Issue #10 – Second Wind

Nightwing perched on the gargoyle, and he sighed. "Oracle, come in. Has there been any progress from any of the teams?"

"No," she sighed into his ear. "This is the longest day of my life."

He nodded, though she couldn't see it. "I'm running out of places to look. Short of knocking down every door in Gotham, I'm not sure what to do next." He sighed again.

"We'll find him, Dick."

"But will we find him before…?" He stopped.

"What is it?

"I have to go. I have company." He felt the air move past his hair, but actually he had smelled her first. He would never forget her smell. "Kory," he said.

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In the clock tower, Barbara slammed down the microphone and rolled her eyes. Always being blown off for another girl… "Why go for brains when you can go for alien cleavage?" she muttered.

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"Dick," Starfire said. "Any luck?"

He shook his head.

She nodded. "You're hiding something from me." Her voice wasn't accusing. She merely stated the fact.

"What?" He turned to her, raising his eyebrow.

"You're being too quiet. There's something you're not telling me."

He stood up and motioned towards the city streets, so far below. "Tim is somewhere in this city trapped in the hands of a madman, a lunatic, who has hurt countless numbers of people. He crippled Barbara. I'm sorry, but I'm a little on edge because the longer we're out here, realistically, the more likely it is that we're going to find Tim…we're going to find him…" Nightwing bit his lip and turned away from her.

She walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Dick, I'm not stupid. I'm aware of just how much trouble Tim is in. And I understand how much you care about him. But you're forgetting how much I care about you. I've held you during some of your worst times. I can tell when you're not telling me the whole story."

His shoulders sank. For a moment he was silent. That's when she was certain she was right. He wrestled with whether to merely acknowledge it or to tell her, then he whispered, "We found something. Before we called you guys in, Bruce found something."

"What?"

"It was at the police station, tied to the Bat signal. It was a mannequin, strung up like it was crucified, and it was wearing Tim's costume. Joker had painted its hair and face into his likeness, and he had ripped part out of the chest, and nailed a cow's heart to it." Nightwing swallowed. "The heart had screws and nails sticking out of it. It had been cut open. And the dummy was missing both its hands."

Starfire gasped. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"We didn't want to upset the kids. I know they're giving 110 percent to find their friend, but I don't think they realize just how much danger he's in." He bit his lip again. "Damn it, Kory… If he's done anything to Tim, I'll…I'll…" He wrung his hands. "I can't stand to see someone else get hurt. He crippled Barbara. He killed Jason. The Black Mask killed Stephanie. I didn't get to know Stephanie or even Jason very well, but Tim…I was with Tim from the beginning. I'm part of the reason Bruce allowed him to be Robin. I was one of the first people he came to. I helped train him. I helped raise him some too." Nightwing chuckled. "He's the only person who talks to me about my days in the circus. If anything has happened to him, I swear…I swear I'm going to kill the Joker."

Starfire shook her head and laid her arms around Nightwing's neck. "No, you won't. You wouldn't be able to live with yourself."

"You're wrong. The guilt of killing the Joker would be nothing compared to the feeling of failing Tim." Nightwing shrugged her off and leapt off the side of the building. She walked to the edge, but when she looked down, he was gone.

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Catwoman watched as Batman leapt back to the rooftop. His gloves were splattered with the blood of two-bit hoods, and he didn't even bother to wipe it off. For a moment she thought of saying something, but then she thought better of it. Last time she had said it, about how he was crossing lines, he snapped at her. Still, she worried about him. He was working himself into a state. It wasn't good for him or the boy for Batman to be so intense.

"Any luck?" she asked.

He said nothing. Which was his way of saying no. He stalked to the end of the building. When he reached the edge, he looked back at her. "You would be more useful if you stopped following me and fanned out over the city." Then he vanished over the side.

Catwoman bit her lip. "Sometimes I wonder why I sleep with you."

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Later…

Wonder Girl rubbed her eyes and yawned. Her stomach rumbled, but still she kept going. Suddenly she felt a breeze push past her face. "Hey, Conner," she said.

Conner floated up beside her, cradling Kid Flash in his arms. "Hey, Cass," he sighed.

"What happened to him?" She pointed to Bart.

"I just found him in the park. He's asleep. He's been running nonstop all over Gotham since we got here. Didn't stop for a break or to eat or anything. He just kind of collapsed from exhaustion, I figure."

"Poor guy," she said, brushing Kid Flash's forehead. They had been searching for over a day and a half straight. "We can't give up."

"I know," Conner sighed. "But I've been over this city and over this city, every inch. I can't find anything. I'm starting to wonder if he's even in Gotham at all." He bit his lip and looked out across the skyline. With the super hearing, he heard a baby crying a mile away. "Cass, I'm scared."

"Conner, shh," she said, stroking his face. "Tim's tough. He's smarter than all of us put together. He was trained by the best. He'll be okay."

Conner shook his head. "I keep thinking about how he acted at the tower. And I didn't say anything then, but I noticed his heart. It actually started racing. He was scared of the Joker, Cass. And when they gave us the speech, Nightwing's heart was racing too. And Batman's skipped a beat. They're scared too. Nightwing and Batman are scared of the Joker. You know it has to be bad, real bad if they're scared. Batman doesn't get scared, Cass. He just doesn't." Conner swallowed hard. "Damn it, Tim's my best friend, and I can't find him. I just know if it were any one of us, Tim would have come up with a plan and saved us hours ago. But we can't do the same for him. And he's probably going through something awful, something so awful, that…"

"Superboy!"

"What?" Conner asked, looking up.

"I didn't say anything," Wonder Girl said. She tapped her ear. She had heard it too. It was the Oracle.

"Look," Oracle said. "I understand what you're going through. I'm going through the exact same thing. But you're going to have to pull yourselves together. I thought you were supposed to be Robin's friends."

"We are," he said.

"Then act like it. You know him better than this. Do you really think he would want you guys hanging around worrying about him?"

Superboy and Wonder Girl chuckled. "No, I suppose not."

"And though he would never, ever admit it, what does he always need you guys to do the most?"

"To be by his side, no matter what."

"Then go do that."

Superboy nodded. "Wake up, Bart," he said, tossing the boy up a little. "You just got your second wind."