After the meeting, everyone got to work except for Dick and Damian. They'd go back to the Team headquarters but it was still nighttime there and they were sleeping. They trained for a while and then grabbed breakfast.
Dick admitted to himself that when Damian wasn't being a dick, no pun intended, he was actually quite fun to hang out with. He was obviously more mature than kids his age so they got along.
When it was finally around 9 around where the Team where they Zeta tubed there. Once they got there most of them were awake. Artemis was trying to cook breakfast for everyone while Wally was keep eating the stuff she cooked. Kaldur was trying to help but Garfield was under his feet trying to grab something to eat.
The rest were watching them and laughing. " Hey, team!" Dick said loudly. Damian was standing next to him, wearing his usual smug and black sunglasses- like Dick used to, and he was observing the people before them. " Oh hey! Who's this?" M'gann asked. She obviously knew but was playing nice.
" I'm Robin," Damian replied. " What? Big B didn't give him the identity permission yet?" Wally asked as he stuffed a waffle to his mouth. " Nah, he's edgy like that," Dick replied, patting Damian. " Well, does this Robin have an actual name?" Rachel asked and hopped off the counter.
Damian looked at her. " Damian," he replied. " Nice to meet you, I'm Rachel," she replied. Soon everyone started to introduce themselves. Cassie walked up to Dick. " Hey, do you know where Tim is? He's not answering my texts, is he still away?" she asked.
" Oh yeah, he's still away. I'm sure he'll get back to you as soon as he can," Dick replied. Cassie frowned. " Oh, okay," she mumbled and walked back to the table. With the distraction that came from Dick and Damian's arrival, Artemis and Kaldur actually managed to finish cooking.
As everyone was sitting at the table Wally walked toward Dick. He was holding a cereal box and eating from it. " So this is him?" Wally asked in a low tone. Dick nodded. " Yup, in the flesh," he replied. " Doesn't seem so bad," Wally mumbled. Dick shrugged. " Yeah,"
Then they went an joined everyone. As they were eating Dick told the Team about what they found and explained the plan. All the kids were happy because it meant they wouldn't go to school today. " Okay, I want Team Beta to be stationed inside and outside of the diplomat's room. You'll be the close guard. The rest of us will be on a nearby location, watching the place. If they come, we'll be the first thing they face," he said.
" Except, I need someone to switch with M'gann this time. This Zero, she's no joke and if it goes south I need her to go into her mind and make her sleep," Dick said. M'gann had amazing telepathic abilities, J'onn - the Martian Manhunter - even admitted that she was far more powerful than him. She could get into someone's mind and make them go to sleep. She could probably do worse but she chose not to.
" I'll swap places," Kaldur offered. " Alright, great," Connor said. " Can we go on with eating? I'm starving," he said. " Wait, what about me?" Damian asked. " You're sticking with me kid," Dick replied.
Damian crossed his arms. " Don't call me a kid," he pouted. " But you're the youngest here," Dick playfully said. " No, I'm not," he argued. Damien looked at to the table. " Don't look at me dude, I'm fourteen," Garfield said and shrugged.
" I'm thirteen," Rachel said. Damian groaned. He was twelve. He didn't feel twelve but he was. Some people chuckled. " Well, if it helps, I'm around ten," Connor said and smiled at Damian. " Yeah but you don't look like it," he responded back.
Dick chuckled. " Admit it, you're the kid," he said. It felt nostalgic and kind of good to be the one calling someone 'kid' and not being called a kid. " I'm 27 and I still go by Kid Flash," Wally murmured. " Yeah, maybe it's time for a name update sweetie," Artemis said and squeezed Wally's cheek.
After breakfast everyone scattered around the compound. They'd go to the protection detail in a few hours. All of the diplomats were on a meeting right now so the diplomat should be safe as about now.
Jaime and Garfield asked Damian to come play pinball with them. Damian agreed. Cassie and Rachel went away to watch the new episode of their favorite TV show. All the couples retreated to their rooms.
