Thanks so much to Em and Beth for their beta reading of this chapter. Y'all are great. I hope you all enjoy this part. Char :-)

COURT MARTIAL: PART 28

Plastic Man stretched his neck to the main door of the secure area. He looked out the circular window into the corridor before pulling the rest of his body to the door. He scratched his head and looked back again. He was surprised by the woman who stood there tapping her foot impatiently. She was not a member of the Justice League. She was not even a costumed hero ... or villain ... she was wearing a business suit.

Plastic Man opened the door, "Are you another lawyer?"

The woman rolled her eyes and pushed past him. "I'm Amanda Waller. I run Task Force X ... "

"The Suicide Squad?" Plastic Man questioned.

"It's been called that. I'm here to talk business with one of your prisoners."

"Well, um, I dunno ... I gotta check with --" Plastic Man started. He stopped when he heard another voice.

"Amanda?"

Waller turned to face the red headed woman seated in the wheelchair in the doorway. "Hi Red, how are you?"

"Fine. What are you doing here?" Barbara asked again, her voice cold.

"Making a job offer. I could make two if you'd be so inclined as to let me speak to your boy. I'd love to have him in the --"

"Nightwing has no need of joining the Suicide Squad," Barbara interjected.

"Yet." Waller retorted. "When he's convicted, call me. Five years working for the government is a lot better than what this crew has planned for him."

"If he's convicted, I'll think about it. But I don't plan on him being convicted. You, better than anyone, should know not to underestimate me."

"Yes, Red, I know that." Amanda moved further into the common area allowing Barbara to follow her in. Plastic Man entered the codes to close the door and ran his hand through his hair. There were just too many things happening on the Watch Tower lately to suit him. It was time they got back to normal, if that was possible, and just found some good old fashioned bad guys to lay a little butt-kicking on.

Barbara Gordon crossed her arms across her chest and glared at the older woman. "So, you're here for Tarantula?"

"Uh huh."

"Good riddance to bad rubbish," Barbara replied. Then she held up her hand, wagging her finger. "But, you can't have her until I'm done with her. I'm calling her as a witness tomorrow. After that, take her. And I hope you find a very nice, dangerous mission to drop her into."

Waller laughed. "That's my Red. Any chance I can talk you into coming back to work for me?" She laughed again at the look the younger woman gave her. "Well, you could always find that nice, dangerous mission you want me to send Tarantula on. Just let me get my money's worth out of her first."

"That'll be impossible," Barbara said as she went to the far side of the room indicating she wanted to speak with Waller away from Plastic Man. Once they were together she whispered, "What do you know about her, Amanda?"

"I know she failed the psych eval at Quantico. I know she trained with Cheshire and your boy. She's an unstable fruitcake who wants to be a hero. I'd say that puts her slightly ahead of my usual recruits."

"I don't like letting her go."

Amanda shrugged. "You're not the one letting her go, Red. It's not up to you. I contacted her attorney who spoke to her. She's ready to sign on the dotted line."

"In blood."

"Maybe. Anyway, once she does, Catalina Flores is no longer the problem of Gotham State. She becomes an employee of the federal government. I'll have her transferred from this facility to my custody once you're through with her in court," the woman said with a nod. "I meant what I said about Nightwing."

"I know you did. I just don't plan to lose. You know me when I set my mind to a thing," Barbara said looking up with a sly smile on her face.

Waller laughed again. Loudly. "That I do, Red, that I do. I almost feel sorry for your opposition." She walked over to a cell door peering in. She moved along the wall until she came to a stop in front of Tarantula's cell. "Hey, Stretchy, lemme in here."

Barbara bit her lip as she watched Plastic Man muttering to himself as he opened the cell door to allow Waller entrance. Then she moved to Nightwing's cell and waited for Eel to cross the room and enter the code to let her in.

Dick looked up from his book and smiled. "Hey, gorgeous."

"Hi yourself," she smiled back. Her eyes moved to the desk and the food waiting for her. "What's all this?"

Dick shrugged as he dropped the book on his bunk. "Told Eel we were having a dinner meeting, so he brought dinner for two."

"That's sweet of him."

"Yeah. Eel's okay."

