Work Text:
Danny presses the 12th floor elevator button to take him to the new exhibition in the observatory. He has been looking forward to seeing it since he had arrived in this dimension but never had the time to visit until now. The exhibition was supposed to be a stunning gallery of all the exciting xeno-meteorology on the different planets in the Cassiopeia Galaxy. Danny was so looking forward to seeing it. Danny fired off a quick text to Tucker, as he impatiently watched the numbers above the elevator doors ascend. Ding went the elevator upon its arrival to the 12th floor. The lift doors parted open.
CRASH
Startled at the sudden noise, Danny looked up from reading Tucker’s reply. Streaks of red and black went smashing through the hallway’s window in a shower of shattered glass. Multiple bodies hit the ground. The one in red smoothly rolled to his feet but he was being ganged up by the other three fighters dressed in iconic black outfits - Ninjas and (red and black costume with a stylised cape and domino mask) Red Robin?! Danny had heard of the vigilante Red Robin before, but he had never seen him in action.
Three on one seemed like an unfair fight but the hero was more than holding his own. Danny silently reached over to press the ‘Open Doors’ button as watched the fight with great admiration. Red Robin was deftly dodging the multiple attacks from multiple angles. Sliding out of range and using his staff’s greater reach to counterattack with such elegance, it looked choreographed. So Danny decided that the best thing to do was to not get in the way. Instead he would wait for the fight to be over. Danny pressed the ‘Open Doors’ button again.
Whilst Red Robin batted away a shower of shuriken with his staff, Danny prevented the doors from closing again. With a stunning swing Red Robin managed to knock one of the ninjas out of the fight completely. The two remaining ninjas shared a look before pouncing. With aggressive coordinated attacks, the fight sped up. As the intensity increased, Red Robin's staff became a blur. Then it began sparking with electricity. It took short work before the second ninja was convulsing on the floor. Red Robin then knocked the third ninja to their knees before swiftly electrocuting him right in front of Danny. The slumped over body crumpled at Danny’s feet.
Danny was looking at the unconscious ninja, and giving them a little nudge with his foot, when he felt someone staring at him. He looks up and finds Red Robin staring blankly at him in total disbelief.
“What?” Danny says as he gives the ninja a bigger nudge. “He’s in the way.”
“And you didn’t think to use the stairs to get away?” Red Robin asks. “Or just get to safety like a normal person?”
Danny surveys the fight and, as if the thought had just occurred to him, he says, “Yeah I should probably leave. I don’t think the exhibit is still open after this.” Danny pointedly looks around at the scene. Then he shrugs and motioned towards the elevator. “Need a lift?”
Red Robin looked at him like he was insane. Then he just sighed and nodded his head.
"Might as well," Red Robin said while dragging the ninja out of the elevator by his leg. He lifted his hand to his ear and looked away while saying, "B, need a cleanup on floor 12. Heading down for a perimeter check."
Danny watches as Red Robin comes closer and enters the elevator. For the last time Danny reaches over to the elevator buttons but this time he presses for the ground floor. He shifts over so that the vigilante can have more elbow room. The elevator begins to descend. The pair stand in silence. Danny keeps giving side glances to Red Robin who seems to be either unaware or merely ignoring Danny’s furtive looks.
Danny's slouch straightens up immediately when he feels the elevator's momentum suddenly slow down with a loud screech. A siren goes off. Danny looks down to find Red Robin’s hand clutching his arm as if to brace him. Danny stares down at the gloved fingers holding onto his sleeve, stares up at Red Robin, then back down at the hand with a look of confusion. Danny opened his mouth to ask why but the vigilante had already retracted his hand, and was visibly cringing. He reached his hand up to his ear.
“Batman, Batman come in,” Red Robin hurriedly says into his comms. But the vigilante only received static. “Oracle,” he tried instead, his voice was a studied calm.
“No response?” Danny asks commiseratingly. Behind his mask, Red Robin looked blankly at Danny before shaking his head.
“The elevator is causing interference with the signal so I can’t get through.” Red Robin then cocked his head. “Can I borrow your phone?” he politely asked.
“Why?” Danny asked suspiciously, holding his phone protectively close to his chest.
“I think I can use it to boost the signal and get through the interference,” Red Robin explained. “Don’t worry, you’ll get it back in one piece,” he reassured.
Danny grimaced, “I don’t think my phone will be compatible with your tech.” Danny’s current phone had been cannibalised and rebuilt by Tucker during a feud with Technus. It had ended up so modified that Danny would be unsurprised if any day now his phone woke up sentient.
