DISCLAIMER: I do not own any characters except Athena and any other characters I may or may not introduce throughout this miniseries.

Two:

Growing Pains

Sleep didn't come that night.

It didn't come any night for the next couple of weeks, for that matter. Exhaustion dripped from her entirety, like sweat from exercise that was an extensive, no pain no gain type. Binding her muscles when she attempted to make a move, pulled backwards and spun her around, and then before she could even make it across the room, she sat back down on the sofa, the velvet fabric embraced her with warmth. Any task she thought she wanted to accomplish, now forgotten.

Cats were nocturnal creatures, much like bats who often dwelled in caves unlit, even in the light of day. Nighttime and its pleasures was stolen from her a long time ago, ever since the nightmares began three months before. But this, this was different. Having sleep disrupted in the middle of the night was much better than not having any sleep at all. Even naps seemed hard to come by, for fear of this night scourge attacking her by day. A shudder passed through her body, regardless of the hot air wafting into the apartment through the cracked slider doors. Every single second her eyes were closed, its face plagued that once peaceful darkness. That she-devil. That Malice. That-

Chimes rang throughout the room, the sound was not soft and sweet, but piercing and harsh, as if a strong gust of wind had blown against the silver cylinders. A deep, buzz reverberated into her ear, resembling that of a swarm of revenful bees after the death of their queen. It jolted Athena awake from the clutches of an inevitable daymare. Her widened eyes closed the moment she had opened them, bracing herself for the impact of the floor… that never came.

Blinking her eyes open, her face was only seconds away from hitting the floor, and that is where it remained as she held herself up, hands fanned out and feet arched. The fatigue hanging off her bones and clouding her mind, made her gape as she continued to hold up her own body weight.

Immediately once the realization slapped her back to reality, her strength gave way and her chin hit beyond the softness of the carpet. Athena shook her head, slowly sitting up. The chimes and buzzing sounded once again, in unison. She shook her head again, wincing slightly as she scrunched up her nose and squinted her eyes, covering the entrance to her eardrum with a finger, an oncoming headache. She grabbed her cellphone. Not only was the sound annoying, but it rudely woke her. Well… at least that was better than getting woken up by her own face.

"Good morning." The slurred voice sounded, so groggy it could have belonged to someone else.

"It's well past morning, Athena. But, good afternoon." Her father's heavy voice came as an eye-opener, almost like they hadn't spoken in years, despite that they had.

Athena smiled, leaving her eyes closed for a few seconds after her blink, "can't ever give me a break, can you?"

"Absolutely not. The world doesn't take breaks and neither should you." There was a brief pause, therefore she stayed silent, sensing he had more to say. "Where have you been? Your second semester ended two months ago, you haven't been home since."

She took in a breath, "I've been… with mom," Athena glanced at the carpet for a split second and then out the slider doors, "just hanging with her, you know?"

As she had taken one in, Dad let one out, not being able to tell if he was frustrated with her or if he was preparing what he was about to say next as she spoke. "And you haven't called?" If she had been face to face with him, he would have raised an eyebrow, giving her that look that called nonsense. "That's unlike you," he paused again, "are you alright? You know I can help y-"

Athena pressed her lips together, "look, dad. I appreciate it, but whatever mom told you, I don't want to talk about it." If she possessed heat vision, the window would now have a hole burned straight through its core.

"Selina didn't tell me anything."

Damnit. She slapped her palm against her forehead, kicking herself mentally. No matter how tired she was, she knew what came next. Father was at his best, she was not. The longest it took him to solve a case was probably a week, and that might have been a stretch. He had to have caught on.

"What is going on?" It almost felt like he was interrogating someone and not his daughter. More a demand than a question, especially when he already knew the answer to it. This was interrogation. "Athena-" His mind, had most likely already started to jump to conclusions, actions of stealth, rescue plans and the like. Physical things. Except, there was nothing he could do to physically help her. Unless he planned to stick himself in her mind and throw little batarangs at Malice.

Cutting him off, her voice sounded dry and scratchy when she tried to be stern in this state. "No, dad. Nothing is going on," Athena sighed loudly, "now I've got to go. Bye." She pulled the phone away from her ear.

