All New Robin - Heir to the Demon #21

Batman: Batman to all units. Report in.

 

Bruce sends out an all points bulletin to us wanting to know the status of all the towers.

 

Nightwing: East tower reporting.

 

Red Robin: West tower here.

 

…..

 

Batman: South tower, report in.

 

…….

 

Batman: What’s going on, Alfred?

 

Alfred: Difficult to say, sir. I’ll keep trying to connect you.

 

Batman: Let me know the moment you do.

 

Red Robin: Is everything alright, Bruce?

 

Batman: We can’t raise the Outlaws. Hopefully it’s just an equipment fault. East tower, give me a status report.

 

Batgirl: East tower is offline. Toxin concentration is dropping rapidly. All being well it’ll be harmless within the hour.

 

Batman: West tower?

 

Red Robin: There were complications but we managed to get it offline.

 

Batman: And Ubu?

 

Talia: ….Neutralised.

 

That’s certainly one way of putting it. For a brief moment I wonder whether or not it’s enough to fool Bruce, but the answer is no. Of course it isn't.

 

Batman: Restrained?

 

Talia: Neutralised.

 

Batman: Understood.

 

Nighwing: I take it this means the north tower is offline as well.

 

Batman: Affirmative. The League is moving to phase two. Having split us up across Gotham they’ve accomplished the goal that the gas was intended to distract us from.

 

Red Robin: They’ve sprung him?

 

I always figured that they would, but I never even considered that they’d use this gas attack simply as a distraction whilst their breakout.

 

Batman: Most likely.

 

Batgirl: That doesn’t sound like a definitive yes….

 

It is a yes, Barbra. Bruce wouldn’t have called the towers a distraction so clearly were he not certain. Deep down, I’m oddly impressed. As far as distractions go possibly covering the entire Eastern seaboard in a cloud of toxic gas is up there. I dread to think what it's like when they're not just trying to distract us.

 

No wonder Bruce always knows how to make a good distraction when he needs to.

 

Nightwing: They’ll have tripped the cave’s motions sensors, that’s how he knows they’ve freed him.

 

Talia: If that’s the case, Beloved, they’ll be coming for you.

 

Batman: That’s what I’m counting on. In the meantime, the League will be moving to cripple the city so it’s unable to stop the Arkham inmates once they’re set free.

 

Nightwing Arkham? Why do they want to release the inmates at Arkham?

 

Red Robin: To do their dirty work for them. Why dirty your hands when there’s a bunch of psychos willing to do it for you.

 

Again, this sounds like something I could easily see Bruce doing were he the one leading the League against us. In some way that’s comforting but it's also terrifying. On the one hand Bruce knows their strategies and should be able to counteract them. Not to mention that Talia should give us an extra advantage by knowing the methods her father chose not to share with Bruce. But on the other hand, Ra’s is no doubt aware that Bruce and Talia will be trying to guess his every move and is probably using strategies they’ve never even heard of to try and remove any advantage they might give us.

 

If you need any proof about that, just look how surprised they both were with the gas attack. Neither of them saw it coming and Bruce himself even said how unusual a tactic it was for Ra’s. Who’s to say them triggering the cave’s motion sensors isn’t simply part of their plan and that they're not leading us into a trap?

 

Batgirl: Not to mention it avoids drawing too much attention to themselves. Helps them to remain the shadows where they’re most comfortable.

 

Nightwing: Then let’s draw them out. How long will it take you guys to make it to Arkham?

 

Batman: You’re not going to Arkham.

 

Nightwing: What?

 

Batgirl: You can’t be serious?

 

Batman: The Outlaws will deal with Arkham. I need the pair of you to reinforce the GCPD and secure the lockup.

 

Batgirl: You think they’re going to target the GCPD?

 

Talia: They’d be foolish not to. With our numbers so small in comparison to theirs, the only way we could hope to contain a breakout at Arkham is with the GCPD’s assistance. If they truly want to break us, they’ll try to take the GCPD out of the picture.

 

Batgirl: Dad…

 

Nightwing: We’re on it.

 

Red Robin: What about me?

 

Batman: I’m feeding co-ordinates to a cache near your location, there should be equipment there that you’ll both need to reinforce Selina at Gotham General.

 

Gotham General? He thinks they’d go after a hospital? Oh who am I kidding, of course they would.

 

Red Robin: What about you?

 

Batman: …..

 

Nightwing: You can’t be serious.

 

Batman: I have to try and talk to him. Maybe, just maybe…

 

Talia: Bruce, you can’t negotiate with someone when you’re at their mercy. You of all people should understand that……..I’m coming with you

 

Batgirl: Are you both suicidal?

 

Alfred: Sir, we both know there’s a good chance that Ra’s set those alarms off intentionally. If you go there alone…

 

Nice to know that Al has the same suspicions as I do about the cave’s motion sensors.

 

Talia: He’s not going alone. I’m coming with you, Bruce.

 

Batman: No, you’re needed at Gotham General, Talia.

 

Talia: I’m not letting you kill yourself. I’m going with you.

 

Red Robin: Selina and I can secure Gotham General. If you’re going to face him, you shouldn’t be going alone.

 

Hopefully Selina’s a lot friendlier than I remember. The last time we crossed paths was on one of my first nights as Robin and to say it didn’t go well would be an understatement.

 

Batman: I’ll be fine. Our priority has to be stopping them from destroying Gotham.

