"Gotham is lost."
Everybody paused at that, stunned because Gotham can't be lost, shocked because where's Batman?
Wonder Woman is quick to respond, quick to reorganize.
"Robin, where's Batman?" she asks worried.
(he's not upset just resigned and is there nothing left to fight for?)
There's a pause and everyone's holding their breath.
"… He's… in Gotham."
There are multiple sharp intakes of breathes, gasps that resound over the communication line.
"Where are you?" Wonder Woman asks like a mother hen and when did she care so much, oh wait she always did.
There's a muffled groan and hearts start to race with worry.
"I-I'm outside the city limits."
It's silent for second and people can tell there's something he's not telling them but they're relieved he's not lost too.
Wonder Woman starts to say something about staying there that they're on their way-
(Clark, Diana, the team)
-but he interrupts her, a pained groan in his voice that was maybe a suppressed, muffled scream.
"You need to get here now. I'm going to get Artemis' mother but you need to be here now."
The teams already there and Wonder Woman and Superman race to him.
Superman wins.
They only get a second to look at him before he's distracting them with orders. They concentrate on those and not how his form seems slightly off.
(grotesque twisted)
He tells them they can't enter the city she won't allow it, she'll suck them in.
M'gann questions why nothing will happen to him and he smiles-
(twisted sick)
-and tells her Gotham will not reject her children like that.
Wonder Woman questions if Paula is lost and he shakes his head and then he groans through gritted teeth about how she's salvageable and he needs to leave now.
Before they can stop him he backs up and melts into the shadows of Gotham, thicker than any shadows have the right to be, shrouding the city in blackness that looks tangible.
(sick evil)
There are screams in the city, no cars or explosion, but screams and horribly raw ones. Horribly animalistic one.
(no cackles twisted)
They wait for minutes. Two in a half. Five. Ten.
At thirteen he's back in the gray skies outside of Gotham and he's carrying a woman.
Paula Crock, broken in her Tigress outfit, blood and gore covering the both.
His mask is ripped off, only corners of blackness like the shadows attached themselves to him.
They can't see his eyes, head bowed, thick lashes.
Artemis runs and takes her mom who roars and it sounds like a tiger more than humanly possible.
Robin's panting but reassures her she'll be fine, but she needs to get away, away from her.
Artemis nods and thanks him tears in her eyes but not falling as she hugs her feral mother, eyes flickering between her and Robin.
Robin cackles and its wrong, not a cackle but a chuckle and he speaks to someone in a sing song voice.
'Come out come out.'
Then there's a shadow that seems darker more prominent until it solidifies and it's not a shadow but knight.
It's Batman and his face is different there are fangs that maybe where just really short tusks and he makes a breathy grunt sound.
Wonder Woman's and everyone else's eyes widen.
She makes a desperate call to Robin.
"Come with us! Get out of the city!"
He shakes his head and smiles and it's not right and his eyes are visible and blue and red and black.
(and insane)
He backs up and something flutters behind him and it's not vengeance who's black but covered in blood only visible if you look hard enough.
It's feathers, ruffled and beautiful and not right.
He laughs and it's insane, it's a giggle and it's a perfect match for the Joker.
The Bat moves and it's all shadows moving, black tones on gray and other black tones, but they see his hand and what should have been his cape attached to his arm.
For a second they think he's going to kill him because his arm is painfully obviously coated in blood but he doesn't and instead he turns his bird, his light towards him and they can see wings.
Black or brown they aren't sure but neither are they sure if that's blood-red feathers or blood.
Robin giggles and his wings flap a bit and there's an impassive face on the Bat as he wraps his should-be-cape around Robin and looks up and growls and they sink back into the shadows.
A horrific noise sounds and the city quiets as the Bat makes its presence known.
Gotham is truly lost.