“Can I at least try?” he asked with an expectant hand out. Danny couldn’t find any good reason to say no. Reluctantly he handed over his phone, placing it directly into the vigilante’s hands. Red Robin flinched when their hands touched, and Danny winced back. Red Robin had clearly been startled by how cold Danny’s hands were even through their gloves.
“Sorry, cold hands,” Danny apologised. He trotted out the usual fib to explain it away. “I have low blood circulation.” Nodding silently, Red Robin appeared to accept that. Nervously, Danny fidgeted as Red Robin physically inspected his phone, taking off the back and everything. Danny looked over Red Robin’s shoulder to watch what the vigilante was doing. Red Robin’s eyes never left the phone. Eventually though, the vigilante gave up the attempt and agreed with Danny’s initial assessment.
“I’ve never seen a model like this. Where did you get it?” Danny was saved from answering when suddenly the intercom crackles to life above them.
“Good day good citizens of Gotham city, you might be wondering why I brought you here today.” A nasally sounding voice spoke. “Well it’s quite simple really. The Batman thinks he is smarter than me and it’s getting on my nerves. So, I decided to give him a challenge he can't beat. That’s where you lovely people come in. If Batman solves my three riddles, I will release the hostages. If he doesn’t…..” The voice starts cackling. “If he doesn’t then the observatory goes boom. Batman, you will receive your first riddle in five minutes. Be ready”. The intercom fizzles out, leaving an awkward silence.
Danny hears Red Robin silently cursing while he stares at the now silent intercom. He feels a bit guilty for getting him stuck in the elevator with him so he decides to break the tension.
“Well, he’s a bit of a fruitloop isn’t he? Wonder what his deal is.” Red Robin turns his head towards Danny with a flabbergasted look on his face.
“You wonder what his deal is, do you even know who he is?” Danny looks back at Robin, awkwardly staring at Red’s disbelief. It dawns on Danny that he had just messed up.
“Whaaaaaat?” he laughed nervously. Danny felt his smile stretch just a bit too wide for a human. “Of course I do!” he lied. Internally Danny was furiously debating with himself whether or not to just admit he doesn’t know. He decides to double down on the lie instead. “This is the guy who does, who does the stuff with the you know… the other stuff.” Red Robin’s stare is unrelenting. Danny begins to sweat nervously. “Which are… riddles?” his voice rises. Danny crosses his fingers behind his back. Unbeknownst to Danny, Tim could see that. Not only was Danny’s arm movement very unsubtle, there were mirrors in the elevator.
The intercom crackles to life again with the familiar voice from before who Danny now knows as “The Riddler”, a name that Danny privately thought was very stupid. “Well Batman, I hope you are ready for your first riddle.” He chuckles evilly “Riddle me this: Take me out of a window, and I leave a grieving wife. But stick me in a door, and I can save somebody's life. What am I? You have 3 minutes to give me your answer.” The Riddler chuckles as the intercom fizzles out.
“What can be taken out of windows and put into doors?” Tim furiously mutters as he thinks out loud. “Well the most common glass to use for windows is silicate glass, that is a mixture of sodium carbonate, limestone and silica aka sand whilst doors are typically made from wooden materials, like pine or oak, even mahogany so are they talking about Carbon or organic matter since all living beings need it. But what does that have to do with grieving wives? Unless they're talking about steel doors, but again, what does that have to do with grieving wives and life saving?” he trails off into thought.
Danny meanwhile looks down in concentration. “Take me out of windows… grieving wife; Stick me in doors… save lives. Windows… doors, windows, doors…” Danny frowns as the cogs in his mind turn. Then like a bright flash, he gets the answer. “It's the letter n!” Danny blurts out triumphant. Red Robin’s head whips round to face Danny. A disgruntled look of confusion was on his face.
“What?” he sharply asks, slightly irritated at his broken train of thought.
“It’s the letter n,” Danny repeats in excitement, “the answer is the letter n!”
Red Robin folds his arms. “How?”
“Like this: If you take the letter n out of window you get,”
“Widow,” Red Robin interrupts, now catching on, “and a widow is a grieving wife. Which means if you put the letter n in door you get,”
“Donor” Danny finished cheerily, “as in blood donor or heart donor. Something that can save lives!”
“That’s,” Red Robin is staring at Danny with an intent look in his eyes, “impressive. You figured out the answer to that riddle very quickly.” Danny responds with a sheepish grin. He was just about to say something when his phone went off. It’s an incoming text from Tucker. Danny fishes it out from his pocket. Danny taps out his reply on his phone’s keypad.
