Superman's cape fluttered majestically as he stood, hands on his hips, outside of the Hall of Justice. The Flash and his sidekick stood off to the side, talking rapidly as they munched on an indecent amount of food. Aquaman was also nearby, leaning casually against a wall, looking very pleased with himself. Batman landed silently above the doorway, watching them all with a small dose of contempt. The only one he could remotely consider his friend was Superman and only if a very liberal definition of the term was used.

His gaze settled momentarily on The Flash and Kid Flash. What could possibly possess a man to take on a sidekick? In The Flash's case, he hadn't had much of a choice. His idiot, yet brilliant, nephew had recreated the conditions of the experiment that had given the Flash his powers and had gained his own. Batman supposed the only way to keep the super-powered kid out of trouble was to train him to fight crime. But those were the most unusual circumstances. Surely there would be no justification for Batman taking on a young partner.

So just what had possessed that alternate Batman to take in a young boy and make him his partner? It didn't seem practical. Other than incredibly acrobatic prowess, the Grayson boy didn't seem to have any powers. Taking him on was dangerous and downright foolish. Imagine pitting a mere boy against the likes of the Penguin, Two-Face and the Joker. If nothing else, the boy would just get in Batman's way and end up getting him injured or killed.

Batman shook his head. The Batman of that dimension was obviously some sort of idiot. It was probably a good thing the kid was here now, out of his way. Maybe now, the alternate Batman could get back to fighting crime properly instead of playing Daddy Warbucks to little Orphan Robin.

Still, he had to admit, the kid had guts. And he couldn't be completely incompetent. He had, after all, taken on Sportsmaster and his daughter successfully without any innocent casualties. And of course, anyone who spent any time with Batman, being trained by him no less, couldn't be completely hopeless.

He even had to admire the other boy, Dick Grayson. He was nothing more than a civilian and even though Batman had been dangling him over the edge of a building, he had enough guts to threaten Batman. Anyone who threatened Batman was either incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid. Batman decided it might've been a little of both, but there was no denying the kid was spunky. Endearing, almost, if Batman had a heart. Which he didn't.

Maybe the other Batman had somehow been touched by Robin's orphan story. Maybe he had taken Robin's grief and had redirected it towards fighting for justice, much like he had his own grief after his parents had been murdered. Maybe the other Batman had seen an opportunity to recruit fresh talent into his never-ending war on the criminal element.

Of course, all that was speculation. And he supposed it didn't matter. That was a whole different dimension and whatever had happened there didn't affect him. And yet, he couldn't take his mind off it. As much as he tried to move past it, he kept getting caught up on the fact that he, the goddamn Batman, had a shrimp of a kid for a sidekick.

"Hey, Bats, what took you so long?" The Flash asked suddenly, apparently just noticing his arrival.

Batman grunted as he dropped down onto the pavement. "Busy."

"Right. Well, you missed all the fun. We caught that alternate Livewire. Metropolis is a little worse for wear, but nothing they aren't use to."

"So why am I here?" Batman asked, turning his glare towards Superman.

"First, you're the one with the know-how about how to send him back. And two, I thought you'd want to question him- find out what he's doing here," Superman replied evenly, completely unperturbed by Batman's glare.

Batman just grunted and walked past the rest of the group and into the Hall. He could hear Superman thanking Aquaman and the Flashes.

"Dude, no problem at all, Supes. Anytime you need us, you just holler and we'll be there faster than you can blink," Kid Flash cried enthusiastically. Batman rolled his eyes. Kids. "Hey, Uncle Barry, race you home?"

The Flash laughed and ruffled his nephew's red hair. "Sure. On the count of-"

"Three!" And with that, both speedsters took off. Batman was sure Kid Flash had cheated, but they were both moving so fast that he couldn't tell.

Superman chuckled to himself as he made his way behind Batman. "That Kid sure is something," he said conversationally.

"Yeah, a pain in the neck," Batman grumbled.

"Oh come on, he's a good kid. Helped save a lot of people today. This alternate Livewire is a lot more powerful than the one we're used to. Practically half of Metropolis was on fire. If it hadn't been for Aquaman, I don't think I would've been-"

"You needed the fish to help you douse Livewire in water? Seems to me you should've been able to handle it on your own."

Superman shrugged, ignoring the dig. "Like I said, this Livewire is way more powerful. But all's well that ends well."

"Sure," Batman replied curtly. "Where is this guy now?"

"In one of the holding cells," Superman replied. "He has an inhibitor bracelet on, so he's completely powerless."

Batman almost congratulated him for using his head for once, but decided to let it go. Instead he pressed on without a word until they were both outside the holding cell. Batman watched Livewire through the glass. "Have you found out anything about him?"

Superman shook his head. "Nope. Doesn't like me too much though."

"Can't imagine why," Batman snorted.

Superman quirked an eyebrow, looking down at Batman with half a smile. "You're just a ray of sunshine tonight, aren't you? Something bugging you?"

Batman just glared at Superman before turning his attention back to Livewire. "Give me ten minutes," Batman growled as he cracked his knuckles and entered the room.


"Impressive," Superman said, not more than ten minutes later as Batman stepped back out of the room. "So?"

"Apparently his home dimension is quite the dystopia. He and a bunch of other criminals took out the League, but then there was a bunch of inter-fighting and the world isn't much more than a wasteland now."

"So he came here in order to start over?" Superman asked.

Batman shook his head. "No. He says he was minding his own business when he was sucked into a portal and ended up here."

Superman cast a glance towards Livewire, studying him for a moment. "Do you believe him?"

Batman gave a non-committal shrug. "Only because I don't think he's smart enough to find a way to dimension hop."

"So a portal just randomly opened and randomly brought him here?" Superman said skeptically.

"So it would seem. But I'm not convinced it was completely random."

"Oh?"

With a swish of his cape, Batman turned and started down the hall. Superman cast one last glance at Livewire before catching up with him.

"Remember the circus?"

"Yeah. In Metropolis six months ago. But I thought you said that the energy signatures were different."

"They were. But the story the Graysons fed us was a load of bunk. One of the boys, Robin, is from another dimension. I gather he decided to stay here because his parents are alive, whereas in his home dimension, he's an orphan."

"So you think he's connected to Livewire's appearance? Do you think they're from the same dimension?'

"Doubtful. Apparently the Justice League is alive and well where he comes from. But it can't be a coincidence that this Robin shows up from another dimension and six months later, Livewire appears at the same spot."

"Maybe," Superman drawled thoughtfully, "maybe Robin's trip here somehow weakened the fabric of reality in that area, causing it to break open every once in a while."

Batman arched an eyebrow, impressed with Superman's theory. "We'll have to monitor the area, just to make sure," Batman said. "In the meantime, I'll get the equipment ready to send Livewire back to where he came from."

"What about the Grayson kid? Are you going to send him back too?" Superman asked.

"No," Batman replied firmly.

"Why not?" asked Superman, sounding surprised at Batman's resolution.

"I have my reasons," Batman replied. He didn't elaborate any further. He couldn't. There was no way he was going to let Superman know that the Grayson boy had piqued his curiosity. There was no way he would let him know that he wanted to observe the boy, just to see what the protege of Batman was capale of.


So, when I planned this chapter, at first I wanted it to be this big action sequence with the Justice League, including Batman, fighting Livewire. But then I decided that one: I am no good at writing actions scenes, two: even if I were, I'm too lazy, three: even if I weren't lazy, it just didn't seem to fit and four: even if it did fit in nicely, it wasn't necessary. So, yes, this chapter was really wordy, but this isn't a Justice League fic, so it works for me. Hope it works for y'all.

Until next time,

Tuttle