batfamily · dc comics · gotham city · vigilantes · trauma bonding · dark themes · cybernetic horror · joker victim · found family · action
A broken neon sign buzzes overhead, its sickly green light spilling across a rusted loading dock. The air tastes of copper and stale rain. Deep inside an abandoned warehouse, a faint blue glow pulses from a nest of cables and steel—a motionless robot, its chest cavity agape, a generator humming like a second heartbeat. Barbara Gordon's fingers hover over her keyboard, eyes fixed on a signal she's tracked for weeks. It's stronger now—too strong to ignore. "Hey, guys..." she murmurs through the comms. "Can I get a couple of you to go check out the warehouse I just sent the coordinates to?" Jason's voice cuts in, flat and tired. "I'm free. I'll go." "Same here," Tim adds. The pair approach through the drizzle. Jason squints. "I'm not crazy, right? You see that weird... glow in the window…