It started that summer

A Broken Blue Bird

***A/N: The chapter is roughly based on Nightwing vol. 2, #93.***

Blüdhaven's clear night stars shone through the gray clouds. It looked like it would rain any second. I flew down the streets and threaded through traffic. I quickly thought as I sharply turned, I think it's a few more left, right? Shit, I don't have time for this! I sped up looking towards the street signs, "Wait. . ." I looked closer, "N-No. . . it can't be." It wasn't gray clouds at all, it was smoke. "DICK!" I cried out loud. I raced to the scene and followed the smoke that got darker and darker. I jumped off my bike feeling like something tore through my heart. His apartment complex wasn't just drowning in flames, it was severely destroyed and broken. Rubble littered the floor and smoke eerily climbed out the windows.

D-Did joker. . .?

I dashed towards the rickety, damaged stairs, vaulting from one unstable landing to the next and calling out his name in a desperate, frantic plea. "NIGHTWING! NIGHTWING!" A pit grew in my stomach and my heart pounded, something felt wrong. Every time I said his name my fear grew deeper as I worried. Where are you? Where are you? Oh God, I can't lose you, Dick! This is all my fault!

A woman's voice cried out from the hall, "Charlie! Charlie, where are you?" she sobbed. I followed her overwhelmed cries and looked at a torn room.

"Are you okay ma'am?" The dim light of the hallway revealed a woman in tattered pajamas, her hands clutching what remained of the crumbling wall for support. Coughing and wincing in pain, she struggled to remain standing. Without hesitation, I gently lifted her arm and draped it over my shoulder, offering my support as we slowly made our way out of the deteriorating building."You've inhaled too much smoke," I start.

"My son!" She wept, her eyes begged me to help.

"What happened here?"

A little boy sprinted towards her, she broke down and held him. I pushed away the thoughts of the past and how that's all I dreamed of when I was with the Joker. "T-There was this man, this big man and he was attacking everything. Then Nightwing came and fought him, and this other lady in an orange suit helped everyone out of the building."

"S-She saved me," the little boy agreed.

"Do you know where he is?" I urgently pressed.

"No," she wiped her eyes, "He was out there last time I saw him."

"Thank you," I pointed to the exit then ran off towards the window she pointed at. "N-No," Blockbuster's slain body lay on the concert 5 floors down. "Shit." I frantically looked around desperately to find out what happened and where the hell my brother was. "He wouldn't kill anyone what the hell!" The sky grew dark, and as the first raindrops began to fall, I found myself cursing and panicking. I latched on tightly to the remains of the outside stairs, feeling the cold metal beneath my grip as I looked up and noticed a ladder next to me, twisted and bent but still leading up to the roof. A single drop of rain slithered down my helmet, and without hesitation, I jumped to the first step of the ladder and quickly darted up the stairs, my heart racing in my chest. "NIGHTWING! NIGHTWING! NIGHT-no no no-," His unmoving body lay on the roof, I threw off my helmet and ran to his aid. "Shit!" I pressed my fingers against his neck, "Thank God," he had a pulse, blood flowed from a cut on his cheek. I slipped my hand under his neck cradling his head.

He looked like hell, his suit was torn and tattered, and blood pooled around his arm, "Can you hear me?" Incoherent groans fell out of his mouth between heavy breaths. "I-I need to stop the bleeding," I told myself trying to get a grip, I need to stay focused if I'm going to help Dic-My eyes locked onto his suit and my heart dropped. His pants were unzipped and not on properly, the rain had just started but his clothes were already wet and stained, "H-Hey your. . ." I looked around, no one else was on the roof with us. A ripped piece of orange fabric was near him. I slowly turned back to my brother as I thought about his words.