"Oh my god did you see her face?"
"I know, dude it was-"
"I thought she was gonna skewer you or something, just, arrow to the heart, dead. No more Wally West."
"Honestly? I wouldn't have been surprised, dude, I thought she was gonna suddenly gain heat vision and just turn me into ash."
Dick snorted, shoulders shaking as he laughed. Wally took a long sip of his milkshake, practically inhaling half of it.
"Dude, if you do that again-"
"Oh no I've learnt my lesson."
"Really?" Dick snickered, "something got through your thick skull? Wow Artemis really has changed you."
Wally gave an affronted gasp, leaning back into the seat of the booth, "how dare you suggest such a thing."
Dick only rolled his eyes before turning to his own milkshake, "I said what I said."
"I'm insulted," Wally said, "I think I should leave, check please."
Dick only snorted again, "jeez, drama queen, it's not like I insulted your colour scheme."
"Again."
"Again," Dick smirked.
Dick turned his head as he heard someone clear their throat loudly from across the diner, he grimaced a little when he zoned back into the conversation.
"we're being very loud," he said.
Wally rolled his eyes, "they're not paying attention."
"I just don't want to be kicked out of another diner," Dick drawled, "I have lost access to two places in as many months. Because of you."
Wally stuck his tongue out, "live a little boy wonder."
"I do plenty of living at night. I would rather chill the fuck out for once. Take a nap."
"you're fourteen," Wally played with the straw in his milkshake, "quit talking like you're thirty five."
Dick snorted, "you try living up to Bruce's training standards without growing some cynicism."
"Yeah well-"
Wally was cut off by the sound of his phone going off. It was a very familiar text tone, the one set specifically for his mother.
Wally checked the message, his lips pursing and shoulders tensing. He then tucked it away, immediately trying to cover up the emotion before Dick could notice.
"You need to leave?"
"Yeah," Wally sighed.
Dick just nodded, taking their now empty milkshake glasses up to the counter where he could pay for their food and drinks. Then he and Wally made their way out of the diner.
Wally kicked at a rock as they walked together, "I just wish she'd stop worrying, you know?"
Dick gave him a sympathetic smile. Under normal circumstances he would, but the worry Bruce had for him wasn't the same as what Wally had with his parents. That was all helicopter parenting and mental abuse and all kinds of other messy things Dick didn't know how to touch. He couldn't get involved, but he could help Wally from the outside.
"This corner?" Wally checked, even though he knew he was right. The two came to a pause at the place Alfred usually picked Dick up from when he visited central.
"Nah, I'm gonna head on to the beam," Dick said, "I'll see you at the mountain next week?"
"Yeah," Wally said, trying for a smile but already emotionally exhausted by the idea of going home.
Dick reciprocated the smile, then leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Wally in a tight hug. Wally's breath hitched a little but immediately leaned into it, resting his head on the top of Dick's own, something Dick hoped he wouldn't be able to do one day once he got his damn growth spurt.
"Thanks," Wally said quietly.
"Anytime," Dick mumbled back, squeezing a little tighter before drawing away.
"And I think that's it," Dick said, staring at the floor for a moment as he went over everything he'd just said, "yeah, that's about it. ten years in a couple minutes."
Wally blinked, staring into nothingness as his brain computed the information dump Dick had just given him. Distantly he knew Dick was standing against the kitchen counter of his safe house, that the ventilation system was droning in the background, that his hands were fidgeting between his knees as he stared at the ground beneath his feet, the couch so soft it could swallow him whole.
Dick sighed lightly, standing straight from the bench and said, "I'll let you process it."
As he walked by Wally managed to get a few pieces of his brain to work. He reached out before Dick could walk past the couch and snagged a piece of his shirt. Dick stiffened, fixing a look on Wally he didn't recognise as he stood from the couch and stepped forward, clutching onto Dick in a hug he'd wanted for a long time.
Dick froze in his arms, every muscle tense. His hands grabbed Wally by he forearms tightly by reflex before he thought better of it, but Wally could still read the movement. Could read it, but not understand it, and he couldn't be bothered to think about it, he just wanted-
"Can you hug me back?"
"Can you let me go?" it was technically a question but Dick's voice made it sound like an order.
Wally blinked, arms turning icy as he stepped back slowly and looked Dick up and down, staring as he tried to recalculate everything and fit it all into the new world he was in.
"Who are you?" Wally said, before he could think better of the words.
Dick's eyes narrowed, watching Wally like he wasn't sure if he should be insulted, angry or worried.
