Dick and Babs, A New Chapter In Life Part 6
The Titans were aboard the T-Jet en route to Bludhaven. It would not be a long trip at the speed it was traveling. Taking the opportunity before they arrived, Dick checked in with Oracle. "Oracle, this is Nightwing."
"Go ahead Nightwing."
"Oracle. Wanted to check in. The Titans are heading to Bludhaven. BB goes down at midnight."
"I will inform Batman. Will you require his assistance?"
"Only if Gotham is quiet. I am sure the streets of Bludhaven are going to be noisy tonight. If he is available, I would request you get Robin to help back you up. I want to make sure our prey has no resources on standby to make a hasty escape."
"As luck would have it, the current boy wonder just arrived. I anticipated your request and he is ready."
"Very good Oracle. About those other matters we discussed. I would like them to be top secret until we can all get together."
"Affirmative, Nightwing."
"Speaking of those other things. How did it go today?"
"Very encouraging. We'll talk. I am going to be keeping a close eye on you. Don't get into any trouble, or I'll send the JLA in after you. Good luck, and Nightwing, ILY."
"Roger that Oracle. The feeling here is the same. Nightwing out." Dick tried to hide his smile. ILY in Oraclese was I love you. No one else was listening in of course, but Barbara was not taking any chances.
"So 'Wingster, what's so top secret?" the voice of Arsenal called out from behind him.
"It wouldn't be top secret then would it?" Dick said as he started putting on his goatee disguise. Once the goatee was in place and he was sure Argent wasn't looking, he peeled off his mask and put on sunglasses. As the T-Jet landed, Dick stood up and put on his oversized black leather trench coat. The jet landed just outside of Bludhaven. Since they did not have transportation to Nightwing's waterfront lair, Argent used her energy powers to transport the Titans, who now all had leather trench coats on to cover their costumes. They landed a few blocks from the lair and walked the rest of the way to avoid attracting attention and giving the lair's location away. Once inside, Nightwing said, "Four hours until midnight, let's proceed as we discussed. Argent and Changeling, since you two have been good work partners, I want you to stake out Blockbuster. Take note of anyone coming or going. Gar, if you want to play fly on the wall and get inside to see what we are up against, go ahead. If you get caught get out of there. Under no circumstances are you to engage the enemy. If you do it could ruin everything we have worked for."
"No problem leaderman. Let's go Argent."
Changeling and Argent left to stake out Blockbuster. As soon as they left, Dick shed his disguise. He entered a room in the back of the warehouse and changed into his street clothes. He put on his gun and his badge and headed to his motorcycle. He said his goodbyes to the Titans who were making themselves at home at his lair. He drove out of the warehouse and gunned it toward St. Dennis Cathedral.
"Rookie! You made it," Sgt. Amy Rohrbach called out to Dick.
"Amy, what's going on?" Dick asked pretending to be confused. There were 20 cops at the Cathedral. He knew five of them from his meetings with "The Circle". He knew a few others that he had put on his list to Faraday. Some he had never met he assumed were brought in by good cops. After a few minutes of socializing, King Faraday entered the room with Captain Addad. The group of honest police officers sat in the supplied chairs to listen to the Captain and the government agent.
"Good evening. Most of you here know me. I am Captain Addad. I'm an honest cop. An honest cop is rare in Bludhaven. With a little luck, that is going to change after tonight. Here with me is King Faraday," Addad spoke. "Mr. Faraday is leading a government task force to help us in our struggle to take control of the department."
"As Addad pointed out, I am King Faraday. Tonight at midnight my team is going to take control of every precinct in Bludhaven. We are going to recall every patrol unit, call in every cop and with some evidence that has been supplied to me, we are going to arrest quite a few officers, starting with Chief Redhorn and Inspector Arnot. We hope that after all is said and done, we can get statements from each of you on corruption that you have witnessed and we are going to clean out your police department once and for all." With Faraday's statement, every cop in the room yelled out in celebration. The celebration settled down when Amy had a question.
"It's safe to say that clean cops in Bludhaven are a minority. If you arrest all the dirty cops, who is going to watch the streets? Granted they are dirty cops and they should be thrown in jail on their asses, but how can we patrol a city with a hand full of cops?"
"We realize that Bludhaven is going to be in a tight spot for a few months. The government is going to work in conjunction with the new administration temporarily. We have also worked out a deal with New York, Metropolis, and Gotham to borrow a small percentage of their work force. Even with a skeleton crew, I assure you that Bludhaven will be safer than it was yesterday. I have personally been working with the superhero group from New York, The Titans. They assure me that they will be assisting their leader, Nightwing in keeping the city safe. I know a lot of good cops don't like vigilantes, but Nightwing and the Titans are fully sanctioned by my office on this matter. In fact, when we make our move tonight, they are going to pay a visit to a Bludhaven resident everyone here is quite familiar with. His name is Roland Desmond. Nightwing has built up a federal case against Blockbuster and he will be arrested tonight."
More screams of celebration filled the room. Calming down the crowd, Faraday spoke again, "The Titans are fully sanctioned by my office but they have requested a Bludhaven police officer to accompany them when they make the arrest. Is there an Officer Richard Grayson here?"
Everyone looked around. The people that knew him looked straight to Dick, who thought, "Ok Grayson, show time, don't let the mask slip."
"I am Officer Grayson," Dick said.
"Officer, your old friends the Titans have requested you to work with them tonight. Do you have any objections?" Faraday asked.
"None, sir."
"Good. You can rendezvous with them tonight at midnight. Pier 13."
"Just a minute. If my rookie is going, I'm going with him," Amy spoke up.
"Amy it's ok. I will be fine," Dick told her.
"Officer, The Titans have promised they will keep him safe. I trust them," Faraday said. "If it will make you feel better, I will let you accompany Addad and myself when we arrest Redhorn and Arnot."
After several more minutes of discussion, the meeting adjourned. Amy caught Dick before he could leave. "Your old friends the Titans. What is that about?"
"Uh, well you see, um I kinda used to date one of them."
"What? When was this? Which one?"
"It was a long time ago. I dated Starfire for a while."
"So you know Nightwing?"
"You could say that. He dated Starfire before I did. He punched me in the stomach once."
"Ouch. I guess there is a lot I don't know about you rookie. You better watch your ass tonight."
"Don't worry Sarge."
Dick hopped on his motorcycle. He used his comlink to check in with The Titans. After finding out everything was okay, he sped toward his apartment. When he arrived, he logged onto his computer and clicked on the Oracle icon.
"How did it go, twenty something wonder?" Barbara asked.
"For the most part everything was fine."
"Something wrong?"
"I had to tell Amy a little of my history with The Titans. I expected having to do so. My real problem is I am going to be stuck with Faraday for a while until we can get more cops on the street."
"Ugh. That guy is so stuck on himself."
"That he is, but he is a good man."
