Dick, Damian, M'gann, Connor, Artemis, and Wally returned to the compound with the unconscious body of Zero. They left the others on the hotel in case someone else decided to attack the diplomat. They were all capable of protecting the diplomat on their own and if things got too out of hand they could always Zeta Tube to the nearest location.
The matter at hand was more serious. No one understood why they brought Zero, normally they'd turn her over to the authorities. Also, Dick was seriously freaking out, no one understood what was happening.
They put Zero in the infirmary room, her hands and legs were cuffed, so if she woke up she wouldn't be able to run away. The others were in the living room. Damian was leaned against the wall. Wally and Artemis were at their feet, watching Dick walk back and forth while looking like a maniac. M'gann was sitting at the couch, since Martians were badly effected by fire, she was still recovering. Connor was sitting by her side.
" Does he always get like this?" Damian asked. He wasn't trying to be sarcastic or rude, well- maybe not entirely, but he was genuinely curious. He had never seen Dick like this. He was always so, collected. The only time he lost his cool was the other day and he had a big finger in him losing it.
Wally walked to Dick and tried to stop him. He didn't stop, kept walking and mumbling things to himself. " Dick!" Wally finally shouted. Dick's head went up. He seemed to get out of a trance. " What?" he snapped. " Dude, what's going on?" Wally asked.
Dick took a deep breath. It was like he was trying to put some pieces together. He looked so vulnerable. His eyes were red. Dick hugged Wally. Wally was just as surprised. He had never seen his best friend like that. If someone were to have a meltdown, Dick would be the last person he'd name.
Suddenly Dick jerked away. " I need to go in there," he muttered and quickly went there. Wally looked at his girlfriend. " What. Just. Happened?" Artemis said. " I don't know babe, I don't know," Wally sighed and walked toward her.
" No, seriously. He's been acting weird for a while now. Something is going on," Connor said and got up. " He's been having a rough couple of days. You know," Wally defended. " But he seemed fine today. He changed once the mask came off, he froze," M'gann said from the couch.
Once Zero was knocked unconscious Dick put the mask back on her face. But when he fell to his knees Wally sped to his side to see if he was injured. And for a split second, he saw her face. Wally took a deep breath.
" Yeah," he mumbled. " The thing is, he never gets like this. We all know this. The only time is when ..." Then, suddenly, everything made sense. He put the pieces together. " FUCK!" Wally gasped loudly, startling everyone. " What?" Damian asked, he was annoyed. " I need to go," Wally mumbled and quickly sped away. Damian sighed. " Great, we lost him too," he mumbled.
" That's it, I'm calling Barbara. She'll deal with him," Artemis said and took out her phone.
Wally walked into the infirmary room. Dick was standing over the bed, looking at her. Her mask was still on. " Dick," Wally let out and went to his side. He grabbed his shoulder and made him turn to face him. " It's her, isn't it?" he asked.
Dick looked at him. He looked sad, in shock, despair. He looked broken. " How?" Dick whispered. " How can it be?" his voice croaked. " I don't know," Wally whispered. He took a deep breath. " One way to know for sure," he said and the two friends shared a look.
Dick faintly nodded his head, understanding what his friend was hinting at and giving permission. Wally slowly took off her mask. They both took a deep breath. Dick looked like he was going to cry.
It was Skylar. Zero was Skylar. Firegirl.
Everyone from the 'old' Team knew what she looked like. Wally first met her at his aunt's wedding. And they had a commemoratory hall in the watchtower for the allies they had lost in battle. Her hologram was there too, of course, it was her hero disguise, but since Wally had met her before, he knew her face. What she looked like. That was her.
" What are we going to do?" Wally asked. Dick shook his head. " I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. I can't think, my brain's stopped. Wally, tell me the truth, my brain isn't playing games with me, is it? Wally, please," Dick rambled. His tone turned into a whisper toward the end.
Wally sighed. "No, it's not playing games, I see it too," he replied. Dick ran his hands through his face. " What will we do? Damian is out there and Bruce. Oh, god. Bruce. What do I tell him?" Dick rambled again.
Wally grabbed him and shook his body. " Dick, Dick! I need you to snap out of this and come to your senses. Okay? We need to focus, buddy. Cmon," he said. Dick looked at him after a while. He closed and opened his eyes a few times.
" Okay, okay. You're right, give me a second to think," he murmured. Wally nodded and took a step back, giving his friend a moment to think. " M'gann, we need M'gann," Dick said and rushed to the door.
" What do you think those doofuses are talking about in there?" Damian said, glaring at the infirmary's direction. " No idea," Artemis replied. " Any news on Barbara?" M'gann asked. " Yeah, she said she'll be here as soon as she can," Artemis said.
Then they heard the door opening. " M'gann!" Dick shouted. She looked at the others and then got up. As they watched her walk away Artemis sat next to Connor. " Seriously, are you getting any of this?" she asked. Connor shook his head.
Damian turned toward the infirmary again. He was now beyond annoyed, he was angry. Something was going on, that was for sure, and it must have been big for Grayson to react in such a way. And he was going to find out what.
