> "Around seven o'clock this evening, the elevator car of Winston Hotel's A2 lift suddenly plumted from the thirty-fourth floor!" "Luckily, Holander happened to be on the scene. With godlike strength, he caught the falling elevator with his bare hands!"
"There were six passengers inside at the ti. Without Holander's intervention, there's no doubt they would all be dead."
"Investigations suggest that the elevator's fall was not an accident-it was sabotage."
"Soone remotely detonated a bomb to cut the elevator cables!"
"No question, this was a deliberate criminal act!"
"Under Holander's iron-fisted rule, Gotham has gone half a month without a single cri. This is the first case in fifteen days."
"And it's clearly a provocation-soone is challenging Holander!"
"The question is-can Holander deal with it the way he always has, wiping out every criminal in his path?"
News of the Winston Hotel incident spread across Gotham like wildfire.
Within hours, every major network, newspaper, and social-dia feed was talking about it.
Ordinary citizens and criminals alike were fixated on the sa thing.
For Gotham's citizens, the question was simple-
could Holander still keep them safe?
Could they continue living in peace under his protection?
The officers' frustration grew by the hour. Not one person could make sense of the riddles.
Finally, Commissioner Gordon had no choice but to reach out to his old partner-Batman.
The two t again atop the police headquarters, beneath the cold glow of the bat-signal.
> "Any progress?"
Batman's voice was low, clipped, and straight to the point.
He didn't bother with pleasantries; if Gordon had called him, it could only be about the Winston Hotel case.
> "Unfortunately, no."
Gordon shook his head.
> "I figured as much," Batman said, unsurprised. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have called ."
Gordon handed him a folded piece of paper.
Batman glanced at it, his eyes narrowing slightly.
> "What's this?"
> "Copies of the riddles the 'Riddler' left at the scene," Gordon explained. "I transcribed them before they were taken into evidence."
> "The Riddler?" Batman arched a brow.
> "That's what we're calling him," Gordon shrugged.
Batman said nothing more. He pocketed the paper with a flick of his саре.
> "I'll see what I can find."
> "I'm not trying to put pressure on you," Gordon added carefully, "but... Holander may have already solved them."
Batman froze for just a fraction of a second.
> "According to witnesses, after glancing at the riddles, he tossed the cards aside and said sothing about having 'already locked onto the answer.""
Gordon hadn't ant it as a jab, but he couldn't help noticing the subtle twitch at the corner of Batman's exposed jawline.
Without another word, Batman turned, cape billowing.
And with a rush of wind and the rustle of leather, he dove off the rooftop, vanishing into the dark like a shadow lting into night.
Gordon stood there, watching him disappear into the city's endless maze of lights and rooftops.
He sighed quietly.
> Please... figure it out, Bruce.
Gordon wasn't interested in so unspoken rivalry between
Gotham's two protectors.
He just wanted that maniac off the streets.
Because geniuses like the Riddler-the ones who killed for the sake of
intellect and ego-were the most dangerous of all.
They didn't just cause chaos. They infected it.
As for the rest of the precinct, Gordon had long since stopped
expecting much.
Gotham was rotten-top to bottom.
The police force was no exception.
How many of his colleagues still cared about justice?
How many were just waiting for a bribe or an excuse to look away?
No-if there was anyone he could count on, it was Batman.
And sure enough, Batman didn't disappoint.
Later that night, after Gordon had spent hours at the precinct with
no progress and finally trudged ho exhausted,
a familiar dark figure stepped out of the shadows of his apartnt.
> "His next target," Batman said in a low, grim voice, "is Harvey Dent-
the city's rising star prosecutor."
Gordon's expression hardened imdiately.
> "Harvey Dent..."
Of course. The one man in Gotham's legal system who hadn't sold out.
Like Gordon, Dent was clean, incorruptible, a man who refused to
bow to Gotham's rot.
He was the last glimr of justice the city had left.
In just a few short months in office, he'd waged a relentless war
against the city's cri families.
Gordon admired him deeply.
And now, the Riddler wanted him dead?
> "Absolutely not," Gordon muttered, clenching his fists. "Not on my
watch."
If even Harvey Dent fell, then Gotham truly had no hope left.
Across town, in a quiet apartnt, Alex sat deep in thought.
> "Harvey Dent..." he murmured. "Why does that na sound so
familiar?"
Then it clicked.
Two-Face.
Of course.
Harvey Dent-the man who would one day beco one of Gotham's
most tragic villains.
A man who had started as a hero.
A man Alex himself couldn't help but respect.
> "So it's him..." Alex whispered. His eyes narrowed, gleaming with a
hint of cold pity.
Even heroes could fall.
And in Gotham, they almost always did.
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