A/N The bullet that shot Buffy, grazed her spinal column causing her not to be able to walk for a short period of time. That said, she didn't go with her father to stay for the summer, but Dawn did. Also Darklight asked, how many more chapters this story is gonna be, it should be about six or seven more chapters at least. And yes, Faith kept up with her training.

To Anthony1, I just couldn't leave the story alone man. And to anyone that read the end of the knight fanfic, it's been nominated for an Sunnydale Memorial award and I would appreciate it if you guys would vote for it. Email me and I'll give you the information you need. Also I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 18

Hear Me Roar

Wayne Manor

Faith walked past the living room area of her brothers house and peeked inside. She saw her niece Selina, Xander, and Diana sitting on the couch laughing at a cartoon marathon they were watching. Xander had his arm around Diana and she in turn rested her head on his chest, while Selina had her feet on his lap eating some popcorn.

The scene reminded her of when she and Xander were younger and Bruce didn't have any business meetings or any secret rendezvous' anywhere. Bruce would just sit around with them around a fireplace and read stories to them for hours. Or he would just hang out with them and just watch tv. Clearing her mind of those thoughts, she took one last look at her brother and walked out into the night.

Caliban Jewelry Store

"Thanks for coming down here with me, Buffy." Jesse said as he wheeled the Slayer into the expensive, yet strangely empty jewelry store. The only one there was an old sales clerk, that looked like she was bored out of her mind.

"It's about all, I can do." Buffy replied glumly, as he pushed her wheel chair up to a display case.

"Buffy, cheer up will ya. You'll be able to walk again in another couple of weeks." Jesse started. "Just think about all the people who aren't blessed enough to be able to do that."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Buffy replied as she looked into the display case. "Hey, I think Willow would like that." she said as she pointed at a beautiful necklace that had charms on it. "Just how are you gonna afford the stuff that's in here anyway?" the Slayer asked, causing him to chuckle.

"I've been saving up some money for a long time, so I could leave on a road trip after graduation." Jesse admitted. "But now that I have Willow, I just want to buy her some nice things."

"You really love her don't you?" Buffy asked as she turned to look at him.

"Yeah." he replied with a blush.

"Ahhh, isn't that sweet." a voice said behind them. Before Jesse could turn all the way around, he felt a pinch on the back of his neck and then nothing as he fell to the floor, unconcious.

"Nice wheels." Catwoman said to Buffy, with a wink as she vaulted over the jewelry case. Smashing it, she scared off the old sales clerk, as she tossed diamond rings and other jewelry into her bag.

"Wh...what did you do to my friend, bitch?" Buffy asked with a wince as she tried to get her legs to work.

"Easy who you call bitch, bitch." Catwoman replied as she looked up at her. "Can't you tell a feline when you see one?"

"No, but I can tell a skank when I see one." Buffy quipped as she successfully stood to her feet, only to fall flat on her face.

"Be seeing you, sit and spin." Catwoman mocked as she walked past the down Slayer with a chuckle. "Oh, and give this to your friend when he wakes up." she said as she dropped the charm necklace next to Buffy's outstretched hand as she sauntered out of the store.

"Damn." Buffy muttered to herself as she looked over at the still unconcious Jesse.

Wayne Manor

The Next Day

"So let me get this straight. A giant cat robbed the jewelry store?" Xander asked as he handed Buffy, Jesse, and Willow a soda. And as he sat back on the couch, Faith slipped into the room and sat on his lap.

"What are you guy's talking about?" she asked, as she got rather comfortable on Xander's lap and to have everybody else in the room to look at the two wierdly.

'God, I thought they said they were brother and sister?' seemed to be the Scooby's thoughts.

"Buffy was just telling me that a giant cat stole something from the local jewelry store."

"For the last time it wasn't a cat." Buffy interrupted, as Faith and Xander started to chuckle. "It was some skank in a leather cat suit."

"Well she didn't steal everything." Jesse said as he dug into his pocket and handed Willow a black jewelry box. "Happy anniversary, Willow."

