"Don't think I'm scared just because you're wearing a batsuit," Oswald Cobblepot snarled. "Everyone knows Batman never uses a gun!"
He had only just escaped the stadium suite, still sweating from being stared down by the real Batman. Now this "new Batman" dropped out of nowhere—and Cobblepot felt no fear at all.
Only rage.
He was the Penguin—the biggest underworld businessman in Gotham. Sure, he couldn't beat the real Batman… but was he supposed to believe he couldn't deal with some cheap imitation?
"Let go of me, right now!" he roared.
The man didn't answer.
He glanced at the car door, calmly adjusted his angle, and squeezed the trigger twice.
Bang. Bang.
Two shots.
The first punched straight through the door.
The second slipped neatly through the same hole—and tore into Cobblepot's leg.
"AAAH!" Cobblepot screamed, collapsing as pain detonated up his right side. He tried to glare back, but the cold eyes behind the cowl made him flinch away instinctively.
"Who the hell are you?" he hissed through clenched teeth. "Why are you pretending to be Batman?!"
Thomas Wayne didn't like that word.
Pretending.
He didn't understand why he hadn't died in an explosion that should've ended the world. But he was here now—here, in this Gotham.
And that meant there was only one Batman who mattered.
Not that soft-hearted son of his.
Thomas would shape these criminals into what they were supposed to be.
"From today on," he said, voice low and rough, "I'm Gotham's Batman. If you garbage in the underworld want to live, you'll do what I say. Understand?"
Cobblepot swallowed hard.
No guards. No backup.
And this Bat wasn't bluffing—this one would shoot. This one would kill.
"Y-yes… understood," he forced out.
He decided to submit for now, keep breathing, and figure out how to erase this "fake" later.
Thomas saw the resentment and ambition flickering behind Cobblepot's panic and filed it away. In a Gotham crawling with monsters, he was going to start his cleanup—his way.
"Send a message to every gang boss in Gotham," Thomas ordered. "From now on, the underground answers to me. Midnight tonight—everyone meets at your club."
Thomas knew the truth better than anyone: you couldn't kill crime out of this city.
Not permanently.
So you gathered it, caged it, and held it down with pressure and fear—until it stopped trying to bite.
His gaze pinned Cobblepot like a scalpel's edge.
"I want everyone there. Anyone who doesn't show—I'll find them. One by one. And I'll put them down."
Cobblepot licked dry lips, trembling. "W-who are you… really?"
The man was already melting into the night.
Only his voice lingered, cold as the diagnosis before the cut.
"I'm a doctor," Thomas Wayne said. "And I'm going to cure Gotham's disease."
"I am Batman."
Gotham City—Old Town.
As usual, after Commissioner Gordon delivered the Joker to Arkham Asylum, he returned to the rooftop of the GCPD and lit the Bat-Signal.
Not far away, on a clock tower, Ben Tennyson swooped in as Stinkfly, landing beside a grim stone gargoyle. He tapped the symbol on the Omnitrix and shifted back into human form.
Once Batman had agreed that Ben could drive the Batmobile after getting his license, Ben finally gave up his lead on the dirty bomb—where the Joker might have hidden it.
One possibility stuck in Ben's mind more than any other: in the animated film Assault on Arkham, the Joker hid a dirty bomb inside Harley Quinn's mallet.
Batman moved immediately after receiving the tip.
The farce with Cobblepot was over, so Cyborg (Victor Stone) and Shazam (Billy Batson) also headed out on their own.
Ben wasn't in any hurry to return to the Justice League's base. Instead, he "borrowed" a Robin-style domino mask and decided to tag along on patrol while Batman hunted the bomb.
He powered on the comms built into the mask, cleared his throat, and deliberately forced his voice into a deep, dramatic growl.
"This is Temporary-Contract Batman calling Robin. Do you copy?"
"This is Robin," came the reply instantly. "Copy. Where are you?"
Dick Grayson stood on the GCPD rooftop, scanning the surrounding skyline. Batman had told him he'd be paired with someone his age for the night, but Dick didn't see anyone.
And the sheer audacity of some kid calling himself Batman—even jokingly—already had Dick's patience fraying.
"I'm up on the clock tower," Ben said. "Look up—next to the gargoyle."
Dick's eyes snapped to the tower.
Sure enough, a figure stood beside a stone beast, striking a pose like he owned the night—and loudly announcing his existence.
"I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!"
Dick's face went dead.
He genuinely could not understand why Batman would saddle him with this idiot.
He could patrol alone. Easily.
"Just so we're clear," Dick said flatly, "I am never recognizing you as Batman."
Leaning against the gargoyle, Ben's mouth curled into a satisfied grin. Batman was busy. Which meant Ben needed to find his own entertainment.
"Relax, Robin," Ben said, drawing the words out like he was savoring them. "How do you know Batman didn't give me permission to drive his Batmobile?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 150)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter100)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 60
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 50
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 50
The Way the Umamusume Look at 31
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 26
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 26
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