Life Of Death

by PrettyKitty Luvs U

Life is not your average girl. She goes by the name Death. She's a dark magician, the power inherited from her mother and a criminal, trained by her father. Her life takes a turn as she realizes that how her mother was brutally murdered and when her father tries to sell her to the Light. Can she be a hero when she is suffering from bad blood? Cover by Vitani. SEQUEL'S OUT!

38. Just Like A Circus

A\N: You guys have no idea how happy I am. Thank you so very much for the great reviews. I was literally bouncing on my toes and clapping my hands when I read them :) You guys are amazing!

"The winners of the last chapter are: MistyCharming, Cheshire Kitty Jr, Kate the Saint, Letplaysugah, ZabuzasGirl, Helena Bellemuerte, Anime hotty lover. 18, TurtleLynn, Luvinurbuks and Night Owl's Shadow."

Congrats! You all win virtual cookies (::) (::) (::)

DISCLAIMER: I don't, and never will own the show. ;_;

---

|BRUGES

|DECEMBER 22, 22:08 CET

Spot lights washed over the ground, the audience cheering from their seats as the lights roamed around beautifully. A man, white hair and wearing a red suit stepped forward, a spot light landing on him. He gave the audience a brilliant smile, tipping his top hat up. "Dames en heren! Mesdames et messieurs! Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Haly International Traveling Circus!"

Jack Haly grinned, the crowd cheering and hooting. "Where the world of the center ring is your oyster! And these are our latest pearls…" He motioned upwards, the spot light following his movement and landing on a dark haired boy.

"The Daring Dangers!"

Dick offered the crowd a smile, grabbing the bar coming towards him. He pushed himself up , swinging ahead on the trapeze.

"Dan Danger!" Haly introduced in the microphone, the bright light shifting to a scarlet haired beauty swinging on the trapeze, "Dawn Danger!"

Megan grabbed onto the bar, beaming at the crowd.

"Dian Danger!"

Artemis's lips stretched into a grin, pulling out scarlet red arrows from her bow and notching them up in her quiver.

Then the spot light settled on a scowling ginger, the muscular teen loading up arrows in his bow. "Dane Danger!" Roy narrowed his blue eyes, bringing the arrow up, Artemis mimicking him.

Haly turned around, smiling broadly as he gestured to his right with his gloved hand. "Dean Danger!"

With a blink, the spot light fell on him, Conner pressing his lips into a straight line as he flipped a barrel up in the air, and quickly caught it again. Haly gestured to the clone's left, spot light swiftly following. "And the family's youngest..."

Life winced, squinting her grey eyes because of the bright light showering over her as she staggered back a little, nearly dropping the knives she was juggling.

"Devon Danger!"

Her lips curling up into a wide smile, the magician straightened up, regaining her balance as she tossed knives from one hand to the other. "I've always wanted to join the circus." She grinned, her thoughts open to her teammates.

"Maybe we should call you circus girl now?" Roy cocked his head up, a tease in his voice as he pulled the string of his bow, releasing three arrows, Artemis quickly following him.

With a grunt, Conner tossed up two barrels, the dark haired girl beside him throwing up a pair of three knives before skidding to his right, shooting out another pair again. Releasing their grasps on the bars, Megan and Dick expertly passed through the barrels, astonishing the audience by avoiding the knives and arrows with ease.

Propping her hands onto her hips, Life lifted her chin up proudly, eyes sparkling as she watched the martian and acrobat, and she wished she could be up there too. Turning her attention to Roy, the magician cocked her hip to the side, the ends of her lips pulling upwards into a smirk.

"If I'm circus girl, then you're catnip."

The ginger responded with a menacing glare, his knuckles tightening around his bow. Artemis's cheeks flushed slightly, getting the hint her sibling was giving and she scowled. "Life," The archer warned, settling the raven with a glare.

"What?" Life bounced her shoulders, smirking as she folded her arms over her chest. She tilted her head to the side, silver eyes falling on Roy, the archer glaring visual daggers at her. "We all know Roy likes Jad-"

They all were startled by Megan's cry. "Robin!"

Head snapping up, Life found her heart leaping up to her throat on seeing Dick falling down from the trapeze.

"Don't blow our cover!" The Romani yelled telepathically, Life parting her lips to chant a levitation spell when Conner snorted unamusingly, his voice calm as it cut in the hurried thoughts. "And saving your life's okay?" The clone inquired sarcastically, throwing up a barrel with full force.

The barrel hitting his feet, Dick instantly balanced himself on it, cocking his head up and shooting his arms outwards for Megan to grab. Her eyes flashing an emerald green, the redhead levitated him up slightly, clasping her hands with his as she swung them both to the nearby poll.

"What did I just say?" Dick scowled, both of them gracefully landing on the platform. Megan smiled softly, raising her hand to wave at the audience. "The crowd couldn't see me use my telekinesis from below."

Releasing a small sigh, the young hacker joined her, waving at the roaring crowd and Megan peeked at him from the corner of her eyes, "Besides, I've been using it all night. I'm not exactly the acrobat you are."

"Yeah, neither am I right now," Dick responded honestly, wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead. "I caught that twenty-four hour bug that's been going around this circus. But…" He gave a sigh, smiling. "The show must go on."

Placing a hand on the heart thundering in her chest, Life managed to give out a deep sigh of relief. A scowl graced her features, and she turned her head upwards, silver eyes falling on Dick. "The show would've still gone on if you'd sit this one out, y'know?"

The corners of his lips pulled upwards into a smirk on hearing her thoughts, and Dick looked down where she stood, arms crossed and glare fixed on him. "Nah..." He grinned, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

"You guys would've been hopeless without me."

Life rolled her eyes, a small smile tugging her lips.

---

|MOUNT JUSTICE

|DECEMBER 18, 19: 40 EDT

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

She narrowed her eyes, glaring as he typed away on his wrist computer. "I am coming with you whether you like it or not!" Life stated, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at him.

"You're not coming with us," Robin said flatly, clicking the holographic keys. He ignored the frustrated groan she gave, scowling as she started to whine. "But I've always wanted to perform in a circus!" The raven frowned, the boy wonder switching off his computer and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You and Black Canary were supposed to be on a mission in Brazil," Robin placed his hands on his hips and Life smiled, bouncing her shoulders. "It got canceled." She replied, shifting her weight on the balls of her heels and began rocking on them.

Her eyes sparkled, and she clasped her hands together infront of her chest, "So I'm coming, right?" She asked excitedly.

The dark haired boy crossed his arms, scowling. "No."

Her brows furrowed and her gaze hardened. "You're not taking me, Zatanna, Kaldur and Wall-"

"Wally's on a mission with the Flash." Robin told her, and Life found her jaw clenching. "Yeah, and Zats isn't feeling well while Kal's busy in Atlantis." She growled, glaring at him as they stood in the empty training room. "They all knew about this mission except for me and Wally."

Narrowing her eyes, Life scowled at him. "Care to explain why you didn't bother to tell us?"

There was a slight pause as she looked at him straight in the eye, and Robin sighed. "You two are the only people who know about my past." He said grimly, scowling as he continued. "And I don't want anyone of you questioning my objectivity."

Life blinked, taking in the words he had said. Arms still crossed, Robin looked aside, glaring down at the floor. She pursed her lips, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. "Hey," She said softly, and he looked back at her.

Her eyes softened. "I understand." She gave a lopesided smile, squeezing his shoulder.

Robin stared, brows knitting together as she pulled her arm back, frowning. "Wait," He sighed, catching her hand. Life gave a questioning look, blinking as he gave a heavy sigh before a smile spread across his face. "You can come." Robin smiled softly.

Smiling widely, Life's eyes brightened at his words. "Really?" She inquired, a grin tugging her lips as he nodded.

An 'oomph' escaped the boy wonder's mouth, two arms suddenly coiled around his upper torso. "Thank you!" The dark magician squealed, squeezing him.

Robin laughed, almost surprised by her excitement for going to the circus. "Hey, rabbit." He grinned, feeling her snuggle into his chest. "You might wanna let go before someone sees us." He casted a glance around, smirking when a pair of silver orbs flickered up to meet his gaze.

He raised an eyebrow, Life tilting her head upwards, a smirk clear on her face. Clamping both of her hands onto his shoulders, she pushed herself forward, smashing her lips against his. The white lenses of his mask widened, cheeks flushing slightly as he staggered back a bit, balancing his and her weight as she kissed him.

He was about to put his arms around her to savor the moment, but she had already pulled away, leaving him blushing and staring blankly at her. "I've gotta go tell Artemis!" Life smiled brightly, whirling around but stopped, a hand clasping tightly with hers.

"Life," Robin gave a lopesided smile, and she smiled back, glancing at their knotted hands before giving him a questioning look. "What?" The raven smirked, feeling his hand squeeze hers.

"I want more," He said softly, a blush dusting across his cheeks.

The dark magician fought back a blush, smiling innocently. "What do you want more?"

Robin glared, face flushed. "Kisses." The tip of his ears burned red as he watched her giggle, and he rolled his eyes.

