Fic: Extending a Hand (Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang)
Title: Extending a Hand
Author:
milleniumrex
Characters/Pairings: Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang, possible Kate/Cassie if you squint
Rating: PG
Words: 812
Summary: Cassie and Kate may have been on different sides, but Cassie could never turn her back on her best friend.
Author's Notes: Takes place post-Civil War, pre-Secret Invasion/Dark Reign. Written for the Drabble/Drawble fest at
youngavengers.
Kate groaned as she woke up, her head feeling like a ton of jackhammers were going off inside it. She was in a bed, in what looked like a basement. The last thing she remembered, she had twisted her ankle running from some of Stark's goons, fallen, and banged her head on the side of a garbage can. Not exactly the most dramatic way to end her time on the run, she thought. But she wasn't in Stark's secret prison. In fact, it didn't seem like she had been captured so much as rescued. Her ankle was still throbbing, so she pulled back the bedsheet to look at it. It had been properly wrapped and splinted. Whoever had rescued her had taken good care of her.
"I did the best I could with the supplies we had here." A voice came from behind Kate. "You should probably get it x-rayed when you get back to civilization, though. It looks like it might be broken."
Kate's head spun around. "Cassie? What the - "
"I saw you go down while running. I knew you'd wind up in 42, and...well, it's a really nasty place, Kate. Half the people there are hardened criminals, and the other half wind up hardened in a few weeks. You don't belong there. So I dodged away from the squad to help you out."
"Why? You know if they find out you were helping me, they'll throw you in there."
"Come on, Kate." Cassie smiled. "You know I've got Tony wrapped around my little finger. He's looking out for me. I'd get a slap on the wrist or something. Especially if I came back with a new recruit looking for amnesty."
Kate crossed her arms. "Oh. This makes a lot more sense now. You want me to sell out like you did."
"Kaaaaaate." Cassie sighed. "It's not selling out! This is the law! They're going to find all of you sooner or later, and it'll be a lot easier if I bring you in. I know there's no way I'd convince Eli or Tommy, and Billy and Teddy are doing a pretty good job of laying low...but you? I was hoping you'd be willing to give up on this fugitive stuff and join me. We did make a really good team."
"So why don't you come back? We can make a really good team on the good guys' side too."
"It's not as simple as 'good guys vs. bad guys', Kate."
"Captain America was on our side." Kate grinned. "Ergo - good guys."
"Yeah, and look where it got him!" Cassie yelled. "I already buried my father! I don't want to bury my best friend too!"
"Cass..."
"It's only a matter of time, you know. You haven't been inside the Initiative. Stark may not want you guys dead, but the people in his agency, like Gyrich...they're going to get all of you sooner or later. The only way for you to be safe is either to walk away or to sign up. And I know you're not walking away."
"Got that right."
"Gah...why are you always so stubborn?"
"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." Kate smirked.
"When did you become a history buff?"
"Hey, we live in interesting times. It makes sense to be up on that kind of thing, right?" Kate sighed. "Look, what are we going to do? If you press the issue, I'm obviously not going to be able to fight back right now. But that would be really crappy of you."
"Don't worry. You're going to get out of here, come up with a cover story so you can get that ankle checked out, and go back to your life."
"Thanks."
"But next time...I've got a job to do, Kate. I'll have to take you in. I'll make sure you get a good deal, so you wind up in the Initiative, not 42. But I won't have a choice."
"Then I'll just have to make sure you don't catch me again." Kate smiled as Cassie helped her up off the bed.
"I really miss talking to you." Cassie said. "Stupid Stamford ruined everything."
"Hey, nothing lasts forever, right? Stark's little regime will go down eventually, and we'll put the old gang back together."
Cassie smiled as Kate leaned on her, and she thought about the way things were before the world went to hell. She believed in the cause she was fighting for, if not so much on the merits but because it was the lesser of two evils. And she desperately wished that her best friend would see things the same way, so that Kate would be safe and they could be together. But for now, she would have to settle for giving Kate a second chance, and hoping that they didn't cross paths again until things had changed.
