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shadowsndaisies · 3 years

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codename: nightingale - misplaced

Reference: Young Justice Season 1 Episode 19

WC: 6396

synopsis: we love billy batson. gotham’s teen hero spills major tea, our favorite magik girl bonds with ng, and we finally see the otp form

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codename: nightingale series masterlist

MOUNT JUSTICE

November 5, 19:47 EDT

You were in your civvies with the rest of the team as the bioship landed back at the cave. You and Robin had been sharing looks and soft smiles all day, and then there was the Bat. You weren’t sure what it was, but he was treating you differently. After what happened on Halloween he had been treating you differently, almost like he wasn’t sure what to do with you just yet, you weren’t sure. Technically you were still on probation, but nothing else had come from that so far.

“Did you get everything?” Batman asked as Superboy and Miss M came off the bioship, unloading their haul.

“Everything on your list, Batman,” she promised and Conner put down a rather large box. “Plus groceries,” She smiled, placing her own boxes down as well.

“Cookie fixins?” Wally asked eagerly, approaching the large cardboard box.

“Snickerdoodles!” M’gann affirmed with a smirk.

“Babe. You rock my world,” Wally said honestly to her and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes, looks like he’d be the last one to figure out about M’gann and Conner after all.

“Hey,” Robin had come up next to you while Batman was double-checking everything.

“Hi,” you smiled at him, adjusting your sunglasses.

“I just wanted to tell you that you look really pretty,” he said slowly.

Your heart started beating faster at the compliment, “Oh, thanks,” your smile turns shy as you drop his gaze for a moment.

“Anytime,” he promised and your eyes made their way back to his sunglasses.

You had opened your mouth to say something else but your eyes picked up on what had happened behind Robin. In a flash of light, the League members had disappeared. The boxes they had been moving fell to the ground with a crash.

“Dad!” Zatanna yelled out, and by the time you met Robin’s eyes again, the giggles of teenage emotion were gone, something was wrong.

The team made quick work of getting out there. You, Robin, and Zatanna stayed behind to work the computers while the rest went out into Happy Harbor and neighboring cities to see what’s happening. So far the status was that adults everywhere were suddenly MIA.

You were trying to find a line, a connection, anything that could get you answers to where the adults were. Meanwhile, Robin was trying to contact individual league members, and Zatanna was scrolling through media platforms. You even had a separate screen trying to contact Roy. He was an adult, technically, but he wasn’t actually that much older than the rest of you. Despite your recent disagreements, the last thing you wanted was to lose another person you loved. Deep down you had the realization that you could recover from losing Dinah and Oliver, it’d kill a part of you, but you could recover, but only if you still had Roy. He was your brother, and after spending the last few months seeing him sporadically, you knew you still needed him in your life. You had to bring them all back.

“KF to Cave,” a comms line opened and you brought it up for the rest to hear.

“You’ve got the Cave, Kid Flash,” you assured him.

“We've set up a refugee center at the high school gym,” he tells you and you sigh.

“That’s… good,” you affirm, unsure what else to say about the situation.

“Any luck with-” you knew what he was going to ask, but Robin answered before he could even finish.

“No!” he interrupted, his frustration clear. “Can't reach the Batcave, the Hall of Justice or the Watch-” Robin stopped himself, eyes darting over to Zatanna. “…or any adult hero,” he concluded.

“Not even Red Arrow,” you add, frowning at the still unanswered distress call you had sent.

“Guess we're on our own,” KF sighed. “Kid Flash, out.”

“Traditional media is offline,” Zatanna spoke up and you turned towards her allowing the computer to run your newest search algorithm. “But kids worldwide are all posting the same thing. Every adult, 18 or older, has disappeared,” she swiped through multiple screens showing us her research. “The sorcery necessary to pull this off, scary big,” she admitted.

“We need to find the source,” you voiced, turning to Robin to see if he understood.

Robin nodded at you, before turning to Z, “Actually we need you to find its source,” he told her.

“How am I-” she scoffed.

