Everyone in the Batcave had their eyes glued to the screen, watching as Rory sat there and took every punch while still fighting back and it put Tim on edge. With every insult, he held his breath afraid that the Joker would just get tired of her and kill her too but it seemed that he wasn't going to kill Rory, at least not now.

Steph was next to him and gripped his hand tightly. She could see just how much the video bothered him, but he couldn't leave not without knowing if Rory made it out alive or not. Tim watched with wide eyes as Rory fought her way out of the chair using her weight to crush it before using the sticks to hit the thugs with them.

His grip on Steph's hand tightened and he saw the others tense when Joker put the gun to her head. "You're making this very difficult, he didn't say it would be this hard," he said while still holding the gun, but in the blink of an eyes Rory kicked it out of his hand and held the Joker at gunpoint.

Tim didn't have to see the look in her eyes to know that she was angry, her chest rose and fell quickly and her body was unnaturally calm.. He knew that if Rory was aiming at him, she was aiming to kill.

 "What are you going to do, shoot me?" the Joker laughed, his hands raised in mock surrender. "That would break a couple of Batman's rules."

Rory cocked the gun, her chest heaving in anger. From the angle of the camera, only the back of her head was visible, but it was obvious how she felt, "Oh, but you don't play by the rules right? I can see it, you've killed before but are you going to kill me too?"

Rory didn't move, keeping the gun aimed at him. "You said 'he', who is that?" she demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Rory didn't move, he was taunting her. Whatever it was he was talking about, it only made her angrier "You think you can get me to kill you? You're right, I have killed before and I don't play by the rules." she grinned. "I make them." 

They watched as she threw the gun, hitting the Joker in the head, and took off out the door. The video was silent other than a few grunts and thuds before there were gunshots. Tim's heart started beating faster and his hands began to shake, there was no sign of Rory and he was scared. Steph could feel him shake and she gripped his hand tighter to remind him that she was there. Looking down at her, he gave her a small smile. Tim couldn't afford to have a panic attack, not now when he had to find his missing girlfriend.

Everyone let out a breath when one of the thugs drug Rory in the room by her hair and they all saw that she was still breathing, and where the gunshots landed in her left shoulder.

 The camera moved and the Joker held it down to put Rory in focus."Back so soon?"

Rory was sat up on her knees, gripping her shoulder, and looked up, her face swollen and her shoulder bleeding. "Don't forget to smile at the camera, we don't want bats to think you aren't enjoying yourself." Rory glared, wincing from the pain in her shoulder.

"Fuck you." 

The next few minutes were torture to Tim, he stood there and watched as the Joker kicked her in the side whimpers leaving Rory as she tried to hold it in. He knew what she was doing, Tim would do the same thing if it were him. She knew that if they heard her cry out in pain, it would only worry them more but the Joker seemed to notice this too.

He was handed a green liquid and with a grin, he began to pour it on her side.

Rory's screams of pain echoed off the cave walls, and tears welled up in Tim's eyes as he was forced to watch the girl he loved to be hurt over and over. Barbara covered her mouth and turned away unable to watch anymore as Dick rubbed her shoulder in comfort and Jason stood there like a statue. 

The two of them had the worst run-in with the Joker, and it showed as they watched Rory suffer at his hands. Barbara began crying softly, worried for her friend as the screams died down. 

"How did that feel, and remember to be honest." 

Rory pushed herself off the floor, shaking slightly trying to catch her breath. Looking up, she glared at the Joker. "Why don't you just fuck me with a chainsaw while you're at it? I'm sure it would hurt more."

Tim's jaw dropped, why the hell would she say something like that in front of a maniac? He winced as he watched the Joker kick her again making her cry out in pain.

"Anything you'd like to say before I cut the tape?" he grinned, zooming in on Rory. She refused to look up at the camera.

The Joker didn't like how she ignored him, he grabbed her by the hair and lifted her head so she looked at the camera. Rory winced gripping her shoulder, shaking slightly from the pain in her shoulder and side as she looked at him. "Pull my hair again, I'll kick your ass."

He threw her to the floor and the camera panned back to his face. "Those are some lovely parting words, I hate to leave you Bats but I am a busy busy man with an unexpected guest and all and there are some things I need to take care of. See ya soon!" The Joker turned off the camera and the screen went blank.

Everyone was silent, they didn't know what to say or to expect. How were they going to find her if her suit tracker was ripped out, and the room she was in gave no context? The Joker could have taken Rory out of the city by this point and they were all standing there watching a video of her getting beaten by the Joker.

Jason was the first to speak. "When I find her, I'm going to kill him." and took off grabbing his helmet and got on his bike driving out without another word. 

