gourmetburgers | [dickva] love in a hopeless place ;(

[dickva] love in a hopeless place ;(

[ The Magistrate held Gotham City in a tighter chokehold than any before it. Where Gotham has seen corruption swell in the ranks of its police before, ameliorated only by the interventions of Batman in his early career, the city has seen the entrenchment of a more dedicated police state in recent years. The gerrymandering towards the interests of politicians acting as puppets for the Magistrate, in a more clandestine and concerted effort than even the Court of Owls had ever mounted, divided the city. Swayed public opinion to favor and rationalize the excessive force of the police, who then could dispense gratuitous violence upon Gotham's citizens with impunity. Every little thing was micromanaged, the slightest mistake punished with the severity of a Special Tribunal.

This couldn't have happened at a worse time. Justice League personnel were either missing or scattered, mired in turmoils of their own. Though Bruce had a plan in motion and was ready to execute it against the Magistrate, he had suddenly vanished. As time passed, it was becoming increasingly plausible to just presume that Batman was dead. But Bruce has pulled a disappearing act before, lost in time thanks to Darkseid's omega beam, only to restore himself to the present. Dick wants to believe Bruce is still out there, biding his time with some miracle he's preparing-- something to put an end to the Magistrate's impositions of martial law. Though the Magistrate represents a larger tide of authoritarian power moves across the globe, Dick sees a chance here to flip hegemony's chessboard.

Because he can't wait for Bruce. He can't hold out for something not guaranteed.

Nightwing has to act.

And his first measure was to found an insurgency, comprised of allies and former enemies alike. Gone now were the days of mysteries, conspiracies, wars for criminal capital. The stuff that Gotham's heroes tended to fight had become a bygone luxury in hindsight, a luxury compared to the violent surveillance of the Magistrate. Nightwing has had to spread himself thin, fighting the Magistrate's forces at every step. Protecting independent subversives from being targeted in their homes, protecting innocent people from being attacked out on the streets... it's everything Dick has ever done, with greater intensity. A political urgency.

Without the Justice League to call upon, Dick has had to expand his network of contacts. Pull from the world of heroes he grew up in, whose ideas raised him as much as Bruce's have. Clark had the Legion of Superheroes to count on, at times. Hal, the might of the Green Lantern Corps. Bruce, the Batmen of All Nations. And while Dick had the Titans, who were themselves spread thin across all corners of the globe, he had the Outsiders here in Gotham. He had everyone who's ever been impacted by him and Bruce enough to join their war on crime.

And now, he has Overwatch.

There's no denying that the Magistrate was getting extra firepower from Talon, supplying the regime with organic and omnic muscle alike. The escalation this brought forth warranted Dick's own, bringing him to his multi-monitored terminal in Arkham Asylum, whose inner chambers he's turned into his own secret headquarters. ]

Connect me to Winston, Tim. It's time.

[ In a text message on the screen, Tim assents. Winston appears on screen, ready to address Dick. ]

I know you have some action ongoing in Gibraltar.

But for the mission ahead, I'm gonna need some extra firepower. Cover for what I plan to do in the shadows.

Anybody on standby?

[ Upon receiving confirmation, Dick receives coordinates. He knows who's being sent his way, and where. Amidst the chaos of everything necessitating this situation... it's who he hoped it would be. But part of him has to bury that hope, for now, the joy of anticipation so at odds with his task.

The coordinates Winston sent correspond to a rendezvous point on top of Oracle's former clocktower. ]

Thanks, Winston. I'll debrief when I reach the rendezvous point.

[ Best not to communicate everything here. Dick knows better than to be too candid on encrypted channels.

With that, Dick gears up. Puts on a reinforced version of his typical Nightwing ensemble, all to protect him when facing down more cybernetic threats. Clandestinely, he exits the asylum and grapples high, keen to avoid detection by the Magistrate's searchlights. He anticipates reaching the clock tower in five minutes, the speed and fluidity of his body utterly compelled by the importance of his mission. Everyone has their place, active throughout Gotham to make the Magistrate fight a war on all fronts.

As leader, Dick has his place. Making sure everything goes according to plan. He just needs a little help to do it.

Because if Bruce isn't here to produce a miracle, Dick will. ]

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That's the idea, D.Va. To end it.

[ Notably, it's the first time he directly addresses her, and it's by her moniker. ]

But fighting the Magistrate isn't as straightforward as I'd like it to be.

Excuse the cliché, but for every head cut off, more regrow in its place. There has to be a way to kill the entire hydra in one fell swoop.

[ This war of attrition has been waged for that exact purpose. Finding the edge that will undermine the Magistrate's operations and liberate Gotham City once and for all. Dick's insurgency steps closer and closer to that truth with every bit of intel they collect, every possible weakness they can learn to exploit.

At first, Dick's content to listen on as Hana shares her addendum to their plans. His eyes are forward, at the clouded sky before them, Hana piloting the machine in the direction of the Memorial Bridge. Her brief glance back at him, though, is what catches him off guard. He's unprepared to see her up close, to be reminded of how good she looks. Not to say, of course, that he's reduced to a sputtering mess at the sight. It might caught his breath very softly, but plausible deniability is on his side - he can stay he's still adjusting to the altitude change.

But there's no denying, at this moment, he could look at her for ages. A shame, then, that the eye contact only lasts a second. Hana has to mind the controls, steer the mech away from the Magistrate's detection-- all good reasons for their gazes to separate. "They won't even get a shot on me," she says. ]

From what I remember, I expect nothing less.

[ In some self-awareness of how he's feeling now, his tone is light. Proud. This might be a somber occasion, but their partnership today is something to celebrate. Despite that, Dick's just... grown concerned. He doesn't want her to think he's mad at her, or that he holds a grudge for how they ended things before. But he also doesn't know how much of himself he can just show right now. It definitely won't help the mission. ]

There's Firefly and Electrocutioner, down below. Surrounded by Talon troopers, no less.

[ Whatever vehicles they all rode in, Talon's forces disembarked as soon as they reached the end of the bridge. Now, they're marching into the city. The procession acts to intimidate nearby civilians, announcing the consolidation of the Magistrate's power; the extension of Talon's reach. The villains Dick identified are distinct in the crowd of troopers due to their costumes, emblematic of their old looks but given a sleek, technologically robust Talon makeover. There's an attempt to cultivate a homogenous aesthetic, here, but Dick's not crazy about these combinations of red, white, and gray. ]

Comms on. Drop me off at the next rooftop... then get their attention.

For now, prioritize the troopers. The two stooges are mine.

[ Should Hana follow his command, the cockpit's hatch opens briefly for Dick to vault off of the mech. He rolls to cushion his fall upon landing on the designated rooftop, then looks up and signals at Hana to carry on with the plan. Without a moment to waste, he leaps from one rooftop to the next, grappling as needed until he's perched atop a building behind the procession.

If any trooper or new enforcer decides to turn around for any reason... they'll soon find Nightwing descending upon them. ]

Edited 2021-05-23 04:00 (UTC)

[ There would usually be a smart-mouthed, confident quote that was just begging for newspapers to use for their headline. There would be undoubtable confidence that bordered arrogance. There would be sloppiness and recklessness that would put others at risk whether she wanted to or not. That was then and now they were on the same page at least. Her glance to him was only for a moment. Enough to let him see understanding in her eyes. If this was how he wanted to do it, she follows orders and plays her role. There's a reason why Winston didn't send Tracer or even Mercy – he needed the big guns.

And fortunately for him, the best things in life came in small packages.

Hana pilots with concern – slicing the air with a speed that puts the Egypt air units to shame. Sorry, Pharah. She minds the controls, minds the changes in their altitude when her quiet ship uses the clouds as a cover to guide them close enough for Dick to call out the scene below. Fortunately, her radar was zoomed in on the screen in front of them, providing a more detailed view. Hugging the bottoms of the clouds, her mech skirts incognito until taking a harsh dive down. That'd maybe throw Dick back in his make-shift seat a bit, but it makes her giggle under her breath. ]

I have a score to settle with them after they ruined my birthday weekend – so, you got it! [ So many things have changed, but talks of some other albeit childish thing that happened since they last talked was almost like a therapeutic admittance. She smirks when she comes to a hover on a building's roof, just as he asked. Hana leans up out of the edge of the open cockpit before giving him a thumbs up. ] Don't get too ambitious, okay? I know, I know... coming from me. Going to try and wrangle the troops backwards on the bridge so I can minimize. My back will be to you, so be careful and goooood luck! See ya!

[ It's sweet how she gives a forced smile, knowing duty above hang-ups mattered most. It was just her and Meka now. The speed of her machine was admirable, but Hana's view of getting the troops to circle back would make it easier for her to open fire. A bridge can be repaired far easier than storefronts and people's homes...

