Be Faster than the Red Light
Jimmy didn't normally like clubs. He wasn't an old man by any means, but he also wasn't young enough to be bumping and grinding in an establishment such as this. The music blared and the bass on the speakers was so high he could feel his own bones rattling. Personally, Jimmy would rather be at home sipping a glass of pinot noir and listening to his vinyl copy of Sinatra. However, the events of the past few days or so were not great. There was a lot of heat on the streets, and Jimmy needed to lie low for a while in this private booth. He knew hiring the 'Joker' to kill Nightwing would end up being a regretful decision. He knew that crazy clown would cause a stink. But to go this far? Killing people left and right. Getting caught and then blowing up the Ninety-Ninth precinct? The balls on this man were enormous. And now, 'Joker' supposedly had Lau in his hands as well as the location of the remaining portion of the mob's money. As he took a sip of his cocktail, Jimmy shook his head in embarrassment for putting his entire livelihood in the hands of a headless chicken. From the corner of his eye, he noticed all his bodyguards running in one direction towards the walkway that led to his private booth. The music masked most of the noise, but anyone could recognize punching and kicking. One of his men was even thrown off the balcony down towards the dance floor. Rolling his eyes, Jimmy took one big swig from his drink, stood up, and buttoned his suit. After beating up all his men, the assailant slowly walked towards the crime boss.
"No hard feelings?" Jimmy nonchalantly asked.
*POW*
A while later, Jimmy woke up dangling from a building's fire escape by his ankle. Looking down towards the street, he jerked back startled. Craning his head up, he met the white-eyed mask of a very angry vigilante.
"Figgis," Nightwing growled.
"Nice to meet you, too. Y'know, despite everything that's happened, I don't think we've actually ever met face-to-face like this."
"Where is he?"
"You're gonna hafta be more specific. And plus, I can't really think with all this blood rushing to my head!"
With a quick tug, Nightwing pulled 'the Butcher' upwards and grabbed his shirt collar.
"You know damn well who I want. Where is the Joker!"
"Listen, pal. From one professional to another, you wanna scare a guy? Pick a better spot. Fall from here, wouldn't kill me."
"I'm counting on it," Nightwing answered with a slight devilish grin.
Without warning, the hero let go of Figgis's shirt collar letting the crime boss fall just almost two stories. Falling feet first, Figgis landed on the ground and heard the distinct crack of broken bones. Screaming in pain, he clutched his ankle as blood rushed to the injure area swelling his skin. Unlike our crime boss writhing in pain, Nightwing landed gracefully next to him and grabbed him by the collar again.
"Let's try again. Joker? Where?" Nightwing demanded.
"AHhhh fuck man! I don't know where he is! He found us!" Figgis shrieked.
"He must have friends!"
"Friends?" We talking about the same guy? No one's crazy enough to drink from the same water cooler as this guy. Besides, even if he did have someone, they wouldn't rat him out for you. Everyone knows you got a code. Like all the other heroes, you won't kill. Hell, now that I've seen you face-to-face you aren't even as scary as Batman. Batman? That guy made me shit myself when I first saw him. You? You're too pretty. You might break a nail or mess up your hair or something. No. No one is going to cross Joker for you."
"He's not even the real Joker!"
"Doesn't matter. He's created more fear amongst criminals in this city within a week than you have in the past year. You want Joker? You take off that mask and show the world who you really are."
*POW*
Zatanna woke up with a jolt. Water sloshed around spilling onto the bathroom tiles below. From the edge of the bathtub, she picked up her phone and noted the time. It was late. He hadn't come home yet. In fact, Dick hadn't been home since Jason died. That morning still stung in her heart as she recalled holding Dick for God knows how long. He sobbed and sobbed until his eyes burned. The only reason she even released him from her embrace was because she fell asleep, and he tucked her into bed. Since then, the days blurred, and all felt the same. Dick would skip breakfast in the morning and report to work. After the Nine-Nine squad left to try and save her and Jason that night, 'Joker' detonated a bomb within the precinct. He didn't destroy the whole building, but the bullpen in which they worked was in complete shambles. In the process, 'Joker' had taken Lau with him, and they'd disappeared ever since. No one really knew if Lau was dead or alive. They just guessed that 'Joker' used Lau to find the remaining mob money. As such, the surviving Nine-Nine members were temporarily assigned a spare room in City Hall to work out of. It was all routine for Dick. Show up at City Hall, quickly work on cases as Detective Grayson, clock out at five, and switch his police badge for his blue Nightwing coat of arms. Night after night he beat criminals to a pulp with his bare hands. He didn't crack jokes like he used to. He was direct. He only asked one question and not a single person gave him an answer.
