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Like way too many decisions involving his children, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
And in his defence, it is what a professional would recommend, right? Giving agency?
But honestly, when he told Dick he is allowed to disclose his Talon abilities and past to the JLA at his own pace… This really was not what he was expecting.
………………………..
Situations that call for nearly all of the JLA are thankfully rare. But nowhere near as rare as they would like.
This one, for instance…
Some kind of nutcase fanatics, usually the types a single hero or at worst a single team would have been able to deal with.
Only, in this case said fanatics managed to catch the attention of one of the way too many alien species with an interest in taking earth for their personal real estate and a grudge against the JLA.
Result, nutcase fanatics armed with alien tech they have no idea how to control, and a portal opening into some kind of alien hell dimension.
Hence, wholescale JLA response, along with all the reserve heroes who could be grabbed in time. Including Batman, Robin and Nightwing.
Ollie wasn’t exactly keeping track of the Bat or his birds, he had more than enough to do keeping his own head attached to his shoulders, thank you very much, but what he caught out of the corner of his eyes showed them holding their own perfectly well (he is pretty sure he saw Robin bite off a guy’s ear at some point, though he is really hoping that part was a visual hallucination).
The fight itself went pretty well. At least, as well as it can go when you are dealing with a bunch of Witch Hunt era throwbacks wielding Star Trek level technology.
It is during the clean-up that things go off the rails.
The fight is over. Everything has quieted down. Now all that is left is to round up what is left of the robots and get a start on cleaning up the rubble (not really their job, but after some issues with PR it has been decided they would try and fix as much of the battlefield damage as they can before leaving the rest to the civilians).
Ollie is doing his best to skip that part of the job (hey, he’s not meta, let the folk with superstrength handle that! He needs to go and soak his bruises in a hot tub for six hours).
Supes is usually the one taking the lead on this part of the job (some of those mid western genes must be transmissible by proximity), but this time he’s busy taking the weird interdimensional thingummybob that opened the portal away to his arctic fortress. Can’t have that lying around.
Batman is directing the clean up instead. Which is about seventy five part the reason Ollie is playing truant.
So, Kal is not present.
Diana is literally holding up an apartment while Dinah searches for any of the robot guys caught under it.
Barry is reassembling the city square statue at Flash speed.
All are tired, bruised, distracted.
Which explains why no one notices what is about to happen till too late.
The man must have been caught in the collapse of the first building. Escaped with little damage thanks to the robo suit, but left trapped in there.
And freed accidentally, or freed himself, while the heroes tried to put the disaster zone to order.
They will have to review multiple suit camera footages later to figure out what happened and how it slipped through the cracks. But that will come later.
Right now, there’s no time to even cry a warning. Ollie catches sight of the bastard lunging out from behind a half collapsed wall – throwing himself straight at Batman, robotic arms whirring as they power up.
And then Nightwing throws himself in the way.
Throws himself on top of the wannabe robo cop, to be precise, clinging on like a spider monkey.
And yanking on the power supply – the weird psychedelic looking reactor thing embedded in the chest of the suits – to shut the suit down.
Till that point, everything is still fine. The kid has got it handled. It’s just one guy, after all.
But they all know – or should know by now – that all it takes is one guy. And one mistake.
Ollie is not sure what exactly went wrong. It all happens too fast.
Maybe Nightwing was exhausted too, after the day they all had. Maybe he was paying too much attention to where Robin and the Bat was, and not enough attention to the wannabe supervillain he’s grappling with.
In any case… the question of a split second’s timing.
Nightwing does manage to yank the reactor thing out of the suit. But there is a moment where the suit still has enough power left to move. To make a single move.
Everything happens too fast, yes, but Ollie sees with a horrifying clarity what happens the next moment.
The metallic hands coming up to grab the boy. Nightwing realising his mistake too late. The sudden sharp twist of the robotic hands.
The sickening crack as the boy’s neck broke.
Someone – more than one someone – screams. The bastard flings Nightwing’s limp body to the ground, laughing, even as his armour goes immobile.
And then Hal is upon him, the robot suit breaking apart under the light of the ring, chains of green light made solid dragging him to the ground.
It is all over in a matter of seconds.
Ollie tries to make himself move, but can’t. “He… he just… Nightwing…”
That bastard killed Nightwing.
Killed Batman’s kid.
Right in front of Batman and Robin.
“Nightwing!” Barry shouts the kid’s name, falling to his knees beside the limp form on the ground.
Someone grab Batman, Ollie tries to say, but his mouth is too dry all of a sudden. No need to say it, though. That is exactly what everyone present is thinking.
