He paced in his room, trying to develop a plan. It would help if he was able to stop mumbling under his breath "stupid fucking idiot and his stupid dumb face and his stupid cowl and his stupid inability to emote and his stupid dumb batman-ness." Which interrupted any thorough planning pretty frequently. Every now and then he'd stop planning and just start thinking of all the things he could have said in the argument then kick himself for getting distracted by his emotions.
Fine, maybe he was distracted. Maybe he had a grudge. Maybe he was reasonably upset and should be given room to work with his issues.
But no, whatever. According to his legal guardian it was time for some repression.
He had a better idea.
What better way to deal with his distraction than to illuminate it. if he could find a way to prove Zucco should be thrown in a cell for the rest of his life then he'd be fine. He'd be happy. He would not be distracted.
A small part of his mind said that his plan was just revenge but without murder, and that he'd turned from that idea the first time round, when he became Robin all those years ago. But the majority of his brain said, 'get that old bag of bones in a jail and throw away the key!'
He figured he would just have to raid one of their bases, find the evidence, lure the police there, leave the evidence in obvious places and then let them take the credit. Bam, no involvement from Batman and Robin.
Which meant he couldn't be suited up as Robin, just in case. A problem that was less of a problem now that he was benched from the hero-ing. It did mean he'd have to loot his gear to find some basic training clothes with some armouring and gear that didn't make it obvious he worked with Batman.
The next problem was finding one of their bases. He heard Pino talking about some reunion party, maybe he could follow that lead. But Zucco would be there, and Robin wasn't sure he'd be able to hold himself back from attacking him.
And the final problem was doing it all without Batman finding out.
Dick heard Alfred shuffling past and realised he'd probably have to turn his light out, else he gain suspicion. He flicked the lights and sat on his windowsill, his laptop balanced on his knees. He was far enough away for the light to not be noticeable from under the door. And if someone walked in he could say he was studying, he usually did that on the windowsill anyway, it was high up and had a good breeze.
He rifled through all his sources. His laptop wasn't your standard device and it had all kinds of modifications and programs that he'd done himself. It was no bat-computer, but it was a portable knock off that he'd perfected and personalised down to the last Megabyte.
At some point he nodded off and woke up to the chilly mist seeping in through his window as the sky started lightening. He closed the laptop and started to get ready for the day, a plan already slowly setting itself up in his mind.
He saw Bruce only for a total five seconds, when he'd grabbed his food from the kitchen and then put the empty plate back. Selina watched on warily, glancing between her husband and Dick.
As he brushed his teeth he heard something come on the news. He rushed through it and ran out to his room where he'd left the TV on as white noise. He turned the volume up as he eyed the headline.
'Gotham bank attacked; suspected Maroni influence rising in the streets.'
The newsman rambled, he revealed that overnight an attack had occurred in Gotham. it was suspected that the Maroni's were responsible.
The buy with the Falcone's had been a cover up, purely to draw Batman and Robin away from the CBD, so the Maroni's could launch an attack without drawing attention.
The attack had been done during the same time frame, on an armoured vehicle transporting funds from a secure location to the Gotham Bank, just down the road from the court house. It had been done so quickly that back up wasn't called in, the transport didn't show up at the bank so they started a search. The vehicle wasn't found till early morning, empty except for the dead officers, left at the landfill to be processed in the morning.
Robin stared at the screen.
His mind couldn't help but blame it on Zucco. Maybe there was no real connection, maybe there was. Either way his head took it and ran with it.
He had to run out, head to school. The whole way he planned, thinking of all the connections and possibilities.
He told Alfred he'd be at Barbara's that afternoon to study and that Jim had said he could stay the night. He had a second bag with him, but it didn't hold pyjamas, instead his equipment.
He waved Alfred goodbye at the gate to Gotham Academy and walked in like there was nothing different. He got a few looks from people who heard about the case, but otherwise he was as low profile as usual. People had stopped caring about him being Bruce Wayne's ward a while ago, now he was just the kid who was really good at maths and probably jumped off roofs for fun.
