I really like the whole āother members of the Batfam can mimic the Robin, report! to a degree where they actually respond as if itās Batman,ā but I raise you:
What if other Gothamites learned to do the same thing?
The first time it happens, Jim is panicking. Heās got an injured bird on his hands and no idea where Batman is. The kid isnāt responding no matter who asks questions, and suddenly the GCPD is treated to Commissioner Gordon doing a scarily good Batman impression, to the point Robin immediately responds
Word doesnāt necessarily get out right away. It happened in the precinct building, so the only witnesses were cops. But the rumors start in bars with drunk men telling anecdotes, with officers coming home with stories, and it spreads from there.
Eventually, people know that if you channel Batman and go āRobin, report!ā the bird will go from gasping desperately in pain to a robotic list of injuries. EMTs learn to do this as part of their training. The Bats donāt go to hospitals, but they will let someone do emergency first aid on them.
Interestingly, it doesnāt just work on Robin. Gotham knows, regardless of what the rest of the world thinks, that their little birds grow up to become other Bats. Itās why their rivalry with BlĆ¼dhaven over Nightwing is so vicious. Thatās their little bird the city is claiming. BlĆ¼dhaven did not raise him, Gotham did.
Of course, not all of the Bats were Robin. Signal flipped someone off for trying the trick, and Black Bat pulled out a sharpie and drew a sad face on a civilianās hand when they were trying to see how injured she was after falling several stories due to a snapped grapple line. So, the trick isnāt universal.
The most surprising one was when someone found Red Hood, half-buried in rubble with a slash across his neck, and barked out the order in a panic and he immediately complied.
It wasnāt Batman who told the city he was their dead little bird. It was the panic of a passerby just trying to do the right thing.
After all, Gotham may not acknowledge it, but all of them love their birds. They are protectors, and not just from the rogues. They help with the murders, yes, but they also do small stuff. Stop muggings. Talk people down. Slip rƩsumƩs into the right hands, guide people to the right clinics.
And just how the Bats protect and help the people of Gotham, Her citizens help and protect them.
Oh I adore this OP I want to steal it and frame it
It's mostly Gothamites, but it has spread a little bit further. In fact, it's the cause of much consternation when a big corporate summit full of both billionaires and journalists is attacked and Robin is badly injured, but before any of the panicked Gothamites can process their training, Clark fucking Kent of all people barks out "Robin, report" in the most perfect Batman impression anyone has ever heard and it works.
The Gothamites are both angry and confused because how did some hick from Metropolis-via-Smallville learn the Robin trick to the point of having better reflexes than them, and imitate Batman so perfectly that those who couldn't see thought Batman was actually there?
Thus begins the rumor that Clark Kent is secretly Batman, and Batman is only seen at night because of the commute.
