A/N: This is the final piece of this story. Yes, final. No sequel, nothing. Unless someone wants to throw ideas out there; I'm willing to listen. Anyways, here's the final part of "The Last Time I Saw You".

Sidenote: I don't know the personality of Wonder Girl, so I was kind of winging it for the two paragraphs she actually speaks in. Still, I use the Titans BB.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or any associated characters.

The Last Time I Saw You

Never before had bullets hurt so bad. The one day he'd forgotten to be safe and wear his extra layer of armor… The one day…

He was keeled over in a pile of his own blood, fighting to breathe; the carbon dioxide was coming out of his bloodied mouth in puffs of wispy white smoke. This wasn't going to work. His chest was heaving. Most of his wounds had healed to the point of no longer bleeding, but that didn't make up for all the blood he'd already lost.

So cold… It hurt…

The computer on his wrist still wasn't waking up. He'd messed with his cell phone enough times to know that if you turned it on and off, it usually regained charge. Of course, Wayne Tech couldn't do all of that. Nope. No, cell phones, lousy little cell phones, could regain charge, but not his computer. Why hadn't Batman thought of a solar panel or something?

The throbbing in his head picked back up and it almost felt like his brain was going to explode.

This wasn't working. Five days. He'd seen the sun rise and set five times. He'd counted almost like a prisoner, his finger swiping over a frosty spot on the control panel that he was leaning against to make a tally mark. Five days. Five sunrises, five sunsets.

Was Babs alive? Hell, he hadn't thought about her for a few hours. They were virtually in the same condition, her only doing better due to the fact that her blood had frozen around the wound. His hadn't.

No, this wasn't going to work.

If there was ever a time life would suddenly sprout the ability to play background music, Wally would've been hearing a sad piano piece running through his mind. Artemis in his arms, his broken heart cradled in his chest, the love of his life so close but so far. And just looking on what all they'd done in the past few hours, all teamed up again like they had once been, he was unable to remember what had happened. Because what had happened?

Once upon a time, there was a clone and three boys, two being mischievous, the third following along to save the first two.

Then along came a Martian, the sweetest thing in the galaxy, always making cookies, always saying her little catchphrase, always being somewhat annoying.

An archer was thrown into their midst, one with a tortured past almost as bad as that of a certain bird, one with an attitude on 'er. She would only play a small role in the grand scheme of the world.

Then a second archer. Backing down from his solo deal, he had resorted to staying with his friends instead of submitting to his mentor. Being bossed around by a bat was better than by a lowly arrow.

Seven of seven. Now five of seven. In reality, five of six.

Because once upon a time, Kaldur'ahm, Aqualad, was alive.

What had happened?

"I don't need you!" That was Superboy's howl. Those sapphire eyes were staring into their mirrors, the younger's burning with anger and all the pent up rage from being ignored all along.

Now was the time when Robin was staring, jaw agape, horrified.

No.

"Conner, I ca-" Kent was cut off by his clone.

"Don't call me that!" Conner's voice rang through the darkness like an echo. He wasn't just yelling. He was screaming. Screaming as if all of this was finally going to make him explode. He was losing it. Losing his mind, or at least what little was left of it.

Eighteen. And finally, finally, almost two years later, Superman was deciding to care. Finally. After all the begging and pleading from the rest of the Justice League and after multiple requests from the clone himself, Superman was finally deciding to care.

Superboy was about to blow a gasket.

"I'm not Conner, I'm not your son, my last name isn't Kent and you're nothing to me!" Tendons in his neck were stretched and an angry vein was pulsing at his temple. Blue eyes blazed furiously. "You used to be a hero." The words were hissed, an angry hiss. "Now you're nothing to me."

That was that. No more.

Robin's eyes stared through the domino mask as he watched the now silent form of the clone walk out the door to the cave, the system announcing his departure, although it wouldn't say how long he would be gone. Everyone knew that it meant for good.

If only the computer had said it.

If Robin had only known that it was just the beginning.

That was the last time he'd seen Conner.

Roy was put down outside the door. He found himself standing next to Artemis; it struck him that she didn't bother him as much. The only thing that truly irked him was the fact that she had murdered Aqualad. But as long as his mind was off of that, she wasn't half bad.

