Hey Guys. Thanks everyone for being patient with me these last few weeks, my schedule isn't unfortunately calming down, but I will try to go back to having a more regular update schedule. That being said, something very interesting happened to me on this site a few weeks back. I Favorited a story but didn't review. The author actually PM'd me calling me out on that fact. I naturally felt so guilty for not reviewing that I went back and wrote that author a novel of a review. So, unless you want me to start doing that, PLEASE REVIEW! Your input is always welcome. Lastly, This story, though not finished was originally meant to be a very long one-shot. It got too long so I've decided to make it a multi-chapter story so this particular part of the story may seem a bit odd in how it is broken up, but there was no real good place to cut it off. I've decided to post two chapters to allow the plot to flow better so I hope that helps.
Richard "Dick" Grayson, a.k.a. Robin, was utterly confused and on the verge of freaking out and doing something seriously stupid. One moment he was sitting in Mount Justice seeking refuge from his guardian's guilt ridden attempts at apologizing for the disastrous events at The Watchtower two weeks ago, and the next, he's waking up in a makeshift hospital room being treated for burns he didn't know how he got, and feeling like he hadn't eaten in days. These people had taken his phone, watch, and most alarmingly, his utility belt. Hence why Dick was distraught, heavy on the dis.
Currently, the Boy-Wonder was sitting behind, what appeared to be, an interrogation table. The metal table was cold underneath his hands, and the windowless white room was seriously giving him the impression these guys were not friendly. Dick decided to nervously swing his legs to release some pent up anxiety. Get traught Grayson, he thought to himself, You're probably just on the wrong side of the planet... or the multi-verse. Not a comforting thought.
The metal door to his left opened and in walked a man with a professionally tailored suit and slicked back hair. A businessman, not a cop. This was a bad sign.
"What's your name boy?" The man asked with forced kindness, taking the seat opposite Dick's. He spoke English with an obviously American accent and he didn't recognize the face of Richard Grayson. This was not unheard of, even among money, but it was a very bad sign for still being on his world.
"You first." Dick countered. He seriously didn't like this man.
"Jeremiah Brandwein." The man smiled unconvincingly, "And you?"
Dick was torn, the possibility of him even being on his own world was seemingly less every second. He had been at Mount Justice wearing his Robin civilian clothes and his Robin sunglasses, and Robin's utility belt. The people coming to look for him would be looking for Robin, but his sunglasses were gone now and his identity exposed. Which was easier to explain: why Richard Grayson had Robin's belt, or why Robin looked a hell of a lot like Richard Grayson?
"Robin." He decided finally. He could always have J'ohn or M'gann do a mind-wipe later.
"Robin…" The man, Brandwein probed for a last name.
"Just Robin."
"Well 'Just Robin,'" Brandwein laughed humorlessly. "Where are you from?"
"Gotham."
"Gotham." The man repeated. He obviously hadn't heard of Gotham before, meaning Dick was defiantly a little farther away from home than a plane ride. "Where are your parents?"
"Dead." Dick received no sympathy from the man across the table, if anything Brandwein seemed to become happier. "Where am I?"
"You don't know?" The Man asked in a bored manner. Dick really didn't like this guy.
"Haven't seen a window since I got here. Are you the police?" Brandwein seemed to be caught off guard. Robin smirked. "Didn't think so. My guardian deals with the police a lot. Plus, I saw a billboard on the way in. Future Industries? You guys seem to deal with a lot of crazy stuff here. I think I saw a design for a freeze ray on that billboard, which was completely wrong by the way. I'm guessing you're in charge judging from your poor taste in expensive clothing."
"Is your 'guardian' training you to be some sort of Jr. sleuth or something?" Despite the man's calm outside demeanor, Dick could hear the slight nervousness in his voice.
"Or something." Dick mumbled. "Let me tell you my theory. One of your crazy inventions finally worked, and sent me a small package. I pick it up. You try to bring it back, accidentally taking me along for the ride. You took away all my toys which leads me to believe that my tech is more sophisticated than yours, and you don't know about Gotham, which leads me to believe I'm not on my world anymore."
