Thanks to all those who reviewed, faved, and alerted. Never stop feeling the aster.~

Ch. 4: Shadows

Tim groaned as he regained consciousness. There was an annoying sound blaring in his ears.

"Wake up, Drake."

Oh, it was just Damian.

Tim opened his eyes and took a quick moment to assess the situation. He was on a vertical metal cross and his hands were encased in the same metal the cross was made of. The casing was so tight, he couldn't move his hands or feet. Any tighter, and it probably would've cut off his blood flow. He looked to his right to see Batman and Robin in the same position.

Robin, who was in-between the others, looked to Batman. "He is awake, Father."

"I noticed," was Batman's reply, before turning his attention to Red Robin, "How do you feel?"

Red Robin took a brief moment to assess his overall state. "A little sore, but other than that, I'm fine. How long was I out?"

"You woke up approximately five minutes after we did" Batman supplied, eyes glancing around the room for what was probably the hundredth time already.

Red Robin raised an eyebrow under his cowl. They had all been nabbed the same night? Well, someone was a busy bee. His brows furrowed as he tried to remember how he was caught. The last thing he remembered was his communicator giving out and then releasing a beep that seemed to pierce his eardrums. After that, everything went black and he woke up here.

Batman seemed to catch onto his train of thought. "Our communicators giving out is the last thing we remember."

"Yours beep too?"

"Yes."

"So, do we have any idea what we're up against here?" Red Robin questioned, gazing around the room. It was obvious that whoever had captured them was extremely technological. Computer screens filled the walls and it appeared that the entire room was made of metal.

"No" the extra growl to Batman's voice showed his displeasure.

"TT, obviously, they must be decently skilled if they were able to capture Father and me," Robin shot Red Robin a smug look, "You, on the other hand, are probably accustomed to this."

"Actually, Nightwing was the 'Boy Hostage,' not me" Red Robin snapped back. Batman shot them each a look and they dropped the subject.

"Anyway," Robin started up again, "our captor is probably as naïve as our other adversaries. They have had all this time to unmask us, but have failed to do so."

Red Robin opened his mouth to point out that not every villain wanted to know their identities, that some were simply psychotic and cared about nothing more than chaos, but was cut off as the door in the front of the room slid open.

"I have no intention of unmasking you" the voice was cold and calculated. The three heroes watched as a man stepped into the room. He wore a suit and appeared to be in his mid-thirties. His hair was short and black. His eyes were just as cold and calculated as his voice. He was also tall, about as tall as Bruce.

The three heroes instantly slipped into similar, narrow-eyed glares. The man appeared unaffected.

"What do you want?" Batman growled, cutting to the chase.

"Well, Mr. Wayne, you're certainly not as chatty as the Grayson boy. From what I hear, at least."

If Batman was surprised that the man knew their identities, he didn't show it. The man continued on.

"Speaking of which, he's a very troublesome young man to get a hold of. No doubt, you trained him to be just that. But we will eliminate him." The screens on the walls came to life, showing different scenes; Dick's apartment exploding, Dick on the roof of his apartment, and Dick fighting a robot at a construction site. "Do not doubt it." The screens then changed to show images of the other members of the batfamily. It was apparent that Bruce, Damian, and Tim were the only ones captured. "As insurance, I shall kill the rest as well. Her termination will wait, however," he gestured toward and image of Barbara, "she is still of use to me."

"I'll ask again; what do you want?" Despite the mixture of feelings invading his gut and chest, Batman was calm.

"Yeah," Red Robin stated, "what makes us so special that we haven't been 'terminated' yet?"

The man turned away from the screens to face the heroes. "You two," his eyes glanced from Batman to Red Robin, "are the only ones I need alive, but that, as well, is only temporary." His eyes landed on Damian. "The boy is here merely as an incentive."

There was a brief moment when Damian's face was actually indignant, before slipping back into a glare. It was then that a possible escape plan formed in his mind. He nearly rolled his eyes when he realized it was something Grayson would try to pull off.

"TT, you're an imbecile."

The man turned around and raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Your plan is unoriginal. And stupid."

"I have checked records. This has not occurred before."

Damian rolled his eyes. "At least I have creativity. Abducting us and aiming to obliterate the rest has been done before. Idiot."

"By whom?"

"Does it matter? You're just a simpleminded Neanderthal."

The man's gaze narrowed. "Be quiet."

"Make me." This was a slightly risky tactic, but it was worth a try.

The man's face became blank. "Perhaps you are the one in need of some incentive."

The door slid open and three robots floated in. They looked exactly like the one they had seen Nightwing fighting in that video moments ago.

"They will take you to the torture chambers" the man stated, as if he was closing a business deal. Robin could practically hear Nightwing; What? No witty name? Fortunately, and unfortunately, Nightwing was not there.

A claw extended from one of the robots to grab Robin. The claw was less than an inch away from him when his binds opened, leaving a millisecond of time for him to react, a mistake on the enemy's part. He pushed off the metal cross and launched into the air. The claw was so close, it grazed his chest as he did so, but was unable to catch him. He landed on another robot and pushed off, flipping into the air. He pulled out a device from his utility belt- the overconfident fool had never removed it from him –and threw it at one robot. He landed on the ground and then swerved to avoid a claw shot at him by another robot. As he swerved, he glanced toward his father. Batman caught the look and its silent question.