“I pulled this footage. It's your dad, helping us locate Wotan and the Injustice League, last month,” Robin explained and both Zatanna and you walked closer to watch his screen.

“Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros,” (locate epicenter of sorcery) the recording of Zatara commanded, and a second later a red dot had appeared on the map. “There,” he affirmed and the recording stopped.

“But the words… I mean, it's only part of it,” Zatanna tries to explain. “And the rest takes training and… NG, Robin, I'm just not on Zatara's level.”

“I know it's hard,” you tell her, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to look at you, “But try to stay whelmed,” you urge.

“We'll find your dad, Batman, all of them. That's what we do,” Robin supported.

Zatanna nodded and asked for some time to study the video on her own.

While she was doing that you went to the kitchen and made a cup of tea.

“What’s up with you, you’ve been on edge all night, and I mean more than the normal hero bit,” Robin asked as he snuck up behind you.

“I’m fine,” you wave your hand dismissively while the other one uses a spoon to stir some honey into your tea.

“(Y/n),” he whispers standing right behind you.

“I know what it’s like to lose your parents,” you whisper back. “That’s why Kaldur let me stay here in the Cave. You didn’t need me, but I couldn’t be out there, not yet. I just get so sad, Rob. Sometimes I’ll see something that reminds me of my life before they were killed, and it devastates me because I will never have that again. I have lived about half my life without my parents, and now with the empath stuff and finally learning the truth about their deaths, I just wish I could see them, and talk to them,” you admit to him. “And… I don’t want everyone else to go through that,” you sighed, one of your fingers traced the rim of your mug, as you kept your eyes on your tea.

He grabs your hand from where he was behind you, and you turn towards him. Your head drops to his shoulder and his arms wrap around you.

“I understand,” he speaks up after a minute of silence.

“Robin-” you were going to argue but he cut you off before you could.

“No, I mean I actually do understand,” he tells you, and you squint at him.

He sighs before interlacing your fingers with his and pressing his forehead to yours. Your mind lights up in a second. It feels like every nerve is on fire as your brain syncs with his. J’onn had shown you it was possible, but this was a lot easier to channel than it had been before.

You were at the circus, there was a little boy with dark hair and blue eyes wearing matching outfits with his parents who stood beside him. The mother was beautiful, her face had the softest and sweetest features, and his father was big, strong, but the slight crow’s feet by his eyes gave away the fact that he smiled more than anything. The scene changed and you watched the family of three as they swung and flew together in a trapeze act.

“Come one, come all, come see the Flying Graysons! An act so beautiful, so elegant, so death-defying that they don’t perform with a net! Watch as they soar through the sky! Only at Hailey’s Circus!” you could hear the cheer of the ringmaster over the laughs, smiles, gasps, and chuckles of the crowd. The scene before you was so vivid you could smell the stale popcorn, and cotton candy in the air. You could feel the volume of the crowd in your chest.

And then the scene changed once more. The boy was standing at the ledge of the trapeze ladder, tears streaming from blue eyes as he looked down. You were overwhelmed by his horror, heartbreak, grief, and a near debilitating sense of sadness. You turned, searching for his parents, but were ill-prepared for how you found them. Two bodies laid n the ground unmoving, blood everywhere, and a broken trapeze gripped in their hands.

“Oh god,” you whispered as you released Robin’s hands to come back to the real world.

For a moment everything was hazed, and bathed in grief as you tried to catch your breath. When you had let go of Robin’s hands you had turned away from him and shut your eyes in an attempt to recenter. When his hand gently brushed against your arm you whirled back to him.

“(Y/n)...” he called your name so softly, and you could hear the break in his voice, and it all made sense.

Cautiously you walked closer with tears now rimming your eyes, “You told me once, that your eyes were blue,” you whispered, your own voice cracking.

Your hands delicately reached towards his glasses, and when he didn’t move and slowly you pulled them off. Staring at you was the boy on the platform, years older, but the same heartbreak was still in his eyes. The longer you stared at him the more your eyes welled. And when you watched as a tear slid down his cheek, one fell from your eyes as well.

“Those were your memories,” you whisper, wiping his tear away, thumb gently caressing his cheek.

