Just wanted to say how much I appreciate the people that review every chapter, like you guys are the shit. Anyway, enjoy.
Chapter Fifteen - Shatter
Alfred picked Raven up, her body limp and bleeding. Her dress was torn and her breathing was scarce. The old man hands were cut and bleeding from moving the rubble, sweat dripping from his forehead, and his body aching, but he didn't care in the slightest. Raven was the only thing that his attention was on. He began to run, holding her body close to his own. He ran past so many people, dead or dying. The voice in his head, telling him to stop and help them, but he pushed on. Raven was the only thing that mattered, his family always came first.
He stepped over a small petite body, blonde, she would've been beautiful if not the lifeless look in her eyes and the foam leaking from her plump lips. It was Miss Vale, Bruce and her had a history. He closed his eyes and pushed on. The people that weren't fatally wounded were scrambling for the stairs, the power had been cut. This was a tactically planned attack, not a terrorist that hit the tower by random chance.
He smelled something in the air, not the stench of death that polluted the air, but something else. He'd smelled it once before - in the Batcave. He couldn't remember, his mind was racing and his heart pounding. He couldn't think straight, aside from the words that Master Dick had said to him before he left, "Save her."
He would or else he would die trying.
He shoved his way through the members of the Galla, knocking over people as he moved his way down the stairs. He panted heavily, he was tried, his body wasn't what it used to be. Alfred didn't care, he pushed on. His determination was matched only by the two men that he'd raised. He ran as fast as he could down the endless flights of stairs, his legs were just about ready to give out, but he pushed on. He had to. For Dick. For Raven.
He burst through the exit of the building, slamming his shoulder into the door. Dozens of people spewed out of the doors, fleeing for their lives. Police and paramedics had arrived to the scene. She couldn't go to them, he fled down the street, he'd parked the car somewhere along the side of the building. Alfred looked up to the sky, the Bat-signal had been lit. He pressed his lips together and kept running.
A small tan sedan skirted up next to him, he stopped and looked at the car. The window rolled down, revealing Lucius Fox behind the wheel - wincing and bleeding through his shirt. His eyes were narrowed and determined, "Get in."
Alfred opened the back door to the car and laid Raven down before getting in himself, "Thank heavens for you, Mister Fox." He said through his panting. Lucius pressed the gas all the way down, spinning the car around and speeding off.
"Is that Rachel?" Lucius asked, though he already knew the answer.
Alfred nodded as he assessed the damage to her body - he looked her over, tenderness and sever bruising to her upper left abdomen. Possibly cracked or broken ribs, he leaned down, putting his ear to her chest. Her breathing was slow, but not irregular. Her lung wasn't punctured. He scanned her legs, severe bruising, both her legs were broken and an additional fracture just above her left ankle. He moved up her body, no signs of injury on either arm. Her face was scrapped and there was a deep cut just below her left eye, curving down to her jawline. It would leave a scar.
Alfred froze. She wasn't human. Why wouldn't her powers heal her injuries? He felt fear bubbling in the pit of his stomach. His mind wandered, he prayed his hunch was wrong.
"How bad is it?" Lucius questioned, he sped down the road. They weren't far from the manor now.
Alfred pulled himself away from his thoughts, "I'll have to set her brakes, she'll need stitches. I'm not sure. She's lost consciousness, I believe she hit her head. Possible concussion." he explained his thoughts. Alfred looked over to him, "You're hurt."
"Just a flesh would," he dismissed, "A piece of rebar scrapped me."
Alfred shook his head, "That's a lot of blood Mister Fox." he observed, the blood had bleed down a few inches away from his belt, "Do you feel light headed?"
"I'm fine." he stated in a calm, but firm voice, "Just worry about the girl."
"I'll see to you once she's stabilized." he ignored him, "Tell me if anything feels wrong." It wasn't a request.
Lucius just silently nodded and kept driving as fast as the car would go.
"Alfred." A deep firm voice spoke in his ear.
He reached up and answered his comms, "I'm here Master Bruce."
"Did you find her?"
"Yes sir." he explained, looking over at her, "She's in rough shape, but nothing I can't handle." he explained, trying to convince himself as well as the Batman, "How are things looking on your end, sir?"
"The blast tore a hole a in Arkham. Seven confirmed escapees." Batman's voice was dripping with anger.
An expression of dread took over Alfred's face, "Good lord... did he make it out?" he feared an answer.
"Yes." Batman's response came through gritted teeth.
