soo mary sue: Yeah, okay. Thank you for your critique, and I took it into account. But I just want to get a few things out of the way before I continue on with the story. So, yes Robin usually helps Timeless out, but it's because I'm trying to convey their attraction to each other. Robin helps Timeless not because I'm making her a Mary Sue, but because I'm trying to make him seem as if he truly cares for Diana. From now on, Diana will have more problems to have to solve by herself. Now, for you to tell me that everyone else reviewing are being 'not nice', or that my character is pathetic...well...that's just insulting. If my readers like what they read, then they will leave a good comment. If they don't like what they read, then they will leave a bad comment or critique. It's okay for all of us to have different opinions, but you can't just call out every one of my readers to being jerks to me for not telling me that 'I need to rebuild my OC'. You have one opinion, they have theirs, no need to drag my reviewers into your critique.

Guest 1: You figured right! :)

Mount Justice

October 23, 17: 21 EDT

The only sounds that emitted from the large living room and kitchen were M'Gann mixing up the batter. The Martian didn't have energies, though, much like the rest of us. The training exercise was still too raw in our minds.

The television screen was on, but it was only read 'no signal'. Artemis was leaning on the table that held the TV, Wally was sitting in front of her with a cast on his arm, and M'Gann was standing up in the kitchen. Kaldur was leaning on the wall that connected the kitchen and living room, Superboy was inside a room with Dinah, and Dick was sitting on the green couch.

I fidgeted with my hands, rubbing my fingers on my knuckles. The searing hot pain, and everyone dying were the only things I could think about. I couldn't remember much of what I had done these past few days. I was still too shocked.

The mission gone wrong was what plagued my thoughts most throughout these past four days. I could tell that it occupied everyone else's mind, as well. The whole team had barely talked to each other, most of us too shaken up by what had happened before. I didn't blame them; it was too much to take in.

Dinah, and Ollie had died.

Bruce, and Barry died.

Hal, and Diana died.

Kaldur, and Wally died.

Conner, and M'Gann died.

Artemis, and Roy died.

Dick died.

I died…

A loud slam resounded through the silent space, and we all watched as Conner stomped off down the hallway. I couldn't bring myself to care about what had happened to him, my previous thoughts were taking up too much space in me.

Dinah came out of the room, sighing. "Robin, it's your turn. Then, you're next Diana."

I nodded, and gazed at Dick's back. He was never slouched, but I could tell that his spirits were low. Dick kept glaring to the ground, his hands made fists inside of his pockets. He was as hurt as we all were about the training exercise going wrong.

I ran my fingers on the soft cloth material of the couch I was sitting on. A few days ago, I had known that I was never again going to feel something silky again. It had all been so real, we all had been convinced that we were never going to experience a single happy moment again.

We all knew we were going to die, no matter what we did in the end.

Subconsciously, our minds were starting to prepare us for the day that we were actually going to leave this world. After this training exercise, my wish to live until twenty had been reduced to surviving until I was at least sixteen. Life has never been as fragile to me as it was at that moment.

The depressing thing was, my birthday was coming up in only two weeks. And two weeks weren't enough to make the remaining traces of traumatization go away. I still had a long way to go if I was to recover. If any of my friends were to recover.

Suddenly, a shiver went up my spine. I brought my legs up on the couch so I could hug them tight to my chest. I hadn't felt hungry in the past few days, barely eating anything. It worried Dinah, even me, because all that I had done the last four days was practice.

I was trying to get stronger, not because I was always asked to be, but because I needed to be tougher.

The fact that I didn't save Artemis, or even held the mission going for longer, disturbed me. I was a time manipulator. I possessed one of the most powerful abilities ever known to humanity. I was supposed to be able to hold off for longer than just a few hours.

There was also the most important reason out of it all. I hadn't saved my friends; they had all died before me. I was a hero, and it was my duty to give my live to those who I loved the most, to those who needed it. But I hadn't done that in the last mission. It angered me to know that I hadn't been strong enough to protect the innocent, and the people closest to me.

I had the ability to save thousands of lives. I could create white holes, and make limbs appear again in a human body. Of course, I hadn't practiced those techniques, but I had the energy inside of me to do it. I just needed to train more, to push my limits, and I'd be able to protect more people.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, making me jump in shock. I turned around to see Dick with a confused expression on his face; anyone barely ever surprised me. I took a second to calm down, and pushed my hair behind my ear, but it came back to fall on my face. It always did that.

I stood up from my sitting spot, and avoided Dick's gaze. I knew he was staring at my back, much like I had done when he went in with Dinah. Except, I was also pretty sure that Dick never stopped glaring in my direction. Only when I was inside the separate room with Dinah did I not feel him looking at me anymore.

Dick and I had to, once again, have a talk. This time, it was going to be about what happened before the mother ship blew up, killing us. I wasn't looking forward to that conversation.

