The murmur of the crowd got muted as Arthur appeared, something about him made the conversations falter. A few people took half-steps back without realizing why.
Arthur didn't touch the body.
He didn't need to.
His gaze swept over it once, precise, inhumanly focused. The angle of the torso. The unnatural bend of the ribs beneath the soaked clothes. The pattern of impact, not cuts, yet still there were strange wounds, no struggle marks that lasted long.
His eyes dimmed slightly.
"…Blunt force," he murmured under his breath.
And it was not a guess.
His jaw tightened.
Behind him, Raven felt it immediately, the shift. The subtle rise in pressure, like the air itself growing restless around Arthur. It wasn't something ordinary people could name, but they felt it through the crowd like a ripple.
Her voice slipped into his mind, softly.
'Arthur… you might want to tone down that pressure you're unleashing right now…'
Arthur didn't respond right away.
His gaze lingered on the small figure clinging to the corpse.
The child's sobs were quieter now, not because the pain had lessened, but because exhaustion was taking over. Her tiny hands clutched desperately at her father's coat, as if refusing to accept what happened.
Arthur's teeth clenched.
'…This is pissing me off.'
The words echoed inside Raven's mind,
He continued, thoughts sharper now, even through the anger.
'This wasn't random.'
His eyes traced the damage again.
'The blows were too heavy. And too clean. Whoever did it, he did not panic. He wanted this to happen.'
A pause.
'This man didn't die to a random mugger.'
Raven's expression darkened slightly.
Arthur's voice continued, steady and certain.
'Fast attacks. High force. Repeated strikes before the victim could even process what was happening.'
A breath.
'Metahuman… or awakened. Same difference really.'
The rain tapped softly against the pavement.
'Batman was right,' Arthur thought, the admission quiet. 'If they aren't controlled… this is what happens.'
Raven folded her arms slightly, her eyes drifting toward the street behind them.
'…Was it that speedster we just saw?'
Arthur's gaze shifted, distant for just a second.
'I'm afraid so.'
A faint exhale.
'He did look in a hurry.'
Silence settled between them again, but it didn't last.
Sirens got close.
The crowd shifted as police vehicles pulled up, officers stepping out quickly, scanning the scene. Questions were already being thrown around, radios crackling, tension rising.
Arthur moved, he was now kneeling slowly in front of the child.
She barely noticed him at first.
Her face was buried against her father's chest, shoulders trembling with quiet, broken sobs.
Arthur didn't rush her.
"…Hey."
His voice was softer now.
Not gentle in the usual sense,
The girl lifted her head slowly.
Tear-streaked cheeks. Red eyes. Confusion. Fear.
Arthur met her gaze.
And for a moment,
His violet eyes softened.
"Do you want me," he asked quietly, "to find the one who did this to your father?"
There was something strange in his expression.
Kindness and yet, something far more dangerous beneath it.
The girl blinked, trying to process through the haze of grief.
"…He… he…" she whispered, voice small, fragile. "He didn't wake up… I told him to wake up…"
Her lip trembled.
"…Can you make him wake up…?"
Raven watched from behind, silent now.
Arthur held her gaze.
For a moment, he didn't answer that question.
Instead, he stood.
Slowly.
His fists clenched at his sides.
"…First," he said, voice returning colder, "let's clear this place."
Raven's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Arthur… you're not going to.."
She didn't finish.
A roar tore through the sky.
It wasn't just loud, It was overwhelming. The clouds above Gotham twisted violently as something massive moved within them and It emerged.
A colossal shape broke through the storm clouds, wings stretching wide, blotting out what little light the sky had under the gloomy clouds. Its roar rolled across the city like thunder, shaking windows, rattling the bones.
People froze.
Then panic erupted.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Run!"
"It's a monster!"
The crowd scattered instantly, bodies colliding, slipping on wet pavement, abandoning everything in their path. Fear spread faster than the rain ever could.
Police officers shouted, trying to regain control...but even they faltered, eyes locked onto the sky.
"Open fire!"
Gunshots cracked upward, useless against the massive shadow circling above. Bullets vanished into darkness, unanswered, insignificant.
It was chaos.
Pure, unfiltered chaos.
And yet, in the middle of it
The child didn't move.
She lowered her head again, pressing her face into her father's chest, small hands gripping tighter.
Arthur watched her.
"…How brave," he said quietly.
Raven stepped closer, her voice low. "Arthur what are you doing?!… she's terrified. Look at her... call of-"
Arthur shook his head slightly.
"No."
His gaze didn't waver.
"She's not afraid at all."
He took a step closer to the girl.
"…Are you?"
The child hesitated.
Her small body trembled.
Slowly,
She lifted her head again, her eyes were still wet.
Still scared.
But she shook her head.
"…No…"
Arthur's lips curved, just slightly.
"Good, not many people are brave like this, you saw how those idiots ran away... Cowards right?"
Above them, the creature roared again, the city still in full panic.
And in that distraction,
Darkness took shape.
A black sphere formed around Arthur, Raven, the child, and the body, silent, seamless, cutting them off from the outside world. The noise vanished instantly.
The girl blinked, looking around in confusion.
"…Where…?"
Arthur looked down at her.
Calm.
"Now," he said, voice quiet but absolute, "we'll find who did this… and make him pay."
A pause.
"…With your father's help."
Raven's eyes flickered.
Arthur looked at the body one last time.
Then,
He spoke.
