Be Able to Laugh About This Someday

CAPE CANAVERAL March 19, 21:00

"So…..how'd she take it?"

"Hmm…"

"Oof. That bad huh?"

"Hmm…."

"Is she gonna come through?"

"….."

"…Nightwing, you do realize the entire plan hinges on her coming through, right?"

"She'll come through."

On this quiet night, the Team was assigned to protect the launch of a new communications satellite by Ferris Aircraft. The satellite was supposed to connect Earth to the people of Mars, but such a link had been met with a lot of opposition. Not many Earthlings were keen on the idea of establishing communications with aliens. As such, various hero squads were dispatched on all three phases. Superboy and Miss Martian manned Bioship and patrolled the skies. Nightwing and Artemis perched atop a reconnaissance tower to monitor the beach. Meanwhile Lagoon Boy was assigned to the seas.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Artemis asked her partner.

"There's nothing to talk about. Not right now."

"But-"

"Mission. Focus."

"….we may not get a chance to talk like this again."

"Hmm…"

"Uhh guys! I found something!" La'Gaan called out via mindlink.

"Status report," Nightwing ordered.

"Looks like Manta has set up a missile station. Looks pretty big and ready to fire. I'm going in."

"Wait! No La'Gaan! Wait for backup!"

*BOOM*

A big explosion burst from the waters as missiles emerged from the sea. Quickly Bioship swooped in and began shooting the missiles down. As this happened, a squad of Mantamen invaded the beach. Picking up on their cue, Artemis and Nightwing descend from the tower and landed on the beach ready to face the squad head on. Kneeling down, the blonde archer readied a series of shock arrows incapacitating soldiers one by one. Nightwing preferred to get up close and personal and charged towards one soldier, immediately kneeing him in the helmet. Another tried to swing his baton at the acrobat, but Nightwing's reflexes were too fast. He ducked and slammed his escrima stick right into the visor shattering the glass. Wanting some space, the blue bird hero combined his escrima stick into a staff and began spinning it around. He swung his staff in a sweeping motion knocking back a few more Mantamen as Artemis flipped over his head and fired explosive arrows all around. All of them detonated on contact pushing the soldier further back away from the rocket's launch platform.

"Guys!" M'gann called out via mindlink, "They have La'Gann!"

Upon hearing M'gann's voice, everyone noticed a flurry of missiles flying out from under the sea. Conner, apparently piloting Bioship, was doing his best to shoot down the explosives, but he desperately needed help.

"We have to save him!"

"M'gann I need backup," Conner pleaded, "There's so many and I'm not fast enough!"

"Superboy's right," Nightwing added, "We can't let that satellite go down!"

Reluctantly, M'gann flew up and used her powers to start redirecting the missiles towards each other. Explosion after explosion lit up the night sky as missiles were being taken care of by the aerial heroes. Meanwhile on the ground, Nightwing and Artemis were successfully pushing the Mantamen back towards the sea.

"And here I thought I'd be a little rusty coming out of retirement," Artemis tried to joke.

"Don't get cocky. Stay vigilant. We're not out of this yet."

"When'd you become such a hardass?"

"Hmm."

Just then from the dark foamy seas, Kaldur emerged with a scowl. No longer hiding behind a Manta helmet, the former Aqualad cracked his neck and drew his water bearers. Nightwing sent a minor glare towards his former ally. Picking up the signal, Kaldur squinted before focusing on Artemis.

"You should have stayed in retirement," Kaldur growled.

"You should have stayed on the right side!" she fired back.

"I am on the right side! The side I should have been on from the beginning."

"You don't want to do this, Kal!"

"Oh. I believe I do!"

