"How did I get stuck on a team with you two?" Rory asked as she looked at her teammates. They were currently hunched behind one of the shrubberies outside in the garden, waiting to make their run for the hedge maze. Rory's team consisted of herself, Cass, Roy, and Jesse. Barbara was on their team as she hid down in the cave, but the other team did not know about it yet. 

Roy gave his best friend a glare. "You picked us, smartass. I have no idea why you thought the four of us were a good idea for a team."

"Because Harper, I have three expert marksmen here. Me, you and Cass. It's the reason why I let Jay get away with getting a fifth person for his team. They might be good, but Jay is the only one who can snipe us out. The other four have to be closer to us, where we can hit them." Rory explained. "Get the picture?"

Jesse tried to keep his chuckles in as he watched Rory scold his boyfriend. "The Three Musketeers are back at it again. We are hiding in the maze though, right?" he asked. "What's the plan?"

"The plan is that we go in there and hide down different paths. Babs will let us know when they enter the maze and we can take our final positions. If we play this smart, we will be able to knock out at least two of them." Cass said, looking around.

"The only downside is that if you get yourself cornered, then I won't be able to get you out without letting the other team know I am working with you." 

"Babs is right, we need to make sure we don't get ourselves in a corner. Quick question though, are powers out of the question, or was that a detail we personally left out?" Rory asked.

"It was never said, but we already have The Oracle on our side. I think using my powers would make things a little unfair." Jesse reasoned.

"All's fair in love and war Popsicle. Besides, if you don't actually freeze them, then they can't say anything. But the environment? That could give us an edge." Rory grinned.

The team went quiet before the slowly snuck into the maze and positioned themselves around it, making sure they had a quick way out and that they weren't cornered. Rory hid in the middle area, on top of the gazebo where she could get a good advantage and get away quickly.

And to think that this all started with a simple side comment from Jason Todd.

"So just how good is your aim princess? I know Roy and Oliver have damn good aim but how good is yours compared to theirs?" Jason asked, leaning back in the chair. 

Rory looked up from her quiver of arrows that she was polishing and stared at him with a straight face. "My aim is better than theirs, and they both will openly tell you that." 

Jason looked to Roy and Jesse for confirmation and they both nodded. "Rory is good, it's the only reason why he let her start training at thirteen. She had a natural talent, and within a year she was a formidable foe on her own. Merlyn even says that he hasn't seen someone with such precision in a long time, and he doesn't give out compliments easy."

"Yeah, but just how good is that?" Jason barely had the chance to blink before something flew past his head and was stuck in the back of the chair next to his head. Looking, he saw that it was a pencil.

"What the hell! You could have hit me!"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Look at it again, princess," she said looking back at her quiver.

Jason turned and saw that the pencil had stabbed through the middle of a fly. He turned to look at her, across the area with wide eyes. How the fuck did she see that from over there? "Alright, I'll admit you're good. But I don't think you are better than me." he grinned.

Everyone in the cave rolled their eyes this time. They all knew this was going to happen one day, but they had hoped it wasn't for a while. Roy and Jesse could tell you right off the bat who was the better marksman but kept it to themselves. They wanted Rory to show up their friend, and make him eat his words.

Rory set her quiver down and looked at him. "You really want to do this? I don't think it's wise to embarrass yourself like this princess," she said and got up. Jason got to his feet and looked down at her, a cocky smile on his face.

"Let's go test it then, shall we?" he asked, walking over to the target practice they had set up in the back spaces of the cave. Rory sighed and grabbed her bow and arrow before following him down, Tim walking at her side.

"Do you think this is a good idea?" he asked her quietly.

"If you're worried that I'm going to lose-"

Tim cut her off. "No, it's not losing I'm worried about. You're still having trouble pulling your bowstring back, I just don't want you hurting yourself,"  he said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to a stop.

Rory gave him a smile and kissed his cheek. "I can manage Dragon Boy, besides that just means you get to patch me up afterward." she laughed and kept walking, Tim keeping pace with her. 

When they got down to the range, Rory saw Jason there with several items on a table. There was a spare bow, and two types of guns, your average handgun, and AK-47s; Jason's favorites. "Alright princess, what do you want to shoot first?" he asked.

"Let's do bow first, I want to see you snap your arm with the string." she grinned and pulled on her arm guards, before stringing an arrow on and lifting it into the air. 

