18 Hours Ago - New Jersey

Kid Flash skidded to a stop, hiding his presence in the thick trees. "Incoming," He relayed telepathically. "Two vans headed for the warehouse."

"I also have incoming traffic," Aqualad replied. "Just one suburban, headed in your direction, Superboy. Can you see through?"

"Five people, all heavily armed." Superboy confirmed.

"Looks like the deal is about to go down." Robin warned. "We're in position, Aqualad."

"Good. Kid Flash, follow your vans."

Nodding even though his teammates couldn't see him, Kid Flash waited till the two vehicles had passed his position and then ran after them. He was about twenty miles out from the warehouse, but there was no doubt that these were the guys he was looking for. In the three hours that he had been patrolling, he had yet to see a single car on these forest roads besides the two black vans with tinted windows. His stomach rumbled, but he didn't open his emergency snack bar, not yet.

The vans kicked up dust and Kid Flash, following from the treeline, covered his mouth. If he was running faster, he would blow right past the dust before he had a chance to inhale it, but he had to slow his speed down so he didn't overshoot the vehicles. Tapping the side of his head, he switched his goggles into heat vision mode. "Six people in each of my cars." He told the team, his eyes narrowing. "And they're all packing. Man, overkill much?" Whoever these people were, they had brought double the numbers to this meet.

"Most likely the Heishe," Aqualad informed. "Our five guys just departed their vehicle and they are all distinctly caucasian. Maintain a good distance from your target, Kid Flash. Do not get spotted. Robin, Artemis, and Miss Martian, be prepared. The men are about to enter the building."

"Roger that." Miss Martian firmly declared.

Kid Flash wanted to make a dumb joke that would normally have Artemis attempting to break his ribs to alleviate the tension in the conversation, but he refrained. Robin had taken him aside before the team left and gently warned him about the seriousness of their mission. Batman had been planning on taking this mission himself, but the Joker had broken out of Arkham and he needed to take care of that. The rest of the Justice League were busy with their own criminals and it had taken Robin half a day to convince Batman to let the team take this mission. The Heishe were not people to be messed with and the dealers of superesque had proven themselves to be just as dangerous. The only reason they were even here was because Robin had promised his mentor that they-for once-would only gather intel and not engage.

On the bioship flight Kid Flash had done some research on the Heishe and grimly agreed with Batman's concerns. The triad had several hundred bodies others had stated were their doing. The organization itself was incredibly secretive and never outright claimed their kills. The only reason the Justice League and the police internationally knew about the triad was through whispers in the criminal underground. They had only been active for about five years, just a baby in the eyes of other mafias, but they were already feared.

"ETA three minutes," Kid Flash laid eyes on the destined warehouse.

In terms of warehouses, this one wasn't bad, Robin remembered some of the ones he had staked out in Gotham. It was empty for now, but it didn't look abandoned. There were no security cameras and the locks on the windows were basic. The three of them had slipped inside three hours ago and had spent that time scoping out every inch of the warehouse, memorizing all the objects, doors, and windows in the room.

"Incoming," Kid Flash's voice spoke in Robin's mind. "Two vans headed for the warehouse."

"I also have incoming traffic. Just one suburban, headed in your direction Superboy. Can you see through?"

"Remember what you need to do?" Robin asked his other two teammates.

Artemis nodded. "I'm watching the doors and windows for any sign of trouble."

Miss Martian held up a small device. "I will be behind those crates in camouflage recording the exchange."

"And I'll be up in the rafters, videoing everything from above." Robin finished. "Go."

"Five people, all heavily armed." Superboy told their leader.

Robin shot his grappling gun and flipped onto a wooden beam, wrapping his dark cape about his bright chest. "Looks like the deal is about to go down. We're in position, Aqualad."

The tip about this meet had come from one of the dealers of superesque Batman and Robin had apprehended the night after the murder. Before it had seemed that Liying Hong had been killed by the creators of superesque for backing out of their plan, but the dealer had squealed that he had heard of a meeting between the Heishe and the creators going down anyway. If Hong was the middleman, why was the meet still happening after he had been torn to shreds? Robin had his suspicions that Hong had backed out of his own accord, and not on the behalf of the triad.

"Good." Their chosen leader replied. "Kid Flash, follow your vans."

Robin's body brimmed with a nervous energy that he never grew tired of. As someone who grew up doing death-defying stunts on a trapeze, he would be the first to admit that he was a bit of an adrenaline junky. When his parents were murdered, he traded performing in front of a crowd to protecting people. While he loved the trapeze and the roar of an approving crowd, there was something different and better about the high he got from solving cases and taking down bad guys.

Seven minutes later, Kid Flash spoke through the link, sounding almost impressed. "Six people in each of my cars. And they're all packing. Man, overkill much?"

