A Natural Progression | Shazam

Chapter 7

Billy nodded, staring up at the ceiling as Titus clambered onto the bed with him. "How can a kid that has Bat-Hound as a pet be so mean?" he asked, looking at the dog as it yawned. "Yea, I dunno either, Titus."

- - -

Bruce ran a hand through his hair- today had been more stressful than he'd imagined. Not only had Captain Marvel missed a meeting and Cyborg given him a half-cocked excuse in the demigod's place, but the man had been radio silent for the past week-- no pings, no check-ins, nothing.

Calling Alfred and asking him to look for the hero with a drone had been a bust, so until Marvel came back online there was little he could do besides go to Fawcett City himself and find the man himself.

Which he would do- if it weren't for one small snag.

His youngest and newest member of the family, Billy, was not only expecting to see him that evening, but he apparently had some kind of panic attack while at the mall. 

That in itself was concerning and made Bruce's instincts surge with the want to coddle the much-too-small-for-his-age-boy, but not only was that a completely new feeling for him, he felt like he wasn't close enough to the boy for that just yet.

He'd only been there a day and a half, and already he'd been told about Damien's negative antics twice- the second being told to him currently.

Dick was fuming, pacing back and forth and practically ranting to him about the boy. About his plan with Titus and his attitude, going on various different tangents.

"I mean, the kid's a hundred pounds soaking wet, he- there's no way he could even- Damien has nothing to even be jealous of! He's not after the cowl, he's not after the Robin suit, and even if he was-"

"Dick."

The lanky young man paused, glancing towards Bruce, who was sitting in the chair in front of the Bat-Computer. He blinked, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Sorry, I just... I'm not used to having a normal kid around. He could get seriously hurt by Damien's stunts."

"Damien's pulled dangerous things around the rest of you before."

"Yeah, but we can handle it. I mean, we're all in the hero business or at least trained in it, we know what to expect. Billy- Billy's just an innocent kid. He gets stars in his eyes when he looks at heroes, he doesn't see them as people you work alongside, he sees them as legends."

Bruce nodded slowly. "Where's Damien?" he asked, glancing around.

The boy in question fell from the ceiling, fully-outfitted in his robin suit. "I was testing him."

"For what?! Billy's like 10, he has a stuffed tiger! It has a name for Pete's sake!!" Dick yelled, throwing his hands up.

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, leaning back in his chair. "Damien, you're done 'testing' Billy. No more. I told everyone he's strictly upstairs, so whatever it is you're planning, kill it." He said, glaring into his son's eyes. 

"I mean it. Leave him alone. Billy may be sweet, but he was still a street kid. He knows how to handle himself if you take it too far."

Damien rolled his eyes, muttering a reply. "Now go, and take off that uniform. You're not going out until you can figure out how to behave." The boy whipped around, glaring daggers at Bruce.