Hey guys, I hope you guys forgive me for the long wait for last chapter. We're approaching the end of the series, so be prepared. I do not own DC Comics or any of their characters. Please excuse any mistakes I may have made. Thanks soooo much for those who reviewed last chapter and thank you to Lovely for the advice. Please review again. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
Last Time:
"Beast Boy get into position." Nightwing muttered.
The green boy shrunk into a little, green ladybug and hid in the escrima sticks attached to Nightwing's back holsters. Nightwing waited a second for the boy to get settles before getting out of the Batwing. He landed softly onto the fresh, green grass.
"You ready?" Batman asked.
Nightwing looked at the villains in front of him. He noticed things he hadn't before. The way Queen Bee's hair looked silky soft, Ra's Al Ghul's fit physique, Deathstroke's calculating blue eye. He looked away from them. Batman had a hidden worry in his eye. Red Hood's muscles were tensed. Batgirl looked carefree, but he could see her tight features. He thought of Robin, how smart he was. He thought of Gordon, old, should-be-retired Gordon. He was a good detective. Richard forced himself to now and looked around. The air was fresh and clean. The grass beneath his feet was soft and alive. A soft breeze blew through the trees. Their green leafs and brown branches swayed with it. The sky was crossing into a deeper blue as midnight approached. The stars shone brightly as they forever freckled the sky. The moon was full and white against the dark night sky. Nightwing could see the craters and realized everything was beautiful. I need to stop. Nightwing forced himself to pay attention to now.
"I'm ready." Nightwing confirmed.
He gave a small smile to Batman and Red Hood.
"Everything will be fine." He said.
They didn't look convinced. Nightwing took a deep breath and stepped toward the villains across the clearing. He made sure to make eye contact.
Nightwing could hear his blood rushing through his ears as his heart pounded. I have to. His physical being did not show how panicked and tense he was on the inside. He kept the muscles in his shoulders and back relaxed as he walked. He held his head high and proud and unafraid. His hands remained unclenched. Fists would only raise suspicion and create caution on the villains part. But what if they're suspicious of my relaxed state? He calmed the thought by staying on alert, watching his surroundings and the Light members and supporters in front of him with deducting eyes.
"Stop. Stay right there." Deathstroke commanded.
Nightwing did as told and stopped. He had no idea what Beast Boy was doing as he couldn't feel him, but the little ladybug was supposed to be on his right escrima stick on the side closest to his muscular back. I hope he isn't moving right now. Deathstroke nodded at one of the Bialian soldiers.
"You. Check him for anything suspicious. The League might have placed a tracker or something on him." He ordered.
The soldier quickly stepped up and circled Nightwing, then, not seeing anything, patted him down. The soldier didn't find anything but the normal bat equipment and handed those to Deathstroke. The Talon was eyeing him, scanning him up and down. The Talon's staring made Nightwing a bit uncomfortable. What now? Apparently nothing as the Court's dog didn't say anything or do anything.
"Should we let him keep those...sticks? I was told not to use my power, so I cannot subdue him." Queen Bee asked.
Ra's Al Ghul eyed Nightwing and then looked at Deathstroke then looked at the Talon before returning his gaze to Queen Bee.
"With me, Talon, and Deathstroke here, the boy won't be able to anything but touch his escrima sticks before Deathstroke and I subdue him. The Talon won't have to do anything." Ra's Al Ghul stated cockily.
It's true. The Queen seemed satisfied with that answer. Now's the time to do it.
"I'm going to do something, but it's not to fight or anything like that, so don't be alarmed and don't attack me." Nightwing warned.
Deathstroke looked at him with his one visible eye narrowed. Ra's Al Ghul had his hand on his sheathed sword, and the queen was backing up a bit. The Talon remained indifferent. Before Nightwing took notice of their states, he grabbed both his escrima sticks. He spun around and threw them across the clearing. Both of them landed near the heroes on the other side. Beast Boy turned into his usual form and was staring at Nightwing with surprise and betrayal and confusion. Red Hood and Batman were yelling at him. Actually, most of the League was yelling and screaming at him to come back or stop or don't do it. There were a few whys, but he already answered that question. Nightwing turned back to the villains, head high and back straight. He wasn't afraid, and he wasn't going to run. He meet Deathstroke's eye with a fierce determination.
