Chapter 23: The End?
"One!" yelled Nightwing, then he kisses Shadow's head and tightens his grip. He closes his eyes and whispers in her ear, "I'll always be with you."
Time stops for a second and begins to slow down. A loud explosion goes off, the ship shakes. Nightwing hits the floor hard but makes sure Shadow is safe in his arms. The ship finally stops shaking, Nightwing opens his eyes and the room is a mess. He sees Shadow still in his arms.
"Shadow, come on! We need to go!"
She groans and sits up, "Alright and we better hurry."
"Guys, let's go!"
"Right behind you Nightwing," said Mac.
Nightwing grabs Shadow's hand and runs, but unknown to them Ki follows. The players run through the halls of the damaged ship.
"Where are we going?" asked Buzz.
"To the control room," said Scar.
"How do we know where we're going?"
"I hacked in the system earlier. I got the blueprints of the ship," said Nightwing.
"How can we be for sure that we're going in the right direction?"
"Buzz, you got two opinions. You can die here on the ship or follow us and live," said Shadow. Buzz became silent. "That's what I thought. We need to hurry before the ship blows up."
"How long do we have?" asked Kindle.
"An hour, but who knows what danger lies ahead."
"Shadow is right. We need to hurry. The sooner we leave the better," said Nightwing as he glance at his wrist computer.
"No one is leaving!" yelled a dark voice, but they all know it's Ki.
"Run!"
They run as fast as they can, not looking back. Nightwing grabs smoke bombs and throws them.
"Grab our hands!" yelled Shadow.
Nightwing feels Shadow squeezing his hand as a sign that they're going to be ok. He squeezes back and gives her a small smile. Even through the smoke, he can still see her smiling back. Nightwing sees a door; he moves his wrist to his mouth and whispers open for five seconds. They quickly got in and the door shut. Nightwing doesn't know how long the door will hold Ki.
"Where are we?" asked Zals.
"It looks like we're in the control room," said Nightwing. "Ok guys, we need to block the door."
"We're on it," said Kale.
"Good, I'm going to hack into the system and get us out of here."
They quickly went to work, hoping that this nightmare will end soon.
"Nightwing, we finished," said Scar.
"Good, I'm almost done. Ok guys, I have good news and bad news."
"Tell the good news first!" shouted Mac.
"Well my theory about the zeta beams is correct, but it's different."
"How so?" asked Jen.
"The power in this zeta beam can transport this whole ship."
"So that's how they're able to get to our homes in such little time," said Gil.
"Yes, and I found a way to make a small zeta beam for us."
"So what's the bad news?" asked Saill.
"There's enough power for one trip."
"So we'll need to choose one planet?" asked Sky.
"Correct."
"But why?" said Kindle.
"The bombs that went off effected some of the ship's power."
"So it's Shadow's plan that messed this up," said Buzz.
"To save us from an argument, yes! It's my fault! You can yell at me later but right now I want to get the hell out of here!" snapped Shadow. She takes a deep breath. "Which planet?"
"I say Earth," said Nightwing.
"Why your planet?" asked Buzz.
"Cause I know somebody who can take you all home within a few days and Earth is closer to us. If I program to go to a planet that's further away with little power on this ship, then who knows what'll happen to us."
"I say let's be safe rather than sorry," said Zals.
Before anyone could say another word the door begins to bang; Ki is trying to get in here. Everybody yelled 'let's do this' and watched as Nightwing programmed a zeta beam for Earth.
"Take cover!" yelled Shadow. "Wave two!"
BOOM!
Watch Tower
"Batman?" Superman said as he ran after him. Turns out he went to the zeta beams. "Batman! Running away won't solve anything!"
They all witnessed the fight Nightwing and Shadow went through. Their fighting was so controlled and uncomfortable; like they can't even spar with each other. Nightwing surprised everybody when he pulled Shadow in his arms and talk to her. He still couldn't believe that they kissed. They fear for them when Ki attacks them but they don't know if Nightwing is alright after that explosion, which they believe is an intentional bomb. The women are in tears of worried, while the men try their best not cry. Batman walked out of the room with no emotions what so ever with his two boys following.
"Who said I'm running away? I'm just following a plan," Batman said while typing away on the keyboard.
"A plan?"
"Did I exaggerate?"
"Nightwing! Are you ok?"
He slowly opens his masked eyes and sees Shadow, but concern came over him. Shadow has a cut on her forehead and blood is dripping from it. He quickly sits up and examines it.
"Nightwing?"
"Shadow, are you ok? Do you feel like a concussion is coming?"
"I'm fine, but we need to get out of here before wave three."
"You're right," he said and kisses her cut. "Please be careful."
"Only if you do."
He couldn't help but smile at her comment. He made sure everybody else was ok and went back to work. The banging at the door stopped, Ki must be knocked out. That gives them more time.
"I'm done."
