Black Orchids. Part 3 of 4.
Jul. 25th, 2010 12:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
munninTitle: Black Orchids. Part 3.
Authors:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
munnin_odanin, darthbatgirl, _sephet_
Artists:_sephet_ and alexiel_neesan
Rating: NC-17, Some art is graphic in nature and NSFW
Characters: the band, Alfred, Oracle and various members of the superhero community.
Pairings: Ra’s/Tim, Dick/Tim implied,
Warnings: kidnapping, non-con, violence, angst.
Disclaimer: No ownership, no profit and no offence meant. Everyone is of the age of consent in their country and period of history.
Summary: Tim gets flowers in his dressing room at a show that spark off the start of the biggest crisis the Robins have face since leaving Gotham.
References to: Darthbatgirl’s Fan Mail and my The price paid and The height of the cost
Part 1. Part 2. Part 3 - here. Part 4.
All in and go...
“Oracle, are you sure about this?” Steph asked carefully.
Yes. I’m sure. Oracle growled. I’ve had everyone out searching. It’s the best lead we’ve had so far.
“We cannot.” Damian muttered, pushing his hair back from his face. “It is a matter of pride.”
Pull your head of your ass D! Oracle hissed. I know Bruce made you promise to stay away from community but no-one made us promise to stay away from you. You can’t put your pride above Tim’s life!
Damian growled something in Farsi and pushed away from the table.
Steph took a deep breath. “Thanks O, we’ll check it out. Just...just ask everyone to stay back. We have to do this ourselves.”
Understood. Oracle rang off.
“I do not like this.” Damian muttered, pacing the floor.
“I know D.” Steph soothed. “But we have to get Tim back.” She closed the laptop and grabbed her jacket. “I’m going to go do some recon.”
“You should not go alone.” Damian fussed. “I’ll go with you.”
Steph rested her hands on his shoulders. The youth vibrated with rage and any mistake at his stage could be fatal. “No D. I need you to stay here and watch over Dick. Let me know if anything changes.” She pulled on her climbing shoes and grabbed the keys for Jay’s bike.
“Steph.” Damian caught hold of her hand and held tight, his face set and determined.
She met his dark eyes. “D.” She answered, warningly and just as fierce.
He relented and let go. “Be safe. And come back to us soon.”
She darted in to drop a quick kiss on his cheek. “I will.”
***
Dick dreamt of Tim, of his brother trapped in a golden cage, broken and defenceless. He tried to run to Tim; to catch hold of him but Tim was too far away. When he got close, Tim’s fingers slipped though his; cold, lifeless and still.
Dick woke with a start as Damian shook him. “We have located Ra’s’ compound. We know where Tim is being kept.”
“You’re sure?” Dick was on his feet in a flash, gripping D’s arm.
“Yup.” Steph called, laying out the drawings she’d done. “I did the recon myself. Ra’s is there, I saw him. Chances are, Tim is too.”
“Steph, you are wonderful.” Dick wrapped a jubilant arm around her and dragged her into a hug. “Alright. Now how do we get in?”
“I have had some thoughts on that.” Damian muttered, leaning over the plans to sketch out what he knew of the League’s standard security procedures. “But we will require some specialised equipment and at least a day’s planning.”
Tim shivered. He wished it would hurt more. More than it did. He wished he could fight it more, that Ra’s would wrestle him down and he could be free to fight back, to, at least, know he did something.
But the drugs kept him weak and bindings kept him still, and for all that he hurt from it, ached from it, Ra’s was so… gentle, loving, kind…
No. Not kind. Never kind.
Jason’s blood on his hands
He thought he could still feel the slick of it when Ra’s touched him. Still smell it. All over him.
“I will never hurt you…”
So soft in his ear, gentle, comforting? It made his heart pound painfully against his ribs, against his body, he can feel it everywhere. Like he was going to be sick. Each too cold touch of Ra’s’ hands made his stomach roll.
“You will never want…”
He wished he could just surrender to it. He could just let Ra’s own him. That it wouldn’t make him want to scream and cry and be ill. That he could make his heart flutter, romanced. Not race, and pound, fast and anxious--
Dick.
“You will have everything…”
I want my family…
“You will have eternity…”
Alone.
“We will own the world…”
Alone, with you…
“I will always love you.” Move. It hurt. Not enough. Too much.
Soft, gentle pricks of cold against his neck, his chest. Gentle, loving, comforting. “I will always need you.”
No ground to stand on, unsteady, lost…
Dick.
