Torturous Pain Chapter 1: Lesson, a young justice fanfic

Torturous Pain

Chapter 1: Lesson

"Never let them see your pain." That was Bruce's first lesson. It played in Dick's head as he began to awaken. His body was numb, but his head pounded along with the lesson playing. "If they know it hurts, they'll keep going. They will try and break you. It will be hard. I won't lie, it will hurt. You will want to break down, but you need to find that one thing, Dick. That one thing that pushes you forward; that one thing you think about and when the situation seems desperate, the thing that makes you keep going." Many times Dick had to remember this, it wasn't the first time he's been in a situation like this. He had proposed to Bruce that he made himself bait, allowed himself to be captured so they could track where the hideout is at with the tracking device in his mask. "Don't listen to what they tell you, keep that one thing in your mind but don't let them see the hope. Remain emotionless." But this time was different. He didn't allow himself to be captured. "They'll get annoyed, angry, but don't give the satisfaction that they actually broke through to you. In the case of torture, you are nothing. There's no such thing as emotions. Keep yourself numb." He almost forgot the last part when his vision finally cleared and he say his team there. Artemis, Wally and Zatanna. The four of them had been sent to Gotham to track Joker's movements, just to track his movements. But Joker wasn't alone, he now has a girlfriend; Harley Quinn.

Just how could he have been so fucking stupid?! He knew that Joker had Harley with him, but he didn't cover his back. He didn't tell the others about her either! He scolded himself as he glared at nothing. His scolding got worse as he saw the injuries on his teammates. Artemis' hair was out of it's usual ponytail, her stomach had a huge horizontal cut but luckily it wasn't bleeding out anymore, her lip was busted open and had blood leaking from the corner of her mouth, her wrists were raw from the handcuffs over her head. Dick noticed how Artemis knew to keep herself numb. One, if not both, of her parents had told her about torture and how to handle it. But it wasn't the same for Wally and Zatanna. Wally's goggles were broken, his face was bruised badly and his left eye swollen shut while his other one shown his fear. What stabbed at Dick's heart was when he saw Wally's legs, they were broken and the baseball that had did it was laying by his feet. Why did he have to be so goddamn stupid and forget about Harley Quinn?! If, no, when he got out of this, Bruce was going to give him an ear full. He caused all of this. It was all of his fault. He wanted to look away, he needed to, but he didn't. His eyes went over to Zatanna and his heart nearly broken. Her face was covered in tears, her lips sealed with duct tape, her forehead bruised and had a cut. He could tell by how limp her left arm was as it hanged from the handcuff above her head that her shoulder was dislocated. Her leg was bleeding, but he was too far away to tell if it was from a stab wound or gun shot. Either way, it all pained him,

Then he realized, other than his pounding head, he felt no pain. He flexed his fingers, feeling that his gloves were gone, then flexed his toes, his boots were also gone. Of course his utility belt was gone, but they left his mask. They always leave his mask. It would be too easy to find out who he was that was. To all villains, this was a game to them. They hated it when it was easy. Things weren't allowed to be easy. Dick scanned the room more, neither Joker or Harley to be found. It was then he realized he was tied into a chair, instead of hanging along the wall like the others and it was for a simple reason; he was the show. Joker didn't care if the others were saved. Hell, he probably wanted them to be in the end. He was going to make an example out of Dick. Joker wanted to kill them in front of their eyes.

Tears came to all of others' eyes when they reached he was finally awake. Hope swelled up in their chests. Robin was awake. He would get them out of this. He would save them. "Robin," both Artemis and Wally muttered. Zatanna tried, but the duct tape stopped that from happening, she just cried again. In their eyes, they saw just how bad he looked right now. His hair stick to his forehead, but not because of sweat, because of blood. Harley had smacked him in the back of the head with her mallet and his forehead slammed into the ground. There had been so much blood. They thought he was going to die from blood loss. That he was never going to wake up, but he did.

"Ohhhhh Mist'ah J!" Harley skipped into the room. Her voice was loud and made Dick's head pound even more as his ears rang. "Ya were right! Lil birdie boy is awake~!" She said in a sing-song voice and skipped in front of Dick and smiled mock-sweetly. "'Bout time ya got up. B-Man would have been up hours ah-go." She taunted him. She got no reaction from him, at least not on the outside. "Y'know, I used ta be a psychiatrist. I know what just said got und'ah yer skin." And she was right. Batman would have been awake hours ago. Dick kept messing up.

And even before Bruce's lesson could play in his head again, someone from behind jerked the chair back and slammed it into the wall, the chair breaking. Dick was still attached to the chair while that all happened. He barely managed too keep his head from smacking into the wall. He felt the chair break against his back and it knocked the air out of his lungs. The next attack happened before he even had a chance to try to catch his breathe, a purple shoe grounded into his rib cage. Pain, a lot of pain. It pulsed through him, but he refused to cry out. He couldn't even if he wasn't holding it back. He couldn't breathe, the kicks didn't stop and his vision was getting fuzzy and dark.

