CONSTANTS

Me: Here's a sweeter version of Darkest, with a more caring Wally and a bit of brotherly love from Conner!

Disclaimer: Yeah, they need this to recover from Outspoken.

Me: Actually, I need this to recover from Outspoken. That story physically hurt to write.

Disclaimer: Just as painful to read. Also Omni owns nothing.

Me: Oh I wish. If I did, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE CANCELLED IT IN THE FIRST PLACE, AND IT WOULD BE BACK BY NOW!

POV: Conner

Though I wouldn't admit it, I kept stealing glances at Dick as I dragged Wolf through the frigid water. He didn't look good at all, still limp and unconscious in Mal's arms. He had blood on the side of his head, probably from the wound on his temple.

"He gonna be okay?" I inquired worriedly.

Mal pursed his lip before nodding shakily.

"Yeah, I think so. But we need to get him somewhere warm. He's freezing," he answered.

He wasn't wrong, I decided. I was cold too. Despite it being the end of March, Happy Harbor still hadn't gotten the memo to warm up. That, and it was the middle of the night and we were in the god damned ocean.

We both made it to shore soon enough, and Wolf began to stir. I helped him stand and he shook water from his fur. He whined and licked my cheek, making me smile solemnly.

"I'm alright boy," I assured him.

When Mal handed Dick over to me, I treaded carefully, as if he were a porcelain doll. He'd grown since our days as a team. Now, he was my boss. Go figure. Back then, he'd been short and skinny, but still strong and agile for his age. I'd carried most of our team before, including Dick. He used to be so small in my arms, and now he was pretty heavy and even taller than me. I still blame that on the "no aging" thing. He was nineteen now, making him legally an adult. But in terms of mental age, I'm older than him. I'm technically twenty-one. He's always been the youngest, the little brother I guess.

I always fondly look back on our first couple years together. We'd all been so happy and carefree. Then Dick and Zatanna broke up, he quit for a year before returning as Nightwing, and she joined the League. He didn't return to the team, but he stuck around and we often saw him on missions. He even had a thing with Raquel. Not long after, he introduced us to Jason. No matter how much we'd changed, he hadn't. Dick had been the constant, our rock even if he wasn't there.

Until that night.

Dick stumbled into the Cave, drunk off his ass and sobbing like a baby. There, he'd told us Jason died just hours before in some warehouse in Gotham City. Then, he promptly collapsed against Wally and the speedster soothed him as he cried himself to sleep.

That was the year we found out who the Bat Family really were.

We didn't see him for months after the funeral. Artemis and Wally, who had just graduated from high school, retired and moved to California. When we did see him again, he wasn't a train wreck like we thought he'd be. He was frosty and all business. It was weird. For a while I didn't think I'd ever see him smile again. Bruce was the same.

And then Tim showed up. It was the best thing I could have asked for to help them. He and Barbara were thick as thieves, still are, and Dick started smiling again. He laughed.

This was before Tula died and Kaldur betrayed us. Jason was actually the first hologram in the memorial hall.

The destroyed memorial hall.

When Dick heard he'd turned on us, he'd taken up his rightful place as our leader. Shortly after, Garfield had come around. Then Jaime. So much had happened so fast. But the mountain had remained my only real constant, when even M'gann and I split, through all these years.

Until tonight, when our best friend had blown it up.

Former best friend anyway.

When I snapped out of my stupor, I realized Mal was on the coms calling for a med-evac. I was focused on something else, though. Something a lot more important to me than protocol. I first ran my hands along Dick's chest, checking for broken ribs, repeating with his arms and legs. When I was confident nothing was broken, I gently cleaned the wound on his forehead to get a better look at it. He also had blood trickling from the edge of his lips, and his face was slack.

"Dick? Can you hear me?" I tried.

Nothing.

I firmly pushed my knuckles into his sternum and he groaned. I sighed in relief, accepting that the head injury was probably just a concussion and a split lip.

"They're gonna zeta you three to the Hall of Justice," Mal told me, to which I nodded.

Not long after, I found myself in the middle of the library, where I laid him out on the couch. He was now semi-conscious, but he was in some distress.

"Easy Dick, easy," I soothed as he flailed his hands, weakly batting mine away.

I swore under my breath. Wolf whined and nosed Dick's shoulder gently. Why did Batman have to be off world? That, and I had no idea where to find Tim and Barbara, and they were the only ones I knew of that Dick accepted comfort from.

Well, them and…

I stood and snatched Dick's cellphone from one of his pockets.

I dialed the number I knew by heart.

'Dick? Now's not really a good time—'

"Wally, it's Conner. I need your help."

POV: Wally

"Dick? Now's not really a good time—"

'Wally, it's Conner. I need your help.'

My heart dropped.

"Conner? What's up? Why are you on Dick's cellphone?" I inquired.

'Because Dick's not awake enough to call you? I need you at the Hall, he's hurt and he won't let me touch him.'

My stomach flipped.

"Hurt? How bad? What happened?" I asked quickly.

'Kaldur and his goons got into the Cave somehow. They took Gar, Bart, and Jaime, then blew the whole Mountain sky high. Dick and I barely got out in time. But he's got a concussion and he's pretty out of it and like I said, he won't let me help him. I don't know where Tim and Babs are, and since Bruce is off world you were the first thing I thought of. I—hey, easy there! Hang on…'

I try to avoid panicking as I hear Dick's yelp, then retching.

'He's pretty nauseous too. And freezing, that might be another problem but he's not letting me near enough to do anything productive. I'd like to avoid restraints or sedatives since I don't know how bad the concussion is and—'

"Conner, calm down. I'll be there in a flash," I promised.

Barry's rubbing off on me too much.

I hang up and take off running. For once, I'm too nervous to enjoy the exhilaration that comes with running at my top speed. As fast as I am, it still takes me about half an hour to reach the hall. It is a coast to coast run after all. I hardly noticed the boom and rush of air as I pushed past the speed of sound.

I skidded to a stop in front of the Hall.

Recognized, Kid Flash. B0-3.

I saw Conner struggling to get a bandage on Dick's head. I swiftly joined him, grabbing Dick's wrists.

He tried to yank them out of my grip, but I caught them again.

"Hey Dickie-bird, quit your whining before I tell Babs how much of a scaredy-cat you are," I warned soothingly.

His mask was torn a little, so I took it off. Dulled, half-lidded blue eyes met my gaze.

"W-W'lly?" he mumbled, brow furrowing.

"Right here, Dick," I assured him.

"Hur's," he whimpered.

"I know, and Conner's trying to help. I want you to calm down and let him," I ordered.

"Kay," he breathed, finally settling.

Conner looked at me in disbelief. "How?"

I shrugged. "People skills?" I scratched Wolf's ear, who had begun nosing me with a wagging tail.

He began tending to his wound again with a roll of the eyes and a snort, and for good measure I continuously smoothed back his hair to keep him calm. With my other hand, I clutched his tightly.

Sure, I'd probably yell at him later for letting this happen. But at the moment, I'm just glad he's okay enough to yell at.

POV: Conner

I watched in awe as Wally soothed his friend quietly. I was observing a rare, tender moment between the two. Exchanges like these were hard to come by since Wally left. Now, I witnessed my theory that they weren't as close anymore wither. The two would always be brothers, no matter how much they fought.

Turns out I do still have a constant after all.

A/N

Disclaimer: N'aww…

Me: It hurts that he's dead though…

Disclaimer: On the bright side, it's coming back for Season 3 so there is a chance they'll bring him back from the speed force.

Me: ^_^

-SWGJOC227