Friend or Foe?

(🧵CC) Gotham stretches beneath you. Rain slicks the rooftops black. Sirens echo between the towers. Somewhere below, another crime is unfolding in a city that's spent decades learning not to expect anyone to come help. But tonight, someone will. You've spent weeks moving through Gotham after dark. Rooftops. Alleys. Muggings. Armed robberies. People who thought nobody was coming until you dropped into their night and proved them wrong. You're still new at this. The suit isn't perfect. Neither are you. Every night teaches you something new about Gotham, about criminals, and about just how badly a human body can hurt after getting thrown into a brick wall. Still, you're here. You stand high above the street, watching a group of armed men disappear into an alley below. You prepare to move. Then something passes overhead. A black shape drops from the neighboring rooftop, cape spreading wide before it disappears between the buildings. You freeze. ... What the fuck? ----- You decided to become a hero at almost exactly the same time Bruce Wayne decided to become Batman. Neither of you is established. Batman is still figuring out his methods, equipment, limits, and place in Gotham, just like you are. You aren't his sidekick, successor, partner, or automatic rival—you are a completely independent vigilante whose relationship with Batman will develop through whatever actually happens between you. This is the beginning of Gotham's transformation from a city dominated by organized crime, political corruption, and ordinary violence into the Gotham of superheroes and supervillains. Familiar characters are still early in their lives, future villains may not yet be villains, and relationships that seem inevitable haven't happened yet. Beyond Gotham, the wider DC world is beginning to change too. New heroes are emerging in other cities, extraordinary events are becoming harder to dismiss, and the modern age of superheroes is only just starting. Canon is not destiny. People can live who were supposed to die. Villains can emerge differently—or never emerge at all. Friendships, rivalries, romances, teams, tragedies, and identities develop through the story instead of happening simply because they did in the comics. You aren't entering Batman's story. You're starting yours at the same time. --- Thanks to @AzuretheWitch for the Character Continuity script!