I used to have a…routine. In the mornings. My Father taught it to me when I was young. I got up and meditated for fifteen minutes. I then did several kata for another fifteen minutes. Then I went to the practice dummies, going through my forms and strikes. Then to sword forms. It ended with a killing stroke through one of the dummies. I did that. Every morning, since I was old enough to walk and handle a blade. I think I was four…doesn’t matter though. I did this routine until I left Father. When I was traveling, I still meditated and did kata. Then Barbara and Bruce took me in, and I continued routine. With one difference. No killing stroke. That felt…good. Today…was different. -T-T-T-T-T- Cass walked into the training room that Tim had shown her the day before, suited up in her full Batgirl suit. She ignored the numerous weight machines and stair climbers and made her way to the workout mats. She took several training dummies that were stored in a corner of the room and arranged them to her liking before sitting the middle of the mat, closing her eyes, and beginning her meditation. Regulate the breathing. In, out. Center the self. In, out. In, out. Someone is here, watching. In, out. Ignore them. Center. In, out. She’d been aware of the other person’s presence despite their silent entry. She’d heard the other set of exhales. After a moment she felt them sit in front of her and match her breathing. Satisfied they weren’t going to disrupt her, Cass continued her meditation. After her prescribed fifteen minutes, she opened her eyes and saw Raven sitting across from her in a similar pose. She looked as calm and serene as ever, and Cass couldn’t help but envy the seemingly effortless way Raven poised herself. Her body language was calm, quiet, and peaceful. “I could help you with your technique if you
want,” Raven suddenly said. Her voice, like her everything else
about her, was calm and quiet. Still, it startled Cass a little. “Yes, your technique,” the elder girl said.
“You force yourself to center instead of letting your being
experience what comes naturally. To achieve true center, you must
allow yourself to feel what is natural and to block out all other
stimuli.” Dick once said that life is all about change
though, and this was part of the reason why she was here with the
Titans. So what harm would there be in order to simply try out
Raven’s method? Raven smiled. “First, take off your gloves and
your mask.” -T-T-T-T-T- Morning routine took longer. Felt better though. More focused. At peace. Decreased time spent with dummies. Asked Raven to meditate tomorrow too. She was happy and agreed. When we left gym, Tim saw us and asked if I had
made new friend. I stopped to think. Friend? Was Raven a friend?
Hadn’t thought about it. Said so and Tim nodded. “I’m just
teasing. Raven’s good though if you need someone to talk to if
something’s bothering you.” Judging from others, Raven’s opinion is
important. And Raven likes to work with me. -T-T-T-T-T- In keeping with their scheme, Slade began to build up Rose’s ego in antagonism to her future training partner. Part of the plan was to build up her opponent and let Rose’s competitive streak take over from there. “So her name is Goldilocks?” Rose asked, her nose scrunched in distaste as she ate her breakfast. Slade nodded over his copy of the San Francisco Chronicle, pleased so far at his daughter’s reaction. “Apparently she has control over her hair. An odd ability, but one that can be useful in certain situations.” Rose snorted. “Yeah, up until she’s faced with a pair of scissors and a curling iron.” “Don’t underestimate her,” Slade warned.
“There is a reason she was recruited by the Brotherhood.” -T-T-T-T-T- I eat Rice Krispies for breakfast. Sometimes I go to Dick and Babs’ house to eat if patrol ran late. There I get scrambled eggs. Always scrambled eggs, never any other way. Only way Dick knows how to cook eggs. If at Manor, Alfred fixes breakfast. Always get Rice Krispies though, regardless of where I at. Even went to Tim’s house after patrol once and ate his Rice Krispies. He didn’t like that. Turns out he likes his Rice Krispies too. But today there were no Rice Krispies for breakfast. Not at first anyway… -T-T-T-T-T- Cass and Tim entered rec room, still talking
about her progress with her meditation. “I can’t believe we didn’t
think of that before,” Tim said. “I mean we knew Cain taught you
everything you knew, but I never connected him with your meditation
techniques.” “Morning guys. What’s up?” she said. “Not much,” Tim replied. “What do you want to
eat, Cass?” Both girls stopped and looked at each other. “Oh boy, I hadn’t thought of this,” Cassie said. Tim looked between the two before speaking to Batgirl. “Cass, you mind if we call you Cassandra around here? It’ll save on the confusion.” Cassandra shrugged. “Okay, sure.” Cassandra smiled as Bart and Conner entered the kitchen. “No big.” “Whatcha reading, Cassie?” Bart said as he past
by the table on his way to the fridge. Conner blinked then shook his head. “What the
heck does Supergirl even have to do with Amazons?” “But it’s shaped like a dick.” Cassandra, who had been just listening to the
by-play up to that point, was confused however. “How is Florida
shaped like penis?” “Not one word, not a single word out of
you, Bart. If you even attempt to explain that, I will break your
legs. Then tell Batman what you said, and I will stand by and watch
the ensuing carnage. And just in case there are still pieces of you
that are breathing, I will tell Oracle and she will finish off
what’s left. Got it?” The girls rolled their eyes as Conner wiped his
hand on his jeans and Bart made a face while wiping his mouth.
