I wandered aimlessly through Gotham's streets, hands in my pockets, thoughts whirling in my head. It began to drizzle. I quickened my pace, but only slowed when I remembered that I didn't have a particular destination.

What was I going to do with myself? Six nights in Gotham City, recruited by the Joker, having nowhere to go. I couldn't leave Gotham City; I knew the Joker would come after me. He wasn't going to leave me alone, which was one of the reasons why I decided to simply join his gang. A thought occurred to me, and even as it passed through my mind, it seemed too strange. Either I was giving myself too much credit or the Joker thought I was special…something other than a typical henchman.

He had admitted that he had never worked with a woman before. He thought I was fun to have around. I amused him. I held secrets that he must be seeking. I didn't understand him and his motives. Was it possible that the madman might not have a motive behind his actions? He just did it, just went with the flow?

I shook my head, moving onto another track.

The dogs…it seemed like the Joker had worked with them before. I wouldn't know when since I was still relatively new in Gotham. I could see the Joker liking dogs – like the Mobster had said – particularly hard ones like Rottweilers. Thinking of the past times the Joker looked at me and gave me the impression of a puppy, he and Rottweilers seemed to click together nicely. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the Joker had taken them in – including the wounded one – and added them to the team.

I stopped on a street corner of an intersection and stood there, eyes glazed as I looked over the roads devoid of cars. The drizzle started to pick up gradually, yet I still stood there, almost lifeless.

I felt the cold seep through my jacket. For a summer night, it was cold. Or it could just be my sensitivity since I was born in the middle of the hot season. I ducked my head, remembering how I had spent my birthday alone in my apartment. Twenty-four and alone…sometimes I wonder why I haven't fallen into depression and tried to commit suicide…or wait, I know the latter.

I couldn't cause myself pain. Pain and I don't mix.

Shaking my head to clear it of such thoughts, I started walking again, sauntering across the vacant street. I lifted my gaze to the sky for a few moments, letting the heavy drizzle fall on my face and into my eyes before I had to lower my head and wipe my eyes clear.

As I walked, the heavy drizzle grew into pouring rain. I didn't speed up at all, letting myself get soaked. Let me get a cold for this, I didn't care just now. But when the cold had me shivering uncontrollably, I started running, first at a slow jog and then sped up, giving my blood time to start circulating before overdoing it.

I found an abandoned warehouse behind some old apartments, and I allowed myself in, pushing the heavy door open. By the looks of it, the place could have been an old factory. Tarnished machinery and rotting crates were scattered about the main area. Huge lights hung from the roof, which contained many gaps that let in the rain, and parts of it were caving in. Cheery place…

I found a place between two crates and sat down, pressing myself against the wall. For warmth, I curled my legs into my chest, hugged my knees, and placed my head on my knees. I sat there, huddled into myself and waited until my shivering had subsided before I lifted my head and rested my chin on my arms.

I couldn't stay here all night. The Joker was bound to come looking for me eventually, but I had no will to move, no wish to return to him. I felt that there was a deeper meaning that he was keeping me with him. The emotions I had I seen in his eyes, the hidden meaning behind those brown orbs…I shook my head vigorously, refusing to let myself think about it anymore.

Rather than think of something else, I focused on thinking of nothing. Taking deep breaths, I closed my eyes and imagined a black piece of paper, focusing my mind on the whiteness, the nothingness of that paper. Gradually, my mind spilled into concentration on the possibility of a special ability I had.

The chills, the tingling, the purple haze in my sight, the lightness I felt, the merging into shadows…the only thing that could explain that was a special talent, something I had, something I must've always had but was never aware of it until now.

The headaches must be part of it too, I thought as one made its appearance. I rubbed my temples gently as I tried to remember if there was a time that my emotions might have brought on the ability.

Fear during the bank robbery when I had stood in the shadows while the bowler hats had run into the hallway without know that I was standing right by the door. And then tonight when I became angry that that one man had thought to take advantage of me – or he might have thought something else, but that's what I thought he was thinking. Maybe emotions were connected to the ability, but I could still use it even when I'm calm.

