A/N: My people! How does it go and stuff? Been a couple of months, are we ready for a thrilling chapter? I am pretty ready, Merlyn's pretty ready. Roy's ready. Alright, let's do this thing.

For all of you who have guessed on the leader of the organization, keep guessing! You haven't gotten it yet! I'm just going to say that it's going to be the person you least expect! But that isn't going to happen until probably a few more chapters!

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice

DTS! 14: The Art of Manipulation

"Connor, please slow down!" Super Girl yelled as she tried to follow his dangerous stride that he was making. The black shirted boy in front of her didn't bother to look behind him as he continued his speed. "Connor, slow down!" She yelled as she hovered in the air and flew towards him, examining his stern expression, "Are you okay?" She asked slowly.

"I just found out that my brother has been kidnapped, and that I'm the son of Lex Luthor…" Super Boy trailed as he looked into her eyes. He narrowed them and sped up in frustration, "Do you think I'm okay?" He snapped as she hovered where she was.

Super Girl lowered her head, "Connor, I know I don't have a right to say," she began, making Super Boy slow down as he glanced behind him. His face softened at the sight of her. She looked completely distraught and helpless, "But I want to help you," she offered her help as she looked back up.

Super Boy let out a sigh, "No," he responded as he shook his head, "It's not your battle to fight; it's mine," he reasoned as he began to walk again, "Besides, what would Clark do if he lost you?" He asked as he started to refocus on his rage and anger. It was the only thing that kept him going, to not think about the events going on around him.

"What about you?!" Super Girl suddenly yelled as she fisted her hands in frustration, "He cares about you, even though you're too blind to see it!" She shrieked as she shook her head, "You're apart of this family, whether you want to be or not," she said in a whisper. Super Boy stopped walking and turned to face her. At seeing the attention she let out a small smile, "Kryptonians stick together," she stated in a soft voice, landing her feet on the ground, "We do this together," she added, placing her hand in Super Boy's in a sibling-like bond.

"We're also stubborn," he added as he rolled his eyes halfway before smiling at her. Her grin grew as she nodded her head, "Let's go get a team together," he said as he started to lead with his sister in tow.

"Super Boy, Super Girl," Batman's voice addressed them as he started to walk towards them, "I have a mission for you," he stated in a grim manner.

Super Boy let out a growl of irritation, "I'm going to get Robin back!" He yelled out, "None of you can stop me!"

Batman's face was stern and unmoving, "Precisely why I sought you out specifically, Super Boy," he said as he looked over to the teen's partner, "Super Girl, you are –

"Going with him!" She interrupted with a glare, "We're family and we're sticking together!" She argued as she hovered in the air dangerously, "You have a problem with that?" She threatened as Super Boy glanced at her in concern.

"Kryptonians," Batman responded dryly, "Always a joy to work with," he said as he started to walk. Super Boy followed him automatically. Batman was a figurehead of authority back in his dimension, and he did so without thinking, "I am assembling a team of all competent members for a rescue mission."

Super Boy and Super Girl shared a smirk, "Tell us what we need to know, Batman," Super Boy said as his muscles pulsated in his body. He was ready for a rematch with that Deathstroke character if he could. He knew he wasn't a push over, and now that he was ready for him, he would win.

"What are you doing?" Roy asked as he leered through the iron bars at the teen sitting on his legs. Robin had finished telling the coordinates, but he wasn't too sure if they reached the watchtower or not. He wanted to frown, for once a situation was out of his hands and he wasn't sure how to go about it.

Instead, he unsheathed a knowing smirk and placed his arms by his sides, "Nothing except gazing upon these beautifully textured bars!" He lied as he darted his head at the irons bars in front of him.

There was a dark chuckling heard as Merlyn emerged from the shadows, "Now, Robin, we both knew you were up to something more…" He trailed as he approached the iron bars, "Surreptitious?" He questioned, though he knew more than he let on. Robin chose to glare at the man, he was more observant than he first analyzed.

"Me?" Robin questioned as he shrugged, "How could I be doing anything sneaky around here?" He asked as he brought out an arm in front of him, "My wares are damaged, a little present your colleague left behind," Robin spat out, bringing his arm back own to the ground, "Can't say I've been up to much except for sitting!"

"You and I both know better than that," Merlyn scoffed as he glanced at Roy and scowled, "I told you to watch him," he lectured. Roy took a step back in response with his hands raised in defense, "I have told you that he's tricky."

Roy shook his head, "He was saying things and I-!"

Merlyn took out his bow and quickly thrusted it into the mid-section of the teen. The orange haired teen doubled over, holding his mid-section as he started to cough for air. Robin refused to let out a gasp of surprise. He struggled to remain poised in the spot he was in. Remain isolated. This way, the villain won't be able to use a weakness against you, "He was trained by Batman," Merlyn stated, shaking his head in disappointment, "Of course he will try to get in your head!" He added, his rage getting the better of him, "I know I trained you better, Roy…" He spat out.

"Having issues?" Robin asked with a small innocent smile from within his cell. Merlyn looked over at the young teen and showed a half-smirk at him.

"You sent out a transmission," Merlyn stated simply.

The man watched for any signs of emotion to spread across the teen's face. Recognition appeared for a split second before it was washed away with a smirk, "I might have," he said in a slow tone, trying to appear indecisive. Trying to wear on the older archer's nerves. "You have a problem with that?" He asked as he looked up at his captor boldly.

