A/N:
Hey Everyone. Guess what? This is a 2-shot or 3-shot with some Daddy-Bats tossed with a little fluff. It's just an idea that I came up with.
Warnings: Gambling (without money involvement).
Pairings: SuperMartain
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything involving the YJ universe.
FIREWORK BLUES:
The Bet
July 3rd
"No one beats Central, no one!" Wally yelled, determination sparking within his eyes
"In your dreams!" Robin retorted crossing his arms. "Gotham is the pyrotechnic center!"
"Dude, Gotham maybe crime capital, but now your bluffin'."
"You want to make a bet out of it? Loser buys everyone ice-cream."
Wally grins at the mention of food. "You are SO on!"
A pause settled between them as they stood nose to nose in the cave's living room. The rest of the team just stared on amused at the two youngest before Wally contorted his face in confusion.
"Wait, we need a judge. I'm not letting you rig this bet."
Robin scoffed, "Me? HA! I would be more worried if you were the one who would rig it."
Connor watched passively from the couch. Without even leaning over, he asked the blond archer next to him, "What are they talking about?"
Artemis glanced the clone's way, "Baywatch and Rob are fighting over whose city's has better fireworks. Personally, I watched Gotham's every year."
"Don't you live in Star City?"
Artemis looked back at the arrow she was inspecting, hissing through her teeth. "Weak pyrotechnics."
There was something off about that statement. Not the words, but the attitude. For a split second, her heart rate had jumped. What was she hiding?
Catching his emotionless stare, Artemis sighed.
"My cousin, she uh… always invites me over there, because uh, she thinks Star has the lamest fireworks and thinks Gotham is better. Which she's totally right." her flustered heart rate started to slow as she glared back at the clone, "Just because I'm a vigilante in Star doesn't mean that I spend every waking moment there."
Connor just shrugged unfazed by her snippy comeback. Turning forward he found himself pulling back as he came face to face with Robin's shades.
The little ninja grinned widely as he leaned in closer. "Say Connor, want to judge our bet?"
The boy gestured between him and his red headed friend.
"No." Connor stated dryly.
Robin pouted. "Why?"
Wow. There were times when the bird really sounded like a kid, and that pout really helped to complete that image. Connor just blinked unsure of how to respond to the Boy Wonder. Why was he getting this look from the protégé of Batman?
After a moment or two, the protruding lip on the youngster's features withdrew and the bird tilted his head. "Ok you are tougher to crack than I thought. Pouty-faces don't work on you."
"What about you beautiful?" Connor glanced over at Wally leaning in to talk to the archer. "You care to judge?"
Artemis sneered up at the speedster, "Call me that again Baywatch, and this arrow will find its way up an area that is extremely unpleasant."
Wally backed off a few paces before she continued while gesturing with her weapon for emphasis. "Besides, I would have a biased vote. I go to Gotham every year for the 4th of July celebrations. As much as I would love to see you fail... I'm not the judge you want."
Robin giggled at the speedsters paled face watching the arrow point as it waved around and flinch when it was jabbed in his direction. "She right, Walls. She judges, you lose."
Wally kept an eye on the feathered weapon, "I agree. She has a point."
Artemis smirked along with the Boy Wonder, "And I know how to use it."
Green eyes widening, Wally zipped over to the counter where M'gann just set down a plate of sandwiches for lunch and snatched one up. The Martian giggled as he devoured it in seconds and went after another.
"Wally, wait for everyone else. Ok?" She lightly batted his hand away from the plate of food.
"Sorry, Meg-a-lishous." he said with a smile, sticking his hands in his pockets.
Conner let a small warning growl escape his throat, causing the speedster to blanch. With a twisted smirk of his own, the clone rose from the couch and joined his girlfriend. He kissed her cheek, making his green angle giggle and the speedster to turn bright red and look in the opposite direction.
Robin and Artemis snickered as they sat on the bar stools, enjoying his discomfort.
Being somewhat oblivious to the source of Wally's embarrassment, M'gann leaned over the counter. "It's ok Wally, once Kaldur is here we can all eat."
Wally looked up at dejectedly. A rather pitiful action in Connor's opinion.
"Thanks Sweet Cheeks, but that's no problem."
Connor noticed the nervous glance the redhead shot in his direction and settled his arm around the Martian's waist. Wally took a seat on the stool next to Robin, and stared at the table.
