Content Warning: Thoughts of suicide, unconventional self-harm.

Dick Grayson

Location: ?

Date: ?

"Drink."

I sit bolt upright, coughing and spitting but there's nothing in my mouth, no bitter after-taste or fuzziness from the drugs. It would be like waking up from the world's easiest night sleep except for the one word command floating through my brain. Slade drugged me. He told me the water was drugged and I still drank it.

No. It wasn't real. It was a dream. It had to have been a dream, because this is my room. I'm in Wayne Manor, I'm home, and my world isn't ending.

It wasn't real. It wasn't. It can't have been.

I scramble for the light switch, pushing my sheets off and sending pillows tumbling to the floor. When the lights turn on, my heart stops. I'm wearing the same blue shorts and cotton t-shirt I wore to training yesterday. There are scraps of prewrap stuck to my wrists and tiny red welts in the shape of ropes along my elbows and knees.

It was real. It was real. Slade really… I was…

I suck in a breath and grab at my hair, trying to keep myself from panicking. As I turn, I notice the note on my bedside table. My hands are shaking when I try to pick it up, and I have to sit down to read it.

"Dick,

You were asleep when we got home last night and I didn't want to wake you. Stephanie's ballet recital went well. She's very talented and Alfred recorded the whole thing. It would mean a lot to her if you look at the video and come up with some specific compliments. Everyone missed you at dinner; Tim decided we were going to Mars 2112 in Midtown and it was a big success. Even Jason liked it, although he only rated their burgers an eight out of twelve on his rating scale. Hopefully, you won't have a mathletes competition for the next performance. It really was adorable.

I'm sorry again that I didn't remind you about it sooner. Hope you slept well and that you have a productive day today.

-Bruce"

Oh god.

Stephanie had a ballet recital last night. Alfred took videos on that old-timey camcorder he refuses to upgrade. Bruce took everyone out to a campy space-themed restaurant afterwards. My family was out having fun while I thought I was going to die alone in an underground bunker. Jason, Tim, Steph and Cassie were eating burgers while Slade broke me.

How did I even get home last night? Did Slade take me? Did he break into the house? Was he in my room? Did he put me in my bed while I was drugged and unconscious?

He knew nobody was home last night. He can get around the manor's security, especially if Hardison helped him hack in. What if he got into the batcave? What if he piggybacked onto the manor's security network? He could be watching me right now. He could be watching all of us, everything that we do. And I can't stop him. I can't tell Bruce or Alfred that he's watching us, because he'll see. He'll take me away and I'll never see any of them again.

Slade let me go. He let me go back to the manor and it wasn't because he trusts me to come back. He can take me anytime he wants. Nothing can stop him, not Bruce, not Batman, not the Justice League and not me.

He

owns

me.

I belong to him.

I sit on the ground, back pressed against the door while I try to remember how to breathe. When I bring my hands up to my face, I see the ink on the back of my left hand. For a horrible heart-stopping second, I think it's a tattoo. Then I realize it's a note, written in black sharpie.

"Today 2 pm"

Oh god. Get it off. I need it off.

Scalding hot water pours down over my head, making clouds of steam rise when it hits the cold tile. I stand numbly under the shower head and wish it was even hotter. I want the water to burn me, to eat through my skin like acid so I can dissolve until I'm just a puddle on the ground that gets flushed down the drain and disappears forever.

The left side of my body is numb from the heat, so I shift and pull my right arm under the jet. I bite my cheek to stop myself from screaming, but the pain still isn't enough. I'm dirty from the inside out and nothing is ever going to make me clean again. Everything is shaking and it has nothing to do with the hot water. I reach for the bottle of shampoo and it slips through my fingers, hitting the ground with a bang that scares me badly enough to break through the layers of numbness. My knees hit the ground, and then I'm on all fours on the floor of my shower, boiling water pouring over my back. Blood pools out from my scraped knees, swirling with the water and gliding across white tiles.

It's never going to be okay.

I don't know when I started crying, but now that I am, I'm sobbing. The water hitting the tile and the bathroom's ventilation cover the sound as I scream and sob and grab at my hair.

