FLIGHT ✔P.M. ₂

chapter twenty-one

TO HIS SURPRISE, the shock worked. Pietro shivered, then blinked and looked around in confusion. Beside him was Robin, staring at him with an eyebrow raised. Everywhere else, there were people staring forward at a screen. In this crowd was his girlfriend, who was standing at his other side. He immediately fussed over her, trying to get her to snap out of whatever trance she was in.

Robin huffed and crossed his eyes. "Gee, thanks for saving me, Robin! You're such an amazing guy," He said sarcastically, sending a glare in the other boy's direction. He thought they were friends, and for Hera's sake, he just saved him. He didn't even get a thank you? You would think he would be use to it by now. Zeus knows it's not the first, or the last time his efforts would go unnoticed or ignored. However, he did hope that one of his closest friends would show some gratitude.

When Pietro still ignored him, more worried about his girlfriend, Robin turned around to go look to the others. He didn't utter another word. He ignored the stinging feeling in his chest, and instead flew up in the sky again.

On his left, an orange sparkly portal opened. Robin, despite his better judgment, went to investigate. He was smart that way. Besides, what if it was someone working with that alien? He couldn't risk anything.

Out stepped a man in navy clothing with a red cloak. He floated to the ground, and looked around. Robin went and landed in front of him, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Who are you?" The demigod demanded, a hand reaching for the charm on his necklace.

The man glared back. He was not about to be spoken to like that. Especially not by some random pink haired kid. "Who are you?"

"I asked you first," Robin said stubbornly.

Sensing that he wouldn't give up, the man sighed. "Doctor Stephan Strange," He introduced, not bothering to hold out a hand as he looked at the crowd of people.

"Robin Carter," The demigod said, still suspicious of the man before him.

"What happened?" Stephan questioned. "Did you do this?"

Robin scoffed. "As if. I didn't have trees raining down on me only for you to assume this was my doing," He said, crossing his arms.

Stephan wasn't convinced. With a swift hand motion, he had a golden lasso in hand. "I'm going to have to make sure," He informed the boy.

Robin huffed in annoyance when saw the weapon. He quickly armed himself. Would his sword work? Maybe. The answer was probably no, but he at least had to look the part, try to look intimidating. Surprisingly, it didn't work. Stephan swung his lasso. Robin, like in every action movie, caught it. It wrapped around his arm, and he tugged it towards him with surprising strength. Stephan stumbled forward.

"Nice try, Wonder Woman," Robin said, smiling sarcastically. "But I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that." He let of the lasso. In turn, it became a sword similar to his own. Their blades met each other in the middle.

Robin couldn't help but think of how pointless this was. He had to help the rest of his friends. With a grunt, he whirled around and aimed to hit, but he was once more blocked. He then brought up a leg and kicked the man in the gut, knocking him back, but only a little bit.

The swords clashed again, making an eerie clanging sound echo through the street. No one seemed to notice, which was understandable, seeing as they were being mind controlled. Robin pushed down on his blade, despite the move being retaliated. He had to find a way to get the upper hand. Knowing his history, he was sure it wouldn't be hard.

They kept at it, swinging their respective swords around, trying to land a hit on each other. Deciding he was done playing fair, Robin used the wind to knock the older man onto his back. Before he could get back up, Robin had a knee on his chest and his sword at his throat. He held a levelled glare on him as he did so.

"Robin!" Someone shouted behind him. The demigod scowled as he turned his head to face the person who had spoken. Thor. In that moment, Stephan got the upper hand and flipped them over.

Robin's sword fell to the side, clattering against the pavement. The two rolled on the ground, but it wasn't long before the brunette had the boy trapped. With a huff, Stephan pulled him to his feet and kept him in a chokehold.

Robin glared at the approaching god, while his arms went up in a feeble attempt to free himself. "Thanks a lot, Thunderbolt," He said, once more sarcastic.

Thor ignored the sarcasm. Instead, he addressed the other man. "Wizard!" He greeted, semi-excitedly. He was more worried about helping his friends at the moment.

Stephan nodded in greeting. "Thor."

"Oh, you know him? How about you get off of me then," Robin said angrily, and without wasting a second, brought his leg back and kicked the man in the stomach. When Stephan's grip on his neck loosed, he slid out and brought his arm around, holding it to his back.

Thor was quick to intervene. He grabbed Robin by the back of the shirt, pulled him away and lifted him up off the ground, despite his struggling. He wouldn't want him to attack either of them again. "That's enough," He said firmly, sending the boy in his grasp a pointed look.

Stephan flexed his arm, glad to be out of the boy's grasp. Pretending he was was not phased by the encounter, he stood up a little straighter. "Do you know what happened?" He asked the god.

Thor shook his head as he let Robin back down (who had stopped struggling and resorted to crossing his arms and pouting). "I'm afraid not. We think it's some kind of mind control," He said quickly, looking back at the crowd of people with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Robin side stepped to put some distance between him and the other two. "I shocked Bambi, knocked him out of the mind control or whatever the Hades it is," He said quietly. He didn't want them suspecting him of everything. Yes, he was a reserved person. He could admit that. But he was certainly not a spy, nor an accomplice to the other side.

Both men turned their gaze away from the crowd and towards him. Stephan hesitated before speaking. "Where is he now?"

Robin raised an eyebrow, and loosely gestures towards the crowd. "In there, somewhere," He said, deciding not to mention the fact that he didn't seem to care for the well-being of the others around him, and instead focused solely on his girlfriend. Gods, did Robin hate her. She had him under some sort of spell, he was sure.

Stephan hummed, his eyebrows furrowing. "You said you... shocked him?" He asked. Thor also peered at the boy curiously.

Robin rolled his eyes. "Yes. With electricity," He deadpanned. Could they get back to work already? He was sick of talking to these two.

"If that's what it takes..." Thor said, glancing at the weapon in his hand. "Then so be it."

why do y'all like this story so much i don't get it-

your nice comments are fuelling my superiority complex guys pls-

i'm just kidding ofc i love you all thank you for enjoying this train wreck of a fanfic :)