The wrong kisses, touches… all the right places, and his body betrayed him, but it’s wrong. Empty.
Dick
“I will never leave you…”
Cold, threatening hands wiped tears from his eyes, soft mimicry of affection.
“You will love me…” He moved in him.
Hurt.
“You will learn.” A cold and empty lover’s embrace.
No.
“You will have forever to love me.”
Stop. Stop!
“I will teach you. Always.”
No!
“I will teach you, to sing only for me.”
Dick.
“My Songbird.”
He cried out for the chill that fills him, the empty, lost…. Void.
“Mine.”
Dick.
“Always.”
…I’m sorry…
Draw the line...
“Jay?” Steph whispered, leaning over his bed as she gently shook him awake. Her tight, emblemless black suit seemed painfully out of place in the bright room “We found where Ra’s is keeping Tim. We’re going after him. Tonight.”
“Good.” Jay muttered, trying to untangle himself from the IV. “Give me a hand to get out of this mess.”
“No Jay.” Steph held him still. “You can’t. I wish you could but...” She swallowed hard, trying to avoid Jay’s baleful stare. “We’ll get him, we’ll bring him home.”
“Master Jason, I must agree.” Alfred rested a firm hand on Jay’s shoulder. “You’re not yet strong enough for this action.”
“Get off me damn it!” Jay growled. “There’s no way you’re going after that bastard without me!”
“Master Jason. Be still.” Alfred warned. “Lest the doctors feel the need to sedate you again.”
“We’ll get him, Jay. You have my word.” Steph promised, shooting a sad look over her shoulder as she climbed back out the window.
Jay snarled and snapped at the cords and tubes that held him in place. “I can’t do this, Alfred! I can’t just lay here while the others go after Tim. They’ll get creamed without me!”
“Calm yourself. Master Jason.” Alfred ordered, catching hold of Jason’s wrists. “Be still.”
Jason glared up at the old servant, mutiny in his eyes. “This is Dickie’s way of punishing me, isn’t it!”
“It is nothing of the sort.” Alfred soothed, never loosening his grip on Jay’s wrists. “The others are simply trying to protect you for further harm.” He cast an eye at the surrounding machines, watching as Jay’s pulse returned to normal and the warning lights went out.
“I don’t need protecting,” Jay growled, hurt and angry.
“I know.” Alfred let go of him slowly. “But I also know you are in no shape to fight.”
“I don’t care. If it means getting Timmy back, I don’t give a flying fuck how badly it hurts.”
Alfred gave him a sardonic look. “Which is precisely why Dick desires that you remain here.”
Jason looked up at Alfred with dark eyes. “Then you’re gunna want to sedate me,” he threatened, pushing up off the bed slowly, “cause I’m not gunna just lay here.”
“I suspected you might feel that way.” Alfred sighed with a tolerant smile. “Which is why I’ve made alternative arrangements. I simply ask you to be patient.”
“Why? What the fuck are we waiting for?”
There was a rap on the closed window and Alfred opened it, revealing the upside down face of Roy Harper. “So?” The archer asked, dumping a gear bag thought the window and tumbling in after it. “Ready for some target practice?” Strapped to his back was something long and sleek – the crossbow equivalent of a sniper rifle.
Where the fire is hottest...
The first explosive went off perfectly, sending a shockwave though the compound. Dick adjusted his grip in his escrima sticks and counted. On ten he nodded to Damian who was pressed against the wall opposite and they charged, mowing though the sea of ninjas who crashed towards them.
High above, Steph swung out, landing neatly on the rooftop and wasting no time in breaking into the building’s security grid to plant Oracle’s device.
I’m in. Oracle whispered in her ear. Now get moving!
Steph grinned, feeling alive for the first time in months and ran for the roof’s edge, tossing the second bomb as she jumped.
Air worth breathing...
The explosion rattled the chandelier in Tim’s room, the sound of clattering crystal cutting though the fog in his head. Something was wrong...something was happening. The second bang shook the room hard enough to overturn the table. Wine spilt and spread over the floor like blood as the decanter shattered. The newspaper fell open as it hit the floor.
They were alive. And they were looking for him.
Steph swung her staff as she landed, rolling up to catch the nearest ninja on the chin, sending his head rocketing back. “Give me back my brother you bastards!” She screamed, ploughing through them. There was a cold swish of steel behind her and she spun around, realising too late that she’d left her back open. The sword came at her flank, too fast to block and she dropped, expecting to feel its wake graze her hair but there was a solid thunk and the swordsman fell back, an arrow protruding from his chest.
