Hi all!

I can't tell you what the amount of support and interest in this story means to me. Writing it has been really cathartic for me.

So, I've decided to do some sandwiching here. I'm putting the prose part this chapter and the rest of the social media stuff next chapter.

TW: somewhat graphic physical assault, verbal abuse, and racist and ablest language.

Chapter Word Count: 2,244


Gotham City. One of the most crime-ridden places in America. The streets were always dirty, the sky was always gray, and the air was barely breathable. Nevertheless, this was the city that Cassandra Cain-Wayne chose to call home. As the only daughter of "Gotham's royal family" (as the media liked to call them), she knew that she and her family were more privileged than most.

Friday afternoons were a perfect example of this. While most people were either at work or school, Cass usually spent the time at her favorite cafe on Main Street.

Cass knew that she could easily spend her time at much nicer places. Even by Gotham standards, this one was rather rundown. But the food was decent, and the outside patio gave her a perfect view of the street. She liked to sit and watch the people as they passed. Cass could tell more about a person from their posture and pace than most could through a 30-minute conversation.

Her family wasn't entirely happy with her cafe of choice, but they all knew Cass was more than able to take care of herself. Even if she had to hide her true abilities, it was an open secret that all the Wayne kids knew at least some self defense. Par for the course if you're the children of a billionaire and were semi-regularly kidnapped. They had a running tally on one of the many whiteboards around the manor. Tim was leading both in and out of costume, though Dick was a close second.

Cass readjusted her face mask (the newest addition to the Wayne Enterprises lineup) as she pushed open the cafe's door and stepped inside. Despite the recommended health guidelines set by The United States and The State of New Jersey, the cafe was crowded, and only half the people inside were wearing a mask, including the workers. The mayor was trying to push for a mask mandate, but Cass didn't see that getting very far. Bruce couldn't even get one for Gotham Academy when the pandemic first started two springs ago. And he'd even stated Tim's lack of a spleen as a reason for it.

It was way past the usual lunch rush, and yet the line was still almost to the door. Cass patiently went to the end as the baristas hurried to fill orders, trying to maintain distance from others as much as she could. Which wasn't much. The man behind her was so close she could feel his breath on her neck.

The person in front of her moved forward, but Cass stayed where she was. There weren't any people standing outside, so she used the opportunity to create more distance. While Cass knew that this idea was most likely to fail, she didn't expect the person behind her to push her forward. Since her back was to the man, she stumbled for two steps but was able to keep her balance. Confused, Cass turned to look at the man. If she had been anyone else, she would have taken a step back at the look he was giving her.

"What are you looking at, sweetheart? Can't you tell when a man is telling you what to do? Move forward." Cass just stared at the man. He didn't recognize her, which was unusual for a member of the Wayne family. He also was trying to intimidate her, though he wasn't succeeding at all. It took much more than a random person on the street to intimidate Black Bat. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a few people pull out their phones and point them in her direction. They probably were just looking for some crazy story to tell a friend.

"Hey, are you listening to me? Are you deaf or something? Or just stupid?" The man probably would've gone on if his friend behind him hadn't stepped in at that moment. Cass could tell he was (slightly) more intelligent than his friend.

"Wait, hold on, Blake. Doesn't she look familiar to you?"

"Now that you mention it, Frankie, she indeed does. You're one of the Wayne brats. The only girl." Blake sneered at her. "Where's your daddy now?"

Frankie laughed. "I can't imagine him letting you come to a place like this. I bet he turned you out. It would serve you right."

Blake jumped in again, saying, "Wayne is an ass and an idiot, but I can't blame him for wanting to keep Kung Flu out of his house."

Cass froze. This was far from the first time Cass had heard the phrase used, but it was the first time it was being directed at her. She noticed that many of the people in the cafe stopped as well. No one spoke up in her defense though. This was Gotham. Keep your head down and don't mess with other people's business. That's how you stayed alive. Even so, the number of people recording them immediately grew.

Cass had no idea what to say. She didn't like speaking in the first place, let alone when in front of a lot of people like this. But a lot of them were looking as if they were expecting her to say something. And every second that she didn't say anything more people looked at her. She couldn't help but feel self-conscious. If her father or brothers were here, she would start signing for them to translate. But she was on her own.

Cass turned around and stepped forward slightly. She didn't want a confrontation. It would be best to just ignore the men. She ignored the tears prickling in her eyes. The men might be trying to act superior to her, but that's all it was. An act. One look at their body language told her they were really just compensating for insecurities. It wasn't worth the time or effort to confront them.

Normally, no one was able to get a jump on Cass, including her family. Even Damian had stopped trying a long time ago. But this wasn't a normal situation. Not only was Cass's back turned, but she was paying more attention to the menu than her surroundings in an attempt to calm down. It was a rookie move, one that Baba would be sure to scold her for. And her brothers would tease her. At least, they would have under normal circumstances.

Suddenly, Cass found herself on the ground, the breath knocked out of her. Disoriented, she could just barely make out what the two men were saying.

"– doing everyone here a favor."

"Wayne will see just what he let into his house."

