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spacenightwing · 6 years

Text

Stonewalled

I’m looking at my profile today and I HAVE 56 FOLLOWERS?!?! ASDFGH when did that happen??

Decided to post this fic as a thank you to all my lovely followers ^-^

HUGE THANKS to @marvelgirl411 for beta hep. You are glorious marvelgirl <3

Summary:

After Tula died, Batman tries to do something well-intentioned. Nightwing does not approve.

One Day ago

It had been days, and Aqualad still hadn’t left Tula’s side. No one had the heart to force him away from the body. He would “rest” by taking cat naps while holding her hand when his body and mind had finally had enough. He didn’t eat, he didn’t move, didn’t even cry. He just sat with her in the cave’s reservoir, staring at her face, as if expecting her to open her eyes at any point, if only he held on a little bit longer, she’d finally wake up and his nightmare turn into a bad memory.

Nightwing knew this could not go on. As much as he needed to mourn his friend, Kaldur needed a rock. As the Team’s leader, he was everyone’s rock, forcing him to put his own emotions to be stored in a volt in the back of his mine. As much as he hated some of the years of psychological training Batman forced into him, he was grateful to the grumpy bat, for this moment in time at least. The trick was finding a balance between being the hero others needed him to be and the human he wanted to be. He knew he still hadn’t found this balance, but for the time being, he could put the emotions on lockdown. For Kulder’s sake.

Slowly, Nightwing approached his former leader, his hands out in a show of peace. Kaldur had previously been violent when his Team members tried to get him to move. Nightwing had no intentions of triggering such reaction.

“Kaldur,” Nightwing whispered as he took a step into the shallow water. “It’s time. She has to go back to Atlantis. Her family deserves to be with her.” Of all the attempts to get the graving hero to move, mentioning Atlantis had had some effect without violence. Nightwing was hoping that enough time had passed that it’d work this time.

After a long moment, Nightwing moving closer ever so slowly, Kaldur finally responded when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. “I should have done more,” is all that he can get out.

“You did everything right. Tula made her choice. The only thing you can do to honor her is by letting her be with her family. Do not let her sacrifice be in vain-”

“I assure you, I have no intentions of doing so.” Kaldur voice was steel, his eyes, the first time in a while since he had taken his eyes off Tula, were ice.

“I know that,” Nightwing assured softly. Now was not the right time to evoke an argument, even accidently. “Her family, Kaldur. She need to go to Atlantis.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “I can go with you. We can make funeral plans. You do not have to do this alone, Kulder.”

The Atlantean was quiet for a moment, considering Nightwing’s words. Finally, his face softened and he nodded. “Your gesture is appreciated, my friend, but your presence is unnecessary. I will ensure she is taken home.”

A knot in Nightwing’s black released, a knot he had not realized he had been carrying. “Very well. I will prepare the Zada platform. I’ll send Robin for you when it is ready.”

***

Present Day, one hour ago

Dick thanked whatever god that might be out there that Kaldur had gone to Atlantis yesterday. If he had seen the stunt Bruce had pulled, Dick would have bet that Bruce would have ended up with a broken arm at best, 1000 volts of electricity in the back of the neck at worst.

In arranging underwater equipment for various Team members to attend an underwater funeral, Nightwing had made a visit to the Hall of Justice. Dick hadn’t intended on looking around the museum, but the advertisements for a new exhibit caught his attention. The exhibit in question? A memorial to fallen heroes.

The memorial is nice enough: a single corridor of blank marble walls lined on both sides with evenly spaced holographic images of the dead, about six feet between each. Under each image was a scrolling description of all the accomplishments and victories won was on prominent display, accompanied by a detailed description of each heroes died. No music played and the exhibit was far enough away from the main museum that the squeals of children admiring their role models and the narrations from tour guides were nonexistent. It was a quiet, simply place for visitors to reflect and pay respects.

While it had suffered its causalities, the Justice League of hadn’t lost enough members to dedicate an entire hall of this magnitude. In fact, while the large amount of space between each image presented the illusion that the exhibit was full, the extra space allowed for the adding of future causalities. The thought made Dick’s stomach turn.

But worse than that though was the fact that there was an image of a teenage Atlantean at the very front. The only member of his Team to have even fallen.

If the Batman thought such a display was necessary, why had this been constructed now and not immediately following the death of the League’s first death?

