Nightwing bit his lip, forcing his breathing to calm instead of the heavy pants and coughs that threatened to rattle his frame. His battered and bruised body screamed and ached with the power of a thousand suns. Instead of focusing on that he concentrated on William Cobb's light, almost inaudible footsteps. He resisted the urge to rip off the Talon suit that he currently donned and crept further away from the thumps, pressing himself against a big wooden crate.

       His grandfather's breathing neared him as he scuffled away, shuffling his feet as gently as he could with the type of boots he was wearing. 'Come on come on come on come on.' He mentally chanted, reaching up and gripping the vent he had left open and unscrewed. He held his breath, knowing that once he tried to pull himself up the metal would give him away.

       Bracing himself, he clutches the vent with both hands and winces at the screech that echoes through the room. Surely his grandfather heard it and he scrambles to get out of there. Unfortunately, with his growth spurt he can't go through as smoothly and easily as he once used to but it was quick enough to dodge the dagger that flew right where his head once was, cutting his cheek deep enough to bleed.

"You are not escaping alive Talon! You will bow at my feet or I will have your head!" Cobb yelled, the voice reverberating through the ventilation shafts Nightwing was crawling through, he went left. He pulled out a mask out of his pocket and slapped it on as swiftly as he could. "Please, please." The vigilante whimpered lowly, desperately scooting as fast as he could as to inform Batman, Red Hood, Red Robin, hell even Robin that this was the main Court of Owls base. All he needed was that shred of moonlight and it would all be over, even if he didn't make it.

All he wanted was to see the rooftops again.

Nightwing hears a screech closely behind and he looks over his shoulder to see a myriad of weapons sticking out from the bottom of the shaft. "Miss." He hears a woman cry out from underneath. Bangs echo from all over and he spots the beginning of a hand coming from the vent at the right so he pushes forward and right. Many twists and turns soon followed that decision and Nightwing struggled to recall the map he had memorized what seemed to be a lifetime ago.

His vision spun but he pushed, going left for what felt like the millionth time, bruises started to blossom and cuts appeared on his skin, tearing into his now shredded Talon uniform. Weapons of different kinds would pop of from nowhere and sometimes he had to lose some of the members of the cult.

Fear never appeared in his mind, instead, determination burned like a raging fire that consumed his being. His mind went into complete fight or flight mode, all he could think about was getting out. After what felt like hours he found an opening that angled up at a 45 degree angle. Nightwing clenched his teeth and soon followed the path, light filtered in from the vent cover at the very top.

He became quieter and quieter, his training finally kicking in as he pulls out a knife he had completely forgotten about and lodged it between the wall and the metal. He pulls and he feels the cover loosen considerably, unfortunately bending the blade considerably. Deeming it as good as he could get it, he places a foot on it and grabs onto the slits with his fingers, hissing as it cut into his fingers. Nightwing pries the air-vent open with pure strength and gently pushes it aside. He cringes as it clatters loudly to the floor but places his hands on the edge and jumps out, analyzing his surroundings before letting himself drop.

To be frank, he didn't expect to get this far.

Only the adrenaline keeps him going, stumbling past pillars and doors that made everything seem like a maze. The vigilante spots a window and doesn't hesitate to shatter it with his elbow, crying out as it dug into already open wounds. The glass pierced his body in a painful wave and he felt tears start to roll down his face. "Come on, I'm so close."

Clapping echoed through the empty building, probably coming from his grandfather but he paid it no mind as he threw himself out of the opening, falling through the air and crashing through a wooden roof and landing on a car. A groan of pain escaped his lips and he felt like never moving again but opening his eyes and seeing the villainous face of William Cobb quickly made him reconsider. He slips off, his breathing stuttering and his heart burning while he limped away.

Nightwing observed he's near the docks around Crime Alley and hope surfaces, hoping that Red Hood is around. He does not dare to shout for his brother's name, afraid of calling attention to himself so he scavenges, finding a quarter very quickly and climbing up onto the roof of a cafe four blocks away from the talons. "I need to find a payphone." He mumbles, setting up a new objective.

His brain thinks of all the payphones around in the area and settles for the one two blocks away. Nightwing now realizes that without a grapple gun and his body in such a bad shape it would be unlikely that he would reach his location through the rooftops. His mind starts looking for another place only to remember that Jason has a warehouse nearby.

"Fuck." He forces out, looking back to see a swarm of talons that were just gaining up on him. A motorcycle catches his eye and he lets himself fall onto the sidewalk and make his way over to the cycle. Nightwing, ignoring how he's blatantly stealing, hot wires it swiftly. The engine purrs under him as he revs it up and takes off.

