Thank you all for the reviews, and I have decided on the heroes with a nice ending.
Warning: Nothing really, mentions of violence, but nothing too bad.
Three months. Three hard and grueling and depressive and especially tiring months had passed since Aqualad and Superboy returned, and Wally left for good. And it was for good. He didn't even pass by his house to say goodbye or pick anything up, he just ran straight to wherever it was after leaving the cave. And, he was smart. He had thrown his phone away, changed clothes, and had most probably changed himself because Batman couldn't find him anywhere.
When the team found out that Superboy and Aqualad were back, they all basically tackled the two boys. But, they found out how it was that they returned. Robin was the one who took the news badly, because Wally was his best friend. Zatanna was there to comfort him, while Artemis didn't want to show how sad she was. But, M'gann was actually happy with it. She was tired of Wally anyway, and she knew it was just a matter of time before he broke down.
Without letting the rest of the team notice, or the League, Superboy and Aqualad actually grieved their loss. Unlike the rest of their associates, they had actually had the chance to meet Jason and the rest of their little group, and honestly, they missed them. It was so much like clockwork in the cave. Aqualad would arrive from Atlantis each day they had a mission, at the same time Artemis arrived. They chatted a little until Robin and Zatanna arrived, then they went searching for M'gann and Superboy. After that, they would head to the conference room and get their mission.
Sure, their missions were true to the name and stayed covert, Aqualad couldn't help but miss the adrenaline the fight brought. Call him selfish, but he wanted to get in a real fight, not the practice ones where he had to hold back because he didn't want to hurt his teammates. There were some days they would just hang out in the cave, but M'gann always dragged Superboy away after a few minutes, Robin and Zatanna would play video games, Artemis would excuse herself and go to her room, and Aqualad would be left alone to read or do whatever he wanted to.
Before, he would have reveled in the silence and calmness. Now? Now he wanted Wally speeding around the room, shoving food into his mouth, making Artemis scold him, then doing saying something mildly insulting back. And he knew Superboy wanted that to happen once again, but they weren't stupid. They had no idea where they were staying at the moment, and they didn't want to get caught by the Bat. They were still on thin ice because of their little kidnapping lies. Batman still didn't have the full story of the kidnapping, and it was going to stay that way if the boys had any say in it.
"Kaldur?" Superboy's soft voice broke through Aqualad's thoughts as they sat alone in the living room.
It was an odd day, where Zatanna and Robin left them alone, M'gann left them alone so she could bake, and Artemis went on some extra training with Green Arrow.
"Yes, Conner?" He asked, closing his book and turning to the clone.
Superboy had been more paranoid since those three days. Those three days had changed both of them completely. They didn't think of their jobs as a pastime or a hobby anymore, they thought of it as an escape. They saw how those two men tried to rape Angelina and Deshawn. They know how those men thought at the moment. And worst of all, they saw what they did to Dany and Wally. Now, whenever the team went on a mission that they ended up fighting gangsters or mobsters, both boys used a little more force than needed. But, hey, as long as they didn't kill anyone, Batman would let them slide.
"Do you think they're all right?" Conner asked, looking straight at the television, lost in thought.
Kaldur sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, not wanting to go down this road once more. They had been talking about the possibilities of seeing Wally and Dany ever again, and pondering just how their lives were, but Kaldur didn't want to say what he really thought. Actually, what he knew. They were having the time of their lives and they would never, ever come back. He had not even heard of Roy in the past three months, which is really something.
"Conner, Wally is a speedster, Dany knows how to defend herself, and they have Red Hood protecting them. Apart from that, Benjamin Siegel is a smart and powerful man, he most probably has men close to both of them, and so that they can help if anything happens." He explained.
Conner frowned at him, but didn't say anything because M'gann flew inside, a tray of un-burnt cookies floating in front of her.
"They're chocolate chip, would you like to try them?" She asked sweetly.
