TBX

**Blood in the Snow: ** Every night for twenty two years, Bruce Wayne has risked his life to protect Gotham City from urban decay and gross injustice. On this Christmas Day however, he is about to take the biggest risk of his life; he’s getting married! With invites sent to Gotham’s elite and his own adopted and extended family, Bruce is the most scared he’s ever been. Unbeknownst to the Prince of Gotham, an old vendetta is about to rear its ugly head as an enemy from the sordid past makes his presence known…. It’ll take the entire combined efforts of the Bat-Family to combat the threat of Mr Freeze and his Tandem creations. A mystery still looms however. What happened three years ago? Why have Bruce and Dick never talked about it? How can the family stop Freeze’s onslaught before tragedy strikes? 

Pulling one hand from the warmth of a pocket, long standing detective Harvey Bullock squats down to grab the dead girls chin, pushing the head to the left side until the wounds that were once hidden becomes visible as two small, ovate holes in the right temple ooze red and white. “Ain’t she pretty?” A young officer, clad in a black leather jacket and converse shoes watched as the snow fell onto the still warm body and blood leaked into the snow. “Two puncture wounds to the head, no other signs of trauma or struggle, yep, I’d say sleeping beauty here was targeted, Grayson” Dick Grayson, three years on the force and already a detective, a perk of dating the Commissioner’s daughter? Perhaps. Or maybe it comes down to the fact that the GCPD has the highest mortality rate and longest list of corrupt cops in the United States and nobody rarely signs up without an ulterior motive. “Wait a second” The sound of someone falling through the sky wasn’t many men had heard but when you grow up falling in a circus act, it’s something you never forget. “HARVEY MOVE!” Dick pushed his colleague out of the way as something crashed onto the hood of their car. A pair of glowing yellow eyes was staring back at them. A masked figure with two blades stained with blood on each hand was crouched opposite them. “Catch me if you can” It hissed before taking off into the strengthening snowfall. “Harvey, stay with the body” Dick took off after the assailant leaving Harvey alone with the victim. “I hate it when he does that hero stuff” Oh Harv if you only knew…. The guy could move and he moved well. He was floating over cars like it was nothing. Running up walls like anybody could do it. This killer moved liked a Robin. “Not today Grayson” A shine of a blade under the neon sign of the ACE Chemicals caught Dicks’ eyes. Dodging the throwing knife was difficult. He was a little rusty. Sliding back to his feet, the killer was gone. “Damn it!” he growled kicking a trash can over. He couldn’t let this happen again. If Dick wasn’t going to catch this kind of criminal, he was going to have to get back in the game. An hour later, Dick stood outside the front door of Wayne Manor, his girlfriend Barbara at his side. “Barb this is gonna suck. You realise this right?”

Barbara resisted the urge to roll her eyes or let out an exasperated sigh. "Dick," Barbara had a way of saying it that made it ambiguous if she was saying his name or calling him one, "Ley's just try to be polite and not have another father/son shouting match." For her part she was gratified to just be able to move easily, most of Gotham had wheelchair access right out of the 70s. The 1870s, to be precise. "If Bruce gets under your skin, just go find Tim, you can bond over how annoyed he makes you." She tempered her rebuke with a smile and leaned up and forward to hit the doorbell.

 Funny thing about being one of the full time capes of the Cave; everything could be an opportunity to train. It was irritating, and usually came when you last wanted it to; Steph had enough time before people started showing up to go 'downstairs' and play with her belt loadouts, re-calibrate the grapple gun, re-charge laser torches--little things that just needed doing. It was during this little bit of squeezed in time that Stephanie found herself locked out of the Batcomputer. Steph had always been good at puzzles and patterns and math--she was Arthur Brown's daughter, afterall. So what was half an hour of navigating password protocols and manipulating custom keystroke commands Bruce didn't even know she knew? Despite the irritation of the random loop to jump through, Steph couldn't deny the satisfaction in going around it in probably half the time Bruce likely expected it to take her. Without a proper replacement for Alfred, the few of them actually living at Wayne Manor did what they could. When alerts for intruders popped up on the big array of monitors, Steph was sated when she saw the picture of Dick and Barbara, dismissing the alert with one of the afore mentioned custom keystrokes of Bruce's and a sip of her coffee, a big black mug with a yellow Batsymbol on it. Stealth was key. She felt a little silly stepping through the hidden door in the image of a bookcase, hidden passages in old mansions, cloak and dagger...it was no wonder Steph didn't live at the Manor full time, and only during the semester. And, you know, because it made not just college easier, but being Batgirl infinitely more convenient. In Wayne Manor, if you weren't dragging yourself in at 6am, bruised and bleeding, then you just weren't doing it right. Not at Wayne Manor. Except Selina--she was given a pass, for obvious reasons. Wearing the same she'd gone to class in earlier (a dark purple blouse of sand silk with slashed sleeves and a dipping neck, black tights, and flat sandals decorated in amethysts), Steph opened the left of the two great front oak doors, motioning the two enter the main hall of the great manse, a smile mixed with the pain of exposure to Gotham's wintry air. "Hey! I know you two." _Well, kinda._ "Here for a night of drinking and merry making?...if so, you might want one of the other giant estates in Gotham Heights." Stephanie found herself smirking after the crack, motioning people towards the primary study before closing the door, and leaving the cold outside. "We had the place cleaned and restocked recently. Although, you know, be on the look out for poison darts and booby-traps...Damian and his games." Need she explain further? Of course not. "Not sure where the rest are. Probably closing in on us, now. Drinks?"

