Be Open-minded

Dispatching Two-face and his goons was the easy part. Like clockwork, Nightwing and Zatanna knocked out and tied up all fifteen of Two-faces gang. The hard part was dealing with the so-called new Robin currently tied upside down.

"Look kid, I know that being a superhero may seem cool and thrilling, but that doesn't mean you should go around cosplaying like this. You could've gotten really hurt. Believe it or not, Two-face is one of the nicer villains," Nightwing tried to scold the boy.

"Pft cosplay!? I thought they said you were smart. I'm the real deal. Look closely! This isn't just spandex. It's got Kevlar fibers weaved into it just like your old suit only I was smart enough to ask for sleeves!"

Dick knelt down and grabbed a piece of the Robin costume. Rubbing it between his fingers, he squinted his eyes and growled. He got back up crossing his arms.

"Costume's pretty neat I'll give you that. But a fancy suit isn't enough to play hero. You should go home to your parents."

"Oh, c'mon man! If you won't believe me, believe Al-uhhh what's the codename again? Penny-one? No, uhhh Grandad? No."

"Agent A?" Zee asked.

"Yea! Him! I'm gonna be in so much trouble, but he'll vouch for me!"

"Hmm," Dick wondered.

He walked away and activated his comms.

"Nightwing to Batcave."

"Greetings Master Dick. How may I assist you?" Alfred answered.

"I've got a kid in a Robin costume here. He says he's one of ours."

"Oh dear. I suspected he might have snuck out despite Master Bruce's strict orders."

"You knew?!"

"Ah yes, well. Perhaps things can be explained more clearly back at the manor. Master Bruce and Miss Diana are expected to return shortly as well. I feared this conversation would happen."

"Sigh. Alright. We'll talk later, Alfred. See you soon."

"Of course, Master Dick."

Back with Zatanna and a still upside-down Robin, the young boy couldn't help but eye the magician up and down.

"Gotta say, toots, prodigal son over there sure knows how to pick 'em. Like damn, do your legs just go on forever like that?"

"I'd save your oxygen there, kid. You're bound to get dizzy soon with all that blood rushing towards your head."

"Oh, trust me, blood is rushing towards a head alright, if you catch my drift," he said with a wink.

"Ok….ew."

"Zee, cut him down," Nightwing said approaching the pair.

"Tuc eht sepor." (Cut the ropes).

The ropes holding Robin were magically sliced causing the boy to fall headfirst into the ground with a thud.

"Ow! Didn't realize angels like you like it rough."

"Peels!"

*THUD*

Nightwing sent Zee a look as Robin fell completely unconscious. He picked up the boy and began making his way out the courthouse to the nearest Zeta tube.

"I know I know," Zee pleaded, "But he was just so…..so Wally!"

"Actually, I was going to ask you to shut him up, but I worried you thought I was being too harsh."

"Glad we're on the same page, hon."

"Always, Zee."

Back in the manor's common room, Zatanna, Diana, and the newly introduced Jason Todd sat patiently while father and son clashed down in the Batcave. Alfred brought up a tray of tea and finger sandwiches hoping to entertain the present company.

"They've been down there a long time," worried Zatanna.

"Well, this is quite the revelation. I fear that Master Bruce may have taken too long to inform you and Master Dick. But he insisted on waiting until Master Jason was ready to debut," Alfred answered.

"I'm sure Dick isn't that worked up about this right?" Diana asked.

"It might be more complicated that we think, Diana," Zee answered, "Robin was the name his mother gave him. Maybe he still feels a little attached. Although, I have a feeling there's more to it."

"What does your heart tell you, Miss Zatanna. Surely your magical pact can give us a little insight into Master Dick's feelings."

"Well, Alfred, there's a lot of confusion in his heart right now. A lot of anger and oddly, concern."

"Ayo, speaking of Grayson," Jason chimed in, "he seems kinda uptight, prim, and proper if ya know what I mean. When you get tired of the old model, why don't you slide on over to the new and improved Boy Wonder. Younger, faster, and guaranteed to last longer. Come take a ride on the wild side, babe."

Zatanna cringed at the wink Jason gave before taking a deep breath and beginning her retort.

"First off, kid, I much prefer the original. He's older, manlier, and most importantly…..legal. Secondly, Dick's got a lot of experience in hero work. If anything, you could learn a lot from him. I know I did. And lastly," she purred crawling closer to Jason and pulling his chin close to her lips so she could just barely breath on him, "Do you really think you can handle me, little boy?"

"Uhhhh I um…..well," Jason stuttered with his face burning.

Smiling, Zee flicked him on the forehead with her finger and pushed him away.

"That'll teach you to punch wayyy above your weight. Hehe."

"Uhhh yea."

Diana and Alfred snickered a little before silence fell upon the room again. Now humbled, Jason shyly broke the ice.

"So, am I still gonna get to be Robin?"

