Under His Wing, Ch. 1-3
Originally posted to Batfic, posted here for backup in case anything ever happens to Batfic. My very first published fanfic attempt, inspired by reading the lovely fics written by Me_ya_ri. Snapshots was being written at the same time as this, so the idea for brotherly fluff totally came from there.
Title: Under His Wing
Rating: G
Word count: 324
Notes: This is set in the Teen Titans toonverse, with guest appearance by Tim Drake. Yes, I am aware that does not compute. Just go with it.
Warning: This is my first posted fanfic. Don’t expect miracles.
Summary: Why is there a small masked boy under Robin’s wing-er, cape?
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters, no matter how many comic books and DVDs are scattered around me right now.
Comments: Yes, please! I'd like to know if you like this, or even just if you read it.
Yawning widely, Cyborg ambled out to the living room, intent on breakfast. Glancing at the couch, he stopped short. Robin was stretched out on the couch, cape enveloping his strangely lumpy form all the way down to his ankles. “Uh, Robin? Don’t you usually wear a shorter cape?”
“Shh, you’ll wake him,” Robin hushed impatiently, but quietly.
“Wake who?” Cyborg asked, baffled.
“My little brother.” The ‘duh’ was clear. The cape moved, revealing a dark-haired head curled against Robin’s chest. Like Robin, a mask
covered the other boy’s eyes. His face was relaxed in sleep.
Cyborg’s jaw dropped. “You have a little brother?”
“Obviously, or I wouldn’t be worried about you waking him.” Robin’s voice was drier than toast.
“Uh, why is your little brother here, and hiding under your cape?” Cyborg questioned hesitantly. Not that it wasn’t cool that Robin had a brother and all, and he must be a masked crime fighter. He couldn’t imagine Robin’s brother being a masked villain, and clearly he was a masked something. Unless Robin’s whole family was born with masks attached to their faces. It would explain why Robin’s mask never seemed to come off…
“…Because someone thought it would be adorable to whump him until he felt the need to run to his big brother and hide under his cape.” Huh? Oh yeah, why Robin’s little brother was hiding under the cape. Whump. Wait, what?
“Ummm…” That made no sense at all.
“Don’t worry, I already vaporized all the plot bunnies associated with that idea. Since they write in a non-linear pattern, they never actually got around to the whumpage, so my little brother is fine. Just cuddly.”
Cyborg tried to process that. “You know what? Sorry I asked.” Maybe if he went back to bed and got up again in half an hour, the world would make sense again. Or maybe he needed to run a diagnostic. Yeah. Cyborg headed back to his room.
“Hmph. You’d think he’d never broken the fourth wall before,” Robin muttered, tucking the cape more securely around Tim. At least he had gotten the bunnies before the whump this time.
Chapter 2
~~~~
Title: Under His Wing, Ch. 2
Rating: G
Word count: 1,012
Notes:
This is set in the Teen Titans toonverse, with guest appearance by Tim
Drake. Yes, I am aware that does not compute. Just go with it.
Warning: Fourth wall breakage. Mostly by Robins, current or former.
Summary: Robin’s little brother meets the Titans.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters, no matter how many comic books and DVDs are scattered around me right now.
Comments: Yes, please! I'd like to know if you like this, or even just if you read it.
Previous Chapter(s): Chapter One
“Good morning! Who wants tofu waffles!” Beast Boy belted out as he came into the living room on a direct path for the kitchen.
“Shhh!” Robin shushed from the couch. Before Beast Boy could ask why he was being hushed, he heard an unfamiliar voice.
“Hmmm?”
“Dang it, you woke him,” Robin grumbled.
“Good morning friend Robin!” Starfire sang out as she floated in. “Friend Cyborg is talking of Robins and brothers and bunnies. Please, what is going on?”
“D-Robin?” The sleep-heavy unfamiliar voice asked.
“Hey little brother,” Robin said warmly.
“Does someone want to explain why Cyborg is talking loudly to himself about diagnostics?” Raven asked, headed for the teakettle.
Robin heaved a sigh. “Okay.” He ran a hand through his hair, then ruffled Tim’s unruly mess.
