They met every day for the next two weeks, with Bruce and Clark usually butting heads for command and the rest of them watching with amusement. Slowly but surely, they'd managed to figure out a separate location for their meetings, which was currently under construction on the Wayne dime. Now, as they shared dinner in Wayne Manor, Natalia couldn't help but smile at the companionship that already seemed to be forming.

"Hello Natalia." The familiar gruff voice of Arthur sounded next to her as he took a seat, a single glass of brandy in one hand. She glanced at him with that same small smile.

"Good evening, Mr. Curry."

"We've been over this. Just Arthur is fine." In spite of his somewhat harsh tone, she could see the humor in his gaze. Over the last couple weeks, she'd learned that despite how angry he always seemed, he had his moments of kindness that shone through.

"Right, sorry. Habit, I suppose." Natalia turned just in time to see Barry knock a pitcher off the table, her hand shooting out automatically. A purple mist zipped across the room, cradling the pitcher in air and keeping it from shattering. Silence reigned over the room as all eyes turned to her; Arthur and Barry with surprise, Bruce and Diana with resigned looks, and Clark with distrust. Standing slowly, Natalia kept her hand outstretched until she reached the pitcher, grabbing it and setting it back on the table carefully. The silence was beginning to press in on her and she cleared her throat. "Right, well...it's getting late..." She gave a single nod and hurried for the door, doing her best to keep her composure as she made her escape.

"Nat, wait." She ignored Bruce's call, giving Alfred a grateful look when she saw him waiting with her jacket. She paused only long enough to thank him, even more grateful for the lack of pity in his gaze. The cool air helped her clear her head, and she decided to walk for a bit before calling a cab. She didn't make it far before feeling the sensation of being watched. Ten steps after that, a hand grabbed her shoulder, startling her. Wrenching away, she spun to see Arthur with his hands up, tense as though she might attack him.

"Easy, tiger. I just wanted to make sure you were alright." As the adrenaline faded from her system, she slumped, sighing as she ran a hand through her red hair. He watched her movements carefully, but relaxed to the point that she was almost convinced he wasn't afraid of her.

"I'm...fine. Just need to get home." He nodded, stepping a bit closer to her. She held her breath as he reached for her hand, not looking away from his face even as he lifted her hand and brushed his thumb along it.

"Any reason you'd want to hide that from us?" And so began the questions. Natalia knew she would have to answer them at some point, but she'd been hoping it wouldn't be like this. His hand kept hers, gently pulling her back towards Wayne Manor.

"When Mr. Wayne hired me, he didn't know. Found out much the same way you all just did." She sighed. "I guess I always just felt...lesser, you know? I didn't immediately jump to helping people or saving lives. I just...kept my head down." They'd made it back to the front steps, and she was beginning to feel foolish. "I'm sorry, I'm just not used to being around people who'd understand." He nodded, still pulling her along back inside. Alfred offered for her jacket as though nothing had happened, but she could hear Clark's voice in the sitting room before they'd even entered. She stopped in her tracks, forcing Arthur to stop as well as she listened to their argument.

"And you didn't think we needed to know? She could be dangerous!" Clark sounded as angry as she'd ever heard him, and she couldn't really blame him.

"She's not. If anything, she's an asset." Bruce's voice was calm, though she could clearly hear the anger under the surface. She'd never wanted to cause a rift in the group, especially so early in it's formation.

"And how would you know? Do you even know what her limits are?" Arthur gave her hand a small tug, looking at her with concern. Releasing his hand, she raised her head and strode into the room, taking in the scene. Clark stood with his back to the door, Diana and Bruce facing him. Barry stood off to one side, looking awkward as he watched the fight. Bruce was already opening his mouth to answer when she spoke up.

"Because he interrogated me." All eyes snapped to her, and she resisted the urge to shrink back. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "You'll be lucky if you never experience an interrogation at Batman's hands. It's...damn near traumatic." Her voice was hoarse as she finished, and she watched as Bruce dropped his gaze. "However, I'm grateful to have Mr. Wayne as my employer and friend. I could ask for no one better." She felt Arthur come up behind her, noting how Clark's glare jumped to the large man.

"I don't see why we can't trust her. She didn't try to kill us yet." She looked up at Arthur, noting his dark smirk. "Weren't we just saying the other day we could use all the help we could get?" Several heads nodded, and Clark huffed.

"Who's going to keep her under control?" That ignited her anger, and she took a step towards him.

"If anyone here needs a keeper, it's you." He looked shocked at her accusation, and Bruce stepped in.

"We can't afford to be fighting each other if we're going to face larger threats." He glanced between the two of them, his warning look lingering on her. She stepped back again towards Arthur, dropping her gaze. "Now, if we're done...I believe there's dessert left to finish." That seemed to cut a fair amount of the tension, but Natalia couldn't help but wonder how long it would last.