Robin one shot part 3!

Side Effects pt 2

So I headcanon that Dick's mind is still muddled up from going from forgetting, remembering, forgetting, remembering so sometimes he gets caught in those memories and doesn't understand why he's now suddenly in a mid-twenties body 

I've decided he's 24 because fuck DC timelines 

TW: PANIC ATTACKS

https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-stop-a-panic-attack

https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/mental-wellbeing/anxiety-and-panic/how-to-deal-with-panic-attacks

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/anxiety-and-panic-attacks/panic-attacks/

Dick opened his eyes and found himself sitting in an apartment that he most certainly hadn't been in before he closed his eyes. He jumped at the sudden change of scenery and felt a moment of pure panic. Luckily, his training allowed him to suppress it as soon as he acknowledged it but it didn't make him feel much better. The full-blown panic was just constant unease rather than a feeling of contentment. He'd just been sitting with Barbara not five minutes ago on a rooftop. They were seeing who could do the better Batman impression and he was obviously winning. How could he get from a rooftop to the inside of an apartment in a blink of an eye? Weird things happened in Gotham but this felt a little too weird. He'd have to have time travelled too because it was bright outside. When he was with Barbara, it was nearly one in the morning. He looked down and found he wasn't in his Robin uniform. He was wearing pyjamas? Were his hands always this big? He really didn't like any of this. Dick shot up and studied the apartment. 

On the other side of the room, he could see a mobile phone sitting on the countertop. He'd never seen the model before but he didn't really care about that. To him, it was a way to work out what the hell was going on. When he picked it up and turned it on, it came up with a face ID. Weird. Presumably, the person who owned this apartment owned the phone. Surely if he found photos of them he could unlock the phone and call for help. There were a few photo frames on top of a cabinet which he quickly seized for his plan. The one that he'd grabbed made him pause. It was a picture of a man and woman in a park but that wasn't what disturbed him. The man in the picture looked like him. Older than him but definitely similar to him. The same eyes, the same hair and the same scar on his jawline. He quirked an eyebrow as he looked at the woman. Barbara. It looked like Barbara but older. A sick feeling grew in his stomach and he felt himself lose the calm composure he'd been taught to put on. Why on Earth would this person who presumably took him have pictures like these? Did he time travel to the future? If he did then how? When to?  

As he spiralled, he felt the phone buzz in his hand. A ringtone played but he'd never heard the song before. He shakily brought the phone up as he set the picture frame back down. The caller ID made that sick feeling even worse. He felt like he could throw up right then and there. Barbara. He gulped and slid the phone icon across to answer the call. 

"Hey Dick, I've sent over those reports for the Benson case. I was wondering if you wanna meet up tonight since I have a potential lead on that murder," she greeted. That was her voice alright. It sounded a little more grown-up but that was definitely her. He'd place her voice anywhere. His breathing got quicker as the panic he'd pushed through began to rise. "Dick?"

"I think I time travelled," he blurted out. His voice? He sounded different. Older. That seemed to be the common theme today. Everything was the same but older and unfortunately that included him. Barbara was smart when he knew her and she must've gotten even smarter as she got older. She was probably a genius now.