A little note before we begin: This story draws from a couple different DC universes. The main story arc regarding Blockbuster is taken from the comic Nightwing Vol 2 #93, but I've altered the story line with bits and pieces from Young Justice. Hopefully it isn't too confusing to read, but feel free to leave a note if you'd like clarification regarding what actually happened in the comics vs. what I've mix n' matched.

Now onward...

"That's the secret, the essential truth of your nature. You could take every beating I dish out. You might even enjoy them. You have absolutely no regard for your personal safety. But the people around you – well, that's a different matter. Isn't it? I'll take out the people you care about – hell, even strangers you stand next to on the street – you won't be able to shake someone's hand without marking them for death.

Do you like being alone, Dick? I'll make sure you can't save any of them. Loved one by loved one, innocent by innocent… it'll never stop. I'm never going to stop. I can keep this up forever."

-Blockbuster

Five Minutes Longer

Wally sees nothing but inky blackness when he first steps into Dick's apartment. For a second he wonders if he's entered the wrong unit, but then he sees a familiar jacket haphazardly thrown on the floor and quietly closes the door behind him.

He stills, ears peeled for any sound or movement, but when he hears nothing, he blows out a deep breath and shakes his head at his own naivety. He's played hide-and-seek enough times with Dick to know that if he wished to go undetected, only Batman would stand a chance at finding him.

Wally gropes along the wall, trusting his memory of the apartment's layout to guide him past the kitchen and into the living area. He stifles a curse when he accidentally trips over the coffee table, but then his hands find purchase on the thick material of the curtains, and he pushes them aside with a loud swoosh.

The moonlight filters in, shockingly bright against the darkness in the room, illuminating the apartment with a pale white glow.

And then Wally sees Dick huddled on the hardwood floor. He's bent over like a stork, looking incredibly uncomfortably wedged between the wall and the side of the couch. His knees are drawn up, his head resting on his arms. He doesn't show any sign that he's even heard Wally enter the apartment.

Wally kneels down so they're at eye level, and he moves slowly, ever-so-slowly, to rest a gentle hand on Dick's arm.

There's no reaction from Dick for one second, two seconds… and then…

"Wally," he sighs.

His voice is quiet, a little scratchy as if it hasn't been used in a while, but to Wally's relief, he still sounds okay.

He feels himself smiling a little. "Hey doofus. How'd you know it was me?"

A light snort. "I've known it was you since you opened the door."

"And here I thought I had finally out-ninja'ed you."

"Never happen."

"Sounds like you still have your wits about you," Wally says dryly, although he's internally relieved. When he'd initially heard the news about the attack on Haly's Circus, he'd thought it was a sham. But then he learned of subsequent attacks, and he all but tossed everything aside to race to Blüdhaven.

Dick shifts a little under his hand, the first movement he's made the entire time, and then he slowly raises his head.

His face is pale and gaunt, and under the moonlight, his features look washed out, as if he's just a mere second from passing out. His cheekbones are too sharp, the circles under his eyes too dark.

Something aches in Wally's chest as he looks at his best friend… or rather, the shell of his best friend. The only consolation he receives is when he catches Dick's gaze. Those blue eyes are still burning, still bright despite the darkness surrounding them. He hasn't given up—not yet—but Wally wonders just how close Dick truly is to collapsing.

He leans forward and rests both hands on Dick's arms now, willing him to feel the warmth of a friend at his side.

"Talk to me, Dick. What's going on? I don't hear from you for weeks, and then… this."

Dick shakes his head, his dark hair flopping lifelessly over his forehead. "I couldn't talk to you… can't talk to you. You don't know what happens…" He trails off and bites his lip. His eyes are trained on the coffee table in front of him, as if he can't bear to look at Wally. "I can't have you here. I can't ruin another life."

Wally's frown deepens. He tries his best to wrap his head around what Dick's saying, but his words are such a jumbled mess that he can't make heads or tails of it. "You can't ruin another life? What are you…? Does this have to do with Blockbuster?"

That, apparently, is the wrong question to ask. Dick's eyes widen and he lurches to his feet so quickly that Wally has to struggle to maintain his balance. "Blockbuster? Where is he? Is he here?" He shoves past Wally and flies towards the bedroom, throwing his door open with such force that it smacks into the wall.

Seeing no one in the room, Dick spins around and is about to run back towards the kitchen when Wally grabs his arms, forcing him to a halt. Dick's eyes are impossibly wide, so blue and so… afraid?

