Nightwing's Daughter (Fanfic)

Final Fight Part 2

Nightwing’s Daughter – Chapter 18

Final Fight II

Twenty four minutes and twenty bombs later the guys were on their way to meet each other, preparing for their mad dash to Wayne Enterprise, the only things we could hear over the intercom was the roar of engines and the whipping of the wind against the wind shield or body of the bike. Cops had followed them into every house to take the bombs and safely put them away, the families were allowed back in and then each pair would hurry on. The engines cut out and we knew they had reached their destination. I hacked all security cameras in Wayne Tower, all outer and inner. Searching for the last bomb, they had just over six minutes to get to the bomb and disarm it. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it was but it was on the upper levels of the tower. The top two levels at least were singled out. “The top two levels go! I’ll pinpoint the office!”

On the cameras we saw them get into the lift, going to the second to last floor, “Five minutes thirty seconds.” I gave a squeal as my fingers ran feverishly over the sticking keys. “Wait, wait, wait!” I felt sick, the bomb wasn’t being picked up, I wanted to cry.

“The bomb isn’t going to wait Charlotte.” Chase said, stressed. I ignored him making a mental note to punch him later.  I pinpointed the bomb as the timer hit the five minute mark. “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me… Batman, Bruce Wayne’s office, NOW!” I heard cursing at the end of the line, punishment for not picking up the obvious location. I winced. They broke down the door with ease. By the time they got in the office they had four minutes twenty. Using the hidden cameras in the room I saw the bomb on the desk, we were going to make it.

After all these years I should have known it wouldn’t be so easy.

Robin and Aspen kept guard of the door while Batman and Nightwing began to undo the outer casing of the bomb, it only took thirty seconds to deactivate it, as the tiniest glimmer of hope began to spark deep inside me it was torn away as the little screen flickered from just under four minutes to a minute and a half.

“Don’t panic, there’s still time.” I latched onto Chase’s every word, he was right, there still was time. With a shattering crash the cameras in the room shook as glass flew everywhere and gun fire could be heard. A noise caught pathetically in my throat as three armed men ran passed the lens of the camera. Robin and Aspen went to Nightwing’s aid in trying to get the men away from Batman who was still dealing with the bomb, now with less than a minute left.

In the cave I pushed my seat away from the monitor, pure terror setting in; no doubt these men had been given orders by the Joker to make sure the last bomb did its job. If I had been there I wouldn’t be feeling like this, the emotions wouldn’t have a grip on me. I would be too concentrated on not dying. I felt arms pull me into an embrace, pulling me upright and supporting the weight of my broken leg as they held me. The clock had less than twenty seconds on it when the countdown finally froze. The men, unaware of the Batman’s triumph kept fighting, Nightwing was helping to get one of them off of Robin, I could see with sickening clarity the barrel of the gun the second man now raised as the third man fell to the floor from Batman’s left hook.

Images from the nightmares that had plagued me for months fought with a sinister vengeance to now pierce my inner eye, Nightwing. Dying. Whether from a bullet, or rare poison, from broken bones or the height of a fall, always at the Joker’s hand in one way or another, and me, always just out of reach, to weak, too feeble to save him. Tears crept to my eyes, hot and heavy, only this time it was real, there would be no sweet relief of awakening to stop this nightmare, no rushing downstairs in the morning to find him, Nightwing, Dick Grayson, my daddy sat at the kitchen table drinking his morning coffee ready to ask me how my sleep was.

As if in slow motion I watched the henchmen pull the trigger, barrel aimed for his lower body, most likely to rip apart his liver, he’d be dead within minutes, and it wouldn’t be pretty, chocking on air as what blood wasn’t pooling on the soft carpeted floor began to collect in his airways. I turned away sobbing into Chase’s chest, the only solid thing in the world as, even from miles away over the intercom I heard the trigger being pulled. Chase hid his face in my hair, I could feel it becoming wet around the roots from his tears, but I didn’t care if anything, it made me hold on tighter. There was silence; I could only imagine what his face would have looked like, scared because of certain death? Shocked that it had taken this long to happen? Amused even, to engrossed in the fight to have noticed the speeding bullet until… too late.

My legs buckled underneath me, I sank to the floor, Chase following, in my earpiece, all sounds of fighting had stopped, I hoped just this once Batman had broken his one rule and killed the monsters. Gasping, that’s all I heard as the tears came thick and fast, and the urge to throw up was becoming more and more likely as my throat closed up. “You’re gunna be okay kid, I swear.” The air in my throat hitched in confusion, I shouldn’t be able to hear that voice, so clearly, so coherently. “You saved my life kid, thank-you. You’re gunna be fine.”

I untangled myself from Chase, crawling towards the monitors, pulling myself up unsteadily, like a baby pulling themselves up on the edges of a sofa, scared, unsure. My blurred vision made it difficult to see, but the man on the floor definitely wasn’t wearing black and blue, but all green. Aspen was on the floor, being cradled by my dad. Dad, dad, my daddy. Kneeling right there, right within shot of the camera, bruised but otherwise unharmed. Supporting Aspen who by the looks of it had a shot upper left leg. I didn’t know how, and frankly I didn’t give a damn, all I cared about as police flooded the office was the group of vigilantes taking the elevator, down the levels to the ground floor and making their way stoutly to the Batmobile, not even stopping to watch as the three previously armed men got shoved roughly into separate armed vehicles. 

I cut off the intercom, they would be here soon enough to patch up whatever damage had been caused physically. We could talk then, I sank back onto the floor more than just a little bit relived. I pivoted on my knees and span in a circle, using my palms as support, facing the Arrow slash Speedster with the biggest smile on my face. He smiled back, crawling towards me, scooping me up and spinning me around, we both laughed so hard, our stomachs hurt.

“We did it!” He sounded just as happy as I felt, exploding with pride and the overwhelming sensation of achievement, I did something I never thought I’d do.

I kissed him. I kissed Chase.

Maybe it was the fact only a few moments ago I thought my world had ended, maybe that part of me deep down just wanted to do it at last, whatever it was, I was kissing him, and what more, he was kissing back, and I liked the feeling of being so close to him.

We hastily pulled apart as we heard the cave doors open, the roar of the mighty Batmobile as it pulled to a stop, Robin’s victory cries cutting through the air as he jumped from the back seat of the flash car. “We’ll finish this later.”

I nodded, but didn’t look at him as after helping Batman to the medical table with Aspen the most important man ever ran towards me, arms outstretched. Weeks ago I vaguely remembered snapping at him in this very room, something or other about professionalism. 

To hell with that now.

He plucked me from Chase’s arms and hugged me so tightly I thought my head might explode, I didn’t care. I was holding him if not tighter, determined to inhale his very being, making sure never to forget it.

“I thought I lost you.” My voice, even though filled with joy, cracked in places.

“Never.” He rocked me back and forth as he carried me over to the med-bay to get my leg seen to.