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The first thing Damian felt when he returned to consciousness was pain. He didn't open his eyes as to not alert his captors, but he could still get a pretty clear idea of what was going on.
His hands were tied together and strung above his head. They were the only thing that had been keeping him upright, and they burned with exertion. He could taste a bit of blood from his busted lip. Damian also noted that his belt, boots, and gloves were missing.
He wasn't dealing with amateurs then.
Someone was breathing beside him. He still had on his domino mask, so he risked cracking open his eyes to see who he was trapped with. The room was dark, but he could still make out the blue details of the Nightwing suit.
So both of them had managed to be captured.
Damian tried to remember where they had been. Somewhere in Bludhaven, but he couldn't remember being abducted. Had they managed to let out a secret gas attack that knocked them out, or had they done something to make them forget?
Dick lightly kicked the floor. It wouldn't be enough to alert anyone, but Damian heard it, and shortly after he did it again. He was tapping out a message.
Stuck. OK. You?
Damian thought for a moment before tapping out a reply. He told him he was okay as well and asked if they were being watched.
Yes
So they would have to find a way out without tipping them off. That or hope their trackers were still online and that the lack of check-ins would spur a search.
Damian flexed his hands, hoping to find the ropes loose enough to be able to get out, but they weren't. He had gotten out of harder restraints, yes, but that had been during training or situations where he wasn't as worried about the level of stealth used. Typically, he also had access to at least his gloves or boots, if nothing else, and, by extension, a knife.
That wasn't to say he couldn't escape, just that it would take a good deal longer than he was comfortable with. He couldn't see Dick's hands, but he assumed he was trying to get free as well.
They worked in silence, not wanting to get caught. They didn't know what these people wanted, and that meant they had to play it as safe as they could.
Damian heard Dick drop to the floor just as he had nearly managed to free a hand. He was barely able to jump to his feet before a group of men burst through the door. Damian couldn't help how his eyes widened ever so slightly. Not that it mattered, he supposed, there was no doubt they knew he was awake as well.
He stumbled a bit as a hand fell free, working even quicker now that he no longer had to worry about secrecy. Dick was buying him as much time as he could, but there was only so much he could do against a group of well trained men, especially without any weapons of his own.
A man came up behind Dick, holding what looked like a cattle prod.
"Behind you!" Damian yelled, to no avail. It was jammed into his back, causing him to fall and let out a pained grunt. Damian finally pulled his hand free and ran towards Dick.
"I don't think so," a man said, grabbing Damian from behind and shoving a knife to his throat, cutting into the skin.
Damian didn't dare move. He could already feel a few drops of blood dripping down.
Dick looked up with a look of pure fury on his face. "Let him go," he growled. He kicked a few more men down trying to get to Damian.
The man pulled Damian closer to him, letting the knife dig a little deeper. "I suggest you stop Nightwing, that is, of course, unless you want the little birdy to go the way of the dodo." His breath was hot on Damian's head, and it smelled of rotten eggs mixed with moldy dog food that had been left outside. It was rancid.
Dick had froze on the spot, giving the others the chance to restrain him. Someone shocked him again, but he just gritted his teeth in a snarl. "What do you want?"
"To find out just what exactly makes you tick."
~*~
They were thrown into separate rooms with a pane of glass between them. Dick lunged for the door as they shut it, damned if he just let them hurt a hair on his Robin's head.
Curses were being flung on the other side of the glass as Damian did everything he could to get away, but even as skilled as he was, he wasn't about to be able to escape six well trained grown men. Even if Damian had had his weapons and not already been hurt, he would have had trouble.
Dick slammed his body against the glass in an attempt to break through. He was paid no mind as they hung Damian from the ceiling in a way that could only further exasperate any injuries he'd gotten from being hanged by his arms.
Damian kicked one guy in the balls, sending him to the ground with a squeal that left a smirk on the boy's face.
The smirk was quickly wiped away as the cattle prod that had been used on Dick was harshly shoved into his side.
Damian didn't scream. He had been trained for torture at a far too young age, but Dick could tell by his face how much it hurt him.
Damian didn't scream, but Dick did. "Hey, fuckers! Leave him alone."
"Does it bother you?" A voice echoing from what must have been hidden speakers asked. "Watching the little Robin get hurt?" At that, a man prodded Damian again with the electricity, while another kicked him.
Dick snarled. They were sick. "What do you want?"
The voice laughed but didn't answer him.
If he could have gotten his hands on any of them... well, they would certainly wish he had simply killed them. They were enjoying torturing a child. His child. Watching him grow more and more injured and unable to fight back. Watching as he stopped being able to hold back screams of pain.
Watching, Dick become sicker and more furious with every moment that dragged past.
Dick had searched the room for anything he could use for an escape. The vents were too small, and had been made into the walls so they couldn't be removed. The door was completely sealed. The window undoubtedly bulletproof.
Damian had fallen silent, still. The only reassurance that he was still alive being the slight rise and fall of his chest Dick could occasionally see. Dick hadn't given up, but he had begun to lose hope.
His forehead was pressed against the glass. He couldn't do anything but watch.
Dick didn't even register his door being flung open, but he did register the bullet holes that went through the men's heads. Dick was hauled to his feet as Jason cut the restraints and took Damian into his arms.
"C'mon," Tim said. "The place is going to blow in five minutes."
Jason and Tim didn't stop until the four of them were outside. Jason handed Damian to Dick, and he almost instantly sank to his knees, cradling Damian to his chest. He ignored his brother's twin cackles as their bombs were ignited, along with the fact he had thought all of Tim's explosives had been confiscated. It really didn't matter.
All Dick was concerned about was Damian and the time it would take for the Batmobile to arrive to take them to medical.
"I'm sorry, Dami, I'm so so sorry," he whispered into his hair. "It should have been me in there, not you."
Damian leaned further into Dick. "Baba?" He mumbled, barely audible.
"I'm right here, baby, I'm right here."
Damian barely managed to crack an eye open. His little hand had a death grip on Dick's uniform. "Stay."
"I'm not going anywhere," Dick promised. "You're stuck with me."