Author:
milleniumrexCharacters/Pairings: Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang, possible Kate/Cassie if you squint
Rating: PG
Words: 812
Summary: Cassie and Kate may have been on different sides, but Cassie could never turn her back on her best friend.
Author's Notes: Takes place post-Civil War, pre-Secret Invasion/Dark Reign. Written for the Drabble/Drawble fest at
youngavengers. Kate groaned as she woke up, her head feeling like a ton of jackhammers were going off inside it. She was in a bed, in what looked like a basement. The last thing she remembered, she had twisted her ankle running from some of Stark's goons, fallen, and banged her head on the side of a garbage can. Not exactly the most dramatic way to end her time on the run, she thought. But she wasn't in Stark's secret prison. In fact, it didn't seem like she had been captured so much as rescued. Her ankle was still throbbing, so she pulled back the bedsheet to look at it. It had been properly wrapped and splinted. Whoever had rescued her had taken good care of her.
"I did the best I could with the supplies we had here." A voice came from behind Kate. "You should probably get it x-rayed when you get back to civilization, though. It looks like it might be broken."
Kate's head spun around. "Cassie? What the - "
"I saw you go down while running. I knew you'd wind up in 42, and...well, it's a really nasty place, Kate. Half the people there are hardened criminals, and the other half wind up hardened in a few weeks. You don't belong there. So I dodged away from the squad to help you out."
"Why? You know if they find out you were helping me, they'll throw you in there."
"Come on, Kate." Cassie smiled. "You know I've got Tony wrapped around my little finger. He's looking out for me. I'd get a slap on the wrist or something. Especially if I came back with a new recruit looking for amnesty."
Kate crossed her arms. "Oh. This makes a lot more sense now. You want me to sell out like you did."
"Kaaaaaate." Cassie sighed. "It's not selling out! This is the law! They're going to find all of you sooner or later, and it'll be a lot easier if I bring you in. I know there's no way I'd convince Eli or Tommy, and Billy and Teddy are doing a pretty good job of laying low...but you? I was hoping you'd be willing to give up on this fugitive stuff and join me. We did make a really good team."
"So why don't you come back? We can make a really good team on the good guys' side too."
"It's not as simple as 'good guys vs. bad guys', Kate."
"Captain America was on our side." Kate grinned. "Ergo - good guys."
"Yeah, and look where it got him!" Cassie yelled. "I already buried my father! I don't want to bury my best friend too!"
"Cass..."
"It's only a matter of time, you know. You haven't been inside the Initiative. Stark may not want you guys dead, but the people in his agency, like Gyrich...they're going to get all of you sooner or later. The only way for you to be safe is either to walk away or to sign up. And I know you're not walking away."
"Got that right."
"Gah...why are you always so stubborn?"
"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." Kate smirked.
"When did you become a history buff?"
"Hey, we live in interesting times. It makes sense to be up on that kind of thing, right?" Kate sighed. "Look, what are we going to do? If you press the issue, I'm obviously not going to be able to fight back right now. But that would be really crappy of you."
"Don't worry. You're going to get out of here, come up with a cover story so you can get that ankle checked out, and go back to your life."
"Thanks."
"But next time...I've got a job to do, Kate. I'll have to take you in. I'll make sure you get a good deal, so you wind up in the Initiative, not 42. But I won't have a choice."
"Then I'll just have to make sure you don't catch me again." Kate smiled as Cassie helped her up off the bed.
"I really miss talking to you." Cassie said. "Stupid Stamford ruined everything."
"Hey, nothing lasts forever, right? Stark's little regime will go down eventually, and we'll put the old gang back together."
Cassie smiled as Kate leaned on her, and she thought about the way things were before the world went to hell. She believed in the cause she was fighting for, if not so much on the merits but because it was the lesser of two evils. And she desperately wished that her best friend would see things the same way, so that Kate would be safe and they could be together. But for now, she would have to settle for giving Kate a second chance, and hoping that they didn't cross paths again until things had changed.