Dick sat there listening to Bruce and Gordon talk about what was going on, what they planned to do, and how they planned to do it. He felt horrible about what happened. He never expected Steve to go after anyone but himself, and even after Bruce voiced it, he never expected him to do it so quickly. He should've told Barbra everything when she asked him if he was alright at lunch.

"Ok, I'll be conducting the search personally. If he receives any more..." Gordon started but was cut off by a knock at the door.

It had been a few hours since the kidnapping and Dick tensed when he heard the knock because he knew that it was the time the letters are usually delivered.

All three of them watched as Alfred calmly walked to the door. He came in a minute later with yet another letter. "Another letter for you, Sir," he said as he handed the letter to Dick.

Dick swallowed nervously and looked to Bruce and Gordon as he took the letter. Bruce and Gordon walked over to him and waited anxiously. Dick slowly opened the letter and read it out loud so Bruce and Gordon could hear what it said.

"One down, several more to go. I'll be sure to take excellent care of her." He looked up to Bruce then back down to continue reading. "Your life will be a living nightmare before this week is over, and..." He again looked up at Bruce again then to Gordon. Steve was mentioning something about Batman which would tell Gordon their secret.

"Let me read the rest," Bruce said catching on. Dick handed Bruce the letter and Bruce read through it then continued where Dick left off only changing a few words to keep their identity a secret. "...and soon everything you knew will be gone. Your little friends are next and I promise, they will not be safe wherever they may try to hide."

"So now he's going to try and target some of his other friends? Where do they live? I'll have my men..."

"They don't live in Gotham," Bruce said cutting Gordon off.

"Well, not all of them," Dick said looking up at Bruce. "And she could get hurt tonight."

"Who?" Gordon asked.

Bruce looked at Gordon. "Her name is Artemis Crock, she goes to Dick and Barbra's school."

"I think Barbra's mentioned her before," Gordon said trying to remember what she told him.

"She has?" Dick asked surprised.

"Yeah, not very much, but at least once," Gordon said then turned back to Bruce. "I'll get a couple officers to her house and..."

"She can come here."

Both Dick and Gordon looked at Bruce surprised, but for different reasons. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Bruce," Gordon said.

"Yeah," Dick agreed," this guys after me, and if you bring her here, that could put more than just her at risk. He could get to you and Alfred too."

Bruce looked at Gordon. "I got a hold of Batman today."

Gordon's eyes went wide. "You did?" he asked very surprised.

Dick just smiled at Gordon's surprise. "Yes, he gave me a way to contact him if I ever needed to," Bruce explained.

"What did he say?" Gordon asked.

"I told him what was going on and asked him if he could stop by sometime tonight. I can ask him if he would stay close, that way we can have the kids come here. It would be safer for them."

Gordon nodded. "Yes, ok, that should work."

Bruce nodded then turned to Dick. "Contact all of them and tell them to get here as soon as they can." He then stretched his fingers to tell him five minutes. He then turned back to Gordon. "I'll walk you to the door."

Dick watched as they walked to the door then pulled out his cell and texted the team.

BIRDBOY: hey guys get to the manor 5 min hurry

It only took a few minutes to get all the replies.

ARROW GIRL: wats goin on

WALMAN: be there in a sec

KAL: M'gann Conner and I will be there as soon as we can

BIRDBOY: ok be careful guys specially u arty ill explain wen u get here

Bruce watched as Gordon pulled out of the drive, and just as he was about to close the door, Wally ran up to him. "Hey," Wally said. "Dick said to get here fast."

"He's in the living room," Bruce said as Wally walked in. He took one more look outside then went into the living room. "Dick, tell Artemis to tell her mom to get out of the apartment for a few days."

Dick nodded.

BIRDBOY: arty tell ur mom to get out of the house for a few days

ARROW GIRL: ok? im leavin now

BIRDBOY: k

"So what's going on?" Wally asked.

"Steve's back, and he's trying to get to me by hurting people I know," Dick explained sadly.

"What?!" Wally asked surprised. "But I thought he was gone."

"We did too, until a few days ago when we saw him following us Saturday," Dick replied.

"So you just want to make sure that we don't get hurt," Wally said.

"That no one else gets hurt," Dick corrected him sadly.

Wally looked over to Bruce then back to Dick. "What happened?"

"He took Barbra after school today."

"Oh man. I'm so sorry, Dick," Wally said.

No one said a word.

After a few more minutes, the rest of the team showed up. "I met them at the out-of-order phone booth," Artemis said.

"What has happened?" Kaldur asked.

Everyone found a seat in the living room and looked toward Dick.

"Steve's back," Dick started. M'gann gasped and Artemis clenched her fists, but stayed quiet as he continued. "He's going to try to get to you guys. I don't know when and I don't know how, but..." Dick looked down unable to continue.

"He knows our identities," Bruce stepped in. Everyone gasped. "He knows all of your identities too." Everyone looked at him both worried and confused.

"How is this possible," Kaldur asked.

"He's been watching Dick for two months without our knowledge. It wasn't until a few days ago that we were aware of this," Bruce explained.

