Hey guys. Here's another chapter. Sorry it's on the shorter side. Enjoy!

Kara's POV:

For the fourth time in the past hour my back hits the floor as Batman looks down at me. "What did you do wrong?" He asks gruffly, though his voice lacks any form of hostility.

I sit up and cross my legs, looking much more annoyed than the third time. "Well let's see." I ponder for a moment, most definitely trying the bat's patience. "First off I decided to agree to train with you, even though I knew you'd kick by butt." A small smirk flashes across his lips, but is lost quickly and replaced by a stern line. "Never thought I'd miss Canary so much." I mumble under my breath. "Then there's my lack of knowledge of what I'm doing, despite your teachings, oh great master." I say while taking a slight bow. If his mask wasn't lined with lead I would be able to see him rolling his eyes. "And then there's the most obvious thing." I comment while gesturing to my current position and look straight up at him. "I fell down."

A noise, which I discern as a chuckle, escapes from him as he offers me a hand. Hoisting me up he takes the opportunity to throw a few quick jabs my way, which I avoid, but not without releasing a few grunts of surprise. "Your form was off." He makes to grab my arm to wrench it behind my back, but I twist away from his grasp. "In the past hour you've remained on the defensive and haven't made a single move against me." Just then I turn and lash out a few times, surprisingly landing a punch and making him grunt from the force.

My eyes grow wide as I realize I've used some of my strength. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" I ask being taken off guard.

He spares no time grabbing my arm and flipping me so I once again am staring up at him from the flat of my back. "And yes, it would be best if you didn't fall down." He adds with a smirk.

Once again I accept his helpful hand and allow him to hoist me back onto my feet. Retying my ponytail I heave another sigh and look back up at the man in black. "You are okay though right? I didn't break anything?"

He shakes his head. "I'm fine." I nod as he clears his throat. "Now take your stance." I do so and grimace slightly as he circles my form. "Widen your feet." My feet spread a few extra inches. "Don't just use your arm. Move with your punches."

I stop for a moment. "But what if they're vulnerable? I could hurt them by putting more force into it."

"Kara, you're stronger than Superman. Everyone will be vulnerable to you."

"Then how do I fight them without making them breathe through a tube for the rest of their life?"

"We'll work on that after you master the form and proper movement."

After another two hours the bat finally releases me from training for the day. Yelling a quick thank you over my shoulder I sprint from the training room before he changes his mind, but not before I hear his call of "I'll see you tomorrow morning at five." Seriously 5am on a Saturday? I think to myself, though I would never make my complaint known to the bat. He'd definitely make me pay for it later. Grabbing a quick shower, I make my way to the kitchen where I hear static running and plop down next to Conner.

He glances my way. "How'd it go?"

I groan and burry my face in his shoulder. Nightwing laughs from the other side of the room. "Yup, I've had those days."

Looking up at the black-clad hero I make a face. "Do you know when Canary is coming back?"

Wally speeds in then and plops down next to his best friend. "Next week sometime." He responds with a smile. I give another groan and burry my face in a pillow. "What did I say?" Wally asks uncertainly.

Conner pipes up then, snatching the pillow from my hands and hitting me over the head with it. "Batman's filling in for Canary while she's away."

I glare at Conner and try to wrestle the pillow from his grasp as Wally makes a noise. "That sucks dude."

Artemis snorts as she plops down next to the red head. "What are they doing?"

"Kara just finished a three hour training session with Bats and Conner hit her in the face with a pillow." Nightwing supplies.

Rolling off the couch I snatch the pillow from his fingers and sit cross legged on his back. Smacking him upside the head a few times with the fluffy material. I begin to laugh. "Come on Con, you know you can't beat me."

"Alright, alright I give." He hollers in between chuckles.

I crawl off of him and sit beside him on the floor. "Well that was easy."

He launches at me, twists me in a headlock and ruffles my damp hair. "Not so easy, huh?" He laughs.

I heave a heavy sigh. "Fine, fine just get off."