"Oh my...oh my God." Willow said as she opened the box and engulfed him in a hug. "It's beautiful. I love it." As the two kissed Faith looked at them and smiled.

"Ahh, isn't that sweet." Faith said, making Jesse and Buffy share a look.

"Jesse, do you mind wheeling me into the kitchen."

"Yeah, Buff." Jesse said as he stood to his feet and grabbed the back handles of her wheel chair. "Be back in a sec." he said as he leaned down, gave Willow a kiss, and walked out of the room with Buffy.

"Did you hear what, Faith said?" Buffy immediately asked as they entered the kitchen.

"Yeah and now that I think about it, she sounds just like the girl that put the Xena pinch on me last night." Jesse said as he peeked out of the door and saw the girl in question, talking to Willow. "Granted, I never saw who did that to me, but her voice sounds just the same."

"We have to tell, Xander about this."

"So let me get this straight." Xander started as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You think my sister is that cat burglar you saw last night?"

"I know this is hard for you to accept..."

"It's not hard to accept at all." Xander cut Buffy off. "I know my sister has a strong personality, but if you don't like her then just say so."

"Xand come on." Jesse started. "This isn't about..."

"Listen. Me and Faith have had a rough life, especially her." Xander said looking at them both in turn. "I don't always show it, but I love Faith with everything in me and I refuse to listen to lies about her."

"But..."

"No, Buffy that's enough." Xander said angrily as he walked out of the kitchen door.

"That went well." Jesse deadpanned, as Buffy rolled her eyes at him.

Later That Night

Faith awoke from a deep sleep, because of a low beeping noise. Wiping the sleep out of her eyes, she sat up in her bed, reached into her dresser drawer and pulled out a black watch.

"Show time." she said as she clicked the side of the watch, cutting off the beeping noise. Getting out of her bed, she quickly gathered up some clothes and got dressed.

Letting out a heavy sigh, after coming back from his long drive, Xander closed the front door to his home and immediately walked into his living room and sat down heavily on his couch. He couldn't believe what Buffy and Jesse were suggesting about his sister. He knew that Faith could be a little eccentric at times, but a cat burglar was pushing it.

According to Buffy's descriptions of this Catwoman, earlier that day Xander had checked the Batcomputer's data base and tracked down her exploits. He had to admit that from what he read only an experienced ninja could do what Catwoman could do but, it being... suddenly he heard someone walking down the hall making a loud clattering noise. Looking up, he saw that it was Faith carrying a large duffle bag heading for the front door. Curious as to what she was doing, he followed her.

Faith had the distinct impression that someone was following her, but as she kept turning around she didn't see anybody. Taking it as just her own paranoia, she kept up her pace and walked deeper into the woods.

Hearing a rustling of leaves, she tilted her head slightly to the side and watched as a small dagger embedded itself harmlessly in a tree next to her head.

"You'll have to be faster then that to kill me." Faith said into the wind as she dropped her bag and pulled the dagger out of tree.

"I wasn't trying to kill you." a figure said as it emerged out of the shadows. It was a tall man that looked as if his costume were made out of kevlar and part metal armor. But what was most interesting was his face or mask. One side was jet black without an eyehole for him to see and the other side was orange and his single eye seemed to look through her very soul. "It was only another test." Slade informed her.

"How many of these tests are you going to put me through?" Faith asked as she tossed the dragon dagger back to him."

"As many that I deem necessary, apprentice." Slade replied as he sheathed his weapon. "I've been doing a study of this...Sunnydale." he said as he took a look around the place. Something about this region of California unnerved him. "And, I heard of the gold that the imbecile the Joker tried to steal."

"And?"

"And, I want you to steal the rest of it. Now this is what I want you to do..."

'I can't believe this.' Xander thought to himself from his position behind some bushes. 'Buffy and Jesse were right.' Listening to the rest of Slade's plan, he stood up and dissappeared into the darkness.