The team all looked at Dick sadly. "But why ask us here?" Conner asked.

"Yeah, wouldn't we be safer with our mentors?" M'gann asked.

Dick picked up the letter off the coffee table where Bruce laid it down and handed it to Kaldur. "He sends me letters. This one came tonight," Dick said.

Kaldur took the letter and read it."Who is the her he mentioned?" Kaldur asked as he passed the letter to the next person.

Dick looked at him sadly. "Barbra, one of my friends from school."

"What?!" Artemis asked surprised. "The Commish's kid? But how?"

"He sent me a letter at school hinting that something was going to happen to one of my friends. When I went to find her, she wasn't anywhere around, and her dad came up to me and he hadn't seen her either. That's when I realized that he took her," Dick answered.

"That's horrible," M'gann said as she handed the letter back to Dick.

Dick took the letter, looked down at it angrily, then crushed it in his hands. "That's why you guys are here. This way we can make sure you guys stay safe... So I can make sure you're safe."

Kaldur got up off the chair he was sitting in, walked over to Dick, and placed a hand on Dick's shoulder. "We shall keep each other safe." Dick looked up at him and smiled.

"That's another reason why you're here," Bruce said. They all looked at him. "I'd feel better knowing that Dick has someone watching his back. I'm gonna call the school tomorrow and explain why both Dick and Artemis won't be there for the rest of the week. I'll have Gordon call the other schools and explain to them what's going on."

"That's why you told me to tell my mom she needed to get out of the house for a while," Artemis reasoned.

"Yeah, I don't want Steve to hurt your mom because of me. She did leave tonight, right?" Dick asked.

"Yeah, that's one of the reasons why it took me so long. We both packed a few things and left at the same time. She wants me to call her and tell her what's going on 'cause she wasn't to happy and was starting to worry. Do you mind if I call her real quick?"

"No, go ahead," Dick replied. Artemis then got up and went to the other side of the room.

"I didn't bring any extra clothes," Wally said.

"Neither did we," M'gann said meaning her, Conner, and Kaldur.

"We can get you guys clothes," Bruce said. "I don't think it'll be very safe to return back to your homes."

"Dude, did you tell Artemis that she'd be stayin'?" Wally asked Dick.

"No, but I guess since I told her to tell her mom to get out of the house she sort of figured she'd be stayin'," Dick replied.

"She said she's almost to Blϋdhaven. She told me she would stay with a friend there," Artemis said as she walked back to the others.

"Ok," Dick said a little bit more at ease.

"So, how'd you know he was gonna ask us to stay?" Wally asked.

"Well, when he told me to tell my mom to get out, I knew I would either be stayin' here, at the mountain, or someplace else for a while."

"Why?" Wally asked.

Artemis rolled her eyes annoyed. "Because, Baywatch, if he told my mom to get out, wouldn't you think he would want me to get out too, especially since he was tellin' me to come here?"

"Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Wally answered.

"You're such a dork," Artemis said annoyed.

"Am not," Wally said angrily.

"Ok," Dick said trying to stop a fight before it started, "how 'bout I show you guys to your rooms?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Kaldur said glad that Dick stopped the two.

They all got up and followed Dick upstairs, while Bruce sat down on the couch and turned on the news. He really hoped that the villains would stay locked up until he could lock Steve up, that way he could protect Dick and focus on finding Steve.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Barbra just laid there and cried. She struggled and pulled on her arm trying to get her hand free of the cuffs. She knew it was a futile act, but she had to do something.

Steve walked in and she froze. "Did you get some sleep?" he asked as he walked toward the bed. "Your friend likes to stay up late. Almost four in the morning and he still wasn't in bed yet."

Barbra watched as he walked around the bed and pulled off his shirt. She pulled the blankets up closer to her chin, trying to hide herself from him. As he climbed into the bed with nothing but his boxers on, she tried to scoot as far away from him as the cuffs would let her.

Steve covered himself up then wrapped an arm around Barbra's waist and began kissing her neck. Barbra tried to push him away. "No, please," she begged. Steve just ignored her, grabbed her hand, and pinned it to the bed. "Don't," she tried again, but still he ignored her.

He continued kissing her around her neck, on her face, then finally on the lips. Barbra struggled to make him stop, turning her head and trying to move away from him, but he held her down and used his other hand to hold her head. He then leaned down so his mouth was so close to her ear that his breath tickled her ear. "Don't worry," he said then kissed next to her ear. "I'll make it enjoyable for both of us."

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Dick woke up at about noon the next day. He slowly sat up then got up and went down the stairs. He saw Bruce sitting alone on the couch watching the news. "The others aren't awake yet?" Dick asked as he sat down next to Bruce.

"No, but after how late you guys stayed up, I'm not surprised," Bruce replied.

Dick smiled. "Sorry, we didn't feel like sleeping."

"Obviously," Bruce said with a smile. He then handed Dick another letter. "It came this morning."

Dick took it and looked at Bruce afraid. "What does it say?"

"Don't know. I didn't open it," Bruce replied.

Dick just looked down and opened the letter then slowly read it.

