So my Batfamily brain rot is back (not that it ever really left) and I just had a thought likeâŚ
If youâre a henchman/criminal in Gotham, seeing your life flash past your eyes is gonna be a somewhat regular occurance but⌠what if like⌠the thing that truly made a henchmanâs heart fall to his ass was when they hit Robin just a little too hard and this 10 year old kid just starts crying and goes âDaaaaaadddd!â
Thatâs the moment when they truly think theyâre going to die because said dad, the kid is calling for is a 6â6 demon from hell whoâs all muscle and shadows and vengance and a lot of Gotham still thinks heâs a cryptid
The henchmen all drop their guns and try to calm the kid down but itâs over in 5 seconds flat. Batman breaks several bones before speaking to Robin in the softest voice theyâve ever heard him use and the criminal world, who was already a bit hesitant to fight a kid have even more reason to take it just a little easy on Robin.
And like, I can picture different reactions with every Robin.
Like, for Dick, heâs ten and we all know he was the most violent Robin second only to Damian so maybe when heâs ten or eleven and has calmed down a little, a henchback who still remembers what a little shit he used to be decides to get back at Robin, slips on a pair of brass knuckles and BAM
And then, little Dick just stares for a moment in shock, cheek already starting to bruise, the criminals heâd been fighting all stay still because it was a nasty punch and thenâŚ
âDaaaaad!!!â He cries out in a whiny voice that reminds them that Robin really is just a kid and it all clicks into place.
Even Bruce wasnât expecting that, Dick has just started calling him dad and he still isnât used to being called that so to hear his kid calling for him in the moment where he is startled and hurt and a little scared⌠the henchmen donât even have time to react and they wake up in the hospital with concussions and maybe a few broken bones.
It doesnât take Dick long to calm down, it was mostly that the hit from a random henchmen really startled him and got him right in the cheekbone. But Bruce still finishes patrol early and Dick still hides under Bruceâs cape all the way to the Batmobile.
Then comes Jason and Jason was such a sweet kid, I headcannon he was the one that called Bruce dad the most often while being Robin. So one night during patrol maybe he finds himself fighting Penguin or Two-Face and itâs been a long night and he has an exam the following day and Bruce is fighting another villain at the other side of the warehouse
The point is, the henchmen and Two-Face start landing hits on eleven year old Jason in his gut and at some point he loses sight of Batman fighting on the other side of the room. Jason gets scared because heâs never really fought without Batman and while he knows that Bruce is still in the warehouse, he canât see him and the handle of a gun hits the back of his ankle and he falls and he sees Two-Face or Penguin or one of the henchmen getting ready to grab the front of his uniform and beat him up andâŚ
âDaaaaddd!â
The criminals freeze for a moment. Theyâve heard the stories of what happened the last time a Robin called scared for dad.
Theyâre fucked.
They all drop their guns and try to get Jason to calm down, but heâs crying just a little bit and calls again, his voice breaking and despite having been at the other side of the warehouse just a second ago, Bruce somehow drops from the ceiling and itâs over before the criminals can keep pleading with Robin to calm down.
Jason tries to apologize for âacting like a babyâ but Bruce is having none of it and carries him back to the Batmobile and Jason is happy to just hide his face in Bruceâs cape because he knows his dad will always be there to save him.
Then comes Tim.
And Tim gets found out while doing reconnisance and somehow he finds himself face to face with Bane who manages to wrench away his bo staff and Tim is just eleven and he is scared because Bane doesnât look like heâs going to hold back
All Tim knows is that the crack he hears must surely be his ribs either cracking or breaking and he canât breath and he can only muster enough air for a single word⌠and he calls for his dad through tears and fear
And at this point⌠at this point Batman has already lost a Robin, Tim may not be his legally but he is his son just as much as Jason was
Bane spends a month in the ICU
Tim is embarrased that he reacted like that. He thinks it makes him less of a Robin to called scared for Batman⌠for dad.
So Bruce tells him of the other two times it happened. Itâs one of the first times heâs spoken about Jason to Tim so bluntly.
Then comes Stephanie.
