-Athena's POV-

"Well, well, well. Look who's here! If it's not my favorite assassin!" Joker exclaimed gleefully. I tugged out one of my throwing knives and tossed it. The blade went straight through his jacket, tearing a hole in the shoulder and hitting the wall behind him.

"Stop with the greetings and let's talk business," I growled. With a wave of his wand, Joker cleared all of his goons from the room. I assumed they were moved elsewhere to defend the warehouse.

I followed Joker to a large drawing table. He had blueprints spread out all along the length of the table with the width being overstuffed with scribbled down plans and sheets of paper. I scanned the mess, reading the plans on the top. Everything underneath was hidden and impossible to see. For someone who was known for chaos and unpredictability, the Joker sure did make a lot of plans.

Joker took a seat at the end of the table. He swept his arm across the table, multiple papers falling to the ground. Eventually, he pinched out a small piece of paper covered in phone numbers and addresses. He also grabbed a rolled up blueprint and a written course of action. I leaned on the corner of the table and looked over his shoulder. He cleared a large space so he could unravel the blueprint. It had markings, notes, and circles written all over it. It looked like a plan for a building but the map had no heading. I couldn't tell what it was of.

"Now, why did you come here again, my dear?" Joker smiled at me, swiveling his chair to face me. I suspected he knew why I was here, but he was asking why I chose to finally find him. Despite our partnership, I still couldn't bring myself to trust him personally. He was a business ally and nothing more.

"You said you had a plan. I'm here to tell you to put it into action."

Joker nodded and went back to the blueprint. He beckoned me over for a closer look. After a moment's hesitation, I sauntered closer. "This is a map of Arkham Asylum," Joker saw my expression of surprise, "Harley managed to snatch it when you and your Bat-friends locked her up where she belongs."

"What is the map for?" Just as I grabbed for the Arkham Asylum print, Joker pulled from his pile two more maps.

"These are blueprints for Blackgate and Gotham State penitentiaries."

"What about the phone numbers?"

"Well, I got to contact specific people to make this work."

"To make what work?"

"The plan."

"What is the plan."

Joker smirked. He laid out all three maps and pinned them down to lay flat. I noticed, just like the Arkham Asylum map, they all had symbols on them. Joker also put down the phone numbers as he cradled his planning sheet. "The plan...is to cause chaos on Gotham."

"Sounds easy. Why do we need all this?"

"Let me explain," Joker drew his finger across a large map of Gotham, "see, first we let out the not-so-threatening criminals in Gotham State. The GCPD will be sent with maybe the Bat coming to scout out the problem. Then, we turn the amp up and let out all the villains in Blackgate. This will cause a big enough problem to involve the allies of the Bat. Finally, I let out the crazies of Arkham. I will also unleash all my goons and maybe some Joker Venom. The Bat will really freak out then!"

I chewed my lip. "How does this benefit me?"

"Once the city is in chaos, it will take every Batbrat to control the mess. Batman will know I'm behind this. So, I'll make an appearance and he'll follow. I'll bring him here and you'll have your chance. You have gotten enough experience with him to know his weaknesses, right?"

"Yes," I lied. I assured myself that I was ready to do what needed to be done, but I really didn't find out any weaknesses. Bruce's weaknesses were what everyone was weak to. Despite rumors he was a vampire, he was actually just a man. If you dropped a boulder on top of him, he would break. But, I knew that's not what Joker meant. He meant weaknesses in Batman's mind. How he fought, how we figured things out, what made him show mercy. Those were things I had learned. Bruce trusted me, well, at least he thought he did. No doubt he had already been told of what Donna revealed.

"If you are ready to set it in motion, I will call up the people on this list," Joker said.

"I'm ready. I'll be ready tomorrow."

"What?" Joker laughed, "Tomorrow? No, no, no. This plan will probably take a month at least to get working. During that time, however, you can't contact me. It's dire that Batman really bonds with you before the special night and that I'm not disturbed."

"You already are disturbed," I joked, but in a serious tone.

"Ha, I might use that one. Anyway, when I release the first prison, you have to help the GCPD. But, you have to come here when I release the second."

"Okay, why?"

"Batman will trust that you don't have anything to do with me and that you are busy helping, right?"

"Probably."

"So, when all the chaos is happening, you can set up what you want here and wait for him. I'll cause the distraction and help make him think that you are not here."