Cass felt a sharp pain in her side and realized that the men were now kicking her. Black Bat would easily be able to get out of this, but Cass Wayne would have difficulty. So she let herself seem vulnerable, curling into a fetal position to protect herself. The men kept kicking her, and Cass felt real pain when one of her ribs cracked. She let out a whimper without meaning to.

"Oh, finally, we got the Princess to sing."

"It only took us 3 minutes of kicking!"

Cass didn't know what to do. She didn't want to let these men hurt her any more, but there was no way she'd be able to get out of this without the risk of showing her true abilities. And she refused to put her family in danger of exposure. Not for something this minor.

Another rib cracked, and her vision whited out for a moment. This time, Cass couldn't help but cry out in pain. She was vaguely aware of shouting somewhere by the door, and the kicking quickly stopped. She blinked the spots out of her eyes.

"Cass! Cass, can you hear me?" Wait, that was Dick's voice! During the confrontation, Cass had forgotten that she was meeting her oldest brother for lunch at the coffee shop. She felt Dick's hand on her arm and realized that he was kneeling in front of her.

Looking past her brother, Cass saw the two men try to run out the cafe door, only to be blocked by Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock. Their attempt to run past the officers was quickly stopped, and both men were quickly arrested. They kept swearing at all the police there, prompting Gordon to have Renee Montoya and Jason Bard take them away. Cass watched through blurry vision as the struggling men were forced into the squad car before it drove away.

By the time Gordon returned inside the cafe, Cass was sitting up with Dick's help. She could see a bruise forming on her brother's cheek, and he seemed to be favoring his right shoulder. They both turned to Gordon as he approached them.

"Hello, you two. I was told that you would be here, Cass, but I wasn't expecting to see your brother."

"We were meeting here for lunch." Dick gave his father-in-law a shy smile. "I wasn't expecting to see you here either. But it seems like those two men you just gave a ride had a different idea. Do you want us to give our statements now or could it wait a little bit? I'd like to get Cass to the hospital. I think one or two of her ribs might be cracked." As he finished talking, Cass saw flashing lights outside the cafe window, and an ambulance pulled up.

Upon seeing the ambulance, Dick helped Cass stand up. She hissed in pain and put a hand to her side. Seeing this, Dick picked her up in a bridal carry. Under any other circumstances, Cass would have protested or resisted. But two things stopped her. First, it kept up the pretense that Cass wasn't used to being so badly injured. Second, it hurt to breathe, let alone walk, and she appreciated her brother's help. He was probably right about those cracked ribs.

Once outside, Dick lay Cass on the stretcher and stepped back, letting the paramedics do their work. They got Cass into the ambulance before helping her take off her jacket, putting it to the side. They left her shirt on, though, and put ice packs on the various areas that she indicated were sore. As one of the paramedics began to strap Cass in for transport, the other went to inform Dick and the driver that they were leaving.

Dick rode with her to the hospital, which Cass appreciated. Through the back window, she could see Gordon's squad car. While he stayed out of the way of the paramedics, Dick was texting on his phone. She heard her own phone vibrate from her jacket pocket, meaning he was letting everyone know via the family group text what was happening. Soon after that, both phones became a constant source of buzzing in the ambulance. One of the paramedics smiled at Cass.

"Well, aren't you popular? If you'd like, I can get your phone for you." When Cass nodded, he reached over for the phone and handed it to her.

Dick: Everyone should probably sit down before reading the rest of this.

Cass and I are on the way to Gotham General. She was attacked by two men at the cafe we were gonna meet for lunch at. We're both ok, but I think Cass may have cracked or bruised ribs, and we both have some bruising. The guys have been arrested, and Jim is following us to the hospital to get our statements.

Barbara: Oh my god

Bruce: Alfred and I are on our way. Barbara, we can pick you up if you'd like. Tim, Stephanie, would you please pick up Duke and Damian on your way after class?

Steph: Of course. Tim gets out in 4 min, I'm just waiting outside his classroom. By the time we get to GA they should be out

Duke: I'll be in front of the school as soon as possible

Damian: I will be ready. Father, I propose that we get retribution for this attack on the family.

Jason: Can we get them on assault of a police officer? Since they also hurt Dick. Also, I'm on my way too.

Dick: I'm not sure. For one, I was off duty, as well as out of my jurisdiction. But the fact that I'm a police officer is pretty well-known, and the guys definitely knew who I was. I'll have to ask Jim or one of our lawyers.

Barbara: I'll gladly take a ride, Bruce. Please tell Alfred thank you from me. I'll be waiting outside the clock tower

Bruce: Of course. And Dick, I'll be sure to ask Daniel when I let him know what happened. I'll also call Felicity and see what can be done about the cell phone footage taken. I'd really rather that it not be on social media before the newspapers cover it.

Cass: *bandaged heart, bandaged frowning face, hug, ginger man, thumbs up, hospital, ambulance, police car*

Tim: I'm glad to see you're well enough to text, Cass. Steph and I are heading to the car now. Damian, one of us will text you when we're 5 minutes out.

Dick: We're almost to the hospital now. I'll tell the staff to expect all of you. I'm not sure how many they're going to let in the room at once.

Damian: Very well, Drake. I will be waiting.

Bruce: Ok, thank you for letting us know. See you both soon.