Summary: "Robin," Tim breathes his conclusion. "We're all Robin."
-oOo-
Or, the main four find themselves kidnapped, shrunken to their respective early years of their Robin careers, and are forced to put aside their differences if they want to escape.
Tags: Crack Treated Seriously, Age Regression/De-Aging, Kidnapping, Canon-Typical Violence, Unreliable Narrator
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When they shove Dick in the locked room, Tim wishes not for the first time that he wasn't as observant and smart as he was.
He could have convinced himself that the boy pacing nervously next to him wasn't Jason freaking Todd but Tim's same age, or that the bratty kid that was the spitting image of Bruce definitely wasn't some future wielder of the Robin mantle (why would Tim ever pass it on?), but it's impossible to not recognize Dick goddamn Grayson in the prime of his Robin career. Tim knew the features of the boy gracefully catching his footing with a glare at the locking heavy door in his sleep.
He couldn't be more than 9. The boy who couldn't possibly be Jason (he's dead!) stood tallest at what Tim would guess was 13. The Bruce look-alike could have been 13 too, but he was shorter. Tim himself was nearly 12, the second shortest in the group.
Of course, Tim hasn't voiced his theories to the other boys yet that they're all Robins. The Bruce look-alike was the only one in here when Tim woke up shaking on a grungy cot with vague memories, and the can't-be-Jason arrived about an hour later looking dazed. Tim had spent the entire time convincing himself out of thinking it's actually Jason (because he knew everything about Jason, of course he knew Jason, but he's dead, at an age just barely older than this undeniable visage), but now it's a little harder.
Tim hasn't asked for any of their names, but neither have they. It could be protocol, none of them knew if they were kidnapped as Robin or as civilians, it's not a good idea to give either right now when there's a camera at the corner of their cell. They can't even guess off the clothes they're wearing, they've been stuffed into cottony one-size-fits-all sleeping gowns. One-size-fits-all is a loose definition, the strings around Dick's waist wrap three times before tying into a sloppy double knot.
Dick Grayson (that's totally him, as a kid), regards the group with narrowed blue eyes. He's a little scuffed up. The most scuffed up out of all of them. He probably fought the kidnappers the second they took off the restraints. After a thoughtful, pregnant pondering, Dick squares his little shoulders and probably deems himself as the main protector of the group. Of course he does, he's Dick. As far as he knows, he's the only Robin and the most qualified to do the group protecting. (He's so... Small. Has he always been small?)
"Hi," Dick smiles, showing his teeth. "I'm Johnny. Anyone know what's going on?"
Johnny looks at each boy, and the Bruce look-alike tuts his tongue and rolls his eyes.
"Hi, Johnny," Jason smiles back, hesitantly. "I'm... Jay. I dunno what's going on, I just woke up here. You okay?"
Great, it seems Jay has deemed himself Johnny's specific protector. It's hard not to look at such a small child and not feel protective over them, but Dick Grayson is so much larger than life, he's Dick.
"We have obviously been experimented on," Bruce-alike says, haughty and accented. It's a very... blunt way to say something potentiallyscary for smaller children, but Dick only tilts his head and Tim's Robin and Jason is the biggest and strongest...
Oh boy, none of them are going to be normal about this, are they?
"What's your name?" Jason asks the Bruce-alike, giving a soft smile.
The mystery boy narrows his eyes at Jason. "... Richard."
There's no way that's his actual name. For Dick's credit, the boy only looks skeptical for a second before smoothing his expression over.
"I'm Kyle," Tim speaks up, a little disappointed that he's the only Robin who's thought to not use a name somehow actually connected to him.
Dick opens his mouth to say something more, but the door suddenly unlocks and he steps away, putting his small body between him and the opening doorway where way too many big thugs await.
The guy in front is obviously the big boss, the leader of this operation. Tim doesn't recognize him from his short stint at the cot, or the drag back to the cell, but the way he holds himself and sneers down at each of his captives says enough.
Richard (there's no way he's a Richard) tenses, dangerously, like some sort of predator, and meets the smug look head on.
"Well, now that we have all our birds in a row, we can finally get this started."
Birds.
Dick tenses, probably just an instinctual thing, he has no reason to think the word applies to potentially everyone here. Jason looks a little startled at the word, though Tim hasn't gotten the impression that he knows the identity issues going on any better than Dick does. Richard (hah) growls slightly, nose wrinkling at the bridge. Tim doesn't think Richard knows anything either, Tim doesn't think Richard has really bothered to study his fellow captives.
And Tim? Tim meets the gaze of the leader.
"What did you do to us?" Tim asks, deciding it would do no one good to keep quiet. The others don't know just how strange their situation is, Tim can't let anyone else lead the conversation. He needs to figure out for them if they're here as civilians, or Robins.
