Thanks for the fav!
CLJuliag: Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
QWSDRDRRRDT: Is it wrong if I felt a little threatened by your review? lol, jk. But seriously, I am glad that you think my writing is amazing! And there will be a happy ending for Raven and Nightwing, together, even though it doesn't look like it now. But there will be.
Guest (Feb 3): No, it is not too much to hope for a happy ending.
HazyCloud: Right! Bruce is always messing up things when it comes to people's personal lives. I'm happy that you love this chapter, and ...
Guest (Feb 2): I am not evil nor do I want to kill you with my story. Unless my story is tagged under tragedy, which I hate writing, all my stories have a happy ending...eventually. I just like to take my readers on an emotional roller coaster sometimes. So the fact that you feel that way makes me think that I am doing a good job. This story pairs Raven and Nightwing together. At the end of their journey, they will be together, happily. There will be some more growing pain scenes but the end result will be happiness. I didn't write 50 chapters plus for Raven to end up alone and Nightwing to be together with Starfire. I really, truly like NightRae. So, I hope that you will stick with me all the way to the end.
Mal: I know!
Everyone: Stay safe, be happy, and thanks for reading this far :).
A/N: There is 1 chapter left.
Thank you for reading this far and supporting my story. I know that there some concern that this story won't have a happy ending. I am planning for a happy ending even though it doesn't seem like it. So, stick around for a while longer. You won't be disappointed, or maybe just a little disappointed.
Also, sorry for the grammar.
#JusticeforBreonnaTaylor
#JusticeforElijahMcClain
#JusticeforVanessaGuillan
#InvestigationforGloriaBambo
The Past (7/7): Batman
Bruce sat in the chair in a dirty possible toxic costume. He was listening to Alfred talk with Dick.
He wasn't sure if Dick could hear him but Alfred's soothing voice at least calmed Bruce's nerves as he looked at a dying partner, friend, and son.
Once again, he had arrived too late.
When he had received word that Blüdhaven would be shut down to contain a possible radiation explosion, he went immediately to retrieve Nightwing.
However, it was too late.
The fool had pushed his body beyond its limit, trying to save as many people as possible, ignoring the fact that he was in danger himself while hoping that he would make it out alive.
Dick had done as he was taught. The price of learning that lesson well was his life.
He had been late.
The inhalation of the toxic fume along with a stressed body prevented Dick from recovering even with the help of medication.
Alfred was doing the best he could with the equipment that they had. A hospital would be the best option but even the tiniest of movements sent his heart racing uncontrollably. With Doctor Thompkins out of the country and medical help being allocated to Blüdhaven, he was out of options.
All he could do now was watch Dick die.
It felt surreal to him. Out of all the Robins, his allies, and people that he was close to, he never thought that he would outlive Dick. Yes, he thought that they might have a falling out and even stop all communication between the two of them. However, he never thought that he would see him like this.
He closed his eyes and prayed even though he wasn't a religious person.
"Raven." Bruce opened his eyes at the sound of Dick's weak voice.
"Raven," Dick whispered again. "Raven, what are you doing?" Dick's head moved side to side with a painful expression.
"Raven?" Alfred turned to him with a curious look on his face. "Isn't that his old teammate?"
"It is." Bruce said, standing up and walking closer to him. "She disappeared about two years ago."
After she dropped out of college and moved, Bruce had lost track of her. At the time of her disappearance, he had been occupied with another mission. After the mission, it was impossible to find her again for some odd reason. He didn't look far into it since she had lived her life quietly, and Nightwing and Cyborg always vouched for her character.
"What are you doing?" Dick asked again, causing them to turn to him.
They were surprised when Dick's mouth opened and another voice spoke. "I'm trying to save you. Relax and let me help you," A soft, feminine voice said.
"No. I can sense it; you are hurt." Dick said in his voice. "You need help. Tell me where you are, and I will come and get you."
"You are dying. You can't help me but I can help you."
"Stop!" He yelled as loud as he could in a weak voice. "You are going to die if you continue. "
"Then, I can die happily."
"No! I won't lose you!"
"You don't have a choice."
As Dick continued to argue, the monitor connected to Dick caught his attention. He was getting better.
"My word," Alfred said beside him looking at the monitors as well. "Master Bruce, do you-"
"Face's recognition alert." The computer called out, causing them to turn to it. "Former Teen Titan member, Raven, has been spotted in Gotham."
Bruce moved before he could think. He raced to the Bat plane and jumped in. He started the plane as he collected the coordinates of Raven's location and told Alfred to prepare another med bed. Once they were registered and the plane was ready to go, he took off.
He had installed a face recognition system that would alert him if any superhero active or inactive arrived in Gotham. Usually, when a cape was in town, it wasn't a good thing. This time, however, it was.
