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Dick had a headache.
One moment he was fighting off parademons, the next he was thrown ten feet into the air and flat on his back. He laid there for a moment, disorientated. Something had struck the earth beside him, hard. Though running on adrenaline, smashing his head into some solid concrete was enough to make him regain his composure. Dick attempted to move, wincing as pain radiated through his right side. Yeah, that's definitely a broken rib. He thought to himself as he climbed to his feet. Hands on his knees, Dick regained a bit of his composure. He glanced over at the crash site and froze, his heart sinking.
Kori laid in a pile of rubble, completely torn in half.
“No.” He whispered, free arm reaching towards her. If he’d been quicker, he might have noticed she’d needed help. Guilt instantly consumed him and he broke down on the spot. He was ready to give in, thinking about how pointless this war had been. However, male screams pulled him out of that hole and Dick instantly shot up, eyes darting around for the source.
Bingo.
Damian Wayne was about one hundred yards away, trying desperately to keep up his defense against a large parademon. Though determined, Dick could tell the fight was wearing on the kid. He noticed Damian’s movements were slower and he was favoring his left leg. The boy was also severely injured, but he still fought. Dick felt his blood run cold as the monster chucked his brother. No no no.. he thought, sending a silent prayer to the Gods when Damian didn’t rise again.
Without realizing what he was doing, Dick made a mad dash for Damian. His pain was all but forgotten, as the only thing on his mind was making sure he didn’t fail another brother. He couldn’t. Jason’s death almost killed him, Dick knew he wouldn’t survive anymore guilt. He couldn’t handle another ghost chasing him. He’d die before he’d let Damian down. “Robin!” he screamed, wrapping his hands around the escrima sticks strapped to his back. Taking a leap into the air, he landed on the parademon’s back and immediately wrapped his weapons around its neck.
“Get away from him!” Nightwing yelled, using his own body weight to yank the monster back. He surprised even himself as they both flung backwards. It took the parademon a moment to regain its composure and it attempted to grab at Dick’s arms to pull him off. But the acrobat was determined to take the beast down with him if he had to.
The demon began to whip around frantically, grabbing at and scratching Dick. Its thick claw suddenly came down hard on his back, piercing his shoulder as it melted into the flesh. Dick didn’t even realize he was screaming as he could only feel the white hot pain that felt like lightning throughout his whole body. With the newfound grip on the vigilante, the demon swung his hand down, yanking Nightwing to the ground. The nail tore through his flesh, leaving a massive wound in its place.
Dick gasped, vision beginning to fade. He could taste the blood pooling in the back of his throat, cutting off his oxygen. As he tried to breathe, it came out of a gurgle. He turned very slowly to look towards where Damian landed, praying that the boy was okay. Through blurry vision, Dick could see Damian’s form as he screamed and ran to him. Dick couldn’t hear him, why couldn’t he hear him?
The sound of a laser blast startled Damian and Cyborg landed beside him. The parademon was taken out as Cyborg’s laser beam blasted through its chest. Damian paused, glancing over at the older man and ran towards his eldest brother.
Damian reached Dick and collapsed to his knees. There was so much blood and he could see Dick’s shoulder bone through the gaping hole in his shoulder. Dick turned slightly, fearful eyes wide as he looked around disoriented. “Little D..?” he choked out, his hand twitching. This caused Damian’s heart to stop and he grabbed Dick’s hand, tears freely spilling down his cheeks. He wanted nothing more than to gather his brother up and cradle the older man, but he didn’t want to cause Dick anymore pain.
“I’m right here, Grayson.” Damian whispered, squeezing his limp hand. Dick smiled softly, blood trickling from his mouth. His blue eyes began to cloud and he coughed harshly, the gurgle of his breathing chilled Damian.
“Good. I did - I did it.” He replied, relieved that he was able to save his little brother. His breathing began to slow and Damian began to lose it, deciding to lift his brother and find the nearest Lazarus pit. Please, please! Damian pleaded internally, still sobbing until he felt a firm hand grab his shoulder. He looked over to see Cyborg, looking at him with a grim expression and shaking his head.
“He’s gone, Robin.” His voice was quiet. Damian couldn’t breathe and he began to shake his head in response. He just had to get Dick to the Lazarus pit! It kept his grandfather alive, it had to bring back his brother. “I can’t just let him go!” Damian exclaimed, finally collapsing into a heap, holding Dick’s body close to him.
“Grayson, please open your eyes.”
Damian’s sobs were guttural and cut through Cyborg’s heart. He remained on guard, allowing the boy to have his final farewells with his eldest sibling. Vic could only silently sob as he heard Damain begin to wail.
“Don’t leave me!”