Nightwing: Out of Time 4 – The Final Conflict
Chapter 5
By Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: Nightwing™ and all of the characters and situations previously copyrighted by DC Comics Inc. remain the property of that entity and are used without permission for fan-related entertainment only. This original story, and all original concepts and creations contained herein, are ©2004 and the intellectual property of Christopher W. Blaine.
Waverider slowed his forward momentum, gradually allowing himself to stop at a point in time that was weaker than the surrounding points. In his arms he cradled the time bomb, a device that would, when properly calibrated and programmed, single out a persona and erase them completely from the time line in which the bomb was placed. Because of the very nature of time, that person's accomplishments, if they were necessary for the natural progression of Creation, would be attributed to someone else.
It was sort of like, Waverider guessed, when you went in to the office and told the boss either they paid you more money or you were walking. The boss always replied the same way, with the same knowing smile. "Go ahead; there's a hundred people waiting to take your place."
This duty did not sit well with Waverider, but many of tasks assigned to a junior Linear Man were never pleasant. This bomb, when detonated, would sever the life of Richard Grayson from the continuity and it would be as if he never existed. John and Mary Grayson would never have a child. The Batman would eventually select someone else to be his partner. Barbara Gordon would find another true love. So many lives were about to be changed.
"You hesitate," the Phantom Stranger said as he once again stepped out of a hole in reality to stand before Waverider. "You question the morality of your actions."
"No, I'm trying to decide what time I want the bomb to go off," the Linear Man lied. He found the Phantom Stranger too eerie even for someone who traversed through multiple dimensions. "Why are you so concerned? I would think that so long as time is set right, you and all of the Lords of Order or whatever would be happy."
The Stranger's voice remained impassive. "If this were necessary, then yes, but in your efforts to make things right, the Linear Men are not looking at what is wrong. You ignore coincidence and chance, all parts of the wonder of Creation."
"Dick Grayson is an anomaly. He has caused great damage to the timeline and to other timelines. It could eventually cause the complete collapse of time," Waverider said, pretending to be adjusting the sensitivity on the bomb.
"You recite the mantra of your superiors, but what is it that you feel?" Waverider replied that the idea of eliminating someone completely from time was not appealing, but that he had an obligation to respect and obey his superiors. He went on to point out that he had not always been the most obedient of Linear Men and that he was trying to change his image and attitude.
"And you following me around, questioning every little thing I do is not helping," Waverider concluded.
"Is it not possible that young Grayson is merely the symptom of the disease?"
Waverider shook his head. "No! I'm not listening to this again! You and Oracle! It's like you have a personal interest in this, Stranger! I've never heard of you taking such time out of your busy schedule to attend to the affairs of one individual." Waverider paused for a moment and then added, "I suppose Grayson is your father as well?"
The Stranger did not answer immediately, but seemed to contemplate something that had nothing to do with their conversation. The Stranger's head turned upwards and then slowly returned to face Waverider. "Even now, young heroes are traversing through time trying to save this man and you consider it nothing."
"I didn't say that…"
"But it what you are attempting to convince yourself of, that their efforts are for naught and that your superiors, who would not hesitate to murder in the name of protecting time, are correct." The Stranger shook his head. "Have you lost sight of your own humanity?"
The Linear Man took in a deep breath and mumbled something under his breath. "What are they doing?"
"Two have stopped Nightwing's tumble through time and have taken him home, only the realities are in flux. He is walking through a reality made of many…"
"Which is why I have to do what I'm doing," Waverider said. He held the bomb out towards the Stranger. "The longer we hesitate, the more likely it is that all of this damage will be irreversible. This is the only way to make absolutely sure."
"Three others are trying to rescue a fourth and are now engaged in battle with Parallax. They believe that this is a cause worthy of facing off against a god," the Stranger replied.
"We have to be sure!"
"And young Mary Grayson is risking her life, preparing to engage Per Degaton in an effort to keep Nightwing from traveling through time to begin with," the Stranger finished,
"What? She's just a kid! Her powers are nowhere near developed yet!" Waverider cursed and looking into the time stream, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of the events as they were unfolding. Unfortunately for him the flux of the anomalies was preventing him from observing anything. "Okay, Phantom Stranger, what would you have me do? I will give you one chance."
