…
Chapter Twenty-One
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In the wake of Wally's epiphany came a hundred questions. If he liked Robin, did that mean he was gay? He liked girls, so maybe he was bi. Did he still like girls? Did that even matter? What about his crush on Dixie? Was Robin gay? Did he like all guys now? Maybe Robin was a special case. Out of them all, there was one question that kept echoing around his head. It was resonating, a dull thud, persisting and ominous.
Did Robin like him? That was the question, the big one. It didn't matter that Wally liked him if in the end, his feelings weren't reciprocated. In a blinding flash it came to him. That didn't matter. When had Wally ever worried about reciprocated feelings before? He flirted with any girl he found attractive that moved. If he liked guys, why should he be any different about it? And it was just dawning on him that Robin looked pretty damn good. He reached a decision fairly quickly.
Wally would do what he always did. Flirt, and hope for the best.
…
Half an hour into their long, boring night in the mountain Robin noticed Wally was acting strange. He had been acting weird from the start, but at about the thirty minute mark his behaviour became the Wally equivalent of bizarre. Namely, he was silent and had a contemplative look. After her little confession, Robin was expecting Wally to pester her to relieve his own boredom, but it didn't happen.
She didn't mind, for the most part, since it allowed her to work uninterrupted on her research. There was still something about this entire situation that was bugging her. The altered human attacks were just a distraction, Robin knew that much. But she couldn't figure out what for. Besides Kobra, all other members of the Light were either in jail, unaccounted for, or laying low. She had been scouring crime reports for anything characteristic of the seemingly inactive villains, and found nothing. There had been no sightings, no attacks, and no suspicious activity. Even Ra's' assassins had been off the radar since the gala.
But after an hour Robin started to get worried. Kaldur had just checked in, and he and Tula were within sight of the oil rig. They were just waiting on M'gann and Zatanna. Robin would give them twenty minutes before panicking. She looked up to tell Wally just as much, and was shocked at his expression. He looked conflicted, the corners of his mouth twitching between a smile and a frown. He was in the same position he'd been in when Robin caught him staring. Lying on his back, spread out across the couch, with his head hanging over the armrest so he could look at her upside down. But now his gaze was dancing across the ceiling.
"Wally, are you okay?" Robin asked. It felt a little strange, considering she had been the one he was concerned about not too long ago. Wally's eyes stopped flitted about and he blinked once before looking at her. His face immediately flushed.
"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm okay. I'm… I'm great, actually, I think." A wide smile broke out across his face, and he rolled onto his stomach. But he was already at the edge of the couch, and ended up toppling to the floor. Robin slapped a hand against her mouth to muffle her snickers, like Kaldur constantly told her to do. Wally grumbled, still blushing, and started to get up. He braced himself against the coffee table and his palm slipped off, making him lurch forwards. When he almost tripped as he stood, Robin gave up and let her laughter ring throughout the room. It had been a while since she laughed like that, even before her uncle died. It felt good.
"KF, d-dude! I know we- we call you Kid Klutz sometimes, but that… ha ha ha!" Robin gave up on speech, doubling over instead, and missed the way Wally's eyes lit up.
"Okay, Wally. Something has to be up," Robin said when her laughter died.
"Well…"
"Robin!" Wally was interrupted as Zatanna's voice sounded in their ears.
"Zee, what's your status?" Robin asked, her expression turning serious.
"We're at the ranch, and I think we've found something."
"We're on our way. Robin out." Robin pulled her hand away from here ear and stood up. "Come on, Walls, we've gotta run."
Wally sped out of the room and returned in the space of a few seconds, now wearing his Kid Flash uniform, and scolded Robin. "That was horrible, really."
"That's why it's totally whelming." Robin cackled. She climbed onto Wally's back, and he ran them to the Zeta-Beam. They burst out of the golden light in the closest Zeta to New Mexico and took off at breakneck speeds. In order to prevent the wind from ripping her away, Robin pressed her forehead to Wally's back and kept her arms tightly wrapped around his shoulders. It took them months to perfect this style of travel, but it was one of the most efficient, if a little unfair to Wally.
