Fan Fiction ❯ Nightwing: A Dark Beginning ❯ Identities Revealed ( Chapter 11 )

Stan: Oh my God! He wrote another chapter!

Kyle: You Bastard!

 

Let the thanking of the reviewers begin. From Media Miner: JebusOFNazareth; it's possible I rushed, but I don't think I did. I also never intended on Raven forgiving Rich that easy, as you'll see soon. My music of choice is metal, heavy metal, classic and new rock, and anything else with a hard hitting beat or message to it. White Zombie and Rob Zombie inspired most of my fight scenes. DarkAngelsTears; this story is already rated M so I just have to warn when I finally add one. Thanks for the input though. Lyncea; I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter that much. I saw the image in my head for the roof scene and I knew it would be perfect. I also like the idea of playing on Nightwing being mortal, he could die while most of the others would go untouched by whatever killed him. Keep reading for more suspense and heavy darkness. Also, I will rock the lemon as you said, but I'm not sure if it will be a tender moment or a possible desperation move by Raven to bring Nightwing back to the Titans and her. Finally came kalinchan; I thought the fight scene was essential, and the roof scene was possibly cheesy but set up the road to forgiveness. And the news will be revealed soon. Now, onto the reviews from Fan Fiction. Kylefighter1; I may have made Raven a bit dense accidentally so she doesn't completely figure it out. They say love is blind, I'm going with that defense. BB and Star will return. They just aren't pivotal at the moment. As for whether or not Nightwing and Red X join the Titans, you're right that IS for me to know and you to be tortured over wondering about. Lady of Faerie; I like you and all, but you're getting a little too personal here. I think we should read other people. Okay, enough making fun of you, glad you liked it. The new format is definitely easier for me too. Don't threaten me with a machete, that's Jason's weapon of choice. Get original. Morring Star; don't worry, things will work out somehow. It might not be all mushy and stuff, but it will resolve some issues. S0c1ally1n3pt; I don't even know what you're talking about (and that goes for the MySpace thing too). Interesting idea about the jealousy part, hadn't thought about it. A foursome? Dude that doesn't even work in my weird mind. DLSky; Oh my God! Keep that kind of review up and people won't be able to tell where I end and you begin. I don't even know where to begin. I'll just say thanks for reading and being that interested in the story. I didn't think anyone would read that into my writing, that only I thought it was that deep but I guess I was wrong. Thanks a ton for the glowing review though. The Desperado; Ahhh yes, the reactions. Read on my friend, and don't worry because I like your request for some Terra vs. Red X ass kicking. Lastly was nuttin2dowidit; thanks for reading and I'll continued to keep up the good work so long as you keep up with the reading. Also had a few e-mails sent to me, one was from someone with the address of zero_totality who liked my writing and is now a loyal fan like all of you. Another e-mail was sent by Mistress of the Furious Cloak; first off, if you think I'm near the end you're sadly mistaken. I have not yet begun to show the tortured soul of Nightwing or the chaos he will bring. I'd like to know what details you don't like so that maybe I can improve on them. Thanks for reviewing though.

 

All done with that part, now onto the rest of the story. Enjoy my faithful followers.

 

Disclaimer: I may be working now, but it's nowhere near enough to buy the Teen Titans. I don't even have the chance to watch the new episodes.

 

Chapter 11

 

Rich was flying and running as fast as he could. He'd just revealed the truth to the Titans and he was currently being hunted. He was the fox, and Raven was definitely the hunter on the big horse. The big horse just happened to be a boulder created by Terra which she too sat perched upon. Bumble Bee was the hound as she managed to keep an eye on their elusive prey. Cyborg's triumphant catch phrase of “BOOYAH!” was the trumpet call.

“Why does it suck to be me so much!?” wailed Rich as he pulled out another smoke bomb from the Nightwing utility belt and threw it trying to gain some ground. It turned out, that ground was not on his side.

The earth suddenly shot up into a wall faster than Rich could react. Black energy then encased his wrists and ankles and pinned him against the wall.

Raven was stalking towards her prize catch. He would look excellent stuffed and mounted over the fireplace to be sure.

Rich pulled with all his might, but even with all the enhancements of his suit he couldn't pull away. Raven was getting closer.