The air whips against his hair and his bare wounds, his shredded clothing lashed against his bare skin to the point of his body feeling utterly raw. "Red Hood, I swear if you've moved warehouses." His tone of voice is dangerous but its ultimately lost to the wind and nobody hears him. A glance at the rear-view mirror shows him the group of talons still continue their chase. 

After a few minutes of pure adrenaline, swears that would make a sailor cry and utter pain, he finally sees the golden sight of the safe haven. He abandons the motorcycle as close to the entrance as possible and types as quickly as his fingers humanly could. "I really hope this isn't main base for you right now RH." He mumbles in passing, quickly realizing this was barely even set up. Only a spare comm unit on the wall, a dagger, a pair of handguns with a belt and some booze.

He brokenly laughs, panting while he hobbled over and rips the comm off of the wall, sticking it in his ear. He pressed a finger on the side to speak into the links, ignoring any possible conversation that could have been in motion. "Nightwing B-01, code 74N58B31. I need anyone available right now." He belts out, his other hand placing the belt around his waist with ease. With only slight reluctance he also equips the handguns, the other dagger that would certainly be useful and grabs the bottle of liquor. He pulls out a little rectangular object from his boot and opens the unbent knife, knowing that Red Hood always had a storage space in his weapons and he slips it in before closing it quickly.

"Oracle here, what's your status N?" She asks and the vigilante takes another faulty breath, preparing himself to throw the glass container. He had no time to do a self analysis before the swarm burst through the door. He launches it towards them and then shoots the bottle in the air, shattering it. The liquid splattered on everything and he mentally hopes that Red Hood didn't like this spot much before shooting the floor. The sparks caused by the impact were enough to start a flame that started to rapidly spread.

Nightwing runs up a short flight of stairs, escaping from the back exit as the place burned. "N, Nightwing!" Oracle called out and it seemed that she had been trying to get his attention. "Sorry, was getting them off my tail." He informed, placing the gun back in his holster and pulling out the non-bent dagger.

"You are getting away from Red Hood's warehouse." She inquired, frantic typing being faintly heard in the line. "Yeah, I hope he didn't like it." Nightwing retorted, still limping away from the act of arson he just committed. "Golden boy, what the hell did you do to my warehouse." Hood's gruff voice filtered into his ear.

Without any warning, the storage facility blew up behind him, throwing him onto him stomach and scraping his face across the concrete. He let out a groan of pain, his already muddled back now singed with burns. His ears rang vehemently, nothing filtering besides pure pain. His vision was blurred, not being able to distinguish his hands and the rooftop, only seeing his blade from the glare. He couldn't lose it. He reaches out and snatches it, vaguely aware of the slit it creates in his palm. He turns on his back, crying out from the agony that he felt.

It feels like an eternity until he can hear mumbling in his ear of that he cannot distinguish what is being said or who. It takes almost twice as long for his vision to adjust to the bright, sweltering light that came from the raging inferno that came close to licking at his feet and threatened to swallow him whole. He pushes himself up to sit as he stares. "Fucking hell, that probably drew a lot of attention." He observed, his mouth running before his mind could catch it.

"Tt, stating the obvious Grayson?" He heard Robin's voice come from behind and he forced himself to his feet, his frame didn't sway but he felt like falling and never getting up. He turns on his heel, snatching Robin's hand -ignoring the protest that came with it- and starts jogging away. "What is that ridiculous outfit that you have on your person Nightwing. It makes you appear strange." The little ex-assassin informed.

He glances over his shoulder warily, catching sight onto moving shadows that he knew weren't just his imagination. His body screamed but his mind pressed on, epinephrine fueling him as he scooped up the little bird onto his back and took off. The yells and questions that floated out of his mouth didn't register, only the fact that he had to get away. He had to get away. Hecouldn'tletthemtouchdamian.

A slap on the face reeled him in from his survival instinct haze. "Nightwing, I demand you inform me what is happening." The little boy pressed, his hands grappled onto his neck while being jostled from the movement. "Look Robin, I don't have much time to tell you. Let's get somewhere safer and we can talk." He spoke, his voice rough from clear disuse and dehydration.

"I'm afraid that is not happening, Talon." William Cobb's stern voice -almost sarcastically- informed. "Those who escape the command of the Court are declared traitors. Do you know what happens to traitors?"

Robin hops off his back and gets in a fighting position. Nightwing rolls his eyes. "You all are really sore losers, y'know that?" He retorts, also sliding into a fighting position, dagger in hand. It seemed Robin had informed Oracle of their predicament because her smooth, silky voice was informing them with a hint of worry that reinforcements were on the way.

