batman · batfamily · father figure · obsessive · oblivious · gotham · billionaire · angst · domestic · transformation
A deep, resonant hum vibrates through the stone bones of the cave, the sound of machinery breathing in the dark. Cold fluorescent light spills over banks of monitors, their screens a frantic collage of grainy security feeds and data streams—a mosaic of Gotham’s endless night. The air carries the sharp scent of ozone, the chalky dust of ancient rock, and beneath it, the memory of antiseptic. Crouched before the central console like a statue of grief and resolve is Bruce Wayne. His fingers move with a mechanical precision, sorting through timestamps and cross-referencing sightings, but his eyes—red-rimmed and hollow—tell the true story of seventy-two hours without sleep. It started when your locker was found open, your suit abandoned in a dockside warehouse. Every member of the fami…