With the Nth metal removed, Martha lost her resistance to magic.
In that instant, Bruce cast a spell.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
The Body-Binding Curse struck Martha. Her arms and legs snapped together, her entire body stiffening like a wooden plank before collapsing to the ground.
For a moment, a pang of guilt pierced Bruce's heart.
Casting a spell like this on my mother… there's no going back now.
He was no longer the obedient son she once knew.
But now wasn't the time for sentimentality. His focus shifted to Homelander's dominant personality, which needed to be dealt with immediately.
He glanced at the battlefield.
Little Robin was being pummeled by Homelander, pinned to the ground and wailing.
Despite the chaos, Bruce was satisfied with his performance.
After all, distracting the big bad is exactly what Robins are for.
Ignoring Martha's disapproving gaze, Bruce knelt and searched her belongings.
Among her things, he found a journal.
Flipping it open, he saw a line of text emerge:
Rowena Ravenclaw's Second Spell.
"Soul Extraction!" Bruce incanted loudly.
The nature of a personality as a fragment of the soul was a debatable concept, but for this spell, it was enough.
The journal radiated an immense pull, a gravitational force directed at Homelander.
Midway through thrashing Little Robin, Homelander froze, sensing something was horribly wrong.
With a roar of desperation, he launched himself into the air, trying to escape.
But it was too late.
Bruce's spell was already in motion. In this mental plane, Homelander's dominant personality had nowhere to hide.
No matter how far he flew, the journal's pull dragged him backward.
His movements slowed, then reversed entirely.
With a final scream, Homelander was sucked into the journal, vanishing into its pages.
The world around them fell silent.
Little Robin staggered to his feet, battered and bruised, but grinning from ear to ear.
"Did we win?" he asked, his voice trembling. "Did we beat the bad guy?"
"We did," Bruce replied, his tone steady. "From today onward, you are the new Homelander."
He tore a small piece of paper from the journal and handed it to Little Robin.
"Here. This is my gift to you."
"Wow! My first gift ever!" Little Robin exclaimed, clutching the paper tightly. "Does this mean we're friends now?"
"Friends? No, no." Bruce smiled warmly. "We're family."
Little Robin froze, stunned by the word.
Family.
It was a concept he had never dared to dream of.
"Thank you, Bruce!" he sobbed, tears streaming down his face. "No, wait—thank you, Big Brother Bruce!"
"Alright, alright, no more tears." Bruce pulled him into a brief hug. "And remember, don't lose that piece of paper, okay?"
Little Robin nodded emphatically. "I promise! I'll never lose it!"
As he watched the boy's enthusiasm, Bruce couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Am I being too cruel?
That seemingly ordinary piece of paper was anything but.
With Homelander's dominant personality gone, Little Robin would now assume full control. When they returned to the real world, Homelander's behavior would change drastically—becoming innocent, even naive, like this new "little brother."
But…
Bruce's gaze hardened.
A being with godlike powers is never truly controllable.
He trusted Little Robin's kind heart, but who could guarantee it would remain that way?
After all, the ruthless Homelander had once been this boy.
Better safe than sorry.
"Robin, don't let me down," Bruce thought. I've given you the paper, but I haven't activated the third spell on it. As long as you live honorably, it will remain just a piece of paper.
Still, Bruce needed the reassurance of a contingency plan.
Meanwhile, Little Robin stared at the paper with unbridled joy.
"I'm going to fold it into a crane!" he said brightly. "Every time I see it, I'll think of you!"
"That's a great idea."
Bruce patted his shoulder, smiling faintly.
"Let's meet again in the real world."
___
Carrying the immobilized Martha on his back and clutching the metallic owl-shaped Kathoom II in one hand, Bruce returned to his mental sanctuary.
The throne in the temple remained empty, and Zur-En-Arrh had yet to return.
Bruce casually tossed the metallic owl aside before gently setting Martha down.
"Sorry, Mom," Bruce murmured, casting a general counter-curse to free her from the Body-Binding spell.
This was his domain, his mind palace—he ruled here entirely.
Martha stirred, regaining her mobility, and slowly stood up, her gaze a mix of confusion and anger.
"Bruce," she said, incredulous, "I've never truly hurt you. How could you use a spell like that on me?"
"Blame the owl," Bruce replied, plopping down beside her and resting his head on her lap as if trying to reignite her maternal instincts.
"I've been playing a constant game of wits with him. Even if you dragged me back, he'd just follow and cause you even more trouble."
"You're full of nonsense," Martha sighed, slumping to the ground, visibly defeated.
It had taken only a few moments of petrification for Bruce to dismantle her carefully orchestrated Joker personality.
Her son had grown so much—far beyond what she could handle.
