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In Bruce's humble opinion, magic didn't make any damn sense.
It was an anomaly, and he didn't feel comfortable not understanding abnormalities.
Gotham had its fair share of oddity, none of them seemingly magical, and that was enough for him.
The memo hadn't gotten to demons and warlocks, who considered him the Justice League's greatest threat to take down. While they weren't wrong, it was irritating to be attacked by supernatural entities at least twice a week.
They messed up his patrol plans and it always ended up with someone transformed or ended up in who knows what dimension. This week, Jason had become a wolf, courtesy of the warlock who had attacked them during the patrol. A very large wolf with adoption addiction.
"Robin, leave him."
The wolf gave him an unimpressed look, and then he proceeded to do what he did, holding down the little boy he'd found hiding in the alley.
The boy wasn't complaining, but he was watching Batman waiting for him to explain why a wolf had decided he was his cub.
Honestly, Bruce didn't know either. He didn't even know if Robin understood human speech or he chose not to. Both were very likely.
At least, in his animal form, Jason wasn't aggressive. Jason had always had a soft spot for kids, especially the ones in Crime Alley. He was their hero in ways Batman never would be.
But that wasn't a Crime Alley kid.
It was enough to look at him to understand it: clothes in good condition, an expensive camera, everything about him screamed for money.
He didn't know what he was doing there at that hour (although the camera might give him some clues), but he was caught in the crossfire.
The warlock lay unconscious behind Batman, and he won't recover for much longer. He didn't know how long Jason would stay in that form, but he knew he needed Zatanna.
First, they had to go back to the cave, but they couldn't do it until Jason was stubborn about leaving the child.
"Robin…"
His son continued to ignore him, licking a scratch on the kid's forehead that he hadn't noticed before.
"He's not your puppy, Robin. You can't keep him."
The wolf gave him a look as if to say watch me old man, and Bruce felt his headache increase.
He hated magic.
"I'm sorry to get in the way," the boy finally said, cheeks red.
He was small, almost as small as Jason when he welcomed him. And he had black hair and blue eyes.
Not that it mattered, though Dick teased him.
He didn't imprint himself on children who looked like him. Jason and Dick had been coincidences.
This boy probably had parents to go back to.
And what parents, who let him wander Gotham at night…
He ignored those thoughts, and said, "It's not your fault. Robin's being stubborn."
"I guess it's the wolf instincts."
"I think so. "
"Wolves have a very keen sense of smell. That's why he noticed me this time."
He arched an eyebrow under the cowl, "What do you mean saying this time?"
The boy's blush increased, "Nothing important…"
"Kid, have you followed us before?"
"Maybe…"
"Someone paid you to do it?"
"No!" he replied indignantly and looked at him offended.
"I would never do that! You two are my heroes!"
"Why did you follow us before?"
He didn't answer, and Bruce hastened to reassure him, "You're not in trouble, kid."
But your parents sure as hell are, he thought irritably. If anyone was using or abusing this kid for their ends, he's going to have to deal with Batman.
"I will be if I speak."
"Are you afraid of me?"
"Maybe a little bit'. "
"I don't harm children."
The kid made an adorable face, "You don't know who I am. I could be an ally of that warlock."
"If you were, you would have already gotten rid of me and Robin."
"Maybe I'll wait for you to let your guard down."
Bruce had to fight a lot to keep his lips down. Smart brat.
"That would be a clever plan," he conceded.
“But the timings don't match. You've both been in it for a while.”
Again that lovely pout, "Robin might bite me if I try to do anything."
Bruce looked at his son, who kept cuddling to the boy like there was no problem in the world, and found himself saying, "I doubt he would."
“You don't know! I could be dangerous!”
"You are?"
"What's the point of asking? Of course, I'd be lying to you!"
"You could try, but it wouldn't work."
"Why?"
"Because I'm the greatest detective in the world."
The kid snorted, not at all impressed, "Don't you have better lines? It's almost more obvious than I'm Batman."
What a little gremlin that shamed him with a smart mouth! He would get along with the boys.
Bruce shouldn't think that not when he had just rebuilt a relationship with Dick and Jason was right there. Another child would make them think that he wanted to replace them.
He didn't want to take the risk. But he liked the boy, and a lot too.
"It doesn't change that I can recognize danger. And right now you're as dangerous as a can of beer."
"Is that a joke about my size? Hilarious, congrats."
"How old are you?"
"I'm nine years old. "
"Nine?"
"Yeah."
Alarm bells rang in his mind. The boy was too thin, too small for his age. Too pale, sickly. He needed a more balanced diet and… He had to talk to the parents of the child. If they could afford that camera, they could also afford to feed their child properly.
"Where are your parents?"
"Why do you want to know? You said I'm not in trouble!"
"You're not. But I need to talk to them."
"Why?"
"Adult business."
He eyed him irritably, "It's just a way of saying you need to talk about me and my behavior."
"Not your behavior," he pointed out.
"Besides, how do you know?"
"Teachers say that at school. They always want to talk to mom and dad because I don't fit in with the rest of the class. Nice way to say I'm a freak."
The wolf growled softly, and Bruce didn't doubt that he would bite anyone who offended his cub.
He said, "You're not a freak."
"Heroes aren't supposed to lie," the boy said petulantly.
"I know what I am. I'm a freak who blows up the science classroom for experiments, I hack police databases to gather evidence or fix their mistakes, I follow Batman at night…"
He broke off, realizing he'd talked too much.
Bruce said, "How long?"
"A few months…you've never noticed me before."
"We would have. Patrols are dangerous."
"I know. That's why I'm keeping a safe distance and have increased the power of my zoom."
He said it proudly as if it were normal for a child to submit to the dangers of Gotham for a few photos. Bruce asked, "Why are you doing this?"
"Photos give me purpose. I like it."
"Boy, I need to talk to your parents."
"Why?!"
"This can't go on. Unless they're forcing you to..."
The kid shook his head, "They don't know. Besides, dad hates me taking pictures. He says it's a waste of time and I should focus on our family business."
"And what does your father do?"
"Boring stuff," he answered evasively.
"So no, it's not them who tell me to follow you. I decided on it because I like it and I'm good at it. You can't take it away from me."
"I can't let you put yourself in danger."
"You let Dick do it when he was eight, I'm older!"
They both made eye contact. The boy seemed to want to sink into the ground.
"Damn headache…I'm talking too much."
"Are you hurt?" Bruce asked.
The priority was to make sure the boy didn't have a serious concussion, and then ask him how he knew Dick was the first Robin.
"Not much, but that's okay. I have painkillers at home and…"
"You won't take medicine without medical supervision. We'll take you to a friend of ours."
He moaned, "Do we have to?"
"I could always call your parents and tell them where I found you."
"And if, hypothetically, they were unreachable?"
"I would wait for them at your home. And you wouldn't want to give me a fake address. I would find out right away..."
"Because you are the world's greatest detective. I know."
The man smiled, " Glad we understand each other."
The kid sniffed, irritated, while Robin finally allowed Bruce to come closer.
The little shit probably knew for a long time that the kid needed a medical checkup.
He looked at the still-unconscious warlock and sighed. From there it will be Zatanna's problem.
There was something more important to attend to, and perhaps a room at the manor for Alfred to prepare.