Slade owns me. I belong to him. He can do whatever he wants to me and I have to obey him because If I don't, he'll take me away forever. He knows everything about me; he didn't need to hurt me to break me. He just took everything away. All he had to do to break me was make me completely helpless and then wait.

I'm pathetic. I'm a monster. I'm a liar. I'm a traitor. I'm a mole, I'm a weapon that Slade can use to do whatever he wants. I can't stop him. I'm terrified of him, to find out what he'll do if I ever try to disobey him. I can't fight him, I can't get away from him, and I can't stop him. The only thing I can do is keep the act up as long as I can so he doesn't take me away from Bruce, from my family, my friends and from Robin.

My legs are blocking the drain and the water is rising. It's high enough to cover the fingers that are pressed tightly against the tile floor. All you need to drown is enough water to cover your nose and mouth. This is more than enough. I could knock myself out, make sure my body keeps the drain blocked, and never wake up. It would all be over. Slade can't hurt me if I'm dead.

My stomach churns violently at the thought and that's the only warning I get before I throw up.

The Haunt

My heart pounds and my breaths get shorter. Every step towards the office door echoes like a gunshot and I might as well be made of glass. My hand trembles as I reach for the doorknob. The door opens unceremoniously. My laptop is open for me on my desk. Slade doesn't look up when I walk into the office at 1:47pm, doesn't say anything at all. I sit in the folding chair, wincing at the loud squeak it makes. Slade doesn't turn and I let out a breath of relief. Hardison is waiting on me, so I launch the coding program and open the chat.

'Hey! Long time no see! Where you been, man?'

The casual banter sends me reeling. He sounds exactly the same way that he always does. Nothing has changed for him at all. The fact that my entire life is a lie and that Slade… owns me… none of that affects him at all.

He's waiting for a response, so I type.

'Busy.'

'No worries. We've got a lot to do today. I'm going to show you how to set up fake ID's, degrees, backgrounds and qualifications. It's kind of different than our usual but it's really important for you to know. Just in case.'

In case I need to run away and never be found.

'Alright. So first, we need to choose a name. I like using Doctor Who characters, cause then you can tell who the nerds are when you introduce yourself, but anything is cool.'

If this was any other day, in any other circumstance, I might have smiled. But now, I just feel numb. I'm not sure if numb is better than sick.

'John Doe.'

'Not what I was going for, but alright.'

Then he starts pulling up screens with different search bars and social media sites and code is flashing across the screen too fast for me to follow. He shows me how to start setting up a new identity building it from the bottom up. It's a complicated process. You have to falsify a birth certificate in the correct format, which apparently can be tricky because some places change the layout a lot and others have had the same format for centuries, and depending on how deep you go, you might need to add a hospitalization record for the fake pregnant mother. Then you need a passport, and a registered social security number, which is an entire lesson for another day. Once this is set up, then you have to create a background. This can be as simple as three or four social media accounts with registration dates falsified to look more than a day old. You can also fake school records, report cards, transcripts, a weird assortment of awards, work with community service groups, or anything else that leaves a trail to show the person actually exists.

'I do a lot of work with a grifter,' Hardison types midway through writing an article about Mr. Doe's victory in a local gardening competition, 'To sell the story, you need google results. If Sophie introduces herself as the CFO of Robotech, then there had better be some convincing results when the mark searches her or the con is blown.'

'Who's Sophie?'

'The CFO of Robotech.'

'Very funny.'

'As of right now, she is the CFO. In two days… she'll be something else.'

'And you'll have to make her a new ID?'

'You got it.'

He finishes the gardening article with the address of the community gardens somewhere in Oaksdale.

'And….'

The typing stops. I wait, but it doesn't continue. He probably wants me to post the article.

'What should the publishing date be?' I type.

He doesn't respond. I bite my lip and look over the screen carefully. Nothing changes. After a couple seconds, I glance to the side. Slade's desk is empty. I whip around, expecting him to be standing over me, but he's not there. The office is empty.