I sat down on the seat opposite of Dinah, continuing to fidget with my hands. I looked into my mother's eyes, and saw the horrible preoccupation she had toward me. "Traumatized?"

I nodded, "Traumatized."

"Well, Bruce predicted right." Dinah sighed, "From what I heard and saw in Conner and Dick, you're all extremely shaken up."

I narrowed my eyes, "Aren't we supposed to use their codenames?"

"No," Dinah shook her head. "Bruce, for once, knew that it was better to keep the personal things here. He didn't install any cameras. Whatever is relevant for the mission or his fatherly knowledge will be revealed, but nothing else."

I tried smiling at Dinah, but it turned into a grimace. "He listened to you for once?"

"This once." Dinah nodded. "Tell me, what's the thing that stands out to you the most about the training exercise?"

I didn't miss a beat in responding, "The searing hot pain, both from losing everyone and the explosion."

"No, Diana." Dinah tried coaxing out of me. "What do you really think about when the topic of the exercise comes up?"

All at once, I knew what my mother was getting at. Dick would have been rushing into my house, or I would be at Wayne Manor if this sort of situation happened. Dinah knew something was going on. "We kissed."

Dinah raised an eyebrow, "You and Dick?"

I nodded, "I was afraid that if I was going to lose him, I wouldn't tell him how I felt about him. He needed to know, even if it was before we died…"

"But…" Dinah trailed off.

I sighed, "But I didn't think that we would be alive after I kissed him. Everything just seems out of control now. Dick and I aren't talking again; we haven't even tried to call each other these past four days. I think he's regretting kissing me back."

"Pretty bird, if there's one thing I know, is that Dick never lies about his feelings. And if he doesn't like something, he tells the other person."

"You know an awful lot about him," I smiled.

Dinah grinned back, "It's because you never shut up about him. Now, is there anything else that you would want me to know? Something else that you would like to talk about?"

I gave her offer a thought, "I've been training for the past few days." With my father, I added in my mind.

Dinah nodded, "Yes, I've noticed."

"I don't feel like I'm strong enough," I continued. "I feel, I know, that I could have saved everyone. If I had been strong enough to take the fall, I would have saved Artemis. She would have still been alive, and that's what heroes are supposed to do. Keep the innocent alive."

"What has been done is done." Dinah peered at me curiously, "And you know as well as I do that changing the past is impossible. Even for you."

I hung my head, and sighed. "How ironic it is. A time manipulator that can't change the past."

Dinah shook her head, "You might be powerful, but you are still a little girl. You have a long way to go with your powers. Don't beat yourself up over that."

I frowned, "I'm still going to train."

"I know…" Dinah hesitated. "And I also know that I can't stop you."

We kept quiet for a few minutes, just staring at each other. It was like a silent agreement passed between the two of us, I will not take the training overboard. I was the type of person who would train for hours, enough so that it wasn't good for my health.

"Do you want some motherly advice?" Dinah asked me.

I nodded, slightly hesitant, but eager, too.

"You and Dick should talk, again." Dinah scowled. "And I mean for real this time. The other day, you didn't confess your liking him, which made everything unnecessarily complicated. But now, I suggest that you tell him how you feel. It'd make life so much easier for you two."

"It isn't as easy as it seems," I murmured. "Telling the one that means the most to you that you actually like them? It's hard."

"How do you think Ollie felt when he confessed his love to me?" Dinah smirked, making me smile. "He kept stuttering, and tripping over his own feet. In the end, he did it, though. Ollie said that he loved me, and it all turned out for the better. It's all going to be better."

I thought the option over. Dinah was often right when it came to these types of affairs, she had the experience after all. Dinah would often tell me the easiest, but also hardest way to make everything better in just a few moments. Dinah was the best help in situations such as this one.

"You're right, and thank you." I stood up from my chair, hugging Dinah. "I'll try to tell Dick."

"Trying and doing are two very different things," Dinah shook her head. "Which one are you going to do?"

"Try!" I laughed, opening the door of the room where Dinah sat in scowling silence.

A dense air enveloped me when I came out, the thick madness from my friends clogging my nose. All of my teammates turned their eyes to me, curious as to what had made me have a different aura from before. I was looking for one pair of hidden eyes, though, and they weren't there.

I scowled, where was he?

I started to make my way through the hallways of the Cave, just wandering along the dark passages. I had a tugging feeling in the pit of my stomach, and adrenaline ran through my veins. I was determined to find Dick, even as to just talk to him about how he was doing.

We hadn't really contacted each other these past few days. We were just so awkward and embarrassed around each other. I could barely look into his eyes after the kiss, after all. I knew that Dick felt the same way; he kept trying his hardest to avoid talking to me.

