Chapter Text
The aftermath of the invasion is this: a burial is held for Richard Grayson, though there is no body to lay to rest. The funeral is held in Gotham City, and only Alfred, Barbara, Bruce and Tim are in attendance.
There is no officiant, there is only Alfred.
There is only one thing Alfred can bring himself to say: you may rest now, Master Dick.
-ww-
The aftermath of the invasion is also this: a collection of superheroes from far and wide gather in an abandoned Blüdhaven warehouse, all bonded through their grief.
Both iterations of the Young Justice team are present, as well as the bare majority of the Justice League - it’s the first time the newer version of Young Justice has spent an elongated amount of time around the Justice League, which is a cruel fate.
The older heroes have an odd sort of vulnerability to them now: they have known Nightwing a long time, have all grown incredibly fond of the original Boy Wonder.
They’re hurting. It makes them seem too human for comfort.
“I hate this.” Wally mutters, low enough that even Artemis, tucked beside him, has to strain to hear. “I hate this.”
Artemis sighs, then burrows further into his side - it’s the only place she has felt warm, since returning from the Arctic. “Me too, Walls.”
“He should be here, Artie.”
-ww-
Something feels wrong.
Zatanna’s not sure what, but it’s a feeling she can’t shake: the universe has felt inordinately wrong since the team returned from Antarctica.
The thing is, Zatanna knows her grief is affecting her: she’s quicker to anger, even slower to simmer. More impulsive than she’s ever been. Her behavior now mirrors her behaviour after Doctor Fate possessed her father eerily well, but this is more than that. This isn’t Zatanna projecting her grief onto her perception of the world - something is wrong, she’s perfectly sure of this much.
What she isn’t sure of...
“Robin,” Zatanna murmurs, hand pressed to her communicator - it’s a private channel, a line directly to the Batcave. She’s only ever used it to talk to Batman, so she’s supposes it’s high-time for her to reach out to Dick’s successor. “I imagine that you buy this as much as I do.”
There’s no response for a long while, but Zatanna’s mostly a patient woman: she’ll wait as long as she needs.
“Maybe.” Robin admits, voice strained in a way that’s oddly familiar. “What are you thinking, Zatanna?”
Both Robin’s always reminded Zatanna of Dick in the strangest of ways, but she finds herself glad for it now: it acts as a gentle balm for her grief, allows her to focus on what’s putting the world out of balance.
Then, “I don’t think Nightwing was meant to die in the Arctic.”
“Interesting.” Robin allows. “But no, neither do I.”
-ww-
“We’ll laugh about this someday?”
Artemis isn’t sure why she’s here.
When Batgirl had knocked on the door to their apartment in Palo Alto, Artemis had to talk Wally out of slamming the door shut in her face - there’d been something awfully vulnerable to Batgirl’s face, something that made Artemis want to hear her out.
After their gathering in Blüdhaven, Artemis and Wally had near-immediately retreated back to their home, seeking to nurse their wounds. They hadn’t kept in touch with anyone bar Kaldur’ahm, and they’d thought that everyone would respect their want for privacy. Clearly Batgirl hadn’t.
It was a classic Bat-move, even if Dick always bought donuts along with him to try and make up for it.
Batgirl was quick in telling them what she was visiting for, at least - the lease on Dick’s Blüdhaven apartment was running out, and none of the Bats had the time to clean up his belongings.
I know he’d trust you, she’d said.
Wally said a firm no, then locked himself in their bedroom.
Artemis barely hesitated before saying yes.
Being back in Palo Alto was good for her heart, but it’d left her feeling restless: she doesn’t like not being useful, and she’s never had to grieve someone like this before. She’d grieved for her mom and for Jade, even for her dad, but there was always the chance she’d see them again: Dick was gone without so much as a goodbye, and Artemis is now left with all these feelings she didn’t know what to do with.
But being in Blüdhaven doesn’t help her with those feelings, either - instead she finds herself glaring at a six year old photo of her and Dick in their Gotham Academy uniforms, unsure why the photo is smudging before her eyes.
“Babe,” comes a soft, familiar voice. “You’re crying.”
Oh. Artemis realises numbly, glancing up at a blurry Wally. “I’m not laughing, Wally.”
“I know.” Wally says, moving closer to take her in his arms.
“We were meant to laugh.”
“I know.”
She cries for too-long, cries for the boy who had kept the secret of her identity long before she’d ever asked him to, cries for the man who bent the world in order to try and make it easier for them to tread.
“I miss him, Walls.”
“I know, babe.” Wally murmurs, pressing a kiss into Artemis’ hair. “I know.”
-ww-
“Friends,” Kaldur’ahm greets a sea of decidedly unfriendly faces. “We are gathered here today to pay tribute to our fallen leader, Nightwing.”
Artemis, Lian, Roy and Wally are all smiling up at him from the first row - Kaldur’ahm suspects that they are his only allies, though he’s secure in his belief that Batgirl and Robin aren’t glaring at him from behind their sunglasses.
So when Kaldur’ahm speaks, he focuses on the group in the first row: Conner and M’gann are sitting to Wally’s left, but they’re obviously avoiding his gaze, still hurt at his betrayal.
Kaldur’ahm doesn’t blame them, truly: while he was not alone in his deception, he knows that he is the easiest to lay blame upon. Dick is not here to answer for their lies, while Artemis and Wally bleed with how deeply they grieve their fallen bird. Kaldur’ahm, on the other hand, is quiet in his grief. Dick would not want him to fall apart. This makes him the perfect target for everyone’s animosity.
“Nightwing was a treasured member of the Young Justice initiative, as well as a close friend to the Batman.” These words are not his own - Diana had been the one to present him with the pre-prepared speech, but Kaldur’ahm has a feeling that these words do not belong to her either. If Diana were to write his words, he would speak of how much of a warrior Dick was, how he’d flown through the sky with reckless abandon and refused to land somewhere safe. It would be fond, Diana’s speech: this one feels distant. Not necessarily cold, but distant.
Kaldur’ahm wonders if Batman had given this speech at Dick’s personal funeral, if the words felt as strange to him then as they do to Kaldur’ahm now.
Dick’s Young Justice team stares back at him, faces troubled - Kaldur’ahm is not as familiar with all of them as he would like to be, but he recognises most of them: Beast Boy is sat on Conner’s lap, face turned into the man’s neck; Wonder Girl is openly glaring at him from where she’s sat beside Robin, but she’s standing far closer to the boy than Kaldur’ahm would think Robin is comfortable with; Blue Beetle and Impulse are stood together, looking too-young in their grief despite their clear disdain for the current speaker. Kaldur’ahm aches for them all. Their leader is dead. They’ve been left in his care, and all they know of him is his villainous father.
“Not only that, he was a good man. Kind. Generous.” Batman’s words fall short here, but Kaldur’ahm struggles to think of words that encompass all that Nightwing was - Kaldur’ahm has known Dick a long time, longer than all bar two occupants of this room, and he has always struggled to describe the man: savior, he then thinks. Maybe that’s it. Or maybe it’s just a start. “We, Young Justice, bid him goodbye as he progresses into the next life and are pleased to immortalise him here in this Hall.”
Lian peers up at Kaldur’ahm, quieter than he’s ever known her to be: she looks unsure, wide eyes darting between the stage and Roy. Kaldur’ahm wants to reach out and reassure her that everything will be okay, but...
