CloeTheTealSnake suggested this on discord and has patiently waited for it so here it is 

"Hey Rob, did the League always like you?" Artemis inquired, finding the minimal chatter in the room boring. None of the conversations was anything of interest. Attention turned to the young teen sat upside down on the couch, working on whatever he was doing. He looked up to her, thought for a moment, then shook his head. "But they're basically all lining up to adopt you," Wally argued. Robin scoffed, sitting up the right way. 

"When they found out I was working, they nearly kicked Batman off the team. I was nine and pretty small for my age so they thought I wasn't capable," he reasoned.

"You're still pretty small for your age," Artemis pointed out.

"I'm like average height!"

"For a ten-year-old," she added under her breath. "What made them treat you like they do now?"

"I did what every hero does to make friends. I saved them." The team leaned in slightly, engaged by the story. "Urgh fine I'll tell you what happened but don't bring it up to the League. They get embarrassed."

June five years ago

It was Batman's final mission with the Justice League and morale was low. Despite instigating the leave, the other main members of the League were solemn to see him go. Yet they had no other choice. They gave him an ultimatum, pull Robin from fighting crime or leave the League, and he chose to leave. Though, that didn't seem to hit home until they stepped off the invisible jet on their last mission with him. Sure he was a bit of a pessimist and often killed the fun in things but it was endearing. "So Bats, have you had a rethink about your decision?" Green Arrow inquired. 

"Why would I need to? I believe in Robin whilst you believe otherwise. I'm standing by him and that's final," Batman replied coldly. 

"Your decision, although I will uphold it, is incredibly stupid," Superman argued. He couldn't believe the stubbornness of the man. "We're heroes who protect those who can't fight for themselves. That includes children," he added.

"I've heard your argument 100x over and it won't convince me on the 101st time."

"Let's leave the argument -"

"Like Bats is gonna leave the League-"

"Flash you're not helping - let's leave the argument for the last mission," Wonder Woman announced, not sparing Flash the glare.

Nobody knows much about what happened after that. Some members remember hearing a bang whilst others remember something whistling. To this day the time between leaving the ship and being held in a cell hasn't been explained. Robin always suspected that it was due to the chemical used to knock them out and, since they were in the middle of nowhere, they couldn't refer to any CCTV to fill in the gaps. That was hardly the League's main focus at the time. They were stuck in some brick room when they regained themselves. It was cold and damp, suggesting they were in a cellar of some sort. "This might be our last last mission," Flash commented, receiving a groan of discontent from his team. 

"What even happened?" Green Arrow inquired. 

"No idea, but we have a problem," Batman responded. They quirked an eyebrow at him until they realized all the supers were out of commission. "I'm calling in reinforcements," Batman added. They were surprised by him. He was as stubborn as his suit was black so why would he call in other heroes? "Who's gonna come? There are no other members on Earth - oh my God you're going to call that child," Wonder Woman replied. "You can't send him for us! The poor child will get hurt," she shouted.

"I can't find a place out of here since I have no idea where we are so unless you want to rot in here you'll let him prove himself to you as he has for me." They didn't seem convinced.

"We'll sooner die here than put that child in danger," Superman argued.

"Speak for yourself," Green Arrow disputed. The alien frowned at him for not taking his side. As heroes, they had to sacrifice things to protect the innocent and that should include sacrificing their lives. "You didn't give us a chance to even find a way out of here," Wonder Woman snapped. 

"Uh, hate to play devil's advocate, but isn't that what we did with his kid?"

"Yes I see the irony here but we're fully grown adults that are able to fight for ourselves," she argued. She looked over to Batman to see the small screen popped up on his glove. "You've contacted him haven't you?" He nodded and she swore there was a cheeky smirk on his face.

Attention once again fell on the bat-themed superhero as a dull beeping noise emitted from his glove. They couldn't believe he did it but it wasn't like they could stop it either. They couldn't exactly kick him out of the league again. Plus they didn't have the lawyers nor the guts to take Robin off him. All they could do was hope they found a way out before Robin came. The beeping stopped and a grainy video feed of Robin was projected from the glove. It was never usually that grainy so they must be pretty deep underground. "Sup Bats, how's the final mission going?" the young hero answered, a smirk playing on his face. They had to admit, he was pretty adorable but that just made them more sure he wasn't equipped for crime-fighting. How could he when he looks like the physical embodiment of the most adorable child ever? "Not well. Looks like I'll need you to come down here. You know how the autopilot works, just punch in our coordinates," Batman replied, relaying information concisely. He didn't know how long they would be sitting in a room without any immediate danger. "Some heroes they are. Set off your tracker and I'll do my best to follow it," Robin said, setting off to the Batjet. 

"Will do, there are snacks in the passenger draw."

"Hell yeah!" The corner of Batman's mouth turned up for a second. "Should I be quiet or make a grand entrance?"

"Keep it quiet. I don't know who else is here."

"Got it, call back in when I'm close. Say hi to Flash for me, he's the only one who voted for you to stay," he said before signing off. There was an unexpected sassiness in his voice but Flash swiftly ignored that. 

"Aww, he's so cute."