Merlyn started to chuckle, finding the 'brave' act that the teen was putting up priceless, "I don't," he replied, placing a hand to the wall next to the cell, "Certainly not," he mused as he shook his head. Robin was trying to follow his movements, but the iron bars were obscuring his sight, and limited his field of vision. "The leader?" He asked as he placed his hand in. The iron bars were suddenly raised up in less than three seconds, "He has a problem with that," he finished, walking into the cell.

"What?" Robin asked rhetorically, "Are you going to kill me?" He asked in a cold voice. He saw freedom right in front of him and wondered how to proceed with the best plan of action. He kept a note on Merlyn and his advancements towards him, but specifically kept an eye on his escape route. Roy was over a few feet from the wall, an arm still around his mid-section. Wounded. Easy to take down.

"So melodramatic…" Merlyn mumbled as he rolled his eyes, "We're just going to move to another safe house," he stated. He watched as the eyes of the teen grew wide with alarm, "Are you going to have a problem with that?" He asked, throwing the teen's question at the teen.

Robin glanced up at the man suddenly, "I might have a slight problem with that," he answered honestly. Merlyn didn't expect such a blunt answer and he narrowed his eyes in response. The man didn't have time to block the side-sweep of the teen's legs.

As the teen was an acrobatic, he could bend and contort his body to better suit his needs. He quickly tried to throw his opponent off with a leg attack aimed at the man's legs. Merlyn was hit with the attack and fell back against the wall to the cell. "Roy!" He called out to his apprentice. Robin quickly did a handstand to propel himself out of the cell. His hands met contact with the ground and a surging pain erupted through his body. Holding back a grunt of pain, he managed to make it out as soon as the orange headed teen pressed the button. The iron bars closed with Merlyn trapped inside of it.

Robin landed on his feet and glared at Roy, who froze reaching for his own bow behind his back, "You don't have to live like this, Roy," Robin tried to persuade. His hands were still pulsating from the pain of landing on them. Roy glared at him, making Robin slightly tense, ready for his attack towards the teen in front of him.

"You don't know me!" Roy yelled, pulling out his bow quickly and placing an arrow on it.

"Would Ollie ever hurt you?" Robin asked, knowing exactly where to hit and how to hit. He watched as Roy lowered his bow slightly in thought.

Merlyn let out a scoff as he walked to the bars, wrapping his hands around them, "Oliver never had the guts," he mused as he shook his head, "He's weak and will never grow-

Roy looked at Merlyn and growled, "Don't talk about Oliver like that!" He yelled as he suddenly turned his bow on his master. Merlyn simply looked at the weapon directed at him with an unfazed look, "You don't know a thing about him!" He argued in confusion.

"Roy. Think about what you're doing," Merlyn said in a soft tone. He looked over at Robin, who was observing his work being played out in front of him. After all, if he had run off, Roy might have just freed Merlyn a few seconds after. "When have I ever been the enemy?" He asked as he watched in amusement at Robin.

The boy wonder glared at the man, "You can be better than what you are," Robin argued, making Roy look at him, his bow being lowered more every passing minute, "Red Arrow is an aspiration," he tried to argue again, "But only Roy Harper can be Red Arrow."

Roy closed his eyes in thought before opening them again, his bow aimed at Robin, "I know where I stand!" He yelled as he narrowed his eyes in concentration at the teen.

"Worth a shot," Robin mused as he shrugged. During the scene, he had taken out three smoke grenades from his utility belt. Merlyn and Roy's attention had been off of him for a short while, but that was all the time that the boy wonder had needed.

"Smoke-!" Merlyn began to warn but was cut off when Robin threw them down on the ground, his hand ringing out in pain from the constant usage while it was injured. Roy looked around the foggy area frantically as he tried to locate the escaped prisoner. A cackle was heard around the area, "To the right of the cackle!" Merlyn advised from behind the bars. Roy tried to shoot to where his mentor had stated and found that his arrow had hit something. He was too caught up in trying to find his target that he missed when Robin had stealthily snuck up on him from behind. All Roy felt was a sharp pain to the back of his neck, and then he fell down for the count.

The smoke screen quickly wore off and Merlyn could only observe the scene in front of him. His apprentice was on the ground, but his apprentice-to-be had an arrow plunged in his lower leg. The older archer smirked at the small victory of Roy – Despite how emotionally unstable the teen was. Robin limped over to where the fallen Roy was and took out a bat-a-rang from his utility belt. He cut all the arrows so they would remain unusable, "Smart," Merlyn lectured as he leaned against the cement wall in the cell.

Robin looked up and let out a small smile, "Isn't it?" He asked as he placed the bat-a-rang back in his pocket. He kicked the arrow heads away from the cell so that the man couldn't use them to make his mistake. He let out a hiss as he had to stand on the leg with the arrow lodged in it. He quickly exchanged his weight on his good leg and let out a quick sigh to get rid of the residual pain.

"Smart again," Merlyn applauded from his cell, "What kind of dog eat dog world are you from, Richard?" He asked, making Robin quickly turn his head at the man in the cell. Robin could only stare in disbelief at the archer. How could he know about him if he never existed in this dimension?

"You're from another dimension, aren't you?" Robin asked, though he knew what the answer would be.

Merlyn smirked as he stood up straight, no longer leaning on the wall. He walked over to the bars and stared deep into the eyes of the boy wonder. For a moment, Robin was unsure if he was still wearing his mask. It seemed like the man was staring straight into his eyes, "Well, give a dog a bone," he complimented, confirming that what Robin had said was true.

To be continued…