Black and Red Chapter 11 Bat and Bird, Cat and Mouse

Red Robin held still, hardly daring to breathe lest he give away his position. He didn't need to see his opponent's features to know he was facing Batman, a Batman dealing with an attack on his own base, a Batman who was just a little too much a product of the League of Assassins.

A Batman who would be uncompromising in taking down the intruder, not knowing and likely not caring if it was his protégé and adopted son from another universe.

Red Robin quickly ran through his advantages. He knew Batman. He knew a lot more tricks. He was small, young, and less obviously a threat. He had well-stocked belts and harness. He had nearly as much home-turf advantage.

Batman had strength, skill, determination, and just a touch of brutality.

Priorities: protect his partner, and escape. Oracle should be fine, unless someone managed to locate and backtrack one of their hacks. Shouldn't happen; the Barbara Gordon who'd taught him was the best hacker ever, and everything they'd done was as close to her standards as possible. It would still be a good idea to get her out of the security cameras before someone investigated them.

That left his own escape and, really, how much did he need to do? As long as he secured Oracle's safety and anonymity, all he had to do was hide in the vents until Batman gave up. Or until dawn, and sneak out under cover of daylight. If necessary, he could last a day or two in the confines of the ducts.

Worst case scenario, he throw himself at Batman's mercy in three days' time, when he reached the point of dehydration. Depending on Batman's mood, which could be anything from surly to insanely furious/frustrated, he'd probably end up confined in some way until it was decided, at some quite possibly non-existent point, that he wasn't a threat. Not a terribly appealing prospect.

So, first step was to leave the bunker. Batman was blocking the elevator, which would be the only way out. So, move Batman. Then get out. Take the elevator? No, the cameras by its upper entrance weren't looped. Wouldn't be the best idea to let Batman get footage of him. Which meant taking the shaft up. He couldn't do that with the elevator down in the bunker - and anyway, he'd left a newly-opened panel and explosives in the shaft. Which meant he'd have to get the elevator up, and guarantee it wouldn't be called straight back down on top of him. While keeping Batman occupied.

These deliberations took only a few moments, about as long as it took to formulate a plan.

Red Robin hit the button on his harness, feeling his wings spool out behind him. With a sharp jerk, accompanying a backflip and a twist, he whirled, wings catching the suddenly-created updraft to change hiding place. He landed behind one of the cases of batarangs, and with very little guilt helped himself to a dozen.

Of course, he'd given away his position, but he was almost certain Batman knew where he was anyway, and by taking those batarangs, he wouldn't have to dig into his own supplies, and risk giving away something of who he was.

The heavy footsteps of the older vigilante padded across the floor, and Red Robin dared a glance at the other-world mentor. And another. The stance was very…assassin. It didn't look right. And the make-shift costume, black all over and a balaclava, was clumsy, making him seem more a terrorist than a creature of the night. He couldn't imagine his Bruce ever resorting to such a get-up.

Red Robin threw one of the newly acquired batarangs, the sharp point cutting through the fabric of the balaclava and pulling a section loose from Batman's cheek. He put a hand up, presenting enough of a vulnerability for Red Robin to slip further into the bunker. It continued like that for a time, batarangs keeping Batman occupied so Red could move, until they were both deep in the bunker, and Red was out of stolen batarangs.

Red held position, waiting for Batman to advance. When the moment was right, he unfurled a 'borrowed' cape in Batman's face, vaulted using his staff, and ran for the elevator. He heard Batman following, but kept a turn between himself and the destination. Breaking through the maze, he reached in, hit the button to go up, then threw himself under the tank, and waited.

As the elevator doors closed, Red Robin withdrew his wings and hugged the underside of the tank, minimizing his visible bulk from the source of the heavy footsteps that skittered to a halt in front of the elevator. Batman slammed his hand into the control panel, but when the doors did not reopen, he paced slightly, waiting for the elevator to finish its journey and return.

Red Robin held as still as he could, barely breathing. He heard the steps approach, and retreat, but Batman did not seem to be looking for him. He'd fallen for the ruse. That was…disturbing. Useful, but casting serious doubts on this Batman's competency. Or maybe just his experience; he was comparatively new to the creature-of-the-night thing.

