Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places I use in this story, they are all owned by DC comics. Speeches made to Richard are basically lifted from Bleach so they're not mine. I just edited them.
Note: I will take this opportunity to answer the reviews for the last chapter, cus I'm just nice like that :P
Renee430 – No, Streaky will not be included. And unfortunately I wasn't able to reference him like I said I would. Sorry about that :D
WhimsicalInTheBrainPan – Strange name and you've set your preferences so that I can't pm my response to your review! Hence answering in this format. Why didn't he use it escape from the rubble? Because it is canon that Nightwing can hold up rubble with just human strength and it added drama. Why not when he was escaping? I'm going to go with smoke from the fires clouding his judgement and knowing that it wouldn't actually make him hurt any less. Why didn't he use it instead of the Kryto-sticks? That is illustrated in this chapter very well. Namely because when Superboy hits a stick it doesn't hurt Nightwing. And he needed the two near-death visions to prove to him that it was worth the risk to fight Superboy toe-to-toe with the ring. Hope that answers your review well enough for your liking :D
Main Source of Annoyance – Indeed! I did try and make his near-death experience with Raven's spirit thingy seem like he was giving up something huge.
Ganonfan – No! Hulk does not smash! This is purely DC only. But seriously, no. I will never stop using cliff-hangers! You love me for it really… ;)
Hope you guys (and more) read, love and review this chapter!
Series One Finale – Part Five
Mann Gegen Mann
Nightwing rolled his shoulders casually as Superboy struggled to his feet across the exercise yard from him. The energy was running through him again, making him almost shake with the effort of keeping all of it inside. He began to bounce on the spot lightly as Superboy finally turned to face him,
"You think you can beat me just because you've got a fancy ring?" he roared at Nightwing before launching himself across the yard at him. Nightwing almost shouted out in joy when he moved, the energy forcing him along at speeds normally impossible for regular humans. Superboy's outstretched fist came hurtling towards him, followed closely by the rest of his Kryptonian body. Nightwing quickly lowered himself to the right, causing the fist to sail harmlessly past his cheek. Superboy's eyes widened and Nightwing face split into an insane grin, the energy within him surging forwards with him. In one smooth motion, Nightwing grabbed hold of Superboy's chest and slammed him into the concrete of the exercise yard. The Kryptonian let out a gargled cry as blood flew from his mouth at the impact. A crater formed instantly and Nightwing slammed Superboy's beefy frame into it once again, causing the depression to deepen dramatically. Nightwing smirked as he let go of Conner's shirt,
"You're pathetic Conner. You rely entirely on your powers, leaving yourself wide open for someone who's trained themselves!" he illustrated his point by kicking Superboy savagely in the ribs as he tried to pull himself up to his feet. The Kryptonian was sent flying again, smashing into the ground a few feet from the crater in a groaning heap. Nightwing casually began to walk up out of the crater, "I've had training in over two hundred forms of unarmed combat Conner. You've just always acted on instinct and your incredible powers."
Superboy finally managed to shakily pull himself to his feet and glare at Nightwing as he gasped for breath,
"You won't beat me! You're only human!" he roared, his heat vision shooting towards Nightwing with frightening speed. Nightwing's eyes widened and he twisted to the right to avoid the twin beams of deadly heat. His enhanced speed was not enough however, as one of the beams grazed his left arm, burning a line into side of the flesh. Pain lanced through his body for the first time since he'd put the ring on and it opened the floodgates. His ribs began to ache and creak in agony again and his entire body stiffened as his earlier pain returned in one dose. Nightwing staggered backwards, much to the amazement of Superboy and the other assembled heroes. Superboy was quick to capitalise however, racing over to his foe with surprising speed. Nightwing's eyes widened when Superboy lifted him off the ground by his utility belt and began to spin on the spot. When they were spinning together at an insane speed, Superboy let go of the belt.
Nightwing's unprotected eyes began to water as he was sent flying up into the air at a very uncomfortable speed. He gritted his teeth as he began to slowly fall from the great height he'd been thrown to. The energy ran through him again, washing the pain away for the second time. The insane grin spread across his face again. With a laugh he spread his arms and legs out wide, coming to a complete stop high up in the air. He slowly lowered his arms to his sides and looked down at the shocked onlookers. The energy surged through him again and he laughed,
"I have all your powers Conner!" he shouted down at the baffled Kryptonian. Superboy shook his head once before taking off towards Nightwing with a roaring challenge. Nightwing shuffled a little in mid-air, bouncing from one foot to the other playfully before shooting down towards Superboy at an even greater speed than his opponent. A strange sound caught his attention and he watched as Superboy froze when he broke the sound barrier. Nightwing gritted his teeth and ploughed into Superboy, wrapping his arms around his waist as he continued to fly directly at the ground, with Superboy's body in front of his own.