The leader smirks, looking almost gleeful as he keeps Tim's gaze. "Oh, you were always said to be the smart one. What do you think we did to you?"
"We're not the ages we're supposed to be," Tim says cooly, ignoring how all three of the other boys startle to look at him. Tim tries not to swell with pride. "Magic? Or a drug?"
The boss grins. "A little of A and B. A good investment, if I do say so myself. Capturing you four wasn't easy, but you being this small and helpless will make proceedings much easier."
He looks away from Tim, and nods at his company of goons. Dick lashes out first, the moment one of them steps into their small dark room, but he doesn't throw like Robin, they still don't know if they can. He's easily grabbed and dragged away, and Jason is soon to follow with a hand wrapping around his bicep. One goes for Tim, and Tim lets his hands be yanked behind his back.
Jason looks like he's about to show some of the moves he can justify as growing up on the streets with, but it's Richard who reacts violently first.
"Unhand me, filth!"
He lashes out with deadly prediction, striking the goon reaching out for him straight in the throat. The goon gags, stumbling back right as Richard kicks out to knock his feet out from under him.
The grasp on Tim tightens as more goons rush in to subdue the mystery Robin who clearly doesn't have the same goals of keeping it low-key.
He takes down another goon, who shouts "this one's more violent, boss!" as he falls, and is about to break the wrist of a third when Dick shouts, suddenly in the grasp of the leader with his hands bound behind his back, arms twisting at an angle that not even acrobats should have them twisted. Richard pauses in his attack, but keeps an offensive posture in case anyone tries to get close to him. His eyes flicker to Dick, then up to the boss with unwavering steel in his gaze.
Is he really Robin? Tim would think he's a shrunken Bruce, but his skin is too dark, his eyes too green.
"Stand down or I'll break this one's wings," the boss threats.
"I'll snap your neck," Richard snarls back.
"You don't want to aggravate me. You may not recognize him, but surely you don't want Nightwing paying for your violence?"
That gets everyone freezing, though Dick more in confusion, his shoulders tensing in the strain.
Jason's mouth falls open, his wrists bound too, as he gives a wide eyed oh in Dick's direction. Richard practically turns into stone, stunned just enough for two goons to manhandle him into submission. Tim stares at Dick until his eyes meet Tim's in a frantic attempt to get answers.
Tim provides.
"Robin," Tim breathes his conclusion. "We're all Robin."
"Nightwing...?" Jason asks, stunned, while Richard is restrained and the four of them are held still. Dick just stares at Tim in complete shock, eyes bright with a sort of fire that Tim can't name.
"Now that we have that settled," The boss cuts in, "let's get this started."
-oOo-
The kidnappers don't do much, just rough them up a little and take pictures, intending to taunt Batman. With a few extra bruises, the four of them are stuffed back in the small cell, each looking at each other with just a little bit more between them.
"So..." Jason asks, the first to speak up with a split lip. "You're both also Robin...?"
He means Tim and "Richard"... or more-so Red Robin and Robin. The kidnappers referred to them as whatever code names their adult bodies used. Jason was Red Hood, which... he doesn't know what to make of that. It's a heavy mantle with a lot of concerning history. He obviously now recognizes Dick enough to not need to confirm his identity, but it was natural to wonder why there's two more after him using the name.
"I'm the only worthy Robin," Richard snaps. "The rest of you are embarrassments to my father's mission."
Richard really didn't share the same resolve to keep certain things more guarded and unsaid when it came to the camera blinking in the room. Bruce is Richard's biological father... of course he is. They look so alike. Tim wonders when Bruce has Richard, and who his mother is. How much further down the line does Tim have to start sharing the manor with a baby...?
"No, I'm Robin," a shockingly icy tone snarls out of Dick's throat. He looks livid... and scared. "I don't know what's going on, but there's no way Robin will ever be anyone but me. Who the hell are you freaks? What joke is this?"
Such a stark difference from the softer, more protective persona he had previously put on. It's almost startling. It's almost like Dick suddenly hates them for calling themselves with his name.
"You're Nightwing," Jason replies softly, frowning, going into a kinder and more shy version of himself. He clearly holds Dick in high regard, but Jason was always the best out of the three of them when it came to comforting kids. Tim doesn't think Bruce-spawn would be good at this either. "You grew up."
Something flashes in Richard's eyes, and suddenly he's shooting his hand forward and yanking Jason to the other side of the room. "Do not speak to him, villain. If you're truly Red Hood, then you have no right to stand with us. Even less right than Red Robin over there, and believe me it is a very low bar."
"I don't know what you mean," Jason argues, finally beginning to look frustrated. Richard snarls at him, grabbing Dick's arm, but Dick flinches so hard out of the way and sends a livid look at the both of them.
Tim bites his lip. He really doesn't want to drag any attention to himself, especially because after Richard had clued out Tim's adult identity, he keeps shooting glances at him like he's scum. He's trying to hide it, but Dick is the only one he respects here.