Kaldur frowned slightly at her tone of voice, but still nodded and grabbed one. After Wally left, she was considerably nicer, but then again, she was always nice with everybody but Wally. And whenever someone talked of the redhead, she would frown and say that he left them of his own free will. He did what he wanted, and good riddance. Kaldur didn't really like how she spoke of Wally, but he couldn't say anything. It might just raise suspicion with the Bat.
"These are very good, M'gann." Kaldur noted, taking a bit of the cookie. "But you might have wanted to leave them for a minute or two more, it's a bit raw." He told her nicely.
Her smile dropped, but still kept the act and nodded. "Thank you Aqualad, I'll get to work on that." She was mad at him. She only used hero names while in the cave when she was.
Kaldur sighed and sat back down, opening his book to try to read again. But he knew he wasn't going to be able to read anything. His thoughts were too jumbled and all over the place. What he would do to get away from here and do something, anything. But sadly, that couldn't happen to him.
The computer announced when Flash entered the room, making Kaldur's eyes narrow. He didn't hate the speedster, far from that really. But it's just… If Flash had noticed the difference in his sidekick, maybe, just maybe, Wally would still be here. And, he really couldn't feel any hatred towards him, especially when he's the one that had taken the news the worst.
Flash didn't return to the cave; or the Watchtower from what he had heard; in weeks. And when he did, he looked like a complete mess. He was out of practice, wasn't really listening to anybody, and almost killed himself in a simple explosion. From what he had heard, if it wasn't for one of his Rogues pulling him out of the building, Flash would've died in the fire. That was two months ago, and Flash had made himself look like he had gotten over it, but Kaldur knew better.
Who to know who is lying about their emotions better than someone who is hiding his own? And really, Kaldur should now be as good as an expert when it came to reading hidden emotions.
"Hey, Aqualad, Superboy." Flash greeted, beaming at the boys. But the smile wasn't as bright. It was duller, as if it was missing life.
"Hello, Flash." Kaldur greeted, while Conner grunted in response.
"Have either of you seen Batman? He told me to come here." He told them, cutting straight to why he was here.
Kaldur also missed times were Flash would start telling cheesy jokes, making him smile awkwardly while Wally burst in laughter. Now Flash didn't like to waste any time in the cave, now that he had become extremely territorial about Central, and wanted to be there all the time.
"We have not, I am sorry." Kaldur answered.
Flash sighed, rubbed his head in superspeed, then said, "Don't worry about it, kid, I'll just run a lap and see if I find him." He said, and was gone before Kaldur could even begin to nod.
Speedsters. Kaldur let himself smile at the thought, but quickly wiped it off and returned to his book. He had wanted to learn more about the surface world, so he had taken to reading the real classics. Shakespeare has been his favorite till now, but he was trying to read one that Dany had recommended. Homer. He still didn't quite understand why men would go so far to get back a woman, but he still didn't fully understand this world.
Then, Kaldur snapped his book closed. He couldn't take it anymore. Six months of the craziness in the team since Dany left. The first three months he had no idea what happened to her, and the later three months he was overwhelmed with worry. He needed to leave. He had to get away. And like an answer to his prayers, the zeta beam activated, saying that Red Arrow was entering.
Kaldur and Conner looked at each other, both of them wondering what was up, then looked at the entrance, to find Roy standing there in civvies garb, a backpack slung over his shoulder, a lazy smirk clear on his features, and glasses.
"Fish-sticks!" He announced, walking over to him and enveloping him in a hug. "It's been a while!" He exclaimed, letting go of Aqualad and looking him up and down with a little frown. "You look like crap."
Kaldur only rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, wanting to know exactly why Roy was there. You don't just disappear for three months without a word then appear in hero turf and tell one they look like crap. It's out of character and disrespectful, even for Roy.
"I am glad you noticed, Roy, but what are you doing here? The League is still looking for you." He told him.
