"I am everywhere!" Batman's declaration rang out, lingering over Gotham City for a long time.
Gotham City was Batman's city. Many people thought so. Gothamites thought so, many gangs thought so, and even Batman himself thought so. That was how he acted, guarding the city in his own way.
High above, Batman had already spread his cape. Like a flying bat, he glided between the skyscrapers, leaving a hair-raising black bat-shaped shadow on the ground.
"Hey, you're everywhere? Sorry, Bruce, you're impressive, but you're not as impressive as you think... at least, not when it comes to this city..." Donnie had somehow pulled out another cigarette and lit it in the cold wind. A tiny spark danced, glittering in the dark city.
This city held things hidden far more deeply than ordinary people could imagine, such as the mysterious Court of Owls.
What Donnie wanted most from Gotham was the Dionysus Factor, a miraculous substance comparable to Wolverine's healing factor. As long as conditions allowed, it could be implanted into many people, granting astonishing regenerative abilities and a long lifespan.
Metal forged with the Dionysus Factor, much like the unique regenerative Adamantium within Wolverine's body, would also possess the ability to repair itself.
But aside from the League of Shadows, the local Court of Owls possessed this near-miraculous substance as well.
The Court of Owls was an organization formed by nearly all of Gotham's old aristocratic families, its purpose being to secretly watch over and control the entire city. In fact, that was precisely what they had done for centuries. Centuries ago, when the Wayne Family first took root in Gotham City, many of Bruce's ancestors had actually been secretly assassinated by the Court of Owls, yet Bruce knew nothing of it. Even the murder of his parents when he