Watching the speedster lay his chin on a fist that rested on the counter, M'gann tilted her head in confusion. She must have still not understood the real reason Wally was twitchy. As the redhead began to fiddle with the lunch plate, Connor suddenly felt the girl brighten next to him.
"Oh! This is about Connor and Artemis not wanting to judge the bet."
Wally stopped fingering the plate with the mountain of sandwiches and looked up. "I'll settle for that story... Yeah."
Kaldur walked in just then and everyone glanced at him.
"I did not mean to keep everyone waiting, my apologies."
He calmly took a seat between the clone and the speedster. He eyed Wally's still tense form. Connor felt a small tugged on the corners of his mouth, satisfied that Kid Idiot would stop flirting with his girl for now.
Looking around the table, Kaldur raised an eyebrow. "I feel as if I intruded on something that I should not have walked in on."
"Oh no, Kaldur," M'gann waved his concern off, "You made it just in time for the idea I had for Robin and Wally's bet."
Kal glanced over at the two in question, who glanced at each other than at M'gann, than over at their leader with grins on their faces.
As if the stern look from Kal didn't happen, M'gann went on. She probably wanted to defuse the situation quickly. "Well if Artemis and Connor don't want to judge fireworks on their own, why don't we all judge the fireworks tomorrow night together? Minus Robin and Wally of course. The fireworks with the most votes from the rest of us wins. We can even make a night out of it. Since the cities are in different time zones we could Zata-tube to the first city and watch the fireworks there, than Zata to the next city for the ones there. It will be a great night! Especially if there are any holiday carnivals set up."
Both Robin and Wally's faces lite up. Each one smiling at the other with anticipating excitement.
Connor wasn't sure, but he thought Artemis was grinning. Kal seemed to ponder this idea before nodding.
"It would promote team bounding." He reasoned. "Batman just suggested that the team take some time outside off missions to do something together."
"Alright!" yelled the two youngest as they high-fived.
"That meanings I can get Batman to let me off for the night! Score!" Robin double fist pumped the air and spun on his stool.
"What about you Connor?" M'gann asked turning to her boyfriend.
Everyone looked at him, grinning. "What? He's the leader, I could careless." He said pointing at Kal.
"But you will join us, right?" M'gann pleaded.
"Yeah," Connor shrugged, "Sure."
The Martian squealed and clapped her hands. "Yey! This is going to be the best night ever!"
~Line Break~
Dick bounded up the stairs from the Batcave as he pulled his sunglasses from his face. Exiting the passageway by way of the grandfather clock, he darted from the living room and into the hallway. He couldn't wait to tell Bruce the team's plans for the 4th of July. This was going to be the best 4th yet!
"Please, Master Dick, no running in the manor."
Dick slowed at the stern yet friendly reminder from their butler echoing off the walls from somewhere in the manor.
"Sorry Alfred!" He called back.
Dick couldn't, however, keep the spring out his steps as he headed for the office that his guardian used to wrap up business papers and such. His body twitching to do a flip or cartwheel or SOMETHING. It was like electricity pulsed in his veins instead of blood, lighting his grin with a brilliant glow and urging him to tumble down the hall rather than walk. Quickening his pace, Dick nearly jogged up to the office door and eased it open.
"...Yes, Mr. Luther everything is in order and the social should go as planned."
Bruce glanced up from a pile of papers with a phone receiver pressed to his ear and waved for Dick to come in. As the fourteen year old eased the oak door closed behind him, he watched as Bruce stood from the chair and turned to the wall, taking the papers and a pen with him.
Bruce must have been slammed with work today if he was making courtesy calls while signing a bunch of documents at the same time. Dick half wondered if he should wait for a better time. However, from the looks of it, this might be the only time today he'd get some attention from Bruce.
So trying to keep his eager nerves under control, Dick walked over the desk quietly and occupied himself with glancing at some of the papers 'Mr. Wayne' had signed. Donation forms, sponsor forms, speech invites... That last one made him cringe. That meant another pubic appearance for one Richard Grayson. At least he'd be ready for it when Bruce dropped the bomb about it on him in the future.
He glanced up at Bruce, but the billionaire was still going through final details about something or other with Lex Luther as he signed another set of papers in his hand.
This might be awhile...
