So, we began the trek through the jungle. After finding a door for us, KF had taken point while I crept unseen through the underbrush, taking up the rear and surging upwards at times in order to make sure there were no apes pursuing us. If the distraction was going according to plan, there would be no apes wandering the island but I knew we couldn't be too careful.

The natural jungle sounds made me nervous, but gradually, I got into the rhythm of the soft crunching of leaves as the hostages trekked along, the screams of the birds as they called to one another and the sound of the ocean, dull, but ever present in the background. Every so often, a monkey would screech loudly in the background, but I learned to even distinguish that from an ape cry and paid it no more mind.

The jungle smelt of a mixture of rotting fruit and wet earth which tickled my nostrils. The trees, however, were large and ancient, not particularly iniquitous, but solemn and I almost felt as if I were intruding on their world. The branches, however, were marvelous to swing off of and, had the situation been less urgent, I might have spent several hours in the bowels of those majestic trees, giggling and throwing guavas at my teammates down below. 'Perhaps', I thought, 'when this is all over, I can come back here with Batman and throw guavas at him.'

Gazing down at the hostages below me, for I was now perched on a low hanging branch, much like my namesake, I watched their progress. Speedy was gently carrying the little girl, smiling and listening to her chatter. I was glad he could keep her mind off of what was going on.

The other hostages stumbled along on their own feet, helped by Wonder Girl, KF and Speedy. I would be with them too, but someone had to remain unseen. Just as I was considering slipping in closer to the group, I heard a small sound. It was nothing more than the crack of the tiniest twig behind me, but it was enough to put me on alert. I froze, ears strained towards the sound.

Then, all at once, the forest erupted with an Apeish roar. "Run", I screamed, leaping from the brush. It sounded like a bulldozer going through a forest, though I highly doubted the apes had one of those. Running along, I did my best to hurry the hostages in front of me, who were tripping and tumbling. There wasn't much that could be done for them.

The forest parted before us and the beach appeared, water sparkling like the purest of aqua jewels. The boat was also there, docked a little ways off shore with Aqualad sprawled boredly on deck. "Garth", I screamed. He looked up, and noticing us, leapt off the prow and swam to shore just as we skidded to a halt at the water's edge. The mighty sea breeze whipped my hair, tugging and kneading it like Batman's fingers often did on late nights and sleep patrols.

"Something's after us, we need to get these people on deck as soon as…" The trees flew in all directions as if they had exploded and there, standing at the very edge of the forest was the biggest ape I had ever seen. This creature was massive, at least the size of a bus, and reared on his hind paws, beating his chest and roaring.

"What the fuck is that?" Speedy yelped.

"Get these people out to sea", I screamed to Aqualad. He nodded and, a moment later, a small raft pulled by several sleek looking dolphins appeared.

"Get on", Wonder Girl yelled as the ape began to pound down the shoreline towards us. We weren't going to make it out to sea in time. Making a split second decision I knew I would later regret, I charged towards the massive primate, launching batarangs as swiftly as I could. They embedded themselves in the beast's hairy thighs. It roared in agony and turned its attention to me, beady red eyes fixed on my face.

"Robin", KF yelled frantically.

"Go", I replied, my words snatched up and carried by the wind, "that's an order. All of you, get on the boat and go. You can come back for me when the people are safe." My team hesitated but an instant before herding the hostages onto the raft and climbing on themselves. It was just the ape and I now.

Again, the creature rushed towards me, raising its great fists. I leapt out of the way at the last possible second, just as those mighty paws came down right where I had been. A cloud of sand erupted upwards, blinding me temporarily. The ape gave another roar and kicked out with its back paw, catching me by a hare's breadth. I went spiraling through the air, and landed heavily in the sand, my head smacking so hard, I felt myself beginning to black out.

The last thought I had before going unconscious was 'Wow, those clouds look like bunnies!'

0000000000000000000

I told the guy playing bongos on my head to quit several times, but he just wasn't listening. Slowly, opening my eyes, I had to blink a few times just to stop my vision from swimming. All I saw was a confused blur of colors. "Hello boy wonder, I see you are now conscious, this is excellent. We can begin then." Finally, all those funny shapes came together and my vision cleared. Looming over me was Gorilla Grod, big yellow teeth bared in a wicked smile.

