Fourteen years old. A time when the original Bruce Wayne would have been just beginning his intense physical pilgrimage. But for Finn-Bruce, the System had compressed the timeline, demanding rapid skill acquisition and risk.
He left Fawcett City, maintaining a discreet, long-distance consultancy with Pamela Isley—a relationship based solely on the intellectual sparring over toxicology. He was a Level 5 Detective with a Scientific Focus, ready to tackle the world's most dangerous martial arts masters.
His new destination was the chaotic, shadow-drenched heart of Asia.
> [LOCATION UPDATE: Macau, The Triad Stronghold]
> Current Objective: Master Advanced Stealth, Infiltration, and Unconventional Martial Arts.
> Goal: Secure training under The Serpent (Lady Shiva's mentor) or equivalent.
The School of Silent Movement
Bruce arrived in Macau under the guise of an American diplomat's runaway son, a cover that afforded him a modicum of untraceable currency and anonymity. He spent three months navigating the city's dangerous underbelly, using his Detective trait to map out Triad movements and locate the clandestine training schools that churned out professional assassins.
He didn't seek the masters through official channels. He found them by challenging their students.
In a grimy, hidden dojo beneath a laundromat, Bruce encountered his first true physical test: a master of Serpent Style Kung Fu. The master, known only as Wei, was old and slight, but his movements were liquid death.
Bruce, armed with Ted Grant's boxing foundation and the System's integrated data on thousands of martial arts, moved with unexpected proficiency for his age. He didn't win. He couldn't. Wei moved faster than Bruce could physically process.
Wei knocked him down ten times, each strike painless but perfectly placed to interrupt his balance.
"You have no flow, boy," Wei rasped, standing over the bruised teenager. "You fight like a machine reading instructions. But your will... it is an iron rod."
Bruce simply got back up, ignoring the physical ache, his Iron Will trait overriding the pain receptors. He pointed to the System's HUD, which was flashing the weak points in Wei's Dragon's Tail stance.
"Your left foot drags by half a second on the turn," Bruce stated, pulling the observation from The Detective trait. "You're compensating for an old knee injury."
Wei's eyes widened, shocked that the foreign boy could spot a flaw he'd spent thirty years concealing. "What are you?"
"A student who pays well," Bruce countered, pulling out a thick, plastic-wrapped brick of untraceable currency provided by Alfred. "Teach me to move like water. Teach me to kill."
The cash worked where pleas failed. For the next year, Bruce trained under Wei. He learned not just fighting, but acrobatics, silent movement, and the art of disappearing into the background. The System logged every lesson, filing the complex, fluid movements of Serpent Style as instantly recallable motor function patterns.
> [XP Gained: Serpent Style Mastery (Advanced) \rightarrow +75 XP]
> Level Progress: 245/300 XP (Level 5 \rightarrow Level 6)
The Interruption: Daughter of the Demon
The path to mastery was never straight. His rigorous training was abruptly cut short by a figure who moved with an equal, yet more sinister, grace.
Bruce was resting on a rooftop after a three-hour infiltration drill when she appeared. She was slightly older than Bruce, perhaps sixteen, dressed in simple black training leathers, her dark eyes sharp and assessing. She was undeniably beautiful, carrying an aura of lethal, aristocratic authority.
"You move well for a boy who belongs in a Manor," she said, her English impeccable, laced with a faint, exotic accent.
Bruce instantly recognized the signature: Talia al Ghul.
> [ANOMALY DETECTED: Talia al Ghul (Daughter of Ra's al Ghul)]
> Current Status: Heir Apparent to the League of Assassins. Scouting talent.
> Threat Level: High (Skilled Fighter/Political Strategist).
> Relationship Potential: Critical (Romantic/Adversarial).
"And you move well for a girl who belongs in a palace," Bruce replied, rising slowly, his hands already positioned in the defensive stance Wei had taught him. He knew better than to lie about his background to the daughter of the Demon's Head.