I nodded my understanding. Then, everything was decided. Joker and I agreed on a deadline. I told him that I was patient and had a lot of time, but he convinced me that I had spent enough time in Gotham. We decided that the plan had to happen the first of March. That would give Joker enough time to imbed his spies into the prisons and create deals with his 'people in high places'. That would mean the plan would mark me being in Gotham for a year. The extended limit would provide us both with more time to prepare. I, for one, was thinking how I could continue to spy on the man who killed my parents now that my cover was blown.

I left, a feeling of dread slowly rising. I had spent a couple of hours at Joker's warehouse planning and discussing. Dick would've made his way back to Wayne Manor by then. Although I never shied from conflict before, I really didn't want to confront the Wayne family.

The lights in the Manor were off. Batman and Robin had apparently already gone on patrol. I sighed in relief and pushed the door open. I still wasn't in uniform and had rode through Gotham looking like an average citizen.

I went to my room and dropped off my weapons. I put my pistols back in their cabinet and unstrapped Talia's dagger. I cradled it for a second and put it in it's hiding spot. Glancing over my shelf, I noted everything I had collected. All the gifts I had been given for my birthday rested there, with Aqualad's knife being shoved in the front. Atlantean words were written on it and the scale armor glistened under the light. It was sharp, with shark-like teeth on the bottom of the blade. It was a beautiful gift.

I was leaving my room when I heard the door swing open. My heart sped up as I slipped out. I was crossing to hide out in the bathroom when Dick called my name. I leaned over the staircase to look down at him.

"Victoria! There you are!" He sounded excited. "I've been looking all over Gotham for you!"

"Well, now I'm here," I said, bitterness surprisingly in my voice. Dick was taken aback from the tone as his expression turned to confusion.

"I had no idea where you were. The zeta portal was broken and you weren't here. I thought you were out doing...I don't even know..." His voice seemed to hide inside his own throat like it was scared. Scared of me.

"What? You thought I was out assassinating? Just like Donna said?" I stomped down the stairs, glaring. I saw his face change again. Now his expression was matching mine.

"Well, I don't know! What happened back there? What was she talking about?" Dick stepped closer to me. I stepped back. The motion didn't go unnoticed. He seemed to have found the bent up anger he must've had while he was out looking for me.

"You said it was true, all that she said about you. And the tattoo. I had never seen it before. But, hey, just another thing you lied to me about," he growled. Now I was fired up.

"What did you want me to do, Dick? Tell you that I had been raised by Ra's Al Ghul when I saw you at the the top of Old Wayne Tower?"

"Yes!" He shouted, laughing a bit, making the answer seem like it was obvious. "Then we wouldn't be having this fight!"

"What would you have done with that information, huh? Knowing that I had been trained to be a killer?"

"I accepted you when you were still killing Black Shark members, didn't I?"

I rolled my eyes. "If I had told you back then, you would do exactly what you are doing now. You would be scared of me, judging me. You would assume I was just like Ra's before you even got to know me. So, yes, I did feel the need to lie."

"You don't know that!" Dick yelled.

"Oh, yeah? How about Chesire? You remember her, right? Artemis's sister? Yeah, she told me. You and the Team fought Chesire and assumed her evilness before you knew her. Just because she was trained by the same guy I was!"

"Chesire was assassinating people!"

"And what do you call what I was doing when I first showed up? I definitely wasn't following the no-kill rule! Yet, you let me into your group anyway! I was killing too, but since I didn't make it obvious I was an assassin, you accepted me! That's exactly why I didn't tell you!" Dick hesitated. He was thinking of a rebuttal.

"I'm not angry because of your past," he said, calmly, "I'm angry because you lied about it! You know how that makes you look? It makes you look like an assassin, Victoria!"

"That's not my name." I mumbled.

"What did you say?"

"That's not my name!" I boomed. Dick's face twisted. "I'm sorry I didn't read into your innocent hero contract when I came to Gotham. It's not my job to tell you every little thing about me!"

"You think this is just a little thing? You lied to me! How could you lie? How could you be so selfish? You don't know what it's like to be lied to like this! You don't even know!"

"I know, trust me."

"No, you don't!" he pronounced each word with a bite, "I got to know one person only to know that she doesn't even fucking exist!"

