Kids These Days

Well, I've been trying to do deaging fics for a while. For some reason, I can never finish them. I've got like five on my computer somewhere, unfinished. Sure enough, I felt my enthusiasm for this one dropping at about the end, so if the end seems a little rushed, it was due to the fact that I was determined to get at least one deaging fic published.

Also, the members of the Justice League? They're highly influenced by the 'Justice League' and 'Justice League Unlimited' cartoon/s, especially 'Kids Stuff'. So, be warned in case they're acting out of character for Young Justice/the comics, and not just because they're six years old. Sorry for any inaccuracies. And yes, I know in Young Justice Hawkgirl is called 'Hawkwoman', but again, mainly based on 'Justice League' and Hawkgirl seemed more fitting.

Timeline: Sometime during the time-skip. I'd say pretty soon after Auld Acquaintance, since the newest member is Raquel.

Warnings: Minor swearing. Possible OOCness.

Pairings: None.

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or any of the character within it. Also, I don't own any of the board games or movies mentioned. Anything recognisable, not mine.

"What do we do with them?" The Green Lantern Hal Jordan asked.

"I have no idea." Green Arrow sighed. "Wait… I think I do."

"What?"

"Who do you get to babysit kids?"

"Sorry?"

"Who do you get to babysit kids?"

"Um… babysitters, I guess?"

"Exactly."

"You've lost me. Regular babysitters can't help."

"What age are most babysitters?"

"You want to get teenagers to do it?"

"Super-powered teens can take care of super-powered kids."

"So we'll call the team?"

"Yep."

"You want us to babysit the Justice League?" Artemis said, jaw falling open.

"Pretty much." Hal Jordan said, catching a flying John Stewart by the wrist. "John. Land."

"But… it's fun!"

"I know, but still."

Wally stared, his eyes on his uncle. "So how exactly did they end up… deaged?"

"Some villain couldn't come up with a better idea than a deaging serum." Green Arrow sighed. "Who makes a deaging serum?"

"How much do they remember?" Robin asked.

"Next to nothing." Hal answered. "They don't have any memories before the age they are now. I think they've got a vague sense that we're not going to hurt them since they didn't freak out about the strangers being there, but otherwise…"

"Look, it'll only take a few hours for us to get a cure." Black Canary interrupted. "You can hold six kids until then, right?"

"Um, BC?" Raquel glanced at the kids. "I count five."

"What?" Black Canary spun around, doing a quick headcount.

"Crap. Batman's missing. Again."

"You lost a kid?" Zatanna blurted.

"It's Batman. He disappears."

"How come they kept their abilities?" Wally asked, glancing at the small red blur shooting from side to side. "I can't speak for all of them, but I know Flash didn't have super-speed when he was a kid."

"We have no idea. You'd think it'd be the main thing the serum would be made to work on. If you figure it out, let us know." Hal groaned.

"We'll be back in a few hours." Green Arrow ducked automatically as Superman and John Stewart shot into the air, cackling.

"Okay." M'gann said cautiously as the three adult leaguers left.

Robin did a quick headcount of who was there.

Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl was arm-wrestling. Flash was shooting from side to side. Superman and Green Lantern were having fun with their new-found-flight abilities. Black Canary had said Batman was there somewhere.

All of them were about six years old.

"So what do we do with them?" Raquel asked. "Anyone here good with kids? Maybe babysits in their spare time?"

"Sorry."

"Not really."

"No."

"No, sor-"

"Where did they go?" Kaldur interrupted.

Everyone's heads snapped around. There was a huge hole in the wall (how had they managed that silently?) but no other sign of the League.

"And… they're loose." Zatanna rubbed a hand through her hair. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

X

"Wonder Woman… Wonder Woman…" Artemis called slowly, walking down the hall. "Um, Diana, right? Diana…"

The girl against the wall folded her arms, glowering.

Like the other League members currently running around their base, she was still wearing her regular costume. It had shrunk to fit her new form, but the black-haired six-year-old looked completely comfortable in it.

"That is my name." Wonder Woman (Wonder Girl? Wait, wasn't that taken…?) said primly. "How do you know it?" She cocked her head to the side curiously.

"Long story."

"Tell me!"

Artemis raised an eyebrow. Considering how the adult Wonder Woman acted, she hadn't quite expected the younger version to be so, well, bossy.

