Lizzielou17 request that was requested some time ago plz forgive me for taking so long

At least it was over 4000 words to make up for it

EDIT: TW BLOOD

Dick was glad to escape the boring old classroom. Maths could be fun but when you finished the work ten minutes into the lesson when it was supposed to last the whole lesson, it got boring very quickly. He was let out early due to this so he decided to wait on the stairs for his older brother, Jason. There weren't many people on the streets at this time since most schools weren't finished for the day yet. He said goodbye to a few other students that had been let out of their lessons and perched himself on the stone walls near the stairs. He didn't want to be in the way of other students. He kicked the air with his legs, humming a tune to himself as he waited. As he did, a man approached him. He had grey hair, like Alfred's, and wore everyday slacks. He didn't look too out of the ordinary but there was something about him that made Dick feel uneasy. Maybe it was the ghastly scar running from his eyebrow to his cheekbone, going over his eye. He felt a little guilty that he was judging the man on his scar but it was pretty freaky. Almost familiar too. "Hello sir," he greeted politely.

"Good afternoon. You look rather lonely on this wall."

"Oh, I'm just waiting for my brother. He's still in class but he should be here soon."

"It's Dick isn't it?" He nodded unsurely. He wasn't quite used to everyone knowing who he was yet. It felt weird but he supposed it wasn't something to worry about. "Tell me, Dick, have your family ever told you about a man called Slade?"

"I can't say they have. Is he famous?" Dick wondered if he was Slade and just wanted someone to remember him. Maybe he was a washed-up old actor who lost work after he got that scar. That would explain the odd familiarity. He could be from one of Damian's martial art movies that he watched strictly for educational purposes and not because he thought they were cool. "Quite so. Do me a favour and don't scream? It makes this a whole lot harder than it needs to be." He pulled out a white napkin and that, as well as his comment, caused Dick to jump off the wall. Unfortunately, the man grabbed his arm and brought him back to the wall. He pushed him against it and got a handful of his raven hair, keeping control of his head whilst he pressed the napkin against the boy's nose and mouth. Tears welled in Dick's eyes as he tried to scream loud enough for someone to hear him but nobody noticed. The streets were empty. There were no cars strolling by. Any other students had already disappeared down back alleys. He stared up at the man, immediately terrified by his lack of expression. It was so cold and unfeeling. What was going to happen to him? "That's it, Dick. Just breathe it in." Eventually, his eyes went out of focus and his eyelids fell closed. His body went limp and the old man released his grip on the boy's hair. "There's a good boy."

"Dick!" Jason yelled from the stairs. His lesson had been finished early thanks to his teacher getting sick halfway through. He dashed to snatch back his brother from Slade's clutches but the man had already stuffed the younger in the trunk of his car. The car screeched off with his baby brother inside. He screamed for someone, anyone, to help him but no help came. His classmates gave him an odd look, not seeing what had happened to put him in such a state. He attempted to run after the car as he shouted and yelled for someone to stop it. His eyes watered as his breathing became rapid from almost blind panic. He hadn't even thought to call his dad until the car was out of sight and there was no hope of catching up with it. Shakily, he plucked his phone from his pocket and panickedly called Bruce. "Jason where are-"

"Slade took Dick! He took him, Bruce! I couldn't get him!" he cried.

"Where did you last see him?"

"Lost him at the interchange. Bruce, I-I tried!"

"I know you did. Tell me where you are so I can pick you up. I'll have Damian start the search."

A limo screeched to a halt in front of Jason, who felt two minutes away from having a full-on breakdown, and he clambered inside. Bruce instantly moved to be by his side and enveloped him in a hug. He gently shushed the boy as Alfred sped back home, doing his best to soothe him. "I told him to always wait by the stairs. I should've told him to wait inside," he sobbed into Bruce's chest. 

"This isn't your fault," the older assured him. "I should've told him about Slade. This is my fault."

"He's gonna be okay right? We'll find him?"

