Chapter 28: Perfect Timing
The police began surrounding Star, weapons raised towards her, helicopters flying above and flashing their bright lights at us, I was in a fighting stance and her arms were glowing bright green
"You have a fighting spirit, I'll give you that much, Tamaranean" I replied, holding my whip by my side
"We Tamaraneans are natural born fighters"
I took my time to give her a brief once-over, as I looked at her, I no longer saw the happy-go-lucky, innocent, and playful girl Dick had once fallen in love with when he was with the Teen Titans, I only saw a crazy, psychotic, obsessed alien girl hell-bent on making my family's life a living hell
"Do you know what I see when I look at you, Catwoman?" Star asked, making me break my thought process
I raised an eyebrow and decided to humor her
"What do you see?" I asked, trying not to roll my eyes in annoyance
"I see a girl trapped trying much too hard to live up to her mother's reputation, I'm quite glad that the original Catwoman isn't around anymore, she would be quite disappointed to see how much of a failure her daughter turned out to be"
"You fuc-"
"The original Catwoman would be damned proud to see how far her daughter has gone"
I turned to face Red Hood standing behind me, holding a very weak Nightwing, I silently whispered something to him and he nodded in understanding before I turned back to Star
"You want to bring my mother into this, that's quite low, even for someone like you, but then again, at least my mother wasn't a whore"
Starfire's eyes went wide as saucers
"Oh, you thought I wouldn't know? Sweetie, you forget my father is The World's Greatest Detective, everything he knows, I know as well, sure my knowledge isn't as well extended as his, but I know a few things here and there" I said, enjoying the death glare she was giving me
"Why do you think Blackfire has so much hatred towards you? Because you remind her of the woman who destroyed her father's heart, every time she looked at you, she had to be reminded of the woman responsible for the death of her father, so out of fear that Blackfire would assassinate you, Galfore had you sent here to Earth so you'd be protected from her, and Wildfire-"
"ENOUGH!" barked Starfire as she began shooting starbolts
"I have her right where I want her" I thought as I blocked her bolts, police began shooting but I called them off
"Cease fire!" I shouted, and all the cops began lowering their guns
"This is between me and the alien, stand down" I ordered
I faced her and extended my whip, activating the spikes at the tip
"No more talking, fight me, Catwoman!"
"With pleasure" I then jumped up and swung my whip, trying to get her attention, Star then attempted to land a flying punch at me, but I grabbed her arm before the hit was made and swung her down into the ground, making her eat dirt
I stepped away, making sure I had some distance between us, she quickly recovered from her dizzy haze and as she locked her sight on me, she flew and tackled me into the ground, making me unable to have time to move out of the way
I used my legs to try and kick free, but she had straddled me, making my legs unavailable
So I then did the only thing I could think of, I grabbed her arm and bit, hard
She screeched in pain, grabbing me by the leg and swinging me into the nearest tree
"Catwoman!" I could hear Red Hood's voice, but my vision was slowly getting blurry, I couldn't see him
Through my pain, I shook it off and managed to get back up, only to have Starfire kick me in the gut, making me double over in pain
"I am going to enjoy ripping you apart, Catwoman" seethed Star as she pinned me against a tree
I felt blood flowing down my lips, and I used it to spit at Star's face
"Insolent witch" spat Starfire as she slapped me hard across the face
"What angers you more, Starfire, that I managed to win the heart of your former flame or that everyone sees you for what you truly are, a crazy psychotic bitch?" I breathed, smiling at her through all the pain that was racking my body
Which earned me another blow, this time the hit was aimed at my ribs
I held back the tears that were threatening to fall, I would not let this girl have the satisfaction of seeing me cry in front of her
I couldn't get a hit on this girl, it was as if she was reading my mind and seeing my moves before I ever made them, I was beginning to feel woozy and I could hardly see anything in front of me
Starfire then grabbed me by the arm and twisted it behind me, I think I even heard a bone snap
"Come on, Catwoman, fight back, you've wanted to get your hands on me for a long time now, I'm right here, hit me with your best shot" taunted Star
I grinned a crimson smile at her, then I aimed a kick at her blind spot and managed to get her down, I then used my whip to strike her multiple times, the spikes inflicting as much damage as possible