"If you can get past the humor," Barbara replied as she moved over lifting the lids covering the food. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the aroma of chicken fettuccini. Opening her eyes, she noticed Dick had moved to sit on the stool beside her chair. "Smells good."

"Yeah, I'm hungry. I was hoping you'd hurry up," he grinned at her as he pulled his plate closer. Twirling the plastic fork in his hand, he grinned, "I was going to start without you if you hadn't gotten here soon."

"Sorry. I got caught up outside. Amanda Waller is here," Barbara said. Dick looked up, curiosity written on his face. She shrugged. "Offering Tarantula a spot on the Suicide Squad."

A pensive look crossed Dick's face as he played with his food. "Nice. She should fit right in."

"Dick --"

"Babs, I don't want to talk about that, okay?"

"Sure," she smiled as she reached her hand over to lightly touch his arm. "I think today went --"

"I don't want to talk about that either. I don't want to talk about this trial."

"Okay, Dick. Sure. What do you want to talk about?" she asked. Barbara watched him as something flickered across his face. She wasn't sure what it was.

Dick shrugged. "I dunno, just know what I don't want to talk about ... or think about. I've thought enough."

Her hand moved back and wrapped around his. She noticed how her small hand was beside his, and yet, their hands seemed to go together. Like they were meant to connect. "When this is over, how about you moving into the Clocktower with me. It'll give you some time to relax, think and decide where you want to go from -- "

"Barbara," his voice was low. He looked at her with pain etched on his face. "Don't. I'm sorry. I just ... I can't talk about the future when I may not have one."

"Dick. We're not going to lose. You're --"

His hand stopped her mid-sentence. "We don't know what's going to happen." Dick took her hand in his as their eyes locked. "I can't ... we can't ... talk about the future. Not now, not with everything up in the air. We don't know what's going to happen and it's not fair to me and it's not fair to you ... to us."

"None of this is fair to us," Barbara said as she moved closer to him. "I just ... I want us to be normal again."

He laughed softly. "Normal for us isn't exactly normal, hon. But I know what you mean, and I agree." Dick speared a piece of chicken and popped it into his mouth.

They sat in silence for a while; neither knowing quite what to say. "Remember that time when you brought hot chocolate to a stake out?" she asked.

Dick smiled. "Yeah. Hid it from Batman. I just thought ... hot chocolate, stars ... I could pretend it was a date with you."

She laughed. "You were a weird little kid."

"Weird?"

"Short pants, pixie boots, need I say more?"

Dick laughed and took her hand is his. "Okay, you have a point."

"I don't know what Bruce was thinking, dressing you in that outfit."

"He didn't dress me." Dick smiled as his mind wandered back to that first night in the cave. He remembered smiling up at Batman, his pixie booted for resting on the Joker's prone body. "When he first saw me he stared at me for a minute and then said to me 'What are you wearing?', it was kinda funny."

"It's good to know he has better taste in clothes than I thought," she replied kissing his hand.


Barbara Gordon sat at counsel table, her hands resting in her lap. She looked straight towards the Tribunal and watched them settle into their seats. Her face was sedate and expressionless, a lesson she had learned from the Bat. She made eye contact with Captain Marvel and calmly said, "The defense calls Catalina Flores." Murmuring erupted behind and around her, yet Barbara remained unfazed. Her center was tranquil.

Captain Marvel turned towards Plastic Man. "Have Ms. Flores brought in."

Plastic Man morphed into a luggage trolley and said, "Bring Ms. Flores' in, Booster."

Standing, Booster glared. "Why me? When'd I get to be the gopher around here?" he muttered as he headed out of the room.

Barbara turned towards the prosecution and smiled. She watched as Ted sighed before she turned back to Dick, her hand resting on top of his.

He looked up into green eyes and gave her a slight smile. Inside, his stomach was flipping, yet he knew he had to maintain complete control. Complete and absolute control, no matter what Catalina said or did. He had been trained to do this. He could do this. Dick took in a deep breath composing himself. He felt a strong hand squeeze his shoulder and he closed his eyes a moment. He looked up to see Batman standing behind him. Dick watched as Bruce turned, lifted his chair over the rope barrier, and took his seat immediately behind him. Dick smiled, comforted by his father's close presence.