Wait. Princess. Right. That would do it.

"Are you going to ask that nicely?"

Diana observed her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Artemis."

Diana took a sharp breath. "The goddess of archery, hunting and maidens?"

Artemis was genuinely tempted to tell her that she was the real Artemis. It might make her easier to keep still.

"No. I was… named after her." True.

"Oh."

"Now, how about we go to the common room and maybe put on a movie or something?"

Diana smiled cheekily. "Catch me first!"

"…You're kidding."

The junior Amazon jumped into the air, hovering high above Artemis. "Come on!" She grinned happily.

"Get down from there!"

"No!" Diana grinned, and then darted off.

Artemis muttered a word she had learnt at Gotham North, before chasing after her.

X

"I'm hungry." Flash rummaged through the fridge.

Zatanna and Wally had both come to the conclusion that he would be and had beelined for the kitchen.

"Okay." Zatanna said, trying to be reassuring. "We can order a pizza or something."

Flash shook his head, putting an apple into his mouth.

"Come on." Wally said cautiously, reaching forwards to place a hand on his uncle's shoulder. "Let's-"

Flash shot off in a blur of red.

Wally rolled his eyes, shooting off after him. Zatanna ran after, trying to come up with a spell.

X

"Batman?" Robin called, crawling through the air-vents.

He'd taken a look at where Batman's last known location was, and had decided that the only logical course he might have taken to disappear was through the air-vents once he reached the rafters. Of course, where he exited was another question.

"Batman? Batman? Baaaattmmmaaaannn!" Robin bit his lip.

"Bruce?" He called quietly, unwilling to go louder in case someone other than Bruce heard. But he wasn't sure Bruce even knew that 'Batman' was him.

"Bruce? Bruce? Oh, screw it… Batman!"

X

M'gann and Raquel stopped, smiling non-threateningly at the green light.

"Heya!" John bounced up and down. "Who are you?"

"I'm Raquel. This is Megan." Raquel said cautiously, very aware of the green elephant John was sitting on.

John jumped off the elephant. It dissolved, his ring glowing. John laughed in delight as he didn't fall, his green 'aura' surrounding him.

He paused, looking at M'gann. "You're green. Do you need to go to a hospital or something?"

M'gann smiled. "No, I don't, but thank you for caring."

"I'm glowing green too. Do I need to go to a hospital?" John frowned, looking at his hands.

"You can stop flying and then you won't be green anymore." M'gann pointed out.

John pouted. "But flying is fun."

"That it is." Raquel agreed, jumping into the air. She soared up next to him and ruffled his hair. Her hand passed right through the green light. "We can stay up here if you'd rather."

"What about her?"

"I can come up too." M'gann did so. "So what do you want to do?"

John shrugged, and then grinned.

His ring gleamed. Suddenly he was no longer flying. Instead he was resting on a floating green surfboard.

"Yee-ha!" The junior Green Lantern cackled, shooting along. Raquel and M'gann had to fly backwards to avoid him as he shot under the door, cackling.

X

"Superman? Superman!" Conner called, scanning the base with x-ray eyes, than infra-red.

He could see multiple people in the air, but that didn't really narrow it down…

There! Library!

Conner raced to the library, almost ripping the door off.

A familiar red cape was soaring around the ceiling.

"Clark. Come down, please."

Superman grinned. "But it's fun up here."

He landed easily on a bookshelf. Calmly he looked over the side at the boy who was almost identical to how he'd look as a teenager.

"Come on up!" Superman grinned.

Conner rolled his eyes, and then jumped.

He easily landed on the bookshelf, which was about three times his height. "See. I'm up."

"You are." Superman agreed, hovering mid-air. He looked down at the floor far beneath him.

Then he grinned cheekily. "Catch me if you can!"

He shot off.

"Wait, Superman, Clark – no!" Conner jumped off the bookshelf.

The shelf toppled, smashing down. It knocked into another shelf but didn't keep falling (after the Red Fiasco, the bookshelves could withstand another hitting them).

Conner heard the books tumbling off the shelf, and a startled shout.

Superboy's head snapped around, even as Clark managed to disappear.

"Damn." Conner grimaced, ducking under the shelf. He grabbed it and rightened it.

A second later he looked at the books fallen. Conner frowned. He swore he'd heard someone-

"Impressive."

