"I'm telling you, Madalyn, you were dead. I watched you take your last breath while you bled out right here," Jason had insisted as he pointed to the stained spot on my living room floor. Even staring at it, even just looking down at my chest with the three bullet shaped scars, I couldn't believe it.

The marks looked like they were a few months old rather than a few hours.

"And I'm telling you, that's more than impossible," I replied, despite the evidence otherwise. "I don't have healing abilities; I've been hurt enough to know that."

"Unless you're a fucking zombie, I think it's safe to say you don't know shit about what you're capable of."

"Yeah?" I had scoffed, pulling the blanket closer around me. "And how do you suppose I figure out everything? Just go out and find Dan— Hurricane and say 'I lived bitch! Now give me answers!' Because that's gonna work?"

"That seems more like my kind of approach, but that wasn't what I was actually suggesting," he shrugged.
"I was thinking more like going to an honest, reliable source. You know, someone you could trust that they're telling you the truth."

I'd narrowed my eyes at him, knowing exactly what he was getting at. "No."

"It's the only thing that makes sense—"

"Jason, I said no."

"Yeah, well, unfortunately for you, when people say 'Jason no,' all I hear is 'Jason yes.' So get some stuff packed and let's go."

"I can't," I had insisted. "Not because I don't want to or whatever reason you might be thinking of. I can't because it's generally a bad idea for everyone. Dick and I made an agreement to stay away from each other and I won't be the one to break that."

"As someone whose been around him more lately, I can honestly say he doesn't seem to give a shit about agreements right now. Besides, something tells me he'd make an exception either way if it meant helping someone."

I groaned in irritation, mostly because he was right. Whether it was me or not, whether there was signed documentation or a blood oath with Satan, Dick Grayson would break an agreement if it meant helping and protecting others. And that was exactly the reason I was trying to keep from breaking this one.

It was just worse for the world if we were both together.

I knew that, and still I was sitting in the passenger seat of my car as Jason drove us to Titans Tower.

*****

Six Years Ago

I was as clueless as anyone when it came to how dangerous I could be when pushed to the limit. Granted, I knew more than Dick and Donna since I hadn't told either of them anything about my literal kiss of death, but still. That actually wasn't anything that naturally came up in conversation.

I'd been living in Wayne Manor for months, training with Dick and Donna, but I hadn't been allowed out on a mission yet. And as far as my romantic life, I was pointedly keeping it nonexistent.

I stopped working in the café in the city to minimize my temptations, but hadn't taken into account how much time I would be spending with Dick. How much contact combat training would require. Or how often I would see him shirtless, either from being patched up by Alfred or changing out of training clothes.

Or how much time he would spend trying to make sure I felt welcome while he tried to get to know me.
And God knows, he spent a lot of time trying to break past my walls.

But I spent a lot of time working to keep them firmly in place with him far on the other side and, for the most part, physically at least a Donna sized space apart. If you'd asked, I would've sworn up and down that it was working and the only one I felt connected to was Donna.

Until that night that I learned otherwise.

Bruce was away on a business trip, Donna was off in Themyscira for some summit of the Amazon's and I was left with Dick "I'm in charge, deal with it" Grayson.

I was heading to the training room to burn off the extra energy buzzing through my body when I spotted Dick slipping through the hidden passage that led to the Bat Cave. I considered going on like I hadn't seen him but then I realized if ever a time to con my way into a mission, it would be with Bruce and Donna gone. Not to mention, the unspent energy would be put to better use.

By the time I made it down to the op center, Dick had transformed into Robin, just placing the mask across his eyes. His head turned ever so slightly towards me and before I could say a word, he spoke.

"No, you're not coming."

"And why not? One of the first things you guys tried to drill in my head was that if it was avoidable, don't go on a mission alone. Bruce and Donna aren't here, but I am. And I can handle myself."

"Doesn't change the fact that you're not going," he said as he turned to me entirely. There was a hard look to his face that I wasn't used to seeing.

"Half of our sparring sessions lately have ended with me putting you on your back. That has to give me some sort of points in the pro column," I insisted. "Not to mention, the greatest pro of all: I have powers and you don't."

"Powers that you still haven't learned to keep entirely in control," he countered flatly.

"You think so?" I asked, my annoyance getting the better of me. "Because I think I'm doing an amazing job of not choking you out with some foliage right now."

