November 9

Waiting for training to start had to be the most awkward they had felt in a long time. Every new person that walked through the doors or ignition of the Zetas caused all heads to snap towards the poor soul entering. But it was never who they were actually waiting for.

It had been 3 days since that night. Since Robin's breakdown, since the conflict with Klarion and Dr. Fate, since Phantom nearly died for them. Since they were all haunted by what they witnessed and the fact their share of blame to it. Some mentors tried to step in afterwards, tried to mitigate what happened by overcorrecting their previous stances. But it was for nothing. They already lost Zatara, one of their own, and nearly lost two more.

Except for Zatanna telling them they weren't allowed to help her move, and Batman being spotted out on patrols, they hadn't gotten a single sign of life from them. What concerned them beyond words was the fact Batman had even taken an official leave of absence. Batman never took a leave without something being really bad. Hell, this is the same man who openly keeps working through concussions and broken bones.

And maybe worst of it, nobody on the team, nor the mentors, had heard from either Batling. Not even a confirmation on if they genuinely chose to leave the team or not.

The Zeta to the Batcave was shut down as well, but only a handful were aware of that fact. A fact Wally couldn't even discuss with anybody as the only team member in the know. Zatanna refused to be alone in the same room as him, her cat making sure ample warning was given for him to leave her alone.

Which was unsettling in and of itself. Wally knew Zatanna knew. The obvious Wayne funding of her stuff, or well Cicci's stuff, was more than obvious if you knew what to look for. But he didn't know if Zatanna knew he knew. And he can't just walk up and say anything just in case he was wrong and it was just Selina nabbing Bruce's card without the man being aware of it. They had been a whole lot closer than previous on again moments, but they still had a long spanning off again history as well.

What happens in Gotham usually stayed in Gotham.

But lately Gotham's secrets had a thing for escaping containment, leaving others even more confused on how to handle things as it wasn't something they had previous references for.

By the time Canary arrived, and got the entire collection of hopeful turned disappointed looks directed at her, she knew she couldn't get them to focus on training in this state. Hell, she could barely focus herself. What she heard from Oliver was already bad enough, but what little the kids had let slip when talking to her outside of therapy...

Well, let's just say she owed Selina a personal apology on top of everything else.

Looking between the kids before her, she knew they were hoping she had answers. Answers she would like herself but had no way of getting with the formal leave of absence Batman had taken. Nothing short of another Klarion crisis was good enough reason to break the rare moment the man took for himself.

That being said, he wasn't the only person they could try to contact. Trying a show of hands, she didn't know if she should validate or question why nobody tried to reach out to Robin or Phantom themselves. They had expected the birds to come back on their own, like they always had. Perhaps now was the perfect time to break the expectation of waiting for them to make the first move.

Going through the options, she figured linking up with the Batcave would be the best bet. It wouldn't disturb Bruce personally unless the man was in front of the damn thing. With baited breath, the teens gathered around her as the call struggled to connect. It was taking almost embarrassingly long, like a silent hint to give up.

She almost did too, when a very groggy, messy haired birdie finally picked up. Or rather, his cat. Blue eyes filled the screen, whiskers brushing against the standing mic the curious cat had summoned as she looked at the confused faces. "Nanaki? How did you-" Wally confusedly blurted out before he was cut off by the rustling in the background.

"Wha- Nanakiiii." They heard a mildly grumpy Robin drag out. With a rumbling mewl, Nanaki was lifted off and out of view of the camera she had somehow managed to open.

Fixing the settings Nanaki messed up, Robin plopped down into the chair. Covered in a Batman themed hoodie set that was clearly not his size, he grumbled about keeping Nanaki on a leash next time he tried to take a nap. "What is it?" Hand sneaking out of the sweater paw, he brushed through his hair before finally laying somewhat more comfortable. Having been rudely awoken from his nap, he was clearly in no mood to deal with people right now.