The Next Day

Night

"Ha!" Selina yelled out as she did an effortless roundhouse kick.

"Wicked." Faith said with a smile and a clap of her hands. "You're better at this, then I was when I was your age."

"I can't wait to show uncle Xander what I can do." Selina said with a wide grin.

"Speaking of your uncle, have you seen him?" Faith asked. "He hasn't been around all day."

"No, I haven't seen him." Selina repled as she hunched up her shoulders. "Now will you teach me some more karate moves?"

"Sorry, Kit." Faith said as she ruffled the little girls hair. "I got a night job to get too."

First Municipal Bank

'Damn just getting the gold." Catwoman thought to herself as she leaned her head on the big bank vault and spun away at the combination. She had already loaded the gold in a truck outside, after the bank had closed, but she wanted something more. Something for herself.

"Getting a bit greedy aren't we?" a deep voice asked from behind her.

"No, I'm just curious to see how much I can...TAKE!" she yelled out as she spun around and extended a leg. Only for a dark figure to block and hold it.

"You know what they say about cat's and curiousity." Batman said as he back handed her, sending her spinning to the floor.

"Oh, you're so gonna pay for that, yo." Flipping back to her feet, she jumped into three simultaneous rainbow kicks. Going under the moves, Batman kicked out himself, only for her to block it and hold his leg.

"Sorry, that I can't stay and dance." she said as she gave him a big sloppy kiss on the lips and threw a small ball at his face that started to emit gas that blinded him momentarily. Still holding onto his leg, as he coughed, Catwoman spun around and kicked his other leg out from under him, sending him to the ground.

Coming out of his coughing fit and being able to see again, Batman looked around and saw that Catwoman was gone. Standing all the way to his feet, he quickly walked about the room and saw the door to the roof access closing. Running up the four stories of the bank, he finally opened the roof access door and peered out into the Sunnydale night sky.

"You're a bad kisser." A voice suddenly said, making his head jerk up. But he couldn't see anything, even as a sudden whooshing noise was made behind him.

"It was almost like kissing my brother." and now the voice was coming from the other side of the roof.

Trying to get a fix on where the voice was coming from, he looked around and got a quick glimpse of a feline shadow springing all around the roof, clinging to exposed pipes and fixtures. Narrowing down where she was flipping, he reached for a Batarang.

"Sorry to dissappoint you."

He'd barely gotten it out when she slammed into him from behind, feet first, knocking him to the rooftop. He tried to get up, but she came at him with a couple of cartwheeling kicks, knocking him back against a wall. Ducking to the right, he was just able to avoid a sharp spiked heel, that struck the exposed brick a mere three inches from his throat. Catching her leg, he upended her, but she somersaulted away and landed on her feet. Like cats always do and dissappeared in the shadows.

"Not a dissappointment really." Catwoman told him, almost conversationally. "I mean what can you expect from a giant rat?"

Tracking where she was he flung the batarang, but with super agility she dodged it. As it clanged into the wall behind her, she sprang up into the darkness, out of reach.

"Missed me, missed me now you gotta..." she called down from the shadows and hearing a whisper in his ear Batman turned. "...kiss me." she finished as she dropped directly onto him and locked him in a death grip.

Not being able to support both of their weight, they staggered backwards across the roof, directly toward the edge where a lower building was directly beneath them. Hearing a whirling sound, he looked down and saw some huge fan blades turning on the lower roof. Using some reserves of his strength, he pushed Catwoman back and broke free making them both fall back onto the roof. Unknown to him, but she anticipated his move: and when he rushed at her, she braced herself against the ground and kicked upward with startling force. This time the spiked heel connected lifting Batman up and off his feet, knocking him over the edge of the roof.

With a huge grin on her face, Catwoman looked down over the side, only for her leg to be grabbed and for her to be pushed back. As she fell down on her butt, she looked up and watched as Batman flew over the side of the building and landed in a crouch.