Dick's eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms at me. "Or maybe that's because there isn't any down here for you to manipulate."

My smile was almost electric as I pulled my hand slowly from my sweater pocket, my handy piece of plant life between my index finger and thumb.

"Never go anywhere without it. I thought you knew me better than that, Grayson. So what's the next bullshit excuse you're going to try? I don't have a suit? Maybe I'll take Bruce's scraps, wrap them in some cloth and call it a day. I'm inexperienced? So is everyone else when they start out, but you have to get that first mission out of the way eventually—"

"You're not going because I don't need or want you to," he snapped suddenly.

"Which is exactly why I should be going," I returned calmly. "If it's as easy as you're trying to make it seem, then me going would be no harm done, or it's more difficult then you want to admit to yourself, in which case me going would be the best thing I could do."

Dick stepped forward, towering over me as if to intimidate me into submission but instead only fueling my stubbornness. Had he been more calm about turning me down, I would've grudgingly accepted and gone about my night's plans. But the ferocity with which he insisted that I wasn't going made it more than clear that his plans were personal; which meant his judgment was clouded.

And clouded was dangerous for a vigilante.

"You're not going with me, Madalyn. This mission isn't for you, it's for me. Special assignment. If I need help I'll send out an alert to someone in the League, but it won't be necessary."

I felt my nostrils flare as I rolled my eyes at him.
"Fine, whatever. It'll be your funeral."

"Then it'll be mine alone," he stated. "Promise me you aren't going to follow me." His dark eyes bore into me with the words and I shifted uncomfortably, suddenly aware of his warm breath on my face and the small distance between us.

I could almost feel the echo of spores in my throat as I swallowed down the lump forming there.

Something in the far back of my mind willing me to dose him, compel him to stay with me here and not go out to do whatever it was he was planning. But the more logical part of me knew that it wouldn't work the way I wanted with Bruce's anti-pheromone vaccine running through Dick's veins. It would only serve to anger and distract him more when he left.

"I don't like this," I said slowly, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring up at him. "But I promise. As long as you promise not to get yourself killed."

"I don't plan on it," he said with a slightly relieved smile. "I still have some things I'd like to do before I die." The way his eyes never left me caused a blush to creep across my cheeks and he chuckled lowly before walking around me to leave. "I'll be back soon as I can. Promise."

I wanted to stop him from leaving, do whatever was necessary to quiet the nagging voice in my head that said things were about to go horribly wrong. But I didn't, because whatever was necessary could end even worse then wherever he was going. So I watched him hop on his bike and take off down the stretch of road and out the cave opening.

Then I turned to the tech behind me.

I promised Dick I wouldn't follow him; I didn't say I wouldn't track him.

*****

It wasn't as complicated to track Dick as I thought it would be. The cell phone Bruce had given me was already connected to all the systems and after clicking through a few things I managed to sync the tracker on my phone. From there I just needed a ride to get there. Like I'd sarcastically mentioned to him before, I didn't have a suit but I didn't see it as a deterrent. I donned the clothes I wore the night we first met, grabbed a few of their favorite smoke screen toys and was off.

His tracker led me to an old abandoned warehouse by the pier, two armed guys at the front door with another circling the building.

Instinct told me to take them out immediately, but training told me recon came first. Especially given that there were 3 of them, one of me, and they had the added benefit of guns that could easily turn me into Swiss cheese. My pheromones could possibly be helpful; except I'd never used it to seduce more than one person at a time before. So really, sticking to hiding in the shadows while I assessed the situation was the best option.

The buildings on either side of the warehouse were too far away to be useful to me, so I climbed a nearby tree and hid among the shadowed leaves and branches. Through them, I could see faint light coming from somewhere near the middle of the second floor windows. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the obviousness and lack of authoritative response to it. Climbing higher into the tree, I spotted a hole in one of the windows nearby, a busted lamp post just a few inches out from it. A smile crossed my face as a plan to get in formed in my brain.

As quickly and quietly as I could, I willed the tree branch beneath my feet to grow further, sloping to curve its end on the lamp post. It was going well until the lamp shook, a piece of its broken light glass falling on to the patrol-man just as he turned the corner.

