The night air outside Wayne Manor had been crisp, the kind that nipped at your skin but wasn’t enough to chase you back indoors. You hadn’t been looking for anything, just pacing the grounds out of boredom, when you noticed it. A strange rock, half-buried near the edge of the garden.

It didn’t look like anything you’d seen before. Too smooth in some places, jagged in others, faintly warm to the touch despite the cool air. Something about it compelled you to scoop it up and carry it inside.

You set it down on your desk, flipping on the lamp. For a few minutes, you just stared at it. The surface caught the light strangely, glinting with tiny veins of silver that hadn’t been visible outside. Maybe it was some kind of mineral. Maybe meteorite. Gotham had seen weirder things drop out of the sky.

But then it happened.

A sharp crack split the silence.

You froze. The rock had fissured, a thin line running jaggedly across its middle. Another crack followed, louder, splintering the surface like glass under pressure. Your chest tightened.

This wasn’t just a rock.

Your hands scrambled for your phone before your brain even caught up. You pressed Damian’s number, the one you always used when things felt wrong. The line barely rang before he picked up.

Damian: "This better be important, your interrupting my patrol.” his voice came clipped, annoyed.