𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐘 ― d. grayson ¹

⤷ three

"Robin!" There it was, that sweet, low voice that made her heart burst with happiness. Except for this time, she was too worried about Zach's state to bring a smile to her face. The young doctor loomed towards her, wrapping her in a tight hug, one that both needed. They stayed for longer in each other's embrace, feeling calm build between their bodies.

Marge pulled away and Robin had time to examine her face, now. There were small dark circles under her eyes from working all night and not having enough sleep to study, but that wasn't what worried her, neither the forming crease lines on her forehead. It was her wet lower eyelashes that created a lump in her throat, making her unable to breathe. She opened her mouth but closed it again when Marge's gaze lowered to her twiddling fingers.

"You may want to sit down, Robs," she motioned for the short row of seats, but Robin could only move her eyes muscles to the plastic seats. Marge gently grabbed her arms and moved towards the seats, forcing her legs to bend so she could sit. She sat next to her, facing the girl like a scared teenager faces their mother to tell them they failed a class. "Zachary was brought in about half an hour ago, we don't know who it was but he was shot. Doctors took him into the operation room immediately and began surgery but he was shot in a coronary artery-"

"If what they need is money to transplant a new artery, he can afford it-"

Marge's hand clasped hers, holding them tightly, giving it an encouraging squeeze. "Robin, I'm so sorry. He's dead."

He's not dead, she told herself, recalling all those times he faked his death in front of their main enemy (a fake Ra's Al Ghul, a man who wanted to join the League of Assassins). He always came back and surprised everyone, catching them off guard. This was just one of those times. He would appear in their bunker and laugh at her terrified expression. She stared blankly at Marge.

"One other thing," she began, still holding onto her hand, wanting her friend to be strong to face this horrible news. "When he came in... he was wearing a suit. Not just any suit. Zach was a vigilante. He was Scourge. He hid it from us all this time."

Robin took a few seconds to swallow in everything. She needed to go back to their bunker and reunite with her friend, tell him that Marge had found out about his identity and that it was safe to tell her about Diva and Hellcat, too. "I need to go. T-thank you, Marge. I need to take some air."

She stormed out of those hallways, away from her sister, from the lie Zach had managed to make them believe. He had never involved any other person than Robin. His death was legal now, he was taking too many risks for such a small group. She checked her phone, no messages, maybe he needed to arrive safely before letting her know.

A giant glass door separated her from the way back to her partner, she pushed it, feeling the October air against her sweaty skin, brushing the short hairs in her arms. The city was now a black canvas with different shaped lights that reached the dark purple sky. Her paining feet dragged her towards the street, where her eyes squinted to find the shape of her old car.

A white van covered her vision, she stepped sway as two people rushed down, she thought it was medics hurried to make it inside, save someone's life. But those men headed her way, took hold of her tired body, and began to move her towards the vehicle. There were people around screaming and dialing on their phones, but not a single soul dared to come close.

Robin was left on her own to move her arm up, elbow one of them in the face, the one holding her upper body. Her top half started to fall and she extended her arms to touch the ground, kick the man holding her legs away. Her move was successful but she didn't count on the first one to recover so quickly.

The man grabbed her upside down and called for help. Three more people got out of the van and grabbed her in areas she could not fight to be set free. She trashed but it didn't work. They had caught her, whoever they were and she was now officially kidnapped. The van was dark, she could not see, but feel someone tying her legs and wrists, putting some rag around her mouth to prevent yelling.