Several hours have passed since the huge clash with Black Mask and the Suicide Squad. Cassandra is slowly walking down the Gotham streets holding her wounded shoulder. Luckily there wasn't a bullet lodged in her there, but she needed a way to stop the bleeding. Her clothes are also filthy from all the soot and brawling. Her hoody was still torn from that Black Mask thug, exposing her black shirt with a yellow bat symbol on it. Cassandra needed to find a change of clothes, someplace to sleep for the night, and something to eat.
As she continues to walk the creepy streets at night, Cassandra soon finds herself wandering into Gotham's Chinatown district, specifically near the Triad's hideout. As she walks toward one of the alleyways, she notices a large barrel with a fire in it supposedly for homeless people to seek warmth at night. Cassandra happens to find a wooden stick on the ground, most likely from a broken mop or broom and makes her way toward the fire. She places one end of the stick into the fire and lights it. She then removes the remains of her hoody and pulls her shirt down over her one shoulder where the gunshot wound is as she attempts to cauterize it. As soon as she positions herself to place the lit end of the stick on her shoulder, Cassandra hesitates as she knows it will hurt, but all she can think about is her training as a girl. Her father used to purposely shoot her in her limbs to teach her how to endure pain. She could handle a little fire, right?
Cassandra takes one huge deep breath and starts to grip the wooden stick tighter. She then starts to shake in nervousness as she prepares herself for what's about to happen. Then, quickly, Cassandra lodges the hot end of the stick directly into her shoulder burning the tissue around her wound as she lets out a loud grunt of pain. Cassandra immediately drops the wooden stick and falls to her knees in agony as she is regretting even thinking about doing that to herself. As she sits on the ground on all fours, two devious-looking men appear from the shadows dressed in cheap suits. Cassandra looks up at them as they hover over her speaking Cantonese to each other.
Triad thug #1: [ You ever seen this chick before? ]
Triad thug #2: [ Nope. Never .]
Triad thug #1: [ Must be some homeless girl or something. ]
The one triad thug then leans over closer to Cassandra in an attempt to speak to her.
Triad thug #1: [ Hey, young lady. You lost or something? ]
Cassandra then stands back up and leans against a brick wall just staring at the man still in pain. Although she can not speak or communicate with others, she can still understand speech, but not in Chinese unfortunately.
Triad thug #2: [ Maybe she only speaks English? ]
Triad thug #1: Hey you lost or something?
The one thug reaches out his hand to try and help Cassandra and her first instinct was to grab his hand and break it with a slight twist. The Triad thug moves back in pain as he is holding on to his broken hand.
Triad thug #1: Ahhh! You little bitch. Now you're gonna die for that.
The second thug instantly pulls out his handgun with no hesitation and points it straight at Cassandra who is still in so much pain from her wound. As she looks down the barrel of the gun she knows this might not end well for her. She knows she will have to fight back, but she is unsure if she is well enough to succeed. Right before the thugs pulls the trigger, a lady shouts from the backdoor of her building.
???: Hey stop! STOP!
The Asian woman then runs over to Cassandra and shields her from the Triad thugs. The one thug holding the gun then lightens his grip on his gun and starts to lower it. The lady then angrily bickers at the thugs in Cantonese.
???: [Can't you see this young girl is hurt? And you were just going to shoot her just like that?]
The thug then completely lowers his weapon and looks at the other thug holding his broken hand.
Triad thug #2: [ She had it coming to her. ]
???: [ She's a young lady. She's probably scared and doesn't understand you. Jesus! Where is your dignity? Your honor? ]
The second thug then scowls at the lady then at Cassandra then holsters his weapon. They both turn away and start to walk away from the girls.
Triad thug #2: [ Whatever. She gets to live now. Come on! Let's go fix up that hand of yours. ]
The thug with the broken hand looks back at Cassandra with a mean look in his eyes and mutters one last word to her.
Triad thug #1: [ Bitch. ]
The two thugs walk away and the random lady then gives Cassandra all her attention.
???: Can you speak English?
Cassandra shakes her head no.
