Augh this chapter sucks and barely anything happened...
I don't own Young Justice.
A low growl was released from Jason's mouth as he slowly regained consciousness, the sound echoing in his helmet. As he tried to get up, he soon realized that his arms and legs were tightly bound with thick ropes. Forcing his eyes open, he was extremely annoyed to see that the lenses on his helmet were cracked, making it appear that there were were three Robins laying near him, two of which were floating.
He nearly did a double-take when he fully realized that Tim was in fact right next to him. Considering the position that he was currently in, this was anything but a good thing. He almost wished he could move his arms just to hit himself on the head for being a horrible protective older brother.
He could hear Tim groan as he attempted to remember what had happened. Jason growled again when nothing came to mind.
"Red... Wha happened?" he could hear the young teenager slur out the question. As he was about to respond, however, a chilling laugh interrupted him.
"Don't you remember, little birdie? Your dear Uncle Joker picked you up!"
Jason breath shallowed as he remembered the events that led up to their current predicament, and sudden worry for Dick kicked in.
"Where's Nightwing, clown?" he nearly hissed out, trying to loosen the ropes bounding him.
"The brat's fine for now, kid," the Joker honestly sounded rather annoyed when he answered. "Nothing's happening to him until I get you two delivered..."
Well, Jason certainly did not like that wording.
"But, for now..." a wicked grin unfurled on his face and his voice raised a few octaves in glee. "I think I can afford a little bit of playtime!"
After considering both for a moment, the Joker's eyes settled on Robin, who completely froze under the gaze. Grabbing the boy's cape, he pulled Tim away from Jason, who was now struggling even more, swearing rather loudly as he tried to get loose.
"We had sooo much fun last time, didn't we Baby Birdy?"
When there was no answer, the Joker continued on, nearly ranting to himself.
"Of course, Mr. Teen Angst here just had to interrupt it with Batsy and the oldest brat in tow, didn't he?" he paused, chuckling slowly. "Well, your beloved big brother won't be a problem for much longer..."
"You said he was fine, you sick clown!" Jason yelled angrily from where he was still laying.
"I said for now, you worthless brat. What are you, deaf?" The Joker snapped suddenly, his voice brimming with anger and hatred. Jason could just barely see Tim's terror-filled face from where he sat. Unfortunately, it seemed that The Joker also saw it.
"What, scared little birdie?" he asked, pulling Tim's cape up high to the point where his feet were nearly off the ground, his breath now catching in his throat as the fabric dug into his neck and cut off the airflow. "Huh, do I scare you? I find that a bit of an accomplishment, you know."
Hearing Tim struggle just for air made Jason snap.
"Put him the hell down now," he screamed angrily.
"Don't worry, kid," The Joker responded, his gloved hand releasing the bunched up cape in its grasp, leaving Robin to collapse on the ground, gasping for breath. "I won't get paid if I rough either of you up too much."
"... Paid?"
"I hope you like ol' Ra'ssy, because I think you're going to be seeing a lot of him from now on."
Jason froze, letting the words sink in.
"Ra's... no. No no no no..." he was nearly shaking as his voice gained volume. "There is no way I am going back there, you demented clown."
"I'm afraid that isn't an option, my boy," Ra's responded as he swept into the warehouse.
As the man entered, Jason bared his teeth, growling in hatred. Tim, however, was a bit more interested in what he saw behind the villain.
More specifically, the small boy he saw peaking from behind Ra's al Ghul.
Tim may have not met the villain before, but he was still pretty certain that was not a normal occurrence.
While Jason, who was starting to truly concern Tim with his near frantic behavior, did not seem to notice the child, he was both surprised and a bit worried that it seemed the Joker noticed the boy.
"Ra'ssy, you brought the runt with you to our little transaction, I see!" The Joker called out, a large grin suddenly on his face.
"That is of no importance, Joker," Ra's responded curtly, barely glancing down at Tim and Jason before walking forward. "Though, I would not call this a transaction. That implies that we trading, but I am merely picking up the first part of our deal. You are not paid until you have finished your part of the bargain."
Tim did not like the way the Joker's face slowly darkened. He especially did not like when his cape was grabbed again, and he was pulled back into the air with a quiet yelp.
"It'll be a little while before the other brat is dead, so you should probably think about part of the payment if you want these two unmaimed," he growled out, gaining both Tim and Jason's attention with the words 'other brat is dead'.
That did not bode well at all.
"Joker, we made a deal, and you will not see any of that money if either of these boys are harmed," Ra's responded in a frustrated tone. "So, if you would, please put down Robin."
Still scowling, Joker let go of Tim's cape once again, and took a few steps towards the other villain.
"Fine, then. Take these two, and I'll make sure Nightwing is dead within a day. If I don't get my pay then, little birdies aren't going to be the only kiddies getting hurt, if you catch my drift." As he finished speaking, he smiled cruelly down at the child standing behind Ra's, who hid further behind the man.
Both Tim and Jason's eyes widened as they heard what the other part of the 'deal' was. As Ra's's men came in and started carrying them out, Jason was once again struggling heavily, swearing in extreme anger, but Tim was just still, in thought.
How was there going to be a way out of this?