“How are you getting a signal in here?” Red Robin asks inquisitively. Danny’s finger freezes over the keypad. His brain stalls.
“Errrrr.” Fortunately for Danny, he’s saved from answering when the intercom turns on again.
"Impressive, Batman. You've correctly guessed that the answer was the letter 'n'. Now, for my second riddle, a little favour from that foolish Kite Man," the Riddler muttered with annoyance. “I love to dance and twist. I shake my tail as I sail away. When I fly wingless into the sky. What am I? You have three minutes to give me an answer.”
Once more, the intercom is silent. Red Robin sighs deeply and looks at Danny.
“Well that is an easy one, a kite probably. He gave it away even before he said the riddle.”
Danny looks at him questioningly. “How was it obvious?”
“Because he said Kite man made him say it. You know, like the super villain?”
"Of course I know who he is.” Danny chuckles nervously. “I was just confused because you said SUPER villain. I mean, he is a villain alright! Just not, you know, a super one.” Red Robin looks at him like he grew a second head.
“What do you mean not a super one? What’s the difference?”
“Well…. presentation.” Danny thought he nailed that one. But one look at Red Robins face makes him question himself again. “You know what, probably not important right now though.”
Tim can’t believe what his day just turned into. First, he finds out Jason changed out his regular coffee for decaf, and then he has to deal with Ra's al Ghul’s ninjas only to get stuck in an elevator with a citizen who deals with stress by lying poorly. What’s even worse is that he still doesn’t know his name after all this time. Tim turned to the other occupant of the elevator.
“Sorry, I just realised we have been stuck in this elevator for a while and I never asked for your name.” The stranger looks relieved by the change in topic.
“Oh yeah, it’s uh... it’s Danny.”
"So, Danny, you're not from around here. Are you?"
“Whaaat?” Danny starts laughing nervously. “Is it that obvious?”
Silence falls awkwardly between the pair trapped in the elevator. Tim notices that Danny is fidgeting and his eyes are darting around the elevator as if he is looking for a quick way out. Tim supposes that it would be pretty scary for a non-Gothamite to deal with the dangers of a rogue. So he decides to put his extensive Robin training to the test.
“Everything is going to be fine, you know.” he says while trying to exude confidence. But it comes out a bit stilted. The awkward silence remains a bit before Danny speaks again.
“Saying who gave you the riddle, knowing that the guy's whole aesthetic is kites may just be the dumbest move he made yet. How long do you think Batman would take to solve it?”
They are interrupted by an angry voice coming over the intercom again.
“Well, it seems Batman solved the riddle. Not that it was hard. I’m never going to do a favour for Kite Man ever again. That loon doesn’t know a good riddle even if it hits him in the face.” They hear the Riddler sigh and quietly count to 10 before continuing. “I guess it is time for the last Riddle. When you stop to look, you can always see me. But if you try to touch me, you can never feel me. Although you walk towards me, I remain the same distance from you. What am I? As always, you have 3 minutes.”
“Well the answer obviously has something to do with space, or at least the sky,” Danny immediately declares with full confidence. Tim raises an eyebrow.
“How so?”
“When you stop to look, you can always see me. But if you try to touch me, you can never feel me,” Danny quotes, “That is clearly a reference to something you find in the sky, like the MOON OR THE STARS!” He says that last bit very excitedly. “But what kind of phenomena is it where you can walk towards it, but remain the same distance? Most of the difficulty with space travel is surviving the conditions of travel. Unless we’re talking about objects in space that are so far away that the usual units of distance are rendered useless,” Danny mutters off, “but that’s what the unit ‘lightyears’ was literally made for. So are we back to…”
Tim watches Danny struggle to answer the riddle. He believes that Danny was on the right track when he said that the answer was something that could be observed in the sky but he wasn’t so certain about the space aspect. After all, if the answer was an approachable object then it wouldn’t remain the same distance away if you walked towards it. That meant the answer had to be something illusory, a visual phenomenon. Tim thought hard and then grinned when the answer came to him.
“Danny I know what the answer is,” Tim called out.
“Huh?” Danny blinks in wide-eyed surprise.
“The answer to the riddle, I know what it is,” Tim repeats, smiling wide. “It’s the horizon.”
Danny stares at Tim before face-palming. “Oh my god, that’s so obvious in hindsight,” he groans in self-deprecation.
As the time keeps ticking on, Tim notices that Danny is getting more agitated. And the more agitated he gets, the more strange he begins to appear. If you asked him what was strange about him, he couldn’t tell you. Call it Robin's intuition.
