Prologue
"Proud and defiant, we'll slay the giants. Let us seize the day." - Newsies
To say that Nightwing wasn't feeling the aster was an understatement. Severe understatement.
This was his fault, all of it. This entire mess; the detainment center, the army of anti-heroes hunting them down, along with the death of multiple leaguers. He should have lead them better. Should have intervened before it was too late. But he didn't. The Atom, Plastic Man, and Scott Alan were dead, all because he couldn't control his team.
Nightwing's accomplice in the downfall of the heroes, G. Gordon Godfrey, stood in the doorway of the room he was hidden in. Nightwing was perched on the ceiling, ready to drop down and attack the men waiting for him. He would even kill them if it meant survival.
"Oh little Nightwing!" Godfrey called in a mock sing-song voice, his words echoing through the room. "Come out, come out, where ever you are!"
Nightwing gave no response. He held his breath and watched as the men started advancing into the room, holding guns at the ready. "You can't hide forever, kid," Godfrey said. "We've got the whole building surrounded."
"Why worry about me?" Nightwing asked, moving quickly when a rain of bullets was fired at him. "There are so many others out there with powers. According to you, they could be using their powers to do awful things to the world, so why worry about the gymnast?"
"You're their leader, are you not?" Godfrey asked. "You lead the team of sidekicks for how many years?" Nightwing didn't respond. "How do you think they'll feel when they see their precious leader fall? The first sidekick, the son of Batman, taken down by men with guns."
"Well your time is wasted here," Nightwing said, again moving as bullets were fired in his direction. "I was trained by the best. If I want to leave right now, I can. I'm just giving you guys a chance to catch me."
"Look around you, circus boy! My men are guarding all of the windows, the door is blocked! There's no way you'll get out of here, so just give it up."
"How long have you known?"
Godfrey snickered, "Your identity? It wasn't hard to put it together once we got the Batman. Bruce Wayne, but I'm guessing you already know that, Richard. Tell me, boy. How high do you think we are right now? Maybe five, six stories up? What would happen if you didn't have any of your toys, and someone were to, say, shove you out one of these windows?"
"I checked the building before I came in," Nightwing said, moving yet again. "I know plenty of ways to escape. If I were to jump out a window, I know of three different ways that I could land safely on the ground and still be able to get up and run, one of those involves having my hands tied. But why don't you tell me, Godfrey," he moved again. "Why do all of this? How many times did I lead my team into battle to save the earth? Well, there was the Injustice League, for starters. My good friend Kid Flash saved the Princess Perdita and put Count Vertigo behind bars. We saved the day again when the sorcerers divided the worlds of adults and children. So why, after all these years, after all the times we put our lives on the line, you have us hunted like wild animals?"
Godfrey growled, "Do you ever shut up?" He questioned.
"What can I say?" Nightwing responded. "I'm chatty; it's part of my charm."
Nightwing went to move again as bullets began to hit the area around him, only to be greeted by a shooting pain in his leg, followed by one in his shoulder. He made to grab a pipe, but lost his grip and plummeted down to Godfrey's waiting men, all aiming their guns at him.
"You lose, Grayson," Godfrey said as his men lifted Nightwing and held his arms back. Godfrey ripped the mask off of Nightwing's face to be greeted by a bat-glare. "Bruce did the same thing. Apparently you two are more alike than you'd like to admit."
"No, Godfrey," Nightwing said with a smile. "You lose."
Several bombs went off, strategically placed on the ceiling and corners of the floor, deep within the shadows. The men immediately let go of Nightwing, who hobbled to the window and jumped out, grabbing onto a flagpole partway down, twirling around it, then landed, knees slightly bent. His left leg gave out from underneath him, and he hobbled into the closest alley.
"Did you get him?" a voice asked from behind him.
Nightwing turned and saw the young Virgil Hawkins standing behind him, holding up his hand with lightning illuminating their faces.
"I think so," Nightwing said. "But now it only gets harder."