There's no more time to play games. "Dick, I want answers. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's happened. Why are you so frightened?"

Dick's eyes flutter when he hears the question, and Wally feels the tenseness drain from his body. Still, he waits another few moments until he's sure Dick isn't going to fly off the handle again and releases him, letting him slump against the hallway wall.

His eyes are downcast and he fists his dark hair with a hand. "Wally," he breathes. "I can't… I don't know how to-"

"You can," Wally says firmly. "And you will." He doesn't remember the last time he's had to be so stern with Dick. After all, even when they'd been kids, Dick had always been the more logical and calmer of the two. "This is hurting you. I've never seen you lose control like this before."

"Lose control?" Dick laughs then, a self-deprecating laugh that's tinged with a degree of desperation. "Oh Wally, Wally… Walls…" He pauses suddenly, as if registering his own comment, and then shakes his head. "You know, I've called you Walls for so many years… so many years, but now… now the walls are actually caving in." Dick clutches his sides now, almost hugging himself. "Isn't that funny? Isn't that just goddamn hilarious?"

No, Wally thinks. This isn't funny at all.

And for the first time in his life, he's scared to death for his best pal.

He's seen Dick upset, angry, hurt, but he's never seen him break. No one in the Bat family cracks easily, least of all Dick Grayson. As Batman's first protégé and prodigal son, he's picked up on the 'say nothing, feel nothing, show nothing' mentality better than anyone else. The first and last time Wally had seen Dick cry was when Jason Todd had died, but even then, the tears had been borne more out of regret than true pain.

And by the next morning, Wally had woken up to a smiling Dick putting pancakes on the breakfast table. And then he had gone to the Batcave and served as everyone else's emotional support. Because Dick Grayson always puts others before himself, and that is both his blessing and his curse.

Dick's eyes are burning when he finally looks at Wally. "He's back. He's back and he wants vengeance. Everyone's going to die, Wally. Everyone." His eyes suddenly widen, as if he's only just understood the gravity of what he's said, and he violently throws himself down the hallway and away from Wally, his movement so harsh and jerky that he slams up against the kitchen counter.

Wally stares. "Dick!"

But he doesn't register Wally's cry, and he clings onto the granite counter as if that's the last thing keeping him standing. "What are you doing here, Wally? You're going to die. Oh god… you're going to die and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Dick, I'm not-"

"Why are you here?" Dick screams again, and his voice is raw and hurt, and in it, Wally can hear the pain. So much pain. "I stayed away from you for a reason!"

Wally moves forward and grabs Dick's arm to steady him, but for all the good it's doing, it's as if he's not even there.

"You're my best friend and I can't do anything… anything…" Dick looks up then, and Wally feels his heart breaking. There are unshed tears in his eyes and he's bitten his lip so hard that it's bleeding. "Wally, I can't save you!"

Wally's had enough now. He throws himself in front of Dick, who's slid to the floor, and he forcibly grabs his arms and shakes him, ignoring the fact that Dick has so little control over his body now that his head snaps back like a ragdoll's.

"Dude, snap out of it!" He slaps his best friend, the noise echoing through the room. "Get ahold of yourself, goddammit. I don't need you to save me. I'm freakin' Kid Flash, or did you forget that?"

The tears start to fall, drop by drop, making Dick's blue eyes look like shattered crystals.

"He's killed everyone. There's this café I visit on the way to work in the morning. I've gotten to know the owner pretty well, and it's just really nice to talk to him from time to time because his life seems so simple and so happy." Dick sniffs a little, and then blinks. "But I dropped by his shop yesterday morning and found it burned to the ground. The owner and his wife were dead inside."

Wally's insides turn cold. "And you think it's-"

"I know it's him. He wants me out of the picture so he can take over Blüdhaven. And once he does, he wants control over the underground network in Gotham. And who knows where he wants to go after that."

Wally understands what Dick's talking about. How could he not? The news had spread like wildfire across the cities. The message had been painted nice and clear: Gotham City was next, and there was speculation that he was interested in Star City and then Central. Blockbuster would spare no one.

"Dick, it's not-"

"It's because of me!" he cries. He jabs his index finger so forcefully into his chest that Wally's sure he's left a bruise. "It's all because of me. He wants me to pay for ruining his plans. God, Walls… I'm scared to sleep at night because I don't know where he's going to strike next, or if I can even get to him on time. I stay awake, night after night because I know he's going to attack again. I just know it. But I'm so tired… so tired."

