Hi! I'm back! Yayyyyy! I'm writing this up while my beta finishes the second half of the chapter, so I have plenty of time to type. Sorry I was gone so long. Finals murdered me. I did a good job though, so I got a brand new keyboard. It has LEDs and is rainbow and ohmygosh it feels so nice to type on. Just the feeling of typing on it motivated me to finish this chapter. Speaking of which, this chapter came out much longer than most of my other chapters. Take it as an apology for taking so long between updates. Also, I want to apologize for the fact that I said I would respond to reviews, but then didn't respond to any for about a month... Anyways, enough of my rambling. Enjoy the chapter.
"Robin!" A voice called, causing him to open his eyes. Dick blinked, confused for a moment as to why everything was upside-down. He felt himself sitting up and saw his hands grap the bar that his knees were hooked around. He recognized it as another memory coming back. As he sat up, he saw that he had been hanging from a high beam in a room full of equipment. Not Slade's room though. The cave's. He looked to the left, seeing that green girl, M'gann looking at him.
"What?" He asked.
"I made cookies," She said, smiling brightly at him. Dick nodded, swinging down from the beam and following her into the kitchen, where the tray was only half full. Behind it was Kid Flash, his mask off as he stuffed his face with cookies.
"Wally!" Megan cried, pulling the tray away from him.
"Maybe you need to start making him his own separate tray," Robin teased, feeling himself laugh.
"Dude!" Wally glared at him, his face red with embarrassment. Dick grabbed a cookie from himself, smiling slightly at the warmth of the fresh treat.
"Tastes amazing as usual, M'gann," Robin said after taking a bite of it. She smiled at him as the rest of the team came into the kitchen to get some of the cookies.
Dick woke up to the smell of… something. He sat up, looking around the room. Based on how sore his muscles were, he'd been out longer than five minutes… way longer. He pushed himself to his feet, searching for the source of the smell. There was a paper plate by the door with something on it.
His eyes brightened at the sight of food. He walked over to it, grabbing the plate and the fork that came with it. He poked it once with his fork, checking to see if it seemed safe. After a quick sniff as well, he dug his fork into the mashed potatoes, taking a small bite. Dick's eyes widened when it actually tasted quite good. There was even seasoning on it. The chicken next to it seemed to be well cooked, and although it must've gotten cold as he slept. The green peas looked to be fresh as well.
Dick ate all the food within a matter of minutes, smiling slightly as he could feel the food filling his stomach. He'd barely eaten in the last two days. Content with the meal, and feeling much better with the energy that came from it, he looked around the room. It was time to get down to business. He was finding a way out of here.
Renegade decided to start by checking the door, but he doubted any good would come from it. There was no way the man would leave it unlocked. As suspected, it wouldn't budge, even when Renegade rammed his shoulder up against it. He shrugged, backing away from the metal entryway. His eyes now skimmed the walls, checking for any air vents. If there were any, they would surely be large enough to fit Dick's slender figure. However, there were none. None on the ground, none on the walls, and only one on the ceiling. He would never fit into it though.
"Okay, so I guess I'm not getting out that way..," Renegade mumbled to himself. He sighed, walking over to the weapons rack to see if there was anything useful. The metal rack held a multitude of different things. The swords and daggers there seemed to come in every shape and size possible, but those wouldn't help him out. There were no guns in the room either, but what Renegade really needed was explosives. He left the weapons rack to see if there was anything else, but all he found were some weights in a chest.
"This is pointless," Dick mumbled, flopping down on the ground and pulling his knees to his chest. Cheshire never explained to him what to do in this situation. He just followed her lead with everything. His best option was probably just to sit here and wait for her to come, presuming that she was coming at all... She would, right? They were family. Of course she was coming.
Dick heard the faint sound of the door unlocking and scrambled to his feet, his heart pounding. Was it Cheshire? Deathstroke walked in, shutting the door behind him. Dick's heart sank, although he tried to mask his face to hide the disappointment. If Slade had noticed, which he probably had, he didn't mention it.
Deathstroke grabbed Renegade's arm, pulling him over to the back wall of the room, right next to the knife racks. He put his hand on the solidly colored wall, which lit up with a keypad. It only took a few seconds to scan the man's finger, and Dick felt a twinge of excitement at the modern technology. Cheshire had started working on hacking with him, and he was picking it up at an exponential rate. He vaguely remembered doing a good deal of hacking as Robin, so everything came easily to him as if he were just taking a refresher course.
A decent sized chunk of the wall, stretching from Renegade's knees to a foot from the ceiling, slid up to reveal multiple human-shaped targets. Each of the targets had to be about ten yards away. The sheets of paper on the manikins were fresh, but there were visible indents underneath the covers.
"Think fast," Deathstroke said. Renegade looked to his left and just barely dodged the knife that had been thrown at him. Before it got out of his reach, Renegade grabbed it by the handle.
"What the heck was that for?" Renegade asked, his heart rate having shot up from the sudden attack. He bit back the surge of anger that came with the assault, deciding that pissing this man off probably wouldn't end well.