In the shadow of the building beyond, Jay cocked the reloader and levelled the bow ready for the next shot.
Steph grinned, pointing the direction she was about to run and laughed as ninja after ninja fell ahead of her, the unseen sniper clearing her path.
***
Damian brought his sword down hard on the last of them as he and Dick tumbled through the compound’s gate.
“We’re in.” Dick yelled into his comm., trying to make himself heard over the pounding of his own heart. “Lock it down O.”
The gates slammed closed behind them.
Dick flashed Damian a determined grin. “Let’s do this.”
Tim focused on the restraints at his wrist.
Leather. 1.5mm thick. Vegetable tanned. Double stitched, calf skin lining. Standard buckle on thinned, one piece tongue.
Too tight to slip, too well made to stretch but removable if he could reach the buckle.
The drugs still held sway over Tim’s system and his fingers fumbled clumsily at the clasp but Dick and Jay were alive and coming for him. Nothing else mattered.
Another explosion rocked the building and Tim bit down on his lip, forcing himself to concentrate on the pain. His lip split under the pressure and the clean, metallic taste of his own blood cut into the fog, sharpening his senses. Little by little he inched the leather free, bruising his numb fingertips in an effort to grip the tongue and yank it open. Twice he pulled and twice it slipped. His nails cut into the pads of his fingers, staining the leather red as he scrambled to grab hold of it again.
The sound of battle echoed through the compound and any minute Ra’s could come back looking for his prize.
In a last ditch effort, Tim tore at the strap, his bloody fingers sliding against leather. There was a click and the cuff dropped open, falling away from Tim’s wrist. Frantically he removed the others, falling back to the bed in exhaustion as he finally freed himself.
After being stretched out for so long, forced open for Ra’s pleasure, Tim curled up in a ball, pulling the silk sheets around him and let himself cry.
Hold on...
“Ra’s chambers are always in the centre of the complex,” Damian yelled, leading Dick through the mazelike building, his blade high and ready. “He would keep Tim nearby.”
“Down!” Dick yelled, throwing a handful of shuriken over Damian’s head.
“Left,” Damian yelled as they skidded along another corridor.
Dick stuck out, jamming a stray ninja into the wall. “Where is he?” He yelled, his voice deep and harsh and entirely Bat. “Where are you keeping Tim Drake? ”
The ninja spasmed as Dick forced his escrima under his chin, lifting him off the ground.
“Dick!” Damian yelled and pointed up the hallway.
Tim staggered into the light, leaving bloody smears on the wall as he held his hand to steady himself. The sheet he clutched around himself did nothing to cover the pallor of skin or the mottled bruises around his wrists and ankles.
Another explosion rocked the building, snapping Dick back to the mission at hand. He ran at Tim, scooping his brother up onto his shoulder without slowing down. “O, we have Tim. Give us an out.”
Head north. I’ll clear the way as best I can.
Doors opened to their right and they ran, Tim sagging limply over Dick’s shoulder. As they broke out into the open courtyard, more ninjas swarmed into view.
“This is my house,” Ra’s called, his voice strong and commanding. “And I have an objection to gatecrashers.” The somewhat thinned out crowd of ninjas parted before their leader who dragged Steph with him and threw her down at their feet.
“You ok Steph?” Dick asked quietly as she groaned.
“Had better days,” she conceded as Damian helped her up. The youth vibrated with anger as she brushed blood away from her eyes.
“Give me back what is mine,” the Demon’s Head demanded imperiously, “And I will permit you to live.”
Tim’s arms, weak and limp around Dick’s neck, tightened minutely.
“You will never take him from us,” Dick announced, just as bold. “He’s our brother.”
“And our friend.” A voice called from above.
Arsenal, Jason, Huntress and Alfred perched on the roof’s edge. The archer was at full draw as Jay and Helena hefted cross-bows. Alfred rested a shotgun across his arm.
“You’re going to back off,” Roy said confidently. “It’s time to leave.”
Ra’s raised his eyes to the ragged band. “You dare to challenge me in my own house? Do you honestly think this sad little attempt at a rescue is enough to intimidate me?”
“How cute! He thinks we’re the rescue team?” Roy laughed. “Oh no. We’re just the spokesmen. Out there,” he gestured into the darkness all around them. “Out there is the rescue team. The combined forces of the Justice League, the Titans, the Outsiders, the Birds of Prey and practically every hero in the community are out there waiting for our command.” He jumped down, landing next to Dick. “You mess with one of us; you mess with all of us!”
