Happy Tuesday! Well here is another chapter. Sorry it's a little short, but hey it's what I've got for this week. I promise there is more to come and I will totally make up for this shortness. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, but I'm quite selfish and will always happily accept more. As a friendly reminder, I own NOTHING. And I think that's all I have to say. ENJOY!

Waking up in an unfamiliar area was never ideal. As my fingers run over the fitted sheet beneath me, my mind registers the foreign material. Eyes springing open they focus on the cream ceiling above. I relax as familiarity seeps into my mind. The bedroom door lies open as the fan above wafts in the morning's breakfast aroma. Eyes heavy from last night's tears, I push the covers away from my torso and give an annoyed moan. Their warmth, on top of that provided by my sweater, was rather suffocating.

My feet pad down the hallway and into the kitchen. Dick, with his back toward me, has yet to notice my appearance. The sizzling of bacon reaches my ears. I chuckle silently as a drop of grease splashes and hits his bare stomach, making him jump. "Why don't you just wear a shirt?" I question.

He turns quickly and smiles. "I don't want to ruin any of them with grease stains." He answers matter of factly.

I roll my eyes and shake my head at him. "Then wear an apron."

He pouts. "But that's too much work." Turning off the stove he finishes breakfast and grabs his gray V-neck from the bar. "Alright, alright I'll put on a shirt." He sighs. "I guess I'm not in as great a shape as I thought."

I smile, but it quickly disappears as I recall the reason why I'm here in the first place. "About last night, thanks." I pause, glancing down at my entwined fingers. "You didn't have to."

"Yes I did." He says quietly. Coming around the counter he takes my hands and wraps them around his waist. I lean into his embrace, allowing his heartbeat to lull me into a peaceful state. I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly through my nose. After a moment he breaks the silence. "What actually happened last night?"

I stiffen in his arms and begin to pull away, but his hands grasp my upper arms. I stare at the floor intently. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Last night you said that it was like it was all happening again. Has this happened before?" His grip on me tightens.

I look behind me toward the front door. "I should be getting home. My dad'll be worried." The excuse rattles out quickly.

His brow scrunches. "Kate." He calls gently. My eyes meet his. Don't ask me. I won't be able to lie to you. You'll see right through it. You'll ruin everything, and we'll both be dead. "Why did you call me last night?" He pauses for a moment, before asking the question I've been dreading. "Why didn't you call your dad instead?"

I yank my arms away from his grasp. "We had gotten into a fight. I didn't want to see him yet." The excuse hints at something more, but I can't fabricate a better reason. I make my way toward the door. "Thanks for letting me crash here. I appreciate it. I'll see you in class." As my hand reaches the knob, he turns me around and presses his body against mine, trapping me against the door. I can't move. I can't leave.

He leans down toward me. "Kate, is he the one hurting you?" He asks gently.

I stare up at him. "No." The whisper manages to break free from the thickness of my throat.

"Look me in the eye and tell me that he's not the one hurting you."

I hold his gaze and slowly state. "My dad is not the one hurting me." He doesn't quite believe me. I heave a sigh. "Dick, I promise you, he's not hurting me."

His eyes soften. "Then who is?"

I shake my head. "I broke it off last week. He won't hurt me anymore."

"But if he does-"

"I'm fine Dick. I promise. He won't hurt me anymore."

"If he does, you tell me. Okay?" I nod. His hand cups my face as his thumb strokes across the ridge of my cheek bone. "I care about you Kate. You know that, right?" I give another nod. Leaning forward his lips brush against mine. There's no hesitation. I sigh into the pressure of his mouth as my hands trail under the hem of his T-shirt.

He goes to deepen the kiss, but I reluctantly pull away. Deathstroke can hear and see everything that happens. I remind myself. Taking control of my breathing, my eyes find the floor as my hands still press against his warmed skin. "I should get going."

He nods, but doesn't go to move. "Alright." There's a smile in his voice.

Glancing back up at him I see the lopsided grin clinging to his lips, the mouth that was just on mine. His hand still rests on the side of my face, stroking my cheek absentmindedly. My eyes squint as a small joy spreads through my chest. "Thanks Dick, I'll call you later?"

