Wally West
Mount Justice
Saturday, November 3rd, 2012
The second Uncle Barry let him out of the hug, Wally was sprinting for his civvies. He changed so fast he thought the cast on his arm might catch fire from the friction, but he didn't care. His parents were back, and he needed to see them. Seeing the entire world separated and thrown into chaos, worrying that they'd never be able to fix it, watching Zatanna lose her dad to Doctor Fate, it was all too much for him.
How could Nabu have done that?! How close had Wally himself come to being the one trapped inside Fate's helmet, being the puppet of an illogical, impossible power inside his own body.
Wally shuddered and pulled his jacket over his shirt. He sped back to the main cave just as the zeta beam sent Artemis and Ollie to Star City. Red Tornado nodded at him and Wally sped onto the platform, waiting for the transport. The world turned a blinding white as the computer announced, "Recognized: Kid Flash, B-03."
Wally didn't waste a second when the zeta beam dropped him off inside the abandoned phone booth. He sped across Central City and zoomed to his front door, not caring if any of the neighbors saw.
"Mom?! Dad?!" he shouted, closing the front door behind him with a snap. His parents staggered out of the kitchen, holding onto each other for support. Relief flooded his body at the sight of them and a smile stretched across his face. He and his mom ran towards each other, enveloping each other in a hug that his dad joined a second later. They didn't say anything, just held on to each other. His mom's face was stretch taut with worry and the bags under his dad's eyes were darker than Wally had ever seen them. They looked like they'd been through hell. He probably didn't look any better.
Wally sat on his bed, scrolling through the news feed on his laptop. The muffled sound of the doorbell came through his closed door.
"I've got it!" Wally yelled, zooming to answer the door. The front door swung open, revealing his two oldest friends. Who apparently were dating each other and had never told him.
"Didn't think I'd be seeing you two lovebirds tonight," he grinned, clicking his tongue. Kaldur lowered his eyebrows, but Roy's fist shot out, punching him in the shoulder.
"Ow! Watch the arm!" Wally whined.
"Your cast is on the other arm," Roy retorted, "Don't be a baby."
"Hurtful, Roy," Wally pouted, rubbing his arm, "Other than assaulting me in my own home, do you guys have a reason for showing up?"
"There has been a new development," Kaldur said.
"Did the League catch Klarion?!"
"No. But it is good news."
Roy rolled his eyes.
"He's dying to tell you," he said, "Don't fall for the stoic hero bit."
Kaldur grinned wickedly, "You did not seem to have a problem with the way I expressed myself when we—"
"Ew! Ew! Oh god EW! Don't finish that sentence!" Wally shouted, covering his ears. Wally's mom walked out of the kitchen, covering the phone with one hand.
"Wally, who is it?" she whispered, then uncovered the receiver and said loudly, "Yes, Mom, I'm still on the line."
Her face lit up when she saw Kaldur and Roy standing in the entryway.
"Mom, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to call you back. Love you, ok, yeah, yes you too, ahuh, yes, Mom I really have to call you back later if you're still worried tomorrow we'll call the dermatologist, ok, yes I'll give Wally your love and I'll have him call you later, love you too, bye."
Wally grinned. He loved his grandma, but Eloise Prewett could talk for hours and she didn't spare any of the gritty details. Especially about her skin conditions. Wally's mom let out a huge sigh and set the phone down before smiling at Roy and Kaldur. She stepped forwards and gave them both enormous hugs.
"Thank goodness you boys are alright!"
"I'm glad to see that you are well, Mrs. West."
"Kaldur, call me, Mary. I feel like my mother-in-law when you say that."
Roy blushed when she hugged him, looking a little uncomfortable. He probably didn't get many hugs anymore. Aunt Dinah probably tried, but Roy had been in his "I'm too cool for hugs phase" for a while now.
"I technically never left," he pointed out, "I am eighteen."
"You'll always be a kid to me," she answered, "It's one of the perks of being a mom. Besides, I remember the first time Barry dragged you and Ollie over here for family dinner. You were so cute, oh and Iris spent the entire night trying to convince Ollie to bring Dinah around the next time. I've never seen that man look more embarrassed in his life."
"He doesn't do embarrassed. He prefers to be embarrassing."
"You just wait until you're a parent, Roy Harper. Every single thing you do will drive that child crazy. I can't even go out for karaoke night without giving Wally fits."
"Moooom," Wally whined, but he was grinning. Kaldur chuckled.
"Would you boys like to stay for dinner? It'll be ready in a few minutes."
"That would be wonderful, Mrs. West."
"Kaldur, call me Mary. We have this conversation every time you come over."
"I'm aware, Mrs. West," Kaldur answered like the troll he secretly was.
"What am I going to do with you?" Wally's mom laughed, "Dinner will be ready in twenty. And don't track mud upstairs. Rudy just vacuumed."
The three of them headed upstairs, and as soon as they were in his room, Roy pressed a comm link into Wally's hands.
"Call Dick. He's going to want to be on the line for this."