“Wally’s the only other person who knows,” he adds, and your frown grows.

“Robin-” you start.

“Dick,” he interrupts. “My name’s Richard Grayson, everyone calls me Dick,” he explains and you take a deep breath.

He was trusting you, with a lot. You had kept your identity a secret because you wanted to, but Robin’s identity was protected by years of training and the Batman himself.

“Dick,” you begin, offering up a small and sad smile while your thumb passed over his cheek once more. “I’m so sorry,” you whisper, hands moving to hold onto his once more. “We’ll get Batman back,” you promise because you were wrong before. He did understand, he understood exactly how you were feeling because he had gone through the exact same thing.

“I know,” he nodded, and then you were hugging once more, each of you with a tight grip on the other.

A beep interrupted the two of you, pulling back you opened the com-link line, with a sniff.

“You got Nightingale,” you answer softly, wiping tears away.

“Are you okay?” it was Wally, you smile softly at his question.

“I’m okay,” you promise, and you met Robin’s eyes, you were going to be just fine. “What’s up?”

“We’re on our way back, any updates?”

“No word from any adults, but Zatanna’s studying the footage of Zatara’s locator spell, hopefully, she’ll be able to pull it off,” you tell them.

“Alright, I’ll tell Aqualad,” he affirms.

“Hey Wally,” you call before he hangs up.

“Yeah what’s up?” he asked.

“Did you check in at home?” you asked softly.

“No. Kid Flash out,” he hung up and you sighed, you understood that. No one wants to see an empty house.

“C’mon, we should gear up,” Dick sniffed, offering you his hand.

“Dick, this mission,” you muttered, “I-” you cut yourself off.

“We’re in this together, (Y/n),” he promised and you nodded, grabbing his hand.

“We’ll get through it, together,” you affirm.

MOUNT JUSTICE

November 5, 20:49 EST

You were checking through your utility belt as the rest of the team arrived, your leather jacket was sitting on the side as you sharpened your ring daggers in the silence, eyes narrowed on the blade.

The team went through but Aqualad paused beside you, “My friend, you are uncharacteristically focused,” he notes.

“These daggers aren’t worth much if they’re not sharp,” you tell him.

“You are deflecting,” he points out.

“We cannot fail, Kaldur’ahm,” you sigh quietly.

You meet his eyes and a wave of awareness crosses over his features.

“You seem rattled,” he squints.

“I am,” you admit, and his hand grips yours, stopping your actions of sharpening the blades.

“I need to know you will be able to stay on mission,” he said seriously.

“As opposed to what, exactly?” you gape at him, pulling your hands away.

The room got quiet as they stared at you, “I mean no disrespect, my friend,” Kaldur backtracked, but his eyes were narrowed.

“I know exactly what those kids are going through, and I know that you know that, Kaldur,” you shot back, and the cave went quiet. “No one deserves it, and it’ll be a cold day in hell when I leave those kids to suffer that. And you’re concerned I’m not focused?” you heave.

“Sometimes there are harsh truths we must face, most are not so glad to have his thrust upon them,” Kaldur explained, and you frowned, did he really think you were going to fall apart?

“Harsh truths?” you scoffed.

“Birdy!” Wally’s voice cut through the tension, and you took a deep breath.

You sniffed and turned to the redhead, taking in his shocked expression, before nodding. “I’m going to get some air,” you decide and drop your daggers back on the table beside your jacket before stalking off.

The next person to come up to you was not exactly the one you were expecting. You were in the training room, bare knuckles bruising against the sandbag, as you tried to work out your frustration. “I thought you wanted air?” Conner asked, and your eyes flickered to him before you punched the bag again.

“I’m breathing aren’t I?” you huff.

“Beating the hell out of the bag sure seems to be working,” he snips and you huff once more.

This time, however, he comes up and holds the bag for you, blue eyes meeting yours.

“What do you want, Conner?” you sniff, punching the bag again.

“They’re worried about you,” he tells you. “You know I learned more about you in that blowout than I have since you guys rescued me from Cadmus,” he admits.

