Fawkes

Running Out of Time

Dick paced the floor of the training room, his mind working faster than his feet and his face contorted into a focused expression. He didn't know what to do with his hands. What the hell did you do with your hands at a time like this?

"Dick, you need to calm down," said Batman, who was standing with the Justice League and the team.

"We have to find her," Dick responded quietly. A million thoughts were running through his head. He wanted to scream so badly it was causing him physical pain around the chest area.

"It took us weeks to track down the Joker—"

"Well this time you'll do better!" Dick shouted at Green Arrow, who put his hands up in defence, looking taken aback but ultimately unbothered.

"Look, kid, he won't kill her," chimed in the Flash, and Dick rounded on him.

"Do not call me kid," he growled dangerously, "and I know he won't kill her. He'll do something much worse."

There was silence as Dick's words hung in the air, during which time he worked once more on not screaming. Every time he closed his eyes a pair of bright green ones stared back at him, looking slightly scared but incredibly open. More open than he'd ever seen them. The last expression Hershey had on her face before she was taken. Batman sighed.

"Robin is right," he said shortly, "the Joker has waited two years to get Hershey back, he's not gonna let go of her that easily . . . I just can't believe we didn't see it."

"How were we supposed to know that the Joker was running an army of robots on the down-low?" Asked Green Lantern, and Batman shook his head.

"We were just supposed to," he responded, and Dick stopped pacing to scan his expression, which was, as always, unreadable, "that's not the point. The point is we need to find her."

"All due respect," said Green Arrow, "but she's killed people. We shouldn't drop everything to rescue a criminal—"

"She's not a criminal," said Dick, Artemis, Wally, M'gann, Aqualad, and Superboy all together without hesitation. The others had been completely silent since they had returned from the mission and called the Justice League. Even Aqualad hadn't spoken a word. They had all listened to Dick. They all knew he would have a plan.

But Dick didn't. Dick had no idea where to start, he just knew he wouldn't stop once he did. He just knew that he was in love with this girl that he had hated for so long, and it was unfair that the minute he finally realized that, she slipped from his grasp. Now she might've been gone forever. They never even had a chance.

"This is our mission now," said Superman firmly, "she's one of us, and no man is left behind."

"Or woman," pointed out Wonder Woman, and Superman smiled at her.

"Or woman."

"So what's the plan?" Wally asked, stepping forward next to Dick, who looked at him and nodded as if to emphasize the question.

"I suggest," began Superman, "we wait a few days and see if the Joker makes any movement—"

"Wait a few days?" Asked Dick incredulously, shaking with unchecked fury, "Wait a few days? While she's being tortured to insanity? You just want to leave her all alone and scared!?"

"She doesn't seem like a kid who scares easily," pointed out the Flash, and Dick rounded on him.

"Oh, no you're right. Just because she seems like she doesn't scare easily totally means we should leave her in the hands of the Joker!" Dick laughed coldly, "There's some stone hard logic!"