A/N: Woohoo! two post two nights in a row……yeah I know I'm killing everyone with the suspense. I swear I won't leave you hanging too long at the end of this chapter! This is section is for all of you who asked about Tim Drake…..grins thanks for the reminder! P.S. I went back and re-edited the last section for time-line purposes. Ok so I may be compressing things a bit, but hey anything can happen in my world right?!

Train Yards

Manhattan

3:10 am

Nightwing grinned over at the young man, fighting expertly by his side. "Thanks for showing up Tim."

"Anytime boss. You know I live for this kind of stuff."

"You see Wally around?"

"Does anyone ever see The Flash?" the teen joked as he threw a volley of batarangs at several soldiers that had gotten too close for his comfort.

Just then a blur of red zipped in front of them and paused. "Hey I resemble that remark!" The Flash protested with a grin before disappearing once more.

Tim Drake ducked down as several gunshots began to track towards where he and Dick had hunkered down for cover. "Have to tell you Nightwing, this is one hell of a party you invited us too. How'd things go back home?"

Nightwing sobered a bit. "Honestly….I'm not sure. I know they were successful, but that's pretty much it. That and Oracle was under attack when I left. I just hope one of the others was able to break away to help her."

"Ah don't worry about it man. She turned that Clock Tower into a friggin fortress after last year." The younger man stood with Nightwing as they skillfully took out a small group of soldiers running past their hiding spot. "Besides, I don't see the overprotective Huntress leaving Barbara alone for too long after she knew she was in trouble."

"Yeah….you're probably right." Inside Dick fervently hoped the youngest member to the Bat Family was right.

"Holy crap!" Sully exclaimed as he and his young partner ducked down behind a parked truck just in time. "This is a friggin' war zone!"

"We are either incredibly crazy or incredibly stupid to be out here right now," Ty agreed.

"Both I think. You see Bosco and Faith?"

"Yeah they're holed up inside that warehouse just across from us. Hey you catch the other guy in the costume?"

"Yeah, he looked like a kid. You know who he is?"

"No, but this is like a fantasy come true."

Sully looked over at his partner and raised his eyebrow. "You fantasize about freezing your ass off in the middle of the night while being outnumbered and outgunned in the nastiest street battle in Manhattan history?"

"No man," he groaned as he took aim and fired off a couple of rounds before ducking back down. "I just can't believe I'm here fighting alongside real super-heroes and stuff."

"Yeah well they work outside the law that we bust our butts to uphold so don't let this all go to your head."

"You take all the fun outta things Sully."

"Imagine that," his partner remarked sarcastically. "I'm taking the fun out of a gun battle."

Brooklyn took out two more creeps with guns and tossed the extra HQ's to Lex who snagged them and scrambled off to dump them a large crate that Broadway and Bronx were guarding until the guns could be properly disposed of. Angela and Talon were systematically working their way through the dozens of soldiers that were trying to shoot anything that moved at this point.

It was definitely risky. Talon had been grazed in arm. Delilah had taken a bullet in the leg, but was still fighting with the combined fierceness of her two parents. Angela had been clipped in the wing, but she would be able to glide still with little to no assistance. Even he had been nicked by a stray bullet.

Chavez had informed him that the police were on their way, and ETA was fifteen minutes. The officers that had volunteered, were holding the perimeter, and they were reporting all men accounted and uninjured so far.

There were no transmissions from Glasses, but then Brooklyn hadn't really expected any. He could see that the dark skinned man and his team were silently and efficiently working their way through the ranks, collecting a wide variety of weapons as they went.

The biggest and most pleasant surprise came in the form of the two friends that had shown up to assist. Brooklyn watched as the young man dressed in brilliant red, green, and yellow quickly partnered up with the man called Nightwing and they joined in the fight, working together like a well oiled machine. It was plainly obvious that they had worked together for some time, and had a connection similar to what the Clan shared.

All in all, things were going well. The odds against them were starting to grow more even with each passing minute, and Brooklyn realize that at this rate, they would have this whole place gift wrapped for the police by the time they arrived.

Wayne Manor

New Gotham

3:10 am

There was a brief knock at the door, and Helena straightened up with a protective growl as someone entered the room.

"Easy tiger, it's just me," Leslie chuckled quietly as she stepped into the room and shut the door behind her.