John and Ted both glared at the movements at the Defense table, but they refrained from saying anything about Batman's actions. They knew there was no need.

The Hall of Justice buzzed with the mutterings coming from the audience section of the room as the participants awaited the witness's appearance. After what seemed an interminable time, the doors at the back of the Hall slid open and Booster brought a shackled Tarantula into the room.

Ted Grant stood up. "Your honor, shouldn't Ms. Flores' attorney be present?"

Barbara smiled. "Ms. Flores has already executed a plea transcript agreeing to plead guilty to second degree murder in exchange for her truthful testimony in Nightwing's trial."

"But the prosecution did not call her. We chose not to," Ted proclaimed.

Barbara picked up a copy of the negotiated plea agreement and held it up. "The plea does not say that she has to testify for the prosecution. It may have been implied, but that was not a part of the agreement as written and signed. Be that as it may, Ms. Flores would only need an attorney if she was facing some jeopardy, which she is not pursuant to her plea where she has already admitted her part in Roland Desmond's death. Besides that, Ms. Flores is no longer in any kind of jeopardy of imprisonment since she will receive a full presidential pardon for any and all crimes she has or may have committed prior to yesterday evening when she entered into a contract with the Federal government that in exchange for her service for five years as a member of Task Force X, also known as the Suicide Squad."

Barbara picked up another set of documents from her desk, handed one copy to Ted, and approached the bench handing copies to Captain Marvel. She smiled at Ted on her way back to her table, and then she patiently waited as Captain Marvel reviewed the papers.

"Well," Captain Marvel started, "it appears Tarantula has managed to extricate herself from any criminal liability in connection with Mr. Desmond's murder. I don't suppose she needs an attorney present. Oracle, you may proceed."

"Thank you, Your Honor," Barbara replied. Turning her full attention to the witness, Barbara masked her utter contempt for the woman and began by asking, "Please state your name for the Court."

Catalina glared at Nightwing before she responded. "Catalina Flores."

"You are also called Tarantula, aren't you?"

"Yes. In honor of John Law," she added. She was oblivious to Ted Grant and Allan Scott's shaking of their heads at the statement.

"You wanted to be a hero, correct?"

"I wanted to help Bludhaven, my home. Bludhaven's always been corrupt. It needed help. More help than the police could ... would ... give. I wanted to be that help."

Barbara's face remained impassive. "That is why you applied to the FBI?"

"Yes. I thought that, as a federal officer, I could look into the obvious corruption in Bludhaven. The corruption that started with the politicians, filtered through the police department and infested the city."

Barbara smiled. "Did you graduate from the FBI training academy at Quantico?"

Catalina's eyes clouded with fury as she growled out, "No."

"Why not?" Barbara asked with mock curiosity.

"I didn't pass one of the requirements," the witness replied. She looked away from the red-headed woman hounding her with questions.

"The psychological evaluation, correct."

"That's what they said," Catalina retorted with a sneer.

"Can't imagine why," Barbara quipped. She quickly rolled into her next question before Ted could object. "When you left Quantico, you went looking for other training, correct?"

"Yes."

"Who else did you train with?" Barbara asked nonchalantly.

Catalina's eyes darted around the room. She looked at the Tribunal, to the counsel tables, and out at the costume clad audience. "I ... well ... I trained with a Titan."

"Pbtt," erupted rather loudly from Roy Harper. Roy rolled his eyes as he stretched his arms above his head. He ignored the fact that he was drawing attention away from Tarantula and onto himself. He turned to his right and was met with a disapproving glare from Garth. Roy simply shrugged. "What? I didn't say anything."

Barbara did not turn toward the activities in the audience. She smiled at her prey. "A Titan? Interesting. Most of them are here. Do you see who you trained with?"

Catalina's eyes moved toward the group of young heroes toward the middle of the room. "Uhm ... well ... no. She's not here."

Barbara moved to the witness chair, a photograph in her hand. She handed it to Tarantula. "Is this the Titan you trained with?" Barbara watched as Catalina nodded. "I'll take that nod as a yes." She handed the photograph to Green Arrow. "I think the Tribunal can take judicial notice that this is the assassin Cheshire." Barbara started back toward her table, then she stopped, and looked back over her shoulder at her witness. "She's not a Titan, by the way."