"You talk about dimensional travel as if it's an everyday occurrence." Brandwein was clearly excited. This was not the reaction Dick had expected.
"More common than one would expect." Dick did not like where this conversation was headed.
"I have a proposition for you, Robin." Crap. "Do you know what this is?" Brandwein Produced Dick's phone from inside his jacket pocket.
"My phone." Dick replied warily. "It's broken."
"Can you fix it?"
"If I snapped your phone in half could you fix yours?"
"What about that neat belt of yours, is that broken too? Or do we just not know how to open it?"
Robin remained silent, glad that Brandwein at least hadn't gotten into his more delicate equipment.
"My proposition is this: I will do everything in my power to send you home, and, in return, you will share some of your 'toys' with us."
"Can I have some time to think about it?" Dick asked through gritted teeth.
"Take all the time you need, Robin." Brandwein said standing up and heading towards the door. "Just remember: you're not in Kansas anymore."
"For your information Mr. Brandwein, Gotham is in New York." Dick quipped.
Dick watched as the metal door shut and he was once again left alone with his thoughts. Dick highly doubted Brandwein had any intention of sending him back home, or if he even could. Dick needed to get out of here soon, but without his belt or gloves, and no knowledge of the security, his chances of success were drastically reduced. He was in some deep...
Shit! Elliot thought as he took down the first security guard that had come around the corner quickly turning to fight the other. "DAMN IT, HARDISON! You said you took out the security system."
"I did." Hardison's voice buzzed in Eliot's ear. "We didn't set off any alarms. Someone inside must have alerted the guards."
"No one saw us Hardison!" Eliot grunted taking down the second guard with a punch. "You must have slipped up on the security system." Two more guards rounded the corner and charged at Eliot.
Elliot tried to ignore Hardison's whiny defensive comments as he struggled with his two new dance partners, who, unlike the first two, had decided to work together against Eliot. A tactic that was proving to be very effective. Suddenly a high pitched scream rang through the ear com's, causing Eliot to stumble backwards allowing guard #1 to get in a few punches.
"Parker are you OK?" Nate's worried voice shortly followed.
"I'm fine." Parker replied through heavy breaths. "Just got a little startled."
"Nate!" Eliot called out while blocking a punch from guard #2, "These guys just keep coming."
"Everyone pull out!" Nate's voice once again rang out. Elliot knocked out guard #1. "The con's a failure we'll try again later."
"No." Parker protested. "I'm close to the server room. I just have to attach this little box right?" There was a moment of silence where Eliot briefly thought something bad had happened again. "I'll meet you guys at the rendezvous."
Silence was the only response to the team's pleas for her to abandon the job. Eliot quickly knocked out guard #2, briefly entertaining the Idea of finding their thief. Unfortunately, he didn't know the way to the server room. His job was to search the warehouse for any sign of Dr. Brown's invention, at least it was until Hardison screwed up with the cameras. Reluctantly, he set off towards the rendezvous hoping Parker knew what she was doing.
Two wrong turns and four guards later, Eliot finally arrived at the rendezvous. No one else had made it yet. Hardison quickly yelled that he was on his way, but there was still no sign of Parker.
"Parker! Parker where are you?"
"Here." Eliot's question was not answered through the coms, but rather from her voice down the hallway. She turned the corner just as Hardison pulled up in Lucile. Right on her heels was a small boy wearing what Eliot believed to be Kevlar gloves and a yellow belt draped around the kid's shoulder like a sash. Both were running fast towards Eliot
Elliot had barely a moment to comprehend the situation before five armed guards came down the hallway. The second Parker reached Lucille, she jumped in with Eliot one step behind her. The Kid stopped dead in his tracks upon reaching the van glancing back at the guards, clearly unsure of what to do. Before the boy could make a decision, Parker grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the van. Eliot quickly closed the doors and screamed for Hardison to "step on it."
"That was almost a disaster." Parker said once they were safely away from the warehouse.
"Heavy on the dis." The kid added.
Eliot, not in the mood for humor, pointed at the boy, "Parker, what's with the kid." In response the boy held up his hands in mock surrender. Elliot really hated this job.
