[Third Person's PoV]
Black Spider delivered a powerful spinning kick to Robin's chest, the impact launching him several feet through the air. But Robin wasn't down for long. Twisting mid-air, he recovered with a graceful back handspring, each movement fluid as he bounced across the rooftop. As his momentum carried him backward, he flipped once more and, mid-twist, reconnected the two halves of his baton into a full staff. He landed in a low crouch, immediately settling into a defensive stance, eyes locked on his opponent.
Without a moment's pause, Robin sprang forward in a blur of motion, charging directly at Black Spider. In response, the villain launched a barrage of red spider-ball webs, each one arcing through the air like burning comets. Dick dove and rolled with practiced ease, narrowly avoiding them. Wherever the projectiles struck, they burst into rapidly spreading, sticky webs that anchored themselves to the surrounding surfaces.
Thinking fast, Black Spider shot a webline to Dick's side and yanked himself toward him like a missile, spinning into a wide roundhouse kick. "Isn't it past your bedtime, kid?" he taunted with a sneer.
Dick skidded backward, his boots dragging across the gravel-topped roof as he braced against the blow with his staff. "Heheh. Sorry," he quipped with a smirk, "but your mom said I could stay up late. She's waiting for me." As he spoke, he flicked a birdarang toward Black Spider's feet, and it detonated in a burst of white light.
"Ugh! Real mature kid—augh!"
Before he could recover, Robin vaulted off his staff like a gymnast, launching himself forward in a tight arc and slamming both feet squarely into Black Spider's stomach. The force knocked the assassin off his feet, sending him tumbling across the rooftop in a ragged heap, grunting as he rolled.
Across the rooftop, the battle between Batman and Merlyn was just as intense. Merlyn, momentarily outmatched, flung his arms to the side, and a compact grappling hook shot from his gauntlet, lifting him away from a close-quarters clash. But Batman, ever prepared, hurled a batarang that severed the cable mid-flight. With a hiss of compressed gas, Batman's own grappling hook fired, propelling him toward Merlyn like a missile.
Merlyn twisted in midair and vaulted upward, narrowly avoiding the tackle. As Batman closed the distance, Merlyn swung his bow like a club, but Batman raised his reinforced forearm and blocked the strike with a metallic clang. At the same time, Merlyn unsheathed a curved sword from his side and slashed horizontally, forcing Batman to duck and pivot.
Taking the opening, Merlyn stowed his bow on his back, freeing both hands for close combat. Batman drew twin batarangs, holding them like daggers. The rooftop came alive with sparks and gritted metal as the two combatants exchanged furious slashes and counterattacks. They moved in a deadly dance, their silhouettes blurring against the backdrop of the Star skyline, each one reading the other's movements like a chess match of fists and steel.
Batman attempted a sweeping kick, aiming to knock Merlyn off balance, but Merlyn leapt, twisting his body in the air and slashing downward as he descended. Batman rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the blade, and retaliated by tossing a cluster of smoke pellets that erupted into a thick cloud.
"You think you're the only one who knows how to fight in the dark, Batman?" Merlyn shouted from within the smoke, slashing wildly with his blade.
From the gloom, Batman appeared like a ghost. He slammed a heavy punch into Merlyn's jaw, snapping his head to the side. Merlyn staggered. Batman reappeared behind him and delivered a brutal kick to his lower back. As Merlyn dropped to one knee, Batman surged forward again, striking his legs from the side and forcing him to buckle completely. Then, with a cold efficiency, he gripped Merlyn's head and brought it crashing down onto his extended knee. Blood sprayed from behind Merlyn's mask as he was hurled backward, dazed and groaning.
"You merely learned to fight in the dark," Batman growled. "I became it."
But Merlyn wasn't finished. As he slid to a halt, he dropped to one knee and, in a single fluid motion, pulled his bow from his back. Holding it with his sword arm, he fired an arrow directly at Batman.
Reacting instantly, Batman slashed at the projectile with a batarang, but the arrow exploded on contact, blasting him out of the smoke cloud in a fiery shockwave. The blast rocked the rooftop—and across the city, a thunderous crash rang out from Danny's fight with Dragon Dinah, shaking nearby buildings.
Though Batman's expression remained unreadable, tension tightened his features. He could feel it. The battle between Danny and Dinah was escalating, and civilian lives were at risk. He had to end this—fast.
Merlyn seized the moment and leapt from the smoke, slashing his sword at Batman's side. A shallow gash appeared along Batman's armor, forcing him into a defensive stance.
'I have to get them out of the city before more people get hurt,' Batman thought, narrowing his eyes.
He blocked the next blow with his gauntlet and then twisted Merlyn's arm back at a painful angle. A loud crack echoed as the limb was dislocated. Batman didn't hesitate—he lifted Merlyn by the broken arm and hurled him to the ground with a thud.
