Fan Fiction ❯ Nightwing: A Dark Beginning ❯ Fall of a Hero ( Chapter 10 )

Ah, yes. Another exciting chapter in the saga of Nightwing and his dark birth. I need a life. Anyways, so many people to thank, so little time. So let's get on with it. From MM (I think) we start off with lyncea; she sent me an e-mail and reviewed on the site as well. I'm glad I kept you so captivated with my story, and yes it definitely makes a nice diversion from finals. She has been added to my list of loyal fans (provided she reviews the new chapter). Next is JebusOfNazareth; I'm glad you forgive me for the Star/BB handling. Considering the requests I've had to kill them it's been a tough call. Last from MM was kalinchan; of course it's weird, I wrote it. If you liked them admitting they love each other, wait until the big reveal. Now onto my FF fans. Leading off is s0c1ally1n3pt; awkward is the definition of teenage life, so it's not really any different with what he did. I made you hate your favorite characters? I ROCK! On to Lady of Faerie; in my previous acknowledgement of you I said `Mmmmm' in response to you. It was just me being retarded at 4 in the morning (like now) and saying that Lady of Faerie is delicious (so is my Mountain Dew right now). In response to the duality, I live with it everyday so it's easy to write about. Um, yeah. Next is Scotty Boi; no clue what you're talking about with whatever show/movie/comic that is. Sorry, I don't get out much. I'm glad you liked it though, and if you don't like cliffies then you shouldn't be reading fan fiction. Right, sure. Moving on. Kokuryu was next; Nightwing and Highlander together? I want the name of this fic so I can become a fan of yours. Glad you like mine and stay tuned for answers to your questions. Next was dlsky; it's nice to have a loyal fan or dozen like I have. You're one of them. I'm glad you like the Rich/Nightwing struggle. As for how Raven will take it, only two people know that for sure. Raven and me, and I haven't figured out yet how to tell her to react so actually no one knows yet. But enjoy it. Next came kylefighter1; I'm glad you like, I'm glad you like. Now that I'm done taunting you, I'm also pleased to know I kept you on your toes for that chapter and possibly confused the hell out of you. It's a pleasant experience. Last came sesslover101; this reviewer started out with my Inuyasha fic and has been converted to the dark side with Nightwing. Welcome, my young apprentice. Okay, that does it for the brown-nosing of my fans. Now, onto the newest chapter of Nightwing: A Dark Beginning.

 

Okay, I'll actually tell you where the scene break is so it will help I hope.

“Example”-Rich

“Example”-Nightwing

 

Disclaimer: While my version of Nightwing is the coolest ever, I still sadly don't own the Teen Titans.

 

Chapter 10

 

“I can't keep fucking doing this.”

“You have to.”

“Why? What good can come of us working together? I'll lose my edge and you'll become dark. You already heard Raven, she loves you. She loves the sweet and honorable you, not the dark and sadistic me.”

“It's her decision who she loves. If our merging makes her not love me, then so be it. We can't live apart, Nightwing. You know this will kill us.”

“Yeah, yeah. Quit nagging already.”

“Anyways, I think Raven isn't being totally honest with herself. I think she says she loves me, but wishes I wasn't quite the good boy I seem to be.”

“So, then she might be looking for something like both of us combined?”

“Yeah. There's only one way to find out though.”

“I'll make the call.”

The two men looked at each other and nodded. They glanced into the darkness to see the pile of the Slade armor.

“Guess it's almost time, huh?”

“Whether we're ready or not.”

 

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Raven sat in her room staring out the small window. Lightning flashed in the distance. A storm was coming. Normally, Raven would welcome the impending storm, but this one felt like it was bringing with it something more foreboding. She bowed her head and rested her forehead against the cool glass as she closed her eyes. She was lost in thought when her communicator went off, causing the young sorceress to jump and cause a lamp to fly across the room at the offending object. She realized she wasn't under attack and picked up the device.

Raven flipped it open and growled out her response, “This better be really fucking important.”