The target was about 50 yards away, to her that was an easy target. There wasn't a breeze in the cave at the moment, and she was calm and collected. Taking a deep breath, she released the arrow as she exhaled her breath. The arrow soared through the air and landed in the exact middle of the target. 

With a smug look, she turned to look at Jason who seemed to be impressed before aiming his own arrow and firing it. His arrow had hit the center as well, but it was just slightly to the left. "Jay, you want a real test to see how good I am with a bow? Watch this."

Rory strung up another arrow and quickly fired it, her arrow splitting his right down the middle as it hit the target. She turned to look at him again and patted his shoulder. "It's okay, most people can't do that." Setting her bow on the table, Rory watched as Jason let out a huff and set his down as well.

"Alright, grab the smaller ones. Let's see how well you do with this one, princess." 

Rory turned to look at Tim, who crossed his arms with a shrug as a smile spread on his face. She let out a giggle before turning towards the target and motioned for Jason to go first this time. The targets had been switched out for new ones, and she watched as he aimed his gun and fired three times. 

The bullets had landed in the head, throat, and chest of the target; all very lethal places and he gave her a smug smirk again, motioning for Rory to take her turn. 

"You seem very eager for someone who is about to get his ass kicked." She didn't even turn to look at the target before she fired three shots, each of them landing in the exact same spot as the one before. Right between the eyes, if the target had eyes at least.

Jason's brow furrowed. Rory hadn't even looked at the target once this round, yet she hit the same spot all three times. Maybe she really was better than him. They both set the handguns down and he handed Rory one of the final guns before grabbing the last one.

They made sure the guns were loaded and ready to go. Rory's stomach was starting to hurt from firing her bow, and it was starting to hurt a little as she held up the AK-47 to get it at eye level. This time, she didn't even wait for Jason to be ready. Rory lined up her shot before firing three times at the previous target, getting the same spots in the chest as well. 

Tim watched her before he walked over and helped her place it back on the table. The rebound from the gun must have made the pain worse, he wrapped his arms around her holding Rory against his chest as Jason made a sigh of defeat seeing that he had three shots all side by side. 

Apparently, Rory really was the better shooter. But that did not mean he had to like it. Leaning against the wall, Steph walked over and poked him on the cheek. "Jay, are you upset because you were beaten by a girl?" she teased.

Jason scoffed. "No, she just got lucky," he muttered. 

"That wasn't luck, it was skill," Rory commented.

"If it was a battle, I would totally beat you princess."

Rory turned her head to look at him, with a brow raised. "You think you could beat me in a game of assassin?" she asked.

"I'll bet my nice leather jacket that I can beat you." he crossed his arms with a grin. Rory bit her cheek and nodded. 

"Alright princess, I bet one free secret that you won't win." 

That was three days ago. During that time, no one had been hit. Alfred and Bruce had to set some ground rules like no playing during meals and if they ruined something with their little balls of paint, then the replacement cost would come out of their allowance. That was why almost everything was covered in sheets to protect it. 

Playing during patrol was banned for the simple fact that no one on Rory's team was allowed out of the manor except for Cass and Jason's team tried to surprise attack her, only to almost lose their heads with her sword in the process. 

The final rule was that there would be no playing between the hours of midnight and six in the morning. Bruce and Alfred wanted them to at least try and get some sleep every night and knew that no one would if they thought they were left vulnerable to attack.

"They're entering the maze." 

Rory grinned from her perch on the gazebo and listened quietly, for the crunch of the gravel as they walked. Her ears picked up on someone entering the area, and the second they were in sight she sent a shot to their chest, white paint splattering all over them. Her hope had been that it was Jason walking in, but of course, he had sent Stephanie as the lead for the group as bait.

Steph looked up and saw Rory laughing. "Really, Rory? How the hell did you get up there?" she asked,

"Shh, dead people don't talk Steph!" she called as she jumped down from the gazebo and walked towards the back, keeping an eye out for someone who would try to shoot her. Hearing a twig snap behind her, Rory quickly turned and fired a shot hitting Tim on the stomach as she dodged the bullet he shot at her.

"Wow, right in the gut. That hurts me Songbird." he chuckled.

