WoW! This one surely took a lot of time. Sorry for the wait, I got caught up in a lot of things in real life. Another reason I took so long on this one is that I was trying to write this in the present rather than past tense, but I gave up on that.
I hope you enjoy this one because I sure enjoyed writing it.
Disclaimer: I never have, and never will, own Teen Titans. :(
Dick was certain that these guys were going to use him for ransom.
…Okay. Maybe just 80%. He couldn't be too sure. It had already been 5 hours (more or less, he had already lost track of how long he'd been in there) since they took him to their warehouse and they hadn't shown their faces to him since. He wasn't bothered by it either. He had enough training from Batman (and involuntarily Slade for a few months as well, but he would prefer to ignore that fact), so he knew what to do in these situations. Besides, he would have no trouble immobilizing these men and their security anyway.
But there was a slight problem. They had not taken him as Robin– these thugs wouldn't stand a chance against the Boy Wonder anyway– but as Dick Grayson.
His eye twitched as a sigh escaped his lips. Why did these things always happen to him? He just had to get kidnapped the day he decided to go out as his civilian self, didn't he? Nothing eventful was even happening before the abduction! He only attempted to walk the lovely streets of Jump City when he was suddenly ambushed and jumped– pun intended– by his current kidnappers.
(... He should have listened when Raven warned him about going outside at night. But in his defense, walking the streets of Jump City was so much safer compared to Gotham's, he knew he could handle it if it ever happened to him.)
He had to admit, though. He was impressed that these criminals knew who he was. Ever since he had been in Jump, Dick had never been a victim of kidnapping since. He assumed that his status in Jump wasn't as well-known as it was in Gotham. A small part of him felt the pride and the need to congratulate them for that.
He pushed those thoughts aside. This was not the time to compliment the bad guys.
Dick decided to try messing with the rope that had his wrists tied from behind his back. No one was there and there were no cameras to look at him.
Dick relaxed a bit when the knot began to loosen up slightly. These criminals couldn't even tie a knot right? Good for him– not so great for the people that took him. He stopped moving when he heard footsteps getting closer. He held his breath as the door in front of him creaked open.
A man had a cliché burglar mask that was just sitting on his head (seriously? What's the point of having it if you weren't going to hide your face?). He stood between two other people that were wearing masks that covered their faces. Huh. So the guy in the middle must be the leader.
"What do we have here?" the one in the middle said in a mocking tone, "I didn't expect Bruce Wayne's kid to be all the way here in Jump City. What're ya' doing here anyway, pretty boy?"
The rage that he had kept under control had started sizzling to the surface once again, and he kept his mouth shut. Dick found the man's voice irritating, even more so now that he had mentioned Bruce. He was already coming up with ways he could incapacitate these men as Dick Grayson without causing any casualties.
One of the thugs behind him piped up, "What're we going to do with 'im, boss?"
The 'boss' smacked the guy on the head. Dick almost felt sorry for him– almost. "Don't talk when I'm not speaking to you, idiot! But, of course, we're going to use him as ransom to Bruce Wayne."
Dick felt prideful of himself for a split-second; his "using him as ransom" theory had been confirmed before he squashed that thought down completely. He bit his tongue before he could say something he'd regret.
There was no way Dick would allow these criminals to call Bruce and tell him that they had him captured in their base. Dick would never live that down and Bruce might perceive it as a failure on his part.
They still weren't on speaking terms, too, so things would get pretty awkward.
"...and then we can show off to the others that we caught a Gothamite!" Oh. They're still talking. Though whatever they were saying was insignificant anyway, so Dick opted to tune them out and worked his way out of the rope that had him tied to the chair.
It didn't take long for him to finally be free of it, but he made sure that the men, who were still chattering about gloating their latest victim to 'the others', didn't notice him. Dick was just grateful these people were dumb enough to take their sweet time to call Bruce, it just meant more time for him to get out of there.
Calculating the amount of time he had to escape the warehouse with only a few injuries inflicted on both him and the criminals, he made a plan and waited for the perfect moment to execute it. The plan was set into action when the leader told his goons to shut up and focus. None of them were facing Dick at the moment.
"Now," he said with a sneer, pulling up a phone from his pocket. "Are you ready to call Daddy to come and rescue you, boy?"
They finally turned toward the boy, only to find loose rope, but no hostage in sight. They gaped at the empty chair and looked around the area, the leader barking out orders and expletives.
Despite how stealthy he tried to be, one of the thugs saw him. He suppressed a wince from being caught, wishing that he wore much darker clothes instead of the white shirt, grey jacket, and blue jeans he had on right now.
Dick took off before the men could have a grip on their weapons and run after him. The leader was yelling while shooting bullets at him without any real aim. Dick did not dare look back, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he made his way to the exit.
Not long after, he finally got out of the base. Getting out of there wasn't a hassle– he patrols this city routinely with his friends. He kept running, though. He was sure at least one of his friends was out here patrolling right now, and he needed these men behind bars so they wouldn't hurt or take anyone else.
He does not stop until he bumped into someone with a loud thud. He balanced himself before he could fall and almost started running again when he realized who he had just crashed onto. It was impossible to mistake the blue and metal of his friend to be anyone else.
"Wh- Dick?" Cyborg said almost in confusion. "What are you doing out here at this early in the morning?"