I don't know how I summoned it, but the chills flooded through me as I uncurled from my position. Glancing at my hand, I confirmed that it was see-through, haze-like, and shadow-like.

The purple haze followed, and I was able to see in the shadows, like I was shining a flashlight into them. Clear as day.

Clear as day…that brought on a curious question.

Did my shadow sight work in the daylight?

I couldn't test that until daylight. Instead, I moved on to me being a shadow.

Gravity's hold was lighter on me, and my hand was see-through. I couldn't be solid, could I? I turned and touched the wall I had leaned against. I felt the cold metal under my hand, and I applied pressure. Nothing happened. I pushed harder, but the wall still didn't yield. Then, I punched it, and besides the pain, my hand didn't go through the wall.

So much for being able to walk through walls, I thought as I rubbed my hurting knuckles.

The punch to the wall also confirmed that as a shadow, I'd still get hurt as much as if I was human. There wasn't any advantage over pain with being a shadow.

The sudden use of terms like shadow and human made me laugh out loud. Me, Shadow, could transform into a shadow being and then return to a human state, a physical state.

I finally composed myself before thinking of what else I could test. Time to test the lightness of gravity's hold. I returned to the human state – ha ha! – and tried jumping as high as I could. I measured the height with one of the crates before altering into my shadow state.

It didn't seem to make much of a difference. I might have jumped an inch or so higher, but that wasn't enough to make me happy. Growling with frustration, I kicked the crate, causing myself pain where the crate didn't move the slightest bit.

What about the teleporting that had occurred last night? Could I even call it 'teleporting'?

I set my feet down on the ground and then thought of being on top of the crates. I waited, thinking it needed time to work, but nothing happened.

I sighed, feeling frustrated and tired. Why bother learning about this ability if I couldn't make it work when I wanted it? Again, in anger, I walked over to the same crate and kicked it again…with my hurt foot.

Tears burst into my eyes as the pain erupted in my foot. I collapsed to the ground and gripped my foot, whimpering in agony.

"Whoa, surely the first time would have taught you not to do it again," a voice said mockingly.

I immediately climbed to my feet, placing more weight on my other foot as I rubbed the tears out of my eyes. "Yeah, well, laugh at my stupidity. Even the best has their moments."

"So very true," the voice replied, coolly.

My eyes narrowed as I cocked my head slightly. I recognized that voice from somewhere.

"You look perplexed, girl."

"Do I know you?"

"Has it really been that long that you don't remember me?" The voice chuckled. "We met almost a week ago. You stalked me, and after you helped me, I gave you directions to your motel."

"Raven?" I knew I recognized that voice. "How'd you find me?"

"Question is: How did you find me?"

"Is this where you live?" I asked, taken aback.

"Of course not. I'm a woman, and women tend to like places that are in much better condition than this."

"So why do you think that I found you? I wasn't looking for anyone…" I realized that she wasn't anywhere in sight. "Hey, where are you?"

"Around," she replied. "Wanna play hide-and-go-seek?"

"Not in particular." I placed a hand on my hip. "Look, come out and talk to me face-to-face. I want to thank you for something."

"Thank me for what? You already thanked me for giving you the directions back to your motel."

"Well, it's related to that, and I haven't thanked you for it yet."

"Oh, all right. Hang on a second." I smirked as I heard someone jumping down from crates, but my smile faltered as I realized that even though I could pinpoint where she was, I couldn't see her.

"Where are you?" I asked, confused.

"You're staring at me."

"Am I?" I squinted, and she chuckled.

"Don't squint, Shadow. Makes you look funny."

I glared where her voice had come from. "What are you, invisible or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. You're so smart."

"Don't be sarcastic," I grunted. "It's too late for that. C'mon, appear so I can thank you properly."

Raven became visible, and even though I was expecting it, I still took a startled step back. "Happy now?" she asked, a smile on her face. "What is it that you wanted to thank me for?"

