Ode to Nightwing

Chapter 29: Freeze

A Few Days Later

        I switched off my helmet as I came upon the criminal's last location, trying to scout out where they would be. Dick was still at the house, since we had a long night and day. Again. I giggled to myself at the thought, ignoring my slightly sore body. It was worth it to see the faces Dick makes. 

        There was still no movement in the warehouse across the street, even though there had been reports of suspicious activity in the area. 

        I plopped down upon the ledge, my legs aching slightly as I did so, but I kept my focus on the warehouse, switching my thermal scanners on. There were about five people inside the warehouse, when suddenly a limousine pulled up to the warehouse, heading around back. I quickly got up and grappled over to the warehouse, scouring the back of it as I got shocked.

        Out of the limousine came the Penguin himself, his cane hitting the gravel before his foot did. All of the files on Dick's computer came back to my memory. All of the ones about Penguin possibly smuggling weapons under the disguise of the air-conditioning company. "This must be what this is." I whisper to myself as I stay stuck to the shadows, not drawing any attention to myself as I watched Penguin head into the building. The top of the building was glass, so I could see down into it, but I didn't see any weapons being exchanged. I just spotted the Penguin talking to his lackeys in there. But they were by a giant vault. 

        I fished my phone out of my pocket before texting Dick:

To: <3

The Penguin is in town. I'm near him now, but I don't see the cargo.

        As soon as I was about to put my phone away, I got a text, which I didn't expect since I thought Dick was sleeping.

From: <3

He must've already moved the cargo to Gotham. Amy called me in. I'll be late back. 

        I frown at it before texting him that I loved him and that I'd see him later then. He replied shortly after before I left the Penguin in his warehouse then, heading out to catch some more criminals, since I couldn't take the lackeys on at the moment. Especially since they were armed. 

An Hour Later

        I zip-tied the robber to a pipe before sighing yet again. There were barely any criminals out tonight and I couldn't figure out why. I peeked out of the alley, glancing along the streets to see if there was anyone out. 

Meanwhile- Dick's P.O.V:

        I rubbed at my face, the grogginess finally getting to me. I was currently sitting in the passenger's seat of Amy's cop car. My bones groaned as I shuffled. Having Callie here made me able to get exercise without going to the gym. "Why did you call me in, Amy?" I grumble, glancing over to look at her face.         

        Amy sighed softly, looking beat. "I don't think it's a coincidence." She states, not continuing, even when I kept looking over at her.

        I narrowed my eyes, glancing out if the windows. We weren't on our normal patrol for what I could tell. "What isn't a coincidence?" I'm having ideas as soon as I say it.

        "First, the vigilante is gone for a little while. And then he resurfaces and so does Penguin, as well as the new vigilante. And now Poison Ivy is here. I don't think it's a coincidence." She clarifies slightly and I feel a pang in my gut as I try to figure out what she was doing. 

        "Where are we-" I'm cut off as she suddenly screeches to a stop, the headlights blaring against a figure as my heart plummets through the ground.

        "Freeze!"

Callie's P.O.V:

        "Freeze!" A voice suddenly shouts after I turned towards the glaring headlights in my face. 

        "13, 7, 0." I quickly whisper and my helmet full expands to block out the light. I blink a couple of times before actually assessing the situation. I had just been chaining another criminal to a chain-link fence. I heard the car before hand, but I had just turned when the brakes were screaming to be released.

        "I said freeze!" The voice shouted again and I finally recognized it.         

        I didn't dare to move as Amy inched forward, her gun aimed at me. "I'm not here to fight you." I say loudly, my voice modifier working. Thankfully. 

        "Why are you here?" Amy doesn't lower the gun, and I freeze when Dick steps out of the police cruiser. My heart was pounding faster as he walked closer to where Amy was, looking me straight in the eyes, even through my mask. He looked sad. 

        "I came to help." I murmur, but just loud enough for them to hear. 

        "By avoiding the law." Amy glares, and it was terrifying to have her look at me like this. She was so nice. But that was to Callie, not Nightglider. She didn't know Nightglider. "You're under arrest."         

        "For what charges?" I question, and Amy freezes. I realize now it was the same thing I said when Soames was trying to have me arrested. Hopefully she didn't start trying to piece it all together. 

        "You are a vigilante." Amy says clearly. "Grayson, arrest her. I'll cover you. If you try anything funny I will not hesitate to shoot." 

        Dick shook his head as he walked over to me, acting like I was a criminal. He grabbed his cuffs off of his belt and gripped my wrist, trying to make it look harsh. "I didn't know she was doing this." Dick whispered lowly. "You need to run. Fight me. Now." 

        I followed his instructions and swung my body around, trying to elbow him, but he quickly dodged, flipping us around so that his back was to Amy and not mine, just in case she was serious about her threat. 

        We trained a lot together, but we knew that it was just for fun or for stuff like this. But there was a gun. We had to fight, even if it was just pretend. Dick's expression showed how pained he was as he landed a rather hard hit to my gut. "Run." He whispered before I pushed him away and sprinted down the alley. 

        She was expecting it.