First Unused Utility Belt | Video

[hellofist]

[When the video feed comes on, it looks like everything is upside down. Only Cassandra's neck and chin are visible at first, showing a lopsided frown as she fumbles with the communicator, nearly drops it, and then finally turns it upside down. Now the view is her face right side up, and she grins into the camera before a paning shot shows she is hanging upside down from a tree in the CES.]

Crunches. Upside down. 500. Bored.

[She could have done this in the gym, yes, but there are less people here usually. Besides-]

Climbed the tree. Always wanted... to try. Bats are upside down. Funny, because [She puts her hand on her chest here.] Batgirl. Warden.

[And then she waves.] Hi.

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[ichoosefight]

[ If it's even possible, Steph's smile grows with Cass'. She's been Batgirl for a while now, but it will never stop being amazing and cool to her. ]

Eggplant purple. Babs designed it.

[hellofist]

Put it on!

[Aside from the obvious friendship, one of the things Cass missed the most about Steph was going on patrol with her. Stephanie inspired new ways to look at things, letting the job be fun. After Steph, all of the color bled out of patrolling. Everything became grey, by the book, boring.

Now, they can be Batgirl together and as hard as she tries, Cass can't think of anything better.]

[ichoosefight]

[ Steph laughs and nods her ascension. ] Okay, okay. [ Nobody else is around and there's no good reason to be shy stripping in front of Cass. She pulls her clothes off and starts changing. ]

So, what do you think? [ She pulls the cape back and forth, showing it off. ]

[hellofist]

[There's no shyness in Steph, so Cass doesn't think to look away. She doesn't know if she even can, after thinking her best friend had been dead this whole time. Letting her out of her sight even just to let her get changed in private would have been out of the question.

And then all there is is pride. Cass was filled with it already, but now Steph is brimming with it too and everything is okay, right now.]

Perfect. You were... made to be Batgirl.

[ichoosefight]

[ Even after all this time, she can't help but preen a little under the approval. ]

Not any more than you were. I try to make you and Babs proud. [ As much as she wants to not mess up for herself, she's part of a legacy now, and that means something. ]

[hellofist]

You do.

[How can she not? From the beginning, Stephanie wanted to do the right thing. Now she has the resources and Batman, she would assume. As far as Cass is concerned, Steph is automatically a good Batgirl.]

[ichoosefight]

[ Batman's resources, anyway. Oh, and his habit of looking over everyone's shoulder, that's helpful in its own awful way. ]

I'm not dead yet, so I figure I must be doing something right.

[ Oh. Bad choice of words, she realizes moments after they come out of her mouth. ]

[hellofist]

[And as soon as it slips, Cass' face falls. She had tried to just push that to the back of her mind, focus on Steph alive and here, not on being lied to and missing her for so, so long. She wasn't ready to look at that again already.

Suddenly, the grass is much more interesting than Stephanie's new suit and Cass isn't sure if she'll be able to look up again.]

Not funny.

[ichoosefight]

I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. [ She deflates, and the guilt comes back like being hit with a brick wall. She's a horrible friend. ]

[hellofist]

[She already cried with Tim. This still hurts, hurts worse than Bludhaven, but Steph is alive and there's absolutely no reason to cry over that.

Her heart still feels heavy and her eyes are still burning, though.]

Don't make those jokes.

[ichoosefight]

I won't, I promise. [ But she's broken so many promises in her life. Still, she'll try, and she really doesn't want to see Cass cry. ]

Never again. I'll only make funny jokes. And maybe bad puns.

[hellofist]

[Promises. They only mean anything until they don't. They've never meant much, not when they're just words, easy to make and just as easy to break.]

Do you think... your death is a joke? Wasn't real to you, means it doesn't count?

[ichoosefight]

No, Cass... [ She's caught somewhere between apologetic and angry. She may not have died, but that doesn't mean it was easy for her. It doesn't mean she didn't come close, more than once. ]

I think that if I couldn't laugh at myself sometimes I'd probably just cry.

[hellofist]

[That's fair enough. Cass' hands curl into fists, relax, only to tense up again. She doesn't want fighting or yelling or crying with Steph. She wants smiling and hugging. She wants her friend back.]

No crying. We should just... be happy. Okay?

[ichoosefight]

Sounds like a plan to me. [ She's more than happy to just let it go, move on. Try to forget, except they can never forget and they never will. But they can pretend. She pulls the cowl off her head but leaves the rest on, because it's not exactly a big secret that she's Batgirl and she doesn't feel like changing again. ]

Not to blatantly change the topic or anything, but has anyone told you about floods and that stuff yet?

[hellofist]

No. Not really. Know some, but not... from explantations.

[She means explanations, but she doesn't know she means explanations.]

[ichoosefight]

What do you know so far? [ She could spend all day explaining the finer points of floods, but she wants to make sure Cass has the important details. ]

[hellofist]

Help inmates, go to ports sometimes. Can be dangerous. Don't fall off ship.

[She shrugs.]

Know the small stuff. Didn't know... Weird timelines.

[ichoosefight]

Falling off isn't really something you can help. [ Take it from her, she's been there and done that. ]

Floods are different, though, and they're weird. There's no water, but stuff changes. Like, I woke up as a boy once. That sort of thing.

[hellofist]

[And now Cass is picturing it. Why did you have to go and do that, Stephanie?]

Bet you... were handsome.

[ichoosefight]

[ She snorts, flushing a little. ]

I wasn't bad looking. Not that I was, you know, looking to close or anything. [ She was looking way too close. ]

[hellofist]

[There is a very mischievous grin on Cass' face right now.]

You were. Did you... like it?

[ichoosefight]

[ Now she's blushing straight out, wondering what Cass thinks she did. Not that there was much she didn't do... ]

It was... memorable.

[hellofist]

[It's only Steph's reaction that makes Cass blush in return. Now she's curious, wants to ask a million questions, but even with her astounding lack of tact, she has a feeling you're not supposed to ask those kind of questions.]

Memorable... how?

[Then again, this is her best friend. Best friends talk about everything, right?]

[ichoosefight]

Well, guys are different. Everything feels different.