WARNING!!... If you are a comic book geek like myself then you will notice that within this fanfic there are some creative liberties taken. Don't worry I've made the characters as close to their personalities as possible, but, I'm using the version of each character that I like the best. For instance you will notice that I refer to Alan Scott as the Sentinel (which he hasn't been referred to as since the 90's).
This is only the first chapter of this story. I hope you'll stay with me to the end. God Bless.
Disclaimer:I do not own any of the characters in this fanfic, I only wrote the story.
And please also note that when I use italics it is generally to show that the character is only thinking, not speaking.
The sun peaked slowly over the horizon as Dick Grayson got up from his bed.
What a night. I think every thug in New York decided to take a night on the town.
He made his way to the bathroom, already dreading the sight he knew he was about to see, but to his surprise, his bruises were minimal at best.
I thought I was going to be bruised to hell. Well, I guess I did better than I thought.
He picked up his toothbrush, squeezed on some toothpaste, and started brushing. Just as he spit the last bit out of his mouth, he heard a knock at the door.
Who could that be, it's just after six a.m.? he thought to himself as he made his way to the living room of his apartment.
He looked through the peephole to see who was rude enough to show up on his doorstep at six a.m. uninvited. To his surprise it was Jason Todd, former Robin, former Red Hood, former homicidal maniac, Dick wasn't so sure that last one wasn't still true. He opened the door and Jason walked right in.
"Please, come in!" Dick said sarcastically.
"I don't have time for pleasantries Dick."
"With you around, Todd, nothing is ever 'pleasant'."
"Look, I don't have time to argue with you, I need your help."
Dick's eyes widened. "I didn't think anything short of the world coming to an end would make you ask for my help."
"That's just it, Dick." Jason said, reaching into his pocket. "If we don't do something, the world will come to an end."
From his pocket, he produced a small disc. "This will explain everything." He said, handing over the disc. "I've got some more work to do. I'll be back at noon."
"I don't remember inviting you this time, Jason."
"We don't have time for this now, just check the disc!"
"Alright ,Jason, I can see you're genuinely distressed, so I'll look into it."
"Thanks, Dick." Jason said, turning towards the door.
Dick closed the door as Jason made his way out.
"Well, let's see what you're hiding." he said, looking at the disc.
Upon uploading it to his computer, he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary at first. Just some schematics for a new building going up in Westchester, then, clicking on another file, he saw what Jason had been talking about. Somehow Lexcorp had stumbled upon the existence of another world, and they were creating a portal that would take them there. Also, he noticed a large amount of weapons purchases within the last year.
So, they've been at this for over a year now. he thought.
In the weapon log, he found purchases of everything from simple handguns to missiles large enough to level a city.
They're planning to conquer this other world!
According to the files, the portal was nearing completion, and within the next month, would be finished. That, of course, depended on how up-to-date this information was. He copied all the files to his computer and attached them to a secure e-mail. About five minutes later the phone rang. He didn't bother to look at the caller I.D. before answering, he already knew who was on the other line.
"What do you think Bruce?" he asked quickly
"You know what I think Dick. Something has to be done. We don't know what resides in that world, for all we know it could be worse than Darkseid."
"Well, what are we going to do?"
"When Jason gets back at noon, you two are coming here. Don't be late." he heard a click as Bruce cut the communication.
Still, I can't help but wonder... What the hell has Jason dragged me into? he thought, gathering his equipment together. He had a feeling it was going to be a long trip.
Everyone sat, waiting anxiously around the table in the Batcave, all was silent, save for the occasional flap of batwings in the air. Nightwing, now dressed in his costume was scanning all of the faces at the table. Selena Kyle, also known as Catwoman, sat only a couple of chairs down from him, in her purple cat-suit, with the mask pulled back behind her head.
Well, I guess since pretty much everyone at this table knows each-other there's no reason to hide. Still, I think I'll keep my mask on for now. he thought, continuing his analysis of the rag-tag group assembled at the table.
He made note of Jason Todd, sitting to his immediate left, then, next to Jason, he noticed Helena Bertinelli, The Huntress.
Oh great, ripping my heart out wasn't enough, now she's back.
Then, even further down, was Kyle Rayner and Connor Hawke, Green Lantern and Green Arrow. And on the other side of the table were, Cassandra Cain, her Batgirl mask pulled behind her head, Black Canary, sitting silently with her arms crossed, and finally, Alan Scott, former Green Lantern, now known as the Sentinel.
Well, that makes ten of us all together. Nice round number, but I wonder why Bruce thinks we'll need so many.
"Ok I'm getting really bored now, Bats." Green Lantern said, leaning back in his chair. "Why did you call us here?"
Batman gave him a stern glare, causing him to sit up strait. Nightwing couldn't help but crack a smile. Green Lantern, a guy who could level mountains with that ring of his, practically shaking in his boots when Batman (a man with no superpowers) so much as stared at him. It was hilarious.
It didn't take long for Batman to speak up.
"I called you all here because we have a genuine crisis on our hands. Upon further analysis of the information Nightwing sent me, I've made a discovery."
"Which would be?" Helena asked, tapping her fingers on the table, obviously bored.
"Don't interrupt me again." he growled, then, his voice regained its normal tone."In our universe there exist at least 52 unique worlds, each one like a fingerprint, no two are the same. But they each have one thing in common; they each have multiple wavelengths, again all of them unique, except one; there's one barely noticeable wavelength that remains constant. According to these files, Lexcorp has found another of these worlds, or at least that's what I thought at first."
Nightwing looked over at Black Canary, whose jaw looked like it was about to fall off, then realized that his mouth was hanging open as well. He closed his mouth and returned his attention to Batman.