Knowing they had limited time to save themselves, Wonder Woman, Superman and Green Arrow rechecked their area. No visible way out other than a vent none of them would fit in. How could they possibly be stuck in this room? "We got in, so there has to be another way out," Wonder Woman thought aloud. 

"But where? There's no door, no secret entrance. We can't make one because our supers are out of bounds," Green Arrow pointed out. Superman moved the thick collar around his neck with frustration. None of them were strong enough to break it. Batman and Green Arrow also didn't have their belts filled with everything that would release the supers of their collars. Other than getting help, they had no way out. "We could've been teleported in," Superman suggested. 

"I scanned us before, we must've been dragged or carried here," Batman reasoned.

"That would explain the ache in my back," Flash mumbled, rubbing the spot at the bottom of his back. These people hadn't cared to take time to pick them up, who knows how far that lack of care went? They still had no idea what these people wanted since they'd originally come to check out a distress call. Now they could only think that the call was a trap. "How's Robin even going to find us if we have no idea where we are?" Green Arrow asked. Batman pointed upwards to the small vent. "He won't fit through there! You said he was nine," he said in disbelief.

"Have you ever actually seen Robin? The kid is tiny," Flash told him.

"And he likes air vents," Batman muttered.

The flight had been boring but it was worth it if Batman was in danger. Robin was about to go stir crazy when the jet informed him they were about to land. He told it to land in a concealed spot then contacted his mentor. "Landing now, send coordinates," he ordered. Batman hummed and the numbers popped up. It looked like the older wasn't too far away but he was deep underground. That would be a fun time. He noticed a building that was on top of Batman's coordinates. It looked pretty hard to look into. Great. Keeping in the shadows of the tree line, he got closer to it. Two burly looking men guarded the doors with large guns on their backs. They were dressed in camo. He noted to be careful hiding since someone might be hiding with him.

As he thought of a plan, three men and one woman dressed in the same camo came out the doors. "We have another breach of security. A jet landed on the east of the Island," the woman announced. The doormen nodded and followed the new group away from the doors.

"Huh, that was easy," he whispered. He lifted his glove close to him and set out a signal that would freeze any cameras for a few minutes. Quickly, he ran from his hiding spot and slipped through the doors. Luckily, nobody else was guarding the door on the other side but he decided to find another hiding spot. The sleek grey walls didn't hold much cover until he spotted a small grate at his feet. He grinned. "Air vent," he muttered triumphantly. He knelt down, unscrewing the grate then climbed in, replacing it behind him. Whilst safe, he took the time to hack into the mainframe of the building he was in. Since they had security, they were either doing something dodgy or were top secret. Either way spelled disaster for his mentor and their teammates. After digging through the files, Robin suspected this was a human trafficker's hot spot. Messages going out were specific descriptions and messages coming in were photos matching them. The people didn't look happy. Robin shivered. He hated cases like this. Maybe they could shut this place down once he saved the others. He looked back to the coordinates Batman gave him, taking note that they weren't too far away. Though, there had to be a way to get to them without the air vents since there was no way any of them were fitting in the tiny metal space. He hummed and looked through some files that would give him some idea of where to head. An elevator seemed to lead right to where Batman was being kept.

It took ten minutes of quiet shuffling until he found the said elevator. It wasn't guarded but there were a few passers-by. Not good. He needed a distraction but what would be good. Robin once again looked through the facilities system. If he set off an intruder alarm near the entrance, that would clear the hallway soon enough. Though, he would have a limited amount of time. It was a good thing he worked well under pressure. He set off the shrill alarm, watched as panicked guards raced to attack the imaginary intruder then escaped from the air vents. He opened the elevator doors and punched in the floor that would get him deep enough. Robin grimaced at the awful elevator music. It really took all the coolness out of the operation.

Before he knew it, the elevator doors opened and he was immediately met with a few guards who didn't look too pleased with their visitor. "Sup guys, I'm looking for a Batman. You seen him anywhere?" Robin announced. He was met with a warning shot from one of them. He frowned and sighed. "Alright, hard way it is." Another shot came towards him but he dodged it with a simple flip. Once dodged, he ran towards the closest guard and disarmed him, using his shoulders as a springboard to knock down another guard. He jumped from the ground and knocked another guard's legs out from underneath him. Robin smiled at his handiwork, giving a final knock out blow to the man he'd disarmed first. "Should've just told me." He noticed a radio on the hip of the guard and pocketed it. That should keep him informed of any movements from other sectors. He looked around the small grey room he found himself in. There wasn't much but there had to be something somewhere since he was on Batman's level. The wall facing him looked off. Like it was glitching ever so slightly. His eyes flickered to where it connected to the other walls and found a small device that required an ID card to activate. An ID card that the unconscious men just so happened to carry. "I'll get this back to you in a minute," he said, ripping the card from one of their lapels.

Once pressed up against the device, there was a light rapid beeping then the wall disappeared to reveal the trapped heroes. Robin smiled at them cockily since he was the one they had depended on to let them out. "How's that for vulnerable?" he stated confidently, strolling into their once closed-off room. The group stared at him with mixed reactions. Flash and Batman looked pretty happy. Green Arrow looked relieved whilst Wonder Woman and Superman exchanged shocked looks. "Did you find out where we are?" Batman requested as Robin pulled out a tiny screwdriver. 