Dick had already lost track of time, but assuming by how low the moon was and the first rays of sunlight were already peeking out, he guessed it was really early in the morning. "Well, the thing is…" he replied lamely, unsure how to explain to the half–robot man.
Luckily for him, he didn't need to answer the question when two men entered the scene yelling curse words and calling out his name.
When the goons noticed Cyborg, they immediately froze in their place. They both took a small step back, but Cyborg had already read the atmosphere and jumped into action. Dick just stared at his friend, restraining himself from helping.
Once they had confined, Cyborg grabbed his communicator and pressed a button to signal where his location to the rest of the team. He turned to Dick, "Are you going to tell me why these guys were out to get you?"
Dick crossed his arms. "I was trying to head out when they suddenly attacked and took me to their base."
"How long have you been with them?" Cyborg asked, shock evident on his face.
Dick shrugged and walked towards his captors. One was unconscious but alive, and the other was sulking by himself. Dick decided to interrogate them a bit, "Where's the other one? I'm assuming the leader?"
The man glared at him, but his challenging gaze did not waver. "Who cares? We're his bait and once he was through with us, the boss left us to dust."
Dick's eyes narrowed at that. He wanted to ask more questions, but that was when the rest of the Titans decided to join their little party.
"Woah. It's you again!" Beast Boy said was a grin and a raised hand. Dick accepted the high-five in polite awkwardness.
"Oh, friend Dick. It is upsetting to see you again during such cumbersome times," Starfire said somberly, but with a sad smile on her face.
Dick waved his hands to all of them. "No, no. It's alright, I probably wouldn't have seen you guys again if these guys didn't get me," he said, chuckling awkwardly as he tried to lighten up the mood.
He could feel Raven's eyes burning straight towards his soul with the silent, mental thought of "I told you so". He refused to look her head on because he was sure she had a minuscule smile.
"Anyway, I'm not sure if this would help, but when I was taken there were three men. But one of them is missing," he said, gesturing a hand towards the two, both of them now unconscious.
Cyborg nodded his head, taking note of what Dick was saying so they could capture the man. "I overheard what you were talking about with one of the two earlier. The guy missing is the ringleader?"
Dick responded, "Yeah. They were going to use me as ransom money for Bruce, but I got out of there in time."
"Hang on, stop for a second," Beast Boy said, both arms holding up in a "slow down" motion. "They were going to use you for ransom? And you guys are talking about this like we're talking about the weather?" he asked, dumbfounded.
Dick sighed, crossing his arms again. "Trust me, Beast Boy. I've been used as ransom more times than I can count since the billionaire playboy of Gotham City took me in," he said the last part with so much distaste that Raven and Cyborg glanced at each other. He noticed but decided not to think about it.
That explanation was not enough to satisfy the green changeling. "But– How are you so chill about this?"
Dick thought of the right words to use for this question. "Well… when you lived in Gotham for so long, you'd be surprised that this hasn't even made it to my top 20 weirdest things that have happened."
Beast Boy floundered a bit at the neutral response and was about to ask more when Raven stopped him with a comment. The two broke into an argument where Beast Boy was sourly losing fast.
Cyborg went back to asking Dick questions, asking him what the leader looked like and where he last saw him. Starfire watched the two quietly, asking her own friendly-concerned questions when Cyborg was done. Dick answered them earnestly, smiling when Starfire's frown turned into a joyful grin.
Cyborg called out to the rest of the Titans. "We should probably head back to the tower. Robin said he was coming back soon. I need to report these guys to the police and we need his help to find the man in charge of the two."
Everyone agreed with that logic. Dick waved goodbye to them, but Starfire stopped him immediately. "Friend! I cannot permit you to go alone! What if the evil man of boss tries to get you?" she said frantically, holding on to Dick's arm gently.
Dick stuttered for a response, but her worry-filled, glowing green eyes froze all thought-process he had.
Starfire turned when a hand was holding her by the shoulder and squeezing it softly. "It's fine, Starfire. I'll help him get back to his place safely," Raven said in her usual monotonous way.
Starfire's tensed shoulders relaxed instantly. She trusted Raven, of course, so she was sure that her new friend was in good hands. She nodded and she, Beast Boy, and Cyborg began to head to the police station, carrying the two men with them.
The two remaining stared at their friends' silhouettes as they disappear from view. Dick turned to face Raven. "Thanks for the help, Rav. I think I've got it from here," he said turning to the direction of the Titans Tower, but Raven followed. He gave her a confused look, but all she did was stare at him with a blank expression.
"I told them I'll help you get back, so that means you're not going anywhere without me."
An amused smile stretched across his face. "Oh, come on. That wasn't a ruse to distract them from helping me get back to the tower?" His smile fell into a grimace as her face continued to look blank. "You're seriously going to follow me until I reach the tower, aren't you?" He said in a flat, unimpressed tone.
The smallest smile could be seen on her face, and that was all Dick needed to know.
With that, Dick groaned as he and Raven marched towards the Titans Tower. The sun had begun to rise, painting the sky a mix of yellow, red, and blue.
WoW! You made it to the end! Thank you for reading all the way here :D
Please share your thoughts and criticisms! What did you like about this chapter? Reviews/Comments make my day and give me the motivation I need to keep this up.