One moment Nightwing was in a suffocating grip of DarkBat and the next moment there was a shift in air resulting in him being able to breathe freely of the oxygen he so craved.
The acrobat absentmindedly massaged his neck, his gloves becoming slightly smeared with blood, and he smiled when he saw two batarangs protruding from both of DarkBat's now bleeding shoulders and he recoiled hissing in pain.
Nightwing turned and a huge excited smile appeared on his face.
Because standing in front of a magic portal were his family, much of the Justice League, John Constantine and his best friends as well as the founding members of the Titans, and all of them had murderous looks on their faces.
"You took your time!" joked Nightwing with a smirk.
"And you're still not dead without us." grunted Red Hood amusedly, guns in hand, and by his side Robin scowled and punched him in the arm.
Nightwing rolled his eyes and smiled. "I missed you too Little Wing."
Red Hood babbled incoherently, a blush covering his face behind his helmet. "You can't call me that in front of everyone!" he growled, making the heroes laugh.
The acrobat merely smiled and went back to staring at the super-villains of this world. "I advise you to surrender. As you can see" he pointed behind his own back. "my dearest friends and family have arrived and trust me when I say you don't want to see them pissed off."
DarkBat pulled out the batarangs and tossed them heedlessly to the ground as he spat blood. "The Injustice League will never surrender and we certainly won't run away!" he growled dangerously as he and his teammates (even GreenDark who had recently awakened from sedation) regrouped together, ready to fight everyone and everything.
Dick ignored the mutterings of "Injustice League?" and shook his head with an amused smile. "I warned you." he shrugged nonchalantly.
All the heroes lined up in front of the Injustice League, in fighting stance.
"Wonder Woman!"
Diana stared at Talia Al Ghul, surprised that the daughter of the Demon Head had called her and she looked at her curiously with a mix of skepticism.
"The Amazon" Talia pointed to Diana Prince's evil counterpart who was now looking at her curiously with a raised eyebrow. "in a previous battle badly wounded Richard who had a bad internal bleeding because of her."
Dick widened his eyes in shock and stared at his girlfriend who was not looking at him but she had a sly smile on her lips. The first Robin shook his head with an amused smile knowing what Talia was aiming at.
His fiancée was calling out Wonder Woman's overprotective instincts toward Nightwing.
And suffice it to say, Dick would not wish any poor wretch to suffer the wrath of Diana Prince combined with the dangerous mix of protective instincts toward him.
Indeed, the result was not long in coming.
Wonder Woman briefly opened her blue eyes wide before they became harder than steel itself. With a fierce roar of battle she flew at top speed toward The Amazon, who was not expecting it, and threw a violent punch into her face making a crack of broken bones resound followed by:
"I will kill you for hurting my nephew!"
"Protective apparently." snorted Emerald amusedly.
"You have no idea."
And after that, the ruckus ensued.
The battle did not even last twenty minutes when the Injustice League super-villains were all lying unconscious and chained up leaving them no chance to escape, all of them battered and bleeding heavily, especially The Amazon who had been beaten so brutally that she was completely unrecognizable.
Dick raised an amused eyebrow and stared at his aunt. "Did you have to go so hard on her?"
"She hurt you, my little Robin." Wonder Woman said in a tone of voice that suggested the answer was already obvious. "And I also went easy on her." then affirmed Diana, who pulled her nephew into a fierce embrace. "I missed you, Dickie."
Nightwing smiled sweetly as he hugged her back. "I've missed you too, Aunt Diana."
Soon after they broke away Dick was overwhelmed by his little brothers and he did not have enough arms to hug them all.
"Pull a stunt like that one more time and I'll kill you Grayson." Robin sniffed and he had his face resting on his former mentor's left shoulder.
Out of the corner of his eye, the Bludhaven hero saw Talia smiling sweetly at the two and Dick smiled back briefly before he focused on his siblings.
"I agree with the Demon Brat." nodded Red Robin to his left side.
"Did you hear that? You're doomed to stay with us." growled Spoiler jokingly as she found herself cuddled to her older brother's right side.
"Forever." added Black Bat helpfully with her head resting on Dick's right shoulder.
"Guys... I love you more than my own life... but I can't breathe..." choked Dick between breaths.
"Did you hear the golden boy? Get away from him. I didn't just travel between one fucking universe and another just to retrieve his dead ass." asserted Red Hood, who obviously had not joined the group hug.
He had a damn reputation to uphold.
Immediately the Bats broke away from the major who eagerly breathed in oxygen and he was sure his lungs were throwing a party.
The first Robin turned to Red Hood and spread his arms wide. "Move your lazy ass here before I make you."
