CHAPTER NINE: BLÜDHAVEN
Nightwing and Black Canary made their away across the rooftops. They'd been sent to Blüdhaven by Superman, and fortunately, it was a location the both of them knew well. Black Canary had been there with Green Arrow before, while Nightwing had gone there to follow his own heart and become Nightwing, as well as to get away from the rest of the Bat-Family for a small amount of time. Knowing the location so well led to them understanding where they needed to go. So far, nothing had shown itself to them, but they knew it was best they were careful.
"I'm not sure what kind of threat we'll be facing here, Nightwing," Black Canary. "There are so many threats I've faced over the years while working in this persona, but compared to how big the threat seemed, there might be some things we haven't faced before. We have to be on our toes, if you know what I mean. We have to make sure we're not being followed, because that kind of thing surely is a possibility. I don't know if anyone around here understands how dangerous all of this crap is."
"I agree," said Nightwing. "I've gone through a lot of enemies in my time. I think I even started an enmity one. I don't know if you know who he is. His name is Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke. He's a great, yet terrible, assassin. I'm just glad he's never learned my secret identity. There was one time when he nearly did, but one of my allies saved me from being exposed by the monster."
"Which ally are we speaking of?" Black Canary asked.
"Spoiler," Nightwing replied. "Batgirl actually meant to do so, but she was caught up in another fight. This was back when I made a visit to Gotham. While Batgirl was fighting Harley Quinn, I was confronted by Deathstroke. I don't think they had any accomplice-type of mission, or anything like that. So when he was about to pull off my mask, Spoiler came and saved me. She was wounded in that fight, but she succeeded in taking Deathstroke down. I'm grateful to Spoiler for saving me, but there are times when I wish Batgirl could have done it. To be honest, she can fight better than Spoiler, and so she might not have been injured. I felt real bad for causing an injury to Steph on my return visit." Nightwing sighed. "It's amazing how time flies. It's been over a year since that."
"Where is Spoiler now? She seems to have been a good friend. But I've never heard Batman speak of her before."
"She's an amazing friend. Stephanie's over in Europe right now, on an end-of-the-year trip. She'll be back in about a week or so. Once she's out of high school, she'll be joining with the Bat-Family full-time. I don't think she knows of what's happening right now, however. I don't think she even knows of any of us attempting to join the Justice League. When she finds out, she'll probably want to join, too. But Batman most likely won't allow her. I can't blame him now, because of what's going on. This crap has gone too far."
"Is there anything more I should know about her?" Black Canary asked. "About Stephanie, I mean?"
"She's blond, has sapphire-blue eyes, and she's one of the nicest girls you'll ever meet. She's not in a relationship, but I think she and Robin have a thing for one another, despite the difference in their age. She's eighteen, he's sixteen. I guess it's not that big a deal, but still…" He sighed. "There's one thing that goes through my mind when I think of all this. When I stopped being Robin, Batgirl was in her second year. Batman quickly found another Robin, however, but I didn't mind. The kid needed to be taken in by someone, so I understood completely when Batman made him Robin. But problems arose. He was brash, arrogant…he wouldn't allow anyone to completely teach him. Not I, not Batman, not Batgirl. But we all still loved him, despite that. That was when things went completely south. While tracking Ra's al Ghul, a villain we haven't seen in a very long time, we ran into the Joker, who kidnapped that Robin. He took him, beat him, and then killed him. When we found his body, Batgirl collapsed and went into unconsciousness from her shock and her tears. We mourned him for so long. We weren't sure what we were supposed to do. We found another Robin, and I advised against it that time. But I was overruled by Batman and Batgirl, who weren't sure what they were supposed to think. They felt that they needed another Robin. I just wanted them to be careful, to think of all that had happened. But they got another Robin anyway."
"And that Robin is the current one, correct?"
"Yes. I feel bad for saying this, but I feel I like him more than I ever did Jason. The second Robin, I mean. When I started as Robin, I was eleven-years-old. When Batgirl started, she was fifteen, and so was I. When the second Robin began, she and I were seventeen, he was fifteen. And when the third Robin began, he was thirteen, we were eighteen. And when Spoiler started, she was sixteen, we were nineteen, and Robin was fourteen. Catwoman began the same year, at the age of twenty-two. Well, she'd been a thief for a while, but only stealing for herself so she could eat. It's a lot, what I just said, and I'm sorry if I just bored you a whole lot."
"It's all right," Black Canary told him. "I've been known to talk a lot when I'm nervous, too. I know you're nervous, because I can see it on your face and how you talk. I could possibly see it in your eyes, if that domino mask allowed me."
