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This is not how Damian expected to spend his late afternoon.
To be honest, being called down to Gotham Police Department headquarters in his civilian identity was not something he ever wanted to happen. While Batman was known to be on good terms with the Gotham Police, the Wayne family was not allowed the same deference for broken laws. Damian had never gotten booked for a crime, so he was never expecting to be here without the cowl.
Damian had been leaving a meeting with one of Bruce’s corporate allies when he got a call from Commissioner Gordon. The man never called him on his personal cell phone.
“Commissioner - I wasn’t expecting to hear from you until evening.”
“Yeah, this has nothing to do with the usual Damian. I need you down at the police’s northwest branch as soon as possible.”
“What would the GPD need me for without the cowl?”
“Your brothers are in custody.”
“Tt. Which one?”
“ALL of them.”
“...WHAT?”
“I…*sigh* look, they’re not going to be locked up, but I can’t sign them out without a legal guardian’s permission. Without Bruce here, that’s you. Get here as fast as you can.”
Damian silently drove to the station with a mix of disappointment and anger in him. Sure, Tim and Jason had both gotten a warning before when Bruce was around - Tim from a school fight (which resulted in him being homeschooled) and Jason for breaking curfew in his early years as Robin. However, Dick was only 9 years old and a good kid - how he had managed to get wrapped up in whatever happened was anyone’s guess.
Pulling up in the GPD parking lot, he sighed deeply. It would be tempting to just get mad at his brothers, but Bruce reminded him many times in his teenage years to be empathetic to his siblings. His brothers had different life experiences and thought differently than him. Sometimes he wished that Bruce was still around to do these types of things - Damian was still learning how to be a guardian for all three of his brothers.
Loosening his tie and taking a deep breath, Damian got out of the car. Immediately upon entering the GPD, Commissioner Gordon was in the lobby with half a dozen other cops. One of them addressed him, “Mr. Wayne, you’re faster than I thought. Hope you abided by the traffic laws on the way here.” A policeman from behind the front desk groaned, like he had been told a bad joke. All of the police in the room had eyes on him, looking him up and down like he was prey.
“Where are my siblings? What were they charged with?” Damian wanted to get out of the police station as fast as he could; he knew he was being scrutinized by the police who probably thought he was a stereotypical rich kid. Bruce had the city’s respect - Damian was in his shadow, typically assumed to be spoiled and snobby. It wasn’t really their fault for assuming that - Bruce’s kids didn’t spend much time in the public eye outside of Bruce’s galas, where they played up their charming attitudes. Most people would assume they were spoiled - being kids of a billionaire would do that.
Commissioner Gordon spoke up this time, “You’ll need to sign the forms before I take you to the holding. I’ll explain to you why they’re here on the way.” With a sigh, Damian read the forms stating that he was the legal guardian for all three of his brothers and would be under police watch the entire time he was in the station. He knew the second clause held more weight - if stepped out of line, he too could be booked.
After signing three identical forms for all three of his brothers, he stepped behind the desk and went through a metal detector. After the precautions were taken and all his metal items were confiscated by the front desk, he was allowed to follow the Commissioner to the back area. Of course, two GPD members followed them, listening to everything being said.
“From what we have gathered, Tim was driving the car when ‘something’ happened. I’m not sure what exactly happened - they refused to talk without you present. I commend them for knowing their right to an adult being present.” Damian hid a tiny smile - Bruce’s lessons of not incriminating themselves was coming into play, and Gordon knew it too. They just had to play like they didn’t know with the cameras and policemen around them. “What we do know was that the car was speeding 20 miles above the normal limit before being pursued by a GPD cruiser. The car did not stop for over a mile before it swerved sharply, spun out in a parking lot near the station, and came to a stop. All three passengers were taken into custody at that time, and the car was towed to the GPD garage.”
Damian groaned. He was a bit surprised that Tim was the one who caused the incident. Tim had gotten his teenager license a week ago, and he didn't seem likely to drive recklessly. Damian was brought to a one-way window that overlooked a police lineup standing in front of the height bars were his brothers, each holding a placard with their names and birthdays on them.
Richard John Grayson-Wayne - 03/20/XX
Jason Peter Todd-Wayne - 08/16/XX
Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne - 07/19/XX
The three of them were talking to each other, appearing upset and scared that they were getting their juvenile mugshots taken.
Damian asked the police officer accompanying them, “So, what are they charged with?”
The police officer looked at a document, reading, “Timothy is under suspicion on reckless driving and reckless endangerment, Jason is under suspicion for reckless driving and reckless endangerment, Richard is under suspicion of lying under oath and obstructing justice.”
Damian turned sharply and asked, “Why are both Drake and Todd under suspicion of endangerment when only one was driving the car? What constitutes Grayson’s lying suspicion?” The police officer reader seemed a little off guard that Damian both knew the law and was questioning it. The truth was that Damian had plenty of time to learn the rules of Gotham under Bruce and he was going to use them to his advantage.
The officer cleared his throat and spoke with false confidence, “Well, Mr. Wayne, when we took your brothers into the squad car, both Timothy and Jason admitted to be the driver of the car, despite Timothy being behind the wheel. Richard has said things in the police station that does not collaborate either side of the story, instead it he seems to be telling lies to protect the real driver-”
Damian crossed his hands and cut off the officer, “You have no legal jurisdiction to charge both Todd and Drake with the same crime, especially without concrete proof that either was guilty. You also cannot prove that a child like Grayson, who is nine years old, is committing perjury. If you continue to level charges against them without proof, I will need a lawyer involved.”
