Chapter Text
The Malfoy Estate is a big, beige bricked building. A signature old gothic mansion that symbolized nothing less than wealth in Knockturn City. The adjacent buildings were just as luxurious. No one dared to walk down these streets if they didn’t hold a name with true meaning.
The Estate had two security guards standing in front of the tall, black gates. Something very much expected for the home of the mayor of the crime-ridden city.
Standing from the rooftop of the neighboring building to the Malfoy Estate, one could see right into the windows that made up an entire wall. Lucius Malfoy’s office, that is. Lucius walked into that very room, his long bright blonde hair swishing behind him, followed by his son, Draco, who had platinum blonde hair much like his father. The young boy was dressed in a red ninja costume for the holiday.
Draco jumped around excitedly, showing his ‘ninja’ skills off to his father, who forced an encouraging smile. Then, the father was kneeling down, patting his son on the shoulder and pressing a kiss to his head before the boy happily skipped out of the room to find his mother, who would take him to go Trick-Or-Treating.
After a few minutes, the boy, along with his mother dressed as a witch, stepped out of the front door of the Mansion. A security guard nodded at them before following them, likely going to accompany them throughout the night.
Meanwhile, inside the house, Lucius stood, turning the television on, pouring himself a glass of whiskey, fiddling with the hem of his tailored sleeves as he did so. He switched the channel to the Knockturn City News channel. The bright light of the television illuminated the dark room. The marble floors and the stone walls stood still through the heavy rain outside.
“Welcome to the Knockturn City 6 pm news. Our headlining story, which we’re sure you’ve all heard of, is the current mayoral campaigning between current officeholder, Lucius Malfoy, and running candidate Lily Evans. Last night on live television, the two shared an intense final debate before the upcoming election in five days.”
The television screen cut to the previous night’s debate. Both Lily and Lucius were shaking hands before cutting to relevant clips of the debate.
“My fellow candidate here wants to banish the Knockturn Renewal plan. A genius plan established by past mayor, Lyall Lupin!” Lucius’ voice rang out around the room.
“The Knockturn Renewal plan has been plummeting for many years now, Malfoy. Knockturn City has been in ‘renewal’ since Lupin’s death. Crime rates are at an all-time high. Murder and drug use have never been at such a rate in this city’s history!” Lily retorted, glaring at her opponent.
“Now hold on, under my administration, the Knockturn PD has undertaken major blows. The Tom Riddle case was the largest drug bust in the city.” Lucius pointed a finger at the audience, trying to deflect Lily’s words.
“But dreammist and other drugs are still frequent among the entire city. We have a masked vigilante running these streets for god’s sake!”
Lily’s words faded out from the sound of a telephone ringing off to the side. The current Lucius scoffed, shutting the television off before stepping over and answering the phone. He grumbled harsh words to whoever the recipient was on the other line, pacing the room lazily. “I thought we were getting a bump in the new Post poll. Why the fuck is she still tied?” Lucius snapped, exhaling through his nose with pure annoyance.
“Look, you need to figure this out yourself; this bitch can not win. She’ll screw the whole city over. Fix it.” Lucius aggressively ended the call with a shake of his head. He placed the phone down on a table, staring off into a picture hung on his office wall as he took a sip of his whisky, the ice clanking against the glass.
The office smelled of expensive cologne and whisky, everything one would expect an absurdly rich mayor’s office to smell like. The walls were dark and tall with portraits all across them. The hard rain from Knockturn’s skies thrummed angrily against the wide pane windows.
Lucius clenched his jaw, slowly moving over to his desk where the daily newspaper was. He stopped in his tracks when he heard something behind him. A movement. A faint thud. Lucius could make out a dark figure in the television reflection. Lucius slowly turned. Nothing. Just a dark corner.
He let out a relieved breath before picking up the newspaper in his fingers. The familiar paper held in his hands, damp from the rain. Across the front page was a picture of Lily Evans herself, smiling. The rest of the page was filled with long descriptions of her campaign and various quotes from her.
Suddenly, there was a bright white flash from behind him, illuminating the office.
Lucius turned quickly.
This time the figure was standing directly behind him.
The figure was tall, masked. They wore a black mask, covering their entire face except for the eyes. Their body was covered with a heavy leather coat. Water dripped down onto the floor.
Lucius barely had time to inhale before the masked man surged forward.
Lucius was slammed violently onto the floor; Lucius didn’t even have a moment to shout or plead before the man grabbed his long hair and smashed his head into the ground. His vision went dark. Blood splattered across the marble flooring.
This mysterious man was terrifyingly calm. He slowly sat on top of Lucius’ body, straddling his back. He breathed heavily as he reached into his pocket for a carpet tucker. He raised it slowly before bringing it down violently.
Once.
Again.
