Batman chose the moment carefully.
Not during the resonance. Not immediately after. He waited until the city had fully settled back into itself, until the afterimage Erik had accidentally left behind faded into memory and doubt. He waited until patterns stabilized, until human attention drifted elsewhere.
Then he stepped out of the shadow between two buildings like he had always been there.
No dramatic entrance. No grappling hook. No warning.
Just presence.
Erik felt him before he saw him.
Not as sound.
But absence.
He stopped mid-step, fingers tightening just slightly around Lady Death's hand. The city noise continued uninterrupted. Cars passed. A distant siren wailed and faded. To anyone else, the alley they were about to pass looked empty.
It wasn't.
"Someone's here," Erik said quietly.
Lady Death did not look surprised. She squeezed his hand once and let go, stepping half a pace back. Not retreating. Giving space.
Batman emerged fully into the light.
Cape still. Armor matte black, absorbing what little illumination reached him. White lenses studied Erik with an intensity that was not hostile but was absolutely unyielding.
"Good evening," Batman said.
Erik tilted his head slightly. He took in everything at once. The tension held deliberately low. The way the man's heartbeat stayed steady. The micro-adjustments in stance, ready for violence but not seeking it.
"Good evening, Bruce," Erik replied.
Batman froze.
Not visibly. Not dramatically.
But something in him locked.
Lady Death smiled faintly.
"That's usually my line," she said.
Batman's voice was calm when he spoke again, but the temperature of it had dropped. "You shouldn't know that name."
Erik nodded once. "I know many names. Yours is… loud. In a very quiet way."
Batman shifted his weight imperceptibly, recalibrating. "Who are you."
It wasn't a question born of curiosity.
It was a demand born of threat assessment.
Erik did not bristle. He did not flare. He did not push back with presence or power.
He simply answered honestly.
"I am someone learning how to exist here," he said. "And someone who knows you've been watching."
Batman's gaze flicked briefly to Lady Death, then back. "You caused a localized anomaly two blocks from here."
"Yes," Erik said. "Accidentally."
"Accidents get people hurt."
"I corrected it immediately."
"You shouldn't have been able to do it at all."
Erik considered that. "That seems to be a recurring concern."
Batman stepped closer. Not into Erik's space. Close enough to matter.
"I don't know what you are," Batman said. "But I know what happens when something this powerful decides it wants to stay hidden."
"I am not hiding," Erik replied gently. "I am… restraining myself."
Batman studied his face. No deception. No bravado. No hunger for dominance.
That unsettled him more than a threat would have.
Lady Death finally spoke again. "Bruce, if he wanted to hurt anyone tonight, you would not have arrived in time to comment on it."
Batman did not look away from Erik. "I assumed as much."
Erik met his gaze steadily. "You are very careful with power," he said. "You build walls around it. Rules. Lines you do not cross."
Batman said nothing.
"You should," Erik continued. "Power without restraint is noise. You understand that instinctively."
Batman's jaw tightened. "Flattery won't help you."
"It is not flattery," Erik said. "It is recognition."
A long silence followed.
Finally, Batman asked the most important question. "What do you want."
Erik did not answer immediately.
He glanced at Lady Death, then back at the Dark Knight.
"I want," he said slowly, "to live without being a problem."
Batman's eyes narrowed. "That's not an answer."
"It is the most honest one I have," Erik replied.
Batman straightened. "You know who I am. You know what I do. That means you understand why I'm here."
"Yes," Erik said. "You protect people from things that think they are above consequence."
"And you might be one of those things."
Erik nodded. "That possibility worries me too."
That stopped Batman.
Not completely.
But enough.
Lady Death stepped forward, voice calm and certain. "He is not your enemy, Bruce. And if he ever becomes one, you won't be the first to know."
Batman finally looked at her. Really looked.
"And you are," he said carefully, "much more than you appear."
She smiled. "So are you."
Batman turned back to Erik. "This isn't over."
"I wouldn't expect it to be," Erik replied. "But tonight is not the night for conflict."
Batman studied him for several seconds longer, then stepped back into the shadow.