Awkwardly glancing between each other, the team waited for Canary to speak, choosing her as their representative. Not that they knew what to say anyway. Outside of Wally, none of the others had ever seen Robin this...relaxed? Homey? Canary and Wally even recognized the gag gift hoodie Oliver had given Bruce last year, surprised to see it on the boy.

Even when he wore civvies before he always had that air of a hero about him. Now however, now he looked just like any other grumpy kid woken up from a good nap.

Clearing her throat, Canary fought against commenting on anything other than what would be appropriate. "Well," she trailed off, trying to not stress too much as Robin's glasses threatened to fall off as he rubbed his eyes. "Training is about to start, and we haven't had any official word about your, ah, continuation with the team..."

Luckily for her, she didn't have to continue on as Robin got the gist. "Yeah, no. I can't leave. Batman's not available to watch Phantom and he isn't allowed to be unsupervised." Stifling a yawn, Robin didn't sound too amused by the situation either.

In other words, Alfred probably sedated Batman again and Robin was put in charge of Phantom's care. Either that or he was otherwise occupied with a certain catty burglar. Both options were equally possible, but leaned towards sleep given how Robin too was taking a powernap before being woken up.

Who knew the Bats were capable of normal human functions such as sleep? Not them that's for sure.

Robin rubbed his temple, sinking lower in the seat and nearly drowning in the hood as fabric balled around his neck. "Is it fine if I just watch? Take notes or whatever?" The bird muttered, anything but in the mood for any of this.

Canary glanced between the teens looking on. Technically speaking, they could be excused from training with valid reasons. From what she heard and what Robin just told her, they had more than enough reason to not participate. Then again, when Wally was in a cast, he still showed up to watch too.

Canary didn't get a chance to answer as their attention was pulled towards the background. More specifically, a white blob moving around ever so slowly. Not wanting to call the Batcave haunted, they couldn't help but think so as the bedsheet seemed to move on its own.

A shiver ran down Robin's spine so blatantly they could see the boy shake where he sat. Sleep hazed his reaction, but once he seemed to realize what happened, Robin looked behind him. "Fils de p- who said you could get out of bed?!" Robin got up out of the chair, speed-hobbling over and completely missing the pained looks at his rolled up pant leg. Icy cast in full view, it really just rubbed in how little time had passed and in just how bad of a state they left the battlefield.

Their harrowing recounting of that evening was interrupted by a barely audible "Fast as fuck, boy" as they saw the sheet scramble to dodge Robin. Little cat noises came from the wobbling blanket as it ran around. Clearly that poor baby would not survive A Quiet Place, but with the idiots around them, that wouldn't be an issue.

Watching Robin hobble over to the blanket, they soon found out the walking blur was simply Phantom trying to sneak out.

Chasing around the notably slowed ghost, Robin finally managed to get a hold of the sheet, causing Phantom to fall down with an indignant squawk. Collecting all corners of the blanket, the only visible bit of Phantom was his limbs trying to find an exit. From the mess of fabric and limbs popped out the white cat that had been chilling with Phantom before.

"Save yourself, Shiro! Escape this prison!" Phantom cried out to the cat, only for her to circle around towards Robin. Screaming at the other boy, she made her complaints known for disturbing her rest. "Or that. That's an option too." Phantom half laughed as he finally managed to wiggle his way out while Robin was distracted. Dressed in a matching sweats set as Robin, his hood completely covered his face.

Not that it would have mattered much as Batman's paranoia made sure there was an auto blur on all of their faces if no mask or sunglasses were in place.

Trying to crawl away from the blanket, Robin equally tried to trap Phantom in it again. Not wanting to be captured again, Phantom seemed to freeze over the ground Robin was stepping on. With a few more twists and turns than what would be expected, Robin found himself on the floor as well. "Oh you fuck-" Robin gave Phantom very little time before he jumped the poor ghost.

"Did you fucking bite me?!"

"Do you have any proof?!"