Again.
When he finished, the room was deafening. No sound except for the rain outside, heavy and unrelenting. And then the sound of the masked man pulling out a roll of duct tape, the screeching noise like a blade. Lucius Malfoy was dead.
— ᨳଓ .
Remus parked his motorcycle, the roaring engine turning to a silent hum as it turned off. When Remus wasn’t in his suit, he had to remain hidden. He was recognized easily for being Remus Lupin. His backpack weighed heavily on his shoulders as he shoved through the crowded city streets, his head held down, and the familiar smell of wet pavement flooding his nostrils.
The cluster of people dressed in costumes pushed past the tall, tanned man carelessly. Children with their parents. Teenagers laughing loudly with their friends as they pretended to still be an appropriate age for asking for candy at people’s doors. Even with the rain pelting down against the crowds, ruining any semi-creative costume, nobody seemed to mind.
But hidden beneath the chaos remained the crime element. That was what Remus looked out for.
Beneath the innocent laughter and smiles, there were robberies. Somebody at the corner store, walking in suspiciously. Waiting their turn for the customer in front of them to finish up. And as soon as they did, that person would pull out a gun, “Empty out the cash register, now!”
Beneath the fun costumes, a group of teenagers would be at the city hall, spray painting bold red letters onto the tall supporting pillars. “BROKE.” And they would all scramble away at the sound of a helicopter above them, a blinding light shining onto them.
But Remus must choose his targets carefully. He couldn’t be everywhere all at once.
Every night was similar to the other. Days bled into the next. Some nights after everything, Remus has to force himself to remember.
It started after his parents were murdered. Ridden with grief, a very young Remus Lupin swore he would rid the city of Knockturn of its crime. That the same fate that reached his parents would never happen to anyone after he could stop it. That’s where this ‘Batman’ was created. With the help of Charles, he was able to train every day. Had the opportunity to turn into the ‘masked vigilante’ everybody despised.
But Remus didn’t know what he was doing it for anymore. The lines between seeking revenge and helping others blurred hazily. He saw these criminals. It never stopped. Some people would never stop having the need in their heart to do bad things.
Remus blinked hard. Once. Twice.
He took a deep, grounding breath, reminding himself of where he was. He shook lightly from the belligerent speed of the subway. The grimy subway seating was nothing new to any Knockturn City resident. The smell of smoke and sweat overcame all senses as soon as one stepped onto the train.
Ten men, a gang, sat in the cart in front of Remus, but he was nearly invisible through the dark shadow. The men laughed loudly, with no care for anyone else around them. Each of them had skeleton face paint, all wearing black hoods over their heads.
Remus had a signal now. For when he was needed in the city. Created by the mind of James Potter. The two men had met after Remus was caught lurking in the shadows of a gory crime scene. From then on, James had taken an unexplainable liking to him.
James Potter was the lieutenant of the Knockturn City PD. It was an easy way for Remus to find out what was going on behind cases. However, every other police officer in Knockturn despised him. James was also, ironically, the devoted husband of mayoral candidate Lily Evans.
James was the only person, aside from Charles and Meredith, who knew The Batman’s true identity. It had been a late, surprisingly uneventful night for the most part. James made a casual jab at Remus as he ran a hand through his unruly brown hair: “After all this time, man, I still don’t know who you are.” Remus had stood silent for a long while before reaching his hands up hesitantly and pulling the mask off. “You’re Remus fucking Lupin!” James shouted, adjusting his round glasses.
But the signal didn’t serve as just a signal to Remus or James. It was a warning, to everyone.
Remus was fully suited up in his head-to-toe black gear, a black mask that covered the top of his face and around his eyes, and a long dark cape. He watched as one of the skeleton-faced men turned to another, who only had half a skeleton face. “Now's your chance to prove yourself. Those two.” The full-face painted man nodded to a black-haired middle-aged woman and her young son. The boy didn’t look anything over a year old. The man with half the skeleton makeup looked up, his eyes widening. “I couldn’t!” He hissed with fear. To which the man sitting next to him gave him a warning glare.
The creaky subway came to a halt only seconds later, screeching loudly as it stopped. A lady’s voice on the intercom said, “We have arrived at Spinner’s End.” The gang of men all stood up, walking off the platform. The lady and her son followed them; she clutched the boy in her arms tightly.
Remus, ever so slowly and quietly, stepped off the shaky platform and onto the stained pavement. But he made sure not to make himself known, settling for waiting in a dark corner to watch the following events unfold before he felt it was time to step in.
The group followed the woman; she slowly turned her head before her eyes widened and she began to sprint away. All of the men ran after, being able to outrun her after only a few seconds.
The lady managed to get herself into a dead end, the subway entry, which was closed. “Please just leave me and my baby alone! I have cash, take it!” She pleaded desperately, her voice high, shielding her child on her hip.
