I'M ALIVE! I'm so sorry for not having updated in forever.

I do not own Young Justice, Nerf Guns, or Barney.

Taking Chances

Chapter Five: Day Dreams and Nightmares

"Bird! Do you read me Bird! I require backup! Receiving heavy fire from Flash and Super, I repeat, receiving heavy fire and require backup!" Elliot shouted into her walkie talkie as she ducked behind the couch, just in time as both Clark and Barry began to viciously fire wave after wave of foam bullets.

"Give it up!" Barry shouted, deepening his voice to sound intimidating, "The battle is practically ours!"

"In your dreams!" Dick cried out, doing a little jump as he sailed over a pile of pillows and launched a series of foam bullets towards the offending to adults.

"Take that! And that!" Elliot joined in, popping up from behind the couch and firing off bullets towards the two adults.

Barry and Clark dived towards the side, nearly missing several bullets by a hair as the ducked behind some sloppily made pillow forts.

"We surrender!" Barry cried, standing up and holding his hands up in an 'I give up' motion, "It's your win."

"Yay!" Dick cried, leaping upwards and fist pumping as he moved around from behind his spot in the couch, "I told you we'd win."

"Mmmhmm." Barry nodded.

Meanwhile, Elliot had narrowed her eyes, keeping her finger on the trigger of her black and orange Nerf gun, she watched Barry suspiciously and her eyes widened in realization when she saw his hand move in a signal.

"Dick! Watch out!" she cried, leaping over the couch as Clark rose up and shot a bullet towards the unsuspecting boy.

Dick's eyes widened and he fumbled for his gun, but he realized he was too late and closed his eyes, bracing for the impact of the bullet.

It never came.

Dick's eyes snapped open and time seemed to slow down, he watched in shock as Elliot's body went across his own and took the shot, grunting when the foam bullet made contact with her chest as she fell to the floor, landing amongst a pile of pillows.

Elliot's head rolled to the side and her eyes were closed, her breathing slowed, and for a moment, she looked dead.

Dead?

The word flickered in and out of Dick's head and suddenly, images he had feared began pouring. His mother and father falling, that man laughing, the blood...their shattered bodies... Dead...

"Ahah, that was dirty play." Elliot laughed, looking at Barry and Clark with a playful glare and Barry grinned impishly, holding his hand out to help the girl out.

"What can I say? We're the best. Well, at least I'm the best." Barry boasted and Elliot rolled her eyes, picking herself up and leaving Barry's hand outstretched and waiting.

"What every you say Barry." Elliot scoffed, a grin returning to her face, she whipped around and looked at Dick. "Hey, Dick, that was really fun wasn't it –"

Elliot paused, her eyebrows furrowing as she took in Dick's pale features. She blinked in confusion when tears began to sprout from his baby blue hues and choked sobs began to come from him as he started shaking.

Barry and Clark's eyes zeroed in on the boy and moving fast, Barry's head clicked at the familiar display and he scooped Dick up into his arms, holding him in a tight embrace and whispering soothing words to the younger boy as he rushed out of the room in search for Bruce.

Elliot remained there. Looking slightly hurt and left out, and overall confused as to why her best friend had suddenly begun to cry and looked as if he had seen a ghost, was it something she had done? Did she scare him? Make him upset?

What was wrong?

"Come on Elliot," Clark said gently, grabbing her hand and leading her out of the room, "let's go look for a snack. I must say I'm pretty hungry." Clark joked, but looked down awkwardly at Elliot's forlorn expression.

This was going to be a long day.

Elliot let out a small sigh. Looking down, she looked at her bowl of ice cream rather distastefully, prodding the vanilla and mint chocolate chip mix without much effort. The ice cream stared back up at her, as if asking what on earth it had done to make her so depressed.

Meanwhile, several members of the Justice League watched from a far and looked worriedly at the little girl, quite unsure as to what to do.

"Poor thing..." Diana murmured softly, looking pityingly at the child.

"Someone should go do something." Oliver said in a whisper, looking back from Elliot to the rest of the people around the table to make sure she hadn't heard.

"Then why don't you go?" Dinah questioned, elbowing Oliver in the ribs, "That poor little girl looks so...sad."