"Dude", I murmured, waving my hand in front of my nose, "Seriously, breath mints and deodorant." Grod's face turned to a snarl and he struck me, sending me spiraling. I smacked the wall hard and lay still for a moment, gathering my wits.

"Grod!" The roar echoed so loud, I almost believed it shook the building down to its foundations. Ahh, that roar. I felt a lot better now. "Leave him alone!" Grod laughed quietly, and walked over to Batman, chained in the corner of the room.

"Don't fret Dark Knight. I won't be hurting your precious child anymore today. Of course, that's not to say he won't be killed. No, I'm afraid I must make an example of your little sidekick. Actually, this gives me the perfect opportunity to show the world the full capabilities of my new mind control machine. Be pleased you are given the honor of aiding me."

Shaking my head, my eyes fixed on Batman. He was dripping in sweat and shaking, probably throwing himself against those chains with as much fury as he could muster as soon as Grod brought me in here. The building was actually not all that big and there didn't seem to be much in it.

There was a machine to the side, blinking and blipping quietly to itself every so often. The white walls and scathingly bright lights kept me ill at ease. Rubbing my head, I slowly picked myself up, my mind already formulating a plan. I had wondered for a moment where the other leaguers were that is, at least, until I noticed them chained on the other side of the room.

Even Superman looked pretty whipped. I suppose kryptonite chains will do that to a guy. I assumed Batman was isolated because he was probably the only one with a chance of getting them out of those traps. Of course, I knew he would be out of the chains soon enough. He was probably already mostly out. I didn't know how he planned to take on Grod and his whole gorilla army though. Well, he'd have me and that was good enough.

The other apes sat quietly at the back of the room, scratching themselves and picking each other's hairy backs. When I was little and met Gorilla Grod for the first time, I refused to even go near the apes at the zoo. Bruce had to carry me over and hold me tightly the whole time, petting me and talking quietly to me about how he was there and that those were nice apes. Now, I just make faces at them. There was always a little shiver of fear that went down my spine though, because Gorilla Grod was powerful and he was frightening.

"Now", the mighty ape purred, "you will all get to witness my triumph." He walked on his knuckles over to the computer consol and hovered over it for a moment. "I wonder what it takes", he murmured wickedly, "to make a father kill his son." Batman's eyes grew wide, but before he could say a thing in protest, Grod flipped a switch.

Immediately, Batman's head snapped up and he stared at me, eyes empty and glassy. Right then, I started to feel uneasy. "Batman", I murmured tentatively, "boss, what's wrong?" He didn't answer. He just remained frozen. Grod sauntered back over and slowly unlocked the chains.

Batman stood up as if he were some sort of wind up soldier and curled one of those long chains around his hand. Then, he started towards me. "Batman", I said, my voice a little strained, "buddy, what's going on?" Grod laughed and Batman advanced on me. Suddenly, the chain snaked out, slamming down right where I had been. "Batman", I yelled, "Batman, snap out of it."

Again the chains slammed down. I leapt away desperately, but I could feel my leg growing weaker. The fight with the giant ape had left me with only one good leg to stand on. I knew it would fail me soon enough. Deciding I needed to end this quickly, I leapt at Batman, all at once going on the offensive.

But, he countered every single one of my moves with ease and slammed me back into the wall. I lay, dazed and trembling. He loomed over me, raising the chain high above his head. "Batman please", I whimpered, "please don't hurt me. Snap out of it. This isn't you. Fight it!" But, a second later, the chain came down heavily.

I screamed in agony, writhing on the ground. Batman froze for a moment and his eyes cleared. He gazed down at me, confused and concerned. "Robin?"

"No", Grod screamed, slamming down on another button with his mighty fist. Batman went ridged like a stone statue. "Finish him!" Grod roared. Batman lifted the chain again. I closed my eyes tightly and trembled, waiting for the blow. But, it never came. I opened them again cautiously. Batman was standing ridged above me. "Finish him!" Grod roared again.

Batman's eyes rolled back in his head and he toppled, hitting the ground hard. He had incapacitated himself for me! "No", Grod howled, "Gorilla warriors, destroy them both." His apes obediently rushed towards us. I staggered upwards and stood over Batman's prone form, ready to fight to the death before I let any of them get to him. I could only hope he would regain consciousness in time to fight them for himself, since I was sure to fall quickly.

