Title: Languages

Word Count 1,416 Words

Summary: "We will be working on mental discipline rather than physical" The team talks languages, and Robin knows a lot of them. The team learns a little bit more about their little bird.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and I write completely for fun and not for profit!

Beta: As always the Thank You to the lovely KTrevo, for checking over my story!

Authors notes: There were some few errors in this, that I have fixed recently. Sorry about that everyone! I hope you enjoy it. And just to cut off any preemptive messages, I know language I use for Robin at the end is wrong, please stop reminding me.


The members of Young Justice lined up in front of Black Canary and waiting for their instruction; the female stared back with a blank face. "Today," She began, "We will be working on mental discipline rather than physical."

Superboy let out a low growl, "I thought this was supposed to be training."

"This isn't school," Wally added, "I wanna kick some butt."

"Training is more than knowing how to throw a bunch or block an incoming attack. It's being able to handle any situation, anywhere, at any time." Black Canary snapped, "You never know when you might find yourself a situation where you don't speak the local language."

"Like being transported to another country," Robin added in, with a small smirk. "Twice."

"We told you to leave it alone. And you were found before anything to bad happened." Black Canary shot back, light smirk on her face.

Robin waved a hand though the air, "I was young, and the thing looked cool."

"So you said." Black Canary shifted her attention to the other members of the team. The five gazed back in a mix of confusion and wonder. "Story for another time; for now, everyone follow me to the conference room."

The team followed Black Canary thought the halls of their headquarters in silence, until finally coming to a stop before a pair of metal doors. The senior hero ushered everyone in, and pointed to the desks, "Everyone grab a seat."

Wally jumped for the middle back row, flowed closely by Connor and Artemis. Robin slid into the seat in front of his best friend, Megan took a seat in front of Connor and Aqualad took the remaining seat to Robin's right and in front of Artemis.

"Alright," Black Canary muttered, "Now that we're settled in, let's start simple. Who can tell me something about languages?"

"There are a lot of them." Wally announced smirking at the hero turned teacher.

Black Canary resisted a sigh, "Yes, what else?"

Megan's hand shot into the air, "There are hundreds just on earth, and it's used as a form of communication. It is the use of spoken or written words as a communication system. People also use, hand gestures or clicking noises."

Black Canary nodded with approval, "Correct, Megan. And, how many languages do you speak?"

Miss M ducked her head and her cheeks flushed a light red color, "Just earth English, and the dialect of Mars."

"Cadmus taught me Spanish." Connor announced covering up Megan's embarrassment, "They were starting Chinese when I was interrupted."

"Everyone else?" Black Canary

"I know my native tongue, as well as English." Kaldur supplied.

"English, Spanish, and Arabic." Artemis grumbled, avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room.

"Am I the only one who doesn't know a second language?" Wally cried slapping his hand onto the desk, with over dramatized anger. "Totally not fair."

"What about Robin?" Miss M asked, "He hasn't said anything."

"Of course he knows a second language!" Wally muttered, "He's a freaking genius, and the Bat is his mentor!"

All eyes snapped to the little bird. The teen in question held up his pointer finger, indicating he needed a moment before dropping his hand to the desktop. The teen continued to mumble to himself while using his fingers to count. "How fluent?" he asked suddenly.

"Learn any more Russian?" Black Canary asked.

Robin shook his head with a light smirk.

"Doesn't count." She snapped with a playful glare, "You need to be able to hold a conversation."

Robin nodded and went back to his fingers, "Going on fluency, I know five, and then I can working on two more, and a bit of Russian." He finished with a smirk followed by a shrug.

"You're thirteen." Artemis stated eyes growing wide.

Robin nodded once, "Yep."

"You're thirteen and can speak eight languages." Wally hissed, the team stared at Robin with a look of wonder and amazement.

"Knowing how to swear like a sailor in Russian doesn't count as being able to speak another language." Black Canary interrupted

"Seven languages." Wally corrected himself.

"It gets pretty easy after the first two." Robin shrugged, "English is one of the hardest languages to learn."

"English isn't your first language?" Wally gasped, staring at his friend in a new light.

"Yep and It's harder that you think to learn. There is a lot of slang and more words for one meaning, then the same word for different means." Robin rolled his eyes, "It gets a little confusing."

Kaldur and Megan nodded in agreement, "It is hard to pick up." Megan said, "I learned a lot of my slang from earth TV."

"In Atlantis, we are not taught slang." Kaldur informed.

"Most places don't teach the slang side to languages," Black Canary said, drawing the attention back to her. "Especially in school, students are taught the formal side of languages, rather than what is heard on the streets."

"Some people say you don't truly know the language until you're immersed in it." Robin said, "Because a class room isn't the same as real life."

"Is that how you learned?" Miss M asked attention on Robin, "In the classroom?"

"Not really, I picked up some here and there, and then Batman wanted me to be prepared." Robin explained. "Spanish and Italian are common on the streets of Gotham, plus League of Shadows is from the Middle East, so I picked up Arabic. And Batman thought I would be good for me to learn Mandarin. I did learn French in school, though." The Boy wonder finished with a bright smile. "Then I know some not so appropriate things in Russian, but according to Black Canary, it doesn't count." The bird let out a light chuckle and flashed a smile in the teacher's direction.

Wally frowned at his hands, one with its fingers extended, the other clenched in a fist, "You're missing some."

"English," Artemis rolled her eyes, "You count that one Bay Watch?"

Wally glared back, and uncurled the pointer finger of his left hand, "Now I did!" he snapped, "but that's only six." The red head waved his hands in the air for emphasis. "Six!"

Black Canary saw the hesitance flash across the Boy Wonder's face before the usual smirk of confidence took its place.

"English isn't my native language." Robin said, "And that makes seven." There was a slight warning it the twitch of his smirk, telling the team not to push it. "Weren't we supposed to learn something today?" he said flashing a smirk at Black Canary.

The senior hero nodded, "We're going to go over some basic phrases in –"

Black Canary was cut off by two beeps from the loud speaker in the corner of the room, followed by Batman, "Young Justice, report to the briefing room immediately."

Black Canary sighed, "We were going to go over some basic phrases." She corrected herself, glaring at the speaker, "Right now the team has a mission."

The members of Young Justice took the hint and bolted from their desks and out of the room. Robin paused in the doorway and turned back towards Black Canary, "Am crescut vorbind română" he announced to the room.

Black Canary smiled back, "Ştiu, pasăre mică."

A genuine smile flashed across Robin's face before the teen valted backwards and disapeared from view.

The senior hero shook her head and laughed to herself, "The kid is too cocky." She muttered, "But he is good."


No I don't know Romanian…. I used translator!

Am crescut vorbind română = I grew up speaking Romanian

Ştiu, pasăre mică = I know, little bird.