Huntress lowered Jason to the ground, watching silently as Jay reached out to brush a hand over Tim’s forehead.
“So.” Roy gestured. “So you and your little pyjama party are going to back off or we level this place.”
“No.” Damian stepped up, advancing on his grandfather. “He must be punished for what he has done.”
“Oh he will be,” Jay muttered, slamming the reloader into place. “Just as soon as Timmy’s safe.”
Ra’s cocked his head with a smile of faint amusement. “You really think any of you are walking out of here?”
“You really think you can stop us?” Roy grinned. A breeze sprang up and there was the distance sounds of capes snapping in the wind, flashes of blues, reds and whites in the darkness. “You really think you can stop all of us?”
Tim peeled himself carefully out of Dick’s embrace and steadied himself with a hand on Jay’s shoulder. “Back off.” He said quietly to the assembled hoard on ninjas. “Back off and you live.” He took two unsteady steps towards the Demon’s Head. “Sword.”
Damian tossed his sword towards Tim, the handle falling neatly into his hand.
“Kneel.” Tim ordered, his eyes never leaving Ra’s, his voice growing steadily stronger. “On your knees.”
Four ninjas stepped up and were dropped instantly, arrows sticking out of their chests.
Steph swept Ra’s’ legs from under him with a quick brush of her staff.
The Demon’s Head stared up at Tim as the young man advanced, sword in hand. “You will always be mine Songbird. Nothing will change that, not even my death.”
Tim raised the sword slowly, swallowing hard.
“You will still dream of me,” Ra’s whispered, his eyes burning with darkness as he stared up at Tim. “You will still feel my touch long after I am gone.” The Demon smiled slyly. “The memory of the pleasures I have shown you. Every time your brother’s touch you-”
“Enough!” Tim growled, pressed the point of the blade to the hollow of Ra’s throat “You will never touch me again.” he announced slowly.
“Tim?” Dick called hesitantly as blood beaded in the sword’s tip. “Leave him. Let the others deal with him.” As much as he wanted this man punished, not at the price of Tim’s soul.
“You will never come near me or my family again,” Tim continued as the blood welled and oozed down Ra’s throat, staining the collar of his shirt. “If I ever see you or any of your agents near us; this will end.”
Ra’s’ eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak but Tim leant into the blade. The point of the sword was mere millimetres from making the fatal cut. The slightest increase of pressure...
“You will wear this scar and you will know that you can never own me.” Tim let the blade fall and Dick stepped up to catch him as he wavered on his feet.
“Time to go.” Dick muttered, staring at Ra’s who made no move to stem the bleeding.
“You will regret this, Songbird.” Ra’s called as Dick and Jason steered Tim away. “I will come for you.”
Damian spun around, catching Steph’s staff as she tossed it to him and slammed it down on his grandfather’s side, knocking the Demon’s Head to the ground. “I castrated the last man who touched one of my brothers,” He whispered fiercely, leaning in over the fallen man. “And I will do far worse to you if you ever come near him again.” The youth stuck down hard, grinning as the man’s shoulder broke under the staff.
Alfred and Huntress were waiting for them on the other side of the gate, the rotors of a helicopter turning lazily.
“Everyone in.” Helena called as she kicked the engines to life.
Alfred helped Dick lift Tim into the cockpit as Jason leant heavily into Roy, Steph and Damian bring up the rear.
Dick glanced up into the darkness and saw the rings of flags that snapped and furled in the breeze, sharing their colour with the night. “Nice bluff.” He nodded to Roy as he helped Jay into the helicopter.
“Who was bluffing?” Roy shrugged, touching his comms. “They’re in. Get them out of here.”
Huntress flicked him a thumbs up and piloted the chopper up and away.
Roy watched them go, shouldering his bow as he touched his comms once more. “Ladies and gentleman, our birds have flown and are safe on their way. Thanks for the back up.” There was a distant flutter and shifting of the air and Roy felt the shadows empty.
Almost empty.
Superboy landed at Roy’s side, his face pinched with anger. “He can’t get away with this,” Kon growled, his hands clenched in convulsive fists. “I saw what he did to Tim. I know Oracle ordered us not to get involved but I can’t...I can’t let him get away with that!”
“I know.” Roy touched his ear again. “All clear O. Let it burn!”
From the helicopter that peeled away towards the coast, the explosions just sounded like distant thunder.
