Next chapter is up! This is kinda... lame. It's supposed to be a torture scene, but it's pretty mild (well, for what I write at least).
Anyway, let me know what you think! And for those of you who are following Broken Bonds, I might be delayed on the next chapter because my computer deleted like half of the story. I'm hoping to have it up by tonight though.
Reviews are hugged and given love.
I do not own any of these characters.
Alfred was flipping through the channels from the hospital bed he had been placed into. Nothing had quiet interested him. He was looking for the History Channel. But apparently, it wasn't in any of the first 30 stations. So the butler continued to flip when suddenly the TV show he was on, switched automatically to a very strange one. It was a picture of a boy tied to a chair with a middle-aged man crouched next to him.
Alfred knew who it was right away.
Quickly and swiftly, the English man reached for the phone that was on the side table to his right. He quickly dialed a seven digit number before leaning back and waiting. The ringing remained in his ear as he looked back at the boy on the screen with the talking man next to him.
"You probably all know who this charming young fellow is. And I ain't talkin' bout me." Alfred stared at the man as he spoke on the screen.
"Bruce Wayne speaking." A voice then was heard on the other end.
"Sir, this is Alfred. It seems that young Richard's kidnappers have decided to go live." The elderly man tried to find the right words to put it in. His accent was still in perfect calmness even as he watched the man grab Dick roughly by the cheeks with one hand.
"Turning it on now." was all the man replied before hanging up. There was the obvious noise of that.
The butler sighed before also putting the receiver back to its original position. He then glanced up at the television with worried eyes.
"Ain't he a peach; with his big blue eyes and his rich kid clothes." Rich looked sideways at the boy and smiled. He then stood up and the camera went up too. Now all that could be seen was Richard Grayson's head and shoulders, the man's upper half, and the horrible floral print background behind the two. He stood next to the boy.
"Now it's been 'bout, ooh I don't know, 'bout two hours since we kidnapped the little snob. But we ain't heard anything 'bout any money. And we started thinkin' that ya'll don't think we're serious. So just to prove it." The man stifled a small chuckle. Suddenly, he shot his fist out at Dick, his fist connecting with the boy's jaw. The raven-haired boy's head snapped sideways.
Gasps were heard throughout the streets of Gotham. Every TV in the city had been hacked into and were now streaming the video live. This also meant the large TV on one of the taller skyscrapers that was used for commercials.
Mothers hid their children's eyes while their husbands put protective hands on their shoulders and watched the video. All the people in Gotham remained still as they watched. This included Bruce Wayne. The billionaire was watching the broadcast from the Batcave. He was dressed in the Batman suit, but his mask hung loosely behind his head. His grip tightened as he watched the first punch.
"I hate to hurt the little snot, but we don't got a choice. We just following orders." Rich tried to explain in a fake innocent voice. He then swung his leg around, kicking the boy in the face again.
The tied boy hung his head for a moment after the assault before looking back up at the camera. His hair hung messed up in front of his eyes slightly. Blood was streaming down the corner of his mouth.
Bruce was staring at the boy for so long he didn't even realize see the man walk behind him until he picked up a metal bat. His eyes widened. Then, the man swung.
There was a loud thud as the bat hit. The boy's head snapped forward, not expecting the blow.
Some people on the streets of Gotham screamed.
Alfred stared in shock as he saw this. Doctors and nurses were also in his room now, watching the horrific event.
"Oops, I forgot to warm-up." The man said, smiling. He then brought the bat back again, and went for another blow. This time the boy's head was pushed to the left as the bat went from left to right. This was followed by another, then another. More than a dozen swings and hits later, Rich finally dropped the blood-splattered bat. The metal was dented in, in some places where the most of the red liquid was.
The boy's head hung forward. After the first ten strikes he had stopped lifting his head back up. Instead he just remained in his sitting position, his hair hiding his face. Blood was trickling from where his head had busted open and was now dripping off his forehead and onto the floor that was unseen from the camera. He looked dead.
From the main chair of the Batcave, Bruce's hands were clenched into fists. He was no longer looking at the screen. His head was also hanging and his eyes were closed with a long worn frown on his face. He only looked up when the man started talking again. A deep hatred ran through the billionaire as he looked back up.
In the Gotham hospital, the elderly butler watched with tears in his eyes. He had a tissue held to his nose as he watched the boy with nothing he could do to help. The sobs from the nurses weren't helping.
"Don't worry folks, he's 'live." Rich taunted, looking up at the camera. He then leaned over the back of the chair, putting his face next to the Dick's.
"Why don't you sure everyone' you're ok'?" He asked sweetly. He then grabbed Richard's hair in his massive hand and yanked it back. With a mangled cry, the boy's head was forced up. He had multiple bruises and bleeding marks where blood had clotted and was now breaking through skin. His lips were covered in blood and his nose was also running the red ooze.
When he was first pulled up, the boy's eyes were tightly shut, but as he felt the criminal lean close to him, his bright blue eyes glared up at the man with a deep hatred, almost as bad as Bruce's glare.
The raven-haired boy then made an attempt to pull from his binds and attack the thug, but this was hopeless. He clenched his teeth that blood was creeping through the crakes. He gave out a weak grunt as the pain was obviously taking its toll.
"Shhh, shhh, shhh…" Rich cooed, patting the side of the boy's face as he whispered this. He then looked up with a wicked grin.
"Hope this helped you decide, Wayne," suddenly, the man's face got murderous and held a dangerous look. "I promise you next time will be worse."
Then the screen went black.
"I know him!" Artemis shouted suddenly, standing up from the old and worn couch she sat on. It was about 4 P.M in Star City and the archer had just returned from school. Her mother had been watching the News while she was finishing her homework. Well, was, until that very interesting video came on.
The older lady was now looking at her with confused and doubting eyes.
"That's impossible." She stated in her thick accident. Her wheel chair was next to the sitting girl.
"No, mom, he goes to my school!" The blond insisted still tense. She put a hand to her head trying to remember what his name was. She then realized that she never actually heard his name and all she knew was he was a freshman and went to Gotham High. And now she knew he was related to the billionaire Bruce Wayne. That meant one thing.
He was Richard Grayson.
