-1Robin stared at the older man, but said nothing. He simply traveled to the kitchen and fixed himself a bowl of cereal. Unfortunately, all they had was old fiber cereal Starfire had bought because the box was sparkly. He poured the kibbles into a bowl, then poured a lot milk over them in hopes of making them soft, but it did nothing. The kibbles stayed hard. He took the entire meal to his room and closed the door behind him. At home, he was never allowed to eat in his room, but this was his home now. He made the rules. He sat down on his unmade bed and began eating. It felt like he'd just taken a bite of Pine tree. He chewed the disgusting cereal, and wondered if Batman was making breakfast for everyone else. Not that he'd eat it or anything.
"Robin?" Starfire knocked on his door. "Would it be alright if I entered?"
"Come in," he replied, swallowing the barks and twigs posing as fiber.
Starfire entered the room nervously and closed the door behind her. She stared at Robin for a moment, and then hovered over to his bed and sat down beside him. For a moment, the only sound in the room was Robin's struggle to choke down the cereal, but then he spoke.
"I'm sorry about last night," he began, "I should have called you guys to come and help me."
"We always respect your constant addiction to defeat Slade," Starfire reminded him, "but the Batman did not know that. He did not know that Slade is your one true goal on this world."
Robin stopped eating and looked at her. Starfire cocked one of her small eyebrows skeptically. "What is it?" Robin looked down like she'd just slapped him in the face.
"Slade isn't the only thing I think about, Star," Robin told her. "I think about you guys, especially you, and having fun, and being normal once in a while-"
"But when Slade is on the run" Starfire interrupted, "he does become a primary goal for you, does he not?"
Robin sighed. "I guess, but I just don't understand why I've been chasing him for what seems like forever now and my dad just met him and-" he then realized that he was answering his own question. Batman had been fighting villains much longer than he had. He'd encountered all sorts of bad guys. Anything from evil clowns to bomb-fanatics. He knew them all.
"Robin?" Starfire touched his hand.
"I've been such a jerk to him," Robin sighed, standing up. "I have to talk to him."
"I am afraid you cannot," Starfire stood up too. "Despite our protests, the Batman left a short while ago."
"What?!" The boy's eyes behind his mask widened.
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People stared, their mouths hanging open inside of the deli on main street. In the far booth in the back corner, Batman-in full costume, stared sadly at an untouched meatball sub. Even the workers couldn't keep focused. Cell phones had come out of every pocket and purse to take pictures. Batman simply sighed and sipped at his Root Beer. Why? Why couldn't he remember that Robin was already a teenager? It seemed only yesterday he was learning to fasten his gadget belt and now he was fighting villains all on his own.
"Um, sir," An employee approached him. He looked about Robin's age, maybe a bit older, with glasses and a lot of acne. He ripped a comic book from his pocket. "Will you sign my Super Friends comic featuring you?!"
Batman sipped at his Root Beer. "Sure, son. Anything for a strapping lad like yourself."
He felt around in his belt and realized he had used it to jab Slade in his one, exposed eye. He looked around the restaurant and asked in a flat voice, "Anybody have a pen?" About five hundred pens came into view. Pretty soon, everyone was asking for autographs. Batman sadly signed cups, wrappers, backs, arms, checkbooks, jeans, faces, and even sandwiches that were to go on ebay immediately.
"Did you know Robin lives here?" A little boy asked, excitedly. "He's my hero! Well, not as much as you, but still, he's great!"
Batman smiled just a little. "He is, isn't he?"
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Robin frantically made his way around town looking for Batman. One of his numerous gadgets showed he was still in town, but so far, he'd had no luck in locating him. Starfire accompanied him, flying overhead. She stopped when she spotted a large crowd in front of a plaza. She picked Robin up off the ground by the back of his uniform top and pointed. The Batmobile was parked in three different spaces.
"Just like always," Robin smiled.
They made their way through a crowd that led into a Subway restaurant. They spotted Batman signing some elderly employee's cap. Robin waited for the employee to step away, then he stepped forward. Starfire hung behind, biting her fingernails nervously. The sweaty, teenage employee winked at her, causing her to shudder slightly.
"Dad?" Robin cleared his throat.
Batman turned around and his white eyes glittered with tears. "Robby-Wobby, ahem, I mean," he straightened up and said in a low, gruff voice, "Robin."
"It's okay, Dad," Robin shrugged. "I always kind of liked…" he blushed. " 'Robby-Wobby'."
