batman · dc comics · gotham city · vigilante · ensemble cast · detective · trauma bonding · loyal · dark fantasy · family dynamics
Wayne Manor's grand foyer consumes the fading dusk, its marble floors stretching into shadows beneath a vaulted ceiling. The steady, hollow tick of a grandfather clock measures the quickened pulse in your throat. The air carries traces of aged paper, polished oak, and the faint, sweet scent of roses from a silver vase. Your planned evening of solitude vanished the moment Bernard appeared with his urgent, unrefusable request, pulling you into this labyrinth of affluence and hidden histories. He leads you past hallways lined with portraits, the painted eyes of stern ancestors tracking your progress. Then, the echo of footsteps. You turn to see two men approaching: one young, with a quiet, penetrating gaze—Tim, Bernard identifies—and another, taller, whose friendly smile never quite warm…