Suddenly, the windows exploded inward with a mighty crack. "Titans go", KF yelled, and they flowed in like a river. I breathed a sigh of relief and hardened my stance, eyes locked on the ape surging towards me. He lowered his head like a charging bull and gave a mighty bellow. I grabbed him by the shoulders, flipping over him. A kick in the back sent him toppling like a great tower.

The giant ape crashed through the roof, bellowing and raging but, a moment later, Superman landed him a mighty blow on the jaw, sending him spiraling off. Someone had freed the leaguers, which was probably the first thing I should have done. But, my mind wasn't working quite like it was supposed to, a fact made blatant a moment later when an ape came at me from the side, knocking me down with a shot I should have easily blocked.

He raised his fists, preparing to make me into Robin goo. But, he didn't get to (something I was quite grateful for) because a moment later, there was a big black boot in his face. Batman fought with a ferocity I rarely saw as I sprawled on the ground by his feet, just watching and trying to find the strength to get up again. "You ok?" he asked, spinning around to grab my hand and help me up. I nodded.

"I think so. How about you?" He nodded and punched an ape in the face.

"We need to take out Grod. These apes are just pawns. They'll stop fighting if he goes down."

"Gottcha", I replied, "I'll spread the word." With that, I leapt off into the fray. As it turned out, getting to Grod was easier said than done. There were just so many apes and it wasn't long before it became clear that we were swiftly going to be overwhelmed yet again.

When Superman went down, we all knew we were done. It seemed only an instant later, the other leaguers had fallen as well. I gazed around in despair as Batman was chained yet again. Lying with one leg too battered to even allow me to try and scramble to my feet, I hung my head. We had failed. I was out of weapons and had played all my cards.

Grod stalked up, looming over me. "Human boy, you really thought you could win. You're pathetic." And, gazing at the gaping mouth above me, the only thing I could think was that I wished I had a bat grenade so I could shove it down his foul smelling throat. Then, out of the blue, it came to me. A sly grin crept over my face.

"What are you smiling at?" Grod asked, "You will die now." I opened a pouch on my belt and, before Grod could even react, shoved its contents past those big yellow canines down that red throat. A quick kick in the throat insured that he swallowed.

"Why you little…"Grod roared, grabbing me by the ankle, "You think you can defeat me with a mere pastry?"

"Now just any pastry", I replied, hanging upside down from his grasp, "a patent pending Robin crime fighting muffin of death." Grod froze and turned a sickly shade of green. He dropped me and retched frantically, emptying his stomach completely. But, that muffin had moved very quickly and the damage was already done.

Grod staggered around in circles, howling and hurling and running into things. Tripping over Superman, he slammed into a wall, slumping against it unconscious. Immediately, a change came over the apes that were present. The intense, angry look left their eyes, replaced by an innocent, animal expression. They dropped their guns and gazed at each other, dazed and confused. A cheer erupted from the leaguers and I rushed to Batman's side to free him.

As soon as the chains dropped from his arms, I was caught up in his embrace. "Good boy", he growled happily, "such a good boy Robin. I'm so proud of you." I grinned and beamed at him before wiggled from his grasp, running off to free Speedy.

Being the star of the show is one of my favorite things in the world and today was no exception. All the attention I was getting was probably the best thing in the world and I glowed like the sun. The congratulations and praise I got from every single leaguer (even Green Lantern, who said it kind of begrudgingly) was way cool. "Alright Batman", Superman said, talking to my mentor as I bounced around them with KF, chattering a mile a minute, "I have to admit, that's probably the strangest bat device I've ever seen but it was extremely effective." Batman rolled his eyes.

"It wasn't one of mine", he replied, "Robin cooked it up all on his own. Actually, he tried it out on me before we left home. I imagine that's how he knew it would work." I grinned and described the entire thing to KF and Speedy, who roared with laughter. Now, normally when I'm around my team and we're working, I like to carry myself with a little more poise, trying to act mature because I was the leader and all but today, I couldn't help but revert into my normal excited little kid self for a while. Sure I was fifteen, but who wants to act fifteen when they can act five.

"You guys should spend the night at my house!" I said excitedly, "All of you guys, 'cept for you Wonder Girl, 'cause you're a girl." She rolled her eyes and gave me a smile. "We can stay up late and eat junk food and watch lots of movies and crap like that."

"Yea", Aqualad exclaimed, "I never get to hang out on land with anyone."

