I do not own characters owned by DC Comics.
Going in, Nightwing had no idea that tonight would be his last normal mission for a while. But, such is the life for a crime-fighting superhero.
He sat on top of a fire escape in the pouring rain. He was on the border of Bludhaven and Gotham. Below him was an empty parking lot. Any minute now, he expected to be seeing some action.
He sat back and scratched the underside of his suit. After a few years of fighting and hand-washing, his suit was getting uncomfortable. He considered asking Bruce to make a new one for him. As soon as he had the thought, he shook it from his mind. He could almost imagine his mentor smiling, seeing Dick come crawling back to him for a costume. The whole point of him striking out on his own was to prove that he didn't need Batman to babysit him anymore, and that maybe one day he would be even better than Bruce.
Nightwing was so lost in thought, he didn't notice the cars until they were already parked. There were two of them, one and unmarked police van, and the other was a navy Rolls Royce.
Nightwing watched as two officers exited their van and walked around to the back. From the other car emerged a man that Nightwing knew all too well. Oswald Cobblepot. The Penguin.
The fat overgrown toddler walked over to the van. He started speaking to the officers in a hushed tone. Nightwing didn't care much about what he was saying, because he already knew what was in the van. There was only one business that the Penguin ever usually dealt with: guns.
One of the officers opened the back doors of the van. Sure enough, inside there was a rack of police issued assault rifles, straight from GCPD no doubt.
Nightwing stood up. He had seen all he needed. Now it was time to act.
He leapt from the fire escape and landed on the roof of the van. All three men below him were startled, taking a step back.
Pointing at the cops, Nightwing asked, "Shouldn't you two be, oh I don't know, actually catching bad guys? You know, that work that all the citizens of the city pay you to do?"
One of the cops drew his sidearm. Nightwing rolled off the van as a shot went past him. He launched a kick into one cop's chest and sent him flying to the ground. The other cop swung at him. Nightwing ducked and gave him an uppercut to the jaw.
The vigilante then turned, and was blindsided by a cane to the face. He stumbled and went to all fours as the Penguin strolled up to him.
"Hey little birdie. Long time no see," Cobblepot sneered as he took out a revolver. "The Bat isn't here to save you know."
The Penguin aimed his gun at Nightwing, but he never got the chance to use it. Nightwing vaulted up and threw his escrima sticks at him, knocking the gun from his hand. He then punched Cobblepot in the face, and the ganglord crumpled to the ground.
"Hands above your head!" Nightwing turned again to see the first cop, a few yards away, with his gun drawn and pointed at his chest. He racked his brain quickly, and he actually couldn't come up with a way to take this guy down without getting shot. He slowly raised his hands in the air.
The cop smiled, realizing he had won. He started to walk towards Nightwing.
And was promptly hit by a red Volkswagen Beetle.
The cop flew across the parking lot, unconscious before he hit the ground. The car looked fine, as if it was made to hit guys. Nightwing kept his hands in the air, unsure of what was going on.
Then the passenger side window rolled down, and Tim Drake poked his head out.
"Dick, get in the car!" He shouted.
"Tim, what the hell are you doing here?" Dick shouted back.
"Clearly saving your ass. Now we gotta go!"
"Hold on a second. Where did you get this car."
Tim paused, then slowly said, "I stole it."
"Like hell you were able to steal a car."
"Well… I had some help."
Dick suddenly knew before he even saw it. "Oh no…"
Jason Todd poked his head around Tim's. "Get in the car, Grayson."
"There is no way I am getting in that car with you."
"Look, I don't like our situation anymore than you. But this is serious, trust me."
"Trust you? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?"
Suddenly, they all heard sirens off in the distance. "Dick, please," Tim begged. "I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't important, I swear."
Nightwing sighed. He was better off going with these two than having to deal with the cops. He walked over and got in the beetle.
As Jason drove off, Dick asked, "If your little problem is so important, why are you telling us and not Batman?"
Jason scoffed, and Tim turned to face him.
"Haven't you heard?" He said. "Bruce is missing."
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