The nervous energy flickered with dread and Robin swallowed, suddenly getting a very, very bad feeling. From the reports that he and Batman had gathered, the Heishe never sent in a large crowd to do their dirty work, always preferring to send it a small group of their very best operatives. Three or four, usually. Which group was the triad and which one was the drug dealers? The five or the twelve?

"Most likely the Heishe," Aqualad's input further sowed Robin's doubts. "Our five guys just departed their vehicle and they are all distinctly caucasian. Maintain a good distance from your target, Kid Flash. Do not get spotted. Robin, Artemis, and Miss Martian, be prepared. The men are about to enter the building."

"Roger that." Miss Martian replied with the confidence Robin was lacking. The youngest member pushed his feelings aside and readied his camera. He had done recon missions dozens of times with Batman, they would be completely fine. Except Batman wasn't here this time. Where was his usual cocky bravado? Robin berated himself with irritation. If there was a time to get traught, this would be it.

The doors to the warehouse swung open and five armed men strolled in. Robin started recording as he studied their faces intently. There was nothing too remarkable about them. They all wore dark long sleeved shirts and cargo pants. Their haircuts made them look like a standard white guy at a prestigious university, but they held their weapons in a way that suggested they knew how to use them. The shortest man in the room stepped forward, surveying the warehouse with a frown. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. His face was plain and Robin could see no distinguishing feature to mark him by. "Secure the area," He ordered. Robin zoomed in on his face and snapped a picture. He wanted to send the picture straight back to the mountain, but couldn't risk the light from the holoscreen in his gauntlet giving away his position.

The four men followed their instructions, one of them getting uncomfortably close to Miss Martian's hiding spot.

"ETA three minutes," Kid Flash warned.

"The men inside the warehouse are not carrying anything," Artemis remarked, sounding suspicious. Robin examined each of the men, but they only had their guns slung around their bulletproof vests. "No product, no drugs."

After a moment, Aqualad replied. "Superboy, check their vehicle. Be careful and do not get caught."

The rumble of cars pulling outside the warehouse drew Robin's attention. "They're here." The man who seemed to be the leader cautioned his men. "Do not open fire unless they attack first. Nobody speaks but me, is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" Came from four people.

"The suburban is empty. No drugs in here." Superboy informed.

"The vans have stopped, but men have only exited one of them. They are all wearing masks. Be ready, they're about to enter into the building."

Robin felt a chill at the trepidation in his leader's voice. Whatever was about to go down, he had a feeling it wasn't going to be a simple exchange like they had thought.


Present Time - Location Unknown

He worked the sharp stone he had found against the ropes binding him. Robin had been sawing for an hour now and was almost through. In that time he had heard nothing and seen nothing alluding to his captor's presence or the reason why he was here. The nausea and dizziness had almost faded away to nothing, but his arms and legs were starting to cramp. With one final tug, his bindings snapped and Robin curled in on himself, stretching his back. Finally he pushed himself up, one hand going to the stab wound on his shoulder. Now what?

He was missing his utility belt, along with it any of the emergency first aid supplies he had. His cloak had been special made by Batman to almost impenetrable, so tearing strips off of it would be practically impossible. Besides, it was getting chilly and he needed it to keep warm. Robin settled for untucking his shirt and using that to make a bandage. He quickly wrapped his shoulder to keep anything else from getting near the smarting wound, pressing his hand to it once more. That done, he considered his options.

The obvious choice was to go down the dark tunnel, but he was wary about traveling in the dark. His flashlights were gone with his belt and gauntlets, and the lightbulb was too high up to unbolt and carry with him. Were his team members and Batman looking for him? Probably, but Robin couldn't remember how he had disappeared. Did they even know he was gone? The rocks on the ground bit into his barefeet, but that was the least of his worries at the moment. His other hand reached up and turned on his emergency beacon in his R insignia, but he wasn't too hopeful. The beacon worked on radio frequencies that could easily be blocked by thick stone. Was he underground or in a cave?

I am not scared of the dark, Robin thought to himself after a moment's hesitation and then plunged into the dark tunnel, one hand trailing along the rocky wall. He kept his steps small, testing the ground in front of him before placing his full weight on it. There were no sounds of wind or chittering critters. The light from the cavern behind him began to fade and soon he was plunged into pitch black. His wispiness of his breath surprised him, and he concentrated on the noise. Wherever he was, he was here and all he needed to do was keep breathing and take one step at a time. Right now he really missed Kaldur's warm confidence, Wally's carefree jokes, M'gann's boundless optimism, Conner's impassive but kind nature, and Artemis's willful realism. What he would give to have them here right now.

Most of all, he missed Batman.

"You would send us all to our deaths!"

