"Odmience… even by Gotham's standards, that's a very obscure reference." Bruce sat on the opposite side of the cave at his computer while Cassandra changed out of her uniform. "You said he sounded Russian?"
"I thought so," Cassandra said. "But I am not a good judge."
"Well, Russian or Eastern European would make sense. Odmience are Polish monsters. It's said that demons steal children from their parents and leave Odmience in their place. There are some implications to that, but it doesn't tell us much."
"What about the other man's name?"
"Lipov, you said? I don't have any files that include that name… Damian!"
Bruce's ten year old son stepped out from around the corner, shirtless from changing from the night and asked, "What?"
"Someone is trying to settle a score with David Cain. Do you recognize the name 'Lipov' from your time with the League of Assassins at all?"
"The League has had hundreds of warriors all over the planet. I barely knew Cain himself, I don't know about any Lipov off the top of my head."
Damian had only returned from his latest disappearance six months before. The arguments over his right to the Robin uniform had been long and fierce, only settled with many words exchanged between Bruce and Tim. Tim had since taken time to himself and constructed a new identity and uniform for himself, only finally won by the insistence by Bruce Damian taking the Robin mantle may settle his violent demeanor. Out of spite he dubbed himself "Red Robin", which Stephanie had routinely sung "Yuuum" to whenever it was mentioned. He continued to insist he was going to change it just to make her stop, but he still hadn't done so.
The last year had changed the dynamic of the manor significantly. With Tim and Stephanie having graduated from high school, he wasn't usually around, which meant she wasn't either, both having taken residence at Gotham University. "Neither of you have to stay so close," Bruce said. "I can send you anywhere you want. If your mother doesn't like the idea, Stephanie, I can create a scholarship. She doesn't have to know it was me."
"We want to be around, whenever you and the city need us," Stephanie said.
"Besides, it's not like I want to just quit wearing the suit overnight," Tim said. "This is what we do."
Damian had taken Tim's place, but he wasn't as friendly or open with Cassandra as Tim had been. The siblings had a certain respect for one another, but neither interact much outside of their uniforms.
"I saw Cameron Gram tonight."
"Cameron Gram? The evangelist from the radio?"
"Yes. He is a hateful man."
"I haven't heard more than a few words of his, but media evangelists can sometimes be unstable."
"Do you think… he may be planning something?"
Bruce paused for a minute before he turned to face her, setting a hand on her shoulder. "I haven't forgotten what those men did to you. I'm sure Gram seems familiar, with his hate and his ranting. But men with hateful words rarely act on them. He's not going to be another Seraphim. Just try and ignore him."
Cassandra nodded slowly, pushing aside the memories Bruce had mentioned. "Sadie wanted me to come out on Saturday night. Is that alright?"
"Can't really predict these things, but that will probably be fine," Bruce said. "Are you two doing well?"
"Very well."
"Good." Bruce stood up and stepped away from the computer. "We'll handle this Lipov and Odmience situation as it comes. The two of you should probably go to bed."
"How much sleep do you need before you go out?" Damian asked.
"Less than you. And it's going to stay that way."
Cassandra chuckled a little as he complained, following Bruce out of the cave and back into the manor. She said hello to Alfred as she passed him, curled up under her blankets and silently prayed until she fell asleep. For the sick, for the troubled, for the homeless. For my friends and my enemies. Those I love and who are unloved. In your name, I pray.
…
"When are we finally going to get another Spoiler?" Stephanie asked with a sigh, laying on her upper-bunk and lazily tossing a foam football up at the ceiling, catching it whenever it fell. "I love being Batgirl, it's the coolest thing in the world, but where's my legacy? How come you're the last girl who got recruited?"
"There is Bruce's cousin," Cassandra said. "Batwoman."
"She doesn't count. She was already a woman when she started," Stephanie said.
Cassandra wasn't sure if it was the truth, but the stories went that before they were dormitories for the nursing students, Jensen was used by Amadeus Arkham to house some of his mental patients for study by the university students decades before. Whether it was true or not, it did explain the fact that every dorm in the hall was soundproof. No sounds of blaring music or sex ever travelled past the walls, and it allowed Stephanie and Cassandra to talk freely.
"Where and when did you get that jacket, by the way?" Stephanie asked.
Cassandra had come dressed in a faux-leather black jacket, and hadn't even noticed she hadn't taken it off when she entered. "It is Sadie's. She lent it to me the other night.
Stephanie smiled and cooed, teasing her. "That's adorable. What time is it, by the way? I'm going over to Tim's as soon as the witch comes back."
It took Cassandra longer than the average person to read Stephanie's digital alarm clock, but she reported, "Four fifteen."
"We still have, like, forty-five minutes then," she said, sinking further into her pillow. Stephanie's roommate, a Latina named Jordanna, had been a thorn in her side since she first moved into the dorms. Whether it was the loud, obnoxious pop music she often played when Stephanie was trying to study, the increasingly annoying guys she brought over or her stuck up, self-serving attitude, the two did not get along well. On the inside of the door was a whiteboard detailing who would be in the room when, the two attempting to share as little time together as possible.
"Did I say I was shot last night?" Cassandra asked.
"What?" Stephanie said, sitting up on her bed. "I mean, I know that's nothing new for you, but they usually don't hit. Where?" Cassandra pressed a finger to her upper chest, wincing a little as she did. "Are you okay?"
"My symbol is my most armored part," Cassandra said. "It is just a bruise."
"Alright, good. Don't scare me like that. Say 'I promise I'm okay' or something first." She let herself fall back into her laying position and sighed, "Maybe I shouldn't be rooting for another Spoiler if people are gonna keep getting hurt on the job."
"Can new Spoiler be a boy?" Cassandra asked.
"Under no circumstances." They both laughed. "You want to patrol together tonight? I love getting all this time with Tim, but we're already hanging out so much between classes. It's a weird shift to get used to."
"Sure, I will go with you." They sat quietly for a few minutes, sinking deeper into bed and chair when Cassandra asked, "What about Sadie? Can Sadie be Spoiler?"
"Do you want Sadie to be Spoiler?" Stephanie asked. "Tim has been going on about how he worries about me from the first nights we started dating. Not like we even could have hung out otherwise, it took him forever to tell me his identity. And even then, it was a fake name. Trust me, Cassie, your life will be way easier as long as you don't have to worry about the person you're dating going out in costume."
Every few beats, Stephanie tossed the foam football to Cassandra, who tossed it back. The lazy afternoon felt like the prelude to another long night. Eventually, Stephanie said, "You should probably get home before Jordanna gets back. And things get started for the night. Alfred's definetly a better cook than whoever works the chow hall around here."
"Where do you want to meet?" Cassandra asked.
"Tim and I have a bunker underneath… oh no…" Stephanie let out a groan as she rolled over and got a look out the window, punching her pillow a few times. "Why are people running? What are they all afraid of? Do I even want to know?" She pulled open the window, exposing the two to all the shouts of terror outside. "Hey! What's going on out there?"
"Some freak in a super suit is attacking the football team!" One of them screamed. "Said he wants revenge and he's hospitalize anyone who got in his way!"
"Oh come on," Stephanie said with a sigh. "That's really petty. Unbelievably petty. You want to see the cave a little early?"
"Do you have a uniform for me in there?"
"Who do you think you're talking to? If I didn't keep a costume here we wouldn't get to hang out as long. Let's go kick some butt."
