2015-09-28 - Day Zero

One year ago.

Shiva pauses. "I will give you back your gift of reading people's bodies. I will do so without even removing what minor conveniences you've gained in trade." She leans forward. "On the condition that, in one year's time, you come back here and give me a worthy fight. A death fight. Karma demands it. Do you accept these terms?"

Cassandra Cain looks up to Shiva for a moment. "Use my...killing skills..." and she trails off, thinking. I'll never take another life, she vows inside. So I'll pretend to go all out and die. I don't have to do this, I can still study Batman's methods. I can be good enou..

She can't even finish that thought. It's too anathema to the way she feels. The thought she finishes is this one: Mediocre for a lifetime. Or PERFECT for a year.

Well, girl?

Cassandra Cain says, "I'm ready."

One year later, Cassandra was standing on a rooftop of the building that she was beaten on last time, after which Shiva told her she would give back her abilities, if at the end of a year, she would fight her. A death fight.

And so here she was. She left Batman a message telling him not to blame Shiva for this. Oracle tried to tell her not to go - that she did not have to - and got a temporary paralysis for her trouble.

Lady Shiva is standing there, dressed in red, facing away from her as Cassandra lands on the roof, and asks one simple word, not bothering to even turn around yet. "Ready?"

Cassandra Cain, fist of the Bat, looks at the woman standing there. Her own language is shielded; her face lowered as her short black hair moves in the gentle breeze. She is already limber and warmed up. Nothing but the best for this night.

She has waited long enough.

"Ready."

And she turns, spinning as her feet leave the ground as she lets her body begin a spinning kick that could easily tear the head off of any opponent, with hidden moves coming after.

Lady Shiva is obviously enjoying this. Her feet leave the ground as fast as the girl's, and her smile seems to be a gift. Enjoying the dance, she is a counterpoint to Cassandra's face, who seems so very intense and serious. Even though their faces could be twins.

The two move like wind; Cassandra constantly attacking, the Lady allowing her to move and admiring the way that this opponent's art expresses itself. To her, this is one in a line of many dances, but as Lady Shiva balances on a wire as she ducks under a kick, she seems almost admiring of this one.

'She is staying back, that gives me a target forming ahead, left armpit followed by right ankle, high,' the litany of thought driving through Cassandra's head is not in English. It's in thought of motion; she is thinking patterns. What is next, what can happen? 'Right cross, expected, faster. Dragon pattern, she will break it, good, low kick, she can't be ...yes, there..'

And it goes on, with Lady Shiva ducking under a punch that tears a nearby brick wall in half without slowing. And Shiva's smile gets wider.

Cassandra Cain is one of the best fighters in the world. Lady Shiva has spent a lifetime defeating the best fighters in the world. Cassandra had only been beaten once. Unfortunately, it was by the woman standing before her.

Cassandra Cain is able to read a person's body movements like a language. But with Lady Shiva, her body movements are always.... perfect. Flawless. Cassandra keeps hitting either air, or bricks and pipes which shatter at contact.

Lady Shiva takes the time to say a single word, commenting on the fight. "Nice." Then she suddenly strikes with two fingers, just above the chest, contacting Cassandra in the heart. Cassandra knew 'of' this move, but never would dare to use it.

It was called the Two Finger Touch. Also known as the Fingers of Death.

Cassandra could feel her heart stop as she fell backwards to the ground. She had been fighting suicidally, and had realized she would die in this fight from the moment she agreed to it a year ago.

A lifetime of mediocrity, or a year of perfection. She chose perfection for a year. All things come to an end though. Shiva had no flaws to exploit. The last thing she saw before the world started turning into a white light around her and her eyes started to close was Lady Shiva standing over her, leaning over to gently brush her cheek. Then... nothing but white light everywhere.

Or maybe not. There was a goth-looking woman there too - she didnt look that much older than Cassandra, maybe a couple of years. Dressed in a black T-shirt and black jeans. She had an ankh necklace, and an odd little marking around one eye.

"Well... that was exciting Cassandra." she says cheerfully.