Carrying an extra bag wasn't uncommon either. He stayed at Barbara's often. This time, before she could see him, he hid the bag in his secret spot in the roof of the building with all the lockers. He told Barbara that, if anyone asked, he was at her place. That wasn't uncommon either, he often needed cover-ups for big hero nights. And Barbara knew, so she had no problem backing up the lie.
And then he waited, the whole day spent thinking.
Wally had gone home after the mission as well, or rather to his Uncle Barry's house.
His room was still mainly empty thanks to it having previously been a guest bedroom, but his alarm clock was sitting on a full cardboard box of clothes, and not long after it went off his phone joined in with a text from Artemis asking if he'd heard from Robin.
He had not. He scrolled through his phone to make sure his friend hadn't texted him. He had not. Wally was starting to get worried, and he wasn't sure why.
He rushed through his morning routine, eyeing his phone every few seconds waiting for Dick to text him.
He was just about to head out the door when he heard the news on the tv.
"... The vehicle was found this morning, evidence at the scene suggests involvement of the Maroni crime family, but the Gotham City Police Department have not come forward with support of this theory."
Wally eyed the Central City journalist who gave the report, waiting for them to yell 'sike!' because surely this was too ridiculous of a coincidence to be real.
And Wally knew exactly what Dick would say, a coincidence is a correlation in sheep's clothing.
"Wally, you're gonna be late!" Iris called out from upstairs.
"I'm going!" he said farewell to his aunt and uncle then ran out the door. He had to get a hold of Dick and check up on him. At least he wouldn't do anything rash, not during the day. But after school Wally would be heading to Gotham immediately.
Dick was feeling underdressed. After years of going out as Robin with all the gear and the armouring, doing the same thing but in noticeably less equipment gave him anxiety.
Even still, he was going through with this.
He looked like a junkie, with his hood pushed as far over his face as possible, but he honestly couldn't find it in him to care.
He explored the warehouse after school, then the place the vehicle had been found. Evidence had been scrubbed thanks to Batman's and the police's efforts, but Dick could glean some of what happened. The vehicle had been towed, which suggested a tyre had been destroyed, slashed or shot maybe, which lead Dick to believe the attack occurred while the vehicle was in motion. It must have been run off the road. There weren't a lot of places between the vehicle's leaving point and its destination that would be preferable for attacking a moving armoured van.
There was one place Dick could think of, and it made more sense the more he thought about it.
An armoured vehicle transporting money would want to take a less driven path. Considering the time and the locations, there was a route to the bank that went over a very old bridge that had fallen out of common use thanks to a bigger and better one being built not far away, with less detours required to get to it.
And there, right in the tracks of the van left by the cops who'd towed it away, was all the evidence he needed to change locations.
Granite.
The old Cobb Bridge was built probably nigh on a hundred years ago. It was made of granite primarily and many other things, but all the trappings and extra filigree was engraved and sculpted granite. And at one look Dick could see that the majority of the crumbling and eroding parts of the bridge was the same mineral he'd found in the van's tracks.
It didn't get travelled often, it was lower over the water than the Wycliffe bridge which had been built more recently. Dick could see it, not far off, plenty of cars zipping across it even at this hour.
Thanks to the low traffic of Cobb Bridge it hadn't been revamped, and the road was very much falling apart at the seams. Mud was on the side of the bridge the van would have come from, and the tracks were still apparent over the structure.
And where the bridge met the main part of Gotham, where the road would continue on into the city and to the bank, was a mess of mud and rock. The van had been attacked and run off the road. Considering there was a decent hillside from the current highway and down to the bridge, Maroni's men had probably hidden above and shot from vantage points.
He searched through the bushes looking for some form of clue. He found shoe prints and the odd scattered bullet shell, but otherwise nothing.
He sighed, he may as well analyse what he had. The shells at first look seemed to be your standard rifle, he found one or two that could have belonged to pistols. The shoe prints were... strange. They seemed to be from water shoes, they didn't have a tread just lots of points and lines that were usually on the bottom of mud and bouldering shoes. Why would you wear those to a shooting?
Unless you'd be heading to a wet area.
The Falcone's had shown up at the buy in a boat that wasn't theirs. seeing as they seemed more buddy-buddy with the Maroni's than one would expect, was it impossible to believe the boat had been supplied by the Maroni's?