Talia smiled—a calculated flash of white teeth. "My father has been tracking your movements, Bruce Wayne. The speed of your skill acquisition. The depth of your resources. The iron in your soul. He finds you... interesting."
"And what does your father want?" Bruce asked, focusing his mind on the Code Breaker trait, attempting to decipher her intentions.
"A successor. A worthy partner. A man capable of leading the League of Shadows," Talia said, circling him slowly. "He is intrigued by the project you call Project Prometheus and the efficiency of your 'consultants'—the old boxer, the chemist, the forensic scientist."
Bruce felt a cold jolt. Ra's al Ghul knew about his entire network. His paranoia, learned from the comics, was instantly validated.
"I am not a mercenary, Talia," Bruce stated firmly. "My fight is for justice, not conquest."
"Justice is simply conquest by a different name, little bat," Talia purred. "My father invites you to a meeting. To see the world through a new lens. To become everything you were meant to be."
She extended a hand. "I am Talia. And I am here to guide you to your true destiny."
Bruce looked at her hand. Accepting would mean a quantum leap in training—access to the League's ancient knowledge, combat specialists, and global intelligence. It was the fastest path to Level 50. But it was a corrupting path.
The System flashed a critical warning:
> [CRITICAL CHOICE ALERT: The League of Shadows]
> Option 1: ACCEPT TAlIA'S OFFER. (XP Boost: Extreme. Access: Global Training Resources. Risk: High Moral Compromise.)
> Option 2: REFUSE AND FIGHT. (XP Boost: Moderate. Risk: Extreme Physical Harm. Reward: Moral Integrity Maintained.)
Bruce knew the canon path required him to accept, train, and then escape. But the System was telling him that the moral compromise of accepting Ra's's tutelage might fundamentally compromise his future path as Batman. He didn't need to be compromised; he was already accelerated.
He looked into Talia's deep, alluring eyes. The romantic potential was real, but so was the threat to his core purpose.
"Tell your father I appreciate the offer, Talia," Bruce said, not flinching. "But I forge my own destiny. And I will never kill."
Talia's smile vanished, replaced by a fierce, proprietary anger. "A foolish sentiment, habibi. And one that will cost you."
She attacked instantly, her movements fluid, devastating, and entirely unexpected. It wasn't an aggressive attack; it was a test. Bruce defended, using the pure, defensive training of the Serpent Style, blocking and redirecting her precise strikes.
He was fast, but she was faster and stronger. She executed a rapid, blinding combination, ending with a precise kick that sent him tumbling backward off the rooftop ledge.
He didn't scream. He simply grabbed the copper drainpipe and swung, executing a perfect aerial rotation that landed him safely in the dark alley below.
He looked up. Talia was standing on the edge, a silent promise of future conflict in her posture.
"You will come to us, Bruce," she called down, her voice echoing in the darkness. "Or we will come for you."
Bruce didn't wait. He melted into the shadows, his speed and stealth now enhanced by the urgency of his escape. He had refused the fastest route to power, but he had secured his soul.
> [CRITICAL CHOICE LOGGED: REFUSED LEAGUE OF SHADOWS.]
> XP Gained: Moral Integrity \rightarrow +55 XP.
> Level Progress: 300/300 XP.
> [LEVEL UP! Level 6 Acquired!]
> Level 6 Rewards:
> HP/STR/DEX: Increased by 20%.
> Trait Unlock: Apex Predator (Superior stealth, evasion, and intimidation. Grants passive speed bonus in darkness and confined spaces).
> New Function Unlocked: Target Tracking (Low-Level) (The System can now track a limited number of non-meta human targets globally.)
Bruce ran through the dark streets, feeling the invigorating surge of the Level Up. He was now an Apex Predator—faster, quieter, and more lethal than before. The League would hunt him, but he was ready for the chase.
His next stop wouldn't be a monastery; it would be a chaotic warzone. He needed to master survival and escape.