Aromantic_Satan this is what happens when I'm indecisive - REVERSE BATFAM BTW

Deck a doctor sounds like a band name...I call it if I ever start a band

Can we also appreciate that as a kid I didn't realize that Charlie in Charlie and Lola was a boy? 

EDIT: TW GORE

Pain was the only thing he could feel. In some way, he was happy that he was feeling it when he was outside of his suit. At least he could scream out without ruining his reputation as the smart mouth kid who never showed any sign of weakness. There was too much resting on his shoulders for him to afford to. Joker was reveling in his suffering, giggling and chuckling when another slash caused a river of blood to escape the confinements of his body. There was finally a pause in the constant torture as the knives were losing their metallic glint from the stains of blood. Joker tutted to himself and took out a jar of salt. "Now just because the knives are getting dirty doesn't mean the party should stop should it?" the man commented. He dug his gloved hand into the jar, letting the salt fall through the gaps of his fingers a few times just to toy with his victim. Dick gritted his teeth together. He knew how this was going to go. He shook his head instinctively even though he knew that wouldn't stop what was going to happen. His eyes went wide with panic as the Joker took a handful and stalked towards him. "Now, which cut should I do it to? I don't want those lovely Js to get all infected. Oh, I've spotted the perfect one!" A burning sensation hit Dick like a truck as a heap of salt was rubbed into the open cuts on his shoulder. He tried to bite back a scream as best he could, not wanting to give the clown any more satisfaction but he couldn't help but cry just that bit harder. "Aww, is baby upset? We've not even got to the best part yet," Joker cooed. He took the knives from the nearby table and went to a bucket of water that was only a foot away. There was a rag beside it. Dick felt his heart drop when he noticed it. He knew what it was going to be used for. The fact that his blood was now tainting it was turning his stomach. "Why am I here?" Dick croaked. He was being put through hell anyway so he thought he may as well know why. 

"Well Batsy has a whole little family of brats and since my Harley has decided she wants to play hero, I'm down a sidekick. Who better to fill that space than you? The lonely circus freak. The charity case. The popularity booster," he explained. "Not to mention, the Wayne's are rather close to the bat brats. Though you mean less than nothing to them, it's the principle of the matter."

"That's not true, they love me. Even if it was, what makes you think torturing me will get me to work under you?" he questioned. Joker chuckled under his breath as he tapped the side of the knife on the rim of the metal bucket. 

"Dickie dearest, you'll bend to my will because what else do you have? I've kept you here for what? Two days by this evening," he explained. "It's between death or being with me. At least with me, you can make them pay for leaving you in my care." He got back up then wiped the blade against the rag. "What will it be? Don't you want to live past twelve?"

There was a long pause as Dick thought about which poison to pick. Then he shook off the ideas the villain was placing in his head. "I don't need to make a decision like that because Batman will save me. Him and all his proteges. Let's face it, Joker, when have you ever won?" he spat. Joker's perpetual smile fell. His eyes went dark as his grip on the knife got tighter. 

"I've won many times. I killed the second Robin."

"Who then came back to life as Red Hood." The older man began to pace around him. He leaned over the child as he circled him like a starving dog around an injured rabbit. Dick could practically see the white froth building up at the side of his mouth from how angry he was getting. "I paralyzed Barbara Gordon."

"Does she look bothered?" he asked with a smirk. He liked this. He was getting under his skin. It was great. After being slashed up mercilessly, he was getting in a jab. It wasn't as impactful but God was it satisfying. "I tortured Commissioner Gordon!"

"Which showed you up! One bad day was all it takes, you said yet you were wrong. He's still a good person and you're just a twat in clown makeup with a God complex."

"That's it!" Joker brought up his arm and slammed down the knife he was holding into his victim's thigh. He twisted it in with gritted teeth as the tiny acrobat screamed with pain. "You're a little shit and you need to learn to hold your tongue," he whispered into his ear. He jumped to his feet, snatched the large bucket and rag off the ground then stomped back. "Consider this a warning. Next time, I'll rip your tongue right out of your little mouth." Dick tried to even out his breathing whilst he could but he couldn't when he was crying so much. Everything hurt. It had never hurt this much. He guessed he brought this next part on himself but it was worth it somehow. If he got out of this alive, he'd brag about pissing Joker off.

