(A/N: I do not own Young Justice or any DC Character. That right belongs to Warner Bros).

Over the past month or so while M'Gann, Conner, Garr and J'onn made their way to Mars, there wasn't much to talk about. Dick and the League went on missions, had meetings with the League along with briefings with Tigress and Cassie (Who acted as the leader of the Outsiders for the time being).

Dick had to admit, he was really impressed with how rapid the Outsiders seemed to be spreading. The team expanded to at least 10 members now with Mist, Livewire, Wendy (Now going by Windfall now), Lia (Codename Looker) and even Courtney Whitmore who had by this time last year had been interviewing both him and Jeff now went by Stargirl after mysteriously coming into possession of some sort of magical staff.

The Team remained as it did with Tigress taking up the mantle as leader in M'Gann's place after she stepped down the previous year. She seemed to be really enjoying being back in the field. This along with having a boyfriend and becoming an esteemed college professor in Literature, she was making quite a life for herself.

Everyone seemed to be these days, Dick noticed. Conner and M'Gann's marriage, Artemis continuing on with her life and developing a fantastic career, Kaldur balancing his time between being Aquaman on the surface and being back at home with his boyfriend in Atlantis, Raquel having a child to focus on and Zatanna even spent most nights training Traci along with some other kids.

Dick remembered one of them as Sergeant Marvel, who had been in the covert team during the 5 year gap between Will turning out to be a clone of the real Roy Harper as well as a mole and the Reach. He was always sad she quit the Team but understood that she felt she needed to control her powers and actually spend time as Mary instead as she for a while spent most of her time as Sergeant Marvel instead. He was actually glad now that she was trying out her powers again. Billy seemed to be happy about it most times, judging from the smile he constantly saw on his face during missions and meetings.

Back on the subject of everyone being busy, Dick supposed he was included in that too with leading the League as well as his part time gig back with Haly's Circus as an acrobat. However, it didn't seem as fulfilling as everyone else's, he felt. Everyone had someone significant within their lives whether it be a lover, child or even student while he had none of those things. He had friends, sure but his friends had their own lives. Even Tim, his practical brother, seemed to be in the process of reconciling with Cassie even though they weren't officially together again.

Still, Dick maintained what Dinah had told him. He didn't need a relationship to define him. After all, it's not like he was the only single person around. Will wasn't seeing anyone as far as he knew, Raquel didn't even make it to her wedding day when she was engaged a couple of years ago and hasn't dated since as far as he could tell. There was also his first ever girlfriend, Zatanna. Honestly, he wasn't really sure if Zatanna had dated at all since they broke up all those years ago, not that he knew of anyway. She never really was vocal about that sort of thing. If she was still single, it was certainly by choice as she was such a beautiful woman. The question though was why?

As the weeks went by, Dick had eventually been notified that M'Gann and Conner had finally reached Mars. However, as Dick had managed to find his way into the Watchtower briefing room one day at the Watchtower, he was surprised to see J'onn there when he should've been back home at Mars at that moment. He was with Superman and Cyborg when he saw him. They seemed to be watching static on the holographic screen.

"J'onn? What are you doing here? Why aren't you on Mars?" Dick asked in full Nightwing uniform.

"He was testing out the Zeta Tube from Mars to the Watchtower. Remember how we were discussing the possibility of creating a Zeta from Mars to Earth and vice versa? We were using the Watchtower as a sort of test drive" Superman explained to Nightwing, who nodded.

"Yes, I remember. So everything went well, I hope?" Nightwing asked, hoping this could open more intergalactic relations between Earth and other worlds.

"Unfortunately not. The Zeta Tube on Mars had exploded just as I entered," J'onn explained. "A second earlier and….well…let's just say I would neither be on Mars or here"

Nightwing shivered. "That's a pleasant thought…is there a reason it exploded? Was it an accident…or sabotage?"

"We're trying to figure that out. We're still not able to pick up a signal" Cyborg explained. "I'd boom tube us there but since I've never been to Mars, I could end up booming us in the middle of a mountain"

Nightwing nodded, getting a bit worried for M'Gann, Conner and Gar's safety, especially if the Zeta on Mars had been sabotaged.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Nightwing asked Cyborg to which he shook his head.