The elevator doors shuddered open, and Batman wasted little time in hurrying in and going up. Red Robin waited a full ten seconds after the elevator left before dropping to the floor and rolling out from beneath the tank. He scuttled over to the door, snapped open the panel and tripped the mechanism. The door slid back open. Red Robin replaced the panel, stepped into the shaft and reached into the hole he'd made earlier to close the door. He'd initially planned to solder the excised panel back into place, but there wasn't really much point now; Bruce already knew he was there. He simply removed the explosives adhering to the door and tucked them into his belt.

Rather than playing with climbing hooks or pads, he used his grapple, speeding upwards towards the intersection between the vent network and the elevator shaft. Batman shouldn't take too long to tell he hadn't gone up in the elevator, and he wanted out of the shaft as quickly as possible. As he kept ascending, he swung, sliding into the duct. Feet first and on his back.

The elevator whirred. Not wanting to climb back out, and risk getting knocked down, he squirmed. But the narrow duct was too cramped. Sighing, he dropped his head back to the bottom of the duct, before reactivating his comm. "Oracle, come in."

"Red? Everything okay?"

"Not exactly, no…" He paused for a moment. "I'm back in the ducts, right where they meet the elevator, but I'm facing the wrong direction. I need you to guide me to a junction where I can turn around."

"Uh, right…" Oracle's voice trailed off, and Red Robin wriggled around onto his stomach before pushing himself up onto his hands and knees.

"Okay, I think I've found a good spot," Oracle said at last. "If you go directly backwards, there should be a corner, but no junction. Back around the corner."

"Right," Red Robin muttered, starting to move. "Left and rights would be nice, and a rough estimate how far. Not sure I'd notice if I took the wrong turn."

"I'll try." The eleven-year-old paused, consulting her maps as Red Robin made his way back. "Reached that turn?"

"Yeah, to my left, about seventy-five metres from the shaft?"

"That's the one. Okay, uh…"

Bruce Wayne, Batman, was not in his Batman suit. A silent alarm had gone off when the intruder touched the case with his suit, alerting him to the intrusion. He hadn't been able to get his gear, but had improvised.

The intruder knew what he was doing. It hadn't taken long to realise this person had been well trained, but not just, or even mostly, in the League of Shadows way. He, or she, had made a connection between Wayne Enterprises and Batman, either before entering the bunker, or after. This was serious. They had to be stopped.

But they'd got away from him. When the elevator rose, he'd automatically assumed they were aboard. He hadn't even thought to check, until he noticed the grease mark he'd accidently left on the door out of his secret room above was undisturbed, despite stretching the whole way down where he'd knocked a jar of gadget lubricant oil.

He still hadn't learned to mind his surroundings, not even contemplating the intruder may have hidden beneath the Batmobile…

The logical conclusion was that they were trying to escape to the shaft. So he'd sent the elevator back down, and used his rappel to descend, and find where the intruder had gone. If that proved futile, there was an access panel in the roof of the elevator.

Bruce hung in the air, next to the small vent, the only other way into the elevator shaft. The intruder was small, maybe even small enough to go inside. And a slight scuffling sound from within confirmed the supposition. But Bruce couldn't follow…

Damn.

AN: So, in Glimare's words, yes, Daddy's home. And not terribly happy. And Tim is stuck in the ductwork. Poor Timmy. Will he make it out without being captured and imprisoned by Batman? Find out, in a couple of weeks time...

Because the Tim running around the Marvel universe in Little Bird's Vengeance wants some air-time, so that will be getting the next update. Other update news, today Flashback has a new chapter, another element in the history of the WB-verse. Next week, Family Ties; Tim is adjusting to his new injuries, and trying to keep up with the Mission.

Also, today I'm removing the poll. Now, if you haven't had the chance to vote in the poll (maybe you couldn't find it; maybe you've forgotten; maybe this is the first time you're reading this fic, perhaps even months after I write this [we've all been there]), than you can send me a PM, to answer the question "Which villains would you like to see in this fic?"

I will present you with a few words on the results of the poll next time I update B&R.

Until next time,

Katara