Nightwing had his head down as he looked into the screen, causing nothing but blackness to be seen. He then raised his head to look into the screen. “I wouldn't call if it wasn't.”

Raven's breath caught in her throat at the disheveled look of the young vigilante. “Nightwing, are you alright?”

Nightwing noted the concern in her voice. “You know the answer to that. It's been a long couple of weeks, Rae. I need to see you in person, I'm ready to pay for my crime. I just don't want to have to deal with anyone else with this, so name the place and I'll be there.”

Raven was unsure of her feelings yet again, it was like Trigon had never been defeated. “Meet me on the roof in 10 minutes.”

“Make it 20, I'm a bit further away than normal.”

“Alright, see you then. Raven out.” Raven sat on her bed and began to watch the clock. `This is gonna be a long 20 minutes,' she thought.

 

Raven stood on the darkened rooftop as the wind was picking up. The storm wasn't far away. `Figures it will hit right when Nightwing gets here. Some irony in that for sure.' As she pondered this she saw a dark figure floating towards the tower. It was Nightwing.

Nightwing landed on the roof and stumbled a bit. Raven couldn't decide if he was tired from the trip or his mental battles. He then began to remove his belt, fear and anger arose in Raven then.

“What the Hell do you think you're doing?” Raven forcefully asked.

Nightwing remained silent as he removed the belt. He then tossed it at the ground at her feet. He then spread his arms out to his side and looked ahead at Raven. Raven's eyes widened when she realized he was offering himself like a human sacrifice.

“Like I promised, I won't fight back. I'm here to pay for my crime. I won't scream so the others won't find us. Do as you will.” Nightwing never took his masked eyes from her face.

Raven began to step towards him. She brought herself to stand right before the young man. She stared into his masked eyes. She was trying to reach into his mind but found that his mental walls were up. The only thing she could sense from him was the immense sorrow and regret for his actions. Raven felt her resolve slipping, but quickly tensed up again. She steeled her eyes and glared at him. She then spoke for the first time in several minutes, “Why?”

Nightwing furrowed his brow and looked at her. “What do you mean `why'?”

Her gaze never wavered. “Why did you do that to me?”

Nightwing's face fell and his shame poured forth for Raven to pick up on. He kept his eyes locked on hers. “Like I said before, no lame excuses. I wanted you. Plain and simple. I was hurting and wanted to feel alive again. I felt like maybe that would make me feel again. All it did was hurt you and push me further into darkness.”

“What made you stop then? You could have easily finished.”

“You may not believe me, but it was that inner voice you mentioned before. It wasn't Robin, it was . . . . . .”

“It was what?”

“I can't tell you yet, all will be revealed soon though.” Nightwing said as he lowered his arms and his gaze. “I hate hurting you like this. You have no idea how much I like you, Rae. I know you love this Rich guy though.”

“Well, actually I've been thinking about that a lot. I like him a lot, because he reminds me of the way you used to be. He's wholesome and noble. Everything that did attract me to you as Robin. Now you're dark and cruel. While that does appeal to me too, I can't decide which I like more; his light or your dark.” Raven looked down at the ground now.

Nightwing smirked. “Well, it's good to know I'm not the only one with problems. You've fallen for two guys, guess if you could combine the two of us you'd be happy.”

Raven looked up into his face. “Yeah, too bad that can't be done. I'd get rid of two problems and gain the perfect guy,” she said with a smirk.

“So, are we good?” Nightwing asked hopeful.

Raven nodded. She enveloped his belt in her energy and brought it over to him.

“Guess I'll see you around then. I just need a little more time to myself, then I'll be ready for the world again. Don't worry about when I do come back, cause I won't be fighting as nuts then. It will definitely be as powerful than I was before, but not as deadly.” Nightwing said as he buckled his belt. He then extended his hand out to Raven. “Still friends?”