When they arrived, they—or Wally—ran around the ranch three times before they found the girls. M'gann and Zatanna were hidden in the shadows of a rise, crowded by scraggly bushes and rocks. Wally skidded to a stop, ducking so Robin could smoothly flip off his back.
"Hey Miss M, Zee," Robin greeted the two girls. She dug through her belt and pulled out an energy bar, tossing it to Kid Flash. "What did you find?"
"Kobra worshippers, but that's not all. It's better to show you," Miss Martian said. She and Zatanna nodded to each other before rising and starting off towards the fence enclosing the property. "When we arrived, I started searching for nearby minds in case someone approached. That's how we found Kobra's cultists. We did a quick recon of the main building first before heading onto the property."
"You weren't spotted?" Robin asked.
"Kobra's goons haven't left the building since we arrived," Zatanna explained. They climbed over the range's fence, and M'gann continued speaking.
"I couldn't feel any minds the further we got into the field, and we thought there would be nothing here, until Zatanna saw this." M'gann pointed to a cluster of brown cows not too far away.
"So they have cattle, I don't get it." Wally shrugged. "It's supposed to be a ranch, right?"
"But Miss M didn't feel any minds," Robin reminded him as she realized what M'gann was getting at.
"Exactly. Animal minds feel different. Some can be harder to sense, if it's possible to sense them at all, because they don't have the same intelligent processes. But I went to a farm with Connor once, and I know what the minds of cows feel like. But I couldn't sense these."
They approached the closest cow, which shuffled a little, looking at the heroes for a moment before returning to its meal. The others started to trod closer, but Robin ignored them as she powered up her holo-glove to scan the animal. Kid Flash leaned over her shoulder, looking at the screen, and making Robin blushed. Unbeknownst to the Kid Wonder, Wally noticed this little fact and smiled imperceptibly.
"It's a robot. Probably Ivo's, since he's worked with the Light in the past. Not his usual style, but I guess even he has to make something that passes as normal once in a while," Robin commented as she started inspecting the automaton.
"If it's just to keep up appearances, why not use real cows?" Zatanna asked.
"Kid, can you do a run around?" Robin asked.
"You got it, babe."
Robin jerked and looked up, but Wally was already gone. Beneath her masks, Dixie's eyes were wide, and she looked at Zatanna. The magician was wearing a similar expression of shock. M'gann just looked confused.
"You heard that, right?" Robin asked. Zatanna and Miss Martian nodded.
"Is it an Earth custom to call close friends 'babe' as well?" M'gann asked.
"No," Zatanna said, and a sly grin spread across her face. "No, it isn't."
Robin was still trying to recover from her shock when the cow robots attacked. Unfortunately, in the life of a hero, that wasn't exactly strange. Moving in a way that only a robot cow could, the automaton kicked, its metal hoof digging into Robin's side and throwing her away. She gasped at the flare of pain and rolled across the ground, scrambling at the dirt to try and slow down. When she stopped, Robin rose shakily, clutching her side. The robot cow that kicked her was in the process of changing. Its plating started separating, pushing outwards and expanding. It was more than double its original size when it stopped, the spaces of the original shell filled by green plating.
It wasn't the only one. The entire herd had changed, so it was nearly twenty giant robot cows against three junior heroes. All at once, they charged.
"You've got to be kidding me. Teg em ffo eht dnuorg!" Zatanna shouted, and she rose into the air seconds before she could be hit. Miss Martian rose with her, so it was only Robin on the ground. A few of the robots leapt at the girls above, a feat not possible for normal cows, while the others veered and headed straight for Robin.
Acting fast, Robin grabbed her exploding disks and threw them forwards.
"Miss M, pull them apart!" she shouted as the explosives went off. Robin dove to the side to avoid being trampled by the cows that weren't harmed, feeling the ground shake as they stomped their metal hooves.
"Yortsed eseht diputs swoc!" Zatanna shouted, and she and Miss Martian started ripping the robots apart while Robin served as a distraction. On the ground she drew the cows' attention by providing a constantly moving target. She flipped and twisted out of the way, throwing her exploding disks and lodged batarangs in their joints. The fight was more tiring than difficult, and Robin's side continued to ache, resulting in a few close calls.
