No. 16 A TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY
Forced To Beg│Hallucinations│Shoot The Hostage

No. 18 PANIC! AT THE DISCO
Panic Attacks│Phobias│Paranoia

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It wasn't a surprise anyone in the batfamily would take a bullet for one another -though some of them vehemently deny this claim. Their tight knit family forget by the ashes and misery of Gotham to strengthen their bonds, and as much as they fight with one another when it really counts, they're there.

However, that doesn't really work for someone like the Joker.

The Joker -how insane he is only the divine knows- is actually pretty smart, unfortunate for them. He always has an uncanny ability to be able to tell when there's going to be backup whenever he's up against the bats which has placed them in an innumerable quantity of situations that never fails to make you stressed to hell and back.

So when he was deposited in a room full of civilians, his heart dropped to his feet. Nightwing struggled against the Joker's buff goons but with the restraints it was pretty futile. He glares at the bulletproof glass separating him and the clown, sadly, all of his brothers were on the other side with the psychopath. With only Batman to be able to depend on, they have to wait for a while.

"Hello ladies!" Joker exclaimed, he kicked Red Hood who glared and clenched his muscles to try and hulk out of his bindings. "And gents. Today we're going to be playing a little game I like to call." A gun dropped out of the ceiling, a Desert Eagle 50 that glimmered menacingly in the pale light of the room. "Pop goes the Weasel!"

Nightwing tries to steady his breathing, watching as his binding unravel into strings on the floor. He would've gone for the door if it wasn't for the fact that he knew it would sentence the rest of this room to death. "The name of the game is this, Nightwing must shoot one of the civilians here so the rest of the room lives! Every ten minutes he doesn't, I shoot one of the bats, three strikes and one of them is out!"

"What?" He exclaims, his breathing stuttering in rhythm, his brain becomes a flurry of thoughts and he doesn't catch the rest of Joker's monologue, no matter how much he tries to pay attention. He can't breathe, he can't breathe.

He struggles to focus, five things he can see (his brothers, the civilians, he shouldn't have looked over there) Four things he can touch, his clothes, his chest, his mask and the floor. Three things he could hear -he can only hear the damn clown's laughter and the civilian's scared screams. Two things he can smell (blood and gunpowder, fucking hell, this is barely helping). One-

"-The timer starts, now!" That sends his slowly calming brain into another round of fisticuffs with common sense but he has civilians to worry about.

He pushes back how little air he's getting and the blurring panic to concentrate on the innocents. "Okay, first things first, calm them down." Nightwing tells himself, taking a deep breath that feels to big for his lungs.

He pushes the gun aside to the corner of the room where nobody lay and turns to the horrified audience. "Okay, everyone. I am going to tell you now, I am not shooting anyone. You are all going to leave with your lives." He glances to his brothers with the corner of his eye.

Robin seemed fine, if more than a little mad, he was still in his chains however he could see him calculating if he should get out of the restraints at that moment or if to wait. Nightwing shakes his head, it was too risky at this point, Robin sees this movement and gives a slight nod back.

Red Hood was enraged, still attempting to wrestle out of his restraints -much to his displeasure because he was wasting precious energy. His were the strongest, both due to his grudge with the Joker, the willingness to kill and his strength.

Red Robin seemed the most subdued, not making any moves to do anything and only glaring -probably because of the fact that the clown has an entire room of hostages. The entire situation was pretty shitty.

The first ten minutes went by in a flurry of panic for Nightwing and it felt all too soon when the buzzer went off. The civilians seemed to fear him, parents holding their children close and people who were alone squandering off in corners. He didn't make a move towards the pistol. 

"Well, looks like this round goes to me!" Manic laughing followed the statement. "Hmm, who will I pick to nick first? Ooh, its is all so exciting! Its like choosing a new toy!" He seemed to make a contemplative expression.

Nightwing scowled, angry at how fucking helpless he was. "Which one? Which one? The little ankle biter?" Robin didn't elicit a reaction, only stiffly glared ahead. "Nah, too angry and inexpressive." 

