Adventures of Cassandra Wu San: Knights of Sorrow Ch 5

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JamieWolfe7

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Queen's Heart Martial Arts And Gymnastics Studio

No Caption Provided

It's Saturday again, and Cassandra is between classes. Her mother Sandra, the woman known to the underworld as the grandmaster of assassins Lady Shiva, has felt the heat from Ben and others so is sparring her daughter. There aren't many present so she isn't stressed too badly about being a spectacle as she squares off with a fairly well known style. She's using Tong Bei Quan, an old and conservative style of kung fu that draws the power of its attacks from the lower back instead of the lower body.

Sandra is dressed in a tan turtleneck and black custom tailored khakis versus her daughter in a black sports bra and kickboxing shorts. Their flurry of blows and maneuvers are intricate and swift beyond the ability of most present to properly grasp, very few modest blows are traded for them to appreciate. Cassandra throws a straight leg against Sandra's hip only for it to be caught, whereupon her mother takes it by the heel and ball and twists it for a disabling takedown. Cassandra's too canny for that though, throwing herself with the counter, her foot arcs through the air at her mother's face and misses.

Cass's follow through comes in a crouch immediately after being relinquished, her kicking leg being slung in a sweep back in the opposite direction only to be avoided by her mother via a no handed cartwheel. Cass's maneuver brings her leg back around where she transitions into a tiger stance as her mother braces her footing and snatches hold of her head from behind to sling her bodily to the ground.

Sandra chastises her,"Less artistry, more instinct. I trust training under Ben hasn't inadvertently diluted you. Were you someone else, that could've been a neckbreak."

Cassandra mutters as she picks herself off. One of the students whispers to another,"What just happened?"

Cass glances to the small audience as Sandra looks pointedly at Ben. He asks,"Ruth's?"

Sandra replies plainly,"Extra rare. Casillero del Diablo merlot."

The bet that got her in the ring was dinner on Ben. An expensive dinner at that, he counted himself lucky that her taste in drink didn't quite measure up to that of her dining. Sandra slipped out of the ring momentarily after her daughter and accepted a hand towel from Ben. While she refused to show it, she's quite pleased with the refinement in her daughter's technique. It seemed less primal and certainly more precise.

Kate Kane has been waiting not far away, watching the two go at it with stark fascination. Her own style is derived from the military curriculum of mixed martial arts, she's learned more here practicing with the Bat family than she did through the assorted schools of the US Special Forces program. SEAL school is marvelous for counter terrorism tactics, but its hand to hand program won't hold up when going toe to toe with a master of ninjutsu and tomoi like Cassandra or a master of Japanese Jiu Jitsu like Bruce Wayne.

Kate overhears Sandra grinningly tell Ben,"Remember our deal. I can bring /anyone/." She just raises her brow, wondering to herself when Sandra ever had a friend.

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The redhead steps over to Cass when she sees Barbara swoop in from the back office. Barbara whispers aside to the two of them,"Bruce is on the horn in the office, you two need to come back."

The trio step back into Cassandra's war room. The office is literally in a vault making it an admirable panic room when necessary, but most won't know it unless invited back. Barbara has done yeoman's work bringing it up to par as an alternate to the Batcave or Lighthouse command center for her own purposes. On the speakerphone presently is Bruce Wayne.

"Here they are," announces Barbara as she leads the two other Bats into the room and closes the door behind her. The phone is corded, everything in there is hardline to minimize security risk.

Bruce's voice sounds from the speaker,"I trust Sandra didn't give you too hard a time, Cass."

Cassandra frowns a little, not liking what she has to admit,"She won."

Kate chimes in to cheer her up a little,"But you're getting better!"

Bruce responds to the two,"I'm just impressed she fought you publicly at all. That's a milestone for her. Anyway, you said you found out something about our mystery man from Deathstroke."

Kate nods, even though Bruce isn't there,"Yeah. He calls himself Samael the Accuser, and Slade said he's the last one to carry the name Azrael."

Bruce is quiet for a long time, then elaborates,"Jean Paul Valley. Officially he's dead, gunned down with armor piercing bullets but his body was never recovered. When Bane broke my back, he was the one I trusted with the mantle while I recovered, not realizing how unstable he is. The man is very skilled and very strong, as you two have witnessed. He might be as strong as Slade, or stronger. I advise you to read my files on him, he's a genetically engineered metahuman with an angel complex that apparently Slade has figured out how to exploit."

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Cassandra speaks up at that point,"Explains his reflexes. I shot him with my grappler and he used my line to throw me off a building. His armor seems total, and he moves well in it."

Kate adds to that,"I don't think Slade has a very tight reign on him. Jean ran off after Azrael stabbed him. His swords are strange, do you know anything about him?"