Dick chatted with Barbara for a while before he left for Pier 13. He decided showing up early would be a good idea. It would give him a chance to survey the area in order to prevent any unwanted surprises. When he arrived at the pier, he did a quick check of the area and hid in the shadows. As midnight approached, Faraday showed up with twenty of his men. Soon after, Amy and the Bludhaven's finest arrived. Dick came out of the shadows and joined his fellow officers just as The Titans made their appearance.
"Where's Nightwing?" Faraday asked.
"He had to wash his tights. They are still in the dryer," Arsenal said.
Dick thought to himself, "I'm going to kill Roy."
Troia smacked Roy on the arm, "He has had Blockbuster under surveillance for the last few hours."
"Good and faithful Donna. She covered for me without actually telling a lie," Dick thought to himself.
"Guess your ride to Blockbuster's isn't going to be as sticky Grayson," Faraday said.
"I guess," Dick said.
Faraday addressed the entire group, "Ok people. I already have agents in place. When I call your name, come forward and receive your team assignment. It's time to take Bludhaven."
After all the teams were formed, the final battle was ready to begin.
The Titans arrived at Nightwing's lair shortly after the meeting dispersed. Dick changed into his Nightwing costume. When he came out of the back room he surveyed his equipment. He added a new utility belt he had been working on with an extra pair of escrima sticks, extra Nightarangs, smoke bombs, gas pellets, and two tasers. He decided to forgo his usual boots with a special pair laced with Titanium. His gloves were a different design as well. They had Titanium inserts in the knuckles and mini Nightarang launchers. He also had one of Robin's collapsible staffs made from the same unbreakable polymer as his escrima sticks. He also had two of his old blunt edged throwing disks from his original costume attached to his back in a special pouch for easy access.
"Dude, Nightwing is in his kick ass costume," Arsenal said.
"That's right, Roy. I think I will start with you after your comment at the pier."
"Now that is something I would like to see," Garth said.
"Me too," Jessie added.
Roy swallowed hard before he saw a small smile from Nightwing.
"Ok everyone, ready to go?" Nightwing asked.
"I think we are all ready for this, Dick," Donna answered.
"Good it is time to take that bastard down."
Nightwing and the rest of the Titans arrived at the Desmond estate and met up with Changeling and Argent. Hiding in the woods in darkness, Nightwing received his report from Changeling.
"It looks like he has about a hundred guys in that mansion waiting for us. He knows we are coming for him."
"Ok. We are going to go with plan 14 alpha. As soon as we engage, Jessie's priority is to disarm them as fast as possible. We'll fight them hand to hand and then we go after the big man. Let's do it."
King Faraday, Captain Addad and Sgt. Rohrbach marched into police headquarters with twenty armed federal agents. Faraday held up a folded piece of paper and made the announcement. "I hold a federal warrant. This certifies that I am taking command of the Bludhaven Police Department, as of now. Everyone remain in your seats. Continue your job as usual until one of my people relieve you of duty." The federal agents spread out through the precinct. The take over had begun. Redhorn pulled his door open wildly to find himself blocked by Faraday, Addad, and Rohrbach.
"What the fuck is going on here?" he screamed out. Arnot was behind him with a worried look on his face.
"What's going on Redhorn, is you are out of a job. I am here by placing you under arrest on charges of abusing the power of a police officer, extortion, murder, and for basically being a nasty son of a bitch," Faraday said as he pushed Redhorn back into his office. Addad and Amy followed. Arnot decided he was going to go for his gun. Amy knocked the gun from his hand with her nightstick
"I guess we can add attempted murder of a federal agent and two police officers to your charges you little shit," Amy said. Arnot made a last ditch effort to punch Amy only to find himself missing his two front teeth with a mouth full of blood on the floor after Amy punched him. "God that felt good," she said. "I never liked you, you slimy little bastard."
After a few minutes of every profane obscenity that Redhorn knew came out of his mouth, he eventually gave up and went to jail without any further fight. Arnot was pulled up from his fetal position on the floor and put in the cell next to Redhorn.
The destruction could be heard throughout Desmond's mansion. The Titans came through the wall decisively and loudly. They were met by Blockbuster's men, who were on loan from Ra's Al Ghul. As planned Jessie called out her speed mantra and began her task. Moving at almost blinding speed, she started disarming the men. Troia was playing bullets and bracelets while Arsenal was using a little firepower of his own. With deadly accuracy he was picking off weapons with some of his trick arrows. Argent was using her plasma beams to take out as many men as she could while Changeling transformed into a bear and attacked. Tempest used his mystical powers to heat the weapons. Nightwing began his assault first with Nightarangs then went hand to hand. In less than a minute, all 100 men were disarmed. The hand to hand combat began. Moving as a team, The Titans were effectively taking out the once armed guards. Nightwing was armed with his escrima sticks when he was hit from behind.
"Did you miss me Chester?" came a voice behind him.
"Shrike!" Nightwing said through clenched teeth.
"It's time we found out who the better man is. Unless you are going to be a coward and let your super powered lackeys get in the way."
"I don't need them to wipe the floor with dirt like you."
"Bring it on Honeywell."
As the rest of the Titans continued their assault around them, Nightwing and Shrike faced off. Armed with his swords, Shrike made the first move. Nightwing blocked his advances with his escrima sticks. What followed was a martial arts free-for-all, as the two men fought. Each of them landed some blows with their weapons but neither gained the advantage. They were effectively in a stalemate. The battle continued between them and they failed to notice that the men around them were down. The Titans were successful in the first phase of their plan. As Nightwing and Shrike continued, an arrow shot a sword from Shrike's hand.
"No!" Nightwing shouted as he kicked the sword back to Shrike. "This one is mine."
Catching his sword, Shrike advanced again. With a well-placed hit from his escrima stick, Shrike's grip was broken and he immediately dropped one of his swords. Protecting his bruised hand, he attacked with the other sword. Nightwing blocked the sword with one escrima stick, then brought the other stick down hard causing the sword to break. With a roundhouse kick he knocked Shrike back. He sheathed his escrima sticks. The fight was now fists and feet. The stalemate continued. After a few short minutes Nightwing found his opening and took it. He landed a rib-breaking blow to Shrike's midsection. Shrike was hurt and Nightwing zeroed in on the man. Punch after punch, kick after kick, Nightwing assaulted him. No acrobatics, no weapons, just pure martial arts skill. Shrike fell to his knees. Nightwing leaned down and said, "Boone, you're going back to prison. If you are smart, you will stay there. If you get out, I will be waiting." One front kick to the face later, Shrike was unconscious. Each Titan expressed satisfaction with Nightwing's fighting skill. They advanced through the mansion in their search for Blockbuster.
"Oracle, report," Batman said into his comlink.
"Robin and I hacked into Desmond's system. He had a flight scheduled out of Bludhaven. His flight plan has already been cancelled and a phone call has been placed to Faraday. Redhorn has been arrested and The Titans have stormed Desmond's. They have taken out his men and Nightwing has just fought Shrike. We managed to patch into the security system to watch. It was one hell of a fight. What is your progress?"
