~.: "Haunted" :.~
~.: Taylor Swift :.~
~.: De's POV :.~
"He's gone!! Oh my god, why did he have to be an idiot before I woke up-" Aria was in hysterics as Dick pulled me to the side in the hallway for a moment.
"I need you to stay here with Aria while I call a meeting for the others," he sighed stressfully, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand as he glanced over his shoulder at his grieving sister. I squared my shoulders and nodded in acceptance, pulling him into a reassuring embrace which he gratefully returned with a tight grip, slightly shaking.
"I was already going to do that," I replied softly, closing my eyes as I rested my head on his chest briefly, "Before you call the meeting though, you might wanna get into your suit or something," I lightly giggled, earning a slight smile from him while I pulled out of the hug to kiss his cheek lovingly.
"Well, yeah," he murmured in amusement, his dark blue gaze faintly sparkling, "I wasn't going to go into the meeting room half naked, although you'd probably love the sight of that~" he chuckled weakly. I cocked my head worriedly at his attempt to lift his own spirits, peering into his gaze as I held him close.
"We're going to find them, Dick," I whispered softly to him, laying my head on his chest once more, "Everything is going to be okay, I promise..." At the sound of those words, Dick lets out a strained and shaky sigh and I feel him pull away, forcing a firm smile on his face.
"You're right. I'll see you in an hour, babe," He then kisses me and slips away down the hall to get ready.
As soon as he had left the room to inform the others of Wally's disappearance, Aria collapsed to the tile floor again, her entire body shaking with each racking sob that escaped her lips. I crouched down beside her, frowning worriedly as I pulled her into a hug. Amelia was screaming from her cradle down the hall, but Aria hadn't made a move to leave her spot on the tile floor. Aria didn't deserve this kind of pain... I hope Wally is alright, for Aria's and Amelia's sakes, I thought silently to myself, rubbing and patting her back comfortingly as she weeped into my shoulder.
"What if he never comes back... like Jason did three years ago?"
I was startled out of my thoughts by Aria's soft question and when I looked down at her, her eyes were numbly trained on the tear streaks she'd made on the shirt I borrowed from Dick when she woke us up not too long ago. I shook my head, smiling determinedly at her as I hugged her fiercely.
"We will find him, Ari," I promised the same thing that I'd told Dick, "I'm sure he's alright. Knowing him he's probably trying to fight his way back to you like always." Aria sniffled weakly, trembling again.
"Y-yeah...He is always getting in trouble..." she murmured quietly, rubbing at her blood shot eyes, then she bursts into another fit of tears, "WALLY, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO DO THINGS LIKE THIS!!" She sobbed, in hysterics all over again. I hummed softly to her, rubbing her back as I tried to conceal my stress over the situation.
"Aria, it's alright, don't worry," the sound of Dick's voice coming from the communicator in Aria's pocket startled both of us and Aria yanked the device out, glaring at the screen indignantly.
"Don't tell me not to worry about Wallykins!!" She snapped before sobbing again. I heard a distressed sound coming from Dick as Aria shoved the device into my hands.
"I guess she's not gonna calm down any time soon," He sighed, running a hand through his hair. I smirked at him as Aria stormed down the hall to where Amelia was wailing pitifully.
"Have a little patience, dear," I gently reminded him, stroking the screen tenderly, "I'll see you later." Hanging up the device, I followed the sounds of Aria's comforting words to Amelia in her room.
Everything's gonna be okay... Right??
***
~.: Wally's POV :.~
I woke with a start, nearly hitting my head on the wall I was bound to as my senses came back to me with the force of a high speed car. Groaning softly, I glanced around the dimly lit room, meeting the gaze of a rather agitated blonde haired girl.
"Dammit- why did you have to be the one I grabbed!" She snarled, throwing a small rock at me which I flinched at, "I swear you had black hair when I snagged you!" She seemed to be in the middle of a ranting fit, storming back and forth in front of me, her short blonde hair falling in her face. I gave her a confused look as she whirled around on me again.
"Now he's going to punish me for my mistake and it's all your fault!" She hissed, her blue eyes flashing angrily as she came face to face with me.
"Uh, how is this my fault?" I defensively asked, wearily watching her just in case she tried to hit me with a bigger rock, "What are you even talking about? Who put you up to kidnapping me?"
She turned her back on me, grumbling to herself in agitation.
"I don't answer to you," she snapped, then swiftly left the room. Bewildered by the encounter, I let out a long breath before a slight awkward cough startled me.
"The bitch's name is Terra," a familiar voice rasped from somewhere in the darker part of the room. I strained my eyes, before letting out a surprised yelp.
"Jason? You're okay!" I chuckled in relief, resting my head back on the wall, "How do we get outta here and who's the guy that, uh, Terra mentioned?" Before Jason could answer my inquiry, a door slammed open and a white haired old man stepped into the room, wearing a black and orange suit.
