I wrote this for the 2019 DCU Bang and it's my first attempt at anything like this.

It's also the first time I've written any kind of multiverse fic. And while it was tough, I enjoyed writing it.

Have fun and thanks for reading!

As far as Wednesdays went, Dick was positive this was among the worst ever. He was fairly certain none of his previous Wednesdays involved saving the planet from all-out extinction, but here they were, trying to do just that. What began as the Titans responding to a temporal anomaly on the outskirts of Metropolis quickly devolved into an all-out brawl to keep Darkseid from sending his entire parademon army to Earth.

Come to think of it, this might even be a top-ten worst day, period. And that was after most of the Justice League arrived.

He paused for a moment to catch his breath and watched as Troia carried Arsenal high into the air. Roy drew an arrow, likely one with an incendiary tip, and fired directly at one of the power supplies for the device holding the boom tube portal open. The arrow hit its target and blew the sensor, sending a black cloud of smoke billowing into the air. The explosion caught Darkseid's attention and he sent a wave of parademons after Roy and Donna. Seconds later, he heard Roy's voice in his earpiece.

"Guys? I have good news and bad news."

Green Arrow chimed in from somewhere across the battlefield. Dick guessed he was up on the interstate overpass, firing from the bridge.

"Good news first, kid."

Roy grunted and said something to Donna, none of which anyone was able to understand. A moment later, he spoke again.

"We can close the boom tube and send Darkseid packing."

Dick made his way through a small contingent of parademons, using a blast from his escrima sticks to take them down. He winced and rolled his shoulders, willing the tightness to go away. He had no idea how long they'd been fighting, but he was quickly running out of gas.

Hal Jordan spoke up next.

"Well, someone's gotta ask. What's the bad news, Arsenal?"

There was another explosion directly above Dick's head and he looked up to see Hal put up a shield to protect Donna and Roy from the blast wave as Roy took out another power supply.

"The only way to access them is from up here. You can't hit them from the ground."

There was a flurry of activity above him and Dick watched Wonder Woman, Superman, John Stewart, and Martian Manhunter take off toward the edges of the portal. Batman followed in the Batwing for air support. Dick took off running back toward where Tim and Damian were helping defend Vic as he tried to figure out a way to get them out of this mess. He arrived in time to crack a parademon across the back of the head, sending it to the ground in a heap before it could pounce on Tim. Tim whirled around, ready to strike. He glanced down and smiled in relief.

"Thanks, Nightwing."

Dick grinned and leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees.

"Don't mention it." He turned to Vic, who was furiously typing away.

"Any progress?"

Vic nodded and rotated his arm to show Dick what he found.

"I can open a second boom tube to send him back."

Flash came to a stop next to Dick in a rush of smoke-filled air and dust. He nodded at both of them and removed a small vial from his pocket. Dick recognized it as a concentrated dose of glucose and electrolytes. When Wally reached for one of those, he was either getting ready to do something really heroic, or really risky.

He hoped what Vic was about to suggest fell into neither category.

"This will only work if we can get the main boom tube closed. If we can do that and keep Darkseid busy, I can open a boom tube behind him. Someone's just gotta knock him into it."

Wally looked at the ground, then back at Dick with a grin.

"Rock, paper, scissors?"

Dick shook his head and put a hand on Wally's arm.

"No. Absolutely not."

"Look around, Nightwing. Most of the League is busy trying to close the boom tube. Garth, Lilith, and other members of the League are trying to keep them from getting to Metropolis. We don't have time to debate this."

Dick looked around. Wally was right. If they didn't do this and do it now, there was a high likelihood they could lose the fight. He felt hands on his shoulders, and both Tim and Damian stepped forward.

"We'll keep a clear perimeter around Cyborg," Tim added. "That way he can work without interference."

Vic nodded and looked at the sky, then at Wally.

"Can you generate enough power to keep the boom tube open long enough for someone to shove him through it? Darkseid's gonna fight like hell."

Wally held up the injector pen and flashed a grim smile.

"Sure can."

"Then that settles it. Red Robin and I will protect Cyborg, Flash will generate the energy required to keep the boom tube open, and the League should be almost finished destroying Darkseid's boom tube."

