Wow, 100th chapter! I never thought I would make it this far. Thanks to everyone who has read the story. I'm starting another fanfic about the batfamily that is still going to be in this universe, it's called Some Nights, so you should go check it out. I hope you like this chapter, please review.
Three days later, what was left of the team, except for Robin, were cleaning up after dinner. They were all staying at the cave for a few days, still trying to work through their grief over Tula, and Robin came and went, always in civies. "He hasn't gone home since it happened," Wally had told them the day before. "I hope he knows he can come to us with anything," Megan had said.
Now, the team finished cleaning the kitchen, and Conner brought Gar to his room after the boy had fallen asleep on the couch.
"It's been a rough week for him," Megan said as Conner settled back down on the sofa.
"Yeah, for all of us," Artemis replied. Wally opened his mouth to say something, but the zeta tube whirred to life, announcing Robin's entrance. They turned to watch their friend materialize. When he did, he was wearing a black suit with a blue bird on the chest and a holster with his batons in it, and his signature yellow utility belt was now the same color as the suit.
"Hey, guys. What do you think?" he asked, walking over.
"It's cool. What is it?" Zatanna asked.
"It's my new suit. You know, now that I'm not Robin anymore," he replied, sitting down.
"So, you're really giving it up, then?" Artemis asked.
He shrugged and smiled. "Hey, no one can be a Boy Wonder forever."
Mallory smiled. "Well, it looks good. Gotham's gonna love it."
He tilted his head. "Actually, I'm leaving Gotham for a while," he said.
"What?" Artemis said.
He sighed. "Things are still tense with me and Batman. I just need some space from him. At least for a while."
"So, are you just going to do missions for a while?" Conner asked.
"Actually, I was thinking of trying my hand in Bludhaven," he said, smiling slightly.
The others exchanged worried glances, and Megan leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Robin, you don't have to prove anything to anyone. You know that, don't you?"
"Well, I may not have to prove anything to you guys, but I do have to show Batman that I can take care of things by myself. And, you know, maybe I need to do this for myself, too. I don't know. I've just been living in Batman's shadow for so long, I want to see if I can make it on my own."
They were quiet for a moment, then Artemis smiled and tilted her head. "So, what's your new hero name?" she asked.
He grinned. "How does Nightwing sound?" he asked. Mallory locked eyes with him and smiled. She remembered Superman's story of Nightwing and Flamebird. In fact, her mentor had suggested the later for her when she'd first started getting to know him, but Torch was the one that had stuck.
"Dude, that's so cool," Wally said enthusiastically, and the others nodded in agreement.
"So what are we going to call you?" Mallory asked. "'Cause I'm not calling you Nightwing as your off duty name."
Robin chuckled. "Well," he said quietly, "you can call me Dick."
Wally looked around at the team. "Who told him we call him that behind his back?" he asked accusingly, and Artemis said, "What?"
Robin realized what it sounded like and shook his head. "No, uh‒" he looked at Wally, finally realizing what his friend had said, and he said, "wait, what?"
Wally grinned. "Sorry. I've been waiting four years to make that joke."
Robin laughed and looked back at the others. "Dick Grayson. My name is Dick Grayson."
"Woah," Raquel said. "I feel like I just learned the codes to a missile or something."
The team laughed, and Mallory tilted her head. "Dick," she said, trying the name out. "Huh. So, who else knows your secret identity?"
"Well, Wally and Roy knew it before the team formed, and Superman and Flash know. Other than that, no one."
"Wait, Flash knew, and he never said anything?" Mallory asked in disbelief.
Wally burst out laughing. "Yeah, he knows who Batman is, too," he said.
Mallory's eyebrows shot up. "They trust him with the League's most sacred secret?" she asked.
Wally and Robin shrugged. "It was kind of a desperate times thing, but he's known since it was just seven members," Wally explained.
Mallory nodded, and Megan turned to Robin. "So, if you aren't going to be living in Gotham anymore, you know you're more than welcome to move in here."
Robin shook his head. "No offense, but I'm good. Honestly, I don't want to live somewhere he can just pop in any time he wants. Thanks, though. I'll figure something out."
