In the state of Wisconsin lies the average sized town of Elmville, where they grow walnuts and boredom. In the center of Elmville is the gated community of Elysian Meadows for the town's upper middle-class residents (not that they need one, considering Elmville's extremely low crime rate). And in the center of Elysian Meadows was a white two-story house and accompanying garage, with a well-cared for garden in front, an immaculately cut lawn, and a white mailbox with the name CAIN written on the side to indicate the name of the family living inside happily.
Or at least, happily enough.
"Now, Cassie, I don't want to sound like a stereotype-"
"You sound like a stereotype, Mom," Cassandra Cain responded. And it's Cass. I haven't gone by Cassie since I was twelve, Cass thought, though she knew better than to say it out loud.
Sandra Woosan-Cain, standing in the doorway of Cass's bedroom dressed in a maroon pantsuit and matching heels, rolled her eyes at her daughter's snark. "Don't interrupt your mother."
"What?" Cass looked up from the homework she was working on at her desk and turned to look back with her most innocent eyes. "You said you didn't want to sound like a stereotype."
"Don't change the subject. Now look, Cass, you know how proud your father and I are of you. You've never let your disability hold you back, you're an amazing dancer, you exercise regularly with the both of us, you're doing well at school-"
"I'm doing great at school," Cass muttered as she turned her attention back to the infernal English homework. That wasn't entirely accurate; Cass was doing good at school, but dyslexia was a bitch and a half, so she never got the grades as high as she secretly wanted.
Still, she couldn't really complain; she started high school after homeschooling and tutors most of her life only to discover work there uniformly came in these brick paragraphs that may as well have come in hieroglyphics for all she could read them, and she was required to write in complete sentences, if not paragraphs.
It was only after her mom - the picture in the dictionary that accompanied the word "overachiever" - not only became the head of the PTA and made this oversight their biggest priority, not only got in an hour-long argument with the superintendent that ended with her publicly threatening to sue the asshat, she somehow managed to get a spot on the local news talking about raising a daughter with dyslexia and learning disabilities, making Cass something of a town celebrity and putting her struggles with the school directly in the public eye. Now Cass got separately printed sheets to work on in class, and even now was filling out bubbles SAT-style as opposed to writing out sentences.
For all that Cass hugged and thanked her mom after all this, she knew that she could never match what the woman did for her. But the fact remained that she was her mom, and therefore annoying.
"But I still can't help but worry about you," Sandra said as she walked up to Cass from behind, putting her hands on Cass's shoulders. "It feels like you're not making any friends."
"I have friends, Mom. Hattie, Kyle, and Dylan."
"That's three, Cass. The same three friends since Freshman year. Don't get me wrong, I love those three, but you're limiting yourself. You set up these giant barriers, let a few people squeeze in, then lock the doors and throw away the key," Sandra sighed, and ran her fingers through her daughter's hair. "I know how much you love being the best at whatever you do. Believe me, I know. So seeing you retreat into your shell and refuse to come out, it... it makes me wonder if I'm doing enough to keep you happy."
"...Oh. Wow," Cass almost whispered.
Besides their facial features, their drive to excel, and love of working out, she and her mom didn't share much in common. Right now, while her mom was still wearing her carefully pressed suit before getting changed for the evening, Cass was wearing jeans, sneakers, and her favorite ratty old Slipknot t-shirt. Her mom's hair was still up in its usual fancy French twist for work, while Cass specifically kept her hair cut just under her ears to avoid the hassle. Her mom applied makeup on her face as if it were war paint, while Cass usually put on some lip balm and called it a day. Every time her mom entered a room, she demanded the attention from everyone in it, while Cass used the distraction to slip by unnoticed.
But it never meant that they didn't love each other. That this wasn't the woman who taught her to speak when it took her longer than other kids, to endlessly research dyslexia just to make Cass's life a little easier. That Cass didn't love it when she ran her fingers through Cass's hair like she was doing right then. They loved each other plenty, they just had trouble... relating to one another.
"Mom, it's... It's not like that," Cass began as she reached to the shoulder that still had her mother's hand on it.
"Which is why I think you should sign up for cheerleading."
"Wait, WHAT?!" Cass whipped her head around to look directly at the crazy woman. If a record had been playing, its needle would have scratched. "We were having a nice moment, and you ruin it by bringing that up again?"
"What?" Sandra asked, sounding more confused than irritated. "Cassie, it's great! You'll make lots of new friends, you'll get a great workout, everyone pays attention to you-"
"Mom, I-" Cass stopped herself and took a deep breath. It's okay, you're just thrown off by the turn this conversation took. It's not like she did something stupid like sign you up without telling you like in some stupid '80's sitcom. "Mom, I appreciate that you worry about me. I really do. But to go over this again, one, I'm not interested-"
"You never gave it a chance!"
"Two, I hate the spotlight-"
"Pfft, you're just shy, we can build up your confidence!"
"And THREE," Cass deliberately put emphasis on to make her point, "I don't want to do something just because you did it in high school!"