"The only thing different about me is my name."

Dick tensed up. A sound came from deep inside his throat, rising up like a growl. He reached out and grabbed me by my shoulders. "YOU LIED! You were selfish, only thinking about yourself and ignoring how everyone else would feel! You always ignore how others feel and I'm sick of it!" He shook me a little as if a bit of violence would make me understand.

"Dick, let go." I warned, still calm. He wasn't hurting me, but I didn't like his hands on me.

He ignored me. "People care about who you are. We opened up to you, welcomed you, and this is how you repaid us? Denied us? Betrayed us?"

His grip pinched a bit. "Seriously, let go."

Yet again, my words fell on deaf ears. "I don't get you. We didn't do anything wrong. You just acted this way on your own self-centered wim. Why? It was so evil and selfish! Is this who you really are? A lier?"

"Let g-"

He gripped harder and kept talking. "You lied to us just like one of them! Just like a villain would! Hell, just like fucking Joker would! People cared about you, Victoria! Or Athena, rather. People loved you! And you ignored us like we were just another-"

I grabbed his wrists and flipped him over my shoulders. He went skidding across the marble floors. "I said, LET GO!" My voice echoed through the vacant house.

"I'm sorry," Dick said, rising to his feet. His eyes were wide with shock as they fell on my shoulders. There were red marks where his fingers had been. I knew it wouldn't bruise. They would disappear within seconds.

"Violence won't make either of us feel better. It won't take away my past." I stayed where I was. I could see his muscles get tight again. His usually long fuse had burned up. He was ready to explode.

"God damn it!" He roared. "Why can't you understand what you did was bad!?"

"Because it wasn't."

"Lies! All lies! Is that who you are? Is that all you are?"

"No."

"Then prove it. Tell me about who you actually are."

I kept my mouth shut, even though everything inside me was telling me not to. I couldn't tell him. If I tried to revert to my past, to really think on it enough to explain, everything would tumble out.

"Ugh! I fucking knew it! Victoria, Athena, whoever you are, we're done."

He stormed away. I could tell he was going to the Batcave to probably zeta-tube away after he fixed it. For awhile, I stood where I was. I tried to justify that everything I had said to him had been the right thing, but I felt a bit guilty.

Was Dick right about me? Was I really as psychopathic as all the bad guys he had fought over the years? I had to tell myself I wasn't.

It was late in the night, probably midnight. Outside my window, everything looked like the sky. I could see Gotham's bright lights from a distance but darkness had fallen over the garden. I knew Bruce and Tim would continue to patrol for a few more hours.

I tore open my closet. I pushed the door aside and stepped into the huge closet. It was a model's ideal closet. It was stuffed with fluffy dresses, skirts, suits, and other fancy clothing the Wayne designer had stocked it with. There was room to hold a small party, with a couple of small couches and footstools strewn about. There was plenty of light to showcase the millions of pairs of shoes and clothes. I walked in, ignoring it all, to get to the secret dresser hidden in the very back. I pulled it open and took everything inside it. The dresser was still pretty big, but it was pressed in the very back and needed a code to open. It had been where I kept all my extra changes of my Nightingale uniform as well as my collection of masks. I stuffed it all into a bag along with my favorite simple clothing.

I raided my ammunition closet next. I changed into my Nightingale costume and strapped all my hip and thigh weapons in. I clipped on my utility belt on and stuffed the pockets with bullets, throwing knives, brass knuckles, bandages, etc. Everything else I couldn't carry on my body I put in a separate duffle bag. Although I wasn't close with him anymore, I still strapped Aqualad's gift on the opposite side of Talia's dagger.

Finally, I had everything I cared about from my room cleared out. I was leaving the Manor. I wore two backpacks and carried my duffle bag. I knew the rest of my stuff was stored in the Batcave. While packing, I heard Alfred leave the house. I assumed Dick had left was earlier. I was leaving because I didn't have a place there anymore. If I stayed, I would have to explain my innocence to Bruce at least. Then, I would have to live in a house with Dick, seeing him everyday like nothing was wrong. That's why I was leaving when no one was home. No one could stop me.

I can't believe I ever stayed here. Who cares if I lied about who I was? I don't. I am only ashamed of myself. I shouldn't have to hide who I really am. I thought, making my way to the cave. I walked past Dick's room. Of course, it was empty. He hadn't come back to his room to sleep.