"They're giving us what?!" Wally almost fell out of his bed.
"The President is awarding the three of us the Presidential Medal of Freedom," Kaldur repeated stoically, but his twitching lips betrayed his excitement.
"Dude, I'm thirteen! I'm going to be the youngest recipient ever!" Dick crowed over the comm link.
"When?!" Wally demanded.
"The ceremony is at eight am tomorrow at the White House."
"But that's not the best part," Roy pressed.
"How is that not the best part?!" Dick exclaimed.
"They didn't invite Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman or Batman."
"Just the three of us?!"
"Just the sidekicks," Roy affirmed.
"No!" Dick said.
"Yes."
"No!" Wally repeated.
"Bet you wish you were a sidekick now, Roy!" Dick laughed.
Roy snorted in response.
"The majority of the founders have already been awarded this honor. I'm sure the President would have awarded it to the League again if he could," Kaldur reasoned.
"Come on, Kal!" Dick whined.
"Yeah! Don't pretend you're not excited!" Wally added.
Kaldur rolled his eyes and grinned widely.
"I admit, I never expected this when we started the team. I believed we would fight side by side along with the League."
"We've saved the world three times now, without our mentors," Dick added.
"We're heroes in our own right."
Mount Justice
Sunday, November 4th, 2012
When the zeta beam faded, Wally stared at the cave like he was seeing it for the first time. Next to him, Kaldur and Dick looked equally shell-shocked. He'd just shaken the President's hand. They were on national television, being celebrated as heroes.
Yesterday, it had felt like the world was ending. Wally never thought that he would ever be able to say it, but the Failsafe training had actually made all the difference for him. Yes, all the adults in the world had disappeared, but there were no alien mother-ships with death canons descending from the heavens. His friends were all alive and safe. They'd had a plan. Knowing that it could have been so, so, so, so infinitely worse made it easy for Wally to focus on what he had to do. And in the end, they saved the day.
"Where is everyone?" Kaldur asked, staring at the empty cave.
Dick paled.
"Zatanna's moving in today."
The words hit like a punch in the gut. While the three of them were being recognized on national television, Zatanna was mourning her dad. Wally's good mood evaporated and his stomach tightened. Kaldur nodded solemnly, shifting the case with the medal inside.
"I must take this to the Hall of Justice. I will be back soon to help."
He disappeared into the Zeta without another word. Dick pulled up his holocomputer, looking at the security feed of the mountain.
"The bioship just arrived. They probably brought all of her stuff."
They made it to the hangar bay just as the walkway opened and their teammates emerged, all piled with cardboard boxes. Wordlessly, the two of them grabbed boxes and helped unload the ship. They worked silently, as a team, to bring all of Zatanna's boxes to her new room. Wally wasn't brave enough to look at her.
It wasn't fair. None of it was fair. And he was a horrible person, because every time he thought about her father, being held captive inside an ancient magical artifact and possessed by a lord of order, the only thing he could think was "thank god it wasn't me."
Finally, the bioship was almost empty. M'gann, Artemis and Dick grabbed the last boxes and started to make their way to Zatanna's room. Conner met Wally's eyes sadly, but there was some happiness behind it. Remembering that Superman had finally acknowledged him yesterday, Wally suspected he knew the reason behind it.
"Congrats on the award," Conner offered.
Wally smiled back, "Thanks, Con."
Conner threw something at him. Wally caught it and looked down at the sippy cup one of the toddlers from Central City had given him.
"You left this on the bioship. Souvenir?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
Wally made his way to his souvenir room, mind flooded with memories of stranded, scared children. They couldn't save everyone. That knowledge sat heavily in his chest. But they did what they could, and Wally knew that even though the price was high, the League and the Team still wouldn't have done anything differently.
The world was safe for another day.
Wally placed the sippy cup gently on the open shelf and looked over his other souvenirs. When he'd started collecting things from missions, he never realized how many memories or how much weight they'd have. It was a little humbling. Not that he'd ever call himself humble. Wally's stomach growled suddenly. Luckily, he was in uniform. There should've still been a high-calorie protein bar in his wrist cupboard. He flipped it open and a folded scrap of paper fell out along with the bar.
"Huh."
How'd that get in there?
He bent over and picked it up, unfolding it with one hand. The writing was quickly scrawled and a little messy. Definitely Robin's handwriting. Figures. The ninja wanna-be (who actually was a ninja but that's not the point) loved pick-pocketing and reverse pick-pocketing him, just to prove that he could. Wally rolled his eyes before reading the note.
I'm being blackmailed by a mercenary named Slade Wilson a.k.a. Deathstroke the Terminator. He is always watching me. If I don't do what he says he'll kill my family. Do NOT tell Batman. Help me. You're the only one I can trust. -RJG
Out of pure shock, Wally's knees collapsed and he fell head-first into the shelves. They crumbled under his weight and he, the shelves, and all his souvenirs crashed against the ground. Wally's fist tightened around the paper reflexively. His eyes were wide. His mouth hung open limply. It had to be a prank. Dick was his best friend. He'd been Robin for years. He was the first sidekick—the goddamn Batman's protégée. And son! It couldn't be true.