"No, I'm sorry. Our tech's working just fine. The problem is on their end" Cyborg explained in a somber tone, wishing it had been otherwise.

"Well shit" Nightwing said, a little exasperated. He wanted to make sure they were alright

"Indeed" J'onn said in response to the young man's swearing which only got a slightly disapproving look from Superman, to the group's slight amusement.

However, things got serious once more as Superman had gotten an idea.

"We might have another option" Superman said as he typed a few things on the holographic keyboard.

A few moments later, Steel appeared on the holographic screen, replacing the static that had been there previously.

"Steel, we need the Javelin back at the Watchtower ASAP" Superman said to the steel based hero.

"Understood. Setting return course" Steel said

At that point, the view of Steel within the screen became a small window as static returned to the full view of the screen. It seemed to be trying to connect once more to Mars. A constant flicker of what appeared to be the character Rita Farr had played from 'Hello, Megan!' but with green skin appeared. This caused Nightwing and others to be curious.

"Who is that?" Nightwing asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That is my niece, M're…er, Em'ree J'onzz" J'onn explained. "And M'Gann's sister"

"Mars to Watchtower. Do you read?" The occupants of the room were able to hear through the slight cutouts. "Is J'onn J'onzz with you?"

"I am here, Em'ree" J'onn assured his niece. "I am fine. What happened on your end?"

The Martian woman on the other side seemed ecstatic by the news as she let out a wide smile.

"Uncle J'onn! You're alright! The Zeta Tube was sabotaged. It exploded but no one was hurt" Em'ree explained.

"Dude, you had us worried" A familiar sounding creature that looked to be a mix between a puppy chihuahua and some sort of gecko. "We weren't sure you made it out before the blast"

"Beast Boy? Is that you?" Nightwing asked, very confused but also relieved no one had been hurt as well.

"Yeah, it's me. I can't breathe on Mars in my human form so I have to change into this. Aren't I cute?" Beast Boy asked. Nightwing just remained silent to that question as he gave a wry look.

"Locking in on their signal" Cyborg said, pressing a button on the side of his head.

However, as he did, the signal went dead again and Em'ree's view turned to static.

Nightwing suddenly became very confused and worried as he turned to Cyborg. "What happened?"

"I…I don't know" Cyborg said, worriedly as well. "We…we just lost signal…and I didn't have time to lock in a signal. We're right back where we started"

"How's that possible? Did something go wrong on their end again?" Nightwing asked further.

"I don't think so. Look" Superman said, pointing to the top left of the screen. "It looks like the Communication Satellite's signal from Mars to Earth went offline"

As it turned out, what Superman said was correct. On the top left, the status text had turned red, beaming 'Signal lost' for all to see.

"That…that doesn't make sense. The signal's been strong ever since Mars first launched the satellite" Nightwing retorted.

"...I'm wondering about that myself," J'onn said, curiously. Mars technology had always been much more advanced than Earth technology so the idea of the satellite ever losing connection between Mars and Earth was a far-fetched scenario.

"Well can we send someone out? Have someone look at what happened?" Cyborg suggested. "Steel, why not instead of returning to the Watchtower, you set a course for Mars instead?"

"It's not that simple, Vic" Nightwing said. "The communication satellite was a satellite developed by Mars. We can't interfere in a sovereign planet's property. Besides, no offence to Steel as he's very smart but I'm not too sure he'd know how it works anyway given all the differences between Martian and Earth technology"

"None taken" Steel said as that had indeed been correct.

"Well…we can send someone over to make sure they're ok, right? I mean first the Zeta explodes and now the communication satellite's offline? That can't be coincidental" Cyborg pointed out.

Nightwing considered this. Cyborg was right, it couldn't have been a coincidence. However, they still didn't know what caused the Zeta to explode or the satellite to lose communication. If this was simply an act of Martian terrorism, they couldn't just barge in, acting as the intergalactic police. It would be seen as aggression from the Martian citizens and that was already with a good portion of them already clearly at odds with the very idea of Earthlings and Martians cooperating with one another. It would have been easier to find out what had happened if they were able to communicate with Martian officials but that was not currently possible since the satellite was down.

