Maggie trembled in the void, her connection to Jason flickering like a weak signal. Her desperation grew with every passing second, the image of Jason slumped against the door and the bomb ticking down driving her to the edge. She screamed into the emptiness,
"Lillyanna! Please! There has to be something I can do!"
The shadows shifted, and Lillyanna appeared, her expression calm but tinged with a hint of sadness.
"Maggie," she said gently, "you're already doing all you can. You've found him."
"It's not enough!" Maggie snapped, tears streaming in her mind's eye.
"I can't just sit here and watch him die! I need to help him. Please, tell me how!"
Lillyanna sighed, stepping closer.
"There is a way. You could pull him out of there—teleport him through the shadows. But…" She hesitated, her piercing gaze locking with Maggie's.
"It might come at a cost."
Maggie didn't flinch, her determination unwavering.
"What kind of cost?"
"Your life," Lillyanna said plainly. "
You're tethered to the edge of life and death as it is. To pull him out, you'd might have to use the last of your strength. You'd give everything to save him."
Maggie's heart pounded, her mind racing. The weight of Lillyanna's words pressed down on her, but only for a moment. Her resolve was stronger.
"If that's what it takes, I'll do it."
Lillyanna tilted her head, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"You care for him that much? Enough to risk your own existence?"
Maggie's voice didn't waver.
"He's worth it. If it means he lives, then yes. I'll take that chance."
The shadows around them pulsed, responding to Maggie's determination. Lillyanna nodded slowly.
"Very well. But know this, Maggie: once you make this choice, there's no turning back."
Maggie gaze fierce. "I need to do this."
Lillyanna nodded solemnly, placing her hands firmly on Maggie's shoulders.
"Very well," she said, her voice steady but carrying a note of finality.
"You must focus all of your energy on him. Imagine the shadows reaching out, pulling him through. Feel it in your core—his presence, his need for you."
Maggie's breaths came shallow and fast, but she nodded, her determination unwavering.
"Good," Lillyanna said softly.
"Focus, Maggie. Everything you've got."
The darkness around her rippling as she channeled all her energy. She could feel the connection to Jason strengthening, the faint thread between them growing thicker, more tangible. The shadows obeyed her will, stretching out, reaching for him.
In the dim, unfamiliar room where Jason sit against the wall near the door, the air began to shift. Dark tendrils emerged from the corners, slithering across the floor and wrapping around his limbs. Jason stirred, his eyes snapping open as he felt the strange, cool sensation pulling him.
"What the—" he muttered weakly, his voice hoarse.
He struggled against the bindings for a moment before realizing they weren't hurting him. Instead, they felt… protective. The timer on the bomb ticked down mercilessly: 3… 2…
The shadows coiled tighter, and with a final surge, they yanked Jason out of the room just as the timer hit 1. The explosion rocked the distant space, but Jason was no longer there to feel its heat.
In Maggie's hospital room, Alfred nearly toppled from his chair as Jason, still in his Robin uniform, materialized from the shadows and landed hard on the floor with a loud thud. Papers on the bedside table fluttered to the ground, and the vase of flowers tipped precariously before Alfred caught it.
"Good heavens!" Alfred exclaimed, his hand clutching his chest as he stared at Jason sprawled on the floor.
Jason groaned, pushing himself up slightly. He looked around, dazed and confused, his eyes landing on Maggie in her hospital bed.
"Maggie?" he rasped, his voice filled with disbelief.
Alfred quickly moved to help him, his shock giving way to calm efficiency.
"How—what happened?"
Jason didn't answer immediately, his gaze fixed on Maggie's still form.
"I… I don't know," he admitted, his voice trembling.
Jason leaned heavily against the bed, his breathing ragged as he stared at Maggie. Alfred, still processing the sudden and impossible arrival, moved quickly, pulling out his phone.
"Batman," Alfred said, his voice urgent as the call connected.
"You'll want to hear this. —Robin—has just materialized in Miss Maggie's hospital room."
There was a pause on the other end before Bruce's voice came through, tense and controlled.
"What do you mean, materialized?"
"I mean precisely that, sir," Alfred replied.
"One moment, the room was quiet, and the next, he appeared out of nowhere, as if pulled from thin air."
He glanced at Jason, his expression softening with concern.
"He's in poor condition. Bruised, battered, and—"
Before Alfred could finish, the steady beeping of Maggie's heart monitor turned into a shrill, unbroken tone. Alfred froze, his gaze snapping to Maggie's as the monitor flatlined.
"Miss Maggie!" Alfred exclaimed, dropping the phone and rushing to her bedside.
Jason's head jerked up, panic filling his eyes as he realized what was happening.
"No! Maggie!" Jason shouted, dragging himself closer despite his injuries.
