A/N: thanks for all the support, keep it coming! You guys rock. So this chapter was supposed to be a lot longer, but I wanted to split it up to increase the tension. Also its part of a multi chapter long arc. Please review, any ideas would be greatly appreciated and I will try to incorporate them. Tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 5

0000-Dick Grayson-0000

Location: unknown

Date: 29th July

Time: 10:00 am

Three months; that was how long he had been living with Slade. Three months. Did he like the guy? He wasn't sure. The man had never beaten him – excluding the occasional backhand for disrespect. He usually sent him to his room for disobedience or more often than not blatant disrespect. One would think that that would not be an effective punishment, but for someone like Dick it was. Dick was a very animated person; he loved to interact with people, in fact he thrived of it. Being in solitary confinement drove him crazy, he hated it – it was just too quiet.

He quickly learned that it was either get along with Slade or no one. He chose the former for the sake of his sanity.

All in all, Dick had been getting on surprisingly well with Slade ever since he had assured Dick that he wasn't a charity case. Dick was still rather embarrassed about getting upset over something so trivial, and even more so about accepting comfort from the man. Luckily Slade had decided not to mention it after the event. Dick had of course been unable to keep his smart mouth shut, generally resulting in him being locked in his room – yes locked ( turned out the door could be locked from the outside), or when Slade was really in a bad mood him receiving a backhand to the face. He would rather be hit than be shut in his room alone. Without something to concentrate on, his thoughts would take over.

One time he had got so desperate he had all but begged Slade to let him out. The man had refused but he did agree to give Dick something to do. That task usually consisted of projects relating to his lessons or even just puzzles to keep him occupied. At least it gave him something to focus on, when Dick didn't have anything to concentrate on his mind began to wander over to things he would rather not think about.

Since then Dick had been on his best behaviour.

He was sat in the living room watching cartoons. They had not long had breakfast and instead of studying like they usually did, Slade sent him to watch TV. Not that he minded; while he found robotics and computer manipulation interesting, it was nice to have a break.

Slade walked into the room, he was dressed in black slacks and a white shirt, his white hair neatly brushed. He was dressed for something other than training.

"Dick, go and get dressed, we are going out." The man said plainly.

Dick perked up, then he realised he was still in his pyjamas.

"Where are we going?"

"I have a business meeting and thought that you could use a change of scenery."

"Asterous!" Dick exclaimed. He jumped up and ran to his room. Dick reached his room and rummaged through his draw for underwear and socks, quickly depositing of the worn items in the wash bag and pulling the new on. He then fumbled around for a pair of skinny jeans that allowed maximum flexibility, a big must in Dick's book. He almost fell trying to pull them on, he was so excited; he actually got to go outside.

He was about to leave his room when he realised something.

Right, He thought. Shirt would be good.

Dick turned back to his drawers and grabbed a black t-shirt with a blue 'V' going from shoulder to shoulder.

He returned to the living room and noticed that Slade was now wearing a cream jacket over his shirt. He threw Dick his red hooded jacket. He pulled it in over his top.

"Asterous…?" Slade trailed of questioningly.

"The opposite of disasterous," Dick stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world "you know like how like is the opposite of dislike."

"You know I don't think the same rule applies… remind me to get you a dictionary." Dick could hear the smirk without needing to look up. Dick, rather immaturely, pulled a face at the man.

"You know, if the wind changes, your face will stick like that."

"Will not!" Dick protested, though the man said it such a serious tone that Dick began to doubt himself. Both his tone and face were completely steady.

"Really, I can already see it happening." The man deadpanned.

"Is that what happened to you?" Dick asked with a smirk, quickly ducking to avoid the playful swat to his head.

"Watch it, that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble one day."

Slade led him out of the haunt, though not before blindfolding him. They walked outside and Dick was met with a fresh breeze; and a brightness that Dick had to blink several times to adjust to. Slade was led through countless alleyways into the main street. It had taken them about ten minutes to reach the main street, so Dick made a mental note to himself. Dick was trying to figure out where he was, he had a good memory but didn't recognise anything.

Damn, I guess I haven't been here before.

"Watch where you're going." Someone yelled as Dick knocked into them. Dick looked around to apologise, only to realise Slade was gone.

Panic settled in; he was lost, in a city he didn't know. Nice going Grayson.

