-Dick's POV-

I was knocked to the ground. I wasn't sure how long I laid there. After however long, I sat up and blinked my eyes open. Buildings and cars were destroyed, their parts littering the city. My arm was trapped underneath a section of window. Luckily, it wasn't too heavy. I flipped over, tearing it off of me.

Slowly, I looked around. My vision was still blurry, my ears were ringing, and blood trickled down the side of my face.

Screams came from every direction. My eyes darted from side to side, scanning. For every limp citizen in the streets was a living person sobbing. My heart squeezed. Who had done this?

I struggled to stand up. My ankle was twisted for sure. I rubbed at the side of my head. It was cut open, throbbing, and swelled. I wasn't sure what I had been hit by and I didn't really care. My ears were still ringing and I could barely hear anything over the shrieks of pain and grief.

I glanced around and barely managed to see the tiny hand sticking out from underneath a pile or rubble. Adrenaline filling every inch of my body, I dashed over to the pile. I checked the pulse. Still alive. Wrapping my stiff fingers around the concrete, I lifted as hard as I could. Barely, I managed to create a small opening.

"Come on! Come on!" I shouted, straining. A small, wounded body crawled out of the hole. The boy was probably no older than fifteen. He was scrawny and bleeding. He pulled himself out onto the street and passed out again. I was thrown into panic mode.

Faster than the Flash, I changed into my Nightwing uniform and called the Bludhaven Police Department. "I need some backup in the North end of the city. Bring as many ambulances as you can spare," I ordered.

"We saw the bomb detonate. The entire East has been wiped out. Units are stationed in your area and will arrive shortly," the cop on the other end instructed. I nodded and hung up.

I looked up at the sky. There was still a green gash that streaked across the night sky. The bomb had came out of nowhere. Whoever was behind this was going to get what was coming to them. No one messes with my city and gets away with it.

When the cops showed up, I helped load people into the ambulances and assist in any ways that I could. It was a sight no one should ever have to see, but one that I should've been accustomed to. As a hero, its my duty to be on the front line when something bad happens. That being said, I saw a lot of tragedy and destruction. But this was different. A few tears slipped from my eyes as I watched people desperately search for their loved ones.

Several people refused to get into the ambulance and insisted that their daughter, their father, their husband, was still alive. It pained me so much to watch. Others turned into robots, following instructions given to them by the BPD with blank expressions and tight lipped silence. I could see the light that had left their eyes.

Everywhere there were tears and crying. The sobs almost drowned out the screams of the injured. No one knew what to do. No one had prepared for this. Not even me.

After an hour or so, I had to step away. I felt like I was going to pass out. Whether it was the dent in my head that I refused to get treated or the ocean of emotion I was drowning in, I couldn't take it.

I slipped away into an alley, shoving my back against the wall. My legs immediately gave out and I slid to the ground. I dropped my head into my hands and began to outright cry. The tears rushed out of me like a broken flood, leaving me heaving for a single breath.

I just sat there. Crying. I knew I needed to help -- those people needed me -- but I just couldn't bring myself to move. Everything was just too much.

Something. Out of the corner of my eye. I lifted my head, brushing my hair back out of my face to see better. The stars illuminated the form, lighting it up as it fell across the sky. She was like an angel. As Athena drifted down, I couldn't tear my eyes away.

She landed gently on the destroyed streets, her feet touching down softly.

I moved.

Nightingale surveyed the environment and gasped. I stood up. Like a magnet, I was drawn to her. I approached her, almost unsure if she was actually there. I had received news from Bruce earlier that he was preparing to confront Red Hood and Nightingale, but here she was. Had she seen the light? Had she changed her mind?

"Why are you smiling?" She asked me, reaching forward. Neither of us thought anything of it. I didn't even realize I was smiling until her fingertips brushed over my cheeks. I tried to drop the expression, but I was just generally glad to see her.

"I'm just...its good to see you."

Athena came at me. Her arms flung around me, pulling my body tight against hers. Her fingers gripped onto me like she was scared I would float away. Her head buried itself into my shoulder. I couldn't remember feeling happier. Amidst all the death and sadness that surrounded us both, I finally felt true, honest joy.

