August 16, 0223h

	Donna Troy woke from a nightmare with a gasp, scattering the cats 
curled up on her bed.  She reached a hand out for her absent boyfriend, 
then after a panicked moment remembered he was on monitor duty at the 
Watchtower.  *Just a dream,* she told herself, seeking calm. 
	Her racing pulse settled, but the sense of foreboding that came 
with the nightmare did not.  She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to 
will herself back to sleep, and only succeeded in making herself feel 
more awake.  When Dynamo stuck a curious nose into her face, she 
realized it was hopeless.  Stroking the concerned tabby, she sat up and 
swung her legs off the bed with a sigh.  It was after two a.m.
	Sighing again, she rose and headed for the kitchen, pausing to 
power up the laptop sitting on the breakfast bar.  She put the kettle on 
and dropped a tea bag into a mug before she swung the little computer 
around to tap in the JLA codes.  It was only a moment before Kyle's 
voice filtered through the speakers:  "Green Lantern here.  One moment, 
Troia."
	Donna frowned slightly.  It wasn't like Kyle to call her by her 
superhero moniker, even if things were frantic in the Watchtower.  Maybe 
he had had the misfortune of drawing monitor duty with Batman?  She held 
that thought, feeling guilty for being uncharitable.  Batman was - 
difficult - but he was a good man and didn't deserve her negative 
thoughts.
	"Sorry, Donna," Kyle's voice apologized.  "I'm covering for Oracle 
and it's a bit crazy tonight."
	"Covering for Oracle?" Donna questioned.  "This isn't going to be 
another one of those incidents where Aquaman makes you write a memo, is 
it?"
	The unexpected pause in response made her joking tone seem 
suddenly very wrong.  "No," Kyle finally answered.  "Hold on."
	The tea kettle began whistling behind her, and Donna turned to 
shut off the stove and to pour the boiling water into her mug.  The 
anxious feeling from her nightmare was back, distracting her as she put 
too much honey in her tea and puzzled over Kyle's Oracle coverage.
	She sat down on a stool in front of her computer and grimaced as 
she took a sip of her too-sweet tea.  She should dump it out and start 
fresh, she thought, but instead she just kept sipping it, staring at the 
JLA desktop.
	"Okay, I'm back," Kyle's voice suddenly returned.  "Everything 
okay?"
	Donna nodded, then remembering they did not have the visual feed 
active, answered.  "I'm fine.  Just had a bad dream.  Is something 
wrong?"
	Another long pause served to fuel her tension.
	"Kyle?"
	"Damn!  Just one more second, hon," he promised, falling silent 
again.
	The promised second was closer to 15, and when Kyle spoke again, 
he sounded shaken.  "That *should* hold them for a bit."
	"Kyle, honey, if this is a bad time -"
	"No, no.  I was almost going to call you anywayÉ"  His voice 
trailed off.
	"Kyle?  Kyle, what's wrong?"
	There was another pause, then a sigh.  "Batman's not going to like 
it, but you should know."
	"Know what?  Kyle, if -"
	"Stop.  Donna, we've got a man down."
	Donna felt her stomach knot.  "Oh, God," she whispered.  "Who?  
How bad?"
	"At least ten units of blood bad," Kyle replied grimly, "and 
several teleport requests."
	"Ten units - Kyle, what happened?  Who's hurt?  Is it Batman, is 
that why -?"
	"It's not Batman."  
	She could hear that he didn't want to tell her, but suddenly she 
just knew.  Her hand tightened around the mug, but she managed to set it 
down before she could shatter it.  "Oh no - it's Nightwing, isn't it?"
	"Macheted," Kyle confirmed.  "They've got him at his warehouse 
lair in BludhavenÉ"
	The roar of blood in her ears drowned out whatever else Kyle had 
to say, and Donna gripped the edge of the counter.  "No," she whispered.
	"Donna?  Donna, are you all right?  I can get Plastic Man to -"
	"No, Kyle," Donna replied in flat tones.  "I'm fine.  I'll be 
okay.  Just - just do whatever you can, okay?"
	"Of course.  Are you -"
	"I love you, Kyle."
	His response sounded faintly choked, as if fighting tears.  "I 
love you, too, Donna.  I'll be home in the morning."
	"I know.  Good night, sweetheart."
	"Good night."
	Donna severed the connection and stared as her screensaver took 
over the monitor.  Kyle's tone said almost more than his words; Dick 
Grayson could not be in good shape, might even be dying.  One of her 
oldest friends in the worldÉ
	And Batman hadn't wanted anyone to know.  Cold-hearted to the 
last, she thought bitterly.  Was he leaving poor Babs and Spud to face 
this possible loss alone?
	Righteous indignation did something to quell the roiling fear in her gut.  Dick needed his friends.  
*She* needed her friends.  With firm resolve, she lifted her phone from its cradle and dialed the Titans 
Tower.