“That was unintentional,” you pause to brush back the flyaway hairs on your head and you can already feel the dull ache in your knuckles, which is what you deserve since you didn’t bother to tape them first.

“Then do something intentionally,” he shoots and your hands drop as you stare at him. “You said you know what they’re going through, use that.”

You smirk at the super clone, “You know Conner, I think dating M’gann has softened you up.”

He cracks a smile, “That obvious, huh?”

“Not to Wally,” you remind him and he nods. You grab the small sweat towel by the bench and stare at your friend, “I’ve got an idea.”

Conner followed you back to the main training section of the cave where the rest of the team was, “We need to tap every satellite,” you tell the team.

“You have a plan?” Robin asks.

You smile softly at him, “partially,” you tell him.

“What have you got?” Kaldur asks, nodding his head softly.

“We can say something, remind them that they’re not alone and that someone out there, is trying to help, that we are trying to help,” you explain.

Kaldur nods, before throwing you your jacket, “Do it.”

In no time you’re setting up the camera and for a brief second your fingers falter as you get a flashback to what happened in the mind mission/exercise debacle.

“It’ll be better this time,” Robin spoke up, his voice quiet.

“What?”

“You were thinking of the failed martian brain exercise, we made a video there too. This will be better,” he promised.

“I hope so,” you nod, and place your daggers back in their places, before moving to stand before the camera.

“Ready when you are, Kaldur,” Wally affirmed as he left the computer to join us. Kaldur gave a nod, and M’gann pressed a button.

“Attention, children, and teenagers of Earth. I am Aqualad. These are my friends, Nightingale, Robin, and Kid Flash,” Aqualad began, the four of you wearing serious faces as you stared into the camera.

Robin spoke next, “We are using Justice League tech to cast and stream to every TV, radio, computer, and smartphone on the planet.”

“We know you must be scared and angry. We know with your parents missing, there's a temptation to run wild. But please stay calm,” Wally urged.

“We will find a way to bring the adults back. But for now, the oldest among you must step up,” you tell them.

“Take care of your younger siblings. Take care of kids who have no one,” Robin continues.

You step forward and take a breath, “Protect them. It is up to you. Please, help in any way you can.”

MOUNT JUSTICE

November 5, 23:02 EST

Eventually, you found yourself in the souvenir room. Wally was with you as you both stared at the golden helmet on the shelf.

“I finally got through to Atlantis,” Kaldur called as he walked in, joining the two of you. “No adult there, either.”

“So...just how desperate are we?” Wally asked. “I mean, this thing could definitely come in handy.”

“Yes. But we know anyone who dons the helmet and allows Nabu to possess them may never be released from being Doctor Fate,” Kaldur counters.

“So, not that desperate?” Wally revised.

“Not yet,” you correct, turning to the boys. “Looks like it’s plan B,” you tell them and they both narrow their eyes, “again.”

“Not you, not again,” Kaldur stresses.

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” you shrug.

“This is not a discussion,” Kaldur pressed.

“You’re right, it’s not,” you nod.

Before you could discuss it further, Zatanna interrupted, “Guys, I'm ready to try my father's locator spell,” she admitted.

You offered her a soft smile, “Let’s get the team,” you nod, moving towards her.

You walked with Zatanna, with Kaldur and Wally right behind you, back into the main hub of the cave. When Robin spotted Zatanna he had pulled up a holo map. She paused staring at it and then you, you nodded at her with a smile and she cautiously stepped towards it. Zatanna took a deep breath and raised her hands up, wand pointing at the hologram globe.

“Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros!” (locate epicenter of sorcery) she spoke calmly and a bit slower than her father had, but it worked.

A red dot formed on the map, “Coordinates locked. Roanoke Island!” Robin announced. “You did it!” he cheered.

You had all started to put together a plan when a kid appeared in the cave with a crack of thunder. You all turned to him with wide eyes, you hands grabbed at your escrima sticks.

“It works!” he shouted, pumping his fist.

You shared a concerned look with Kaldur before stepping closer to the kid, “Where did you come from?” you asked, escrima stick in hand.