Superboy's body broke through the concrete ground with the speed that Nightwing was making them both travel at. They separated when a chunk of concrete dislodged Nightwing and both of them continued to travel through the thick layers of concrete and into the main sewer pipe for the prison. Nightwing panicked a little when he found himself submerged in a strange liquid and quickly rose above it, choking for breath. He quickly looked around the dark and derelict sewer line, trying valiantly to ignore the terrible smell. A dark shape lurched out from the shadows towards him and Nightwing acted on instinct, catching the fist thrown at him with his left hand and punching the man in the stomach with his right fist.
Superboy cried out in pain as another of Nightwing's super-powered punches hammered home into his vulnerable stomach. Nightwing's eyes sparkled when he recognised the figure that had attacked him. Carrying through with the punch, Nightwing lifted Superboy off the floor before throwing him back down into the raw sewage. The teenage Kryptonian pulled his head out of the liquid filth to gasp for breath and Nightwing kicked his head back down into the liquid. Again, Superboy raised his head for breath and Nightwing reached down to hold the other teen's head under the surface. Pulling his opponent's head back before he could drown, Nightwing pulled Superboy's body forwards to slam his face through the edge of the sewer's concrete walkway. Superboy slumped again, his breathing heavy.
Nightwing let go of his opponent's head and took a few steps away from him, his entire body shaking with the need to kill the Kryptonian for the death of Jinx and the pain he'd caused Argent. He closed his eyes tight and tried mightily to pull himself back together. He tried to centre himself on the one simple rule he'd set himself.
He would not kill.
When he opened his eyes again he saw the Superboy was slowly rising to his feet again, this time with a very angry expression and blood running down his face. The Kryptonian roared again, launching himself forwards at Nightwing with the same fury as before. Nightwing acted quickly, falling onto his back and bringing his legs up. Superboy's momentum carried him over Nightwing's lying form and over his two raised feet. Nightwing kicked up with both of his legs as hard as he could, sending Superboy up and out of the sewer through the concrete ceiling. He quickly got to his feet again, wiping the worst of the sewage from his body, before flying out of the sewer through the hole that Superboy's exit had created.
Upon resurfacing from the sewer the first thing he noticed was that Superboy was standing across the yard from him. What was strange was that he was holding a large hosepipe that was attached to the guard house for the exercise yard. Nightwing's eyes widened when a large burst of cold water rushed into him, making him take a step back as the high powered stream assaulted him. He raised a hand to block the water hit his face and gritted his teeth against the low temperature of the water.
He blinked, suddenly realising what Superboy's plan was when he felt the water getting dramatically colder. Acting quickly, he spun out of the water stream as Superboy's freeze breath froze it solid. Luckily, only his right elbow had been inside the jet of water when it had frozen and he easily pulled it free. Superboy dropped the hosepipe wearily and Nightwing took a moment to catch his breath, the energy from before having dwindled significantly. Both opponents looked up at each other with powerful glares,
"G-give in Richard…" Superboy called out across the yard. Nightwing turned his head slightly before spitting,
"Never." He declared venomously before pulling himself back into a fighting stance. Superboy sluggishly raised his own fists. Both teens suddenly lurched forwards, charging towards each other with reckless abandonment. When they were both halfway to each other Nightwing kicked off from the ground just enough to start flying towards Superboy instead of running. Superboy's eyes widened at this unexpected turn of events and his stance lowered slightly with his surprise. Nightwing took full advantage of this distraction, slamming into Superboy with his flight ability working overtime. Both teens flew through the air before they both slammed into the stone wall of the exercise yard, Superboy taking all of the damage on his back.
Blood flew from Superboy's mouth, splashing into Nightwing's exposed eyes more by luck than judgement. With the blood distorting his enemy's vision, Superboy started his own flight ability. The effect was that the two began to roll violently through the outer layer of the wall. Concrete buckled and exploded around the two of them as they pushed and pulled each other into the wall over and over again. As Nightwing was rolled into the wall again, a steel pole from the reinforcing metal mesh of the wall exploded out with the latest batch of concrete, the pointed metal finding little resistance in the hero's side.
Nightwing's eyes widened as the rolling came to a stop, his body held in place the steel pole which now stuck through his left kidney. Superboy pulled lightly in an attempt to start the rolling again but the bar only moved further into Nightwing's body, causing him to cry out in pain but otherwise not gaining a reaction. The Kryptonian slowly moved away from the wall, hovering in the air in front of his opponent with a confused expression. Nightwing gritted his teeth, their normally white surface coloured red with his own blood, and attempted to pull himself off the pole. The pole slid out a little before Nightwing's strength gave out and he fell back towards the wall. Unfortunately his dead weight forced the pole through even more and he screamed in pain as the tip of the pole stuck out through his gut.
