I don't own DC.

Well this is it, the final chapter you all asked for.

It took me a while but I've written this out about twice now and both times the file didn't save. Just great. Nevertheless, enjoy your final-and I mean it this time-chapter of Bee Yourself.

Chapter 21—

"Boy Wonder we need assistance. Are you near?"

No, no, leave me alone. Let me die, don't wake me up. He groaned in pain as he slowly arose into consciousness. Batman heard and called his name.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Not now I'm not, what do you want?" He whispered shakily but he still heard since he hadn't actually switched his communicator off.

"Are you near Gotham docks?"

He took a long while to answer, looking down at his wrists that still bled but not fast enough, it had even started to heal, it would need stitches but he could easily recover. This was his chance, to find Batman and find his childhood again or lay here and let death take him. The latter would be giving up so he answered.

"Yes, but I have no gear."

"Doesn't matter. We're tied up in the dock where Bane stashed the drugs last year, remember?"

"Yeah," No matter what he wanted, it didn't matter; they needed him. "I'll be there."

He sat up weakly, and pulled his mask from the ash, it was singed but no where near melted, he cursed himself to think he would have left so much evidence behind. With a grunt and a gasp of pain, he lifted himself up and fitted the mask in place over his eyes before grabbing his lighter. With a last glance over the remnants of his past life, he scooped up his poster and headed up to the streets once more. The cold breeze bit into him and he shivered and whined, low under his breath.

He found the warehouse and jumped up to one of the windows via a conveniently discarded dumpster and then jumped from the window to the beam crossing the warehouse lengthways. He shuffled along it as the blood-loss messed with his balance and watched the goons bustle. He reached up and lit the closest rope on fire with the lighter. It burned and the taught wire snapped, a pulley slipped at the other end of the warehouse and the goons went to investigate outside. Meanwhile, Trace shimmied down the remainder of the rope and set about untying the two heroes from their chairs.

Canary firstly removed her gag and thanked him as Batman peeled off from their group, soon the surprised cries of thugs could be heard from outside.

Black Canary eyed the wavering boy in front of him, "Are you...?" She cut herself off when she caught him by the shoulders to stop him from toppling over; she saw the blood soaking his sleeves.

Wordlessly, she picked up the rope they had been ties with and guided the younger vigilante to met Batman outside. She all but handed him over to the other League member and the Batman, being the greatest detective, noticed her concern and nodded to the unconscious criminal at their feet. She showed him the rope and gestured for them to leave. Trace tried to follow the conversation but in his haze, he ended up falling back. Batman swiped him up easily and called his car from his phone. The Batmobile arrived just as Canary was done tying up the last man while Batman was done checking over the boy in his arms for more injuries and stemming the bleeding in his wrists.

He set him into the backseat while he climbed into the front to drive. When he looked back in the rear-view mirror, Canary had brought him to her chest in a motherly embrace as she sat beside him. Bruce felt a pang of grief for his own mother and Batman was slightly relieved that he was finally opening up to them, even if it was too late now with all damage to his psyche having been done. He noticed how 'out of it' he looked, exhausted almost or like he'd given up. Batman didn't want to know what he'd given up on or why. All he wanted to know how he could help…if he could at all.

The free-clinic was just ten minute drive away and even that was with the Batmobile breaking every speeding law against them. They slipped into the back entrance allocated for this reason. He set the boy down on a table in one of the rooms as Canary disappeared to find the doctor. Batman checked the boy's vitals and checked the bleeding; it was slowing but it was still not slow enough. When Canary returned with the doctor, Leslie checked Bruce over first; two seconds later, she came to her verdict and pointed to the door.

"Alfred can stitch that gash on your jaw."

"So I have to leave."

She brushed him off as she turned to the boy on the table. "Go. Dinah?"

"I'll take him." Canary took him by the arm and guided him back to the Batmobile. "We can't do anything to help; we'll only get in the way."

"How do we tell the team? They're out bonding apart from Kid Flash who hasn't returned since the Nelson incident. He's at the mountain."

"You find Wally; I'll go find the others. They're probably on Happy Harbour's beach, Superboy and M'gann like watching the sunset recently. Where's the nearest zeta beam teleport?"

"Down the street, we made sure it was close."

Wally could tell Bruce regretted sending Richard back. Bruce had found a purpose in protecting Richard.

Batman had taken all his time and priority and he wanted Richard to have better than that. He could never tell him who he was for fear of the boy's fragile psyche. Of course, Bruce had not expected Richard to bolt as soon as possible. On hearing about what he had done, Wally and Roy had scrambled to get in touch with him but they'd heard nothing from him. The billionaire had explained nothing and Wally could only guess what the boy thought. It was not the call Wally ever wanted to receive.

When he'd looked to his ringing phone to see that it was Richard, he's answered immediately. There were a million things to say. Wally had a million questions and twice as many answers. Bruce had sent him back after second thoughts. He grabbed Roy who sat next to him on the couch in the mountain and the older boy soon winced and tried to pry the ginger from his arm. Meanwhile, anticipation had built in the speedster's throat, preventing him from speaking.

