SPOILER WARNING!
This summary and book will contain
spoilers for The Batman (2022), please
do not interact unless you have watched
the movie or do not mind spoilers!

I USED TO HAVE FAITH IN
HUMANITY, BUT I'VE LEARNED
THAT FAITH IS STUPID AND
MANKIND IS SOMETHING YOU
CAN NEVER TRUST.

When one apple goes bad, when it's rotting from the inside out, it releases carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide then catalyzes a process in the fruit around it to start going bad. And the worst part about that chemical reaction? You never know it's happening until it's too late (actually, that's quite incorrect, most chemical reactions have in-depth mechanisms where chemists know exactly what's occurring in them, keyword: most). It was a series of events that once set off could only lead in one direction — to the end. Which, in any case, is where everything on the planet was headed. Human beings weren't an exception to that rule, they were living until they died and after that, what did they have? It depends on what you believe, some would say simply out. And they wouldn't be wrong, what actually happened after death no one could say. Some would like to believe there was an afterlife, where they could meet the people they loved over their lifetime. Others wanted another chance with life itself, no matter the form it would take place in. That was the key itself — do you love living or does death seem like the peace you deserve after years of hardships because you lived.

People can rot from the inside out — their souls turn into a gooey black mess of evil and despair. Over time those people turn others' souls into the same thing. That's what happened with Gotham City, people began to rot and evil overtook everything. The death of the Wayne's was enough to push that forward, they were two of the most prominent people the city had. Two of the wealthiest. Maybe, in turn, that was what turned Gotham City into the breeding ground for evil. Money. People would go to the ends of the earth to protect their money, to get more of it. Money was a driving factor for everything in the world — everything that a person needed to survive was based on the amount of money you have to give. Money is everything.

At least, that's what Harlow Finley thought. She grew up rich, money was all she knew. There was nothing about her that knew what true hardship felt like. Her life was one of riches, that was until the Wayne's were murdered. Part of her life flashed in front of her eyes — she watched her best friend grieve and seclude himself, and she saw everything she had with her parents falling apart. Harlow Finley soon finds Gotham City to be that out of despair plenty of others saw it to be, it became her biggest goal to pack up and get the hell out of town before anything could happen to her. Even if it meant pissing off her parents. Even if it meant leaving behind her childhood best friend (who she definitely hadn't fallen in love with). Gotham City was the exact opposite of what Harlow Finley wanted to be.

Gotham City was rotting from the inside out right in front of her eyes. Hiding behind the shadows of the sinners that ran the city itself, nothing in Gotham was sacred. No power was truly working for the population of the city, to help the people around them. The entire city was hiding under the shadow of sinners. Perhaps Harlow wanted to get out of the city before she learned more about her own family — both the Finley's and the Elliot's helped to build Gotham city into what it was. Her parents (and as a byproduct herself) lived off of generational wealth that just continued to grow. Harlow hauling her ass out of Gotham was her escaping her family name. Outside of the walls of Gotham City, Harlow Finley was a nobody from a town that people tried to keep out of their mouths. Gotham City was a stain to the rest of New Jersey, and to the rest of the world. And Harlow wanted to run before that got to her.

But see, you can leave Gotham City, but the city never leaves you. Because the minute that Harlow started to have a life, a name, outside of the place she was pulled right back to it. Only to find that the city had gone to hell in a handbasket and on top of it her father was dying. Oh, and not to mention, the fact that her childhood best friend (and the man she was definitely not still in love with) was a vigilante running around in a bat suit. Then again, she was returning with supernatural powers. Oh, not to mention the fact that she asked her childhood best friend to marry her just so her dying father could walk her down the aisle. That seemed important to note.

So, maybe they were both living in the shadows of the sinners that were their parents. Because the shadows are easier to survive and thrive in than the light itself.

HARLOW VERITY FINLEY, M.D.
portrayed by lucy boynton

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ADDITIONAL CAST
Zoe Kravitz ... Selina Kyle
Robert Pattinson ...  Bruce Wayne
Willem Dafoe ... Joshua Finley
Michelle Pfeiffer ... Alice Elliot-Finley
Rose Leslie ... Pamela Isley
Paul Dano ... Edward Nashton
Colin Farrell ... Oswald Cobblepot
Jayme Lawson ... Bella Reál
Andy Serkis ... Alfred Pennyworth
Jeffrey Wright ... Jim Gordon
John Turturro ... Carmine Falcone
Lucas Hedges ... Harvey Dent
Ghassan Massoud ... Ra's Al Ghoul
Cillian Murphy... Johnathan Crane
Ralph Finnes ... Victor Fries
James Badge Dale ... Victor Zsasz
Barry Keoghan ... The Joker

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AUTHORS NOTE

When I tell you this was me during the duration of the movie. The scene where he was pushing the table 🧎🏼‍♀️ sir I am just your humble servant. Anyways — I was not lying when I said in the og authors note that this summary would be edited whenever I watch the movie. Let me just say, the vibes of the original story were spot on. And the title?? Still one of my genuine serves my man. I can't wait to get into writing these darker fics and attempting to mature with my writing. I've spent so much time on wattpad writing for fandoms where maturity in your writing isn't necessarily a good thing. Especially the Harry Potter fandom?? Idk it's not like I can really write fics like this with darker meanings and plots in those fandoms. Mayhaps I'm just rambling right now lmfao, y'all can be honest if I am. I'm just very excited for my more recent fics despite the fact that I never have any time to update them, literally ever. Hopefully over the summer and my spring break I can figure out a groove with work/internships with updates bc I miss writing!! Also don't mind my sign off here — I planned on making a battinson sign off but alas I am studying for organic chemistry instead.

The number of times I've had to rewrite this summary, I'm amazed I finally finished something — even if it's terrible.

DISCLAIMERS
1. I do not own any of the plot lines and or characters created for The Batman. All of the plot points & characters featured in the movie are not mine.

2. This book may contain some of these things: violence, blood, gore, death, drugs, alcohol consumption, sex, sexual activities, crude language, mental health, etc. Please do not interact with this material if it will mess with your mental health!

DEDICATIONS
to the hogwarts founders: ownthelight, angeIeyes,
findtheforce
to the milfs: halosnite, foxgIoves, fxllmoons, awfulmoons, Iexihoward, bananapopsicIes
and to my many other friends whom I love and appreciate:starfragment, elixiirs, jonnybernthaI, pulcherrius, dunbonnet, luckyvirgo, xonceuponatimex, LionWitch22, antigalactic, belovass, arsvenal, protectremus, scarlwtchrist, spacesapphics, & many others!