Oracle gets the abducted Mayor Redhorn's coordinates and forwards them to Nightwing. As Nightwing drives his motorcycle to the site, Oracle informs him that she's made some upgrades to his suit to even the odds against Deathstroke.
At the abandoned warehouse, Deathstroke confronts Redhorn, who is tied to a chair with a battery wired to his hands. The mercenary removes his mask and Redhorn realizes that it's Slade Wilson.
Nightwing sneaks up on the guards outside the warehouse and quietly takes them out.
Slade tortures Redhorn with the battery, and then increases the voltage. Meanwhile, Wintergreen spots Nightwing on the monitors, heading for the roof. He goes to warn Slade, who asks Redhorn if he remembers the sort of missions that the man sent him on when he was part of Team 7. When Redhorn says that he was obeying orders, Slade puts a gun to his head and says that the kid he was ordered to kill was 4 years old. The guard interrupts to tell him that Nightwing is there and Slade knocks Redhorn out and then dons his mask and goes to confront the intruder.
Three of Deathstroke's mercenaries charge Nightwing and he quickly disposes of them. Deathstroke spots him and opens fire, and Nightwing dodges the bullets until he can get close enough to disarm his opponent. He draws his escrima sticks and Deathstroke draws his sword, and the two opponents face off. They manage to disarm each other and Nightwing takes Deathstroke down, only for the villain to quickly recover and charge forward. He slams Nightwing into the wall and chokes him,
Nightwing remembers Bruce saying that he can handle it, and Oracle saying that he isn't alone. He kicks Deathstroke, knocking him away with a flurry of kicks. The hero then activates the electromagnetic pulse Oracle installed in his gauntlets and delivers a final blow to Deathstroke, knocking him out. Wintergreen charges forward and Nightwing knocks him out.
The hero handcuffs Deathstroke with heavy-gravity restraints, and Nightwing says that he knows what Team 7 forced Deathstroke to do. Deathstroke insists that SHADE made him a monster, and admits that Nightwing reminds him of his son Grant. When he tries to give Nightwing some advice, the hero says that he already has a father... and a shot rings out, taking Deathstroke in the head. Nightwing has Oracle summon an ambulance while he goes for the sniper.
On the roof, Nightwing finds a single cartridge. The sniper steps out, wearing a red hood and a black-and-red variation of the Batsuit, and Nightwing figures that he's the man who rescued him at the club. Red Hood says that he put down a rabid animal, not a man, and removes his mask to reveal that he's... Jason. Nightwing is shocked to see his friend, who he thought was dead at the Joker's hands. Jason insists that they taught him just enough to go out on the streets and then they used him as bait. He points out that his killer is still at large, and now he plans to make a difference unlike his friend and his mentor. Jason tells Nightwing to stay out of his way and that it will be the only warning his former friend gets... and then leaps off the building and disappears before Nightwing can stop him. Nightwing tells Oracle that the sniper was Jason.
In the alleyway, Deathstroke is gone, leaving nothing behind but a puddle of blood.
Written by Gadfly on Dec 27, 2015