A/N: There will be time skips in this chapter (meaning more than one)! Not at the beginning, I will let you know when it happens. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE TIME SKIPS. Remember to vote and/or comment if you enjoy! Thanks to those who left kind comments on the last chapter!

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Chapter Seven: Seeing Red
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Previously
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Mystery handed Dick the gun. "Shoot one, and the other lives."

"No!" Dick shouted. He was not killing an innocent civilian!

"Do it, or I'll kill them both. You have twenty seconds."

"Twenty." Mystery counted down, throwing Dick the gun. He caught it, his heart racing. What was he supposed to do?!

"No... no I can't."

"Nineteen."

"Please. Stop."

"Eighteen."

"Don't make me do this. Please don't."

"Seventeen."

"No no no no..."

"Sixteen."

"No. No. Stop counting!"

"Fifteen."

"I won't do it!"

"Fourteen."

"I can't do it. Please no."

"Thirteen."

"No."

"Twelve."

"No."

"Eleven."

"Please."

"Ten."

"No stop. I won't."

"Nine."

"You can't make me!"

"Eight."

"I WON'T DO IT, DAMMIT!"

"Seven."

"FUCK YOU!"

"Six."

"YOU'RE A MONSTER!"

"Five."

"No."

"Four."

"No."

"Three."

"I can't."

"Two."

"Fuck. You."

"One."

BANG.

---
Now
---

Dick tried to suppress his tears as a second shot was fired.

Mystery had killed them both. Their limp bodies lay tied up and lifeless on the ground, crimson liquid seeping out of their heads.

Mystery tsked. "You should've listened to me... then one of them would still be alive."

"N-no... no..." Dick stuttered, his eyes locked on the man and woman.

"Don't worry, Dickie. You'll get used to it." Mystery assured, patting Dick on the shoulder.

Dick had seen death in some of the most horrible ways possible. As Robin he had seen dead bodies like this every day at crime scenes.

He had never been the sole reason as to why they were dead.

But these people?

They were dead because of him.

"I'm so so so sorry." He whispered, even though it wasn't going to bring them back.

Mystery grabbed Dick's ankles and bound them, and he also tightened the restraints on his wrists. He pulled a giant metal collar, and snapped it on the boy's neck- a shock collar with a tracker- just in case.

However Mystery knew that Dick was in an emotionally unstable state and that he probably wouldn't be able to get out, even though the place was securely locked down. He was also brutally injured, and the chances of him escaping were below slim. That didn't change the fact that Dick was very smart, and brave as well.

Didn't seem to notice the large collar snapped onto his neck. His eyes were wide and filling with tears as he continued to stare at the two lifeless forms before him.

Mystery sighed. "You must get used to this, my boy. Pretty soon you'll be pulling the trigger, and you'll be enjoying it." He said darkly. "But first you need rest. I'll bring in a blanket for you, it's fairly cold." Mystery's tone had suddenly changed. Dick turned to look up at him as if he was silently asking Mystery to get the bodies away from him.

"They'll be sleeping here with you tonight. They may smell a bit bad, but you'll get over it, Dickie." Mystery assured, and Dick cringed at the nickname.

Mystery left the room for a few minutes, leaving the boy by himself with two empty lifeforms with two matching puddles of blood.

He just sat there.

Mystery finally re-entered, with a small blanket and a few medical supplies. He shut the door behind him and approached Dick, kneeling down to his level. Dick tried to scoot away but was only met with an electric shock.

"Don't move." Mystery ordered. Dick was too exhausted to disobey.

Mystery helped clean a few of the cuts, a bit carelessly, and then covered with bandages. Despite it being unbelievably painful, Dick didn't react to the pain very much aside from a wince.

Dick was even more surprised when Mystery repositioned him so his arms were cuffed in front of him, so he could be more comfortable.

Mystery glanced at Dick's raw wrists that were covered in cuts from being cuffed so tightly.

He ignored it.

"W-why?" Dick asked.

"If I'm going to use you, you can't be dead. Don't get used to it. This isn't a holiday inn." Mystery reminded snappily.

"Clearly." Dick whispered to himself, bringing his knees to his chest.

Mystery threw the blanket at him rudely, and then turned off the dim light.

Dick heard the creaking of a door, and then a 'click' sound so he assumed Mystery had locked the door- that was a no-brainer.

Now alone, he tried blinking a few times as if it would help him get used to the dark.

It didn't help. It only reminded that this was a cold, harsh, and cruel reality.

Wanting to get as far away from the deceased couple as possible, Dick draped the blanket over his shoulders as he dragged himself across the floor. He didn't know where he was going, all he knew is that he was going in the opposite direction of the dead bodies that were only a reminder of his utter failure. He choked back a sob.

Dick felt his hair brush something, and then the side of his arm. A wall.

Then his other arm brushed a wall as well. He was in the corner of the room.

