Disclaimer: Am not associated in any way with the owner justice league…this is a work of fiction.
.oO0Oo.
Future…
A building crumbled down, raising dust and shattering the silence which had driven the land almost to the brink of nothingness. Everything seemed bleak and dead except for a few standing trees here and there, somehow making the lost life really meaningful. Rubbles filled as far as the eyes could see with corpses and decay littering the whole place. Bloodied and burnt bodies were still in their vehicles…children still in their mother's arms as fathers shielded them from the death that had consumed them all. In the ashes and midst of decay and death, a dark clad figure knelt, his shoulders shaking. On the ground beside him, his cowl, a black mask with pointed ears lay on the dirtied ground. His mind was in turmoil, he'd failed everything, he'd lost the one thing he should have been protecting…the one thing most dear to him. Just a few feet away from him, lay a barely visible sign post. The figure's mouth opened as tears leaked from him cold dark eyes and wind blew his rough dark hair.
"I've failed you.", he whispered to the wind, his voice gruff with pain and anger. Pain at losing everything and anger at letting himself fail to protect his most precious life's goal.
The wind blew, whipping up his dark cape and also blowing some dust from the dirtied and almost broken down sign post. It was just a few words on it, written in faded black letters.
Gotham. The city of hope.
His city…his hope…the only glimmer of light in his black and grey world…the last legacy of his parent…what he lived for and protected was now gone. Gotham city was dead…nothing but an ash and death filled wasteland. He'd predicted everything…every move possible for the enemy to make, but not this. Slowly, his hand reached out and picked up a piece of rock which slowly crumbled and turned to nothing but dust.
"Bruce.".
His mind didn't even pause as he heard his name being called in a voice he was all too familiar with. Bruce Wayne, a name he had allowed himself to keep and live by. Bruce Wayne, a name filled with nothing but lies.
"That's not my name.", he said in his almost broken voice as he reached out to take the cowl…the real legacy he had. It represented who he was…who he truly was.
"Am sorry this had to happen, but it was necessary. You're the last one left.", the familiar feminine voice spoke again filled with sympathy and pain.
He almost chuckled to that. She'd helped in killing his comrades, raising a war from nowhere and to make it all more painful, she watched as they had laid waste to his home. Yeah, feeling sorry was what she was supposed to feel.
"I never thought this would happen, this end to everything. This pain you brought reminded me of what I should have been and what I should have done, I guess I had it all coming.", the figure said and slowly stood up with cowl in hand. He slipped it on and allowed himself one final view of the dead land he had once called his city.
"Am sorry, but it was to be. My duty and loyalty to them always had to come first. There was no other choice.", the feminine voice said again, implanting more anger in the man.
"Loyalty? Well, I doubt that it was the case.", the man who once thought of himself as Bruce Wayne said, his fingers lingering on a particular section on his belt. The decision he was about to make was something he knew was a wrong one. There were so many variables against it, but if he did it right, Gotham would be saved…this whole destruction would never occur.
"You know I won't go down quietly".
"Very well Batman.", the feminine voice said again to him. He'd always longed for the person behind him, but now, it was different.
Without a second to decide, the whole area around him engulfed in black smoke which shielded him perfectly, allowing him a moment to do what he planned.
"Bruce, this is useless", he heard his opponent say, before he sent two batarangs. Though he knew it was useless, he was somehow relieved when he heard the sound of them being deflected. Just a few more seconds was all he needed, but fate wasn't going to make things easy on him. Within a second, something slammed into him, sending him crashing out of the clearing smoke and into the ground hard. He could feel pain to the lower side of his abdomen…probably a broken rib or two.
"Am sorry, but I have to do this.", he heard…the words filled with sorrow. He couldn't see her clearly through the pain that clouded his vision, but he knew she was floating just a little distance from him.
"And I have to do this.", and with that he showed what he was truly planning. The device he'd constructed similar to the one Chronos had used to time travel was ready. He had planned never to use it unless facing a villain accustomed to time travel, but this was an exception.
"NOOO!", he heard as the figure flew at him at a terrifying speed.
He activated and felt his body lighten. What he was about to do was bad…very bad actually. The last thing he caught sight of was the silky black hair of his opponent and then everything disappeared.
Present…
Everything seemed to be quiet for Gotham; the night seemed to carry a sense of peace and safety which was in all knowledge, rare. A man walked calmly down the street, the normal fear which would have existed was gone. The flickering lamp post of the total silence with lack of any activity did not even raise a single hair on his neck. Today, Gotham was peaceful with no activity from the likes of Joker who thrived on mayhem and chaos. He walked calmly past an alley and almost didn't notice the bit of park flying around there. He stopped a few steps away and decided to go back out of curiosity. Before long, a huge explosion rocked the alley. A figure emerged from the explosion, the darkness shrouding his figure.
.oO0Oo.
A dark vehicle roared down the road of the quiet city. Inside the driver's seat, the dark knight contemplated on what he had wished wouldn't happen. He had thought the night would be a peaceful one for his city…they deserved at least one night one peace and safety, but it seemed nothing ever went that way for the citizens. He'd been checking up on some leads, and thinking that maybe for the first time in a long time, he wouldn't be needed…oh, and how he was wrong.
"Master Bruce, I'm sending you the location of the explosion. It seemed to be a minor one, but its signature registers as pure energy, unlike anything I've seen and a few traces of omega energy.", the voice of his butler and closest friend spoke.
That was enough for batman to make his conclusion. He didn't know who it was, but he sure as hell wasn't giving them any chance to have fun. Quickly, he checked the location and blew the engines of his batmobile and allowed it to roar at a terrifying speed.
Within minutes, he was at the location and walking towards the alley. He noticed a man lying on the ground a few feet away with a few burn marks but dismissed it when he saw that he was still breathing. What took his attention was the sight of the alley; it was almost perfectly intact, like nothing had happened. A normal person would have decided that this was not his interest, but to his trained eye, he saw more. On the ground in the alley were burnt marks which seemed to be fading quickly. Slowly, he walked closer and soon, he could hear someone breathing. It was a kind of forced breathing as if the person was in pain. As he drew closer, an identical figure stood up from behind some trash cans. Immediately, batman knew what was going on.
"You shouldn't be here.", he said seriously.
The figure coughed. He knew getting close to his copy would cause trouble; it would put a strain on time itself. He coughed again before looking at his hand, noticing that it was vanishing. His time was almost up and he knew his original knew.
"There's something I should tell you, he said in a whisper.", he said.
Batman stood stoic and listened to what his copy said, after everything was said he still didn't move.
"You know what you should do.", the copy said before he vanished…wiped out from time and leaving batman standing alone.
He knew one thing now…things were going to get complicated now.
Note: This fiction is raw and I've not proof read it, I could use with some help to help me polish and make it better. A review would be appreciated and any ideas would be received warmly.