She'd saved Babs. She'd cooperated. She was a fighter, he'd always known that. And even if she was a crook now, he couldn't complain; he didn't have the right to. In a way, he was a crook as much as her. He still went by the name of Red Arrow, but that didn't mean he was as innocent as Speedy once was.

Drugs, a criminal girlfriend, and a kid later, he knew he was just as bad as she was. The only difference: there was no blood on his hands.

"Upstairs," said Miss Martian, her fingers on her temples as she traced Robin's brainwaves back to the position and coordinates they had originally received the signal from. "We'll have to take the stairs. Superboy and I are the only ones who can fly."

A nod from Roy and he was bolting up the stairs, Artemis and Wally close behind. He could only figure that M'gann and Conner would be following them…

Her arrow was pointed at his chest; she knew it shouldn't be there, but that was her first instinct. Before she knew what she was doing, her fingers released the arrow.

There was no time for Kaldur to react. The last word that came from his mouth was "Crock". Then all that was left of Aqualad was the bloody body. A pool of crimson was forming around him. Not a pool, a lake. An ocean. Red blood everywhere.

If she'd hit him anywhere else, he might've lived. In the leg, in the arm, in the shoulder, anywhere. An arrow to the heart had stolen Kaldur'ahm's life.

He'd been in the shadows, watching. Kaldur had requested that he stay close in case she got hostile. Not even Robin had had time to react. He usually had reflexes to rival almost the entire Justice League.

Since that moment, part of him had been guilty for not saving Kaldur. The other part was burdened with the same guilt for a different reason. Only a hacker could've found the information on Artemis. Robin's chest had been heavy with the knowledge of it all ever since. Nothing had been the same, but it was put on his mind the same way his parents' deaths were. Moments where he should've done something.

But that wasn't the last time she saw him.

It had been an explosive argument. Not like there wasn't a long list of those, but this one had come down to fists and arrows.

Robin was almost afraid Wally would meet the same death Aqualad had but with a different reason behind the arrow to the chest.

"You don't have to be such a bitch about everything!"

"You should start being on time!"

"Yeah, but if I was on time, I would be a lot less charming, wouldn't I?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

It was almost as if his ears were bleeding. God, if he didn't listen to the same argument every day, he wouldn't believe it was capable for people to argue this much and still hold a relationship. This was getting only a little bit ridiculous. He was fed up, they were fed up, Megan was fed up, it was all so tiring after so much fighting…

"Then we're done!" Artemis had the final say. No, it wasn't because he was always late. It was because he would forget her birthday, he would forget when he needed to pick her up, he would forget what he was supposed to be doing, he'd leave her stranded in the middle of a fight just for no reason other than to be her Knight in Shining Armor later on. Even if it meant putting her life at risk. Everyone knew it, everyone could see it. Four of them there, Beast Boy on his way with bags packed and Artemis had reached the breaking point. "I'm so sick of you!"

The last time he saw her, she was grabbing her bow and quiver and leaving Mount Justice, the system announcing her departure.

It didn't know how long forever was.

Why couldn't they just fly up?

Conner hated running. Yes, he could run faster than most people, but that didn't mean he'd want to run up multiple flights of stairs to get to Robin. He wanted to get to the child as much as the next guy, but Red Arrow probably had some kind of grappling hook… But did it work on a twelve-story tall control tower? Probably not, Superboy figured.

The steps seemed to take forever. He kept looking back at Megan. All he could see was that she was trying to focus on something. Her fingers were on her temples and her eyes were closed despite the way she was practically gliding up the stairs like a pixie. He admired it but at the same time was afraid. They weren't linked. What was she doing?

Robin. He could only figure that she was trying to keep some sort of connection with the little bird.

He could've been up there for a week for all they knew. Superboy's eyes were horrified. A week trapped in this tower… And he'd lost communications with Batgirl yesterday… Dread ran through his body. This wasn't looking good. Not good at all. All he could do was hope. That was all there was left to do. He couldn't fly up. He couldn't go and help the way he wanted to.

Conner could hope and wish and pray, but that didn't make any difference. He knew they were on a time limit and that was something that couldn't be beaten. Not with such little notice…

"I'm sorry," she'd said as she kissed the youngest member's cheek in a loving way. Sisterly love, of course. Her heart had always belonged to Conner. "Mars needs me like Earth needs you."

