Somewhere Only We Know

He looked out into the horizon. Waves crashed against the shore. The wind blew his hair around. His hand dug into the sand beneath up, picking up a clump, and then leting the grains slip through his fingers. Batman walked up to Superman saying something about the Earth's magma being compromised. Dick didn't really listen. He knew it was all hopeless anyway.

Darkseid had won. The League with their damned naïve hubris tried to play offense and invade Apokolips. But Darkseid was ready for them. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, J'onn and so many others were ambushed and enslaved. With the heavy hitters gone, no one stood a chance on Earth. Heroes and friends all died. Dick wasn't even sure how they got out of this mess. It was all a blur really from the rescue mission to Apokolips to imprisoning Darkseid in Trigon's dimension. They defeated the bad guy, and their reward was to die.

He looked around at the sorry excuse of heroes that remained. They all gathered at the beach near Mount Justice. There was no where else to go. Batman, Superman, and some cruel cyborg version of Wonder Woman talked on the hill behind him. Mera sat to the side petting Ace as gently as she could with her robot hand. At least she had a limb. Artemis curled up on the shore. Her right arm bandaged and bloodied from the last battle. Her left hand clutched a photograph as tears fell from eyes. Dick didn't really have to guess whose picture that was. He missed his best friend too. Barry sat by himself on a rock when John Constantine approached him lighting a cigarette. He and Dick may have had differences in the past, but the Boy Wonder couldn't deny that they may not have gotten out of this scrap without the crass Brit. Dick's eyes lastly fell upon his brother Damian. Next to him, Raven in her white cloak huddled closely with her head on his shoulders. Dick let out a bittersweet smile. It was a shame that it took the end of the world for those two to admit their feelings for each other.

A familiar warmth interrupted his thoughts. She settled down beside him on the beach and scooted closer to him. Her elbow nudged his.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," he answered.

"It sounds pretty bad right now," she started after a moment of silence.

"Hmm."

"Do you think there's any chance of survival? Will we be able to save everyone?"

"I don't know, Zee."

"That's no good then. You were always the one full of hope."

"I don't think hope is going to do much here."

"Hmm."

She stood up and dusted the sand from her tights. Looking over, she reached out her hand to him. He stared at it not sure what she wanted.

"Come with me," she asked.

"What are you doing?"

"People are dying. The Earth is off axis and orbit. This could be the end of everything. So, why don't we go somewhere only we know? Just you and me. If you have a minute of course."

A soft smile appeared on his face. He took her hand and they disappeared with a poof. When they opened their eyes, they landed on a cliff not too far from the beach with all the defeated heroes. She squeezed his hand and led him forward. Silently they walked. It was a familiar sight. A familiar air. They knew the pathway like the back of their hands. Finally reaching the peak, they came across a fallen tree. Memories of when they were kids flooded their minds. Their imaginations conjured images of a young boy in red and a young girl in a little magician's outfit sitting on this very tree, cuddling, and watching the sunset. The children had grown up, but the memories remained. Zatanna tugged on his hand a little urging him to sit down. They looked out into the sea like that had countless times before. Only this time, the sun wasn't setting. It remained stagnant and burning, further evidence that the Earth was no longer normal. She still held his hand and rubbed her thumb on the back.

"I miss the simpler times," she mused, "I missed when we would sneak up here every chance we got."

"Hmm."

"This place held so many memories for us. Our first date. Our first kiss. My first time seeing your eyes," she paused and blushed a little, "Our first time making love."

"Hmm."

"We were just kids. We lived in a time where crimefighting was a game. You, me, Wally, Artemis, the Team. It was easy for us."

"It was never easy. We just didn't realize the consequences of failing yet."

"Hmm maybe. Hey, do you remember when we pretended not to be dating? How we faked dancing around our feelings so we could trick Wally and Artemis into a double date?"

"Haha then we subtly left them by themselves? I loved that. It was a great moment with you. We were always on the same page."