The rest of the people around the table turned around to look at Elliot, whom now had her head pressed flat against the table in a head desking position.

"But what would we do?" Barry questioned, peering sadly over at Elliot, "I mean, Dicky just broke down, and she probably thinks it's all her fault."

"Then why not just go tell her what's wrong?" Red Tornado suggested and all of the people around the table swiveled their heads and blinked at Red Tornado.

...

RT shook his head and approached the table Elliot was sitting at awkwardly, well, if he had human emotions, he would feel very awkward, and very pressured right now.

"Elliot." Red Tornado addressed and Elliot lifted her head a bit and looked up at the android blankly.

"Hey, Red." She murmured sadly, resting her chin back on the table.

Red Tornado shifted and looked down at the sad and depressed looking child, trying to search his memory files for anything that may be of use in such a situation like this.

"You know, if you're not sure as to what is going on, perhaps it would be best to consult Robin himself." He stated finally, and Elliot blinked before her already amber-gold eyes brightened and a huge grin made its way to her face.

"You're right RT! Thanks!" She cried, leaping down from the table bench and zipping out of the room so fast that Barry himself would have been proud.

"There, now that wasn't so hard." Barry said, looking satisfied as he nodded his head.

"You barely did anything." Oliver snorted, looking from across the table and at the other hero, "And considering you have a nephew back at home, shouldn't you have known what to do?"

"Well –" Barry began, looking flustered for a moment before he in turn gave an accusing look at Oliver, "Well, what about you, huh? You've got Roy; shouldn't you know how to deal with al of this kind of drama?"

"When I took Roy under my wing he was already well on his way to doing things himself." Oliver argued, "But Wally's still young, only what, a few months older than Elliot? You should have way more experience."

"How about we just settle on the fact that you're both lazy idiots who don't have a sensitive bone in their body." Dinah snorted, crossing her arms under her chest as Diana nodded in agreement.

"Hey!"

"Alfred!" Elliot shouted, running or catch up with the butler as he halted in his steps and peered down curiously at the little girl.

"Yes Miss Elliot?"

"Just Elliot." Elliot said automatically and the blinked shaking her head to remind herself of her previous mission, "How's Dick? What's wrong? Did I make him upset? Can I see him? Did I –"

"Please, Miss Elliot," Alfred began putting a calming hand on the girl unruly mass of black hair, "I may be quite the butler, but I can only understand so much at once. Master Richard is resting at the moment; all is well, some very unfortunate memories just happened to be popping up is all." Alfred said calmingly, but Elliot's looked unconvinced.

"If you wish to believe that something is still your fault, why not make him something as a token of apology?" Alfred suggested, and Elliot's eyes widened.

"That's a great idea! Thanks Alfie!" Elliot shouted, turning around and dashing around the corner to her room.

Alfred blinked and shook his head, releasing a small sigh.

Honestly, what on earth was Master Bruce thinking?

Elliot bit the inside of her cheek, surveying what had been dubbed as her work room and rubbing the back of her head, elbow sticking up in her signature pose as she began to make her way through the mess and clatter of random objects that lay within the room.

Scraps of metal of all different sorts, types, shapes, and sizes littered the floor, along with the occasional bottle cap, random screws, wrenches, hammers, goggles, and various other assortments of tools hanging on hooks and lying around on different desks. Several boxes were propped open, revealing a large assortment of different glass shards, all looking fairly dangerous if not watched out for, while another box beside it laid a mix of wires, cables, chargers, and various other electronic pieces.

Overall, the room was a mess.

"Now, what can I make for Dick?" Elliot questioned around, stepping over a pile of metal pieces hooked together and looking up at her shelf of finished objects, trying to find some sort of spark of creative inspiration that would lead her to what she wished to make for Dick.

In the corner of the room, several book shelves laid against the wall, the first few top shelves had already been filled with the objects Elliot had already finished. She looked at the extended paw, made up of metal welded together with glass melted at the top to form the claws, the glass rose, a few other flowers; such as lilies and orchids, a box, a key, a banana, an apple, a dog, a misshapen pig, and a wing.

A wing.

Dick.

Robin.

Wing, Dick, Robin...