Raven stood before Rich, a look of pure hatred and anger on her face. She then raised her glowing black hand and thrust it into his chest. He felt no pain. Just as sudden as she'd reached in, Raven retracted her hand, revealing a still beating heart. Her dark powers engulfed the heart and burnt it instantly.

Pure pain raced through Rich's body and he screamed out.

“AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

Nightwing awoke in the recovery room of Titan's Tower. He groaned and grabbed his throbbing head in his hands. `I'll never watch Indiana Jones again,' he thought. He then got up and started to put his recently repaired armor back on. The door swished open behind him as he finished buckling his belt.

 

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The Teen Titans were all gathered around in the common room. Red X was still hanging around waiting for his partner to wake up. He was joined by Terra who seemed to get along great with him and couldn't stop remarking about how much he reminded her of Jax. Raven was floating off in the corner reading a particularly thick book hoping it would take her mind off her current situation with feelings for both Rich and Nightwing. Somehow, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde just wasn't doing what she'd hoped. Bumble Bee was rummaging around in the kitchen area looking for a clean cup to get some water, which was about like searching for the Holy Grail itself. The doors to the room opened to reveal a severely pissed off Cyborg venting at an also ticked off Beast Boy and as always a clueless Starfire.

“I can't believe you blew the main engines on the T-ship! It's gonna take me at least a week, probably two, to fix them. Is this some sort of plot to keep you from having to get off the planet?” Cyborg accused the smaller green teen.

“You think I'm capable of planning something like that?!” yelled Beast Boy.

Raven chuckled and smirked. “I didn't even have to say anything and Beast Boy demeans himself.” This comment went unnoticed as the duo kept yelling at each other, while Starfire calmly tried to get them to stop.

“How the Hell else do you explain what you did during the testing?!”

“I said I was sorry that I wasn't paying attention.”

“Please, let us not fight. Beast Boy will just try harder next time, Cyborg. I promise.”

Cyborg turned towards the Tamarainian princess and inhaled preparing to yell at her when an ear splitting scream echoed through the tower.

Everyone stopped whatever they were doing to look at each other in utter silence and wondering what could have caused such a horrible noise. The heroes backed towards the center of the room and assumed a circular formation with their backs together waiting for the attack. All assumed it had been the battle cry of some maniac who was hell-bent on destroying them.

If you could have seen under the mask of Red X, you'd have seen his eyes open wide with realization. “That was Nightwing!”

“WHAT?!” yelled the rest of the group.

“He shouldn't be up yet, even with the help of that potion Starfire gave him,” replied Cyborg.

“Yes, the Potion of Restoration should have kept him asleep another day at least,” confirmed Starfire.

“Has he ever been known to listen to any of us before?” quirked Raven.

“She's got a point, let's go check on the patient,” Terra said.

“Everyone keep up your guard just in case,” ordered Bumble Bee.

Beast Boy was the only one not to say anything as he feared for his life. He was hoping that Nightwing wasn't awake and ready to finish what he'd started earlier.

The team slowly made their way to the recovery room. The door hissed open to reveal a fully armored Nightwing with his back to the group.

 

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Nightwing turned to face the team of superheroes. No one spoke. Blinking eyes met masked ones. The silence was destroying everyone's nerves. It was like being the first to speak would mean ultimate doom and you dared the others to speak first. Finally, Nightwing couldn't take it anymore.

“Ummm, I guess I should thank you for saving my life.”

Nodding was the only response he got.

“Riiight. Do you think Red X and I could have a moment to talk about something?”

“Yeah, sure. C'mon guys, let's go wait in the common room,” Cyborg began corralling the heroes away while Red X entered the room and locked the door.

“Man, Nightwing. We thought we were gonna lose you there a few times.”

“Yeah, I owe you guys.”

“Nah, consider it even for saving our bacon from those majorly ugly Cyborg wannabees.” Red X beamed at his friend while patting him on the back. “So I take it this little talk is about telling them?”

“Yeah, it's time man. You go first. I don't really know how you're gonna lead into it, but just go ahead and do it.”

“Right. Let's get this over with then. Good luck to you.”