This had to be a sick joke or a prank.
But Dick would never lie about his family being in danger. He'd do anything for them. He'd never joke about hurting them. Dick would never in a million years lie about Cassie being in danger. But Robin couldn't be the mole. Robin couldn't be working for some evil mercenary. It just wasn't possible. Let alone the fact that Robin would never hurt anyone, Robin was always either on patrol with Batman or with the Team. And any time he wasn't, he was doing homework. There just wasn't time for him to secretly be…
But…
"Wally!" M'gann gasped, "Are you okay?"
Wally's eyes snapped to the doorway, locking onto his best friend. Robin had seen the open container on his wrist and the piece of paper in Wally's hand. Wally stared at him, looking for any confirmation or sign that his best friend in the universe was being blackmailed or tortured or was secretly working for an evil mercenary. But Robin still looked like Robin. He still looked like the hero who'd fought beside him, who'd stood at his side at the White House and accepted the highest honor that could be given to an American less than an hour ago.
Robin turned away.
"I'll go get Aqualad," he muttered. Then he was gone.
Wally stared at the empty doorway, his thoughts spinning out of control. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible. He almost called out after Dick, begging him to stop, to explain himself, to burst out laughing and shout "Got you!" but the words were burned into his mind.
He's always watching. He'll kill my family.
Help me.
What was he supposed to do?!
M'gann was still standing in the doorway, watching him silently. Their eyes locked and for a second, Wally swore he could hear a whisper in the back of his mind, stoking the desperation and worry, and when he looked away, he knew one thing with absolute certainty. Dick was really in danger and somehow Wally was the only one who could help him. His heart sped up, pounding so fast that one beat became indistinguishable from the next. This was bad. This was beyond bad. Wally felt himself panicking. So, did what he always did when he was panicking.
He ran.
And ran.
And ran some more.
He tried to come up with a plan but his mind spun. Every thought he had was met with a spike of fear before slipping away and eventually he gave up on thinking. His feet never stopped moving.
"Kid, come in!"
Wally didn't stop moving as he answered the comm call.
"It's not a good time, Flash."
"Where are you?"
"Just on a run. I'm fine."
"Where are you?"
"I'm running!"
"Your mom keeps calling me, she's getting worried."
"Tell her I'm fine!"
"You don't sound fine. Kid, please. We've had enough scares for one week."
Guilt settled in Wally's stomach like lead. He tapped his chest to activate the suit's homing signal.
"See? Just running. Now can you leave me alone? Please?!"
No answer. Wally hoped that was a good sign and kept running. When he ran this fast, it was easy to forget there was anything in the world except for what was right in front of you. Or did he just never notice anything anymore? What was he supposed to do?! If Deathstroke was always watching Dick, how could Wally do anything to help him?! What if he accidentally revealed that he knew?
Would Deathstroke really go for his family? Wally couldn't imagine someone being able to get to Batman's kids, but Robin would never lie about that. The thought of anything happening to them made Wally sick.
Who the hell was Deathstroke anyway? What kind of person could successfully blackmail Robin, Batman's partner (and son!)? What kind of person did you have to be to threaten innocent kids? How dangerous was Deathstroke if Robin wouldn't even risk telling Batman?
Seriously, Batman! The World's Greatest Detective and Tactician and Fighter and Justice League Founder! What was Wally supposed to do if not even Batman could help?!
"Kid!"
Wally jumped, glaring at the Flash furiously to hide the fact that he'd scared the crap out of him. He wondered how it was possible for the Flash to have caught up when he had such a ridiculous head-start, then he realized how low the sun had gotten. The comm call had been almost an hour ago and Wally barely noticed any of the time that had gone flying past.
"I told you, I want to be alone."
"I'll go in a minute. I just wanted to check in. Face to face, you know I've never been much of a tech guy."
"Well, mission accomplished. See you tomorrow."
"Kid, wait," the Flash put a hand on his elbow and dragged them both to a grinding halt. Wally's legs shook and he realized he'd been running for almost three hours. His stomach protested suddenly but he felt too nauseous to eat. He never had eaten that protein bar in the trophy room, had he?
"Uncle Barry, I'm fine."
It sounded like a lie, even to him.
"You don't run from Mount Justice to Lake Tahoe by yourself because you're fine."
Wally crossed his arms over his chest and bit down on his lips, trying to stop the panic from escaping him. Uncle Barry knew him better than anyone. He couldn't keep secrets from him!
"Wally, you don't have to be fine, and you don't have to talk to me if you don't want to. I just want to know if it's just life and… you know, the mission in general, or if something happened."
The words hit too hard and the next thing Wally knew, he was sitting on the ground, his back leaning against a tree while hot tears spilled down his face. Uncle Barry was next to him in a flash, crouching in the dirt with a gentle hand on Wally's shoulder.
