(Don't) Be Deceptive

"Delta Squad to Cave. Target Neutralized."

"Good work, Delta. Come on home. Nightwing out."

January 1st. Another day another New Year. Business as usual it seemed. Clayface had been lurking around Gotham City sewers trying to capture a small-time actor and then replace them in the surface world. Thanks to the efforts of Robin, Superboy, and Miss Martian, poor Basil Karlo was caught and subdued before any major harm could happen. Relaxing and stretching a bit, Nightwing leaned back on his chair and put his hands behind his head. All in a day's work it seemed.

"Hey uh Nightwing?" a voice called out from behind.

"Hmm? Hey La'Gaan," he sat up to greet the Atlantean.

"I was wondering if you could uh train with me. Y'know show me a few moves."

Nightwing smiled at the gesture. La'Gaan had clearly been moping since the incident in Athens with the virus a few months ago. Even though it was decided to keep the brash Atlantean on the team, Dick could tell La'Gaan had become a bit more reserved since then. Probably because of a certain female influence in the fishboy's life.

"Sure. I'd be happy to," Nightwing agreed leading them to the sparring circle.

Teacher and student entered the circle causing the holographic system to light up. Both stretched and cracked their necks a little before getting into their stances.

"Square up," Nightwing instructed, "Always keep your hands up. Keep one foot in front of the other for balance and stability."

"Lotta stuff to think about before fighting huh?"

"That's because once the fight starts, you can't afford to think," Nightwing answered before throwing the first punch.

La'Gaan dodged it with ease.

"Telegraphed that a little too easily, eh coach? OOOOF?"

La'Gaan staggered back clearly taking a sucker punch to the gut.

"Always mind your surroundings," Nightwing smirked, "Made you look with that first punch. I have two hands, La'Gaan. Two feet too. You gotta pay attention to all my extremeties."

"Doesn't Zatanna do that enough already?"

"Alright, I was being nice," Nightwing chuckled.

With a creepy smile, Nightwing unleashed a barrage of attacks on La'Gaan. Lightning-fast punches swung at the fishboy's head. Right hook. Left hook. Right jab. Left uppercut. La'Gaan did an ok job dodging those punches, but once again left him exposed for a right roundhouse kick to the ribs.

"Ahh. Grrrr."

La'Gaan tried the same tactic throwing punch after punch at Nightwing. Like his opponent, Nightwing bobbed and weaved, but quickly found his opening and punched La'Gaan in the stomach causing him to flinch. Not wasting a second, Nightwing leaned forward, grappled La'Gaan's waist, lifted him up in the air, and flipped him over his body.

"Whoaaaaa!"

*THUD*

"Lagoon Boy: Fail."

"Argg," La'Gaan groaned.

"Gotta keep your eyes open. You're reacting to the attacks. That's good. But you also gotta be proactive and find your opening."

"I thought you said not to think?"

"You don't think. You just do. You see your window, you take it," Nightwing smiled extending his hand to help.

"Man, I don't care how long you trained as Robin then Nightwing, one of these days, you're mine!" La'Gaan laughed as he accepted his teacher's hand.

"Haha. I don't doubt it. One day."

"Recognized: Superboy B-04, Miss Martian B-05, Bumblebee B-17, Beast Boy B-19, Robin B-20, Blue Beetle B-22."

Nightwing and La'Gaan watched as the bright yellow light revealed a returning Delta Squad. Poor Conner was covered in Clayface muck while Beast Boy uh…smelled really off. Mal had come downstairs hoping to greet his girlfriend, Bumblebee.

"Whoa slow down, beautiful! Wanna tell you what's on for tonight!"

"Ooo sorry, Mal. I can't. I'm already late for a lab session with Dr. Palmer! Rain check, baby, okay?" Karen said quickly as she ran for the showers.

"Sigh, rain check. Sure.." Mal groaned in disappointment.

In the meantime, La'Gaan quickly approached M'Gann. Gone was his hard-ass bravado. Somehow a softer, squishier La'Gaan appeared in front of the Martian.

"Welcome home, Angelfish," he smiled.

"Thank you, La'Gaan," she grinned before tippy-toeing up for a kiss.

Wolf who had been sleeping in the corner immediately got up and growled. Beast Boy and Beetle exchanged awkward glances as Conner walked by with a relatively indifferent face. Nightwing could only scratch his head at the uncomfortable moment.

"I'm hitting the showers," Conner announced.