“Come on, little brother, obviously they aren’t going to let you sleep in any more.” Robin hauled himself upright, taking care not to dump Tim on the floor. Once upright, he swept his cape back to reveal the smaller boy, clad in his own cape over a red bodysuit, black groin guard, and familiar yellow belt and R.
“Guys, this is my little brother. Little brother, meet Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven. Cyborg is the other person on my team, but you were asleep when he poked his head in,” Robin explained.
Tim yawned widely, covering his mouth with his hand. “Oh, okay. Hi everyone.” The hand came up to rub at his masked eyes.
“I did not know you had a brother, Robin!” Starfire exclaimed, floating closer to examine the boy.
“Dude, why didn’t you tell us before?” Beast Boy vaulted over the couch, landing next to Robin and looking the newcomer up and down. Same dark hair, athletic form, and fashion sense. Raven filled her kettle and set it on the stove, then drifted closer herself.
“Well, I didn’t always have a brother,” Robin started.
“Well, duh, if he’s your little brother. But he’s more than a few years old!” Beast Boy pouted.
Tim laughed. “Actually, I have only been his brother for a few years.”
“What?” Beast Boy pulled back, looking confused. Hm, maybe it was aliens! Or an aging machine! Or a time traveling thing or *pop* Raven’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Adoption, idiot.” Raven gave Beast Boy a flat look. She knew he had been thinking something ridiculous.
“Oh. You’re adopted?” Beast Boy asked in a subdued voice. Why did everyone always have to go and ruin his theories?
“Kinda. It’s not on paper or anything, but all of Batman’s protégés are his kids, kind of, so we are all siblings that way. Especially his Robins.”
“So, um, we know you’re Robin’s brother, but what’s your name?” They couldn’t keep calling the kid “Robin’s little brother.”
“Robin!” Tim chirped.
“Robin? But Robin’s Robin!” Beast Boy said, flailing a little to make his point.
“And so am I!” Tim insisted.
“You can’t both be Robin!” Unless he was a de-aged Alien clone!
“But we are! My big brother is the first Robin, and I’m Batman’s current partner, Robin.”
“Okay, fine. But we can’t call you both Robin,” Beast Boy protested.
“Good point,” Tim conceded.
“We could call you ‘adorable little stalker,’” Robin said, ruffling his little brother’s hair again.
“Too long!” Tim batted Robin’s hand away, but he was smiling.
“Awww. Fine. We’ll call you Red,” Robin said, plucking at the red bodysuit.
“Alright,” the newly-dubbed Red agreed.
The teakettle whistled. Raven drifted over to it, made herself a cup of her usual morning herbal tea, and floated back.
“So, do you have any other family?” Beast Boy asked curiously.
“Our middle brother died,” Red said sadly.
“Yeah, but I came back.” This came from the masked figure that had most certainly not been there just a second ago.
“Red X!” The cry came from three sources, as Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven all leapt to defensive positions. Raven’s teacup crashed to the ground, spilling tea everywhere. Strangely, Robin didn’t even try to get up, only sighing.
“Calm down, I’m just making sure my little brother got away from the plot bunnies unscathed,” Red X said, holding his hands out, looking directly at Tim.
“I got bitten by a cuddle bunny, and I was in Gotham when they showed up, and ran here on foot, so I might have gotten nipped by an as the plot demands bunny,” Tim rattled off quickly. Red X crouched, looking at the bite on Tim’s ankle. It didn’t look too bad, then again, it was from a cuddle bunny. They weren’t that nasty, just a little embarrassing.
“Could have been a plot worm hole,” Robin pointed out.
“True. That’s how Red X got in. Your cape was definitely an as the plot demands bunny though,” Tim said.
“Um, hello? We have an intruder who stole a powerful suit in the tower. Does anyone plan to do anything about this?” Beast Boy asked, eyeing Red X nervously.
“Well, he’s our brother, and he isn’t doing anything actively criminal right now…” Tim said innocently.
“Please, what are these bunnies and plot holes you speak of?” Starfire seemed to have accepted that battle was not imminent, and was floating near Robin.
