DISCLAIMER: All recognizable characters belong to DC Comics.

CHAPTER NINE: Unknown

Despite the ability to alter its form, there was not room enough inside the Martian Bio-Ship for a proper med bay. The seat that Roy was helped into had, with a thought from the ship's pilot, been reclined and the young man was thankful to be able to stretch out and to get off his burning muscles. He closed his eyes, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to relieve some of the pressure building in his head.

He felt Green Arrow's hand on his shoulder squeeze lightly. "Were you hurt?"

Without bothering to open his eyes, Red Arrow shook his head. "Didn't even put up a fight," he huffed his frustration. "Sportsmaster had a knife to Rob's throat. I couldn't-" The hand tightened when his voice cracked. He swallowed to moisten his suddenly dry throat. "I'm just sore, cramped, from being tied up like that."

"There's a med kit in my office that'll have some ointment and muscle relaxants," Oliver told him quietly.

"I can go get it," Artemis offered quietly from the side.

"No," Oliver declined. "It'll be quicker if I just go. Can I trust that you two won't kill each other before I get back?"

Red Arrow just sighed. "Be quick."

"We'll be fine," was Artemis' subdued answer

Light, but rapid, footsteps signalled the eldest archer's departure and the atmosphere in the ship became so tense it was palpable. Roy wanted to ignore it, but he could feel her staring at him. He was about to growl at her to stop when he suddenly felt her hands on his left leg.

Hissing at the pain his sudden spasm of surprise caused, he snapped his eyes open and was startled to see her standing next to him with her mask off. "What the hell are you doing?" He snarled as she started to move her fingers over his leg.

"You think you know me so completely," She responded, her tone as nasty as his own. He opened his mouth to say something, but the breath and words were lost to him as she started to apply pressure to his aching muscles. "You think because you know who my daddy is, that because he's a sadistic bastard out for only himself I'm just like him. He may have taught me a thing or two about weapons and fighting and the best way to kill a man, but he was not the one who raised me!"

Her touch was like fire, and Roy grit his teeth as the pain was becoming nearly intolerable. His hand clenched into a fist he was about to let fly when with one last wave of agony, it was gone.

Every ache, pain, and twinge he had felt in his leg was completely gone. Artemis reached over him, her fingers digging into the meat of his muscled right leg, and he watched her closely as she ministered the same treatment. When the pain was suddenly gone in that leg as well she sat on the edge of the chair beside him and took his upper left arm in her hands.

"Did your father teach you that too?" he asked, but the bite to his words weren't there like either of them expected.

She hesitated a moment, pausing in her massing, before continuing and shaking her head. "No, my mother's physical therapist taught me when our insurance wouldn't cover her treatments anymore."

The silence that fell around them this time wasn't near as hostile as before, and another minute later the pain had dulled in his arm to nearly non-existent. She was working on his other arm when Oliver returned and stopped when he saw his two protégés.

He smiled.

"I was expecting bloodshed, not body massages," he quipped lightly as he walked over and offered the jar of ointment to the girl.

"Don't knock it till you try it," Roy groaned as Artemis went back to massaging a particularly difficult knot in his arm.

A soft blush touched Artemis' cheeks and she tried not to smile. "We're going to need every able body when we catch up with Guardian and my fa- Sportsmaster. He'd have been no good to us hopped up on those pills." She finished with his arm, which fell to his side limply and fully relaxed. "Sit up, shirt off, then on your stomach."

"Whoa, what did I miss?" Wally blinked a few times at the sight of the disrobing archer.

"Just some physical therapy," Green Arrow explained while the rest of the young team climbed onto the bio-ship. His masked gaze fell to the leader. "Was there any trouble?"

Aqualad shook his head as he and his team mates took their seat, the belts securing all but Artemis and Red Arrow. "None. The guards were released, assured they would not lose their jobs, and they have agreed that we," he motioned to all of them, "were not here. They are allowing us a few minutes to depart before alerting the authorities to the break in and theft."

Superboy held out a flash drive to the vigilante billionaire. "They gave us a copy of the video footage as well as computer records of what was accessed, taken, or copied from the lab's system."

"Good," Oliver nodded, taking the memory stick as M'gann to the ship into the air. "Maybe we can figure out their overall plan in case we can't stop them in Metropolis."

"If we get there in time to stop them," Roy mumbled into the headrest of the reclined chair while Artemis worked the kinks out of his back.

"We will get there," M'gann glanced at the older boy with a scowl. "My bio-ship will not let us down. It too misses Robin."

"How far a head start you think they've got?" Superboy asked.

"The silent alarm came in around midnight," Oliver started. "I was on the phone with Roy when it came."

"It took me nearly an hour to get from the Star Bay Bridge to the industrial district," Red Arrow turned his head and looked at the young heroes staring at him, all wanting the same answers to unasked questions. He sighed, waved Artemis away, and sat up. She sat on the laid back chair beside him and he put his tunic back on.