Conner spun around to see a boy looking at him. He had black hair and blue eyes.

And was also wearing a Batman suit, with the mask pulled back.

Well, I found someone.

"Oh. Hey."

"Hi." Batman said cautiously, his blue eyes on Conner. "Who are you?"

"I'm Conner." Superboy hesitated, wondering if he should try and get him to put the cowl back on. The chances of him getting recognised as a kid were slim to none – for that matter, what were the chances any of them would recognise him as an adult? –, but Batman wouldn't exactly be delighted if he found out he'd taken off his mask.

"Can you put the mask on?"

"Why?" Batman folded his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?" Conner countered.

"It's uncomfortable and hot, and it's got weird little ears." Batman pointed out. "Why should I wear it?"

Okay. How to convince Batman – a six year old Batman, no less – to do something. Logic, maybe?

"Well, okay. If you're wearing the mask, no-one can see your face. Can you see how people seeing your face could end up badly?"

"I suppose…" Batman was still frowning like he was trying to figure out what was going on.

Either he still had vague memories that Conner was a good guy or Batman-as-a-child was much less suspicious than Batman-as-an-adult was, because Batman pulled the mask back on.

"Can I go back to reading now?"

"Sure." It wasn't worth dragging him back to the common room if he was planning on staying where he was. Besides, Conner had another miniaturised-hero to find.

Batman disappeared. Conner glanced behind him to see the six year old pick up a book from the bottom of the pile that had been knocked down, flip to a page, and begin reading.

Conner jogged off. He stopped in the mission briefing room and rapped on the vent.

"Yah! Hey!"

"Batman's in the library."

"Oh. Thanks." Robin peered through the grates.

"No prob. Don't suppose you've seen Superman?"

"No… if it helps, though, there's a Superman-shaped-dent in the vents at about the kitchen. I swear, complete detail, you can see the S-shield."

"…Good thing he's invulnerable." Conner muttered.

"Yeah. See ya, good luck." Robin nodded, continuing down the vents.

"Uh, Robin?"

"Yes?"

Conner pulled the grate off the vent. "You could try walking the normal way."

"Oh. Right. Thanks."

X

"Can you please come down from there?" Kaldur asked.

Hawkgirl folded her arms. "Why?"

Kaldur debated mentioning the ceiling fan above her.

"How come you don't have wings, anyway?" Hawkgirl flew a little lower than the fan, thankfully. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously behind her headgear. "Where am I?"

"You are on a planet called Earth."

"How did I get here?"

"That is… complicated."

Hawkgirl glowered, and then her eyes locked on Kaldur's neck. "What are those?" She pointed.

"These?" Kaldur touched his neck. "They are gills. I am an Atlantean." Blank look. "I am from underwater."

"Oh." Hawkgirl had lost interest. She soared up again.

Her wings almost clipped the reinforced ceiling fan. Without thinking Kaldur grabbed a water bearer, whipping it up. The water curled around Hawkgirl's ankle and dragged her down.

Hawkgirl landed with an undignified thump. In a moment she had bounded to her feet, staying on the ground.

"Wow! How did you do that?"

Kaldur looked at the whip of water still in his hand. "My people are hydrokinetic. We can manipulate the water. Like this." The water shifted into the shape of a fish.

Hawkgirl's interest seemed to be ebbing. Kaldur seized on what little he knew of her before she flew off again.

The water transformed into a mace. Hawkgirl's breath hitched. "Are you going to attack me?"

She sounded more excited by the prospect than anything else.

"No, no, no." Kaldur assured her. There was definitely disappointment in her eyes. "Would you like to hold it?"

Hawkgirl lit up again. "Yes!"

Kaldur had a few misgivings, but if she actually hit anything with it it would dissolve in a second. Still, he took about half the water out to make it lighter before handing it to the seven-year-old Thanagarian.

X

"Flash!" Wally shot after him. "Flash – BARRY! Stop!"

Flash slammed into the wall. He bounced back off and landed on the ground. "OW!"

Wally skidded to a stop. "You okay, kid?"

The word had just come out of his mouth without him thinking about it – a very common occurrence for him, actually.

"I'm fine." Flash got to his feet.

"You're sure?"

"I'm fine. The wall's not."

"Huh?" Wally automatically glanced at the wall.

Flash giggled, shooting off.

"Not again…" Wally shot after him.

