HEYY Y'ALL (^^) sorry this took so long for me to write but I've been super busy- but anyway this is the chapter to This Idea-
Please tell me if you like it or not Genuinely- bc I love critiques n stuff just anything to help me improve. Also I plan on making a Master list soon-
-> Master list/Next part
Chapter one- The mission
No one said it out loud at first.
That was how it always went—silence first, then distance, then blame. The Batcave felt colder than usual, the lights too bright against the concrete walls as the team filtered in one by one. Armor was scuffed, capes torn, expressions tight with frustration and exhaustion.
The mission had failed-
Not catastrophically. Not in a way that made headlines or cost lives. But it failed in the way Batman hated most—loose ends, unanswered questions, a target that slipped through their fingers.
And somehow, all of it seemed to circle back to you.
You stood near the edge of the cave, arms wrapped around yourself, listening as the conversation unfolded without you. Bruce’s voice was calm but clipped. Jason scoffed, pacing. Dick rubbed his temples like he was trying to stave off a headache. Tim was quiet—too quiet—eyes glued to the Batcomputer.
“She was supposed to cover the east exit,” Jason said, not looking at you.
“I did,” you replied automatically. Your voice sounded smaller than you meant it to.
Jason turned then, sharp eyes narrowing. “Then how did he get away?"
The question hung in the air, heavy and accusatory.
You opened your mouth, then closed it again. You replayed the moment in your head for the hundredth time—the way the signal cut out, the split-second decision you made to help Dick when his comm went dead, the way everything unraveled after that. You had done what you thought was right.
But explanations felt useless when no one asked for them.
Bruce finally looked at you. His expression wasn’t angry. That somehow made it worse.
“We’ll debrief later,” he said. “For now, everyone stand down.”
That was it. No reassurance. No acknowledgment that things had gone wrong across the board, not just on your end. The others began to disperse, conversation shifting, tension easing as the focus moved away from the mission—and from you.
You stayed where you were-
No one told you good job. No one checked if you were hurt.
Later became tomorrow. Tomorrow became next week.
You started noticing it in the little things. Training sessions scheduled without you. Conversations that stopped when you entered the room. Missions you watched from the cave instead of joining. When you did ask, the answers were vague.
“Not this time.”
“Next run, maybe.”
"We’ve got it handled.”
At first, you told yourself you were overthinking it. Everyone was busy. The mission had shaken them. Things would go back to normal.
They didn’t.
Days passed. Then weeks. The space you occupied in the manor grew smaller, quieter, until it felt like you were already halfway gone. You ate alone more often than not. Alfred still smiled at you, still asked if you wanted tea, but even that kindness felt fragile—like proof that someone noticed you were slipping through the cracks.
You wondered how easy it would be to disappear completely.
The thought scared you-
And yet, one night, after overhearing Jason joke about “dead weight” and Dick fell uncharacteristically silent, you packed a small bag and stood in your room, staring at the walls like they might stop you.
No alarms went off when you left-
No one came after you.
Years later, the Batfamily would struggle to remember exactly when you vanished—only that, somehow, it happened quietly.
And that was the most painful part of all.
-> Next part