"AHAH!" Elliot cried out, eyes alighting in triumph as she rushed over to a box and yanked out several random pieces of metal, and after dropping them off at the one single desk that remained perfectly clear, rushed over to the glass box and carefully picked up a few shards of glass, picking up a few tools and other items on the way, she made her way back to the desk and sat down.

Stretching her arms, Elliot peered down at all the scraps before her and smirked.

This was going to be fun.

Several Hours Later...

"BANANA MONKEYS STOLE MY RAINBOWS!" Elliot shouted, jolting up at the sound of a loud beep.

Her amber-gold cat-like eyes flittered around the room, trying to get a hold of where she was when she realized that she was still in her little workshop.

"Must've fallen asleep." She mumbled with a yawn, looking around, she peered at the clock hanging on the wall and squinted as she made out the time.

"...Two o' five..."

Blink.

"HOW LONG WAS I ASLEEP?" Elliot exclaimed, leaping out of her chair and only now noticing the light and fluffy gray wool blanket that fluttered to the floor upon disturbance.

Elliot stared at the blanket, a bit of a warm feeling crept inside as the realization of who put that on flittered through her.

They cared for her...

Shaking her head, she turned around and a sigh of relief escaped her lips at the finished project sitting on the desk. Luckily, it seemed that she had been able to finish it before she had fallen asleep.

"Now, time to take this to Dick..." She grinned lightly, walking over to her desk only to promptly trip over something on the floor.

And land flat on her face.

"Ow..." She groaned, sitting up and shaking her head as she pouted and glared at the object that had caused her to trip.

A small, lonely looking screw laid there on the floor, a little rusted around the sides, and a huge hole in the middle, making it able to be clipped onto something.

Elliot blinked and picked up the screw, examining it a moment while racking through her brain, trying to see if she could remember what it was to be used for...

With a shrug she dismissed the thought, for it seemed to be too complicated for her nine-year-old brain to rack through her memories in the middle of the night. But, just for safe keeping, she laid the screw atop her desk, making a mental note to find some rope and make a necklace out of it, for it seemed in practically every project, there was always that one screw...

With a grin lighting up her face, she grabbed the item lying on top of her desk and made her way to her friend's room.

Scared.

Fear.

Coward.

Those were the only words being able to process through his head.

Young, eight-year-old Richard Grayson huddled close to himself in a fetal positions, even the covering of warm, comforted blankets couldn't shield him from the coldness he felt, which seemed to bury itself deep within him.

Their faces.

The screams.

His laugh.

Helplessness.

A small, chocked sob racked his body as he curled up closer to himself; he couldn't escape from them could he? They would never go away, that night, that scene, how it all happened, it seemed like no matter what he did, they would always come back.

And he had to face them all alone.

Unknowingly, tears began to fall from the little boy's eyes, and harsh sobs began to rack his body. Unable to hold it in, he let out the small cries into his pillow and clenched his fists, feeling the tears pouring from his eyes and landing in the soft fabric of the pillow.

"Dick."

They would never leave.

"Dick."

Did he want them to leave?

"Dick."

They seemed so close.

"Dick! Hey, Dick! Buddy, are you okay? Common' say something!"

Dick paused a moment, that voice sounded so familiar.

"Hey!"

Elliot?

Dick looked up from his pillow, only to have another one be slammed into his face.

"Dick! –whack – Are! –whack – You! –whack – O –whack – Kay!" Elliot shouted, slamming the pillow into his face.

"Yes! Elliot! I'm awake just stop hitting me!" Dick cried, dodging another barrage of whacks from his friends as she finally stopped and looked at him, worry clouding her normally glittering golden amber orbs.

"Are you okay? I mean, you looked sick and I – " Elliot froze and jumped off of his bed, crawling over to the other side of the room and flattening herself against the wall.

"Umm...Elliot? Are you okay?" Dick asked as Elliot bit her lips and suddenly, her cheeks flushed a bright red and she bowed her head down and rushed out.

"I'!" She gushed out, her cheeks a bright red as she shifted nervously and Dick blinked.

"Elliot, you didn't do anything wrong..."

"Really?" She asked, her eyes growing wide as the color returned to her cheeks, "Then why did you...you know..." She began, trailing off and Dick's gaze lowered to the floor and he wrapped his arms around his knees.