He nods. "Yeah, sounds good."

And without another word, I slip out the door.

The next week goes quickly. Class doesn't seem to take as long with Dick holding my hand. I find myself spending much more time at the Manor. As I follow him down the road I glance to my right and spy him. He's speeding, as usual, teasing me and seeing if I'll be able to keep up. It's something that we do now, trying to one up each other in everything. We're quite the competitive couple. But we're not a couple. I think bitterly. Well, I'm not. I sigh remembering just how much of this is a lie. How I'll be breaking his heart once he finds out that I'm faking everything. Not everything. True, it's incredibly easy to fall in step with Richard Grayson. Any girl would be envious. I heave another sigh. Unfortunately, I'm not any girl. Staring at him now as he speeds ahead I frown. You're getting too close to me Dick. And it's going to get you killed.

As we pull into the garage, Bruce is there waiting. Removing my helmet I flash a toothy smile his way. He chuckles at my antics and crosses his arms. "Just how fast were you two going? As I recall, your class only ended twenty minutes ago."

I shrug looking at Dick. "I mean, we only went through what, three red lights?"

He points to me. "Don't forget swerving in and out of traffic."

I snap my fingers. "And there was that time we ran up on the sidewalk to get out of the way of that stopped taxi."

"Forgot about that one."

Bruce just shakes his head. "That better be sarcasm."

I smirk. "Don't worry papa bear, it is. So what's for dinner?"

He raises an eyebrow at me as I slip by him into the house, followed closely by Dick. "Papa bear?"

I glance over my shoulder and shrug at him. "You're an incredibly protective person. Did you know that?"

Dick scoffs. "What was your first clue?"

I nod in agreement. "Especially when it comes to your sons." I chuckle. "No one messes with the Wayne boys and gets away with it." Except Shadow, maybe. I shake away the thought before it can put a damper on my mood. Enjoy this while it lasts. I advise myself, smiling as I walk into the den and plop down on the couch next to Jason.

"Hey Kate." He acknowledges as he continues to slaughter Damian in their latest video game challenge.

"Hey Jay, you winning?"

He scoffs. "Of course."

Damian clicks his tongue against his teeth. "You will meet your doom eventually, Todd." He grinds out harshly.

The older laughs. "Yeah, well leaning into the controller like that won't make you any better at the game."

Tim glances up from his book and chuckles at the youngest's antics. Looking to me he smiles. "Hey Kate, how was class?"

I shrug. "The usual. How's school for you?"

"Aced my calc exam."

"Nice." I encourage, knowing that the second youngest doesn't receive much praise. None of them do, really. Bruce provides it on occasion, but Batman is another case.

"Thanks!" He looks back to the game as Jason cheers. "You want next game?"

I shake my head. "You can have it. I'm fine with just watching."

Dick jumps over the back of the couch and plops down next to me, sliding his arm around my shoulders. "Afraid you can't beat Jay?"

I shrug. "I probably can't, but watching is just as fun." I say leaning closer into his side. "Besides, if I play I can't be this close." I whisper so that no one hears over the beginning game between Jason and Tim. My hand comes to rest on Dick's thigh. I feel his heartbeat rise slightly as he smirks at me. Pulling my knees to my chest my hands wrap around my shins as I hear Bruce walk up behind us.

He leans over the couch and mumbles. "I saw that." His voice is drenched in the smirk he keeps from springing to his face. Dick chuckles, wrapping his arms around my stomach and pulling me in close as a blush begins to burn across my cheeks and the bridge of my nose.

Resting my temple against his collar bone I mumble. "I feel like he sees everything, so should we even care?" I mumble and raise an eyebrow in question.

His shoulders shake as a silent laugh rattles my head against his chest. "She has a point." He says glancing up at Bruce.

The older man pinches the bridge of his nose. "I hate the honeymoon phase."

Looking up at him I smile. "And how many of those have you been through?" I ask while providing a cheeky grin.

He smirks back at me. "Watch it." He warns in a teasing tone.

Dinner is delicious as always and after a quick board game, I say my goodbyes and pull off the long driveway and onto the interstate to make my way home. Waiting for me just inside the door is my father. "I assume progress is going well." He states with a hint of laughter in his voice.

