Hello! I'm a tad late I know but Saturday was busy with work and crap, anyway chapter 4 and it's ensuing chaos...the reveal of Batman's final condition.

Chapter 4: Complications

"No. Nope, nada, zilch, never, ever ever." Red Kite shook her head vigorously at Batman's final condition.

"You agreed," he said.

"No, you were just telling me the conditions, I never agreed to anything," she said desperately.

"Do you want a place in Gotham or not?"

She turned away. "You don't get it."

"What? That you've had a team before. That you've tried before and, in your opinion, failed before." Her eyes widened. "I know about Bermuda."

She shuddered slightly. "Stop. Please."

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "That's surviver's guilt Scarlet, there was nothing you could have done that you didn't do and you know it."

"If I were stronger, I could have done it, I could have...saved them." She hugged herself tightly, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"No, you couldn't have. No matter how strong you were, no matter how fast you went, no one could have saved them."

She bit her lip until she tasted blood. Yes I could have. If I was stronger I could have.

"You need to let that go."

She shook her head. "Stop it. It was my fault. They're all gone. All gone because of me."

"No one could have foreseen the earthquake. They all knew that. It came with the job. But this is a second chance. It's a chance for you to let go of that guilt, use your abilities to help people."

"You don't know what happened!" She squeezed her eyes shut. "Stop it! No. I can't have anyone else's blood on my hands."

She ran and jumped, shooting a grappler and swinging off. She knew that he probably had a tracer on her, but at this point she didn't care.

She arrived at her safe-haven unscathed. Sitting on the topmost beam, she leaned against the wall, one leg dangling over the edge. She pulled a small, circular pendant from under her suit, on the silver cover of it were swirling lines and designs. She opened the locket and inside were page-like images.

One of her family, before. Another of her team, before. And one of her and her best friend, before.

Before the Shadows. Before Deathstroke. Before Strike.

She laughed bitterly. "Everything I touch goes to pieces. My family, my team, my life." She gripped the small pendant so tightly her knuckles were white. "I can't live like this," she whispered. "A life like this is no life at all."

She picked up her sword, running a hand along it's smooth edge. There were beautifully engraved words along the edge. The language was Romani, the gypsy tongue.

Nu cedati niciodata

"Never give up," she recited in a whisper. "Never is such a long time." Her eyes hardened. "And I can last for much longer."

A few nights later, she was waiting for Batman and Robin at the Batsignal. She'd already been on patrol for a few hours, she was almost ready to go home.

She took a deep breath, she could do this. She would. Both Batman and Robin arrived swiftly.

Batman gave her a questioning look, she nodded. "What's up?" Robin greeted.

"The sky."

"Ha ha hilarious."

She smirked. "I intercepted a text from that dealer we nabbed a few nights ago, there's another deal goin' down. Tonight."

"Clear on my end," she reported into the comm Batman had given her.

Both Robin and Batman replied with the same thing.

Her eyes roved the still docks. Five minutes passed...then ten...

She started to report. "Clea-oh wait hold up..." She flicked on her infrared, then smirked. "Gotcha. I got four heat sigs. They're in a moving truck coming up to warehouse #23. Another truck behind them."

"I've got a black u-haul truck comin' up from the East," Robin said. "Switching to x-ray... truck's got four crates and three guys with guns."

"Hostile count?" Batman asked.

"Mmm...I'm counting fourteen, possibly fifteen," Robin reported. "What's the plan?" Red Kite asked.

There was silence from both Batman and Robin, she turned on her infrared, then cursed softly. Both of them were already in the warehouse. She quickly made her way over, staying out of sight and making minimal noise.

"Gee thanks for keeping me informed," she hissed. Robin shot her a cheeky smile. She stuck her tongue at him. Batman shot them both a glare.

"Get those crates unloaded," thug #1 commanded. "Where's the boss?" thug #2 asked.

"You don't get paid to ask questions," thug #1 replied. The other party drove up.

"I trust the merchandise is all counted for?" A well-dressed man asked, stepping out of the second truck.

"Yea' we got it, where's the payment?" thug #1 asked.

Dressy waved a hand, two guys came out, they had a case, inside the case were diamonds.

#1 rubbed his hands, reaching for the diamonds.

"Ah ah ah. The merchandise."

He grumbled but waved a hand. The three crates were brought over. The smallest of the crates had a mechanical thing.

Red Kite tapped her mask, zooming in on the head. "Guys, that's Amazo," she whispered. "This is bad." Batman made several hand motions. Message received.