Trying to move past the clearly awkward air, Tim approached Dick.

"Clayface is safely back in his Arkham cell," Tim explained to Dick.

"Good work."

"I uh didn't do much. I just uh-"

"EMERGENCY ALERT," Captain Atom announced on the holoscreen, "United Nations Headquarters is under attack."

"Beta's only two blocks away," Mal told Nightwing.

"Captain Atom, the team's Beta Squad is in the vicinity. ETA 3 minutes."

Hours Later

"Now I know I've run this clip for the eight billionth time on this show. But look at the evidence! This is a big alien, ripping apart a sort of humanoid exo suit and pulling out a little alien. We are clearly being invaded and what does the Justice League do about it? Hmmm? Is there a plan? Is there a statement? What of Superman and the Martian Manhunter? Sure they're supposedly on our side, but these two from the UN are certainly not! Who's to say your neighbor, or your coworker, or the person standing next to you on the subway isn't an alien? What is the League hiding?! Well, we here at GBS intent to scope out the truth or my name isn't G. Gordon Godfrey! We now go to Eve Tessmacher standing by at the Hall of Justice."

"Thank you, Gordon. We've been posted just outside the Hall of Justice for over an hour now and so far very few leaguers have agreed to comment. Oh look! Here comes the newest members of the league Rocket and Zatanna!"

The news camera panned to Rocket and Zee walking down the pathway towards the front Hall doors. Both held their heads down clearly not wanting any attention whatsoever. Hoping to get something out of them, Eve ran up and shoved a microphone into Zatanna's face.

"No comment. No comment," Zatanna immediately answered brushing the microphone away.

"But Miss Zatanna, as a world-renowned performer and League member, surely your powers are able to tell you if your husband, Dick Grayson, is actually an alien in disguise or not, right?" Eve asked.

Zatanna stopped in her tracks with Rocket furiously tugging at her sleeves hoping to pull her friend inside. Gritting her teeth, Zee turned around and looked Eve directly in the eye and pointed a finger at her face.

"Listen here! My HUSBAND, Dick Grayson, is not, I repeat, NOT, an alien whatsoever. And for that matter his and my private lives are none of anyone's concern! I would appreciate it if you and the rest of the media stop bothering us with these ridiculous speculating questions!" she answered turning away with a huff.

"How can you be sure?" Eve called out as Zee and Rocket walked away.

"I SLEEP WITH HIM EVERY NIGHT! WHAT DO YOU THINK!?" Zee shouted as the Hall doors closed behind her.

She and Rocket kept walking to the Zeta tube in silence before Rocket tried to lighten the mood.

"Well that went well," Raquel teased.

"Ugh Aly and Edith are gonna kill me."

"Heyy the PR damage may not be that bad. At least you didn't say you fuck him every night."

"Ugh that definitely woulda gone straight to TMZ…"

"And this isn't?"

Outside the Hall, Eve kinda shrugged and smiled back to the camera.

"Well, I guess that's all we're getting out of those two today. Let's check in with William Dey over in Bludhaven!"

"Thanks, Eve. We're here standing just outside the Ninety-Ninth Police Precinct here in Bludhaven. At this point we have yet to spot Zatanna Zatara's husband, Detective Dick Grayson. I'm hoping he'll make an appearance and we can ask some questions and-"

"HEY!" a loud booming voice appeared at the doorway.

"Oh Captain Holt! Great to see you. Is Dick Grayson in?"

"For the last time, Detective Grayson will not be coming out. He has nothing to comment. The Nine-Nine has nothing to comment. You are wasting your time and disrupting our workplace. If you continue, I will personally arrest you for trespassing."

Angrily, Holt slammed the door behind him leaving a baffled William Dey out on the street.

"Uhhh well I guess that's it on my end. Back to you Gordon!"

JUSTICE LEAGUE WATCHTOWER

"Recognized: Zatanna 2-5, Rocket 2-6."

"You sleep with him every night eh, Zatanna?" M'gann teased.

Zee's cheeks turned bright tomato red as she saw Gordon's broadcast on the big screen in front of everyone on the Watchtower. Batman, Captain Atom, John Stewart, Martian Manhunter, Conner, M'gann, even the rando civilian in the white coat all saw her lose her cool on national television.

"Oh my God, someone please just kill me," Zee buried her face in her hands as she walked to hide behind Nightwing.

"When did you two get married?" Conner piled on the torment with a smirk.