"My name is Deathstroke, a name that you'll become well acquainted with since you're stuck here due to my apprentice's idiocracy," he spoke in a gravely tone as he approached.
"You sound like you haven't had water for a good week or so," I remarked without thinking and earning a hearty chuckle from the old man.
"A smartass, quite enjoyable really," he unamusedly scowled at me as Terra stepped into the room once more, looking sheepishly at Deathstroke.
"It was an honest mistake-" She shakily spoke, ignoring my existence completely as if I wasn't even in the room.
Deathstroke whirled on the girl, his hand catching her in the cheek with a loud smack. I swallowed awkwardly, looking over to Jason who was glaring at the two.
"I will hear none of your excuses," he calmly scolded her as she looked down at her boots pathetically, "Have Yani and Red X returned from their own mission?" He suddenly inquired, his attention on me once more. I indignantly returned his glare.
"N-no," Terra responded softly.
Deathstroke pursed his lips thoughtfully, "Intriguing," He stated softly, then whisked past her, "Watch the mistake that you're responsible for. I will check on the three of you momentarily." He then left the room, closing the door loudly as he departed.
"Sooo-" I began tentatively, not sure how to converse with this girl who just got hit by her boss.
"Shut up," She snarled, flicking a pebble at my forehead and making me yelp in pain.
"Ouch! Okay!! You've gotta stop with the rock throwing, seriously, yeesh!!" I huffed defensively, earning a dry laugh from Jason in the corner.
"Well, I mean, you are pretty fuckin annoying to listen to," He started in a matter-of-fact manner as I flashed him an irritated stare.
"Oh my god, please, shut up, both of you," Terra grumbled, banging her head on the wall lightly in agitation, "Why do I get stuck watching the idiots..."
***
~.: Jared's POV :.~
A light knock sounded at the infirmary door, disturbing me from my watching post over Acacia, Bella, and the twins. With an annoyed growl, I got up from my seat in the chair beside their infirmary bed and trudged over to the door, cracking it to see Nightwing in the hallway.
"Meeting in the mission briefing room in 10," he sighed as I glared at him, then he turned to leave.
"Wait..." I spoke softly, glancing over my shoulder at Acacia worriedly to make sure she would be okay with the children while Dick paused expectantly. She gave me a reassuring nod then went back to braiding Bella's hair. I smirked and stepped out into the hall, meeting his gaze.
"Thank you, I'll be there," I replied, nodding my head respectfully at him, "I overheard about Wally going missing. Are we going to be discussing plans on how to track him down at the meeting?"
Nightwing nodded, his gaze meeting mine before he turned to leave.
"Hopefully we'll be able to come up with something..." he murmured, then left me in the hallway. I frowned. He's taking this pretty hard... I thought silently to myself, looking out the window, Makes sense... especially since he just lost his brother last night and now his best friend. He's got- My train of thought was skewed as I caught sight of a dark clothed person outside the hideout, sneaking along the walls. I narrowed my eyes.
"You're not getting in here that easily..." I growled softly, not hesitating a moment longer as I slid the window open and climbed out. I came face to face with a white masked person and for a moment time was frozen in place.
"You're not supposed to be here," I snarled, getting into a fighting stance, but before I could attack a blow from above struck me in the skull and suddenly the ground came flying toward my face, the world plunging into an inky blackness.
***
~.: Yani's POV
"Last I checked Nightwing is usually in his suit," I piped up from the wall I perched on carefully. Red X huffed in irritation.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he grumbled softly, grabbing the unconscious man by the shirt and dragging him into the shadows of the building hurriedly, "What else was I supposed to do? He was gonna blow our cover!" He hissed through gritted teeth, hefting the male over his shoulder as he scowled at me.
I chuckled softly, flicking my brown hair over my shoulder in amusement as I smirked at him.
"Mmm, yeah, well, I'll stay behind while you run him to Deathstroke," I quipped, glancing at the wall patiently, "I'm not wanting to be used as a punching back for your mistake~" I chimed, then began climbing the wall once more.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Red X hissed up at me, narrowing his gaze, "You can't just leave me with- ughhhh." He gives up quickly, seeing as I'm only ignoring his protests, and once he pulls out the teleportation device and plugs in the correct coordinates to get back to Deathstroke's location, I climb toward a particular window and peer inside carefully.
A young male with black hair was speaking in hushed tones to a taller black haired male and when the shorter of the two moved away slightly, I spotted the blue bird insignia on the taller male.
"Perfect..." I whispered softly, pulling away from the window swiftly. They hadn't spotted me at all. I'd wait for the right moment to make my move however. I didn't want to disappoint Deathstroke, as Terra and Red X had.
"Perhaps I'll snag the both of them, a robin and a bluebird~" I murmured softly to myself, teleporting to a safe spot not too close to the hideout and out of sight from everyone.
~.: TBC :.~