"It's quite simple," I said, approaching her. Once I was within range, I cracked her in the jaw. "That's for telling the Joker where I was located!" I yelled, angrily.

Raven stumbled back, holding a hand to her jaw. Her eyes flashed angrily, but she took a deep breath, trying to regain calmness.

Seeing her regain control made me angry. I charged at her, punching her in the face and knocking her back again.

"What was that for?" she demanded, irritated.

"That was because I felt like it!" I snapped. She shrieked and attacked me.

It didn't help me that she turned invisible in mid-flight. I could fend off maybe two out of five attacks, at best. Needless to say that she was beating me senseless, or almost since she could easily knock me down. After knocking me down, I'd get back up, only to get knocked down again. It reminded me of the song with the lyrics, "I Get Knocked Down, But I Got Up Again, You're Never Going to Keep Me Down".

Finally, Raven punched me under the chin, and I flew into the air, landing heavily on my back and falling limp. This time, I didn't bother getting to my feet, too busy trying to catch my breath. Raven straddled my waist and held my wrists down on either side of my head. I simply groaned.

"You win…"

"You surrender too easily," she said, irritated. She jerked her head, flipping her hair out of her face before meeting my eyes. "Must be rough with the Joker," she said.

"I've only worked for him two nights," I told her.

"Two? But you were with him for six!"

"Tried escaping the first night, was unconscious for three, and then worked for two."

Raven counted that in her head and then nodded in confirmation. "Listen, Shadow, since I've met you, I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Oh no," I said.

"No, I'm straight. I have a boyfriend, so don't worry. It's just hit me that I've never seen someone with such spirit as you. I mean, you being the Joker, I'm surprised he hasn't killed you yet."

"You and me both," I told her.

"Well, the Joker and my boss are actually associates. I wouldn't say 'friends'; the word is more like…acquaintances. They've done work for one another on and off, and since my boss has been placed in Arkham, I've been keeping that alive by doing favors for the Joker now and then. One of those favors happens to be giving him directions to you. Somehow, he knew you and I had crossed paths."

Raven released my wrists, but I didn't move, simply gazing back at her, listening intensively. "So he owes me a favor, and since I like you and since he trusts you, I'm gonna tell you what he can do to pay me back."

"I don't think he trusts me that much, but go ahead," I said quietly.

Raven hesitated, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Now, I'm not so sure…" she said.

"Fine, don't tell me. It doesn't matter. I wasn't going to tell the Joker what's happened since I left him."

"You left him?" She sounded taken aback.

"Just for a few hours. Otherwise, he'd come looking for me himself. Mind getting off me now?" Raven climbed off and got to her feet as I sat up. She stared at me as I jerked my head to the side, cracking my neck. "What?" I demanded when I saw that she was still looking at me.

"You're not going to try getting away from him?" she asked.

"I've tried, and failed. There's a point that someone has to give up because there's no way around their situation." I pushed myself up to my feet and straightened my jacket. "I should probably get back to him now. He might be worried." I added a sarcastic tone on 'worried' before turning and waving over my shoulder. "See you around."

"Wait, Shadow, maybe I can help you."

"Nope. Not looking for help," I responded.

"No, I don't mean getting away from the Joker. Despite his callousness, I like the guy. I meant that I could help you with your ability."

I stopped in my tracks, eyes widening. Then, I spun around, facing her. I couldn't fake innocence or ignorance. "How'd you know?"

"That's another part of my own ability. I have a strong sixth sense, and I can sense others' talents, even if they're not…supernatural. For example, besides your unusual ability, I can sense that you're good at solving puzzles and you are a good poker player."

"Real-ly?" I said, arching an eyebrow. "Can you sense my emotions too?"

Yes, and usually, I'm able to block them away from my own." I narrowed my eyes. "Which is why I acted irrationally earlier. You were angry, and I could feel it. I was unable to separate it from my own emotion so I attacked you in anger."

"With my anger," I said.