"Yes, I am actually offended that I wasn't invited to the ceremony," J'onn earnestly admitted.

"We're uh not married yet. We're working on it…" Nightwing answered.

"Oooo so there's a 'yet'. Meaning it's when not if!" M'gann squealed.

"ANYWAY!" John continued, "The big guy is Lobo. He's an intergalactic bounty hunter. Superman's tangled with him a few times. He's extremely dangerous, but unlikely to return. The little guy, however, is another story. That's a Krolotean, and Kroloteans always travel in packs."

"Meaning more of them are on Earth," Batman added.

"I believe my friend may have vital information on that point," J'onn explained, "Some of you have not met Adam Strange of STAR Labs' Erdel Initiative. He is the scientist responsible for maintaining the Zeta-Beam technology. We use for teleportation."

At this point, Zee figured this would be a relatively long briefing, so she wrapped her arms around Dick's and rested her head on his shoulder. He squeezed her hand gently. In a moment, J'onn had linked up all the minds of the heroes and Adam Strange. Everyone could visually see his memories as Adam described his encounter with the people of Rann.

"…It took weeks to establish even basic communication. But Sardath eventually made me understand some of his Zeta tech had been stolen," Adam explained.

"Fits the Krolotean MO," John added, "Their entire culture revolves around stolen tech."

"Sardath detected transmissions between a single location on Rann and multiple locations on Earth. He was attempting to trace those when he accidentally transported me to Rann. He was able to help me trace Zeta radiation levels on Earth. We were able to pinpoint specific locations in which Kroloteans have been beaming to Earth," Adam continued.

"Then I'm ordering a two-pronged attack. We'll stage simultaneous raids on every Krolotean target on Earth while a contingent of Leaguers travels to Rann with Strange here to cut the Kroloteans off at the source," Captain Atom announced.

"Uhhh yea that might be a problem. Unclear as to why, but all Earthlings are outlawed in Rann's corner of the galaxy. Specifically, these six leaguers who are considered wanted criminals," Adam explained showing holographic wanted posters of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl.

Everyone in the room stood shocked. None of this made sense. The League had never even heard of Rann let along traveled there. Why would they be barred without having made contact? Unless…

"Batman! It's the missing sixteen hours!" Nightwing realized.

"Agreed. Eight years ago, Vandal Savage took complete mental control of the entire Justice League. These exact six Leaguers were missing for sixteen hours," Batman explained.

"What did we do in those sixteen hours…" Lantern asked, "I'll have to alert Hal. He and Guy are on Oa with the Green Lantern Corps."

"Meanwhile, we have fifteen other Leaguers on standby," Captain Atom offered.

"Yea that's not going to work either," Adam interrupted, "There's a planetary watch alert out on Rann for every Leaguer on the roster."

Adam pulled up even more holographic wanted poster scrolling through pictures of Hawkman, Flash, Captain Atom, Zatanna.

"Hey! Why am I on there? I just joined a few months ago!" Zatanna asked.

"They must be periodically updating their wanted list based on changes to the roster," Nightwing reasoned.

"I guess. I knew I shoulda retaken the official membership photo!"

"You're still beautiful to me," he rubbed her shoulders a bit.

"Aww thanks baby."

"AHEM," Batman grunted.

"Ah right! Anyway, not all of us are Leaguers. I can send a squad to handle the Rann end of things. And to find out more about those missing sixteen hours without causing an intergalactic incident," Nightwing presented his plan.

"Do it," Captain Atom agreed.

As the crowd dispersed to prepare for the upcoming operation, Zatanna grabbed her beloved's hand and led him down the corridor to her quarters. Though Nightwing knew he had to return to the cave and set up for the mission, he wasn't going to argue when Zatanna seemed so determined to talk. Once they crossed the threshold and locked her cabin doors, she pushed him against the wall and hugged him.

"I missed you," she whispered.

"I miss you too."

"Baby, no masks. I want to see your eyes," she demanded.

She took off her magician gloves and caressed his cheek. Slowly her fingers traced up to the edge of his domino mask. They slipped under and gently cut through the adhesive removing the last barrier between them. Her blue eyes sadly were met with tired duller ones. There were bags and wrinkles around his face. He yet again grew another stubble on his chin, but it wasn't as bad as it had been when Jason died.

"Baby, you look tired," she whispered.

"I'm fine. Really. It's just uh the stress of being a leader. That's all," he tried to reassure her.

