Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or any other characters used.
Recognised: Batman 02
Batman strode into the team's new base and threw himself down on the couch. He reached up and yanked the cowl away from his face. Dick was exhausted; being Batman was a hard job.
"Hi Dick!" Zatanna called out to him. Everyone knew his identity nowadays, but he found it relieved some of the stress having one less secret to keep. Although he was no longer on the team, he still visited the base regularly and was welcomed there by the others.
"Hey Zee" Dick replied, yawning. He gave his tired eyes a quick rub before standing to greet Zatanna. The two engaged in a brief hug before sitting back down.
"What brings you here, Batman?" Zatanna asked, smiling. She loved addressing him as Batman, even when he was just Dick Grayson. It was a little joke the two shared.
"I just need somewhere to relax for a while" he replied, shrugging.
"Why don't you relax in your own home?" Dick turned to her and tried to come up with a good answer. Just as he was about to speak, his comm link beeped in his ear.
"Batman, it's Flash" Wally said down the link.
"What is it, Flash?" He replied in a more serious tone.
"I need some back up in Central, we've got some trouble from Captain Cold"
"I'm on my way" Dick switched off the link and groaned as he stood up, stretching and pulling the cowl back on.
"Where are you going?" Zatanna asked.
"Central City. Flash needs me." Batman turned to leave when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm coming too, and no isn't an answer." Dick rolled his eyes but smiled as he and Zatanna headed for the zeta beams to get to Central City.
"Where's Cold?" Batman asked, running up to Flash.
"He's long gone. After I called for your back up he messed up and I took him down. Sorry, but thanks for coming out." Wally said, hoping his friends would forgive him for making them come out so late.
"That's fine, good job on defeating Captain Cold." Dick said as he put a congratulatory hand on his best friend's shoulder.
"Hey Zee, how's it going?" Wally turned to Zatanna and smiled to his friend and fellow league member.
"Hey Wally. Good job catching Cold." She replied, then giggled as she realised what she'd said. Wally and Dick looked at each other and laughed along with her. The three of them could relax, as nobody was around this late at night to see them goofing around.
"You guys wanna come back to my place? I know it's late, so maybe you could crash there for the night." Wally suggested, realising what time it was.
"I'd love to bro, but I can't." Dick sighed. Zatanna and Wally frowned in confusion.
"Dude why n-" Wally started, but he suddenly remembered why his best friend couldn't hang with him as much as before.
"Well? Why not?" Zatanna asked, still confused.
"Since Batman disappeared, I've had to do more than just take up the cowl. He had other responsibilities." Dick sighed.
"Like what?" She prompted.
"Like look after the other Bats." Dick told her. Zatanna thought about what this could mean, when it dawned on her. Jason and Tim.
"But Jason and Tim are old enough to look after themselves for one night, right?" she asked.
"It's not just Jay and Tim" Wally spoke up. Zatanna's eyes widened at the thought of their being more Bats.
"Why don't you two come over to mine tonight? Then tomorrow I can introduce you to the family, Zee." Dick suggested. Wally and Zatanna nodded and the three headed for a zeta beam port to take them to Gotham. This would be Zatanna's first time visiting Dick's home, and she was quite nervous.
"Would Bruce be ok with this?" Wally whispered to Dick.
"It's my house, and while he's gone, I make the rules." He replied firmly.
"And Alfred?" Wally countered.
"He's away right now, but the difference is, I know where he is. Besides, he believes it's my secret and I should share as much or as little as I feel right." Dick said, smiling at how accepting Alfred really was. The remainder of the short journey was silent, until they arrived at the Batcave.
"Wow" Zatanna looked around in awe at the cave and its vast array of weapons and equipment.
"Just wait until you see the house" Wally muttered. The trio proceeded to head up the stairs to the manor, and the boys heard Zatanna's sharp intake of breath when she was struck by the magnificent sitting room.
"Ok guys, we're gonna have to be really quiet – I'll show you around tomorrow, Zee" Dick whispered. Wally took himself upstairs to the guest bedroom where he was used to staying now. Dick showed Zatanna to another guest bedroom and made sure she was settled before he went and crashed down in his own room. He was asleep within a few minutes and hadn't even changed into his pyjamas.