“Who are you?” Kaldur ordered.

“Quick! Read my mind!” the kid shouted.

“He's Captain Marvel!” M’gann gasped.

“Yeah, and I'm Speedy Gonzales,” Wally scoffed. “Look, just because he believes he's Cap-”

“Gee, Wally, do I really have to bring you nachos and pineapples juice to get on your good side?” the kid smirks, and your eyes blow wide.

“Oh my god! A seven-year-old beat us to the league,” you huff breaking the silence.

“Actually I’m 10,” he shot back.

“Yeah, because that’s better,” you nod sarcastically, “Roy’s gonna be so pissed,” you add under your breath, and Wally sends you an amused look.

“Look, there are two worlds,” the kid interrupted and you tensed.

“What?” Wally followed.

“There are two worlds, adults in one and kids in the other,” he shared.

“And you can travel between the two!” Robin realized.

“We can make a plan, a coordinated attack with the League,” Artemis agreed.

ROANOKE ISLAND, NC

November 6, 00:14 EST

You were able to formulate a plan using Captain Marvel and his alter ego, 10-year-old Billy Batson, to communicate with the other Leaguers. Once ready you loaded into the bioship and took off, your fingers fidgeted with one of your daggers, for most of the flight, as you tried to center yourself.

Kaldur approached you as soon as the ship landed, “My friend,” his tone was cautious.

“I know you meant well, Kaldur. But I will do what I have to, to merge the worlds back again,” you admit.

“That is what worries me,” he says, placing his hand on your shoulder.

“If you’re asking about the helmet, I didn’t bring it,” you tell him.

“We can do this without the helmet,” he promises.

“I hope so,” you nod, stepping away, and making your way off the ship.

You split into groups for the initial attack. In the first group were Robin, Artemis, and you. Together the three of you crept forward before using your long-distance weapons. Rob threw his birdarangs, Artemis shot three arrows and you threw marble bombs, all of which were unsuccessful. They bounced off of Kalrion’s forcefield.

The next attack came from Kaldur, KF, and Superboy. They were using brute force, but all attacks were pushed back.

“That's the best you can do?” Kalrion teased, and as Zatanna stepped up, you made eye contact with M’gann.

“Etativel mih ffo eht margatnep!” (levitate him off the pentagram!) she shouted, but the spell was also blocked.

“It's but baby magic,” he sighed before using his own sorcery to send Zatanna flying back.

M’gann moved next to throw rocks at the force field and you took a position to scream at it, hoping that enough power could cause tension or a break in the shield, but Klarion knew. He unhinged his jaw and shot a red beam at M’gann who managed to fly out of the way before he then turned to you. KF managed to snatch you out of the way, just in time to avoid being hit.

He put you down beside Artemis and the three of you hid behind the plants, “Listen when Nabu possessed my body, he defeated Klarion by attacking the cat!” he shared.

“Can’t hurt?” you shrug, turning to Artemis.

“Good. Not a big cat fan, anyway!” she smirked, notching her arrow, aiming, and letting it fly.

It got about three feet away from that orange tabby before it turned into a ball of green yarn in a poof of smoke.

“That’s..just...wonderful,” you mutter, dejectedly.

“Show 'em what a familiar to a Lord of Chaos can do, Teekl,” Klarion drawled and his cat turned into this huge saber-toothed monster.

“Is it weird that i’m not surprised?” you asked the two who were still crouched beside you.

“Not really,” KF affirme, and you frowned.

After a second of staring at the beast, you charged. You along with Kaldur, Superboy, and Wally were trying hard to take it down. You threw bombs, whacked at it with your escrima sticks, screamed at it, you even managed to get a solid stab with your ring daggers but t didn’t do much. When you had managed to stab the creature, it roared and threw you to the ground beside Robin and Artemis, both of whom were barely still conscious.

You were fighting with your own consciousness as Zatanna hoovered over you.

“NG?” her voice sounded faded in your ears, as you tried to focus on her.

