Bullets and Brainpower

Change Sucks

The next day, I wake up and it's still dark outside. An old habit that's probably gonna be hard to break. I look around the room Jim had told me was mine before changing and slipping out of the room. I quietly slipped down the stairs and out the door. As I step onto the sidewalk, I pull my jacket tighter around me, my breath appearing a misty white. I ran down the street toward Fish's place.

"Cassidy," she says as I walk in. "What are you doing here?" I hold up a single finger as I try to catch my breath. "Come sit down." I nod and drop myself onto the stool next to her. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I, uh..," I start. "I'm used to getting up this early, so I didn't know what else to do." I look at her. "I need to tell you something."

"That you are now the daughter of a cop, perhaps?" she asks. I nod. "I figured you'd be over here soon to tell me, but I have a friend in the GCPD who came over and told me yesterday." I nod. "That reminds me, I have something for you." She stands up and starts to walk away, motioning for me to follow. I hop off the stool and jog to catch up to her. We walk to the back and to a room I've never been in. "You remember our conversation yesterday about getting you something new?" I nod. "Well, last night, I was inspired, so I got one of Gotham's greatest to put this together." She opens the door, and on a table, I see a pile of clothes. There's a man in the corner with his hands and feet tied and a cloth around his mouth. "Butch, get him out of here. We don't need him now." Butch grabs the man and drags him out, his muffled yells echoing down the hall. "Well? Take a look." She walks outside and closes the door as I walk over to the table, picking up the clothes and putting them on.

There's a gold, long sleeved shirt, and I think it's the softest thing I've ever felt. Next, there's a black leather zip-up vest with lace-up sides and studded shoulders. There are tight black leather pants and black leather heeled combat boots that lace-up as well as buckles that wrap around the shoe. I pick up the black leather fedora and black leather fingerless gloves, which have studded straps that wrap around my wrists. There are two sets of earrings, both diamond and silver. One set is simple diamond studs, and one is dangling diamond strands that look like icicles. I look at the last item on the table and frown. It's a black mask that will cover the lower half of my face. I pick it up and walk out of the room.

"Oh," I hear Fish say as I walk into the room. "Look at that! It's even better than I imagined." I look at her.

"What's the mask for?" I ask.

"You're the daughter of a cop now. That can be extremely useful in our line of work, but if people find out that I'm working with the daughter of a cop, they won't trust either of us." I nod and put on the mask. "Now all you need is a name. Something that will keep your identity safe but also send a message. Strike fear into people." I smirk under the mask.

"I know." I look up at her. "Ice." She smiles.

"I love it," she says. "Ominous, intimidating, and it has an origin." I nod. "Well, Ice. You'd better get home, but whenever you come here, make sure you're wearing this." I nod and head back to the apartment after changing back into my normal clothes. I quietly close the door but freeze when I hear someone clear their throat behind me. I cringe and slowly spin around.

"So," she says, "where've you been?" I clear my throat.

"I, uh," I start, "I was just walking around."

"'Just walking around?'" I nod. "At four o'clock in the morning?" I nod.

"I used to always wake up before the sun came up...especially when I wasn't staying where I usually did. Just to...make sure I didn't get caught...and stuff." She's silent for a second, but eventually, her face softens and she nods.

"Alright," she says. "I know you're not used to this. I'm not either." She nods her head towards the couch and sits down. I follow and sit across from her. "I'm not gonna lie to you. When I found out you were gonna be staying here, I was not happy." I nod.

"I could kinda tell that." She chuckles under her breath.

"But...the more I thought about it, and I thought about it a lot, the more I realized that you did what you did because you had to. You would've died if you didn't." She smiles. "So I guess what I'm trying to say is...I would really like it if we could at least be friends." I think about it and eventually smile.

"I'd like that," I say. "You seem really cool, not all judgemental and bossy like I thought when I met you, but then again, I did meet you by running into you when I was running away from you." She laughs. "Is this...going well? I've never really done this before. Making friends, I mean." She smiles and nods.

"I think just you admitting that means it's going great." She stands up and walks over to sit next to me. "I know this is a little weird, and it's gonna be for a while. You've never had a permanent family. But I'm gonna help you...and I know Jim will too." She wraps an arm around my shoulders, and I let a small smile slip.

"Change sucks." Barbara laughs.

"I know, kiddo. I know."

This was pretty much just a filler chapter before the Pilot just to get the outfit.

I do not own Gotham or its characters. I do however own Cassidy Alexandra, Ice, Gracelyn Ventura, and their plot, so don't steal. It's not nice.