A/N: Happy birthday Paineverlasting (February 28)! (and to my dad, actually…; ) although thankfully, he's not reading this… -lol-)

It's time to visit the Terms-universe again! I'm not sure I got this completely right, b-day girl, but hopefully you'll like it!

Warnings: this is a weird mix of fluff and bloody murder, literally, but I think people will be alright… Remember to tell me if you don't agree with my warnings; that is, if you think they are too mild… Better too much than too little, for my sensitive reader's sake, but I really think you will find the violence in this, mainly, entertaining.

Lost and Found

Not everything was games and sexy-time for the two unofficial leaders of Echo city, but Robin had had enough of work for now and had commandeered his husband onto their bed for the rest of the evening.

"If you have to read those files, do so, just let me bounce on that cock of yours while your do," he had muttered as Slade had pointed out that, although he would love to oblige, they were pretty busy figuring out a number of unauthorized crimes sweeping their vast city. Slade had then decided that work could wait, making Robin a very happy bird for about ten minutes.

"Mom! Dad!"

"I swear I'm going to fucking KILL THEM!" Robin growled in frustration, but of the expected twosome of trouble, only one burst through their bedroom door.

"You have two seconds to live, Red X!" the former hero hissed.

"It's… it's Speedy… he… he's disappeared!"

"If this is one of your pranks…" Slade growled a few moments later as they were regrouping in the living room, now with clothes.

"I swear it's not! He was just going to go on patrol for an hour or so, and…"

"Did you have a fight?" Robin asked bluntly. Echo had quite a few places to hide if you wanted to sulk.

"NO! Please, get your guys on this or something! NOW!"

Slade and Robin exchanged a glance. It wasn't like Red X to shout, at least not while sounding as angry and worried as he did, so they quietly decided to forget their initial suspicions. Robin flipped his phone open and dialed a three-digit number.

"Code red. We have a missing person. External security central in three minutes." He hung up and looked at the others. "Okay, come on, Red, fill us in in the elevator."

It was clear that the thief really was worried, because he didn't even notice the perfect set-up for a raunchy joke, just nodded and hurried along.

"He's rather bossy, isn't he?" Red muttered to Slade as they watched Robin pointing to screens and ordering the staff around.

"Yes, and the nice part is that when he gets like this people know it's deadly serious… literally," the man said with a smirk.

"So no need for you to scare them any more then?" the red head asked.

"Hardly… they are working as fast as they can,"

"You sure you can't just at least frown a bit?" the thief asked. "This is Speedy we're talking about… I'm worried!"

"Very well," Slade muttered and barked out an order himself, adding a frown. The feeling in the room went from 'hectic' to 'frantic' in an instant.

Soon it was all prepared, however, and the security cameras from the area Speedy had said he was heading towards were up and running.

"Dave! What does your team have to report?" Robin asked a worried looking man.

"Something unsettling, I'm afraid. We were keeping an eye out for RH1 when the camera in sector 3395 was taken out, it didn't seem that deliberate at the time, but after a while we realized that none of the other cameras were picking him up."

"RH1?" Red asked Slade quietly.

"Red Head One," the man explained.

"Wait, what? So I'm number two? Why am I number two?"

"Why object? I've heard you refer to yourself as 'the shit' several times," the man smirked.

"That's just low," Red muttered.

"If you are looking to advance, you might have a shot now," the mercenary growled grimly. He almost, ALMOST regretted it when he saw the hurt, panicked look on the young man's face.

After a blissful quiet moment Red X suddenly realized something else.

"You are spying on us?"

"We are spying on the whole city… and no, but certain teams have different assignments, and Dave's team's is to keep an eye out for you if they spot you."

"In a loving we-care-about-you-way?" the thief asked hopefully.

"More of an 'if you break our rules we'll know about it'-kind of way," Slade smirked.

"Oh… umm… all the time?"

"All the time."

"You really have to work on your trust-issues, you know!"

"You have to work on sticking to the rules," Slade snorted.

"Me? A thief? The only moral compass I have is missing!" Red exclaimed.

"We'll find him," Slade all but promised.

"So you thought you could stop us, hero?" a high-pitched voice asked.

Speedy glared up at his captors from where he was kneeling on the floor, his feet and hands shackled together so he couldn't get up.