Cyrus Murphy, a schizophrenic pyromaniac released from Arkham Asylum two months prior. Tonight he held up in a warehouse with a woman gagged and tied to a post. The pentagrams, candles, gasoline, and cultist robes was probably a bad thing. Batwoman already alerted GCPD, but it would take them at least 10min to get there. She perched on the roof top of a building across the street, waiting for him to move just a little closer. He appeared to be reciting something from a aged book, one that looked strangely familiar. But there was no time for that now, Cyrus moved to the window to grab the container of gas. Now was her chance, Batwoman jumped and her cape plumed out into the familiar winged shape. She smashed into the window boots first and ran right into Cyrus. Moments later both of them flew out the 3rd story window in a ball of fire. Thank goodness it was winter because their landing was greeted by a pile of cold icy snow that did a decent job of dousing the flames. With Cyrus incapacitated Batwoman zoomed off on the Batpod before the authorities arrived. Back at her base, Kate applied generous amounts of aloe on her burns. Good thing she decided to fireproof the cape and wig. It wasn't long until her grandmother called. Surprising, she didn't think old people could stay up this late. "Katherine dear, you will attend the Wayne wedding tomorrow won't you? He's a friend of the family and you should be there." "Actually grandma, I was gonna-" Kate looked the the mannequin that stored her Bat-suit. It was burned, torn, ripped, and had a bullet lodged somewhere in it. "Yeah grandma, I'll be there." "Oh good. I have a lovely dress picked out for you, assuming you didn't put on any weight..." "Grandma, I have clothes." "Yes, but I'm talking about proper clothes dear. Something fit for a proper young lady. A proper young _single_ lady. All of Gotham's finest and richest bachelors will be there dear. You need need to make a good impression." Kate rolled her eyes, her grandma was always trying to set her up. After Kate left the military, her grandmother took it as an opportunity to make a proper lady out of her. "Don't worry, don't worry. I promise I'll wear something nice. I'll see you tomorrow, bye." Truth be told, this was just thing Kate needed. A moment to let Batwoman rest and work on herself.

_Shows what she knows, the darts haven't used real poison in months._ If there was at least one good thing about Wayne Manor, it was that it offered plenty of hiding places if you wanted to avoid other people. The one Damian currently occupied had probably been some kind of old servants' hallway, disused enough nowadays that the tiny lock built into the wall that barely revealed its' presence had to be picked to get it open as the key had disappeared ages ago. It was also-thankfully-a great place to eavesdrop on certain parts of the house. If anyone bothered to come looking for him he would probably have a head-start and given his own lifetime of training in stealth and the amount of rooms and passages in the house he was almost confident he could avoid everyone all night if he had to. That would work out just fine with the current Boy Wonder. Damian was exactly the opposite of thrilled with how things had been going lately and this whole "party" situation was just the latest and worse part of the whole ordeal. If he had to pretend and play nice with Tim while the latter glared exploding shuriken at him only to have Dick keep reminding him to control his temper on top of _everything else_ he was going to go through the kind of mental and emotional death that no Lazarus Pit or hi-tech organ transplant could save him from. It wasn't his fault after all, nothing anyone blamed him for was his fault, not lately anyways. He had only tried to kill Tim once, maybe twice at the most and that was almost more than a year ago but Tim still wouldn't stop looking at him like he was about to explode into a deadly rampage at any minute! Was he more on edge than usual, or a little more touchy? Of course! But who wouldn't be while seeing their father completely lose his mind? Completely dropping his guard and marrying the Kyle woman and he hadn't even seen fit to consult Damian at all! And they had announced the whole thing so pleased with themselves and elaborated on all of it so condescendingly as if he were **a child**! ..._Well I suppose I am a child in the technical sense but they have no right to treat me like that! Me!_ He was no common child after all, and he of all people was affected by this madness-induced decision and the foolishness it had prompted! All this talk of how **nice** and **happy** things would be and Selina being part of the family all while he had to sit there and smile along! Unlike some people here he still had a mother already and she... _Isn't here._ That had been the long and short of it. She wasn't here and Selina Kyle was marrying his father tomorrow. And here he was, hiding in a passage and- no not sulking, A Wayne didn't sulk and neither did an Al Ghul. They certainly didn't tear up either, even if the world had gone completely mad. No, he was just here to avoid getting into an argument with Tim and replace the tranquilizer darts without getting caught. The passageway was, however, eye-irritatingly dusty.