Danny takes a deep breath and releases it in a frustrated sigh. “Why is it taking Batman so long to solve the Darn riddle? It’s been well over 7 minutes now.” He starts to sound more distorted the more frustrated he gets. “I didn’t come here to be stuck in an elevator for god knows how long, I just wanted to see that blasted exhibit on the Cassiopeia Galaxy, Why is that so gosh darn hard?!”
Tim finds it amusing how Danny swears like he’s a 70-year-old granny at church. “That’s one way to say it.” Even as he is smiling at Danny’s misery, he can’t help but think how odd his voice sounded. It sounded like he was talking from an old radio. The more Tim pays attention to Danny, the more things start to add up. He decides to not comment on it because Danny doesn’t come across as dangerous. Just a little weird. He is 90% sure that he is a meta, The other 10% might be that he maybe needs to sleep a little more than 3 hours over a period of 5 days.But it was then that he saw it, Danny’s eyes had slowly turned more and more green. To the point they were glowing. He doesn’t want to put him on the spot by saying he is a meta, but if it meant getting them out of the elevator sooner then he would.
“So what are your abilities?” he “subtly” asks. He does his best to look as not threatening as he can while Danny looks at him with a startled expression.
“Whaaaat? Abilities?! Why would you think that?” Danny’s voice is pitching higher as he tries to stammer out another lie.
“Dude you don’t have to be scared, I won’t tell anyone. But if it gets us out of the elevator then it would be nice to know.”
He sees how Danny is gearing up to tell another lie before deflating. “Yeah okay, you got me. I’m a meta.” Somehow, Tim still gets the feeling that he isn’t being told the whole truth. He decides not to call him out on it. “I can phase us out of the elevator so we can help Batman take out the baddies.” Danny says excitedly with a cheeky wink.
Tim looks at Danny with a flabbergasted look. Then shakes his head and says, “OK besides the fact that you just said baddies unironically… You could have phased us out of here this whole time?!”
Danny at least has the decency to look sheepish. “Sorry dude, I just didn’t know how you would react.” Tim releases a big breath and takes a few seconds to collect himself.
“Alright, we can talk more about this later. For now, let’s just get out of here and kick some riddler butt.” He can hear Danny giggling when he said butt, but he decided to ignore it like the adult he is. Especially since Danny has started to stand very close to him. He hoped Danny didn’t see his blush.
“Sorry, I just need to hold you so I can phase us out. Is that ok?” Danny asks gently. Tim agrees and then he can feel Danny’s arms around him. “Hold on tight.” Tim does as he says and puts his arms around Danny’s neck. He then feels a wave of cold wash over him as he is slowly lifted off the ground. They then go up and through the walls until they land on the floor in front of the elevator doors. The cold feeling goes away when Danny lets go of him and steps away. He takes a moment to orient himself before turning on his comms.
“Batman, this is Red Robin, are you there?”
“Red Robin,” Oracle’s voice comes through the line, “Where have you been?” Her voice is partially concerned but mostly curious. “I lost track of you after you were attacked by ninjas?”
Tim sighed, already regretting the words that were about to fall out from his mouth. “I got stuck in an elevator,” he defeatedly admits. Oracle breaks out in laughter.
“What?! Are you serious? What do you mean you got stuck in the elevator?”
Tim runs his hand through his hair. “The building I ended up fighting Ra’s assassins happened to also be where the same building that The Riddler was attacking at that moment. So when I decided to take the elevator instead of the stairs after my fight, that was when the elevator stopped working,”
“Because of the Riddler,” Barbara finished. “So you’re at the observatory? That’s where Batman is right now.”
“Yeah, so if you could point me in the direction of the fight that would be great.”
“Replacement, you’ve missed the fight!” Jason yells, cackling loudly. Tim could feel his face fall.
“What?” Tim asked despondently.
Barbara was kind enough to be apologetic, “Sorry Red Robin, the fight is already over, Batman has already handed Riddler over to be arrested and everything.”
“Oh that’s…” Tim just manages to not curse, “fantastic.” He ignores Jason’s howls of laughter. “See you later Oracle, Red Robin out.” Tim decisively cuts the line. Bottling up his irritation he then turns to Danny.
“Your phone number,” he demands. Danny quietly recites it. Tim nods, memorising the 10 digits. “You will be hearing from me,” Tim declares before releasing his grappling hook and swinging away, so very done for the day. He’ll tackle Danny and the mystery of his meta status a later day.
And if he decides to ask Danny about it over coffee or at Bat Burger then that is strictly between him and the handsome stranger he met in the elevator.