Sucking up the water with his bearers, Kaldur raised up a tidal wave in the shape of a serpent. Flinging his arms forward, the serpent charged and engulfed Nightwing and Artemis shoving them backwards towards the beach. Immediately getting up, Nightwing ran towards Aqualad breaking his staff into escrima sticks. A quick swing to the head and a sweeping kick were both dodged by the Atlantean. Kaldur landed a solid punch on Nightwing's face but allowed his opponent to grapple his arm. Now with the advantage, Nightwing kneed his former friend right in the stomach before spinning and throwing him back at the Mantamen. A loud rumbling caused all parties to freeze. Looking up, everyone noticed the boosters of the rocket firing up and initiating the launch sequence. Getting back up, Kaldur activated his last resort. A mini-rocket launcher popped up from his suit and fired a missile towards the satellite's engines. Unfortunately, another small rocket intercepted the projectile protecting the launching spacecraft. Angered, Kaldur looked down to see Artemis smirking with her bow in hand.

"Oh I'm sorry. Did I ruin your big moment?" she grinned.

Screaming with rage, Kaldur equipped giant water hammers and ran towards the archer. Nightwing flipped in the way but was immediately smashed aside with one quick swing from Kaldur. Artemis tried to get a few arrow shots in, but the Atlantean was too fast. He knocked her arrows away and smashed her bow in half when she tried to block his attack. Kaldur swung towards her head and down to her side as she frantically dodged his flurry. Thinking she had an opening, Artemis threw a quick punch. However, like Nightwing had done before, Kaldur grappled her arm and trapped her in place. His water hammer shifted into a blade as Kaldur thrusted his weapon right into his former teammate's abdomen with no hesitation. Artemis's eyes widened in shock as air practically evaporated from her lungs. Kal continued to grip her arm and pulled her in close.

"Welcome back," he whispered in her ear.

Coldly, he threw her on the ground as he looked up at the satellite.

"Fall back," Kal ordered, "The mission is a failure."

*BOOM*

Everyone once again looked up to see the rocket suddenly burst into flames and fall into pieces. Kaldur gritted his teeth realizing someone had planted a failsafe bomb already on the rocket. With nothing else to do, he signaled the Mantamen to leave. Nightwing finally coming to, jumped up and sprinted towards Artemis's "limp" body. A red stain had appeared on the front of her costume as he frantically searched his belt for a tourniquet or anti-bleeding agent. Soon, Superboy and Miss Martian landed on the beach.

"I-I can't hear a heartbeat," Conner worriedly announced.

M'gann held her breath as Nightwing furiously began chest compressions. All the heroes were in total shock as Nightwing desperately tried to keep Artemis alive.

"Don't just stand there! Call for a medic!" Nightwing yelled.

"But-" M'gann stuttered through forming tears.

"Help me! Goddammit HELP ME!"

"Dick….she's gone," Conner solemnly said as he rested a hand on Nightwing's shoulder.

Finally slowing down, Dick slumped onto the sand looking at the blood on his hands. M'gann couldn't take it anymore and fell to her knees sobbing.

"This wasn't supposed to happen…"

BLUDHAVEN March 20, 4:00

"Sigh. We'll laugh about this someday."

Dick looked solemnly at the picture of him and Artemis years ago at Gotham Academy. They looked so young and happy. Completely oblivious to how hard this job could really be. Sometimes he missed when his biggest worry was his Calculus midterm. His holocomputer beeped indicated that the time had come. He pushed off from the crate he was leaning against and turned to see Kaldur appear from the shadows. Just behind the Atlantean, Wally walked out along with a mysterious figure hiding under a hood. It didn't take long for the figure to reveal herself as she took off her hood to let down her blonde hair.

"How are you feeling?" Dick asked the blonde.

"Honestly…still kinda woozy. What the hell was in that sedative?" she responded.

"Yea! I was worried I had to emergency CPR my girlfriend!" Wally scolded.

"I had to up the dosage a little bit. We needed to make sure Conner couldn't hear your heartbeat. Regardless, I'm glad you're ok, Artemis."

"Well, mission success I guess."

"I take it our ruse was successful then?" Kaldur chimed in.

"A little too successful. The Team and the League are in mourning. They may never forgive us."

