( 📩 → kon 💘 conner kent ): are you okay? will you even respond to this? [UNSENT]
( 📩 → conner kent ): i don’t even think i should send texts to you. i’m sure this just makes it hurt all the worse. [UNSENT]
( 📩 → conner kent ): i just want to make sure you’re okay [UNSENT]
( 📩 → conner kent ): i do love you. i did it because i love you, but i have to try to love myself too. [UNSENT]
( 📩 → conner kent ): i have some of krypto’s things.
( 📩 → conner kent ): do you want them back?
( 📩 → conner kent ): i have one of your hoodies too. please don’t take it i can give it back if you want too
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She hadn’t known Erik as long as most of the people that surrounded him now. She didn’t know him as well either. She had a snapshot of who he was, a man that had been next to her in bed for a few months, but nothing beyond that. (Maybe there had been an ounce of something else — otherwise it shouldn’t have hurt like this, right?) Grief was familiar. Losing someone who she had been intimate with was… par for the course.
And while she hadn’t known Erik long, she knew little things about him. The bottles of alcohol that littered his countertops that she had contributed to or how much he enjoyed cooking — or this place. A small café on the corner. It was one of the few places in the city that Erik could order tea without ranting for hours after about how badly they had brewed it or how they clearly hadn’t used a proper kettle.
Daisy didn’t even like tea. But today, she had ordered a cup. Stared into the steam as she waited for Kon to show up. And when he finally did, she looked up from the cup and offered him a weak smile. “I wasn’t sure who else to call.” She knew Jean was there, but Daisy had met her at a party where she was hooking up with someone else and — Daisy needed to form a real thought before she headed toward Genosha. “I haven’t talked to him properly in a while and…” She knew about the missiles. Knew about a lot of things she shouldn’t. There was a long silence before Daisy inhaled deeply. “How are they holding up? How are you?”
WHO: Jon Kent, Cassie Sandsmark ( @demiwxnder ), Conner Kent ( @kxnel ), Clark Kent ( @lastsxn ), Kara Danvers ( @maidenxfmight ). Mentions: Erik Lehnsherr, Bruce Wayne, Lois Lane.
WARNINGS: Mentions events of Red!K/drugging of Kara with the red kryptonite. Kon and Cassie both love to swear! plus Clark being a Bad Dad. Vague mention of sex, oops.
SUMMARY: What started out as teasing Jon turned to Clark revealing something about Kon that had the entire group chat questioning his intentions.
Cassie: how long until the baby finally decides to stop hiding behind mom and dad and comes home do we think?? just curious
Conner: not for another week at least 🙄
Jon: 😐 thanks.
Conner: tell me i'm wrong
Cassie: you know he's not!
Jon: maybe i want to avoid you two being GROSS
Conner: avoiding grossness by going to the farm? yeah, okay.
Jon: didn't ask for your opinion, especially from you two.
Cassie: yikes.
Kara: let him have kansas
Conner: I don't want Kansas anyway so there
Cassie: we're having a great time in nyc so we'll pass.
Jon: 'we'
Conner: the best time. in every room 🙂
Jon: EW.
Conner: lol
Kara: oh gross
Cassie: 😉 don't get snarky and we won't overshare!
Conner: he never learns :pensive:
Jon: i hate this.
Clark: Jonathan stop adding me to chats.
Jon: i'm innocent!
Cassie: oh ew.
Conner: whyyyyyy
Clark: If having Jon at your apartment is such an inconvenience I'm sure something else could be arranged, Conner.
Cassie: so you do know how to acknowledge him? fascinating.
Conner: Jesus, that's not what I even meant [UNSENT]
whatever.
Jon: he didn't mean it like that, dad.
Clark: We'll be speaking about this later.
Jon: great. [UNSENT]
Kara: they're brothers, this is pretty par for the course for them. i promise they’re fine, kal
Conner: You know I'm pretty sure even Batman can go two sentences without ruining a conversation, Supes.
Clark: sure, brothers.
Cassie: they are brothers, but whatever makes you feel better about never acknowledging your other kid.
Clark: I have a name, Conner.
Conner: Cass, it's fine.
Cassie: it's not, but i'll back down if that's what you want.
Clark: Conner, now that I have you would you mind telling me why Magneto seems to be so fond of you?
Cassie: ...what is he talking about, kon?
Conner: oh fuck off, Clark.
Jon: uh oh
Clark: Language!
Conner: fuck you. Don't tell me what to do.
Cassie: kon-el, what is he talking about?
Clark: I cannot believe you continue to live with this... disrespectful hooligan!
Jon: dad. breathe. he's my brother, this is pretty par the course.
Conner is OFFLINE
Kara: he's family
you would do well to remember what family is kal-el
Cassie: fuck you, clark. i hope you realize how shitty of a dad you are. if you can even be called that for your blatant favoritism of your only 'actual' kid. actually. do you even pay attention to anyone outside him and your wife? probably not, huh.
Clark: That boy has been speaking with the man who just caused you to take part in a terrorist plot.
Cassie is OFFLINE
Kara: and i'll be talking with /him/ about that
maybe this is a good time for everyone to step back and take a breath
Jon: yeah.
Clark: He's more Luthor than Kent, Kara, there's no changing that.
Jon: how? how is he?
what proof is there of that?
Kara: do you know him? really know him?
Jon: do you think batman would even let him get near one of his robins if he was? i mean, seriously.