Kaldur knew Roy rolled his eyes behind the mask, making him glare, making Roy scoff. "Come on, Kaldur. You want the truth?" He asked, just to bother him. "Fine, I'll tell you. You are being cordially invited, along with Superboy, to go with the Siegel's to the new and much better guarded, 'Superhero Games'!" Roy announced, a little bit too loud for Kaldur's liking.
Kaldur slapped a hand on Roy's mouth, then waited a few minutes to make sure no one entered. When no one did, Kaldur nodded at Conner, who walked over to the panel and put in his own ID, making the machine power. Kaldur pushed Roy forward, not even waiting for the machine to acknowledge Superboy, then stepped in himself. He really wasn't in the mood to get chewed out by Batman today.
"Ow, geez, Kal, what's gotten into you?" Roy asked, rubbing the arm he had smacked into Superboy with. Note to self, it's better hitting concrete than the clone of Superman.
Kaldur crossed his arms and glared, but said, "Roy, right now the League is searching for both you and Wally. Neither of you have been seen in three months, and you suddenly arrive in the mountain telling me we are invited to go to Games that we would still be going to?" Voice slowly getting madder.
Roy's eyes widened, then he became his normal self again. Or at least, what Kaldur knew to be his normal self. "Look, Kaldur, Jason's got you and the team under surveillance. We've seen how you are, and we know that it's just a matter of time before either of you snap. You almost killed that man just a few nights ago!" Roy scolded.
It's true. On their latest mission they were supposed to stake out a known drug trafficking ring. But Kaldur noticed a man that looked a lot like Alexander Donovich, but older. But he waited patiently for someone else to screw up. M'gann was caught and soon they were fighting dozens of gangsters. While the team held the soldiers off, Kaldur went for the leader. The man basically pissed his pants when the Aqualad jumped in front of him, looking murderous, and activated his water bearers. But he knew how to fight. After minutes of struggling and fighting each other, Aqualad had the man under him, ready to strike the final blow to his head to kill him. Thankfully Superboy arrived and stopped him. That was never shown on the mission report.
Kaldur glared at him, but still kept his composure. There was no way he was give Roy an ounce of satisfaction of being right. "You know who that man was, right?" He asked. "While I admit I let my emotions get the best of me, haven't we all at one time or another?" He asked, touching the subject of all the screw ups they had all had at one point in their lives.
Conner sighed as they bickered, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall of the alley. Kaldur had also changed in those three months. He was less formal, more prone to continuing an argument, much to the dismay of some of the Leaguers. Being more vocal meant he actually let himself say his opinions on the missions, and that made some of them feel stupid when he saw a fault when they didn't. Conner was actually somewhat happy about that. At least now Batman had someone that would stand up to him, even if it was a little.
"Kaldur, all that we want right now is for you and Conner to go with us to the Superhero Games. Nothing more." Roy said, sighing.
Conner raised an eyebrow at him. Before, Roy would have actually continued the argument, try to bait Kaldur and fail miserably, or something like that, but he actually wanted to close it. Something big must have happened to make him like this.
Kaldur sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, not really wanting to think of this now. Thankfully, Conner spoke up for him.
"Roy, if you haven't noticed, we're supposed to be in the Games. With both Red Arrow and Kid Flash missing last time, and Aqualad and Superboy not showing this time around… First of all, the League will be pissed, and the press is going to jump on it. And now that Kid Flash is in… retirement," He growled, not liking the word, "The League needs us to look good." He finished.
Roy nodded at him, then turned to Kaldur. "You both have really changed." He noted, but continued before Kaldur or Conner could question him. "But really, which one of you really cares about the League? They only really care for themselves and how the public thinks of them. Not going there is just showing how you don't want to be a part of their games." He said, using a voice that would be perfect for a conman.
Kaldur and Conner looked at each other, not really knowing what to say, then Kaldur sighed. "Why not?" He asked, letting himself give Roy a small smile.
Roy smiled back at him, then moved his head to the right, signaling the entrance of the alley. "Come on, the gang is this way… But first," He said, then threw the backpack at Kaldur. "Put that on." He commanded.
