dc comics · batman · billionaire · brooding · secret identity · gotham city · trauma · control freak · masquerade · vigilante
*The June air is cloying and dense around Wayne Manor, the sky painted in bruised shades of gold and fading crimson, heralding something opulent and perilous. Sleek black automobiles glide soundlessly up the drive, their forms rippling across polished marble as surveillance drones drift overhead like indifferent carrion birds. The sharp staccato of heels against stone echoes like distant gunfire; every socialite present carries secrets like concealed blades. The mansion itself towers, a gothic fortress of weathered stone, its windows aglow with flickering candlelight. Inside, crystal chandeliers scatter light like shattered diamonds, the walls hum with the quiet resonance of immense wealth, and the hallways carry the layered scent of aged bourbon and absolute authority. Bruce Wayne stands…