"Human trafficker base. They send out what they want and I have a feeling they store whoever they get here. Pretty high tech so must be pretty important people," the younger replied. He walked up to Flash and unscrewed his collar. 

"Thanks, little man," Flash said, fist-bumping the child. 

"Anytime." He turned to the two other collared heroes with the screwdriver in hand. "Still think I can't do this job?" he asked.

"At this point, I have no idea," Wonder Woman admitted, getting a nod of agreement for Superman. Robin shrugged and walked up to them. 

"Good enough." He unlocked their collars and pocketed the screwdriver. "You still kicking Batman off the team? Even though I just saved your collective ass and will get you out of here in," he paused to look at his watch, "twenty minutes?"

"Is that so?" Green Arrow said, somewhat charmed by the boy's confidence. 

"That is if you're not going to kick my mentor out. Otherwise, I'll get him out and let you guys deal with the problem on your own. I hope you have some knowledge of advanced hacking or you'll have a real doozy trying to find who runs this place and how to get out." They were a little shocked by the threat. 

"Are you threatening us?" Green Arrow scoffed. 

"Not a threat, just stating the truth," he corrected. "So, what'll it be?"

Flash was the first to step up, "I stand by not kicking Bats out." Robin grinned at him. 

"I guess if he got this far without getting hurt," Green Arrow began. "Batman has been right in the past about the implausible."

"A plan that seems like it won't work is not the same as letting a nine-year-old fight crime," Wonder Woman reasoned. 

"That nine-year-old just saved your collective butts!" Robin argued. "You tell kids they can be heroes all the time but when a kid actually steps up to the mark you shoot them down without giving them a chance," he added. 

"When they grow up-"

"I've grown up quicker than most kids my age. What other nine-year-old could sneak into this place, not get caught, knock out three guards and save Justice League members?" he interrupted. His logic wasn't flawless but it did hold a point. "Plus I have B who is protective as hell. He doesn't let me out on weekdays so I'm not too tired for school and he doesn't let me patrol alone. This is the first time I've been alone on a mission and I've done pretty great."

"Robin, that's enough now. We have a job to do," Batman intervened. Robin opened his mouth to argue further but decided against it, nodding to himself. "Flash and Robin, you two find where the main base is. Green Arrow and Superman, take out any guards you can find and round up everyone you see. Wonder Woman, you're with me, we'll see if there are any other victims around here." They all nodded, accepting their positions. 

"I'll send you over a map of this place. I'm sure Supes can figure out this place with his x-ray vision," Robin responded. 

They went their separate ways, leaving Batman and Wonder Woman to wander around the different floors. "You care for him, don't you?" she asked quietly. 

"Robin? Of course. He's my ward."

"So you protect him with everything you have?" He nodded.

"With my life." She sighed.

"With your life," she repeated. "I just can't stand the thought of that child getting hurt defending others. He's so small and young. I'd hate to see anything happen to him." Batman hummed in response, checking a hallway before answering. 

"Robin will get hurt. That's just how things work in this business. But, he'd be in a worse place if I hadn't let him do this." Wonder Woman tilted her head slightly. "He's a stubborn kid, almost as stubborn as myself. If I hadn't let him do this, he would've done it on his own and gotten hurt." She chuckled to herself.

"Finally met your match eh?"

"Perhaps. Though, I don't mind it. He's a good kid."

"Do you really think he's ready to fight like us?" They both paused their walking for a moment until Batman turned to her. He looked her straight in the eyes to show his severity. 

"To fight alone, I'm not sure. To fight with me, definitely." She respected his decision more after that. He believed in the kid that was for sure. She just wished the kid was older. 

"Then maybe we can continue to work together. You did make the foundations of this League after all." She held out her hand, showing forgiveness. "No hard feelings?" He shook her hand.

"Wouldn't have thought of any."

"We finished off all our jobs then met up again by the entrance. Superman pulled Batman aside, whispered something and, the next thing I knew, my mentor was back in the League," Robin explained. 

"He was back in? Just like that?" Connor questioned. Robin shook his head with a smile. 

"No way! I had to get through the next six months without a serious injury and another six months without nearly dying. Barely managed it but I scraped through." They looked at him in awe. He was some boy wonder. 

"It must've been hard to like the League after that," M'gann said. The younger shrugged and returned to his upside-down position on the couch. 

"Sort of. It's complicated but I got where they were coming from. They made it up to me afterward but you never forget about people doubting you." He returned to his typing, beginning to get absorbed in his work again. 

"Is Flash your second favourite hero because he was with Bats at the start?" Wally inquired. 

"Yep. Plus I thought he was pretty neat." With that, he was engrossed in his work once again and silently told them that he was done answering questions. They respected his space and returned to their general chatter, wondering what other stories the bird had to tell. 

Hope this wasn't too long *cough* it's over 3000 words *cough* and y'all enjoyed it