I do my best to put a smirk on my lips. "I'm sure you already know the answer to that."

He laughs slightly. "The only thing I saw was that your tracker didn't move from his apartment last night. I left the rest to the imagination." He turns away from me and calls over his shoulder as he walks downstairs. "I was just about to call you anyway. You have a mission. Suit up." He barks the order.

Twenty minutes later I find myself sprinting from rooftop to rooftop, making my way to the rendezvous point. "Icicle Jr. to Shadow, you almost here babe?" His voice crackles over the com in my mask.

I growl and roll my eyes, responding. "Three minutes and don't call me babe." My feet leave the stone beneath me as I leap across a city street and to the next roof.

"Any followers?" Shimmer questions.

"Negative." I respond. "Is everyone in position for departure?"

"Yeah, and it seems like the world's greatest assassin and our leader ain't here yet." Tommy makes himself heard.

"That's because while you four were placing the distractions throughout the city, I was doing what we actually came here for." I sneer.

"And what exactly are you here for?"

I turn quickly to avoid a birdarang headed for my form. "They're here. Respond immediately. Assistance required. Follow my coordinates." I command over the link as I face the team with dual swords drawn. I scoff. "The original team is back together again, huh?" I shake my head. "Although, seven against one is hardly fair." Throwing out fire pellets I skitter away from Miss Martian and hit Kid Flash with a trip cord that quickly entangles his legs, while engaging Artemis and Nightwing. "I'll just have to even those odds." Taking away their far range attacks, they don't pose much of a threat to me. The rest of my team shows up quickly enough to distract the Kryptonian and Atlantian. "How's the neck?" I ask the archer with venom.

Luckily Artemis and I have an understanding in our language and takes the question as concern. "Not bad, thanks for asking." She grunts as I cut her leg and kick her in the throat. She stumbles and trips over the edge.

"No!" I shout, relieved as a slab of ice forms to steady her footing.

I glace to Icicle Jr. who simply shrugs. "We have a history."

I snort as Artemis glares at me and finds her voice after being winded. "Not that kind of history!" She chokes out still kneeling on the ground clutching her larynx.

It's then that Nightwing gets in a lucky shot. My first mask skids across the rooftop as his escrima stick collides with my temple. I fall to my knees as my eyes attempt to refocus. The hero before me continues to blur and sharpen while my head spins. I hear Aqualad cry out as Shimmer gets in a well-placed punch. With the Atlantian distracted, she takes aim at the blue crested hero in front of me. It takes a moment to comprehend that her blast will kill him. No normal human would be able to survive. My eyes widen as I see the glow of her hands. Getting past the hesitation, I do the only thing I have time for. "Nightwing, get down!" I shout as I pull him aside, turn, and take his place. A scream wrenches from my throat as I fall to the ground. The Kevlar once covering my back and left arm has been burnt away. A cry continues to squeeze its way through my gritted teeth. I lay on my stomach, fingers scraping against the old brick building. The flesh is gone in some areas, revealing scarred muscle, while other areas are quite black and charred.

"Sh-Shadow?" Nightwing calls uncertain. He's crouched beside me with arms hovering above my twitching form. He resists touching me to keep from causing me any more pain. His back is turned to the rest of the fight, ignoring the team's overpowering of the twins and Shimmer. Icicle Jr. is the only one still standing. Miss Martian is containing him at the moment, being the best candidate to avoid his power, she takes him down rather quickly.

Artemis runs over to us, crouching down on my other side. "Oh god, Shadow."

The wind picks up. The oxygenation of the burn causes me to take in a quick breath. "Artemis?" She grabs my hand and squeezes it in reassurance. "Artemis, it hurts. It hurts so badly."

Her grip tightens. "I know Shadow. I know." She glances past Nightwing who's still staring dumbfounded. "Aqualad!" She cries out in desperation.

The older hero responds and takes out his water-bearers, spreading cool water across the burn. I grit my teeth and grunt in pain as I clench onto Artemis' hand. "Why'd you do it?" I struggle to turn toward Nightwing as he mumbles. "Why did you save me?"

