MY BODY SUNK INTO THE MATTRESS of the motel bed. It was not the most comfortable of mattresses but it was not anything I couldn't handle. Gar was stretched out on his back a handful of inches to my left, his head at the opposite end of the bed.

I was not sure exactly how his head ended up at the foot of the bed. He played with his handheld video game, the device making quiet soft sound effects as he pressed different buttons. "Does it still hurt?" I inquired, breaking the conversational silence.

He gave a shake of his head. "Nah. I'm all good," Gar sat up suddenly, turning off his game as he dropped it into his lap. "Are you good?"

My brows knitted, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well...you seemed a little agitated back there. And with what you said about what you can do, I thought, maybe...I don't know."

"You obviously thought something."

Gar sighed lightly, speaking hesitantly, "I thought it looked like you might be having some trouble with the dark side, if you know what I mean."

I understood his line of thinking. With what I was feeling, I could imagine it did indeed look like I was having trouble with my dark side. Because I was. "This is simply new territory," I reasoned, calmly.

"Right, right, yeah..."

He bobbed his head, nodding as he looked down at the gaming device in his lap. The curiosity was practically eating him alive—an ironic statement for someone who could literally eat someone alive. I tilted my head against the pillow, eyeing him.

A cool touch was carried in with the vibrations radiating off him. It was not hard to tell just what he wanted to know. I inhaled sharply, "I can feel your unrest, Garfield. Ask me and you'll get answers."

Gar lifted his head, a bit surprised by my words. But he was quick, though hesitant, to ask his first question. "What do I feel like?" he questioned. Then, he was quick to clarify, "I mean, my vibrations."

"Warm, like every living thing. But...you want to know what the beast feels like. Correct?"

The notion caused him to look down again, as though the idea was somehow embarrassing. Gar was not the first person to ask me to describe in detail how they felt to me, but he was the most reluctant—a trait I didn't know him to possess.

The boy gave a small, closed-mouth smile and nodded, his eyes shifting back up to meet mine. I pushed myself up into a sitting position then, bringing me closer to his spot on the bed. "Give me your hand," I instructed, holding out an open palm.

Gar placed his hand on top of mine, the flat palms touching in the very center, "I'm about to get my palm read, aren't I?"

"Well, not exactly," I smiled a little at his words. "I'm going to reach deep and tell you what I feel. If I see anything, I won't be at liberty to discuss it with you. Alright?"

"Okay," he nodded in agreement.

So I continued. With a deep exhale through my nostrils, I loosened my shoulders and let my eyes close calmly. There was a certain freedom in being able to feel. To let yourself feel whatever comes without hesitation or push back.

As the emotions and sensations came, I did my best to describe them aloud. It was not an exact science. Most things I felt on a daily basis were indescribable. But, for Gar, I tried my best to do so.

"There's an energy...it feels like electricity—or, how one would expect it to feel. It feels warm, and powerful, but it's also cold. I can't say that's unusual. It vibrates differently, though. Almost like it's on its side. The vibrations are sideways, they feel...obscure."

Gar slowly asked, "Is that a bad thing?"

"Not necessarily," I shook my head, eyes remaining shut. "It simply means it's different."

"Can you feel your own vibrations?"

"No."

"Did you feel anything when I was a tiger?"

"No."

"Then how come you can feel something right now, but not when i'm actually a tiger?"

Sighing, I opened my eyes, blinking once or twice to readjust to the lighting. "I'm not sure, Gar. I know some about these abilities, but certainly not everything," I answered, calmly. "Maybe we can find out why? Tomorrow, we'll test it."

"Cool," he bobbed his head, a smile pulling up the right corner of his mouth. A sudden knock on the door echoed inside the motel room. We'd turned our heads to look at the door almost simultaneously. Gar spoke up to be heard, saying, "It's unlocked."

The door was opened a moment after he said those words. It swung open, revealing Dick, whom stood just outside. His eyebrows drew together, expression perplexed, as we became visible to him.

