Hey Everyone! So I know Its been almost a year since I updated this story and I'm really sorry about that. Life kind of got in the way for a little there, but I'm gonna do my best to get this story back on track! New chapters are gonna be posted for this one every week, so hopefully I can catch up a little.

Before we get started, A few side notes:

1.) This chapter is solely a flashback one so as to fill in some of the gaps and explain what happened during this "crisis"

2.) There are several characters in this chapter, and the story in general, who haven't made it into the Young Justice Cartoon, but appear in DC Universe. Heres a quick cheatsheet for those who need it:

The Question (Vic Sage): a vigilante who uncovers the truth

Captain Boomerang (Digger Harkness): a villain who, you guessed it, throws boomerangs

Dr. Mid-nite (Pieter Cross):a meta-human physician with the ability to see in the dark

Bronze Tiger: One of the DC universes deadliest fighters

The Cyclone (Maxine Hunkel): Granddaughter of the original Red Tornado

Hopefully we'll see some of these guys in season 3 now that we got the show back!

3. Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice. If I did, lord knows Wally West would still be with us

Ok, now that all thats out of the way, enjoy the chapter!


Metropolis [August 10, 2019, 22:05]

"Don't let her die. You can't let her die."

Nightwing was speaking to Dr. Mid-nite and Wonder Woman, but he couldn't take his eyes of the sight of the paramedics taking Batgirl away into an -nite put his hand on Nightwing's shoulder."She'll get the best care in the Watchtower medical bay. Once she's stable, I'll perform the procedure on her myself." Nightwing could hear the words Mid-nite was saying, but his mind couldn't process them. All his brain could seem to manage was to shift his gaze from Batgirl to Lagoon Boy, who was being put into a body bag and carted away by medics.

He's dead he thought.

Because I was too slow. If he died then...He looked up at Mid-nite, Begging him with every fiber of his being. "Pieter…please don't let her die." The only comfort Mid-nite could offer was small nod before disappearing into the night. Nightwing watched him before seeing a bright light and fire in the sky. A boom tubes. That meant more para demons form Apocalypse. Wonder Woman looked up and looked at him quickly "Dick…" "Go Diana. I can manage. Just get the bastards." Wonder woman nodded and with a speed that could rival the flash himself, she drew her sword and flew off into the night.

Nightwing pressed his back against an alley wall. He still hadn't recovered from his fight with Death stroke, and he wasn't even sure how much help he would be in a fight right now. He shook it off, and observed the battle field before him. Across the street his eyes widened as He saw Captain Boomerang land a boomerang in The Question's back. Instinct took over and Nightwing dashed towards the two. Boomerang simply stood there gloating over his apparent victory, grabbing the Question and preparing to finish him off.

"Don't worry mate." He flashed a grin as he reached for a razor boomerang. "This'll only hurt a lot."

He was so caught up in his triumph that he didn't even register Nightwings escrima stick hit his hand at first. Before he could react, Nightwing slammed his fist into his jaw, knocking him to curb and dropping Question to the ground.

"Glad you crawled out of a shot glass to join this fight, Harkness." Nightwing looked down at the Question who was pulling the Boomerang from his back shoulder. "You okay Sage?" He asked, Offering the him a hand.

He merely shrugged it off. "Just a Scratch. Help the others."

As Nightwing left him, he almost turned back and told him to be more specific. Everyone needed help. And he was just a guy with a few gadgets and a bad leg. An explosion blew in front of him and he was lifted off his feet. His ears rang louder than a church bell, as the smoke consumed his lungs and engulfed his vision. For a deadly moment, Nightwing was in a trance. He could barely hear and see the other heroes fighting in and only returned back to reality when Maxine Hunkel ran into him. They both tumbled over again, and Nightwing felt weight on his bad leg.

"Nightwing! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" She panted. Nigtwing rose to his feet and helped her up, studying her for a moment. She was gasping for air, her fingers gripped to her head and her eyes laced with anxiety. Panic attack. "I… don't know what to do. My grandma never told something like this could… could…"

Another explosion blew past them and Nightwing grabbed Maxine and they both rolled over behind a parked car. The fire raged on and the smoke made seeing anything almost pointless, but Nightwing could still hear the deafening roar of war. The sound of heroes fighting. The sound of heroes dying. He turned to Maxine who was still having trouble breathing.

"Hey, hey Max, right? It's okay, just breath." He took his hand in hers and looked her in the eyes. "Listen, your grandmother never told you something like this could happen because she never thought it would. The world is ending, the villains and heroes are being killed left and right, Demons are falling from the sky, and I'm just a guy with a pair of sticks. We're all way out of our depth here."