Still holding Merlyn in place, Batman hurled a precision batarang toward Black Spider and Robin's skirmish across the rooftop. The blade sliced clean through the tubing connected to Black Spider's web-shooter pack, severing the connection. Pressurized web fluid erupted in all directions, spraying uncontrollably.
"Robin!" Batman shouted through the chaos. "Tell Danny—lead the fight away from the city! Now!"
Robin saw his opening. With Black Spider's web shooters clicking empty, he seized the moment. Spinning his staff with practiced precision, he dashed forward and slammed it down across the villain's forearms, shattering the wrist-mounted devices in a crackling burst of metal and sparks.
But Black Spider wasn't done yet.
Snarling, he lunged forward, gripping Robin's staff tightly in both hands. With a subtle press of a hidden switch on his staff, a surge of electricity surged through the metal and into Black Spider's body.
"It's you who's past your bed—time to sleep!" Robin snarled, referencing their earlier quip.
"ARGHHHH!" Black Spider cried out in agony, his body convulsing from the shock.
Robin twisted the staff sharply, locking the villain's arms in place before executing a powerful roundhouse kick. The blow connected squarely with Black Spider's Jaw, launching him across the rooftop like a ragdoll. He skidded along the concrete and landed with a thud at Batman's feet.
Dick didn't wait to see if the fight was over.
He bolted to the edge of the rooftop, his cape fluttering behind him. Without hesitation, he dove off, performing a seamless acrobatic front flip mid-air. As he descended, he fired a grappling hook across the gap between buildings, catching a ledge in the distance. The line went taut, and Robin swung gracefully toward the source of the chaos—the furious, echoing sounds of Danny's battle with Dragon Dinah.
---
Meanwhile…
Inside the wreckage of a shattered shop, Danny slowly exhaled the breath he'd been holding, his chest heaving with the effort. Blood dripped down his arms, and deep, glowing gashes marred his torso. He leaned forward, his body screaming in pain, but he didn't stop.
With a rumble and a flash of light, the ground beneath him cracked under the explosive force of his takeoff. He launched forward like a comet, a blur of white hair and black jumpsuit, streaking from the ruin of the building toward Dinah as she struggled to her feet.
In a heartbeat, Danny was there—too fast for the dragon to react.
He drove his head forward with brutal precision, slamming it into the underside of Dinah's belly where her scales offered the least protection.
The dragon let out a guttural roar, stumbling backward. Her taloned feet scraped trenches into the asphalt as her body slid across the ruined street. She dropped to one knee, clutching her abdomen in pain.
Danny didn't let up.
He blinked forward again, reappearing just beneath her elongated head. In one fluid motion, he jumped and spun, performing a whirling bicycle kick that cracked against her jaw with resounding force. Her head snapped backward from the impact—but the tail came next, slamming down like a hammer from the heavens.
Danny tried to phase away, but not quickly enough.
The tail smashed into him, and blood burst from his mouth as he was hurled through the ground, disappearing beneath the concrete in a burst of debris.
Silence.
Then, slowly, Danny crawled back up, dragging himself out of the earth like a wounded demon from hell. He planted his hands on the ruined street, his knees trembling beneath him, shoulders rising and falling with labored breaths.
He was on one knee, coughing, bleeding green, barely staying upright. Vision blurred, he glared at Dinah with burning determination.
"Hey…" he rasped. "Had enough yet?"
His voice was weak but defiant.
Danny forced himself to stand. He staggered, swaying slightly, his white hair falling across his face. Behind it, his glowing green eyes flared. He raised his fists into a boxing stance, trembling as ectoplasmic energy ignited around them.
"Because I can do this all day."
The dragon growled, almost… amused. She dropped down to all fours, preparing for another charge.
"Danny!!" a voice rang out from above.
Robin stood on a nearby rooftop, panting, his cape flowing in the wind.
"Look around you!" he yelled, his voice sharp with urgency. "Try to take the fight away from the city!"
Danny blinked. Then he turned, slowly surveying the destruction he'd left in his wake.
And what he saw broke something inside him.
The city was in shambles. Streets lay torn and upturned. Vehicles blazed with emerald fire. Buildings were crumbling into skeletal ruins. Smoke and sparks filled the sky.
Worse still, bodies lay strewn across the rubble—civilians caught in the chaos. Some were crushed beneath debris, others buried beneath flaming cars. Many were unmoving. Others fled with injuries, screaming and sobbing.
Danny's heart dropped into his stomach.
His hands trembled at his sides, the energy around them flickering.
Guilt surged in his chest, heavier than the wounds across his body. His breathing quickened.
"Robin…" he said, voice low and trembling. "I'm struggling to keep myself alive out here…Give me a break"
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