AN: I tried something different this time. There is not much about Tula on the show so she is a bit of a blank slate. I tried to do her justice and to make her into a sympathetic character.
Tula's death and the fallout for the team is something very interesting I wanted to explore and which I haven't seen addressed in a lot of fanfiction? Maybe I'm overseeing it and there are actually many great works out there dealing with all this angst. So if someone's got a recommendation…
Tula also was a great way to show how all the pain I've put Dick through changed him.
19. Tula
Tula had never left Atlantis but hearing Kaldur's stories from the surface world made her hungry for adventure. Her life in Atlantis seemed too small. Too sheltered.
Garth had been skeptical when he had heard about her plans. But she had told him that she wanted to find something more meaningful. Something with a purpose. Protecting the people of the surface world as Aquagirl seemed like the perfect opportunity.
In addition, she could spend more time with her childhood friend. Kaldur was far too busy these days leading his team. After hearing him ramble about his team for years (as much as Kaldur could ramble), she wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
So, she accompanied him to 'the Cave' to introduce her as a new team member.
"Don't be nervous", Kaldur smiled, "You'll make a great addition to the team. And they're good friends."
One after another, the zeta announced the arrival of the team. M'Gann was the most enthusiastic. She floated over to Tula and started a conversation with her. Tula felt a weight on her chest lessen. Now, she only needed to win over the other members of the team.
Connor stayed silent but nodded respectfully at her. He seemed to be a stoic type. Wally and Artemis mostly stayed to themselves. They whispered to each other deep in conversation. At first, Tula wondered if she had done something wrong.
Then, Artemis took Wally's hand in a comforting gesture and it occurred to her that the two were occupied with something that wasn't Tula's business. She tried to offer them some encouraging smiles.
They were waiting on Nightwing. He was patrolling Blüdhaven again after he had recovered from his injuries.
"It's not like N to be late", Artemis frowned.
Wally said: "Blüdhaven is even more of a hellhole right now than it usually is. Every petty criminal crawled out of the woodwork while Rob was out of commission."
Tula bit her lip. She had heard about the conflict that had torn the Justice League apart. The video had made it even to Atlantis. Every sea dweller had seen it. She couldn't imagine how humiliating that must feel.
The computer voice announced Nightwing's arrival. He was bandaging his wrist while stepping out of the tube. A shallow cut that was still bleeding permeated his forehead. Even with the mask, she could see that he was in a bad mood.
"Sorry, guys. Blüdhaven is an experience right now", he forced a smile.
"It's fine", Kaldur said.
Nightwing nodded at Tula still fiddling with his wriest: "Hi. Nice to meet you."
How should she react to a guy whom she had watched being beaten to a pulp in full cinematic glory? She had seen glances of Nightwing – or Robin –when she had visited Kaldur but she had never interacted with him. Should she offer her condolences?
The words spluttered out of her mouth: "I'm Tula. Aquagirl. I'm really sorry about what happened."
Shit. She had really screwed up. Way to destroy a possible friendship with one of her new teammates forever.
The awkward moment seemed to drag on until eternity with the rest of the team watching them.
Nightwing simply nodded and turned to Kaldur. Tula didn't know what to make of his reaction. He reminded her of the clips of Batman she had seen. During League conferences Batman – if he was there – would stand aside letting Superman and Wonder Woman do the talking while he occasionally nodded. Apparently, his behavior had washed off on his protegee. Strange.
Kaldur had told her that Nightwing – then Robin – was the light to Batman's dark. Someone to balance him out. She didn't see it.
She found herself watching him closely. Maybe because he was clearly troubled. Or because he was the only teammate who was still a question mark. It bothered her that he was the only one whose secret identity she didn't know.
Kaldur thankfully took control of the situation: "I have a pleasant announcement to make."
"We also have one", Artemis fastened her grip on Wally's hand, "Ours should be first."
Nightwing crossed his arms.
