Steady On Forward

Chapter 2

"Oh, it'll be okay. I'm sure you've lost fights before," she crooned, pushing him back.

When his back hit the ground, he tried to jab his knees up as his head swam disorientingly. Shit, he was probably concussed. He reached for his left gauntlet to grab more of his Wingdings, but she pushed his wrists down, easily avoiding his knees as she straddled his lap, pinning his wrists securely under her knees. She settled down against him, her hips swivelling slightly, and suddenly his whole body felt paralyzed.

"See, isn't this nice, handsome? That's right..."

Her voice faded out, and his breaths were coming quick and panicked, and suddenly his head was ringing with the echo of a gunshot instead of just a concussion. The domino mask looming above him now glinted orange in the night, and what had been tightly tied back brown hair turned darker, with loose, long tendrils hanging down over his face, wet from the pelting rain.

"Catalina," he choked out. Tarantula. Blockbuster. Oh god, he had just stood there and let her kill him. He had failed, broken everything he was supposed to stand for. And now she was crawling over him...

Shhh...

"Don't touch me," he whispered, unable to move, unable to get her off, barely able to talk, barely able to breathe.

His groin ached in a way that made bile rise in his throat.

My responsibility. My fault, my fault. He wasn't sure if the words were actually coming out of his mouth or not.

Everything continued to grow more and more disjointed, shadows looming above him, and that horrible weight pressing down on top of him, worsening those terrible feelings that just wouldn't stop. 

Dick's mind checked out, empty eyes staring up at the equally empty, dark sky.

◇◇◇

Jason listened to Dick fighting someone through the comms, as he walked down one of the many damp alleyways Gotham had to offer. There was a sudden crackle and a small popping sound in his ear, and Jason immediately went on alert.

"What was that?"

"Nothing technical...everyone sound off," Barbara said.

Everyone except Dick responded quickly, confirming that their comms were undamaged.

There was a small silence.

"Nightwing?" Barbara asked. "Nightwing, come in." She waited a second. "I think his comm got knocked out." She boosted the volume, and they heard a feminine voice come in, sounding far away and indistinct. 

"⁠—ice, Handsome? ...t's right, good boy."

"Where the fuck is Nightwing?" Jason demanded, and Barbara immediately sent his location to Jason's helmet. 

"Catalina," he heard Dick croak out through the comms.

✹‖ "I'm going in for back up," he said firmly.

He took off, grappling up onto the nearest rooftop, and running flat out. Damn, he really should've brought his motorcycle out tonight, but he hadn't thought he'd be going far.