"I thought you didn't want someone to see us." Life mused, cocking her head to the side. He grumbled something under his breath, and she rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. There's plenty more from where that came for." She winked, grinning as the boy wonder threw her a smirk and released her hand.

Stepping back, she cleared her throat. "Now if you excuse me," Life said in a fake royal accent, totally ignoring how Robin rolled his eyes beneath his mask. "I need to pay a visit to my sister." With that, she had turned around and started to make her way towards the hall.

The girl quickly broke into a jog, skidding around the corner as she grinned broadly. And on reaching the archer's door, she punched in a few codes, the door flying up. Skipping into the room, Life began excitedly. "Guess what, Arts? I'm coming with you guys! I really love the circus, y'know? It's so cool and fun and amazing an—What're you doing?"

Artemis scowled at her from her mirror, her arms up and hands in her golden locks as she tried to tie them up in a her regular pony tail. "Ever heard of knocking?" She glared, sarcasm lacing her tone.

Ignoring it, Life stalked over to her, taking in the blonde's appearance. "What're you wearing?" She asked bluntly, eyeing the white costume.

"It's what we're wearing for the mission," Artemis answered easily, continuing to tie her hair around a scrunchie. "But my hair just won't cooperate!" The pretty blonde growled, glaring at her reflection.

She was caught off guard as the magician grabbed her wrist, dragging her towards the wooden bed. Life seated herself on the mattress, smiling up at the archer. "Sit."

Artemis stared, but then blew at a lock of hair falling on her eyes and crouched down on the carpeted floor, her back facing the shorter teen. She amusingly watched the full length mirror infront of her, noticing how Life patted the sides of her scalp and ran her fingers through her soft golden locks.

"Wow, Artemis." Life grinned, glancing over the blonde from their reflections. "You've got great hair."

"Thanks," The archer responded, the dark magician straightening her hair over her back and shoulders. "I deen a yarps." Life's words echoed, eyes brightening as a puff of dark smoke appeared over her hand, clearing away to leave a descent size pink colored spray bottle.

The fourteen-year old gave it a few shakes, pressing her thumb down on it and clouds of sparkling silver erupted from its nozzle as it gathered around the blonde. "Life!" Artemis hissed, squeezing her eyes shut and feeling her nostrils flare on sniffing the scent of jasmine and coconut.

"Just keep your eyes closed,"

Once the clouds had cleared, Artemis cracked an eye open, curiously gazing at her reflection. She blinked a couple of times, Life grinning behind her as she proudly looked at the mirror. There was a beat of silence, and the magician quickly broke it.

"Well?" She asked eagerly.

The corners of her lips twitched upwards, and Artemis bounced her shoulders. "It's nice." She complemented on her straight hair. "No offence but I actually like to keep it in a pony tail."

"Pony tails are boring," Life scoffed despite tightening the scrunchie around her own raven locks. She threw her arms around the archer's neck, pulling her in a comfortable headlock while leaning forward to place her chin on her shoulder. "Plus, you look really pretty with your hair open like this."

Artemis smirked, moving her hands up to grab her wrists as the two looked in the mirror. "Thanks," The blonde gave a tight smile, and Life grinned happily, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. "You're welcome." She laughed, cuddling in the taller teen's neck.

And then sudden realization struck her, gaze flicking towards the mirror only to meet Artemis's surprised features. A blush crept over the magician's cheeks, and she loosened her arms around the blonde's neck. "Uh... Sorry." She smiled nervously, pulling back from her. "I kinda got into your personal space there."

Artemis cocked a blonde eyebrow, lips curling into a smirk as she reached up, palm pressing against Life's cheek, pushing her down a bit. The magician blinked, a pair of cool lips brushing against her cheek, catching her off guard.

"I think I should get used to kisses and hugs now," Artemis smirked, patting her sibling's cheek. She dropped her hands in her lap, crossing her legs on the floor.

Life gave a toothy grin but then pursed her lips. "When am I supposed to meet Miss. Paula?" Her eyebrows knitted together, Artemis's muscles tensing slightly and she pursed her lips as well. "You can call her mom, you know?" The blonde said quietly, frowning when Life bit her bottom lip, shifting on the bed.

"What if she doesn't like being called mom?" Life whispered, looking down at her lap, hands balling into fists. A hand brushed against hers, and her gaze met Artemis's, taking a seat beside her.

"I'm sure mom won't mind," The archer tossed a friendly smile.

A knock at the door startled the two and Artemis quickly got up, Life hopping down the mattress behind her. "Come in," Artemis called out, placing her hands on her hips.

The metallic door flung open, a familiar ginger walking in, clothes in his arms. Life almost felt her eye twitch, but she scowled at the teen. Roy responded her with a smirk, stalking over to them.

"Here's your costume, rabbit." Roy tossed the clothes on the bed, and Life glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't call me that, firecrotch." She smirked victoriously, Roy narrowing his eyes at her while opening his mouth to fire back.

He glanced at Artemis, then back at Life but quickly brought his gaze back to the blonde, his eyes lingering over her a bit longer before coming back to the magician who was grinning from ear to ear. Artemis quirked an eyebrow, a hand placed on her cocked hip and Life smirked, tilting her chin up a bit to look at her.

"See? Even firecrotch thinks you look good."

Artemis scowled, gently swatting the back of Life's head.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

Roy propped his hands on his hips, finding the two amusing as Artemis rolled her grey orbs. Their attention snapped to the door on hearing it hiss open, Robin walking in and Life blinked, wondering why he was wearing a costume similar to Artemis.

Tightening the white mask, Dick looked over them all, crystal blue eyes clear to everyone's vision. He raised an eyebrow, Life staring dumbly at him and then he quickly smirked, enjoying how a blush spread wide over her cheeks.

"We're leaving in fifteen minutes," He announced, and the blush on her cheeks instantly disappeared, eyes widening with surprise. "Fifteen minutes?!" The magician shrieked, Roy and Artemis shooting her a glare because of the high-pitched exclamation she had given.

"How the hell am I supposed to pack up in fifteen minutes?!"

Dick sighed, "Well, you should've hurrie—"

Artemis cut him off, turning towards the shorter girl. "You can share with me." She suggested, and Life snorted, not quite impressed by her big sister suggestion. "You want me to share your toothbrush?" She asked sweetly, Artemis scowling in reply.

"Robin," Artemis settled a glare on the boy wonder. "She needs to pack up."

"We need to leav—" He paused, glancing to where Life stood, scowling and glaring at him and then he deflated. "Okay, fine but I'm giving you just one hour." He fixed her with a stern look, hiding a smile as she grinned broadly.

Life beamed, grabbing her costume. "One hour's enough for me," She dropped the clothes back on the mattress, standing back and clapping her hands. "Emit ot yrt tuo eht sucric kool!" The chant echoed, black smoke wrapping around her figure before clearing away.

Tugging a strand of black hair behind her ear, Life smiled from ear to ear, Dick grinning and Artemis rolling her eyes on her new look. She trudged passed Roy, making her way out of the room.

"I'll be back in a flash!" She joked, grinning from ear to ear.

A silent giggle left her lips on hearing her teammates groan.

---

"Put your hands together for the Daring Dangers!"

Waving her hand at the roaring crowd, Life offered a bright smile. She glanced over to the boy standing next to her, worry clear on her face as he swayed his hand lazily. "How're you feeling?" She asked softly, knotting her fingers with his.

Dick glanced at their conjoined hands, and brought his gaze to her, cracking a smile. "A little dizzy but other than that..." He smiled, giving her hand a small squeeze. "I'm great."

Life smiled back, but then bit her tongue as he wiped his sweaty forehead.

"I didn't think you could make it through the show," Megan said concernly, and Dick gave a weak smile. "Neither did I." He admitted, Life providing him some support as she felt him lean against her.

The Romani's groan echoed through their minds, "Help me back stage."

Hooking her arm with his, the dark magician noticed his lips curling into a smirk as they all slowly stalked back. He leaned more into her, and she rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to smack the back of his neck.

"It's nice to know the whole Do-not-touch-me thing ended," Dick said teasingly, smirking when she shot him an unamused look. Before she could answer with a snappy remark, he chuckled softly, running his free hand through his sweat filled locks.

"You should let go. I don't want you getting sick 'cause of me."

Life bounced her shoulders as they entered the backstage, peeking at Haley from the corner of her eyes. "I'm not worried about getting sick," Her attention remained on the circus owner, busy in arguing with his old acrobats.

She turned to look at him as they all came to a hault. "But I'm worried for you," Life tossed a concerned smile, pulling away but blinking when he caught her hand again. She shot him a glare, tugging at her hand slightly and focusing her gaze on the others others, relieved to know they weren't looking.

Dick smirked playfully, Life scowling. "Let go, bird brain." She hissed, pulling her hand to her chest when he finally released it, chuckling softly. Rolling her eyes at him, the girl whirled around, casting a glance to a man who stood with Jack Haly, snowy white hair and navy blue suit.

As soon as she started to walk towards the tent's exit, the voices of her teammates chorused in her mind. "Where're you going?" Conner inquired sternly, but the magician quickened her pace, not paying any attention when Dick scowled on the other side.

