Batman knelt beside a broken skylight, rain pelting his armored shoulders, as the city howled beneath him. He checked the grapple hook’s anchoring, then dropped silently through the glass, landing in the echoing darkness of the Falcone Penthouse. Robin landed a moment later, staff in hand, eyes scanning for threats. Alarms blared, red light stuttering against marble columns and scattered cash. Past the overturned furniture, a henchman groaned, clutching a shattered wrist, non-lethal, but effective. A wall-mounted television flickered with static, then Joker’s painted face filled the screen, static crackling around a too-wide grin.
"Hello, Bats! Miss me?"
he crowed, voice pitching high,
"Tonight’s the night the game changes, starting with your precious rules."
From a shadowed corner, Alfred’s voice crackled over the comm in Batman’s cowl:
"Sir, you’ll want to see this, the GCPD just found something at the docks."
Rainwater dripped from Batman’s cape. The city waited below, trembling on the edge.