"Good! Let's get out of here," said Mac.
A yellow portal appears then it shows four heroes standing there. Nightwing gives a small smile at the sight; seeing his dad, brothers, and uncle.
"Go one by one."
He watches as they walk through, they need to hurry or else the power will be gone. Which means no zeta beam, but lucky the Watchtower is supplying power as well. Once the others went through, he looks at Shadow and walks to her.
"Ready Melinda?"
"For a new life? Yes, as long as you're there with me, Dick."
He grabs her hand, "Always, as long as you're there standing by my side."
"Always."
"Let's go."
"You first."
Nightwing squeezes her hand, "Together."
The other players and heroes (the rest of the league and Young Justice came in later) wait patiently until Shadow enters with Nightwing following.
"Nightwing!" they yelled and tackle him in a hug.
"Hey guys, I missed you all so much," he said and hugs everyone.
The players stand there and smile at the fact that Nightwing is back with his family and friends. Shadow smiles at the sight, but her masked eyes widen in fear as she sees a black tentacle coming out of the zeta beam.
"Nightwing!" she screams and run towards him.
Nightwing looks up from hugging his little brother; he quickly push him away and the tentacle wraps around him. He struggles to break free but nothing works. Everyone's trying to help him but the tentacle tightens around him. Shadow took out her knife and stab the tentacle but made sure she didn't hit Nightwing. They can hear Ki scream in pain but with one yank, he drags Nightwing in the zeta beam leaving the people he loves and cares shocked.
CLIFFHANGER! LOL JUST KIDDING! IT'S BEEN AWHILE SINCE A CHAPTER HAS BEEN POSTED...SO ENJOY!
Shadow shakes her head and springs into action. She looks around the room but there are no weapons but a bow, arrows, and a belt caught her eye.
"Saill? How much time do we have left till wave three?"
"Thirty minutes Shadow," he replies.
"Ok." She runs to Batman. "I'm taking your belt."
"What for?" he replies in a monotone voice.
"To save your son." Shadow removes his belt than grabs Red Arrow's bow and arrows. Then she walks to Superboy and Superman. "You two are strong, so be prepared to catch."
"Wait a minute, why are you doing this?" yelled Wonder Girl.
"To save Nightwing."
"Let us help you," said Miss Martian.
"The only way you guys can help me is wait out here for Nightwing." She adjusts her gear and walks to the zeta beam, but she turns her head to them. "I made a vow to bring Nightwing back to you guys alive and I'm not going to break it."
"Shadow, what are you saying?" asked Zals with concern in her voice.
"Nightwing will be through this portal before wave three. If I don't make it through before that time, please make sure that he doesn't come after me. Also tell him that it's not his fault for whatever happens to me."
"Shadow, it's crazy to do this alone!" yelled Sky.
"When you love someone, you tend to do crazy things," Shadow said with tears falling down her cheeks. "Bye!"
Before anyone could stop her, Shadow went through the zeta beam and land in a crouch. She quickly stands up and notices something red on the floor. She shivers…it's blood- Nightwing's blood. Shadow runs down the hall of the ship and checks the time. Twenty-five minutes, she needs to hurry.
Meanwhile Nightwing continues to struggle but as a result he gets a cut on his arm. Ki transform his tentacle to have sharp blades. The tentacle unwraps him and he hits the ground hard, Nightwing quickly gets up to take out his eskrima sticks but realizes they're gone.
"You ruined everything!"
"You knew the Death Games wouldn't last forever!"
"I have to say I'm surprise that you and the players made it this far. Tell me your plan." Nightwing remains silent and glares. "Don't want to talk, alright then, listen. Let me guess, you used Midnight's plan." Nightwing's eyes widen but he doesn't show it. "Yes, I knew Midnight had bombs in my ship but I didn't know where. The technology on Laska is amazing, they can't be detected till someone activates it. Midnight must have left a memo to Shadow after his passing. It's ashamed that Shadow had to watch her parents burn to death."
"How did you know that Shadow watch her parents' death?"
"Cause Nightwing, I was there."
"What?!"
"After I discover that Midnight left bombs on my ship, I decided to pay him a visit. It was only him and his wife in the house, I tried to persuade him to tell me the truth. But no matter what I said to him, he refused to talk. So I had to get rid of him and I succeeded, but later discovered that Midnight had a daughter. I had to get rid of his brat but I couldn't find her. I knew that she was force into the woods, but the chances of her surviving were slim."
"But Shadow survived and her planet voted her to enter the Death Games."
"Correct and all was left for me to do was watch her die in the Death Games. But my plans are ruined when you came in the picture."
"Whether I was here or not, Shadow would have followed through with her father's plan."
"I hate to say it, but I agree. Anyways Nightwing it's time to die."
"I don't know Ki, I tend to cheat death."
"We'll see."
With that Ki swung his large, knife-sharp tentacle at our hero Nightwing.