The Stranger nodded. "You have wisdom beyond your years, Waverider." He waved his arm and a portal appeared. "Mary Grayson needs your aid most of all. Go to her and discover the truth."
"The truth?"
"Travel through and see," the Stranger replied. Waverider squinted his eyes, trying to discern if this were a trick, but decided that even thought the Stranger was odd and…strange…he was also one of the good guys.
"I'm trusting you; if this is some sort of wild goose chase, I will come back here and set that bomb off," Waverider promised.
"Trust that it will not be necessary."
Batman told Titan that he had been correct. "You're right, I didn't like the answer."
Titan winced under the scrutiny of his grandfather. He had just spent the last ten minutes explaining that he was the son of Nightwing and Wonder Woman, while Lightning was the daughter of Nightwing and Jessie Quick. Batman had listened and not made a sound or a move until the Amazonian man finished. "We are trying to fix things."
"I don't like it when this Hypertime garbage occurs," Batman said as he turned to regard Nightwing. "Are you my son or not?"
"I'm the real thing, Bruce," was the reply. Nightwing's eyes were red and swollen from where he had been crying. "Is Donna really dead?"
"Yes."
Nightwing shook his head. "If I had been here…"
"You were," Batman replied as he kneeled down to check Lightning's pulse again. It was strong and he nodded to himself. "How do we fix this?" Batman said as he turned to Titan. "I've spent the last few weeks counseling my son on his romantic ways and none of those talks involved anything about Princess Diana."
"I don't see where it is any of your business," Wonder Woman said. Titan gave a little scream at the sight of his mother now standing in the doorway.
"Does everyone just walk in here?" Nightwing said as he stood up and moved towards his nightstand to get a tissue. "Let me guess, Princess, you live here."
"We had not discussed that part of our relationship…"
"Mom?" Titan asked. Wonder Woman turned to him and her eyes went wide. She saw the immediate family resemblance.
The window to the bedroom opened and another Batman stepped through. "What the hell?"
Lightning's eyes popped open as she felt the time flux washed over her. Attuned to the Speed Force, she had a sense of the way things were supposed to be. "Oh, buddy," she said realizing that something bad was going on. She quickly recited the formula that her mother had taught her, who had learned it from her father. There was nothing special about the formula except it allowed speedsters of her family line to concentrate and attune themselves to the Speed Force.
Speed energy flowed into her and she was up and moving. Her heightened senses took in the whole seen. Nightwing was half dressed and obviously distressed over learning about the recent death of one of his best friends. Wonder Woman, aghast, was staring at Titan who looked extremely uncomfortable. Finally, two Batmen from two different realities were facing off with each other. It was almost worth it, she thought, to watch them duke it out, but she knew they had to move.
Too many key figures from the different realities were too close together. Lighting grabbed Nightwing and pushed him into the bathroom and then went back for Titan. After depositing him, she went into the bedroom and called the speed of the remaining the three to herself. It was hard to do, drawing kinetic energy into her body and sending it back to the Speed Force. After slowing the others sufficiently, she returned to the bathroom.
"I just got us about sixty seconds to get the hell out of here," she said, casting a quick glance into the bedroom. "Do you feel it?" she asked them.
Nightwing was slipping on a new shirt. "I feel something and I don't like it. This whole reality is screwed up. There is no way Donna could be dead."
"Man, does mom look pissed," Titan said and Lighting realized that he was no longer the lumbering, heroic figure he had been. In the presence of his larger-than-life mother, he had become very docile.
"We need to get someplace safe, get you away from all of this while things get sorted out," she told Nightwing. "Any ideas?"
"The Justice League Watchtower on the moon," he told her.
"I hate the moon," she whispered. "No damn gravity, no place to run…"
Fifteen minutes later and with their excess speed bled off, the trio stood in front of the Justice League transporter in Midway City. "Don't you have to be a League member to use this?" Titan asked. "At least, that's the way it is in my reality."
"There are some persons, myself included, that have been given special access," Nightwing said as he took off his glove and placed it on a small, lighted pad. It flashed red several times and then turned green, indicating that access was granted. "I'll have to go up and then I'll allow it to transport the two of you," he said.
