Gotham Academy is louder than Alex expected.
Students crowd the main hall in clusters. Some was laughing, arguing, checking phones, comparing schedules. They were wearing expensive uniforms, polished shoes with confidence everywhere. Alex tightens the strap of his backpack and steps inside, forcing himself to breathe.
He moves with the flow of students and bumps into someone.
Alex reacts instantly with his hands catching her before she can fall.
"I-I'm so sorry!" he blurts out.
He looks down.
She's around his age. Asian. Black hair pulled back neatly. Dark eyes that was sharp, calm, and impossibly beautiful. For a second, Alex forgets how to breathe.
She steadies herself and nods once.
"It's okay," she says quietly.
Alex feels heat rush to his face. "Uh Alex Ross. I'm new here. Scholarship."
He offers his hand, already reminding himself to be careful.
She studies his hand for a moment before taking it.
"Cassandra Cain."
Alex shakes her hand gently.
Cass feels it immediately.
There's no tension in his grip. No strain. No pressure. And yet… her hand doesn't move him at all.
Her eyes narrow just slightly.
Before either of them can say more, the bell rings sharply through the hall.
Alex startles. "Oh uh nice meeting you, Cassandra. I've gotta go."
He releases her hand and hurries off, blending into the crowd.
Cass doesn't move.
She watches him disappear.
"Cass?"
A black-haired boy steps up beside her, adjusting his backpack. A blonde girl follows, grinning.
"Why are you staring at the new kid?" Stephanie asks.
Cass doesn't look away and she signs calmly.
Remember what Dick told us. Watch for suspicious students.
Tim's expression sharpens.
Cass continues signing.
When we shook hands… his muscles weren't engaged. Barely any strength. But he was still stronger than me.
Tim's eyes widen. "You're sure?"
Cass nods once.
Steph tilts her head. "Did you get his name?"
Cass hesitates, then speaks softly.
"Alex Ross."
Steph whistles quietly. "Okay. Yeah. That's interesting."
Tim glances in the direction Alex disappeared. "Very interesting."
Later on the bell rings, and the halls flood with students.
Alex follows the crowd toward the cafeteria, stomach already growling. When he steps inside, he freezes.
The place is enormous.
Long tables stretch across the room, packed with students. Along one wall sits a massive buffet with hot meals, salads, desserts, drinks. It's more food than Alex has seen in one place in his entire life.
He blinks.
Slowly, he approaches a nearby student. "Uh… hey. How much is the food?"
The kid stares at him like he just asked if gravity costs money.
"Dude," he says, "it's all free."
Alex's eyes widen. "F-free?!"
The kid nods, already walking away. "Welcome to Gotham Academy."
Alex turns back to the buffet, heart pounding.
Free.
He swallows hard.
Ever since the bite, his appetite has been unreal. No matter how much he eats, it barely makes a dent. Groceries disappear in days. His mom keeps asking questions he doesn't know how to answer.
For the first time in months…
"I can finally feel full," Alex mutters to himself.
He grabs one plate.
Then another.
Then two more.
Four plates in hand, he loads them up with pasta, chicken, vegetables, sandwiches, fruit until the trays bend slightly under the weight. He moves to an empty table and sits and eats
bite after bite and plate after plate.
Across the cafeteria, three sets of eyes are on him.
Tim watches with quiet calculation, eyes flicking between Alex's posture, speed, and the amount of food vanishing.
Cass stares in silent wonder, her head tilting just slightly as she tries to understand where all of it is going.
Steph grimaces. "Oh my god," she mutters. "That's disgusting. And kind of impressive."
Alex doesn't notice any of them.
His phone vibrates and he glances down and his stomach sinks.
CRIME ALERT: ARMED BANK ROBBERY – DOWNTOWN GOTHAM
"Seriously?" he mutters.
He looks at the food. Then the alert. Then the clock.
Alex exhales sharply and starts shoveling the rest into his mouth.
"Can't even relax and eat," he mumbles, standing. "So unfair."
He wipes his hands, grabs his bag, and slips out of the cafeteria unnoticed.
But it's my responsibility, he reminds himself. If I can help… I have to.