It had come to mind, the thought that this positioning might look disconcerting. But it only lasted for a second. Certainly not long enough to make a lasting impression. Gar quickly retracted his hand from mine as Dick walked into the room.

An eyebrow instinctively lifted on my forehead, seeing his suddenly nervous demeanor. "Calm down, please," I told him, quietly. Gar moved his eyes back to mine, and gave an apologetic nod.

"What's goin' on, guys?" Dick asked, visibly confused by the odd behavior.

I exhaled, "Gar wanted to know what his vibrations felt like."

"Ah," Dick understood then—at least, understood the majority of questions brought up by this. He looked to Gar, whom returned his glance, "Trust me—it's not as cool as it sounds."

"Asshole," I scoffed, slapping my knuckles against Dick's left arm.

The act of mild violence only caused Dick to let out a quiet chuckle, grinning as he sidestepped to escape my reach. Gar shrugged, "I think it's pretty cool."

"Because you're not an asshole," I told him, bringing his lips into a humored smile.

"Alright. Well, the asshole needs to talk to his girlfriend," Dick spoke sarcastically. He looked to Gar, "Can you wait to have your other palm read?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course," Gar nodded quickly.

My eyes shifted calmly between the two males—though, something was obviously similar. Something was shared between them with an almost matching glance, before Dick pulled his eyes from Gar to look at me, tipping his head toward the door in a gesture.

It was suspicious. It was curious. Yet I did not question it. I didn't see why I would need to. Just as Gar and I have private discussions, so do Gar and Dick. The suspicious behavior rolled off my back as I slid off the bed to stand.

Dick lead the way to the door, pulling it open and holding it while I walked through into the hallway. As he closed it behind us, he turned to me and said something I hadn't expected, "I know about Victor."

I dropped my shoulders, loosening them. "How exactly did you find out?" I questioned, as I folded my arms over my chest. Dick, after glancing the other way down the empty hall, put his hand at my shoulder blade to guide me along as he started walking.

My feet moved, allowing me to walk with him, but only for the sake of hearing his answer. "Plugged in your phone. He's left you half a dozen messages," he explained, a speck of concern to his calm tone.

"He's keeping me updated on the situation in Gotham," I sighed, unfolding my arms. "Daddy dearest has been released from prison on good behavior—that, and no one thought he was guilty to start."

Dick turned his head to look at me with a perplexed expression as we reached our room, "What? He was on death row—his execution was scheduled for next year."

"And yet, here we are. It reeks of corruption but i'm not surprised. I knew he would find a way to get out no matter where we put him—which is why I insisted he not live longer than twenty-thirteen."

"Anna, we both know killing him wasn't our only option," he gave me a disapproving look, unlocking the door and pushing it open as he spoke.

Dick gestured to the open doorway with his hand and I walked into the room while replying. "Did you not hear what I said?" I questioned, rhetorically. "Obviously—if not the only—it was the best option."

The sound of the door closing mixed with the sound of Dick's voice. "Yes, because killing your own father really would solve all your problems," he quipped, dryly. I all but rolled my eyes. Though, I did not have the chance to respond.

As I stepped into the bedroom area of the room, out of the small hallway in front of the door, I caught sight of something that slowed me. A small, velvety looking box sat on the bedspread—on the side of the bed closest me—a few inches from the edge.

My steps came to a sudden standstill two feet from the bed. Dick walked into my peripheral vision, moving past my left to put the room key on the vanity across from the end of the bed. He seemed unaware of my reaction.

I glanced from the box, to Dick, and back just once. My heart was already sped up in my chest. But there was nothing I could do just standing there. Curiosity was killing me almost as much as my preconceived idea of the box's contents.

So I took two steps forward and plucked the box from the bed in an effort to rip off the band aide either way. "What's in the box?" I questioned, keeping my tone playful in order to hide my inward panic.

"Open it."

My eyes shifted from the box to Dick as he leaned back into the vanity, palms against the edges of the wood on either side of him. His features were pulled into a lighthearted and soft expression, while simultaneously his bright smile reached his irises.