As Dick looks up at Tula, he categorized each detail, comparing them to his memory of the living woman. Everything was perfect: the intense eyes, pulled back shoulders and the look of immense pride. If it hadn’t been for the light blue tint and transparent illumination, Dick would have sworn that he was looking at his friend, alive and well.

The whole idea of a public shrine makes Dick’s skin crawl, especially considering there was only one person in the JLA that kept up the facade of the Hall of Justice.

***

Present Day, now

Robin knows to avoid Nightwing as he enters the cave based on his tightly set jaw and extreme tension in the rest of his body. At the risk of being chewed out, Robin takes a step towards him as soon as the computer finishes announcing Nightwing’s arrival. He knows it’s not a good idea to kick the beehive, but this is Nightwing. He has a way of putting his emotions on hold in favor of rational decisions. He’s watch a friend die and the rest grave for her, all without being allowed to display his own grief. He needs an outlet or he’ll explore on someone that doesn’t deserve it. Robin knows he doesn’t deserve, but unlike the Team, he can take it. And he’s willing to take one for the Team. “Hey ‘Wing. You look like you swallowed a lime.”

Nightwing ignores the comment and gets straight to the point. “Where’s Batman?” He didn’t even stop walking to acknowledge Robin properly.

Robin understands that Nightwing and Batman didn’t see eye to eye, he really does. He doesn’t know the full extent of their issues, but he at least thinks he deserves some acknowledgement. What had Robin done to make this guy hate him so much? “Why do you think I would know?”

Nightwing does acknowledge him now with an intense bat-glare. It freaks Robin out how much Nightwing is like the guy he claimed to hate. He really hopes he doesn’t turn out the same way. “Because” Nightwing says, “you’re one half of the dynamic duo.”

Nice, Todd, Robin thinks to himself. Stupid question like that does deserve the bat-glare.

“He might be in the Watchtower. I remember Agent A talking about a big meeting for all of the Leaguers coming up, but he didn’t give a day.”

“Let’s find out,” Nightwing says, mostly to himself. He pulls up the holographic computer monitor and begins hacking the Watchtower, something he’s only ever done in the most desperate of times.

Robin watches in awe as Nightwing hacks one of the most secure security systems known to humanity as it’s child’s play. With the combination Wayne Tech and Queen Industries, the system should be flawless. That is, unless, if you’ve been hacking the pentagon since you were ten, or so Robin had been told.

Finally, Nightwing finds what he is looking for. The hologram displays JLA members sitting at a boardroom style table, combating some hidden agenda. Body language of members whom have not learned to control automatic responses, such as Aquaman, Flash, Hal Jordan, and a few others show that the conversation is one that Robin wants no part of. A few more taps on the keyboard from Nightwing activates sound.

“-not change the past,” Wonder Woman states calmly. “What is to happen moving -?”

“Disband the Team immediately!” Aquaman shouts before Wonder Woman can even finish her question. “There is no debate here.”

That’s Nightwing’s call to action and he doesn’t miss a beat, nor does he kill the security feed. Robin might ask him what he’s planning on doing, but the Team leader is on the warpath. Getting in his way might be the equivalent of falling for a trap set by Penguin: not only fucking embarrassing, but surely deathly. Also, given that the feed is still up, Robin didn’t see and harm watching the debate unfold, especially concerning the fact that the meeting is about his Team.

Just as the computer finishes announcing Nightwing’s departure, (still fucking stupid!) the smell of burnt popcorn and cheeseburgers fills the musty cave. Only one person on earth could stomach such a combination. “Sup, Robin,” Wally says as he approaches, the bag of popcorn on one hand and the burger in the other, his girlfriend following closely behind, clearly annoyed that the speedster is giving more attention to his food then her.

Rather than answer, Robin practices his bat-glare and goes back to watching the feed. Wally and Artimus join him.

After 30 seconds of listening to the arguing, Artimus caught on to the topic at hand. “They can’t do that.” She says under her breath.

“Do what bae?” Wally asks.

“They- they want to break up the Team…”

“What?!” Wally yells. “How do you know? They can’t do that! They can’t do that!”

“Shut the fuck up Wally!” Robin barks back.

The arguing attracts the attention of Superboy, who could hear the conversation from the living room. He walks in with M'gann, hand in hand. “Who can’t do what?” the Martian interjects.

Wally, unable to keep his voice under control, shouts again. “The Leaguer’s trying to break us up!”

