The Blade That Cuts Deep [Nina]

[Deleted]

The brick flew through the window in a swift brutal motion, smashing the glass into tiny pieces. An alarm erupted from the electronics store; however it wasn’t very loud or effective. A few bedroom lights flashed on along the street, with a few people opening their windows to inspect what was going on. A trio of men, each wearing a black balaclava to hide their identities, began to reach in through the window to help themselves to the goods. A dog howled through the night, matching the beeping alarm from with in the shop. While two of them began to move the stolen goods from the window to the back of their van, another stood watch with a baseball bat perched in his hands in case of any signs of trouble, his ear listening out for the sirens of the police. His fingers grasped the bat with a worried expression beneath the wool mask, both of his eyes darting about the dark street. “Hurry up fellas, the cops’ll be here soon.” His voice was very hushed; he obviously didn’t enjoy being there.

The other two looked up and laughed at their partner. The one with a black leather coat on, passed a small T.V to the other, who placed it in the back of their vehicle. He leaned on a radio, that was placed upon a few other objects, shaking his head. “I knew, you’d be like this! Didn’t I tell you he was chicken?” Still laughing, he got back to work. The one on guard duty turned towards him with angered eyes piercing through his mask. “Shut it! Just saying I don’t want to go to Blackgate for doing over this place.” The tone he spoke in was one of fear, which only made the others laugh more. “Oh yeah, we could run into the Bat or something.” The one who spoke had a much deeper voice to the others. He nudged his accomplice to point out the worried tone the other man spoke in. “Ba-…Batman? You didn’t say nothing about no Batman.” He began to bounce about on the spot, looking from side to side, surveying more of the area around them. “Come on, we’re just kidding, there ain’t going to be no Bat.” Shaking his head, feeling that the joke had run its ground, with him now wanting to get back to work, before they all get arrested.

The worried one nodded, reassured by his partner’s words. He revolved back around to stand beneath the street light, enabling him to keep an eye out for the real police. However when he turned around, his face turned pale with terror. Robin was hung upside down from the light above, dangling before him with a smirk upon his lips. “Just me.” He spoke, which was followed by a swift scream from the one before him, who fell back to the floor from the shock, dropping his weapon. Dropping down from above, the sound of his boots touching the floor alerted the others to him being there, making them drop the T.V in their hands. “Jesus, this is all we need, Boy Wonder to get in the way.” One laughed, as the one on the floor attempted to pull himself up. “I’d ask you to put the stuff back, but I’d be lying if I didn’t want to do things the hard way.” Approaching them, Tim’s metal bo-staff dropped down from his right gauntlet, extending to full length once in his hand. “Okay, so who’s first?” Robin asked in a mocking tone, inviting them to attack. They both glanced at each other before both charging at once. Shouting a form of war cry while running, they both bolted towards him, jumping over their comrade on the floor. The vigilante swung his weapon around in a circle, crashing it into the first enemy, knocking him into the other like dominoes. The first fell to the ground, holding his shoulder as the other took a swing at him, to only have the staff knock his hand away before a swift kick rose up, coming into contact with his face.

That was quick; Robin expected more from such tough guys. His kick to the criminal’s jaw had knocked him clean out, likely knocking a tooth from his bottom row. The other held his arm, wondering if the metal stick had broken something. He only breathed deeply, lying upon the floor in pain. “My arm, you broke my god damn arm!” He shouted up at him. Tim only gave a wave to him, the grin still etched upon his face. Leaning down next to him, Robin clenched his hand into a fist as it made contact with his cheek, also rendering him unconscious. While finishing him, he’d totally forget about the petrified criminal, who he scared first. That would be a fatal mistake for the young hero. Standing up from the knocked out foe, a sharp tingling sensation broke though his upper chest/shoulder region. Tim clenched his teeth, as the tingling feeling turned to immense levels of pain, with the cold object getting pulled yanked out of his back. Blood ran down his back, forcing him down onto one leg. He heard a clatter of metal as the knife dropped to the floor, the user looking down upon him with the same face of terror. Gasping, Tim watched him run from the scene in fear, down the dark alley next to the shop.

He’d been stabbed, through his black cape and through the Kevlar chest plate he wore, which wasn’t as fortified at the rear as it was at the front, which was logical as most attacks would come from the front. Tim’s world was spinning, with a mixture of pain and sickness from the shock. His increased heart beat only pumped the blood out of the wound at a quicker rate. He had to make a split second choice. Would he risk a local hospital, where his identity might be uncovered or would he attempt to make it back to the bat cave, which would take a lot longer and he didn’t have much time. Glancing up at the street sign, Tim wondered where he was. Macarthur Street, West Gotham. He wondered if Batman had any contacts in this area, yet only one came to mind. A Doctor, one who Bruce had met on occasion due to her romantic relationship with the Riddler. Perhaps she could help, Bruce had mentioned her often as a brilliant doctor, however she has bad tastes in partners. She seemed like his only option, her lab would be only a few streets away from here. Rearing up onto two legs, Robin attached his staff back into it’s holder and began to drag himself in the direction of her location, when the rain began to patter down upon his head as he walked into the darkened alley way. He just hoped she was in.

[Nina Stenet]

It's another late evening at Stenet Labs. Nina is in the laboratory, debating with herself whether or not she has the energy to finish the project she's working on or if the fatigue is winning and she's better off calling it a night. At the front desk, Shawty has already given up on being able to concentrate on paperwork and is instead idly browsing Wikipedia and hoping that Dr. Stenet decides to go home soon. She'd started off by reading about taekwando but has somehow ended up reading the page about oligarchy - which is somehow very interesting to her sleepy mind.