And Wally can see it, in the dark circles under Dick's eyes, in how thin and frail his body has gotten over the course of the past few months. Dick had always been on the lighter side, but now that Wally's sitting here, holding him tight, he knows the thinness isn't natural anymore. And for the first time in a really long time, Wally thinks they're fifteen and thirteen again… but even then, even then Dick had been tough as a bird… as Robin.

What has Blockbuster done?

"None of this is your fault, do you understand?" Wally doesn't know how to get through to Dick, doesn't know how to relieve him of this burden. But he has to try. "You've devoted your life to protecting Blüdhaven. There's nothing more they can ask from you."

But Dick is shaking his head, his chest heaving. His hand flexes spastically, as if he no longer has control of his muscles. "Batman once said to me, 'All men have limits. They learn what they are and they learn not to exceed them. I ignore mine.' But I can't ignore mine. I'm not… I'm not Batman."

"No one ever told you to be Batman," Wally says. He grabs Dick's face with both hands, palms on each cheek, and wills him to understand. "And thank the gods you aren't Batman or else I wouldn't want anything to do with you. Don't you see? Batman is… well, Batman. He can do no wrong, or even when he does something wrong, he immediately rectifies it to the point where he overcorrects the problem. He's fantastic, but he's also not human. This is why the Team relies on you. Because you're fallible and you're real and they can connect with you and look up to you. You're a hero, Dick, but on a whole different level."

That statement finally earns a response from Dick, but it isn't the one Wally's hoping for. Dick lets out a broken chuckle and shakes his head. His eyes lower to the floor, and his body shakes with a tremor that seems to originate from his soul.

"I'm not a hero, Wally. I never was. Heroes save people. I only hurt them."

"Do you know what Waldo once said?" He waits until Dick finally looks at him before continuing, "He said, 'A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.' That's you, Dick. When the rest of us collapse, you're the one still standing, still fighting for us… if only for those extra few minutes."

There's a pause as Wally waits for Dick to absorb the information. He contents himself with sitting on the hardwood floor, hearing Dick's labored breathing magnified through the mostly empty apartment.

The apartment has always made him sad. He understands Blüdhaven isn't exactly the most posh of cities, but given Batman's clout and Nightwing's fame, it would've been all too easy for Dick to afford a significantly better place. But Dick hadn't wanted any of that. He had come to protect the people, and he probably thinks it's only right for him to live like the people too.

And Wally knows the situation is further exacerbated by Dick's work schedule. Given the number of hours he spends alternating between crime fighting and working at the police department, he has so little time for himself and thus so little time to actually personalize the apartment. It's vastly different from Wally's place in Central, where it's lived-in to the point where Artemis has threatened to break up with him on multiple occasions if he doesn't clean the place up.

He's still working on that.

Dick finally lifts his head, successfully distracting Wally from his inner tangent, and smiles. It's a very faint, barely-passable smile, but it's a smile nonetheless. "I'm pretty certain Waldo did not say that. I'm not sure a man with an obnoxious red-striped shirt and a bobble hat is capable of such wisdom."

Wally's jaw dropped. Of all the things Dick could've said… "I'm pretty sure there's a Waldo in there somewhere."

"You're thinking Ralph Waldo Emerson."

"There most definitely is a Waldo in that."

"Sure, Wally. Sure."

Wally shakes his head fondly. "You're absolutely ridiculous." Even when Dick's teetering on the edge of sanity, he still knows literature like the back of his hands. "You nerd. And here I thought you were just a math geek."

"Some of us paid attention in school."

"Well some of us had better things to do with our time."

Dick lets out a light chuckle and then quiets. His blue eyes have darkened till they're almost an inky black, and in the darkness of the room, Dick looks despondent. Despondent and dangerous. This truly is a man who thinks he's about to lose everything.

"You were smart to get out when you did, Wally," he finally murmurs.

Wally's green eyes sharpen. "Dick, you know that's not how it was."

"Regardless, you were smart about it." He shrugs lightly. "You took Artemis away from all this mess. You wanted to be normal, wanted to go to college… that's what I should've done. I should've realized my limitations early on so I wouldn't have made such a colossal mess of everything."

"Your limitations?" Even Wally can hear the incredulity in his voice. "You were the leader of the Young Justice. Batman trusts you, and that's saying a lot. He trusts you enough to let you run off and do your own thing. Everyone has limitations, but you haven't seen yours yet."

"I only wish that were true."