“Come on, man! Hurry up.” The same man whispered to his companion, an amateur most likely.
The supposed amateur took deep, shaky breaths. The dark corridor served as the perfect place for him to get over his first mobbing.
As he began to take a step forward, the sound of heavy, wet footsteps was heard, echoing through the empty corridors of the subway.
The footsteps were slow, steady, approaching the group. Coming from someone sure of themselves. After a few moments of anticipating silence, a tall, broad, dark figure appeared, with unsettling calmness. The gang began to laugh boisterously, the group leader smirking at him.
“Would you take a look at this fucker?” He muttered to the gang before turning back to Remus, “And what are you supposed to be today?” A more seriousness taking over his tone. He began to walk towards Remus as well, lifting a crowbar that Remus dodged easily.
Remus threw three hard, firm punches to the gang leader’s head. Remus grasped his arm, twisting it and placing another punch square to his face. In seconds, the leader was flat on the ground with a splattering thump. He was knocked unconscious.
“I’m vengeance,” Remus whispered, deep and steady. A few of the men gasped, “Holy shit, it’s him.” One whispered to their companion. They all stared up at Remus with wide, fearful eyes.
Remus stood his ground, awaiting the rest of the gang to come at him.
The rain fell harder, the ground became slippier, and the atmosphere tenser.
It wasn’t long before the rest of the gang did as Remus had expected; they formed an almost circle around Remus. They came at him quickly, most of them equipped with crowbars. But Remus had done this dance too many times.
One man ran at him, Remus moving over quickly to grab the back of his jacket and slamming him face-first onto the ground. The second gang member swung wildly at him, and Remus ducked and drove a burly fist into his ribs. Crack. The member collapsed against a railing, coughing violently.
Before another man could come at him, Remus snatched the crowbar out of the man who was currently unconscious on the ground. As Remus grasped it, he felt a bat hit him square in the shoulder. Remus hissed at it, but stood quickly, thumping the perpetrator in the jaw with the very crowbar. He pushed his fist into his face and then neck hard. Another thud of a body against the wet pavement.
While Remus was occupied with another two men, throwing punches at each of them continuously. Someone behind him stood slowly and lifted a gun up; Remus turned just as the trigger was let off, the bullet hitting square in the chest. But it refracted off and fell to the ground, due to Remus’ heavy suit gear.
Remus launched forward, grabbing a taser from his pocket and holding it to the man’s neck. The man shook violently, limp in Remus’ grasp before slumping against the wall. Remus slowly turned around to find the rest of the gang members staring at him with big, terrified eyes.
“Let’s just go, man.” One of them hissed; the remaining conscious ones scrambled and began to flee the scene.
Remus breathed heavily, watching them leave, before redirecting his gaze to the mother and son still there. They were backed up in a corner, the woman holding her son’s ears closed. “Please don’t hurt us.” She whispered.
Remus just looked at them, holding his gaze for long moments. “You guys should leave.” He said gruffly. He watched her nod and quickly begin to walk away to the nearest exit.
Remus looked up to the sky, which was somehow visible even with all the clouds. And there, as clear as a full moon, was the bat symbol.
— ᨳଓ .
The streets were nearly empty now. It was far past any trick-or-treating hours. But the rain continued, as it had been on and off for as long as Remus could remember in this city.
On the contrary, the gates that enclosed the Malfoy Estate were flooded with police officers, detectives, paramedics, and forensic photographers. Remus spotted James’ lean figure, standing and speaking to Kingsley Shacklebolt, the chief detective of the Knockturn City PD. James clenched his jaw anxiously, looking around and seeing Remus, lurking as he always did.
James patted Shacklebolt on the shoulder with a firm nod before walking away and to Remus. James sighed tiredly, as if he had been roused from his sleep for this. “Malfoy’s dead.” Remus’ face, or what you could see of his face, remained stoic. He looked around; he could see a flashing light in one of the windows on the estate.
“A murder, I presume?” Remus inquired.
James nodded quietly, “Fucking terrible.”
James began to lead Remus through the gates and into the estate. It was huge, all marble flooring and thousand-dollar furniture. The atmosphere was cold. Like the walls contained secrets nobody would ever know.
They walked up a grand, spiral staircase and down a few dark corridors before Remus could see officers and other officials. Everyone’s face dropped at the sight of Remus, casting him a dirty glare, their heads following The Batman’s direction.
James stepped through the door of the crime scene; from what Remus could see before stepping in, it looked like an office. Remus followed through the doorway but was stopped by a firm hand on his chest. Remus looked up from the pale hand; a tall, blonde-haired woman stood there, her eyes narrowed. “Whoa there, this is police action.” She snarled.