But suddenly an alert pops up on her computer, but though she looks at it instantly she's not too alarmed at first - maybe it's just a stray cat wandering around again. If anything, the sensors can be a bit too sensitive, but she and Selina agreed that it's better for the system to err on the side of giving her a lot of false alerts instead of potentially missing something important. But when she switches to the video feed of the area in question, what she sees is enough to wake her back up instantly.

"Shawty?" Nina asks idly from the other room, for the sound of the computer reacting to the security system is loud enough for her to have just heard it in the quiet building. Used to all the false alerts, she's already halfway assuming that it's nothing, but it's good to check. But this time instead of her assistant reassuring her that it's nothing, she hears the girl scrambling out of her chair and taking off at a run. Which prompts Nina to do the same - she drops what she's doing and heads after Shawty. "What's going on?" she asks, already knowing that whatever it is must be bad. And the worst case scenario for what it could be would be really, really, really bad.

"Someone in a costume is coming. Robin, I think. Looks really hurt," Shawty explains hastily as she rushes over to the back door, which she saw that the kid was headed for. "Stay in the building, Dr. Stenet. I'll bring him in here," she adds very firmly as she unlocks the door and heads outside. She knows that her boss would forget her own safety entirely the moment she saw someone badly hurt, but for herself Dr. Stenet's safety is always the number one priority. And without any idea of what's going on, for all they know it could be very risky going outside. But since she already knows that Dr. Stenet wouldn't agree that they should stay inside where it's most likely much safer, it's a risk she's more than willing to take if it will convince her boss to wait.

Stepping outside, Shawty's eyes quickly scan over the entire area for any signs of trouble even as she rushes to the wounded teen's side. Having grown up in the streets of east Gotham, she knows well just how easy it is to not notice something important just because there's something more obvious to look at. But if there's any threat out there, it must be hidden by the darkness. "You're Robin, right?" she asks as she wastes no time in taking his arm and putting it across her shoulders. She's hardly strong enough to carry him, but she is nevertheless rather strong for a woman - especially one of her size. She works out a lot, and one can tell by the strength of her grip and just how much of his weight she can take on as she half-carries him the rest of the way. "I'm Shawty, Dr. Stenet's assistant," she adds, introducing herself along the way, "And don't worry - you've come to a good place. Dr. Stenet can fix you."

Meanwhile, Nina just manages to let herself be halted by Shawty's insistence that she stay inside. Instead she peers out the window as her assistant begins helping the boy to the door. She watches a moment, as she can hardly tell just how bad the injury is, but the amount of blood she can see is concerning. And given just how suspicious Batman is about her, she's guessing that Robin must be pretty desperate to come to her door. But it only takes a moment for the surprise to wear off, and she pulls herself away from the window to go retrieve the first aid kit so that she can have it on hand the moment they're inside. She may be able to work miracles with her gift, but not always very quickly and especially not with a larger injury so the supplies in it will be helpful. Especially since it's probably a good idea for her to conceal her gift as much as possible in this situation, even though all things considered she's not that worried about the kid finding out about her secret. Especially not if she needs to do anything obvious in order to save his life.

[Deleted]

The rain continued to beat down upon the silver bins that were positioned along the dark alley. With a light patter, they echoed their metallic ring through out the street. Unlike the main avenue that was so near, little light was shone down upon this alley way with only one flickering light above a door providing enough light for the injured Robin to find his way around the street. Although he had little trouble moving about in darkness, Tim wasn’t concentrating upon his training, more on just keeping awake; a hard task for the Young Boy. One of his arms was placed on the side of a building, providing him with some support as he hobbled along, his other hand clutching the wound as best as he could. Removing his black gloved hand from the cut, showed him the seriousness of the situation. Blood was dripping from his shoulder, at an alarming rate, seeping into the black glove. Tim inhaled deeply once again, knowing that his moving about was doing him no favours, in fact it sped up his circulation, forcing him to loose blood at a much quicker rate. What was he to do? Nothing?

Her building wasn’t far, or at least he hoped. His wishful thinking was in fact the truth; he was at the bottom of the alley which led to her Lab. He hoped that it wouldn’t take for him to be back to his full capabilities, he couldn’t let this minor injury hold him back, it wouldn’t stop Bruce or Dick. Although he was neither of them. His head was throbbing, as if his heart beat was shaking his very bones. Batman had attempted to teach in for these situations; however it was something he couldn’t instruct him upon very well. ‘It affects us each differently. Pain isn’t the same for one man as it is for the next but you must keep going, staying on target.’ Those were his words, if only he was here now.

His blurred eyes didn’t pick up the camera, watching him from above and if he had, he wouldn’t be bothered. Black Cat Security was etched upon the side, although Tim knew of the logo. It was Selina Kyle’s company of all peoples. He knew all about Catwoman although was shocked by her new company, which now provides security to many buildings through out Gotham, Tim had came across cameras from the company in the past. Tim couldn’t say he’s ever met her; she was more Bruce’s field of ‘expertise’, although the aspiring Detective knew the real reason even if Bruce wouldn’t like to admit it.

