Angel with a Shotgun

Chapter 1: Distance
mood music: A Thousand Miles-Vanessa Carlton/A** Back Home-Gym Class Heroes ft. Neon Hitch

The Team had been tracking a dangerous criminal for the past month. He was said to be the greatest assassin the Justice League had ever faced. He was trained in and a master of guerilla warfare and most types of martial arts. Batman even admitted him of being one of his greatest adversaries. This man's name was Slade Wilson, better known as Deathstroke the Terminator.

Deathstroke was after something. The Team didn't know what, but they were determined to find out. He'd constantly been appearing in Gotham, Happy Harbor, and Capital City. Nighthawk and the Titans had dealt with him before, but the Team hadn't.

Jason had been away. It was his decision to go, even though many thought it was Batman's.

Guy and Kyle had to take care of off-world business, some kind of intergalactic war between two rival planets. No big deal. So, Match and Donna, both being superhuman, decided to go with them. They were currently somewhere in space, fighting aliens and blowing up space stations.

Connor had decided that he was ready to find his mother. He packed his things, prepared to leave, when Tara decided she was going with him. They also took Guerilla with them. They left on their quest and kept in contact with the Team. They were in Japan after failing to find her in China.

And so, the Titans temporarily disbanded.

Jason had been in 'exile' as he liked to call it for six months, one week, and three days. He'd been counting since day one. But he wasn't the only one.

Zatanna slumped down on the couch. She gripped her cell phone in her hand and waited patiently. The clock in the kitchen struck 2 o'clock and her phone vibrated. A wide smile crossed Zatanna's face as she checked her new message.

Expecting someone?

Zatanna smirked as she typed away on her small keyboard.

Actually, yes. My boyfriend was supposed to text me. Do you know him?

His reply came speedy as usual.

I do. He'd bold, brave, charming, and daring. He's handsome and runs around Capital City—in tights. He sounds dreamy.

Zatanna laughed.

His name's Jason.

That's my name, don't wear it out.

Zatanna smiled.

How's it going, Zee?

It's been pretty boring without you. It's quiet.

Ha, ha. Very funny, Mrs. Comedian.

That's Miss Comedian to you, Nighthawk.

Oh, right, of course. You're not married…unless you haven't told me something.

Zatanna scoffed.

I tell you everything. I write to you all the time.

Oh, what was that movie? Letters to Juliet?

Zatanna smirked.

Dear John, doofus.

Amanda Seyfried's in both of them. I watched her in Red Riding Hood the other day. She's still not as beautiful as you.

Zatanna rolled her eyes. She smiled, though.

I watched Taylor Lautner in Breaking Dawn the other day…

A minute passed before Jason replied.

Don't even go there.

Zatanna laughed. She could almost picture the blanched yet amused look on Jason's face. Her happiness dipped slightly.

I miss you.

A minute passed.

I miss you, too. I'll be home soon.

Zatanna sighed.

Not soon enough.

I know. I hope you haven't cheated on me with Robin anytime in the past 6 months.

Zatanna laughed lightly.

You're the one travelling the world. How do I know that you're not hooking up with exotic girls?

She could practically see Jason's smirk.

Even if I wanted to cheat on you, which I don't, I wouldn't be able to. Not with Batman and General Eiling breathing down my neck. You really think I'd hook up with a trampy chick when I've got a crime fighting magician waiting for me? No way!

Zatanna laughed. Her phone buzzed again.

You'd probably just kick my ass if I ever did cheat, anyways.

She snickered.

Or poof a piranha in your bed.

Ouch. Evil. You've been spending too much time with the Boy Wonder.

Not as much as you seem to think.

That's reassuring. ;)

Zatanna smiled down at her phone. She closed her eyes and her head fell back against the couch. She pictured Jason's crooked smile, mischievous green eyes, and dark, messy black locks. And if she focused, she could almost hear his echoing laugh.

Megan walked into the living room and saw Zatanna. "Thinking about him again?" she asked.

Zatanna sat up and offered her a small smile. "Yeah," she sighed. "He's been gone six months, Megan."