As the smoke began to clear, Nightwing could look up in the sky and see Super girl be thrown into a building by Darkseid. Leaving only Superman and Superboy to fight him. He turned back to Maxine, who was still behind the car. "But just because we have no idea how to deal with something doesn't mean we can't." We're all the world has between ending and continuing to spin on. It needs us." He released his hand and helped her up. "It needs Cyclone."

As Maxine began to find herself again, Nightwing felt an immense pain hit his chest and he was pushed back into a street light. Out of the shadows emerged Bronze tiger, who looked Nightwing with a gleam in his eyes. "I was hoping to find the Bat in the middle of all this." He raised his claws and his gleam became a glare. "Let's see how fast he'll find me after I kill you." Tiger attacked Nightwing but he blocked only to be body shot in his Kidney. He tried to parry with his escrima but Tiger leaped and sidekicked him in the face. Nightwing fell, barely retaining consciousness. His eyes flickered as he saw Tiger as he came closer to him.

He was about to land the killing blow when a blast of wind sucked him up and sent him crashing into another building. Nightwing looked up and saw Maxine, hovering on a wind cloud and creating a funnel for the smoke to escape through. Despite all of the chaos, Nightwing took a moment to smile at her.

"Atta Gir-" Before he could finish his sentence Nightwing felt himself moving at incredible speed, not knowing how or why he was in motion.

The next thing he knew he was pinned to wall by a man in yellow with red eyes. When Nightwing looked up, He saw the man moving so fast he couldn't begin to see his face.

Eobard Thawne. The Reverse Flash. "Ah, the Grayson Family." He spoke as if five of him were talking. "A blood line of heroes that never seems to stop getting in the way." Though he couldn't completely see his face, Nightwing could have sworn he was grinning. He raised his hand and began vibrating it at tremendous speed. "I'm about to make some future villains very happy." Reverse-Flash move his hand closer to Nightwing's heart when he was slammed into by a red streak.

Barry Allen. The Fastest man alive. "You're not killing anyone else today Thawne." The Reverse-flash only got to his feet and mirthlessly chuckled. "And all the ones I have killed today were because you weren't fast enough Flash." He zipped away like yellow lightning, with the red lightning trailing closely behind him. Nightwing could only stare in shock, barely processing what happened in the last minute.

He didn't have much more time because as soon as he regained his wits he saw Superboy hurtling toward him and slam into the ground. Nightwing limped over to him and tried to wake him up. "Come on Conner, get up man." He slapped his face, but it felt like slapping a concrete wall. He looked up at the sky and saw Darkseid Grab Superman and slam him into the ground, causing a shockwave. Nightwing and Superboy were both jolted backwards as Darkseid landed causing another wave. As Superman started to stir, Darkseid grabbed him by the head and lifted him in the air.

"Accept it Kryptonian." Darkseid mused. "Your city has fallen. Your league is scattered. My parademons will soon swarm every corner of your pitiful world."

As if waiting for a cue, the boom tube in the sky opened wider and more of the demons flew in like bees from a hive. Nightwing could only watch in horror as an endless army of the mindless monsters flew in. Superman groaned as Darkseid eyes glowed blood red. "And with a single blast of my Omega beams, you will be gone."

Nightwing in a fit of instinct, grabbed a fallen parademons blaster and shot Darkseid with it. Barely flinching, the red in Parkside's eyes faded and he turned to face Nightwing. "Your emblem is the mark of a Kryptonian folk hero." He dropped Superman, who slumped to the ground and loomed closer to Nightwing. Nightwing fired the blaster again but The leader of Apokolips only barreled through the lasers and crushed it, causing him to let go. "But you are merely a human." Darkseid said amused. "And the only thing you will have in common with that hero is you are both dead."

"NO!" Superboy lurched forward and slammed his fist into Darkseids face and threw him over his shoulders in a Black Canary move. Darkseid crashed into a building, causing the whole thing to collapse under him. Superboy looked at Nightwing, who he noticed was having trouble standing. "Some fight huh Dick?" Nightwing could only nod. Both men looked up at the scarlet color of the sky and roaring of the Para demons.

"When we formed the team, the worst thing we feared was secret societies and villains monologuing." Nightwing sighed. "Now were soldiers fighting demons." Conner could only look at him with a flicker of assurance. "And we'll fight as hard as we always have." He tried giving him hope. "Even if the demons don't monologue as well."

Nightwing tried to smile but the moment was cut short by Darkseid, whose red eyes blasted through the rubble of the building. Nightwing stared at him with contempt. Darkseid. The being who caused all this. The one who, along with Savage and what's left of the Light, started a war. A war that had gotten already gotten heroes killed. A war that Barbara could die in.

