Center of Nightwing's mind
A very weak Nightwing begins to wake up and discovers that his gloves is gone and that he's blindfolded. Suddenly, he hears several voices inside his head.
"Miss M? Is that you?" asked Nightwing.
"Yes, it's me but I don't know where you, me and the others are," said Miss Martian. "I'm blindfolded."
The others reported the same thing.
"What are you all doing here?" asked Nightwing. "I thought most of you wanted me gone. After all, that's why I pushed Wally out of the way..."
Everyone was horrified at what he said.
"After everything I put everyone through, I wouldn't even be surprised if Batman kicked me out of the Batcave and off the Team. Besides, you would've been better off if I was dead. No one would notice or care..."
The search party couldn't believe how Nightwing really blamed himself for everything. The words were stated so bluntly as if he didn't think it wouldn't make their stomachs churn with guilt and regret. Nightwing lets his head hang low again.
"Listen to me. We couldn't live with ourselves if we didn't come to find and help you!" said Superboy.
"But-"
Nightwing was going to point out how they treated him in the warehouse, but Superboy wasn't done. "No. Let me finish. You saved the world, Nightwing. Yes, we felt betrayed and were so furious that we wanted to kick you out, but we now understand why you kept everything a secret. We're all really sorry for how we treated you after everything you put yourself through."
The others repeated in agreement.
"...But what about the League? What about Batman?" asked Nightwing.
"He and Black Canary approved this mission," said Batgirl.
"He's not mad?"
"He would've been if we didn't rescue you. Speaking of which, how do we get out of here?" asked Bumblebee.
"Wait a minute, I don't feel Artemis or Wally here," said Miss Martian. Suddenly, Nightwing feels an evil presence in the room.
"I see you're wide awake," Zucco said to Nightwing. "Why do you bother listening to them? If Batman agreed to this, then it means your Team is only here because of him."
Zucco hears one of the captives tell him to shut up. He turns on something that causes Zatanna and Miss Martian to scream. Their pain could be felt on the mental link. Nightwing retaliates by using what brainpower he has left to mentally free 4 prisoners before passing out: Superboy, Wonder Girl, Robin, and Impulse.
"M'gaan? M'gaan! Where are you?!" Superboy cried mentally as he ran through the halls, but there's no answer. The 4 escapees see shadow creatures were coming their way, but Wonder Girl wasn't afraid.
"Lemme at them! Lemme at them!" shouted Wonder Girl before the 3 boys grabbed her and run.
"Your girlfriend sure is feisty," whispered Impulse to Robin.
"Shut up," retorted Robin. The escapees hide in a room that had Gotham Academy student Bette Kane in it. When Robin tries to take a few steps towards Bette, she instantly transformed into a scary screaming banshee made of fire. The 4 escapees run for their lives.
Memory dump, same time
Raya, Raymond, and Zane wake up at the bottom of a canyon that's littered with faded memory orbs. Some of the orbs were dissolving into dust. When the trio sees this, they're terrified to see that their some of their body parts are becoming increasingly translucent. They run and yell out the names of Nightwing's teammates before tripping over Wally and Artemis.
The couple wakes up and are overjoyed to see that the trio is still alive. The joy immediately evaporates when they realize how far they've fallen and that nobody else is with them.
"We're in the memory dump. It's where old memories are discarded," said Raymond.
When Artemis discovers that her bow and arrows are gone, Wally suggests that Nightwing's imaginary friends lift them and fly. When the trio tries this, they can barely even levitate a few inches off the ground. An exasperated Wally starts running up a mountain of forgotten memories, but keeps sliding down.
"Wally, what are you doing? Stop it, please," said Raymond, but Wally doesn't listen. "Don't you get it, Wally?! We're stuck down down here!...We're forgotten."
Wally looks back at everyone staring at him and turns his attention to a glowing blue orb. Artemis and the kids follow him as he walks over to it and picks it up. The blue orb shows Wally's outburst at Nightwing in the Hall of Justice after the Cave was blown up. Wally sees his own terrifying expression as he yelled at Dick. Although the orb doesn't show Nightwing's eyes, Wally could imagine how heartbroken and frightened Nightwing was. After Wally falls to his knees and sets the memory aside, he picks up an orb that shows Dick revealing his identity to him about 18 months before the Team was founded.