Clark: Other than the fact that Magneto seems to think they've forged some sort of kinship? You just saw how flighty he got, don't be naïve, son.
I know enough.
Jon: you accused him of colluding with a terrorist. i think i'd be flighty too if you accused me of that.
i'm not naive.
Clark: He knows he's a Kent. Now where else could he find that out, Jon?
Kara: sometimes it's good to /ask/ first. if you'd spend some time getting to know [us–DELETED] him, maybe you'd know when something is off. why don't you try talking to him? without attacking him.
Clark: I handled Lex with kid gloves and it nearly cost me everything. I'm not letting that happen again.
Clark is OFFLINE
Jon: he's not lex!
Kara: kon isn't lex
Jon: great.
Kara: okay then
Conner is ONLINE
Conner: is he gone?
Jon: yes.
Conner: dude, he sucks
Cassie is ONLINE
Cassie: are you going to explain then?
Kara: he's gone, but can we still talk about this magneto thing?
Conner: it's not like what he made it seem like.
Kara: i'm asking, not accusing, i promise
Cassie: excuse me for being worried when you've been disappearing constantly lately. [UNSENT]
we just want you to explain we're not accusing like kara said.
Conner: just like, during the siege I went to Stark tower and told him to fuck off and then we might've like met for coffee or whatever.
it was nothing
Cassie: why the fuck are you meeting him for coffee?
Conner: Look, what he did was wrong but he has shed light on a ton of stuff. He asked to meet, I said fine and we had coffee. That was it.
Jon: on /what/, conner?
Kara: 'wrong' is an understatement–[DELETED]
he /drugged/ me–[DELETED]
can we talk? in person?
Cassie: why didn't you tell me?
Conner: Depends, will you lie?
I didn't want you to worry over nothing
Cassie: this seems more than nothing. since when do you keep things from me?
Jon: are you being careful at least?
Kara: no, i promise honesty
Conner: I'm not keeping things from you! You just never asked.
yeah, I mean obviously, or I'd be dead, right?
Cassie: how am i supposed to know to ask about you getting coffee with magneto, kon-el?!
Conner: I don't know how you want me to answer that
Cassie: because you know any answers you have are shitty.
whatever, kon.
Conner: Kara, I'll just... come to you I guess.
Cassie is OFFLINE
Conner: Goddammit. Tell your dad to stay the fuck out of my life, Jon.
Jon: sorry, conner. i'm sure she'll...be less angry in the morning?
maybe.
she's angry all the time, so i don't know
Conner: heh, yeah. Well it's not your fault. You obviously got more of your mom's genes. 🙄
Jon: i'll tell her you say hi?
Conner: says a lot about me, huh? [UNSENT]
yeah. Thanks, Jon.
[ 📲 • sms ] —— guess what emoji is next to your name in my phone? @kxnel
( 📩 → superman impersonator ): if you say the eggplant emoji i am not liable for if i shoot you or not.
( 📩 → superman impersonator ): i hate this.
( 📩 → superman impersonator ): fine. tell me what the hell the emoji is.
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you were high in the atmosphere: i disappear below. // koncassie
WHO: Cassie Sandsmark & Conner Kent. @kxnel. With plenty of mentions of Erik Lehnsherr.
WORD COUNT: 2580 words. (A short one, I’m proud of us!)
LOCATION: Wayne Manor.
GENERAL NOTES: At the Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the Waynes Kon’s lying finally comes to a head and Cassie is unsure how to proceed after finding out what exactly he was lying about.
CASSIE: It had been building and building for awhile now. This gut feeling that was consistently twisting inside of Cassie as she watched Kon not make full eye contact with her. He was disappearing to hang out with Tim apparently, but she hated the fact that she didn't believe him. She never wanted to feel like this, especially when it came to Kon. He was her best friend before being her boyfriend and the fact she felt like he was lying to her was a gut punch. Especially when it made her mind wander and wander to what he could possibly be hiding.
Thanksgiving was spent without him by her side and she tried to bite her tongue, but she felt embarrassed. Like she was somehow left out of the loop and in turn, looking like an idiot. (Not that she had any proof for it whatsoever, but her insecurity getting the best of her.) All of that came to a boiling point once she was headed out to her car to go home and that's when he finally showed up.
"Nice of you to make it." Cassie bit out before she could really stop herself. Her temper always burned bright and fast. "So how was your holiday with whoever the fuck you were spending it with? Or are you just going to lie to me again?"
KON: Thanksgiving had been... nice. More than nice, if he was being honest with himself. Erik had greeted him with a smile, one that grew during dinner as Kon shot off into a passionate ramble that would have been embarrassingly open at game night, disregarded at his own apartment, shunned at work and ended in an economics lecture at the manor. For once Kon felt like more than just a string arm for people who thought they were smarter than him or more capable of seeing the world how it truly was. Kon was past that now, past thinking that anyone was anything less than biased, that reality was anything less than a sea of grays.
Erik understood that, had sent him off with a pat on the back and an obviously well loved book whose dog eared corners piqued his curiosity even more than the twinkle Kon swore he caught in Erik's eyes.
He flew to the manor in a high, happy and content, even if he hadn't gotten any real answers about Cassie's condition from Erik. He was researching, and Kon understood that research could take time. He was just glad the man had agreed to help at all.
He didn't have to do that. But he was, for Kon. A favor for a friend.