"I just investigated an alarm, I have no idea who you people are," he hissed.

"Never heard of us, have you? Never heard of the Vipers?"

"Can't say I have. So what are your specialties? Windshields or noses?"

One of the men backhanded him so hard that Speedy heard his neck crack.

"Think you're funny, do you?" the hitter spat.

"Yeah, but you sure aren't… my boyfriend would have a comment about blowing after a joke like that…" the archer said. "Maybe it's time I mention that I have friends in high places?"

"We know all about those friends… you are here to teach them a lesson," the man Speedy had identified as the leader, leered.

"They are better at teaching those than learning them," he muttered.

"Oh, they will learn… after all, it will be written in your blood…" the man smirked and flicked a switchblade open.

Robin, Slade and Red stood watching some footage from a little over an hour ago, of Speedy jumping from a building to another, and then, suddenly, something hit the camera and the image disappeared.

"We thought it was a coincidence," the guy named Dave explained. "Cameras has been taken out in this whole sector, we did report it…?"

"Yes, we know… our sources suspect that this has to do with a new rebel crime group…" Robin nodded. "What did they call themselves? The Snakes?"

"The Vipers," Slade corrected him.

"Why can't those people ever call themselves 'The Koalas' or something?" Red complained. "I wouldn't have been as worried if Speedy had been taken by koalas…"

"I think that's rather the point," Slade snorted.

"Is that what we think has happened?" Robin asked tensely.

"None of the working cameras in the surrounding sectors picked him up after this, we have double checked now. That might not mean anything, though; he could have gone underground, or…"

"Gotten shot and is lying on a roof somewhere bleeding to death!" Red exclaimed. "I'm going out there right now!"

"Not alone, I'm coming too," Robin growled. "Slade?"

"I couldn't let you have all the fun…" the man smirked. "Keep us posted, people."

A general murmur of "Yes, Sir!" echoed through the air as they left the room.

"Not so funny now, are we?" the Viper-leader sneered down at Speedy.

The archer snorted. He had just received a few shallow cuts across his chest and arms; did the guy really think he would break over that? He had been injured worse making love. Several times. And loved it.

He was still tied, though, and there were seven other men in the room with him, so he kept his mouth shut for now. He wished the people behind him could move so he could take out the blade he kept hidden in the heel of his boot without them spotting it, but no such luck.

"Red didn't go that well with his complexion, boss… how 'bout some black and blue?" one of the Vipers asked.

"Yes, why not?" the boss-viper smirked.

It was when the first couple of fists crashed into him that Speedy was starting to wonder if he would survive this.

"It's the Vipers," Robin muttered as he kneeled down below the broken camera. "They left their calling card…"

"What is it? A snake-tooth or something?" Red asked as he came over.

"No, it's an actual calling card…" Robin muttered and handed it to the thief.

"'The Vipers, we'll bite back'… what the hell is this, some kind of joke?"

"That's how we have been treating them so far… we figured that the other crime-families would take care of them before they became a problem, but…" Slade growled.

"Well, it will be worse for them…" Robin muttered. "Any clues from the roof?"he asked his husband, who nodded. "Signs of a short struggle a few drops of blood. I think he was ambushed as he landed."

"Well, where have they taken him?" Red asked, clearly distraught when he heard about the blood.

"I don't know…" Robin said, looking up at Slade. The man had been thinking things over and then shrugged.

"Whatever they did they took him by a rout which doesn't' have cameras… I say we check out the building first."

"That's an apartment-building, though… you think they really would keep him in there?" Robin asked.

"No, but it might still hold some clues, let's go."

"Yes, Master," Robin smirked and Slade's steps faltered a little, almost like he tripped.

"You two stop flirting right now!" Red X hissed.

"Yeah, yeah… if you had just burst through our door a few minutes later…" the ex hero muttered.

They started at the roof and the lock on the door leading to the main stairwell had been forced open, somewhat recently, Red let them know, and they took this as a good sign. They made their way down quietly, level by level, without seeing any of the occupants of the house. When they were almost at floor level, however, there was a little sound coming from a few empty cardboard boxes left beside the stairs.

"Come on out, we're know you're there," Slade said sternly.

"Won't you feel silly if it's a mouse," Red smirked a little, but the mouse turned out to be a six year old boy.

"Hi there," Robin said and kneeled with a smile.

