As I looked up at the sky, I couldn't help but wonder why the sun had decided that today was the day to shine its rays. Gotham is rarely ever touched by light, but then again, as many would attest, the city could never be normal again. Never could things be the same because he was gone. Bruce Wayne, the Batman, the Dark Knight, is dead, and nobody knows what is to come of the city without their vigilante watching over the streets.
Looking around the cemetery, amongst the couple hundred attendees of the funeral service, are heroes in uniform. Superman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and numerous other members of the Justice League stand in the sun kissed graveyard, all to mourn the death of the Batman. All the patrons see when they look at me is Nightwing, not Dick Grayson, standing with Robin, not Tim Drake. Red Hood is nowhere in sight, though I'm not surprised, and Oracle had stayed away from the funeral because she no longer had a mask to hide behind.
Despite Barbara and Jason's absence at the funeral service, the turnout was surprising and diverse. As well as Bruce's allies as Batman, there were a lot of business partners of Wayne Industries, the entirety of the GCPD, and a number of socialite friends of Bruce. I even spot Selina nearby, uncomfortable around all the crimefighters, even though she wasn't her wearing her catsuit, opting for a black leather jacket and jeans.
"I'm glad you came," I say, moving to stand next to her.
"I had to. I left so many things unsaid. I wish he had listened to me that night. I wish he had stayed," she says. Though he wasn't sure what she was talking about, I had a general idea of what she was talking about, and I wish any of us could have persuaded him not to confront Jonathan Crane. Tim and James would both rather sacrifice themselves over the exposure of the Batman.
"Bruce has always been stubborn. You shouldn't be too hurt. He never lets me or anyone else in on what he plans. It's normal for him to shut people out," I tell her. She nods but I know what she's hurting. Tim, Barbara, and I were devastated when Bruce died and Wayne Manor was burned to the ground, so I can only imagine how much harder it would be for a woman who probably loved him, even if she was different than him in so many ways. Before she can say anything, everybody's conversations are cut of by a clearing of a throat.
"Hello everyone," Clark says, a microphone in his hand as he addresses everyone. When the funeral was planned, Kent had agreed to speak the parting words so that Tim nor I could not accidentally reveal our identities. "I want to thank all of you who came here today, whether you knew the man we remember today as Bruce Wayne or if you knew him by Batman. I just want to say that even if he was both those titles to me, the one name I can give him is 'one of the world's greatest men.' Bruce Wayne, Batman, was one of the greatest men I ever knew. He could have wasted away all his money and abused his family's power in Gotham, but he didn't. He used all his wealth to make his home as safe as he could, investing in charities and benefits to fund campaigns against crime as Bruce Wayne and he used the rest of the money to grant himself an arsenal for Batman at night. He was, despite what anyone says, one of the world's knights, one of the select few who truly stood for justice, no matter the cost. He even exposed his true identity on public television to save James Gordon and his ally Robin. Bruce Wayne was one of the best men I knew, and standing here today, I know that the world will never be the same without him."
As Clark goes to stand with the rest of the League, the coffin is lowered into the ground, a chrome bat emblem glistening on its lid. The statue above his tombstone is revealed: an ornate bronze statue of Bruce in his Batsuit, his cowl removed and in his hands, held to his stomach, his face emotionless. 'Here lies Gotham's Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne,' reads the epitaph.
As I am about to leave about half an hour later, Superman approaches me. "Nightwing, do you have a moment?"
"Yeah Superman, what is it?" I ask, expecting condolences, but what he says is different.
"I x-rayed the coffin, and there's no body… I think that Bruce is still alive."