"Wally, I'm here if you need to talk. That's my job, to be here for you if you need me. As your mentor and as your uncle."
"Stop!" Wally bit out, hands digging into his hairline, "Uncle Barry please!"
"Stop what?"
"Stop asking what's wrong!"
Uncle Barry drew back his hand and gave him a self-deprecating smile.
"Do you really want me to leave?"
YES‼‼! YES LEAVE THE WORLD IS FALLING APART AND SOMEHOW I'M THE ONE WHO HAS TO FIX IT‼! Wally almost shouted, but he couldn't bring himself to. Because now that Uncle Barry was actually here, the last thing in the universe that Wally wanted was to be alone.
"No," he muttered.
"Okay, then how about we just sit? Is that alright?"
Wally nodded, sliding over so there was room for him to sit against the tree. The silence stretched between them until Uncle Barry leaned over and said, "You know… if you're feeling so overwhelmed, we can figure something out. You're dealing with a lot right now and I'm sure we can find a way to make it more manageable."
"No, it's not that," Wally answered, rubbing tears away with the back of his glove.
"Something happened to one of your friends?"
Wally froze, heart pounding again.
"How did you—"
"It was just a guess. You took it pretty hard when I asked before."
It was always jarring to remember Uncle Barry had a degree in psychology even though he worked in forensics. Even if Wally was careful, he might still figure out everything.
"I can't tell you!" Wally snapped, "Stop asking!"
"Ok. Can you at least tell me why I can't ask?"
"Because he asked me not to tell anyone and that's the only thing I can do to help him!" Wally shouted.
"Is he in danger?"
"Yes!" Wally growled, before realizing that he needed to abort the conversation RIGHT NOW, "Please, stop asking me!"
"Wally, if your friend is in danger, we both know you're going to do everything you can to help him. Just remember, you don't have to do it alone."
Wally couldn't stop the frantic laugh that came out of him.
"Yes I do! He said I'm the only one who can help him and I don't have a single clue what I'm supposed to do! What if anything I do makes it worse?"
"Wally, what's going on?"
"I can't tell you!" Wally shouted.
"You don't have to tell me who it is, or anything about him, but I can guarantee that talking through it out loud is better than dealing with it alone."
"I can't! Uncle Barry, I can't tell you anything about what's happening. I promised!"
"So make something up."
"What?" Wally stared. Thunder roared in his ears as he looked at his mentor blankly, "What?"
"If you can't tell me the actual story, make something up that still gets the big parts across. Change as many details as you want, and maybe we can come up with something that will still help."
Wally thought about it for a minute.
"Do you promise not to read into it? If I tell you something close to what's happening, do you promise not to try and figure out who I'm talking about or anything else about them?"
"If it's about sexual assault or domestic abuse, I reserve the right to talk about it more later, but otherwise? Yes. I promise."
"I need a minute to think."
"Take your time."
Wally thought for a long time, trying as hard as he could to come up with something that would make Uncle Barry understand how bad it really was. How much trouble Robin was in… how much trouble the entire League was in if Wally couldn't fix it.
"This isn't what's really happening but just… go with it, okay? Pretend it makes sense and if it doesn't work I'll come up with something else."
"Alright."
"My friend got a job as a delivery guy at this pizza place, he makes minimum wage part time. A little while ago, his boss said he'd give him two hundred bucks in cash if delivered a package to some apartment. He thought it would be a one-time thing, but things got out of hand and now he's running drugs all the time. He wanted out and tried to quit and basically… his boss is blackmailing him. Somehow he'd gotten video of my friend dealing and said that if he tried to quit, he'd send it to the cops. And that if he went to the police or told anyone what was happening," Wally choked out, "He'd go after my friend's family."
There was silence for a little while. Then hesitantly, Barry spoke.
"It might not be feasible but if it is, he should try to get evidence together and bring it to the police," Barry said, "They can get a warrant and make an arrest in less than a day, less if they have probable cause. Even if your friend's boss is serious about his threats, he'll have bigger issues than going after one of his runners."
"He can't," Wally said, "There's no evidence. His boss is really, really, REALLY careful. And my friend was too. If he hadn't told me, I never, ever would've known he was involved with anything like this."
"Sometimes you don't know people as well as you thought you did," his uncle said sadly. Wally fought back the surge of rage. Robin was his best friend. He trusted him with his life and he'd never let him down. They even died together during that fucking simulation. If Uncle Barry knew what was really going on…
"No! He's a good person! He only got the job so he could help his... mom out. She works three part time jobs and he's got fo—three younger siblings that he helps take care of. That's why his boss made him start running in the first place; he knew my friend would do anything to help his family."
"Can his family move?"
"No," Batman and Robin move out of Gotham City?! Wally thought hard to try and explain why it was impossible, "They can't… afford to move and his mom is really tied to the city. Besides, it wouldn't make a difference. His boss has friends and contacts and from what I know, he's a dangerous guy to piss off."