He made his way through the manor after picking Alfred up in a bear hug, ready to put aside his nagging feelings of disappointment at its inhabitants and just enjoy being with family. His family.
"What?" He sputtered, his face contorting into a confused grimace as he pulled back from his attempt at a kiss, his words a jumble of a choked laugh and a rushed whisper, "When have I ever lied to you?"
He shook his head, the arm slung over the back of Cassie's chair dropping back to hang limply at his side. "Why are you so mad at me? Did Tim tell you something?"
CASSIE: Cassie pulled back from the attempt at a kiss with her face screwed up into an angry look. "Are you serious? Are you asking me if Tim told me anything? Do you realize how guilty that makes you look? Does he have something to tell me, Conner?" Her voice raised in volume despite herself, having shoved all these feelings down violently in favor of ignoring everything. She was torn between this gut feeling and dark cloud that plagued her to try to give him the benefit of the doubt of the situation. It's what he deserved after all, but she snapped without thinking, letting her anger win out. She was angry about a lot of things, but most of all scared what was happening to her.
Cassie felt like her life was spiraling out of control in front of her and there was nothing that she could do to stop it.
Even underneath the eyes of the people at Wayne Manor Cassie let the words spill out of her at a quick pace.
"You keep disappearing and you keep telling me you're out with Tim or you're doing all this other stuff, I just..." Cassie bit her tongue hard enough she tasted blood. She got up, belatedly realizing the eyes that were on them. "Let's go outside. And talk."
KON: Kon fought a roll of his eyes, his jaw tightening enough that his teeth ground together with a sick, brittle clatter. His eyes narrowed as he glanced at Tim, who's concerned expression only served to stoke the fire in the pit of his stomach. He didn't want to do this here, didn't want to do this ever but with the way Cassie's voice was rising, he didn't think he had much of a choice.
For a moment he wanted nothing more than to turn around and fly back out the door, maybe make his way back to Genosha. Have a glass of wine with Erik.
But he slumped further in his seat instead, his breath coming in a harsh huff. "Well you're freaking the fuck out on me for no reason." he seethed, "so I figured someone had to have at least given you a reason to start attacking me as soon as I walk through the door."
She would never do this to Bart or Tim. Anything they said was taken as fact, sacrosanct truth but for him? Well he was untrustworthy, open to scrutiny much harsher than what was warranted. He was always a threat, a problem.
"Oh yeah, of course. I have a life outside of just being pointed in the direction of the biggest threat and being told to punch and so I must be fucking up right? I have to be doing something wrong because I can't do anything right?"
He let out a sour, breathless, bark of a laugh, his head shaking as he pushed away from the table, the arms of his chair crumbling in his hands before he wiped them over his eyes.
"Yeah, be a good little puppy and come, Kon. Right? Fuck that. I'm a fucking adult, Cassie. If you want to talk, ask."
CASSIE: "It's not for no reason!" Cassie snapped. The absent mention from Kitty about Kon joining the dinner at Genosha had been ringing in her head. Why didn't he tell her? Did he feel compelled to not tell her? The reminder of the text conversation they had what felt like ages ago with Clark, Kara, and Jon and it coming up that Kon had been talking to him hit her like a swift kick to the gut. Maybe he wasn't unfounded in the wariness of her reaction.
She knew he wasn't. Especially when her temper that had faltered was stoked once more, flaring up like an angry forest fire. "Don't put words in my mouth. I never once said or thought that of you." There was a blossom of hurt that stabbed right into her chest, twisting one, two, three times. Did she really make him feel like that?
Was Kon that miserable with her? What did that say about her?
The words were lodged in Cassie's throat and she let out a harsh breath, looking up at the arching ceilings of Wayne Manor to try to will back the tears that were starting to sting at her eyes.
"Conner, can we please go talk outside?" Cassie asked quietly, rubbing at her eyes tiredly and avoiding looking at him now. The room was all too quiet now without Cassie's yelling and the members of the Wayne family not speaking amidst the argument.
KON: Sometimes he felt like Cassie could see right through him and while most of the time it felt like being seen, like being known, right now it felt suffocating and even looking at her felt heavy in the center of his chest. Her eyes were piercing now, steel against steel as they met his. This had always been their problem, even before they got together. He was dry and brittle tinder and she was a match.
He could almost taste the phosphorus in the air.
His teeth clacked together inelegantly as he leaned against a pillar in the manor's expansive garden. He used to love coming here with Tim... before. Everything felt so long ago now that it was hard to believe he had walked the same paths for the flowers' first bloom of the season no more than eight months earlier. But he guessed that it was the way of both him and the roses to wither in the cold.
Truths and untruths, white lies that darkened with each repetition. He should have known that they would catch up to him. He had known that they would catch up to him, had choked on his confessions night after night for weeks now but talking to Cassie lately had been a lesson in futility.
"It's not about you, Cass," he said brokenly, "What have you done? You, you, you, that's all that matters, right?" He shook his head. "Erik invited me to Thanksgiving. I'm not sorry I went, and I'm not sorry that I'm friends with him. He's, Cassie if you talked to him you would understand."
CASSIE: "I didn't mean—" Cassie swallowed hard and felt herself shrink back in on herself. She hadn't meant to make Conner feel like this, feel like she was the forefront of everything. She had been so fixated on losing her powers and how lost she felt that she hadn't even bothered to look outside herself to see what was happening with Kon.