“Don't shout, Billy,” M’gann’s voice flooded into your heads you tried to turn over onto your stomach. “I've linked you telepathically to the others.”

“Temleh fo Etaf, laever flesruoy!” (Helmet of Fate, reveal yourself) Zatanna’s spell called your attention away from the fight, and that’s when you saw it.

“No,” you groaned, pushing yourself up a little with one arm.

“That is so cool!” a new voice cheered, Billy Batson, aka Captain Marvel as he entered the mind link. “I mean… it's the gem! At the center of the pentagram!” he explained. “Destroy it and we win!” he explained.

“That's all I needed to know,” Zatanna decided as she picked it up.

“Z, NO!” you groaned louder, arm giving out under you as you tried to reach toward her.

You weren’t strong enough to reach her, but apparently your shout was loud enough because Aqualad and Wally both looked over too.

“Zatanna!” Kaldur shouted as he pushed against Kalrion’s powers.

“Stop!” KF ordered before he got knocked back once more.

Though it didn’t make a difference because she pulled the helmet over her face and within seconds you were face to face with Doctor Fate.

“No,” you muttered.

“So we meet again, (y/n),” Nabu’s voice is soft, but layered with Zatanna’s.

“Tell me you’ll let her go,” you beg.

“You know it is unlikely, child, now you may rest, Doctor Fate is here to intervene,” he says, regarding you with one last look, before rising up.

“Z,” you murmur her name as you try to push your body up once again.

“Klarion! This ends now!” Zatanna’s body glowed with golden light as her beam met Klarion’s red blasts.

“Billy, tell Zatara!” you ordered, as you finally managed to stand back up, wobbling slightly on your weak legs.

“Right, yeah,” he affirmed and you saw the lightning strike that followed.

You took another moment to breath deep, and steel yourself before rejoining the fight beside Kaldur. Though you couldn’t help but observe Fate’s movement analyzing everything the sorcerer supreme did.

“Fate’s trying to overload the shield,” you realize, as you turn to your leader.

Kaldur gives you a nod of acknowledgement before turning to KF, “Go, Kid!” he ordered.

Kaldur pulled out his water bearers and charged right after him. You were quick to follow as well, screaming at the shield. Soon you were all attacking the shield, but Klarion’s focus was mostly on Doctor Fate.

There was a moment when Dcotor Fate seemed to phase out of reality, and Klarion’s lips curled into a devilish smile.

“Ha! There, see? When the world's divided, the helmet split too,” Klarion cheered. “You're not all here, Nabu! And you are losing in whole, and that poor, soon-to-be-dead girl, she gave herself for nothing!”

Your breath hitched for a second as your scream stopped. Fate would keep her alive, you had to believe that, despite your feelings he wanted her alive just as much as you did.

“No, Witch Boy! Her degree of sacrifice will not be in vain!” Fate boomed and all the attacks increased.

“No No, no, no, no, no!” Klarion was chanting, and suddenly the force field was down, “No!”

“Now, Kid!” Kaldur ordered, and KF sped over, snatching the crystal from the pentagram.

“Doc! Catch!” KF shouted, before tossing the stone up.

The moment Fate had the crystal in hand, he began to chant, “Yam eht owt emoceb eno ecno erom!” (may the two become one once more!)

Within seconds and a flash of light, Shazam, Zatara, Batman, and other evil sorcerers were standing right beside you all.

“They sure don't make evil immortal sorcerers like they used to. Oh, well! Fun as it lasted. Teekl! See you later, armadillos! Unless I see you first!” Klarion drawled as he disappeared through a portal.

“Aren't you gonna stop him?” KF shouted to Doctor Fate.

“To what end? Klarion is Chaos personified. He cannot be contained,” Fate shared dismissively.

Robin staggered beside you, and you reached out to help him, “Did we win?” he asked.

“At a cost,” Kaldur huffed and your eyes narrowed.

You left Robin with Wally before storming up to Fate. Nabu was still in the air but that didn’t stop you.

“Fate!” you shouted, calling the sorcerer’s attention. “Let her go!”