He stopped in his tracks, looking up and shining the mini light attached to his weapon. It focused on the oddly formed branch, working his way across it and clearly trying to remember if it'd always been that way. His curiosity was bringing his attention too close to my position for my comfort, so I gambled on a whim and hoped it'd work. I reached out to the roots beneath the tree, pulling them from their home desperately and using them to capsize a nearby car.

The crash of the car with the screech of its alarm echoed through the night, immediately catching the guards' attention.

The two in the front approached cautiously, no doubt wondering what had just happened, while the one beneath me walked back to the edge of the building to call out to them questioningly. I had successfully diverted their attention, but the buzzing, happy adrenaline in my veins from using my powers was beginning to impose its own will on me. I hadn't used them purely for my own protection in so long that I suddenly felt a need to make sure I didn't need to deal with them again.

Without putting much thought to it, I watched as the roots lashed at the plot of dirt and grass hard enough to release clumps into the air and leave holes in their place.

The men started to back away with confusion and uncertainty, but it did them no good; the roots lashed out at them too, snatching and throwing their guns into the distance. They called out to their other companion who came running and started shooting at the wooden limbs in a panic, only to be swatted away like a bug against the brick wall behind him.

He crumpled to the floor, motionless, while his colleagues were trapped inside the car they'd attempted to hide in.

With them disposed of, I wasted no time in shimmying along my makeshift, natural made tightrope and jumped to the broken window.

I wasn't as graceful as I would've hoped, needing to scrabble to get a hold of the window frame and keep from falling. What I thought had been the second floor window was really just a window high up in the rafters of the first floor, which meant a sloppy fall on my part could be the end.

Once I'd steadied myself enough, I looked below me for any signs of Dick and cursed under my breath when I found him.

Both wrists chained high above his head, side of his face bloody and feet dangling at least two feet from the ground. Surrounding him were at least ten guys armed with heavy fire power and a trash burning bonfire behind him; the source of light I'd seen from outside.

All of his insistence that he didn't need me and yet there he was, utterly fucked. After I saved his ass, I wasn't going to let him hear the end of it.

Carefully, I slid across the slim window frame beneath me before hopping to the nearest rafter ledge to get myself closer. I winced as my boot made a clanging sound before I slipped, just barely grabbing hold of the metal and hanging off vulnerably. The closest guard below looked around at the sound but never looked up.

It was like he didn't realize who Gotham was home to and who they had tied up. If all of the bad guys were as dumb as him, it was really no surprise that old man Bruce was able to take them out so easily.

I silently thanked Donna for her insistence on muscle training as I held desperately to the metal above me, feeling a taut pull in my biceps without pain. Whatever upper body strength I'd gained in the last few months was doing wonders I hadn't expected.

Still, I needed to get down if I was going to help Dick. Until I figured that out entirely, I turned my body to swing up my legs and wrap them around the metal too, twisting to sit up on the ledge and think.

Meanwhile, below me, someone in the crowd of men started talking.

"You've been following us for weeks, bird," the gravelly voice called out, echoing through the warehouse loud enough for me to hear. "Why? We ain't done nothin' to be on the Bat's radar."

"Which is why you're not on his," Dick answered, surprisingly calm for the situation. "You're on mine."

"And yet I still find myself askin' why? My men been sayin' something about you talkin' 'bout some circus. What that gotta do with us?"

My eyebrows bunched together at the words, finding them odd. Why did Dick care about some circus? And why was it important enough to risk his life?

"A boy watched his parents fall to their death at a circus years ago. Just curious if you would know anything about that."

"What if I did?" the man taunted and I saw Dick's hands flex around their chains.

"Then I'm gonna need you to tell me what," he replied, his voice creeping into angry territory. "And then maybe I won't beat the shit out of you and the rest of your guys."

The man barked out a laugh and stepped forward from the circle, stopping just inches away from Dick.

He was tall with tanned skin and dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, thick in the body. He started doing something in front of him that I couldn't see and then suddenly there was a gun pointed directly in Dick's face.

He didn't flinch in the slightest which put me even more on edge, just barely keeping myself from dropping in. I had to insist to myself that Dick had a plan and all I had to do was give it a shot.

"I think the little birdie has fallen from his nest before time," the man mocked. "'Cause in case you ain't notice, you're the one tied up, not us. And it don't look like the Bat is coming to save ya either."