Superboy began to chuckle at the sight of his enemy impaled on the wall, rivers of blood pouring from his toned stomach down the rest of his body and into a puddle on the ground bellow. His chuckle grew to a full laugh when Nightwing's screamed cut out and the exhausted hero hung his head,
"Your ring seems to have failed you Richard… no Kryptonian would ever be hurt by such a weak piece of metal." He gloated loudly. Supergirl, frozen in shock with the others, shook her head,
"I-it only gives the… user the powers… not the body of a Kryptonian…" she managed to choke out, her eyes fixed on the point where the pole protruded through Nightwing's stomach. Superboy grinned wide,
"So that's why you were so defensive!" he laughed before lightly poking Nightwing in the side, causing the hero to scream in pain again, "You're body is still only human!"
As Superboy began to slowly descend from his position in the air he heard a slick sound of movement above him. He turned and his eyes widened at what he saw. Nightwing was slowly pushing away from the wall, the pole slowly being pulled from his body. With a grunt of mixed agony and exertion, Nightwing pulled himself completely free of the impaling pole. Unfortunately it was the only thing keeping him in the air and he plummeted the ten feet to the ground, landing painfully on his side. The downed hero began to moan in pain, his throat too sore to scream or shout anymore. Superboy landed gracefully, despite his many injuries, a few feet away,
"You really didn't even get anywhere near killing me Nightwing. You really were too weak. Too weak to kill me." His eyes flashed green, "Too weak to stop me."
Nightwing slowly shuffled on the ground until he was on his hands and knees, panting with the exertion and the extra blood loss it had caused. He raised his head in time to see Superboy turn away and begin to walk.
Suddenly the colour drained from his vision and Superboy's movements slowed to a halt in mid-step. Nightwing blinked in confusion, noticing that everything else had stopped moving as well, as if time had stopped moving.
Then he appeared.
Walking in the opposite direction to Superboy, his movements crisp and business-like. Although he was dressed entirely in black, he didn't seem to fit in with the black and white world around him, his own black seemingly much darker than any shade of the colour Nightwing could see. The figure stopped, looming over him ominously,
"You have lost Richard." Batman muttered in a firm tone. The tone itself caused Nightwing's anger to return, even as he lay dying on the ground,
"It can't be over!" he declared, his voice loud but wavering. Batman looked down at him silently for a moment,
"Why do you want to fight Richard?" he asked calmly. Richard blinked in confusion before setting his mind,
"I'm fighting for Raven and my friends!" he declared valiantly. Batman's eyes narrowed and he stared down at Richard with such intensity that it scared the young man,
"Why do you want to fight Richard?" he asked again, louder and with an edge to his voice. Richard frowned,
"I just told you!" he cried desperately. Batman scowled,
"Why do you want to fight?" Batman roared, his patience at an end, "Do you fight to live? Do you live to fight?"
Richard gritted his teeth, his eyes set,
"There's no point in fighting. There's no point in just living…" he threw his head back and roared, "I WANT TO WIN!"
Batman nodded curtly,
"Then I shall take you there."
Richard felt everything go black.
When Richard's vision returned to him he noticed one thing before anything else occurred to him.
He was dressed in his robin costume.
Glancing up he almost jumped out of his skin when he noticed that at the other end of the large warehouse he was standing in, a single chain-gun was set up on a metal tripod. Batman stood behind the machine gun, his eyes cold. Richard looked around at the warehouse for a few seconds before turning to his mentor,
"Where are we? I thought you said you could take me to victory!" he was suddenly angry, so very angry at being taken away from his position of losing a fight. He barely even noticed that he was totally uninjured here. Batman pulled his arm back and flung something at Richard.
Acting out of instinct, Richard leant to the side and caught the object with his right hand. He blinked in confusion as he saw the simple, red, bird-a-rang resting in the palm of his hand. It felt strangely comforting but he looked back up at Batman, who had moved to place his hands on the trigger of the chain-gun,
"You are facing a very fundamental problem Richard…" he pushed a button and the chain-gun's barrels began to spin. Richard's eyes widened and he quickly scrambled away from his earlier position, which was then instantly encompassed in heavy machine gun fire. The gun twirled towards him and Richard ran, he ran until he reached the wall of the warehouse and ran out of distance to put between him and the firing machine gun. Suddenly the fire stopped and Batman took a step back from the weapon,
"There is nothing but fear reflected in your eyes Richard. When you dodge, you are afraid of being killed. When you attack, you are afraid of killing someone. Even when you try to protect someone, you are afraid of letting them die. Your eyes speak to me of absurd fear. What's necessary in a fight isn't fear. Nothing can be born of that. When you dodge, "I won't let them kill me." If you protect someone, "I won't let them die." If you attack, "I will kill them." Well, can't you see the resolve to kill you in my eyes Richard?"
