Chapter Text
Having an eight year old around the Watchtower was something they all had to get used to. The first time Batman had brought Robin to the Watchtower the other members of the League had fawned over the child to the point where Batman had to physically remove them from his sidekick. Ever since the League couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed whenever Batman showed up to the Watchtower without that little bundle of energy in tow. Not that they would ever admit that to Batman’s face. Even though having Robin in the Watchtower was like having a breath of fresh air it still took a lot to get used too.
Most of the League naturally had protective instincts, they wouldn’t be superheros otherwise. So having a hyperactive child running around a what could be considered a military base, was stressful to say the least. Superman had been called more than once to rescue Dick from an impossibly high perch that Superman wasn’t even sure how he got to in the first place. Wonder Woman had to redirect Robin from the weapons facilities where he was been playing with explosives. Whenever a particularly gruesome topic came up in conversation the closest hero to Robin would cover the child’s ears not wanting to scare him. The most disconcerting thing was that Batman didn’t seem to care for the most part what Robin got up to in the Watchtower.
The League ended up taking it upon themselves to take turns watching Robin to make sure he stayed safe, of Batman couldn’t be bothered to do it himself. Clark had heard grumbling about child neglect more than once in the mess hall. None of the members of the League actually minded watching Robin. Clark doubted he would be able to find anyone in the Watchtower who would call babysitting duty a hardship. Although sometimes the actual watching part could be a little difficult seeing as Robin was the protege of Batman.
It was Clark’s turn to keep an eye on Robin and it had started out fine. Batman insisted that Robin complete any homework before playing so they had gone to one of the lounges and Clark had helped Robin with his english homework, editing Dick’s essay for him. It was a relatively easy afternoon. Clark promised to play hide and seek with him when he finished his homework. It was much better than being stuck on monitor duty to say the least.
Clark was just reading over the final draft of Dick’s essay when Hal stumbled into the lounge. “I kind of broke the training room support beam, think you can fix it for me?” Hal asked. Clark rolled his eyes but obliged.
Clark was gone for only the couple minutes it took to weld the metal beam back together with his heat vision but when he got back to the lounge Dick was nowhere to be seen. In fact it looked like no one had even been in there that day. Dick’s homework was absent fromt eh table and the couch cushions that had been placed on the floor were back on the couch. Clark’s first instinct was to use his x-ray vision to check the vents, but it turned up empty. He had to resist the urge to use his superspeed to search the whole Watchtower in an instant, because he didn’t want to alert Batman to the fact that Dick was missing. Most likely Dick was just stealing sweets from the kitchen anyway so Clark decided to check their first.
Clark tried to be as casual as possible hoping that no one remembered it was his turn to watch Dick, and question the very noticeable lack of of a Robin hanging off his arm. He actually passed Bruce on the way to the kitchen and had to remind himself to walk normally, but Bruce still gave him a look like he knew. The kitchen was a disappointment, the only other occupant being Hal who was leaning against the counter drinking coffee. Clark marched up to him a glare on his face. Hal flinched away.
“I said I was sorry about the beam,” Hal said defensively.
“It isn’t the beam. I can’t find Robin,” Clark admitted. Hal studied him for a moment and then burst out laughing. SUperman had to resist the urge to smack Hal, not wanting to accidentally hurt him. Besides if Clark was going down he was going to drag Hal down with him.
“This is your fault Hal. You are going to help me find him,” Superman said in a low voice. It wasn’t that he was paranoid about Batman finding out that they had lost Dick, but he wasn’t overly fond of the idea either.
“Can’t you, I don’t know, listen for his heartbeat or something,” Hal suggested in frustration. That actually wasn’t a bad idea and Clark was a little annoyed he hadn’t thought of it earlier. Clark focused in, tuning out all excess noise the best he could trying to focus on the sounds of the only child in the Watchtower. Unable to distuigh Dick’s heartbeat, Clark’s face furrowed in constraction.
“Why does Superman look constipated?” Barry asked managing to sneak up on Clark because of how focused he was.
“We’re trying to find Robin,” Hal said.
“You lost Robin? How do you lose a whole child?” Barry asked incredulously. Clark rolled his eyes in annoyance.
“I didn’t lose him! Clark did!” Hal said defensively.
“Only because you distracted me,” Clark countered. This wasn’t getting them anywhere and it was getting late. Bruce was going to come around to collect Robin soon so they could go on patrol in Gotham. He needed to have Dick back and ready to go in less than thirty minutes. “We need to split up to cover more space. Barry you go check the dorms, Hal you check the hanger, and I’ll get the rest,” Clark ordered. The other two snapped to attention moving to follow their commands. Superman sped through the Watchtower using his x-ray vision to look through the walls and vent for the child. He had already covered the Watchtower twice when he heard Hal calling for him. He rushed to the hanger, relief rushing through him only to be stopped cold when he saw Hal standing next to what looked like a puddle of blood and a small scrap of yellow fabric.
“Did you find him?” Clark asked uselessly. Hal glared at him.
“No, but it looks like he was here and hurt himself,” Hal said gesturing to the blood. They were so dead. True, Bruce didn’t seem to care all that much about what Dick got up to around the Watchtower but he had never actually hurt himself before. Now when not only was Dick missing, but he was hurt. Clark was debating making a run for it, but the hanger doors opened revealing Bruce striding toward them. He gave them an expectant look.
“Well?” Bruce said impatiently.
“I’m sorry. I went to help Hal and Robin just disappeared,” Clark started but bruce just gave him a look that said he had not directed his question to Clark. Suddenly Robin dropped down from the ceiling above them. His cape was a little torn and his leg scratched up, but he stood there grinning like it was Christmas morning. When Robin dropped down Hal gasped in surprise, Clark glared at him for not noticing RObin there even though the Hangar had been his responsibility. Batman let out a tsk, dropping to examine Robin’s leg who still looked a little too pleased with himself.
“I won!” Robin said as Batman clean the scratch on his leg. Clark exchanged a confused look with Hal.
“What did you win” Hal asked tentatively.
“Superman said we could play hide and seek after I finished my homework and I won! You guys couldn’t find me!” Robin yelled excitedly. Batman made an affirmative noise in the back of his throat as he pulled out a bandage to wrap up Robin’s leg. Clark saw the opportunity to save face and was not going to let that go.
“Yeah, you did a real good job of hiding Robin. Batman taught you well,” Clark said ruffling Dick’s hair. The child beamed up at him. Dick’s smile could melt heart. Clark pitied the villain who tried to seriously go after Robin. The whole League would be on them so fast.
“I even used the heartbeat signal you gave me,” Dick said tapping an electrical device on his chest. That explained a lot. Clark forgave the child for all the stress of the afternoon because of how proud Dick looked.
“That is good training,” was all Batman said. Clark wished not for the first time that Bruce wasn’t so emotionally stunted. Couldn’t he just pay the child the compliment he wanted. Clark looked down at Robin only to see his grin widening despite Bruce’s apparent lack of caring. He has to wonder what kind of relationship the two have since Dick seems to be the only one not caught off guard by Bruce. “You need to be careful of that leg tonight,” Bruce said turning to leave the hanger toward the zeta tubes. Robin ran after him this hand slipping into Batman’s as if he wasn’t one of the most terrifying person on earth.