The female half of the crowd cooed, "Aww." The male half began to laugh themselves into a stupor, lettuce and ham spewing from their mouths. Starfire gritted her teeth and a few star bolts were sent their way. Robin approached Batman and ran a hand nervously through his gelled-up hair.
"I'm sorry about last night," he apologized.
"No," Batman said, "I'm sorry. I should have known you could handle villains and crooks by yourself by now. You're almost a grown man."
Robin shook his head. "I still had no right to yell at you, or tell you to leave. In fact, I'm asking you to stay."
"This isn't supposed to happen!" Some nerd wielding a comic book shouted. "According to volume 456, page 23, frame A-2, Batman and Robin have a dramatic break up and then-"
Batman and Robin both turned around and shot the same, white-eyed, menacing glare. They were also both holding dangerous looking weapons between their fingers. The nerd shrunk back in the crowd, gulping loudly. Starfire plowed through the crowd, giggling, and threw her arms around her boyfriend.
"Oh, Robin! I am so happy that you and the Batman have made nice! Shall we celebrate with the pizza?" She asked.
"Actually," Robin looked at the older man in black, "my dad makes a mean steak. Why don't we grill tonight?"
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Robin and Starfire rode back to the Tower in the Batmobile, with Robin in front and Starfire in the back.
"I, uh, I really am sorry." Robin stared at Batman through his mask apologetically.
Batman turned to him and smiled.
Robin smiled. "Dad." He added.
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Cyborg and Beastboy peared through the window as they saw the Batmobile pull up. "Dude," Beastboy began jumping up and down, "they're back! And they've got…steak?"
Beastboy watched as Batman came walking up to the door with packages of steak. He began to panic. Not more mysterious meat! He frantically checked his slightly larger square (Cyborg had at least somewhat held up his end of the deal) for air freshener, just incase worst came to worst.
Robin walked in smiling, with Starfire at his arm and Batman trailing sheepishly behind him.
Raven looked up and actually smiled, then frowned immediately when she saw the meat.
Robin put his hands up. "Don't worry, it came from the grocery store. He just refused to get a bag."
Raven tried to process the image of Batman in full costume refusing a grocery bag.
Batman stood up taller. "I'm going to grill steak."
Beastboy and Cyborg peered around the corner at Batman as he seasoned the meat. He stood in the kitchen, just hovering over the counter humming as he sprinkled the meat tenderizer and such.
"Do you really think we should go for the mask again? I mean, he just got back." Beastoy questioned.
Cyborg rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe not. Let's give it about an hour."
And so they parted, each knowing what the plan was.
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Everyone ate dinner outside at a picnic table. Nobody really knew where the table had come from, but a gigantic bat symbol was printed across the top. Batman served steak, and to Beast Boy, a baked potato and corn bread. For once, they ate in peace. As they gnawed and tore at their delicious slabs of meat, Starfire tapped a plastic fork against her plastic cup.
"Attention, friends," she spoke up, "I would like to perform the toast-" she glanced at Robin and his father, "To the Batman, and his wonderful son, Robin."
Batman grinned sheepishly and wrung his napkin in his hands bashfully. Robin raised his cup, "and to you guys, who put with us all week."
"And to my room!" Beast Boy said, "which I will soon be getting back since Cyborg figured out we have a whole other wing in the tower! It was just blocked off b/c we thought it was the entrance to a junk closet."
"And to this wonderful steak!" Cyborg added.
They slowly turned to Raven expectantly. She narrowed her eyes, first to the left, and then to the right. "What?"
"Give a toast!" Cyborg ordered.
"Um," she drummed her fingers against the tabletop nervously. "To…my new leotards…I guess…"
Everyone cheered and then continued eating. The celebration came to an end around dark, and the titans retreated inside to rest. Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at each other and nodded-it was time. Trying to be discrete, they slinked away from the others and raced to Cyborg's room. Once they were inside and the doors were barricaded, they leaned in closely and began to whisper.
"Okay," Beastboy began to hiss, "first we sneak into his room. You hold him down, and-"
"Whoa-whoa-whoa." Cyborg held his hands up. "We gotta be more careful than that. Batman ain't stupid…you hold 'im down, and I'll get the mask!" He smiled triumphantly.
Beastboy squinted and opened his mouth to say something, but he held his breath when they heard Batman in the next room.
