#rogues gallery

I'm back in my batman era

My Riddler design (inspired in various versions of the character) and ofc my own Query and Echo interpretations (very cabaret inspired)

what Batman’s actually doing:

pushing past hour three of Riddler’s impromptu lecture on how tenses and verbal intonation affect the solution rate of his riddles

talking a random guy down from joining Penguin’s goon squad for better pay (“you’re not a killer, you just need friends” “…yeah”)

pulling electrodes out of Jim Gordon’s ass (again) because he’s the only one who won’t laugh

explaining compounding interest rates to Robin while doing 180 on the highway during rush hour

blacking out Harvey Dent’s window in Arkham because seeing the waxing/waning moon was giving him anxiety

jumping out at kids skipping curfew and scaring them

spending so much money on charity that Lucius Fox is impressed he can still successfully embezzle from WE at the same time

Danny Fenton gets detention on his second day at Gotham Academy.

Official reason: “disruptive commentary.”

Unofficial reason: he told a substitute teacher that their “vibe felt like a hostage situation waiting to happen” and then tried to give conflict-resolution advice mid-lecture.

Damian is also in detention.

For unrelated reasons.

They do not speak.

The room is quiet. Boring. Normal.

Then the window opens.

No one touched it.

Danny glances over. “Oh. Hey.”

Damian immediately reaches for a weapon.

Because standing outside the third-floor window is a Gotham rogue who definitely should not be there.

“Relax,” Danny says. “He’s not here for that.”

“That is a criminal,” Damian replies flatly.

“Yeah, but like… he’s having a moment.”

The rogue climbs in, looking less threatening and more… frustrated.

“I tried it your way,” he snaps at Danny. “Didn’t work.”

Damian freezes.

“You know this individual.”

Danny shrugs. “We talked yesterday.”

“You talked to a rogue.”

“Yeah, he needed advice.”

This is already spiraling.

More spiraling happens when another figure appears at the window.

Then another.

Within ten minutes, detention has:

One vigilante-in-training (angry)

One civilian (unbothered)

Three Gotham rogues (confused, irritated, but oddly cooperative)

The teacher has not returned.

Danny claps his hands once.

“Okay, cool, everyone’s here.”

Damian: “…Everyone?”

Danny: “Yeah, we’re doing a follow-up.”

“A follow-up to what.”

Danny gestures vaguely. “Bad decisions.”

One of the rogues points at him. “You said if we didn’t escalate, things would go smoother.”

“They would’ve,” Danny says. “You skipped step two.”

“There were steps?”

“There are always steps.”

Damian is watching a known criminal argue about process with a teenager who should not be in charge of anything.

“Why are you listening to him,” Damian demands.

The rogue pauses.

“…He’s weirdly convincing.”

Danny nods. “Thank you.”

This continues.

Danny mediates.

Not fights. Not threats. Just… talks.

He breaks down their plans like they’re group projects that went off the rails.

“You’re overcomplicating it,” he tells one. “You don’t actually want the chaos, you want the reaction to the chaos. Different problem.”

“You’re focusing on the wrong target,” he tells another. “That’s why it keeps blowing up in your face.”

At one point, he hands someone a piece of paper.

“Write down what you actually want to happen,” Danny says. “Not the dramatic version. The real version.”

“…This is stupid.”

“Do it anyway.”

They do.

Damian sits there, absolutely still.

Because this should not be working.

These are criminals.

They should not be calmly discussing motivations in a detention room like this is normal.

And yet—

No one is fighting.

No one is escalating.

For once, Gotham’s chaos is… contained.

Directed.

Almost manageable.

Damian finally interrupts.

“You are interfering with active criminal behavior.”

Danny looks at him. “Yeah.”

“That is not your role.”

“Maybe,” Danny says. “But it helps.”

“It is not sustainable.”

Danny shrugs. “Neither is what they’re doing now.”

Silence.

One of the rogues raises a hand slightly.

“…So what’s step two?”

Danny smiles.

“Glad you asked.”

By the time the teacher comes back, the room is empty.

Except for Danny and Damian.

The window is closed.

Everything looks normal.

“What happened here,” the teacher asks slowly.

Danny brightens. “Group discussion.”

Damian says nothing.

Because later that night, reports come in.

Fewer incidents.

Plans abandoned halfway through.

Rogues… hesitating.

Not stopping completely.

Just… reconsidering.

Damian finds Danny on the roof after school the next day.

“You are altering behavioral patterns,” he says.

Danny leans back on his hands. “I’m talking to people.”

“They are not people. They are threats.”

Danny looks at him, expression quieter than usual.

“They’re both.”

Damian doesn’t respond.

Because he doesn’t have a counter for that yet.

And that is deeply irritating.