Part 1

Mark Murdock had arrived in Gotham to take the job as a detective, replacing the late Harvey Bullock who had also gone missing recently. Mark had also wanted to see his Grandfather at some point since of course he lived in Gotham as well. After Mark took the job as the new Detective he decided to drive to Wayne Manor where his Grandfather was along with his childhood friend Bruce Wayne. Once he had arrived, his Grandfather was nowhere to be seen and he wondered what was going on since there was no notice that he'd left in the first place. The house had also been empty, it had been filled with Spider Webs and dust. Even the clock that Mark admired when he came to visit as a kid had been nearly destroyed by age. Mark felt around the clock in order to wipe off the cobwebs and dust, only to accidentally push a button on the side. This made the clock beep and shift sideways. Behind the clock had been an entrance to a hidden staircase, which Mark walked down in curiosity. It had been a cave of sorts, which had also been covered in Spider Webs. Just when Mark let his guard down due to being in shock and confusion, a horde of Bats all swarmed Mark, making him get surprised in fear. Once the swarm flew away into the Cave, Mark had seen something that shocked him for the rest of his life, a giant penny. He'd also seen a giant dinosaur, a giant computer, and a manikin that had been covered up by a tarp. Mark then walked up the manikin and grabbed the tarp, then pulled it off. Once he did he'd been even more shocked after seeing none other than the Bat-suit(this suit, in particular, was based on the suit from TDKR) that had been once worn by Batman. Mark then suddenly realized what all this stuff was, then the realization hit him, Bruce Wayne the guy who owned this house and always disappeared for unexplained reasons was Batman.

Just when Mark couldn't get more shocked, a voice had been heard in the cave greeting him, and spooking him as he turned to the computer. The voice belonged to a computer system called Brother Eye, who had told Mark that he was the artificial intelligence created by Bruce Wayne to assist him on missions. The system is already programming knowing Mark's name and information. Brother Eye also tells Mark that he can be trusted with Bruce's secret since he now knows, and has all access to the cave. Mark explored the cave more and even found a weapons wall filled with grapple guns, batarangs, a spray bottle named "explosive gel", and a credit card for some reason with the Bat-signal on it. Mark then asks Brother eye what happened to Bruce, Brother Eye proceeds to tell Mark that one day when he was out patrolling as Batman, he went missing for some reason. It turns out that Alfred had been searching for him for years until he came to the realization that Bruce had been missing for good and was possibly dead. Mark is upset Bruce had disappeared and had the urge to do something with that, but he didn't know what to do. He then received a call from his Dad to go and visit him at his house. Mark told Brother Eye he would be back, but he needed to take care of some things.

Mark arrived at the apartment and his Dad opened the door while in a wheelchair. They talked for a bit, but Mark had still internally thinking about the news about Bruce. He wanted to tell his Dad, but he didn't end up doing it because of the urge he had earlier. Instead, he told his Dad that he will be looking after the house for a while until his Grandfather comes back, Mark's Dad is ecstatic about it and after the two talk for a few hours, Mark leaves.

5 Years Ago

The day after Mark graduated from high school, he went to Gotham to celebrate with Bruce and his Grandfather. Once they arrived in Gotham Square, they had to walk to where Bruce's limo was. They walked down an alleyway and got lost, just then a criminal with a gun appeared. Mark and his Father surrendered their possessions, but Mark didn't go down without a fight and punched the criminal, clearly, that was a mistake. The criminal told Mark that since he wants to be difficult, he will lose things he likes, Mark was confused until the criminal shot his Father in the chest. Mark rushed to his Father as he collapsed to the ground, the criminal began to run off, when all of a sudden Batman cut him off by appearing in front of him. The criminal shot Batman many times to no avail, Batman then threw a Batarang at his hand holding the gun, which caused him to drop it from his hand. The criminal attempted to punch Batman, but Batman countered his punch by grabbing it and punching him. The knocked-out criminal was cuffed by Batman, he was about to leave when he noticed Mark crying about his Father. Batman went over to Mark and felt his father's pulse, he then told Mark that he would be fine but there may be permanent damage, Mark nodded and then said thank you only for Batman to be gone before he could say it. From that day forward, Mark gave up on Gotham and left for his own safety, with his Dad staying because of his Grandfather. But what he didn't realize was that internally in the back of his head, the memory of Batman taking out that criminal was the very thing that created a small sense of justice that only grew over the years.