After insults from Robin and confusion, M'gann reaches out to each Team member telepathically, excluding Kaldur as he is in Atlantis and out of M’gann’s range. As Tula’s funeral is not set to happen for another week, the rest of the Team is still hanging out in the cave, and this is a conversation M'gann highly recommends everyone be informed about.

Soon after, Zatanna, Rocket, Batgirl and Bumblebee, are all crowded around the illegal footage, listening intently.

“Where’s Nightwing?” Batgirl asks, but she’s answered with a Shush! from Wally. Fucking hypercritic, Robin thinks to himself.

“Watchtower,” Robin supplies her quietly.

Tired of the bullshit, Aquaman interrupts whatever point Green Arrow had been making. “Do none of you understand that we’re talking about children? Children! Teenagers. How many must share the same fate as Tula, a highly trained Atlantean warrior, killed in her own element, before we realize this is not their war. No. One is enough.”

Superman picks up the right were Aquaman left off with a heavy sigh. “The King is right. This isn’t their fight. We can’t expect them to-”

“Did none of you think of that when you enlisted children to begin with?”

The conversation stopped dead in its tracks as Nightwing stepped out of the shadows. Clearly, he’d been doing the ninja thing for a while now. His demeanor is soft, but there’s not missing the hateful undertones.

“Nightwing.” Batman address, speaking for the first time since the meeting began. “How did you get in here?”

“Unimportant. What’s important is that I didn’t think there was anything that could piss me off more today. Evidently, I was wrong.” Robin can see though the security feed that Nightwing’s facade of masked emotions is gone. Even though the image isn’t quate quality, the balled fists are slightly shaking. The deep frown lines cut so deep that could scare. If Nightwing wasn’t wearing a mask, Robin would see eyes narrowed to slits. He doesn’t let anyone take the floor from him. No one has ever successfully snuck up on the entire JLA, and Nightwing is not about to give up his advantage. “Aquaman, I respect your concerns, I truly do. I have been leading this Team for years now, and those exact sentiments have been a burden on my mind since the beginning. Long before Tula.” When mentioning the fallen Atlantean, Nightwing looks the King directly in the eye, conveying both his deepest sympathy and personal grief in the single look. Just as soon as the look come, it’s gone, as Nightwing addressed the League in its entirety.

“However, this is not your team. The Justice League may have given the Team guidance, but it did not found the Team, nor does it have say in its downfall. We do good work. Work that the Justice League cannot do. It saved the entire League when it was under mind controlled. Yes, tragedy struck yesterday, but tragedy has struck the League in the past. No one questioned your autonomy move forward. You picked up the pieces, learned to adapt, and strengthened as a Team to minimize such tragedies. Why not do so for the Team?

“Some of you may have questioned enlisting children in your personal wars in the beginning. However, you cannot take a soldier out of war when he is already on the battlefield. You build your child soldiers. Now they’re fighting for what they believe. Take that away from them and the only thing you’re doing is pushing the wars away from you, away from the generals. They’ll work detached from the Justice League, and I won’t stop them. You asked for this when you trained children in the first place. This is the result. You have to deal with that.”

The room is quiet as everyone takes in Nightwing’s words, tention as strong as water pushing against the Hoover Dam filling both the Watchtower and the Cave. Everyone single person knows that the Team isn’t going to stop, regardless of what the JLA says. To an extent, this is the same argument Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin and Superboy had the night the three sidekicks freed Superboy from Cadmus: we are going to do this. Are you doing to make us do it on our own?

Batman, ever the voice of logic, breaks the dam. “The Team has always been an independent unit. It is free to do what it wishes.”

Aquaman interrupts saying “Not anymore! I will not stand for-”

“Aquaman, stand down.” Superman cuts in. “This is a democracy. We will vote on-”

“Bullshit.” Nightwing says flatly. All of the air in the Cave seems to be sucked out and leavt in a vacuum. No outsider swears at a Leaguer, let alone the every Leaguer. “We just went over the Team’s autonomy. Need I say it again?” Superman is stunted. The Atlantian is clearly unhappy. Whatever moment of shared grief and respect the two heroes had shared a moment ago is gone. But his voice goes soft again as he pleads, “out of respect for Tula, a strong and valued Team member, King Arthur, please, do not taint her sacrifice with destroying something she loved.”

