Cheerfulness enveloped the trio of women as they explored the serene streets of Washington, their arms filled with grocery bags. In Robin's hand, a cup of local coffee was clutched anxiously, it would be her fourth one of the day, after a horrendous night with no sleep. The sun was hiding behind the buildings, nearing the horizon and leaving place for the moon to bloom in the darkened sky.
As the light dimmed, her eyes dropped, even more, the casualties of a sleepless evening having effects on her. She brought the cup to her lips, feeling the hot drink touch her plumps and enter her mouth for later to be swallowed. Although soothing, the caffeinated liquid did not bring her the energy to keep walking for much longer. Her brain struggled to send a signal for each foot to take a step, her pace slow, resembling a robot, almost. Only that she didn't run on gasoline, and evidently, neither coffee.
Rachel's voice echoed in her ears, filled with wonder, happiness, energy. Her mind was tired to even try to make out the conversation between the energetic girls, it only focused on taking her to bed, where she could recharge on something more healthy than the brew in hand.
A cold hand took hold of her free one, the trace of the warm cup still lingering on her skin. At the contact of different temperatures, Robin gasped, turning startled to look at the blonde woman whose expression mirrored worry. "Hey, are you okay? Rachel's been asking you stuff and you aren't responding."
A tight-knit kept her lips together, too drowsy to fight them. Her voice readied in the very back of her throat, willing to answer but held back by the low vitality. At last, the response left her mouth with a choke, voice hoarse and raspy, missing all kinds of emotion. "Sorry, I'm just tired. Barely got any sleep last night. What was it, Rachel?"
"I was wondering who's your fave character from Game Of Thrones," repeated the youngest of the group, her eyes staring at her exhausted complexion, wondering why she suffered from a wakeful evening. "You don't have to answer if you can't think of any."
Her lips parted to present her whites, expressing her gratitude with the compassion of the girl. "No, it's okay, I have one, never changed my mind ever since. It's Tyrion."
"Never heard someone say he's their favorite," Dawn commented from the other side of the girl, chuckling slightly at the answer. Her gaze caught her dropped eyes, forehead creasing in concern. "We're almost there."
"It's not the distance I'm worried about. Don't think I can handle those stairs," Robin sighed, drowning the last gulp of her warm drink. Her eyes landed on the public trash bin, readying her arms for a throw, shooting the object out of her grip, watching as it collided with the garbage. The three of them cheered, throwing their fists up in victory, cracking up at the childish behavior.
Dawn's face slowly fell back to neutral, drawing her brows together as she spoke, "we can use the elevator if you're tired."
"There's an elevator?" Rachel exclaimed, her face beaming as if she had never seen an elevator in her life. Maybe it was the change of scenery and the fact that for once, she felt understood between women, that made everything seem so outstandingly admirable in her beautiful eyes.
Robin gaped, her lips tugging upwards. "And you didn't tell us sooner?"
They reached the particular edifice, Dawn reaching into her pockets to grab the keys, opening the main door for them. The woman shot them an apologetic look as she guided them a little further than the stairs, where they met with an old-fashioned elevator. All three packed inside the small space and felt butterflies erupt inside their stomachs as they ascended.
Unlike the path through the stairs, the elevator reached their floor in seconds, sliding the doors open to reveal a different view. Not leaving much time to appreciate the golden sun entering through the glass, they all headed for the apartment while giving closure to their conversation about the tv show Rachel had found herself intrigued by.
Twisting the knob to her apartment, Dawn opened one last door in their walk, revealing the calm place with minimalist decorations. In the center of the living room sat Dick, who darted his eyes from his computer and anxiously looked at the new coming. Robin didn't think anything of his strange behavior and simply plumped down beside him, throwing her head back and closing her eyes for a few seconds.
Wearing the usual smile, Dawn glanced at the woman for a second before turning to Rachel, taking a grocery bag from her arm. "Why don't you go watch another episode?" The news broke a giggle from the girl, who instantly took off towards her temporary room, "and take your shoes off."
Dick's eyes followed the excited figure disappear through the door, "what'd you do with Rachel? You know, the sullen one?"
"I didn't do anything with her," Dawn exhaled a gentle sigh through her nose, the corners of her mouth already twitching up as they heard the girl squeal in excitement at the sight of a new fantastic creature on the show. "I just didn't treat her like a kid. She's a good girl."
After a short pause of silence, Robin peeked through one of her eyes to figure out why no one was speaking. She couldn't resume peacefully resting due to the amused staring from those sitting around her. Her body was forced to sit up, fingers intervening with one another. "She probably needed a break from traveling from here and there, and lay low, y' know," the woman blurted out.
Again, there was a moment of quietness until Dawn rested one of her arms on Robin's leg as she took a seat by the floor, laying comfortably in her carpeted footing. "Do you wanna take a look at the case?" her eyes shot open, glancing at the stranger, her mouth bobbing as her head searched for an excuse.
