She is never, ever. Ever. Ever. Going to let Danny Bruce find out how long it took her to notice something had happened. If he it didn’t hurt him, then he’d tease her forever. If it did hurt him… she didn’t want to hurt him again.
Gotham is a dark and dreary city, with neon signs lighting up the streets and the puddles of water. So far her favorite weather has been when it’s just barely drizzling, and the entire city seems to glow. She might miss the hot weather she was used to, but she could see why Bruce was here. The glowing was pretty reminiscent of the Realms.
She adjusts her hair as she gets out of the cab, walking up the road towards Bruce’s home. A small grimace when she notes that it’s the size of Vlad’s, but. But she can feel the care that Bruce and others had put into it, the footsteps and joy in the stonework. It’s not how Vlad would have a big house, to boast and show off. More so… it’s like a big lair. It’s big to fit all of Bruce’s emotions.
It surprises her when she can go right through the door, no shield or alarms going off. She keeps going though, following Bruce’s echoes to his room.
She stifles a giggle when she makes it. The room is big and cozy, a huge set of windows lining one of the walls with a telescope facing the sky. The bed is subtle, dark blues, blacks, and purples layered to remind of the evening sky. It is so, very, Danny. Even if he’s Bruce now.
She doesn’t quite follow the rules of gravity in her leap, jumping from the door to the middle of the bed. It moves with and around her, and she quickly finds herself nice and comfy.
She adjusts her clothes and her hair and settles in to wait, going over the plan in her head.
With her hair and appearance being different, Bruce wasn’t likely to recognize her. Hopefully the situation would be familiar enough, though she felt sure he’d know her core.
She knew Bruce had had to flee, that at some point his human parents had died. That the vigilante running around Gotham was most definitely him. Her core ached at him being alone for so long.
So, she’d stay in Gotham and help be the fraid that he needed. They were cousins, and she knew that he wouldn’t keep her from leaving if she needed to.
Idly she grabs a magazine from the nightstand, flipping through articles on space and barely seeing them.
No. She knew DannyBruce. It didn’t matter that it’d been so long. The moment she wanted to go, he’d wish her well and see her off.
The light from the crack she’d left in the door widens. She lets a grin stretch her face, carefully not looking up from the glossy paper. “Sup cuz.” She greets lazily. “Betcha missed me.”
The silence drags on and she resists the urge to look. It didn’t matter that it’d been so long. Danny was always willing to help her.
“Don’t tell me you don’t recognize… me?” She looks.
Familiar blue eyes and black hair stare her down, the tight, distrusting look on the face, much less the face, isn’t familiar.
Familiar eyes narrow as the person tenses, coiled to spring. “How did you get in Bruce’s room?”
She narrows her eyes back, tilting her chin up. “How did you?” She accuses haughtily.
The man stutters before scoffing, his head tilting down in challenge. He’s got some sort of weapon on him, from the way he’s standing.
“Dick Grayson.” The stranger introduces, “His son.”
Her eyes widen and all pretense at not paying attention fades. If she looks, she can see the claim on his proto-core.
“I won’t ask again.” He snarls, “How did you get in here?”
She blinks a few times, trying to switch back to mortal vision, closing her mouth. She slides to the edge of the bed, suddenly feeling embarrassed of her ‘inside joke’. “Kate.” She answers quietly. “Kate Kane, I’m his cousin.” She rubs her neck at his look of disbelief, trying to cast back to the acting tips that Vlad had given her, and then to the ones she’d bargained out of Amorpho. “I’ve been traveling a lot, but. Figured Bruce could use some family. I didn’t… didn’t know about you.”
“Over a decade.” Dick’s eyes narrow. “Long time to be out of contact.”
She shrugs, trying to smile and feeling like it falls short. “Bruce’ll recognize me. I’m his baby cousin.”
Dick’s stance relaxes a little, even while his frown grows.
She twists her wrist in a ‘hurry’ motion. “So… call Bruce.”
“I-” His mouth snaps shut with a click. “Bruce is-”
“Master Dick?” A new voice cuts in. “Lad, are you alright?” A hand settles on Dick’s shoulder, before the new person comes into view. Proto-core layered in a variety of claims, some deals, some favors, with Bruce’s fraid claim stamped over the top of all of them, the elderly man squints at her, before his eyes widen.
She knows, in the sinking feeling in her core, in her stomach, that he can see her own fraid mark. And that that’s not a good thing for her.
“Young miss.” The elder says quietly, grief overlaying his voice. “I do wish we could have met in better times.”
She pushes back the instinct of tears, the urge to hunch over and protect her core. “Does he… does Bruce not want to see me?” She can feel her eyes watering as she pushes herself off the bed, holding her hand over her core. “I know- I know I didn’t come to help him, and that it’s been a long time but-”
“Bruce is gone.” Dick cuts her off, emotion torn from his voice even while his proto-core rages and seethes under the tide of grief. “He’s-” Whatever noise had been next, Dick cuts it off, glancing towards Alfred before spinning on his heel and leaving.
“Danielle.” Alfred says quietly. She watches him sink to the ground, meeting her where she didn’t realize she’d knelt.
“Kate.” She whispered back. “Katie maybe.”
“Miss Kate.” Alfred soothes. “If Bruce was here, he’d be ecstatic to have you. For you to meet his children. There was a battle. Bruce died keeping everyone safe.”
She shakes her head, static rising in her ears. Desperately she pulls on her fraid connection, feeling the tentative lines to Dick and Alfred, feeling the sharp, desperate claim that came from being severed from Danny’s core in her creation. Danny had fought Pariah Dark and won. He’d fought Ancients and won. He’d fought Vlad.
She swallows her grief and focuses on her rage and her determination. Her cousin was alive.
And where ever he was trapped. She’d find him.
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