Wally knows patience has never been his virtue, but now he's so frustrated that he's about to explode. How on earth is he supposed to get through Dick's thick head? He casts a helpless glance around the barren apartment and his eyes settle on the cupboards in the kitchen. He knows Dick doesn't like drinking because he's uncomfortable with having his senses dulled, but the last time Wally had come over, he had brought with him a bottle of Wild Turkey.

He heads over to the cupboard now and draws out the predictably mostly-full bottle of whiskey and retreats back into the living room. Dick looks up when he hears Wally twist off the cap and is unable to hide his grimace.

"I don't understand why people enjoy drinking that."

Wally smirks. "It calms your nerves. Try it." And to demonstrate, he knocks the bottle back and takes a swig, relishing the burn as the alcohol slides down his throat.

"It also dulls your senses," Dick complains quietly, but he accepts the offering nonetheless. He chokes back a gulp, coughs as he swallows, and then makes a face and hands the bottle back to Wally. "That's nasty."

Wally can't help but laugh at his expression. "You'd think you were twelve. What grown man can't handle his alcohol?"

"I call this responsibility." And Dick actually smiles a little. "You can't fight mobsters when you're intoxicated."

"The Wallman can do anything," he boasts pompously, but then he looks at the bottle, takes another swig, and caps it. He perches himself on the armrest of the sofa and looks down at Dick. "So what's your plan now? Are you going to let Blockbuster scare you away?"

Dick's gaze is on the opposite wall, and when he speaks, he sounds pensive. "I'm not sure. I just know I can't let Blockbuster continue harming people." He pauses then, inhales, and says almost tentatively, "Tarantula offered me a deal. She knows I don't kill. She said… she said she could help me, if I wanted her to. She could…" Dick pauses then, and gestures almost helplessly, "She said she could do the deed."

Wally stares at Dick as he processes this information. He's heard of Tarantula before. From the way Dick had described her in the past, Tarantula—Catalina Flores—is an extreme vigilante with very little regard for doing what's right. Given this knowledge, the fact that Dick is even considering taking Tarantula up on her offer is marginally terrifying to Wally.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," he says cautiously, very aware that any extreme words may tip Dick over the edge. "I thought that was against your principles."

Dick grimaces. "It is, but what if killing is the only solution this time?"

"It isn't," Wally says with as much conviction as he can muster. "You will find a way, Dick. You always do. I'll help you. The rest of the Team will help you."

"I can't bring anyone else into this. You know that. I'm not saying I'm going to take her up on her offer. But I won't lie… the thought has definitely crossed my mind."

"Dick…"

Dick looks like he's going to say something else, but then he suddenly freezes. His eyes narrow, his body tenses, and then he's on his feet and is rushing to the door, pressing an ear against the wood. Wally watches, confused, as Dick practically attempts to shove his head through the material… and that's when he hears the voices. They sound frantic, even a little confused, but his blood freezes when he hears a four-letter word.

"There's a bomb?" he sputters.

Dick's brows are knit in a tight frown. "I don't know." And then he moves to open the door.

Wally feels his heart beat faster, feels the blood pumping through his veins, and then he's vibrating on the spot. He doesn't know why he's so antsy, but his instinct is telling him to run away… far, far away.

He's suddenly next to Dick, and before his best friend can even think about turning the door handle, Wally scoops him up and practically throws them off the balcony. He sprints down the side of the building and manages to get them several blocks away before there's a huge BOOM and everything goes up in a plume of fire and smoke.

The force of the explosion is so great that Wally is thrown off-kilter by the sound and the heat, and he barely manages to catch himself before stumbling to his knees on the sidewalk, bringing Dick down with him.

But Dick's on his feet in a flash, and he watches with huge eyes as the apartment building blazes in the night. Wally can barely swallow from the dryness in his throat as he eyes the conflagration. How? Why?

And the most prominent thought: Dick could've died.

Wally doesn't know what to feel anymore. If he hadn't been here, if he hadn't reacted quickly enough, Dick would've died. They both would've died. He turns to look at Dick and sees the agony on his face, the wetness in his blue eyes, and Wally knows without a doubt that the bomb had been meant for Dick.

How many people had been in that apartment building? How many people are dead now? Just how far is Blockbuster willing to go to prove his point?

He hears the sirens from the police cars and fire trucks making their way down the streets, but he knows it's too late. The bomb would've spared no one.

Wally walks over to Dick and wraps his arms around his shoulders in a last-ditch attempt to protect him from all that's happened. "It's not your fault," he whispers fiercely. "Do you understand? It's not your fault. It's Blockbuster's, and he will pay for this."

