07AUG10: Whit, Drake- Interview
A Word: Tumblr prompt. Asking for the boy Robins to be taken to Arkham and their identities found out. Not sure what all their reactions would be, but here's an interview with Tim.
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The video is a little grainy and dim. A result of money being spent elsewhere. After all, why would Arkham need to update their cameras when what they have is more than adequate for their needs. The young man being cuffed to the sturdy chair is easily identifiable even as the exact expression on his face is lost to pixelation.
"Tim Drake."
The young man doesn't flinch as his name is pronounced for the first time. The official work done to legally identify Arkham's newest addition. This is his first interview. The first interview of any of the four unique new inmates. Notes from the staff indicate they brought him in first to test the waters, because he's been well noted as being the calmest and most easy going of them.
Tim nods and gives the doctor a polished smile. The one he's always given the public that never means anything. He appears relaxed. His body language open and at ease despite the chains and setting. "Doctor Whit."
"How are you today, Mr. Drake?" Whit asks the question. An opening line that doesn't really mean anything. Just a tactic to get Tim to relax his guard mentally.
"I'm in handcuffs in Arkham, surrounded by people I helped put here multiple times," Tim's smile turns sharp as he spreads his hands as far out as the chain allows. "How do you think I am?"
"Yes, well," Whit has already lost control of the interview as he shuffles a pile of paperwork in front of him. He doesn't know it yet, but Tim will let him know soon enough. "That's a challenging situation for anyone to be in. How are you handling it?"
"Well enough I suppose," Tim shifts and crosses his legs. An easy looking move that shouldn't have been possible with the way he was chained down. Whit startles slightly. Hand jerking automatically to the panic button concealed under the table. His years in Arkham showing in his instinctive reaction to seeing something he knows shouldn't be possible. He checks himself though. Pulls his hand away and that shows -more than anything else- how Whit feels about this interview. How he feels about Tim. "Let's cut to the chase, Doctor. What do you need to know?"
Whit isn't afraid of Tim, he's not afraid to be alone in a room with him. The man's probably dealt with Tim before. In one of the masks the man has worn over the years. He's probably been saved by Tim, many times. There's guilt all over the lines of his shoulders as he drops the paper. The same guilt that'd been in the guards bringing Tim in. In the cops that'd transferred him to Arkham a week earlier. Tim smiles again.
Whit hums and obviously abandons his first question for something safer. "How did you start," Whit waves his hand around the room, "this?"
"Who doesn't want to be a hero?" Tim laughs. "I figured out who Batman was when I was nine," Tim folds his hands together and props them up on his knee. His voice is friendly and conversational as he does something that doesn't come naturally to Tim. He tells the truth. "I became the third Robin when he started going off the rails a bit. I always admired the Robin's before me, what they did, and I was proud when I was able to take up the name after them. I was Robin for a few years before I took up Red Robin."
"How did you get away with that?" Whit ignores the obvious question. He'll probably try to put it off as long as possible. He's smart enough to know the interview will be over as soon as he voices it despite what has to be some incredible political pressure being put on him.
"I loved my parents," Tim's smile is tight and Whit has to notice it, "but I won't lie. They were a classic example of how neglect works. They were never around to notice anything. For one reason or another."
The Drake tragedy is as well known as the Wayne's and Grayson's in Gotham. Whit no doubt knows all about it as he nods. He looks like he might be surprised though. As most people should be when contemplating how a child could keep that kind of secret from their parents. There's more that Tim could say, but he keeps his silence.
"And Bruce Wayne?" Whit throws the name out there casually. Edging closer to that line. "You stayed with him for a while when you were younger, and then he adopted you."
"Bruce Wayne really isn't all that different from my parents," Tim lies smoothly. His posture and face don't change one bit. "It was convenience really. Something to toss to CPS that left me free to do what I needed to do. Mr. Wayne's always understood how important our work is, and has been more than happy to help where he can."
"Yes, Mr. Wayne has admitted to funding the Batman," Whit nods, and presses further. "Some people wonder how far that partnership goes."
Tim smiles widely with a hint of teeth that sets Whit fidgeting. "You're asking me if Mr. Wayne is Batman."
"Is he?"
Tim laughs. Loud and bright like he hasn't done in a long time, and as fake as any smile he's put on in the room. "No. Mr. Wayne's our financial and legal support. Anything more hands on and he's a danger to himself. I can't imagine him even trying..." Tim trails off, face radiating amusement as he obviously considers the possibility. He laughs again. "We don't even deal with him face to face unless we can't avoid it."
"You have to admit that there's some validity to the speculation," Whit replies. "With the four of you-"
"Mr. Wayne stepped in when he was needed to," Tim interrupts, a laugh still lacing his voice. "He signed off on the legal paperwork and allowed us to be. We could have just as easily disappeared. Been labeled missing, but Batman always wanted us to have something to fall back on. A chance to leave," Tim's smile twists. "For all the good that's done us now."
"Who is Batman?" Whit lays out the final question quickly.
"You don't need to know that," Tim replies. His smile is gone and he sits back. Uncrossing his legs and giving off a very noticeable air that he's done with the conversation. The video goes on for several more minutes as Whit pries and wheedles to no effect. Tim is finished and he doesn't react or speak until the guards come in to take him away.
Bruce breaths as the video ends, and tells himself he's not surprised by anything Tim's said. The way he distanced himself from Bruce Wayne, or the lie that the four of his sons had concocted somewhere between the temporary holding cells and Arkham. The mess that's required Bruce Wayne's attention and kept him from making any obvious moves as Batman despite how desperately he wants, no, needs to free his children.
Three more videos wait for him and Bruce moves to open the next.
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