Which gave Dick an idea as to where their base may be, or at least where they must have stashed the boat before the buy and where, it seemed, the money had been hidden as well.
Wally had zipped by the manor and been told Dick was at Barbara's. he knew that was a lie immediately, for no reason other than his hunch told him it was.
So he suited up and decided it was time to make chase through the streets. He texted Dick several times, called him a few as well. He wouldn't answer. Wally figured he'd go to the warehouse and then to where the vehicle had been found by the police. He checked and was met with emptiness.
And a vent that had been left uncovered. Dick had been there.
So Wally tried some detective work of his own, but he was nowhere near as good as his friend. And then he remembered the thing he had over Batman. Dick never stopped running apps on his phone, he just left them queued up till his battery started getting low. Wally had been surprised seeing as he was the tech guy, but now it was beneficial.
Wally opened up Snapchat, and he found Dick on the map.
The docks were wet and stank like fish, but they were nothing like the bayside in South Gotham by Hinkley Creek. They called it a bayside, but that was an aggrandization. Really it was a bunch of huge storage blocks and a few warehouses with the odd house sitting smack in the middle of a flood zone.
But hey, at least the kids could swim in the creek full of crap that was either freezing or disgusting depending on the weather.
But Dick could deal with it, because at the door to a warehouse, sneaking in, he saw Pino Maroni.
He found a side entrance- also known as a window on the second floor with a tree nearby- and slipped into the building. He took out the guy that was in the room with ease, not making a sound.
He was in a small kitchen, probably a break room when the warehouse had been a legitimate business, now it likely stored weed brownies.
Dick would have to take this carefully. He needed proof that the Maroni's were linked to Zucco, and it needed to seem organic. Seeing as Batman had been proven to be useless and his code a sham.
Dick crept out into the hall, making sure no one was walking down it first. There was a bathroom down the end and an opening to the main building to his left. He stood by the opening of the hallway and leaned out a little, looking to see what he was dealing with.
The easiest job of his life, it turned out.
Below there were shelves and storage units normally found in warehouses, a large open area for trucks or other vehicles to come in on the far side of the building. The hallway opened onto a stairway down into the shelves below him. Over by the open are there was a counter where men chatted and another room, the door closed. An office.
And chatting with Salvatore Maroni, the son of the Maroni Crime Family's big bad boss, was Tony Zucco.
Dick's blood boiled at the sight. He'd done minimal research, detective work and thinking, yet he'd managed to find this place and get visual proof. The police were hopeless. And either Batman was also incapable or he'd decided he didn't care enough to investigate. Dick knew which one it was.
He looked up to the rafters and realised they'd be pretty easy to manoeuvre through. And, extra amazing, they were decently new, which meant no rusting, no creaking and no mistakes.
He parkoured his way up and settled onto a beam. He needed to get to the office, that's where all the proof would be. The documents in there would definitely give him some proof. All considered they'd probably provided Zucco with his lawyer, surely he'd find those documents in there.
First he had to get over to the office, though, and the door was being passively guarded.
There didn't seem to be another way into the office other than the door. A distraction it was then.
Dick crept back to the floor and into the kitchen. He looked over the guy he'd knocked out and found a gun, but more importantly three small explosives. Nothing crazy, probably with only a bit more gunpowder than what was in Robin's flashbangs.
Either way, it would do. He crept out the window and to the front of the warehouse, where a few men stood guard- he recognised one from a patrol with Batman not long ago, his name was Eddie Skeevers. He considered how to pull this off, but after a few seconds realised he didn't really have the time or energy for anything fancy.
He tripped the explosives and threw them out to where the men stood, they went off and the guards went into a frenzy, before they could go crazy about sounding the alarm Dick forced a deeper voice and yelled "Damnit Skeever! I told you to be careful with those fucking things!"
If they thought too much about it, they'd realise it wasn't one of them who said it, but Dick knew they weren't likely to think much.
"I didn't-"
"Come on Skeever!" another guard said, "can't you keep your hands from you bombs for two seconds?"
The guards laughed but soon were joined by men from inside the warehouse. Dick took that as his cue to head back through the window.
