*I don't own Young Justice, but one day soon I just might rule the world, and then who knows?*

"Talking"

'Psychic Communication'

Hello and good day to all of my wonderful readers! There is just one more chapter to go, and I really wanted to say thank you and that I appreciate all of your kindness and patience about my odd updating behavior. And to make up for the fact that I couldn't keep to my deadline, this chapter is extra-long, but now you must read on my dear viewers, you must read on~

*You may want a tissue box this one is going to be a tearjerker*

Chapter 9 – Gotham Rain

~ 40 minutes-of-real-world-time later ~

M'gann, Conner, Wally, Artemis, and Zatanna staggered as their minds flowed back into their bodies. Each of them was stiff from the extensive period of not moving, not to mention their injuries from yesterday's mission, and Wally was starving. They all had killer headaches and were slightly blinded by the harsh fluorescent lights in the common room.

Robin on the other hand, leapt to his feet immediately. He suffered from none the team's pains, but his hands shook and tears rolled down his face from underneath the mask he wore. It looked as if he had woken from a vicious and vivid nightmare. He snatched his computer off the floor and sprinted towards the Zeta tubes. He didn't look at the others, he just ran. He could do nothing but run, it didn't matter that there wasn't actually a Zeta tube in the Batcave or that he was barefoot or still in pajamas. He just couldn't be there with the team, with his friends, when they knew so much more than they were ever supposed to know.

"Robin, Wait!" Wally moved to try and catch Robin, to try and stop him from leaving, but even with super speed he was still disoriented from their mental misadventures and couldn't catch the bird before the Zetas announced his departure.

Just as Wally reached the Zetas ready to enter in Gotham's coordinates, Aqualad and Rocket ran up to Wally. They had both seen Robin's distressed state as he ran into the Zeta's light. "My friend, what has happened?" Kaldur inquired.

"We did something really stupid, but I… I think it's a good thing that we did it." Wally whispered. The others had caught up with Wally, as they made their way out of the common room.

"Well that was cryptic, wanna elaborate?" Raquel asked as she crossed her arms.

Kaldur turned to his entering teammates "What has happened to make Robin feel such a state of anguish that he must run from the mountain?"

"… It's kinda hard to explain, in fact I'm not really sure how to…" Artemis said, she tried to meet Kaldur's eyes but couldn't.

M'gann looked at Wally "Can I show them? Or would that just make everything worse?" She had a determination in her eyes that very few of them had ever seen before. She had this look when she went toe-to-toe with Psimon to save Superboy. She might not be comfortable with dealing with human customs, but she knew that what they did for Robin saved his mind and probably his life and she couldn't feel guilty about that.

Wally laughed bitterly "It really can't get much worse… But if they want to help us help Robin they should know."

"Show us?" Raquel questioned "Like psychically?" She still wasn't used to this whole mental connection thing the team had going.

"Yes, just take my hand and I'll show you what happened." M'gann said as she offered Kaldur and Raquel her hands. Kaldur accepted her hand as did Raquel, albeit more hesitantly.

~ 5 minutes later ~

Raquel and Kaldur's heads snapped up as they jerked away from M'gann's grasp.

"I-what-who-but, I think I need a minute…" Raquel mumbled as she staggered away from M'gann.

Kaldur looked around at the others who were all still waiting nearby "…Your actions were very inappropriate and a complete invasion of privacy. I am disappointed in all of you and your choices... however, I believe we need to try to help Robin deal with his fears and your actions may have been for the better in the long run. This does not mean that I think what any of you did was acceptable in the slightest."

M'gann, Wally, and Zatanna looked ashamed; Artemis was very pale and didn't meet Kaldur's eyes as he spoke; Conner crossed his arms and grunted in agreement with Kaldur.

"Okay, we all know we screwed up really bad but, can we go and help Robin now? Can we try and fix this?" Zatanna stated more than asked.

"I do not think it wise to try and see Robin now." Kaldur spoke calmly. Wally ignored Kaldur and zipped over to the Zeta tubes to punch in the Gotham coordinates.

"Gotham Zeta Tube Delta 2 – Temporarily Unavailable" the robotic voice read out.

"What the heck?" Artemis snapped "Try it again" She moved over to Wally, watching to make sure he typed it in correctly.

