Chapter 22: Overboard

Jason's POV

Ugh. I cannot believe Dick talked me into going 'sailing' with Wally and Roy. Who the freak goes freaking sailing! And since when do any of us know anything about boats! This is stupid! There goes my entire Saturday. At least Roy uses quality cigarettes.

Dick's POV

I'm so excited Jay decided to go with me! The four of us are going to have so much fun this Saturday!

********Break********

The weather has been perfect. Sailing is easy. Jason and Roy were standing near the back of the boat doing… something. Wally and I were trying to steer the boat since Roy and Jason refused to help us.

"Um Dick, does it look like it's going to rain up there?" Wally asked pointing to towards dark and menacing clouds ahead of us.

"Relax Wally." I replied.

The next second a bolt of lightning struck the surface of the water near the sailboat.

"We need to turn around!" I screamed.

"Um, how do we do that?" Wally asked.

Another bolt of lightning struck the water, followed by an enormous wave smacking into the side of our small boat. Wally and I were immediately knocked off of our feet.

"Wally, grab on to something!" I yelled above the thunder, lightning, and down pouring rain. I couldn't even see him in the storm. I couldn't see anything. I was getting seasick.

About fifteen minutes later the storm moved on and I saw a soaking wet Wally clinging to the railing and vomiting over the side. Roy was to my left, cussing and wringing the water out of his shirt. I scanned the boat for Jason. I couldn't find him.

"Jason!" I screamed, my voice rising in panic.

Wally and Roy were beside me in seconds. "Dick, calm down. He could still… still be alive." Wally said gently.

"We have to find him!" I screamed at them.

"Dick, he wasn't wearing a lifejacket. There's no way he made it out of that." Roy said slowly and calmly. A look of pure grief was plastered onto his face.

"No, no, no! He can't! I… I… this is my fault!"

"Look man, it's not your fault. I-" Wally began.

"I'm supposed to look after him! He's my little brother, he's my responsibility! I'm supposed to protect him and I failed him!" I screamed.

"He's an adult; he's not your responsibility anymore. It's not like you could have done anything anyway." Roy added to my misery.

"Roy, Jason is and will always be my little brother! We have to find him! And I'm not going anywhere until I do!" I screamed at him.

"And in the hell are we going to do that! The boats been damaged! And there's no telling, if we'll ever find the damn body!" Roy yelled back at me.

I lost control and ended up tackling him. Wally spent the next twenty minutes trying to separate us.

********Break********

The sun would soon be disappearing from the horizon, while I sat huddled alone staring at the water who had taken my little brother. I promised Bruce, I promised Jason that I'd always protect him. I had broken my promise.

"Dick, you okay?" Wally asked gently while coming to sit beside me.

"If it had been Bart, would you be okay?" I asked without looking away from the sea.

"No, I wouldn't be." He answered sadly. "But you're different. You have Tim and Damian to think about. They're really going to need you. You have to be strong for them."

I nodded without turning away from the water.

********Break********

An hour later, our boat impacted with something hard; knocking everyone off balance. We had run aground. Great, we're on some uncharted island.

We vacated the boat, hoping to find food and water and possibly a phone that wasn't waterlogged. I saw Roy stop and retrieve something from the sand.

"Hey Dick, isn't this Jason's?" Roy called over to me.

"That's Jason's knife! He could be alive! He could-"

"Dick, it doesn't mean anything. The tide probably brought it in. Anyway, we need to set up camp or something. It's gonna get dark soon." Roy interrupted.

"No. Jason could be on this island. He might be hurt. He's alone, Roy. What if he's scared or waiting for me to find him? And I don't give a damn whether the sun's out or not! My little brother is out there and I'm going to look for him."

Roy moved closer to me. He and Jason were about the same height and built, Jason only beat him by maybe an inch and a few pounds. We stood glaring at each other, knowing the other wouldn't back down.

Wally stepped between us. "Look, we need to stay together. We'll just take a quick look around and come back with supplies and we can explore the island when it's daybreak."