Wally stepped forward: "Artemis and I have decided to quit the Team."
"We want to concentrate on university", Artemis said, "Our lives have never slowed down since we've joined this team. And we loved every second of it. But Wally and me we have been helping others for a long time. Now we want to focus on our own lives a bit."
The team seemed shocked. Except for Nightwing who had probably already known.
M'Gann pulled Artemis into a hug: "I'm gonna miss you."
"We'll still be friends. This is not a goodbye."
"Who's gonna watch GossipTalk with me?"
"I could if you don't mind", Tula bit her lip, "I would like to join the team. I- I've already spoken with Kaldur about it."
"Really?", M'Gann seemed delighted, "I love making new friends."
Tula relaxed. She avoided looking at Nightwing who was still standing there with his arms crossed. He didn't seem hostile towards her. But there was something dark radiating off him. He was occupied. Tula wondered if he had always been like this or if recent events had changed him.
"I understand that these are quite some changes to digest. But I'm confident that we'll make it through", Kaldur looked at Wally and Artemis, "I understand your decision. Doesn't mean that I won't miss you though."
Artemis and Wally hugged their former teammates.
"You know you can talk to me anytime, dude", Wally said to Nightwing, "And stop with the Bat-brooding already."
"I'm not Bat-brooding."
"Your grumpy face could turn milk sour. You're still bleeding by the way."
"Shit", Nightwing touched the forehead wound, "Probably needs stitches."
Wally hit Nightwing's shoulder in a friendly manner. The speedster flinched and pulled back his hand. He stared at his friend's armored shoulder: "Man. That hurts. Do you have rocks under there?"
Nightwing laughed out loud. It caught Tula by surprise. Apparently, there was a lighter side to the vigilante. The recent events must have changed him. Tula's chest twisted in sympathy.
"You're an idiot", Nightwing was still laughing, "It's newly optimized Kevlar by the way. Did it myself to make sure that- You know."
Nightwing pulled Wally into another hug. He seemed almost panicked as if he was afraid of letting go.
"Call me", Wally said, "Or I'll run over to Blüdhaven."
Nightwing nodded putting his blank façade back on. He stayed like that even while Artemis and Wally left. There was a moment of silence as the team mourned the loss of two members who had been there from the beginning.
"OK", Kaldur said after a while, "It's time to train. This team needs to get used to its new line-up."
He put a hand on Nightwing's shoulder as they walked away: "Could I talk to you for a second, my friend? I have to ask for a favor. There's something I need-"
M'Gann and Connor exchanged a confused look. Something seemed to trouble their leader. Tula frowned. Which secret did her best friend withhold from her?
They went to the sparring room after Nightwing and Kaldur had returned. Tula forgot the incident due to the excitement of training with her new team.
Nightwing and Superboy were circling each other. Tula knew that the Bat and his protegee were capable but she wondered how a normal human could take down a half-Kryptonian. She saw it with her own eyes.
Connor used his strength against Nightwing while the other countered with pure precision and evasion that made her question if Nightwing could fly. Connor lunged at his opponent with his fist.
Nightwing stepped aside and pulled Connor forward using his own momentum against him. He kicked his feet out from under him.
"Superboy, fail"
"You're keeping yourself too open, SB", Nightwing said.
Connor nodded and took Nightwing's hand.
"Good work", a dark voice said.
Tula jumped. Batman was standing in the doorway looking at Nightwing. The younger one tensed.
"Can we talk?", Batman asked.
"We can't", Nightwing said.
Batman sighed: "I'm sorry for how I acted when I last saw you. You'll always have a space at home."
"Did you just apologize? Did Black Canary write your script or what?"
Batman looked at the rest of the team. He seemed to know that Nightwing would not have a private talk with him so he said: "I did apologize because I'm learning to admit when I was wrong. And I was very wrong."
"You don't get it, do you? You're still doing it", Nightwing lost his composure.
"We should really talk elsewhere."