"I was the first on the Team to know his secret identity," said Wally as tears begin to form. The next orb he picks up shows when the 3 sidekicks planned to raid Cadmus 6 years ago. "He was so full of light and joy."
Another orb that he picks up shows Kid Flash and Artemis quitting the Team some time after Tula's death. "I just wanted to have a normal life with Artemis."
When Wally picks the orb containing his outburst in the Hall of Justice, he hugs all 4 orbs before dropping them all and breaking down in tears. He could hear his inner demon repeating the taunts from earlier. Artemis and the kids couldn't do anything except, but just sadly stare at the ground as orbs around them begin to crumble into dust. As Wally cries, his tears fell on an orb that shows Dick in his Robin costume, talking with Green Lantern Hal Jordan. A curious Wally picks it up and listens carefully. He gestured to the others to come in closer.
"Are there any other Lantern Corps besides the green one?" asked Dick.
"Of course," replied Hal. "There's red for rage; orange for greed; yellow for fear; indigo for compassion; pink for love; black for death; and white for life. Before creating the League, I was part of a spaceship crew of 4 and we would come across different colored Lanterns. My lover actually became a pink Lantern."
Dick laughed and joked, "Maybe there should be a cartoon based on your adventures."
Hal laughed in agreement. "Imagine if there were cartoons based on the League and your team."
The two guys stopped laughing together when Hal commented, "You know. People see you as the light to Batman's darkness. If you ever get a lantern ring, it would probably be blue because you're such a hopeful person."
"Do Blue Lanterns have their own oath?" asks Dick.
"All Lantern Corps do," replied Hal. "The blue one goes like this:
'In fearful day
In raging night
With strong hearts full, our souls ignite.
When all seems lost in the war of light,
Look to the stars,
For hope burns bright.'"
A light bulb goes off in Wally's head. "Hope...Everything is the way it is because Dick has lost all hope."
He turns his attention to Artemis and the redheads. "We have to get back up there."
"Wally, we're not Phineas and Ferb from Disney Channel," said Raya. "Even if I had my full powers back, I can't just turn all these memories into some sort of magic school...bus."
Raya suddenly has an idea. She turns on her holographic computer glove and punches a few buttons. "This way!" she tells the others.
"Wait!" yelled Kid Flash who gathered the 4 orbs he had picked during his breakdown. Raymond sucks them up with his elephant bag before everyone quickly follows Raya.
The group of five came across a rusty and battered bus. Once inside, Artemis and Wally discover that the interior is much bigger than the exterior, similar to the TARDIS in Doctor Who. Raymond gives a wind up key to Artemis who unsuccessfully tries to start the bus. Instead, the bus shakes and splutters before the airbags are randomly deployed. Wally punches the airbag and slams his fists on the dashboard in frustration. Everyone gets out to inspect the engine which blows smoke when the hood is opened. The trio looks at their slowly disappearing fingers and glance at each other before they nod in agreement.
"We have an idea, but you need to keep an eye on our stuff," said Zane. "Don't want something happening to it."
The trio gives the couple their utility belts, holsters, and elephant bags. They hold their hands in a triangle and their bodies glow with energy that goes to the bus, bringing it to life. Artemis and Kid Flash are overjoyed until they see the increasingly translucent trio. When the couple holds them, Raymond weakly tells Kid Flash, "Wally, we forgive for calling us double agents earlier. We're glad that you came. Just promise us that you save Dick and not let him slip into darkness again, OK?"
When the trio finally disappears, Artemis comforts Kid Flash who tearfully said, "I'll try, you guys. I promise."
The couple grab the trio's stuff and run back to the bus. "Wait. Wait. Hold on. Ahem. Seat belts, everyone!" said a smiling Kid Flash. A confused Artemis raised an eyebrow because her terrible childhood didn't include The Magic School Bus. After Wally explained the reference, Artemis stepped on the accelerator and flew the bus out of the canyon.
Back in the center
"This place feels a haunted version of the mansion in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends," commented Wonder Girl as she and the other 3 escapees run. "All we need now are some Scooby Doo music and that crazy chase scene with the doors."
