sorry! I really need to get better at the whole updating thing. Hope this is worth it?

Besides Dick, Wally seemed the happiest to see her alive. When Dick had told him and Artemis that she was alive, and there, it had taken then only minutes to zeta beam there. It took less than a second for her to be engulfed in a hug.

"You're alive. Oh Kate I'm so glad you're alive. Don't you ever leave me again, you hear that little sis?" She had to crack a smile at that.

"Of course not big bro," she had said. Artemis had also hugged her tightly, saying she was so glad to have her back.

"So, you guys finally got hitched?" she smirked as Wally's hand slipped around his girlfriend's waist.

"Yeah, New Years, five years ago. Been together ever since," Wally said, nuzzling Artemis's neck, who laughed. Avicula smiled at the cute couple, and her mind wondered to Dick... What were they now? She was dead to everyone. He had probably moved on, dated other girls. She had wanted that for Christ sakes, but she guessed some small part of her had wanted him to wait. Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone, and by habit she answered it without even looking at the caller id. Only two people had this number anyway, and one of them never called.

"Master?" she answered, receiving strange looks from her former team. She was tempted to walk off, but these calls were always quick.

"You're not in Gotham," Ra's answered, no anger in his voice, only slight annoyance.

"I am so sorry, forgive me please. I went to see the others and-"

"You can give me a full report tonight. I have an assignment for you in Gotham. I'm sending the file now."

"I thought I was on holiday?"

"Of course not, I said you could go to Gotham. Are you ungrateful? I can send the jet back if you so wish…"

"No! I mean, no thank you. I will complete the assignment at once."

There was no goodbye, only the noise of Ra's hanging up. She didn't bring up the file now, not when everyone could see it. But she could tell the team was waiting for her to explain.

"I'm not actually meant to be here. I was only given permission to be in Gotham. I should probably leave," she stated, pocketing her phone and heading towards the door. Whatever this assignment was, she wanted to get it over with as fast as possible. Somebody grabbed her wrist and forced her to turn. The owner of the hand was Dick.

"You're not getting away that easily. Explain." If anyone else had asked her, she probably would have just said no and put them in the wrist lock for grabbing her. But it was Dick, so she gently removed his hand.

"Later, I have business to attend to first. I'll come back later, if I'm allowed." With that, she walked off.

She drove on one of the motorbikes that had been stashed around various cities, along with a few cars, in case anyone from the league of shadows needed one in a hurry. There was an auto component to the file, so she listened to it as she drove.

"You are to go to Gotham's Ice Berg lounge to pick up a thumb drive containing valuable information. There is a formalwear store on Main Street, and there will be a parcel in there under the name Lucy Davidson. It has already been paid for. You are to go, humour the man as you must, and once you have the thumb drive, send the contents of the thumb drive to me. Afterwards you shall destroy it and all other evidence of the information. This includes the man who gave it to you."

"Great," she muttered as the recording continued, listing details about the man she would review, "I have a kill assignment in Gotham." She didn't actually think Batman would catch her in the act, she was a professional and wasn't so careless, but Dick knew she was out on an assignment. He wouldn't put two and two together, would he?

The store was pleasant enough, obviously suited from the rich and famous of Gotham. She herself did not particularly like the style, but she was used to it. She walked right up to the counter with confidence, smiling politely at the middle aged man behind it.

"I'm here to pick up an order under the name Lucy Davidson," she said, trying to be polite but still get to the point. The man smiled back.

"Of course, I'll go get it for you. Stunning dress if I do say so myself, you have excellent taste." He left her for a moment, going towards a rack with various articles of clothing in clean bags, taking one with a tag that spelt her false name, as well as a box and a small bag. She assumed the box held shoes and the small bag held jewellery of some description. He walked over with all the items in tow, and offered to help her get them to her car. She declined, and mentally cursed herself for bring a motorbike to collect a dress.

'I hate dresses,' she decided as she stood in line outside the Ice Berge Lounge. The piece was a beautiful blue, shimmering every time the slightest bit of light hit it. With it's low cut, long off the shoulder sleeves, and thigh high split, she knew she was meant to distract him. It was not, however, very comfortable. She tried not to think about how her muscles, hips and bust all pressed against the dress's fabric uncomfortably. Finally, she gained access to the building, walking in and spotting the young man instantly. He stood, smoothing his black tuxedo before extending his hand. She put her gloved hand in his, and he pressed his lips to it lightly.

"Miss Davidson, I presume? I didn't think Ra's would send someone so lovely," he said, smiling a pulling out a chair for her.

"You flatter me Mr. Higgins, but Ra's would only send the best for this. It is very important information, after all." She sat down, silently praying the dress didn't rip. A woman in too few clothes for such a cold work place came up to them, offering them a bottle of red wine.

"Please call me Lockheart. Drink?"

"Oh no I shouldn't, I'm working."

"I insist," he motioned for the girl to pour two glasses, picking up his and waiting for her to copy his action. She did, the two tapping the glasses together lightly. She sipped the drink, knowing her tolerance was extremely high but not wanting to risk it.

"Now about the thumb drive…" she started after the man had taken the glass from his lips.

