A/N: Alright, I'm thinking there'll be maybe four more chapters. I've finally got an endgame in mind, and it's about time I finished this off. I'm sorry that it's been such a long, slow process, but I'm going to be happy when it's finished.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or any associated characters.


"It should be here!" he said in exasperation, glad Roy had followed. It'd taken both sets of hands to pull the larger-than-life picture off the wall without destroying it. The hardest part was looking at the blank backside and realizing there was no will hidden there. Batsuits connected with bats. Family connected to family portraits. There was no reason for him to be wrong.

"What are we looking for, exactly?" asked Roy, wiping sweat from his brow; the run was long and fast. Keeping up with Grayson along dark hallways and winding passages hadn't been a walk in the park.

"The will." His lips were pursed, his brow knit in frustration. A haze of puzzlement lingered on his features, simple confusion. "He would've put it..." Thoughts raced through his mind, one by one, each analyzed individually within nanoseconds.

"You're not good at finishing sentences today, kid."

Dick didn't hear him over the sound of turning gears within his skull. His fingers danced through the air as if calculating, maybe counting. "There are two more picture frames in his room, but those are easy. Cops would've searched there."

"It's not here, Dick."

A low growl of annoyance came from him: "I know."

"Then let's put the picture back up and head home. I need to get to work soon." Roy was already reaching down to stand the picture upright, dark cerulean eyes still on Grayson's flexible form.

"Alright, alright." Still clearly distressed over the lack of the will in the most obvious place he could imagine, he aided Roy in putting the picture back up.

They almost had it balanced when it began to tip, almost falling until Artemis slipped in for the save, propping up the frame with most of her upper body, careful not to touch the painting itself. "You boys would be lost without me," she laughed half-heatedly, prompting a grunt from Roy and some mumbled complaints in a spiteful undertone.

"It should be here..."

Artemis figured she'd ask Dick later and began to herd him towards the door like a mother guiding her child to an exit, out of harm's way.

Alfred stood in the doorway with a soft face, a witness to far too many crimes within the manor. He too had searched there. In truth, he'd searched the whole grounds, everywhere from the Batcave to the attic: it just wasn't there.

On the same note, Lucius was searching through the personal effects of Bruce Wayne's office, hoping to find something there. Alfred had been keeping posted on that search as well, making sure to answer each and every call that passed through the Wayne Manor landline.

"We'll visit again soon," promised Roy, throwing a smile back at the butler as they trio and the housekeeper passed through the entrance's foyer. "And we're sure you'll be seeing Dick around whether we know about it or not." Something of a glare was thrown in the aforementioned child's direction, causing him to grin slyly.

"Very well then, Master William."

Artemis cackled. "Your name's William?" she asked in a chortle.

He grumbled while she continued to laugh, Alfred shaking his head with a sad smile as the beloved child and his comrades vanished through the door once more.

Dick's face was pensive, twisted into contortions. It should've been there...


"But you think that it should be with family things because it's a family thing?" asked Artemis as she stirred a pot of spaghetti for dinner. "I'm not saying your logic is wrong, I'm just saying that it's obvious. Wouldn't someone have noticed before now?"

"Two years later, yeah, you would think." His forehead was scrunched up as he pored over his History homework. "The place has been scoured by the greatest detectives of Gotham. Every place I can think of is clean, and if Alfred's checked the Batcave, then the whole manor is clean." Dick put down his pencil and put one hand over his face while leaning back in the chair, rocking it back onto the hindlegs. "I just don't know where else he would keep it. The Watchtower is clear, I checked it the first few days."

"Then maybe he just doesn't have one," suggested the blonde nonchalantly.

"That'd be stupid." Dick delivered her a look that said "now you're just being an imbecile". "The most important thing to Bruce, besides justice, was family. Not me, persay, but his parents, their estate, the Wayne legacy. He would protect it above all else, no questions asked." Slowly, he went back to his homework, heart not really into it. "And he wouldn't just leave
me to fend for myself..."

"He taught you to survive." Artemis hated it when he got depressed and dark like this. Maybe it was the Bat side of him coming out. "He could've thought that was en-"

"No." The firm word cut her off crisply. "Bruce had an entire company to take care of, not just me. There'd have to be a will somewhere for that. Not to mention the manor."

"Alright," she said soberly, turning back to her cooking. "So maybe it's somewhere the cops couldn't search, Dick. You said you looked in the Watchtower and that Fox had checked his office, so where else can cops not get to?" Artemis glanced to him out of the corner of her eyes.

"Mount Justice, but it wouldn't make any sense to hide it there. Batcave, but Alfred obviously checked it and I gave it the twice over today."

"Then what about something you have?"

His forehead creased in puzzlement. "Why would he put it with my stuff?" questioned the bird.

She uttered one word: "Family."

Dick closed his eyes and leaned forward, hunching himself over the table and practically burying his face in his textbook. One hand ran through his ebony hair. "I think I would've noticed it before now, Artemis."

She shrugged, continuing to stir while lighting another burner to heat up the sauce. "I'm just trying to help," Artemis responded dully. "I'm not as smart as you, but it's coming down to the wire. We're running out of ideas, and if this is what it comes to, you should be willing to try anything." Her lips pursed for a moment, realizing that finding the will could mean losing him, mean that someone would take away her baby brother; Artemis hadn't been so close to anyone in a very long time. Dick and Roy had pulled her out of her shell.

He gave a soft sigh, frustration flowing in his veins.

"Here." Artemis left the stove for a moment, heading over to him. Reaching over his shoulder, she shut his book for him and mussed his hair like Roy usually would. "Put the homework down and go look through your stuff. Humor me."

Now it was for pride. He wouldn't be proven wrong. "It's not there, Artemis," he breathed. Dick stood and, after throwing an annoyed look in her general direction, headed back towards their shared bedroom. "I know it. I would've noticed something before now."

Her voice floated down the corridor, but the words were foggy as he ran through his itinerary, thinking of everything he owned and where a will could be kept. There were maybe five or six plausible things for it to be in, but only two made sense. Dick, upon entering, opened up the nightstand's drawer and pulled out his picture frames.

His parents with himself. Him and Bruce. First, he set hands on the picture of his parents, knowing that would be the wrong one. He peeled off the backing and found nothing but the picture itself. Dick took a moment to look at his family, realizing that he'd always look so much like his father; he scarcely bore any of his mother's traits, just her skill in acrobatics.

He put it away.

And for a long moment, Dick stared at the picture of him and Bruce, reminiscing of that day. He almost didn't want to open up this frame, afraid that he might actually find it. If he did, he'd have to give up this new life. Heroing. His new family. This life was almost perfect. No, he wasn't living a rich life; no, he wasn't getting everything he wanted. But he was happy. And he wanted it to stay like that.

Finally, the realization of what finding the will meant dawned on him. Bruce's final words. His own destiny.

Dick stared at the picture and traced Bruce's face. Then, he put both frames away, never opening the second.


A/N: Leave a review? Thanks for following this as long as you have, guys…

~Sky