That's… weird. I didn't see him leave. I click refresh a few times, but Hardison still isn't responding. Slade's computer is still open to the page he was working on. I freeze. That's definitely not right. He's never left the page open if he isn't in the room. He always locks the computer if he's going to check something else. Something is wrong. Something is very wrong.

I leave the office and head towards the exit that leads back up to the garage. None of the doors are locked. I sprint up the stairs, taking them three at a time. Slade isn't in the fake office. My backpack is though, sitting right where I left it next to the door. And my phone is pinging like crazy. I grab my cell phone from the outside pocket and look down at the messages. I have five missed calls from Wally, Jason and Babs. I open messenger and see fifteen messages from Wally. They're a combination of "Where are you?" and "CAVE ASAP."

What the hell is going on?!

I grab my backpack and run outside. It looks like the end of the world. Four cars are piled up in the middle of the street, fenders and bumpers smashed in. A lamppost is knocked on its side and the street is flooding from where one car destroyed a fire hydrant. Kids are running around frantically, tugging at the car doors. Some of them are crying and they all look terrified. I run over to the blue Toyota, where a group of boys are trying to smash the window.

"What's going on?" I shout, trying to scare them off. A boy with a buzz cut, jeans and a faded soccer jersey points at the window.

"We gotta get her out!"

There's a toddler in her car-seat, screaming and crying. There's a cut on the side of her face and blood drips down her cheek. There's no sign of a parent.

"Get a coat hanger!" someone yells, and there's a flurry of action while someone runs into their apartment, then a dismembered coat hanger is being shoved through the window. The buzz cut kid pulls the car door open and frees the girl from her car seat, pulling her out of the wreckage. She screams and writhes and cries and he does his best to comfort her. I turn to the girl with the coat hanger. She might be twelve.

"Are there any more kids trapped?"

She shakes her head, frizzy black hair bouncing with the motion.

"She's the last one."

"What's going on?"

The girl looks at me, terror in her eyes.

"The grownups are gone."

I stare at her in shock.

Gone?

"What's your name?"

"Mimi."

"Okay. I'm Richard. Do you know where the high school is?"

She nods slowly, pointing towards Third Avenue. It's only a few blocks from here.

"Can you help me get as many people as possible there? We need somewhere that's safe for the little kids to keep them all together."

She nods, determination filling her eyes.

"Shaniya! Jacob!" she shouts and two kids her age run over. She starts giving them instructions, telling them to get their siblings and start directing people. Within minutes, all the kids in their neighborhood have started migrating towards the high school. Turns out Mimi is a natural and everything looks under control here. My phone pings again and it's another frantic text from Wally in all caps. Shit, I have to get to the cave. It takes me sixty seconds to sprint to the zeta beam, but it feels way too long. The other neighborhoods aren't nearly as well organized, and some of the car accidents look even worse than King Street. I don't have enough time to stop. Slipping on my sunglasses, I rush into the phone booth and slam the door.

"Recognized: Robin, B-01."

The light fades with a whir and suddenly a blur of yellow is smashing into me.

"Where have you been?!" Wally shouts, "Batman said you had work to do but then they disappeared and Jason had no idea where you were and Babs didn't know either!"

"Wally, I'm here now. And I set up a bunch of kids at Gotham North on the way."

"This is bad, Rob. I'm freaking out."

"So am I, but you have to start freaking in. We need to pretend to be calm for the rest of the world," I don't know how the words come out so smoothly. I've been numb since I first realized Slade wasn't at the computer. Wally nods.

"Get changed. Aqualad wants the three of us to do a full-coverage broadcast."

"Alright. Give me two minutes and I'll set it up."

Wally pulls his goggles down, "I'll go tell everyone you're here. They were worried."

"I'm sorry," I call after him as he speeds off.

I make my way to my room, shutting the door behind me. Bruce insisted that I keep a few spare uniforms in here. I guess he was right. I pull out my Robin uniform, but before I can put it on, it hits me.

All the adults are gone.

That means Bruce is gone, Alfred is gone, the Justice League is gone… and Slade is gone.

He's gone.

My legs give out and I drop to the floor for the second time in two days. He's gone. He can't hurt me. He can't do anything to me.

