I heard there was a new season of Young Justice coming out, which was one of my favorite shows a few years back. The news kinda inspired me to get started on a Zatanna and Nightwing story. I am by no means a comic or DC expert, only watched the show so any critiques or insight regarding character's behavior attitude and abilities are appreciated!

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Nightwing sat crouched patiently atop a rundown factory in Bludhaven. Across the street sat a small local deli that was still open despite the late hour. After a couple weeks full of investigations and interrogations Dick was able to find out that this 'Marco's Deli' was just a front for one of the powerful local gangs within the city, Los Diablos Rojos.

He was hoping that taking out the front would deal a serious blow do their operations. Dick took off running to his left proceeded to leap roof top to roof top until he was three buildings to the left of where he was initially crouching. He pulled out his grappling gun and fired it towards the roof of the building across from him.

He leaped off the roof he was on and pushed the gun's trigger again, which cause the device to begin pulling him upwards to where the hook had attached itself. He landed silently and unhooked the grapple before turning to face the deli. Dick traveled discreetly back to the target building, crossing over three rooftops before arriving on top of his destination

There were no guards stop the building, making the setup of this ambush quite easy. While watching the deli he observed there were around three men in the lobby. He moved to the center of the roof and took out his small heat laser with his right hand. In his left hand he reached to one of the various compartments in his suit and took out four capsule balls containing knockout gas.

The super hero proceeded to carve out a small hole on the top of the building, causing a bit of ceiling material to fall to the deli's floor. One of the guards stood up upon hearing the material hit the ground. As he walked over to where the hole has been created he saw multiple black balls fall from above and bounce off the floor.

"What the…"

Was all the man could get off before the four capsules detonated, resulting in knockout gas quickly dispersing throughout the seating area. The three men inside began coughing uncontrollably for a few seconds before collapsing the floor, completely unconscious.

Nightwing quickly leaped down behind the building to where the back door was. The locked door was made of thick metal and wouldn't be easy to open. He again took out his heat laser and began melting the door hinges so that the door couldn't open without a significant amount of force or strength.

After melding the door shut Dick pulled out his grapelling hook and propelled himself back to the roof and leaping down to the front of the deli. Nightwing opened the door and let out what little gas still remained in the seating area. He quietly shut the door and looked around.

Two guards were unconscious on floor near tables while the last one lay hidden behind the counter. Nightwing silently walked over behind the counter and began examining the scene. The man was face down over a partially uncovered rug.

Dick smirked as he could easily make out part of the outline of a rectangular shape under the rug. The original boy wonder picked up the unconscious man and placed him atop the counter littered with various meats and vegetables for sandwiches. He kicked the rug under and just as he suspected, there was a hatch that opened up to a hidden staircase. He tried to open it up while making the least amount of noise possible, but that proved to be futile as the old hinges and wood of the floor cover creaked loudly.

The opening floor panel revealed a dimly lit staircase with a door at the bottom that was similar to the one in the back entrance. That likely meant a more direct approach would be required in order to get inside the hidden room and eliminate any threats behind it. Nightwing pulled out four explosive wing dings, throwing them all towards the center of the large metal door.

Inside, two men armed with semi-automatic guns stood on the sides of the door. They looked out onto the large money counting operation being conducted on the basement floor. Fifteen men sat at tables putting bills into counting machines while six other armed guards patrolled the floor, making sure no one was taking extra money and that the men were doing efficient work. Two more stood guard on the sides of the back door entrance that served as their escape path if it was necessary.

Suddenly an explosion blew the secret passage door open, sending the two guards stationed near it flying. Everyone inside took shelter under table or hit the ground as metal shrapnel flew all over the place. Nightwing had begun his assault before many had even managed to recover from the explosion.

He pulled out two electrically charged wing dings and fired them at the guards stationed near the exit door. The two shuriken-like weapons were expertly thrown, embedding themselves in a should of each guard before emitting a jolt of electricity, successfully managing to incapacitate them. Dick pulled out his electrically charged escrima sticks and began his close combat assault on the now recovering guards.

Nightwing darted forward towards the first guard he saw get up.

