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Chapter Text

Watchtower, past midnight on June 21

Describing Black Canary as angry would be an understatement. She, Captain Marvel, and Black Lightning were defeated by Klarion and Vanadal Savage in the crystal key chamber. When they woke up, they were shocked to see Aqualad in his superhero outfit. Aquaman debriefed them, but didn't have time to tell them everything.

When word spread about what happened in the Arctic, those who mistreated Nightwing were overwhelmed with grief and regret. However, that didn't stop Black Canary from calling for an immediate meeting with them. She sat on one side of the room with Martian Manhunter and Green Arrow. They were facing the interrogees who hung their heads in shame and could barely look at Black Canary's death stare. Kid Flash, Superboy, Zatanna, Impulse, and Blue Beetle were the only interrogees who already saw Nightwing's body. Black Canary drinks a cup of chamomile tea while she briefly glared at each interrogee for a brief millisecond. The suspense and silence was killing the interrogees. They were tired, but Black Canary's stare kept them from falling asleep.

"Arrow," Black Canary said coldly after she drinks her cup dry.

"Yes Canary?" asked Green Arrow before refilling Black Canary's glass cup.

Black Canary answered, "If I see this glass cup empty again, I will be very unhappy."

"Got it," replied Green Arrow before he quickly stepped back when the cup was filled. "Glad I forgave him beforehand," he thought to himself.

"Now then. Who'd like to go first?" she asked with a smirk, but got no reply. "No? All right, then I will." She closes her eyes and took a deep breath.

"INGRATES!" she yelled as she threw the glass at the frightened interrogees, but she intentionally missed them. Green Arrow quickly gives her a new cup of chamomile tea.

"Thank you, dear. For a moment there, I thought I was going to be unhappy." She took a quick sip before smirking again. "Now then...who's next?"

The Team's warehouse in Bludhaven, June 16

Nightwing knew how people, especially Batgirl and Robin, would react to the big news. He thought that they would be more understanding because they were also Batman's proteges, but he was wrong. They weren't like Miss Martian who had plenty of time to think before being captured and imprisoned on board the Manta-Sub.

"She fried Kaldur's mind, got kidnapped, and almost died. They would've all been exposed and killed because you didn't trust us? What kind of leader doesn't trust his own Team?!"

"I can't believe I actually used to look up to you as a role model."

"All I wanted was to live a normal life with Artemis! Why did you have to ruin it?! Why?!"

"He let me get captured and experimented on just for the sake of the mission and you supporting him?! Sis! I could've died!"

"You're just like Batman! Only the mission, not other people's safety matter! Oh and speaking of Batman, just wait until he hears about this when he gets back!"

"Nuh uh! I don't want to hear it!"

"GUYS, STOP! If you don't want an explanation, that's fine but we need to plan out how to infiltrate the summit in Santa Prisca and clear the Justice League's name!"

Nightwing didn't blame most of them, especially Wally, for their anger because he wondered what would happened if Miss Martian, Artemis, and Aqualad really did die. He wouldn't be welcomed at their funerals. Wally would flip out more than he did during that time in the Hall of Justice after the Cave was blown up and possibly beat him to a bloody pulp. Miss Martian's ex-boyfriends, Superboy and Lagoon Boy, would've done the same thing too if they didn't control their anger. The memory of Wally pushing him into a chair came back to haunt him because to Nightwing, Wally expressed little concern about his best friend's welfare. Nightwing felt hurt, thinking that his own best friend cared more about Artemis than the person who relied on 2 double agents and had to ensure their safety. Nightwing didn't blame Zatanna for slapping him since they broken up on good terms back then, but now the good mutual feelings between them were gone. He didn't blame anyone for still fuming even after the battle in Santa Prisca.

Miss Martian couldn't bring herself to forcibly putting everyone into a mindscape because she was worried about what Superboy would think. She didn't want to lose her chance at reconciling with Superboy.

The Team temporarily put their anger aside while planning out how to infiltrate the summit. He didn't blame them because he hated himself more than they hated him.

Watchtower, June 19

Aqualad pleads with Red Tornado, Aquaman, and Green Arrow not to punish Nightwing for the deception. Only Green Arrow opposed it because of everything he had been through involving Red Arrow and Arsenal.

"Green Arrow, please. I understand your feelings towards Nightwing but Artemis wouldn't want you to be like this. If you won't do this for me, at least do this for her," pleaded Aqualad. Green Arrow sighed and reluctantly agreed. This did little to comfort Nightwing.

He and Nightwing were about to shake hands as a sign of forgiveness when a boom tube suddenly appears, expelling unconscious bodies of Captain Marvel, Black Canary, and Black Lightning. The Warworld suddenly activates and rapidly leaves Earth's orbit.

"Uhm. Is that a good thing or not?" asked Nightwing as the Warworld rapidly moves away.

Watchtower, June 20

Earlier in Metropolis, few people wanted to talk with Nightwing during and after Luthor's speech about an anti-Reach virus. The heroes were divided into 20 squads.

Alpha - Captain Atom, Eduardo "Ed" Dorado, Jr.

Beta - Blue Beetle, Impulse

Gamma - Flash, Plastic Man

Delta - Black Lightning, Virgil Hawkins

Epsilon - Nighwing, B'arzz O'oomm

Zeta - Rocket, Adam Strange

Eta - Aquaman, Tempest

Theta - Black Canary, Asami "Sam" Koizumi

Iota - Green Arrow, Captain Marvel

Kappa - Bumblebee, Guardian

Lambda - Red Tornado, Jay Garrick

Mu - Doctor Fate, Blue Devil

Nu - Red Arrow, Arsenal

Omicron - Atom, Tye Longshadow

Pi - Zatanna, Batgirl

Rho - Superboy, Wolf

Sigma - Aqualad, Lagoon Boy

Tau - Robin, Wonder Girl

Psi - Miss Martian, Beast Boy

Omega - Artemis, Kid Flash

After disabling an MFD with Green Beetle, Nightwing was in the Watchtower with Captain Atom, Aquaman, Snapper Carr, Green Arrow, the Atom, Captain Marvel, Kid Flash, and Artemis. They listened to Luthor instruct Impulse and the Flash to use their speed trails to try to siphon off excess energy from the MFD in Arctic.

"Do you think it'll be enough?" Artemis asks Kid Flash but he already left in the Zeta-Tube.

The 3 speedsters try contribute as much kinetic energy as they can. Meanwhile, Blue Beetle, Superboy, Miss Martian, Artemis, Aqualad, and Nightwing were on their way to the Arctic in the Bio-Ship. Nightwing felt that deep down, the Team hated him so much that they no longer wanted him and feared what Batman would think when he returned to Earth. He feared being kicked off the Team and out of the manor.

"What would Batman think? Would I still be welcome at the Manor? Maybe it would be better if I killed myself," he thought to himself.

His backers tried to take some of the blame off but he refused, despite their protests, telling them, "leaders must take responsibility for their actions. The whole plan was my idea anyway and you two (pointing to Artemis and Aqualad) simply agreed to it. All three of you had the most to lose while I sat back without endangering my own life."

Nightwing thought that as long as the Team was alive, he could tolerate their hatred, but the more he tried to push the fear of rejection and abandonment aside, the more it grew. It kept growing ever since the deception was conceived.

North Magnetic Pole, early morning

They arrive to see that the energy is decreasing. Then Nightwing hears Blue Beetle exasperatedly say something about 'cease' after exclaiming yes. Nightwing had a bad feeling that something terrible was about to happen. Before anyone could do anything, Nightwing instantly charges towards the scene without thinking. The others chase after him but the snow being kicked up by the vortex obstructs their view. Just as the final lightning strike was about to hit Kid Flash, Nightwing manages to push Kid Flash out of the way just in time. Nightwing screams in pain as he's electrocuted before falling into the snow which cools his severe burns. The vortex finally disappears and the others help Flash and Impulse stand up.

"What the hell just-" Kid Flash suddenly saw a lifeless black figure lying in the snow.

"NO!" yelled Kid Flash as he quickly ran over to him at normal speed because contributing kinetic energy made him tired. As Wally kneels in the snow near the body, with the front facing down, he sees that Nightwing's clothes are shredded. The others quickly surround them and were too stunned to speak. Miss Martian levitates and turns his body over, slowly and carefully.

"Wally...You're ok," whispered Nightwing in pain. He closes his eyes, making the others fear the worse.

"Dude, please don't die on me!" he said desperately.

"The Nightwing has not died, Jaime Reyes," said the scarab which snaps Jaime out of his shock.

"Wait, what?!" yells Blue Beetle which catches the attention of the others.

"My physiology scan shows that the Nightwing has fallen into a coma and is barely alive. He has severe burns all over his body and requires immediate medical attention," said the scarab.

"OK, GOT IT!" Blue Beetle yells out before he repeats what the scarab told him.

Miss Martian carefully and quickly levitates Nightwing's limp body back to the bioship while Aqualad uses his water bearers to cool the burns. "I can hear a heartbeat but it was getting weaker," Superboy added worryingly as the bio-ship as fast as it could back to the Watchtower.

Happy Harbor beach, almost midnight, June 20

Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, Hawkman, Icon, and the 6 acquitted League members return to Happy Harbor beach only find Mount Justice destroyed.

"Are we too late?" asked Superman worryingly.

"Look," said Batman who pointed to the sky. They are welcomed by Aqualad and Miss Martian in the Super-Cycle. The Leaguers weren't surprised to see Aqualad because Miss Martian had already told them some of the basic details about the deception when she and Superboy tried to sway the court's opinion. However they weren't told of Artemis's fake death, Miss Martian's kidnapping, and the destruction of the Cave.

"Aqualad, what happened?" asked Batman.

"Fear not. The crisis has been averted but at a terrible cost..." replied Aqualad. When Miss Martian finished projecting EVERYTHING in the Leaguers' minds, a wide eyed Batman almost fainted and had to be physically supported by Superman.

Present time, a few hours after midnight inside Nightwing's mind, June 21

Even before the lightning strike, Nightwing's mind was already dreary and covered in dark clouds. When he was zapped, it instantly went from bad to worse. Lightning struck everywhere. One bolt struck a flying minibus with 3 redheads inside, causing it to crash in front of Gotham Academy and knocking the occupants unconscious. Another bolt creates a hole in the ground.

A swarm of black butterflies with purple highlights burst out from the hole. It coalesces into a Caucasian man with a lean face, high cheekbones, black hair, and a small gap between his incisors. He wore a dark blue suit with a white shirt, a red tie, and a wide rimmed fedora.

In a different part of Dick's mind, a weak Dick Grayson just started waking up and finds himself in Gotham Cemetery, where he quickly backs up upon seeing his family's graves in front of him. He was staring face to face with a headstone that has his name on it.

"How did I even get here? How was long was I out?" he asked himself. He soon feels an evil presence nearby and turns around, only to see nothing. As he wonders around the cemetery, iridescent clouds slowly appear out of nowhere and the sound of singing fills the air. Turning left, he sees a younger version of himself singing on a swing with his parents on each side.

Every morning, every night

You watch over me like the sun in the sky,

Every morning, every night

Promise me you'll be in my guardian light.

"Mom! Dad!" yelled Dick, who instantly found himself in the swing.

"That was a great song, Richard," said John Grayson.

"Sing it again," said Mary Grayson. Dick hated singing and kept it a secret from others, including Wally.

Promise that we'll stay for the sunset,

And when the moon shines through the darkness,

We can find the path that leads us home,

And on the way you'll... maybe... sing me a song.

Promise that you always will be there,

Hold my hand if ever I'm real scared,

Help me stand up tall if I fall down,

Make me laugh away all my bluest days!

Dick gets up and drags his parents into walking with him while he's singing.

How could you promise you always would be there?

Why'd you have to go away somewhere?

Every morning into every night,

Do you watch over me like the sun in the sky?

Dick stops in his tracks, but his parents continue walking before slowly disappearing into thin air.

Am I all alone, or standing in your light?

I wish that I could... maybe... sing you a song... tonight.

You promised me we'd stay for the sunset...

As he continues walking, the scene instantly changes to show Artemis and Kaldur lying dead in a pool of blood. Soon, his other teammates instantly appear around him. All of them are glaring at him.

"No. No. This can't be happening. This wasn't suppose to happen."

Wally holds a dead Artemis in his arms and yells at Dick, "I wished I never met you. If you loved your family so much, why didn't you sacrifice yourself?" A heartbroken Dick slowly backs up before he feels the evil presence again. Upon turning around, he's frozen in shock upon recognizing the figure who's chewing a toothpick.

"Long time, no see, eh circus brat?" the figure asks in a sly tone and slight Italian accent. All Dick could do was weakly respond with a no and back up as the figure held up his hand.

"No friends are going to help you this time," the figure said.

The figure gave off a dark aura and snapped his fingers. Dick's teammates explode into a swarm of glowing white butterflies that coalesce into a giant Batman's head looking disapprovingly at Dick.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Dick. I thought you wanted to be your own person, but instead, you became the very thing you didn't want to become. What would've happened if things went south?"

The giant head transforms bursts into a swarm of glowing white butterflies that envelope a cowering Dick.

Chapter Text

Watchtower, a few hours before midnight on June 20

Nightwing was rushed to the medical room where everyone helped Black Canary wrap him in medical gauze and pumped a cocktail of drugs into him. Afterwards, Artemis and Kid Flash stayed behind in the Watchtower to monitor the situation. Miss Martian, Sphere, and Aqualad used the bio-ship to pick up the other heroes on Earth before going to Happy Harbor beach to greet the returning League members. When Doctor Fate arrived to the medical room via his magic portal, he was asked perform a healing spell. Just as he was about to, Zatanna barged in and froze in shock. She then suddenly screamed, "NO NO! THIS ISN'T WHAT I WANTED!"

