Disclaimer – Own nothing.
To missmartian369 – Thanks for your review! Yeah, Dick's very hardheaded. I hope you like this chapter!
To Seraphim 0 – Thanks for your review! Ooo, that sounds cool! You'll have to let me know when you post it! Hope you like this chapter!
To Asilla – Thanks for your review! Hope you like this chapter!
AN – Okay everyone, this is the last chapter with fight scenes. After this, it's over. I hope you guys are able to get through it. I'm also putting up a warning because near the end, there is a somewhat graphic death scene. I don't think it's too bad, but it's definitely a reason why this story is rated T. If it makes you guys uncomfortable at all, you can skip this chapter as the events that happened in it will be summarized in the next chapter. Chapter title and quote at the beginning of the chapter is from the song Everything Burns by Ben Moody ft Anastacia. And make sure you all read the note at the end for a special announcement. Hope you guys like this chapter!
Enjoy!
"'Till everything burns, while everyone screams, burning their lies, burning my dreams, all of this hate, and all of this pain, I'll burn it all down, as my anger reigns, 'till everything burns" – Everything Burns, Ben Moody ft Anastacia
Nightwing was the second team member to arrive in Gotham via zeta-tube. Aqualad, as the leader of the Team went first as was custom, though Nightwing suspected it was also because if they let him go first, then he'd run off without the rest of them. They were probably right about that.
When the others heard what Dick, Roy, Wally and Barbara agreed on, they immediately argued against it. Batman and Superman had both ordered them all to stay in the Watchtower with Dick. They were a lot harder to convince than the others were, even when Dick told them that he was mostly healed. Eventually, after a lot of arguing and a little bit of yelling, they began to realize that nothing they tried would keep Dick out of Gotham and out of the fight. And that, mixed with their own desire to help the League fight the Court of Owls, made them finally agree to suit up and go to Gotham.
Looking at the city he grew up in, Dick felt his blood boil in his veins. The place looked like a warzone. There was visible damage on the building, probably accidentally caused by the League as they were fighting the Talons, and there were the distance sounds of screaming and fighting. The only thing really missing was people running like crazy and the sound of gunfire. Luckily, there was neither. At least, not around them. He always thought it was a little weird that the Talons used swords when guns were more effective, but right now, he was glad for that. It lowered the chance of an innocent civilian getting caught in the crossfire.
"Whoa." Impulse exclaimed, looking at all the damage the fight had done to their surroundings. As everyone else arrived, they all had the same expressions on their faces as the youngest speedster did.
"Remember what I told you about the Talons, and how to stop them?" Nightwing asked the group. There was no way he was going to let them go and fight the Talons if they forgot or weren't listening to what you told him. When they all nodded, he said, "Okay, then let's do this. If any of you need help, you call for it immediately."
With that being said, everyone instantly headed out in the direction where the action was taking place. Dick didn't move though, in spite of the fact that he knew he should be. As he watched the young heroes, the guilt that had been there the second they got involved, grew and mixed with fear that seemed to weigh him down. He knew they were strong, capable fighters, and he told them that the best way to incapacitate them was to freeze them. Wally actually quickly rushed to Central City to get one of Captain Cold's cold guns that the police still had in evidence, which he figured would come in handy. The others then quickly decided to try and either stick near Wally, or Conner as the clone could use his ice breath to freeze people. As much as it somewhat sounded like a solid plan, Dick knew there was still a chance they could get hurt, or worse, and if they did, he'd never forgive himself.
"You okay?" Batgirl asked, coming to stand beside him.
"I really wish they weren't here. They shouldn't be a part of this." Nightwing told her, staring at the disappearing figures of the Team as they rushed out into the city.
"They wanted to come. It's their choice." Batgirl reminded him. She knew it was useless though because Dick always blamed himself whenever something bad happened, and he would do the same if anything happened to the Team.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" She couldn't help but ask as she looked Dick over. He was still really pale and though he was moving okay, he looked like the smallest breeze would knock him over. She was really beginning to regret letting him come to Gotham.