"Of course. Perhaps somewhere more private?" his smile afterwards left her disgusted, but she managed to hide it and nod. The man paid for both of the drinks, took her by the arm and steered her out. As the walked towards his car, she could swear she saw a flash of black and blue on top of a nearby building. 'Crap,' she thought, desperately hopping it was a trick of the light.

The kill was quick and, for the most part, pretty painless. After he had taken her back to his house, and attempted to pull her into his bed, she pressed a pillow to his face. The sheer panic caused him to die of cardiac arrest, something that often happened to drowned victims. With glove still on, she took various valuables. It wasn't that she actually wanted them, but making it look like a robbery and murder made more sense to the police. She would dump the items in some abandoned warehouse, let some crook find it. She honestly didn't care. She left the house though the back door, heading towards were she had stashed the bike and a change of clothes. The ally was dirty and if she hadn't had such amazing balance she probably would have fallen within the first few steps. She kept her eyes to the ground, checking where she stood, so she relied on her ears to tell her if she was in danger.

Glass crunched under someone's shoe, and she knew she had stepped on clear ground. Her hand went to the strap under her dress that held the small hand gun, and it was aimed before she had turned fully. Unfortunately, her opponent was also fast, and she found her gun spinning across the floor and out of reach. Mildly shocked, she shook it off quickly, reaching for a thin dagger she kept strapped to her left wrist, ripping the fabric and ditching it before she had time to even she the potential attacker's face. He ducked, and she was about to run at him despite the dress and heels, when he stepped into the light and she actually saw him. Saw his face and the tight new blue and black costume that she was starting to like.

"That's the second time you've ditched a knife at my head," Dick smiled, walking closer.

"Yeah, well, I didn't know it was you either time, so…" she muttered, red rushing to her cheeks. Black clad fingers wrapped around her arm, and she looked up. Even in the heels he was so much taller than her.

"So, what's a girl like you doing all dolled up in this part of town?" he grinned as he spoke, but she realised it was an actual question he was expecting a serious answer for.

"I had an assignment. Thanks, by the way, for spying on me." She could tell by his face that she had caught him off guard by the statement. He didn't address it though.

"Your assignment was a date? You didn't have to lie to me Kate, it's okay if you see others, we dated five years ago, and-"

"Let me stop you right there. That was not a date. It was an assignment. I do what I have to to get what the Master wants. If that mean faking interest in someone, then I will pretend to take interest in someone. Hell, I didn't even pick out this outfit, I hate dresses. And for the record, I haven't had the time or the freedom to date someone else." She turned to walk off, to get out of this damn dress, and Dick followed.

"You keep mentioning this 'Master'. Who is he?"

"I don't know if I'm aloud to tell…"

"Kate look at me." The pair stopped walking and Avicula turned to face the man. "What happened? You... You weren't like this. You wouldn't let someone control your life like this."

"Things change Dick. Have you looked in the mirror lately? And please, stop calling me Kate. That's not who I am anymore." She reached into the bag that was resting next to the helmet on her bike, pulling out a pair of jeans, a shirt, boots, gloves and a jacket. She took off the necklace, earrings and bangles, then started on the dress.

"Woah, what are you doing?"

"Changing?" she replied, raising an eyebrow as she stuffed the dress into the bag and started on the shoes. The other clothes went on much easier than the dress had, and it took her little time to be fully dressed again. When she was done, she saw Dick's eyes snap up a bit, only to have him frown.

"Listen, I have a report to write up and sleep to catch up on, but I'll try and see you tomorrow." She swung onto the bike, pulling the helmet on. She didn't give him a chance to answer, simply riding off towards the hotel she was staying at. As she rode, she felt her eyes start to water, and she blinked it back.

So it wasn't a date. He watched her ride off as he thought about everything she had, and, more importantly, everything she hadn't told him. He had been over joyed that she was here, alive and well but... Was it really her? They had run a DNA test before, and confirmed that it was, in fact, her, but something was wrong. Dick decided that if he wanted to find out more, he should follow. Swinging over roof tops, he watch as she parked the bike and entered the hotel. Although he couldn't hear from outside, the window gave him a view of the front desk, where Kate was getting the key card for her room. He took note of the numbered slot it was taken out of, and headed up to the window for said room. Yes, it was kind of creepy, but he wasn't getting any information out of her any other way, so he decided that if he listened in on her report, he might be a little less clueless. He easily picked the lock and slipped in, locking it behind himself and making sure nothing was out of place before heading towards the bed. He was barely under it when the door unlocked and he heard a familiar voice arguing with whom he assumed was a bag boy.

"I assure you I can carry my own bag into my room, it's not that heavy," she said, annoyance and impatience clear in her voice. It was slightly muffled but then the door opened.

"Ma'am I insist."

"Well I insist you drop my bag at once and get out of this room."

"I am only trying to help-"

"If you don't leave right now I'll help you reach the floor." Dick heard the door slam and Kate let out an angry sigh. Dick suddenly felt weight pressing down on him, and he knew Kate must have sat on the bed. He heard a laptop start up, and then a phone being picked up.