"I know," Megan said. Over the years, Megan had developed into a very mature young woman. She understood Zatanna and her heartache over Jason. "He'll come back."

"We don't know for sure," Zatanna said dejectedly. "He's across the globe…fighting crime. I don't know what he's doing or if he's safe. I don't know if he'll ever come back."

Megan sat down on the couch next to her and took her hand. "If I know Jason at all," she said, smiling, "I know that he'll come back, solely because he misses you. Trust me, nothing will keep the boy away from you."

Zatanna smiled. "Thanks, Megan." The two girls embraced.

Conner walked into the room and smiled. "Am I interrupting 'girl talk'?" he asked jokingly. Much like Megan, Conner developed into a normal teenage boy. He had become less tense, angry, and stoic through Megan's help.

Megan smiled up at her boyfriend. "Actually, we just finished," she said. "We were talking about Jason." The martian floated over the couch and to her boyfriend, pecking him on the cheek.

Conner nodded. "Don't worry, Zatanna," he said. "You know that Batman would be watching him like a hawk."

Zatanna smiled and laughed a little. She stood from the couch. "Thanks, guys," she said.

"WALLY!"

The three groaned. Wally came zooming into the kitchen and Artemis pounced at him like a tiger. The two fell to the floor with Artemis straddling him on top, pinning his arms and legs down. "How can you possibly be thinking about marriage at a time like this?" Artemis roared.

Wally huffed. "I said, what if!" he yelled back with just as much volume, if not more.

"Whoa!" Robin said, skidding into the kitchen. "Did I just hear you two talking about marriage?"

"NO!"

Wally and Artemis were 17. He was an inch taller than her and, in all honesty, hadn't changed that much. He was still obtuse, reckless, impulsive, and unserious. He and Artemis had been dating for about a year and a half.

Artemis was possibly even more witty and opinionated. She was still snarky, but she was to a lesser extent. She matured. More than Wally, but she still matured. She still had her sass and charm, but she lightened up when she was with Wally. The two balanced each other out, like yin and yang. They were two pieces of a puzzle that had finally found each other.

Robin was 15. He'd gotten taller and his voice had deepened a great deal. He was more muscular and mature. He still wore his shades around the Cave, though. "First comes love, then comes marriage…" he sang.

"Would you shut up, Jesse McCartney?" Artemis growled.

Robin glared.

Artemis blew some hair from her face. "How could you possibly even think about marriage?" she asked.

Wally slipped his foot around her ankle and managed to switch their positions. "It was just an idea!" he yelled back.

"Okay," Conner picked Wally up by his collar and propped him up on his feet, "what are you two arguing about this time?"

Artemis huffed as she stood up. "Wally decided that he wanted to talk about marriage while we were training," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

"I asked you what your opinion about marriage was!" Wally said.

"You what?" Zatanna asked.

"Dude, even I know that you never talk to your girlfriend about marriage," Robin said, shaking his head. "Batgirl freaked out when I asked her about babies." He scoffed. "She asked me if I was pregnant."

Wally unsuccessfully tried to hold back a snicker. "Whatever," he said, waving his arms and putting his serious face back on. "Why is it such a big deal to talk about marriage with your girlfriend?"

"Play back what you just said," Conner said. "And think about it this time."

Robin smirked. "Supey told it," he said, high-fiving the clone.

Artemis never broke her glare directed at Wally. "You just can't talk to your girlfriend about marriage," she said.

"Why not?"

"It sends the wrong signals!" Artemis said, throwing her hands into the air. "It leads girls to think that you might ask her to marry you!"

Wally paled. "It does?" he asked, stiffening. "Well…why does that freak you out? Are you saying that you wouldn't ever wanna marry me?"

Artemis blushed. "I—I don't know," she said, the volume of her voice going down a couple notches. The couple stood in an awkward silence, rubbing their arms and playing with their hair.

Zatanna smiled softly. She and Megan exchanged knowing and amused glances. Robin and Conner did the same.

Wally looked up at Artemis. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "It was dumb of me to ask about…you know."

Artemis nodded. She swept forward and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek. "Come on," she said, taking his hand and leading him back down the hall, "training. So I can kick your ass."

"When don't you kick my ass?"