"Arise."
The shadow moved.
It peeled itself from the corpse, rising slowly, taking shape humanoid, familiar, yet altered. violet light flickering faintly in its eyes.
The child gasped, instinctively shrinking back.
Fear, Immediate.
Arthur's voice cut through it, steady.
"Do not be afraid."
She looked at him.
"You said you were brave… didn't you?"
The girl hesitated.
Her breathing shaky.
Then
"…Yes…"
Arthur gave a small nod.
Behind him, Raven stared at him, realization dawning.
'You… planned that…'
Her voice echoed in his mind, softer now.
'Calling the Dragon... and everything you said to her… you were preparing her to see something like this… since it can be traumatizing...'
A faint smile touched her lips.
'A very unusual approach... But you can be incredibly kind when you want to.'
Arthur didn't respond.
He simply stepped closer to the shadow.
"Tell me what happened."
The shadow straightened.
Its voice was hollow, like an echo dragged from memory.
"My King…"
"I was walking home…"
A pause.
"…He approached me. I thought… it was a robbery."
Fragments surfaced.
"I resisted… only a little…"
Its head tilted slightly, as if reliving it.
"…Then… I was struck."
A flicker.
Confusion.
"…I didn't see him move... but I protected my..."
Another pause.
"…It happened too fast."
The shadow's voice wavered.
"…Pain… across my body… again… and again…"
Silence stretched.
"…I was on the ground before I understood."
Its head turned slowly.
Toward the child.
"…I was… dying…"
The words dragged.
"…while hearing the cries of my..."
It stopped.
The girl stood there.
Staring.
"…Father…?"
The word was small.
Uncertain.
Arthur asked again, "Did he look like this…?"
For a brief moment, his eyes ignited, violet light flaring softly, it wasn't visible in the air, not something that could be seen like a projection, but something passed. A thought. A memory. He fed it directly into the shadow's mind.
A silhouette formed in its mind, movement frozen, details captured from a perception far beyond human limits. The lean frame, the posture, the distortion of speed itself around him.
The shadow stilled.
Then he siad "…Yes…Yes."
There was no doubt.
Arthur exhaled quietly, the answer settling into place like the final piece of a puzzle.
He turned his head slightly toward Raven.
"It was the speedster."
Raven's brows furrowed. "You saw him? Even while he was moving like that?" She shook her head faintly. "I caught glimpses, fragments... but nothing clear."
Arthur's lips curved faintly.
"I told you," he said calmly. "He wasn't that fast."
A small pause.
"I saw him clearly."
Raven's eyes darkened, her jaw tightening.
"That bastard…"
Arthur didn't respond to that, instead, he looked back at the shadow.
"Alright. That's enough. You may..."
He stopped.
Mid-sentence, because something shifted.
The child had moved slowly and hesitantly.
Step by step toward the shadow.
Arthur's eyes followed her.
Then shifted to the shadow of her father itself, a brief pause.
And then, he gave a small nod.
Permission, the shadow seemed to understand.
It turned, fully, facing the little girl.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
The child stood there, trembling, not from fear alone, confusion and awe.
"…Father…?" she whispered.
The word was barely audible.
The shadow stepped forward careful, As if afraid that even now, it might somehow hurt her.
Then, it knelt. And wrapped its arms around her.
The girl froze at first.
Her small body stiff, breath caught,
Then she broke.
Her arms shot around him, clutching tightly, burying her face into his shoulder as her sobs returned, louder now, raw and unrestrained.
"You… you didn't wake up…" she cried, voice cracking. "I tried… I tried to wake you up…"
The shadow held her.
Firm and gentle.
Present in a way that defied what it was now.
"…I know," it said, voice softer now, less hollow, more… human. "I heard you."
Her grip tightened.
"I was scared…"
"I know."
"I didn't want you to go…"
A pause.
The shadow's hand moved to the back of her head, holding her closer.
"…I didn't want to leave you either."
The child pulled back slightly, looking up at him, tears still streaming down her face.
"…Are you… coming back?"
The question lingered,
The shadow didn't answer immediately.
It simply looked at her.
Then very gently
It shook its head.
The girl's lip trembled again.
But this time, she didn't break.
"…Okay…" she whispered.
The word hurt more than any scream could have.
The shadow smiled faintly.
"…You're strong."
A small hand reached up, grabbing onto him again, as if trying to memorize the feeling.
"I'll be brave," she said, voice shaking but determined. "I promise."
The shadow's expression softened.
"I know you will."
It held her for a moment longer.
Then slowly, It let go.
The girl hesitated, but didn't fight it this time. She stepped back, wiping her eyes with trembling hands, still looking at him like she was afraid he'd disappear if she blinked.
The shadow rose then turned.
Facing Arthur,
Then it bowed its head.
"…Thank you for this."
"…My king."
Raven's eyes softened slightly as she looked at Arthur, but she said nothing.
Arthur simply closed his eyes.
And the shadow dissolved.
It didn't shatter.
Didn't vanish violently.
It faded, like smoke carried away by a quiet wind, leaving nothing behind.
The silence returned.
Arthur opened his eyes again.
The violet glow was gone.
Then he said "I've found him."
Raven looked at him immediately.
Arthur's gaze shifted slightly, as if looking far beyond the sphere, beyond the city itself.
"It seems," he continued, voice cold again, "he's confident enough in his little powers that he didn't even go far."
/-\
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