Raven glanced down at the hand, then back up to the face of the owner. She smiled one of her still rare heartfelt smiles and shook his hand. She felt the strength and power he held through the grip and felt herself blush. Before he could notice though, he'd turned around and leapt off the building. He freefell halfway down the building before engaging his flight circuits and flying off, turning in flight to wave and then cloak himself.

Raven sat down on the edge of the tower and watched as he disappeared. The rain began to finally fall then. `Well, at least he's doing alright now. Meanwhile, I'm still more confused than ever. Why does it suck to be me?'

 

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The next day the Teen Titans were sitting around the tower hanging out. Starfire and Beast Boy were officially kicked off the team. They'd gone out for the afternoon to get some supplies for the trip back to Tamaran. Brother Blood had been pretty quiet lately and only a few of his Cyborg clones were seen around. Red X got called into battle a couple times, but nothing too bad. That was about to change though.

Suddenly red lights flashed and a siren blared. The Titans ran to the monitor to see what the disturbance was.

“That can't be good,” Terra remarked.

“Definitely not,” said Raven.

“I think I'll call Red X now,” Cyborg stated as he pressed a small button on his arm.

The three heroes stared at the screen to see a small army of the Cyborg robots, but they had definitely undergone some modifications. They appeared to be equipped with rocket launchers and more powerful versions of the sonic cannon.

“Alright, nothing to it but to do it,” stated Cyborg. “Titans, GO!”

 

The Titans arrived at the scene a short time later, joined by Red X along the way.

“Well, I didn't think these things could get uglier,” Red X joked.

“This isn't the time for that, X,” scolded Raven.

“Yes, mother.”

“You remind me of my boyfriend, he's an arrogant jerk too,” Terra stated with a smirk.

“Focus people, we have a job to do,” Cyborg stated as he converted his arm into his sonic cannon.

The clones then charged the young heroes.

Terra's eyes glowed yellow and she tore several pieces of rock from the ground. She threw her arms forward and the rocks flew towards the robots. Several of them slammed into each other, causing a few to explode. Most just flew backwards before getting to their feet. “Not good.”

Raven wasn't having any better luck. “Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!” she yelled as black energy engulfed cars and anything else she could get a hold on. She too threw them at the robots like Terra, much to the same effect. “Uh oh.”

Cyborg was blasting the robots with his sonic cannon. It seemed to barely phase them at all. It would hit them, make them slide back a few feet and then they'd regain their footing. “Damn I don't have enough power to do any damage to these things.”

Red X found himself in a similar situation. He started with tossing X-blades at the robots. They only bounced off their heavily armored bodies. He switched to the glue mechanism, but they simply blasted that off themselves. Even his palm blasters had hardly any effect on them. “We are so screwed.”

The robots gathered and charged the heroes. The Titans stood their ground. The robots suddenly stopped. They then transformed their right arms into sonic cannons like Cyborg and their left arms into rocket launchers. Energy blasts and missiles flew through the air at the targets.

“Titans, MOVE!” yelled Cyborg.

Everyone jumped in a different direction. Cyborg sprinted away as fast as his mechanical legs could move. Red X flew up, dodging and weaving as he went to avoid the attacks. Terra took off on a boulder and used several smaller rocks as cover to deflect the attacks. Raven flew away, using her dark magic as a shield. The heroes were doing all they could to keep from being annihilated. All of them were getting away to regroup, when a barrage of missiles came out of nowhere and stopped them all in their attempts. The group quickly reassembled with their backs to a building as the robots circled around them. Cyborg was limping from one of his legs being damaged. Terra was holding her head from the blow she sustained when she fell. Red X found his armor to be shorting out from some shrapnel imbedded in his suit. Lastly Raven held her left arm with her right fearing it to be broken.

“Well, it was fun while it lasted kids,” quirked Red X.

“This can't be the end,” replied a teary eyed Terra.

“I'm sorry I failed, y'all,” came Cyborg's saddened voice.

“Please, Nightwing. Save us,” whispered Raven.