Eyebrow twitching, Raven cleaned up her spilled tea and broken cup, before getting a new cup with fresh tea.
“Seriously,” Red X said, standing up and heading for the kitchen area, “Are bat-brats the only ones who can see the fluffy little monsters? You guys have to have regular infestations, and these guys are acting like they’re news.”
“Believe it or not, Silkie helps. He loves ‘em.” Robin had fed him one just last night. He had been searching for more outside the base of the tower when Tim had shown up.
“Huh, so that’s why you keep a mutant moth larva as a pet.”
Cyborg wandered back into the living room. He’d gone back to bed for a half hour, and had a diagnostic run while he slept. It came up clean. “Red X!” He immediately pointed his arm-cannon at the dangerous intruder.
Robin face-palmed.
Chapter 3
~~~~
Title: Under His Wing, Ch. 3
Rating: G
Word count: 915
Notes:
This is set in the Teen Titans toonverse, with guest appearance by Tim
Drake. Yes, I am aware that does not compute. Just go with it.
Warning: Fourth wall breakage. Mostly by Robins, current or former.
Summary: Cyborg tries to understand just what is going on.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters, no matter how many comic books and DVDs are scattered around me right now.
Comments: Yes, please! I'd like to know if you like this, or even just if you read it.
Previous Chapter(s): Chapter One , Chapter Two
“Okay, so lemme get this straight. Last night you,” Cyborg pointed to Tim, dubbed Red, “were in Gotham. You felt like you were being watched. All your usual enemies are in jail or Arkham, gang activity is low, nothing to explain the creepy crawlies. Then, as you finish patrol, you see white fluff, and take off running.”
“Yes. Plot bunnies are no joke,” Red said seriously.
“Uh-huh. So you are running from a swarm of bunnies. Something bites you-”
“A cuddle bunny,” Red interrupts.
“A cuddle bunny,” Cyborg says it as if it pains him, “bites you. You keep running, and find yourself on Titan’s island, with your big brother, Robin, out front.”
“Uh-huh. Right so far,” Red confirms.
“You hide behind him, and he throws one of his disk-thingies, which vaporizes the bunnies. Robin, why do you have a disk strong enough to vaporize a whole herd of bunnies?”
“So I can vaporize an entire herd of plot bunnies if I need to,” Robin said in a tone that made it clear he was stating the obvious.
“O-kaay. Moving right along. The bunnies are vaporized, so you show him your bite. Recognizing it as a cuddle bunny,” Cyborg shivers, “bite, Robin wraps his cape around you. The cape is suddenly ankle length because an “as the plot demands” bunny, the sole survivor of the vaporization, bit the cape.”
“Correct.”
“You,” Cyborg says to Robin, “bash the bunny on your cape against a rock, killing it, which causes it to dissolve into a dust bunny and blow away.”
“Yes. This is part of how plot bunnies escape detection,” Robin explains.
“Riiiiiight. So after killing the bunny, you take your little brother, also a Robin, upstairs to the couch. Because he has been bitten by a cuddle bunny,” Cyborg’s wince is smaller this time, but still noticeable, “you sleep on the couch, with Red under your cape.”
“Proper treatment for a bite from a cuddle bunny is cuddling from a family member or loved one. If the person bitten by a cuddle bunny does not get cuddling from a safe source, they will often seek out someone they have strong emotions towards. The best case scenario in this situation is seeking out a friend, though more often they end up seeking out someone they have repressed affection for. If no one they have strong positive emotions towards is available for cuddling, they often resort to seeking out enemies, people they have strong negative emotions for. Don’t take any plot bunnies lightly. Even cuddle bunnies can lead to disastrous situations,” Robin lectured in a serious tone. “And Red slept. I stayed awake and kept watch.”
Cyborg stared blankly at Robin for a long moment. A cricket chirped. Everyone turned to glare at Beast Boy. He froze, and turned back into his humanoid form.
“What?” he asked, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
Red X sat back down next to his brothers with a carton of Chinese take-out from the fridge. Glancing around, he shrugged, and pulled his mask off.
