AN: This is set shortly after Batman: The Dark Knight. Batman hasn't been seen since the death of Harvey Dent, and the Dent act is still in the process of being passed. Bruce Wayne is still a public figure as CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Gordon is Commissioner of the GCPD, but his wife hasn't left yet.

This is part of my Wayne's Boys series. On that side, it's about a month before the first chapter of Family Ties. The familial relationships stand as follows: Bruce/Batman has returned to his position in Gotham, Dick has gone back to being Nightwing, Jason/Red Hood has come home, Damian is Robin, Barbara/Batgirl has regained mobility following surgery and is dating Dick, Stephanie/Spoiler gave up Batgirl for Barbara and is dating Tim, and Cassandra/Black Bat is spending some time away in Hong Kong. Tim/Red Robin is spending his summer half in Gotham with his family, and half in San Francisco with the Teen Titans.

Black and Red Chapter 1: Bat's Away, Bird Can't Play

Red Robin was falling, down, down, down. It was too narrow to spread his wings, his grapple too far from his fingers, and so he grasped at the protruding fire escapes. After failing to keep hold of three, he finally arrested his descent, wrenching his shoulders as he hung off one steel railing, waiting a moment before dropping the remaining dozen feet to the ground.

Right into a group of angry armed thugs.

He went straight into a combat stance, watching the somewhat bewildered petty baddies for the merest moment as three thugs brought the barrels of their guns to bear, and two others flicked out switchblades. His right hand dived into his belt for his staff, the left pulling out one batarang after another, deftly flicking them into the men's gun-hands while his staff swished left, then right, knocking down the knife men. Using the staff as a pole, he vaulted over the disarmed thugs, kicked their feet from under them from behind, and put them out for the count. A quick glance assessed his opponents as completely unconscious, and no further threats nearby.

Red Robin relaxed slightly, the immediate danger over. He glanced around, taking stock. Somehow, the explosion had thrown him to a different part of San Francisco, some sort of teleport? The nausea coiled in his stomach certainly backed it up. Resting a hand against the alley wall, he massaged his brow beneath his mask, a blinding headache joining the list of symptoms.

He looked up at the sound of footsteps. At the end of the passage, two uniformed cops appeared, obviously following the sound of the scuffle. A small smile coming automatically to his lips as he noticed the GCPD patches on their uniforms (all the way home to Gotham? Could be worse…), he started to slip peacefully into the shadows.

His smile vanished into wide-eyed shock as the policemen drew their sidearms on him, not reacting fast enough to avoid the first bullet sinking into his side, merely slowed by the layers of Kevlar and smart polymers. He dropped, dodging the next, and sprang up, hopping from one landing to the next on the fire escape he so recently fell past. He heard the cops running up the metal staircases, coming for him. 'What the hell happened?' he thought.

Eventually he made it to the roof, running to the edge as his pursuers burst onto the roof behind him. "Freeze!" one yelled. Red Robin turned, keeping his balance on the verge as he faced the men. "You another Bat-wannabe, huh?" the man asked. "We're not taking any copies of that freak, and, well, we'll get him eventually. And you? You're under arrest for suspicion of involvement in the murder of Harvey Dent."

The older of the cops had been advancing all the time his partner spoke, but when the last sentence sounded, Red Robin pivoted and threw himself off the edge of the twelve storey building. He flung his arms out, activating the wings, and flew up. He heard the cops cursing, and another bullet thudded into his shoulder from behind. He lost control for a moment, his arm curling in and unbalancing the wings before he straightened out again, resisting the pain.

He continued up, trying to get his bearings. There was Wayne Tower; but if "the Bat" was wanted for Dent's murder (had Two-Face gone too far? Or was it an accident?), then going to his doorstep while possibly being followed would not be appreciated. He checked his comm, finding only static. The journey had wrecked it. But he really needed somewhere safe to retreat and treat his injuries. There didn't seem to be anywhere he could go without risking his family until he knew his tail was shaken.

His eyes picked out another landmark: the GCPD headquarters. He tilted his wings, descending towards it. He could summon aid from there, and then find out what happened since he was last in Gotham, only two days ago.

He drifted down, landing lightly despite the wounds in his side and shoulder. He stepped over to the signal, and was bending to switch it on, when he noticed what was wrong.

The signal had been smashed in, the glass shattered and the black bat in fragments. "What happened?" Red Robin murmured, dropping to his knees. He picked up some of the pieces, trying to see how they fit together, wondering if he could repair it. The bulb seemed intact, but the screen, to shine the illumination, was broken beyond his means to repair. Perhaps he could improvise something?

He heard footsteps behind him, and rose, turning. "Commissioner Gordon?" he said quietly, hoping his friend wouldn't prove a foe. "Sir, what happened?"

Gordon didn't answer. Red Robin felt another twinge in his side, the bullet shifting inside him. He bit back a wince, putting a hand to check how much fresh blood was flowing. Gordon noticed the action. "You hurt, young man?" he said gruffly.

"Just a few bullets," Red Robin muttered, embarrassed at showing weakness in front of Gordon, and slightly irritated that it was his men that had caused the injuries.

"Bullets?" Gordon seemed…unusually concerned. "You pick those up working with Batman or something?"

"Of course I work with Batman. How long have you known me, Gordon?"

"First time I've seen you, son."

"What?" Red Robin stared at him, not bothering to hide his shock. "But how?" He thought back, quickly evaluating the last few hours, from leaving the Tower to reaching the GCPD Headquarters. "The teleporter," he muttered to himself. "Time? No, the signal was unplugged once or twice, but never smashed. Dimensional? Must have been. Great."

"Son, what are you on about?" Gordon clearly hadn't followed him.

"Okay, this is gonna sound pretty crazy…" he started. "But near as I can guess, I've managed to travel between dimensions. Back home, I'm a partner of Batman, have been for several years. My name's Red Robin."

Gordon nodded. "This isn't the best place for someone claiming allegiance with Batman. I won't tell anyone you were here, but you might want to leave."

Red Robin bit his lip, trying to think. It would be easy if he saw Batman; he'd easily be able to tell if he really was Bruce. It didn't sit right to just show up at the tower or the manor, especially if it turned out Batman's identity wasn't constant. He needed to get more information first. A library?

Gordon picked up on the uncertainty the boy was showing. "You don't have anywhere to go, do you?" he murmured.

Red Robin looked up, quickly shook his head, and looked away. The bullet wounds still hurt like hell, his stomach was still doing backflips and head pounding from the transport, even his shoulders burned from slowing his earlier tumble. He desperately wanted to go home, either to his scarcely used Gotham city apartment, his room in Titans Tower or Wayne Manor. But he couldn't…

Gordon narrowed his eyes. Reading the emotion in his stance, he seemed to be pitying him, and concerned, and worried, but for more than just a wounded vigilante boy. Probably his men. "My office is on the top floor. Window's over there." He gestured to a patch of the roof. "I'll open it in a few minutes. We'll see what we can do."

"Thank you," Red Robin said, watching as Gordon re-entered the building. He prepped his grapple, and waited for his entrance to open.

'What do I do now?' he thought, acutely aware how far he was from home.