Agent Blaine had his fingertips pressed together; elbows braced on the
table. He looked to the agent who brought him the news of the
identity of Nightwing, a meddlesome pest that undermined the law in
Blüdhaven.
He swiveled around in his chair, and stood up, came around, and closed
the door. He motioned for her to sit down.
"Dorian," he said, as he took his seat.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Have you shared this information with anyone else?"
"No, just you, sir."
Her response was quick, but there was a quiver in her voice. She
was afraid, and that played to what he had in mind. He leaned his
chin on his closed fist; his elbow braced against his desk. A wry
smile played on his face.
"You are to tell no one of this," he said. "This is to stay between you
and me, understood?"
"Yes, sir."
He straightened up in the chair and turned his attention to the
computer next to him. She lingered for a bit until he motioned
her to leave; the small click of the door letting him know he was alone
to explore this new revelation.
Bette threw a kick that was high, but missed its intended target.
Dick came around, and sent two kicks to her side. She blocked
with her elbows. He backed off; she came in with a knee, and he
grabbed her, and forced her down to the mat. By twisting her
ankle a bit, she tapped on the mat letting him know she gave up.
He let go, and helped her up; then they began again. Dick's
movements kept him constantly moving around the mat like a trained
boxer, but he struck with fluidity, and great speed and agility.
Bette swung out a back fist, as he came around behind her, and he spun
her around onto her ass. She performed a nip up, and sent the
bottom of her foot into Dick's stomach. He grabbed it, and pushed
back sending her flat on her back.
"Damn it!" she said, after
leaning up. "How I am supposed to learn anything if you keep tossing me
around, or knocking me down?"
"You are learning," he said, and wiped his brow with the towel that lie
on the fold up chair away from the mat. "You just don't realize
it."
"Really?" she asked, and performed another nip up. "Do tell."
"You’re persistent, and that's one thing that will keep you
alive."
"Then I'm not as hopeless as you thought," she said, a smile on her
face.
He turned, and looked at her, a serious look on his face. "I
didn't say that.
"You have potential, though." He walked back toward the mat, and
raised his hands while moving around Bette. "Let's go again."
She came towards him with the same kickboxing style that served her for
years. Her hands balled into fists, and her feet constantly
moving. She sent a kick at Dick's temple, but he slapped it
aside, and while she was unbalanced he shot a fist into her
stomach. She felt the air being knocked out of her, and then a
punch caught her in the chin. Her head titled back, and a kick
clipped her on the cheek. She hit the mat, and lay there for
several minutes.
"Get up!" he said; he came near her, and prodded her with his
foot. "If you let love taps like that hurt you then you won't
make it in Blüdhaven!"
She pushed herself up to her knees, and Dick kicked her in the
ribs. She spit up phlegm, and began to suck in air, as it hurt to
breathe. She collapsed onto the mat, and Dick shook his head.
"You're just as hopeless as I thought you were."
Bette bit back tears, and pushed herself up, this time making it to her
feet. He looked her in the eyes, and saw that his insults
motivated her. Despite how she hurt, she put up her fists ready
to fight.
Dick smiled which caught her off guard. "Now that's much better."
The hydroplane skimmed along Gotham River, and right into the
port. Out came Mayor Soames, his bodyguard Scarlet, and his
ex-wife Aleta flanking both sides of him. He wore a finely
pressed suit, and a pair of shades. It was particularly sunny,
and the shades kept the glare away from his eyes. Standing beside
a car near the warehouses was Giuseppe, and a large mammoth of a
man. His hair parted in the middle leaving a bald spot and two
long curls on each end. It reminded him of a clown.
"Hello Giuseppe, nice to see you are still around."
Giuseppe pulled his glove off, and then removed his shades. "What
is the meaning of this meeting, Soames?"
"Simple," said Soames, "you already know I am a dead man."
"That I do."
"I want to impart one last gift before I meet my untimely end."
Giuseppe folded his shades, and slipped them into his pocket.
"Really, and what would this gift be?"
"The identity of Nightwing," he said; the surprise on Giuseppe's face
made him smile all the more. "I know who he is, and I think I
might know all of his secrets."
Giuseppe composed himself, and slid his glove back on. "You come
with me, Soames. The women stay here."
"No, I will not let him go alone."
"Back Aleta, trust me."
Aleta nodded, and backed off. The large goon walked closer, and
escorted Soames into the car. Giuseppe gave him a nod, and then
got in himself. He cracked his knuckles, and came towards the two
women.
"Why do I get the feeling we're in trouble?" asked Scarlet. She
turned when she heard Aleta yell, and toss aside her coat to charge him.
Oracle sat beside her computer, a mug of coffee that had gone untouched
for hours at her elbow. She had not heard from Dick in some
time. She wheeled around when an alarm went off on one of her
other computers. Someone was running a background check on
Dick… and Bruce Wayne.
She typed a few keys to trace the signal, but before she could get a
lock the signal disappeared. Had whoever it was known she was
tracking them? It didn't matter. She had to find out what
happened to Dick.
