Cassandra had no idea what was going on. Her father was packing a suitcase, muttering to himself. He was angry-nervous-protective, and she was concerned-curious-excited about it. Her father never said those last two things, so this trip must be a big deal.

She must be going with Damian. He had a suitcase, too. Lots of them. He had been excited-happy-nervous, making lots of noises. She hoped this place was as good as he thought it would be.

Cassandra loved new training places, most of the time. She had grown sick of her old one in the jungle. That one was boring. But it seemed like this new training place was great, since even Damian was excited.

She wondered if she would still have her new identifying mouth noise there. She liked having a special mouth noise like everyone else. Father had given it to her especially for this place. Would she loose it at the new place? Her father was always "Cain." Sometimes Damian's mother, "Talia" called father "David", and Cassandra didn't know why. Was it another sound for "Cain?" "Cain" was also "Cassandra" because Damian called her that, like Jason called her "Cass." These mouth sounds were weird, but she liked having her own now.

Father threw the bag on the floor, where it fell-thudded-lay. He looked over at Cass. Sighing, he pulled a long piece of paper out of his pocket, like the ones she was sent to deliver sometimes. She didn't know what the squiggles meant, but they must be important. Father handed it to her, showing her a picture of a large man.

She pointed at the envelope, then the man, making sure that she had understood. Father nodded and told her to put the envelope in her backpack. She did, swinging the bag on her back, slipping in her saved things box too.

So this was a mission! A long one though, by the amount of clothes her father had packed for her. Usually she just got one extra outfit in her pack.

He beckoned for her to follow him, and she did. Down the hallway, up the stairs, ending at the launchpad on the roof, where a helicopter was waiting. Jason and Damian were already there. Jason was stricken-anxious-happy and Damian was happy-excited-impatient.

The younger boy made a lot of noise, taking the suitcase from Cain and handing it to a nearby servant to load onto the helicopter. He grabbed Cassandra's hand, pulling her towards the door. She looked back at her father, who nodded. She hopped on board after Damian, Jason filling in across from them, next to Talia.

So, she's to keep Damian safe, wherever they were going. Talia's presence and nervousness meant it was important. Cass hoped this would be a fun mission, and not one of the stabbed-still-no heartbeat kind of missions. Damian didn't go on those yet, so it probably wouldn't be.

She hated flying. It was long, and boring, and the ground below didn't change as much as it did in the car. It was much harder to have fun, too. In the car, she could play games. Count trees, Raindrop Race, find the prettiest cars, and see new people and things when they stopped to use the toilets.

Though, stopping wasn't as fun anymore. people had started looking at her father and her weird when she got older. Father sometimes had to ask permission and get a key from a desk person to open the door with the blue and white sign. Then, people had a look of understanding-pity, and not fear-concern-pity. She didn't understand at first, but then she really noticed that most men went in one bathroom and most women went to the other, and so she and Father together didn't fit. But, at least it was more exciting than flying. Although, flying was still better than blindfolded trips.

She let her mind wander as Talia spoke strictly to the boys. There was no point in paying attention to them right now. She drifted off, fully awake but not fully there. She'd be alerted if anything happened.

-•-

"Cass! Cass!" Jason watched as she came back with a jolt. "Talia's gone to talk to Bruce."

She stared blankly at him. Of course. Why had he expected her to suddenly understand? His nerves were really getting to him. She did go on high alert when she noticed that Talia had gone. She was probably beating herself up for having missed it.

Eventually, the comms crackled. "Yes?" Jason answered, anxiety forming a ball in his stomach.

"The three of you meet me on the top floor, dear. There is an access door, come through there."

"Yes, ma'am." He looked at his friends. "You better be ready. We're a go."

Damian was the first out, followed by his bodyguard. Jason hesitated before taking a breath and jumping out after them. He tapped his comm. "We're here."

"Perfect. Damian, darling."Damian opened the door, slipping into the next room. "This is our son. He found out about you recently and has decided that he will be spending the summer with you as a reward for his excellence in training over the past few months."

"Nice to meet you, Damian." Bruce's voice was shaky. Jason felt like he might throw up. He knew that voice. He hadn't heard it since... before he died.

"It is nice to meet you as well, Father. I assume that Mother has filled you in on Cassandra?"

"His bodyguard. She's very self sufficient, you will hardly notice her presence. You won't, if you don't want her to make her presence known."

"Okay." Bruce was definitely nervous.

"Cassandra!"

Cass looked at Jason. Something in her eyes told him that she was checking on him before she went in. He nodded, shooing her into the room. As the door closed behind her, he took another shaky breath. Could he run now? How far would he get if he did? He didn't remember enough yet to go back home, that's what Talia always said. But now, because DAMIAN wanted to go, suddenly that meant JASON was ready-

"Hood?" Talia called. Jason shoved away his thoughts and pushed the door open, closing it soundly behind him.

Cass smiled, looking over from her spot behind Damian, who looked annoyed as the teen played with his hair. Jason tried to focus on her and not the man about to cause a heart attack.

"Jason?" Bruce struggled to even say the name, wide eyed in disbelief.

"Told you I had a good surprise present! Goodbye, my love. See you soon!" Talia practically sashayed out of them room, leaving three kids alone with an incredibly dumbfounded Bruce.