"And still, only we four know the secret?" Kaldur asked.

"Five," Artemis answered, "She's coming, right?"

Dick didn't answer as he looked away. Kaldur held a confused look for a minute trying to get an answer from Wally and Artemis. Wally sent a regretful glare towards Kal indicating that this was a touchy subject. Artemis pressed on.

"Dick, you said she'd come through."

"And I always do," a new voice appeared.

In a puff of smoke, Zatanna walked out with her heels clattering. Coldly she walked right passed Dick and pulled Artemis in a warm embrace.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"I'm recovering. I should be better in a couple of hours," the archer responded.

"I know you're fully onboard with this ridiculous plan, but I need you to know….I hate it."

"I understand."

The girls and Wally then turned their eyes toward Dick and Kaldur all showing their displeasure with the necessary course of action. Neither the Atlantean nor the acrobat made eye contact with anyone.

"How are things on your end?" Dick asked Kaldur hoping to break the ice.

"Successful. I have proven my loyalty to my biological father. He is moving me up the ladder, bringing me closer to the Light and their unknown partner."

"But Kal, the comsat wasn't supposed to be destroyed!" Artemis interrupted.

"And La'Gaan was not supposed to be caught!" Wally added.

"I did what I had to do to keep him alive. As for the satellite, I guess my father and the Light had contingencies. But I will find a way to help La'Gaan."

"So, now we play our card then?" Artemis asked.

Dick looked to Zee but she didn't return his gaze. Instead, she huffed crossing her arms. Meekly he sighed.

"'Tanna, do you have it?" Artemis asked.

Clapping her hands together, Zatanna pulled them apart to reveal a yellow gemmed necklace. She then tied it around Artemis's neck before tapping on the gem once eliciting a quick yellow spark.

"Sooo this is?" Wally asked.

"It's a glamour charm. It will change Artemis's appearance to someone completely different," Zatanna answered.

"But she still looks the same."

"To the three of us, yes, she still looks like our blonde archer. To everyone else, she'll take on the look of a slightly more mature brunette."

"Three?" Kaldur asked.

"I figured some of us are perceptive enough to recognize who's undercover and who's not," Zee answered this time glaring at Dick.

"Hmm," he grunted.

"Anyway," Kaldur once again broke the tension, "Are we all clear on the plan?"

"Yes," Artemis answered, "I will join you on the trip back to the Light claiming to be an assassin."

"Indeed. Rumor has it the Light has hired the services Slade Wilson alias Deathstroke. You as Tigress will pledge allegiance to his or her teachings."

"I've provided a file for you to study on the way there. Slade is a highly accomplished and expensive assassin. He's quiet, clean, and always gets the job done. You'll have to know everything to convince him to take you on as a pupil. But once you're in, you will provide Kaldur with backup whenever necessary. As a safeguard and an extra pair of eyes," Dick finished out the briefing.

Artemis and Wally squeezed each other's hand tightly, not wanting to let go. Sensing that they needed some alone time, the remaining trio turned away. As Wally and Artemis said their goodbyes, Dick turned to Zee who still wouldn't look at him. Kaldur eyed the very clear tension between the supposed perfect couple of the Team. Though worried, he sighed understanding the sacrifices needed to be made in this endeavor.

"I'm ready," Artemis announced.

Immediately, it was Zatanna's turn to hug Artemis and say goodbye. During the hug, the blonde whispered something quietly into Zatanna's ear. In response, the magician bit her cheek and looked away solemnly.

"Trust me," Artemis said as she patted her best friend's shoulder.

Finally, it was time to depart as Kaldur and Artemis walked towards the Manta Flyer. Wally, Dick, and Zatanna stood and watched the vehicle disappear into the water and zoom away. The somewhat friendly air all but evaporated. Wally's demeanor suddenly matched that of Zatanna's, one fill with anger and worry. Immediately, he turned away ready to leave.

"You can take the Zeta tube at my place. It'd be quicker," Dick offered.