“A mask under the mask?” Cyborg asked incredulously.
Red X raised an eyebrow behind his red domino and slurped up a bite of the cold leftover noodles.
Shaking his head, Cyborg continued his recap. “So our Robin was the first Robin. Then came Red X, who was the second Robin, because Batman caught him lifting the wheels on the Batmobile, and decided to reward his guts?”
“That’s the only explanation that makes any sense that we can come up with,” Red X agreed.
“He’s Batman. Does he really need a reason?” Raven asked.
“Good point. So then there was Red, who got the job after Robin the second was beaten to death by Joker. You got the job by informing Batman that you had been stalking him and taking pictures, completely undetected, since our Robin had been Batman’s Robin, and you thought he was in need of a Robin since Robin the second had been murdered.”
“That’s a little simplified, but basically correct,” Red said.
“Maybe we should have called you Lemming,” Raven deadpanned.
“Hey, I got better!” Jason quipped with a fake British accent.
“Wow Raven, was that a joke?” Beast Boy asked eagerly. Raven stared at him blankly. Beast Boy fidgeted, then turned to Red.
“So, you have any of these pictures you used to take with you?”
“Sure!” Red pulled a trio of pictures out of one of his belt pouches, offering them to the Titans. “I like to keep pictures of my family with me on patrol. Look, here’s a Batman next to the bat-signal, Robin the first flying on a d-cell line, and Robin the second knocking out a few teeth.”
Peering at the pictures, Starfire gasped. “Robin, where are your pants?”
“Neither of them have pants on! Just these tiny green short-shorts!” Beast Boy exclaimed, staring at the pictures.
“There’s a reason I stole the Red X costume. The short pants were definitely a part of that reason,” Red X said very, very dryly.
There was a moment of sage nodding from pretty much everyone as they accepted the reasoning presented by Red X.
Looking from one dark-haired, masked boy to another, Cyborg confirmed, “And you’re all brothers, but not by blood, though you all look related?”
“What can I say, Batman has a type,” Red X snarked. “We’ve even got the same eye color.”
“Please, what color is that?” Starfire asked eagerly.
Tapping his white-out lenses, Red X grinned. “White.”
Title: Under His Wing
Rating: G
Word count: 324
Notes: This is set in the Teen Titans toonverse, with guest appearance by Tim Drake. Yes, I am aware that does not compute. Just go with it.
Warning: This is my first posted fanfic. Don’t expect miracles.
Summary: Why is there a small masked boy under Robin’s wing-er, cape?
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters, no matter how many comic books and DVDs are scattered around me right now.
Comments: Yes, please! I'd like to know if you like this, or even just if you read it.
Yawning widely, Cyborg ambled out to the living room, intent on breakfast. Glancing at the couch, he stopped short. Robin was stretched out on the couch, cape enveloping his strangely lumpy form all the way down to his ankles. “Uh, Robin? Don’t you usually wear a shorter cape?”
“Shh, you’ll wake him,” Robin hushed impatiently, but quietly.
“Wake who?” Cyborg asked, baffled.
“My little brother.” The ‘duh’ was clear. The cape moved, revealing a dark-haired head curled against Robin’s chest. Like Robin, a mask
covered the other boy’s eyes. His face was relaxed in sleep.
Cyborg’s jaw dropped. “You have a little brother?”
“Obviously, or I wouldn’t be worried about you waking him.” Robin’s voice was drier than toast.
“Uh, why is your little brother here, and hiding under your cape?” Cyborg questioned hesitantly. Not that it wasn’t cool that Robin had a brother and all, and he must be a masked crime fighter. He couldn’t imagine Robin’s brother being a masked villain, and clearly he was a masked something. Unless Robin’s whole family was born with masks attached to their faces. It would explain why Robin’s mask never seemed to come off…
“…Because someone thought it would be adorable to whump him until he felt the need to run to his big brother and hide under his cape.” Huh? Oh yeah, why Robin’s little brother was hiding under the cape. Whump. Wait, what?
“Ummm…” That made no sense at all.