And I have to bring him back.

No.

Stop. Don't think about that. I'm Robin. It's Robin's job to save people and the entire world is counting on him. On me. I have a job to do and I'm going to do it, no matter what it costs me. For the people in danger and the lives at stake.

The Watchtower has a protocol for this. In case of emergencies, there's a program that will automatically connect the Justice League's broadcast channel to every TV, cell-phone and radio in the world. When I walk in, Kaldur puts a hand on my shoulder and says solemnly, "We were very worried. I'm glad to have you here."

Then we set up the emergency broadcast and walk to the center of the training floor. Kid Flash and I make our way to Aqualad's sides. He nods and I start the broadcast.

"Children and teenagers of Earth, I am Aqualad. These are my friends, Kid Flash and Robin."

"We are using Justice League tech to cast and stream to every TV, radio, smartphone, and computer on the planet," I say.

"We know you must be scared, and angry. We know that with your parents gone, there's a temptation to run wild, but please, stay calm," Kid Flash says.

"We will find a way to bring the adults back. But for now, the oldest among you must step up," Aqualad adds.

"Anyone with EMT training, no matter how basic, we will need your services to help anyone injured in car crashes. We will attempt to provide medical supplies to areas in need," Kid Flash instructs.

"Boy scout and girl scout troops. We are tasking you with setting up basic refuges inside high school gymnasiums. It will be up to you to organize the children in your areas," I say.

"Robin is developing an application to call for immediate aid. If someone needs medical assistance or emergency supplies, we will ensure that you get it. It is up to everyone to make sure that as many children as possible are accounted for. Make sure that all your siblings, friends and neighbors are accounted for."

"To anyone with experience with infants, please contact us immediately so that we can set up a care system for newborns."

"We have to work together to keep each other safe," I say.

"It is up to you," Aqualad finishes.

I cut off the transmission.

"It'll take me a few minutes to get the app running. I can just repurpose some of the code for our communicators."

"Good," Aqualad turns to Artemis and Zatanna, "Start setting up a refuge in Happy Harbor. Kid Flash, you do the same in Central city. Superboy, Miss Martian, the three of us will visit all the sites of major accidents and crash landings. Save everyone you can."

Just like that, the cave is empty, somber and silent. It takes me a few minutes to get the app running, and immediately it's downloaded thousands of times. Requests for aid start pouring in, and I project every message above the training floor. Most of them are supply requests. I apologize to Bruce for what this is going to do to his credit card bill, and open twitter. Wally convinced me, Roy and Kaldur to make superhero twitter accounts, and even though Robin has only posted once, I've already gotten ten-thousand followers.

"If you need emergency supplies, take what you need from local stores. Be reasonable."

And post.

It helps, and in the next few minutes most of the smaller supply requests have been resolved. But a lot of people still need help. Luckily, some junior EMT groups have started posting their locations on Facebook, so I can connect some of the emergencies to nearby help.

It's still not enough.

Kid Flash zooms back into the cave.

"Central city is set. I checked every car on the road and cleared out all the kids. A couple scout troops are making rounds. How did you think of that?"

"They've got some emergency training and uniforms," I point at the hundreds of emergency requests still floating in the center of the room, "We need to take care of these."

"Just tell me where."

And he's off.

Over the next two hours, I direct Kid Flash, Miss Martian, Superboy and Aqualad around the globe to rescue kids in need and bring them to safety. When Artemis and Zatanna get back, I send them out to organize the babysitters who responded to our request. Soon, the enormous maternity ward at Yale New Haven Hospital is packed full of newborns and infants, with an army of six hundred teenage volunteers keeping watch over them.

At four sixteen in the afternoon, the emergency requests run out.

My eyes burn from staring at the screen for so long and my back is aching, but I can finally let out a breath.

"Return to the cave," I announce over the comm link, "That's the last of them."

I open the direct link to the batcave, crossing my fingers that I'll get an answer. I need to make sure that they're okay. Jason's face fills the screen.

"What took you so long?!" he shouts. Cassie whimpers off screen and he turns to her with an apology.

