"True kingship is not claimed by blood, but by the weight one chooses to bear."
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The Batcave was silent except for the soft hum of computers and the slow drip of groundwater. Screens flickered with seismic readings, wind patterns and shaky CCTV footage of rooftops collapsing under shockwaves.
Batman leaned forward, jaw tight. "An upper atmospheric break." He muttered. "From inside Gotham."
Damian crossed his arms, impatience sharp in his stance. "I told you he wasn't normal. That man I saved. He's not just another victim."
Bruce didn't reply immediately. He adjusted the feed. Dozens of recordings converged — street cams, cell phones, even police dashcams. They all captured the same impossible moment: a ragged wound tearing open in Gotham's smog, revealing stars.
But what unsettled Bruce wasn't the visual. It was the sound.
The heartbeat.
The cave speakers replayed it. Thump. Thump. Thump. Deep, resonant, like the drums of war. Even in the sterile Batcave, it made the air feel heavy, oppressive. Alfred, carrying a tray of tea, paused halfway up the stairs, his face pale.
Bruce muted the playback. "People reported it miles away. Some thought it was an earthquake. Others… swore it was alive."
Damian smirked faintly. "The King Engine."
Bruce's eyes narrowed. "You've already named it?"
"I felt it when I pulled him out of that alley. He wasn't just afraid. He was dormant. Now…" Damian shrugged, though his eyes burned with interest. "Now he's awake."
Bruce pulled up a freeze-frame image of King, caught in a blurred silhouette under lightning. Broad shoulders, scarred face, that unreadable presence.
"He's dangerous," Bruce said flatly.
"He's useful." Damian countered.
"Useful and dangerous aren't mutually exclusive."
For a long moment, the cave was silent. The faint echo of that recorded heartbeat seemed to linger in their chests.
Finally, Batman stood, cape falling around him like a shadow made flesh.
"Find him." He ordered. "Before Gotham tears itself apart trying to understand what he is."
Damian's smirk sharpened. "Already ahead of you, Father."
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