Zatanna laughed softly. She looked back down at her phone and at Jason's name. Her smile faded and she sighed. She reached under the neck of her shirt and pulled out a golden key charm and at least some of her happiness was restored.

Jason bolted upright in his bed, cold sweat dotting his forehead. His breathing was ragged. The bombing had jolted him out of his dark slumber. The room shook and Jason yanked the chain on his small lamp. The light flickered on. He frantically reached under his pillow and his breathing calmed when he looked down at the pictures in his hand.

The military base had been under siege for a week. Luckily, their force fields held strong. General Wade Eiling had trained Jason in basic military stuff. He called him a good soldier. Fortunately, he allowed Jason to have his own hut, due to his secret identity.

Jason smiled down at the square pictures in his hands. He had a whole stack of them with him. He looked down at one of him and Dick standing in front of the manor. He shuffled the pictures and pulled out one of him giving Zatanna a piggyback ride. He chuckled before his smile slowly reduced to a sad gaze. He reached under his white T-shirt and pulled out a gold padlock charm and sighed. He set his pictures down and got out of bed. Standing, he ran a hand through his jet black hair.

A desk and chair sat in the corner. Jason slowly walked over and sat down in the chair. He flipped the small camera on. "Video log # 174," he said. "I had the nightmare again. Everyone I love… I can't lose anyone I love." The ground shook again and Jason steadied the camera. "I saw Artemis, M'gann, Dick, Wally, Zatanna, everyone. They were all being tortured and I couldn't do anything to help them. It's always the same!" He slammed his fist into the wooden surface of the desk.

"That nightmare's been haunting me for a month." Jason sighed and fiddled with his necklace. "It's been six months, one week, and four days. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I miss Zatanna so much it hurts." He chuckled a little. "I was training the other day and I saw a sparrow singing in a tree. It made me think of her." He smiled while staring off into the distance. "I should probably be getting some sleep. Eiling told me we got an attack planned tomorrow. This is Nighthawk signing off." Jason saluted to the camera before shutting it off.

Jason set his duffel bag down in the Cave's main hall. The Team stood around him. He wore a pair of army green combat pants, brown combat boots, a black tank top, and a tan unbuttoned over shirt. He looked around at the Team and smiled sadly. "This is it," he said.

Batman stepped forward. "Arrival time is schedule for 15 minutes," he said.

Jason nodded. "Quick goodbyes," he said, "got it."

Batman nodded. He turned and walked off. Jason turned back to the team and offered a small smile. He was leaving to help in the war effort. After realizing that simply keeping crime rate in Capital down wasn't enough, he decided that he was going to help in the real fight, the front line. He was leaving that day and he'd come to the Cave to say goodbye. He'd already said goodbye to his Team.

When Jason and Kaldur shook hands, the Atlantean said only four words as he looked him in the eye: "Be safe, my friend."

Jason nodded. "I will," he said.

When he shook hands with Conner, he similarly said four words: "Don't die out there."

Chuckling, Jason shook his hand. "I'll try not to." He turned to face a frowning Wally.

"So, that's it, huh?" he asked, folding his arms. "You're just gonna leave after everything, risking your life for a suicide mission?" Jason smiled sadly. "Well," Wally swept forward and grabbed him in a bear hug, "if you ever need us, you know we'll come running, right?"

Jason hugged him back. "You always come running, Wally," he said, "whether I ask you to or not."

Robin faced his clone when he broke his embrace from Wally. "I don't have to say goodbye," he said, shrugging simply. "You're my clone, Batman's clone. I know you're coming back. So, this? This isn't goodbye." He held his hand out.

Jason grinned. He shook his hand. "Thanks, Rob," he said. "You've been the best brother."

"Ditto." Robin nodded and stepped aside.

Barbara brushed his arm as she swept forward to hug Jason tightly. He hugged her back with equal strength. She took in the familiar scent of his hair, knowing all too well that she may never smell it again. "Don't make me any promises," she whispered, holding back tears. "You keep all your promises. Don't…"

Jason rubbed her back soothingly. "I won't make you any promises," he said, "because I don't need to. You worry about me too much." He kissed the top of her head. "Don't let Robin break up with you for some stupid noble reason, alright?"