Stephanie never calls Bruce dad when sheâs Robin. Sheâs not his daughter and heâs not her dad. Theyâre not sure what exactly they are to one another.
As far as Bruce knows, Stephanieâs version of Robin never called out to him when she was scared.
What he doesnât know is that it did happen. Just once
It was the last time she was Robin. When Black Mask had her and she thought she was going to die
At some point while bleeding and feeling nauseous and so scared she could barely hear anything that wasnât her own heart beating wildly against her chest⌠she called for dad. Not for Arthur Brown, but for Bruce
Black Mask laughed at her
Stephanie never tells Bruce
And finally⌠Damian
Now, we know Damian would probably never be startled enough to call for Bruce out of instinct, so I can see 2 scenarios in which this could happen.
First, he sees another kid do it. He sees a kid close to his own age laughing and playing, then tripping and staying quiet for a split second before crying out for mom and dad and he just⌠assumes thatâs something kids do when scared and hurt and startled and does it mostly in an attempt to be a little more ânormalâ
Or, my favorite scenario⌠he hears of the other times it has happened. He overhears maybe Dick remind Jason of what Bruce did when Jason called out to dad as Robin. Tim maybe jokes that a Robin calling for dad is still the villainsâ greatest fear
So Damian stores that knowledge away as a battle strategy just in case he ever needs it⌠and maybe a small part of him wants to put it to the test, to see if his father would protect him as brutally as heâs protected the Robins before him
So some random night during patrol, heâs up against several henchmen, a few of them grab him from behind, trying to hold him down. Damian is fighting against them when one of them swings a cylinder of metal that Damian thinks mightâve been meant for the plumbing andâŚ
The henchman breaks Damianâs nose, thereâs blood dripping down his chin and staining his uniform
Now⌠it is most certainly not the first time heâs broken something, heâs more than used to the pain, in fact, he barely feels it. However, it gives him a chance to put his little theory to the test
And so Damian allows himself to sound like the ten year old that he is and in a whiny, teary voice, goes⌠âBabaaaaa!â (Bonus points if itâs the first or second time heâs called Bruce baba instead of father)
What Damian didnât take into account though, is that Batman and Robin arenât the only ones on patrol that night. They made a big bust. The biggest part of the operation was over but they were still fighting a few stragglers. The whole fucking family is here.
And they all hear his cry.
Damian doesnât think heâs ever seen a fight end so quickly. The henchmen only have a split-second of surprise before vanishing, being tackled or shot or having knives buried on their shoulders by his siblings.
The one that actually broke Damianâs nose is being beaten up by Nightwing, Damian doesnât think heâs ever seen Grayson so angry.
A shadow kneels in front of him, father. Baba. Heâs checking Damian and Todd is right at his side, both speaking in hushed tones, checking his injuries and wiping the tears that usually came with a broken nose.
And now⌠Damian is used to his father and Grayson treating him like a child, trying to be as soft as they can with him. Even Cain does it to some extent.
But⌠having Drake wrap an arm around him, calling him baby when knocking out one of the criminals that had hurt him âthatâs my fucking baby brother!â and continue to hold him later into the night on the couch, having Brown willingly give up all the snacks she keeps in her utility belt and promise to take him to Batburger the following day for milkshakes because he was âa champâ. And Thomas wraps his favorite blanket around Damian while theyâre fixing him up.
Todd decides to stay the night at the manor. Which he never does. They all decide to spend the night at the manor when Damian still sniffles on the Batmobile and they have breakfast all of them together. Which Damian isnât sure has ever happened before and Cain gets Alfred to make pancakes with chocolate chips instead of blueberries.
They call him baby in hushed whispers but for once, it doesnât bother him even though it really should
But most of all, Bruce refuses to let him go for a good five minutes after he first cries for him. Smoothing down his hair and whispering that itâll be okay and just being soft in a way Damian has never seen before.
He sleeps between his Baba and Grayson and he knows that Todd and Drake and Cain check in on them at least twice in the night for some reason.
And he realizes itâs⌠itâs nice. Maybe this really could be an effective battle strategy to be employed again someday.