********Break********

It had grown dark, but I didn't care. I will find him. I have to. I won't leave without him!

"This is pointless! We need to head back to the beach. Dick, he's dead! You're leading us around trying to find a corpse!" Roy yelled at me.

"What the hell is your problem! Would you act like this if it had been Artemis! What would you do if you knew her death was your fault! Tell me!" I yelled back at him.

"This isn't about her! And leave her out of this!"

"Then what is this about Roy! Tell me!"

"It's my fault! Not your fault, it's mine." He answered somberly.

"What!" I yelled, confused.

"I… saw him fall and I…I couldn't get him back in the boat before the second wave hit. I saw him go under and I… I'm… Dick, I'm sorry."

"Roy, it wasn't your fault. It was mine."

"Guys, shut up! It's no one's fault! Okay?" Wally yelled while stepping in-between us again.

We walked in silence for about ten more minutes, when we stopped abruptly. We could hear voices. We crouched down behind thick bushes and silently crept forward.

Two men stood talking to each other. Both were tall and muscular. One was blonde and the other was brunette.

"Let's just hope the others finished loading the drugs and then we can get the hell out of here." The brunette reported.

Drug smugglers? What were they doing here?

"What if that kid manages to get loose?" the blonde questioned his partner.

"Who gives a damn; it's not like he can go anywhere anyway. He's on a deserted island. He won't last much longer. It's not like he put up much of a fight anyway."

Jason! I felt Roy and Wally each grab my arm and then they mouthed I should wait and not to do anything stupid. Yeah, that's not going to happen.

I twisted from their grips and sprang from my hiding place, slamming the blondes head on the solid canvas flooring of the island, and moving to tackle the brunette.

"Where is he!" I growled between clenched teeth.

********Break********

Jason's POV

I felt sick. I was exhausted physically and mentally. I was dying of thirst; I could feel beads of sweat creeping down my forehead. I can't remember anything but Roy trying to pull me back into the boat after that first wave hit. Then I was pulled under by the current and everything went blank. I remember nothing else until I hit the sand. I practically dragged myself into the jungle, dying to find water.

That's when I was so fortunate to come across drug runners. Lucky me! I couldn't even fight back. Drugged, blindfolded, gagged, bound hand and foot, and I have no clue where I am; this doesn't look good for me. And I didn't even know if Dick was okay. I know he's alive; he'd refuse to die unless he knew I was safe. I figured he'd be here by now. I-

"Jason!"

He's late! What took him so long!

Seconds later, the blindfold was gently removed from my eyes and the gag was pulled from my mouth. Dick was in front of me. I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out, my mouth was too dry.

Dick pulled my knife out of his pocket and slashed through my binds. Out of pure exhaustion, I slumped against him. His arms encircled me as he held me tightly against him. I could feel his tears dripping down my neck as he kept muttering my name and that I was alive or something or something like that.

Dick's POV

I was instantly overcome with relief. He's okay! He's alive! He's hurt, he's dirty, he probably has no clue what's going on, but he's alive! He's okay!

Supporting him with one arm, I reached for the water bottle I had carried with me. He snatched the bottle from my hands and rapidly drank the liquid. I pulled the bottle out of his grasp.

"Jason, slow down. You'll make yourself-" I paused as he emptied the consumed water onto my T-shirt. "sick."

"Sorry." He whispered feebly.

I wiped the saliva and the regurgitated water from his face. "It's okay. Just slow down." I said while handing him the bottle.

He drained the bottle and allowed his head to slump against my chest. "Drug runners, here." He muttered.

"I know. I took down two of them. I left Roy and Wally to interrogate them… can you stand up?"

"I dunno. I don't feel so good, they drugged me with something."

My grip on him tightened. I couldn't keep the rage out of voice. "What did they give you?" I growled through clenched teeth.

His shoulders simply gave a small shrug against my chest. "I don't know. I think I'll be okay." He whispered quietly; his head began drooping a little.

"Jay, I need you to stay awake."