Alfred took a deep breath and released it through his nose, "Should I inform Master Dick?"
"Nightwing is dealing things on his end." He growled, "He's mine."
"Do you think he's behind this?"
"No." he barked back, "There's no punchline. This isn't a game - its a coordinated attack on me and Nightwing."
"On the Batman or on Bruce Wayne?"
"Both." Batman growled, somehow even angrier than the first, "I need to find out who's orchestrating it. Give me updates on her condition."
"Will do, sir."
The transmission ended right as Lucius pulled into the driveway of Wayne Manor. Alfred pulled Raven into his arms as Lucius opened the door for him. Alfred began his dash for the Batcave with Lucius just behind him. Mister Fox ran ahead to the grandfather clock, moving the hands to 10:38. The door behind the clock popped open, Lucius pulled open the door as Alfred sprinted through and down the stairway to the Batcave. The lights flicked on, illuminating the dark cave beneath the manor.
Alfred turned to the Med Bay, setting Raven gently down on a examination table. Alfred pulled his ripped off and discarded them. His hands were covered in scratches and cuts, but he didn't have time to stitch them properly. He quickly wrapped them and disinfected them and popped on a new pair of gloves. He took a deep breath as he got the supplies he needed.
Time to go to work.
Raven opened her eyes in a dark plane of existence that she hadn't visited in a while. She looked down at herself - she was back in her usual Titans attire. She looked around to see nothing but darkness, "Am I dead?"
"Well this doesn't look like the fiery pits of Hell, so no - I don't suppose so." A voice sounding just like her own, dripping with sarcasm, Raven whipped her head around to see Passion staring back at her, with the rest of the embodiment's of her emotions, "Got any more dumb-ass questions?"
Raven narrowed her eyes, "It seems I am in Hell after all."
Happy seemed quiet, just looking at the ground kicking the non-existent dirt at her feet. Brave was for some reason absent. Fear looked straight back at Raven, "Don't worry, Raven, we still might die."
Raven frowned, "Thanks. Very reassuring." she lifted her legs into the air and began floating in the air and began to meditate. She thought on the last thing she remembered. He heart jumped into her throat as she relived the nightmare, her eyes widened. She whipped her head over to Passion, who'd seemingly taken charge of the group recently, "Why... aren't my powers working?" she asked quietly.
"It's probably Dick's fault." Fear spoke up, Raven's eyes flicked over to her, "You're feeling too much emotion Raven - you're feeling love. He's turning you human."
Reason rolled her eyes and shook her head, the blue cloaked version of herself with bi-focals looked over to Raven, "We all know that's impossible." she stated, "We're a demon, with powerful magic. One man isn't enough to strip that away from us."
"But maybe love is," Passion spoke up, "It's the most potent emotion," she reasoned, "and all this coming in such short amount of time. It could've shocked your system. Disabling your powers."
Reason sneered at Passion, "Unlikely."
"But possible," Raven pointed out. Passion smiled, satisfied with herself.
Fear violently shook her head, "I knew you should've kept your distance." she mumbled, "This boy'll be the end of us."
A pause of silence overcame the group as they all quietly thought to themselves, "It sure was fun while it lasted." Happy broke the silence as she smiled to herself. The rest of the emotions quietly nodded to themselves.
"Remember when... when he took his glasses off?" Timid asked quietly, "His eyes were so pretty."
"Or when he made us tea?" Brave remembered fondly, "It was amazing, well, not Alfred amazing, but still really good."
"Dancing with him was... really nice." Fear stated, rubbing her hands together.
"The other night in his room," Passion noted which got a blush from Raven, "Magical."
Raven closed her eyes and began to meditate. Her emotions disappeared and she was left in void. Alone.
Alfred had just finished setting both of Raven's legs and doing all he can for the cracked rib that she'd had. He heard a metal tray clatter against the floor of the Batcave. Alfred whipped his head around to Lucius had knocked over the tray of medical supplies, his face was pale and struggled to stand to his feet. Lucius looked to Alfred with a weak grin, "I don't feel all too well." he collapsed to the ground.
Alfred looked back over at Raven, she wasn't conscious, but she was stable. He rushed over to Mister Fox - the wound was bleeding heavily and bled all the way through his shirt. Alfred ripped open the shirt, sending the buttons flying across the cave. Alfred widened his eyes, Lucius lied.