"Control yourself," Batman said. "Or I will adapt."
Erik inclined his head. "That seems fair."
Batman vanished.
No sound. No disturbance. Just gone.
The city resumed its rhythm as if nothing had happened.
Erik exhaled slowly.
Lady Death glanced at him. "You handled that well."
"I was terrified that I might accidentally erase him. " he admitted.
She laughed softly. "You're getting used to that feeling."
He looked down the empty alley where Batman had been, thoughtful.
"He carries his fear like armor," Erik said.
"Yes," Death agreed. "And it has kept many people alive."
Erik nodded. "I hope I never give him a reason to aim it at me."
She slipped her hand back into his.
"Then keep choosing restraint," she said. "That's how you stay "human"."
They walked on together, the city none the wiser that two legends had just measured each other and chosen, for now, to coexist.
__________
Tony found out three hours later.
Not through official channels. Not through SHIELD. Not through satellites or hacked police bands.
Through Batman.
The Bat-Signal never lit up. There was no dramatic summons. Just a single encrypted packet dropped into a Stark Industries black site relay that only one other person on the planet knew how to access.
Tony opened it in his lab, coffee in hand, half-focused on CMC telemetry scrolling across a wall-sized display.
The message was short.
Too short.
'I made contact.
He is real.
He is powerful.
He is restrained.
He knows my name.
I do not know his."
Tony stared at the text.
"…Well that's unsettling."
He didn't joke. Not really.
He leaned back in his chair, the hum of machinery filling the silence while his mind recalibrated. Batman did not send messages like this lightly. Bruce's idea of reassurance usually involved contingency plans and quiet preparation, not vague statements that raised more questions than answers.
Tony typed back.
"Define contact."
The reply came almost immediately.
"Visual. Close range. No hostility.
He was accompanied."
Tony frowned.
"Accompanied by who."
There was a longer pause this time.
"A woman.
She also knew my name."
Tony's jaw tightened.
"Okay," he muttered. "Now I'm officially uncomfortable."
He stood and began pacing, pulling up archived data on a secondary screen. Café footage. Resonance spikes. The unexplained anomaly reports that didn't quite qualify as incidents but refused to be ignored.
The man from the café again.
The way the instruments moved. The way the crowd reacted without realizing why. The way the city itself seemed to listen.
Tony typed again.
"Does he know who I am?"
"Yes."
Tony stopped pacing.
"Does he know my name?"
Another pause.
"I believe so."
Tony exhaled slowly and scrubbed a hand over his face.
"So he knows me," Tony said to the empty lab, "and I don't even have a first name to put on the paranoia board."
He glanced at the CMC suit standing silently nearby. Ten feet of human defiance and overengineering. Armor that could stand against monsters, but not against something that didn't fight the way monsters did.
Tony sent another message.
"Threat level."
This time the response took longer.
"Unknown.
Intent appears non-hostile.
Control is deliberate, not enforced.
If he wanted leverage, he already has it."
Tony let out a low whistle. "That's… not comforting, Bruce."
He leaned against the workbench, staring at the holographic projection of Mars rotating slowly in the air.
"Did he say what he wants."
"To exist quietly.
I believe him.
That does not mean I trust him."
Tony smiled thinly. "Yeah. That tracks."
He thought of Erik, though he did not yet know the name. Thought of the way the resonance felt different from anything else they'd encountered. Not like magic. Not like tech. Not like alien physics.
Like intention given form.
Tony typed one last response.
"If he reaches out, I want to talk.
No traps. No teams.
Just a conversation."
The reply came slower this time.
"He would expect nothing less.'
The connection closed.
Tony stood there for a long moment, then glanced at the armor again.
"Guess I'm not the biggest unknown variable anymore," he said quietly.
__________
Bruce did not call a full meeting.
That would have caused panic, posturing, arguments before facts. He had learned that lesson the hard way. Instead, he called in only those who needed to know first.
The message was simple.
"Watchtower. Priority black. No public logs."
Within the hour, the Watchtower's main briefing chamber filled with familiar presences.