This time, Commissioner Gordon stepped in, “The three of them are being released into your custody, Damian. No one was injured in the chase and there was no crash. At most, Tim will lose his teenage license.”
Damian's frown intensified, “Even so, these charges will be put on their records as mild misdemeanors. Knowing my father's cars have some experimental technology installed that I am not fully aware of, we also have no way of knowing if there was a mechanical failure causing the aggressive speed and swerving. Until the GPD has concrete proof of what happened, I will not drop this issue.”
Commissioner Gordon sighed, “Alright, we will get the camera footage from the police chase to establish what happened. We’ll also send the car to Mr. Lucius for mechanical testing to check for any mechanical failures. Regardless, you have permission to talk to your brothers now while we get the discharge papers ready, but you will still have to be supervised.” Damian already knew the protocol. but he was secretly amused by the look on the policemen's faces. Damian's ability to deduce the error in their accusations within seconds clearly had them flustered.
Damian was allowed into the police lineup room. All three of his brothers looked at him as he entered, with each of them trying to explain.
“Dami, I was trying to stop the-” “He didn’t do it! I pushed a button-” “B- Baro phral …is something happening to us?” “It spun out because-” “It’s not Tim’s fault-!” “W-Waah!”
Damian put his hand up, which silenced all three of them. He crossed his arms again, “Do you have any idea how frightening it was to hear that you were all in custody? I do not mind if father’s car was broken, that could be replaced. The three of you, however, cannot. The charges will be properly investigated, but if there are any charges eventually brought against you, you will need to take responsibility.” Damian took a deep breath, trying to stay calm and gentle like Bruce would have. “Regardless of what happened today, I am not mad - I just hope you remember this incident and act accordingly from now on. If you need to be chaperoned, Alfred and I can do it; don’t put yourself and each other in danger like this again.”
Dick responded first, crying uncontrollably, “ Baro phral! ” Dick ran towards him, and Damian picked him up. Tim and Jason looked both disappointed in themselves and surprised by how calm Damian was being.
Damian ruffled Dick’s hair, addressing them all, “We’re going home, habibis . Drake, no more driving until this is all figured out.” Jason awkwardly stepped forward and held the sleeve of Damian’s suit jacket, wiping his nose on his other sleeve. Tim, who was typically stoic, wiped a stray tear from his eye with the back of his hand.
Damian asked Commissioner Gordon by the door, “Are we free to go, Commissioner?” With a noise of approval and from Commissioner Gordon, Damian got handed the discharge paperwork and he started leaving the station, all his brothers in tow.
The police clearly looked surprised at Damian’s ability to stay calm, as he had been angry with them minutes prior. He had also told his brothers to take responsibility if there were consequences - most rich parents and guardians would be doing their best to fight charges, even if their kids were blatantly guilty. Damian had asked for a fair investigation and that was all - whatever came from it would happen.
In the car ride home, his brothers sat silently in the back seat, as though waiting for Damian to get mad as soon as they left the GPD station. Damian noticed this and addressed them, “I am not mad at you three. Father always told me to be more kind, and at the end of the day, none of you are staying in jail. I just hope you plan for whatever consequences the law will have if you are found guilty.”
Tim looked out the window, his brow furrowed, “It…It was an accident. We didn’t know that the car we took wasn’t one of his normal ones.”
Jason added in, “I’m the one who pressed buttons, not Tim! Tim was driving and I started trying to turn on the radio, but the buttons did something to the car. We couldn’t get it to stop, even if Tim used the brakes!”
Tim finished the story, “Since we were being followed by the GPD, I pulled into an empty lot and swerved quickly to lower the car’s speed. That’s when I put my full force on the brakes and yanked out the key, which finally brought it to a stop.”
Damian sighed, “Tt, father does have his share of cars that have strange modifications. It would not surprise me if he installed an automatic drive function, similar to how he has in the Batmobile. The car you used was a few years older than the newest Batmobile, perhaps it had some unintended glitches that even he was unaware of.”
Dick was wringing his hands anxiously, asking, “They p-pulled me aside and asked me who did something wrong. When I would say that Tim was innocent, they said Jason was guilty. When I would say that Jason was innocent, they said that Tim was guilty. I-I tried to tell the police that they’re both innocent. They told me I was lying. D-did I do something bad?” Tim handed Dick the tissue box from the back seat covers.
Damian looked in the rearview mirror at him, “No, habibi, you did not. Sometimes, people who pursue justice want to get it at any cost - even resorting to underhanded techniques. You told the truth, and they chose to not believe you, meaning that they were in the wrong. If Lucius’ report of the car’s systems backs up the story you have told me, the police will see that you were telling the truth, habibi .”
Damian sighed deeply, deciding to let his brothers know what was on his mind, “It is times like this that I wish father were here. He would know what to do in this situation better than I ever could.”
Jason spoke up, “Are you kidding? You made the cops your bitch - they looked so surprised that you kept it together!”
Tim took a tissue from the box and blew his nose, saying, “We miss Bruce too, but you should be proud Dami, you held it together as well as he would've.”
Damian's lips curled into the faintest of smiles, “
Shukra
. Now, be ready for patrol tonight - we shall jump rather than drive.”