Young Justice Season 3
Dick Grayson's Search for the Grail
The Prologue.
The whirring of engines broke the serenity of the Arctic as the ship touched down in the endless white for the first time since June. With a hiss of compressed air escaping, the ship door lowered and Dick Grayson looked out upon the snow that stretched further than his eyes could see. Air escaped his lungs in a sigh.
He resolved to take the rest of the journey on foot- the same way Wally did. The walk would give him time to think. To think about the promises he had broken to Wally, to Artemis, and to himself. The walk would also give him time to answer a question he had refused to ask himself.
Why was he here? What was he hoping to find? Closure? That seemed unlikely. Deep down, Dick thought he might find answers. Not necessarily answers about the Reach or the tech they left behind, but answers. He couldn't explain it. He didn't blame anyone for what happened. Wally died a hero's death. Every one mourned but slept well at night knowing he wouldn't have had it any other way.
Arriving at the scene of Wally's death, Dick collapsed to his knees and clenched his jaw. He shut his eyes tight and saw the one image that had dominated his mind since Wally's death-the picture of Artemis and himself taken all those years ago.
"We'll laugh about this someday," he remembered. Except he hadn't seen Artemis smile since she rejoined the team. Then he remembered the promise he made to Wally, the promise no one else on the team knew about. "I promise, I will make sure you two get the chance to grow old together," he told Wally after their big fight. Another promise he failed to keep. Just like the one he made to himself.
Dick thought back to the training simulation from their younger days. The one Miss Martian broke when she still didn't have a firm grasp on her powers. He remembered sending each of his friends off to die for the larger cause. He remembered standing next to Wally as they both made the ultimate sacrifice. He remembered sitting in front of Black Canary and holding back tears as he confessed how much he hated what he had to do. He remembered hating feeling like he was putting something before his friends. He remembered the promise he made to himself to never do that again, to never become Bruce.
Through gritted teeth, Dick Grayson let out a sigh from his lungs and the whirring of engines broke the serenity of the Arctic...
Except the engines weren't on. Dick was the only thing out here. Looking up through his tears and removing his sun glasses, he saw it. It was faint, but the white blanket of snow highlighted it. And for just a second, Dick's heart didn't feel as heavy. For just a second, Dick knew he wasn't the only one at this end of the Earth. For just a second,he saw the streaking silhouette of a ghost of an apparition.
He saw Wally. He knew it. It was quick and in a blink the whirring was silenced and the image gone. But Dick Grayson knew what he saw. What's more, he knew what he was looking for out here. Looking out on the landscape on last time, he smiled for the first time in months.
"I'm going to bring you back, Wally," He said.
"I promise."
