-Athena's POV-

I waited patiently inside the Batcave waiting for someone to wake up so I could train. No one was even here, I didn't think. I rolled my eyes and headed up the stairs to leave. I smashed into Tim, almost falling back down the stairs. Luckily, I caught myself.

"Victoria, where are you going?" He asked. The training clothes he wore yesterday were replaced with his Robin outfit. He even wore his mask. Why would he where that? Where was he going?

"I'm leaving, and it seems like you are too." I pushed passed him and trudged my way through the shelves upon shelves of books. Tim followed and grabbed my arm. I glared down at his fingers, but decided not to act since he was really the only person in the whole group I could stand. I mean, the tiny tot got annoying at times too, but he wasn't as pretentious as Grayson or have such a sense of order as Wayne.

"Don't go! You can still train! The course systems aren't that hard to hack," psh, already knew that, already hacked them, "and you are free to roam the Manor as if it were yours. Alfred could make you something and you could read Bruce's books!" Tim encouraged, smiling. I did like the many of old books that were upon the shelves. Maybe I could reread my favorite book, The Odyssey.

"Where are you going?" I gestured to his costume. Even I had left my Nightingale get up at home, well, under all my clothes. I had pulled some baggy gray sweatpants and a t-shirt over my costume. I had removed my gloves and the sleeves. The ribbons I usually tied around my waist, ankles, wrists, and neck had been hidden as well.

"I'll cut the crap because I know you'll find someway to find me if I dont just tell you," so, smart and cooperative. This Bat Brat was definitely becoming my favorite, "I'm going to a small team meeting that I participate in. I assumed you read about it on the Batcomputer. I don't know where Dick went, but Bruce told me he had League buisness to attend to as well. Alfred will be the only one here with you, but you can invite friends over if you want." Tim dashed down the stairs to the cave. I had found something on a team that Drake had been a part of, as well as Grayson, but I wasn't really interested in reading every little thing I downloaded to my computer. So, I decided to study.

I scoped out vantage points where I could see the perimeter of the house and I wouldn't be bothered. I climbed the tallest hedge I could find, which was shaped like an elephant. I sat on top of the head of the creature and pulled up the files I found.

"The Team is a small organization that works alongside the Justice League in the Watchtower. It is made up of young heros that has a main priority of defending Earth," I read outloud quietly, "the original members were Robin (Dick Grayson), Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Speedy. After Speedy refused to be considered a side kick and treated like a child, he branched off and became Red Arrow." I agreed with this 'Red Arrow'. If the Justice Leaguers were as pretentious as Batman, I wouldn't want to work with them either. I read a brief background story of Red Arrow quickly. Clone of CADMIS, thought to be Roy Harper, married to Chesire with daughter, Justice League member...blah blah blah, I thought as I scanned through.

"Current members of the Team are: Robin (Tim Drake), Miss Martian, Superboy, Blue Beetle, Kid Flash (Bart Allen), Wonder Girl, Lagoon Boy, Arsenal, Aqualad, Artemis, Zatanna, Rocket, Batgirl, Beast Boy, Bumblebee, Guardian, and Static. Fallen members such as Robin (Jason Todd), Wally West, and Tula have been honored. The Team is led by original member, Aqualad. Missions are assigned by Batman, training by Black Canary." The Team sounded like something that would be really good for everyone involved. The world gets twice the superheros and the kids get to train with their mentors. I wondered what happened with Grayson. He was a founding member and now he wasn't even considered part of the whole thing. Odd.

I continued to read about all the missions they've had and how every member came into the fold. Some were CADMIS grown, some were brought in by their mentors. For example, Wonder Girl and Miss Martian had been placed in the existing Team because of their teachers. Superboy, Static, and Arsenal had been created and decided to join on free will. The group of teens had been on so many adventures. Grayson had taken up the mantel of the Team when he was only thirteen and had become the leader of it when he was eighteen, which was only a year ago. Aqualad was a suspected traitor, all part of Nightwing's plan to take down something called the Light. The Light had been destoryed, but costed them Kid Flash. The original one. Now, the remaining members, continued to work on missions as if nothing really happened all those months ago. Most of the members were in their twenties anyway.

"Miss Smith, what are you doing up there?" I peaked over the edge of the elephant to see the old butler looking back up at me. He had the cliche black suit with a towel on his arm. The only thing he was missing was a silver tray with porceline cups of tea on them.