"Batgirl and I are patrolling Bludhaven. We crossed paths with Black Canary and she has joined us. Cops are being pulled off the street. Faraday's men are now patrolling the city. We looked in at a certain cop's precinct. His partner and Captain have effectively taken control there. Batgirl and Canary are going to continue patrols. I am going to Desmond's"
"Watch our boy's back. Oracle out."
Batman shot out his jumpline and headed toward the Batmobile. He was proud of his son's accomplishment and wanted to be there to watch him in his finest triumph. Reaching the Batmobile, he plotted his course and put the turbines on full speed.
Nightwing kicked the door open to the large ballroom that Desmond had chosen to make his last stand. He was not alone. Standing between Blockbuster and The Titans were twenty men dressed in ninja garb.
"Desmond!" Nightwing shouted. "Your reign in Bludhaven is over."
"Today perhaps. After your death, I will be back stronger than before," Blockbuster responded with a deep hearty laugh. "You are a fool Nightwing. Did you think I only got armed thugs from Al Ghul? He also sent me metahuman ninjas"
"It doesn't matter. You are going down."
The Titans leapt into action. Nightwing threw a few smoke pellets and drew his escrima sticks. A full onslaught war was waged between The Titans and the ninja assassins. Troia was quite effective with her Amazonian training. As fast as the ninjas were, they could not avoid Arsenal's arrows. Argent was effective with her plasma energy. Tempest's strength was his ally and Jessie Quick's speed was more than a match for the highly skilled attackers. Trained by Batman, Nightwing's martial arts skills proved to be too much for the ninjas. Cocky as usual, Changeling in the form of an elephant decided to charge Blockbuster. He ran in his bulky form at full speed and collided with the behemoth head on. Blockbuster was knocked backwards. Rising to his feet he punched the large green elephant with all of his might. Changeling was forced back to human form and fell to the floor. He changed to a jaguar and raced back away from Desmond. He then shifted shape into an alligator and attacked Blockbuster from below. With his strong jaws, he bit the giant in the leg and clamped himself on. In his rage, Blockbuster brought his fist down on the alligator forcing it to release its grip. He picked it up to twist its head around. Seeing this, Troia raced over and punched Blockbuster with all of her strength. The force of the blow caused Desmond to release Changeling as he flew through the wall behind him. Blockbuster returned from the room he was knocked into and hit Troia knocking her across the room. He wiped the blood from his mouth and spat out a tooth with his scream, "You are dead bitch!"
Nightwing disengaged from the ninjas and ran to Troia's side. You and Changeling relieve Jessie. Send her after the special equipment I left outside. "Rolly, it's just you and me."
"As it should be piss ant. As it should be."
Escrima sticks in hand, Nightwing leapt straight for Blockbuster's face. Both sticks found their intended destination. Blockbuster staggered backwards before lunging forward and clumsily backhanding Nightwing sending him to the floor. He towered over Nightwing to find that Nightwing had armed himself with two tasers, which he immediately put into action. One normal taser is enough to put a man to his knees. Nightwing was using two of Harold's modified tasers. The voltage going through just one was enough to drop a rhino. The scream that Desmond let out was loud enough to shatter the windows in the large room. He fell to his knees before gaining the strength to pull the taser wires from his body.
"You will pay for that you son of a bitch!" Blockbuster screamed.
"The fun is just getting started Rolly." Nightwing said as he threw a disk. The disk bounced from Blockbuster's forehead. A trickle of blood dripped down Blockbuster's face. Nightwing somersaulted over Desmond while drawing his escrima sticks. Landing behind him, he went into action. With all the speed and strength he could muster, Nightwing began hitting Blockbuster in the back of the head with the sticks. Desmond swung around with his fist, finding Nightwing's midsection. Nightwing was knocked back six feet and landed on the floor with a thud. Dazed, he was unable to avoid the massive arms that surrounded him and jerked him up from the floor. Blockbuster began to squeeze. Nightwing managed to free one of his arms and shot his mini Nightarangs from his gauntlet launcher at point blank range. Two Nightarangs embedded themselves in Desmond's chest. With another scream, Desmond released Nightwing and fell back. Nightwing did not give him time to recuperate as he touched a button on his mask. With his protective lenses now in place, he set off a flash bomb in the large man's face. Blinded by the sudden light in his eyes, Blockbuster began to swing wildly. Jessie sped in with the briefcase that Faraday had given Nightwing. Nightwing jumped on Desmond's back and used his one time charge from his costume. With Blockbuster again on his knees, Nightwing used his escrima sticks to pummel him. He then placed the dampener around Roland's neck. Before he could activate the collar, Blockbuster reached over his shoulders and grabbed Nightwing and threw him across the room. In midair, Nightwing twisted his body around to face Desmond and threw his escrima sticks. One hit him in the head and the other lodged itself into one of the wounds from the Nightarang. Nightwing pulled out his extra escrima sticks, then took a running leap over Blockbuster. Reaching up he activated the collar just before he was knocked down. His escrima sticks slid across the floor as Nightwing lost his grip. Blockbuster struggled to remain standing for a moment, pulled the escrima stick from his chest and tossed it aside. He launched an attack on Nightwing. He swung at Bludhaven's hero, who evaded the large man's efforts. Blockbuster backed him into a corner. Nightwing had nowhere to go. He steeled himself for the blow. The dampener had sapped most of Blockbuster's strength, but he was still stronger than a normal human. He began to land several blows. Blood started flowing freely from Nightwing's nose and mouth. Nightwing began throwing punches and kicks of his own. The Titanium inserts proved useful. Standing toe to toe, Nightwing and the behemoth known as Blockbuster traded assaults. Finally, Nightwing felt his ribs break against the fists of the giant. He brought both Nightarang launchers to bare, and fired his remaining four. Blockbuster fell back. Nightwing pulled his collapsible staff and clicked it into place.
The Titans dispatched the ninjas after a long fight. As they turned to help their leader, they heard a loud noise outside the room. Coming toward them were twenty more ninjas. Preparing themselves for another round they sprang to action. A moment later, Batman appeared. He aided the Titans with the ninjas. Out of the corner of his eye he watched his son fight the massive villain.
Nightwing twirled the staff with speed and accuracy. He brought it down to Blockbuster's nose. Blood spurted from his nose as he screamed, "You bathtard you bhoke my noth."
With a daredevil grin, Nightwing taunted Desmond, "Looks better that way Rolly. Of course I can always put it back." Nightwing brought the staff down to Blockbuster's nose again. "You know what? I liked it better the first time." Once again Nightwing sent the staff through the air. It found its target one last time breaking Blockbuster's nose again. Desmond fell to the floor in a heap. He struggled to get up. Nightwing stood over him. "You have killed a lot of people Desmond. You took this struggling city and ran it further into the ground. You are dethroned and you are under arrest." With one final flurry of fists, Nightwing rendered Blockbuster unconscious. Exhausted Nightwing fell to his knees. He did not have the energy to help his teammates and his mentor fight the ninjas. With Batman at their side, Nightwing's assistance was not needed. He caught his breath as his communicator chirped in his ear.
"Nightwing this is Oracle. Are you ok?"
"I'm fine. It's over. It's finally over. What is the Bludhaven situation?"
