Chapter 1Ba

Chapter 1Ba

Note: Hi, so this is my next project, tell me all what you think? Since you are in my patrone you all get the early look! will post the 1st 6 chapters and they are all 2-in-1 chapters so should be 12 but whatever lol

Anyway I hope you like it!

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Help, I’m Batman Now

My name is Lucen Kelith. I didn’t expect to transmigrate, and I definitely didn’t expect to become Batman.

Everyone knows Batman is a genius strategist, master detective, and expert in hand-to-hand combat. But unfortunately, none of that transferred over to me.

What I received instead were the powers and memories of various alternate-universe Batmen—each one slightly different, and not all entirely sane.

When I arrived in Metropolis, the Justice League had already been defeated by Darkseid.

【Warning: Detected “Superman's shattered cape,”

“Wonder Woman’s broken shield,”

“Green Lantern’s damaged power ring”…】

I did the only thing I could: I started picking things up.

【Wonder Woman’s “The Merciless’s War Gauntlet” acquired.】

【Green Lantern’s “Dawnbreaker Ring” acquired.】

Apparently, in this timeline, Batman doesn’t fight with the team. He waits until they’ve all collapsed… then loots their gear.

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if they fell a little more often.

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Gotham... is a sheet of black paper.

It’s the white characters you wrote onto that black paper; it’s the path you’ve chased relentlessly, the one that keeps descending into darkness.

As if it were the first sentence of the last story you’ll ever tell in your life.

—Batman: Impressions of Gotham

............................

..........

.

Bzzzt—

“Gotham Bulletin brings you the latest updates... the standoff between the Ventriloquist and GCPD at the Evidence Bureau has now lasted three hours. Experts believe—”

“...this is just freaks being drawn to each other... the mass breakout at Arkham a few days ago... it’s Batman, you know, he attracts those—”

“As of now, Batman still hasn’t arrived on scene. Which makes us wonder—could the rumors of his death be true? Is the GCPD really so powerless that—wait, there’s a development. It’s Batman! He’s here!”

It was a rainy June in Gotham, and yet the plaza in front of the Evidence Bureau was even more chaotic than usual.

Lucen Kelith’s Batmobile hadn’t even come to a full stop when a swarm of reporters rushed forward like flies to rotting flesh.

They pushed through the light rain, shoving past both the protesters holding signs that read “We Don’t Want Batman” and the baton-wielding police officers trying to maintain order.

Camera flashes went off in quick succession.

“Batman, how do you respond to the recent rumors that Bane killed you—”

“—What’s your stance on the Ventriloquist’s challenge—”

“—Why are you stepping into the light this time—”

“You freak! It’s your fault! That lunatic in there, you get it? You attracted—”

“—Grab him! Don’t let him get away!”

The protesters who tried to attack the Batmobile were quickly subdued, but Lucen Kelith paid them no attention.

Amid the chaos, facing all those gazes—some reverent, some indifferent, some full of loathing—he slid open the canopy of the Batmobile and breathed in the first trace of damp air from the rainy night.

Whoosh—

He felt a rare wave of tension.

In his previous life as an actor, he’d long since gotten used to being under the spotlight.

But… today wasn’t like the others.

Lucen sighed. Being transmigrated into the DC universe was already enough of a surprise—but as a lifelong comics superfan, he’d been confident he could survive just fine. What he hadn’t expected was waking up in the body of none other than the legendary Batman—Bruce Wayne himself.

So much for latching onto a protagonist for support. What was he supposed to do now that he was the protagonist?

Everyone knew that as the only member of the Justice League’s core seven without superpowers, Batman was likely the single most formidable pure human ever to walk the Earth.

He was obscenely rich, freakishly intelligent, a master tactician and unparalleled fighter, with a will like iron. He could punch Darkseid in the face and kick the Justice League into submission—there simply weren’t words to describe how absurdly overpowered he was.

But—what did any of that have to do with Lucen Kelith, a transmigrator?

