Check up on We Are Robin

By the time their session ended, it was six o'clock. In Gotham, that was practically nighttime. He left Tanya **** and gagged, her holes thoroughly creampied. She promised she was on the pill. Hopefully that would be enough.

He texted Claire and asked about Chloe. From the photos she sent, she was doing alright. Maybe eating too much pizza.

'As long as she's having fun,' Aaron told himself, shaking his head with a smile.

His next destination was Thompkins Clinic, also known as the Thomas Wayne Memorial Clinic. He heard the rumours. Everybody in Gotham did. It was funded by Bruce Wayne but also supported by many villains during No Man's Land, namely Ivy, Clayface, and Mr. Freeze.

He wanted to check on the Robins. They weren't his responsibility, technically speaking, but he felt an obligation towards them. He texted them in advance, letting them know of his arrival.

The clinic was small and humble, expected of a location in Park Row. Luckily, it wasn't very busy, likely because nothing city-bending had happened. No Joker attack, no gang war, nothing. The past few months had been relatively peaceful. Of course, with the upcoming war, that would soon change.

Aaron maintained a key eye on his surroundings. The clinic was great and all but he didn't trust the region in the slightest. No matter how much Bruce Wayne invested, the East End would always be crime-ridden.

"Who are you?"

Leaning on the reception desk was a colourful young woman. Short blue-ish, magenta-ish hair, a nose piercing, and a swaggerish disposition.

"Oh, hi, I'm Aaron. I'm a friend of Izzy and Riko."

She did not look convinced. Crossing her arms, the punk girl leaned back further on the desk. The actual receptionist pursed her lips and said nothing.

"Sure. Do you know what room?"

"I think it was 202."

"Upstairs." The punk girl inhaled and jabbed a thumb at the staircase. "No elevators. Sorry."

"No problem. Thank you."

She must have been a volunteer here. She certainly wasn't a guard, she wasn't wearing the uniform. Her vibe was rebellious and headstrong. Smart but willful.

Gotham was just full of characters, wasn't it?

He went up the stairs and entered the hall. The small window on the door had a sign on it: CLOSED. A fake-out, likely Jada Thompkins' doing.

He turned the door knob. The treatment unit was smaller than he expected. There were two beds on each side, making for a total of four, and the window was covered by grey curtains. It was dystopian. Tragic.

But the light in their faces made the heavy atmosphere drift away.

"Aaron!" Riko leaped to her feet and pulled him to a quick hug. She backed away, feeling it was too ****, and smiled at him. "Ahem. Good to see you."

"Riko." Aaron gave her curt nod, then turned to Izzy and Shug-R, who were sitting on a bed at the back. "Girls."

"Yo," Shug-R greeted, sounding casual but smiling despite it. Izzy, meanwhile, sent a small wave and a grin.

"Riko's been missing ya," a cocky voice said. "Aaron this, Aaron that. That's all she's been talking about ever since we woke up."

"Daxton Chill," Aaron said. The red-haired male with the shitty hairstyle grinned at the call of his name. "It's good to see you talking."

Daxton gave a thumbs-up. "Hey, I'm like Red Hood. I never die. I just keep coming back."

"Cap," Izzy said. Daxton shot her a glare. "Anyways, did you get us food?"

"Yep." Right before he came, he bought food from a nearby convenience store. Chips, chocolate, candy, energy drinks. Stuff college students would devour left and right. He placed the bag on the table next to Daxton's bed.

He and Andre were still resting up while the girls relaxed and talked.

Andre Cipriani was silent, understandable since this was their first face-to-face meeting. Aaron noticed he was a lot like himself; introverted, awkward, and a little emo.

"Thanks," Andre muttered. "You really bailed our asses."

"No problem."

"Dr. Thompkins didn't ask questions either," Andre said. "I heard the rumours but…"

"Yeah, I get it," Aaron said. "Rumours can oftentimes disappoint, but this Dr. Thompkins is the real deal. Her mother was instrumental to Gotham back in No Man's Land and I'm sure the daughter will do the same."