"Repus deeps emoceb repus wols!"

Both speedsters slowed down as Zatanna finally caught up to them. The magician girl was panting, but looked triumphant. "Gotcha!"

"H-h-h-h-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-y-y-y-y." Flash tried to protest, suddenly in slow-motion.

"I'll fix it in a minute." Zatanna shrugged. "Once you're in the common room."

"Z-z-z-z-z-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e!" Wally protested.

Zatanna paused, looking at him. Then she shrugged. "I'll get the spell off both of you at the same time." She pointed at the two speedsters. "Etativel dna og otni eht gniniart moor!"

Barry and Wally were both lifted into the air, floating out the door. Zatanna followed them.

X

"Superman… Superman… Clark!" Conner shouted, jumping after the flying boy. "Stop!"

Superman stopped, floating above Conner. Conner let out a breath of air. "That's better."

"Look what I can do!" Superman cackled, shooting up high and then swooping down, pulling out of the dive in a second. "I couldn't do this before!"

"You… couldn't?"

"Nope!"

Suddenly Superman flushed. He looked at the ground and landed, looking at Conner sheepishly.

Conner sighed. "Secret identity?"

"What?"

"Were you told not to let anyone know you could do things like that?"

"Well… yeah, but…" Clark bit his lip.

Conner sighed, kneeling down. "I'm not going to tell anyone, Kal-El."

"…What?"

"I'll keep it a secret. I promise. Just don't go flying off again."

"Okay…" Superman still looked unsure. "So if I go flying off again, you will tell?"

"No, but I will be very annoyed."

Superman looked torn. On the one hand, he didn't particular want to annoy this boy. Something told him that he'd been mean to him before and so now he had to be nice to fix it. Although he couldn't figure out what he had done.

On the other hand, flying was fun.

Conner smirked. "How about this? We'll go to a particular room where you can fly all you want and not break anything."

"Okay!" Superman was delighted by this solution.

Conner shrugged. "Well, probably not break anything. If I can figure out how to break something in the training room, then I'm sure you can too."

"I won't break anything!" Superman promised. Then he paused. "Unless you want me to?"

X

Batman was scowling at his book.

"Something the matter?" Robin appeared next to him. The six year old didn't blink.

"What's this word?"

Robin peered over at the word he was pointing at. "That's picturesque. It means, uh, 'pretty'."

"Oh." Batman shrugged, turning back to his book.

"Good book?"

"Yes." Batman said shortly, turning a page.

"So… we're trying to get all the kids into the training room." Robin decided honesty was the best policy.

"Why?" Batman asked absently.

"Because you're the only one not breaking anything." Robin paused and looked at the heap of books around them, along with the empty shelf. "At the moment."

"I'm fine here."

"Uh-huh. Exactly how much do you remember anyway, Bruce?"

Batman's eyes flashed up from the book. "How do you know my name?"

Robin gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I won't tell."

"…That's not an answer."

"I know everything."

"That's not possible."

"Well, not everything, but I know a lot."

"You're avoiding the subject."

"I've met you before, okay?"

"Oh. Okay." Bruce lost interest, turning back to his book.

"Anyway, can you come to the training room?"

"You said it yourself, I'm not breaking anything. Why should I?"

"It's not time out, it's–" Robin paused, changing tactic. "You can bring your book."

Batman glanced at him.

He might have been six years old, but Robin could easily read what he wanted from that expression. "Yes, you can bring a couple of other books too. And if you finish them all, you can come back and get some more."

Batman thought about that for a moment, and then began picking out books.

X

"Ya-hoo!"

M'gann and Raquel glanced at each other, hearing Hawkgirl's delighted cries from the next room.

"Do we have a look or drop this one off first?" M'gann asked, tapping on the force-field around Green Lantern.

John didn't seem incredibly upset about his containment. He was making race-cars with his ring, as they shot around in circles.

"I can hold the shield, easy." Raquel shrugged, walking into the room.

M'gann followed.

"Oh, hey Kaldur. How did she get your mace?" Raquel asked thoughtfully.

"It was the only thing that kept her interest for more than a few seconds." Kaldur gave a half smile. He glanced at the boy playing in a shield. "Would not co-operate?"

"More that he wouldn't sit still than anything else." M'gann shrugged.