"Guys its Nightwing, get up!"

Screamed the man as he fired his weapon straight ahead. He became horrified as the hero leapt over the line of fire before descending feet first into his face, knocking him back to the ground unconscious.

At this point all the non-incapacitated guards had recovered from the explosion. Dick counted five remaining with firearms while a couple of men who appeared to have been previously counting money pulled out knives. He smirked as he quickly pulled out a smoke bomb and released it. The men with guns open fired on the spot they had last seen him as a thick black smoke rose within the room.

Nightwing smiled at how the guards had wasted their bullets. He had leapt up to the ceiling before driving off the surface, appearing behind one of the armed men.

"You're gonna need better aim than that guys."

Joked the young hero, startling the man he was behind. The guard spun around, only to see Nightwing swinging and connecting an escrima stick with his head before everything went black.

The guards couldn't see where the hero of Bludhaven was coming from through the thick smoke, they could only hear the occasional screams and grunts of pain as Batman's first apprentice eliminated one enemy after another. The armed men occasionally fired blindly at where they heard sound, but to no avail. They all knew they were in deep trouble. By the time the smoke had cleared only two guards remained, one armed with a pistol and the other with a knife.

"You two sure you don't want to give up at this point?"

Joked a smirking Nightwing.

"Why you Assho…"

Yelled the man armed with a pistol. He raised his that was being held at his side upwards, but he wasn't fast enough. He was cut off as one of his foe's sticks hit him directly in the forehead, knocking him out.

"Figured you'd have an answer something like that."

The last man left standing trembled with his knife in hand. He turned around and sprinted towards the back exit, only to have his heart drop as he realized it couldn't open. He slowly turned around to face the man who had destroyed their entire operation down here in a little over a minute.

"This is really going to hurt."

Muttered the terrified man as he knew how out classed he was in hand to hand combat in comparison with the young man in front of him. How was he supposed to put up a fight against a guy who had trained with the Batman for over a decade?

"It most definitely will."

Said a smiling Nightwing as he rushed forward. His adversary lazily lunged at him with his knife, which the hero easily side stepped. He followed up the evasive maneuver with an uppercut straight to the jaw, sending the man a few feet off the ground and eliminating him.

Dick looked around at the collection of unconscious bodies, broken doors, shattered tables and scattered money with a frown.

"Well that wasn't too entertaining."

He muttered, extremely disappointed in how underwhelming the fight had been. He had been hoping this bust would take his mind off of his troubles, but it turned out to be little more than a distraction. He proceeded to pick up the escrima stick he'd thrown and begin tying up the unconscious criminals in the basement and upstairs. He called the local authorities to give the location of his defeated enemies before vanishing off into the night.

Not even helping the city he now called home could help get his mind off the one-year anniversary of the death of his best friend, Wally West. He hadn't been able to shake the guilt he had felt over his involvement in the death of the speedster ever since the tragedy occurred. The year had been painful for Dick and he'd spent it in almost complete solitude. He had barely seen any of his old comrades, only once getting a visit from Kaldur who came on behalf of the team about three months after Wally died. Dick appreciated the gesture but told the Atlantian that he needed more time to himself and wished to not be bothered. His relationship with the Bat Family had also deteriorated as Batman and him experienced a falling out of sorts.

This year of solitude meant that he had still not returned to the Watchtower since his departure a few days after Wally's passing. Despite the extended abscense, he figured he had to return for a short while tonight, he needed to pay his tributes to his friend at Memorial Garden. The memorial had already provided him with a great amount of sorrow, forcing him to look at the hologram that honored the deceased Jason Todd. The addition of Wally to the garden of fallen young heroes made him grimace as he prepared for his first return to the Justice League's base of operations in almost a year.

0o0

Zatanna sat quietly in her seat as Superman began speaking. She had been an official member of the Justice League for a few years now, meaning that she was able to take part in the new membership vote. She loved being a member of the League, but she felt rather irked that Batman had decided to hold the membership vote tonight of all nights.

