It wasn't just the Gotham Police Department that Alex drove insane that day.
Every major media outlet in the city — from Gotham TV and local radio stations to the biggest news networks — seemed to go off the rails at the exact same time.
Phones rang nonstop. Reporters yelled across chaotic rooms. Editors barked orders over the noise.
Because everyone had just discovered something that defied belief.
That day, the number of murders in Gotham had exploded to an absurd and unprecedented level.
Even for Gotham — a city long infamous as a haven for psychopaths and criminals, a place that had learned to live with blood on its sidewalks — the body count that day was staggering beyond comprehension.
And yet, there was something even more shocking than the death toll itself.
Every single crime scene, without exception, shared one unmistakable mark.
Burned into the floor, scorched across walls, or carved deep into concrete, two words appeared again and again — like a brand, like a signature.
"Homelander."
The connection was impossible to miss.
The man who had gone live on national television, publicly declaring that "no criminals would be allowed in Gotham," had left his name written in fire at the scene of every killing.
Within seconds, every newsroom in Gotham was thrown into a frenzy.
> "Drop everything! All other stories are off — focus on this!"
"Forget the Batman injury report — I don't care if he's in a coma! Get me Homelander! He's the story now!"
"Pull every other lead. Right now, nothing else matters — in front of Homelander, no one else makes the front page!"
"Move! Get his background, his address, his childhood, his blood type — everything!"
Across the city, chaos ruled the media. Editors slammed fists on desks; producers shouted into phones; journalists ran from one corner to another, frantically piecing together the story of the century.
Every whiteboard in every newsroom had the same words scrawled across it:
Homelander Investigation.
And the deeper they dug, the colder their blood ran.
Fifty-six murders.
That was the official count after the first wave of reports.
In less than twenty-four hours, the man calling himself "Homelander" had killed fifty-six people across the city.
By the time all the data was compiled, the true number of dead stood at one hundred and twenty-one.
A trail of blood that stretched from Gotham's upper districts to its foulest slums.
But what truly froze every journalist in place wasn't the number of deaths.
It was the absence of everything else.
Aside from those fifty-six "Homelander cases," Gotham had not recorded a single serious crime that day.
No robberies.
No assaults.
No gang shootouts.
For the first time in living memory, Gotham — the city of nightmares — was quiet.
There were no crimes.
Homelander had actually done it.
> "It's true!"
"Everything he said was true!"
"He actually did it — he really did something that insane!"
Inside a cluttered newsroom, Emily — the same reporter who had once interviewed Alex — sat frozen in front of her monitor.
Her hands trembled on the desk, her heartbeat pounding in her ears.
Parker, her cameraman, stared at the data sheet in disbelief.
The man they'd both dismissed as a lunatic, a self-obsessed maniac in a red cape, had turned out to be something else entirely.
He hadn't been bluffing.
His outrageous claim — "There will be no criminals in Gotham" — wasn't empty talk.
He had made it a reality.
> "Who… who is this guy?" Emily whispered, her voice barely audible.
From that moment, every network in Gotham devoted its full power to one story — and one name.
Screens across the city flickered with the same word, again and again:
Homelander.
---
> "According to incomplete reports, as of this broadcast, Gotham has seen a total of fifty-six murder scenes today."
"Each scene bears the same mark burned into the ground — the word 'Homelander.'"
"Experts have confirmed that every marking is identical, carved by the same individual."
"Thirty-two of the fifty-six cases have eyewitnesses. Every one of them identified the killer as Homelander — the same man who publicly declared that Gotham would have no criminals."
"Preliminary investigations reveal all victims were engaged in active crimes when they were killed — gunrunning, assassinations, bank robberies, extortion."
"In short, every single person who died… was a criminal."
"We still don't know how Homelander managed to cover the entire city and stop fifty-six crimes in a single day, but one fact remains undeniable—"
"Today, Gotham experienced no crime."
"Yes — today was the day Gotham had no criminals."
"Or perhaps more accurately… the day Gotham had only one criminal — Homelander."
"Homelander has done the impossible. He has fulfilled his vow: 'No criminals in Gotham.'"
---
The moment those words hit the airwaves, the city erupted like a bomb.
It was as if a nuclear shockwave had torn through Gotham's heart.
In every neighborhood, in every smoky bar, on every rooftop and penthouse, people froze mid-motion, eyes glued to glowing screens.
> "That's impossible! All the criminals in Gotham… gone?!"
"Who the hell is this guy? How can one man do that?!"
"No way. It has to be fake — it has to be!"
"He killed every criminal? My God… only God could do something like that!"
The entire city was buzzing, trembling between disbelief and awe.
Even those who had mocked him, who had laughed at his arrogance the day before, now sat in uneasy silence.
Every major outlet confirmed the same story. Every camera showed the same scorched word.
This wasn't propaganda.
It wasn't a trick.
Not even Wayne Enterprises, with all its money and influence, could stage something like this.
---
And while ordinary citizens tried to process the unthinkable, Gotham's other inhabitants — the extraordinary ones — were equally shaken.
Inside the Batcave, Bruce Wayne sat before the massive display screen, his face pale and unreadable.
> "He… actually did it."
"That's… impossible."
For nearly ten seconds, Gotham's richest man — its silent protector — couldn't move.
He simply stared at the report, as if hoping it would rewrite itself.
To eliminate every major criminal in a single day…
Even for Batman, that was beyond imagination.
Just a day ago, he had smirked at Homelander's words. He had dismissed the man as reckless, naïve, and dangerous.
Now?
It felt like the universe itself had slapped him across the face.
> "Gotham really has no criminals left," he murmured, his voice flat, empty.
"Who… what is he?"
Nearby, Catwoman sat perched on the edge of the Batcomputer desk, her emerald eyes glued to the same screen.
Unlike Bruce, she had witnessed Alex's power firsthand — his speed, his strength, the blazing fury in his gaze.
She understood, if only faintly, that this outcome was within his reach.
Elsewhere, Gotham's most infamous figures — Scarecrow, Ra's al Ghul, Joker, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and countless others — sat in stunned silence.
Because what Alex had done wasn't just terrifying for law enforcement or politicians.
It terrified them.
Even the monsters of Gotham felt their blood run cold.
Because for the first time…
They realized they were prey.
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