Gotham City — The Batcave
The cave was silent except for the hum of supercomputers and the flicker of holographic screens.
Nightwing stood at the main console. Batgirl leaned against a railing. Spoiler paced. Signal watched quietly.
Batman arrived from the shadows.
He didn't say a word.
He looked at the titanium plate Nightwing set on the table —
the plate Damian carved at the gala.
The carving of a bat with sun-like edges shone under the cave lights.
Nightwing cleared his throat.
"This was found in Black Mask's hidden crates. Whoever he was… he took everything."
Batgirl added,
"And he got in and out of the gala while we were all watching. No alarms. No heat signatures. No footprint trails. Nothing."
Batman finally spoke.
"Show me the footage."
The Footage — Batman Sees the Shadow
Oracle displayed every camera angle.
Guests mingling.
Waiters moving trays.
Security patrols.
Everything normal.
Then—
On the far edge of a hallway security cam…
barely a flicker of motion.
Like light bending.
Like air rippling.
Batman froze the frame.
Zoomed in.
Enhanced it.
The entire Bat-Family leaned closer.
A tiny silhouette.
Mask.
Suit.
Child-sized…
but moving like no child should be able to.
He slid past two gala guards.
He avoided a motion sensor by ducking a centimeter lower than its sweep.
He used breathing control to lower his body heat enough to avoid thermal detection.
Batman whispered:
Impossible."
Nightwing crossed his arms.
"Whoever he is, he's trained. Like League-of-Assassins level trained."
Batman didn't answer.
But his jaw tightened.
Next Footage Clip — The Evasion
In another clip, Batgirl nearly confronted Damian.
Her security camera picked up her walking down the hall…
…and passing a small boy in a black-and-gold mask.
He bowed politely.
Walked away.
Disappeared.
Spoiler nearly fell out of her chair.
"HE WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!"
Batgirl looked frustrated.
"I thought he was an ambassador's kid. His
heartbeat was calm, posture relaxed. No fear. No aggression."
Batman replayed the clip several times.
Then he said something that made everyone go silent:
"No. Not no fear.
Total control."
Oracle's Scan Results
Oracle's voice echoed from the speakers.
"Bruce… I ran a full scan of the figure:
– Height: approx. 4'5
– Weight: approx. 70 lbs
– Age estimate: 9–10
– Zero fingerprints
– Zero DNA
– Zero anomalies
He left nothing.
Not even a partial thermal print."
Nightwing whistled.
"A ghost child. Great."
Batman stepped back from the monitors
Not a ghost."
His eyes narrowed.
"A weapon."
The Bat-Family Reacts
Signal:
"Uh… guys? He looked like a kid. Are we sure this isn't some kind of metahuman?"
Batgirl:
"No meta signature. No strange heat. No energy trails."
Spoiler:
"Then he's a ninja kid. A very rude ninja kid."
Nightwing:
"Bruce… this is the League, isn't it?"
Batman didn't respond.
He finally picked up the titanium plate.
His fingers traced Damian's carved bat symbol.
It was perfectly balanced.
Perfectly symmetrical.
Precise.
Sharp.
This wasn't vandalism.
It was a calling card.