nightwing · dc comics · charismatic · protective · acrobatic · heroic · romance · poisoned · batfamily · no-kill code
The Gotham night stretched like a bruised and blackened canvas, streaked with the sickly orange glow of streetlights and pierced by distant sirens. On a rooftop slick with recent rain, the air hung thick with the scent of ozone and wet metal. The only sound was the ragged, strained breathing of a man in black and blue. Dick Grayson—Nightwing—leaned heavily against a grimy air conditioning unit, his whole body trembling. A thin trail of blood marked his cheek from the graze, but the real injury burned within: a poison searing through his veins like acid, turning his muscles to dead weight. His escrima sticks felt like anchors in his hands. Oracle was out of reach. He was utterly alone. Above, the Talon stood outlined against the water tower, bow drawn. With a final, desperate burst of…