Wally did and again the female computerized voice read out "Gotham Zeta Tube Delta 2 – Temporarily Unavailable"

"Move let me try the other coordinates" Artemis said as she nudged him out of the way.

"Gotham Zeta Tube Delta 1 – Temporarily-. Gotham Zeta Tube Delta 3 – Temporarily Unav-. Gotham Zeta Tube Delta 4 – Temporarily Unavailable."

"How did he lock all of them this quickly! And how the am I supposed to get home!" Artemis growled. Wally was about to speak when everyone's cellphones buzzed, chirped, or beeped. Wally yanked his phone out and read who the message was from.

"It's Robin!" Zatanna exclaimed as she began reading the message " 'I understand you all have a lot of questions, but I can't answer them now. We all need time to adjust before I can explain myself. I hope you share all of the information you learned with Aqualad and Rocket they both deserve to know the truth as much as you all did. However I must ask you do not share anything you saw or heard with anyone else. Ever. I want you all to meet me at noon on the 1st at the corner of 8th and E. Artemis knows how to get there from the Zeta tubes. Please do not try and contact me until this time. –R' … Well that wasn't what I was expecting…"

"Mine says the same thing, but there's a little note at the end saying the Zetas will reactivate in 3 hours." Artemis added.

"Why does it sound like he's the one at fault? I mean I know you guys saw some freakiness inside his head, but we aren't mad at him or anything, right?" Raquel questioned.

"Yes, but is Robin aware of our feelings? He does not know if we resent him or not for planning our demise. He also is unaware if we have ever forgiven him or accepted his behavior in the simulation." Kaldur replied gravely. He still felt guilty for dying and leaving Robin in charge of the team during that crisis. Real or not he was still responsible for the team.

"He should know that we aren't upset with him, right? I mean we don't act differently around him or anything, we still treat him like he's our friend." M'gann remarked. The team looked at around at each other, before their eyes all landed on Wally.

Wally on the other hand, had been rereading the text message over and over; he hadn't even heard what the others had been saying. He finally looked up, when he felt the others staring at him. "He wants us to meet him on April 1st…" he whispered.

~ Two Days Later ~

[April 1st, 2011 - 11:30 AM - Mt. Justice]

The atmosphere in the mountain was very subdued from its usual hustle and bustle, it felt almost somber. Everyone could feel the seriousness of the situation and very few smiles or jokes were exchanged by the young heroes.

"Wally, are you sure we should wear black? Robin didn't say he wanted us to…" M'gann questioned as she looked down at her simple knee length black dress.

"Yeah, Robin might not have asked us to, but I think he will appreciate it." Wally replied as he adjusted his black suit jacket, glad that he had decided to forgo the tie.

Kaldur and Zatanna joined Wally, Conner, and M'gann in the hanger near the Zeta tubes. Kaldur was wearing a black pea coat and dark green scarf to hide his gills. Zatanna wore a black skirt and sweater combo with leggings. "Hey guys, Quel said she'd be out in a minute." Zatanna said in greeting. Kaldur just nodded to them.

"Recognized - Artemis B07" announced the computerized voice as Artemis walked through the Zeta tubes.

"Hey, is everybody ready?" Artemis questioned. She wore dark jeans and a black sweater, an umbrella tucked under her arm. Her hair fell down around her shoulders, and was only being held back by a thin black headband instead of her normal ponytail.

Wally sent her a half smile and replied "Hey, beautiful. Raquel's almost done, and then we can go."

"Artemis do you think it's going to rain? Should we get umbrellas too?" M'gann asked as she gestured to the one Artemis had.

"Yeah, I would. I mean its Gotham, it always rains." Artemis answered, trying to muster her normal level of sarcasm, but the atmosphere in the mountain and the tension building from the meeting to come was taking its toll on all of them.

"Here let me take care of that, Evig hcae nosrep na allerbmu." Zatanna casted as she waved her hand. A black umbrella appeared in everyone's hands, including Artemis'. She nodded to the one in Artemis' grasp "The extra one is for Raquel."

"What's for Raquel?" she inquired as she walked over to her teammates. She was wearing black skinny jeans and a dark blue long sleeved shirt with a black jacket vest.

