Feeling the Heat

"Then, what happened?"

Cassie swallows hard. She's been dreading this. "We tried to go back in for the artefact, once we'd evacuated the civilians, but that was when the charges detonated. We can only assume that the Eye of Imaru went up with the building." She wants to fall through the floor. The Justice League had specifically asked the Titans to retrieve that device, stressing its importance for an entire solar system. They'd just precipitated an interstellar war, hadn't they?

"But you got all the people out?" Batman repeats. "No casualties whatsoever?"

Cassie nods. "No casualties."

Batman smiles, then. "Good work. I don't think I could have done better."

She blinks. "But... but you said the Eye was-"

"Important, yes. It was. But nowhere near important enough to get people killed for it." He pushes back the cowl, locking his vivid blue eyes on hers.

She feels her knees start to go wobbly.

"The Titans did well today," Dick continues, resting both hands on her shoulders. "You should be proud." Then, in a completely different tone, "Hey! You okay?"

"Y-yeah," she manages, as he guides her to a chair and gently pushes her into it. She's fine. It's just stress... and sudden relief... and the way his smile makes her melt...