She broke down in tears as Kid Flash drags her out because Doctor Fate needed to concentrate. The commotion gets the others' attention when they returned from shutting down the MFDs. Artemis had already told the Team what happened. Aqualad, Miss Martian, Sphere, and the Leaguers who went to Rimbor eventually arrive at the Watchtower. Blue Beetle, Superboy, and Black Canary come out.

"Fate's healing spell is speeding up his recovery, but he's still badly injured and in a coma. Barely alive. Only you and Superman can come in," she tells Batman before turning her attention to the crowd that formed outside the door. "I'll alert the rest of you if we have any more updates."

When the door closed, Batman was quietly in tears. The only sign that his first protege was barely alive was the heart monitor beeping. He sat near Nightwing's bedside and pulled his cowl off. Superman put his hand on Batman's shoulder as a sign of emotional support for him.

"He sacrificed himself, despite and because of how he was treated," Batman blurted out.

"What do you mean?" Black Canary asked confusingly.

Black Canary's eyes widen as Batman filled her in. When he finished, her eyes narrowed and she became furious. Batman wanted rip the Team into shreds, but Black Canary refused. She coldly said to him, "Let me take care of that. Besides, you've been away from him long enough. He needs his father now. Don't you agree?"

Batman nodded yes before Black Canary headed towards the door. She was halfway there when she pauses because she hears Batman whispering, "Dick, if you can hear me, I'm so sorry for everything...I never wanted you to turn out like me..." Batman gripped Nightwing's hand as tightly as possible, which gives her an idea.

"Bruce. Remember what you said to Diana about Robin when we found out about Billy's age? Can I tell them about that?" she asked. He gives her a cold yes.

"Canary, what's wrong?" asked Mal Duncan when the door closes behind a furious Black Canary.

"I know how you and the others treated Nightwing," she replied coldly. The blood of him and the other Team members ran cold. "Artemis. You, M'gaan, and Kaldur go in there and monitor Nightwing's situation with Superman, Batman, and Fate. I want the Team, Wally, Rocket, Zatanna, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter to follow me NOW. The rest of you need to disperse and let them grieve for now."

Everyone did as they were told. The trio was shocked to see something they've never seen before: Batman as Bruce Wayne crying.

Aqualad stepped forward. "Batman. I'm sorry that-"

Batman bitterly cuts him off with his acidic tongue. "That what? That Wonder Woman was right because he did turn out like me?"

Aqualad was frightened and confused. Superman puts his hand on Batman's shoulder before things got ugly, knowing that he could be exposed to Kryptonite for intervening. Batman went back to moping while Superman explained batman's remark.

Watchtower, present time past midnight on June 21

"I hope all of you are proud of yourselves," Black Canary says angrily with particular attention being paid to Robin, Batgirl, Zatanna, Superboy, and Wally. She could easily break the glass cup with a grip from a single hand rather than use her canary cry. "The coma wasn't anyone's fault, but there's now the additional possibly that your leader could be trapped with depressive and even suicidal thoughts because of your words. Each of you has every right to be angry with his actions which could've put the lives of your fellow teammates in more danger than before. And unfortunately, it did...However, NONE of you have any right to kick Nightwing off the Team or even talk to him like that simply because Batman was off planet. The League decides on each member's fate because the Team operates on League terms. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am," they murmur in shame. Black Canary's voice became increasingly louder.

"And another thing. You all said that your leader was turning into Batman because he didn't care about your well-being. Well he did care! He had to think all of you guys, the League, Kaldur, Artemis, and the fate of the world!"

She got up and turned to Martian Manhunter. "J'onn. Can you please project my memories into the minds all everyone in the room? I want to show them something personal."

He nodded yes and his eyes glowed. Two memories were projected into people's heads. "This happened during a training exercise that went horribly wrong. Artemis "died" during the exercise, traumatizing Miss Martian and trapping the original Team in a simulation. Back then, it wasn't part of an elaborate deception back then."

"Hurting? Try traumatized. I finally become leader and wind up sending all of my friends to their deaths. And I know I did what I had to. But I hated it. When we started this team, I was desperate to be in charge. Not anymore. And that's not even the worst of it. You can't tell Batman."

"Nothing leaves this room."

"I always wanted, expected to grow up and become him. And the hero bit- I'm still all in. But that thing inside of him, the thing that drives him to sacrifice everything for the sake of his mission, that's not me. I-I don't want to be "the" batman anymore."

Another memory is projected. "And this happened when the League was discussing if the League should expand and if so, who would join."

"Captain Marvel is a member and is entitled to participate, until or unless he's voted out."

"It's not just his age. It's the fact that he lied about it."

"I didn't lie exactly. I just left out the part about being a kid."

"A lie of omission is still a lie. You kept an important secret from us. No one in the League knew the truth.

"I did."

"I shouldn't be surprised. Since you indoctrinated Robin into crime fighting at the ripe old age of nine"

"Robin needed to help bring the man who murdered his family to justice."

"So he could turn out like you?"

"So that he wouldn't."

Everyone suddenly found themselves back in the room. The interrogees were filled with even more shame and regret than before.

"People change for better or worse, but that wasn't an excuse for what you did. I'll tell Batman that you're ready to apologize to him and I expect you all to do the same when Nightwing wakes up. Understand?" asked Black Canary with her arms crossed.

They didn't answer because they were still in shock.

"I said 'do I make myself clear?'"

"Yes, Black Canary," the interrogees said in unison.

Nightwing's room, present time past midnight June 21

Miss Martian was about to ask a question when there was a knocking on the wall.

"Batman. Can you come outside? There's something these people want to say," says Black Canary.

Batman wipes his tears away before doing just that and gives them the bat-glare while he crossed his arms. The ones with human DNA stepped back, leaving La'gaan by himself. He gulped.

"We're all sorry for how we treated Nightwing by not understanding what he's been through as leader...Can we see him?"

Batman clenches his fists and breathes in and out slowly to calm himself.

"Yes, you all can and I trust that none of you will try this again?" he asks bitterly. The Team nodded yes. The medical room was spacious enough to accommodate the Team. As soon as they were all in, they all tried to tried to get a good view of Nightwing's body. Robin wanted to hug his older brother so badly but couldn't.

"How long will it take for him to heal?" Miss Martian asks Doctor Fate.

"His burns will disappear in a day but I'm afraid I don't know how to wake him from his coma. My magic cannot fix a broken mind," he replied.

"Wait. I got an idea. Maybe the Team should go into his mind to find him and wake him up just like the two of us did with Kaldur," suggested Artemis to Miss Martian.

She fearfully replied, "What?! Are you crazy?! Kaldur didn't have severe burns when I tried to fix him. I don't know how those burns would affect our time in his mind. A-and Tula was there when me and Artemis tried to help and she attacked us-"

"Please, we have to! We can't leave him like this without apologizing!" pleaded Batgirl.

"It's getting late and we all should be getting some sleep. Our first day of clean up efforts is in the morning," said Black Canary. "In the meantime, Batman and I will be discussing what to do and we'll let you know beforehand when you get back from clean up efforts."

daytime, June 21

The Team and the League were busy cleaning up the mess caused by the Reach and their MFDs, but one person continued to linger in their minds. It's just before sunset in Gotham when Batman and Black Canary tell Zatanna, Rocket, Wally, and the Team that they need to go to the Watchtower when they're finished.

"Good news is that Superman did an x-ray. All the burns are completely gone. Bad news is that Nightwing is still not responding. I know that a coma rarely lasts more than 2 to 4 weeks but I can see the toll it's having on you guys...I've talked with Batman and we've decided to approve Artemis's idea...at the risk of discovering aspects of Nightwing's personal life...Martian Manhunter has agreed to help me and Batman monitor the situation here while you guys go inside Nightwing's mind tomorrow night," said Black Canary as everyone looked at each other with worry and determination.

Nightwing's room, June 22

It's nighttime in Gotham. The search and rescue party have finished dinner a few hours ago and are now trying to find a spot in Nightwing's room to sit or lie down in. The body cast and gauze have been removed, showing that all the burns are gone.

"Before we go, I need to warn you guys that his mind might perceive us as a threat. Just remember that the illusions aren't real. If you let them hurt you, your mind could suffer permanent damage," explained Miss Martian. The others nodded in response. Batman, the Martian Manhunter, and Black Canary, who will monitor the situation from outside Nightwing's mind, wish them good luck.

"Ready?" asked Miss Martian. When they all said yes in unison, she sighed and ordered them to close their eyes.

"All right. Here we go. 5...4...3...2...1..."

Nightwing's mind, same time

Meanwhile, 3 little red haired kids walk out from the minibus that crashed earlier.

"Ugh. What happened?" asked a male redhead.

"No! The bus!" yelled another male redhead when the ground suddenly splits open, swallowing the minibus.

As they mourn the loss, a female redhead becomes instantly enraged after a picture flies into her face. She sees Wally West and Dick Grayson as Kid Flash and Robin with their arms around each other. After ripping it up and stomping on it, she yelled, "I'm gonna kill him if it's the last thing I do!"

"Hey! Save some for me," said a male redhead.

"Me too," chimed in another male redhead.

Unbeknownst to them, they were being monitored by Dick's captor who sensed high levels of despair and bitterness from them. After gaining control of Dick's mind, the figure takes off his fedora and puts on a black owl mask with gold accents. Acting upon the redheads' strong emotions and the Team's presence, he zaps 3 black collars and sends them off to find their targets.

The black collars find their targets and attach themselves around their necks, establishing a telepathic link between them and Dick's captor.

"Talon is my name and I have some news for you three. Good news is that I'm taking good care of your creator right now, but he's too hurt to talk. Bad news is that Wally and the others are here to take him away from you again. If you three destroy them for me after I lead them into a trap, I'll restore everything back to the way it was. Deal?"

"Sure thing, Talon. We vow to avenge Dick's broken heart," the trio said in unison. Each one is instantly enveloped in a black cloud with translucent purple streaks. During transformation, they open their eyes to reveal glowing yellow irises...

Chapter Text

The search party find themselves in the grotto with the holograms of Artemis, Jason Todd, Tula, and Ted Kord.

"Hello?! Chum?! Where are you?!" yelled Lagoon Boy who kept looking around.

Superboy immediately shushes everybody when he suddenly hears footsteps with his super hearing. "Someone's coming. Get ready," he whispered.

They all got ready to fight, but suddenly become overjoyed when they see Nightwing coming down the steps.

"Dude! You're here!" Wally exclaimed joyfully. He runs towards him and passes right through him. "What the-"

Robin tries to grab his brother's arm and yells out 'hello' at him, but his hand passes through him. Nightwing doesn't react to their presence.

They follow him as he briefly glances at Ted's memorial and stops in front of Tula's memorial. "I wish we didn't have to exploit your death like this but there's no another way," he says to her hologram.

He quickly makes his way towards Jason Todd's memorial and begins to speak as he stares up at it. The Team gets as close to him as possible.

"Hey, Jay. I know how you complain that I should get to the point already so I'll make this quick. This is goodbye because this will be the last time I'll see you before the Cave is destroyed. There are still photos of you at the manor and my apartment, but it won't feel the same."

He bites his lower lip as a single tear rolls down his cheek. "I can't save the souvenirs, but I put already copied the Hello, Megan! tapes onto blank ones and I'll put the originals in a safe place since you can't find them online."

Nightwing pinches his temples and sighed, upset about Lagoon Boy getting himself captured. "I'm so sorry for this. Plan B would've been to fake my own death and leave out Wally and Artemis."

He slowly swings his right hand through Jason's hologram. Despite spending only a few minutes inside their leader's mind, everyone could feel their guilt increase and were horrified at the last sentence. Beast Boy lets his tears roll down his cheeks because he couldn't believe that he actually tried save the VHS tapes before the Cave's destruction.

Artemis who remembers her internal monologue after Miss Martian fried Aqualad's brain. She couldn't believe that Nightwing would consider such an idea.

Nightwing makes his way towards Artemis' memorial to stare and said, "Be safe." The Team follows him up the stairs to the lounge but he then fades away.

"He's gone. Now what?" asked Bumblebee.

"Hmm...M'gaan, does your mind link work while inside a person's mind?" asked Batgirl.

"Yes it does," replied Miss Martian over the mind link.

"Good. Can you make psychic contact with Nightwing?"

"I'm trying but I can't feel anything. Uggh. It's not working. I guess we'll split up and search for clues."

"Wait, let me check the security cameras just as a precaution."

Batgirl uses her holographic computer to hack the security cameras. "Nothing except there's snow outside," she commented confusingly. As if by bad luck, a few robots armed with lasers pop out of the snow and blast their way into the Cave. Artemis and Miss Martian start to have a bad deja vu moment because the robots look familiar.

"Guys, come on! To the Zeta-Tubes!" ordered Robin. Everyone did as they were told and when they reached the Zeta-Tubes, the robots have arrived. Before the robots could fire their lasers, Blue Beetle destroys them all with his sonic blasts. Rocket then quickly creates a force bubble around herself and the others just in case reinforcements arrive while Robin immediately activates the machine.

"Attention. Only destination available is Gotham City," announced the Computer before the Zeta-Tube activates without Robin's input, sucking the entire rescue party away. They all shot out of the phone booth one by one.