"I'm fine. Let's go." Nightwing responded and without giving her a chance to object, he took after the others.
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It didn't take long for the Team to find the fight or to join in. Despite knowing what they were walking into, they weren't expecting this. Even Batgirl, who had fought the Court before, had no idea they had so many Talons. They were soon spread out, fighting one on one with the enemies of Gotham. Robin and Batgirl however, remained near the League, and Batman. They knew that the League was aware of their presence the second they showed up, but it wasn't until Superman froze the majority of the Talons and the others were defeated by the heroes that Batman looked at his proteges, clearly not happy to see them at all.
"What are you all doing here?" Batman demanded, his voice calm yet furious which would've had Batgirl shaking in her boots if she hadn't gotten used to it over the years.
"Nightwing found out what was going on. He was going to try to come alone, so we decided to come help." Robin explained.
Batman's eyes immediately narrowed at her as he asked, "Is Nightwing here?"
When Batgirl and Robin didn't say anything, Batman shouted, "You were supposed to keep him safe!"
"You want to try telling him to do something when people he cares about are fighting a war against people who are after him?" Batgirl asked. Batman couldn't say anything to that. He knew that Dick was extremely stubborn. When he stayed quiet, Batgirl added, "He would've come without us and you know it."
Knowing there wasn't anything he could say or do about it now, Batman said, "We'll deal with this later. For now, let's just get this over with."
Neither Batgirl or Robin argued with that.
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Nightwing did his best and fought well against the Talons, but anyone who was paying close attention could tell that he was struggling to hold his own. This was the first Talon he was fighting tonight and he already felt like he was about to pass out from exhaustion. Maybe his friends were right about him not being ready for a fight. Luckily though, he managed to deliver a hard blow to the assassin's head that knocked him out. He then kicked him in the chest which sent him tumbling off the two-story building they were on and into the river below. That should take care of him, for a while at least. He then climbed down the fire escape to the street to look for the others.
"I must admit," A voice said the second he hit the ground. Dick immediately spun around and found a Talon walking towards him as he continued, "I didn't expect you to recover this fast."
"I would've thought you'd have learned to not underestimate me by now." Dick told him, holding his escrima sticks up, ready to fight. Though the Talon hadn't removed his mask, he recognized his voice. William Cobb.
"And I would've thought you'd learn and accept the truth about where you belong." Cobb replied, still walking towards him. He stopped though when he was about 10 feet away from him.
"That will never happen." Dick insisted. He had told this to his great-grandfather so many times and he still seemed to think that he could change his mind. He was clearly insane, and delusional.
"Then I have to kill you." Cobb told him, sounding extremely disappointed.
"Go ahead and try." Dick dared him, giving him a confident smirk even though he was seriously beginning to question if this was a good idea. He had no idea if he could beat Cobb, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try.
He wasn't in the best shape, he knew that. He also had a very clear memory of the last time he fought Cobb. He only won because he got lucky. Dick doubted he'd get that lucky a second time. Then again, he might not need it. After all, he was trained by Batman, one of the best fighters in the world, and by the Justice League and by Deathstroke. While he didn't like using the mercenary's fighting moves, he would if he needed to. And he even learned a bit from the Court itself. As he charged against the Talon, Dick let everything he knew take over.
In all honesty, Dick had very little memory of the fight against his ancestor. Every move he made, every attack he blocked, it was all on instinct. He didn't need to know how to move, his body already knew. Everything he was taught by everyone he knew just took him over. The next thing that he was really aware of, was that he was holding Cobb's sword in his right hand instead of his escrima stick. His other stick was still in his left hand but he had no idea where the other one went. And lying on the street in front of him with gashes in both of his arms and both of his legs that were almost deep enough to completely sever them from his body was William Cobb, without his helmet.
"It's over Cobb." Nightwing told the figure lying injured and unarmed on the ground. Though he looked to be like he was no longer a threat, he kept the sword and his remaining escrima stick pointed at him. He knew not to underestimate his great-grandfather.