"I'm sorry," Cassie whispered, not being able to make her voice much louder with how choked up she felt. "I didn't mean it like that—to make it be about me. I'm sorry. It's not all that matters. You matter—you've always mattered. I'm sorry if I haven't been good about showing that." It didn't feel like enough. She wasn't exactly sure what would.
She'd understand if she talked to him. The mere thought made the girl grimace. There was something about Erik that reminded her of Ares. The promises and the good intentions. The way to hell was always paved in good intentions. Promises of something good but something sinister lingered in the air. The catch would come then he wouldn't be the one to pay the price. She didn't trust him—didn't want to trust him.
"I don't think I can do that. I don't—I don't want to do that." Cassie admitted quietly. "I don't trust him, Conner. I trust you, you know I do—" And yet there they were, the bot bubbling over due to lies and mistrust, "—but there's something about him that—" that scares me, but she didn't say that.
KON: "You never mean-' he cut himself off, his lips tightening into a thin line as he turned away from her. It was impossible for him to make her see, if only for the complete lack of words she always reduced him to. She made it so hard to think sometimes, something that he both loved and hated desperately about her. He felt like an idiot, and more so, sometimes, he felt like she thought he was an idiot and had just decided to love him anyway.
Couldn't she see that he had worn himself thin supporting her, loving her? That he just needed her support too?
"I don't- I don't want a sorry, Cassie. I just want you to listen." He steped back toward her, his hand landing on her shoulder and running down her arm to catch her hand as he kneeled in front of her. "I really hate when we fight," he admitted, his forehead knocking into hers as he grinned sadly.
They could be okay, they would be. She would hear him out, he could explain how he didn't feel like a ticking time bomb when he spoke to Erik, how he was actually going to help, had agreed to it readily without any strings attached, how much he had learned, how wrong they had been going about things. Add then she continued talking and he pulled back, a disbelieving laugh passing his lips as he stood suddenly, all of the rage that had been bubbling up throughout their fight boiling over.
"You don't trust me! You don't trust me and you don't respect me or my opinions. You can't, you can't or you would at least hear me out, Cassie. My god!"
He tore his hand away, his head shaking as he retreated. "He's a good man. He's made mistakes but, but, We've all made mistakes! We've, we-,' he felt manic, his heart thumping wildly as he stumbled over his words. "It's supposed to be you and me against the world, Cass. Why can't you just be with me on this?"
CASSIE: "I am listening!" Cassie insisted, feeling frazzled and worn down to the bone after this conversation snapped her from one extreme to another. It felt like she couldn't catch a breath. That she should be the one apologizing for being angry he was lying to her despite her having every right to. She didn't mean to make him feel like he couldn't talk to her, but he wasn't making it easy to try to approach. He was pulling away and pulling away hard. "I really, really hate when we fight too." She echoed, hating the way her heart wouldn't stop aching.
As soon as the waves seemed to settle, things went quiet for just a moment, they exploded once more. Kon pulled away and snapped wildly. Cassie watched with wide eyes, any and all words dying promptly on her tongue. When did she say that? When did she ever give off that impression? She felt like she was going crazy.
Cassie stood up abruptly, fingers curled into a tight fist, feeling that fizzle of lightning seem to come alive if for but a moment. Her eyes burned with tears that started to drip down her cheeks once more. "I don't recognize you. I don't recognize my best friend, and that fucking scares me, Kon-El. I have always trusted you. You're putting words in my mouth and you're making me feel—" She let out an angry noise and dug the heels of her hands against her shut eyes, seeing stars burst in front of her eyelids. There was an undeniable urge to simply scream.
The fight drained out of her as soon as it arrived. (It was always a fight.) Cassie let her arms drop and hang limply by her side, eyes opening and giving Kon a tired look. "I don't...I don't care what you do, Conner. Go to Genosha. Do what you want. I can't stop you. I'm going h—" a moment of hesitation, "—I'm going to the apartment. I'm sorry you feel that way. It's always been you and me."
Turning, Cassie left her boyfriend standing in the garden to get in her car. She wasn't sure if it would be her and him against the world much longer and that left her with an aching loss and sadness that rivaled the first time she lost him. She was losing him once again and was unsure how to fix it.
WHO: Cassie Sandsmark, Bart Allen, Conner Kent, Tim Drake.
WORD COUNT: 4939 words.
LOCATION: New York City.
GENERAL NOTES: Young Justice is back, baby! Well, they thought they were back. A mission goes awry and Cassie falls and falls hard.
WARNINGS: Canon typical violence, guns, mentions of drugs/drug trade, mentions of past injuries.
CASSIE: There was something in the air that Cassie felt settle deep into her bones, none of it good. Her mind whirled with possibilities of what it could possibly mean. The team was back together, officially. It couldn't be them. This was good, right? It had to be good. It felt like there was some dark cloud hanging over her head despite the joy she felt at being back together with her friends once more.
The mission was easy enough. It was supposed to be, at least. Intervening in a drug trade that was to go down between two of the traffickers they had been following. Something for them to ease back into working together once more. Cassie was situated on the top of the building across from the meeting place, ready to spring into action as soon as Tim gave the go ahead. "In position. Is everyone else ready?"
KON: The super's eye peeked open at the sounds of his girlfriend's voice in his ear. He had been lounging atop the building where the meet up was supposed to occur for what felt like hours, just waiting to be given the go ahead to crash through the roof with only a pack of gum to entertain him.
