A Robin, Red Robin 10
There were many times while in middle and high school that he was invited to parties. At that time, he was the smartest and most athletic guy you could know. It didn't hurt that he also had good looks. Not even the biggest of bullies could find a reason to dislike him. Somehow, they missed his faults. They didn't see how he obsessed over everything her set his eyes upon until he perfected them. They never saw that he never went to even one of those parties. They never saw that he wasn't actually laughing at their jokes, but at them.
It wasn't really that he was deceiving them; they just choose not to see it. It made him proud to know his parents did see it. They pushed him to go to the parties, to bring friends over, to tell them if he liked a girl, or why not a boy. Maybe he kept them guessing too much. They knew he wasn't normal, always had. He was too perfect in the eyes of the world; too independent, and too lonely in front of their eyes. He wondered if his parents saw what Batman had seen. He was a threat. Someone that was too smart and stubborn to be left unsupervised. If left alone he could have chosen to become a criminal, he would become not one but the best of them. There was a whole file about it at the Batcave.
It didn't bother him. Dick and Jason were taken in for similar reasons.
Dick had too much skill as an athlete and not enough guidance. In a few years, he could have gone after his parents' killers and killed them. It wouldn't stop there for even then he would have not found peace or purpose. He was destined to become a vigilante, but at least he could become one that was on the side of the law. Jason, after all that he went through, was too angry and with his incredible drive for survival would have become a high profile criminal. Someone that could get anything he wanted in the underbelly of society and why not, even manipulate it. As the Red Hood, he had become violent, a killer even though he claimed in was in the name of good. He was getting better, but it wasn't possible to tell if it would last.
It was hard to guess what would have actually become of him had he not started searching for the true identity of Batman and the once sidekick Nightwing. As he met his guests' eyes with his concealed ones, he knew this wasn't one of those possibilities. Superboy; the half clone of Superman, Kid Flash; the grandson of the Flash from a dystopian future, and Blue Beetle; a young man with an armor from an ancient conquering alien race were his closest friends at that time. With them, the new members of their team sat around his living room; Bunker, Skitter, Solstice, Red Star, and Thorax. Plus a few others he had not been expecting so soon or at all like Supergirl, Tempest, and the latest Green Lantern; Kyle Rayner.
"Look what the Bat dragged in!" Kid Flash said patting a place next to him at the sofa "c'mon, the movie is about to start."
"Red," Conner was fast to lead him to the kitchen where countless containers of takeout were stacked on top of each other.
"What exactly happened while I was asleep?" he asked seeing many of them were already talking like old friends.
"We took care of some things," Superboy started looking at their team which had more than doubled since he had gone to sleep. "The questions for the interview are taken care of. I will get you a copy, but they are only base questions. The real ones will be created from them. Kara told me today she wanted to join. She is looking to fit somewhere since it seems the Team would prefer for things to cool down before considering her. I took her and Kyle with me to convince the governor about letting us build our base near the city. She wants you to get in contact with her tonight to know the outcome. Kid gathered the new guys today instead of tomorrow and also went to talk to, Tigress, Nightwing, and Miss Martian, but didn't work. Tempest actually came to us. He met with Blue and me in the underwater caves and said he wanted to join."
He wasn't sure if to be thankful or go and choke Kid Flash. He had planned to stop with the recruitment until the interview was done with.
"Why now?" he had met Tempest and knew him to be of a calm demeanor, but at that time he looked like he was trying too hard to fit in.
"It seems Aquaman sent him to join the Team, but he asked instead to join us," Superboy also said looking at the dark haired Atlantean. He was always of help when they met, but there was always friction between him and Kaldur though they had once been close friends.
"So he and Kaldur are still not talking to each other," he said wondering if Tempest's arrival would only be temporary.
"We can't turn him down. He has if not equal, greater abilities than Kaldur," Superboy said as he used his powers to pull out a trash bag from under the sink.
"But none of the experience; he was with the Team a very short time," and at that time he had been very close to Kaldur. There was the chance that might have ruined team work for him.
"Most of them don't have any experience," Superboy pointed out as the trash flew into the bag.
"And the Green Lantern?" he asked as Kyle started showing some of his constructs. No one was really looking at the movie. They all seemed excited about being there. Skitter, who was only in for the training appeared to be having fun.
"He has been around the city since he and Blue are preparing for their trip in the summer. Kara and I met him on our way here and invited him to listen in. It's not for sure he would join us, but I think is possible since the League and the Team haven't asked him to join." It was like someone dropping a bag full of cash on their lap and asking nothing in return. They just couldn't say no.