"Sorry about that," Nightwing apologized. "It's part of the job. There are only three members of the Bat-Family whose eyes are able to be seen. Strangely, it's all the girls. Batgirl, Spoiler, and Catwoman. I guess they just like letting others see their eyes. I don't know about girls all that well. I haven't even had a girlfriend before. Well, now that I think of it, I have. Batgirl was my girlfriend for a while. But then we broke up, almost around the time that the second Robin was murdered." He sighed. "Time flies. It's surprising how long it's been since then."
Black Canary placed her right hand on his left shoulder. "Do you still hold feelings for her?" she asked. "You can tell me if you wish, but that doesn't mean you have to."
"I'm not sure right now," Nightwing admitted. "I would have to think about that. But with all we're going through, it's not going to help much. I don't know what enemies we're going to be facing here. Have you received anything from any of the other founding members? I've got nothing from Batman or any of the other members of our family or Supergirl. She's the only other sidekick I have communication with." He sighed. "Being a sidekick isn't really all that fun in some places."
"I wouldn't call you a sidekick now," said Black Canary. "You seem a little too old for that. You seem to have taken everything into your own hands for a little while before you showed back up to Batman. So you're more of normal hero. But you're with the initiates, of course, and they're all sidekicks."
"Supergirl could probably be counted as a normal hero, too. She lives under her cousin's shadow, however, which makes it a little harder for her, I guess. But I wouldn't count her as much of a sidekick anymore. I mean, she was back when we teamed up with them. But I think it's safe to say that she's now a full superhero in her own right."
"I agree, and I think Batman should think the same with you guys. For him to be that way when it came to Batgirl and Robin joining…I don't think it was right for him to be so stern. He's a good leader and all, but he needs to lighten up, if you ask me."
Nightwing laughed. Hearing something coming from one of the Justice League surprised him.
There was the sound of a beep, and Black Canary took her communicator out of her jean jacket. She opened it, and Batman appeared on the screen. "Have you found anything?" he asked.
"No," Black Canary replied. "Not yet, at least. We've just been talking to pass the time. What about you? You and whoever is with you find anything of importance?"
"Not yet," came a voice Nightwing recognized instantly. Catwoman appeared in the screen. Her emerald eyes sparkled as if she were happy, but on her face was a grim expression. "We've been looking around for a while, but so far, nothing. You guys hear from Batgirl or Robin?"
"No, neither," Nightwing said. "Wouldn't they have called back by now?"
"According to his ship's beacon," said Batman, "he's far from Atlantis. He's not far from Gotham Bay."
"Wait, what?" said Nightwing. "Why would he be going to Gotham Bay? Did something happen?"
"You can attempt to contact him," Batman said. "In the meantime, we'll contact Batgirl." And just like that, he hung up, though Nightwing could have sworn he heard, "Something's not right," just as the screen cut to black.
"Something's not right, all right," Black Canary said, confirming his suspicions. "It feels like we're being baited all of a sudden. But I'm not sure what could be going on."
"Neither do I," Nightwing admitted. "We need to be more vigilant. There's got to be something around here that we might have missed. But what could that possibly be?"
They used their grapple hooks to get on top of a larger building. When they made it up there, they found themselves looking at a scene neither of them had been expecting.
"What in the name of God?" whispered Nightwing.
A man was strapped to a metal antennae. He possessed olive skin. Blood stained his white shirt, and there was a nasty wound wound on the right side of his head. One of his eyes was swollen shut. Blood dripped from his nose. And there was a hole in his abdomen. It was obvious he was dead.
"Who is that?" asked Black Canary.
"A drug lord," Nightwing said. "His name is...was...Leonardo Valdez, also known as 'the Big Lion.' He was supposed to be really hard to take down due to his extensive amount of bodyguards. Whoever took him down must be real skilled."
"And I am," came a voice.
Someone jumped up from somewhere below the edge of the building in front of them. He wore black body armor, and his mask was black-and-orange. There was one eye slit on the right side, while another had no such slit, as a result of the loss of his left eye. Two katana were in his hands. Nightwing knew exactly who he was. He'd faced him so much before.
Deathstroke.
"Hello, Slade," Nightwing greeted. "Why are you here? Who else is with you? Who sent you?"
"So many questions," Slade growled. "I know you want them answered, but some just weren't meant for that. I've been wanting you dead for quite some time now, Nightwing, and I believe today is the day I receive my chance, don't you?" His only good eye moved over to Black Canary. "Hello, beautiful. I haven't seen you in a while."
"I think I wanted it to stay that way," Black Canary retorted. "There are others with you, aren't there?"
