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About to join you

Major spoilers for Season 4! If you haven't seen it and you don't want to know anything about it, don't read it!

When the small team finally managed to take back the Fortress of Solitude from Zoe's crew, they immediately noticed the bloody figure under the ice. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was Nightwing, as well as the blood belonged to him. Superman and M'gann set about moving the ice while Artemis and Kaldur examined the avian, trying to gather vital signs. "I'm getting a faint pulse. It's just barely there." Artemis announced uncertainly. Just how long had Dick been laying there, injured and bleeding out? 

"He's not breathing much. He needs a hospital, immediately." Kaldur cursed, gently pulling Nightwing into his arms. The acrobat didn't move at all. Bart returned with a roll of gauze, hurriedly wrapping it around Dick's head.

"That should hold until I get him to a hospital. Are those Zeta beams operational?" Bart asked. 

Zatana went over to the beams, sighing when they turned on. "Yes. I'm directing you to the Gotham hospital. Thanks to Wayne Tech, they've got better healthcare than pretty much anywhere."

Kaldur passed Dick over to Bart. "Get him to a hospital, now. Don't wait for any of us." 

Bart nodded and ran off, holding Nightwing close as the Zeta beam transported them. He wasn't far from death, and Bart could feel it. What little life was left in Nightwing was fading fast. How did this happen? Nightwing couldn't have been separated from his group for more than ten, maybe fifteen minutes. Had the Zods done it? Had they nearly killed his friend? Sure, Nightwing had made mistakes, but nothing that warranted killing him.

Bart ran into the emergency room, finding the nearest doctor. "He needs help! Please help him."

The doctor immediately called for a stretcher, giving quick orders that Bart couldn't quite understand. The medical language was always strange to him. It felt like something an alien would speak on another planet. Bart watched as they took Nightwing away, unable to shake the uneasy feeling in his stomach. This would not turn out good. He must've sat in the waiting room for two minutes when he remembered that they still had to notify Batman. Bart paled. Batman was going to kill them if his son died.

Things were not going well with Nightwing. He was losing blood too fast, and his brain function was slowly declining. Although he was not conscious, his field of view kept flashing. It went from a dark void to a bright light, like his body wasn't deciding on what it wanted. The light felt...warm, and inviting. Familiar, in a way. He could swear he heard a voice, one he hadn't heard in years. It sounded like Wally. Dick pushed towards the light, trying to figure out what was going on. The last thing he remembered was getting to the Fortress, only to get trapped under some ice. After a few seconds, he finally found the light. Sure enough, there was Wally: standing there like nothing had happened. Dick gulped softly. "Wally? Is that really you?" Dick asked, moving closer to Wally.

Wally nodded. "It's me, Dick. It's me."

Dick felt his body freeze. "Am I...dead?"

Wally shrugged. "Not quite. Your injuries are severe, and you're on the brink of death, but you are not dead yet. I got the chance to talk to you, to help you decide what you want to do."

"Decide? Wally, I don't understand."

"While you are hurt badly, there's a chance for you to survive this. If you choose to stay in your body and not go into the afterlife, you will live. Right now, that's what you need most."

"Don't you want me with you?"

"Of course I do, baby. But right now, they need you more. As strong as they are, the other heroes cannot take on the Zods by themselves. They need a strong leader who can make split-second decisions. That's you. If you die now, they will all die trying to fight the Zods. The world needs them, and it needs you. The Zods will only do damage if they take over the Earth. Besides, they need your help to bring Connor back. M'gann is strong, and she'll need help getting to him. Once this is all said and done, we'll be together again."

Dick looked behind him, where the dark void sat. "Wally, I'm scared. What if it hurts, and I can't handle it?"

Wally gave a wistful smile, and pulled Dick close. "That won't happen. You're one of the strongest people I know. If it hurts, you know how to go to those closest to you and get help. We'll see each other again, Dick. I promise."

Dick wiped his tears away quickly, trying to savor his time with Wally as much as he could. "I'm holding you to that."

Wally kissed Dick's forehead. "I know you are. Goodbye, Dick. We'll be together again soon."

When Dick cracked his eyes open, he was met with an empty hospital room. He could feel a ventilator going down his throat, as well as bandages wrapped around his forehead. So it had happened. He'd nearly been killed, but someone saved him. Dick carefully sat up, well aware of the dull throbbing behind his eyes. He'd survived after all. He needed to find the others, get back to taking the Zods down. The door to hospital room opened, and Bruce walked in. One look told him that Dick was trying to get up, and he quickly pushed Dick back down. "Easy, Dick. Just lay back. You had a close call." Bruce mused softly, brushing Dick's hair out of his face. Dick started tapping on Bruce's hand, which he recognized as Morse Code. What happened? "Bart rushed you here after you got injured at the Fortress of Solitude. The doctors barely managed to pull you back from the brink of death. You've got a bad concussion, and you lost a lot of blood. Just relax." Bruce explained as he pushed the button to call for a nurse. Where are the others? "They're all together in the Batcave. They decided to rendezvous there after you got hurt."

A nurse and a doctor came in, both immediately moving to the boy in the bed. They started doing neuro-evals and checking his vitals, nearly overwhelming him. After a few tests, they pulled the ventilator out of his throat and left him alone. Dick uncomfortably cleared his throat. "That was…a lot."

Bruce grinned. "You nearly died. They had to make sure you were okay. How are you feeling?"

"Honestly? Really shitty. I nearly died, got turned away by my boyfriend in the afterlife, and just got overwhelmed by two medical staff."

"I see you talked to Wally again."

"That what happens when you have a near death experience. Besides, I think I've come up with a way to take down the Zods."

"I'm glad, because we're running out of ideas."

"You can thank Wally for this one."