teambatgirl | (no subject)

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She tries to tell herself that Rapture's no big deal, just like Gotham, but she can't convince herself. Probably because it's basically a corpse of a city being picked over by super-powered lunatic drug addicts and the few sane people left alive down here. But how sane can they be, really, to willingly stay down here?

Then again, Steph has a life up in the sunshine and keeps willingly coming down here, so how crazy does that make her? It's impossible not to want to explore, and that was even before Lydia went missing. Now she needs to be down here. Maybe it's not Gotham, but Batgirl can do some good.

"So, Cass, it's you and Bart and me and Cissie, right?" She's talking just to talk as the bathysphere docks into Rapture and begins to open. "Us dangerous blondes together. Meet back here in an hour?"

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Bart smiled a little at the annoyance. He didn't have any protective gear, not the way Cass and Steph did. Even Arrowette's gear protected more than what he had managed.

"I'll keep an eye out for stuff to scavenge," he agreed, then puzzled at her words. "If you mean that they aren't much of a disguise here, I'd have to agree, but as equipment? I don't really see you moving half as comfortably in some of those ITF getups. But this isn't Gotham. Or even Keystone. The things that need fighting more often have to be faced in the light of day, not the night."

His own uniform had been sat aside with his powers. It would be foolish to wear something that flimsy to a fight without his speed to protect him. It would be strange, and possibly unnerving to see Cass in full bat-mode outside of the uniform. To him, the costume was who she was, far beyond the symbol.

"So, I should fight as Cassandra and not as this?" Cass asked, indicating the symbol on her chest. It was who she was even as she lived and breathed. It wasn't a tactic to scare others but a symbol of who she was, she wasn't sure about just being Cassandra. Cassandra had killed, Batgirl and Black Bat were better than that. "We need better equipment, rely too much on... peace."

Bart shook his head at her question. It wasn't what he was saying, at least not what he was trying to say. "I'm saying that people will know both sides of you, and may make decisions based on that knowledge. Black Bat doesn't have the kind of shadows to hide in we did back home. I don't really know how to say it. Words can lie, but actions don't."

It had always been easier for him because the difference between on and off duty had been whether or not he used his speed. Well, Kid Flash could afford to be more snide and sarcastic, because Bart couldn't dodge punches and bullets.

"I think you and Tim have something in common. I'm not sure the uniform is the mask most of the time. You're both more comfortable and yourself, or at least the self you want to be, when you're working."

"You're right, words can lie but you are also wrong actions can as well." Cass said, suddenly moving as if she was going to punch him. A quick, sudden feint of attack before she stopped just as suddenly. "Actions can lie, it is harder to do but they can lie. Do you think though that all knowledge? Knowing all my secrets would help them understand? Other people."

Cass nodded at his analysis. It was why she and Tim both worked well together. Sometimes she thought it was why Batman had sent her to help Robin out, to make him be more human even if it meant she wasn't. "This is how I repent, this is how I earn forgiveness."

Muscles twitched he made his own abortive attempt to block a punch that never landed. She'd trained him well, these months, and he knew he would at least be able to hold his own long enough to break free, without powers to help him along.

"It's polite to pretend that anything you haven't learned from the source doesn't apply. The worlds we think we know aren't always where a person is from. Like with Lex. I've seen the ruthless Luthor from home, but that's someone he's fighting not to be," Bart said. "You don't have to tell everything. You don't even have to answer every question. That choice is always going to be yours. I've put aside Kid Flash here because that person is defined by abilities that don't exist. It's a personal thing. Don't ever feel like someone else can make you change who you are without your agreement."

"I... I won't." Cass said. It was a lot to take in, a lot of words. Batman had never said that, he'd always just given her a mission and a purpose. He didn't doubt she would be who she wanted, who he wanted her to be because they were of one mind about that. But it was nice to here someone telling her that she had choice. She had choice now. "Keep your guard up, don't forget to check corners."