The ground was torn up by the cows' hooves and Robin faltered as her foot slipped, dipping into a rut made by all stomping him. One of the robots was heading straight for her, and she quickly flipped backwards to evade. Doing so forced her to overstretch, and Robin hissed at the pain in her side. She successfully resisted the instinct to curl up, but couldn't stop her hands from jerking, messing up her landing. Robin tumbled backwards, her shoulder jarring against a hard patch of dirt.
"Robin, look out!" Zatanna shouted, and the young hero's head jerked up to see another robot charging towards her. She wouldn't be able to roll out of the way in time. Robin was about to curl, hope that maybe she wouldn't be trampled, when there was a sharp tug on her shoulder and she was jerked upwards. There was a moment when she was airborne before hitting the ground, skidding a few feet. She could hear, and feel, someone falling beside her.
There was a sound of screeching metal as it the final robot car was torn to shreds by M'gann and Zatanna's combined power. Robin sat up, one hand pressed against her ribs, and spotted the yellow suited figure beside her.
"KF?" she asked.
"It is really hard to run on this ground," the speedster said, kicking some dirt and mud off his feet. "Sorry about the rough landing."
"Wally, you…" In the presence of her secret crush, Robin's shock had quickly returned. She hated it, because it made her feel weak, but she couldn't help herself. Robin accepted who she was, accepted that she loved Wally, and accepted that it probably wouldn't happen.
And then he called her babe. Sure, he called Richelle babe when they met, but this was Robin. This was Wally's best friend who, for all he knew, was a boy. And Wally said babe. The speedster liked girls, but he could like boys to. He could like Robin.
She had a chance.
"The rest of the property was empty. What happened here?" Kid Flash asked, pulling up his goggles. Robin snapped out of her reverie, catching Zatanna's gleeful look before explaining.
"This property is definitely big enough that it wouldn't be strange not to see cows. So why go through the effort of building robots and putting them in the middle of the range? You can't even see them from the road because of the crest over there." She nodded in the direction of the fence. "I wanted you to confirm these were the only cows here, which means there's something important about this area."
Robin stood, wincing slightly, and walked towards what had once been the middle of the herd. It was the only patch of ground not torn up. She stomped against the ground, listening closely. She stopped when there was a metallic thud.
"Here."
"Leaver s'tahw neddih ereh," Zatanna chanted, the dirt and grass was drawn away to reveal a metal hatch.
"The cows weren't here to make this place look normal, they were made to guard this," Robin finished.
"But it would be better guarded by the house, why put it all the way out here?" Miss Martian asked.
"I'm not actually sure, it doesn't make sense. But the sound of our fight could have alerted Kobra's followers, so we should hurry." Robin grabbed the handle, and glanced up at her teammates, receiving a quick nod from each. She pulled, and there was a light hiss. The door swung open, releasing a wave of hot steam with it. M'gann immediately reeled back away from the heat.
"There's a ladder," Robin said as she peered into the hatch. The tunnel down didn't look too long, she could see light at the bottom. "Miss M, maybe you should stay up here. We don't know how hot it is down there."
"I'll stay with her," Zatanna added, a little too quickly. "We should stay in two man teams, right?"
"Right." Robin's eyebrow quirked at the magician, who just smiled innocently and shot her a discreet thumbs up. Robin stuck her tongue out at the magician and started climbing down the hatch. It got hotter as they went farther down, and Robin was sweating uncomfortably by the time she reached the bottom. Rather than dirt, like she had been expecting, the walls and ceiling were rock. It was a small cavern, just tall enough for comfortable standing, and lights hung all around it. With the hatch opened, the steam pouring from a large crack in the wall wafted up towards the surface, and Robin decided it was probably a good idea M'gann was still above ground.
"Wow, it's not in here," Wally said when he landed beside her. "But not as hot as you, babe."
"Wally!" Robin snapped, both shocked and pleased.
"What?" the speedster asked.
"What are you doing?"
"Um…" Wally faltered, surprised. He thought it would have been obvious, he never exactly tried to be subtle. Usually by this point he was either rejected, or got some kind of positive response. He wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or not he had gotten neither so far. "Uh, what do you… think I'm doing?"
"I think you're trying to flirt with me. Emphasis on trying," Robin said, blushing slightly.
"Hey, I happy to be a pretty attractive guy. Lots of people like my flirting," Wally defended himself.