"Have you talked to them?" he asked.
"Not really, we convinced them to sit in for a movie until you showed up," Superboy said, "Things are starting to get out of control. The least I could try was to make sure they understood you are the leader of the Titans."
"Tell the rest there will be no more recruiting until we finish our base of operations," he had to find a balance with their now twelve member group.
"But, we will discuss possible members, correct?" Superboy asked him.
"Beast Boy?" he asked his friend who gave a nod, "we will talk about it."
"You aren't mad, are you?" Kid Flash appeared between them.
"Not really," he said scratching the back of his head, "thanks for the help."
"No, problem!" Kid Flash said with a smile, "so, what now?"
"Introductions," he said pulling from one of the cabinets a large bowl before pulling from another a large bag of skittles.
"How come I didn't find that?" Kid Flash asked trying to take one before Tim pulled it out of his reach.
"Ever played two truths one lie?" he asked Conner as he carried the large bowl towards the living room.
"Yeah," his friend said with a smile, "hopefully they haven't told much to each other."
He placed the bowl on the small table in the living room before turning off the TV. No one complained as they had been more interested in meeting the rest.
"Since someone decided to pull our weekly meeting and introductions on the same day," he said giving a meaningful look at Kid Flash, "let's start with introductions. All of you have already met me but for many of you this is the first time meeting the rest. We are going to be training and spending plenty of time together, so we are going to start with a small game to get to know each other," he announced soon getting all of their attention.
"Please don't tell me is truth or dare," Celine/Skitter said with a short laugh which was shared by others.
"Close," he said with a smirk.
"You are not serious, right?" Kyle asked; the Green Lantern looked nervous.
"This game is called Two Truths and One Lie," he announced and by the expression of a few they had already played the game.
"Oh, I have played this before," Kiran/Solstice said.
"We are all going to take turns to tell two truths and one lie about ourselves and the rest has to guess which one is the lie. You guys have two minutes to think about it," he said and he could see some of them were already thinking about theirs without the need to be told.
"Are we also joining?" Kid Flash asked him.
"We are going first," he announced.
"Hm…" Kid Flash gave a mischievous smile.
After the two minutes were over, he announced, "I will go first. I like watching 80's horror movies. I dated Wonder Girl. I am the one who snuck out the picture of Wonder Woman and Superman kissing during a Christmas party while under the mistletoe."
"Are you sure he is one of the good guys?" Miguel/Bunker asked tapping his chin.
"I have met Wonder Girl, there is no way you have dated her," Garth/Tempest said crossing his arms over his chest with a confident smile.
"Actually, that is true," he revealed before Garth stared at him in shock. He knew Wonder Girl had turned him down about a year ago while they worked together on a small mission.
"Then yuu snuck the picture," Leonid/Red Star said.
"That's the lie," he revealed with a bow, "Wonder Woman is not someone you mess with."
"Why 80's horror movies?" Kara/Solstice asked.
"Two words; Evil Dead," Blue Beetle said with a shudder.
"If you haven't seen it, we will watch it later," he announced before some of his friends took a pale look. "Your turn Blue."
"Alright…" he said looking at Leonid/Red Star and Celine/Skitter. He guessed they already knew a few things about him since he took them out the previous night, "I have another voice inside my head that talks to me. I was the one who took the picture of Superman and Wonder Woman. I am the third person to carry the name Blue Beetle."
"I really hope this isn't true, but I don't think you have another voice inside your head," Kara said while keeping an eye on Paco/Thorax who was trying to hold his laughter.
"Actually…" Blue gave a crooked smile.
"Are you schizophrenic?" Kyle/Green Lantern had asked before Paco/Thorax started laughing.
"No," Blue laughed, "my armor actually has an A.I., which communicated with me through thought. It took me a while to get used to it."
"For a while we thought he was just odd," Superboy said.
"Whenever you see him do this," Kid Flash said tilting his head, "that means he is listening to his little Jiminy Cricket."
"Alright, then you are not the third person to carry the name Blue Beetle," Garth/Tempest said.
"Actually I am. The first and second Blue Beetle used to operate more in the shadows. They also didn't have the same access I do to the armor, so they relied more on their own tools," Blue said before creating a holographic image of the previous two Blue Beetles.
"So, you aren't also the one to take the picture of Superman and Wonder Woman," Celine/Skitter said with a disappointed sigh.
"I might have another voice inside my head, but I am not that crazy," Blue laughed.