Smoke flooded the building. Red Kite went after the guys around Amazo, taking them out almost too easily. It was hard not to just kill them.

"Old habits die hard," she muttered between clenched teeth. She ducked a random flying body and blocked bullets with her sword. Through the smoke, she saw the lead man try to escape. She smiled, throwing her sword with extreme precision. The sword caught his shirt and he was close enough to the wall that it pinned him there. She did several handsprings and landed next to him. (So maybe she was showing off a little, who cared?)

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked with a smirk. She tied his legs, removed her sword from his shirt, sheathing it, and grabbed him, grappling up through the skylight (why was there even a skylight?) and up on the roof. She threw him down on the ground, glancing back on the closing battle below.

"Who the hell are you? Another Bat?" he asked.

She turned, every hint of a smile gone. "No," she said softly, menacingly. "But you'll wish I were." She dragged him closer to the edge of the building. "Now I am going to ask you once, once, and if you don't answer with the truth, well," she chuckled, "I've killed men twice your size and skill."

"If you think I'm gonna tell you anything, than you're crazier than the Bat," he sneered.

She smiled coldly. "Oh I am. I was trained to kill. And believe me when I tell you that if you don't tell me who your boss is, than I will sever every ligament, cut apart every muscle, break every bone." She held him so that their noses were almost touching. "You will be in more pain than you can imagine. And then, and only then, will I put your pathetic excuse for a human being out of your misery."

He was unsure now, sweat trickled down his temple. "I know you hero-types don't kill."

"Who said I was a hero?" She wrapped her hand around his neck and squeezed. "Who bought Amazo? Who had enough to pay in diamonds?" she hissed. He stayed tightlipped. "Have you ever heard of Strike?" she asked coldly.

His eyes were wide.

"That's right," she hissed. "You know what happens to an energy source that is contained? It builds up, expands, scratches at the walls and screams to be let out. The same thing goes for me. I'm a killer, nothing can change that and I know it. I haven't killed in a long time and I'm itching to let that killer out."

"Y-you're a monster," he choked out.

Her eyes narrowed to tiny slits. "Yes I am. And you know what happens to monsters who are caged?" she snarled. "Come on, I'm waiting." He was sweating now. "Oh it would be so, so easy to just...let you go." She moved him towards the edge of the building. "I don't think falling onto your head from this height would be good for your health..."

Sweat dripped from his face.

"Tell me now, or you'll wish that the Bat had caught you," she snarled.

"D-d-d-d-on't, I-I'll t-talk."

She dropped him back onto the roof, snagging a pocket watch from his coat. "Hurry up, your clock is ticking," she said, lifting the watch to show him.

"His name's Drage, that's all I know I swear!" he insisted. Her blood ran cold. There was a crunching sound.

She felt a someone tap her shoulder. "Red-" She whipped around with lightning reflexes grabbed his shoulder, holding her sword to his throat.

"Red Kite," a voice growled.

She slowly let go, her sword tip fell to the ground. She glanced down at the crushed remnants of the pocket watch. Robin seemed surprised, shocked even.

"Sorry," she muttered. She glanced at the wide-eyed man on the ground, than slammed her foot down, effectively knocking him out.

"Why'd you do that?" Robin asked. "We could have gotten information!"

"I already did," she said. "His boss is some guys named Drage," she explained, looking at Batman. "You know him?"

Batman turned, grabbed the man and jumped.
She blew out a puff of air. "Is he always like this?" she asked, handing her comm unit to Robin.

"Yeah." Robin followed his mentor. "We called the police already, so you can go if you want. See ya later Red."

"Don't call me that," she said. "Ever."

He just laughed and disappeared over the edge of the building. On her way home, she stopped a few muggings, attempted rapes, took down a few bad guys, the like. All with a smirk or a smile.

But as soon as she got back to her dirty, broken-down, makeshift home, she dropped the fake smile and leaned against the wall. Her heart sped up, anger clouded her vision, she turned and slammed a fist into the wall, the stone crumbling to make a hole around her now-bloody fist.

Tears of anger and sorrow blurred her vision.

"I'll make you pay Drage. I swear on their graves, you. Will. Pay."

Strike stood next to her mentor, Deathstroke, confronted by a messenger and his guard. She held a sniper by the barrel, the butt resting on her hip.

"I was unaware that the great Deathstroke had a sidekick," one of them said dryly.

Her masked eyes narrowed. "And this 'sidekick' will kill you without a thought if you don't show her the proper respect," she hissed. "Or haven't you heard of Strike?"

