Okie. This Fic was written and originally posted on w w w . jlaunlimited. c o m under greengerbils awhile ago.
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A gurgled animal-like scream tore free of an already raw throat as the life source liquid spilled out of the corner of his mouth—the same shade of his already torn uniform. Gotham City was as dark and unresponding as ever, allowing the bright colors of red, yellow, and green to stick out like a sore thumb. Gleeful cackles filled the air as metal connected with flesh and bones, sending the figure on the floor flying while earning a strangled cry through clenched teeth as the body took flight. Hands hidden in gloves clenched themselves fruitlessly at the gravel on the floor, trying in vain to find some sort of defense before another attack was delivered, letting loose a barely muffled shriek.
Blood pooled onto the two-colored cape that once concealed the teen in the shadows, dying the dark side of the fabric red. The very same red disappeared onto the teen's red uniform unseen.
The small masked figure coughed up even more of the metallic substance onto the streets as a trembling hand moved to press the communicator on his ear—only to come face to face with his attacker. Eyes behind the mask widened as realization dawned on him before the metal pole connected at the side of his head—shattering the communicator with the impact as well as knocking the teen onto the floor face first.
Chalk white face was split by blood thirsty grin as the man with green hair in the purple suit slouched over, stepping onto the sticky stained cape lazily and eyes filled with delight squinted down at his prey. The fabric ripped as the sadistic man's foot connected to the side of the body, a sickening crunch escaping before the other tormentor that stood in the shadows moved out, allowing the faint lamppost to illuminate a metal mask. An unseen nod to the Joker, then the crowbar was dropped onto the pavement with a noisy echoed clatter.
Just like that, the three presences disappeared into the shadows, leaving a blood stained yellow belt behind. Unseen with graceful cat-like movement that did not catch the attention of the two villains—the only witness from the scene—silently moved away from its perch on the building, and leapt away, silver claws glinting under Gotham's street lights, and somewhere in front of the computer, a red dot disappeared from the screen before a shadow on a wheelchair send out a distressed signal.
"We don't even KNOW who his father or family is!" snapped a green skinned youth. The usual cheerful smile was replaced by lips stretched thin across his face as he peered over his teammate's shoulder to glance at the computer.
"He deserves to know what happened," Starfire had argued, glowing green orbs glaring at the remaining part of Teen Titans, "and chances are, he ALREADY knows—being one of the greatest detective in the world." Raven had shocked the Titans by agreeing with Starfire's logic in her own waspish voice, and that was all it took for the remaining Teen Titans set out to find Robin's teacher, though each step they took felt as if their legs were turned into some dead weight, dragging them down. Grumbling endlessly, the teens started to gather all information they had about the famed Bat Cave.
The uneasiness only thickened when beast boy sounded the buzz of the doorbell, and everyone cringed as the elderly butler answered the door, and ushered the leaderless team titans inside. The blanket of unease had choked everyone into tense silence after Alferd learned what happened to the third Robin that flew from the bat's cave. Time slipped by after the tale, and although worry was etched on every wrinkle on Alferd's face, refreshments were brought out, and everyone appreciated beast boy's sad attempt to lighten the atmosphere, though all was lost when the door was thrown open by Bruce Wayne.
As the teens stood up, they realized immediate changes the man undergone as he got closer. Flashing blue eyes narrowed, all humor gone, and the air around him seemed to darken each step the man took. "What do you know?" calmly, demanding. This was not Bruce Wayne; the man that stood before them was the darker persona of the man.
Not questioning how he found out even before seeing them at the manor, they reluctantly, and very timidly, they started re-telling the tale as the body language of the man changed. Still emotionless and dark, plans and theories flew around the dark knight's mind—already starting to calculate each plan and the percentage of success. "By bringing down Robin, teen titans would be on the case, along with Batman. Who in their right minds would do that?" questioned the part robot from Teen Titans, the one eye fixed at his leader's adoptive father.
"Killing two birds with one stone, or killing one bird with two stones. No communication works for more then 3 hours already. Meaning this--" "is a hostage or bait situation." Batman deadpanned, effectively shutting the rambling teen up. Not knowing how to answer Batman, silenced had the room in total control when Alferd returned. "Take them to the cave." Bruce grimaced, and only when Alferd was gone with the younger lot did he allow himself to rub his temples in vain to soothe the burning headache.