She knew she wasn't the only person feeling this way. She couldn't imagine how the Flash must be feeling at the moment. She glanced over at him and laid eyes on his stone cold expression, seeming to expertly hide the sorrow she was sure he was feeling over the loss of his old sidekick. She couldn't fathom why the Dark Knight had decided to hold the vote on the one-year anniversary of Wally's death.

Zatanna's ears perked up as Batman stood to speak.

"I know many of you have mixed emotions about holding the vote tonight. I am fully aware of the significance of the day and can understand why many of you feel it is disrespectful to hold such a meeting on the anniversary of one of our comrade's death."

Zatanna narrowed her eyes as batman referred to Wally as merely a comrade. He was family! He'd fought side by side with plenty of leaguers for multiple years. He'd laid his life on the line for the League and lost it. The young magician's thoughts were cut short as batman continued.

"Wally West's life will not be forgotten. His bravery and sacrifice is the sole reason we are all here and alive today. The reason the meeting is being held today is as a reminder, a reminder that the decisions we make in this room regarding who we admit to join the league does in fact impact life and death. I'm not suggesting Wally wasn't suited to be a hero or fit to join the League, he proved over and over again that he was truly qualified."

Zatanna could feel tears building as the caped crusader talked of her old comrade. She had seen plenty of Wally, even after he'd gone into semi-retirement. Artemis was her best friend after all so often times when she went to visit her blonde-haired friend, she'd end up seeing the energetic speedster.

"This decision was made in order to emphasize the need to induct qualified and willing members. Wally is yet another unfortunate example of the reality of death within our profession. At the end of the day, as hard as it may be to face, we are all responsible for Wally West's death. We as a League weren't prepared enough to face all potential challenges and it resulted in the death of one of our own. So when voting today, make sure we are choosing members who will help protect the world, as well as each other in order help us prevent another of these tragedies from occurring again."

Many of the members around the table nodded in approval of the sentiment behind Batman's decision. Even the Flash gave a nod of approval. Batman proceeded to sit down as the first hologram of a hero appeared in the center of the table all the members were seated at.

Zatanna maintained her focus throughout the meeting. She wasn't completely comfortable talking in front of the league yet, but she was asked to provide input often due to her combat experience alongside many of the younger heroes up for indoctrination. She was happy to shower praise upon Miss Martian and Super Boy when their names were put on the table for debate.

The young magician began to grow tired as the meeting had gone on for almost two hours. She knew that she should be more focused but the late time of night, length of the meeting and the emotional strain of the day all had a negative effect on her. However, the mention of a certain hero snapped her back to attention.

"Next up is Nightwing. He has denied our invitation in the past but we must re-vote on him if we wish to extend another one."

Said Wonder Woman. The room stayed silent for a few seconds before a member finally decided to stand up and speak. It happened to be her long time teammate and friends Aqualad.

"I have fought alongside Nightwing for many years and can attest to his combat abilities in the field. I think his greatest asset is his tactical and strategic mind. His operation to infiltrate the Reach by utilizing Artemis and I is just one example these skills at work. Whether he will accept the offer is another matter. Despite my extensive history and friendship with Nightwing, I have not seen him in almost a year and have barely spoken with him. To be quite honest I do not know where his head is at currently."

Many looked surprised at Aqualad's comments. Zatanna's line of sight slowly lowered down to her thighs as a look of sadness formed. She was in a similar position to Aqualad in regard to her relationship with the protector of Bludhaven. She actually hadn't even seen Nightwing since he left the Watchtower following the announcement that her old team would be working out of the watch tower alongside the league. Hell, she hadn't even spoken to her one-time boyfriend since then.

They guy had completely gone off the grid, and it pained her. He had once been such a large part of her life. He had been a large component of her getting involved in the league. He had comforted her the most after she lost her father to Dr. Fate. She'd even dated him for a few months. He could always manage to make her laugh and the energy hee exuded was contagious. He wasn't half bad to look at either!

Everything between them began to change after the death of the second Robin. The man she had grown to love seemed to refuse to allow her to become any closer to him. They got along decently after their relationship ended, but Zatanna would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't upset after it ended. Who was she kidding? She had been heartbroken.