"I'm so sorry guys. I've been organizing rescues."

"Babs and Bette brought fifty kids to the manor. It's closer than Gotham Academy," Jason reports, ignoring my apology.

"Is everyone okay?"

"Most of the rich kids stayed in their houses. All the high schools are packed with kids. Did you see that SafeRides is trending on the app store? Anyone with a license can volunteer to drive kids who are stranded and the call centers are packed."

"That's great," the ball of worry in my chest finally starts to loosen. No matter what else is happening, my family is safe.

"People are actually pretty calm. That was a good speech," Jason gives me a small, reassuring smile.

"Thanks, Jay. I have to go now. The Team is doing everything we can to bring the adults back. Everything is going to be okay."

"Good luck."

"Can you try Zatara's locator spell?" I ask Zatanna.

"It's more than just the words to the spell! It takes training and years of work. Robin, I'm just not on Zatara's level."

"Look, I know it's hard but try to stay whelmed. We'll find your dad, Batman, all of them. It's what we do."

"How are you so calm right now? The whole world is counting on us! What if we can't fix this?! Why aren't you scared?"

Why am I not scared? Because this is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Miss Martian turns away from the disaster tracker to give me a worried glance, but I shake my head at her, just small enough that Zatanna won't notice.

"I told you, Zee. This is part of the gig," I say with a comforting smile and after a second, Zatanna nods back with renewed determination. I can feel Miss Martian's eyes on my back but she doesn't say anything, either out loud or through a mindlink.

"Can you give me a minute to figure out the spell?" Zatanna asks.

"Take all the time you need," Miss Martian answers kindly.

Zatanna nods firmly and heads towards the empty living room. On the holographic disaster tracker, blue dots representing our teammates race from one red spot to the next. Kid Flash and Artemis are covering a traffic pileup in Midtown, while Superboy and Aqualad took the bioship to stop a dam from breaking in Colorado.

"Are you okay?" Miss Martian asks softly once our newest teammate is out of earshot.

"I'm fine."

"That's… not what I meant. You don't want this to end, do you?"

"M'gann…"

"He's gone, isn't he?"

"Yeah. He is. And we're doing everything we can to bring him back."

"I'm sorry, Robin."

I sigh, sitting against the wall of the briefing room. I let my head rest on the rocks, staring at the disaster alert system on the training floor. The holographic globe spins and the blue dots are moving again.

"I could run. Right now. I'd just put together a disguise, take a zeta and lay low until he gives up looking."

M'gann sits across from me where she can watch the entrances in case anyone comes back.

"Where would you go?" Her voice is full of concern, but also a hint of encouragement.

"I don't know. I could leave the country, hide out somewhere in Europe. Maybe I could move to Amish country. Somewhere that I can stay off the grid, where he wouldn't be able to track me down."

"Everyone would try to find you. Not just him. Batman and the rest of the League would stop at nothing to find you."

I hug my arms around my knees.

"I know. I'm not going to run, I just… I'm so tired, M'gann. I…" I let out a soft laugh full of self-hatred, "I don't want to run. I don't want to lose my family again, or my life, or any of you guys. Besides, the kind of setup I'd need to do; put together safe houses, get enough food, cash, setup fake id's, try and start my life over… If I did it, it'd be too tempting not to use it. And I don't want to run."

M'gann is quiet for a while. Then she asks, "If something does happen… what would you do? Please, I need to know."

"Like if I ran away from everyone?"

"Yeah."

"I'd get out of town. Gotham is the center of everything, I'd have to leave. But not too far. No zetas, nothing related to Robin. Maybe a taxi or a train or something. I don't know. M'gann, I can't run away," I snort, "You know, for the first time in years, I can do whatever I want. There's nobody telling me what to do or where to go or what lies to tell, and instead of being free, I'm doing everything I can to bring him back."

"You need to tell Batman, or the League. This had to end."

"No!"

She jumps at the anger in my words, the terror that only knows one way to express itself.

"I can't."

M'gann is quiet for a second.

"Something happened, didn't it?"