"What if he just stops showing up?"
"His boss will get him arrested! Remember the whole blackmailing thing, I think I mentioned it?!"
"He was dealing drugs. Hard drugs. Whether or not it was for a noble reason, it's still very illegal. The answer may be that he needs to face the consequences of his actions. If your friend is a minor, he'll likely get off fairly easy, maybe only get a few months to a year in juvenile detention. By the time he gets out, his boss will have been arrested or worst case, have found a replacement runner and your friend can walk away. There's also a chance his boss is bluffing."
"No! He's not! And my friend really can't walk away! It's not a great metaphor, okay? If he tries to, his boss will hurt his family!"
Uncle Barry was quiet for a long time.
"If he gets the police involved for drugs, his family is in danger. If he tries to walk away, his family is still in danger. Is that right?"
"Yeah. And he wants to stop. He wants help to get out!"
"What's his boss's involvement?"
"What?"
"You said his boss was careful, but how deep is he involved in the drug ring?"
"It's his operation. He's the most dangerous one."
Uncle Barry nodded.
"He's probably making a lot of money. Even if he's careful, he's not going to just sit on it."
"How does that help?"
"If your friend's boss is investigated by the IRS after a routine audit, and it turns into an open investigation, he'll have an excuse to quit. His boss will only be under investigation for fraudulent income, which is a significantly smaller charge than operating a drug ring. He can't throw your friend under the bus without revealing that he had some level of involvement in the operation as well. Worst case scenario, if the investigation turns up cold, your friend still has plenty of time and leeway to find another job and get himself out."
"What if his boss blames him for the investigation?"
"Businesses get audited. Besides, a kid can't set the IRS on a business. That's not how it works."
"You said that's the worst case. What do you think the best case is?"
"The boss goes to prison for felony tax evasion. Nothing to do with your friend, no mention of drugs. He can't go after your friend or his family without risking a narcotics charge added to his sentence. Your friend gets out from a bad situation in one piece."
"So… the answer is to go after the boss for something else?"
Uncle Barry nodded. Wally thought about it.
If some member of the Justice League just happened to be investigating Deathstroke for something completely unrelated to anything Robin, Batman or the Team had been involved with, he had plenty of crimes to be charged for. If they built enough evidence and went in with enough preparation, they could take Deathstroke down and bring him in all at once. He'd have no idea that Robin had told anyone anything. With Deathstroke securely in prison, Robin would be safe to reveal to Batman and the League that he was being blackmailed. Best case? That was it. In the worst possible case, if Deathstroke broke out of prison, the whole League would be ready to stop him.
"Uncle Barry, you're a genius!"
Wally hopped onto his feet, but before he could speed off, Uncle Barry grabbed his wrist.
"Wait."
"What?"
"Promise me that if things get out of hand, or if people are going to get hurt, you'll get help."
Wally stared at him. Robin was being blackmailed by an enemy of the Justice League and nobody knew. Things were already out of hand.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to my friend or his family," he answered instead.
"Be careful. Remember, I'm always here if you need me but… I trust you."
Wally nodded once, then pulled his goggles over his eyes and sped away. He had one more stop to make.
"Speedy!"
"How many times do I have to tell you?! It's Red Arrow!" Red Arrow spat, returning his bow to his back. Wally blinked at the furious tone and the tension in his friend's face.
"Are you okay? Where's Aqualad?"
"What's with all the questions?"
"Uh… dude. Seriously, you're freaking me out a little. Where's Kal?"
Red Arrow sighed, scrubbing a hand over his domino mask. As he did, his shoulders deflated.
"Aquaman called him to the South Pacific. There's an illegal dolphin hunting ring that they've been chasing."
He leaned his head against the building's guard rail and grunted something Wally couldn't understand.
"Hey Red… are you okay?"
"Imsm," he mumbled.
"What was that?"
"I. Miss. Him," Red Arrow growled, "It stresses me out when he's not around, okay?"
"No, no, I get it," Wally said, moving to lean over the guard rail next to him, "The solo stuff is really taking it out of you."
"I'm fine!"
"I didn't say you weren't. From what I've heard, the League thinks you're doing a great job," Wally shrugged. Red Arrow looked at him sharply, a hungry expression on his face.
"They said that?"
"Yeah. I mean, I think it sucks 'cause I still want you on the Team with us, but they'll probably invite you to the big kid's table any day now."
Red Arrow stared at him before breaking into a huge grin. The dramatic mood swing kind of terrified Wally.
"Uh… Roy? What's wrong with your face?"
Roy shook himself, the freaky unbridled joy fading away, "Sorry, I just really needed to hear that. So what's going on with you? Did you really drag yourself all the way out to Star just to give me a pep talk?"
"Actually, I'm following a lead."
"On what?"
"Okay, don't tell anyone."
Roy gave him a look, "Like we're usually in the business of putting our leads out on the internet for the world to see."