"Hey. Did the other originals notice something familiar about those robots?" Artemis asks once everyone was accounted for. "They look like mini versions of the ones from that failsafe exercise we had 6 years ago. You know, the one where Miss Martian turned everything into a nightmare after she thought I died but I actually was in a coma?"

"Hello, Megan! I knew they looked familiar," exclaimed Miss Martian.

"Haven't heard that in a long time," commented Superboy who gave a weak smile. Miss Martian smiled back.

"Sshhh! We'll probably be facing more threats the longer we're here," said Aqualad. "Miss Martian, Can you set up the mind link again?"

"Mind link reestablished," said Miss Martian.

"All right. Let's find Nightwing first. And be alert. As long as we remember that everything is an illusion, we won't get hurt," said Aqualad as he lead everyone out of the alley. They're shocked to see that everything around them has faded colors and in ruins. All around them are floating orbs that are the size of snow globes. Each one is colored yellow, blue, red, green, or purple. Some have more than one color in them.

"Conner, use your telescopic vision. I'll levitate you," suggested Miss Martian. Superboy nodded and was quickly levitated upward. "See anything?"

"I see Gotham Academy. Maybe he's in there!" answered Superboy. Miss Martian lowers him down.

The Team runs for several blocks and stops in the front of a deteriorating Gotham Academy. As they slowly walk towards the front doors, Guardian asks, "So Nightwing went to this school? Looks like it's for rich kids." Artemis, Kid Flash, Batgirl, and Robin didn't appreciate the remark, thinking that he meant that in a negative way.

"Hey, he's not a spoiled brat," said Kid Flash with a glare.

Guardian holds his hands up in defense. "Sorry. Just an observation. Didn't mean to be rude."

"It's fine. The longer we're here, the more you'll know. Just stick together don't snoop around," said Zatanna. She, Batgirl, Robin, Rocket and the other original 5 were worried because even though they already knew about Nightwing's past, they were concerned about finding out about things that even they didn't know and weren't suppose to.

"And no spoilers," said Robin as he glared at Impulse and Beast Boy when everyone stopped in front of the doors. Impulse acted all innocent and looked away while Beast Boy replied, "Noted."

Robin and Batgirl open the doors and turn on their flashlights before leading the others through the hallway.

Miss Martian tries to make psychic contact again, but can't feel Nightwing's presence.

"Maybe he's in a different part of the school. Keep trying," suggested Rocket.

Miss Martian tries again and yells out, "Nightwing, if you're here, please show yourself. We're all here to help you."

"We don't want you gone, hermano. We're all here to apologize and help," added Blue Beetle but there's no response.

"Shouldn't we split up?" asked Rocket.

"No. It might make it easier for any threat inside his head to-" said Artemis before being interrupted by the sight of a broken display that had a shredded poster of a young Dick Grayson with his mathlete trophy. Then, Robin and Batgirl gasped when their flashlights show 'Artemis this, Artemis that' spray painted in red on the lockers.

"OK. Creepy," commented Bumblebee. "Why would he be upset with Artemis when she supported him?"

Suddenly, the water fountains exploded. The fountain water forms into a big saw blade that was sent spinning at the Team, but they dodged it.

"Well, well, well. Take a look at the menagerie," said a little boy.

The Team turns around to see 3 kids, each with a different colored aura: red, green, and blue. Their glowing yellow eyes are protected by a black helmet-like mask that has a simplified white owl face. Emblazoned on the backs and palms of the gloves is an 'X' that matches the color of their aura. This matches with the color coded accents on their black body suits. They have gray holographic computer gloves with golden sharp fingertips; gray utility belts with 2 thigh holsters; and retractable brown owl wings. Gray body armor covers the neck, collarbones, shoulders, thighs, knees, and black boots. They're wearing black collars around their necks. Their weapons include 2 swords and a sash of throwing knives.

"Some old faces. Some new faces. And last but not least, Wally Rudolph West the friend stealer. So nice to finally get to meet you in person," said the girl sarcastically. She has a red X on her costume.

"Wait. Who are you and how'd you know my name?" asked Wally.

"We know a lot about you because we live here. This is the mind of 'your best friend' and OUR creator! How DARE you invade here after what you did to Dick?!"

Beast Boy chuckled when Nightwing's real name is mentioned, which enrages the trio. The one with the blue X shoots fire from his hand at Beast Boy, but Aqualad used his water bearers to extinguish it just in time.

"Stop! We're not invaders. We're here to help," yelled Artemis who was prepared to shoot her arrows, but the trio didn't want to listen and yelled out "liars" at them. Miss Martian felt an unusual and evil energy controlling them.

"We've waited long enough. You took Dick away from us and now you're going to pay!" yelled the boy with the blue X. His hands are engulfed in fire.

"We're Dick Grayson's imaginary friends and you can't keep us forgotten anymore!" yelled the trio in unison.

Robin and Batgirl throw explosive shurikens at them to knock them out so the Team can escape. The trio chases after the Team through the halls. Zatanna creates a copy of the rescue team to mislead the trio. The real Team runs into the cafeteria where they're greeted by delicious smells. The trio are heard moving past the cafeteria doors, chasing down the fake team. Impulse and Beast Boy grin like crazy and smacked their lips as they drooled. Their eyes begin to twinkle.

"Beast Boy. Impulse. Control yourselves. Miss Martian, try making psychic con-" ordered Aqualad before he was interrupted by the sound of food monsters being formed. Several tables and chairs are levitated and thrown to block the exits. After Aqualad uses his magic to create big hard-water serpents from fire sprinklers to dissolve the monsters, birdarangs that were hidden all over the place suddenly activated and broadcasted Nightwing's old childish laughter. Rocket immediately creates a force bubble around herself and the others just in time.

The force of the fiery explosion sends the bubble to the outside in front of Gotham Academy. The school is destroyed, leaving behind color-coded orbs floating everywhere. Rocket releases her bubble and The Team gets back on their feet. Miss Martian was still thinking about the evil energy emitting from the trio.

"That was so not crash. I didn't even get a single taste," complained Impulse.

An enraged Wally suddenly slams his cousin against a tree and tries to strangle him. "How could you be thinking about food at a time like this?!"

"Wally, please stop! You're hurting me!" cried Impulse as he struggles to breathe. He was too terrified to vibrate his way out of his cousin's grip.

"Wally, stop it! What's gotten into you?!" demanded Artemis as she tries to pull her boyfriend away from Impulse. Blue Beetle rebukes his scarab's suggestion of attacking Wally.

Wally immediately lets go as if all of his rage instantly evaporated. He takes a few steps backwards and looks at his terrified cousin. He also looks at his shaking hands before falling to his knees.

"Bart, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It's just that... I wished Nightwing was dead. After the Cave blew up, I became furious about all the extreme risks he was taking. When he apologized for my souvenirs getting destroyed, I pushed him because I was actually worried about Artemis and that Kaldur might be a triple agent. The last thing I said to him that night was that he only has himself to blame if anything else goes wrong. What really kills me is that despite everything that happened, he still tried to save me."

Wally briefly wipes the snot running from his nose.

"That's him. That's Nightwing," said a sniffling Wally. "Always worrying about those around him. He wouldn't be like this if I hadn't treated him so badly, but he just took it all in. He never thought about himself. He never does!"

"Because he cared…" replied Impulse as he watches his cousin break down in tears.

"I'm his best pal! I'm suppose to look out for him!...That's what I'm suppose to do!" cried Kid Flash as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Everyone was silent while listening before Wonder Girl breaks the silence. "But there's one thing I still don't get. Why didn't Nightwing tell us about his plan?"

"Six years ago, Red Arrow found out that he was a Cadmus clone and unwitting mole for the Light who helped Savage mind-control the League. Nightwing feared that if you guys knew the secret, you would've made the Light suspicious by holding back," explained Aqualad.

A few seconds of contemplation passed before a female voice asks, "Do you really mean all of that, Wally?"

"Yes, I-Wait. Who said that?"

"I did," said the girl up in a tree. The two other boys are with her. The trio does a quadruple back-flip before landing on the ground and drawing their swords and knives. "And it's too late to be sorry."

Chapter Text

"ENOUGH!" yelled Miss Martian. She quickly uses her mind powers to remove and destroy the black collars, allowing the trio to return to normal. Their clothes instantly change into a dark brown jacket and a color coded hoodie.

"Ugh. What happened?" groaned the girl.

"You were under the influence of some dark energy before I freed you," answered M'gaan.

"Who are you guys and why did you want to kill us?" asked Wonder Girl. "We're only here to help."

"I'm Raya," said the girl with a red hoodie.

"I'm Raymond," said a boy with a green hoodie.

"And I'm Zane," said the other boy with a blue hoodie.

"We're Dick Grayson's imaginary friends," they said in unison.

"Wait a sec. Nightwing still has imaginary friends?" asked Robin.

Raya squints her eyes and walks towards Robin. Her eyes widened when she suddenly realized who it was. "Timmy? Is that you? You look older the last time we've met."

Robin's eyes widen in confusion and his body temperature rose. "I've never met you before and please don't call me Timmy," he stuttered because he can see Wonder Girl raised an eyebrow at him. She then giggles which made him blush. Superboy crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows at the secret couple in confusion.

"Look. Do you guys know how to find Nightwing or not?" asked Robin who pinched his temples.

"I think that maybe he's in the circus or Wayne Manor. We'll go to Wayne Manor first since it's closer. If he's not there, then we'll go to the circus," said Zane before he and the other redheads start walking. "Come on! It's a long way to the mansion."

At the same time, Aqualad secretly whispers to Miss Martian to telepathically link the Team but not the red-haired trio just in case. The Team catches up to the trio.

"I'm not sure we can trust them since they admitted to trying to blow us up," said a skeptical Lagoon Boy who turns to Miss Martian. "Can't you probe their minds, angelfish?"

Superboy clenches his fist and glares at Lagoon Boy.

"La'gaan, you know why I can't do that anymore," said Miss Martian. "Besides I can tell that they're truly sorry although-"

Raymond stops in his track to interrupt them when he notices that the Team's silence. "Ahem. Are guys having a psychic conversation? Because that's really cool and really rude..."

The Team looks at each other nervously before Miss Martian sighs and says, "We don't know whether we should trust you guys since you admitted to trying to blow us up earlier. Besides, I was telling the others that not only can I sense that your apology was real but that there's some bitterness and anger as well."

"We want to explain along the way but we only know who half of you guys are," answered Raya. "Do the others already know about his secret identity?"

"They were going to find out eventually," said Robin. "Miss Martian, can you link the redheads with the Team?"

"Can you hear me?" asked Miss Martian.

The trio was amazed by this and answered yes in unison. After The Team introduces themselves and their real names, the expanded search party resumes walking towards Wayne Manor.

"Do you remember what happened before you were mind controlled?" asked Miss Martian.

"Someone named Talon promised to return everything back to normal if we killed you guys," answered Zane.

"But why?"

"I'll start from the beginning," says Raya. "Despite being friends with the lovely performers in Haly's Circus, Dick felt lonely from being in a circus that traveled around the world so he created me when he was 3. When he was 4, Raymond and Zane were created because he wanted more."

"You all have red hair..." commented Batgirl.

"Yeah like you, Roy, and Wally," answered Zane. "He had a thing for red hair for some reason."

Batgirl and Kid Flash briefly glanced at each other.

"His cousin, John Grayson, same name as Dick's dad by the way, said that Dick was getting too old to have imaginary friends. He joked that we should be given to either a foster home for imaginary friends or to 4 year old Timmy who-"

"It's Tim, not Timmy," groaned Robin who facepalmed.

Raya sighed. "-Got an autograph and picture from Dick and his parents. That was like an hour before everything changed. A Gotham City mobster named Zucco tried to extort money from Mr. Haly, the circus owner. When Mr. Haly refused, Zucco secretly ordered his men to sabotage the trapeze and make it look like an accident. Dick's family died in that incident except his uncle who became paralyzed for life."

There were gasps from those who didn't know. "Tim was in the audience and so was billionaire Bruce Wayne."

"Robin, I'm so sorry," said a wide eyed Wonder Girl as she puts her hand on his shoulder.

"Mr. Wayne took Dick in and eventually, Dick became Robin after he found out that Bruce Wayne was Batman."

For those who didn't know about the Batfamily's identities, that revelation was more shocking than the fact that their leader saw his parents get killed.

"One of Dick's first missions was successfully taking down Zucco. Unfortunately, the hero life distracted him from me, Raymond, and Zane. One night, he appeared to us in his dream and give us superhero outfits so that we could have all these adventures together and not feel lonely. We can change between our superhero outfits and civvies by saying these magic words."

The trio stops to face the Team. "Get your cape on!" they say in unison. Their entire bodies and clothes instantly turn iridescent for a few milliseconds. Their superhero costumes were exactly the same as their evil costumes, except for a few differences: their helmet-like masks now has a white skull, but without a lower jaw; the gloves don't have sharp golden claws; and each redhead has a small shoulder bag that looks like a toy elephant.

"He even gave us and himself circus themed superpowers that are weaker when we're in civvies. We all have the powers of enhanced acrobatics, flight, and physically and telekinetically lift stuff 10 times our weight as well as 2 extra powers. I can manipulate food and make inorganic objects as elastic as taffy. Raymond can manipulate bubbles and water. Zane can manipulate fire and sounds. Dick can manipulate darkness and light. He created a whole new world called 'Jump City,' an ever expanding microcosm of the places he's been to and his experiences. Whenever we have time together, the four of us sometimes would have secret adventures until HE showed up."