Helena immediately quieted and slipped off Barbara's bed to allow the older woman access to Barbara.

"Well Ms. Gordon I must say it's thankfully been a long time since I've had to do this much patch-up work on you," Leslie said gently as she sat down next to Barbara and began to look her over with a practiced eye.

"Dinah?" Barbara whispered hoarsely.

Beginning a physical evaluation of Barbara, the doctor was careful to keep her face neutral and her voice calm. "I won't lie to you Barbara, because I know you wouldn't appreciate it. But there's not much I can tell you at this point. Listening to everyone's description of what happened, I'd say Dinah overexerted herself and overtaxed her meta abilities. Physically she'll be okay, a few cuts and bruises that should heal in a day or two."

"But?" Barbara pressed, reading her old friend's carefully guarded features.

"But she's in a coma, and her brain and neural activity are erratic. I'm worried that her body may shut down completely if it doesn't find a way to reset itself and balance things out."

Barbara's good eye closed as tears formed and she couldn't help the small sob that bubbled past her lips. Helena was at her side instantly, firmly clasping her hand. Leslie looked at both women, and tried to smile. "She's a strong girl. I know this is hard, believe me I really do. But Dinah is a telepath and right now she needs for you to be strong. With her shields completely gone who knows what she's picking up on now. So let yourselves grieve now, here. But as soon as you leave this room, you need to leave all thoughts of sadness and doubt behind. That kind of negative thinking could be the difference between her living or dying," she lectured gently.

After satisfying herself with Alfred's skilled medical attentions, she drew out a syringe and checked it over before injecting it into Barbara's unfeeling thigh. "I imagine you're in quite a bit of pain. This will help with the pain, and help you to relax. I don't doubt that you are both sporting concussions right now. I'm going to make sure Reese checks on you both regularly for the rest of the night. I'll take up in the morning, but right now these old bones need to get some rest. I swear I don't know how Alfred does it."

Barbara's eyes were slowly dragging shut even before Leslie left the room, and when Reese tentatively entered the room several minutes later, even Helena's were growing heavy. Dimming the light, the detective pulled a chair close to the bed where he propped his feet up as he reached out to brush an errant lock of hair out of Helena's eyes.

"You ok?" he whispered.

She snorted, her lips twisting in a non-humorous smile. "Was I ever?" she asked sarcastically. Then she sobered. "This sucks," she stated simply.

"Yeah…..it does. But I'll be here for you Helena. Now get some sleep."

"Who died and made you boss of this relationship," she mumbled sleepily even as her eyes slid shut.

"Thankfully not you."

Pier 15

Manhattan

3:10 am

It was an ugly fight by anyone's standards. Years of pent up anger and hatred had risen to the surface in both combatants, and was now venting itself in it's most primal form of violence- a knock down, dragged-out, no holds barred street fight. The adrenaline was coursing so strongly in both their veins that neither was really aware of the pain and damage they were inflicting on each other with each vicious blow that landed on unprotected flesh.

Elisa definitely had the upper hand given the body armor she was wearing. But her previously injured side had split open again and she was bleeding heavily from a broken nose. Canmore wasn't faring any better, his brow split open above one eye, and limping from where she had nearly dislocated his knee with a well placed kick. He spat a glob of blood, two teeth coming out with it, and she smiled tauntingly at him.

That's when he decided he'd had enough abuse and dove for her discarded gun. Elisa was closer to it, and she dove for it as well. Realizing he'd never reach the gun in time, Jon changed course and tackled her to the ground roughly sending them both skidding towards the gun. She twisted under him, not wanting to leave her back unprotected, and realized her mistake as she saw her own gun in his hand as the handle bore down on her face. There was a sickening crack, a flash of excruciating pain, and then her world went blissfully dark.

Canmore glared down at the unconscious woman, his breath coming in harsh pants as he drew his knife. A furious bellow, and the sound of more gunfire and fighting from nearby made him pause however. A cruel smile spread across his lips as he stood, hauling Maza's limp body roughly from the ground. She would die alright…and HE would watch her die.

Pulling her body against his as a human shield, he slipped his knife under her throat in case she woke up and decided to struggle. Then he slowly made his way towards the fighting, dragging his human captive unceremoniously.