There were many options for content. So many I couldn't possibly get it right. Though, if his expression was at all telling, it was not an anniversary present. My lips drew into a thin line as my fingers moved to open the box.

As the lid was pushed up, more and more was revealed, until finally I could see all. Inside the small box was a rose gold band with a single ruby attached to its top, perched in black satin. Despite trying to prepare myself for this outcome, I inhaled sharply at the sight of it.

Something in my chest sunk, and my eyes immediately searched for Dick's. "Is this..." my words trailed, unable to finish the first question. Instead, I settled on, "Dick, what are you doing?"

"We've known each other for almost half our lives. And from that first time I met you, I knew...I knew I was going to love you, that I was going to need you. After everything we've been through, we're still here—and I choose to believe that's for a reason," he said, his words spoken calmly.

Dick pushed off the vanity to stand upright, as he took steps toward me. It had still not quite sunk in, the severity of the situation, but to some capacity it had. I was in a state of shock—unable to do anything but stare at him as he approached me.

He came to stand just in front of me beside the bed and carefully took the velvet box from my hands. "I know this is a weird time, but the last few days have just confirmed what I've been thinking for a long time," Dick lowered himself to one knee before me, holding the box. "Anna...will you marry me?"

My drastically rounded eyes were stuck on his, thoughts running through my mind in a whirlwind. It felt like I couldn't breathe, yet I was breathing too fast at the same time—creating an almost nauseating lightheadedness.

I opened my mouth to speak and no sound followed the action, not for a moment. Nodding my head quickly drew a line of warm water down my cheek, the corners of my mouth bursting up in a bittersweet smile, as finally my answer came. "Yes," I said, through an airy chuckle. "Yes, I will."

A warm light filled Dick's eyes, pouring out its brightness onto the rest of his features as he, too, smiled up at me. I held out my left hand as he took the ring out of the box. Then he slid it onto my ring finger.

Never was I one to wear much jewelry. But I reasoned I could make an exception for something of this importance. For something that meant so much. It seemed unreal. The rose gold band fit around my finger perfectly—not too tight, not too loose.

It made me travel back through my thoughts, wondering just when Dick had found out my ring size. Even I didn't know that information. There was much I didn't remember after Arkham, that being one of them.

Once the ring was secure, Dick stood from his spot on the floor, and I surged forward. My arms were thrown around his neck, chests colliding as I rose on my toes to press my lips against his.

TYRINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS
13 YEARS AGO

It was New Year's. Every holiday was spent at the cottage, and New Year's was no exception. There was a strict family only policy when it came to these kinds of vacations. Only Daddy's inner circle of business partners fit the criteria. Of course, he'd fit in whomever he pleased when it suited him.

Outside, the rain poured. I knew because I sat it in on my bedroom balcony's concrete railing. The thick slab offered a perfect perch to enjoy the winter storming.

Droplets of water pelted the exposed skin of my arms, erupting them in sharp bumps with the chill of the evening. It was electrifying, the sensation of becoming soaked to the bone from an unexpected rain storm. There was so much energy. Yet it was the most peaceful experience.

I sat up on the railing with my eyes closed, head tilted back to feel the water pouring down on my skin. My clothes were completely soaked. Water dripped off my arms. It rolled down my legs and leapt from my toes.

"Savannah? What are you doing out there? The ball's about to drop!"

The voice I'd heard calling to me from behind was unmistakable. I righted myself on the railing and twisted in my seat to see the balcony door. My fingers had to rake across my eyes to clear the water from them in order to open them.

Standing just inside my bedroom was Dick Grayson, wearing a dress shirt and slacks—formal attire to put on a show for Daddy's company partners. He was only allowed to come on this trip thanks to Bruce Wayne, one of the most important partners of my father's company.

He stood under cover, squinting to see me through the sheet of rain and shouting to be heard. I couldn't help but smile. "Come sit with me!" I shouted, motioning with my hand.

"No way, Anna!"

"What's wrong, Dick? Afraid of getting a little wet?"

My teeth pinched my lower lip before tugging it into my mouth. The split second sight of the expression it brought to his face was enough to brighten my eyes as I turned away from him.