Kaldur’ahm wonders if everything will be. If it ever could be.
“We miss you, Nightwing.” he says, voice soft. These next words feel different, feel more like a brother mourning: “We hope you’re finally flying as high and free as you’ve always wanted.”
-ww-
“Wasn’t expecting you to visit tonight.”
Roy raises a brow. In his arms, Lian babbles away, grabbing for-
God. What the fuck even is Oliver to Lian?
Fucking nothing, Roy would’ve said a year ago - before reconnecting with Dick and Wally, who eventually lead him back to Dinah who’d taken to the task of repairing his and Oliver’s broken partnership with a ferocity usually saved for her clients.
You’ve spent so long as mentor and mentee, Dinah told him, over coffee. O needs to get over himself and start treating you as an equal. Which you are, Roy.
Maybe Oliver can be a weird uncle, now.
“Hey there, baby girl,” Oliver smiles, reaching out a finger for Lian to grab onto. “Missed you. And your dad, even if he doesn’t wanna hear it.”
Roy snorts. “Shut up, Ollie. We were in town.”
Oliver’s smile doesn’t fall exactly, but it certainly dims. “I know. I’m... sorry I wasn’t there.”
“Apologise to Nightwing.” Roy grunts, then comes to the awful realisation that he doesn’t even know where Dick’s actually buried. Not that there’s a body in his coffin, but... fuck, the only places he knows aren’t for Dick at all: they’re all for Nightwing. What a fucking joke.
Oliver’s smile does fall now, replaced by a concerned frown. “You doing okay?”
Roy wants to snap, he really does, but he thinks of life before Dick and Wally tracked him down to that rooftop: he thinks of how it was horrifyingly lonely, above all else. That life would’ve led him somewhere bad, he’s sure of it; but he’s here now, back in Oliver Queen’s orbit, a little girl in his arms that he loves more than anyone else in the world. He’s good. He’s doing good.
“He was the first, O.” Roy says instead, painfully aware of how vulnerable it sounds.
“Yeah,” Oliver murmurs, gripping Roy’s shoulder with his free hand. His grip is firm but, more than that, it’s grounding. “I know, kiddo.”
“Nobody even knows what fucking killed him, like- how is that fair? Big, scary Nightwing drops fucking dead and none of us get to fucking know why-” he’s cut off by Oliver squeezing his shoulder too-tight.
“Dick didn’t want anyone to be scared of him.” Oliver says, clearly a little uncomfortable. The Arrow boys have spent a long time dancing around the fact they separately both know the identity of the Bats, but it seems fitting for it to end now. “You know that.”
Roy sighs. “Like it even fucking mattered, in the end.”
(Artemis had been the one to reach out to Roy, under the guise of visiting her niece.
After Lian had been put to bed, Artemis and Roy talked for hours.
When Roy asked how Dick died, Artemis swallowed. Said, I can’t remember. Roy dismissed it as trauma, but.
But.
Artemis never forgets.)
-ww-
TEXT SENT: Wally West
Okay, don’t freak out.
TEXT RECEIVED: Wally West
???
YOU CAN’T SEND TEXTS LIKE THAT WITH NO EXPLANATION
TEXT SENT: Wally West
I found where Dick’s buried.
TEXT RECEIVED: Wally West
...
omw
Conner’s barely surprised when there’s a sudden gust of wind at his back - hell if he knows how Wally manages to keep surprisingly close tabs on all of them, even now, but he finds that he’s grateful for it.
Of all of the original team, Conner would think that he’s the least familiar with Gotham: Artemis and Dick were both locals, where Kaldur’ahm and Wally have visited the city many times. M’gann’s never been, but she’s walked through Artemis and Dick’s mindscapes before, and knows their versions of the city.
This is Conner’s first visit - he’d been invited by Batgirl and Robin, who he’d known were aware of his continued presence in Blüdhaven despite his best efforts to be as low-profile as possible. Who knew that Superman’s clone couldn’t lead a quiet, vigilante life?
(Everyone but Conner, apparently.)
He’d half-expected to be chewed out, but the duo actually wanted him to work alongside them - they’d been splitting their time between Blüdhaven and Gotham, mostly leading to a sharp decline of their civilian lives. They’d asked for Conner’s help, wondered if he’d act as their foot patrol so they had a chance in hell of getting some regular sleep and just time out of their capes and-
Well, looking at the two kids that Dick was immeasurably fond of, it was hard to say no. Dick wouldn’t have wanted this for them, would he?
So Conner said yes, then promptly got distracted by a smell that faintly reminded him of Dick’s aftershave.
After bidding goodbye to the Bats, he’d followed that smell to here out of pure curiosity - but he hadn’t paid attention to his path, sure as fuck couldn’t hope to navigate Wally here on his own, so yeah. Thankfully, Wally knows this town.
“Kon,” Wally says, sounding more than a little frantic. “Where is he?”
Conner doesn’t look up at the speedster, gaze focused on Dick’s epitaph. “Use your brain.”
A shadow falls upon the headstone, and Conner hears a shape intake of breath above him. Wally’s heart is going fast, even faster than usual, and Conner whips around to tell him to calm the hell down, but-
“Jesus.” Conner murmurs, vaguely remembering that Wally’s always had trouble shifting his molecules but here he is, vibrating away without a care in the world. He has seemed faster since returning from the Arctic, even though Wally’s barely active enough to have noticed. “Breathe, Wally.”
Wally’s eyes are wide, but he’s focused on the headstone before them - after a few moments, his mouth quirks into a rare frown. “What the fuck is this, Kon, what the fuck-”
“Wally, breathe!”
“Fuck that,” Wally snaps. “What the fuck, Kon? It’s like-”
“I know, but you need to calm down-”
“It’s like he didn’t even fucking matter!”
Conner sighs. Can’t pretend that he doesn’t understand, since his first thought upon noticing where the smell had taken him was pure rage, but...
“He mattered, you know he mattered,” he stands up, arms raised in a vague surrendering motion. “But look.” he gestures over to the neighbouring graves, belonging to John and Mary Grayson. “It’s the same.”
Wally blinks. “Oh.” he murmurs, finally stilling. “Oh, fuck.”
Conner and Wally stare down at Dick’s headstone for a few minutes, and Conner wonders at the reason behind the wording: Richard Grayson, beloved brother, friend and son.
“How’d you find him?” Wally asks eventually, voice raw.
Conner shrugs. “Smelt like him.”
-ww-
Jason.
Oh God, Jason.
-ww-
“Master Tim, I believe it’s high-time you took yourself to bed.”
Tim looks up at Alfred, considering the statement: having Superboy in Blüdhaven has lessened that burden, and Aqualad is finally starting to work on restoring Young Justice to its former glory. Zatanna hasn’t made contact in a while and as far as he knows, Artemis and Wally are getting back to life as normal over in Palo Alto.
Everything isn’t fixed, not yet - that will come, in time. But things are good now. Better than they’ve been for a long time, even before Dick-
Tim shrugs in concession, instead of finishing that thought. “I think you might be right, Alfred.”
Alfred doesn’t smile, but there’s a warmth to his eyes now. “Sleep well, young master.”
-ww-
“Momma!”
Lian’s sudden shriek scares the shit out of Roy, and he’s running into her bedroom before he can even wish to decipher what she’d said - when he pushes the door open, Lian’s still safely in her cot, staring up at-
“Cheshire.” Roy greets, flatly.