Demona landed on the roof of an abandoned warehouse a block away from the battle. Eyes taking stock of the fight, she felt her adrenaline begin to pump as she realized just how violent things were below. She was unable to locate the Hunter amidst the humans running around, but she quickly spotted Goliath fighting through a wall of Canmore's thugs. She raised an approving eyebrow as she took noticed the body armor he was finally wearing. Then she had to blink several times in shocked surprise as she realized that he was fighting side by side with Tony Dracon of all people. There were a handful of Tony's men spread throughout the crowded port equipment and warehouses, desperately trying to aid their boss in containing the men that Canmore had brought according to Xanatos. A truckload more of Dracon's men were just arriving on the outskirts, all piling out armed to the teeth before the truck had even come to a stop.

Torn as to whether she should leap into the fray or continue on to help her daughter, she hesitated perhaps a moment too soon. One of Canmore's men, obviously wise enough to keep an eye on the rooftops, spotted her and took a poorly aimed shot. Growling, Demona ducked, and then decided she wasn't about to let the human get away with the stupid move. Besides, if she killed anyone tonight at least she could justify it.

Goliath looked upwards in surprise as he heard the familiar battle screech of his former mate, and had to smirk when he heard Dracon mutter something about Canmore being in deep shit now. Indeed, he thought silently to himself, actually relieved to see the violently-prone gargess. True to form, Demona began to sweep through Canmore's ranks with little care to her own safety or theirs. Immortality definitely has it perks, he mused as she took several shots point blank, but still pressed forward, the pain only enhancing her rage as her body instantly began to heal itself.

3:14 am

Canmore halted his approach as he heard the Demon's battle cry. He had been hunting for her for so long and his heart hammered in his chest when he realized she was actually here. After all these centuries, he would not only be rid of the Clan Leader and his human slut, but he would be able to capture the Demona that had started his family's quest all those centuries ago.

Carefully…he had to tread carefully. Reaching for his comm, he shifted his burden roughly, and began to orchestrate what was left of his troops. First he needed to pull them back. It was clear their forward attacks were useless against her immortality, and Dracon's forces were wiping out his manpower very quickly. He needed to regain control of the situation quickly and there was only one way he could do that….hostages always worked well.

Demona had finally reached Goliath and Dracon and she sneered at them both as they fought off one attacker after another. "My my, Goliath, I see you're really dragging the bottom of the barrel lately. What's the matter? Your precious Detective too fragile to waste on scum like this?" she taunted as she threw a soldier roughly into a group of two others.

Goliath rounded on her, his eyes flaring. "Don't start with me right now Demona," he ground out menacingly. Demona took a small step backwards. It was the first time he had actually sounded like he was about to let all his fury out on her, and she smirked a bit. So. The noble gargoyle had finally faced reality.

"I hate to interrupt your little ex-spat, but I think something's up," Dracon panted, though his tone was thick with sarcasm. He scanned the area, and his eyes landed on a discarded HQ laying several feet from an unconscious soldier's body. He dove towards it, met with only a spattering of gun fire, and then crouched behind the safety of a loading crane.

The air slowly grew quieter, and the two gargoyles waited, sensing something was about to happen.

Canmore glanced around the corner and grinned. Perfect. Well it would have been, if his brother and sister hadn't shown up. Damnit! he thought to himself as he watched them land a couple of hundred feet from Goliath and the Demon. He hesitated, but then he realized that his siblings needed to see the gargoyle and the human die. They needed to be reminded of their heritage. It was all Maza's fault that Jason had been sidetracked. With her out of the way, the eldest Canmore wouldn't be blinded by the one –sided love he still held for the woman.

Jason's voice was strong and clear as he stepped off his flitter with the aid of his battle suit, and turned in a slow circle. "It's over Jon! This needs to stop now," he called out in a loud voice.

"I think not brother," Jon answered as he stepped around the corner of the warehouse, dragging Elisa in front of him.

There was a sudden shuffling of noise as both Dracon and Canmore's men repositioned to cover each other as the main players all stepped out into clear view of each other. Canmore smirked triumphantly as he watched Goliath tense, his lip drawn up in a deadly snarl. The Demon's eyes were blood red, and she tensed, ready to leap.

