A/N: Hello! If you didn't know, I had a concussion so I was MIA for a bit. I'm back now though, and I'll start updating regularly :) Things will start to take bigger turns. You may not like a few things that happen, but they're necessary. Remember to vote and/or comment if you enjoy!!

I'm thinking about starting an original story after I finish this book, lemme know what you think ^_^

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Chapter Twelve: Rogue
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For Dick Grayson, life was a playground.

And Gotham City was his sandbox.

In order to build a castle, he had to scoop up the sand and shape it the way he wanted it. And, tada~! A beautiful sandcastle.

Sure, maybe there would be a few mishaps along the way. Some sand would fling out of the sandbox, or maybe his sandcastle would fall apart.

But in the end, all that would matter is that his eyes took in the sight of a magnificently carved and sculpted castle, even if it only lasted for a minute or two.

These thoughts rummaged through his head as he swung back and forth on a swing at the elementary school playground in the dead of night, the odd creaking sound of the chains like some sort of weird music to his ears.

His black sneakers scraped against the thick pieces of mulch, the sound reminding him of something he couldn't seem to put his finger on. The sound of bones breaking, maybe? That was a sound that Dick was very familiar with.

It wasn't until he saw red and blue lights reflecting off the equipment that he then remembered he had trespassed. Great, now he had to leave!

Dick jumped off of the swing midair, doing a backflip, and landing gracefully on the ground. He gave a few bows to an imaginary crowd, but returned to reality when he heard a shout- probably from an officer.

He ran over to the fence and flipped over, landing on his heels and making a dash for the road. The police officers tried to follow him, but Dick had already gone into the night.

Dick was bored.

And he wanted to kill someone. Very badly.

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Mount Justice
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"And you want us to search through Gotham?" Roy questioned Batman, a look of disbelief on his face. "We already did that for months!" He added.

Bruce sighed. "Yes, but this time it will be the whole team. And now, we have a suspect who can no longer hide in plain sight."

The rest of the team, Artemis, Aqualad, Miss Martian, Superboy, Zatanna, and Rocket all nodded. Even Roy gave a small nod of understanding, his arms crossed in his usual stance.

Wally, however, didn't know what to think.

The only reason Bruce was still on this whole thing was because the kid had something to do with Dick's disappearance.

The speedster could only imagine what his best friend had gone through... but could they really drop this? People were dying and being tortured.

"Wally?"

"Uh... Wally?"

"Huh?! I- sorry!" The redhead exclaimed awkwardly when Megan tried to get his attention. "I was out of it, alright? Cut me some slack, I've been out of this for awhile now."

Megan nodded kindly, and the team directed their attention back to Batman.

"As Bruce Wayne, I have other business to attend to tonight. Find the child, apprehend him, and bring him to Mount Justice immediately." He stated firmly. "If any problems arise, do what is necessary. Calling the league shouldn't have to be an option." Batman continued.

Wally tried to listen, but all the words coming from Bruce's mouth went through one ear and out the other. The speedster couldn't seem to get his best friend off of his mind lately... not ever since...

He mentally shook the bad thoughts rummaging through his mind, and brought about the good ones.

Hearing Dick's laugh and seeing him smile.

His sarcastic and hilarious remarks after Wally would say or do something stupid.

His ability to make anyone's day better by just saying a few words, "I'm here for you."

Dick was always there for Wally... why couldn't Wally be there for him now? Why did life have to be so cruel and unfair?

There they were. The bad thoughts again.

"Wally? It's time to go!" Megan announced, waking Wally from his uncanny daydream.

"Right."

They all went to the zeta tubes, efficiently transporting them to Gotham city. The air was thick with smog and the streets and buildings reeked of poverty and child abuse. Nothing new for a place like Gotham.

It was dark out, except for the lights on the buildings and street lamps, not that it made anything better. None of the teenagers wanted to be there right now. They didn't want to be there at all.

Wally, especially.

"Looks like we're here." Aqualad said calmly, trying to remain polite as he held in a cough.

"Yeah. Where should we start?" Superboy asked no one in particular.

Aqualad thought for a second. "We shall split up, but stay in range of the telepathic link. If we search in a group but spread out, we will cover the city easier." He explained thoroughly, also reminding them of Batman's orders here and there. "Remember to stay connected to the link. And be careful." He finished, putting plenty of emphasis on "careful" so that the others would get the idea.

They then split apart, and began their search for the boy in the red sweatshirt.

---

Connor was confused. Why did they have to search for this petty criminal? Wasn't this Batman's job?

Sighing, he continued to search either way.

"Who's there?" He asked loudly when he thought he heard a noise (superhearing, remember?) and stopped in his tracks.

The situation couldn't get anymore cliche, when Connor turned and stopped. In front of him was the kid!

He was standing there, hood over his head, grinning evilly. He had a pistol in his hand, and Connor could see the outline of a knife in his pocket.

"Hey, you! You're coming with me!" The clone announced, grabbing the boy by the collar. He let him.

'Guys! I found the kid! Get to my location immediately!' Superboy said in the mind link.

'Got it! On my way.' Miss Martian replied.

Connor returned his attention to the boy. "You aren't going anywhere. So don't try funny business."

The boy just laughed, which startled Connor. They caught him, why was he laughing?

"You should know better than to pick a fight you can't win. But then again, a little scrawny boy like me can't beat a Kryptonian like you, hm?" He said mischievously, still wearing the same sick smile on his face.