"It's a long story..."

"I've got a long time." Elliot answered, crawling back onto the bed and sitting beside her friend, "What's wrong?"

"You see..." Dick began, tears seeming about ready to fall already as the memories flashed through his head.

Elliot's brows furrowed as she sensed the uneasy feelings coming from the boy, silently, she leaned against him, letting him know she was right beside him.

"If you don't want to tell me," She said softly, her eyes trailing out towards the window, "I don't mind..."

Dick almost felt himself take her up on that offer, he didn't know exactly how he could cope with his emotions, considering how young he was, but for some reason, he felt as if he yearned for someone else to be able to speak to, someone closer to his age, someone who he knew wouldn't look at it from an adult's point of view.

"My mommy and daddy, we used to work at a circus..." He began the happy memories of laughter entering his head, "We were really good, but one day...there was a really bad accident caused by a really bad man and they...they..."

Elliot leaned against Dick harder, shutting her eyes as soft sobs began to engulf the little boy, and he buried his head in his arms and cried into them softly, the tears pouring out.

"Say no more, its okay..." Elliot whispered, sitting up and enveloping the boy in a hug.

Dick turned and buried his head in the small crook of her neck, resting is forehead on her shoulder he wrapped his small arms around her slim form and held on, glad that she was there at this very moment.

Glad for the comfort of another being.

"Ya' know what I think though?" Elliot whispered, shifting awkwardly in the hug, considering that she had never really comforted anyone before, and things like this were rather foreign to her.

"What?" Dick asked quietly, the sobs quieting down but the tears still slightly going as he sniffed and wiped his runny nose.

"You're really brave." Elliot whispered, peering into Dick's beautiful baby blue hues.

"B-brave?" Dick asked, stiffening in shock, "H-how am I-I b-b-brave?"

"'Cause, well..." Elliot began, looking away a moment and then looking back, a slight warmth in her eyes, "You can face all of this 'ya know? All of those bad memories, I mean, losing your mommy and daddy...that would suck. Even if my mommy and daddy aren't to close to me –" Elliot's face clouded a moment before it cleared away, "I would still be sad if they were gone, yet, here you are, being able to put on a smile even if they're gone, I mean, I think that's pretty brave."

Dick stared at his friend wide eyed, being called brave was the last thing he expected to hear, especially from someone like Elliot who had scolded him for crying after falling off of the skate board.

"Besides," Elliot started, a playful look coming onto her face, "From all the movies I've seen, a lot of 'em get all emoey and are all, "Oh, I'm gonna go avenge my parents, I'm a monster, I walk a path by myself..." Elliot drawled, making her eyes droop and putting on a deep voice.

Dick let out a small chuckle and Elliot grinned, her eyes lighting up, "And ya' know what?"

"What?"

"I'll tell you one of my worst fears." Elliot said, glancing around as if anyone might overhear.

"What is it?" Dick asked, his eyes widening in awe as Elliot leaned forward and whispered quietly.

"Barney."

"...who?"

"You know..." Elliot began, looking a little nervous, "That really creepy purple dinosaur that appears on the television sometimes?"

Dick racked his brain and a small memory of a watching an episode and getting bored flickered in his head.

"Yeah..."

"Well, he scares me." Elliot shivered, looking around as if any moment a giant purple dinosaur might appear and try to harm her, "I mean, it's just not natural."

"Uhuh." Dick drawled, rolling his eyes at his friend.

Elliot pouted at his lack of consideration and sat back a bit, feeling something jab her side, realization flickered in her mind and she grinned, turning back to Dick.

"And guess what?"

"What?"

"I've got a present for you!" Elliot exclaimed, and Dick's eyes widened and he suddenly looked very interested.

"What is it?"

"Close your eyes." Elliot whispered, Dick obediently did so and Elliot pulled the object out of her pocket, setting it in his palm.

Dick opened his eyes at the slightly heavy weight in his palm, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped, awe coloring his face.

"What is it?" Dick breathed, tracing a finger over the nicely polished, slender wooden box that rest in his hand, a small little latch keeping it shut.

"Open it." Elliot grinned and Dick did as told, and if possible, his eyes widened further.

