A week had passed since Jack—The Keeper—had his first visitor. The rundown, moss-covered mall had been eerily quiet, save for the occasional echo of his own footsteps as he patrolled its dilapidated halls. Penguin’s visit had been a bizarre but fortunate stroke of luck. Jack wasn’t sure how to feel about his first customer being a notorious crime boss from Gotham, but at least it had given him some much-needed Mall Coins—MC, as he now referred to them because “Mall Coins” just sounded ridiculous after a while.
Sitting behind the counter of the General Goods Store, Jack stared at the floating system screen in front of him. His balance had increased, thanks to Penguin’s purchases. Before Oswald had stumbled into the Nexus Conduit, Jack had barely scraped by with a meager 500 MC. But now, thanks to that unexpected sale, his balance had jumped to 1,150 MC.
Still, 1,150 wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things. Fixing up the mall was a costly endeavor, and every restoration or upgrade required hundreds, if not thousands, of MC. He had already spent 300 MC restocking the store with more stimpaks, potions, and other items that seemed to catch the interest of his interdimensional customers. That left him with 850 MC, and he needed to make some smart investments if he wanted this place to survive.
“Okay, think, Jack,” he muttered to himself, pacing behind the counter. “You’ve got a semi-reliable customer in Penguin, but that guy’s not exactly the kind of steady income you can count on. Plus, he’s bound to attract trouble. So... what do I invest in next?”
He scrolled through the options available in the system’s store menu. There were dozens of potential upgrades he could spend his hard-earned MC on. He could repair more stores, expand the General Goods inventory, or even unlock new sections of the mall. But each choice had its risks. Without a steady stream of customers, blowing all his MC on one major upgrade could backfire.
"More stores would attract more customers," he thought aloud, running his hand through his hair. “But I can’t afford to restore a whole wing of the mall yet.”
He hovered over a potential upgrade: "Enhanced Advertising." According to the description, it would send out subtle signals across the multiverse, drawing in travelers from various dimensions who might be interested in visiting the Nexus Conduit. The price tag? 500 MC.
Jack chewed his lip. "That’s half of what I’ve got left... but if it works, it could bring in more customers."
It was tempting, but risky. He sighed and moved to the next option: "Mall Security." This upgrade would provide a small, automated defense system to help deal with any... unwanted guests. The description hinted at sentient security drones that could patrol the mall, keeping everything in order and ensuring the safety of the mall—and its manager. Price: 400 MC.
“Security might not be a bad idea, especially with Penguin running around.” Jack winced at the thought of a Gotham villain causing chaos in his already fragile mall. He could imagine some of Penguin’s enemies—or worse, Gotham’s resident vigilante—following him in here.
Jack tapped his finger on the counter, considering his options. He could invest in advertising, security, or even expanding the café. Each one had its pros and cons, but before he could make a decision, the system pinged again.
New customer detected.
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Jack straightened up. Another customer? Maybe it was Penguin again, or perhaps someone entirely new. He quickly dismissed the floating screen and moved toward the entrance, eager to see who had arrived.
But as he reached the front of the mall, he paused, his heart skipping a beat. The customer hadn’t entered yet. It was someone standing outside the mall’s glass doors, staring up at the massive, decaying building with a suspicious intensity.
Jack couldn’t quite make out the figure, but something about their stance made him uneasy. He retreated into the shadows, watching as the figure slowly approached. Whoever it was, they moved with precision and purpose, their every step measured and calculated.
As they drew closer, Jack’s blood ran cold. The figure wore a dark cape that billowed slightly with their movement, and their silhouette was unmistakable.
Batman.
Jack’s mind raced. If Batman had tracked Penguin to the Nexus Conduit, things were about to get very complicated.
- - -
Gotham City - A Week Earlier
The Batcave was illuminated by the soft glow of computer screens as Bruce Wayne, the man behind the cowl of Batman, stood before his towering array of monitors. On the largest screen, a map of Gotham flickered, highlighting recent criminal activity. Penguin had been keeping a low profile lately, which only made Bruce more suspicious. Whenever Cobblepot went quiet, it usually meant he was planning something big—or hiding from someone bigger.
Bruce’s eyes narrowed as he pulled up the latest surveillance footage from the Iceberg Lounge, Penguin’s usual haunt. The place had been abandoned for nearly a week now, with no sign of Oswald or his usual cronies. This wasn’t like him. Penguin wasn’t the type to leave his empire unattended.
“Where are you hiding, Oswald?” Bruce muttered, his fingers tapping across the keyboard with rapid precision.
The Batcomputer beeped, pulling up the last known location of Penguin’s top lieutenants. According to street-level informants, they had been spotted heading into the seedier parts of Gotham’s industrial district—a place Penguin hadn’t operated from in years. But there was more: a rumor had started circulating among the city’s underworld about a strange, otherworldly location Penguin had been seen entering. A place that didn’t seem to exist in any maps or city records.
That piqued Batman’s interest.
He dug deeper, cross-referencing the rumor with unexplained phenomena in the area. A few anomalies popped up—strange energy readings, unexplained disappearances—but nothing concrete. Whatever this place was, it was hidden well. Too well.
Bruce donned the cowl, his jaw set in determination. If Penguin had found some new hideout, it was only a matter of time before it became a problem for Gotham. He wouldn’t let that happen.
- - -
Present Day
Batman stood before the dilapidated mall, his eyes scanning the exterior for any signs of life. The building was old, crumbling in some places, but it wasn’t the decay that caught his attention. It was the subtle hum of energy beneath the surface—a faint, almost imperceptible pulse that told him this place was far from ordinary.
His sources had led him here after a week of searching, following the trail of Penguin’s lieutenants and unusual energy signatures. Now, standing before the entrance, Bruce could feel the weight of something far more dangerous lurking within.
He tapped a button on his gauntlet, sending a silent signal to the Batmobile, which was parked a few blocks away in stealth mode. The HUD in his cowl flickered to life, displaying a real-time scan of the building.
"Unusual energy readings detected," the system reported in its calm, mechanical tone. "Origin unknown."
Batman’s eyes narrowed. If Penguin had found his way into this place, there was no telling what kind of resources or allies he could be aligning himself with. Bruce knew better than to underestimate Oswald Cobblepot, and the fact that he’d gone to ground here meant there was more to this mall than met the eye.
Stepping closer, Bruce reached for one of his tools—a small, disc-like device—and placed it on the glass door. The device hummed softly, scanning for weaknesses or hidden security systems.
Nothing.
The doors opened easily with a soft hiss, revealing the dark, empty interior of the mall. Batman moved silently, his footsteps barely making a sound as he entered the building. His HUD continued scanning, picking up faint energy signatures coming from deeper within the mall.
“Penguin,” Batman muttered to himself, his voice low and gravelly. “What are you up to?”
He moved further inside, his eyes narrowing at the sight of dilapidated storefronts and vines creeping along the walls. The place looked abandoned, but there was something off—something that didn’t belong.
Suddenly, his HUD flashed, detecting movement. Batman stilled, his body tensing as he turned toward the source of the disturbance. Whatever was in here with him, it wasn’t alone.
Bruce activated his stealth mode, blending into the shadows as he followed the movement deeper into the mall. His mind raced with possibilities. Was Penguin working with someone here, or had he stumbled onto something beyond even his own understanding?
One thing was certain: whatever this place was, it held secrets that could change the balance of power in Gotham—and Batman wasn’t about to let that happen.