she thought back to the argument. "He was amazing, the kid. But his guardian and I got into it about a disagreement over raising him. And I know I can't make that decision, so, I decided I didn't want to be a part of things when they went south."
"I'm sorry." He told her sincerely, "That must have been very hard."
"Yeah." She agreed softly, then blinked, shaking her head and looking up to him. "But enough about my depressing life, what do you do?"
"Alright, don't laugh." He told her, wincing, "And don't run, either. I live with my mother, currently."
"Oof, mommy's boy." She whispered mockingly, then chuckled. "Sorry, I'm just joking. I mean, you're still young, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I just hit eighteen. I'd love to move out, but…" He trailed off. "Well, my mother and I have some bad blood between us. She's got a bit of a drinking problem, and she's never been mother of the year."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Cas told him regretfully, "I find it surprising, though. She raised a great kid."
This seemed to amuse him, for whatever reason, and he smiled at her before continuing. "Anyway, I guess I'm still holding out for…well, for a way to fix it, I guess."
"Any siblings?"
He paused, as if surprised she'd asked, then shook his head. "No. I'm her only child." For just one second, something flickered across his face, but it was gone before she could distinguish what it was. "What about you? What do your parents do?"
"Actually, my parents passed away." She told him, pressing her lips together. Not only did she miss her mother, but she hated telling people that. It was a guaranteed way to get lots of unwanted sympathy and lots of pity for the rest of the encounter.
But to her shock, he simply frowned. "I'm very sorry to hear that."
"Don't be." She told him, taking another sip of her coffee. "My dad died before I was born, and my mom passed away almost five years ago, now. It's just me and my big brother."
"Oh, you have siblings?"
"Yeah, my brother Jim. He's great, and he's practically a parent." She paused, then laughed, shaking her head. "He's a little…over-protective at times."
"How does he feel about you being out on a date?" Jerome asked, laughing slightly. She bit her bottom lip and sheepishly raised her eyes to his. His mouth dropped open, barely stifling his chuckles.
"You didn't tell him?"
"Trust me," She assured him as he laughed, "I'm saving you from getting a phone call at ten o'clock at night asking you about your intentions for me."
They continued to talk as they finished their drinks, and then for almost an hour after that. Despite his weird behavior, Cas found herself enjoying his company. He seemed like a nice guy, and they even enjoyed some of the same things, like old jazz music and reading. Eventually, they got to a game of twenty questions.
"Alright, number eighteen." Jerome told her, rubbing his hands together as he fixed her with a thoughtful gaze.
"Better make it a good one, we're almost done." She teased him. He took a few second, studying her, before speaking.
"What's one hobby you enjoy that not many people know about?"
Cassie paused, taking her time to mull over her answer. "I like to sing."
"You can sing?" He repeated, looking delighted, but she shook his head.
"I didn't say I could, I just said I like to." She corrected, "My mother put me through piano for over ten years, so it was just kind of a hobby I picked up. I hated just playing, so I started singing the lyrics of whatever song I was practicing to make time go by faster."
"Can I hear it?"
"Hear what?"
"Your singing! Come on, I bet you have a beautiful voice." He teased, but she smirked, shaking her head.
"Nope, sorry. You've got to get to at least date number three before I'll even hum." She denied tauntingly. He stopped, a devious smile taking over his face.
"So, you're saying there will be more?"
Cas fiddled with her empty mug, shrugging. "I don't know. Kind of depends on how much you impress me."
"I think I'll take that as a challenge, Gordon."
"You can take it however you like, Valeska."
The next few days passed by without incident. Jerome called her every day but wasn't able to go on a date with her due to work, and she realized with a start that she still didn't know what he did. When she asked, he'd simply tell her it was a surprise.
Alfred didn't call her, and neither did Bruce. Her bills were coming up, and Cas knew she should probably make amends, but couldn't. She stood by what she said: she wouldn't be a part of what was happening. Jim, however, was not pleased to hear the news.