Phones could be tracked, according to Tim. That and he hadn't wanted a ringtone to go off in the middle of an interrogation, which, in Kon's defense, had only happened once so the fact that their fearless leader was still harping on felt a bit unnecessary to begin with.
Either way, he popped another piece of gum in his mouth, humming at the sweet taste of juicy fruit as he pushed his sunglasses further up his nose. "Born ready, babe. I've been stuck up here for forever!" He complained, flicking his ball of foil into the air and turning into sprinkling ash with a quick flash of red, "Tim's the one taking forever, right Bart?" He snickered as he turned the volume down on his com. He'd know when it was time, and even if he didn't, it was always cooler to make a late entrance anyway. It added pizzazz to these things.
TIM + BART: "Cut the Bat-Brat some slack, Slug," The speedster's chipper voice sounded over the link, following gusts of wind and quick electric snaps. Tim had to smile. It felt so familiar, something old that resurfaced after a good dusty coat had been brushed off, still a bit rough in practice and use, but... These guys had been running their hero gig almost longer than Tim had, in the team sense at least. When Tim had left Young Justice to Cassie, it was to distance himself, to protect them from the possible consequences of his presence causing their utter demise. It was still a prevalent memory, the mass of them to be truly honest, amassing in a visceral fear that made his stomach turn every time he thought about it. Kon, Bart, gone and back within the same... No. They're here. You're all here, you're all getting back into the swing of things. Just keep it cool, keep everyone else in line like you were trained to do. You're a Robin, God damnit.
Crouching from his high vantage point, Tim could clearly see all three members of his merry band, whether they knew it or not. The shadow of the concrete around him kept him near invisible, if it wasn't for the glowing white lenses of his mask and the bright flash of red that spread over the new uniform's arms. Fingerstripes, those were Dick's thing... But Tim needed a change. Needed something new for the new Red Robin. The old one... Well, the old one died at the hands of Ra's Al Ghul, when he told himself he'd never be able to get back in the game because of what he'd done, what he was made to do to keep his city and his family and his friends safe. Besides, with his old gear either destroyed or left to ruin, he figured he'd need to do some upgrading regardless.
"You still thinkin', feather-brain?" Another breath of a laugh, shaking his head and glancing in the direction of the speedster. Bart was keeping himself occupied, as always, by playing around with the rusty lightning that haloed every appendage as he ran. Short sprints gave him just enough to practice throwing the thin bolts at the gravel, every strike leaving a blackened mark on the ground, throwing his already wild hair back further over the open top cowl. "You're almost scarin' me with how spooky silent you are. Then again, guess we've just worked with a boss that likes to be a little more commanding-" ZZRP! "... Not that there's anything bad about that, Wondy."
Bringing his arm up out of it's draped cape coverage, Tim glowered at the holographic screen appearing in his field of vision, working on typing in commands on the gauntlet. White lenses narrowed as he worked, a sly smile forming as information flooded the screen. "I'd have thought you all discovered patience while I was off the team. Guess that's what I get for assuming." Remotely, Tim snagged footage from the hidden security cameras outside of the building's loading bay. Without much more than a second to lose, the familiar lights of a transport truck came up on the screen. People or product, didn't matter, that was their cue.
"Transport approaching, East loading bay. Go for Operation Hart Protector. Flash, keep the truck from parking, watch perimeter. Superboy, Wonder Girl, bust in. Keep watch for digital storage, and don't destroy them please and thank you."
CASSIE: A small smile tugged at Cassie's lips even through the ominous cloud she felt darken with every passing moment. There was always a part of her that couldn't help brighten up around her team, her best friends. When Tim had left she had been a bit wary of leading the team herself, not wary in her skills but in everyone not wanting her to lead after having Tim as a leader. She never had trouble finding her voice, making sure it was the loudest and most commanding. Almost on the other side of the spectrum from Tim, cool and calculating while she was loud and commanding.
"Thanks, Bart. I think," Cassie snorted out. "No destroying, you got it." This part was easy, putting herself in the mission mindset. She could push aside the looming gray cloud and the way her stomach was churning, head starting to spin. It was fine. Maybe a trip to Dr. Mid-Nite was due, but she'd keep that to herself for now.
Cassie took to the air, flying towards the loading bay and faltered in the air as her head spun. She quickly righted herself and let out a shaky breath, shaking her head and surging forward to punch in the door. "You're slacking, Superboy!" Cassie quipped despite the words feeling heavy on her tongue. What had just happened?
Didn't matter. She had to keep going.
KON: It wasn't like he wasn't paying attention, he was great at multitasking, after all, but he was almost always more attuned to Cassie's heartbeat than anything else. Most days it thumped solidly in his ear, grounding him when work got overwhelming and comforting him when he caught glimpses of Clark flying across the sky. He figured it was just a super thing, really, because he knew with certainty Clark did the same with Lois and he would bet his last Dr.Pepper Jon did it with Damian. It was nice, knowing that the person you loved most in the world was safe and happy but now his head snapped toward where Cassie's heartbeat was coming from, the falter in its beat making him frown.
Cassie never got nervous. Not even when they faced foes that were far more terrifying than some drug traffickers. It worried him and a part of him wanted to rush over to her but he would never hear the end of it if he did. Not from Tim and certainly not from Cassie herself. She could take care of herself, always had.
He tore through the ceiling with a grin, grabbing one of the few guards by the collar with a quick, "Sup?" Before grabbing onto the man's weapon and tossing it across the warehouse.
