𝐓𝐔'𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐈 ❧ bruce wayne.

𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

MARTIAL LAW IS IN EFFECT. But the criminal element never sleeps.

Looting and lawlessness run rampant in the parts of the city no one can reach.

I can already see, it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Penguin sips scotch from Falcone's crystal tumbler, eyes fixed on the cityscape, his mind turning dark.

Maryam was right. And now, I'm starting to realize — I've had an impact here. But not the one I intended.

Vengeance won't change the past. Not mine. Not anyone's.

I have to become hope. People need hope. To know there's someone out there for them.

This city's angry. Scarred. Like me.

Our scars can destroy us, long after the wounds have healed.

But if we survive... They can transform us. Give us power. The power to endure. And the strength to fight.

I keep hearing Maryam's words echo in my mind: My mercy prevails over my wrath.

Mercy. Hope. It feels foreign on my tongue, like a poison or a promise I'm not ready to keep.

But maybe that's the point.

Maybe mercy and hope are the only things sharp enough to cut through this darkness.

Maryam, she's a reminder. Not just of mercy, but of what's left when the anger fades.

I can't undo the past, but I can choose what comes next.

And Gotham... Gotham deserves more than a broken man wrapped in vengeance.

It deserves a chance.

A chance to rise from the ashes.

To rebuild — not just buildings, but the souls of its people.

────୨ৎ────

Incessant phone ringing.

Endless people flooding the hospital.