Reaching over, Zatanna grabbed her glass of wine and gulped down the remnants of her merlot. She shivered as she got up and stepped out of the tub quickly grabbing her towel for warmth.
"Ughh I can't believe I fell asleep in there for so long!"
After drying herself off, she put on one of Dick's sweatpants and hoodies and made her way to the kitchen. As she grabbed some Tupperware out of the cabinet, Pocus hopped up onto the counter with a worried look on his face.
"Pocus! Bad bunny! Bad bad bunny!" Zatanna scolded, "How many times have we told you, don't climb onto the counter or tables! Dick and I eat on there!"
While Pocus was mainly a house bunny, some semblance of boundaries and cleanliness needed to be set, and Zatanna did not want Pocus's muddy paws on the same surfaces as food. Defeatedly, Pocus hopped down to the floor but still looked up at Zatanna with worried eyes.
"I know I know. He just needs time. And it's our job to help him through it," Zatanna tried to reassure the worried bunny.
After scooping some leftover rice and pork into the takeaway container, Zatanna made her way towards Nightwing HQ (or the Nest. Again, official name pending). Upon entering, she visibly winced at how messy the place had gotten. Strewn about all over were half-empty Red Bull cans, Starbucks coffee cups, sodas, and bags of chicken whizzies. The place looked even more like a dump than it already was. On the computer screen, a search program kept running with 'Joker's face in the corner. Zatanna knew Dick was getting desperate as she noticed he set the parameters far wider than the Bludhaven city limits. Placing dinner on the table, she spotted Dick in a tank-top and sweatpants curled up in one of the beds in the corner. Gently walking over, she knelt down close to his face. Bags weighed his eyes down heavily. A gruffy stubble had grown over his chin. His hair was oily and unkempt. She kissed his forehead before climbing into bed with him. Getting comfortable, she spooned him from behind and simply held him.
"I'm right here, birdy. I'm always right here by your side," she whispered unsure if he really heard her or not.
Hours later, Zatanna found herself drooling into the pillow with a warm but itchy blanket covering her. Slowly, she stirred. After blinking a few times, she saw Dick sitting at the computer once again. To her relief, he wasn't looking at the searching program, but at a YouTube video. Specifically, he was watching a film study on the 2017 LSU offense. Getting out of bed, she wrapped the blanket around her and carefully walked towards his chair.
"Morning," she kissed him on the cheek.
"Morning. Thank you for the food."
"Of course, baby. You need to take better care of yourself. Chicken whizzes and Red Bull do not even remotely come close to a well-balanced diet."
"Hmm."
"What are you watching?"
"Trying to see if Matt Canada's offense woulda worked if we gave it another shot. But all these motions and shifts just piss me off. Look at this, the tackle and guard move to the left and we run right? And all these jet sweeps to get our players to the edge? We need a quarterback to throw the ball down the field not run laterally with our speed. Gah no wonder we lost to Troy earlier this year," he grumbled.
"There's always next year," she sighed hugging him.
An alert popped up on the computer causing Dick to switch over to the news.
"Days after his arrest and subsequent escape from the Bludhave Police, the at-large fugitive calling himself the Joker has sent in yet another shocking video message. Once again, please direct any young children away from your television sets."
The video started with an enormous pyramid of money. Various men in clown masks were dousing the left half of the pile in gasoline. Sitting atop the pile was Andrew Lau with a gag in his mouth.