There, hiding within the gentle encasement of the wooden box, was a delicate, gently welded metallic bird, curved as if it were about to take flight, with a wing outstretched and the other poised to move. A thin encasement of red-orange glass gleamed over the bird, growing thicker around the wings and giving it a deliciously mysterious gleam from the moonlight shining through the window. Smaller blood red feathers made of glass littered the floor of the box, and once the lid was fully popped open, the bird began to spin.

Dick let out a small breath of awe as the bird spun in light circles seeming to rise higher and higher with each twirl, a light, gentle and soft melody echoed from the box, filling the room with a sweet lullaby.

"It's...it's..." Dick was at a lost for words, unable to say anything about the amazing work of art that lay before him. "Is it really for...me?" He asked, clear disbelief on his face as Elliot grinned, rubbing her neck sheepishly in her signature pose as she nodded.

"I'm sorry if it's not all good and all, and it was a bit rushed, but it's got some pretty neat tricks." Elliot said, her eyes lighting up as she leaned over and took the box from Dick's hands.

"See, this part right here," She began tracing her finger on a slight curve that went into the wooden box, "You can tug it out and it's a small storage compartment, and the little feathers all over the floor," She picked one up and held it up, since it was barely bigger than an ant, Dick didn't think there was much it could do, "they've got a pretty neat trick."

With an impish grin, she threw a feather to the floor and it cracked, red smoke leaking out of the feather and quickly spreading along the floor of the room.

"Don't know why, but I figured it'd be pretty cool." Elliot laughed lightly, rubbing her neck before a sparkle lit up in her eye, "And there's one more secret it's got, but you'll have to figure it out for yourself."

"Elliot..." Dick began, looking down at his hands and then staring up at the girl before him.

"Thank you."

"...no problem." Elliot whispered lightly, hearing the words sounded foreign in her ears, and she couldn't help but smile at the warmth they brought.

Dick launched himself at the older girl, wrapping his arms around her a wide smile made its way to his face. Elliot's eyes widened at the sudden contact, and as she looked down at the boy before her, her eyes softened and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling the boy closer to her as she pulled the blankets over them and snuggled deeper into the comfortable bed.

For Dick, he couldn't be happier this very moment. There, here before him, was someone, who maybe, just maybe, could help drive those awful memories away, as well as promise a friendship he'd never expect from such an unlikely place.

For Elliot, a new feeling of an unfamiliar warmth touched her heart, and she smiled softly, she prayed with all her might, no, begged, that this moment wouldn't be ruined, since for once, everything seemed right.

Bruce felt a small smile tug at the corner of his lips.

He had been worried when he had heard noises coming from Dick's room, but it had seemed that Elliot had beaten him to the come to the boy's aid, and now, they were closer.

Of course, he wouldn't want her involved in any of the outside world's problems, she may know of the League, but there was no need for her to learn of the people against them, she could remain her, safe and sound, without a care in the world, and forget the life she had lived, like he hoped Dick would one day be able to do.

With a small sigh, he turned around and shut the door behind him as he made his out of the room.

There was work to be done.

Man, I hope this sorta long chapter makes up for the long no-update period... ahah... I'll try to get this updated more often, I'm just juggling stories right now, trying to keep them all up-to-date, and I finally got off my lazy arse and typed up this chapter, hoorah!

Reina Grayson: Yeah, 'cause supes always knows what's best. XD Thanks, I like to think of the as total partners in crime when it comes to the League, and pranks. Thanks for reviewing!

Angel of Mysteries: Oh, most definitely, I do very much plan on adding the other guys in here as well, but not yet, since I want to get more Dick and Elliot and the League in before some other main points start coming in. Thanks for the review!

The Book FANGIRL: Really? That's so nice! Thanks! :D Ahah, yeah, I was planning on making it more obvious but I was just like, eh, what the heck, and made it really seem like she was a boy... I hope this got out soon enough, thanks for the review!

And thank you all to those who have favorited/alerted this story, you make my world go round. :3

NOW PLEASE, ALL I ASK IS THAT YOU REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW AND MAKE THIS SAD PERSON SITTING EBHIND A COMPUTER WITH NO LIFE HAPPYZ. :D

Marshmellow-

-OUT!