Note: I do not own the Batman, Batman comics, or any of the characters within them.

Chapter 7

"Is it time yet?" Robin had asked excitedly, this time actually ready for patrol on time, "I want to kick some villain butt!"

"Yes, let's go," I said, a small smile taking over my face, "but you've started asking that when you should've been doing your homework."

"Homework can wait. Crime-fighting can't."

"I guess in that case, yesterday, both of those things could wait, but your silly video game couldn't."

"Let's just go before you start telling me to stay back and do my homework instead of crime-fighting."

"Maybe you should. Just this one night. You've been missing a lot of homework lately."

So that was how I ended up going out without Robin. As I patrolled the streets of Gotham, I soon found Talia and a few of her father's assassins trying to kill a civilian. Someone I assumed they found to be "hurting the world".

Occasionally, I found myself having to try to keep her from killing someone when she was in town, but with the amount of traveling the league did, never very much. But when it did happen, we never injured each other, and I never tried to put her to jail. It usually ended up a lot like sparing, but we were fighting for something. We were fighting truly against the other one.

I sighed when I saw her. Fighting her like this was never fun. At least I wouldn't have to deal with Robin's confusion. He didn't know about her.

But as I went down, she said something very hurtful.

"Ah, I was expecting you, Batsy. But I assure you we can handle you. In fact, maybe we'll even have fun taking care of you. It's amusing to watch you fail, because unlike some villains, you don't even hurt our plan the least bit. In fact, we may even think about taking you prisoner if that's what Father wants."

Batsy? Prisoner? Amusing to watch me fail? Was this even Talia I was talking to? She had mentioned her father, but this couldn't be her.

"Talia?" I asked.

"Glad you know my name, Batman,"

"You're acting really weird,"

"What do you mean? Did you really expect something different from me?"

"I guess I kind of did…" I said, looking away. My head hung low as I started to walk away. I didn't stand a chance against both her and the assassins even if I wasn't so heart broken.

"We'll get you another time, then. I promise you, the league of assassins is much stronger than most of your enemies. We are the only enemy of yours that will stop you, permanently."

"Does that mean you want me dead?" I found the courage to ask, now quite far from her. My eyes were wide as I made eye contact with her, pleading for her to say no. Pleading for her to say that she had felt the same way about me as I had felt about her.

"Why wouldn't I? You're a superhero." She answered, rejecting my pleas, and breaking my heart entirely. As I looked away, now even more hunched over than before. I felt tears trying to come to my eyes. The thought of her killing me filled my mind. As much as I wanted to deny it, she had stated to me straight and clear that she wanted me dead. But that didn't mean I wouldn't look for an explanation. One that didn't include her faking this love. That didn't include her being my enemy.

And, one that most definitely did not include her being perfectly happy to kill me.

Please R & R!