He obviously paled. "Apologies."
"Now who is your master, and what does he want?" she asked.
"He is the mighty Drage." Strike hid the burning anger at that name. "He has a job for you." Deathstroke glanced at her, silently prompting her to answer.

Her mouth twisted into a smile, she spoke almost conversationally. "Drage, the child trafficker? The murderer? The drug dealer? Mob boss? A man who desecrates the Earth with his mere existence?"

A beed of sweat trickled down his temple.

In the blink of an eye he was on the ground, the muzzle of her sniper pressed to his forehead.

Her voice grew cold as ice, soft and menacing. "You can tell Drage that we don't work for men who orphan six year olds and sell them as merchandise," she hissed. "And tell him that he'd better lay low. Because no matter where he hides...he won't be able to escape my bullet."

She let him up and the two men turned and fled.

"Strike, how many men does it take to deliver a message?" Deathstroke asked. She smiled grimly, raising the sniper.

"Just...one..."

BANG!

"NO!"

She awoke with a shout, adrenaline pumped through her veins, her heart pounded in her ears. "No." She rested her forehead on her knees. "That's not me. I'm not Strike," she whispered.

Once an assassin, always an assassin.

"No!" she said it louder, as if trying to convince someone, anyone. Herself would be nice.

"Just one..."

"Stop!" She hugged her knees, rocking back and forth. "No..."

"So what are we doing?" Red Kite asked the Dark Knight as they walked through the halls of the Watchtower.

"Superman called a meeting," he answered. Wow, he actually answered.
"Then what am I doing here?" she asked. "We both know that no one in the League like me. Heck, they barely even tolerate me, and that's being generous."

Batman glanced at her, but stayed silent. She grumbled a little, but let it go. She'd find out soon enough.

When they got to the meeting room, Batman took his seat, while she was left to stand. She leaned against the wall, crossing her arms moodily. The founding members of the League consisted of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Green Arrow and they were all seated around the oval-shaped table in the middle of the room.

"Now that everyone's here, I will officially call this meeting to order," Superman said. She rolled her eyes.

"Why did you call us here?" Batman growled. "I don't have time to be called back and forth willy nilly."

Superman cleared his throat. "As most of you already know, about two weeks ago, we had an intruder in the Watchtower. She downloaded our files and knocked Green Arrow unconscious."

"Which was incredibly easy, by the way," she interjected. Seven pairs of eyes turned to glare at her. She shrugged, unperturbed. "What? S'true."

"You took me by surprise," Green Arrow protested.
She smirked. "Yeah, weren't you supposed to be on monitor duty? Isn't that like, guard duty or something?"

"Enough!" Batman intervened before anything else could be said. "What is your point Superman?"

"I called this meeting to discuss her status as a hero, and evaluate her threat level," Superman said. She was on high alert in a split second.

"What?! That is so lame. I don't have to answer to any of you, except maybe Bats, but only because I operate in Gotham," she exclaimed. "You have no right!"

"But what Batman proposed affects everyone," Wonder Woman said calmly. "If you are to join the team, we need to decide as a group."

"Because they're your sidekicks," she muttered. "Wow, how brilliant." Wonder Woman stood, taking out her...lasso...

She backed up, alarmed. "Oh no, don't you dare." She turned to Batman, something akin to desperation in her eyes. "Tell them to stop."

Batman observed her silently for a moment, then asked, "what questions do you plan on asking?"

Superman answered, "Simple ones, who trained her, if she has powers, how long she's been a hero."

Batman gave a slight nod. Anger flared in her, she glared at Wonder Woman.

"Don't make me hurt you," she hissed.

Wonder Woman sighed. "It won't hurt if you cooperate. And we promise not to ask anything too personal."

"I'm pretty sure everything Kent just said was personal," she hissed.

Surprise shown on the face of every League member.

"What?" she snapped. "Just because everyone in Metropolis is stupid doesn't mean I am."

"Excuse me?" Superman asked, standing.

"Really, glasses and a personality change? Pathetic," she snarled. "The only actually smart person here in terms of SI (secret identity) is Bats and maybe Flash and GL."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Green Arrow asked indignantly.

She sniffed. "Fine, you too."

"Red Kite," Batman growled. "They already dislike you enough."

She glared at the Amazon, then at Batman, then back at Wonder Woman. "Fine," she spat through clenched teeth.

Wonder Woman placed the lasso around her, it was loose. "Who trained you?"

She felt a horrible feeling, trying to force the answer out. She snapped her mouth shut, gritting her teeth together. Her head reeled.

