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It's one of those quiet nights where Robin (Batman) decides to go off on his own, if only for a little while. There's not much going on, just a mugging here and there, but otherwise Damian is bored. Then he gets the feeling he isn't alone.
This kid sneaks up on him, on Robin. He practically appears from the shadows and Damian most certainly did not scream, no. The kid can't be much older than he is, but he's got this dark vibe to him that would probably put off other people, but Damian's no ordinary person.
"Who the hell are you?" Damian asks, automatically on the offensive and his hand drifts to his katana tucked away under his cape. "Metahumans aren't allowed in Gotham."
"Is that so?" His eyebrows lift with just a slight tug of his lips and- wait a second is he mocking Damian? Is he mocking Robin?
"Yes," Damian grits out, "it is. And if you don't leave immediately I will be forced to dispose of you myself." At this, Damian draws his katana and shifts into a fighting stance.
The boy, though, looks completely unbothered and unimpressed. He doesn't even prepare to defend himself in anyway, as if his démodé jacket would protect him from the blows of the katana.
Damian gives a shout and goes to attack the boy, but he disappears before Damian is able to strike. He looks around in confusion before his hood is pulled backwards and he stumbles.
"Listen, kid, I'm really not in the mood for a fight -" the boy begins but is interrupted by Damian "Let go of me, you ingrate! Don't you know who I am?!"
Again, unimpressed, the boy replies, "I don't know, a kid cosplaying as a traffic light?"
"I'm Robin, obviously, now unhand me imbecile!" and perhaps it isn't a good idea to insult the person who currently has you captive but seriously this guy doesn't know who Damian is?
"You're a bird?" The boy asks still not letting him go. He really does sound confused and now Damian is beginning to wonder if he was even born in the 21st century.
"No!" He yells, "Robin! As in Batman and Robin!" Damian has never had to explain Robin to anyone before but this kid still sounds confused. Now he's beginning to wonder if Father and Grayson were right in saying the hood was unnecessary to the uniform. (He'd never admit that, though, and he most certainly will not be telling them about this little ordeal.)
"Batman. Like the guy who works with Wonder Woman sometimes?" That's the first time Damian's ever heard Batman described in such a way and it sounds entirely too much like the way Todd would describe his Father but sure.
"Yeah, fine, him I guess." Damian responds, if only a bit petty. He can't be too upset though, because everyone, even he, likes Wonder Woman. "Now let go!"
"Sure." Damian is shoved forward and has to take a moment to regain his footing and gather his thoughts because this kid has some nerve to treat Damian Wayne in such a manner. "Well this has been... an experience but I should get going now."
The boy turns making to leave but Damian's pride has been wounded and he cannot let this slide. He does the most logical thing he can think of, which is, of course, jumping onto the boy with another shout. Then there's this strange sensation like traveling through time itself and Damian feels dizzy and nauseous and the world around him is moving too fast.
Then it's over, just like that. Now both boys stumble to get back their balance in what appears to be a shady alley. Damian has no idea what's happened, but he knows it was nighttime in Gotham and wherever the hell they are now it's daytime and most certainly not Gotham. He can hear a language being spoken nearby - is that Mandarin?!
Now Damian's the one who's confused but when he begins furiously questioning the boy, he realizes he's alone. Stranded in China, apparently. He mutters a few colorful swear words under his breath, mostly cursing the strange boy and his monochrome wardrobe.
•••
"How was your trip back to camp?" Will Solace asks his boyfriend, Nico Di Angelo, shortly after his arrival. Nico had shadow traveled from visiting his half-sister, Hazel, and some friends at Camp Jupiter for a week. He was home now and he had definitely missed Will (not that he would tell him that, he has a reputation to keep alright? It's bad enough he's head over heels for Captain Sunshine.).
"It was fine," Nico replies, "I got a little sidetracked when I stopped in Gotham." He shrugs his shoulders, not going into detail.
"Really?" Will says, "What happened? Isn't that place crawling with nut jobs?" Oh, you have no idea Will. In the safety of Camp Half-Blood, there aren't exactly many news reports coming in from the outside world and campers who only stay for the summer aren't exactly eager to share the latest exploits of "godlike" superheroes and immoral villains.
"Nothing serious, some kid dressed as a traffic light wanted to start a fight," again Nico shrugs, brushing off Will's concerned look, "He jumped me when I tried to leave and we ended up in Beijing by accident."
"Did you bring him back at least?" Will questions. Suddenly, Nico seems very interested in the demigods sparring near the lake and not answering the question.
"Oh my gods Nico!" Will exclaims, "you can't just strand kids halfway across the world!" Technically you can, Nico just proved as much, but he won't contradict his boyfriend right now. "Go bring the kid back home."
"Do I have to?" Nico groans, still quite interested in the sparring match.
"Yes, you do," Will replies. He kisses Nico's cheek before shoving him lightly and says, "Now go."
Nico grumbles but makes to leave anyways. It wouldn't benefit anyone to argue any further, especially not the kid in Beijing.
When he gets there, the kid (what did he call himself? It had something to do with birds... Sparrow? Falcon? It'll come to him) is in the same alleyway and is angrily speaking to someone Nico can't see. He watches the boy for a moment, considering the possibility that he is, in fact, insane (it would explain the strange color scheme and the way he jumped Nico) before he remembers that bluetooth technology is a thing nowadays and while the kid is about Nico's age, it's more plausible that's what he's speaking in to (though only slightly). Finally, he spots Nico and the fury aimed at whoever he was talking to is targeted at him.
"You!" He exclaims, pointing a finger at Nico, "take me home immediately!" Why ever did he leave the boy here again? He can't recall why he would do such a thing to someone so mellow and polite.
"What's the magic word?" Nico deadpans, expression blank.
"Magic word?" The boy (Lark?) repeats. He's never seen someone look so annoyed, yet so confused. "What are you talking about, cretin?" There he goes again, insulting the guy with the power in their situation. Is this some kind of inferiority complex?
"I was looking for 'please' but no one uses 'cretin' anymore so I guess that will do," Nico shrugs his shoulders and, before the other boy can respond, he grabs his hand.
There's always this feeling of discomfort when Nico shadow travels, like pressure weighing on his lungs. It was way worse the first time, when he passed out as soon as he reached his destination. He can only imagine what the boy (Finch?) is experiencing right now as his passenger.
Nico grounds himself at their destination, but the boy trips and stumbles. He would be impressed with his ability to hold himself together this much if Nico didn't find him such a nuisance.
He's gone before the boy can turn back around, but not without hearing someone say "There he is. I knew there was no way Robin was in China."