It was quiet as she walked down the snowy sidewalk. Hands stuffed in the pockets of her jacket. Cars were speeding by on the road as their head lights lit up her dark eyes. Her bag was on ber bag as it jingled with every step she took. There were plenty of pencils hitting one another inside of it. Her nails were scratching at the inside of the jacket. Over all she felt like hell and didn't want to be here.

The street lights illuminated her path making the snow twinkle. It crunched underneath her boots in a satisfying noise. A yawn escaped her lips as she glanced up at the sky. It was quite dark now and she was hungry. The phone in her pocket buzzed as she answered. "Roquette speaking" her voice was so dull and boring. "My love, are you okay?" it was his voice over the phone. Her pace quickened as she turned onto the street that was lined with Townhouses.

Looking at their house she saw that the lights were on. Ending the call she frantically ran towards the house. Tears brimming at her dark eyes threatening to fall. Bursting through the front door she ran into the living room. He was standing there, he was really there. Dropping the bag it hit the hardwood floor with a thud. "Roquette-" he abruptly stopped his sentence when she hugged him.

Her sobs being muffled by his thin white dress shirt. Everything was feeling so dull around here lately and it was scary. "Please don't leave me again" she cried out. He was at a loss for words at the moment. Kaldur has never seen her like this before. When she was alone her thoughts haunted her greatly. "P-please Kal" she begged pressing her face further into his dress shirt. Hand clutching the white fabric tightly. His arms went around her as he held her tight. "Calm down my love" he whispered into his ear. Everything had been stressful for the both of them lately. The tears tears continued to flow freely down her cheeks as he spoke.

"Roquette what is the matter?" he asked in a soft voice.

"You keep leaving and-and you never call! I feel so alone Kal and I was so close-so close to.....nevermind" she said as she sniffled.

They walked over to the couch as she sat in between his legs hugging him. It was as if he were her life line. His hand combed through her shirt brunette hair as she wiped her tears. "They've given me a break for a couple months. I came to talk about something that has been bothering me as of late" he said as she nodded into his chest. It was silent again until he let out a long sigh. "My father-my real father has made contact with me" he said breaking the silence.

Immediately she sat up and stared at him confused. Head tilting slightly to the side as she furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?" she asked as he sat up to face her. A look of conflict swimming in his eyes. "Arthur has been lying to me and so had my parents" he said as she frowned. Her hand moving up to rest against his cheek. "Hey you'll always have me" her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke. For once she felt a peace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The talk with her professor wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. He just asked about her poem and what inspired her to write it. The cold air hit her like she was walking into a brick wall. It was bitter and made her nose and tips of her ears red. Hands stuffed into her pockets she began her walk. Gotham was actually nice if you got rid of the garbage and criminals. She wasn't surprised when someone grabbed her and pinned her to the alley wall.

Her grey eyes narrowed at the culprit. A knife was held to her throat, the cool edge of the blade barely touching her olive skin. "Gimme ya money lady" he demanded. The Jersey accent he had was thick as he spoke. "Don't have any. I was just in class" she said in an emotionless voice. Her father was horrible but she was taught some useful things. "Don't screw around!" he shouted as she rolled her eyes. Within a second he was pinned against the wall as she threw the knife away.

"You really don't want to be messing with me" she growled before she slammed him against the wall.

Flipping her blond ponytail she then walked away like nothing had happened. A satisfied smirk on her face as she walked. It wasn't long until she reached the building complex. The heat from inside the building felt like a fire igniting over her skin. When she walked into their place she sighed. The jacket was hung on the coat rack as she took her boots off. Panting was heard as Brucely trotted over. Tongue hanging from his mouth in a goofy manner. "Hey there baby boy" she cooed, bending over to pet the dog.

The living room was an entirely different story. Wally was fast asleep on the couch with the television remote in his hand still. Walking over her footsteps were light against the floor. "Wally" she whispered into his ear as he began to stir. Slowly his tired emerald eyes fluttered open. A toothy grin now displayed on his face. His warm hand reached up to cup her cold cheek. Goosebumps raised across her skin feeling the sudden warmth. Artemis wouldn't lie, Wally was like a human heater. "You tired?" she asked in a low voice.

Eyes glancing up at the window as snow began to fall once again. He sat up as she stifled a laugh. His red hair was a mess and he looked disheveled. "Your a mess" she commented as he pouted with his arms crossed. "I am not" he said as she rolled her eyes. Standing up she took her bag off and let it fall to the floor. There was indeed homework that was due in a couple day's but she was tired. "Come on I'm tired" she said as a yawn escaped her lips.

Arms stretching out as he stood up. Even now he still towered over her as he smirked. "Have you heard from Dick at all?" she asked curiously as he turned the television off. The place fell silent as they walked to their room. Brucely following close behind as they entered the room. It was dark as she shuffled to the bed. Taking her pants off she slid on some shorts and a loose grey tank top. Wally was already changed and welcoming the comfy bed with open arms. Brucely hopped up and made his place at the end of the bed.

