Milk And Cardamom | S. Brown ✔

[48]

Pain.

There was only one word to describe the fire burning his body, each joint aching agonizingly and eyes unable to focus on anything. It seemed as if he had been cut open from the inside, bleeding until his life would run out, unable to hold back the tortuous sensation within him.

A hand closed on to his neck, lifting him off the ground roughly and threw him against the wall. Blue looked up in sole hazel, the pain getting replaced with anger as his clenched fist collided with the mended armor feebly.

Deathstroke had been able to heal from the after effects of the explosion much faster than him due to the powers bestowed upon him by the serum. However, for Red X, the case was entirely opposite.

"Timothy Drake, so pleased to make your acquaintance," the mask had been ripped off his face and he knew there was no way he could deny that fact, "who would have thought that rich boy likes to meddle with criminals too?"

The slight relief was that Deathstroke was not aware that Red Robin and Red X were one and the same. But if Red Robin remained disappeared from Gotham city for long, it would not be difficult for the mercenary to connect the dots and trace the real identities of the rest of the Bat vigilantes too.

"Now boy, either you tell me willingly or I will have to resort to painful methods," his voice was threateningly low, each word emphasized, "who sent you after me?"

"No one," he gritted out, blood trickling down the corner of his mouth.

"I find that hard to believe."

"I said no one," he snapped when the hand roughly closed on to his throat again, "you can torture me all you want, my answer won't change."

"So stubborn... Just like the previous Red X I had to deal with," Deathstroke let go of him, "and yet I know you're not the same which only makes me more curious to find out your motives."

"My motive was to free Lucas, that has been achieved."

"Lies!"

He kicked him over once again and Tim gritted his teeth to stop the pained yell that would have escaped from his otherwise. He did not want to give his tormentor the satisfaction of watching him writhe in pain.

"Don't think you can fool me, Timothy. I know the likes of you very well. Though it had been quite impressive the way you fought to get my son out of my hold, I will make it clear that by the time I get done with you, there will be nothing left in you to fight back."

"Try all you want..."

He suppressed the painful fire ravaging his limbs as well the terrible feeling of being broken beyond repair. He would rather die than appear weak in front of him, he would rather die than give away anything that could lead him to the Bat vigilantes.

"And yet you would have made such a wonderful apprentice. Such a shame you choose to retaliate against me instead," the man mumbled in a low voice as he stood up at last.

Deathstroke's foot collided with his injured stomach, sending him backwards until his broken figure hit the wall again, a wince escaping Tim's blood red lips.

"I will see you soon, Timothy. Though an advice if you value your own life, don't you dare try to escape," he warned and the door slammed shut after him as he stepped out.

But Tim was not one to take his advice into account, he had not even listened to Bruce when he had warned him last so what reason did he have to follow Deathstroke's words.

He did the exact opposite instead; sitting up despite the pain in his body, getting his brain to work and think of a way to escape before the mercenary returned.

***

Stephanie dreaded having to face them all at the moment but she knew she had to tell them or else things could get worse. They were all in the cave, no longer in their suits as the outsiders had left, but still busy on trying to find a clue to Tim and Deathstroke's mysterious disappearance.

"Guys, I have to tell you something," she spoke up slightly louder than usual to gain their attention.

Richard was the first to turn towards her, "go ahead, Steph."

"It's about Dora. She... She knows Tim was involved in freeing Lucas from Deathstroke."

She held all of their attention by those words, a mixture of disbelief and shock evident on her family's features.

"What do you mean she knows?" Jason spoke up, blue green eyes knitted in worry, "there must be some misunderstanding."

"No," she shook her head, fingers reaching up to massage her throbbing temples, "Dora knows Tim went after Deathstroke, she knows I have been lying to her about him being on a business trip with Bruce. She probably knows he's Red Robin too... Tim is a sucker for honesty and trust, he definitely told her about this."

Silence gripped the entire cave until Damian mumbled, "there goes Drake again proving how much of an idiot he is..."

"I can't believe that, Bruce warned us all not to say a word about this to anyone. Tim might be disobedient at times but he can't go and disobey this warning," Richard mumbled, brow furrowing in concern, "considering how much our lives depend on keeping this secret."

"She even said he called her that night but broke down crying before I could ask her what he told her. She wasn't letting me go without giving her the truth so I had to promise her I will tell her later but I don't know if I really should," she recalled, eyes indicating that she was conflicted, "Tim has been such an idiot..."

"For once, I agree with Brown. Drake has always been an incorrigible idiot," Damian spoke up but he had not lifted his eyes off the screen as he typed quite similar to the way Tim did whenever he was in a work induced fever.

"The fact that she knows is bad not only for us but for her too," Barbara added, "you yourself said she's having a hard time dealing with Tim's disappearance. It's probably because she knows he's in danger. If he hadn't told her about it, she wouldn't have been so worried."

Steph sighed, recalling Dora's unstable state and shuddered, "she is so worried that it terrifies me how she will take it if any news came of Tim not ever returning..."

"Shut up, Brown, nothing of that sort is going to happen."

Frustration was evident from her tone as she snapped, "it's Deathstroke in question here, Damian. How can you be so sure nothing is going to happen!"

"Because I just tracked him out," he replied, his agitated voice returning to a strange calm, "Grayson and Todd, you are coming with me and we're going to beat the shit out of him. Gordon, take over Oracle and inform Father as well."

Barbara took over Oracle and established a comm link to Batman.

Steph watched them as they took out their suits, getting ready for what was about to come. Her voice was low as she mumbled, "I hope it's not too late..."

Jason gently patted her head, wearing the scarlet helmet and checked his pistols, "don't worry, Steph, it won't be too late. We'll bring Tim back."

With the three of them gone, Barbara turned slightly to face her, "what are you going to do about Dora? Are you going to give her the answers she needs?"

Steph shook her head, "I don't know."

"Talk to her. See how much she knows and if she knows everything then there's no use keeping it from her," she advised, "we can't afford to keep her in conflict either. It might damage her and when Tim finds that out, he will go dragon mode on us."

Steph nodded, standing up at last, "fine, I'll go talk to her."

"Good. And don't worry, I will keep you updated about this scenario," she remarked.

"Thanks, Barbara."

"You're welcome."

***