Batman went to the kitchen. Although he knew Alfred did not need him to carry plates, if he kept awkwardly standing there, the Robins would expose the fact that he had been hiding in his room reading Sherlock Holmes.
He stood by the kitchen door just as Martha stepped over the threshold. When she turned around, she nearly ran into him.
Batman was extremely tall, even taller than Thomas. Standing there ramrod straight, he was like an insurmountable wall. Martha gave a start when she bumped into him.
"Oh my, Bruce." The elegant lady took a few steps back to steady herself, looked Bruce up and down, then met his eyes. "What are you doing here? Dinner will be ready soon. I think you could go talk to the children at the table for a while."
"I think Thomas needs to ask them about their studies."
"Oh, come on." Martha sighed. "Don't let him do that, Bruce. Conversation before dinner should be pleasant. You need to shield the children from the pressure."
Batman glanced back toward the dining room.
Jason was flipping over a square tray, using the area outlined by its base as a soccer field as he explained to the three Robins across from him how they had lost that match.
Bruce had already moved beside the three Robins and was arguing with Nightwing about the referee.
"Before Friday, I'll make sure that referee is properly taken care of. I'll let those brats understand what real hospitality means." His tone was fierce.
"That isn't fair, Bruce. Just because their referee made bad calls doesn't mean you should have the referee at Jason's school make bad calls too. It'll never end." Nightwing emphasized, "The children want a fair match more than anything."
"But they were the ones who abandoned