Less than eight-minute, he found her at the entrance of an old tunnel that connected Blüdhaven and Gotham. Her appearance was similar to that of Dick: dirty and sweaty. He gathered her in his arms and carried her back to the plane.
On the way back, he thought back on all the conversation that Dick had about his teammate and his time with the Teen Titans. Nothing eluded to the fact that he cared for Raven more than a teammate. Yet-
He grabbed Raven and hopped out of the plane that was now back in the Batcave. He carefully placed her on the empty med bed that Alfred had prepared next to Dick.
They quickly hooked her up to similar machines as Dick and prayed.
Dick had informed him that she had the ability to heal people. Based on the conversation that she was having with Dick, it seems that her abilities come with a price tag. He was hoping that she wasn't as sick as Dick. If they could heal her and she could heal Dick, then maybe they could save both of them.
Maybe.
For three hours, Bruce and Alfred sat in the Batcave watching the monitors that were connected to the old teammates, who now laid silently in the med beds. They watched as the numbers on the monitors exited the range of critical condition and entered a normal range.
Then for an additional hour, they monitored them to make sure that they stay in a stable condition.
"Sir, I think it is safe to say that we are in the safety zone, don't you agree?" Alfred turned to Bruce, who was staring at them with an intense gaze.
"It looks like it."
"How about you go upstairs and take a nice shower, eat supper, and take a nice long rest? I will spend the night here watching over them."
"I will stay here." He couldn't take his eyes off of him. He was afraid that if he did Dick would disappear.
"Master Bruce, if you can't rest, at least take a shower and eat."
Their eyes clashed.
"Fine. Let-"
"I will inform you if there are any changes." Bruce nodded and left.
Less than twenty minutes later, Bruce found an unconscious Alfred laying on the floor and an unknown figure sitting in his chair.
"Who are you?" He snarled. "How did you get here?"
The figure pulled down the hood of a robe. A beautiful, Hispanic woman with green hair was revealed. She smiled.
"You brought me." She said in a melody voice. "You brought me here with her." She nodded to the spot where Raven laid on the bed.
His eyes didn't move from the figure but they shifted slightly to see a dark trail coming off of her. "What are you?"
She chuckled and answered. "Insurance."
"For what?"
"For the end of the world." Her smile widened. "I am one of the seven deadly sins that were created to see that Trigon conquer the world. I am a booster to his precious gem, who is the sin called Pride."
"Why you?" He asked, thinking of a way to neutralize her if she should attack.
"Why me? The real question is why did my mom end up in bed with a demon. The common trait of all the sins is that we were sire by Trigon ... somewhere down the line."
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "There are two ways to become a deadly sin," she explained. "The first is to be born from a union between Trigon and a human woman, like me and Raven. The second is to have the sin transfer to you from a parent like my brothers."
"Where are your brothers?"
"I don't know." She shrugged, still smiling. "I met them once or twice. But I had a hard time getting along with them. Well, people in general."
"You seemed to have gotten along with Raven."
She smirked. "That's different. I'm just carrying out the mission that our father gave us. And I plan to see it through until the end."
"You don't have to. Raven was able to defeat her father and create her own path."
Bruce watched a weird look of hatred pass over her face. "That's because Little-Miss-Raven was lucky. She was born to a mother who was smart enough to run away from the cult that had tricked her. She was raised by the loving monks of Azarath despite knowing what she was. She was even able to become a hero. And, even though she went against what she was born to do and ruin Trigon's plans, she remained his pride and joy. His precious little gem.
"I wasn't so lucky. My life was full of pain and misery. A life fitting of a sin. That was until I gave birth to a beautiful son. He was a good child even though he came from trash." A gentle expression grace her face but the ugly expression appeared again. "And he was taken away from me."
"You blame Raven."
"No. He died because of my choices in life."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Thanks to Raven and Slade, I was able to get my revenge on the one responsible for his death while tainting Raven's soul." She chuckled. "I was actually worried that I was saving it by trying to get her to go to church. "
"Why would a sin go to church?"
"To convert the saints." He was quiet as they stared at each other. "Frightening, isn't it?"
"How did you taint Raven's soul?" He ignored the question.
She chuckled. "The fool should have fully absorbed me when she collected my soul. Instead, she wanted to spend more time with her baby sister. So, she morphed me into an entity that lived inside her mind. She unknowingly gave me the power to control her actions and her thoughts when she is vulnerable. When she is completely emotionally unstable, I can take control of her whole body.
"It is rare that she is, but when she is. I am ready to take over. With every takeover and with every influence, I slowly darken her heart."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I want your help to make Raven's life as miserable as my life was. "
Bruce's eyes narrowed. "And how do you expect me to do that?"
"It is quite simple actually. I did most of the work for you. All you have to do is continue my work. Make sure that Raven remains alone for the rest of her life. The only things that I want her to depend on are the thoughts that I am planting inside of her head."