The gang runs into the library where they lose the shadow creatures, but run into a dead end. Wonder Girls pulls a book off the shelf that makes the shelf open, sucking the gang into a black void. When they get back on their feet, they see Nightwing with a purple plant with tentacles is attached to his chest.
"It's some kind of plant," said Robin who tries to shake Nightwing, but there's no response.
"He's barely breathing," added Superboy.
"Pupils aren't contracting even slightly," said Robin who points a flashlight at Nightwing's eyes. "Must be cut off from all sensation. Dick, where are you?"
Nightwing's imagination
The alarm clock goes off, waking up Dick. After Dick brushed his teeth and washed his face, he walks downstairs and makes breakfast. The female redhead and 3 little red haired kids arrive.
"Dick, I hope you don't eat cereal at the family BBQ" said the woman. She has a slender and fairly muscular build. Her red auburn hair is wavy with strands hanging over her ears to frame her face.
"Of course not, Kory. Cereal is just a fast and easy way to burn energy for someone who's constantly burning energy," answered Dick.
Nightwing's prison
"It's called the Black Mercy," said Zucco who was standing at the entrance with his arms crossed and was buff as a gargoyle. "Hal Jordan said it was a telepathic parasite that consumes its victim's lifeforce while creating a totally convincing simulation of the victim's deepest desires. I made it by using the same method I used to bring out your inner demons."
"So he's dreaming?" asks Robin.
"Oh, far deeper than that. I wonder where he thinks he is. Maybe being the center of attention under the big top, wishing he had never met you pathetic excuses for teammates."
Wonder Girl charges forwards and punches his face a few times which does little damage. Wonder Girl looks at her hurt knuckles and thought that Zucco was as strong as Black Beetle or Mongul.
"You don't understand. I'm more powerful than your own inner demons," said Zucco as he walks forward. Superboy tries to punch him but Zucco grabs Superboy's fist and throws him so hard at the wall that he creates a hole to the other room. Robin tries to zap him with his bo staff, but Zucco blasts dark energy at him. When Zucco gives Robin with an evil grin, Wonder Girl comes from behind to lift Zucco over her head and smash Zucco's head into the floor.
Zucco swats Wonder Girl through the hole in the wall that Superboy made earlier. Impulse goes after them and uses his superspeed to repeatedly punch Zucco which felt like punching Tommy Terror.
Meanwhile, Robin tries to use a laser pen to unsuccessfully cut the Black Mercy in half. He hears Wonder Girl briefly yell when Zucco tosses her at a shelf with Kids Next Door style weapons. He tosses Superboy and Impulse at her.
"He's gonna kill her, Dick, and then he'll kill us all. Snap out of it already!" begged Robin. "Please."
Wonder Girl, Superboy, and Impulse take up arms and aim them at Zucco who condescendingly asked, "Oh, dear. Are those 2x4 technology?"
"Go to hell," said Wonder Girl before they firing their weapons.
"Nothing's working!" complained Robin after his bo staff broke in unsuccessful attempt to pry the plant off. Robin hears a few blasts. "They're fighting for their lives, Dick. You've got to fight too."
The weapons have little effect on Zucco who breaks it with his bare hands. Zucco punches Impulse out the way and grabs the other 2 heroes by their necks. "Once all of you are eliminated, I'll break free into the real world," said Zucco.
"You won't win," said Wonder Girl who struggled to breath as Zucco strangles her and Superboy.
"Of course I will," said Zucco before throwing them on the ground and stomping on them. Impulse moves out of the way, but not Superboy and Wonder Girl.
"Yes. That's it. Fight it, Dick. Fight it," says Robin as the Black Mercy begins to loosen its hold on Nightwing whose eyes begin to twitch.
Nightwing's imagination
At the family BBQ, Dick hears a voice echoing around him but nobody else hears it. "Fight it," the voice says which gives Dick a headache. His kids notice this and ask him what's wrong.
"Raya, Raymond, and Zane. When you three were born, they were the happiest days of my life. When I first saw your beautiful little faces, your tiny fingers squeezed my hand so tight, like you never wanted to let go. I've watched every step, every struggle. But I- don't think you're real. I don't think any of this is real."
"Don't say that, Daddy. Please. You're scaring us," said Zane.
