Chapter 1- Aftermath
Robin Blake swallowed his whiskey. That was his first shot. He looked into the glass and saw a distorted figure through it. Clad in black and wearing a… cape? Expectantly, he smiled and raised his eyes, but the 'cape' was in fact a sweatshirt tied around a man's neck. His smile quickly diminished. Sighing, he ordered another drink.
An hour passed in the bar, and darkness finally hit at eight pm. After paying his bill of four shots, he departed to the streets of Gotham City. Under the misty air, danger stirred. The atmosphere was tense, and Robin could feel it. He ran the remaining two miles to his apartment, not bothering for a cab. In his closet was a bullet proof suit Lucius Fox made for him three months ago and a mask that would conceal the top half of his face. Already, there were several marks were bullets sprayed at the suit. It was much like Bruce's, except he had Lucius have a crimson robin be put on the center in place of the bat. He dressed in his suit of armor, and left for the streets.
On his person, Robin carried with him a small police radio. Usually, though, he was able to stop the crime before the police. Often he dealt with assaults and purse robbers. Tonight would be no different, he thought. He walked on rooftops waiting for trouble. Trouble soon came.
A woman was yelling, "Get your hands off me!" Robin followed her voice to an alley. He saw her assailants: three men looking for some "action" and she obviously wasn't giving up. The woman was kicking and thrashing while the men laughed. She managed to head-butt the man holding her; he let go and clasped his chin and she held her hand to the backside of her head. The other two men quickly grabbed at her arms, but she punched one in the face. Only the one unhurt manage to seize her and lock her in a hold.
"Bitch!" the man she head-butted spat at her. Robin began jumping from one fire escape until he reached the alley ground.
"Hey!" He called out to them. All three turned toward him, and the woman looked angry. Robin continued, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" He gradually walked toward them.
"Unless you have a pussy and a couple of tits under that costume, we ain't interested, pretty boy! Scram!" The man with an ever increasing black eye answered back.
"Now, look. I'll give you one last shot. Leave the lady alone, or I'll have to hurt you." Robin stood ground a few feet from the men.
"Go fuck yourself!"
"Very well, then." After a moment of brief pause, Robin slammed his fist into the man's already black-eye. The woman resumed thrashing, and managed to throw the guy to the ground. The one with the welt on his chin gripped Robin from behind and tried to hold him. Robin easily escaped the hold and kicked the man to the mud, but not before he received a few punches. The woman had found a pipe and was hitting her guy in the chest, but he took hold of the pipe and shoved her into the brick behind her. Robin came towards the man and grasped the pipe as the man swung toward his face.
The man let go and shouted to the others, "It's not worth it! Let's bail!" All three tried to run, but they mostly limped.
The woman came towards Robin, "You're just going to let them get away?"
"Cops will get them. I already called. Are you okay?" He steadied her swaying with his arms.
"Yeah, I could've handled any other day. It's just I'm pretty I'm really really drunk. It's all kind of blurry."
"That's pretty good for being drunk." Robin was absolutely charmed by her.
"You'd be surprised. I'm Riley." She held out her hand.
Robin shook it, "The Robin."
"Well, The Robin, thank you," she stared at him, then proceeded to puke on his shoes, "Sorry. Was that expensive?"
"Yes, and I have to go, but you look in no condition to leave by yourself. I'll take you home. Where do you live?"
"Above Graffort's. It's a bar. Do you know where that is? Oh, I'm getting lightheaded." She stumbled and Robin caught her.
"Yeah. I'll take you." Robin picked her up and carried her the five blocks, avoiding any interaction, to the alley beside Graffort's. "Can you make it up from here?" He set her down.
"Mmhm. Thanks again, Robo." She patted his arm and walked into the door beside the bar. Robin laughed and watched her leave. He wondered if he would ever see her again. The remainder of the night was uneventful.