"Oh, my turn, my turn!" Kid Flash said, "So, I am actually from an alternative future where the Reach did conquer Earth and was raised by the last of the human opposition. I took the picture of Wonder Woman and Superman, also was the one to deliver it to the news for the right price. I am currently working on a Teletransportation system that will get us just about anywhere in the world when completed. Soon, we will be like beam me up Scotty all over the place."
"Okay, you said one lie," Celine/Skitter said looking at Kid Flash with a confused look.
"I did tell one lie," Kid Flash said with a smirk.
"This is crazy. No one is taking the heat for the picture," Kara/Supergirl said trying to find the answer through logic. However, the other options were just too crazy.
"I am going for the craziest. You are not from an alternative future." Kiran/Solstice said.
"Bzzz, sorry, try again," Kid Flash said with a smile.
"What? You can't be serious!" Celine/Solstice and others said in unison.
"He is. Kid Flash came to our time to warn us about the Reach invasion. It was a one-way trip," Superboy intervened when they started raising their voices too much.
"I am actually the Flash's grandson," Kid Flash announced, "the previous Kid Flash was my cousin once removed."
"So, time travel is possible," Garth/Tempest said with a hopeful look in his eyes.
"It's dangerous, but yes, it can be done. However, every time it is done the fabric of time and space weakens which could also end up destroying not just the world, but reality as well. Once I found this I swore not to share the secret of time travel with anyone. Now let's move on," Kid Flash said throwing his arms in the air.
"I think you actually are working on a Teletransportation system. Red Robin told me he would get a way to return me home every time," Miguel/Bunker said smiling at him and Bart.
"Ding ding ding, correct!" Kid Flash said before placing the bowl of skittles on his lap.
"So who took the picture?" Kyle/Green Lantern asked.
"My turn," Superboy said with a smirk, "I took the picture of Superman and Wonder Woman."
"Not that again!" Garth/ Tempest said raising his arms in surrender.
"Though I am physically sixteen, I have only lived for two years. My Kryptonian name is Kon El, which actually means 'abomination'," Conner said as he leaned against a wall.
"Well, I am skipping the picture for now, so I think your name isn't abomination," Kiran/Solstice said fidgeting on her seat.
"It is," Kara said immediately, "and he chose it."
"Really?" Leonid/Red Star and the rest looked uncomfortable.
"It has to do with an important part of Kryptonian history," Superboy clarified.
"Alright, then you are not the one who took the picture," Paco/Thorax said.
"Actually…" Superboy said.
"I thought you were kidding, it was you!" Blue Beetle said with wide eyes.
"How could you!" Kara/Supergirl had said before she threw a cushion at Superboy with so much force that it burst into a storm of feathers, which he started to untangle from his hair.
"I took it to tease Kal El but sent it by accident to one of my professors. I was able to get Nightwing to erase the trace of the source, but it was too late to stop the picture from reaching the news," Superboy explained. This was something he already knew, but neither Blue nor Kid Flash had known until then.
"I am telling Kal El," Kara said puffing her cheeks before Superboy threw her another cushion and then laughed.
"So, how old are yoo?" Leonid/ Red Star asked trying to decipher it by just looking at his friend.
"I am almost eight," Superboy said running a hand through his hair. He was the youngest among all of them.
"Then how come we hadn't heard of you before?" Kiran/Solstice asked.
He cleared his throat and then explained. "The League has an undercover team, which they just call the Team. It is mostly people around our age. The Team receives covert missions the League can't do such as reckon missions, or taking minor criminals. The four of us were part of it. Superboy was at the beginning of it almost eight years ago with Aqualad, the first Kid Flash, the first Robin, Miss Martian who is the niece of Martian Man Hunter, Artemis now known as Tigress, and Zatanna."
"So, you have been doing this longer than us," Miguel/Bunker said in awe.
"Actually, Superboy was already asked by the League to join them over two years ago. He declined the offer," Kid Flash said.
"What? Why?" they asked.
His friend shrugged, "personal reasons. Besides, I enjoyed working with the Team, but a while ago we found we wanted to do more than just run the covert missions. The Team works side by side with the League, but the League makes the rules. There was a situation which the League didn't approve of our involvement. We still got involved."
"So, you got kicked out," Garth/Tempest said with a frown.
"Not really, we quit. We operate separately from the League. They have a way of doing things, and we have our own way. You could call it a more of a direct approach," Kid Flash said with a confident smirk.
"Ai like that," Leonid/ Red Star.
"The League didn't approve of Jaime's involvement against La Dama. I think only a handful did," Paco/Thorax said looking questioningly at Blue.