Passing through the grandfather cloak that hid the entrance to the famous bat-cave, each step taken by the remaining Titans only grew colder as they entered the high-tech headquarters of Gotham's Dark Night. Before them Batman was illuminated by the light from a computer screen, clad in his trademark dark armor complete with his cape while fingers flew over the keyboard effortlessly. "Wear your communicators at frequency 5-13." He stated as the teens hurriedly obeyed. Without sparing them a glance, he opened up documents of maps for Gotham.
"Go in pairs, and scout out areas E and G—report anything out of the ordinary—do not move before confirming the location and—" and new voice interrupted the man before he was finished. "Keep out of sight, and try not to draw attention to yourselves. Oh, and try to stay alive as well." The Titans whipped around, already in their defensive crouch. "Who-What-" the owner of the voice stepped forward to reveal a masked face along with a blue bird emblem that stood out from the onyx uniform. "If I can input—I think the remaining Titans should split up—none of you know Gotham as well as us, huh?" Correctly assuming the silence and the defense stance from the teens, he chuckled.
"Relax, I'm not the enemy—If I was, he" he nodded to Batman, "would have smashed my face into the wall by now." Broken from the trance first, Starfire gasped. "You're Nightwing! I THOUGHT I've seen you somewhere before! You're in that family picture Robin keeps with him!" Shocked at her own outburst, she ducked her head. "Sorry…" Nightwing only smiled. "You must be the Star from the Titans Robin writes about all the time." He then turned to Batman, all humor gone from his voice, reverting into business mode. "Batgirl's on her way down. She volunteered to stay here with the tech." "Just pair up," The irritated Bat growled, massaging his temples as he handed out tracking dots.
Intimidated by the Bat's temper and cold attitude, Beast boy hurriedly clung on to Cyberg. "Creepy dude…" he muttered as quietly as he could manage before shivering, startling a laugh from Cyberg. "That's not really nice, you know," Starfire muttered as she went along with Nightwing, and left Raven with the Bat oozing with killing intent—or the Bat being his usual self. "But Raven's got the biggest chance to ride this one out—she's the least talkative one out of all of us." Batgirl melted out of the shadows she was hidden in silently, and slipped wordlessly in front of the computer. "Ready to go." The light streaming from the monitor only allowed the blurry outline of the girl to be seen. Batman and Nightwing nodded at her before walking out, Raven and Starfire drifting after them, with Beast boy and Cyberg running to catch up.
The bitter icy wind clawed at the little skin Nightwing exposed as he sped away on his motorcycle with Starfire flying above him. The Buildings of Gotham pelted by, creating the illusion that they were the ones moving instead. Fingers inside the smooth texture of the gloves clenched, digging into the rough handles from the bike. Outwardly, he looked as if he was joyfully going for another round of patrol, but inwardly, chaos reigned his mind. Robin was trained by Batman; kidnapping one of Batman's Sidekick require more brains and skill, no ordinary punk can do that—meaning the odds against the small bird was not good. With a simple flick of the wrist, he sent fuel to the raging engine as the roar intensified along with the speed. Letting go of one handle, He pressed the communicator to report back into the cave before Batgirl threw a fit.
"Nightwing and Starfire reporting—in Position of C1—ready for Patrol." Eyes hidden beneath the mask narrowed and scanned the familiar structures. Starfire landed as he shut off the engine and climbed off the smoking bike. They set off, with Starfire jumping and twitching whenever a sound was heard. Green eyes blinked as Nightwing shot off a grapple hook at a building before being pulled up like a rag doll—it was like looking at an older version of Robin dressed in darker uniform getting ready to patrol. "It's easier to spot things from the buildings!" his voice drifted down to her before she floated up to join him. By the time she reached him for the search, she decided the quiet approach was better then the beast boy approach, she kept a respectful distance behind the young adult.
Thousands of questions flew around her mind as she glanced around, taking in as much of Robin's hometown as possible and hoping that she tucked the confusion she felt behind an impassive face. Nightwing only shook his head and grinned at the attempt. "Small talk's ok— I'm more like Batgirl and Robin then I'm like Batman—hopefully I'm not that stiff—we just need to be alert at the same time." The alien managed a smile at his attempt to lighten up the tense air before batgirl's whisper streamed from the communicator.