“Thanks, X. I have a feeling I'm gonna need a lot of it.”

The young vigilantes walked out of the recovery room and headed to the main room

 

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The doors swished open to reveal the two vigilantes. All heads turned towards them. Nightwing and Red X looked at each other, their masks hiding the “Deer-in-headlights-look” they were both sporting with the realization of what they were about to do. They looked back to the group and took a deep breath together. Nightwing turned and walked towards the window while Red X began to speak.

“Okay, so this is how it goes. We haven't been completely honest with you guys about everything. It turns out, that in the line of work we're in that secrets are sometimes a necessity.”

“What do you mean?” questioned Terra.

“We're vigilantes; we don't follow the same rules you guys do, not completely anyways.” Red X stole a glance towards the back of Nightwing under his skull mask. “The point is, certain aspects of our lives have been kept from you.”

“Get to the point man, you're creeping us out!” yelled an impatient Cyborg.

Red X let out a huge sigh and began to undo his mask. With a final sigh and a dropping of his head, he removed it. He slowly raised his head up to look over the crowd of young superheroes before him.

All the heroes gasped as they looked at the face of Jax that was no longer hidden beneath the Red X mask.

“This is what I was hiding.”

Silence met the young warrior and he began to fidget.

“I KNEW IT!!” Terra suddenly exclaimed. “I always suspected it was you because of how you acted and things you said.”

“You know damn well you had no clue,” scolded Bumble Bee.

“No, I really thought so. Why do you think I kept comparing Jax and Red X, I wanted one of them to admit it.”

“And here I thought you were just so madly in love with me,” Jax said with a frown on his face and fake hurt in his voice.

“Well yeah, that too,” Terra said with a wink. “Oh, before I forget,” she said as she walked over to stand before her boyfriend. She then shocked everyone with slugging him full force with a small but powerful fist. “That's for lying to me your jerk,” she spat as she stood over the bewildered Jax. She then reached down and grabbed him by the collar of his armor and brought him to his feet. She then smirked and planted a heated kiss on his lips. “That's for finally telling me the truth.” She now smiled and beamed at the young man before her. As she stood there facing Jax, who was completely lost and had no idea where he was anymore, her eyes suddenly widened with a realization. “Hey wait, if Jax is Red X . . . . . . does that make Nightwing . . . . . . ?”

Raven suddenly couldn't breath. `Oh God! That's it! What he's said to me, what he's done, all of it. He's . . . . . .'

All heads turned towards the dark figure by the window. He reached up to his face to remove the mask that was firmly placed there. He put it in his belt and turned around.

“Yes. It means that Nightwing is really Rich,” he said looking into each of the faces. He settled on Raven last, terrified of her reaction.

Slowly, the others turned their gazes towards Raven as well. She just stared wide-eyed at her boyfriend as he stood before them, his hair let down like she'd never seen before. `So a mask and letting his hair down prevented us from realizing who he was. Damn we're stupid.' Shortly after thinking this, another realization hit her. `He tried to rape me. My own boyfriend tried to rape me! That BASTARD!!' Raven then charged towards the young man. Her eyes were glowing white and her hands were enveloped in her dark energy.

Rich stood there terrified, his recent nightmare was soon to be a reality. He new he should dodge, and that he easily could, but he also knew he deserved whatever she did to him for all his crimes. He had yet to be punished, and his redemption could only be obtained through that and her forgiveness.

Raven swung her balled up fists at Rich. She nailed him with a right-hook. She then countered with a left. She continued to wail on the seemingly unmoving being before her until she was panting from the exertion. Rich stood tall before his attacker, a single line of blood trickling from his lip.

“You bastard,” Raven growled.

“I'm the one who told him to stop.”

Raven's eyes widened. She remembered that conversation where Nightwing had said a voice told him to stop. It was Rich. He told Nightwing to stop. `But they're the same person.' Raven stared into Rich's eyes, they betrayed nothing. They only showed his sorrow at hurting her. She then squinted her own eyes at him. “You can't talk like you're two different people. If you did something as Nightwing that means you did it as Rich too! You're just a murderer and an attempted rapist.”