I don't know how to respond at first. I can't tell him that I care about him. It would be far too obvious to who I was. I release another moan as Aqualad spreads the water to my upper arm. "Seemed kind of pointless… letting you die… when I gave up my life to… save you." I manage to say in between gasps of breath.

"Explain." He commands sternly. Kid Flash comes over then, after tying the four villains. He towers over Nightwing's shoulder.

"You… didn't think the team and Bats found you… all on their own… did you? Deathstrokes not that… sloppy."

The whites of his mask widen. "That was you?"

I chuckle. "You were so high on pain meds that… you didn't even realize I was the one… who... dragged you out of your cell." Kid Flash's eyes narrow as he hangs onto my words. I know I should stop talking. There was a reason why I'm not supposed to talk around him. Something Artemis mentioned once, but I can't recall, and talking keeps the pain at bay. The conversation makes the situation bearable.

"Backups on its way." Icicle Jr. mumbles with a wicked smirk plastered to his face.

The heroes stare at him with worried expressions. "We have to leave." Kid Flash pipes up, still glaring down at me.

"Miss M. can you levitate her onto the bioship?" Nightwing asks.

"What?" Kid Flash shouts.

"We can't just leave her behind for Deathstroke to take back." Nightwing stands and shouts at the speedster.

"You can't be serious."

"She comes with us."

"Dude! She's the world's greatest assassin. Why should we be taking her with us?"

"Kid, she just saved my life."

"How many lives has she destroyed?"

"That wasn't her fault!"

"Oh really? Whose fault was it then?"

The black clad hero growls in frustration. "I can't believe you!"

"Why? What aren't you telling us?"

"You don't understand."

"Then explain!"
"You don't know what it's like!" He drags a hand through his sweaty, matted hair and sighs. "Deathstroke has this power over his apprentices. He bends them until they're on the verge of breaking. Sometimes we just snap." He hangs his head. "Shadow's not the only one here who's killed." He makes eye contact with the rest of his team. "I know what it's like, to be caged within your own body, to do everything your humanity tells you is wrong. Shadow saved me from that fate, and now I'm going to return the favor." The rest of the team stares at the youngest in silence. Kid Flash places a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, about to nod and respond.

"Well, isn't that touching." The team springs into defensive positions as Deathstroke draws his sword. "I'm sorry Nightwing, but you won't be taking my daughter anywhere." Releasing the detained villains, the team of heroes is surrounded. "No, no, no Nightwing. I believe you have more pressing matters." They young hero glares at his old master. "You see, the Light's young team has placed several explosives around the city that would ruin anyone's day." He tilts his head slightly. "You fight us and you lose precious time. You leave now and you might be able to save the city." He chuckles darkly. "It's your choice."

Nightwing growls and glances down at me, doing his best to send an apology my way. "Team, spread out and disarm. Leave them. We don't have time to engage." Springing into action, the heroes leave me behind. I close my eyes sadly and imagine what freedom might have felt like. Those dreams are quickly crushed by one thought. I'm still trapped.

My scream echoes through the room. The fingers of my right hand grip the table as Deathstroke pulls away my tattered suit from the skin that's beginning to heal over the material. I feel the blood running down my back as the Kevlar tears away portions of my flesh. Tears sting my eyes as another shriek rips from my throat. "I know sweetheart. I'm sorry." He says gently, pulling away more of the black material. "This is the last piece, I promise." My breathing and pulse remain heightened as he scrubs infection from the burned flesh. As he begins to cove the wound with bandages he sighs. "Why did you save him?" He questions.

I grunt as he touches a particularly tender spot between my shoulder blades. "Because… it's my mission to kill him." I gasp as a tear drips from the tip of my nose. "No one will take that from me." I state through gritted teeth, hoping he doesn't see through the lie. He says something, but it comes to me muffled. My eyes begin to lose focus as my surrounding slowly darken.

"Sweetheart?" There's pressure and a gently shake on my right arm. "Sweetheart, you need to get up." My eyes crack open as an exhausted moan slips through my closed mouth. "Come one sweetheart, get up. You have two finals today."

I nod and push myself away from the mattress, wincing as I feel the fresh skin stretch and crack. "What time is it?" I question.