Nightwing will only hear a whiz zip by – diving down once more like a bunny hopping down. Meka lands with a thud in front of a sector of Talon troops that open fire on her – and fortunately, that Defense Matrix already goes to work. Each lumbering step her machine takes forces rows of the troop to step back. She keeps her own readers on looking for the power of her machine, hoping to shoot into the sky when her matrix was set to reload to minimize ricochet. It seems she had to deal with troops manning assault rifles, no sniper or heavy tank in sight. ]

[ Before Dick properly traverses the rooftops to approach Talon's forces from behind, he does take a moment to hear Hana's parting words. Having leaped off her mech already, Dick looks over his shoulder to regard Hana with a knowing smile. Not a sign of genuine mirth, but a hope he extends to her. A silent vow from Nightwing, as they both understand the gravity of the situation. Even if they succeed against this entourage, they might still fail when facing another. The risks are high, the danger imminent, so...

Business as usual. ]

Don't worry, D.Va.

[ Now, he produces his grapnel gun. Gets a running start towards the edge of the rooftop, braced to make the jump. With comms already on, he's content to use his indoor voice. ]

I was trained by the best.

[ And those are his last words to her as he progresses across multiple buildings, dropping down to the streets only when he finds it advantageous against Talon. He doesn't begin by engaging them all directly, straightforwardly attacking them all from behind. Too many eyes on him at once will mean someone gets lucky, and he's riddled with bullets.

So what he does is throw several smoke pellets as he sprints towards the troopers from behind. Among them march Firefly and Electrocutioner, basking in the Magistrate's recognition, likely feeling that they've chosen the winning side. But when smoke begins to cloud their vision, visibility of their surroundings now diminishing, they turn to hear stray gunfire behind them. Talon troopers sound tense as they attempt to not shoot each other while searching for their attacker. Blows descend upon them nonetheless-- helmets, limbs beneath armor, the chassis protecting their chests. All these things were getting broken.

Two reinforced eskrima sticks, each carrying an electric charge. Each held by a man striking each trooper with enough force to incapacitate them, render them motionless by knowing exactly where to hit. The numbers drop before the smoke finally dissipates. As it clears, the two new enforcers can see what's been done to some of their team. Dick finishes one off with a high knee to his face, breaking open his helmet. By jumping into that high knee, Dick traps the trooper in a guillotine choke between his legs and uses the momentum to send that trooper flying towards another.

Dick lands with his back on the concrete, eskrima sticks still in each hand. As Firefly and Electrocutioner approach him, both spout petty insults for thinking he has a chance against the Magistrate. In that time, Dick performs a kip-up to get back on his feet. ]

Look, guys. I saw that there was a party. Thought I'd invite myself.

[ He shuts down the electricity flowing through his sticks, now eager to beat down his opponents the old-fashioned way. Firefly readies his flamethrower, Electrocutioner his shock gauntlets. They hear other troopers in disarray, barraged as they are by D.Va and her mech, but they don't care.

They've spent enough time in Gotham to know Nightwing orchestrated this. And if they kill him first, they might save the other enforcers the trouble. ]

Is it so much to ask that I wanna be included?

[ Spoken as he slides beneath a spray of flames unleashed by Firefly. He rises after closing the distance to the arsonist and strikes his wrist with one stick, the flamethrower with the other. Dick's reached a point where he doesn't care what he breaks short of killing his opponent. Seeing Firefly howl in pain at his injured arm, Dick barrels through him with his shoulder, sending Firefly stumbling into the ground. Dick does so just before Electrocutioner fires some shockwaves at him. Corkscrew jumping away from the blast, Dick throws an eskrima stick directly at Electrocutioner's exposed face.

Electrocutioner ends up deflecting the stick with one of his gauntlets, only to find Dick rushing at him with the other stick. This puts the guy on the receiving end of a beating, until finally, Dick sweeps Electrocutioner into the floor and places him in a chokehold while using the stick as an extra vise. ]

Surrender. I can make the pain stop if you just surrender.

[ No stray gunfire headed his way. No troopers that aren't kept busy by D.Va's share of the war effort. Good.

He grins at this understanding, but it's a second too long. Electrocutioner reaches behind himself to slam his gloved hand on Dick's side, shocking him at max voltage. But the Nightwing suit is insulated. So the shock isn't lethal, doesn't even sting, but the concussive force of the blast, amplified by Electrocutioner's gear, sends Dick flying. Before he can even hit the ground, Firefly intercepts. Traps Dick in a bearhug (anything better demands the articulation of one his hands, but Dick broke his forearm), and ascends to a great height above the battle, looking to drop him.

Dick's in a perilous situation, to be sure. But nothing a little guile can't get him out of. So even as Firefly spews more insults at him, waxes poetic about the futility of Nightwing's mission, Dick can only think to himself:

How's Hana doing? ]

[ How is Hana doing? She's nursing a case of jitters from an ill-timed energy drink, but all else considering – she's on schedule. Her Matrix keeps eating away at the incoming fire, less concerned with the wane of its charge by now. If she was going to make a proper impact, she was going to really steal the show. Some things never change, huh?

It was a ticking timebomb, though. Even if she took lumbering steps to lead them back – to make Talon retreat block by block, she can't last forever. What she does us hop from side to side, wrangling them in like a damn Australian Shepard to sheep. ]

5 seconds and it's offense time.

[ Her native tongue rolls off like honey, speaking to herself as her fingers flick a few buttons on her command dash to bring the defense grid down. It welcomes a flurry of bullets impacting Meka – a siren flashing red inside of her cockpit to indicate the health of her rig. It was clearly not going to cause a horrible drain just yet, which is why she needed to do something else. With a slam forward of her joystick and repetitive thumbwork to the button resting at the top – the gatling energy-fueled guns begin to whir to life. Instead of Talon, she aims for the street – impacting only a few if they were dumb enough to step forward. Forces were retreating fast – and it takes only a bit of attention from Dick to make her break her concentration. Her comm lights up first: ]

You good?! They're retreating back - distance between them and you growing. I'm on cooldown, so – taking flight in 5.

[ She didn't want to risk chipping away at her shield, even if her bullets do a decent amount tearing into the ground and sending a few limping away with non-lethal injuries. Within 5 seconds, true to her words, Meka hops up and blasts upwards – she gains speed, leaving a blur of motion behind her before she ducks down in a loop. The momentum sends enough force to drive a division between the crowd and send them flying into the nearest buildings lining the street. ]

Aaaaand striiiike! Airborne and in motion. Am I doing a dive run 2.0 or you need a tag in?

Keep pushing. Don't relent.

[ That's Dick responding to Hana while Firefly's still prattling away at his ear, the latter's jetpack keeping them suspended in one place in the sky. Something something burning Nightwing in the name of the Magistrate. But Dick doesn't absorb much of what's being said, too busy wresting his arm out of Firefly's embrace and elbowing him in his helmeted head. As if that wasn't enough, Dick also chops the same forearm he'd injured previously. The tremendous pain inflicted by the strike causes Firefly to cry out in agony, writhing mid-air without meaning to drop Dick in the process.

From the considerable height Firefly had reached before then, any plummet to the ground would be lethal. Dick's also too high to properly grapple onto any of the buildings below-- there's no allowance for the wire to become taut, for him to actually swing. He'd only be hastening his death.

Thing is, Dick isn't afraid of falling. At this moment, he's practically in his element, turning skyward to point his grapnel gun at Firefly's foot. It wraps around one of his armored greaves, catching him off guard when he's already preoccupied with nursing his injured forearm (from the unbearable and utterly arresting sting radiating across it, Firefly's really concerned there might be a fracture or two).

But any attention owed to that pain can wait. Nightwing is now on his tail, and in a blind rage at what he'd done to him, Firefly starts barreling through the air, haphazardly circulating the city streets where Talon troopers have been scattered by Hana's attacks. Suspended by a wire tethered to Firefly's foot, Dick can only be pulled through the air along with him. But he waits, bides his time, hoping to instill his method into Firefly's madness.

Because Firefly now charts a path directly towards Hana, flamethrower itching to unleash hell upon her Meka. ]

Alright, D.Va. Castling.

[ That's Dick's signal. With one hand tight around his grapnel gun, the other still carries his eskrima stick. He switches on its electrical charge, presses the tip against the grapnel wire, and watches as the current travels to hand Firefly another helping of agony. His jetpack short-circuits as he screams amidst the loss of control, as if it wasn't enough that electricity was flowing through him. Propelled only by inertia, Firefly careens over the Talon troopers below, a crowd still dispersing from the chaos being caused by Hana.

There's a discernible trajectory Firefly's been sent on: the one he initially charted, towards Hana's mech. In the meantime, Dick sheathes his eskrima stick and climbs across the grapnel wire as one would ascend a rope. He advances until he tackles Firefly from behind, clambering atop him to bearhug his body from behind. Counting on the way Firefly has been outfitted with proprietary Talon armor, Dick holds tight before letting just as he slams Firefly into the Meka. It's almost fitting seeing the guy made no different from a bug squashed on the front of car. ]

Here's Firefly. Bring him down to Electrocutioner, then do your worst.

