Robin briefly wondered what that would be like to make out in someone's mind. Jessie's amused laughter had him blushing.
You'll never know if you don't survive.
Now that was motivation, he thought as he rolled out danger's way and drew his own staff. He circled around to Gabriel's back. If Gabriel disengaged Alexandra, she would swiftly knock him out. But if he didn't Robin would get the ending blow. Robin was ready to coolly knock Gabriel unconscious, then he saw Jessie. She lay sprawled across the floor behind Alexandra completely defenseless. Anger from earlier rekindled like a fire doused with kerosene. Robin swung viciously at the back of his enemy, a nasty part of him hoping to break his foe's spine.
At first it seemed that Gabriel slipped. His staff slid off the umbrella Alexandra was wielding. Then the staff flicked under the umbrella as Gabriel dropped and slid away. The force of Gabriel's attack behind Alexandra's attack sent her flying into Robin. Robin side stepped to avoid the collision and lunged for Gabriel. Gabriel brought his staff up and blocked Robin's attack.
"Take Jessie to the sub!"
Thankfully neither Alexandra nor the character she was wearing argued with him. Gabriel glared at him like he wanted nothing more than his death. Alexandra scooped up Jessie and made her way out the way they had come in. Gabriel glanced at them as they went, making a feral inhuman growl at Robin when they disappeared behind the door.
"Now we can settle this properly."
Robin laughed without mirth at the mere notion of the statement.
"Jessie is not a prize to be won, she has made her decision. Not that I blame her, I am far more charming." It probably wasn't wise to egg him on, but Robin wasn't in the mood for doing what was wise; he wanted revenge. He stepped back just in time to avoid a spring loaded razor blade in the end of Gabriel's staff. Gabriel swung the weapon side to side in an attempt at gutting him, and Robin danced out of harms away.
"I guess I'll just have to make her choice invalid."
Robin chuckled darkly and kicked at Gabriel's leg trying to hamstring him. He tripped and grunted in pain. Robin went to bring down his staff down on the other boys shoulder, knowing it would break his collarbone and probably knock him out from the shear pain of the blow. Gabriel threw himself to the right just barely avoiding the blow. The staff chipped the tile floor on impact and rebounded up with shocking force. Robin smiled at the look of fear on the other boy's face. They both knew Robin was the stronger of the two of them.
Gabriel looked warily at Robin, and he tried to shoot a covert glance at the door. Gauging whether he could make it and avoid getting struck in the back by Robin. He bolted. Not at the door, but for his weapon. Robin swung his staff aiming to hamstring his opponent, but Gabriel leaped over it with ease this time. He grabbed his weapon and made a beeline for the door. He vaulted over a computer system and knocked it back to make it difficult for Robin to follow. Robin made a disgusted snort as jumped the pile of debris and followed after Gabriel's fleeing form. A boomerang was in his hand before he even reached the door. He threw the weapon at his enemy's exposed back. The boomerang exploded revealing weighted ropes that would wind around Gabriel and trip him. Just when they were a hair's breadth from him, Gabriel planted his staff down like a pole vaulter would, pushing down on his weapon and launching himself up in the air, and avoided capture. The ropes wrapped harmlessly around his staff. With a quick flick of his wrist, Gabriel sent them flying back at Robin. Robin dodged the projectile only to be knocked sideways into a wall by a small explosion.
Ears ringing and head pounding, Robin climbed shakily to his feet. That was a close one he thought to himself. Gabriel must have thrown a tiny bomb at him with his own weapon. His vision was tinted blue and he tried to blink it away until he realized it was a thin barrier running over his entire body, like thin flexible suit of armor.
The shield faded and Jessie's voice whispered across his mind, Be a little more careful next time, please. I didn't save you so you could die being unobservant.
You were making that shield?
Yes, unfortunately it couldn't protect you from the force of knocking your head against the barrier itself. Her words sounded oddly slurred like she might be drunk. Apparently she caught that thought and swore at him. Robin could feel the pounding headache in her mind as well as his own. He gently touched the lump already forming on the side of his head. You'd better hurry, I think he has caught up to us.
Those words set a panic in his mind and spurred him forward. Tearing through the tunnels, ducking around guards or techs he came across. He could deal with them later, right now he had more important things to worry about. Most of them didn't even bother with him, for the most part they were too busy rushing to the areas that had been ruptured by the sea creatures to really notice him. Robin scrambled up the ladder and bolted down the last corridor leading into the bay.
Gabriel and Alexandra were once more dueling. Fragile looking parcel against the heavy steel staff. Jessie was laying in one of the few dry spots behind Alexandra.
"Your form is terrible." chided Alexandra's character. Her shoulders were squared back in perfect fencing posture as she looked down on the much taller boy and managed to look regal doing it too. "Shoulders back, feet apart. You won't even be challenge with such poor balance," she snapped at him like a drill instructor to a poor student.
Gabriel growled at her and lunged forward swinging his weapon wildly. Alexandra's character was like the wind the way she glided out of the weapon's way with great grace and ease. She went in for a jab and at the last moment a knife sprang out from the tip of her weapon. Gabriel's eyes went wide as he stumbled back barely avoiding having his eye removed. The girl flipped the parcel over in her hand and swept the hooked end down, catching Gabriel's ankle. She gave a swift tug and he landed flat on his butt. Flipping her weapon back in her hand she quickly open the fragile lace parcel and twisted the handle so flexible blades extended along the edge of the lace. She waved it over Gabriel so he couldn't rise, then swiftly pinned him to the floor with a heeled boot.
Alexandra's character smiled wickedly down at her captive who glared back at her with rage. Robin felt a cold joy surge through him. He hoped she slit his thro-, he stopped mid thought and remembered Jessie's words to him, 'Better to have the man I love hate me for protecting him, than the love of a man who resembles the man I love.' Already he was changing into something that was far from what he was. No, Jessie was right. He was surprised when the thought didn't prompt a response from his friend.
"Don't kill him." The words tasted bitter in his mouth.
The girl Alexandra wore snorted very inequity and transferred her boot from Gabriel's chest to his neck. "I have no intention of sullying my dress in this vermin's blood, you can rest assured of that." She twisted the handle of her parcel again until it clicked. Then she flicked the weapon in front of Gabriel's face. The knife slid back inside the parcel and a small cloud of green gas blasted his in the face. He tried to hold his breath, but Alexandra swung her weapon down on his gut with almost vicious force causing him to gasp and breath in a lung full of the gas. It took only moments for his eyes to slide shut and his body to go limp. She waited a minute before lifting her foot from his neck. "Restrain him if you will."
Robin pulled a special pair of handcuffs from his utility belt; they would inhibit any powers that Gabriel had. He collected Gabriel's staff and found a mechanism for shrinking it into itself. A souvenir for Wally. After second thought he pulled out another pair of cuffs and put them around Gabriel's ankles.