Artemis spent the next two and a half hours trying to teach Cass how to be a normal teenager. It was not as successful as she had hoped. Cass now had a basic understanding of flirting at least, but other simple things just didn't make sense to her. They had finally decided that if Roy didn't like her social awkwardness, then he wasn't worth her anyways. After that revelation it was already six o'clock and Mis had to get home for dinner. Cass followed Artemis's example and ate a quick meal before disappearing to get ready for her date. She had roughly thirty minutes to get dressed, and do her hair and makeup. After a brief debate about her outfit she finally settled on dark, ripped skinny jeans, a white tank with a military jacket and brown ankle boots with low heels. Her (still currently red) hair was pulled back into an easy ponytail and she touched up some makeup to make her eyes pop while still keeping that natural look. She arrived at the theater right on time and scanned through the crowd inside. She finally spotted Roy's familiar red hair over by the arcade. He was scanning the crown with a slight frown on his face. Cass quickly made her way through the crowd and over to his place against the wall. His frown morphed into a smile when he saw her. It looked like he had already gotten the both of them drinks and popcorn, for which Cass was grateful.
"You look great." The words he spoke took Cass by surprise. She didn't feel great. The lack of coverage and large enough crowd was making her uncomfortable. She went to tell him as much before she remembered Artemis's lessons earlier that day.
If he gives you a complement, accept it and give him one back. Her voice rang inside Cass's head.
"Thanks, so do you. Should we get to that movie?"
"Oh! Yeah, the previews should be starting here soon." He led her through the theater to the door for their movie.
"Big Hero 6?" She questioned curiously.
"Yeah, I prefer comedies, but based on our talk at the park I remembered that you like cartoons. So, I thought you'd like to see this." Touched by his thoughtfulness, and feeling a little impulsive, Cass quickly leaned up on her tip-toes and pecked him on the cheek.
"Thank you." She turned and opened the door. Seeing him still frozen a few feet away she rolled her eyes and sent him a teasing smirk.
"Coming?" He startled out of whatever thoughts he had and quickly followed her through the door and into the quickly darkening theater. It was mostly full of kids and younger teens, but both Cass and Roy enjoyed themselves immensely. They talked about it as he walked her home, neither daunted by the darkness and late hour.
"It was amazing! Who was your favorite character?" Cass questioned with wide eyes. Roy could clearly see her great amount of enthusiasm and made a mental note that cartons were right up by coffee on the list of things she enjoyed. He smiled at her, thankful that her enthusiasm was rubbing off on him.
"I don't know. Probably Fred," he joked. For some reason, Fred reminded him greatly of Wally. He had no idea why though as Wally was way more mature than Fred, even though it was sometime debatable. "Who was yours?" Without hesitation Cass answered.
"Go-go." Surprised (he had thought she would have picked Honey Lemon) he pushed her to explain.
"Why Go-go?" She grinned mischievously at him.
"I like speed." He snorted.
"It sounds like you're talking about a drug!" Roy felt proud of himself when she rewarded that statement with a genuine laugh.
"No! Oh, goodness no! But she could get a smart car to move. That is admirable." This time it was Roy's turn to laugh.
"What do you have against smart cars?" He bumped his shoulder into her. She gapped at him.
"Absolutely everything! The only thing they're good for is parallel parking!"
"Okay, what kinds of cars do you like?" She was about to reply with 'anything that could go super fast. Like a racecar,' when the couple was interrupted by a clicking sound. A very familiar clicking sound to the both of them. They both turned around to fine themselves face to face with a gun and a lowered hood. Roy stepped in front of Cass slightly, much to her surprise. She wasn't used to people thinking they needed to protect her and she had to push down the slight anger that arose because of Roy's actions. He didn't know she didn't need protecting.
"Give me your wallet and your purse." Thinking it wasn't worth the fight, Cass started to pull her purse over her shoulders and was about to give it to the man when Roy stopped her.
"Roy?" She questioned quietly. He didn't answer, and his eyes stayed trained on the gunman.
"Come on now, don't be difficult. I've got better things to do. Now hand them over!" His gruff voice was getting louder and Cass again went to hand him her purse. She was stopped again, but this time it wasn't by Roy. An eerie cackle broke out and suddenly the mugger was being attacked by a black, red, and yellow blur.