Dick swept Bette's feet out from under her, and leaped high into the
air. When he came down she barely rolled out of the way; the
impact made a loud crack in the plaster beneath the mat. His face was
expressionless as he came toward her, and slapped aside her
punch. His fists connected with her mid-section, and chin.
She felt wobbly on her feet, but fought to keep her wits about
her.
Dick grabbed her wrist, and attempted to toss her onto her back, but
she hand-sprung back onto her feet, and sent him on his back.
"Am I good, or what?" she asked.
"You're getting better," he said, and got back to his feet
quickly. "I think we should take a rest; you could use it."
"What about you?"
"I'm used to seventy-two hour patrols when I was with Batman, and I've
had to go without sleep at times since claiming Blüdhaven as my
own."
"I see," she said. She walked up to him, and kissed him on the
mouth.
It lingered, and then she broke away. She looked him in the eyes,
and started to walk away when he grabbed her shoulder, turned her
around, and kissed her back. She relaxed, as he ran his hands
down her sweat-ridden shirt, and gripped the bottom, then pulled it
over her head. She pulled at the flex band of his pants, and he
kicked them off. She then lay back on the mat where his hands
could roam freely over her body, and hers could freely roam over his.
As the stretch of moonlight began to recede, Bette began to moan, and
her body could be seen through the glare of first light, as she was on
top with him underneath. His hands on her breasts, and slowly
coming down to her sides where he put more power into his
thrusts. When it was over with her on top of him;
exhausted. The morning sun came into full view, and she was fast
asleep in his arms.
But, Dick remained wide-awake…
Giuseppe pulled out a pill bottle, and slipped a pink pill in his
mouth. Soames watched, but said nothing. It didn't matter
to him what the nutcase James Jesse took. Only that he could get
close to Blaine.
Then the car veered, and headed toward Gibson's Lot, which was a
stretch of undeveloped Blüdhaven property that mostly contained
squatters and gangs. He began to think he wasn't going to see
Agent Blaine.
"What's the meaning of this?" asked Giuseppe.
Soames eyes widened upon hearing that. "You don't know what's
going on either?"
"No!" he said, and looked out the window to see the gangs take in the
nice limo they were in.
Some one walked out of the driver's side, and opened the door where
Soames sat. He was about to say something, but a nightstick
struck him in the face, busting him open. He was pulled out of
the car, and kicked, and stomped on.
Giuseppe looked out, and saw a teenage punk wearing a jacket that said
Nite-Wing, and military cargo pants.
"You are disturbing the peace!" said Nite-Wing, as he kicked
Soames’ limp body again.
"Who are you?" asked Giuseppe, as he got of the car.
"Nite-Wing!" he said. "Who are you?"
Giuseppe pulled off his fake mustache, and took off the wig hiding his
long and wild yellow hair. "I'm the Trickster."
Nite-Wing looked confused, but Trickster walked over, and placed a hand
on his shoulder. "Do you like to play games?"
"I like to bash evil doers!" he said, and smacked his nightstick
against the hand.
"Well, why don't we cause some mayhem then," Trickster said with a
smile.
"May-hem?"
"Right, we'll work on that."
The two fled as the gangs drew near the limo with Soames lying in a
heap beside it.
Dick came out of the shower, water dripping down his six pack
abs. He toweled himself, walked into the bedroom, and grabbed one
of his suits, which he slipped on. He heard a moan from the bed,
and Bette turned over opening one eye.
"Going somewhere?" she asked
"Yeah," he said, putting on his domino mask. "I'll be gone for a
couple of hours."
"When will you be back?"
Dick looked at her, a serious expression on his face. "I'll be
back in the morning; until then get some sleep."
He walked out shutting the door behind him. A few moments later
she heard the roar of the Night bird. She got up out of bed, and
went into the bathroom. Having slept all day she could not sleep
another wink.
She hopped into the shower, and washed. She noticed a small
picture contained within a small frame on the window when she got
out. It was of an Asian woman, which said:
To my Rickie with love.
Always,
-Bridget
Bette backed against the wall now feeling dirty, and she slid down to
the floor, weeping softly.
To
be Continued... Next Issue: OBSESSIONS! NEVERMORE:
The thing I love most about Nightwing, and Daredevil
is they are completely naive to the feelings of others. As such
they end up damaging the relationships they have with friends, family,
and even women. Oh, sure Dick can read people which makes him a keen
tactician, and field leader, and so can Matt albeit differently. But,
what sets them apart is that Dick is optimist and he wants to believe
that things will get better. As such he approaches everything
within a rosy-eyed point of view, but when things don't go his way; he
acts like a spoiled child who didn't get his way. Eventually, he
manages to come around, and see how cruel life is, and things are not
so simple. While Matt is more pragmatic, and has learned from
painful experiences how cruel life is. Yet, at times he is so
arrogant, and it is that arrogance that blinds him to the attacks to
his friends, and himself.
As Nightwing has been established here at JLU 2001,
he's begun to question his own moral code, and he's had to review the
methods in which he brings down the corruption in Blüdhaven.
This has left him more vulnerable emotionally, and as such he is
falling deeper into patterns that he himself is blissfully unaware
of. Patterns that in some ways set him apart even from his mentor.
