Summary: Three times they realized Dick came back with unexplainable abilities... and next time will be the one time Dick explained.
One: Not mind control, but vertigo.
Two: He's got a blurry face, I've got a spiral.
Three: For your eyes only (well, your's and Helena's apparently)
plus one to be added, each chapter separate
Two: He's got a blurry face, I've got a spiral.
None of them are new to kidnappings as civilians or heroes. But this, in Tim's opinion, might be one of the most embarrassing incidents. They caught him and Jason while arguing. He went down with a dart to the neck. It wasn't enough to knock him out fully, but his body collapsed, and the world went blurry. He was lucid enough to register Jason jumping forward to catch his body, then collapsing himself, falling on his face at Tim's side. A boot to the face knocked them out completely.
Tim woke chained to a wall of a makeshift cell. He was partially stripped, missing his shoes, cape, and gloves. To Tim's relief he could still feel the mask on his face and belt around his waist. The room, though not large, was split into four cells with a hallway in the middle. Damian was to his right, sans boots, gloves, cape and belt. He paced like a wild animal. Jason was across from him, strapped to a chair in another cell. His head was tucked towards his chest, the man seemed to still be unconscious. But it was hard to say if he was actually out or just faking it. The cell across from Tim was empty, a chair like the one Jason was sitting in – waiting for its occupant. Jason was missing his shoes, gloves, jacket and weapons. But his belt and helmet were still on.
The door opened, and two large men dressed completely in black entered, dragging an unconscious Nightwing by the elbows. He left a thin trail of blood on the floor. "-says it would be easy" The one on the right complained. A faded dragon tattoo ran from the side of his face down under the collar of his shirt.
Damian dove for the bars of his cell, lurching back when the electrical current hit him. The two men ignored him. "Release him you-" Damian spat, cutting himself off when the second man, dark skinned and a scar across his chin, pulled a gun. He placed it to Nightwing's forehead, lifting an eyebrow at Robin.
Damian took another step back, lifting his hands in surrender. The man eyed Red Robin and Red Hood – who was apparently now awake. No one made a move, and the scarred man snorted and holstered his gun again. The first man rolled his eyes with a huff.
"Did you see what he did to Tray?" Scar asked, dragging their captive the last few feet to the last open cell.
"Fuck Tray" thr first man said, "His fault anyways,Go for the blue one," the first man muttered, pitching his voice in a mocking fashion, "He'll be the easiest to grab." He punched in a pass code on the pad next to the cell. The ambient humming noise decreased, removing the charge from the cells on Nightwing and Red Hood's side of the room.
"Don't think Kevin will be walking any time soon." Scar continued, unlocking the door with his free hand. The duo hefted Nightwing into the chair.
"Easy as my left nut. The mother fu-" Dragon Tattoo worked on removing Dick's Boots with a rough tug while his companion strapped the hero's arms. "-cker took three darks and kept going."
"Let DD get that shot off, and slowed'em down enough for Jack to hit'em with the bat." Scars pointed out, pulling off the hero's gloves.
The first man grunted, still visibly upset. They stepped back, carrying Nightwing's shoes and gloves. "Let's just get out of here while he's still out." Dragon Tattoo said, glancing at the other bats, all silent but watching intently. "They freak me the fuck out."
"Shouldn't we take his belt?" Scar asked following Dragon Tattoo's gaze. "Theirs too?" referring to Red Hood and Red Robin. Closing the cell door behind himself.
"Only they can remove'em. We only have the kid's because Garry held a gun to the others head." He nodded between Damian and Tim. "Let Boss will deal with it," Dragon Tattoo shrugged, keying in the code and starting up the cell again. "He's the one paying all the money to unmask them. Let'em have the fun taking the belt too."
The two trailed out of the room, door closing with a slam.
The three turned to Nightwing, each calling his name. Even from his limited angle, Jason could see Dick's shoulder was out of socket. "Goldie," he hissed, "Wing, wake up." The man's fingers twitched but he didn't wake.
"Batman," Damian called, his voice sharp and urgent. Dick jerked awake, then groaned when he pulled at his injured arm.
"What hit me?" he muttered. He tried opening his eyes, but the lights were a little too bright. He closed them just as quickly. "Robin, status?