"Mainly Batman," Blue Beetle said.
"So, you are making your own rules," Celine/Skitter said as the wheels in her mind turned. He knew she was only there for the training, but he hoped she could see the appeal of their idea.
"We are, all of us," he clarified, "we are also seeking to help other Metas, especially with what has been going on right now."
"N.O.W.H.E.R.E," Celine/Skitter had said with worried eyes before she noticed the questioning looks from the rest, "they tried to capture me and Leonid."
"I have looked into the League's base of information, and there is no trace of them. They are a phantom operation but clearly targeting young Metas, as for what purpose, we don't know," he told, "but we will talk about that later. Let's move on with… Bunker"
"Miguel is fine," the young man said, "so I am married to the love of my life," at that Solstice covered her mouth, "I run a flower shop in Mexico City. I have no idea where my powers came from."
"You and Gabe got married?!" Kiran couldn't hold it anymore and said in an outburst. He knew she and Miguel had stayed in some contact after the fight with La Dama.
"A few months ago on Gabe's birthday," Miguel said embarrassed before showing them his wedding band.
"Yuu run a flower shop," Leonid said crossing his arms with a confident smile.
"That's the lie," Miguel said with a laugh, "we run a small café which all of you are welcome to visit."
"Then you don't know where your powers come from?" Garth asked curiously.
"Not at all, at first I thought they were magic, but after talking to other Metas, I realized they were not" Miguel said before he created a violet psionic brick in the air and then another, and another until there was a small wall floating in the air.
"That's similar to…" Kyle looked at the structure before replicating it.
"I can't fly through space," Miguel laughed knowing where he was going.
"But there is the chance you can," Superboy said as he closed his eyes probably getting a sense of his abilities, "you build them with your mind, which requires concentration. Close to how Lanterns control theirs, right?"
"Correct," Kyle said, "I can teach you some things I learned with the Lanterns…" Kyle then laughed realizing something, "you are lucky you don't have to recharge."
If Miguel and Kyle had not been entirely interested before it was now different. He told Miguel he could learn to be a better hero, and who better to help him with his specific powers than a Lantern. Kyle also seemed happy to not be treated as just another Lantern but have a stronger purpose. He knew that if he chose to join them he would be off the planet sometimes, but only to gain more experience. He couldn't be disappointed at that.
"Your turn Kyle," he told the Lantern.
Kyle thought for a moment and then said not meeting anyone's eyes, "I am a freelance graphic designer and almost broke. I am the fourth Lantern of Earth and the youngest. At first, when I was told I would become a Green Lantern I said no thanks to the Guardians of the Universe."
"You look like you enjoy being a Lantern, so I say you jumped at the opportunity when it came," Garth said.
Kyle laughed, "Yeah, I practically snatched the ring from the Guardians when they told me." He created a construct of the other three Green Lanterns of Earth in the order they had been assigned. "Actually, Earth is the only known world to have so many lanterns. Two Lanterns get chosen per each of the three thousand six hundred sectors of the Universe. Earth and sector 2814 has us four. The Guardians speculate that humans have a significant source of will, which is the main reason we get chosen though I think I was selected for another reason." He then modified the construct of the Lanterns to show how he saw each one of them. Hall Jordan was now wearing a heavy mechanical battle suit covered in machine guns in every direction and wings not too different from fighting jet. John Stewart was given a black op's uniform including a hard helmet and a scarf to cover the lower half of his face and a sniper rifle like he had never seen before. The once marine looked controlled and alert for anything that might come his way. Guy Gartner was given a futuristic motorcycle and a metal pipe which he threw into the air and caught again with a smug smile.
Each one of the construct seemed to have a life of their own as they prepared for the fight. He had seen Lantern constructs before, but nothing with so much detail. Kyle allowed them to fade away before smiling sheepishly. It was easy for them to see his creativity was what set him apart from the other Lanterns.
"I will go next, better get this out of the way," Celine said with a nervous smile, "So, I am or was a model for a fashion magazine back in New York. I have a total of six arms when I use my powers. I have a twin sister who has no powers."
"You don't have a twin sister," Miguel said.
"I do," Celine said.
"You aren't a model," Kiran said, "you could be, but you don't look like an attention seeker."
"Yeah," Celine said with a short laugh, "my twin sister is the model. Before my powers, I used to work for Dayton Labs as an energy engineer."
"Wait, how old are you?" Blue asked. He knew his field of study was also towards engineering.
