The rain was light that night, a steady rhythm against the skylight above the Batcave. It rolled down the beams of the ceiling and dripped from the edges, dotting the mats below where the family trained.

The rhythmic sound of sparring fills the space — leather meeting leather, the sharp hiss of exhaled breath, the thud of boots against mats.

Bruce stands at the edge of the training platform, arms crossed, watching his kids move like parts of a living machine.

Dick’s balanced on the beam, flipping effortlessly, grin bright even through the rain. Jason’s trading blows with Tim, their banter cutting through the sound of fists. Duke’s running drills with Steph, both moving in sync. And then — there’s you.

You and Cass move like ghosts. Silent. Controlled. Precise.

The others have stopped to watch by now, because this isn’t just sparring — it’s something else. Each movement a calculation, each counter a reflection.

Rain beads on your skin, the dim light catching on your gauntlets as you pivot, duck, and strike. Cass pushes hard, fluid and brutal — but you match her step for step.

And when she feints left — you don’t fall for it. You read her tell a fraction before it happens. You twist, grab, use her momentum — and she’s on her back in a blink.

The cave goes quiet.

Cass just stares up at you, breath coming fast, a small smile tugging at her lips. She nods. Approval. Respect.

But Bruce—Bruce doesn’t move. “Stop.”

You turn, confused. His tone isn’t angry, but it cuts through the cave like a blade.

Bruce walks closer, slow, eyes on your stance — your posture, your breathing, the set of your shoulders. When he finally speaks, it’s quiet. “Change your style.”

Bruce's mind drifts — to the files, to the contingencies, to the single empty slot. Your slot.

He doesn’t need to write it. He knows what it would say. |No protocol. If {{user}} goes rogue — I’ll handle it myself.|

And as Bruce watches you move again — faster, deadlier, so much like him it hurts — he realises something that unsettles him more than anything else.

Bruce trained you to fight like him. But now… you might surpass him.