" You're not serious, are you?" M'gann asked. Both Wally and Dick shook their heads. " Just check her, please. I need to know," Dick begged. M'gann looked between him and Zero. She couldn't comprehend how this assassin could be Firegirl.
She had too many questions. How was she alive? How did no one else know? Why was she attacking them, wasn't she on their side? But it seemed like neither Dick nor Wally had any answers. She sighed. " Okay, I'll see what I can do," she said and walked to the bed. She sat on the edge of it and put her hands on her head. Her eyes turned green and she dived into her head.
Dick was watching the whole thing anxiously. His heart was beating too fast. This couldn't be real. It just couldn't. After a minute or so M'gann jerked away with a gasp. " So?" Dick asked eagerly.
M'gann turned to her. " Uhm, there's a mental barrier. It has traces of Psimon," she mumbled. Dick groaned. Great. Psimon was in on it too, the whole supervillain club. He was a human with telekinesis and telepathy abilities. He could control minds. " Take it out," Dick said sternly. That must've been it, they were controlling her.
Skylar was too powerful. Even without being a metahuman, she was trained by Batman. She knew how to fight. Plus, she had powers. Fire. There were so many scenarios in which that would be very useful. That explained everything. Just like covering up Damian's death, Ra's and Talia covered up her death too. They wiped her memory and used her.
She sighed. " Dick, I saw what was behind the barrier. You're not going to like it," she said. Dick furrowed his brows. " It's better than her being dead, isn't it?" he exclaimed. M'gann bit her lip. " She died, Dick. She died," M'gann said.
Dick's head snapped toward her. " And?" he asked roughly. Okay, maybe his theory was a bit wrong. So her death wasn't covered up, but she was obviously alive now. " Dick, listen to me carefully. She died. And now she's alive. And we know she was with Ra's Al Ghul and Talia Al Ghul when she did. Can you make the connection yet?"
He gasped. The Lazarus Pit. It granted life to the lifeless body put into it. That was how Ra's managed to survive for so long. But it had side effects, very bad. Many of the people who went in came back delusional. The Pit drove them crazy. Only a few people were able to surpass the repercussions.
" So, his shield is keeping it all in?" Dick asked. " Somewhat. It wasn't put there immediately. I can say that much. Most of what the shield is doing is to surpass her memories, before she was put into the Pit," she explained.
Dick tilted his head. " Okay, this means she was able to fight it off. M'gann, please. Take off the barrier, I need to know," he said. " I don't know. It could be dangerous. If I do it, all of her memories, it will all come back and mix in with the ones after the barrier. It will be hard, she will be very confused. It could potentially drive her insane," M'gann said.
He chewed on his bottom lip. " Is that a guarantee?" he asked. She shook her head. " Nope, just a possibility," she replied. Dick looked between her and M'gann. " Then it's a risk I'm willing to take. Please. Please," he was begging. M'gaan sighed. " Fine," she said and sat back positioning her hands on her head again.
Wally hugged Dick from behind, wanting to show support for his friend as M'gann's eyes went green once again. They silently waited as she did her thing. Something clicked inside Dick. This was it. They were getting her back. He could make up for his horrendous mistake. Their family would be complete.
M'gann's eyes went back to her original color as Skylar gasped awake. M'gann got up from the bed as Skylar fought to break free. She had started crying and screaming in pain, loudly too. " Relax, we're not going to hurt you," M'gann said.
Skylar's eyes went to her. She examined her quickly. " You... You're green. You're a Martian?" she asked. Dick closed his eyes. That was her voice. It was her. " Yes. You might know of my uncle. J'onn. Relax, I am going to uncuff you now. Okay?" M'gann softly said. Skylar nodded.
Skylar sat up in the bed and covered her face with her hands as soon as she was free. M'gann turned around and looked at Wally. " Let's give them some privacy," she mumbled. Wally nodded, he slowly patted Dick's shoulder and then they left.
Dick was alone in the room with Skylar. He was excited and anxious. He didn't know what to say. He coughed awkwardly. Skylar's head shot up. It was like she thought she was alone in the room. Dick slowly took off his mask and looked up, as soon as their eyes locked, Skylar gasped. Her eyes narrowed down as she looked him up and down.
" Dick?" she croaked. He broke out a smile and nodded. " Hey SJ," he said. " Oh my god," Skylar whispered, more tears starting to appear on her face. Dick hugged her and they sat on the bed, hugging each other tightly. They were both crying.
When they broke apart Skylar held Dick's face in her hands. And she smiled. " Look at you," she whispered. " You're all grown up," she continued. He nodded. " Yeah, I am," he replied. " We've got so much to talk about, grandma," Dick said.
They both chuckled at the nickname. " Oh my god, yes," she said. " I just need a minute, to get my head together," Skylar said. Dick nodded. " Of course," he replied. He was so happy. Skylar was alive.
" That's a new suit," Skylar mumbled after a minute. He chuckled. " Yeah, you like it?" he asked. She nodded. It was black but had blue stripes on the shoulders and a bluebird on the chest. " It was inspired by you. I wanted to honor your memory. You were a Ravenclaw, hence the bird and the blue," he softly said. That made Skylar tear up even more once again. " I, of course, have it in red too, because, you know me," he said, " Gryffindor," they both said at the same time and chuckled. Skylar grabbed Dick's hand and squeezed it. " I'm honored," she said.