"TA DA!" 'Joker' appeared, "Greetings citizens of Bludhaven. I present you the dirty money of the mob. Now you may be wondering 'Geez Joker. You already got the money. Why are you still around?' Well, you see kiddos, it was never about the money. And yes, I know you are watching Mr. Big Man. This pile behind me does indeed consists of the millions I stole from you and the millions Lau up there safely tucked away. Or rather he thought he safely tucked away. Anywho the point I'm trying to make is that it was never about the money, but about sending a message hahahaha. I knew Nightwing wouldn't unmask himself, so I was happy to kill all those people hahaahah. Although admittedly I didn't think he'd spend over four days mulling over the decision. And YOU, people of Bludhaven, didn't disappoint either. Immediately crucifying your beloved Aerial Avenger and demanding his blood all because a few innocent civilians died. Ooo hoo hoo this far far better than I could have ever hoped for. But let's take it up a notch. Forget Nightwing. He doesn't need to unmask anymore. Instead, I give you, Bludhaven, a different choice."
'Joker' ducked down to reach for something. With a picture in hand, he stood back up and showed it to the camera.
"This is Captain Raymond Holt. He's the new hot-shot captain of the Ninety-Nineth Precinct that I blew up a few nights back. Look how handsome he is. So, my challenge to you is simply to kill him. People of Bludhaven, if Raymond Holt is not dead in the next twenty-four hours, I will blow up a random hospital. I won't say which or even when I'll blow up said hospital. Could be in two hours. Could be in two minutes. Could be at the end of this sentence."
*CLICK*
"Bahahaha I'm just kidding, this is a garage opener hahaha," he cackled, "But seriously, kill Raymond Holt or I take a hospital. Your choice. The timer starts right….NOW!"
With a flick of his wrist, 'Joker' struck a match and tossed the burning stick at the pile of money behind him. Instantly, the green paper money caught on fire, and the flames spread wildly enveloping Lau at the top.
"Oh and if you're watching, Mr. Big. Don't worry. I'm only burning my half."
Dick's phone buzzed but oddly he didn't pick it up. Instead, he was frantically typing away at the computer pulling up hospital records and a list of active duty officers. Annoyed, Zatanna picked up the call.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Hello? Uhh may I speak to Dick Grayson please?" the voice answered.
"Uh sorry. This is Zatanna. I'm his-"
"Oh right! Zatanna, his girlfriend. I'm Detective Jake Peralta. Love your shows by the way."
"Oh uh thank you."
"….um you wouldn't happen to be able to score me two tickets would you?"
"…..Detective, you had something urgent to tell my boyfriend I presume?" Zatanna raised her eyebrow trying to get back on track.
"Right right! Of course. We need an entourage on Captain Holt immediately. Dick needs to hurry down here so we can form a plan of action."
"Copy that, Detective. He's basically on his way."
"Great. Thanks."
"And Jake?"
"Yea?"
"Consider those two tickets taken care of. Text Dick the date you want, and you can pick them up at the box office."
"Oh….Thanks!"
With that, Zatanna hung up and crossed her arms glaring at her boyfriend.
"I can't go out there right now," he said turning around and putting on a shirt, "I need to go out there and quickly identify cops with loved ones in hospitals. Any one of those officers could go rogue and assassinate Holt."
Zipping up his jacket, Dick tried to make his way towards his bike and helmet.
"Stop!" Zatanna ordered causing him to freeze in his tracks.
"Zee! This is important."
"I agree. But you need to keep up appearances! Your Captain just got a death threat against him. How do you think it will look if you aren't there to help? It was already weird enough that Dick Grayson wasn't present when Joker was interrogated. If you're a no show here especially since Jake called you, you will immediately shoot up to suspect number one."
Walking over, she yanked the helmet out of his hands.
"Lanoisseforp Revoekam!" (Professional Makeover)
Instantly, Dick's clothes changed into a pair of jeans, a collared shirt, and a warm leather jacket. His hair was trimmed and washed while his chin was shaved cleanly. Dick looked down to see his police badge proudly hanging from his neck.
"There we go," Zatanna proudly stated, "You go protect Captain Holt. I'll go around cross-referencing cops and hospital records."
"But-"
"Ah ah! No buts! Remember, this is the only butt in this conversation," she smacked her ass, "Besides. I'm just gonna do what you planned to do. Ride around on your bike and use the lenses in the helmet to scan and identify police officers. The computer should be able to let me know who has any immediate family in the hospital. I'll keep you informed via comms. 'Kay?"
"Sigh. Ok."
"Then we're all square. Now go! Report to duty Detective Grayson!"