"Of course we will," Bruce replied, stroking the other's hair to keep him calm. He couldn't afford to have Jason freak out any more on him. They'd need all the help they could get. His brain was already trying to jump to conclusions. What if Dick was dead? No, that couldn't be. Slade would've just killed him if that was the end goal. There had to be something more. His mind trekked back to any threats to his family over the last month. He drew a blank. Perhaps he wasn't supposed to find out what happened to his son. Little did Slade know he wasn't one for giving up his kids. He'd find Dick if it were the last thing he did.

At the cave, Damian and Tim were working furiously to find any leads on where Slade had taken their brother. Their fingers worked fast as they sought to get results before they were an hour behind. They had a limited amount of time to get information before leads went cold and Dick was God knows where. "I've got a hit four blocks away from where Jay lost him!" Tim announced, trying to zoom in on the number plate. It became slightly pixelated but that didn't stop him just making out the licence plate. "Copy into the tracker, see if you get any more hits," Damian ordered. This was the only time they could stand to work with one another. It took a lot to stop them bickering and for Damian's orders to be taken without some sort of snide comment and this was definitely a lot. Dick was in the clutches of one of their greatest enemies. At least Joker was easy to track. Slade was a whole other entity. He could disappear within 24 hours and appear two months later with a bigger arsenal to match his thirst for vengeance. "I've got two more hits before it drops off at the harbour. No boats have left, unauthorised or authorised so he must still be there," Tim informed the other.

"Was the car in any blind spots?" Damian asked before he got his hopes up.

"Two blind spots, both near Slade's previous hideouts."  

"He's not stupid enough to take Grayson there. Although, he may just be hoping that what we think. Put his and Grayson's face through recognition and see if you get any other hits, I'll check the docks for anything." Tim nodded and began his research, hoping that something would come out of it. He couldn't lose the youngest member of their familiar to Slade, to anyone for that matter. Dick was more valuable to him than anything else. He was just a kid when he lost everything yet he remained so cheerful and caring towards everyone, including Damian who wasn't exactly the nicest to him when he first arrived. Though, like everyone, Dick soon wormed his way into his heart and remained there as their combined weak spot. Even when he joined them fighting, they couldn't see him as anything more than an adorable child. Who couldn't with that goofy grin? They often wondered if criminals just humoured him by running off as soon as they heard his cackles from the shadows. A loud rapid beeping broke Tim from his thoughts. "Dick's been picked up by the system. Looks like there are a few safe houses around there. Most still haven't been fixed from that fire a few years ago," he proclaimed. Damian's eyebrows furrowed. "He doesn't have a clear escape route from there, was Slade found with him?"

"Found entering the area but his face must've been obstructed from there on," he replied. Damian hummed with concern. Slade has essentially trapped himself inside the city so he must want something otherwise he wouldn't dare step foot in front of the cameras.

Before he could go any further on that thought, a rogue transmission was being played through his computer. He swiftly improved the connection and moved it to the big screen just as Bruce and Jason came running in. "Who's that?" Bruce asked.

"Glad you asked Bruce," Slade's voice answered, ringing through the speakers. They shuddered once they remembered Slade knew who they were really were. It was awful to know that he hung that information above their heads although a part of them knew he'd never tell anyone. He'd lose his uniqueness if he did. The picture on the screen began to clear to reveal Slade kneeling in front of the camera and Dick tied up and teary-eyed in the background, a dirty gag keeping him from yelling too loud. It made them sick to see the image but they had to watch on if they ever wanted to see him again. Damian signalled for Tim to begin tracking the transmission in order to confirm a destination to attack. "What do you want with Dick? He's just a child!"

"A child you put to work as a hero. If he wants to be a hero, he'll be treated like one," he responded. "Besides, he's having so much fun, aren't you bud?" Dick glared at him in response, unable to really fire back. "I have your kid at my mercy so you better listen carefully. I want 1 billion dollars in cash (since all of you ragged on me for making it too low) and a speedboat by midnight tonight. You'll meet me at the pier with both. Then you can have the kid back. He seems nice enough so it would be a downright shame if anything happened to him."