"Ten minutes, maybe less," he told them. "That's how long I was even in the building before they had me subdued. They left almost immediately after that."

"So they were there for more than an hour," Kaldur looked over to Green Arrow. "Why did the police not arrive before then?"

"Queen Industries employs its own security force," the billionaire explained. "Each guard is screened, monitored, and interviewed several times a year to ensure that they haven't been corrupted. QI has several defense contracts with the government and is the front runner in the United States in Space and Aeronautics. Having, is essence, our own police force prevents a lot of industrial sabotage. Outside forces aren't called in unless necessary."

"Okay, then why did it take so long for Guardian and his little monkeys to get what they wanted and get out?" Superboy asked. "It's not like Red here was prompt in responding."

"Not all of us leap around like an overgrown grasshopper," Roy sneered at the clone, "or fly, or have superspeed. We normal folk have to get around like every other mere mortal."

"Regardless," Artemis stared down the dark haired boy, diffusing the potential fight between the two, "He has a point. Sportsmaster is a thief, not just a killer. He should have been in and out in minutes, not hanging around for whatever reason."

The blonde suddenly wished she hadn't spoken, as the eyes of her team mates turned distrustfully to her. "About that," Wally started only to be cut off by Oliver.

"Let's put an end to this right now," he growled protectively. "Yes, Sportsmaster is, biologically, Artemis' father. You need to know nothing else about her past unless she wants to tell you it herself. As far as you are concerned, she has the trust of me, Superman and the senior League Members, not to mention Batman himself. So get over your little hurt feelings about her keeping it a secret and let's get back to bringing Robin home in one piece."

"That may be easier said than done," Roy said, reluctantly bringing the attention back onto him. "Guardian's losing it."

"He'd have to be, for an old school hero like him to go all dark side," Wally snorted.

"When he confronted me, he was talking about sacrifices and what I would do in the name of the greater good." Roy shuddered as the sight of the knife at his friend's throat burned his memory. He didn't want to describe the scene to the others, but he knew they would see it on the cameras sooner or later. So he did, and they reacted much as he had, with a cold dread that drew the colour from their faces. "I didn't dare fight back. I couldn't – wouldn't risk Rob like that."

"So you let them tie you up," M'gann said in a whisper from where she piloted the ship.

Roy nodded, a fain grin touching his grim countenance. "Rob wasn't happy about it, not that I was, and the little pissant snapped. He went after Guardian; hands cuffed behind him, bruised and beat up, he still tried to help me." He sighed, frowned with the memory, his voice thick with emotion when he finally spoke again. "Guardian nearly killed him. He had him by the throat, holding him at least two feet off the ground. Rob just hung there, kicking and fighting and trying to breath and I couldn't do anything to stop it! Not when his lips turned blue, not when he stopped kicking. If Sportsmaster hadn't come in…"

Oliver was suddenly beside him, having unbuckled and traded places with Artemis.

He didn't cry, although heavy moisture blurred his vision. Roy turned his head, looking at his foster father. "Why didn't you tell me? Them," he gestured to Young Justice, "I get. But you…? When I found out about Dick, when I talked to you a dozen times since yesterday, why couldn't you have just told me that it was Robin? Why did I have to find out like this?"

"Would it have made a difference?" Green arrow asked contritely. "In the end, would your knowing have changed how things happened, other than you worried more than you already were about a friend and careless?"

Red Arrow shook his head and lowered his gaze.

"So what do we do now?" Kaldur asked. "They are several hours ahead of us and despite the speed of M'gann's ship I doubt we will overtake them, let alone catch up to them. They will have lost themselves in the City, if they even remain after obtaining whatever it is they seek."

"Guardian's the key," Superboy told them gruffly. "From what little I knew him, and what I've read about him, it seems strange that he would align himself with a set up like Cadmus."

"But being employed by the big bad is a lot more than a hop skip or jump from trying to strangle someone with your bare hands," Wally seethed. "So what made him flip?"

"Hello, Megan! Maybe he didn't," M'gann offered excitedly. "He was controlled once, wasn't he? I mean, didn't Dr. What's-His-Name use the g-gnomes as a form of mind control?"

"Mark Desmond," Kaldur interjected. "But the leader of the g-gnomes desired freedom for him and his brothers; which is why he helped us escape Cadmus. I would not think he would succumb to mind control to grain that freedom."

"Dubbilex was in the room," Superboy shook his head. "And we know the Genomorphs are a part of this-"

"But are they controlling the situation or have they been manipulated by it?" Artemis raised an eyebrow. "The one we brought back from DC doesn't seem like an evil mastermind, plus it was real eager to send us on our way to Star City."

"And to Metropolis," Kaldur sighed. "So more questions. Why is Guardian doing this? Is it of his own volition or is he as much victim as Robin is?"