Zatanna remembered holding strong as the 'Boy Wonder' walked away after ending things. She didn't want him to see her tears but after he teleported away out of Mount Justice she ran to her room and broke down. He was probably the person she had held closest to her after losing her father and now he was out of her life too. Artemis helped greatly in comforting her but her feelings of sadness and disappointment lingered for months.

She knew she had been young when the two of them had been in a relationship, but even now she could say she had loved him back when they were together. It took a number of months for the two to return to friendly terms. After a year or two they were back to being able to joke around with each other. Zatanna's strong emotions towards Batman's first sidekick slowly diminished as time passed.

That friendly relationship that had reformed took a hit when Nightwing essentially used her glamour charm to convince everyone, herself included, that her best friend Artemis had been killed. The man completely betrayed her trust. She had so much faith in him that she agreed to help by giving him the charm with barely any questioning. She had a huge amount of trust in Nightwing, but he clearly didn't have the same mentality towards her.

The more she thought about it the more it became clear he barely trusted her at all. The most vivid example was the fact that he didn't even bother to inform her of his plan to fake Artemis' death. She thought it would make sense to giver her a heads up considering Artemis was her closest friend. There were other examples as well. One being the fact that even after all of their history together, he had refused to even trust her with his identity. It had infuriated the spell caster.

She didn't even get a chance to really confront him about her anger due to how occupied they had been with the Light and Reach invasion. The death of Wally then made doing so impossible as Nightwing seemed to completely vanish afterwards. There was an occasional mention of his activities in Bludhaven from the League but that was it. Communication from him seemed to have been entirely cut off. This had allowed bitter feelings to develop even further towards her old boyfriend.

She didn't even know what word she would choose now to classify their relationship now. Maybe acquaintances? Even that would be pushing it, acquaintances would talk at bare minimum once throughout an entire year. She had no idea who Nightwing was anymore. He surely wasn't the person she had loved back in her younger days. Feelings of love had been replaced with that of bitterness and anger.

A few other members chimed in on the subject of Nightwing. Most of them praised his combat abilities and agreed he met the standards for official league admission but concerns were raised regarding his mental state. Wonder Woman was the primary one to address this, stating that none of them had seen him since the death of Wally.

"Any comment regarding your old sidekick Batman?"

Questioned Superman after Diana had finished voicing her concerns.

"None."

Said Batman in a monotone voice. Many gained a confused expression following Batman's lack of praise or defense of the original Robin.

"Batman please take this matter seriously; you know him best so your input would be appreciated."

Responded Wonder Woman before the caped crusader rebutted.

"I have no comment on the subject of Nightwing, any suggestion that I'm not taking such an important league matter seriously is just ignorant."

Wonder Woman gritted her teeth at the response. Zatanna had heard rumors of a falling out between Batman and Nightwing, resulting in the Boy Wonder's move to Bludhaven. She didn't know the validity of those rumors but this reaction from batman seemed to indicate some truth behind them. She had no idea their relationship had deteriorated to the point that his mentor wouldn't even give him praise in front of the league.

"Zatanna do you have any input. You also served alongside Nightwing for a while."

Questioned the Flash. The young magician snapped to attention, caught off guard at being asked to speak. She took a few seconds to gather her thoughts, the curious eyes of some of the most powerful individuals in the galaxy bearing down on her.

"Well, I don't think there is much question about his ability to perform in the field."

She paused, making sure that she had the correct wording for what she was going to say next.

"However, I just don't think he has found a way to fully move on from Wally's death. This is just another loss in recent years for him after the loss of…. of the second Robin and… and I don't think he's in a good place mentally right now."

She looked around the table to judge reactions from her comment. Everyone seemed saddened by her comments but also appreciative of her honesty. This was the case for all except Batman, who was shooting her his famous death glare that caused her to tighten up. She supposed it was her mentioning of the second Robin.

"Anymore comments regarding Nightwing?"

Questioned Superman but he got no response, meaning they would move on to the next hero.

Zatanna didn't speak up for the remainder of the meeting as she questioned if what she had said was too harsh. Batman certainly didn't seem to approve of it.

