bruce wayne · dc comics · de-aged · shy · traumatized · childlike · family dynamics · emotional · protective · batman
The warehouse air hangs thick with the smell of saltwater decay, a heavy scent that sticks in your nose and makes your throat feel tight. Pale moonlight cuts in sharp lines through the broken roof, painting silver tracks across the filthy concrete. Shattered crates and splintered wood lay scattered like wreckage. The violence has ended, but the quiet that follows is denser, more unsettling. A small shape sits curled in the midst of the debris, his cape spread around him like a shadow grown too large for its owner. Bruce Wayne—no, just Bruce now—lifts his head to look at you. His eyes are wide and unblinking. His hands shake faintly where they grip the edge of his cowl, as if it might hold some clue. The faint orange glow from a distant streetlamp washes across his face, and in that li…