(Do be aware that Sloth knows fuck-all about architecture and how windows work, he apologizes for general stupidity.) You'd be surprised just how easy it is to sneak into a metropolitan airport under a fake name. Sure, Jason Todd was never legally declared deceased, but why ruin the surprise? Just because Bruce decided to take a night off from beating the piss out of Gotham City ne'er-do-wells didn't mean he wouldn't be sitting at the Batcomputer (illegally) checking the records for any "notable arrivals", which was to say any drug kingpins or child slavers. Gotham did tend to attract the best. In fact, an international fugitive with fifty known kills was probably just another Wednesday. So, for the sake of drama, "Robbie Malone" was Gotham's newest visitor. It was a surreal feeling to be walking the streets of his childhood home again. Four years had passed, yet Gotham herself didn't seem to have aged a day. Christmas Eve, and you could still hear police sirens and burglaries in progress all around. If he didn't know better, Jason could even say he felt nostalgic. The man in question dug his hands a little deeper into the pockets of his leather jacket when a particularly unforgiving gust of wind hit him square in the face. He wasn't particularly well dressed for a Gotham winter, a simple red hoodie over a T-shirt and under aforementioned jacket, and the way Gotham was around Christmas, three layers might as well be one. Jason decided to forego checking up on his safe-house in the Narrows and made his way directly to Cape Central, otherwise known as Wayne Manor. After all, expecting Bruce not to have found the place by now was foolish, and besides, this "party" would be as good a chance as any to see all of the old 'crew' in the same place at the same time without having to tell everyone he was in town and potentially risk being hauled off to Blackgate or something. If there was one thing that could always be said about Bruce Wayne, it was that he always kept his Manor in tip top shape. Granted the former Boy Wonder was currently in the backyard rather than walking up the immaculately snow deprived driveway. The grounds of Wayne Manor always felt like some kind of miniature country when Jason had lived here, and it was still halfway true to this day, considering the large fence he had to parkour his way over in order to get in. Jason didn't particularly bother to be stealthy, lack of proper equipment aside, hacking into the security cameras was an inconvenience he'd rather not deal with, and the front door was so cliché. Making his way to a rather large window on the manor's west end, a few memories flooded his head as he fiddled with the handle. _Come on, it hasn't been that long...all you had to do was jiggle it a little bit to the-perfect_. Jason gave himself a theoretical pat on the back when he heard the latch open and the millions of silent alarms that probably had his former mentor clamoring for the nearest Batarang. Sliding his way into his old bedroom, Jason gave himself a moment to breathe it all in. Everything was as he remembered it, give or take a lot of dust. Jason closed the window behind him before gingerly making his way for the ancient oak door. "Bruce really should change the lock on that thing."

