Reyna screamed and cried as she ran. At every turned she saw his face, leering, scowling, and threatening her. She desperately tried to put as much distance between her and her attacker, but he was everywhere. A hand grabbed her wrist. She turned to see a face painted black on one side and red on the other. She struggled to break free from the grip.

"Reyna!" The face yelled.

She struggled harder.

"Reyna, stop! You're hurting yourself!" The face spoke the words, but the voice was different.

With a start she realized, it was Richard"s voice. "Richard." She whispered.

"Wake up!"

Reyna woke up with a start. Richard had a hand on each wrist. It took Reyna a moment to realize where she was and what had happened. Richard's eyes were wide with fear and concern. Then she noticed that he was only in pair of shorts and his chest was taped up. She looked away, embarrassed.

"You're safe." Richard soothed.

She felt shame and embarrassment wash over her and she jerked away. Pain shot through her side from the movement, causing her to hiss.

"Careful." He warned.

Reyna replayed what events she could remember over in her head, then she asked, "Where am I?"

"We're back at base, just in the private area." Richard said as he winced.

"How long have I been out?" Reyna felt like she was still waking up from her nightmare as she kept feeling like the man with the red and black mask was going to jump out and attack her at any time.

"Couple days." Richard said calmly, but there was nothing calm about it.

Reyna moved to get up, when she realized she was only in her underwear. She quickly grab the sheets and pulled them up to her chin. "You're making a bad habit of this."

"You're making a bad habit of getting seriously injured." Richard shot back.

"Where's my clothes?"

"Your armor is over there," he pointed over to the corner were her armor was stacked neatly, "your pants are in the wash, but I had to cut off your shirt." At Reyna's appalled look, he hastily added, "But you can borrow one of mine."

As she got up she grabbed the top sheet and pulled it off the bed and wrapped it around her.

"I'm no health professional, but are you sure you should be up." Richard looked at her with concern.

She looked at her side and saw that it was not in the best condition, but she wasn't going to suffer any more humility at his hands. "I'll manage."

Richard stayed quiet for a while as shesituated herself, when he suddenly asked, "What were you dreaming about?"

The question caught her off guard. "That's none of your business." She snapped with more emotion than she intended to.

"Deathstroke was my business, but that didn't stop you from interfering." Richard challenged.

Reyna whirled around to stare at him disbelievingly. "You're right. He was your business, until he wasn't anymore."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that he wasn't a mortal anymore." Rena struggle to control her emotions at the thought of the memory. She moved closer to a nearby window hoping that it would be cooler since she suddenly felt strangely hot.

Richard seemed stunned by the comment. "That's impossible, a mortal can't become . . . You're not saying that he became . . ."

"A monster." She finished his sentence.

"That's impossible. I have proof that he's mortal. The date and place of his birth, where he grew up, . . . everything. He can't be.

"Tell that to the Minotaur, to Medusa, to countless other monsters that were once mortal."

"How can you be certain? There's no way! How? How?"

Reyna grabbed her head, desperately trying to keep the memories from surfacing and overtaking her again, while Richard kept challenging her, questioning her. "Because I've seen it before!" She yelled.

Richard looked at her completely stunned. She knew he would not leave her alone until he I got all the answers he could out of her. She took a steadying breath and carefully made her way back to the bed and sat down.

"Bellona has always been my family's patron goddess. She has looked after us for generations, centuries. It wasn't until my father came along she actually took more an interest then being a patron goddess. My sister and I were soon born. My father was a good man. He loved us. We loved him. When the war broke out in Iraq, he signed up like our ancestors before. He served three tours, and with each tour he grew more and more distant. After the last tour, he came home unrecognizable. He had taken to drinking heavily, and began cursing the gods, cursing my mother, and cursing us." Tears flowed freely as she spoke. "One night he came home really drunk, but the man I saw was not my father. He attacked us, craving Olympian blood. He had become a monster."

Richard moved to sit on the bed next to her. "Ikilled him. I didn't mean to. I didn't know." She didn't dare look at him as she tried to recover. Her sister had always told her, she couldn't cry in front of a man because it would make her look weak.

"How old were you?" He asked.

"Young. I don't remember."

Richard sighed, "I was twelve when I watched my parents die. I thought I had it bad. I sometimes see the same scene playing out in my dreams at night. I always think I can reach out fast enough to save them."

"I dream that I'm able to somehow reach my father and save him, but I always fail."

"Does, does it happen often. You know, mortals turning immortal?"

"My sister and I are the only ones, I believe, to have ever seen it. Guess I'm just lucky to have seen it twice. Or cursed."

"You're not cursed. Not sure anyone else would have been able to recognize it."

"A little late." Reyna looked down at her wound. "I'm sorry about your parents. Seems to be common occurrence that a hero be born to tragedy, live a life of tragedy, and die of tragedy. No wonder whenever hero finds a moment of peace and happiness they clinge to it."

Reyna looked up at Richard, and her breath caught in her throat. She hadn't realized how close they were together. His eyes bore into hers. She could feel the heat coming off his body. For the first time in a long time, she felt a burden lifted from her shoulders. He leaned down, and their lips touched gently. Her mind grew fuzzy, and her body melted into his. She felt his arms wrap around her, pulling her close. She ran her hands through his hair, pulling him toward her, intensifying the kiss. She hadn't realized how badly she needed this. How much she wanted him. His arms tightened around her, and a pain shot through her body.

She broke the kiss and pushed Richard away from her. He groaned in pain. She realized that she had pushed his ribs. They looked at each other as they tried to catch their breath.

"I'm sorry." Richard panted.

Rena to try to catch her breath as she looked at Richard with newfound eyes. "I'm not."

Richard smiled, and Reyna's heart raced. He leaned in to kiss her again. Reyna wanted nothing more than to receive it, yet she felt something was missing. "Wait." She watched Richard hesitate. "There's something I need to tell you first." He gave her a questioning look that made her smile at and said, "My name is Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano."

Richard smiled and chuckled. "What are you? Royalty?"

"It's said that my ancestors once were of the upper class in Rome, before they settled to Puerto Rico."

"Wel, it's a pleasure to meet you Reyna Ava I can't remember the rest of your name." Richard leaned in again.

Reyna laughed. A full hearty laugh. She couldn't remember when she had ever laughed like that. Pain shot through her body once more. "Don't make me laugh." She groaned as she smiled.

"Me either." Richard agreed as he rubbed his sore ribs. "How about we take it a little slower." He suggested.

"Sounds perfect.' Reyna agreed.