"What, exactly," a curd voice cut through the scuffle, "do you two think you're doing?" Freezing in place, two heads snapped up as a woman slowly walked into frame. Next to her was the black cat from before, now joining her sister in singing their beautiful song of screams.

Robin looked directly at the black cat, shoulders sagging as the fabric of his hoodie pooled on the floor. "Traitor." He hissed out before trying to act more innocent to the looming authority. "Mamaaaaa, he bit me!" Crying out in mock pain, he lifted up his arm enough that a wet blotch of fabric could even be seen on the camera. They really had to be thankful for Batman's tech and the sharpness of the camera focus or it wouldn't nearly have been as funny as it was unsettling to see them all act so...normal.

"As if you weren't trying the same."

"Lies and slander! You have no proof, whereas I do." Robin wiggled his arm in Phantom's face, the wet blotch weighing down his sleeve.

Phantom, sensing the need to win favor, swooned like a Victorian damsel, starfishing on the floor as his arm hit Robin in the face. "I WAS BRUTALLY ATTACKED!" He cried out, drama pouring out of every pore as he put his all into it.

"Liar! All I did was try to get you back into bed!"

"VIOLENCE AGAINST THE CRIPPLED!" Phantom continued the performance, giggles escaping between breaths as he tried and failed to keep a serious tone. "ACCOSTED IN MY OWN HOME!"

"They can't be for real, right?" Artemis questioned as they all watched the chaos unfold before them. A chorus of shrugs and frowns was all she managed to get out of her teammates. Not even the deep-set frown and thin line Wally's lips were pressed into was any indication of this being either normal or abnormal for Robin. Unfortunately, the boys answered her question by simply being themselves.

"YOU MADE ME SLIP!" Robin cried out indignantly, looking between Phantom wriggling around and Selina watching them unamused. "I'M CRIPPLED TOO!" He shoved his icy cast into the air, gesturing to it in hopes to win the battle of bullshitting.

Dropping the theatrics, Phantom completely calmed down and looked at Robin. "Did not. You fell on your own."

Robin's head slowly turned to Phantom. "The ice is literally still there. You so did!"

Phantom scoffed, whisking away the aforementioned ice as he did. "What ice? I did no such thing."

Growling in frustration, Robin propped himself up again. "Yes you did!"

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"Did too!" Almost starting up again where they left off, Selina lifted Robin up at the scruff of his hoodie. Now dangling where he hung, Robin curled in on himself just to keep his legs out of reach from Phantom still trying to hit him. Giggling innocently, he gave out the smallest of waves as he made direct eye contact with Selina. "Hi?" he tried meekly, folding under her unrelenting and very unamused stare. "How was your nap?"

"It was nice." She mused contently before all warmth fell from her features once more. "Until I woke up to Nanaki screaming in my face."

"Yeah," he chuckled uncomfortably, "she does that a lot, doesn't she?"

"She would have to raise less alarm if you simply abode the rules." An unfamiliar voice, out of bounds from the view, echoed through the cave. "It is not because Lord Frostbite praised you for learning a new skill on instinct that you may disregard his previous instructions, young lords." It grumbled, mild frustration evident as it spoke with oddly layered familiarity. "Is this what I get for daring to quell the intrigue over you two miscreants? Not even able to finish a nice cup of tea with an old friend."

Not even giving anybody time to register all the newcomers in their new favorite soap opera, another new person entered from the stairs they could hear in the distance.

The patting of heavy set bare feet on smooth stone echoed out as another figure dressed in full matching sweats appeared from where Selina had just moments before. It didn't take a genius to know this had to be who the pair had stolen hoodies from. Or simply got a matching set to trade around with. At this point anything seemed possible as previous perceptions went right out the window with these people.

Pouting as the man approached him, Phantom didn't fight back as he was once again bundled up in the blanket and wrapped in strong arms. "You know I can walk just fine, right?" Phantom's grumbled complaints fell on deaf ears as Batman picked him up with ease.

