Gotham
TWO YEARS EARLIER
I didn't bother writing a note or some letter to explain myself.
What was there to say?
Instead I left the apartment exactly as it was, unpacked boxes and all. Then I placed my uniform on our dining table. The same uniform I've worn since I was placed in the Dastra Palace as a child. It was one of the few consistent things in my life. It was on my back when I arrived and it was with me through every mission I've been on.
I ran my hand across the fabric one more time, before the purple light spread from my fingers slowly. The fabric was swallowed in purple flame, slowly melting and charring away.
Once it had turned to nothing but ash, I closed the door and I was gone.
Star City
March 30, 21:57 PDT
"Don't die," Dick whispered, combing a couple fingers through my hair.
I pulled his hand away so that I could hold it. "I don't plan on it."
Despite all the tension the mission brought, there was a certain peace looking at Dick brought that wasn't there before. All the resentment we harbored had come out now. There wasn't anymore tiptoeing or lying; there was a real way for us to start over.
For the first time, I felt we'll be okay.
"I love you."
He couldn't seem to process at first, but slowly he adjusted and I adored how happy it made him. "I love you more."
"Alpha squad is all ready," Robin said, appearing in his civilian clothes.
We broke apart, getting ready to embark on the incredibly delicate mission ahead of us.
Robin deployed with Batgirl and Bee to invade the abductee shipment below. Conner and I didn't wait long to follow, sneaking into the base to attack two manta troopers for their armor.
We slipped into the gear, following the pods onto the submarine. Further ahead, I could see Artemis leading the parade. It only reminded me of where I stood with Wally—how my best friend was still furious for what I'd done. The thought sickened me.
"Alpha squad," M'gann spoke, "I'm heading into the alien ship. Are you aboard?"
"Affirmative," Barbara said. "We're in some kind of docking bay. We have a visual on the new aliens. AKA the Kroloteans' competitor. AKA the Light's partner. And we've got other company. It's Aqualad. If he makes us, we're over."
Conner and I shifted as Aqualad passed by. I couldn't help but fixate on what Wally suggested. What if Kaldur really was a triple agent? What if none of us are safe right now?
"Stay whelmed. He won't be looking for you. Just don't attract attention."
Kaldur didn't notice, and if he did, he chose to ignore them. The pods were wheeled out into the docking bay, leaving Conner and I with the squad of troopers.
"I found Gar and Bart," M'gann said. "They're unconscious but alive. No sign of Jaime or La'gaan."
"We've got eyes on Lagoon Boy," Barbara added. "And... Shimmer? Uh, plus four civilians and all the teens we came with. We're unsupervised now, but Blue's still unaccounted for. An escape could trigger response. Do we wait?"
"Negative, alpha," Dick instructed. "Make your move before you need rescuing too. You too, Miss M. Get our boys."
The alarms began to blare, and that was our cue.
"Hold you position troopers!" Artemis ordered, only for Conner to unknowingly toss her up into the ceiling.
I fought the urge to make sure she was okay, and pulled the helmet off. "Docking bay secured."
"Nice timing handsome," Bee ran in with La'gaan and the other abductees.
"Docking now," Dick said.
We waited by the doors, as Cassie ushered everyone towards the Bioship. Batgirl and Robin were the last ones to run through, leaving us four people short.
"M'gann?" I called out. "Gar?"
I turned to Conner, who was clearly already thinking the same thing. "Psychic link is down."
"I'll find them." He ran forward, only to suddenly be sent flying back into the room. His soaring body collided with mine, knocking us both to the floor.
"Apologies, meat," a booming, gravelly voice spoke as the all doors began to seal. "But no one goes anywhere."
"Listen, uh, Black Beetle. You're totally outnumbered," Cassie warned. "Open those doors now, and we'll go easy on you."
"You will go easy on me?" he cackled.
"Oh, that is not a good sign."
Bee was quite right about that. This Black Beetle was stronger than Cassie, Conner, and I combined—meaning there was no way of handling him with brute force alone. We had to play to his weaknesses, but I wasn't sure he had any.