"No thanks. I'm good," Wally responded coldly before speeding away.

That left just Zatanna who was still staring out across the pier.

"How um…How are you doing?" Dick shyly asked.

"…"

"Are you settling in ok?"

"…."

"Zee?"

Annoyed, she turned around again and brushed past him before disappearing in the puff of smoke. He knew she could have just vanished in place without moving. So, deliberately brushing past him was an indication that she was still very very upset.

"…..We'll laugh about this someday."

BLUDHAVEN March 17, 19:30

Dick stretched and yawned before arriving just in front of the Arconia. Lester, the doorman, greeted him with a smile.

"How ya doin', Dick?"

"Long day, Lester. Long day."

"Well, chin up pal. Today's almost over. Tomorrow is a new beginning. Have a good night."

"Thank you."

Dick entered with heavy steps. He was in no hurry to go home. His mind spaced out as he stopped in front of the elevator. His fingers remained in his pockets not wanting to push the button. He was so distracted he didn't even notice a young woman arriving next to him. Somehow, Dick's eyes did not pick up on her bright yellow beanie, yellow sweater, yellow fuzzy jacket, and bright red headphones. Awkwardly she waited until she realized the elevator hadn't been called yet. Looking back and forth at a spaced-out Grayson and the button, she finally rolled her eyes and called for the lift. The little action spurred Dick out of his stupor causing him to blink a couple times.

"Sorry. My mistake," he apologized.

She just nodded. As the elevator arrived, both entered silently. He pressed the number eight as she pressed the number twelve. Her eyes widened slightly, realizing that her fellow rider was heading to the eighth floor, but she didn't say anything. Unfortunately, Dick's sixth sense picked up on her minor staring.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Um. Sorry," she answered meekly, "I didn't realize you lived on the eighth floor."

"Ah yea. My girlfriend and I moved in a few years ago. We uh don't usually attend all the tenant community stuff. Just busy and all."

"No no I get it. I'm not into the kumbaya stuff anyway. Plus, I technically don't live here."

"Hmm?" Dick raised his eyebrow.

"Sorry! I meant well….my aunt owns the apartment. She's letting me live here for a bit. T-that's all. That's probably we haven't seen each other very much."

"Ok. Well it's nice to meet you…..uh?"

"Mabel. Mabel Mora."

"Nice to meet you, Mabel. I'm Dick Grayson."

"Nice to meet you."

*DING*

"Welp. That's me. Have a nice night, Mabel," he smiled walking out.

"You too, Officer Grayson."

Dick paused and looked back holding the elevator door.

"How did you know I was police?"

"Uhhh well um everyone knows a cop lives on the eighth floor. I just assumed y'know a tall guy like yourself would be police."

"Hmm. How long has your aunt been letting you live here?"

"Uhhhh a few months. Close to a year-ish."

"Uhh ok. Well, again have a good night."

"You too!...Officer sexy," she mumbled as Dick let the door close and walked away, "So that's what he looks like…Zoe would've loved him."

*CLICK*

Dick opened his apartment door and was hit with a wall of spices and aromas. Garlic, oregano, and maybe some thyme filled the air as the sound of sizzling oil could be heard from the kitchen. If he thought the smells were amazing, the sight before him was stunning…and that totally sucked. At the stove, Zee was managing two different pans. One looked like a saucepan while the other held crackling shrimp that smelled heavenly. Her hair was tied back, and she clearly stole yet another T-shirt from his closet as it fitted her so loosely. So much so he didn't know if she was wearing any shorts or not because the hem of the shirt reached halfway down her thigh.

"Hey baby!" she smiled finally noticing his presence, "You're home a little late. Rough day at the precinct?"

"Uhh something like that."

"Well, I'm glad you're home. I'm sorry this isn't super fancy. I got home about twenty minutes ago. We were still working out the kinks at rehearsal. But I can guarantee a simple shrimp and pasta dish will still hit just the right spot for ya."

"…."