'Damnit.' Batman thought to himself, as he coughed up a little blood. 'One of my...one of my stitches on my stomach opened.' He was still hurting and in pain from the fight he had with those demons in that alley a few weeks ago.

Slumping over because of the pain, stunned, before he knew it, she was on him. She grabbed his throat with one hand and clamped the other around his crotch. As he tried to break her grip, he found that she was just as strong as he was. Lifting him up, she started to force him over the edge of the building. At the last possible second, he grabbed a handful of her hair, yanked it as hard as he could, and with a yowl, she released him.

They then tumbled to the roof and she dove ontop of him, her razor sharp talons clicking into place in her gloves. Opening his eyes, trying to brace the pain, he saw them poised directly above his eyes, but still managed to slam an elbow under her chin before she could strike. Now that they were disentangled; they got up groggily and started to circle each other.

"You look like you're losing your thunder, little mousy." Catwoman commented as Batman huffed, puffed, and started to sway.

Taking out her whip, that sat on her curvy hip, she whipped it out around his neck and slowly started to strangle him. Using the last ounce of his strength, he reached up to Catwoman, and clutching her by her ears, flipped her over his head, slamming her to the ground. Falling over anyway, he gave her a savage elbow to the chest for good measure. Shrugging off the blows, she sprung up as he got up, and swung her whip beneath and behind herself in a tail-between-her-legs motion that stung Batman in the face, making him fall over.

"Be seeing you, bat's." Catwoman said to the downed Batman as she blew a kiss to him. Seeing that he wasn't going to get up anytime soon she jumped off the other side of the building, dissappearing into the night.

Wayne Manor

Much Later That Night

As Faith opened the door to her room, exhausted beyond belief, she saw her brother sitting on her bed.

"Damn bro." Faith started as she rubbed a delicate hand across Xander's black and blue face. "It looks like you went ten rounds with Tyson."

"Actually, it was a big cat." Xander said as he looked up at her. He felt so betrayed. "How long have you been doing this?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked, a bit taken aback.

"How long have you been, Catwoman?"

'How the hell does he know.' then it hit her. "Oh my, God."

"How long, Faith?" he asked forcibly.

"How long have you been doing this?" she put it back on him, as she reached into her pocket, pulled out a black piece of cloth, and slapped him hard on the chest with it. "How long have you been Batman?" and for a tense moment, all they could do was stare at each other. Both breathing heavily, until finally Xander answered her.

"I've been Batman for about six month's now." Xander admitted as he took a deep breath. "I had a falling out with dad, after I found out that he was Batman. After that I moved here to try to find the guy that killed my parents."

As he continued talking, all Faith could think about was that her dad...her dad was the Batman. Now her whole life seemed to make sense. All the times he would be away, all the time he would come home with bruises. It was all because he was trying to make Gotham safe for them to live.

"Faith... Faith do you hear me?" Xander asked, snapping her out of her daze.

"Huh?"

"I asked what the hell is going on with you?" he repeated. "And why the hell are you working for, Slade?"

"He saved my life." she replied as she sat down on the bed next to him.

"What?" Xander asked confused.

"Me and my class went on a school fieldtrip to the mountains for the weekend, about a year ago." Faih replied. "Later that night me and some friends skipped the fieldtrip all together and explored the wilderness. We got lost and a giant frickin mountain lion jumped out at us."

"Then what happened?"

"My friends ran one way and I ran the other. It was right on me and when I turned a corner, I fell in a giant sink hole." she stopped to think of that. Being trapped under the earth for hours did something to her mind. She knew in her heart that she would never be the same again.

"And then Slade came along." Xander figured as he stood to his feet and started to pace.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for him, I would be dead right now." she replied as she watched him walk around.

"So you decided to go into a life of crime for him?" Xander asked increduously, as she chuckled. "Faith, the things dad taught us was a gift. He never intended it to be like this, we should be helping people. And besides how good can Slade be if he has you trying to kill people?"

