Disclaimer: Characters and places belong to DCU unless otherwise stated. Plot belongs to MarkTwainTwo (hi!).

Note: Okay, so in this fanfic the Titans don't know Damian/Robin's identity, or his background in the league. Um, and I decided to throw a new plot twist in that kiiiind of differs a lot from canon. Y'know, time traveling mini-Damian and big-Damian. So yeah. Maybe I'll have to change the synopsis on the cover...

Also note: I FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO THAT LINE BREAK THING! It probably should've been obvious, but whatever. I can do it now!


(^^See?)


Contrary to popular belief, the Bats were not all-knowing. Neither where the Al-Ghuls, as much as Damian was loathe to admit it. They just got information, from places most people wouldn't think to look, and deduced missing information from that information. Hence, when Damian was lying tense and awake in his bed at the Titan's tower at three in the morning, he did not know Beast Boy was about to burst through the door.

So it was perfectly reasonable when, in the midst of fighting off the visions and memories Trigon was doing his level best to insert into Damian's waking nightmares, he did not recognize his green-skinned teammate. It was perfectly reasonable for him to roll off his bed and crouch in the corner, tossing two of his hidden knives as he went, so that Beast Boy only dodged by shapeshifting into a frog with a yelp.

Damian noticed all of this a few adreneline-filled seconds after he landed in his corner, clutching a third knife, eyes darting around the room for the danger. Fortunately, by the time the frog shifted back into a boy, looking disgruntled, Damian had calmed his racing heart and forcibly relaxed his body. He always slept with his Robin uniform on in the Titans' tower for this exact reason, so he had no need to worry about having a mask on. As Beast Boy brushed himself off and looked up at him, Damian fixed a cocky frown on his face, and interjected before the other boy could say anything.

"-Tt- Idiot. You should never open a door with such abruptness unless you wish to be impaled. Which, honestly, I would not much mind, but I would presume that you would mind." He slung his katana onto his back and brushed past Beast Boy as he was talking. He stopped out in the hallway, pulling up his hood. Raven, Blue Beetle, and Superboy stood there as well, Blue Beetle leaning against the wall and Raven just standing there with her arms crossed. Superboy was yawning and his eyelids drooped. Damian clicked his tongue again in the manner that his mother always did when she disapproved. "What is your purpose for waking me at this hour?"

"I thought Bats didn't sleep," Raven said in that flat way of hers.

"And I thought demons didn't sleep," Blue Beetle added. Damian surpressed his flinch. No, demons didn't sleep. He would know.

"And I thought the rest of you did," he countered. "Now, do I have to repeat myself or shall I go back to my bed and get another two hours of sleep before I begin my morning regime?" He wouldn't actually get any sleep, of course, but he would get to be away from the Titans for a while longer.

Beast Boy joined them in the hallway, apparently having gotten past his surprise. "Dude! Are we not gonna mention the LITERAL KNIVES you just chucked at my head?!"

"First, I aimed for your arms and chest, not your head," Damian sniffed. "And secondly, it was your own fault for barging in while I was resting... plus, you were able to avoid them, were you not?"

"Whatever you aimed for," Raven cut in, "Starfire needs us in the living room, pronto. She didn't say why," she added when Damian opened his mouth. "Just to get you and all go in together. Something about less confusion and yelling."

"Yes, Beast Boy would yell if any of us were privledged enough to see something before him," Damian said, still miffed about having been caught off-guard. Beast Boy opened his mouth to reply, but Raven shot him a glare and he closed it.

Raven turned and held out her hand. A purple portal materialized, through which Damian could see the back of one of the Titans' living room couches. She stepped to the side and made a sweeping gesture. "After you."

As Damian passed, he felt Trigon's pressure on his mental defenses strengthen, and he gave a mental shove to push the demon out. At the same time, Raven winced. He wondered briefly what her father was telling her. Did she know about Trigon's attacks on Damian's mind? But the moment passed, and then all five of them were standing in the living room. Starfire was already there, standing next to Nightwing, whose eyes flicked across their group, landed on Damian for a moment, and then went back to staring at the couch. That was odd. Nightwing was generally so happy-go-lucky that he'd be ruffling Damian's hair before he was even through the portal, then greeting all the other Titans. Even Starfire should have had at least an attempt at a smile. Instead, the two were just staring... at the couch, of all places. This all registered for Damian as the portal closed behind them (as his mother had taught him), but his so-called teammates had just barely started looking around.

"What's the matter?" Superboy asked, blinking away sleep, even though it was obvious to Damian that the matter was on the couch. So, without further ado, he strode around to stand next to Grayson.