Pacing down the street, he didn’t see the car before him until he was all most upon it, his knees tapping off the front number plate. It was a nice car, a Mercedes of all vehicles. If he’d knocked it even more, he’d have set the alarm off, something he didn’t want to do. Which of the buildings was Nina’s? There was so many and it was dark, it was until a door swung open that he turned back to the light, looking at the woman walking out. She wasn’t clear until she rose his arm up over her shoulders. “Yeah, yeah I’m Robin.” It was nice to have someone to support him, to help him move. It also gave him a good chance to inspect her. She wasn’t much shorter than Tim, although she seemed very lean and muscular for a woman of her stature. “Nice to meet you, Shawty. Sorry I’m not at my best.” He looked down at the wound with a smirk before sucking in a large amount of air through his closed mouth; the cut had bit him once again. “I came here as fast I could, I don’t have much time and you’re a better option than a Hospital.” Together, they clambered over to the door, with Tim placing his boot in on the floor, leaving a slight trail of blood behind him. He was glad that they were in to aid him, he wouldn’t know what he’d do if they weren’t.

[Nina Stenet]

There is absolutely nothing funny about this situation at all. Nevertheless, Shawty makes an amused sound at the boy's words, before simply saying, "You have no idea..." But she has more important things to think about than accidental, humorous understatements. "Do you know if you're being followed? Or if anyone saw you coming here?" she asks as they reach the door, which Dr. Stenet holds open for them when they get close. Security is always her first priority here, so of course she's going to ask. And actually, she won't fully believe him if he says he's certain they're safe until she's had a chance to see that for herself.

The moment they're inside, Nina wastes no time in stepping behind them to look at the wound, checking it both with her eyes and gift. But it only takes her about two seconds before she's pulling out some sterile gauze to press against it as she looks at Shawty and says, "Let's get him to the lab - I need to get the bleeding under control immeadiately." Grabbing his other arm, she's not quite as strong as Shawty but she can still manage to help them hurry further into the building. "Knife wound - it's grazed his subclavian vein, and he's half bled out already," she adds very seriously but, perhaps surprisingly, with no note of real worry in her voice. It's a serious wound, yes, and definitely fatal without treatment, but it's also not so severe that she's really concerned about her ability to save him as long as they don't delay.

Finished with what she needs to say to Shawty, Nina's attention immediately turns to Robin. She's not actually used to treating patients so she's not exactly sure what to say to him at this point, but she does say, "You're going to be okay - I promise you. And we're not the type of people who peek under masks." What more could she say than that?

A laboratory might seem like an odd place to take someone in need of medical treatment, but this isn't a hospital or doctor's office - it's a medical research lab. And the laboratory is the only room in the building that's sterile, in addition to being large enough to move around in easily and having decent lighting. And while the cold, metal tables there aren't a comfortable place to lay on at all, beggars can't be choosers and it will make working on him so much easier. That he's going to get blood on the floor the whole way there is the last concern on her mind - it can be cleaned, and it's much more important to make sure that she gives this boy the care he needs. He's so young, after all - death is a tragedy at any age, but much more so for those who have so much more life ahead of them than behind them.

[Deleted]

Tim had never considered being followed here; it never really crossed his mind until she brought it up. He gave her an extended look at her, thinking about the chances of that remaining criminal hunting him down, although he seemed to be fleeing in terror. He never knew he was that scary, his training must be working. But what if the others had awoken? The ones he’d disposed of earlier, following the trail of blood to here. The Injured Boy couldn’t be certain, not one hundred percent at least. “I doubt it but there’s always a chance. I heard police sirens so I think the cops got those who got me.” He smirked and lifted his hand off from the injury, giving Nina a clear view off it. “If you want, I can leave if my being here dangers you or your Lab.” The last thing Tim wanted to do was put them in trouble after they’d brought them into their domain and had helped him so much.

It felt good to have not as much pressure upon the cut, having Nina lift his arm up around her shoulders. She didn’t seem to be as strong as her friend, Shawty, however she was helping him out of the kindness of her own heart. They both were. Tim wouldn’t forget their actions. He listened to her define the injury he’d sustained, understanding most of it. The subclavian artery is a major artery in his chest, or so he thought. It provides blood to both arms, left and right. He’d need them if he was to continue as Robin, he thought jokingly. He’d need both for a lot of things.

His eyes darted around her laboratory, making him envious. Although Nina held a much higher level of knowledge when it came to biology, Tim still knew quite a bit. It was his favourite subject. He even wanted a job that involved sciences; he found it highly enjoyable to learn about the body and its workings. Seeing her lab only made him want to follow his dreams even more, to have a lab of his own. The Batcave boosted a small one, although he rarely was allowed to touch it. However the GCPD had many, which Tim under the guise of Robin would use when working a case. “That’s at least one thing, Doctor.” He laughed when she joked about his mask, forcing him to touch it lightly with one hand, making sure it was in place. Not due paranoia, because he didn’t want to leak secrets that could cripple Batman’s operation by revealing his identity.

Robin perched himself upon the cold metal table, knocking some papers to the side to make room. Tim reached under his cape, around to the bad side of his chest. There was a set of clips, which kept his chest plate in place, to remove it he’d need to first remove them. He blushed a little bit, undressing partially before a pair of girls, something he didn’t do often.

[Nina Stenet]

The possibility that he may have been followed may have been the last thing on his mind, but it had been the first thing on Shawty's the moment she'd determined that the boy himself wasn't a threat. Doing a good job with security is nearly indistinguishable from being extremely paranoid, actually - the only real difference is that the paranoid are overly anxious while the very secure minded person is confident once they're sure they've done what they can. However, Shawty can think of a long list of things that she'd really like to check right now, just to be safe, so she can't say that she's confident at the moment. But first she needs to get this kid to where Dr. Stenet can work on him properly since her boss would have a really hard time doing that herself - she can run around making sure that they're safe after that.