"You just don't get it do you?" Faith asked as she shook her head at her brother. "This has nothing to do with good, evil, or stealing. We're filthy rich remember. No this has nothing to do with money, but it has everything to do with the thrill. And that's what Slade offered me."

"You're sick." Xander replied as he took a step back and really looked at her. For the first time in his life, he was truly scared of and for his little sister. "I went against my friends yesterday because of you. They figured out that you might've been Catwoman, but I defended you. I told them that you would never do anything like that."

"What can I say." Faith said with a shrug. "I'm sorry to dissappoint you."

"But what about, Selina? She loves her aunt Faith. How do you think she's gonna feel, if something happen's to you?"

"Hey, I love Kit." Faith replied as she stood to her feet. "Nothing's gonna happen to me and I'm gonna teach her everything I know."

"Like, hell you are!" Xander growled as he grabbed her roughly around the arm. "I love that little girl and I'll be damned if you're gonna come into her life, just so you can fuck her up like you are."

"I'll see you later, bro." Faith said with a sneer as she shrugged off his arm and walked to the door. "I have somewhere else to be."

"Faith wait." Xander called out as he ran up to her and grabbed her arm. Giving him a look, he quickly let go and took a step back. "Like I said, I was spying on you and Slade last night and when I heard him call you apprentice I...just look at this." he said as he handed her a manilla folder.

"What the hell is this?" she asked as she flipped through the folder and saw gruesome pictures of people who obviously had a horrible death.

"Those people are...were Slade's earlier apprentince's." Xander answered as she tossed the file to the floor. "And if he's pumping you with that super strength serum, then you'll end up just like those people soon, if you don't stop."

"Goodbye, Alex." Faith said as she turned and quickly walked out of the room.

Sunnydale Wood

Faith walked to Slade's usual hideout and saw him sitting down in a chair, under a huge tent.

"Ahhh, Faith to what do I owe..."

"Care to explain this?" Faith asked as she tossed a picture at his feet.

"Tommy Sloan." Slade replied as he picked up the picture. Faith could swear that she heard a smile in his voice as he said the dead teens name. "Where did you get this picture?"

"It doesn't matter." she replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I hate getting played and I ain't gonna end up like him. I want out."

"You dissappoint me apprentice." Slade said as he narrowed his one eye at her. "You should know that the only way out of my organization..." suddenly thirty ninja cyborgs, with all black armour, emerged out of the shadows and surrounded her. "...is death."

"I don't think so." a voice said behind them.

"Xander?" Faith asked as her big brother, stood at her side and got in a fighting stance. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Protecting my little sister." he replied, never taking his eyes off of Slade.

"How touching, Mr. Wayne." Slade said as he smiled under his mask. "A big brother still watching out for the youngest."

"She's a pain in the ass sometimes," Xander said with a shrug. "but I like her."

"And I've just changed my mind about something. When me and Faith first met, she told me that you could never defeat her in combat."

"So?"

"So, Mr. Wayne I'll give you a choice." Slade replied after a moment of thought. "I'll give Faith her freedom, with no strings attached if you fight her right here right now, until I'm satisfied. But if I see any of you holding back, I and my Crybots will kill the both of you."

"You must've been smoking some of that bad stuff." Faith said as she pointed at the mercenary. "There's noway me and Xand..."

"We'll do it." Xander agreed, interrupting Faith. He knew in his heart of heart, despite the training Bruce had given him and Faith, that they wouldn't survive an all out assault against Slade and his army. Especially not without any weapons.

"Excellent, you may start now." as Slade said that his cyborgs formed a circle around the two.

"Xander what the hell are you doing?" Faith asked as she took off her gold watch and tossed it to the ground. "Let's just take these chumps and get out of here."

"I've never beaten you before." Xander replied as the two started to circle each other and as he tossed his watch and wallet to the ground. "Besides, by the time we would have fought all of his ninjas, he would be long gone or we could be so tired that he would just kill us on the spot. Now let's do this!" he yelled as he charged her.