"Eighteen," she said with an embarrassed smile.
"She built prototype to harness my power," Leonid said before showing them a small flame in his hand.
"You said you didn't know if it could run out at all," Celine said blushing.
"Ai go next," Leonid said, "Ai am from Rossiya," a few laughed, "Ai like pancakes," more laughs, "and Ai never gone skinny dipping."
"Well, who doesn't love pancakes?" Kyle said.
"This is a hard one," Paco said rubbing his temples.
"What's skinny dipping?" Garth had asked before Kid Flash whispered to him, "Oh! You surface people are odd."
That earned more laughs from the group.
"Ai win, no?" Leonid had said before they laughed even more.
"It's your turn Kara," Superboy said taking the Kryptonian by surprise.
"I am Superman's cousin; Kara Zor-El," she started to buy some time, "I… when I firth got to Earth, I almost did not ate a napkin. I once took my father's hover-car for a joy ride with a friend."
"There is no way you took Zor-El's vehicle," Superboy said with a frown.
"Actually I did, oh Rao, I have never told that to anyone," she said covering her mouth before laughing, "we almost crashed it!"
"Don't ever think about touching my motorcycle," Superboy said with a strained smile.
"So, that means you almost ate a napkin," Miguel said with a meek smile.
"It sort of looked like a Kryptonian dish, it was our equivalent to bread," Kara said with a blush.
"My turn," Paco said, "okay, so I faked my death once. I have known Blue since he used to eat dirt."
"This is about you, not me," Blue said running a hand down his face.
"And my heart didn't get blown up to bits and got replaced by an alien machine," Paco completed laughing at his friend's frustrated face.
"Some of us were there, remember?" Miguel had said before Kiran and Leonid nodded their heads in agreement.
"Hey, if you can't laugh at yourself" he really hoped Paco could keep up with that attitude, "anyways, Blue here saved my life using the life support of his armor, gave me a new heart, and about a week ago it also started working as an armor."
"So you guys know each other since little?" Celine asked.
"We didn't see each other for about five years because he did fake his death," Blue said throwing Paco a dirty look.
"Could you believe this guy punched me when he saw I was alive?" Paco said pointing at his friend.
"You are lucky it was just a punch," Blue said curtly.
"Say that again Super Geek," Paco shook his fist at his old friend.
"I think we better move on," Superboy said.
"Why? It is about to get good," Kid Flash said holding on to the bowl of skittles.
"Kiran, if you please," he asked the young woman. He was surprised she had agreed to come in after only a few hours of having dealt with the killers of her mother. She looked a little tired, but happy to be there. He could bet a good part of the reason why was the smiling Kid Flash.
"I don't really think there is much I can say that everyone doesn't already know," she said with a smile. "I was raised in India by my father and my mother who was a vigilante. When I was little, I used my powers to get rid of anything I didn't want to eat until my parents noticed the scorch marks. I have a pet owl named Torie."
"Give us a hint," Celine said leaning forwards.
"Sorry, can't do," Kiran said.
"I don't think you have a pet owl," Kara said.
"Actually, I do," she said poking through her phone before showing them the picture of a brown big eyed owl. "My powers didn't appear until I was thirteen, so I had no way of using them when I was little."
"Your mom was a vigilante?" Kyle asked.
"She also went by the name Solstice, that's how she first met my dad. Even if he wanted to, he really can't ask me not to do this because he thought what my mother did was good," she said with a strained smile. He wondered if something had happened after he and Bart left.
"Your turn Garth," he asked the Atlantean.
"So, I am from Atlantis and went to school with Kaldur'ahm; you know him as Aqualad." Garth started with a thoughtful look. "As an Atlantean, my diet consists mainly of kelp and I never eat fish. For a short time, I was part of the Team Red Robin mentioned before."
"I think you weren't in the Team," Kiran said.
"I was, but like I said it was for a very short time," he said trying to hide some of his sadness. Though years had passed, the death of Tula still hurt him.
"He still helped us whenever possible," Blue said.
"Yoo eat fish, right?" Leonid asked.
"Yes," Garth said with a laugh, "King Arthur told us people on the surface for some reason think we don't eat fish. It is not strange for us just as it is for you to eat other land creatures."
"That makes sense," Celine said.
"Can I go next?" they all jumped and turned around to find Dick and Damian standing behind them wearing shades not much different than his.
"Nightwing?" he asked hoping this wasn't what he thought it was.