"You are aware, if you do this, word about Richard Grayson's connection to the Court will get out." Cobb replied, struggling to get into a sitting position. He couldn't do much of that though with his limbs nearly cut off, despite his healing abilities.
Dick almost froze when he heard that. He had never thought about what could happen if his connection to the Court became known. Now that he was thinking about it, he started to hesitate. If it was made public, the police would probably bring him in for questioning, he'd probably never be a cop again as they would assume that he was in league with the Court, especially if they said he was. And the people of Gotham would turn on him. While he was fairly liked by most people, there were still some who thought he was nothing more than a dirty thief from the circus who should've died with his parents, that he was nothing more than a charity case. He was already so afraid of how his friends would react to the news, he wasn't sure if he could handle the whole world finding out. And if they revealed that Richard Grayson was Nightwing, that Bruce Wayne was Batman, they'd all be ruined.
But as he stared into William Cobb's face, he knew that in the end, it didn't matter. Whatever happened, they'd deal with it. They couldn't just let the Court go free.
"I don't care." Dick told him. Leaning closer to Cobb, he said, "You, and every other member of the Court will be brought to justice for all of your crimes."
"No, I won't." Cobb declared, then pulled something out of his belt, something that looked like a detonator. Dick instinctively took a step back as Cobb continued, "After what happened last time, I made sure I will never be a prisoner again. And if you insist on taking me prisoner, then you have no one to blame but yourself for this."
Before Dick could react in any way, Cobb pushed the button. The veins in his head started to turn a bright yellow and Dick quickly realized what was going on. He closed his eyes, just seconds before he heard a muffled bang, followed by a splat. Wet, warm and sticky drops of what he knew to be blood hit him in the face. Slowly, he opened his eyes, just in time to see Cobb's headless body fall to the ground.
Dick felt himself sink to his knees, staring at the body. A part of him felt relieved. It was over now, with his great-grandfather at least. There was no way he could heal from that. And yet, a part of him felt guilt, like a type of grief. He knew that the Court was evil, that his ancestor was evil and needed to be stopped but watching his own relative kill himself because he refused to be taken prisoner was, horrifying. Then he realized, that it couldn't end any other way. If he was a prisoner, he'd eventually escape like he had last time. The only way he'd stop was if he died. And even though it was by his own hands, Dick felt guilt because he forced him to do it.
Suddenly, as he continued staring at the dead Talon, feeling like he wasn't really there, like he wasn't connected to his own body, he felt an overwhelming desire to go home. He didn't want to be here anymore. He didn't want to be dealing with any of this anymore. He just wanted to go home where he was safe, go to sleep and pretend that this was all just a bad dream.
"Nightwing!" Dick heard Bruce shouting out. He didn't move though, not even when he felt a hand suddenly fall onto his shoulder and Bruce's voice right in his ear asking, "Nightwing, are you alright?"
"Dick? Dick, look at me." That got his attention. Bruce hardly ever called him by his real name when they were in the uniform. Dick turned his head to face him and saw that Batman was on his knees beside him. Once he was looking at him, Batman repeated his earlier question.
"Are you alright?" Dick nodded, but apparently something was seriously wrong with his response because he could see the small, almost invisible changes in the exposed part of Batman's face. He looked worried.
"Yeah. Can we go home now?" Dick asked quietly. All of his energy was completely gone. He was so tired. He just wanted to go to bed. He just wanted to go home and finally feel safe.
He must've really looked pitiful or something because Batman suddenly wrapped his arms around him, pulled him close and said, "Yeah, we can go home."
AN – So, some stuff happened this week, which actually turned out to be a good thing for you guys. Or at least, I hope you guys will think it's a good thing. I have gotten a lot of time for writing for this story, so I will now be posting TWO chapters a week instead of just one. Updates will now be on Mondays and Fridays. See you guys in a couple of days!