"Mum said I could play here," the boy let them know sullenly.

"Of course you can. Have you been playing here long?" Robin asked.

"All day! I'm a pirate! And a spy! I spy on people!" the boy let them know, a lot happier now when he wasn't in trouble.

"That sounds great! Tell me… oh, what's your name?"

"Bob."

Robin tried to hide a snort of laughter and glanced at Slade who had the same problem. Red was giving them a weird look.

"Okay, say, Bobby, did you spy on anyone particular today?"

"Old Mrs. Simon!" the boy let them know.

"Oh… and… umm… you didn't happen to see someone else? You see, we're looking for a friend of ours, a man with a mask and red hair who has a bow, and-"

"Speedy? Speedy's my hero!" the boy exclaimed.

"I will make sure to tell him that," Robin promised. "So did you see him?"

"No… not today… Saw him like a week ago or so," the boy said, scratching his head.

"Oh… well… that's a pity," the ex hero sighed and stood up.

"I saw the bad men, though…" Bob whispered, clearly keen on keeping his new friends.

"The bad men?" Slade asked.

"Yeah… mum says to run if they are on the streets. She says they threaten people."

"Might be the one's we're after," Slade nodded. "Did you see what they were doing?"

"Yes, they were carrying something down from the roof… a big something, all wrapped up."

"Bobby, this is very important, so I want you to think really hard, okay?" Robin said urgently, kneeling again. "Could you hear which door they took out of the building? The front or the back?"

"No," the boy said and the group deflated a bit again. "They didn't go outside… they went down to the basement. I heard, 'cause the door is very squeaky."

"Bob, you're a lifesaver. I'd kiss you if you were older!" Red exclaimed and started down the stairs.

"Red!" Robin barked, and Slade caught the thief's arm to stop him from running head over heels into trouble as usual. "Don't mind my friend, he's a bit crazy in the head," he grinned at the boy. "You've been very helpful, though, Bobby… I make sure you'll get a big reward! Is there anything you'd want?"

"Uummm… I… I'd like a soccer ball? A real one, not the plastic one with the painted squares…"

"You can have as many of those as you'd like," Slade smirked.

"Um… thanks but… well… you only really need one, you know?" the boy pointed out, making Robin laugh.

"Yeah, you're right, Bobby… We must be on our way now, but we'll get you that ball, alright?"

"Thank you!" the boy grinned and waved. "Hey! Want to know about old Mrs. Simon too? She and Mr. Johnson talked, and she complained about the building-noises from below, and then they went into the-"

"Another time, Bobby, bye!" Robin grinned and hurried after the others who hadn't waited around to hear about Mrs. Simon. He actually noticed the woman's name on one of the doors on the first floor, before he caught up with Slade and Red X.

They reached the basement and found the expected storage-rooms and boiler-room, but not much else. Slade sniffed the air, though.

"Does anyone else smell paint?" he asked. "It doesn't look like anything has been painted down here for years…"

"Bobby said Mrs. Simon had been complaining about noises from downstairs, and as she lives on the first floor…" the teen said, leaving the rest for the others to figure out.

"So something has been going on here… but what and where?" the older mercenary looked around.

"Hey, guys!" Red called out. "This storage room is locked but it doesn't have an apartment number on it… or any sign at all…"

"Can you open it?" Robin asked since the frame looked sturdy enough to at least take Slade a minute or so to knock down. Besides, he had a feeling that they should do this quietly.

"Pffft…Can I open it?" Red snorted and withdrew a few lock picks from his belt. Only seconds later the door opened.

The storage room, at first glance, looked like all others, but there were significant differences.

"The door unlocks from this side too…" Red pointed out. "Is that common, to want to lock yourself in with your old furniture?"

"Yes, well, I quite enjoy it…" Robin grinned at Slade.

"You'll get the paddle for that one… the rubber one with spikes," the man growled.

"What? Just because I'm interested in antiquities?"

"And riding-crops apparently," the man smirked.

"Ouch… I was aiming for the strap…" Robin groaned.

"Yes well, you aimed too high," the man snorted.

"Seriously you two, stop with the flirting!" Red X hissed. "Can anyone see something strange in here?"

"Looks like an ordinary storage room…" the former hero said thoughtfully.

"Oh, so you don't think it strange that the wall behind all that furniture is whiter than the rest?"

