Bruce Wayne opened his eyes to a dark, cold cavern. His head was thick and his body ached dully -not from drugs, he deduced. But from the fight. The last thing he remembered was running. Slamming his fist into the emergency security protocol at the manor, but it did no good. He remembered Dick being dragged away kicking and screaming before they hit him so hard that he fell limp into the enemy's arms. Tim had already been taken before he had gotten to the manor. Damian... Damian had been right beside him, fighting as the last ones standing. But one lucky kick to his head- no. That kick wasn't lucky. You didn't just get a lucky hit with Batman. Whoever these people were, they were beyond skilled. Masters of deadly accuracy. Bruce had fallen so quickly.

He slowly pulled himself up and looked around warily. Several shadows flickered in his peripheral vision and he realized...He wasn't alone. Immediately, he jerked up and pulled his hand back, ready to punch as hard as he could until a familiar voice cut through the darkness.

"Bruce...please, it's just us." It was Dick, he realized as his eyes began slowly adjusting. It was...everybody. Not just the rest of the bats, but the entire Justice League and all of the Titans, and even-

"What are they doing here?" he snarled as cruel, familiar faces sneered down at him from across the room. The Joker...Poison Ivy, Deathstroke, Doctor Sinestra, Lex Luthor, Guerilla Gorilla and the Brain, Catwoman, Ra's and Talia al Ghul and every other villain listed under the League's files.

Everyone was here. And then he realized he wasn't wearing his cowl. Everyone saw who he really was.

Bruce froze and went for his utility belt, but found it gone. Gauntlets, gone, hidden weapons in his boots or side compartments, gone. He was exposed.

Then someone sighed and he could see Ra's al Ghul shake his head from across the room as if exasperated by a child. He had always hated that before, but now it was excruciating. "Bruce," It was Clark this time, looking disheveled in his suit and very, very tired. "Calm down. We're all in the same boat, okay? Don't lose your nerve on me." There was almost a smile. Almost.

Bruce could feel his heart slam against his chest and his breathing labored until it caught in his throat when he looked them all over once again. None of the heroes were masked. None of the villains had weapons. They all wore their costumes, but every mask and hood and disguise and -in Bane and Captain Marvel's case- alternate form were no where to be seen. They were all exposed and vulnerable to each other.

"What is going-"

"We don't know, obviously," came a sneer from one of them. Ra's again, probably. "All we know is-"

"We're all together and we don't know why. We know, Grandfather," came Damian's childish retort from beside him. He looked up at his son and sighed when he realized that, aside from an angry bruise on his cheek and a cut on his left eyebrow, Damian was okay. He had hoped that Damian would have escaped, but...he should have known. Damian would never run from a fight, even if Bruce had ordered him to.

Bruce was about to open his mouth to say something else, but was silenced when suddenly an eery, scratchy, inhuman voice echoed all around the room. "Not everyone, I'm afriad."

A dull clap rang through the crowd once and suddenly a light switched on, bathing them cold, blue light. The person...or creature that had spoken stood in the middle of the room, cloaked in an old, brown robe tied securely around him by a thick rope. They couldn't see his face, as it was hooded and darkened by the effects of the blue lights.

For a long time, no one spoke. They just simply stared. "I suppose you're all wondering why you are here?" the voice hummed out finally. Everyone exchanged inquisitive, or dark, or blank looks with each other, but said nothing. "That, my loves, you will find out later." The angry shouts and near violent uproar from heroes and villains alike was deafening. "You can't do this!" "Let us go!" "What do you want?!" Various threats and insults flew across the room, some in different languages, others just screams of rage or fear.

"Silence!" The speaker commanded with a hiss. Everyone, willing or not, suddenly found themselves unable or unwilling to move their tongues. The chill in the air meant power...power that had them all paralyzed in his presence. "You will discover my purpose for you soon enough. When I have all of you." Bruce furrowed his brows and looked around. Who was missing? Everyone peered around at each other, probably thinking the same thing when the voice cut through them again, commanding their attention. "You will find that all of you have been stripped of your powers, your privacy, as well as your authority," it leered almost smugly. "Despite your various rivalries and hatreds of one another, you are all of equal stature in this room. If anyone attacks any other one person, or if anyone tries to escape..." he trailed off, tilting his head up enough to reveal a wicked smile of sharpened teeth against withered gray skin. "Then you will be punished like this." Every single one of them suddenly seized and fell to the floor, writhing, every mouth open in a silent, agonized scream. There wasn't even a breath of air to be heard. Every cell felt like it was on fire, every bone felt as though it were splintering underneath their skin and every human, alien, robot, hero and villain alike bared the soundless torture until tears leaked from many eyes and some even blacked out. Finally, they were released from the spell and they all collapsed limp and shuddering to the ground. "That was your first and only warning," the voice spoke cheerfully. The groans of everyone in the room let him know that they heard and understood him loud and clear.

Bruce was one of the first ones able to push himself up shakily and look up at the man- thing...creature? He took deep shuddering breaths and groaned as he looked up at it. "Will you...at least tell us...who else is...left?" he wheezed. The figure tilted it's head curiously at him and for a moment said nothing. Finally, it laughed. "I'm shocked in you, Bruce Wayne. There are three who are missing. One of them belongs to you," it hummed. Bruce snapped his head up -bad idea, he groaned, as whiplash from the spell made his head split and ache- and tried to focus and find his allies. Nightwing- Dick was awake lying a few feet away from him, though he was obviously weakened from whatever the strange torture. Tim, Stephanie and Cassandra were curled up in a group together, clinging to each other for dear life -although Stephanie was limp and Bruce assumed she blacked out-. Damian was fighting and losing to unconsciousness beside him and Barbara -why did he have to take Barabara, of all people?- was slumped ungracefully in her chair. Alfred wasn't here, but he suspected that the creature had no interest. Which left only-

"No," he whispered.

"Yes," the voice was practically dripping with grease and glee as he turned and clapped once again to signal a giant monitor to appear in the center of the room. Three figures appeared on it, each with a name branded below their pictures.

Jason Todd.

Roy Harper.

Princess Koriand'r

"The traitors. The menaces. The Outlaws. They are the only ones that have managed to allude me this long. Clever little children," he chuckled almost fondly.

To his side he could see Green Arrow- Oliver Queen scowl at the speaker dangerously. Dick -along with other members of the Titans such as Raven and Victor and Wally- gaped with open mouths. Ra's and Talia exchanged a dark look, and for the first time since Bruce had arrived, he heard the Joker's wicked cackle.

"Yes, they are still alive and fully functional members of the vigilante community. Impressive, no?" No one made a sound. "I'll take that as a yes. If you like, I'll let you watch as I ensare them. It will take a while, since they've managed to outrun their captors, but...the important thing is I'm letting you witness their hidden lives until their arrival where you can happily be reunited," he laughed oily before doubling over into a fit of hysterics. And with a flash of blue light, he was gone, leaving nothing but the screen glowing in the center of the room glowing white at first, then finally adjusting into color as the three Outlaws began to move on the screen, unaware that they were being watched.