Batman: The Legend Continues
The ruins of the once great Gotham City lie in waste as the vultures look for something…anything to devour. They won't find much here, as is usually the case. Maybe a lone rat or skunk who had an unfortunate accident with the still running power plant will be found, giving them a small snack to last them for a moment, then they'll be back seeking and searching. Desperate times call for desperate measures for these less than desirable creatures, as well anything else lucky enough to be alive. A rat is barely more than a snack, and the skunks…well a vulture will certainly take it despite the smell, which is even less than desirable than the vultures themselves.
One would have you believe that the smell of a skunk actually got worse through the years, as if it somehow evolved. The putrid smell seems to cover the town now, like a certain fear toxin had covered Gotham, sending it's citizens running petrified, giving them such horrendous illusions so powerful, that if a toxin wasn't given to them immediately, they would die with a look on their face so disturbing that a closed casket funeral would be all that could be offered. In those days, a bat would protect the city from the evils that tried to destroy it. Scarecrows, clowns, crocodiles, penguins, cats and even undead rulers would each take their turns, trying to overthrow the bat; sometimes even teaming up in order to give the bat a bigger challenge. Each time, though, the bat would find a way to win, giving everything he had to protect the city he loved. Each time, the villains would be sent back into custody, only to break out and start their mad campaign of evil all over again. The bat would be offered a chance to stop them forever, but he would always refuse to cross that fine line between being a hero, and playing judge and jury.
Things always come to an end, however, as is such with this era of time. Once the bat got older, evils started pooring in swifter than usual. Old enemies made pacts with new enemies in order to keep in power. It wasn't long before the bat was no longer a threat to their evil. They threatened to spread throughout the world, as the heroes of old fell at their feet. The people in the world, noticing the change, started choosing sides, hoping to keep alive just a little longer. Dreams were broken. Blood was spilt. People suffered. The bat, who had no choice but to back down, disappeared without a trace. People wondered what had happened to their hero. No body was ever found, despite the rumors that he had been killed with the rest of the heroes. The only thing that kept the people going was yet another rumor. How it came to fruitation, nobody knew as rumors could hardly be traced back to it's source at this point, but people began to believe in it enough that it gave them strength to survive against the evil passing through the now ruined city. Hide they did, as they still had no power to go up against the order that ruled over them. People swore that the rumor was true; as it stated that the Bat was still hiding out, waiting for the appropriate time to come out of the shadows and take down the evil that pursued them. " He's out there still! " They said, " He's planning something that will save us from this torture and give us back the life of freedom we had! "
Some of the survivors rejected this as just a fairy tale without any real backbone. " He left us! " they argued, " Who even knows if he was a real person, some kind of mutant, or just a figmant of our imagination! " The arguements would go on like this for hours...sometimes even days at a time. Then one man who had grown tired of hearing them argue amongst themselves, stood up and took the lead. " STOP FIGHTING! " He demanded, grabbing the attention of the people. " This arguement has gone far enough! Those blockheads up there have taken away our freedom and all you people want to do is to argue? We joined together in order to have a fighting chance and if we let things like this rattle us, we might as well turn ourselves in for whatever fate they would have for us! " The people, realizing that he spoke the truth, bowed their heads in shame. " He's right! How are we going to survive even a minute if we can't work together? " One said. " We need a leader! " another suggested. " How about him? He seems to be good at taking lead. " Another said, pointing at the man who stopped the arguements. " What's your name sir? " another asked, desparately. Seeing that he had no other choice, the man answered, " My name is Tim Drake. "