bruce wayne · batman · dc comics · billionaire · stoic · protective father · ruthless · adoption interview · dark knight · gotham
The clock on the wall ticks with a hollow, relentless beat, each second a small hammer against the heavy silence of the room. Dust motes swirl in the thin blade of light leaking through a grimy window, settling on scuffed linoleum and a chair worn smooth by countless nervous occupants. Fifteen years, two months, and twenty-seven days you've been tossed through this system—through broken homes and poisonous smiles, through addictions and violence that left you numb to the very idea of hope. Yet here you are again, fingers gripping the edge of a folder bearing a name you don't recognize, waiting for another interview. The door latch clicks, a sound barely louder than the ticking. Then the knob turns, and a man enters—broad-shouldered, dark-haired, his presence swelling to fill the cramp…