Red Arrow growled. "I don't know everything you all are talking about, but I can tell you this much: Guardian was doing all the thinking himself. None of the sign of mind control were there, and it takes a lot to make you do something against your will like strangling someone with your bare hands! As far as I'm concerned, Guardian's the bad guy and he's got my friend; that makes him fair game."

"Just like I was selling out my friend to my father?" Artemis looked at the other archer. "Don't get me wrong, I want to plug a few heads into Guardian as much of any of you, but make sure you know exactly who the bad guy is before you start taking your pound of flesh. As far as you know, Sportsmaster is control it all; the Genomorphs, Guardian, maybe this entire thing is his next big plan for the next big score."

"Do you really believe that?" Wally asked.

She snorted and shook her head. "My father may be a brilliant mercenary and assassin, but he's no thinker. He's a soldier; someone's telling him what to do."

"That still leaves us where we started," Kaldur pressed the conversation back on track. "What do we do now?"

Roy took the memory stick from his mentor. "We figure out their plan, and get Robin back. Anything after that is gravy."

.

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.

One would have thought that someone in his current position would have learned to bite his tongue, but one thing Robin had yet to overcome was his nervous sarcasm. It was something that had gotten him in to trouble on more than one occasion and, as the back of Sportsmaster's hand connected with his already swollen jawline, he couldn't help but wonder if maybe this time it was going to get him killed.

Other than the strike, the mercenary didn't respond. The last of the metal restrains were snapped into place and he walked away, leaving Robin to take in his precarious situation.

He had been brought to Metropolis, the downtown skyline easily recognizable against the mid-morning sun. The building he was taken to was still under construction, but the underground parking garage was finished, complete with its very own dungeon. At least that was the impression Dick got as he was dragged toward the chains that had been bolted into the concrete floor.

Forced to his knees, the heavy chains were looped around his legs before being padlocked painfully tight. Next, the cuffs on his wrists were removed only to be replaced by something straight out of a bad horror flick. The metal shackles were easily half an inch thick and Sportsmaster has welded them together around his wrists – taking delight in burning him several times – before they were connected behind his back to the chain around his legs. He thought it was a little overkill when a chain hanging down from the ceiling was loops around his neck before padlocked, but even he had to admit he was pretty much screwed.

Unable to stand, unable to sit back on his heels, he was forced to kneel in the center of the room like some weird modern art display.

It was such a comment that resulted in the leathered fist of Sportsmaster reopening the split corner of his mouth. The blonde merc was laughing as he walked over to the van that Guardian and a few Genomorphs were preparing.

**You are weary,** Dubbilex spoke silently into Dick's mind as the g-gnome approached him. He held a moist, warm cloth in his hand and dabbed at the trickling blood. **I can feel your desire for an ending.**

**Wouldn't you?**Robin closed his eyes beneath his mask with sigh. **Two days, no food, a little water stolen yesterday morning, constantly getting smacked around and tied up, and to top it all off I'm being used against my friends and family so these psychopaths can accomplish whatever seriously messed up plan they've concocted.**

The boy opened his eyes when he felt the creature's smile. **And despite it all, you are still here.**

Robin wanted to point out the chains which made it impossible for him to be anywhere else when he understood that was not what he had meant. It was true, he had technically been in worse situation, but never before had he ever felt so powerless as he did right now.

**Keep the strength, young Robin; you have already accomplished much with Guardian. It won't be much longer now.**

**Until I'm rescued, or until they kill me?**

**That is for you to decide.**

Dick watched Dubbilex walk toward the van and pass Guardian as the man came to stand in front of his captive. "It did not have to come to this," he was told.

"Right," Robin snorted and jostled the chains binding him. "Your evil fairy god-mother just made these magically appear because you wished for them. Fool yourself all you want, traitor, but this was always the plan. Just like the plan to kill me when you're done with me."

Guardian winced at the label but did nothing. He looked down at the bruised and battered boy, his frown deepening and there was a look of confusion in the man's eyes. "We will return within the hour."

With that he was walking away and climbing in to the passenger side of the van. Sportsmaster was already in the driver's seat and Dubbilex and his little g-gnome brothers were in the back. The engine roared to life, reverberating through the empty garage, and then they were gone.

Testing his restraints, despite already knowing the futility of it, Robin allowed a true smile for the first time in forty-eight hours to grace his lips.

They had finally made a mistake.

They had brought him to Metropolis, left him alone, and didn't bother to gag him.

"SUPERMAN, HELP!"

He shouted again, and again, and again; his dry and damaged throat taking the abuse without complaint for several minutes until it gave out. He closed his eyes, refusing to let the frustrated tears their escape. Robin rasped the call for Superman, for Batman, for anyone to hear him and help him.

But no one was coming.

He was alone, powerless.

Beaten…

Broken…

"Help me," he sobbed, his control relented and the tears fell. "Please, someone…"

There was a soft rush of wind…

Then a harsh intake of air…

And then…

"Dear god… Robin!"