Doctor Fate regarded you with the same dismissive behavior as before, but Kaldur had grabbed your arm, trying to pull you back.

“Nightingale, this is not the way,” he warned.

“Not the way? Kaldur, that's Zatanna! And no offense but that helmet is a cold place to be, and you have never been there. If you think I’m going to let that bubbly girl fade away trapped inside her own body, you’ve lost your mind,” you argued, pulling yourself free.

“Great Nabu, release my daughter,” Zatara requested.

“No,” Nabu said simply and you took a staggering breath. “Witnesses have been these last past hours… The world needs Doctor Fate. And the girl's natural affinities for the mystic arts make her the perfect candidate.”

“You can't do that!” Artemis cried.

“She has her own life to live!” Robin argued.

Wally stepped up next to you, before turning to Fate, “Kent would never allow you!”

“Kent Nelson did object, strenuously, so I released his spirit to the afterlife,” Nabu admitted and you took a step back.

“You what?” you asked, with wide eyes.

“He is gone,” Fate repeated and you turned to Wally.

“Oh my god,” you whispered, and Wally understood. The only reason Fate had let the both of you go free was because Kent was there to keep him company, but if Nabu let go of Kent’s spirit then there’s no way he’d release his new host.

A moment of silence passed before Zatara stepped forwards once more, “Take me, instead,” he offered. “My skills are already at their peak. My body is physically stronger, better able to withstand the strength of your power.”

“All true. But if I remove the helmet, what guarantee have I that you will don it?” Fate inquired and the rest of you were watching with bated breath.

“My word,” Zatara vowed.

Fate came down and the helmet was removed, Zatanna was standing before us once more, “Dad!” She called as she fell into him.

“Zatanna! Remember I love you,” Zatara told her and for a second you saw your own father, and you were being put in a closet all over again. “Take care of my girl,” Zatara called once more, this time looking at Batman.

“You have my word,” the dark knight assured.

“No, please! This was my fault!” Zatanna shouted and both you and Robin moved to her, trying to grab her. “Dad, don't! Dad!” She cried once more but it was too late, the helmet was on, and Zatara was gone.

As Doctor Fate stood before us once more, he stared at me for a moment, before addressing everyone, “Leave these to Fate,” he boomed, and then he along with today’s villains were gone in a flash of golden light.

As you stared at where they had disappeared from you couldn’t help but wonder if this was any different than a shot to the head. You knew Zatara was still in there, but you were sure that Fate would never release him, not until the very end of his life.

Zatanna dropped to the ground and you came up beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder, willing yourself to stay composed.

MOUNT JUSTICE

November 6, 19:23 EST

After the debrief and a few rest hours you returned to the cave to see Zatanna. You helped her, the other girls, and Robin bring in her boxes so she could set up her room. It was silent, and tense, and you completely understood why. After the events of last night, Batman sent everyone home, no debrief, no lessons. He just told us to go home and rest.

“And my room is right next door,” M’gann said suddenly, as we set the last of the boxes down, “If you need anything.”

“Thanks,” Zatanna’s voice was hollow. “I… I could use a little alone time. Okay?” she asked.

“Of course,” Artemis promised.

She and M’gann left quietly but Robin stayed rooted beside you. He gave you a look and you nodded at the door. When he left, he closed the door and you sat down on Zatanna’s bed.

“I just want to be alone,” Zatanna argued, looking at you.

“No, you don’t,” you sighed.

“NG, I’m not in the mood for games, okay? I just-” she was getting riled and so you stopped her quickly.

“Zatanna I watched both my parents get shot when I was seven,” you told her and her mouth froze.

“What?” she whispered.

“I keep my identity a secret because people would recognize me. But you need to know that you are not alone, Z,” you explain and she sits down beside you.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispers, and tentatively she took your outstretched hand.

“I’m sorry too, Z. Because losing your parents, no matter how it’s done, you lose a little piece of your heart at the same time,” you share.

“It’s my fault, you know? I wished for him to give me space, I put on the helmet, and now he’s gone. He gave up everything, so that I could grow up, and now all I want is for him to be here, with me,” her shoulders began to shake, and she began to sob.