“Anyway Cassandra, what did you want?” Cassie asked. Cassie got up and began looking through the
cabinets. “Conner, did you remember to do the shopping?” Cassandra blinked. She was sad she didn’t have
her favorite breakfast cereal, but she didn’t want to impose
either. She guiltily looked over to Tim. “Didn’t want to cause
problems. Can eat anything else.” As far as she was concerned, there was no better way to start the morning. -T-T-T-T-T- Rose looked over at her father from her issue
of People. “Her costume is a pink dress?” “I doubt Cobblepot would appreciate her presence at the Iceberg,” Slade replied. Though, he could appreciate the mental image that brought. The kwaking would be instantaneous and long. Rose shook her head. “They’d probably stop her on account of not having three bears with her to complete the theme.” -T-T-T-T-T- Dick would tell us of times he, Flash, and
Arsenal would bet each other. Said monitor duty and training
pairings were…decided by playing pool, foozball, or darts. Loser
buys lunch or does monitor duty next. Anyways. So things like this are decided by challenges and bets. This seems to be carried over to Tim’s team. And Garfield’s favorite challenge game is Phoenix Ninja... -T-T-T-T-T- The rest of the Titans had joined them and breakfast was concluded. Vic decided to go down to the garage and work on the Titan space cruiser. Bart was always interested in any space craft, owing to his futuristic up-bringing, and joined him. Raven had retreated to her room for the time being and everyone else was lounging around the rec room. Gar turned on the X-Box 360 and soon Phoenix Ninja was blaring from the surround sound set-up. Conner soon joined him and the sounds of combat filled the room. Mia and Cassie sat on the couch opposite the boys, comparing clothing notes from several catalogs and magazines. Cassandra joined Tim at a table. Several
scheduling spreadsheets were before him and he had the same look on
his face that Bruce did whenever going over JLA documents. Gar didn’t bother looking over his shoulder as
Akimoto proceeded to beat Conner’s character, Jim Fury, to a virtual
pulp. “Nah, I was gonna go visit Matt down in LA. Have Vic do it.” “You can stop now Gar,” Mia drawled. “If your
head gets any more swollen, we’ll have to put a ‘Wide Load’ sticker
on it.”
-T-T-T-T-T- Rose huffed from her position on the yoga mat.
“And we’re supposed to eventually train together?” -T-T-T-T-T- First lesson from the Titans: Betting monitor duty on Phoenix Ninja games is fun! Will do this more often. Though Garfield will probably not want to play me again. -T-T-T-T-T- The rec room was silent. Conner was bug eyed. Mia wore a satisfied smirk on her face. Cassie was busy muffling her giggles. Tim was wearing a wide smile that said “I told you.” On screen, SilentShogee stood triumphantly over Akimoto’s prone body. The words “Flawless Victory” flashed over the two fighters.Gar was ashen. His green skin had turned almost to a pale mint color. The controller hung limp in his hands. He turned to Cassandra and his mouth opened and closed repeatedly without making a sound. Cassandra said nothing. She wrapped up the cord to her controller, set it on the console, and walked off towards the kitchen before stopping. She turned around, smiled at Gar, and said just one word before continuing into the kitchen as the rec room erupted in laughter behind her. “Owned.” -T-T-T-T-T-
To be continued …
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