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"Get back here, you twit! That's my coffee!"
"That's the fifth one you've had this morning! No way!"
The sounds of an argument were the first things the team heard that morning as they sat at breakfast. The yelling had overruled the sound of the zeta tube, which meant they had no idea who was even in the mountain. Well, until a familiar cackle echoed down the halls. But who was the other voice?
Robin burst into the kitchen, clutching what looked to be a bat-thermos close to his chest, "I gotta get out of here," he mumbled to himself before he saw the group, "Oh, hi, guys!"
"Everything okay, Rob?" Wally asked as he absently bit into a waffle. The young bird chuckled nervously.
"Hehe, yeah. Everything's fine. No need to worry about anything. Totally."
Yep, the poor kid was anxious about something, and it didn't take long to figure out why, as another teen stormed into the kitchen.
His Kevlar suit was red with black accents, and two yellow utility belts crossed across his chest with a symbol of a bird banding them together in the middle. A black domino hid his eyes, though he had ebony hair similar to the boy wonder. His cape and hood was black on the outside but red inside and, the cape was designed to almost look like a pair of wings.
"Guys, meet Redwing. Red, meet my team."
"I'll deal with introductions after you give me back my coffee," he glared, though it didn't quite have the same potency as a full bat-glare.
Robin huffed and placed the thermos on the table, "You've been up for over 52 hours, and you almost sued Starbucks after they refused let you behind the counter to make your own concoction, which, by the way, could probably put Bane in the hospital if he tried it."
"You've been listening to B too much. Coffee is vital to my existence and ability to function."
"No. Sleep is vital, and Big D said to tell him if you started acting aggressive again."
"Tattle-tale."
"Teenager."
Wally leaned in close to Artemis, "How is that even supposed to be a comeback?"
"Shut it, Baywatch. This is getting good," she whispered back.
While Robin and Redwing argued about the importance of coffee to one's health, Superboy opened the thermos and sniffed it. Without a second thought, he immediately snapped it shut.
"How are you still alive?!"
"What?" everyone blinked, and the two ebonies stopped bickering.
"I smelled black coffee, purely concentrated caffeine, and what I'm 90% sure was a Monster or a Red Bull."
"Wrong on both. It was a Bang. Don't crash as fast," Redwing corrected.
"That's it! I'm calling Shadow!" Robin declared and went to activate his comm. However, Redwing literally tackled the boy in an effort to stop him.
"Do that, and I'll tell him who really let Goliath loose in the Batcave."
Robin grunted and broke out of the elder's hold, "You wouldn't dare!"
"My coffee's on the line. Try me," Redwing deadpanned.
"Shouldn't we try to stop them?" M'gann asked, but no one answered her.
The teen snorted, "Fine. I'll just call Spoiler. And you don't have anything to turn her against me."
"Come on, bro," the older teen whined. He actually looked on the verge of a mental breakdown, "Finals is two weeks away, and I just need my coffee..."
Everyone shared a look of sympathy for the young coffeeholic. Robin sighed and brushed a hand through his bangs.
"Fine," he relented and turned to pick up the thermos. Redwing reached for it, but Robin pulled back, "but only if you promise to go to bed tonight. Otherwise, I tell B."
"Whatever. Thanks."
Robin grinned and handed it to him, "Great! Now stay whelmed and be polite."
"Sup, I'm Robin's older bro, Redwing," he greeted. The team waved awkwardly and introduced themselves, while Robin walked away, saying something about going to the training room. The group of metas learned that Redwing was "the older middle bro," because he was younger than Shadow but older than Red Hood and Robin, along with a few others he refused to mention.
Does Batman have like a secret army? Wally asked through the mind link.
At this point, it wouldn't surprise me, Connor replied.
Redwing proceeded to open his thermos and take a huge gulp, making everyone grimace now that they knew what was inside it. But suddenly the dark haired vigilante started to cough and choke. When he finally regained his breath, he threw the canister across the room.
"What happened?!" M'gann asked in worry but fully prepared to try out the human first aid techniques she had been learning in school.
"I don't know how he did it," Redwing began slowly, "but somehow, someway, he switched my coffee with decaf. Little brothers are the worst."
"Love you too, Red!" Robin yelled from the down the hall, following up with a signature cackle.
Redwing held up a finger and said in deceptively sweet tone, "Would you excuse me for just one second?"
He bolted down the same hall the boy wonder had only moments ago, "Robin! You're dead!"
"Gotta catch me first!"
Kaldur sighed deeply and returned to his waffles, "I do believe that today is going to be a long day."
He was proven right as the sound of crashing and screaming filled the mountain before both birds eventually tired out around lunch time. They equally bruised and disheveled, but the other teens soon learned two things.
Robin could get away with almost anything if he had access to blackmail, which was apparently how the fight ended as a draw.
And Redwing was lethal when anyone came between him and his coffee, which explained how Robin acted like he might have a concussion.
Tim sadly never did find out how Dick switched his coffee or what he did with it, so he summed it up to the slight-of-hand tricks the younger boy brought with him from the circus. He would look into it more later.
The older bat was almost asleep by the time Robin half-dragged him to the zetas. Both teens waved their goodbyes and vanished in a flash of light.