Rich bowed his head. “I knew you'd take this hard. I had to hide my identity. I never meant for any of this to happen. Tell me how I can make this right, Raven. Please, I'll do anything you tell me.”

Raven glared at him. “Go to Hell. I never want to see you again. You can just die for all I care.” The hurt in her voice was evident to all. She then used all her power to send a powerful blast to his chest, sending him flying into the window. He bounced off it as it cracked.

As Rich got to his hands and knees, the bright light flashed in his eyes again. Nightwing stared at Rich. They'd hoped to become one at the point, but Raven did not forgive them so now it was impossible. Worse than that, it had broken Rich.

“You can take over, Nightwing. I'm done.” Rich then walked off into the darkness leaving Nightwing alone.

“I'm sorry Rich. I promise to do my best to make things right somehow. She wants us in Hell, so be it.”

The flash was gone and the floor was now before his eyes. He did not have a name now, he was a nameless creature who did not exist, nothing existed for him anymore. He reached into the belt around his waist and removed a mask. He placed it over his eyes firmly. With the mask in place, a new consciousness came to power. Nightwing was now in control. He stood and looked into the face of the girl he wanted more than anything. “Request granted,” Nightwing said in a cold and unfeeling voice.

`What did he mean by that?' Raven questioned mentally. She was further confused when he turned around and blasted out the shattered glass and prepared to take flight.

“Nightwing, where are you going?” Jax asked.

Nightwing looked over his shoulder. “She told me to go to Hell. I said I'd do anything for her.” With that he jumped out of the window and flew off, cloaking once away from the tower.

Jax grabbed his mask and was about to put it on. “Guess I've worn out my welcome. If you guys still need help, you know you're welcome to call.”

“You don't have to leave, Jax,” said Raven. “He's the one who did that to me, only he's not welcome here.” She then glanced at Beast Boy and Starfire. “Well, he's one of three people I guess.”

“What did he do, Rae?” asked Cyborg.

Raven cringed at the question and hugged herself, she couldn't say it.

“The second thing she accused him of. It happened the night of that big fight when you all came to our base the next day.”

Raven quickly turned to glare at Jax for telling them that. “Yeah, and he claimed that as Nightwing he wanted to do it, but Rich kept him from finishing the job. Like he's got a split personality or something,” spat Raven.

“He does. When the mask is on, he's Nightwing; a cold and ruthless vigilante who will stop at nothing to punish evil. When his eyes are uncovered, he's Rich; a kind and gentle soul who would do anything to make you happy Raven. I've seen it first hand.”

Raven stared at Jax along with everyone else. That was a big bombshell to drop on them.

“Wait, how come he's never gone out as Rich before he became Nightwing? He was always Robin before, never had the double life,” interjected Cyborg.

“I don't know, you'd have to ask him that,” replied Jax as she sat on the sofa with his head in his hands.

Terra went and sat by him before addressing the group. “So, what do we do now?”

“Well, if the team approves I'd like to invite Jax to join the Titans full time. I have a feeling we're gonna need info on Nightwing and his tactics,” spoke Cyborg.

“He won't go evil, if that's your worry. I think he's just gone further underground than we were before. He said he was going to Hell, that definitely fits the description,” replied Jax.

“So you guys got in pretty deep?” questioned Bumble Bee.

“How do you think we knew everything going on in this city? We're honorary members of a lot of gangs. He went by Night and I was Red, I know it's cheesy but it worked. He was greatly feared and they respected me because I could keep him under control, most of the time. If he's gone under, there's gonna be some serious cleaning going on from the inside.”

The Titans listened to what he'd said and let it sink in. Raven began to have second thoughts about her reaction. She just hoped she hadn't created a monster like Beast Boy and Starfire had.

 

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Nightwing had made it back to his room. He quickly changed out of his uniform and put on his clothes for going underground. It reminded him of the comic book character Blade, all black with metal chest armor and weapons at the ready. He still had his bird-a-rang dispensers on his arms, and his utility belt was different but still heavily loaded with lethal gadgets. The final touch was of course the shades. They'd remain on his face the entire time he was looking for his answers. The one burning question he had was the location of Brother Blood's hideout. If he had to beat it out of every single asshole in the underground syndicate, that only made the deal sweeter. Night walked down to the garage where his regular cycle was, but for this trip he needed the other bike. He removed the cover from his Harley-Davidson he'd done his own work on to make it heavily armored and armed, along with the most powerful engine he could cram into the frame. Yeah, this bike screamed power. Tonight, he was the pale rider riding on his fiery steed, while Hell followed close behind.