"Cassandra," He started, his voice holding that familiar lecturing note that she absolutely hated, and she cut him off, already annoyed.
"Please, don't start, Jim." She groaned, letting her head fall back. They were at the precinct, Cassie perched on her usual spot on top of his desk. Harvey was listening half-heartedly as he looked over some paperwork for their current case. They'd rescued a woman from drowning so her killer couldn't harvest her adrenal glands, but the killer got away. Despite seeing his face, it was getting trickier and trickier to find him.
"You didn't need to quit-"
"Hey, he insulted you! And me!" She defended, voice indignant. "I'm not going to sit around and allow someone to shit all over my life decisions; I already paid the price, and I've accepted what I did was wrong. I don't need him to get all high and mighty on me."
Jim's face softened, and he opened his mouth again, probably to comfort her, but was cut off when a familiar, friendly voice spoke over him.
"Jim, Cassandra."
Both siblings looked over to see Lee Thompkins coming up the steps, looking somewhat nervous. Despite her bad situation, Cas still couldn't hide her smirk as her brother stood, back straight, at the sight of the woman he was seeing.
"Lee." He greeted, straightening his suit jacket. "You, uh, you remember my sister, Cassie, and Detective Bullock."
The dark-haired woman greeted the pair of them as Jim explained, "Lee is our new M.E."
Cassie turned to her brother in surprise as Harvey spoke up, voice flat. "You're kidding."
"No." Jim stated behind a tight smile.
"Oh, good, you've met!" Captain Essen interjected, walking over to the group from her office.
"Detective Gordon and I know each other." Lee explained politely, shooting Jim a look before turning to shake the woman's hand.
"Oh, right. From Arkham?"
"Yeah. Arkham." Cassie cut her brother off before he could speak with a smirk but jumped when he poked her in the side.
"Welcome aboard." Harvey congratulated, leaning back to shake Lee's hand.
"Happy to be here." She turned to Jim, a mischievous look lighting up her expression. "Good to see you again, detective."
"It was good to see you too, doctor." Jim responded stiffly, and Cas allowed her head to fall as Essen and Lee walked away, the first showing the latter around the bullpen and beginning to lead her back towards the M.E.'s room.
"You have no luck at all, do you, brother?"
"What do you mean?" Jim tried to shrug off as he sat behind his desk.
"You find a fine lady like that," Harvey continued, "And she comes to work with you in the same building? It's a damn shame."
"Why?"
"Come on, J, with how uptight you are whenever you're in this building?" Cas told her brother flatly, eyebrows raised, "I'm surprised you even acknowledged her."
"Yeah, and office romances always end in tears. Tears." Harvey warned, nodding at the blonde.
"It's not gonna be like that." Jim denied, but Harvey looked up at him from his desk, eyes narrowed.
"Trust me. I know."
Both Jim and Harvey ended up getting a lead on their suspect, so they were off to a high school to investigate. To think the serial killer was someone who'd been allowed access to children on a daily basis was a thought that sent chills down Cas's spine, but she did her best to help while still in the precinct. Essen had made it clear before they were even out the door that Cas couldn't go on calls unless there was a strong chance of needing medical assistance. So, recon calls normally meant she was stuck.
She had just come from talking to Jim and Harvey about the missing adrenal glands on all the bodies when she saw him.
"Oh, for hell's sake…" Cassie muttered, starting down the steps as she watched Ed walk up to Oswald and begin conversing. She didn't know the mob members reason for being there, but she could only guess it had something to do with her big brother.
As she stepped closer, heeled boots clicking quietly on the linoleum, she heard the end of Oswald's sentence.
"You do know who I am?"
"I know who you are." Ed responded, sounding somewhat confused. Oswald smirked.
"Then you know you're standing too close."
As Ed's face dropped and he took a step back, both men looked over as she approached.