"No. They should know that you're training another Robin."
They stared each other down.
Batman stepped back first: "I don't want to fight."
"Then stop repeating the same mistakes."
"The kid insisted on becoming Robin. He says Batman needs one to stay in the light and if I didn't train him, he'd go out anyway without the proper equipment or training."
Nightwing crossed his arms: "This is supposed to convince me?"
"It was the same with you."
"And how did this work out for Robin 2.0? Robin 3.0 could meet the same fate and I'll never let that happen to another kid."
Batman sighed.
Nightwing continued: "I can't believe we're numbering them now. You're already on the lookout for Robin 4.0 if 3.0 bites the dust?"
Batman was trembling as if he was trying to reign his anger in: "You are more than numbers to me. And you know that, Nightwing."
"Why are you here?"
"Because I want to make things right with you. I've been talking to Dinah and you-", he seemed to force the words out, "-were right about her helping. I resolved most of the problems. And you are the biggest priority to me."
Nightwing rushed towards the door: "I'm busy."
Batman put a gentle hand on his shoulder: "What about Robin 1.0? Do you think he's a mistake, too?"
Nightwing stayed silent.
Batman's face softened under the cowl: "Because I think that he turned out great."
Nightwing seemed to ponder for a moment. But then he shoved off Batman's hand and rushed out of the door.
Batman stayed there for a moment. He left as quietly as he'd come.
"What was that?", Tula said.
"It's the first time that you've witnessed a fight between Batman and Nightwing", M'Gann said, "And many will follow."
"It's a bit like an inauguration ceremony", Connor tried to joke.
"Welcome to the team", Kaldur said.
The next three months were exciting. Tula became great friends with M'Gann - and Connor often tagged along when they met up. Kaldur joined frequently. Nightwing never did. Batman often tried to talk to him but Nightwing always evaded him.
"Don't take it personally", M'Gann said when Nightwing didn't show up to the fifth movie night in a row, "He's still hurt from what happened with Batman. He's always had trouble letting people in but he's closed himself off more than ever."
"Usually, Wally talked him out of it", Connor sighed.
Tula felt bad for Nightwing – whose identity she still didn't know. She wanted to help him but she didn't know how.
Tula's time on the team was short. It happened when they fought Bane and his goons on Santa Prisca. They had found intel that indicated that Bane was in possession of Kryptonite. He had exchanged messages with an unknown business partner.
The team was heavily outnumbered when Bane spotted them. Bullets rained down on them. They took cover behind a crate.
While they were forced to stay put, Bane installed a bomb and fled the island.
The Team managed to knock out the shooters through their combined efforts. But Bane had been long gone – without the cargo at least.
Nightwing rushed towards the bomb examining it. Its timer counted down.
"Can you disarm it?", Kaldur asked.
They only had a minute left.
Nightwing's hands were as steady as his voice when he said: "No. It's too complicated to pull off within a minute. It's big enough to blow the whole island. Not even SB could withstand that heat."
"Retreat", Kaldur said.
"We can't leave them here", Tula looked at the knocked-out goons.
Kaldur looked regretful: "We have no choice or we'll be lost, too."
"There's another way", Tula carefully took the bomb.
"What are you doing?", Kaldur protested – together with the rest of the team.
"Saving human lives", Tula hurried towards the exit of the warehouse.
"NO", Kaldur tried to follow her, "It is my duty as team leader."
"Sorry, but I can't let you do this", she had always been quicker than him.
Connor tackled Kaldur to the ground. Her friend struggled and tried to push the half-Kryptonian off himself. Connor gave her a last respectful nod. It was comforting. At least now she knew that her friend would be safe.
Tula jumped into the water and dove as deep as she could - until she was sure that her friends wouldn't be harmed. It was the right thing to do. She would never let Kaldur die for her. Maybe it was selfish to instead die for him.
The bomb exploded and Tula couldn't withstand the heat. She didn't have any regrets. She had found her purpose.
