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Cassie was getting ready to rejoin the fight - but that was before she had seen the girl.
A girl in costume, no less.
A girl in costume, just a few blocks away from a group of costumed super-teens on a mission? It was too much of a coincidence for Cassie to pass up.
The girl was sitting in an alley with her knees to her chest, staring straight ahead. Her eyes were hidden behind a mask, but Cassie would have bet a million bucks that they were blank as anything. Like Cassie, her hair was blonde - but far lighter, more white-blonde than golden, and she wore it pulled back in thick, curly ponytail. She was dressed in red and black, and a bow lay at her side.
Cassie landed around the corner and walked up to her, stopping a few yards away. In her experience it was best not to get too close when surprising anyone wearing a costume. Especially when they were armed - and this girl was.
“Hi,” Cassie said.
The girl looked up at her. Cassie smiled. People always liked it when she smiled.
“I’m Cassie.”
The girl cracked the tiniest of smiles. (Success! Cassie thought.)
“Don’t they teach you not to throw around your civilian identity like that?”
Cassie blushed, fumbling for an answer. She finally settled upon “Um, what are you talking about?”
The girl sighed. “You’re Wonder Girl.”
Cassie bit her lip. “...you got me?” she offered, half-smiling. “I’m, uh, still kinda new at this.”
“I suppose we can’t all be raised to it,” the girl said. Something in her tone told Cassie that it wasn’t a subject she really wanted to talk about, although quelling her curiosity was nearly impossible. Raised to it? Was this girl a hero, too? Did she have superpowers? Oh, no, wait, Cassie supposed, she was an archer. Did she know Green Arrow, then? Or--
It was hard to quit thinking sometimes.
“So...” Cassie said, drawing out the word so it lasted about ten syllables longer than it should have. “What about you, then? Got a name? Or a code name, I guess. That would probably work too.”
The girl broke away from her staring contest with the wall and looked at Cassie, a bit of an odd expression on her face (from what she could see, anyway).
“I guess I never really thought about that,” she said, finally, after an awkward pause.
“Well, it’s not really that important,” Cassie said, even though it was. She sat down on the ground across from the girl. “Point is, what’s up?”
The girl was silent.
Cassie waited.
And waited.
She started drumming her fingers on her leg.
“No, seriously, I really want to know what’s up,” she blurted after a minute. “Can’t you just tell me? I mean, maybe I could help or something, I just... ugh, you know what? Never mind. I have to get back to...” She rose, gesturing vaguely over her shoulder and trying not to look straight at the girl. Cassie knew she wasn’t Diana - she was never going to be that perfect and caring and everything - and she probably did still need to work on the people skills part of the whole Wonder Woman legacy - but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to be. She really did care. She was trying so hard to do what Diana would do and this girl was just making it impossible!
“Wait.”
Cassie was at the foot of the alley, preparing to take off, when she heard it. She turned around.
The girl was looking straight at her. Cassie shifted. Something about that gaze was just... uncomfortable.
“Answer something for me?”
“Sure,” Cassie said, unthinking. “Anything.”
The girl hesitated.
“What...” She took a deep breath. “What happened... back there?”
Cassie considered her options. It wasn’t like this wasn’t going to be on the news any minute now anyway, right?
“...it’s not great,” she said. “I mean, I’ve seen plenty worse, but... it doesn’t look good.”
“Civilians?” she asked. Her voice was so quiet Cassie had to lean forward to hear.
“...yeah,” Cassie said. She knew exactly what the girl was asking. Even someone as new to this whole superhero gig as she was knew what that one word meant, as a question.
She didn’t think she was ever going to be able to answer it without hurting inside.
The girl, though. The girl just... shook.
Her whole body shuddered, her breath coming out in quiet, ragged sighs. Her arms wrapped around her knees, and Cassie fell to the ground next to her.
She imagined this was what it looked like when someone wanted to cry but couldn’t bring themselves to make tears.
“Hey,” she said, quietly, putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder. It didn’t feel invasive. It just felt like what Diana would do.
The girl stiffened momentarily, then stilled. She lifted her head, resting it back against the wall of the alley behind her. When she spoke again, her voice was dry, devoid of any hint that she had been close to tears just moments before.
“I just did this to get back at my mom,” the girl said, numbly. “I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.”
Cassie tried to push away the inquisition that was rising in her. It wasn’t the time.
“My mom can take away my powers,” she said.
The girl laughed sharply, a single, abrupt “Hah!”
“What!?”
“Oh, nothing,” the girl said. “Just... it’s ironic, that’s all.”
Cassie grumbled, but she dropped it.
She didn’t know how long they just sat together, silent, the sounds of battle slowing behind them.
“Look,” Cassie said at last, unable to stop herself. The girl had dropped enough hints. “What if you... came with me?”
She didn’t even skip a beat before refusing.
“I mean it,” Cassie persisted. “We could help you!”
The girl shrugged off Cassie’s hand - she had forgotten about that, it’d been there for so long - and stood, grabbing her bow. Cassie jumped up after her, but the girl held out her arms in front of her.
“Look, thanks,” the girl said. “It was nice talking to you and everything. But you’re Wonder Girl, and I’m, well, not.” She smiled wryly, but Cassie couldn’t tell if it was real or not. The girl slung her bow over her shoulder and crossed her arms, tucking her hands into her jacket.
“We can help you!” Cassie said, again. She didn’t want to leave this girl, not now - there was so much more to know. “Please?”
The girl glanced down, like she was nervous.
When she looked up again, Cassie could have sworn their eyes locked through that red mask.
“I’m really sorry about this,” the girl said.
The next thing Cassie knew there was a bolt in her side, and the girl was gone.