"Don't worry, Ed." She reassured her friend, glowering at the man in front of them. "With no guards at his beck and call, he's all bark and no bite."
"Cassandra." Oswald greeted, though she could hear the faux politeness coating his tone. "What a pleasure to see you again."
"What do you want?" She cut right to the chase, already feeling impatient. He clearly didn't enjoy her tone, and his lips pursed before he spoke again.
"I'm sending out invitations for the opening of my club tonight." He informed her, fake cheerfulness back on. "I wanted to hand over both your and your brother's invitations personally."
She accepted the sleek black paper he gave her, which was folded in half and had fancy silver lettering across the front that read Oswald's. The invitation was not well written, and the name lacked just about everything. Fish Mooney's name was unique, Penguin's sounded like an old folk's restaurant.
"And why would you come down here, thinking we want to see you?" She questioned, holding the invitation between two fingers. He shrugged, smirking. She hated that smirk, he only ever wore that expression when he had a secret.
"Maybe you don't, but your brother might."
Cassie scoffed, pursing her lips as the two stared each other down, before ripping the invitation in half. Cobblepot's face dropped immediately, and she walked forward until she was directly in front of his face.
"See, I'd come, but I don't show up to B-grade bars and clubs. Call me high-strung, but I like at least a little success when it comes to the night life." She whispered tauntingly, watching in amusement as his face grew red with anger. Reaching up, she slapped the ripped invitation against his chest and turned back to Ed, who was watching the interaction with wide eyes. "Let's go, Ed."
The forensics analyst moved to scurry after her, turning to see the new club owner glaring after the pair.
"Thank you for that, Cassie." Ed told the blonde sincerely as the two walked towards the M.E. lab. "I fear Mr. Cobblepot was misinterpreting my meaning."
"You don't have to thank me, Ed." She told him warmly, shaking her head. "Penguin's a coward; he relies on the muscle around him to enforce his word. Until he gets better at sacking up and doing the hard job, he's never going to be successful or in charge, not in this city."
Ed hummed, then smiled at her. "Well, let's hope that's the last time you're stuck between us."
Cas chuckled at him. "Yeah, hopefully, huh?"
"Maybe we could go to Penguin again."
Cas looked up from where she was looking over the case file at Jim's desk as her brother paced; Harvey was sitting at his desk, looking tired. They'd been mulling over where they could find Gerald Crane for over three hours now, and it was starting to get dark out. She guessed this could be seen as a positive for now being unemployed; she had more time to insert herself into murder cases at her brother's job.
"No. Absolutely not." Jim shot down immediately, and Cas couldn't help but raise her eyebrows at him in surprise. Didn't he realize that without any new leads, they were just waiting on the next body?
"He helped us with Flass, maybe he'll help us with Crane." Harvey tried to reason, but Jim shook his head, face hardening.
"No, I'm not going back to him."
"It's worth a try-"
"No, it's not!" Jim finally cried, eyes blazing, and Cas reached up to rub her temples as Harvey snapped back.
"Then we wait for another body to drop, cause we're not gonna find him here!"
As Cas opened her eyes again, feeling a migraine forming, she paused.
"Wait a second…" She muttered, picking up the paper in the case file. It was her brothers scrawled out notes, and despite his deplorable handwriting, she could see he'd written down four witnesses talking about how his wife died. "They all said Crane's wife died in a car accident?"
"Yeah." Her brother answered, watching her, and she picked up the notes and showed them to the partners.
"So why do none of the witnesses not know any other details of her death? They don't know what day, if he was in the car with her, nothing. Wouldn't that be important if he had to take an extended leave of absence from work?"
Jim and Harvey paused, then looked at each other.
"Alright…" Cas watched as Harvey scrolled through some old newspaper articles, "All the witnesses say he left work around this time just under ten years ago."
Harvey narrowed the search down to around October and November of that year, looking for articles with the name Crane somewhere in them.
