???? ??????? || D. Grayson

??????

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

"Alright, let's move!"

"Link is down! M'gann is missing!" Connor announced just as Kyle, Ryand'r and Kory ran up to me.

"There's a Black Beetle!" Kyle exclaimed and my eyes widened.

"Nightwing, get the kids and everyone else on the ship," I ordered, handing Kory and Ryand'r their weapons. "We'll handle this."

"Where's Robin!?" Dick yelled, pulling out his escrima sticks but I stopped him.

"I'll handle it," I promised and pushed him back into Bioship once Connor was thrown by Black Beetle.

"No one is going anywhere," Beetle grinned and sealed the exits as Tim ran and hid behind me.

"Open the doors and I might just let you live," I warned, conjuring a giant sword and axe.

"You'll try," he hissed, voice metallic and mocking. "But you'll fail. You're just another weapon that doesn't know it's already broken."

"Funny," I said, stepping forward, my aura flaring crimson and emerald. "That's exactly what I was about to say about you."

Beetle lunged, faster than most could track, but I was already moving. My sword clashed against his clawed gauntlet, the shockwave rattling the walls of the dock. The axe followed, swinging wide to force him back. He absorbed the blow, stumbled a step, and sneered.

"Robin, stay behind me," I ordered, not looking back. "Kyle, Ryand'r, flank left! Kory, with me!"

Beetle's claws sparked against my sword, each strike vibrating down my arm like an earthquake trying to crawl into my bones. He was strong, too strong, but he wasn't invincible.

"Zaria, his armor's adapting!" Kyle shouted, trying to pin Beetle with green chains, only for them to melt into his plating like water.

"Not for long," I snarled, hurling my axe.

The axe spun end over end, glowing with red-hot plasma until it smashed into Beetle's chest. He staggered but didn't fall, the scarab plating already shifting to compensate.

"Nice trick," Beetle sneered, energy sparking off his mandibles. "But you're predictable."

"Predict this," Kory shot back, unleashing a blast of starbolts that drove him toward me.

I leapt, catching my axe midair, twisting into a downward strike that split the dock floor in a shockwave of crimson light. Beetle caught it, barely, but his footing slipped. Kyle was already there, slamming him with a giant construct hammer that rattled the hull around us.

"Robin, move!" I barked, and Tim dove as Beetle's claws carved into the wall where he'd been a heartbeat ago. "Kyle, side by side!"

"Finally!" Kyle groaned, grabbing my arm. "Hey, ugly! Watch this!"

I pivoted, letting Kyle's hammer smash against Beetle's plating again, sparks flying as the scarab hissed and twisted under the force. Ryand'r flanked, using his strength to keep the alien off balance, while Kory blasted a series of rapid starbolts to pressure him from the other side.

"Should we help... or something?" I heard Barbara say. "Now I know why Nightwing never shuts up about her."

Beetle roared and lunged, but the timing was perfect. I feinted with the axe, spinning my sword in a horizontal arc that sent him staggering into Kory and Ryand'r's starbolts. Sparks and shards of plating flew, and for a moment, the metallic click of his armor faltered.