Once he was back in he could see how his handiwork had payed off. The goons' attention had been drawn and Salvatore and Zucco were marching over to investigate.
Dick crept over to the office and clambered down to the ground, slipped into the room with no trouble.
He had forgotten to think about what would happen if there was someone inside.
"What are you doing in here?" someone asked and Dick turned. The office was basic, a desk with a computer faced the door and behind was a shelf full of documents and other miscellaneous crap. In the seat at the desk sat a man Dick immediately recognised.
Carmine Maroni. The head of the whole damn crime family.
"uh..." Dick began. Carmine started to stand, face slowly getting darker.
"who the hell are you?" he asked.
Dick tried to grab hold of a thought, but all that seemed to be running through his mind was 'DANGER'.
"start talking boy," Carmine grunted, he took a gun from the desk, already loaded, "explain yourself."
Dick finally got hold of a thought; he had some gear on him, not all but some, and one thing right by his hand was a smoke bomb.
He dropped it and ducked.
He wasn't wearing a mask, he was just as blind as Carmine, but at least he knew how to fight in these conditions.
He heard Carmine come round his desk, and he came behind him and whacked the gun away from his hand. Carmine turned and back-handed him right across the face. Dick crumbled against the desk behind him, his stitches pulled and the wound in his side opened up again.
"fuuuuuuck," he said and managed to dodge another blow from Carmine. He swept over to the door and flicked the lock.
"you little shit!" he thundered, throwing more punches.
Dick twisted and jumped out of the way, looking for an opening. Eventually he found one and he sprung, landing a kick right in Carmine's side. While he was distracted Dick grabbed hold of something on the desk, not caring what it was. He whacked Carmine over the head with it, and his skull made a dull thunk.
Carmine wobbled, lost his balance and started to fall. Dick kicked him in the gut and Carmine toppled, unconscious.
Dick wasn't panting, but he was getting close. The smoke had started dissipating, but it didn't really have anywhere to go. It hung in the room as Dick went to the computer and searched it, looking for anything of use.
He hadn't found anything when there was a knock on the door. Someone asked, "you alright, boss?"
Dick stared at the door, eyes wide. His hood had fallen down and his hair was drifting in front of his eyes.
"boss?"
Ooooohhhh shit.
Dick doubted the fake lowered voice thing would work again, but he tried it anyway, "All good!"
There was silence, then, "are you sure?"
"yeah."
Silence. After a bit Dick breathed a sigh of relief.
He turned to the documents behind him. He'd likely have more chance finding something there, instead of going through the mess of documents on Maroni's computer.
He rifled through, searching, looking, going through everything.
And as he moved a box he came across a picture. Maroni and his kids, the whole family. Plus a few of their most trusted personnel.
Right next to Salvatore Maroni stood Tony Zucco.
Dick grinned, grabbed the photo and turned.
There was a bang and the wood of the door went flying, the lock with it. it burst open and a man stood in the doorway, towering.
He looked at Carmine, then at Dick, and said, "who the fuck are you?!"
Dick dropped the picture and looked around the room.
"shit."
The man charged and Dick sprung out of the way. In the moment that he looked between Carmine and the new enemy he decided one thing; no holding back.
He fought like Robin. His head said to hell with it, no one would connect the dots anyway. He moved faster than the grunt, never stayed still, and he took him down.
He tucked the photo underneath a stapler on the desk, the cops would have to be blind to miss it. he turned and found people looking at the door.
Great.
Dick ran out, knowing there was no other escape.
"who's first?" he grinned, taking the thing tucked all the way in his jumper out. A pair of escrima sticks, tingling in his hands and waiting to be used.
Several men ran at him, guns ready.
He did not hold back. He flung himself from one person to the next. jumping and flipping. He remembered every move Batman had told him would permanently maim, could cause death, should not be done on patrol. He used them all.
And something in him sung, that need to get revenge that he'd had since he was eight exploded back to the forefront.
Eventually he turned, and he found only one person left, standing far off and expecting the goons to have taken him down.
Tony Zucco laughed and clapped, slowly. The sound echoed.
He took his cane and stalked forward, shaking his head as he smiled.