The memory came out of nowhere and felt like a bullet to his brain. Robin gasped and clenched his eyes shut. The voice was Aqualad's, but he was unsure who the words were directed at. He had never heard his leader sound so angry before, so malicious. With renewed determination, Robin resumed his trek. He needed to get out of here and find out exactly what happened.


Present Time - Star City

Batman crouched next to the body, gingerly plucking off his protege's gloves from the dead man. The tech in the gauntlets had been crushed and there was no more rope in the grappling mechanism in either glove, matching up with what Artemis had told him. The seams from the gloves and boots had been ripped so they could be forced onto the larger man's body. He wanted to rub a hand over his face at the sight of the cruelly cut words on the man's bare chest, but Batman never showed any emotion in public. Robin's fully intact utility belt was still wrapped around the purpling neck of the dead man.

He wanted to be angry. Angry at himself. At the team. At the world. But all he felt right now was numb. Logically he knew what had happened couldn't be blamed on the team, they were victims of the drug's effects, but Batman couldn't help but feel this was their fault. No. It was his fault. He knew how dangerous the Heishe were, and he sent them anyway. What had happened to the team, what had happened to Robin, was his fault.

With twitching fingers, he clasped the utility belt and unwrapped it from the man's throat. Please, baby. He stared at the yellow object. Please be safe till I find you.

"Batman," Green Arrow said from behind him. "Will you please tell me what's going on? I called Artemis earlier but she. . ." He trailed off uncertainly.

Batman stood and faced him. "Have you heard of Lao She of the Heishe triad?"

Green Arrow palled. "Old Snake? I-I thought he was just a myth."

God, Batman wished he was. The assassin was rumoured to be the most dangerous out of all of the triad's operatives. A little over half of all the triad's hits were said to be the work of Lao She. When the assassin was paid to kill, he struck out swift and deadly and left no evidence behind. When he killed for fun. . . he liked to play with his targets, dragging things out for weeks at a time if possible. Liying Hong's body was a testament to how he preferred to carve up his victims. Batman gestured to the dead body on the ground. "Lao She killed this man to send us a message. He wants to play a game and Robin is the prize."

The archer shook his head. "You sent the team to monitor a drug transaction. How did it turn out like this?"

"There was never a drug transaction. It was a trap the whole time; a ruse to lure out metahumans and aliens so they could test their drug on those who already had super powers." Batman sighed. "And it's bad. The effects are so much worse than we could have imagined. We need stop the spread of this drug before it goes international, but. . ."

"We need to find Robin." Green Arrow finished.

They needed to save his charge, his protege, his son. Before it was too late.


5 Hours Earlier - Location Unknown

Dajie had been so mad when she found out Lao She had knocked the boy out and taken him during the confusion, but the assassin didn't care. Their orders had been to kill Batman's student and leave him as a nasty little surprise for the Justice League to find. But the look of terror on the boy's face and the way he had fought so hard to save his friends even as Lao She dug their knife deeper into his shoulder had awaken some primal instinct in the assassin. They just had to have him, the leader of the Heishe's orders be damned. Their leader's opinion never mattered much to them to begin with, and this little birdy was worth it. The skilled killer gently placed the boy's body on the ground, perfectly center in the circular room. They lashed Robin's hands together behind his back and then bent his legs back. His back curved out and Lao She tied his legs to his wrists.

The position was notoriously hard to escape from, but Lao She had no doubt their prize was skilled enough to free himself. And if he wasn't, it would prove that he wasn't meant to play Lao She's game and would die anyway. Pressing a kiss to the dried blood on the boy's forehead, Lao She cut away Robin's utility belt, throwing it next to his removed gloves and boots. The assassin stood, eyes caressing the bent body of the bird. Blood seeped from the wound in his shoulder, gravity pooling it at his side. The painful wound from their knife would stop bleeding on its own soon enough and the assassin wasn't worried about losing the boy to blood loss before they had a chance to play their game.

His breathing was labored from his bruised torso, each intake causing a squeaking noise. Lao She had never seen anything so adorable. The boy was only an inch shorter than themself, but they still thought him to be ridiculously tiny. Gathering Robin's missing articles of clothing, the assassin walked out, pausing only to set up the next room for the boy to discover. As soon as Lao She left, the lights in the tunnels would shut off, encasing the boy in darkness. Three hours from now, the assassin would turn them back on to wake the boy.

They left the building, locking the door behind them. Three masked assassins waited outside, kneeling on the muddy ground. "You," Lao She beckoned the closest man. He respectfully rose and Lao She passed Robin's gear to him. "I want you to kill Zhang Liu. He is in Star City, you will find him at the Eccles Conference Center. Send a message for me to Batman. I want him to know I have his pretty little bird right where I want him."

"It will be done, laoshi." The man bowed. He made to leave, but Lao She stopped him by clearing their throat.

"One more thing, xuesheng, have fun while doing it."

After all, Robin wasn't the only player in their game.