Dick shook his head, amused by the terrible reactions of the blonde. "It's okay, she's in the same business. She might be some help if you're up to it."
"Glad to have you on our side," said the woman before all glee was pulled away from her. Her arm reached for a tablet laying on the coffee table, after passing a series of locks, she showed the screen to the pair, presenting pictures and schematics related to the gang they were taking down. "The supplier's name is Bronson. He's moving small handguns. He's trying to corner the pre-teen market. Intel says they're making a new shipment tomorrow night on the docks, and we think we can break the chain."
Robin nodded along with the explanation, on the outside it seemed like she paid no attention, while her brain was rushing around, connecting dots with her cases, figuring out if they could provide helpful information to take this supplier down.
While she worked on her mind, Dick opted to do physical work, searching on his computer the intel collected by the couple, blueprints, and other information popping into his screen. His face hardened as he examined every single pixel, keeping focus even when Dawn insisted on talking about certain matters.
From the guest bedroom, Rachel cheered for the heroine of the show, supporting a potential new favorite character. The blonde woman chuckled, a lock of hair falling into her forehead, the urge of placing it back into its place surging in everyone's mind. "It's a big responsibility," she finally said, her fingertips reaching the strand and pushing it away from her skin.
"What?" Dick looked away from the computer as it loaded. Robin's almond eyes glared at the screen, waiting for the bar to reach one hundred percent.
"Taking her in," she explained, eyeing the pair that had protected the young girl so far, nevertheless of the mysterious powers she carried. "I mean, I know how healing it must be, doing what Bruce did for you when you lost your parents. But taking care of a kid is complicated, you know that better than anyone," her hand squeezed Robin's knee, bringing her into the conversation, "it's good you had someone to help you with it. A teenager prefers to have both parental figures when in hard situations."
The Asiatic woman chuckled, finding it funny that she was considered a figure to look up to, someone that could set an example. She couldn't even get her life straight and somehow, she had to teach a susceptible child how to deal with it. "Parental figure," she whispered in amusement, "I'm definitely not a candidate for that."
"I'm not taking her in," the Detective blurted in, the seriousness of his words keeping Dawn's lips a straight line. "I'm not good at the staying with people part. I don't have to tell you that," the pair shared a knowing glance, a secret that only they knew and kept locked in their hearts. After some seconds, they both looked down, a clueless, yet not foolish, Artemisia gaped between the two.
The third-wheel in the living room squinted her small eyes at the two, picturing the many scenarios Dick could have dumped such a gifted woman. In her opinion, he did some justice to his nickname by leaving a sweetheart behind, all reasons aside.
"Look, I know things are tight around here, so I thought Alfred could give me some money, maybe help out a bit, help out Rachel at the same time," he spilled his plan like nobody's opinions mattered, that his idea was the only right way to solve this minimal issue. "Two birds with one stone. Well, three, I guess," a laugh came out like a scoff, the only one in that room that found his phrases as something to laugh at.
"Wait, you want to leave her here?"
His intentions hadn't been clear to the youngest present, but when Dawn cleared it out for her, she gasped, a hand taking hold of his strong arm to keep him from speaking. "Hold up, you're not serious, Dick. That girl has a destiny to fulfill, you can't leave her right now."
"And what is exactly her destiny?" He pressed, pulling his arm away from her grip to adjust the sleeves of his shirt.
Dramatically rolling her dark eyes, she prepared to defend her posture against abandoning Rachel when their bond was fortifying, but instead, slurs came out, "I don't know-"
"Wow. Great," he interrupted, throwing his hand to the sides in an annoyed manner, scoffing yet again.
Robin leaned closer to him, catching his gaze with her offended eyes, "Yet," she remarked, anger boiling the blood in her hands. Her fists closed upon themselves to keep such sentiment controlled. "But it is close. I can feel it," he raised both of his thick eyebrows skeptically, making a scowl erupt on her smooth face.
"So much for not being parental figures," Dawn whispered, moving away from the angered woman, finding a new spot for her arm to rest. "I don't mind looking after her, but we can't take her forever."
"It will be just for a while, just until-"
The two women cornered him on the spot, glaring him down, daring him to move a single muscle without giving a reasonable explanation for his choices. "Until when?" The blonde interrogated, getting closer to his body by the second.
"You don't understand, Dawn. I'm no good at family. I can't-" he forced his eyes to flutter away from them both, pondering if they really should be having this argument, either way, he was going to leave Rachel somewhere safe, and that wasn't with him. "You don't know what I've become," his voice lowered, coming out as a mutter.
As if connected by a wire that gave them the exact emotions, their faces morphed with addled. "What are you talking about?" Worry was evident in Dawn's voice but the computer's beeping became more important to him, focusing his entire attention on going through the data. As the heat signatures revealed, his brown knitted together, eyes reading all the compromising information.