Someone grab the bat and the little bird before they break the no-kill rule in a public fight. Not surprisingly, no one wants to be the ‘someone’ doing the grabbing.
“There isn’t a pulse!” Barry cries out, though that is hardly surprising news. They all heard – freaking heard – the kid’s neck snap.
“Where the hell’s Supes” someone murmurs, because, yes, they are definitely going to need Superman if they’re to stop the Bat from killing right now.
They all remember only too well what happened that time those idiot aliens kidnapped the bird.
And this guy…he…right in front of them… almost the whole freaking JLA here and they couldn’t stop him from…
And he is just looking up at them from where he is bound in green lantern chains, sneering up at them. Knowing whatever they do now won’t be enough.
He isn’t worried about getting killed, that’s only too plain. That’s the problem with fighting these types – when they come up ready to die…. Maybe even wanting to die…
“One of the monsters destroyed” the bastard comments casually. “If only God had permitted me to cleanse the rest of you as well. “
Hal doesn’t bother with the ring. Just straight up punches him, full force.
Barry, reflexes taking over, bends over the kid, pressing his hands to the thin chest. CPR.
Ollie almost lets out a hysterical laugh. “Barry, CPR isn’t gonna cut it for a frigging broken neck…”
“Robin” Hal whispers “Don’t let the kid look-“
Too late. Robin has emerged from wherever he was on the clean up team, materializing beside the Bat.
Looking down at the corpse of his brother.
Ollie winces, not wanting to see the kid’s reaction. It will be bad enough when Batman finally manages to move from his shock-paralysis, but the kid…
Hal tries to grab the boy, because Batman is clearly not going to do it, tries to keep him away. But of course, Robin just slips through, coming to a stop near Nightwing’s corpse.
Ollie reaches out, not sure what to say. The kid looks…
Exasperated? Wait, what?
Robin nudges Nightwing’s body with a pixie-boot clad foot. Again. And again. Like he’s annoyed at his brother for not just getting up and ending the stupid drama.
Oh fuck. Of course the kid is…. The kid didn’t see it happen, did he, please don’t let him have, please don’t let him have been close enough to hear his brother’s neck snap…
“You freaking idiot bird” Robin growls “You totally could have dodged that! And hell, B could’ve dealt with the guy, you didn’t have to pull the dramatic rescue move!”
Hal moves to put a hand on the kid’s shoulder.
Everyone has different ways to deal with grief. They probably shouldn’t find it surprising that Robin’s coping strategy is full on rage.
But it… sounds off? Less grief, and not even really all that much anger, more exasperation? And he isn’t even paying attention to the killer?
Sure, Ollie isn’t the best person to do the whole emotional analysis thing, but what he is saying…
“You’re gonna give me a heart attack one of these days if you keep going like this, you know that? Keep pulling this shit and I’m gonna take away your cereal privileges, see if I don’t!”
Dammit. Someone take the kid away. He sounds like he fully expects his brother to hear him.
“Hear it, N?” Robin glares down at the corpse, nudging it again with his boot. “No cereal for a week. Nah, make it two weeks. And no Fruit Loops for a month. You know what, B ought to buy you some freaking self preservation instincts for Christmas. I’ve literally seen you walk into traffic because you saw that ‘on sale’ sign and-”
And then the kid’s rant devolves into angry hooting and chirping.
Chirping.
Fuck. The kid’s lost it. Shouldn’t someone be doing something?
It’s been only a minute since it happened, but Ollie can’t help but feel he’s already aged ten years out of sheer panic.
Batman is gonna kill, and there’s absolutely no way they’d be able to hold him back this time. Ollie is definitely not going to be the one to get in his way this time, thank you very much.
Even the nutcase is starting to look a little nervous.
Diana and Hal move, ready to grab hold of the Bat the moment he lunges for the guy.
Batman looks down at the dead body of his elder son, and at his younger who has obviously lost his mind in shock
. “Proceed with the clean up. Sooner we’re done, sooner we can leave.”
What. Wait. Frigging what.
“Um, what?” the nutcase echoes Ollie’s sentiments.
Batman ignores him, moving away to continue gathering the robot shards. Everyone stares.
“In denial?” Dinah whispers, and hell, that makes way too much sense.
They went into denial. Hardly unreasonable reaction, they just saw Nightwing murdered before their eyes while the freaking JLA was present. This is the kind of thing that is not supposed to happen in any sensible world.
No wonder they’re in hard core denial. Especially the kid. Dammit, what now?