Wait. Is Robin saving us from a mugging? Talk about irony. Roy had also realized it was Robin, but instead of losing his previous tension, it switched to slight anger. Had the little bird been following them all night? (There was a chance that he was just on patrol, but Roy wasn't a huge believer in coincidences. He and Robin would be having a little talk later for sure.) He nodded his head slightly at him in silent thanks, gently grabbed Cass's elbow, and started to walk away. They both remained slightly tense until they reached Cass's apartment. Which, despite her normal paranoia, she had decided to show him. She was pretty sure she had something incriminating out though, so she would have to say goodbye at the door. A time that was quickly approaching as they took the elevator up to the highest story. The doors slid open with a small ding and revealed a small hallway with one bright blue door at the end.
"This is me," Cass glanced at Roy. She was slightly taken aback when she found him staring at her like he had been in the coffee shop. She furrowed her eyebrow slightly and her eyes darted around his face trying to determine if something was wrong. Cass was just about to ask him what was up when Roy's lips were suddenly on hers, effectively silencing any questions she had. Taken by surprise she simultaneously pulled back her Meta abilities while blocking a flashback she could feel creeping up. It took another couple of seconds for her to start to kiss back. Suddenly realizing that things were moving way too fast for her comfort, Cass quickly pulled back and raised a hand to stop Roy. The hand wasn't needed though as the moment she started pulling back, he had backed off. She tried to grasp her breath and despite her best efforts, she could feel a panic attack creeping up. She gave a rushed goodnight and quickly unlocked and stepped through it shutting it behind her and leaving Roy stunned in the entranceway of her home. Slightly confused (he'd never had that type of reaction before) he headed back to his hotel and brushed it off as everything being too much too fast for the shy girl. While Roy was making his way home, Cass was dealing with a panic attack on the other side of her door. She had slid down with her back resting against it and her knees cradled to her chest. Cass struggled to pull air into her lungs and her position was not making anything easier. She tried to forcefully pull in a deep breath but ended up choking on it slightly as she let it out. The painful process was repeated for several minutes before Cass was able to loosen up enough to breathe a little easier. It was only when she knew she wasn't in trouble of passing out because of suffocation did she start to analyze what had just happened. Roy had kissed her. Roy had kissed her!
This was a bad idea! There are too many reasons why this is a bad idea! Why didn't anyone tell me? I kissed him! I could have killed him! It's happened before! And even if I don't accidently kill him then I could get him killed! Or he could find out I'm a contract killer! Then everything is down the drain anyways! Cass ran a hand through her hair. She could stop being a contract killer, but that was all she'd ever known. That was all she had been taught. It was only because of Travis, Artemis, and the need to blend in that she was able to socialize at all! Uncle Remy certainly hadn't cared about whether or not she could socialize or do other things. She didn't think she could be a normal person, and she wasn't brave enough to find out. She supposed she could follow in Artemis's footsteps and become a hero, but she wasn't sure she wanted that. Cass defiantly did not want the judgment when others found out, because they would. Just like they will find out about Artemis. (She normally didn't tell Cass anything about her other life, but she had slipped up once and confessed that her teammates knew next to nothing about her past.) But on the other side, Cass liked Roy. For some reason she found herself unable to give him up, no matter what logic said. She could stay with him until he found out, but she also didn't want to play pretend. She didn't want to put herself through the torture of knowing one wrong step would mean the end. Cass sighed and thunked her head against the door behind her. She would consider everything later, at the moment she was feeling antsy. She logged onto her holotable and scanned to see if Trav had any side jobs she could pull. He usually kept a few times just like this when Cass was feeling antsy and needed to be someone else for a while.
Bingo. There was one right in Gotham, a simple theft from the Gotham Public Museum of Art and History. Apparently there was a famous Rembrandt being displayed as a part of 'art exchange' if you will. The Dutch got one of Gotham's famous pieces for a year, and Gotham got one of the Dutch's famous pieces for a year. It would be a fair trade; if Cass wasn't suddenly interested in stealing it. She spent the next hour surveying the security for the museum. She would usually spend more time casing the place and such, but she really wanted to do something and the museum had surprisingly low security for holding such expensive items in Gotham. Without thinking of a way to talk herself out of it, Cass suited up and made her way towards the museum.
Just as she predicted, it was stupidly easy to steal the painting from Gotham's museum. She would have to remember the weaknesses she found if she ever wanted to add something to her own personal collection. She was in the home stretch when the Bat showed up with his sidekick in tow. See the pair she chuckled and slipped the tube containing the painting over her back so it rested comfortably beside her katanas.
"Well. This is a surprise." She drawled. "I'm really not in the mood though so I'll just be going." Ghost made to move away, but the Bat stepped in front of her path.