"Sorry Timmy, I don't lose." she grinned and took off out of the maze now that one of the exits wasn't guarded. She ran for the back doors and crouched down, waiting for her team to sneak out before they had to stop for dinner. 

One by one, she watched as her team left the maze the only casualty from her team was Jesse but she had managed to take out both Steph and Tim, evening out their manpower. "I didn't see Jason in the hedge maze, did either of you?" she asked.

Cass and Roy shook their heads. "No, I saw Damian and Steph but the second you got Steph he took off. Was anyone else in the maze?" Cass asked.

"Yeah, I managed to get Tim was well. So we have an even amount of people excluding Babs of course." Rory answered.

"Wait a minute, Barbara is on your team?!" 

The three of them turned around and saw Dick standing there, with a confused look on his face. Before he could shoot them Roy got him, a pink splatter of paint on his face. "Sorry, Dick. You knew too much." 

Dick gave Roy a look before he was shot in the chest a red splatter of paint on him. Rory and Cass quickly got to their feet and ran, leaving Roy there. "Sorry Harper! I want to live!" she laughed as they ran towards the garage. 

"Babs, what the hell happened?" she asked, as they hid behind one of Bruce's fancy cars that were parked in the garage. 

"I think Jason is hiding somewhere keeping an eye out, it's down to just him and Damian right?" 

"Yeah, we just shot Dick. He won't tell the others that we are working with you, will he?" Cass asked.

Rory leaned against the car in thought. Either Jason and Damian had shot Roy, but they didn't see them do it. Damian was the most obvious option, but that's probably what those two wanted them to think. Barbara was probably right in thinking that Jason was hiding somewhere, and Rory would bet a good amount of money that he was somewhere high so he could see them. 

There weren't many high places except for the roof of the Manor. Knowing Jason and his flair for the dramatics, he was probably trying to snipe them out from up there. If their assumption was right, then they needed a plan to get him before he got them.

"So, what's the plan?" Cass asked.

"Simple, we bring them to us. Get them out of their comfort zones." 

An hour later, Rory and Cass were hiding in the living room while they watched the exits in and out of the room. They had a plan, and if it went right then they had a very good chance of winning. They heard silent footsteps pass by the room, then stop right in front of the door. 

The door creaked open the rest of the way, normally if it was Bruce or Alfred then they would announce they were entering the room so they didn't get shot. But it was still silent, so that meant it was either Jason or Damian or possibly both.

Cass and Rory counted to three before jumping up to shoot whoever was there, but saw that the doorway was empty. Who the hell was there, and why couldn't they see them?

Rory'e eyes looked around, she knew that someone was there. The only obvious option to this was that there was a counch on the other side of the room, but if Rory and Cass decided to try and cross the room they would be left in the open and most likely lose. 

Squinting closer, she could see a tuft of dark hair pokign up from the behind the couch and Rory knew that there was someone behind the furniture for sure. "Hey princess, I know you and the gremlin are behind the couch. Come on out and we can settle this like men." she called.

The tuft of hair did not move, and Rory narrowed her eyes. "You know I can see you right?"

"Are you sure you see me?" 

Rory's eyes widened, Jason's voice came from behind her. Quickly she turned on her heels and her eyes met the end of Jason's paintball gun, as he grinned. She frowned at him as Damian popped up from the other side and aimed his gun at Cass. Knowing that they had lost, Rory dropped the weapon and put her hands up.

"Congrats, you finally beat me at something Jay." she chuckled.

The smug grin didn't leave his face as he propped it on his shoulder. "I do have to say, it feels good. Now about that free secret you owe me?" he grinned. 

Rory rolled her eyes. "Alright, what do you want to know?" she asked, with a sigh.

"I want to know more about teenaged Aurora Queen, and why I should be glad I didn't know her well." 

"Wait! Rory don't say anything! If you are telling this story, then I need to get the popcorn!" Roy called as he ran past the room towards the kitchen with Jess on his heels. 

She dropped her head with a sigh. Did she have to tell this story to everyone? Within minutes, everyone was in the living room curled up on the couches. Rory was sat on Tim's lap holding his hand with Jason sharing the popcorn with Roy and Jesse. Apparently everyone wanted to hear a little bit of her past, but she could see why. Rory never talked about her past, so it was a treat when she did.

"Alright princess, what do you want to know?" 