Part 4...
Authors:
munnin_odanin, darthbatgirl, _sephet_ Artists:
_sephet_ and alexiel_neesan Rating: NC-17, Some art is graphic in nature and NSFW
Characters: the band, Alfred, Oracle and various members of the superhero community.
Pairings: Ra’s/Tim, Dick/Tim implied,
Warnings: kidnapping, non-con, violence, angst.
Disclaimer: No ownership, no profit and no offence meant. Everyone is of the age of consent in their country and period of history.
Summary: Tim gets flowers in his dressing room at a show that spark off the start of the biggest crisis the Robins have face since leaving Gotham.
References to: Darthbatgirl’s Fan Mail and my The price paid and The height of the cost
Part 1. Part 2. Part 3 - here. Part 4.
All in and go...
“Oracle, are you sure about this?” Steph asked carefully.
Yes. I’m sure. Oracle growled. I’ve had everyone out searching. It’s the best lead we’ve had so far.
“We cannot.” Damian muttered, pushing his hair back from his face. “It is a matter of pride.”
Pull your head of your ass D! Oracle hissed. I know Bruce made you promise to stay away from community but no-one made us promise to stay away from you. You can’t put your pride above Tim’s life!
Damian growled something in Farsi and pushed away from the table.
Steph took a deep breath. “Thanks O, we’ll check it out. Just...just ask everyone to stay back. We have to do this ourselves.”
Understood. Oracle rang off.
“I do not like this.” Damian muttered, pacing the floor.
“I know D.” Steph soothed. “But we have to get Tim back.” She closed the laptop and grabbed her jacket. “I’m going to go do some recon.”
“You should not go alone.” Damian fussed. “I’ll go with you.”
Steph rested her hands on his shoulders. The youth vibrated with rage and any mistake at his stage could be fatal. “No D. I need you to stay here and watch over Dick. Let me know if anything changes.” She pulled on her climbing shoes and grabbed the keys for Jay’s bike.
“Steph.” Damian caught hold of her hand and held tight, his face set and determined.
She met his dark eyes. “D.” She answered, warningly and just as fierce.
He relented and let go. “Be safe. And come back to us soon.”
She darted in to drop a quick kiss on his cheek. “I will.”
***
Dick dreamt of Tim, of his brother trapped in a golden cage, broken and defenceless. He tried to run to Tim; to catch hold of him but Tim was too far away. When he got close, Tim’s fingers slipped though his; cold, lifeless and still.
Dick woke with a start as Damian shook him. “We have located Ra’s’ compound. We know where Tim is being kept.”
“You’re sure?” Dick was on his feet in a flash, gripping D’s arm.
“Yup.” Steph called, laying out the drawings she’d done. “I did the recon myself. Ra’s is there, I saw him. Chances are, Tim is too.”
“Steph, you are wonderful.” Dick wrapped a jubilant arm around her and dragged her into a hug. “Alright. Now how do we get in?”
“I have had some thoughts on that.” Damian muttered, leaning over the plans to sketch out what he knew of the League’s standard security procedures. “But we will require some specialised equipment and at least a day’s planning.”
Tim shivered. He wished it would hurt more. More than it did. He wished he could fight it more, that Ra’s would wrestle him down and he could be free to fight back, to, at least, know he did something.
But the drugs kept him weak and bindings kept him still, and for all that he hurt from it, ached from it, Ra’s was so… gentle, loving, kind…
No. Not kind. Never kind.
Jason’s blood on his hands
He thought he could still feel the slick of it when Ra’s touched him. Still smell it. All over him.
“I will never hurt you…”
So soft in his ear, gentle, comforting? It made his heart pound painfully against his ribs, against his body, he can feel it everywhere. Like he was going to be sick. Each too cold touch of Ra’s’ hands made his stomach roll.
“You will never want…”
He wished he could just surrender to it. He could just let Ra’s own him. That it wouldn’t make him want to scream and cry and be ill. That he could make his heart flutter, romanced. Not race, and pound, fast and anxious--
Dick.
“You will have everything…”
I want my family…
“You will have eternity…”
Alone.
“We will own the world…”
Alone, with you…
“I will always love you.” Move. It hurt. Not enough. Too much.
Soft, gentle pricks of cold against his neck, his chest. Gentle, loving, comforting. “I will always need you.”
No ground to stand on, unsteady, lost…
Dick.
The wrong kisses, touches… all the right places, and his body betrayed him, but it’s wrong. Empty.