"you know, I always knew here was something about you boy," he said, "so very glad to be reacquainted with the great Boy Wonder."
Dick's breath was ragged, his chest heaved with every exhale. Even still, he levelled a glare on Zucco that could kill.
"so, what are you going to do now, little Grayson?" Zucco asked, "cuff me? Drag me to the police department? Explain yourself? Have you truly thought this through?"
Dick's glare didn't soften, it magnified as he started marching to Zucco, who laughed the whole time.
Dick grabbed him by the shirt, "you killed my parents, I don't care what your damn lawyer says."
"yes, yes, we both know the truth," Zucco grinned, "but I don't think this is going to go the way you think."
Dick grit his teeth, "fuck you."
He threw Zucco to the ground.
"now, now, let's be reasonable," Zucco said, as he began to stand.
Dick kicked him in the chest.
Zucco stumbled back, and his eyes turned murderous.
"well then," he said, "I can always say you started it."
Zucco took his own gun, and he fired with no care as to where he hit.
Dick jumped, swerved, rolled out of the way. He tried to get close but with every step forward Zucco retreated back towards the office. Dick dropped his escrima sticks, leaving his hands free.
Zucco stumbled in the doorway and ran inside for cover. This time Dick was aware of the threat, and this time he planned accordingly.
He grabbed a hand trolley and pushed it in, Zucco shot at it and while he was turned away Dick ran in and kicked him down.
Zucco turned and shot and Dick ducked, he grabbed for the gun and Zucco struggled, Dick kicked his shin and Zucco's hand spasmed, Dick threw the gun and aimed a punch at Zucco. Zucco grabbed the trolley and launched it at Dick and he jumped back, sprawled on the ground.
"I'm old, but I'm not hopeless," Zucco grunted, "now where did that gun go?"
Dick looked up, eyes trailing to the door, and he found Carmine's discarded gun.
He didn't think about it, didn't hesitate.
He took it, he turned and he fired.
Wally found himself at a warehouse on the side of a creek in south Gotham.
There were gunshots coming from inside, and he hurried in to find a crowd of unconscious men. Dick's escrima sticks were discarded on the ground.
He saw movement inside the room at the end and he ran over, stopped to take stock and decide what to do.
Dick was on the ground, Zucco was standing and grumbling as he looked around.
And Wally saw it at the same time as Dick. A gun just a reach away. Wally stopped to think, Dick didn't.
He turned, he fired, and Zucco toppled.
Wally stood in the doorway, eyes wide as he glanced between Dick and Zucco and back again. Dick sat with the gun still outstretched, panting. He was bleeding out of his side, probably the prior night's wound reopened, and his lip was busted.
Dick started to stand, wincing and holding his side. Wally stared at him.
"what."
Dick turned, eyes meeting Wally's.
"the fuck."
Dick glanced to the gun in his hand.
"did you do."
Dick really wished Wally wasn't there.
If he wasn't then this could be a secret. Dick could cover it up, it'd be hard but he'd manage. Wally, bless his heart, couldn't keep a secret to save his life. He'd spill this in seconds. And as soon as the team found out he was done, no one would want him as a hero after this.
And he couldn't help but think that he didn't want to be a hero after this either. He'd lost faith in batman's methods, and the rest of the heroes weren't better. No matter how much work they put into these cities, nothing changed. The system they'd created didn't work.
But he hadn't come to a decision yet, hadn't had a chance to. He didn't want to explain himself to Wally right now.
"Dick..." Wally said, staring at everything in the room, "dude, what... what the hell-"
"it's not what it looks like," Dick tried, cause that's what everyone said
"It looks like you just shot him!" Wally paced into the room.
Dick dropped the gun, it felt like a brand in his hand.
"it... I..." Dick looked between the gun at his feet and Zucco, "I just... I didn't think-"
"didn't think? Wally asked, frowned as he turned to his friend, "Dude, what's wrong with you?"
"oh, wow, gee thanks," Dick scowled.
"you know that's not what I meant," Wally rushed to cover up, he could feel this conversation slipping between his fingers, "but, you just didn't think? What the hell man, you always think things through! That's what you're always telling me off for not doing!" Wally said, "and you've been distracted-"
"I am not distracted!" Dick shouted.