Cass' eyes flicker about. She pauses in her death throes and sits up, a little confused. And as she takes in the girl, the confusion doesn't get a whole hella lot lower. "I think I missed a trick someplace. What?" She pauses and checks herself out, having figured to be at least breathing hard. Huh.

"Also, who?"

Another odd thing. She didnt seem to have the same difficulty speaking in more than small sentences than she used to. Didi walks over to Cassandra as she's sitting up, a black umbrella lightly over her shoulder and she offers her hand. "No trick, Cassandra. It was a good fight. Maybe something was missing, but a good fight. I'm Death." she says casually. Then looks around. "Would you prefer some background?"

Cassandra presses the heels of her hands to her eyes for a moment, then allows that they're functioning at normal levels and accepts what she's seeing as real enough to handle. She takes it in stride and adapts, taking Death's hand and standing up. Nice grip. "You really are."

She almost involuntarily glances down, to see if she's left a body. But of course, nothing is there. "Background. Sure, why not. I lost, then." Not 'I died'. That's not as important as losing. Kind of expected to die, if she's honest with herself.

Death helps Cassandra up to her feet, still smiling kindly. "You're not really surprised though. About losing. You expected to lose. And you expected to die." Death puts her hand on Cassandra's shoulder, patting it lightly, then they're in some diner in New York.

The waitress comes over to the table. "What can I get you two?"

Death looks over at the waitress. "Nothing for me, but my friend here will have a bagel and cream cheese." Then after the waitress leaves, Death looks back at Cassandra. "You'll love it. I had one once - it was this thing I do once every so often, and I get to do all sorts of wonderful things, like eat food and jump in puddles and smell fresh cut grass and really appreciate it, you know? I love that about being mortal. You get to really experience stuff."

She continues, leaning forward. "To be honest, I'm sort of relieved that you arent freaked out by me. Most people only see me twice at most. You saw me ... sort of... a third time. And I think I might have given you the wrong impression since you saw me through someone else's eyes for that brief glimpse." She waits for Cassandra to process what she is saying, then says, "You know, when you were 8 years old?"

Cass is processing. The fact that the waitress had body language, but she understood what she was saying too, far better than she normally ever could. "I do eat.." she protests, but only half-heartedly because she is honest enough to admit that her diet consists mostly of rice and fish. And it's boring.

Her eyes flicker to Death's, meeting her warm gaze with intensity. Frowning in thought, she says, "Yesss..." as she remembers. Not her own meeting, but like being told about it by someone else. In far too much detail.

When Cassandra was eight, she was sent to her first kill. A mob boss. Easy, he underestimated the tiny little girl in pigtails and the pretty pink dress. He died on her hand. Easy. And then she watched him experience death. Not so easy, that part.

And she looks in Death's eyes again. Gives a slight crooked smile, and a sigh. "Hey again. Been a while."

Death takes the placemat and starts folding it a bit as the waitress comes to put down the plate with the bagel and cream cheese. Then she leaves again. Death nods. "If it makes you feel better, Ken... that was his name.... Ken was only terrified for a second. He calmed down after that but he was already gone from your ability to see him by that point." She folds the placemat a second time, then looks back at Cassandra. "This whole year you've been wanting to see me. I'm guessing it's not as bad as you thought it would be, right? Feel like talking about why you did it?" She pauses, not explaining what 'it' she means.

Cassandra picks up her bagel and peers at it as if it's the most interesting thing in the world. Both of them know that it's just an act, a way to give her time to think, but as she takes a bite she realizes that it's actually pretty good. "Hum. This is yummy." Must try this again. Oh wait. Dead.

"I don't know. I don't...think much." She taps her skull with her knuckles, giving a rueful grin. "Thick head. Most of the time I avoid thinking if I can help it.." She's thinking now, though, and frowns. How long have I been wanting to die? Wow, that's...a long time.

Death smiles, leaning forward again, watching Cassandra enjoy the bagel. Must be nice. Death answers the question that Cassandra thinks to herself, as if she knew what Cassandra must have been thinking. "Since you were eight and killed Ken. You know, I'm not judging or excusing your action, but you know.... Barbara? She did have a point - that wasn't you. The you that I'm talking to right now? She started existing when you saw Ken's initial view of me." She goes back to folding the placemat. "You know a lot about your parents?" she asks.