She nodded with a shrug. "Basically," she said.

I shifted my weight, wincing slightly as my hurt foot throbbed. "So let me get this straight. You trust me because I'm like you, having an ability that I didn't know existed, and you're willing to help me for a price."

"The price would be your friendship." I gave her a hard look. "I know that might be a bit difficult since you don't really have the best talent at making friends because you're a quiet person, but I'll be an exception, like the Joker."

"I don't consider the Joker a friend."

"He's your boss, isn't he? You respect him and have given him some trust."

"I trust him not to kill me without a reason."

"Trust is trust, no matter whether it's good or bad," Raven pointed out.

"Fine," I said. "How exactly do you think you're going to help me with my ability if neither of us know what it is?"

"I've been watching you for awhile. You have a basic idea, and some of the tests you've been trying would work better if you had someone to be a bystander, watching you and telling you exactly what you're doing right or wrong. Besides, I have an idea of what you're capable of doing just by having watched you, and my sixth sense helps too."

She grinned and outstretched her hand. "I help you, Shadow, and we can be friends."

I looked at her hand warily. "I feel like there will be a catch in this agreement."

Raven's grin faltered, and she sighed with exasperation.

"I don't take contracts lightly," I explained.

"I can tell," she huffed.

I raised my hand. "We'll try it for now, but there's no guarantees on anything."

"None whatsoever," she agreed, clapping her hand with mine, sealing the deal.

The door slammed shut, and Hunter jumped with surprise. "Peter, don't scare me like that."

"I enjoy scaring you, Hunter," Peter said, mockingly.

Hunter glared at him. "The Boss sent you away."

"Of course he did." Peter moved across the room to stand before Hunter – even though no matter what Hunter did, he always was. "Sit down, Hunter, you're looking pale."

Hunter sat down, and Peter seated himself across him in an identical chair. "Is he angry with you?" Hunter asked.

"I don't know," Peter responded. "He's not happy that the girl hasn't returned. It's been a few hours now."

"She should stay away from him. She's bad for his health."

"You're not the only one who cares about the Boss, Hunter."

"I care more than you, Peter," Hunter snapped.

"No, we both know that we care about him the same amount. Don't go claiming that you care more than I. We've both been around him for a few years, even if we never showed our faces to the public."

"I show mine."

"And I show mine. But not as often as the Boss used to let us. He doesn't even know your true existence. If that girl says anything…"

Fury flooded through Hunter, and he slammed his fist on the arm of his chair. "That woman!" he growled. "The Boss hasn't so much as looked at me without looking angry. He's never been that angry with me before."

"You know he's dangerous when his moods are wacked out."

"I know as well as you do, Peter." Hunter sighed and leaned back in his chair. Peter did the same. "I don't like that woman…"

"I know you don't. It's quite obvious. Particularly when you went off to find her in the park and warned her off. Did she listen to you, no!"

"She did listen to her. The Boss caught her before she could go anywhere. She could have died had I not nursed her back to health."

"Only because the Boss was watching your every move. He doesn't trust you anymore than he trusts me."

"I know that," Hunter snapped. "You don't need to keep telling me that."

"Actually, I think you need to be reminded sometimes, Hunter. You get so wound up wherever the Boss is concerned."

"And you're the clear-headed one?"

Peter smirked. "Of course," he said, charmingly.

Hunter waved an impatient hand at him. "You're so full of yourself."

"Just as much as you are of the Boss."

The door burst open again, and both Hunter and Peter jumped in fright. The rest of the Boss's men – Bob, Shaun, Cory (the only surviving new guy), and Dave – entered, talking loudly. Hunter glared at Dave, wondering why he had been here while the Boss had been out on business with his guys and with the red-haired woman.

"Kevin didn't survive one night," Peter snickered.

"Be quiet," Hunter whispered harshly to him. "Don't let them know we're here."

"Why not? They're our pals, aren't they?" Peter asked.

Hunter glared at him. "Don't tease me," he murmured.

