AN: Hey fellow Young Justice fans! This is an idea that I've been toying around with for a while now, so I hope you guys find it interesting. Thanks for taking the time to read my story!
Summary: Red Arrow is abducted by an unknown group, who wants only one thing: revenge against the Young Justice team. Can the team stay together when everything about the current situation threatens to tear them apart?
Warnings: Rated T for torture and swearing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice. If that ever changes you guys will be the first to know.
Chapter One: Ransom
Roy Harper would never regret his decision to strike out on his own…but situations such as these forced him to acknowledge that there were, in fact, a few perks to working in a group. The one that he was currently missing was the guarantee that someone would notice if you had been abducted and were currently trussed up like a Christmas turkey in some dank, smelly basement. Green Arrow might have been a dead beat in quite a few departments, but he'd always had his back. Yeah, he was definitely starting to miss that.
He attempted to shift his position and the bonds cut cruelly into his skin. Damn. Whoever these guys were, they sure knew how to tie a knot. They were also smart enough to strip him of anything that would have helped regarding the whole escape thing. The bastards had even taken his boots! So what if there was a hidden blade in toe? It was just plain rude to take a man's shoes.
Abruptly shutting down his mental pity party, Roy began to break down his current situation. Where was he? No idea. Most likely a city (bad guys tended to stick metropolitan areas), but he still couldn't be sure. Who was he being held hostage by? No idea on that front either. They'd attacked him from behind and they hadn't shown their ugly faces yet. Likelihood of escape without outside help? At the moment, very low. Was he completely and utterly fucked? Yup, it looked that way.
It was then that the thugs decided to show themselves. There were five of them and they were all built like bouncers. Great, he thought, as if things weren't already bad enough. Judging by the fact that they all wore black ski masks, they were just henchmen. So he still had no idea who was behind his abduction. The tallest of the henchmen stepped forward and casually cracked his knuckles.
"Well, lookie here boys, we've got ourselves a little sidekick," Douchebag #1 (the name seemed to suit him) sneered, earning laughter from Douchebags #2-5.
Roy had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from correcting the man. His prior experiences with being a hostage had taught him to stay quiet for as long as possible. The less he said, the more they would. Eventually they would give away their plan and who their boss was. Eventually they would slip up and he'd escape. He just hoped "eventually" would come sooner rather than later. Something told him that whoever hired these guys wasn't going to mess around and that he wouldn't last long if he didn't give them what they wanted.
Douchebag #1 knelt down beside him and began speaking in a tone that was downright sadistic, "Listen here, kid. My boss has a question for you and things will go a lot smoother if you just answer it. Understand?"
Again, Roy had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from speaking and simply nodded. He was eighteen, damn it! He was an adult not a kid.
"All you have to do is tell us where Batman is hiding his little covert team and we'll let you go."
He had to suppress a chuckle. It wasn't that his situation was at all humorous, but their boss actually thought he would give them an answer. His refusal to join the team hadn't meant that he would be willing to sell them out down the line. Roy Harper was nothing, if not loyal to his friends (not that he was friends with the entire team, but he wasn't willing to sell them out either), so he only had three words to say to these thugs.
"Go to Hell." He hissed and Douchebag #1 socked him across the jaw, sending him crashing to the floor.
"I was kinda hoping you would say that," he chuckled and signaled to Douchebag #3, who began fumbling with a video camera, "If you won't give them up, maybe you can help us convince them to do it themselves."
"They won't come for me," Roy spat, hoping that he sounded more convincing than he felt, "They're still pissed about me not joining the team. They hate my frickin' guts. Getting rid of me would be doing them a favor."
"We'll just have to see about that, Red Arrow."
At that, all of the Douchebags, save for Douchebag #3, descended upon him. Only one thought was clear amongst the kicks and the punches. At least they got my name right.
00000000000000000000000000000
"Well, how are they?" Megan leaned over the kitchen counter in anticipation as she asked.
Dick struggled to find an answer that wouldn't crush the Martian girl's spirits. She'd finally gotten her cookies to look and smell edible…she just hadn't mastered the taste part. And, God, did they taste awful. The cookies were a culinary disaster, heavy on the dis.
"They…um…smell really good." He offered, hoping that she would get the hint. She didn't.
"But how do they taste, Robin." She asked insistently.
"Well, Megan, you see-"
He was interrupted by Batman's voice over the com, telling the entire team to assemble. Saved by the Bat, he thought cheerfully as he and Megan followed his mentor's instructions. He wondered what sort of mission Batman would send them on.
Dick's pondering, however, was short lived. It stopped once he saw his mentor's face. Even the cowl couldn't hide that something was wrong, very wrong. He suddenly felt ill. Megan must have picked up his nausea, for she touched his arm and asked if he was alright. All he could do was nod and make an attempt at a reassuring smile.
Batman began to speak after the rest of the team arrived, "The League received a ransom video message this afternoon-"
"Is that out next mission?" Wally piped up; not picking up on Batman's more serious than usual demeanor.
"No, Kid Flash, the league will handle this mission."
"Then why tell us this?" Conner asked, visibly annoyed.
"Because the ransom concerns you and League members other than myself felt that you had the right to be aware of the situation," Batman answered, his tone harsh.
"Who do they have?" Dick asked softly, his feelings of nausea progressively increasing.
The Dark Knight shifted uncomfortably before answering, "They have Red Arrow."
Artemis was the first one to regain her voice and, consequently, break the silence, "What do they want? You said the ransom had something to do with us."
"They want Young Justice. They want you."
So, what do you guys think? Is it worth continuing? Please review and let me know. A thumbs up or a thumbs down will suffice. Constructive criticism is also welcome :)