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." The calm voice continued with the opening paragraph of the book _A Tale of Two Cities_ by Charles Dickens while Tim swung from one rooftop to the next. He had recently picked up the habit of audio books and had now committed to listening to a compilation of 'must reads' according to one of Gotham's head librarians. The fact that he brought this on had nothing to do with Stephanie posting something about how annoyed she was about having to read Dickens for a English course. The fact was it had everything to do with him searching for something to distract himself from what was inevitable tonight which was seeing the rest of the Bat family. The Bat family was as dysfunctional as any reality show family. The unique thing about them isn't even the fact that all of us were masked crime fighters or that more than one had been scared by a tragedy. Instead the real thing that always stood out was that the family always felt better when they were all in the cave. Even the Adam's family had a house on Maple Drive. Tim's thoughts weren't just focused on the family reunion. His mind never worked that way. Instead it was focused on everything. The current attempt to acquire several key energy companies along with silent partnerships with Queen Incorporate. On top of that public appearances by Timothy Drake the CEO and President of WayneTech International was also biting at his calendars heels. His newest secretary was more bloodhound then desk jockey. Seemingly always knowing the worst time to bring up an "urgent issue". The last time she called Tim was half way around the world dealing with the Penguins weapon suppliers from Eastern Europe. Thankfully one first class ticket managed to deliver him to the meeting in Metropolis on time. The day ended with enough time for Tim to assist in stopping a League of Assassins job so Tim should give her credit. She helped save a life. The first chapter of the book ended just as Red Robin swung onto the roof of his home. It was the old theater next to the alley where Bruce's parents were shot. He had since bought the property and transformed the insides into what any 20 something with more money than some countries could dream about. Of course this was all for show. The real investment was what was under the property. An access tunnel into the subway system for his bike as well as enough space in the secret basement to classify as a remote Batcave. Entering from the roof the young professional removed his costume and sat at the massive screens and began filing a report. All security cameras were functioning and remote assistance centers in the south side of Gotham were fully functional. The program was a new one that was supplied and financed by Wayne Enterprises. Instead of making a call all a person had to do was hit a button on one of the hundreds of assistance centers in the area and a 911 call was made and police would be called to the scene. The added bonus was that it also called Tim at his Batcave. Several AI's categorized and logged every call completing a sort of crime triage which has now allowed the entire Bat family to shave nearly six minutes off their response time to crimes in progress. The system wasn't without its faults. Tim had incorporated a hack competition to see how easily the system was to bypass. The winner went by the screen name Oracle and has since begun to assist Tim in heightening all manner of classified systems. He would have to thank her when he saw her. A ring chimed marking the time as Tim began to change into a suit for the dinner. He was about to walk out of his bedroom when he realized there was a very long batarang cut down the right side of the suit. A souvenir from the last time he had to watch over Damion. The little brat had not only ruined a date Tim had plans to attend, but also required him to say the cuts were from "A night I would rather forget" according to his twitter after a TMZ reporter caught sight of the ragged looking CEO. The night had mostly consisted in him struggling to keep Damion from going out on his own night patrol. It ended with both of them nearly exhausting their entire bat arsenal at each other and one of the manors staff lecturing Tim as though he was Damion's age. After trying on another suit, this one less red than his night gear and more presentable than the one between, he looked over at a photo of himself and Dick. It was a photo from when the two were both living in the Wayne Manor. It was during the summer which used to be the best time. Both could work by Bruce's side and the day saw the hallways alive with two overly energetic boys with way too cool toys. More than a few broken bones were earned along with plenty during their night activities. His attention was turned elsewhere when his TV turned on and began reporting on an arrest that happened earlier in the week. Poison Ivy had gone on another Greenpeace rampage only to be foiled by a strikingly blonde Batgirl. Stephanie Brown... Drake watched the report show the after effects as it discussed what was going to happen with the damages. Drake already knew more then the report told, but it reminded him that he would need to 'accidentally' leave some bat gear around the cave for Steph to acquire. She still wasn't up for asking him for supplies. He couldn't blame her. If anything was a clear sign that seeing her had him on edge it was that he completely forgot how to tie a tie during the entire news story. When the news went over to sports he found his form and quick as he could was out the door and entering the limo that was prepared to take him to the Manor. _Batman and Catwoman_ he thought to himself. _If that isn't a sentence full of trouble I don't know what is_. The ride to the manor was short thanks to the lack of traffic. He couldn't stop himself from playing with his tie. A habit that had manifested after he took over Wayne International. The dark purple tie matched his dress shirt while the classic black three button suit fit him like most Italian suits should. When he arrived and walked up to the front door he didn't even knock as William opened the door with a smile. While everyone in the world jokes and dreams of entering the Batcave. A true member of the Bat family knows the best and only way to enter the manor is by way of a greeting from William, the head of staff at Wayne Manor. "Master Drake. How good it is to see you. I hope you plan to leave the place better off than the last time you were here." His voice was the mix of humor and serious that only he could produce. The joking threat brought a smile to Tim's face as the two hugged. "Those that have arrived are gathering in the main room. Shall I take your jacket." Tim relinquished his jacket and walked through the grand entrance and into the main room. With a quick glace around the room gave him all the information he needed. He saw Dick and Barbra whom he smiled at. Raising his arms out and giving his older brother a big hug. Giving Barbara a hug as well he told the two they looked good which wasn't a lie. He then saw that his attire perfectly matched the dress Stephanie was currently wearing the ever loving heck out of. He silently elbowed himself. The same act he did when he clicked download on the Dickens novels earlier today. He shuffled slightly before giving Stephanie an honest hug and complemented her dress as well as congratulating her on the Poison Ivy take down. After hello's and good to see you's were tossed around Tim asked about where the happy couple was.