[ Dick somersaults off of Firefly's body to descend upon the Talon troopers below. With him are yet more smoke pellets, dispersing alongside him before he reaches the ground. He lands on a Talon trooper's body, flooring them with his weight as he breaks his own fall. He'd stepped on him, made a board and then a platform out of the trooper, to adequately land on his feet.

Means Dick needs little time to recover from his descent, rapidly subduing the closest Talon troopers-- one broken limb, broken gun, or broken helmet at a time. ]

[ She lets Nightwing handle his business without even a second thought. No matter how quickly her mech can move, it wasn't faster than her thoughts. There was no divine skill she inherited from her parents, no eagerness at an early age that showed a gifted spirit – Hana worked hard to ensure she was capable of living up to the smack she talks. It wasn't easy.

She should be in school.
She should have a boyfriend.
She should be putting money into her first real set of acting lessons in Hollywood.
She should, in theory, have a PS6 by now. :/

But... life didn't always work that way. She enlisted, she fought, and that won't ever change now that she is with Overwatch. It was tiring – she's living on energy drinks and junk food lately, but what else was new? It keeps her able and now she pilots the best version of her mech she had so far. It was hers. It leads her to continue her airborne strike – rounds of fire slicing through the sidewalks and cutting off units from advancing. She holds her tongue between her teeth, her hands tight against the joysticks that guide her.

Like a moth to the flame, she catches Firefly's attention and if there was no interference? They'd be testing the pure heat durability to her shield. It doesn't get that far and by the time her mech crashes into Firefly, her face scrunches up. Almost comedically... windshield wipers screech across her - pelting Firefly with an annoyed yell in her native tongue over comms. ]

Yuck! Off, off, off! You'll damage the paint!

[ But, she heard Nightwing and she wasn't one to disobey sound advice. The thing about her role was that she wasn't just a big target, she was a tank. Firefly was effectively peeled off – but Hana uses her boosts at just the right time to act like some wrecking ball (no hamster). He's back onto her windshield, sure, but no wipers smack at him. She boosts, the force sending Firefly down with a meteor-like force to crash into Electrocutioner – whether he can dodge or deflect remains to be seen...

Hana's mobile role keeps her from getting hit but there was one thing she neglects: her blind-spot. Peppered shots from the retreating Talon troopers, the ones Dick didn't get a chance to deal with bounce against her mech. One stray bullet embeds into one of her boosters, leaving a siren to wail in her ears. ]

Ah! Nightwing?! Boosters down to three, I'm grounding and trying a reboot! Can you cover?

[ It's overwhelming to even consider, Dick would think. The way their lives have chosen them, propelling them towards their respective callings as they became who they are today. Dick sometimes wonders what would've happened if his parents were never killed, if that night at Haly's Circus was never sabotaged by the meddlings of Zucco's gang. Dick used to wonder how much happier his life would be if his parents were never killed. But Bruce saw to it, despite hangups of his own, to give Dick the closure he needed. Redemption allowing to carve out his own happiness when he came of age.

Saving as many lives as he did when he was Robin, and now Nightwing. Well worth the price of admission, seeing as Dick knows his parents would be proud-- that Bruce, his father, would be proud also. Continuing the mission, sustaining the fight. It's to this end that Dick subdues trooper after trooper, knocking them senseless. He moves like jazz, as a former associate once said, never in one spot for too long. Exploiting every weakness he sees, hitting what hurts the most thanks to his penetrating awareness.

He should stay laser-focused. Tunnel vision until every hostile is down. But then he hears Hana through the comms, understands her distress. He talks back in her language, not quite fluent but nonetheless competent. ]

Got it. Keep clear.

[ About five hostiles have their sights on Hana, who's busy mounting an attack on both Firefly and Electrocutioner, the latter of whom is now waking up and pissed. Dick was speaking while trapping a Talon trooper in an arm bar, stretching his own body to dislocate his opponent's shoulder. He rolls off the trooper's body to assess the five still shooting at Hana's mech, and readies his one remaining Eskrima stick.

If he doesn't catch it after this, it's worth the sacrifice.

Because he throws it at the helmet of one, counting on the angle making it so that it ricochets off at least two more troopers in the head. While three are discombobulated in this fashion, Nightwing beats down two with well-placed strikes. He chops one trooper in the jugular before throwing a roundhouse kick that sends him barreling across the floor. He hacks another by pulling down his head, then knees him in the helmet. In the process of this high knee, Nightwing delivers enough force to break the helmet open, and discards the man as he finishes off the three who'd been stunned by his stick.

After beating another trooper over the head with the butt of his rifle, throwing that same rifle at another trooper to knock him out, and jumping to drop kick one last trooper into unconsciousness, Nightwing lands on the ground to discover his stick waiting nearby. Didn't fly too far after all! ]

Damn, here's hoping I can recover the other one.

[ One that he threw when engaging with Electrocutioner and Firefly previously. Who knows? Maybe Hana will get her hands on it.

Speaking of which, he addresses the comms now. A familiar static signals his entry as his voice fills the Meka's interior. Seems he still wants to show off, because, ]

Hope that helps. You know I'll keep them busy.

[ And so, after a little more Korean has been spoken, Nightwing turns to give his Eskrima stick its next victims. Many more Talon troopers come asking for a beating, and Nightwing is more than happy to provide. ]

[ Life brings them to what they are doing now. Reunited to serve the same purpose that kept them apart: morals and hope. There would be no one else that could fill in the spot they had in their respective cities. Without Nightwing, the weight of responsibility would fall on those who may not be ready. Without D.Va, the hope of a young girl representing the future would be lost to a society tired of fighting.

Nightwing is making quick work of the obstacles in front of them, but it was far from perfect. A few Talon troop agents may gather their colleagues, may try to regroup. Two charge to duck behind cover, taking aim at the armored birdboy whether he may be able to anticipate or not. Just, y'know, to throw some curveballs his way.

Hana wasn't able to do much. If she loses her engines, she can barely get the altitude needed to continue on. Long gone are the days relying on bunnyhops, after all. ]

Thanks! Systems shut down, comms off.

[ Everything is cut down completely. Any shields, any whir of an engine, all lights gone. Hana sits in silence while the boosters completely cool for a solid 60 seconds. Hana's left 10 seconds in before the sound of stray bullets unnerve her enough to act. Hana's unbuckled and out of her seat, kicking the windshield of Meka open. With her pistol drawn, she stands proudly on this big target – firing a few potshots that she can. She'll keep Dick covered too, her hand coming up to wipe a bit of sweat and smudge those good-luck pink triangles she paints on her face before each fight.

25 seconds.

Everything Nightwing does keeps the stragglers from attacking her way. It helps and she can't help but give a smirk his way. Concerned, but still a smirk. The system flickers, bit by bit one light coming on at a time. Did she have enough of a good aim to keep shooting from afar? She was a decent shot, but it wasn't until the thoroughly pissed off Electrocutioner was taking aim to Hana – hm.

40 seconds. ]

[ There's only so much of the battlefield that Nightwing can control as a single person. For every Talon trooper he takes down, several more are still firing away haphazardly, struggling to sight him amidst the chaos created by his movements. He's gotten away with what he has for this long because of the dense fog poduced by his smoke bombs, stuff he dispersed after leaping off of D.Va's mech when he crashed Firefly into it. Nightwing's only been attacking the first troopers he sees, who he can distinguish amidst all the smoke. But they have a harder time of it, not only dealing with low visibility, but also risking friendly fire if they shoot every suspicious movement in the fog.

That only lasts for so long, though. Many more troopers are still standing by the time the smoke clears, some standing closer to D.Va than they are to Nightwing. And though most are aimed at D.Va while she's engaging with Electrocutioner and Firefly, two are now aimed at Nightwing, having waited for visibility to return.

For every advantage comes a caveat, and it's the fact they're now visible to him, too. He's not fast enough to dodge bullets when they've already been fired, but he makes the troopers' lives difficult by remaining a moving target, corkscrew jumping away from oncoming gunfire. Deftly, he seeks cover behind a car, letting one side of it absorb some gunfire before he breaks into it from the other side. With utmost deliberation, he hotwires the vehicle as quickly as he can, counting on the car to continue repelling gunfire, however much damage its one side will take in the process.

If it can just hold out long enough... there! He starts the vehicle and drives out of the curb, careful not to run over any unconscious talon troopers as he accelerates towards the ones shooting at him. He kicks open the bullet-riddled door by the driver's seat and jumps off the vehicle, falling into a roll as he watches the troops similarly roll to dodge. One happens to land closer to Nightwing than the other... and swiftly takes an Eskrima stick to the face. And before the other one can ready his gun again, Dick throws his Eskrima stick at the wall behind that trooper, letting it ricochet into the back of his head.

At least they were both wearing helmets. ]

D.Va? D.Va!

[ Nightwing catches his stick after it ricochets back from that trooper's head. At the same time, he discerns that comms are now off. That they have been for too long. D.Va, after all, had grown uncharacteristically silent. It's not like she wouldn't be quipping at them, for Pete's sake.