It wasn't something special. I did it to every male. Why was beyond me. But I'd had a habit of making everything an opportunity to flirt. It hadn't gone wrong for me just yet, so I hadn't been able to give it up. I supposed it was just who I was.

That wildflower everyone secretly wanted to be but outwardly despised. With outstretched arms, I tipped my head back and exhaled a deep breath. "You're crazy, Savannah Syren!"

I would take crazy if it meant feeling alive any day. The words brought a small giggle up my throat. I could just picture the look of indecisiveness on his face. I'd always teased him about being a no-fun fuddy duddy at the ripe age of sixteen.

To which I was always accused of being too much. But I didn't mind. Getting a rise out of him was worth it. In a matter of heartbeats after he'd spoken, a pair of arms wrapped around my middle from behind and gave me a hard pull.

I'd squealed from surprise, the squeak of a sound being followed by a string of laughs as Dick carried me toward the bedroom door. "Wait, wait!" I shouted a little to be heard over the thunderous rain. "Just one more minute!"

"You've been out here for an hour!"

Putting my feet down caused him to stop walking, allowing me to pull out of his hold and stand on my own. I turned to face him as I pushed my soaked hair out of my view. "You've got to start living a little, Grayson! Before you die an old man who never did anything interesting!" I told him.

It was hard to gauge his expression in the thick water running across his face, but it was easy to pick out the hint of playful annoyance. "This is the most interesting thing you can think of?" he questioned, rhetorically.

"No! This is just the most interesting thing at the moment!"

He shook his head slowly at me, "Your dad's gonna kill you when he finds out you did this in your new dress!"

"Good!" I shouted, before leaning toward him with a barked laugh. I threw my arms out at my sides and spun on my bare feet. Flinging my head back to get the full effect of twirling in the rain.

The sound of his laugh echoed off the side of the cottage, warm enough in my ears to eradicate the notion of being too cold from my mind. It mixed with the distant voices of the television from the sitting room, blasting a broadcast of the ball drop in Times Square.

Sighing in contentment, I stopped my spinning to face Dick, a bright smile on both our faces. "You're so beautiful," he said, just loud enough for me to hear.

I didn't know how to take that compliment. Usually they rolled right off my back, not unlike the rain that poured atop my head in that moment. But it was the way his eyes lit up when he looked at me. How his lips remained parted after he said the words.

It was a sight I'd wanted to take a picture of and keep safely tucked away forever in the back of my mind. Though, I did no such thing. I marched forward without warning and pushed myself up to the full height of my toes, grabbing his face as I pressed my lips against his.

The kiss was rain soaked and unplanned. But it was magic. I felt the walls of my chest cavity grow warm as he kissed me back. His arms encircled me, tucking me tightly against his chest. The taste of the rain mixed with the taste of his tongue.

I'd never been so assertive. Not in this context. I was eternally grateful for that little spark of courage, though. Because it was one of the best nights of my life. That is, until we got caught.

"What do you two think you're doing out there?"

Our mouths had broken their connection but Dick's arms refused to move as we'd both startled from the voice shouted at us. Turning my head a fraction of an inch, I could see the voice belonged to none other than Bruce Wayne.

I couldn't help the heat in my cheeks, but I was quick to suppress it as I peeled myself away from Dick. The two of us shuffled quickly back inside the cottage, out of the rain, equally embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Bruce, she wouldn't come inside," Dick apologized, once we'd gotten in.

"I'm sorry you both missed the ball drop—but something tells me you improvised," Bruce commented, the very ghost of a smile playing at the left corner of his mouth.

Dick and I shared a quick glance, and I fought a smile, folding my top lip over the bottom one in order to clamp it down. "Why don't the two of you get dried off and then join us downstairs?" Bruce suggested. Then, specifically to Dick, he added, "There are more towels in the guest room."

It was a subtle hint that we weren't going to be getting dry alone in the same room together. I assumed it would've been obvious. But, from a parent's perspective, it made sense to enforce it. Even though Bruce wasn't Dick's father, I admired him for those moments he truly acted like he was.