He wrapped himself tighter in the blanket, bringing his knees to his bandaged chest. His sore wrists in the cuffs were burning like crazy, and that's all he could really think of.

Aside from what had happened merely minutes before.

Two gunshots- two deaths. All his fault.

Bruce would be so disappointed. Even if Bruce did come for him, he would never take Dick back. Why should he? Dick knew he was a failure. It was all his fault.

There was no villain or criminal to blame it on this time.

It was all his fault.

Sobs racked his body and tears poured out of his eyes. He tried to push himself as far as he could into the corner, but he had already reached the limit.

It was his fault.

It was then that he realized that Bruce wasn't coming for him. Why would Bruce want someone like him anyways?

It was all his fault.

Did Dick truly have blood on his hands? Was it really his fault.

'It's all your fault Grayson. You didn't pull the trigger but that doesn't mean you aren't the cause of their deaths.' He told himself mentally.

Maybe he'd have to do what Mystery wanted... to keep others safe. Dick needed to get himself together.

No. He would keep fighting. That's what he had always been taught.

---
Five Months Later
---

Bruce sat at the Batcomputer, his nose buried in the screen.

His eyes were sore and his body was tired. He could skip patrol again tonight. He had more important things to do.

The zeta platform announced Clark, who Bruce ignored.

The Kryptonian didn't seem very hurt about it as he approached Bruce, his face serious. "Bruce, it's time to stop."

"What do you want, Clark?" Bruce sighed, his eyes not leaving the screen.

Clark shuffled awkwardly, not wanting to say it. Hell, he didn't even want to believe it. "Bruce- Dick is gone. Even if he's not dead, he's gone. And he doesn't want to be found."

Bruce then turned quickly, his face distorted into one of pure anger. "Shut up, Clark! We've talked about this countless times!" He nearly shouted, his blood boiling.

"We are worried about you. Barry, Diana, Oliver, Dinah... all of us. This isn't good for your health. The people of Gotham need you." Clark reasoned calmly but firmly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Bruce swiped Clark's hand off of his shoulder. "You can believe he's dead and gone all you want, Clark. But I will never give up until I have physical evidence that my boy is dead." Bruce then turned back around angrily.

"Five months. It's been five months... if you're gonna brood, at least do it while fighting crime. Let off a bit of steam, Bruce- not too much." Clark added, and took a deep breath as he headed back to the zeta platform.

Bruce looked down sadly.

---
Mount Justice
---

Wally had recovered and had helped Roy a couple of times on their search for Dick. Wally started avoiding many of his teammates, still angry with them and what they had done. Wally couldn't even look Superboy in the eyes.

The only person at Mount Justice that he wasn't completely angry with was Artemis. They both were in the rec room by themselves, as Wally flipped through channels on the television.

"Why aren't you at home?" Artemis asked him quietly, uncomfortable with the silence between them.

Wally sighed. "It's kind of nice hanging around you, I guess. With Rob gone I have no one else but Roy, and that guy is probably searching right now." He explained. Artemis nodded in understanding, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Things will get better. Even if we don't find Robin." She promised, cracking a small smile. The speedster couldn't help but smile back a little bit.

Wally stopped flipping through channels for a moment, and turned to look at Artemis in the eyes. "If he... is alive... how do you think he feels?"

"I'm sure wherever he is, he's happy, Wally." Artemis assured giving him a hug.

---
An Unknown Location
---

Dick was not happy.

He had just awoken from yet another 'training' session. Mystery would rouse him up a bit, give him a gun, and tell him to fight. Dick would do his best to fight the man in his condition without pulling the trigger, but unfortunately it came with a price.

This had happened for five months. Mystery never put two people in front of the boy again. Dick was thankful for that... He was still coping with the pain from five long months ago.

So now, Dick was laying on a thin blanket in the same room he'd been in for the last few months. The chains that he had hung on like a piece of meat in a butcher shop was still covered in his dry blood. There was still a large brown stain where the civilians had been excecuted. The small dim lamp still hung from the ceiling, giving him barely enough light to see anything.

He was bandaged up again. Tomorrow, Mystery would beat him up for a few minutes and then hand him a gun and tell him to fight.

It happened every. Single. Goddamn. Day.

Constant bleeding, constant aching, constant pain. Dick hadn't seen a mirror in five months, and he was glad. He didn't want to look in a mirror and see the mess he had become.

Mystery would give him fresh water and food, even clean clothing. He'd even let the boy take showers. One day, he acted as if he wanted to be a father figure. The next day he acted like a drill sergeant that wanted him to suffer.

Disgusting gashes and marks on Dick's body became a part of him. Seeing blood was like waking up in the morning- every time he opened his eyes, he would see red. Other than grays, blacks, and browns, red seemed to be the only vibrant color in the room. Days later, the red would fade to brown and new red would cover it.

Dick always liked the color red. He thought it suited him.

