Author's Note: In which the Marvel heroes are slaves to the DC heroes. Basically, the 'Prince falls in love with the Slave' kind of au.

Ava growled because she was told to do nothing but watch as a centennial whipped an old man. Her uncle warned her not to interfere with the centennials. He told her that they would force her into a brothel if she caused trouble.

It ate her up inside.

She hated that she couldn't do anything to help. Her father would be ashamed of her.

Ava, along with her foster brothers, uncle, and thousands of more people taken from the mountains were slaves under King Bruce in the kingdom of Gotham. She never knew why they were taken. Frankly, she didn't care.

She wanted to get out.

Ava didn't look like most slave girls. She refused to wear the dresses and robes they often wore. Her outfit was originally a white dress. But she cut it off to her knees, she ripped away the part the hid her midriff. To summarize, her calves up to her knees and stomach were bare.

Her line of work was different too. Instead of fetching water and working in households like most women, she helped her brothers Peter, Daniel, Sam, and Luke carry wooden posts to the temples. She had proved that her strength was worthy of more difficult work.

She enjoyed it.

Ava enjoyed feeling her muscles strain as she hauled wood and stone from the quarries to the temples.

On one particularly hot day, while she and Peter were dragging wood through a courtyard of a new half-finished glorified temple, Ava felt like she was being watched. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pair of eyes watching her every move.

She's never seen eyes so blue.

Sure, she's seen blue eyes before. But his eyes looked like pure pools of sapphire.

And they were gazing right at her.

The eyes weren't the only thing that was beautiful. The boy who the eyes belonged to was very handsome. He looked about thirteen. A full year older than her. Ava could tell by his clothes that he was no slave. No, he was someone of great importance.

"Prince Richard, we are honored!"

Ava tensed up before absolute anger filled her. She knew who he was now. He was Prince Richard, oldest child to King Bruce, Heir to the Gotham throne.

As she and Peter delivered the wood where it was supposed to go and headed back to the slave sector, she saw him staring at her again. When he realized that she was looking back at him, he smiled at her.

Ava decided right then and there that she hated him.

-Time Skip-

As she laid in her pallet that night, her thoughts wandered to the forbidden image of the prince with the sapphire eyes.

At the same time, in the palace, thirteen-year-old Prince Richard laid on his bed, thinking about the brown skinned goddess he saw in the temple courtyard today. At first, he dreaded when Bruce told him that he would be over-seeing the building of the temple. He said it would be good for him to see his legacy.

Yeah right.

Richard turned on his side and smiled as he thought about the girl in the courtyard. When he saw the beautiful slave girl, doing men's work, he felt his heart and soul rip themselves from his body. His soul draped itself across her shoulders while his heart laid itself at her feet. She reminded him of a tigress.

Harsh.

Unrelenting.

Powerful.

The boy fell asleep thinking about his tiger goddess.

-Time Skip-

This continued for five years. She would be dragging stone and wood to monuments and he would always be there. Watching her every move.

They both changed over the years. They both grew taller. Richard grew more muscular while Ava became more lean. His love for her grew stronger as he watched her grow older. He planned on approaching her as she headed back to the slave sector.

But fate had other plans.

Ava was walking towards the slave sector when she heard shrieking. She ran towards the noise and saw something that sickened her to her very core.

Mary-Jane, her brother Peter's betrothed, was being held down by two centennials as a priest started ripping her dress.

Oh hell no.

Roaring in fury, Ava charged at these men and yanked the perverted priest away. She broke a centennial's nose by punching him while she dug her claw like nails into the other shoulders and forced him away from her future sister-in-law.

The priest stood up just as Ava shoved Mary-Jane behind her protectively.

"You dare touch me slave?!"

Ava snarled. "Yes I dare. I dare just as much as you dared to touch my brother's betrothed."

The priest stalked forward. Ava growled and harshly shoved him back. She turned to Mary-Jane.

"Run."