But when Robin offers to leave if it puts them in danger, it's Nina who says, "Absolutely not!" Even if having him here puts them in danger, she's most certainly not going to let him leave for that reason. While she probably would save herself and Shawty over him if it really came down to it, that would have to be the choice - she's definitely willing to put herself at risk to save someone who needs her help, especially someone who is young and even more especially... well, she may question whether or not what Batman and his sidekick does is actually helpful, but she certainly doesn't question that they're good people behind their masks and certainly deserve saving.

In spite of the urgency of the situation, Nina still catches the look in his eyes when he looks around her lab. As working in this laboratory is what she does not only for a living but as her passion in life and, since she's good enough at it to make more money than she really knows what to do with, she has every piece of equipment she could ever want or need. Which is actually quite a bit less than other people in her field since there are so many tasks she can do faster and easier just by using her gift instead. Still, since Shawty sometimes assists her and sometimes people who know their stuff see her lab she also has at least the basics of the equipment that she doesn't need too - like she has a microscope in here somewhere, even though she never uses it.

Once they get Robin to the table and Shawty can let him go, she immediately turns to Dr. Stenet and asks, "Do you need me for anything?" Because if not, she'd really like to at least make sure the perimeter is secure.

"No, go ahead - two minutes," Nina replies, not so much as turning her head to watch her assistant run off. Her current focus is on helping Robin unfasten the clips that she can see him trying to reach for. Getting the various bits of clothing out of the way of the wound will certainly help make her job easier, and having never worn such things herself before she has no idea how they come off. Then again, though he's certainly unaware of it since it's in no way painful, she's already using her gift to help his body repair the damage to his vein. It's not a fast process, but she's still able to be faster and cleaner about it than the minor surgery they'd have done to repair it at the hospital - no stitches required. And by the time she's finished the amount of bleeding will be significantly reduced, even though there's still the rest of the wound to worry about.

[Deleted]

The clips were loosened by Tim’s bloodied fingers, coming off quite easily. He began at the top of his side, nearer to his shoulder, moving down to top of his thigh as the chest plate went. As he undid the top one, the cape sagged a bit off his shoulders, although he turned to the other side, undoing the same one on the reverse shoulder. With a slight fumble, the flowing wet black cape fell off his back and down to the floor, crumbling up into a ball of material upon the floor. All the capes that Bruce designed have the ability to be disconnected in case of it catching a light for example. Or when you need to remove it a quick speed for situations such as this.

Continuing down his side now that he’d disconnected the cape, it took him only a few moments to be at the last clip, unbolting it from its holding. Now that both sides were undone, he could easily remove it. Tim slid his fingers under the sides, peeling it from his chest. The Robin etched chest piece slid up over his head, until it was before him in both hands. Tim through it to the side, upon the floor next to his cape. It landed with a clash upon the floor although he doubted it was damaged, it was Kevlar after all. He wore a black tee-shirt beneath yet it was covered in a mixture of sweat, rain and blood. The blade of the knife had clearly sliced through the chest piece and through the light material that made up his shirt. The next part clearly hurt him, as Tim gritted his teeth before doing so. His fingers pulled the shirt off, although it was rubbing the wound. Once it was off, he let out a sigh of pain, dropping the shirt.

The wounds across his chest showed that this wasn’t his first contact with violence. Bruises and thin cuts were thrown across his body. In his few months as Robin, Tim had taken a few blows, either in training or out in the field. Bruce wasn’t going easy when it came to training; he often hit Tim with no mercy, to train him for the real world. Tim had asked for this, to become Robin. Looking in reflection, he never knew it would hurt so much. He looked up at Nina with blood shot eyes through his mask. “Thank you for doing this. I know you and Batman haven’t seen eye to eye in the past. I’m not him; I don’t hold anything against you.” The Young Boy smirked at her, placing his faith in her.

With his bloodied hand, Tim patted her’s, still with the grin upon his soaked face. Tim knew of her past relationship with one Edward Nigma, aka the Riddler. A villain he’s never had the displeasure of meeting although he’s surprised by his choice in women. She doesn’t seem insane, not in the slightest. He’s been with her for a good few minutes yet he’s received no snappy riddle about something obvious, maybe she was just saving one up. He wasn’t sure if she’s still with him, he hopes that she’s got some sense to leave him. Love is strong, he just hopes common sense is stronger.

[Nina Stenet]

Like most people in her and related professions, Nina's fingers are quick, gentle, and precise as she follows Robin's lead in helping him remove the clothing that's in the way. But though her hands (not to mention the table and floor) get wet with rainwater and blood in the processes, that doesn't seem to phase her at all. While she's as deeply affected by the pain of others as anyone - if not more so than average - getting your hands dirty is often a necessary requirement to alleviating that pain. And hands, tables, and floors are easily washed. Instead she's more concerned about his wound, and is especially attentive in helping him with the bits that are hard to reach without moving his injured shoulder. It's impossible to avoid that completely - at least unless he wants her to cut the clothing off of him - but at least she can help.

Though her eyes travel over the signs of other injuries on his body, she keeps her focus on the wound that currently matters. And he probably wouldn't appreciate her thoughts anyway - she remembers being his age, after all: early teens, when you're still as innocent and ignorant as a child and yet feel like you're practically grown up already. No, he certainly wouldn't like to hear her thoughts about what such a hard, dangerous pastime can do to damage a still-growing body. And as the words would fall on deaf ears, she might as well not say them at all.

Instead the wound on his shoulder gets the vast majority of her attention, though from a medical standpoint a knife wound really isn't that complicated. It just needs to be cleaned, closed, and bandaged, and aside from the hole in the major vein there isn't much that's tricky about it. And since past experience has encouraged her to develop her skills in quickly repairing damaged blood vessels with her gift, none of it is actually anything that she has to think too hard about to be sure that she's doing it right.