 

Nightwing: And how are we going to do that if you’re dead?

 

Talia: I’m on my way to you now. Don’t you dare move until I’m there.

 

Batman: ….

 

Batgirl: Alright, Dick and I are getting ready to head over to GCPD. It’ll take us some time to get there. Tim?

 

With Bruce not saying a word, Alfred feeds me the location of the supply cache Bruce spoke of. A quick check of its position relative to my tower shows that it's a block and a half away. Should take me a couple of minutes to make it there at most. Getting to Gotham General on the other hand will be a different matter.

 

Red Robin: The cache’s location has just been uploaded to my cowl, I’m heading there now before rendezvousing with Selina at Gotham General.

 

Alfred: Ms. Al-Ghul I’ve dispatched the Batwing to your position. It should be with you in a few moments.

 

Talia: Roger, bunker. Any word from the Outlaws?

 

Alfred: Nothing yet, I’ll keep trying and relay their orders to them once I make contact.

 

Nightwing: Let us know if you still can’t get through to them. Nightwing out.

 

Red Robin: I’ll let you know when I’m at Gotham General, Al. Red Robin out.

 

Talia and I exchange few words on the tower’s rooftop beyond splitting up to go our separate ways. Hopefully she and Bruce can keep each other safe when they go to confront Ra's. They’ll be walking into the belly of the beast and there’s no telling what will be waiting for them. Hopefully we can at least make their job easier by drawing some of the League’s forces away from the cave.

 

———————

It takes just over 10 minutes to make it to Gotham General. Thankfully Alfred decided to lend me a hand and had the Batwing pick me up and deliver me to roof of the hospital once I’d collected the supplies Bruce had asked me to bring. Hopefully the League’s forces aren’t already here. If they are, then I just gave up the element of surprise thanks to the Batwing’s engines. Sooner or later Lucius is really going to have to replace them. The whole silent guardian motif is rather ruined when you have a pair of loud jet engines announcing your arrival.

 

A quick scan of the hospital patient log shows that Steph is in room 6 on the third floor. That means Selina should be in the third floor waiting room. I make my way down to the third floor and for a brief moment consider quickly looking into Steph’s room before heading into the waiting room. But before I have a chance to properly look through the window in the door, I’m grabbed from behind and dragged into the waiting room by Selina.

 

Selina: Are you trying to draw attention to her?

 

Red Robin: No I... just wanted to see how she was doing.

 

Selina: She’s fine, she’s stable. The doctor’s have done all they can for her. We’re not going to know what state she’s in until the sedatives wear off.

 

Red Robin: Phew Thank you. For looking after her.

 

It’s then that I notice the coffee cup she’s holding in her hand.

 

Red Robin: Where’d you get that?

 

Selina: Where do you think? What? Am I not allowed to use the coffee machine now?

 

Red Robin: Where’d you get the money?

 

Selina: From my last job.

 

Red Robin: Job?

 

That’s nowhere near as innocent as it sounds. Selina is a master thief after all so whatever money she has right now is almost certainly not hers.

 

Selina: Yeah, a girl’s got to eat and drink. What? Is the big bad bird telling me I can’t use the coffee machine now as well? Is that not part of 'being on best behaviour'?

 

Red Robin: No, I’m just saying………

 

Selina: Saying what?

 

Red Robin: That is YOUR money, right?

 

She smiles all but confirming that it’s not. Great, guess I’m going to have to find out who we’ll have to reimburse once this is all over. But until then, we’ve got bigger fish to fry.

 

Selina: It is now. Anyways what are you even doing here? Doesn’t tall dark and brooding need your help for something?

 

Red Robin: That’s why I’m here.

 

Selina: Oh? He has you checking up on me to make sure I'm staying out of trouble? Now I’m hurt.

 

Rather than say another word I choose instead to open the bag and empty the contents on to the waiting room table. Without even saying a word, Selina’s eyes begin to burst with joy.

 

Selina: For me? You shouldn't have.

 

Red Robin: Consider it payment in advance.

 

Selina: Surprised he’s trusting me with this stuff after what happened when I stole his belt. Wait. In advance? In advance of what?

 

Red Robin: The people who have been attacking Gotham are coming here. I need your help to stop them.

 

Selina: So what ?You think you can bribe me with some shiny new toys? Shiny things are Magpie’s territory, little bird.

 

Red Robin: Please, I can’t do this on my own.

 

For a moment it looks like she’s going to turn and walk away, but she hesitates before then stopping herself.

 

Selina: How serious are we talking?

 

Red Robin: Serious enough for him to give you all this.

 

I say pointing to all the equipment Bruce had me bring for her. Vambraces, attachable claws, a utility belt, grapple gun, whip and mask. Given how much trouble she gave Bruce when she stole his belt the first time they met, this really is a sign of both desperation and how much trust he has in her.

 

Selina: Christ, he must be desperate.

 

Selina walks up to the table and inspects the mask before putting it on.

 

Selina: A perfect fit. That’s a bit scary. Especially since I don’t remember ever giving him my measurements. No full suit?

 

Red Robin: No, that’s all there was at the cache he had me stop by before coming here.

 

Selina: Then I guess I’ll have to make do with what I’ve got. How much time have we got before they get here?

 

Before I can answer the whole building shakes as what sounds like an explosion comes from the front entrance.

 

Red Robin: None.

 

Done