"Nicely spotted," Slade admitted somewhat reluctantly.

"It's because my brain isn't busy thinking of sex," the thief snorted.

"For once," Robin pointed out.

"Yes… it feels strange…" the redhead muttered. "I like have all these ideas and stuff…"

They stood staring at the large pile of discarded tables, chairs and even a sofa.

"This is stupid, if there's something behind all this they won't move everything each time… must be an easier way," Robin said.

"Yes. Look at the marks on the floor," Slade said and pointed at diagonal, curved lines.

"It can all be moved!" his young husband exclaimed and began to figure out how it was done. A few moments later the large pile easily swung out from the wall it had protected with barely a squeak. It was all fastened together and mounted on hinges, like a very strange gate.

"Clever," Red commented.

"Yes. I don't like 'clever' in an opponent…" Slade muttered.

"Oh, honey, just let me do the thinking… you can hit them!" Robin grinned and the older man muttered something about whips.

It didn't take them long to figure out how to open the wall and then they found themselves in the building next door.

"Moving from building to building, avoiding the cameras…" Robin muttered. "I think that's cheating."

"Couldn't they not just take the sewers?" Red X asked.

"Oh, there are night vision cameras and heat sensors down there," Slade told him.

"There… there are?"

"Yes. And last month… that was just nasty, Red." Robin smirked.

"We recorded it." Slade sported an almost identical smirk. "Thought it would be something to show at the Christmas party."

"You are despicable," the redhead growled.

"Look who's talking…" Robin chuckled. "But Christmas is almost a year away… be good and we won't show it."

"You know I can't do that!" the thief objected. "That's inhuman!"

"Yes, we're horrible people," Robin deadpanned. "Now… where does this cellar lead, do you think?"

They found another secret door, and then another, but after that the last corridor just opened up into a back alley.

"I'll see if the boys can help…" Slade said and took out his phone.

"And girls," Robin added sternly.

"Oh god, did Sarah give you a speech again?" his husband chuckled and then focused on his call.

"Slade here, can you track our signal? Good, because I don't have a clue where we are-"

"Omega alley," Robin and Red answered as one.

"There's a nice little porn-shop around the corner," Red supplied.

"And a good café just across from that," Robin added.

Slade just gave them a glare and continued talking.

"Can you check the cameras and see if you can spot something being carried out of this alley after the time of Speedy's disappearance? Oh… Yes, I suspected as much. Thanks." He hung up and turned to the others. "All the cameras picking up this alley have been destroyed."

"You never thought of replacing them?" Red pointed out dryly.

"We have people working on it, but they have been busy just replacing cameras that stop working of natural causes, so to speak, they haven't been able to get to all of the destroyed ones yet…" Slade explained. "And we didn't think it was this serious, I have to admit…"

"So where do we go from here? They could have taken him anywhere!" he thief complained. The other two didn't have a good answer.

He had at least two broken ribs, probably more fractured. One of his eyes was swollen shut and his jaw ached. Fortunately none of his teeth seemed loose, but give these people some time…

"So, what, your plan is just to keep beating me up?" he hissed as his tormentors seemed to take a breather.

"As I said, hero, we're sending your friends a message," the leaders leered.

"What message? 'We're total cowards'? I think that's pretty clear by now," Speedy growled. He had managed to move into a corner, mainly by rolling with the punches, and they hadn't stopped him, figuring that he was more helpless there. He had quickly gotten the small blade out and was now working on his bonds as swiftly and carefully as he could. First the rope going between his ankles and wrists were cut, then the one tying up his feet. His hands were trickier, but whoever had tied him up had used the same length of rope, so when the first cuts were made the coils around his wrists loosened up a bit.

"You… maybe we should just leave your head as a message?" the leader growled and took out his knife again. Speedy, having no time to lose, got to his feet, his own small blade in hand.

They all attacked at once, and the archer already had trouble breathing. He fought for his life, but he was still a hero, not a killer. He opted for trying to knock his opponents out instead, and that was a mistake. Still, as a fist crashed into the side of his head and he fell to the floor, he knew that he wouldn't have been able to fight differently. It just wasn't in him. After that thought the rest was darkness.

They had been going back the way they had come, trying to pick up any more clues, when Slade suddenly lifted his head and listened.