Joker moved onto the next bat, Red Robin. "The smart one? Hmm, maybe." Red Robin only continued to glare, his breathing deepening with anger. The psycho then arrived to the last one. "Or my favourite one? Robin number two? You know what, I'll pick you first! Congratulations!" 'I'm sorry.' Dick mouthed to his immediate younger brother.

"Fuck you." Red Hood cursed at his murderer, straining even harder only to be dragged forward by two buff goons whom left after. The camera was now poised at them. "You fucking clown, I'll beat the white off of ya no matter how many crowbars it takes-" he kept arguing until his mouth was covered by a pale hand.

"Ah, silence. You take it for granted. Now what was it I promised? Ah, yes!" A gun practically materialized in his hand. "A bullet!" A  round was emptied into Jason's forearm who yelled in pain. =

"Hood!" He roared, the civilians seemed terrified at the emotion and how they just watched a man get fucking shot. He turned to the hysterical crowd."Its okay, its okay. We'll be okay." He told them, he turns to Hood and communicates with his hands, signing. 'Look, I know you're in pain but say something so the kids don't panic.'

Red Hood seems to understand and after getting himself under control for the sake of the children. "Tis but a flesh wound!" He mustered up the energy to valiantly cry out all the while gritting his teeth. Nightwing visibly relaxed, playing it up for the crowd, a few children laughed at the scene.

"Hmm, this is no fun for me anymore, how about I play up the stakes?!" Panic returned to the crowd and he couldn't lie but even the bats were sweating a bit. "In five minutes if Nightwing doesn't kill someone I kill one of the kiddies!" Joker points the gun at Red Robin. 

A gasp track blasts from hidden speakers at the revelation. Murmurs spread all throughout the crowd but one brave soul stands up, an older man that looked to be in his 90s. "Kill me." He said in a shaky voice, stepping forwards towards Nightwing. 

"I can't kill you sir." 

"The name's Arvin Rogers son." 

"Well then Arvin, I'm not going to kill you so please-"

"Don't kid me boy, we're all stuck in this situation, I can tell you're a young man. I've lived my life, served in a war, my wife is dead and my children don't visit. You and your family are irreplaceable here and non' of you should die. So, kill me." 

His shaky voice said otherwise, he was scared but completely open to this. Nightwing shakes his head with resolve, plucking up the gun and moving it away from Arvin. "Arvin, I can assure you help is on the way." 

One minute was left on the clock, Arvin didn't speak, instead he grappled Nightwing for the gun. He didn't want to hurt this civilian nor did he want Jason to die, it was a lose-lose situation. Rogers punched him in the face and he let him but kept a firm grip on the gun. It was pointed towards Nightwing.

"Give me the damn pistol." The old man swore. "Kiddie fight! You know what, for this splendid entertainment you get three more minutes!" Joker laughed, the two kept wrestling on the floor, the timer gotten up. It seemed the rest of the crowd went into bystander effect and nobody dared come closer to the gun lest they be shot in the scuffle. 

"Arvin, we can talk about this." Nightwing argued. "Theres nothing to talk about, one of us is going to die here and its going to be me!" 

The gun was pointed at Nightwing's stomach and instead of kicking him off like he could or anything of the sort he pressed the gun into his stomach, hitting his ribs hard. The gun was locked and loaded with one round in and so he touched the trigger. Arvin fought back against this but his grip was too weak. 

Nightwing pulled the trigger.

Blood splattered all over Arvin and their surroundings, shock coming over the innocent people there. "No!" Damian cried out and Jason seemed shocked. He would never let him fucking die again.

Dick felt the pain but he still smiled up at Arvin. "Its okay, Its okay." He insists, Arvin finally tugged the gun out of his grip and threw it over his shoulder, putting pressure against the wound.

"Its okay."

He felt consciousness slip away from him just as cries of joy echoed throughout the chamber. He smiled, Batman was here. And then darkness.