Author's note: so yeah, the torture starts in this chapter, but it's only a little bit, and nothing too bad. The real bad stuff I'm saving for later. But it will be there, if you're patient enough.
This chapter is for Clara, for freaking out when she read chapter 1 and helping me with the plot.
They all stared at him for a good 10 seconds, until Dick broke the silence.
"What the hell?" he exclaimed, perplexed. That seemed to be the cue to everyone else start asking their own questions.
"When did this happen?"
"Why didn't anyone tell us?"
"How did you know?"
"Why was he even in Gotham, anyway? That's Batman's territory!"
With one gesture and a shout, Roy managed to get them to shut up long enough for him to answer.
"I don't know, guys. I- I saw it in the newspaper, I went looking for him in his apartment cause he wouldn't answer his phone. And... It was in the front page of the paper, saying that he's missing."
Artemis hadn't said a word since he broke the news. She was just staring at nothing, eyes wide, looking completely lost.
"Artemis?" he asked roughly. "You alright?"
Her eyes slowly focused on his. He wasn't wearing his costume, he didn't stop to change clothes when he left Oliver's house.
"What if... What if he dies?"
Roy stopped cold. What if? If Ollie died... No, he couldn't think about that. Maybe he was already dead. Stop, Roy scolded himself. Bringing his gaze back to the girl, he spoke with a confidence he didn't actually feel.
"He won't. I will get him back, but for that I need your help. All of you. And anyone else you can get. We've gotta find Green Arrow, and beat whoever got him so we can get him out. It won't be easy" he gave Artemis a small smile. "But we can do it."
She smiled back weakly.
Oliver opened his eyes. He felt groggy, his head hurt enough to blur his vision. He groaned, blinking a few times. He was tied to a chair, tight knots keeping his wrists behind his back and his ankles pressed against the chair's legs. As he got used to the pain in his head, he started to notice the other injuries. There were a few cuts from when he hit the floor, and one or two injuries where the clowns managed to hit him in the fight. But where did that cut in his arm come from? There was dried blood in the corner of his mouth, and it hurt to move there. He inhaled sharply, a jolt of pain fully awakening his brain. Something was wrong with his leg. Very wrong. Afraid of what he'd find, he lowered his gaze. All he could see was blood. More blood than it was ok to lose, all over his leg, only half-clotted. By the looks of it, he'd been stabbed there repeatedly, sometimes deep enough to reach the bone.
A blood-chilling laughter came from the shadows.
"Finally, you're awake. You're no fun when you're asleep. But don't worry, I saved the best for now!" the Joker collapsed into another fit of laughter. Oliver could only watch, fear growing inside him, as the madman pulled a bloody knife out of his pocket.
"Now... Let's play."
"I've called Batgirl, she can't help. She's got a lead on the Riddler, she can't let it pass. She said she's sorry." Dick snapped his cell phone shut. It was a pity, Babs would be of great help in that kind of situation, she was one of the few people who could help that knew Gotham well. "Kaldur, any luck?"
"No, it would raise suspicion if Garth or Tula left my king's side. My apologies."
"It's ok." he answered tonelessly. They were all alone in their task.
He screamed. He tried his best not to, but he couldn't help it. The Joker had been cutting at his chest for the past 15 minutes, but shallow, small cuts. Now he suddenly stopped, grabbing a tree branch he'd left nearby. With a mischievous smirk, he stuck the tip of it in one of the cuts. Oliver screamed in pain. The Joker dug the stick deeper, causing tears to form in his victim's eyes.
"Are we having fun yet? Or should I just keep going?" the clown prince of Gotham laughed maniacally as he kept poking the cuts with his brach.
Author's note: So, that's it for chapter 2! Now you've seen me writing torture, am I good at it? I repeat, this was just the light parts, the bad stuff omes later. I'd love to see reviews, even if it's just to say that this sucks!