"In here. Hide," he whispered and pulled the younger men into an empty storage room. "Someone's coming."

"Could be one of the residents…" Robin cautioned.

"No. He or she is about to come through that door," the man told them and nodded towards the next door on the secret rout. "And if they know about it, they are in on it."

"Good," Robin growled, sounding rather blood thirsty. "That's exactly what we need. Leverage."

A moment later a single man opened the door a little, seemed to be looking around and listening, and then came out in the hall.

"Let's get him," Robin hissed. "Titans GO!"

"What the hell was that?" Slade blinked and Red had a similar expression on his face.

"Oh… sorry… I've not been on a mission like this in a while and… well, let's just get him! He's getting away!"

Even with the warning the man didn't stand a chance, and when he saw who had caught him he looked like he wished he had died trying.

"Well hello," Robin grinned like a hungry shark.

"H-hi?" the man stuttered. He was thin, in his twenties and was already going bald, his dirty blond hair lanky and much too long like he was trying to make up for the lack of thickness in length. He also had a definite air of junkie about him, even though he seemed lucid enough at the moment.

"You are going to help us," Slade told him as a matter of fact. "Or you are going to die."

"Painfully," Robin added. "And very, very slowly."

"Guys, you obviously don't know how to do this, you can't both be bad cops," Red let them know, and then kicked the man in the shins.

"What was that then?" Robin asked.

"Well, I didn't want to be the good cop either!" the thief exclaimed.

"Please ignore the idiot," Robin told their prisoner. "We are looking for a friend of ours, a redhead." he could see the scrawny man's eyes flicker towards the thief and sighed. "Another redhead. There are two of them… yes, I know it's a pain, but we still want the other one back. It's a set, you know? Anyway, you don't happen to know where his is, do you?"

Robin could see the man deciding to be brave even before he croaked out a fairly firm 'no'.

"Ah, I see… well, you can't know everything just because you're one of them, can you?" the teen smiled, trying the 'good cop' thing out just for fun. "Well, then, do you happen to know where your leader is?"

"N-no!"

The next moment the nozzle of a gun, Slade's, was resting against the man's temple, and a sharp throwing knife, Robin's, was pressed against his throat.

"You're nervous. You've probably never done this before," the ex hero said calmly. "I'll give you a hint; we don't like the word 'no'. Want to try again?"

The man did.

Not long after they were standing outside the door of the supposed headquarters. They had tied their prisoner up in a secure location telling him that if he had lied they would meet again. Slade had then wisely asked the man if he wanted to change his story and he had told him that maybe there were ten people inside instead of five.

"So… how many, do you think?" Robin asked his husband.

"I'd say at least twenty," Slade, who just didn't trust people outside of his current family, said.

"That's what I thought," Robin, who was more like his husband that he wanted to admit, nodded.

"Are we waiting for someone to open the door?" Red asked impatiently. "Or is Slade going to pretend to be the pizza delivery boy or something?"

"No, I pretty much think we'll go in there and start killing people," Slade shrugged.

"Sounds fine to me, at least generally," Robin nodded, "But Speedy is in there somewhere… if we do that, someone might panic…"

"We don't want panic, we really don't!" the redhead panicked.

The door they were all watching suddenly opened, the man inside looking back over his shoulder.

"Just going out for a smoke!" he called to someone inside. He then turned his attention forwards again and froze.

"Hi! I'm Robin!" the youngest member of the group said brightly. "Say, I bet you want those cigarettes to have a chance to kill you, right? Because you are standing in front of a couple of other options right now, if you know what I mean…"

The man did take the hint and tried to close the door, which led into a large more or less empty room, but Slade easily held it open with one hand while he grabbed the guy with his other.

Some of the other inhabitants had heard the ruckus, however, and came to investigate, only to find their associate with a gun to his head, held by a grim looking man, while a black haired youngster was beaming at them and a redhead in the background smirked.

"Hi, I'm Robin, this is Slade, I'm sure you've heard of us. I don't know if any of you like this guy, but if I don't get to talk to your leader very soon I hope you will at least like your wall decorated with his grey matter." The men seemed undecided about whether or not the smoker was a friend, so Robin sighed and was suddenly holding a number of throwing knives in his hand. "I could also nail you to the wall with these. If that's not appealing to you I suggest that you get him here, now."

