Diabolical | T. Drake ✔

[05] Home Sweet Home

Tim creaked open the door of his room and was met by silence. It was time for the others to go on patrol and the Manor was silent. Tim knew Alfred would be on the first floor so if he snuck out right then, he had a chance of escaping without alerting any of them.

It had been a few days since he had been living with them but he was still having trouble adjusting. He was so used to the dark and damp environment of his basement that he found every place in the manor uncomfortable.

Plus he no longer had his lab to work on and he knew the chemicals he had brought the day Batman had taken him and Scarecrow away would expire shortly. He had to get his research material and his stock so that it did not fall into the wrong hands.

He carefully opened the door to the balcony and then grabbed the bag he had taken from the kitchen when no one had been looking. He looked down, knowing the third floor where his room was located was at a considerable height from the ground.

Taking in a deep breath, he agilely climbed out of the balcony and then held onto the rails. He could see a pipe going down so with effort he managed to hold onto it. He almost fell but he didn't let go, carefully sliding himself down.

He managed to go down to the first floor but panicked upon catching sight of Alfred through a window. Before the old man could see him, he quickly let go of the pipe and toppled down.

Thankfully, he didn't strike the hard ground as he fell into a clump of bushes, springing up to his feet and quickly hiding lest Alfred looked down the window.

He stayed still, listening closely for any sounds that could give away that someone had found out about his escapade attempt. When the only sound he could hear was the soft rustling of the tree leaves above him, he finally crept out.

He fished out a card from the bag and swiped it at the entrance, disarming the security systems for a few seconds. He knew if Bruce found out he had been to his study, he was going to get in trouble. But at the moment he didn't care as he slid out and broke into a sprint to the nearest bus stop.

It didn't take him long to reach Drake Manor and he quickly slid down that backdoor to his basement.

"Home sweet home," he breathed, opening the bag he had brought to take out a few buns that he had smuggled for the rats that lived in the basement. Breaking down the buns into small pieces he put them in a corner and soon enough scurrying sounds were heard as the rats crept out and devoured the offered food.

He looked around the basement carefully, finding nothing out of place. Then keeping the bag open, he began to fill it with his notebooks, the stock of chemicals he had bought, the vial of antidote to fear gas, and a few other stuff that he thought he should take with him.

By the time he finally came out of the basement, he got startled to see a vigilante in a purple suit standing before him.

"Howdy, Tim," she spoke and he realized it was Steph, "Alfred called saying that you had run away. And I felt you'd be here."

"I... I hadn't run away. Absolutely not..."

She was standing with her arms folded and though the black mask covered her features, he could feel her scrutinizing gaze on him.

"I just had to take some stuff from here," he added, feeling that she hadn't believed him, "the old Bat was in such a hurry to rush me off, he didn't even give me time to pack."

"Well, you could have said that to Alfred and he would have brought you here without any objection," she remarked, noticing the scratches on his face, "you wouldn't have had to jump out a window that way."

"My bad," he mumbled, "I'm going back now. You don't have to worry."

"Nope, I am going to accompany you back so that you don't get lost on the way."