Dick went to the computer room to see if they had footage of this Zero. Maybe if he could examine her fighting technique beforehand, it'd be helpful to take her down when he next saw her.
It was strange because they usually had files and information on everyone who was deadly and a (potential) threat. It was intriguing that neither the Leauge nor Bruce's database had nothing on her.
" Hey," Kaldur said as she walked in. " Hey," Dick greeted. Kaldur sat at the chair next to him. " So this might be a bit personal, but, is that who I think he is?" he asked. Dick leaned on his chair and sighed. " Yeah," he replied.
Kaldur nodded. " Wow," he said. Wally, Kaldur and Dick were friends back when the Team wasn't even founded. They were the founding members. And although the Team had an amazing dynamic now, the bond the three of them shared went back a long time. Except for Wally, Kaldur was Dick's oldest friend in the group.
And he was there. That day. When she took down Fire. They talked about it later on and Dick bragged about her and how great she was. Both Wally and Kaldur said they'd like to train with her in the future, she was good. Sadly, it didn't happen.
" Has it really been that long?" Kaldur asked but it was more like a thought. Dick nodded. " I know right? When he was still in the womb, we were children. The Team didn't even exist. Damn, " he replied. " Damn, indeed," Kaldur mumbled. Ever since he started to hang out with them he got used to using the surface world's slang.
Kaldur smiled. " You know, after that day, I asked King Arthur about her," he said. " Oh, yeah?" Dick asked. He nodded. " Yeah, I was impressed, we all were, you know. Anyway, my King wasn't surprised I asked about her when he had learned what happened. He told me about how he met her. That she was like a spitfire," Kaldur said.
Dick chuckled. " That she was," he replied. " I mean barging into a Leauge meeting and holding everyone there accountable for their actions? Yelling at them, I couldn't picture doing something like that in a hundred years," he said. They laughed. " She was never the one to back down from a fight. You should have seen her during her finals week during her senior year. I have never seen Bruce that scared in his life. We were actually concerned about walking inside the house and making a sound to distract her," he said, the memories rushing to him. They were fond memories.
" Yeah, I wouldn't want her to be pissed at me," Kaldur said. Dick nodded. " Trust me, you or no one would probably make it alive if she was really pissed," he said with a faint smile. " Anyway, I came here to tell you something, I wanted you to hear it from me first. I didn't want to blindside you," Kaldur said, his posture and tone getting more serious.
Dick sat up straight as well. " As you know King Arthur and Queen Mera had their child a little while ago," he said and Dick nodded. He was aware. Bruce had sent a baby gift. " And since with the baby's arrival, the King's responsibilities have increased. He wants me to take over as Aquaman in the surface while he can focus on his family and Atlantean affairs,"
" Oh," Dick mumbled. " Well, that's great for you Kaldur, I'm happy for you," Dick tried to smile. They all knew one day they'd outgrow the Team but he just didn't expect it to be now. Kaldur smiled back. " Thanks. The King will make the announcement in a few days, this might very well be my last mission with you guys," he said. They shook hands. " Then let's make it a great one," Dick smirked.
A couple of hours later everyone was in their positions. Aqualad, Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle, Raven, and Beast Boy were inside the hotel. Kaldur, Jaime and Garfield were inside the room with the diplomat while the others were at the door and the halls.
Miss Martian, Artemis, Kid Flash, Superboy, Robin and Nightwing were on the roof of another building that overlooked the hotel room. They were scattered around the roof. Damian groaned after a while. " So is this how you do things? Sit on your asses and wait?" he asked.
Artemis chuckled. " At the start kid," she replied. " Well, it's boring," Damian replied. " It's a protection detail, it's supposed to be like that," M'gann said sweetly. They went back to silence.
Bruce called Dick to inform him about what he talked with Diana and Arthur. It was like they thought so. Of course, Themyscira and Atlantis would vote to legalize the metahumans but there were so many countries who weren't sure. If a country like Bialya who had too much trouble with them was to vote to legalize too, they'd be sure to follow.