“He’s with me, McKinnon.” James reminded gently.
McKinnon scoffed in disbelief. “You’re gonna let him through.” She challenged, dropping her hand, but her guarded stance was unwavering.
“McKinnon, let him through,” James warned quietly. Marlene just shook her head, as if biting her tongue, before moving to the side and allowing Remus in.
Remus walked through slowly, staring at Marlene daringly before casting his attention at the scene the office held.
The crime scene was something that could take a person days to unpack. The dark room was lit only by a few lamps. The walls were lined with portraits and tall bookshelves. But as Remus looked towards the center of the room, there was an armchair that someone sat on. Lucius Malfoy.
His head was duct-taped with crooked, red words that read, “No more lies.” His long blond hair was unruly. There were people scattered across the room in white coverall suits, cameras in hand, flashing pictures with practiced precision. The same red writing was all over the walls.
James walked over to the body where a short detective stood, shining a flashlight over him. “What do we know?” James asked, looking at the detective expectantly. But the detective was staring at Remus with disbelief. “Detective?”
The detective’s green eyes blinked quickly. “Sorry, lieutenant. We have blunt force trauma, lacerations to the head. He got hit many times, hard.” James pulled his own flashlight from his pocket as the detective spoke; he cast the light on Lucius’ head. “And all this blood is from his head?” The detective shook his head. “No. Most of it’s from his hand.” He walked over to the front of the chair and pulled a brown paper bag off of Lucius’ hand that rested on his lap. “He’s missing a thumb.”
Remus watched the interaction intently, observing all signs on Lucius. Remus observed the hand before turning and walking away to see other signs left around the room. Across a large wall that was made of just windows were past newspapers glued to the wall. With red handwritten letters that read, “LIES.”
There was blood across the walls and on the paintings all across the room.
“Malfoy’s security detail said the family went trick-or-treating. Malfoy was alone. Killer may have come in through a window.” The detective spoke to James, giving his boss all the details. “You mentioned a card?” James asked.
The detective nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling a gray envelope out with the words, “To The Batman” Across the front.
Remus stared at the card with disbelief, making his way over to the pair. James opened the envelope, a cartoon drawing of an owl and skeleton on the front cover of the card. He flipped it open. “What does a liar do when he’s dead?” Scratchy handwriting was across the inside. There was a cipher as well, unfamiliar symbols across it. The detective then pulled out a sheet filled with similar symbols.
James looked up at Remus expectantly. Before Remus could get his words out, they were interrupted by somebody walking in. A short, round man stepped in, full of resentment for Remus standing there. ‘What the hell is going on here?” The man spat. Remus instantly recognized him: Peter Pettigrew. James looked up, already knowing he would be in trouble for bringing the vigilante in.
“I told him to come, Peter,” James informed, a guilty look in his hazel eyes as he fixed his glasses.
“This is a crime scene. It’s Malfoy for Christ's sake! I have the press downstairs!” Peter yelled, storming into the room, pointing an aggressive finger in Remus’ direction. “Potter, I let you pass with a lot of shit. But this is way too much; he’s not supposed to be here.”
James just held up the card that held the words that directed the card to The Batman. Peter’s eyes widened, staring at Peter, “He’s involved in this!”
“He’s not involved in this.”
“How do you know? He’s a fucking vigilante. He could be the killer for all we know!”
During the bickering back and forth between Peter and James, Remus looked down at the body again. He lies still. “He lies still,” Remus said. Peter and James stopped talking, snapping their head’s in Remus’ direction. Peter looked offended that Remus would even open his mouth.
“The riddle. What does a liar do when he’s dead? He lies still.” James hissed quickly.
Peter looked at Remus with absolute disbelief; he slowly stepped closer to the body, staring at Lucius. He shook his head sullenly before looking up at Remus, “You must love this, huh, pal?” He grumbled, a spiteful look in his eyes.
Peter shook his head as Marlene murmured something about the press waiting for his statement. “Potter, I want him gone. Now!” Peter yelled as he stomped out of the room.
As James watched Peter’s protruding figure, he sighed, “Let’s go.” James muttered to Remus before they strode out of the room.
As Remus left the room, he looked down at a blood stain in the shape of a child’s foot on the marble floors. Remus looked back up at James. “The kid found him.” James rasped quietly before continuing to walk.
As they stepped out of the office and down the corridors, Remus came across another room. A bedroom. The door was ajar, with a few detectives standing around the room and some inside. On the bed sat a little boy, still in his ninja Halloween costume. And next to him was his mother, sobbing uncontrollably.
The child wasn’t crying, but his face was red and tear-stricken. He looked up at the sound of footsteps and made eye contact with Remus. All Remus could see was himself. His seven-year-old self. The one that was told by police that both his parents were dead. And that he would never see them again.