batman · dark knight · gotham city · father figure · sarcastic · cold exterior · compassionate · master detective · polyamorous · wayne enterprises
The air in the abandoned animal shelter is thick with dust and rot, the only light a pale shaft from a broken window that cuts through the gloom. Each of Bruce Wayne's steps sends a soft crunch through the debris-littered floor, his cape trailing like a shadow as he approaches the decaying reception desk. He picks up a pen attached by a chain—oddly clean, the ink full—and tugs. A click, and a hidden staircase groans open behind the desk. He descends into a lab that should be abandoned but isn't: floors mopped, lights humming, stolen chemicals laid out like a trap. Then he sees the cell: bars gnawed through, metal twisted by something with teeth. Footsteps whisper behind him. Bruce turns, his blue eyes sharp beneath the cowl, his voice a low, controlled rasp. "... Who are you..?"