Cass tucked herself into the shadows, using her stealth and speed to put herself at the greatest risk and also the least risk. She moved into open spaces but was always too quick and fleeting for others to get a lock on her if there were any there to try.

Bart did his best to shadow Cass, holding back when she did one of those open runs, waiting to make sure nobody reacted before following. It was those moments when they weren't together that were probably their most vulnerable. If, or more likely, when they got ambushed by the people down here, he'd be on the defensive from the get-go.

"You scout this way before?" he asked in a soft whisper, the next time they were close enough for a word or three. Not talking was safer, but hand signs only covered so much, and Bart wasn't as adept at reading body language as some.

She listened, hearing the sound of dripping water and the rush of movement some distance away. Like someone skipping, skipping and dragging something along the floor with them. Followed by the metal thud, heavy and sure behind. She knew that sound, she wrapped her hand into Bart's shirt before pulling them into cover.

She held up her hand once, to indicate that she had been there before and then a hold sign to keep them quiet and in position. Here came daddy.

Bart felt a thrum of tension that he quickly forced into relaxation as Cass pulled him into the shadows. He dropped his center to a ready stance, tight against the wall but able to move. No need to signal his acceptance, the silent bat before him would know. He would hold back, trusting stillness and the shadows to hide him until action was needed.

Whatever it was sounded large, and any of the Rapture natives were dangerous. Bart couldn't speak, and his ability to communicate silently was limited at best. Unarmed and unarmored, the best thing he could do was hang back, and only reveal himself if there was a strategic advantage.

"In the House of Upside-Down: cellar's top floor, attic's ground. In the House of Upside-Down: laughing cries, and smile's frown. In the House of Upside-Down: found is lost, and lost-is found..." A little girl's voice sang, swinging her arm back and forth as she skipped around and ahead of her daddy. "Daddy! Daddy, let's find the angel. I can hear the angel singing, I can hear the angel. An angel fell daddy, let's find it."

The girl ran back, smiling up at her Daddy like he was everything to her before tugging on his hand childishly. "In the house of upside down..."

He moved slow and steady. He shone yellow, yellow for his little girl. She took his hand and he followed her as she sang her songs of angels. His vision solely focused on the girl for now. He would protect his little girl.

Daddy. It wasn't the words that made Cassandra tense but the way the girl looked at him, the way the Little Sister looked at her daddy like he was everything. Like he could look after her, protect her, teach her, keep her safe... she remembered that feeling. She remembered looking at Cain like that, she remembered wanting to make angels of her own for him. She remembered the horror in their eyes as she, no bigger than the Little Sister's, killed the man that Daddy had told her to.

Holding up her hand to hold in place, she pressed her fingers to her lips to indicate silence. They were fine, they wouldn't do anything as long as no one attacked or touched the Little Sister. She should free them, she should but they had a job to do and 'Daddy' would protect the little girl.

Bart saw the tension, and put a hand on Cassandra's shoulder, even as he gave a tiny nod to say he understood. When he saw them, he understood. Dangerous, yes, but not hostile. A flash of pity for two lives twisted so obviously by this place went through him, followed by determination to do whatever he could to help.

A flick of his eyes as they passed was all he gave to indicate his wondering if they should follow. The song seemed to indicate...something. Curiosity warred with caution in him.

Cassandra turned her head watching her gaze, she assessed their situation before moving glancing down the tunnel the pair had come down before making sure it was clear. She didn't want anything sneaking up on them if they followed father-daughter.

Indicating with her hand for Bart to follow, she nodded to the ground for him to go one way whilst she went up. Moving from above.

If anything, splitting up like that made him more wary, because he had to keep his distance from the pair ahead of them, but unable to see Black Bat as she moved in her own path. Even glancing up would probably be a mistake, because it might cue anyone sneaking up to the possibility someone was up there. Besides, he trusted that she had his back.

So he followed, in irregular movements, finding the next bit of cover he wanted before he broke. He had to be alert for anything, but if he made a mistake and got spotted, he wouldn't give away that he wasn't alone.

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