72 Side Chapter : Daughter (3/5)

After escaping from the vent with the unknown Asian girl, Barbara was then surrounded by five people dressed in black.

At first, she believed them to be the League of Assassins, but something told her that they had no relation.

Peering into those glowing eyes on their masks told her that they were so much worse.

'This is bad...I didn't even get to hear the rest of the plan. I'll need to talk to Batman about this...If I can escape.' Barbara thought as she inched her way closer to the girl

"I'm not sure you understand, but I'll distract them while you ru-" Barbara couldn't even finish her sentence before the Asian girl dashed toward the closest assassin.

"Wait!!"

>>><<<<

Cassandra wasn't thinking much of anything when they were surrounded. She had no idea who those people were, but she could feel that they wanted to kill them.

For what reason? She didn't know, but she wasn't going to let them kill her when she was so close to finding her place in the world.

'I'm not letting you end my life!!!' Cassandra thought.

The Talons were trained assassins that can handle just about any situation, but they weren't prepared to have a homeless girl come at them with such mastery in combat.

The girl seemed to react before they could even move as if she was...reading them like an open book.

None could touch even a hair upon her head.

Such a person would be a perfect addition to their team, unfortunately, they were told to eliminate anyone that listened in on the Court of Owls judge and their commands are absolute!

KILL!!

The Talons worked as one to take down the two who have been sentenced to death, and most of them focused on the weakest link.

Batgirl!

While a two focused on the girl the rest will focus on Batman's other sidekick.

"Gr...' Barbara could tell right away that they were trying to get rid of her first. She was an expert fighter, but fighting these trained assassins was a bit taxing for the college student. Her skills were great, but they weren't quite up to par compared to Batman and Robin.

The vigilante pretty much found her own way to fight by delving headfirst into martial arts so that she may fight by her idol's side. There were times where she could spar with either Bruce or Dick, but her upbringing put her at a disadvantage.

If anything she was more suited to be behind a computer and help behind the scenes.

But for now, she'll live this kind of life, and give it all that she has to make this city safe.

"HAH!" Barbara gave a shout as she yanked the arm of one of her close opponents, bashing them in the face with her right elbow, stunning them considerably before kicking them away.

It didn't take long for the next opponent to come forward with a katana blade, attacking with the intent to slice off her head.

Barbara weaved left and right, dodging the blade by inches while quickly reaching for her batarangs, one for each hand, using them as melee weapons.

Metal clashed against metal, causing sparks to fly, however, her opponent was more skilled

"Gah!" The assassin manages to land a decent strike on Barbara's abdomen, luckily it wasn't deep.

'Damn it...' She gritted her teeth as she continued to fight, but these assassins weren't fighting one on one.

Suddenly, an assassin grabbed hold of Barbara's cape, yanking it along with her, throwing her off balance.

It was the perfect chance!

Cassandra happened to see this from the corner of her eye as she was dealing with one assailant. She didn't know the reason why, but at that moment her feet moved without a second thought.

People who can say that they can see the future are treated as frauds or jokesters to be laughed at.

However, in Cassandra's case she could truly see the future, she could see the actions of a person before they could even make it.

As Barbara lost her balance, Cassandra was already there in front of her, standing like an immovable wall with a deadly blade inches away from her face.

Why did she put herself in such a situation?

Will she die for someone she doesn't even know?

'No...I won't die!!'

The next few moments looked like they were straight out of a martial arts movie.

Cassandra moved her head to the left, letting the sword cut her cheek while reaching forward left hand, grabbing the assassin's sword arm to hold him in place. Soon after she angled her right elbow above the man's arm and forced it down as her right knee shot up.

*Crack* The man's arm was snapped, forcing him to drop his sword. A normal man would have hollered after having his arm broken in such a brutal way, but the assassin didn't even utter a cry.

But that didn't stop Cassandra from continuing her assault as the others weren't just going to stand by.

Still.

"d...DUCK!" It was the first word she has said in several years, and Barbara didn't hesitate to do as she was told.

Using her strength, Cassandra performed a flawless shoulder throw, tossing the assassin just as Barbara ducked down

Cassandra was still several steps ahead!

*Bam!* The assassin she hurled headed straight for the others that were about to attack Barbara's defenseless back, knocking them off their feet.

Barbara didn't let this situation go to waste and grabbed Cassandra by the waist before leaping off the building, but not without pulling her out grappling gun.

They were going to escape!

But these were Talons, how were they going to let their prey escape?

The Talons still believe that everything was in their control, but they didn't expect someone to come to their aid so quickly.

It all happened so fast, a shadowy figure swooped down from the air and took down the Talon's with minimal effort, taking advantage of the element of surprise.

Soon after, the figure revealed themselves, and Barbara immediately raised her guard.

It was Lady Shiva!

Barbara saw a dangerous criminal, but for Cassandra, it was almost like looking in a mirror.

And why did she feel like she knew this woman?

"What do you want?!" Barbara asked while nudging the stunned Cassandra behind her.

It would take literal seconds for Sandra to take out the caped hero, but seeing how they were protecting her daughter she decided to help them out.

"We need to get out of the open. Please follow me." Sandra said.

"What makes you think we'll follow you?!"

Suddenly, the Talons that were on the ground started to get back up as if they were waking up from a nap.

"Because they won't stop until we're all dead."

>>>>><<<

It took an entire night to escape from the Talons and now Barbara was in one of Sandra's secret hideouts. If it wasn't for Sandra then she probably wouldn't be alive at the moment.

Seeing the way the infamous Lady Shiva was quite incredible, it was like seeing a dance. One that would be ingrained in her mind whether she wanted to or not.

However, no matter how hard she kicked or how fast she punched, the assassins kept on getting back up.

Barbara knew that Lady Shiva was a ruthless killer, but she couldn't help but feel like she was holding back.

But then they started to talk and finally started to make sense when she dropped a bomb.

"You're her mother?!"

Hearing that word seemed to resonate with Cassandra somehow as she came across that word hundreds of times when was wandering for the past 10 years.

She saw them tenderly holding the hand of a child that happily skipped alongside them as they crossed the street.

She saw them comforting a child after they scrapped their knee on a playground.

She even saw them yelling at a child after they had started acting up in public.

Thinking back on those times brought tears to Cassandra's eyes, but then her face turned into one of anger and confusion.

If this woman was her mother then where was she all those years?

How come she wasn't there to hold her hand?

Where was she when she cried herself to sleep every night on the cold streets of Gotham?!

How come there was no mother when she needed help after she murdered that man?!

"...Y..ou..W-where?" Cassandra said with difficulty as she clenched the collar of Sandra's shirt.

Sandra didn't know how to answer her...

Should she tell her daughter the truth or should she lie like she has been to herself for the past several years?

Sandra came with the resolve to tell her daughter everything, but seeing her like this made her hesitate.

Her daughter was more unstable than she realized.

Seeing that no words came from Sandra's mouth, Cassandra grew even angrier and pushed her away.

"Y...yo..u! WHERE!?"