Chapter Text
Patrol had been going suspiciously easy, like, moments before a major Arkham breakout, easy.
It set his nerves on edge.
Vaulting clear over an air vent, Red Robin lands on the neighbouring building's roof, rolling to absorb the impact. Taking a running start, Red Robin leaps over the roof's boundary, over an alleyway onto the lower neighbouring building's roof.
Tim pauses, considering his options. He could go home, but his nerves are on fire and he's not really in the mood for desk work.
A ragged scream followed by laughter cuts through Red Robin's musing, freezing Tim's boots to the roof's tarmat for a moment, before Red Robin's able to shake himself off and move toward the roof's border to peek into the alley below.
Where his breath freezes in his throat.
Because a group of three people are currently kicking the crap out of a cat. The feline can do nothing but hiss, swat and scream, as its attackers, two males and one female, beat it.
Tim will never understand the mind of an abuser.
How someone can derive pleasure from causing fear and harm to something as helpless as an animal.
It's a good thing the building Tim's on is low because it allows Red Robin to drop down on the group of people like a wraith.
Red Robin doesn't give the cat's assaulters any time to react to his presence. Quickly darting forward, Red whips out his staff and slams it into the knees of one of the men and the woman. Both go down screaming. Red Robin feels vindication warm his chest as he makes quick work of the last guy, who had foolishly made a run for it.
With all three people down, Tim makes his way over to the terrified feline, who had managed to partially hide itself under a large dumpster.
Tim crouches down onto his knees, making sure to keep his voice soft and light,"Hey, kitty. It's okay now, you're safe." The cat, a blackish, grey fluff ball with wide orange eyes, growls and hisses in response to Tim's reasurances.
Which, fair. Tim wasn't too happy when he got the crap beat out himself, either.
"It's okay." Tim keeps his voice soft, tellagraphing his movements while reaching toward the hissing ball of fluff.
Predictably, the cat spits and swipes at his outstretched hand, making Tim flinch back slightly but not stopping him from carefully reaching under the cat and gently, pulling and lifting it into his arms. The change in positions immediately pisses the fluff ball off more as it yowls and would have sunk the knives in it's paws into Tim's arms had he not been wearing bullet-proof kevlar.
Tim gently shushes the cat with quiet reasurences while pulling off his glove with his teeth, pocketing said glove and offering his hand for the feline to smell, which it, without hesitation, promptly bites. Tim tenses his jaw, not wanting to make a sound in response to the assault on his hand. He doesn't want to freak the cat out anymore than it already is,"That was pretty stupid of me, huh?" The ball of fluff just vibrates in anger.
Tim sighs, though he can feel the corners of his lips quirk up in a soft smile, as he feeble attempts to free his hand by slowly shaking his wrist and the cat's head, back and forth. This, surprisingly does not result in Tim losing his fingers or hand but actually makes the pissed off ball of fur let go. Pulling his hand a safe distance away from the feline, Tim inspects the sluggishly bleeding wound.
"Guess we both need a doctor now."