You wrap an arm around her, “It sucks, and it’s going to suck for a very long time, but Zatanna, he gave himself for you because he’s your dad, and I’m sure he’d do it again because he will always be your dad,” you remind her.

She latches onto you and you hold her tight while she sobs. You don’t leave her room for hours, not until she’s cried herself to sleep. As gently as you can you tuck her in before slipping out. You make a mental note to check in with her tomorrow. You begin walking to the Zeta tubes, but you stop just short of the controls when you see him sitting on the floor, leaning against the panel.

“What are you still doing here?” you ask, your voice is soft as you slide down to sit beside him.

“Past few days were pretty whelming, I figured we should talk,” he shrugged.

“Yeah,” you muttered in agreement.

“How’s Zatanna?”

“Devastated,” you admit. “But she’s strong, and she has us, she’ll be okay. It’s just gonna take time.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. “She’s lucky to have you,” he compliments gently.

“She’s lucky to have all of us,” you correct.

The two of you go silent as you stare at each other. After a few minutes, you look around before sliding your sunglasses up into your hair. He smiles and you reach for his. He lets you move them, and suddenly you’re staring at him, face to face with nothing blocking the way.

“It’s really nice to finally meet you, Dick,” you smile back.

“It’s my genuine pleasure, (y/n),” he shoots back.

“You’re really trusting me with this?” you ask him.

“It’s a little too late to back track,” he shrugs, the corners of his lips quirking.

“Batman’s not going to be happy,” you muse.

“No, he is not. But he doesn’t need to know that you know, at least, not right now,” Dick smirked.

“No, he doesn’t,” you shake your head. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Canary snuck me a power bar during the debrief, but I’m pretty sure that’s the last time I ate,” you smile, standing up.

“I could eat,” he nods, getting up as well.

“Let me show you the best dinner in Star City. You can be Dick Grayson, and I can be (Y/n) Roxo,” you offer.

“Lead the way,” he smiles once more.

STAR CITY

November 6, 20:22 EST

You type in the coordinates and the two of you spend a few late hours in Lenetii’s Dinner. You guys snagged a booth, you joked and told stories. Ms. L brought your food, and teased the both of you a bit too.

“You know, sugar,” she said to Dick as we were getting ready to leave, “this young lady has never brought an outsider into my dinner before. Ever. You must be pretty special,” she hints. The feeling of embarrassment floods through you as you move to intervene, but before you could Dick kicked your foot.

“Yeah, well, she’s the one that’s special. Thank you for the food Ms. Lenetii, it really was amazing,” he smiled at her and your heart was thudding in your chest.

“Hmm,” the older woman hummed before turning to you. “I like this one,” she winked at you.

“Thank’s Ms. L,” you smiled gently to the older woman.

“Have a nice night, kids,” she smiled back before walking off.

Dick insisted on walking you back to Dinah’s, and so you moved with your arm looped with his. As you walked you took turns sharing stories, and facts about yourselves. You really like hearing about Hailey’s Circus, the way Dick’s eyes seemed to light up as he spoke about his Flying Grayson days made you smile. You’d known Robin since you were 10, but you’d never met Dick until tonight, and in all honesty you liked Dick Grayson a lot.

You paused outside the apartment building and the two of you stood opposite each other.

“I had a really nice time,” he told you.

“I did too,” you smiled.

It’s quiet for a moment as you smile at each other, you could hear the clocktower chiming in the distance, before Dick cleared his throat, “I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked, hand rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah,” you nodded, stepping forwards until the two of you were hugging, “good night, Dick.”

“Good night, (y/n),” he murmured softly, before stepping back.

You waited in the door way, watching as Dick walked back toward the Zeta point. You turned inside once he was out of sight. Dinah was sitting on the sofa, phone to her ear, sporting a teasing smirk as you spotted her. But even that couldn’t shake the smile on your lips. You stared at her for a second and your smile grew, she smiled back and you turned and walked to your room. The smile didn’t fade as you got ready for bed that night, nor did it when you finally laid down to sleep.

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