"We'll see. I doubt Dick would be unreasonable," Zee answered.

"Dick, you are being unreasonable!" shouted Bruce.

"Am I?! You literally picked up a kid from the streets! He's way too young for this kind of life!" Dick shouted back.

"You started at a much younger age. You were eight! He's fifteen!"

"And that makes it better? I may have been eight, but I was a professional acrobat! I had a head start in training. Plus, we caught Zucco together! I brought my family's killer to justice. What about him? Why did you pick him?"

"I-He's got potential."

"Potential?! POTENTIAL?! Well shit, Bruce, you gonna pick up every kid with enough balls to steal the tires off the Batmobile?"

"It's not like that, Dick! Why are you so defensive about this? You never protested when Kara or Barbara joined the life."

"Kara is an invulnerable Kryptonian who gets a lot more leeway when fighting crime. Not every criminal has Kryptonite to kill her. And Barb…..she's….look she was gonna go out and fight crime with or without us. It's better that we take her in so she doesn't kill herself."

"Then that's the same with Jason."

"No! You planted this idea of crimefighting into Jason. If you never came along, he'd still be-"

"Living on the streets with no parents trying to fend for himself," Bruce interrupted, "Look, Dick. I understand this may be a sensitive topic since he took your mother's name for you."

"It's not that, Bruce. I get that. I left that name behind to grow into something greater. But at the same time, I don't understand why you had to pull this random kid into a life of crimefighting."

"He's got anger, but we can put that anger to use. We can focus and channel that anger to be a force of good."

"But why crimefighting!? Have him do community service or volunteer at a hospital. Why must you subject him to your life? We don't share that drive that you have Bruce! We don't all carry that guilt of wanting to prevent every child from losing their parents in an alleyway."

Bruce stood stunned at Dick's latest comment. Feeling ashamed, Dick sat down on a chair and looked away.

"Sorry," he apologized, "That was a low blow, Bruce."

"What's this about, Dick? Like I said, you weren't this defensive about Kara or Barb when they decided to be heroes. What's got you all riled up?"

Dick put his face in his hands for a minute to compose himself. After a bit, he sat back up to look Bruce in the eye.

"Hero work is a hard life, Bruce. I understand that some of us are forced into it like Clark, Diana, or even the Lanterns with their amazing gifts. Some choose it due to circumstances like you or even me. But it's a dangerous life. Death waits our doorstep every day waiting to pluck us from this world. I just…..I don't want to subject him to the life I had to endure."

"I understand. But we're training him, Dick. Diana and I are taking good care of him. I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner. He wasn't totally ready to take the field just yet. In fact, he was supposed to stay in the manor while Diana and I dealt with a crisis in Kuwait. But can't you see? He's passionate about crimefighting. He wants to be ready. He wants to prove himself to me, to you as well."

"He barely knows me."

"I uh may have been talking you up a bit around him. I thought it'd motivate him to do better if he had an older brother to live up to."

"Sounds like a lot of pressure."

"That might come and bite me in the future, yes. But even so, I just want what's best for him. For you, I helped you find your parents' killer to gain peace. You say you don't have my guilt and my drive because I helped ease your pain by helping you grow into Robin. With Jason, he doesn't have anyone else in his life. His mother left him at a young age and his father died working for the Penguin. He's got no direction. I just want to help him, and I hoped that you could help him too."

"But Bruce. If he dies, that's on both our consciences. Can we really handle that?"

"Then we'll have to protect him until he's ready."

Dick and Zee returned to their apartment in the Arconia with heavy thoughts on their minds. Dick plopped down on the couch and brooded for a bit. Hoping to cheer the moods up a bit, Zee began brewing some hot cocoa. Sensing his father's displeasure, Pocus hopped into his lap looking up at Dick with beady eyes. Unable to keep his stoic look, Dick cracked a smile and pat the little bunny on the head. Zee arrived with hot cocoa and an apple slice for Pocus. She settled at his side handing him his blue mug and feeding Pocus the apple. The family sat in warm comfortable silence before Zee decided to prod a little.

"You feel this way because of our visit with Harley, don't you?" she asked.

"What if Harley is right? What if ultimately she's a monster for not stopping Melissa from being er….Harley. What does that make us? Are we monsters if we let Jason face Gotham's worst criminals and foes?"

"Well, you started at an early age."

"Yea but, I was young and more importantly malleable. I just wanted to be like Bruce, so I did my best to be a great hero."

"And Jason wants to be like you, also a great hero. Look, baby, with Melissa it's a little more complicated because she's delusional and at least in my opinion, she can't make her own choices. But with you and Jason, you both are of sound body and mind. You both can make your own decisions. Jason has every right not to choose to be Robin and not fight crime, just like you did as a young boy. And yet you both are choosing to don the yellow R as Robin. If you ask me, you might feel even more guilty if he does die and you did nothing to help him."

"Hmmm. You're awfully sympathetic to a teenager who blatantly hit on you."