"Hey, Peter," Bob said. Peter got to his feet, as did Hunter. Shaun and Cory looked surprised that they had seemed to appear out of nowhere from the dark corner of the room, but Dave and Bob looked impassive.

"What?" Peter demanded, sharply.

Bob glared at him. "I don't like your tone, Peter, but that's not my problem. Boss wants you, and he doesn't seem very happy."

"Is he ever?" Peter murmured under his breath, and Hunter's eyes widened in surprise. "Fine," Peter said to Bob. He walked up to him and shouldered him as he passed. Bob turned to glare at him, taking no notice of Hunter who walked in Peter's awake like a terrified mouse. In fact, none of the guys took notice of Hunter, their focus all on Peter.

Peter closed the door, holding the doorknob for a bit longer. "One of these days, Bob will learn," he said darkly before heading down the hallway. Wordlessly, Hunter followed him.

A howl of pain escaped my lips as I slammed head-first into a heap of boxes. I was buried alive underneath the ones under the boxes that I had collided with, and I cried out, covering my head with my arms. At least they were cardboard so they didn't hurt that much, except for a few that hit me with their sharp corners.

"Hey, Shadow, are you okay?" Raven called from outside.

I lied there amongst the scattered boxes, jerking my head away from wet, rotting parts of the cardboard.

"I hear movement. You alive?"

"Yeah. Mind unburying me?"

"Get yourself out," she said, strictly.

I sighed and remained where I was.

For the past few hours, I had experimented with my ability of shadowing, a name I had stolen from the Joker when I had first did it with him. I wanted a good name for my ability, not an overused word like transporting and teleporting.

With Raven's help, I was able to discover exactly how I could shadow. The only way to describe it was that I just did it. Harder than it sounds, but I guess it's more of a thought in my head, and I'm off, shadowing from one place to the next. Sorta like jumping in the book/movie Jumper. Only I can only shadow through shadows that are existent, and a limit to that is I can't use my own.

Raven and I tried it with and without a second person along. I can shadow with someone or with something. I can shadow along what I'm thinking of or what the other person is thinking of. Unknown destinations don't work so I had I know where I was going before I did it, but if I just thought of one little detail, I could shadow somewhere.

Even though I couldn't shadow using my own, I could still use my shadow to locate things. I moved my shadow to different places and pulled myself there, which is basically how I shadowed from place to place. Like merging in with shadows, I could consciously merge with my shadow and walk around, but that left my physical body in a sort of trance, where it was still able to defend itself, but not as well as if it was me. That freaked me out when I first realized what had happened.

Along with shadowing, I had the shadow state, which provided me with faster reflexes and sharper senses. I tried the jumping test again for Raven, and she agreed with me that the lighter gravity pull didn't do much. However, she had me stand at one end of the warehouse, run as fast as I could, and jump.

When I did, I nearly smashed my face into the side of the warehouse, twenty feet off the ground. The gravity pull had the usual pull when straight up and down, but sideways, I could use it against others. I tried the vertical jump again, but this time with an angle, and I did jump higher and farther than usual.

"Shadow, are you going to come out anytime soon?"

"I'm tired," I groaned. "You've used all my energy with shadowing."

"Well, at least I was able to help you, Shadow. It makes me happy to help out a friend."

"Is the Joker your friend?"

"An acquaintance," she responded, gruffly. "Do I have to come in there or can you get out yourself?"

"I did ask you earlier to help me. I'll do half the work," I promised. I heard her heave a sigh as she approached. When I heard her moving cardboard boxes, I started pushing my way out. I stuck out my hand, and she grabbed it, yanking me out. "Thanks," I said.

"Anytime," Raven replied. "What time is it?"

I glanced at my watch as I flattened my hair. "Almost three in the morning."

"Listen, go home and I'll get contact to you again," Raven said. She smiled. "It's nice to have a gal pal in a city like this."

I looked at her, allowing only minimal surprise appear on my face. Gal pal? I've never had a close girlfriend in my entire life. My best friend was a boy, and he was the only one I really felt comfortable with outside of my family.