Present

Mark then decided to use that now strong sense of justice to be something more than a detective, something better. Mark proceeded to train for 5 weeks straight, he practiced throwing batarangs, and even asked Brother Eye if Bruce had any spare suits that were more modernized. There was one suit that was a prototype, it was the last thing that Bruce made before he disappeared. Mark told Brother Eye to make some modifications since he didn't know how to build technology and after a bit of waiting it was ready.

Mark then went out to stop a drug dealing in the suit, he successfully stopped it and in the process, he caught the criminals with evidence proving they were guilty. After the successful save, the news got out to the city that a Batman had potentially returned. To the citizens of Gotham, this brought hope again knowing that Batman was potentially out there bringing dignity to the city once again. To the criminals of Gotham, this brought worry, most notably to Bane. He'd been very unhappy with this development as the drugs were a big part of his business, so Bane hired the sharpshooter Deadshot to kill this new Batman in order to bring power back to him.

5 Weeks Later

Mark heard a rumor of another drug-dealing in progress and immediately took charge. He watched the dealing occur and filmed all of it with his special helmet camera built into the lenses of his suit. Just when Mark was done filming and about to intervene, he was shot by a bullet. Deadshot had fired at his chest without knowing it would deflect, Mark immediately ran to Deadshot and the two began to fight. Deadshot kept using various weapons to no avail until eventually, Mark took his chance by throwing a Batarang at his eye. Deadshot fled the scene and Mark missed the drug dealing. The next day he handed the tape to his investigative team at work and claimed that it was from an anonymous source, the police identified who these people are and later arrested them.

Jeff Pierce(Mark's CO Worker), who had been working with Gotham PD ever since Mark started began to grow suspicious of Mark and how he was able to get that tape. From then on, Jeff kept an eye on Mark.

Bane grew more furious over the fact that this new Batman was able to outwit Deadshot. Though he still believed that this was not the real Batman. Regardless, he needed a way to eradicate this Batman problem. So instead of hiring the world's 2nd greatest assassin, he hired the 1st greatest assassin to take care of this new Batman.

Mark felt confident about his job as Batman and took down many criminals in the process. Just when he thought that everything was easy, he received a crime alert from Brother Eye. Mark went to investigate, only to find every criminal he needed to arrest dead. Mark was confused, until the man who caused their deaths revealed himself. This man was none other than Deathstroke, the world's greatest assassin. Mark began to fight and throw punches, but none of his moves could touch Deathstroke, as he was able to dodge all of them. Deathstroke eventually threw a punch and dislocated Mark's arm, he then kicked Mark's kneecap and broke his leg. Deathstroke proceeded to beat Mark down until he couldn't stand anymore and collapsed. Mark was now completely knocked out and on the ground in the middle of Gotham city. Just when hope seemed out of reach, Jeff appeared next to Mark and was frightened. Jeff had been secretly watching Mark and found out he was Batman, he wanted to turn Mark in for acts of vigilantism but he ended up not doing it and instead began to carry Mark to his house. Mark's wrist had a built-in Brother Eye that told Jeff to take Mark to Wayne Manor, and he did so while still taking everything in. Jeff arrived at the Batcave, still holding Mark and putting him on an operating table. Brother Eye tells Jeff that Mark is in a Coma and he may be this way for a while, Jeff began to worry about Mark as he may never wake up.

