Disclaimer – I own nothing.
To vi – Thanks for your review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and the banter between Dick and Kory, and the Dick/Kory and Dick and Gar moments. Hope you like this chapter too!
AN – So just a reminder, nothing in this story is going along with what's happening in season 3. Please read the warning after this.
*WARNING* - This chapter has mentions of past sexual assault and attempted sexual assault. It's not graphic by any means and is actually written as someone recalling what happened, instead of it happening in present tense. If this is something that is going to trigger you, then please don't read.
Read Warning before Reading!
Hank was beyond tense and furious, and scared. And he assumed that Dick felt the same way. Maybe even worse. It was Dick that the creep who had kidnapped them had set his eyes on after all. It was Dick who had almost been assaulted in the worst kind of way.
They were out on patrol with the rest of the Titans and had come across a group of human traffickers. They immediately set out on destroying their operations and rescuing the prisoners when things went sideways. Dick and Hank got separated from their teammates, then abducted by the traffickers. Both Hank and Dick had been kidnapped before in their vigilante careers. It wasn't anything new. They knew how to slip from restraints and escape, or how to distract their captors until rescue came and were getting prepared to do either one. Things however took a turn when the apparent ringleader walked into the room in the warehouse they were being held in.
He was arrogant and confident. Almost immediately, he started bragging about how pathetic they were for being caught and telling them of all the ways he could torture and kill them. Dick was quick with some pretty good comebacks to almost everything their kidnapper said, however that only got the man's complete attention. Attention that was beyond disgusting.
The ringleader had his little posse leave the room before he walked over to where Dick was strung up against one of the wooden beams and started making vile remarks about the hero's looks. He even ran his hand through Dick's hair and down his cheek, chest and towards his belt. The sight was far too similar to Hank, who immediately started yelling at the criminal, trying to get him away from the younger man.
Dick didn't just stand there and take it either. He did his best to move away, actually tried to bite the man's fingers when he touched his face. When he kicked their captor's legs though, things got worse. The man walked out of the room only to come back less than a minute later with a syringe.
A quiet moan pulled Hank from his memories, causing him to look at Dick, was halfway lying on top of him. With his arm around Dick's chest protectively, Hank asked, "How are you doing?"
"I'm alright. Just a little uncomfortable." Dick whispered.
"Are you able to move anything yet?" Hank questioned, looking back over the side of the giant trash bin that they were currently hiding behind.
"No, not yet. I think it's going to take at least another hour before it wears off." Dick answered, sounding very annoyed. Hank didn't blame him.
The drug that was in the syringe their captor brought with him when he came back was some sort of nerve agent. Apparently, it makes people completely paralyzed. Temporarily, but they are still able to feel everything. The leader of the trafficking ring then injected it into Dick's neck.
It took effect almost instantly. Hank had been in many crazy situations with the former Robin, but he had never seen him as terrified as he was when he could no longer move and their captor came to stand in front of him once again, grabbing his chin to bring his face up towards his. He did a good job of trying to hide it, clearly not wanting to give the creep that kind of power, but Hank could see it and it infuriated him. Suddenly, everything went black.
Next thing he knew, he was free from the ropes that kept him tied to the beam a few feet away from Dick, and their kidnapper was on the ground. He was clearly unconscious and his face was covered in blood. Looking around the room, he saw that the three goons that were with the ringleader earlier were also now in the room, but beaten unconscious as well. Hank didn't know what exactly he did, but he was glad he did it. From the relieved expression on Dick's face, he felt the same way.
Escaping however, was not easy. Because of the drug, Dick could do nothing to help and Hank had to carry him on his back. It was more difficult than the blonde thought it would be. Though he was taller, bigger and more muscular than Dick, the brunette was still very heavy and was a dead weight. It also didn't help that Hank's one ankle was throbbing due to him twisting it during the fight prior to getting captured. They did managed to get out of the warehouse and a few blocks away, but had to stop and hide behind the trash bins in one of the nearby alleys.
"You see anything out there?" Dick wondered, unable to see for himself what was going on outside their hiding place.
"No, nothing. Really wish we had our commlinks." Hank replied. Each Titans' member had a commlink on them so they could stay in touch, but his and Dick's were yanked off when they were abducted.
"Me too." Dick quickly agreed. "At this rate, this drug's going to wear off before the Titans find us."
