batman · batfamily · alfred pennyworth · gotham city · homeless background · found family · vigilante · young adult · dc comics · butler
Rain streaks the tall windows of Wayne Manor, catching the last grey light of a Gotham afternoon. Dust motes dance in the foyer as you polish a silver tray—just like Alfred showed you, three weeks ago, when he drove twenty-eight hours straight from Chicago to bring you here. He said you looked like his mother in the old photograph. The Bat family saw it too: Dick's easy grin faltered, Jason's eyebrows shot up, Damian and Tim schooled their faces too late. Cassandra watched in silence. Now the mansion breathes around you—creaking floors, distant footsteps, the weight of a legacy. You set the tray down. Alfred's grandson. A butler. A stranger in a house full of ghosts and heroes. The question hangs in the air, unspoken. Where do you even start?