"Testing your reaction time. Now, throw the knife at the center of the target," Deathstroke ordered. Renegade turned to face the target, but not before shooting Slade his best glare. The man merely raised his eyebrows. The glare was no more than a nuisance. If anything, it was cute. The boy had no power at all. Renegade hurled the knife at the target.
"Sloppy," Slade muttered, watching as the knife landed in the shoulder of the manikin. It had to be a whole foot away from the center of the target's chest. "What kind of throw was that?"
"It was a warm-up. Was it not good enough for you, ?" Dick snarled, still mad about almost taking a knife to the face. Deathstroke restrained himself from flat out hitting Renegade. The sarcasm was definitely not appreciated. Slade shoved another knife into his new protégé's hand, and waited for him to throw it. This time, the knife was a bit closer to the center, but well below the area where it should have landed. Renegade could feel the man's censuring glare coming down on him.
"Sorry, still kinda sore from yesterday," Dick mumbled. If he played the cards right, maybe he could guilt Slade into going easier on him.
"Stop making excuses. Your stance is all wrong. Stand up straighter and position your feet at an angle," Deathstroke ordered. Renegade scowled, but repositioned his feet so that his right foot was a bit closer to the target, and his left foot was a bit farther. He also stood up straighter and threw the next knife at the target. This time the knife landed considerably closer to the center of the target.
"Better. Now keep throwing until you can hit the center of his chest three times in a row," Slade said before sitting down in a chair to watch him practice. Dick frowned slightly. It'd take him forever to get that kind of accuracy. Hesitantly, he started throwing knives one after another. His aim was sporadic at first, but the practice was helping. Well, at least until his arm started burning from the repetitive motions.
"It's been more than an hour. Can I stop?" Renegade groaned after his last knife completely missed the target.
"No."
"But my arm is burning from the constant throwing," Dick complained, rubbing his right arm.
"Keep throwing the knives until you get it correct," Deathstroke said.
"That kind of accuracy is nearly impossible! I can't do it," Dick moaned, crossing his arms.
"Didn't you learn anything from yesterday, boy?" Deathstroke asked, his tone shifting to annoyance. How did this kid learn anything? Dick's face turned red at being called a boy, as if he were a little kid.
"All I learned yesterday is that you're a ruthless, uncaring jerk," Renegade snapped, glaring fiercely at Deathstroke. Slade rose slowly to his feet, and Dick instantly felt much smaller in the man's shadow.
"The lesson was that you are not allowed to give up," Deathstroke growled, his tone going dangerously dark. "You are also not allowed to disrespect me under any circumstances, so if I were you, I would take back that comment." Dick felt himself shiver under the harsh glare, but shook his head. If he annoyed Slade enough, he might let him go.
"Sorry, I can't lie," Renegade shrugged, trying to hide his smirk. He gasped as a fist slammed into his stomach. Renegade keeled over only for a knee to hit him in the face, sending him back into the wall. Dick coughed. He had not been expecting that. Deathstroke now loomed over him, and Renegade tensed up.
"You have five seconds to apologize and swear to obey me, or you will regret it," Deathstroke threatened. Renegade knew it was a better idea to give in. To be completely honest, he was no match for Deathstroke. He opened his mouth to apologize, but something caused him to say the wrong thing.
"Screw you," He spat out before he could stop himself. Dick had no idea where that came from. When did he decide to say that instead of an apology? He wasn't sure, but he was 100% sure that he regretted it.
A steel-plated shoe swiftly hit him in the side, and Renegade had to fight to hold in a groan. Deathstroke reached down and grabbed him by the neck, lifted him up and shoving him against the wall. Dick cried out as Slade launched into a barrage of punches on his torso.
"Had enough yet?" Deathstroke asked after what felt like forever. Renegade bit his lip, the pain spreading all over his body. He squirmed slightly in Slade's grasp, having trouble breathing from the hand pressing his neck to the wall. Okay, he was surrendering, now. Definitely surrendering. Dick opened his mouth to say something, but surprised himself once again when he kicked Deathstroke in the gut.
The grip on his neck loosened slightly with the blow, but then cut off his air supply, Deathstroke's hand closing so tightly that Dick thought his neck would break. Black spots began to swarm at the edges of his vision, and he welcomed the darkness, but Slade chose that moment to throw him across the room instead.
Renegade's body erupted in pain as he hit the metal bench. He struggled to catch up on air as Deathstroke walked closer and closer. This was not going to be a fun day.
"Artemis?"
"Huh?"
"Did you hear anything I just said?"
Artemis blinked, snapping out of her thoughts to look at her mother. Her mother's eyes looked at her with concern. Artemis looked down at the arrow she'd been polishing, then back up at her mom.
"I- I didn't know you said anything," She admitted, averting her gaze to the floor. Her mother wheeled slightly closer to the couch, putting her hand on Artemis's leg.
"Artemis, I'm worried about you. You've been out of it for days. Half the things I say go right over your head, and you're constantly staring into space," She said softly. Artemis kept her eyes averted. She knew she was a mess. Since the encounter with Robin, everything had been a blur to her. She couldn't focus on anything. Not missions, not school, nothing.