Damian fell silent when he realized the only job left was to distract Darkseid and knock him through Vic's boom tube. Before he could say anything further, Batman's gruff voice came through their comms.

"Nightwing, don't even think about it. You need to wait for backup."

Dick bit the inside of his cheek and looked around one more time. Parademons continued to flood through the boom tube faster than they could take them out. It wouldn't be long before they were all completely overwhelmed.

"Batman, we don't have time. If we don't do this, we'll not only lose Metropolis, but we could lose all of it."

Wally and Vic both looked at him, their faces resolute in what was about to happen.

"Try and keep him busy for as long as you can," Vic said. "Based on my count, there are only two power supplies left. It should collapse after that, so keep an eye out. Once I open the second one, you can knock him through it."

Dick felt his stomach flip and he forced a smile. It sounded so simple, though it was anything but. He wasn't sure how in the hell he was supposed to take on Darkseid, but they all must think him capable, or they wouldn't have suggested the plan. After all, it was the best chance they had.

Well, the only chance they had. Big difference.

He ruffled Damian's hair and squeezed Tim's shoulder before he turned back to the battlefield. Wally fell into step beside him as he walked away.

"Don't do anything more than you have to, alright? But if you get stuck, tell me and I'll be there to get you out."

He pretended not to notice Wally's concerned frown and shrugged.

"I'll be fine. Just get that boom tube open and leave the rest to me."

He glanced over his shoulder one last time, memorizing the scene with a sad smile. Tim was busy talking to Vic, but Damian's devastated expression said it all.

Bye, kiddo.

"See you later, guys."

Before they could say anything more, Dick took off running. Darkseid was stationed just north of their current position and if he was lucky, he could get close enough to catch him off-guard when the time came. He took cover when another explosion rang out, shielding his head from the debris raining down.

"Two down, one to go," he heard Hal say. "Diana, on my signal- take your shot."

Dick braced himself against a burned-out school bus and waited. Moments later, there was another explosion. He peered around the end of the bus, watching as the boom tube began to collapse. Darkseid turned his attention from the battlefield to the sky above him.

"Do you think you can take Darkseid on and win? I'm a god, you fools!"

Now free to take out the remaining parademons, the rest of the Titans and Justice League shifted their focus back to the battlefield, save for two. Superman and Wonder Woman took off toward Darkseid.

"Nightwing, we'll keep him busy and wait for your cue, got it?"

"Copy that, Superman."

From his vantage point, Dick watched as a boom tube opened near the ground several hundred yards away. Darkseid was up on a radio tower, standing on the platform at the top, centered conveniently above the boom tube he hadn't noticed yet. His eyes narrowed and he smiled; this plan was almost too easy.

"Wally, I need a quick favor."

"Anything."

"Bring me the explosives Robin and Red Robin both have in their belts. I'm gonna blow the tower he's standing on."

"Copy that."

Seconds later, Wally stood next to him at the base of the tower, his hands full of plastic explosive. He quirked an eyebrow and looked at Dick.

"What are you doing?"

"Never mind that. Just get back to Vic- he needs your help. I can handle this."

Wally gave him a worried frown and disappeared.

He worked quickly to wire the explosives to the rear support columns. They only needed it to collapse backward a short distance, and it was the only safe way to knock him back without getting too close. The boom tube was now completely open and somehow Darkseid still hadn't noticed. Superman and Wonder Woman were trading blows with him, having to also avoid the omega beam.

"Flash, can you go any faster? I need you at maximum speed for this to work."

"On it," came Wally's breathless reply.

Dick watched as the boom tube opened wider, then stabilized. That was his chance.

"Superman, be ready with that right cross of yours. I'm blowing the supports in ten seconds."

He inserted the remote detonator and sprinted back toward the school bus for cover.

"Three, two, one."

The shock wave from the explosion knocked Dick to his knees and he glanced up to see the tower sway once, then twice before falling backward. Superman sailed in, hitting Darkseid square in the chest and knocking him backward off the tower.

Darkseid fell toward the opening of the boom tube, struggling as Superman continued to pummel him. He'd been caught unaware and couldn't regain the upper hand. But then nearly a dozen parademons swarmed Superman, giving Darkseid a chance to avoid falling through the boom tube. He landed on the ground in front of it, bruised and battered, but not defeated.