“Red.” Jade returns, smirking.
Lian babbles in excitement, still focused on Jade and it hits Roy that this is the first time Lian’s seen Jade since she’d been left with Roy. Jade’s visited plenty, but usually in the dead of night, and always giving Lian’s bedroom a wide berth.
“What are you doing here?”
Jade hesitates for a moment, indecision clear on her face - it’s a decidedly strange sight, because for all the bad things Roy could say about Jade Nguyen, she is always sure of herself. It’s something he admired, back when they’d first met.
Looking down at Lian, Jade says, “Have you ever heard of the crossroads demon?”
“From Supernatural?”
Jade pulls a face. “I guess.”
Roy waits for a moment, before pressing: “what about it, Jade?”
“Something feels wrong.” Jade answers, reaching down to dangle her hand in front of Lian. After a moment, Lian makes a grab for one of Jade’s fingers and holds on tight. “Don’t you think?”
And Roy considers it - nothing strikes him as strange, currently. But then he remembers visiting Oliver in Star City, after Dick’s inauguration. Remembers the realisation that Artemis Crock doesn’t forget much, if she can help it, and he’s certain she’d remember everything she could about the death of her best friend, least of all how he died. “... you think-”
“Never thought your little bird would cage himself,” Jade interrupts, staring down at Lian in wonderment.
Roy swallows. “Jade, do you think Dick-”
“Call it a feeling.” Jade gently tugs her finger out of Lian’s grip, grimacing when the girl gives a loud cry in reply. “Good luck, Red.”
-ww-
“Mr. Wayne, are you sure?”
Bruce stares blankly at his lawyer, before coming back to himself: feigns a sharp intake of breath, forces his shoulders to hunch in on themselves.
Grieving father is an act he knows too-well.
“Wrong question,” his lawyer allows, then rephrases: “Do you want me to get this notarized?”
Bruce forces a shaky sigh, eyes flicking down to his new will: it’s shorter than ever, with only two claimants.
To Alfred Pennyworth, I leave Wayne Manor in its entirety.
To Timothy J. Drake, I leave Wayne Ent. and all affiliated properties, as well as the contents of all bank accounts under the name Bruce T. Wayne.
There is another will, saved in the data banks stored in the Batcave.
To Robin, I leave Batman.
To Robin, I leave Gotham.
To Robin, I leave hope.
“Please do.” Bruce says on an exhale, telling himself that the tremor in his voice is still part of the act.
-ww-
What the fuck is he meant to do about Jason?
-ww-
Barbara has never been one to read too far into the meaning of flowers.
But, in the weeks since Dick’s burial, she’s been the only one to leave anything at this trinity of graves: Alfred has sent flowers with her to take, but hasn’t been able to make the trip himself; Tim has visited even more often than she has, but always empty-handed; and Bruce is... well, Bruce.
The flowers laid upon Mary Grayson’s grave are awfully familiar, to say the least.
“What are you?” Barbara murmurs to herself, picking through the bouquet to find the different varieties of flowers within: there’s a wide range, but nothing as simple as a red rose.
That, Barbara thinks, smiling despite herself, wouldn’t fit a Grayson, anyway.
A few Google searches bring Barbara this knowledge:
The bouvardia means enthusiasm.
The chrysanthemum means optimism, joy and long life. There’s both red and white varieties among the flowers, meaning love and truth respectively.
The gladiolus means strength of character, faithfulness and honor.
The hyacinth means playfulness.
The larkspur means lightness.
The snapdragon means graciousness and strength.
Huh.
Barbara thinks she would’ve liked to meet Mary Grayson, if this is the sort of thing people are leaving on her grave - even if she can’t quite grasp why this assortment seems so familiar...
They were Mary’s favorites, Barbara suddenly knows this with unflinching certainty. She isn’t sure how. But she knows.
“And who left you here?” Barbara asks, but knows she can’t turn to Google for help here.
Who would know Mary’s favorite flowers?
Haly’s is out - the circus is currently on a European tour, and many of the people who were there in the Flying Grayson’s heyday remain on the ticket even today. Mary’s family, maybe? But Barbara knows that’s an incredibly long shot. She’s seen photos of the Grayson’s joint-funeral, attended in large part by fellow circus performers. Neither John nor Mary’s families were anywhere to be seen, and Barbara knows for a fact that they haven’t reached out since, if there are even any left.
There’s only one person who could have been here, she knows this.
“But you’re dead.” Barbara says, voice barely above a whisper. “But there isn’t a body down here, and no one can remember how you died, and... and...” Barbara swallows. “What if you aren’t?”
-ww-
“Nosyarg Kcid Em Wohs.”
This is what Zatanna sees: a hand reaching out of Jason Todd’s grave.
“What the fuck.” Zatanna cries, breaking the spell.
Zatanna isn’t supposed to know who Jason Todd was, but it was hard to ignore Dick’s kid-brother: he commandeered not only a lot of Dick’s attention, but a lot of his worry too. Dick and Zatanna hadn’t dated very long, but she’d spent a lot of time in his home back in Blüdhaven. Jason had, too.
“Robin,” Zatanna says, voice tremulous. “You need to get to Jason Todd’s grave.”
“What.” Robin snaps.
“Just fucking go.” Zatanna snarks back, then flings the communicator across the room and-
That spell was meant to show Dick.
Was Dick at Jason’s grave?
-ww-
“Little wing, I’m so sorry-”
Jason stills. Who the fuck-
Little wing.
He remembers flying through the air, how he’d felt free for the first time in his life - Batman was talking in his ear, gruff reminders to be safe, but Nightwing was only a moment behind him.
Ready to catch him if he fell.
It’s Dick.
“Jay, you need to keep digging,” Dick continues, sounding a lot more desperate than Jason’s okay with. “I know you’re tired, but I’m not coming to help.”
But you’re here?
Nonetheless, Jason keeps digging - his arms are fucking tired, but he knows he’s running out of air down here and Dick’s waiting.
Dick talks to him while he digs, always with a faint note of hysteria, and Jason really wants to tell him to fucking breathe, Dickiebird but he can’t speak.
“Little wing, I see you, you’re almost here,” Dick says suddenly, relief clear in his voice. “Just a little more, and we’ll figure out the rest, okay?”
Jason uses the last of his energy to dig the rest of the way, and the moment his body’s free of that dirt tomb, he greedily gulps up the fresh air.
Then he focuses on Dick, who looks...
Dick, what the fuck.
“You can see me? Wait- you can speak?!”
Jason stares at Dick, thoroughly unimpressed. Of course I can see you, but I’m not saying shit.
Dick frowns back. “But I can hear you...”
Dick, what the fuck did you do?
Dick’s response, if he has one, is interrupted by the arrival of...
Robin?
But... but he’s Robin.
“Jesus Christ.” Robin says, looking down at Jason. Behind the domino, Jason can envision wide eyes. “Batgirl,” he barks out, hand suddenly raised to his ear. “Zatanna was right, Jason’s here.”
-ww-
M’gann hadn’t been expecting a summons to the Batcave, of all places, but here she is.
“Thanks for coming, Miss Martian.” Robin says by way of greeting. Despite the fact she’s known him the least amount of time, M’gann’s oddly glad that he was the one to meet her at the zeta - she likes Batgirl just fine, but they’ve never clicked and Batman is... well, Batman.
