Hey Guys, sorry I wasn't able to get this out sooner but here it is! Thanks for the reviews so far! Haha, I didn't think I would get so much positive feedback o_o anyway, enough of that; here we go…
Wally didn't realise how much his jaw had dropped until he noticed that Batman was glaring at him. He quickly closed his mouth and dropped his head.
Batman suddenly opened a video showing a very bloodied and bruised Dick staring straight into the camera. Wally's insides churned with rage seeing what his captors had already done to his best friend. Twisted in his own worried mind Wally could barely hear anything other than Dick's heavy breathing. He was obviously in pain; although Robin never liked to admit it. His throat became choked with anger when he saw baseball bats smash into his friend; he had to look somewhere else, had to block out Dick's pained grunts from his mind. Looking around at his teammates he saw M'gann with her hands over her mouth; shocked, Connor looking to the floor angrily, Kaldur'ahm trying to assess the situation and Artemis looking strangely guilty. Why would Artemis be looking guilty? What did she have to do with this? Suddenly Dick's chin was lifted up and Wally cringed at his injuries. Dick attempted to say something; but it was too quiet or mumbled.
"Wait pause it there!" Wally interrupted, "Wha… What did he say? What was that?"
The team looked at him quizzically, confused with why his voice was filled with so much… anxiety.
"He said Jansfair…" Superboy answered, "What is that?"
"Jansfair is a cruise ship that left Gotham's main Port less than an hour ago," Batman said through gritted teeth. The team transferred their confused looks from Wally to Batman; it was unusual for him to show much emotion toward kidnappings. Ignoring this, Batman continued, "You will search this area top to bottom, and if you find the hostage you will not engage the enemy head on. They will not hesitate to kill the boy if they know Mr. Wayne has gone against their wishes…" He paused, almost contemplating what he should say next, "If you fail… If this boy is killed; this team, this whole operation will be dispatched and destroyed."
The team gasped, even Wally was put into a shock for a few seconds until he realized that if they lost Dick… If they lost Richard Grayson... They would lose their Robin. If Dick didn't return, neither would Rob. The team would become suspicious if they kept operating and realise that in the end; Robin and Grayson were one in the same, therefore figuring out that Bruce Wayne is Batman… but if the team were to stop seeing each other; this was less likely to happen.
"No way! That's not fair!" Superboy blurted out.
"You know your mission," Batman replied, ignoring the outburst, "Batman out."
The screen went blank; leaving the team stranded in their own thoughts and worries.
"Let us go then." Aqualad said blankly.
-Break Line-
Dick's head slumped on his chest; he was too tired to keep it up. If there wasn't a damn camera staring straight at him he would have been able to escape these ropes hours ago. He would have also been able to use his utility belt he always kept handy in his pocket before he got beaten to a pulp. Suddenly he had the urge to cough, but when he did, blood spewed from his mouth onto the floor. This was not good. Dick felt dizzy and nauseous; this was however outweighed by the excruciating pain ringing from his chest, shin and collarbone. He realized at that moment that he wasn't going to get out of this mess on his own. Even if he was able to cut the ropes tying him to the chair, he would be captured before he would be even able to crawl halfway to the door. He could only hope now; hope that someone; anyone was coming for him.
-Break line-
Artemis knew she should have done something. If she had tried to stop those men… If she had just done something, anything…. she could have stopped this mess. She looked over at Wally and saw he still had the same expression he had an hour ago when they first left; one filled with anger, anxiety and sorrow. She almost felt kind of sad for the guy… But what was his problem? How did KF know Richard?
"How much longer until the Bioship reaches our destination?" Wally asked impatiently.
"Not much longer now." Miss Martian calmly replied.
Artemis could feel Wally's eyes on her and she tried her best to hide any guilt on her face.
"Artemis, can I talk to you for a minute at the back?" KF asked.
Crap. She had a feeling she was going to have to do some heavy explaining.
"Sure."
With a shrug of the shoulders Artemis stood up and followed Wally into the back of the Bioship where not even Superboy would be able to hear them.
"What." Artemis asked blatantly.
"Do you know this kid? You've been acting weirder than usual."
"Wha… Me acting weird? Are you serious? Ever since you saw that kid's face you've been acting as if you're uncle has die or something. What's wrong with you? How are you connected to this "Richard" guy then?"
Wally clenched his fists, "Stop redirecting the question."
Artemis crossed her arms, "You answer my question and I'll answer yours."
"You first."
Artemis glared at him warningly.
Wally sighed, "Fine, Di… Richard and I are kind of… friends?"
"Friends? How do you know him?"
"Well… He kind of gets kidnapped… like a lot. So I've seen him from other rescues and stuff."
"Right… Stuff… Yeah, not cutting it."
"Look, that's it; that's all you're getting from me."
Artemis shook her head and started walking for the door, "I think I might just leave then."
"No, wait!" Wally rubbed the bridge of his nose; something Artemis thought she'd never see him do, "He knows my secret ID."
Artemis nodded, "Okay that makes more sense…"
"And… We're not just friends; we're best pals… We see each other all the time. That's why I'm so… You know…"
Artemis paused, taking all this in, then grabbed KF and pushed him against a wall, "Did you tell him who I am?" She asked angrily.
"Wha… no…"
"Did you tell him who I am!" she repeated, louder this time.
Artemis almost stumbled over as KF sped away from her grip.
"Look, I didn't tell him anything ok! I barely know who you are myself! What is your deal?"
Artemis sighed in relief. So Richard was just some random freshman who happened to know her name.
"Well?"
"I know that guy from school… I was with him when he was taken. They were going to shoot a girl if he didn't go with him so he gave himself up… It was weird though… Before he went he told me to report everything to Batman; like he knew him or something… but if he gets kidnapped a lot and he knows you, then I guess that explains it."
"Yeah, I guess it does," Wally said quickly; as if he was trying to hide something else from her, "Wait, Richard goes to Gotham High… Don't you live with your uncle in Star City?"
Artemis froze, "We... I… You're not telling me something!"
Suddenly Kaldur'ahm walked into the room,
"We're here."
Looks like our questions will have to wait.
Sorry for the long waits guys, hopefully I can get the next chapter out by tonight. Thanks for reading