Cassandra nods at the explanation, kind of glad in her heart that Ken's alright. Interesting to have a name to put to an image that's been with you your whole life. She puts down the rest of the bagel, having had enough, and she smiles at the mention of her Sister. Barbara. But asking about her parents makes her tilt her head uncertainly.

"Well...I'm fairly certain that David is my actual father. I thought I was adopted for a long time. Been digging, but there's only so much I can find." She shakes her head thinking about a mother figure. Nothing to say there. "I know who I'd like to have been my mother, but that's just the brain being freaky."

She glances back behind her, looking for Shiva. Heavens, the way that she moves.

Death leans back. "Guess we have more than just wearing black in common. Dysfunctional families. So... you know, you can talk here a lot more than you're doing. Your brain isnt all different now. Everyone's pretty much the same where it counts with me. You can ask me questions if you'd like. I know you want to. Especially people like you with Me Wishes. Like mother, like daughter I guess."

Cass crosses her legs, getting comfortable in her chair. Which is a testament to a lifetime of stretching, given that these chairs are not normally meant for comfort. "Alright. Anything I want to ask, but you can only answer what you can answer. I get the idea that you've got rules just like anyone else."

Resting her chin on her fingers, she looks at Death, and asks. "You know my mother?" It's either that or 'what happens to me now?' which has got to be getting old for Death to hear.

Death smiles and shrugs. "Everyone has rules. I'm no exception. But there's a lot less that I can't answer than you'd expect." She listens for the question. "Yes. I know your mother. I mean... she's only seen me once, when she was born, but I've seen her quite a bit. She's a busy lady, that one. Like I said. 'Me' wishes. Like Mother, like Daughter."

Cassandra thinks on that for a bit. Time being a bit flexible, she's got more of it than she would have expected. And death is, if nothing else, patient. She takes another bite of the bagel, wishing she could give Death the taste since she seems to want it. Simple things she took for granted.

With a sudden smile, Cass says to Death, "I probably should have figured it out a long time ago, shouldn't I? Heh. Barbara is probably laughing...aw, Barbara's gonna be crushed..." Sudden change of mental tracks, she remembers that she's not going back, her smile gone as fast as it showed up. "I picked up some new moves in that fight too, I wanted to show her." Sigh.

Well, show off to her. I might be a bit of a jerk sometimes.

Death smiles and shakes her head. "Yeah. It's okay though. Not everyone's cut out to be a detective. I could give you more concrete answers if you'd like? I just find people feel more accomplished when they figure it out on their own and I just give them a nudge." She mentions, "Would you like me to say 'Me' Wishes a third time? I mean... I thought it sounded pretty witty, but if I say it too many times, it loses its panache.."

Cassandra Cain looks amusedly at Death, and says, "Why, does Barbara have one too? Nevermind, I wouldn't believe that even if you told me. She's sooo easy to read." Rolling her eyes, she smirks and flips the half-bagel to land it in the center of the plate. Because sitting still too long makes her break out.

Leaning back in her chair, she says, "I just feel stupid sometimes. I know, Bruce and Barbara do awesome things with their minds, but I get by with my hands. Mostly." She looks at her hands. Fists. "Considering this is the end of my line, it would be a shame to leave it without an answer."

Death shakes her head with a little giggle. "No, Barbara's the type of person who'd probably tell me to go to hell. Bruce probably would do the same, but depends on his mood - he might accept it. He's an odd duck, that one. And I've met everyone. Literally. With him, it probably depends on if he has unfinished business or doesn't think there would be anyone to continue what he started. Now I'm not a psychologist, but I think that could be a reason that such a loner would develop such a large group of friends and family around him."

She thinks, tapping her chin, then says, "There are a few people like that too. Stubborn fighters, I mean. Lots of others like that too who'd rather try to trick me, fight me, whatever. It's okay though. I get it - most people only really focus on one part of me. The part at the end. They sort of don't get that I'm also there at the beginning." She grins and taps Cassandra's nose. "Hey... speaking of which, want to see the first time you met me and I met you?" she asks, playfully.