"Dawn, do not hit this delivery. Look at the number of security contractors," he pointed to the screen, all evidence of their previous conversation erased from his hard-head.
Robin leaned back on the sofa, tired of his avoidance of serious topics, giving up on being part of this exchange. A yawn fought its way out, a reminder of how tired she was.
Dawn shifted on the floor, her back resting against the cafe table as her gentle, pale hand reached for Dick's hand, moving him towards her. "Hey, don't change the subject," the warning could go unnoticed due to her tone, "what do you mean 'what you've become'?"
They hadn't made contact for longer than a second when the front door opened, Hank stormed in, his eyes wasting no time in looking at the scene before him. "Well, isn't this cozy?" He kicked the door shut with the heel of his foot, glaring at the pair as they pulled away from each other. "Just like the old days."
"Woah, calm down, man," Robin sat up once again, surging from behind Dick, taking the man by surprise for an instant, then his face hardened again. She looked down at Dawn, whose sweet manners had been replaced with worry, scared of what Hank could do to her friend. "I can assure you, nothing was going on here."
Dick got to his feet, nodding in agreement with the explanation his new companion had given. His arms folded on his chest, which also puffed out when facing the bigger man. "Yeah, we were just talking things through, okay?"
"You come and go," Hank took one step forward with every word, transforming them into a threat. On both his sides, his fists clenched, veins popping out on the skin, the idea of them exploding was terrifying. "Take what you want,"
Dawn stepped in between the two in an attempt to calm her boyfriend, she placed her comforting hand on his racing chest, calling his name. He jerked his body away violently, giving the illusion he could be capable of hurting her. That is why Dick interfered, gaining a shove against the closet's doors, the bang echoing in the entire apartment.
A curious Rachel exited her room, eyes wide in horror as she watched Hank push her keeper harder onto the wood, boiling blood reaching his face. "Stop," she told them, watching as they kept struggling against one another, Hank yelling into his face, his mind set on Dick trying to steal Dawn from him. "Stop!" She tried again, this time with the help of Artemisia Robin to pull them away. The larger man shrugged them off and went for his adversary one more time. "Stop!"
All energy was sucked out of the room, sending the magical woman stumbling back. Their eyes witnessed as malice escaped Rachel, roaming in between the two males and pushing them away with a supernatural force, the same kind that had closed the door on them back in the abandoned church. Shatters of glass flew everywhere as the dark identity was sucked back into Rachel's body, leaving a trace of darkness in the living room.
Looking at the horror in everyone's faces made Rachel feel insecure about this amazing ability she could yet not control. Her eyes locked with Robin's for a second, seeing the effect it had particularly done on her when anger and fear took over. "I'm sorry," she pushed her way out, running into her room with tears of disappointment and shame in her eyes.
Although their mouths were open, none of them made a sound until Dick ran his hands through his hair, realizing the damage they had done on the girl. "Jesus," Hank exhaled, noting the scene he had caused. Robin sighed tiredly, finding her way to the couch, where she planned on dozing off from time to time until it was fine to talk with the girl.
━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━
Robin's head was slowly falling forward when she was jolted awake by the irritating feeling of someone looking at her. She blinked several times at her empty plate on the coffee table before glancing up, her sight blurred with tiredness.
Hank was walking towards the door with two very suspicious-looking bags, dropping them onto the floor, clearing his hands to carry more stuff out of their bedroom. Startling her for a second, Dawn sat next to her on the comfortable cushions, giving her a jump scare. The woman gave a breathy chuckle, one arm slithering up the backrest.
"When are we leaving for this mission? I seriously need to stretch my legs," she yawned loudly, her arms stretching, fists in the end.
Dawn moved her hand to keep her in place, keeping her from standing up and continue fighting the need to sleep. Robin groaned against her, her ribcage expanding the vibrations through her bones. "Honey, you need to sleep," she suggested, pulling the arm away when she gave up.
"No, I don't. I want to help," she kept arguing though she struggled to keep her eyes open. Everyone in the room stopped to take a look at her, feeling sorry for the state she was in, a thin line between being awake and asleep.
"You're too tired to do so, you can't even keep your eyes open," she raised her eyebrows to prove a point when her irises rolled back, searching for the darkness that would send her to sleep.
Suddenly, with the last of her neurons working, she came up with an idea, the last signs of life twinkling through her veiny eyes. "I know a way to recharge instantly," she extended her hand, asking wordlessly for help to get up. Dawn shook her head amusedly, standing up to pull the woman in her feet.
Robin took her time before taking her first step, leading her heavy-felt body towards the spare bedroom she had attempted to sleep in the prior night. She quietly opened the door, eyeing the girl who laid curled up in a ball on the bed. A soft knock on the door made her turn around, "Hey, Rach. Feeling better?"