"You want me to keep her from her friends."
Her smile increased. "No. I want her to be with her friends. The guilt of what she thinks that she had done would eat her alive. She would naturally create a barrier between her and her friends. After all, there is nothing like feeling lonely while surrounded by the people who you love and care for.
"All you have to do is drive home that guilt. The destruction of Blüdhaven is her fault. The reason why your ward is lying on the bed close to his death is her fault. Don't let her take any responsibility for what happens in Blüdhaven. Let the guilt eat her alive until she pushes everything away but me. "
"No. It would only help your cause in bringing your father into this world."
"It will take a few years for me to get Raven to create another portal unless I join forces with my brothers. However, it would only take me a minute to kill your ward like this."
Her hand glowed black. She stuck it inside of her chest where her heart was located. Immediately, a furious beeping sound came from behind him. He didn't have to turn around to know that it was Dick.
"When I was wondering inside my sister's mind, I discovered their bond. Their bond is the reason why she was able to save him, and it will be the reason why I am able to kill him if you decide not to help me. So, I will ask nicely. Will you help me?"
His eyes glared at her as he thought about the different factors before deciding. "Yes."
"Good." She removed her hand and the beeping noise stopped behind him. "I will be watching you from inside of her head."
Raven is dating a cop named Dick Grayson. He's kind of cute.
Batman rubbed the bridge of his nose. The news was unexpected but not surprising.
He always knew since that night in the Batcave that Dick might harbor some feelings for his gothic teammate. While he normally wouldn't care about life, this one was different.
He messaged the person back. Continue to watch her.
He closed the batphone and gave his attention to the Englishman in front of him.
"What do you think?" Constantine questioned while smoking a cigarette.
"I think that it might work."
For years, he had been searching for a way to stop the entity called Mari while trying to save Nightwing's and Raven's lives. He had been unsuccessful until now.
"This required a sacrifice for it to work."
His eyes narrowed. "What kind of sacrifice?"
"Don't get your cape twisted up." He flicked his cigarette bud on the ground and pulled out another one. "This sacrifice doesn't require the flesh and blood kind but something that would make this sin happy enough to remain inside of her while we force Raven to absorb the sin. It doesn't have to be something tangible."
Batman remained quiet as he thought. The only thing that Mari wanted was for Raven to be alone and miserable.
"You also need something that will hold the absorption," Constantine said, breaking into his thoughts. "Think of this spell as the comedy and tragedy masks. The tragedy mask is the sacrifice that will trigger the spell and trap the sin inside of Raven. If you continue to use the tragedy mask the sin's power will grow and break the spell. That's why you need the comedy mask. You need to give Raven something to keep her at peace and prevent the sin's power from growing. But the sacrifice and gift need to be equally strong. "
"That was a horrible analogy." His bat phone beeped. He grabbed it and looked at the photo that was taken unknowingly of Raven and Dick together in the bar. He could see the love and pain in her eyes.
He looked up from the phone and asked the Englishman, "How good are you at manipulating memories?"
"It's like lighting a cigarette for me. But I will have to add a separate spell that can be used to reverse it. Precaution." He shrugged. "You never know what a memory change needs to be restored."
"Hmm. " His phone beeped. This time it was from Alfred. "I have to go. I will contact you when I need you."
"That's the only time that you do."
The Present
Bruce was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of a mug touching the table. He glanced up to see Alfred standing beside him.
"I figure that he would take the other mug." He said, referring to Constantine.
Bruce gave him a small smile before picking up the mug and sipping the coffee. "How is she?"
"Sad. Lonely. She doesn't look it but it feels as if she is miserable. "
Bruce nodded, putting the mug down. "She's pregnant."
"My word. Master Richard-"
"Can't know, Alfred." Their eyes clashed. "You think that I am wrong."
"Master Richard would disagree with you. You are aware of how he felt about Mary. I doubt that he would be thrilled about not being part of another child's life. "
Bruce still remembered the raw pain in Dick's voice when he had told him and Alfred about Mary over the phone. He agreed with Alfred; Dick wouldn't be excited about it. However, he would still be alive.
"At least, let the boy know," Alfred said.
"Do you think that he would stop at knowing?" The thought had crossed his mind as well, but it was too much of a risk. Dick would begin with watching her from far until he would start to move closer and closer.
"No... no, he wouldn't."
"I'm doing what is best."
"Sometimes, sir, your best is your worst."
Bruce didn't reply because he agreed.
"I will go and check on Ms. Roth. She shouldn't have to suffer this much in her condition." He said, grabbing Bruce's mug that still had coffee in it. "I expect that something else would be keeping you up tonight."
Bruce didn't argue with the butler. His decision would weigh heavily on his conscience for many nights.
And one day in the future, when he found out the mistake that he made, it would weigh on his heart.