The tiniest amount of joy he'd gotten from that moment disappeared when he felt his head being dragged back. A bloodied rag was put over his face and tightened at the back so he couldn't shake it off. His hands gripped the chair he was tied to in anticipation for the worst part. Right now he was breathing fairly well with the only downside being that he could smell blood. He heard the light sloshing of water and a shiver was sent down his spine. Then he felt the cold constant flow of it cover his face and most importantly his mouth. His whole body constricted and tried to move away from the stream but he couldn't escape it. He could taste the iron of his blood, the rust of the bucket, and he felt bits of grit gather near his mouth on top of the rag. He whimpered and groaned as though that would pause the flow but it wouldn't. The rag was keeping his airflow down. He couldn't breathe. Oh God, he couldn't breathe. Joker said it was his sidekick or death. What if he decided it wasn't worth it and was going to keep pouring? How could there be so much water in one bucket? A low chuckle turned into maniacal laughter so loud it was deafening.

Suddenly there was a new noise. The sound of double doors being kicked open and slamming into the walls they're connected to. He jumped at the sound, unknowing of who it was. It could be someone who wanted in on the torture. Maybe Harley had come back to Joker and now she needed to prove herself by spilling his blood more so than it already had been. "Get your filthy hands off of Grayson!" He knew that voice. He knew it so well that the sound of it was going to make him cry even more. Footsteps rushed towards him before a crunch and a thud. The rag around his face loosened now that Joker wasn't holding it tight and he moved his head from side to side to shake it off. He managed to get it off and took deep shaky breaths. "Took you long enough," he choked out. Nightwing untied his wrists and ankles, hissing under his breath at the skin that's been rubbed raw. 

"Holy shit," Red Hood announced from the doorway as he and Red Robin joined the pair. 

"It's like a reunion," Dick commented sarcastically. 

"I won't be able to get the knife out without causing more damage. You'll have to go to the hospital," the eldest stated.

"One hell hole to another-AH." A shriek left his lips as the hero's hands simply just grazed his sore cuts on his shoulder. He doubled over from the pain but that made everything worse because he was opening the cuts on his back whilst touching the nasty ones on the front. Still, he stayed doubled over and took uneven breaths to cope. Tears spilled down his cheeks which wasn't helping the whole dehydrated problem. "Half of these are infected, I can't touch you without it hurting."

"I can give him a tranquilizer? We can move him then," Red Hood suggested.

"Let's just get the ambulance crew down here first. They're more qualified than us."

"Not to be a dick but I've been here for TWO WHOLE ASS DAYS SO DECIDE SOMETHING BEFORE I BLEED OUT!"

"Sorry," they said in unison.

They decided on getting the ambulance crew in even though they were constantly putting their two cents in on everything they did. "I'm sorry but none of you can ride with him, we have to have multiple people working on him and there isn't any room," one of the paramedics stated.

 "Fine," Nightwing said, holding his hands out so neither of his brothers decided today was the day they'd deck a doctor. "We'll let his family know he's at the hospital," he added through gritted teeth. It was torture listening to Dick cry in the background knowing that none of them could be there for him yet. "I'll let them know they're coming," the paramedic replied. "We need this boy in the ICU ASAP-"

If Dick thought to get the wounds were painful, then he hadn't felt anything yet. The moment he stirred into consciousness his whole body had that painful sting to it that he'd never had at such an intensity. It was like invisible flames were burning him. He whimpered quietly, unable to get enough energy to vocalize his pain any louder. He pried his eyes open even though he desperately wanted to fall back asleep but he had to make sure what happened did happen. That his brothers did save him. That Joker definitely wasn't right. The room was white. Sterile. Machines beeped in the background. He noticed the tube leading to his arm from a drip. Most likely antibiotics to fight the infection. He did a double-take when looking at his arm. It was covered with bandages. Not too much of a surprise yet it still caused a small jolt. There was an uncomfortable feeling on his face as his breath felt trapped around his chin and nose. He knew it was an oxygen mask. "Good to see you awake Richard. We'll get you more comfortable once we do an assessment, is that alright?" the doctor announced from the doorway. She had a nurse with her. He was a tall dark-haired guy. A little on the skinny side. He reminded Dick of Tim. "Where are my brothers?" he asked, his voice muffled by the mask.

"They're in the waiting room right now. We'll send them soon," she explained. "Now, I'm Dr Volv and this is Nurse Matthews. He's going to help you sit up. It's going to be painful at first but we have to break some eggs to make an omelet don't we Matthews?"