"Everything is under control. Minh's people tried to make a move during the chaos but Black Canary and Batgirl handled it."
"Good. I guess I still have some work to do."
"You'll have plenty of time for that, boy wonder. For now, just rest."
"I intend to. Know anyone who will nurse my injuries?"
"I think I can find someone. See you soon. Oracle out."
The last of the ninjas were finished. Jessie sped through the house to do a quick scan. The fight was over. The Titans and Batman rushed to Nightwing's side. Batman helped Nightwing up and gave him an approving look. Troia turned Blockbuster over onto his stomach. Arsenal and Tempest supported Nightwing to steady him. Batman leaned over Blockbuster to study the dampener. He opened a control panel and studied it. After making a few adjustments, he closed the panel and said, "I increased the dampener's power. When he wakes up, he will be lucky if he can stand." Changing into an ape, Gar pulled out the shackles for Blockbuster. He held them out to Nightwing.
"Thanks Gar," Nightwing said as he took the shackles and cuffed Blockbuster.
"I am taking Nightwing with me. Take Blockbuster to the arranged location," Batman ordered. "If any of you have fight left in you, Bludhaven needs more people to patrol."
"Argent, why don't you, Tempest and Arsenal patrol while Jessie, Gar and I handle Blockbuster," Troia said.
Batman helped Nightwing to the Batmobile as The Titans went their separate ways. Batman drove as Nightwing rested.
"It might be a good idea for you to disguise some of those cuts and bruises. You won't be Nightwing for a while so you will only have to cover your wounds tonight. I am sure you can explain Officer Grayson's medical condition."
"I am sure. Officer Grayson accompanied The Titans tonight."
In silence the two former partners raced for Bludhaven to meet with King Faraday. The Batmobile pulled up a block away from police headquarters. Nightwing and Batman used jumplines to reach the rooftop and head to the station. Nightwing fought back the pain. The makeup and false skin was quite uncomfortable.
King Faraday was sitting at Redhorn's desk. Nightwing and Batman entered through the window.
"Good work kid. We got word from the other Titans. They are bringing Blockbuster in."
"Thanks," Nightwing responded.
"Faraday." Batman greeted the government agent.
"Been a long time Batman."
"Are you sticking around Bludhaven for a while Faraday?" Nightwing asked.
"Yes. I will be helping the police get reorganized. After that, I will be moving on. I will check in from time to time until all of my men get moved out. Speaking of police, how did Grayson do?"
"He did fine," Nightwing said.
"He was quite adequate," Batman said. "I saw him on his motorcycle as we left. He was injured but he will live."
"He seems like a good kid," Faraday stated.
"I think so. I know of a way you can reward him. He has a girlfriend who is confined to a wheelchair. There is a doctor who can help cure her but the government won't allow the procedure. The woman is more than willing to undergo the operation. Maybe you can make some phone calls on his behalf and get clearance," Nightwing replied.
"What's up kid? Want to marry him off to this chick so he won't go back with Starfire?"
"Something like that."
"Consider it done. I will inform him as soon as he reports in."
The phone rang in what was now Faraday's office. He answered the call. When he hung up he looked up to find himself alone.
In the Batmobile on the way to Nightwing's lair, Batman said, "You did good out there. I was impressed with the way you handled yourself with Blockbuster. I'm proud of you."
"Thanks Bruce."
When they arrived at the lair, Nightwing peeled off his uniform. He retrieved his street clothes. With Batman's help, he altered the clothing to fit his wounds. He changed and mounted his motorcycle. Dick drove himself to the police station.
"Rookie! Look at you. You're a mess," Amy scolded Dick.
"You should see the other guy," Dick responded.
"Things are hopping around here. Heard you and your Titans buddies did good work on Blockbuster and his cronies."
"The Titans did most of it Amy. Nightwing took down Blockbuster by himself."
"Damn! I thought he didn't have any superpowers."
"As far as I know he doesn't"
"I'm glad you are ok, Rookie. That Faraday guy wants to see you."
"Thanks Amy. I will see you later."
Dick went to meet with Faraday. Faraday informed him that he was going to push Barbara's procedure through. Faraday gave Dick the next day off to recuperate. He would meet him the day after. Dick left the station and went to the parking lot to ride his motorcycle to Gotham to see Barbara. In the shadows, he was approached by Batman.
"You are not in any condition to ride that thing to Gotham. Take it back to your lair and I will give you a ride. Batgirl can get a ride with Black Canary."
"Sounds good to me," Dick said, as he was too tired to argue.
The trip to Gotham seemed like a long one for Dick. He was anxious to see Barbara. Batman dropped him off at the Clock Tower. Dick rushed up the stairs as fast as his injuries would allow. Barbara was alerted to his arrival and allowed him access. Tonight was not a good night for playing beat-Babs'-security. She waited for him at her open door when he reached her floor.
"Dick, are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'll live."
"Come in boy wonder, your nurse awaits. I'm going to take care of you."
For the rest of the night, Barbara tended to Dick's wounds. She massaged his aching muscles and put him to bed. Before joining him, she linked with the Nightbird's computer in New York and engaged the auto-drive system to bring it to the Clock Tower. The next day was spent together for the newly engaged couple. They laughed and talked. It seemed that all of the tension between them was gone.
Dick Grayson hobbled into his precinct for his meeting. He went upstairs toward Faraday's office. Amy stopped him before he got there.
"Come with me Rookie as she pulled him into an office. She sat down behind the desk and looked at him. "Feeling better?"
"A little. What's been going on around here?"
"Well some things have changed around here. The officers we received from Metropolis, New York and Gotham are a huge help. The courts have been working overtime to arraign everybody we have in lockup. Blockbuster was transferred to Metropolis. He is up on federal charges and they decided to put him in Superman's town. Faraday is an ass. He made himself acting Chief. Addad has been promoted to Assistant Chief of Police. It looks like he is taking over when Faraday leaves."
"How soon are we going back on patrol?"
"Well Rookie.. we're not," Amy started, as there was a knock on the door.
A man in coveralls opened the door and said, "Captain, I am here to put your letters on the door."
Dick's eyes widened in surprise. "Captain???"
"That's right Rookie. You're looking at the new Captain of Internal Affairs. It's my job to make sure our new cops don't get out of line. It is a big responsibility but I still get to kick some ass."
"That's great Amy. Congratulations. Who is my new partner going to be?"
Amy opened her desk drawer and pulled out a badge. She tossed it to Dick and said, "Nobody, Detective."
"Detective? Me?"
"Yeah you. I need a Detective in IA. I don't want to take this job unless I can still ride your ass. You're a good cop and an honest man. I could use your help. IA is a tough job. Interested?"
"You bet I am."
"Good. Welcome to Internal Affairs, Detective Grayson."
Ubu entered his master's chambers. "Everything went as you predicted, master."
"Excellent. Desmond was a fool. With him out of the way, my plans for Bludhaven will soon reach fruition. The Detective and his apprentice will not be able to stop me this time. Ra's Al Ghul let out the evil laugh of The Demon.