Dick
“I will never leave you…”
Cold, threatening hands wiped tears from his eyes, soft mimicry of affection.
“You will love me…” He moved in him.
Hurt.
“You will learn.” A cold and empty lover’s embrace.
No.
“You will have forever to love me.”
Stop. Stop!
“I will teach you. Always.”
No!
“I will teach you, to sing only for me.”
Dick.
“My Songbird.”
He cried out for the chill that fills him, the empty, lost…. Void.
“Mine.”
Dick.
“Always.”
…I’m sorry…
Draw the line...
“Jay?” Steph whispered, leaning over his bed as she gently shook him awake. Her tight, emblemless black suit seemed painfully out of place in the bright room “We found where Ra’s is keeping Tim. We’re going after him. Tonight.”
“Good.” Jay muttered, trying to untangle himself from the IV. “Give me a hand to get out of this mess.”
“No Jay.” Steph held him still. “You can’t. I wish you could but...” She swallowed hard, trying to avoid Jay’s baleful stare. “We’ll get him, we’ll bring him home.”
“Master Jason, I must agree.” Alfred rested a firm hand on Jay’s shoulder. “You’re not yet strong enough for this action.”
“Get off me damn it!” Jay growled. “There’s no way you’re going after that bastard without me!”
“Master Jason. Be still.” Alfred warned. “Lest the doctors feel the need to sedate you again.”
“We’ll get him, Jay. You have my word.” Steph promised, shooting a sad look over her shoulder as she climbed back out the window.
Jay snarled and snapped at the cords and tubes that held him in place. “I can’t do this, Alfred! I can’t just lay here while the others go after Tim. They’ll get creamed without me!”
“Calm yourself. Master Jason.” Alfred ordered, catching hold of Jason’s wrists. “Be still.”
Jason glared up at the old servant, mutiny in his eyes. “This is Dickie’s way of punishing me, isn’t it!”
“It is nothing of the sort.” Alfred soothed, never loosening his grip on Jay’s wrists. “The others are simply trying to protect you for further harm.” He cast an eye at the surrounding machines, watching as Jay’s pulse returned to normal and the warning lights went out.
“I don’t need protecting,” Jay growled, hurt and angry.
“I know.” Alfred let go of him slowly. “But I also know you are in no shape to fight.”
“I don’t care. If it means getting Timmy back, I don’t give a flying fuck how badly it hurts.”
Alfred gave him a sardonic look. “Which is precisely why Dick desires that you remain here.”
Jason looked up at Alfred with dark eyes. “Then you’re gunna want to sedate me,” he threatened, pushing up off the bed slowly, “cause I’m not gunna just lay here.”
“I suspected you might feel that way.” Alfred sighed with a tolerant smile. “Which is why I’ve made alternative arrangements. I simply ask you to be patient.”
“Why? What the fuck are we waiting for?”
There was a rap on the closed window and Alfred opened it, revealing the upside down face of Roy Harper. “So?” The archer asked, dumping a gear bag thought the window and tumbling in after it. “Ready for some target practice?” Strapped to his back was something long and sleek – the crossbow equivalent of a sniper rifle.
Where the fire is hottest...
The first explosive went off perfectly, sending a shockwave though the compound. Dick adjusted his grip in his escrima sticks and counted. On ten he nodded to Damian who was pressed against the wall opposite and they charged, mowing though the sea of ninjas who crashed towards them.
High above, Steph swung out, landing neatly on the rooftop and wasting no time in breaking into the building’s security grid to plant Oracle’s device.
I’m in. Oracle whispered in her ear. Now get moving!
Steph grinned, feeling alive for the first time in months and ran for the roof’s edge, tossing the second bomb as she jumped.
Air worth breathing...
The explosion rattled the chandelier in Tim’s room, the sound of clattering crystal cutting though the fog in his head. Something was wrong...something was happening. The second bang shook the room hard enough to overturn the table. Wine spilt and spread over the floor like blood as the decanter shattered. The newspaper fell open as it hit the floor.
They were alive. And they were looking for him.
All together now...
Steph swung her staff as she landed, rolling up to catch the nearest ninja on the chin, sending his head rocketing back. “Give me back my brother you bastards!” She screamed, ploughing through them. There was a cold swish of steel behind her and she spun around, realising too late that she’d left her back open. The sword came at her flank, too fast to block and she dropped, expecting to feel its wake graze her hair but there was a solid thunk and the swordsman fell back, an arrow protruding from his chest.