"…Dick?"

"Zee um why don't we sit down. I have to tell you something."

"Uhhh ok."

Worriedly she turned the stove down low to let the pots simmer a bit. She and Dick sat down at the kitchen table. A harsh pounding beat through Zee's chest as she could feel worry, shame, and even fear emanating from Dick.

"Baby, what's wrong?" she asked, "Did something happen at the precinct?"

She reached over and put her hand on his hoping to give him some comfort. He squeezed back acknowledging her attempt, but hesitation still held him back.

"Baby, you can tell me anything. We're in this together. What's bothering you?"

"Zee, I'm going to tell you something. It's something that I'm not very proud of, but I want you to know that I've been doing it in the best interests of both of us. For everyone."

"O-ok…"

"Kaldur didn't really betray the League."

"Wait what?"

"Let me finish."

"….ok."

"For the past year now, Kaldur has been working as a double agent. He lied about his grief of Tula to make his father believe that he had a vendetta against us. That way, Kaldur could infiltrate the Light while I acted as his liaison. Kal has been feeding me information slowly regarding Manta tech and possible targets from the Light. It's how I learned about Malina Island. Unfortunately, the Light still doesn't fully believe Kal has turned coat. So, we uh devised a bit of an illusion…..sorta. There's going to be an attack on a Mars communication satellite at Cape Canaveral. And I've asked Artemis to come along. She's going to be… fake killed by Kaldur. That way the Light will see that he has fully gone towards the dark side. Artemis will then go undercover with Kaldur and provide backup."

"…."

"Zee?"

"So that means both Kaldur and Artemis will be surrounded by the most dangerous people on the planet….constantly?"

"Uhhh yea…"

"Who else knows?" she asked with a growl.

"Uhh Up until a day or so ago, it was just me and Kal. I asked Artemis and Wally first and she agreed to help."

"Why are you telling me just now?"

"Um….well. We needed a way to disguise Artemis, especially from her father. So I er We figured a glamour charm would work best. It's passive and Artemis can keep it on at all times without any hassle. So we were hoping you'd help us?"

"…."

A pregnant pause fell before the two as Zatanna stewed with the information given. Dick sweated slightly unsure of how his girlfriend would take this news. His foot began rapidly tapping the floor in anxious wait. The shrimp began to burn slightly despite the low flame. Finally, Zatanna stood up from the table and walked over to the stove to turn it off. Dick got up and followed her. However, before he could open his mouth to ask if she was ok…

*SMACK*

For a brief moment, Dick's mind went blank. He staggered back blinking his eyes trying to get his bearings. His vision blurred for a moment before refocusing itself. Ironically, he started to come to after seeing the small bits of saliva on the floor, probably his. His hand went up to feel his cheek. It was warm and no doubt very red. Turning up he looked back at Zatanna. Her nostrils were flared. She was definitely gritting her teeth. If possible, smoke definitely would have been coming out of her ears. Dick gulped in slight fear but was ready to take the punishment.

"Let me get this straight," she started eerily calmly, "For the past year, you have been lying to me about Kaldur. You had led me to believe that he was so distraught about Tula that he'd abandon his friends to become a super villain. And then clearly you were stressed out about this that you refused sex and basically forced me to trap you hoping you'd admit what was wrong. But even then, you lied the whole time circumventing the real truth about Kaldur and the Light. And now you want me to help you fake kill my best friend to keep this lie going?!"

"Wait hold on, when you trapped me in the Nest and we had our heart to heart, I meant every word. I was worried about you and if all my actions would ultimately protect you. I did tell you that truth. I just left out the Kaldur double agent part to get around our heart…bond," Dick mentally cringed as he realized he was not making things better.

*SMACK*

"WHAT THE FUCK DICK!?" she cried, "You tried to skirt around our pact so you could keep your bullshit going?!"

"Zee, I didn't mean it like that."