"Here's the deal. Flash and I made a bet," Wally lied, "He says that I can't get anywhere on a case without the League's help. And you know, resources. We're working the case separately, and if I can solve it before he can on my own, I win."
"What exactly do you win?" Roy sounded unimpressed. Wally winked.
"Speedster secret."
"And asking me for help somehow isn't cheating?"
"Nope! Technically, you're not affiliated with the League. It's a stretch, but I'm going to level with you, I picked a bad case for the bet. I need any help you can give me."
"Alright, sure. What do you have?"
"There was a murder in Central last week, a really, really, really low level rogue. Snart didn't give a shit about the whole thing, that's how low this guy was. It happened outside this bar, they had security of the guy right before it happened. He clearly knew who'd been hired to take him out, and you can see that he's saying "Deh," I pulled a list together of the mercenaries I know that have Deh in them. Can you just dig around, give me a rundown on what they've been doing recently?"
"That's your lead?"
"Are you going to help me or just make fun of my shitty detective skills?"
"Fine. Give me the list."
"Here."
"Deathstroke, Deadshot, Deadpool, Deadline?"
"I put them in reverse alphabetical order."
Roy snorted.
"Okay, first of all? Deadpool is a comic book character."
"...I knew that."
"And the others… give me a couple days."
"You're the best, Roy! And please, please please please please don't tell anyone! I don't want the Flash to call the bet off!"
"You're absurd."
"Promise?"
"Yeah, sure. Promise."
"You're the best! But seriously, call me as soon as you figure it out."
Bruce Wayne
Wayne Manor
Sunday, November 4th, 2012
"On behalf of the government of the United States of America, I present the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Aqualad of Atlantis, Kid Flash of Central City and Robin of Gotham City in recognition of their unprecedented efforts to ensure the safety of America's children in times of extraordinary stress. This medal is being awarded on behalf of every child who stepped forward to help in any way they could, from supplying emergency medical assistance to providing infant care, to acting as a community organizer and caring for those who could not care for themselves.
"I cannot applaud the children of America enough, nor can I commend them strongly enough for keeping calm and working together to protect each other.
"In these times, it is so easy to act as an individual. It is so easy to forget those around you and only think about yourself. It is a pattern we see every single day, and it can be frightening to know that this is the example that we set for our children. Today, I think we need to look at things a little differently and follow the example that our children have set for us.
"In the middle of a crisis, they stood together. They protected each other and they worked together. Instead of reacting out of fear or anger or hatred, they acted out of love. It is because our children stood together and found innovative solutions to an unfathomable crisis that we are reunited. Moving forwards, we cannot forget their example.
"This award is presented with not only gratitude but with tremendous respect as well. These young heroes are the representatives of a truly remarkable generation, and if we as a country can follow the example they have set, then the future is in very good hands. Thank you."
The army of photographers unleashed a storm of camera flashes, illuminating the three young heroes standing shoulder to shoulder on the stage. Aqualad stared ahead, the picture of stoic confidence. Kid Flash beamed, his body vibrating so fast he appeared blurry on the screen. Robin stood on Aqualad's other side, chin held high and standing proud. The President stepped forwards and shook each of their hands, starting with Kid Flash. When he got to Robin, he said, "Thank you for your service," and the crowd of half a million people erupted into cheers. Then he handed the open case containing the medal to Aqualad in the center and ten-thousand cameras went off again.
Watching his son and his teammates accept the award, Bruce had never been prouder. Cheers came from the kitchen, and he turned off the tv in his study. Following the sound, he found Jason sitting at the kitchen table, grinning wildly at the muted screen. When he stepped into the kitchen, Jason's eyes went wide and he quickly switched the channel to the news, pretending he hadn't been watching the ceremony. Bruce shook his head fondly, tousling his son's hair.
"It's okay to support your brother, you know."
Jason looked scandalized, "I have no idea what you mean."
"I'm proud of you too. You did an excellent job with your siblings and opening up the manor to those children was incredibly responsible and heroic."
Jason blushed, but when he turned back to the tv, he was grinning from ear to ear.
"I'm glad you're back," he said, still looking at the tv.
"I'm glad you're back too."
Jason unmuted the tv and the newscaster continued her story out loud.
"Thanks to the combined efforts of the Justice League and their partners Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin, the two dimensions have been recombined," Iris West-Allen announced, "The suspects responsible have been taken into custody and will be brought to Belle Rev penitentiary to await their respective trials. In the meantime, President Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the three junior heroes, along with a short speech commending the efforts of our nation's children to maintain safety and order throughout this ordeal. We here at Central City news would like to commend everyone who stepped up yesterday, especially Central City's own Kid Flash.
"In related news, billionaire CEO of Wayne Industries and adopted father of five, Bruce Wayne announced today that he would be providing compensation for businesses that had supplies taken from them during the crisis. This followed a twitter post from the sidekick Robin encouraging children to, 'take what they needed' in urgent situations. Wayne stated that he absolutely supports the actions taken during this crisis, and that he is just grateful to have his children back."