"Hello room service? Two coffees please, I've going to be having a long night. Thank you."

It seemed odd for her to order two coffees, even if she was having a late night she wouldn't order them both at the same time, one of them would go cold. For a moment he thought she might know he was there, but then he heard her start to hum. The humming soon turned to singing, and Dick was pretty sure she wouldn't do that if she knew he was listening.

For a few minutes, all he could hear was typing and the occasional note of song, and Dick started to think this was all for nothing, but then a call started, and he knew instantly who was on the other end.

"Avicula," Ra's started, and Dick was saddening listening very closely.

"Master. I am sorry about before, I-"

"Your apology is not worth my time. Report, I have a meeting in five minutes."

"Information on the thumb drive is being sent as we speak. The police have found Mr. Higgins in his house and have reported it as a robbery and murder. Death was cardiac arrest due to panic of being suffocated. Several valuable items of his have been found with a homeless man near the Ace Chemical Plant. He has been arrested for suspected murder."

"And no one suspects you?"

"Well..."

"Well what?"

"Nightwing knows I did something tonight. He just doesn't know what yet."

"I don't really care if he is to find out, so long as there is no connection to the light. I assume, however, you don't want him to know anyway. Now, I have a meeting. The files have come through, destroy the thumb drive."

"Yes Master."

There was silence after the call ended, and Dick wasn't quiet sure what he should do. Sneak back out? Confront her now? His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Must be the coffees. He could hear Kate take them off whoever had delivered them, shutting the door and walking off. He assumed it was to the lounge room, because he heard a tray being put down on a coffee table. Then his decision was made for him.

"I'll stay here so you don't have to suffer the embarrassment of having me watch you crawl out from underneath the bed. Or, if you want, you can leave through the window and pretend this never happened."

Well, crap.

Dick pulled himself out from underneath the bed, standing up, and didn't even look at the window. When he walked into the lounge she didn't even look up, instead keeping her head down and her body curled up on the sofa, clutching the mug for dear life. Dick carefully sat down opposite her, taking the other mug and sipping it slowly, keeping his eyes trained of the girl opposite him. Her hands shook a bit and soon she had to put the mug down to avoid spilling the hot liquid on herself. So suddenly that Dick jumped in his seat, she buried her head in her hands and let out a sob. He quickly put down his own mug, rushing to her side and touching her shoulder light. Kate spun around and grabbed his wrist, bending it painfully so he dropped to his knees. Her eyes were red and what make-up she had been wearing for the night out was ruined, and the only way Dick could describe the look she was wearing was broken.

"Kate… Why?" Why was she upset, why did she kill the man, why was she obeying Ra's every command? She looked at him with the expression of a kicked puppy, the looked away, biting her lip. Dick put a hand on her cheek and steered her back so she was facing him, looking at her.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked softly.

"Because… because I owe him."

"Owe him what?"

"This life."

"Kate what do you-"

"Don't call me Kate! Kate died, Kate's dead."

"Explain."

"Dick… I died. I was dead. I remember this feeling right before death when everything made sense. When I finally understood everything that was wrong with the world, but I was dying, so there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. And Ra's, he brought me back. And when I first came back I was just so angry. I was angry at him, at you, at the team. But then that went away and I was angry at myself. I wasn't good enough, I wasn't smart enough, I had all this amazing powers and I didn't know how to use half of them. I- I don't have them anymore. I had to earn this, like you did. When Ra's first started training me, all I could think was 'Dick had to do this.' And that kept me going. And then I learnt things, like how to use guns and knives. I can kill in so, so many ways. And when I was learning that, all I though was 'What will he think of me now?' Ra's would tell me it didn't matter. Sometimes, it felt like it. My memories, of my life before this one, are fuzzy at best. Except the ones with you. That's why it always felt like you were so important. I spent so many nights just thinking that if I ever did see you again, you wouldn't get to see me. And then I thought, what if this is me?"

"It's not. You are Kate to me, no matter what you say. You are still the amazing girl I meant five years ago."

"I'm not-" her protest was cut off with warm, coffee flavoured lips pressed to her own. She made a noise somewhere between shock and pleasure, before pressing back. Her tongue touched his lips, then pushed past and rubbed against his teeth. 'This isn't right!' Her brain screamed, and it took all her will power to pull back. Once she was no long touching the beautiful man before her, the shock of what she had done set in and she covered her mouth with her hand. Dick panicked, thinking he had done something wrong.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No oh god no I'm sorry, I shouldn't, I mean, I-we, are we, ah, where are we?" Her cheeks turned red as she stumper end for words.

"Okay, I'll admit, you are a bit different. Where'd the confidence go?"

"Dick, I haven't been around a man my age that didn't repulse me or wasn't trying to kill me in five years. Forgive me if I get nervous."

"There it is." He stood up, making his way around to sit next to her on the plush sofa. She adjusted herself so she was facing him and off her foot, which was now buzzing with pins and needles.

"Dick, what are we? Are we friends, are we exes… Or are we something?"

"Something," he smiled. "You wanna watch a movie?"

She smiled lightly back. "Sure."

There! Like it? Hate it? Tell me!