"No no nooooo you don't, Boy Blunder. You're not allowed to pass out," Joker said with a sickening grin on his face. He picked Dick up by his hair and forced the boy to look at the team. "I have to teach them a lesson, and you're the example. You see, you already know the lesson!" He laughed without a joke and walked over to the hanging teens, then he picked up the baseball bat by Wally's feet. He leaned in close to the red head's face. "Let's see how well the Bat likes his sidekick. Hehehehahahahahahaha!" He laughed louder and threw Dick to Harley. She caught and held onto the teen.

SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. Slpat.

The bat met Dick's rib cage, blood drops were on the floor. But Joker was unamused. "I guess the bat doesn't like Boy Blunder so much." Joker said then tossed it aside. He leaves the room for a moment. While he's gone, Dick looks up at his three friends. All of their eyes wide and teary. Artemis didn't cry, but she was about to. Wally and Zatanna's cheeks were already decorated with the water. They all were shaking with fear. Don't show fear. He wanted to tell them that so much, but he couldn't. Harley was holding him, it would make it pointless if she knew it was an act. He had to do something, anything. He needed to save his friends. But before he could even think of a plan, Joker returned with his new toy of choice; a crowbar.

SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh.

Joker grinned as he saw more blood came from Robin's mouth. Oh, the crowbar was going to nicely. His arm pulled back, preparing for another swing when "STOP!" pierced the room. It was the annoying red head that didn't know how to shut up until he had a few broken bones. Joker looked back at him then just laughed. "Stop? Stop?! But the fun has just started! Now, shut up and pay attention to your lesson." He grinned at the last word he said. Lesson. That's all this was. They needed to learn what the bird already knew. "Harley, be a dear and leave. Teacher's having a private lesson." He grinned at the word again and even more when Harley left. Joker pulled his arm back again and swung at the bird on the ground.

SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh. SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh.

"I just don't know which I like better. Forehand?" SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh. "Or backhand?" SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh. He went between each one as he hit Dick. It was becoming hard for the boy as his body was being beaten to hold back his pain. His body rocked with each impact, and it was only getting worse.

SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh. SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh. SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh. SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh.

Blood was smearing across the concrete as Dick slid across it when each hit. Zatanna was bawling her eyes out, crying out as much as she could against the duct tape. Wally was sobbing too much to yell for the Joker to stop again. Artemis' tears were free falling from her eyes as she watched what was happening to one of her best friends, words just couldn't form.

SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh. SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh. SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh. SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh. SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh. SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh. SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh. SHWOOSH. CRACK. GAAAASP. KU-AAA. Slpat. Ughh.

It was endless. The blood rushing in Dick's ears covered Joker's laugh. His thoughts were on his mother as he was beaten. His thoughts were on his father. They were on Bruce. On Alfred. Wally. Artemis. Conner. M'gann. Kladur. Zatanna. He didn't have one thing to keep him going. He had many things. Anyone would be sure they would die as they were being beat senseless as he was right now. But no. Not Richard Grayson. He was taught better, and as naïve as it was, he believed what Bruce told him. "I'll find you."

Joker paused and leaned down to Dick's level. "So, which it is?" He asked as he grabbed Dick's head and lifted his face from the floor. The three "students" gasped when they saw his face. Broken nose, blood pouring from it. Busted eyebrow and lip, blood pouring from them. Bruises forming all over. "Forehand or backhand?" Referring to which one hurt worse.

Something appeared on Dick's face that no one expected to see. A smug grin. Blood covered his teeth. "Nnnnnn-errrrr." He tried to speak, but it was apparent he had a collapsed lung. And that made Joker laugh, and he announced about the collapsed lung, but Dick still grinned.

The grin made Joker snap when it didn't disappear. Grinning was his thing. He's The Joker! How dare this brat grin when he's half way to six feet under! He'll regret it, oh yes. He. Will. Regret. IT! Joker took a step back from the bloody boy then chunk the crowbar at him, making blood just seep from his mouth. The grin disappeared as soon as the knife came out. Joker's knife was death. He loved cutting people up. So much more fun then beating a person with a bat or crowbar. "You're going to end up bleeding to death, Boy Blunder. And you know what the best part is?" Joker asked then just busted out laughing for a long while. "Batman doesn't even know you're here! The little tracking device in your mask, I threw it away! I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!" With that said, he went back laughing.

Those word burned into Dick. Joker knows who he is. Joker knows. It was all lost. Game over. Richard Grayson was dead. It washed over him like a tsunami. Bruce had lied, he wasn't going to save him. He wasn't going to be found, not alive at least. His friends will witness his death. The death of a fifteen year old boy, only ever had one kiss in his life. Hadn't gotten to graduate from high school. His life was over. Very soon he was going to be stabbed and cut over and over again. He will be joining his parents.

