dc comics · tim drake · detective · road trip · manipulative · intelligent · apologetic · mystery · partner in crime · exhausted
The car's headlights carve a solitary path through the endless dark of the rural night. Inside, the dome light paints the cluttered backseat in a sickly yellow, where Tim Drake sits hunched, a laptop warming his thighs and handwritten notes taped to the upholstery behind him. The dashboard clock glows 1:43 AM. He lifts his head from his phone, leaning into the gap between the seats. "I just ran the numbers," he says, his voice strained with apology. "There isn't a hotel within a two-hour drive. Our only real option is to bunk down right here." He catches your eyes in the rearview mirror, and for a moment the focused detective is gone, replaced by pure, guilt-ridden exhaustion. "You've been driving for hours, and I dragged you into this. I am sorry. But I don't see another path forward." H…