"Uh, Vic? We have a serious problem. He hasn't gone through yet."

Vic's voice was strained.

"I can't hold this open for much longer, even with Flash's help. You gotta do something!"

Dick closed his eyes and sighed.

This was what heroes do, after all.

He drew his escrima sticks and carefully made his way through the wreckage. Darkseid was only two hundred yards from him now, picking himself up and preparing to attack. It was then he noticed the boom tube.

And he laughed.

"You pitiful, primitive creatures. This is how you intended to defeat Darkseid?"

"Well, yeah. The simplest plans tend to be the most effective. How can someone as intelligent as you not see that?"

Darkseid spun around, narrowing his eyes.

"You. You're the one they call Nightwing, are you not?"

"Nightwing, don't."

Against his better judgment and everything Bruce ever taught him about engaging an opponent you can't beat, Dick stepped forward, wincing at Bruce's worried plea in his ear. He grinned and glanced behind him, noticing that only one of the charges had gone off. The other still had the detonator in it and the light was blinking. If he charged one of his escrima sticks, it could set off the detonator and send Darkseid packing.

"The one and only! And I'm here to ask you to leave. You are not, nor will you ever be, welcome here. Haven't you learned that lesson yet?"

Darkseid's chest heaved in anger. He reminded Dick of one of the cartoon bulls that breathed out steam when it was pissed off. If he could get Darkseid angry enough, he might not notice Dick prime the escrima stick in his right hand.

It was worth a shot.

"You should bow down in front of me, human. Disrespecting a god will only make your inevitable death more painful."

Dick took a deep breath and twirled the stick in his right hand.

It was now or never.

"Wally, on my count. I need you to get me clear of the blast wave. I'm gonna set off the other charge."

Darkseid tilted his head.

"Your insolence is ill-advised, but entertaining."

"Dude, no. You're too close. I might not get there in time." Wally's voice was panicked, and Dick hated himself for putting him in this situation.

"We have to try," Dick replied, flicking the switch on the handle. His escrima stick sparked to life and the charge glowed bright blue on the end.

"Here goes nothing."

He bounced the escrima stick off a slab of broken concrete next to Darkseid, watching as it hit the charge on the ground at his feet. Dick grinned at the telltale beep of the charge in the seconds before it exploded.

"You've overstayed your welcome, Darkseid. Get the hell off our planet."

He heard Wally over his earpiece and his stomach dropped.

"Dick, don't! If I stop running, the boom tube closes! We'll find another way!"

Dick turned and bolted, trying to get back behind the bus he'd been using for cover before the explosion took him out.

"Too late, Wallman. Just make sure this guy doesn't come back, okay?"

The explosion knocked Dick off his feet, throwing him forward onto a pile of rubble. His breath was knocked from his lungs and he closed his eyes, trying to focus long enough to determine what was happening. His ears were ringing something awful, but he could still hear the roar of Darkseid.

Dick felt a large hand wrap itself around his ankle and pull. Fire ripped through his abdomen and he looked down, tasting blood in his mouth. When he'd fallen forward, he landed on a sharp piece of metal from the radio tower. With an anguished scream, he pushed himself up and off it, wincing as he was dragged across the debris toward the boom tube. Darkseid was being pulled into it and with what little energy he had left, he was taking Dick with him.

"If Darkseid is going, you are coming with me!"

Dick struggled, but between the explosion and his injuries, he was in no shape to fight. If letting Darkseid pull him into the boom tube sent them both to Apokolips, he had no problem going along for the ride and saving everyone else.

Just as they were about to pass through the portal, there was a crackle of electricity and a bright flash of light. He heard Darkseid scream and the hand around his ankle was gone. The boom tube began to close, and Dick sighed in relief.

Wally.

But when Dick glanced up, Wally was nowhere to be found and he was still in front of a boom tube, though it looked different than it had a minute ago.

What's going on?

His strength was fading fast and the chunk of concrete he was holding onto gave way. The pull of the boom tube sucked him in and just as he passed through it, he saw Wally. There was a look of absolute horror on his face.

And then everything went black.