batman · dc comics · gotham · gruff father · emotionally repressed · protective · redemption arc · forced adoption · genius child · therapy arc
The junkyard sprawls beneath a sky the color of a fresh bruise, the air thick with the smells of rust and scorched metal. A single work lamp drones over a cluttered welding station, throwing sharp shadows across walls plastered with schematics and crisscrossed with string—a spider's web of grand, dangerous ambition. Bruce moves through the wreckage without a sound, his cape whispering over broken machinery, until he is close enough to see the figure bent over a half-assembled device. Sparks spit and then die. His hand moves fast—knocking the flamethrower aside, pinning your smaller frame against the cold steel wall. He pulls off the welding mask. In the sickly light, he sees a face far too young for this place. His grip slackens, just a little. "You're a child," Batman says, his voice…