Gotham's New Bird | T. Drake

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Before we shove you out into the open for this case, you're going to need some training. No offense, but you kinda suck at hand-to-hand combat," Nightwing said. Robyn was wearing some athletic outfit she found on a chair in the room she was to stay in: a mesh tank over a sports bra and a pair of spandex. Nightwing, however, was in a loose shirt and basketball shorts. He was also wearing his domino mask. Much to Robyn's disappointment.

They were in a part of the cave where the floor was padded and a weight room could be seen through a thick glass wall. She could see someone on the pull-up bar with weights on his legs.

Something smacked Robyn's chest and fell to the floor. She knelt down and picked it up, holding the cloth in he fist.

"Sports wrap?" She guessed.

"Bingo. Put it on. It won't hurt your knuckles or wrists as much if you land a punch on me," Nightwing said.

"'If'...," she repeated.

"Considering your reflexes are pretty slow compared to mine right now, good luck," he sassed, "But first, I need to see your fighting stance." Robyn nodded and showed him. He paused a moment to assess her incorrect form.

"Okay, you have the main idea," he said and shifted his body next to her to show the correct way, "but you need to line your waist with your shoulders and turn your back foot out a bit more. Lead with your left hand. It's better for defense and you can counter with your right quicker." Robyn fixed her form to match his.

"Like this?" She asked.

"Yep," he replied, "Now punch me."

"What?"

"Punch me. Anywhere you want. Just don't play dirty," he said and waited for Robyn to square up, "I can take it, trust me."

"Uhm, well, okay, if you say so," Robyn hesitated then took a deep breath. She threw her fist, but Nightwing caught it and punched her stomach. She felt her breath leave her as she fell to her back on the ground.

"Lesson two: keep your muscles slightly tense so that doesn't happen again," Nightwing said as he watched her gape like a fish and try to regain her breath. "Also, there's no mercy in fighting so there'll be no mercy in training."

"Please help me up," Robyn whispered helplessly. Nightwing grabbed her outstretched hands and pulled her up. When Nightwing turned away from her to go back to where he was standing, she took a chance and punched his lower back, right where the kidneys would be. He immediately spun around and kicked her legs out from underneath her. She fell again.

"Should have seen that coming," Nightwing said lightly. Whether it was to himself or Robyn, she didn't know. Nightwing offered Robyn his hand and she politely rejected it with a shake of her head and a grin. She crawled off of the floor herself.

"Now, about reflexes...," Nightwing began.

From morning until nearly evening, Robyn and Nightwing sparred and practiced fighting techniques. of course, Nightwing was nearly untouched. Only a few bruises scattered along his body. Robyn, however, was limping out of the sparring area. Every joint hurt, even her hair hurt.

She fell to her knees when she bent down to grab her water bottle. She twisted around and sat with her legs over the side of the mat and on the cool cave floor. Within a few minutes, her water bottle was empty and she reached for Nightwing's, who stole it out of her hands quickly.

"Please," she begged, "Please, no more. I'm done for the day." Nightwing laughed and sprayed her, causing her to let out a growl and fall backwards. She groaned and reached up for the bottle being teased just out of her reach.