Wally looked him up and down once more, then took a deep breath, forcing his muscles to relax, "I'm sorry I didn't..." he sighed once more in mild frustration and shook out his shoulders, "I... I really need a- a hug. Could you...?"
Dick's jaw clenched as he looked away a moment, eyebrows knit. Then he let his muscles relax and turned back to Wally. He seemed to physically brace himself, but held his arms out and said, "okay."
Wally launched forward, eyes screwed shut, and clung onto Dick like a lifeline. His shoulders were shaking just a little. Dick's arms came down and hugged him back, just as warm as Wally remembered, and he cradled the back of his neck and let Wally burrow his head in his shoulder.
It felt... safe. Dick was strong, capable, stable. Wally could lean on him. Dick would let Wally lean on him.
"Where did it all go wrong?" Wally asked, voice hollow, "what happened to us?"
Dick sighed, and Wally felt the air shift his hair as he pressed his brow to the top of Wally's head. He didn't say anything, he just held him, but that was enough.
This sucked. This sucked so much Conner wished his skin wasn't bulletproof so he could shoot himself in the face.
Was this what he was forced to be subject to until the League saved him? Gaudy parties and too-bright camera flash?
Every turn he took was another thing to add to the list of things annoying him. Every person was just another curious face that quickly turned away to whisper and gossip. Every second was another second in hell.
Luthor paraded him around like he was a purchase, like he was some purebred guard dog he'd been on a waiting list for. Conner did his best to hold in the scowls, the eye rolls, the everything. Luthor told him to behave and Conner had to learn to pick his battles. He had to be able to hold out until the league could come save him. That could be in an indeterminable amount of time and he refused to let the league find him a shattered piece of himself. Conner had heard plenty about Luthor, he was perfectly aware of what the man was capable of. Kryptonian blood or not, Luthor could find a way to make him hurt, Conner was sure of that much, and he would not let Luthor have the chance.
He didn't think things could get worse, but then the next time Luthor turned from a group of people he did it with an almost archaic smirk he couldn't hide fast enough for Conner to miss. He shifted, pulling Conner along, and turned and Conner saw the people who had just arrived.
Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance were arm in arm, and walking in with them was Bruce Wayne with a woman Conner didn't recognise. Not far, with journalist passes, Clark Kent and Lois Lane walked in, clearly having arrived with the four people in front of them no matter the fact they were separate, although maybe only Conner found that obvious.
Conner froze, staring at them all. Luthor walked round the border of the area the party was set, and several paparazzi loitering outside the marked gates of the premises tried to snatch forward and catch a comment. Luthor refused. He'd been refusing all night. No words for the press from him.
He didn't go directly to the leaguers present, and Conner almost sighed in relief at that. he merely walked by, within their lines of sight. Conner caught Clark's tensed shoulders and the set of Bruce's jaw, the fierce protectiveness in Dinah's stare and the frozen malice Lois aimed at Luthor. The woman linked with Bruce- Conner catalogued her appearance out of habit, short black hair, green eyes, high cheek bones, short but lean, her shoulders were a little wide and her arms muscled underneath her lace black dress- looked him up and down, appraising him. Something about her made Conner believe she was no nightly fling.
The night wore on. And on. And on.
As they left the event reporters screamed for their attention, lights flashing, questions flying. Luthor refused to stop for any of them. Until he was almost at the end of the path back to his wonderfully glamorous car. He turned, as of having heard someone say something and attempting to locate the direction of the voice.
Conner turned with him, watching as Luthor's line of sight lined up with Clark and Lois, and he immediately knew he would hate what was about to happen.
Luthor took a few steps closer, calling out a 'sorry I didn't quite catch that, Ms. Lane.' Which caught Lois entirely by surprise, but she was far too professional not to know exactly what was happening, what Luthor was pulling, and how to act.
"I asked who the new security guard at your side is, Mr. Luthor," Lane said, and if Conner didn't know her, didn't know far better, he'd say she sounded unruffled and indifferent, "seems rather young doesn't he?"
"This is my new head of security, I needed to lighten mercy's load a touch, and he is quite ready for the role, regardless of how young he looks," Luthor said, "I am sure he can protect me against anything."
And there it was. That glint in Lois eye which meant she'd thought of something, some kind of trap, and was about to push Luthor into it.
"And is that because the rumours are true? He is genetically modified, a meta-human?"
Luthor went tense for a moment at the question, and Conner couldn't help himself from shooting Lois a small smile she didn't catch, too busy watching Luthor.