There was a splosh sound, and then Hawkgirl looked disappointed. "It broke…" She looked at the puddle of water that had a few moments ago been the mace.

"Were you trying to break the wall?" John looked up from the force-field.

"Yep!"

"…Why?"

"Why not?"

"Uh…" Green Lantern didn't have an answer for that.

Shayera looked down at the water on the ground. "Is there anything else I can use to smash stuff?"

"Not here. We have some stuff in the training room."

"Cool. Which way?" Hawkgirl flew to the door.

M'gann and Raquel shot into the air. "This way."

"How come you two can fly without wings?!"

Raquel was silent for a second. "…Practise."

M'gann's eyes gleamed blue. The shield Green Lantern was in lifted into the air, following after them.

Kaldur reached for his water-bearers, taking the liquid back into them and slipping them onto his back. Then the Atlantean casually started towards the training room.

X

"Are we the last ones?" Artemis walked into the training room, Wonder Woman skipping behind her.

"No, Batman and Robin still aren't here." Wally shrugged.

"Um… Batman is sitting in the corner, reading a book." Artemis pointed.

"He is?" The speedster's head snapped around. "Oh. When did he get there?"

"Wow, Baywatch. Observant, much?" Artemis said with a light smile.

"In my defence, a) Zatanna only just took the spell off me, b), he's Batman."

"Batboy, maybe?" Robin appeared out of nowhere.

"Kay, I take your point." Artemis said to Wally. "Wait, spell?"

Wonder Woman jumped into the air, shooting up.

Somehow she felt that she was more comfortable with so many men (wait, wasn't 'boy' the correct term for a male child?) around then she should be. Still, she decided to go next to Hawkgirl instead of one of the 'boys'. Diana hovered next to her, watching as Shayera hit the punching bag with a mallet.

"Nice hit."

"Thank you." The redhaired girl glanced around, and then soared into the air. Diana followed her, watching Shayera knock the mallet into the rigs at the top.

"May I ask what you're doing?"

"Trying to break it."

"…Why?"

"Fun."

"Oh. May I have a turn?"

"Sure." Shayera stopped hitting it. "But I'm not sharing my hammer. It's padded but it's better than nothing, so I'm not sharing."

"That's okay." Wonder Woman smiled. She flew backwards, forming her hand into a fist. Then she shot forwards, slamming her fist as hard as she could into the metal.

The rings twisted. The punching bag fell.

"Wow!" Hawkgirl was impressed. "Good hit!"

"Thank you."

"How'd you do that?"

"I'm an Amazon. We have some of the best warriors ever. They taught me all sorts of things."

"Cool. Does that include flying without wings? Because everyone here is flying without wings."

Meanwhile, Superman landed next to Green Lantern. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making a racing-car track." John pointed. "See?"

"Cool. How are you doing it?"

"I have no idea but it's pretty neat."

"Can I play?" Superman looked at it.

"Sure! How?"

"Um…" Clark paused, not having thought that far ahead. "How are you making the cars go round?"

"I just concentrate and my ring makes them."

"How do you know it's your ring doing it?"

"I don't know. I just know it. Plus, you know, it's coming out of my ring." John shrugged. "I've got it! I can make it so they're cars that roll, like just with wheels. Then you can push one and I can push one and we'll race them!"

"Okay." Clark sat down as John altered the cars.

"On your mark…" Green Lantern began. "Get set. Go."

John's push was regular. Clark's shot straight off the track and smashed into a wall.

"…Oops."

John frowned at the car. It moved back towards them, fixing itself. "Okay. I'll keep doing it with my ring and you push it."

"Okay."

"Can I play too?" Barry appeared.

"Sure." Clark nodded.

"Course." John paused, trying to think how this would work. "Um… okay. If he pushes his car from here, and I use my ring, you could run along your car pushing it. Would that work?"

"Mmm-hmm." Barry nodded eagerly as John widened the race-track and made a new car.

"On your marks, get set, go."

Clark's flew off the tracks again. Barry managed to get his to the finish line barely a second after Clark's hit the wall. "I win!"

"Race again?" Clark flew to collect his car.

"Yeah!"

Next time John beat Barry by half a second. Barry pouted but quickly initiated a rematch. Clark's car actually stayed on the tracks and reached the finish line, so he was pleased.

"Okay. So, they're all happy." Raquel glanced at the kids who were playing.