Barbara laughed sadly. "Okay," she said, smiling and nodding. She let him go reluctantly.

Jason had only one moment of freedom before Artemis grabbed him in a fierce embrace. "Don't do anything stupid out there, got it?" she said gruffly.

Jason smiled. He ran his hand through her long, golden hair and sighed. "When do I ever?" he joked.

Artemis hit his shoulder halfheartedly. "Come back to us," she mumbled into his shoulder. He only nodded in response.

Megan floated to him after Artemis stepped aside. She fell into his arms and they embraced. "It feels like we've had so little time," she said, willing herself not to cry.

Jason smiled sadly. "I know." He stroked her auburn hair. "I'll be back so we can make some more time."

Megan nodded. She kissed him on the cheek and Raquel stepped forward.

"You always gotta be the hero, don't you?"

Jason laughed. "Force of habit," he said, shrugging.

Raquel smiled and grabbed him in a hug. She then pulled away to hold him at arm's length. She looked him seriously in the eye. "See you soon?"

Jason nodded. "See you soon." She stepped back and he looked around for Zatanna. He found her when he turned around. Her head as bowed and when he faced her, she looked up. No words were exchanged. She ran forward and hugged him for all she was worth. Tears escaped from her eyes and fell down her cheeks.

"I'll miss you," Zatanna whispered. Her voice was weak, powered only by her broken heart.

Jason shut his eyes tight. "I'll miss you, too." He kissed her temple. "But I won't forget you. I know you won't forget me. I got you something to remember me." He gently pushed Zatanna away and pulled a silver chain from his back pocket. Zatanna laughed weakly as she wiped her wet eyes. In his hand, Jason held a silver chain with a gold key charm hanging from the center. It had a simple design. It was an old fashioned key with the round end, long handle, and two prongs on the other end.

Zatanna smiled as Jason put it on her. She looked down at it on her neck. "Ekam em a kcoldap mrahc," she whispered. Around Jason's neck, a silver chain formed with a gold padlock charm formed. A keyhole design was etched into the middle.

Jason chuckled. "You're getting better at that magic stuff," he said softly.

Zatanna looked him in the eye. Her gaze slowly shifted down to his lips. "It takes practice," she murmured. She leaned forward, he did the same, and their lips met in the middle. They kissed, falling into a world of their own. He could feel her tears on his cheeks.

Barbara smiled as she watched them. Robin took her hand and they smiled at each other.

Jason slowly pulled away. His mouth hovered over hers. "I'll come back," he whispered.

"You don't know that," Zatanna said in agony. She shook her head hopelessly. "What if something happens? What if—"

"Well, what if?" Jason said, gently taking Zatanna's face in his hands. He looked into her eyes. "What and if can be two of the scariest words when you put them together." He pushed some stray hair from her face. "What if I die? What if I never come back? Well, you know what I'm gonna ask? What if I refuse to let that happen because I care about you too much, huh? What if I do come back?" Jason smiled. "Zatanna, I'll come back. I promise." He held his pinky out.

Zatanna laughed sadly and wrapped her pinky around his. Jason kissed her small finger. For a long moment, the two just stared at each other. Jason desperately yearned to say more, anything more than the empty reassurance that he'll return. He slung his bag over his shoulder and walked towards the zeta tubes. Looking around the Cave, at the Team, one last time, he smiled. "I'll be back," he said. And Zatanna knew that was a promise.

That was six months, one week, and four days ago. Zatanna had been counting since day one. She rolled over in her bed. Her room was dark and her covers draped lazily over her body. She stared at her bedside table and smiled at the picture of Jason giving her a piggyback ride. She played with the key charm around her neck and slowly closed her eyes. She went to sleep, dreaming that dream she always had: of Jason coming home.

AN: Now, who's confused as heck? All those wondering who Donna, Connor, and Tara are, please leave me a review encouraging me to write Project Hero, the sequel to Project Sidekick. It will explain some things, like Jason's team.
Please review! It keeps the creative juices flowing.
All questions (I hope) will be answered in the next chapter. Keep reading!