"Athena, Athena!" His voice raised slightly above normal, grew deeper at the same time. A last desperate attempt to get her to stay, although he knew very well she would not. That's what it sounded like, anyway. "Do not han-"

The finger she held hovering over the end call button finally interrupted him. The double beep indicating that she call had ended. Throwing her phone across the sofa, she leaned backwards, tilting her head back, groaning.

"He is so going to kill me."

A voice sounded within the walls in her mind, always at the wrong time. Without the state of dire Sage was in before, her way of speaking was eloquent, flowing like silver and gold. If Sage had been human, she would be a lady of power in Gotham without a doubt, and she would gain those social standings without a man. Donning a regal attire, of all white to oppose her dark skin, it would be paired with a flowing, transparent cape and veil. Her very presence would draw breaths and intimidate competition. "I would kill you as well if I was your father." Retaining a knowingly impish tone, she might have been very wise but that didn't allow her from speaking like a know it all, instead of humbly profound.

"Shut up, Sage." Athena turned toward the feline, who was sitting on the arm of the sofa, her tail comfortably wrapped around her paws. That was her all-knowing position. Annoying

Sage tilted her head, blinking, although cat didn't need to do so, the next thought had a certain and sudden seriousness to it. "I am the only one who saw that foul creature. It is very real, Athena. I witnessed it's face develop into yours, I witnessed it simply drift away into the night. It is not something to be trifled with." This conversation, had suddenly turned into chiding. She was being chided by a cat. "Yes, you are being chided by a cat," she made a sound similar to that of clearing her throat, although it appeared to be a sudden hairball, "as I was saying. You know this as well I do, with your recent developed senses."

She sat agape, a sudden feeling loomed behind her, only just now grasping a fact that had been eating away at her for weeks now. "My…"

Athena shook her head, "no…" she paused, her voice cracking slightly, as if it was strained. "No, I did. It's just I couldn't, I didn't-I thought it was just because I was so tired."

The small feline opened her mouth in a yawn, showing delicate but sharp teeth and a long, pink tongue which curled in her mouth. "Humans are so very dim, even when they are more than just human."

A natural urge to protest boiled in her throat, instead she bit down on her cheek. Sage didn't deserve that, not when she was only trying to help. Trying to prevent her death.

There had been a few minutes ago, when she fell off the sofa, almost half asleep, completely exhausted from not sleeping in fourteen days and counting, yet she caught herself with such ease, mirroring a cat falling from its scratcher and landing on its paws, like the nimble creatures they were. Or when her phone started ringing, the volume was at its lowest so she would 'accidentally' miss calls from people like her dad, still the sound was almost blaring, it was vivid like that of a realistic dream where all her senses were amplified.

It was as though… she had become one of the creatures that she commanded.

Saliva built up at the back of her throat. "Sage, what exactly are you trying to say?" Athena held her head with her hands, attempting not to sound so despondent. Refusing to look into the truthful eyes of the familiar.

The cat let out a sigh of her own, the voices of felines were always so over dramatic. If feminine, they were similar to an actress playing a role in the 70's, going quite overboard, but they couldn't help it. It might have been due to the fact that, cats didn't traditionally sound like humans. "There is something drastically different about you from when we first met in that alley. Our bond tells me so. Before, we simply understood each other, but empathy still has its barriers. Now… it seems we are of the same species. We are kindred, our barriers have broken. Can't you feel it?"

Athena tilted her head upwards. There were alot of things she felt, so it was amongst the many. She stood, swiping her palm down her face, pulling bits of skin with it. The headache made itself more than known, continuous throbbing at her temples. "I don't know… I don't know what I feel." She turned away from her familiar, the silence in her mind meant the conversation was over. And if it wasn't, she was ending it anyway by walking down the entrance hallway, passing the front door, turning a small corner. Now standing at the end, three doors surrounded her. One was a sliding door for storage, the one to her right led into her room and the one in front of her was where she wanted to go. Her fingers wrapped rested on the cold, steel knob. Sleep dawned on her, as she finally opened the frosted door, stepping into the sterile bathroom.

Translucent, crystal tile glimmered without the touch of sunlight, always catching her attention. Sliding open the glass doors of the shower, she turned it to its hottest temperature. Waiting, she stood in front of the mirrors framed with gold, undressing until there was nothing left but bare body and her face.

