"You know," I said. "The mountain's not that bad." I frowned as Bruce fixed my suit jacket and tie. "Isn't this dangerous? I mean, you're still healing from the explosion and I won't even be in costume..."

"We'll have the whole Justice League and the team watching our backs," Bruce said, smoothing back my hair. "I haven't made a public appearance in weeks, which could cause people to ask questions. And they'd ask even more if you weren't there." He hesitated for a moment before looking me straight in the eye. "Now, I'm going to warn you before it's too late. You're going to hear some people calling you some awful things, like a charity case, alright? Don't believe them."

I nodded. "Okay."

Bruce smile. "And try not to look so nervous. I'm scared that Deathstroke will crash this party too, but being nervous causes people to ask questions."

I nodded. "Alright." I was scared to the bone, but I tried not to show it. Taking a deep breath, I followed Bruce downstairs. People had already shown up and I was surprised that there were going to be more. I'd already decided that I didn't like galas. I followed Bruce down the stairs and tried to hide from the curious glances my way. "Aw, it's a little Bruce," someone said. Another stated, "He must be adopted. Looks foreign." The loud comments set my teeth on edge, but I simply smiled and followed Bruce through the crowd, resisting the urge to clutch onto the back of his suit coat for support. I wasn't a child anymore. I could do this.

As I glanced at the window, I spotted Superman flying past and I couldn't help but smirk. I couldn't believe there was this much security for me. Slade would be an idiot if he tried to attack tonight. I started to calm down at that thought.

Bruce stopped to chat with some people and I awkwardly stood behind him, looking around at everyone. Rich snobs. Every last one of them. I felt extremely out of place, like a smudge of dirt on a palace floor. There were a couple more comments indirectly directed towards me, but I ignored them.

Suddenly, someone tapped my shoulder. I resisted the urge to jump and turned around to face a girl who looked a little older than me. She had dark brown hair that was pulled back from her face and wore a dark blue dress. "Hello," she said with a smile. "My name is Kristen. Who are you? I haven't seen you at any parties before."

"Um, I'm Dick. I'm Bruce's ward," I awkwardly held out my hand and she shook it.

"Dick? Is that a nickname?" She asked.

I nodded. "It's short for Richard."

"You want to come and meet my friends?" Her smile was so genuine I nodded. She grabbed my arm and led me through the sea of people to a group of teenagers. They were all sitting at a table together. There were three girls and two boys. I could sense the 'rich-kid' aura surrounding them. I regretted agreeing to this almost immediately. I was just going to end up embarrassing myself.

"Hey everyone," Kristen said, waving. "This is Dick. He's Bruce Wayne's ward."

"Dick?" One of the boys asked. "What kind of a name is that?"

"Um...it's a nickname," I said quietly, feeling my face getting warm.

"For what? Dickhead?"

I gritted my teeth. "No. Richard."

"Come on, guys," Kristen said. "Don't be mean."

"So how come you live with Mr. Wayne?" One of the girls asked politely. I bit my lip. I really didn't need their pity, but I decided to answer anyway. "My parents are dead."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said, sounding sincere. "How did they die? Was there a car accident?"

I shook my head. "You see, I grew up in the circus-"

"The circus?" One of the boys, the same one who had made fun of my name, said with a smirk. "Don't tell me you're a gypsy freak. What was your mom, a bearded lady? And I'm guessing your dad was a clown. That combination seems about right."

I clenched my hands together but resisted the urge to punch the boy. "No. They were Acrobats, the only people who could do a quadruple flip. I can do it too."

"Ooh," another boy said sarcastically. "I didn't know you were famous circus trash." He sneered at me. "On the tippy top of the junk pile."

"Ryan, stop," Kristen scolded. "You too, Gabe. He's just a little kid and you shouldn't be making fun of him like that."

"I'm guessing you're not even an American," Gabe said, ignoring Kristen. "Do you pray to Muhammad or are you a kid-terrorist from ISIS?"

"I'm Romanian," I said defensively. "I don't even look Middle-Eastern."

Gabe shrugged. "Sorry," he said, sounding like he meant anything but. "Geography was never one of my strong points."

"Shut up, Gabe," the girl who had polite to me earlier said.

"Whatcha gonna do about it, Abby?" Gabe asked her.

Abby went silent, looking down at her hands. The girl who hadn't spoken glared at the boy. "You're such a jerk." She took Abby by the arm and lead her in the direction of the bathroom.

"Shut up, Jasmine. No one asked you," Ryan shouted. They turned their attention back to me. "You're tiny. How old are you?"

"Fourteen," I said defensively."

"Really?" Gabe asked. "I thought you were twelve. You have an eating disorder or something?"

"No," I simply said, not exactly sure it that was one hundred percent true. I didn't eat much at meals nowadays because of stress, but it wasn't like I starved myself or anything. Now, if they'd been me before I had been taken in by Bruce, that would have been a totally different story.