Weird, he's not in his room. Whatever, I don't care about what that asshole does anyway. I climbed down the stairs to the Batcave. The rest of my gear was stored in the training section of the cave. I jogged to the sight only to see Dick asleep at the computer.

Why is he down here? He's asleep. "Hmmph," I was sure to be quiet. I came here for one reason and that's not to feel bad for Dick. I snuck past and grabbed some of the custom batarangs Alfred made me. I tucked them into my utility belt and put my katanas into their spots on my back.

But still, look at him. He has bags under his eyes from staring at the Bat computer and he's all sweaty. Not to mention still in his Nightwing costume. He was down here training and researching, that much is clear. Why was he training himself so hard? Is it because of me? I thought about how I reacted when I was revealed. I had wanted to train until I bled, but I had been busy with Joker. It seemed like Dick had trained until exhaustion. He didn't deserve to feel so angry because of me.

No, he does. If I am angry, he gets to be too. I turned quickly on my heel to leave.

But, look at him. He's hunched over and his hair's a mess. He must be so uncomfortable. I'm mad and all, but I still dated him for a few months, known him for almost a year. I stalked closer to stand over him. I stared at him, lovingly.

I am not going to carry him back to his bed like a little boy, but I could at least say goodbye. Not for him -- since he's asleep -- but for me. Say goodbye before I go hide away and avoid him. I tenderly pushed a lock of hair off of his forehead. It was still wet with sweat. I bent down and pressed my lips softly to his forehead. Goodbye, Dick. I hope you don't stay mad at Athena Thomas forever. I would really like to get to know you, as myself.

I can't stay, I had to tell myself. If I stayed, I knew for sure everything I had kept secret for so long would come out. Dick would come find me in the morning before I went on my morning run and apologized. His big blue eyes would beg me to tell him everything, and I would. I would tell him how I had to kill his mentor. And he would see me for who I really was. Or, something even worse would happen. I would tell him what I had to do, and he would convince me not to do it. He would make me overcome the longing to avenge my parents and everything I trained for would be lost.

I grabbed my stuff and zeta-tubed away.

-

I knocked on Artemis's door. She answered right away, obviously expecting me. I came in and rested my stuff on her couch. "I just came by to-"

"I fucking hate Donna. You know, she wasn't always like this. She used to be just like Wonder Woman. She never would let any man manipulate her. But, Dick was her first love. She must've told Dick things she never told anyone. Which is probably why she wants to only be with him," Artemis explained. It felt like she had been waiting to complain to someone to. Her words sounded like ones she never told anyone before.

"Well, she can have him. Dick and I are done."

"Ugh!" Artemis groaned. "She ruins everything! When you left, I tried to convince Aqualad that I had known already and that your past doesn't affect who you are. I tried to tell him that you aren't as bad as that bitch Donna made you out to be. But, he wouldn't listen. He seemed to shut down. He sent everyone away and fled to Atlantis. I think he was going to tell Aquaman and then the Justice League."

"It's okay, I don't care what anyone thinks of me. I just came here to say that if you need to see me, I will be staying at a small training warehouse in the Gotham slums. Here's the address," I handed her a piece of paper. She looked at it, her eyebrows knitting together.

"You're staying here."

I chuckled and shook my head. "No, I have everything I need there. You probably won't be seeing me much. That's all I came to say. You are my only friend now."

"And as your friend, I am telling you that you are staying here."

"Who's there, Artemis?" Wally said before dashing in the room. He glared as soon as he saw me. "What are you doing here, traitor?"

"Wally!" Artemis shouted.

"What? She is!" He stepped toward me. "Dick is my friend. And you betrayed him. You might've saved me, but I am sure it was for your own lying agenda. So, stay away from my friends and stay away from Artemis."

"Will do." I grabbed my stuff and once again, zeta-tubed away.

I arrived at my small warehouse right before sunrise. I looked up in the sky at the right moment. Batman and Robin grappled alongside each other. I smiled and slipped inside.

~~~~~~~~~Told you I'd be better at updating! And I also told you guys awhile ago how everything was going to go down soon. And didn't it go down? Yes, yes it did. But seriously, I've been developing this scene in my mind for a while so I hope you guys liked how it was written. Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow if you aren't already!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~