This was anything but a flesh wound, the wound went from his, just underneath his pectoral to all the way across to the center of his torso. Alfred grabbed his supplies and went back to Mister Fox's side. The cut went deep, it tore muscle in some areas. It'd only been worsened by running. Alfred had no idea how Lucius had stayed on his feet for this long. The pain should've been unbearable.
He heard light footsteps at the top of the stairs. Alfred reached for the gun in the back of his belt. It had no bullets, just a scare tactic. He really couldn't deal with this right now. Lucius was dying and Raven wasn't far from it.
A tall orange girl with bright green eyes looked at Alfred as he pointed the .22 caliber at her head. She didn't seem phased, "Hello..." she greeted quietly.
Alfred lowed the gun, "Hello..." he was so tired.
"I was told to come down here. Richard Grayson said I would be safe."
Alfred silently thanked the universe and all it's powers Dick was okay, "Are you hurt, dear?"
She shook her head, "Not any longer." she stated simply, "Friend Rob-er Richard helped me."
He smiled weakly, "I don't suppose you'd mind giving me a hand?"
Raven opened her eyes and let out a groan in frustration, her eyes flaring with rage. She hated this - she hated just waiting around. She wasn't known for her impatience, but she hated feeling helpless. She could be bleeding out in some hospital or worse, Dick could be dying underneath that rubble. He could need her. She needed to get out of here she needed to wake up.
She screamed out in frustration, it echoed slightly throughout her mind-space of nothingness.
'Raven?' Dick's voice jarred her out of her tantrum as she whipped her head all around, but she was still the only one there.
"Dick?" she called out, "Can you hear me?"
'I'm so sorry I got you mixed up in all this.' His voice sounded shaky and broken.
She frowned, "No, Dick, don't say that. Please." she pleaded with the disembodied voice, "It wasn't your fault."
'I love you too, Beautiful.'
She froze in silence, she didn't respond. Dick couldn't hear her even if she did, but it's because she was speechless. He loved her, her heart began beating a thousand times a second. If she was in her right mindset, she might've actually been concerned she might die of a heart attack, but then again - this was all in her mind anyway.
'Please. I need you to know that.'
She nodded, her heart breaking at the utter sadness and desperation in his voice, "I do..."
Her eyes flashed with a new found determination. She crossed her legs and closed her eyes and she began to concentrate harder than she ever had before. He didn't make her weak. He made her stronger. She summoned all the power that she could muster - she would sit here no longer, she would not stand idly by. She wanted to wake up. She was going to wake up. Now.
Alfred had just finished up stitching Lucius, along with Starfire's help. Star lifted the man up with ease. Alfred's clothes had now thoroughly been soaked in blood - his own, Raven's, and Lucius'. "Just lay him down over here, if you will."
Starfire did as the old man asked, laying him down in a chair near where Raven was. Starfire looked over her body with concern, "Is she going to be okay?" she questioned.
Alfred looked back at her as he hooked up Lucius up to an I.V. he sighed heavily, "She'll need some stitches and I'll need to check for a concussion, but yes. I believe she will live."
The roaring of a motorcycle in the tunnel behind the waterfall could be heard, it's engine sounds bounced off the walls of the cave - the bats flew all around the cave, the entire disturbing their slumber. Nightwing and Beast Boy came speeding into the cave, skidding to a stop in the center of it. Nightwing got off the bike, picked up Beast Boy and carried him to the Med Bay.
Alfred took a deep breath as he prepared to treat another patient, his body was aching and just about ready to drop dead, but he was a soldier in this war, just like the rest of them and he would fight until the bitter end.
Nightwing placed Beast Boy on the table next to Raven, "He's bruised pretty badly and there are cuts all over his body, but not all of them need stitches - mainly just the big ones and see what you can do about the leg."
Alfred nodded, he took a look over the boy's body - he looked like he'd been tortured. Alfred pushed his grimace down as he began work on the boy.
Nightwing walked over to Raven, touching her cheek with his hand, "How is she?" he looked away from her as he questioned Alfred.
"Better now." Raven's weak voice answered as she looked up at Nightwing. Alfred looked over in shock, she'd been out cold for hours.
Nightwing widened his eyes as he looked down at her, "You... You're..."
"Very. Sore." she grinned.
Nightwing leaned down and gently kissed her, careful not to hurt any more than he already had. He pulled away and looked into her eyes once more, "I thought I lost you." She opened her mouth to say something, but he quickly cut her off with other kiss, "I love you... so much."