"Hmm. Y'know I don't need our bond to figure out that something has been bothering you. You've been acting strange ever since Kaldur left."

"Uhhh well him leaving was tough for me. We usually split leadership duties, but with him gone, I gotta hold down the fort. It's just a lot. And it's weird not seeing him or Wally around during missions or in the Cave. I haven't really gotten used to it."

"Right. I understand. But is that really the root cause of all this? You haven't been sleeping well at home, and that's if you sleep at home at all."

"I come home!"

"The cold sheets next to me say otherwise…"

"I'm sorry, Zee," he kissed her hands, "I've been working a little late and I don't want you to worry."

"But I do worry. What are you else working on? Tell me."

"Bah it's nothing you'd be interested in. Just a few Big Man leads in Bludhaven."

"Like?"

"Uhh well based on a few reports and confessions, the Big Man is someone with a lot of wealth and power. But despite all that we did, he's still got a sprawling network spread out across Bludhaven. Peralta and I are gradually cracking down on a few."

"Sigh. Look, I love you, and I don't want you to overwork yourself. You need proper rest and food. And y'know…..some stress relief," she purred rubbing his abs, "After this mission, come home tonight, ok? We'll have a bubble bath, some wine and cheese. And um…." she leaned in closer to whisper in his ear, "I'll put on the lacy red one for you, hmm? And I'll do that thing you like with my tongue."

"Hehe ok. I'm serious though, Zee. I'm fine, just a little…OVERwhelmed," he playfully backed away with the tips of his ears burning red.

"Ok well, I'm always here for you. I'm your support. Trust me, ok?" she pecked him on the lips and left the room as he nodded.

"Sigh why'd you have to say it like that…" he groaned once she was out of earshot.

January 4th Mount Justice

"It's all hands-on-deck. The Team and the League will hit all Krolotean Zeta locations simultaneously," Nightwing started briefing, "Your priorities are to destroy all Zeta tubes or platforms and search for any humans the aliens may have abducted. As always, Mal is ops manager coordinating comms from here."

"Come on Alpha squad!" La'Gaan hoped.

"Supergirl, you, me and Zatanna are Alpha. We'll be going to Philadelphia," Nightwing announced.

"Ready to ride Skyguy!" Kara cheered.

"This should be interesting," Batgirl leaned in to whisper into Robin's ear.

"How so?" he asked.

"You don't see it?!"

"See what?"

"Batgirl!" Nightwing slightly shouted.

"Aye aye Captain!" she stood at attention.

"Sigh. You, Bumblebee, and Wonder Girl are Beta. Oh, and uh take Wolf with you. Conner says he hasn't had his walk yet."

"Great now we're dogsitters?" Cassie asked.

"Don't be too judgey just yet. Wolf's a lot more resourceful than you think," Nightwing winked, "Anyway, assignment: Vladivostok."

"Neptune's Beard! That means…." La'Gaan facepalmed.

"Robin, Beetle, Lagoon Boy, you're Gamma. Prep the Bioship. You're headed to New Orleans," Nightwing ordered.

"Sigh, Gamma always gets the soft gigs," La'Gaan lamented.

"Hey, wait a minute," Blue Beetle realized, "Zatanna's a Leaguer? What's she doing here."

Nightwing looked over to Zatanna only to be met with a raised eyebrow and a cheeky glance.

"Sigh she's uh….here to keep an eye on me," Nightwing admitted.

*WHIP CRACK*

*BAHAHAHAHAHA*

Batgirl chuckled as she closed the sound effects app on her phone. Though everyone else was also laughing (Zatanna included), most quieted down after receiving a glare from their esteemed leader. Despite being equally embarrassed and unable to hide the blush in her cheeks, Zatanna walked over and hugged her boo signaling him to relax a little.

"I just want to make sure he's ok. He's been under a lot of stress lately," Zatanna explained, "Besides. He can never say no to me."

*WHIP CRACK*

*BAHHAHAHAHAH*

"ALRIGHT ALREADY!" Nightwing groaned, "You have your assignments. Let's move out!"

After calming down from the lighthearted teasing session, everyone broke into their teams and made their way to the Zeta tubes. Nightwing stopped Robin for a quick second.

"Tim, you'll be leading Gamma."

"Me? Dick I've never led a squad before."

"Making this a good opportunity to get your feet wet as field leader."

"Because it's Gamma and you're not expecting trouble? Or because we're stretched thin, and you have no choice?" Tim asked accusingly.