Dick didn't mention that the odds of the traffickers finding them first were actually pretty decent. Hank didn't know how badly he injured them, but he had a feeling that when they woke up, they'd come after them. They had majorly ticked them off and that look in the leader's eyes when he was coming onto Dick, it was beyond predatory. Hank didn't want his friend anywhere near that man ever again.
"You still have that tracker that Batman put in you, right? You didn't cut it out like you did the other one?" Hank questioned, suddenly remembering how Jason had tracked them to the house that Rachel's Mom owned almost a year ago.
"As much as I want to, no, I haven't." Dick responded, sounding annoyed even though that tracker was probably what was going to save them should anything happen before they were able to get home on their own.
"Then they should find us. If they're smart enough to check that." Hank informed him.
Dick would've nodded if he could, but then asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. My ankle's still throbbing and my fists are a little sore but don't worry. I can still fight." Hank assured him as he glanced down at the younger man.
"That's not what I meant." Dick said. "You were kind of out of it when you fought those guys, and I can feel you shaking."
In his defense, Hank didn't realize he was shaking. He quickly tried to stop but it felt like his nerves were going haywire with anxiety. Instead of admitting that though, he said, "What do you expect? It's freezing out here."
"Hank, I know that… I know that it must've sucked for you, to see and hear all that." Dick hesitantly told him, causing Hank to finally go still in shock.
The former Robin was right. It was difficult being trapped in that room, seeing your friend being border-lined violated, about to be assaulted and unable to do anything about it. It was also extremely familiar to Hank. Not watching someone he was somewhat close to going through that, but going through that himself. He knew firsthand what it was like having someone whisper those disgusting remarks in your ear while their hands…
Hank shook his head, trying to shake off the memories as he did so. He didn't want to think about that right now. Couldn't afford to. No, his attention had to be on what was going on around them. Dick was completely vulnerable right now. It was up to Hank to keep them both safe and that was what he was going to do. However, the way Dick was talking implied that he wasn't just talking about how uncomfortable, awkward and helpless it was to being forced to see someone almost being assaulted. It was almost like he knew what happened to Hank when he was a kid, even though Hank had never told him.
"Did Dawn tell you?" Hank asked, knowing that she was the only one he confessed to.
"No, she wouldn't do that. I um, whenever a new hero arrives on the scene, Batman notices. Especially if said hero shows up in Gotham. When he found out your identity, along with Dawn's, he did background checks on you both. Though he didn't find anything that made him nervous, he did find that a coach from your old school had been murdered, and found in possession of many, extremely illegal pictures of kids. And after his death, several former students came forward about what he did to them. It wasn't hard to make the connections. Especially since Hawk and Dove originally went out fighting pedophiles." Dick explained.
"Any other connections he made?" Hank slowly inquired, nervous about the possibility of Batman knowing that it was him who killed that sick b*****d. Batman was completely against killing people, even those who deserved it, but if he hadn't done anything about it yet, then he probably wasn't going to. Right?
"There are things he suspects, but no evidence was left. No witnesses either. Can't do anything about it." Dick responded, moving his eyes up as much as he could so he could see Hank's face.
"Oh. Good to know." Hank murmured, unsure of how else to respond.
Dick waited a minute or two but when Hank didn't say anything else, he asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be a lot better when we get out of here though." Hank answered. He wasn't sure if he was actually okay or not but he needed to stay focused. It was bad enough that Dick had almost been assaulted. That should never have happened. He wasn't going to risk that happening again.
"Hawk? Nightwing?" A voice suddenly called out. Hank tightened his hold on Dick and peaked out, even though he recognized the voice.
Standing right at the opening of the alley, was Rachel. Less than a second later, Donna and Kory showed up. Relaxing a little, Hank said loudly, "Over here."
In seconds, Rachel, Kory and Donna were standing in front of them, worried expressions on their faces. They seemed to relax when they saw them. However, when they noticed the way Dick was half laying on Hank and wasn't moving, their concern reappeared. Donna crouched down in front of Dick and asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Dick quickly assure them, giving them all a smile.
"He's been drugged. He can't move." Hank filled them in.
"Starfire, help me get him up." Donna told the alien, who immediately moved to do so.
Once they had Dick upright, leaning heavily on them, Hank also stood up. "Did you guys get the rest of the traffickers?"