She smiled against his lips, she'd never get used to hearing those words from him, but that didn't mean she didn't like it. She kissed him, gently, slowly, "I love you too."
"Ew," Beast Boy groaned, faking a gag, "Could you two do that somewhere else. I'm sorta dying on the table next to you guys making out."
Alfred continued stitching his wounds, "You most certainly are not, Mister Logan, although by the noises you're making - one might think so."
Nightwing looked down at Raven's legs, "How do you feel?"
She had a slight grimace, "I'll be fine." she said though a small groan, "My powers aren't working."
He nodded, "Don't move. I have to help Bruce, but once I get back..." his voice trailed off, "Well... lets not worry about that until we get to it." he smiled at her sadly. Raven looked up at him concerned, but he'd already turned to leave. He reached up and pressed the comms in his ear, "Nightwing to Batman."
His words seemed to hang in the air as he only got back a small static noise, "Batman?" he tried again. He switched the frequency, "This is Nightwing, anyone had contact with Batman recently?"
"Not on my end." Flash answered back.
"I've been trying for hours." J'onn added.
"Diana and I just got back. What in the Hell is going on in Gotham?" Superman questioned.
Nightwing felt a slight panic run down his spine, his heart started to beat faster and faster, "Oracle. I need you to locate Batman's tracker, I can't get in contact with Batman. Neither can anyone from the League."
A long pause of silence held in the air, "Dick..." she said softly, "You haven't seen the news, have you?"
Nightwing widened his eyes, "Babs?" he asked weakly, though he feared he already knew the answer.
Nightwing fell to his knees, looking at the scence that laid before. The hail had turned to a pouring thunderstorm, the rain mixing with the blood on the roof of Wayne Tower. Batman's tracker laid broken in a pool of his watery blood, next to his torn cape, and broken cowl. Nightwing shook his head, it was his fault. Everything was. The titans and Arkham. It was all a ruse. It was just a ploy to separate the two of them. Batman needed him and he wasn't there.
"Master Dick?" Alfred asked through the comms, his voice barely audible.
"Speak."
"I've... Identified the compound that was dispersed with the explosion on the Tower, the same one that took away Miss Rachel's abilities." he began. Nightwing's face distorted, a chemical did that to her? Was it an attack specifically on her? "Substance - Code Named, Fate's Hand. It's a naturally occurring chemical, also endowed with Miss Zatanna's magics. It's harmless to humans, it was designed to temporarily disable a magic user's abilities."
Nightwing eyes widened.
"It was of Master Br-" his voice cracked, "It was designed by the Batman."
Nightwing shook his head, begging for this all to be some horrific nightmare. He closed his eyes, he wished he was back in his bed, Raven wrapped securely in his arms, not a scratch on her body. He could almost feel the warmth of her body pressed tightly against his. He could almost hear the quiet snoring of Ace, sleeping peacefully on his bed in the corner of the room. He could almost see his father's disapproving look as he came upon the two.
"It was a part of the Agamemno contingencies." Alfred continued, "In order to disable Zatanna or Doctor Fate."
He was pulled out of the dream he'd been living and brought back into the cold, wet, reality of Gotham. His mind began to race, his thoughts bouncing all over the place, thinking about who's responsible for this.
He heard the flapping of a cape in the wind and a loud crackling come from behind him. Nightwing didn't need to look, the green light illuminating the darkness of Gotham. Superman, the Flash, and the second Green Lantern of Earth - John Stewart, stood behind him. He could practically feel the Man of Steel's eyes staring into the back of his head. Nightwing couldn't deal with this right now. He was holding himself together with tape and glue. One more crack and he'd shatter.
"We're here to help, Dick." Superman stated, but he kept his distance. Uncle Clark, he used to call him. He didn't know what to say. The phrase 'Hell and back' didn't do what he'd been through justice. Clark wished he'd knew what to say, how to help. Barry and John looked away, down at the ground.
Nightwing didn't respond, his mind preoccupied.
"Who would do this?" Flash muttered, not really asking anyone.
Nightwing picked, his head up, his eyes widening, "There are a lot of people who would do this..." his voice trailed off, "But who could do this?" he asked, more to himself than anyone else.
Batman was a master combatant and strategist. He was the field leader of the Justice League, a group of the seven most power individuals on the planet. He knew every form of combat that there was to know. He was the second smartest human being on the planet, only behind Lex Luthor. Most importantly, he walked into every situation with a plan and at least two back-ups, he carried around a pack of matches and a shard of Kryptonite, for goodness sake. Even if whoever did this was super-powered, Batman would've either had a way to take them down or he would've called in backup or at the very least he would've retreated and come back with a new strategy. There aren't many people Batman would've lost to.
