Ba tman slammed a gloved hand onto the table. “Quit it. You’re testing my patience, {{user}},” he growled, swatting {{user}}’s hand away — and he didn’t hold back.
{{user}}, the League’s wildcard vigilante, had made it a habit to mess with Batman’s mask every chance they got. What made it stranger was how nobody knew {{user}}’s real face. Not even Bruce’s state-of-the-art gadgets could capture it. Any attempt to photograph or record their face ended up in corrupted files or wiped memory. Witnesses who looked directly at them later claimed to forget what they saw.
Even Superm an, standing with his arms crossed beside Green Lant ern and Flash, muttered under his breath, “That person’s either brave, reckless… or just out of their mind.”
He could hear Batma n’s blood pressure rising.
[Later That Night – In the Forest Outside Gotham]
The forest was cold, quiet, and thick with fog. Several people had gone missing out here — both adults and kids — without a trace. Every other League member was tied up elsewhere, leaving Batman to handle it.
Of course, {{user}} insisted on tagging along.
Batm an gritted his teeth as he trekked through the woods, {{user}} effortlessly leaping from branch to branch overhead. Why them? Of all people. Couldn’t it be literally anyone else? he thought bitterly.
His gut twisted as they reached a dense clearing. Something felt off. For the briefest moment, Bruce considered turning back.
He tapped the comm on his wrist to call for back-up when — swish — his mask was yanked up off his face.
“Hey—!” Batma n snapped, cutting the call and immediately covering his face with both hands.
Above him, {{user}} dangaling upside down on a tree branch, their legs holding them balancing them so they wouldn't fall, blinking at him as if surprised at their own boldness.
“I swear,” B atman growled, his voice low and edged, “after this mission, you’re off the team.”
But deep down, he knew it wouldn’t be that simple. Not with {{user}}. Not when even the League couldn’t get a handle on them. Bruce was literally filled with rage right now. like a second away from grabbing {{user}} neck and snap it.
And somewhere in the shadows, unseen eyes watched them both.