Raven seemed to be watching me, waiting for a reply. I smiled and said, "Yeah, I didn't think I'd meet someone like you here in Gotham City."

"We're rare people," she said, casually. She flipped her hair out of her face and smiled. "I'll see you around then, Shadow."

"Yeah, see you." She vanished from sight, and I could hear her footsteps as she ran out into the rain.

I walked over to the open door and shivered at the sight of the rain. While Raven and I had were busy being friends and testing my ability, the rain had formed puddles everywhere, and I was already soaked because of accidentally shadowing under the holes in the old roof of the warehouse. Without much activity, I shivered as the cold seeped into my body.

I was convinced that the only thing that would warm me would be a nice hot shower, and I mean hot!

I shadowed to the Joker's apartment, appearing right outside the door as the silver Volvo drove out of the small parking spot by the alleyway. The door was unlocked. Grinning at the thought that the Joker had just missed me, I let myself in.

Compared to outside, the inside of the apartment was only the slightest bit warmer, but at least it was drier. I wandered over to the stairs, my wet Skechers squeaking quietly on the floor. Wearily, I climbed the stairs, holding onto the metal banister in case my shoes were so wet that they might cause me to slip. With all the bruises I had from slamming against walls and crates, I was already sore enough that I would simply cry if I slipped and hurt myself.

I reached the floor that the Joker's room was on, and I felt so tired that I just wanted to sit down and sleep. The stairs wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep so I forced myself onward, heading straight into my boss's room.

"Decided to, ah, to come home?"

I sighed, exhausted. So much for that funny thought of him missing me as I returned and he left. "Sorry," I mumbled. "Got lost."

The Joker bounced off the bed, bounding toward me, and slamming me against the closed door. His green-tinted hair fell before his eyes, but he gave a slight toss of his head to move the strands to the side. He held his switchblade to my neck, but I was so tired that I simply stared at him, my mind barely comprehending that he was threatening to hurt me.

"I let-ah you go. I ex-pec-ted you back sooner."

"You didn't give me a curfew," I told him. I winced as he applied pressure to his switchblade. "Since when were you my dad?" I asked, knowing I was risking my life with the question.

The Joker looked furious, his eyes burning into mine. His tongue flickered out irritated over his lips before he removed his switchblade from my neck. He pushed his hair back with a hand as he snapped his knife closed, taking a few steps back. "Curfew is one thirty, unless I'm with you. Got it?"

I didn't respond. Instead, I gave him the cold shoulder, walking toward the bathroom and closing the door behind me, locking it from inside.

I expected him to come after me, but I didn't bother waiting for him. I turned on the shower to let the water warm up while I undressed. The heated water hitting my cold skin felt good, relaxing, comforting. I took my time, allowing my body enough time to thaw out.

When I shut off the water, it suddenly hit me that I hadn't grabbed any clothes to change into for the night. I stepped out of the shower and wrapped myself up in a towel. Being exhausted, it took until I had my hand on the doorknob that I noticed the set of clothing waiting for me on the sink counter.

Dried off and dressed, I left the bathroom, flicking off the light as I exited.

The bedroom didn't have a light on, but with my shadow sight, I could see that the Joker was lying awake on the bed with one arm over his chest and the other behind his head. Without a word, I walked over to my side of the bed and slipped under the covers, turning my back to him. As I drifted off, I thought I felt a touch on my head, but I couldn't be sure.

Lordlink13: Phew! Another chapter done, and my dear readers, now you know what Shadow's secret ability is that's been emerging gradually throughout the story so far. I'm glad people are enjoying this. Sinario, get better soon. Cold's are a waste of time, and healthiness. Well, I'm off to prepare for my last few weeks of school, and for other chapters. Can't wait until I'm out so I can focus more on this story. I'd like to finish it before college starts for me. Well, tah-tah for now! And don't forget to review!...and sorry for the no page breaks, Sin was kind enough to tell me about them.