Which is why she's able to keep talking to him even as she opens up the first aid kit and starts working on the wound properly. As can be expected since both she and Shawty have much more training than your average person on how to use various medical supplies, as well as the fact that they have more cause to worry about getting injured than your average person, their first aid kit is large and very complete in the items it offers. The first thing she pulls out is a pair of disposable gloves, which take her all of a few seconds to put on - she's very used to wearing them, after all. Then she quickly fills a large syringe with an antibacterial solution so that she can flush the wound and clean it.

As she does so, she comments, "I don't see why Batman should have anything to hold against me. If anything, I have a lot of things I could hold against him. This might sting a little, but it has a local anesthetic in it, so it won't hurt for long." The moment the warning has been given, he'd feel the cold fluid spraying into the wound and being caught by some absorbent gauze she's holding beneath it. Saying that it's the fluid's fault that the pain would ease is actually a white lie - she's actually numbing the surrounding nerves with her gift, as she's finished with the vein and she's always held the philosophy that it's always better for a patient if you can do something without introducing something foreign into their body. "I've found myself facing death or severe injury about five times recently, depending on what you count, and was Batman ever there to help me? No. And with that track record, I don't expect him to be. But I don't really blame him for that - with millions of people in this city I'm sure there's always someone who needs his help more than I do. No, where I have cause to hold it against him is how many times he's showed up afterward to question what I did to save myself. And how suspicious he is of me just because I trusted those who actually saved me more than I trust him. And how I'm somehow a bad person because I refused to betray someone who loved me and decided that stopping criminals isn't my job. I'm a doctor, not a superhero," she rambles as she works, sounding more frustrated the more she thinks about it.

She doesn't take it out on Tim, though - instead her hands remain very gentle as she finishes flushing the wound and starts to carefully apply a few adhesive strips to hold the wound closed. "You'll feel a little tugging, but no pain," she comments as she does so. The thin, flexible strips are surprisingly strong and she prefers them over something more invasive like stitches when a wound is too large for her to tackle the whole thing with her gift. Not to mention that if he walked out of here with the wound half healed over already both he and Batman would have raised eyebrows.

[Deleted]

As the liquid dove into his skin, Tim showed little signs of it stinging, he just shrugged his face. A sting is nothing compared to a knife wound, plus anesthetic never bothered him. Unlike most people, Tim showed no hatred towards getting numbed up; he perhaps preferred it over some tablets he’s had to have taken in the past. He felt the same numbness of his shoulder quickly take effect, loosing all feeling in the area. Inspecting the wound, Tim could finally see the full extent of the damage. It wasn’t pretty. Best to look away, place at the very rear of his mind for now. His eyes floated down to his bloodied hands, now with out the gloves on. He turned them over, placing them down upon his lap to conceal them.

Tim looked back at her, watching her take items from the first aid kit, inspecting all the gear. She was well stocked; this hadn’t to be a first for her. Of course it would be the first time that she’s preformed upon an injured teenager in a cape but that kit was a veteran of injuries, no doubt thanks to Nigma in some way, or so he wondered. Never prying in to far, Tim wasn’t sure upon her relationship with the crazed villain, although any relationship with him would never be a good one. “It’s all ready working. I’m sure you do, Doctor. I’m sure a lot of people do.” Attempting to turn around, he tried to move closer so she could work upon the wound easier, with out her having to stretch to reach it. He sat preparing to listen to what she had to say upon Tim’s mentor, even if he didn’t want to hear it. A conversation like this could move his mind from his current situation.


“Batman can be difficult; I know that better than most. And you’re right in saying that he was a large group to watch over but remember he chose to become Batman to protect the whole of Gotham not just individuals. You know this but I don’t think he intends to let you down, do you even have a way of contacting him when in danger?” That could be an answer to that problem, a direct line to the Batman himself means she’d be more likely to receive help, although he wasn’t sure if she already had one. “I know of your relationship with Edward. Although I find it hard to condone it, I can’t criticise you after what you’re doing for me.” Tim stroked his chin, thinking about Batman’s actions. It was true that he had a City to save but how he acts to her after isn’t right, he can tell she’s a good person.

“Wow this works quick. It's nice to not feel anything for once.” He said in a sarcastic yet playful way, trying to ease the conversation. Perhaps the drug hadn’t fully set in yet. He was smiling again, or at least trying to. She was doing a great job so far, he was glad to have come to her in the end. “Thank you again, Nina. You’re doing a good job with the wound.” Smiling down at her, he turned to look out of the window, at the rain still coming down. He wondered if Bruce was wondering about his location or if he expected Tim to run into bother, he didn’t know. Turning back to her, Tim now felt the coldness of the anesthetic and the slight tugging of the straps combined, creating a tingling feeling through out his arm, it was a nice but strange feeling. “Why do you love Edward?” His question came out of the blue, catching her off guard. Tim’s question was asked quietly yet in an open, inviting tone that was opposite to Batman’s aggressive ways.

Although aggressive when needed, Tim can also show a level of understanding that Bruce rarely does. He didn’t enjoy being overly angry at people when asking questions, he found that most would actually talk to you if you ask in the right way. Well at least when that person is normal. “No offence but is it some what like Joker and Quinn? Although I really doubt you’re Nigma’s “Puddin”.” Tim gave his best childish voice when impersonating the Joker’s accomplice. He laughed, grinning in reflection of his last question. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” He hoped she didn’t find him too childish; he was just trying to ease the mood.

