Meet Me Where You’re Going
, by Hinn_Raven, is a story about the reconciling of Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown over the mantle Batgirl a year after Bruce Wayne told Cass to give the title to Steph, as well as the beginning of a romantic relationship between them.
“When things get complicated in Hong Kong, Cass requests help from Batman Inc. Unbeknownst to her, Bruce dispatches not one of her brothers, but Stephanie Brown, who Cass has not spoken to since she gave up the Batgirl mantle.Steph is eager to reunite with her best friend, but things between them are complicated. Not the least of the problems is the fact that Steph might be falling in love… but of course, Cass is straight, so Steph really shouldn’t dwell on that.Friendship and romance, conspiracy and adventure await the two of them as they try to unravel a complicated plot that seeks to stop Batman Incorporated before it can truly begin.”
Meet Me Where You’re Going provides examples of:
- Action Girl: The main characters are Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown.
- Affably Evil: Professor Strange cites Batman’s incredible arrogance as the reason for his plot, but he stays soft-spoken and largely non-threatening, and even his end game isn’t intended to be directly lethal.
- Armor Is Useless: Despite her uniform’s armor, Steph still gets shot in the shoulder by a handgun.
- The Atoner: Stephanie, after all the people who were hurt during the War Games comics arc.
- Better as Friends: Steph and Supergirl, after one awkward kiss.
- Break Them by Talking: Hansen and Strange try this, but the girls only laugh.
- The Cameo: Babs shows up for two conversations while running Birds of Prey missions.
- Completed Fic
- Contrived Coincidence: While stuck in an elevator shaft, Steph and Cass happen to hear two guards walk by mid-discussion of the changed date and location of an illegal auction.
- Justified, because the villains are luring Steph and Cass into a trap.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Stephanie makes out with a plainclothes guard to steal his keys.
- Stephanie has several “disaster bisexual” moments over Cass, and Cass is distracted by Steph.
- Drives Like Crazy: Cassandra is very skilled driver, but “views traffic laws as optional”.
- Dysfunctional Family: Stephanie’s relationship to most of the Bat-family, Bruce damaging both of them through inept parenting, and Cass thinking the others don’t value her as a family member.
- Easily Forgiven: Bruce is responsible for making both girls feel worthless; they mostly forgive him based solely on one apology because of how rarely he apologizes at all.
- Famed In-Story: Most of the Bats, after Batman Incorporated goes public, and Cass (Black Bat) is particularly famous and popular in Hong Kong.
- Foil: The entire story is a big exploration of how different Stephanie and Cassandra are – extroverted vs socially awkward, their wealth, their histories – while still being awesome.
- The Gadfly: Bruce shows elements of this, helping the girls go undercover by telling the papers that Steph and Cass are engaged (the same day they stopped being Twice Shy).
- Incompatible Orientation: Subverted. Cassandra and Stephanie are Twice Shy because they believe the other is straight due to dating boys in the past.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Batgirl is one of the best things to happen to Stephanie, but she offers to give it up as soon as she finds out the Bruce told Cass to give her the name.
- Jumped at the Call: On top of Steph’s backstory, she immediately drops her desire to fight Black Mask when Bruce says Cass called for help in Hong Kong.
- Kiss of Distraction: Steph uses this to pick a plainclothes guard’s pocket.
- Legacy Character: There’s a lot of tension about Stephanie becoming Batgirl after Cassandra gave it up, especially because Barbara (the first Batgirl) didn’t approve of the change.
- Lipstick Lesbian: Cassandra’s civilian friend Xiao Yin.
- The Load: Steph worries about being this due to how many people tell her she is and her past.
- The Man Behind the Man: Cass knows that Eric Hanson has a partner, but not who.
- Muggle Best Friend: Cass has three in Hong Kong who are former roommates: dancer Cunxin, programmer Xiao Yin, and Ho Seng
- Oblivious to Love: Cass didn’t notice that Xiao Yin was flirting with her until Steph mentioned it.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: We only see Cass break free, but Stephanie has already broken out by the time Cass shows up to help.
- One-Man Army: Cass, as Steph comments on.
- One-Note Cook: Stephanie: “I’m in college, I can make Spaghetti Os, stir fry, and frozen pizza.”
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: While sparring, Steph gets in a solid hit and immediately worries that Cassandra must be sick; in actuality, she was Distracted by the Sexy.
- Parents as People: Bruce wants what’s best for his daughter (and Stephanie,) but his obsessive personality and poor communication puts Cass and Steph through a hellish year.
- Poor Communication Kills: Cass and Steph not talking for a year has led them both to have some mistaken interpretations of the other’s circumstances and there’s a lot to clear up. Bruce, similarly, didn’t explain why he told Cass to give up Batgirl, making her think she was unworthy.
- Cass spent a year ignoring Stephanie’s emails because it hurt her to much to think of Stephanie being Batgirl. When she finally checks them, the third email from Steph says she’s rather have Cass back than be Batgirl.
- Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training: Cass, though she is learning life skills like getting meals and social interaction now, is still primarily a socially awkward badass with few friends.
- Shipper on Deck: Bruce appears to ship Cass and Stephanie.
- The Social Expert: Stephanie is this to the Bat-family, despite her trauma, as seen when she uses fashion knowledge to find a plainclothes guard before picking his pocket, and again when she fails at hiding but maintains secrecy by identifying herself as Batgirl and trusting the security guard to trust her and not sound the alarm, since Batgirl is a hero (and he works for Wayne Enterprises).
- Cass’s civilian friend Ho Seng, who counsels Cass about her relationships with Xiao Yin & Steph.
- Stepford Smiler: Steph and Cass both, due to their traumas and trying to rekindle a friendship.
- The Teetotaler: Steph avoids all intoxicating substances, due to her mother’s addiction history.
- Underestimating Badassery: Hansen and Strange completely underestimate the heroines’ abilities, dedication to the cause, and trust in each other.
- When She Smiles: Stephanie’s smile repeatedly brightens Cassandra’s mood.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Bruce gives one to Cass.Bruce: “You’re a detective. You’ve had your own city for a year now. You’re operating as a fully-fledged member of Batman Incorporated. You’re a leader, you’re a hero. You’re already the Bat, Cassandra. The only thing making it otherwise is the name you call yourself.”