Dick nodded, getting the hint, and pattered out of the bedroom into the hallway. Bruce was soon to follow, departing to give me privacy to do whatever I needed in my attempt to get dried off.

SOMEWHERE IN OHIO
NOW

The pad of my index finger softly traced the puckered line down the front of Dick's shoulder, feeling the graveled texture of the skin as I lost myself in thought. I was not there when he acquired such a scar. But I was there after.

Even still, I vividly remember when he'd come to my balcony in the late hours of the night. I'd been asleep until I felt him climb into my bed. The following morning, he explained to me just how he'd earned the wound, and how many stitches it required.

I was not at all impressed. There was too much to be concerned with. Now, my fingertip brushed over the smaller scar—one only a white line of flesh—just below and to the right of the previous one.

"Do you remember when I found you by my bed, sitting on the floor?" I spoke quietly, softly at the memory. "You'd just been shot, yet you apologized for not calling ahead."

A small laugh escaped me from the ridiculousness of those last words. Dick smiled a little, his chest rising and falling beneath me as he huffed an airy chuckle. "I tried to hide the bandage from you but you sniffed it out like a blood hound," he recalled.

"I was so mad at you."

"But you let me stay anyway."

"Only because I was madly in love with you—and you'd just been shot."

Dick bent his neck to look down at me, a soft smile on his lips, "Was?"

I knew he was being humorous. He was playing me, trying to get me to say something equally playful yet heartfelt. My head tilted, resting against my knuckles as I propped myself up on my elbow. I'd reached out my other hand to touch his face.

The skin of my fingers ghosting the curve of his jaw, coming to his chin, my thumb extending to dance over his lower lip. Dick's eyes remained on mine the entire time. Watching me intently as I touched him, curious of the end result.

"You know what you said to me back then? 'You always have me—no matter where I am.'," my voice was a whisper, the left corner of my lips upturned in a small smile. "I don't think either of us realized quite what it meant."

"It's still true," Dick whispered in reply, features softened beyond compare.

Lifting my head off my hand, I nodded a little, "I know."

In a slow but smooth movement, he reached up a hand to touch the back of my neck, fingers sliding up through my tussled hair as he leaned in. Our noses touched and a gentle chill caused my body to shudder, eyelids fluttering comfortably closed.

The moment his lips brushed against mine was felt deep in the tissue. It was an addictive pulse beat that I chased after, desperate to feel more.

A sudden intrusion of dry heat in the center of my chest pulled my mind away from my current activities, instead bringing the thought of four unique individuals to the forefront of my consciousness. It was unexpected and untimely.

But that wasn't what yanked my body backward, immediately pushing myself up to sit at attention facing the door. "Hey, whoa- Anna? What's wrong?" Dick quickly questioned, concerned. He was right to be worried. Incredibly right.

"They're here—those assholes from D.C., they found us," I answered, getting up from the bed. "We've got maybe five minutes before they become a problem."

Dick was up—rolling to the other side of the bed to get to his feet—and had most of his clothes on before I'd taken two steps from the bedside. I didn't bother putting on my civilian clothes. This task would require something more durable.

So I dug into my duffel until I found the crimson at the bottom. As swiftly as I could, I pulled on the leather pants, boots, and matching corset. Then I secured the knife sheath around my waist and the red hood around my shoulders.

I'd just gotten it on when Dick opened the room door in order to check the hallway, to see if they'd gotten this close yet. When in fact they already had.

My eyes were focused on other things, so I did not see the exact cause of Dick's bought of flight, but a thud followed by a loud groan caught my attention. I'd turned my head just in time to see Dick flying backward several feet into the room.

He hit the carpeting and was immediately up on his elbows to crawl further back. The woman of the four walked into the motel room, accompanied by a new man—most likely a replacement of the one Kory previously burned.

This man looked just as ugly and smug as the last. He held a large hammer and the woman a battery powered trimmer. "Well, this is certainly a surprise," the woman said, eyeing me with a wicked smile.

