DEC 2002 - #48

Endgame III: The Center Cannot Hold by Paul Hahn

The area had become a camp for the terrorist cell Ultimatum, and their leader Flag Smasher. But their camp was now in shambles, with general havoc ensuing. All of this was to the fault, or possibly credit, of one man: Nightwing.

Chuck Barnes had come to finally face the man who had killed his parents.

"You've caused an awful lot of trouble," Flag Smasher frowned. "Why?"

"They were in my way," Nightwing answered.

"So I assume you're after me?" the villain asked.

"I'd be willing to say yes," Chuck replied, his Bo-staff at the ready.

"Why?"

"You've escaped justice one too many times. You're guilty of murder."

"You're here to bring me in, then?"

"No."

"No?"

"I'm here for vengeance."

"Oh really?" Flag Smasher grinned. "I thought heroes didn't give in to such emotions . . . "

Nightwing moved with incredible speed, slamming his Bo-staff into Smasher's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to bend over.

"You killed my parents, you son of a bitch," Chuck was overcome with rage. "In cold blood, for no reason!"

Chuck swiped the staff upside the Smasher's head, knocking him the opposite way.

"There must have been . . . a reason," Flag Smasher replied. "Your parents must have been opponents to my cause . . . "

"Everyone is an opponent to your cause," Nightwing said. "Your own soldiers aren't even coming to your rescue right now."

"Maybe they know I don't need it?"

"They're not that stupid," Chuck replied. He jabbed the staff into the Smasher's shin. "Usually, when you go into battle, you have a protective exoskeleton. Right now, you're just an ordinary human."

"So, how's this going to play out?" Flag Smasher asked, wounded. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? I already told you . . . vengeance."

Chuck slammed the Bo-staff into his stomach once again. He followed it up with a kick to the villain's head, a punch to his side, and another kick to the head. Chuck then used his Bo-staff as he began beating Flag Smasher. A rage had consumed Nightwing, and it didn't want to let go. He heard ribs crack with one blow. A broken jaw, a broken nose . . . a leg, an arm . . . the beating was relentless.

Finally, Flag Smasher managed to cry out, "You'll kill me, like your parents were killed?!"

Chuck stopped in mid-swing. Flag Smasher's voice was cracked, weak . . . the man was shaking from pain. He was barely conscious.

He was right. If Chuck killed Flag Smasher, then he would be no better than the villain.

"My God," Chuck said, as he was forcibly snapped from his fit of rage.

He turned and ran, heading back towards his bike.

"Kon?" Linda exclaimed.

"I . . . I'm sorry . . . " Superboy shook his head.

Graviton grinned. "Now, I require an answer. I offered you the chance to surrender. What say you?"

"Never!" Linda exclaimed as the Phoenix Force burst around her.

Graviton easily used gravity to create a shield that blocked Linda's telekinetic assault. Impulse sped up and began slamming away at Graviton, who, with a mild gesture, sent him flying.

The flame arrows shot by Arrowette were grabbed in mid-air and turned on Rebel and Jolt, causing them to be burned and knocked out.

Empress teleported, but Graviton was able to feel her re-appear, and easily grabbed and squeezed her 'till she fell unconscious, all with the power of gravity.

"Kon, do something!" Arrowette exclaimed.

"I . . . " he started.

Impulse tried another lighting-fast approach, but was hurled into Arrowette, knocking the both of them out. Phoenix tried another telekinetic assault, but Graviton pushed back. Telekinesis was no match for a planet's gravity. He took hold of her and slammed her into the ground so hard that the island shook. She, too, was out.

"No . . . " Superboy said quietly.

"You did the right thing, Superboy," Graviton said solemnly.

"I didn't have a choice," Kon frowned. "Since you gave me these powers, I can't move if you don't let me."

"I will have Young Justice placed in an actual prison cell," Graviton said. "Out of respect for your . . . friendship with these beings. They will not be harmed further. And I shall give you twenty-four hours to make your choice. You may join me, and ensure that Young Justice continues living . . . or . . . you may refuse my offer, and be forced to watch as I kill your teammates one by one, and then all the other heroes, before I finally kill you."

He had tried not to think about what he almost did. The line he almost crossed.

And he knew, full well, that unless Flag Smasher was given medical attention, he might yet die. That realization was equally disturbing. He wasn't sure what to do. He went to the communications room, sat down and began to focus on his breathing. He knew that he just needed to calm down.

It took him a few minutes, but eventually, he has breathing normally, and had calmed down.

Can't think about it . . . just . . . forget it. Let it go.

"Nightwing?"

"Eh?" he turned around. "Red Tornado?"

The robot stood in the doorway. "You're still here."

"Yeah . . . why wouldn't I be?" he asked.

"Because every other hero in the world has been captured by Graviton."

"What?" Nightwing exclaimed. He quickly flipped on a few televisions. They were replaying the appearance of Sky Island, Graviton's message, the capture of all the heroes, and, even, the arrival of Young Justice. The last scene the camera's got was the destruction of the Super Cycle. "My God . . . "

"Indeed," the Tornado frowned. "It appears as though, somehow, Young Justice was overlooked. The team apparently went off to the rescue . . . only to fail. I came here, not sure what else to do. I know I cannot possibly defeat a being such as he by myself."

"I'm just a normal human . . . I can't do much against someone who controls gravity," Chuck frowned.

"Your mind is your power," the Tornado said. "Think."

" . . . Well, he controls gravity. That means he can basically stop anyone in their tracks. What if we were impervious to gravity?"