He hadn't wanted her to go. She was the only sane one (for the most part) out of the whole team. Or at least out of everyone that was left.

Wally, Tula, Beast Boy, Megan, and himself were the few that made up the latest team. Roy had been a recent ditcher and Artemis was almost a distant memory. Robin was comfortable with all the others, but Megan was always a good friend, a good teammate, a good cookie-baker. He wasn't sure what he'd do without his daily fix of sweets.

"You sure, Megalicious? 'cause you know, even with Supey gone, I'm still here." Wally had never given up. With Artemis around, he'd gone quiet, but he was always chasing something he couldn't. Megan. His eyebrows wriggled in her direction. "Don't forget about me, beautiful."

She gave that polite smile and her head tilted to one side as she brushed a few stray strands of her crimson hair away from her face. "I won't, Wally." The way she said his name had turned the ginger's cheeks a fiery red, red enough to rival his hair.

Waves were tossed to Aqualass and Beast Boy, the two who she had never gotten close to, and then she was gone. Megan's name echoed through the halls as the voice announced her departure.

It didn't understand forever.

Robin understood forever.

Wally stared off at her until Robin waved one of the last cookies she would ever make in his face and the redhead was instantly wolfing it down.

Not even Wally understood forever.

That was the last time he'd seen M'gann M'orzz.

It wasn't that Artemis hated stairs. She just hated the dramatic climax that stairs built up. Twelve stories and they were only on the sixth. Why did they have to take the stairs? Robin was the top priority, not getting up there as a group. Who didn't understand this?

She respected Conner. She admired Conner. Not just because he had nice abs and gorgeous eyes, but because of his strong personality. Red Arrow had it too, but it wasn't as demanding. There were days, but not nearly enough to rival Superboy. She couldn't help but respect him.

And the role he was taking on. Surely, Roy, with the most experience out of them all, would've been happy to take the lead? No. He was happy to let Superboy be in charge. Artemis almost questioned why. To pin the blame? To get off guilt-free? She shook her head. Nothing bad was going to happen. Barbara was safe. Beast Boy was conscious again. Tula was no longer a prisoner. Wonder Girl was perfectly fine. Everything was going great. Nothing would go wrong.

"Seventh floor?" she heard Wally groan from behind her. She almost let one foot fly up a little higher as she stepped to give him a good kick, but she refrained. As much as she was hurting, she knew she didn't need to give him another bruise to worry about. They had to get Robin, not kill each other. She'd almost killed him twice before, but now was not a good time.

"Hush up," came her hiss through gritted teeth. Sweat dripped down her brow and onto the green costume that she had donned for this mission. Any other day, she could run around in a tank top and some shorts with her crossbow and start killing people. Justice League stuff required a different identity. The good Artemis. "Just keep running."

Just keep running. She had to remind herself too. The mental wear-and-tear she was taking from the stairs was enough to make any normal person go insane, but the physical motion of running up the long, winding stairs was getting tiring even for her, someone with the best physique in Gotham, possible within the League of Shadows as well.

She kept running.

"You think I want to be a sidekick forever?" Wally's words were laced with venom. He was tired of being looked down upon, being a sidekick, being used, being a tool, being someone to be counted on, someone who could always take a beating and bounce right back. He wasn't a punching bag, he wasn't a tool, and he certainly wasn't going to stay Kid Flash for the rest of his life. Even the thought of it made him was to hit something.

He almost thought he felt like Superboy would.

Robin was desperate. The last one. The final member of the original four. The final member of the original six. The final member that he could trust with his life, the person he worked best with, the person he could confide in for anything… The last person he truly knew… was leaving him. "Wa-"

"I'm not doing this anymore!" He threw his hands in the air. In a Roy fashion, Wally whipped off the mask and threw it on the ground before repeatedly stomping on it and grinding it into the ground with his heel until it was just a dirty piece of fabric. "Robin, you're the best friend a guy could ask for, but you knew this was coming. You've known since Conner left!"

He thought he felt tears in his eyes… He wasn't sure. All he knew was that he wanted to go back to simpler times, back when Kaldur was in charge, back when all these responsibilities mattered less…

"You knew it would end like this, Rob." Wally shook his head, his eyes not even watching his friend. His gaze was stuck on the cold stone ground of Mount Justice. He could feel Cassie's eyes on him, cold and ashamed. Tula was already glaring. Gar wasn't even there, the lucky son of a bitch. And Babs had yet to join. She was the last one on the case. "You always knew it would end like this."