He looks on to see that she's got the aggro of multiple other Talon troopers, as well as Electrocutioner and Firefly. It's not like they'd all forgotten Nightwing-- they've simply judged that life will be easier getting rid of this bigger target. It also hasn't registered just how many of their colleagues have taken a severe beating, sprawled unconscious on the concrete behind them.

Time to give them a wake-up call. D.Va's mech is cooling down, and Nightwing just has to help her survive the wait. Upon sprinting to D.Va's side of the fray, where he'd been fighting Firefly and Electrocutioner himself moments prior, Nightwing collects the eskrima stick he once threw at them - before now, it had just been lying on the floor. Now having one in each hand, Nightwing sets them to maximum voltage and slams the two together. The nearest Talon troopers, of which there are many, get hit by a multi-pronged current drawn to the tech in their weapons and armor. A severe shock then sends each of them flying, knocking out those who were winded while temporarily setting back those of a sturdier constitution.

This takes some of the heat off of D.Va, buying her some time to get her bearings straight. Nightwing now has to wait for the sticks to charge again for him to use the same technique again, but for now, it's worth the sacrifice. ]

D.Va, are you okay? Hold the line, I'm headed to you!

[ He should be within earshot, sprinting past some of the troopers he's shocked to seek cover behind the Meka. It's by this point that D.Va hears it, and Nightwing does, too.

40 seconds.

And past D.Va's machine stands Electrocutioner, grunting out a few insults as he readies a surge of lightning from within both of his gauntlets. He clearly plans to muster enough power to destroy the Meka in one blast. Nightwing sees this, endeavors to intercept it, and vaults over the machine to go tackle Electrocutioner! ]

D.Va, your pistol! Aim for his gauntlets!

I'll distract--

[ Except he gets tackled by Firefly, who starts carrying him back into the sky. They're gonna have to tussle for a bit, leaving Hana with Electrocutioner and a few of the stragglers among the troopers.

"The fire, Nightwing," intones Firefly, madness conveying itself through his expressionless bug-eyed helmet. "The fire will consume all of Gotham, purge it... by the will of the Magistrate!" ]

Oh, screw you.

[ It was unfortunate that the numbers game could still overwhelm something as strong as Meka. Hana had taken it through the routines, tried to get it approved by Winston before getting the OK to take it out. It took weeks... back and forth, suggestions and tests of endurance to ensure the durability matched the machine's power. Hana was not necessarily a technical expert, but she knows her machine. It was built out from a shell and customized to suit her needs.

And now, even as it failed her, she picks up the slack. Protectively she stands rooted in the cockpit – aiming at any Talon troop that may get close to her and down the street, may be getting close to Nightwing. Her shots were accurate at times, flustered by a reload at other. The bunny charm sways with each frantic pull of her trigger, smacking against her wrist.

He helps thin the herd by any means necessary, her eyes barely catching sight of his antics – of how he survives by any means necessary even when numbers are against him. She lets herself off guard for a moment, Hana's issue... not D.Va's. There was a sudden tug at her hair by one of the spare agents who leapt up onto the machine, yanking her petite form up.

He gets messy, so does she, dropping her gun into the cockpit within 5 seconds and left frantically tugging at the hand pulling that ponytail up off her feet. Hand to hand wasn't her forte, but it was enough – the momentum tugs him down and flips him off in front of her right when Nightwing brings her attention back to him. In... time for him to get yoinked up. Firefly's turn to get mad, to swear revenge and deem the typical villain speech like it was right on cue!

Hana drops into her seat with a choked sob, your pistol echoing in her head. Her eyes catch it before it's too late. A crackle of electricity, ready at the gauntlet to blast a hole right through her. She has to be careful – to push her luck.

Weren't rabbits known for that? ]

Eat me, electronerd!

[ Systems online. Reboot complete. Boosters at 89%.

Her hand fumbles with the gun and takes aim – instinct guiding her with a pulled repeated trigger havoc. The first shot misses, cracking against a sign but the second? Catches right into the gauntlet with a sudden explosive reaction. The distance was close enough or her to panic – slam her hand down and close the cockpit glass. The electricity sizzles to her machine, static display draining the booster's power to 75% – but it was enough.

A surge of momentum sends her flying forward, slamming and embedding the man into a building – sorry. The rubble comes around her with a furious cry. Bricks and metal swallow the pilot up, but within seconds – the bunny erupts out of the rubble and in pursuit of Nightwing. ]

Comms back on! Sounds like you can use a ride, yeah?

Fly up here, D.Va. I'm gonna need you!

Also just damn tired of this guy.

[ Spoken with a scoff as Firefly has him in yet another bearhug, taking him higher into the sky.

"What did you just say?" Firefly asked. "Was that all in Korean?" ]

What do you care, dude? Go back to killing me.

[ Because the object, it seems, is to soon drop Nightwing - purposefully this time - into a plummet he can't save himself or recover from. ]

Last time you tried this, it was on accident. What makes this any different?

[ "For one thing," Firefly replies, "I'm lighting you on fire. Then, like Icarus, you will fall." ]

See, you're looking at the wrong Robin. I don't do bird wings.

[ Firefly's arms are wrapped around Nightwing such that the latter's arms are restrained, held tight by the former's desperation. But Nightwing still has enough allowance to rummage, as the Nightwing suit was always outfitted with storage compartments in its gauntlets and boots. What he's been wearing in his rebellion of the Magistrate is no different-- he passes an eskrima stick from one hand to the other, so that a single hand carries both. With his newly freed hand, he searches one of his boots for a flare. ]

Now can it with the pyromania, alright?

[ As soon as he says it, he risks injury by headbutting Firefly's helmet with the back of his head. He doesn't commit enough to inflict pain, as that's a surefire way to break his own skull. Rather, what he does achieve with the headbutt is getting Firefly to relax his grip, however briefly. A split second is all Nightwing needs to force himself out of Firefly's embrace, turning his body towards Firefly to launch the flare directly at his bug-eyed helmet.

If the helmet's set to night vision at this hour, that's even worse for Firefly, because at the very least he's now temporarily blinded. He screeches in panic as the trajectory of his ascent becomes haphazard loops and zigzags in the sky.

Nightwing, who'd broken contact, falls. With some of the time he's got, he sheathes his two eskrima sticks behind his back. And it's shortly thereafter that he sees D.Va's mech making its own ascent in his direction. ]

Gonna need you to break my fall!

If you can shoot his jetpack, I can catch him with my grapnel gun before he kills himself.

[ Nightwing doesn't know enough Korean for what he just said, so D.Va gets some English. He also falls with deliberation, even slipping in a quadruple somersault before he finally lands on top of D.Va's mech. After something of a "superhero landing," he drops to a sprawl on top of the machine, maintaining a low center of gravity to prevent himself from slipping whenever there's turbulence. ]

Tail him, D.Va. Keep the flight path steady.

Aiming my grapnel gun now.

Waiting till you have a sight on his jetpack. Fire when ready.

[ As soon as D.Va takes the shot, it's only a few more seconds before Nightwing fires, aiming where he anticipates Firefly is headed. Instead of actually catching something on Firefly's suit, the grapnel actually collides with Firefly's head... knocking him out. He now flies chaotically in the direction he was just traveling: what has become a collision course towards one of the rooftops below. But at least his jetpack's no longer operational, as its exhaust would only hasten his descent. ]

Okay. New plan.

[ Nightwing scrambles to leap off of D.Va's Meka, readying his grapnel gun yet again. He fires one that he fully intends to simply wrap around Firefly's body, waiting for the wire to be taut before he aims a second grapnel gun at the Meka in flight. ]

This better damn work...!

[ The first grapnel, as intended, encircles Firefly's body. The second grapnel, almost as intended, wraps around one of the Meka's legs. While it's still possible, Nightwing labors to connect the two grapnel guns to form one long wire between D.VA's Meka and Firefly's body (not unlike a maneuver he picked up from Batman). As the wire straightens just enough from Firefly's weight, Nightwing holds on tight, all before scaling the wire to reach D.Va up above.

She'll hear a knock on the windshield. ]

Taxi!

Keep your pants on, yeesh, yeesh!

[ She dismisses him with a playful tune to her voice, all in good fun. The little fun that they can afford at a time like this. Now that they were all airborne, there was no 'safety net'. Which... when it comes to Nightwing? Not good. D.Va launched her Meka up in sky chasing Firefly like he was some shooting star. True, she has no doubt him and his people know how to handle things – gadgets and gizmos aplenty and all that – but she was responsible for the follow-up. The boosters don't bring her fast enough, it doesn't give her enough juice to catch up just yet. They're on comms, bickering back and forth every so often but she's on the way. There's no denying that. ]

Catching up...! Almost, almost...!

[ Nightwing was something in the sky... There was some sense of amazement as she watches the 'show'. He works well, works with purpose and when there was time for her to support him, she does her best. Always did.

