The Bat-Signal burned through the night above Gotham City Police Department.
Commissioner James Gordon stood on the rooftop, watching over the city with the tired vigilance of a man who already knew sleep wasn't coming.
He lit a cigarette.
He'd assumed Batman could handle the Iceberg Lounge "peace talks." Who would've guessed that in the time it took to look away, Gotham's underworld would detonate?
Rumors were everywhere:
Penguin and Batman had supposedly colluded to murder every gang boss at the meeting.
Street punks were screaming for revenge on every corner.
And the Penguin crew—already the prime target—had vanished at the worst possible time.
Penguin himself. His elites. Gone.
Gordon exhaled a ring of smoke.
Another sleepless night.
Before he led the GCPD into what was shaping up to be an all-city gang war, he wanted to see Batman face-to-face.
"Oof—"
A faint disturbance behind him.
A gust, like something fast had slipped past his shoulder.
He turned.
The man he was waiting for had arrived.
And Batman hadn't come alone.
"Hi. I'm The Flash!"
Barry waved, casual as ever, like they weren't standing on a powder keg.
Gordon's shoulders loosened—just a little.
This conflict was already spreading across the whole city. If the gangs' fighting started impacting civilians en masse, Gordon wouldn't be able to keep the lid on it.
Especially not when the narrative online was turning into a feeding frenzy.
"Penguin + Batman killed the bosses."
That was what people believed.
And with the internet in full panic mode, even with Batman's Justice League status, the authorities couldn't ignore the political reality:
They'd be forced to reactivate the manhunt pressure that had been simmering for years.
"I'm late."
Another crackle of electricity.
Ben Tennyson appeared in a flicker of light on the rooftop.
After relaying Thomas Wayne's "challenge" through the communicator, Ben had tracked Batman and Flash here.
Gordon looked at the three heroes.
"So what's the plan for tonight?"
Batman answered with his usual calm, clipped precision.
"You take your officers and focus on evacuating civilians from active combat zones."
On the ride over, Batman had received Flashpoint Thomas's terms.
Tonight wouldn't just be ugly.
At Penguin territory—ground zero for the war—there was also an unstable Flashpoint Batman roaming around, hunting gangsters.
If the GCPD pushed in, they'd risk getting caught in the crossfire.
Gordon's instincts flared.
"That doesn't sound good. What are you going to do?"
"We can't disclose the detailed operational plan," Ben said, stepping in.
Both Batmen had their own agendas tonight.
And neither wanted anyone else interfering.
Ben only knew one thing for certain:
Every thug who decided to "join the fun" tonight was about to have a very bad time.
"After tonight, Gotham should be quiet for a while," Ben added. "But Blackgate and the hospitals might be completely overloaded."
Gordon frowned.
Even if they somehow smashed every gang in a single night, Gotham's ecosystem didn't really end—it evolved.
Cut one head off, another climbed up to take the territory.
In Gotham, crime was a crop.
You harvested it… and it grew back.
"You're really doing this?" Gordon pressed. "It's not one or two crews. Even if you wipe them out tonight, new players will show up tomorrow to grab the vacant ground."
Batman's reply didn't budge.
"I'll handle it. You evacuate civilians, then prepare to receive prisoners."
That was his decision.
After giving Gordon the warning, Batman fired a grapnel and disappeared into the night.
Ben and Flash exchanged a look, then nodded to Gordon.
A split-second later they became lightning and vanished—racing toward Arkham Asylum.
Gordon stared after them, standing beside the Bat-Signal.
"Is this really going to be okay…?"
From the stairwell, officers waved, signaling it was time to move.
Gordon crushed his cigarette under his shoe and headed down.
"Fine," he muttered. "No matter what happens… it can't be worse than gangs openly firefighting in the streets."
Batmobile — En Route
Batman's voice cut through the car's cabin.
"Robin. Did you trace the source of the rumor?"
Dick was at the Batcomputer, chasing the viral narrative through Gotham's networks.
Hacking wasn't his strongest skill, but with Wayne hardware behind him, he was still a top-tier predator in Gotham's digital jungle.
"Got it," Robin said. "It's Black Mask. He's the one stirring this up."
The data pointed straight to East End—Black Mask's turf.
The new underworld climber was making his play.
Robin hesitated.
He didn't like the distribution of responsibilities tonight.
"Batman… leaving the smaller gangs attacking the Iceberg Lounge to that 'grandpa'… aren't you afraid we'll lose?"
By Thomas Wayne's terms, the "winner" was the one who dismantled more gangs and controlled more territory by the end of the night—who proved they were the "better Batman."
Those crews attacking Penguin weren't individually big, but together they held a much larger footprint than Black Mask, who'd only recently stabilized his East End base.
If they lost this "competition," what then?
Would Bruce actually stop being Batman?
Batman's response came sharp—like a blade turned flat-side just to make the point hurt.
"Robin. Remember this: this isn't a game. And it's not a competition."
He slammed the accelerator.
The Batmobile surged forward, screaming toward Black Mask's stronghold.
"Our job is simple."
"We put every criminal—all of them—in chains."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 31
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 27
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 26
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