Hey guys, thank you to those who reviewed last chapter and please do so again. I know you guys like that cliffhanger as well. Please excuse any mistakes I may have made. I do not own DC Comics or any of their characters. As always, italics is personal thought and bold italics is commlink communication. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
Last Time:
With nowhere to run and no time to think of something, Richard looked at the sky in defeat. He heard Ra's come out into the morning air. They had ended up in the Wayne Manor's vast, empty yard. The sun was just creeping over the horizon. Ra's was merciful and delivered a hard strike to Richard's nape. However, that only pushed Richard to the edge of consciousness. With fading vision, Richard made out Red Hood, Robin, and Bruce sprinting towards them. He felt the air moving as a helicopter lowered for Ra's and him. Richard closed his eyes as he saw Red Hood aim his gun and Robin reach a hand. Bullets ricocheted off the helicopter. Jay's trying to hit the engine. How sweet.
"RICHARD!"
Dick isn't sure who yelled his name, but he lost consciousness as he was loaded onto the helicopter.
When Richard came to, he was being dragged into a Japanese looking temple. He felt the cold, crisp air and, through cracked eyes, could see snow on the ground. He could feel the cold substance soak through his pants as his legs dragged. The League of Assassin's headquarters. Not good. They got him inside and threw him none to gently into a cell. Doing nothing, he laid on the floor in the position he landed in. Richard was aware of the blood splatters across the walls and ceiling. There was a large brownish stain on the floor. That person had a fun time. He began to steel and prepare himself for assassin torture. It was hours after he had woken that someone finally came into the the cell. The bright light behind the person made it hard for Richard to see who it was, but he could tell it was a woman.
"I see you didn't use the information wisely." The person said.
"Talia Al Ghul." He greeted.
She helped me then, maybe she'll help me now.
"You did tell Beloved, but that was probably the worst thing you could've done with the information." She said.
"Well, I figured my best chance was with him. However, it seems I was wrong in that assumption." Richard replied.
"The League of Assassins always gets the job done one way or another." She responded.
"And what is the job?" Richard asked.
"Well, we've been made aware of a certain...loose end the Light has. We were called to...cut said loose end." She said.
"So you're going to kill me." Richard said.
"Essentially, but we need to know what you know first." She replied.
"And why's that?" Richard asked.
"Well, we may be working with the Light, but we don't know everything they're doing." Talia explained.
Richard raised an eyebrow.
"Why's that?" He asked.
Talia didn't respond.
"What? Don't trust me? Who am I going to tell? I'll be dead soon enough." He said.
"The Light doesn't trust us." Talia answered.
"You are assassins." Richard pointed out.
Why haven't I tried to escape. She's the only thing between me and the door… His muscles tensed.
"If you're thinking off charging me, I advise against it. Past me are safety precautions and they aren't nice." She grinned.
His muscles relaxed.
"Didn't expect less. This is the League of Shadows headquarters after all." He smirked.
She turned to leave.
"You will be retrieved for questioning soon." She said.
"Wait, let me ask you something." Richard requested.
She stopped.
"Who is William Cobb?" He asked.
She laughed.
"You already know the answer to that." She said and left.
The door slammed shut behind her and many locks were set. Well damn… How did she know I know who William Cobb is? I mean it's obvious that she knows who he is, but she also knows that I know him and his relation to me. She knows something I don't though. She must.
Tim listened to Jason and Bruce bicker over how to find Richard and what the best approach was to get him back. Bruce wanted to sneak in and out. Jason wanted to go in guns blazing with the team and take down the League of Shadows. Tim was currently trying to figure out a way to appease them both. Alfred was off to the side silently worrying for the newest addition to the Bats. Barbara was doing to opposite of them all. She didn't agree that they had to get Richard back because 'he's a newbie and newbie's need to get out of things themselves'. Tim blamed that attitude on Richard's open challenge to her. He did screw up with her when he did that… Tim looked at Alfred as Jason and Bruce argued. What if we get the team and us? We go in quietly and if things go south, we don't hold back. Tim decided that idea would be best and pitched it to the group. Jason and Bruce didn't agree at first, so some adjustments were made.
"So the plan is to get us, Miss Martian, and Martian Manhunter to infiltrate the Assassins headquarters. We'll spread out to find the good detective and get out just as quick. We only fight if need be." Jason summed.
Tim nodded.
"That'll work." Bruce said.
