Protecting our leader.

Chapter Nine

Wally's P.O.V

I couldn't get to sleep that night, not after I found out what happened to Rob. So I was sat on the sofa and was surprised when I heard soft footsteps padding down the stairs. I turned around to see Jason coming down the stairs.
"Hey." He grumbled, coming over and sitting next to me.
"Why aren't you in bed?" I asked.
"I just found out something about my brother." He replied, "Something that should change everything, but nothing's differant. I just- how does he smile and joke when that happened to him."
"What exactly is that?" I asked.
"It's not my story to divulge." He replied, "Anyway, why are you down here?"
"I just found out a couple of shocking things from my best freind. Secrets he's been keeping from everyone." I replied.
"Who Robin?" He asked, "Isn't he kid invinciable or something?"
"Turns out he isn't." I said, "He's had a lot happened to him, and I thought my life was bad." My chuckle was dry and there was nothing behind this, and Jason knew this.
"What happened to him?" He asked and I debated teeling him for a second.
"You promise you won't repeat anything I say." I had decided, I needed to get it off my chest, even if Jason could do nothing I could say I tried.
"I promise."
"Turns out he was taken by a human trafficking ring that we had to put down." I explained, "He was missing for two whole weeks, two weeks where none of us knew where he was but we assumed he was doing Gotham work, se we did nothing. Turns out that he was getting raped."
"Huh," He crossed his legs and leaned his elbows on his knees, head in hands, "That's got to be terrible."
"I can't even begin to imagine." I sighed, "I mean, it didn't seem like anything changed about him. He was joking around, smiling." But now that I thought about it, he hadn't been as cheerful as he was before.
Sure, he was still the cheeriest out of all of us, but he was less. I'd see him out of the corner of my eye sometimes, not smiling but when he saw me he grinned so wide I thought I must have imagined it. Turns out I probably didn't.
"I know." Jason said and I turned to look at him, "I didn't think anything had changed about Dick. But hey, I guess he's just good at hiding things."
We sat in silence for a moment before Jason burst into tears, "I should have noticed. I should have been trustworthy."
I didn't think, I just brought him into my side and held him as he cried. I guess tonight was the night of secrets being revealed, and the night they destroyed the person closest to them.

Damian's P.O.V

School for the others, training for me. Or that's what normally happens. When I got to the training ring Talia led me straight back out. I followed her silently down the corridors and through the maze of this place. We finally went through a door and ended up in the streets of Gotham. We continued to silently walk the streets until we ended up at the open park and sat on the bench, watching the people as they played with their dogs or went for their morning runs.
"Why do you think he told no-one?" Mother broke the silence and I turned to her.
"He didn't want us to treat him differently." I replied, locking down my emotions, "Just like he told us."
"But we're his family. We'd respect his wishes." She argued.
"When have we ever respected their wishes." I asked, "We watched him when he didn't want us to. I have camera's bugged all around the manor. We're not exactly respecting his wishes are we?"
She didn't reply to that and we settled back into silence. The crisp air caused our breath to cloud in our faces and the cold seeped through my thin workout clothes, making me shiver. But I wouldn't complain, I knew that complaining was fruitless. It was one of the rules to just deal with the circumstances given to you and make the most of them. My eyes followed a greyhound as it streaked across the grass after a squirrel, barking at the bottom of the tree once it climbed and looked down at it. The owner came panting up the small incline after the dog, an middle aged man with a rounded stomach. But that wasn't what made me leap out of my seat and sprint over to him, no. The reason I did that was the dog that was coming up behind him, teeth bared, snarling and looking ready to attack. I jumped behind the started man and tackled the dog through the air and we rolled down the hill, it's teeth snapping for my throat and my hands flailing for his throat. We stopped at the bottom of the hill, the dog on top but I now had a grip around it's throat.
"Damian." My mother shouted and I tore my eyes from the black gaze of the beast above me to see her jogging down the hill, a stern look on her face, "What have I told you about running off?"
"It's a bad habit unless I'm protecting a more superior assassin." I mumbled, the dog gaining an inch but I pushed it right back up.
"So next time before you decide to throw yourself down the hill with a dog, tell me." She said and I nodded.
At this point we had attracted some attention and some people were shouting at mother to help me rather then tell me off, but she ignored them, instead choosing to say, "Beat it into next week." And stepping back a few steps.
Of course a few camera's were directed at the dog and myself, so I flashed them all a grin first before releasing my hold on the dog and rolling out from under it. The dog bit down on empty and I jumped on it's back, causing it's legs to collapse from under it. As it fell to the floor and drove my knee into the side of it's head and it went limp. I heard bounding footsteps behind me and prepared for another attack, instead I was bowled over by the playful Greyhound who was licking excitedly as my face. I gently removed it from me as the owner came panting and sweating over.
"Thank you young boy." He panted out, "Thank you so much."
"It's fine." I stood up and brushed the dirt from my clothes, "I just didn't see you fending off a dog."
"You would be right there." He said and his dog trotted over to him, "What's your name?"
"His name is not your concern." Mother said, coming over.
"Mother..."I moaned but she cut me off.
"I have told you about running off and I'm sure your father would have a go at you for it to." She said.
"Actually, my father would probably be proud I saved a life rather then took one." I muttered and she gave me a glare.
"I thank you for thanking my son, but we should be on our way now." She placed a hand on my shoulder, so gentle now but it would be so harsh later.
The man gave a confused look as mother turned us away from him and we began to walk back towards the Assassin's hideout.