Everyone’s gaze is divided between Batman (nonchalantly proceeding with his part of the clean up and giving them a look as if asking what they are waiting for) and Robin (now in the middle of a full on chirp and hoot rant at his dead brother).
“Shouldn’t…” Hal glances helplessly at Ollie “Um. Shouldn’t we be…doing something?”
Getting the body out of here? Back to the Watchtower, or to Gotham or… And maybe call someone to come get the Bats…
Barry hides his face in his hands. “God, what do I tell Wally?”
Dammit. They will have to tell the Titans, won’t they. Tell the kids the JLA couldn’t keep their leader from getting murdered. Ollie is really really not looking forward to that conversation with Roy.
“Robin” Diana places a hand on the boy’s shoulder gently “Come on, let us…”
Hal kneels down beside Barry, conjuring a stretcher to bear the kid’s body.
Robin stomps his feet, looking absolutely exasperated.
“Nightwing! Get up right freaking now or I’m gonna dump every box of cereal in the pantry in the harbour!”
Ollie winces, turning away. He really doesn’t want to watch this. The poor kid is in shock. Almost genuinely expects his dead brother to get up if-
There’s a slight scuffling sound.
Ollie turns back.
And screams. Along with everyone other than Batman and Robin.
The corpse… Just sat up.
And is chirping back at Robin. Having a full-on bird noise argument.
Barry scrambles back from the suddenly undead Nightwing he was doing CPR on a moment ago. Hal goes ashen. The nutcase faints.
Nightwing’s neck is still at a weird angle. Then the boy just…kinda reaches around with his hands and… what. Pops it back into place? Did… Did that just happen?
Hal makes a few extra spluttery noises. The lantern chains binding the nutcase blink out of existence for a moment, as the Lantern in question tries not to faint
. “B!” Nightwing is straight up pouting. “Tell Robin he can’t take cereal privileges away! That’s so not fair!”
Batman gives an Exasperated Single Dad ™ sigh “Boys. Play nice. Nightwing, do you need any help with that?”
With…with what? Fixing his broken neck back into place? Ollie is pretty sure he himself is one new shock away from fainting.
Nightwing just shrugs “No, I’ve got it.”
Robin holds out a hand and hauls the ‘just-dead’ boy back onto his feet.
“What.” Hal groans “Did I hit my head? Guys? Anyone else saw that?”
Nightwing – his neck still a little bit crooked, off – grins at them.
Robin throws his hands up in exasperation. “You’re already giving me grey hairs! Me!”
The former dead body just pats his brother on the shoulder and moves off to continue with the clean-up.
Batman glances over the frozen tableau of extremely baffled and traumatized JLA, then at his undead kid. “Nightwing, was that really necessary?”
The kid grins up at him. “B… You promised I could tell them when I wanted to! How I wanted to!”
“This… was not exactly the scenario I had in mind.”
Okay, Ollie is not even going to ask what the hell that is about.
“Batman?” Diana – of course she can afford to ask, she is pretty much indestructible – steps closer “Is your son a revenant?”
“No.” The Bat doesn’t even bother looking up to answer. As if he and his gremlin kids haven’t just given almost the entire JLA reason for week-long therapy.
“The kid’s a demon, right?” Hal asks “N? Spooky summoned you up from somewhere, right?”
Robin’s look of outrage has the Green Lantern backpedalling
“Not that there’s anything wrong with that! We’ve already got a goddess, a demon is fine!”
Nightwing laughs, and vanishes with Robin in tow. No one really dares ask Batman for explanations after that.
Superman turns up a couple of minutes later. “Guys, we- What happened? What’s wrong?”
“Robin got Nightwing to come back from the dead by threatening cereal privileges” Hal answers dazedly.
Kal blinks. Then nods.
“Oh. Yeah, kids, right?”
“He meant literally” Barry clarifies, still eyeing the Bat nervously. “Like. Broken neck. No pulse.”
“Ouch, that must have hurt.”
Now everyone is staring at the Kryptonian.
“That…must have hurt?” Ollie mouths.
Kal looks puzzled. “Yeah? Broken bones take a couple of hours to heal. And if it’s the neck it’s gonna be a hazzle holding it steady all the time. Did you get him a brace, B?”
Batman glances back, just as casual “He and Robin has gone to get one. Agent A will handle it.”
Ollie almost throws his bow at both of them. Right. That’s it.
“What. The. Actual FREAKING HELL?!?”
“It happens, sometimes”
“….sometimes?!?!?!?”
“Secret identities, Green Arrow” Batman comments “N’s choice to tell when he wants to.”
“You are gonna be paying for my therapy! For the rest of my life!”