"This, it's going to rain." Artemis responded as she handed her the umbrella "Okay, now that everyone's here we need to go over a few Gotham ground rules. First keep all your valuables in which ever pockets you plan on putting your hands, and then keep your hands in those pockets as long as we are walking in a crowded space. Second don't talk to anyone, like at all. Honestly, I really wouldn't make eye contact with anyone either. Third, I know you're super heroes, but don't just go wandering around Gotham by yourself. It doesn't matter that it's the middle of the day, Gotham is just a nasty place all the time."

"Is Gotham really that bad? And I thought our meeting place was supposed to be at Gotham Central Library in the nicer part of Gotham?" Zatanna asked dubiously.

"Those are the rules for the nice part of Gotham. And yeah, it's really that bad." Artemis said as she turned back towards the Zeta tubes to enter in the coordinates. "Come on, and everybody stay close."

The walk from the Zeta tube entrance to the library was uneventful, but it did help put Artemis' precautions into perspective. The city's air was thick with smog and seemed to pour cold into their very bones, yet there was little to no wind. The dark grey clouds above rolled and twisted as if they were in the belly of some sick beast. The city itself seemed to be draining the very life out of everyone who lived here; no one they walked by so much as registered their existence, let alone the people who were huddled in the alleys. The sounds of angry snarls of traffic could be heard all around them as people moved in a noisome haze to get from point A to point B with the least resistance possible. The team had been in Gotham for missions before, but they never walked its streets or been amongst its citizens, and they decided they didn't really want to, either.

As they waited at a crosswalk, M'gann activated the mind link 'Gotham feels sick, like there is something wrong with the city itself.'

'Welcome to Gotham, it's the only place on Earth where the citizens are just as crazy as the villains.' Artemis thought 'Well, except maybe Bludhaven…' she added as an afterthought.

'How can you stand living in a place like this?' Conner questioned.

'I don't really have a choice. Anyone who wants to leave here can't, but everyone one with the money to leave wants to stay.' She replied. 'Batman and Robin protect the city from itself. From the people who want to stay and those who are so desperate to leave they'd do just about anything… most days it seems like they are fighting a losing battle.'

They finally rounded a corner and the Gotham Central Library came into view. It was a grand Greek-inspired structure that took up half a city block. In front of the building, it had two rows of large square planter boxes lining the main pathway towards the libraries steps. This mostly open area was full of people, most were cutting across to avoid walking along the crowded sidewalks, but some sat on or leaned against the planters to wait for or to talk with friends.

'How are we supposed to find Robin in this mess of people?' Raquel thought as she raised one eyebrow as they crossed the street to stand near one of the planters.

'Think I see him. He's on sitting on the third planter left side.' Wally thought.

There sitting on the planter's edge was a young kid, dressed in an expensive black suit, with a crisp white shirt, thin black tie, and a long charcoal grey overcoat. His black hair was slicked back and his startlingly blue eyes were become very familiar to the young heroes, however he wasn't alone. A woman in her early thirties sat next to him a calico cat perched between them. She had honey colored skin and brown hair styled in a pixie cut. She wore jeans, a very stylish black leather jacket, matching boots, and sunglasses. They appeared to be talking about something in low voices as he gently pet the cat. When she spotted the approaching teens, she whispered one last thing to Robin before she placed a kiss on his temple and strode away, blending into the crowd with the cat hot on her heels.

Robin didn't look up as they approached; His eyes remained locked with the pavement. Once they finally reached him, he blew out his breath in one short huff, then he stood up and looked up at them. It was as if a physical change had occurred between the boy who was sitting on the planter and the young socialite who seemed to command power with his very presence. The downcast eyes were now a sharp and powerful blue; they held wisdom far beyond his age and a timeworn sorrow swirled underneath the surface. "Thank you all for meeting me here, my name is Richard Grayson and there is somewhere that I need to take you before we discuss anything. Now if you'd just follow me I need to make a quick stop before we head to our destination." Richard stated calmly, with an effortless dignity. Without another word he turned and began walking towards the sidewalk. The team walked quickly to keep pace with him.

Unlike their journey here, the crowd seemed to part for Richard in an unspoken acknowledgment of power, leaving their path clear. Even when standing on the street corner waiting for the light to change, the Gothamites wouldn't stand near him. He glanced back to the others and commented "I'm glad Artemis had you all bring umbrellas; it's going to start raining soon. It always rains in Gotham."