A knife to Maza's throat, caused everyone to freeze- everyone except Demona of course. But Goliath held her back. Jason slowly set his weapon down and spread his arms open. "Now what brother? Are ye goin' to start killing humans too?"

God she hurt so badly. A large part of her wanted nothing more than to stay in the void of darkness that shielded her from the pain, but her will to survive reminded her that she blacked out in the middle of a deadly battle. If she was to live she had better wake up and make sure she got to safety before she allowed the blackness to consume her again.

Easier said than done. She knew she was waking up, because she could hear voices. But she couldn't understand them. Of course that could be due, in part, to the blood roaring in her ears as her adrenaline kicked back in trying to compensate for the agony she was in. The resulting effect was overwhelming to say the least.

Goliath watched as Jason tried to talk some sense into his brother, which he knew would be a futile attempt, and tried to formulate some plan of getting Elisa out of the madman's grasp. She was still alive, that much he was certain of, but had no idea the extent of her injuries. As Robyn added her voice to the argument, Demona shifted slightly.

"She's waking up," she mumbled under her breath and Goliath focused back on Elisa.

Elisa was indeed starting to stir in Jon's arms, and the crazed man seemed to realize it as his grip on the knife tightened a fraction. Elisa's head was still slumped forward, her long raven tresses covering her face. Her body jerked suddenly and then despite the knife digging into her throat she leaned forward to retch. Canmore disgustedly allowed the woman to collapse to her knees for a moment to be sick, but he never took the knife from her throat.

All conversation had halted, as everyone focused on Elisa, waiting to see if she could somehow turn the tide of things now that she was awake. As soon as she lifted her face though, that hope fled as quickly as it risen.

3:16 am

Elisa Maza had never been in so much pain that she had actually puked from it. As her fingers ground into the concrete and her whole body convulsed with each spasm, she desperately hoped she would never be in this position again for the rest of her life. As the spasms finally receded, she distantly became aware of the sharp pricking sensation along the skin of her throat. That's when she was roughly hauled back to her feet and the blood roared in her ears for a few more seconds as her body struggled to stay awake.

Raising her head, Elisa tried to focus on her surroundings. She couldn't see out of one eye, the pain radiating from that region of her face made it feel like the whole eye had been ripped out. Given the amount of blood that was seeping down her face, it may have been for all she knew. She couldn't really understand much of what was being said, and could barely focus on the images wavering before her. It took Elisa a few moments to realize things had gone from bad to worse, since she was now a hostage. And somewhere along the way, Demona and Jon's siblings had joined the party. God this was just too screwed up.

Goliath drew in a sharp breath as Elisa's head lifted, and this time it was Demona holding him back as he tried to lunge forward. The knife was pressed into Elisa's throat hard enough to break the skin, and Demona jerked him to a halt as she too stared in surprise.

It was more than obvious that the Detective had been through hell and back over the course of the last few hours. But the Hunter had really done a number on her face. Even from where she stood, Demona realized that Elisa had suffered more than just a concussion from the blow to her bleeding and disfigured orbital region. It was amazing really, that she was even conscious. Of course she must have been in tremendous pain and that though brought some perverse pleasure to the immortal.

Goliath wanted her alive however, and his tense posture wasn't going to help matters. Especially when it was apparent any help from Elisa was out of the question. She was trembling like a newborn hatchling, hardly able to stay on her feet. The Hunter family started arguing with each other, the discussion growing more heated.

There was a slight movement off to one side, and Elisa seemed to focus on Tony as he slowly shifted into a better position, the HQ still in his hands.

There was no way out of this, she realized slowly. Jason and Robyn would never reason with Jon. All they were doing was providing Elisa with an opportunity to act. That was out of the question however…at least on her part. She had spotted Tony with the HQ in hand, and then closed her eyes as her jumbled mind finally drew the only solution that would end all of this.

Slowly looking back forward, Elisa's gaze settled on where Goliath was being held back by Demona. Her vision darkened for a minute, and she felt her knees begin to buckle. When things refocused again, Elisa idly noted that Goliath looked like he was ready to rip Canmore's head off right now. For once, she was actually glad Demona was there, because she was the only one who would be able to control him.

Nausea threatened to consume her again, and she spat out a mouthful of accumulating blood to help dissipate the feeling. She and Reese had sworn that they would see this thing through to the end no matter what the cost. Well this was it.