"She said she was!" Catalina spat.

"I think what she said was that she knew Nightwing from when he was with the Titans, isn't that correct?"

"I ... I don't remember. I thought she was a Titan."

"Of course you did."

"Objection!" Ted said finding his feet. "Defense counsel doesn't have to be patronizing."

"I won't if they won't," Barbara quipped quickly. She looked down at her notes when Captain Marvel raised an eyebrow disapprovingly. "You were operating as a ... what? Vigilante? In Bludhaven?"

"Yes."

"Before you sold your services to Roland Desmond? After that you were just one of his flunkies, right?"

"You like playing the bitch, don't you? Compensates for not being able to walk." Catalina spewed as she leaned forward in her seat. She squealed, "Oww," when Green Arrow yanked on the lasso encircling her wrist pulling her back in the chair.

Green Arrow leaned menacingly close to Tarantula. "If you want to make it off this witness stand to go to work for the Suicide Squad, you'd better watch your mouth."

"Whoo!" Roy grinned as he elbowed Cyborg who sat to his left. "That's my old man. Makes a guy proud." He ignored the looks he was receiving for his outburst from the rest of the Tribunal.

An unflustered Barbara Gordon simply stared at the witness. "Is that a yes, that you were one of Roland Desmond's employees?"

"Yes. I went to work for him," Catalina muttered rubbing her now sore wrist.

"You murdered Chief Redhorn for Blockbuster, didn't you?"

Ted stood up. "Objection!"

"She's already received a pardon so -- " Barbara started to reply.

"Not to that," Ted interjected. "Leading. You're leading the witness."

Captain Marvel refrained from rolling his eyes despite his strong desire to do so. "He's right, Oracle. Please do not lead the witness."

Ted smiled satisfactorily as he sat down. His smile faded as he came under the glares of John and Jean. "Broke up the flow," he whispered as he slipped down slightly in his chair.

Barbara shook her head almost imperceptibly. "Ms. Flores, could you please tell the Tribunal what, if any, involvement you had in the death of Chief Francis Alexander Redhorn?"

"Sure. I put a bullet between his eyes. He deserved it. He was a crook posing as a cop and he was running a crooked department."

"Was it your idea to kill him?"

"Well ... I didn't mind --- not really," she replied. She wanted to take the credit, to say it was her idea, but it wasn't. "It was Desmond's," the lasso's magic forced Catalina to reply.

"He ordered you to kill Chief Redhorn?"

"Yes. Redhorn was becoming a liability."

"What, if anything," Barbara added as she smirked at Ted, "did Roland Desmond order you to do regarding Nightwing?"

For the first time since Tarantula had taken the stand, Dick looked up and stared at her. Despite the gnawing, drawing feeling in his stomach, Dick was determined to make eye contact with her. Tarantula ... Catalina ... had taken so much away from him. His pride, his control, his dignity. She was responsible for him being here, in custody, on trial. She had killed Blockbuster and might have made him a party to the murder. Dick really wasn't sure anymore. That horrible night when his life had spiraled so out of control, he knew he was guilty. His friends and family had made a strong case for his innocence. Dick didn't know which was right and he had a feeling that there was right on both sides. What he did know now that he hadn't realized that night, was that he was not responsible for Catalina's actions. Then he felt that he had utterly failed her, but now he understood. You can't save someone from herself, especially when she did not want to be saved.

"Blockbuster wanted to destroy Nightwing. Not just kill him. Destroy him. Blockbuster told me to watch him, so I did."

"In the apartment you rented on Parkthorne Avenue across from Nightwing's building?"

"Yes, among other ways. I followed him. Then we started to dissect his life. It was easier than I thought it would be." Catalina leaned back in the chair, crossing her legs, as a smug smile settled across her features. "You helped, by the way, breaking up with him just because I attacked the two of you in that restaurant. Or was it because we kissed?"

Barbara felt Dick's hand entwine with hers. As hard as this was for him, he was lending support to her. Inwardly, she smiled. Outwardly, her face was impassive as she stared at Tarantula.

"Blockbuster knew Nightwing's real identity was Dick Grayson, didn't he?"

"Yes. Saw something on some tape, he said. I dunno. I didn't see the tape," she said, her nails drumming a cadence on the arm of the chair.

