Titans Go!

Scene 11: Clash of the Titans

Oracle had not wasted time informing the others of what Raven had sensed. No sooner had they been brought up to speed, then they were flying for the north-east end of the city.

As they had come in closer to the scene of the action, they could hear the sound of gunfire up ahead. Whatever was going on, they needed to hurry. If Roy was down there, he was going to need help.

Once they were at a distance where they could see what was happening, Nightwing had to contain a gasp. It seemed Roy had tried to fight the whole contingent on his own. And that wasn't the worst of it. It looked like Cheshire had gone toe-to-toe with him, which had to mean her dad and Red Hood were here too.

That was when he looked down more closely and saw Red Hood getting ready to put a bullet in his head. They had to act now.

"Alright, listen guys," he said to Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy, "when I make my move..."

"When did we vote you team leader?" asked Cyborg.

"Now is not the time," interjected Raven impatiently. "They're about to kill someone. We can't afford to talk about this now."

"Right," Cyborg grumbled.

Nightwing sighed then cleared his throat. "As I was saying, when I make my move, I need you guys to clear an opening to get to Speedy. Our first priority is to get him to safety."

With one hand, Nightwing, held up a hand indicating for them to wait. With the other, he brought one of his birdarangs, which he aimed at Red Hood's hand. Right before Red Hood could even start to pull back on the trigger, Nightwing threw the birdarang.

He didn't wait for it to make contact. The split second he had thrown his weapon, he threw down his free hand.

The others took the cue. Starfire launched Nightwing into the air and fired her starbolts down below. Cyborg joined in with shots from his own cannon. Taken by surprise, the guards, who were indeed wearing H.I.V.E. uniforms, scattered.

By the time they had started to fall back to regroup, Nightwing had now thrown himself full force at Red Hood. As he connected, Dick turned to see the others land meters behind him. It was time for some quick instructions.

"Raven, get Speedy out of here! The rest of you take care of those goons! I'll..."

That was when he was hit in the chest. He had averted his gaze from Red Hood for too long. As he staggered back, the ex-Robin stared down at him.

"You'll what?" he asked. "Handle me? This won't be like our last little encounter, Dick. I've got a lot better than last time."

Behind him, Nightwing heard Starfire ask, "Are you sure about this?"

Not taking his eyes off Red Hood, Nightwing nodded. As he heard the others move away, he said to his old rival, "You really sure you got better since we last met? Well, Bruce isn't here to judge, so I'll have to fill in for him, again."

Bringing out his batons, Nightwing came at Red Hood, who went on the evasive. As he dodged all of Nightwing's swings, Red Hood brought a switchblade and thrust forward. However, Nightwing had seen the attack coming, and moved out of the way just in time.

Eventually, Red Hood dove to the side to avoid being hit by the electric ends of Nightwing's batons. Changing tactics, Nightwing brought more birdarangs and threw them at Red Hood. He dodged easily and jumped upward.

Brining out a grappling gun, Nightwing fired at Red Hood's ankles. However, before the cable could trap him, Red Hood simply sliced the cable with his knife.

"That trick doesn't work on me. You know Bruce taught us that move."

"Maybe so," said Nightwing, "but you never finished your training, did you?"

"Not with Bruce," Red Hood agreed, "but I've still been able to fight as your equal before. And now I will dominate you."

That was when Red Hood dove forward and brought his feet down on Nightwing's chest. Before he could put himself on top of him, though, Dick righted himself up and forced Red Hood back.

"Maybe you have become better, Jason," Nightwing admitted as they grappled with one another, "but none of this adds up. Why are you even here at all? Was attacking Speedy a ploy just to get our attention?"

"That's certainly part of it," said Red Hood. "Brother Blood wanted some way to send his greetings. He wanted me to tell you personally you won't be able to stop him from foiling his plans to take over this country. Pretty soon, it will be too late for you to even think of a solution to fight back."

Before he could ponder the message Red Hood was giving behind his cryptic comment, Nightwing was hit full in the face and landed on his back. By the time he had risen back up again, Red Hood was gone. He was all set to try and go after him, though he doubted he could catch him now, when Raven called on her communicator.

"Nightwing, I got Roy out of the vicinity of the battle. Where do you want me to send him?" she asked him.

Nightwing thought for a moment. Roy was going to need medical attention fast. But where was he to go? Even though he doubted it would happen, there was still the chance the H.I.V.E. would target him again.

Taking him to a hospital was his best chance, but admitting him in one at Jump City was out of the question. He also couldn't be taken to D.C., because Red hood was sure to know by now that he worked for the government. So what was he to do?

"Send him to Star City, Raven. Take him to Queen Industries. I know someone who will look after him." As Raven acknowledged this, Nightwing started to pull back from the fight behind him. Before they all got out of there, he had to see what was in these trucks.