Brother Blood stood behind the sea of robots. “Well, finally I will be rid of the Teen Titans. I must say, you survived longer than I thought you would. I regret that you won't be a student of mine, Cyborg. I do think I found a suitable replacement, in Nightwing. It appears that he has a soft spot for the dark witch in the group. Bring her to me, kill the rest.”

One of the robots shot his hand out attached to a cable ready to grab Raven and reel her in like a prize catch. The gaping robotic limb was almost upon the teen when suddenly the tether was severed in a shower of sparks. Everyone, hero and villain alike, looked at the object that had performed this feat. Imbedded in the ground, was a blood covered blue and black bird-a-rang. Nightwing then landed in front of the other heroes and glared at the robots and Brother Blood.

“You can have them over my cold, dead body.”

“Easily arranged dear boy. Robots, ATTACK!” commanded Brother Blood. The robots began to charge forward.

“You guys out of commission?” Nightwing asked over his shoulder.

“For now, we just need to catch our breath. Kick ass, Nightwing,” voiced Red X

Nightwing smiled at his partner and quickly crossed his arms across his chest. He released a bird-a-rang into each hand, the blue blade began to glow and a red blinking dot was found in the center of the device. Nightwing then extended his arms straight out to his sides, releasing the weapons in mid-arc to fly into the lead robots. The blades surprisingly cut into the armored droids. The blinking dot then became solid red and the bird-a-rangs exploded, the repercussion of the blast took out a total of seven robots. “Not a bad start,” quipped Nightwing, “but I'm gonna have to step it up to beat you all alone.”

The remaining robots began to unleash the rocket barrage yet again. Nightwing flew off, using his palm blasters in short bursts to destroy the rockets. The robots then switched to their sonic cannons which Nightwing could only dodge around. He continuously threw the synovium charged bird-a-rang bombs at the endless supply of robots. “This is getting me nowhere.”

Nightwing was suddenly blindsided by one of the robots and sent flying into the ground. He skidded and tumbled across the asphalt before regaining his footing. `Thank god for years of tumbling as a trapeze artist and all the abuse of a superhero,' he thought as he caught his breath.

Nightwing then pulled out his bo staff and extended it. He charged at the robots, realizing they couldn't fire upon him if he was close. He swung the staff at a pair and decapitated them. He then extended the blade and pierced the chest plate of another one, rupturing the power core and making it go critical. He flew away just as the robot blew up taking a few others with it. Nightwing then charged again, the robot using it's powerful limbs to block the staff as Nightwing swung. The robot went flying back into two more robots when Nightwing's metallic boot met it's head. An explosive bird-a-rang took them out as easily as the others. A sonic cannon blast sent Nightwing flying into a building, cracking the wall from the force and then falling to the ground with a sickening thud.

“I'm disappointed in you, Nightwing,” chided Brother Blood. “You were doing so well against my army before. What happened to that bloodthirsty, heartless vigilante I saw so much potential in?”

“He got queasy at the sight of blood and grew a heart,” remarked Nightwing with a smirk as he brought out two more bird-a-rangs. “I'd much rather just have fun roughing up the robots and watch you rot in prison, Blood. Besides,” Nightwing said as he glanced back to Raven before looking at Brother Blood again, “I made a promise and I'm still working on my redemption for my acts.” Nightwing then charged at the army and threw bird-a-rang after bird-a-rang at them all. He'd managed to get them dwindled down to half the original size, but he was now severely winded.

“Looks like you're tired, dear boy. Too bad my Cyborg drones don't get winded.”

“Not good, definitely not good,” Nightwing said under his breath.

A fist then rocketed towards the young vigilante and caught him off guard. The impact with his face busted his lip and caused his nose to begin to bleed. A second robot then lunged forward and delivered a series of crushing kicks to his torso. The suit took the brunt of the attack, causing only a few bruised ribs. A third robot came in to deliver a crushing blow to the back of his head. Nightwing's face instantly impacted the ground and his head became very fuzzy. The robot that hit him in the head then grabbed his ankle and flung him down the street into a lamp post. His chest slammed into it hard, this time the armor couldn't handle all of the force and two ribs were broken.