"Were you at the apartment building on Parkthorne Avenue the day it exploded?" Barbara asked, looking up over the rims of her glasses.

For the first time, a flicker of something crossed Catalina's face. Regret perhaps? She looked down at her black boots and sighed. "Yes." Her voice was soft, as she continued her story. "John Law, the original Tarantula lived there. When I found out what Blockbuster was planning, I had to go there ... to warn Mr. Law." She looked up, tears in her eyes, and focused her gaze towards the few members of the Justice Society who were sitting in the audience. "He was my hero. I wanted to be like him. I took his name. I was trying to save him." Her voice had a pleading tone to it as she watched Alan Scott shaking his head. "I was trying to warn him."

"But you were too late?" Barbara pressed on.

"Yes," Catalina answered and looked down. A tear meandered its way down her cheek. She whispered again, "Yes. I was too late." The she looked up. "That was when Nightwing and I started working together. We were working to bring Blockbuster down."

Dick glared at Catalina. He was working to bring Blockbuster down. He wondered if she had been looking for an opportunity to kill Blockbuster all along. He shook his head, he shouldn't have involved her in his hunt, he knew that. But at the time, Dick felt he had needed the help. He had needed help. He was just too stubborn to call the people he trusted.

"You were working to bring Blockbuster down immediately after the Parkthorne Avenue building blew up? Or was it after Blockbuster sent Lady Vic to kill you?"

Catalina glowered at Oracle. "How do you know about that?"

"There are a few detectives in this room. It was after Blockbuster ordered you killed that you decided you needed to hook up with Nightwing since he was your only hope of bringing Blockbuster down and staying alive, isn't that right?"

Jean elbowed Ted. "Object."

Ted shook his head, ignoring her while he watched Barbara. Jean was right, it was a leading question, but everyone in the room, including him, wanted to hear the answer.

"I ... damn this rope," she said jerking her left hand. "Yes. I killed Lady Vic, but Blockbuster had to be stopped before he sent others after me. People I might not be able to handle."

Barbara smiled. She kept her voice at an even keel. "Lady Vic's not dead, by the way." She looked up over the rims of her glasses and grinned at the shocked expression on Catalina's face. "I'm sure with you not going to prison, she'll find a way to send her regards. Now, you used Nightwing to advance your scheme of revenge against Blockbuster, correct?"

"I needed his help."

"So much so that you placed a tracer on him so you'd be able to find him when you needed him?"

"Yes," she replied, looking down.

"Nightwing only wanted to get the evidence to stop Blockbuster, didn't he?"

"I don't know what he was thinking," she started replying. She grimaced when she felt compelled to add, "But he did want to get a confession to take to the authorities."

"A confession. I see. How did you Nightwing and you go about acquiring this confession?"

Catalina looked at Dick. She pursed her lips and shook her head. How could she have ever thought he was the solution to her problems? Nightwing was as much her problem as Blockbuster was. "He was going to fight with Blockbuster to get him to confess." A derisive laugh escaped her lips. "How pathetic was that? I was supposed to record the confession while Nightwing was fighting Blockbuster. Being Blockbuster's punching bag was more like it. No wonder Blockbuster was gloating."

"And you did, in fact, get the confession?" Barbara asked.

"We did."

A slight smile crossed Dick's lips as he tilted his head down. "We." He shook his head then turned at the slight squeeze to his shoulder. Dick's gaze met Bruce's and he was comforted by the closeness.

"What happened after you and Nightwing procured this confession?"

"We took it to my brother. He was the district attorney."

"Your brother. That would be Mateo Flores. He destroyed the disc containing the recording, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did. Estúpido."

"Stupid, yes. You hadn't made a second?"

"No. I didn't think about it. I didn't think we'd need it."

"Until your brother destroyed the tape. You didn't know he was working for Desmond?" Barbara asked, her voice laced with incredulity.

"Not until he told me. He should've told me earlier," she groused.

"What did you do when your brother destroyed the recording?"

"I was furious with Mateo and I told him so!" She pounded her fist on the arm of her chair.

"You left the apartment without Nightwing."

"Yes."

"What was your intention?"

"To find and kill that sonovabitch."

"Which you did."

