Ash and smoke fill the air, hanging in thick, lung-burning stacks. Dick stumbles and leans against a wall, taking a few valuable seconds to catch his breath. His limbs cry out in pain for him to stop, the taste of iron fills his mouth, and the burning in his side gets more concerning as he continues. Looking out on the city is surreal, hundreds of buildings barely standing with flames engulfing what’s left.
Dick and the others don’t know the full story of what is happening, but some alien force decided it was time to invade Earth. According to Bruce, it wasn’t just Gotham for a change; it was everywhere. No one would believe him, but Dick knows he heard a tinge of fear in Bruce’s voice during the briefing. Which was more concerning than the alien invasion.
“Steph, come in!” Barbara’s voice fills his ears from his comm link, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Duke needs help on Dawson Street. You are the closest to him. The military is closing in on that location and we need to hold it till they get there!”
“I’m fine!” Duke’s exhausted voice shouts over the comms. “I can handle this. You need to find out about Jason. He went dark ten minutes ago, and I cannot get ahold of him!”
“This is getting out of hand; we need to regroup or fall back!” Stephanie pleads. “Cass got hit. We patched her up, but I don’t think we can hold this position much longer.”
“Bruce said hold your positions,” Tim chimes in, flying overhead in the BatJet and shooting down several alien ships. Dick covers his head as debris falls around him. “We need to buy enough time for the city to be evacuated.”
“We know, Tim,” Harper states, the sound of gunfire leaking through her radio. “But we cannot evacuate the city if we are overrun and killed. I agree with Steph; we need to regroup and try a new plan.” The next few seconds are filled with bickering over the comms as everyone tries to come up with an answer.
Dick looks down from his building and sees the military in a skirmish with several dozen aliens as civilians desperately try to escape. All the explosions, gunfire, screams, and arguing clash inside his head, refusing to let him think. He feels a heat rise in his chest as his breathing quickens, the pain in his side dulling as his body ignores it.
“Everyone shut it!” Dick shouts into the comms, the bickering almost immediately stopping. Dick picks up his escrima sticks and prepares his grapple gun. “Bruce told us to hold Gotham while evacuations are still going, and that is what we are going to do!” He fires the grapple hook, and it attaches to a nearby building.
“Duke, I am on my way to back you up,” Dick states, gliding down the taut rope and onto the new building. “Tim, I want you to do some runs and bail out Steph and Cass. Barbara, Harper, Jason was two blocks down by the Liberty Center. I want you to reposition there and locate Todd and get his comms back up. Everyone understand?”
“Understood!” everyone shouts in unison.
“We swore to protect these people and until this is over, that is our only goal. We accomplish our goal or die trying, and if you die…” Several aliens land and surround Dick, their electro weapons release a loud hum as electricity arcs and crackles. Dick grips his escrima sticks and readies himself. “Get back up.”