Damian's general eavesdropping was interrupted by a very soft chime from his phone. He'd had the thing semi-secretly hooked up to the Manor's security systems for a while now considering not going on patrol alone left him with little enough to do on some nights but make casual attempts at hacking into parts of the Bat-Computer. A quick check of it showed that someone had just broken in through a window of one of the bedrooms that was never used anymore. Worse yet the photo was of some man in what looked like motorcycle leathers that Damian didn't recognize at all. Of course, it would be just perfect if an assassin or world-class burglar or some new super-villain broke in on tonight of all nights. Although maybe it would make the alleged happy couple delay the wedding... But since the others were busy and Damian wanted to do something other than sit in this honestly-just-very-dusty passageway for too much longer he decided to take it up to the floor in question, slipping a batarang he'd palmed earlier just-in-case into one hand and with the other grabbing a... _What is this even? An old feather-duster? Some kind of broom handle? Utter foolishness like this is exactly why Father needs to let me start carrying a sword around again! But at least it has some weight behind it..._ Emerging from the passageway he readied to throw the Batarang at the intruder as soon as he opened the door and made himself vulnerable, then follow it up with a leaping strike from the..whatever it was as an improvised sword of sorts.

The smile on Barbara's' face became a little fixed when Stephanie answered the door. It wasn't that she didn't like Stephanie - Stephanie was a good kid, and she was a refreshing change from the usual doom, gloom, and brooding that was apparently an essential part of the Bat-Family Men's breakfast. No, just that little reminder that she, like Dick, and Jason, and Tim before her, had been replaced. Sometimes she saw where Dick was coming from with his anger at the old man. But nobody played against Barbara Gordon in poker, so her momentary disquiet at the twin reminders of replacement and loss was immediately buried under a broad, friendly smile. "Stephanie, hey." She rolled forward over the threshold, beginning to shed her winter gear as she did so. She hadn't gone for an especially formal getup - getting dressed was like getting teeth pulled sometimes, and she was damned if she was going to let Dick dress her - just simple black slacks and a long, gray shirt. She didn't wear skirts or dresses much anymore anyway, her legs were...not something anyone wanted to see. Her least of all. Her smile widened as Tim entered the room, noting his rather odd behavior towards Stephanie. *Right. Robin and Batgirl...I wonder if Jason and Cass...oh, ugh. No, please.* She felt a touch of humor, but suppressed it. "Tim, how've you been? You look well."

_**Collaboration between Sloth and Dblade, for the hilarity of Jason and Damian brooding at each other.**_ Something one had to be aware of when they were a full time caped crusader in Wayne Manor was the possibility of a Batarang to the face at any given moment, whether it be part of Bruce's honestly kind of screwed up training regiment or an accidental outburst from one of your fellow teenage companions. Jason hardly had enough time to move his head to the side after opening the door to his former paradise of a bedroom to avoid the Batarang that went flying into his old dresser on the opposite side of the room. They could've at least started with some ginger ale. Guess Bruce didn't exactly tell anyone he was invited. Before he'd even gotten a good look at his assailant, Jason had to reach his hand out to catch what appeared to be a broom handle and redirect the force to send...a child? Into the door-frame while Jason backed up slowly into the servant's hallway. "You must be the new kid." Damian tried to suppress his surprise as the intruder dodged his throw with what looked like an infuriatingly small amount of effort. Whoever this creep was, he was obviously a cut above the average break-and-enter type of idiot. Damian was pretty sure this was the sort of situation that called for a pun or casual banter or something, but he found all of that pretty tedious so instead he just charged and leapt at the man, swinging the... It was definitely a broom handle, now that he saw it in light of swinging it down at someone's skull. This had to be the fifth most demeaning weapon he had ever had to assault someone with, honestly. At least it wasn't a rubber chicken this time. He was still regretting not being able to permanently silence the thug he'd hit with _that_ thing. No wonder Robins got so little respect. His scowl-inducing thought process was interrupted when the "thug" he'd attacked casually redirected his overhead strike and sent him smacking into the door-frame. He'd trained too long with lethal weapons to remember that his current "sword" could be caught like that, and he'd hardly been expecting a move that took that amount of training. He pushed the sudden burst of stars and pain out of his head to stand up and reassess his opponent, only to hear the man call him a 'kid' "I'm not some kid, and this is a private party! So who the hell are you?" See? He could do puns and banter after all. Well, if anything, the particularly small doppelganger of Bruce's scowl confirmed that Bruce had, in fact, not told anyone he was invited. Or maybe Bruce hadn't bothered to tell his son about his older adoptive siblings that weren't generally seen in Gotham's premises. Kids these days show no respect, I swear. "What, Bruce never told you about me? Figured I'd be the main example of why _'Killing is unacceptable!'_" Jason looked over his shoulder to see if anyone else was waiting to pop out and grab him. One could never be too careful in Wayne Manor. He simply rolled his shoulders a couple times and lowered the hood of his sweatshirt to better reveal his face, motioning for one Damian Wayne to lead the way. "Come on, we wouldn't want to leave the rest of the family waiting." Suddenly Damian's headache and inability to smash this smug jerk's face in suddenly made a whole lot more sense. He dropped the embarrassingly ineffective broom handle and switched from scowling to idle curiosity. Not guilt or anything at attacking one of Batman's adopted sons though, honestly! That kind of shame was beneath him, and if a life of being raised by a secret society of ninjas and Batman had taught him anything, it was that a little paranoia was a sign of good health. "So, you're Jason Todd. I imagined you taller. You fit all the rumors and angry warnings well enough I suppose. So...ah...welcome home?" Jason allowed himself a smirk while the duo began making their way out of the almost frightfully dusty hallway and towards what would probably be one of the more awkward Christmas Eve parties in history. "Yeah, whatever you say, short-stack." Damian flashed a scowl again at the comment "You know, a year or so ago a crack about my height would have earned you an execution. You're lucky I'm feeling generous." Without stopping for further banter Damian slid open the 'secret' entrance to the hallway and walked out to the others like he hadn't been hiding and not-sulking all night. "I brought a Christmas present. I tried shaking the box, but I think it's mostly filled with insolence and excrement."