Then he froze. His mind started racing, realizing that Starfire had been staring at the anomaly for so long, she might have already figured out who it was. The other Titans hadn't made it around the couch yet, so he could still prevent them at least from figuring it out. Besides, the boy on the couch hadn't opened his eyes yet, and he was so small and not dressed in the Robin uniform, so maybe Starfire didn't know. He was moving before any of the others had gone halfway around the couch, snatching a pillow from the couch and shoving it over the boy's head, re-doubling his emotional defenses because with all the panic he was feeling, Raven might start feeling it too.

Starfire was frowning then, and Nightwing reaching out a hand, possibly to pull him back. Raven raised an eyebrow at him, and the other Titans were just noticing the boy lying on the couch. Damian had only a few precious seconds left. With the hand unoccupied with the pillow, he'd been removing a backup mask from his pocket, and this he slapped over the boy's face. He removed the pillow and, just before Grayson reached him, vaulted onto the back of the couch. Grayson's hand stopped mid-air. Starfire had barely begun moving forward, but she stopped too. Beast Boy stood agape, and Blue Bettle and Superboy were staring at the boy's now-masked face.

There was a tense moment of silence, then Starfire broke it. "We have no idea who he is. He just appeared there," she said, staring suspiciously at Damian. "Robin, why did you mask him?"

Oh, al'ama*. Of course they'd wonder. At least, he thought dryly, they didn't ask about the pillow.

"If we don't know where he came from, we may want to let him keep his identity," he said stiffly. He tried to meet Grayson's eyes, but Nightwing was already looking back to Starfire.

"He could be a threat," Raven said. Her eyes searched his- not that she could see through his mask, so perhaps her eyes searched his mask lenses.

"Weren't you the one saying we should not leave others' backgrounds alone in case it turns out to be a threat?" Starfire said, crossing her arms, her suspicion deepening. Damian cursed internally again.

"He's not a threat," he said stiffly. "Probably."

Blue Beetle scoffed. "Excuse me? That's a load of mierda**. How would you know?"

"And whaddaya mean, probably?" Beast Boy demanded.

Now they were all looking at him- including Nightwing. Damian took the opportunity to catch Grayson's gaze. The acrobat glanced between Damian's lenses and the boy on the couch, and then his own lenses widened. He looked back at Damian, who gave a slight nod.

"Um, you know what guys, I- I better tell Batman, actually, yeah... Robin, hold down the fort, will you? I'll get B to sort it all out. Starfire, if Robin says he's okay, don't unmask him. Not a good idea if he is who we think he is." He was backing away as he talked. Damian watched him go incredulously. Was he going to leave him to figure it out? At least he'd voted in favor of keeping the boy's identity a secret.

"I thought you said you didn't know..." Starfire began, but Nightwing turned tail and speedwalked (read: sprinted) from the room.

Silence reigned again for a few beats.

"So..." Superboy yawned. "Can I go back to bed?" When everyone looked at him he held up his hands. "Hey, look, I'm practically falling asleep on my feet, and the little dude's not attacking us. Besides, he looks what- seven? Eight? He can't be that big of a possible threat."

"Absolutely," Damian agreed. If he knew what he thought he knew, the boy would've gone through unconciousness training by now, which meant he probably had a few minutes tops before he woke up. And he did not want the others there for that. But they didn't even have a chance to give Damian more suspicious looks or head off to bed before Damian heard a slight hitch in breath from the boy. He swore softly. So much for getting the Titans out. He snapped his gaze to Starfire. "Scratch that. Everyone get back, now."

"Why?" Beast Boy demanded. Then he yelped and jumped backwards as the boy on the couch suddenly lashed out, kicking his feet up in a move that would have caught Damian square in the face had he not anticipated it and spun out of the way, flipping over the boy in the process and landing behind his head- or what would have been his head, had he not slid off the couch and into a defensive position, knives flashing in his hands.

Damian watched as the boy scanned the room in the way he knew he would, noting everyone standing there and cataloging them according to immediate threat-level. He would go for the closest and weakest or most imminent threat. Damian didn't want the hassle of defending his stunned teammates, so he made himself look as threatening as possible. As predicted, the boy launched himself at him. Of course, all of this was done in the silence that trained footsteps knew well, broken only by the clash of metal on metal as the boy's knives and Damain's newly-drawn katana met. The boy slid past Damian, making a slice that should've cut his calf muscles in two if he hadn't jumped out of the way. Damian landed and ducked low for a swipe at the stomach that the boy could block but would create an opening.

