"I'm not like Batman, I have friends."

     She’d seen nothing out of the ordinary— at least, from what’s expected of this sect of the island. She imagines that if this is an area he patrols often, he has some idea of what to expect. “The most suspicious thing here right now is probably you.” Less apprehensive now, she flashes a smirk behind the jab. Her curiosity in the man is piqued a little more than before, admittedly. Likeminded individuals were often good company, she found.  

     “That said, I can’t say with certainty I’ve seen absolutely nothing. My memory’s hazy…” The words trail with accentuation from a feigned expression, like she’s thinking hard about it. “There’s no point in a standoff here if we’re both just patrolling, right? I wouldn’t mind some company, it was starting to get too quiet.”

That made sense. It’s not like his sense of justice was well within the realm of the law. If you asked him, justice didn’t have to be. 

“Yeah, I try not to look like a fluffy kitten when I’m out. Striking fear into the hearts of criminals and all that.”

     “Patrolling?” A vague curiousity flashes across her features at the word. “Like a guard or an officer? Does the Crimson Lane keep you around for that?” The question’s less presumptious and plainly direct. If he’s just someone doing his job, there really isn’t much need to get caught up by the why of it all. Except, there was the fact that he followed her specifically. 

     She shrugs it off nonetheless. For now. “I guess you could say I’m patrolling too. But not for the same reason that you might be. Taking walks like this helps me clear my head, and I’ve found that the lane is oddly quiet at these hours.” Which make it perfect for strolls like this. And it goes without saying that someone like her needn’t worry about the danger. “But doesn’t patrolling in the way that you are make me a person of interest?”  

“Something like that. But no, I’m not on anyones payroll. I do this because I want to.”

Justice for the sake of justice was what he lived by. He couldn’t let himself be swayed by rival criminal organizations or other such things- Tim has never been one to discriminate against who he does or doesn’t decide to fight. 

“Also, no. It’s pretty quiet tonight, isn’t it? I guess you’d know better than I do. I try not to spend much time out in the open here. But I can’t start interrogating you just because you’re on a walk.”

She didn’t really meant to ask for help, but she supposed her appeareance wasn’t enough to make him get away, and her voice tone could only make it seem she was more insulted about the fact he found her suspicious than making it clear she wanted to be alone. However, the proposal to help her find that person was one she couldn’t simply let go unanswered.

“…Yes. White spiky hair, red coat with golden buckles and black belts, heterochromia, one red eye and one green. May have a sword on his belt.” She adds. “Name is Ragna.”

“Interesting character. If I saw someone like that, I wouldn’t forget.”

Looking at Nu again... She’s an interesting character herself. Maybe eccentric ‘fashion choices’ are commonplace where they’re from? He supposes he’s not one to talk, but it’s not like these are his civvies. 

Black Mask. Jon tried to think. Wasn’t that one of the guys Jason had dealt with? Some big time Gotham baddie? The most he’d dealt with before was like, small robberies and such. But he guessed the training wheels would have to come off at some point…? This shouldn’t be too different from his usual stuff though. Just because this was someone like Black Mask didn’t suddenly mean he would be able to take down a Kryptonian.

‘Are you gonna be ok if they start shooting at you?’ He would be fast enough to protect Red Robin too, but if he wouldn’t have to worry too much about him, Superboy felt like he’d be able to focus on the people around them better.

‘Yeah, burgers sound good! Can I get your autograph after this too?’

He honestly felt a bit nervous about having Superboy tag along with him. It wasn’t like he didn’t have faith in the kid- but Tim had gone off on his own for a long time. Spontaneously working with another person might be... A challenge.

No, no. There’s no time to think about that now. ‘Bats work alone’ is just a myth, anyways. 

‘If they have enough time to aim and pull the trigger, I’ll be fine. This uniform isn’t just for show.’

Huh? Jon was an autograph? Tim wants to ask why, considering that Jon is friends with is brother and also they’re working on stopping a crime right now- but he decides against it. He just gives Jon a silent thumbs up.

Jon nodded and started signing again.

‘Yeah, they’re all pretty much armed. Who are they? Any idea what kind of meet up this is? If someone tries to shoot someone else, do you want me to go down and grab the bullets?’ Catching bullets didn’t tickle, but it didn’t hurt him, so he had no problem doing it.

He tried to position himself on the edge of the roof in case he needed to launch himself down if a fight broke out.

‘Looks like an arms dealing. Both ironic and inconvenient. And yeah, anything you can do to stop the bullets is good- that’s for their own safety, though. Not ours.’ Haha very funny. ‘... It seems like it’s going smoothly, but weapons being transferred to Black Mask is never a good sign. We should take them out.’

Damn, what an inconvenience.

It was rather awkward at best.

Bones didn’t know what to say to the kid, and if it is the case the stranger was from where he was, he had no idea who they were from the get-go. Most folks who knew of the Vulcans are usually part of Starfleet. The kid didn’t even have the basic uniform on top of it. 

Damn it, he hated space too much. 