"About myself?" Her voice creaked as she sat up, shoulders slumped, glancing down at her open palms, "no."
She pushed the door with her body, joining the girl on sitting on the mattress, a comforting arm pulling her into a hug. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, we all lose control once in a while, don't put yourself down for a simple mistake."
Her mouth remained shut as her mind searched through the recently added insecurities, the head of a teenager made wonders, both positive and negative. Still, it was fascinating how they aren't able to separate the truth from their feelings. "I saw the horror on your faces-" she gulped down, falling away from her embrace.
"Our fault," through strands of raven hair, she deeply stared into those sad orbs, hands holding her shoulders to keep her still. Rachel batted her wet eyelashes, hope rising inside of her. "We were surprised by you and didn't know how to react. That's the human brain, it's scared of new things," she didn't see a point in painting the perfect apology, one that wasn't genuine, so she told her point of view. A recent memory then snapped into her brain, making her put one of those locks away from her guilty face."Listen, I have something to ask you. A favor that will help us both. I need energy to do this important thing and I need you to do what you did last night to recharge me."
"We don't know if I'll lose control again," her smaller body shifted away on the bed, a burning sensation growing inside of Robin at the smallest thought of irritation. She took a deep breath to keep something calmed, away from regular teenage behavior. "Besides, what's in it for me other than a terrible feeling?"
"I promise this is the last time," her hands clapped together, begging to be filled with supernatural energy, to feel the magic course through her veins like adrenaline. "And what you get from this is proof that you can control your powers."
Without a shadow of a doubt, Rachel outstretched her pale hand and wrapped it around her wrist, utilizing her powers the same way she had done before. Her dark spell traveled from her wrist to her spine, spreading everywhere else like a disease in the form of tingles. Stopping her eyes from gaining a dark tint, she pulled away with a gasp.
"You are the best," Robin exclaimed, jolting up from her bed and leaving a grateful kiss on her forehead. A pair of doe eyes traveled to a briefcase sitting on one of the chairs, locked by a series of numbers that lived in Artemisia Robin's memories. Following her gaze, she squealed, snatching the metal object from its place.
She headed to the next room with her chin up, confident of her every move. The door burst open and she inhaled sharply, surprised by the presence standing there. Dick chuckled, although his forehead and eyebrows showed he was confused by her energetic actions. "Is she okay?" He nodded his head towards the closed room, referring to the girl.
"She's a tough one, she will be," her secretive briefcase was moved from one hand to another as she now inspected the way the light reflected on his skin, bringing out areas of his face that she hadn't had the time to notice. Traces of a shaved beard were visible, her gaze moving towards the center of his asymmetrical front, passing through a pair of pink meats. Dragged back to the awkward reality, she cleared her throat to diffuse the tension. "You should talk to her. You both need it."
His hand went to the back of his neck, gently scratching it with his short fingernails, leaving rose trails of his touch behind. "Any advice?"
"Don't lie to her by promising you'll help her because you are not," her smile, though planned to be sarcastic, became pleasing after observing the result of her response. His eyes lingered on her round, smooth face for a few more seconds, heaving out a sigh before entering the room.
She remained on the spot for a blink, taking time to adjust to the mess that her exhausted state had caused. Brushing her hair with four fingers, she strode into the living room, catching sight of Hank and Dawn doing their before-mission mantras. While the forenamed stretched the muscles of her back and shoulders, her pair laid on the couch with both hands resting behind his head.
Dawn groaned in delight when the lumbar bones in her spine cracked, giving into the phenomenal sensation that ran to her neck. Her slim body stood in her spot to relax, fluttering her voluminous eyelashes while she headed where Dick had just disappeared.
Robin swung her briefcase out of boredom, her once interested gaze finding no impressive view in the newfound area. Hank glared towards her, the irritating squeak of the handle growing into his nerves. With a simple dominant step, he managed to stop her but acquired a set of inquisitive eyes.
"You ready?" He played it off, retiring from his lucky ritual.
She pulled the rectangular object close to her chest, clasping it with both arms protectively, "I'm always ready for anything."
"Is that your suit?" He lazily pointed at the metal box in her grip, lacking dialogue topics. She nodded her head heartily, proud of the uniform she wore to defend those who could not protect themselves. One brow rose mockingly, "and you carry it in a briefcase?"
Her nose scrunched with offense, moving the briefcase away from his gaze to shield it from all harsh opinions. "Well, it needs to be protected. And I'd appreciate it if you'd lower your voice when talking about what's inside. I'm keeping it a secret from Rachel to keep her away from all this."
"Whatever you say," he lifted a can of beer that sat in front of him, chugging the last drops he had left, smashing the weak metal with one hand. "We should get going."