Bruce Wayne focused his gaze as more screens appear:
**[POCKET DIMENSION: ACCESSIBLE]**
**[FUNCTION: GRANTS USER AN ADDITIONAL 24 HOURS PER DAY IN PERSONAL TRAINING SPACE]**
**[CURRENT RANGE: WAYNE MANOR AND GROUNDS ONLY]**
**[EXPANSION POSSIBLE THROUGH LEVEL INCREASES]**
**[PROFICIENCY PANEL: INITIALIZED]**
**[FUNCTION: GUARANTEES MEASURABLE PROGRESS IN ANY SKILL WITH CONSISTENT EFFORT]**
**[NO TALENT LIMITATIONS]**
**[NO CEILING ON ADVANCEMENT]**
**[PROGRESS RATE SCALES WITH EFFORT INVESTED]**
The information floods into his enhanced mind and he understands it all instantly.
The system has three core functions.
First, his intelligence has been multiplied by 2.5 times what it would normally be.
He's already a genius by any standard, and his intelligence will continue to grow as he trains it.
Second, he has access to a pocket dimension that gives him an extra twenty-four hours every single day to train without time passing in the real world.
Third, the Proficiency Panel ensures that any skill he works on will improve with practice, no matter what it is.
No limits. No talent barriers. Just guaranteed progress through effort.
**[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]**
**[WELCOME, BRUCE WAYNE]**
**[YOUR JOURNEY BEGINS NOW]**
Alfred Pennyworth appears at the mouth of the alley, running toward them with speed that belies his age.
His normally composed face is twisted with horror as he takes in the scene. Thomas and Martha on the ground.
Blood everywhere. Little Bruce standing frozen between them.
"Master Bruce!" Alfred's voice cracks as he drops to his knees beside the boy. His hands shake as he reaches out, pulling Bruce into his arms.
"Oh my God. Master Bruce, don't look. Don't look at them."
But Bruce is already looking. His eyes are locked on his parents' bodies. Alfred cradles him, turning him away, pressing Bruce's face against his shoulder.
The older man's body shakes with sobs that he's trying to hold back, trying to stay strong for the child in his arms.
Bruce's tears are real. The grief is genuine and overwhelming.
The child part of his consciousness is drowning in loss and pain and trauma that will scar him forever.
His parents are dead. Gone. Murdered right in front of him. Nothing will ever be the same.
But behind his eyes, underneath the tears, the adult consciousness is analyzing everything.
Processing. Planning.
The meta-knowledge tells him exactly what this moment means in the grand scheme of things.
This is the origin point. This is the night that creates Batman in the original timeline.
But this isn't the original timeline anymore.
He knows what's coming.
Every villain who will rise. Every crisis that will threaten the world. Every opportunity that will present itself.
Lex Luthor's schemes. Joker's madness. Darkseid's invasion. The Justice League's formation. Crisis events. Timelines. Continuities.
He knows it all.
The blue screens are still visible in his vision, floating there even as Alfred holds him.
Bruce can see them clearly despite his tears. The enhanced intellect that the system granted him is already working, already planning, already calculating odds and probabilities and strategies.
The system has given him three things: time, guaranteed progress, and a genius-level mind that will only get sharper.
Combined with perfect meta-knowledge of what's coming in this DC Universe, he has everything he needs to rewrite the entire story.
He won't be the broken, self-destructive Batman who throws himself at gods with nothing but gadgets and grit.
He won't limit himself to peak human ability. He won't spend decades struggling alone in the dark.
He'll use every advantage. He'll acquire power through every means possible.
Technology. Genetics. Magic. Alien artifacts. Whatever it takes.
By the time Superman arrives on Earth, Bruce Wayne will be ready. By the time Darkseid looks toward this planet, Bruce Wayne will be strong enough to stand against him.
By the time the universe notices Gotham City, Bruce Wayne will be powerful enough to protect it.
The gunman is long gone by now, vanished into the shadows of Crime Alley. Police sirens wail in the distance, getting closer.
Alfred rocks Bruce gently, whispering words of comfort that the boy barely hears.
Other people are appearing at the alley entrance now, drawn by the screams and gunshots.
Bruce lets himself cry. The tears are real. The pain is genuine.
But inside his enhanced mind, behind the grief, a cold strategic consciousness is already at work.
Tonight, his parents died.
Tonight, the Lock-In System activated.
Tonight, everything changed.
He'll mourn. He'll grieve. He'll let the world see a traumatized child who lost everything.
But in secret, in the pocket dimension where no one can see, he'll train. He'll study. He'll prepare.
And when he's ready, when he's strong enough, when he's powerful enough—
He'll rewrite it all.
Every villain. Every crisis. Every tragedy.
The DC Universe won't know what hit it.
Alfred carries him away from the bodies as the police arrive.
Bruce keeps his face buried in the butler's shoulder, hiding his expression. The tears continue to flow, but his eyes are sharp and clear.
The Lock-In System's screens fade from his vision, but he can still feel them there, accessible whenever he wants to call them up again.
**[SYSTEM ACTIVE]**
**[AWAITING USER COMMANDS]**
Bruce Wayne's journey has begun.
'Batman begins...' he thought.
'But this version will be built different.'
Read advanced chapters days ahead on p.a.t.r.e.o.n: marvelstark