He mounted the bike and kick-started it. The beast roared to life and he kicked it into gear. He then twisted the throttle and burned out of the garage. He screamed across the traffic lanes making cars swerve every direction with horns blaring. He blasted down the street heading for the shadier side of town, where the lowlifes could be found without even trying to look. This was his new world. Here he was feared. He was Night, a fierce fighter with a soul as dark as his namesake. If you crossed him, you'd be lucky to ever eat solid foods again. Rumors abound of countless acts of horrid things he'd done during his interrogations. He could only be stopped by his partner, Red. This time though, Night was alone and there would be no Red to save their lives from the tortures that awaited them. Night had to admit, having street cred was essential and appreciated in this line of work.

As he approached the dimly lit streets, terrified men ran further into the shadows. They knew the sound of his ride all too well, and if it was coming then there would be Hell to pay. What made them even more frightened was that Red wasn't with him.

Night pulled up in front of a bar and walked in the door, the loud noises of the room instantly died down. Night smirked evilly. “I have a few questions.” At this statement, it was a stampede to leave the small, cramped room. Night pounced on a few people he suspected would have some of the answers. He tied them up and suspended them upside down from the ceiling.

“Okay, first one with all the answers gets to go free, the others are punching bags. Where is Brother Blood's hideout?”

“He moves it around every couple of nights. It's like some mobile-command post or something. He only contacts us when he needs something done. We never know where he is again,” one of the criminals quickly rambled on.

“Well, that's not the kind of thing I want to hear, but you did answer first. However you didn't have the right answer.” Night smirked and jumped up to deliver a painful roundhouse kick to the man's ribcage that sent him breaking free of his restraints and flying into a wall filled with liquor bottles. “Next question then, who knows where his current hideout is?”

The three remaining criminals stared dumbly at the dark figure before them. Night scowled at them. “You have two seconds before I bash your faces in.”

“The docks!”

“The warehouse district!”

“The old subway!”

Each of the figures yelled at the same time. Night let out a growl and gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists. “Fucking useless!” Night then pulled out his bo staff and extended it. “I wonder if there is candy inside.” Night mused as he looked at the three human piñatas before him. The men opened their mouths to scream, but the quick swings of a metal pole silenced them. Night unmercifully pounded their chests and faces, leaving them swinging from the impacts with blood trickling down and making sickening dotted lines along the ground as they swayed. Night then noticed the old man who was the bartender, he always had info and would freely give it. “Hey old man, what do you know?”

“I know a lot, youngster. I know that he's currently moving his so called hideout and it's going to be in the old steel mill. He'll be there tomorrow night for sure.”

Night walked over to the bar and downed a shot of some unknown substance. It burned going down. `Must have been really cheap whiskey,' he thought. “Thanks old man.”

“No problem sonny.”

This comment earned the mean a hard backhand. The elderly bartender looked up from the ground stunned at the young man. “Don't get chummy with me. You might think you're above getting mistreated, but you're scum just like the rest of them. If anyone comes around asking questions about me and what happened tonight, I knocked you out before I asked anything. You don't know a thing, got it old man?” The bartender just nodded while cradling his bruised cheek. Night stormed out of the bar and mounted his bike and took off into the night. `Well, the night is young and there are so many bad guys out there. It's time to clean up the streets my way.' Night gunned the bike and tore off into the darkness, crime was about to receive a heavy metallic boot to the groin.

 

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Raven sat atop Titans Tower staring towards the city. She was still letting what Jax had said about Nightwing and Rich sink in. `How can they be two people? They're the same body!' Then the more intelligent portion of her brain had to put in its two cents. `Yeah and up until about a year ago you had a different version of you for every emotion running around in your head. Is believing he's got two of him and one is pure while the other is dark so hard? Get a grip.' Raven's eyes snapped wide. `Okay, I'm talking to myself in my head. The sad part is that there is actually some truth to the other voice. How will I know for sure if it's true or not?' Then that annoying voice of reason spoke up again. `Easy, make a mirror that's a path to his mind and enter it.' Raven nodded and rushed down the stairs into the main room where everyone else sat.