" Hey sweetie, Artemis called me--" Barbara walked into the room and gasped upon seeing Skylar. " Skylar?" she exclaimed. " Barbara?" Skylar asked in shock. Dick got up and grabbed Barbara's hand. " It's her, it's really her Babs," he said.
Barbara was shocked, she looked between Dick and Skylar. She remembered Skylar vividly. She used to pick her and Dick up from school and drive them to movies or the mall. She'd get her the best presents.
" I can't believe this," Barbara said. " Neither can I," Dick replied. They were holding hands and as soon as Skylar realized she gasped. " Don't tell me, you crazy guys finally made it!" she exclaimed. Barbara blushed meanwhile Dick nodded.
She was shipping them from day one! Skylar got up and hugged both of them. Dick was now taller than her but she and Barbara seemed to be of the same height." You're right, we do have so much to talk about," Skylar mused. All of them smiled.
Nobody realized that Barbara left the door open. Nobody realized there was a shadow behind the door. Nobody realized Damian was not in the living room anymore.
Damian was furious. He had heard the name correctly. Skylar. Her mother's name was Skylar. That explained everything. Why Dick freaked out. His mother was alive and they were hiding it from him. Bruce, he must've been under this. He angrily made his way over to the Wayne Manor to give his father a very angry piece of his mind.
Damian Zeta Tubed into the Batcave. Much to his dismay, his father was there, sitting at his stupid chair before his stupid computer. " How dare you?" he roared. Bruce turned his chair around. He looked slightly surprised but was wearing his usual face. That fueled Damian even more.
" How dare you? You keep lying to me! You told me she was dead! DEAD! This is another of your games, right? To test me! To see if I'm honorable enough, up to your standards before I meet her. You expect me to trust you when you don't even tell me half of the truth? You just give me a bullshit of a speech about her! How can you keep this from me? How can you do all of this and still call yourself my father?"
His words angered Bruce. He didn't know what was going on. But he didn't appreciate Damian's words. He had done nothing wrong, he had been trying. He had been trying ever since he showed up and he had been trying extra hard since he read her letter. He was giving him space, keeping him in the loop. He was trying his goddamn best. What more he could do at the moment?
" Damian--" he started but he interrupted him. " Don't Damian me! Tell me, when were you going to tell me? Huh? When would I be seen worthy of it? Or were you going to keep me in the dark forever? When will you start trusting me?" he continued yelling.
Bruce shot up from his chair. " Damian, what on earth are you talking about?" he exclaimed. Damian furrowed his brows. " Great, you're playing dumb now," he snickered. Bruce sighed. " What do you think I'm keeping from you exactly? I have tried to be nothing but an open book to you. I told you who's dead?" he asked, his stern tone lingering throughout.
Damian sighed. " My mother!" he cried. " My mother is alive and you didn't even tell me! How do you expect me to trust you after you tell me she's dead, give me a whole speech about it meanwhile I'm sure you knew she had been alive all this time! You probably forged the letter too, didn't you? How long did you think you could keep this from me?"
Bruce felt like he just had a bullet to his head. " Your mother?" he muttered in shock. " Stop acting clueless. Grayson and her are having their reunion right now with his girlfriend. So, when were you going to tell me?"
Bruce kneeled next to Damian. " Are you telling the truth? Is she really alive?" he asked. Damian frowned. " What have I been saying for the last minute? Aren't you listening to me? Why are you acting like you have no idea what's going on? Wait, where are you going?"
As he was talking Bruce got up and walked to the Zeta Tube leaving Damian behind. He knew he shouldn't have. He knew he had to stay behind and sort this out with his son. But, but what if it was true? What is she was alive? That outweighed everything right now.
He stepped on the Team's compound. He spotted M'gann first. The other members of the team were around the room. " Is it true?" he asked. " How did you know?" M'gann asked back. " IS. IT. TRUE?" Bruce exclaimed. He was still in his suit, and he used his Batman tone. M'gann didn't answer out loud, just nodded and pointed to the infirmary room.
Bruce was quick on his feet. He made his way over to that room quickly. Funnily enough, it was a small distance. Twenty seconds maximum. But it felt like years as his body went across the room and the door. His heart was beating like it was going to fly out of his chest.
He stopped in front of the door. It wasn't closed, he could hear the noises coming from inside. Then he heard it. Her voice. Her chuckle. Her. His heart skipped a beat. It felt like a lightning struck his brain.
He grabbed the door and pushed it open, stepping inside. He was scared to look. What if it was a game his brain was playing him? What if he looked and didn't see her? What if it was all an illusion? What if this was a beautiful dream?
He took a deep breath and looked up. It felt so long for him to gather the courage but it was actually a matter of seconds. And as soon as he did, his eyes locked with the prettiest shade of green set of eyes he had ever looked in. He breathed out in relief. It was her.
His Skylar.