A mech incoming was no difference. When he was in freefall, she pushes up on the joysticks, letting her aim the unit a bit better so he didn't recoil off – and he can grasp onto the metal support bar added to the top for piggybacking. See? Aren't you happy she added it? When he thumps onto the 'hood' basically, she aims the cannons and fire. That improved accuracy catches nicely and before either of them knew it – the explosion of force that sends Firefly into uncharted territory. Rambunctious, wild, they are left trying to desperately speed up. There's a flicker of her lights and Nightwing can feel the altitude drop suddenly before picking back up. ]

Be careful – I think ... shit! I think the reboot won't fix the booster failure! We have to – HEY! Don't be stupid! Always with the ominous plans!

[ Yup. 65% failure and he's doing something like that. She's pissed he doesn't let her in on it, scared she won't be able to help. The thought of watching him tumble down – it rips a shiver through her core that makes her grasp on her dash get tighter. They're against time at this point, but Nightwing was one to risk it all, it seems. There was a small window. They had to thread a needle here and it was not exactly safe as well. With the added tension, the booster stalls and they were sent into a freefall.

Hana pries her cockpit shield open, giving him access if he wanted to get in – a hand if he needed it too. Either way, her foot hikes up and slams into the joystick – sending them to a stable height, even with the extra weight. ]

Hope you tip well!

Don't worry. This is a really tight two-piece.

[ Have fun with that knowledge, Hana.

That was a quip back at her while she was steering her Meka towards him, Nightwing suspended in freefall until she reached him. After landing and sticking to a low center of gravity, Nightwing grasped a support bar that was clearly a new feature. He grinned at his own conjecture, all before leaping off to execute his stated recovery of Firefly before he could kill himself. It happened so quickly, Nightwing darting off after calculating a plan with very precise and very difficult conditions to meet, as well as a microscopic margin for error... that no one else was better-equipped to execute it. Clipping the two grapnel lines together, securing transport of Firefly beneath D.Va's Meka, led to some relief as Nightwing greeted her outside her windshield.

It's then that she quips back at him, "Hope you tip well!" ]

Expect a generous one.

[ He takes D.Va's hand-- Hana's-- and considers taking a seat inside her machine. ]

Doesn't have to be in cash.

[ Adrenaline's clearly gotten to him. Making him say things he wouldn't when he's not riding the high of a plan well-executed.

He still carries with him enough deliberation, however, to let go of her hand. To not enter the Meka after all. ]

Send a signal to my operatives on standby. They'll come out to handle the remaining troopers.

I need to grab Electrocutioner. We transport him and Firefly to a designated drop zone-- it's on the schematics I sent you.

[ He peaks over his shoulder, down at the fray below them. Talon troopers are firing at them, but exercising great care not to hit Firefly. ]

Good. They're hesitating.

I'm dropping down.

[ Before jumping off of D.Va's machine, he hesitates. But then-- ]

See you on the other side.

I'll send you a new rendezvous point after.

[ And with that, he makes another leap back into the fray, having waited so that he could actually parkour down the side of an adjacent building-- fire escapes, overhangs, and all. After what had just transpired, Nightwing does feel a strong need to conserve his remaining grapnel guns... and the complex art of descending a building's surface without hurting himself is clearly his solution.

He descends upon an entourage of Talon troopers in his way before making a beeline towards Electrocutioner. The guy's still unconscious, recovering from all the damage D.Va had dealt, she being ever the intrepid tank. In seeing this, Dick can't help but tell himself, ]

Damn. Never doubted her for a second.

[ Forgetting, in this instance, that comms are still on. Unless...? ]

[ They worked well together.

He had a sense of stability with planning and tactics.
She had the heart to do what was needed, to play ball no matter what kind was thrown her way.

And... Dick and Hana? They did too. It was upsetting to know that something like this is what brought them together again. No call. No message. No... anything. Distance was the best thing they offered one another when their worlds turned upside down, when the line between duty and living a life selfishly until one side had to be chosen. They both mutually chose that above themselves.

And there are times when she returned back to the Meka base, where her bed was small and her room cold... that she felt alone. Posters from years ago of her Nano Cola sponsorship hung on the wall, a few empty bottles of water and old laundry still needing washed was proof of a disconnect. Yet, when she sat down with some energy... sometimes she'd find a news station. Sometimes she would see glimpses of Gotham City and wonder how Dick was. It reminded her how lonely it was now, with the glitz and glamour gone... with the weight of her city on her shoulders.

But, the way he talks to her among the perilous climb on her machine – she's left wide-eyed and face red. Congratulations, you shut a shittalker up.

He doesn't give in. Giving in would mean he would be in the cockpit with her, that they would have a moment of reprieve before jumping into the fray. Hana and Dick would, maybe in their own desires to feel a normalcy in their lives, but D.Va and Nightwing? No. ]

Got it. Thanks for letting me in on the plan this time. [ There's a sting to her words, but it was all in good fun. With the signals sent, it's one less thing to worry about. ] Should be taking a nap under a blanket of bricks! Tell him I said he sucks if he's awake.

[ They split up and D.Va contends with her own thought to follow him – to ensure that even if the signal was sent, he had back-up. With the struggling booster, she wouldn't be able to take too many risks but she was a solid tank, yes. The city streets here were wider than back home, condemned buildings and dead-ends, shorter stories than the ever futuristic Seoul. She hovers and keeps an eye on the prize, monitoring and ready to shift herself from defense to offense when needed.

When Dick's comm lights up, she sits there for a moment. Was it pride? Was it giddiness? What bubbled in her heart with the same excitement she had after winning some game or signing her first movie deal?

She chews her bottom lip with a dumb smile on her face, silent. A few moments pass before she bunny hops onto the ledge of a building – towering over with the mechanical buzz of an ever-watchful mecha rabbit?

She doesn't comment, doesn't tease. Instead, business: ]

We wrapping this party up or what, huh? We have some more losers to take down, don't we? Don't keep a girl waiting!

You suck.

[ That's Nightwing picking up Electrocutioner after fighting his way to the guy's unconscious body. ]

Electrocutioner, D.Va. Not you.

[ As if he actually needs to clarify. It's also the last transmission Hana receives for some time, the two of them going separate ways to carry out the plan Dick had spelled out. She beats him to the drop point, leaves Firefly there, and carries on to her destination: their established rendezvous point on a distant rooftop. As she can imagine, Dick drops Electrocutioner off in the same way, but he neglects to announce any of his progress. It seems to matter most to him that they both simply reach the same destination before proceeding further.

Having waited for Dick, Hana soon speaks back into the comms.

He heard her message, alright, and simply appears right behind her and her mech, his arrival unannounced. ]

I can tell you've had quite enough of waiting.

[ He seems to understand the fullest extent of what he means. Would she? All Hana's blushing earlier, her wide-eyed wonderment at Nightwing utterly in his element, leads Dick to suspect... "Yes."

But he's not planning to stand there and simply relish in that fact. He climbs aboard Hana's mech and steps through the open cockpit, seating himself comfortably beside her. ]

Got eyes on the next pair of enforcers. Follow the map to Trigate Bridge.

Our next targets are marksmen like Widowmaker. That changes the terms of engagement substantially.

[ Almost sounds like he's gone "back to business," but there's something different this time. Like the thrill of battle, the resulting synergy between Nightwing and D.Va, had reawakened something in Dick-- something he was resigned to mourning as unreachable, unattainable.

The past he's been longing for, that he's regretted leaving as the past, is closer to him than he'd thought.

In fact, it's right beside him. ]

Thanks to your Meka, ETA will be six minutes upon departure.

The marksmen will anticipate us. We'll need enough altitude to get the drop on them. Seek the clouds for cover.

[ That seems to be the most he can muster, despite intentions. Just more business. ]

Can this Meka handle the trip, D.Va? How's it holding up?

[ Well. He took one leap of faith already, this evening-- the stunt he pulled to save Firefly. What's one more?

So before Hana can even answer the first question, Dick corrects himself. He hopes to meet Hana's gaze, ask her one last thing before she fully readies the Meka for flight. ]

No. Wait.

Hana.

Tell me how you're holding up.

[ He's changed his mind, wanting to ask the most important question first. Addressing her by her real name, facing who he sees as her real self, for the first time in the entire evening. ]

[ The thing about being fast even with a limited supply of power for her mecha rabbit... she has to wait for others to catch up. It was one of the more painful moments of this whole heroics gig, where her mind was able to actually think instead of being on a constant go, go, go. It was the same with gaming for her – if she had a moment to try and recollect herself in a single player game, she overthinks. Should she take the route on the left? Maybe go back and save? Orrrr go in guns blazing? She isn't an analytical technician, but she's ambitious and sometimes that gets her in trouble.

There wasn't any word for a while, so she was ready to truthfully leave the location she had been designated to meet with him at, as if something was calling for her to just check. Just provide back-up. Part of her was angry at herself. She knows better. Even if her militant training was limited in scope, was less of a focus after the celebrity aspect came in... she remembers that she has 'orders'. That can be the difference between a mission success or a mission fail. She can practically hear the annoying Snake? Snake? SNAAAAAAAKE? Metal Gear Solid soundbyte in her head at the thought of compromising their mission.