"Quite right, Master Bruce," Alfred said as he entered the kitchen, passing Bruce the newspaper along with a wriggling Cassie. She planted a big, watery kiss on his forehead, then snuggled down in his arms, pulling at the buttons of his suit jacket.
"Hey princess," he muttered softly, running his fingers down her silky black hair, "I missed you," a blonde blur slammed into him, throwing her arms around him too.
"What about me?" Stephanie demanded and Bruce scooped her up in his other arm. Bruce smiled down at her and pulled her closer for a hug.
"I missed you too, Stephanie."
"More than you missed Cassie?"
"I can miss more than one person at a time," he told her wisely, barely resisting the urge to grin. Barely.
"But you missed me the most, right?" she was very insistent about it. Stephanie loved being the center of attention, especially when it came to her siblings. Considering how well they all got along, Bruce didn't think her narcissism was much of an issue.
"I missed all of you the most."
"That's not a real answer."
"Tell twuth!" Cassie chimed, flopping backwards so that Bruce had to catch her with his left hand before her head hit the floor.
"I believe Master Bruce is telling you the truth," Alfred informed Cassie and Stephanie, "I for one missed you all terribly."
Stephanie latched on to him in a big hug, "I'm glad you're back. Dick left us alone the whole time. We had to eat cereal for dinner."
Bruce looked at Alfred in sudden alarm.
Was that true? Dick wouldn't have left them alone, he must have checked in to make sure they were ok. Alfred's face tightened and he looked away without responding. Bruce had no idea what that meant.
"You love cereal," Jason rolled his eyes at her, "I told you to have a banana."
"Bananas are gross and they're not even pretty."
"They don't have to be pretty. You're going to eat them," Jason answered, crossing his arms.
"Uh, duh. That's WHY they have to be pretty. I don't wanna put something gross looking in my mouth."
Tim raced into the room, panting lightly, "Is Dick back yet?!"
Bruce pulled himself out of his thoughts and shook his head, "The ceremony only just finished, Tim. I'm sure Dick wants to spend a little while with the Team too. It's a big day for all of them."
"I think it's great that they didn't even invite you," Jason grinned as he tore into a piece of toast.
"Are you jealous?" Stephanie asked innocently.
"No. They earned it."
"Would you be jealous if they invited Superman?" Jason pressed mischievously.
"No. Superman is the face of the Justice League."
"What about Green Arrow?" Tim joined.
"They didn't invite Green Arrow."
"But if they did?"
Bruce sighed.
"If they didn't invite Batman, Aquaman, the Flash, Superman or Wonder Woman, but they did invite Green Arrow, then yes, I would be jealous. Is that what you want to hear?"
Jason snickered, sliding his phone under the table while typing furiously. He looked up with an innocent and cheerful expression. Bruce sighed.
"You got that on video, didn't you?"
Jason nodded his grin widening.
"Who did you send it to?"
"Aunt Diana and Uncle Clark and Uncle Ollie. And Roy. I didn't want him to feel left out."
"How considerate of you. Remind me again why I bought you a cell phone?" Bruce muttered while Stephanie started singing, "Roy and Kaldur sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G."
His phone vibrated. He checked the message without disturbing Cassie, who was happily climbing up his arm.
'How are the kids?'
'Safe.'
'Thank god. Are you ok?'
'Yes.'
A brief pause.
'We need to talk. Tonight.'
'Where?'
"The Opera House. 11.'
'I'll be there.'
"Catwoman," Batman said as she appeared behind him.
"This is nice," she purred, gesturing at the roof around them, "Clear night, starry sky, tall, dark and brooding Caped Crusader. It reminds me of that night on top of Cartier's."
"When you stole Queen Victoria's emeralds. I don't remember that night nearly as fondly as you do."
"We had a nice moment. Besides, as far as the emeralds go, I put them back," she shrugged, turning around to look him in the eye coyly, "Eventually. I even gift wrapped them."
Batman's stare bore into her. Her smile widened.
"Fine, handsome, I admit it. I didn't gift wrap them. But I did put them back in one piece. Well, I mean, two pieces."
"And the rest of it?"
"From Cartier's?"
"No. All the rest of it."
Catwoman paused.
"I told you already. I brought it all back. Rightful owners, of course, and that is not easy to do in the art world."
"Why make the effort?"
"Why make the effort to return the art that I stole from basement collections and black market dealers to the families who it had been stolen from in the first place, sometime around the Nazi invasion and occupation of France?"
"I… admit that was a stupid question."
"No, it's okay. I know what you meant," she looked up, one perfect eyebrow raised and a mischievous glint in her emerald eyes, "You're just mad about the Fifth Avenue displays."
"You said you were done stealing."
"Oh for Bast's sake, I don't know why you were so upset. They were all fakes. Completely worthless!"
"Then why did you bother to take them?"
"They were nicely made. I can appreciate a good fake, especially with that publicity stunt about fooling the world's top diamond experts. Besides, I wanted to play with their micro-vibration laser grid."