"Got it!" He announced after several minutes. Both siblings leaned over each of his shoulders as he scanned over the old newspaper article. "Karen Crane. Says here she died in a housefire, not a car accident." He looked at Jim. "What are the chances of all four people all lied about her cause of death?"
"Why would Crane lie about how she died?" Cas muttered, confused, before Harvey scrolled down further. It showed a picture of Karen Crane; she looked like a strict woman, early thirties with long blonde hair and pale gray eyes.
"It says she was sleeping upstairs when the fire broke out. Husband and son Jonathan, eight, were downstairs."
"Oh my gosh…" Cas muttered as Jim's eyes widened and he looked at his partner and sister.
"Crane was in the house when his wife died?"
"And didn't save her." Harvey concluded. "No wonder he lied!"
"He's ashamed. He didn't save his wife out of fear, that's why he's doing this!"
"Wait, so where's the house?" Cassie asked, scanning the screen in front of her. "Cause I'll bet the last five hundred dollars in my bank account that he's there."
"Already on it." Harvey responded, scribbling the address down on a piece of paper. "Let's go!"
"Come on, Cas," Jim beckoned his younger sister to follow them. "If he's exposing his son to this, we're going to need some type of medical interference should things go wrong."
It was dark by the time they rolled up to the house. Jim cut the siren, lights still flashing red and blue.
The building had been burned and charred, decrepit against the dried foliage around it. It had clearly once been a very beautiful house, with charred and ruined white trim around the door and windows. Despite the dead look inside, something about it made Cas want to hang back. It was like hearing the echoes of a scream; the air was still thick with the vibrations of the terror that had been left behind.
Walking behind her brother, she waved the flashlight in front of their group as they entered the anteroom that held the front door to the house. There were no signs of life around them, but she kept her hand on her gun just in case while both Jim and Harvey held their own weapons at the low ready.
"Can you hear anything?" Jim whispered, but his companions shook their heads. It was completely silent around them. Reaching up, he knocked loudly on the front door. "GCPD!"
Again, nothing, and Jim reached up to knock one final time. "GCPD, if there is someone here, make yourselves known now!"
Still, they were met with dead silence. Reaching up, Harvey slowly pushed open the glass door, watching carefully around them for signs of danger. But as they crossed the threshold, a loud clanging noise cause all their heads to swivel towards the sound of the disturbance.
As they ran, though, Cas paused upon hearing several footsteps thundering out the backdoor. Hesitating for a split second, she turned on her heel and busted back through the front door and around the house, footsteps crackling over the dried brush as she entered the backyard.
The sight of a figure made her jump and bring up her gun, but she stopped upon realizing it wasn't a person; it was a scarecrow. The sight made her shiver, she'd never been a fan of them, not since Jim took her to a haunted house when she was thirteen and someone dressed up as one scared her so bad she started crying.
Her thoughts were interrupted upon seeing two figures crouch underneath the scarecrow, whispering frantically. Quickly turning off her flashlight, Cassie started creeping forward, praying they didn't look up and catch her pale blonde hair.
As she neared them, she heard a younger voice that sounded on the bring of hysterics.
"…you can't, dad, that's too much!"
Crouching behind an old tractor, she slowly looked around to see an older man that she recognized as Gerald Crane bent over a much younger looking boy with shaggy brown hair and pale skin. He couldn't have been older than sixteen or seventeen. That must be his son, Jonathan.
"It's the only way." Crane told his son grimly, and Cassie realized in horror that he was drawing pale yellow liquid into a syringe.
"Dad, there's not enough time-!"
"I love you, son."
Cassie jumped from her spot, moving to run towards them. "Crane, don't!"
But it was too late.
He slammed the needle into his son's arm, pressing down on the plunger at an incredibly fast speed. Cassandra moved to grab her gun, but he looked up and saw her coming.
Before she was even halfway there, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. Eyes widening, Cas dove out of the way, just barely making it behind another stack of hay before he started firing.