"Not tonight", Batman said, putting a hand on my shoulder, "I think you all have already stayed up late enough. I know that it's at least Robin's bedtime."

"Aww come on", I whined, "I'm fifteen, I don't have a bedtime anymore."

"I agree", Batman replied, "you don't usually have a bedtime, but it's around three in the morning on our side of the world and I have little doubt in my mind you'll crash in the "wing" on the way home. You can have them over next weekend, since you're probably going to sleep through the whole day tomorrow and possibly some of the next day. Anyway, you'll be in recovery either way. So, next weekend, deal?"

"Alright", I said, slightly deflated. Flash sped up a moment later, still buzzing despite the late hour.

"I think Kid's parents want him home anyway. Come on cheetah, let's get back." KF grinned up at the Flash and stumbled a step towards him.

"Damn", he cursed, "my stupid leg. Fucking ape almost gnawed it off."

"Hey", Flash admonished, "language young man. Your mom's gonna blame me if you start talking like that." KF rolled his eyes. "Here", Flash offered, "I'll carry you." With that, he scooped up KF, cradling the junior speedster gently. Kid seemed to lose all the energy he'd had moments before in Flash's arms and sagged, head leaning heavily on his uncle's chest. "Betcha anything", Flash whispered to Batman, "even though it only takes me two seconds to get 'em home, he'll be asleep by then."

Batman smirked and with that, Flash was off. "Come on", Wonder Woman said to Wonder Girl, beckoning her over, "lets get you home." Wonder Girl yawned and hugged me, Aqualad and Speedy goodbye. Soon, Aqualad left, trotting after Aquaman as they made their way back to the sea and Speedy retreated into the arms of Green Arrow, deciding that being carried was superior to actually walking as a way to get to bed. I was left with Batman and Superman, who were still talking about containment possibilities for Grod as the rest of the leaguers finished picked up the mess.

By that time, my exhaustion had caught up to me and, since Superman wasn't really moving, I slumped against his leg, my arms wrapped loosely around it. Superman smirked and finished his conversation after a few moments before crouching down, giving my shoulder a little shake, since I had sort of descended into those falling asleep dreams one often gets when they're on the threshold of slumber.

"Hey kiddo", he said gently, "time for you to go home." I opened my arms, asking him wordlessly to pick me up. Superman rolled his eyes and scooped me up, holding me gently. "Hey", he murmured, "You did really good today Dick. I might just have to have you replace your mentor." I smirked and snuggled my head against his chest.

"Batman'd make a sucky titan though." Superman chuckled and put me down on my feet, giving me one last affectionate hug before taking off.

"Alright young man", Batman said sternly, standing before me, "bedtime." I nodded and yawned. "You need me to carry you?" I shook my head.

"I'm a big boy Batman", I replied softly, "I got legs." Batman smirked and walked ahead of me, leading me back to where the Batwing was stowed, a good ways from the complex unfortunately. Finally, when I was just starting to contemplate asking him to carry me, the plane came into view. Batman opened the hatch and picked me up, swinging me into my seat before climbing in next to me.

"You", he said, tapping a finger against my nose, "are not driving." I smirked and settled deeply into my seat. "Restraints", Batman said, "if I crash this plane…"

"We'll both die anyway. Please don't make me wear them Batman", I whined, "I'm tired."

"Safety first", Batman replied, "I'm not gonna lose you because you didn't put on your seatbelt." I rolled my eyes and slowly buckled in, grumbling all the while. He smiled and fondled my hair. I shooed his hand away.

"I'm mad at you", I grumbled, curled up into a little ball. He unfastened his cape and draped it over me, giving my hip one final pat before turning to the controls in front of him, piloting the plane smoothly away from the island. "I wanted to have a sleepover", I grumbled, shifting in my seat.

"Come on buddy", Batman replied, "You wouldn't have had any fun anyway, you'd all be asleep by the time we got back to the manor and I'd be stuck putting a bunch of teenagers to bed like they were two year olds. Next weekend, I promise, alright." I muttered something unintelligible and grasped the ends of his cape, drawing them tightly around myself.

"Hey", Batman said, "be happy. I'm proud of you. You did really well tonight. That was quite resourceful of you. You're gonna be a good Batman some day." Now, I have to give him points for that because if I know how to wrap him around my finger, he knows how to wrap me around his.

"I can't be Batman", I replied, rolling over to face him, "You're gonna be Batman forever."