"Mr. Luthor, what do you have to say about the rumours in regards to CADMUS? About the suspicions in regards to secret projects investigating the meta-human genome?"
Conner knows the exact moment Luthor pulls a story together enough to retort because he can see the tension and control leak back in. He wishes the moment had lasted longer, but nevertheless Luthor replies:
"I was indeed involved in few investigations, but am held to secrecy by people more important than you or I," Luthor says, the smallest smile to his lips, "we cannot all rely on Superman's super-hearing focused on us, Ms. Lane, some of us must find ways to protect ourselves without depending on the biased views of a handful of lucky law-breakers. Meta-humans are the future of our people, and the Justice League is only holding us back from that. Have a lovely night."
Luthor doesn't have to grab Conner's arm and tug him along, the look he shoots him is enough, but it is a near thing. They get in the car and it drives off, leaving behind the roar of the paparazzi. Conner is in the backseat, sitting to Luthor's right. He isn't allowed to drive the car, although Luthor has made a vague suggestion about it. Conner isn't much interested. Right now he's too interested in jerking in his seat and reaching for Luthor's neck-
"Red son."
Conner came back to awareness on a couch. It's white. Everything Lex owns is white except the things that must be black, for professionalism's sake. It's all white, with pieces of black, and enough green for you to notice it but not enough to care unless you knew exactly what the green was for, what it symbolised.
"Now, my boy," Luthor sighed, standing before him. They're in the lounge area of Luthor's penthouse, Conner can see the wall of windows in the corner of his eye, "I thought we were past this."
Conner held in a scowl, "we will never be past this."
Luthor let his eyes narrow, but that was the extent of the emotion.
"Then let me put it this way," he began, "three strikes. Surely that is easy enough for you to understand."
Conner couldn't hold the scowl in anymore.
"You get three strikes, not including last night's mishap, wherein I am forced to use the trigger words, and after that you have no more chances. I will say the words and I will not let you wake up."
Conner stared, breath rushing out of him for a moment as he processed that, "you can't-"
"I can," Luthor said, with a voice of steel, "it's time for you to understand that. Have I made myself clear?"
Conner grit his teeth, swallowed.
He needed to choose his battles. The league would not save him as a husk. He refused to let that happen.
"Superboy."
"Yes."
"Yes, sir," Luthor corrected.
Conner felt something shrivel, felt his stomach drop a little, but he forced back the vomit that wanted to crawl up his throat and said, "yes, sir."
"And then we painted landscapes!" Lian exclaimed, eyes wide, as she rushed back to her discarded school bag so she could retrieve her art piece, "and I drew some mountains with a valley in the middle and a castle and look there's people riding horses on the mountains and they're looking at the person painting the landscape and saying 'hello! Look at our horses!' and- look!" she finally dug out the painting from her bag. It was laminated, and a teacher had written out an explanation of what the painting was at the top of the page that detailed exactly what Lian had just told Artemis, "See aunty mouse? Do you like my horses?"
"they're amazing, sweetie," Artemis grinned, taking the painting that Lian was holding out to her with beaming pride, "are those some birds in the corner, too?"
"Yeah!" Lian said, leaning over to point to them, then pointing down at a spot of green on her mountains, "And that's where their nests are."
"This is fantastic," Artemis praised, leaning forward as if she were about to tell Lian a secret, "You know where I think it should go? So everyone can see?"
"Fridge!" Lian grabbed hold of Artemis' wrist and tugged her along into the kitchen, "I'll find some magnets!"
Lian began to look for the best of all the magnets on the side of the fridge while Artemis moved a few photos, notes and other masterpieces around to best fit the new addition. Lian gave her a handful of yellow magnets with emojis painted on them and Artemis dutifully used them to hang the art piece in its proper place of pride.
"There we go," Artemis said, stepping back, and watched as Lian surveyed the handiwork like an art critic, "honestly Lian, I think you're future is in watercolour."
"No I prefer crayons."
Artemis nodded, "A wise choice." She turned to look Lian head on, hands on hips, and asked, "now are we watching Bluey or Peppa Pig with dinner tonight?"
"Bluey!"
"Well then you better get the table set before it starts."
Lian rushed from the kitchen, headed for the table so she could begin setting out placemats. Meanwhile Artemis finished preparing dinner. She checked her phone as she did so, letting out a breath of relief at the confirmation texts from her sister. All clear, mission complete, she was about to begin the trip home.
She put the phone away as she dished up dinner, headed for where her niece was setting out the jug of iced water in the middle of the table.