I can feel the collar around my neck and the metal restraints digging into my wrists and knees and stomach and my fingers are tingling from being bound together. He could have changed his mind yesterday. He could have left me in the room until I died. He could have let me starve for a few days too. It would have taken at least three days for me to die of thirst. If I hadn't broken, he would have done it. I would be stuck there right now, not knowing that Slade had disappeared along with all the other adults on the planet. I wouldn't know that my teammates were fighting to bring them all back, and they wouldn't know that my life depended on them.

Keeping my face as blank as I can, I tell her, "You were right. He's using me and I can't stop him. Anything I do will only make it worse."

"Listen to me, Robin. You have to get help."

I shake my head, "I can't. We have a deal, and if I tell anyone, he doesn't have to hold up his end anymore. He'll take me and nobody can stop him."

"What if someone else went to the League for you? He would never know. The League can come up with a plan without him ever knowing. They'll keep you safe."

"Are you offering?"

M'gann pales and my stomach churns with guilt.

"I…" She takes a deep breath and then nods firmly, "If that's what you need me to do, I will."

"But they'd need to know why I told you and no one else or they'll accuse you of reading people's minds without permission," I mutter, looking at the ground. At best, the entire League would lose trust in her. At worst, they'd push until they found out her secret and she'd be sent back to Mars and Slade would come for me anyway. M'gann nods shakily, chest moving up and down rapidly. I shake my head.

"No. It means everything to me that you're willing to risk your secrets for me but I can't let you do that. I know what Earth means to you. I know what we mean to you."

"Robin, this might be your only chance. There's no way he's watching right now and we'll delete all the footage of this when it's all over. If you want to have a chance at stopping him, you have to do something now."

"I know," I take a deep breath, mind racing. The answer is obvious and painful and beyond terrifying. If Slade ever finds out I did this, he'll… But he won't find out. Ever. If this is the only thing I can hide from him, I'll do whatever it takes.

"Wally. It has to be him. I'll leave a note in his wrist compartment. It shouldn't take him too long to find it, and you won't have anything to do with it."

I stand up, turning towards the hallway that leads deeper into the mountain.

"I'll call everyone in. We need to be ready as soon as Zatanna can do the spell," Miss Martian hovers into the air and floats over to the computer console.

"I'll be back in a minute."

'Good luck, Robin,' she whispers through the mind link, flooding me with strength.

The Zeta-beam activates as I return to the briefing room. Superboy steps through, followed by Aqualad. They're both wet and muddy but they're okay. There's no sign of bleeding, at least. Artemis and Miss Martian are standing by the computer, whispering back and forth. Kid Flash waves me over to the computer and starts recapping the infrastructure damage he passed on the way back from Maine. I type notes into the computer for Batman to look over later, adding them onto the list of damaged sites the Team found earlier.

"Robin? I'm ready to try my father's locator spell," Zatanna says, approaching the computer. Aqualad nods at me. I open up the globe hologram. As it expands, Zatanna walks forwards slowly. She nods, takes a deep breath and raises her arms, pointing her wand towards the globe.

"Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros!" Zatanna cries. A red circle appears on the map.

"Coordinates locked. Roanoke Island," I announce, "You did it."

Zatanna beams and Aqualad starts to give assignments.

"It works!" a kid shouts.

We all whirl around. There's a ten-year-old standing in the middle of the cave. For a second, I think it's Tim. Aqualad stalks forwards dangerously.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" He demands.

The kid- Billy Batson- turns to Miss Martian, "Quick, read my mind!"

The Team is so focused on her that none of them hear when I start to say, "He's Captain Marvel."

"He's Captain Marvel," Miss Martian gasps.

Kid Flash rolls his eyes," Yeah, and I'm "Speedy Gonzales," Look, just because he believes he's Cap-"

Billy grins mischievously, "Gee, Wally. Do I really have to bring you nachos and pineapple juice to get on your good side?"

"He's telling the truth," I say. The Team whirls around to look at me.

"You knew?!" Billy exclaims in shock.

By way of explanation, I shrug, "Batman."

"No fair," Billy whines. Then he shakes his head, remembering why he was here.