Athena mumbled into my shoulder, "You're alive." Her voice trembled.

I hadn't even thought of that. She must've seen the blast. But all accounts, I seemed dead. And she raced here. For me. And now, she was there. For me.

"So are you," I said back, cradling the back of her head in my hand.

The situation came back to us both. Athena pulled out of my embrace. Our smiles both faded away into determined smirks.

"Okay, Grayson," Athena started, putting her hands on her hips, "let's get this city cleaned up and these people safe. I didn't show up here for no reason."

I nodded in agreement. We both charged forward.

It was like before, just like it. We worked side by side, saving people from under wreckage and offering consolidation for those who refused to leave the bodies of their loved ones. Athena even helped the short staff of paramedics, stitching wounds closed faster than an old granny ever could.

Just being near her set off flames inside me. As I worked, I didn't even have to look to know where she was. My body was like a compass and she was my true north. A strong tether kept us tied together.

With both of us helping, the entire North end was cleared within two hours. The survivors were being shipped off to receive care and the dead bodies were being taken care of. According to the BPD Radio Station, the West and South had already been secured. The only thing that needed to be checked out was the East.

"Its too dangerous," Athena told the BPD, "Bludhaven needs the Police Department more than anything right now. If that bomb was as radioactive as it looked, just one step inside could kill you. I don't think we should be risking Police lives in a time like this."

An uproar from the cops echoed in the empty streets. "But this is our job!" Someone shouted.

I stood beside Athena, our shoulders bumping and our hands brushing against each other. "I agree with Nightingale. The BPD should stay inside the borders and begin clean up. We will go into the East and report back."

"Nightwing," Amy said, stepping forward, "You are also important to this city. If you were to be killed, the citizens of Bludhaven would be even more devastated. They can't deal with that right now."

"Then I'll go," Nightingale interrupted, "Nightwing will stay here. No one in Bludhaven would care if I charged in there and it needs to be done."

My fight response kicked in. I grabbed her arm tightly, trying to convey my desperation. I wouldn't let her do this. Not alone. She was finally here when I needed her, I would be there when she needed me.

Athena glared, ripping her arm away. Shaking her head, she grappled away. I followed after her.

We approached the East in silence. When we touched down, Athena immediately stepped toward the green, glowing barrier.

"Stop!" I shouted, pulling her back towards me.

"Let me go, Boy Blunder," she hissed. When her eyes met mine -- when they searched through me -- Athena saw just how scared I was for her. To lose her. She smiled softly, lacing our fingers together. She squeezed my hand. "I'll be fine. I promise. You have to trust me, Dick. Stay here. I'll be right back."

She stepped forward. I did too.

Whipping around, Athena stared at me in disbelief. We were both standing inside the radioactive ground zero. She shoved my chest hard. "You asshole!" She yelled, her voice not really conveying the anger she wanted it to.

I shrugged. "Did you really think I'd let you do this alone?"

A smile stretched across her perfect lips. It was the exact one I had been chasing all throughout my life. It was the smile that had stuck in the back of my mind when I was a kid, the one that appeared in my dreams. It was the one I had knew I had fallen in love with. It was the one that promised me that the world was pure, that there was good and faith and purity still left on Earth. It was the one that belonged to that good, to that purity, to that faith. Her smile was the smile that I needed, that I craved.

"Don't die, okay?" Athena teased, pulling her pistols from her holsters.

I wanted to kiss her right then. I really did.

"As long as you don't, I won't," I promised. And I really meant it. I really did.

~~~~~~~~Kind of a short chapter, I know, but the other one was so long that I thought I would give you guys a break. This book is coming to an end (SO SAD ;((((((((() But, I think I'm going to put out a short novella in this series between the second and third book. I have about 10 chapters I was going to add onto the end of this book, but it doesn't really make that much sense, so I'll leave it for its own. Songs: Grow - Conan Gray. 7 Hours Ago - Honeywater~~~~~~~~~~~