The former antihero huffed, muttering a few insults but did not object and let his older brother hug him. "I missed you, Big Bird." he mumbled so softly that only Superman could have heard him.
"You too, Jay."
When they broke away Nightwing grunted as his best friend Donna Troy crashed into him in a fierce hug. "Dick! I missed you so much!"
Dick smiled sweetly as he wrapped his arms around his Wonder Twin. "You too, Donna. I trust you kept the others in line."
"Hey! I resent that!" outraged Kid Flash dramatically, who first slammed a brotherly fist into Dick's and then hugged him tightly.
Next it was Roy's turn and then Garth's turn to embrace their brother in all but blood. "Glad to see you not dead, dude." smiled Arsenal.
"But if you were almost crying when we couldn't find Dick." Tempest chuckled at the former Speedy's dirty look.
After having a brief chat with his best friends Dick found himself embraced by members of the Justice League.
"Man, if being catapulted into an alternate world brings me free cuddles I would have done it sooner if I had known." Dick joked as he was wrapped in a protective hug by his Aunt Shayera.
"Don't even think about it." Hawkgirl cast a dirty look at her nephew before tenderly kissing his forehead and passing him off (literally) to other JLA members.
In a few minutes Dick received more gestures of affection than he had ever had in his entire life.
"Glad to see you alive and well again, luv."
Dick smiled at John Constantine and he wrapped the older man in a hug. "I know you missed me!" he hummed.
John rolled his eyes and patted the former Robin on the back. "Only because your fucking family was busting my balls."
The younger man broke away and sent his friend a smirk. "I'm absolutely sure." he teased and John muttered under his breath.
Nighwing smiled one last time at his uncles Clark and Arthur before heading toward the one person still missing.
"Hey dad."
Batman removed his cowl and Dick shuddered when he saw heavy, dark circles under his father's blue eyes. Bruce hugged him fiercely and protectively, his cape falling comfortably to the 21-year-old's shoulders.
"I'm not leaving, Bruce. I'm here." the acrobat reassured him, fighting back the tears he was beginning to feel.
In response his father's arms held him more tightly. "I missed you so much, chum. It's been the worst two months without being able to see you, son."
Dick did not respond but merely continued to hug his father. A minute or so later the first Robin reluctantly broke away and sent a watery smile to Bruce. "The big tough Batman crying? You're ruining your reputation, old man."
Bruce grunted and put his cowl back on. "You insolent brat."
Taking advantage of the moment when finally everyone else was busy but not with him, Dick walked silently toward Talia who stared at him with a raised eyebrow, he took her hand, and they turned down several corridors before stopping.
As soon as they were alone Talia turned sharply and jumped onto her boyfriend who caught her in the air. Talia wrapped her legs around Richard's torso and kissed him with all the passion and love she felt.
Dick was initially stunned by the intensity of the kiss but soon happily returned it.
Talia pulled away slightly after about thirty seconds and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head comfortably on Richard's shoulder. "You scared me." her admission was muffled slightly by the position but the vigilante understood her anyway.
Dick felt the guilt return at a greater speed than Barry's. "I'm sorry." he said, resting his chin on his girlfriend's head.
"It's not your fault." Talia reassured him firmly as she lifted her head and kissed him gently.
Richard hummed happily into the kiss and the couple stayed together for a while simply enjoying each other's company before deciding it was better to go back before everyone became suspicious.
"Mother."
Talia turned and allowed herself a small smile when she saw her son. "Damian."
If Robin was surprised by Talia Al Ghul's smile he showed no outward reaction. "I'm glad you're all right." he said before hastily walking away.
Talia blinked confusedly before a sweet little smile appeared between her lips.
She would strive to be the mother Damian deserved to have, and her Richard would help her in the process.
Because Talia wanted to be a better person and leave her violent past behind and live a happy life with Richard and Damian, the only people Talia could not afford to lose.
A few minutes later Nightwing, Deathstroke and Talia stepped forward and shook hands with members of the League of the Revolution after everything was explained.
"Thank you for your help. We would never have won without you." thanked Emerald warmly, shaking Dick's hand.
"You have also been a great help to our survival." said Dick reflecting his smile.
"My beautiful dimensional machine!" cried Lex Luthor staring at his now ashen and charcoal device. "Weeks spent working on it... for nothing!"
Floyd Lawton patted him on the shoulder in consolation.
"If you happen to return to this world-"
"Not even dead."
Harleen Quinzel ignored Deathstroke's interruption and she continued as if nothing had happened. "Do not hesitate to visit us."
"We will." nodded Dick with a smile.
Talia squeezed Emerald's hand and the Angel's Head smiled at her. "Remember my words, Talia."
Talia nodded and gave a small smile before her expression turned stone again and Emerald smiled mentally.