Minutes Later

Finishing off a final spinkick, that connected to Xander's face, Faith watched as her brother fell face first onto the ground.

"Xander!" Faith yelled, as she ran to his side and cradled his bloody and bruised head in her lap. As she looked at his face, she saw that his eyes started to roll in the back of his head. 'God, what the hell have I done?'

"Ahh, the classic story of Kain and Able." Slade taunted, excited about the fight he had just witnessed. And as to pay tribute to the horror of what she had done, it started to rain.

"Shut the hell UP!" Faith growled as a tear fell from her partly swollen eye. Even though she had won the battle, her brother had still given her a few bumps and bruises.

"Congratulations Faith." Slade said as he stood and turned his back to her. "You've won your freedom." And with that, he and his robotic ninjas dissappeared into the shadows, leaving Faith to cry over and hold onto her unconcious brother.

Sunnydale Memorial Hospital

Faith climbed into bed, with her still unconcious brother, and cracked open a book to read to him. She quickly learned why her brother seemed so weak during their fight. He had already had a concussion, but during the fight Xander had popped open some stiches and lost a lot of blood. She was just happy that she had gotten to him to the hospital in time.

Losing her flare for reading at the moment, she looked at his still form and frowned. He had all kinds of tubes connected to machines running through his body and he looked so fragile. But what was most shocking was the fact that she had did that to him. Feeling a sudden amount of fatigue run through her, she curled up in his arm and fell asleep at his side. Only to be awakened a few minutes later by a tiny voice.

"Aunt Faith?" Selina asked, making Faith open her eyes and smile at her.

"Hey Kit." Faith replied as she sat up and got off the bed. Looking up, she saw that Diana was glaring at her from the door of the room. "Watch your uncle Xander for me, okay." she said as she ran her hand through the little girls hair and walked outside to the older woman.

"I talked to the doctor and he said that Xander should wake up in another day or two." Diana informed her, making her breathe out a sigh of relief. "Now what the hell happened? Did you do this to him?"

"You know about me being..."

"Xander told me about it before he left the house." she cut him off. "Now answer the damn question." she said in a whisper. "Did you do this to him?" Faith's guilty look as she bowed her head in shame, was answer enough for her.

"When, Xand...when my brother wakes up, tell him I said I was sorry." Faith said as she met her gaze again. "Tell him that I'll never bother him again."

"So that's it?" Diana asked as she grabbed Faith's arm. "You're just gonna skip town and leave us to clean up your mess?"

"Trust me it's the best way." Faith said with a grimace. 'Maybe that's part of the reason dad sent me away.' Faith mused. 'Maybe he knew I was prone to trouble.'

"That's bullshit." Diana said tightning her grip on Faith's arm. "We're a family Faith. If one of us messes up we all try to fix it. We don't just run away from our problems."

"But..."

"No but's." Diana cut her off. "I've never seen Selina smile so much, after she lost her father. No matter what me and Xander do, she never smiles that way for anybody but you. You're her aunt Faith and she loves and looks up to you. And everytime Xander talks about you, whether it's something good or bad, he can't help but smile."

"Mom come quick." Selina said excitedly as she peeked her head out of the door. "Uncle Xander just woke up."

"I'll be there in a minute honey." Diana said as she smiled down at her. "So?" she asked as she turned back to Faith.

"I'll be back. I just have to make a phone call." waiting until the older woman walked back into the room, Faith took a cellphone out of her back jeans pocket and stared at it. Deciding the hell with it, she hit the speed dial on it. "Hello dad..." she said into the phone. "Yeah, I'm okay now listen, we have to talk."

A/N I personally wanted to thank each and everyone of you for reading this fic. Finally one of my fanfics has reached past two hundred reviews. Thank all of you for that. Also to clarify something, Xander didn't pass out because of what Faith did to him. It was a combination of what she did to him and because what happened last week when he was fighting those demons in that alley. Also I didn't want to go with the whole big brother being better than the little sister routine. That's getting old and I decided to do something new.

TBC...

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