Meka takes one step forward by the time a familiar voice is heard behind her. A lumbering hop to the side and the cockpit shield comes down and she's punching the air in annoyance. Half-heartedly, actually. ]

'Bout time. Was ready to hunt you down and give you a stern talking to, mister.

[ Sarcasm in her voice, but there's always something light there. Even when she was 'mad', she had that almost-childish tone. For now, it was out of relief instead of some stubborn anger or bitterness.

She sits back down into her seat, the tight fit of both of the costumed heroes was not lost on her but she had a job to do. Sorry, Dick, she was all business too now she got a slap back to reality. Leaning forward in the seat a bit, she enters the coordinates needed to their next destination. Not too far off and the map in front of her makes her smile a bit. It was about 6 minutes if they go at a steady pace, and she does intend to milk it. ]

You mean, that makes me a biiiiiiiig fat target, huh? I like a challenge, though! [ She cuts him off, already clasping down the pre-flight bar in her machine before the unit lifts off once again. If they wanted to keep themselves covered, they have to go high. The clouds were thin over the water – how she cuts across the open expanse instead to save any targeting that may happen from spare rogue agents monitoring the rooftops... The detour was enough, though. Lets Meka find the perfect altitude to disguise and hide. Well, as much as a giant mecha rabbit could be disguised. She had an answer ready: to say proudly that she's handled worse and got into detail about some outrageous encounter back home. Meka's been scraped and rebuilt multiple times. No worries, right? It was hyperconfidence, but it was needed. It keeps things where they need to be. An optimistic view that matched the speed of their flight – right to the next goal they set together. For most of their time, she follows his lead and is here for support but when he says her name ... she twists her hips enough to look to him, her grip tightening onto her joysticks. D.Va was put on the back-burner enough for Hana to act with a tilt of her head and eyes clenched. A forced smile, crinkles on her nose and warm on those smudged-cheeks of hers. ] A-OK! Like old times, right? You got a fancy new suit, I have a fancy new suit. New tricks for both of us, but same attitude.

[ Her eyes open and she looks out in front of her again, keeping Meka steady. ]

I can't keep up with you sometimes, WTF, tell me how that works?

[ At least she knows how to deflect, keep things light. It'd be a headache to open new wounds that never properly healed. She wants to still tell him Meka'll manage... that they'll make it through, but the words fail to leave her lips. ]

[ “Stern talking to,” she says. Before Dick starts talking plans, that earns a chuckle out of him. ]

You sure I still don’t need one?

[ There’s a mischievous smirk, a glimmer of what Hana’s seen countless times. Back before the Magistrate, when Dick didn’t feel the need to be as guarded. When the Nightwing suit wasn’t so densely armored, but instead something finer. Sleeker. Simpler. Despite what the world has come to, there might be enough in Dick to remind Hana of what was. And perhaps, what still can be.

Something nearing this notion fills Dick’s mind, but he has to perish the thought to actually talk shop. Despite what he feels - what he’s always felt - and how much of it he might start to entertain... the mission still comes first. There’s a more imminent need, after all, to go over the details while there’s time. To continue fulfilling his duty to Gotham as Nightwing. But then the thought comes back, of what to make of this once the mission is over. The thought keeps coming back, no matter how much he tries to bury it. Now that he and Hana have crossed paths, and the longer she remains beside him, closer now than they’ve ever been in a long time... how can he not imagine the future?

So he compromises with himself. Asks Hana how she’s doing as both a personal and professional courtesy. “Same attitude,” huh? ]

This whole thing demands a lot from us both. Good to know you’ve got more than enough in you to rise to the occasion.

Again, not that there was ever any doubt.

[ Now he’s basically letting her know that he knows he was heard, earlier. Back when he was recovering Electrocutioner.

But he also knows she’s deflecting. It’s what he does too, and it’s what he’s been doing. So he lets it slide, knowing better than to jeopardize the mission by continuing to rock the boat... or Meka, rather.

Besides, he needs a chance to scoff in amusement at Hana’s remark. Her flippant manner of speaking here, he finds funny, but he knows it’s also coming from a more serious place. That of worry. ]

Do you mean my stunt earlier, saving Firefly? Everything else before and after?

Fallen into old habits, I guess. I’ve been leading a team that works in silence, in darkness.

The cues are different. The way we communicate, more subtle. Not quite the same energy I used to bring leading the Titans.

But in expanding our ranks I’ve had more engagements like this. The conflict has been escalating.

I need you because the stakes have expanded beyond subterfuge. I need someone who’ll help me get to where I want to be, for my team.

The question is, will you take me there? Are you okay doing that?

[ It just came out this way, what he’s saying. Like he wants something more genuine out of her, despite how much importance he places in keeping up appearances. He’s so at odds with himself about this, so conflicted that it’s frustrating... but he won’t know what to do with himself if he goes the night saying nothing: if he lets caution guide him to the point that small talk and cursory exchanges are all that pass between them.

He sighs, though, looking away in shame. He knows he’s undermining the mission by merely gesturing at old wounds. He seems to hope there’s a way to backpedal from this in six minutes, so the rest of the night can go smoothly, but— ]

...Is it even fair for me to ask?

Depends on how the next six minutes go.

[ The slyness in her voice... it was muffled by the bite of her bottom lip. Old habits, focus. She doesn't complicate things. She was trained not to. Missions were missions, duties were duties. From the serious kind, battling the worst the world has to offer or the more...casual like attending movie premiers prior to the shitshow going on now – she sacrifices. And she doesn't complain one bit for it.

It was all in the hope for something better. That the building blocks of sacrifice, loneliness, and tall expectations would be worth something. If Nightwing was out of the picture... who would help lead those silently working to restore the city? D.Va accepted the mission because it makes sense... but deep down, maybe Hana wanted to see what changed. If he changed. There was a weight she didn't feel when they toed what could have been – his responsibility had been nearly bred into him by the time they met. Now? She feels it too. She won't admit it, instead the smile was forced and she doesn't give him much to work with at first.

But... little by little, she comes undone.

She doesn't respond to his faith in her, only a small smirk. Her eyes don't look for answers to him, doesn't linger at all. She needed to get him to their next point and this? It was idle chit-chat at this point. She knows it is. Even with the clouds obscuring them, that was clear enough. ]

Helloooo, I mean all of it! You have to let me help you out. Somewhat squishy birdboy versus a giant friggin' mech? I have more defense than you!

[ She makes it sound simple, but there's some territorial tone to her voice. Protective in a sense, but... she rounds it off clearly: ]

If you need my help, take it. That's my objective... and you can't – ugh!

[ She takes a moment to nudge him with the elbow roughly out of frustration. ]

You can't do that again, OK? Team. We are a team. [ She emphasizes in her native tongue, to make him listen. To make him parse it together. He wasn't reckless, but she overcompensates. She uses that as a buffer to handle his questions. To give her time to think before she says something stupid. ] I would not be here if it was not fair. I know what to expect with you.

[ Even among the gripes, there was honesty. Whether he takes it as disappointment, longing, excitement, pride... her words were scattered among the unsaid and the what-ifs. ]

I can ask something of you, you know. If you think you are being unfair. We can even the playing field - 1 to 1.

[ God knows how many times he's noticed her do that, biting the bottom of her lip. More often than not in excitement, to the point of becoming a trait that Dick would adore... but that was the past. Now, it's clear sign of trepidation. Anxiety. Dick's grown all too used to diving headlong into danger, whether in matters of exacting justice, or in matters of the heart. Believe it or not, he knows what he's doing right now, knows what he might jeopardize just by creating this situation with Hana, and yet--he takes this calculated risk. Can he not be more than what he is, thanks to his duties? Can they not be more?

But he's a hero. That's who he's always been, and always will be. Nightwing first, Dick Grayson second.

He just thinks he's given enough to Nightwing in the last fight. He's fulfilling his duty to Gotham City, and will continue to in the next fight. So in the meantime, can Dick Grayson fulfill his duty to Hana Song... knowing full well he relieved himself from it long ago? He wants to face this, and all its consequences. The consequences of things left unsaid, a life unlived. He seems to want to walk the tightrope between this and the mission, even though - understandably - this conversation must come as a shock to Hana.

Because a tightrope's all he's ever known. A suspension over danger, the ever perilous possibility of the fall. For better or worse, you really can't take the circus out of the boy.

Hearing Hana's words, his lip quivers slightly. Not from embarrassment, or resentment, but from the understanding of where she's coming from. The concern for his safety. The implicit lack of trust he demonstrates by taking on so much alone, despite literally inviting her here. The last thing he wants is to leave Hana more brokenhearted than ever by dying stupidly, even if it seems like the Magistrate has driven him to carry a deathwish. ]

No. You're right. We have bigger fish to fry-- I won't fight you on this.

Because I do trust you. I trust you enough to be my eyes and ears. To be my shield.

I just need to see myself the way you see me. The way you knew me.

[ He delivers a pained sigh, coming to an understanding of what he wants. Or better yet, what he needs. ]

I brought you here because I need to be reminded of the hero that I was.

The hero that was lost in the haze of all this conflict. All this death.