The Martian nodded, and Wally and Artemis looked at each other. "Speaking of housing," Artemis said, "Wally and I got an apartment together. We signed the lease a few days ago."
"Congratulations!" Megan exclaimed, and Zatanna gave Artemis a side hug. "That's great! When do you move in?"
"In a few days. We just have to finish packing up our old places and figure out how to consolidate everything. But the place comes with furniture, so at least we don't have to worry about that. And it's a few blocks away from campus, so not too close and not too far."
"That'll make it easier for you two to get here without looking suspicious," Raquel mentioned.
Wally rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, about that," he said slowly, and Mallory stared at her friend, hoping he wasn't about to say what she thought he was going to say. "When Artemis and I move into the new place, we're not going to come back to the cave," he said.
"What?" Mallory said, staring at him in shock and disappointment.
He looked at her, then Dick, who looked equally as disbelieving. "Look, we've talked it out, and we decided that if we're going to start a life together, we can't risk everything the way we have been. I mean, look what happened with Garth and Tula. We don't want that to happen to us."
"But, Wally, you're a founding member. We already lost Kaldur. What's going to happen to the team if two of the founding members just walk away?" Zatanna asked. No one was actually worried about it, but Mallory thought it was a good attempt at guilting him into staying.
Wally smiled a little. "I think the team will survive," he said.
"It won't be the same, though," Mallory said seriously.
He sighed and bumped her shoulder with his. "Hey, it'll be fine. You'll probably get to liking the cave without me eating all of your snacks."
She scoffed. "Yeah, but you always have the best snacks in your stash."
"We're really going to miss you," Megan said.
Artemis laughed. "You're all acting like you're never going to see us again. Just because we won't be on the team doesn't mean you can't come visit."
"Yeah, you can come over for movie nights and date screenings." He looked at Mallory and added, "And that's not a suggestion, by the way. If you bring another guy to meet the team, I will be here to see if I approve of him or not."
Mallory laughed. "Yeah, you would," she said.
"Of course. That's what family's for," he replied.
Artemis looked at the clock and yawned. "I need to go home tonight. My mom has to go downtown tomorrow morning, and I'm going to have to go with her." She stood, and Wally did as well. "Wait, I'll go with you. We still need to tell her about the apartment."
Artemis started to go to the zeta tube, but Wally hesitated. "I'll meet you there," he told his girlfriend. She nodded and was gone a moment later. "Mal, I have your shampoo in the lab," Wally said. Mallory nodded and walked with him to get it.
"Why didn't you tell me that you two are quitting?" she asked on the way.
"We didn't know for sure until after Kaldur left, we'd just been talking about it," he replied. He pushed open the door and they went to his work station.
"You know, the team's really not going to be the same without you two," she said, taking the bottle from him.
Wally sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "Look around, Mal. It's never going to be the same regardless. Kaldur and Garth already quit, Dick's not with Batman anymore, Tula's gone. There are already a lot of changes. It's probably best if we leave now and let you guys learn how to cope all at once instead of you losing a few people at a time."
Mallory took a shaky breath, fingering the lid of the bottle. "I'm gonna miss you," she said quietly.
Wally smiled and wrapped her in a hug. "I'll miss you, too, little sis. But hey, just because I'm not going on missions with you doesn't mean I'm not still gonna be there for you, or for the team. If you need me for anything, you can still call me." He let go of her and grinned. "And I still expect your mom to invite me over for leftovers."
Mallory chuckled. "Don't worry about that. You know she loves you more than me. You'll still have to come over and visit often."
He nodded. "Good. Well, I should get going."
They went back to the living room and Wally zetaed away. Mallory sat back in her spot and sighed. "The cave's starting to feel pretty empty," she said quietly, feeling very alone all the way at the end of the sofa without Wally and Artemis there.
Megan looked around at all of the empty seats and nodded. "It sure is," she said.
Zatanna looked at the remaining team and smiled. "Hey, family forever, remember? No matter how the team changes."
Mallory smiled, remembering their toast back all those months ago over the campfire. "Family forever," she repeated quietly.
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