"What are you doing? We're supposed to catch the thieve—"

"Yeah, you guys do that." Her thoughts cut him short, exiting from the tent. "I need some fresh air."

"It's cold outside. You should take a jack—"

"Artemis, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me."

Cold wind brushed against her body, and Life shivered, teeth chattering and she swallowed, getting her thoughts cleared up.

"We aren't here for a play date," Roy growled, "You should take the mission seriousl—"

"Hey, Roy! Have you ever watched Alice in Wonderland? The Cheshire cat is my favorite!" The ends of her lips pulled upwards into a smirk, her comment quickly silencing the archer.

There was a slight pause and Life deflated, rubbing her bare arms, the icy wind causing goosebumps to scatter over her body. "M'gann, can you please cut me off the psyche link?" Black Canary's protégé requested, walking ahead as she glanced at the enormous posters over the enormous carts.

A few seconds of silence passed, no voices piping up in her head and the raven released a deep, heavy sigh. She pulled her arms closer to herself, a gust of icy wind blowing around her, tiny snowflakes drifting down.

The magician frowned, rubbing her arms. "Stupid costume," She growled, letting out a breath and watching it morph into a warm cloud. "Doesn't have any slee—"

She slammed into someone, losing her balance and toppling back. But before she could hit the ground, a large hand shot forward, clasping around her wrist, stopping her mid fall. Her eyes darted up, meeting light brown ones. He was a muscular man, blonde hair and had a very uncomfortable smile.

"Woah, easy there." The blonde chuckled softly, providing her a small pull so she could stand up on her both feet.

Life jerked her wrist out of his grasp, giving him an uneasy look. "Uh yeah, thanks." She thanked nervously, not quite appreciating the smile stretching his lips.

The blonde nodded, placing his hands on his hips. "You're Devon, right? One of the Danger Family members?" He inquired, and Life nodded in response. "I'm... Devon." And she still had no idea why all of their names began with D and ended with N.

It was stupid.

"I'm Ray." He introduced himself, placing a hand on his chest.

And then Life remembered him. He was a part of the circus too. The man cocked his head to the side, continuing. "I can't believe that you juggle knives," His gaze remained on her, the magician smiling up at him.

Ray gave out a whistle, "You threw them with such accuracy. For a minute I thought they might've hit your brother and sister." He grinned down at her.

She gave her shoulders a bounce, a bit flattered by the compliment. "Practice makes perfect." Life smiled brightly, the man chuckling in answer.

Though, the raven scowled when he ruffled her messy locks, a low growl leaving her lips. "You might wanna go inside," He grinned wickedly, walking pass her and a gleam came in his eyes. "Or else you'll catch the flu going around here." He told her, smiling as he began to stalk ahead.

Tiny snowflakes fell from the sky as she watched him walk away, slightly amused by his bizarre actions. "Weirdo," Life mumbled, her warm breath coming out as white clouds as she began to walk again.

There were posters all over the train carts, and she came across one with a label reading store room. Glancing around and making sure no one was there, her hand hovered over it's lock, lips whispering a spell.

"Nepo."

A slight click was heard, a grin spreading over her face as she pushed open the door, stepping in the small store room. Life blinked questionably, the things in the store free from dust and cobwebs.

Haly even kept the store room clean.

It wasn't soon when she began digging through the large cardboard boxes lying on the floor. Her eyes found something, and for a minute, she lost her breath. Life pulled it out, biting down on her bottom lip; an old poster of Dick's family, seven people staring back at her, happy smiles on their faces and all of them dead.

Dead except for the youngest one.

Horrible memories flooded her mind, sending chills down her spine and she shuddered, placing the poster back. Life took a few steps back from the boxes, the ends of her lips quirked downwards.

Folding her arms over her chest, she suppressed a sigh, staring at the floor.

All of a sudden, someone breathed near her ear. "Hey,"

With a shriek, Life almost jumped a feet high in the air, clutching her chest as she whirled around, mentally prepping a defense spell.

She stared blankly as Dick burst into laughter, fists stuffed in the pockets of his jacket as he doubled over a little. Her jaw immediately clenched, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Life hissed, eyes narrowing as he kept laughing.

Then it clicked her. She always knew when he was sneaking behind her. Either she was getting sloppy or he was getting better.

She was busy pondering, not noticing the acrobat's laughter slowly cease, his eyes watching her with amusement as she absent mindedly rubbed her arms, shivering because of the cold weather.

Life looked up through her lashes, unsure how to respond when he shrugged his jacket off, slumping it over her bare shoulders. A warm blush rose to her cheeks, Dick's arm wrapping around her shoulders as he looked over the cardboard boxes.

His gaze remained on them, "What're you doing here?"

The dark magician swallowed, leaning against his warm body. "You're feeling better," She mumbled, avoiding his question.

Dick turned to her, grinning. "I'm feeling really better," He admitted, and Life smiled back, noticing how the mask framing his eyes was white, dark red highlights surrounding them and she thought about telling him about it.

"You should wear this mask more," Life suggested and he quirked an eyebrow, bemused by the comment. "Why?"

She looked aside, cursing the blush caressing her cheeks. "It brings out your eyes," She answered cooly, face heating up more as she could make out the grin tugging his lips.

He gave a laugh, and Life scowled, flashing him a glare. "I thought boys were the ones who did the complementing?" Dick snickered, a smirk curling his lips as Life snorted. "You seriously know how to ruin the moment, don't you?" She asked bitterly.

"So we were having a moment, huh?" The Romani inquired teasingly.

"You know what?" Life snapped her head at him, and he had to wonder whether her face was red from embarrassment or anger. Probably both. "I seriously hate you sometimes."

"No, you don't. You love me all the time." He responded, grinning from ear to ear. "Besides, if you hated me, we wouldn't be standing here like this."

Life nodded, smirking. "Then maybe I don't hate you." She offered casually, bouncing her shoulders, Dick rolling his eyes, a smirk firmly plastered on his face.

"So you love me, right?"

"Well, duh! If I don't hate you then it probably means I love you."

"Say it backwards."

Life blinked, absorbing the absurd order. "Say what backwards?" She asked perplexingly.

"That you love me."

"I am not saying that backwards!"

Dick gave an unimpressed look, "You say things backwards all the time, and you can't do it when I ask you to?" He feigned hurt, and Life groaned. "You don't see me asking you to do a quadruple flip!" She snapped, shrugging him off.

He ignored her answer, the smirk coming back to his lips. "Come on, say it." Dick nudged her in the arm, humor in his eyes.

She flashed him a glare, a snarky reply on the tip of her tongue. And then she saw the way he was smirking, eyes bright and through their whole trip in this circus, he looked like he was finally relaxing a little. He wasn't brooding, scowling or acting completely serious; wasn't trying to act like a leader.

It felt good to see him happy.

Life released a small sigh, the corners of her lips twitching up into a smile. "I evol uoy, kciD." She murmured loud enough for him to hear, blushing furiously as he laughed his trademark Robin laugh.

Surprisingly, the laugh made butterflies flutter in her abdomen and with the blush still spread over her face, she scowled down at the floor.

A hand clamped onto her shoulder, gently shifting her so she could face him. "Now, was that so hard?" Dick asked cheekily, and her face seemed to catch fire, silver eyes fixed on the floor as they refused to make contact with him.

She couldn't believe she had actually said that. A dark magician would never say that. Well, not backwards anyway. Spells had their respects. Their way of chanting should not be copied to say something like that. It was disrespectful, rude and discourteo—

Her train of thoughts broke, a pair of warm lips finding themselves against hers. Dick wrapped his arms around her, and her muscles tensed slightly as his tongue gently swept over her lips.

To hell with it.

Her hands made their way to up his neck and towards his hair, fingers digging in his raven locks as she pressed her lips harder against his. The acrobat pulled the magician closer, and after what seemed like an eternity, the two parted, breaths heavy and panting slightly.

"How was that?" Dick grinned, leaning forward to brush the tip of his nose against hers.

Life smiled, mimicking him and rubbing her nose with his. "Amazing," She breathed, a daze in her silver eyes as they met his blue ones.

She briefly caught the drops of sweat appearing over his pale forehead, but before she could point it out, he interrupted her. "Good," Dick's eyes sparkled, his hand brushing over her cheek. "Cause there's plenty more where that came from."

And just before she could seal her lips with his again, someone awkwardly cleared their throat.

Grey met blue, and the two blinked, snapping their heads in the direction of the voice.

His arms folded over his broad chest, Roy had a red eyebrow raised. He watched in amusement as Life blushed madly, yanking her arms back from the acrobat's hair as if he was on fire, stepping back from him and then crossed her arms over her chest, looking aside. Dick frowned, shifting his weight to the other foot to glare at him.

The ginger tossed them a smirk, blue eyes dancing with humor.

"If you two are done playing tonsil hockey, then we need to get going."

---

Great.

Just great.