"Indeed we do."

Tim's leg bounced up and down impatiently in the waiting room of the hospital. His brothers weren't any better off. Dick had been taken whilst under their care after all. The day he was taken they were supposed to pick him up from school since Alfred would be busy. They were arguing before they left the house since when it did come time to pick him up they were all in the middle of doing something. Finally, Jason decided to be the bigger man and go pick him up yet when he got there, no one was left outside the school. It was dead quiet. He thought maybe Dick had gotten sick of waiting and, with the emergency cash Bruce insisted on giving him, got on the bus home. When he got home though, Dick wasn't home. Nobody had heard from him. They waited half an hour, just in case the bus theory was true and they called him constantly only to get no reply, and there was still no sign of the acrobat. The next thing they knew, Joker was rumored to have him. Guilt had never hit them that hard before. Jason picked at his thumbnail as his eyes darted from the floor to the door over and over. Damian was taking the lecture of a lifetime from Bruce in the corner of the room. Embarrassed and guilty, what a nice mixture. "Father, there was no lead up to the kidnapping and we did save him," he stated, trying to save his ass. He knew it was in vain but he still wanted to try. 

"After two days!"

"You weren't any help," he snapped.

"I'm on Mars! I can't fly back for another three days because I'm on a mission! That's why I put you in charge in the first place."

"Fair point but-"

"No buts. Next time I'm leaving Cass in charge of him. You better do a good job of looking after him from now own or I'll never trust you with his wellbeing again!" The line went dead and Damian huffed, shoving his phone back in his pocket. 

"In the dog house?" Tim inquired.

"We're on the street," he responded.

"The Wayne family?" a woman announced. The three stood to attention at the call of the name. "Come with me," she added. As she led them down the hall, she gave them the information they needed to know. "He's awake and responding well. He did ask for you but we needed to go through some procedures first. He seems quite alert. You'd almost think he'd gone through this before," she joked. Jason chuckled nervously. The last thing they needed was an identity leak. She knocked on one of the doors before opening it for them then closed it once they were all inside. 

A doctor was reading through their notes, making small humming noises whenever she glanced up at the machines. Dick was retailing how he roasted the Joker to the nurse before smiling brightly at his family. "Ah, the Waynes! I'm Dr. Volv and this is Nurse Matthews, we've been monitoring Richard since he came in last night," Dr Volv greeted upon realizing they'd been standing there. "I've got some good news for you; it appears that he's not sustained any brain injuries nor is there any water in his lungs. Due to this, he'll be able to leave in a few hours."

"But he doesn't have water in his lungs or a brain injury?" Tim repeated. 

"There are a few administrative things that need to be done before he can leave like contacting your family doctor and make arrangements for strong painkillers," Nurse Matthews explained. "Any questions?"

"What's the recovery time on this? He still does acrobatics, how long till then?" Jason asked. He hoped it wasn't too long. Obviously he was aware it wasn't going to be an overnight job but he couldn't help but want a miracle. "You're looking at two months I'd say for the cuts to fully heal. It's difficult to say since some are infected or in places that are more likely to be under strain. We'll give you a plan to follow when you leave."

"When can he go back to school?" Damian asked. He didn't want him to miss out on any more education than he already had to. Dr Vulv pursed her lips for a moment and glanced over to the boy in the bed. He'd gotten bored and continued his talk with the nurse, practically forgetting they were in the room. She moved closer to the three. "I'm gonna be honest with you, going back to school might not be the best thing for him. He'll most likely have some sort of PTSD from this incident, if he doesn't it'll be a medical miracle, and repeatedly going back to the place he was taken from could hinder his mental health." Their hearts dropped. Bruce had tried so hard to make life normal again for the kid and they'd just messed it all up. 

"You're saying we should pull him out of school?" Damian asked just to clarify. 

"All I'm saying is to keep the idea in mind. He seems happy right now but I don't know what the long term effects on his mind will be. We've seen Joker victims seem okay and then develop agoraphobia," she explained. "I know you aren't his legal guardians but I trust that you will tell Mr. Wayne that going back to school could be detrimental." They nodded. To say they fucked this up would be the biggest understatement of the century.

"We'll keep that in mind. Can we have a moment alone with him?"

"Of course. Nurse Matthews and I will be next door with another patient so if you need us do come to find us," she replied. 

pt 2?