To be continued.
The Titans were aboard the T-Jet en route to Bludhaven. It would not be a long trip at the speed it was traveling. Taking the opportunity before they arrived, Dick checked in with Oracle. "Oracle, this is Nightwing."
"Go ahead Nightwing."
"Oracle. Wanted to check in. The Titans are heading to Bludhaven. BB goes down at midnight."
"I will inform Batman. Will you require his assistance?"
"Only if Gotham is quiet. I am sure the streets of Bludhaven are going to be noisy tonight. If he is available, I would request you get Robin to help back you up. I want to make sure our prey has no resources on standby to make a hasty escape."
"As luck would have it, the current boy wonder just arrived. I anticipated your request and he is ready."
"Very good Oracle. About those other matters we discussed. I would like them to be top secret until we can all get together."
"Affirmative, Nightwing."
"Speaking of those other things. How did it go today?"
"Very encouraging. We'll talk. I am going to be keeping a close eye on you. Don't get into any trouble, or I'll send the JLA in after you. Good luck, and Nightwing, ILY."
"Roger that Oracle. The feeling here is the same. Nightwing out." Dick tried to hide his smile. ILY in Oraclese was I love you. No one else was listening in of course, but Barbara was not taking any chances.
"So 'Wingster, what's so top secret?" the voice of Arsenal called out from behind him.
"It wouldn't be top secret then would it?" Dick said as he started putting on his goatee disguise. Once the goatee was in place and he was sure Argent wasn't looking, he peeled off his mask and put on sunglasses. As the T-Jet landed, Dick stood up and put on his oversized black leather trench coat. The jet landed just outside of Bludhaven. Since they did not have transportation to Nightwing's waterfront lair, Argent used her energy powers to transport the Titans, who now all had leather trench coats on to cover their costumes. They landed a few blocks from the lair and walked the rest of the way to avoid attracting attention and giving the lair's location away. Once inside, Nightwing said, "Four hours until midnight, let's proceed as we discussed. Argent and Changeling, since you two have been good work partners, I want you to stake out Blockbuster. Take note of anyone coming or going. Gar, if you want to play fly on the wall and get inside to see what we are up against, go ahead. If you get caught get out of there. Under no circumstances are you to engage the enemy. If you do it could ruin everything we have worked for."
"No problem leaderman. Let's go Argent."
Changeling and Argent left to stake out Blockbuster. As soon as they left, Dick shed his disguise. He entered a room in the back of the warehouse and changed into his street clothes. He put on his gun and his badge and headed to his motorcycle. He said his goodbyes to the Titans who were making themselves at home at his lair. He drove out of the warehouse and gunned it toward St. Dennis Cathedral.
"Rookie! You made it," Sgt. Amy Rohrbach called out to Dick.
"Amy, what's going on?" Dick asked pretending to be confused. There were 20 cops at the Cathedral. He knew five of them from his meetings with "The Circle". He knew a few others that he had put on his list to Faraday. Some he had never met he assumed were brought in by good cops. After a few minutes of socializing, King Faraday entered the room with Captain Addad. The group of honest police officers sat in the supplied chairs to listen to the Captain and the government agent.
"Good evening. Most of you here know me. I am Captain Addad. I'm an honest cop. An honest cop is rare in Bludhaven. With a little luck, that is going to change after tonight. Here with me is King Faraday," Addad spoke. "Mr. Faraday is leading a government task force to help us in our struggle to take control of the department."
"As Addad pointed out, I am King Faraday. Tonight at midnight my team is going to take control of every precinct in Bludhaven. We are going to recall every patrol unit, call in every cop and with some evidence that has been supplied to me, we are going to arrest quite a few officers, starting with Chief Redhorn and Inspector Arnot. We hope that after all is said and done, we can get statements from each of you on corruption that you have witnessed and we are going to clean out your police department once and for all." With Faraday's statement, every cop in the room yelled out in celebration. The celebration settled down when Amy had a question.
"It's safe to say that clean cops in Bludhaven are a minority. If you arrest all the dirty cops, who is going to watch the streets? Granted they are dirty cops and they should be thrown in jail on their asses, but how can we patrol a city with a hand full of cops?"
"We realize that Bludhaven is going to be in a tight spot for a few months. The government is going to work in conjunction with the new administration temporarily. We have also worked out a deal with New York, Metropolis, and Gotham to borrow a small percentage of their work force. Even with a skeleton crew, I assure you that Bludhaven will be safer than it was yesterday. I have personally been working with the superhero group from New York, The Titans. They assure me that they will be assisting their leader, Nightwing in keeping the city safe. I know a lot of good cops don't like vigilantes, but Nightwing and the Titans are fully sanctioned by my office on this matter. In fact, when we make our move tonight, they are going to pay a visit to a Bludhaven resident everyone here is quite familiar with. His name is Roland Desmond. Nightwing has built up a federal case against Blockbuster and he will be arrested tonight."
More screams of celebration filled the room. Calming down the crowd, Faraday spoke again, "The Titans are fully sanctioned by my office but they have requested a Bludhaven police officer to accompany them when they make the arrest. Is there an Officer Richard Grayson here?"
Everyone looked around. The people that knew him looked straight to Dick, who thought, "Ok Grayson, show time, don't let the mask slip."
"I am Officer Grayson," Dick said.
"Officer, your old friends the Titans have requested you to work with them tonight. Do you have any objections?" Faraday asked.
"None, sir."
"Good. You can rendezvous with them tonight at midnight. Pier 13."
"Just a minute. If my rookie is going, I'm going with him," Amy spoke up.
"Amy it's ok. I will be fine," Dick told her.
"Officer, The Titans have promised they will keep him safe. I trust them," Faraday said. "If it will make you feel better, I will let you accompany Addad and myself when we arrest Redhorn and Arnot."
After several more minutes of discussion, the meeting adjourned. Amy caught Dick before he could leave. "Your old friends the Titans. What is that about?"
"Uh, well you see, um I kinda used to date one of them."
"What? When was this? Which one?"
"It was a long time ago. I dated Starfire for a while."
"So you know Nightwing?"
"You could say that. He dated Starfire before I did. He punched me in the stomach once."
"Ouch. I guess there is a lot I don't know about you rookie. You better watch your ass tonight."
"Don't worry Sarge."
Dick hopped on his motorcycle. He used his comlink to check in with The Titans. After finding out everything was okay, he sped toward his apartment. When he arrived, he logged onto his computer and clicked on the Oracle icon.
"How did it go, twenty something wonder?" Barbara asked.
"For the most part everything was fine."
"Something wrong?"
"I had to tell Amy a little of my history with The Titans. I expected having to do so. My real problem is I am going to be stuck with Faraday for a while until we can get more cops on the street."
"Ugh. That guy is so stuck on himself."
"That he is, but he is a good man."
Dick chatted with Barbara for a while before he left for Pier 13. He decided showing up early would be a good idea. It would give him a chance to survey the area in order to prevent any unwanted surprises. When he arrived at the pier, he did a quick check of the area and hid in the shadows. As midnight approached, Faraday showed up with twenty of his men. Soon after, Amy and the Bludhaven's finest arrived. Dick came out of the shadows and joined his fellow officers just as The Titans made their appearance.
