Old Man
"Batman! Are you alright?" Wonder Woman asked with concern as she saw Batman crouched on the floor next to the unconscious Bane breathing heavily. He rose slowly to his and said, "I'm fine. Forget about it, concentrate on the mission." He then turned and ran towards where Metallo was beating Superman into the ground. He threw an explosive batarang, which hit Metallo straight in his kryptonite heart. Metallo collapsed to the ground unconscious. Batman stopped and panted for a second as he surveyed the League's progress. It was only a small skirmish with some of the more physically able of the League's enemies. But it was getting harder for Batman to keep going. Lights began to dance in front of his eyes and his heart rate sped up. He began to breath heavier, he raised his hand and was shocked to see it trembling. He focused and managed to stop it from shaking. It was happening more and more frequently. He knew it wasn't safe for him to continue but if he couldn't complete the mission then he wasn't fit to live. He stood straighter and managed to control his breathing. He caught Diana looking at him. The League had defeated the villains and was currently rounding them up. None of them had noticed his little episode. Well, none of them except Diana. Concern was clear on her face. She would want to talk about it. He clicked a button on his belt and summoned his plane. As he flew back to the cave, he thought about the progress of the League. It was getting bigger everyday. It had been doing so ever since Luthor had taken down Darkseid. That was nearly 15 years ago. Lights began to dance in front of his eyes again. He knew what was causing it. The mission was causing it. As it had been for the last year. He was getting old. He thought of the progress of the League, and felt bitter. Most of them would still be able to continue a hundred years after he was dead. Even the founding members were still in their prime. Well, Green Lantern was getting older, but he didn't rely as much on his body as he did his mind. Batman needed both. Clark was nearly the same age as him but his Kryptonian DNA kept him looking the same as he did 20 years ago. Diana was immortal and would look like she was in her mid-twenties forever unless she was killed. J'onn was like Superman, his alien DNA kept him looking the same. And Flash? Well, when the League started Flash was barely twenty. Now, he was in his prime and could probably keep going for at least another 20 years. Whereas he, well, he would be lucky if he would be able to keep going another few years. Last week had been the what set it off. The League had finally discovered when his birthday was and came to see him at Wayne Manor to celebrate. To celebrate his 50th birthday. They had been shocked when they had arrived at the Manor. They hadn't been here in nearly ten years and a lot had changed. Alfred had passed away for one. Dick, Tim and Barbara hadn't spoken to or visited him in five years for another. Nearly all of the rooms were sealed up except for the kitchen and the study. He had taken to sleeping in the cave. The house held too many memories. He had quit using his playboy persona nearly ten years ago. It would have been too undignified for a forty-year old man to maintain. He had settled in to running the company and completing the mission. Nothing else. He hadn't spoken to anyone outside of those two circles for years. And they showed up and found out what he had become. An old, bitter man living in a big, dark house full of ghosts and long lost memories. An old, bitter man with nothing left in his life. They had tried to cheer him up and get him to celebrate but he had threw them out. He only spoke to them now concerning League business. If they attempted to speak to him about anything else he would ignore them and leave. He flew back to his dark cave to rest until later tonight when he would patrol the streets of Gotham and bring fear and justice to lives of criminals. Just another night.