He had. He'd known this whole time they'd end up going off on their own, making their own names, taking their own cities… But so soon… And abandoning him… On his own… All alone… He thought the day was farther off.

He was wrong.

"I'm sorry, Rob. I just can't do this anymore. I'm not a sidekick and the way I get treated, I'm not even sure if I'm cut out to be a hero." Last words he'd ever said in Mount Justice. That he wasn't cut out to be a hero. And he left, superspeed carrying him out the door, not even giving the system time to register him.

Robin hadn't even gotten to say goodbye. That was the last time he saw Kid Flash.

M'gann was falling behind. She saw Superboy slow down a bit to keep an eye on her. "I'm losing his brainwaves," she said almost breathlessly. On Mars, they didn't have stairs. In Mount Justice, they had stairs, but they were less narrow, less enclosing. These stairs were too hard to fly up. "I can't keep a connection with him."

She could see all the questions in his eyes, but he was more worried about getting her up the stairs so they didn't fall behind. "Come on," he said in his gruff voice and grabbed her hand before continuing up the stairs.

It wasn't normal that she couldn't keep a connection. Usually she could keep her mind linked with someone over a wider range since she'd gotten better with her telekinesis and such, but having him so close but unable to keep the mental link… "We have to hurry," she breathed.

Superboy relayed the message to Wally. Wally called up to Roy. And the older archer gave a grunt before now taking the steps two at a time, looking awkward, but moving faster. As long as he was moving faster. Conner kept his grip on M'gann's wrist and continued to move quickly up the narrow passage, stairs still winding.

Megan looked at the wall to see the number nine flash by. They weren't going to make it. We're coming, Robin.

"You and your fucking team can all just die and rot in Hell!" Anger was rolling off of him in waves. After being treated like a sidekick, then a lowlife vigilante, and then back to semi-hero, now dropping back to sidekick, he was done. The whole thing was just getting to him. He was too fed-up, too tired, to annoyed, this wasn't working, it wasn't going to happen. Roy was sick of dealing with children. He wanted to run the big races, hang out with the older kids, be himself, be a hero, and most of all, be respected.

Because he wasn't a child. He wasn't a sidekick. He was his own entity, his own mind, his own soul, his own body. He wasn't going to follow in anyone's footsteps. It wasn't his path anymore. He wouldn't be pitied, he wouldn't be a sidekick.

He was a hero. He was Roy Harper, dammit.

"That's a bit rude, don't you think?" asked Beast Boy, speaking up first and taking the blow for Robin who had cringed away as if given a physical blow. "I mean, what did we ever do to you?"

"You knocked me down a peg." Roy's eyes were blazing behind the domino mask. His bow was on the ground. He'd thrown it there out of rage. He wasn't going to do this anymore. No more. "You all made me look bad. I was solo. Then I came back because Robby-boy needed me. And now, I can't go solo again without being under Green Arrow's supervision. Do you know how that reflects on me as a hero?"

Robin didn't want to take that. He was the leader here; he didn't have to take shit from anybody. "Roy-"

His was now roaring. "Don't you 'Roy' me, Grayson! You make me look bad every day! I'm the oldest, I should be the leader, not you in your wimpy little costume with your wimpy little toys! You're not even worth being called a sidekick! Look at you in your pretty little tights and your pretty little colors and all the-"

"Can it, Harper." Cassie was standing up to him. A fist was waggling in his face. "Don't make me do something we'll both regret." She was standing in front of him and staring into the domino mask as if she could see into his soul. "You don't need to give us this shit. Take it back to your little city and angst it up there."

The bow took a swift kick and it slid to Robin's feet as the smaller boy looked to it and then back to Roy. He didn't touch it, didn't move it, just stared after Roy.

"Red Arrow, B06."

Robin walked away from the bow, leaving Cassie to pick it up and promptly snap it over her knee before tossing the broken toy in the trash. "We don't need him anyways," she said while walking past Beast Boy. Robin just barely heard her. "We're fine on our own."

Two weeks later, Batgirl joined.

They didn't need Roy Harper.

But that was the last time Robin had seen him.