Raya bitterly points her finger at Wally.

"Dick became friends with HIM and eventually other superheroes. As time passed, we spent even less together. Jump City became darker and we wondered around unnoticed. Then the lightning strikes happened...Dick was m- our whole world...You never forget kids like Dick, but they forget you..."

Wally tells the trio, "Guys. We didn't know. We're really are sorry for everything, especially me. I promise that we'll make sure Dick remembers you guys. It's the least I can do."

"We'll believe it when Dick accepts your apology," said a scowling Raya as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Robin felt awful because he now knew that his stepbrother was once a happy kid. The search party comes across a bunch of memory orbs that were colored red, green, blue, purple, and yellow. Raya comes across a faded yellow memory orb and picks it up. The orb shows Dick flexing and looking at himself at a floor mirror on his 19th birthday before putting on a tank top.

"Cousin John would be so jealous right now of Dick's height and good looks," said Raya who gave a sad smile.

"Don't forget his muscles and butt, Raya," said Raymond in a mischievous tone while elbowing her because he wanted to cheer her up.

"Shut up, Raymond," said Raya who gives a weak smile. Batgirl and Zatanna slightly blush at the thought of Nightwing's sexy physique. Robin cringes because he's embarrassed by how his big brother being treated like a piece of smoking hot eye candy, especially when he notices that Wonder Girl was slightly drooling. Raymond magically makes an elephant shaped bag appear out of thin air and uses the trunk to suck up another orb like a vacuum cleaner.

"What? It's imaginary," he says to the confused Team members. He, Zane, and Raya do the same thing with a few other yellow orbs which symbolize joy. "We've been collecting happy memories we like into a bottomless bag for a long time now. I think that if we give these to Dick, he'll be back to normal."

The search party walks for a few more minutes before finally reaching the gates. "We're here," said Robin. He opens the gates as the search party approaches Wayne Manor. Those who didn't know Batman's identity were dumbstruck by the sight. They continued to be in awe once inside where the lights were already turned on. Once everyone was inside, the doors suddenly shut themselves tight. Every entrance and window to the outside became metal. Everyone tries to blast and smash their way out with everything they got, but nothing's working.

"I don't get it. I know that none of this is real but it's not working!" complained Superboy.

"Same thing with my magic!" complained Zatanna after her magic energy blasts did no damage.

Suddenly a banner appears out of thin air above the staircase. The banner reads "Artemis this, Artemis that" in red paint.

"I don't get it. Why would Dick hate me when me, M'gaan, and Kaldur stood by him?" asked a slightly confused and scared Artemis. Dick's old childish laughter suddenly echoes throughout the manor, sending shivers down everyone's spines and making their blood run cold.

"Wh-what are you up to, Dick?! This isn't funny!" yelled Artemis.

"Not up to, Artemis. DOWN TO!" said the anonymous voice as the lights turn off. A giant spinning black portal suddenly appears in the floor, sucking the search party in. They scream as they free fall before landing on a hard surface.

"Ow. Is this the Batcave?" asked Beast Boy.

'No. Looks like the Santa Prisca cavern," answered Batgirl.

"Dick. We're here to help! Please stop this!" pleaded Kid Flash as he looks up. He immediately becomes suspicious and turns his attention to the red-haired trio. "Wait a sec. You three set this up, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Zane.

Kid Flash walks towards the trio and stares down at them. "You couldn't kill us earlier so your new plan was to trick us with your sad story and lure us here to be destroyed so that you can have Dick all to yourself. Zane must've used his powers to make that laughing."

Artemis couldn't believe Wally's accusation. "Wally, how could you say that? M'gaan already sensed that they're not blood thirsty monsters."

An enraged Raya takes out her escrima sticks. "Take that back right now, Kid Mouth! Besides, you're the one who wanted him gone anyway!"

Artemis and Aqualad try to restrain Wally while Raymond and Zane try to restrain Raya. "At least I don't act like I'm the only one who misses him!" retorted Wally.

"YOU can't understand how I feel because I was there for him first!"

Wally sighs and pinches his temples. "Ok, look. I'm sorry for what I just said earlier. I don't want to fight you, alright?"

But Raya doesn't believe Wally's words. "Oh, I wouldn't want to fight me neither," growled Raya who levitates Artemis, Aqualad, Raymond, and Zane out of the way so she can exact her revenge on Wally.

Raya tries to throw her escrima sticks at Wally's head, but Wally dodges it with his superspeed. Raya then throws her knives at Wally, but he dodges them with his superspeed again. Wally charges at Raya, sending her against the rocks. Wally breaks the escrima sticks and grabs a few rocks just in case.

"Raya, stop it!" yelled Wally. "You're acting crazy."

"I... don't... care!" yelled Raya before summoning her sword. She transforms the blade portion of her sword into retractable chains to wrap tightly around Wally's body. "I won't let you take Dick away from me, Raymond, and Zane again!"

Raya lashes energy waves through the chain towards Wally, causing a huge explosion and sending Wally flying and slamming against the rocks.

"I never asked for any of this," said Raya as she starts weeping. "I never asked to be imagined!"

M'gaan steps in between Wally and Raya, and spreads her arms out. She pleads, "Raya, please, no more! I know you're upset, but nobody's going to take Dick away from you again once we find him. Trust me."

"WHY SHOULD I?!" she shouted at the top of her lungs as she clenched his fists. Her voice echoed through the cavern. "Flash Boy ruined our lives: me, Raymond, Zane, and then Dick."

Raya pauses briefly. "I hate him! I hate him!" Raya pants briefly. She then throws her arms up and down and pulls at her hair ranting, "I feel like I'll never be happy again! And every day, it just gets worse and worse. I can't miss Dick anymore! I can't! I don't want to! Dick didn't even said goodbye and now Talon won't let me see him again."

"Did someone call my name?" asks a figure who steps out of shadows from a high place.

"Who are you and where's my brother?!" demanded Robin.

"Nice to meet you, Timothy," replied Talon who removes his owl mask. Wally, Artemis, Aqualad, Miss Martian, Superboy, Batgirl, Robin, Rocket, Zatanna, and the red-haired trio were too shocked to move when they recognize him.

"No. It can't be," said Robin. "You're Talon?"

Blue Beetle asks Robin, "Who is he, hermano?"

"Zucco," answers Robin coldly while glaring at the figure.

Chapter Text

Nightwing's imaginary friends huddle together behind Wally despite their ill feelings towards him. Artemis notices this and stands close to her boyfriend to provide extra cover for them.

"So you're the one who killed Nightwing's parents when he was a kid?" Beast Boy asked angrily. Seeing Zucco reminded him of how his mom was killed by Queen Bee.

"Well, I'm actually a manifestation of your leader's darkness from deep within his subconscious. Every negative and nasty thought he had. Depression, rage, sadness, etc," said Zucco. "Thanks to how he was treated"-Zucco points his finger at Kid Flash-"especially by you, I was able to grow stronger before the lightning gave me life. I didn't think you people would actually come here to help him and you're going to wish you never did."

"Unless you want to fight, you're outmatched!" said Wonder Girl who was secretly itching for a fight.

Aqualad could see that Zucco's hands begin to give off a black aura. "If we remember that it's an illusion, we can't get hurt."

"Let me guess. You all think that I can't hurt you here as long as you remember that this is an illusion, right?" asked Zucco before giving an evil grin. "Care to test that theory?" Everyone charges towards Zucco except Raya, Raymond, and Zane who stayed put. Zucco blasts his dark energy at the charging heroes, propelling them back and temporarily disconnecting the mind link.

"And that was just me holding back," said Zucco as an dark aura glows around him. Before Miss Martian could reestablish the mind link, Zucco fires his dark energy at her and Zatanna who scream in pain. Black lightning extends from the 2 females to the rest of the Team on the ground. Raya, Raymond, and Zane are so scared that they turn their capes into owl wings and fly up just in time. The horrified trio watch from above as black smoke comes out of each hero's body and begins to take shape.

Nightwing's room

Superman brings coffee to Black Canary, Batman, and the Martian Manhunter. Suddenly, the Team begins to sweat and writhe under some sort of invisible torture for 4 seconds. The Martian Manhunter goes over to his niece and shouts her name twice in an effort to wake her up. The writhing suddenly stops before he could do anything else, making him and the others fear the worst.

"Wait," said Superman. He stares at each member of the search party briefly. "Their heartbeats are ok, but what was that?"

"I don't know, but I'm having a bad case of deja vu," replied Batman who caresses Nightwing's face. "Dick, where are you?"

Back in Nightwing's mind

Suddenly, the Team was propelled backwards. When the smoke cleared, the Team was looking at a team of inner demons who look exactly like the originals except they're black and white with red eyes.

Zucco gave an evil laugh that echoed and said, "I may be all mighty and powerful, but you are your own worst enemies."

Nega Wonder Girl flies forward and stops right in front of Wonder Girl. "Nightwing's not the only one with a nasty side," said Nega Wonder Girl in an sly tone as close to Wonder Girl's face as possible. She throws a punch that slams Wonder Girl against the ceiling. Suddenly, Nega Rocket blasts Rocket with purple kinetic energy instead of trapping her in a force bubble because seeing her suffer was more enjoyable than seeing a quick defeat. The other inner demons soon join in. Raya, Raymond, and Zane watch as the battle unfolds beneath them.

"What does Cassie even see in you? In fact, why don't you just give up already?" asked Nega Robin while they attack each other with their bo staffs. "I bet Batman is already prepared for the worst."

Nega Robin throws an explosive shuriken that knocks Robin off balance but Robin's demon quickly gets up and doesn't shut up. "After all, isn't that how you got this gig, replacement?"

Robin responds angrily by charging towards his inner demon with his bo staff like he's jousting but Nega Robin just move to the side and zaps him with his bo staff.

Wonder Girl hears Robin's scream and flies towards him in an attempt to intervene, but her ankles get tied up by Nega Wonder Girl's lasso. Nega Wonder Girl then uses the lasso to toss and throw her opponent at the wall as if the whole thing was the hammer throw at the Scottish highland games.

Nega Wonder Girl mockingly asked Wonder Girl, "Are you worried about your precious Robin? I think he's perfect for me"

"AARGH!" yells Wonder Girl angrily who flies forward towards her inner demon with her fist.

Beast Boy changes into different animals to fight Nega Beast Boy but whatever animal he changes into, Nega Beast Boy changes into the same animal.

"Go ahead. Run back home to mommy," taunted Nega Beast Boy. "Oh that's right. You don't have a mommy."

Nega Zatanna and Zatanna fight each other by blasting energy beams at each other, but Zatanna is getting weaker as Nega Zatanna continues to taunt her. "Er'uoy ticilpmoc htiw rieht setaf. That's why the 2 most important men in your life can't help you right now."

Zatanna narrowly avoids a magic blast from Nega Zatanna and tries to turn her demon's clothes into bindings so the demon would shut up but the demon breaks out of it. Nega Zatanna uses the same spell on Zatanna.

"Why do you even bother trying to save one of them? Dick tricked you. Used you. Admit it. You wanted him gone from your life. And now, he's gonna remain trapped in a dark place forever"-a glowing Nega Zatanna then said the next words individually-"Just. Like. Your. Dad."

A furious Zatanna breaks the bindings apart. "SHUT UP!" she yelled before retaliating by trying to fire as much magic at her inner demon.

Superboy rubs the back of his head after he managed to briefly escape the wrath of a ballistic Nega Superboy before the latter body-slams the former and pins him on the ground. "You remind me of Match," said Superboy as he struggles to get up but his arms and legs are being twisted by his clone.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Just know that with you gone and assuming she survives, M'gaan will be all mine," whispered Nega Superboy into Superboy's ear.

"Arrgh. No, she won't!" shouted Superboy before he breaks free, punches him in the face, grabs him by his legs, and throws him like a heavy metal ball in the Scottish Highland games. Nega Superboy's body hits Nega Aqualad. Aqualad tries to escape but Nega Aqualad uses a hard water rope to trip and toss him against the rocks.

"Sorry. Not fast enough. No wonder Tula chose Garth over you," Nega Aqualad said to Aqualad.

Aqualad charges forward with tears in his eyes and attempts to attack his inner demon with hard water constructs. Aqualad's demon continues mocking him. "Aww. Did I hurt your feelings?"

The same thing is happening with Miss Martian and Lagoon Boy when their evil clones taunt them about their past relationships. Miss Martian and Nega Miss Martian turn into their white martian forms. Beast Boy is briefly distracted by the transformation because he never seen his 'sister' in her white martian form before. This allows Beast Boy to get scratched in the face by his demon.

"GARFIELD!" yelled Miss Martian who gets punched by Nega Miss Martian. Both try to mentally obliterate each other, but can't because they're evenly match.

Artemis tries to kill her demon with arrows but the clone either cuts them in half with her sword or dodges them. "What makes you think you're strong enough to defeat me when you're weren't strong to keep your old family together or to protect that troll from the horrible treatment he got?" the demon asked before blowing a raspberry.

The others are also having trouble fighting their demons because the demons keep taunting the originals and are evenly matched with them. But Wally's enormous sense of guilt meant that he had the most trouble fighting his demon.

"You choose your stupid girlfriend over your best friend. Do you really think the one who supported your decision to leave the hero life behind even wants you anymore? Admit it. You wanted him gone after you blew up at him. Ignored what he was going through. All because you and Artemis didn't want to lose each other."

Nega Wally lifts Wally over his head with both hands and uses his superspeed to spin him around before tossing him at a wall.

"Did it occur to you before you first got your powers that Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris have been dealing with that risk everyday? No."