"Yes, I did. And I'm glad I did too," Tarantula said as she leaned forward in her chair.

Barbara smiled at Tarantula. "You found him by following Nightwing utilizing the tracer you had placed on him, correct?"

"Yes."

"You did not go to the Haven Hotel with Nightwing, did you?"

"No."

"Tell us what happened when you arrived at the hotel?" Barbara inquired.

"I followed the fight. It was easy. Debris was everywhere ... broken windows, broken door, cowering people in the hallway. Standard night in the 'Haven." The sarcasm dripped from her mouth as she leaned back in the chair, crossing her black gloved arms over her chest. "I followed them into the stairwell."

"What did you see then?"

"Nightwing and Blockbuster. Nightwing had actually beaten Blockbuster down. After their fight earlier in the night, I was surprised Nightwing could do it. Blockbuster was down, but he certainly wasn't out. He was taunting Nightwing about how it wasn't over. How it would never be over. How he'd never stop coming for him. And that's when I knew," she said. Catalina looked down, her voice barely above a whisper, "That's when I knew I was right. It would be the same for me. He'd never stop sending people to kill me until he succeeded."

"What did you do?" Barbara asked in a sympathetic voice.

"I told Nightwing to get out of the way. I told him all he had to do was get out of the way."

"Where were you all standing?"

"I was on the stairs, Desmond was laying on the landing and Nightwing was standing over him."

"Did you have your gun out?"

"Yes. I was pointing it at Blockbuster's head. I was so close. I pulled the hammer back. Blockbuster was going on and on with his It's never going to stop. I can keep this up forever. Every loved one. Every stranger. He was such an ass. He needed to die."

"And you killed him."

"I did."

"Where was Nightwing?"

Catalina looked up, her eyes locked with Nightwing's as he sat across the room. They both were reliving the sights, sounds and smells of that night. Their eyes locked the way they hadn't that night. "He ... walked away." She watched him as he dropped his head. How could he not understand that it was the right thing to do? The only thing to do. What was wrong with him? Didn't he understand that was all they could do. "Don't look down!" she spat.

A reassuring hand moved over to Dick. He looked up into the warm green eyes of the woman he loved and was enveloped within the safety net of that love. She smiled at him before she turned back to Tarantula.

"Ms. Flores, let's back up a bit," she started. Waiting for Catalina to turn her attention away from Dick and to herself, Barbara smiled a disarming smile. "I just want to get this straight. You didn't go to the Haven Hotel with Nightwing?"

"That's right, I told you --"

"That you followed him with the GPS tracker you managed to slip onto the back of his costume."

"That's right."

"And you weren't there together at that time, were you?"

"No." Catalina rolled her eyes. The woman was obviously loco. She couldn't remember what she had just heard. "We didn't go there together, but we had been working together to take Blockbuster down."

"Now, back in the stairwell. You had your gun out pointing it at Blockbuster's head, like this?" Barbara asked, leaning back against her chair and holding her arms out in a demonstration of Catalina's actions. "And you pulled the hammer back?"

"Yes. I've already told you all this," Tarantula responded, annoyed.

"Sorry to be wasting your time, I'm just trying to make sure I understand everything. Now with your gun out, and the hammer back, this is when you ordered Nightwing to move?"

"I told him to get out of the way. I was going to stop Blockbuster. Nightwing's way obviously wasn't going to work. You can't just put someone like Blockbuster in jail and think he's going to cease to be a problem. Hello! I know you people have heard of Joker," she said with an elevated voice, her hands waving about. "You keep letting him kill people by the hundreds."

Selina's hands flexed back and forth, the metal of her claws jutting out, as she watched Batman's back. She saw the way he tensed at the Joker reference. Selina knew more than most how Joker was Batman's one true thorn. He was the only one Bruce had almost lost it with ... more than once ... had almost crossed a line that Tarantula crossed weeks ago. Her heart ached for Bruce. Even more so knowing his own heartache over his son's pain. Green eyes narrowed on the witness. There were advantages to the bug avoiding prison. She listened as Tarantula raved on.

"Killing Blockbuster saved countless lives! That's what you people are supposed to be all about ... saving lives."

"And you did the heroic thing by putting a bullet in Roland Desmond's brain?"