"Go!" he commanded. It would take too long to figure out how to free them from their binds. And no doubt there were reinforcements on the way. Robin had to go and find help.

Robin gave the slightest of nods and reluctantly turned his swerve into a roll as he slipped through the door just in the nick of time.

There was a beat of silence in the room.

"That was the oldest trick in the book" Red Robin muttered, mostly to himself. Batman nodded.

The man turned to them, just as calm as ever. "It is not a problem. We can simply terminate him alongside the others. There are plenty of incentives we may still use."

The man narrowed his eyes dangerously, and the two heroes narrowed their eyes in return.

Nightwing gently slid the window open, briefly wondering why anyone in Gotham would ever leave their window unlocked. He climbed into the room, purposefully making a small thud as he stepped onto the floor. It was the second story of the house. He looked around at the dark room and made an educated guess that it was a study room. He walked up to one of the plush chairs that sat around the desk. His eyes narrowed slightly when he saw strands of fur sticking its fabric. The resident had a pet, most likely a cat since he hadn't heard any barking. This meant he would have to make a bit more noise to catch the resident's attention.

He casually walked over to a bookshelf. He grabbed and dropped it onto the floor, causing a louder thud than the one he had made earlier. He waited a moment, met with only silence. He grabbed another book and let it fall to the ground. He allowed himself a brief smirk when he heard a door open down the hallway. He listened as someone walked slowly, probably trying to be sneaky. The person walked hard on their heels, something which might cause him issues later in life. Nightwing watched as the person, a man and the one he wanted the attention of, slowly moved his hand into the room, reaching for the light switch. Nightwing blinked once as the light was turned on. He watched in amusement as the man leaped into the room, a baseball bat clutched tightly in both hands. Nightwing raised an eyebrow as he raised both hands. The man was lucky he wasn't one of Gotham's psychos.

"I come in peace," he joked lightly, lips twitching, "you can put the sporting equipment down, Professor."

The tired scientist sighed as he recognized the young man, "Nightwing."

"Paul? What is it?" they heard a feminine voice call from down the hall. Paul sighed again.

"Nothing, Dear! Just the cat! Go back to sleep!"

There was a moment of silence as a reply was waited for, but there wasn't one. Paul turned to Nightwing. "Did Mr. Wayne send you?"

Nightwing shook his head. "No, but it may concern Mr. Wayne."

Paul's brow furrowed. "How so?"

"Someone's targeting members of Batman Incorporated. Mr. Wayne is a possible target."

Paul nodded, still appearing concerned and confused. "What do you want me for?"

"You're the scientist in charge of project LIM, right?"

He nodded. Nightwing continued. "I was attacked by a robot and I managed to collect a sample. The metal it was made of matches the plans for LIM. I need you to explain it to me."

"LIM?" When the hero nodded, Paul continued, shocked. "Living Interactive Metal. The design is supposed to have thousands of small receptors in each inch of metal. It can better interact with the environment that way."

Nightwing resisted the urge to groan. Bruce should've known better than that. "Why does Mr. Wayne want you to make this?"

Paul, still as confused as ever, ran a hand through his black hair. "Somehow he got a hold of some leaked LutherCorp files. They're delving deeper into interactive machinery. Mr. Wayne wants to be one step ahead of them."

Now that explained it. "Are you ahead?"

"Yes, Mr. Wayne has us on a busy schedule."

"Then how come the robot I just battled was made of this stuff?"

"I-I don't know."

Nightwing glanced away thoughtfully. "Maybe Luther is farther along than you thought."

Paul shook his head. "N-no, you don't understand. It will take decades for anyone to make this metal, even longer for anyone to do something with it!"

Nightwing's brow furrowed. "Then how-?" He shook his head and sighed. Of course it wasn't simple. Never was. "How do I stop it?"

"Didn't you already stop it? If you were able to get a sample…"

"There could be more," he pointed out, "and if there is, I'd like to know a quicker way to take them down."

"You'd have to ask Mr. Wayne. He has me working on the basic premise. He said he'd have a friend finish the rest of the details."

Nightwing frowned. He'd gone through the file on the batcomputer. Bruce must've been relying on his brain.

"I'll do that" he said. And he would, just as soon as he rescued Bruce's ass from wherever the hell he was.

You're lucky I'm a nice guy, Bruce, he thought, or else you'd owe me… again.

His communicator beeped, signaling that someone was trying to contact him. He put his hand to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Nightwing" Oracle's voice came through clearly.

"Yeah?"

"It's Robin. He's been spotted."

Nightwing's eyes widened slightly. "I'll be right there."

He went to the window, glancing back at Paul. "We'll be in touch."

He opened the window, allowing a cool breeze to drift into the room and ruffle some papers on the desk. Nightwing put his foot on the windowsill and looked back at Paul. "You should keep your window locked from now on." With that, he jumped out of the window and into the shadows.

A/N: Last handwritten chapter... probably xP (Hey, I need something to do during whatever free time I get at school). Not much to say on this chapter except for that Nightwing makes badass exits... he did learn from the best. xD Review please! ^^

Ok, so I was asked to advertise this roleplay site I'm on. It's for the Teen Titans, kind of a combination of the cartoon and the comics. It could use some more members. Canons and OCs are welcomed. I play Dick Grayson and right now I believe I'm the only canon. It's a next generation site. So, check it out if you're interested. The url is werefallingfast (dot) proboards (dot) com