I felt a hand grab my shoulder, and instinctively, I grabbed the oppressor's arm, twisting him. I heard a heavy grunt of pain, and beg for me to let go of the boy. When I saw the mass of messy raven hair, I quickly let go of his arm.

"You really need to stop sneaking up on me," I smirked, trying to make light of the odd situation. "You might break a bone."

Dick glared at me, rubbing his obviously flaming arm. "This is the Cave, D! Did you honestly believe a bad guy was going to come in and try to mug you?"

"I just like hurting my friends." I shook my head sarcastically. "Rob, we need to talk."

I saw Dick's eyebrows rise from behind his sunglasses, and I couldn't blame him. I was surprised I had been so blunt about this, too. Dick nodded his head hesitantly, but still, I led him to my bedroom in the Cave. We had chosen them in case we ever had to stay in Mount Justice overnight.

I closed the door to my room, locking it behind me. We needed to have some privacy if we were to get through the whole talk. I took a deep breath, and turned over to gaze at Dick's determined face. He had taken off his glasses, and was staring intently at my own eyes.

There was this fire in them…one that told me that we were sure to work out whatever confused notions we had in our heads. We kept our eyes locked with each other for a few minutes, just basking in what our relationship was now.

Whatever this talk brought to us both could be either good or bad. If Dick denied wanting to have the kiss, I would have to be honest with myself, I don't know if I could act the same around him. If Dick admitted to having meant kissing me, then we would probably get together. I tried setting my thoughts on the latter option.

"The kiss, D." Dick spoke up, his blue eyes seeming scared yet fierce. "What did it mean to you?"

It meant the world to me, obviously. The kiss that we shared in the failed mission was probably the only thing that made me not be too disappointed about dying. The kiss was probably the one thing that kept me going as I experienced the searing hot pain of the explosion.

"It meant a lot of things to me," I shrugged.

Dick's cheeks started to redden, "Diana, was the meaning of the kiss good or bad? To you, I—I mean."

I reveled on the fact that I was making the Boy Wonder nervous. He barely ever stuttered, but when he did, you knew that he was nervous beyond imagination. So, I walked over to him, trying to bring a smile to my face.

I was nervous, and afraid, as well. I could imagine how fake and unsure my grin seemed to Dick, but I couldn't do anything better. The nerves were eating me up alive. My hands were sweating, and my heart was hammering in my heart. It had never been this hard to talk to Dick.

"They were…" I inhaled deeply. "It was good, I suppose. I mean, I…I liked the k—kiss."

I looked down at that last sentence, ashamed of myself. I couldn't believe I had just said that. Now, it was up to Dick to figure out what our friendship would become. He was holding me, for the first time in our life, by a string of suspense. I held my breath, my eyes wide. This was a defining moment.

Suddenly, I sighed. Dick's lips had met mine in a frenzy of happiness. There was something so marvelous about Dick's lips that always took my breath away. I couldn't complain about this moment.

The first time that we had kissed, it had been rushed. Dick and I were just about to die, and we were trying to pour all of our feelings into one flimsy kiss. It had been messy, and extremely sloppy. In one word, our first kiss had been an awkward disaster created by our light-heads and adrenaline.

Now, this kiss, oh, this kiss was so much different. It was soft, and gentle. We knew that we weren't about to die, so it was slow. We took our time reveling in the other's scent, and the feel of skin against skin. It was sweet, and it was loving.

Dick smelled of mint, and kiwi. It should have been an odd combination, and it should have smelled horrid, but in him it was amazing. I felt like I could have stayed in this position, just pressing my lips on Dick's, for an eternity.

I could have stopped time, but I wasn't very sure about it. I could have slowed down time, but I couldn't keep track. Everything in the outside world was blurred in my mind; they were just distant thoughts that maybe existed, but maybe not. Life seemed to have zeroed in on only Dick and I, and the almost magnificent moment we were sharing.

Then, Dick wrapped his arms on my waist, making me sit down on the bed. I slung my hands on top of his hair, just scratching his scalp affectionately. After what could have been hours, we parted for air. But we soon dived back into a kiss afterward.

I didn't want to let go, and I knew that Dick didn't want that either. And this counted especially after we both sighed contently. I was in pure bliss at that moment because in between all the fighting that has happened in my life, this was basically heaven.

There were two whole years of pent up emotions flowing out in this one intimate physical contact. Dick and I were trying to pour all of our feelings for each other in this kiss, and I could feel it. I knew of the love that Dick held for me, now. I knew how much he really cared about what I thought of him.

"God," Dick inhaled deeply, "You have no idea how much time I've waited to do that…Thank you."

I smiled, "I've waited a pretty long time, as well, boyfriend."

I heard a sigh, "Boyfriend…that sounds too good to be true."

"Better get used to it, Wonder Boy. I don't plan on stopping the word from coming out of my lips."

"I'm not complaining, girlfriend."