"C group- roger that. E4 incoming—unknown—may pose a threat." "The Titans pair in position of G1!!" Beast boy's voice boomed from the communicator barely after batgirl reported. The Titans was use to the loudness, though apparently, the bat clan usually keep the tone to the minimum volume, along with their tempers. "KEEP IT DOWN, YOU FOOLS!!" snarled Batgirl's voice—the mysteries aura shattered along with Nightwing's eardrums. Somewhere at the back of his mind, Nightwing would kill to look at Batman's expression for THAT outburst, though most of his consciousness was spent nursing his eardrums. At least, with Beast boy's outburst, the ice was broken between Batgirl and the Titans.
The next report was muttered in a dark baritone that there was no mistaking it for someone else. "Bat and Raven Intercepting incoming at E4" "But they haven't check in to E1 yet! How can they get the interception?" exclaimed Starfire, though Nightwing only smirked at the girl's question before shooting off, flipping and landing on the next building with the grace only acrobats have. "Bat and Raven, Position of E1," "That's Bats to you, working fast." The taller shadow landed silently yet again on the next building before gracefully scanning the area for any sign of his little brother.
"WAHHHHHHHH!!" The flapping of wings, and a shrill cry clashed into the air. A blur of green crashed onto the darkened sky of Gotham City, only seen when a streetlight shone on it. "LEFT! TURN LEFT HERE!!" Cyberg yelled over the whipping wind current. "TURN LEFT HERE, YOU MORON!! NO!! THAT WAS RIGHT!!" in other words, the only Titans group was having a little navigation problem. "Stop it Cyberg! The amount of clank you're making would wake up the whole City in no time!" Snapped Starefire through the communicator. "At least turn off the communicator while you scream at your partner…" Nightwing's voice through the machine was lanced heavily with amusement. "Batman, I think I know why Robin flies in a pack now, while you would fly solo" grumbled Batgirl. "And slow down, un-talkative pair! How would you two expect to find anything with the speed your flying at!?" Irritation dripped from the words.
The smell of burnt rubber wafted into the dark city as tires screeched into a halt before the Bat got out. Glancing around wearily, he shot upwards with a grappling hook before landing onto the building. Raven landed silently behind the dark knight. "Were do we start?" not much of a question—worded into a statement. "E4, 6 buildings away. The threat's fast moving to be tracked by Batgirl" Raven nodded before taking off, fallowing Batman's lead. Black cape and cloak billowing behind them gracefully before Raven heard a sigh from the detective, and realized they've got company. A slender figure of a women barely dressed in tights greeted her sight, sitting seductively on top of a streetlight. "Got another sidekick so soon, Batman?" she purred as Raven floated into her stance, black energy forming dark spheres on her hands. About to retort, both Batman and Raven winced at the volume of noise coming through their communicators. With a sharp move of his cape, two familiar Bat-a-rangs appeared onto the dark gloves-- Raven thought she saw Batman switch his communicator off in the same movement—but one cannot be so sure.
"Oh? What's with the disgusted face? You are not from here—replacement for Robin, perhaps? Is this one a crow, then?" the Cat leapt up from the light gracefully and joined them on the building, silver claws made from diamonds glittered slightly under the moonlight.
"Little birds should never fly solo, or the cats hack up red feathers the next day…" she hissed. Raven tensed at the use of 'red feathers'—it hit too close to home to be just a phrase. "You saw what happened earlier on today," Batman stated. Even knowing the man for a short period of time, Raven could tell that the dark knight meant business. Robin never really mentioned his adoptive father to her, but anyone would get the picture of an intimidating figure. As the Figure's partner for this mission, it was the best to fit in the picture as soon as possible. "This ones dressed to fit Gotham, but why not another Robin? You seem to take a liking to them… how much nestlings have you lost by now? This little Crow had her wings clipped before she even flies from the nest." That did it. Tired of being compared to Robin AND called a Crow, Raven crouched down, charging her dark magic as she growled out. "What's an old women like you know about fashion sense and birds?" The women only hissed as silted eyes narrowed before she purred.