The two younger heroes nodded that they understood and watched Nightwing enter the transporter. There was a quick hum and a flash of blue-white light and then he was gone. Titan put his hands on his hips. "Ever seen such a drastic merging of realities?" he asked her.
She shook her head. "No, and to be honest, I've spent a lot of time thinking about it. It's almost as if whatever has been the problem is getting worse."
"What could cause that?"
"When realities merge, it is like a domino effect, but not this quick," she commented while she shook her head. "It is possible that something is happening in the past, making the original event even worse than what it was."
Titan could no longer hold it in and he essentially belched out his theory of an alternate-universe Per Degaton. Lighting, for her part, listened carefully and nodded at all of the right places. "It is possible and in fact makes a lot of sense."
"More sense than you can imagine," another voice said from behind them. Both heroes turned quickly, fists held at the ready. Before them stood Per Degaton, clad in his black and red uniform with the large "D" on the left breast. He stood in a non-defiant pose next to a blonde-haired little girl. "I guess you weren't expecting me?"
"Let the child go," Titan said, his biceps flexing.
The villain let her free, but she did not immediately run away, but instead looked up at him. Lightning guessed that it was most likely a form of Stockholm Syndrome, where the kidnapped begin to bond with their captors. "Come here, honey," she said, getting down on her haunches so she wouldn't appear so imposing.
With a little reluctance, the blonde-haired child slowly made her way to the speedster. Per Degaton watched her with a wistful glance and then he returned his attention to the huge hero facing him. "Her and I have been together for nearly a year, jumping from time period to time period," he said in a faraway voice. "I was going to kill her, you know…I was…"
"Bastard," Titan said coldly. "Do you know what my people do to child-killers?"
"She's alive; in fact, I grew quite fond of her. The little scamp grows on you quickly. After the first few hours, I knew I couldn't do it, couldn't bring myself to murder her," he said and then his chest deflated as he breathed out. "You know I'm not the guy that's supposed to inhabit this timeline?"
"I guessed it," Titan replied as he watched the little girl fall into Lightning's arms.
"Then you know I'm causing all kinds of hell with time," he said. "I brought the kid to you, hoping to find her father. Him and I have a history, or at least his duplicates and I do."
"Get to the point so we can kick your butt," Lighting sneered.
"I need your help," he said, spreading his arms wide. He looked older than he probably was and up close, Titan realized he was perhaps only ten to fifteen years older than himself.
"Why should we help you?" Titan asked.
"I just came from the 1960's where I think some of your friends are at. They managed to slow him down, but now he's on his way. I sent my time machine souring into the past, but he'll catch it eventually." He then looked around, as if he expected someone to suddenly appear.
"Who?"
"Me," Parallax said as he slowly rose out of the roof. His costume was splattered with blood and his face was that of someone very, very tired. "More variants," he said, shaking his head. "I have half a mind to just leave all of you here and get on with my mission," he told them as he came to a rest on the roof.
"Great Hera," Titan whispered as he beheld the former Green Lantern. His mother had told him about the great Hal Jordan and his subsequent fall from grace.
"You didn't really think I would be fooled by an unmanned time sled, did you Degaton?" Parallax asked with a smirk. He then turned to Lightning. "Ah, a speedster, almost a worthy challenge. Tell me, Jessica, do you think you can outrun the end of time, because it is coming."
"The hell it is," she barked, pulling the child close.
"And the young Andrea, the one who would have grown to become Black Robin," he said as he turned to Titan, "in your reality. A reality where your mother developed breast cancer after her Amazonian body became susceptible to disease after she gave birth to you."
Everyone was silent and he laughed. It was an evil sound, the sound of a man who had gone too far over the edge. "I know all about it, how her hair turned white after the treatments and she dyed it blonde. How she had to restrain herself when Black Robin pulled Nightwing out of the past and took him to the future."
He looked over to Lightning again. "And then there is your reality, which splits from Titan's when young Nightwing decides that a roll in bed with Jessie Quick is worth it, so long as his wife, Wonder Woman doesn't find out."
"Shut up!" Lighting cried out, pushing Andrea behind her. "So what? So you know about our lives? Where are our friends?"
Parallax shrugged. "Dead. As all of you will be very soon, one way or another."