"I am aware, that it would be a shame for you to be lost in such a way. However, nobody betrays the Court and gets away with it. Which leads me to this, Nightwing, first Robin of Batman. On the command of The Court Of Owls, you are sentenced to perish." Cobb finalizes his speech before a wave of talons launched into battle.

Nightwing's eyes narrow and with apprehension, he pulls out his immediate younger brother's handgun, a beautiful and polished desert eagle. He holds it professionally, it wasn't the first time he had to use a gun. Two come for him first while a pair go for Robin as well, they fight seamlessly, Robin using his katanas and Nightwing using the dagger - conserving the bullets for the firearms.

The first one goes to strangle him which he bats away with a strong arm and the other throws a blade, he dodges the weapon and steps forward. Nightwing uses the hilt to hit the talon in the forehead. He gets grappled from behind and thrown onto the floor. He renders the daggers useless as he could only use it as a throwing weapon so it couldn't be fatal. While thrashing around with the two talons on the floor the blade is kicked out of his hands and he reaches out for it, not being able to grasp it. He aims the gun in one of the talon's hands.

The enemy stayed silent but retreated which made it easier for him to pin down the first talon and knock him out with the hilt of the desert eagle. He swiped the knife and slips it back into his stolen utility belt. Before he was able to fight the second one Robin was thrown into him, catching him effortlessly, they seamlessly work together to get the next few talons, knocking them out with efficiency and calling out for combos or warning the other.

Finally, he reaches a hand up and while firing one of the guns for the legs to talk to Oracle. "O, where is our backup. They brought a lotta manpower and I need R out of here and safe as soon as possible." Another talon managed to get close and flip him over his shoulder, knocking the air out of Nightwing.

"They should be there in T-minus 5 minutes." She informed and Nightwing struggled to get four off of him while observing the seemingly endless amount of talons that just kept on coming. "I don't think we have five minutes O." He grimly informed, kicking off three of the enemies and shooting the last one in the shoulder. The vigilante finally got up and helped Robin who was almost being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of talons.

"I'm nearby." Red Robin informed and Nightwing sighs, he really doesn't want Robin or Red Robin in this fight but with how the battle was going they really needed him to tip the scales to his favor. "Gimme a few."

"Alright-" He started but was interrupted by his own grandfather grabbing Robin's neck and squeezing, cutting off all airflow. William Cobb's cruel and insane face stared back at his own eyes as Robin thrashed in his grip, he heard the cries of surprise and questions being thrown his way via comm unit. His grip tightened on the desert eagle and it seemed like everything froze around him. The talons didn't matter anymore, all that mattered was the William Cobb was touching his baby brother.

He didn't even think, only aimed and fired at all of the talons around him, automatically gaining knockouts. For once disgust didn't plague his mind, all that processed was that he was going to die from this anyway, Robin was never meant to be involved and that all that mattered was the Robin-no Damian survived.

Blood splattered and bodies fell limp under his hawk eyes and expert aim. He knew Damian was probably shocked at the savagery but he didn't care, his injuries were too far gone anyway and he knew, deep inside that his lineage was going to burn tonight. It didn't matter if it cost him his life. He counted them down and eventually threw the first away, snatching the other off of his belt to continue taking them down in droves, his brain racing, his breath panting, his eyes glassy.

I'm not losing him again.

I'm not losing him again.

I'm not losing any of them again.

Finally, one bullet. The gun felt just as heavy as lead in his hands, he knew he was far from innocent but he knew he couldn't just let William walk away from this. He felt the familiar weight and defilement in his body. Aches and tremors ran through his skin, his system probably shutting down or in the middle of from the blood loss, the only thing keeping him going was sheer will, stubbornness and adrenaline -and even that was fading.

"Let him go."

"What makes you think I will. Besides, I know you don't kill, especially your own grandfather."

"I can make your opinion change with just a twitch of a finger."

"I know that you don't dare cross that line, Talon."

"What line? All I see is you, a monster taking my baby brother hostage. I'm not Batman, I don't let people hurt my family and get away with it so easily. There is no line here. Neither of us are walking away tonight but the least you could do is let him go."

Insanity and madness bubbled in the madman's eyes. This man was no grandfather, he was no man. He was truly a monster. A man who would take advantage of anyone he saw fit to further his own agenda by any means necessary.

However, could he, Nightwing-no Dick, hold himself higher up than this man?

Doing this job for so long at such a young age changes you, the things he had to witness, let alone experience can make anyone change, really. He is no saint. Nobody really is, specifically in his profession. There are only lines in the sand that he can draw and stick by those morals but the fact that he's stepped past it in his own ways and danced from punishment makes him a liar. He is a monster.