He gripped her hand tightly, his own trembling.
Alfred scrambled to hit the emergency call button, his calm demeanor slipping in the face of the crisis.
"Doctor! We need a doctor!" he called, his voice echoing through the room.
On the other end of the call, Batman's voice, faint from the dropped phone, could be heard, sharp and commanding.
"Alfred, what's happening? Alfred!"
The warehouse was in ruins, a charred skeleton of what had once been Joker's twisted lair. Smoke and dust hung in the air, the acrid smell of burnt wood and metal overwhelming. Batman stood amidst the rubble, his cape billowing slightly in the faint breeze, his sharp eyes scanning the destruction. Batman's grip on the comm unit tightened as he processed the information. Jason was safe, but Maggie'.... The sound of hurried footsteps drew his attention.
"Batman!" Nightwing called, running up through the debris, his voice tinged with urgency.
"I didn't find him. There's no sign of Robin in the rubble."
Batman's gaze shifted, his mind putting the pieces together.
"He's not here," he said, his voice calm but edged with determination.
"Alfred just confirmed Robin's at the hospital."
Nightwing stopped short, his expression shifting to disbelief.
"At the hospital? How?"
"I don't know, but Maggie—" Batman's voice faltered for the briefest moment, a crack in his otherwise unyielding resolve.
Through the comm, the shrill, unbroken tone of the flatline persisted, accompanied by the frantic voices of doctors.
Bruce's jaw tightened, his shoulders rigid as the weight of the moment pressed down on him. He couldn't block out the sound—it echoed in his mind, louder than the destruction around him. His daughter's life was slipping away, and he wasn't there. Nightwing, standing a few steps away, caught the change. Bruce's mask concealed much, but not enough. Dick could see it in the way his mentor's fists clenched tighter, his chest rising and falling just slightly faster than usual. It was rare to see Batman shaken, but now, it was unmistakable.
"Bruce…" Dick said softly, stepping closer.
" Is it Maggie?"
Batman didn't answer immediately. He forced himself to focus, his voice low and strained.
"She's flatlining. The doctors… they're trying, but…"
Dick's heart sank. The unspoken words hit him hard. Bruce finally straightened, his voice colder now, steeling himself.
"We need to go."
Maggie floated in the void, her body heavy and unresponsive, her mind sluggish. The usual faint rhythm she had come to rely on—the beat of her heart—was gone. The silence was deafening, suffocating. Lillyanna's voice broke through the darkness, calm and matter-of-fact.
"It's over, Maggie. Your heart has stopped. You gave everything to save him."
"No," Maggie murmured, her voice hoarse but defiant.
"I saved some. I… I left enough for me."
Lillyanna tilted her head, her gaze a mixture of sympathy and sternness.
"You were selfless, Maggie. A true act of love. But even you can't cheat death entirely."
Maggie's fists clenched, her determination igniting like a spark in the void.
"No," she said, louder this time.
"I'm not done. I'm not leaving them. Not my dad. Not Jason."
The void rippled faintly as her resolve strengthened. She slammed her fist against the darkness beneath her, her actions a desperate attempt to will herself back.
"Come on," she growled through gritted teeth.
"Start. Beat. Do something!"
Lillyanna watched silently, a faint smile playing at her lips as Maggie continued her battle against the void.
In the hospital room, Alfred stood near Maggie's bedside, his hands gripping the edge of the bedframe tightly. The once-calm butler was visibly shaken, his eyes fixed on the doctors working frantically to save her. The sound of the heart monitor's flatline filled the room, a haunting reminder of the stakes. Jason, still battered and bruised from his ordeal, stood beside Alfred, his knuckles white as he clutched the railing.
"Come on, Maggie," he muttered, his voice cracking.
One of the doctors called out, "Charging to 200—clear!"
The jolt of the defibrillator caused Maggie's body to jerk, but the monitor's tone didn't change.
"Again!" the doctor barked.
"Clear!"
Jason turned away, his hands over his mask as he fought to keep himself together. Alfred placed a steadying hand on his shoulder, though his own composure was crumbling.
"Again!" The doctor barked.
"Clear!"
The hospital room was silent except for the flatlines unbroken tone and the murmured instructions of the medical team. The lead doctor glanced at the clock on the wall, his face heavy with defeat.
"Time of death…" he began, his voice soft and reluctant.
Alfred felt his knees weaken as the words hit him like a blow. He instinctively reached for Jason, who was already trembling, his breathing uneven. Jason leaned against Alfred, his hands clutching at his arms as tears rolled down his face.
"No," Jason muttered under his breath, his voice cracking.
"She...She can't be gone."
Alfred's own composure cracked as he held Jason tightly.