I grabbed a handful of her hair and slammed her head against the ground, at this point in time, I had let the anger running through my body control my actions, the sane and logical side of me had vanished and was replaced with a bloodthirsty monster
"Be careful what you wish for, alien bitch, you just might get it" I whispered, landing a kick to her face
When I lifted Starfire's head, her eyes turned neon green, then I backed away quickly so I could avoid her star bolts
"I will not go down so easily"
"Bring it on, then" I smirked
Starfire then flew towards me and grabbed me by the neck, lifting me up
"I want to see if the old saying is true, do cats really land on their feet?" sneered Star as she flew up until we were close to the helicopters flying around us
She then took her off her choke hold on me then had me dangling from my apparently broken arm
"Come on, Cat, don't give up, kick Starfire's ass!" I smiled as I heard Damian shouting for me
"That boy, he is such a nuisance" scoffed Star
As Star had me dangling in mid-air, I discreetly took my comm device out of my utility belt pocket and dialed Jason's number. Making sure she didn't see me
When I heard his voice say "Avery?" all I whispered to him was "Now" and shut off the signal
Starfire then grabbed a chunk of my hair and began to attack me mid-air when I heard a loud 'BANG!' and I felt Star's hands let go of my hair, I managed to see Star's stomach covered in blood, I then felt myself falling down, I closed my eyes, expecting for me to hit the ground, and in those brief moments, I saw my entire life flash before my eyes, from the moment I arrived on Wayne Manor and the night I made love to Dick, from the moment I kissed Jason a few hours ago
I let a few tears escape, this is not how I wanted to die at all
I closed my eyes as I saw the ground getting close, but instead I was met with a pair of strong, masculine arms
"Open your eyes, honey, I'm here for you" said a voice, my heart soared when I heard Dick's glorious voice reach my ears
"Nightwing?" I opened my eyes and I saw a battered and bruised Nightwing smiling down at me
"Hey"
I then kissed him long and hard, gave him a kiss and threw my arms around him, crying
A few moments later, all the guys surrounded us
"Catwoman, thank goodness you're alright" Damian replied
"The shot wasn't fatal, but it got the job done, the cops are sending her to the hospital, as soon as she is discharged, she will be sent back to Arkham under strict security, it wasn't easy for me to do, but I don't regret it" Jason replied, a grim look on his face
"Red Hood, thank you" I whispered, grabbing tightly onto Nightwing's neck
"I'm just glad you're okay, that's all that matters" said Jason as he gave a brief smile
"Let's go home, I'll call Dr. Thompkins and have her look at your injuries" said Nightwing as he lifted me in his arms and made his way to Tim's jet
"Hey, Dick, could you let me down a bit, I wanna talk to you for a bit" Dick then gently let me stand on my feet
"What's up?"
"I've had a long time to think about this, even before this whole situation with Kori happened, but Dick, let's do it! Let's have a baby, I want to have your children, I want to have a family with you"
"Whoa, Avery, what's going on, you said so yourself that you weren't ready to hang up the cape, and I wasn't ready to hang up my suit either, I think you're just having a near-death experience and-"
"Dick, I've never been more certain of this, I may not be able to go back to the field, but I can still be able to help you from the inside with dad's help"
"Are you sure about this? This is a lot to think about" said Dick, still uncertain
"This whole experience made me realize that life is short, I don't wanna keep thinking 'what if' everytime I see a child or a happy couple, I know that this is taking a huge risk and our careers may be on the line, but I want to do this for you, you said you've always wanted to be a dad, so let's do it"
Nightwing then threw his arms around me
"Thank you so much"
"I love you, I'd do anything for you"
"But let's do this when you get all healed up"
"Yeah, sure" we then made our way to the jet, hand in hand
"Man, Jason had perfect timing in shooting Star, he got her good"
"Yeah, I'm just hoping this situation with her blows over soon, I just wanna put this all in the past and move on with my life" I said, putting my head on his shoulder
Dick noticed me limping and then placed me on his back
"You're in no condition to walk, I'll give you a piggy-back ride to the jet"
"I sure know how to pick 'em" I teased
"I love you, Avery"
"I love you too, Richard John Grayson, with all my heart"
When we arrived at the cave, Dr. Leslie Thompkins was already there waiting for me with Alfred and my dad
"Come on honey, let's get you fixed up" said Leslie as she gently placed me in the medical bed
"Can you and dad stay with me, Dick, please?"
