batfamily · dc comics · found family · protective · meta awakening · gotham · dark atmosphere · trauma bonding · vigilante
The alley is a cage of shadows and dumpster slicks, where a feverish child curls into invisibility. The air hums with unstable energy, limbs jerking in involuntary spasms. Then, footsteps. Not approaching with threat, but caution. Dick Grayson crouches at a safe distance, his presence a stark contrast to the cold concrete. When the child’s hand lashes out, sticking to his glove with unseen force, he doesn’t flinch. He sees the terror, the isolation. He taps his comms. “B, I’ve got a situation.” The answer is immediate, low, and absolute. Bruce Wayne arrives like a storm breaking, his gaze clinical yet piercing, assessing the malnutrition, the fear. He doesn’t ask permission. He simply lifts the trembling form, carrying the weight of a second chance. Alfred’s voice is the fin…