Damian already looked significantly calmer, "Knock out darts. Enemy unknown, took shoes, belt, cape and gloves. Cell electrified, but no restraints."
"Injuries?" he asked, the room at large, his voice growing stronger.
"Only you big bird," Jason said, voice mechanical through his helmet.
Dick cracked an eye, blinking between the others then turning attention to his restraints. "I'm fine," he said, only for Tim to scoff.
"Wing, please." Tim didn't want to sound concerned, but internally winced when his voice came out harsher than intended.
Nightwing sighed, avoiding the other's gaze, "Shot in the right side, a graze I think. Shoulder dislocated. Was hit in the head, possible concussion."
Tim opened his mouth again, but Dick powered forward, "Anyone know their motive?"
Jason was working his thumbs trying to dislocate one of them to get a hand free. "Mentioned something about unmasking," He said.
Tim was diagonal, doing the same with the shackles on the wall. "We need a plan," Tim advised.
"No shit, Replacement." Jason growled.
"Unmasking is such a cliché." Dick muttered; his head fell back against the back of the chair. "Last time this happened it was almost broadcasted across the world and I woke up with a bomb attached to my heart." His words were slightly slurred.
"Wing, please – wait what?" The three younger men froze in their various stages of struggling.
"Zero out of ten, would not recommend." Dick continued, the door to the room jingled. He suddenly perked up. "I have a plan, let them come to me first." He announced to the room. "Assuming it still works," he said, this time to himself.
The door opened, a man none of them recognized entered. He was dressed in a bright orange suite followed by Scar, Dragon Tattoo and a third henchman. "Gentlemen," he greeted with a sweeping bow. "I am –"
"Joker number three cosplayer." Dick interrupted. "You know, after the hidden mustache but before the pinstripes."
"I was putting money on lame theming. Something like Mr. Orange." Jason supplied.
The man sputtered, glancing down at his suite then between Red Hood and Nightwing. "I will have you know, this color-"
"You can't blame him," Tim called, cutting the man off again, "All the good colors are taken. Riddler is green. Joker has purple and orange and technically green depending on the day. Harley took red, black and white. Penguin has the classic suite. Freeze is blue. Doesn't have much left to choose from."
"Yellow?" Dick tossed out, the other three making a face. "Yeah, fair." He shrugged with his good shoulder. "So Mr. Orange, what can we do for you?"
The man's face was turning a dark shade of red. He stumbled over his own words, "how dare… I have… You little…" He stomped over to Dick's cell, pointing a finger. "Open this." He demanded.
Dragon Tattoo and New Guy moved to follow orders. Dragon Tattoo turning off the electricity while New Guy pulled out some keys.
"I…" the man began, stalking into Dick's cell when they finally got it open. "I am going to be the man known around the world for de-masking Gotham's heroes."
Dick cringed, opened his mouth to speak then closed it again.
"What?" the man demanded.
"No, keep going. It's clearly your first time. I don't want to ruin your momentum. I'll keep my notes until the end." Dick rolled his good hand at the man, indicating for him to keep talking. "Actually, one note, it's unmasking, not demasking. " He flashed a bright smile, "now back to one."
The man surged forward, gripping Dick by his chin. "You'll be first." He used his free hand to dig his nails under the edge of the mask and pulled. The next few seconds were a flurry of movement. The man's face shifted from triumph to horror, stumbling backwards. Dick was able to free a hand, and grabbed New Guy who was the only hench person who followed the boss into the cell. He grabbed the gun from the man's belt and continued to slam the man's head between the bars connecting to Jason's cell. He slumped unconscious. Dick shot, taking down Dragon Tattoo with a shoulder hit, pushing the man back against the active electrical bars of the other cell knocking him out. Scar pulled his gun, Dick shot it out of his hand. Then threw his own gun nailing the man in the head. He collapsed on the ground.
Dick did all of this from his seat and only one arm free. Dick, face now just a spiral, stared down at the boss who was on the ground at his feet. "The keys?" he asked, even without being able to see it, they could hear the smirk.
