Bruce dropped the gun. The unused gun. He felt like he couldn't breath as panic swelled up inside him.

Joker's eyes were wide and starting to glaze over. His hands gingerly touched the steadily growing red circle on his chest. His breath got ragged and he started coughing. A red drop appeard on his lips, then another and another.

Jason couldn't breath. He couldn't comprehend what had just happened. His mouth was opened in a shocked 'O'.

Joker's legs gave away and he fell with a surprised sound, a laugh and scream at the same time. This was not what he had expected, but a win either way he looked at it, maybe even better.

Dick shook. What had he done. His hands trembled and he felt cold, so cold.

Bruce's eyes found Dick's.

Jason fixed his gaze on the gun that slowly fell out of Dick's grip.
The gun Batman had thrown away earlier.

The doors were pushed open and the Young Justice team, Batgirl, Red Robin and Robin, who had heard the gunshot, entered, looking slightly beaten up. "Scarecrow is down."

Then eight eyes landed on the bleeding man on the ground.

Silence.

"What happened?"

There were three guns. One next to Batman, one next to Dick and one next to Jason, dropped from Joker's still warm hand.

"Who..."

"I did it."

Everyone snapped their heads in Batman's direction. "I killed him."

The words sounded muffled in Dick's ears. He had killed. Dick had killed someone. He had crossed that line. His breath quickened and he began to panic.
What would everyone think of him, what would Bruce think?

Warm hands were on his arm. "It's okay, Dicky-bird." Only a whisper. "Bruce took the blame." Jason's voice sounded far away.

He began to tremble harder, eyes unfocused. "No." Barely loud enough for Jason to hear. A whimper. "I didn't aim for... I didn't want to... That's not..."

Then everything went black and Dick slumped against Jason, who winced at the extra pressure on his chest, but put his arms around his brother nevertheless, pulling him as close as possible.

Jason knew that things would change now, Dick would change. But he would be there for every step of the way.

Thirty minutes earlier with the team:

The team met a few minutes after Artemis had warned them that the Joker was advancing on their location and were now discussing what to do. Red Robin, Batgirl and Robin- it was still weird for Artemis to call anyone but their Robin Robin- wanted to follow Joker and Batman, so they would lead them straight to Dick and Jason, not caring about possible consequences, but Aqualad was reasoning against them.

"It's too dangerous. None of us are bullet proof, except for Superboy, and he and Kid Flash are also the only ones who would be fast enough to dodge a bullet." Damian crossed his arms and growled, "We are very much capable of dodging bullets. I was trained by the League of Assassins and by the Batman himself, so do not underestimate me."

Aqualad didn't flinch at the mini bat-glare directed his way. "Robin got shot, too and he trained longer than you." Damian's glare intensified. "If you do not intend to find my br- Grayson and Todd, then step out of the way, because I will not hesitate to hurt you if you try to stop me."

Tim rolled his eyes, shifting his weight slightly as he laid a hand on Damian's shoulder, who shrugged it off. "Don't touch me," he hissed, teeth bared. Tim wasn't fazed. "Could you stop fighting. The Demon Spawn and I will go, whether you like it or not. You can either help us, or turn a blind eye and do nothing as your teammate gets killed." There was a clear warning in his tone. He would stop at nothing to get to his brothers and if the team stood in his way, then he'd take them down, too.

Aqualad pursed his lips, but before he could say anything, Wally decided to stop this argument. "We will all go, no discussion. Rob would do the same for us." Aqualad agreed reluctantly. It was not like he didn't want to save Dick and Jason, he just didn't want anyone else to get hurt. He was the leader after all, so he had the responsibility to keep his team save. He would always give his own life, but he knew that that wasn't an option, not now.

They were so caught up in their discussion, that they didn't hear the quiet pffff of eight smoke bombs releasing their toxic content into the room. When they did notice, it was already too late.

"Why the hell is it getting misty?!" panicked Wally, stepping away from the white gas nervously, his feet twitching as if to say 'We are ready to run at any second.'

