The car ride was completely quiet but none of them expected anything different. Occasionally the silence would be broken by Batman checking police radios. Nothing would come up about Dick so he'd turn it back down. He strained his ears to catch any police codes that would be connected to the missing child. He was debating what to do with the two boys in the back of the car. Obviously, he couldn't let them come in with him because that would put them in danger. Then again, if he left them in the car would that be just as dangerous? He didn't know what to do and as he got closer and closer to the location he still didn't have much of an idea. 

"What's the plan?" Tim asked as he realized they were close. On a whim, Batman went with whatever he came up with first. 

"I go in and you two wait in the car. Once I catch Joey, I'll call an ambulance depending on what shape Dick's in, and then I take you two home. The most you're going to do is watch the car." 

"No, we want to help not just be car sitters," Jason huffed. 

"You're helping by staying out of the way. I won't let you traumatize yourselves." The pair scowled at him but decided to let up on the subject. They could let him think he won the argument but that wouldn't stop them stepping in when needed. 

They got to the location. It was one of the warehouses near the docks that were privately rented out. Batman knew it was a hub for drug trade but he'd never managed to catch a deal in progress. He parked the Batmobile at the side of the first building and put on the handbrake. He then turned to the boys with a serious look on his face. 

"I know you want to help but the best thing you can do is wait here."

"But B, there could be loads of people in there and you might need some backup-"

"And two children aren't going to make much of a difference. Stay here." They glared at them but neither made their move to undo their seatbelts. Batman took this as compliance and gave a small nod to himself. The last thing he needed was two children getting in his way. He got out of the car and handed Tim the keys. "Only in emergencies," he stated. The boy nodded and took them. 

After that, Batman shot a grappling hook to the roof and pulled himself up. He knew that the warehouses had glass windows on top of them where he could get a good grasp of what was going on inside before stepping in. He went to the right one and took a look inside. The sight appalled him. 

There were only two people inside the warehouse, Dick and Joey. Joey was currently taking a drink of water very casually. As though he hadn't kidnapped a child that he planned to murder before the end of the night. Beside him was Dick. He'd been put on a meathook, the hook had been driven through his left shoulder. There was more blood on his body than skin. Everywhere Batman's eyes glanced, there was blood on the poor boy. There was a piece of duck tape covering his mouth and his wrists had been tied as were his ankles. He was crying heavily, his chest heaving up and down. 

Then Joey picked up a poker that had been heating up over a travel stove. He then walked over to Dick and pressed it into the boy's skin, rolling it a little to get a bigger burn. Batman didn't hesitate. He smashed the window and dropped down. His expression was dark as he glared at the man. Joey, overhearing the crash, dropped the poker in favour of the gun he kept in his waistband. He pressed the gun against Dick's bloodied temple and he stared at the Dark Knight with a grin.

"One step closer and he gets it," he announced smugly. 

"What kind of coward tortures a child?" Batman spat. He moved into a position that would make it easier to pounce if Joey ever lost his focus. 

"I'm not a coward. I'm sending a message to those brats. Nobody fucking messes with me," he responded. 

"I'm going to give you a chance to back down now," Batman offered. 

"No way in hell will-" Joey was cut off by the sound of a car alarm. 

The moment he became distracted, Batman threw a smoke bomb down at the floor and dashed towards the man. He wrapped his arms around the other's torso and forced him to the ground. He kicked the gun off to the other side of the room and punched the man in the face. 

As anger took over, Batman placed a hand around Joey's neck to restrict his head so he could get a better angle to punch him. He almost felt satisfied when he heard his shouts and screams for someone to help because nobody would hear him. He was right where he wanted him. The hand around his neck tightened as he slipped into a blind rage. He had the power to snap the man's neck. He could do it right there and then and spare the boys from ever fearing that this man would come to hurt them. They'd know they'd always be safe with him and Joey would forever be gone. The thought seemed all too tempting to go through with. 

Dick whined as the contents of the smoke bomb irritated his cuts, sending waves of pure agony through his skinny body. He didn't know how long Batman wanted to fight Joey and he didn't care. He was going to get out of this without him. He could do it. Right? His hands were behind his back but that wouldn't stop him. He was an acrobat. What could stop him though was the awful pain he got from every slight movement. He bit his tongue, which he could foresee going terribly but he still did it and attempted to pull his legs up. He stopped as soon as they were high enough and brought his arms through so his bound wrists were now in front of him.

Unfortunately, his feeling of biting through his tongue came into formation and he now had a mouth full of blood. He ripped off the duck tape and spat it out with a sob. With trembling hands, he gripped the rope the meat hook was attached to and tried to pull himself up so he could wiggle the hook out of his shoulder. What he forgot to counter in was how weak he'd be. As he tried to pull himself up, his grip weakened and he slipped back down. He screamed as his skin ripped under the pressure of falling back down onto the meat hook. 

Upon hearing a scream behind him, Batman snapped out of his anger-induced trance and snapped his head towards the direction the sound came from. He jumped to his feet when he realized it was from Dick. Joey took this chance to run with his tail between his legs but that was the least of Batman's concerns. He snatched up a bloodied knife that must've been used to make some of the lacerations and cut the rope holding the meathook. Dick fell into his arms and clutched onto his suit as he cried his little heart out. 

"I've got you, Dickie. I'm right here. I'm going to call an ambulance, okay? Everything's going to be okay."

"Nice going Jay, you set off the alarm!" Tim scolded, batting the other's hand away so he could turn off the alarm. The older stuck his tongue out at him and folded his arms. 

"I was just trying to get some music on no need to crucify me," he snapped back. He sat back in his seat and looked out in front of him. There was nothing interesting to look at but he hoped it would take his mind off things. 

"Sorry," Tim apologized. Jason made a dismissive noise and cast his eyes to his feet. If he stretched just enough he could reach the pedals. Maybe when he felt like he had a death wish he could take this thing out for a spin. "Do you think Dick will be okay when this is over?" Tim asked, glancing over to him. He shrugged. 

"I hope he will be." They sat in silence for a while until they heard a scream. They whipped their heads towards the sound and just as Tim was going to ask what they were going to do, they saw Joey run out. "Batman's not running after him," Jason stated. 

"He's gonna get away!" Tim fretted.  

"Not if I have anything to do with it." He stretched his legs and put his foot on the acceleration. 

As Joey ran past the car, Jason slammed his foot down and hit the man so hard his body almost cracked the windshield. He looked around the car before Tim found a spare set of handcuffs, following his line of thought. They grinned at each other and got out of the car where Tim put the handcuffs on him. 

"This is for being an abusive jerk," he stated as he locked them. Jason kicked him in the nuts, receiving a shriek of pain. 

"And that's for hurting our brother." They high-fived in triumph and then turned to where they heard the scream in the first place. Their victory turned bitter when they realized someone was hurt and, if they were betting boys, they would say it came from Dick. In the distance, they could hear police cars and ambulances. This didn't end as well as they thought it did.