She would end it here and now.

3:19 am

Demona's eyes narrowed as Elisa's gaze focused on her for several long burning seconds. She watched carefully as Elisa's eye slid to where Demona's hand was gripping Goliath's arm tightly. Then she tilted her head slightly in Tony's direction.

What in the hell?

Elisa's chin lifted slightly, and Demona's eyes widened suddenly in understanding. The look the human gave Demona unnerved her completely. In that single glance, Elisa conveyed emotions that neither woman would have ever voiced to each other under any other circumstance.

Why did she decide to glide by the castle tonight?

Dracon watched tensely as the argument escalated, and Elisa began to take in the situation. After nearly passing out twice, she seemed to focus on Demona for several long drawn out seconds before her gaze fixed on him….and the gun in his hands.

Tony froze.

Taking a deep breath, she seemed to steady herself as a look of determination and resignation filled her battered face.

Shoot, she mouthed to him.

Tony's eyes widened and he stood there unwilling to process what she was asking of him.

She glared at him.

He slid a nervous glance towards Canmore who was still preoccupied with his siblings. Then he made the mistake of looking over at Goliath. The look of dawning horror on the gargoyle's face caused him to hesitate further.

A wave of pain must have washed over Elisa, because her features twisted and she jerked in Canmore's grasp. When she finally lifted her head again and opened her undamaged eye, he swallowed hard against the pleading look on her face. "Shoot," she whispered.

3:20 am

Canmore froze, hearing his captive speak for the first time. He glanced around, suddenly realizing something was going on while he had been distracted. Goliath was on the verge of panic, Demona was holding onto him tightly, and Dracon had somehow managed to creep into a spot where he had a clear shot.

"Stay back!" he shouted at Dracon, who stood frozen, the HQ only half aimed in their direction. He dug the knife under Elisa's chin, the point disappearing under delicate flesh. "I'll slit her throat if any of you take one more step closer!"

The tense silence was broken by a cold, humorless chuckle. Swallowing carefully against the weapon buried in her neck, Elisa couldn't help but laugh at that empty threat. Not that she doubted that Canmore would cut her open in a heartbeat…but that he was implying that he might actually let her live.

"You…really think…any of us…believe… I'm getting outta…this alive Jon?"

"Shut up," he hissed at her.

"You know…what my only regret…in life is?" she pressed, her gaze fixing on Goliath's as he stilled for a moment in Demona's tight grasp. The despair in his eyes was too much finally and she shut her eye from that pain.

"Choosing the wrong side of the war?" he taunted, his grip digging painfully into her injured side causing her to cry out in further agony. She was left panting harshly, her mind barely registering her surroundings for several more seconds. Her head was pressed up against his shoulder due to the knife at her throat and she was able to slide her head sideways enough so that she could look him in the eye.

"No…."she finally grit out a minute later. "I regret…not killing…you sooner. The irony…will be that…you'll die….next to someone…that loved those…that you wish to kill…A human…that gave her heart…to a gargoyle…."

"SHUT UP!!!" he screamed, his hand wrapping in her hair and jerking her head back as he fully exposed her throat. The knife blade was poised, and she saw the moment he was about to act in his eyes.

"Damnit Tony SHOOT!!!!!" she screamed with what strength she had left.

The next few seconds stretched out into a slow eternity.

The knife began to cut.

Tony raised the gun.

Goliath bellowed.

Gunfire erupted.

3:22am

The pressure from the knife suddenly disappeared as Canmore fumbled for his gun. Elisa struggled weakly, trying to keep him off balance all the while screaming at Tony to shoot.

Tony began to take aim.

Goliath threw Demona off and leapt.

Canmore found his gun and began to draw it.

Tony's finger tightened on the trigger.

And Goliath slammed into him just as the gun discharged. The weapon was flung upwards as it fired, and the explosive bullet slammed into one of the structural supports of the crane Tony had been near.

Dracon went flying. Goliath slowly rose to his feet as a horrific noise cut through the gunfire and caused the Clan Leader to look upwards.

Elisa's eye widened, and she jerked in Canmore's loose grip screaming Goliath's name as the massive framework of the steel crane began to collapse.

People scattered.

There was one last howl amid the deafening screech of steel being warped and twisted against it's will.

3:23 am

And then the night went deathly silent.