Nightwing gasped for air as his body lay on the ground. He stared ahead to see the robots regrouping. He glanced to the side and saw the Titans back on their feet, they weren't at their best but they'd give their all. `I can't do this alone. I'm not a loner. I'm a member of a team of crimefighters. Always have been, always will be. I need my partners. I need my friends.' While Nightwing was hunched over on the ground, he reached into his belt for a small marble-like object. He then carefully got to his feet and wiped his nose of the blood that clung there, then brought his arm down and threw the pellet. A small, bright light and a cloud of smoke erupted and Nightwing used that opportunity to cloak and fly over to the Titans where he uncloaked and fell to his knees.

“Hey, you alright?” Cyborg asked like a big brother.

“No. Worry about that later though. I can't win alone.” Nightwing then looked at the heroes. “I need your help.”

“What's the plan?” Terra asked.

“Sonic Boom of biblical proportions,” replied Nightwing as he pulled out an explosive disk and a small blue box. “This is a refined synovium enhanced disk and a small battery pack for your sonic cannon, Cy. This will only be good for one shot, and then your cannon will be fried and need to be replaced. We have to get just the right window and need the time to get it though.”

“Leave the distractions to us,” suggested Raven.

“Yeah, I've got enough juice left for some palm blaster shots at max power.” Red X claimed.

“Sounds like a plan then,” remarked Cyborg. “You're both honorary Titans now. Ready?”

Nightwing smiled. “Always.”

Cyborg converted his arm to his cannon and attached the power unit. His arm instantly began to glow a bright blue and surge with power. “Titans, GO!”

Terra's eyes glowed yellow as she called forth concrete and asphalt and began hurling it towards the robots. Red X blasted away with his blasters. They were trying to corral the robots together in a group while keeping them guessing as to where to attack. Raven then used her powers to surround them in a black force keeping them together as one mass. This was the moment Nightwing had been waiting for.

Nightwing raised his arm across his body, grimacing and gritting his teeth at the intense pain that racked his body from the broken ribs. He squinted his eyes and concentrated, trying to clear his eyes of the haze the pain caused. `It's the moment of truth. I have to earn my redemption for all of the pain I've caused. I can feel the ribs against my lung. This may very well be my last act as a hero. At least I'll go out with a bang.' Nightwing then flung his arm with all his strength and released the disk on its course. The disk flew in a straight line towards the center of the mass of robots. Cyborg saw it and braced himself then fired his sonic cannon. The force of the synovium powered weapon pushed Cyborg back a few feet. The shock struck the disk and detonated it. The explosion radiated out with incredible force and obliterated the robots. Shrapnel flew in the aftershock of the blast as the heroes shielded their eyes from the brightness. When the light was gone and the smoke cleared, a giant crater was all that remained.

“Well, it appears our new bird has a few more tricks of his sleeve than I previously thought. Until next time, Teen Titans.” With that said Brother Blood disappeared in a flash of light.

“Booyah! Great plan. I'm glad you're ba-” Cyborg started as he turned to high-five the dark hero but found him crumpled down on the ground. He began to cough up blood to the horror of the half-machine man. “Oh, God. RAVEN!” Cyborg's scream brought the attention of the others. They saw the dire situation of Nightwing and rushed over.

“He's punctured a lung, I used up all my power in the battle too,” Raven said with fear in her voice.

“I can't fly him anywhere either, my suit is shot to hell,” replied Red X.

“I have enough energy to get us all back to the Tower on a boulder, I think,” Terra said.

“That's our only option then. Get as back as quick as you can, we have to operate fast to save him,” ordered Cyborg.

Terra then ripped a large section of the ground up and the entire team flew back to the med wing in the Tower.

 

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Cyborg gently placed the nearly lifeless body of Nightwing on the operating table. Red X dropped the young hero's armor down on the ground as he rushed over to help with the operation. Cyborg took control of the situation.

