Peroxide

Chapter 9: Taken. [Deathstroke/Nightwing/Thea]

A dark figure stood in the shadows on the roof top of Gotham City Hall, watching the vigilantes stop crime and be heroes. The figure's attention was focused mainly on Nightwing. The figure stepped out into the moonlight, revealing a man in a metal mask.

This was Deathstroke, the most notorious hit-man in Gotham. Nightwing was his arch-nemesis and he was determined to win. He watched where Nightwing went on his patrols for weeks. Where he'd stop for momentary breaks, who he'd patrol with but the most important part was where he went at sunrise. He wanted to see who the blue bird went home to.

Nightwing was always careful in how he'd get to Thea's apartment on nights she didn't stay at his and if she waited for him at his apartment then he'd never go through the window. Just in case. Tonight was different. He'd forgotten that Thea had said she'd be at his and even without the knowledge of Deathstroke being around, patrol had been hard. He climbed through his window, face and ribs bruised. He heard a gasp from the bed as Thea saw him.

"Thea, baby, what are you doing here? I thought you were at home tonight?"

"I told you I'd be here." She whispered, her blue eyes wide and bright with worry. "My blue bird... What happened tonight?"

Before he could answer, before Thea could move to help him, something smashed through the window. He saw a flashing red light and immediately dived to protect his love. The device that had landed in the room started beeping, the tone getting faster and faster and suddenly it erupted a dark cloud which caused both of them to cough. As the cloud disappeared, the figure of Deathstroke could be seen.

"So this is where the famous Nightwing comes to rest. And who is this pretty thing?" Deathstroke's voice was almost mechanical, scaring Thea and infuriating Nightwing. "Aren't you going to introduce me, Nightwing?" There was silence as Nightwing subtly moved to protect Thea. "No? You've just made this very difficult for yourselves." Deathstroke drew his sword as Nightwing drew his Eskrima batons. "You will lose, Nightwing."

"Fuck you."

That pissed Deathstroke off and he launched himself at Nightwing, who simultaneously pulled Thea out of the way and blocked the swing from his nemesis. Thea landed on the floor and immediately got up and ran for the front door. Nightwing kept Deathstroke busy long enough for  her to get out of the apartment block and halfway down the street. She didn't have time to grab her phone or her radio, she was barefoot and her fear had set in so deeply that she couldn't see where she was going. She kept running, until someone grabbed her arm. She screamed as she tried to pull away, her watch falling off in the process. Her assailant pushed her violently into the back of a black van which screeched off into the distance. The watch had been a gift from Dick and he'd put a tracker in it (with Thea's permission). This was how he came to be standing on the sidewalk where his love had been taken, five minutes after it had happened.

Nightwing picked up the rose gold watch, remembering how Thea's face had lit up when she opened it. His throat burned as he held his emotions back.

"I told you that you would lose." That mechanical voice came from behind him. Nightwing spun round, slipping the watch in his belt swiftly. Deathstroke was leaning against a streetlight and Nightwing knew he was smirking behind that damn mask.

With a yell of rage, Nightwing launched himself at Deathstroke. He punched him over and over, not giving him a chance to react.

"Tell me where she is before I end you." This was a side of Nightwing he was glad Thea had never seen. "Tell me now!"

Deathstroke coughed. "Have fun trying to find her."

Nightwing landed one last punch which knocked the hit-man unconscious before handcuffing him to the streetlight he'd been leaning on, ready for the cops who were on their way. He grappled up to the rooftops and made his way to Wayne Manor. He needed the whole team to get his girl back.

*****

Thea woke up groggily, bound to a chair in a dark room. There was a single spotlight on her, like something out of a TV show she'd seen. She could feel someone watching her but couldn't tell where they were in the room. She could hear gears turning in the distance and she had to fight the urge to throw up, she was so scared. She tried her best to become Peroxide but she failed. She tried to remember what helped her become her alter ego and without it, she was just Thea Rose.

"Such a pretty thing." The same mechanical voice from Dick's bedroom came from the darkness. Deathstroke appeared from the shadows, having come round and detached himself from the handcuffs he'd been put in before the cops showed up. "Would be a shame to scar that pretty face."

"Fuck you." She said, Peroxide making an appearance finally.

"You didn't seem this feisty back at Nightwing's abode."

Silence. Deathstroke came into her field of vision, looking Thea up and down. Thea glared back, her sapphire irises now the pale hue that matched the chemicals she had fallen into all those months ago, not that Deathstroke knew this.

"Such pretty eyes." He took a step closer and Thea hissed, no longer scared. Well, Peroxide wasn't scared. She was pissed off. "The things I could do to you - make the blue bird squirm."

"Touch me and I'll end you."

"So naive. You're tied up, my dear. You couldn't even touch me, even if you wanted to. Now I've got things to finish. I'll be back. Then I'll decide what I'm going to do to you."

He disappeared into the shadows once more.

****

Meanwhile, Dick was at Wayne Manor. He was full of a rage no one had seen in him in a very long time. That's how they knew something bad had happened, even before he had said anything.

"He took her."

Jason, who had just arrived to see what was going on, stared at him. "Who... Who took who...?" Even Jason was wary of Dick in this state. Alfred and Bruce stood by the window in front of Dick. Alfred looked worried, he cared for Thea as he cared for all the boys and if anything happened to her, well his wrath would be something to contend with. Not as much as Dick's but it was close.

"Deathstroke. Took. Thea." Came the reply, followed by a loud thud as Dick punched the wall before he finally allowed his emotions to be free. He fell to his knees, head in his hands. "I forgot she was at my place tonight! I went in through the window and he saw me go there! I put her in danger..."

Tim and Damian stood behind Jason, already suited up.

"Richard, we do not have time for your emotions. We must find her." Damian spoke loudly, making Jason jump slightly, not realising the pair were behind him. "I do not want to have to deal with you being depressed." The truth was that even Damian had taken a liking to Thea and he didn't want to lose who he considered a sister. It was a pleasant change to be in her company, having spent most of his time with either Alfred, Bruce or Tim. "Get up, Richard. We're going."

"Jason?" Dick looked at his brother. "You'll help, right? You'll help me get her back?"

"Obviously, dumbass. You're not the only one who cares about her." Jason gestured to Tim, Damian, Bruce and Alfred. "Get up, let's go. Like Damian said, we don't have time."

Bruce left the room and as the boys were heading out, he joined them as Batman.

The sun was up now, which made things easier for Dick to process. Batman was now in charge of this rescue mission and instructed them to split up: himself and Dick one way, Tim and Damian another and then Jason on his own to take the docks. They split and Dick seemed more and more angry at himself as they travelled through the city.

"Stop it." Batman's voice spoke lowly as they got to one of the buildings where Deathstroke was known to frequent.

"I can't. This is my fault."

"No it isn't and you know it. Thea knows it. We all forget things. You can not blame yourself."

"Let's just find her. I need to find her."

With that, the pair both grappled to the roof of the building to start their search for the love of Dick Grayson's life.