It wasn't that he was afraid of heights. Of course not. He was, after all, a trained acrobat who performed death-defying feats hundreds of feet in the air night after night. That wasn't what had Dick shaking in fear. It was the fact that the only thing keeping him from doing a free-fall off a skyscraper was a very angry looking man in a batsuit.

Dick tried to gulp back his fear. He had to remind himself that scary though Batman looked, the man was still a super her. He was on the justice League for pity sakes. A guy who hung around with Superman couldn't possibly toss an innocent kid off a building. Right?

This had something to do with what happened at the mall, Dick was sure of it. Why Batman even cared about that though, he didn't know. After all, all they had only stopped a kidnapping. No big deal. He'd think Batman would be happy to have the help.

Either way, Dick wished Robin were there. Robin knew Batman; in fact, he was practically his son in his old dimension. He knew how Batman thought, knew how to speak to him, bat to bat.

Dick dared a glance downwards, watching his feet sway slightly over the incredible drop. The building was probably the only one of its kind in town. Most of the buildings in Gotham were very Gothic with outcropping windowsills, gargoyles, or the occasional flagpole- something that he could grab on to, use to swing himself to safety. But this particular building was straight glass windows. Very modern. Very inconvenient.

"Start talking."

Dick ripped his eyes away from the drop and to Batman. "What?" he managed, keeping his voice as steady as he could.

"Now."

"What are you talking about?" Dick continued, feigning innocence. Though he didn't know exactly what this was about, he had a pretty good idea. But he wasn't about to make this easy for Batman.

Batman loosened his grip just a little, causing Dick to slip slightly out of his shirt. Dick grabbed onto Batman's wrists to keep himself from falling out all the way.

Then again…

"I know it was you and your brother at the mall who stopped the kidnapping."

Dick nodded. "So what do you want? An autograph? To sign us up to be your sidekicks? Sorry. Kinda got a life contract with the circus."

Batman smiled. Or smirked. Or something. Either way, it was a terrifying sight. It sent shivers up Dick's spine. Dad had been right- this was one scary guy. Not the kind of guy he imagined would take in a poor orphaned boy and treat him as a son, as the alternate Batman had with Robin.

"Cute." The smile disappeared and was replaced with a menacing sneer. "The technology you used- the foam pellets, the disk- who supplied it to you?"

"What. I don't-"

"Your brother then. How did your brother come across it?" Dick managed a shrug. Batman growled. "I know he's not really your brother. He's an alternate version of you."

Dick's eyes widened. How did he know that? How could he possibly know that? He remembered Robin telling him that Batman was the world's greatest detective. But Robin had also told him that he had hacked into the government systems and had essentially created himself an identity. An ironclad, foolproof identity. So how did Batman know he was from another dimension?

"Tell me, now. Or I swear I will send him back to where he came from."

Dick's heart jumped into his throat. He wouldn't. He couldn't. How? Why? He-

"I'm losing my patience."

"You can't."

"Trust me. I can. I deal with inter-dimensional incidents on a regular basis. Sending some kid back to where he came from is no big deal. So tell me, where did he get the tech? Who sent him here and why?"

Sent him here? Ah. That was it. Batman knew Robin was from another dimension and, paranoid as he was, had thought some baddy had sent some thirteen year old kid there to destroy the Justice League, one botched kidnapping at a time. Dick snorted at the thought.

"Fine." Was all Batman said as he let go of Dick's shirt. Dick was almost too surprised to scream. Almost. It took him a second, but he screamed as loud as he could. He had only dropped a few feet when something, or rather, someone, snatched him out of the arm. He felt himself swing upwards before coming to a gentle stop. Dick didn't dare open his eyes, until he felt a hand grabbing the front of his shirt and the now familiar sense of being held over a ledge.

Cracking his eyes open slightly, he found himself face to face with Batman. The vigilante was glaring at him through his cowl.

What could it hurt to tell him about Robin? He already knew that he was from another dimension. Besides, Robin was Batman's partner. Batman couldn't get angry about that.

"Let's try this again. Talk, now."

"You."

"Not how it works. You talk, I listen," Batman growled.

"No. He got them from you. Alternate you." Batman's one eye got larger, so dick assumed he was raising an eyebrow. Dick took a deep breath. "You're right. Robin is me from a different dimension. And in that dimension, he's your partner. Batman and Robin, the Dynamic Duo."

Batman was silent for a moment as if he were considering the validity of Dick's revelation. "Why was he sent here?"

"He wasn't sent. He came." Dick took another steadying breath and glanced down. Batman grunted and set him down on the ledge. Dick's lip twitched into a small smile, showing his gratitude. "In his dimension, his parents are dead. You… Alternate Batman, took him in and he became Robin, the Boy Wonder. But then I was sent to his dimension by some crazy sorceress and after he and his pals brought me back, we convinced him to stay. Where. He. Belongs."

That freaky smirk was back. "I'll decide that."

"I'll fight you tooth and nail to keep him here," Dick vowed.

"Not much of a contest, kid."

"I know I'm no match for you physically, but there's more than one way to win a war. In addition to being Batman's partner, Robin was also the legal ward of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Savvy?"

Batman narrowed his eyes and grunted. "Savvy."

Dick let out a sigh of relief, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders knowing that Robin wasn't in any danger of being deported back to his own dimension. "So, now what?"

"Now, you keep your 'brother' from crime-fighting. He keeps a low profile, and we don't have a problem. Savvy?"

Dick quirked an eyebrow. "Not quite. I mean, why does it even matter? He's good. I mean, geez, he took out that guy at the mall without breaking a sweat. Why can't he-"

"Because if he-" Batman suddenly cut himself off and frowned. "Now?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. "I'm busy… Deal with it yourself… And you call yourself the man of steel," he muttered before turning his attention back to Dick. "This is not over."

"You know where to find me. And apparently have no problem kidnapping me."

Batman nodded with another creepy smirk and turned to leave. Dick's jaw dropped a little. He wasn't serious. He wasn't actually going to leave him here in the middle of one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

Apparently he was. Dick could only watch helplessly as Batman disappeared into the shadows. "Okay…"

"Dick?"

Dick spun around to see Robin land neatly next to him. "Robin?"

"What… what are you-" Robin's voice died, as he looked off into the distance. Dick followed his gaze to where Batman's silhouette was perched on a nearby chimney, cape billowing in the wind. The Batman stayed there for a moment, watching them, before diving out of sight. Robin took a little step forward but stopped himself. Turning his attention back to Dick, he raised a questioning eyebrow.

Dick gave him a wry smile. "Met a friend of yours."

All right, so they didn't meet. But they saw each other. Which I think is what I promised.

Good day mates!

Oh, and I also realized that last chapter, Robin gave himself a Social Insurance Number. I'm pretty sure that's just a Canadian thing. As a Yank, he would have a Social Security Number, right? Well, if so, sorry. I didn't think of it until after I posted and I'm too lazy to repost over something that tiny.