Cassandra smiles, letting Death talk. She was always most comfortable being quiet and letting others talk. Though really, she was talking just fine this whole time, it's just that so few people could understand what she was saying that she stopped trying after a while.

Death touching her nose is met by a headtilt, then a nod. All perfectly good 'talking' to Cass. "The beginning?" She wonders why Death would be there. Then, rather. Though in the back of her mind, she's starting to wonder something else. Specifically, what's going on here?

Death finishes folding the placemat, and made a little origami figure of a scarab, and leans over to tuck it in your pocket, then says. "Yeah, the beginning. When every living thing is born, I'm there. Not just when they die. I'm in a lot of places at a lot of times."

Then the diner fades away and you're in a room. Everything's dark, but you hear voices. A doctor, saying "Push now!"

A woman crying out, then the sound of a baby's cry. "Congratulations ... it's a girl." Then another man's voice. "So there are no complications then, doctor?"

"None at all, would you like to hold your daughter?"

The woman's voice says, "No... but her father will."

The sound of a baby crying again as the man takes the baby - it's just silhouettes right now. A man is taking the baby, and a woman is in a bed. Another man is handing over the baby. Then a silenced gunshot, and the Doctor is killed.

Death leans over to you, "This was a twofer on this day. One life and one death in the same place. It happens more than you'd expect."

Then the woman's voice, after some heavy breathing. "So ... we have ... an agreement then?"

Then a man's voice, whom you recognize as David Cain, your father. "Agreed. Personally, I think she'll do the job after I'm done with her. She'll be perfect."

The room starts to lighten a bit as you hear the woman's voice again. "She will definitely have the genes. Your idea for training is ... unexpectedly insightful also, David."

Then the woman's voice again. Sounds so familiar.

The silhouettes then become recognizable. David Cain is holding you as a baby. Death walks over to David and the baby and smiles at the baby, tapping its nose before walking back to Cassandra. The baby's apparently an asian girl. And in the bed is Sandra Wu. Also known as....

"Shiva."

Cassandra was so quiet, holding her breath the entire time, but her voice comes out with both pain and relief. Mother.

Her eyes are so wide they seem like saucers, almost as wide as when the lady before her took back the life that she originally gave. And she remembers that hand touching her cheek as she took her last, laboured breath. She had soft fingertips. And she was looking ....she knew.

Shiva knew who I was. And she killed me anyway. And...it's alright. That was the way it needed to be.

Turning to look at Death, she says, "You have a way with words. Thanks." She holds out a hand to Death, smiling. High praise from someone who values language so much. Even if most people don't realize it..

Death smiles and looks at the hand without shaking it. "You havent gotten the other part of the riddle, have you? I could tell you straight out. It's not like you'll remember, but you'll still have an idea. But no... I think I want you to guess it on your own. I'll repeat." Didi makes air quotes as she speaks, "Me wish. Like mother, like daughter."

Then she leans over and whispers in Cassandra's ear. "This is going to sound funny coming from me, but you need to stop being so fatalistic. Besides.... you're going back. Try to figure it out before the rematch so I don't see you again -just- yet. Not that I don't enjoy the company." she says as she taps Cassandra on the chest.

Then the world.... shatters like a spiderweb crack. And you feel a bright warm feeling as your heart suddenly starts beating again and air fills your lungs in a gasping breath.

You're on the floor of what looks like a sparse room with a table and pictures on a wall, with Shiva standing over you, having struck your chest with her fist. There almost seemed to be a bright light from the contact, causing you to have to sit up with a start and gasp and everything that happened during Death was hazy. Although there was a sense of ... something different about you. More at ease with your past.

Rubbing her head, Cassandra tries to hold onto the images. Something important. Her head, so cloudy. Looking around, she spots Shiva across the room and takes a personal inventory. Body, surprisingly functional. Head, could use some pain blocking. Nevermind, that's fading too. What happened to me?

Surprised to be able to move at all, Cassandra stands up cautiously. Which is nothing less than a miracle. Breathe. Why do I want a bagel?

Shiva walks over to a table where there's a tea set. She pours a cup of tea, saying "This tea.... replenishes your strength." Then she walks back over to Cassandra with the cup of tea, and continues.

