Her sword was at his hip. Even after the explosion in Ra's al Ghul's chamber, he kept her sword. Her body was nowhere to be found, most likely recovered by her guard. Her sword, was his. The Batwing was on autopilot, flying in a path to evade the high tech sensors of the Tyger army before taking him back to Wayne Manor. He was so blind tonight. Even hours before his death the Joker had pushed him, and won. It didn't look like it but, the Joker won. He outsmarted the Batman hiding the fact that he and Clayface were working together and killing the one woman he loved in the world.
Right now he did feel lucky however. In the moments after her death he would have broken the rule. He felt lucky that with Talia's sword in her hand he could only fight a regenerating swarm of clay dummies and their source. In his mind his rage at the Joker for firing the shot had his goons flashing over those clay beings.
Now however he was glad they were just clay, not lives affected by the slight of his hand. The batwing began its descent to the Batcave. It flew through the waterfall and into the hangar. He exited the cockpit and went over to his lab. Alfred was there waiting.
"I'm so glad to see you, sir." He had no idea of the final events after Protocol 10 was stopped. He didn't know. "Sir, is that the cure? If we hurry we can mass produce it and save those in Gotham afflicted by the disease."
Bruce extended his hand and placed the vile in Alfred's hand. "Do it." With the cure in Alfred's hand Bruce walked not to the armory, to repair his suit, but to the stairs. He did so silently while Alfred began his work, he would need silence to focus and Bruce would need silence to think.
In the study, he found his quiet. It was the place where Batman was born and where he faced the crossroads of his existence. Tonight his entire being had been called into question. He was the reason for the Joker, created in the accident at the Ace chemicals plant when he was chasing the Red Hood. Two face, created when the mob got the Harvey as they tried to take down their boss in their clean up of Gotham. Catwoman took up her persona during Batman's early years to make a name for herself. Hell even his old Friend Tommy was now bent on ruining his true identity.
He remembered the relief he felt when Talia drove her sword through what he thought was the Joker and how feeble his displeasure was at her for doing it. Along with Joker's repeated calls that night hinting that they were in a vicious cycle that one couldn't live without the other and that they could only count on the other to do what he does best. Joker had taunted him with it before his fight with Freeze, but it was Talia that had finally shown him the finality. Talia, his beloved.
Her life was the one that had been lost. Yet again another person he loved that died in front of him. He'd been so eager to protect her but she didn't need it. he was wrong to say she was out of her depth and even he was unprepared for the dual Joker plot that left them both vulnerable. She was dead and there was no Lazarus pit to bring her back. Once again, a death near him was about to change him, wipe the slate clean. It was at the tip of his tongue, but something held him back from saying it.
For years he had refused to think of it, but now it was all that was on his mind. It was what he stood for, and stood against, but now he saw how truly alone he was. Dick wasn't like him, he'd made sure of that. Tim was becoming his own person. Barbara had recovered from what Joker had done to her and was now Oracle.
Strange had tried it but was only in it for the fame. Ra's was right. There was only one successor for him. Batman proved to be better than Strange, who failed with an army while Batman succeeded alone. He realized it and fixed his gaze on Talia's sword.
Only Batman could become the next Head of the Demon...