After a long moment, the King must realize this is a battle he’s not going to win. Ever so slowly, he retakes his seat but his glare never leaves Nightwing.

Robin releases a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Cheers and hugs are passed around the Cave. All is right with the world.

Nightwing allows himself the satisfaction of victory, but he’s not done yet. “Great. Now for the reason I’m here.”

The Cave falls silent again. Is stopping the potential disbanding of the Team not enough for a win for the night?

Nightwing’s voice goes from somber understanding to soiled steel. “What. The hell. Is In. The Hall of Justice?”

This catches everyone off guard, even Martian Manhunter, who can read minds.

Black Canary clears her throat. “Do you want to be more specific, Nightwing?”

Then it happens. Nightwing’s vision tunnels and the only thing he can see in Batman in a deep tint of red rage. “There’s a new exhibit B. The hell is it?”

Rocket turns to Robin, the only one who could potentially understand what Batman is up to. “New exhibit?”

Robin shrugs. “Not a clue.”

Wally doesn’t miss a beat. “Shush!”

“Oh you’re one to talk!” Robin accidently yells out loud. A few laughs are earned.

Wally turns to his girlfriend for support, but her response is nothing more than “He’s not wrong.”

Batman’s answer to Nightwing is strictly monitored before the words leave his mouth. “The League decided that it’s time the public knows the sacrifices both the Justice League and Team have made over the years. They deserve respect.”

Nightwing considers before responding, again in his deadly steel cold voice. “‘The Team is an independent unit. It is free to do what it wishes.’ Does that train of thought not extend to its own fallen?”

Batman’s scowl deepens. “what are you implying?”

“This is my Team, Batman. My Team. My Team and their families will choose how their members are honored, not your team. You have no right to put Tula on display. She hasn’t even had a funeral yet and you have her on display in the Hall as if she dies years ago.” his voice has been rising with every word spoken and each word seems to have hit every Leaguer in between the eyes like a bullet. Every member feels it, even the bulletproof ones.

Aquaman cannot keep his mouth shut, and Robin doesn’t blame him. “What’s this about, Batman?”

“The Hall opened a memorial for fallen heroes. Aquagirl’s sacrifice is worth sharing with the world.”

“Sharing her sacrifice and putting her on public display are two different thing Batman!” Nightwing’s been angry, but he’s finally reached his limit. He’s yelling across the room as if no one else is present in the Watchtower, yet, Robin is sure the present audience is the only thing keeping Nightwing from physically attacking the Dark Knight. “You did not happen to decide to make a memorial for the entire League a day after the Team suffers its first loss. That is not your choice to-”

“It is done, Nightwing.” Batman says. There’s a scooting noise as his chair is pushed back when he stands up.

Nightwing is walking towards his former mentor. “You want to put your Leaguers on display, that’s your business. My Team members are not collectables.”

Batman is walking towards his former protege. “If you think this has anything to do with you, you clearly have not learned nearly as much as you think you have.”

“If you think I think this is about me, you do not know me early as well as you think you do. You’ve overstepped on something you have no right to interfere with. I’m only going to tell you once-” The pair stop only when they are nose to nose, standing so close they can see the other eyes though the white lenses of each mask. “-step off.”

The pair face off for a long heartbeat, on one daring to step in, not even Superman. This goes deeper than politics of the JLA vs the Team. Deeper the Batman and Nightwing’s personal issues. Even deeper then Tula. No one is willing to get in the middle of the ideological battle playing out. If a mediator is heading for Earth, Superman isn’t sure he’d be willing to get up, for fear of getting in the middle of Batman and Nightwing (also a healthy dose a fear of the situation in general.)

Seconds drew into minutes. Batman and Nightwing could have been facing off for days and Robin wouldn’t have noticed. So, when the security speakers finally cracked to life, the sound is almost alien.

“Fine,” Batman releases and backs off the stalemate. “The memorial will be taken down within the hour. The League will find an adequate place for its members. I trust your Team will do the same.”

“Gladly.”

Nightwing turns and heads to the Zada platform without another word or glance back that the Justice League.

When he’s gone, Robin hears Green Arrow over the security system, “you raised one scary motherfucker Batman.”

Batman is not amused with Arrow’s comment. Robin is.

#nightwing #batman #jason todd as robin #young justice #angst #my stuff #fan fics #i have 56 followers asdfgh!!#thank you all so much

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