Batman stood in the heart of the Exiled Order’s sanctuary, the weight of their offer pressing down on him.

  Join them.

  Fight against the System.

  Break Arcadia’s chains.

  It was a path with no return.

  The Exiled Leader’s masked face remained still. “What will it be, Traveler?”

  Batman exhaled. He had already decided.

  “I’m in.”

  A ripple of energy passed through the room. Some of the hooded figures stiffened. Others exchanged gnces.

  The Exiled Leader leaned forward. “Then let me show you the first step.”

  A wave of their hand—and the floor beneath them vanished.

  Darkness swallowed them.

  Then—light.

  Batman nded silently, his surroundings shifting. They were in a hidden underground city, far beneath the academy.

  Shrouded alleys. Shadowed figures.

  This was where Arcadia’s rejects gathered.

  The Exiled Leader gestured. “The Academy rules the world, but it’s not the only power here.”

  They walked through the city. Batman’s sharp eyes picked out fighters, thieves, spies.

  Survivors.

  “These people refuse to be part of the System,” the Exiled Leader said. “And they’ll fight to destroy it.”

  Batman’s gaze didn’t waver.

  This wasn’t just a faction.

  This was an army.

  A hooded figure approached. They knelt before the Exiled Leader, voice urgent.

  “The Academy Inquisitors are making their move.”

  Batman’s mind clicked.

  The Academy wouldn’t sit back and let a rebellion grow.

  They were coming to crush it.

  The Exiled Leader turned to Batman.

  “This is your first mission.”

  A pause.

  “Stop them.”

  Batman’s first test wasn’t a tournament. It wasn’t a duel.

  It was war.

  And he was ready.

  Because this time—

  He wasn’t fighting to survive.

  He was fighting to win. ---