Protect The Batboys

uh oh

"Tim, where are your brothers?" Artemis asked, watching the thirteen year old carefully.

Tim shrugged, walking along the line of family albums that Bruce liked to keep handy to embarrass his children with. Smiling, Tim pulled out Damian's personal album and walked over to the couch. "No idea, but do you want to see the demon spawn as a baby?"

"Oh heck yeah!" Wally, who had woken up moments earlier, sped over to the couch and sat next to Tim. "Lemme see."

"Who knew Talia Al Ghul would take pictures of her offspring?" Artemis snorted, looking at a picture of a toddler Damian holding a dagger. "Woah, they sure start them young."

"You should know this, daughter of Sportsmaster and Huntress." Tim commented offhandedly, flipping through the album and ignoring the looks his teammates gave him. He only looked up when the silence went on for more than two minutes, cocking an eyebrow. "What? Was I not supposed to know that?"

"How did you know that?" Artemis narrowed her eyes suspiciously, sliding towards the door to block Tim's exit. "Nobody but the Justice League and the Shadows know."

Tim shrugged again, a mysterious smirk worming its way out on his face as he closed Damian's baby album and went to go put it back on the shelf, not addressing the team until he had a different album in his hands. "I was a lonely child, my parents always off at banquets or some charity events. Don't get me wrong, they loved me, they just didn't have time for me. So I had to find things to do to fill the time." Tim flipped through the album, showing the team pictures of his childhood. "I become intrigued with the art of detective work, which I'm sure you can tell if you have taken a look at our library. So when I found out we would be getting glorified babysitters - no offense - I naturally did some digging. Artemis Crock; born a Shadow but turned a hero, Kaldur'ahm of Atlantis, Wally West the Kid Flash, Conner Kent; a genetic clone of Superman and Lex Luthor, and M'gann M'orzz; a Martian. Am I wrong? Didn't think so."

The squad was stunned, to say the least. Nobody said a word, they just stared at Tim through new lenses of admiration and a little bit of apprehension. Tim winked, putting his album back in place next to Damian's. "I think that is enough baby photos for today."

"Wait, we didn't get to see Dick's or this mysterious Cass's!" Wally complained, zipping around Tim to snag an album off the shelf before Tim could react. When Tim saw whose album it was, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head and he felt his stomach drop. He dared a quick glance at the camera hidden in the corner of the room, subtly shaking his head before addressing Wally.

"Wallace, put the album back now. That is not-"

"Who is this?" Wally asked, opening the book to a random page to see an unfamiliar toddler aged boy. "This doesn't look like Dick."

"That's because it's not me." The team jumped when they heard the cold voice of the eldest Wayne, so shocked by his tone of voice they barely registered the two girls behind him and forgot about their war against Damian. "Put the album back. Now."

"Okay, okay. Damn." Wally muttered, sliding the album back on the shelf.

Tim sighed, walking towards his older brother. "Dick, I tired to stop him but he got there first and I-"

"Save it, Timothy." Tim gulped, knowing he was in deep when Dick used his full name. "Steph and Cass are here, I'll be in my room." With one last harsh glare at Wally and the team, Dick turned around walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

The room was tense and awkward before Steph rolled her eyes and hugged Tim, whispering in his ear. "He'll calm down, just give him a few days."

Cass nodded, hugging her brother once Stephanie pulled out of the embrace. When the hugs were done, Kaldur addressed the two newcomers. "I take it you are Cassandra and Stephanie Brown?"

Steph grinned widely, curtsying dramatically. "The one and only Stephanie Brown at your service. You must be the team that dear ol'Brucey hired to protect my boys, huh?" She tsked, shaking her head as she sized up the group. She walked up to Conner, grabbing his ear and pulling him down to her height. "Listen here, if one hair on any of their heads is injured, I will not hesitate to destroy everything all of you hold dear. Understood?" She patted his cheek with a huge toothy smile, backing up to stand with Cass. "Tim, Damian, we will be in the lounge if you need us."

Damian glared at the blonde. "Monopoly?"

"You sure you want to get your ass kicked again?"

"I will not allow that, Brown."

The trio walked out, leaving Tim alone with the team again. Before any of the young heroes could comment on the whirl wind of events that just took place, Tim blurted out an absurd amount of word vomit. "Do you want to go join them in Monopoly? It is going to be a great game! Let's go play monopoly! That way we will all be in the same place! I'll go make us some coffee and snacks, meet you in the lounge, yeah? Sound good? Good." He ran out of the room, the squad staring after him with confusion hanging over them like a cloud. Conner was the one to break it.

"He didn't even tell us where the lounge was, how does he expect us to join their game? Amateur."