"Who said I needed him to?" Dick taunted back, pissing me off as much as the gang member in front of him. Honestly, if that man didn't kill him I was pretty sure I would. "You couldn't kill me if I was an ant beneath your feet. Now tell me what I want to know before we have to do this the hard way."

"I never liked it easy," was the only response he got in return as I saw the man square his shoulders and knew what he was going to do next.

What I didn't expect was what I did next.

All the anger, adrenaline and nerves within me became too much to contain anymore as I screamed out in protest, uncaring of giving away my position anymore. But rather than a normal cry out for them to stop, all the air in my lungs pushed out hard and high pitched; the first time I'd experienced my sonic scream.

Soundwaves shook the room below me, catching everyone including Dick off guard before slamming into them all. I slapped my hands up over my mouth in shock as I watched the men get thrown backwards against the ground; Dick swinging back towards the bonfire behind him.

My eyes widened thinking I would be the one to kill him with a fiery death, but the flames snuffed out in the aftermath of my scream and instead he was thrown against the smoking wood. He disappeared into the cloud of smoke while the men around him began to get to their feet and I panicked once more.

Then I saw the chain that had been restraining him swing forward again, no Dick in sight, and I knew that somehow he had gotten free. Whatever I had done had been enough to give him a small window of time to escape.

But it'd also drawn unwanted attention to me.

"Black Canary is here!" someone yelled from below and I found myself momentarily looking for her myself when I suddenly realized they thought I was her. I groaned at the thought that so far I hadn't had a single unique ability to myself.

Like I was just always meant to be in someone's shadow.

"She's up there!" someone else yelled.

"Fucking shoot her!" yelled the man who'd held the gun to Dick's head.

I watched as they all pointed their guns at me and my blood went cold; I was too high up to drop down and away from them without injury. But if I did nothing, I would be worse then hurt.

Seeing no other way, I threw myself backwards from the ledge just as they started shooting.

I felt a burning pain in my arm that made me let out a normal scream in surprise as I tucked my body into a single flip. I barely righted myself before a heavy weight slammed into me from the side and brought us to a jolting landing behind an old factory machine in the corner of the ground floor.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dick's voice nearly growled as he let me go and I grabbed my arm in pain. He saw me wince, followed the movement of my hand and reached for my arm, gripping it gentler than I was expecting for his rage filled glare. "You've been shot."

"Yeah, thanks for the update, Captain Obvious," I snapped through my teeth, earning an annoyed sigh. I tried to pull my arm away again, but he tightened his hold.

"You know, this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't broken your promise—"

"I didn't break my promise, okay," I said. "I said I wouldn't follow you, which I didn't. I tracked you. And stole the bat mobile to get here. And saved your life so, you know, you could at least pretend to be more grateful."

"You stole the bat mobile?" he demanded incredulously.

I rolled my eyes. "Is that really all you heard?"

"They have to be in here somewhere," the gang boss called out in the room behind us. "Find them! Now!"

Dick groaned, letting go of my arm but grabbing the edge of my shirt and tearing a strip free from it.

"Hey!" I hissed out in protest as he took hold of my arm again.

He ignored me, wrapping the fabric around my wound before tying it right into place. I let out a grunt at the pain as I glared at him in silence.

"We'll talk about this when we get home," he said gruffly. "For now, do you think you can fight with that?" He nodded toward the makeshift bandage and I nodded back. "Good."

"You know," I started snarkily, adjusting my stance so I was on my toes and ready to spring into action. "If you wanted to see a little more skin, all you had to do was ask me."

For a few seconds he looked back at me in confusion. Then his eyes darted to my partially exposed midriff and he rolled his eyes. "I'll be sure to let you bleed out next time."

Before I could come up with a response, his hands lashed out around the machine and he grabbed hold of a gunman. The man fired his weapon as Dick shoved the muzzle up, bullets clashing against the metal fixtures. He pulled hard on the gun before shoving it hard back at the man's face and then kicking into his midsection with his heavy boots. Once the man fell forward, Dick lifted his leg again and brought his shin down on the upper portion of the man's back, knocking him unconscious as he hit the floor.

"Over there!" I heard one of the other gunman yell.

Dick looked over his shoulder at me again, assessing. "Do me a favor and try not to get shot again, yeah?"

I made a mocking face at him before shoving past and walking out into the open space. He tried to reach out and grab me again, but I had my arm tucked right against my body, hand in my pocket and gripping my lifeline.