Nega Wally slams and pins Wally to the ground.

"Not surprising for the slowest speedster ever. Fast on your feet, but not with your brain."

Nega Wally uses a wristlock on Wally. "Just give up already since this whole thing is ALL. YOUR. FAULT!"

Wally angrily vibrates using his superspeed and flips his demon over before trying to unsuccessfully kick him in the head.

"Oops. Too slow. Out of practice. I think your new superhero name should be 'Molasses,'" Nega Wally laughed evilly.

Zucco is watching and enjoying the free entertainment while Raya, Raymond, and Zane are floating above the fight. Zucco almost forgot that they were there so when he sees them, he fires his dark aura beam at them, but they dodge it. The trio of redheads try to attack Zucco with everything they got. Raymond tries to capture Zucco in a giant solid bubble so that he can drown Zucco in water. Zane helps out by blasting sonic sounds and fire, but Zucco manages to dodge attacks from both boys. Raya uses her telekinesis to throw rocks and boulders at him before burying under a pile of rocks. When the trio flies down for a closer look, Zucco rises from the rocks and hold his hands up like he's being arrested.

Meanwhile, the battle between the search party and their demons continues. Nega Beast Boy throws the original near Miss Martian. "I had no idea that I was this tough," said Beast Boy.

"No one can fight their inner demons alone, Gar," said Miss Martian. "Wait. That's it. Everyone! Switch dance partners!"

Everyone did as Miss Martian said. Lagoon Boy and Beast Boy defeat each other's demons first. Blue Beetle blasts Nega Bumblebee with his sonic cannon. Impulse uses his faster speed to punch and trip Nega Wally. Zatanna uses her magic to short circuit Nega Rocket's belt. Aqualad uses his Atlantean sorcery to Nega Blue Beetle which cause Nega Blue Beetle's armor to lost structure before knocking the demon out with a large spiked hard-water mace. One by one, most of the inner demons were defeated. The last ones still fighting were those of Miss Martian and Superboy. Miss Martian telekinetically throws a boulder at Nega Superboy when he was about to smash his boots on her. She then uses her telekinesis to repeatedly smash Superboy's inner demon with the same boulder until he was defeated.

"You enjoyed that a little too much," commented Superboy when Miss Martian was finished destroying the demon.

"Just blowing off some steam. He did broke my heart after all," said Miss Martian softly.

Superboy throws a punch at Nega Miss Martian's face, knocking her out. "Likewise, I'm sure," he said softly. With all the inner demons defeated, they turn into bodies of white light that return to their original host bodies.

"Neptune's beard! We did it!" cheered Lagoon Boy.

"Wait! Where are those redheads?" asked Beast Boy. Then, Zucco blasts everyone against the rocks. He throws the weakened trio of redheads at Guardian and Bumblebee because the trio refused to cooperate with him again.

While the red haired kids slowly get back up on their feet, Zucco focuses his anger on Kid Flash who was with Artemis. "Time to put you out of your misery," a grinning Zucco says to Wally before summoning all his energy and aiming it at the couple. They, like the rest of the Team, were too weak from fighting their inner demons to get out of the way.

Everyone is horrified by what happens next: the ray hits the red haired trio who managed to fly into the ray's path mere milliseconds before the ray could hit Artemis and Wally. The trio falls backward towards Artemis and Wally.

"You guys, please don't die! You're all going to be alright!" cried Wally as the trio turns their eyes at him. "Listen. I'm sorry for accusing you three of being double agents."

Raymond was about to say something, but dark shadows suddenly envelop everyone before anyone could respond. This causes them to pass out.

Chapter Text

Center of Nightwing's mind

A very weak Nightwing begins to wake up and discovers that his gloves is gone and that he's blindfolded. Suddenly, he hears several voices inside his head.

"Miss M? Is that you?" asked Nightwing.

"Yes, it's me but I don't know where you, me and the others are," said Miss Martian. "I'm blindfolded."

The others reported the same thing.

"What are you all doing here?" asked Nightwing. "I thought most of you wanted me gone. After all, that's why I pushed Wally out of the way..."

Everyone was horrified at what he said.

"After everything I put everyone through, I wouldn't even be surprised if Batman kicked me out of the Batcave and off the Team. Besides, you would've been better off if I was dead. No one would notice or care..."

The search party couldn't believe how Nightwing really blamed himself for everything. The words were stated so bluntly as if he didn't think it wouldn't make their stomachs churn with guilt and regret. Nightwing lets his head hang low again.

"Listen to me. We couldn't live with ourselves if we didn't come to find and help you!" said Superboy.

"But-"

Nightwing was going to point out how they treated him in the warehouse, but Superboy wasn't done. "No. Let me finish. You saved the world, Nightwing. Yes, we felt betrayed and were so furious that we wanted to kick you out, but we now understand why you kept everything a secret. We're all really sorry for how we treated you after everything you put yourself through."

The others repeated in agreement.

"...But what about the League? What about Batman?" asked Nightwing.

"He and Black Canary approved this mission," said Batgirl.

"He's not mad?"

"He would've been if we didn't rescue you. Speaking of which, how do we get out of here?" asked Bumblebee.

"Wait a minute, I don't feel Artemis or Wally here," said Miss Martian. Suddenly, Nightwing feels an evil presence in the room.

"I see you're wide awake," Zucco said to Nightwing. "Why do you bother listening to them? If Batman agreed to this, then it means your Team is only here because of him."

Zucco hears one of the captives tell him to shut up. He turns on something that causes Zatanna and Miss Martian to scream. Their pain could be felt on the mental link. Nightwing retaliates by using what brainpower he has left to mentally free 4 prisoners before passing out: Superboy, Wonder Girl, Robin, and Impulse.

"M'gaan? M'gaan! Where are you?!" Superboy cried mentally as he ran through the halls, but there's no answer. The 4 escapees see shadow creatures were coming their way, but Wonder Girl wasn't afraid.

"Lemme at them! Lemme at them!" shouted Wonder Girl before the 3 boys grabbed her and run.

"Your girlfriend sure is feisty," whispered Impulse to Robin.

"Shut up," retorted Robin. The escapees hide in a room that had Gotham Academy student Bette Kane in it. When Robin tries to take a few steps towards Bette, she instantly transformed into a scary screaming banshee made of fire. The 4 escapees run for their lives.

Memory dump, same time

Raya, Raymond, and Zane wake up at the bottom of a canyon that's littered with faded memory orbs. Some of the orbs were dissolving into dust. When the trio sees this, they're terrified to see that their some of their body parts are becoming increasingly translucent. They run and yell out the names of Nightwing's teammates before tripping over Wally and Artemis.

The couple wakes up and are overjoyed to see that the trio is still alive. The joy immediately evaporates when they realize how far they've fallen and that nobody else is with them.

"We're in the memory dump. It's where old memories are discarded," said Raymond.

When Artemis discovers that her bow and arrows are gone, Wally suggests that Nightwing's imaginary friends lift them and fly. When the trio tries this, they can barely even levitate a few inches off the ground. An exasperated Wally starts running up a mountain of forgotten memories, but keeps sliding down.

"Wally, what are you doing? Stop it, please," said Raymond, but Wally doesn't listen. "Don't you get it, Wally?! We're stuck down down here!...We're forgotten."

Wally looks back at everyone staring at him and turns his attention to a glowing blue orb. Artemis and the kids follow him as he walks over to it and picks it up. The blue orb shows Wally's outburst at Nightwing in the Hall of Justice after the Cave was blown up. Wally sees his own terrifying expression as he yelled at Dick. Although the orb doesn't show Nightwing's eyes, Wally could imagine how heartbroken and frightened Nightwing was. After Wally falls to his knees and sets the memory aside, he picks up an orb that shows Dick revealing his identity to him about 18 months before the Team was founded.

"I was the first on the Team to know his secret identity," said Wally as tears begin to form. The next orb he picks up shows when the 3 sidekicks planned to raid Cadmus 6 years ago. "He was so full of light and joy."

Another orb that he picks up shows Kid Flash and Artemis quitting the Team some time after Tula's death. "I just wanted to have a normal life with Artemis."

When Wally picks the orb containing his outburst in the Hall of Justice, he hugs all 4 orbs before dropping them all and breaking down in tears. He could hear his inner demon repeating the taunts from earlier. Artemis and the kids couldn't do anything except, but just sadly stare at the ground as orbs around them begin to crumble into dust. As Wally cries, his tears fell on an orb that shows Dick in his Robin costume, talking with Green Lantern Hal Jordan. A curious Wally picks it up and listens carefully. He gestured to the others to come in closer.

"Are there any other Lantern Corps besides the green one?" asked Dick.

"Of course," replied Hal. "There's red for rage; orange for greed; yellow for fear; indigo for compassion; pink for love; black for death; and white for life. Before creating the League, I was part of a spaceship crew of 4 and we would come across different colored Lanterns. My lover actually became a pink Lantern."

Dick laughed and joked, "Maybe there should be a cartoon based on your adventures."

Hal laughed in agreement. "Imagine if there were cartoons based on the League and your team."

The two guys stopped laughing together when Hal commented, "You know. People see you as the light to Batman's darkness. If you ever get a lantern ring, it would probably be blue because you're such a hopeful person."

"Do Blue Lanterns have their own oath?" asks Dick.

"All Lantern Corps do," replied Hal. "The blue one goes like this:

'In fearful day

In raging night

With strong hearts full, our souls ignite.

When all seems lost in the war of light,

Look to the stars,

For hope burns bright.'"

A light bulb goes off in Wally's head. "Hope...Everything is the way it is because Dick has lost all hope."

He turns his attention to Artemis and the redheads. "We have to get back up there."

"Wally, we're not Phineas and Ferb from Disney Channel," said Raya. "Even if I had my full powers back, I can't just turn all these memories into some sort of magic school...bus."

Raya suddenly has an idea. She turns on her holographic computer glove and punches a few buttons. "This way!" she tells the others.

"Wait!" yelled Kid Flash who gathered the 4 orbs he had picked during his breakdown. Raymond sucks them up with his elephant bag before everyone quickly follows Raya.

The group of five came across a rusty and battered bus. Once inside, Artemis and Wally discover that the interior is much bigger than the exterior, similar to the TARDIS in Doctor Who. Raymond gives a wind up key to Artemis who unsuccessfully tries to start the bus. Instead, the bus shakes and splutters before the airbags are randomly deployed. Wally punches the airbag and slams his fists on the dashboard in frustration. Everyone gets out to inspect the engine which blows smoke when the hood is opened. The trio looks at their slowly disappearing fingers and glance at each other before they nod in agreement.

"We have an idea, but you need to keep an eye on our stuff," said Zane. "Don't want something happening to it."

The trio gives the couple their utility belts, holsters, and elephant bags. They hold their hands in a triangle and their bodies glow with energy that goes to the bus, bringing it to life. Artemis and Kid Flash are overjoyed until they see the increasingly translucent trio. When the couple holds them, Raymond weakly tells Kid Flash, "Wally, we forgive for calling us double agents earlier. We're glad that you came. Just promise us that you save Dick and not let him slip into darkness again, OK?"

When the trio finally disappears, Artemis comforts Kid Flash who tearfully said, "I'll try, you guys. I promise."

The couple grab the trio's stuff and run back to the bus. "Wait. Wait. Hold on. Ahem. Seat belts, everyone!" said a smiling Kid Flash. A confused Artemis raised an eyebrow because her terrible childhood didn't include The Magic School Bus. After Wally explained the reference, Artemis stepped on the accelerator and flew the bus out of the canyon.

Back in the center

"This place feels a haunted version of the mansion in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends," commented Wonder Girl as she and the other 3 escapees run. "All we need now are some Scooby Doo music and that crazy chase scene with the doors."

The gang runs into the library where they lose the shadow creatures, but run into a dead end. Wonder Girls pulls a book off the shelf that makes the shelf open, sucking the gang into a black void. When they get back on their feet, they see Nightwing with a purple plant with tentacles is attached to his chest.

"It's some kind of plant," said Robin who tries to shake Nightwing, but there's no response.

"He's barely breathing," added Superboy.

"Pupils aren't contracting even slightly," said Robin who points a flashlight at Nightwing's eyes. "Must be cut off from all sensation. Dick, where are you?"

Nightwing's imagination

The alarm clock goes off, waking up Dick. After Dick brushed his teeth and washed his face, he walks downstairs and makes breakfast. The female redhead and 3 little red haired kids arrive.

"Dick, I hope you don't eat cereal at the family BBQ" said the woman. She has a slender and fairly muscular build. Her red auburn hair is wavy with strands hanging over her ears to frame her face.

"Of course not, Kory. Cereal is just a fast and easy way to burn energy for someone who's constantly burning energy," answered Dick.

Nightwing's prison

"It's called the Black Mercy," said Zucco who was standing at the entrance with his arms crossed and was buff as a gargoyle. "Hal Jordan said it was a telepathic parasite that consumes its victim's lifeforce while creating a totally convincing simulation of the victim's deepest desires. I made it by using the same method I used to bring out your inner demons."

"So he's dreaming?" asks Robin.

"Oh, far deeper than that. I wonder where he thinks he is. Maybe being the center of attention under the big top, wishing he had never met you pathetic excuses for teammates."

Wonder Girl charges forwards and punches his face a few times which does little damage. Wonder Girl looks at her hurt knuckles and thought that Zucco was as strong as Black Beetle or Mongul.