"Where's Nightwing?" Faraday asked.
"He had to wash his tights. They are still in the dryer," Arsenal said.
Dick thought to himself, "I'm going to kill Roy."
Troia smacked Roy on the arm, "He has had Blockbuster under surveillance for the last few hours."
"Good and faithful Donna. She covered for me without actually telling a lie," Dick thought to himself.
"Guess your ride to Blockbuster's isn't going to be as sticky Grayson," Faraday said.
"I guess," Dick said.
Faraday addressed the entire group, "Ok people. I already have agents in place. When I call your name, come forward and receive your team assignment. It's time to take Bludhaven."
After all the teams were formed, the final battle was ready to begin.
The Titans arrived at Nightwing's lair shortly after the meeting dispersed. Dick changed into his Nightwing costume. When he came out of the back room he surveyed his equipment. He added a new utility belt he had been working on with an extra pair of escrima sticks, extra Nightarangs, smoke bombs, gas pellets, and two tasers. He decided to forgo his usual boots with a special pair laced with Titanium. His gloves were a different design as well. They had Titanium inserts in the knuckles and mini Nightarang launchers. He also had one of Robin's collapsible staffs made from the same unbreakable polymer as his escrima sticks. He also had two of his old blunt edged throwing disks from his original costume attached to his back in a special pouch for easy access.
"Dude, Nightwing is in his kick ass costume," Arsenal said.
"That's right, Roy. I think I will start with you after your comment at the pier."
"Now that is something I would like to see," Garth said.
"Me too," Jessie added.
Roy swallowed hard before he saw a small smile from Nightwing.
"Ok everyone, ready to go?" Nightwing asked.
"I think we are all ready for this, Dick," Donna answered.
"Good it is time to take that bastard down."
Nightwing and the rest of the Titans arrived at the Desmond estate and met up with Changeling and Argent. Hiding in the woods in darkness, Nightwing received his report from Changeling.
"It looks like he has about a hundred guys in that mansion waiting for us. He knows we are coming for him."
"Ok. We are going to go with plan 14 alpha. As soon as we engage, Jessie's priority is to disarm them as fast as possible. We'll fight them hand to hand and then we go after the big man. Let's do it."
King Faraday, Captain Addad and Sgt. Rohrbach marched into police headquarters with twenty armed federal agents. Faraday held up a folded piece of paper and made the announcement. "I hold a federal warrant. This certifies that I am taking command of the Bludhaven Police Department, as of now. Everyone remain in your seats. Continue your job as usual until one of my people relieve you of duty." The federal agents spread out through the precinct. The take over had begun. Redhorn pulled his door open wildly to find himself blocked by Faraday, Addad, and Rohrbach.
"What the fuck is going on here?" he screamed out. Arnot was behind him with a worried look on his face.
"What's going on Redhorn, is you are out of a job. I am here by placing you under arrest on charges of abusing the power of a police officer, extortion, murder, and for basically being a nasty son of a bitch," Faraday said as he pushed Redhorn back into his office. Addad and Amy followed. Arnot decided he was going to go for his gun. Amy knocked the gun from his hand with her nightstick
"I guess we can add attempted murder of a federal agent and two police officers to your charges you little shit," Amy said. Arnot made a last ditch effort to punch Amy only to find himself missing his two front teeth with a mouth full of blood on the floor after Amy punched him. "God that felt good," she said. "I never liked you, you slimy little bastard."
After a few minutes of every profane obscenity that Redhorn knew came out of his mouth, he eventually gave up and went to jail without any further fight. Arnot was pulled up from his fetal position on the floor and put in the cell next to Redhorn.
The destruction could be heard throughout Desmond's mansion. The Titans came through the wall decisively and loudly. They were met by Blockbuster's men, who were on loan from Ra's Al Ghul. As planned Jessie called out her speed mantra and began her task. Moving at almost blinding speed, she started disarming the men. Troia was playing bullets and bracelets while Arsenal was using a little firepower of his own. With deadly accuracy he was picking off weapons with some of his trick arrows. Argent was using her plasma beams to take out as many men as she could while Changeling transformed into a bear and attacked. Tempest used his mystical powers to heat the weapons. Nightwing began his assault first with Nightarangs then went hand to hand. In less than a minute, all 100 men were disarmed. The hand to hand combat began. Moving as a team, The Titans were effectively taking out the once armed guards. Nightwing was armed with his escrima sticks when he was hit from behind.
"Did you miss me Chester?" came a voice behind him.
"Shrike!" Nightwing said through clenched teeth.
"It's time we found out who the better man is. Unless you are going to be a coward and let your super powered lackeys get in the way."
"I don't need them to wipe the floor with dirt like you."
"Bring it on Honeywell."
As the rest of the Titans continued their assault around them, Nightwing and Shrike faced off. Armed with his swords, Shrike made the first move. Nightwing blocked his advances with his escrima sticks. What followed was a martial arts free-for-all, as the two men fought. Each of them landed some blows with their weapons but neither gained the advantage. They were effectively in a stalemate. The battle continued between them and they failed to notice that the men around them were down. The Titans were successful in the first phase of their plan. As Nightwing and Shrike continued, an arrow shot a sword from Shrike's hand.
"No!" Nightwing shouted as he kicked the sword back to Shrike. "This one is mine."
Catching his sword, Shrike advanced again. With a well-placed hit from his escrima stick, Shrike's grip was broken and he immediately dropped one of his swords. Protecting his bruised hand, he attacked with the other sword. Nightwing blocked the sword with one escrima stick, then brought the other stick down hard causing the sword to break. With a roundhouse kick he knocked Shrike back. He sheathed his escrima sticks. The fight was now fists and feet. The stalemate continued. After a few short minutes Nightwing found his opening and took it. He landed a rib-breaking blow to Shrike's midsection. Shrike was hurt and Nightwing zeroed in on the man. Punch after punch, kick after kick, Nightwing assaulted him. No acrobatics, no weapons, just pure martial arts skill. Shrike fell to his knees. Nightwing leaned down and said, "Boone, you're going back to prison. If you are smart, you will stay there. If you get out, I will be waiting." One front kick to the face later, Shrike was unconscious. Each Titan expressed satisfaction with Nightwing's fighting skill. They advanced through the mansion in their search for Blockbuster.
"Oracle, report," Batman said into his comlink.
"Robin and I hacked into Desmond's system. He had a flight scheduled out of Bludhaven. His flight plan has already been cancelled and a phone call has been placed to Faraday. Redhorn has been arrested and The Titans have stormed Desmond's. They have taken out his men and Nightwing has just fought Shrike. We managed to patch into the security system to watch. It was one hell of a fight. What is your progress?"
"Batgirl and I are patrolling Bludhaven. We crossed paths with Black Canary and she has joined us. Cops are being pulled off the street. Faraday's men are now patrolling the city. We looked in at a certain cop's precinct. His partner and Captain have effectively taken control there. Batgirl and Canary are going to continue patrols. I am going to Desmond's"
"Watch our boy's back. Oracle out."
