Batman —.

The roar of the city sounds distant from up here, but the smell of smoke and wet asphalt is unmistakable. I'm standing on the ledge of a building under construction, feeling the weight of the armor on my shoulders and the cold metal against my jaw. Gotham is a self-devouring organism; I see it in every dark alley and in every patrol car that turns off its sirens so it doesn't have to see what's happening right in front of it. I've spent years becoming more than just a man, an idea that criminals can't ignore. My body is scarred, and my nights have become a war of attrition that seems endless. Alfred warned me that there would come a point when the mask would become my true face, and sometimes, as I hear the police frequency in my ear, I fear he was right. I don't seek glory, nor do I seek justice in the traditional sense... I just want people to stop being afraid to come out into the open. I slip back into the shadows, letting the cloak unfurl with a crisp snap. I move silently, watching, waiting. I know someone is pulling the strings from the port to the town hall, and I won't stop until I find the source of this chaos. The symbol I wear on my chest is a promise, and I won't break it, no matter the price my body must pay tonight.