"You don't understand. I'm more powerful than your own inner demons," said Zucco as he walks forward. Superboy tries to punch him but Zucco grabs Superboy's fist and throws him so hard at the wall that he creates a hole to the other room. Robin tries to zap him with his bo staff, but Zucco blasts dark energy at him. When Zucco gives Robin with an evil grin, Wonder Girl comes from behind to lift Zucco over her head and smash Zucco's head into the floor.

Zucco swats Wonder Girl through the hole in the wall that Superboy made earlier. Impulse goes after them and uses his superspeed to repeatedly punch Zucco which felt like punching Tommy Terror.

Meanwhile, Robin tries to use a laser pen to unsuccessfully cut the Black Mercy in half. He hears Wonder Girl briefly yell when Zucco tosses her at a shelf with Kids Next Door style weapons. He tosses Superboy and Impulse at her.

"He's gonna kill her, Dick, and then he'll kill us all. Snap out of it already!" begged Robin. "Please."

Wonder Girl, Superboy, and Impulse take up arms and aim them at Zucco who condescendingly asked, "Oh, dear. Are those 2x4 technology?"

"Go to hell," said Wonder Girl before they firing their weapons.

"Nothing's working!" complained Robin after his bo staff broke in unsuccessful attempt to pry the plant off. Robin hears a few blasts. "They're fighting for their lives, Dick. You've got to fight too."

The weapons have little effect on Zucco who breaks it with his bare hands. Zucco punches Impulse out the way and grabs the other 2 heroes by their necks. "Once all of you are eliminated, I'll break free into the real world," said Zucco.

"You won't win," said Wonder Girl who struggled to breath as Zucco strangles her and Superboy.

"Of course I will," said Zucco before throwing them on the ground and stomping on them. Impulse moves out of the way, but not Superboy and Wonder Girl.

"Yes. That's it. Fight it, Dick. Fight it," says Robin as the Black Mercy begins to loosen its hold on Nightwing whose eyes begin to twitch.

Nightwing's imagination

At the family BBQ, Dick hears a voice echoing around him but nobody else hears it. "Fight it," the voice says which gives Dick a headache. His kids notice this and ask him what's wrong.

"Raya, Raymond, and Zane. When you three were born, they were the happiest days of my life. When I first saw your beautiful little faces, your tiny fingers squeezed my hand so tight, like you never wanted to let go. I've watched every step, every struggle. But I- don't think you're real. I don't think any of this is real."

"Don't say that, Daddy. Please. You're scaring us," said Zane.

No, no. I don't want to scare you, Zane," said Dick. "You, your siblings, my parents- This is everything I ever wanted in life.

"What's going on here?" asked Mary Grayson.

"Dick, what's wrong?" asked John Grayson.

"Mom. Dad. Raya. Raymond. Zane. I'm sorry, but I've got responsibilities. I have to go now," Dick said tearfully. The entire place is dissolving into rainbow bubbles as the group comes together for a big hug.

"Daddy," said the kids in unison.

"Dick," said Dick's parents in unison.

"I promise you, I'll never forget."

Nightwing's prison

"Yes!" exclaimed Robin as the Black Mercy finally lets go of Nightwing.

Suddenly, the plant attaches itself to Robin who turns away from Nightwing before falling on his knees. Robin tries to resist, but succumbs to his deepest desire. He hears the echo of Batgirl yelling, "Get back to the house, now! Your dad is next!"

Robin's dream

Tim runs upstairs as fast as he can. Once Tim enters the kitchen, Captain Boomerang bursts through the door with a big boomerang in his right hand, but Jack Drake shoots Captain Boomerang's right hand. Jack lunges forwards, grabs Captain Boomerang's right wrist, holds it up high, and begins to repeatedly punch him.

"Yes!" exclaims a smiling Tim as Batman puts both hands on Tim's shoulders. Jack alternates between punching him in the face and stomach.

The prison

Dick snaps out of the trance when he hears heavy pounding. Upon seeing that the Black Mercy was attached to Robin, Dick becomes so enraged that he doesn't pry it off of Robin's chest. Instead, he quickly hacks the prison security system to release the remaining prisoners and quickly flew towards the source of the heavy pounding.

Superboy and Impulse are down, and Wonder Girl slowly gets up. Zucco was about to stab her when a black blur slams Zucco. Wonder Girl was dumbstruck by what she's seeing.

"Robin needs your help! Zucco's mine!" Nightwing yelled as he repeatedly punches Zucco.

"Got it, boss!" she said before Nightwing slams his fists on Zucco so hard that Zucco falls through the floor. Wonder Girl groans as she quickly walks because the beating from Zucco has made her too weak to even levitate a few inches off the ground.

"Do you have any idea what you did to me?" Nightwing asked in a soft and deadly tone. Nightwing punches Zucco a few more times before Zucco kicks Nightwing in the stomach with his feet.

"I used your friends' powers to create a prison that you couldn't leave without sacrificing your heart's desire. Must've have been like tearing off your own arm," said Zucco before grabbing Nightwing's head.

When Wonder Girl arrives, Robin was on his knees facing away from her so she tries to call out his first name.

"Here's an early birthday present, circus brat. Death," said Zucco as he strangles Nightwing. Nightwing responds by using his eskrima sticks to electrocute Zucco.

Wonder Girl hears Zucco's scream echoing. She tries to pull the plant off of Robin's chest with what little strength she had left which was difficult even for her.

"Tim!" she cries out.

Robin's dream

"Get him, Dad, get him!" cheered Tim as he and Batman watch Jack Drake punch Captain Boomerang 5 more times before Tim hears the echo of Wonder Girl desperately yelling out his name as loud as she can.

"TIM!"

Jack punches Captain Boomerang 4 more times before Boomerang gains the upper hand by kicking Jack in his crotch.

The prison

Robin and Wonder Girl fall backwards away from each other once the plant finally comes off of Robin's chest. Robin watches as Wonder Girl struggles to keep the plant from attaching itself onto her.

"You should have stayed in whatever happy fantasy the Black Mercy granted you," said Zucco before he charges at Nightwing who trips him. Nightwing quickly grabs Zucco by his ankles and tosses him at the wall before repeatedly punching him in the face.

"Happy?! Do you have any idea of what I had to put up with?!"

Zucco kicks Nightwing's leg and was just about to finish him off.

"Excuse me," interrupted Wonder Girl who was with Robin, Impulse, and Superboy. "But I think this is yours." She throws the Black Mercy at Zucco, but he destroys it with his dark energy before it could attach itself to him.

Soon the other prisoners have arrived. They were ready to fight until a yellow and black minibus smashes into Zucco.

Chapter Text

When the smoke clears, everyone slowly approaches the wreck. They get into fighting position when the back doors were kicked open.

"HEY, YOU GUY-Y-Y-Y-YS!" yelled Wally before he comically fell flat on his face on the floor, followed by the back doors falling off of its hinges. Artemis comes out and helps him up.

"You're alive!" cheered Miss Martian as Artemis and Wally run towards the others. Wally is overjoyed to see Nightwing, but Nightwing flinches back at the sight of Wally.

"Dude, relax," Wally said calmly as he puts his hands up as if he's surrendering to police. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I swear." Nightwing notices the stuff that Artemis and Kid Flash were carrying. Before he could ask them about it, Zucco pushes the minibus away from him.

"No!" he yelled, revealing scratches all over his body. "You ruined everything!"

An exasperated Wally rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You would've gotten away with it if it wasn't us meddling kids. Look, man. It's over. Besides, do you mind? I'm trying to reconcile with someone here."

Zucco growled and narrowed his eyes. He stretched his arms upwards and opened his palms faced as lightning flowed from the air through his body. "I SHOULD BE THE ONE WALKING FREELY IN THE REAL WORLD AFTER BEING REPRESSED FOR SO LONG! ME! AND THAT'S JUST WHAT I'M GOING TO GET, EVEN IN SPITE YOU MEDDLING KIDS AND YOUR CIRCUS BRAT LEADER!" proclaimed Zucco as the floor shook and strong winds blew everything everywhere.

Aqualad orders Rocket to create a force bubble around the Team after ordering everyone to huddle together. A split second later, there was a flash of bright light and a blast. The bubble lands outside where everything looks like the disastrous simulation 6 years ago. When Rocket turned off her bubble and everyone got back on their feet, a series of explosions occur in Wayne Manor. A pair of giant hands bursts out and slam on the ground.

"Oh, bad! Oh, bad! Oh, bad, bad, bad!" said a panicking Rocket when Zucco emerges from Wayne Manor as a giant gargoyle.

"I'll make sure none of you will ever wake up from this nightmare!" he boomed.

"What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?" asked a panicking Beast Boy.

"Attack him with everything we got," said Aqualad. Everyone did as Aqualad commanded except Nightwing who was having a bad case of deja vu and is curled up into a ball because Zucco was now even bigger and more powerful than before. Nightwing suddenly hears the voices of 3 little kids from out of of nowhere who said,

"In fearful day

In raging night

With strong hearts full, our souls ignite.

When all seems lost in the war of light,

Look to the stars,

For hope burns bright."

Then, Dick hears Zucco cry in pain and is amazed by what he sees. "I don't believe it. They're gaining the upper hand. Despite everything that happened, they're willing to fight him for me," Nightwing thought as he watched the scene unfold. Robin threw birdarangs that exploded into ice on Zucco's eyes; Miss Martian's brain blast gives Zucco a headache; Aqualad creates a hard-water serpent; Zatanna and Blue Beetle blast sonic booms and magic respectively; Artemis shoots trick arrows; Impulse and Wally created tornadoes; Superboy tosses Beast Boy, who changes into a rhino, at Zucco; Wonder Girl threw cars; etc.

However, the victory became short lived when Zucco grew shadow based tentacles that tried to grab the fighters one by one and squeeze them a little. The last victim was Wally who begged as loud as he can. "Dick, I know I've been a terrible jerk to you and if you don't wanna talk to me again, that's fine, but we need your help. Please, I'm so sorry." Zucco threw him in Nightwing's direction. Wally becomes unconscious upon hitting Nightwing who tries to unsuccessfully shake him back to consciousness.

"Get up! Wally, please! Get up!" cried Nightwing. By now, he was surrounded by an unresponsive and defeated Team. "Just like the circus again," he thought. When Nightwing noticed that the familiar stuff that Artemis and Kid Flash had on them were now gone, Zucco loomed over Nightwing and sneered at him.

"What good are you to them when you're such a pushover? Why are you supporting those who caused your despair?" asked a giant Zucco looming over him. Nightwing finally had enough.

"It doesn't matter what they did because when your friends are in trouble, you're supposed to do something," responded Nightwing.

When one of Nightwing's tears hits the ground, his body is enveloped in a mix of yellow, blue, red, green, and purple as he grows bigger. When it stopped, he had become a giant with owl wings.

"Besides, I can't completely extinguish the darkness because it's a part of me, but I won't allow darkness have 100% control over my mind anymore," said Nightwing as everyone else begins to wake up and flees to avoid getting crushed. Zucco lunges towards Nightwing who grabs Zucco's clenched fists, and spins and hurls him high up into the air. Nightwing flies up and engages in hand-to-hand combat with Zucco. Both are also flying and firing energy beams out of their hands.

"Robin, I know he's your big hermano, but this is ridiculous," said Blue Beetle.

Robin wasn't listening and yelled, "GET HIM, DICK! THAT'S RIGHT! KICK THAT DEMON'S BUTT!"

Zucco fires a stronger dark energy beam, causing Nightwing to crash to the ground and almost crushing his teammates. Nightwing quickly fires at Zucco again, but is struggling. He almost steps on his ex-girlfriend when he steps backwards, but Wally rescues Zatanna just in time. Wally whispers to Miss Martian to telepathically order the others to hold hands and recite the Blue Lantern oath in unison. Upon doing so, white energy transferred from them to Nightwing, allowing him to blast enough energy to turn Zucco into smoke.

"You haven't seen the last of me!" he echoed as the smoke is slowly absorbed by Nightwing.

When Nightwing glowed and turned back to normal, he faints. Wally catches him in his arms and tries to shake him, but he's unresponsive, causing him to freak out. "No, no, not again! Wake up!" he cried, but Nightwing still isn't responding.

Batgirl suddenly has an idea and whistles for everyone to shut up. She cleared her throat and yelled as loud as she can. "BATGIRL SUCKS!"

"OW!" cried Wally when Nightwing instantly punches him in the face.

"WHO SAID THAT?!" yelled Nightwing. Wally gets up as Zatanna and Batgirl rushed over to kiss Nightwing. He notices a guilty-looking Wally and walks over to him.

"Thank you. But don't ever. Do that to me. Again," warned Nightwing as Wally's eyes follow Nightwing's left index finger poking him in the left collarbone. Wally gives his best friend a weak smile in response. "Same thing for the most of you guys," he said to the others before hugging Wally as tight as he could.

"Dude, you're crushing me," said Wally who struggled to breathe as Nightwing lifts Kid Flash slightly off the ground.

Nightwing releases him and smirks. "Hehe. Well, I am taller and stronger than you now. Besides, just because you're not part of the Team anymore doesn't mean you don't need to work out."

"Ahem. Nightwing, are you able to wake up and take control of your own body?" asked Miss Martian.

"Only one way to find out," replied Nightwing.

Nightwing's room, June 23, a few minutes after midnight

The search party finally begins to wake up; their foreheads were sweaty and their bodies felt weak.

"What happened in there?" asked Batman.

"Batman?" asked Nightwing. His weak voice silenced all those in his room. Batman hugged him tightly.

"Weak. Weak," said Nightwing which causes Batman to immediately release him from the tight embrace.

