I don't even know where to start. I'm so incredibly sorry you guys! The last few months have been really stressful for me, which kind of kills my creativity. I'm just starting to get over my writer's block. Hopefully, you guys will like this chapter! If not, then I'll rewrite it until I get it right. :D

EDIT: Uh, that last part with "Robin #2" was not supposed to be on this story. It was something I wrote as a crackish-joke and a friend thought it would be funny to tack it on the end without my permission. Er, sorry about that...

Chapter 12 ~ Downfall

Previously...

A wicked glint sparkled in Slade's eye as he reached behind himself, slowly drawing a mighty, cruelly curved sword from it's sheath on his back.

"Pity."

Wally. 21:31 hours. December 17th. Ritz-Carlton - Gardenia Lounge ~ Kitchen. Gotham.

Wally loathes the cold. Frosty weather. Frigid personalities. Popsicles (Yes, popsicles). Anything cold.

So, needless to say, he really hates this freezer.

Kid Flash observed his pallid skin; a faint, blue tint overlaying it. Each flicker of his auburn eyelashes caused flakes of ice to flurry onto the bridge of his nose; joining the freckles splattered there.

At first, he'd attempted to vibrate enough to generate heat. Which worked - until the energy necessary to use his molecular powers to such a degree depleted him entirely. Now, he could barely lift his pinky and was quickly falling into a state of inertia.

Well, at least I have this, the speedster thought, gazing at the device he'd lifted off of Slade during their scuffle.

I wonder what it does...

Dick.

Dick watched as the sword fell towards him slowly, as if moving through water, while he remained entirely transfixed. Managing to gather his wits, he leapt to the right, narrowly avoiding a lethal slash to the chest.

With a flick of his wrist, Slade reversed the position of the sword masterfully and struck at the Boy Wonder again.

Dick fell back onto his palms the blade gliding over him. He could feel the whoosh of the cool metal on his face.

Too close.

The acrobat made a split-second decision. Balancing back onto his hands, his arms coiling like a spring, and swung his legs upwards before pushing off with his hands - sending his feet right into Deathstroke's gut, enforced by the whole of his body weight.

The blow succeeded in hurling Slade across the open space, unfortunately taking Robin with him.

They collided with a muffled grunt, sliding across the smooth surface - halting when a mere three feet away from the wall of windows.

Dick winced as a current of pain shot from his ankle up his leg. In his peripheral vision he saw gleaming silver - the sword lay a few feet from them, knocked from Slade's grasp by the human projectile.

Raising himself onto his forearms, Dick crawled towards the weapon. He was so close, his outstretched hand nearly grasping the ornate hilt. As his fingertips just brushed the sleek, sinister metal of the sword, he was seized harshly by the back of his blazer.

With a sharp pull the Boy Wonder was sent flying, landing in a bruised, crumpled heap precisely where be began by the window.

Slade walked casually forward, halting in front of the fallen boy - the sword in his grasp poised to strike a killing blow.

"Any last words?" Slade inquired in a dispassionate, procedural tone.

Dick narrowed his eyes contemptuously. "Yeah, go to he-"

Dick never got to finish as the world around him exploded in blinding, stark white. As a powerful ringing sounded in his ears, his body lost purchase on the stone floor. Instinctively, he grabbed for anything to hold onto, anything to ground himself with in his state of sightlessness.

Finding nothing, he plummeted into a colorless abyss.

Where am I?

Dick winced as he pried open his aching eyes. Splotches of vivid purple and deep blue danced in his eyes, obscuring his vision. He felt blood rapidly rushing to his head.

Blinking, he forced back the garish colors. A light breeze ruffled his hair as he took in the streets of downtown Gotham - upside down.

For an absurd moment he thought he was falling. In a panic, he scrambled to grab hold of the building behind him.

Despite being suspended mid-air, dangling precariously a hundred feet above the bustling street; he was not falling.

Satisfied that the concrete wasn't rushing up to meet him, Dick released his grasp on the uneven stone wall.

Bending his neck at an uncomfortable, mildly painful angle he observed his feet - and the string of wire encircling them.

Before he could say, think, or do anything else, someone gave a sharp tug on the wire; reeling it, and him, in.

Whoever it was was strong. In a mere six seconds he found himself forty feet higher, being pulled through an obliterated window.

The harsh colors once again suffused his vision as he righted himself. Peering obstinately through them, he saw the last person he expected to see.

Rose Wilson.

"You? I-I don't under...what happened?"

"Slade had you cornered; if I didn't save your ass you were going to die, for sure. So, I detonated a flash grenade I found in the utility belt Slade gave you. The blast threw the both of you threw the window. Lucky for you, I'm a damn good shot - managed to hook a grappling wire around you before you hit the pavement." Rose explained, an easy confidence about her. As if she were discussing the weather or something equally inconsequential.

"What happened to Slade?" Dick questioned apprehensively, half expecting Deathstroke to burst from the shadows, charging forward for another round.

"Take a look for yourself." Rose said, gesturing to the window.

After casting the blonde a suspicious glance, Dick leant forward. A cacophony of honks and yells rose from the traffic bellow, as the quadruple lane road was forced into two lanes. Both lanes were the farthest from the center of the road - as the center lanes bore a crater so deep it penetrated the old underground sewer system that had been inactive since 1912. The new sewer system had been built on top of the old one.

"Slade's..."

"Down there?" Rose offered. "Yup. Between the velocity and the nearly impenetrable material of his armor, he went through the concrete like butter."

"So he's..."

"Dead?" Rose supplied bluntly. "Not likely. If it were that easy to kill him his enemies would've done it a helluva long time ago."

Silence fell over them as Dick struggled to collect his thoughts.

I think I might be going into shock.

Soft footfalls roused him from his absorption. Batman had managed to free himself from the copper web.

"Batman! I'm..." Dick felt at a loss for words. "I'm really glad you're okay."

The Dark gave a small nod in acknowledgement before facing Rose. "Why did you help us? Why did your turn on Slade?"

Rose gave a blase wave of her hand accompanied by a wry, slightly wicked smirk. "Daddy issues."

Bruce studied her for a moment. Seeming to accept her peculiar explanation, he didn't question her further.

"I-" Dick began but was interrupted by the entire Justice League bursting through the doors, looking ready for a battle of epic proportions.

They all halted when they realized there were no villains in sight. They froze in an awkward position, somewhere in between their normal posture and a fighting stance, obviously bemused by the lack of adversaries.

"You're late." Batman stated, giving the league a vicious glare.

The league proceeded to loiter uncomfortably in the decimated kitchen, seemingly finding the destruction to be of great fascination while avoiding Batman's withering gaze.

Abruptly, panic bubbled up in Robin's chest. "Roy is-" he started earnestly.

"-alive. EMT's are treating him right now. Green Arrow is with him, too." Superman assured.

An awkward silence hung in air.

Finally, Dick suggested. "We should probably get KF out of the freezer."

"What?" Barry cried as a red blur shot out from the group of heroes, speeding in the opposite direction of the freezer.

The Caped Crusader gave a long-suffering sigh and stalked off in the actual direction of the freezer, grumbling as he went. Something about being plagued by idiots.

Hope you guys liked it! Either way, please review! Thanks so much for reading :)