He always has been.

His masked eyes shift from William Cobb to Robin's the boy was putting up a brave front but underneath it, he could see the acceptance, the willingness to die for the cause yet again. Fucking hell, have they all been brainwashed enough as to just accept death in an instant? A child, no less. Did Damian really think that he wouldn't do anything for him?

Would Nightwing kill? No.

Would Richard Grayson? He had always questioned that.

His finger twitched, and the bullet hit its mark. A body hit the ground and a pair of footsteps clap against the floor, nearing him. "Richard!" He hears a small yell and Robin rushes towards him, he smiles and attempts to retrieve the knife with the flash drive from his belt only to brush along his side. Unnatural warmth permeates through the glove he wore. He places his other hand on the heat only to feel it become slippery.

Dick holds his hands close to his eyes. Crimson fluid was smeared on both fabric covered palms, glistening lightly under the red fire of the blown up warehouse only a few blocks away. The crinkling of the flames, the light rapid footsteps and the smell of metal invaded his senses. His mind was blank, trying to register what just happened a few moments ago only for liquid to involuntarily bubble up and make him cough red. Oh god, he was dying, he was dying he was dying. His knees buckle but he leans to the right, landing on his shoulder and hip. His vision blackened if only for a second before he rolled himself onto his back, his body screaming in agony. Robin came to block the warm light, shadowing him and dropping to his knees beside him.

"Richard, get up!" The boy cried and Dick felt the mask rip off from his face. His blue eyes land to his baby brothers and with much effort he raises a shaky hand to Robin's face. Judging by the dead silence -which signifies no cops coming- and no human chatter he deems it safe to at least do this. Gently, he pulls back the mask on Robin's face, revealing Damian Wayne underneath.

The child started placing pressure onto his wounds but they were so many that they just squeezed blood in other areas. He knew he probably looked like death itself and instead of letting his brother focus on his injuries he weakly grasp his chin and made him look at Dick. "Its okay." He whispered, trying to comfort him as the fight left his body.

He coughed, red splattering on the concrete just as it did with the talons and suddenly he is ten times more aware of his grandfather's corpse on the other side of the rooftop. "You're going to be fine." Damian insisted with a hard tone, reaching up to press the comm to announce his critical state. He gingerly places his hand on Damian's and shakes his head.

"I'm not getting out of this one." He whispered, knowing that the light was starting to leave his eyes. His skin was paler than anyone had ever seen it and the wounds that kept trickling blood were too many to count. The fact that Damian was alive and kicking was all that Dick needed to know to be able to pass on peacefully.

"We've all cheated death before. How is this any different? You'll be fine, I'll kick your arse once you're able to stand and we'll laugh about this someday." Damian desperately argued, still putting pressure on the open gashes. Dick knows he's frustrated, angry and desperate, he knows how he works because he has a very similar thought process to his father. Mustering up the energy he presses his forehead against Damian's, closing his eyes and taking a rattling breath, pushing all of the pain away as it slowly starts to bleed out and become numb. He savors the moment as best as he can.

"Because this time Damian, there's no cheat. You weren't supposed to be here to see this happen." He paused, licking his dry lips with an even dryer tongue. "You weren't supposed to watch me die."

Damian's eyes turned angry. "And for this to occur while you were alone? Richard, I am not going to watch you die." The determination in his little brother burned and the boy stood up straight, pulling on his arm for him to get up but Dick could barely feel his own legs. "Get up!" The little bird yelled. "Get up, you buffoon. You're going to make it if I have anything to say about it."

Tears started to gather at the corners of the kid's eyes and it made Dick incredibly disheartened he couldn't get up to wipe them away, instead he curled his fingers as tightly as he could around the boy's small hand. It wrapped around the tiny fist in a reassuring grip and he smiles softly. "Its okay." He whispered, knowing that these were his final words. "Its all going to be okay little robin. All you have to do is let me go."

Darkness threatened the corners of his vision but all he could focus on was his little brother's face. The boy he had helped raise from an assassin to the young man that he was today. He felt pride swell up in his chest and his lips curled into a small smile. Sobs erupted from Damian and his brother -son- fell to his knees, cradling his head with his free hand. "Baba, p-please... don't go."

Dick's hand went limp.

A scream of sorrow ripped through the night.

Thuds from multiple pairs of footsteps approached minutes later and all they found was a heartbroken robin clutching onto a fallen bird.

____________

Finished: 9/20/2020

The people who encouraged me to create this chapter;

xXxNightsilverxXx

LigressTheWild

Alfred_Is_A_Badass

Awesomedurra

Ixie_6996

DragonSpring38912