Mark was confused about where he was since he remembers just fighting Deathstroke last. It appeared to be Wayne Manor, but it was so much cleaner and brighter. Plus there seemed to be a party going on currently. Mark walked around the party still very confused, he then saw an individual that looked familiar and proceeded to go talk to him, only for the person to be Bruce Wayne. Mark was even more confused and asked if that was really him, Bruce told him that he wasn't really Bruce and that he is Mark's mind, also telling him that Mark is in a coma. Mark freaked out and wanted to leave immediately, but mind Bruce said he couldn't and that the only way to leave is to let out what you really feel, but Mark didn't understand what he meant by this. Bruce told Mark that he can't tell him what that is and that Mark needs to figure it out himself. Mark told Bruce he had been repressing nothing and that it isn't true, also wanting to get out of his mind. Bruce then said to enjoy the party because he is going to be there a while. Mark looked around the house and tried to find a way out to no avail, eventually, Alfred walked up to Mark and asked if he would like a cup of tea. Mark says no, but Alfred asks if he is sure, again Mark says no. This continues until Mark gets frustrated and yells at Alfred to shut up. Bruce instantly appears next to Mark and tells Alfred he can go downstairs, Bruce proceeds to talk to Mark and asks him why he became Batman, Mark tells him it is because he left. Bruce stops him and asks specifically why Mark wanted to be Batman, Mark tells Bruce that he wanted to do what is right and help the city. Bruce nods and walks outside the room. Mark tries to stop Bruce, but when he leaves the room he is not in Wayne Manor anymore. Instead, he is in a landscape of blackness with one spotlight directed on him. Mark hears Bruce's voice say that when he became Batman, he took up a heavy burden. Bruce doesn't believe Mark is willing to take it. Mark yells that he is and that he can do it and that it's fine, only for Bruce to tell him that it's not fine, and it's ok to tell him how he feels. Mark denies again that he is repressing anything, only for Deathstroke to appear with a sword. Mark backs up and tries to escape, only for him to be slashed with the sword. He opened his eyes and saw nothing in front of him anymore, only for him to be picked up by Bane, have his back broken, and get thrown to the ground. Bruce's voice tells Mark to look in the mirror and see how he is feeling, a mirror appears in front of Mark and its reflection is of Mark in the Batsuit. Bruce's voice tells him that what he sees in the mirror is what he is afraid of, only for the reflection to come out and start beating down on Mark. Eventually, the reflection turns into Bruce in the Batsuit and he grows into a giant, the giant is about to slam his hand on Mark when he realizes what has happened, Mark yells that he knows and the hand disappears. Mark yells that he is afraid of being Batman, he is afraid of taking the mantle, he is afraid of dying, and he thinks he could never measure up to Bruce. Mark keeps crying on the ground like a little kid, until he feels a hand on his shoulder, the hand of Bruce. Bruce lifts Mark up and looks him in the eyes, he tells Mark that it's ok to be afraid, that even can't completely run from his emotions. Mark began to stop crying and told Bruce that he isn't like him and that he could never do what he does, Bruce agrees and says that he can't, but he can do it his way. Mark hugs Bruce and the two share a moment, Bruce says that all people feel emotion and they can't keep it away forever, but the best people work with those emotions and use them to become much better instead of working against them. Mark and Bruce stop hugging, then a door opens behind Mark with a bright white light coming from inside. Bruce tells Mark that this is the way out, and he can leave right now. Bruce also tells him that when he leaves it is his choice to keep being Batman or not, nothing is required. Mark thinks to himself for a minute and then heads for the door, but before he goes he looks at Bruce smiles and says. "Thank you, thank you for everything. I know what to do now." Mark then leaves.

Mark wakes up and begins to breathe heavily, he looks at Jeff and grabs a Batarang on the table, aiming it toward Jeff. He asks Jeff what he is doing there and how he found out, Jeff then explains that he has been spying on Mark. After he was beaten, his wrist device told him to bring Mark with him to this location. Mark thanks him and acknowledges that Jeff knows, he tells Jeff that he can't tell anyone or they are at risk with their lives, Jeff quickly agrees as he thinks that he will be killed if he thinks otherwise. Mark then acknowledges Jeff as a talented detective, so he asks Jeff if he would like to join him in his vigilante work as the guy in the chair in movies, which Jeff agrees to.