Last thing she needed was Roy messing with her by making stupid bird jokes, and then watching her face swap colors with a tomato. The others were simply puzzled, seeing Roy laugh and her curse in Italian. Luckily, no one bothered to question about it, already aware about them having a hobby of making each other mad.

So basically, this was revenge— yup! Definitely revenge— Roy was taking. Why? Because the magician had been teasing him about Jade all through the entire trip. And now, the redhead made sure to pop her and Robin up in every topic. As for Robin, he wasn't paying any attention to it. He was back being all serious and broody. Or as she'd like to say it, he was back in 'leader mode'.

And Life had come to the conclusion that she hated it. Robin was supposed to be a fun loving and care free kind of guy. Not serious and scowling.

Not like Batman.

Swinging her legs, Death drummed her fingers on the ledge she was sitting on. She looked over her shoulder, silver eyes falling on Superboy. The clone was leaning against the building's wall, his features hard as a rock and his arms crossed over his muscular chest.

"If Interpol's already on this, why are we bothering?" He questioned grimly, his deep voice echoing in everyone's minds.

Robin responded gruffly."Because Batman said so," The magician could imagine him shooting Superboy a burning look from where he was perched. "Why? You had something better to do?"

Blowing air from the side of her mouth, Death peered down the building, only to see empty streets. "Yeah, Superboy." She smirked, glancing over the clone from her shoulder. "If Batman says shave your head then we all have to do it." She snickered in the psyche link, the corner of the clone's lips pulling upwards into a small smile.

Miss Martian began worriedly, "How're you feeling?" She asked softly, and Robin grunted. "Lousy," He answered honestly, and Death bit her lip. "But I'll manage." He assured them all, but Life wasn't quite convinced.

"You can really sit this one out," Death frowned down at the street, "We can manage it from here." She told him, deflating when Robin snorted in answer.

And then all of a sudden, pain pricked the sides of her head. Her brows furrowed, throat growing dry as her legs started to ache. The magician's muscles stiffened, the environment around her so cold that she began to shiver.

The world spun, her breaths heavy as she began to lean ahead into empty space, separating herself from the ledge of the building. But before she could fall, two strong hands clasped on her arms, pulling her back on the ledge, her head lulling behind and landing on a strong yet soft chest.

"Are you okay?" Superboy asked anxiously, peering down into grey orbs.

Death whimpered, pulling her knees and arms closer to herself. She shivered, pushing her small frame more into the clone's body in a weak attempt to get some body heat.

Robin's voice rang in their heads, "What's wrong?"

"It's Death," Superboy replied, the magician trembling in his arms as she began to sweat bullets. "I think she's caught the bug."

Artemis scowled, "I told you not to wander around." The blonde scolded, but Robin cut in their thoughts. "How is she?" He asked grimly.

Superboy slid his hand over Death's forehead, wiping away the beads of sweat. "She's hot." Her body temperature was so high, he could feel it. The magician chuckled weakly, "Wally's the one who usually says that, y'know?" She joked, trembling as sweat rolled down her head.

Nobody bothered to respond to her weak humor, and Red Arrow inquired. "She has a fever?"

"Yeah. A really bad one."

Death could picture the archer smirking, "I'm pretty sure she caught it from Robin," There was a hidden taunt in his voice. "Right, rabbit?"

Her cheeks burned an impressive shade of red on getting what he was trying to point out. She opened her mouth to hiss a 'shut up' but a cold wind blew, the words dying on her tongue and she gave a small gasp, pushing herself more into Superboy.

"What? Bird got your tongue?" Red Arrow smirked smugly.

Black Canary's protégé flushed, groaning mentally. "This is revenge, isn't it?" She questioned dryly.

Though, before the archer could respond, Superboy quickly interrupted. "Contact: North-East quadrant." He informed, pulling Death back from the ledge, releasing her when she stood up straight.

She took a step ahead, her gaze dipping downwards and faintly made out the figure of a man flipping over the warehouse's wired fence and gracefully landing on the other side, then quickly ran inside.

"Well, it looks like we know why Carlo missed a performance."

Death buckled her knees slightly, getting ready to hop off as Robin spoke through the mental-link. "Could be Carlo, could be his brother." He mused, "Keep an open mind and move in."

Parting her lips for a spell, Robin quickly interrupted her. "Death," He piped up, and she paused. "Stay where you are." The boy wonder ordered as they all rushed into the warehouse.

The dark magician scrunched her face up into a snarl, "Yeah, right." She grumbled, jumping off the ledge, not noticing Superboy who stood back.

"Etativel em nwod." Death chanted, her whole body going weightless as she slowly began to float towards the ground.

But then her head spun, the air supporting her giving away, and she managed to give out a gasp of surprise, falling down from the building. Sucking in a deep breath, she squeezed her eyes shut, readying herself for the painful hit with the ground. Her eyes snapped back open when two arms slid beneath her knees and back. She looked upwards, grey eyes meeting blue ones.

"Thanks for the save, Supes." Death gave a tight smile, then blinked, realizing something. "Superboy, are you... flying?"

His feet touching the ground, the clone gently placed her down, avoiding the quizzical look being send his way. "I think my powers are improving," Superboy told her quietly, and Death smiled brightly, placing a hand on his arm.

"That's great, Superboy!" She cheered.

Blue eyes softening, he managed to give a small smile as well. Tossing him a smirk, Death made her way towards the others, the half kryptonian right behind her.

As they neared their teammates, the fever began its work and Death staggered for a second, feeling absolutely dizzy when she finally reached the others. Robin shot her a glare, Artemis scowling behind him.

"I ordered you to stay there." He glowered at her. Death crossed her arms over her chest, glaring and a snappy reply on the tip of her tongue when Superboy piped up, blue eyes narrowed as he glared at the warehouse.

He turned to Robin, "The warehouse."

The young hacker instantly nodded, signaling everyone else. The teenagers quickly bolted inside the warehouse, quietly landing on the upper floor of the building, waiting for the thief to strike.

Red Arrow and Artemis notched up arrows in their quivers, taking aim. Death glanced over at Red Arrow, drawing out her knives as a slight crack echoed in the air, the thief busy in taking out some kind of technology from the crates on the lower floor.

Death flashed Robin a glare, the boy releasing a cackle, alarming the masked thief who whirled around, narrowing his eyes as he saw them standing up on the floor, weapons already aimed and ready to be fired.

"Caught red handed!" The boy wonder smirked, fists placed on his hips. "Red faced too, I'll bet!"

Artemis had the string of her quiver stretched dangerously "Acrobatics won't get you out of this."

Death found her blood running cold for a second, eyes widening as sauce pans as the black aura around the masked thief came in her vision. This wasn't possible. Her grip on the daggers tightened, heart hammering in her chest as she unbelievingly stared at him.

Only dark magicians had black auras.

Without wasting a second, she had lashed out her daggers, her teammates throwing her shocked looks. The daggers weren't intended to hurt him, they were to pierce through his sleeves and pin him to the ground.

The thief narrowed his eyes into slits. "Hsinav!" He shouted out, and the charging daggers bursted into small clouds of smoke, disappearing.

Death gawked at him, trying to process what had just occurred as the man pulled out a flare and blew hard on it, releasing a swirl of fiery red flames towards them. They all swiftly dodged, finding shelter behind some boxes.

He was a dark magician.

He was a freaking dark magician that were supposed to be dead!

Death sat on the ground, leaning against the enormous boxes as fire flickered behind them. She was still in shock when Red Arrow yelled in the psyche link. "Those crates are full of live ammo. Move!" He shouted, and sweat trickled down her face, dropping from her chin as she breathed hard.

A large hand clamped down on her shoulder, giving her a violent shake. "Why aren't you running?!" Red Arrow hissed furiously, glaring down at her. His red eyebrows knitted together as she pulled her head upwards, sweating and panting.

"Can't... M-move..." Death uttered, voice dry as sandpaper. Her legs were aching, her head was spinning, and God, the flu was killing her as she felt her body break slowly. She flinched when he scooped her up in his arms and began to run towards the others.

Shivering, the dark haired girl squeezed her eyes shut as she buried her face in his chest. There was the sickening sound of flames crackling around them, and then there was huge explosion. The sounds of things bursting and blowing up remained for a few seconds before slowly ceasing, the only sounds audible being the furious red flames that were spreading rapidly.

"You think you can stand?"

Death cracked an eye open, Red Arrow looking down at her. She swallowed, nodding as her gaze remained locked with the whites of his domino mask. Gently placing her down, the archer grabbed her arm when she almost collapsed again.

As she straighted herself, Superboy's furious hiss rang against her ears. "That guy is dead meat!" The clone punched his palm, eyes promising murder as he stepped ahead. "Superboy, no!" Robin yelled, giving shoulder to a very weak looking Miss Martian. "We need to get her out."

"He's getting away!"

"Does that really matter more than Miss M?" Robin inquired bitterly, "The fire's killing her!"

Superboy blinked, worry clear on his face as he looked over at the emerald-skinned girl. "... Right." He replied, taking Miss Martian into his arms.

Watching him run outside with her, Robin stumbled forward and Death stared worriedly as he could barely walk a step. "Artemis, Arrow!" He threw her a worried glance, then continued. "Find the thief and–" A groan left his mouth as he collasped onto his knees.