"Not so fast. You know we can't let you take that painting, Ghost." She tsk'ed.
"Ah, that. You know, I would have thought you would have been relieved." The white lenses narrowed slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Robin was slipping towards her back while she was focused on the Bat. She purposefully shifted so that he knew she was keeping her eye on him. Robin made no further move to sneak around her. Ignoring hers and Robin's wordless signals, the Bat continued.
"Why would I be relieved?" G scoffed as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
"Because I'm no longer focused on you! Paintings are sooo much better than dark, scary vigilantes." She could practically feel the glare that was being given to her by said vigilante.
"I still can't let you leave with that painting." Ghost gave an exaggerated sigh and eye roll.
"Of course you can't. Oh well." She unclipped the tube from her back and tossed it to the Bat. "I got what I wanted anyways." This time, Robin burst in with a curious question.
"What did you want?" Ghost gave the little bird a smirk.
"A little fun, of course."
Robin gave his mentor and incredulous look as Ghost left.
"That was the recently famous Ghost?"He didn't receive an answer as he and Batman continued patrolling (with a small pit stop at Gotham Police Department to return the stolen painting). Neither bothered to follow Ghost.
Cass for her part was laughing her butt off as she called Travis to tell him about the most recent encounter with the Bats. (She carefully neglected to say anything about Roy kissing her and her panic attack afterwards.) Travis laughed along with her, claiming that the pair probably thought she was more than a little crazy stealing a painting but then not bothering to try and keep it. She used the opportunity and happy mood to inform Trav about her most recent plans and get his opinion on them. Far too used to Cass's impulsive and stubborn nature, he accepted it easily enough. Though he did caution her about the Gotham Rogues and that they might not be that happy about her sudden appearance on their turf. Cass just figured that if worst came to worst she had the Gotham ladies on her side. (Ghost, Ivy, Harley, and Catwoman met up for annual gossip sessions every couple of months.) After Travis was satisfied that she had everything under control and wasn't just rushing into things blindly he finally let her shower and get to bed. Only all tiredness that she had held before had vanished the moment her head hit the pillow. Instead all she could think about was Roy. As if knowing that she was thinking about him, her phone chimed with a text that Roy had sent her.
Roy: Are we going to talk about that? Cass of course, knew exactly what he was talking about but chose to play ignorant.
Cass: Talk about what?
Roy: The kiss. Your reaction.
Cass: Oh. That.
Roy: Yeah, any explanation to go along with that?
Cass: This is not something I want to talk about over text. I'm also kinda tired. It is almost midnight. You free for coffee tomorrow around noon?
Roy: Yeah, where?
Cass: The same one we first met at.
Roy didn't reply and Cass took that as acceptance. She would not enjoy their talk. Cass felt that there were more reasons to stay away from him than there were to stay with him. She felt bad and utterly depressed but she had no doubt that she felt better than she would if he either find out the truth and break up with her, or he died. Cass placed her phone back on the nightstand and closed her eyes. Her sleep was filled with nightmares and memories blurring and dancing together through her vision.
Knock, Knock, Knock, Knock… Knock, Knock.
Cass sat bolt upright at the sound of knocking at her door. Without even being fully awake she grabbed the gun hidden the headboard of her bed and crept silently towards the door. She flung it open and immediately pulled her gun up and was ready to fire.
"Easy Cass!" Cass slumped and relaxed as she realized it was Mis. Deciding to ignore the problem for now she turned around and moved to make coffee in the kitchen. Artemis took this as a welcome and gently closed the door behind her.
"Do you want coffee?" Cass questioned Mis. Her voice was still scratchy and she was radiating hostility. Mis didn't let it bother her though; she was used to Cass's grouchy behavior before she had her coffee.
"Yes please." She waited until Cass had safely drank three-fourths of her coffee before speaking up. "So," she drew out the word. "How was your date last night?" Cass sighed. This was exactly what she didn't want to talk about with Mis.
"It went absolutely wonderful." Artemis narrowed her eyes; mentally planning different ways to kill Roy and make it look like an accident because she was sure whatever was wrong wasn't Cass's fault.
"I'm sensing a but."
"But, I'm going to stop things from going any further." Mis just about exploded.
"What did he do? I'll kill him for you!" Cass waved off the offer.
"No. It's not him."
"Well who else could it be?" Cass just looked at her coffee.
"He kissed me."
"That's a good thing Cass!"