"They won't stay happy for long, though." Zatanna frowned thoughtfully.

"Why? They're having fun." Conner shrugged. He winced at a crash. "Although we'll probably have to remodel the entire training room."

"They're going to get hungry or sleepy or something." Wally predicted. "Or run out of things to break."

Robin frowned thoughtfully, thinking. "We want to be prepared for when that happens. M'gann, Conner, Zee, what board games are in the cave?"

"Nothing I've found." Zatanna hesitated, glancing at the two aliens.

"I think we've got Monopoly and Chess." Conner answered.

"Probably won't interest them." Raquel commented. "Any movies?"

"Not for kids. I think we've got one or two Disney movies." M'gann thought. "You think they'd like old TV shows? I've got all of Hello, Megan."

"That's a show?" Artemis asked. Raquel shrugged.

"Yeah. Tell you later." M'gann glanced at them. "I've got a couple of other shows like it, but it wouldn't keep them interested, would it?"

Robin's mind began to work. "Zee, have you worked out that teleportation spell yet?"

"Yes, but I can't go far and I can't take anyone with me. I can go places I don't know but last time I ended up in a wall, so, I'd rather not do that."

"That'll work." Robin nodded. "Kay. Wally, can you go into town and get them something to eat?"

"Sure. Anything in particular?"

"Nothing sugary." Robin reached for his utility belt and pulled out small wad of bills. "I so don't want to see these kids high on sugar. Doesn't matter if it's pure junk food – pizza, McDonalds, whatever. Just not sugar." He paused, glancing at Diana and wondering what Amazons generally ate. "Maybe you'd be best off to grab a selection, add something healthy in. Fruit, sandwiches, whatever."

"Variety of food, got it." Wally nodded, shooting off.

"Zatanna, could you go the video store?" Robin said once the speedster was gone.

"The video store?"

"Yep." Robin pulled out another wad of bills and slipped it into her hands. "Well, actually, if you can come up with something else that might be interesting for a kid that works too."

"Kay. Just the stuff from the era they're used to?"

"What?" Robin blinked.

"Well, if they're normally around thirty, they'd be pretty much have been transported around twenty five years into the future."

"…Did not realise that." Robin paused. "I don't think it actually matters much. I mean, it's not like they'll come to the conclusion they've been deaged, and even if they did, that's not the end of the world."

"Okay. See you in a bit. Tropelet ot na ytpme teerts ni yppaH ruobraH!" A cloud whirled around the dark haired teen as she disappeared.

"What'll the rest of us do?" Artemis asked, addressing the question to the group at large.

"We'll watch them. Make sure no-one kills anyone. Keep them occupied if we need to." Conner shrugged.

"Sounds like fun." Raquel grimaced.

X

"I come bearing gifts!" Zatanna walked through the door, holding a plastic bag.

"Great." Raquel flew over. "The kids are getting a little restless. Well, Hawkgirl is. She broke her hammer. And I think Flash is thisclose to getting sick of racing Wally. Who, incidentally, is ticked off that a six year old is beating him."

"Looks like I got here just in time then." Zatanna smiled.

"Hey, kids!" Artemis put her hands to her mouth. "Who wants to watch a movie?"

"What movie?" In an instant the six year old Barry was in front of her.

"What's a movie?" Diana asked, swooping down from the ceiling.

"It's-" Robin began to explain.

"You haven't seen a movie before?" Clark asked incredulously, his eyes wide with surprise.

"No…?"

"Then we'll have to now!" Barry grabbed her by the wrist.

"Unhand me!" Wonder Woman moved as if to slap him. M'gann caught her. "You too!"

"No hitting." M'gann said firmly as Barry stepped back.

"I'm the princess of Themyscira-"

"And are we on Themyscira? No. No we are not. And even if you were, you'd never make any friends bossing everyone around. Play nice." The Martian girl instructed her.

"But he-"

"He merely wanted to show you what a movie was."

Wonder Woman nodded, looking sheepish. "I… apologise."

"Good girl." M'gann smiled, releasing the Amazon girl.

"Come on, kids." Conner began to walk to the common room. "Let's put on a movie."

Robin tapped Batman on the shoulder as the rest of the kids trickled out. Bruce looked up.

"We're watching a movie."

"…I'm reading." Batman said flatly.

"Yes. Come on."