“Rae, you'll be my main help. You have an extensive knowledge of anatomy. Terra, you'll hand us whatever instruments we require. X you'll help monitor his vitals and keep his anesthetics and pain killers going. Let's do this.”

The four heroes began to work on their fallen friend.

It took almost four hours to repair the damage done. Cyborg went to his room to repair himself while Terra and Red X went to the main room to wait. Raven stayed with Nightwing, looking at her hands as she cleaned his blood off them.

Raven sat down by his bed and held his hand. She found herself looking into his face and wondering what color his eyes were. She began to reach up to his face. She had her fingers on the corner of the mask when a robotic hand grasped her forearm. Raven spun around to find Cyborg standing behind her.

“He wears that for a reason, Rae. I want to know what he looks like too, but we have to respect his wishes and wait for him to reveal that when he's ready.”

“What if he doesn't wake up? You said his chances are 50/50 that he'll survive,” Raven said as she choked back the tears.

“Then it's a secret he'll take to the grave. It might just be to protect us from his past, or a way to hide himself from the world. The eyes are the windows to the soul. It's a way to keep secret the inner workings of his mind. Ya gotta respect that, Rae.”

“I do, Cyborg.” Cyborg nodded and left the med lab and the doors closed with a swish.

The doors to the med lab suddenly opened and Starfire and Beast Boy ran in.

“Dude, we heard. Is he gonna make it?”

“Don't know. His chances aren't the best,” lamented Cyborg.

Starfire didn't try to hide the tears as they freely fell from her eyes. “There may be something I can do.”

Raven glared at the redhead. “What more could you possibly do to him?”

“There is a cure on Tamaran that may heal him instantly. I have the components to make it, provided he is strong in will the potion should work.”

“Get this straight, you're not gonna poison him with any of your disgusting concoctions. You've done enough damage already. He's in this mess because of what you two have done.” Raven spit out.

“Please, Raven, let this be my last act here on Earth. Let me try to save his life. I have already ruined it, let me do this. Please, I beg you.”

Raven looked to the young man lying in the bed hooked up to the machines. She glared at the Tamarainian. “If this potion kills him, I'll make sure both your deaths are slow and horrible,” promised Raven.

Starfire nodded and Beast Boy followed her to make the remedy.

 

A short time later, Raven was holding a small glass of putrid smelling liquid. She gingerly helped Nightwing to swallow it. He gagged on it a couple times causing him to cough and worry everyone about opening his wounds. He managed to get the entire glass down and everyone stepped away.

“This may be painful for him, so we must be prepared for the worst,” claimed Starfire.

“That would have been nice to know earlier,” growled Raven.

The beeping of the heart monitor began to increase. When it hit 120 Nightwing arched his back and grit his teeth. He began to scream through his teeth and Raven tried to hold him down.

Starfire and Beast Boy came over to help but a glare from Raven sent them back across the room.

Raven tried to calm the young vigilante down as he writhed in agony on the metal table. A blood curdling scream escaped his lips and then he fell back down on the bed.

He turned his face to gaze at Raven. He noticed the tears in her eyes and the lines down her face where they'd fallen. “Don't cry, dark girl. I'm just fine.” He smiled up at her before passing out.

“He has survived the medicine, he will rest for a few days now. We will be gone by then. Goodbye, former friend Raven.” Starfire reluctantly left the room behind Beast Boy.

Raven didn't hear them though, she was only thinking about what Nightwing had said to her. `Rich calls me dark girl. What does it all mean?' She pulled a chair over to his bed and got comfortable. She was gonna expect an explanation when he woke up.

 

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Jacketslacker: Hope you all enjoyed. Yes, next chapter will be the big reveal. How will Raven and Terra react? Will Nightwing and Red X get their asses kicked? Tune in next time (who knows then the Hell that will be) to find out. On a side note I have a quick question everyone; are lemons not allowed on FF? I know they are on MM, but I've heard they get deleted off of FF. If this is the case, I may have to change a future chapter more than I want to. Drop me advice on this. Also, drop me advice on the story as well, always looking for feedback.