"Well how am I supposed to take it then? Huh? What does it mean when my boyfriend tries to skirt around a magical bond that helps us share our burdens? Hmm? What else have you been hiding from me?!"

"Nothing! Nothing! I swear. Just this. I promise."

"How am I supposed to believe you? Maybe you figured out some way to fake how you're feeling. It's not outside the realm of you bats!"

"Zee c'mon that's not fair."

"No! What's not fair is that you never once thought to tell me any of this until YOU NEEDED SOMETHING FROM ME!"

"Zee please. I wanted to tell you every day. I promise you that. But I couldn't. Kal and I couldn't risk the circle getting too big. We knew the Light was monitoring all of Kaldur's mission and we needed the League's reaction to be genuine….even yours."

"You didn't think I could handle myself, did you?"

"I didn't say that."

"Yea, well you implied it. I'm a stage performer, Dick! Fake smiling is literally my job," she sat down as tears began flowing down her cheeks, "How could you lie to me like this. After all we've been through. We promised to be true and honest with each other. We've been together for nine years, Dick. How could you keep something like this from me and persistently lie to my face?"

"Zee, I never wanted to hurt you. Ever," he tried to kneel down and place his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't touch me," she growled swatting his hands away.

"Sorry."

"We're supposed to be a team. I would always trust you with everything, Dick. Yes I made that mistake with the Greta and the Dreamstone, but I would never go as far as concoct a whole scheme behind your back. I would never try to go around our bond to keep a lie going. We're supposed to share burdens, Dick. I just….it breaks my heart that you never felt comfortable enough to tell me all this until you needed something from me. How could you feel like that?"

"Please believe me, Zee. Kal and I were concerned that if more people knew about our plan, they could get hurt or…."

"Or tip off the Light and blow Kal's cover."

"…I"

"Save it."

Again, an awkward silence fell between them. Shortly, Zatanna stood up and snapped her fingers. In a flash she changed into a trench coat and a baseball cap. Suitcases flew out of their bedroom looking stuffed and quickly packed. Coldly she began walking through the door.

"W-where are you going?" Dick asked worriedly.

"I just….I need some space. This is a lot right now. And frankly, I….I don't know if I can marry someone who doesn't trust me fully."

"But…"

"Be grateful I'm leaving you Pocus. You're going to need some company."

"Zee…."

"I don't approve of your plan whatsoever. But had you told me from the beginning, I would've helped you, like a proper partner should have. Be honest, Dick. Would you have told me at any point if you didn't need a glamour charm or any sort of magical help."

"…." Dick looked away in shame.

"I see. There it is then," she said wiping some tears away, "I will be staying at Shadowcrest. The amplified magic there will help me craft the glamour charm faster. Don't call me. I will call you."

On that final note, she opened the door and slammed it behind her leaving Dick kneeling on the floor. Tears dripped down as he buried his face in his hands. Angered, he slammed his fist onto the ground leaving cracks in the kitchen tiles. Carefully, Pocus peaked his head from behind the couch. He slowly made his way towards Dick resting a paw on his knee. Through his sobbing eyes, Dick looked up at possibly his only friend left.

"….What have I done?"

AN: Heyo everyone! I hope you all had a great 2023 and will finish out with a fantastic Christmas season! I'm sorry for being spotty with the updates. Grad School has taken up a good chunk of my time and with this particular chapter, I kinda wanted the weight of the drama to be done well. And I just wasn't in the right mood to properly get this chapter down. So I was distracted with my Spider-Man fic for a bit. If you're interested, it's called: "Everyday is an Adventure with You." .

Anyway, I'm gonna try to get things moving along. Also, a reader has given me some very appreciated criticism regarding the originality of some of my chapters. I'm sorry if the quality has dipped for some of you as we go along, but I can promise that things will divert from the show starting here. Also to assuage folks, Dick and Zee are not broken up. They just need some time apart. I hope you all continue to stick around to see what's in store! Thank you for your support and I hope to continue this fic for as long as I can. Best wishes and Happy Holidays!