He nodded in response. I stood up and pulled him to his feet. I saw his knees buckle, as he fell against me.

"Okay, you walking is not going to work. I'll have to carry you."

"Dick, I'm bigger than you."

"Yes, Jason, I'm aware of that." I bent down. "Get on my back, I'll carry you."

He didn't move. "But Dick-"

"Today, Jason. I'm not leaving here without you."

I felt his 220 pounds of muscle hit my back. Has he always been this heavy? This was easier when he was ten. Staggering under his weight, I pushed myself up into a standing position and started walking.

"Jason, you are going on a diet when we get back."

"I'm not fat. Its muscle." He murmured into my shoulder.

Jason's POV

"Dick, they're unloading the drugs at the Gotham docks tonight." I mumbled into his shoulder.

"What time?" he asked.

"I can't remember."

"It's okay. It'll come back to you." He replied encouragingly.

He still thinks I'm ten. He still treats me like I'm ten. I would have said something about it, but I'm exhausted and I feel like dying and he is carrying me, surprisingly. I rested my head against his neck and closed my eyes. I then felt him stop and he lowered me to the ground.

"It's getting too dark; we need to stop for the night. Besides we're both tired." He said.

He leaned up against a fallen tree. He drew me to his side, allowing me to rest my head onto his chest. While wrapping his jacket around me, he held me close with his left arm and began smoothing down my matted and dirty hair with his right hand.

As I closed my eyes, I heard the snapping of a twig close to us. I felt Dick grow tense, as his grip tightened around me.

Dick's POV

I could hear someone approaching us. I tightened my arms around my little brother. Two red heads stumbled out from behind the bushes followed by seven men, all armed. Wally and Roy were shoved onto the ground beside us.

A large Hispanic man approached us and took the safety of his weapon. "Who wants to go first?" he stated menacingly.

A sudden breeze rushed by us and the man disappeared from sight. Batarangs and arrows rained down upon our attackers from various locations. The Dark Knight, the Flash, Green Arrow, Red Robin, Robin, Kid Flash, and Artemis descended upon their victims.

The drug dealers lay on the ground. They were clearly unconscious. Bart and Barry were beside Wally in seconds. Artemis had her arms wrapped around her older brother. Oliver stood beside Roy. Bruce, Tim, and Damian were beside us immediately.

********Break********

Jason's POV

I was lying on a hospital bed inside the cave; fluids were being pumped into my arm. I was suffering from whatever they had drugged me with, severe dehydration, heat stroke, malnutrition, inflamed lungs from swallowing so much sea water, horrible headache, and blah, blah, blah. Apparently, I was not allowed to get up until Alfred said I was free to go. Damian was in the bed with me, scowling at 'our friends.' He doesn't do well with… people.

I could see Tim, Bart, and Artemis standing around laughing. Roy was talking to Dick about something. The adults stood beside each other probably talking about old people crap. And Wally was talking to Alfred, while stuffing his face with cookies.

"Todd, I demand you make them vacate the premises." Damian ordered.

"Believe me, I've tried."

"This is your fault! If you had just managed to stay on the boat, they wouldn't be here!" he growled and hopped off the bed, heading in Bruce's direction, to complain.

Roy walked away from Dick and took Artemis' hand, dragging her away from Tim and heading for the Zeta Tube. Queen fell in behind him. Wally said goodbye to Dick and he and the other speedsters fell in behind the archers.

Now that they were gone, the attention was returned to me. Alfred removed the needle from my arm and allowed me to get out of the bed. I was pulled into a hug by Tim, Bruce, Alfred, Dick, and Damian.

"Jason, don't ever scare us like that again." Dick ordered.

I rolled my eyes, "Fine, but I'm never going sailing or boating or whatever the hell it was with you again. Next time I wanna go on a hunting trip."

I could see the horror in Bruce's eyes. I secretly laughed inside my mind.

Bruce's POV

No way in hell I'd allow them to go hunting. Jason will be lucky if I allow him to leave the house.