Kaldur opened the bag to find clothing. He sighed, then stepped into the booth to change first. He just hoped that the League didn't have a way of tracking him.
Well, at least Kaldur now knew that he would never trust anybody there to housesit. Roy had walked both of them over to a warehouse on the bad parts of town, some people getting high a few feet in front of the entrance, and some men vandalizing the wall of the opposite building. Roy walked them inside the warehouse, for them to find Wally and Angelina dancing on top of the tables in a dance Kaldur had seen many times in club videos, with loud music with exaggerated bass thumping around, and Deshawn and Dany dancing together, but they were separated. They were dancing where the men of the gang usually worked, but Benny gave them a day off so that they could spend the day as a family, and tell them the news of the second games.
The music was in Spanish, and it was what Dany had explained was reggaetón, which was rapping with slow music, basically. Jason was standing to the side of the room, a little boy in his hands, and he was bouncing the poor kid around to the rhythm of the music while Raquel smiled at him with crossed arms. Roy chuckled at the scene of the kids dancing, then walked over to Jason and grabbed the boy.
"You don't want to mess up his mind, do you?" He asked, even if his voice was joking.
Jason smiled back at him, then shook his head. "Course not, Roy. Where're the boys?" He asked, then looked over to the entrance.
There Kaldur and Conner stood, dressed in civilian clothing that didn't let their superhero personas be seen, feeling a little awkward. But, that didn't last very long.
"Kaldur! Conner!" A voice piped up, then without warning, Dany jumped off of the table, performed a front flip, then tackled both of them to the ground in a hug. "I've missed you two so much!" She squealed.
Kaldur chuckled and patted her back, then told her, "And we have you, Dany." Jason pried Dany off of them and helped both the boys get up.
"Sorry about her, she had some chocolate a few minutes ago." He chuckled, then asked, "So how have you two been? The League giving you trouble?" And even if he was joking around, Kaldur noted the serious tone.
"Not much of it, but there are still some problems." Kaldur gave him a sad smile. "Ever since Wally left, the team has been slowly falling apart." He told Jason.
Jason frowned at the information, but then smiled. "So that's why Roy insisted you guys come with us?" he asked, looking back at the redhead who was playing with his son.
Conner nodded, while Kaldur didn't do anything. Could you really blame him? Now he was really feeling the effects of his team's lack of concern for anybody but themselves.
"Well, you two deserve it!" Angelina said, walking over to them with Wally's arms wrapped around her waist.
Deshawn had turned down the music so they could all speak comfortably with each other and the rest of the kids walked over to them. Kaldur really noticed the difference in Wally and Dany. First of all, the hair of both of them was considerably longer. Next was the height and the clothing. Dany didn't change too much, but it was because Kaldur had never really seen her wearing a lot of civvies. But Wally seemed to have cleaned up. He was wearing a form fitting blue shirt and tight in the thighs but loose in the calf's jeans. He also had a necklace of half a heart on him.
Kaldur smiled at Angelina, then said, "While I know we might get in trouble for doing this, I cannot help but think I would love a vacation." He stated.
Angelina smiled at him, then pressed a kiss to Wally's cheek. "You have no idea how much he speaks of both of you." She informed, making Wally blush.
"I don't talk about them that much." Wally whined, then turned back to Kaldur and Conner. "So, you two really want to do this?" He asked, voice now serious.
Kaldur and Conner looked at each other, making a silent conversation, then agreed. They sure as hell needed to get away from the team, and they needed to know how Wally and Dany were. They had been worried sick.
"Of course." Conner answered, smirking at everybody.
Then Dany burst out in cheers and hugged him. "And we're back in business!" She announced, then extended her right arm and wrapped Kaldur in the hug. "Group hug, ya lug nuts!" She exclaimed, and soon enough, the three of them were being crushed by everyone else there.
Yet another happy ending. Next chapter, we find out what the ex-West's have been up to along with their gang of friends and we get to see the heroes make complete fools of themselves! Yay! Five reviews and I'll update tomorrow.