Okay so this is a little something I whipped up almost a year ago, but never had the guts to post. I'm hoping to turn this into a series, but I'm not sure yet. I really like it though, and hope you enjoy! :)
I do not own Batman, Robin, or the Justice League
Who's This?
It was Sunday morning. Richard Grayson loved Sunday mornings. Bruce was determined to spend time with the boy, so he made sure that most of his Sundays were free. The day started off as any other. The billionaire and his newly adopted (it was now official) son made their way to the kitchen where their faithful butler had breakfast prepared.
"Good morning Master Bruce, Master Richard." Alfred greeted and handed Bruce the morning paper.
"Good Morning Alfred." Bruce responded and took his place at the table.
"G'morning Al." the 8 year old half yawned.
Bruce had his usual black coffee and toast with bacon (Dick thought it was boring). The youngest resident at the manor opted to having chocolate chip pancakes topped with whipped cream and syrup with a glass of orange juice every Sunday.
"Hey Bruce, it's not raining." Dick said with a mouthful of pancakes. "You said we could go to the park today if it didn't rain."
The billionaire looked up from the newspaper he'd been reading and took a moment to glance out the kitchen window. Sure enough, it was a bright cloudless day. According to the newspaper, it'd be sunny all day.
"Alright, I guess we can go after breakfast." Bruce uttered before focusing on the newspaper once again. He'd been scanning the crime reports and concluded that he'd have to scope out Gotham Harbor for signs of a drug warehouse. Dick was so excited about going out that he stuffed the remainder of his pancakes in his mouth and nearly choked.
"Chew your food thoroughly, Master Richard." Alfred advised his eager young charge.
"Sorry Alfred." Dick answered, the fact that he was still trying eat while saying this made the old man chuckle.
After his plate was clean and his glass empty, Dick raced upstairs to get dressed. Bruce was about to follow when he heard a chiming noise. Reaching into his robe pocket, Bruce pulled out what looked like an ordinary smart phone; only it was more than that. The device alerted the billionaire of any mishaps going on in Gotham or any League business that came up. A quick glance at the screen and Bruce knew he'd be heading to the Bat Cave instead of his master bedroom. He barely made it a few steps inside when Superman popped up on the screen of the Batmonitor.
"What's going on Clark?" Bruce asked the big blue boy scout.
"We have an off-world situation." The man of steel answered.
"What kind of situation?" Gotham's White Knight questioned through narrowed eyes.
"Darkseid. He's been attacking planet after planet. No one knows why exactly and we can be sure that Earth is somewhere on his hit list."
"Where is he now?" Bruce was ready to put on his Batman suit.
"We're not 100% sure but we know he's within distance of Thanagar." Superman stated
"I'll be at the Watchtower in-"
"You're leaving?" A small voice cut off the billionaire.
"Dick I-" Bruce started.
"You can't go!" Dick cut him off once more.
"The League needs me."
"But I don't like it when you go on off-world missions. I don't know when you'll come back." The eight year old said sadly. Bruce knelt down to be at the child's level and looked him in the eye.
"Dick, I'll be back."
"Promise?" The boy asked with hopeful eyes.
"I'll…do my best." Bruce hesitated. Even Richard knew there wasn't always a 100% chance of Batman surviving. But he's Batman so Dick never doubted when Bruce said he'd come back. When Bruce went to change, Superman who was still onscreen tried to make Dick feel better.
"Hey Dick, you know Bruce wouldn't go off-world if it wasn't necessary." The man of steel claimed.
"Yeah, but what if something happens?" Dick asked. "I'm not allowed in the Watchtower and Alfred doesn't let me come to the Bat Cave by myself. How am I supposed to know if something's wrong?"
"Bruce will be okay. He always is." Superman reassured the eight year old.
"I know. You're right…but if something happens, Robin's gonna go to the Watchtower and kick your butt." Dick said semi-light heartedly.
"We wouldn't want that." Superman responded, though he found the situation unlikely. Not only because Batman was just so good at staying alive, but because the man of steel was one of the few Leaguers who knew Robin even existed. Somehow despite being a famous billionaire playboy, Bruce had managed to keep Richard a secret from most Leaguers for over a year now. And though rumors about a masked child vigilante in Gotham have been circulating, there aren't many heroes who believe that the Dark Knight would partner up with someone, let alone a child. For some unsurprising reason, Batman was unwilling to reveal Robin's existence to the Justice League.