"Hmm yea. What happened to us, Dick?"

He didn't answer at first. His body tensed up slightly and he unconsciously held a breath. He didn't really want to remember how they broke up. But it was the end of the world. No better time to reflect.

"I dunno," he started, "We grew up. Things got harder and darker. I pushed you away. It was to keep you safe, but that was probably a lie. At that time only the mission was important. We had to win by any means necessary. But it didn't feel like winning."

"I think things were starting to crack before that," she pondered, "I didn't put you first either. It was all research into freeing my father. All ambition about making it into the League. Sometimes I regret that all I got for your birthday was a kiss."

"I mean, a lot of those kisses were extremely hot."

"You dork," she bumped into him.

They laughed. For a moment, they forgot about the world burning around them. For a second, they weren't Nightwing and Zatanna. They were Dick and Zee.

"Look!" she pointed out.

Down below, they spotted Damian caressing Raven's face and kissing her. She wrapped her hands around his waist and pulled him closer.

"They're so cute!" she smiled.

"Took him long enough. Can't believe they didn't start dating even after she got him a puppy."

"Damian's always been too proud for his own good."

"And Raven's always been too guarded."

Another silence fell as she scooted closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and nuzzled him.

"Did you find happiness? After us?" she shyly asked.

"Maybe. Sorta. I don't know. Nothing like what we had."

"That's a shame. You deserve happiness. You and Barbara looked cute together."

"I guess. But I think she ultimately knew. We didn't end things very well."

"I'm sorry."

"I wish-I wish I got to apologize to her before she died," he stuttered with tears gently falling from his eyes.

"Oh," she sighed loosening her grip and moving away from him.

"I was I could have apologized for not being truthful about my feelings," he recovered pulling her back towards him, "About my true feelings. I missed you, Zee."

Her chest tightened. Her eyes also got watery looking up at his tired face.

"But you were with John. There was nothing I could do," he said.

"John was a mistake. I was angry, and hurt, and impulsive. I wanted to find the most wretched and pathetic guy possible so that I could slap you in the face."

"Well it worked."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's ok. I broke your heart."

Carefully, her hands moved up his face. She peeled off his mask to see his blue eyes once again. They were a shade darker than she remembered. They were tired, old, and sad.

"Were we ever meant to be, Dick? Was it ever in the cards for us?"

"I don't know. Maybe we just never got the timing right."

"This may sound forced or emotional or whatever, but we will die here, and I'll be damned if I don't admit this to you and myself," she cried, "I love you, Dick. I love you and have always loved you. I regret not trying to make it work. I regret not chasing you and holding onto you. I miss you so so much."

Dick brought his own hand up to wipe her years. He hugged her close crying into her hair.

"I'm sorry too, Zee. I never should have pushed you away. I should have let you in and held you close. I needed someone to rely on and you were the best thing that could have happened to me. I love you."

They parted and rested their foreheads on one another. Their lips inched closer and closer. He held her face brushing strands of hair back while she held his hands not wanting to let him go again.

"I wish we had more time," she whispered.

They closed their distance and kissed. It was small, sweet, and gentle. It tasted salty with all the mix of tears, but they didn't care. This was the first real genuine kiss they felt in years. When it was over, Dick opened his eyes and spotted a bolt of lightning dashing towards the horizon. He followed the trail finding Constantine standing at the shore. He smirked. Dick couldn't believe that one day he would have to thank John Constantine of all people.

Immediately, he held Zatanna's hands and looked her in the eyes. Suddenly, the blues of his irises became brighter and full of determination. She was stunned by this abrupt change in demeanor.

"Zee, promise me something," he asked with conviction.

"Uhhh ok. Anything."

"Promise me that when we get our second chance, when we meet again, we will try our hardest to fight for each other. We will love each other with all our hearts so much that the Gods themselves wouldn't be able to separate us. Ok?"

"Dick what's going on? What do you mean when we get our second chance?"