The red haired maiden did as she was told and ran to get Peter and the others. The priest stood up in fury.

"Take her to the post."

Prince Richard looked around for his tiger goddess. Why wasn't she here?

"Peter!"

He turned around just in time to see a red haired maiden run past him to his tigress's brother.

"Ava saved me from being raped. But the priest took her to the post!"

Richard felt his blood go cold.

He has heard the tales of the post. Disobedient slaves were taken there and whipped. Ava must be the name of his tiger goddess.

He had to save her.

Ava gritted her teeth as the whip tore at her flesh. This was the tenth lashing, yet she refused to cry out. Ava was on her knees while her arms were tied to two different posts. The priest that was whipping her walked in front of her.

"Do you concede, slave?"

Ava looked up at the priest with defiant eyes.

"Never."

The priest smirked before returning to his original spot. She gritted her teeth as another blow struck her. Ava heard him draw back, clenched her eyes shut, and waited for the blow.

It never came.

"What do you think your doing, Lex?"

"Prince Richard,,,,,,,"

Ava heard footsteps walk away from Lex and towards her. A figure crouched next to her and placed a finger under her chin and eased her head up. When she opened her eyes, she met a pair of sapphire orbs.

Prince Richard knelt in front of her. Looking at her with and unreadable expression. He held her gaze for a few moments before looking up.

"Barbara, your cloak."

The prince stood up as Ava felt someone kneel next to her and wrap a cloak around her now shaking shoulders.

"Why is this woman being whipped?"

Ava ears perked as she heard the priest, Lex, speak up. "She tried to kill me and my guards."

"That's not true!"

Ava forced herself to look up and saw Mary-Jane force her way throughout the crowd with Peter and the rest of her brothers following close behind.

Peter put his hand on Mary-Jane's shoulder and looked the prince in the eye. "The priest tried to defile my betrothed and my sister defended her."

Richard's eyes narrowed. He looked back at the tigress.

"Unbind her, and arrest this man."

Ava felt who she guessed was Barbara start to untie her wrists. When she fell forward, Ava felt strong arms catch her. The same arms picked her up and cradled her close.

Then, all she knew was darkness.

After bringing Ava to his chambers, Richard let the palace healers tend to her. When they left, he crouched next to his bed. He smiled as he brushed hair back away from her face. But that smile turned into a bitter frown as he saw the freshly bandaged cuts peeking from the top of the dress that Barbara came in and put on her.

He was angered that he let he didn't catch her before she left, but at the same time, he was proud of her for stopping a young woman from being defiled.

He smiled when she started stirring.

Ava could sense that she wasn't in her home. She also sensed that she wasn't the only person in the room. Opening her eyes, Ava saw the now familiar eyes of Prince Richard gazing at her deeply.

He smiled. "Your awake. I was starting to think I was going to fetch a revivalist."

Ava blinked her eyes in confusion and she looked around her new surroundings. "Where am I?"

Richard smiled and started stroking her hair. "Your at the palace. Don't worry, your safe."

"The palace?"

Why was she here?

A dull pain on her back caused her to remember. She saved her future sister-in-law from being defiled.

That still didn't explain why she was in the palace.

"Why am I here?"

"Do you not remember being whipped, love?"

"Of course."

Did he just call her love?

Richard smiled as he continued stroking her hair. "I remember the first time I saw you."

Ava scrunched her nose as she remembered. "You were at the temple that day."

He smiled. "I remember that day. That was the day I vowed to love no one but you."

Ava's eyes widened. "B-but, your a prince. And I'm-"

"Don't. You are not a slave. Not anymore. The moment you crossed over the palace threshold in my arms you became a free woman."

Ava's eyes widened. Richard took the opportunity to do something he has been craving to do since the moment he saw her.

He kissed her.

Ava's eyes widened. She closed her eyes and relished in the kiss. Yes, there were still evil things in the world. Ava would be ready to face them.

But for know she would be with the prince that loved her and that she loved back.