It was quiet with the exception of the bed creaking as she crawled in. "I actually haven't oddly" he finally answered. She raised an eyebrow at this but didn't bother asking anything else. She laid there staring at the ceiling as he rolled over. His head tucking under her chin as he wrapped his arms around her. Their legs were tangled as she let her eyes fall closed. Thoughts clouding her mind as she tried to sleep. Everything was still quite surreal. That dream she had a while ago still haunted her.

"Wally!" she yelled watching the tornado of air whirl around.

She stood there alone with no one else. The darkness was closing in as she heard sick laughter. It sounded like her father. Wally stopped running and ran over to her. His hand cupping her cheek as he leaned down to kiss her. She felt him freeze as she felt him wince. Looking down she saw blood covering him as he fell over. Emerald eyes dull as her father stood over his body. A bloody dagger in his hand as he laughed.

"You should've listened little girl" he said in a angered voice.

Her eyes shot open as she screamed his name. Tears falling from her grey eyes as Wally sat up. A worried look on his face as she began to cry into his chest. His hand tracing small circles into her back soothingly. "Arty what happened?" he whispered as she shook her head. Her hand resting against his freckled chest over his heart. "Y-you died and my father k-killed you" she stuttered out. Tears still freely flowing down her cheeks. Even though he was gone he still haunted her.

Like she deserved this kind of torture somehow. Maybe it was his way of getting back at her. Wally's hand carded through her long blond locks of hair. "Babe I'm right here and I promise I'm not leaving" he whispered into her ear as she nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything was so dark and the last thing she remembered was being with her mother. They were walking through the mall looking for school supplies. Someone was carrying her as she felt their heavy footsteps hitting the ground. Tears threatened to fall but she didn't dare let them. Being weak at this moment would show that she was scared. The sound of a door opening echoed around. Haunting opera music was playing in the background.

Whispers were heard but she still didn't move. Her father was a police officer after all. Surely he would find her and save her. She was placed on something as the darkness slowly faded into a bright light. The music was blaring as the person began to sing rather loudly. "Don't worry little one, Daddy will make you perfect" the voice said as a hand ran along her cheek. Staying frozen she kept her eyes held closed. Something cold clamped down over her wrists and ankles.

Finally, she opened her eyes to a blinding white light. Tilting her head to the side she looked around. There were blood covered tools sitting on a metal table next to her. Tears began to streak down her face. Mar'i couldn't hold them in for much longer. "Such imperfections can be fixed" the person finally revealed themself. Their face was horrifying to her as she shook her head.

"Can I go to my Mommy and Daddy now?" she asked in a shaky voice.

The music only got louder to block out her pleas. Looking to the other side of her she saw many small disfigured shadows. "Come my children and meet your sister!" he yelled as the shadows stepped out into the light. They were all children around her age, older or younger. It was terrifying seeing what they looked like. Their disfigured faces and added on body parts. One of them had a buzz saw for their hands. "Can I please go home now?" she asked looking back at the scary man.

A broken China doll mask slid over his scarred face. His large hands gliding over the bloody sharp tools. Whimpering she watched as his eyes darted over. They glanced over her before he grabbed a kitchen knife. "You won't have to be imperfect any longer" he said as his hand shakily held the knife. She squirmed around trying to get her hands or feet free. Then a sharp pain emmited in her stomach as it sent shock through her body. Words couldn't be formed as she stared up at the ceiling.

Pain like this has never been felt before. The knife was brough back out before it went diving back down into her shoudler. This time she screamed like she had never screamed before. Her voice echoed around the place as she did so. After awhile the pain sort of went numb as she felt nothing. The tears dried to her face as she laid there. Her eyes were dropping but she knew she wouldn't die. He wouldn't let her die, not yet anyways. For a ten year old she was smarter then she looked.

The music was melted into her brain now as it was slowly turning her insane. "The imperfections are almost gone now" he said in that creepy doll like voice of his. The knife was getting closer to her eye when the door busted open. Officer's ran in with their guns at the ready. It didn't matter for she was already broken. Everything began to space out from there as she kept nodding off. Then someone picked her up. "Sunshine I'm so sorry" her Dad's voice rang in her ears.

She just rested there completely numb of everything. Then everything went black as her eyes closed. It was most likely from the amount of blood she had lost. The monster used her like he was butchering a pig. A faint beeping sound rang in her ears. "Please......finally.......can....don't die" the sentence was spaced out as she tried her best to listen in. The images were still scarred in her mind. Mental wounds were worse then physical wounds.

Something warm gently touched her hand as it was squeezed. The pain was finally hitting her in waves. It hurt so bad that she wanted to scream and shout. Unfortunately that wasn't an option at the moment. Her eyes opened until they were then dropping slightly. It was hard to keep them open. The beats on the monitor were becoming further a part. Zatanna and Dick were sitting on her bedside. Her father holding her hand gently. The corners of her vision were beginning to become darker. "You can let go baby. Its okay" Zatanna said softly before covering her mouth. Then her eyes fell once again as it engulfed her in a darkness.

A/N: Oh my god I'm sorry I haven't been updating this book or like any of my other books!!!!! School is just ahhh crazy right now! I do promise to update when I can though :)

Skycrystal23 ;)