Artemis narrowed her eyes to see through the thickening fog while notching an arrow. Her eyes landed on one of the bombs where the gas had been kept in. She quickly pressed her lips together and hold her breath as she read the initials carved into the metal. JC/FG. "Everybody, don't breath! This is fear gas!" she screamed, drawing back the string of her bow and scanned the room to look for an exit, but the fog was too thick now and she wasn't able too see more than what was right in front of her. She could feel her heart beating rapidly and her lungs began to protest, demanding for air. She took a few steps back, but tripped over something, falling to the floor with a yelp, inhaling the toxin in the process. Then she saw nothing.

Artemis opened her eyes and took a deep, hasty breath. Her head was throbbing and she gently messaged her temples, looking around. She frowned once she saw that she was standing on a building, looking down at the deserted streets of Gotham.
She seemed almost... peaceful.

The light of the moon illuminating the city, the dark night bright through the stars, it created a safe, comfortable atmosphere. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" She slightly turned her head at the familiar voice. "Hm," she hummed in agreement, not taking her eyes off the city. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be out with Batman?"

Robin stood next to her, his gaze catching every little movement in his city. He didn't answer her, just smiled sadly. Artemis frowned. Something was off about him, she just couldn't quite place a finger on it.

Robin plopped down on the ledge of the roof and let his feet dangle over the edge. He didn't face her as she sat down beside him, his face was hidden by his raven black hair. "I don't want to leave," he whispered.

Artemis arched her eyebrow in confusion. "Why would you leave?" He cocked his head to the side over so slightly, as if he wanted to look at her, but something was holding him back. "They fell, you know. I love being in the air, flying around Gotham, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. It's the only place where I actually feel safe, but at the same time, it's the only thing I'm terrified of. Dying like they did. Falling."

Artemis didn't need to ask who he was talking about, she just knew. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, shivering at how cold he felt. "You don't wear the name Robin for nothing. Birds don't fall, you've proven that the night your parents died. You never fell and you never will. I know you and I believe in you." She smiled and gave his shoulder an encouraging squeeze. "Thank you." He paused for a second. "I won't fall, I won't fail... but you will."

Artemis froze, her heart forgetting to beat for a second. "What?" she asked sharply, taking her hand away. "You'll fail, Artemis. That's what you're afraid of, isn't it? Failing everyone, becoming just like your father and sister. Failing the team, betraying them. That's what you're afraid of and that's why you'll fail." She tried to swallow, but her muscles didn't listen to her. "Why are you saying that?"

The corners of his lips twitched and Artemis slowly stood up, backing away from the still sitting Boy Wonder. "You're strong, Artemis, but you are denying who you are."
"I am not like them." She had finally recovered from her shock and anger replaced her confusion. Her eyes were cold and her voice laced with ice. "And whatever you say won't change that, so back off." Robin shook his head, pushing himself off the ground, his back still facing her. "You aren't listening, Artemis. You aren't like them, but you still let them control you. You are afraid that if you even make one mistake, or step out of line the tiniest bit, the team will kick you out, that they'll think that you are just like the rest of your family, not trustworthy. But if you want them to trust you, you have to trust them first."

Artemis blinked. She didn't know what to say. Was it true, did she really not trust the team enough to actually be herself? Did she even knew who she really was? "They will accept you the way you are, because-" suddenly, he began to cough and toppled over, clutching his chest. Artemis was pulled out of her stupor and ran to his side, catching him before he could fall and slowly lowered him to the ground.

"Robin?!" she cried, gently rubbing soothing circles on his back, looking around for anyone to help, but there was no one in sight. A coughing fit ragged his body again and Artemis took his hand in hers, but recoiled as she felt something sticky and warm on her fingers. Blood. Her stomach churned and she began to panic.

"Robin! What is wrong?!" He lifted his head, his eyes still covered by his midnight black bangs. Artemis almost gagged as he grinned, blood running down his chin and dropping to the floor. "You'll fail if you hold yourself back." His face twisted and he bit his lip; hard. "Robin? Robin?!"