"Considering that you just died... you might like some." She hands the cup to you, then walks back to the table and sits down, pouring herself a cup of tea and waiting for you to come over to the table. Once you do, she says, "So tell me... what was it like? Death, I mean." She asks the question with interest.

Cassandra looks around the room while Shiva pours tea. She takes in the curtains and the stark walls, and at the same time the clearly chinese decorations in some places. Should really learn to read someday. Sitting down, she takes a cup of tea without worry. Poison is the furthest thing from her mind.

Her eyes widen noticeably when told that she died. What? Oh right. I lost. Not 'I died'. Losing is more important. Wait, I died? "I...don't..." Wait, I did die! Why does that seem so familiar? Oh. Him. Ken. He had a name. I watched him die.

Apparently. Improbably.... Shiva had figured a way to bring you back from a temporary death. When you seem to have trouble answering her question, she sips her tea, holding it with both hands and says, "Never mind. Difficult question." She smiles and looks at you. "What I don't undertand is 'why.' Why did you want to die?" she says, looking into your eyes.

Cassandra Cain shakes her head at the question. "I killed a man," she says. The answer is simple. The situation, much more complex. Her eyes narrow as she wonders where this is going. Why is it so important? She looks into Shiva's familiar eyes and wonders for a moment why they seem so familiar. More even than from fighting her for hours, endlessly, in the holo-room. Which she does.

When you say it, Shiva looked like she was almost going to have a light chuckle. But instead, she just smiles and hold up her finger. "Just one?" she asks. The woman has killed so many people that the idea of killing jus one seemed absolutely quaint.

Cassandra is certain she's heard that before somewhere. But Ken deserved better. Or she did. Ken was a mob boss, but he was alive. Frowning, Cassandra says, "I watched...him DIE," as she watches Shiva drink her tea so easily. She does not look like she's impressed, though she does want to talk.

Cassandra takes a deep pull of her own cup, realizing that she does need her strength. Shiva was correct there. And she did just bring me back to life. Give her that much credit. Nice trick.

Shiva sips her tea again, then starts to ask, "So?" she asks dismissively. "You mean to tell me --" Then she stops her train of thought and peers at Cassandra, warming her hands with the tea cup as she contemplates Cassandra's response more deeply. Then she nods a bit. "Ahh.... your 'gift.' Reading your opponent's intentions. You saw him die... as HE saw it."

Cassandra looks away in thought, her eyes roaming. "Terror. Then..." She looks at the wall, the blank space, and finishes with, "...nothing." Remembering the event as if it were yesterday, she shudders. But the pain isn't so much, for some reason.

Looking down, she thinks for a moment. A bit more. Yes, it doesn't hurt to think sometimes. Barbara keeps saying you're smart. What's going on here? Why is she asking so many questions about this? Cassandra places her teacup down, letting the smell flow over her as she avoids Shiva's eyes.

Shiva looks at Cassandra with understanding as Cassandra averts her gaze. She sips her yea again with both hands, then says, "And having understood the true nature of what you did, you realized... you must pay the same price." She nods a bit. "Karma. THAT... I understand." She puts the tea down, looking at Cassandra with renewed interest. "So. Now that you've sacrificed yourself..." She leans forward imperceptibly. "How do you feel?"

Oddly, it feels like the price has been paid somehow, Cassandra thinks to herself. She meets Shiva's eyes without judgement, a calm kind of thanks in her gaze, and says, "Different." Just that, simple, but with so much calm behind it. At peace with a very old debt.

Putting her hand on her chair, because she's allergic to holding still for long, Cassandra looks around the room again. "Where...ARE we?" she asks, honestly curious. And not because she may need to escape. Though Shiva is always a threat, she is only one when she chooses to be. They both understand that now.

But the room can not be just anything. There is real care put into the hangings; any one of the would cost a lifetime of a normal person to save for, and that's just the curtains!

The room is rather extravagant... but at the same time eerie. There's this long, high curtain covering an entire wall, up to the high ceiling. There are stands with incense. There's a yin yang banner. Shiva stands up, saying casually, "This place? It's the temple room of the Thuggee Cult. Organized around the worship ... " she says as she walks over to a curtain drawstring, "... of me." She does not pull the drawstring yet.