"…..Just don't die, ok? And no unnecessary risks to the squad. That's an order."

Philadelphia

"Is Philadelphia cream cheese actually made in Philadelphia?" Kara asked as she flew beside the supercycle.

"Uhhh I guess? Not entirely sure," Nightwing answered.

"Hey, are we getting Pat's or Geno's cheese steaks after?" Zatanna asked as she whirled around on her flying disc.

"Oh Oh Oh! I love Geno's! The onions and cheese taste soo much better!" Kara chimed in.

"Actually, I heard Pat's is better. They thinly slice the steak as opposed to cubing them like Geno's," Zatanna argued back.

"What? How could you say that! Geno's is an institution!"

"Yea, but Pat's was established first!"

"Hnnn. Skyguy, looks like you're our tiebreaker!"

"Huh?" Nightwing looked up from his holocomputer.

"Pat's or Geno's?" Kara asked.

"Uhhh I've had both. They're the same. They use the same onions, meat, and cheese. Personally, I'd go for Poe's Sandwich Joint over on North 5th. Their hand-sliced ribeye is amazing," he answered without looking back.

Both girls looked at each other astonished.

"What do you mean Pat's and Geno's are the same!?" they shrieked at the same time.

"Huh? I thought you knew? It's all a publicity stunt," Nightwing answered bluntly.

Once again both girls looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Eventually, they landed atop one of the buildings as Nightwing kept track of the Zeta radiation on his gauntlet.

"I think we're close. The Krolotean Zeta platform should be in that warehouse across the street. I'll let the League know we're in position," Nightwing said.

"Say, Nightwing?"

"Yea, Zee?"

"I'm curious, you divided up the teams, right?"

"Uhhh yea."

"So then if I stuck with the League's plans, Alpha would just be you and Kara….hmm?" she asked raising her eyebrow.

"Uhh I guess," he answered clueless as to where this was going.

Meanwhile, Kara nervously kept her hands behind her back and frantically looked around for something interesting.

"And why praytell would it just be you and Kara?" Zatanna asked crossing her arms.

"Uhh well aside from Conner, when I need muscle, Kara's the one I trust the most," he answered honestly.

"Aww Skyguy!" Kara blushed.

"And I'm just curious," Zatanna showed a toothy grin, "Who else is on your 'muscle' list?"

"Well, after Kara it'd probably be Donna and Kory. Why are you asking, Zee?"

"Oh I dunno. You seem to surround yourself with a lotta women is all," she teased with Kara giggling in the background.

"Well I er I mean they all have super strength. So, uh it's uh purely professional…" Nightwing stammered realizing the trap he fell into.

"Hehehe I'm just teasing, baby," Zatanna hugged him from the side and kissed his cheek.

Despite having a cute tender moment, Nigthwing felt someone's hand tap his free shoulder.

"Say, Nightwing! Y'know I've been working on that new move you taught me in training the other day," Kara beamed with pride.

"Oh really?"

"Yea! You're so totally right about uppercutting my opponent into the air and then juggling them while they're completely upside down and confused. It's genius!" she enthusiastically replied.

"Glad you're getting the hang of it! You've got a lot of unique abilities, Kara. Using your strength in tandem with your flight will really make you a force to be reckon with."

Kara blushed and twirled a piece of her hair for a bit. She was so flustered she didn't even notice the death glare Zatanna was sending her. Of course, neither did Nightwing, but he was oblivious to the whole situation to begin with.

"Well," Zatanna huffed, "Nightwing and I have a few moves of our own. Don't we, baby?"

"Huh? Uhh yea, tons. Tons of moves." he replied.

"Mmmhmm."

"The Kamino Maneuver, Starry Night, Hyperdrive…."

"Oh baby, I'm talking about our…..other moves," she purred into his ear.

"Oh…..OHHHHHH," Nightwing realized as his cheeks burned, "Uhhh sorry."

Although pleased with her teasing, Zatanna couldn't help but notice Nightwing being a bit more reserved than usual. Normally there would be a witty comeback or some slight banter, but really all he had done tonight was answer questions and be very matter of fact. It worried her greatly. She had set him up quite nicely with a few jokes but he hadn't take the cues like he normally would. Something was wrong.

*BEEP BEEP*

"That's our signal! Move out!" Nightwing ordered.