The machine gun suddenly cracked back into life and began to pepper the area around Richard with bullets again. He began to run in a different direction when something inside of him made him stop running.
Why do you run, Richard?
Face forward, Richard.
The enemy is one, you are one.
What is there to fear?
Cast off your fear!
Look forward!
Go forward!
Never stand still.
Retreat and you will age.
Hesitate and you will die.
Now attack and defeat your enemy Richard!
His own mind urged him forward but his instincts were speaking to him, crying out for him to listen to them.
Richard turned to look up at the slowly twirling machine gun, ignoring the path of bullets that was leading straight towards him. His eyes flashed, their deep blue growing lighter for a few seconds. He raised the bird-a-rang,
"When I dodge… I will not die. When I protect… they will not die. And when I attack…" his eyes flashed for an instant as he threw his weapon, "I will kill!"
The chain-gun stopped suddenly.
Batman slowly moved away from the weapon, the bird-a-rang lodged deep in his forhead. He smirked and pulled the weapon out, not a drop of blood to be seen anywhere. He bowed his head slightly,
"Go and win your fight Richard."
Nightwing gasped a little as the world swam back into focus, the colours returning and time began to flow again. Superboy completed his step and Raven finished her anguished cry. He gritted his teeth, the pain returning. With difficulty he clenched his stomach muscles in the way that Batman had taught him to do when stabbed.
The bleeding slowly died down to a small trickle of blood.
Using his concentration to keep himself from bleeding out, Richard used the first plan that came to mind and began to slam his right fist into the ground as hard as he could. The concrete cracked a little, the sound vibrating off every surface in the exercise yard. Superboy turned at the sound, his eyes wide with shock,
"W-what…? You should be dead already!" he cried, suddenly angry at having his victory snatched away from him. Nightwing ignored him, slamming his fist into the concrete even harder. His knuckles cracked and broke but he ignored the pain, slamming his fist straight through the thin layer of concrete. Superboy started to walk towards him, clenching and unclenching his fist, "You just don't get it do you? You've lost Richard! Face it!"
Nightwing looked up at Superboy, his eyes flashing a lighter blue as he stealed his resolve and gathered all of his determination,
"I will… win!" he roared, pulling the electrical cable out of the ground with his right fist. Superboy's eyes had time to widened and he opened his mouth to gasp. Nightwing flew across the distance between the two of them, dragging the sparking end of the mains electricity cable with him by the protective rubber casing. He landed on top of Superboy, bringing the Kryptonian down onto his back with Nightwing kneeling on his chest. Nightwing gritted his teeth harder against the pain of exertion, "When I attack… I will kill you!"
With that declaration of his resolve, Nightwing punched down with the sparking end of the cable, forcing it into Superboy's open mouth.
The concentrated electricity for the entire block of the prison coursed through the cable and into Superboy's body and Nightwing was only able to keep the contact for a few seconds when Superboy's body buckled and twisted due to the effects of the electricity. He pulled the cable back and Superboy slumped to the ground again, not moving.
Nightwing threw the cable away and shakily pulled himself to his feet, standing over Superboy triuphantly as he let his stomach muscles unclench again. His bleeding began again in ernest as he smiled slightly at the worried faces of his friends, Raven, Red X, Batgirl and Supergirl. He opened his mouth to speak when they all suddenly exclaimed in horror. Nightwing frowned at their change in expression before he felt a gentle heat spread through his chest, originating from two places near the centre of his chest. He looked down sluggishly and froze as he saw the twin beams of heat vision travelling from Superboy's angry eyes and through his chest.
The beams cut out and Nightwing staggered away from Superboy, looking down at his chest in confusion. He couldn't understand it. Why was he hot all over? Why couldn't he breathe?
He looked back up at Raven in confusion before looking over at Superboy, who was slowly picking himself back up. Blinking, Nightwing looked down at the twin holes in his chest. They'd started bleeding now and twin streams of the red liquid ran down his body, joining with the stream coming from his stomach wound. A wet feeling on his lower back told him that the beams had gone straight through him. He looked back up at Raven once again, a small, disbelieving, smile in place as he fell to the ground.
Ouch!
Sometimes I hate myself…
Next chapter is the last part of the Series One Finale folks! Everything comes to a head (for about a week anyway :P)!
Next chapter;
Series One Finale, Part Six - Broken