"Reading," I answered, closing my wrist computer. I needed a new copy of the Odyessey to read, since Grayson had destroyed mine with his little ice cream coated fingers. About a week ago, I ran into the boy at the beach and had accidently covered him with ice cream. I was told eating usually was a sign that people shouldn't mess with you. But, he had and had also destroyed several pages of my book.

"Well, Master Smith, will you please get down? I made breakfast and it is not safe up there," Pennyworth said, fanning himself with his hand. It was around ten thirty now and the sun had come out bringing scorching heat along with it.

"Safe?" I laughed, "you obviously don't know who I am." Taking a running start, I did a back flip off of the plant and landed in front of the butler. His face expressed so much more worry than I had ever seen on anyone's face. No one had ever worried about me before. A weird feeling swirled around in my chest, but I shook my head and followed the old man into the house.

A plate full of pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs sat on the marble table. I took a seat and dug in. I also munched on an apple, banana, and a tall picher of orange juice. Crime fighting and training all day took a lot of energy and I didn't want to go around killing gang members on an empty stomach.

"You sure do eat a lot for someone your size, Miss Smith," Alfred remarked as he cleaned my dishes. I had offered, but he brushed me off. "Reminds me of Master Richard, actually. He was the same way," he laughed to himself. I rolled my eyes and wandered around to the huge pool on the estate.

Peeling off my clothes, I changed my suit into one built for water. I dived in and swam a couple of laps. I wanted to cool off a bit before heading to my next destination: some Black Sharks member named Jack. My suit was water proof so it was already dry by the time I got out. I switched over to day stealth. The dark colors of my suit faded to gentle colors that wouldn't be spotted in a crowd. Taking Grayson's motorcycle again, I drove through Gotham.

The man was sitting inside his office, talking on the phone with an untracable person. My computer couldn't find the number or recognize the number. The Boss, maybe? I listened in closer.

"Be careful, the girl is out there. She is disrupting the whole system even more than the Bat did," the mystery man said. It was most likely he was talking about Nightingale, which made me smirk.

"I'm aware. She is good, really good. I've tried to find her before and kill her, Boss, I swear," Jack whimpered. His hand shook. The Boss took a breath as if he was going to say something, but he stopped.

"She's here. I detected her computer hacking our line," The Boss shouted. I gasped and turned to see Jack staring back at me. He glared and hung up with Boss. I smashed through the windows and tackled him before he could call his bodyguards. I pulled his body over my shoulder and jumped back out of the hole I made. His bodyguards screamed at me while I sailed away through the air.

I tossed him to the ground as I stood on top of a tall building. "I won't tell you anything!" Jack yelled at me. I tied his ankle with my rope and tossed his body off of the building. He dangled there, his face staring down at the pavement far below us.

"I'm hoping you won't, because then this will be way more fun for me," I pulled out a dagger and took a slice at the rope his life dangled on. A bead of sweat slid off of his forehead. He watched it until it splat against the ground. I bet that drop was a model of his life.

"Okay! Okay! I'll- I'll tell you! The Boss is-," blood splattered against my cheek before he could even let out the last word. I looked up and saw the barrel of the gun from the building across from me. A pair of gloved hands held the sniper out of the window. I untied my rope and dropped the body, flying over to the open window. The gunman started to run away from me. I landed inside the building, but the person was already gone.

I used my parasailing wings to land on the beach of Gotham. Failure didn't feel good. I stared at the water as it rolled in, letting it hypnotize me.

*******

The long, sharp blade sliced through my skin again. I tensed up and winced, but the pain vanished. His sinister smile reflected in the moonlight as he saw my skin release the bright red blood. I didn't even bother screaming or crying like I had before, because I didn't need to. I didn't feel it anymore. I didn't feel anything anymore. I looked up quickly enough to see my own scarlet blood shimmering on the silver sword.

"You've failed yet again. The pain is still consuming you. You still are weak," his rough voice echoed in my mind, "and you know what that means." I did know. It meant I had not met the expectations for another month in a row. I dreaded this next part, but it happened every month until I would get it right. Folter pulled out a large metal clamp and secured it around my arm. Another apprentice handed him a tiny hammer in which Folter made a little bump on my arm. It swelled a little bit, since the hammer was coated in poison. I knew why he was doing this. He wanted to know where to snap so he wouldn't cause any damage I couldn't fix. Folter wrapped his hands around my scarred arms. I stared at his beard as his sharp teeth poked out from his satisfied face. He bent my arm farther than it should've gone and quickly broke my arm. I bit my lip to block the scream I wanted to let escape. If I let another screech out, my other arm would be snapped as well.