"There are two dimensions, one for adults and one for kids! Batman and Zatara are in the cave, waiting for me to go back."

The Team lets out a collective sigh of relief, hearing that all the adults are okay. The atmosphere is still heavy, though. Billy's eyebrows lower.

"What…what's wrong?"

"There have been a great many children that we could not save," Aqualad tells him, "We have done our best, but many are still unaccounted."

Billy's eyes fill with sadness, but he nods his head in determination, "Then there's no time to waste. SHAZAM!"

Blue lightning appears out of nowhere and strikes him. He disappears.

If I'm being honest with myself, I don't want this to end. I'm not ready to go back. Klarion, the evil lord of chaos, can sense it. He knows with the first projectile throw that I'm not all in to this fight. He knows I'm an easy target. He blasts us with red lighting, knocking me and Artemis into the air. I land on the ground heavily, my head smashing against the dirt. Artemis helps me up and I can barely stand on my own. My stomach growls and my head is throbbing. Superboy is wrestling with the Klarion's monster cat, and he's losing badly. The rest of the team tries to fight back.

I'm exhausted and I can't follow who's doing what, but I can tell that we are hopelessly outmatched. The crystal in the center glows with power and then electricity is arcing out of it and slamming into me. This time, I don't get back up.

There's a blast of searing light that forces me back to consciousness. Artemis lets out a gasp and wakes up too. I reach out and we pull each other back up to our feet. Batman is back. So are Zatara and Red Tornado and Captain Marvel. The pentagram has four more wizards in it, but they're all slumped to the ground. Klarion is bound in Doctor Fates' glowing ankh, but with a snap of his fingers it disappears. He makes his escape unhindered, mocking us.

Kid Flash yells, "Aren't you going after him?"

"To what end? Klarion is chaos personified. He cannot be contained," Doctor Fate responds. I let out a groan at the pain coursing through my body from the lightning.

"Did we win?" I ask groggily.

"At a cost," Aqualad responds. We all turn to see Doctor Fate hovering in the sky, her black hair streaming behind her.

No! Zatanna!

Zatara steps forward. We watch in horror as he bargains with fate for his daughter's life. Then he sacrifices himself for her.

"Remember… I love you," he says.

Then he's gone. I grab Zatanna as she collapses, guiding her slowly to the ground. Artemis and Kid Flash appear at her sides.

It's over. In more ways than one.

"I'm glad you're safe," Batman says back at Mount Justice after we've all returned.

He asked me to come with him on the Batwing, but I refused. Batman and Red Tornado flew back to the cave alone, while we loaded Zatanna into the bioship. Captain Marvel turned back into Billy, and refused to leave her side. It was a short flight from Roanoke Island to Mount Justice, which is good because nobody was brave enough to break the silence.

I remembered the pain I felt when I was eight, watching my parents fall to their deaths and realizing they were never coming back. I remember how it felt to be totally alone and scared. I didn't think I'd ever be able to be happy after that. But it was a long time ago and I'm not alone anymore. I get to see Bruce and Alfred again.

But that's not what makes me a monster. What makes me a monster is the fact if it had just been up to me, I don't know that I would have brought the adults back.

We arrive safely back at the cave and the ship opens into the hangar. The entire Justice League is waiting for us, including Red Arrow. Black Canary is the first to come forwards. She holds her arms out to Zatanna, who throws herself into the embrace and starts sobbing. Canary leads her slowly down the hallway towards the living room to calm her down. Then it turns into a bit of a free for all.

Batman won't hug me in front of the team, but he says, "I'm proud of you," and that's almost better except for the horrible guilt and sorrow that still won't go away.

M'gann shoots into her uncle's arms, the Flash zooms forwards and grabs Wally in a supersonic hug, Artemis is detangling her bowstring from Green Arrow's quiver, which must have gotten stuck when he gave her a hug and then a noogie. Aquaman shakes Aqualad's hand firmly and they talk quietly, extreme relief on both their faces. Then Roy grabs Kaldur's shoulder and spins him around roughly and then they're… making out?!

When did that happen?!