"Grayson!" There was an angry voice and loud banging coming from the other side of Dick's door. He ran a hand over his hair and face before getting up and walking slowly over to the door. He pulled it open and was greeted by the youngest Bat, Damian.
"What do you want, Dami?" he asked, ruffling the boy's hair.
"West is here with a girl." He replied curtly. Damian rarely used first names. Dick remembered that he'd invited them to stay.
"Where are they? I'll be down in a moment. Just… stay out of trouble." Dick sighed, swinging the door closed so he could get dressed. He pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt and splashed some water on his face before heading downstairs to greet his friends.
"Morning, sleepyhead" Zatanna said, smirking. She was sat with Wally and Tim on the sofa, eating cereal.
"Morning. Sorry, I overslept." He replied, still half asleep.
"Dude it's only 8:30. That's not oversleeping." Wally spoke with a mouth full of cereal. Dick shook his head to dismiss the comment and turned to Zatanna.
"So Zee, you know Tim, and you know Jason. It's time you met the rest of the Bat family and at the same time, you can see the manor." Dick extended a hand to Zatanna, who took it and got up off the sofa. He led her through a maze of rooms, explaining as he went what each room was. The first person they spotted was Damian.
"Grayson, who's this?" Damian asked, not looking up from the book he was reading.
"This, Damian, is Zatanna Zatara. I'm sure she'd appreciate it if you addressed her by her first name." Dick replied, ruffling the boy's hair for the second time that day.
"Nice try, Grayson. Hello Zatara. Can you leave me alone now?" Damian muttered. Dick shot an apologetic look at Zatanna before gesturing that they should leave. They back tracked to the main sitting room where Tim and Wally had been joined by Stephanie.
"Zee, this is Stephanie. Steph, this is Zatanna." Dick introduced the two girls to each other. Stephanie waved shyly and Zatanna took a seat on the couch beside her. Dick was about to join the others on the couch when he heard his name being yelled.
"Grayson! Todd is annoying me! Get him away at once!" Damian yelled at the top of his voice. Dick sighed and apologised before dashing off to find his brothers.
"So Zee, you liking the place?" Wally asked.
"It's amazing. I had no idea Dick lived in such a nice place, or had such a big family." Zatanna replied.
"Bigger definitely isn't better." Stephanie muttered under her breath. When Cassandra was away, she was the only girl in the house. She didn't mind Tim or Dick, but she was much less fond of Jason and Damian. Zatanna got lost in thoughts about what life would be like in a big family. Her thoughts were disrupted by the sound of Dick's voice.
"I'm sorry guys, I'm not feeling too great so I'm gonna head back to bed for five minutes. Wally, you're in charge. Sorry Zee." Dick said, his voice rough and tired. He turned and dragged himself up the staircase to his bedroom. Wally and Zatanna shared a look of concern for their friend.
"I should probably go check on him. Tim, you and Zee can run the house for 5 minutes, right?" Wally asked. Tim and Zatanna nodded and Wally raced up the stairs after his best friend. He knocked gently on Dick's door before pushing it open to find Dick lying on his stomach with his face in the pillow.
"What do you want, Wally?" Dick mumbled, not taking his face out of the pillow.
"Me and Zee are worried about you bro. You're way off your usual self. What's up, dude?" Wally asked, carefully sitting on the edge of the bed. Dick pushed himself into a sitting position and sighed deeply.
"I guess I'm still getting used to the whole Batman thing." He shrugged. Wally shook his head.
"No Dick, I know you're used to the whole Batman thing. It's the whole Bruce Wayne thing you're getting used to. Am I right?"
"Yeah… you're right." Dick admitted. He hung his head and twiddled his thumbs, feeling slightly ashamed that his best friend had found out that he couldn't deal with this.
"You know I'm always ready to help out, right? I'm sure the others are, too. You just need to ask. It's ok to ask for help. Even Batman had a partner." Wally said gently, smiling. Dick looked up and smiled back.
"You're right. So, how do you think the others would feel about babysitting?"
A/N: Thanks for reading the first chapter! I'd really appreciate if you'd leave reviews and ideas for more chapters. Tell me what you'd like to see! Review! ~ velvie