Disclaimer: I do not own Batman, or any characters affiliated with the Batman comics.

Timothy Drake, more commonly known as Red Robin in his current garb, was walking through the alleyways of Gotham when something caught his attention. Through the strong rain and the pattering it made upon the ground, a small whimper reached his ears and he turned toward the source.

His eyes were drawn instantly to a cat. He - for Tim's eyes quickly located the defining factor in a cat - had a bright red head that, around the neck, faded into brown. His chest was white, sticking together in clumps. Wicked claws jutted out from the end of each paw and clicked lightly on the pavement as he continued past Tim. Muscles rippled beneath short fur.

The second thing Tim noticed was that he had something in his mouth. Said something was shaking in the larger's grasp. Another whimper escaped whatever it was's mouth and Tim took a step toward the large, muscled cat. The animal stopped, turning brown- almost black - eyes on Red Robin. Tim registered fury in them even as he recognized what was in the cat's mouth. It was a kitten. Had the cat been female, Tim might not have been worried. But this cat was male and probably was considering eating the kitten. After all, this was Gotham; you eat whatever you can get.

Tim moved a hand to get the small kitten, but the larger one quickly backed away, a hiss escaping its mouth despite the kitten.

Tim chased after it, forgetting the rain beating mercilessly upon his shoulders as he strived to catch up to the cat. Before long, the cat -surprisingly - tripped upon a crate, sending himself and his small cargo sprawling across the ground. The kitten landed between Red Robin and the cat.

Tim scooped up the small body and cradled it to his chest, glaring at the cat in the alleyway before sprinting.

Nine minutes later, in the Batcave's dim light, Tim got his first clear look of the kitten. Black fur covered the small body, soft and plush almost like a toy. Scratches littered his tiny body, only slightly visible. The fur around them was slicked with blood. Two bright blue eyes stared at Tim, full of fear as he approached to clean the wounds. It tried to run, scampering upon unsteady paws away from the vigilante. Tim sighed, picking the kitten up gently. Tiny claws dug into his skin as the kitten struggled.

"I'll name you Dick," Tim said, mostly to himself, holding the kittens before his face. Bright blue eyes stared into masked ones and, for one second, the kitten stopped struggling.

Then the door to the cave opened and the Batmobile rolled in.

"Oh, God," Tim muttered, running a hand through his hand after setting the kitten down. "I have to explain this to Bruce."

So, please tell me what you think! I know this is short, but I want to see how this is received before I dedicate an insane amount of time to it. As it is, I have a story arch already plotted for this, but it's flexible, so send me your ideas! Also, if I can't find a way to fit them in, I might start a series of one-shots around this story about Cat!Dick.

And please review. Even if it's "You're a disgrace to the FanFiction community," I want to know.