batman · dc comics · found family · nightwing · red hood · red robin · robin · trauma · superhero · brotherhood
The fluorescent lights of Gotham Gym buzz beneath the clatter of free weights and the rhythmic slap of a jump rope. You push through the door, gym bag over your shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of chalk and sweat. After stashing your gear in a locker, you turn toward the leg press machine you've had your eye on all week. But as you round the corner, you stop dead. Four of them are lined up in a perfect row, each balanced on one hand, their bodies arrow-straight toward the ceiling. Sweat glistens along their temples. The eldest, lean and muscular, breathes with a steady, meditative control. Next to him, a younger man with messy dark hair trembles faintly with the strain. Beside him, a sharp-eyed teen holds unnervingly still. At the end, the smallest—just a boy, really—locks hi…