Tim walked over and looked at Barbara and Dick. He could see the guilt written all over their faces, Rory had snuck out and they knew and neither of them took her home. "Hey, why don't you get some rest Babs, I'll take a shift." 

She looked at him and gave a small smile. "Alright, be careful Timmers," she said softly before Dick led her out of the cave. Turning around, he saw that Bruce and Damian were both gone and so was the Batmobile. 

Steph and Cassandra stood there and watched him. "What are you two doing here?" 

"We're here to keep an eye on you, what we just watched... I can't get her screams out of my head." Steph said softly. Cassandra looked at her with a sad expression.

"I can give you both locations of various places to look while I run things here, I'll keep an eye out," he said. Both Steph and Cass nodded before getting up and climbing on their bikes and heading back out. 

Tim sat in the chair with a sigh and looked through the different video feeds from Jason, Bruce, Damian, Steph, and Cass. Now that he was alone, Tim couldn't hide his anger anymore. He stood up and hit the desk with a yell. The sound of his fists echoed as he let out a choked sob pushing items off the desk and sending them flying. Turning around, he yelled and kicked the chair over before sitting on the floor letting the tears fall.

He had no clue if Rory was still alive, and it scared him more than anything has before. The thought of losing Rory made his stomach curl and he felt sick, getting up he ran to get a trash can before vomiting into it. Tim cried softly as he wiped his mouth, there was nothing he could do to find Rory and take away all the pain she was feeling. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't hear Alfred approach him from behind.

Alfred placed a hand on Tim's shoulder, making him jump a little. Quickly he turned and saw Alfred there with a sad smile on his face. Tim hugged Alfred as tightly as he could, trying to stop more tears from falling.

"Master Tim, it's okay to cry. You're worried, you're scared, it's normal. Just because you have never seen Master Bruce cry doesn't mean he hasn't." he said, holding Tim tight to his chest. 

"Alfred, you didn't see the video. She's out there somewhere and I can't do anything about it." 

Alfred made Tim look up at him, "You know more than everyone else just how smart Miss Aurora is, knowing her she is trying to drop hints to find her. I know it hurts, but watching that video again might give you a clue."

Tim let go of Alfred and nodded, wiping his eyes once more. "You're right. She is way smarter than she looks, and would try to drop hints to where she was located." He walked back to the computer and pulled up the video once more, and hit play watching the footage to comb through and find something that could help save her life.

That was three weeks ago.

Rory had been missing for almost a month and it was taking its toll on everyone in Wayne Manor. Everyone was always working, there had to be a clue somewhere to show her location but every time they thought they got close, something happened and threw them for a loop. 

The first thing Jason did was check every known warehouse in Gotham and any nearby cities as well. He also took to the criminal underground and threatened that if they didn't find her, he would shoot them on sight.

Dick, Bruce, and Damian stuck to the rooftops, that was where they could see everything. Everyone was scared of them, and criminals ran away when they saw them coming. Dick still hadn't stopped blaming himself, even when Barbara, Tim, Jason, and even Damian had told him that it wasn't his fault. 

Steph and Cass took to the streets. keeping an eye out during the day and night. The press hadn't caught wind that Rory was missing and it was part of their job to make sure it stayed that way. 

Roy, Jesse, and the rest of the Outlaws were looking in cities further from Gotham in case The Joker decided to take her far away to throw them off, and they weren't having much luck.

Barbara was working overtime as Oracle, so Tim decided to bench himself to help her. If he didn't do it to himself, Bruce would have because Tim was getting too violent on patrol and neither of them wanted him to regret his actions if something were to happen. 

Oliver had tried to come down to Gotham, but Bruce had told him that he was needed in Star City more and the second they got something new he would know. Roy had come to town and was able to calm Jason down some, he was mad and he was worried about Rory. Watching the videos that the Joker sent them of Rory, brought back bad memories from before.

The videos came every few days, and each one was worse than the one before. Rory was looking worse and worse, her skin was pale and covered in bruises and burns. But, no matter how bad it got Rory never quit fighting. Every video, she was still throwing insults and trying to fight back and get out of where she was being held captive. But that made every video hard to watch, it got to a point that Barbara, Dick, and Steph had to leave unable to handle it.

The most recent video was sent in and Tim was sat in the chair watching it, scanning it for anything that could give him a hint to where she was.

Rory had her hand-tied above her and was hung from the ceiling as the Joker walked around her, swinging a knife around in his hands. "What? Did you finally run out of insults? It only took you a month." he grinned.

Rory's eyes followed him as he circled her, the knife tracing the skin on her side where her wound from the metal rod was. "What do you think, you Krusty the Clown rip off? Honestly, cartoon clowns are way funnier. You're the reason why no one likes the circus."