Cassie and Conner eventually ended up on the floor, followed by La'gaan and Bee. Robin was caught next in a restraint that pinned him to the wall.
Two strands of crackling light poured out from my hands, slithering across the floor as they grew.
Seconds before his canon could kill Batgirl, one strand caught Black Beetle at the wrist. It turned his attention towards me, as I threw the other cord forward, catching his other arm. With one great tug, Black Beetle staggered forward. I strained to make the cords grow; to make them spiral around his arms, across his chest, and down to his legs.
"Can't you at least get the link back up?" Gar spoke. "Oh, well, thanks. Now come on! We're sealed out of the docking bay. What's going on in there?"
"Don't know. I'm cutoff aboard the bio-ship."
"We're fighting Black Beetle and Shimmer," Barbara explained. "It's just Iris and I now."
Now covered in ropes of crackling purple, Black Beetle fell to his knees.
I pulled a little harder, feeling my heels slide against the floor as he tried to resist. Slowly, the strands began to pull at Black Beetle's armor, peeling it off his skin as his deep voice groaned in pain.
"You've got to get in there!" Gar cried.
"What? How?"
"What do you mean how? Density shift!"
"Right, I can do that," M'gann stuttered. "I can still do that."
Thinking I had gained the upper hand, Black Beetle managed to jerk his arms back, yanking me with them. He caught me by the neck, armor already fixing itself against his skin. The purple fizzled into nothing, and he threw me back into the doors with a loud thud.
I struggled to break free, but breathing alone was difficult.
He drew a hand back, only to touch the metal and somehow catch M'gann mid-density shift. I glanced over in horror to only half her body through the door. "What did you do to her?"
"Shifted the density of the door. Wasn't quite prepared for that, was she? But don't be jealous. I can put you half way through the door too. Half way. The hard way."
He lifted me by the shoulders before slamming my body back into the door. The collision echoed through the room, repeating itself again, and again, and again.
It didn't stop. Nothing but the sound of my body hitting the door and the small yelps of pain in-between filled the room. I could feel the metal slowly crease beneath me, until one great final swing ripped the door completely.
"Iris!" Gar morphed into a rhino and charged forward.
With his free hand, Black Beetle merely knocked him elsewhere in the room with the others.
I groaned when he held me up higher, ears ringing—not in the usual way—and a warm liquid, that could only be blood, dribbling from my nose. His hand drew back, turning into a large scythe. If I didn't do something now, what would happen to the rest of this team? To all my friends and the kids? To Dick who was just behind those doors?
In a final effort, I reached for the blade hidden in my boot, darting it towards his neck. He moved faster than me, blocking the blade with his scythe. It quickly morphed back into his hand, ripping the blade from my grasp.
I tried to conjure anything in my powers to fight back, but only dim sparks of purple found their way out. There was nothing left for me to do except watch his satisfied face, while he plunged my own blade into my stomach.
The pain made me gasp, especially when he pulled the blade back out. He tossed it aside before tossing me through the gap in the door that I had created.
I hit the wall of the next-door room, falling to the ground with a thud. My hand clenched against my stomach, but I couldn't do much more as the blood pooled beneath me.
Through blurring vision, I could see Blue and Impulse arrive at the doors. They freed M'gann from what was left of the doors, letting Dick in from the other end.
"Nightwing," I muttered, overcome by a joy in knowing that he'll come and save me. My blood drenched hand slid across the floor, reaching for him with all the strength I had left. He spoke urgently with Batgirl in the distance. "Nightwing."
He nodded to her, then walked away.
"Nightwing..?"
My hand lifted towards his retreating figure, as blood began to spill from my mouth, dribbling down my cheek. Pain seared throughout my body, but it didn't stop me from reaching out to him. I love him, and no matter, I knew he'd never leave me behind.
Please don't leave me behind.
"Ah, ah, ah."
A squeak left my throat as a heel stomped my hand into the floor. "Nightwing."
The stranger picked me up, but it was getting harder and harder to stay awake. My vision began to spot and the pain faded in out and out with my consciousness.
"The girl has been captured."
Then I crumbled into nothingness, devastated that the the stranger's voice wasn't Dick's.