"Because he matters more than you?" Artemis inquired sarcastically, leaning down to help the boy up. Red Arrow hooked his arm with his, Artemis grabbing onto his shoulder. "You're still off your game, pal. We're getting you out too." The ginger said, glancing over his shoulder to Death.

She stumbled forward, allowing him to clasp a hand around her shoulder as they all quickly trekked out of the burning warehouse.

---

It was so early in the morning but they were all still up, watching Haly bicker away with the white-haired man. Life wasn't paying much attention to them, her head was pounding as she stood leaning against the wall, her teammates voices echoing in her head.

Apparently the guy with the white-hair was Faraday, an agent who had been following the number of robberies that were occurring during the whole circus trip in many factories that made high technology.

Life wasn't worried about it that much. She was more worried about the fact that the thief was a dark magician quite like her.

As Haly was busy describing how he had checked each and every cabin of his workers last night, Megan mused. "Well, we sure weren't." The redhead piped up.

Artemis agreed with her, "And if he's lying about us…" She trailed off, giving rise to the idea that the ringmaster was indeed, behind the robberies going on.

Life pursed her lips, attention focused on Dick who frowned at her thought. Running her hand through her sweaty locks, she walked forward and paused at his side. He turned to look at her, the corners of his lips quirked downwards, his blue eyes sad and miserable.

And she was trying her very best not to feed on his misery.

Glancing at the others, the magician hesitantly brushed her hand against his, biting her lip to hide a smile as he quickly tangled his fingers with hers. "Sono qui per te.*" She whispered in Italian.

Silver eyes sparkled as she looked up, only to see him smiling as he squeezed her hand with affection, ocean blue eyes again bright and twinkling.

Though Life didn't bother pulling her hand away when he didn't release it, and they all stalked towards their wagon.

She didn't want to let go either.

---

"That guy was a dark magician," Life plopped down on the seats, sitting beside Dick. He switched on his holographic computer, typing away as Roy quirked an eyebrow.

"I thought you were the only dark magician alive."

"I thought that too," Life replied, crossing her legs and looked over the others. "But you guys saw how he used a spell. He's like me!"

"Are you sure he's a dark magician. Not a trickster or something?" Conner inquired from her, ignoring the burning look she awarded him with. "Dark magicians have black auras. I saw it around him." Life growled, squinting her eyes slightly as her head began to ache again.

Artemis concluded, "So he's a meta?" She mused, but stared worriedly as her sibling gave a low groan.

Megan stole the words right out of her mouth. "Are you okay?" The Martian bit her lip, worry written over her face.

"No, I'm not." Life answered honestly, sighing heavily as she closed her eyes for a brief second and then opening them as her lips curled up into a coy smirk, settling her gaze on Batman's protégé. "But I'll manage."

A smirk touched Dick's lips as he continued typing over his holographic computer.

Roy coughed in his fist, smirking when Life flashed him a glare.

Artemis brought everyone back on topic, "So two thieves, right? The fire breather and one of the acrobats." The blonde counted them off, glancing at Life and pursing her lips. "And of them is a meta-human."

Clicking on a few keys, a hologram popped up and Dick began explaining. "Maybe not just two. Here's the Madrid video footage and now Paris." The video presented a man bending bars of metal, and then a second one showed another man walking over the telephone lines.

"The strong man and the clown too," Roy scowled, arms crossed over his chest. "If the entire circus is involved, Haly himself may be the mastermind."

Dick shot the archer a glare. "You don't know that."

Megan turned to him, bouncing her shoulders. "It would explain his lies."

Life shared a worried glance with Artemis as Dick's jaw clenched, shooting up on his feet. "I told you to keep an open mind!" The boy snapped, whirling around and storming off outside.

Chewing the insides of her cheeks, Life instantly hopped off her seat. "I'll go talk to him." She completely ignored the smirk Roy threw her way as she walked out of the compartment.

The cold winter air greeted her, and Life shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. Rubbing them in hope that she might get some heat, she stalked ahead, pulling her heads upwards. "Stupid wind," She grumbled, shivering as pain started to prick the sides of her head again.

"Stupid flu, stupid thief, stupid–"

Her eyes soon landed on a figure walking ahead of her, and she broke into a jog. "Di–uh... Dan!" She yelled out, running towards him.

Dick shifted his weight to the other foot, fists buried in the pockets of his jacket as he looked at her. He blinked as she finally reached him, hands on her knee caps as she tried to catch her breath. Life sucked in as much air as she could, legs trembling and head pounding with pain.

"It's cold out here," The Romani glowered, reaching forward and softly grabbed her arm. "You're gonna get more sick."

She pushed his hand off, straightening up. "Don't listen to Roy," Life told him softly, "He's just an idiot." She frowned on hearing him give out a sigh, fixing the snow covered ground with a glare. "He thinks Haly's behind this all." Dick scowled deeply and then whipped his head to her. "You don't believe him... Do you?" He inquired hopefully.

Life blinked, absorbing the question he'd asked. A smile touched her lips, and she answered. "Of course, not." The dark magician spoke softly, smile widening on seeing his tensed body relax.

Grin tugging her lips, Life shrugged. "Plus, firecrotch's a hot-head. He always jumps to conclusions." She smirked cockily, gently socking him in the arm. "And anyway, I'm right here for you, remember?" She reminded, propping her hands on her hips.

Dick smiled, rubbing his arm. "Yeah," He grinned, taking a step closer, hand reaching forward to lift her chin up. Blood rushing up to her cheeks, Life blushed as he leaned forward to kiss her. Though, the boy wonder's eyes fluttered open as a hand clamped over his lips, and he blinked at her.

Life raised an eyebrow, "I don't want you catching that flu again."

Narrowing his eyes, Dick swatted her hand away. "You think you caught it from me?" He gave a pressing look, crossing his arms over his chest.

The dark magician puckered her lips up in thought, looking aside. "Pshh... No." She answered innocently, not noticing the way the acrobat scowled. She gave a sheepish grin, clasping her hands behind her back as she bounced her shoulders.

"I mean, you might get it from me and if someone sees us they'll probably think some incest is going on so we shou–mmph!"

Her sentence was cut short as two hands cupped her cheeks and Dick captured her lips into a kiss. Unconsciously releasing a blissful sigh, Life dropped her hands to her sides, eyes fluttering close as she kissed him back, legs suddenly feeling like jelly.

Finally running out of air, the two pulled back, chest heaving. The Romani smirked, amusingly watching the dreamy look in the magician's eyes and the goofy smile spread on her lips. Though, realization knocked her on the head, and the daze in those silver orbs was instantly replaced by a glare.

She slapped him upside-down the head. "Don't cut me off when I'm talking to you!" Life scolded, folding her arms over her chest, glaring as he rolled his eyes, the smirk firmly plastered on his face.

The raven huffed as Dick kissed her cheek, grinning as her face burned an impressive shade of red. "Get back inside." He told her, taking a step ahead. "I'll be right back."

Not even waiting for her answer, he had started to walk off. The dark magician scowled, turning around and began to stalk towards their compartment. She brushed her fingers tips over her lips, only to find them warm from the kiss. Cheeks flushing slightly, Life released a frustrated groan, running her hands through her hair but then the ends of her lips twitched upwards into a smile.

She could get used to this.

---

Artemis crouched down on the large bags, a glass of water in her hand. "Are you feeling any better?" She asked, handing the glass to her.

Pressing its rim against her lips, Life closed her eyes, slurping the water down in one breath. "Yeah," She breathed, rubbing her knuckles against her chin, wiping away the sweat. "I'm feeling a little better."

The pretty blonde took the glass from her, "Can't you spot the thief?" She whispered to her, and Life shifted uncomfortably. "I can't. My powers are fluctuating."

Artemis stared disbelievingly at her before looking around, finding everyone busy in their own work. "How can that happen?"

"I think it's because of the flu," Life answered, frowning as she placed her elbows on her knees. "But I can get them back if I..." She trailed off, cursing her big mouth when Artemis gave a concerned look.

"If you what?"

Life deflated, locking gazes with the taller girl. "I can always use other people's misery to get more power. Dark magicians feed on sorrow. But..." She gave a heavy sigh, burying her face in her hands.

The blonde placed a hand on her shoulder. "But?" She asked softly, golden eyebrows knitting together as Life looked up at her, a frown gracing her features. "It's just... wrong. It's wrong to use others sadness to make yourself stronger. It makes me feel bad."

"You girls need a little help?"

The two tilted their heads up, grey eyes falling on Ray, the blonde smiling softly. Artemis looped an arm around the youngest shoulders, "Yeah. Devon's kinda caught that flu." She pulled Life closer, Ray's smile morphing into a smirk as he cocked his head to the side.

Jack Haly's voice boomed around them, "Hurry! We're leaving for Geneva!" The circus owner yelled, climbing up the train.

Ray turned to the young heroines, his gaze dipping downwards and landing on the dark magician. For some reason, Life found her skin crawling as he shot her a friendly smile. "You two go ahead. I'll put the luggage in."