This city needs that... so it needs you.

[ And that's the last of his piece, of everything so far that he's been wishing to say to Hana, but simply couldn't. He's far from offended by her remarks, by her show of concern. She's definitely not the first person to chide him for self-destructive tendencies, for escalating just how much he can put himself through only to barely survive. The fight with Firefly and Electrocutioner doesn't even represent how closely he's come to dying in recent months, let alone years. A little facetiously, in his mind, he's relieved Hana only showed up now - she wouldn't be happy to learn what she missed. ]

So go ahead, Hana. Even the playing field. Only fair when I'm speaking to an equal.

[ While he walks a tightrope, Hana was left in the crowd. She doesn't join him, not yet. Not when she feels the risk too great. The thrill, God knows she was for it, but there was something restraining her. Something that keeps D.Va going when Hana wanted desperately to climb – to pretend like things could be like they were.

She doesn't know all that he had been up to. Doesn't know his struggles, his triumphs, didn't even know their favorite boba place had been a victim of the strife in the world. Hana would feel stupid to not text him, a phantom desire to send him a party invite on last generation's gaming console if she even had time. Things like that, when broken apart seemed like they were no big deal... but – together they completed a puzzle of two people on two different paths going to the same destination.

It frustrates her. She trusts him, knows he won't take on more than he could chew but – the risk... that tightrope he walks? It was horrifying looking up to it. ]

Even if you were who you were when.... – before all of this, I am not. Parts of you are the same, you still leap before looking and you still sport the slick black and blue gear but – the world doesn't need what was. What was... it's gone. We have to be better, ya?

[ Three minutes feels like an eternity, a halfway mark between point A and point B. Both in the geographical sense and the path they find themselves on now together. He wants validation, to have an image upheld by people that matter – but Hana... she speaks a little bit more bluntly, with maybe a bit of sadness. There was honesty that she had withheld with D.Va, a duality that put duty above all else. It still does. As Meka continues on, there was no escaping into the fire to avoid lingering looks, thumps of their hearts, or worries founded in old history. Hana leans forward, flicking a few buttons to bring the lights of Meka to a dull, almost-gone glow. It was darkness now, helping their commitment to stealth. ]

If you ask things of me, I can do the same to you. So... [ The tension was there, bubbling at her stomach and despite the veil of her own insecurities and frustrations being pulled back – ] I ask of you to find us a new boba place, OK? No excuses. Mission start: now.

Failure to prepare is preparing to fail. That was me once.

But despite all my planning, I let things get out of hand. Like I want to let the fire grow bigger before I put it all out... just so I can feel more important.

[ The Magistrate's success just has a way of belittling everything he's done. Everything Bruce's done. What good was everything Batman started, everything Nightwing continued, only for Gotham to unravel at the hands of some mysterious dictator? What good was every life saved only for many more to be lost under the iron grip of the Magistrate? Dick doesn't just walk a tightrope over the increasing possibility of death, of failure. He walks a tightrope over his own despair, like nothing he's ever felt since the night his parents were murdered.

Hana may watch from below, but she's more than just an audience. Because of her intervention, she's become his safety net. ]

Time to embrace who I am. Not just the past, but the present. That's the only way forward, the only way...

[ He stops for a moment, a longing glance directed at Hana as she activates the Meka's stealth mode. ]

...to be better.

[ They both have their duties. The way she naturally navigates the Meka's ins and outs, treating the machine like second nature... it's astonishing. A testament to her talent and dedication. Her sense of purpose. Something that has never truly faltered against the might of the Gwishin, and that certainly won't falter against the Magistrate.

Dick needs her more than she'll ever know, he realizes. If he didn't take a chance on her, inviting her to Gotham on this night, where would he be? How else would he put himself in the line of fire, risking the loss of his insurgency's leader? He's been telling himself that Tim is more than ready to take his place, more than ready to run operations and make all the necessary choices... but that's selfish. Thinking he can simply die and just place this burden on someone else, like the fact of his death would mean nothing except his freedom from this life.

He owes Tim an apology. That's the first thing he plans to do after his time with Hana. Make things right for everyone else, strengthen the bonds of the insurgency in its totality. Be the leader everyone's counting on. The leader they deserve. ]

Pretty sure they're not all demolished, despite the look of things. Let's mark a new boba place as a side quest.

[ That's him trying to remind her he's played some games in his time. He'd get his ass handed to him if she took the other controller, but it's only the two of them keeping score. ]

Cloud cover? Good. Take us past the main tower. I see Deadshot and Komodo stationed on both sides, need to catch them from behind.

But leave them to me. See the troopers on the roadway? Keep 'em busy.

Focus on distracting them, not subduing.

I'll join you after I take down the marksmen... but I'll call if I need help.

Any questions?

[ He's starting to sound like everything he once was. Leader of the Titans. Heir apparent to Batman's legacy. Everything he still is, really, and more.

So as soon as Hana opens the cockpit yet again, Dick leaps out it. But it's Nightwing who descends from the clouds to grapple onto the nearest ledge of the main tower. It's Nightwing who catches Komodo's first arrow in his hand, and charges forward to parry more with his sticks. He's gonna stick to the plan, follow it to the tee, and make changes as needed.

And every step of the way, he's gonna make sure D.Va knows. Because this isn't about infiltrating a hideout, going on stakeout, or solving a mystery from the shadows. He's not gonna fight expecting her to be like another Bat. He's gonna fight expecting her to be D.Va as all hell.

Because this is war. And Nightwing must adapt to the changing tides if he hopes to out of it alive. If he hopes to take everyone with him. ]

When will you like the person you are now, D– ...Nightwing?

[ It was a question that lingers. The more he speaks, the more he laments old times that were unable to be returned... and idolizes the person he needs to be. Hana didn't want to leave a question that harsh to hold the air. To stop the conversation. Her tone melts, it was almost pity – but then again... maybe she just beat him to the punch? They, for as different as they handled their stress or wanted more of themselves, were similar enough.

This city was not one of hope. Gotham still ripe with reputation of the insane, of the hopeless but here there was someone wanting to change that. He wants to embrace who he is, but she wants him to like himself. Maybe, he needed the okay to forgive his downside and truly do what he wanted to do: be better. ]

OK, I will hold you to it. [ "It" being vague, for once being condensed and not some grand trolly remark. Did she mean his promises or did she mean the boba place? Who knows. How could she even start this conversation when there was more pressing matters? Hana's GPS gives them the head up they were approaching the coordinates laid out, the cockpit opened even with the wind smacking them right in the face. Occupational hazard. ] No. Go and hurry back.

[ She makes him listen, makes him realize that she didn't need to lay into him to take it easy when she herself knew nothing of it. The concern was there, but she overspeaks and speaks with passion as much as good intention.

When he's gone and her cockpit was closed, she pulls her diagnostic up. A few moments to look over how Meka was handling. Her boosters limited down to 60%, her matrix shield working at a lower absorption rate – the only thing still intact were the rockets she purposely hasn't used. Respect for the city, respect for Nightwing – she had not yet decided to use them to minimize damage.

Hana tips down to offer the prettiest distraction possible. No shots were fired on her end, she sends troops ducking into the ground for cover. Up into the clouds again, then down to another strike. It was the safest thing she could do right now, causing a commotion and... honestly, trolling the troops with a snicker that Nightwing can pick up. ]

Awwwww, c'mon, noobs! Scared of a girlllll?

[ Hana asked a great person. An important one. But in the small time they had left, Dick knew he could do it little justice without enough thought. So for the time being, he didn't bury it, but he set it aside for later. Knew it was important enough to come back to, because it was important to Hana. It was with this understanding that he leaped off, Nightwing taking on Komodo and Deadshot above, while D.Va aggros the Talon troopers below.

Though the two aren't necessarily fighting side by side, here, they find in tandem, comprising a single operation. Without D.Va to attract the stray gunfire of the troopers, Nightwing would have too much on his plate fending off Komodo's archery and Deadshot's sniping. Where Nightwing and Komodo are in close range to each other, occupying the same side of the tower, Deadshot watches from the opposite side across the roadaway.

Seeking cover in protrusions of the tower's infrastructure, Nightwing parries blows as Komodo enters close range and employs his own deadly martial arts. Nightwing also has to be conscious of the way both marksmen seek to monopolize his attention, hoping he can be distracted just enough for one of them to land a shot. But it doesn't happen-- Nightwing gets trapped in a guillotine choke from Komodo, the former's head soon in Deadshot's crosshairs. But Nightwing performs a sitout with the brunt of his weight, holding Komodo's choking arm tight to make him roll over. It happens just before Deadshot pulls the trigger, Komodo's right shoulderblade catching the bullet instead of any part of Nightwing's.