“Don’t worry, I already vaporized all the plot bunnies associated with that idea. Since they write in a non-linear pattern, they never actually got around to the whumpage, so my little brother is fine. Just cuddly.”
Cyborg tried to process that. “You know what? Sorry I asked.” Maybe if he went back to bed and got up again in half an hour, the world would make sense again. Or maybe he needed to run a diagnostic. Yeah. Cyborg headed back to his room.
“Hmph. You’d think he’d never broken the fourth wall before,” Robin muttered, tucking the cape more securely around Tim. At least he had gotten the bunnies before the whump this time.
Chapter 2
~~~~
Title: Under His Wing, Ch. 2
Rating: G
Word count: 1,012
Notes:
This is set in the Teen Titans toonverse, with guest appearance by Tim
Drake. Yes, I am aware that does not compute. Just go with it.
Warning: Fourth wall breakage. Mostly by Robins, current or former.
Summary: Robin’s little brother meets the Titans.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters, no matter how many comic books and DVDs are scattered around me right now.
Comments: Yes, please! I'd like to know if you like this, or even just if you read it.
Previous Chapter(s): Chapter One
“Good morning! Who wants tofu waffles!” Beast Boy belted out as he came into the living room on a direct path for the kitchen.
“Shhh!” Robin shushed from the couch. Before Beast Boy could ask why he was being hushed, he heard an unfamiliar voice.
“Hmmm?”
“Dang it, you woke him,” Robin grumbled.
“Good morning friend Robin!” Starfire sang out as she floated in. “Friend Cyborg is talking of Robins and brothers and bunnies. Please, what is going on?”
“D-Robin?” The sleep-heavy unfamiliar voice asked.
“Hey little brother,” Robin said warmly.
“Does someone want to explain why Cyborg is talking loudly to himself about diagnostics?” Raven asked, headed for the teakettle.
Robin heaved a sigh. “Okay.” He ran a hand through his hair, then ruffled Tim’s unruly mess.
“Come on, little brother, obviously they aren’t going to let you sleep in any more.” Robin hauled himself upright, taking care not to dump Tim on the floor. Once upright, he swept his cape back to reveal the smaller boy, clad in his own cape over a red bodysuit, black groin guard, and familiar yellow belt and R.
“Guys, this is my little brother. Little brother, meet Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven. Cyborg is the other person on my team, but you were asleep when he poked his head in,” Robin explained.
Tim yawned widely, covering his mouth with his hand. “Oh, okay. Hi everyone.” The hand came up to rub at his masked eyes.
“I did not know you had a brother, Robin!” Starfire exclaimed, floating closer to examine the boy.
“Dude, why didn’t you tell us before?” Beast Boy vaulted over the couch, landing next to Robin and looking the newcomer up and down. Same dark hair, athletic form, and fashion sense. Raven filled her kettle and set it on the stove, then drifted closer herself.
“Well, I didn’t always have a brother,” Robin started.
“Well, duh, if he’s your little brother. But he’s more than a few years old!” Beast Boy pouted.
Tim laughed. “Actually, I have only been his brother for a few years.”
“What?” Beast Boy pulled back, looking confused. Hm, maybe it was aliens! Or an aging machine! Or a time traveling thing or *pop* Raven’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Adoption, idiot.” Raven gave Beast Boy a flat look. She knew he had been thinking something ridiculous.
“Oh. You’re adopted?” Beast Boy asked in a subdued voice. Why did everyone always have to go and ruin his theories?
“Kinda. It’s not on paper or anything, but all of Batman’s protégés are his kids, kind of, so we are all siblings that way. Especially his Robins.”
“So, um, we know you’re Robin’s brother, but what’s your name?” They couldn’t keep calling the kid “Robin’s little brother.”
“Robin!” Tim chirped.
“Robin? But Robin’s Robin!” Beast Boy said, flailing a little to make his point.
“And so am I!” Tim insisted.
“You can’t both be Robin!” Unless he was a de-aged Alien clone!
“But we are! My big brother is the first Robin, and I’m Batman’s current partner, Robin.”
