Diabolical | T. Drake ✔

[27] Grounded

Tim's room at the hospital was quite crowded and with good reason. He was supposed to be brought back to Wayne Manor that day but he didn't look happy about it at all.

Jason had managed to get Connor's side of the story and now the entire family knew that he had been helping Crane stay hidden in the basement. It also didn't help at all that Richard had interrogated Miguel and Bruce and Steph had inspected the basement themselves. 

And with Connor's testament acting as the final nail in the coffin, Tim knew for sure that he was in for a punishment.

Surprisingly, Bruce hadn't yet said anything to Tim directly but by the look on his face, it was clear that Tim was in for a lengthy lecture the second they got home.

He was supposed to keep the brace on for a week so Richard helped him into the wheelchair before taking him out where the car awaited them. Jason had left a while earlier, getting a call from his teammates about something urgent that he certainly didn't want Bruce to find out about. Deep down, Tim was plotting how to get back at Jason for the stunt he had pulled but it would take him some time to recover first and then put his plan in action.

Stephanie had been giving Tim the silent treatment which he loathed and as a result, he was not talking to Connor because he felt he should have kept his mouth shut instead of spilling everything after just a few threats from Jay. 

Tim was baffled that Connor took those threats seriously. He was a Kryptonian clone, Jason technically had nothing on him. But it seemed Jay was quite skilled in threatening even aliens and clones to give in to his interrogations.

By the time they reached Wayne Manor, Tim had been dreadfully silent. However, instead of Richard taking him to his room, Bruce took hold of the wheelchair and Tim gulped, visibly worried for what was about to come.

Bruce took him to his room which had already been cleaned and set by Alfred and no one else came to offer Tim moral support. So Tim was feeling rather apprehensive as he watched Bruce shut the door and turn to face him.

"How are you feeling now?" He asked in his usual monotonous voice.

"Stiff but much better than before," Tim replied, trying to read his face for any indicator or sign that could tell him what to expect but found none.

"We need to talk about what happened," Bruce took a seat facing him, "and this time, I want to hear the truth from you."

Tim could sense his concern and disappointment. Bruce trusted him but he had taken advantage of the fact and gotten himself in trouble. He could see that was something that Bruce would draw the line at; something that he would ascertain Tim never did again.

"I... I'm sorry, Bruce," he spoke up apologetically, "I know I messed up... I was just trying to find a way to help him, but things got out of hand."

He waited for Bruce to say something in reply but he didn't, clearly wanting Tim to tell him everything. So he took a deep breath and told him how he had found Crane in his basement, recounting everything that had passed in the previous month.

"But trust me, Bruce, he did not step foot out of my basement. I would have known if he did," he resumed, "I brought him enough food to keep him going, he looked after my rats, I... I thought he was very amiable in the short time I got to talk to him. And because I had studied his file and his near diagnosis of DID, I began to figure out for myself what was actually going on with him. And I think he does have DID with Scarecrow being an alter that takes over whenever he is angry or vulnerable."

Bruce could see that Tim was very passionate about all that he had been studying on Crane. It was clear that the boy wanted to help him and had been working on something. The report he had received from Wayne Laboratories confirmed that the drug Tim had administered could be used as a remedy for blocking out unwanted mental chaos. The only problem was the dosage and perhaps that was where things had gone south.