He turned and set the Zeta tube to drop him off near City Hall. Just before he entered, he turned around and pulled his wonderful and loving girlfriend into a long passionate kiss.
"I love you, Zee. Thank you for not leaving me when you probably had every right to. I shouldn't have said those things the other day," he whispered.
"Hey, it's ok. We vowed to protect and help each other. That is exactly what I intend to do, my love."
"No. It's not ok. I've treated you poorly. I needed to realize that as much as I want to protect you, there are two people making decisions in this relationship. I shouldn't have lied and said those awful things to you hoping to drive you away. We've been together for seven years and I shouldn't have tried to throw it all away so stupidly like that. With all we've been through, you absolutely should get a say in whether or not you'll take the risk in being with me, in being together with me. I shouldn't have decided like that. From now on- MMPH"
Hoping to shut him up, Zatanna interrupted him in their favorite way: a big kiss with lots of tongue.
"You were rambling. I told you. It's all ok. Now go! Urgent assassination attempt on police captain here!" she smiled at him.
"Right! I love you."
"And I love you."
Grinning, he finally turned towards the Zeta tube as Zatanna practically shoved him into the teleporter.
"Reporting for duty, sir!" Dick greeted Captain Holt as he entered City Hall.
"Grayson, thank you for coming. We need immediate evacuation plans across all hospitals in Bludhaven. We will be spread thin, but we'll just have to do the best we can. Our priority is Bludhaven General," Holt started spewing orders left and right.
"Sir, with all due respect, we need to get you moving. City Hall is way too open to protect you," Jake said handing the captain a bullet proof vest.
"I agree with Jake, Captain. The longer you stay here, the most at risk you become," Amy chimed in.
"Fine fine. Jeffords, I am putting you temporarily in charge. Have Santiago help you with personnel assignments. Coordinate evacuation, search, and prepare the bomb squads."
"Copy that, sir. Jake, Rosa, Charles, and Dick will join you in a convoy towards the safe house," Jeffords answered.
"Hang on. What about my husband, Kevin? I must notify him of the situation. He is at Bludhaven General visiting a colleague," Ray noted.
"Text him on the way, sir, we have to move!" Peralta urged.
"Peralta's right, sir. One of the evac teams will get him out safely. You're our top priority right now," Dick added.
"Actually, I would prefer if Detective Grayson were out in the field," Holt oddly asked.
"Sir?" Dick stood confused.
"I just think a man like yourself would see that his skills were wasted protecting a man like myself," Holt lied.
"With all due respect, sir, this what we got," Jeffords interrupted, "And we gotta get you moving now."
"Fine."
As the squad armed up, Dick felt uneasy as Holt continued to subtly glare at him. This was an important protection mission. Why wouldn't the captain want him on the team? Had he really fallen out of favor with the captain because he was absent the other night when 'Joker' was in custody? Thoughts to ponder about later. Dick, Rosa, Jake and Boyle were all outfitted with bullet proof vests and kept Captain Holt in a square formation. Rosa and Charles were in front while Jake and Dick picked up from behind. As they walked down the lobby, a huge crowd had gathered outside the doors of city hall. Various police officers gathered to lock the doors and keep the people out. Unfortunately, one individual pushed his way to the front and pulled out a small revolver.
"SHOOTER! SHOOTER! HE'S GOT A GUN!" Rosa called out.
Before anyone would react, the man pointed his gun and fired. Dick and Jake yanked Captain Holt back by the shoulders while Rosa pulled out her weapon, but some officers outside had tackled the man already. Boyle, on the other hand, acted on instinct and jumped up shielding the captain. He had jumped too high, and the bullet had pierced his right buttock.
"Ahhhh my butt! My butt!" Charles screamed in pain.
"Charles! Are you ok?" Rosa immediately asked.
"Rosa I was shot in the butt! Oh the pain!"
"Diaz, we gotta move," Peralta called out, "Back door people! Back door!"
"You there," Dick pointed to a random officer, "You're coming with us. Let's go!"
The remaining squad members sprinted to the parking garage and placed Holt in a large SUV. Other squad cars and motorcycle cops had completed the convoy. Holt sat in the back with Peralta and the random officer while Dick drove, and Rosa sat in shotgun.