"After taking a closer look and running some tests I've found out that not only have they found another world, but one with a wavelength that's completely alien." The Huntress, Catwoman, and Green Arrow all started to laugh. Sentinel stood up, surrounded by a green glow, and spoke in a voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"This is no laughing matter! If Lexcorp succeeds in opening this portal, who knows what could be on the other side. And not only that, but if Luthor were to make allies in that world then he would be unstoppable in this world."
All at once the voice faded and the laughter ceased. Nightwing stood up and placed his fists on the table, placing most of his weight on it.
"So what's the plan, Batman?"
"We fight our way through Lexcorp's secret base and shut them down."
"What, that's it? Care to elaborate on that a bit?"
"I'll explain on the way. This meeting is over, grab your gear and board the jet!"
And with that, everyone stood up, grabbed their bags, and moved toward the jet without hesitation.
Once on-board the jet, everyone began talking amongst themselves. Black Canary was laughing at something Huntress whispered in her ear.
No doubt they're laughing at me. Nightwing thought, turning his back to them.
"Hello Nightwing." Batgirl said, placing a hand on his shoulder, turning him around.
"It's been awhile Cassandra. How have you been?"
"Pretty good I guess, considering all that's happened lately."
"Yea, sorry I had to knock you out. I'm just glad you're on our side again."
He shot her his trademark, award winning smile. She couldn't help but smile back.
"You know, I'll bet that smile drives the girls crazy."
"It gets the job done." he chuckled. "Well, I'd better go talk with Bruce, see if I can pick his brain a little bit."
"Ok, see you later."
He made his way to the back of the jet, managing to barely avoid slipping on the fake vomit someone had left in the floor as a joke.
Very funny, Rayner. he thought.
When he got to the last room on the jet, he closed the door behind him, leaving him alone with Batman, sitting behind a desk. Just as he was about to speak, Batman interrupted.
"Before you say anything, Dick, I didn't tell you about the other universe because I didn't know until, literally, minutes before your arrival."
Nightwing managed to stifle an expression of shock.
Damn, how does he do that?
"Dick, you know you're the person I trust the most on this 'team' of ours, which is why I withheld key information at the meeting."
"What information is that, Bruce?"
"There was a hidden file on the disc. I would've missed it if I hadn't gone back to double check everything."
"I had Oracle do a scan for me and she couldn't find anything!"
"She didn't look hard enough. The point is, the hidden file contained video footage of the other world."
"So?"
"So, I found something you might want to see, Dick."
Batman got up from his seat and escorted Nightwing to the computer on the other side of the room and inserted a small disc into the drive. After a brief load-time, the video began to play. It was a video of a group of super-powered beings standing against a man in an iron suit with a green cape and hood.
"These are the heroes of that universe." Batman said, turning his attention to Nightwing.
"Well, maybe if worse comes to worst, they can help us close off the portal."
"That's assuming they don't want to expand their influence. You and I know the importance of maintaining the natural order of things, but they may not feel the same way. I was only able to find out a few of their names, and those only because I heard their friends call them that during a fight, but, with what I've gathered, I managed to scrape together an assessment of their powers and fighting styles. I want you to study them very closely." he handed Nightwing a disc containing the attributes of the other worlds 'heroes'.
"If it comes to blows between us and 'them', shouldn't the others know a little something about them?"
"With what little bit I've scraped together, you're the only one who can come up with a decent battle plan. Dick, you'll be my second-in-command on this one."
Nightwing could feel his jaw drop, but, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't do anything about it.
"O-Ok, who are you and what have you done with the real Batman?" he said jokingly.
"This is no time for joking Dick!" Batman returned. "We've never faced another team of 'heroes' quite like these, we have no way of knowing what to expect. I want you to be ready for anything." he paused for a moment before finishing. "Dick, there's a chance some of us may not make it back."
Nightwing's eyes felt like they were about to pop out of his head.
In all the years I've known him, YEARS, he's never said anything like that. I mean we always know the threat is there, but he never thought it serious enough to make the statement!
Suddenly he realized that he had spaced out. With a quick blink he was back to reality.
He looked down to see that Batman had returned his attention to the monitor, obviously trying to end the conversation.
Oh no, If he thinks he's going to get out of this one that easily, he's got another thing coming!
"You're not going to avoid this one, Bruce!"
"We'll talk about this later."
"We'll talk about this now!" Nightwing yelled, slamming his fist on the desk. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Bruce, stop trying to protect me!"
"There are some things I can't even tell you, Dick."
"You know Bruce, that line worked great when I was eight years old, but in case you haven't noticed…"
"I'm fully aware that you're a grown man now, but even so, there are some things you just aren't ready to deal with."
Nightwing could feel his face getting hot.
"I see how it is. You're afraid Bruce. Everyone thinks the big, bad Batman isn't afraid of anything, well they're wrong. You're too much of a coward to let anyone get close to you, afraid you'll be hurt. You've always taken the coward's way out, even with me, your own son!"
"Dick I…"
"I know, I know. I'm not you're real son, but just the same I always looked up to you like a father! I never doubted for once that you loved me and wanted what was best for me, but you were too damn scared to show it! I only wanted you to treat me like the adopted son I was. I guess I was asking too much. You'll never change, will you? You'll never let anyone get close because you don't want to get hurt or deal with the pain of, maybe, hurting someone else."
Suddenly Nightwing became aware that he was holding Batman by the collar. He immediately let go.
"Bruce I'm… sorry…I"
"Forget it. Go study those files. I'll see you when we touch ground."
He left the room, leaving Nightwing alone.