In the shadow of the building beyond, Jay cocked the reloader and levelled the bow ready for the next shot.
Steph grinned, pointing the direction she was about to run and laughed as ninja after ninja fell ahead of her, the unseen sniper clearing her path.
***
Damian brought his sword down hard on the last of them as he and Dick tumbled through the compound’s gate.
“We’re in.” Dick yelled into his comm., trying to make himself heard over the pounding of his own heart. “Lock it down O.”
The gates slammed closed behind them.
Dick flashed Damian a determined grin. “Let’s do this.”
Muscle memory...
Tim focused on the restraints at his wrist.
Leather. 1.5mm thick. Vegetable tanned. Double stitched, calf skin lining. Standard buckle on thinned, one piece tongue.
Too tight to slip, too well made to stretch but removable if he could reach the buckle.
The drugs still held sway over Tim’s system and his fingers fumbled clumsily at the clasp but Dick and Jay were alive and coming for him. Nothing else mattered.
Another explosion rocked the building and Tim bit down on his lip, forcing himself to concentrate on the pain. His lip split under the pressure and the clean, metallic taste of his own blood cut into the fog, sharpening his senses. Little by little he inched the leather free, bruising his numb fingertips in an effort to grip the tongue and yank it open. Twice he pulled and twice it slipped. His nails cut into the pads of his fingers, staining the leather red as he scrambled to grab hold of it again.
The sound of battle echoed through the compound and any minute Ra’s could come back looking for his prize.
In a last ditch effort, Tim tore at the strap, his bloody fingers sliding against leather. There was a click and the cuff dropped open, falling away from Tim’s wrist. Frantically he removed the others, falling back to the bed in exhaustion as he finally freed himself.
After being stretched out for so long, forced open for Ra’s pleasure, Tim curled up in a ball, pulling the silk sheets around him and let himself cry.
Hold on...
“Ra’s chambers are always in the centre of the complex,” Damian yelled, leading Dick through the mazelike building, his blade high and ready. “He would keep Tim nearby.”
“Down!” Dick yelled, throwing a handful of shuriken over Damian’s head.
“Left,” Damian yelled as they skidded along another corridor.
Dick stuck out, jamming a stray ninja into the wall. “Where is he?” He yelled, his voice deep and harsh and entirely Bat. “Where are you keeping Tim Drake? ”
The ninja spasmed as Dick forced his escrima under his chin, lifting him off the ground.
“Dick!” Damian yelled and pointed up the hallway.
Tim staggered into the light, leaving bloody smears on the wall as he held his hand to steady himself. The sheet he clutched around himself did nothing to cover the pallor of skin or the mottled bruises around his wrists and ankles.
Another explosion rocked the building, snapping Dick back to the mission at hand. He ran at Tim, scooping his brother up onto his shoulder without slowing down. “O, we have Tim. Give us an out.”
Head north. I’ll clear the way as best I can.
Doors opened to their right and they ran, Tim sagging limply over Dick’s shoulder. As they broke out into the open courtyard, more ninjas swarmed into view.
“This is my house,” Ra’s called, his voice strong and commanding. “And I have an objection to gatecrashers.” The somewhat thinned out crowd of ninjas parted before their leader who dragged Steph with him and threw her down at their feet.
“You ok Steph?” Dick asked quietly as she groaned.
“Had better days,” she conceded as Damian helped her up. The youth vibrated with anger as she brushed blood away from her eyes.
“Give me back what is mine,” the Demon’s Head demanded imperiously, “And I will permit you to live.”
Tim’s arms, weak and limp around Dick’s neck, tightened minutely.
“You will never take him from us,” Dick announced, just as bold. “He’s our brother.”
“And our friend.” A voice called from above.
Arsenal, Jason, Huntress and Alfred perched on the roof’s edge. The archer was at full draw as Jay and Helena hefted cross-bows. Alfred rested a shotgun across his arm.
“You’re going to back off,” Roy said confidently. “It’s time to leave.”
Ra’s raised his eyes to the ragged band. “You dare to challenge me in my own house? Do you honestly think this sad little attempt at a rescue is enough to intimidate me?”
“How cute! He thinks we’re the rescue team?” Roy laughed. “Oh no. We’re just the spokesmen. Out there,” he gestured into the darkness all around them. “Out there is the rescue team. The combined forces of the Justice League, the Titans, the Outsiders, the Birds of Prey and practically every hero in the community are out there waiting for our command.” He jumped down, landing next to Dick. “You mess with one of us; you mess with all of us!”
