Chapter Text
It was a night like any other. There were the usual thieves and assaults on the Gothamites who were coming back from work at late night or were stupid enough to go around in a place like Gotham at a certain hour. Nightwing was patrolling with Red Hood, while Batman and Robin were together, and Red Robin was with Spoiler. Nightwing wasn't in Gotham often lately, except when Damian was “requiring him as a partner” and tonight was a special case since Oracle had had a lead of a possible huge operation that would have required all of them, and he was supporting his family in this, as he would always do.
So they were flying around the eastern part of Gotham, waiting for news from Oracle, and his partner for the night wasn't the most talkative of all of them, and neither the easiest to work with. Jason was grumbling and complaining about the weather, about him, about the fact that he had more important things to do with Artemis and Bizzarro, and then again complaining about him. Jason was lucky that Dick loved his brother so much to tolerate him; if he was Damian, Jason would have had a katana stab without any thoughts.
After stopping a robbing, they were moving from one building to another, checking for something to do in the meantime, when after landing on a 30-store building roof and preparing to jump on the next, Nightwing was totally shocked by the sudden appearance of a woman in front of him. Everything was so sudden and surprising that he dug in his heels to break himself and avoid the impact with the mysterious person.
Jason, who was a couple of seconds behind him and landing in that moment on the roof, said: “What's happening Goldie? Who is your friend?”
“Not my friend” said Dick, who was backing up a bit to assess who was in front of him.
The woman was tall, with long black hair and a grey tunic with a burgundy sash at the waist, with wildflowers attached to it and what seemed like the white skull of a little rodent. Her expression was unreadable, her age difficult to determine, even if Dick would have given her 25 to 30 years. Her eyes were hidden by a thick fringe.
He moved again a little bit closer to see her face better: “Ma'am is something wrong? Where are you coming from?”
Even if her appearance had Dick scared for a moment and almost got him a stroke, he thought that maybe he was being distracted and he didn't notice the woman already on the roof. It was impossible that she had appeared from thin air. Maybe she was in need of help, being all alone on a roof in a not so safe part of Gotham.
She raised her eyes, which were grey as the colour of the clouds on a raining day, and looked intensely at him. It seemed as if there were red veins in her sclera that gave her a demonic aura.
“You” she said pointing her white finger at him. “You are the vigilante Nightwing and you” pointing at Jason that in the meantime had arrived beside Dick “you are Red Hood”.
“Bingo, lady!” said Hood “Now what are you doing here?”
She didn't seem affected but his sarcastic tone and again stared at them with intensity.
Dick heard a bip on his com, signaling a message incoming from someone of the Bats.
“Nightwing, Hood, Oracle, here. Zatanna has just sent a message saying a magical user got away from here while she was on a chase at Gotham's borders. Zatanna has informed Batman that the magical user has entered Gotham but she lost her tracks. She is very powerful and dangerous and Zatanna said to avoid her at all cost and not get involved. I have already talked to RR and Spoiler and they are coming back to the Batcave to discuss the new development. Batman and Robin are on the way”.
While Nightwing and Red Hood were listening to Oracle, the mysterious woman began to smile sinisterly at them.
“I have the feeling that we found her.” Dick said on the com.
Silence from surprise, but then Barbara quickly said “Nightwing don't engage with her. Come back to the cave! Batman's orders.”
“Batman can fuck himself! If this woman is so dangerous is better to take her down” Jason spouted, taking out his guns and prearing to shoot.
Then everything happened in just a few seconds.
The guns became so hot in Jason's hands that he had to drop them with a pained scream. Dick had taken out his escrima sticks and before he could do anything to incapacitate the woman, she pointed her finger and a stream of light came out of it toward Jason.
“Hood watch out!”
Nightwing lunged at Red Hood and he was hit fully by the blast. They tumbled together on the floor, while they heard the woman laugh.
“You should have listened to the Bat instead of annoying me. You will pay the consequence of your foolery. You will now know how it can be excruciating not having enough time!”
Jason turned himself, grabbed his gun and shot a rubber bullet at her, but she was already gone.
Meanwhile Dick was agonizing on the floor, an intense pain encompassing all his body and making him see white.
“Dick! Dick! Can you hear?” said Jason, while leaning on him.
He would have wanted to say to him “why are you always so impulsive!?”. Jason was lucky that he loved him so much. Instead he could not say anything, while his white vision became irremediably black.