But Dick is too far-gone for him to truly hear Wally. "It is my fault," he mutters, repeating the words over and over again… the simplest and most damning litany of all. "It's my fault… all my fault. Always my fault."

"Dick!"

"No, Wally, no!" He suddenly pulls away with such violence that he stumbles back. His eyes are wide and horrified, and even with the tear tracks staining his cheeks, he looks angry. "You don't get to absolve me of this! It is my fault! Blockbuster was targeting me, don't you get it? Me! All these other people, all these other bystanders who thought they were just having a quiet night at home, died because Blockbuster wanted revenge on me!"

And now Wally is angry. He's shocked and he's scared and he's honestly too tired of hearing the same speech, over and over again. "Oh please, get over yourself," he snaps. "Not everything is about you! Blockbuster is a criminal, all right? You said it yourself: Blüdhaven is his first target in his plan for world domination. You just happened to be here."

Dick's face is pale. "How can you be so blind, Wally?" he demands, and surges forward, almost menacingly. "Remember when we first rescued Superboy from Cadmus? Remember that scientist who tried to stop us?"

"The scientist? Mark Desmond? What about him?"

"He's Blockbuster's brother."

Wally is shocked into stillness. "What?"

"Blockbuster's real name is Roland Desmond. He's Mark's younger brother and knows how we defeated Mark. Yes, he wants dominion over the underground networks, but this is also a personal vendetta for him."

"Well then, you're even more of a fool for trying to keep me away," Wally says flatly. In the distance, he can see the firefighters already working to contain the flames. "You're not single-handedly responsible for Mark's downfall. We all are. And we'll work together to help you stop him. Stop trying to play lone wolf, Dick. As admirable as you may think it is, it's just plain stupid."

But whatever stupor Wally had caught Dick in before had all but evaporated now. He can see a new gleam of determination in Dick's eyes, as if he's forcing himself to move on from everything that's happened. This is the last straw that finally broke the camel's back.

"I will find him, Wally," Dick says quietly. He's looking at the burning apartment complex, and there's something in his eyes that frightens Wally. "I'll put a stop to all this. I won't let him leave Blüdhaven."

"What are you going to do?"

"Whatever it takes."

Wally's eyes narrow. "Don't be rash, Grayson. Remember what you've worked towards all this time? You can't just throw everything away like this."

Dick looks at him, and to his surprise, there's a small smile on his face. "Wow, Wally West is actually scolding me? Now that's a first."

"Dick."

"I know, Walls. I know," he says tiredly.

But Wally isn't ready to let the matter go. "Where will you even stay? You can't just go about this alone. Let me help you!"

"You should go back to Central and keep an eye out over there. I'll be fine. I can stay at the police station, or I can even-"

"Don't you dare say her name."

Dick has the grace to grimace. "Wally…"

"I know I can't stop you. You're a grown man and you make your own decisions, no matter how idiotic they are." Wally grabs Dick's chin, forcing him to look him in the eyes. "But I'm telling you right now that I think you're making a huge mistake."

Dick moves to extract himself from Wally's hold, but Wally only tightens his grip. "But," he adds meaningfully, "also know that I will be here, whenever you need me, to save your sorry ass. You got that?"

Their gazes hold, and as Wally watches Dick's stoic face, he wonders if he's even gotten through to him at all. Maybe there is such a thing as being too far gone. Maybe the past few weeks have taken an even larger toil on Dick's mental health than Wally realizes. Maybe Dick isn't really Dick anymore…

But then Wally feels his hand being pushed aside, and before he can even comprehend what's happened, Dick's arms are around him, his face tucked into the crook of Wally's neck. The position is so intimate and so familiar that it takes Wally back to times long past when they had been just kids and had been okay with such girly things like hugging.

"Thank you, Wally." The words are simple, but the depth of gratitude and emotion they convey are not lost to Wally.

"Hey, that's what best pals are for, right?"

Dick extracts himself a moment later and rubs his face. When he looks at Wally again, any sign that he had been so distraught just minutes ago are gone.

His blue eyes are sharp and steady and he regards Wally with a grin. "So I'll see you later?"

Wally rolls his eyes. "Obviously. Call me."

And then he watches as Dick grapples away—does he carry that grapple gun with him everywhere?—and can't help but think that the next time he sees his best friend again, things will be very, very different.

Thanks for reading, as always!

And if you're a huge fan of Dick/Nightwing, I highly encourage you to check out the Nightwing comics. Or if anything, read Nightwing Vol 2 #93... it is disastrously heart-wrenching. :)

xx KRS