The wound loosens Komodo's grip, him crying out in anguish as Nightwing escapes and plants a knee on Komodo's face. Deadshot reloads in this time, aims again, only to find the fray across the roadway covered in smoke. Knowing full well Nightwing's probably making his way to him, Deadshot stops lying on the ground in his sniping position to ready some of his closer range artillery. But no matter how prepared he gets to subdue Nightwing, he forgets who exactly was trained by the best. Nightwing had already zipped across the gap between both sides of the tower, kneeing Deadshot in the face before he could search for his target. Nightwing grabs Deadshot's arm with both hands, the one carrying a proprietary wrist gun, and slams that arm against the corner of a wall to break it. ]

How are you doing over there, D.VA? Got a number one victory royale, or what?

[ There's a newfound vigor that seems to propel Nightwing forward, driving him to be daring while also playing smart. Not simply diving headfirst into the hail of bullets and arrows that would've killed him had not taken the same approach. ]

Listen, I'm done here. I'm gonna need your help taking these guys to the drop zone.

[ So as his communications with D.Va continue, and they start cleaning up shop in this particular bridge, the time soon comes to call for reinforcements. Other members of the insurgency stand by to fend off the remaining Talon troopers, giving Nightwing and D.VA the allowance they need to follow through with depositing their newfound prisoners. The rhythm of dividing the work this way, distracting Talon troopers to subdue and detain the Magistrate's new enforcers, proves to be something of a routine as the night progresses.

Very soon, it's Prometheus and Copperhead who get taken down. Two martial artists, testing how well Nightwing can use those eskrima sticks. What they couldn't anticipate, for all their training, is D.Va's Meka barreling through them both.

They almost seemed easier than the previous ones, all things considered. Maybe Nightwing and D.Va just caught a lucky break. Too soon to say for sure as they head to Blackgate Isle, Nightwing having charted a flight path for the Meka to follow. Given all the time that's passed across the previous skirmishes, Killer Croc and Orca must've disembarked from their boat already, their entourage of Talon troopers following suit. Perhaps they have plans of taking over the old Blackgate Prison, claiming it for the Magistrate's purposes while it's empty enough to be "for lease."

But clearly, they've caught on. Know that Nightwing and D.Va are hot on their tails by now. So even while cloaked, seeking cloud cover, lasers fire at them from above. The Talon troopers have them in their sights, though they're so high up it's a tad difficult for a shot to land. ]

Okay, D.Va. Keep them confused.

They think they'll succeed by some kind of phalanx formation down there, but they're arranged more like bowling pins to me.

Does your defense matrix have enough juice? Because they sure look like they're asking for a bowling ball to match.

[ She takes his word to heart. They needed a distraction. Do you know what the biggest distraction you could have? One of the more prominent members of Overwatch making a complete mockery of your crew. Hana doesn't dare attack, doesn't shoot her gun, doesn't even do much but literally loops in and out of sight. It has her cracking up to herself, bringing a light-hearted and for the most part harmless part to this whole thing. She chases some levity in the situation, when Nightwing went off without her being able to monitor. To follow behind. She's too headstrong to chase him, though – she had her orders.

By the time they have their back and forth, she wants to call him dumb. Tease him back, make something light continue on. There hasn't been Battle Royales in years – shows proof that he's getting old and not sticking with the times, okay! However, there wasn't time to dwell on that. Talon can't be dealt with by taunting, so she handles the best she could. She's at a disadvantage, one she doesn't want to admit. Not to herself. Not to him. She busies herself, and by the time Nightwing needs her – she's there zipping up in a jiffy.

They move things along, a ticking down to a timebomb they hope to defuse. It wasn't quite Castling or some Fastball Special... but it was something special. Their synergy at an alltime high and the baddies? They were being thinned like herded cattle. ]

– but he was smushed on the shield worse than that Firebug-Guy!

[ She was still in better spirits about the whole thing, about the lucky break that gave them a moment to breathe. There wasn't talking, really after that. Silence wasn't the thing in the air – their breathing. Hana could shut her eyes for a moment and catch her breath from the rush of energy through her. It was hard to contain, hard to feel excited about – but it was there. It kept them going to the next fight.

By the time he speaks, he orders – she nods with a thumbs up. This one was a little bit more risky – Hana's eyes look to her UX display every so often, watching the dwindling boost power. It pisses her off to know she was foolish, that she was unlucky enough to be put nearly on the bench so soon! Her concerns were hidden, her own selfish choice that he's more than welcome to yell at her about later on. ]

Huh? Oh. Defense Matrix is 8 seconds, no cool down. Should be enough. 8 seconds feels like foreverrrrrrr sometimes.

[ Hana couldn't stick with stealth to save her life, so finally she's going to just... go for it. Down, down, down she goes – the wind whistling against the mech as it drops altitude in a nosedive. ]

And after the strike? Huh? What are you doing – and how can I assist?

[ He may not be well-versed in every aspect of this machine, but Dick knows a UX display when he sees one. It doesn't annoy him that Hana disregards this, her neglecting to disclose the element of risk that it poses. How often has Dick tested the limits of his own technology, after all? How often has he tested the limits of his resources, counting on his resourcefulness to fill in the blanks as needed? This isn't to say he'd feel hypocritical chastising her. Beyond the fact that there's a better time and place for that interaction... he also understands why she's making this choice. ]

8 seconds should be enough. Turn it on as soon as you ram through the bowling pins.

Er, Talon troopers.

In that time, I'm disembarking.

Our goal will be to take down every Talon trooper as quickly as possible.

We're gonna need them out of the way to have a better chance at Croc and Orca combined.

[ Dick can say nothing further while the Meka has started its nosedive and continues hurtling towards the ground (they're coming from really high up, having started too high for any of the troopers to reliably shoot them). The pivotal 8 seconds Dick's spoken of are approaching, though, and he anticipates Hana steering her machine directly into the formation of Talon troopers below. While the machine might have to stomach some gunfire along the way, it's had time to recover between bouts. It's not in ideal condition, but it should do for the final lap of the night.

That, at least, is what Dick's counting on. Because pretty soon that strike is gonna come, and when it does, Nightwing's gonna come back out.

If Hana succeeds in piloting the Meka to execute the planned maneuver, Dick witnesses its success from inside the Meka's collision with many Talon trooper's armored bodies. They should be hit with substantial force to be knocked all the way to kingdom come, rendered unconscious by the traumatic impact of the Meka's path. Many are sent flying, others rolling in the concrete, others clinging to the Meka's windshield and slowly sliding off as it progresses. It's after mowing down this entourage that Hana might trigger her Meka's Defense Matrix, all the better to temporarily give Dick some cover.

In the 8 seconds that the barrier is up and absorbing gunfire, Nightwing leaps out of the machine. He throws a smoke bomb past the Defense Matrix and takes advantage of the way it clouds his movements. With the 8 seconds inevitably passing, Nightwing expects D.Va to go on the offensive. He, on the other hand, rolls to dodge from where he was previously running, and continues towards the remaining troopers without hesitation. His sturdier armor plating occasionally sponges a few lasers, but at least he effectively proceeds to beat down several troopers.

But it's after breaking a Talon trooper's gun over his knee and heel hooking them in the head that Nightwing's punched in the back. Punched, that is, with enough force to send him flying like he'd just been run over by the Meka. He rolls to better absorb the impact of his fall before leaping off the ground to get back on his feet. Poor guy has to rub his back, though, pain still radiating from where he'd been struck. ]

Croc. That's him, D.Va.

[ And Orca, too, who'd been standing behind Croc. It's she who decides to continue towards Nightwing, while Croc turns to advance towards D.Va, who's about a quarter mile away fending off the last Talon troopers. ]

And he's headed towards you.

His skin's thick enough to stomach your Meka's missiles. Be careful!

[ Meanwhile, he's got other problems, like dodging every punch and kick Orca's throwing his way. She's no slouch either, but she must disdain watching Nightwing dodge her attempts to murder him. She growls with the ferocity of an... orca, every missed strike for Nightwing instead smashing detritus and loose debris surrounding the ruins of the old Blackgate Prison. Croc had punched Nightwing far enough to be near the prison's rear fence, or what's left of it. It used to serve as a barrier to what's now an abandoned prison yard.

Orca finally lands a punch, though, and one that sends Nightwing through that fence. Luckily, the barbed wire was now insubstantial enough that it only caused superficial damage to the back of his suit, tears exposing layers of kevlar among other, more proprietary polymers. Nightwing lands on his back, the momentum compelling him to roll backwards until he scrambles back onto his feet. ]

Been sent further away, D.Va. A cause for delay...

[ Orca's not happy, though, because Orca's not finished. She charges towards Nightwing, ready to barrel into him as the Meka did her troopers. ]

...but I'm not leaving you alone.

[ He breaks into a run towards Orca, bluffing. He really hopes D.Va can hold out, no matter how long he takes, and he slides between Orca's legs - all while dropping a few explosive wingdings beneath her - only to keep running. Insisting to himself that he must run, and keep going. Move faster. Ignoring the explosion behind him, ignoring the chance it only succeeded in stalling Orca and making her angier.

Makes him wonder if this is how Wally feels trying to push the limits of his speed. The thought's enough to make Nightwing chuckle as he vaults through the hole in the fence he helped create. Laughing, even as he sprints so hard and so fast he feels like his lungs are about to burst. ]

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