The League goes silent for a second. Then Aquman steps forwards with a grin, holds out his hand and tells Green Arrow, "You owe me twenty dollars."

Green Arrow grumbles but gives him the money.

Wonder Woman decides that she's waited long enough. She puts a hand on Batman's shoulder to nudge (by which I mean shove) him out of the way, then grabs me in an enormous hug.

"Thank Hera you're safe."

"You too."

I almost expect a hug from Superman too, but he's not behind Aunt Diana. I turn around to look and the sight is enough to break through everything and make me smile.

"Batman!" I hiss, "Look!"

Superman is smiling nervously, his hand partially outstretched. And he's talking to Superboy. Conner looks dumbfounded, but then he has the happiest smile I've ever seen. He shakes Superman's hand and looks like he won the lottery. After a few minutes, Batman clears his throat. The crowd of heroes slowly quiets down.

"We will debrief tomorrow. For now, go home. Spend some time with your families," he pauses, "We are all very proud of your performance."

He turns to me.

"Let's go home."

The second we get into the Batcave, Bruce pulls the cowl down and grabs me in his arms. I press my cheek against his chest and close my eyes. It's over. Bruce is here.

"I was so scared," he says quietly. The absurdity of Batman being scared of anything makes me jerk out of his grip to look at his face. The lines around his mouth are pulled tight and his face is pale.

"You were?"

"One second, the whole Team was standing there and the next, they all vanished. I thought the League specifically was being targeted and that you, at least, were safe," he shakes his head, "Then Alfred called in a panic, Jason, Tim, Stephanie, Cass, they all just disappeared and he couldn't reach your phone," he sighs heavily, "I've… thought about what it would be like to lose you. I never imagined how horrible it actually was. I was afraid, Dick. I was so afraid that I would never see any of you again."

Tears start to well up in my eyes.

"Bruce…"

"I am so proud of you, Dick. I could not have asked for a more incredible son. I know I'm not always the best father, but I need you to know that I love you. I would do anything to keep you safe."

He hugs me again and I almost break down sobbing. I want to tell him the truth, ask him for help, let him keep me safe while he and the Justice League take Slade down for good.

But the Batcave is bugged. Slade is watching. They can't stop him. I can't tell Bruce.

"We should go upstairs. I'm sure Alfred is desperate to see you."

Mount Justice

Sunday, November 4th, 2012

I follow M'gann and Artemis down the hallway, all of us carrying boxes of Zatanna's stuff. We pass the souvenir room where Wally is standing in uniform, a sippy cup in his hands. I'll have to ask him about that later. We make our way to Zatanna's new room and unload the boxes.

"My room is right next door, if you need anything," M'gann says comfortingly.

"Thanks, I, uh, could use a little alone time, okay?" Zatanna responds slowly.

"Of course," Artemis answers. She and M'gann leave. I follow slowly, but I stop in the doorway. I know how you feel, I want to say. I lost both my parents. I was alone. I'm here for you.

But the words don't come.

The door slides shut behind me. Soft sobs emanate through the closed door. The three of us look at each other sadly, then make our way past M'gann's room to the kitchen. Suddenly, there's a loud crash, then another, then the sound of something heavy hitting the floor from the souvenir room. Together, we turn around and sprint to it. It's a disaster. One of the shelves is hanging off the nail, and all the other shelves got knocked out of place, sending their contents to the ground. Wally is on the floor in the middle of the pile, his arm grasping at the remaining shelf.

"Wally!" M'gann exclaims, "Are you okay?!"

The food container on his arm is open. There's a piece of paper in his hand, crushed in a death grip. He turns towards us, his green eyes going straight to me. They're filled with horror and disbelief and desperation, searching for answers or confirmation or proof or some sign that's it not some terrible prank.

I turn away.

"I'll go get Aqualad."

As I walk down the hallway, my heart is pounding with adrenaline and fear and hope. Wally knows. My life is in his hands now. I just have to trust him.

It's up to him.

AN: This chapter got a little intense, so let's slow it down a little for the next one. The next chapter will be a bit of a break from all the stuff going on with Dick and a glimpse into the mind of the other characters.