"I'll come with you. No fighting. No resistance. No foul play. No trackers. No communicators. Nothing. Just release Superman and Superboy into League custody. That's all I ask. No one has to get hurt." Nightwing demanded.
Deathstroke and Ra's Al Ghul laughed a bit. Queen Bee smiled. The Talon had his head cocked to the side in curiosity. Nightwing could hear the League start to come towards them. Before he could warn them, Deathstroke squeezed a shot off in their path to Nightwing.
"Come any closer and we up the kryptonite exposure!" He threatened.
The League stopped with great reluctance.
"I knew one of you would see reason." Queen Bee smirked.
"I'm glad you decided to go quietly, boy." Deathstroke said.
"Are you going to give up Superman and Superboy or not?" Nightwing growled.
The Talon laughed. The sound cause all those around him to look bewildered.
"Of course not. Are you stupid?" The Talon laughed.
Nightwing's eyes grew wide. Then he mentally slapped himself in the face. Of course they're not! Why the fuck did I think they would?! He was really disappointed with himself.
"Yes, we are." Ra's Al Ghul snarled in response.
Nightwing took a moment to realize that both he and his daughter did have a sense of justice even if it was a bit twisted, and they always seemed to lean to the radical side of things. They're also almost always on the wrong side of the fight. Either way, he was thankful for two understanding villains.
"Oh? I thought we already had this discussion." The Talon sneered.
Trouble in the alliance. Maybe I can use that.
"The kryptonians are not ours to keep. They belong to Darkseid. I'm sure the Court knows this." Ra's Al Ghul reminded.
The Talon growled, low and dangerous.
"Fine." He snarled.
Ra's turned to face Nightwing. Throughout the whole ordeal, Queen Bee and Deathstroke remained unaffected, as if it had happened before. Maybe it did.
"You can have your barbarians." Ra's confirmed.
Queen Bee nodded to her soldiers, and they began to push the two pods with the kryptonians inside across the clearing and to the League. Nightwing could still hear the Leaguers and others yelling at him. He watched the pods get pushed halfway down the clearing. He made eye contact with Red Hood who, despite the mask, looked devastated. Nightwing gave him a small, slightly sad smile. Batman met his eyes from across the clearing. Nightwing gave him the same smile, but he could tell Batman was indifferent to it. Nightwing could tell Batman had considered the possibility of Nightwing doing this. He turned back to Deathstroke. Nightwing could hear the engine of an approaching aircraft. The aircraft looked like a jet. It was sleek black, thin at the front for slicing through the air. A fast flying ship. It almost made him miss his bike. The jet began to land and open its doors.
"Alright, give me the communicator in your ear and board the jet." Deathstroke commanded.
Nightwing fell into step behind Deathstroke and Queen Bee. Ra's Al Ghul and the Talon followed him. Surrounded. They approached the opened doors. Now or never, Dick. Let's do this! Nightwing grabbed Queen Bee by the wrist and flung her around. Nightwing let go and threw her into the Talon and Ra's Al Ghul. Nightwing turned to Deathstroke and yanked the mercenary's sword from the sheath and his gun from the holster. Deathstroke caught his wrist as Nightwing pulled away. With desperation, Nightwing elbowed his mask, which cracked, and then shoved the mercenary away. He jumped away from them as they all stood to confront him.
"You didn't really think I'd go that easily, did you?" Nightwing grinned as he held the sword and gun.
Nightwing could hear the remaining Leaguers approaching the fight. He aimed the gun and the villains and the sword towards the heroes. They stopped.
"Don't interfere! This is my fight!" He yelled at the League.
"Don't be stupid! We have to help you." Red Hood argued.
"No. This is my mess. My fight. Now get back or I will make you." Nightwing responded threateningly.
There was no way he was going to allow them to interfere with this fight. Red Hood, Batman, and the rest of the League seemed to realize this. As a warning, Nightwing briefly took the gun off of the villains and shot a bullet in front of Batman, Black Canary, and Red Hood. He trained the gun back on the villains not a second later. He noticed the Talon had moved towards him in the brief period of time. With reluctance, the League returned to their previous position. Nightwing trusted them to stay away and turned back to the villains at hand. He focused on them.
"Here I was hoping you wouldn't be stupid." Deathstroke growled.