Eventually the meeting came down to voting. Every hero's name that was discussed would appear on an electronic screen in front of each individual member. It was a simple check yes or check no on the screen and each potential candidate needed support from at least 2/3 of the league in order to receive an invitation.

She voted yes for both Miss Martian and Super Boy, hoping that they would accept their invitations this time around. She also voted yes for the new hero Cyborg who had proven extremely effective over the past ten months or so. He had begun fighting alongside the league a short while after Wally's death and his technological skills had proven invaluable.

Zatanna proceeded to vote no for a few younger heroes who still needed to mature a bit. This included the likes of Beast Boy and Wonder Girl. Eventually Nightwing's name appeared on the screen. The magician contemplated her vote for a little under a minute. A vote of no would truly symbolize a large loss of faith in the man she had fought side by side with on so many occasions and even dated. At the end of the day she simply didn't know who Nightwing was anymore or what his mental state was really like. That lack of knowledge regarding how he thought or acted could potentially put other members in jeopardy in the field and that wasn't arisk she was willing to take. She felt she didn't have a choice but to vote no.

After everyone completed voting, the computer immediately calculated and came out with results. The three heroes who would be receiving invitations were Cyborg, Super Boy and Miss Martian. Zatanna smiled about Megan receiving another invite. She was very hopeful she would be able to go on more missions alongside her longtime friend if she joined the league fully. She honestly wasn't surprised about Nightwing's lack of invitation, there were simply too many unknowns about him at the moment.

The league members began to file out of the conference room, many heading to the zeta-beam teleporter to head home for the night. The young magician on the other hand wasn't quite ready to go home yet. She still hadn't paid her respects to her fallen friend at the Memorial Garden so she decided she would head there before departing the tower for the night.

0o0

Zatanna had left the conference room and began the trek towards the Memorial Garden. The walk really wasn't too far, a little under five minutes. Sometimes she really forgot just how large the Watchtower was. She had passed the training rooms along the way where she briefly ran into Aqualad. They talked briefly and she deduced that training was his way of blowing off steam in an attempt to distract himself from the memories of Wally. The Atlantian mentioned he had visited memorial garden earlier in the day and smiled upon hearing that's where the magician was headed.

Zatanna continued her journey to the garden uninterrupted. She soon found herself at the entrance, which was constructed of two clear glass doors that opened automatically. Above the doors was a large golden plaque that contained theengraved names of all the fallen heroes honored within. The last name on the list read Kid Flash. Zatanna paused at the entrance as the doors opened. She took a deep breath and exhaled before walking into the domed memorial.

The garden was hauntingly gorgeous. Large trees decorated the lusciously green grounds. The entire area was surrounded by a stunning view of the earth thanks to the clear dome the encased the memorial grounds. The eerie silence made her as uncomfortable as usual. It was a constant for her to not hear a single sound throughout the area whenever she visited.

Zatanna kept forward on the path leading towards the hologram replicas constructed to honor each deceased member. As she approached she began to make out the silhouette of someone. She was slightly bothered that she wouldn't have the space to herself in order to grieve alone. She really didn't enjoy showing her more personal emotions to others and she knew this would likely be an emotional visit.

Zatanna was able to notice that the figure was a male that was currently crouched down while looking up towards Wally's hologram. She was still reasonably far away from him but she could tell the man had noticed her presence, a considerable feat considering the distance. The man proceeded to stand up straight, never taking his eyes off the statue. He was wearing an all-black suit that matched his black hair and shoes.

The closer she got the more it became clear who the person seemed to be. It had just been so long though. Zatanna simply refused to believe that Nightwing had actually returned to the tower. It made some sense considering the significance of the day but she had begun to doubt he'd ever return. She walked to within ten yards of the man. She was at a loss for words, it had to be him. He had the same muscular physique and ruffled hair from when she last saw him. The magician managed to mutter out a question despite her shock.

"Is.. is that you Nightwing?"

She noticed his entire body tighten briefly, his head turning slightly so that he could look back. The same black mask she rembered covered his eyes as he kept his line of sight on her. He maintained a neutral expression before a sad smile appeared on his face.

"Hey Zee."

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