"Promise me, Zee. Promise me that we will be together. Say it backwards."

"Sigh. I esimorp ot evol dna hsirehc uoy, Kcid Nosyarg. Ew lliw reven eb trapa." (I promise to love and cherish you, Dick Grayson. We will never be apart).

"I love you, Zee. Always."

A bright light flashed from the horizon. Everything from that point began to lose color and fade away. Closer and closer the light spread erasing everything in its path. The ocean was no longer blue. The beach no longer white and sandy. The light enveloped the heroes standing below. Just before it reached the cliffside, Dick turned Zatanna's head towards his and pulled her into the last kiss they would ever have. As the light passed over them, they closed their eyes and accepted their fate.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*

"Ugh!" she grumbled smashing her alarm clock.

"Zatanna! Zatanna my child! Get dressed! We are visiting the Cave today!" her father called out from downstairs.

Immediately jolting up, she leaped out of bed and dug through her closet for some clothes. Finally! Finally! Finally! Her dad was letting her come and meet all the cool heroes he worked with. Excitement filled her heart as the prospect of breathing the same air as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman. Even the so-called sidekicks made her giddy. Aqualad, Kid Flash, Miss Martian…..Robin. She froze for a second clutching her chest. She didn't know why but the mere thought of the Boy Wonder made her heart flutter. Butterflies bounced around in her stomach. She couldn't help but smile.

"Zatanna! We musn't be late!"

"Uhh coming, Daddy!"

"Whoa!" Dick screamed as Conner threw him to the floor.

"Good work everyone," Canary congratulated, "In fact it's been a very productive week."

"Yea, for everyone except Kid Malingerer," Artemis joked.

"Hey!" Wally retorted with a lemonade in hand, "Arm broken in combat against the Injustice League here!"

"Hmmm," Dinah chuckled, "I really enjoyed being your uh den mother this week."

"Recognized: Zatara 11."

In a flash of light, Giovanni Zatara entered the cave. He stepped to the side and opened a panel tapping a few keys.

"Access granted: Zatanna Zatara A-03. Authorization Zatara 11."

With another flash of light, Zatanna stood shyly in the Zeta tube. With her arms behind her back, she slowly approached the Team.

"Zatanna," her father introduced, "this is the Team. Team, my daughter, Zatanna."

M'gann floated first towards the new girl. With her usual bubbly pep, she extended her hand.

"Hi! I'm-" she never got the chance to finish.

"ROBIN!" Dick interrupted practically shoving M'gann out the way, "Ahem uh. I mean, I'm Robin. She's Megan. And uh that's Wally, Artemis, Kaldur and Conner."

She didn't know what came over her. One look at Robin sent chills down her spine. She had never met this boy and he had never seen her. Yet, they couldn't take their eyes off each other. He smiled shyly rubbing the back of his head. She fidgeted with her thumbs.

"God, you're beautiful," he blurted out.

"Dude!" Wally cried out, "Way to be subtle!"

She didn't care. As far as she knew, that was the green light. Her body moved on its own. She reached out to his hand and pulled him towards her. In a blink of an eye, she cupped his face and kissed him. Dick froze at the suddenness with his eyes wide open. But everything felt familiar. Everything felt so right. He melted into the kiss and held her waist closing his eyes.

The Team stood stunned. Everyone was silent. Even Zatara despite fury building inside of him could only watch as his only daughter viciously made out with this boy she had never met.

When they finished, they looked into each other's eyes. She was beaming. She grinned ear to ear before realizing what just happened.

"Oh my God. I'm so so sorry. I uh don't know what came over me. I-I was hoping we could meet uhhh in a nonchalant way," she stuttered.

Despite panicking, she continued holding his face and rested her hand on her shoulder. Interestingly, he didn't move his hands from her waist either.

"It's ok. I liked this way much better. It was very…..Chalant."

AN: Somewhere Only We Know - Keane