"We'll have to wait it out, unfortunately until we get more information. Steel, what's your ETA?" Nightwing asked the scientist turned superhero.

"We're on the other side of the milky way. Even at max light speed, we're still a few days away from either Mars or Earth" Steel explained, which made Nightwing cringed. That's not what he wanted to hear.

"Then it seems for now that M'Gann, Conner and Garfield are on their own" J'onn said, which made Nightwing shiver.

*A few days later*

"And you're not certain of who sabotaged the Zeta Tube or what caused the satellite to go down?" Kaldur asked Dick as they sat together on the bench of the Watchtower's atrium garden, both in their casual attire.

"Nope. If I had to guess, it was probably a couple of Martians not too happy with the idea of our two worlds coordinating with one another. I wish I could send someone out there to look at it but Steel's still making his way back to the Watchtower with the Javelin and it would be seen as a sign of aggression if we barged in unannounced" Dick explained to one of his oldest friends.

"I understand. You wish you could send someone though?" Kaldur asked, to which Dick nodded.

"To make sure they're alright, yeah. I do. However, as one of the League's leaders, I have to play the diplomat to other systems now. I can't make rash decisions" Dick said in a demoralized tone.

"Decisions we used to make" Kaldur pointed out to which Dick nodded.

"Yeah" Dick confirmed with a nod.

"I do miss the days where we could do good in the world without restrictions to stop us. That day at Cadmus is a day I still consider to be our greatest achievement to date, not just because it led us to Conner but also because of what it led to be. Young heroes doing good in the world while remaining out of the spotlight in the Team, young meta teens inspired by public groups like the Outsiders. If that day hadn't happened…I'm not sure either would exist today" Kaldur said, reminiscing on the past.

Dick nodded with a sad smile. "We really made a difference that day…and as sidekicks at that…really showed everyone we were ready to become something more"

"And I suppose we did. Both of us have been burdened with the leadership of the Justice League that neither of us truly wanted, having to make decisions that seem contradictory with our past behavior" Kaldur observed, remembering his tenure as Co-Chair of the Justice League.

"Yeah…It seemed easier back then…but I guess with age comes with having to adapt with more difficult challenges" Dick noted, thinking of last year when he helped train Brion, Violet and Forager.

"Including having to deal with defiant teenagers" Kaldur pointed out with a small smirk to which made Dick let out a grunting chuckle.

"Yeah, that comes with it…boy we must sound like hypocrites" Dick shook his head which made Kaldur laugh as well.

"Yes I believe we must…either way, we just have to live with our decisions no matter how difficult they must be. Whether M'Gann, Conner and Garfield made the choice to either leave or stay on Mars and try to defuse the situation, we must trust their judgment and their judgment has almost never failed us. That fact alone to me tells me that they should be alright. We must trust them that they'll do whatever they need to do to be safe and to defuse whatever situation that arises on Mars" Kaldur said, getting to the heart of the matter.

Dick considered this. Of course, it did make sense. M'Gann and Conner were more than capable of taking care of themselves and it wasn't like they were stuck on Mars as far as he could tell. He just couldn't help but be worried. However, he guessed that just came with the territory of being leader ... .along with being someone who has already dealt with a fair share of loss.

Eventually, Dick nodded. "Yeah…yeah, you're probably right. We just have to trust that they'll be ok…Sorry to cut it short but I have to meet Jeff at the UN for a meeting with Secretary Troia"

"Of course, my friend. I wish you all the best" Kaldur said, standing up from the bench with Dick following suit.

"You as well…give my best to Wyynde" Dick said as they gave each other a hug.

"I will, thank you" Kaldur said after they parted.

After a last exchange of goodbyes, Dick went towards his private quarters so he could change into his Nightwing suit. Here came one of the burdens that came with the position of Justice League leader: Having to attend boring meetings that seemed to go forever.

However, he left in slightly higher spirits. Kaldur was likely right. He should be confident in both M'Gann and Conner's abilities. After all, they were always amongst the strongest on the Team whether in its early days or today. He was pretty sure they could handle this and was worrying over nothing, probably.

For now, he needed to focus on the needs of the League. It was important for the safety of not only the world but for the galaxy.