He laughs and shoves me as he picks himself up and sits again on the couch. Wally leans over to the two he's sitting by and mumbles. "Are we sure they're not a thing?"

Conner and I both glare at him in a sort of shock and simultaneously yell. "We're not together!"

After a few more days of training and team bonding, we finally get a break. While walking around downtown Metropolis Conner's hand somehow finds mine. Instead of glancing down and looking up at him with a questioning brow I lean into his side as we continue down the sidewalk through the open market. It's odd how comfortable I am with him. After grabbing sandwiches from the deli we sit down on the edge of the fountain in central park. Looking up at the blue sky with its white clouds I close my eyes and take in a deep breath while stretching, absorbing the warmth from the sun's rays. The sounds of the surrounding city flood my ears, but I push them away. Instead I listen to the gleeful laughter of children at the playground, the energetic barking of a dog chasing a Frisbee, and the gentle breeze rustling through the leaves of the surrounding trees. I hum with pleasure as a smile springs to my face. "Yup, it's settled. This is amazing." I conclude glancing over at Conner who's eyeing me curiously.

"It's just turkey and cheese Kara."

My smile grows as I shake my head. "No it's…" I pause for a moment, doing my best to push the memories away. Conner notices the displeasure flash across my face, perking up slightly and giving me his full attention. I chuckle and look down in an attempt to lighten the mood. "No, I mean this place." I glance back up at him. "I guess I'm just really glad I left Kansas." I bite my lip for a second. "I finally have the control I always wanted. The freedom, it's refreshing."

He flashes me a smile. "You seem happier."

I nod. "I am." A somber expression clings to his face as he throws away his trash and walks back toward the apartment. I follow quickly. "Conner?"

"I'm sorry." He responds quietly.

My brow draws downward. "Sorry for what?"

"I should have known."

I shake my head. "I don't…"

"You're one of my best friends." He looks over at me as we walk the way we had just come. "I should have realized you weren't happy. That you were in trouble."

I smile lightly and look ahead of us. "Don't beat yourself up." I comment as we wait for the walk sign. "I didn't even know that I was unhappy, that I was in trouble." Those words scare me for some reason. How could I not have known? Thinking back on it, it should have been obvious. I should have realized their hesitation in letting me leave, while they pushed me toward staying in shape and monitored my health so regularly. Something was off and I never even realized it.

"Kara?" Conner asks as he unlocks the door to the apartment.

I look up at him and smile. "I'm fine." He gives me a look, not believing me. I chuckle. "I'm fine, seriously. I just…" I give another breathy laugh. "I should have noticed much earlier than I did."

He steps toward me and takes my hand. His face inches from mine. "We all should have." Looking up into his eyes I realize how close he is. My lips part slightly as I go to respond, but my words are lost as his hand comes up to cup my face. His thumb strokes across my cheek bone as he leans toward me. I comply and press my lips against his. His arms wrap around my waist and pull me against him as my fingers fold together behind his neck. My knees cross around his hips. Leaning back on the couch he runs his fingers through my hair while I deepen the kiss. As I force my tongue into his mouth, his fingers find the buttons on my shirt, making me slowly pull away from him. His brow draws together as he stares up at me. "What's wrong?"

I look down to my knees straddling his chest and shake my head. "I've never…" I trail off and scoff lightly. "I mean, have you?" I question, looking at him.

"Yeah." He sits up slightly, looking ashamed. "M'gann and I…" He doesn't finish.

I kiss him lightly on the lips and run a hand through his hair. "It doesn't matter. I'm just not there yet."

He smiles slightly. "Okay." He glances over to the kitchen and spies the time on the stovetop. "Clark will be home soon, so… yeah."

I nod and stand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

He stands and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear smiling at me. "Don't be." His smile deepens as his thumb strokes back and forth against my lower lip.

His smirk is contagious. Glancing over at the clock I give him a look. "You know, Clark only gets off in ten minutes." A deep chuckle vibrates through his chest.