"And what's wrong with that exactly?" Now Sandra sounded irritated. "I'll have you know that at the last minute at our regional championship, I-"
"Yes, Mom, you completed your routine with a sprained ankle! I know all the stories! Literally the first thing you see when you walk in the house is our trophy case!"
"Oh, like you wouldn't put it there if you had your own place!"
"I-" Cass faltered. She did have a point.
"Besides, there's nothing boys like more than a cheerleader!"
"Oh, here we go," Cass groaned as she put her face to her palm.
"Oh, is it girls instead?" Sandra smiled supportively. "That's okay, I have an open mind."
"No, the point is that I'm not interested in dating anyone right now. Right now, I'm following Dad's rule from when I hit puberty: nobody's allowed to date until they're thirty."
"Ugh," Sandra rolled her eyes. "I hate that man."
"What was that, Sandy?" a voice called out from down the stairs.
"Nothing, Dave," Sandra called out.
"Mom says she hates you!" Cass called out immediately afterward.
"Mmm. Hate you too, sweetie."
"..." Cass and Sandra made a valiant attempt to keep a straight face at that last declaration, before both burst into laughter at the same time.
As they recovered, Cass's smartphone beeped. Cass picked it up and read the text. "Oh, shit!"
"Don't swear in front of your mother," Sandra automatically chastised her. So does that mean I can swear when you're not around? "What's wrong, Cassie?"
"Hattie just asked where I am. I was supposed to help her babysit her little brothers! I was supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago!" Cass smacked the side of her head in frustration. "Ugh, she was counting on me, and I let her down!"
"It's okay," Sandra said. "You can go to her house."
Cass looked up. "I can?"
Sandra nodded, smiling. "Of course! I can see you're almost done with your homework anyways. Go help your friend. Just be back by dark and say hi to everyone for me."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Cass cried out as she jumped out of her seat, rushing out of her room and running down the steps two at a time. At the last third she jumped over the railing, landing directly in front of her father.
"Jesus, Cass!" David Cain swore as he stepped back, his tie loosened and shirt sleeves rolled up after work. "Warn a guy next time!"
"Sorry, Dad! Gotta go!" Cass said quickly as she ran to the front closet next to the trophy case, careful not to run into any vases or old family photos. She opened the closet and grabbed a hoodie for the fall weather, putting it on as fast as she could as her parents walked up to her.
"You forgot this," Sandra said as she held up Cass's smartphone. Cass reached out for it, but Sandra pulled it back just out of reach. "Hug first?"
Cass rolled her eyes, but did so while smiling. She and her mother hugged each other tightly. As they parted, Cass slipped her smartphone out of her mother's hand while her dad gave his usual glower.
"Hey," David interrupted. "Doesn't Dad get a hug, too?"
Cass wrapped her arms around her dad's large chest as best she could, then gave him a rare kiss on the cheek. David blinked in surprise, then gave an equally rare smile.
"Ugh, Dad!" Cass recoiled. "Don't smile, it looks freaky on you!" David rolled his eyes the way only a Cain could.
"Hey!" Sandra put her hands on her hips in playful indignity. "How come I didn't get a kiss?"
"Because he didn't try to convince me to become a cheerleader!" Cass answered cheekily as she started unlocking the door.
"I still want to continue talking about that."
"Duly noted!" Cass gave a mock salute as she opened the door, picking up her skateboard from just off the side of the front porch. "Love you guys!"
"Love you!" Sandra and David called out, waving goodbye as the door closed.
David turned to his wife, still smiling. "Did you hear that? I guess that makes me the favorite parent." His smile grew especially smug.
"...Cass was right," Sandra replied, "Smiling does make your face look freakish."
David's smile disappeared, replaced with his usual grimace.
"There's my Grumpy Bear," Sandra said while laughing, leaning into him as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his scowling lips.
"Hnnh," David grunted, not unhappily, as he put his arms around the small of Sandra's back. "Glad Cass isn't around to hear that one."
"I'll have to remember that one for later, then. Now what do you say you help me out of my suit and get my old pom-poms from the attic?"
(...)
Everything in the Cain household happened smoothly. It wasn't perfect by any means, but everyone in the family knew that they loved each other, and that they were prepared for whatever life threw at them.
They were wrong.
Ever since Sandra and Cass talked in her room, none of them were aware of a visitor silently watching them.
None of them were aware of the small, batlike drone hiding on the ceiling, following them throughout the house, recording everything they did and said.
None of them could have known that everything that drone was sent live to a monitor facility inside an unassuming white van a mere five blocks away.
None of them had the slightest idea that watching that footage were four young vigilantes a long way from Gotham, all observing in stunned shock the footage of two master assassins happily waving their daughter that could speak casually and without care off to a friend's house before engaging in sweet talk, all with looks on their faces ranging from horror, annoyance, disgust, and genuine befuddlement.
Naturally, it was Stephanie that voiced what they were all thinking.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"