Thanks for the new reviews guys, oh and warning some torture in this chapter!
"Well, if you heroes are going to be a bunch of critic's about everything I guess I'll just have to make this show a little more interesting. . ."
"Joker. . ." Batman threatened as he approached Robin.
"You must stop this!" Martian Manhunter joined in using his stern expression to hide his worry. "Just let the boy go Joker."
"Now what was I saying again?" Joker ignored him while slowly slipping out a knife, and then he gave a quick grin almost as if he could sense their pause in breath. "Oh, yes!" He shouted then stabbed the first half of the knife into Robin's arm.
A commotion of yelling and gasping from everyone unleashed, although Batman's thunderous voice overpowered theirs and echoed off the walls. His voice wasn't earsplitting, but rather it was powerful like if he yelled loud enough he could be able to destroy everything in his path like Black Canary could. It was the kind of pure abhorrence and misery that could make a burglar drop his gun and surrender, that could paralyze a rabid dog, and stop a speeding car, but it's too bad it wouldn't stop the Joker.
"I saying a never ending chain . . . of . . . plans," he slowed his words as he slowly and forcefully dragged the knife across his arm. Robin screamed his muffled screams, his face cringed in anguish, as he struggled to shove the Joker away from him.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
"You know, I bet you think you know what my plan is," he began, his casual voice lurking with an eerie appeal, "the simple solution is just to kill everyone who stands in your way. That's the easy way out, the less satisfying way . . . and that's just not the way I work. I mean, you have the expendables that you kill off so you can get to the bigger and better prizes, but when you really come down to it you realize you need to savor every . . . little . . . emotion. . ." Then he turned around, and grabbed a jar of some kind of liquid.
"JOKER!"
"You don't just simply turn the lights off, you slowly dim them," at those words he began to pour the liquid into Robin freshly cut wound, and Robin's entire body jolted like a sudden burn to the skin, and then he tensed up like every muscle in his body was being tied into knots. Sweat appeared on his forehead, and he yelled out in pure agony as some steam began to float up from liquid in his wound. Then he pulled out a piece of sandpaper, "Maybe let it flicker a bit."
Now jerking hard the Joker began to rub the sandpaper into his wound, ripping his recently torn flesh even more. His sleeves and gloves now covered in Robin's blood, and, yet, not one ounce of disgust snuck behind his eyes.
M'gann was now sobbing with her head rested on Connor's shoulder, Wally was practically twitching with resentment, and Kaldur and Artemis tried not to give into the Joker's game although they just couldn't hide the pain plastered across their faces. They tried to push away any thought that they could lose a team member at any moment, and there was nothing they could do now.
"Oh, I know what would make this better," he stopped for a moment, and then he ripped the tap off Robin's mouth. Then he began tearing into his wound again as Robin cried out in pain. "Ah, like music to my ears. You know, you guys don't look so well-"
"You're not going to look so well after-" Wally shouted out.
"-he's dead?" the Joker interrupted him quickly. "Well, if you insist."
"What do you want Joker!" Black Canary shrieked. "Just let it go!"
"Let it go, leg it go, let it go you say?" he pondered for a moment. "I'd much rather not, this kid has been a pain in my ass for the last two weeks, I mean he always was kind of a pain, but more so than usual." Then grabbing a large chunk of Robin hair he yanked his head up, and brought a knife to his throat.
"JOKER!" Batman spat. "If you kill him it will be the last move you make."
"Beg! Beg, or I'll slit your throat," Joker demanded bringing his twisted face closer to Robin's.
"Burn in hell!" Robin threw his head into the Jokers nose almost breaking it, almost.
"ROBIN!" the Joker spastically threw the knife across the room and grabbed a tight hold onto his head. "Are you aware that I COULD SNAP YOUR NECK IN AN INSTANT?"
"Get off him!" Wally shouted, and with that he surprisingly released his grip.
"Fine have it your way," the Joker replied slamming Robin's head down onto the table, and then reaching into a drawer. "Tough as nails are you?" He brought out a long nail, although before he could do anything Poison Ivy stepped in shoving him away.
"Stop hogging him you selfish clown!" she snapped. "It's my turn at him!"
"You had your turn!" he shouted back.
"Enough of this!" the feminine voice returned, and out stepped a slender girl in a white lab coat with her blond hair swept back into a tight bun. "Either we return to business or I shall take what I have to offer and leave."
