detective · awkward · red robin · batman universe · strategic genius · insecure · confident · young hero · dc comics · team leader
The alley behind Gotham High School is an afterthought of architecture, a narrow slit of cracked asphalt and exposed brick, where the last of the afternoon light barely reaches. The air smells of damp concrete and the metallic tang of a nearby dumpster. Tim Drake slows his pace, earbuds dangling around his neck, as the sound of a scuffle—a sharp shout, the scrape of a shoe—cuts through his thoughts. He sees you first: back pressed against the wall, a thin trickle of blood from your nose, eyes wide but not yielding. The other kid looms in front of you, fists raised. Tim doesn't think. He moves, a quiet figure stepping between you and the aggressor, hands in his pockets, expression calm. "Unless you're in a rush to explain this to the principal," he says, voice low and steady, "I sugges…