But someone has to keep cool.
"Clearly," Tim speaks up, trying not to let his voice squeak, "we all have baggage with each other. Now's not the time to argue with ourselves, we have to find a way to help Batman get us out and back to our right ages."
Richard frowns and glances at Dick, then bites his lip.
It's the first time he's looked hesitant.
"We may have to escape on our own," Richard says softly, lowering his voice and turning from the camera. "Batman... Will not come for us."
Tim blinks, shocked, and Jason squawks. "What?"
Richard looks hesitant, then sighs and glares at the corner of the cell. "He's dead, you idiots. We're on our own."
Tim feels his breath get knocked out of him.
"But-" Jason starts. Dick just goes still.
"The kidnappers are mistaken, it is by design. Nightwing is Batman, and I'm his Robin. We've made the transition to fill in for father without letting the public know Batman is... gone."
"But if Nightwing is Batman, why do they think he's Nightwing?" Tim asks, wheezing.
"Because we're still transitioning," Richard snaps. "R- Nightwing patrols Blüdhaven every so often to keep the illusion that Batman and Nightwing are still separate people. They must have caught him then."
Dead. Bruce is dead.
"What do we do...?" Jason whispers, fidgeting and giving sympathetic looks at Dick who's still frozen.
"We let them think Batman might come," Richard says, still quietly, "and wait for a chance to escape. As much as I loathe to team up with you imbeciles... we're all we got."
Dick looks at the ground, swallowing visibly.
"Okay," Jason says, sounding shaken.
Tim clenches a fist.
This... is so bad.
"Look," Tim speaks up, surprising himself. "Obviously, we have some baggage between each other. Nightwing doesn't know who any of us are, Red Hood has a reputation he doesn't know about, I don't even know why he's Red Hood and why that's good or bad, and you don't like any of us which makes all of us not like you... but if you're right, we have to put all that behind us and get along. We can't let time travel bull-shit get us killed. Put whatever we know or think about each other aside, and let's hash it out later, okay?"
"I agree," Jason says, immediately, and gives Tim a thankful smile. Tim feels himself blush, before turning away.
Jason was always his favorite Robin, he can't believe he's actually talking to him.
He looks at Richard, trying to give his best hard look, but Richard rolls his eyes. However, he thankfully doesn't argue. Perhaps because oddly enough, he's the one who initiated the team-up. "Truce. For now."
"Nightwing?" Tim asks, and Dick startles.
"Y-yeah. Whatever."
Tim resists sighing. This is not going to be easy, is it?
But Richard (can he please choose a different name?) is right, if Batman isn't coming (he can't be dead, he can't), then the four of them are all they got.
Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)
Fandom: DC
Summary: Dating a vigilante sometimes leads to a few false alarm scares, but Dick Grayson couldn't be happier with how well his partner rolls with his crazy family.
Word Count: 1,410
Category: Fluff
Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.
Crash!
My eyes shot open at the sound of a noise from the living room of the apartment I shared with my boyfriend, Dick Grayson. The man in question still snored peacefully next to me, annoyingly, but a quick glance at the clock told me why. It wasn't quite 5am, and Dick had been out patrolling until one in the morning. I listened carefully for any other noises in the apartment. I didn't want to wake my poor boyfriend up unless I absolutely had to.
After a few minutes of nothing, I heard another crash followed by a tense voice and what sounded like hushed swearing. This time, I didn't hesitate to roll over and whack Dick on the chest, hard.
His eyes shot open and he was half sitting up when I managed to throw a hand over his mouth to keep him from giving away that we were awake. My wide eyes must've tipped him off to something being wrong, because I immediately saw him shift from sleepy to ready for action.
Slowly, I dropped my hand from his mouth and leaned in to whisper in his ear.
"There's someone in our living room. I heard two crashes and someone swearing."
Dick nodded once, then motioned with his hands while mouthing 'stay here'. He hopped off the bed, grabbing his escrima sticks from where he'd thrown them onto the dresser, then stalked towards the door with catlike grace and stealth. After a minute, I decided I couldn't just let him go alone, superhero or no, so I grabbed the bat I kept by my side of the bed and followed after him.
Dick popped out the door, and after a moment without hearing anything, I followed, bat at the ready. I found my boyfriend with one hand on his hip, weapons down, staring into the kitchen. I followed his gaze to find none other than Jason Todd in our kitchen, a mixing bowl and some eggs in front of him and a look with a significant lack of guilt on his face.
"What? I was after somebody and it dragged me all the way to Bludhaven. I needed a place to crash that was closer than Gotham."
Dick and I both shook our heads. As the oldest of a very high number of siblings, his apartment had become a second home base for every single other batkid. When we'd finally moved in together last month, he'd warned me I needed to be prepared for things like this.
