Chapter Text
"Team, you are three hours late and have not made contact yet." Batman"s eyes narrowed as the Team walked into the main room in Mount Justice. He stood with arms crossed in the middle of the room.
"BATMAN! CHECK OUT MY PET ELEPHANT!" Robin screamed as he sprinted out to his mentor. The little boy hugged the hero, wrapping his tiny arms around Batman"s legs. For his part, the Dark Knight froze. The furious Batman before them did not look as threatening to the teens once his giggling kid stopped hugging only to climb up his cape. Now perching on Batman"s shoulders, Robin held up his elephant proudly. The Team was choking back laughter now.
Batman"s frown was even more marked than usual as he demanded,
"What. Happened."
Aqualad was the first to speak up,
"The mission went smoothly, however there were unseen complications of the Witch Boy"s spell."
"HAYYYAHHHH" Robin took this opportunity to rocket off of Batman"s shoulders and do a back flip. Beaming as he stuck the landing, he turned to his friends with his hands posed above his head.
Kid Flash gave Robin a thumbs up, tears in the corner of his eyes from the effort of maintaining a straight face. Artemis just covered her eyes, almost cracking, while Superboy snorted.
Rocket thought aloud to the group, If this was what it was like to be with Robin on a mission, how is anyone in Gotham still afraid of Batman?
"This... Better. Be. Reversible." The Dark Knight said, stating rather than asking.
As Zatanna went over the complications of magic and the intricate nature of the spell Klarion used, Robin wandered in the background, eventually ending up next to Batman"s feet. He hummed as he took a tiny piece of chalk from his belt and drew a tiny X on the floor.
"… So he will be a child temporarily, and regain his memories."
"...There is a new concern for your team to worry about..."
Nobody paid it much mind as Superboy, Aqualad, and Batman planned a new mission to attack the Light, and the Team payed close attention to the details. Satellite photos, research, and airport records were pulled up to consult, and everyone was involved in some part of the process. An hour or so into this, Batman stopped.
"What"s up, Bats?" Asked Kid Flash.
"Hmm. Robin has been quiet for too long. At this age, he was always trying to contribute to meetings like this." The mentor looked around to try and locate his protégé.
Artemis interrupted with a tinge of accusation in her voice, "What crime was he capable of fighting at that age? He seems like a handful more than anything else. How did he survive anything?"
Batman answered in a distracted voice that any parent gets from time to time,
"Of course, I never took him to big missions. Mostly bank robberies, knife fights, whenever the Riddler broke out of jail. Nothing dangerous."
Oh my God, are you people hearing this, Rocket asked the mental group chat.
Don"t worry, guys. The Flash told me that Robin was just a distraction so that Batman could do the real work, explained Wally.
Superboy lifted an eyebrow. Nice to know it was the little kid that bank robbers shot at.
Their psychic conversation was cut short once they heard a far away crack and Robin yelling. Batman stood still while the rest looked around as the shouting got louder. The boy was getting closer, but the team didn"t know from which direction he was coming from.
In a fast motion, Batman raised his hand and grabbed a falling Robin by the foot. The boy was dangling there, with a big smile on his face.
"Good catch, Batman!"
"What were you doing on the ceiling. You could"ve gotten hurt." Batman said these words in a tired, almost pleading voice.
The boy swung back and forth while pointing at the ceiling where his grappling hook stuck out.
"I had to get Titano II somewhere high to test out her parachute!"
The Team watched as the small plush elephant floated slowly down with a makeshift parachute and landed safely on the tiny X. Batman looked to the toy, down to Robin, to the Team, and then back to Robin. Taking a deep breath, he slowly put Robin down.
Oh shit guys, he is about to yell or something!
The boy stood up as his mentor kneeled down to eye level. Ruffling his hair, the Dark Knight did something the Team would"ve never guessed possible. He smiled.
"Nice job. Did you use the heat retardant cloth and extra rope? Smart." Batman put a proud hand on Robin"s shoulder, and the boy grinned again.
"Thanks, Br- I mean Batman!" Robin said ecstatically and jumped in for another hug.
Wow, Batman was actually raising a kid. Robin isn"t really his partner, he is more like family, thought M"gann.
Yeah, Batman needed Rob as much as Rob needed Bats, Kid Flash explained.
Batman turned to Miss Martian. "M"gann, do you have any cookies? Robin deserves a treat-"
At that, Robin climbed OVER his mentor and bee-lined for the kitchen that he explored in his free time earlier.
Batman looked more and more ridiculous to the Team as he shouted in his most menacing voice,
"Hey, you can have two cookies. TWO COOKIES ONLY TWO."
The cackle of a Robin about to eat a shitload of cookies was his only answer. Turning to the teens, the Dark Knight looked defeated, breathless, and tired beyond all measure. In a low grumble, he asked the Team,
"Why. Have. You. Done. This. To. Me."