“No problem, Robin.” she chirps in return, quickly hurrying after him as he starts moving further into the cave - she’s not totally surprised to find her surroundings familiar, Dick’s mindscape was full of eerily accurate recreations of the notable places in his life, but there genuinely doesn’t seem to be a single thing out of place.
Except, well...
M’gann stares at the Nightwing costume within a glass case, standing tall next to a semi-familiar Robin costume.
Gosh. Batman has lost two sidekicks in the space of three years.
“Over here, Miss M.” Robin says gently, standing in the archway to what M’gann knows is the medbay.
Oh, dear. What has she been wrangled into?
“Hello, Miss Martian.” Batgirl says. She’s sat on top of a bed, and M’gann wonders for all of a second if it’s Batgirl she’s here to attend to, but-
Something feels scared.
M’gann’s long-tamed her empath abilities, and it takes a lot to break through her careful walls, but something here is doing it effortlessly.
“What’s happened?” M’gann asks, a tad breathless.
Batgirl gestures her over, and Robin cradles M’gann’s elbow as he walks her towards all that fear.
Laying in the bed is-
“Robin?” M’gann asks, perfectly confused.
“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” comes Batman’s voice, but M’gann’s too entranced by all of Robin’s fear to be scared at Batman’s sudden appearance. “I need you to check.”
Oh.
“Robin,” M’gann says, gentle. “Is that okay? I need you to tell me it’s okay.”
Robin’s quiet for a long while, seemingly staring at something over M’gann’s shoulder. Eventually, he nods.
“Okay, thank you.” M’gann murmurs, pointedly ignoring Batgirl, Batman and Robin’s exchanging of looks over her head as she raises her hands to press to the second Robin’s temples. “Remember, I need you to let me in.”
She feels that familiar tug, and-
M’gann isn’t sure if she’s ever stood in this Robin’s mind before.
It feels vaguely familiar, but she thinks that’s largely owed to the amount of time she’s spent in Artemis’ mind: she is certainly stood in Gotham’s Crime Alley, a place that Artemis was regrettably familiar with.
This version of Crime Alley isn’t soaked with contempt, though - there is something hesitantly fond in the air, though it doesn’t show in how the laneway is presented to her. It looks the same as Artemis’, maybe even worse: there’s a drug deal directly to M’gann’s left, while she can see a young man being beaten just in front of the closest dumpster. Even further down, she thinks she can see a prostitute, defeatedly laying out her earnings for the night.
“Shitty, ain’t it.” comes a voice, and M’gann looks to her right to see Robin.
She hadn’t spent much time with the second Robin outside of capes, and the thought makes her sad: he’s dressed the way Artemis used to dress, in a hoodie two-sizes too big and in jeans so-ripped they should’ve been discarded years ago. It’s weird: she’d expected him to dress like Dick and the current Robin, in clothes that fit nicely and were clearly new, but didn’t betray their wealth.
“But it’s home.” M’gann returns, knowingly.
Robin inclines his head. “That it is.”
They’re quiet for a moment, watching the drug deal go down - Robin’s muscles are tense, like he wants to jump in and interrupt, but he knows he can’t. They’re not really here. “That’s my pops.” Robin admits eventually, jerking his hand towards the buyer: now that M’gann’s looking, she guesses she can see the resemblance. Same nose, similar chin, same hard-set to their jaws. “That kid, he’s a friend of mine. And the... the lady back there, she’s my mom’s best friend.”
Sensing M’gann’s question, Robin lifts his shoulder in a shrug. “Not sure where my mom is, but probably home. I don’t really remember her leaving those last few years.”
“Take me there?” M’gann asks, even if it’s not something she needs to see: she needs to find something verifying his identity as Robin, but... she thinks Robin might need some time in the safety of his own mind, first.
Robin looks unsure. “I mean, sure. If you want. And, ah... it’s Jason.”
M’gann smiles. “Lovely to meet you, Jason.”
-ww-
Okay, Artemis is the first to admit she definitely isn’t the brainiest of heroes.
While her admission into Stanford was well-earned, Artemis is secure enough in her intelligence to admit that she’s sorely lacking in a lot of areas: namely people.
Especially cops.
“The fuck are you doing here?” one of the officers asks, squinting at Artemis.
Artemis frowns back. What the fuck are a pair of cops doing at Dick’s apartment? It’s not like there’s anything left to find: Artemis had eventually managed to clear out the apartment entirely, and she’s nothing if not thorough. They’d be lucky to find any of Dick’s DNA left, let alone any clues for his sudden disappearance.
On the other hand, everything she’s heard about Blüdhaven leads her to believe that their police department isn’t the least bit straight. Why in the hell would two of their officers give a fuck about Dick Grayson?
Who was Dick here, anyway? It stings Artemis to realise that she doesn’t know: when Artemis and Wally headed off to Palo Alto, Dick found refuge in Blüdhaven. They’d stayed in touch, of course, but Artemis is just now beginning to realise how little Dick told her about his life.
She wants to be angry at him, she does; why the fuck would he think she didn’t want to know his life?
But hey, she didn’t realise until right fucking now. Maybe he was right.
“Hey, blondie.” the same cop snaps, clearly unimpressed with Artemis’ silence. “You’ve got a minute before we book you for trespassing.”
“Bit hasty there, captain.” the other officer observes, clearly a little amused. “You know as well I do that Clancy has this place locked up tight. Clearly this lady’s got a key- right?”
“Right.” Artemis answers feintly, retrieving the apartment key for her pocket. Not the original, naturally - she’d returned that one to Robin. Felt herself ache when he notched it back onto his keyring without a second thought. “I’m a friend of Dick’s. Little weird for two officers to be hanging around his apartment, isn’t it?”
“What the fuck is that-”
“We worked with Dick at the department.” the guy says, succinctly cutting off the mouthy chick - their dynamic reminds Artemis of herself and Dick, a little. Then- sorry, what? “Amy was his partner until she got promoted, then I was with him. I’m Gannon.”
“Dick works at the police department?” Artemis asks, still a little stupefied. Dick as a police officer? In what fucking world? “He... he didn’t mention that.”
Amy grunts. “Kid liked his secrets.”
You have no idea.
“Why are you here?” Gannon asks, clearly doing his best to diffuse the tension between Amy and Artemis; definitely the Dick of their situation, then. “When Mr. Law called us to let us know someone was poking around Dick’s, we kind of assumed the worst.”
Artemis snorts. Trust Dick to befriend his neighbours in a city like Blüdhaven. “Just...” Missed him. “Making sure I didn’t miss anything.”
Gannon smiles. “You must have been a good friend, ma’am. What’s your name?”
Artemis... doesn’t want to answer. What would she do if her name didn’t strike recognition in either of them? Dick would’ve talked about her, she’s sure of it; even if just in passing.
But... but. What if he didn’t? What if she wasn’t anything to him outside of an old teammate?
“I made a mistake.” Artemis says instead, slowly backing up towards the open window. “I shouldn’t be here.”
As she flips backwards out the window, she hears Gannon screaming after her.
Just before she lands on the railing of the opposite building, Artemis realises that Amy didn’t even react.
Huh.
-ww-
Roy’s never been light-footed.
But this is a new low.