Well, I was right. You have amazing taste in friends. Me and Barbra had and amazing time last night. If only you were there, but don't worry, you will be soon.

I see you brought your friends o your house. Well if you think that will protect them, you're wrong. When the clock strikes 3, they will be in so much pain, it will probably kill them.

Oh, and Barbra says hi.

A tear escaped Dick's eye. Bruce read the letter over Dick's shoulder and pulled out his phone. Dick looked at him confused. "Clark, get over here now," Bruce said into the phone then hung up. After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. "Dick, go get them up," Bruce said as he walked to the door.

Alfred opened the door and Clark walked in. "Bruce, I got here as fast as I could. What's wrong?"

"I need your x-ray vision," Bruce said as he and Clark walked back to the living room.

Dick walked down the stairs with five very tired team members following. "What's the big idea?" Wally complained.

"Superman?" Conner asked surprised to see the Kryptonian standing there.

Clark shifted nervously. "Superboy," he said then quickly turned to Bruce.

"I need you to check them to see if they have anything in their bodies. If not we need to do a blood work on them to see if there's any drugs in them," Bruce explained.

"A drug?" Artemis asked.

"What's going on?" Wally asked.

No one answered. Clark focused his eyes and looked inside each one of the teen's bodies. "Bruce, they have nanites or something all over their bodies," Clark said surprised.

"What?!" Wally yelled.

"Wally, calm down. I'm sure Batman can get them out," M'gann told Wally then turned to Bruce, "right?"

Bruce didn't answer. He walked past them and into the study. "Bruce!" Dick called out as he ran after Bruce. The others soon followed.

Wally got to them first and went down in the elevator with Bruce and Dick. "So we have robots inside us?" Wally asked.

"Kind of," Bruce answered.

When he didn't get any more than that, Wally turned to Dick. "They're microscopic machines that are used for many purposes," Dick tried to explain. "They're not really robots, just... like them."

"Oh, those things," Wally said.

"Yeah," Dick replied.

The elevator door opened and Bruce walked over to the area with all the medical supplies. "Got over here," he said.

Dick and Wally looked at each other then Wally ran over to Bruce. "Wha'cha need?"

"Sit," Bruce told him then grabbed a syringe. He stuck it in Wally's arm and got some blood then took it over to the microscope, put some of the blood on a slide, and then examined it.

"You think he'll find a way to get those things out of us?" Wally asked as Dick came up to the table Wally was sitting on.

The others walked out of the elevator and made their way over to Dick and Wally. "He's Batman, of course he will," Dick told Wally cheerfully, but not totally believing himself.

"Superman said that he had to get back to Metropolis," Kaldur said when they reached the two.

"Ok," Dick said then walked over to Bruce. He then lowered his voice. "Bruce, what about Barbra?"

Bruce sighed, but kept examining the blood sample. "We'll find her, Dick."

"But he..." Dick couldn't even say it. Tears welled up in his eyes again.

Bruce looked down at Dick then knelt down and placed both of his hands on Dick's shoulders. "I know, but we will find her. Between us and Gordon and his men, we should be able to find him and put him away for the rest of his life, and I'm sure Gordon will make sure he never gets the chance for parol."

Dick quickly embraced Bruce. "Thanks."

Bruce smiled and hugged him back. Dick then pulled away. "Now, let's see if we can find a way to help them," Bruce said nodding his head toward the team. Dick just smiled and nodded.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

It was almost three and they still hadn't figured out a way to get the nanites out of the team. Dick was starting to get worried that they wouldn't be able to help them. "Bruce, it's almost three."

"I know," Bruce said trying another idea.

Dick looked over at his friends. They were using the training robot to get some training in. 'Probably their last training.' He shook his head. He knew he couldn't think like that.

Alfred came down with a tray full of cookies and Wally sped over to him. "Thanks, Al," Wally said as he took three cookies.

"Save some for the rest of us, Baywatch," Artemis said as she and the others came up to Alfred.

Dick just watched them sadly. 'They could die and it'll be all my fault, and they look like nothing's wrong at all.'

"Robin, are you gonna have some cookies?" M'gann asked him mentally.

"Nah, you guys have as many as you want. I can always get Alfred to make me some later," Dick replied smiling at her.

"Ok," she said. She could tell something was bothering him, but she just figured he was worried about them.

Dick pulled out his phone and checked the time. His eyes went wide. "Bruce, it just turned..."

Kaldur, Conner, Wally, M'gann, and Artemis all started screaming. Dick ran over to them and straight to Wally. "D... Dick... it... it hurts," Wally struggled to get out.

"Bruce!" Dick yelled.

Bruce just watched Dick sadly. He still couldn't find a way to help them. He looked back at the blood sample and saw what looked like fire on them. He looked back to the teens and saw both Alfred and Dick trying to do something for them, but he could only see the tears that were falling down Dick's face.

"Bruce, you have to do something!" Dick yelled.

Bruce pulled out his cell and called Barry.

"Hey, Bruce, you keeping... Is that screaming?"

"Barry, get over here now. They're dying!"

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