"The one time I try to take a nap so you stop complaining, you try to escape again." The deep rumble of Batman's sleep filled voice filtered through. Somehow the man sounded like he gargled grit for fun before showing up to herd his kids back into their beds. "Not this time."

"It's not our fault you're on your 5th cold case since taking your supposed break." Robin grumbled as he air quoted around break. Looking over to Robin, the infamous BatStare could be felt by all before the boy simply folded himself backwards to walk on his hands instead.

They didn't even need any sharper resolution than the blurred mess they were watching. The power of the stare was felt nonetheless.

Pushing up the loose fabric around his arm, Batman's still-there bandage saw the light of day as well before he reached down. Marching forward in careful balance, Robin squawked indignantly as his glasses fell to the ground. Wrapping his free arm around Robin's waist, Batman sighed as he lifted the boy up as well. "You know you're not supposed to be walking on that. Your crutches are right there." The hero sighed as he started making his way back to the medbay with one boy in his arms and the other slung over his shoulder.

"Crutches are for the unskilled." Robin snorted hard enough they could see him shake before he bent his back awkwardly just to look at Batman. "It was either me walking or the idiot trying to climb the stairs on his own." Objecting to the name calling, Phantom placed his foot right in Robin's face just to shut him up.

Trying to fight back, Robin used his free arms to claw at the offending leg but not managing much as Batman pulled the two apart. Rolling Robin down his arm, he ended up dangling by the back of his hoodie as Batman carried him not too different from Selina earlier. The only difference was that he was now parallel facing the floor as Batman's fist twisted around the fabric on his mid-back rather than his neck.

"You know." That unfamiliar voice spoke once more, echoes following it as it moved around unseen. "This could have been avoided if you made them sleep upstairs in proper beds."

Robin pouted, fumbling his way through trying to address the man. "But upstairs is too hottttt." He wined, undoubtably trying to win some favor again.

Phantom's head barely popped over Batman's shoulder. "You have no right to speak, you like sleeping in dirt!" To anybody in the know of their situation, or at least partially in the know, that completely ruled out Alfred being the unknown voice. The man would rather be dead than be caught sleeping in dirt of his own accord.

Sighing as she picked up Robin's discarded glasses, Selina was starting to mellow out a bit more as well. "It would be less hot if you didn't insist on wearing hoodies 4 times your size."

Settling back down, Phantom's head vanished from view once more. "No." Though short, the pout was more than evident in his tone.

Robin, on the other hand, wasn't backing down so easily. "How dare you try to steal our comfort like we're some poor peasants to be ruled over. Make us suffer in the heat?! Jail! Jail for you mama for one thousand years!" Kicking and flailing as they went, Robin dangled in Batman's grasp, completely ignored by all.

"Whatever will we do with you two." Selina muttered as she and the screeching duo followed behind.

"Give us back our freedom and let us back into the gym?" Phantom quipped hopefully, only to get that hope squashed a second later.

"Not a chance."

"Twas worth a shot."

"A valiant effort, mon frère (my brother)." Robin reassured dramatically, arm trying and failing to give Phantom a consolidating pat as he tried to twist around in his hoodie. "Unsuccessful, but a good attempt. We'll get out next time."

Crashing down from the ceiling in a flurry of startled bats, Cujo dropped down yipping happily. Phantom sat up in Batman's grasp, pointing accusatory at the pup. At least they thought it was pointing, as only one single fingertip was visible from the giant sleeve. "Oh so now you show up?! Where were you ten minutes ago when I could have used your help to get out?!"

Cujo ignored the boy, contently trotting behind Batman before pausing suddenly. Forcing a stop so she wouldn't trip over the pup, Selina looked at him oddly before following his gaze. Noting the still running call and various levels of guilty faces on the screen, she sighed as she walked over.

