Oculus | J. Todd ✔

[15]

Nightwing was cornered from all sides and outnumbered as the Assassins closed in on him, attacking lethally. And though he was trying his best to keep up with them, attacking and defending simultaneously, deep down he knew it would only be a matter of time before they would take him out.

But he could not give up. He was trained by Batman to fight till his very last breath and that was exactly what he was going to do. 

Slade Wilson had showed up unexpectedly in Gotham armed with an entire league of Assassins he had trained himself. Not much was known about the reason behind Slade's abrupt attack at the city, except for the fact that it was tied to the Bat vigilantes as well as the League Of Shadows.

At the current moment, Red Robin was held hostage by Deathstroke so Batman had gone to rescue Tim while Nightwing was left in charge of Gotham with Barbara as Oracle.

His connection to Oracle had also been severed during the battle with the Assassins and it was getting extremely difficult for him to stand his ground. With no knowing whether Batman had gotten to Tim yet nor any connection with Oracle, Nightwing could only hope that Barbara would send someone as backup.

His escrima sticks flashed in the darkness of the night as he fought off the Assassins who were themselves dressed in a dark fabric aiding them to blend with the shadows, making them difficult to spot and block.

The blade of one sword cut through his suit and he spun around quickly to disarm the attacker but was met with another blow in the back. The charge on his sticks gleamed as he electrocuted one of them, missing another attack by mere inches.

However, he was completely cornered and it was becoming very difficult for him to keep track of the attackers all at once, hence he was sustaining much more damage as compared to the opponents.

He missed a shuriken by sheer luck but another three came flying towards him at a swift pace. However, before the ninja stars could strike him, he was pushed down to the ground. Three shots were fired and then he lost track of what was happening. All he could hear was the noise of bullets being fired at a remarkably swift pace and then minutes later, a deadly silence gripped the atmosphere.

His head was swimming and as he felt his forehead, he winced when his hand came in contact with a deep gash, blood tainting the black glove. Willing himself to get up, he tried to heave himself to his feet but was surprised when a firm arm was draped round his back and another hand closed onto his arm pulling him up.

His vision was hazy but he could see red everywhere, pools of blood littering the dark alley and the clinks of bullet shells rolling down to the sewers were audible in the silence.

"You okay?" A robotic voice sounded and he realized immediately who had come to his rescue.

"Red Hood?"

"The one and only," there was a slight trace of satire in his tone but he hadn't let go of Nightwing and began to lead him away.

As Richard's vision cleared, he glanced back to see the bodies of his opponents sprawled on the ground lifeless. And then his eyes got caught by the scarlet helmet of the man supporting him and though his lips parted to speak up, no words came out.

"If you're wondering why I helped you, I have only two words to say..." There was a short pause after which he added, "ohana, bitch."

A light chuckle escaped him but he ended up coughing out blood.

"Damn, Nightwing, Bats went out of town for one day and you get yourself nearly beaten to death?"

"One against a whole league of ninjas doesn't sound very fair, does it?" His voice was choked but he let out the words nevertheless.