Batman shot out his jumpline and headed toward the Batmobile. He was proud of his son's accomplishment and wanted to be there to watch him in his finest triumph. Reaching the Batmobile, he plotted his course and put the turbines on full speed.
Nightwing kicked the door open to the large ballroom that Desmond had chosen to make his last stand. He was not alone. Standing between Blockbuster and The Titans were twenty men dressed in ninja garb.
"Desmond!" Nightwing shouted. "Your reign in Bludhaven is over."
"Today perhaps. After your death, I will be back stronger than before," Blockbuster responded with a deep hearty laugh. "You are a fool Nightwing. Did you think I only got armed thugs from Al Ghul? He also sent me metahuman ninjas"
"It doesn't matter. You are going down."
The Titans leapt into action. Nightwing threw a few smoke pellets and drew his escrima sticks. A full onslaught war was waged between The Titans and the ninja assassins. Troia was quite effective with her Amazonian training. As fast as the ninjas were, they could not avoid Arsenal's arrows. Argent was effective with her plasma energy. Tempest's strength was his ally and Jessie Quick's speed was more than a match for the highly skilled attackers. Trained by Batman, Nightwing's martial arts skills proved to be too much for the ninjas. Cocky as usual, Changeling in the form of an elephant decided to charge Blockbuster. He ran in his bulky form at full speed and collided with the behemoth head on. Blockbuster was knocked backwards. Rising to his feet he punched the large green elephant with all of his might. Changeling was forced back to human form and fell to the floor. He changed to a jaguar and raced back away from Desmond. He then shifted shape into an alligator and attacked Blockbuster from below. With his strong jaws, he bit the giant in the leg and clamped himself on. In his rage, Blockbuster brought his fist down on the alligator forcing it to release its grip. He picked it up to twist its head around. Seeing this, Troia raced over and punched Blockbuster with all of her strength. The force of the blow caused Desmond to release Changeling as he flew through the wall behind him. Blockbuster returned from the room he was knocked into and hit Troia knocking her across the room. He wiped the blood from his mouth and spat out a tooth with his scream, "You are dead bitch!"
Nightwing disengaged from the ninjas and ran to Troia's side. You and Changeling relieve Jessie. Send her after the special equipment I left outside. "Rolly, it's just you and me."
"As it should be piss ant. As it should be."
Escrima sticks in hand, Nightwing leapt straight for Blockbuster's face. Both sticks found their intended destination. Blockbuster staggered backwards before lunging forward and clumsily backhanding Nightwing sending him to the floor. He towered over Nightwing to find that Nightwing had armed himself with two tasers, which he immediately put into action. One normal taser is enough to put a man to his knees. Nightwing was using two of Harold's modified tasers. The voltage going through just one was enough to drop a rhino. The scream that Desmond let out was loud enough to shatter the windows in the large room. He fell to his knees before gaining the strength to pull the taser wires from his body.
"You will pay for that you son of a bitch!" Blockbuster screamed.
"The fun is just getting started Rolly." Nightwing said as he threw a disk. The disk bounced from Blockbuster's forehead. A trickle of blood dripped down Blockbuster's face. Nightwing somersaulted over Desmond while drawing his escrima sticks. Landing behind him, he went into action. With all the speed and strength he could muster, Nightwing began hitting Blockbuster in the back of the head with the sticks. Desmond swung around with his fist, finding Nightwing's midsection. Nightwing was knocked back six feet and landed on the floor with a thud. Dazed, he was unable to avoid the massive arms that surrounded him and jerked him up from the floor. Blockbuster began to squeeze. Nightwing managed to free one of his arms and shot his mini Nightarangs from his gauntlet launcher at point blank range. Two Nightarangs embedded themselves in Desmond's chest. With another scream, Desmond released Nightwing and fell back. Nightwing did not give him time to recuperate as he touched a button on his mask. With his protective lenses now in place, he set off a flash bomb in the large man's face. Blinded by the sudden light in his eyes, Blockbuster began to swing wildly. Jessie sped in with the briefcase that Faraday had given Nightwing. Nightwing jumped on Desmond's back and used his one time charge from his costume. With Blockbuster again on his knees, Nightwing used his escrima sticks to pummel him. He then placed the dampener around Roland's neck. Before he could activate the collar, Blockbuster reached over his shoulders and grabbed Nightwing and threw him across the room. In midair, Nightwing twisted his body around to face Desmond and threw his escrima sticks. One hit him in the head and the other lodged itself into one of the wounds from the Nightarang. Nightwing pulled out his extra escrima sticks, then took a running leap over Blockbuster. Reaching up he activated the collar just before he was knocked down. His escrima sticks slid across the floor as Nightwing lost his grip. Blockbuster struggled to remain standing for a moment, pulled the escrima stick from his chest and tossed it aside. He launched an attack on Nightwing. He swung at Bludhaven's hero, who evaded the large man's efforts. Blockbuster backed him into a corner. Nightwing had nowhere to go. He steeled himself for the blow. The dampener had sapped most of Blockbuster's strength, but he was still stronger than a normal human. He began to land several blows. Blood started flowing freely from Nightwing's nose and mouth. Nightwing began throwing punches and kicks of his own. The Titanium inserts proved useful. Standing toe to toe, Nightwing and the behemoth known as Blockbuster traded assaults. Finally, Nightwing felt his ribs break against the fists of the giant. He brought both Nightarang launchers to bare, and fired his remaining four. Blockbuster fell back. Nightwing pulled his collapsible staff and clicked it into place.
The Titans dispatched the ninjas after a long fight. As they turned to help their leader, they heard a loud noise outside the room. Coming toward them were twenty more ninjas. Preparing themselves for another round they sprang to action. A moment later, Batman appeared. He aided the Titans with the ninjas. Out of the corner of his eye he watched his son fight the massive villain.
Nightwing twirled the staff with speed and accuracy. He brought it down to Blockbuster's nose. Blood spurted from his nose as he screamed, "You bathtard you bhoke my noth."
With a daredevil grin, Nightwing taunted Desmond, "Looks better that way Rolly. Of course I can always put it back." Nightwing brought the staff down to Blockbuster's nose again. "You know what? I liked it better the first time." Once again Nightwing sent the staff through the air. It found its target one last time breaking Blockbuster's nose again. Desmond fell to the floor in a heap. He struggled to get up. Nightwing stood over him. "You have killed a lot of people Desmond. You took this struggling city and ran it further into the ground. You are dethroned and you are under arrest." With one final flurry of fists, Nightwing rendered Blockbuster unconscious. Exhausted Nightwing fell to his knees. He did not have the energy to help his teammates and his mentor fight the ninjas. With Batman at their side, Nightwing's assistance was not needed. He caught his breath as his communicator chirped in his ear.
"Nightwing this is Oracle. Are you ok?"
"I'm fine. It's over. It's finally over. What is the Bludhaven situation?"