"You would have to eliminate your mass," Reddy said.

"Batman had a device to make someone weightless," Nightwing's eyes lit up. "If we could modify it to eliminate mass . . . and make several of them? We might stand a chance at stopping him . . . "

"It is possible," the Tornado nodded.

"But still . . . two of us against Graviton . . . we need some more heavy power," Nightwing said. His mind began racing as he tried to think of something, anything. "All the heroes are captured . . . but just . . . heroes."

"Query?"

"I got it!" Chuck exclaimed. "Reddy, go to the Batcave, find the device we need and get to work on it!"

"What about you?"

"I've got to get us some partners . . . "

Kon-El stood in a separate prison cell. It had been carved out of the island's rock itself, with Graviton's own force of will keeping anyone from entering or exiting.

"It's hopeless," Kon said. "I betrayed the team . . . and even if I wanted to act against Graviton, I can't . . . not without giving up my powers. And if I give up my powers, I'll be helpless. I . . . I guess this is how it all ends."

"Don't . . . say . . . that . . . "

"Huh?" Kon asked, turning about. "Who's there?"

"It's . . . muh-muh . . . meeee!"

Suddenly, a bright flash of light blinded Kon. When his eyes readjusted, he saw a woman floating before him. Her body was glowing blue and red, made completely of energy . . . energy which seemed just barely able to hold itself in form. But the form . . . was indeed a familiar one.

"Cassie?"

"Kon!" she exclaimed. "I . . . I did it . . . "

"You're alive!" he exclaimed. "I knew it!"

"I was working on it," she said. "We learned that my body's made of ionic energy . . . "

"And energy can't be destroyed."

"Exactly. All I had to do was figure out how to pull myself back together after the Marauders blew me up . . . and now I have! And I'm back! Kon, it's so good to see you!"

The two hugged.

"You picked a lousy time to come back," Kon frowned. "It's all over for YJ. Graviton . . . he's won."

"Only if you let him!" Wonder Girl exclaimed.

"There's nothing I can do," Kon frowned. "He wiped the floor with the team, and I can't fight him unless I give up my powers . . . "

"So do it," Wonder Girl said.

"Pardon?"

"Give up the powers he gave you! You're much more than just your powers. And if you give them up, you just might be able to move undetected for awhile . . . since he'll be expecting to detect your power!"

"But . . . "

"Kon, he doesn't know about me, either. We can free the rest of YJ and launch a surprise attack!"

"It won't work . . . it can't work . . . we can't do this alone."

"I'll bet you anything Rob--uh, Nightwing, is out somewhere right now gathering forces! I'll bet he's got some brilliant plan . . . and he's gonna come bring the fight to Graviton. And when he does, we'll be there to help! I know we can do this Kon . . . you've just got to have faith!"

"Alright," Kon sighed. "I'm going to give up my powers . . . if I can. Here goes . . . "

Kon concentrated, focusing on his strength. With a lot of thought, he was able to move Graviton's "gift" of power from himself to a rock inside the cell.

"Done," Kon said. "But I feel so . . . weak . . . "

"You're no weaker than Nightwing," Wonder Girl said. "And he does just fine, doesn't he?"

"That he does."

"Now, come on! Let's go free the others. We've gotta hurry . . . Chuck'll probably be coming for us soon!"

"That's right," Nightwing continued his conversation into the bike's view screen. "I didn't alert any authorities . . . and I won't. I can eliminate files on you that the Justice League has . . . but only if you help. You've got the people. I've given you the location, and a time-frame. Will you do it?"

" . . . Yes. But only because it serves our purposes as well."

"Good enough. Nightwing out."

His monitor light blinked, signaling an incoming call. Chuck answered it.

"Nightwing, I have the device," Red Tornado said.

"Good," he answered. "What's your status?"

"It's coming along faster than I expected," the android answered. "I should be able to make enough of these devices for Young Justice. I'll probably convert them into armbands."

"Sounds good to me. But we'll need them fast. We can't wait too long before taking the fight to Graviton."

"Of course. What is your status?"

"I've got us a great deal of help," Nightwing answered. "We don't need to give them arm bands . . . they're mainly going to be a distraction force. I'm en route to pick up one more who I think is going to be a valuable asset. He'll need an armband."

"Dare I ask who?"

"Just focus on the job at hand, Reddy. It's up to us to save the world."

The Tornado nodded. "Red Tornado out."

The view-screen went back to it's map, leading Chuck to the precise location he sought. He approached the coast of Maine and got off his bike. He looked around for the access tunnel that he knew had to exist. It didn't take him long to find a small, metal doorway hidden under some rocks. Though it took most of his strength, he was able to move the rocks away. He entered the access tunnel and began walking. It was cold.

After walking for a few minutes, he entered a larger chamber. This chamber was very cold.

"Hello?" he called.

"Who dares?" a voice answered back, echoing through the chamber.

"My name is Nightwing," he said. "We've met before . . . Young Justice, remember?"

"I remember." Victor Freeze stepped forward into the chamber, opposite Chuck. "Have you come here to die?"

"Not quite," Chuck replied. "I need your help."

"My help?"

"Yup," Nightwing said. "I'm willing to cut a deal. You say you need access to the Speed Force . . . to Impulse's powers. You think it might save your wife."

"How do you . . . ?"

"I'm willing to assist you in every way possible to cure your wife," Nightwing said. "But in return . . . you're going to help me stop Graviton and save the world."