But through the gun fire, a blood curdling scream made Cas freeze.
Jonathan.
She could hear the teen crying out in sheer, unadulterated terror, his words incoherent as he shifted and scrambled against the hay. Moving to see if she could crawl towards the teen, she barely managed to duck behind her cover again before a bullet hit the hay where her head had originally been.
"Jonathan! Jonathan, it's ok!" She yelled, desperate to try and bring the boy down from the fear-induced high that was wreaking havoc on his body, but the boy was too far gone, even if he was hearing her. Her heart pounded as she realized too much stress could start to mess with the electrical waves in his brain, and then they would be looking at seizures. Without an ambulance and proper medication, there would be no way to stop them.
"Hands where we can see them!"
The younger girl had never been so relieved to here Harvey's voice in her life. Knowing Crane was now distracted, she peaked out from behind the hay bale to see him standing, Jonathan still writhing and twitching behind him.
"You think I'm afraid of you?" The deranged man called out, pointing his gun towards the pair.
"Not another step-!"
"Afraid of your guns?" He punctuated his words with three shots towards the partners. Cas watched as the two dove behind tree's to protect themselves against the bullets and immediately darted towards the hay bales.
"I have no fear!"
His words were soon followed by a small cry of pain when a bullet hit his shoulder, and Cassie moved again, this time throwing herself over the crying younger boy.
"Jonathan, shhh, it's ok!" She tried to soothe, but the boy was quickly destabilizing. She could see his pupils dilating and could actually see his pulse bounding at the carotid artery. His skin temperature was growing hotter and hotter, and he was whimpering and still occasionally screaming as he stared above them.
More gunshots pushed Cas to dive over his head, clutching the younger boy closer as she attempted to protect the both of them from the hail of bullets. "It's going to be ok, Jonathan, it'll be ok! You're ok!"
Shockingly enough, he suddenly stopped, and the sound of a body hitting the ground made Cas realize his father was gone.
As familiar footsteps pounded towards her, his gaze suddenly moved from above them towards her face. For the barest, smallest second, awareness seemed to flicker back into his eyes.
"Jonathan…" She whispered again, hoping to keep his adrenaline at bay, but his gaze shifted back above them, and one last scream ripped through his throat before he began to shake.
"Shit!" She cursed as Jim stopped beside them, reaching out to put her hand behind his head. "He's seizing, call the ambulance!"
As they desperately tried to comfort the boy as his body shook and convulsed, Cassie happened to look up and realized what the boy had been screaming at.
The scarecrow above them.
Cas hated hospitals.
Which was weird, seeing as her job earlier that year had demanded dropping off patients to them several times or more per shift, but she'd always hated them. Ever since her mother had passed away in this very hospital, she avoided going anywhere except the emergency department.
But now, in the ICU, she sat at Jonathan Crane's bedside, watching the younger boy with worried eyes. She could hear the doctor briefing Jim outside the room, but their voices were muffled. A vase of blush peonies sat in a plastic vase beside them, but she knew the boy couldn't see them. He couldn't truly see anything aside from his terror.
A nurse came in, checking the drip rate of the medication that was currently hung, and nodded at Cassie before walking out. The blonde watched her leave before turning back to Jonathan and realizing with a start that he was staring right at her.
"Jonathan?" She muttered, but his eyes suddenly glazed over and the fear returned, seeming to look behind her. He began to fight against his restraints, voice climbing to unintelligible shouts. The same nurse ran in and ordered Cassie out of the room, more nurses joining and beginning to give orders for medications to control what seemed to be an oncoming seizure.
But as she joined her brother in the hallway, Cas could've sworn she heard the boy whimper one thing.
Scarecrow.
Try not to be too upset that Cas has quit her job at Wayne Manor for now; she'll be back, but she's got her own flaws and character development to go through, and Alfred and Bruce are big parts of that