"We have no idea where he is!" one burly but not too bright, man claimed.

"Liar, liar, ears go bye-bye," Robin said in a sing-song voice and then the man was on his knees, clutching the bleeding sides of his head.

"I think that's supposed to go 'liar, liar' pants on fire', Red told his friend.

"Oh? Well, that makes no sense, I don't have a flame-thrower," Robin shrugged.

"I love you," Slade purred from behind them.

"Stop flirting!" Red barked yet again.

"What's going on out here, didn't I tell you to-" the man who just came through the door also did his version of 'stunned', but he reacted in a somewhat smarter way and drew his gun.

"So you found us," he drawled. Robin could hear some nervousness in his voice but there was also excitement there. The man was either somewhat insane or a drama-queen, about to perform the scene of a lifetime. The teen's eyes narrowed. He didn't like these kinds of people, because they were completely unpredictable.

"You are the leader of the Adders?" Slade asked

"The Vipers!" the man growled.

"Oh, yes, my mistake," the mercenary smirked.

"Don't be mean, Slade," Robin scolded him. "The Adders is such a lame name, after all… now the Subtractors! They are people to count on…"

"Could you please not do this right now?" Red asked nervously.

"Oh, yes, sorry, Red," the former hero said. "You seem to have found something of ours, a redhead, and we'd like him back, please."

"You think I'd just give him back to you? You cut the ears of one of my men off!" the Viper's leader scoffed.

"Oh, that was me… nothing a bit of tape won't fix," Robin admitted lightly. "And, this time, could you try to get them level? It looked a bit strange before…"

"Maybe I should only return the ears of your friend…" the man smirked.

"Maybe we should quit talking and start killing?" Slade suggested instead.

"No, no," Robin interrupted, holding his hand up. "We have the leader of the Vipers in front of us, an organization that has cleverly avoided us for months, flying completely under our radar, and who has come up with rather ingenious ways of traveling the city while doing their dirty deeds. We are impressed, Slade, not homicidal."

"We are?" the man muttered quietly.

"We are… so of course we'll listen to any demands they'll make. So? What are they?"

The gang leader had listened to Robin with a growing expression of surprise, which had gradually been replaced by pride and the sort of gleeful cockiness the teen had been hoping for. Insane people were easier to handle if they were in a good mood. "Before any negotiations, however, we have to know that Speedy is alive, of course. Would you mind bringing him here?"

The ex hero hadn't expected the man to be so stupid as to do that, after all it would be enough proof just to arrange a phone call with the archer, but the 'big boss' clapped his hands and gestured for two of his men to bring the prisoner into the room.

They returned dragging a barely conscious hero, who was cut and bruised so badly that Robin had to look closely to be sure it was him.

"Speedy!" Red cried out, only getting a weak grunt in reply.

"This is what we dared to do to one of you! We don't believe that super-human crap, and we're not afraid of you! Soon Echo will cover for you no more! Our terms? What we want is for you to step down!" the man crowed. "We, the Vipers, run Echo City now!"

There was a weak sound of cheering around the room. Obviously some of the Viper members didn't think it would be quite that easy.

"Oh… ummm… well, this is awkward…" Robin said scratching his neck.

"What is?" their opponent asked, dumbstruck, looking quite deflated.

"Your demands… I kinda expected you to ask for free parking… or for the people in this room to leave here alive."

"Are you mocking me?" the man was almost frothing at the mouth. The gun in his hand was wavering from Speedy to Red and to the Wilsons, even including some of his own men, more or less by accident.

"It could be done, you know…" the teen shrugged his shoulders and looked almost regretful.

"Of course it can! We'll take over, and-"

"No, I mean about all of you leaving alive." There were about fifteen Vipers in the room now, the last couple of thugs having come in after the ones dragging Speedy there. Robin looked from face to face. He might talk the talk, but he was not as happy to kill people as he pretended to be. Slade knew that, of course, and so did the redheads, but the important thing was that everyone else thought he was bloodthirsty. Still, if this went the way he expected it to, some, or most, of the men in this room would die, and about half by his hand. Although to be completely honest, in this case Robin thought they deserved it, especially since so many of them had blood on their knuckles. His eyes landed on one guy who didn't. He was younger than the others, and didn't seem to quite fit in.