Now he knew it suited him for sure.

---

"Dickie. Wake up." Mystery ordered, shaking the small boy that was laying on the ground. As he woke up, he rolled over and groaned. Had he fallen asleep?

"Uggnn... wha-what?" He mumbled, trying to sit up.

"Wake the fuck up." Mystery snapped, grabbing him by the hair to sit him upright. Dick winced.

"Weak." Mystery mumbled to himself. Dick didn't know why, but hearing that word hurt him. Dick didn't know why it should matter if it came from Mystery's mouth, but either way it still hurt badly.

It wasn't until a few seconds later that Dick noticed two men kneeled before him, their arms and legs restrained with gags in their mouths, and tears running down their faces. He stiffened.

No. Not again.

Mystery put the gun in his small hands, and backed behind him. "You know how this works, Dickie. Shoot one, and the other lives."

"No... no." He whispered, holding back tears. He couldn't let these people die. They didn't deserve it.

So, Dick spun around as quickly as he could, which was difficult considering his hands were cuffed and he was weak, and aimed the gun right at Mystery. He didn't even think twice before pulling the trigger.

Dick panicked when the bullet flew way off target. He had never been good with guns.

Mystery smacked him across the face and grabbed his shoulders, facing him towards the two innocent civilians once again. "That wasn't a good idea. Now you only get ten seconds to decide."

"Please. These people did nothing wrong."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Mystery smirked, crossing his arms.

"What?" Dick asked, confused.

Mystery gave a small laugh. "Both are child rapists. Pedophiles."

Dick was disgusted. But that didn't mean they deserved to die. "They deserve to rot in jail, not get the easy way out."

"What? So they can just break out again and ruin another child's life? Is that what you want?" Mystery questioned, putting a hand on Dick's shoulder.

"No, but-"

"No buts, Dickie. Shoot one and the other one lives to rape another child. Or, you could just kill them both."

"You could be lying." Dick pointed out with uncertainty, very convinced that he was telling the truth.

Mystery sighed. "You don't have to believe me. If you do or not both of them will die either way."

"No... please let them live. Let them sit in a cell. Don't kill them." Dick begged quietly.

"Dickie. You want them to die. You just don't want to be responsible for it afterwards." The older man claimed, patting his shoulder. Dick stiffened at the gesture.

"No one will find out you did it, boy. They think your dead. They can't be disappointed in you if your dead." Mystery assured quietly. "All you have to do is press the trigger." He continued.

"But- I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"No."

"Do it."

Dick's finger was on the trigger and both men were now sobbing uncontrollably, their pleas muffled because of the gags in their mouths. Mystery stood and stepped away from Dick, counting down from ten.

"Ten."

Before he could continue to nine, a loud BANG rang throughout the room, and Mystery smiled.

Dick crumpled to the ground, no longer able to hold in the tears. There was red everywhere. He was covered in red- he had just killed a man.

He was a murderer.

---
Two Days Later
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Roy and Wally were in Roy's apartment, skimming through newspapers and articles to see if they could find anything on Dick.

"Roy, we're getting nowhere." Wally complained with frustration, flipping through old articles on Dick's disappearance.

Roy sighed. "I know. But Dick would never die that easily, Wally."

"Maybe we could search the stream?"

"Authorities are taking care of that." Roy claimed.

Wally scoffed. "Yeah, the league and the team are a real big help. I can't believe they'd give up on Dick so fucking easily."

"You know Bats hasn't." Roy added. Wally smiled. "Yeah. I don't think he ever will." The speedster replied.

"Well, if we can't find Dick right now, we could at least do some other good. Who knows, maybe it'll help us find him." Roy said, pointing towards a new article from today.

"Two grown men apparently were spotted on a camera while attempting to rape a child. It says they were kidnapped in the process." Wally explained.

"This is... interesting. Also disgusting." Roy groaned.

Wally squinted his eyes, trying to view the shot that was taken. "Wait... the photo."

Roy looked confused. "Umm... what about it?"

"That man kidnapped them both... I think I remember him from somewhere." Wally said hopefully.

Roy didn't look convinced. "Dude. It's pitch black and all you can see is a silhouette."

"That's all we need, Roy." Wally said excitedly.

"We should be searching for Dick." Roy said, eyeing the picture. A tall man was dragging both of the men, and the child was not in the picture.

"Roy. I think this will help us with our search for Dick." Wally exclaimed, shaking Roy's shoulders. "Now, we find that kid that was a witness. The kid could have answers!" He continued.

"The kid is probably traumatized. And what the hell do you mean it could help us find Dick?"

"Remember how I told you about the mission a few months ago? Before Dick got fired?"

"Yes..."

"The guy that kidnapped those men... he was the same guy that tried to bomb the factory." Wally claimed.

"How do you know for sure?" Roy asked.

"I don't know for sure. But it's worth a try."

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To be continued...