"People, or girls?" Robin asked. She had to confirm something.
"People, I'd like to think. Or at least, you know, you." Wally rubbed the back of his neck, looking at Robin before quickly looking away. The former acrobat was blushing furiously, unsure whether to smile or scold her best friend. This really was a bad time for something like this, and Robin was feeling very caught off guard. The whole situation had her fairly flustered, so she said the only thing she could think of.
"We've got a mission to finish."
"Oh, right, yeah. What now?" Wally asked.
"Through there." Robin looked to the crack in the wall leaking steam. It was just big enough for them to squeeze through. Robin went first, since she was smaller and it would be easier for her. It was stifling sliding between the two walls, because the steam and heat had nowhere else to go. Robin took an eager breath when she reached the other side. It was still a lot warmer than the first cavern, but better than the path between them. This room was a lot bigger, and Robin immediately focused on the river cutting through the middle of it. New Mexico was home to the largest discovered underground river, so it wasn't strange to see one as small as this here. It also explained the ranch's location, they needed the constant water supply, but couldn't use an existing water source without any major construction drawing attention.
The section of the cavern where the river disappeared through the rocks tapered off until it was low enough no one could pass through. The other side remained wide, and Robin theorized it could be followed for some time before a person could be forced underwater. Pipes and cables sprouted from the upriver cave, along with a string of lights that lit up a small turbine against the wall. They were using the river's flow to generate electricity, which explained why the lights were on. Across from Robin, on the other side of the cave, was a door set into the rocks. She looked over her shoulder, to the first cavern, and tried to orient herself according to the outside. If she was right, that door faced the direction of the ranch house.
"So there's a path going from here to there," Robin mused. "Then the hatch must be an escape route. That explains why it wasn't locked."
"This is cool, but I don't get what's so important about it," Kid Flash said when he reached her side.
Robin looked at the source of the steam, a contraption on the downriver exit. It was braced on either side of the river, sitting squat over the water just before the cave tapered. There was a thick vented tube dipping into the water, facing the current, and several thin pipes on top were releasing the steam. The machine wasn't producing a lot of steam in general, but the enclosed space kept it hot and stuffy. Robin headed straight for it while Wally went to look at the generator.
There was a sliding panel on the front of the machine, and Robin pushed it open to look inside. There was a large tub, filled with a murky green liquid. The tube from the river rose above the substance and curved at the top, so a steady stream of water was flowing into the tub. The green substance was less dense, and the two liquids were mostly separated. A burner at the tubs base was superheating the water, so it boiled and bubbled up to the top. The steam was tinted a pale green, and forced by sloping panels towards the pipes on top. Most of the green substance condensed when it touched the metal and dripped down to a smaller bin on the side. The diluted substance was much more transparent, and looked rather like dyed water.
Robin had no idea what it was, but intended to find out. She grabbed two vials from her belt and took samples of the diluted and undiluted substance.
"KF, any idea what this is?" Robin called. There was a rush of wind, and the speedster was soon hovering over her shoulder.
"Not from looking, though I'm guessing you already know that."
"I can dream, can't I? I'll break down the samples to get the molecular structure, then you can take a look at it," Robin said. "We should probably get going. We've already been down here a few minutes."
"Acrobats first?" Wally asked, waving a hand to the crevice in the wall.
"You're too kind." Robin rolled his eyes, pocketing the vials and heading back to the entrance. She reached the ladder and set her boot on the first rung. She was about to start climbing when she paused and looked back. "Wally, when we get back to the mountain… there's something I want to talk to you about."
She nodded firmly and started heading upwards.
…
Tula and Kaldur's mission went well, which means the offshore oil rig had been just that, nothing strange or villainous going on. After discussing the findings from the ranch with Kaldur, Robin put the samples in the computer to be analyzed overnight. If they couldn't gather enough information from that, it looked like they would have to brave the former Arkham City after all.
Robin headed to her room to change into civilian attire, and Wally was waiting outside her door when she arrived.
"You said you wanted to talk?" he asked. She nodded, pulling him inside and closing the door. Wally sat down on her bed, and Robin took her time undoing the clasp of her cape, folding it up, and laying it across the back of her chair. Next were her gloves, then she removed her belt, laying out her supplies and counting everything.
