The first rule of survival in Gotham is simple:
Don't be seen.
That works in my favor.
The system didn't just drop me into this world — it integrated me. Buried me deep.
I don't exist on the surface web.Not in public records.Not in any normal chain of command.
But in the places that matter… my name is already known.
Not spoken.
Whispered.
Detective L.
Very secret.Very unofficial.
Perfect.
My eyes track lines of code on the laptop screen. Gotham's secured police network folds open like wet paper. No alarms. No flags.
I pull up what I actually came for.
Subject: Batman
Publicly? He's a myth.To the government? A problem.To criminals? A nightmare.
To me?
A variable.
Surveillance footage plays.
A dark figure crashing through a warehouse skylight.A cape dissolving into shadow.A precise, brutal efficiency.
Not sloppy.Not reckless.
Trained.
Obsessive.
Wealth-backed.
Smart.
Too smart.
I change the filters.
Wayne Enterprises.Board movements.Unusual energy spikes across Gotham.
Security contracts.Urban renewal projects.Abandoned industrial zones.
I don't say the name.
I don't need to.
I just let the idea exist.
Batman is real.
Batman is nearby.
Batman is watching.
I lean back slightly, folding one leg under me on the chair, posture casual, mind razor sharp.
"If I were him… I would already be tracing me."
The system flickers faintly.
[ANALYSIS BOOST ACTIVE]
Of course it is.
I run facial reconstruction comparisons. Body mass estimates. Movement speed ratios.
Height.Shoulder width.Reach.
I narrow it down.
Whoever he is…
He's human.
Which makes him dangerous.
My screen flickers again — a new window forced open by the system.
[PROBABILITY ENGINE ONLINE]BATMAN IDENTITY — 82.4% CONVERGENCE
I don't look at the answer.
I don't want the name.
Not yet.
Knowing too early makes things messy.
What matters is this:
If most of my work will happen in Gotham…
Then eventually…
We will cross paths.
Not as enemies.
Not as allies.
But as two predators testing the same territory.
I close the file.
Shut the laptop.
Stand slowly.
Somewhere on Gotham's rooftops…
A shadow is moving.
And for the first time in this world,…
I'm hunting something that can hunt back.