"Damn right I did," Catalina replied defiantly.

"You told Nightwing to get out of the way. Was he in the way? I thought Blockbuster was between you both."

"He was close enough that a bullet could've hit him. It could've gone right through Blockbuster's head and into Nightwing."

"Which you didn't want because you liked Nightwing?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"You had told your brother you were seeing Nightwing."

"I had been seeing Nightwing," she almost screeched out at Barbara. "I loved him, I didn't want to hurt him."

Barbara caught the Tribunal's look of surprise and watched how they turned confused curiosity towards Catalina. "You didn't want to hurt Nightwing, but you would have, correct?"

"If he didn't move, I could've."

"Because you were going to shoot Blockbuster regardless of what Nightwing did?"

"Absolutely. I went there to kill that bastard and that's exactly what I was going to do. No one was going to get in my way. I gave him fair warning. It was Nightwing's choice to move or get shot. Didn't matter too much to me either way."

"But you loved Nightwing," Barbara said bringing the woman's attention back to her earlier statement.

"Yes, but -- "

"Whether Nightwing moved or not had no bearing on whether you were going to shoot Blockbuster, did it?"

"None at all," Catalina's icy voice replied.

"Nightwing did not ask you to shoot Blockbuster."

"No. He didn't have to. I knew he wanted me too."

"He didn't say anything to you at all, did he?"

"Nothing. But -- "

"What was Nightwing doing after you killed Blockbuster?" Barbara asked. She felt Dick as he tensed. Her instinct was to turn to him, hold him, but she couldn't. Not now. Now she had to remain focused on the business at hand.

Catalina had turned her attention away from the irritating woman inquisitor and focused on the prosecution table. She watched at how Blue Beetle was busily scribbling on his pad. The woman in the suit, she didn't know who she was, seemed to be paying rapt attention to her every word. Green Lantern, however, unnerved her. She wasn't sure why. He just seemed to be radiating ... something ... was it contempt? Well that was fine, Catalina could handle his contempt. "What was he doing? Falling apart. You'd think he'd never seen a little blood before. He was going up the stairs, heading towards the roof. He was mumbling something about having difficulty breathing."

"I see," Barbara ground out. "What did you do?"

"I followed Nightwing. I decided I could help him relax."

"Relax." The word escaped Dick's mouth as a whispered hiss. He looked down as a black gloved hand covered his own and he smiled. "I'm okay," he whispered to Bruce, thankful for his father's closeness.

"You are," Bruce softly replied.

Barbara stared at the witness. "What, if anything, did Nightwing say to you?"

"He said he was sorry he failed me. He was going on and on about how we had killed Blockbuster. I told him that I had killed Blockbuster. He was going on that I was his responsibility. I told him callado."

"You told him to shut up?"

"Yes. He was mumbling about how he was poisonous and not to touch him. But I knew what he needed ... what he wanted."

Barbara drummed her fingers on her chair. It took all the control Batman had ever taught her to refrain from sending an escrima stick into Tarantula's throat. "And just what was it that you thought Nightwing needed?"

Catalina smiled sweetly at Oracle. "Me."

Barbara bit down hard on her tongue before asking her next question. "Now where was Nightwing at this time?"

Catalina rolled her eyes. "You can't hear good can you? I already told you he was on the roof."

"Sitting, standing, what?"

"He was resting on his knees muttering about having trouble breathing."

"And he was still down at the time you decided he needed to relax?"

"Yes."

"What did you do once you decided that Nightwing needed you to help him relax?"

"What do you think?" Tarantula sneered as she leaned forward. "You want me to draw you a picture."

"You had sex with Nightwing after he said don't touch me?"

"I bet it kills you that he wanted me instead of you, doesn't it?"

"Nightwing did tell you don't touch me didn't he?" Barbara pressed, undeterred by Catalina's taunts.

"Yes, but -- "

"But you proceeded to have sex with Nightwing anyway, regardless of his wishes, just like you shot and killed Roland Desmond all on your own that night?"

Catalina stared at Oracle, her face a mask of confusion. Drawing her bottom lip in, she bit it as the meaning of the question washed over her. She turned her ire towards the defendant. "You insufferable bastard! Is that what you are trying?"

TO BE CONTINUED ...