“Okay, fine. But we can’t call you both Robin,” Beast Boy protested.
“Good point,” Tim conceded.
“We could call you ‘adorable little stalker,’” Robin said, ruffling his little brother’s hair again.
“Too long!” Tim batted Robin’s hand away, but he was smiling.
“Awww. Fine. We’ll call you Red,” Robin said, plucking at the red bodysuit.
“Alright,” the newly-dubbed Red agreed.
The teakettle whistled. Raven drifted over to it, made herself a cup of her usual morning herbal tea, and floated back.
“So, do you have any other family?” Beast Boy asked curiously.
“Our middle brother died,” Red said sadly.
“Yeah, but I came back.” This came from the masked figure that had most certainly not been there just a second ago.
“Red X!” The cry came from three sources, as Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven all leapt to defensive positions. Raven’s teacup crashed to the ground, spilling tea everywhere. Strangely, Robin didn’t even try to get up, only sighing.
“Calm down, I’m just making sure my little brother got away from the plot bunnies unscathed,” Red X said, holding his hands out, looking directly at Tim.
“I got bitten by a cuddle bunny, and I was in Gotham when they showed up, and ran here on foot, so I might have gotten nipped by an as the plot demands bunny,” Tim rattled off quickly. Red X crouched, looking at the bite on Tim’s ankle. It didn’t look too bad, then again, it was from a cuddle bunny. They weren’t that nasty, just a little embarrassing.
“Could have been a plot worm hole,” Robin pointed out.
“True. That’s how Red X got in. Your cape was definitely an as the plot demands bunny though,” Tim said.
“Um, hello? We have an intruder who stole a powerful suit in the tower. Does anyone plan to do anything about this?” Beast Boy asked, eyeing Red X nervously.
“Well, he’s our brother, and he isn’t doing anything actively criminal right now…” Tim said innocently.
“Please, what are these bunnies and plot holes you speak of?” Starfire seemed to have accepted that battle was not imminent, and was floating near Robin.
Eyebrow twitching, Raven cleaned up her spilled tea and broken cup, before getting a new cup with fresh tea.
“Seriously,” Red X said, standing up and heading for the kitchen area, “Are bat-brats the only ones who can see the fluffy little monsters? You guys have to have regular infestations, and these guys are acting like they’re news.”
“Believe it or not, Silkie helps. He loves ‘em.” Robin had fed him one just last night. He had been searching for more outside the base of the tower when Tim had shown up.
“Huh, so that’s why you keep a mutant moth larva as a pet.”
Cyborg wandered back into the living room. He’d gone back to bed for a half hour, and had a diagnostic run while he slept. It came up clean. “Red X!” He immediately pointed his arm-cannon at the dangerous intruder.
Robin face-palmed.
Chapter 3
~~~~
Title: Under His Wing, Ch. 3
Rating: G
Word count: 915
Notes:
This is set in the Teen Titans toonverse, with guest appearance by Tim
Drake. Yes, I am aware that does not compute. Just go with it.
Warning: Fourth wall breakage. Mostly by Robins, current or former.
Summary: Cyborg tries to understand just what is going on.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters, no matter how many comic books and DVDs are scattered around me right now.
Comments: Yes, please! I'd like to know if you like this, or even just if you read it.
Previous Chapter(s): Chapter One , Chapter Two
“Okay, so lemme get this straight. Last night you,” Cyborg pointed to Tim, dubbed Red, “were in Gotham. You felt like you were being watched. All your usual enemies are in jail or Arkham, gang activity is low, nothing to explain the creepy crawlies. Then, as you finish patrol, you see white fluff, and take off running.”
“Yes. Plot bunnies are no joke,” Red said seriously.
“Uh-huh. So you are running from a swarm of bunnies. Something bites you-”
“A cuddle bunny,” Red interrupts.
“A cuddle bunny,” Cyborg says it as if it pains him, “bites you. You keep running, and find yourself on Titan’s island, with your big brother, Robin, out front.”
“Uh-huh. Right so far,” Red confirms.
“You hide behind him, and he throws one of his disk-thingies, which vaporizes the bunnies. Robin, why do you have a disk strong enough to vaporize a whole herd of bunnies?”