They continued on in silence for several more minutes before Richard spoke again "Thank you for not having a psychic conversation behind my back, I know you were conversing with each other when you were on your way to meet up with me. However if you do have any questions I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability."

"Where are we headed?" Conner questioned. He didn't like being in an unfamiliar location with such a negative and dangerous air about it.

"A flower shop, it's a family-owned business, but they have an excellent eye for details and they carry my Mother's favorite species of Frangipani." Richard responded as he rounded another corner.

"Why are we going to a flower shop?" Zatanna asked curiously.

Richard looked over his shoulder with an odd look on his face, "Because I need to buy flowers. I kinda figured that was obvious." Kaldur was about to ask a question, but Richard spoke again "Ah, we're here." He had stopped in front of a small shop with a large glass display window with elegant green paint "THE KERTÉSZ'S LEXICON OF FLOWERS". Richard pulled the door open and a small bell chimed, and he waited holding the door open for the others to enter.

It wasn't a very large shop, but everything in the store was excellently maintained. The shop was filled with the pleasant aroma of fresh spring flowers, no one scent over powered the others, it was just a harmony of sweet, fruit fragrances. There were several stands with pre-made bouquets, but the rest of the stands held flowers sorted buy their species and then buy color. Each of the flower bins had labels with the flower's name and its meaning. There was a small cashier's counter near the door with an archway leading to the back room behind it. As the teens filed in a brown haired older man with a well-kept beard walked through the archway to stand behind the counter.

"Hello and how may I help you?" asked the bearded man, but as Richard walked in behind the group, he smiled and continued "Mr. Grayson it is always a pleasure to see you. Gwen almost has your usual bouquets finished. Gwen, your favorite customer is here." He called the last part over his shoulder.

"Mr. Kertész, it's always wonderful to see you and Gwen. How are Maria and Victor doing?" Richard replied a smile carefully painted on his face, the sorrow in his eyes was well hidden.

"Maria is doing well, but she is about ready to have the baby any day now and Victor's grades have improved greatly thanks to that tutor you told me about. That Barbara is such a wonderful girl always a delight to be around. And haven't I told you to call me Vincent?" Mr. Kertész said jovially, his bushy eyebrows arching.

"And I believe I asked you to call me Richard." He responded just as genially "But let me introduce my friends this is Artemis, Megan, Raquel, Conner, Kaldur, and you've met Wally before." As Richard spoke he gestured to each of his friends who waved or nodded in greeting.

Then a young girl about the age of fifteen joined them in the room "Richard it is so good to see you! But I've got some bad news we haven't gotten a new shipment of your usual lilies, so if you'd like to come into the back you can pick a different breed." Gwen had brown hair like her father's; it was long and pulled back into a braid. She wore an apron with green and brown smudges, but she clearly just washed her hands and fixed her hair.

"I'd be happy to, Gwenevere. I'll be right back guys." Richard said as he made his way around the counter to walk back with Gwen.

As the left they could the team heard Gwen begin to say "I thought I told you to call me Gwen…" However Mr. Kertész started talking to them, mostly Wally.

"I'm glad he's here with friends, I know Mr. Wayne is out of town on business, but I can't imagine what the poor kid is going through. I know he tries to put on a good face, but today he seems so tired." Mr. Kertész stated a sad look on his face.

"He's been having a rough couple of days, but I'm glad he asked us to go with him. He doesn't mean to, but some days I think he tries to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders." Wally responded softly.

"It's good to know that he has friends to lean on, most days I think he and Mr. Wayne are the only good people left in Gotham. I know the media makes them out to be the upper crust snobs like the rest of them, but you can't fake that type of kindness. It's part of their very souls." The man continued. Wally just nodded in agreement.

After several minutes of amiable silence Gwen and Richard reappeared. Gwen was holding a very elaborate bouquet and a bundle of fourteen red roses.

"May I hold the bouquet?" asked M'gann, offering to take it from Gwen, who obliged. Zatanna took the roses Gwen was holding as well; slightly curious as to why they still had their thorns.

"Are you sure you don't want me to remove the thorns?" Gwen asked Richard as he moved over to the cash register.

"No, the thorns give the roses a different meaning, you know that." Richard responded with a little smile.

"Richard, I've noticed you don't have your umbrella, but I have the one you let me borrow several years ago. Why don't I return it to you?" Mr. Kertész offered why he rung up the bouquets.

