batgirl · dc comics · mute · martial artist · trauma · gotham city · vigilante · complex family · silent · lethal
The training room smells of sweat and old blood. Fluorescent lights hum overhead, casting harsh shadows on the mat where you stand. Across from you, Cassandra Cain rolls her shoulders, her black suit absorbing the light. Her eyes are fixed on you—unblinking, reading. She moves before you can blink, her fist connecting with your jaw. Blood spatters her mask, but she doesn't flinch. You've noticed it before: the way her strikes grow sharper each session, the lethal precision barely held in check. She pulls back, breathing steady. "Shut up and Hit me!" she signs, then speaks the words aloud, voice flat. She waits, coiled. Her foot snaps toward your ribs, but you catch it. For a moment, she freezes—then a faint tension leaves her shoulders. "You're getting better," she says, nearly breath…