Failing Civics

[notafraidofyou]

Tim balances his pencil on his nose, staring up at the ceiling.  He hates this class.  It's boring, and he's bored, and Mr. Temple always tries to catch him when he's not paying attention, which is just about all the time, and--

"Mr. Drake?"

Like that.  He lets the pencil drop to his desk and stops leaning back in his chair, so that all four legs hit the floor again.  Mr. Temple gives him a thin smile.  "So glad you could join us.  Now that I have your attention, why don't you tell us a little about the fourth amendment."

Tim bites back the urge to smirk.  Mr. Temple thinks he has him stumped, but this is one of the ones he knows the best, because it's kind of relevant to his life.  He shrugs, making his response sound casual.  "That's the one about being secure in your effects and person, right?  No unreasonable searches and seizures?"

Mr. Temple blinks, clearly surprised that Tim had been able to answer the question.  "...That's correct," he says finally, and Tim swallows back another grin.

"But that's just, like, for the government, right?" he asks, deciding to really throw his teacher's world off its axis.  He never participates in class.  "It doesn't count for--say--Batman?"

Mr. Temple's eyes look like they're going to bug out of his head.  "Well," he says slowly, watching Tim like he thinks this is some kind of a joke.  "For the purposes of the fourth amendment, Batman is a private citizen, in that he's not directly affiliated with a law enforcement agency.  However, were he to become arrested, he could be charged with breaking and entering--among many, many other things."

Tim scoffs under his breath.  Like Bruce would ever let that happen.  "But he's Batman, so... probably never going to happen, right?"

"Don't say never.  It's entirely possible that the police will apprehend--"

"Please," Tim interrupts, unable to hold back.  "The cops love Batman."  Well, most of them.  Bullock is never too happy to see them, but none of the others seem to mind when they lend a hand.

"And why they continue to allow a dangerous vigilante to wander the streets at night--especially one to contributes to the delinquency of a minor--"

Tim starts tuning Mr. Temple's voice out when he gets into the familiar Batman and Robin rant.  There's a reason he never pays attention in Civics.

Tim Drake/Robin II
DC Animated Universe
406 Words
Tim Drake is the property of DC comics and Warner Brothers Entertainment. No infringement intended.

Comments

[notafraidofyou]

Well, yeah. Who the heck are you?

[metropoliskid]

Superboy. Should be obvious, right? Big S on my chest? You clearly don't read the papers, do ya?

[notafraidofyou]

Dude. Does anyone read the papers if they don't have to?

[metropoliskid]

Hey, I'm friends with, like, all the Daily Planet people.

[notafraidofyou]

Oh. Well, I guess the people at the Planet are okay. I mean--Clark Kent's really nice. He wasn't even a jerk like most of the reporters where when Bruce took me in.

[metropoliskid]

Hell yes, Clark's the man. He's been really cool to me too.

[notafraidofyou]

No kidding. How do you know Clark?

[metropoliskid]

He works at the Daily Planet. And he's friends with Superman. How about you?

[notafraidofyou]

He's kind of friends with my guardian. Plus, he ran a piece on me when Bruce took me in, which was nice, instead of assholey like NewsTime magazine.

[metropoliskid]

Yeah, he's written nice things about me. Lois Lane doesn't like me much, though. Maybe because I tried to kiss her when I first showed up.

[notafraidofyou]

...Yeah, I can see why she wouldn't like you. (though she's really pretty, and I can't blame you for wanting to kiss her).

[metropoliskid]

I did think I was Superman at the time. And she does like Superman. (Yeah, she really is.)

[notafraidofyou]

You thought you were Superman? Yeah, I can see where the Lois Lane confusion would have been, then.

[metropoliskid]

It was pretty much the only thing I knew. Course, turned out it wasn't true. But... *shrugs*

[notafraidofyou]

But Superboy's cooler anyway, right?

[metropoliskid]

Exactly. The new and improved Super-model.

[notafraidofyou]

Heh. Supermodel. You know, that makes me picture you like this blond bombshell, right?

[metropoliskid]

I mean more like a car model, dope. Supergirl was the blond bombshell, from what I've seen. Though that's mostly photos, of course.

[notafraidofyou]

Didn't she go into the future or something?

[metropoliskid]

Yeah, I think so. I dunno. It's too bad, it'd be cool knowing more superhero kids.

[notafraidofyou]

I guess. Well--there's Robin. Do you know him?

[metropoliskid]

Robin? No, never met him. I mean, I haven't been at this for long.

[notafraidofyou]

I hear he's pretty cool.

[metropoliskid]

Yeah, Superman said good things about him, so you know he's gotta be pretty cool. I'd go see if I could meet him or something, but I dunno. He's been doing the hero thing longer than me and stuff. Don't wanna screw up in front of him.

[notafraidofyou]

Eh, he screws up sometimes, too, I bet. You should totally say hi.

[metropoliskid]

...you think? I dunno, he was all trained by Batman and stuff. Batman's scary.

I dunno, maybe I will.

[notafraidofyou]

He's not that bad. You should. He probably doesn't know many heroes our age either.

[metropoliskid]

I don't think there are many heroes our age.

[notafraidofyou]

Then definitely say hi!

[metropoliskid]

Okay, I will!

Superman says the Justice League might go to space soon. Maybe I'll go then or something. Less chance of running into Batman. He doesn't like metas in his city, right?

[notafraidofyou]

I guess he doesn't, really. But you should come when you can. Maybe I'll even meet you!

[metropoliskid]

Sure, it can't be too hard to meet two people in a city, right?

[notafraidofyou]

::laughs:: Well, not if we set up a place to meet.

[metropoliskid]

Yeah? Where should we meet?

[notafraidofyou]

Uh... Well, do you know where Wayne Enterprises is?

[metropoliskid]

...I bet I can find it!

[notafraidofyou]

Big tower. Hard to miss. My guardian works there. He's kind of in charge of things.

[metropoliskid]

Cool. Yeah, I'll go meet you.

[notafraidofyou]

Great! If you come in through the front door, the receptionist will be able to tell you where to find me.

[metropoliskid]

Cool. I guess I'll see you soon, huh?

[notafraidofyou]

Yep!