"Titans tower?" he rasped in surprise. "What the hell are they doing at Titans tower?!"

"Getting themselves into nothing but trouble." Wally mumbled as he finished the last of his milkshake.

Dick whirled around to face him. "Then why the hell aren't we stopping them? You and Artemis have been retired for years, why is she-"

"Hey, don't blame this on Artemis, you know she could never say no to Zatanna. Especially when it came to this. You know just as well as I do, that those two are thicker than thieves." Wally reminded him.

"Yeah, well maybe if Artemis had said no, we wouldn't be here having this conversation." Dick growled.

Wally shrugged tensely and threw his cup into the trash bin next to the park bench they sat on.

"I'm going to Titans Tower, I'm going to stop them. This is a bad idea and I'm not going to let them take Starfire and Raven down with them. Enough is enough." Dick stood up and started walking off.

"Now that's a bad idea." Wally said grabbing his shoulder and turning him around. "What do you think you'll accomplish going over there to lecture her? You just said you two had the worst fight of your lives last night. You think following her to the east coast is going to do any good? She needs to do this, Artemis says it's their last shot, so let them try."

Dick shoved his hand off his shoulder. "Well doing nothing isn't going to change anything either and I'm not going to sit here and argue with you while she goes over there and risks her life, risks everything that matters to her because some psychopath made her a deal. I've been in this business for years and when a crazy man makes you a deal, it always falls apart. UGH! Why am I telling you this, you should know this, Artemis should know this! You're both just egging her on. Why? Why don't you care that she might take out Artemis in this mess too? Don't you care what happens to her anymore? What, you get saved from the speed force and now you think you two are invincible?"

"Hey!" Wally shouted grabbing him by shirt, "You think I wanted this? You think I'm on board?! You don't think I've learned my lesson?! I've been trying to leave this life with Artemis for years and you know it. Don't you dare accuse me of not trying hard enough to protect her! But it's you and Zatanna, you two are the reason, the only reason either of us would step back into the game and you both know it. You think I didn't try talking her out of this? The minute Zatanna called and asked, I knew I'd already lost. Just like whenever you call, Artemis knows it's a lost cause to argue with me, because we love you. You're our family. So don't you try to make this an us issue. Zatanna needs to either succeed or fail, but she needs to do this now and with someone she knows will back her play within reason. Artemis promised to look after her and if anything goes wrong, she's pulling them both out of there, even if that means bringing Zatanna back cuffed and gagged."

Dick flexed his fists and then dropped his guard completely. "Okay. Okay, I'm sorry, I know Artemis is doing this to protect her, I just wish they weren't doing it at all. I have to say something Wally, I have to try again."

Wally let go of his shirt. "Zatanna…. She's not gonna give it up. She needs this Dick, she needs to try."

"I know," Dick breathed, "but I need her. I…I need her, man."

Wally was taken aback by his best friend's sudden honesty, he could only imagine what it cost him…the son of the bat showing his emotions so freely. He could understand though, Zatanna and him had been on and off for years up until recently and that was about four and a half years ago, they had what Wally constantly described as a destructive pull to one another. After Zatanna had lost her father to Fate, Dick had been trying to save her from herself for years. He was addicted to saving her in the same way that she was addicted to loving and healing him in only the way she could. In the years that they had been together, the change in Dick was palpable, he was happy and normalized. After all he had been through, even after Jason, she brought him back from the shadows he slipped into. They were dynamic together and destructive apart; they were able to reign the other in and push each other forward, they supported each other in every sense of the word. They weren't just a couple, they were partners, a team.

Wally looked his best friend in the eye. "She needs you too."

Dick's look of frustration wavered, "Not more than she needs this." He muttered dejectedly.

This was the crux of the problem, his fear that she would be consumed by her past, by the darkness that plagued and haunted her; her father.

"Dude, she needs you because of this. This and you; that's what's been driving her, pushing her to grow and be who she is. She's not like….like Bruce was. You saved her from that, don't doubt that."

Dick looked his best friend in the eyes and looked for any sign of uncertainty, when he couldn't find any he sighed.

"Okay," he agreed, "I won't try and stop her, but I need to talk to her before they go off world."

Wally looked at him doubtfully.

"To wish her luck." He said rolling his eyes at Wally's worried expression.

Wally ran his fingers through his red hair, "Yeah, well I don't know much luck comes into play in a realm of magic."

Dick smirked at him.

"Sometimes I can't even believe you're dating an actual wizard."

Dick laughed tersely.

"She hates when you call her that. She's not a wizard, sorceress or a witch. She's human." Dick reminded him.

"With powers." Wally countered.

"Says the guy who runs faster than sound." Dick smiled.

"Says the hungry guy, who runs faster than sound." Wally corrected him.

"Don't you have to run back to work? You're halfway around the country."

Wally shrugged. "I used the zeta tubes, common, I could eat. Plus, you're buying, how could I say no?"

"Yeah yeah, let's just grab something before my lunch break is up." Dick chuckled.