The End

ONE YEAR 6 MONTHS AGO

KATHERINE

How had things gone out of hand so fast?

She rubbed her forehead feeling the ache between her eyes, it had been barely six months after the Alter-Dimension crisis and she can still feel the repercussions. How could she have pushed Roy away in such a short period of time... what went wrong?

But then she remembered that everything went wrong, nothing was ever going to be right again because she was the one who tampered with time and space, and as Whisperer claimed, she'd pay dearly for it. And she was, and then some.

"Kat it's not your fault," Dick came up from behind and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "none of us knew the complications that would arise after we set off that detonator." She kept her head down and let his soft words sink in, she wanted to believe it, so much, but there was a wall keeping her from knowing it.

"He told me the prices I would have to pay..." she let her head hang down holding he wouldn't see her disappointment. Without looking up to see the expression on his face, she continued, "Dick, I knew that after I went through with it there would be no turning back, I could never change that." She played with the end of her lighting bolt cape, she never would have thought anyone would find out what happened in that pit, nonetheless Roy Harper.

"Kat, what are you talking about." It was more of a statement than a question.

She realized what was at stake, even if the HOJ and the JLA believed it was over, she knew better, when it came to Whisperer or the ADP. Not to forget the role she played in a game of chess that she knew she was never going to win.

"Dick, in that pit Whisperer told me that nature has a way to settle differences. It finds balance to everything." She lowered her head, the signal should have pointed Dick to where she was headed.

"What are you trying to say..." She could hear it in his voice.

"I'm dying," She looked up with piercing onyx eyes, a broken soul glared at him, "And there's nothing anyone can do anything about it." With that she grabbed hold to her cape and ripped it off of her back. The fabric announced its detachment.

"What needs to be done," she studied his face looking for something her soul could rest on, "we'll do anything just name it." He cared for her and at that moment she knew there was no one else who could ever say it the way he did. That Richard was special and only special for her, because no one would ever give her that feeling.

"Dick I told you already, I made a choice in that pit, I made a decision to stay here to save this world, and if you cannot handle that decision then I'm not sure what I can do for you."

He looked over to her after a few moments of much needed silence. He moved swiftly and smoothly and bent down to her face and let his lips slide on hers without the slightest bit of hesitation. She wasn't sure if he was kissing her like she wasn't going to see tomorrow or if he was kissing her like he would never let her go. Maybe both.

..

DICK

15 DAYS AGO

He held her hand as she laid on her bed, he let his eyes drift over her face and body and what he saw made him sick. A young girl with so much vitality, so much life, was dying before his eyes. How unkind fate is.

"Do you need anything Katherine?" A reassuring squeeze on his hand was felt.

"No, I just need you." A hushed voice fell over the silence.

"I'll always be here, you know it."

"But I won't."

"It isn't your fault so stop making it sound like it is." He chided her, she didn't need to be so negative about something out of her control. "But it was Gray, but it was." A sigh escaped his lips for her stubborn nature made it impossible to contend with her.

"Rest, you need it. I'll come back tomorrow." He glanced at the clock making sure he left before the next patrol came around to find him past the ICU's visiting hours. "

"Goodnight, love."

"I love you."

/

YESTERDAY 8:35

The hallways were bustling and busy as ever, which also mean that he too was occupied. The HOJ was crazy and the crime rates were high, gave him something to do and keep himself focused on something other than her.

"Nightwing, we need you in the medical wing, now." Red Tornado was very insistent with his metallic robotic voice. He did not like the way he was approaching him.

Something bad happened to Kat he could feel it.

..

ROY

ONE YEAR AGO

He finally found out what happened in that pit. He was horrified. He was heart bent on killing this girl because she had ruined his life with her arrival being detrimental to the time scale and ultimately getting his own Katherine killed. He never believed her sacrifice could be this great.

He slouched back into his chair not believing what he heard:

"I was branded because I have an expiration date. And it is also a reminder about the world I gave up to save the people on this one."

She sentenced her own death to save this earth and the earth she'll never see again. He knew she gave up something but self sacrifice was nothing he could have imagined.

However his opposition still held strong, just not the way it was before. He saw her in a different light and decided that Katherine's story was one to be told because the true heroes do not always share their story.

KATHERINE

3 DAYS AGO

"Don't tell anyone what I've done." She was insistent to be sure that her sacrifice was not known amongst the others. She didn't want to live in the memories of those who could only see her as a betrayer of her own home.

"But you're going to die." Dick was straight forward, she appreciated his honestly and she needed no bullshit at the moment.

"At least I'll go out quietly." She coughed and felt some thick liquid bubbling in her chest. She could feel her soul trying to leave. "At least tell me what happened, what really happened down there."

"Fine."

..

DICK

TODAY

He sat on the gargoyle of Gotham Tower, looking upon a city riddled with crime and plagued with mobs. It was broken and dirty but it was where he grew up and he still proudly called it home. It had been 32 hours since his love has left the earth forever. How could he cope with a loss that would never truly be remembered. A sacrifice so great that no one could ever know about.

He let his head dip as the cool autumn breeze swept though his black locks, maybe in a different earth, in a different time, on a different planet they got to spend the rest of their lives happily together.

Hey everyone. Sorry for such a horrible ending. Im thinking about adding some one shots to complete this the story because it's so incomplete but I didn't want to leave this story hanging for so long. It's definitely lacking and I hope to satisfy every reader, I only want this story to be successful even if I neglected it for so long. Please let me know what you want explained for I skipped quite a bit, when I get your request I'll shoot out a one shot in response to answer your concerns about the story. Thank you for following me through this journey and I look forward to your comments! Don't leave it hanging guys!

Todaloooo~