Hello down there people of Earth! My name is SuperSwimmerNerdo! This is chapter 9, for the numerically challenged! I don't really have a lot to say, so let's get on with it, shall we?

NO!

I'm not saying I'm sorry!

Can you imagine a time

When the truth ran free?

The birth of a Song

And the death of a Dream?

Closer to the Edge...

Closer to the Edge By 30 Seconds to Mars

Artemis's POV

Miss Martian sat, cross legged, in front or Rajesh, her fingers placed delicately on his head. Her eyes shined green, and Rajesh stared at us with a vacant look, looking, but not seeing. It was creepy.

I heard a kind of buzzing sound behind us, and turned to see Robin and BlackHawk coming back down from the roof. They were riding down on Robin's grapple, BlackHawk with her arms wrapped around Robin's neck, Robin's arm circling her waist. In BlackHawk's hand was holding my bright green arrow.

The two set down on solid ground and started towards us. Just as they reached us, Miss Martian stood back up, and Rajesh slumped down.

"I've put him in a short coma, so he doesn't wake up before we leave."

Aqualad nodded, and I noticed Robin and Superboy talking to each other in hushed voices. I was going to ask that they please share with the class, but Miss Martian spoke first.

"This is the leader of the group that hired the thieves," She transformed into a tall, maybe sixteen-year-old guy, with dark blond hair, and fair skin. His eyes were light blue, and a permanent looking scowl marred his otherwise handsome face. I didn't recognize him. None of the others did either.

"Arrick!" (AN: "R-ick)

Well maybe not "none".

We all turned to look at BlackHawk, who was staring wide-eyed at Miss Martian with her hand over her mouth. I could barely make out her whispered words.

"A warning to her, her being me. I assumed it was Ra's, but it makes sense to send the one person who knows me best to come get me. But why now?"

Robin looked quizzically towards Blackhawk, "What are you talking about? And how do you know this guy?"

She looked away from Miss Martian, who had now morphed back, and stared at us each in turn, her gaze resting on Robin. She looked scared.

"He's a shadow," she answered simply.

"Yeah, we know," Kid Flash replied, "But how-and why-do you know him, a Shadow?"

"Because I used to be a Shadow,"

Robin's/Richard's POV

With that bombshell dropped, we gave the Thieves Guild to the police, jumped into the bioship, and left for Taylor's cabin. We decided that the best place for us was at the cave, so Taylor jumped in the bioship with us. Rachael, with her face coverings pulled off, sat and mumbled to herself, until I finally asked what she meant by 'I used to be a Shadow'.

"Well," she started, "Exactly that. I used to be a Shadow,"

"Why aren't you anymore?" Wally asked.

"Do you want me to be a Shadow?"

"Well, no,"

"Precisely, neither do I, they're animals," Rachael said, and Artemis looked suddenly uncomfortable.

"So how did you get out?" I asked, "How did you become a Shadow in the first place?"

She looked around her, her gaze lingering on Taylor, then returning to me. "It starts at my beginning. When I was born, my biological parents didn't want me, so they left me on the streets of Gotham to die," Megan and Artemis gasped, but I understood. Even now, with Batman and I going around, helping those forgotten kids, some still get left and die. It's depressing, but the truth.

"Lucky for me," she continued, "I was found by and elderly homeless woman, named Annie. She raised me, she was like my mother," Rachael smiled at herself, reliving memories once suppressed. Then her face turned sad, as she relived memories that weren't to be forgotten anytime soon.

"One day, when I was five, Ra's al Ghul was in Gotham City. I still don't know why, but he stopped in front of the alleyway Annie and I slept in. Annie made sure that I was hidden, then asked what he wanted. He, and three armed guards stepped out. He said something in Arabic, then the three goons shot her. She fell to the ground and I screamed and ran to her. Two of the bullets were rubber. the other was lodged in her heart. She was dead. I can still hear the gunshots, echoing like an evil soundtrack."

Rachael took a long, shaky breath, and Taylor put her hand on her shoulder. I just sat there, the screams of my parents resounding in my brain, just like Rachael's evil soundtrack.

She continued, "Ra's then asked me, he asked to join him! After killing my mother! He said I could either stay with Annie and die, or go with him and live. I would have stayed, I would have curled up beside Annie and ask him to shoot me, but I once promised Annie that if anything should happen the her, that I would do what I could to stay alive. So I left with them."

We all stared at her in shock, in pity, and understanding. She promised. Poor girl.

"Ra's trained me himself. for eight years he trained me. Arrick became my best friend. At one point he tried to become more, but I knew that I had to leave. So, when I was twelve, I ran away. Arrick tried to stop me, both by asking, then by attacking me, but I was better than him. I won, and I left. I guess I always knew that I would one day leave. And I knew that the Shadows were the family Arrick never had. I always knew he would never come with me. So I made it back to America, and I became BlackHawk. Here we have reached full circle."

We were silent for the longest of time. Rachael looked at me, and I promised her, even if she couldn't hear my thoughts that I would talk to her and we would get through the death of her mother together, because it was obvious that she never did.

Finally, Kalder said, "So the Shadows are coming for you?"

Rachael nodded her head, "Yep."

"Well then, "I said, "I guess we better get ready to meet some shadows."

Yes, yes, I know, short chapter, but I wanted to get in a short version of BlackHawk's back-story, and give you all a little "preview" of the story I will put on FanFic, called "Becoming BlackHawk". I wanted to say "BlackHawk begins", but that's just like "Batman Begins", so I didn't. I will also soon (Maybe, you guys know me, I take forever) put up a story that will be the edited back stories of the team, and how they met, if they were younger when they met. Kind of my alternate universe. And I will put up an X-Men story called "Separating the Family" which will be that Laura has been living with Logan for a year, and just started calling him dad, when she gets kidnapped walking to school by the MRD ( Mutant Response Division, or Department). Then I will put up an X-Men: Evolution song-fic about Kitty and Lance, when Kitty and Lance broke up the first time with the song being "Exit Wounds" by The Script. OK, I'm done now, Review please, it makes me feel good!