“Look at you: needing my help, as per usual.”
Roy glances up at Jade, teeth bared in a snarl. “Fuck off.” Maybe he’s bleeding, but fuck off. “I asked around about your crossroads demon.”
Jade frowns, lowering herself down to Roy’s level; they’re surrounded by glass from the broken window behind him, but Jade doesn’t seem the least bit worried. “I figured you would.” she admits, voice oddly sullen. “But we can talk about that later - you’re bleeding, Red.”
“Like you care?” Roy shoots back hotly, missing Jade’s wince at his anger. “No, we can talk now. I’m fine.” he pushes himself off the floor, ignoring the pain that laces up his right arm at the sudden weight - he guesses he goes pale, if Jade’s disgruntled harrumph is any indication.
“Fine.” Jade allows, clearly unhappy. “If you insist on being your stubborn self, I’ll let you bleed out.”
Roy grins up at her, teeth bloody from a cut lip. “Appreciate it.” then he rests back on the wall, ignoring the muffled crunch of glass behind his back; his midsection is pretty solidly protected, so he’s not worried about that. The cuts on his face are another matter, but head wounds always bleed the most, no matter how shallow they might be. “It took me a while to get in touch with Raven, but oh fucking boy did she have plenty to say.”
Jade doesn’t say anything for a while, just watches him cautiously.
Then, “When Artemis died- or pretended to- I tracked down the demon.”
And.
Oh.
“I’m not sure why I did,” Jade admits, with a bark of a laugh; different from her usual giggle, but Roy has to admit that he likes this better. “I wouldn’t have traded my life for Artemis’. I wouldn’t trade my life for anyone.” Including our daughter goes unspoken, but Roy can’t bring himself to argue the point: he knows for a fact that Jade isn’t as heartless as she likes to think she is, but this isn’t the place for that discussion.
“Is that... how you knew? That something was wrong?”
Because fuck if Roy would’ve realised without Jade pressing him.
“I think so.” Jade allows. “I don’t remember it much, meeting the thing; we were in another dimension, I know that much. It just... felt wrong.”
“Like...”
“...someone walking over your grave, over and over and over. I felt the same way, the day your little friend died.”
Roy thinks that he remembers that feeling: he’d startled from sleep, the day of the invasion. He’d woken up to his skin crawling and the unshakable thought that someone was right behind him, even if the only thing under him was a medical bed.
But he’d forgotten that.
How did he forget that?
Roy jumps at the sudden grasp on his jaw, and focuses on Jade, who’d somehow moved right into his space without him noticing. “Red,” she murmurs, eyes twinkling. “Let’s find ourselves a ghost.”
-ww-
“Where are we?”
“Wayne Manor.” Jason answers from behind her, but he sounds a tad distracted.
M’gann would usually press, but... this house is amazing. She knows who Dick and Jason’s guardian was, it’s hard not to: Bruce Wayne is the kind of man that commands your attention, even from an alien like herself.
She wonders how Bruce is dealing with Dick’s disappearance. She hopes that Jason’s return will lessen his plight.
“You won’t find what you want here.”
M’gann would have to agree - if she were a pre-pubescent superhero, she’d try and keep that as far from home as she could. “But you don’t want to stay?”
“... no.” Jason grunts. “M’gann, why... in the Batcave, all of you ignored Dick. Why?”
“Sorry?” M’gann questions, finally turning around to face Jason: he looks conflicted, but that’s nothing compared to the mess of emotions M’gann can feel tumbling around in her head. “Jason... Dick, he died.”
Jason’s face slackens. “What?”
“I’m sorry.” M’gann says, sincere. “It happened four months ago.”
Instead of responding, Jason stares blankly at her - the picture behind him, formerly of himself, Bruce and Dick runs its ink; the paint disappears into nothing, but it’s quickly replaced by an oil painting of a frightening man, face artificially pale.
The Joker killed him, Dick had cried. I was off-fucking-planet and the Joker killed my brother!
“Oh, no.” M’gann murmurs, staring up into the Joker’s grinning face. Was this the last thing Jason saw? “Jason, no, you can’t- calm down, you’re going to hurt both of us.”
“You’re lying!” Jason snaps, but M’gann doesn’t even flinch, still too-entranced by the painting. “I saw him! When I dug myself out, he was there- not Batman, fucking Dick!”
M’gann blinks, and the painting is different again: Dick is gazing down at the viewer, face drawn - he’s reaching a hand out, and there’s another hand coming to meet him. M’gann glances down at Jason’s hand, barely surprised to find he has the same finger crooked as the hand in the painting.
“But... he died.” M’gann cries, voice soft. “I- I felt it.”
Jason’s brows furrow. “M’gann, what the hell happened?”
“I... I don’t know.” she admits, ashamed of the fact. Maybe she wasn’t there , but Dick’s one of her oldest friends; to know he died thinking she was still upset with him hurts her in a way she can’t articulate. “It’s a long story.”
Jason sighs. “Do you believe I’m Robin?” at her nod, he smiles, but it’s a bitter thing. “Then we’ve probably got some time before Batman gets impatient. Start at the beginning.”
-ww-
TEXT RECEIVED [ENCRYPTED]: Red Arrow
so
i have a lot to tell you
1) cheshire might be back
2) she might have convinced me that dick traded his life to save someone else
3) i think that someone might be wally ???
Oh, Gods.
TEXT SENT [ENCRYPTED]: Red Arrow
Are you at your home? I will come visit.
TEXT RECEIVED [ENCRYPTED]: Red Arrow
please do
cheshire’s still here though don’t freak
Kaldur’ahm can’t help but laugh: he doesn’t freak, not like Dick, Roy and Wally are all prone to doing.
But... if he were to freak, he thinks that this would be the perfect time to do it: he’s known Dick Grayson a long time, knows he’s as selfless as he is reckless, specifically when it comes to his closest friends. Dick would trade his life to bring any of them back, least of all his best friend.
The zeta takes him to Star City, but it’s far closer to Green Arrow’s area of operations than it is to Roy’s - while Kaldur’ahm usually enjoys the walk, it is little more than a hindrance today.
Eventually, he finds himself at Roy’s apartment: he can hear Roy through the door, likely talking to Jade. As much as Kaldur’ahm has grown used to Jade and all her eccentricities, he’s not entirely sure he’s ready to see her now - he feels carved out in a way he’s not comfortable with, and above all else, Jade’s made it clear that she isn’t an ally to them in any sense of the word.
But.
Kaldur’ahm raises his hand and knocks twice on Roy’s door, not surprised when Roy quietens immediately; the boy has always been too paranoid for his own good.
After a moment, the door opens a crack; a green eye peers out at him and Roy grunts out a fucking finally before undoing the locks and flinging the door right open; Kaldur’ahm wastes no time in stepping inside, allowing Roy to lock the door back up tight.
“Hey, Kal,” Roy greets, clapping down hard on Kaldur’ahm’s shoulder. “Thanks for coming. I’m kind of... dude, I’m freaking out.”
“I thought I was the one in danger of freaking out.” Kaldur’ahm teases, though he reaches up to clasp Roy’s hand. “It will be okay, Roy.”
“You never freak out, Kal.” Roy dismisses, grinning at him. “It’s why I called you instead of, I don’t know, literally anyone else.”
