Chapter 14

Falling in the dark

Nightwing sat alone in his darkened room and stared at the wall, beside him lay his black neck tie and his plain black mask He was lost in his own memories, he was lost in the memory of the funeral.

He opened his eyes as he and his fellow team mates carried Raven's coffin towards it's final resting place. He looked around him at all the people who had come out to say their last goodbyes to her. He felt a sudden surge of intense hatred towards these people as they threw white flowers onto the coffin as it passed by them.

"They don't miss her you know" hissed a voice inside his head. Nightwing closed his eyes and tried to ignore the voice.

"They only miss the hero not the person" it said even louder than before. Nightwing didn't like it but a part of him agreed with what the voice was saying. He opened his eyes again and looked around him at the casket bearers, at each handle stood a Titan, at each handle stood a friend of Raven's.

"If Starfire hadn't have entered the room when she did Raven might still be alive" purred the voice as Nightwing once again looked down at the coffin containing Raven.

"Why are you here evil?" asked Nightwing as he looked at it, knowing that inside of it Raven lay peacefully.

"I'm not 'the evil' Nightwing" replied the voice, "I'm you" it said before it disappeared. Nightwing smiled to himself as he looked ahead of him and saw the hill where they planned to bury Raven. He watched as they lowered her into the ground. He broke down into tears as he dropped the first of dirt onto the casket.

"Goodbye my Raven" was all he said as he watched it disappear under a mound of dirt. Something died inside of him that day, something he knew he could never get back.

Nightwing looked up as he heard a delicate cough from his doorway. He wiped away the tears in his eyes and saw Starfire standing there, her tears ran down her gentle face.

"What do you want Star?" asked Nightwing wearily as he picked up the bottle of whiskey lying at his feet and took a large drink from it.

"I came to see how you where feeling" replied Starfire sadly as she remained standing in Nightwing's doorway.

"How do you think I feel?" hissed Nightwing as he looked at her, his eyes looked cold seemingly void of the love and compassion that they used to have. Starfire didn't reply as she looked at Nightwing.
"No how could you know" smiled Nightwing as he stood up and looked at her, his legs wobbled slightly, "You didn't just bury your wife!" he screamed as he threw the bottle at the wall beside her. Starfire looked terrified as the bottle smashed against the wall, spraying glass all over the room.

"Dick your upset but you have to calm down" wept Starfire s she entered the room and grabbed hold of Nightwing's arms. Nightwing roared in fury as he pulled his hands free and threw her against the wall.

"Don't you dare speak to me" he growled as he pinned her against the wall, he could see her terror in her eyes and somewhere deep down inside of him liked what he saw. Starfire tried to push him off of her but she felt weak, even with her incredible strength she felt weak.

"Dick please don't" she pleaded as she looked away from him, she wanted to scream but her voice was no louder than a whisper

"He was right you know" smiled Nightwing cruelly as he grabbed hold of her face and made her look at him, "It was all your fault, yours and his" he said coldly as he raised his fist and brought it down into her face.

"It's always sad when a hero falls" sighed 'the evil' as it watched Nightwing strike Starfire repeatedly. He remained silent for a moment before he roared with laughter that shook the castle very foundations.

"But it's even better when a saviour fall" it laughed as he continued to watch the carnage unfold before it's eyes, eyes that where cold and empty of emotion.

Nightwing stood up and walked into his bathroom. Behind him Starfire slumped to the ground, her face was bloody and her breathing was short. He looked down at his bloody hand and saw her blood drip from it, he felt no concern as the tiny droplets of red splattered on the bathroom floor. He turned the tap on and filled the sink with cold water, never taking his eyes off his bloody hand. He eventually plunged his hand into the water, turning it into a crimson lake of pain. He finally looked at the mirror, he showed no emotion as he rammed his fist into it smashing it into thousands of pieces. He dried his wet hand and tossed the towel at Starfire.

"Clean yourself up you look like hell" he smiled as he walked past her towards his wardrobe. He reached into it and pulled out a plain black costume. He smiled as he brought it over to where Starfire lay and knelt down beside her bloody form.

"Mind if I borrow some of this?" he asked as he dabbed his finger into her blood. He smiled as he used the blood to paint something on the front of it.