"C'mon!" He whined, "Ladies first and all that. I was just being a gentleman." He grinned, winking at her as he tore a strip of metal from a parked van and formed it around the guards wrists in makeshift handcuffs. "You think Robin would buy us some handcuffs or do you think he'd be worried we'd use them for less than PG purposes?" He asked, dropping the man onto the ground as he glanced toward Cassie.
TIM + BART: Bart didn't need to be told to GO twice. He was off running the minute the order was given, a blip on Tim's visual radar as he appeared to just.. Appear in front of the parking truck, leaning against the hood, still humming from an engine that didn't have time to turn off. "Hi, boys. I'm gonna have to ask you to vacate the premises, orders from the boss." A gear shifted, the tires crunched against the pavement. "... Haha, oops." The speedster pushed his hands against the hood, flipping himself onto the trailer in a few quick motions, holding onto the edge for fear of getting flung off. "I don't think they bought it!!" He called out over the engine revving, the vehicle scraping the side of the building as it attempted to throw the hero off.
Tim was still waiting, a looming shadow at his post, listening and watching like a... "You do know I can still hear you all, right?" He sighed, closing down his holographic computer and standing on the edge of his vantage building. May as well get into the fray, he wasn't trained to just sit back. Besides, he'd been doing far too much of that lately. Grapple launcher in hand, the bird leapt into the air and soared for what felt like the first time in forever. Flying was really more Dick's thing, but there was a special kind of feeling in that free fall, the calculations you had to make, to get yourself to safety without hitting the ground or pulling your arm out of its socket. Without another spoken word, or much other thoughts, the red bird swung up to fall near silently through the hole the Super left in the ceiling, crouched and ready to strike.
A loud crash against the wall and a mumbled "Owwie..." In his ear caught his attention first, head whipping over to the wall the noise. "Flash?"
"M'fine," came the grunted reply, Bart pushing himself back up on his knees. "Truck's not parked. In fact, it's way past that."
"Shit."
"Not to worry, Captain, I'm on it." Funny, Tim doesn't recall Bart ever sounding annoyed himself. His scowl deepened even as he tossed batarangs into the onslaught. There were a lot more hostiles than he'd initially thought...
"Hey, Rob, did these guys also have a weapons trade deal? 'Cause it's a little hard to catch up when I'm also being shot at."
Double shit.
CASSIE: Whipping her lasso out, Cassie snapped it out and wrapped it around the nearest man's forearm. She tugged hard and sent him flying back. A smile pulled at her lips and she rolled her eyes at Conner's attempts at flirting in the midst of them taking down the guards. "Definitely not," she tugged her lasso back and kicked out at the guard who was attempting to charge her, sending him crashing into the nearest wall and making him crumple in on himself. Tim came swinging in and it was like something clicked into place despite the persistent bad feeling that had made itself home in her chest.
Of course, that couldn't last. Bart's voice sounded out through the comms and Cassie's heart sunk right down into her stomach. "Shit," she breathed out, trying to think of a solution and quick. "Flash, I'm coming! You two handle this!" She barked out the orders and shot out of the doors that were no longer hanging on the hinges after her hard punch. There was a memory that flashed across Cassie's mind of Bart and his knee, the way Deathstroke had put a bullet in it with no hesitation. She couldn't let him get hurt again. She wouldn't.
The dizziness was back and Cassie felt like she was seconds away from throwing up, but pushed it back. She pushed herself harder and faster, shooting through the air and throwing her lasso to wrap around the exhaust pipe of the truck. A scream tore its way through Cassie as she tugged and tugged hard, lifting the back of the truck up and dragging it backwards. Shots sounded out and Cassie tugged up harder, bullets ripping through the air and bouncing off her bracelets. Pain shot up her arms and spread throughout her body unlike she had felt before, the gas being pressed harder to try to get away from her. The exhaust pipe snapped and Cassie was sent flying back, a surprised yelp leaving her. "Oh no you don't!"
Cassie caught herself in the air and tried to push through the dizzy spell and pain tingling in her entire body. Then something seemed to just snap as she pushed through the air, her body faltering up high in the sky and suddenly dropping down. Cassie scrambled, trying to force her body back up airborne but nothing happened, the dread setting in.
A blood curdling scream escaped Cassie as she yelled out, "CONNER!" She was falling down towards the ground at a rapid speed and unable to stop it.
KON: He smirked, happy at the sight of his girlfriend's lips twitching into a small smile at his antics. He swiftly dealt with another guard, tossing him against a wall and pointedly ignoring the man's loud groan of pain. "Hey, if you didn't want to deal with us you probably shouldn't be doing... whatever it is you're doing here," he said before turning to Tim, "What are they doing here again?"
His head whipped toward Cassie, his eyes following as she punched her way through the metal doors and off toward Bart. "Goddammit," He sighed, turning to Tim, "Does she seem a little off to you? Her heartbeat is going crazy."
He sighed, pulling Tim behind him as a barrage of bullets came through the open door, a large truck screeching to a halt as "What are we supposed to do n-" His words were cut off when he heard, once again, Cassie's heartbeat falter and then, no more than a second later, the terror-laced scream of his name. He glanced at Tim, eyes wide but before the man could say anything he was flying up through the roof once more, dropping Tim onto a different building before he pushed himself toward the sound of the scream.