The trio leapt from the rooftop, and all glided towards the warehouse. Nightwing deployed his underarm wings while Kara and Zee floated towards the target. As they crashed though the windows, they found that the warehouse was mostly bare. In the center, a single Krolotean was working on a console before freaking out at the new intruders.

"I got it!" Kara and Zatanna both shouted out.

Both, for whatever reason, felt the need to lunged towards the little alien critter at the same time. In their haste, they didn't establish any coordination and ended up colliding into each other.

"Ow!"

"Ahhh"

"Jeez!"

Ignoring the two, Nightwing flipped over them and tried to chase the Krolotean but was too late. The little guy easily slipped through the Zeta tube and beamed away. Nightwing shook his head before throwing an explosive wing-ding at the platform destroying it.

"Alpha to Cave," he reported, "One platform, now non-operational. One Krolotean escaped. Zero abductees."

"Leaguers are getting similar results. Same with Beta," Mal answered on comms.

"And Gamma?"

"Yea….about them," Mal awkwardly answered.

"Sigh. Send me coordinates. We're on our way. Nightwing out."

He turned off comms and turned to the girls behind him who were still rubbing their heads.

"What the heck was that, Zatanna?" Kara scolded the magician.

"I said I had him!"

"No, I said I had him!"

"Well, I said it first!"

"Why didn't you just levitate him in the air so I could grab him?"

"Why didn't you just use your superspeed?"

"I would have but your dump truck ass got in the way!"

"Excuse you! I work hard to get this ass! What about you skinny McGee?"

"I don't need to work out! I've got superstrength! In case you haven't heard I'm number TWO on Nightwing's muscle list!"

"Yea well I'm number ONE on ALL his lists!"

"ENOUGH!" Nightwing shouted. "We have to move. Gamma is in trouble, and they need backup."

He walked over and helped Zatanna up first brushing off any dirt and soot from her coat. Then Kara took his offered hand and pulled herself up too. Sphere rolled into the warehouse and quickly transformed into the supercycle revving and ready to go.

"We'll have to hurry if we want to make it to New Orleans. Come on," Nightwing ordered walking to the cycle.

Behind him, Zatanna and Kara exchanged glances before Kara stuck her tongue out causing Zatanna to roll her eyes.

Arconia Apartment 8A

After the very very very big clean up in New Orleans, Dick and Zee arrived home greeted by an eager Pocus.

"Hello sweetie!" Zee cooed as she picked up the fluffy bunny, "Did you miss Mommy and Daddy?"

Pocus nodded. Sadly, there were noticeable dirt patches all over his pristine white fur. Zatanna held him up by the arms to further inspect the griminess.

"Pocus! Have you been exploring the city with Greta again?!" Zee asked as Pocus shyly looked away, "Ugh I told her to stop taking you to Mrs. Vartabedian's garden. You're ruining her bell peppers! Sigh, looks like you'll have to drop groceries off to her again, Dick."

"Huh?" he asked taking off his armor and undershirt.

"Groceries to Mrs. Vartabedian. Have you not been paying attention?"

"Right uh….why?"

"Cuz Pocus played in her garden and ruin her vegetables…..Are you ok?"

"Yea yea! I'm fine. All good."

"Uhhh ok. I'm gonna clean Pocus first. Warm up the shower and I'll join you in a bit, ok?"

"Yea. Ok."

Dick entered the shower and turned the level to let the warm water cascade around him. He closed his eyes leaning against the glass as the water flowed freely down his muscles. His mind went blank. No thoughts. Just soothing white noise of water falling out the showerhead. Dick honestly wasn't sure how long he just stood there, but it was probably a while as Zatanna eventually joined him. After cleaning Pocus and all the mud tracks he created in the apartment, she came into the shower and hugged him from behind kissing his shoulder.

"Hey Baby," she cooed.

"Hey Zee."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"Something is wrong, Dick. I can feel it."

"Zee, really. I'm fine," he tried to reassure her again, "It's like I said on the Watchtower. I'm just a little spread thin."

"Let me help. Please," she whimpered as she reached down to stroke his member.

"Ahh ahh n-nnnot tonight Zee," he groaned grasping her hand.

"No?" she asked.

"I'm uh just tired from the day. Can we just cuddle and go to bed?"

"Y-you're…you're rejecting sex? From ME?"

"What? No no. Just rain checking for now. Honest," he turned around holding her shoulders.

"….Dick?"

"I'm just tired. Really," he hugged her close and stroked her hair trying to soothe her.