Legalizing meta-humans didn't only guarantee the Leauge's jurisdiction. It was much more than that. It was a humanity issue. If they were illegalized that would mean that any meta-human would be revoked from their citizenship, wouldn't be granted another one. And without any citizenship, bad people like Luthor and others could easily get their hands on them.
No country would intervene because meta's would be ruled as non-people, since they were not citizens. No one would claim them, no one would fight for them. Just like the example from twelve years ago. The government had kidnapped its own people and if the metas were illegal, they'd keep doing it too. Hell, Luthor would do a lot more with his new position at the UN as the general secretary. It would cause so many deaths and torture. It would ruin so many lives worldwide. With every passing day, more and more metahumans activated their genes.
They couldn't let that happen so the voting that would take place the next day was important. This Bialyan diplomat as well. " I thought Bialya was a monarchy. Some crazy lady named Queen Bee. Wasn't she in on it too?" Damian asked once Dick was done talking with Bruce.
" Yeah, it was. It still is. But Queen Bee is in jail. We took care of her years ago. Bialya has changed a lot since then, they're still grateful to us for overthrowing that dictator. Of course in the official papers we had no involvement," Dick replied. " Hmm," Damian said. " So you're sure this guy will vote for the legalization?" he asked.
Dick shrugged. " Why not?" he asked. Damian sighed. " Grayson, cmon. I know you're smarter than that. Our whole plan is not based on some guy, is it? What if he is compromised?" Damian asked.
Damien was raised as a perfect soldier. He was taught to analyze situations. Strategize. Dick went through a similar training but his was obviously to be Robin, not to take over a years-old assassin's Leauge.
" Because he isn't," Dick replied. Damian groaned. " Great," he mumbled. " That's stupid, I'm telling you now, he might sell you tomorrow, get ready," he pouted and walked away from him. Dick didn't answer. " Guess him being nice only lasts for a couple of hours,"
As the sun started to set Dick felt a little strange. Like something would go down. He turned to M'gann. " The link please?" he asked. She nodded, her eyes went green, her body and air floated for a second.
' Physic link up' she said. Dick saw Damian being startled by it at the corner of his eye. ' What the hell?' he asked. ' It's something M'gann does, a physic link so we can communicate and plan without others hearing us.' Connor replied. Damian smirked. ' Now, this is getting interesting'
The sun went down. ' Beta, is everything alright?' Dick asked through the link. ' Yup', Garfield replied. ' This dude is so boring, mio dio, he hasn't shut up about the milkshakes he tasted here' Jaime said. ' It's better than standing at an empty hall for hours' Cassie said. ' Patience guys, it's better than the alternative' Kaldur replied.
Just as if that was cue another gas bomb exploded on the roof. ' You had to open your mouth, I'm just glad it's not Wally this time' Artemis said and took out her bow and arrow. 'Babe, you're hurting me, I've passed that title down to Jaime a long time ago' Wally answered. ' We've got movement everyone, get ready' Dick announced. ' Finally' Damian sighed.
With that everyone got to their positions. The gas cleared out soon enough and about twenty Leauge of Shadows assassin's appeared. ' Twenty for just one guy?' Connor asked as he punched someone. ' They knew we'd be here,' Dick replied.
The fight went about several moments. ' Holy shit! This guy is throwing fireballs!' Wally exclaimed. As soon as Dick got finished with the guy he was fighting he turned toward Wally. It was Zero. He was speeding in the roof while Zero was throwing fireballs at his feet. ' I've got her,' Damian said and Dick saw him running toward her.
' M'Gann!' Connor exclaimed. She was just hit with one of the fireballs Zero sent toward Wally. Connor rushed to his side. As Dick started to move another assassin stepped in his way. He started throwing his sword around, trying to hurt Dick. Using his signature escrima sticks, Dick quickly disarmed him and knocked him out. After that, he rushed to M'gann and Connor's side.