They all looked at Barbara. She sighed.
"Fine." She grumbled.
"Why do you hate him?" Jason asked.
"He's too bold, confident, and just annoying." She replied.
Jason and Bruce exchanged a look.
"You're just jealous cause we accepted him easily." Jason commented.
This comment caused Barbara to sputter into denials.
"Ha!" Jason looked at Bruce and Tim. "Called it."
With a sigh, Tim went over to the batcomputer and called the Martians. Once they picked up, he explained the situation and what the plan was to get Dick back.
"We'll meet at Mount Justice and leave from there." Bruce, with his cowl on, instructed.
Waiting for the two Martians to nod, they left for the mountain. Once there, they boarded the bioship and the batwing and left for the Shadows headquarters.
Dick had been interrogated for hours. The Shadows didn't really like his smart mouth and unwillingness to answer the questions, and they're only response was to beat him or inflict some kind of pain. Richard was pretty sure at least two more ribs were broken and was sure he had deep bruising on his torso. Yaaaaay, more injuries! His shoulders were aching from his hands being chained above him for so long. Bruce will come. I just have to wait until then. Two assassins entered the previously empty room.
"Shall we start again?" One asked.
"I'm actually kind of tired, can we do this later?" Richard replied.
He received a punch.
"Guess that's a no." He said.
"What do you know about the Light?" The same assassin asked.
"Well, light is the opposite of the dark. Didn't you learn that in like first grade?" Richard sassed.
A punch to the stomach.
"Answer the question." The other, the one who punched him, growled.
"Technically, I did." Richard smirked.
"What do you know about the Light?" The first assassin asked.
"Things." Richard replied.
"What things?" He asked again.
"Information things." Richard responded.
"Like what?!" The second assassin yelled.
"Like the Light is the name of the organization." Richard smirked.
The second assassin beat him.
The cycle went on for hours.
When Batman, Red Hood, and the others finally found a good way to execute the plan, they waited for an opportunity. Said opportunity didn't come until a few days later. The Shadows must've gotten busy or a huge mission came in because many of the assassins left, leaving the headquarters with less security. About four or five assassins patrolled the temple, Batman with the others quickly took them out. Once inside, the Martians camouflaged themselves and began searching. The bats stuck to the shadows and took down as many assassins as they could along the way. Where's Talia and Ra's? Batman was making good progress when the thought struck him. No doubt they expected us to come for Dick. He scanned the area ahead of him. So then where are they? Footsteps sounded down the corridor, Batman disappeared into the shadows.
"You hear about the prisoner? Heard he was giving Maxin a run for his money. The guy won't talk." A patrolling assassin said as he walked with another assassin.
"Maxin? As in chief interrogator?" The female shadow asked.
"Yeah." The male replied.
"No way. The guy maybe tough, but Maxin breaks everyone eventually." The female responded.
"Not this guy. He just responds with sarcasm or sass." The male said.
"Just wait, Maxin will break him eventually. I want to know about the Light." The female replied.
"If you're so confident I'm wrong, why don't you head over to the West Wall and watch. You'll see what I'm talking about." The male said.
Bingo. Batman jumped from the shadows and quickly knocked the two assassins out. Making his way over to the West Wall, he contacted the others.
"I have intel that Nightwing's over near the West Wall." He said.
"Heading over." Red Hood immediately said.
The others said similar things. Batman checked all the cells he could see as he searched the West Wall. He heard someone coughing and the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Torture for answers. He peeked in and saw Richard. The detective looked to be in bad shape. His hand were chained above him, his face bruised, shirt ripped, torso bruised and bloody, but his smirk was still on his face. He doesn't mind the pain. His face showed his resistance to the interrogation.
"What do you know about the Light?" An assassin asked.
When Richard opened his mouth to respond, the second assassin brought out a gun and aimed it at his head.
"Answer correctly." He growled.
Richard noticed Batman through the small barred window in the door. He cocked the gun. Making eye contact with Nightwing, Batman nodded. In one fluid motion, Richard brought his legs up and kicked the gun out of the assassins hands, but not before the assassin squeezed a shot off. The boom of the gun in the small room disorientated all in the room. Batman burst in and quickly took down the assassins. Red Hood and Robin entered the room shortly after. Together, the three got Richard down and, being lead by the Martians and Batgirl, got him out of the Shadows headquarters just as the alarms went off.