Even though she'd know a lie like she'd know her own breath, this staggers Cassandra. "You're kidding," she says flatly as she looks at Shiva. Playing right into her show, she knows, but she also wants to know more about this woman. Worshipped, as a goddess? That just blows the mind. And the way she says it, it's also that they're worshipping her as Death.

Shiva pulls the drawstring, and the curtains are pushed aside, revealing many, many photos of various sizes of the faces of dead men. Men who have had their faces destroyed, their bodies broken. Faces of some of the top fighters in the world, their faces caught in that moment of terror as they died at Shiva's lethal hands and feet. "No...." Shiva says, looking at the wall. "I am not."

Beginning to wonder if she's really here as an audience, Cassandra turns her head and looks at the bodies. That one, died by an ear blow. That one, the left temple. Teeth shattered, Shiva's work is often brutal. She seems to like to bloody her kills if they're worthy fighters. She draws out the fights. "What...are those?" she asks, her voice rough as it always has been. But her eyes flicker over the woman who did it. Impressive, in a horrible way.

Shiva looks at the wall of death, saying "Trophies, in a sense. Photographs of my top opponent down through the years." She looks at the wall wistfully, closing her eyes briefly, then opening them slightly. "Line them all up... they seem like so many."

Cassandra looks at the wall of death along with Shiva, her eyes showing a fascination. For many reasons. Understanding how they died, and yet, each one has a certain resemblance to each other. She was one of them, after all. Would her picture end up on that wall? But this doesn't seem like something Shiva would do, she doesn't care about the worship. "Who did all this?" Shiva smirks a bit, and points dismissively wit her thumb at the left hand side of the curtain, where a man lies slumped down on the floor against the wall, dead, his neck snapped in multiple places and his chest having been shattered by a blow to the heart. "He did."

Turning, Cassandra starts. She'd thought they were alone. She spots the body, or the feet at the least, and pulls aside the curtain to fully reveal the corpse. Dead for some time, the man was bald, ugly, and died by a small woman's hand. No question who, really. "He's dead."

Looking over her shoulder, Cassandra Cain gives her first order. "Bring him BACK." It's not a request, and her gaze falls into shadow with no question of threat. She holds the curtain with a white-knuckled grip as the back of her mind wonders why he was even left here.

Shiva idly walks to a rack of katanas, picking one out like one might pick out what shirt to wear. She takes one. When Cassandra states that the man was dead, she said, simply and without emotion, "I know." Then when Cassandra starts to make the demand for Shiva to recreate the feat which she used to bring Cassandra back from the dead, Shiva unsheathes the sword, saying "Ha! Who do you think I am? It took a year of preparation to do what I did to you."

Shiva turns around, holding the deadly katana in her hand as she continues with a smile and the look of a predatory cat looking at its prey. "I couldn't do it again if I wanted to. For him..... OR you."

It was a warning. OR a challenge. That if they fought again, there would be no 'take backs' this time from death. And it was very clear.

Shiva was going to kill people and the trophies on the wall would just grow. And grow. And grow.

She takes another sword from the rack as she says that.

"You...have to stop," Cassandra says as she looks at Shiva. She turns away, her eyes hooded, her voice calm. Not even looking, she lets herself fall into a moment's meditation, and she remembers a voice. Not the words, but a voice. Someone not long ago; a friend. There's more, but it's so very cloudy. As if listening to something from behind a curtain, or a mirror. A baby crying.

Cassandra listens to her body, realizing that she's about to need it once more. This room is Shiva's. She makes the rules. If you choose to enforce your own...you have to earn the right.

Head, clear. Body, ready. Breathe. It feels different. Cassandra hopes she has time to figure out how that changes things.

Shiva looks at the second sword approvingly, and sternly says, "I'm SHIVA. I can't be stopped." She then tosses Cassandra the second katana. "But perhaps..." she starts as she points her own katana at Cassandra with a confident grin, smoothly getting into a prepared stance for another fight. "... you'd like to TRY." The point of the incredibly sharp katana gleams in the light.

