Cassiopeia

Chapter 1

Cas was asleep when she was kidnapped, or else she would have heard the intruders coming.

So she was rudely awakened by a hand pressed over her mouth and a gun pressed to her head- but that didn't make sense. Only government operatives were supposed to have guns. So she was either being kidnapped by world government or their outlaws, and she wasn't sure which was worse.

"Don't move, don't speak," A voice whispered into her ear, hot breath steaming on the side of her face. The voice was a man's, but other than that she had no indication of who her captor was.

"Stand up," the voice ordered. Cas had decided to wear an oversized t-shirt and running shorts to bed, and was silently thanking herself for it. Sliding off her covers, she got up slowly, the darkness at her disadvantage. All she could see were dark shadows where her dresser, desk, and bed was. Her door was open, spilling in moonlight from the window in the hall. She could feel the gun pressed against her right temple, sure to make a bruise if she got out of this alive.

Cas felt her kidnapper's free arm thread around her waist and she bit back the instinct to defend herself. That would only get her killed. "What are you doing?" She breathed instead.

She heard the gun cock, "Didn't I tell you not to talk?" He said sharply. Cas restrained the sarcastic comment that flew to her lips, almost escaping. But it didn't, mostly because she heard a second set of footsteps approaching. Cas watched the open door, every muscle tense, as a silhouette filled the doorframe.

It was another man's, about 6 foot or so, with broad shoulders and, when Cas squinted, she could make out a gun in a holster on his hip.

She swore, and the guy holding the gun to her head released the pressure, only to bring it crashing back down on her.

Cas crumpled into the man's arms, down for the count, and the two men hauled her away.

---

Pain. Cas's head was throbbing like nothing else, and her right elbow felt like it had a huge bruise. Her eyes flew open, suddenly remembering what happened. Gun- men-

Kidnapped.

She groaned.

"She's awake." Cas recognized that voice. It belonged to the guy that put a gun to her head. She was not happy with him. He also was conveniently out of her line of sight, and she was a little tied up at the moment, on the floor of what she now realized was a van.

There came another voice from somewhere near her feet, from whom she assumed was the driver of the vehicle. "She tied up alright?" His voice was gruff and apathetic to Cas's predicament. It sounded impossibly familiar as well, but it couldn't be.

"Yup," the other guy said matter-of-factly. Cas tried to open her mouth to say that she was right there, thank you very much, but someone had stuffed a bandana in her mouth. Thankfully the men were idiots and just stuffed the nasty, sweaty cloth in her mouth without tying it. She spit it out as quietly as she could manage.

"WHAT DO YOU TWO IDIOTS THINK YOU'RE DOING?!!" Cas wasn't sorry for yelling, and she was wriggling around, trying to get free of her bindings. In hindsight, maybe she shouldn't have yelled, which gave away her position, but oh well.

"You should probably stop squirming like that, you'll get a rope burn," the first guy said. Cas squirmed to face him.

Oh, no. Blond hair. Blue eyes. Lanky frame, and peeking out from beneath his black pants, lincoln green boots. She swore under her breath, glowering. "Will."

He grinned, "Hiya, Cas."

She deadpanned. "John?" she called up to the front seat.

He swerved to hit a pothole and Cas hit her head against the floor. Yup. That was John. She squirmed again. "You two mind telling me why you've trussed me up like a turkey and why you've come to get me and why Robin isn't here to explain things to me himself?"