Her man agreed, "Yes. Definitely unexpected."

There was something so incredibly wrong about their words, voices, and interactions. They were mechanical and unemotional. My hands dove beneath the folds of my hood, to the sheath at my back, and gripped a pair of knives.

As I pulled them out into the light, Dick got to his feet, and the woman started her trimmer and charged. Dick dove to the left, and I spun right. The blade of my knife caught in the groove of the woman's power tool and held it still.

The tool whirred and buzzed in protest, but it was locked as the woman and I offered equal strength from both sides. Finally her side released and she stumbled back one step. She swung the tool and I bent back to miss it.

Once again I twisted and came from the side, carving a silver blade along the length of her upper arm as my body now stood behind her. She reacted as though her body was in fact hindered. But her mind was not at all effected.

The woman only straightened and whirled to face me, swinging the power tool, and I took quick steps back to miss it. My body touched the wall in between the hall and the bathroom doorway, but the woman still rapidly approached.

So I let my feet slide from beneath me, dropping my body to the floor, and I lurched into a roll toward the bed. Dick was using his Robin suit's case to deflect the wild swings of the man's hammer on the other side of the bed, in front of the window.

The woman's power tool sawed rapidly a line into the side of the bedspread, aiming for me but missing only when I dodged to the left. With my dodge I thrusted the knife I held in my right hand deep into the meat of her left foot.

I rolled out from beside the bed, lurching to my feet easily. "Anna! Find Rachel!" Dick hollered, swinging his case left and right. "Go, I got this!"

Yes, I believed he could very well have it under control if I left him to handle it alone. But that did not stop my immediate reluctance to go along with the new plan. The woman was staggered with the knife still in her foot.

She reached down a hand and gave it a hard pull, yanking the blade from her flesh easily. In all my years of killing murderers, i'd never seen something so morbidly grotesque.

It was my only chance to leave the room if I were actually going to. So, after one last glance at Dick's situation, I sprinted to the right and bolted through the open door to the motel room. This was not the time for his death, that much I knew.

That knowledge wasn't much comfort but it was enough to keep me running through the hallway toward Rachel, Gar, and Kory's rooms. When I drifted around the final and only corner, my eyes settled on Kory further down the hall.

She stood with her back to the bodies of the young boy and girl of this horrific group. Though, they were not down and out. Both of them were getting to their feet and Kory seemingly did not notice.

I kept running, this time with a plan formulating in my mind. Deciding how to fight was like deciding how to dance. I'd had plenty of practice in making both decisions over the course of my life. As I approached, I calculated the distance in my head.

Then I leapt up and pushed off the wall, spring-boarding myself up and to the left, in the right angle to slam my fist right into the girl's head. She made a muffled sound as she hit the hall's carpeted flooring. My descent brought my feet to the ground in an angle that caused my back to hit the wall after a quick turn.

As my back hit the wall, I immediately slid down several inches to miss getting hit in the face with the boy's bat. Kory had noticed what was going on the second i'd hit the girl. But she didn't jump into the fight—instead, simply observed.

The boy's bat was lodged into the wall in a crater. "This is for Hank, you little shit!" I hissed, surging to my feet. My fingers wrapped around the end of the bat and gave it a strong pull, yanking it from the wall. The handle end of the bat went straight back into the forehead of the boy.

It was a hard enough hit to send him stumbling backward a few steps. With a twist of my wrist i'd turned the bat to hold its handle. The second I did, I did not hesitate to give it a good swing, sending the larger end into the side of the boy's head.

He dropped to the floor with a hollow thud, only blood left behind on the bat to show for the contact. "Damn. That was pretty good," Kory nodded once in approval as I turned my head to look at her. "Rachel and Gar are outside. Come on."

I'd taken a quick glance over my shoulder before following her down the stairs at the end of the hall, not far from where we'd been standing. There had been no feeling of death. Yet it still worried me that Dick was taking on the adults alone.

