DC: I am Bruce Wayne

Chapter 107: A Brush with Madness---

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"The thing called Justice changes its shape... depending on where you stand."

- Kuzan Aokiji, (One Piece)

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<(Omniscient POV)>

'Strange. Why am I feeling like someone has been following me for some time?' The young female psychologist thought to herself with a frown as she turned her head around to see if someone was following her through the empty streets.

But much to her relief, there was no one there behind her with the only thing that was moving on the streets being shadows. The roads were mostly empty with no one visible as far as her eyes could see. She had almost reached her apartment building which was in the quieter part of Gotham, and she knew that cars were a rarity in her area at this time of night. So, she was actually rather glad to see that the streets behind her were empty than be scared or suspicious.

"Perhaps I am just overthinking things. After all, Gotham is not as bad as so many people on the news make it out to be." The woman lightly chuckled at the stupid thoughts that she previously had as she stopped in front of a small, shabby building. She had finally reached her destination safely.

But even though the residential building itself looked old and worn down, most of its residents on the other hand actually preferred it over the other buildings in the area, primarily because of the new electronic pin-based digital lock and fingerprint system that was installed recently to secure the entrance from break-ins. In a city like Gotham, security was given much more importance when compared to luxury and convenience, and the fact that this building was one of the few affordable buildings that used digital locking systems and had CCTV coverage, as well as all the required permissions, and legal documents, was more than enough for someone like her to choose this building despite its old appearance.

The young woman didn't continue to dwell on her thoughts and approached the door before typing in the six-digit pin that she remembered but strangely, the entrance refused to budge. "Wait... they were supposed to change the pin today. I did receive the letter about the change. Umm, what was it again...? Oh yeah, I remembered now." She snapped her fingers in realization after a few seconds of deep thinking.

Unfortunately for the young shrink, however, her hands were never able to reach the digital padlock to re-enter the pin. Because, before she could type in her PIN code, a pair of hands suddenly cupped her mouth from behind and locked in her hands. Then she was quickly dragged away towards a dark alley. It all happened so quickly that she wasn't even able to process everything in her mind, much less respond and resist.

When she did start to give her all to resist the strength of the figure holding her, it was already too late. They were already in a dark secluded alley, away from the sight of normal people who could be walking by at this time, people who could have rescued her.

"Shhh baby doll. Don't resist, I am here to help you. I noticed how bored you have been with your life recently. You too have realized that this life of ours is meaningless, haven't you? That we are just robots sleepwalking from one distraction to another? Don't worry, I too was similar to you, a slave of the unseen forces... But I have broken away from its control. I am free now, and I will free you as well. I will liberate you from this pointless existence and make a true human out of your zombie-like reality. Trust me, miss, from today onwards, you will be free in every sense of the word... Oh, and love your shoes by the way." The figure behind her spoke in an unhinged yet respectful manner as the coldness of a thin metal blade touched the center of her throat.

She didn't have any idea of who this person was but one thing was clear for her. She had already understood from her knowledge as a criminal psychologist that the kind of person who was currently holding her at knife point wasn't some sort of criminal who was committing a crime out of need or necessity. No, she quite unfortunately wasn't getting robbed.