Justice League did not assemble often without a crisis already burning. That alone set the tone.
Superman stood near the viewport, arms folded, Earth rotating slowly behind him. Wonder Woman remained seated, posture calm but alert, hands resting loosely on the table. The Flash leaned against a console, unusually quiet. Green Lantern hovered just off the floor, construct chair half-formed beneath him.
Batman stood at the head of the table.
No theatrics. No cowl removal. Just facts.
"I'm not calling this an alert," he began. "Yet."
Superman turned. "That's not reassuring."
"It's not meant to be," Batman replied. He activated the holotable.
Footage appeared. The café. The stage. The subtle anomaly in the streetlight. Audio analysis graphs that didn't behave like audio should.
Then still images. A man standing beside a woman. No energy flare. No visible weapon. Just… presence.
"I made contact," Batman said. "Face to face."
Flash straightened. "Wait, you met him? Like, casually met him?"
"Casual is not the word I'd use."
Wonder Woman studied the image carefully. "Is he a god."
Batman shook his head. "If he is, he doesn't act like one."
Green Lantern frowned. "That's worse."
Batman continued. "He knows my name. He did not threaten me. He did not attempt to influence me."
Superman's eyes narrowed slightly. "And you believe that restraint was intentional."
"Yes."
Diana folded her hands. "Then why are we here, Bruce."
Batman paused. He chose his words carefully.
"Because he doesn't fit our categories."
Silence followed.
Batman changed the display. A waveform appeared, not quite sound, not quite energy. Something in between.
"He manipulates resonance. Not minds. Not matter directly. Meaning. Perception. Alignment."
Flash blinked. "That's… unsettling."
"He caused a localized anomaly unintentionally," Batman continued. "Then corrected it immediately. Aware of the ethical implications."
Superman looked thoughtful now. "You're saying he's policing himself."
"Yes."
Green Lantern crossed his arms. "That never lasts."
Batman met his gaze. "It might, if we don't force it to fail."
That got their attention.
Wonder Woman spoke softly but firmly. "You are asking us not to confront him."
"I am asking you not to escalate," Batman corrected. "Observation only. No engagement without cause."
Flash raised a hand. "Define cause."
"Harm," Batman said. "Deliberate manipulation. Loss of restraint."
Superman turned back to the viewport, staring at Earth. "And if he doesn't cross that line."
"Then he's not our enemy," Batman said.
Green Lantern scoffed. "Bruce, you don't give this kind of leeway."
"I do when someone proves they understand consequence."
Wonder Woman nodded slowly. "There is truth in what he says. Power that fears itself is not tyranny."
Flash rubbed the back of his neck. "So what do we do. Just… wait."
Batman shut off the display. "We prepare quietly. Contingencies remain theoretical. No weapons. No traps. No provocation."
Superman finally turned fully toward him. "And if someone else forces the issue."
Batman's voice dropped. "Then we intervene to stop them."
That hung heavy in the room.
Wonder Woman rose. "You are protecting him."
Batman didn't deny it. "I am protecting balance."
Green Lantern sighed. "This is going to blow up eventually."
"Yes," Batman agreed. "Which is why we don't light the fuse."
Superman looked at the empty space where the image had been. "Does he have a name."
Batman hesitated.
"No," he said. "Not one he's offered."
Far below, on Earth, Erik paused mid-conversation with Lady Death, a faint pressure brushing against his awareness. Not hostility. Not threat.
Attention.
He smiled faintly.
"They're talking about me now," he said.
Lady Death arched a brow. "Only now."
"Only now officially."
She smirked. "Welcome to the big leagues."
Erik looked up at the sky, feeling the Watchtower's orbit like a held breath.
"I hope," he murmured, "that when they finally decide who I am. I give them a good answer."
__________
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And that's all for today. I am now on break from work so I will have more time to create more chapters.
I hope you enjoyed it and if you have any questions or concerns let me know.
Also if you guys have any other candidates for potential love interests let me know I would like to weigh my options. I already have an idea for one mortal.
Leave some powerstones and add to collections please and thank you.