ARE WE ALL WE ARE?
Pairings: Slight Wonderbeetle, slight Dick/Babs
A/N: A bit sad, but a bit promising as well. It's set just a little before Darkest. Hope y'all enjoy! And just a warning: I will be putting up two chapters tomorrow, but right now there's a lot on my plate so updates might be every other day for a bit.
Defeated.
Not once, not twice, but three times now. The Team was bruised, battered, and broken to the point of where the kitchen looked more like a Red Cross ER than a place where they'd all sit down and eat meals together. Bart was the first to enter the Cave, eyes drooping and blood seeping out of his nose heavily. He flopped down on the upholstery, not caring about his bloody nose, and planted face-down in a pile of pillows. Cassie soon followed suit, preferring to curl on the far right of the couch and drop her head in her folded arms, eyes closing in fatigue. Jamie was limping, Barbara was being held up by Dick, and the rest were all covered in a smattering of bumps, bruises, and cuts.
In short, it was not the best day.
The older heroes located the first aid kit and immediately began patching up the wounded, going to Batgirl and Garfield first because they needed the most. Dick inspected Barbara's ribs, feeling two broken and a sprained wrist. Garfield had an ugly gash running down his leg, but was otherwise unhurt. The newbies struggled to keep their eyes open, and it appeared as though five minutes was enough time for Cassie to fall asleep soundly on the couch. Jamie looked at Nightwing, who gave him the okay to deposit Cassie into her sleeping quarters. "Let her rest," he said firmly, touching Jamie's shoulder and watching the blonde being carried out of sight.
Karen put a hand to her forehead. "We got our asses kicked out there." She murmured, and even M'Gann was too tired to reprimand her for language in front of Beast Boy. Batgirl groaned in impatience while Nightwing held out two Advil, glancing pointedly at the remaining heroes to shield their eyes when he simultaneously slipped through the top of her Batgirl attire to wrap surgical tape around Barbara's waist for her ribs. M'Gann pushed Gar to bed, while Tim, the toughest newbie (extensive Batman training was most likely the cause, Bart had once mused happily) wiped blood off of Bart's nose and inspected for breakage before following the young initiate to their separate rooms. Tomorrow they would truly feel the pain, but until then the bruises were content to ache and the cuts were content to smart.
The next morning, as predicted, came with much grumbling and moaning and fiddling about for Advil bottles. Batgirl made it safely back to her father, who was fed an explanation of 'skateboarding accident' as the reason for her ribs and wrist, before returning the next morning to gather and plan at the Cave. An awkard silence hung in the air, but not before Mal spoke up.
"Look, guys, we gotta amp up our game. I know we're doing the best we can—"
Nightwing cut him off abruptly. "—and we're really proud of you for that. You're all giving 100 percent out there, no questions asked. The thing is, though, we have to work our way in there. We have to give 120 percent if we want to stand a fighting chance."
A collective sigh issued from the group, and Nightwing suppressed a face palm. Okay, let's try a different tactic.
He stood up and looked each one in the eye, lingering on Batgirl for a second's more than he would have. She nodded and gave a tiny grin, a push of encouragement if there ever was. "We have to get up there and show them who we are. Jamie! You're the Blue Beetle. The Scarab chose you, whether you like it or not. Cassie—you're Wondergirl, daughter of Zeus and protégée to the Wonder Woman. Bart—you're from the future, you can work a freaking time machine. Robin, you're my brother. You're Robin. You definitely got this! And Beast Boy: I don't know anyone else in the world who can change into all the animals you do. You can do this! You're all amazing and you all have what it takes to take down the Light. So, what do you say we show them what we're really made of this time, huh? Let's make them remember our names when we go down there. So ask yourself: Are we all we are?"
"NO!" came the battle cry, and Dick couldn't repress a grin. He was definitely proud to lead this Team.