"Five-thirty, you have three hours until you have to leave, but I want to change the wrappings and make sure you're alright before you go." I nod and wrest my head against his shoulder as he carries me down to the med bay. He chuckles lightly. "You're a little old for this."

I shake my head and yawn. "No I'm not." His shoulders rise and fall quickly as he plants a kiss on my forehead.

Two hours later, he's satisfied that I'm fine and allows me to leave early. The rush of the wind calms me down. I stretch over the top of my bike toward the handlebars, relieving some of the tension of the new flesh covering my back. I park next to Dick, who had an earlier final, and slip into my first class. It goes smoothly enough. By the time the one is finished and out of my mind the next begins. Walking out of my second final I stretch my arms above my head and check my phone. Dick texted me twenty minutes ago for coffee. 'We'll be at the usual spot if you want to join us.' I don't bother responding and make my way toward the awaiting group.

The bells chime above my head as the three in the booth glance my way. I grab a coffee and plop down next to Dick and across from Wally. I lean my head back against the seat and allow my eyelids to slide shut for a moment. "How'd they go?" Dick asks.

I shrug. "Not bad." I yawn. "But I still have two more."

"Seriously?"

I nod and open my eyes. "How are yours going?" I glance between the three of them.

Artemis and Dick both shrug. "Fine." The first replies, but Wally remains silent. His eyes squint as he observes me. Suspicion and mistrust evident.

"Wally? You okay?" I ask.

He plasters on a smile and nods. "Yeah, I'm fine." He rubs his eyes and sighs. "Sorry, it's just finals week is always a bit stressful." He takes a sip of his cappuccino. "I guess I'm just hearing things."

Hearing things. That's when I recall Artemis' warning. "He said something about being able to detect the speed of sound waves." I swallow thickly and keep my expression from giving away my uneasiness.

There's a bit of an awkward silence until Artemis chooses to break it. "By the way Kate, Selina and I are going dress shopping on Saturday if you want to join us."

I nod. "Yeah, that would be great, thanks."

"Speaking of the gala." Wally wiggles his eyebrows as he glances between me and Dick. "Does that mean you two are official?"

I look at Dick and raise my brow. After stuttering, he questions. "Are we?"

I shrug. "Sure."

He smiles and nods. "Well that settles it." He turns back to Wally and wraps his arm around my shoulder. I do my best not to wince. "We're official."

Artemis snorts. "Well that was anticlimactic."

Finals week comes to an end and I couldn't be more relieved. Well, getting away from Deathstroke and the Light would be better. I think bitterly as I follow the two blondes into an expensive boutique. "Alright girls, money is no option." Selina states as she turns toward us. "Bruce gave me one of his credit cards, so everything is on him today, and he gave me strict instructions to buy you girls whatever you like best."

I look to Artemis and sigh. "So confession, I've never really gone dress shopping and I'm not the biggest fan." Which is a true statement. Whenever Shadow had to attend any sort of event for an assassination the employer usually provided the dress. Something that showed off my body to whatever male found himself to be so unlucky, while covering the scars littering my skin. Thankfully all the scars that were once quite visible on my back and shoulders have vanished due to the burn and new healed skin now covering the old injuries. There's no doubt that that won't last long though. Deathstroke was sure to increase my training and interrogation exercises now that classes had finished.

Artemis shrugs. "It's cool, I'm in the same boat." She states, pulling me out of my thoughts.

Selina clicks her tongue against her teeth a few times. "Girls, come on." She waves the black card before our eyes. "We've been given a great opportunity." The smirk on her face makes me smile. I'm totally going to get along with her.

After three hours of this dress verses that dress, with at least a dozen in between, we finally make our decisions. With a rather heated debate, Artemis and Selina finally talk me into a black sweetheart strapless with a slit reaching mid-thigh. The old seamstress is more than happy to add lace where ever skin shows and makes sure to provide a pair of stockings that would cover the scars on my legs. I'm rather shocked at how easily my two judges respond to the pink and white steaks carved into my skin. I suppose they've seen worse.

Once Selina receives the receipt, she gives a short whistle. "I'll tell you one thing girls. It's good to know you're dating a billionaire."