Bruce replies readily,"Yes. The Swords of Sin and Salvation, they are alchemical. Magical, you could say. They affect the conscience of their victim. They only kill if he wants them to, I thnk. I don't fully understand them myself. What was Jean's reaction to him?"

"He was pissed at first. When he said his name's Azrael, he called him a liar and that was when Slade lost control I think. I'm pretty sure he hurt him, but after Azrael stabbed him he ran off," explains Kate.

"I don't recommend getting between them if they fight again. Call for backup immediately next time," advises the Batman in stern tones.

Cassandra looks to the ground at that, her brow knitting as she thinks to herself. Kate answers for them both,"We will. I don't know, with his armor, if we could actually hurt him."

Bruce's answer comes readily,"You'd have to wear him out. When I took him down, it was a mindgame. I had the same problem. If he'd been in control of himself, I'm not sure how else I would have won either. Is there anything else?"

Barbara looks to both of them in turn, seeing headshakes in answer so she says for them,"I think that's everything, boss."

The Batman responds readily at that point, bringing the exchange to a close,"Then I'll see you tonight. And Cass, I'm glad to see you're a positive influence on your mother. She's been a friend in the past, I hope to see her as a friend in the future."

Cassandra's cheeks color a bit at that, not sure how to answer. Her reprieve comes when he hangs up however. The trio glance at each other, and Barbara takes back over the meeting,"Well, that's that. Let's not keep everyone waiting out there, this is a business after all!"

Kate claps Cass on the shoulder and the two step back out. Like Babs said, there's more classes to teach.

***

Ruth's Steakhouse, Uptown Gotham that evening

Ben Turner is nothing if not distinctive. He's become notorious throughout the night scene of the city in his brief time for his fashion bravura, proving himself as capable on the dancefloor with the Gotham socialites as anyone and a welcome addition to the disco clubs and rave scene. His trademark is an orange silk three piece suit with black tiger stripes to match his facial tiger stripe tattoos and a wide brim matching fedora. The Bronze Tiger's motif doesn't end with his crime fighting and mercenary schtick.

He's in that particular uniform waiting at the table he's had prepared for his guest. He has no idea who Sandra intends to bring, but from her insinuations earlier that day it isn't likely someone he would approve of. The first guest arrives and it isn't someone he expects at all. Cassandra steps to the table, recognizing him immediately like half of that side of the city in her age bracket.

Stepping over to his table, Cassandra explains,"Mom said to meet you here. Said dinner's on you tonight."

Ben nods at her, rising to fetch her seat for her like a proper gentleman. Cassandra's dressed in a black rayon turtleneck and matching kakhi pants reminiscent of her mother earlier. Ben quietly approves since it matches her hair and eyes. True to form though, she's wearing polished combat boots that draw more than one awkward glance. Ben compliments the effort though,"Lookin' good tonight, Cass. Indeed it is, hope you like steak."

Cassandra nods to him, quietly responding,"Thanks, and I do. I like a little pink in the middle."

Ben nods, replying in chipper fashion,"So medium rare. What sort of drink?"

She shakes her head, smiling nervously as she's way out of her element with so many well dressed people around,"Umm, I don't...tea?"

He nods again and gestures for a waiter to bring her a drink while they wait. It isn't long though. Looking through the glass front door her sees a limo pull up. Sandra steps out from the side towards the door and he quietly hmms, wondering who she's with. She's wearing a simple black dress with a slit down the side showing off her leg. A moment later right behind her is a girl of hispanic descent that he vaguely recognizes with a squint. Surely not Scandal Savage, he thinks. Cassandra looks when she sees his expression, verifying for him,"Scandal?"

The next person to get out on the opposite side causes his stomach to drop. He nearly loses his appetite as the limo shifts when the big person steps out. Ben's eyes saucer when the towering figure nods to the valet, handing him a tip as he steps to join the two women. He's without his mask somehow, but Ben and Cassandra both know only one man as tall and stout as this. Fearing for his pocket book, Ben wonders where he got a tailor to make him presentable as he whispers,"Oh shit, she brought Bane."

@comicstooge@jumpstart55@waezi2@cbishop@thevoidofdeath@prinzessinsilke@heroup2112@wildvine

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BlueEcho

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@jamiewolfe7: It is good, I kind of want more detail though. The part about their clothes was good to help to set the scene, but it could have been more descriptive.

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#3  Edited By JamieWolfe7
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BlueEcho

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@jamiewolfe7: Not a problem, it just kind of feels like you are trying to squeeze an idea into as short of time as possible.

I do it a lot of of the time myself, and it tends to happen most with action based sequences.

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JamieWolfe7

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@blueecho: Yeah, I used to do it all the time. It's a bad habit.