Getting to Rachel was the most important thing, I told myself. So I tried to keep myself focused on that. Kory and I jogged out of the building and into the parking lot, toward Rachel and Gar where they stood on the other side of a small car.

They both looked alarmed and concerned. "Where's Dick?" Rachel questioned, as we quickly approached. Kory looked to me for the answer. Though, there wasn't much of one to be given.

"I don't know," I shook my head, gesturing with my hands.

Kory and I joined Rachel and Gar. Movement caught my attention through my peripheral view of the building, causing me to turn my head just as the woman and man from the motel room were walking toward the car just feet from us.

My hands found themselves each a knife in a quick, smooth motion under the folds of my hood. Kory put out her arm, guiding Rachel and Gar to stand behind her, before getting into a readied position. "Time to burn, assholes," she said, outstretching her arms.

She tilted her head back and the magenta curls on her head coiled with vibrancy. But it only spread into her hands for a moment before fizzling out. Kory let out a frustrated sound, "Fucking night!"

It had only briefly occurred to me that nightfall might cause a problem for us in this situation. I was too busy focusing on the enemy, working out scenarios of escape in my mind to truly think about it. Kory charged forward at the man.

He reached behind him and pulled the side door from the car next to him and, as he turned, hit Kory with the metal. She bounced back through the air, landing against the side of the car at our backs before dropping to the pavement.

My fingers tightened around the knife handles, seconds before a familiar jolt was sent through the length of my spine. Dick was close. I felt it seconds before gas canisters spewed a thick fog, rolling in from behind the car behind the man and woman's back.

There was a dense whistle, quickly followed by the man being thrust backward, pulled to a space behind the car somewhere. Dick, dressed fully as Robin, slid over the top of the car and landed just beside it within the thinning smoke.

A small smirk corkscrewed my lips at the sight. Letting those around you into this part of our lives was an impossibly difficult feat. Even though it was due to emergency purposes, I was proud of Dick for taking that step.

The boy and the girl had come from the motel, positioned just behind and to the right of me. I shifted my gaze to where Dick stood and he looked in my direction. A small, shared nod was the signal to get moving. And we both did.

Dick spun his staff and moved for the woman. I turned and slashed at the girl—whom had been closest to me. Gar, with a determined expression, turned and bolted down the row of parking spaces. The girl tried using her wire lasso.

With a flick of her wrist she sent the grappling hook head at me, the wire wrapping around my left forearm. She smile triumphantly before giving a pull. I spun rapidly, giving me all the tension in the wire, and hiked up my leg once I faced her again.

The heel of my boot was sent into her middle and she was thrust backward a few feet. It also ripped the wire completely from her hands. Seconds after she'd hit the ground, her male counterpart wound back his bat to take a swing.

A sharp roar sounded close by, stopping the boy mid-swing from sheer surprise. He looked over his shoulder a second before he was ripped away by Gar, in his tiger form, whom was standing atop the car nearby. The boy was flung into the air with a shout.

After the boy was no longer a threat, I turned to see Gar and gave a nod. He growled loudly in response. The man was on the pavement, unconscious, and Kory had just pulled herself off the pavement to join the rest of us.

All five of us stood there in front of the woman, the last person standing, and she dropped her power tool in defeat. "Well..." she said, glancing over us nervously. "Look at the mess we've made."

Furious fire in my veins, I marched forward, "It's about to get messier."

"Savannah, no!" Dick tried to stop me.

Though, I did not do what either of us expected. Instead of using the sharp end of my knife, I used the handle to render her unconscious—slamming it into her right temple. "Bitch," I growled under my breath, as her body hit the pavement.

I could feel the breath of relief from Dick even a handful of yards away from him. But I would not have regretted killing her. Physically, I was incapable of feeling remorse for those justly killed. It was something I learned after so many years of not experiencing guilt.

At least, none for the murderers. I turned around to face the others and Dick gave me a cautionary expression. "What?" I questioned, a bit harshly. "I wasn't going to kill her."

"Yes, you were," Rachel spoke up, tilting her head.

Sighing, I shrugged, "Well, I didn't."