Andre chewed on his lip. He seemed grateful but bewildered. "Mhm." He inhaled and added, "I thought we were dead."

"Me too," Daxton interjected. "I can't believe I got stabbed…it felt like…a million needles in one place exploding. You know what I mean?"

Aaron blinked and joked, "I've never been stabbed, so no."

Daxton snorted. "Fair enough. But more importantly, that bitch Angel Breaker is crazy. Literally. Her swords made all these SWOOSH and ZIING sounds! If we had magic swords, we would have won for sure!"

His proclamation was met with groans. Not what Aaron expected.

"He's been saying that for the past two days," Izzy told him. "Magic swords this, magic swords that. He can't accept the fact that we got our asses beat. We had Ivy AND Harley on our side and we still lost. That bitch is just crazy strong, end of story."

"She was trained," Andre stated quietly. "Very well trained. She must have honed her skills for years under the tutelage of a keen master."

The atmosphere suddenly grew thicker. Riko and Andre exchanged glances. They must have discussed this prior to his arrival.

"She told us the sword spoke to her and told her of a threat that was coming. She was granted her powers because only she could face it," Riko explained. "Her sword, like Daxton was saying, seemed magical. It absorbed all of our attacks, whether they were punches, kicks or projectiles."

"It definitely wasn't a tech sword," Shug-R added. "Unless her sword was made by Lex Luthor himself, which I sincerely doubt."

Aaron took a seat on the single empty bed across from Daxton. He thought over their experiences.

"Harley's hammer didn't work?"

"Nope," Izzy said, popping the P. "Even Ivy's poison and plants did nothing. Angel Breaker's sword sucked her chemicals in like a vacuum. We thought we could take advantage of when that happened, but…she was too fast. Too skilled. She ducked and weaved our attacks with ease. It was super annoying."

"Are you sure she's human?" Aaron asked. There was a pause for thought.

"She was red and black. Her skin was completely white too. Like paper white. Whiter than Harley," Daxton said. "Her outfit also looked tight as fuck–"

"Daxton, shut up," Izzy cut off. "Human or not, it doesn't matter. The point is: she's mega strong. I'm not sure if Batman can beat her."

"I doubt that," Andre retorted. "Batman can beat anyone. He just needs the time."

"Which he might not have," Izzy shot back. "Look, Batman is a superhuman but unless he calls in Superman…Gotham is done."

"The new or old Superman?" Shug-R asked.

"Both!" Izzy threw her hands up in the air, suddenly frustrated. "Just call both and have them kill these clowns! God."

"Unfortunately, the Supermen are out in space," Aaron said. Seeing their shocked looks and the way they were caught unaware, he probably shouldn't have told them that. "Sorry. It was in this week's news."

"Martian Manhunter? Hawkgirl? Green Lantern?" Daxton asked, listing off the powerful heroes in desperation. Aaron shook his head.

"Pretty much the entire old school Justice League roster is gone. There's some huge event in another solar system. World-ending stuff. At least that's what the news is saying."

A laptop was on Shug-R's lap. She didn't want to believe his claim so she went on Google, typing two hundred words a second and searching official and sketchy news outlets alike. Eventually, she let out a lengthy, dreary sigh. "He's right. The JL is not an option. They're gone. It was announced this morning…"

Daxton swore. "Fucking shit…"

Nobody spoke. The bleak reality of their situation sucked the positivity out of them. Their hopes and dreams. Aaron wanted to give out words of encouragement. Alas, he did not have confidence for something like that yet. His lips were sealed shut.

The door creaked open. The long-winded sound screeched their ears and they instantly became irritated and silent. Aaron could sense the panic in the Robins. Were they betrayed? Was it just a doctor? The questions ran through their minds like a crashing locomotive. Aaron, however, thought it was best to remain patient.

Who better to prove him correct than the rebellious volunteer at the reception. Her footsteps were silent and filled with poise, but the crew deflated nonetheless.

"Harper Row," Riko said, her voice flat. "Is there something you need?"