"You keep your hands off him!"

"I will if you meet my commands. You have an hour to figure out what you're going to do. Until then, Dick and I are gonna have some fun aren't we?" Dick's eyes widened in fear, pleasing the assassin. "You wanna say something to your family, could be your last words?" He took the gag out the boy's mouth and gave him a minute to speak. 

"Don't give him anything! I can take whatever he does to me, I promise!" Slade chuckled darkly and shoved the gag back in. 

"You've gone and given me a challenge," he whispered into the boy's ear. He turned his attention back to the camera and moved his hand behind it. "Don't disappoint me, Bruce." Then the line went dead.

They stood there in silence, watching the static dance along with the screen. It seemed almost fanciful to think this was really happening. Maybe it could've been prevented. Perhaps they were taking for granted the peaceful moments they had and got wrapped up so much in their domestic lives that they completely forgot about what they did at night. Now Dick was in the hands of a criminal instead of their own. They were going to spoil him rotten once they got him back. He wouldn't leave their sight for any longer than two minutes with exceptions for the obvious of course. "What's our plan?" Damian announced, breaking through the silence.

"Did you track the transmission?" Bruce responded. Tim nodded, pulling up the pinpoint on the map of Gotham. "Everyone suit up. I'm not giving this man anything except for a body cast," he proclaimed. They nodded, running off to find their suits. Bruce stood there for a moment, not doing much of anything. He took a deep breath as he prepared himself for the mission. He couldn't imagine the things that the poor boy was going through. Slade was a vicious man with no mercy. Bruce didn't like to think about what he'd be doing in the two hours he'd given them. Hopefully, it wouldn't be something that ruined Dick's life but he couldn't put it past the villain. He then ran off to get in his own suit before reconvening with his sons. "We have a two-hour window to get in there and get Dick back. I don't want any fighting between any of you. I hope for Dick's sake you can keep it together," he ordered. They nodded, giving each other glances of truce. "Tim send the location to all vehicles then everyone set off. I want constant updates on anything."

"On it," Tim stated, running back to the computer to send out the location. "All done, let's go get Dick back."

All was quiet as they rode through the city. The outside world watched on with confusion as they saw the Batfamily come out before darkness set in but they didn't care too much. It was midnight somewhere and evil never rests. The citizens just made sure to change directions if they were going the same way as the motorcycles and car. Slade was in the slums of the city which had been devastated by fire, as Red Hood had suspected. They hoped this would keep the fight enclosed in that area so no civilians accidentally walked into it but they could only hope of course. There'd been a rising trend in people entering no go zones just to get a few more followers on social media. They couldn't see the point in it though they guessed what they did could be seen as pointless also. Once they were close, they parked up and spread out. Red Hood and Nightwing struck out on their own whilst Red Robin remained by Batman's side. They cautiously stalked through the old neighbourhood, their ears straining for any sort of sound. All they could hear was the city whirring in the distance and their own steps on the concrete. Then they heard it. A loud shrill scream they knew could only come from the mouth of their youngest. Batman gave the signal for them to move in on the sound and they did so, being extra cautious to not trigger Slade's suspicions that his grand plan hadn't worked well in his favour. "I can see why Joker likes torture so much," Slade's voice rang through the empty streets. "The power you have when a hero is all tied up and can do nothing but beg for mercy. Though, if you're anything like your brothers, I bet you're too stubborn to beg for it," he added. A gargled scream followed and their hearts stopped. Gargling meant he was bleeding somewhere inside. "Now now, don't choke on your own blood. I only knocked out a few teeth," Slade taunted. Whimpers and whines followed so they continued to close in on the criminal. Nightwing took it upon himself to create a distraction to lure the criminal out. Fighting with him whilst he was near Dick was too risky and it was too easy to get wrong. Nightwing picked up a bit of rubble and hurled it so it created a noise a few feet away from them. "Looks like we have company. I would say stay here but it's not like you have much choice," Slade teased. They waited a few moments until they spotted him exiting the building. Nightwing and Red Hood split off to face the assassin whilst Batman and Red Robin had their sights on getting Dick.