"Hah", he laughed, "of course I'm not. I'm going to retire one day and you're going to have to take over. Then, I'll play golf in the backyard with my other aged friends and we'll watch you stop alien invasions and various other apocalypses on the news."

It sounded like such a wonderful thing when he said it, but we both knew that probably would not be the case. Death would, more likely that not, take him long before he even considered retiring. This was not a pleasant thought at all and definitely not one I was fond of. Naturally, it had the effect of completely erasing all the anger I had against him and, seeking comfort, I reached out and grasped on of his arms, wrapping my small ones around it and rubbing my head against it.

He smirked and scratched my chest with his trapped hand. "I'm gonna need that back you know", he said gently. I released it and rolled over, facing away from him. "Hey, come on kiddo", Batman said gently, putting a hand on my back, "You know you're gonna have to say goodbye to me eventually either way. Everyone has to say goodbye to their parents in their lifetime."

"That doesn't make it any easier", I snapped, pressing my cheek to the window.

"Dickie bird" Batman said gently, rubbing my back, "Don't worry about that now, alright. I'm not gonna die for a while at least. You're just not gonna let me. Don't worry about it now. I'm gonna be here in the morning and that's all that matters. Ok?" I sighed and closed my eyes, settling down. He was right. I couldn't worry about him dying. There was just no point.

Anyway, he was here with me now, stroking my spine. That was all that mattered. And he would be here in the morning. I grinned quietly to myself. I couldn't wait to jump on him and throw pillows at him. That was the last thought that traipsed through my head before I fell asleep.

He was so warm and he smelt so familiar and soothing, I almost fell back asleep, but I decided against it and opened my eyes. His face was smooth and line free, eyes calm and pleasant. He was obviously in a good mood. I snuggled my head against his chest, signaling to him that I was awake. He looked down at me and smiled.

"Hey Dickie bird, how come you're not asleep?" I shrugged. He had changed into his robe while I was dozing, probably thinking about how much I liked the feel of it against my cheek when he carried me to bed, something that seemed to happen way more often to me than it did to the average fifteen year old.

"Bruce", I murmured happily as he walked over the threshold into my room.

"Yup, I'm here kiddo", Bruce replied, "You want some help getting that costume off of would you prefer to do it alone." I yawned widely and shifted in his arms.

"Help me?"

"Sure son, you want pajamas?" I nodded and waited as he cradled me in one arm, fishing my pajamas out of the drawer. "Thank God for Alfred", he murmured softly, "that man has everything so organized, I don't know what I'd do without him." I smirked.

"You'd forever have your ties untied." Bruce rolled his eyes and put me down on the bed, gently pulling off first my tunic and belt, followed by my leotard. All of it ended up on the floor. "Alfred's gonna get after you and I for that stuff", I murmured sleepily, slumped in his arms as he pulled on my pajama pants. Bruce smirked.

"You wanna take them downstairs, be my guest. I, however, am going to bed." He buttoned the buttons on my shirt. When he was done, I slumped against his chest, eyelids flickering. "Hey baby bird," Bruce whispered, "just FYI, I'm not your bed."

"Close enough", I replied.

"Go on, get in bed. I'm going to sleep." I opened my arms again, asking him to pick me up. He rolled his eyes and consented. "You know, you're not a little kid anymore. You can't just ask me to do everything for you. When you move out and fight crime by yourself, I'm not going to be coming to your house every night to put you to bed."

"No", I agreed, "but you can right now." He smiled and pulled back my covers, placing me in gently. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to my forehead.

"I love you Dickie."

"I love you too", I replied, giving him a little kiss in return. He cupped my face in his hands, gazing into my eyes for a moment before tucking me in. Just as he was getting up, I reached out and snagged his hand. "Stay", I murmured, "for a little while, please." He sighed and relented, pulling back my sheets so he could lie down next to me. I cuddled into his embrace.

"I won't be here in the morning", he said sternly, "I'm only staying until you fall asleep."

"Ok", I replied, rubbing my head against his chest. He smiled and put his arms around me, cradling me gently as he stroked my hair. I felt his lips brush the top of my head before his cheek ended up there. Smiling, I relaxed totally.

"Best day ever", I whispered to him. He smiled.

"With you, that's every day." I heaved a contented sigh and closed my eyes, falling asleep almost instantly. My dreams were full of apes and muffins.

The End