"Impressive," Wonder Woman said, looking like she meant it. "But no one can resist the lasso's power."

A smirk ghosted across her features. "Stróc bás," she said. The feelings disappeared. Her smirk widened. She saw Batman smile.

The entire League (excluding Batman) looked extremely confused.

"What did you say?" Superman questioned. She repeated her answer. "What does that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," she answered.

"Do you have powers?"

"Bẹẹni," she replied.

"How long have you been a hero?"

This one she answered. "Not long."

"What language was that?"

"Sebahagian daripadanya yang berbeza," she answered. Batman's smirk widened.

"Answer in English," Wonder Woman commanded.

"A f̱ tí̱ í̱ tan mia entolí̱ ," she pointed out in perfect Themyscarian.

"How...?" Wonder Woman was completely dumbfounded. "How do you know Themyscarian ?"

"Eṉ vaḻikāṭṭiyāṉa eṉakku kaṟṟu," she answered.

Wonder Woman growled.

"Enough," Batman commanded. "I know all of these answers."

"What are they?" Superman asked.

She tensed. "I'm not going to tell any of you. These questions are on a personal level for Red Kite and I promised I would keep her secrets." Red Kite was beyond surprised. "You'll just have to trust me."

The League knew that they weren't going to get anywhere and Wonder Woman removed the lasso. Red Kite was relieved to have it off. She hated the feeling it gave her.

"What languages were those?" Superman asked.

She rolled her eyes. "I love how you think I'm gonna tell you. It doesn't take a genius to tell that you would just translate the words using the security tapes." She pulled up a little hologram on her glove. "Which are, btw, wiped clean as of...now."

Batman stood. "Enough Red Kite. If we're done here, I have other, more productive, things to do."

Superman gave a slight nod. As she followed Batman out of the room, she turned, giving a mock salute.

"A pleasure to play," she said. "I look forward to the next match."

Once out of earshot of the room, Batman glared at her. "What was that?" he growled.

She shrugged. "Showing them what I can do, and that I keep my secrets to myself. That nothing they do will change that." She shot him a glance. "And I saw you smirking in there. You knew what I would do, you knew they wouldn't get any answers."

Batman smirked slightly now. "I know who trained you and I know he would teach you certain failsafes in case something like that happened."

She grumbled something under her breath in Arabic. Along with a few curses.

"Do I have to?" Red Kite sent Batman a pleading look. She knew she sounded like a desperate child, but at this point she didn't care. It was just after the League meeting.

Batman shot her a glare. She sighed. They were walking through the halls of the Watchtower, on their way to the teleport platform.

She didn't know how Batman had known about her old team, the point was that he knew, he'd known something that only one person alive knew. Her.

A thought occurred to her. She stopped.

"Batman, were you monitoring me?" she asked. He didn't answer, didn't stop walking. She blocked his path. "Answer me! How did you know about Bermuda?"

"A few months ago there was an earthquake in Bermuda, a volcano erupted, six unknown heroes intervened, those heroes disappeared into the mountain and no one came out." He paused. "You saved a lot of lives."

"How did you know it was me?" she asked.

"A child you rescued was from Gotham," Batman said. "He and his parents were on vacation there. The picture in the newspaper looks similar enough to you that he recognized you as the hero who saved him."

"But...how did, how did you find out?" she asked. "Were they at some charity event?"

"Yes, actually. I know the child's parents. When they came to the manor, the newspaper was on one of the chairs, he saw it and mentioned it."

"How old is this kid?" she asked.

"Around seven."

She ran a hand through her hair. "So it was pure coincidence that you put it all together. Just my luck," she muttered. "You're incredibly unemotional, you know that right?"

"You agreed."

She shot a glare at him, which did nothing. Of course. "So this team, who founded it?" she asked.

"Robin."

"Who assigns missions?"

"I do."

Batman nodded to the Martian, who was on monitor duty, and he typed in the teleport coordinates. There was a bright flash of light, when the light cleared, they were in a good sized room, several different doors branched off.

Batman turned to her. "Red Kite, welcome to Titan Tower."

Robin responded to Batman's call and gathered the Titans in the meeting room. Batman entered.

"As some as you may have heard, a new, solo hero has arisen in Gotham," he said. Uh oh. He didn't like the sound of this. Red Kite stepped into the room. "This is Red Kite, your new teammate."

Duh dun dunnaaaa! Red Kite's joining the Teen Titans! Woo hoo! Eh...not so much. New update in a few days!