Last night, Oliver had taken her with him to break up a bank robbery in Star City, with the hopes to get her mind off of things. It hadn't ended well. Her usually perfect aim was off, and she nearly got shot. Ollie had to bench her before she got killed. Her mother had asked what was wrong then as well, but Artemis had refused to speak.
She still was at a loss as to how Jade- no, Cheshire- could do something like this. Her sister was turning one of best friends against her. She was manipulating him in some horrible way, and Artemis didn't even know how. It made her sick. It made her more ashamed of her blood ties than ever.
Artemis really didn't want to acknowledge her sister status to Cheshire, but Batman had approached her about it. He had arrived at the cave and pulled Artemis aside, taking her out of the range of Superboy's hearing and the rest of the team.
"Artemis, Is it possible for me to ask a favor of you?" Batman asked. The question took Artemis completely off guard. She'd never heard Barnan ask for help. Ever. And Robin had once told her that he only did it when he was truly, truly desperate. Was it that bad? Did he have no clue where Robin was? At all? She had merely just shrugged in response.
"I understand your," He hesitated, "affiliation with your family is not something you're proud of, but we could really use it." Artemis tensed up. She hated any kinds of ties to her sister and father. Even more, she hated abusing those ties. Artemis had felt guilty for weeks after she used it with Icicle Jr.
"Batman, I told you the last time that I didn't want the league to use me like that again," She said quietly. She didn't want to do anything to make her family's issues any worse. But at the same time, she knew it would most likely be able to help Robin. She didn't know how to find Jade, but her mother most likely did. However, it wasn't right of Artemis to say anything that might turn her mother against Cheshire. It wasn't her place to determine how her mother would see Jade.
"If your family can help us find Cheshire, then we can find Robin in turn," Batman reasoned.
"I don't know..," Artemis frowned, "My family already has such a fragile truce between us…" She still remembered when Cheshire had told her that it's every girl for themselves in her family. Artemis had always been determined to prove her wrong, and she didn't want to use her mother to sell her sister out. Her mother made a strong point of wanting to avoid any involvement with her world as well.
"So you're okay with letting her run free after what she's done to Robin?" Batman growled after a minute. Artemis could feel the fierceness of his glare. She could almost see the steam rising from his bat-ears.
"No," She said quickly. "I didn't mean it like that! You know I'd do just about anything to save Robin, but Cheshire is- I don't know, would you sell out your family if they did something bad?" Batman suddenly darkened even more, and his hands clenched into fists. Artemis took a subconscious step back, feeling tiny in the Dark Knight's looming shadow.
"Consider it," He barked, turning on his heels and storming out of the mountain.
She now understood how Batman's enemies felt. Artemis looked up at her mother. Her eyes were soft and comforting. Maybe it couldn't hurt to just tell her mother what was going on. Not to mention that Black Canary had been constantly reminding her that she should be more open to talking about her feelings with her family and friends. It wasn't the same thing as asking her to find Cheshire, right? Also, Artemis had been quite snippy lately, so her mom really deserved an explanation.
"You remember Robin, right?" She started, despite knowing that her mother did. Paula had never met Robin, but Artemis frequently told her tales of their adventures. "Right around Christmas, Batman brought him to the cave, and he told us that Robin had gotten injured in a fight. He has amnesia. He can't remember anything for the past five years."
"So you're sorry that he lost his memories?" Her mother asked. Artemis shook her head.
"I wish it was just that… Batman asked us to keep an eye on Robin while he went to talk to some doctors, but we got an alert from Robin's hologram computer to look for some people," Artemis specifically kept their names out of it. "Aqualad said that we could just have Robin keep an eye out from one of the roofs nearby, but then he dropped off of the mental link. We couldn't find him anywhere." She sighed, gripping the edge of the couch in anger. Her mother gave her leg a small squeeze of encouragement, and Artemis nodded gratefully. She still hadn't become very good at this whole 'talking about it' thing.
"We didn't find anything for three months, besides the fact that the Light had custody of him. We couldn't get a location though. Nothing happened for a while again, until about a few days ago. We were supposed to protect a scientist from the Light, but there were already some people there, and he was one of them. Robin's a criminal. He fought us, and tried to kill Kid Flash without hesitation. He got away. She's lying to him and manipulating him and I know it. We still have no clue where he is now. Just that he's on the other side," Artemis spat out quickly. Her mother's eyes narrowed, and Artemis could see that her eyes also looked worried, with the same kind of motherly concern that Artemis had seen whenever she was injured on a mission.
"Who?" Paula asked."
"Huh?"
"You said 'She's lying to him'," Her mother clarified. "Who is 'she'?" Artemis's eyes widened. She didn't realize she'd said that. She just shook her head defiantly.
"Artemis." Paula's voice had gone dead serious, anger laced within it.
"Cheshire," Artemis spat out before she could stop herself. "Jade has him." Her mother's eyes widened. Artemis squeezed the edges of the couch harder, and her mother enveloped her in a hug, Paula's face becoming fiercely determined. She was going to have a talk with Jade.
I considered cutting this chapter off after the part with Renegade, but as you can see, I didn't. Anyways, thank you for reading! Favorite, follow, and review!