Bruce looked at him. Robin sighed. "Yes. You can still read. We'd just like all of you to be in the same room."

Bruce nodded once, and began picking up his books.

"Are you psychic?" Wally stared.

"Sometimes."

The team walked to the common room. Barry was looking through the adjoining kitchen. Some part of him knew it was rude, but… well, he felt really comfortable here. And he was really hungry.

"So, what are we watching?" John asked.

"That depends on what you want." Zatanna put the plastic bag on the ground. John pulled the movies out.

"Um… Z?" Robin raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"Disney and Super-heroes?"

"You said I was allowed Disney." The sorceress shrugged.

"Yeah. It's the X-Men I'm confused about."

"What? The Fantastic Four isn't confusing for you? Or how about Spiderman, does that stump the Boy Wonder?" Zatanna teased lightly.

Robin shrugged. "I was just wondering."

"I figure that it couldn't have come from nowhere, right? I mean, it's not like they reached eighteen and then from nowhere the urge to do good came up. And even if as six year olds they aren't interested, we're just trying to keep them entertained for a couple of hours."

"Okay. What about Harry Potter?"

"Three reasons." Zatanna counted on her fingers. "Harry is a hero. I like Harry Potter. And it's fun to watch Wally squirm."

"So what are these?" Wonder Woman asked, frowning thoughtfully at the cases.

"They're movies!" Barry said, nodding eagerly. "We'll put them into the TV, and then they'll play!"

"Like… a game?" Diana screwed her face up in confusion.

"No, they'll… they're moving pictures!" Flash tried to explain.

Diana still looked confused. Barry sighed, his mask flopping behind his face. "Oh, forget it. We'll show you when we put one on."

"Oh." Diana picked up Mulan. The cover showed the heroine in question on her horse, a flag held high in the air. She looked almost like an Amazon. "This one."

"This one?" John looked at it. "Mulan?"

"Yes. Please."

"Okay." Barry agreed.

It wasn't really like a Disney Princess story. And anyway, he'd seen that dark haired girl punch through metal a while ago, so, if she wanted to watch Mulan, Mulan it was.

Wally obligingly took the disc and placed it in. The six-year old adults scrambled to find seats.

"Are you going to watch?" Clark asked Bruce.

"No." Bruce said flatly.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Absolutely, positively, completely and totally sure?"

Bruce wasn't sure why his hand moved to his belt as he glared at the floating boy. It just felt like the right thing to do. "I'm sure."

Clark shrugged. "Okay."

Clark floated off the ground again, landing in front of the TV. He, John and Barry all were lying down on their stomachs, propped up by their arms. Shayera and Diana copied their movements after a moment, Shayera's wings curling up against her back.

Robin was the only member of the team not spread out over the couches. Instead, he sat next to Bruce.

"Aren't you going to watch it?"

"Nup. You sure you've got enough light?"

Bruce gave him a withering look. Robin honestly found it cute. He could so see Bruce terrorising all the bullies in kindergarten. Wouldn't be the first time he'd had made someone cry for their mother. Actually, wait, it probably would have been the first, but it wouldn't have been the last.

"I'm sure." Bruce said after a moment, registering his glare wasn't working.

"Kay." Robin didn't move.

Bruce gave him an annoyed look, but settled back into his book.

X

"The place isn't destroyed?" Hal Jordan actually sounded surprised.

"No. Should it be?" Conner looked up from the TV, on which The Incredibles was playing.

"Well, we were half expecting it, considering what happened to the Watchtower…" Hal said honestly.

"Let's be fair here, the place isn't exactly immaculate." Zatanna yawned.

"Have you got the antidote?" Artemis asked, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

"Pretty much." Hal nodded. "From what we can figure out, they're not going to remember much of what happened today. Maybe a few flashes here and there, but basically they're going to remember this as something that happened when they were six." He glanced at the kids, still watching the movie.

Batman had apparently put down his book at some point. He'd appeared sitting against a chair, sometime between 'Peter Pan' and 'Fantastic Four'. After realising his mentor had gone, Robin had taken his usual spot on the couch, next to Raquel and the armrest.

"Kids." Hal called. "Time to go."

John waved it aside. "After the movie."

Hal raised an eyebrow. A moment later a glowing green wall landed in front of the TV.

"John!"

"It's not me!"

"Well, get rid of it anyway!"