Barbara grabbed the arms of her chair and almost rose to her feet, shock overriding her better judgement. "Jason!" She caught herself before her helpless legs sent her sprawling to the floor, pushing herself back into her seat. Stunned surprise filled her face, he was about the last person she expected to see here. She sat there for a good few seconds, then shook her head and rolled forward, managing a smile for him. She hadn't been there for his return, had heard about the whole incident second-hand, and even then she hadn't entirely believed that Jason was really still alive. Or back from the dead, at any rate. A thousand increasingly banal things to say came to mind, just words to fill the awkward silence, ranging from *"You look good!"* to *"Nice jacket!"* and an endless array of similar, equally brainless things to say. Finally, she settled on simple, unvarnished honesty. "I didn't expect to see you." *Brilliant selection, Barbara.* Now how did you ask someone if they were here to be one of the Groomsmen, or here to wreak havoc in a polite way? "Are you here to stay?" *Well, you've made better conversation choices, but that one isn't your worst either.*

 Cassandra sat in her seat aboard the plane with the headphones over her ears watching the screen at the front with a quirked brow. She had sat this way for over an hour watching the movie with a look of disbelief. Turtles. The main characters of the film were turtles mutated and transformed into humanoids trained in martial arts by a rat of similar origin who himself learned martial arts from reading a book. Totally absurd. But, watching this silly movie kept her mind off what laid ahead of her. Soon Cassandra would land in Gotham City and be reunited with her adopted family, some of which she hadn't seen in years, others she hadn't ever met. The young woman had missed her mentor and adopted father, the Batm-- ... Bruce. Even after all this time it was hard for her to address him by his civilian name. For so long he had simply been just the Batman, her mentor and savior. The Dark Knight had taken her in from the streets where Cassandra had lived for over half a decade alone. The Batman trained her and gave her a purpose. He accepted her and made her a part of his family despite her parentage and the bad things she had done. After she discovered the man underneath the cowl Cassandra's relationship with her adopted father changed. It was if he had been lying to her for years, like looking into the eyes of a stranger. Add to that the stress of being one of the guardians of arguably the most corrupt city in the United States, and the fact that the girl was quickly becoming a woman, their relationship soon became strained. But, time would heal the wounds. She and the Batman began to communicate again even though they hadn't met face to face in what seemed forever. Other than a little turbulence the flight was uneventful. Cassandra Cain-Wayne carried herself with confidence through the airport with her knee-high pleather boots clicking upon the floor with every step. She neither was dressed too rich nor too poor. She wore no jewelry. This was Gotham and she had no desire to make herself a target. Underneath the black winter coat, the simple black cotton top, and black denim jeans was a slender well toned body made for fighting. It did not mean, however, that fighting was all she ever wanted to do. In a perfect world people like her, like the Batman, wouldn't need to exist. But, the world wasn't perfect. And though, Cassandra did not go looking for a fight, she didn't back down from one when innocent lives were at stake. It was her mission in life to save lives. As long as she was able, as long as her body was willing, Cassandra trained, patrolled and fought against those who dared to harm others for selfish gain or pure hatred. This wasn't why Cassandra had come to Gotham this day. It wasn't because the Batman needed her assistance on a mission. No. Her adopted father wanted his family to come home. Cassandra retrieved her luggage, and went outside to hail a taxi. The driver opened the trunk of the cab and helped place Cassandra's two suitcases, large duffle bag and travel inside with a smile. "Where can we take you on this fine wintery day, darlin'?" "Wayne Manor."

