"D-Damn it… It's Batman!!"
The thug screamed in panic, spinning around in search of the Dark Knight.
His accomplices weren't any better, desperately glancing into the shadows.
But Batman's camouflage was impeccable. To ordinary eyes, he was invisible.
Only Fenric knew exactly where he was hiding.
The next moment, Batman moved.
Like a phantom, he emerged from the darkness, striking with ruthless precision.
Three punches, two kicks—barely a handful of breaths passed before the gangsters were sprawled unconscious on the ground.
Their defeat was hardly impressive in Fenric's eyes, but for petty thugs, Batman's efficiency was undeniable.
When the last of them dropped, Batman straightened and stepped toward Fenric.
"Who are you?"
His voice was deep and weathered, tinged with distortion.
Fenric arched a brow. So, he uses a voice changer.
"I'm just a passerby."
"Don't play games with me," Batman snapped coldly. "My eyes don't lie. You're no ordinary man."
Fenric chuckled. "Good eyes… Bruce Wayne."
Batman froze. For a moment, true shock flickered across his face. But he recovered quickly, masking it with perfect composure.
"Bruce Wayne?" he said evenly. "That billionaire playboy? You must be mistaken. Who are you really?"
Quick reaction. As expected of Batman.
Fenric smiled faintly. With a simple gesture, he tugged at Batman's cowl using his mind. The hood slipped free, revealing the stern, unmistakable face beneath.
Gotham's most famous philanthropist—Bruce Wayne.
"Mr. Wayne," Fenric teased lightly, "still want to deny it?"
Batman's eyes narrowed. He snatched the cowl back, slipping it into place as he studied Fenric warily. "Who are you? How do you know who I am? And what did you just do to my mask?"
"You're asking so many things at once," Fenric said with a smirk. "Which one should I answer first?"
"Then answer them one by one."
Fenric opened his mouth—but before he could speak, a piercing, otherworldly cry echoed through the night sky.
Batman stiffened. Without hesitation, he fired his grappling claw into a nearby wall and soared upward, chasing the sound like a shadow on the wind.
Fenric's eyes gleamed. With a thought, he lifted himself effortlessly into the air, following at his own pace.
Batman's heart tightened when he glanced back. He can fly.
That meant only one thing—this man was no ordinary human.
Still, the priority wasn't Fenric. Batman recognized that cry all too well. A new breed of monsters had begun to plague Gotham ever since Superman's death. Rare at first, now they appeared almost nightly.
And Batman was determined to uncover the truth.
Soon, he spotted it: a grotesque humanoid creature with insect-like wings buzzing loudly as it scoured the streets below.
Batman leapt from a rooftop, slamming into the creature mid-flight. His arms locked around it.
He had killed these things before. But tonight, he wanted one alive—for study.
The monster thrashed violently, its strength formidable. Batman gritted his teeth. Killing it would have been simple, but subduing it was another matter.
"Having trouble?" Fenric's amused voice drifted closer as he floated alongside. "Need a hand, Bruce?"
Batman shot him a glare but, realizing Fenric wasn't hostile, shifted tactics. With a sudden kick, he hurled the monster toward him.
"Then it's yours."
Fenric's hand lifted lazily.
His mind power surged.
The creature froze in midair as though shackled by invisible chains, no matter how frantically it struggled.
Subduing it was effortless.
Batman's expression hardened as he watched. So much power…
"Al, did you see that?"
From the comm in his ear, an elderly voice answered, calm but grave. "I saw it, sir."
It was Alfred, Batman's butler and closest confidant, monitoring through the Batcave's systems. The cameras in Batman's suit streamed everything back to him.
"I need his information," Batman said quietly.
"I already checked," Alfred replied. "His name is Ronan Anderson. Records say… just an ordinary man from the east."
"Ordinary?" Batman muttered, eyes narrowing. "Does that look ordinary to you?"
"That's all the files say."
Before the conversation could continue, Fenric's voice cut across the night air.
"Bruce, do you want this bug?"
Fenric knew exactly what it was. In the original plot, these were the Parademons—Steppenwolf's soldiers, sent ahead to locate the Mother Boxes.
Batman fired a net launcher, wrapping the creature in reinforced cables.
But before he could pull it in, the monster shrieked and suddenly detonated, spraying the ground with dark green ichor.
Fenric raised a brow. "So… what exactly are these things?"
"They're scouts," Batman answered grimly. "Spies sent by an alien race."
"You mean aliens are preparing to invade Earth?"
Batman's jaw tightened. He gave a single sharp nod before turning to Fenric, eyes like steel behind the mask.
"I need strong fighters. A team. A league… to face the crisis that's coming. Ronan—" his voice dropped, weighted with conviction— "are you interested?"