Huntress lowered Jason to the ground, watching silently as Jay reached out to brush a hand over Tim’s forehead.
“So.” Roy gestured. “So you and your little pyjama party are going to back off or we level this place.”
“No.” Damian stepped up, advancing on his grandfather. “He must be punished for what he has done.”
“Oh he will be,” Jay muttered, slamming the reloader into place. “Just as soon as Timmy’s safe.”
Ra’s cocked his head with a smile of faint amusement. “You really think any of you are walking out of here?”
“You really think you can stop us?” Roy grinned. A breeze sprang up and there was the distance sounds of capes snapping in the wind, flashes of blues, reds and whites in the darkness. “You really think you can stop all of us?”
Tim peeled himself carefully out of Dick’s embrace and steadied himself with a hand on Jay’s shoulder. “Back off.” He said quietly to the assembled hoard on ninjas. “Back off and you live.” He took two unsteady steps towards the Demon’s Head. “Sword.”
Damian tossed his sword towards Tim, the handle falling neatly into his hand.
“Kneel.” Tim ordered, his eyes never leaving Ra’s, his voice growing steadily stronger. “On your knees.”
Four ninjas stepped up and were dropped instantly, arrows sticking out of their chests.
Steph swept Ra’s’ legs from under him with a quick brush of her staff.
The Demon’s Head stared up at Tim as the young man advanced, sword in hand. “You will always be mine Songbird. Nothing will change that, not even my death.”
Tim raised the sword slowly, swallowing hard.
“You will still dream of me,” Ra’s whispered, his eyes burning with darkness as he stared up at Tim. “You will still feel my touch long after I am gone.” The Demon smiled slyly. “The memory of the pleasures I have shown you. Every time your brother’s touch you-”
“Enough!” Tim growled, pressed the point of the blade to the hollow of Ra’s throat “You will never touch me again.” he announced slowly.
“Tim?” Dick called hesitantly as blood beaded in the sword’s tip. “Leave him. Let the others deal with him.” As much as he wanted this man punished, not at the price of Tim’s soul.
“You will never come near me or my family again,” Tim continued as the blood welled and oozed down Ra’s throat, staining the collar of his shirt. “If I ever see you or any of your agents near us; this will end.”
Ra’s’ eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak but Tim leant into the blade. The point of the sword was mere millimetres from making the fatal cut. The slightest increase of pressure...
“You will wear this scar and you will know that you can never own me.” Tim let the blade fall and Dick stepped up to catch him as he wavered on his feet.
“Time to go.” Dick muttered, staring at Ra’s who made no move to stem the bleeding.
“You will regret this, Songbird.” Ra’s called as Dick and Jason steered Tim away. “I will come for you.”
Damian spun around, catching Steph’s staff as she tossed it to him and slammed it down on his grandfather’s side, knocking the Demon’s Head to the ground. “I castrated the last man who touched one of my brothers,” He whispered fiercely, leaning in over the fallen man. “And I will do far worse to you if you ever come near him again.” The youth stuck down hard, grinning as the man’s shoulder broke under the staff.
Alfred and Huntress were waiting for them on the other side of the gate, the rotors of a helicopter turning lazily.
“Everyone in.” Helena called as she kicked the engines to life.
Alfred helped Dick lift Tim into the cockpit as Jason leant heavily into Roy, Steph and Damian bring up the rear.
Dick glanced up into the darkness and saw the rings of flags that snapped and furled in the breeze, sharing their colour with the night. “Nice bluff.” He nodded to Roy as he helped Jay into the helicopter.
“Who was bluffing?” Roy shrugged, touching his comms. “They’re in. Get them out of here.”
Huntress flicked him a thumbs up and piloted the chopper up and away.
Roy watched them go, shouldering his bow as he touched his comms once more. “Ladies and gentleman, our birds have flown and are safe on their way. Thanks for the back up.” There was a distant flutter and shifting of the air and Roy felt the shadows empty.
Almost empty.
Superboy landed at Roy’s side, his face pinched with anger. “He can’t get away with this,” Kon growled, his hands clenched in convulsive fists. “I saw what he did to Tim. I know Oracle ordered us not to get involved but I can’t...I can’t let him get away with that!”
“I know.” Roy touched his ear again. “All clear O. Let it burn!”
From the helicopter that peeled away towards the coast, the explosions just sounded like distant thunder.
Part 4...