Meanwhile, Zatanna rode around on Dick's bike using the helmet visor to scan the cops around City Hall. She pulled up by City Hall and activated the comms.
"Dick, baby? Can you hear me?" she asked through the comms, "Cough once for yes."
*COUGH*
"Excellent. Ok, I saw O'brien and Richards at the gates. Computer says no immediate family admitted into a hospital. Moving on."
She spotted Captain Holt's convoy leaving the parking garage and revved the bike to follow. The lenses started scanning the motorcycle cops leading the convoy.
"Burns and Zacchary are on bikes leading your convoy. All good. No admittance. I'll follow from behind."
Another squad car emerged along with two black SUVs while another squad car brought up the rear.
"Baby. Are you with Holt?"
*COUGH*
"Copy. Are the first or second SUV?"
Dick turned to Rosa next to him as he pulled out of the garage and onto the street.
"Rosa, how far is the safehouse?"
"Not too far. If all goes well, we should be there in ten minutes."
"Good. We can't waste even a single SECOND."
"Copy," Zatanna answered through the comms.
She followed the convoy from a safe distance and continued scanning.
"Ok, the cops in the car behind you are Bill and Debbie. All clean. You're good from behind."
Her eyes moved to inside Dick's SUV.
"Looks like you've got Peralta and Diaz in there with you. All good, too…..Wait. Who's that in there with you? Holt's sitting in front of him, I can't get a clear scan."
Dick looked behind in the rearview mirror. He spotted Holt and Peralta. The cop he grabbed from City Hall was sitting behind the driver's seat facing Holt.
"Sorry to grab you like that out of the blue, Officer," Dick started, "But we were a man down and you were the closest to me. What's your name?"
"Uhhh Ramirez," the officer stuttered.
"Ramirez huh? Well, remain calm and focused Ramirez. My name's Dick. You got a name we can call you? Y'know, keep the tensions down and all?"
"Berg, sir. Berg Ramirez."
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Berg."
Zatanna listened carefully as Dick fed her the info. She plugged the name into the computer, and her heads-up display lit up red.
"Uhhh, Dick. We got a problem. Berg's wife is in urgent care at Highland Park."
Dick gripped the steering wheel tightly but otherwise showed no reaction to the news. From behind, he did hear Berg adjust the shotgun he'd been carrying all this time.
"You ok there, Berg?" Dick asked.
"I'm good."
Slowly, Berg began tilting the shotgun down.
"Say, Berg, we're in a pretty small space here. How about you put the shotgun down?" Dick tried.
Suddenly, Holt and Peralta were catching on to Dick's banter and spotting Berg subtly pointing the shotgun at Holt.
"With all due respect, sir. We need to be ready at a moment's notice. Anything could happen," Berg tried to deflect.
"Yea, but maybe I should hold onto the weapon for a bit hmm?" Jake added.
"Officer Ramirez, I'm going to need you to calm down," Holt ordered.
"Why? Is it because my wife's in the hospital?"
The convoy had stopped due to a red light. Dick and Rosa sat still in the front as tensions rose drastically within the car. Sweat dripped down Holt's neck. Jake lifted his hands slightly ready to jump at a moment's notice. Outside, Zatanna pulled up just behind the convoy. But, to the side, she noticed a disgruntled truck driver revving his engine. The light turned green, and the line of police cars began to move. The truck driver stepped on the gas and darted towards the convoy. Zatanna, on instinct, sped up the bike and zoomed in between the truck and Dick's SUV. She jumped off the bike letting it sandwich itself between the two larger vehicles. In midair, she let out a quick spell hoping to add more protection to the car.
"Lluh fo Nori!" (Hull of Iron!)
For a split second, the SUV's frame was reinforced with more iron and blunted the blow of the crash. Zatanna rolled on the ground and caught a few scrapes on her jacket. Inside, prior to the crash, Berg had tried to make his move, but Holt and Peralta were able to pounce and direct the gun upwards. Though Berg fired, he only caused a hole in the car's roof. After the crash, the convoy halted, and all the cops got out of their vehicles. A few arrested the crazy truck driver and others nabbed Berg. Holt exited the SUV with Peralta, Diaz, and Dick standing by. Zatanna got up and brushed the dust off herself before walking over to the now smushed motorcycle.