"Back," he gasped out, caughing again and staining Artemis' green suit. The archer quickly stood up a bit taller and pulled back Robin's shirt. She covered her mouth as a long, ragged cut appeared, running from his left shoulder blade to his right hip bone. "Oh God, what is happening?" She looked back at her friend's face. "I am dying."
"What?! B-but why?!"

Her breath quickened and she started to hyperventilate. This couldn't be happening. She was right there, but unable to do anything. She was failing. She ran her already blood red hands over her face, leaving red marks on her mask. "Blood on you hands," squeezed Robin out, smirking up at her. "My blood."

Artemis dropped to her knees, hugging her legs close to her chest, just like she did when she was a little girl, hiding from her father. She was a failure, he had told her that over and over again, until she finally believed it. "No, no, no, no," she muttered, rocking herself back and forth. Her hands shook as she pulled at her hair, the only sound being her ragged breathing and Robin's blood dripping on the floor. "Pull yourself together."

She looked up with watery eyes. "What?" she whispered, shocked at what she saw. The blood had disappeared from Robin and he stood at the edge of the building once again, but he wasn't wearing his usual Robin costume, instead, he wore the same outfit he'd worn during their mission at Haly's Circus. A performer's suit.

"Dick," she whispered, whipping away the tears, smearing both, tears and blood on her forest green mask. "What are you doing?"
He smiled at her and his crystal blue orbs shone softly in the city's light. And then it hit her what had been so strange about him the whole time. He wasn't wearing a mask!

"Safe me."
Artemis tried to stand up, but her legs felt like jelly and she had to support herself on the wall. "What do you mean?" Dick stepped closer to the edge. "Don't!" yelled Artemis as she took a step forward. "You can still do it, Arty. Just remember what I've told you."

"Why are you doing this?" She was close to tears, but none would fall.
"Me? You are doing this to yourself. I am just an image of your subconsciousness. I'm not real."

And then he jumped. Artemis screamed and lunged forward, her fingertips brushing Dick's, but she was too late. Time seemed to freeze around her, her heart stopping... then she heard the sickening crack of shattering bones and the smell of blood filled the air once more. And Artemis screamed.

Her eyes flew open and she looked around in panic. Her heart was racing and she felt like she'd been run over by a truck, or a hundred trucks. She suppressed the urge to groan in pain and closed her eyes once again, calming herself down by counting to ten and taking deep and steady breath. After she reached ten, she slowly blinked her eyes open, but didn't move. She knew that Scarecrow had to be near by.

She tightened her grip around her bow which she hadn't let go during her nightmare. She glanced around, but kept her head still, feigning unconsciousness. It was hard to see through the gas, even if it was slowly fading away, so she concentrated on her other senses. She could hear the quiet whimpers of her friends and scowled deeply. She hated fear gas.

And then she heard it, a quiet and dark chuckled, coming from her right. She smirked inwardly as she slowly, careful not to alert the man, moved her bow with the already notched arrow. She breathed in threw her nose and released the air through her mouth again as she steadied the bow. Artemis still hadn't moved her head, but she could see Scarecrow from the corner of her eyes and she could hear his insane chuckles.

And then she fired the arrow. She heard wailing and quickly jumped to her feet, even if she felt a bit dizzy thanks to the gas that still hadn't fully vanished. She slowly and carefully walked over to a knocked out Dr. Crane, who was snoring on the ground. "Tranquilizer arrows are more effective than I thought." She kicked his side, but he didn't response, only turned over and curled in a ball, continuing to snore loudly. "Disgusting," she muttered.

Then she walked over to the other teens and tried to wake them up. It took some time, but in the end, everyone was alive and kickin'. A bit shaken up, but no one would suffer any permanent damage.

"I officially hate fear gas," announced Wally, running his hands up and down his trembling arms. Tim nodded. "Yeah, defenitifly not my favorite weapon to be used against me, but you'll get used to it." The team looked at him sceptically, but Tim just shrugged. "I am taking from experience here, it gets better."

And then they heard the gunshot.

A/N: I know that it wasn't the typical fear gas vision, but I kinda liked it, it was something different and yeah...
DICK SHOT THE JOKER! What do you think?