???: But you understand it?
Cassandra then shakes her head yes.
???: Good! You are filthy and you would is very bad, child. We must tend to this at once. Come! We will take care of this in my apartment.
The woman then helps Cassandra into her apartment building where they make their way upstairs to tend to Cassandra's wounds.
The Asian lady sits Cassandra on a bed in a vacant bedroom as she gathers medical supplies to help treat her bullet wound.
???: Here. No one uses this room. You can stay here for the night if you need to.
The Lady then goes to remove Cassandra's hoody, but Cassandra flinches back refusing to let her do it.
???: Come child. That wound is serious and needs attention. I won't bite.
Cassandra then lets her guard down slightly and allows the woman to help remove her hoody. As it comes off the woman is slightly shocked by how many scars Cassandra has all up and down her arms and even on her neck. It is as if she has been fighting in a war for many years.
???: [ You poor child. ]
Cassandra scowls slightly as she doesn't like it when the lady speaks another language she doesn't understand around her.
???: What you don't like that? My apologizes. Only English from now on.
Cassandra's mood lightens up as she pulls her shirt down over her shoulder revealing her wound. The lady pours some ointment onto a cloth and presses it on Cassandra's shoulder. Cassandra endures the pain pretty well as she barely flinches or even makes a sound.
???: Tough girl, huh? I figured since you tried to fight those triads out there.
Cassandra just looks up at the lady as she continues to treat her wound. Wondering why this lady decided to help her in the first place, and why didn't those Triads try and kill her.
Ming: My name is Ming by the way. You must be new here I assume. It's not safe to be roaming Chinatown this late in the night. Even for a tough girl.
The Lady then reaches over for some bandages to wrap around Cassandra's shoulder.
Ming: My father was one of them Triads before. He was one of the bosses. He hurt a lot of people. Was well respected among the other Triads even to this day. Growing up, the Triads was all I knew, but when he died everything changed. I knew my father was a bad guy, and he hurt a lot of people, but he was still my father, and I missed him. So I decided when I got older to get my family out of that business. I didn't want anyone else to get hurt. It also served well that the Triad bosses seek to protect me to this day. Guess it paid off to be the daughter of Mickey Chen.
Mickey Chen was head of the Chinatown Triads in Gotham at one point before he and a few other of his men were gunned down by the Holiday killer on Thanksgiving Day a few years back.
Cassandra stares at the woman with a slightly sympathetic expression on her face. She feels as if she can relate to Ming in a certain way as both of their fathers were not great men, and they both wish to no longer live under their legacy. It's somewhat relieving to Cassandra to be able to relate to another human being in a way. Unfortunately, she has no way of expressing that to Ming due to her inability to speak.
Ming finishes wrapping up Cassandra's shoulder and gathers all of her medical supplies.
Ming: There! I will make you some food and tea for you to have and then you may rest here. No one should bother you. Down the hall is a bath so you can freshen up and in that closet is a fresh pair of clothes you could wear.
Ming points to a tall closet at the far end of the room. She then leaves Cassandra alone to get comfortable and prepares her with food and tea. Cassandra looks at the closet and then jumps off the bed to observe what is in there. When she opens the closet door she sees a blue and black ninja-style jacket and a fresh pair of pants along with some ninja tools like shuriken stars and kunai knives. Cassandra slightly grins at what she finds and reaches for the nice, fresh, new clothing.
Kevin Smith's Secret Stash: The Definitive Visual History: Limited Edition
Making the leap from convenience store worker to international film icon, Kevin Smith has spent over twenty-five years at the forefront of pop culture. In this hilariously candid treasure trove of artifacts and anecdotes.
Snoochie boochies! Kevin Smith’s Secret Stash: The Definitive Visual History: Limited Edition is now available for pre-order!
This is an extremely limited collector’s edition of Kevin Smith’s Secret Stash featuring one-of-a-kind collectors’ items, limited to nine hundred and fifty units personally signed and numbered by Kevin Smith.
This edition is packaged in a deluxe Mooby’s-themed slipcase,…