Once I was a distance away from his reach I raised both my arms above my head as if in surrender, biting back the ache it caused in my injured arm.

"Boss, that's not Canary," one of the gunman said as they all stared at me warily. "Ain't she s'posed to be a blonde?"

"I'm sorry, which one of you here is in charge?" I asked loudly, feeling Dick staring daggers at me.

"I am," the man with the ponytail said confidently, stepping out from behind the small cluster of men who'd boxed him in protectively. "And you definitely ain't Canary, so who wants to know?"

"Oh, just someone a whole lot worse," I replied with the most innocent smile I could muster.

The vine piece in my hand grew out long and strong as a whip then, stunning them all momentarily as I lashed it out at him.

His men finally moved into action to begin shooting at me but the windows shattered inside as plant life flowed in, wrapping around their guns and snatching them from their grasp. As they reached for smaller spares, the plants grabbed hold of them, varying between pulling them out of the window into the night and incapacitating them via the stone walls around us.

The branch I'd used to get to the lamp post outside crashed in from above and weaved its way through the room, creating a wall of strong bark between the varying degrees of conscious gunmen and us.

The boss kneeled on the floor before me, arms encased by the vine that'd found its way around him. His breathing was rough and there was no one to come to his aid; still he held the expression of a man who thought he won.

"Nice trick, honey," he said condescendingly. "You're new. What's your name?"

"My name doesn't matter," I replied stiffly, willing the vine to tighten around him slightly and smiling at the wince he made when it did. "Tell Robin what he wants to know."

"What, that you're out of his league?" the man laughed.

"About those deaths at the circus, asshole," I said, tightening the vine again. "Tell him what you know."

"Oh yeah, that. I'd love to but, you know, I don't know nothin'."

"I don't have the patience for your lies."

"Wednesday," Dick said from a few feet away.

"I ain't lying."

"I call bullshit," I said calmly. "Let's see how well you lie when you can't breathe." I tightened the vine once more, this time enough to snap bones as he gasped out in pain for air.

"Wednesday!" Dick yelled this time and I turned to him in confusion before it hit me.

Wednesday as in Wednesday Addams; the namesake I'd chosen for myself. The one he was now using to keep my identity quiet. "Stop it, you're better than this."

"I'm getting you answers," I said simply. "I'm helping that kid."

"This isn't helping him."

"Yeah, and how would you know?" I asked, earning a moment of silence. I scoffed and looked back at the gang head in front of me. "That's what I thought. Tell us what you know!" I tightened the vine more and he screamed in agony.

"Nothin'! I know nothin' alright! I lied!" he screamed. "I was fuckin' with him because he took out my men. I don't know shit about no dead circus freaks!"

"They weren't circus freaks!" Dick snapped, rage taking over again. "They were a family until they were murdered!" My eyes darted to him as I heard something else in his voice, something I didn't think I would ever hear.

Pain and vulnerability.

Suddenly, I knew exactly who the kid was.

"You lied?" I repeated coldly, staring down at the quivering man on the ground, vines so tight around him that it was almost a second skin. "You know nothing?"

"Yes, okay! It- it was just to piss him off before I killed him. To fuck with his head!"

All the mercy I'd been trained to have in the last few months seemed to seep out of me like sweat in a sauna. I didn't care anymore about what the man had to say or about the anti-killing methods of Bruce Wayne.

This man had toyed with Dick's emotions, had every intention to kill him and all the while he had laughed in our faces about it.

In that moment, mercy wasn't the word that came to mind.

With a flick of my wrist, I pulled the vine off from around him, letting him fall on his face and believe he had freed himself. Then after a few seconds, a piece of branch from the wall behind him drove itself through his chest, turned up and embedded in his throat.

Dead.

Dick shuffled slightly in place, clearly unsure of what to do. I turned to him and stared until he turned to meet my eyes. I expected to see disgust or fear on his face when he looked at me, but instead he seemed as detached as I felt.

"See?" I said dryly before making my way towards the exist. "Didn't get shot again."

This chapter came out so much longer than I was expecting it to just because I really wanted a fight scene, haha. Still, I hope you guys liked this chapter. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments.

Next up?
THE REUNION!! How are you guys feeling about that? I know I'm freaking out xD