Before Connor could pull down the boy's hood to see who it was, he heard a loud bang, and felt excruciating pain in his leg. He screamed out in pain, and dropped the boy, falling to the ground.

As Connor held his shot leg in pain, he growled when he saw a small green rock wedged in his skin.

"I came prepared." The boy said bluntly, stepping over the clone. He gave him a small kick to the side, and added an "oops," putting his hands behind his head casually.

Connor struggled to speak. "You c-can't beat u-us..." he mumbled.

"Right. I can't because I'm worthless. I guess I'd forgotten." The boy replied, his tone cold and harsh. His attitude then flipped 180 degrees, and the psychotic grin returned.

Connor was confused. Had he done something to this boy before?

'Superboy! Are you alright?' Megan asked in the link with worry. 'I sense that you're hurt!'

'He shot me with Kryptonite...' Connor replied, a bit embarrassed.

"Well, it's been fun buddy. But I'm already bored of you, so..." the kid spoke, grabbing his pistol once again, and pointing it right at the clone's head.

Before the trigger could be pulled, a flash of bright light knocked the lethal weapon out of the boy's hands. He seemed unfazed, Wally realized, and that surprised him. Normally when someone got a gun knocked from their hands from a speedster they looked shocked as hell, but the kid looked like he'd expected it.

Superboy silently thanked Wally for his rescue, and tried to sit up.

"No! Stay calm!" Megan ordered, now at his side. Behind her was Aqualad and the rest of the team, including Roy.

"This just keeps getting better and better." The boy said under his breath, chuckling.

"It ends here now. Either you surrender, or we take you in by force." Kaldur said confidently, his cool, calm, attitude reflecting off of his posture.

"What's the fun in doing things the easy way?!" The boy cried excitedly, and Kaldur scowled.

"Listen, psychopath! We've had enough of your games, you crazy bastard! What the hell happened to Dick Grayson?! You know where he is, don't you?!" Roy yelled angrily.

"How ironic." The boy said quietly, too quiet for anyone to comprehend. "Of course! His screams were beautiful!" He said, louder this time.

"What?!" Roy shouted with clenched fists. The rest of the team was shocked, aside from Wally, who stood in silence.

"One more thing." The boy said, with more seriousness this time. "Do not ever. Call me crazy." He added, pulling the knife out of his pocket.

Wally paled.

---
Wayne Manor, meanwhile
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Tonight. Out of all nights...

Bruce wanted to find that kid himself. If he had something to do with these murders, did he know anything about Dick?

Bruce promised himself that he would accept that Dick was gone... but maybe he wasn't.

He forced himself to pretend to enjoy his charity event, although he couldn't seem to take his mind off of Dick Grayson.

It had been a year.

But a lot could happen in a year...

Bruce's attention shifted to a couple that had just walked in: a gorgeous blonde with the figure of a model, and on her arm a man that looked to be in his forties.

They both looked proper and fashionable, yet they seemed to have calm, simplistic attitudes. The woman had curvy hips, and the man had a strong looking build.

Bruce didn't remember inviting them.

The man had a glint in his eye, and his lips were set into a thin line.

Bruce couldn't just kick them out without investigating, so he approached the two.

"Hello, I'm Bruce Way-"

"Trust me, we know!" The woman interrupted, her blonde hair curled and shining under the light.

Bruce ignored the act of rudeness, and gave a small chuckle. The other man seemed to have a small smile on his face, his arm still linked with the woman's.

The man glanced over to Alfred, the beloved Butler, who was quickly and effectively serving to other guests and tending to their needs.

"Mr. Wayne, may I speak to your butler?" He asked. "He's very quick, I must say."

"Of course." Bruce replied.

Bruce motioned for Alfred, who walked over and greeted them formally. "What can I do for you, sir?"

The man put a hand up to his chin in thought. "A champagne for the lady and I?" He asked kindly. "Twenty seconds, the clock is ticking." He added, tapping an imaginary watch on his wrist.

Alfred smiled at the man's odd humor, and left to follow the order.

Bruce thought what the man had said was a but rude, ordering Alfred around like that. Sure, it was his job and all, but rude nonetheless.

Exactly twenty seconds later, Alfred returned.

"Wow, you are a magnificent butler. You do what a guest asks without second thought. Very nice." The man complimented, and the woman agreed.

Bruce just smiled.

---
Two hours later
An Unknown Location
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Dick Grayson stood in front of the sink, running his blood-encrusted hands under the water.

It took a couple of minutes, but he finally cleansed his hands. He pulled off his bloody sweatshirt and the matching bloody t-shirt underneath, and gripped at the gash on his side.

How pathetic. They couldn't even find the guts to kill him. How weak.

He grabbed some bandages from the cabinet and left the bathroom.

Dick walked into the living room with a small limp, and crashed onto the couch. Fumbling for the remote, he turned on the television.

The sound was off, but in big bold letters it read 'Rogue murderer strikes again' on a caption with a news reporter holding a microphone.

He smirked.

During his fight against his old teammates, a few lives got in the way. Well, actually, Dick felt like shooting a few civilians just to piss them off. And what do you know? It worked!

Batman wouldn't be too happy that the team exposed themselves on the news like that. He scoffed.

But then, he remembered...

Had he exposed himself, too?

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To be continued... I'm sorry for the long wait! As a present to all of you, I'll write the fight scene that Dick had against the team in the next chapter. Thank you for reading!