JLA

╰┈➤ First time regressing in front of the team! ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

This mission really hadn't gone well, had it? They'd won, but many had come back shaken or injured; the villain had a special power that made one relive their most painful traumas. It was similar in theory to Scarecrow's fear gas, something one of their leaders - the ever-stoic Batman - dealt with regularly. Which is why they'd all been shocked to the point of panic when the man screamed, shrill and high and desperate. It had shaken them all out of it, at least.

Right now, the man was perched on one of Superman's arms, shaking with his hands clutching at Clark's cape. "Listen," Clark said softly, reaching for something in the Bat's belt, "we have to be careful right now." He pulled out a pair of headphones, which he slipped over Bruce's head. The man seemed to relax somewhat. "I mean... Careful. This isn't normal panic we're dealing with here."

"What do you mean?" Wonder Woman asked, reaching out to touch Bruce's shoulder, only to pull back when he downright whimpered. Diana had never seen him respond like that. "I've never... I've never seen him like this. Not even close."

Clark swallowed. He'd seen this before, knew what was happening before anyone else did. "This... Isn't B's normal panic, obviously. The Bat doesn't panic. This is like... Kid-panic, if that makes sense. Whatever he saw, it was something that happened a long time ago. His brain doesn't know how to apply grown-up emotions to things that happened when he was a child or teen, so it's reverting to old reactions."

"So he's... Responding the way he would've at the age it happened," The Flash commented, surprisingly the first one to understand. Then again, Barry's day job was as a forensic scientist, he'd likely seen or heard of similar responses.

Green Arrow swallowed. "The last time he would've reacted like this... God, he would've been sixteen at the absolute most. I had no idea anything was happening. Granted, I didn't see him as often, but still." Oliver seemed guilty that he hadn't noticed his friend had gone through something.

Martian Manhunter approached quietly, using his telepathic abilities to try and get a read on Bruce's mind. "... It does not seem to just be his fear that has reverted," J'onn commented with a raised eyebrow.

*Wouldn't surprise me," Barry said. "I've seen it happen when talking to victims."

"Sometimes I forget you work in that field," Aquaman said, leaning forward. "This is really weird to see, not gonna lie."

"Even if it is, we have to show some respect, he is in a vulnerable position now," Diana said, stepping closer but not touching. "He will be alright. How long will it last?"

Clark took a breath, seemingly subtly rocking the man currently clinging to his shoulders like an oversized toddler. "It... Might last for a few hours, maybe a day or two, it can do that when it's involuntary. But he'll be fine, he just needs some time to rest and recover. Don't probe him, this isn't the kind of panic you can talk through. He just needs time to settle."

**·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Small in the Watchtower ⋆·˚ ༘ ***

It was a quiet day, which was probably good, but was nevertheless disconcerting to most members of the JLA. Villains were never quiet for long. For all of them to be quiet meant trouble was brewing. It was only a matter of time before chaos would break, and while many were trying to make the best of a day off... The stress was there.

Maybe around noon, an unofficial meeting had started when all of them aside from one shuffled into the central console room to eat lunch. The only one missing was Bruce, which was somewhat odd, but that man was reclusive at best. They'd launched into discussions of what might be in the works all across the country, though even Clark couldn't hear anything suspicious.

"Maybe they're all just finally taking a vacation," Oliver suggested, shrugging. "I mean, they've gotten take a break sometime, it's not like-"

But he was caught off guard as the door creaked open.

Maybe it was J'onn who immediately recognized that it was Bruce, and that something was different. But it was Clark who was on his feet in moments, rushing to the door the moment he saw Bruce's expression. And all of a sudden they understood - Bruce was little. It wasn't the first time he'd regressed in the Watchtower, they all knew he did it, but never had they actually seen it. Except for Clark.

"Hey, hun. What's wrong? Something happen, honeybun? Need help?" Clark was practically cooing, and the others could absolutely understand why.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Uh oh, the kids are here. .ೃ࿐

The Watchtower got guests fairly often, but today it was extra busy, with various members of the Batfamily filing in and out. All of them coming back from various missions or just bored after patrols and coming in because their dad was there. But little did they know that Bruce was in no space to be 'dad' right now.

"So, where's Clark?" Nightwing asked, leaning against the Watchtower's console. Superman had always been Dick's favorite. "Usually he's always here to greet whoever's coming in."

"Yeah, Diana's missing too," Jason said, voice gruff as usual behind the Red Hood mask. He pulled it off without pausing. "They out on a mission with B he forgot to tell us about?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," Steph remarked from her position on one of the couches with Tim and Cass.

"Tt. Father has his reasons," Damian protested from the other couch.

"Ah, well." Barry paused for a moment, wondering how exactly to explain that no, there wasn't exactly a mission going on. How did you explain to someone's kids that the person was currently in a newly-made nursery being taken care of by their two closest friends? "Not exactly a mission, but they're occupied right now, yeah."

"What's going on?" Dick crossed his arms, leaning forward against the table. "Anything we can help with?"

But Barry's response was cut off when familiar footsteps emerged from a hallway. Diana smiled at the group. "He's perfectly alright, Dick. If you all would wish to see him, I can take you."