"That's not why."
Catwoman's grin turned rueful.
"No. It's not. Batman, I'm serious about what I said. I really am done. But that itch… I have to scratch it somehow and taking the displays is good enough. I'm not taking anything anyone will miss."
"You just need to prove that you still can."
"Wouldn't you? If you hung up the cape tomorrow, you'd find a way to stay in the game somehow. Maybe you'd start throwing punches in "self-defense," maybe you'd start giving "anonymous tips" to the GCPD, even sign up as a civilian consultant. But you couldn't give it up entirely."
"No."
Catwoman snorted.
"You're agreeing with me. What does it say about the state of the world that that's not even the craziest thing to happen to me this week? And that's me personally, I'm not counting the world's children being briefly sent to an alternate dimension."
"What was it then?" Batman couldn't resist asking.
Catwoman turned, shrugging her shoulders casually in a way that did nothing to hide her nerves.
"I got a job offer. In person, from Danika Mathers herself, head curator of the Gotham Museum of Art. She wants me to be their official security consultant. Catwoman. Sent a messenger through the Underworld channels and everything."
"Security consultant?"
"Yeah. She got this idea about using a great thief to catch other thieves and somehow convinced the board it was a good idea. I wish I had a video, it was… a little bit adorable. She thought she had to convince me, play up the threat of low-level idiots who don't know what they're doing damaging the art. Even if I hadn't been in the business for a career change, it was very flattering and…"
"And?" Batman prompted, not quite letting himself dare to hope but the words had too much promise to resist.
"And I'm going to take it."
Batman inner monologue came screeching to a halt and he could only blink at her in shock.
"You are?"
She took a deep breath. Batman blinked at the realization that she was scared.
"I've been thinking a lot about what you said. About us."
The pang in his chest hit hard and he forced the feelings down, enough to get the next words out. Batman remained silent, keeping a tight lid on the hope stirring inside his chest. He couldn't get ahead of himself, couldn't ignore his responsibilities.
"Selina, it's… this isn't a good time. There's so much going on with the League and work and the kids and Dick's been going through a lot and I can't do this to them."
Selina grimaced, but didn't break eye contact.
"It's never a good time. That's how life works, especially our lives. Bruce, I feel ridiculous saying this out loud but you make me happy. Me, the crazy thief who runs around the rooftops in a leather catsuit," she cut herself off, shaking her head with a helpless look frozen on her face. She exhaled, letting her hands drop, "Bruce, Catwoman has been who I am for a really long time. I thought my life would be, well… this. I was happy with that. The planning, the prep, the highs, the chase. At this point, I don't really know where Catwoman stops and I start.
"If you'd asked me a year ago even, I never would have thought that I could. But I've been thinking. A lot. I want you to know that no matter what your answer is, it won't change my mind. I'm going to stop. Not that I've been doing much stealing these days anyway, but I'm giving up all of it. The mask and the whip too. Maybe not forever, but long enough to figure out who I am if I'm not just a thief in the night. And I'd like to figure it out with you."
"Selina…"
"This isn't a one-time offer, and it doesn't have to be zero to a hundred either. We can just take it slow, see… I swear to god, why are you making that face at me?"
"Because I want that too."
"You do?"
Bruce swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Yes. I really do. But—"
"There's always a but."
"But, it's not just up to me."
"The kids?"
"It has to be alright with them."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Selina smiled gently.
"I don't know that they'll agree and I won't do anything without their permission. All of them," Bruce warned.
"Dick's never been my biggest fan," Selina agreed, forcing out a laugh through a tight smile.
"He's having a hard time right now. His whole team is, since the disaster simulation gone wrong."
"Bruce, I know it won't be easy, but I'm willing to fight for this. For you and all of them. If they give me a chance, I won't let them down."
"I know," Bruce's thumb tapped against his index finger. Almost no one on the planet except Selina would recognize it as his version of a nervous gesture, "Dinner."
"When?"
"Wednesday. At the Manor. I'll introduce you to everyone. Officially."
"I'd like that."
Batman grunted in agreement.
"So."
"So…" Selina purred, and when she caught his eye the grin was pure Catwoman, "I was thinking… how about one last teamup before I put the costume away?"
"It is early enough for a full patrol," Batman answered.
"Lead the way, handsome," Catwoman purred. Her fingers interlocked with his and she leaned in, lips resting against his face, "On second thought…"
She pressed a kiss on his cheek and took off for the nearest rooftop.
Batman was smiling as he followed her.
AN: I think this is the first chapter that doesn't focus entirely on Dick, and here we really get to see how everything looks from an outside perspective. If you're at this point in the story and wondering how nobody has noticed Dick acting strange or pulling disappearing acts, the answer is; they have! They've just made the understandable assumption that it has to do with traumatic events they know about, rather than additional traumatic events happening under their noses.
And who knows? Maybe Batman assumes that Robin would tell him if there was a serious problem. Maybe he trusts that Robin wouldn't lie to him. Whoops!