"Hey, came to drop the kid and before you start telling me it was until tomorrow hear me out. He stole the Batmobile, knocked Penny-One out, and has attempted at least a dozen times to take down Batman on his own, including when he sleeps," Dick said. "You know how he gets when he doesn't get enough sleep."
"Then why not take him with you to Blüdhaven?" he told Dick, "as you can see, we are busy."
"I sort of promised to help Batgirl with something," Dick said scratching the back of his head. He remembered Barbara had told them about a new procedure she was going to try.
"You don't pull any punches," he said with a sigh, "picking him up tomorrow?"
"First thing in the morning," Dick said raising his hand.
"He is manipulating you, can't you see?" Damian said taking off the shades, "I can't stand these things."
"Don't look at him in the eyes or he will eat your soul!" Bart said trying to cover Damian's eyes.
"Enough Allen!" Damian said punching the speedster in the gut.
"I could leave him in the middle of a faraway island," Bart gasped.
"Thanks but no thanks," he said to his friend.
"Guys, this is Robin," Dick said trying to maintain his smile, but even he had trouble with Damian's disregarding some of their most ground rules.
"I am not just any Robin, I am Batman's-" Damian started to say before Dick gave him a push.
"Oh, would you look at the time. He is all yours, which means if he does something stupid like revealing his civilian identity and compromising Batman's it's all on you," Dick said starting for the door, all the while Damian glared at him.
"Is he joining us?" Leonid asked.
"Thankfully, no," Bart said keeping his distance from the kid.
"You wish you had someone with my expertise," Damian said crossing his arms.
"Batman and Nightwing asks us to keep an eye on him when they are working on something, and can't bring the kid along because he has this tendency to not listen and get into trouble," Conner said.
"I know where he keeps the Kryptonite," Damian said with a malefic grin.
"Not that it will do you any good when I lock you in a pantry," Conner said.
"Now," he said loudly, but not shouting, "we are taking a break to eat. Afterwards, we are going to be talking about some of the things we are going to be doing and answering any questions you might have."
He was quick to call Bart, Jaime, and Conner to the kitchen, all the while keeping an eye on Damian.
"Not it," Bart said at once before he got a few questioning looks, "you were going to assign someone to take care of him, weren't you?" his friend hit it right on the nail.
"You heard what he said about the Kryptonite," Conner said, "Besides, I need to keep an eye on Kara."
"Dude, no. Why did you accept to look after him anyways?" Jaime said cringing when Paco got knocked on his back by the ten-year-old. Thankfully, Pacp only laughed which seemed to irritate Damian even further.
"We are getting additional funding from Batman," he told them.
"I feel so cheap," Bart said rubbing his arm.
"I will look after him," he tried not to sound resigned, "but we are doing a training exercise later. I need you to keep an eye on the rest."
"No prob, rob, now what about the food?" Bart asked.
"I believe you are the expert, just not too much junk food," he said handing him a card.
"Is there any other kind of food?" Bart said before disappearing.
"How much you want to be he will bring a king size bag of Chicken Weezies?" Jaime said with a smile.
The rest went back to the living room where most were mingling. Without needing to, they were showing to each other their powers and abilities. A few were trying to get close to Damian who had taken over a whole couch, but he kept glaring at them. Eventually, they gave up and talked to each other instead. After the food was brought and everyone was eating and still talking, he noticed Damian had yet to move from where he sat. It looked oddly familiar.
"Here," he handed the youngster a domino mask he kept around, "you need to keep your identity concealed."
"What is the point?" Damian said putting it on.
"The point is that some of us want to have a somewhat normal life every now and then. If they make the connection between you to Batman, then that means Nightwing and I also get screwed," since legally Bruce was their guardian (or at least his since Dick was no longer underage).
"Whatever," Damian knew he had a point, but was simply too proud to admit it.
"We are doing a training exercise afterward. Would you like to ditch the movie and join us instead?" he had the feeling this kid wouldn't do so well in a movie theater.
"Gladly," though he was now wearing the mask, he could tell he had just rolled his eyes at him.
"Damian, you know you aren't always going to be a kid. Why don't you try to enjoy it while it lasts?" he said sitting next to him. Not too close. He knew the kid was probably not used to people being close to him unless they were out to hurt him.
"What are you talking about?" Damian asked him authentically confused.
"Just trust me on this one, and don't make the same mistake I did," he said looking ahead to the rest of the Titans. He realized then that he had been a fool for a very long time. He had pushed others away for so long that he had not realized what he had been missing until then. He stood up suddenly and then said to the kid "it would make your father happy." It was too late for his parents, but not for Bruce to see his kid be an actual child.