I was close to being done with this training. My arm would usually ache and cause me pain for weeks, but now the pain had ended after a couple of minutes. After so many rounds of branding, slicing, and near death experiences I was starting to toughen up. I could get hurt and it wouldn't affect me. Folter was still unpleased with me. I was still a failure.

********

I snapped out of my thoughts and stared down at my arms. I rubbed the makeup I had covered my arms in off. The faded scars popped out at me, reminding me of the painful nights at Honor Island. I traced them all up and down my arms, even feeling the bumps from the fractures that had luckily healed correctly. I sighed and realized it was already dark.

I stood up and walked through the city. Guys grouped around me, making me nervous. I swung at one but the other ones just grabbed me and wrapped a rag around my mouth. I was out instantly.

I awoke in a warehouse. I wasn't tied down or anything, I was free. I used my computer to do a full body scan to check for a tracker, but there were none. I stood up and walked toward the door.

"Sorry I brought you here, you wouldn't of came any other way," a voice called down from me. I looked up and immediatly recognized the green hair and white skin.

"Joker," I said, pulling out my katana in one hand and my pistol in the other, "back away before I blow your fucking brains out."

"That's not nice!" He laughed, throwing his hands in the air. "I have something you want. A mutual goal," Joker walked down the stairs to the bottom level where I was. I still had my gun raised and aimed at his head. "I know who the Boss of the Black Sharks is." I didn't let that phase my face but inside I was listening closely.

"Go on," I ordered, cocking my pistol. He gulped and sat in a chair in front of me.

"You see, I know you are working with the Batman and his little sidekicks. I bet he has told you a lot about me," Joker said, smiling.

"He has told me you are a pyschopathic murderer who kills innocent people."

"Well, that's kind of true. But, anyway, the Bat has corrupted you. I don't expect you to believe me, but I'm not as bad as you think. See, it's all about perspective. I am the bad guy in his stories, he's the bad guy in mine. I am an anarchist, a son of kaos. The Bat is all about order. Everything has to be in order." I got the same vibe..."The Black Sharks are the same thing. They are about order. They are organized and well hidden. Who is the only person in Gotham who hasn't been put in a cell, killed, or revealed? My great friend Batman! Black Sharks members are to create as much kaos as possible so the ordered and heroic Batman can clean it up. Can't you see? Batman is the Boss. The reason the members won't fess up is because Batman has used one of the strongest forces against them, fear. He doesn't want his hero image to be shattered."

"Why would he put his own people in danger? It makes no sense." I growled at the clown.

"See? You're still seeing the story as Batman's book. Step out of his pages and read the cover. Batman has these horrible people killing and doing what they want because he wants to be the hero. That's where I come in. I'm been trying to get rid of Batman for years by removing the things he loves most. I removed his Robin. I removed his Batgirl. And I'm causing kaos in his city because I'm trying to beat him at his own game and destroy the only thing he loves more than his Robins: his city," Joker explained. I didn't want to admit it, but it made sense. A lot of sense. "That's where you come in. You are gonna destroy what he loves the second most. You are going to get close to every single person he loves and end them. I suppose you already know their identities. This would all be easier if you tell me."

"No." I said flatley, glaring at his white teeth.

"Expected. Fine, don't tell me. But, I know who you are, Victoria. To add to my theory of the Batman as the Boss, the color of the Black Sharks is black. The Bat's favorite color! We can finally do something useful in this city now that I have you. Don't kill them right away. Then you will be stopped quickly. Do it all at once, so you will have to go under cover and get close to them. I have a bomb I have to set up and find the codes for while you are busy. So, don't worry about me. Now, break!" Joker laughed, throwing his arms in the air. I realized what I had to do and mentally made that my main mission. But one question still had to be answered.

"What do you know about me?" I slipped my pistol back into the holster and stared at the Joker. He smirked and crossed his arms.

"More than you think, Athena."

~~~~OMG BATMAN IS BADDDD No jk but Athena thinks so! Long chapter, yes. Anyway, vote, comment, and follow!!~~~~~~~