"Yes, but did you remember yours this time?" Richard asked a smirk appeared on his face as he saw the older man blanch slightly. "I didn't think so. Keep the umbrella or else Maria will be furious when you and Gwen arrive home dripping wet. Besides a little rain is good for the soul." Mr. Kertész just smiled a little and nodded his thanks.

As Richard finished paying and began to head for the door, Mr. Kertész stopped him "Ah, just a second Richard, I believe Gwen wanted to ask you something before you go."

"Oh! Papa, it's nothing honestly." Gwen stammered, her cheeks slightly pink. Richard raised an eyebrow and stared at her with piercing blue eyes, Gwen squirmed but final said "I- Well, my junior ball is in two weeks and I- I was wondering if you'd go with me?"

"I would be honored too, but I thought Justin was going to ask you?" Richard inquired kindly.

"So did I, but he still hasn't asked me and the ball is in two weeks and I still don't have a date…" Gwen mumbled as she stared at her hands.

"Well it takes a lot of courage to ask such a pretty girl out. Why don't you give him one more week. If he still doesn't ask you, give the Manor a call." Richard said. Her face fell a little while he spoke so he continued "I promise you won't go to the ball alone." And she brightened up at that. "Well, it's been wonderful to see you both, but we really must be going. I hope you have a pleasant afternoon." Richard said in farewell as he held the door open for his friends.

The moment they had past the shops window Richard's smile seemed to peel away leaving him looking more tired than before and the grief in his eyes had redoubled as if wearing the smile had been painful. The teens continued on in silence for several more minutes before Zatanna's curiosity got the better of her. "Does that happen a lot?" she questioned.

"If by 'that' you are referring to being asked out, then the answer is yes. I'm just happy Gwenevere is close to my age. It becomes rather… uncomfortable when they are over the age of seventeen." Richard explained "She honestly means well, unlike most of the people I associate with, but she is expecting me to be Gotham's young prince; that I'll whisk her and her family out of Gotham and take them to some far off land where we'll live happily ever after. But I'm not a prince and this isn't a fairytale with a happy ending." He finished on a darker note than he had intended.

Zatanna grabbed his hand and just held it, he didn't pull away. They walked in silence for a few more blocks before she spoke "I don't want a prince or a fairytale. I don't want a mysterious vigilante either. I want someone who will make me laugh and remind me that the world will keep turning. Someone to stand by me as I walk through hell and back."

"Won taht si gnihtemos I thgim eb elba ot od." Richard whispered back. Zatanna looked at him shock written all over her face and the she flushed bright red and quickly looked away.

Artemis snorted in the back of the group where she holding hands with Wally, and whispered to him "Your best friend has ten times the game you do. Maybe you should be learning from him." Wally just rolled his eyes. He knew Dick was a better flirt than he was, that's why he joked with him about how to 'correctly' pick up chicks.

Artemis realized where they were a block before they reached their destination. She suddenly tightened her grip on Wally's hand. He looked at her with sad understanding in his green eyes and he squeezed her hand back. As they rounded the corner, the cemetery came into view and the teens went very quiet as their hearts tightened in their chests.

It was the size of two city blocks and had a tall wrought iron fence around the whole thing, but the heavy metal gate appeared to be closed. They could see the cement and marble headstones, all appeared to be well managed just like the grass and the gravel path that ran through the center. As they began to approach, a few rain drops began to fall from the darkening heavens.

Wally noticed that Dick had let Zatanna's hand go as the approached the gate. He couldn't take it anymore; he had to talk to his best friend. He let go of Artemis' hand and made his way forward to walk next to his best friend, concern evident in his voice. "Dick… are you sure you're up to this? I mean, are you sure you want to do this, now, after everything that has happened?"

Richard glanced at Wally, but remained quiet for several seconds before he whispered, his voice raw "… I need to do this, I need to just deal with all of the pent up- pent up agony… But- but I don't think I can do this alone right now, but I can't just not go… Wally I- I really can't be alone right now. I know after everything I put you guys through you probably don't want to help me, but I need your help… I need to do this…"

Wally grabbed Richard and stopped him from grabbing the cemetery gate's handle "Look at me, I'm not going anywhere. Ever. You're my little brother and if you need me to stand by your side then I will. We aren't mad or upset with you; we just want to help you. Please, listen to what I'm saying, we are here because you need us to be and we want to be here with you. There's nothing else to it."

