A/N: First of all, I wasn't kidding when I said trigger warning! Some elements in this story, especially the first few chapters can be very disturbing. Please be mindful of that and remember that this story is more about healing. But before he healing can begin we must first acknowledge the wound.
Second: I'm adding DC characters that weren't in Young Justice as well as OCs to mingle with the usual characters here.
Enjoy!
"You're not leaving without telling me what happened to her." He said sternly to the man as he lifted him up by the collar of his orange jump suit.
This… This isn't how I expected the search to go. It was supposed to be a simple search. But I guess nothing in my life can be simple.
I just decided to take personal time to find someone from my past, after the Crisis I just wanted to have a quick search on my own with little to no stress. The obvious place to start was the last place I saw her. The orphanage.
I walked in to ask about the records. The woman at the front desk was an older lady. She'd had that job since I was there. After catching up with her for a few minutes, convincing her to give me the names of the girl's guardians wasn't hard.
"It was nice catching up with you Dick. So what brings you here?"
"I'm looking for someone. I think you know who."
"I know. You two were so close. It's a shame you couldn't go together. But rules are rules. It's against regulation for us to allow single men to adopt children that young unless they're related. It's just too risky. Especially for the girls."
"I understand. But let's talk about now. Is there anything you can do to help me?"
"Well, she's still a minor, so I'm not sure if I should…"
"Please, if I just knew how to contact her guardians I could ask for their consent before making my next move. Recent events have reminded me that life is short, and you never know what could happen."
"Well, I suppose under the circumstances it would be understandable. I recall the couple that adopted her seemed pretty well off and quite generous. It was from their own pocket that this old building received a new roof. I can give you their names. Though I know they moved shortly after they finished the paper work. But that's all I know. I'm sorry."
"That's all I need. Thank you Mrs. Miller."
James and Anna Johnson.
"Look man, I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm in here for abducting Brittney Foster. And she's safe at home now. Probably married with a kid or two. They got me before I could do anything to her." The man said leaning back in his chair. A bold smirk painted across his face. "So can I go back to my cell now?"
"No, James Johnson, you can't go back to your cell. Not before I get everything you know out of you," Nightwing responded, his fist punctuating his answer with a sharp crack upon the table.
"Who!? Who is James Johnson? That isn't MY name!" He scrambled up from his seat and headed for the door "You have the wrong man! I'm out."
Catching the man by his collar, the masked detective threw him back into his seat. "I know that's not your real name," Nightwing growled, leaning into the man's face. "But I know you 'adopted' five young girls under that name before you abducted Brittney. So talk."
"And? They were all orphans. I was doing them a favor getting them out of those rat traps they call orphanages. No one was going to be missing them after I got ahold of them."
"You're wrong."
When I got the names, I was sure my search was almost over. When in fact, it was only beginning. I went to the Batcave to search the couple, only to find that they moved to Star City. But just three months later they reported her missing. My intuition told me this was no coincidence.
I contacted Oliver to get the case file on her disappearance.
"So, think you can help me out?"
"I see. This was ten years ago? Odd that I'm just now hearing of this. Six year old girl goes missing, the media should have been all over that."
"Exactly. You'd think the 'parents' would cause a bigger fuss. Candlelight vigils, news coverage, interviews… But they didn't do much more than put up a mourning act for the investigators. Beyond that, she was never registered in a school system, nor does it seem they made any attempt to update her medical files. And this couple has adopted four other children, between four and eight years old, from various agencies, all within ten years prior to adopting her. Each reported missing within two to five months after moving to a new location. None of the other girls were enrolled in school either."
"That's no coincidence. This may run even deeper. Who knows what could've happened to those girls... I'm sorry for your loss, Dick. The people responsible for this will pay. I'll help you out."
"Thanks. But don't talk like she's dead just yet."
"Are you sure you don't want to pass this investigation to the League? This sounds like it's getting beyond personal. You may be too close to the case to look into it rationally."
"If this is what I think it is, the only way any of those girls have a chance is if someone takes it personally. Besides… I know she's alive. And she needs me."
"Nothing gets by you huh?" the inmate replied, "Look, I'd love to help you out but frankly, I don't know the girl you're looking for, been through a lot of those in my day, and used a number of different names to acquire them. It's just too hard to keep track of so many."
Grabbing the inmate by his collar, Nightwing roughly flung him into the wall. "Were they all just objects to you!? These girls were human beings! Children!"