"What's wrong with you?" Wally showed him the ID screen and Roy's eyes lit up. "Well answer it then."

He cleared his throat and with a glance at Roy, answered. "Hello? Dick?" His face fell.

"I'm sorry Wally, it is Dr. Leslie. I called you because you were the last number on the call log on his phone. He's alive, don't panic but he tried to kill himself again. I thought you should know."

Roy poked Wally to get him to explain his concern but Wally batted him away. "Do you want me to tell Bruce?" He asked and glanced towards the door of the rec. room of the mountain as if the Batman was going to be standing there. No one was, of course, they were all out; they only reason Roy agreed to meet Wally there.

There was a short pause before the Doctor answered, "I think that would be for the best, or you can wait for me to call him tonight, I have his number too."

"I'll tell him, don't worry. Can I see him, doctor?"

"When he wakes up, the doctors will speak to him and then the Commissioner himself and we will come to a conclusion what to do then. He might go to the mental hospital; we might have to put him back into the system once his wounds are healed…"

"You can't do that." Wally interrupted, his voice raised a pitch in his worry and Roy got the message. "He ran away from their last time, he needs help."

"He doesn't want help, Wally; it's pretty clear what he wants. I'll suggest to him that you visit but it's his choice."

"Okay, could you call me back when he wakes up?"

"I will."

"Thank you." He slowly lowered the phone from his ear once hanging up.

"Well," Roy asked impatiently.

Wally looked to him to answer and saw the Batman behind. Roy gathered from the speedster's sharp intake of breath that the Bat was behind him and glanced back.

Wally decided that the only way to say it was to just say it. "Leslie called me, she says Dick's in hospital."

He seemed to contemplate it and then said, "Hand me your phone."

When the zeta beam announced that Canary had returned, Batman and Kid Flash marched towards the main room. Before them, Aqualad was setting up a sparring match between Superboy's strength and his tactics while Miss Martian cheered them both on. When they saw Batman, they paused.

"No mission." Batman dismissed them.

"No training." Canary added and took the Dark Knight's arm and dragged him deeper into the mountain until they stopped at Trace's room. "He'll be fine.'

"It's not that." He shook his head, "Leslie just called Kid Flash, Dick's in hospital after attempting suicide."

"But I thought she was looking Trace...Trace is Richard."

"It's no coincidence, I've ignored too many of the signs." He sighed and slouched against the door of his protégé's room. "How did I not see this before?"

"Don't be too hard on yourself; he didn't want you to know."

"Why not though?"

She had no answer so he continued.

"This explains so much, why he'd been gone: he'd been right here, and I had been talking to him. I didn't realise that and I sent him away. No wonder he hates me now."

"He doesn't hate you. Look, I'm assigning mandatory psyche evaluations to everyone in the team. I need to know what you know, some issues might be sensitive and I don't want to push him away so soon."

"I want to get through to him too, I always have. Ever since I first saw him, there's been something pushing him into this dangerous life, I've wanted to know what. Now I know there's no stopping him, I still want answers. But now I know, for the past fortnight, it had been me."

"You can fix it now...does Wally know?"

"I don't think so. I'll talk to him when he wakes up." He assured her.

"Will Batman talk to him or will Bruce?"

"Does it matter? He knows I am both of them."

"Yes, but he doesn't know that you know he knows." She pointed out and received a blank look.

"Leslie will call me." He said to her. "And I will talk to him. I'll ask my questions and answer his but I will fix this. I will. He won't suffer anymore; I'll make sure of it."

He opened the door to the boy's room to see the blank room with no personal effects since most of it was still at the manor, and he didn't know where the poster was that he took with him the week before. Meanwhile, Canary watched him with analysing eyes.

"You can't just take over control. He's confused and defensive. If you try and do this, he'll push you away."

"What's the other option—watch him slowly kill himself." He sighed. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"Ask him that, not me."

"I was a different person with the mask off than I was when it was on. Richard was so much weaker but Boy Wonder helped me become worth something. I was able to stop another kid from experiencing what I've endured. I never told you, Bruce, because it would break down the wall between the two and if my walls break down, then I do you too." Richard glanced back down to his bandaged wrists.

Sunlight cascaded through the glass in the window to dance in pretty lights across his feet on the bed. Dawn had broken through the clouds as Trace came to, only to realise he was without his mask. Leslie had explained and the first thing he asked for was to see Batman—or Bruce as it was. He and the Commissioner had bid him a Good Morning before the Commissioner had left for work, so the millionaire and his estranged ward could talk with the subject of adoption once more.

"I didn't realise and I just sent you away without any explanation. I thought you'd be safer but I was wrong."

"Don't say anything…I want a hug."

Don't hesitate to tell me what you think-praise or otherwise-just be nice.

If anyone has any suggestions then I'm open to them.

Thank for the response with the Hesitate No More series and this alternate ending, I enjoyed writing them but I also enjoyed reading your reviews.