Nightwing widened his eyes, "Unless... he was holding back..." he muttered to himself, the pieces all falling into place.
The first explosion was on Wayne Towers, the man who did this was close to Batman - he knew that he was Bruce Wayne. The bomb dispersed a gas of Batman's design to specifically take out magic users, they knew Raven was there and the attack was meant for her, Raven was the most powerful person in Gotham at the time - with her out of the way, the rest of them would he easy pickings. The gas was part of the Agememno plans, the only people who had access to those were Batman and select few members of the Bat-Family
He kidnapped the members of the remaining members of the Titans and blew a hole in the side of Arkham Asylum. Nightwing would go after his friends and Batman would go after the inmates. He was separating the two of them by putting the thing they cared about most in danger. For Nightwing it was his friends. For Batman it was the city.
This wasn't an attack on Gotham. It was an attack on the Bat-Family.
Nightwing narrowed his eyes and rose to his feet. There was one last fact that made all the pieces of the puzzle come together. Bruce's tracker was in his back left molar tooth. Nightwing and Alfred were the only ones that knew that, well them and...
Nightwing didn't finish the thought, he just headed home.
Nightwing slammed the Wayne Manor door behind him, but it quickly opened back up as the three Justice League members followed in behind him. Everyone watched Nightwing as he made his way to the back door. Raven looked at him, but he didn't look at her, she could feel the anger and rage radiating off of him. Cyborg has been transported to the Manor, under Nightwing's commands, he was helping Raven stand in the Manor's living room.
Beast Boy nearly fainted when he saw Superman, but the Man of Steel didn't notice as he walked after Nightwing. "Dick." he tried, "Tell us what's going on."
"Someone violated my family." Nightwing growled. Ace trotted along side his Master, he read off of his emotions. The hound lowered his head down and bared his teeth as he began to growl, daring anyone at all to get close to his Master. Nightwing threw open the back door and trudged his way through the slushy mixture of the rain and snow.
Everyone began to follow, Superman was the only one brave enough to try and stop him, but after Ace snapped at him and Nightwing just simply ignored him. He pushed open the gate to the Wayne family cemetery. He moved past Thomas and Martha Wayne and headed straight for his brother's headstone. 'Jason Todd'
Nightwing discarded his mask and ripped off his gloves. The entire group watched as Nightwing finally came undone. They watched as the man they all cared for, the man they all loved - shattered.
He pushed all the watery snow away, he ripped up the grass. It was artificial, he knew it. He tore away at the lies that had been told, he threw away the grass to find the wooden panels of the casket. Ace barked over and the over again as Dick beat his fist into the rotting wood, breaking the panels with ease. He tore them up, ripping them apart and discarding them like the trash and lies that they were.
Dick looked inside the casket, he knew it was true, but to see it with his own eyes was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Empty. Someone had taken his brother's body. Someone had done something so horrible, so putrid, it pained Dick just thinking about it.
Dick moved away from the hole and looked at Jason's tombstone, 'Brother. Son. Loved. May he now rest.' Rage flared in Dick's eyes and he began beating the stone. Striking it over and over again, his skin broke and blood began to run down his knuckles, but he didn't feel it. He didn't feel anything. "Liar!" he screamed as he continued, his brother wasn't resting. "Liar... Liar... Liar..." he muttered quieter and quieter as he kept going, breaking the headstone down piece by the piece.
The group watched him in a stunned silence. Raven in particular felt her heart break more and more as he continued. None of them knew what to do. Without a word, Diana walked out from behind the group - she'd been out looking for Bruce, but now she was here. She walked calmly up to Dick, who still had yet to stop.
Ace was no longer Dick's fierce protector, he was just a puppy - who was scared for his boy. Ace whimpered and he gently tugged on the cloth to Dick's suit, begging him to stop, but Dick didn't listen. Diana didn't say anything, she just got down to her knees next to him and pulled him away from his attack and into a tight embrace. Dick didn't struggle. Diana quietly stroked the back of his hair.
"Am I blue?" She quietly sang to him as he whimpered against her chest. Tears of anger turned to a boy weeping for his father and brother.
"Am I blue?" she continued, holding him tightly, "You'd be too. If each plan that you had, done fell through."