His heart raced and he swooped down, his heels digging gouges into the street as he skidded right under Cassie, his arms ready to catch her before he was shooting back into the sky with a relieved laugh, his arms pulling her closer to his chest. "What the hell was that, Cass? Are you okay?"
TIM + BART: This was... Too familiar. Too nostalgic. The staff in his hands seemed to transport him back to a time when he was just a teen, a teen in green tights, a little too obsessed with ninjas, given the gruff command to take care of his own team as his predecessors before had done. A near mirror image of the League, the ones stuck to their sides or in their shadows. The wind in his hair as he whirled around, added more to the momentary illusion, and he forgot for a fleeting moment that the four of them had ever been apart. It was clockwork, just as easy as muscle memory...
That was, until things went wrong.
Just their luck, the world gave them a sign that they should've kept to themselves, it seemed. Tim barely had the chance to answer Kon's questions before the scream nearly blew out the speaker in his ear. White eyes went wide with shock, a whispered "Cass-" making it's way out of his throat. It didn't take much more than a shared look of fear to know that his teammate had heard it too, possibly a million times louder than either of them wanted to hear. He was trying to think of a plan, to send Kon off so he could fend off the rest of the hoard himself, to call back Bart and get at least someone on his 6, but his brain doesn't run on super speed, the ground flying away from him faster than he could start to talk again.
"What the hell-?!" Another sentence, reflexive and reactive, and again barely spoken before he was dropped out of the air again. Damn it all. Tim rolled to a kneel again, looking up to see a blurred streak racing off into the horizon, his plans fizzling out like a match in a puddle. They had this, they had this under control and ready to get done. What the hell was going on that he didn't plan for?? He wanted to make a retort, tell the other that he was fine, that he should've just left him there to duke it out, but... He worried. Lips pulled into a tight frown, masked eyes watching the blur fade away, he waited... Listened... Watched. It's what he was good at, right?
Bart skidded to a full stop just behind the capture zone, though his gold, sparking eyes darted from the sky to the road. "Grife, they're gone," He sighed, a gloved hand flicking through the windblown nest of hair, letting it fall into his face. He wasn't about to get another hospital trip out of them coming together again as a team, no sir. Besides, he had the plates, make and model, and gaudy off-white color scheme committed to memory, it wasn't like it was going to be hard to find with a now broken exhaust.
It was a moment of silence from the both of them, just staring at what they could only assume was the super-couple above them. All was quiet until Tim decided it was time to speak up again: "Status report."
CASSIE: There was a certain sense of helplessness as Cassie fell down, down, down. The wind caused her hair to whip past her face, not because of her pushing her body through the sky but from her descent down towards the ground. Her eyes squeezed shut as tears stung at them, so many faces flashing in her mind as the air rushed past her body.
Conner, Bart, Tim. Her team she had let down in a course of action she hadn't even seen coming. Donna and Diana, two Amazons and her sisters she had felt so disconnected from for far too long. She didn't feel a part of the Amazons and entirely too much like a boat floating far out to see. There was Kara and Jon, the two other Kryptonians that had wormed their way into her heart. The anger she had quietly held for Kara despite being able to relate far too deeply. There was a regret in the fact she had been angry with her in a place that had only come from wanting to protect Conner. Her mom. Her mom, who had only wanted to take care of her and was horrified when she decided to become a hero. Her mom who she hadn't talked to in so long and ached for her in this moment. Maybe she was right, Cassie didn't know what she was doing and hadn't in a very long time.
Suddenly, arms were around Cassie and she was shot back up into the air. She let out a startled gasp and her eyes opened, arms scrambling to wrap around Conner's neck tightly. She parted her lips to answer and wasn't even sure what to say. What did happen?
"...I don't know," Cassie whispered weakly, a tear escaping and rolling down her cheek. She wasn't one to fall apart like this, but she had been scared, terrified even. "I was...I've been feeling off lately. Dizzy and just like something wasn't right. I ignored it for awhile, was gonna go visit Dr. Mid-Nite...then I just—" Failed them. She failed them and the mission. Their first mission back as a team and she had ruined it.
"I was flying after the truck and it was like someone tugged the power chord on my powers. I just...fell. I couldn't make myself fly no matter how hard I tried. If I had to guess I probably can't even make a dent in a door I punch. I'm...useless. I don't have any powers." The reality came crashing down on Cassie swift and fast. She didn't have any powers. She had had powers for so long now, was one of the heavy hitters on the team alongside Conner. What good was she without them?
Tim's voice crackled to life in the comms unit and Cassie's response was half hearted—monotone at best. "I'm fine." She didn't feel it. Not in the slightest.
KON: She was safe, here in his arms with her heartbeat fluttering wildly and her voice breaking. He looked down at her and his teeth dug into his bottom lip as his fingers squeezed a little tighter only to ease up again in an instant. His flight wavering as his brows stitched together in concern.
There had never been a time that he could remember that he had been scared to hurt her, but now as he looked into her eyes and saw the vulnerability shining there he had to take a deep breath just to collect himself. He shifted her weight into one arm and brushed away the stray tear as best as he could, his lips pursing as they continued to flow. He landed them on the ground and glanced around, a small dry chuckle bubbling past his lips as he ran a hand through his hair. They were farther out than he had anticipated, somewhere upstate from the look of it. He had been so terrified, so panicked in the moment that he hadn't even realised how fast they were flying. His only thought had been getting her away as quickly as possible but now he felt guilty. Bart needed him, he had left Tim on a random roof, his need to protect her so strong that he hadn't given a second thought to abandoning the team, his best friends.
