“He's here?!”
“Who's here Dick?” Raven asked, coming to stand by the boy's side.
“Wally.”
Raven tensed at the name and Robin...er, NightWing could feel anger rippling off her body.
“What are you going to do?” he whispered.
They looked at each other and NightWing (who I'm just going to call Dick from here on out) read the cold brutality in her eyes.
“Kill him.”
Raven moved towards the door s Dick's eyes widened.
“What?!” he hissed, grabbing her wrist.
Raven turned to face him, ignoring the knock that sounded at the door.
“You heard me Dick. There is no way that I'm letting that Son of a-”
“Raven don't!”
“Why the heck not?! He hurt you Dick! He practically ripped your heart out! I was so scared you were going to die when you first came here! I will not let that-that-that cold prince of Hell hurt you anymore!”
“But if you kill him you'll be the one hurting me!”
Raven paused. She studied Dick's face and narrowed her eyes. She carefully removed her arm from his grasp as another knock sounded. She sighed heavily.
“Alright; the boy demon will live.”
Raven embraced the hug that she received before heading to the door.
“Make yourself scarce.”
Raven waited for a third knock before opening the door. Wally stared, surprised to find, not a girl, but a hero in the front entrance.
“What?” Raven asked.
“Uhhh...”
“Do you ave something to say?”
“Uhhh...”
“Goodbye.”
Raven started to close the door but Wally put his foot in the doorjamb.
“Wait! I need to speak to Rachel Roth.”
Raven swung the door open enough to look at him.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“The name's Wally West. May I speak to Rachel please?”
“No. She isn't home.”
“What do you mean she isn't home?!”
“She left on a trip with a friend of hers a couple weeks ago.”
“What friend?”
“Raven haired boy, bright blue eyes, gymnast. Nothing much.”
“And who are you?”
“Santa Claus! Who do I look like?!”
“Uhhh...”
“Shut up! I watch the house while Rachel's away.”
“Do you know when she'll be back?”
“She did say something about coming home around Christmas...”
“She'll be gone for three months?!?!”
“Maybe more.”
Raven looked past Wally, narrowing her eyes.
“How'd you get here?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“I see no car, taxi's don't come out this way, and this place is quite far from the city. How'd you get here?”
Wally opened his mouth and closed it several times.
“I-uh-A friend-uh-”
Raven smirked.
“Beat it speedster. Rachel's not here and neither is her friend. Now go before I personally remove you from the property.”
“Do you know a boy named Dick Grayson?”
Raven froze from shutting the door.
“Everybody knows him. Why?”
“He's the boy I need to talk to.”
“He a thief or does he owe you something?”
“Truthfully, I'm the one who owes him something.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Wally was silent as he stared at the ground for several long minutes. He looked back up at Raven who was staring at him still.
“Um, if Rachel calls, will you ask her to give Dick a message?”
“What message?”
“I'm sorry and I was an idiot to let him go.”
Raven's eyes widened and her jaw dropped but she quickly regained her composure.
“I'll be sure to give him the message.”
She looked Wally up and down before a small smile appeared on her lips.
“Besides haven't you ever heard that old saying? 'If you love someone, let them go. If they come back, they were meant to be your's forever'? That also applies to little bird's Wally West.”
Raven closed the door and watched Wally run away from the window close by. She entered her meditation room to find Dick crying there. She knelt down by where he lay and arms wrapped around her waist tightly.
“You heard?” she whispered.
Dick nodded his head, sniffling as he turned to cry into Raven's lap. She stroked his hair soothingly and whispered her meditation spell. It wax relaxing and worked like magic on the former Boy Wonder. He moved around, loosening his grasp and pulling his knees to his chest.
“What are you doing here Dick?”
Dick looked up at Raven with his blue eyes filled with inquiring.
“Why are you still here when you heard his apology? Why aren't you running after him, rushing back to the mountain? Why are you still by my side even after what he said? You're only hurting yourself. And me too. So why?”
“They weren't the words I wanted to hear.”




Wally slammed his head on the table of his uncle's house.
“Still no Robin?”
Wally shook his head at his uncle's question.
“I found out where Rachel lives but she wasn't there. She went away and Robin went with her.”
“Wally. You're an idiot.”
“What?!”
“Robin is smart enough to know that, if he were to go anywhere by plane, boat, or car that Batman could find him. He never left that house and I bet Rachel was never really gone.”
Barry waited a minute before he felt the rush of a fast-moving speedster. A smile worked on his lips.
“God, Buddha, Ra, and every other powerful deity up there, please let Wally pull this off just once!”