With her recent wardrobe malfunction, or rather: malfunctioning wardrobe, Kate took the opportunity to draw up a few design upgrades. For starters, the cape needed to be detachable in case of fires. It needed to be longer, and feature 5 distinct edged points. The bracers should have detachable claws that could be used as batarangs. Gloves should be textured for grip. She imagined the other bats has all this already figured out. Maybe they could give her a few tips? Ha, yeah right. Somehow, she had the feeling that brooding cloud of bats wouldn't be so inviting to an outsider. Besides, more allies just means more ways for the bad guys to get to you. _buzz buzz_ Oh wow, those are a lot of messages. Kate, as usual, got so caught up in her own head that she didn't realize her phone was trying to tell her something. Haha, Steph posted something about reading Dickens for class... wait, Kate was in that class too. Crap, she totally forgot about that assignment! At first glance it wouldn't seem like Kate and Steph would make good friends, they didn't exactly roam the same circles. The way they met was a complete misunderstanding. Kate thought Steph was winking at her when in fact Steph had something caught in her eye. What a dork. _buzz buzz_ Another message. Oh great, its Eduardo again. He's a young, wealthy, "eligible bachelor" as her grandmother would put it. He also doesn't seem to understand the word "no", because here he is inviting Kate to another party. This time its Christmas themed... wait what? Damn, she's been so busy that she totally forgot that its Christmas Eve! Even for a Jewish girl, that's pretty bad. Well, as much as she dislikes Eduardo, she had to admit his parties had great booze. Besides, at least half of Gotham's rich kids will be there. Unless he was waiting by the entrance all night she doubted he would find her. Before heading out she had a quick change of clothes into something a little more appropriate than a sports bra. It was a bit chilly outside for the Ducati, so she opted for the Tesla instead.

 "Wayne Manor?" the cabbie replied with widening brown eyes. "Youse in town for the weddin' then?" Cassandra nodded as she entered the dirty, somewhat banged up yellow automobile. The young woman's nose wrinkled at the unflattering scent of fish oil and body odor. "So, you're a friend of Mista Wayne? Or maybe the his bride to be?" The taxi took a second to start up, and backfired with a loud bang once the driver got it going. "Daughter of Ba--" Cassandra had to stop herself. *Bruce, not Batman. Bruce, not Batman.* "Bruce Wayne is my father," she answered. "Oh, really? Well hey! I'm honored to have a member of Gotham royalty in my cab! I tell ya, I've lived in this city for all my sixty-two years an' been drivin' for thirty of them. So many bad things happen in this city, but I tell ya, I remember the day Mista Wayne lost his momma like it was yesterday. Broke my heart, it did. I swear..... " Cassandra tuned out the rambling old driver as her ride continued. She shifted in the back seat, folding her arms in front of her, and settled in for the long ride to the stately manor of Bruce Wayne. It wouldn't be as tiresome as the flight, but still, the Wayne mansion wasn't exactly located in the center of the city either. She had never sat so long in one day than she had this day. Cassandra promised herself that as she got settled in she would find her way into the cave and do some serious training. She felt so stiff, so... lazy. Her body ached for a good workout. "....has had some fine ladies on his arm, but that Selina Kyle, oh my! What a fox! I tell ya... " Before she could get a workout in Cassandra knew she would have to address her family, those she knew and those she did not, which included Selina Kyle otherwise known as the infamous burglar, Catwoman. Cassandra had had only one encounter with the Catwoman. If it had been one on one there was no question in Cassandra's mind that she would have easily apprehended the feline thief. But, there were others involved. A three man crew who happened to be after the same museum piece as Selina. Cassandra, as Batgirl, dispatched the three with ease of course, but the short time it took her to do so was more than enough for the Catwoman to slip away. " ...I mean, only the most greedy an' pompous of asses would get married on Christmas Day! I mean, I tell ya.... " And now, Selina Kyle was about to join the family. This allegedly reformed criminal would soon learn Cassandra's and all of the Bat-Family's secrets. That is if she didn't know them already. How long had it been since the Batman and Selina had started dating? Who is to say that the Batman hadn't already shared secrets during a night of pillow talk? " ....think he coulda afforded to send a limo for his daughter. I tell ya, rich peoples. Well, here we are, darlin'." The taxi came to a stop as the driver waited patiently for the humongous and foreboding gates of Wayne Manor. "I'll get out here," Cassandra said matter-of-factly. "As you wish, milady," the cabbie responded, and quickly got out of the taxi to retrieve the young lady's bags from the trunk. "There ya go, miss. You have yourself a happy holiday now!" As the cab drove away Cassandra stood there at the entrance gates, looking up the long driveway leading up to the intimidating mansion. "Happy? I wonder...."