[Nina Stenet]

Actually, Nina's never really had to make much use of this first aid kit. Not for anything more than minor laboratory accidents, anyway - she does have a tendency to overwork herself, and a tired mind is more likely to make a mistake, after all. But she's certainly prepared for something bad to happen - what, she can't exactly be sure, but given her field of expertise she knows exactly what sort of supplies to have on hand. She can easily imagine the sort of scenarios that would put her and/or Shawty's lives in danger if they were unable to obtain prompt treatment, so the first aid kit is geared toward that and the supplies needed for a knife cut are just the beginning.

When the boy starts to shift around, she's quickly to say, "Hold still, please." Whether or not she can reach him easily is of secondary concern to her over making sure that she's doing precisely the right thing. And she can do precisely the right thing at an awkward angle just fine, but when the patient makes it a moving target they're just making it worse. But aside from that request, she's silent as he responds to her, only speaking again to answer his question with a quick, "No." She's not sure whether or not she believes that Batman would respond even if he did give her a way to do that. Call her a bit jaded about him, but if she is she's certain she's completely justified in it.

As the boy goes on to comment about Edward, Nina frowns and keeps silent. She supposes that it's good to hear that this kid is grateful for the help that she's providing, but in spite of all the time that's passed since the last time that she saw Edward he's still more than a little bit of a painful subject to think about. Silence and focusing on what she's doing seems to be a much better option than saying any of her current thoughts allowed. Even when he compliments her work she only responds by nodding and saying, "MmHmm."

But if she thought that the thoughts he already stirred up were hard, that doesn't really hold a candle to the number that are suddenly brought to the forefront by his next question, which indeed catches her off-guard. And at first her only response to it is a long moment of silence. She's halfway tempted to indicate that he shouldn't have asked the question in the first place by letting the silence drag on for long enough, but if only because that particular question doesn't touch onto anything too hard to say out loud, she eventually speaks - though seen through the lens of current pain, the memories of why she loves Edward are actually good ones.

"No - not like them. I don't think I could care for a man who was abusive for very long," she says first, her voice quiet and distant as if lost in thought, "At first I just found him interesting - he's so smart... handsome, too, but I didn't notice that until later. What I noticed more was that charisma - that confidence... though I don't think that I fully knew I loved him until that day he came to my apartment to save me, and kissed me because I was still alive..." She's almost smiling when her voice trails off, but then it rapidly clouds and she goes completely silent again. In fact, she doesn't really notice that after putting the last strip in place she's gotten so lost in thought that she's forgotten to continue with the next step in the process. Something she certainly wouldn't have done if she was in a more critical part of the process, but since a pause here won't hurt him her thoughts have a much greater tendency to wander.

[Deleted]

Doing as she asked, Tim sat still upon the table, placing both hands firmly down upon his lap with his back to her. He sighed softly and dropped his head, his chin sitting just above his chest. Looking down at his wrist attachment that lay upon the floor, he knew that when he was injured he could have called for help from Alfred. However for some reason he decided against it, realising that this could give him a chance to prove his resourcefulness. Getting injured is one thing, but finding a solution to the problem will hopefully get him redeemed in Bruce’s eyes, he’ll obviously find out at some point. Even though he runs the risk of loosing favour with Bruce due to this reckless behaviour, he hoped to prove that he could deal with his own problems.

The silence in the Lab showed that Tim’s question had brought more thought than he expected. His hand rose up to his mask, readjusting it in case it was loose. It wasn’t. “Sorry if the question bothered you.” Speaking softly, Tim tried to keep the quiet mood that had been created. Not a sound stirred in the room, a part from the light foot steps of Shawty who was still walking about. Robin looked up, seeing through the black domino mask. He couldn’t turn his head far enough to see what she doing; his head could only turn so far, seeing her arms but not her hands. The problem was that he felt useless, as if he could do nothing in his current position, sitting in silence. How many crimes were occurring out on the streets while he was sitting there? It wasn’t the best way for him to start his career with out Batman.

With one hand he stroked his nose, shaking his head. Nina broke the silence with her response to his question upon Edward. If she were talking about anyone else, he’d likely find it heart-warming however he knew of Nigma. He listened closely, closing his eyes to picture him mentally. Charming? He’d heard many words describe him before, insane, puzzling but never charming. He guessed people just had two sides to them, depending upon the person. “How did you meet each other? Did you know who he was when you met him?” Perhaps he didn’t reveal his identity to her until a later date, when she was already in love with him.

For some reason he couldn’t picture her helping him in his crimes, aiding him to complete them as his accomplice. She seemed too reserved for such actions, with more sense. That didn’t make her less dangerous though, who knows what one would do for a loved one. His mind drifted back to what she said about not having a way to contact Batman. “He couldn’t have saved you if he didn’t know that you needed help.” Tim felt his utility belt, checking a few of the pockets. “What do you mean that Edward saved you?” While talking, his fingers found what he was looking for; a tiny black card. He lifted it up before him, inspecting it closer with the light allowing him to see it better. Barely bigger than his thumb nail, the device contained contact details for allies of the Batman, yet in this case for friends of Robin. He didn’t have much else to repay her with, so perhaps this would do. A hotline straight to a hero if she ever needed it, he hoped she wouldn’t. “Can I borrow your mobile phone for a moment? I’d like to give you something.” Looking over his shoulder, he smiled and twirled it around his finger. “Don’t worry it’s not a bug.” He laughed at the idea, although she might have thought so. What with Batman’s paranoia.