Dick let out a shuddering breath, "Thanks, Walls… just, thanks for everything…" he turned to look at the rest of his friends and for the first time they saw the raw agony in his eyes, there was no filter, no smile, no mischief to hide it from them. It seemed to burn them, the uninterrupted torment that had shredded his heart the moment those wires snapped and had never faded. Then, there was a filter again the reality-shattering agony was hidden from them, and the water was blinked from his eyes. "Thank you for being here with me, for standing with me, for keeping me from falling…" he turned back to the gate and turned the handle. The rain began to splatter faster against the pavement.

The iron gate swung open noiselessly, the gravel crunched underfoot as they entered the graveyard. Richard started to walk down the path, while the others began opening up umbrellas. Even with the rain and gravel, he still didn't make a sound as he moved. They hadn't gone very far before Dick moved off the path and began walking down one of the rows. As he began to slow, the rain began to pour down in heavy sheets.

Finally, he stopped in front of two ornately carved marble headstones. Carved into their delicate white surface were the words "Martha Wayne – Beloved Mother" and "Thomas Wayne – Devoted Father" respectively. In between the grave markers was an empty black marble vase fixed permanently to the ground. Dick turned to Zatanna and she passed him the blood red roses wrapped in brown paper, wordlessly.

He crouched down to place the bundle of flowers in the vase and began to speak "I know Bruce couldn't make it today, but figured you both would appreciate the roses. Bruce said you liked the way the roses looked with the thorns still attached so I asked them to be left on." Dick paused as he stood back up. "I really think it would have been fun to meet both of you, especially after all the stories Alfred and sometimes Bruce told me about the both of you. But today, I really wanted to say thank you… Bruce, well he's…" Dick let out a long breath as one hand moved to wipe something from his face. "…He's the best dad a kid like me could ever ask for… So thank you for raising him with the all of the kindness and compassion in your hearts… I probably wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for him."

The others had remained quiet while Dick spoke to the long since departed. However the words and the emotion that cracked his voice shook them to the bone. They had recently figured out that Bruce Wayne was in fact Batman, but they never really understood the dynamic between the duo until now. Robin and Batman were partners, Mr. Wayne and Richard were the focus of the media and the limelight, but Bruce and Dick? They were family. They were both traumatized by their misfortunes at young ages and came together because they could understand the other better than anyone else. Bruce and Dick relied on each other to help them heal, to help them remember how to keep on living, and to remember why they should do so.

With one final nod to the marble slabs, Dick turned back towards the path. As they walked the rain began to soak him to the bone, but no one commented as salt water mixed with rain drops. As they walked farther into the cemetery the city noise was washed away by the thick sheets of water and by the distance of the streets from them. Only the crunch of gravel and the patter of water on taut umbrellas could be heard. They kept walking, by cement and marble, by crosses and statues, by the simple and the ornate; each and every piece of silent stone was someone who once walked the very streets they had.

Eventually Dick turned down one of the smaller gravel paths that lead deeper into the immaculate grassy resting place for many on the citizens of Gotham, or those who took their final breaths here. Soon after, he turned off the path and began walking down a row of headstones. Much too soon for the heroes liking, their youngest member began to slow as they approached four well-crafted limestone grave markers.

Each tombstone had two very painful similarities, "April 1, 2006" and the surname "Grayson".

The first one read "Karla Grayson – Cherished Wife" and next to it was "John Grayson – Treasured Son". Dick stopped in front of these two stones first, M'gann handed Dick the flowers she had been holding. She could hardly see him through the tears, but she managed. Dick pulled the plastic off of the bouquet and revealed that it was two separate bundles of flowers, again he knelt to place one of the bundles in the small stone vase for them, but he didn't stand up to speak.