“What’s up kiddo?” Dick kissed Stephanie on top of her forehead as he and Barbara entered the manor. In some ways it felt like years since he had been here and in other ways it felt like only yesterday. It was never a bright place, even in the day time most of the light came from the soft glow of old gothic lanterns littered throughout the estate. Every room filled with secrets and some form of deception. That was the dark magic of Wayne Manor. Dick followed Barbara into the main room where other members of his family had gathered. A wry smile crossed the once upon a time Robin’s face; the others were all dressed smartly much like Bruce always was. Dick himself had just come off duty and hadn’t bothered to get changed when he picked Barb up from their modest studio apartment. He was still dressed in his dark jeans, grey v neck, converse and leather jacket. He glanced over at his lady love and noted her expression as Tim entered the room. One of the things Dick prided himself on was being to read a person’s eyes and he could always read Barbara’s. She was seeing younger versions of themselves in Tim and Steph. Robin and Batgirl, fated love perhaps? “Timmy” He greeted his favoured younger brother. “You look good dork, little round in the middle though. You been slacking?” It was all fun banter of course, Tim looked in great shape. Obviously the boss hadn’t let up any of his old training methods. _"I brought a Christmas present. I tried shaking the box, but I think it's mostly filled with insolence and excrement."_ It was like looking at a kid version of Bruce. Same scowl. Same hair. Same eyes. Dark eyes. Eyes that carry way too much pain. “Damian, are you sne….” The emergence of another figure behind Damian cut short whatever sarky quip Dick was about to say. Barbara called out a name and a face was brightened by dim candelight. Dick knew that his little brother was alive, he also knew that when he left Gotham after his rampage that he went looking for penance. Every fibre of his being was telling him to give the newcomer a piece of his mind but he knew it wasn’t right. Not tonight. “How you doing Jay?” Beneath them all, a smiling man looked through his security feed. With his final child at the door, it was time to show his face…

"You mean, am I here to cause problems?" Jason hadn't exactly thought out how his reintroduction would go. Truth be told he might've been hoping for a lot more screaming and ranting, at least that'd feel more natural. Dick and Barbara tended to wear their hearts on their sleeves, rather than Bruce who kept any and all emotions buried under a cape and cowl. Jason himself still had a hard time thinking about it all, let alone the prospect of spilling his guts to the people he'd wronged. Barbara's reaction had left him with a dumbfounded expression on his face for the few moments of awkward silence before she not so subtly probed the Red Hood for his intentions. "I'm just in town for the wedding." It felt strange, to think that after four years away from Gotham, and almost a decade away from some of the only friends he'd ever known, that he could just walk into the Manor again and everyone would just be....there. It didn't take long for him to notice the rest of the room staring at the trio, as if the entire night hinged on what would be said next. Jason could tell just by the look in Dick's eyes that he was one wrong sentence away from full-blown shouting match. It brought a mental smile to his face that everything seemed to go deafeningly silent when the eldest three of the 'family' had their little standoff. Granted the event that marked the old generation from the new wasn't exactly what he'd liked it to be. > _“How you doing Jay?”_ Four years back in the realm of the living, and nobody had ever called him that. Not once. It was haunting to hear it again, even if it was from the person who gave him the nickname in the first place. Jason decided he should at least try to ease some of the overwhelming tension in the room by taking a seat on the nearest unoccupied couch before responding. Weird how the least casual people in the room were dressed in their civvies. "Oh, you know, undead, dealing with a lot of deep seated emotional issues." Jason wasn't quite sure if he was doing this whole 'joke' thing right, it was always more of Dick's shtick, but hey, progress. "Nice to see you and Barbie got together. Took you long enough." whether or not Dick and Barbara would think he was avoiding their questions or childishly antagonizing them didn't exactly process into Jason's thought pattern. The deadpan manner of his delivery probably didn't help matters either. Sheesh, where was Bruce when you needed him?

 Cassandra zipped up her coat and placed the duffle bag over her shoulder, picked up a suitcase in each hand, and began the walk up the long driveway. A bitter cold gust of wind hit her, whipping her long shiny hair around, and making her regret letting the cab driver drive her up to the front door. She had let her grow out in recent months after years of wearing it short. Now her thick locks fell just below her shoulders. And it was no longer its natural dark black color, instead her hair was a deep brunette. Cassandra had also began experimenting with coloring and highlighting. The walk was chilly and uncomfortable, but it got the blood pumping. Her dark brown eyes gazed upon the mansion that lay before her that seemed to grow with each step she took towards it. How odd it was that she was approaching the home of Bruce Wayne and not the Cave of the Batman. The cave is where she had spent the majority of her time as Batgirl. It was where she trained, where she did research, received her orders, ate her meals and most often slept. The cave had been her home for years. Stepping up to the sizable front doors the young vigilante hesitated. Cassandra was unsure what to do. She was for all intent and purposes family so she could just open the door and walk inside. Should she knock? What was the proper etiquette when arriving at your adopted father's slash night prowling vigilante multi-million dollar home? After debating much too long over a simple everyday decision, Cassandra rang the doorbell.