"Amazing job superstar," Artemis said, ruffling her hair, "now if you eat all your veggies I'll let you have some ice cream."
Jade pulled up and parked the car, sighing as she leaned into the headrest for a moment.
Once the temperature began to drop inside the car she leaned towards the backseat and grabbed her bag. She heaved herself out of the car with a groan borne of age and fatigue, then hefted her bag onto her aching shoulder and began the walk towards the residential entrance to the apartment block.
She felt like every bone was groaning a protest as she walked up the stairs, and not for the first time she cursed the broken elevator to hell and fiery damnation. But she made it to her apartment, key in hand, and slid it into the lock.
The past few hours had been stress, pain, fire and explosions. She was still coming down from the multiple adrenaline hits her body had gifted her with. Every muscle was twinging and ticking, her gut roiled at the idea of eating a meal before sleep, her feet pulsed with their own heartbeat in tune with the pace she'd been running all night.
She thought for a moment she'd open the door to a wrecked apartment. For a long time the kind of silence she was being faced with only ever prefaced a disaster. She'd come home to a quiet home many a time only to find her mother patching herself up in the kitchen and her father packing a bag full of weapons.
But she turned the lock, opened the door and was met with calm.
A new painting had been added to the fridge, and at first glance Jade had no idea what it was supposed to be aside from the possibility that there was a tree in there somewhere. Blankets had been pegged and spread and assembled to create a nest with a ceiling in front of the TV. The dishes were drying on the rack by the sink, sparklingly clean, the table was wiped down, every book was in the right spot on the shelf and the TV had been turned off.
Artemis walked past Jade, Lian a slumped mess of small sleeping child limbs in her arms. She was quietly snoring into Artemis' shoulder, hair a cascading mess around her.
"Nothing to report," Artemis said, voice barely loud enough to be considered a whisper, then continued towards the hall and the bedrooms with a content smile on her face.
Jade let out the tension in her shoulders she hadn't realised was there. She dumped her bag of gear in the 'study', then returned to the kitchen to find a plate of food in the microwave waiting for her.
She almost collapsed at the first bite, overwhelmed by how amazing it was. Artemis had picked up old family recipes with ease when Jade had taken her to Vietnam, and her passion hadn't died out since she left. The food reminded Jade of everything good about her family, which wasn't much on a bad day and very little on a good one, and for a moment she debated ditching everything and taking Artemis and Lian to Vietnam and leaving all this behind.
She smothered the fantasy quickly as she wolfed down the food, washed it up and put the dishes on the drying rack.
Somewhere along the line Artemis walked back in, but she didn't bother to say anything. She instead sat down at the kitchen island, head rested on her knit hands, frowning at the marble.
Jade didn't bother to break the silence as she did her chores, then turned to her sister and leaned against the island in front of her.
Artemis worked her jaw, dropping her hands to the bench as well and leaning forward on her elbows.
"I'm getting closer."
Jade didn't bother to say anything, to offer a congratulations, she had no idea where Artemis was going with this but it was somewhere.
"I can't give you a prediction of how much longer this is going to take. It's going to depend on who I can get to work with me."
"Okay."
Artemis took a deep breath, "Jade, if I succeed I'll be moving out."
Jade froze, eyebrows twitching towards a frown, "what?"
Artemis watched her warily, "I need to eventually Jade. I can't-" she stopped, swallowing down on something and taking a breath, she continued again with a still-emotionless expression, but Jade could see it was taking some effort, "Jade, you know I don't want to stay in this job. Whether I go back to being a hero or not is irrelevant, I will not continue to kill, Tigress disappears the moment I save M'Gann, Conner and Kaldur."
Jade clenched her jaw to keep the words inside her mouth, but it didn't work and she still spat out, "so you leave? The only reason you're here is-"
"No," Artemis said, watching her with the beginnings of a glare, "don't you dare. You know that's not the only reason I'm here with you. You know that. don't you dare try and guilt trip me-"
"I won't," Jade said, standing straight from the bench, "you want to leave? Fine. Leave. I'm not you're warden. I apologise for ever giving you such an impression, I never meant to hold you back from being what you want to be."
"Jade."
Jade walked out of the kitchen, "I'm going to bed."
"No," Artemis grabbed her by the wrist, "let. Me. Finish."
"I think you already are."
"I think you need to try not to read between the lines for once," Artemis hissed, "I think it's time you let me explain something before you form an opinion. I think you've jumped to a conclusion because of your own inner demons and refuse to give me ground. I think you need to realise I am healed Jade."