"H-hei, mătușa Karla. Hei, Johnny. Știu că a trecut ceva timp, dar tot la sfârșitul meu a fost merge foarte bine. Am vorbit în cele din urmă Bruce în permițându-mi să încep o echipă de tineri eroi, nu credeam că vom fi vreodată mai mult decât o echipă ca modul liga este ... Dar omul am fost greșit, eu niciodată crezut că o să avem frați sau surori, cum ar fi modul în care am fost Johnny dar- dar eu le-am acum. Un grup întreg de ele și avem seri de film și stinge în misiuni nebun și râd și să se joace farse pe fiecare parte, la fel cum am folosit pentru a la circ. Mătușa Karla, nu v-ar crede unele din locurile care le-am been- și am primit o carte poștală de la unchiul Rick, Evrei a început recent efectuarea cascadorii mari de sârmă cu scaunul cu rotile. Mi-a spus că dacă pasăre lui copil ar putea fi un super-erou, atunci el ar putea fi încă un acrobat. El spune că amândoi trece aproape atât de mult un-un-și că el va veni, probabil, să viziteze în curând, m-am gândit că vrei să știi ... Mi-e dor amândoi atât de mult …" Dick sobbed, as his shoulders shook.

[H-hey, Aunt Karla. Hey, Johnny. I know it's been awhile, but everything on my end has been going really well. I finally talked Bruce into letting me start a team of young heroes, I didn't think we'd ever be more than just a team like the way the league is… But man I was wrong, I never really thought I'd have brothers or sisters like the way we were Johnny but- but I've got them now. A whole group of them and we have movie nights and go off on crazy missions and laugh and play pranks on each other, just like we used to at the circus. Aunt Karla, you wouldn't believe some of the places we've been- and I got a postcard from Uncle Rick, he- he recently started performing high wire stunts with his wheelchair. He told me that if his baby bird could be a superhero then he could still be an acrobat. He says he misses you both so much a-an-and that he'll probably come to visit soon, I figured you'd want to know… I miss you both so much…]

Wally was wiping tears from his face and was going to go help Dick back up, when Zatanna closed her umbrella and stepped forward to put one hand on his shoulder. She just stood next to him and looked up at the sky as the rain washed the tears off of her skin. Finally Dick stood up to move over to the last two headstones he came to see.

"John Grayson – Loving Father" and "Mary Grayson – Adored Mother"

Dick sank to his knees in front of these two cold slabs of stone. His hands shook as he placed the bouquet in the vase. He stayed silent for nearly a minute, before Wally moved out from underneath his umbrella and stood just behind his best friend and next to Zatanna. After another shuddering sob Dick rubbed one of his sopping sleeves over his face before he began to speak.

"Hei mama și tata ... II dor de tine atat de mult ... Ma tot întrebam dacă ai fi mândru de ceea ce fac sau dacă ai fi făcut pentru că eu pun viața mea în pericol ... Am continua să trăiesc în această capcană de auto-doubt- Adică eu a face într-adevăr o diferență? Pot ține într-adevăr promisiunea mea de a vă asigura nici un alt copil ca sa treaca prin ceea ce fac? N-am putut ajuta Zatanna și tatăl ei, erau chiar în fața mea, la fel ca și părinții lui Jessica ultimul an- Nu pot salva toată lumea, dar eu nu pot opri doar grijă fie!" Dick wailed.

[Hey Mom and Dad… I-I miss you so much… I keep wondering if you'd be proud of what I'm doing or if you'd be mad because I'm putting my life in danger… I keep living in this trap of self-doubt- I mean, am I really making a difference? Can I really keep my promise to make sure no other kid has to go through what I do? I couldn't help Zatanna and her dad. They were right in front of me, just like Jessica's parents last year- I can't save everyone but I can't just stop caring either!]

As he continued his voice rose in volume, "I can't keep doing this! I can't be emotionless like Bruce! I can't just turn off my emotion and send my friends- my Family to their deaths, just because I need to prevent the least amount of casualties! …But I did… I did what need to be done, but I can't… I can't do it anymore; I just can't be like that…" Dick's cracked and raw voice faded into a whisper. Sobs rocked through his slight and soaking wet form.

So the teens stood or knelt in the muddy grass, letting the rain wash over them and sobbed because that's all they could do. Because it didn't matter whether they were alien or Atlantian, whether they had superpowers or not, grief and loss are something heroes are all too familiar with.

Okay, so I admit it… I'm a monster. But I did warn you, so I don't feel as guilty. I figured since I am a flake and suck with deadlines I'd make this chapter nice and long. I will finish this story, cross my heart, but I'm not sure when. But! It won't be another year long hiatus disaster again, I swear. Oh and something to look forward to in the next chapter – Fluff, lots and lots of fluff.

PS - Go to my profile and vote for the next chapter title ~