"What exactly have you learned in these two and a half years away from Gotham?"
Her fiery determination had dimmed. This wasn't her battleground, and here, she could do little to change the outcome.
"I've shown you everything," Bruce said earnestly. "I didn't hide anything from you."
"Except the fact that you've become a liar," Martha muttered, lowering her head.
She struggled to process it all. Every effort she had made to save Bruce had been in vain.
The one opportunity she had to reclaim him was gone.
"Mom, do you still think you were right?" Bruce asked suddenly.
"Because you weren't. Neither you, Dad, nor I—we've all been chained by some predetermined fate.
"In these past years, I've come to realize that your deaths might not have been an accident."
Martha's eyes widened.
"Not an accident?"
Her son's words struck her like lightning.
Since losing Bruce, she had spent her days in madness—kidnapping children and forcing parents into impossible decisions, all to dull the pain in her heart.
Thomas, on the other hand, had reacted in the opposite way.
Though even more unhinged than she, he had channeled his rage into an endless crusade against crime.
Had he… discovered something?
Unknowingly, Martha's once-frenzied mind began to organize itself.
Her insanity had been rooted in her grief over Bruce. But now, being with her very-much-alive son seemed to dissolve the madness, leaving her calm.
She stroked Bruce's hair in silence, lost in thought.
"As for Barbatos, don't worry," Bruce said, his tone calculated.
He needed to frame his reasoning in a way that even Martha, with her Joker-like logic, could accept.
"Even if the five metals come together and open the door to the Dark Multiverse, I can just escape with the owl to another universe. Barbatos's plans will be for nothing."
Bruce had no intention of abandoning his world. Allowing Hogwarts' universe to fall into darkness wasn't an option.
But he had to say this to ease Martha's concerns—her priority had always been his safety.
Martha seemed partially convinced, though she still looked reluctant.
"We've finally been reunited…" she said softly.
"Can't you let someone else be Batman? Like your second personality? He seems eager to take on the mantle."
"This is my mission!" Bruce replied firmly.
"Mom, trust me—just this once!"
His words weren't the answer Martha wanted to hear.
Her hesitation lingered, and Bruce knew that if she left now without being fully convinced, her madness might resurface, undoing all his progress.
Stopping Homelander had been challenging, but persuading Martha was the real battle.
He understood this immediately. After a moment of reflection, Bruce spoke again.
"Mom, I swear," he said, raising three fingers.
"When you return to your world, I will visit. Not only to reunite with you but to show you that I've lived up to your expectations."
His promise hit the mark.
"You'll really come?" she asked, her voice tinged with hope.
"I'll absolutely come," Bruce assured her.
"Mom, this is a promise between family—no lies between us."
Finally, Martha was persuaded.
"Be careful of Barbatos," she warned.
"When the last metal is delivered, his plan will be complete. He'll find a way to embed all five metals into your body."
"I've already got a solution for that," Bruce said, smiling faintly.
Though in truth, it was Kathoom's solution—a scheme only a devious owl could devise.
When the five metals came together, Barbatos would discover firsthand what "Batman's strategy" truly meant.
"You've grown up, Bruce," Martha said, gently cupping his face.
Her eyes lingered on him, as though trying to etch his image into her memory.
The sight of her thirteen-year-old son standing before her had only ever existed in her dreams.
"One more thing," she added suddenly.
"I don't care what else you do, but until you're an adult, keep yourself in check!"
"I don't want you showing up to see me while holding a baby!"
Martha departed.
Having entered Homelander's mind through the enchanted journal, she could only leave through it now that it was in Bruce's possession.
Standing in the vast temple, Bruce glanced at the six unconscious projections around him.
Maybe one day, he thought, I'll give them limited thought processes—enough to act independently, but not enough to betray me.
That would have to wait for another time.
Kathoom II, now free, soared through the air jubilantly.
"Being alive feels amazing!" he cried. "I thought I was a goner!"
Bruce shook his head, ignoring the owl's antics.
This owl is supposed to be his second personality? He's just as ridiculous as his primary one.
Closing his eyes, Bruce vanished from the temple.
In his place, Zur-En-Arrh reappeared, still clutching Homelander's neck in a death grip, ready to drag him into the ocean depths.
Disoriented, Zur-En-Arrh looked around.
"I'm back?"
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he adjusted to his surroundings.
He instinctively moved toward the temple throne, ready to reclaim what he believed was his rightful place.
But before he could sit, Kathoom II flew in and delivered a swift kick, knocking him aside.
"Zur-En-Arrh, you just don't get it!"
Flapping his wings furiously, Kathoom II perched triumphantly on the throne.
"This mind palace now belongs to me, King Kathoom!"
---
T/N: released Genshin Impact: Strength Through Bonds
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