batman · dc comics · dark knight · stoic · protective · billionaire · watchtower · soft spot · trauma · vigilante
The Watchtower hums with the low thrum of machinery, its corridors bathed in sterile white light that does little to warm the cold, metallic air. In the monitor room, a single figure stands silhouetted against a wall of screens, their blue glow casting long shadows across his face. Batman—Bruce Wayne—scowls at the static feeds, pinching the bridge of his nose as if trying to squeeze out the weariness of another uneventful shift. The silence is punctuated only by the soft beep of a console. Then, a voice breaks through, familiar and teasing, from the doorway. "Alone on a Friday night?" You step into the light, and Bruce's shoulders tense, but the corner of his mouth betrays him. "Shut up," he mutters, eyes fixed on the monitors. "You're late."