Raven floated over to Jax, who was dressed in his Red X armor except for his mask which was on a hook near the door ready to be put on when the emergency signs flashed. “Jax, I have to know. Do you think that it could be possible that Rich and Nightwing are two completely different personalities living together in his mind?”

Jax looked up from his hand at the poker game that was going on with a look of confusion. Once he digested the question he shook his head to clear the cobwebs. “Not to make him sound any crazier than he already is, but yeah. That could definitely be a possibility. You thinking it's like you and your emotions used to be?”

Raven shot him a puzzled look. “How did you know about that?”

“You don't hang out with a guy for over half a year and not talk about strategies, pasts, and weaknesses of your potential enemies,” Jax said with a shrug.

Raven scowled at the idea of being exploited like that but quickly let the feeling pass. “Yes, I do think that it's similar. In fact, I want to try and create a mirror like mine so we can maybe help him find peace.”

Everyone stared at Raven for a while. Cyborg finally broke the silence.

“Uhh, Rae are you sure? I mean you said some pretty harsh things to him, not that he probably didn't deserve them.”

“I should have realized his inner turmoil, Cy. He helped me through mine and even stopped it by killing Trigon. I kicked him while he was down. I think I owe him another chance no matter how pissed off it makes me feel.”

“What do you need us to do?” asked Terra.

“I'll make the mirror, but I'll need him to touch it and a small amount of his blood for it to work.”

“Umm, how fresh does the blood have to be? I know we have some dried stuff around our old base in the training area,” Jax said.

“Yeah, and there's some in the fridge in the Medical Bay from when he was still Robin,” voiced Cyborg.

“Neither of those will work. He has to pretty much touch the mirror with a bleeding wound kind of thing,” Raven clarified.

“Okay, so we find him and hold him down while we prick his finger to touch it to a mirror then,” Terra suggested.

“Yeah, that will be easy,” smirked Beast Boy from the couch.

“Nobody asked you,” snapped Raven.

“Please, former friend Raven. Beast Boy and I would like to help you with this plan to rescue our fallen Robin's mind,” responded a hopeful Starfire.

“Fine, you can come too,” mumbled Raven.

“Well, if I'm taking you all underground you'll need new outfits. I'm sure we can manage something. The requirements are dark, battle ready, and lethal if need be. Meet back here as soon as possible,” commanded Jax as he got up ready to leave for his room. “Oh, by the way,” he said as he laid down his cards face up. “Four Aces.” He then walked out of the room amongst the shoutings and grumblings from the rest of the players.

A short time later the Titans all returned to find a dark crimson clad young man standing with his back to them. He turned around and the Titans all gasped. It was Jax, dressed up in what looked like clothes out of a dark comic book or something. He was slightly menacing, but the redness of his attire didn't make him seem too over the top. Red, as he was now known in this outfit, regarded the new initiates into the dark world he would soon bring them to. Cyborg had generated a thug look with his image generator; his new look was all black clothes with plenty of gold hanging off. Cyborg commented that he knew it was a stereotype but it would work. Raven had of course gone for the goth look with all black form fitting clothes and high boots. She had a different cape without a hood that was completely black. Terra looked similar to Raven but with a crimson cloak, she thought it was cute that she matched her boyfriend which earned her a growl from the dark figure before them. Bumble Bee opted not to go, mainly because her stuff was back at Titans East. Beast Boy had what looked like a pinstripe suit with matching hat. He looked like a gangster out of some cheesy mafia movie. Last was Starfire, who had managed to find some dark navy clothing, but it was rather skimpy and looked remarkably close to her uniform. Red had to fight to keep from saying she looked like the gangster's floozy.

“Well, guess this is as good as it gets. Alright, Raven teleport us to the location I told you about.”

Raven nodded at Red's request and enveloped everyone in her soul self and deposited them right down the street from the bar Night was currently terrifying.

Red saw terrified men running and quickly clothes-lined one of them. The stunned man looked up with rage at his attacker until he realized who it was.