Jade refused to look at her sister, swallowing down her own emotions and not letting them get to her teeth, she didn't need to feel them urge to be let out, she didn't need their crying abandonment issues. She cut ties with them before they could cut ties with her control and leave her shattered.
"you're not."
"I am," Artemis said, "which is why we're having this conversation. My baggage is lighter than yours has ever been, you've done your job," Artemis sighed, "you saved me from dad all those years ago and I'm thankful for that, but there's nothing left for you to protect me from."
She grabbed Jade by the chin, forced her to look at her.
"I'm okay." She leaned her forehead forwards and they rested against each other, balanced as they leaned on each other's strengths, "I'm okay. And I want my life back. I've rested long enough, I'm not tired anymore, I want what the Light tried to take from me."
"You have it," Jade screwed her eyes shut, "you have it, I gave it to you, it's all right here."
"You gave me this," Artemis said, "and this is... everything. Everything I could ever want but it's not mine. You can't give me my life I have to take it for myself."
They stood silent for a while. Jade sniffed. "I want you to stay."
"I know," Artemis whispered, and Jade took some comfort in the fact that both their voices were wobbling, "I'm not going anywhere, not in the ways that matter."
"I know," Jade said, "but it won't feel that way."
Artemis took a deep breath and pulled back. The two turned away from each other a moment so they could pretend they weren't wiping away tears beading in their eyes.
Artemis readied herself for the argument when she turned back and said, "I have to give you back this life, because it's not mine. It's Roy's, and you need to let him have it."
"Absolutely not."
"Jade."
"no."
She was already marching towards her room, entirely finished with... whatever this conversation was. Artemis didn't bother to grab her again, instead staying standing in the kitchen and looking on with an unimpressed gaze.
"You loved him. Hell, you still love him."
Jade swallowed back the words she wanted to say, the fake denials and the true apologies.
"Lian deserves to know her father. Better yet, Roy deserves to know he has a fucking daughter."
Jade stopped, screwing her eyes shut, "no."
"You can share this. You have with me-"
"Not with him."
"Why the hell not?"
"Because he's not you," Jade finally turned around, "Roy is- he's not..." she grunted in frustration as she tried to avoid tearing her hair out, "you wouldn't understand."
"he's your husband. That has to mean something to you."
"That was a mistake."
"Then why raise his kid-"
"she's my kid too."
"And why keep her? Hm? What were you, twenty-three? The average twenty-three year old has no room for a child, let alone you. Already dealing with me and a hundred other responsibilities, why keep her?"
"I-" Jade couldn't fight the frustrated groan this time, "you don't understand and-"
"you love that child, and you wanted to be a mother, you wanted a family," Artemis finally followed Jade into the hall, grabbing her by the shoulders, "and that scares you, I know it scares you, but Jade you have to stop thinking of life the way dad taught us to. It's not about money, power, always looking over your shoulder, always having to be in control, life is about living, and you get to decide how."
"I decide this-"
"This?" Artemis swept her hand to indicate the entirety of the apartment, "and what is this Jade? What do you have?"
"I have you and Lian, and that is enough-"
"is it? that's all you want?" Artemis stepped back shaking her head, "I don't believe that."
"tough shit it's true-"
"fine," Artemis hissed, "fine, you want nothing else, you just can't be fucked, all you want is this and you don't want to risk the possibility of wanting more but never getting it but let Roy know. Let him meet his daughter, let him know she exists."
"why? So he can take her away-"
"he wouldn't do that."
"how do you know? All those self-righteous assholes think they know best for everyone and everything, and as soon as they know I have a kid, a kid that's one of theirs they'll take her from me-"
"they. Won't. I won't let them; Roy won't let them-"
"how do you know that for sure?"
"because he loves you too!"
"he doe-"
"No," Artemis cut in, "Jade he loves you too and don't you fucking deny it, he does, no matter how messy or complicated, he loved you and deep down he still does, even if it's not the same as before, and he will not take your daughter from you. But he has the right to meet her."
Jade took a deep breath, steadying herself best she could.
"this conversation is over."
"Jade."
"no," she turned and started walking to her room, "not right now. Maybe not ever again. This is not your fight."
"Roy doesn't know, he can't fight it for himself."
"go to bed Artemis."
"Jade-"
She closed her door and locked it with a sound that rang finality. She didn't bother to make sure Artemis went to bed herself, she just collapsed into her sheets and let herself be lost to her exhaustion.