" Are you alright?" he asked out loud. M'gann nodded. " I'll be," she shortly replied. He turned to Connor. " Guard her, we'll take care of the rest," he said and got back up. He quickly analyzed the situation. Artemis had taken a corner and she was shooting arrows to either distract or disarm the assassins. Wally was running between them, either taking their swords or distracting them for others to finish the job.
Damian was taking on Zero. Her sole focus was now on him and she wasn't dealing with Wally anymore. Dick analyzed her. She was like a killing machine, her hits were direct and subtle. She wasn't thinking, she was going for it.
Dick had seen Damian fight so many times. He fought like that too when they first met. As time passed, as Bruce taught him, his fighting had changed. He was no longer fighting like the machine he was growing up to be. Except for now. With Zero, Dick could see he had reverted back to his old style.
He couldn't let that happen. Damian had shown significant progress. ' Damian, switch places with me,' he said through the link. Just then Damian's sword clashed with Zero's. ' No, I can take her!' Damian replied.
' DAMIAN!' Dick exclaimed. It was a tone he saw from Bruce, a tone he used to make someone follow his orders. A tone Damian was familiar with as well. ' Ugh, fine!' Damian groaned. As he stepped away Dick swooped into his place.
" Hi, do you mind switching dance partners?" he asked playfully to her. She didn't respond and went for the kill. They sparred for a while and Dick realized something. There was a subtle change to her fighting type. With Damian, she stroke harsh and for the kill. With him, it was different.
Dick couldn't explain it, she was still trying to harm him, but it wasn't for the kill. Her hits were lighter, easier to avoid. Suddenly, Dick felt like they had fought before. Both of them could anticipate the other's move. Which was strange, because this was the first time they were fighting.
" What? No fire for me? I'll be offended," Dick taunted as he pushed her backward. He was trying to see something. This was weird. Zero chuckled. " You have not seen anything, boy," she replied. Her tone was cold. But it was a voice Dick definitely heard before.
She took a step back and sent flames to his way. Dick jumped and barely got out of the flames' way. But even then, that flame was easy to avoid. It went directly to where he was previously standing. She could have easily hit her.
As she started to send flames and fireballs to hit her, he jumped and avoided them. It was like a dance between them. Dick quickly checked on the others. Everyone seemed fine. He focused back on his fight. He saw an opening between her attacks and took it.
He ran to her and disarmed her. He shooed her weapon away. Now, they were fighting with their bodies. And again, this felt oddly familiar. There was a certain assassin touch to her fighting style but that was not all of it.
Dick got her in a headlock. " Stand down," he said. Zero didn't reply, instead, she tripped his leg while simultaneously grabbing his shoulder and threw his body over hers. As Dick fell to the ground he came to a sudden realization. That was a move he did. Often. And taught. He taught to the kids in the Team, Barbara, Jason, Tim, Damian and... Skylar.
He quickly got up and threw a kick toward Zero. Somehow his blood was fired up. He was filled with energy. He felt his feet hit something solid, not a body part, then heard the noise of something falling to the ground.
He took out his escrima sticks, Zero would have grabbed her weapon while Dick was on the ground, and prepared to take action. He got up on his feet as he took out his weapons and looked up to Zero.
As soon as his eyes landed on Zero, now without her mask because his kick made it fall off, that was the sound the heard, Dick froze. Dick Grayson froze for the first time in battle. He quickly closed and opened his eyes to make sure he was not dreaming or hallucinating, that this was real.
Nope, it was real.
" M'gann! Knock her out, NOW!" Dick yelled frantically. Zero's eyes went green, just as whenever M'gann did this, and her body fell to the ground. Dick took a deep breath, his head was dizzy and he was having trouble breathing. He looked around, the rest of the team had taken care of the others.
He fell to his knees, next to Zero's body. This was official, Dick was freaking out.