Wally jumped, "whatever, but this," he gestured to the warehouse around them, "is telling me there's something fucking wrong!"
"I-"
"don't tell me your fucking fine, what the hell is going on?"
"look-"
"we can figure this out just-"
"Wally will you shut up and let me talk!" Dick yelled, "I just wanted to prove Zucco was involved with the Maroni's! I just wanted to get him thrown back in jail!"
"okay!" Wally started, "so you talk to Batman and you investigate, you don't storm a fucking warehouse and expect things to go over smoothly!"
"I wasn't storming it!" Dick said, "I snuck in! someone caught me and I had to defend myself!"
"oh, so it's like the mission all over again, then?" Wally asked, "cause it's never your fault."
"that's not what I'm saying."
"then what are you saying?" Wally asked, "because I'm trying to figure that out myself."
"I didn't mean to shoot him," Robin scowled, "and I was only going to get evidence and leave it for the police to find. This was an accident."
"yeah, you seem to be making a lot of those recently," Wally grumbled, and before Dick could cut in said, "why didn't you talk to Batman? you could have been killed!"
"because he tried to fire me!" Dick said.
"oh, I'm sorry, I'd have known that if you answered your damn phone."
"Oh, I'm so sorry for not constantly being worried about you," Dick said, "look, I love you Wally but I'm not gonna come at your beck and call."
"that is so not the point here!" Wally yelled, "you just killed a guy!"
"it was self-defence!"
"he's older than my grandpa, what kind of threat-"
"he was waving a gun around two seconds ago, I acted on instinct."
"oh, so your instinct is to kill people, now?"
"are you trying to make me the bad guy?!"
"no I'm trying to understand what in the hell happened in your head that made you think any of this was a good idea!" Wally said, "fine, Batman fired you, but you could have come to me! To the team! Or-"
"that's the thing Wally," Dick scowled, deciding he'd say exactly what he was thinking, "you. The team. Hell, the whole damn league. It doesn't work. Haven't you noticed?" Dick threw his hands in the air, "nothing we do works! we never actually take down the bad guys, we never really get them put in jail, we just draw it out longer."
Wally stared at him, "do you have any idea what you sound like right now?"
Dick clenched his fists, "I am well aware."
Wally shook his head, ran his hands through his hair, "okay," he sighed, "okay, we can fix this. We can go to Batman and we can fix this."
"So Batman can tell me I'm grounded for the rest of my life? I think not!" Dick crossed his arms, "besides, he'll tell the league, and if the league knows I'm done for. They won't want me around after this."
Wally swallowed, "it's one mistake, it'll be fine, we'll figure it out."
"and if we do?" Dick laughed, "face it Wally, the code, heroes, what we do, it's pointless."
"what are you talking about?" Wally asked, "we save hundreds of people. How is that pointless?"
"yeah, we save people, only for them to be put in danger again." Dick looked at his friend, "face it, protecting the whole country is a fool's errand."
"I mean, yeah," Wally said, "but if I can save one person then I will, even if I can't save everyone."
Dick laughed though his nose, "Wally..." he shook his head, "I can't. I can't go back, I can't cover this up and pretend it didn't happen. I can't come back. Not when I know that everything the league stands for is a sham."
Wally frowned, staring at his friend, "no," he said, "stay. Please."
Because he knew if Dick was no longer Robin there'd be no more hang outs at the cave. There'd be no after-mission sleep overs. Maybe they could keep a friendship going, but it was hard enough before the team, when they'd only been able to hang out in uniform.
"why, what point is there to it?"
Wally fumbled, trying to find a reason that Dick hadn't already combatted, "I don't want you to leave."
Dick stared at Wally.
"Dick..." there was one thing Wally needed to say, had to say, if Dick was going to leave. If he didn't tell him he'd never forgive himself. But it wasn't exactly easy to say.
"what?"
"I..." Wally didn't know how to say this without making it seem like a bribe.
Dick's face fell, his shoulders drooped as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Wally, I get it, you're still faithful I guess. Just head home, I'll text you some time. It's fine."
"no, I..." Wally cleared his throat and took a deep breath, "Dick, I... I've... I never told you that I..."