After the heroes of this world and the inhabitants of the other Earth greeted each other, when Dick turned around he saw a magic portal next to John Constantine who was smiling lazily with a cigarette in his mouth.
The acrobat shook his head in amusement, and he and his friends walked through the portal after saying one last goodbye to the League of the Revolution.
Nightwing was not surprised when he found himself directly over one of Gotham's rooftops, and he for the first time was happy to inhale the smog of said city.
He was at home.
About ten minutes passed and eventually all the heroes (and man, Dick had never seen so many heroes in Gotham at one time) left and eventually only the Bat Family, Deathstroke and Talia remained.
"I'm surprised you didn't kill each other." observed Red Hood casually, staring at the three dimensional travelers.
"Surely there was no lack of trying." Slade said with a shrug.
"You may as well leave, Wilson." growled Batman, staring at Slade, who returned the stare.
Before anyone could say anything everyone turned in the same direction and Dick, Slade and Talia stiffened when they saw Ra's Al Ghul accompanied by some League of Assassins guards and Nightwing briefly squeezed his fiancée's hands in comfort.
Talia nodded imperceptibly to him and she hurried to untangle their hands. Dick frowned but said nothing.
"Daughter." Ra's stared at her with a detached, indifferent look before his eyes softened slightly in mock love and warmth.
Talia was absolutely fed up with her father's games and she would rather die permanently than have to deal with him even one more day.
"I've missed you." Ra's continued, not knowing what was in store for him.
Talia lifted her chin and stared directly into Ra's eyes, her green eyes cold and devoid of warmth. "I can't say the same."
Her words stunned everyone present except Slade and Dick, and for a brief moment there was a shocked silence where everyone stared at Talia as if she were an impostor.
"Excuse me?" asked Ra's recovering from his initial shock, his voice soft but containing an undercurrent of warning and threat that made Slade and Dick stiffen, both ready to beat Ra's and his men to a pulp.
"You heard me, Father. I'm done with you and the League of Assassins." declared Talia in a firm, solid voice without ever wavering.
All the vigilantes excluding Nightwing gaped in amazement but Talia did not look at them, focusing instead on her father and enjoying the shock that crossed his eyes before it disappeared almost as quickly.
"You don't know what you're saying, child. Whatever happened to you, I can help you fix it and make you like you were before."
Talia felt anger explode within her and she did her best to restrain herself from releasing it. "I know perfectly well what I'm saying, Father." she spat the last word like venom and she enjoyed the sparkle of anger cross the Demon Head's composed features. "And I'm not going to take the words back. I. Have. Closed. With. You." she spelled out each word making her decision even more final.
Ra's lips lowered into a frown and his eyes fluttered to Dick, then to Slade and finally to Dick again who stared back at him. "Did Richard brainwash you too?"
Everyone turned to stare at Dick with shocked expressions but the former Robin merely remained silent. It was Talia who answered.
"He did not brainwash me. He opened my eyes when I kept them stubbornly closed in the face of what I kept seeing. He helped me understand and realize what a shit person you are and an even shittier father."
Ra's eyes lit up with a fury never seen before but when he opened his mouth to speak he was preceded by his daughter who ignored the incredulous looks of the vigilantes.
"Richard is my light that illuminates all the darkness in which you have forced me to live. Richard is my light that illuminates and chases away all the darkness that has always haunted me because of you."
Talia smiled in satisfaction when she saw Ra's eyes go wide and she decided to gamble even more.
The daughter of the Demon's Head grabbed Richard by the Kevlar bringing him close to her and Talia kissed him passionately, blissfully closing her eyes.
There were noises and expletives that revealed the shock and disbelief of the vigilantes but Talia ignored them.
They broke away after a long minute and Nightwing protectively wrapped his arms around Talia, both of whom stared at Ra's Al Ghul.
Talia had never seen such shock in her father's features and she mentally gloated knowing that she was the reason Ra's did not have his usual composure.
Ra's opened his mouth but closed it again soon after. His eyes hardened and he stared coldly at his daughter. "You have made your decision." was more of a statement than a question but Talia nodded anyway.
"Yes."
"You can never return to the League of Assassins."
"I know."
Ra's tightened his lips in a frown. "You are pathetic and a great disappointment. Abandoning everything you've learned, all the power you hold because of a foolish idiot who brainwashed you with his stupid nonsensical ideologies."
"Insult him one more time and I'll kill you personally." Talia declared coldly, a dangerous and murderous gleam in her eyes that made the Demon's Head guards inadvertently back away.
Ra's squinted his eyes and fixed his daughter with an indifferent gaze. "Well, then. You are dishonored by the Al Ghul family and from now on you will have no connection with the League of Assassins nor will you be able to freely access its databases and never rejoin."
