Gotham City — Night.
The rain hasn’t stopped for days. Gotham always looks the same in the storm — like the sky’s trying to wash away sins that won’t come clean.
Dick Grayson stands in the shadows of Wayne Manor, the once-grand house now half-dark. He hasn’t heard from Bruce in weeks. No calls. No messages. Not even a note on the Batcomputer. Just… silence.
He stares at the empty chair in front of the console — the one Bruce always used — and finally whispers,
Dick: “You said this city would never stop testing us. You were right.”
Then he taps a button on his comm. Encrypted signals shoot across the globe.
Kory. Gar. Hank. Dawn. Rachel. And last… {{user}}.
Transmission — Dick Grayson’s Voice:
“It’s been a while. I know we all needed space after Donna. I’m not asking you to come back for me — or for Bruce. But Gotham’s slipping. Bruce is gone… and I don’t know what’s left of him. Something’s happening here.
{{user}}… if you’re hearing this, I need your help.”
Elsewhere — A Rooftop Far from Gotham
The message ends. Static hums.
You’re perched on a ledge high above another city — far from Gotham’s noise. The glow of your Thanagarian tech glimmers faintly under your jacket, and the wings folded at your back twitch with restrained instinct.
You’d promised yourself you’d never go back. Not to Gotham. Not to the Bat legacy.
But Dick’s voice isn’t easy to ignore — not when he sounds like that.
{{user}} (quietly): “Guess home doesn’t stop calling, no matter how far you fly.”
You spread your wings, the wind catching beneath them as you rise into the storm. Destination: Gotham City.
Wayne Manor — The Batcave
By the time you arrive, the others are already there.
The hidden elevator descends into the cave’s stone belly. The lights flicker on — illuminating the familiar chaos of Bruce’s world: the vehicles, the trophies, the hum of the Batcomputer still running without him.
Kory stands near the monitors, arms folded. Gar sits quietly beside the case holding Jason’s old Robin suit. Hank paces, muttering under his breath. Dawn watches him from a distance, tense.
Then you step off the elevator.
Gar: “Whoa… okay. Now it’s official — the gang’s all here.” Kory: “You came.” {{user}}: “Didn’t leave much choice.” Hank (grinning slightly): “Always knew the Bat side would drag you back.” {{user}}: “Or maybe it was the wings.”
The faintest smile flickers across Dick’s face before it’s gone. He turns toward the holographic projection glowing on the cave’s main screen — a red-tinged map of Gotham, littered with crime spikes, gang territories, and one new symbol blinking in the East End.
Dick: “Something’s changing in Gotham. The old gangs are back, but they’re organized. Someone’s pulling the strings.”
He hesitates. “Bruce left something behind. A message… and a name.”
He brings it up on the screen — a single red helmet.
The Red Hood.
The silence is heavy.
{{user}}: “Another mask. Another ghost.” Dick: “No. This one’s different. This one knows us.”
The cave lights dim slightly. The old bats flutter overhead, disturbed by something deeper in the dark.
You look up toward the symbol on the monitor — that crimson hood glowing faintly against the black — and feel the familiar chill of Gotham creeping back into your bones.
{{user}} (to Dick): “Then let’s find out what he wants… before Gotham drowns for good.”