"Fine take your cash you cheap harlot!" Poison Ivy screamed and threw a large pile of cash at her. "The rest is in the back, now give us the samples and get out!"
"About time," she replied with a cocky half smile. Then she pulled out four test tubes with red liquid in them, and handed them to the Joker. "I warn you, those are samples, and they could be lethal. Their illegal so we never got the chance to test them, so before you make copies be sure-"
"Thanks DOCTOR!" Joker mocked her still gazing into the samples.
Rolling her eyes the women left without a second glance at the injustice taking place before her.
"Be useful, and turn that camera off!" Joker shouted to Poison Ivy as he began injecting the sample into a large shot with a small needle.
"Wait, don't-!" Robin shouted just as the camera went black.
"Robin! No!" M'gann shouted in panic.
"Let's go, now!" Batman shouted through his teeth as he strutted past their paralyzed bodies.
"But where? How will we find him?" Wally asked ignorantly.
"We will!" he shouted back. "It looks like they're in a warehouse, the women from the video had a Cadmas lab coat on, and that was a medical table. They're at Cadmas." He continued still completely absorbed in his new mission to save his son from the criminally insane.
"Wait!" Connor exclaimed. "We destroyed Cadmas."
"You did destroy it, it's been under construction for some time now," Batman replied harshly, "it isn't complete yet, but they have to be there."
"It's the only lead we have," Kaldur pointed out, "so let's go."
Meanwhile:
"W-W-What are playing at Joker. . ." Robin stuttered through the searing pain he felt, "what are you going to do? K-Kill me? They'll f-f-find me."
"You heroes really don't listen do you," Poison Ivy inquired.
"T-t-then what, torture me more? They're probably on their way right now," Robin mumbled. Although he was putting on his toughest act the thought of them hurting him again was unbearable to think of. Then painfully lifting his head he looked over at his wound, and then quickly looked away at the sudden rush of his stomach turning and the feeling of almost throwing up.
"Hm, tempting," Poison Ivy smirked as she slowly dragged that bloody knife across the top of his wrist, not too hard, just enough to create small lines of blood. She seemed memorized by it, and she'd always let out a small giggle when he'd flinch from it. "You want to know why it had to be you?"
". . . Why?" Robin asked suspiciously.
"Oh, stop talking to that brat and get over here," Atomic Skull demanded.
"Shut up!" she hissed back still cutting Robin's skin. "It could have been any superhero, although we knew the best lab rats are the naive, easy to get, sidekicks. It also happens when you make too many enemies. What with that stupid girl giving you all the inside information to our plans, then you'd come screw with everything and leave. Actions have punishments."
Robin remained quiet, shocked that they knew about the girl.
"Well, she's dead now."
"Okay, we're ready," Joker pulled up the shot now filled with the red substance.
"You better hurry up, Boy Blunder over here is probably right," Poison Ivy shot him a quick glare.
"It's too bad they have to miss the best part," Count Vertigo spoke up.
"They haven't missed the best part," Joker replied as he found Robin's vein, and injected the red liquid into it, "but we will. . ."
Ten Minutes Later:
Batman practically broke the door open when they arrived, and before the team knew it he was gone into the darkness of the large building. Robin wasn't only one good at disappearing. They searched the whole building until they came across a small room.
"This is where it happened," Kaldur spoke quietly as they entered finding the medical table with nothing but some of Robin's blood upon it. The entire place was empty.
"NO!" Batman shouted in rage now, and then he flipped over a smaller medical table next to him. "Robin!"
They listening with heads dropped in defeat as the originally still wind gusted up again outside and racked again the thin walls of the building. The team slowly began to walk away, although Batman just stood there lifelessly. His eyes rested shut.
"It'll be okay," Black Canary put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
"No, wait," Batman whispered, everyone continued to listen. Then they heard something pressing slowly along the concrete followed by a quick rustle of metal. Then walking over to a pile of boxes Batman threw the boxes aside to find Robin lying almost unconscious on the dusty floor.
"Rob!" Wally shouted, and everyone ran over.
"I've gotta . . . I said that I . . . coming," Robin mumbled all sort of things, but he was obviously dazed and somewhat delirious.
"It's okay, you're safe now," Batman told him as he picked him up in his arms to take him back to Mount Justice.
It's not over yet, there is more coming up