Dick could see them now. John and Mary Grayson. Their loving smiles with arms wide open for their only son. The Flying Graysons would be united again, together forever. No more pain. Pain. No more blood. Blood. No more anything, just nothing. He wanted it. He wanted to actually be nothing. For the pain to stop. His eyes hurt as he began to cry, finally giving in. What was the point anyways? He was dead. Gone. Finished.

"Don't give up." Artemis.

"You c-can survive." Wally.

Their words tried to reach them. They all knew the boy had given up. He just laid there so limply. No hope in his expression at all.

"No use, birdie is gone." Joker said then began laughing. He started to slash at Robin. Shreds of clothing started to cover the floor. Stinging pain from the knife tip. But slowly, all of the pain was going away. Everything was fuzzy again as Dick's breathes were labored. Blood the only thing keeping him warm. The female scream didn't even snap him out of it. His thoughts were that Artemis just finally gave in, since Zatanna couldn't make a noise.

Oh, Zatanna. Dick was going to be leaving her, he didn't want to, but he was. His only kiss was from her, on New Years two years ago. Or was it just one? Or was it three? He couldn't remember. It was too hard to think. He wondered what it would be like to taste her lips again, instead of the blood in his mouth. Oh yeah, it would be so much better than the salty-iron taste on his tongue now. There was another noise. Did Joker toss his knife to watch him bleed out? He didn't care, he just wanted to think about Zatanna. She made him not want to die right now. Fight welled up in him. He was going to live for another kiss from her. He was going to live to see another smile and see her bright blue eyes. He was going to hug her so tight. His arms were going to be around her, and hers were going to be around him. It will be so warm.

It was so warm. He was warm and there were arms. Zatanna? No, these arms were too big. Way too big. He turned his head into the chest that the arms were connected to. So warm. He knew this warmth, though it was rare. It all clicked in his foggy brain. The scream was Harley, not Artemis. "I'll find you." And he did. Bruce found him. Bruce was holding him, carrying him out of the hell hole.

"Robin … stay with me, okay?" He muttered softly. They were outside now. Dick felt the sunlight hit his cold body and help warm him up. "Dick, please. Just listen to my voice, alright. Dr. Fate stopped the bleeding, but you lost a lot of blood. Stay awake." The Justice League, it became a League matter when they went missing. Oh, Dick had so screwed up his mission to just track Joker. "I'm going to get you to Alfred, alright. He'll make it better." Bruce was crying. It didn't show in his voice, but Dick felt the wet tear drops on his face. "Don't worry about the others, Canary and the other League members will take care of them." The sun had disappeared and he couldn't understand Bruce's words anymore.

Bruce had lost him, Dick just couldn't stay conscious anymore. Whether the boy knew it or not, he was grunting or groaning to what Bruce was saying to him. But now, he was silent other than the labored breathes. He thanked god for the fact that they were in Gotham. He got to the cave just as Dick went into shock. The boy was on the medical table in a matter of seconds and Alfred stuck the IV in a vein, blood began flooding into the teen's body. Blood was what he needed the most, next on that list was his lung then the broken bones then finally the stitches.

Artemis, Wally and Zatanna were back in Mount Justice's Infirmary. Wally was laid back in the bed he was in, his legs in casts and bandages all over his person. Artemis was also laying in the bed she was assigned, stitches for her stomach and bandages around her wrists. Zatanna sat in her bed, her shoulder put back into socket and now in a sling. Her fingers tracing along her lips, sore from having the duct tape taken off. The one thing on their mind was obvious; was Robin alive? Batman had just rushed in and taken him away as soon as Joker was knocked out.

"Sleep," Black Canary said as she walked back into the room. It had only been three hours ago since the League had saved them. "You need rest." M'gann, Rocky, Kladur and Conner weren't even allowed to see the three teens. Very few League members were even allowed to see them. Barry demanded to be one of them to be there for his nephew, but Canary had kicked him out, using the excuse that Wally's parents needed to know that they had found Wally. Dr. Fate was another member that was in there. It was clear that Zatara had influence over him as Fate worried about Zatanna, but Fate mainly healed all over the serious damaged. Canary and Red Tornado were the ones really playing doctor and did all of the other medical work.

The teens didn't protest like the blonde woman thought they would. They all were exhausted and fell asleep after Canary told them to sleep. She watched them sleep then sighed softly. She had never been in their shoes. To be tortured, it's life changing. So is a death of a teammate, a dear friend. She prayed like hell that Robin would be okay as she walked over to each teen, carefully tucking them all in then dimmed the lights. She was going to play therapist for them again, she needed to. Because they need it. Everyone that comes into contact with the Joker needs therapy afterwards. She began preparing herself now for their mental traumas.