The man scrambled, getting the keys from the pocket of New Guy. He freed Nightwing with shaking hands. Dick nodded in approval, pointing to the keypad to Red Robin and Robin's cells. The man whimpered and scrambled to do as told. Dick pulled a small needle from his belt, waiting for the wall to power down then injecting the man.
Dick made quick work of the door to Damian's cell, passing off his lock picking kit from his belt and directing him to Tim.
"Shit," Jason muttered as Dick approached, "That is freaky Goldie."
Dick hummed, "Part of the point I think."
"Going to keep it on all night?" Jason asked, flexing his fingers when the first cuff clicked open.
"Kind of have to," Dick shrugged with his good shoulder, drawing Jason back to his injured arm hanging loosely at his side. "No mask."
"Right," Jason muttered, letting out a small breath when his other wrist was released. "Want me to put that back in?" he nodded to Dick's injured arm.
"Please."
Jason pretended he didn't hear the relief in Dick's tone, or the small whimper when the joint was popped back into place. He turned back to the others, leaving Dick to lean against the wall taking slow breaths. "Come on kiddies, time to go." He announced. "Big Bird's face is making me more nauseous than usual."
Dick snorted but didn't comment.
Tim took point and Jason covered their backs. They moved through the hall and up a flight of stairs, finding themselves at the front door of an older Gotham Town House. it wasn't secure past the standard lock and a single bolt. Their stuff was sitting on a side table next to the door.
The escape was simple, and Jason was openly disappointed. He complained until they finally came to a stop on a rooftop a few blocks away.
"Give me ten," Tim said two parts fed up with Jason's complaining and one part itching for a fight himself, "I'll find out who exactly that was and we can track down the gangs they hired."
Nightwing said something, his voice scrambled and incomprehensible. The other three froze, startled.
"Wing?" Red Robin asked, cautious.
The man huffed and said something else, still lost. Jason and Tim shared a look, "Goldie, I don't –"
Nightwing held up a hand, he signed something, then pulled off one of his gloves.
"pilers?" Damian said, watching in slight horror as Dick stuck his hand in his spiral face where they supposed his mouth would be. Instead, it was just lost to the vortex.
The sound of feet on gravel, announced the entrance of Spoiler, Black Bat, and Huntress.
"Evening Boys," Stephanie called, startling when she caught sight of Dick. "What happened to Wing?"
Huntress pushed past them all, slapping Dick's hand away from his face. "Knock it off," she muttered.
Dick said something back, based on the tone of voice it was equal parts sassy and snide. Helena snorted back. Dick kept talking, the woman nodding along like she understood. Dick gestured between himself and his brothers. He pointed a few times to the upper part of where his face should be, then down to the lower half.
"Only you," the woman muttered before turning back to the others. "Anyone have an extra mask?" She asked the roof at large. "Because Wing is going to be stuck like this until he gets a mask." She tossed a thumb over her shoulder as if they needed a reminder of the faceless hero.
No one volunteered, prompting Helena to turn back around. "Fine, Nightwing and I-"
"I'm sorry," Jason interrupted, "who the hell are you?" He demanded. "And why should I listen to you?"
"Huntress," She volunteered, strolling casually towards Dick again, settling next to him. Far enough to not be intimate but close enough to show familiarly. "I work with the Birds of Prey, before that I was doing some spy work, family has mob connections." She shrugged, "Black Bat and Batgirl are two of my references. I can pass you my resume later. What matters now is I can understand Nightwing, and the sooner get him back to normal, the better we'll all be."
Jason let out a small growl, looking to Stephanie and Cass. Both girls nodded in support for Huntress.
Dick started talking again, face turned towards Huntress this time. She nodded along, waiting for him to finish. "Okay, here's his plan. If it makes you feel any better it's Nightwing's." She tossed directly to Red Hood, moving on before he could reply. "Red's, you and Batgirl see if you can find a trail for whoever this guy is. Robin and Black Bat, do a full sweep of the house, lock up anyone you find and see if there are any more cluses. Wing and I are heading to the closest safe house to find him a mask and see if the voice scramble comes off when the face is dropped or if we need to call in M."
Dick said something that had Helena sighing. "Just let me leave before you do." She said, "He hates me." Dick's laugh came through normally.
"Any questions?" she asked the roof at large. "No? Break!"