Zatanna closed her eyes and tried to feel the bond of their hearts. Though something felt odd about his words, she could tell he was being genuine about feeling fatigued, tired, and exhausted over some sort of stress. It still felt like he was hiding something, but she opted to trust him knowing he'd tell her when he was ready.

"Ok. Let's just freshen up and go to bed."

"Yea. Thanks, Zee."

Hours later, Dick and Zee were spooning in bed. She was blissfully asleep with some slight snoring. For a while now, Dick held her close and even massaged her breasts. Going in circles, reassuring her that he was still there. Once he knew she was fast asleep, Dick slowly removed his hand and quietly tried to roll off the bed. The mattress creaked ever so slightly causing Dick to freeze as Zatanna rolled over. Luckily, she was till in a sleepy haze and didn't even open her eyes. Quickly, he moved his pillow for her to grab and wrap herself around.

"Mmmm babyyy, keeping rubbing my nipples just like that. Little circles baby. Little circles…" she mumbled before drifting off to sleep again.

Relaxing a little, Dick put on a mask and a black hoodie and left through the window.

A little while later, Dick awaited patiently near the Bludhaven Harbor at an unidentifiable warehouse.

"You're late," a voice called to him.

Dick turned around to see a tall dark armored man. His mask resembled the blood red eyes of Black Manta, yet when he removed his helmet, Kaldur revealed his familiar soft face and blonde hair.

"Yea well, Zee's being extra clingy lately. You try climbing out of bed when your girlfriend's legs are wrapped around you."

"….."

"S-sorry. I uh didn't mean to rub my relationship in your face," Dick meekly apologized.

"It's alright. Truly I am happy for you both."

"Thank you. Anyway, what have you got for me today?"

"Sigh. Progress is a bit slow. My father is very encouraging and has enthusiastically taken me on as a protégé. But the Light seems hesitant. I have yet to even sit in on a meeting."

"Sigh," Dick let out a breath, "It's been months Kal. This isn't getting any easier."

"I know. But we must be patient."

"It's getting harder and harder to remain patient," Dick growled before composing himself, "What else you got for me?"

"The Kroloteans are definitely not here by accident. They've been infiltrating our society slowly for the past few months almost a year. Although they've abducted and replaced multiple humans, it is still unclear their purpose or pattern. They seem to be kidnapping people at random."

"Well that makes things hard. Anything else."

"The Kroloteans have a rendezvous point on Malina Island. They'll most likely be regrouping there. However, my father knows the League has been disruptive lately. Expect heavy resistance."

"Great. So now I've got to convince the League on an assault on Malina Island. Good thing Gamma squad was able to capture a Krolotean for interrogation."

"Then there's your alibi."

"Y'know if we do this…we might run into you."

"Agreed. It may be a bit too soon to reveal my supposed allegiance."

"I was hoping we'd have a bit more time before your grand debut. We'll just have to roll with the punches as they come I guess…"

"I'm sorry, my friend. Forcing you to lie to your closest friends like this," Kal earnestly placed a hand on Dick's shoulders.

"No no it's fine. I hate having to lie to Zee like this, but you have to lie every day to our enemies."

"You look tired."

"Heh Zee thinks so too. After all I'm running three operations on top of pretending I'm only running two. But enough about me. We need to get you further ingratiated into the Light. And fast."

"Agreed. Perhaps if I perform well during the Malina Island raid."

"That means you can't hold back."

"Neither can you, my friend…"

Meanwhile back at the Arconia, despite hugging Dick's pillow and fully taking in his scent, Zatanna started trembling. She clutched the pillow even tighter crumpling the casing. She tried to wipe her sweat onto the sheets as she turned onto her other side. Her eyes pinched together as her face was buried further and further in the pillow. Worry and fear consumed her heart.

"Dick…"

AN: And here we are moving on to season 2! Woohoo. I've started rewatching season 2 of Young Justice and I'm gonna see which ones I want to adapt/twist to make them more Chalant centric. I'm not gonna completely translate every scene frame-by-frame, line-by-line cuz if yall wanted to watch s2, you'd watch s2 hhaha. As I was writing, I do wonder if I'm leaving out too many details. Like, as I was writing, I'm very much assuming you, the reader, are familiar with the Young Justice lore and happenings. But then I feel as though I'd leave readers who don't know much about the show in the dust. What you yall think? I'd really appreciate the feedback. Anywho, there's definitely still more to come! Thanks for all the support!