"Yea well, I do understand one aspect. I understand feeling babied and underestimated. My father sheltered me a lot. And I get it. He lost my mother, and he didn't want to lose me too. But I wanted to prove that I am capable to an extent. I wanted to show that I had good control over my powers and could work out as a hero. Jason wants to do the same. I'd say help him along the way. Better to help the bird fly than coop him up in a cage."

"Ugh. I sometimes hate it when you're right."

"What do you mean sometimes? I'm always right," she smiled kissing his cheek.

"Pft. Come here."

He took their cocoa mugs and placed them on the coffee table. Roughly, he pushed her down onto the couch causing Pocus to leap from his resting spot onto the floor. Immediately, he nuzzled into her neck and left little nips and bites. She hugged him close reveling in the scent of his aftershave. Smirking, he got up and lowers himself towards her stomach. He kissed and bit all around her belly button before ripping off her shorts and panties with a woosh.

"Dick! What are you doing!?"

"As I recall, we made a bet in the car about whether or not a girl was leaving hints for her crush."

"Yea but I said I'd give you head if you won!"

"Well, clearly I didn't win."

"That doesn't mean you have to – OHHHHHH"

Dick smiled as he buried himself deeper between her legs. Overcome with such pleasure, Zee couldn't help but grasp the hairs on the back of his head. She pushed him down deeper into her and crushed his head with her thighs.

"Mmmm ohhh, baby. That's it. A little to the left. There! Right there! Mmmm yes."

Disgusted, Pocus grabbed his apple slice with his mouth and scurried away quickly to his pillow bed in the master bedroom.

Meanwhile down in apartment 6B, a group of teenagers finagled the lock just enough to get the door open.

"Woohoo," a blondie in a bob cut exclaimed, "Look at us, breaking in, checking out the crime scene. Just like the Hardy Boys."

"Chill out, Zoe. This is just some dude's apartment. I think he owns a string of sandwich shops or something," a bigger taller boy said.

"Lighten up, Oscar. Zoe wants to have her fun let her. We're all in this together, right Mabel?" a skinner boy answered.

"Uhh sure, I guess. This does seem pretty thrilling."

The four friends explored the spacious apartment. They looked at the various knick knacks of the owner pretending to dust for prints or notice anything out of the ordinary as if they were crime detectives.

"Guys," Oscar said, "Maybe this isn't such a good idea. I mean what if we get caught. A cop lives in this building."

"Then we don't get caught," skinny Tim answered.

"I mean, we'll just look around right? In then out just like always," Mabel reassured.

"Besides, I'd like to meet that cop. I hear he's super hot," Zoe added.

"Yea, hot but also married! Have you seen his wife?" Mabel asked.

"Have you? I'd pounce on a ménage à trois with Officer Sexy and Missus Officer Sexy," Zoe retorted.

"Ew. Really, Zoe?"

Zoe shrugged before moving onto another corner of the apartment.

"Man, this dude's got a lot of Greek memorabilia. Must love his family I guess," Tim noticed.

"Y'know, I can respect that. Man remembers his roots," Oscar replied.

"Welp, I guess that's it. We've looked at the parlor and the living room. Per our rules, no bedrooms or bathrooms. Time to pack it up. You good, Zoe?" Mabel announced.

Zoe didn't respond. Instead, she looked like she was facing a closet. Her hands were doing odd gestures, but she looked like she was talking to someone.

"Zoe?"

"Huh? Yea! I'm all good."

The four friends left apartment 6B, but no one noticed Zoe's newfound prize of a large emerald ring.

"Hey, since we're out and about, let's go see if we'll run into Officer sexy!" Zoe exclaimed rushing up the stairs.

"Zoe!"

The friends chased after Zoe up the two flights to floor 8. When they arrived, they found Zoe closely pressing her ear towards the door to apartment 8A.

"Seriously guys, this was fun when we were younger, but now I worry that we'd get caught and tried as adults. I can't leave my own family like that," Oscar worried.

"Zoe! Seriously, let's just go!" Mabel cried.

"Shhh. Listen!" Zoe ordered.

With curiosity getting the best of them, the rest of the friends leaned towards the door. Though faint, they could make out the muffled sounds of moaning and delightful screaming.

"Ok, we're done. We should go," Oscar decided.

"Agreed."

"Yup."

Mabel and Tim got up and left with Oscar while Zoe lingered a little longer.

"Damn. You go, Officer Sexy."

AN: More filler lol. I wanted to connect Harley's conversation about her double with how reluctant Dick is at bringing in Jason. I thought it'd be a neat little twist. Hope yall are enjoying the story so far! Sorry for the out of universe set up at the end. It's small ground work for the Only Murders in the Building arc I have coming up WAYYYYY later lol. Also I haven't totally decided what I want to do for my 50th chapter, but I definitely wanna do something big! Let me know if you have any suggestions!