“Alright, if y’need anythin’, just ask.” besides, generosity goes a long way, it was just better to listen to what the child would say. He wasn’t a scientist like Spock was or a genius in time and space anomaly much like their youngest Chekov, but he knows his way around what space could do. 

“Tell me ‘bout it.” and he understands where they were coming from, too many times has he been a subject of abuse from being out there in the unknown. The amount of times he had to save his crew from getting killed, watched his friend die and to be resurrected thanks to a mad superhuman. “Been through a lot in space, so I know wha’ y’er talkin’ ‘bout kid, heck, even seen myself as a mad doctor in one universe, ‘n I ain’t gonna seein’ tha’ again.” once again, space his darkness fill with disease and death. 

So, no wonder they knew about him. “Fictional, hu?” Well, that was something new all on it’s own. He was just a tv show in some reality? “Tha’s somethin’ y’don’t ‘ere every day. Sadly, no. I’ve never seen anyone like ya back where I came from.” 

Robin seems to be in anticipation. 

Ah, just as he could expect-- this person took the news quite well. He anticipated as much from a character from his most beloved sci-fi series.

“Strange.” He says with a wry smile. “In my experience, the existence of caped crusaders is the only constant between universes. But I guess your world already has it’s own heroes.”

He won’t go on a rant about the heroes in question. This entire interaction is probably already weird enough. 

All that mattered was that the two of them belonged to their own worlds, where they are completely and undeniably real.

“Anyways, I’ve got a lot of questions. But first, I think it’s better that we both work together. We were both taken here at random, weren’t we? In other words, we’re in the same spot. Our shared knowledge of the universe might come in handy.”

Damian was too encapsulated with years of expectations, rough training, and a relentless childhood to even express it in words, still pounding his heart out on poor Tim who had the littlest idea what this was about. Damian didn’t think about the consequences or how insane he would seem if any bystander dare looked their way. Right now, he was just a kid expressing all his grief unto someone who was unfortunate enough to be around. To add onto that, Tim was Robin, which made this even more personal despite the two not having met until this moment. Or so he thought…? 

He did expect retaliation, but not the kind which was received, which made him wince when something impacted his stomach, losing his grip on Tim’s costume and ending up colliding with the ground. His back hit the concrete hard, and the child curled in on himself, and despite the pain radiating inside him, Damian was still glaring at Tim, teeth digging into his bottom lip as he tried to hide the pain he felt. 

“You don’t deserve to wear that symbol.” He said slowly, cruelly. 

So he’s done now. Thank God.

Strange, when he’s like this... Tim can’t help but see Damian as some helpless little kid, rather than an assassin with a kill count of god knows how many. In the end, that’s all this was... Wasn’t it? His life was never really in any danger.

He was just the object of some kid’s temper tantrum.

But, why? 

“I’ll ask again. Do I know you from somewhere?”

Definitely not. If he had, he would have remembered. Furthermore, it was near universally accepted that ‘the person currently in the Robin uniform = Robin’- there’s no need to deny that. And it doesn’t seem like the kid has a problem with the Robin symbol... No, it’s more like...

... He idolizes the position. He wants it. In other words...

He did not expect a stranger to approach him inside the bar or someone as young as the younging, after all, he was busy drinking his bourbon to even think about anyone. 

Which only worried him of their safety. Just who was this young man and what business he had with the doctor? Were they sick? Someone injured? Or was he just picked randomly to ask questions for? 

Bones turns his attention towards the child, giving them a raised brow and trying to look less grumpy than his usual self. 

“Hi?” He replied back, not sure how to approach the bombardment of questions directed towards his way, “Whooa– Calm down with th’questions, kid. ‘m ‘ere all day, so how ‘bout y’take a seat?” tapping against the chair next to him for the other to sit on. “Y’want somethin’ t’eat?” He knew the bar also served some food, although mostly burgers. 

Yet, what surprised him was the stare and the sudden salute that followed. The very known Vulcan salute he has seen so many times by his first officer, how on earth did this child know?? All the time he was living in this city, no one has brought up of his own reality. How?? 

“Y’know the Vulcan salute?? Are– Are y’from my timeline, kid?” I mean, he would notice a child with a mask.. 

Oh my God he knows. 

And now he has to explain all of it, even though he was the one who started asking questions. In hindsight, he probably should have kept that little gesture to himself, but the fanboy in him couldn’t resist. 

This is the best day of his life. 

“I’m good on the food, thanks.” He says, leisurely taking a seat next to him. Huh. Seems like the bartender wouldn’t mind. “I think I can explain a bit, but it might be difficult on the mind. And no, I’m not from your timeline.”

He scans the bar for a second, looking to see if anyone else might be listening in. He doesn’t want to answer a lot of questions- since he still has a lot of his own. Maybe the two of them can come to a conclusion together.

“There are a lot of different universes out there. They’re all different, but they exist together in the same multiverse. Because they exist in the same radius, it’s possible for two universes to converge if the separation between the universes is disrupted.”

And here’s the kicker.