"Man! Am I beat! A full day of reconciliation and grilling steaks can really take the 'super' out of a superhero." The unmistakable sound of empty boots hit the floor. "And this mask makes my face so hot. Thank goodness I can finally remove it, thus leaving my bare face exposed. It's a good thing I'm all by myself." They heard a zipper unzip and something that sounded like a giant, deflated bounce ball hit the floor; the suit.
Cyborg and Beastboy slowly turned and looked at each other. Cyborg rubbed his chin. "Seems too easy. And a little risky-Hey!"
Beastboy was running out the door. "It's a risk I'm willing to take!" He called over his shoulder.
Cyborg struggled to his feet. "Wait for me!" He chased Beastboy out.
They both ran a few doors down and stopped at the one leading to Batman. Cyborg leaned down and inspected the key pad. "It's not locked."
They both gulped as they pondered the situation. Beastboy took a deep breath and disappeared, well, he actually turned into and amoeba and oozed under the door. He oozed around so he could see Batman, but all he saw was carpet, so he morphed into a fly and noiselessly hovered upward. He looked around and didn't see a bed or anything indicating that Batman would catch them, then remembered that Cyborg was still outside. He quietly transformed into himself and opened the door, signaling for Cyborg to come inside. They both padded noiselessly around, confused about the lack of a bed.
Cyborg walked in a small circle, scratching his head. He bumped into something. He quickly and quietly backed up, and almost screamed.
Beastboy turned around and had to immediately drop to the floor as a goldfish in order to stifle his scream. He sprung back into himself after the initial fright was over. What he and Cyborg saw made them stare.
In the middle of the room was Batman cocooned in a sleeping back, dangling from a rope in the ceiling. Upside-down. Just as a bat would do.
They both stared at each other. Batman's whole body was completely and tightly cocooned in the back, thus covering his face. Cyborg slowly reached forward, despite Beastboy's silent yet desperate protests. Then, in one swift and violent motion, Cyborg tore the bag open and ripped Batman out. Batman let out a surprised wail and crashed on the floor. He slowly sat up, rubbing his head. His unmasked head.
Footsteps were heard quickly moving to the room as the rest of the Titans raced to see what had happed after hearing the commotion. Robin, Starfire, and Raven burst through the door. Starfire switched the light on, and all three of them gasped.
Batman stared in horror at all of them.
They all continued to stare. Finally, one of them spoke up. "He's gorgeous!" Cyborg exclaimed, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. Starfire, with her mouth still agape, turned while continuously glancing back a Batman and ripped Robin's mask off as well. They all gasped again as they stared at Robin. Raven reached out in disbelief and spread her hand across his face.
Cyborg and Beastboy turned back to Batman, who had already accepted the situation and sat calmly staring at the floor. Cyborg turned to Beastboy. "Man, he looks just like Michael Keaton!"
Beastboy shook his head. "No way. Dude, he looks like George Clooney."
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"Do you really have to go?" Starfire asked as she hovered around Batman. He had his suitcases in tow, and the Batmobile sat idling outside. He turned to her, once again in full costume with all the leather squeaking.
"Yes." He looked out the door and into the sky, out at a far out patch with clouds over it. "My city needs me." He looked around at all of the Titans. "Besides, you guys know how it goes. We're the only ones willing to do the dirty work."
They all laughed good naturedly. "Plus," Batman added, "I told Alfred I was going out for coffee…"
Robin looked at Batman uneasily. "Uh, Dad, you came here two weeks ago."
Batman chuckled mindlessly and stared out the front door. "Yah, I did…Dear God, I left him in the meat freezer!"
All of their smiles vanished as Batman grabbed his things and tore out the front door. They all watched as his car zoomed off at top speeds with his cape shut in the door.
"Well," Robin began as he shut the door, "looks like everything is back to normal."
They all simultaneously nodded. "Yep." Raven croaked.
After a few minutes of standing around and staring into space, they all slowly began to retreat to their normal positions. As they were about to get settled, a honk was heard outside, followed by a loud rap on the door. Beastboy ran and peered out the window. "Dude, Cyborg! It's your grandma!"
"Victor, baby! I brought some fried chicken and in the mohnin', we're gonna sing praise!" Her face suddenly appeared in the window. "You're friends can come too. You chirin' need some raisin'! Mmm-hmm."
All of the Titans began to scream and pack their things. "And Garfield, honey-baby, you need a good scrubbin! You got the greens!"
Robin ran to the secret back exit and tore it open. "Titans, Go!" They all zoomed out, leaving Granny Cyborg and the bucket of fried chicken to lecture at the front door.
The End...