[Nina Stenet]

Having withdrawn into her own darker thoughts for a moment, Nina is abruptly snapped back out of it when Tim asks her further questions. She makes an amused sound as she comments, "Rather curious, aren't you?" Reaching back into her first aid kit, she finds some more gauze and applies it over the wound to both catch any remaining blood or other fluid that leaks out as well as to help protect it from further punishment. "I met him in a museum. And he wasn't in costume so I didn't recognize him instantly, but when he started stealing paintings, pointed a gun at me, and asked me a riddle it wasn't hard to figure out," she explains, sounding quite a bit more comfortable to be talking about it now that she's warmed up to the subject. And the hint of irony in her tone seems to acknowledge that yes, she's aware that was a rather odd way to begin a relationship with someone.

The harder part of discussing this is knowing what happened on the other end of the relationship, but since the boy isn't asking her about that it's easy enough to let her mind dwell on the earlier memories only. And while a few of them are rather mixed, if only due to nostalgia it's easy enough to let her thoughts linger on only the better bits. And her first kiss with Edward is certainly one of them! "Technically he didn't save me, but that's kind of a complicated story. To sum up: Lex Luthor hired the Ventriloquist to kill me. And Edward was in the habit of having one of his men spy on me, so he knew I was in danger. By the time he got there himself, I'd already handled the Ventriloquist, but he didn't know that." And, naturally, he was extremely happy to see that she was okay.

As she tells that more complete version of the story, she pulls a basic bandage from the first aid kit and wraps it carefully but snugly over the gauze to hold it in place, alternating between placing it over his shoulder and around his chest to be sure that it's secure even as he moves around. She's still doing it as he asks to see her phone, but in spite of his reassurance she frowns instantly at the request. "No, I'm afraid I can't do that," she says firmly, and even with the slightest hint of suspicion. Does the boy know that Edward gave her that phone? Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. She has no idea if it could still be traced back to Edward, but she's hardly going to willingly allow a vigilante to look at it. The man who gave it to her had done so out of love, even if the same man has since changed his mind.

Fortunately, that potentially awkward moment is interrupted by Shawty, who is finally satisfied with her inspections. And given the amount of water she's now dripping on the floor, she'd spent much of the time she's been away out in the rain. Nina looks up instantly the moment her assistant appears, but has already guessed that there isn't any trouble since the young woman failed to appear even after the two minutes she asked for were up. "If anything's out there, I'm not seeing it and neither are the sensors. And the rain's already washed away his trail, so I doubt we'll get company," she reports with an almost, but not quite, calm expression as she joins them. There is, after all, the slight possibility that she made a mistake while looking around so she's liable to be extra vigilant for awhile yet. "How's the kid holding up?" she asks curiously, seeing that Dr. Stenet is doing the last step.

[Deleted]

Laughing, Tim agreed with Nina when she spoke about his curiosity. One day he knew it’d be the death of him although a decent detective knows that he can not solve a case with out perseverance. Feeling very little in his shoulder, Tim had to rely on sight to tell at what point of the procedure she was up to due to the dumbness of his arm. He could see her use the gauze, which caught any dripping blood. The sight of blood had also never bothered the young crime fighter, in fact very few things did. Although his eyes were secretly shocked when he began his career all those months ago, when he visited his first crime scene. He’ll never forget the mess of a few human that was left. “I guess I just want to know more about my saviour.” Tim gives a playful wink and smile, happy that the conversation had picked up again.

Although he was shocked by how they met. “Usually most people would run and hide if they had a gun pointed to them, although you don’t seem to be most people. But then it’s another thing entirely to fall head over heels for said Man carrying a gun.” Tim was finding it hard to keep his arm straight, loosing some control due to the dumbness. To compensate he sat bolt upright on the table, looking out of the window. The rain was still beating down, bringing with it wind and the cold. It didn’t seem like spring to him, more like winter dragging on even when it’s not wanted. At least his bike wasn’t very far, only a few blocks. He’d left it to travel on foot, locking it in a back alley. It would be near impossible for anyone to start it up, the beauty of having such expensive tech.

“I’m sure stalking you through a network of operatives is a very…romantic thing to do when one is a killer.” He sighed, finding it hard to believe that she still has feelings for him. For starters, the man pointed a gun at her. Now he’s had her followed. Tim just couldn’t understand it, although saying that he had noticed Poison Ivy once or twice but for obvious reasons kept his mouth shut about it. “Lex Luthor? Why would he want you dead? Surely a guy with his money could find a better hitman than some old Guy with a doll.” Tim was joking, he knew of Scarface and his owner; they weren’t to be messed with. He watched her bring the bandage around the wound, raising his arm slightly to help her move it around. “That’s good….do you do this often?” Although they’d just met, Tim knew that she wasn’t a medical Doctor like the ones found in a Hospital. Being in the field she is, Tim has had to research her work before. He was impressed to say the least.

When she denied his request to give her the ability to contact them, he dropped it back down in to the belt compartment. “Its fine, I just need to find some way to repay you both for this.” His head motioned to the wound, his face still with a grin upon it. If Eddie had the ability to track her, perhaps he monitored her mobile too. Wouldn’t surprise him after what she’s told him about him. Having trained hearing, Robin heard Shawty approaching towards the Lab. “The Kid is fine.” He smirked towards her and was glad to hear that there was no sign on life on the security systems. “Good, if not I’m well enough to lead them away from here.” He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if his actions brought about harm to these people, after what they’d done for him.

[Nina Stenet]

Though she doesn't comment at his choice of words when he calls her his 'savior', a look of satisfaction plays on her features. It's not a word that she'd argue doesn't apply to her - she has dedicated her life to saving people, after all. It's just that she doesn't usually actually get to meet them and talk to them - sometimes because a particular advancement she's made in her field still needs a solid fifteen years of safety testing before the FDA will approve it for general use, and sometimes merely because she doesn't see patients here. But as she sees saving lives as pretty much the whole point of her existence, she can't help but feel good when it's acknowledged that she's done so.