"Roy said that I should be glad I didn't know teenaged Aurora Queen. Why is that?" he asked.

"We kind of answered that question in Paris when the topic came up, I was a party girl that had way too much time on her hands. Simple as that." she shrugged.

"No, you are going to give me more details. I already knew that, I want to know what you did during that time." 

Rory glared at him. She wasn't proud of how she acted in those two years she rebelled from Oliver and Dinah, and was glad that they didn't just kick her out and disown her. But she also had a knack for keeping out of the tabloids so know one knew it was her to begin with.

"Alright fine. Roy, how would you describe me during that time?" she asked, looking at her friend.

"How honest am I allowed to be?" Roy asked with a laugh.

"Completely." 

"Alright, you asked for it. I made a daily wish, hoping that you would pull your head out of your ass and see all the good you had in front of you instead of whining and bitching about it." he said, popping more pieces of popcorn into his mouth.

Rory's mouth dropped as it turned into a smile. "Wow, the truth finally comes out huh? Do we not remember when you had your own phase Roy? I think you still are in that phase." she grinned. "Alright Jess, what did you think of Rory Queen at that time?" 

Jesse's eyes widened. "You don't want me to answer that, especially with your boyfriend right there. He might try to kick my ass for it. But long story short, if you showed interest in her Rory would have probably tried to sleep with you."

"Way to drag me under the bus, Jess. Proud to call you a friend." she chuckled.

Jason raised his brow at what the two of them said. "You were a real problem child weren't you?" 

"Like you weren't? I heard the stories of what the famous Wayne children have gotten themselves into. I have dirt on every single one of you from the simple fact that Oliver and Bruce gossip like old women when they are together. I have no doubt Bruce knows all about the stupid shit I did. But I don't think he told you the stories of what I did, afraid you would try to replicate them. Example being, I bleached the batcape." Rory laughed, leaning in to Tim's chest.

"Hey! I am not that bad!" Dick countered.

Rory stared at him in disbelief. "Says the guy who is supposed to be the oldest and the responsible one but you only end up egging the others on with the stupid things they do! Don't think I don't know about the time you sparta kicked Jason off the roof when he was Robin." 

Jason turned to look at Dick. "I knew that was you, you motherfucker! I didn't believe for a second that it was Firefly! What the hell Dickiebird!" he punched his shoulder, making Dick rub it as he winced.

"Hold on Jay, you are not off the hook. Oliver told me about the time you decided to put Bang Snaps under the toilet seats!"

Jason's jaw dropped. "How the hell did he know it was me?! Besides, I have grown up a lot since then." 

Rory gave him a look. "That was a month before I got here. And he isn't called the world's greatest detective for no reason." 

The others went quiet. Who knew what kind of dirt Rory had on them, but none the less it was a comforting thought that Bruce would gossip about them to Oliver and Dinah. It showed that he did really care for them.

"What other things have these apes done that the others don't know about?" Damian asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

Rory turned to look at the young boy. "I have dirt on you too Wayne, or do I have to bring up the petting zoo incident?" 

Damian's face turned red. "Carry on, Sonnet." he crossed his arms with a huff making the others laugh.

When Alfred came around to tell them that dinner was ready, he came upon the scene of them all yelling at each other for things that they didn't know the others did all because Bruce and Oliver liked to gossip about their kids. A smile spread across his face, watching it glad that he got to be a part of their lives.

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This wasn't the greatest, but painball fight can be hard to write. Besides Tim and Rory (for obvious reasons), I think my favorite relationships Rory has are with Roy and Jason. They are like the older brother figures she didn't have as a kid, and they would do anything to take care of her like a big brother does.

But there is still some fluff to come before I do things I might regret later... But in better news book two is officially underway! I'm not going to announce anything until I get to the end because I don't want to spoil anything but I will leave you with this.

Rory gripped her side that was bleeding profusely, her left hand shaking as she tried to keep pressure. Black spots danced in her vision as she fished for her phone hidden in her utility belt, her head going fuzzy from the loss of blood. Blood smeared across the screen as she dialed the first number that came to mind. "Hey," she breathed. 'It's me."

I am not giving out the title just yet either, that's a surprise for later but it is named after another song, and surprise surprise it's not a Taylor Swift song this time. Hope you all have a good day!

Until Next Time,