Chapter 262: The Shadow & the Knight
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want !
/-\
GOTHAM - BATCAVE
The Batcave breathed in shadows, water dripped in the distance, echoing. Alfred stood behind Bruce who didn’t turn when he heard the butler approach. His gloved hands moved over the holographic keys, lines of data streaming across a dozen suspended screens schematics, chemical compounds, orbital readings, encrypted WayneTech blueprints.
Alfred’s eyes narrowed slightly as one particular formula took shape on the display an unmistakable emerald hue pulsing faintly at its center.
"Kryptonite..." he murmured, his tone balanced between concern and curiosity. Then, after a measured pause: "Are you perhaps planning to host a rather unpleasant tea party, sir?"
Bruce’s voice came low, even.
"I’m preparing for the worst." He didn’t stop typing. "If we’re facing an army of Kryptonians... and possibly a very hostile ones...then we’ll need more than clever words and hope. We’ll need this shiny green rock."
He pressed a key. The cave trembled faintly as metal groaned and rose from the floor a cylindrical platform unlocking from beneath the surface. Steam hissed out as panels slid aside, revealing a new Batsuit within a containment shell. Its armor was sleek and brutal, segmented with obsidian plating and veined subtly with glowing veins of green.
Alfred’s brows lifted slightly, the light of the suit reflecting in his eyes. "If I may, sir," he began, folding his hands neatly before him, "you made that suit a long time ago, did you not?"
Bruce finally turned. "Yes," he said, his gaze fixed on the armor as if weighing its morality. "Fortunately, I had time to refine it. Never had to use it... until now."
Alfred’s lips thinned. "Well," he said softly, "you did design it for Superman, if memory serves."
Bruce shot him a brief look, the corner of his mouth twitching just enough to register. "I know that tone, Alfred. And yes... it was necessary then, and it still is. The time’s come where I might actually need it."
Alfred’s voice lowered, rich with quiet reproach. "Seems to me, sir, like a rather creative breach of trust. And forgive my bluntness, but won’t that suit be... shall we say, inhospitable, if you find yourself fighting beside him?"
Bruce’s eyes hardened, that unyielding steel settling back into his posture. "Trust won’t keep this planet safe," he said, stepping toward the suit. "And that won’t happen."
The silence between them deepened. The faint rumble of the Batmobile’s idle systems filled the gap. Alfred studied Bruce the tension in his jaw, the sleepless weariness buried under precision and control.
After a moment, Bruce spoke again, quieter this time. "Back in the Fortress of Solitude," he said, his gaze distant, as if remembering something that still unsettled him. "I saw things. The tech there...his father’s work, what little he managed to send before Krypton fell... it’s centuries beyond ours. Whole civilizations’ worth of science in a single shard of crystal."
He exhaled, voice rougher now. "If that was just his father’s legacy, then I should expect a General from that world to have far worse real weapons, real armies. I’m not taking chances here, Alfred. Not with them. Not with anyone."
Alfred’s expression softened, but only slightly. "No, of course not," he murmured. "Heaven forbid you start doing that now."
Bruce allowed himself the faintest flicker of a smirk before it vanished again. He looked up at the Kryptonite suit, its green glow reflecting in his eyes like a ghost.
Alfred turned away at last, the faint rustle of his steps fading toward the stairway. "I’ll prepare some coffee then," he said quietly. "Seems you’ll need it more than sleep."
Bruce replied, "Don’t drug it". He stood before the suit in silence, the green light tracing the lines of his face. For a long moment, it was impossible to tell if the look in his eyes was resolve or guilt.
Then he reached out and pressed his palm against the armor.
"Let’s hope," he muttered under his breath, "I never have to wear it."
The cave swallowed his words whole.
The Batcave got too quiet.
The only sound was the rhythmic clatter of keys beneath Bruce’s gauntlets and the low sound of machinery breathing in the dark. Alfred returned and stood a few feet behind him, reading off a diagnostic on the secondary monitor when something subtle, something wrong caught his eye.
The light shifted.
Not much, just enough for the veteran butler’s instincts to stir. Alfred straightened, his voice carefully composed but edged with caution.
"Sir..."
Bruce froze. His hand hovered above the keyboard, eyes flicking to the floor where the impossible thing was unfolding. A shape detached itself from his own shadow splitting apart.
Without hesitation, Bruce reached for his belt. "Alfred..."
"I see it," the butler said calmly, though his pulse quickened.
The shadow rose upright, thick as smoke, tendrils coiling upward until they formed the rough outline of a man. Two violet eyes burned open in the dark fog, bright and sharp.
Bruce’s stance shifted, defensive but not panicked. "Arthur."
The smoke coalesced, pulling together like night condensed into muscle and form. From the darkness stepped Arthur Blackwynd, clad in his black and violet uniform, the crest of the Shadow Lantern glowing faintly on his chest. The air rippled faintly as his feet touched the ground.
He smirked. "Sorry for showing up like this," he said, voice deep, confident. "Bruce."
Alfred, who had taken one step back for good measure, adjusted his cuffs and eyed the fading smoke. "A bit theatrical, Master Blackwynd. You might consider using the door next time... it does wonders for one’s blood pressure."
Bruce exhaled slowly through his nose. "Rude as ever."
Arthur’s laughter broke the tension, rich and unforced. He lifted both hands in mock surrender. "My apologies.," he said with a grin. "But you’re not the only one who gets to monitor people."
He strolled past Bruce without waiting for an invitation, the faint shimmer of shadow still trailing behind his boots as he approached the Batcomputer. His eyes scanned the array of data for a moment before lifting a finger toward the screen.
"Besides," he said, smirking again, "you already knew I had a shadow watching you. You’ve gotten rather familiar with some of my powers, haven’t you?"
Alfred and Bruce exchanged a wordless glance one of those subtle, silent conversations they’d perfected over years. Bruce didn’t confirm it, but he didn’t deny it either.
Arthur turned then, his gaze landing on the suit still displayed in its containment pod. The Kryptonite veins shimmered faintly in the cave light.
"Nice suit," Arthur said. "But... I’m sure you won’t have to use it."
Bruce folded his arms, eyes narrowing slightly. "You sound very sure of that."
Arthur’s expression hardened, the humor slipping away. "Because I’ll take care of Zod... and his band of Kryptonians."
Bruce studied him carefully. "You mean you intend to kill them."
Arthur didn’t flinch. "Yes," he said simply. "If necessary. Zod clearly wants Clark. And Kara. And after that...Earth. It’s the perfect foundation for his idea of a reborn Krypton."
He paused, his tone cooling to something dark. "Except his version of Krypton would be built on the ashes of every human life here."
With a thought, a blade of translucent green light solidified in Arthur’s hand, the Kryptonite sword. The eerie glow washed over his features as he turned it slightly, the reflection sliding across Batman’s armor.
Bruce’s brow furrowed. "Interesting sword."
Arthur looked at it for a moment, then let the blade dissolve into vapor. "I will not allow that to happen while my loved ones live on this planet."
Bruce’s tone was unreadable. "Is that your only motivation?"
Arthur glanced back at him with a small, sharp grin. "Oh, come on, Bruce. I’m not a demon. I may care most about the people close to me, but I don’t see humans as bugs to crush under my boot." He tilted his head slightly, voice lowering. "I will protect what I need to protect, no matter what."
For once, Batman didn’t reply. His silence wasn’t distrust.
Arthur looked down for a moment, as though deciding something, then raised his eyes again. "I’m here," he said finally, tone steady, "because I need your help with something."
Bruce arched a brow beneath the cowl. "You of all people need my help?"
Arthur smirked faintly. "Yes."
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want