"You really should teach your birdies manners, Batman! Little crow here thinks she can order me around" The cat stretched. "But you're lucky, I'm in a playful mood today—and that your new birdie is female. Why not try the location of where you lost your second Robin, hmmm?" with a precise and practiced jump, Catwoman was gone. With a sigh, Batman pressed the communicator connected onto his crowl while Raven scrunched her nose up in disgust and allowed her magic to flow back into herself. "Do I look like a crow and a sidekick to you?" she grumbled as Batman reported to Batgirl.
"… Nothing to report on E4 section—only Catwomen" Batman's unmistakable voice drawled, "Do I look like a crow and a sidekick to you?" Raven's voice muttered darkly. "I'm not even been to Gotham till today!" " So you two ARE there. I was beginning to think that you turn off the communicator." Nightwing's voice floated through. "She called you a crow?? HAHAHA!!" Beast boy's joyful voice boomed yet again. "Though Raven, you DO seem to fit in pretty well here—with all the dark and gloomy colors, no offense, Nightwing" Cyberg put his two cents in. "None taken," Batgirl can practically feel Nightwing's grin through the communicator. "Maybe we should list out our potential suspects while you guys patrol…" she muttered into the communicator, only to be cut off by a tense voice of Batman. "Gather at E7. Batgirl—footage of E7's cameras. Batman Out." The usually calm and dark baritone was tense, and all humor drained from the air as two pairs abandoned their sections shot off into section E, dreading what was to be found. "Keep alert, all of you, and be careful." Batgirl ended the transmission, and waited on stand by, already hacking into the systems of the department easily. Within minuets the footage was found, the girl started searching for the section batman requested—and hoped for the best for her little brother.
Thought flew around so fast that it buzzed made the headache for Gotham's Dark Knight much worst. Sighing as he rubbed his temples yet again, he thank the lucky stars that his partner was silently examining the scene for more information, more leads, and she was one of the most silent partners he encountered. Taking a breath to calm his smoking nerves—it can give Flash a run for his money—he scanned the area for any signs of life. This is not happening… The knight's mask of indifference was on, though the back of his mind screamed Déjà vu. Under a flickering streetlight, a yellow utility belt stained with brownish red lay limply. His fears were confirmed when a flash of silver reflected off the moon—a silver crowbar tinged with dried blood. Before he got a chance to investigate even further, Nightwing landed, cursing colorfully when the scene adjusted itself. Starfire landed timidly behind him, and her gasp only fueled the obvious fact of who the belt's owner was.
"…What would you say happened here?" Batman stated softly to Nightwing as the Remaining titans landed and began their search. "We better rope this area off, and stimulate what happened back at the cave later. Batgirl may be onto something." Beast boy transformed into a green dog and started sniffing around. "The blood's Robin's." Raven stated after Beast boy nodded. Batman and Nightwing joined them wordlessly as the green goy led them to the sewers before transforming back. "Ends, here. I smell Slade and another person…" Cyberg and Starfire circled the cap—to slam into Raven's black magic wall. "Robin led them well—you as his teacher should be proud." Muttered Nightwing. Batman picked up the crowbar. "The other man was Joker." He hissed under his breath—only Nightwing heard him. "First Todd, now Tim. What the hell is with him and Robins!?" Flashes of the second Robin's lifeless body sped through Batman and Nightwing.
"You got something?" Starfire asked. The Grey and black world only lost the color of the superhero's costumes as Beast boy transformed back into the hound, only to regain their brilliance when he changed back that split second. "Robin's signal!!" he pointed at the gravel sitting in a small pool of the metallic smelling liquid. "Down R." Raven's dark voice made them jump, before Nightwing pushed them out of the way. "In bat-code that he was taught— 'Bait-more'" Before anyone else had the chance to imput, Batgirl's voice drifted out of the communicator, all the humor gone, and the voice wobbling slightly. "That horrible footage played itself over and over again—come back to view it. Culprits are Slade and Joker—I checked their files already. Should I beam you guys back into the cave? You better see this—" She was cut off as another channel came through.
"Batman! We need you up in the JLA tower immediately. Batgirl and Nightwing, bring all tools needed." Aquaman's commanding voice slid though the communicators. "Robin's Missing!" growled Batman, startling the group with him. "I will stay in Gotham--" he was cut off by Superman this time. "Lois and Conner is missing—(Conner is Superboy) along with Green Archer. Green Arrow's Frantic." The bat clan and titans all waited for Batman's opinion. "Alright. Beam us up."