Dick blinked, "what?" this time he seemed less annoyed and more confused.
"Dick, I... really like you." Wally's voice hitched and it felt like it was cracking all over again, "like, you know." He cleared his throat, "really. A lot. In a romantic way."
Dick blinked, his jaw dropped, "you do?"
"yeah."
"really?"
"really." Wally's voice squeaked.
They stared at each other.
Wally's face heated up, "but, like, it's okay if you don't, I uh, I just, wanted to tell you, cause, you know, uh-"
"I like you too."
"you... do?" Wally asked.
"yeah," Dick smiled, "yeah."
They stared at each other, and for a moment Wally thought that Dick would decide 'to hell with it all' and stay. But...
"but that doesn't change things," Dick said after a while, "I'm sorry."
"why can't it?" Wally asked, "why can't you stay? Maybe you can't save everyone, maybe there's some battles you can't win, but surely the small amount you can do is worth it?"
"Wally, it's not that we don't do much. It's that everything we do is a step backwards." He gave his friend a look he hoped communicated what he was getting at, "the bad guys get out and they hurt more people. the super-secret villain leagues keep messing with things, using every move we make to their advantage. There's got to be some other way, but the league doesn't know it."
"so you'll go find out what it is yourself?" Wally asked, the hysteria starting to creep back in.
"it's better than sitting round here waiting for the answer to fall into my lap." Dick took his hands from his pockets, trying to find something to say. He didn't want to cut Wally from his life, "you could..." he cleared his throat, "come with me?"
Wally stared at him, "dude, I... can't. I really... can't."
"yeah, of course not," Dick said, and he couldn't help but think of how typical it was. He'd continuously picked something other than what he wanted his whole life. It was Batman over closure with his parents, Robin over living a normal life, study over sleep, the team over his independence as a hero, and so many more. The list was as long as his arm in truth.
And if all the good choices required him putting himself second, why would the script change if someone else was making the decision?
No, of course Wally wouldn't choose him over Kid Flash, wouldn't choose him over his pristine morals.
Of course.
Batman had chosen his code over Dick and now expected his ward to choose Robin over emotional stability. There was no one choosing him.
So maybe it was time for him to choose himself, even if everyone would call him selfish for it.
"of course, you wouldn't want to come with me, you've got Barry and Artemis, you've got it all," Dick said, voice flattening out like a dead heart line, the emotion was gone and with it went the highs and lows.
"Dick, that's not what I meant," Wally said, and his voice was still filled with emotion, not sad but insulted.
Because of course he was the one to feel insulted in this instance, Dick was never able to have his opinions hurt. It was always someone else. He had to be the stone.
Well, not this time. And this time he'd let everyone else have a piece of what he was dealing with.
"it's probably for the best, anyway," Dick scowled, wanting to have an effect, if Wally got to hurt him then he got to hurt Wally, "you'd just slow me down anyway."
"what?" Wally's voice cracked, "excuse me?"
"face it Wally, you'd just get in my way," Dick said, "I'm better off without you."
Wally's face fell and then turned red, "right, yeah, cause you're really just that much better than everyone."
Dick scoffed, "I'm beginning to think that much, yeah."
"well it's not like you haven't been a hindrance either," Wally said, "you've got no powers, you're always running off or getting yourself into problems, all you've done is hold this team back!"
He regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth. But Dick gave him no time to back track.
"WELL FINE THEN!" Dick yelled, "If I'm such a fucking hindrance to everyone around me then you'll be happy I'm gone!"
And he dropped his last smoke bomb and disappeared.
A/N
so what do y'all think so far???
trust me, the cliches are coming. I've got a few so far. Selina, Diana and Thalia being low-key Dick's maternal figures is one I used to see really often. Then we have our lovely 'the team gets a mission from Batman in Gotham, WOW!' moment, I didn't dwell on it but usually there's a common thread of Batman letting the team into Gotham. Then we have the Batman tries to bench/fire Robin cliche. We got Robin being scary good at detective-ing even though the evidence is unsubstantial. And now Dick kills someone and Wally is kinda clingy.
if you're enjoying this, do tell, I'm usually pretty active in comments.
more to come!