"No, Mis you don't understand. He kissed me. It was completely out of the blue and unexpected and I almost did the same thing I did to Peter!" Cass exclaimed. Continuing is a much quieter voice, "Also, what happens when he finds out who I am? That's not going to go over well." Artemis hated to admit it, but Cass had a point. Roy would not react in a good way if he ever found out that Cass was an assassin. She gave Cass a long look.
"You could just quit, you know." Cass looked Mis in the eyes, and for once she could see the emotions swirling in them. Hurt, Sadness, Fear. It was the last one that got to Artemis. She suddenly understood just how scared Cass had to be at that prospect. Doing these jobs was her life. She wasn't sure if she could have, or even if she deserved anything else in life. Artemis could relate to that. So, Mis let the subject drop. She wouldn't push the topic when it would only make Cass more reluctant to give in. She did however give Cass her opinion.
"I think you shouldn't stop seeing him. But you're free to do whatever you want." Cass nodded her thanks and calmly finished her coffee.
"Did you just come to find out how my date went?"
"Pretty much. I also have to leave now. I have training today. I'll see you another time Cass." The pair said their goodbyes and Artemis was leaving for training at the cave. Cass sighed. Well, she had a couple hours before she had to be at the café. She might as well take a look at Gotham U. So she got dressed, speed walked out of the house and down the street in the direction of the university. Cass made a mental note to buy a car so she didn't have to walk everywhere. She was just reaching the Campus as her phone blared White and Nerdy by Weird Al from its speakers. It was the custom ringtone she had set for Trav (everyone in her phone had one). She answered with a quick hello as she scanned Gotham U and its surroundings.
"Hey! I realized that I never asked about your date!" Cass groaned.
"No. Nope. I am not talking about this." There was a laugh on the other end.
"Why not? Was it that bad?" She stayed silent. "Wait was it bad?"
"No. No it was good. I just don't things are…" Cass searched for the right word, "right between us."
"I'm sorry."
"It's no big deal." She waved away his concern. A sudden thought occurred to her. "I need to be able to fly." She could practically see the questioning look Trav would be giving her.
"What?"
"I need to fly."
"Like in a plane?"
"No off of rooftops." Cass lowered her voice so only Trav could hear her. "If I'm going to stay in Gotham, I'm going to need a way to travel faster. That way I can get away from the Bats." She was really good at running after all, and there was no way she would be able to beat Batman in a fight unless she caught him by surprise with her powers and that would likely only happen once.
"Right. Well you're the machine genius; I'm just the computer guy. Let me know how that goes, 'cause if you can fly then I want it." She rolled her eyes.
"Your wish is my command. Hey what do you think about Gotham University?"
"You're thinking about college now? I thought you don't like the idea of college! 'Why sit around and get a degree that I'm never going to need?' you say, 'why bother getting connected?' you say."
"Yes I know what I said. It's just…" She trailed off.
"Just what, Cass?" His voice was soft and encouraging.
"I want to be normal!" She burst out. There was silence on the other end for a minute and Cass thought he had hung up. She almost wished she did when she heard his next words.
"I'll be back in Gotham tomorrow."
"What? Why?"
"Because you need to talk about these things with a neutral party and I'm the closest thing you've got to one."
"I thought I was talking to you!" Cass decided she was done gawking at Gotham U and turned to head home.
"I meant in person. I need to be there to help you out."
"Trav, you really don't."
"I'll be on a plane to Gotham tomorrow." He then did what Cass would have normally done. Travis hung up.
She swore down at the phone and cursed some more when she realized that she had very little time left to get to the coffee shop. The one that was all the way on the other side of Gotham. She quickly texted Roy that she was running late and broke out in a dead sprint towards the coffee shop. Cass quickly glanced at her phone when it dinged.
Roy: No problem. I'm running late as well.
She sighed in relief, well that was one problem taken care of. She still wanted to get there quickly though so she continued to run though it was no longer as urgent. Realizing that running was going to get her no where near the other side of the city unless she chose to run for forty-five minutes she sucked up her paranoia and called a cab. She quickly gave the address when he pulled up and informed him that she would pay him double if he got her there in less than thirty minutes. He managed to get her there in fifteen to immense joy. She quickly paid the cabbie, walked inside, and ordered a coffee. One could never have enough coffee. She took a window seat and watched for Roy on the street. There. Five minutes later she saw his head across the street, he was panting and looked like he had run several blocks. They made eye contact and Cass gave him a small smile. That was when her world erupted in pain and everything went black.
And there's the next chapter, with a bonus cliffhanger. :) Thank you to everyone who faved, followed, and reviewed! It always leaves me smiling like an idiot for the rest of the day.