Cassandra Cain doesn't even turn or open her eyes. She just lifts her right hand, and the katana falls into her grasp. Perfect. When Lady Shiva turns her blade, Cassandra says, "So. This...was your plan." To bring me to a point where I'd use my real abilities. My killing moves. Holding onto the curtain that hides yet another body, she opens her eyes. But all she can see is Shiva.

With a small turn, she looks, and says, "It worked." And then she moves, matched by Shiva's attack. Two shadows, neither holding back. For real.

Lady Shiva's katana is sacrificed to stop Cassandra's finger strike, shattering to keep it away from Shiva's chest. Cassandra's blade was already gone. She preferred her body in any case, and did not worry for the loss.

But Cassandra was more, now. Calm, and more importantly, not wasting thought with planning. She simply was the fight, the way she was born to become. Knees followed by feet followed by hands and elbows, and the occasional strike hitting home.

Cassandra was bloodied, a tooth loosened, but turned away from the blow enough to keep it from jarring her brain. Lady Shiva took a palm strike in the face, too slow to avoid it, but protected herself with a kick to deaden the impact slightly. A trickle of something unfamiliar went down Lady Shiva's brow.

They were even. A perfect match. And Cassandra was making Lady Shiva sweat. Hard.

Deep inside Cassandra though, a voice spoke to her. The voice she wasn't using anymore for the fight. 'What was it like? Death, I mean.' 'Why did you want to die?'

Lady Shiva moves through a kick so complicated it feints within attacks, with finger strikes already halfway complete. Perfect balance. And her voice echoes, inside Cassandra's head with the thought of something important. 'Karma. That I understand.'

And Cassandra's eyes narrow. As it clicks. "YOU want to die."

Catching the incoming strike, she looks into Lady Shiva's eyes and backhands her with as simple an attack as hers was complex. "I see you, Shiva." Dodging, she punches the woman in the jaw and continues. "Searching the world. For YOUR death."

Shiva does something then that she's never done. Ever. She loses her temper, her face going red and her body shaking. And Cassandra slugs her in the jaw for it, knocking her to the floor in a heap.

Finally, you see that Shiva does have a weakness. It's not in her movements. Those are flawless and perfect. It's in something deeper. Her essential being. And once Cassandra sees that, she was able to catch Lady Shiva off-guard, making her lose her temper. And the once flawless moves... become imperfect.

Shiva had a death wish as well at the core of her being.

As Cassandra lands the final punch, Shiva goes down, falling to the ground. Still barely conscious, but beaten as she lies sprawled on the ground.

Looking down at Lady Shiva's barely-conscious form, Cass knows that the punch will leave her unable to wake for some time. But she's still able to hear Cassandra's voice as she pronounces her judgement. "Keep searching. Heh."

The slight laugh is all she's got, though, as Cassandra Cain falls to the floor next to her mother, their heads nearly touching and Lady Shiva's lips near to her ear.

Shiva manages to utter out one last sentence softly. Fortunately, Cassandra fall right by Shiva's lips, as she barely makes out the words, "I'll.... kill you." Before Shiva finally surrenders to unconsciousness on the floor of the Thuggee Cult Room. Cassandra Cain looks up at the ceiling, her dark eyes brown in the light. Blood coming from her nose, which might be broken. Not important. She listens, wondering how she missed that voice before now, and knows. Mother.

Too tired even to smile, she simply stares at the ceiling for a while longer. Glad to be able to give words this time, even though she usually thinks of them as a waste. Because this message means life. For a while longer.

"Not tonight."

And so, Lady Shiva, the hand of death, the unbeatable fighter.... finally was beaten.

Like Mother, Like Daughter? Well.... not anymore.

The End.

Prologue:

Death watches the two familial combatants on the ground. She had a hunch about how it would go (omniscience helps) but there was always a chance that she could be wrong. A very, very, very tiny chance, but still.

But she wasn't. She wasnt needed here after all anymore.

Next to her, a young 13 year old girl with rainbow colored hair and torn stockings and a tye-dye shirt looks at the two on the floor. She had come to Death to complain about Dream being mean to her over some nonsense. Delerium looks over at her older sister, Death, then at the two women on the floor, then says, "THaT wOmaN hAs IsSueS..."