"Dick, can you hear me?" asked Miss Martian as her eyes glowed.

"Yes. I can control my own body again but I feel weak," Nightwing responded.

"Hang in there. We'll be back in a few minutes," said Miss Martian before Nightwing nodded.

"There's still more work to be done," said Miss Martian. "I'll work as hard and fast as I can tonight, but I need to have a few private minutes with the rest of the search party first. Uncle J'onn, can you take over for me, please?"

The Martian Manhunter agrees and the search party steps out of the room. Once they were outside and the door closes, Miss Martian to telepathically link up the others.

"Nightwing's imaginary friends are gone," said Miss Martian. "I don't know if we should tell him because it might affect the process."

"We'll tell him when the time is right, after he's fixed," said Aqualad. The rescue team agrees and go back inside.

"Ok, we're back," said Miss Martian, but Black Canary shushes them.

"They're having a private moment together," she said. Batman and the Martian Manhunter come back to the physical world.

Batman asked Miss Martian, "I trust that you and the others can take care of everything from here?" They nodded yes.

"Don't worry, Bruce. We got this," said Beast Boy who suddenly realized his mistake when the room went almost silent.

"Hehe. Spoilers," joked Impulse before Kid Flash elbowed him in the stomach.

Batman glares at them to keep their mouths shut.

Paula Crock's apartment, June 23, late afternoon

Wally and Artemis went to Paula's apartment. Paula was home, but the couple didn't expect Jade and Lian to be present too. After some hugging and catching up, Wally and Artemis were getting ready to leave when Jade puts her sai to Wally's left cheek.

"Remember, I got my eye on you," she said.

"Jade! No weapons when the baby is around," said Paula Crock.

"Yes, mother," said Jade in a monotonous tone as she slowly pulls her sai away from Wally.

"Go threaten your own redhead boyfriend," said Artemis who was carrying Lian in her arms before handing her back to Jade. After everyone finished saying their goodbyes, Artemis and Wally were walking out of the building when Wally joked, "Must be the red hair. Asian chicks dig redheads."

Artemis immediately begins to pelt Kid Flash's face with a quick flurry of slaps. "Ow. Ow. Artemis, quit it. Ow. Will you stop?" complained Wally before Artemis finishes with a larger slap.

"Ow," said Wally.

"Troll," said Artemis before she noticed Wally was sad.

"Wally, what's wrong?" asked Artemis. "My mom forgave you."

"It's not that," he answered.

"Well, what is it, then? I didn't slap you that hard."

Wally sighs. "It's stupid, really. I don't get why I feel like this. I mean...they weren't even real," said Kid Flash who didn't even bother to look at Artemis. Artemis knew who Wally was referring to.

"They gave their lives for us. That seems real enough for me," said Artemis who holds onto Kid Flash's left arm to comfort him; they both look up into the sky.

Watchtower, June 23, same time

Miss Martian, who was taking a break, gave some advice to Wonder Girl. Her advice echoed inside Wonder Girl's head. "Cassie, telling a boy you like him is like getting into a really cold pool. Deep breath, then take the plunge."

A sad Robin was approaching Jason Todd's hologram when he and Wonder Girl bumped into each other.

"Oh sorry for-" said Robin before he stared into Wonder Girl's eyes and smiled at her. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," said a smiling Wonder Girl before there was an awkward silence between them. They were both looking away from each other.

"Come on, Cassie. Don't just stand here sweating like a gigantic cheese. Do something!" Wonder Girl thought.

"Come on, Tim. Don't just stand here sweating like a gigantic cheese. Do something!" Robin thought.

"So...Whatcha doin'?" asked Wonder Girl.

"Just came here to contemplate. Nightwing is temporarily leaving because of this whole incident. Aqualad and Batgirl are going to be in charge, but I'm worried that when I become leader one day, I might have to do something similar to what Dick did." Robin's voice becomes more nervous. "If and when that happens, what if it goes wrong? What are the consequences and aftermath?"

"Tim. Calm down. You. Me. The others. That whole thing was our fault." Wonder Girl sighed. "Listen, you may not have your brother's confidence, hopefulness"-Wonder Girl starts to fangirl.-"dreamy eyes, big muscles, those abs or tight butt..."

Robin facepalmed himself upon hearing his secret crush basically admit to sexually fantasizing about his stepbrother. "Cassie!"

Wonder Girl turns as red as a tomato. "Sorry. Besides, if you actually do a secret plan without telling anyone, especially me, I can't promise you that I won't get feel angry, hurt, or confused, but I'll try to remember to let you explain yourself and understand. Ok?"

Robin smiled. "Thank you, Cassie." Both of them hug.

"I don't what I do if I lose you because...well, I love you," said Wonder Girl.

It was Robin's turn to be red as a tomato. He stuttered and said gibberish. "Bruce and Dick are better at this than I am," he muttered.

"Tim?" said Wonder Girl.

"Cassie?" asked Robin.

"Stop talking," said Wonder Girl before she leans in and finally kisses him.

Nightwing's room, June 23, bedtime

By now, Dick was briefed on everything. However, the story of what happened inside his mind excluded any mention of his imaginary friends.

Miss Martian had been working as hard and fast as she could fixing Dick's mind. To speed things up, Dick suggested that the former search party be invited back into his mind for a special treat. Once everyone was present, they were seated inside of a big circus tent. There was a puff of smoke and Dick appeared in a red ringmaster costume with gold accents and blue fingerstripes. He cracks a whip and replicas of current and past Team members whom Dick was close to appeared: Zatanna, Roy (the clone), Wally, Barbara, Tim, Kaldur, Conner, M'gaan, Jason, and Artemis. Each replica wore circus clothes. Dick turned his eskrima sticks into a cane and ordered the replicas to show their special talents.

Replica Conner- superstrength; high jumps; flight

Replica Jason- pyrokinesis and explosions

Replica Kaldur- Atlantean sorcery

Replica Wally- small cyclones; superspeed; basic gymnastics; food manipulation

Replicas Artemis and Roy- marksmanship with arrows and knives

Replica Tim- bo staff that generates electrical constructs; flight

Replica M'gaan- partial invisibility; telekinesis; flight; command animals; density shifting

Replica Zatanna- turns inanimate objects into animals; change object size; teleportation

Replica Barbara-control inorganic and inanimate objects, especially high tech stuff; martial arts, gymnastics

When the replicas finished their act, the replicas faded away. It was Dick's turn and his act was the final one. He uses his shadow and light based powers to turn the big tent into a Broadway stage and created a self operating set of instruments.

"Before I begin, I just want to say a few words. We tend to view darkness as something that needs to be avoided, but it can sometimes help to acknowledge the hardships that we face. As long as we have people around us who understand and can help, there's no need to suppress darkness or allow it to consume you. Now with that out of the way, here's the grand finale that will have you totally feeling the aster."

The instruments start playing and he starts singing.

Now and then, I know you wanna quit and give up,

But keep on going,

'Cause only you can walk this path that has been,

Laid out only for you,

We rise and fall,

I can't recall If I ever seen,

You afraid or insecure,

You're not the quitting type,

You stand your ground,

Seize! The days and the dreams you have,

Protect! The people you care about,

You'll be the Hero that we need,

But didn't deserve,

Unknown! Powers dwell in your heart,

And when! It's fire was lit it will,

Explode and our wishes!

However ambitious!

Will grant us a whole new start,

Show me your Brave Heart.

While Dick sang and the instrumental part took over, he grew owls wings and his body emitted an aura of yellow, sadness, red, green, and purple. Everyone couldn't believe that Nightwing could sing and that he sounded like Jesse McCartney, something that made Barbara, Zatanna, and Cassie scream. Tim smiled even though it was embarrassing to see his girlfriend scream like a fangirl.

Not all days are sunny,

Sometimes rain will appear,

From the blue sky,

But make the rain your friend,

Find an umbrella and keep your chin up,

Smile through the night!

No map can lead,

You to your ultimate destiny,

Only you really know,

That is the beauty of being free,

Run! Faster than the wind,

Aim! Farther than the skies,

Discover a side of yourself,

You never knew,

Unknown! Courage deep in your heart,

And when! The time is right your story will,

Unfold and our trials,

The tears and the miles,

You walk to a whole new start,

Show me your Brave Heart.

While the guitar solo played, Dick made translucent non-speaking replicas of Tula, Giovanni Zatara, Marie Logan, and Tim's parents appear as special gifts just for this occasion.

Seize! The days and the dreams you have,

Protect! The people you care about,

You'll be the Hero that we need,

But didn't deserve,

Unknown! Powers dwell in your heart

And when! It's fire was lit it will,

Explode and our wishes!

However ambitious!

Will graaaaaaaant

us a whole new staaart...

Nightwing's room, July 4 early afternoon

Nightwing's mind was completely fixed. After giving Beast Boy back the stuff that he had rescued prior to the Cave being blown up, Nightwing had asked Batman and members of the former search party to come to his room.

"Where's Kaldur?" asked Nightwing.

"He'll come back tomorrow. My king wanted to speak with him about something in Atlantis, but I don't know what's it about," answered Lagoon Boy.

Nightwing sighed. "You'll have to tell him when you see him."

Chapter Text

Watchtower, July 4, a few hours before midnight

Cat Grant is reporting live from the UN where a special Fourth of July celebration is being held as the Green Lanterns escort a Reach ship. Outside the Watchtower, Blue Beetle smiles as the escort passes by him. His scarab said to him, "The Green Lanterns escort the Reach to stand trial before the Guardians of the Universe, thus completing your triumph over those who sought to use you against your own world. It is over, Jaime Reyes."

Elsewhere, the atmosphere wasn't so joyful. Inside the ship, the Scientist tells the Ambassador and the unarmored Black Beetle that she should've been allowed to complete her research into the scarab problem, but they glare her into silence.

Superman, Batman, Black Canary, and Captain Atom were watching Cat Grant's report. When her report is over, G. Gordon Godfrey takes over.

"Sounds like someone's finally listening to old G. Gordon, The lone voice of reason, calling for the ouster of U.N. Secretary General Tseng after his disastrous collaboration with the Reach. Well, guess what, folks. Tseng finally resigned. You're welcome. Now, his successor has not yet been chosen, but I think we all know only one man qualifies. The man responsible for saving all our lives from the Reach's MFD's, Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Lex Luthor!"

"You have got to be kidding me," said Superman before turning off the broadcast in disgust.

"And on that note, I officially turn over my chairmanship of the League to you," said Captain Atom.

"Wow. Thanks so much," said Black Canary sarcastically.

Nearby, Aqualad and Nightwing are walking together. Aqualad was happy when Lagoon Boy told him that there is going to be a new member joining the Team because it meant additional help. However, he wasn't happy when he told him about Nightwing leaving.

"This is no time for you to resign," said a desperate Aqualad.

"I'm not resigning, just taking a leave of absence," replied Nightwing. "Besides, if you need help, Barbara's more than ready to step up."

"Agreed. But, Dick-"

"I need a break, Kaldur. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you and the others actually did die inside my head."

Aqualad sighed. "I understand."

"Don't worry, I promise to come back soon when I'm refreshed. Can't let you and Barbara handle the Team all by yourselves now that there's a new member. And who knows. Maybe the roster will change again when I'm away."

This leaves Aqualad to wonder who will join. "Maybe another magician or archer."

memorial garden

"You look good," said Artemis as she and Wally approached Bart in his new costume. Bart is now the new Kid Flash after Wally gave the mantle to him.

"Thanks. And what about you guys?" replied the new Kid Flash.

"We're retired unless there's an emergency. There won't be any fake deaths any time soon," said Artemis.

Meanwhile, in a different part of the garden were Wonder Girl, Robin, and Virgil Hawkins.

"Welcome to the Team, Virgil," said Wonder Girl.

"Call me 'Static,'" replied the newest member.

"Catchy. So, what about your pals? I take it they declined our invitation?" asked Robin

"Well, Arsenal was always more of a solo act. And the others are getting out of the game. Neut went back to his foster family, and Eduardo moved in with his dad. Even Tye went home. I guess his mom's evil boyfriend is out of the picture."

"And Asami?" asked Wonder Girl.

"She's staying with Tye and his mom. Turns out she and Tye kinda had a thing. And none of us knew."

Wonder Girl and Robin are secretly hold hands behind their backs. "It happens," they said in unison.

Nearby are Superboy and Miss Martian. "Since when are Tim and Cassie a couple?" asks Superboy.

"Since the near death experience inside Nightwing's head. It was kind of a 'life is short' thing. It gave Cassie the courage to kiss him," replied Miss Martian.

"Well, that kind of courage-" said Superboy before Miss Martian finished the sentence for him.

"Can be hard to come by."

"Team, report to the mission room," said Aqualad over the intercom.

mission room

The new Team assembles in the mission room. Static couldn't believe that he was already being given an assignment just after joining the Team. Facing the Team were Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Batman, the Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom, Superman, Black Canary, Aquaman, the Flash, and Black Lightning.

"Having stopped the Reach invasion and broken the Light in half, the Team will now operate out of the Watchtower, side by side with the League. Not because Mount Justice was destroyed, but because you earned it," said Batman.

"And so, we'll leave you to it," added Black Canary before she and the other Leaguers walk away.

"This Team has had successes, but much remains to be done. Superboy, Miss Martian, Beast Boy, you're Alpha. B'arzz O'oomm has called from Mars. He needs help. Tigress, Kid Flash, Bumblebee, Guardian, you're Beta. LexCorp is bringing out the Reach soft drink under a new name. We need proof," said Aqualad.

