Just a Child
On his very first day at Gotham Junior Academy, Richard "Dick" Grayson arrived hand-in-hand with his guardian at the large metal gates. The boy was dressed in the standard uniform, tailored to fit the small build, and wore small shades that covered his eyes. A slightly older boy came running up to the school gates before collapsing on the ground, panting. His windswept, bright, red hair sprouted from a freckled pale face with large green eyes. An older looking man came speeding by, barely stopping in time to notice his nephew on the ground. Dick's 'father' gave a hearty welcome to the newcomers and introduced them to his establishment. Hiding behind Bruce's legs, Dick peeked shyly at the redheaded boy before being formally introduced as Bruce's adopted son. 11-year-old Wally West grabbed the younger's hand before shaking it profusely while he spoke a mile a minute. The smaller boy took a deep breath before his face lit up into a large grin, taking a liking to the strange yet appealing youth. Bruce and Barry shared secret smiles as their 'protégée' walked off into the school building without looking back once.
It was easy to forget just how young the boy really was. With the on-going success of all their missions and continuous victories, the Young Justice League had won the respect of the Justice League. The more success, the less the League thought about how young and sensitive their ex-sidekicks were. Batman had been entirely against the entire idea of the youths creating a crime-fighting group and threatened to disband it if any problems arose. The overly protective dark knight knew Robin's position on the team, and noted how much younger Robin was in comparison to his teammates. Robin was mature for his age, and Batman knew that Wally would protect him at all costs, but the thought of exposing his 'son' to bloodshed was painful.
"Bruce!" The young acrobat yelled from the top of the beam, "Look! Look! See what I can do!"
Sighing heavily, Bruce realised how a 9-year-old was as uncontrollable as an atom bomb in a plastic container. Hearing a sudden crash of glass, the billionaire suddenly felt years older and waited for Alfred's response to the boy.
"Young master, please do not try that stunt again inside! It is most troublesome to clean up all the glass and not only does it-"
"I'm sorry, Alfred," big eyes peered up at the butler before its owner scampered off screaming, "but it's okay... because, I'm BATMAN!"
Bruce felt weak; he would have preferred to spend the entire weekend fighting all his enemies at once than supervising the boy. "You are not Batman, apologise properly to Alfred before–"
"You're right... I'm better! Guess why?" Bruce was caught unguarded by this simple question and grunted an acknowledgement to allow the boy to continue. "Because I'm an acrobat!"
Bruce nearly choked on his drink at the answer and raised an eyebrow as if to question the boy's logic.
"It's simple!" Dick walked on his hands while explaining, "I am an acrobat. 'Acro' means top, therefore I am above bats and Batman!"
His guardian wished the world were about to end.
He was just a child, less than a decade old when he asked Bruce to train him. Batman, the billionaire's greatest secret, was exposed the moment Dick arrived at Wayne mansion. Far cleverer than a simple circus child, the youth explored every inch of the establishment, before stumbling upon the hero's cave. Sworn to secrecy, Dick barely looked fazed by this discovery and asked Bruce to train him as a sidekick. The boy showed no sign of ill intent towards the cause of his parents' deaths, but Bruce knew something weighed heavily inside him. Deciding to test Dick's skills before judging the youth, Bruce designed an unbeatable course for the boy and sent him to complete it. Just two weeks after he was sent in, Dick emerged from the room, victorious. The potential of the trained acrobat exceeded his expectations and a year of training later, Bruce believed Robin was ready for patrol around Gotham City. Richard Grayson was 10-years-old at that time.
Police sirens rang throughout the narrow streets; two dark shadows emerged from a rooftop as silently as the wind. Pulling his young partner aside for a moment, Batman asked Robin if he was certain this was what he wanted to do. Receiving a positive response, Batman nodded and jumped off the roof into the smoke cloud below. The incident was over before police arrived on the scene, where a small group of thieves tied to the stolen money awaited. In the confusion, no one noticed a black car swiftly speed away from the event, playful laughter echoing in its wake.
The last mission was particularly difficult, the teens returned the following night, injured and spent. Batman worried over the amount of injuries Robin acquired from his fight but said nothing, when the boy was ready to speak, he would be there to listen. Over the next couple of weeks, the League noticed a lack of energy coming from the youths and began to consider withdrawing another mission. As a father, Bruce Wayne walked towards his son's room to ask his silent son a few questions. The responses were neither encouraging nor reassuring, with his eyes glazed, Dick responded in monosyllables about the previous mission. Bruce left the room, knowing less than he did upon arrival, and asked Black Canary to converse with his troubled son to find answers. During a silent dinner, Bruce left Dick at the table and entered his room, looking for the Boy Wonder's suit. Upon discovering the crumpled clothing in a pile at the edge of his room, Bruce removed a microfiber recorder from the 'R' and entered the Bat Cave to scan it. Upon adjusting dials, Bruce removed the white noise from the transmitter and listened to the young heroes' mission.
"–you had the skills that I do!" Robin muttered under his breath. "I bet none of you could survive one day without your precious powers! And yes, I know you all heard me!"
"Come on dude, lighten up! We just accomplished our mission in record time, let's go celebrate!" The speed teen laughed, "I know some pretty good clubs down–"
"Guys, did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That!"
"Stop it, M'gaan! That's not funny you know!"
"I did not do anything!"
Superboy's voice crackled over the earpieces, "Don't turn around, there are armed men behind us, and several more to our left."
Series of grunts, yells, and artillery fire resounded around the cave from the transmission. By this time Superman, Black Canary, and Red Tornado had entered the room and began to listen to the tape.
"Isn't this, illegal?" Superman's words voiced uncertainty towards secret tapings of missions, but after a quick glance at Batman's face, his protests died down.
"Hey, they're just kids! I wonder if the League has too little members, resorting to using babies for missions." Cruel laughter followed this comment. "C'mon, let's hand them over to the boss and finish our main task."
"Are you sure they're all unconscious? Okay, just pile them onto the sled and return to base"
"..." A steady voice, barely a whisper spoke, "Batman, if you receive this, I'll know you put a recording device on my suit today. It seems the mission is no longer an aster, emphasis on the 'dis'. M'gaan, KF, and Aqualad are out; Superboy is growling; and I am okay. Do not send help, we will be fine. Robin out."
"What was that?" Black Canary stood shocked as the transmission continued. "Something definitely occurred when they were caught, but they just won't tell us."
Grim-faced, Batman stared at the opposite wall before saying, "I'll find out." Twisting a few knobs, he waited for the next scene to play.
*Boom* "Hey! Get a grip!"
"Don't even think about it!" *Bang*
*Groan* "Just go on without me... There are no more snacks left!"
"Get up and stop being so melodramatic, Kid!"
"Guys... I know how much bonding means to you... but they have really big machine guns!"
"I'm whelmed."
"I felt the sarcasm, Robin."
"Oh no, how prising!"
"Robin!" *bang*