“Oh thank God it's you, Red. Night is in the bar. He wants answers. I think he got a few guys.”

Red nodded and the man took off. He gestured with his hand for the heroes to follow him. As they approached the bar a thundering noise could be heard. Red knew it was Night on his bike. The heroes ran into the bar to see the bloody bodies still swinging slightly. This sight did nothing to Red as he headed over to check on the old bartender. The others weren't so lucky.

Starfire shrieked and hid her face in Beast Boy's neck.

Beast Boy covered his mouth and visibly turned even greener than normal somehow.

Cyborg just stared with a wide and unblinking human eye while his robotic one seemed to burn the image into his hard drive for no reason than to make him suffer in the future.

Terra closed her eyes tight and clinched her fists. She kept muttering the word `eww' over and over again like a mantra.

Raven was the most visibly shaken. She had been standing there wide-eyed as the rest, but the realization that Rich or Nightwing or Night or whatever he was currently known as was doing this because she'd told him to was more than she could handle. She collapsed to the ground as her knees buckled and she hugged herself.

Red didn't give the sight a second thought as he helped the old man up off the ground and over to a chair. Red then handed him a glass of some cheap liquor to help calm his nerves.

Once the man had settled down a bit, Red began his gentle questioning. “What happened here, old timer?”

The old man looked down at the glass in his hand. His mind was haunted with the blow from Night and his haunting words. “I don't know. Night came in, people were running, and I got knocked out. I don't know anything that happened.”

Red may not have been trained by Batman, but he knew a lie when he heard it. He also knew that from the way the old man was acting, he wasn't getting anything from him. He looked back over to the human piñatas and the rest of the team. He wasn't surprised to find them as disheveled as they were. Red walked over to a phone under the bar and dialed a number.

A very shaky sounding voice answered the line. “Hello?”

“It's Red. I don't know if you've heard, but Night is loose. Expect a lot of business tonight. Also, send over someone to collect three-” it was then that Red noticed another man crumpled against the far wall “make that four severely injured people. There's also an old man here who might need some minor attention.”

“Alright, don't expect much.”

“Yeah, I know. But these guys don't exactly have full medical plans. Not to mention hospitals ask too many questions.”

“Right. I'll send some men over to collect them. I'll also have some cots set up for the incoming victims of Night's wrath.”

“Good.”

“Hey, Red. Be careful man, if you can't control him he's dangerous to you too probably.”

“I doubt that, but thanks. Bye, doc.” Red hung up the phone and walked over to the Titans. “I made a call, someone will take these guys to get help, it won't be the best they could possibly get, but it will probably keep them alive.”

The dumbfounded Titans just nodded.

Red sighed. “C'mon, let's get out of here.” They walked out of the bar and down the street. “Look guys. He's gone pretty deep. We aren't gonna be able to track him like we could before. No one will tell us where he's going, if he leaves anyone able to tell that is.”

The Titans all stood there in silence wondering how much damage one lone vigilante could do in a single night. Little did they know, that this night would prove to be the cities undoing. The Titans had begun to falter, allowing the dark shadow of a bird to raise from the ashes to restore the order.

 

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Jacketslacker: I know it's been a while, for that I profoundly apologize. I haven't had much time for writing. I hit a snag on my Inuyasha fic, debating if I should give Inuyasha the chance for some kind of transformation like Sess can do or not. Anyways, the point is, I had inspiration to finish another chapter for Nightwing and this is what you got. I don't know when you'll see me again. Nor do I know how many more chapters exist. I do know this, this story could be finished shortly or it could become something bigger. The decision is up to you, the readers. If you want more, then keep reviewing. If you think I suck, I don't care what you think. The point is, show the love and you shall be rewarded. Don't worry, I mentioned there will be a lemon eventually and there will be. Also, if you are a reader of my Inuyasha fic, give me some insight on that little ponderance I had. My thinking is a were-dog kinda thing. Anyways, that's all for now kids. Keep reading and stay in school. Remember, summer jobs suck. Review me and you shall be rewarded with your name engraved into the stone of my next chapter. If you don't review, you shall be hunted down by Lady of Faerie and her machete.