"How are you ribs?" Wally asked in the silence.
Robin's hand paused over the final unused smoke bomb. "They're okay, I think they're just bruised."
"So, what did you want to say?"
Robin sighed and sat down next to the speedster, her hands curling and uncurling as she pressed them against her knees. She didn't like feeling nervous, feeling so damn girly. This was Wally. Who she loved, who probably liked her. She was still sad over the death of her uncle. It didn't make sense, being sad and happy at the same time, and she felt guilty for wanting to be happier.
"You were flirting with me," she stated.
"Yeah, we've established that."
"Right. But why?"
"I mean, generally I do it because I like someone, I don't know about you. I've never actually liked a guy before, but I'm pretty sure that's what this is."
Robin's hands stilled. "You like me?"
"Well, yeah. You're my bro, my best friend." Wally saw Robin's expression, and hurried to explain further. "I mean more than a friend! You know, people always say that thing, where they're dating their best friend, or they fell in love with their best friend. That kind of thing. You know what I mean?"
Robin's intention had been to tell Wally her particular gender situation. It would be a step to revealing her identity. That was the only thing she meant to do. But before she could think about the consequences of her statement, she had already spoken. "I know what you mean."
She gave him a significant look, and for a moment they just stared at each other, open green eyes and blue, hidden behind a mask. Robin wasn't sure who leaned in first. It could have been her, it could have been Wally. She didn't even notice when it happened, not until their noses were brushing, his hands were on her waist, and hers were on his shoulders.
Then they kissed.
…
Sorry for the wait! Same excuses as usual, plus a little something extra. I was thinking about what would be happening with Wally and Grayson after this story and the sequel are finished, and I decided to start writing it. So basically, there's going to be a lot of stuff for this particular universe in the future!
Originally Wally was going to have some personal struggle with his sudden apparent change in sexuality, because he struggled a lot with simply liking Artemis. But I think he would actually be pretty quick accept that he likes Robin, and he's always been a pretty straightforward person when it came to flirting.
So… I didn't intend for this to happen… but in my head I've basically started shipping Zatanna and Barbara in this story. I can't remember who planted the idea first (one of you fantastic reviewers, sorry that I can't remember who), and it won't become a big thing in the story, but you'll definitely see a relationship there in later stories.
Shadowswithouthope: Sooo, not how you imagined it. I was going to go for something like that at first, but I get the feeling Wally is the type of person that would dive right in. You know, if he didn't hate the person at first like he did with Artemis. And Robin still isn't sure, but hey, teenage hormones! What can you do?
Retrokill: I hope the end of this chapter makes up for that pain
Grayson4life: As it's probably obvious now, I'm sure it's safe to reveal they will be getting together before then. Not necessarily by the end of this story, but they will be on their way to that. I will probably have a couple oneshots, all in the same story file, between this story and the season two story that will be about their relationship basically becoming solid.
Dreadrose: I'm sorry it took so long! I hope you're okay now!
Pixie07: Wally didn't get to realize what that meant yet, but he will have a confrontation with Zatanna where he asks her about that, so it will be brought up again.
Guest: THANK YOU! I'M GLAD YOU LIKED IT!
RandomFandomGirl37: Thanks! I'll do my best
Guest: (I hope you can figure out if this is you based on my response. Probably). I really liked the idea of Wally's realization being sort of spontaneous, rather than Robin's slow acceptance
Helena Bellamuerte: I am so happy you are enjoying this story. My final grandmother actually passed away a few days before Christams, so writing about Rick's death was a big deal for me. The image of a shimmying Robin was very adorable :P
Cutie0612: Thanks!
JaDe In NighT: And Wally certainly goes
Celestic Sapphire: The sequel will be during season two, and it will be related to Ra's and Grayson's confrontation earlier in the story. The circumstances of Rick's death will actually be brought up against as well. I'm glad you're liking the story, and sorry it took so long to update!
Guest: And here more is! Now that I've got the ball rolling again, I was having a touch of writer's block, the next update will be much faster.
Two more things! I got thirteen reviews last chapter, one of my lucky numbers! And I recently hit 100 favourites on this story! You guys are amazing, I love you all!
'See' you next time!