"You, what's your name?" Robin asked the boy who couldn't have been more than fifteen. It made Robin, who was soon nineteen, feel old.

"What are you talking to him for?" the leader interrupted.

"I'm just getting to know your expert team," Robin deadpanned.

"Yeah, well, that's just Jerry, the messenger boy, he's nobody," the man snorted.

"Very well… Jerry… I have a feeling you haven't been beating up my friend, have you?" Robin asked.

"No, Sir! I… I mean…" the boy said, trembling slightly. He didn't seem to be able to make up his mind about who he should be more afraid of, the current leaders of Echo, or his own boss.

"Good boy. Say, do you have any family in here?" Robin asked next.

"N-no, Si-… no?" came the answer.

"The kid's just a street rat," his boss snorted.

"Oh, good. Jerry, I want you to leave, right now, and tomorrow morning you will report to our recruiting office in this area. It's on two hundred and fifty three street, do you know where that is?"

"Y-yes?" Jerry nodded.

"Good. Go," Robin ordered, nodding at the door.

"You can't work for dead men, Jerry," his boss called after the boy who had taken off immediately.

"Exactly," Robin smirked. "That's why I knew he would soon be looking for work again. Now… do we have anyone else who would like to leave?"

There were several, maybe most, who looked like they wanted to take him up on his offer, but they were also worried about their boss or being seen as cowards, the teen guessed, because no one stepped forward.

"Oh… well, your pal there needs to get to the hospital," Robin shrugged and nodded at the earless man. "I thought maybe some of you might want to take him?"

Five men immediately decided that they wanted to help their best friend get medical attention.

"Mutiny!" their leader screamed and shot one of them in the back. "Do you really think they can win over us? I have a gun!"

"I have a gun too," Slade pointed out dryly.

"Well, the boy only has knives, what could they do against a bulle-AAAARRRGH!"

What one of Robin's throwing-knives could do was hit the gun and then the point between the thumb and first finger and slice through it half way up the arm.

"Kill them! Kill them all!"

"What he said," Slade muttered, and slammed his prisoner's head into the wall. The man would wake up eventually though. Probably.

Robin didn't know how he expected Red X to act. The young man was even less of a killer than he was himself, but many of the knives flying through the air belonged to him, and they hit their targets too. As he had expected only a handful tried to fight back while the others tried to flee, creating a wonderful chaos in which to work. The teen worked according to the model of 'if it wanted to leave, let it', while Slade worked with the strategy of 'if it moves, kill it'. Still, they had given them a chance. The leader was the last one left alive, and Robin caught Red's arm as he was standing above him, ready to rectify that.

"No… not him. We don't need a martyr," he said and then leered down at the man. "We need an example."

Slade knocked the man out before wrapping up his wounds so he'd live a while longer. Robin heard him calling for assistance but was busy looking at Red and Speedy. The thief was carefully helping his boyfriend to stand up, half carrying him, it seemed. What stunned the former Titan was the love he saw. Not the front made up of raunchy jokes and suggestions, not lust or hormones, but true, deep love and caring, reflecting what he felt for Slade perfectly. Up until now the redheads had merely been an odd couple who just seemed to have hooked up… Robin knew they cared about each other, of course, but hadn't been sure it went much deeper than that. He had clearly been wrong.

"Well, look at that…" Slade mumbled beside him, and Robin glanced up, just to confirm that they were looking at the same thing.

"I am…" he nodded.

"I… I think he's going to be okay…" Red told them after checking Speedy's injuries.

"Good. The medical team is standing by," Slade told them.

"Good." Robin felt himself relaxing a bit, leaning back against his husband, who wound an arm around his middle. "Now I just want one more thing…"

"What's that?" Slade asked, a bit confused, wondering what he had missed.

"You, in bed, in ten minutes or less," the teen smirked.

"Well, there's no need to read those files anymore…" the man smirked back.

"Did they flirt like that the whole time?" they heard Speedy croak out.

"Yeah… I have no idea how they manage to run this place," Red sighed.

Robin and Slade shared a look.

"Come on, let's go home," the man said. "Besides, if I remember correctly I owe you a spanking?"

"A spanking? No, that's just senility setting in!" Robin exclaimed.

"Whip," they all heard Slade mutter as he left the room. "Definitely a whip."

The End.

A/N: hope you enjoyed!