Dick turned away to glance at a bookshelf full of awards nearby as he bounced slightly on his heels. Walking over to it with hands clasped behind him, the young teen perused the shelves. Everything and anything there could be labeled as 'boring' in Dick's mind, except for one. Reaching up, he grasped the edges of a frame from one of the higher shelves and pulled it down to get a better look. A small smile etched its way back onto Dick's face.
It was just a signed document, but it was the one that allowed Dick to be standing in this room and the rest of the manor. The document was none other than the one Bruce signed to take Dick in as his ward. Simple black matting surrounded the contrasting whiteness of the paper. A warm flutter in his chest pulsed happily as he glanced back at the man who took him in nearly five years ago.
Bruce, still talking, look over at the boy as he set the papers he had on the desk. There was a flicker of a smile at what he saw his ward holding but turn his chair to sit facing away from Dick. The teen grinned; only he could catch that brief smile of Bruce's.
Dick looked up at the self and frowned. He had yet to hit a growth spurt and that shelf he originally found the frame on was barely in his reach. How had he gotten his hands on it in the first place?
Glancing around to find something to stand on, Dick found none. The furniture was just plan too heavy to move and Alfred would probably kill him for disturbing its proper placement. The desk chair would have been perfect, if Bruce wasn't occupying it right then. Again, nothing was available to give him a boost. Except ...
With a quick glance to make sure Bruce was still in deep conversation, Dick positioned his foot on a lower shelf and push up on it as he gripped the side of the shelf. He smirked. This was easier then scaling robe ladders in the Batcave, and that was nothing but basic balance – no effort needed.
Dick set the frame back in its place of honor just as he felt the entire piece of furniture tilt away from the wall. What was it that Alfred said about climbing antique shelves again? Jumping clear of the piece and backhand springing up to his feet, Dick cringed as the sudden crash of every award, frame, honors, and other things smashed into the wood flooring. The more solid pieces continued to clatter across the room while the frames and glass casings shattered on impact. When the last golden chalice from a charity event finally silenced itself, Dick stared at the mess.
Ok. The problem with this picture:
Wally was the klutz and not Dick. Dick actually hadn't climbed the furniture in the manor in two years. Dick Grayson should have known better than to climb in the fist place, and more so…
He slowly glanced over his shoulder at his guardian…
Dick knew better than to disrupt a business call of Bruce Wayne's – in anyway.
This was a disaster. Heavy on the 'dis'.
"Sorry, Mr. Luther, just some old furniture that gave way." Bruce calmly spoke into the receiver as he glared at his protégé. "Yes, I agree, we will finish this conversation later."
If there were a way for Dick to run, hid, and curl into a small ball and die; he would do it in a second. But there was none. When he looked down at the mess he created, Dick quickly got down on his knees to start retrieving the awards from the wreckage. As he shifted through the shards of glass, the teen couldn't help feel uneasy.
If Bruce was this calm that only meant that whatever plans Dick might have had for tomorrow, were smashed just like the frames in fount of him. He wanted to avoid Bruce's wrath if he could. But he knew better than to think that.
He forced himself not to flinch as the phone receiver clicked into its cradle. Well, he did come in here wanting some one-on-one even if it was going to be only for a few minutes to get cleared for cruising the country with the team to watch fireworks and get ice cream. There went a round of free sweets.
"Richard John Grayson,"
Dick paused in his clean up and bit his lip. Full name – not good. Hesitantly, but obediently, the boy looked back at his guardian… no, his mentor. Bruce was giving him the look that he used when he was on the edge of Bat mood. That's it, Dick was dead. Kiss his 4th of July plans goodbye.
"Sorry Bruce, I can clean it up—"
"No."
Dick really had to fight to not wince. Ominous, no? Bruce nodded to the door.
"Your room. Now."
Sure he could taste his own blood as he bit his lip, the teen rose from his knees and headed for the door. Pausing with his hand on the doorknob, Dick turned back to the room.
"Bruce, I …"
Bruce glared at him and Dick promptly removed himself from the office. He raced down the hall, ignoring Alfred's warning to not to run as he passed him on the way to the grand staircase. Taking the steps three at a time, he soon made it to his room. He opened the door and slipped inside, closing it behind him.
A/N
Forgive the horrid timestamps. I need a way to tell the time differences and that it was July 3rd and not the 4th yet. Anyway! Tell me what you think! And please tell me if the characters seemed off.
I want to know your thoughts.
So, Please review.