Kaldur’ahm can’t help but be touched at Roy’s words: it’s been a long time since someone has shown this kind of unconditional trust in him, though he knows he’s more than earned the scrutiny of the superhero community.
Still.
It’s grounding.
“Where’s Cheshire?” he asks, careful to sound neutral.
Roy snorts, so Kaldur’ahm must have failed. “Feeding Lian. Dinah’s coming over to look after her, but I didn’t want to give her a fussy baby.”
“Oh?” Kaldur’ahm questions, raising a brow. “We’re leaving?”
“Yeah.” Roy confirms. “Meeting up with Raven at the Tower.”
Oh.
“You don’t have to come.” Roy says, misreading Kaldur’ahm’s hesitance for wariness. “But I wanted backup, in case Cheshire decides to go rogue. And you know there’s no one I’d rather have my back.”
“No, I’ll certainly come.” Kaldur’ahm says. “I just wasn’t aware you were in touch with Raven again.”
It’s not a lie, truly: while Kaldur’ahm can’t claim to know much about the five years Roy largely spent searching for the original Roy Harper, he knows that he’d spent a large amount of that time with Raven, an old friend of Dick’s.
They have only met once, but Kaldur’ahm knew then that Raven was capable of unimaginable power. He imagines that has only grown now.
Anyway. They’d had a fight, after Roy reconnected with Dick and Wally - that was the last Kaldur’ahm had heard about Raven, until now.
“I wasn’t,” Roy admits. “But... it’s Dick, you know? Raven cares about him, too.”
“Okay.” Kaldur’ahm allows, voice gentle. “What is it that we are talking to Raven about?”
“She’s half-demon, Kal.” Roy says. “She knows how to track Dick's soul signature.”
“You truly believe-”
“Tell me you don’t.” Roy interrupts, face pinched in that angry way of his. “Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t think it’s possible.”
Kaldur’ahm hesitates. Then, “I cannot, Roy.”
-ww-
“It’s him. It’s the second Robin.”
God. Jason wants to go back to sleep.
Dick had mentioned once how truly exhausting it could be to take a Martian on a long walk throughout your own mindscape, but Jason figured that Dick was being his usual drama queen self.
Clearly not.
“Thank you, Miss Martian.” Robin says, inclining his head towards M’gann in acknowledgement - Batgirl and Batman are instead focused on Jason, and he wishes he could ask them to take their cowls off. He doesn’t want Batgirl and Batman, he wants Barbara and Bruce.
But as long as M’gann is here, he won’t get them - and he really doesn’t want M’gann to leave. His brain feels more settled now, but he still can’t make himself speak. M’gann’s his only way of communicating.
“But... Batman, when I was looking, Robin spoke to me.” M’gann continues, ignoring Robin’s attempts at placating her. “He says he saw Nightwing, at his grave.”
“Check again for injuries,” Batman says to Robin, though his gaze doesn’t leave Jason. “Nothing to worry about, Miss Martian. Hallucinations are to be expected.”
Jason flushes in anger, and M’gann must pick up on his rage, for she retorts with, “I saw him too, Batman. In his memories. He was there.”
M’gann definitely fucking didn’t and Jason’s definitely surprised that this chick’s willing to lie to Batman, but he knows that this is the effect Dick can have on people. God, what an idiot.
“What are you saying, Miss Martian?” Batgirl questions, voice tremulous in a way Jason isn’t familiar with from Babs; maybe Dick finally made a fucking move. About time.
M’gann is quiet for a moment before, “I think... I’ve never seen anything like this before, Batman. But I think Robin’s stuck between the world of the living and the world of the dead. And I think Nightwing might be, too.”
Well.
Shit.
-ww-
Incoming call from
ZATANNA ZATARA
Artemis glares down at her phone’s display.
It’s not that her and Zatanna aren’t friends, because of course they are: as much as Artemis loves M’gann, Zatanna was her first real girl friend.
It’s just...
“What do you want, Zee?”
Zatanna’s been distant since Artemis packed up her bow and arrow and headed to college. Artemis hadn’t been expecting a parade or anything like that, but everyone else at least kept in touch - every Christmas had Artemis and Wally sorting through piles of Christmas cards written in code but no matter how much Artemis wished for it, she’d never found one signed with love, Zee.
“I need your help.” Zatanna answers. And- what.
“With what?” Artemis questions, because she can think of a grand total zero things she could possibly help Zatanna with: the woman is scarily capable, certainly doesn’t need any help from a retired superhero.
“Dick.” Zatanna says, voice quiet. “Robin and I- we’ve been looking, and I think... Artie, he wasn’t meant to die. At the Arctic, anyway.”
Artemis swallows. “Zee...” God. How didn’t she see this coming? Artemis had been there when Zatanna’s father had become Doctor Fate, and had certainly been there through the aftermath. She remembers how far Zatanna had fallen into denial, how she’d convinced herself that she could easily bring her father back. “Zee, no.”
“This isn’t like dad.” Zatanna snaps, apparently capable of reading Artemis’ mind despite the likely hundreds of miles between them. “If you don’t believe me, ask M’gann: I cast a locating spell on Dick and found him at Jason’s grave. A, he’s alive.”
“... Jason?” Artemis asks, feeling lightheaded. What the fuck. “Jason’s alive?”
Jason’s a fellow graduate of Gotham’s Crime Alley, though Artemis hadn’t been too-aware of his existence up until his mother’s overdose - she still remembers that night, no matter how much she’s tried to bury it in her memory. Her and Jade were on their way home from the nearby bookstore, a used copy of Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There hidden under Artemis’ sweatshirt. They’d arrived to cops and paramedics in front of one of the houses, which wasn’t anything new - neither was the crying kid, but Artemis found herself hesitating anyway.
This kid wasn’t just crying, he was getting into a full-blown fight with one of the officers - which was sure to turn physical, so Artemis shoved Jade towards their apartment building with a promise to catch up and walked herself right into the lion’s den.
“Sweetheart, this isn’t the place for you.” one of the officers says with a gentle hand on her shoulder, but Artemis shrugs him off anyway and points towards the kid.
“He’s my friend and he’s staying with me and my family tonight.”
The cops hadn’t put up too much of a fight, letting Artemis take the kid and go within a minute, but the kid was clearly more suspicious than them.
“Fuck are you doing?” he asks, glaring through the snot and tears.
Artemis isn’t sure, if she’s telling the truth. But... “They were gonna shove you in juvie, that’s what they always do. All the orphanages are full around here.”
The kid scoffs, wiping his mess on the sleeve of a ratty sleep-shirt. “Like I’d let them catch me.”
But Jason was gone before the next morning and Artemis didn’t hear from him for years after that, not until she’d gotten a drunken phone call from Dick with he fucking replaced me, ‘Mis, what the fuck am I meant to do?
What you always do, she’d said. Make him better.
When she’d finally met the new Robin, Artemis knew exactly who he was: sure, he’d dyed his hair a deep black to match Dick’s, but there was no hiding that devil-may-care attitude and thick Gotham accent.
And then he’d died.
“Yeah, A. He’s back.” Zatanna confirms. “But we found him through a locator spell on Dick.”
Artemis hesitates. Shit, shit, shit. “You’re sure about this?”
“Deadly.” Zatanna retorts. “I wouldn’t joke about Dick.”
Artemis knows this to be true: while Dick and Zatanna’s relationship mightn’t have worked out, she knows there’s still feelings there. Dick seems to be the king of unresolved romantic tension, if Barbara and Zatanna are any indication.