Slade scraped the blade of one of the katanas across the rooftop thrice, and three other supervillains appeared. Two of them Nightwing easily recognized: Copperhead. She was of South American descent, though it was unknown exactly where. She was poisonous, and he'd actually been bitten by her before, leading to his near-death. The other was Two-Face, AKA Harvey Dent, a former D.A. who became insane after having acid splashed in his face, burning half of it.
The other one was a villain Nightwing did not recognize quite as much, though he had some ideas as to who they were. One was wearing a revealing costume like Black Canary, though she was dressed in all white.
"Let's kill them," Copperhead growled seductively.
"No," Deathstroke said. "Not just yet. Let's allow them to know why they must die. You see, Nightwing, Black Canary, you both have been major pains in our behinds, and as a result, we have to end our anger. Understand now?" He looked at the two of them, who remained expressionless. "No? Well, then, I think they're all yours."
Two-Face flipped the coin up in the air. It landed, and he slapped it onto his wrist. He looked at it, then said to Nightwing, "Your time's up." He flipped it again, and said, "It's your lucky day, Canary." Then he took out a gun and pointed it at Nightwing, who had been preparing to go after Deathstroke. He dodged the gunshot, and went right for the double-sided antagonist. But he was knocked back by a slap from one of Copperhead's legs.
Black Canary took on her doppelgänger, whom she called White Canary. She was a member of the League of Assassins, whom she knew was led by Ra's al Ghul, an antagonist of she, Green Arrow, and Batman and his family. She wondered where he was at the moment, and if he was possibly behind everything going on.
The fight caused both to end up with good kicks to the stomach and face. Black Canary was already bleeding from the nose, and she tried to wipe it away, only to be stopped by an even fresher flow.
"Isn't it just hard?" White Canary asked her. "You try to fight as well as you can, but everything just goes to Hell, and you can't do anything more than your own mediocre method."
"Shut up!" Black Canary growled. She breathed in, and released her Canary Cry.
The sonic scream caused Copperhead to scream out in extreme pain. This allowed Nightwing, who covered his ears, having seen Black Canary ready herself for the attack, to knock her out with a kick to the chin. When Black Canary finished the sonic scream, she gasped for breath, and she was punched in the gut by White Canary, who had been unharmed by the scream as a result of her training against such afflictions.
"Too bad," she sneered. She kicked Black Canary in the head, and Black Canary hit the ground hard.
Nightwing saw this out of the corner of his eye as he attacked Two-Face, who aimed the gun at him. Nightwing dodged four shots, only to be hit in the left shoulder by a fifth. Nightwing groaned, but readied himself as Two-Face aimed the gun at him once more.
But he was smart, and he took out a form of Batarang, which he called "Wing-Dings." He aimed one at the barrel of the gun. He threw it at the barrel at the same time as Dent pulled the trigger. The bullet and Wing Ding whizzed past each other. Nightwing was unfortunately hit in the leg as he attempted to get out of the way, and he was forced to limp off. The Wing Ding stuck itself in the barrel of the gun, and the gun went off.
Dent groaned, and blood covered his hand. Shrapnel was stuck in some places.
"Out of my way, Dent!" Deathstroke snapped, pushing Two-Face back. He prepared his katanas, and Nightwing prepared for the battle. But he realized his wounds would prevent him from the fight. He looked over to Black Canary.
"We're getting our butts beat!" he said. "Call someone, and tell them what's happening! Hurry—ARGHH!"
He was punched by Deathstroke. He got back to his feet quickly, but nearly fell to his knees as a result of the bullet wound there.
Black Canary quickly took out her communicator and chose the first name that came up in the contacts list: Flash.
The communicator buzzed, and then Flash appeared, as did the heroes Vibe and Red Arrow, the latter of whom was one of her allies. She saw Flash was worried about her almost immediately. She looked over to where White Canary had been standing, and saw she was no longer there.
"What's happening?" Flash asked. "Is something wrong?"
"We've run into trouble," she explained. "There are assassins here! Nightwing is battling one of them, but I can't remember his name!" She gasped as Nightwing was knocked to the ground, and he was seemingly unconscious. "Oh no, he's been knocked out! We need backup over here, and we need it quick!" She suddenly felt a deep and horrible pain in her left side, and she screamed out. "AGHH!"
Her communicator went flying, and she saw White Canary standing in front of her. The communicator fell into her hands, and she broke it in two with her bare hands, throwing the two halves behind her. "Oops," she said.
Black Canary felt something warm as she touched her side, and she found blood on her hand as she took it back. Looking to White Canary, she saw the blade with blood dripping off the end.