The two of them danced around each other, trading glancing blows. The young boy was growing increasingly frustrated, as Damian could tell from the frown deepening on his forehead. He'd forgotten how untrained that frown was back then.

He hadn't forgotten, however, the forms and attack methods drilled into the boy. He could never forget those. He easily avoided or parried each attack. The only reason he wasn't winning, in fact, was his internal debate over what to do with the boy. But out of the corners of his eyes as he flipped and slashed, he could see the Titans getting over their shock and preparing to intercede. And that decided the matter.

Damian tossed a few smoke pellets onto the floor, engulfing everyone. That would give him a few moments more of confusion from his teammates. Then he melted back into the shadows, pulling off Robin's cloak, and waited for his prey. The boy, of course, located him quickly, as he knew he would. He was only using League techniques, after all. Then, as the boy snarled about cowards and launched himself again, he pulled a Grayson and tossed the cloak over the seven-year-old's head, wrapped his arms around the squirming and yelling bundle, and sat down.

Then, as the smoke cleared, he pulled a Grandfather and said coldly in a voice that carried, "Hafid, cease your pathetic attacks this instant. Mother will be most displeased."

Everyone stopped. The Titans stared. Raven sucked in a breath. The boy froze completely, and stayed frozen as Damian removed the cloak from his head and slid it back over the Robin costume. He stayed frozen as Damian stood. Then, slowly, he got to his feet and came to attention, back ramrod straight, hands by his sides, and facing straight ahead. He hesitated, then spoke. His voice was... well, smaller than Damian remembered, but then again, Damian had been all-around smaller back then too.

"I... apologize. As long as you are not an imposter." He shot a furitive glance at Damian.

Damian put on his best Bat-glare combined with disappointed-Grandfather-glare. It was a force to be reckoned with (even as Trigon laughed at him). "You dare call me an imposter?" he hissed. It was the only sound in the room. "Your-" he didn't pause, but only because his brain quickly supplied a solution "-older brother? The one to whom you were sent for more training, since you are not yet old enough to meet Father?"

"Ro-" Starfire started, but Damian turned the Batglare on her. Simultaneously, he poured feelings of please keep her silent to Raven, who (albeit suspiciously) complied by putting a hand on Starfire's arm. The alien woman went quiet again.

"You- akhi?" the boy said hesitantly. "Is this my seventh birthday trial?"

Ah, excellent. That would be a perfect excuse. "Do you hesitate? Of course, although you ought to earn that name. Call me Robin until you have proven yourself. Yes, this is your Trial this year." He snorted as if in disdain. "Although, as far as I have seen you have thus far failed most miserably. You have a week to rectify that situation." Hopefully, in that time they could correct the whole mess. And hopefully, he could explain to the boy that all of this was just to keep the Titans from realizing who the boy (and Damian) really were. (In fact, Damian was wincing internally every time he spoke. Oh, how much this must be hurting the boy, even though he wouldn't show it. He would never show it. That would be suicide.) "You are not to contact anyone outside this tower unless given express permission. At the moment, one of my aquaintences here will provide a portal to your room. You are not to leave until I, and only I, retrieve you. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Robin." The boy's voice was devoid of any emotion.

Damian turned to Raven. The boy was still staring, stiff-backed, in the opposite direction, so he strode over with footsteps not even someone trained in the League of Assassins could detect. He breathed, "Go along with this, I beg of you. I will explain once he is gone."

They all wanted to say something, he knew. Likely, that something was a torrent of questions. So he was (although he would never admit it, or admit to "begging" of them) very grateful when no one spoke and Raven nodded. She pointed at the wall the boy was facing and, as Damian strode back to stand next to the boy once more, chanted the spell that would bring the portal to life. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos.

"I will come to retrieve you shortly. Until such time, you may practice your forms or meditate but not exit the room. Do not disappoint me, Hafid." Damian waited until the boy had uttered another 'Yes, Robin,' and then said, "You may leave."

The boy strode forward, the portal closed, and Damian was left in a partially-demolished living room along with a whole team of magical beings brimming with questions. He resisted the urge to sigh, rub his temples, groan, wince, disappear, melt into the Earth, or run from the room. None of those options, however appealing, would help in the end. So he turned around.

"Robin," Starfire said, and then her mouth opened and closed a few times.

"What was that?!" Beast Boy practically screamed. He might have kept on screaming, but Damian reluctantly interjected.

"That," he said, "was me at seven years old."

"What the f-" Beast Boy started, but Blue Bettle clapped a hand over his mouth and muttered a distracted, "Language." Damian gave a wry smirk.

"It appears I've traveled in time."


*Al'ama - damn/damnit

**mierda - BS