"Glad you know to help yourself, Little Wing," said Dick with a sigh, waving one tired hand to Jason before turning and heading back to bed. I squeezed his shoulder and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as he passed me, then headed into the kitchen with a smile.
"My tax for you making me think I'd have to fight off an assailant with a bat at five in the morning is my own serving of whatever you're making," I said, taking a seat on one of the kitchen island stools. Jason raised an eyebrow at me.
"You're not going back to bed?"
"Nah. Unlike Dick, I got to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour last night, so the adrenaline dump isn't threatening to put me to sleep. I'd rather hang out with you, especially since you're a better cook than Dick and I combined. I'm not missing out on that."
Jason snorted, cracking an egg and resuming his cooking all the same.
"Dick contributes nothing to your combined cooking score," he said. "I'm pretty sure he's burned cereal before."
I laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're right. He's gotten better though. We watch the Food Network and look up recipes to make together, and I can trust him with way more than I used to be able to."
"If you could teach him anything it'd be a miracle," said Jason with a snort. I just hummed, trying to pick up some new skills of my own as I watched Jason cook.
"To be totally fair to him, I once forgot what I was doing and strained soup because I was on autopilot for pasta."
Jason barked a laugh, unable to hold himself back, and looked at me with a grin and a raised eyebrow.
"Really?" I nodded. "That's pathetic."
I just shrugged. "Yeah. But at least there's not a lot of places to go but up, after that."
"I guess so."
Jason and I chatted as he cooked and I watched, keeping our voices low so Dick could sleep—although, after the night he'd had, he'd probably sleep through a train in our living room. After breakfast, Jason decided to go down for a nap on the couch, passing out almost as soon as we'd put the last few dishes in the sink. I just smiled, threw a blanket over him, and wandered back into the bedroom to find Dick.
It was late enough in the morning now that my boyfriend was officially up and about, stretching by the bed with his hair still a little messed up from sleeping. I grinned and flopped down against the headboard as he crossed the room to the dresser to pull out clothes.
"How's Jaybird?" he asked. "Still a good cook?"
"Still a great cook. And he's good. He seems a little wiped out from patrols and stuff, though. He's taking a nap on the couch right now."
Dick smiled and shook his head. "I get up and he goes to sleep. Typical."
"Clearly he's avoiding you."
"Clearly."
Dick and I shared a smile, and then he sighed.
"I'm going to take a shower. Hopefully Jason will be up by the time I'm out, because I actually have things to do today."
I smiled, shifting on the bed to pull the covers over myself. "I'm sure you can be quiet if he's not. Wake me up when you're out of the shower, okay? A post-breakfast nap sounds too good to resist right now."
My boyfriend laughed. "Alright, will do. I'll wake you and Jason up when I'm out."
"Mhm. Good luck with him."
"Thanks, I'm gonna need it."
I closed my eyes, getting comfortable and ready for my nap, but before I drifted off I heard Dick's shuffling footsteps crossing the room to stand by my side of the bed. A second later, he sat down next to me, the bed dipping under his weight. I cracked an eye open to squint at him.
"What do you want?"
He grinned at me and chuckled.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to interfere with your nap. I just... I wanted to say how much I appreciate you, and how good you are with my family. They mean the world to me, but I know having vigilantes dropping in at all hours of the day and night can be a little much to deal with. So thank you for being so wonderful about it, and about them."
I sighed, sitting all the way up and propping myself up on my hands to look Dick in the eye.
"Dick, I love you. And I love your family. Sure, it took a little getting used to some of the vigilante stuff, but the longer I know them the more I love them. You don't have to thank me for anything. They're my family too."
Dick absolutely beamed at me, wrapping one arm around my back and pulling me in for a kiss. I immediately reciprocated, tangling one hand in the hair at the nape of his neck. I smiled into the kiss and a moment later, Dick deepened it. We were right on the edge of escalating into something more, but both thought better of it at the last moment.
"I should take a shower," he said, still looking a little reluctant as he pulled away.
"Yeah, and you should stop interrupting my nap."
Dick snorted, rolling his eyes as he finally stood and headed for the bathroom. I grinned after him as he went, flopping back down onto my pillow only as Dick closed the bathroom door.
I took a deep breath and sighed, a smile on my face, as I closed my eyes for the second time. I heard the water start in the bathroom, and a faint smell of breakfast still hung in the air. I was surrounded by people I loved dearly, and who loved me right back. No matter the scare Jason had given me when he'd shown up, I couldn't ask for a better start to my morning than this.
Third Day: Courting Ritual 🖤💙
My hand slipped and OOOPS, there are ropes.
(In this house we believe in reciprocal bites)
Uncensored on Tw and Ao3
Not explicitly sexual content, but Ig and Tumblr policies are a nuts in the ass*
