Chapter Twenty-One: Purpose

Smoke inhalation was the most obvious damage, aside from the fear toxin. Dick was set up in a bed as soon as he arrived at the med bay and was given an oxygen mask for the smoke and a shot for the toxin's remedy. Even with that gas in his system, he was having a hard time being afraid when he saw several of the core Justice League members in front of him along with all of his friends. The only two that weren't there were Roy and Green Arrow, who had gone to look for Cheshire. It was a moot effort, but they had to do it to give themselves some sense of security.

How did she get in? No one knew. That would require a big investigation. Somehow, she probably hacked the ship doors and snuck in that way. Batman admitted before that that was the weakest security that the cave had. But how did she get that device in without anyone noticing or seeing it on security cameras? And how were the bombs placed and detonated? An attack of this scale implied that she wasn't working alone. None of them wanted to consider the notion of a mole (again), but the attack was too deliberate, brutal, and accurate to rule out the possibility.

That was the substance of the conversation Dick listened to as he sat on his hospital bed. He couldn't add much with the oxygen mask on his mouth. Besides that, he was technically a civilian. The fact that he was still in his street clothes and everyone else in costumes was a big reminder of the line that separated all of them.

I don't want to be separate from them anymore, Dick realized silently. He didn't want to just be Dick Grayson. He wanted to be Robin again. He wanted to be on the team with the people he loved most.

Just as he lifted a hand to remove the mask to speak, the door to the medical bay opened. Black Canary was there along with the Arrows. Though her eyes scanned over the huge mass of people, her eyes quickly landed on Dick. She went over and sat on the edge of the bed, shaking her head at his attempt to remove his mask. "You shouldn't take that off just yet," she told him.

Of course, once her attention was on him, so was everyone else's. They all stared at him expectantly as he disobeyed Canary and took the mask off. "I…" His voice was hoarser than he would have liked it to be. When he tried to clear his throat, he began to cough again. Suddenly Batman was by his other side and placing the mask back on his face.

While he composed himself, the rest of the team continued with their business. It was their way of not drawing any more attention to his weakness.

"There were signs Cheshire escaped through the hangar. And the computer there seemed to be tampered with," Green Arrow informed them.

"I just came from looking at the security feeds," Canary then added. "Footage has already been wiped. It may take some time to get that back."

"What about an accomplice?"

"Certainly possible they came with Cheshire and left before the bombs went off. Maybe she was running late with setting up the gas. How much of it got through the cave?"

"Only about 15%, according to Dick's calculations. We've already tested everyone here and Dick was the only one who inhaled enough to need an antidote."

"You did well, Dick." It was Canary who pointed it out, and she was the one who set a hand on his shoulder affectionately. Behind the mask, Dick gave her a faint smile in return. They both knew the types of fears and issues he was working through. Why, earlier that day she herself had stated it was a good thing he wasn't on the battlefield. And he had agreed. Now, though, things seemed different. They both understood that, based on how they look at each other.

"Batman, I would like to make a request of Dick," Kaldur said to the man. He didn't even wait for Batman's response before he looked at Dick. "Please. Come back and be Robin."

"Kaldur, that is not appropriate for you to spring on him!" Aquaman scolded.

"Please," Kaldur repeated.

Dick glanced at Batman, then to Kaldur, and then to the rest of the team that materialized behind him. He wondered just how long Kaldur had had those words bubbling up inside of him before he finally burst.

"I told you man," Wally said with a slight smile, "you're the heart of this team."

"You've got your groove back," Artemis added. "You handled today like a pro. You've got this."

"We miss you," M'gann inserted.

The only one who didn't speak up was Conner, but his emphatic nod was enough to convey his thoughts.

Dick lifted his hand once more and removed the mask. He had some things that he wanted to say to his teammates, to Batman, and to the rest of the Justice League. Just like Kaldur, the words were so close to his heart that he felt like he would explode if he held them in any longer. "Nothing," he began quietly, "would make me happier."

His teammates cheered amongst themselves, though after a moment, they came back to reality and saw that Dick wasn't looking at them—he was looking at Batman. Batman had the power to squash all their hopes with a single word.

The caped crusader lifted his head and looked at the members of Young Justice. "You heard him, team leader," he said to Kaldur.

Their joy was unrestrained then. M'gann flew forward and tackled Dick in a hug while others suddenly toppled onto the bed. Canary and Batman got out of the way just in time as Dick was swallowed up by his friends. The only three that restrained themselves were Conner, Kaldur, and Roy, but they stood close enough that they were grabbed by the other three to make a crushing hug. Dick heard their joyous laugher and felt chuckles escaping from his own chest.

He was back. And this time, he wasn't going anywhere.

EPILOGUE

Another night, another stakeout mission. The Riddler had escaped from prison a while back, and rumor had it that he was making an appearance in Central City to connect with other well known criminals. Even he knew that he wasn't close to being on the "Top Villains" list.

Dick was camped out with Artemis, KF with Aqualad, and Superboy with Miss M, just like a stakeout mission so long ago where they first discovered the warehouse full of the fear toxin.

That night, Dick recalled he had been feeling particularly strong and confident. His team had many successes and accomplished feats that even the Justice League hadn't been able to do. And he, a human being, stood equally along an alien, a clone, a speedster, an Atlantean, and the skillful archer Artemis. He had many reasons to feel competent in his abilities.

And yet, that night, he failed. He stuck around for a sample when the threat of a bomb was looming over them. It was his overconfidence that led to him and Artemis being injured. Aside from that though, he had little control in the next events. The fear toxin was successful as a gas. The bad guys recognized it and kidnapped him to experiment their second version of the gas on him. He returned a shell of himself and the team treated him as so fragile he got fed up and clammed up. Misunderstands ensued, hearts were broken, and he separated himself from everyone who loved him.

Those months were some of the worst he had ever experienced. No part of him ever wanted to go through that again.

He was an optimistic kind of person who typically believed that things happened for a reason. He could even explain his family's deaths as the factor that led him to Bruce and then to the team. So he tried to find a reason behind all of this, too. Maybe it was to humble him. Maybe it was to teach him new skills. Maybe to give them insight on the bad guys' master plan. Nothing quite fit, though. Perhaps he was too desperate to assign a purpose to it. Maybe it just…was.

No. He was too optimistic to believe that. He may not have seen the purpose yet, but he had faith that someday, he would.

"Riddler at 3 o'clock" Kaldur said over the radio. "Artemis, Robin, he's all yours."

The revived Boy Wonder stood up along with Artemis and looked down below from the building they were on. There was the Riddler. And he'd have no clue what hit him.

Dick glanced over at Artemis and gave her a smirk before he leapt off the building towards his target.

Until he found the purpose behind his suffering—no, even after he discovered the reason behind it all—he'd keep fighting.

He'd overcome every challenge he'd face.

*…*…*…*…*…*…*

Author: Thank you so much to everyone who read this story through to its completion! I loved writing this story, and I hope to write some more Young Justice stuff in the future. I have two ideas for Robin-centric stories, but I'm busy with my original novel right now, so those won't be coming out any time soon.

PS: As a side note with this story, since I'm not sure if I properly conveyed this or not. It's implied that Roy was the one who helped Cheshire with everything, since this story takes place before we discover he's the mole. Just imagine that the whole story gets wrapped up the way that it does in the TV show.

Thanks again, everyone. It's been a blast.

Peanut