Once Slade was far enough away, Batman and Red Robin ran inside the building he exited from. They found the camera he used to contact them, a few empty wrappers and bottle but most importantly they found Dick. He lay on the floor on his side. The dirty gag seen in the video was now stained with his blood and his hands and feet were secured with zip ties. His eyes were half-lidded, one swollen thanks to a growing black eye. His uniform was messy too, they could spot dirt that showed the imprint of Slade's shoes on his shirt. Their blood boiled at the sight but they had more important things to deal with. Upon seeing Batman and Red Robin, or at least their fuzzy figures, Dick gave them a weary smile. Tears trailed down his face in relief as they got closer. Red Robin removed his gag first, now noticing that Dick's two front teeth were missing. He frowned at this. The younger was already made fun of for his accent, the missing teeth would only make it worse. They'd give him a lisp that would be brilliant material for bullies. He'd keep an extra eye on him. "Hey Dickie, sorry we didn't come sooner," he greeted as Batman cut the zip ties. 

"So far all I've lost is my award-winning smile, things could be worse," Dick replied tiredly. His face was paler than either had ever seen it. They suspected the sheer terror had made it that way. "I think it adds character," Batman chipped in. He picked Dick up and held him so his legs wrapped around his father's hips and his body could be held flushed against the older's. It made it easier to run away and protect him from stray bullets. Speaking off, gunshots rang through the empty neighbourhood and they knew they had limited time to get Dick out of there. Batman sprinted back to the Batmobile with Red Robin in tow, placing his youngest in the backseat. "Protect your brother. I'm going back for the others," Batman ordered.

"I want to help," Red Robin argued.

"You can by staying with your brother. Don't leave this car. If we're not back in half an hour, you set it on autopilot and go home, put everything in lockdown then contact the League." Due to the severity in his voice, Red Robin relinquished his argument and let him go. Batman locked the Batmobile and ran off into the distance. The boy climbed into the backseat so his younger brother could be near him and held him close. Dick was always affectionate so he hoped this would help. "Y-you should go after him," Dick said, slightly unsure of himself. On one hand, he wanted to make sure he'd be okay, on the other he wanted his family to be safe. He guessed he couldn't have both. "You heard him. I have to stay here with you," Red Robin reminded him. 

"And when have you ever followed orders?" He had a point but Red Robin was unsure to acknowledge it. No part of him felt right about leaving his vulnerable, freshly tortured, ten-year-old brother in the backseat of the Batmobile even if it meant helping the others fight. "I'll open the doors then lock it straight afterwards. I-I'll be okay."

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye." Red Robin hugged him tightly, accepting his suggestion. The younger then opened the car doors with a little ingenuity and let him go before locking himself inside. He wheezed out a laugh before laying down on the backseat. He'd take these moments of peacefulness whilst he had them.

When Red Robin arrived to join the fight, they were just about to win. They just needed an extra push which he was happy to provide. He swiftly threw a smoke bomb at the ground and jumped on Slade, forcing him to the ground. Nightwing took notice of this and handcuffed Slade whilst he could. Thinking about it a little more, he cuffed his feet also just to make sure. The smoke cleared and Batman was able to see that Red Robin had gone against what he'd ordered. Of course, he had. When did anyone ever listen to him? "You're supposed to be in the car," he stated.

"And you were supposed to be dead if I didn't come to help. Besides, Dick said he was fine on his own for a bit," he replied. They shared a glare for a moment but nothing more. Batman knew his heart was in the right place. He was right too, they needed the extra pair of hands. "How was he?" Red Hood inquired, slightly out of breath from the fight.

"Bad but could be worse. We should get back before he starts to panic about where we are," Batman answered. The brothers nodded in confirmation. 