Black Canary looked to Nightwing. Deathstroke stood over him, both katanas raised. She hurried to Nightwing's side, and as soon as she did so, he awoke, throwing a smoke pellet, which hit the rooftop. Smoke filled everyone's vision, and Black Canary felt herself be picked up.
She realized she was falling off the rooftop, and she felt herself hit the river below. Her vision flickered, and all went black.
Up above on the rooftop, Two-Face came walking over to Deathstroke, who was seething with rage over having once again failed to kill his adversary.
"Aren't we going after them?" Two-Face growled.
"No," Deathstroke replied cooly, surprising Dent, as well as White Canary and Copperhead, who had just woken from unconsciousness. "Let's tell Scarecrow. He'll be disappointed, but we'll get another chance to take those two down, I'm sure." He took out his communicator. Seconds later, Scarecrow's voice appeared.
"Did you succeed?"
"No," Deathstroke replied.
"What happened?" He now sounded angry.
"I was going to allow Nightwing to get away, but Black Canary got away along with him."
"Why would you have allowed the boy to get away?"
"Because he was injured," Deathstroke said. "It wouldn't have been ethical to kill an injured opponent in such a way. He deserved a much nobler death."
"Fine. It does not matter about Black Canary. Thawne and Merlyn have returned with prizes. Flash and Green Arrow are defeated. Ares has arrived in Themyscira with his associates, and both Star Sapphire and Luthor are in the middle of battle with their opponents. We are winning this battle."
And he hung up.
Deathstroke closed the communicator and turned to Two-Face, Copperhead, and White Canary. "Not all is lost," he said. "We'll get our revenge on them soon enough."
Black Canary opened her blue eyes, and she found herself in what seemed to be a sewer. Other than that, she had no idea where she was. She heard movement around her.
"Easy," came Nightwing's voice as she attempted to sit up. "I've been bandaging your side with pieces of my suit. We're in Gotham now. It's been six hours since the battle, and it's night now."
"What the heck is going on?" she asked groggily.
"Nothing, fortunately," Nightwing replied. "And I would like it to stay that way. Fortunately, I know a safehouse for us. I'm not sure if anyone else is there, but for the moment, I think we're fine. Let's just hurry up and get over there. No one's following us, but I don't always feel safe down in the sewers in Gotham. We haven't seen Killer Croc in a while."
"How's your leg?" Black Canary asked.
"Better," he said. "I'm still limping, though. There's someone who can help me get the bullet out later. I'd rather not do it myself, because I could easily screw it up." He laughed a little, then stopped. "It doesn't seem right, laughing right now."
Black Canary nodded, understanding that feeling.
He helped her up, and she found she could still walk, with trouble due to the pain in her side. But otherwise, she was fine.
"Do you think Batman is there?" she asked.
"No, I'm sure he's not," Nightwing said. "He's in Gotham, however, with Catwoman. So we'll surely see them soon enough." As they walked, he stumbled, and she quickly put his arm over her shoulders. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
"By the way, who was it you called?"
"Flash. I don't know why, he just seemed like the right person to call. It seemed nothing was happening there, fortunately, and I hope everything remains that way. But Red Arrow saw me injured, so I'm sure he's horribly worried for me. I can't blame him if he does think that way."
"It happens," said Nightwing. "But you're fine. He'll see that soon, I'm sure." He sighed, and groaned in pain as his leg began to throb. "God, I hate this freaking wound!"
He looked in front of him, and he found a strange-looking door there.
"What is that?" Black Canary asked. "Is that a door?"
"Yes," he replied. "And fortunately, I know the code."
She helped him walk up to it.
"Okay, let's see…"
He looked to the keypad, and he remembered the eight dates.
15-19-29-17-13-21-2-28
When he finished the door opened, and there was a flight of stairs, at which Nightwing groaned.
"What did those numbers mean?" Black Canary asked.
"They were the dates of birth of all of the members of the Bat-Family," Nightwing explained. "January fifteenth is the birthday of our favorite butler, February nineteenth is the birthday of Batman, May twenty-ninth is my birthday, May seventeenth is Batgirl's birthday, July thirteenth is the birthday of my first successor—" he stopped for a moment to sigh—"November twenty-first is Catwoman's birthday, and September twenty-eighth is Spoiler's birthday."
"So, in three days," Black Canary observed.
"Yes," Nightwing said. "She'll be eighteen. She probably doesn't even know this is happening, which is both a good and a bad thing. Hopefully she remains all right over there in Europe."
"I'm sure she will."
"Here we are," Nightwing finally said, sighing with relief.
They had finally made it to the top of the stairs, and he was happy he'd made it. He wiped his forehead. There was an opening, and he knew it would lead them to where they wanted it to. "Now let's see who's home."