Yet as Tim comments on how people respond to guns, she immediately frowns. "Running away from Edward when he has a gun pointed at you is a good way of getting shot in the back," she replies somewhat grimly, "It's easier just to answer the damn riddle." She pauses, realizing what she said, and adds, "Sorry..." Just because she loves the man doesn't mean that she's happy with what he does - no, not by a long shot! "And I didn't 'fall head over heels'. Not then, anyway," she has to correct him, though after a moment's pause, she admits, "...I may have thought he was interesting..." Though at the time she'd certainly hoped to never see him again. And a part of her suspects that she'd have been much better off if it had all ended there. But no - he'd decided that she was interesting too.

And yet her expression shifts back to amusement at his comment about the spying. "Actually, if someone's willing to pay someone to keep an eye on you... well, you know that you matter a lot to them, at least," she says, remembering just how well Edward kept a close eye on her. It actually got somewhat endearing after awhile. "And I'd rather not talk about Luthor. Except to say that it wasn't my fault," she adds. No, it was all Edward's fault that Luthor wanted to kill her, and it's actually a somewhat embarrassing story, so she's not going to tell it. It's a real pity that she didn't have any evidence against him that would have convinced a jury, though.

It brings a smile to her face as he compliments her bandage job. "Nope. First back injury since medical school, actually," she comments, "I don't normally take patients. Most of my recent experience is in treating myself, unfortunately." Though that doesn't mean that she couldn't be treating other patients - she's a fully licensed medical doctor and could easily be working in a hospital if she wanted to. But she very much isn't a fan of hospitals - she avoids them, actually. They're always full of more people than she could possibly save.

Once she reaches the end of the bandage roll, she carefully secures the end of it in place so that it won't unwind. Nope, not bad at all, if she does say so herself. "Save a couple dozen lives, and I'll consider myself more than repaid," she says with a smile, though she's being completely serious, "And if you want to repay Shawty, I suggest a 'thank you'." Because it's really hard to think of something her assistant would want, except possibly for a vacation from having to worry about her.

Speaking of Shawty, when the young woman arrives and hears Tim's reaction to her words she smirks and comments, "Nah, if they come here that just means that I get in a little shooting practice with moving targets - its been awhile." Perhaps it's not expected for a doctor's assistant to not only be armed but have actual real-world experience with a gun, especially if you know Dr. Stenet well enough to be familiar with just how opposed she is to killing anyone, but Shawty's not exactly ordinary. She's willing to go as far as she has to in order to keep her boss safe.

[Deleted]

As the conversation began to easy, so did Tim. Where as he was fatigued and tired when entering the building, the young Boy was now quite comfortable in their presence. Although he could think of a thousand other situations where he’d rather find himself, there was no one else he wouldn’t want helping him. Unlike many of his comrades, he held no trust problems as was evident. He wondered how successful Batman would be if he wasn’t as aggressive and paranoid. Tim sighed, he’s only been gone a few hours and he’s already questioning Bruce. He shouldn’t after all, he was his childhood idol. Being Robin, he knew of how Dick and Bruce argued at times, something he never wanted to do with either of them.

“I thought he found you arousing? If I did, I surely wouldn’t have met you while wielding a pistol.” He shook his head once more, dipping it forward while inhaling deeply, exhaling just as hard. “Easier? Well next time he’s got someone tied to a bomb, giving them some stupid nursery rhyme to solve so that they can go home and see their family, I’ll tell them that they should have just humoured him.” For the first time that night, Tim’s voice had anger in it. For all she said about him being so loving and sophisticated, he still knew what type of man he was. He is a killer. A murderer of men and women, who finds personal pleasure in making them play his little games before slicing them in half if they fail. No matter how much she loved him, surely she knows of the terrible things that he’s done to people. “No, it’s fine. Sorry, it’s been a long night.” And it wasn’t over yet.

A smile built up on his face again as she gave reason to his stalking over her. “I’m usually the one doing the following when it comes to it.” At least the people he followed deserved it whether they are gangsters or hoodlums. She must be a very loving person to still have feelings for him after all he’s done to her, with the pointing of the gun and the following. Tim laughs once again as she alludes his question upon Luthor. “I’m sure most people would say that.” The last words of a successful criminal, ‘it wasn’t my fault.’ A shocked expression comes over his face as he hears that this isn’t a usual injury for her to repair. “Could have fool me, you’re doing it a great job. I’d say that you should do it more often but one stab wound it enough for me.” For some reason he knew it wouldn’t be his last.

Tim passed upon the remark about her having to repair herself at times, as he already had an idea about why she’d need to. Having Edward Nigma as your boyfriend could be a very dangerous position for any women even with a bodyguard as good as Shawty seemed. Laughing, Tim agreed with the deal about repaying her. “Okay, if you insist, I’ll consider to save one or two here and there.” Although he spoke in a sarcastic tone, he turned back slightly to give her a wink. Tim had saved people before; it was a brilliant feeling to have helped so many people. Even when it was people like Edward who put them in harms way. Shawty had been a superb help too, managing his safety when he was injured. “Thank you.” Tim said while turned to Shawty, smiling at her. He just wished he could do something a bit more than say thank you.

Although still smiling, Tim shook his head at her eagerness to shoot something even though he knew she was just kidding. “Not while I’m here you won’t be. Sorry, no killing it’s like our thing.” With a playful wink he grinned at her. Even though they’d saved his life, he still had a promise to Bruce that he’d never kill or allow others to kill in his name.