"Okay, okay!"

A new green line slipped up. It turned into a shovel, sliding underneath the wall. The shovel then threw the wall up.

Hal blinked, surprised.

"He's got the same amount of willpower and about triple the imagination as usual." Wally said absently, still watching the movie. "You might be able to win with the whole 'concentration' part, but I'd really recommend you use another tactic."

Artemis got to her feet, deftly manoeuvring into the kitchen. She went into the fridge and pulled out a half-eaten block of chocolate.

Six pairs of eyes watched her cautiously.

"Yes. You can have some. Up you get." The blonde archer smirked.

In a flurry of movement, the Justice League forgot about the movie. Bruce was the only one who managed to hide his eagerness, but the fact that he still got up showed it.

"They like chocolate." Artemis said casually, breaking the bar into pieces. "We found that out the hard way, but it's working for us now."

"I see." Honestly, Hal was a Justice League member. He'd kinda gotten past the part where many things could surprise him, lest of all the power of chocolate.

"Come on. We've got to get you fixed." Hal said with a smile to his teammates.

"Fixed from what?" Bruce frowned, raising an eyebrow.

"Um… a sickness."

"How? Needles?" Barry interrupted before Bruce could ask anything more.

"Uh…" Hal hesitated.

"I can't do needles." Clark said immediately.

"You're scared of them?" John looked at the Kryptonian.

"No. I think they're scared of me." Clark frowned.

"Oh. Right. Invulnerability. Well, I'm sure we can think of someway around it." Hal rubbed the back of his head.

"So it is needles?" Barry looked almost horrified.

"Barry, you've been hit with lightning." Wally pointed out, a hand on his uncle's shoulder.

"… I have?!" Barry's voice raised a good octave.

"Yep. You survived that, you can survive a needle."

"…When did I get hit with lightning?!"

Artemis noisily cracked the rapidly-diminishing block of chocolate. Six pairs of eyes turned to her again. "I'll give you all some more – if you all promise not to complain about the needle. Or block it. Or do anything."

"I don't do anything on purpose!" Clark protested. "It just… happens."

"Not good enough. I want everyone to promise they'll go with Mr. Jordan nicely. Otherwise you won't get chocolate."

"Promise!"

"I promise to act befitting a princess among allies."

"Uh, I guess."

"I promise."

"Of course! Now, chocolate?"

Batman didn't say anything, but his eyes were on the chocolate. After a second he gave a slight nod.

Artemis obligingly handed the chocolate out, then passed the block into Green Lantern's hands. "There. Now you know how to do it."

"What? Leave little pieces for them to follow?" Hal looked at the block in his hands.

"One of them is the Flash. How fast can you do it?" Artemis gave him a look.

"They do know we're right here, right?" Shayera muttered to Diana.

"They also seem to forget we gave our word." Diana agreed.

"If them forgetting means they'll bride us again…" John smirked.

"Bribe." Bruce corrected.

"Huh?"

"The word is 'bribe', not 'bride'. Bride is when a girl gets married."

"Whatever."

Hal looked at the other members of the Justice League. "Uh, come on, I guess."

They didn't move.

"Are you coming?"

"You're not moving." Clark said flatly. "How are we supposed to follow you?"

Hal shrugged, and then began to walk. The deaged heroes followed him, chatting amongst themselves.

A few minutes later, Hal sent them through the zeta-tube to the Watchtower. The non-deaged Justice League Green Lantern followed them.

"Should we start to clean up?" Robin asked, leaning against the couch.

They'd probably been sitting still for too long, watching movies. None of them had much motivation to move.

"We really should." Raquel grimaced.

"We need to be responsible and get it done." Conner said reluctantly.

"And the place really is a mess." M'gann admitted.

"But we've still got chocolate." Artemis countered.

"How about we pack up after 'The Incredibles'?" Raquel suggested.

"And we still haven't watched any of the Harry Potter series." Artemis agreed.

Wally opened his mouth like he wanted to protest, bit his lip, and then settled back into the couch.

"Not to mention 'Beauty and the Beast'." M'gann added.

"Yeah." Robin nodded, settling comfortably into the couch. "We can be responsible teenagers later."

Reviews are always appreciated. Let me know if there are any huge inaccuracies - preferably nicely - or if you liked it, loved it, faved it, hated it, etc.