The dark circles around her eyes were endless, her eyelids were inclined to droop as she held them open, which explained the faint red that discolored her sclera. With every blink, her lids fought against her. The once deep blue hue seemed to dull, a loss of intensity, that she-devil not only scared her half to death but stole her natural vitality. The steam crept toward the center of the large mirror until there was no other sight to be seen. Her appearance blurred, unreachable in the world beyond the mist.

Where was she? Who?

She stepped into the shower, the water hit her skin. Athena flinched at the sudden impact. It had been replaced with hail, making harsh contact with her nerves, except, it was still water. Of course, all showers had different pressures, but she had taken many showers in this bathroom and never was she attacked by hail.

Athena let out a youch, before rushing to turn down the heat. This annoyed her further, because warm water never really did anything for her, but the bullets of water never actually felt like bullets either.

"Cats don't like water…" Sage's voice sounded as if she had yelled across the room, lightly singsonging.

Poking her head out of the shower, "shut up!" Athena mocked the previous alteration to the voice her friend had made, then stuck her head back inside.. The lowering of the temperature seemed to help, but the sensations trickled and marched across her skin all the same, similar to the parasites. This would have to do.

She let out a breath, slicking some hair back, some frustrations released. Water dripped from her face, clouding her vision all it wanted but she could still see the sterling silver faucet and the retractable shower head awfully clearly. Not even bothering to blink the water out of her eyes, it simply rolled out like tears.

"So... weird." Says the one who can communicate with cats and… do that other thing. Athena shook her head, scolding herself for even thinking about it. It was dangerous, nothing good came from it. All it did was hurt people, compared to the basic empathic connection with the feline species.

What Sage had been talking about was different from both those things, or maybe it stemmed from one. Maybe sleep deprivation was making her go mad.

Stop it.

This was what always got her into trouble, being insanely good at thinking of explanations for things that could not be explained. Those explanations were excuses, tickets out of her life that could never possibly be normal. And anything she couldn't explain or make out to be a least a little bit realistic, she would separate herself from it. Pretend it didn't exist. Exhibit A: Her goddamn family of vigilantes.

"God you're such a coward, Athena," she muttered so low under her breath, sure not even Sage could hear her. The water streaming from the showerhead hissed, something swirled within her. Power? Anger? Hate? It had been brewing for a time now, she was just too stuck in realism to discover it. Her eyes began to sting, yet she hadn't shed tears in awhile, there was a slight compression similar to if one's eyeballs had been getting pushed inside of their sockets.

A yell tangled with pent up emotions arising from her chest. A retaliation on Malice. Infuriation at feeling so out of place all the time, knowing deep within her that there was something very, very wrong, but not knowing why and the parasites that followed behind that feeling, tormenting her in her dreams. The burning desire to rip them into pieces, and their pieces into pieces until they were beyond microscopic. "You. Are. Such. A. Coward!" Without thinking, solely acting, she sent a punch to the crystalline tilted wall in front of her, and then another, and then another. Teeth grinding against one another, her lips parted to take in deep breaths to feed the sudden anger which fueled her energy. When she opened her eyes, they did not widen, in surprise nor fear.

The crystalline tile. Once crafted to perfection and now, nearly beaten to the base of the wall. Fragments of crystal laid between her toes, most of them being carried down the drain by the small stream of water.

Turning her hands from palm to back several times. There was no blood, bruises, not even a tiny scratch. No grains of crystal were ingrained into her skin, her pale knuckles were only faintly red from the impact, as if she simply had a rash.

No more excuses. She needed answers to all these problems that overtook her life within a couple of weeks. The she-devil. The nightmares. This-this feeling of displacement. And now… these new found capabilities. Athena didn't need to be a detective to know that they were all connected. The world of practicality had outcasted her a long time ago, since the day she was born to Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne. There was no fork in the road, no crossroads. There was only one single path and whether it was filled with the darkness of an abyss or light in the facade of a never ending dream, she would follow it.

Athena narrowed her eyes. Whichever path led her to the creature who stole her face. The one who started this all.

"Malice."

R&R, at your leisure!