"Shit." Roy was the first to hit the top floor and see the bloody heap that was Robin. He dropped his arrow to one side of the door and darted forward, sliding across the icy floor to the control panel that the little bird was braced against.

Artemis skittered in next, her bow falling on top of Roy's as she too moved across the floor, a bit more careful with the sliding. She wasn't as equipped for the cold as her other archer was. "Robin…"

"It's a lot of blood," said Harper as he quickly knelt down after a moment of catching his breath. His fingers found three bullets holes: one was just right of Grayson's heart, another near his navel, and the last up by his right shoulder. "I'm amazed he's been alive this long."

"Is he- is he okay?" Wally had stepped out of the doorway to let Conner and Miss Martian through. He wasn't about to step foot on ice. Not right now. Frozen ground and a fast guy, never a good mix. "He's not-"

Megan hovered close while Superboy joined Red Arrow with tending to the bird, Artemis watching and pointing out other injuries that the boys were missing. "He's alive," said the Martian, her eyes shut, fingers at her temples, "but just barely."

"Is he awake?" asked Artemis, careful not to bother Superboy as he worked to try and rip bits out of his shirt and cover Robin's wounds with the pieces of cloth. She reached down and gently pulled the mask from Richard's eyes.

His eyes bolted open, bright blue shining out at last.

"Rob," breathed Wally as he stood near the door. His jade eyes were wide with horror. He looked like he was in so much pain... "Dick, man…"

"There's way too much blood," said Roy as Artemis was trying to soothe Robin who wasn't speaking, not moving, just staring with those glassy blue eyes. "It's not… It's not physically possible…"

"But," Wally started, "he's still alive and he's still breathing."

"Barely breathing," remarked Conner who was still doing his best to patch up bloody, almost frozen wounds. His words were stiff, quiet. He knew. He understood.

Artemis was running her fingers through the boy's raven hair. "Wally, you're not human." She looked up to him and gave a harsh stare. "You wouldn't get it." Her attention turned back to the wounded bird who was still staring, still breathing. The archer just felt so useless… She hated being in this situation.

Dammit, why had they all left him alone? Why had he been left so damn alone?

"We can't just put some of your blood into him?" asked M'gann as she looked to both Roy and Artemis who were intently focused on either calming the Boy Wonder or helping him. "It can't be that hard, can it?"

"Different blood types, you wouldn't get it," said Roy as he began to wrap Robin up in his cape, trying to keep him warm. "If it isn't the right blood type, it's virtually the same as killing him." The redhead was barely working around Conner who was still trying to patch up holes that had been shot into Grayson. "It's just not going to work. He's too cold, too hungry."

"It's not humanly possible to pull out of this," added in Artemis as she noticed the Boy Wonder's eyes slowly shutting, the blue disappearing. "He's too cold, he's lost too much blood, and he's barely breathing. It doesn't work, guys."

"But he's Robin."

Roy looked to the door where Wally, his childhood friend, was standing, pinned to the wall, trying not to fall down.

"He's the Boy Wonder. He's our leader. He's my best friend. He can't die!" Tears were burning in the ginger's eyes. Why did this have to happen? If he hadn't left… Maybe if he hadn't left… Maybe if they'd all just stayed…

"He's still human," breathed Conner as he watched Richard's chest slow down. He watched as the life in the child began to fade. "He's still vulnerable." The Kryptonian leaned back on his heels, watching Roy do all he could, covering the boy in the cape, watching Artemis try to comfort him.

"But…" The strongest person Wally would ever know was fading right before his eyes.

Megan was the first to speak up. "Let him sleep."

Roy backed off, standing up and leaning against the control panel, his fingers finding ice and gripping it until his knuckles turned white as snow. Anger came off of him in rippling waves, half angry at himself and half angry at the world.

Artemis continued to silently stroke his hair, blue eyes staring through crystal tears.

Conner pulled away next, leaning back on his heels from where he crouched and watching the Boy Wonder's chest stop. His breathing slowed. His blood stopped. The beating of his heart faded to a murmur. Then it fell silent.

"Let him sleep."

That was the last time they saw him.

A/N: Ah, part of me wanted to do more. I literally just typed up the first paragraph of the "more", but I had to cancel it because I didn't feel like there was enough that I needed to expand on. There definitely isn't enough for another chapter though. So this is the last chapter, yes. No arguing. Leave a review if you enjoyed it.

~Sky