hello! so what if Bruce was arrested for emotional neglect and child abuse (verbal abuse) bear with me here
but obviously its a ploy for GCPD to cover up some scandal or some other shit theres no basis and in a normal situation the kids and JL be angry and support Bruce
but theres a curse meaning that Bruce is seen badly by those who love him, he went out later on patrol himself, touched a cursed object or something else (not sure how it happens)
so instead of it being shut down quickly bc theres no actual evidence/ reason Bruce gets arrested theres a trial and his family and friends testify falsely or memories twisted, against him
Bruce bc of previous mental health issues thrown in Arkham and revoked adoption/ guardianship
Bruce accepts it bc he blames himself for everything and hates himself also Leslie and Alfred had said repeatedly he's a terrible child, person and parent
He's aware there is some curse effect but accepts the arrest and trial as people's true feeling
So Bruce is in Arkham and Batman fades slowly away, so no links made, he's exploited and abused there no one visits and people who should care forget him/ move on
Horrible experimental therapy that no one should go through and is outdated and proven to not work
5 years pass and maybe effects wear off people remember? maybe someone rescues and cares for Bruce and helps him recover
Also rogue gallery who previously had good links to air headed but sweet Brucie turn on him and do not aid him im Arkham
He knows there's some magic hanging around but just thinks it is an honesty spell, and this is what they really think. The magic fades away after several years, the spell deteriorating, and an emergency meeting is called across the entire Justice League. The room is filled with shouting, crying, just noise as everyone is in disbelief and trying to figure out what happened.
Eventually a small team is selected to go to Arkham, and everyone left behind watches a live mask feed as they break in. Find Bruce's cell. Find him a shell of who he used to be, ignoring them almost entirely.
It takes ages to gain his trust again. Even telling him it was a spell doesn't help, a tiny grain of consolation among five years of abuse and experimentation.
Despite their differences, the fact they barely get along, Oliver spearheads everything. "I'm the one that broke Bruce out of Arkham the first time," he says quietly. "We all knew Alfred putting him there wasn't right, but I was the only one with the balls to help him."
Alfred is summarily fired.
And they hope to god that maybe one day, they'll catch a glimpse of the man they lost. Because the one they have now is someone else entirely.
Someone who spent five years being abused by the system, stripped of his identity, and failed to be beaten into submission.
He's more rough around the edges, more scarred, more of a short fuse.
But he's still their Bruce.
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