“But... how can I help?”
Zatanna sighs. She sounds tired. “I just... need you. And Wally. We can figure it out together, I know we can.”
Artemis’ eyes dart over to where Wally is snoring away on the couch, wonderfully oblivious to the fact that he and Artemis’ world is currently being absolutely fucking rocked.
Then, “Okay. We’re in.”
-ww-
Conner likes Blüdhaven, weird enough.
He knows he’s not a typical superhero in that he doesn’t have a city he lays claim to, but he wonders if Dick would have minded if he took up residence in Blüdhaven.
It’s not somewhere he’d ever call home, but it keeps him occupied.
And considering he’s had to listen to Dick bemoan the fact he didn’t have a viable in to the police department, Conner made a friend pretty quickly: Gannon Malloy’s new to the Haven, but seems eager to try and make it better. Straight cops are rarer here than just about anywhere else, so Conner’s latched onto him pretty quick.
“Hey,” Gannon says, after they’ve finished sharing info - it’s their usual schedule. Conner lands in Blüdhaven around nine o’clock at night, when Gannon’s signing out of his shift. They’re more two ships passing than actual friends, but Conner’s glad for it. “Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m really glad you’re here, but... is Nightwing, you know, dead?”
Hm. Conner isn’t actually sure what the official story is: apparently not killed in action, which was the obvious option to him. The Bats are in the habit of always choosing the weirdest option possible though, so he supposes he’s not surprised.
Carefully, Conner says, “I think so.” Even that hurts to say. “But I don’t think that matters; he was a superhero, Gannon. Our names always become more than who we are.”
“A superhero.” Gannon repeats, smiling. Dude’s probably used to people using vigilante like it’s a slur, but Conner means it. The word superhero doesn’t mean much to him, but he knows that Dick was one. “Yeah. Okay.”
Conner doesn’t smile back, but he does clap a hand on Gannon’s shoulder. He’s trying to figure out what to say when his phone starts going absolutely fucking ballistic.
[OG YOUNG JUSTICE CREW]
TEXT RECEIVED: Red Arrow
WE NEED TO SAVE NIGHTWING
TEXT RECEIVED: Artemis
@zatanna YOU TOLD RED?
TEXT RECEIVED: Zatanna
No! Red, how did you know?
TEXT RECEIVED: Aqualad
Cheshire and Raven have been aiding us. We’ve found his soul signature.
TEXT RECEIVED: Zatanna
Holy shit. Okay. We need to meet. All of us. @Miss Martian @Superboy
TEXT RECEIVED: Kid Flash
al where is it??? we can meet there
TEXT RECEIVED: Red Arrow
his grave
TEXT RECEIVED: Artemis
oof.
TEXT RECEIVED: Miss Martian
On my way, Zatanna.
Batgirl and Robin are accompanying me.
TEXT RECEIVED: Zatanna
Which Robin?
TEXT RECEIVED: Red Arrow
WHICH ROBIN ?
TEXT RECEIVED: Kid Flash
WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHICH ROBIN?????
GODDAMMIT RED
TEXT RECEIVED: Miss Martian
Batman says I can bring both, if you so require.
TEXT RECEIVED: Zatanna
Please.
@Superboy are you in?
Conner glances up at Gannon, who’s looking concernedly up at him.
Conner likes Blüdhaven. He thinks he’d like Blüdhaven with Nightwing even more.
TEXT SENT: OG! YOUNG JUSTICE CREW
I’m in.
-ww-
“Robin, do you see him?”
Tim snaps to attention, then cringes away when he realises the question wasn’t aimed at him. God, was this how Dick felt when Jason first showed up? Tim hates it.
Jason does too, if the glare he sends M’gann’s way is any indication.
“You’re telling me we have to call them both Robin?” Conner questions, brow furrowed.
M’gann raises a hand, cutting off whatever Conner was about to add. She’s staring intently at Jason, whose glare has softened into what Tim is sure is his usual scowl. “Jason would rather we call him by his name.” M’gann says eventually, voice soft. “We can do that, Jason. But do you see him?”
Jason turns away from M’gann, glancing around the graveyard before settling his gaze on somewhere beyond John Grayson’s grave.
He’s looking at Dick. Tim thinks he might cry.
“Okay, good.” M’gann murmurs. “Conn, keep the spot.”
Conner does so, and then they settle in to wait: there’s nothing the five of them can do, especially with Jason permanently silenced.
“Wait,” Tim says, startling everyone but Jason if the way Barbara, Conner and M’gann flinch is any indication. Jason’s too busy staring at that same spot, still. “They’ll need to... to tether Jason’s soul here too, right? You said he was like Nightwing.”
M’gann nods slowly. “I’d think so.” Jason reaches out to tug at her sleeve, and they seem to converse for a moment. Eventually, M’gann shakes her head. “Jason’s not so sure, but I don’t think it can hurt to check.”
“How exactly does this work?” Barbara asks.
“Being in both worlds?” M’gann questions, then hums when Barbara nods. “I don’t think either of them are exactly half: Jason’s more alive, where Nightwing’s more dead.”
“Theoretically, that’d make Jason easier to tether here.” Barbara deduces, but there’s an odd tone to her voice. Tim knows that tone: it’s the patented I’m Worried About Dick Grayson voice. “But the same would go for Nightwing: it’d be easier to tether him to death.”
Tim swallows. He’d already come to the same conclusion, but was too fearful to voice it. As always.
“You’re not incorrect,” M’gann allows. “But Raven and Zatanna are very powerful, and Nightwing trusted them both.”
Dick would’ve trusted fucking Two-Face if he was pretending to be genuine in his never-ending hunt for redemption, so Tim can’t help but snort at M’gann’s attempt to settle their concerns.
But... Tim knows Zatanna. Hell, Zatanna has saved Bruce and Dick’s lives more than once.
Tim breathes, nice and slow. “Batgirl, let’s...” he hesitates, trying to figure out how to tell Barbara to stand down without saying it. “Let’s trust Nightwing.”
Barbara’s shoulders slump. Message received.
-ww-
Artemis, Wally and Zatanna are the last to arrive.
Considering they probably could’ve beaten even Batgirl, M’gann and the Robin’s, Wally thinks he might’ve dawdled a little too much.
But hey, sue him. He thinks he’s allowed.
“Holy shit.” Artemis mutters, clearly taken aback by actually seeing Jason: Wally can relate, honestly. He hadn’t spent a lot of time with Jason, but he remembers the aftermath of his death with disturbing clarity. Dick hadn’t dealt well at all and of course Wally was there for his best pal. They were dark days. To have Jason here now feels... wrong. What was the point of all of Dick’s grief, all of his pain if his brother was going to show back up eventually?
Jason doesn’t seem to notice them up until they’re about three steps away from him, but his face lights up at the sight of Artemis and he can’t help but snort at the show: for all the second Robin liked to pretend, he was just a kid. A kid who adored Artemis and Dick, most of all.
(Wally can relate to that, too.)
“Oh! Hi, guys!” M’gann chirps, smiling at the three of them - Wally smiles back while Artemis surges forward to hug Jason, who grips her back just as tightly. Zatanna lifts her hand in a lazy wave before walking over to Raven and Roy to confer.