Oh right. Batman was an orphan. Lucen had been one too in his past life. Maybe that was the one thing they had in common. The original body had no parents. The soul didn’t either. A double-orphan combo—so edgy it was almost cool.

And as if transmigrating into Batman wasn’t hell mode already, the timeline he landed in had to be during Knightfall—when the Dark Knight was about to suffer one of his few total defeats:

Getting his spine shattered by Bane.

This wasn’t hell mode. This was something worse. He could already feel his spine tingling.

Lucen had considered running—just ditching everything and leaving Gotham behind. But he’d quickly given up on that idiotic idea.

Bane knew Batman’s real identity. If he fled without a fight, it would be suicide.

Once Bane crushed him and took full control of the city, then… no, not even maybe—he would die. And even if he miraculously survived, he’d be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life...

His eyes drifted to the bottom left of his vision, where a line of faint silver-white text appeared—something only he could see.

[Alfred Protocol active.]

[Warning! At least one anchor item required to synchronize Batman’s memories!]

Damn it!

Other transmigrators show up in the Batcave, check in, score some platinum kryptonite, swallow it whole, and turn into Superman on the spot.

But for him, he didn’t even get the basic perk of inheriting the host’s memories!

It had already been three days, and he’d tried everything in the Batcave—even the toilet paper—and still not a single reaction.

Lucen knew what the Alfred Protocol was, but in the comics, it was supposed to be a physical failsafe device to prevent Batman from having his mind altered. Not some weird thing showing up in his retina.

(Note: Unlike its canonical portrayal as a rogue AI, the Alfred Protocol is reinterpreted in this fanfic as a physical failsafe measure intended to prevent Batman's mind from being altered.)

“Batman!”

A voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned to see Commissioner Jim Gordon of the Gotham Police Department hurrying over.

The man had massive dark circles under his eyes, and strands of graying brown hair were matted wetly to his forehead. He looked disheveled, jittery—like a groundhog that had been psychologically wrecked by some horrific violation.

“Jesus, Batman! You’re alive. I can’t believe it. I saw Bane snap your neck with my own eyes. Are you sure you’re really Batman and not the Joker wearing a stolen costume, pulling some cosplay prank on me?”

“Enough with the pointless probing,” Lucen replied. “Don’t be misled by that rumor.”

He’d instantly caught the test hidden in Gordon’s half-joking tone and shut it down immediately. Yes, the body was real—but the soul wasn’t. So please, don’t go digging, you sharp-eyed detective.

Lucen sighed inwardly. Dealing with Gotham’s elites was exhausting. Without Batman’s memories, everything had to be improvised.

He turned his gaze to the silent Gotham Evidence Bureau, looming in the rain.

This was the plan.

As a hardcore comic fan, he had every Batman arc memorized front to back. He knew every villain’s story inside and out.

And with his award-winning acting skills, plus his background as a former psychiatrist, he had an edge in understanding and manipulating others. Maybe—just maybe—he could use psychological tactics to influence and control some of the weaker or more unstable villains, then turn them against Bane...

Lucen looked at Gordon and got straight to the point.

“Did you bring what I asked for?”

“Oh—oh, yes.”

Gordon’s eyes darted away from his face as he raised the evidence bag in his hand. Inside was a grotesque puppet with a scar across its face.

Scarface. The Ventriloquist’s favorite dummy.

“Good, hand it over.”

Gordon hesitated for a moment but ultimately complied, passing the bag to Lucen. He let out a quiet breath of relief.

After a moment’s thought, he added:

“That rumor... the one about Bane killing Batman? That wasn’t me. It was my protégé—Death Angel.”

“Right, right.”

Gordon wisely chose not to pursue the topic.

Lucen gave him a long, steady look.

“We’ll talk about this later.”

He then took out a massive shoulder bag from the back of the Batmobile. Holding the scarred Puppetman mask in his hand, he walked toward the entrance of the Evidence Department under full view of the public.

Whoosh...

In a whisper so quiet it was almost inaudible, he murmured:

“Ladies and gentlemen, the props are ready, and the cast is in position.

It’s my honor to announce—the show…

begins.”