"What do you think?" he asked as he showed it to Starfire, he smiled as she opened her eyes slightly and look at him. He kicked her in the ribs, making her cough in pain as he pulled the top over his head.

"Here look after this would you?" he said as he dropped his Titan communicator onto the floor beside her. He lingered for another moment before he grabbed his mask and ran out of the door., leaving Starfire lying on the floor in her own blood.

Cyborg finally finished repairing the TV making Beast Boy and Aqua Lad cheer loudly.

"Finally I can get back to whooping your sorry butt" smiled Beast Boy as he grabbed his Game station controller.

"When exactly was that?" asked Aqua Lad as he grabbed his controller and waited for the game to load up. Beast Boy just made faces at him as the Mega Dragon Fighter 300 title screen came up on the huge screen.

"I play winner" smiled Cyborg as he watched both Titan's choose their combatants and await combat. Suddenly Nightwing entered the room and grabbed his long black coat from it's peg.

"Hey man did Starfire talk to you yet?" asked Cyborg as he turned in his chair and looked at Nightwing.

"Yeah you could say that" smiled Nightwing as he put his coat on and looked over at him. Cyborg didn't know exactly what it was but there was something different about Nightwing.
"Listen we're having an all night game fest wanna join?" smiled Cyborg as he continued to figure out what was wrong with Nightwing.
"No thanks I've got a few things I need to do" replied Nightwing before he disappeared into the garage. The last thing Cyborg heard was the sound of Nightwing's motorbike roaring into life and speeding away from the tower.

Speedy whistled to himself as he walked down the corridor. He felt strangely good, probably because he was going to the hospital to see how Jinx was doing. He stopped as he noticed that the door to Nightwing's room was left open.

"Hey Nightwing you in here?" he asked as he approached the door and looked in. he froze in fear as he saw Starfire lying on the floor.

"Starfire?" he screamed as he rushed into the room and dropped down beside her, "What happened, whom did this to you?" he asked as he reached for his communicator, his hands trembled a he looked down at her once beautiful face. She looked up at him, as he brushed her bloody hair out of her face and eyes.

"Nightwing" she whispered weakly before she blacked out on Speedy's lap. Speedy looked shocked and horrified at what he had just heard, he as snapped back to reality as he heard a female voice asking him what he wanted.

"I need an ambulance quick" he said as he grabbed the towel lying beside Starfire and used it to wipe some of blood off her face.
"Ok and where do you want it?" replied the voice.

"Titan's Tower there's been an attack" he said sorrowfully before he ended the transmission and typed in another number.

"Hold on Starfire please hold on" he said as he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the living area.

Beast Boy bounced about on the sofa as he frantically bashed various buttons on his controller. Aqua Lad just watched him and laughed as he casually pressed the buttons on his controller.

"Man just end it" laughed Cyborg as he looked at Aqua Lad.

"Fine" sighed Aqua Lad as he pressed a single button and watched as Beast Boy's dragon exploded into thousands of pieces. Cyborg continued to laugh until he turned and saw Speedy enter the room with a bloody Starfire in his arms.

"Oh my god" he gasped as he looked at Starfire's face. Beast Boy didn't say a single word as he leapt off the sofa and ran towards her.

"Star speak to me" he pleaded as Speedy placed her on the kitchen table.

"Who did this to her?" asked Aqua Lad as he stood beside Speedy he didn't want to look at Starfire.

"Nightwing" replied Speedy as he looked at both him and Cyborg. His answer stunned them both ridged.

"I don't believe you" replied Cyborg as he looked at Speedy. Speedy didn't have to reply his eyes told Cyborg that he was telling the truth. He couldn't believe that his best friend could do something this vile to one of his friends. Beast Boy continued to hold Starfire's hand and stoke her hair as the sound of ambulance sirens echoed in the distance.

Nightwing stopped his bike on a small hill and stepped off it. He smiled as he walked towards a simple gravestone beneath a large tree. He didn't say a thing as he dropped to his knees and pressed his lips against the cold granite. He showed no emotion as he stood back up and walked back over to his motorcycle.

"Let my vengeance begin" he said calmly as he started his bike and speed off back into the city.

.

.

.

I hope you liked that chapter. Anyway even if you did or didn't would you please a review...thanks. Nothing left to ay now except that I should have this story updated soon so until then remember to stay safe.

Later days people