Minutes later, he ducks into an alley, pulling the red-and-blue suit from his bag with practiced ease. The mask goes on. The world sharpens.
Spider-Man fires a web and swings upward, vanishing into Gotham's skyline.
Back inside the cafeteria, Tim lowers his voice.
"…Did anyone else notice how fast he left?"
Cass nods.
Steph squints toward the exit. "Yeah. I'm officially calling it."
"Calling what?" Tim asks.
Steph smirks. "That school just got way more interesting."
Wayne Manor is quiet in the early afternoon.
Bruce stands near the tall windows of his study, one hand resting on the back of a chair. The city feels tense today but Gotham always does but something in the air feels… off.
The Batcomputer pings and Bruce turns instantly.
CRIME ALERT: ARMED BANK ROBBERY – DOWNTOWN GOTHAM
SUBJECTS: MULTIPLE
STATUS: IN PROGRESS
Before Alfred can even speak, Bruce is already moving.
"Notify Dick and Barbara," Bruce says, his voice calm but focused. "And patch in any nearby cameras."
The screen splits into multiple feeds.
The bank's front doors explode outward but then a familiar red-and-blue blur swings into frame, crashing through a shattered window.
Bruce's eyes narrow.
"Spider-Man," Alfred says quietly.
"Yes," Bruce replies. "And he didn't hesitate."
Bruce watches as the teen lands between the robbers and the hostages without fear but without backup.
Alfred folds his hands behind his back. "Should I dispatch the Batwing, sir?"
Bruce pauses.
"No," he says after a moment. "Not yet."
The camera zooms in as Spider-Man straightens, cracking his neck.
"Let's see how he handles it."
The moment Spider-Man lands, the room goes silent.
Five armed men turn toward him, masks hiding their faces, rifles snapping up in unison.
"Oh wow," Spider-Man says, looking around. "You guys really committed to the theme, huh? Masks, guns, bad life choices."
"SHOOT HIM!" one of them yells.
They do and bullets rip through the air.
Spider-Man flips backward, webbing yanking him up to the ceiling as shots tear through where he stood. He fires two quick webs, slamming guns into the ceiling and yanking them out of the robbers' hands.
"Hey!" he calls down. "Inside voices! There are kids here!"
One thug rushes him from behind and Spider-Man twists mid-air, kicking the man square in the chest and sending him skidding across the marble floor into a teller counter.
Another robber swings a rifle like a bat and Spider-Man catches it.
The man's eyes widen as the gun stops dead in his hands.
"…Uh oh," Spider-Man says.
He gently twists, ripping the weapon free and bending the barrel into a useless knot.
"See? Recycling."
Two more robbers open fire and Spider-Man's spider-sense screams.
He dives, rolling between hostages, popping up behind the shooters. Webs fire in rapid bursts slamming them into pillars and pinning them in place.
The last robber grabs a hostage, pressing a gun to her head.
"STAY BACK!" he screams.
Spider-Man freezes.
"Okay," he says slowly, hands raised. "Nobody needs to have a worse day than they're already having."
His eyes flick upward and the robber tightens his grip and Spider-Man moves and in less than a heartbeat, he shoots a web at the ceiling, yanks himself sideways, and whips another strand around the gun.
The trigger is pulled but the web snaps the weapon sideways as the shot hits the ceiling.
Spider-Man slams into the robber, driving him into the floor and webbing him down before he can blink.
The bank is silent and then applause and a kid cheers.
Spider-Man straightens, breathing a little hard. He rubs the back of his neck. "Uh… please remain calm. Authorities are on the way. And nobody follow me, okay?"
Police sirens grow louder.
Spider-Man fires a web and shoots back out through the broken window, vanishing into the city.
Bruce stands motionless as the final feed goes dark.
He replays the footage in slow motion.
Every movement. Every choice.
"No unnecessary force," Bruce murmurs. "Prioritized civilians. Neutralized threats efficiently."
Alfred smiles faintly. "He's a good boy."
Bruce doesn't argue but his jaw tightens.
"He's also alone," Bruce says quietly. "And he shouldn't be."
The screen freezes on Spider-Man mid-leap, silhouetted against Gotham's skyline.
Bruce's voice lowers.
"Find out who he is."