"Of course" said Dick as he and Dad joined me in the medical bay, before the doctor could examine me, she had my suit taken off, and gave me a pair of my sweats and a gray shirt
Once I was changed into my regular clothes, the doctor looked me over, she felt around for any serious injuries, and I would flinch in pain as she probed my arm, my leg and the area around my ribs
"Well, you have a few broken ribs, a broken leg and a broken arm, that alien girl did quite a number on you" said Dr. Thompkins
"Don't remind me, Doc" I said, trying to block out the memories of our fight
"You're gonna be out of action for a bit, a month almost, but knowing you, you'll probably be kicking ass in no time"
"I'll be right back, I'm gonna get a sling for your arm and a leg cast"
As Dr. Thompkins stepped out, I looked at my dad and Dick
"I'm so proud of you, Avery, you fought until the end" said Dad as he ruffled my hair
"Thanks Daddy, that means a lot" I replied
"And thank you for taking care of her, Dick, I'm thankful for all of you"
"Don't mention it, Bruce, I love your daughter, I wanna make her happy"
A few moments later, Dr. Thompkins arrived and began placing the leg cast on my right leg and a cast on my left leg
"Now, try not to move around a lot, if you still have the wheelchair, I highly suggest you use it"
I groaned, I hated that dumb thing
"Your ribs didn't suffer anything serious, just bruising, so try not to strain yourself, other than that, I left your dad with some meds, if you have any questions, you know where to call me" said Dr. Thompkins as she patted my head and then turned to leave
"Thank you again, Leslie" I muttered
As Leslie left, Dick had gone upstairs to take a quick shower and change, while dad stayed behind to look after me
I was talking to my dad for a moment when Jason appeared with Roy
"Dad, can we please talk to Avery in private?" asked Jasouron
Dad then smiled at him then gave me a kiss on my forehead and left
As soon as my dad was out of sight, Jason walked up to me
"Hey, how are you?" he asked
"I'll be out of commission for a month, tops" I told him
"That sucks, I just wanted to apologize about what happened earlier, before the fight with Star"
I hummed in response, not wanting to remember that part of the night
"I'd like to leave that under 'things I'd rather forget'" I told him, placing an arm around my stomach
"Jason can be such an idiot sometimes" said Roy, smiling at his best friend
"Thanks for the help, asshole" Jason snapped
I laughed a bit "We both did something we both regret and-"
"I know, you'd like to keep it in the past, I get it" Jason replied
"Just, please, Avery don't shut me out, I wanna be a part of every single one of your lives, Dick's, yours and Damian's, Tim's and Roy's, I may have fucked up, but damn it, don't ignore me for another five years"
"Jason, you are my brother, I would never do that to you, above all else, you are my family, including Roy, don't think for a minute that we are gonna shut you out just because of something stupid we both did"
"Thank you"
"Don't mention it, Jaybird" I grinned
"Are we having a family moment without me?" I turned to see Dick walking into the medical bay with his pj's and a black shirt
"Hey, babe, come on, join the party" I said, as I motioned for Dick to come join us
"Dick, can I tell them the news?" I asked, giving him my puppy-dog eyes, he just laughed and nodded in response
"Jason, Roy, we wanted to let you two be the first to know, that Dick and I have decided that we are going to try and have a baby!"
"Wait, what?" asked Roy
"We talked about this and we thought that even though we are still young, we still wanna do this, we want to have children" I told them
Jason and Roy smiled and congratulated us, I was glad that Jason was sincere in his well wishes towards us, I just hoped that one day, I could move on and make a new life for me, Dick and our child
"I still need to fully recover from my injuries to be able to conceive, so as soon as the month goes by, me and Dick will be going at it like animals"
"Gross, Avery, no need for the visual images" joked Roy
"Shut up, Harper" I laughed, smacking him on the arm playfully
"So you wanna stay in the medical bay or go up to your room?" asked Dick
"I want to go to my room, this bed is uncomfortable"
"Let's get going, guys" said Dick as he gently lifted me up and began to carry me to my room
Jason and Roy bid us goodnight and went to their respective rooms, and Dick took the elevator to take us to the second floor of the Manor to reach my bedroom
"Will you stay with me tonight?" I asked him as I began to feel sleepy
"Of course"
"Thank you, not just for staying with me, but for catching me earlier, I thought I was gonna die"
"Avery, I'll always be there to catch you when you fall, you should know that by now"
"I know, but it's nice to be reminded every once in a while" I smiled, placing my small hands against his chest
We finally reached my room and he gently laid me on my bed, pulling the covers over me, he then laid next to me, his arms gently placed around my waist, making me feel safe
And as sleep overcame me, I whispered a final 'I love you' before I completely blacked out
A/N: So, there is the new chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it
Here's the thing, I finally got a job, but my boss is very picky about which days I have off, so depending on the days I have off, I will be able to post a new chapter on that day, and it also depends how tired I am and if I even have it in me to write a new chapter, but I will keep on writing, so don't worry, I want to thank all the wonderful people who reviewed my last chapter, it means a lot :)
Read & Review, Please :D 3