In the void, Maggie pounded harder, her determination growing with every strike.
"I'm not done!" she shouted.
"I'm not leaving them! Jason, Dad, —they need me! I need them!"
The ripples in the void grew stronger, pulsing outward. A faint echo of a heartbeat began to hum in the distance, faint but persistent. Maggie froze for a moment, her eyes widening.
"There it is," she whispered. With renewed strength, she slammed her fists into the void again.
"Come on! Beat!"
The doctor reached for the machine, his hand hovering over the switch to turn off the monitor. Just as his fingers brushed it, the flatline broke—a single, faint blip echoed in the room. Then another. And another.
"Wait!" one of the nurses exclaimed, her eyes wide as she pointed to the monitor.
"We've got a heartbeat!"
The doctor froze for half a second before springing into action.
"Vitals! Check her vitals now! Stabilize her!"
The room erupted into controlled chaos as the medical team scrambled. The lead doctor barked orders, and a nurse adjusted the ventilator while another injected something into Maggie's IV line. The heart monitor's rhythm slowly grew stronger, its faint beeps becoming steadier. The faint rhythm grew louder, steadier. Lillyanna smiled softly.
"Well, aren't you a stubborn Nightshade," she said, her voice filled with admiration.
The door to Maggie's hospital room burst open, and Batman and Nightwing entered, their expressions tense and expectant. Inside, the scene was a mix of chaos and relief. The faint sound of Maggie's heartbeat echoed from the monitor, and Alfred stood nearby, his eyes glistening with emotion. Jason, still battered and bruised, was leaning heavily against the side of Maggie's bed, a faint smile breaking through his exhaustion.
"Jason," Batman said, his voice low but commanding as he assessed the situation. His gaze shifted to Maggie, who was pale but alive, her chest rising and falling.
"She's back," Jason said, his voice trembling with both disbelief and relief.
"She… she came back."
Alfred stepped forward, his usual calm demeanor replaced with a rare display of raw emotion.
"It's nothing short of a miracle.," he said softly, his voice thick.
Batman's focus turned to Jason, his sharp eyes scanning him from head to toe.
"You need treatment."
"I'm fine," Jason argued weakly, though his swaying stance betrayed him.
"I'm not leaving her."
Nightwing stepped forward, placing a steadying hand on Jason's arm.
"The doctors will take care of her. But you look like you're about to keel over."
Jason hesitated, his eyes lingering on Maggie's peaceful face. Finally, he nodded reluctantly, allowing Nightwing to help him to his feet. Batman moved to Maggie's bedside, his usually stoic expression softening for just a moment as he looked at her. Nightwing guided Jason toward the door, his movements careful and deliberate.
"Let's get you patched up," he said.
"Maggie's not going anywhere."
Jason glanced back one last time, his heart heavy but hopeful, before allowing himself to be led away. As Nightwing helped Jason out of the room, Batman lingered by Maggie's bedside. His sharp eyes studied her peaceful, albeit pale, face. The faint beeping of the heart monitor reassured him that she was alive. He stepped away from the bed, pulling a communicator from his belt. With a practiced flick, he tuned it to a private line.
"Constantine," he said after a brief pause, his voice low and steady.
A familiar, slightly irritated voice came through the other end.
"Bloody hell, Bats, it's the middle of the night. What's so urgent? Gotham's got another demonic infestation?"
Batman's tone didn't waver.
"I need answers. Jason—Robin—was pulled out of a life-threatening situation by shadows. They moved him from an exploding warehouse directly into a hospital room."
There was a pause, and Constantine's voice grew more serious.
"Shadows, you say? That's not exactly something that happens on its own."
"I thought as much," Batman replied, glancing at Maggie.
"The only logical explanation is Maggie. She was here, in a coma, on the edge of life and death. Could she have… done this?"
Constantine let out a low whistle.
"Your girl's got some serious power if that's the case. Shadows like that don't just respond to anyone. It takes a powerful connection—or a bloody near-death experience—to pull something like that off."
Batman's jaw tightened.
"She's been through both."
"Figures," Constantine muttered.
"Here's the thing, Bats: if she's tapped into that kind of power, even unknowingly, it's not going to go away just because she wakes up. That kind of ability doesn't just vanish."
Batman's gaze lingered on Maggie, his mind racing.
"What does that mean for her?"
"It means she's going to need guidance," Constantine said, his tone weighty.
"Power like that, unchecked, can go very wrong. You've got a choice to make, mate. Either you teach her how to control it, or you figure out how to seal it away."
Batman's voice dropped.
"And if neither is possible?"
Constantine sighed.
"Then she's a ticking time bomb waiting to figure out what she's capable of. You'd better decide how to handle this—and fast."