He was in big trouble. One Slade would most likely be angry, and two he had absolutely no idea where he was and nowhere to go even if he did. The day seemed to be off to a terrific start.

Not knowing what else to do, Dick retreated to the alley he had just followed Slade through. Maybe if he went back to the haunt –

"Hey, look what we have here boys."

Dick turned around to be faced with five teenagers dressed in matching leather jackets, some had bandanas on and others had sunglasses. They were your typical Gang, rough and probably stupid.

Dick's first instinct was to get back into the main street, where there were plenty of people around. His path was unfortunately blocked.

"You know, it aint wise to walk around all by ya self kid." The voice from before said; he guessed that he must have been the leader as the group as his jacket was slightly different with studs on the shoulder and the way he was standing at the front of the pack. He had short black hair which was spiked up using a generous supply of hair gel. He had a youthful appearance that seemed to have been warped by hatred and hardships. He looked as if he may have once been a kind heart; Dick had a way of reading people and he could only wonder what had happened to the teen.

"Yeah, you could've been hurt." Another voice piped in, though Dick couldn't tell who had spoken.

"Lucky we found ya." rang another voice.

Dick wasn't convinced; these boys gave Dick a bad vibe. They were thugs. He could tell. Hopefully they were as stupid as Dick thought; if they were he could trick them.

"I can't find my daddy." Dick muttered innocently, trying to act defenceless like any other kid who wasn't being trained by a mercenary. It seemed to work as the ring leader stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. Idiot.

"It's alright kid, come with us, we'll take you somewhere safe to wait." He said menacingly.

That was a big no-no in Dick's book. He needed to get out of there. Fast. He kneed the teen towering over him in the crotch and proceeded to hit him with the roundhouse kick he had been practicing with Slade. The teen fell back, giving Dick the chance he had been waiting for.

To the left of him was a tall metal fence, conveniently enough there was a rubbish bin alongside it. He leapt on and used the extra height to hurtle himself over the fence with a tremendous force. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, not stopping to check behind him; he didn't need to, he could tell by the rattling of the fence and the excessive swearing that the teens were in pursuit.

He could feel the thrill of the chase and Dick wanted to fight them. He was itching to try out what Slade had been teaching him but he knew he couldn't take them all at once.

So he kept running…right into a dead end.

Well played Grayson.

"Got nowhere to run now you little brat; you'll regret the stunt you played back there. Hold him still."

Before Dick could react he was grabbed by two strong pairs of arms. He struggled relentlessly to get free but they physically dominated him.

He saw the leader pull back his fist before swinging it into Dick's stomach. Dick gritted his teeth and groaned quietly. Slade had been holding back. No doubt about it. The thrill soon ended.

He had to do something before they beat all the strength he had left out of him. If he didn't act soon he wouldn't be able to. Using the agility of an acrobat and the grip on his arms for a boost, Dick swung himself upwards to deliver a powerful kick to the teen's face, resulting in a satisfying crack as blood erupted from his nose.

Serves him right, Dick thought with a cocky smirk.

"OW! You little shit, you broke my freaking nose!" He screamed as he launched a ruthless punch at Dick's face making his check sting. Dick's eyes watered but he refused to cry in front of them. He would definitely have a bruise in the morning, if not sooner.

The teen backed away and Dick spotted a glint of metal as he produced a knife. The light from above him suddenly didn't seem as bright anymore as it was reflected of the shiny metal surface. The whole world seemed to stop as his life flashed before his eyes. His first performance with his parents; the thrill of flight, the pride of success; racing with Raymond; His parents falling –

Not good, he thought, snapping himself out of his dreamlike state.

He really wanted Slade to show up; he could take them all without even breaking a sweat. He would sure feel a lot safer if the man was with him; but he wasn't, Dick was all alone. No one was going to save him.

The knife was pulled back and directed at Dick. He closed his eyes bracing himself for the impending moment when metal would meet skin and it would all be over.

Mom…Dad…I'll see you guys soon.

A/N

So guys what did you think, could this be the end for Dickie? Is the end of this story near? I guess you'll have to find out… oh and review, reviews make Dick happy. Sorry its short but I felt like this was a good place to end it.

P.S Does anyone like young justice; if you do I hope you liked the slight reference.

Ven