"I'll take Slade to the authorities. They'll keep him busy for a while," Red Hood said, dragging the villain to his feet. To think the authorities would keep him in prison for longer than a month would be idiotic. Police officers weren't any match for him but they'd keep him incarcerated long enough for him to come up with a different plan to flee the country that didn't involve the Batfamily. He should've known better than to mess with him. "Come to the manor tonight. He'll want to see you," Batman pointed out. 

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Batman unlocked the car and got inside, immediately checking on the young boy in the back seat. He looked relieved to see them and tried to wipe away at the fresh tears he'd shed from worry. Batman reached to the back and held his hand as though to say "Everything's okay now." Dick nodded and put on his seatbelt, tapping Red Robin's shoulder so he'd do the same. On this one occasion, he decided to play it safe and wear it just to keep Dick happy. "You can have whatever you want when we get home, my treat for messing up so badly," Batman told him, starting up the car. "Can I sleep in your room tonight? Just this once," Dick requested shyly.

 "Dick, you can sleep in my bed for the next month if that's what you want."

They drove back home and Alfred was there to greet them. He swooped Dick up the moment he stepped out of the Batmobile, thanking everyone and anything for bringing him back home safe. After getting his excitement upon seeing the boy again, he became more serious and gave him the once over. He lifted up his shirt, tapping on his chest, but only found bruises instead of fractured or even broken ribs. That meant his insides should still be normal. He took out a little torch and shone it in Dick's eyes. His pupils acted accordingly. "You've had a lucky escape, Master Dick. It looks like you'll only be dealing with healing bruises and cuts," Alfred told him once he was confident there wasn't anything severely wrong. Dick nodded, trying to keep his smile up. They could see it fracturing from the relief of coming home and the terror Slade had instilled in him. "Grayson, are you alright?" Damian asked. At first, Dick nodded but then the nods slowly turned into him shaking his head as tears rolled down his cheeks. 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be crying when you worked so hard to get me back," he apologised as he roughly wiped away his tears. Bruce picked him up so he was resting on his hip and shushed him gently. "It's alright. You were such a brave boy today, you deserve a little cry if you need to. Doesn't he Jason?" Bruce stated.

"He could cry all night if he wanted to," Jason commented. "We could watch a movie, maybe order some pizza. I'm sure Alfie would be happy to skip making tea for us all."

"That sounds good," Dick mumbled. He hid his face in Bruce's shoulder to find some comfort although it aggravated his now bruising eye. 

"Let's go pick out a movie. Tim's gonna come home later so you can get hugs off him if you want." Bruce was doing his best to sound soothing and it was doing wonders. Despite the fact he could still feel the boy shaking in his arms, he knew Dick was getting relaxed. He began to go up the stairs, calling for the remaining brothers to follow him and giving Alfred the rest of the night off. There wasn't much he was going to be doing so he saw no point in forcing the old man to stay awake for longer with no reason to.

Dick ended up picking a Disney movie, one of his favourite types since they were normally pretty happy, and they ordered a pizza. He remained on Bruce's lap for most of the night, curled up against him in order to feel safe. He always did when Bruce held him. The other part of the night he spent in Tim's arms. He always allowed Dick to snuggle up to him and was happy to provide him with some sort of comfort. Though he'd sometimes get flashes to when he was in the trunk, he was able to shake them off by just reminding himself that he was sitting with his family and watching cartoons. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep and Bruce took him up to his bedroom. He remained at Dick's side all night, gently petting his hair to ease off nightmares and remaining vigilant of any signs that meant his sleep was being disturbed. Most of the night he just spent staring at Dick's face. How adorable he was would always astound him. He hated the fact that there was an ever-darkening bruise around his eye and he personally vowed to have Slade hospitalised the next time he saw him. For now, however, Bruce was content to just be there for his son who needed a calm level headed father more than he needed a passion-driven vigilante. 

so idk if I'll post next week because ya bitch got so much work to do and i probably won't have time to write stuff but i'll try