"Everything is under control. Minh's people tried to make a move during the chaos but Black Canary and Batgirl handled it."
"Good. I guess I still have some work to do."
"You'll have plenty of time for that, boy wonder. For now, just rest."
"I intend to. Know anyone who will nurse my injuries?"
"I think I can find someone. See you soon. Oracle out."
The last of the ninjas were finished. Jessie sped through the house to do a quick scan. The fight was over. The Titans and Batman rushed to Nightwing's side. Batman helped Nightwing up and gave him an approving look. Troia turned Blockbuster over onto his stomach. Arsenal and Tempest supported Nightwing to steady him. Batman leaned over Blockbuster to study the dampener. He opened a control panel and studied it. After making a few adjustments, he closed the panel and said, "I increased the dampener's power. When he wakes up, he will be lucky if he can stand." Changing into an ape, Gar pulled out the shackles for Blockbuster. He held them out to Nightwing.
"Thanks Gar," Nightwing said as he took the shackles and cuffed Blockbuster.
"I am taking Nightwing with me. Take Blockbuster to the arranged location," Batman ordered. "If any of you have fight left in you, Bludhaven needs more people to patrol."
"Argent, why don't you, Tempest and Arsenal patrol while Jessie, Gar and I handle Blockbuster," Troia said.
Batman helped Nightwing to the Batmobile as The Titans went their separate ways. Batman drove as Nightwing rested.
"It might be a good idea for you to disguise some of those cuts and bruises. You won't be Nightwing for a while so you will only have to cover your wounds tonight. I am sure you can explain Officer Grayson's medical condition."
"I am sure. Officer Grayson accompanied The Titans tonight."
In silence the two former partners raced for Bludhaven to meet with King Faraday. The Batmobile pulled up a block away from police headquarters. Nightwing and Batman used jumplines to reach the rooftop and head to the station. Nightwing fought back the pain. The makeup and false skin was quite uncomfortable.
King Faraday was sitting at Redhorn's desk. Nightwing and Batman entered through the window.
"Good work kid. We got word from the other Titans. They are bringing Blockbuster in."
"Thanks," Nightwing responded.
"Faraday." Batman greeted the government agent.
"Been a long time Batman."
"Are you sticking around Bludhaven for a while Faraday?" Nightwing asked.
"Yes. I will be helping the police get reorganized. After that, I will be moving on. I will check in from time to time until all of my men get moved out. Speaking of police, how did Grayson do?"
"He did fine," Nightwing said.
"He was quite adequate," Batman said. "I saw him on his motorcycle as we left. He was injured but he will live."
"He seems like a good kid," Faraday stated.
"I think so. I know of a way you can reward him. He has a girlfriend who is confined to a wheelchair. There is a doctor who can help cure her but the government won't allow the procedure. The woman is more than willing to undergo the operation. Maybe you can make some phone calls on his behalf and get clearance," Nightwing replied.
"What's up kid? Want to marry him off to this chick so he won't go back with Starfire?"
"Something like that."
"Consider it done. I will inform him as soon as he reports in."
The phone rang in what was now Faraday's office. He answered the call. When he hung up he looked up to find himself alone.
In the Batmobile on the way to Nightwing's lair, Batman said, "You did good out there. I was impressed with the way you handled yourself with Blockbuster. I'm proud of you."
"Thanks Bruce."
When they arrived at the lair, Nightwing peeled off his uniform. He retrieved his street clothes. With Batman's help, he altered the clothing to fit his wounds. He changed and mounted his motorcycle. Dick drove himself to the police station.
"Rookie! Look at you. You're a mess," Amy scolded Dick.
"You should see the other guy," Dick responded.
"Things are hopping around here. Heard you and your Titans buddies did good work on Blockbuster and his cronies."
"The Titans did most of it Amy. Nightwing took down Blockbuster by himself."
"Damn! I thought he didn't have any superpowers."
"As far as I know he doesn't"
"I'm glad you are ok, Rookie. That Faraday guy wants to see you."
"Thanks Amy. I will see you later."
Dick went to meet with Faraday. Faraday informed him that he was going to push Barbara's procedure through. Faraday gave Dick the next day off to recuperate. He would meet him the day after. Dick left the station and went to the parking lot to ride his motorcycle to Gotham to see Barbara. In the shadows, he was approached by Batman.
"You are not in any condition to ride that thing to Gotham. Take it back to your lair and I will give you a ride. Batgirl can get a ride with Black Canary."
"Sounds good to me," Dick said, as he was too tired to argue.
The trip to Gotham seemed like a long one for Dick. He was anxious to see Barbara. Batman dropped him off at the Clock Tower. Dick rushed up the stairs as fast as his injuries would allow. Barbara was alerted to his arrival and allowed him access. Tonight was not a good night for playing beat-Babs'-security. She waited for him at her open door when he reached her floor.
"Dick, are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'll live."
"Come in boy wonder, your nurse awaits. I'm going to take care of you."
For the rest of the night, Barbara tended to Dick's wounds. She massaged his aching muscles and put him to bed. Before joining him, she linked with the Nightbird's computer in New York and engaged the auto-drive system to bring it to the Clock Tower. The next day was spent together for the newly engaged couple. They laughed and talked. It seemed that all of the tension between them was gone.
Dick Grayson hobbled into his precinct for his meeting. He went upstairs toward Faraday's office. Amy stopped him before he got there.
"Come with me Rookie as she pulled him into an office. She sat down behind the desk and looked at him. "Feeling better?"
"A little. What's been going on around here?"
"Well some things have changed around here. The officers we received from Metropolis, New York and Gotham are a huge help. The courts have been working overtime to arraign everybody we have in lockup. Blockbuster was transferred to Metropolis. He is up on federal charges and they decided to put him in Superman's town. Faraday is an ass. He made himself acting Chief. Addad has been promoted to Assistant Chief of Police. It looks like he is taking over when Faraday leaves."
"How soon are we going back on patrol?"
"Well Rookie.. we're not," Amy started, as there was a knock on the door.
A man in coveralls opened the door and said, "Captain, I am here to put your letters on the door."
Dick's eyes widened in surprise. "Captain???"
"That's right Rookie. You're looking at the new Captain of Internal Affairs. It's my job to make sure our new cops don't get out of line. It is a big responsibility but I still get to kick some ass."
"That's great Amy. Congratulations. Who is my new partner going to be?"
Amy opened her desk drawer and pulled out a badge. She tossed it to Dick and said, "Nobody, Detective."
"Detective? Me?"
"Yeah you. I need a Detective in IA. I don't want to take this job unless I can still ride your ass. You're a good cop and an honest man. I could use your help. IA is a tough job. Interested?"
"You bet I am."
"Good. Welcome to Internal Affairs, Detective Grayson."
Ubu entered his master's chambers. "Everything went as you predicted, master."
"Excellent. Desmond was a fool. With him out of the way, my plans for Bludhaven will soon reach fruition. The Detective and his apprentice will not be able to stop me this time. Ra's Al Ghul let out the evil laugh of The Demon.
To be continued.