"Great, the second time I ride his bike, I still get it destroyed," she commented.
Dick approached her and pulled her into a tight hug.
"My God, Zee, are you alright?"
"Hey baby, I'm fine. Perfectly fine."
"Thanks for the save, but uh" he leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Did you really have to wreck my bike….again?"
"Hey! It was spur of the moment! Besides, I can't just use magic willy nilly out here. People are watching!"
Smirking a little, he kissed her on the cheek.
"I'm glad you're ok," he said sincerely.
"Likewise."
Hand-in-hand they walked over to the squad and Holt.
"Ah, Ms. Zatara I presume. Thank you for saving our lives. Please accept are sincerest gratitude," Holt greeted.
"Oh it's quite alright. I was trying to catch the light anyway," Zatanna tried to brush things off.
"Say, what are you doing over here anyway?" Jake asked.
"Uhh I'm on my way to work," she shrugged.
"But Gotham Theater is the other direction, across the bridge…" Jake said with skepticism.
"Uhh right! But well, there's a bakery nearby here uhhh and I wanted to get a bagel before prepping for my show hehe," Zatanna nervously tried to lie.
"Oh? What's its name?" Jake pressed on.
"Uhhh well uhhh hmm, Dick, baby, what's the place again? You were the one to recommend it."
"Adam's Corner," Dick saved his struggling girlfriend, "They've got some pretty good bagels."
"Ok ok. Anywho, we'll have to take that second SUV the rest of the way. It was nice meeting you, Zatanna," Jake shrugged not really accepting the answers.
"Of course. And Jake, don't you worry. You're still good on those tickets!"
The squad made their way to the SUV leaving the couple alone for a second.
"You think they bought it?" Zatanna asked.
"I'm not sure. Peralta's a pretty sharp. Doesn't matter right now. We've got bigger things to deal with now."
"I'm really sorry about your bike."
"It's fine. It's not like I spent months shaping the metal or hand-cutting the frame or personally tweaking the engine or anything…" Dick said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Dick…"
"No no it's fine. I just built the thing from scratch y'know and really made it my own personal vehicle with no help from Bruce."
"….Dick."
"But no it's ok. It's all good. You just smushed my first ever independent motorcycle but it's fine! It's fine!"
"Baby, they're waiting for you. Go!"
Looking over, Dick saw Diaz with her arms crossed and her head gesturing him to get in the car.
"I love you. Get home safe!" Dick quickly said before pecking her on the lips.
As Dick ran off to meet up with the squad, Zatanna smirked rolling her eyes.
"Yea…he's pissed. Men with their cars and motorcycles."
In the distance, a huge explosion rang across the city. The sound was deafening, and smoke blew up miles into the sky. Everyone paused in silence trying to determine the source of the explosion.
"Southeast," Dick said aloud.
"Bludhaven General," Jake realized.
"Oh my God. KEVIN!"
Quickly, Rosa radioed Amy back at City Hall.
"Amy, Bludhaven General just blew up. Please tell me everyone was evacuated."
"Yes. All rooms and floors were cleared. But we've got a problem," Amy answered.
Quickly, Holt nabbed the radio right out of Rosa's hand.
"Santiago, what is it?" he ordered.
"Um, sir. The officers on the scene said they had filled up seven buses worth of people….but they can only account for six. One is missing…"
AN: Hey everyone! So hehe I lied and ended up working on Chapter 62. One rather colorful reviewer compelled me to put out another chapter teehee. Thank you to everyone who's been reading and left a fav/follow. I'm still a novice fanfic writer and HTBC is my pride and joy as my first ever fic. It started out as a series of one shots since I wanted something casual to start off with. But I'm actually really excited to be working on a whole timeline and everything. As such, I shall endeavor to continue this fic to include Young Justice season 2 as well as tweak season 3 and 4 to fit this universe a bit better, and of course move beyond YJ canon. As for this chapter, I decided to cut it short (well short compared to the previous chapters in this arc lol) because it's tiring to write 10k words and I figured it's Christmas and New Years. A shorter chapter is a nice reprieve as we barrel towards 2023. Best wishes to everyone's families and loved ones. May you all find love, joy, happiness, and prosperity in 2023!