Artemis nodded, helping the raven haired girl up and stalked over to the train. As the two stepped in, Life began. "Is it just me? Or is Ray kinda creepy?"

"Ray, the roustabout?" The blonde teen arched an eyebrow, "Yeah, he is creepy." Artemis agreed as they both walked into their compartment.

They were greeted by a sight of Megan lying over the seats, sweat shining on her forehead and looking awfully sick. Conner sat by her head, worriedly staring at the Martian while Roy stood leaning against the wall, engaged in a conversation with Dick.

Artemis brought her attention to Dick. "You look better," She commented, Dick nodding in reply. "I feel better." He cocked his head to the side, throwing a smile to Life, the girl instantly smiling back.

Puzzled, Artemis's gaze curiously swept over her sibling and then came back to Dick, him looking down at Megan. "I'm sorry M-Dawn," He apologized. "Hope you didn't catch it from me."

"Or me." Life added, sympathetically staring at the scarlet haired beauty.

"I feel so silly," Megan groaned in pain, "Who knew a Martian could be vulnerable to a human virus?"

"Uh… H.G. Wells?" Robin offered jokingly, everyone sending him perplexed looks.

Life quirked an eyebrow, placing a hand on her cocked hip. "Who's H.G Wells?" She inquired confusingly.

Conner instaly piped up from his seat. "H.G Wells was a novelist who once wrote a novel in which Martians came to invade the Earth. The Martians were the main antagonists in the book. They used different alien technology to exterminate the human race. But the Martians were vulnerable to human virus and started to die because of different diseases." The clone told them all, receiving surprised looks.

Dick gave him a lopesided smile. "Uh... Thanks for explaining it, Supes."

Life snorted, stiffling a giggle. "Talk about a human encyclopedia." She grinned, not paying much notice when Conner shot her a glare.

"When did you first start feeling sick?" Batman's protégé quickly changed the topic, attention fully focused on Megan.

"Just after boarding the train," Megan answered weakly. "It came on suddenly."

His eyebrows knitting together, Dick pondered. "Same with me the other night," He mused, looking towards his teammates. "I remember Ray rubbed my head for good luck right before we went on."

Life rubbed her arm, "I bumped into him last night."

"Ray?" Conner echoed. "That roustabout? He touched her before we boarded." He remembered the blonde, a scowl gracing his features. "The guy must be a walking petri dish."

Dick nodded thoughtfully "Yeah, maybe." The others were surprised as he quickly ran out, nearly stumbling into the front wall.

Life exchanged a glance with Artemis, walking outside to find Dick busy in talking with Haly, the man telling him about how Ray was also suffering from the flu.

Artemis tossed him a smile, "We'll go check on him," She said, everyone gathering beside her. "It's the least we can do." She smiled sweetly, Life smirking at her side as the ringmaster nodded happily.

As they all walked ahead, Life blinked on seeing Megan joining them as well. "Dawn, you should be in bed." She said softly, the ginger turning around, amber eyes meeting silver ones.

"I'm managing." Megan smirked, and Life couldn't help but grin as they all entered Ray's compartment.

The compartment was dark and messy, the bed empty and the blonde man was nowhere in sight. The guy was sick. He should have stayed in bed.

"Where'd he go?" Life asked loudly, Artemis brushing pass her.

Roy walked forward, nearing an enormous box labeled as elephant food. "Does this circus have an elephant that I don't know about?" He questioned amusingly.

"Not on foreign tours," Dick looked at him.

The archer lifted the box open, finding it empty. He reached forward, tracing his finger inside its surface before pulling it out and turning to the others. "Ash." He deadpanned, his fingertip covered with the black substance.

Dick's eyes widened. "The warehouse fire back in Bruges."

"Uh... guys?" Artemis's voice rang against their ears and when they looked at her, she pulled out something from beneath the mattress. "I found Ray." She informed, Ray's face mask in her hands.

Life gave a disgusted look.

That was just wrong.

"Split up!" Dick ordered. "Search the whole train!"

They all parted ways, running through the train to find anything bizarre going on. Opening a door to a cart, Life sped inside and for the first time during the whole day, she felt relaxed and quite good.

"Guys, I think my powers are back!" She declared through the mind-link. Though, her brows furrowed when no answer came. "Guys?" Life came to a hault, wondering why no one was answering her.

The com-link in her ear burst into life, Dick's voice filling her in. "Dane, Dean, Diane, Devon. Come in!" The dark haired boy called out, "We're chasing someone who's stolen Dawn's act. Her whole shtick if you catch my drift."

Despite knowing he couldn't see her, she nodded, increasing her speed as she threw open another door. The magician slammed into a bare chest, but before she could land on her bottom, a strong hand clasped over her wrist pulling her back up again.

Roy's gaze met hers, Artemis appearing behind him.

"I got him," Conner yelled into their com-links. "But he's onto me. Exiting the dining cart now. He's gone topside!"

Without wasting a second, they had all bolted for the cart's exit. Conner gave a low growl. "There's no way to run clown." He threatened, and Artemis threw her and Roy a incredulous look. "The clown's behind this all?" She inquired as they bolted out of the cart.

"That's no clown! That's Parasite!" Dick snarled in the link, and the way their was the sound of air rushing behind him, gave rise to the idea that he was already on the train's roof.

Grunting slightly, Life climbed up the cart, carefully standing over the train's roof, the archers not far behind. She stumbled a bit, her hair being whipped over her face as the strong air was coming from behind her.

Eyes widening, she stared in surprise as an ugly looking creature stood before her; wearing the clothes of a clown and his body looking like purple mud. She wondered if he was related to Clayface.

Conner stood closer to Parasite, more furious than usual.

"Stay out of his reach!" Dick warned them all. "There's no flu going around! The weakness comes when he makes visible contact and feeds off the powers and abilities of others."

Life chewed on her lower lip, squinting her eyes to find a familiar dark aura surrounding him. "He stole my powers?" She breathed unbelievingly, Artemis and Roy pausing behind her, quivers and arrows already in their grasps.

"I have been a bit of a glutton today," Parasite admitted. "Chowed down on the skills of nearly every loser in this troupe. But oh my," He sighed blissfully, a smirk curling his muddly purple lips. "The pièce de résistance was Dawn Danger, or whatever her real name I'd munch on her trapeze skills. Imagine my surprise when she tasted like Martian Manhunter instead, mhmmm. Then there was Devon Danger," He grinned wickedly, focusing his gaze on Life.

The magician snapped her fingers, her crossbow instantly appearing in her hands.

Parasite licked his lips, "She tasted a lot like Klarion." He remembered the witch boy, the girl's blood boiling as she took aim at him. "Chaotic. Dangerous. Evil." The villain counted them off, running his tongue over his bottom lip. "It was good."

He fixed his gaze on Conner, eyes twinkling with greed. "The two made great appetizers but guess who I want for my entrée?" Parasite reached forward, telepathically lifting the clone up and pulling him towards him.

Conner growled as Parasite placed his hand over his face, absorbing his powers. "Mhmm... Now that's the full bodied Kryptonian flavour I love!" He chuckled, throwing the dark haired boy back.

"Everyone, stay whelmed!" Dick shouted, Megan standing beside him. "Subdue but keep your distance!" He commanded, Roy and Artemis drawing back their arrows to shoot while Life fixed arrows in her crossbow.

Parasite smirked, red lasers shooting out of his eyes and hitting the quivers and crossbow, melting them in seconds.

Giving himself a boost, Parasite flew up in the air, the crates levitating behind him. Dick performed a flip, using the crates as leverage to jump after him. He clung onto him for a second, and the villain laughed. "Sorry. No hitchackers." Parasite hurled a punch his way, sending the boy soaring to the side of the train.

The boy wonder swiftly grabbed the roof's end, dangling off the side as the train whistled loudly.

"Ykans epor!" Life yelled out a spell, a long black rope appearing in her hands. Giving its loop a whirl, she flung it in the air, grimacing as it caught Parasite's foot. But the villain continued flying up towards the dark sky, and Life tightened her hold on the rope.

Her eyes widened as the rope stretched, a gasp of surprise escaping her parched lips when her feet left the train's roof with a jerk. Two strong hands clasped around her ankles, and Roy grunted, desperately trying to pull Life back.

Narrowing her eyes, the dark magician felt her body being ripped apart by two opposite forces; Parasite pulling her forward, and Roy pulling her backwards. And God, this was painful!

Whirling around, Parasite glowered at her but then a twinkle came in his eyes, lips curling upwards into a smirk. The crates hovering around him, he held his arm out and Life's heart skipped a beat on feeling a force compress her arms together.

Drawing his arm back, Parasite smirked as he levitated the dark magician up to himself. Glaring daggers, she opened her mouth to yell a spell when he clamped a hand over it, his fingers digging into her cheeks.

He tipped his head back with a happy sigh, and her whole body went numb, the power being sucked out of her. Parasite kicked in the air, the rope around his foot falling down. Life's grip on it loosened, and she dropped it as well, silver eyes rolling back in head with pain.