"Yup. Dove, Beast Boy, Ravager, Superboy and Krypto took care of them." Rachel answered, looking back and forth between Hank and Dick.
"Alright then," Hank said, biting back a wince as he slowly put pressure on his sore ankle, "let's go home."
2018TITANS2018
It took two hours for the drug to wear off and Dick could finally move. It was good timing actually because at that point, Dick really had to go to the bathroom. After he did that, he went to bed, along with the others. However, when he was sure that everyone else were asleep, he made his way out of his bedroom and back into the kitchen to get some water. He wasn't going to sleep tonight, wasn't even going to try. He knew if he slept, he would dream. And he knew exactly what his dreams would entail.
Once he had his drink, he wandered into the living room and turned on the TV, making sure to keep the volume down so he wouldn't wake anyone. He also grabbed an old magazine and started flipping through it. Watching TV wasn't enough of a guarantee that it would keep him awake. People fell asleep in front of a screen all the time. He'd be done with the magazine in about half an hour though. So he'd have to find something else to do. He had considered going to the computer room and working and finding out all the information he could about the trafficking ring they had stumbled upon, but he didn't want to think about them right now.
"What are you doing?" Dick flinched in surprise and looked up to find Hank shuffling into the room, rubbing a hand over his face.
"Couldn't sleep." Dick filled him in with a shrug.
"Couldn't or didn't want to?" Hank asked with a knowing tone, coming over to sit down on the couch beside him.
Dick stayed silent for a moment, then quietly admitted, "Didn't want to. I know what I'd dream about if I did. It's not the first time this has happened after all."
"Wait, what?" Hank hoped that Dick didn't mean what he think he meant.
"Those things that guy said, I've been hearing them since I was teenager. As both Dick Grayson and Robin." Dick revealed. Ever since he turned 15, comments about his appearance started flying. Sure, he had always known he was attractive, but it was honestly a bit uncomfortable to hear people talk about it the way they were. Especially since some of the people, both men and women, were older than him. Way older.
"Did anyone, ever try anything?" Hank hesitantly questioned, not sure if he actually wanted to know.
"Not when I was Dick Grayson. They knew that Bruce would never let that slide." Dick responded.
"And as Robin?"
Dick took a deep breath and said, "One guy tried, when I was 14. Didn't do much of anything though. Didn't have the chance. The second Batman realized what he was going to do, he just laid into him. A lot like you did actually. Batman broke his spine and both legs. After that, every criminal in Gotham knew better than to try something like that again."
"Good." Hank replied, then asked, "Are you sure you're okay though?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thank you by the way, for stopping him." Dick said, only now realizing he hadn't thanked the older man for saving him yet.
"Don't mention it." Hank mumbled, reaching over to pat Dick's shoulder.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Dick couldn't help but check again.
"I'm just fine. Even though I don't remember it, beating the crap out of those guys felt therapeutic." Hank informed him with a half smirk.
"You know, I love doing what we do, and it does feel nice beating up criminals at times, but other times, I really think we all need therapy or something." Dick admitted.
Hank laughed at that. "You're probably right, but who's crazy enough to take all of us on?"
"I have no idea. Maybe the Justice League should look into that." Dick suggested with chuckle.
"No kidding." Hank agreed, then grabbed the remote off the coffee table. "What do you want to watch? If we're going to stay up all night, might as well watch something good."
"You pick." Dick shrugged, not really caring. Hank picked an old cop show and the two watched all through the night.
AN – So, I watched the first three episodes of the new season. Um, I'm kind of in a state of shock. I did look up what happened beforehand because I knew it was going to be a few days before I could sit and watch and I needed to know what happened. At first, I was like 97% sure that Hank is coming back, and I'm still not crossing out that possibility, (let's be honest, superheroes pretty much always come back from the dead), but seeing how his body actually blew up (I thought it was like one of those mini bombs like in Mission Impossible 3) and the fact that the actor is in a new TV show or something, I'm beginning to doubt it. At least, for this season. He could come back later. Either way, I was actually glad for the moments between Hank and Dick that we got. I really needed that. Would've liked more but am glad we got something. RIP Hank Hall. Also, where are Rose and Jericho? Am I the only one wondering that? Hope you guys liked this chapter! See you all next time!