The Joker stopped and dug the knife in deeper to her side, making her wince slightly and pull away as it drew blood. "I'm honestly surprised you have lasted this long, with the last one it was only a few days. But you, you are still kicking almost a month later!" he laughed.

Rory glared at him. "You want to know my secret?" she asked. "I don't fucking care." She swung her legs up and wrapped them around the Joker's neck trying to suffocate him. The Joker struggled under her hold, managing to stab her leg with the knife in his hand before throwing a punch to her stomach.

Tim watched the video again and looked at the scenery, maybe there was something he was missing. With a sigh, he dropped his head in his hands. At this rate, they were never going to find Rory. 

He was so caught up in his thoughts, he didn't hear Jason pull in on his bike and sit down with him before going through the videos again himself. "Anything new Replacement?" he asked, as he sat down drinking a bottle of water. 

Tim shook his head, his hair was longer and it was starting to hang in his eyes but he didn't care. The only thing he cared about was getting Rory back, and kicking the Joker's ass. Jason narrowed his eyes as he watched his younger brother, he had never seen Tim work this hard even when it was a big case. This time, he had personal stakes in it and he was going to see it through to the end even if it killed him.

"Tim, when was the last time you slept?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"February 11th." 

Jason's eyes widened, Tim hadn't slept at all in the three weeks Rory had been gone and if he wasn't careful he was going to get hurt. Rory wasn't there to make him sleep, and the others are constantly working and not noticing because they themselves aren't sleeping much. 

"You need to take a nap." 

"I'll sleep when she is back." Tim snapped.

"No, you won't, because you'll stay up all night to make sure she doesn't disappear. You're lying to me and yourself, if you don't go and get a couple of hours of sleep I will personally knock you out so you will." Jason knew Tim all too well, he was protective and cared so much for those close to him. There was a time when Jason was injured badly and wasn't sleeping well so Tim took it upon himself to hang out in his room so Jason would feel comfortable and so he could make sure that he was alright.

"If you can't tell, I'm busy. If you're going to keep bothering me, go away."

Jason was taken back by the tone in his voice, Tim never spoke to anyone this way even when he was angry. It was all the sleep, coffee, stress, fear, and worry about Rory that was making him act this way, and Tim was going to take a nap if Jason had anything to say about it.

He got up and walked to the kitchen and made a cup of coffee before he put a small dose of a sedative in it. It was tasteless and odorless, so Tim wouldn't notice it especially in the state he was in. Going back down the stairs, he put the cup down next to him.

"Timbo, I know you're worried but we all are. I brought a peace offering." 

Tim looked over at the cup and picked it up before taking a big drink of it and setting it back down. "Apology accepted."

"That wasn't an apology, but this is. Sorry kiddo, I had no choice."

Tim stopped drinking his coffee, he had almost downed it into two gulps and set the mug down. "What did you do to the coffee?" he asked, turning his head slightly while Jason stood behind him.

"You refuse to sleep, and we both know that Rory would kick your ass for this. I'm sorry, but you're welcome at the same time." He said, crossing his arms.

Tim looked back at the cup and eyed it before he turned on Jason. "You drugged my fucking drink, didn't you!" He got up to step towards Jason, but the sedative was already taking effect. Tim's movements were sluggish and his eyes started to droop.

Jason stood there and watched as Tim tried to fight it off, only to start falling asleep standing up. He walked over and picked Tim up over his shoulder and started to carry him up the stairs. "You'll thank me later." 

"Fuck you Todd..." he drawled, his speech getting slurred.

Jason rolled his eyes and opened the door to Tim's room seeing that it was a mess. There were papers everywhere with strings attached to them, and various items on his bed that made it nearly impossible to sleep on. "I swear, you and Dickiebird are the biggest slobs I know."

He turned on his heel and started to walk towards his room, passing Alfred in the hall who gave Jason a skeptical look as he carried a drugged Tim down the hall. Kicking the door open, he dropped Tim on the bed and pushed his feet onto it as well. Jason could see that Tim was still fighting to keep his eyes open, but was losing the battle quickly.

"I need to find her...." 

"I know, and we will once you get some sleep." That was the last thing Tim heard before his eyes closed and fell into a deep sleep.

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Sorry, this is a little late, I'm in the middle of unpacking my house, and let's just say that it is not going as well as we originally thought. Wine bottles got shattered and seeped into our stuff and molded it, my clothes smell like soured wine and I have lost several books because they were moldy. We currently have no beds, a lot of our stuff is broken or damaged.

And that's putting it lightly. I don't know how much writing I will be able to get done in the next few days but we'll see. Maybe I can tap into the speed force and write a couple chapters in one sitting. 

Anyway, hope your day goes well.

Until Next Time,