Cassandra Cain

"What?!" Dick yelled, body stiffening and voice cracking with fear or surprised –maybe both emotions? The spooky girl couldn't pinpoint which one.

Her big brother didn't deserve those two at the back-seat whining and bumping. She knew she could help him, sure. But Jason had been working so hard in his car… And to be fair, she longed for a peaceful ride as much as the poster boy did before her. And the thought- it might've sounded kind of greedy… perhaps even selfish! No matter how many times she had stopped her siblings' quarrels, ever since she set a foot on the manor the guilt for wanting something like that was eating her alive. Though on the other hand… if she didn't take care of herself, who would do it?

Cass shrugged –more at the thought than at Dick's pleading face- and jogged down the corridor, trying to keep up with Jason.

The rebel boy was her beacon: a six-foot-tall tower of muscle, wrapped in jeans, and leather, and silence, that absorbed any sound and projected nothing but calm. And she liked him; depicted the boy as a big monk or priest –only if his devilish nature among girls hadn't ruin that image for her.

Yeah… Jason was a lot of things, and two-thirds of them weren't good but he wasn't that bad of a guy either. Why would he get the door for her if not?

Cassandra smiled at the gesture and exited the manor with him. Both raven siblings walking in perfect harmony towards the garage. The one far away with its little extension of gravel road and the front covered in wild roses. It fit Jason as a glove and she enjoyed the mental comparison. A pity he would never appreciate it.

When they reached the second garage, she noticed the butler waiting at the entrance. Alfred looked positively impressed by his findings which made Cass' heartbeat quicken in anticipation of the news -as if she had been the one working on the car instead of Jason- and though she wanted to be there, she didn't stay to heed it because their conversation was theirs to hear, not hers.

Instead, she glanced out the corner of her eyes at the pair in lieu to make sure everything was fine and stepped in the garage where the old classic muscle car from the sixties greeted her. A Camaro Z28 as she could read and the girl approached the vehicle slowly, running her fingertips hesitantly through the hood.

Chops of green flakes jumped at her touch. It needed a new coat of paint but Cass wouldn't complain. She liked the car the way she was. Had that timeless charm with all the scratches on the sides, and the little flicks of paint and oxide, and also the battered grill or-

"There are dents that need to be fixed and filled," Jason said, cutting her off the appreciation. His eyes peeled on the car where her hands had been. "Al said I should probably wait till I take care of 'em but… you know me, patience ain't one of my virtues."

He was now opening the driver's door, chuckling, darkly. His past looming over him and he asked, "You sure you wanna come with me?"

Cass found her brother endearing, like the car. His words betraying that rough façade he's been working so hard to accomplish and she couldn't stop the smile from spreading. The boy was the spitting image of his car. Looked coarse at the surface and might have sound raw too for the untrained ears, but he was trying to work things on his own, searching for a place to fit in, just as the car was still fighting to keep in. The studied 'lonely wolf look' nothing but a shield that kept him away from others, but not from Cass.

"Yes," she said and sat beside him, tossing her backpack on the back.

Stephanie Brown

"You sure you don't want me to drive you there?"

The unexpected voice of Crystal startled the blonde girl who almost fell on her ass as she jumped on her favorite worn-out skinny jeans with holes in the knees and her right foot decided to get past the middle hole a few times before finding its rightful place.

"No need to," Stephanie groaned along with an inwardly curse because her mother would never approve such language under her roof.

"I can drive you halfway too. It's no big deal, sweetie," she offered, stifling a chuckle so her daughter wouldn't glare daggers at her for being a bystander in such a humiliating show.

"Nope, Mom. I need—" The girl fought her way into the oh-so-tight pants, hopping, pushing and pulling all the way like a honey-colored bunny -the sight so lovely. "-the extra exercise." she finished the sentence, crying in triumph, finally pulling the jeans up and zipping them –not without great effort.

"All right," Crystal turned around and walked to the front door. "There's a note in the kitchen," she recalled grabbing her keys. "See it reaches your tutor or the Principal or whoever is in charge there, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!" she answered her from the distant.

"Also, don't get in trouble."

"I'll try." Stephanie poked her messy head and winked.

"And make some friends!" Crystal demanded and Steph couldn't help but frown in fake mockery, "You're asking too much, don't you think?" But her mother wasn't home to hear her.

Today was gonna be Stephanie's first day at Gotham Heights and, yeah, sure, she had skipped the first week but that was a minor problem, right? What really mattered was that she was gonna go to a new school and met new people and probably do something great in the process, like saving someone's life, or rescuing a cat, who knew. She was pretty excited, so much that the night before she couldn't sleep –nor that it mattered to her either.