Nightwing's rage and adrenaline overcame the pain of his wounds and he grabbed his escrima sticks from his leg holster and charged. Darkseid looked at him with amusement and with a flick of his finger, Nightwing was airborne and he slammed into a parked taxi, knocking the wind out of him. The second he hit the ground, he felt a wet snap at his side. A rib. He struggled for breath as Darkseid mirthlessly chuckled.

"Never have I seen a human so foolish to attack me head on." He gawked at the Flying Grayson. He looked Back at Superman who was finally regaining consciousness. "My only true rival is about to expire." Superboy's eye widened as Darkseid charged up for another Omega beam. In one moment, he ran forward as the beam left Darkseids eyes and hurtled toward Superman.

Superboy jumped up and intercepted the Omega blast before it could hit his mentor. "AAAHHHHH!" and in a burst of red light, Conner Kent was ashes in front of Superman.

"CONNER!" Nightwing yelled.

Superman looked at where Superboy was in stunned grief. "Now you will know true despair, Kal el." Darkseid chuckled. "Your surrogate brother is gone, and this will not be the end. Your cousin will die, your wife, your son, your surrogate parents. Everyone you love will fall to Darkseid."

Superman stared at the ground, paralyzed. For a moment, Nightwing thought he was broken, but he suddenly felt the ground tremble as Superman squeezed the pavement on the street. The debris on the ground suddenly floated inches off the ground and Superman lifted his face. "You… murdered him…" Nightwing had always thought of Superman as one of the most empathetic heroes he knew but he couldn't see that man anymore. He saw someone who could make diamonds by crushing coal in his hands. He saw someone who could fly into the heart of the sun and never blink. He saw a being who had abandoned himself. He almost pitied Darkseid.

"YOU MURDERED HIM!""

Nightwing could feel the power of the vibrations as Superman slammed himself into Apoklip's ruler. He felt the sound barrier collapse as the two disappeared into the sky. Nightwing staggered toward the ashes of Superboy, his face pale. The dust slipped through his fingers as he tried to determine what just happened. Conner Kent was dead. One of his closest friends just disappeared forever in a ball of hellish light and there was nothing he could do but watch. He looked up at the sky and saw the parademons continue to flood through the boomtube portal. This was it wasn't it? The end. He saw Wonder Woman, who had been fighting as hard as she could to hold them all off, be pushed aside by the excess soldiers coming through the portal. As long as they had access to earth, they would keep coming. As he mourned for any hope they could win, he eyes grew wide.

He could close it. The Batplanes missiles had enough power to destroy the mother box engine projecting the boom tube. If he could just fly the plane through the portal, he could launch the missiles and close off they're source of reinforcements. The parademons would stop coming in droves, and they could take Metropolis back.

They could win. He even remembered where Batman left the plane when they got here. Fueled by his new purpose, he grappled up onto the rooftops and made his way to the Daily Planet. As he moved and pushed faster, the reality of the mission became even clearer.

Once he destroyed the engine the tube would close and he would be trapped on Apokolips. At best, he would be killed quickly, at worst he would be experimented on or became a slave. This was a suicide mission. The plane was waiting there for him. As he ran to the cockpit an explosion went off just a few feet away.

Standing in the smoke ash was Batman, his cape torn, his pointy ears hacked off and his costume a wreck. He ran over to Nightwing and grabbed his arm.

"Nightwing! Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna close the boomtube. We can end this if I do."

Batman immediately looked and realized his old apprentices plan. "Dick if you close it, then you won't have time to fly…"

"I'll use the self-destruct sequence, Bruce." Nightwing said in a disturbingly calm voice. "It'll be quick."

Before Nightwing could get into the cockpit Batman looked at him "Dick…" They stared at each other for moment and Bruce took off his mask. "…there has never been a Father prouder of his son than I am of you." Nightwing looked at him like he had five heads "Bruce, what're you…"

Before he could finish, Bruce slammed his fist into His jaw knocking him unconscious. He put Nigthwing up against a wall and looked at him one final time. He ran to the Batplane and closed the Hatch.

He thought of Alfred Pennyworth, Jim and Barbara Gordon, Clark Kent, Damian Wayne, Selina Kyle, Tim Drake and Jason Todd .

He thought of Dick Grayson.

And he knew what he had to do. He pulled his mask over his head once more and steered the plane toward the portal.


Next week: In present day, Red Hood decides to meet the new team...and show Tim Drake why he's the better Robin. And Dick reaches a breaking point as Batman, haunted by his guilt of his fallen friends

Thanks for reading!