No, no. I don't want to scare you, Zane," said Dick. "You, your siblings, my parents- This is everything I ever wanted in life.
"What's going on here?" asked Mary Grayson.
"Dick, what's wrong?" asked John Grayson.
"Mom. Dad. Raya. Raymond. Zane. I'm sorry, but I've got responsibilities. I have to go now," Dick said tearfully. The entire place is dissolving into rainbow bubbles as the group comes together for a big hug.
"Daddy," said the kids in unison.
"Dick," said Dick's parents in unison.
"I promise you, I'll never forget."
Nightwing's prison
"Yes!" exclaimed Robin as the Black Mercy finally lets go of Nightwing.
Suddenly, the plant attaches itself to Robin who turns away from Nightwing before falling on his knees. Robin tries to resist, but succumbs to his deepest desire. He hears the echo of Batgirl yelling, "Get back to the house, now! Your dad is next!"
Robin's dream
Tim runs upstairs as fast as he can. Once Tim enters the kitchen, Captain Boomerang bursts through the door with a big boomerang in his right hand, but Jack Drake shoots Captain Boomerang's right hand. Jack lunges forwards, grabs Captain Boomerang's right wrist, holds it up high, and begins to repeatedly punch him.
"Yes!" exclaims a smiling Tim as Batman puts both hands on Tim's shoulders. Jack alternates between punching him in the face and stomach.
The prison
Dick snaps out of the trance when he hears heavy pounding. Upon seeing that the Black Mercy was attached to Robin, Dick becomes so enraged that he doesn't pry it off of Robin's chest. Instead, he quickly hacks the prison security system to release the remaining prisoners and quickly flew towards the source of the heavy pounding.
Superboy and Impulse are down, and Wonder Girl slowly gets up. Zucco was about to stab her when a black blur slams Zucco. Wonder Girl was dumbstruck by what she's seeing.
"Robin needs your help! Zucco's mine!" Nightwing yelled as he repeatedly punches Zucco.
"Got it, boss!" she said before Nightwing slams his fists on Zucco so hard that Zucco falls through the floor. Wonder Girl groans as she quickly walks because the beating from Zucco has made her too weak to even levitate a few inches off the ground.
"Do you have any idea what you did to me?" Nightwing asked in a soft and deadly tone. Nightwing punches Zucco a few more times before Zucco kicks Nightwing in the stomach with his feet.
"I used your friends' powers to create a prison that you couldn't leave without sacrificing your heart's desire. Must've have been like tearing off your own arm," said Zucco before grabbing Nightwing's head.
When Wonder Girl arrives, Robin was on his knees facing away from her so she tries to call out his first name.
"Here's an early birthday present, circus brat. Death," said Zucco as he strangles Nightwing. Nightwing responds by using his eskrima sticks to electrocute Zucco.
Wonder Girl hears Zucco's scream echoing. She tries to pull the plant off of Robin's chest with what little strength she had left which was difficult even for her.
"Tim!" she cries out.
Robin's dream
"Get him, Dad, get him!" cheered Tim as he and Batman watch Jack Drake punch Captain Boomerang 5 more times before Tim hears the echo of Wonder Girl desperately yelling out his name as loud as she can.
"TIM!"
Jack punches Captain Boomerang 4 more times before Boomerang gains the upper hand by kicking Jack in his crotch.
The prison
Robin and Wonder Girl fall backwards away from each other once the plant finally comes off of Robin's chest. Robin watches as Wonder Girl struggles to keep the plant from attaching itself onto her.
"You should have stayed in whatever happy fantasy the Black Mercy granted you," said Zucco before he charges at Nightwing who trips him. Nightwing quickly grabs Zucco by his ankles and tosses him at the wall before repeatedly punching him in the face.
"Happy?! Do you have any idea of what I had to put up with?!"
Zucco kicks Nightwing's leg and was just about to finish him off.
"Excuse me," interrupted Wonder Girl who was with Robin, Impulse, and Superboy. "But I think this is yours." She throws the Black Mercy at Zucco, but he destroys it with his dark energy before it could attach itself to him.
Soon the other prisoners have arrived. They were ready to fight until a yellow and black minibus smashes into Zucco.