"I mean it Uncle Clark." The 8 year old said before ending video call.
The Dark Knight then entered the room and Dick knew he'd have to say goodbye to his father. The boy ran to hug his father and Batman gave a small smile, returning his son's embrace.
"I'll miss you Tati." Dick said hugging the Caped Crusader tighter.
"I'll be back as soon as I can." The man responded releasing the raven-haired boy. And with that, Batman zeta-ed away.
As the days went by, Richard grew more and more worried. What if something had happened to Batman? What if he was in serious trouble? Of course the boy had faith in his father, how could he not? But he had to admit that off-world missions terrified him. You never know what sort of freaky superpowered alien being could show up. Sure Batman was highly skilled and trained. He's also the World's Greatest Detective. But that's the thing with off-world missions, you're not on the world, at least not your own. If something were to happen to the man Dick had come to know as a father, how would he know it?
"Is everything all right Master Richard?" Alfred asked, pulling the boy out of his adverse thoughts.
"I'm okay Alfred." Dick lied. He was in the den doing homework. Or at least he was supposed to be doing homework. Instead, Dick allowed himself to wallow in sad thoughts about his father's current status. Alfred didn't seem to believe his younger charge.
"Why don't you take a break Master Richard?" the butler asked.
"I'm okay Alfred, really." The boy gave the best smile he could muster on account of his dreary mood. Alfred still didn't seem convinced but decided to leave the boy anyway.
Richard stared at his homework. The assignment was on long division, and even though it was meant for two grades higher, Dick knew he could finish it in less than 5 minutes. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. The same thoughts that had been flowing through his mind all week came back once more. Superman had said the mission was taking place on a planet near New Genesis. The New gods' home planet couldn't be that far from Earth, could it? Even if it was Earth's neighboring planet, the young acrobat wouldn't feel any better. The League is up against Darkseid. They'd defeated him before, more than once actually. But every time the heroes had to face him again, the alien was stronger, smarter, deadlier and had a scheme more twisted than the last. Superman and Batman were probably the most important assets when facing the super villain. With Superman's strength and Batman's intelligence and skill, the League is sure to beat Darkseid. But again that doesn't make Dick feel any better, especially since it had been nearly 2 weeks since the Dark Knight had departed. After sitting and staring at a homework sheet that had nothing but his name, Richard decided enough was enough. Heading to the antique grandfather clock in the room, the boy set the hands to 10:48 and felt the adrenaline rush through his veins as the clock shifted, revealing a dark stairwell. Racing down the steps, Richard sat down in the huge chair he'd seen his mentor sit in so many times before. Dick was no master hacker, but he was better than the average one. He definitely knew more than any 8 year old should. Within 5 minutes, Dick was able to get past Bruce's several passcodes and firewalls protecting the Batcomputer. It was pretty easy to locate the Watchtower's systems and took about 10 minutes to hack into. Richard knew that Batman's current status on his mission could be found in his League file. That of course led to the hacking of yet another series of passcodes and firewalls. Once the boy finally retrieved Batman's file, he let out a loud gasp at what he saw. The Dark Knight was injured in action and had been in the Watchtower's Medical Bay for the past 4 days. The new information brought Richard to the brink of tears. His guardian was hurt. It had to have been pretty bad for a whole 4 days to pass. And the boy wouldn't have even known. No doubt Alfred knew and kept it from him. It would explain the butler's recent apprehensiveness about his younger charge's emotions. With that thought Richard went from heartbroken to enraged. He was the last to find out about his father's current situation and Superman had broken his promise. Why would he do that? Why would Alfred keep important information from him? To spare his feelings? Dick didn't care about his feelings, he cared that Bruce made it home safe. The past few days had been empty and dreary without the billionaire's presence and Dick just wanted to see him. And that was exactly what he decided to do.
The eight year old slipped off the giant seat and put on his uniform, going from Dick Grayson Wayne to Robin the Boy Wonder. He was sure that if he could hack into the Justice League's systems that the zeta beams would be a piece of cake. And he was right. Within minutes Robin had set the Batcave's zeta beams to send him to the Watchtower.
The League was surprised to find a costumed child in the Hall of Justice. The Watchtower wasn't exactly a child-friendly place.
"How'd he get in here?" Flash asked completely puzzled. His question was ignored by his fellow heroes who stared in bewilderment at the small child who had taken a fighting stance. Wonder Woman knelt down to be at eye level with the masked boy.
"Hey there little guy." She greeted.
