Not exactly

"W-wait, hold on, you're leaving!? Just like that?" Alt said. "Shouldn't you…I dunno, want more?"

"I'm not a spy or a Robin, I'm a sponsor. I'd rather not fight because that's not what I do."

"I-I guess that makes sense?" Alt turned quiet and looked to Rook. "We should probably tell the Nest," he said in a low whisper.

Rook nodded in agreement. Aaron wondered what the Nest was but didn't think too hard about it. Afterall, like he just said, he wasn't interested in the specifics of their operation.

"Wait, wait! Hold up, man!"

Aaron had taken five steps before Alt's obnoxious voice rang through Crime Alley. Aaron walked back, brow raised, and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Okay, if you're gonna be honest, I'm gonna be honest." Alt shared a hesitant glance with Rook who subtly mouthed yes. He sighed and lowered his head to look Aaron in the eye. "Look. We…were expecting you to act as a decoy at the Iceberg Lounge. We thought you were going to try to prove yourself and do whatever we wanted and…yeah. We got cocky."

Aaron wanted to laugh. Instead, he squinted and said, "You guys must be new to this."

"We're not!" Alt exclaimed. "We're just really **** right now. We need someone to sneak into the Iceberg Lounge and fish us some information. There's shit going on with the Penguin right now, everyone can sense it. He's scared. He's not doing the weird crap he usually does. Ugh, what was it that Robina said?"

"He's acting like Mr. Cobblepot, a legitimate businessman, than the Penguin," Rook said, finishing his line. "The media and streets have been quiet. His goons too."

"Yeah, yeah! Exactly!"

Indeed, though Batman and Penguin came into conflict, much of it wasn't covered by the media. If it wasn't for Cassandra opening his eyes, Aaron might have still thought him as a misunderstood businessman. Oswald Cobblepot's propaganda worked that good.

"Don't you need a special invitation to get into the Iceberg Lounge?'" Aaron pointed out. The fancy nightclubs his superiors went to certainly required invitations. "Plus, it'll be dangerous. I mean, it's the Penguin's territory. And if what you said about his goons is true, then he's probably keeping them closeby."

"Sorry," Rook said. She looked and sounded genuinely apologetic about it. Then, out of her pocket, she revealed a golden edged letter. An invitation. "Our previous leader gave this to us."

Aaron took it cautiously. Everybody seemed to be saying it: something is happening in Gotham. Something big. The overworld, the underworld, nothing seemed to be unaffected by this something.

'Is it Lady Shiva and the League of Shadows? Cass did describe her as the most dangerous woman in the world. Maybe the Penguin is scared shitless of her.' He inhaled. 'Maybe whatever the Penguin is doing is related to Cass' troubles.'

Damn it. Whenever he thought of her, he got sentimental. Maybe he was being an idiot but he might as well help these college youths. He couldn't turn a blind eye when he could help.

"Why can't you two go?" Aaron asked, wanting to weigh his options. "It's a nightclub. Hundreds of new guests come and go."

"We, er, fought the Penguin last week. It was big. We lost but we messed up a big operation of his," Alt explained. There was a tinge of pride but just as much fear and trauma.

"What he means to say is that we are wanted by the Penguin," Rook said. "Our posters are everyone. If we go into his territory, someone will immediately know: mercenaries, thugs, his goons. There's no way we can even come close to the Iceberg Lounge. None of our current Robins can."