Dick's P.O.V

First lesson passed a breeze, second like a slow walk through the desert and lunch was over in a heartbeat. Leaving me to now daydream in Math whilst Tim was out to fill his water bottle and stop pestering me with questions. Of course, some of the class were still snickering at mine and Megan's moment, but she was ignoring them now, which was good. But she was also ignoring Conner still, which was making life awakard back at home. Add on that my brothers knew about me getting raped. Yeah, life wasn't exactly great at the moment. Which was why it couldn't get any worse when the school annouced a lockdown.
"Why is there a lockdown?" One fo the students asked.
"Beucase there's an attack." Gertrude clapped her hands together in exitment.
Megan looked to me, and me to her. Understanding and commands moving through the gaze. Of course, some of the class thought it was because we were going out but let them think what they want. I got out of my seat and moved over to her, causing some of the class to catcall.
"If they come in, I need you to find Kaldur." She said, "Hopefully though, it won't become that dire."
"You never know." I chuckled, wishing for my weapons.
We all stood in silence until a grunt came from the other side of the door. Then it burst open to show eighteen Owls. And my breath when I saw who they had with them.
"Get off me you big brute." Jason said, trying to kick off the Owl holding him but the knife moved closer to his throat and he stopped.
"Richard John Grayson." One of the Owl's growled and his mask made his voice gravelly and intimidating.
"Present." I replied and they all looked over to me, Tim and Jason with fear in their eyes.
"Come with us." He growled.
"He's not going anywhere." Megan stepped in front of me, her skin returning to it's natural green colour with a few gasps from the class.
"Oh, I think he will be." The Owl said and the other Owls increased their grip on my brothers, drawing blood, "Or these guys will be dying."
"My team won't allow that." Megan said.
"What team?" The Owl's stepped aside to show my teammates all chained up on the floor.
Megan sucked in a sharp breath as her eyes focused on Conner. And I knew I couldn't let them, any of them, die. It just wasn't right.
"Release them first." I growled and I felt all eyes turn to me.
"No." The front Owl growled.
"How do I know you just won't kill them?" I questioned.
"You're not in a place to bargain boy." The Owl said, "You either come and work for us or they all die."
And he was right, that was the most depressing point. I walked over to them, past Tim and Jason's pleading gaze and to the Owl.
"Good job Robin." The Owl growled, injecting me with a serum and everything became blury and eventually it became black.