"Mhmm..." He hummed, pleased and then snapped his head at her, grinning wickedly. "I just love desserts."

The large muddy hand over her mouth tightened its hold before throwing her forward. The wind knocked out of her, Life was sent soaring back to the train's roof, her side painfully sliding over it as she neared its end.

The train was passing over a tall bridge, and the raven paled as she fell, but then a hand shot forward, grabbing hers. Life whipped her head up, heart pounding against her ribcage as her gaze came across Dick's.

"I've got you!" He shouted over the sound of roaring engine.

One hand gripping the train's edge while the other holding onto her, the acrobat tried his very best to swing her back up but she was too heavy and– Was her hand slipping?!

Beads of sweat glistening over her forehead, Life shivered, the Romani snapping his head down to look at her, fear waving in those blue orbs and eyebrows furrowed. "Life!" He yelled, "Don't let go!"

Shivers ran down her spine, and Life nodded, throat dry and head spinning. She wasn't going to admit it, but she was afraid; so very afraid. They were literally dangling off the side of a train, the ground several feet away from them.

The world started to spin again, and she felt dizzy. Dick's hand was so sweaty but it was still warm while she was cold, shivering and sweating. Megan reached forward, taking a hold of the boy wonder's wrist as she attempted to pull him up, but the two were very heavy for her to pull.

Her hand began to slip, and Dick worriedly stared at her. "Don't. Let. Go." He growled, tightening his grasp as he felt her grip was loosening.

Stomach dropping, Life peered up, grey eyes filled with fear as her hand slid out from his grasp. She watched his eyes go wide as marbles, fear dawning over his face as she fell down.

"Life!"

That scream sounded like it belonged to Mg'ann.

The air whistled in her ears, sweat rolling off her chin and Life squeezed her eyes shut as she fell down the bridge. She never imagined her death like this. She was supposed to graduate, get a job, get married, have kids and lead a happy life. Not die because a power absorbing monster threw her a train.

Not like this.

Something caught her foot, her whole body coming to a hault with a violent jerk. She stared up, finding it to be one of Robin's grappling hooks. Its strong wire was coiled around her ankle, her teammates trying to pull her up. Though a shriek erupted from her lips as the train continued to run forward on the track, making her swing behind it.

What was this? Let's all save Life's life week?!

Now basically she had two options. One; crash into the nearby cliff because the train was nearing it. Two; wait for her friends to somehow pull her back to safety. She couldn't go with one. And there wasn't much time for option two. So she did what she thought was right.

Desperate times did call for desperate measures.

Life squeezed her eyes shut, tracing the misery in the air around her, feeding on it. And surprisingly, she found tons of it.

A bird was crying as a snake devoured her children.

A woman was grieving over her son who had committed suicide.

A girl was sobbing as her parents were shot infront of her eyes.

That was all sorrow. It was all sadness. All pain but it was so good. So yummy and amazing. Her muscles tensed, magic filling up every fibre of her body. And Life yelled a spell at the top of her lungs.

"Llup em up!"

The contents in her stomach churned, gasping as the rope pulled her up with a strong force. Life almost felt that her leg nearly got ripped out as she was yanked upwards like a doll. Within seconds, she landed on the train's roof, breaths heavy and heart beating like a drum in her chest.

She finally caught her breath, burying her face in the crook of Artemis's neck when the blonde embraced her in a hug. "I thought we lost you for a second," She heard the archer whisper, pulling her closer to herself.

"I'm fine." The dark magician assured breathlessly, eyes landing on Dick, the boy staring worriedly at her, face pale and muscles tensed. She forced a soft smile, and the Romani released a small breath of relief.

Artemis helped Life up, and then swatted the back of her head. "You gave me a heart attack!"

But before she could reply, Roy interrupted her. "You sure you're okay?" He looked down at her, the rushing wind making his red hair a mess.

"I've had worse." Life shrugged, Dick scowling as he stepped forward. "We need to hurry. Parasite's ahead of us."

They all nodded, turning around just to see Conner pushing himself up on his feet. The clone looked awfully weak, stumbling slightly as he straightened up. Megan ran over to him, "Conner!" She called out with concern, touching his arm.

The krptonian dusted himself off, jerking his arm away from her reach. "I'm fine. I'm fine." He assured her, blue eyes matching Dick's as he walked over to him.

"You're drained!" Dick told him. "Parasite took more power than you have." He gave Conner a puzzled look. "Heat vision?" He asked loudly, unsure how the clone had gotten access to the power.

"I have the genetic potential for it," Conner quickly replied. "Must've been enough for him." He offered, scowling as the boy wonder groaned with frustration, brushing past him, the others following suit as they all climbed back inside.

---

"Evig su ruo semutsoc!"

The spell echoed, dark black smoke breathing out from the wooden floor and engulfing them all. Death smiled proudly, plopping down beside Artemis as the smoke cleared, leaving everyone in costume.

"That was... strange." Red Arrow commented, giving her a look and Death crossed her legs, leaning back in her seat. "Nuh uh. It was magical." She corrected with a smirk, folding her arms behind her head.

Miss Martian blinked. "You got your powers back?"

Her eyes widening slightly, Death looked aside. "Uh, yeah." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously, Artemis frowning beside her.

The blonde knew how she'd got them back.

Opening her mouth to further question, Miss Martian was rudely interrupted by Robin. "It's not a complete debacle," Robin announced, holding up a blue flash drive. "I picked Parasite's pocket," He told them all, a cocky smirk coming to his lips. "Got this flash drive."

The teenagers watched as he attached it to his gauntlet, a bluish holographic screen popping up. "Looks like Parasite's working for Intergang," Batman's protégé read aloud. "Everything he's stolen, they're all pieces of something. They're putting together a weapon that generates…" The lenses of his mask widened. "Black holes!"

"Oh, come on!" Red Arrow scoffed, "To build that you need a particle accelerator."

"Like the large boson collider in Geneva?" Robin offered with a growl.

Brows furrowing, Death cocked her head at him. "Isn't that where the circus's next stop?" She asked, Red Arrow nodding. "Yeah, and since Parasite can fly now, he's got a big head start on us!"

Miss Martian and Death frowned, "Sorry." The two apologized, sadly staring at the floor.

"It's not your fault," Robin assured them, standing up. "But this thing could wipe out entire cities!" He deadpanned, looking at his teammates. "We need to hurry."

"You and I need to hurry." Red Arrow corrected him, reaching up towards the shelf and pulled out his bow. "Without powers, the others will hold us back."

"Hey!" Artemis pulled out a green crossbow. "You're not the only one with a backup bow." She smirked, getting up from her seat. Death leapt up to her feet, smirking cockily. "So it's settles then. We're all heading for Geneva." She declared, not noticing Robin's glare.

"Correction. We're all heading for Geneva. You and Miss M are staying here." The boy wonder glared, crossing his arms over his chest.

She turned to him, glaring back. "Oh! I am comi—" A hand clamped onto her shoulder, Artemis stepping beside her. "Robin's right," The pretty blonde agreed, "You should stay here."

"But I don't want to—"

"You nearly died." Robin deadpanned, and Death flashed him a murderous glare. "Yeah, nearly!" She snapped before locking gazes with Artemis. "But I can still help!"

The archer glared, parting her lips to knock some sense into the raven's thick skull when Superboy grunted, slamming his fist into the side wall. "My powers are back." The clone declared, Miss Martian getting up, sending him puzzled looks. "How?" She asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Death crossed her arms over her chest, jutting her hip out. "And was it necessary to show us that by punching a wall?" She inquired sarcastically, gesturing towards the wall that held a descent sized hole in it.

"Was it necessary to change our costumes with a spell?" He fired back, glaring at her. "We could've changed by ourselves." He snapped, Death awarding him with a furious glare as he turned to the others.

"I guess, Kryptonians recover faster than humans and Martians." He offered nervously, rubbing his arm before glancing at Death. "And dark magicians." He added grimly.

Miss Martian placed her hands on her hips, red lips pulling upwards into a smirk. "Don't even think about leaving me behind."

Seeing that none of them was agreeing on staying behind, Robin deflated. "Fine. We're all going." He stated, the martian and magician smiling, pleased by his statement.

---

|GENEVA

|December 24, 00:37 CET

Outside the enormous factory, lay a number of guards, all beaten up and bruised. Kneeling down, Robin brushed his fingers against ones shoulder, scowling when the man groaned.

"Trail of destruction," He narrowed his eyes, his teammates right behind him.

Rubbing her arm, Death sucked in a silent breath, humming quietly as she felt her body absorb the pain the guards were suffering from. Her eyes snapped open, realizing hitting her and she curled her hands into fists.

"Conceal it. Don't feel it." She murmured to herself, jaw clenching.

Superboy seemed to hear her, and he tossed her a perplexed look. And just when he was about to ask, Robin shot to his feet. "This way!" He grimaced, breaking into a run, the others swiftly following him inside the factory.

He clicked a few keys on his holographic computer, guiding them behind a number of metal pipes. The computer's screen showed a video of Parasite, the villain busy in activating the enormous machine in the centre of the large room.