They could have been captured, they could have been hurt, they could have been killed.
He took a shuddering breath, his eyes squeezing shut as he reached blindly for Cassie's hand and cradled it in his own. He needed to focus on her right now. Bart and Tim were smart and capable and probably already tracking them.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, hating how just a few weeks earlier she had asked him the same question. When did they start keeping secrets? Lying by commission? That wasn't them, was it?
"You are not-" he huffed, snatching the comm from his ear and pinching it between his fingers until he heard a satisfying crunch. "Look, we'll figure it out, Tim will- I don't know, do Tim things and we'll fix it, okay? Don't cry," he said pulling her into a hug, "I hate when you cry."
TIM + BART: No visual, they disappeared... That wasn't too odd in a normal sense, but this wasn't a normal mission. He knew they were out there at least, knew they were still alive. He wished that was all the assurance he needed. Cassie wasn't fine, and Kon wouldn't be fine unless she was. Something had gone terribly wrong here. Possibilities flooded his head, nearly blocking out the mental work he'd already put in that he'd take on solo to try finishing what the four of them had started. Maybe it was easier that way, anyways-
Nope. Fuck. Stop that, you promised you'd stop that. You're fine. Just breathe.
A deep grumble sounded at the back of his throat when he pulled up his screen again, typing quick commands to try and find the pair... And noticed he could only see one dot on his radar. Damn it. Damn it all. "Well, at least he won't get to whine about calling it off."
"Yeah, he can get pretty whiney, huh?" Without a second to spare, it seemed, the yellow-clad speedster had come up to flank the vigilante, his eyes slightly glowing from the sparks that threatened to take his vision for the moment. "I don't think he'll be doin' much of that now, though."
“What happened?" Tim asked, concern filtering through the gruff mask he attempted to put on his voice.
"She just..." Lost, confused, worried, the speedster looked back up at the sky. "She just kinda' fell."
The two shared a moment of silence, each one lost in their own thoughts. If Tim wasn't trying to figure it all out at once, he'd have to laugh at the fact that this was probably the longest time Bart had ever stayed quiet. Deep down, Bart knew it too, but he was stuck in place, rooted, grounded, frozen. All words he never wanted to be. But... What could either of them really do? No one had the full story, least of all Cassie, they were sure.
"... Head back home, Bart," Tim eventually sighed, closing down the holograph screen, turning his head at the familiar sound of an engine on the streets below. Hello, old faithful. "Get some rest. I'll send a report when I can." Walking, not running, Tim dropped off the edge of the roof and onto the waiting top of the Redbird, waiting until he was actually in the old car to lean back and... 'Relax'. To say he had a bad feeling would be rhetorical.
And Bart only watched, still at a loss for words. Did he really want to go 'home' tonight? It felt like he shouldn't, he should let the two of them be alone as much as they could. Maybe he should leave a note, send them a text, maybe he should go to the Garricks or his old place he shared with M-... No no, don't do that, Allen. With the feeling of tears threatening to take his eyes, the speedster set a sort of concentrated scowl on his face at the horizon line. Without another second to lose, he was gone in a flash, taking off to no destination in particular. There were no problems while he ran free, there wasn't anything he had to worry about if he just kept going.
He'd be back tomorrow anyways, always smiling, always happy.
CASSIE: Conner was trying, but all Cassie could feel was a never ending sense of dread and disappointment. She hated letting them down, had been afraid of it for so long even. Back when she was the leader of the team that was a constant fear. For as confident as she was, she truly had lost all faith and confidence in herself steadily over time. She saw Diana, even Donna, and didn't know where she fit into the picture. They were Amazons through and through, but she...she wasn't. She could pretend all she wanted, but she was just some girl who happened to be part god and was only ever gifted these powers by her deadbeat of a grandfather who just so happened to be Zeus.
Why didn't you tell me? The question was enough to make Cassie grimace and flinch the tiniest bit. She had told Scott, breaking down in a similar fashion in the man's new home on Genosha that something was wrong with her. She hadn't said anything to anyone else, almost afraid if she uttered any more about it that something would happen. Little did she know, she was doomed regardless.
"I didn't mean to...I was scared. I thought something was wrong and I was afraid if I talked about it then there would actually be something wrong with me. How am I supposed to explain that? I can't explain it other than I had a terrifying gut feeling that there was something absolutely fucking wrong with me." Cassie sighed weakly and scrubbed at her eyes tiredly, she felt completely drained. Whether it was from the loss of powers or just...emotionally being completely destroyed was up for debate. The lasso at her hip felt entirely too heavy and she wanted to rip it apart, throw it away with her bracelets and never look at either again.
"Yeah. We'll figure it out." Cassie parroted halfheartedly at best. She had a feeling that they wouldn't. That she would be...stuck like this and wouldn't be needed. By anyone. "Let's just...can you take us home, please?" She requested quietly, moving to wrap her arms around Conner's neck once more as his arms moved around her. The wind in her hair and the clouds in the sky were a far different experience when someone was carrying her rather than her flying through them herself. Her head fell to Conner's shoulder and she squeezed shut tightly. They'd figure it out. They had to. Right? Right. (She hoped so at least. She didn't know what she'd do if she was stuck like this forever. She could only hope and try not to let that diminish for now.)
