Godfather Owl: Guardian of Batman

To be honest, Kathoom was panicking.

Maybe it was fate that a former civil engineer ended up with a name as ominous as "Kathoom."

It sounded intimidating, but he was still… just an owl.

And Kathoom himself could be summed up in three words—lazy, cautious, and an abstract thrill-seeker.

Yet here he was, bound to Bruce Wayne.

Bruce Wayne—an obsessively paranoid and notoriously solitary hero.

Kathoom's emotions were a complicated mess, almost as if he had lost his own parents like Batman.

The terms of the binding were simple: each time Batman's strength increased, Kathoom would receive a tenfold return.

If he had been bound to any other superhero, this could've been amazing.

They'd naturally grow stronger, and Kathoom could enjoy the rewards with minimal effort.

But fate had tied him to Batman.

And Batman was the ultimate "money-powered hero." Kathoom wouldn't see a cent from that!

Collaborating for mutual benefit? Out of the question.

With Batman's paranoia and his near-pathological need for control, a partnership would follow only Bruce's rules.

Which was the last thing Kathoom wanted.

Right now, his best option was to intimidate young Bruce, to keep him under his thumb before he grew powerful.

Otherwise, he'd be the one served up as the appetizer before the main course.

---

Shaken, Bruce returned to Wayne Manor.

Alfred immediately came over, concern in his voice. "Master Wayne, where have you been?"

"I… I didn't go anywhere…"

Bruce tried to lie, but Alfred saw right through him.

"You went to that alley again, didn't you? It's a dangerous place, not fit for a child to wander."

The butler misunderstood Bruce's silence, and Bruce decided to let him.

So, he changed the subject. "How did you know?"

"Because you're a terrible liar."

Alfred knelt, gently brushing dust off Bruce's coat with tender care, as though soothing a wounded soul.

Bruce instinctively pulled back, heart pounding, worried that Alfred might feel the gun he was hiding.

The butler went on, "Master Wayne, lying is a skill. You've had no training; how could you ever fool me?"

"A skill?" Bruce mused.

He asked, testing his thoughts aloud, "So… every liar in this city learned to lie?"

Alfred nodded. "Of course, Gotham teaches them well."

This statement sparked a sense of crisis in Bruce like never before.

Moments ago, he had boldly declared to the demon Kathoom that he would change Gotham.

Now he realized that the criminals of Gotham were learning, while he had done nothing yet.

He was already falling behind.

No.

In that moment, Bruce's determination crystallized. He needed to learn, to equip himself with the skills to fight these criminals.

But it would take time and planning.

After repeatedly promising Alfred that he wouldn't venture out alone to honor his parents, Bruce returned to his room.

As soon as he opened the door, he heard mocking laughter.

"Can't even lie properly? Pathetic."

Kathoom, the owl, was somehow already in Wayne Manor.

Perched on Bruce's high-backed chair, his laugh was sharp and grating.

"Keep your voice down!" Bruce hissed. "Alfred might hear."

Kathoom ignored the warning. "Relax. Only you can understand me; our pact makes that so. To Alfred, I'm just an annoying owl making annoying sounds."

Bruce slid into his slippers and climbed onto his bed, saying nothing, lost in his own thoughts.

A habit he'd maintain for years.

As Batman, his mental sanctum would allow no trespassers.

But now, an owl had entered his space.

"You're anxious, aren't you?"

Kathoom peered into Bruce's heart and spoke bluntly. "You know what you want to do is hard. But you're weak now, and changing Gotham seems like an impossible dream."

Bruce shot back, "I'll get stronger. And I have the wealth to help me do it."

"So what?" Kathoom challenged. "Even if you grow stronger, there will always be someone stronger still. An endless cycle."

As his words faded, Kathoom spread his wings.

This time, something strange happened.

The walls of Bruce's room became surreal and distorted, space itself stretching out, as though the entire cosmos was unfolding inside his room. Bruce sat on his bed, but it was as if he were adrift in a vast galaxy.

He saw countless small worlds passing before him, boundless and infinite.

Bruce was frozen in awe.

"These is the multiverse."

Kathoom drifted beside him. "Tell me, in all these worlds, what power could your wealth and strength possibly hold?"

Bruce couldn't answer. His vision swam with the immensity before him.

Kathoom saw that his message had landed and swiftly returned the room to normal. Once again, the familiar walls of Bruce's room enclosed them.

What he had shown was his only true power—so long as he was with Bruce, he could open pathways to other universes.

"You might have noticed already—Gotham is an especially unusual place, constantly attracting criminals."

Kathoom's voice whispered in Bruce's ear, like the murmur of a devilish enchantment.

"But I'm telling you now, Gotham doesn't only draw in the criminals of this world. Criminals from other worlds will be drawn here too."

"It's the gathering place of all evil."

"So tell me, how much wealth and strength would it take to truly change this city?"

Gotham—the paradise of criminals.

One Batman alone would never change it. They would only wear each other down.

Locked in a mutual destruction.

If Bruce followed his usual path, nothing would ever change.

Kathoom was offering Bruce a different way forward.

This was the second time he'd heard the term world from Kathoom.

The first had been when Kathoom introduced himself, referring to the "DC world."

"Outside my world… there are other worlds? And… those criminals will come to Gotham?"

Bruce's voice trembled. He was only ten, too young to comprehend this shattering view of reality.

And already, a powerful sense of helplessness had taken root in his heart.

If the enemies were endless, would Gotham ever be free from crime?

Kathoom had successfully rattled Bruce. Now, it was time to offer a glimmer of hope.

The last thing he wanted was for Batman's resolve to shatter entirely.

"So what if it's true?" Kathoom said. "There is a way."

"What way?"

This time, Bruce's question came out as an instinctive plea for help.

Kathoom's answer was simple.

"Travel the worlds with me. From beyond this world, gain the power to deny it!"

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T/N: poor brucey