"I'm not little!" the boy loudly defended himself.
"Of course you're not!" the Amazon quickly corrected herself. "But is there any way we can help you?"
"I just want my daddy!" The raven haired child cried.
"Okay, do you know where he is?"
"In the Medical Bay. But I don't know where that is." Robin mentally scolded himself for not taking a look at the Watchtower's blueprints before leaving. His statement puzzled everyone in the room. Why would the young boy's father be in the Medical Bay? Taking in his domino mask and brightly colored costume complete with a cape, the League realized his father was probably a fellow hero. Before anyone could ask the boy who his father was, Superman burst into the room.
"Alright so-"
"LIAR!" the boy cut off whatever the Man of Steel was about to say. Superman was shocked to see the costumed child in the room.
"Robin, what-"
"Liar, liar, liar!" the boy yelled and ran to the Kryptonian. "You lied! You said he'd be okay!" He threw punches and kicks at the much larger man. Superman just stood there allowing him to punch and scream. The League watched as the boy's arms began to tire. He soon stopped swinging at Superman who seemed completely unaffected (physically at least). Then the boy was on his knees sobbing into his hands. Superman crouched down and put arm around the hysterical child. He hesitated before speaking.
"Robin I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break my promise. But I really think he's going to be okay."
"Thinking isn't good enough. I need to know." Robin hiccupped.
"I can take you to him." The Man of Steel said earning a small nod from a still shaky Robin. The Boy Wonder held his "uncle's" hand as they walked through the Watchtower. This earned some looks from the League members they passed. Most of them wondered who the boy was and why a child was in the Justice League's outer space headquarters in the first place. The pair entered an elevator and exited on the Med Bay floor. Superman led Robin to a secluded room with a glass window. Through it, Bruce Wayne could be seen lying unconscious on a typical medical bed. He was covered in bandages, had ivy in his right arm and a tube in his nostrils to provide oxygen. Robin gasped and raced into the room.
"Tati." He whispered sadly. Superman stood in the doorway watching almost heartbroken at the scene in front of him. The Boy Wonder grabbed his father's hand and rested on top of Bruce's still arm. Superman shut the door to give them privacy and turned to find himself facing the founding members of the League (plus Green Arrow and Black Canary). The Man of Steel felt comforted by the presence of the latter two since they also knew of Robin's existence.
"Superman, who is that?" Wonder Woman asked the question everyone (minus the three who knew the answer) had been thinking.
"I, uh-" Superman hesitated, looking at the blonde couple for support. They just looked him in the eye with knowing stares. "He's…I think you should let Batman answer that."
They didn't seem completely satisfied with that answer, but they figured there wasn't much they could do but wait for the Dark Knight to awaken.
It hadn't taken much longer for Bruce to regain consciousness. He's the Batman after all. He'd been surprised to wake up and see the face of Dick Grayson but was glad to see him. Bruce had missed his son terribly and was proud of him for being able to hack his way into the Watchtower (not that he'd tell anybody that). Dick had crawled onto Bruce's lap and hugged him, careful not to squeeze his bruised torso.
"I missed you." He said simply.
"I missed you too kiddo." Bruce responded.
"I was scared I'd lose you."
"You won't lose me that easily."
"That doesn't make it any better. I don't wanna lose another dad ever." This made Bruce smile. With the adoption having been only a month ago, hearing Dick actually refer to him as his father filled Bruce's heart with joy.
"I promise I'll do my best." The billionaire looked the 8 year old in his lap in the eye. "Besides, now I have Robin to watch my back."
Dick smiled and hugged Bruce once more.
"I love you Tati." The boy whispered. Bruce's heart was just about ready to burst (but he'd never admit that to anyone, except maybe Alfred).
"I love you t-" a knock at the door stopped Bruce mid-sentence. In came Wonder Woman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Green Lanterns (Stewart and Jordan), Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Superman stood at the door. The heroes were surprised to see the bright blue eyed boy on Batman's lap. Granted the man wasn't exactly Batman at the moment but they were in the Watchtower after all. The group sat in an awkward silence before Wonder Woman decided to speak first.
"Bruce." She began, "Who is this?"
Bruce smiled, something he never did (in the Watchtower at least) and looked down at the child in his lap.
"This is my son."
So that's it. I hope you guys liked it, because I really enjoyed writing this. It's different from my other stuff. Let me know if you think I should keep working with this or not. Thanks for reading! Please review!
~Miss Walls