“So I can vaporize an entire herd of plot bunnies if I need to,” Robin said in a tone that made it clear he was stating the obvious.
“O-kaay. Moving right along. The bunnies are vaporized, so you show him your bite. Recognizing it as a cuddle bunny,” Cyborg shivers, “bite, Robin wraps his cape around you. The cape is suddenly ankle length because an “as the plot demands” bunny, the sole survivor of the vaporization, bit the cape.”
“Correct.”
“You,” Cyborg says to Robin, “bash the bunny on your cape against a rock, killing it, which causes it to dissolve into a dust bunny and blow away.”
“Yes. This is part of how plot bunnies escape detection,” Robin explains.
“Riiiiiight. So after killing the bunny, you take your little brother, also a Robin, upstairs to the couch. Because he has been bitten by a cuddle bunny,” Cyborg’s wince is smaller this time, but still noticeable, “you sleep on the couch, with Red under your cape.”
“Proper treatment for a bite from a cuddle bunny is cuddling from a family member or loved one. If the person bitten by a cuddle bunny does not get cuddling from a safe source, they will often seek out someone they have strong emotions towards. The best case scenario in this situation is seeking out a friend, though more often they end up seeking out someone they have repressed affection for. If no one they have strong positive emotions towards is available for cuddling, they often resort to seeking out enemies, people they have strong negative emotions for. Don’t take any plot bunnies lightly. Even cuddle bunnies can lead to disastrous situations,” Robin lectured in a serious tone. “And Red slept. I stayed awake and kept watch.”
Cyborg stared blankly at Robin for a long moment. A cricket chirped. Everyone turned to glare at Beast Boy. He froze, and turned back into his humanoid form.
“What?” he asked, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
Red X sat back down next to his brothers with a carton of Chinese take-out from the fridge. Glancing around, he shrugged, and pulled his mask off.
“A mask under the mask?” Cyborg asked incredulously.
Red X raised an eyebrow behind his red domino and slurped up a bite of the cold leftover noodles.
Shaking his head, Cyborg continued his recap. “So our Robin was the first Robin. Then came Red X, who was the second Robin, because Batman caught him lifting the wheels on the Batmobile, and decided to reward his guts?”
“That’s the only explanation that makes any sense that we can come up with,” Red X agreed.
“He’s Batman. Does he really need a reason?” Raven asked.
“Good point. So then there was Red, who got the job after Robin the second was beaten to death by Joker. You got the job by informing Batman that you had been stalking him and taking pictures, completely undetected, since our Robin had been Batman’s Robin, and you thought he was in need of a Robin since Robin the second had been murdered.”
“That’s a little simplified, but basically correct,” Red said.
“Maybe we should have called you Lemming,” Raven deadpanned.
“Hey, I got better!” Jason quipped with a fake British accent.
“Wow Raven, was that a joke?” Beast Boy asked eagerly. Raven stared at him blankly. Beast Boy fidgeted, then turned to Red.
“So, you have any of these pictures you used to take with you?”
“Sure!” Red pulled a trio of pictures out of one of his belt pouches, offering them to the Titans. “I like to keep pictures of my family with me on patrol. Look, here’s a Batman next to the bat-signal, Robin the first flying on a d-cell line, and Robin the second knocking out a few teeth.”
Peering at the pictures, Starfire gasped. “Robin, where are your pants?”
“Neither of them have pants on! Just these tiny green short-shorts!” Beast Boy exclaimed, staring at the pictures.
“There’s a reason I stole the Red X costume. The short pants were definitely a part of that reason,” Red X said very, very dryly.
There was a moment of sage nodding from pretty much everyone as they accepted the reasoning presented by Red X.
Looking from one dark-haired, masked boy to another, Cyborg confirmed, “And you’re all brothers, but not by blood, though you all look related?”
“What can I say, Batman has a type,” Red X snarked. “We’ve even got the same eye color.”
“Please, what color is that?” Starfire asked eagerly.
Tapping his white-out lenses, Red X grinned. “White.”