Dick was walking toward me, nearing my position in his path to move past me to the woman's body. He gave nod as he passed, his hand pressing a brief squeeze to my shoulder. "Progress," he commented, dryly sarcastic.

I rolled my eyes at that. The plan moving forward was to tie up the four assailants, the young and adult pairs in separate rooms, and question them. They were all unconscious so, once they were tied to chairs in their respective rooms, I went to change into civilian clothes.

The room I shared with Dick was absolutely obliterated. Wood chunks splintered across the carpet by the window from the smashed table and chairs. Glass covered the space as well from the shattered window. And the bed was beaten into submission.

My feet carried me to my duffel bag on the vanity, but my eyes lingered on the mess in surprise and concern. It was not at all this much of a whirlwind mess when I'd left Dick as he'd said to do. Out of curiosity, I stepped away from the vanity to peer through the curtains.

Beyond the shattered glass, down below in the parking lot, the top of a car was cratered in. "Holy hell," I whispered, the words coming out without much thought.

"Yeah, that was me."

Dick's voice startled me, causing my body to twist quickly to look over my shoulder. I raised an eyebrow at him, "So, which one did you-"

"No, I mean that was me—I went through the window," Dick interrupted to correct me.

Both my eyes were widened by his statement, and I moved away from the window to take steps in his direction. "What the fuck, Richard?" I questioned, concern taking over my tone. "You said you could handle it. They threw you out a window!"

Dick walked forward to meet me halfway, his palms sliding onto either side of my face. "Hey, calm down, okay? I'm fine," he spoke reassuringly, though I was not very reassured.

"You could've broken every bone in your fucking body."

"Well...I didn't."

He cocked his head, a grin forming on his lips, drawing satisfaction from using my own words on me. I knew exactly what he was telling me, it was in his eyes—now you see how it feels. The urge to slap the grin right from his face was almost overwhelming.

But it was easier to suppress when he started talking. That way I could focus on something other than that tempting but unforgivable urge. "I'm gonna go search their car, see what I can find," he said, retracting his hands.

"Alright. I'll get dressed and meet you out there."

"Bring your bag, okay?"

Though I was unsure of his reasoning, I agreed with a nod. He took one step forward and leaned down an inch, pressing his lips to the top of my head in a quick kiss, before exiting the motel room. With a sigh I dug through my duffel.

There was one last pair of jeans, the only suitable top being a long-sleeve i'd packed to fill space. I got dressed in the civilian clothes and packed my hood away in the bottom of my bag. Then I pulled on my coat, and carried the duffel bag on my shoulder to the parking lot.

Dick was standing behind the open driver's side door of the station wagon those four were driving, with Rachel and Gar stood a foot from the car. I walked up on the left and dropped my bag on the hood. It seemed I entered in the middle of an interesting conversation.

Gar was obviously trying to seem calm, but his excitement was spilling over. "So…Batman. You know him?" he asked, looking at Dick. The boy rocked on his heels with his hands in his pockets.

Rachel gave him a look, "Of course he knows Batman."

"Will we get to see him?" Gar let out a nervous laugh. "I'd really like to meet Batman."

"No, you won't," Dick shook his head with a grin.

The thought crossed my mind—all I would have to do is give Wayne Manor a call and plead my case. Alfred would ensure Bruce played along. He'd probably convince him it would be like participating in Toys For Tots. It would be just like Alfred.

Though, I kept my mouth tightly shut. Just then, Kory walked up to us from the motel. "Any luck?" she inquired, most likely referring to the vehicle's contents.

"I'm gonna find out who's running this freak show," Dick answered. Then, after a quick glance, he tipped his head in my direction, "Well, we are."

"I thought we weren't splitting up," Rachel pointed out.

"We're coming back," I said, surely, putting my hand on her arm. She turned her head to look at me, and I nodded confidently. "I'll always come back."

Rachel nodded a little, though she still was compelled to turn toward me fully, throwing her arms around me in a hug. "Promise?" she asked, light-heartedly, as she stepped back with a smile.

I smile back at her, closed-mouthed, "I promise."