"Business as usual," Nightwing said to himself as he watches everything from a distance before heading to the bathroom; then checking on Zatanna; and finally stopping by the memorial garden.

"The rest of you are Gamma and will investigate Batgirl's lead on Vandal Savage's next move," ordered Kaldur.

Memorial garden, 16 minutes later

"I eagerly await your return home, Master Dick," said Alfred on the holographic communicator.

"Me too, Alfred. Thank you, I'll see you in a few minutes," said Nightwing who was about to head for the Zeta-tubes when Artemis and Wally arrive.

"Hey man...are you sure you don't want to stay at our place? It's the least we-I mean-I could do after everything that happened," said Wally guiltily.

Nightwing just smiled at them. "Nah. You two go ahead and enjoy yourselves. You both deserve it. Besides, I don't want to be around listening to you guys trying to make a baby."

Artemis immediately begins to pelt Nightwing's face with a quick flurry of slaps. "Ow. Ow. Artemis, quit it. Ow. Will you stop?" complained Nightwing before Artemis finishes with a larger slap.

"Ow," said Nightwing.

"Troll," said Artemis before the 3 friends laughed each other.

"Well, if you need anything, just call me beep if you wanna reach," joked Wally. The 3 friends chuckled before Nightwing said, "Well, there's one more thing I need from you. Just let me tell Alfred that I'm going to be late because this might take a while."

When Nightwing was done talking to Alfred, he turned his attention to the couple. He smiles weakly and gestured for them to sit on the grass with him. He took a deep breath in and out.

"Tell me about Raya, Raymond, and Zane..."

Apokolips, July 5

It's been a little more than 2 weeks since the Warworld passed by Rimbor just as the formerly imprisoned Leaguers were walking down the street. Vandal Savage had declared via three holographic monitors to those on Rimbor and the whole galaxy that Earth off-limits to all incursion or invasion, and threatens those who breach Earth's security with retribution.

Savage, on board the Warworld, finally arrives at Apokolips where Darkseid was waiting for him. As Savage exits through a Boom tube, he walks past Desaad and G. Gordon Godfrey. When Savage reaches the end to meet with Darkseid, they both give each other a vigorous handshake.

"Business as usual," said Savage to Darkseid.

Apartment of the clone Roy Harper in Washington, D.C., July 6

During the time Nightwing was being fixed, Green Arrow, Artemis, and Wally helped Roy fix his apartment. After dinner, Dick finally gave his account since Roy was never told about the incident in the Arctic. Green Arrow feared that if Roy knew, he would join the search party and be lost.

"Man. I wish I could've seen your performance. Anyway, I'm sorry for what happened," said Roy who had been silent throughout the entire thing while holding Lian in his arms. Dick sighed.

"I could always just re-imagine them and it would be just like old times but..."-Dick briefly stared at Lian-"I'm not a kid anymore..."

"We all have to grow up at some point, Dick," replied Roy. "So where do you go from here?"

"Well, can you drive me to the airport tomorrow morning?" asked Dick. "I have a flight to Munich tomorrow where Mr. Haly will be giving a show this week. It's been so long since I've seen him. I'll be travelling across Eurasia for 16 days."

"Sure."

"Thank you and thanks for letting me see Lian by the way."

"You're welcome and thanks for helping me clean up this place and for babysitting Lian. I wanted Jade to watch her, but she's 'busy.'" Roy rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

"You know, Lian is going to need to know about her mom at some point," said Dick.

"I'll tell her when the time is right," said Roy nervously as he scratched his hair.

"Do you think that when she finds out, she'll want to become a hero? Maybe pass the mantle of Red Arrow or Speedy to her?" asked Dick.

"Let's not talk about that now. We'll see what happens when we reach that point, but right now, I finally have a purpose in life," said Roy who goes to the bathroom.

When he returned, he noticed that Dick was chuckling while holding Lian. "What's so funny?" asks Roy.

"It's just that idea of Lian becoming a superhero reminds me of when I talked with Tim the day after Artemis was 'killed.' You see, I heard him say that he felt like a replacement. I told Tim that he was so much more than that because he took this gig far more seriously than when I was the Boy Wonder and that if he doesn't want to feel like a replacement, he should prove it and make Jason proud. We later joked that he might be replaced by a girl or even the biological son of Batman."

Roy started to laugh a little for the first time in a long time and shakes his head. "That's actually funny," he said. "The blood son of Batman. Pfft. Please. Like that'll ever happen."

"Which reminds me," said Dick. "Superman and Lois Lane, the Daily Planet reporter, have a thing for each other. If those two ever married and have a son, then Conner can give up his mantle and retire with Miss. M. Just think: the son of Batman and the son of Superman working together as the Super Sons and going on superhero adventures."

Despite Roy's skepticism, Dick continued to entertain him and Lian with his overactive imagination about what the Team would look like in the future. His suggestions included a replacement Batgirl, another archer, another magician, a human cyborg, an alien princess, and a demon-human hybrid.

Dick then frowned. "You know...All this hero stuff and healing my mind has got me thinking. The Light and all these aliens were researching the meta-gene activities. I have a bad feeling that this is just the beginning of something spanning the globe and even beyond our galaxy."

"Ugh, if only there was some sort of oracle that could tell us the future," complained Roy.

"Hmm. Oracle. I like that name," said Dick. "Oracle..."

"Owacle," said Lian which made the 2 guys laugh.

"Get some sleep. I have to drive you to the airport early tomorrow morning," said Roy who takes Lian from Dick and carries her to her crib, but Lian is crying because she doesn't want to sleep.

"Let me try," said Dick who sings a lullaby before putting her in her crib and gently closing the door.

"Thanks...Jesse McCartney," whispered Roy, much to Dick's chagrin. "No need to feel bad. My voice actor, Crispin Freeman, can actually sing opera. In fact, I think the voice actors for Barbara, Wally, Cassie, Bart, and Kaldur have sung outside the show."

Dick immediately begins to pelt Roy's face with a quick flurry of slaps. "Ow. Ow. Dick, quit it. Ow. Will you stop?" Roy whispered before Dick finishes with a larger slap.

"Ow," whispered Roy.

"Stop breaking the 4th wall! Besides, you can show me your opera skills some other time," whispered Dick. He yawns and goes off to shower. After showering, Dick falls on the bed and couldn't stop thinking about the future Team roster again.

"Maybe Roy is right. The blood son of Batman. I mean. Who would even be the mom?" Dick thought before finally falling asleep.

Warsaw, 16 hours after leaving Munich

The circus train was heading from Munich to Moscow, but had to stop in Warsaw, Poland for supplies and rest. Sixteen minutes after leaving Warsaw city limits, Dick played some special music. It made him daydream about about cotton candy trees; a magic minibus; a unified system of roller coasters that functions as a subway and looked like something that built by Phineas and Ferb; a giant crazy Kids Next Door style treehouse with a giant 'T' painted on it and a Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends style house at the base; and most of all, his imaginary friends...

Stay strong, my wings. Don't let me go.

I can make it. I'm not on my own.

Keep flying on through the day.

On my love!

(instrumental interlude)

If I could soar the sky for hours

just like a butterfly through flowers,

I'll come to see you

while I'm wearing a smile on my face.

Let go. Forget your worries.

Pack up, time to go, now let's hurry.

You know they're waiting,

and there's no time for fooling around.

So tell me, oh-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.

If I could soar through the skies anymore.

Oh I don't know-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa

what tomorrow will bring.

Will I reach all of my dreams?

After the dream I'm lost and alone.

Quickly falling right through the unknown.

So I will fly and be free.

Escape this awful wasteland.

I will not worry!

Stay strong, my wings, don't let me go.

I can make it. I'm not on my own.

Keep flying on through the day.

On my love!

(instrumental interlude)

I can fly the sky with no doubts,

Just like when I spread my own wings out.

I'll keep my head up,

and I'll shout as I leave from the ground.

I'm singing to the beat,

I won't stop.

Gotta keep on,

Won't give up.

I'll come and see you.

Just know I am here for you now.

So tell me, oh-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.

Will my voice echo throughout the whole town?

Oh I don't know-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa

what tomorrow will bring.

I am anticipating!

After the dream that felt wouldn't end,

now I'm back in my own world again.

But I'll be back. Sun or rain.

I will do my best and fight through the day!

Stay strong, my wings. Don't fail me now.

We can make it, we'll do it somehow.

Keep flying on through the day.

On my love!

(guitar soloing)

After the dream, I'm lost and alone.

Quickly falling right through the unknown.

So I will fly and be free.

Escape this awful wasteland.

I will not worry!

Stay strong, my wings. Don't let me go.

I can make it. I'm not on my own.

Keep flying on through the day.

Oh yeah!

After the dream that felt wouldn't end.

Now I'm back in my own world again.

But I'll be back. Sun or rain.

I will do my best and fight through the day!

Stay strong, my wings. Don't fail me now.

We can make it. We'll do it somehow.

Keep flying on through the day.

On my love!

THE END

If you enjoyed this story, please check out my other story Nightwing's Confession about Nightwing explaining and being forgiven for his secret plan since that stuff happened off camera. The next chapter is a list of references to other fandoms in chapters 1-8

Nightwing's Confession

SONG CREDITS: Digimon Adventure tri. - "Butter-Fly" - Full English cover - by The Unknown Songbird

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 1: The first scene is based on the opening scene from season 5 episode of Archer, "On The Carpet." Other references include the YJ episodes "Agendas" and "Disordered" in which Black Canary hears Dick Grayson and Bruce talk about Dick Grayson not becoming "the Batman." The squads listed came from Greg Weisman who had to remove some scenes due to time constraints. The scene with Dick singing was inspired by Digimon Tamers: Runaway Locomon. The scene involving the butterflies was inspired by the Steven Universe episode "Mindful Education"

CHAPTER 2: the final scene was inspired by Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

CHAPTER 3: The grotto part is based on the fanfiction by Xmarksthespot entitled Home. The memory orbs refer to the Pixar film, Inside Out. The trio's outfits was inspired by Robin's Red X and apprentice outfits in Teen Titans and Talon from the New 52 reboot. The color of each 'X' corresponds with the color of Dick's hoodie. However, black, Robin's color hoodie in "Failsafe," is excluded because the costumes already have enough black. Wally's anger and breakdown was inspired by "My Sister's Keeper" (Digimon Adventure 01)

CHAPTER 4: I turned Jump City (Teen Titans) into a place inside Dick's mind. Also, I've changed Raya, Raymond, and Zane into his red haired imaginary friends. In the New 52 series, Nightwing (Volume 3), they were Dick's childhood friends and part of Haly's Circus. The magic words, "get your cape on," is the theme song for the animated YoutTube web series, DC Super Hero Girls. The elephant bags refer to Zitka, the circus elephant from Dick's childhood. Raya's line about being forgotten by Dick is based on what Jessie tells Woody in Toy Story 2. I don't know about Tim Drake's life in Young Justice so I used his pre-New 52 life. The fight scene between Wally and Raya is based on Degrassi and Steven Universe

CHAPTER 5: The number of people fighting their demons is the magic #16. The part with the inner demons is based on "The End Part 2" and "The End Part 3" (Teen Titans). Superboy and Miss Martian's comments to one another comes from John Stewart and Shayera's little chat in "Divided We Fall" (Justice League Unlimited). The last scene is based on Wizardmon's sacrifice in "Wizardmon's Gift" (Digimon Adventure 01).

CHAPTER 6: Most of this chapter is partly based on "For the Man Who has Everything" (Justice League Unlimited) and Pixar's Inside Out. Dick and Hal Jordan's chat references Green Lantern: The Animated Series. The first 4 escapees are the Core Four from the Young Justice comics (1998-2003). Dick's dream wife combines Zatanna (head and hairstyle) and Barbara (hair color and everything below her head); her name comes from Starfire's alias. For the sake of the story, I used Identity Crisis Vol. 1 Issues #5-6 for Tim's deepest desire.

CHAPTER 7: Kid Flash's first line is from Rita Moreno (The Electric Company). Rocket and Beast Boy panicking is from Keesha and Wanda, respectively (The Magic School Bus). Robin cheering on his giant big brother comes from Kari supporting Angewomon's fight against LadyDevimon in "Joe's Battle" (Digimon Adventure). The final battle is based on "The End Part 3" (Teen Titans). Nightwing's warning Kid Flash is based on Mai warning Zuko not to break up with her again in "Sonzin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang" (Avatar: The Last Airbender). Artemis giving Wally multiple small slaps is from Archer Vice. Their conversation is based on the end of "Legends Part 2" (Justice League). Miss Martian's advice is from "Crush" (Kim Possible). Wonder Girl and Robin bumping into each other is from American Dragon: Jake Long; Mae Whitman, Wonder Girl's voice actor, was in both shows. Wonder Girl's "Whatcha doin'?" phrase is from Phineas and Ferb. The "gigantic cheese" quote is from "Heart of Archness: Part I" (Archer). The love scene is from Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo. Nightwing's song is PelleK's English cover of Ayumi Miyazaki's "Brave Heart" (Digimon Adventure).

CHAPTER 8: The memorial garden scene is based "Ancient History" from Justice League Unlimited. Dick's imagination included a reference to DC Superhero Girls and the Super Sons (DC Rebirth). A few voice actors can sing: Jesse McCartney, Crispin Freeman, Allison Stoner, Jason Spisak, Mae Whitman, Jason Marsden, and Khary Payton. The final song is Digimon Adventure tri version of "Butter-Fly" by The Unknown Songbird.