His masked eyes glued to the screen, Robin began. "We need to take him down," He whispered to them all . "Or at least lure him away long enough to disengage the—"

But then he was rudely interrupted by a roar of anger, Superboy charging ahead and busting through the water pipes. "Superboy, no!" The boy wonder hissed after him, but the clone didn't bother to listen, bolting towards Parasite.

Death stared, watching the kryptonian pounce on the muddy monster as Red Arrow tightened his grip on his bow, growling. "What's wrong with—" Miss Martian cut him short, placing a hand on his shoulder, amber irises sparkling.

"Wait!"

They all crowded back inside, the Martian girl quickly explaining the plan as Superboy was tossed back and forth outside. They all carefully listened to the plan, thunder roaring and lightening clapping from outside the factory as the machine continued its work.

Parasite's voice echoed around them, "Alright Dangers. Come on out! Only a couple minutes before this baby's done warming up and eats Geneva."

Miss Martian bit her lip, curiously looking over them all. "What do you think?" She inquired about her plan, Red Arrow snorting in reply. "Big risk to take on a theory," He said icily.

Robin pursed his lips, all eyes turning to him for a command. He looked up, giving a firm nod. "Do it. Go!" He ordered, the teenagers separating pathways according to the plan.

Stepping up, Miss Martian propped her hands onto her hips. "So what do you have against Geneva, anyway?" She inquired, smirking.

Death glanced over the room, gaze landing on a couple of old crates lying in the corner. She readied herself for a spell, watching as Parasite levitated Miss Martian towards himself. The emerald-skinned girl was quick, swiftly ducking his fist and sweeping at his feet.

He lost his balance, landing on the ground with a huge thud. Death gave out a breath, bringing her hands in the air. "Kcatta mih!" She ordered, Parasite raising an eyebrow as the crates came charging towards him.

Not even bothering to get up, he casted a spell. "Og kcab!" The crates paused in mid-air, then dashed back with full speed.

Grey eyes widening, Death ran to her right, flipping over and ducking beneath the enormous crates. She skidded right infront of him, a growl escaping her throat as Parasite smirked, a wicked gleam coming into his eyes.

"Looks like it's time for dessert," He chuckled, slowly getting up.

Death snorted, placing her fists on her hips. "This dessert's gonna give you a stomachache!" She sneered smugly, an arrow flying towards him and trapping in purplish foam.

"Foam?!" He sounded unamused, glaring up at Red Arrow. "You think foam can hold me!?" He hissed, eyes flashing green as his fist broke through it. "Or stop me from crushing you with a thought?" The man taunted, curling his fingers while telepathically lifting Red Arrow up, the archer giving out a gasp of pain as he felt his bones being crushed by an invisible force.

"Combined Martian, Magician and Kryptonian powers here!"

Robin decided to take part in the conversation. "But do any of those powers break you free before I sabotage your death thingy?" The acrobat asked sarcastically, hacking into the machine.

Despite the critical situation, Death appeared right beside him. "Death thingy?" She raised an eyebrow, highly amused. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"Hello? Trying to save Geneva here!" Robin casted her a glare, fingers running over the keyboard.

Parasite glowered at them, "Quiet!" He ordered, furious as he shot lasers at the two. Reacting instantly, Robin launched forward, knocking himself and the magicain to the floor.

Her back hitting the cold floor, Death tilted her head up, white lenses peering down at her. "Wow," She commented, amused. "Don't you think we're going a bit too fast?" She asked casually, grinning as Robin glared at her.

Artemis stepped out from her hiding spot, releasing an arrow. The arrow exploded, emitting gas all around Parasite. Whipping her head at him, Death smirked. "Etingi a kraps."

A spark lit up near him, causing the gas to catch fire. Surprised by the flames, Parasite stumbled back, releasing Red Arrow who was suspended in the air. The archer landed beside Artemis, groaning as he hit the ground.

"So clever," Parasite growled, getting up between the fire. "Trick me into igniting flammable gas." He snarled, a smirk curling the corners of his mouth. "But you forgot, doofus's double dose of invulnerability."

Death smiled as Robin helped her up, both of them focusing their attention to Parasite who had started to pant. "Fire… can't… touch me." His words came out as a slur, chest heaving as beads of sweat appeared on his muddy forehead.

"Unless you make a meal of my powers." Miss Martian walked forward, glaring at him, "And get my weaknesses as a side dish!" She snapped, the villain collapsing to his knees. "No!" He cried out in pain, the fire making him weak.

He began to chant a spell, "Evig em reta—"

"Gag mih!" Death cut him short.

And suddenly, a gag was pushed inside his mouth, tightening around his cheeks. He brought his hands up to pull it off, but the fire around him caused his eyes to roll back in his head, his whole body hitting the floor as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Miss Martian tutted sympathetically, "Awww... Poor baby." She cooed mockingly. "Something you ate?"

The constant humming of the machine ceased, and Robin dropped his tensed shoulders, sighing with relief as he took a step away from the keyboard. A grin tugging her lips Death walked over to him when a voice spoke up.

"We'll take it from here." Faraday announced, stalking over to Parasite and snapped an inhibitor collar around his neck. "Thanks for the tip, by the way." He smirked at Robin. "Definitely helps to prep the inhibitor collar in advanced."

Smiling back, Robin nodded. "Glad to be of service."

As Faraday and his men arrested Parasite, Death grinned as she and Robin strolled towards their teammates. "Mission is a success!" She cheered, Miss Martian offering her a brilliant smile as she helped Superboy to where Red Arrow and Artemis stood.

Red Arrow glanced at Superboy, smiling. "Superboy might be a hot-head, but I know I'm not one to talk." He shrugged, sharing a look with Death who smirked beneath her mask. "You could each have betrayed us here. You didn't. I'm sorry I doubted any of you." He apologized, a smile touching his lips.

"There is no mole."

Death crossed her arms over her chest, scoffing. "Well, I'm not accepting your stupid apology." She winced slightly as Robin nudged her in the shoulder, scowling at her side.

Despite her snappy tone, Red Arrow kept smiling. "Oh, really?" He placed his hands on his hips, looking down at her as she glared at him. "Not even if I get you ice-cream on our way back?"

The magician paused, absorbing the words he had just said before curiously looking up at him through her lashes. "...I might forgive you." She shrugged, but blinked when he placed a hand on her head, laughing as he ruffled her messy locks.

---

|GENEVA

|DECEMBER 24, 20: 46 CET

"I hope you guys don't mind that I had us all give a farewell performance." Dick smiled softly at his teammates.

Megan tightened the white mask around her eyes, smiling back. "Not at all." She chirped, Conner nodding from the bench. "Yeah, we kinda owe Haly this." The clone responded as Megan stood behind him, tongue poking out from between her lips as she began tying his mask.

"Uh... Diane?" She called out to Artemis. "Can you help me, please?"

With a roll of her silver orbs, Artemis walked over to the Martian's aid.

Roy glanced at them, and then brought his gaze to the shorter teens infront of him. "So..." The ends of his mouth quirked up into a smirk, Dick settling him with a questioning look. "Looks like giving her those roses worked, huh?" He inquired teasingly, grinning as the young hacker glared at him.

The redhead watched with amusement as Life hooked her arm with the boy wonder's, smiling sweetly at him. "You should try giving Jade roses too," She advised, pulling Dick away from him. "Who knows? Maybe she'll go out with a hobo like you."

The archer narrowed his blue eyes into a glare. "I don't like your sister." He growled, hands balling into fists at his sides.

"Yeah, right!" Life scoffed, rolling her eyes as she dragged Dick away from them all. "Just like Wally doesn't like Artemis." She grumbled under her breath, tossing a smile to Haly who walked pass them.

She turned to Dick, eyes sparkling and smile bright. "So I get to join in you trapeze this time, right?"

The Romani shook his head. "No. You're still the knife thrower." He answered easily, rolling his eyes as Life pouted. "But why?" She whined loudly. Dick sighed, "Because I don't want you to fall."

"I fell from the train a few hours ago but I'm still alive!"

"Yeah, and you could've died! I don't want that happening again!"

A frustrated groan leaving her lips, Life glared at the floor, crossing her arms over her chest. And then, a smile touched her lips and she faked a small sigh. "But I've already fallen." She mumbled loud enough for him to hear.

"Really?" Dick blinked, lifting her chin up with his hand. "How did you fall?" He asked worriedly, blue eyes filled with concern.

The dark magician grinned, shifting her weight on her toes to peck his cheek.

"I've fallen for you, idiot."

---

A\N: I've always loved Performance, Failsafe and Cold Hearted. They were all outstanding in my opinion. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter :)

A reviewer asked if I was going to do season two as well. Truth be told, I don't think I'm going to give this story a sequel. I've got some ideas for the invasion season but I'm not sure whether I'll write them down or not. I don't think you guys'll read its sequel actually :P So try not to get your hopes up for Life getting a second story.

Anyway, feel free to drop a review. They make me feel happy, and a happy author is equal to more updates ;)

*Sono qui per te (I'm here for you.)