Conner and Kaldur are standing by John’s grave, chatting away but Wally doesn’t want to leave Artemis’ side - he knows he’s been the epitome of a clingy boyfriend since the moment he’d woken up to Artemis crying about Dick being alive somehow, but fuck. Fuck. He’s freaking.
Dick’s been his best friend since fucking forever, and these past few months have been absolute fucking hell - Artemis is, quite literally, the only reason he’s made it this far without a proper breakdown. So what if he wants to stick close. He’s valid.
Artemis finally draws back from her hug with Jason and just as Wally’s about to say hi or something equally as dumb, Raven glides over and says, “Jason, I think there’s something in your mind that’s disconnected. Do you mind-” he’s nodding before she even finishes, so she barks out a short laugh before cradling his head with her hands.
“Nobody freak out.” Raven adds, mostly as an afterthought just before Jason goes slack in her hands and true to form, Wally’s first reaction is to freak out but Artemis takes a tight hold of his hand before he can do anything.
Breathe, West. You got this.
After about thirty seconds, Jason comes back to himself. Blinks a few times at Raven before, “thank fuck, alright.”
Artemis smiles, squeezing his hand even tighter.
One step closer.
Breathe, West. You got this.
-ww-
The aftermath of the invasion is ultimately this: hands linked with Raven, Zatanna calls, “Noisnemid Siht Ot Kcab Nosyarg Kcid Gnirb!”
There’s a beat, then: “Holy shit!”
Conner glares up from where he’s splayed on the ground, startled by the sudden appearance of-
“Sorry, Kon.” Dick grins, offering the clone a hand up. “Nice show, ladies.” he adds, turning the full-force of his grin to Raven and Zatanna, both struggling to hold themselves steady in their sudden exhaustion. “Take a nap, alright?”
Then he glances around the graveyard, very conveniently skipping where his own grave is resting until his gaze settles on Jason and, “Little wing!”
“Big bird.” Jason beams. “I knew you weren’t dead.”
Dick snorts. “I was. You were, too! Now look at us!” he’s striding towards Jason, reaching out to ruffle his hair as soon as he’s in Jason’s general space and laughing when Jason bats his hand away. “We’re the poster kids for resurrection!”
Jason glares up at him, grabbing Dick’s hand when he goes for his hair again and twisting it at an awkward angle. “You weren’t meant to be shit, Dick! What the fuck did you do?”
“I have to admit,” M’gann adds warily, though there’s no denying the way she’s practically shining with happiness. “I’m curious about that, too.”
Dick whacks Jason’s arm until he releases his grip, then pushes himself up so he can sit beside his brother. “Robin, get over here.” Dick calls, arm extended for the third Robin to join them. Jason’s very pointedly not looking at him, but Tim figures it’s better than the earlier glares, so he does so, eagerly cuddling into Dick’s side as a reminder that his brother is here, he’s back, he’s alive.
Then, Dick turns his attention back to the graveyard at large, and says, “Well. It’s a long story.”
Roy snorts. “Wally died in the invasion and you’re an idiot who traded your life for his?”
The tips of Dick’s ears go red. “Jeez, Roy. Can’t let a guy have some mystery, can you?”
And then, “Sorry?” Wally questions, sounding incredulous. “Roy, what the fuck?”
Roy rolls his eyes. “Why the fuck are you angry at me, West? Don’t shoot the messenger.”
Wally turns his stare on Dick, who’s very carefully not looking back at him, and presses, “Dick, tell me you didn’t.”
“What?” Dick asks, clearly surprised. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because-!” Wally sputters, unsure how to get across how fucking stupid this whole thing was. “You died, Dick! What if we couldn’t get you back?”
“What would it have mattered?” Dick retorts, clutching both Jason and Tim closer. “Wally, I just wanted you to be alive.”
“I don’t want to be alive if it means you’re dead, Dick!” Wally yells, ripping his arm out of Artemis’ grip so he can use his hands to gesticulate. “You need to be alive! Do you know what kind of hell these last few months have been for me?!”
“I have an idea.” Dick returns steadily. “Wally, you don’t- I wasn’t doing any good, okay? I was just- I was a headache for everyone, and they all just... they wanted you back. I did, too.”
Artemis nudges Wally aside so she can look at Dick, and most people would flinch away from her glare; Dick meets it without a second thought, daring her to disagree.
Instead, she says, voice hard, “Neither of you were acceptable losses, Grayson.”
Dick snorts, despite himself. “You said that back then, too.”
“Then you should’ve fucking listened!” Artemis snaps, stomping over to the Robin’s so she can hit Dick in the shoulder - he grunts in response, but she has a feeling it’s more out of habit than actually being hurt. “Dick, we care about you. You know that, right?”
Dick looks away now, unable to answer.
“Dick,” Robin murmurs, looking horrified under his mask. “You’re my brother. I- I can’t live without you.”
“Same here, dickhead.” Jason grunts, still steadfastly looking away but burrowing away deeper into Dick’s side anyway. “Imagine if you weren’t there when I was digging, I... Dick, I could be anywhere. I don’t even know how that dipshit found me.”
“That was me.” Zatanna interjects, voice trembling. “I used a locator spell on Dick, and it showed me you.”
“Why were you trying to find me?”
“Dick.” Zatanna returns, staring blankly at Dick. “Of course I was looking for you.”
Dick doesn’t say anything back, instead staring contemplatively at Zatanna.
“Anyway!” Wally interjects, waving his hands around. “I’ll kick Dickhead’s ass later, but... what are we supposed to do now?”
-ww-
But ultimately, the outcome is this: the crossroads demon allows two kindred birds to escape the embrace of death.
“And why,” a brother asks, sounding disapproving. “in the world would you ever do that? ”
The demon considers this: it’s a good question. It is not known for being kind, or even merciful - a deal is a deal, but.
But.
“A better deal was made.” it answers. “And I am not in the business of denying myself joy.”
Richard Grayson’s memories are sure to be more entertaining than his death.
-ww-
“Surely,” Richard says, as they watch from above. “I can make a new deal.”
It considers the proposal, then, “ ou can do what you want. I am not bound to grant you anything.”
Richard grins, but it fades; he’s sadder now, much more than he first was when he intruded on Hell. “Let me go back,” he says, soft. “They’re all falling without me.”
Below them, Wallace West is having a panic attack in his bathroom - or it assumes that it is Wallace West below them, for his molecules are shifting too quickly for it to get a proper gauge on who is suffering. Artemis Crock is leaning against the door, begging softly for Wallace to let her in.
It is not cruel.
It... is not kind.
But it is fair.
“In return for what? ”
Richard thinks for a long time. As it waits, it watches the scene unfold below them - Wallace eventually opens the door, and the lovers fall onto the floor together, crying for the loss of their confidant. It aches with sadness.
“My memories,” Richard offers, eventually. “You can have my memories, whenever you want. You can keep them, too. Just... let me help them. I need to help them.”
It considers this, too. No doubt Richard is thinking of Jason Todd, granted a second chance from a source even beyond its own realm - digging his way out of his own grave, with no one to save him this time around.
It says, softly, “It is done.”
It knows where this will lead: a friendly owl, eventually transformed by cruelty.
This is to say: the exact same way Richard’s life was leading, earlier.
Unimaginable heartbreak and unbearable hope.
The Richard Grayson way, it seems.
“Be gone, child.”