"As you can see," her voice dipped into that sweet tone that set off every alarm bell in their minds, "my boys are quite busy. They won't be joining any activities until further notice." With a threatening glint in her eye, she finally shut down the call, leaving the training room in an awkward silence.

"Well..." Artemis trailed off, blinking hard enough it was audible. "That happened." Even her tone was confused as it sounded like an odd mix between confusion and intrigue. It wasn't every day they saw something so...normal and off-brand from any of the Batgang. So unintentionally showing off what most of them never had, or had taken away from them.

A tense silence fell over them, one they put the two Bats through often enough. This time it was them feeling the pressure. Clearly they would be just fine if they truly chose to leave the team. Hell, they had their own Gotham based group growing already. Who were they compared to whatever those two could pull in Gotham alone, let alone running missions together or with either of their mentors.

From day one they already knew they were holding Robin back by not knowing what to do. Thinking back on their trip to Santa Prisca, it stung even more how easily Phantom slid into place where they still failed to play catch up.

What benefits do they have on the team beyond getting judged? Put in a position they felt forced to put their own lives on the line to protect the other because nobody else would. It was a crappy trade off for their time and skill, that much was painfully clear. But was there a coming back from this? Salvage what they had nearly broken?

Wally couldn't even get a hold of Dick, and Barry refused to middle-man his messages. If Selina was serious about them not attending any activities, did she mean training, or everything everything? It's not like he could just call and ask because they weren't picking up in the first place! The darn cat did!

"We could give him his leader role back?" Conner mused out loud, breaking the silent war going on in their minds. "Might as well give it to Phantom too." He shrugged at the stares he got. If the League can run on 3 official leaders, why couldn't they? "Batman said we chose when there's a change in leadership, he never said only Robin." He quickly added on at the increased scrunching of brows directed his way.

"He is still quite injured." Kaldur objected, not liking the idea of two medically unfit leaders running the team alongside him. "Perhaps it is better to wait until they are healed to breach this topic again?" As if they hadn't hammered on the fact Phantom was never properly cleared in the first place, it was an important note to keep in mind before they rushed to any choices.

Kal looked away as he could feel the intense stare coming from Wally trying to scorch his very soul at the suggestion. Luckily for him, Canary seemed to agree with waiting with big decisions like that. Robin and Phantom weren't the only two healing from injuries.

Kaldur himself had a few minorly bruised ribs. It was only because he asked that Aquaman even let him attend the practice instead of simply calling out.

Wally still had scratches from Robin on his arm, but at least it wasn't hurt anymore to the level of needing a cast or bandage over the now healed fracture from before.

Conner's hand was still an angry red with some rough spots here and there.

Artemis had a pulled shoulder muscle neither she nor Oliver even noticed before trying to go on patrol the evening after.

M'gann bore the brunt of the mental pain, spared from the physical but blaming herself for being the only one standing without marks to prove her involvement.

And while she wasn't an official member, Zatanna barely left her room during the day. Only coming out for a snack before disappearing back into her room until most of the visitors had left.

They all had healing to do, some just more than others. But that's what the team was supposed to be for. To support each other through struggles, lift each other up. Yet all the had done was try to tear down the two who were doing their best. The guilt of that ate away at their conscious every day.

Yet, somehow, the two who got the worst of it seemed to be doing the best. Beyond their injuries still being prominent, their attitudes didn't reflect what happened just a few days ago at all. Was that what recovery while being actually supported looked like?

"Perhaps it is better to leave today as is." Canary cut through their thoughts, bringing them back to the present before they got lost in the past once more. "Take some time to yourselves. If you need a shoulder or an ear to listen, my door is always open." She offered genuinely, the shift between the heroine Black Canary and their offered comfort notable to all. "You're dismissed for now. I'll talk to the other mentors about pushing training back until everybody is in a better condition to train." She tried to reassure, but even that fell flat. Not a single mind wanting to open up the can of worms they just found themselves with.

art by me, first posted to tumblr on feb 8th 2026