Someone grabbed my arm and I looked up to see Kristen pulling me away. "I'm sorry," she said. "I knew that those two can be jerks, but I had no idea they'd be so mean to a kid. I'll see you around, Dick." She shook my hand and walked back to the table. I didn't care anymore. Bruce might scold me later, but I'm going to bed.

I had almost made it to the stairs when I bumped into Alfred. "Master Dick? Where do you think you're going?"

"To bed," I said. "I've decided that I hate parties."

"Did you tell Master Bruce?"

I bit my lip. "Well...no, but he should understand..."

"Please at least tell him you're going to bed. I would hate for him to panic when he realizes that you're missing. You have to start thinking about how your actions affect others, Master Dick."

My shoulders slumped. "I guess you're right, Alfie." I glanced back at the sea of people with dread. "But if I can't find him in five minutes, I'm giving up."

~

Two minutes in my search, a gun went off. My mind immediately went into full out panic mode and I was tempted to fall to my knees with my hands over my head and have a full on panic attack. The gunshot was followed by maniacal laughter that only made me relax slightly. "Bring me Wayne and his brat!" Joker demanded. "I think I'm gonna kill one of them."

Someone grabbed me roughly from behind and dragged me to the center of the room where Joker was waiting. Bruce was soon shoved through the crowd too. He held me protectively like any father would. "What do you want?" Bruce demanded. 

Joker shrugged. "I honestly came for the hor d'oeuvres, but robbing you dry doesn't seem like a bad idea either. And if you don't cooperate, I'll kill your brat and the little sidekick team that was acting as your security, and yes, before you ask, I took them down. Bring em in!" Joker's goons dragged in my friends unconscious forms through the front door and dropped them at Joker's feet. At least he didn't have the League too. "I'm just wondering," Joker said. "I wonder where the Bat's brat is. You see, we have a history from that one time I held him for ransom and almost blew him up, but nevermind all that." Joker strode forward in front of Bruce and me. I didn't even try to hide me fear. It would not only hide my identity, but it was totally believable. When Gotham's most feared criminal says he's going to kill you, you don't usually laugh in his face and try to talk your way out of the situation. 

"Let him go, Brucie," Joker said. "And I may reconsider killing him slowly."

Bruce's grip on me tightened. He was scared. The League's sidekicks were also in danger right now and Deathstroke might use a perfect moment like this to steal me back. "Oh, come on," the Joker said. "Stop trying to protect him. You'll just end up getting hurt." With that, he stabbed Bruce in the arm with a knife he had hidden in his sleeve. Bruce cried out in pain and Joker ripped me from his grasp. "Sorry, kiddo, but I guess I'm going to have to make you an example. I don't like defiant people like your daddy. But you know, this works out great, actually. I thought I was going to just be sitting around and watching Netflix for the rest of the night. This is a much better waste of my time."

"Please don't," I whispered. "You're g-gonna hurt me."

"Well, duh! That's just the point!" He produced another knife, dragged me to the nearest wall, and stabbed the knife through my coat and shirt, pinning me in place before tying my hands and feet together. he then pinned my arms to my sides with another rope, just to be sure I wouldn't escape.

Joker was humming as he produced items out of his pockets, dropping them carelessly. "I'm sorry," Joker said. "Can you hold on a second? I can't seem to find my favorite toy." He glanced throughout the room. "Hey! Do any of you snobs have a spare crowbar handy? I can't seem to find mine...oh, nevermind." He pulled a bloodstained crowbar out of his jacket pocket. "I know it's clique, but who cares. A gun is too fast and you can't break bones with a knife." 

I looked fearfully at the tool. This was going to hurt, a lot. And after Joker was done with me, he'd deal with my friends, just for the heck of it. I tried to grab onto the knife holding me in place, but the rope around my arms held them down.

Joker giggled as he rose the crowbar over me. I looked up in totally fear. He was about to bring it down when someone crashed into the Joker at a speed faster than KF even. The Flash grabbed the crowbar and threw it far away from the clown's grasp. I'd never been happier to see the speedster in my life. Someone was freeing me from the knife and ropes and I glanced over to see Green Arrow. I smiled gratefully at him. Then I remembered. "B-Bruce," I said.

"It's okay," Flash said. "Wonder Woman's got him. Did he hurt you, kid?"

I shook my head and Flash smiled. "That's good. I'm gonna go check on the team." He sped off to help the teens who were just starting to wake up.

Bruce stumbled over to me. He had a hand clasped over his bleeding arm, but he hardly seemed to acknowledge the pain. "Dick. I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?"

I shook my head again. "Why are you sorry? You're the one who got stabbed and it's not like you invited the Joker to your gala."

Bruce wrapped him uninjured arm around me. "I'm just glad he didn't beat you."

I nodded. "Yeah. Me too."

~
Crappy ending, but I don't care.

I probably won't be updating this for a while, so I just wanna warn you guys that I'm going on a missions trip to Canada and I won't be allowed to bring my electronics with me, so from Saturday until I think next Saturday, I will not be on Wattpad. Thank you for the understanding. See you in a bit!