James steadied his breathing and sighed, a sly smile returning, "Business is business. I have a number of clients, if you want to know more, you're going to have to remind me which girl it is you're looking for."
Pulling out a picture from the evidence folder, he flung it in James' direction. It was of a young girl, with dark hair and light eyes, posing provocatively, tears flowing from her eyes. The photo had been censored with black tape.
"Does that jog your memory?" Nightwing snapped.
After Oliver and I searched the missing person file on her, we found that the case went cold early on, and remained so even with months of investigating. Then Oliver found a chilling connection to another case.
"Wait, could this be…? Dick! Get over here, you're going to want to see this."
"What is it?"
"Look at that man in the photo."
"Yeah? That's James."
"No, it's not. His real name is Aaron Chase. He's the man behind the Foster abduction."
"Foster abduction?"
"You were just a kid when this happened. But a sixteen year old girl ran away from her home in Metropolis. During the search for her they found video surveillance of Chase walking off with her. Since the girl's mother was a minor internet celebrity, the case managed to make national news. They found the girl alive and arrested Chase. When they searched his house they found a disturbing amount of pictures. Pictures of girls younger than her, in disgusting positions. All of which were photos he took himself. Most of them were used as…"
"What? What were they used as?!"
"Advertisements… For sex slaves… The girl you showed me in that photo was one of them."
"If that's the case, I'm going to Metropolis to see if this Foster girl can shed some light on the situation. Thanks for your help."
"Dick, wait. If you're going to pursue this investigation yourself, you should at least let someone come with you, so you don't do anything you will regret."
"At this point… Anything I could do to this man would be far too merciful…"
"Oh Hell no! I remember her. I'm not telling anyone anything about where she ended up. I value my life too much."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I've already said too much. You're not getting any more ou-"
Grabbing the man by his throat, Nightwing pinned him against the wall. "We can get the information out the easy way, with you just telling me everything, or we can force it out with one of many techniques. Some of those techniques are less than pleasant… If you catch my drift."
I went to Metropolis to find this Brittney Foster girl. Found her in a nice suburban area, married and pregnant with her first child. At first, she was frantic. I guess showing up in the suit wasn't the best idea. But after explaining to her what I needed, she invited me in after telling her husband the situation.
"I see, so this girl in the photo is who you're looking for?"
"Yes. I know it's a long shot, but while you were held captive, did you remember seeing her where you were?"
"Yes. She was only there for a few nights before a group of men came and took her, but I remember her. She was so little… I remember hearing her crying for someone named Dick. I tried to reach out and comfort her. Hug her. But by then she was just too traumatized. One small touch and she screamed. Cowering in a corner. I can only imagine what happened to her…"
"Before she was taken away, can you recall anything else that happened to her?"
"Well… I know Chase would often drag her into his room. And then… The day they took her away…"
"What happened?"
"She had nothing on… but a bath towel… They pulled her hair forward… and branded the back of her neck… Please don't punch a hole in my wall! We're renting this place!"
"W-what did they… brand… her with?"
"It looked… like a bird."
"Thank you for telling me all this. I understand that these are painful memories."
"No. Don't thank me. It's my fault she's still missing. I never said anything about her after I was rescued… Maybe if I said something…"
"You can't blame yourself. You had been through so much already, you were scared. You just wanted the nightmare to end."
"Regardless. Just… find her. And take down the people who have her."
"I will."
"O-okay, okay! I'll talk!" He choked.
"Good. Tell me everything… And I'll know if you're lying."
"I sold her… to a group… They gave her a code name: Acrobat…"
"Go on…" Nightwing said, letting the man drop from his grip.
After a few hours of talking, Nightwing knew he had everything necessary to make a plan. He turned and headed for the door, pausing for a moment before spinning back around and slamming the man to the floor. He was able to unleash a few unrestrained blows before Red Arrow broke in and grabbed Nightwing's upraised fist. "You need to calm down!" he said pulling the infuriated hero outside the room, "You got everything you needed from him, there's no need to beat him to death."
"That's easy for you to say! It's not YOUR sister he did this to…" he took a breath, "How would you react if someone did this to your daughter?"
"I would hope I had a close friend like you around to keep me from killing that bastard. Look… I'm not saying this guy deserves mercy. He doesn't. But I'm not letting you throw away everything you've worked for, because of him."
He nodded. "You're right. Right now we need to focus on saving her. And all the other girls."
I'd like to thank my S/O for helping me edit this! And any readers who made it to the end! You all get cookies!