Talia firmly met her father's gaze. "I would rather die than go back there."
Ra's jaw ticked minutely but he said nothing to her comment and instead nodded stiffly. "Then from now on you will be regarded as an enemy and a traitor by the League of Assassins."
"Good."
Talia felt nothing but happiness and satisfaction.
She was also proud of herself for the fact that she had broken all her ties with the League of Assassins and no longer had to have anything to do with her father.
Finally she was free from the negative influence of the League of Assassins and she was free from the unhealthy relationship with her father.
Ra's composed and impassive expression did not change and he turned back. "Let's go." he said to his men.
Talia, still wrapped in her boyfriend's protective arm, stared ahead until she was sure her father was gone.
"You did so well, Talia. I'm so very proud of you." murmured Dick placing a tender kiss on her hair and in response Talia snuggled against his warm, secure chest and she sighed contentedly.
"What the fuck? Did you see the same thing I saw or am I fucking hallucinating?"
Red Hood's voice brought them back to reality and they turned simultaneously meeting shocked and incredulous faces from the vigilantes and a smirk from Slade.
"Mother... are you and Grayson... dating romantically?" asked Damian, his voice more confused and bewildered than usual.
Both Dick and Talia noticed a hint of hope in their son's voice and they smiled softly at each other before they brought their eyes to Robin. "Yes Damian. Richard and I are dating romantically." confirmed Talia with a warm smile.
Damian could not hide an excited smile at his mother's confirmation. It was like a dream coming true: seeing his mother and Baba getting together.
Dick smiled at Damian's reaction but when he stared at Bruce he quickly lost it at his father's deep frown.
"Nothing you or anyone else can say will change my mind. I love Talia and although it has not been long since we are officially dating, I cannot imagine a life without her." declared Nightwing in a solemn and firm voice staring directly at Batman.
Batman did not respond and his frown deepened. The Dark Knight turned sharply and fired a grappling hook toward another rooftop moving away leaving behind an uneasy silence.
"I thought it would be worse." Dick honestly admitted.
Jason stared first at Dick then at Talia before finally shrugging. "It's none of my business if you fuck with am assassin who can slit your throat while you sleep, Dickie-Birdie."
"Todd!" cried Damian in horror and anger.
Nightwing reached out a hand and lowered the arm of Talia who was suddenly holding a knife. "You can't hurt my siblings, no matter if they are the biggest pain in the ass in the world."
Talia murmured under her breath but put the knife back, surprising everyone but Slade.
Tim sighed. "As long as I don't have to deal with another assassin trying to kill me I'll be fine. Two already are enough to go around." he said looking specifically at Jason and Damian who whistled innocently.
"Eh, I'm fine with it." Stephanie lazily shrugged her shoulders.
Cassandra was silent for a while studying the couple's body language and finally she nodded. "You love each other and that's enough for me." then she stared coldly at Talia. "But break his heart and you will have to deal with me."
To her credit Talia remained impassive. "I have no intention of hurting him in any way."
Cassandra nodded. "Good."
Within a few minutes only Dick, Talia and Slade remained.
"It was quite an adventure we had." commented Nightwing.
"It certainly was memorable and exciting." agreed Slade.
"If I ever had to go back in time to decide whether or not to do it again, I would do it every single time." said Talia who looked meaningfully at Dick.
The acrobat smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Me too, my love."
"Are you really getting disgustingly sweet in front of me?" asked Deathstroke impassively. He sighed when he received a smirk and a glare. "Then it's best to leave you two lovebirds alone. Until next time."
Before Slade could leave, Talia called out to him. "Wait!"
The mercenary did not turn around but tilted his head to the side suggesting that he was listening to her.
"...You have been a fair ally, Slade."
Talia could not know or see it but Slade had a smirk behind his mask. "I can say the same for you, Talia." and with that he jumped from rooftop to rooftop.
"You just made your first friend!" cooed Dick mockingly.
Talia rolled her green eyes in annoyance and stared at him sternly. "Shut up and kiss me, Richard."
"With pleasure."
Dick kissed Talia who wrapped her arms around her amazing boyfriend's neck as they deepened their kiss.
After a few minutes they broke away and smiled sweetly at each other.
"I love you Talia." said with nothing but love Dick as he lovingly caressed her cheek, smiling when he felt her shiver and lean into his touch.
"I love you too, Ya Amar."
Dick was initially surprised before he practically melted into the most loving and sweetest look Talia had ever seen in her entire life.
Dick and Talia solidified their love with another kiss and looked forward to spending the rest of their lives by each other's side.
A/N: The Arabic expression "Ya Amar", if I'm not mistaken, should mean "My Moon".