There was tension, Aaron could immediately sense it. The weight was like a bubble, ready to be popped by the point of a needle. A remark. Harper's gaze went from Daxton to Andre, then to the two women in the back, Riko, and finally Aaron. She raised a brow, intrigued.

"A friend?" Harper questioned. Riko nodded. "From what I heard, he knows?"

Silence. Aaron's heart rate picked up. He had sensed a presence behind the door but he incorrectly assumed it was a nurse or doctor standing by. He was wrong. This punk woman had been eavesdropped.

"She says she's Bluebird," said Izzy, brows furrowed. "She claims to be a hero, like us, and made us an offer."

"Look." Harper, all of a sudden, seemed to lose that overconfident bit of herself, dropping the outwardly pretenses. "I talked to Batman. He warned me that Gotham needs people to protect the civilians. He needs us. Not Nightwing, not Red Robin, not Red Hood, us. The little guys. Everybody knows we're not as well trained or well-equipped as those guys. And I'm sure you discovered that fact very literally. You're outclassed and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Shut the fuck up," Daxton spat, growling. "Who do you think we are? We know that! We know we're outclassed! That doesn't mean we can just stop doing our job!"

"Don't tell me to shut up, dumbass, when you can't even see how useless you are." Harper sneered. "Seriously, you had her outnumbered. You had Ivy and Harley, yet you still lost. Think about it for a fucking second. You're not beating anyone anymore. These are the big leagues. Acknowledge that."

He could sense the brewing anger of Daxton and Izzy. The latter was prepared to spew out Spanish curses at the young lady, her lips curled down in a contemptuous sneer, and from there the conversation would turn nastier and unquestionably stupid and worthless. Aaron needed to step in.

"Alright, alright." Aaron stood up and approached Harper. She was the same height as Cassandra so he towered over her. He could see a tiny flicker in her blue eyes. "Harper Row was your name? Hi, I'm Aaron. Look, these guys are a little tense. Talk to me instead. What is it you want? Can't the GCPD do what you ask? Defeat the fodder? Clean up the streets?"

Harper looked him up and down. She must have been satisfied with what she saw because she immediately calmed down. "My bad. Sorry. To be honest, I've been on the streets too long. When that happens, you tend to get aggressive." She turned her towards Daxton and offered an apologetic look. "Sorry, man."

Daxton blew air through his nose and looked away. "It's fine."

It didn't sound like it did. Whatever. It was progress.

"Anyway, what you said is true. Problem is, the GCPD might not be able to help this time. There's a target on Commissioner Gordon."

"Oh hell no," Izzy muttered. "If he goes down, then the cops are gonna turn spineless again."

"And right when he returned from retirement as well," Andre commented.

"Exactly," Harper said. "I wouldn't be surprised if there was news of him getting gunned down right this second."

A chill went down Aaron's spine and as if his bad feeling had come to fruition Shug-R spoke up.

"And you would almost be correct," Shug-R announced, her glasses reflecting the blue light of her laptop. "Jim Gordon, age 51, shot twice in the leg and hospitalized."

"God dammit." Izzy groaned. "Just our luck…"

Harper sighed and scratched her cheek. "Alright, I didn't actually think that would happen. Still, that proves my point. Gotham needs us. When the buildings collapse, the helpless will need people to look to. Batman is amazing but he's not a god. He needs our help."

There was a murmur. A line of dialogue between the Robins that could only be read and understood by their years of deep friendship. Shug-R and Izzy threw glances while Andre and Daxton breathed and gestured.

The conclusion was forgone, however.

"Fine." Izzy–Robina–the makeshift leader leaped off the bed and strutted up to Harper Row. "We'll help you. We don't have a problem taking orders from you either. Promise us one thing though."

Harper straightened up with determination and nodded for her to continue.

"Do. Not. Betray. Us."

Harper narrowed her eyes and pounded a fist to her heart. "Loyalty is hard to come by, I know, but I swear it. I won't.."

Her blue eyes were sincere. Aaron and Izzy could see it clearly. This girl, this woman, she was genuine in her desire to do good.

Now, did that mean she was trustworthy? Certainly not, but it was better than nothing.