This. This right here is the sequel to The Ends. You can read it alone. If you choose to know what happened please give The Ends a read.
Warnings: I will give warnings for every chapter as they come up. Mentions of mental illness. Mentions of PTSD. Delusions. Depression. The would did not end.
Owari (The Ends)
NOW
New York
The wind up here on the rooftops is warm, not as smothering as the heat on the sidewalks below but still warm. The smog coats the skyline in an eerie haze making visibility up here difficult but I can see the lights approach. I was contacted only a few short minutes ago. They are fast and efficient and prepared but this is my city. I know it like an old friend. I have seen it full of life and color. I have also seen it dead and lifeless. Right now my city is in trouble. I will not watch it die again. I will not allow that to happen. I will not allow the world to end, not this time. This will not be the end. Giving up, surrendering is Never An Option. It can't be because I am The Ends. The wind blows past carrying the smell of smoke that is billowing upwards in the distance. They are close now and I step off the ledge into free fall.
My name is Spencer Honda and I survived an apocalypse that never happened.
THEN
Gotham
I have read the file I have compiled on her over and over again. Depression, delusions, PTSD. Her parents have taken her to several doctors and therapists over the past few months but her symptoms do not improve. From a clearly medical stand point Spencer Honda is a delusional teenage girl who requires hospitalization and anti psychotic medication. Not that I am a doctor but the only diagnosis I agree with are depression and PTSD. Her medical team believes these conditions are brought on by her delusions but I know they are a product of the events she lived through.
"Tea Master Bruce." Alfred interrupts as he places the cup beside me. "What do you plan to do about the girl Sir?"
"There is nothing that I can do Alfred."
"Sir the both of you are the only ones who remember. You are believed, she is not, and perhaps that is what she needs, to be believed."
"Though I do not disagree with you there is so much more. She needs to channel her experiences into something productive. That is why she acts out violently, why she is plagued by nightmare and that is why she is lost. I just don't know what there is that I can do."
A few months ago I awoke from a dream that was not a dream. I lived through an experience that only myself and one other person remembers. I do not doubt that these events took place but the entirety of the world has no recollection of what occurred. A virus attacked and killed all those who possessed powers leaving the world without its heroes. The Ends as the virus was called then tore through the families, cities, countries of the world at random decimating the population. What followed in the wake of the virus was a violent deconstruction of society. I lost friends and family to both the virus and the aftermath. The cave had been opened to survivors and a community sprung up here that we worked hard to maintain. The residents were mostly survivors from Gotham. Talia Al Ghul and a man named Hamza came to us from The League of Assassins. Spencer and Jackson Honda came in from New York with Roy Harper and they all became valuable members of our community. Though difficult we began to thrive. Friendships were formed and people bonded. Talia and I formed something I had thought was impossible and she worked hard to mend her relationship with Damian. Damian himself had found a bond with the Honda girl. Life was not easy and we faced many challenges and dangers. The Joker attempted to kill us all but we fought as one, together. That year was a horrible nightmare and when I awoke to find that it had never happened I found myself conflicted. Do not misunderstand, I am forever grateful that the world did not come to a crashing end but it was a year of my life, a year that I lived. The things that I experienced are for me, real. They are powerful memories that I share with only one person. A young girl from New York City.
THEN
New York
I'm going to get suspended for this. I am certain of it but it is hard for me to really care at this moment with the satisfying crunch of the brute's nose and the gurgled groan that leaves his friends mouth. One punch and one kick. That is all it takes to drop these two bullies. I am not sure if they are more surprised by the pain or that it was inflicted upon them by a small helpless looking girl. Either way it is of no consequence to me. They had cornered a freshman against the lockers and were touching her inappropriately. I have seen these two do this before. Before The Ends and I did nothing. I hung my head and pretended I didn't see it but I did see it. It was shameful but no more. I am capable of stopping it and I don't care about the repercussions. I know it's the right thing to do and maybe just a little bit of me, ok a lot of me likes the feeling, the release of anger and I have a lot of anger.
"Honda! Office now!" Mr. Kilby yells as he grabs my blazer and starts ushering me towards the principal's office for the twelfth time.
On the drive home as I am seated in the passenger seat of my mother's minivan I take in the crowds walking, the traffic, and the city so alive and full. This is how New York should be, not abandoned and empty and soaked in blood.
I woke up from a nightmare a few months ago. It was March fourteenth to be exact, one day before my sixteenth birthday. The nightmare was of a world ravaged by a virus that wiped out over half of the world's population including our superheroes. My brother Jackson and I were the only members of my family to survive. We made our way out of New York and crossed paths with Roy Harper who in my dream was Arsenal, the archer who worked with The Green Arrow in the past. He taught us how to survive and together we made our way to Gotham, to the Batman. There we lived in a community along with other survivors and several of Gotham's non super powered heroes. We learned skills and became more than I ever thought I possible. Roy became our family. The Bat cave became our home. Damian became… I try not to think about him. We had to defend our home from the infamous villain The Joker but we succeeded. We lived and lost and thrived but I woke up. I woke up in my own bed screaming a boy's name. A boy I had never met. I tried you know, I tried to shake it off but I couldn't. There was no logical explanation for why I knew the things I knew. I am strong. I am capable of defending myself and inflicting injury. I have skill with a sword that I did not posses before I had the nightmare. The thing is I am the only one who remembers. My brother who walked beside me for the entire dream year has no recollection of it what so ever. I am alone. Well I was alone until one evening as I was sneaking out for the umpteenth time to put my new skills to some use The Batman landed on my rooftop. Now most people would have been startled and even afraid but when I turned around and saw him watching me it was a relief. I knew he knew. He said my name and I called him by his. Oh not Batman or The Dark Knight but by his name, the one you don't know. Bruce Wayne.
Gotham
She had been suspended again, the girl. She had been very lucky that the parents of the two boys she had attacked did not press charges. One had a broken nose the other a cracked rib. The school report I was able to get a hold of did not contain much information but I could easily read between the lines. She had stepped in to stop them. I believe this girl is the same girl I knew in that nightmare year and if I am right and I know I am she was doing what she believed to be right. The aggression is a symptom of PTSD as well as the nightmares that plague her. Accessing her medical files was easy enough but I have only managed to have that one brief encounter with her. She has been found on the streets late into the night fighting and endangering herself. She has been looking for something. Trying to find a place where she feels normal but she hasn't yet. I don't know if such a place exists. She lived through a horrific ordeal and is now left to fend for herself with no allies. Surround by people who believe her to be delusional and troubled. Alfred is right to some degree. She needs to be believed and right now I am the only person in the entire world who believes her. I have survived my fair share of life altering events and though I perhaps have not handled that baggage properly I at least have others who know, others who will help 'if I ask'. I have turned my trauma into something. Spencer Honda needs to be believed. She needs an ally.
"Alfred I need to speak to Headmaster Hammer. Can you get a hold of him for me?"
"Of course sir, Gotham Academy?" He asks curiously.
"Yes. The Wayne Foundation sponsors scholarships there for troubled or at risk youth. I think perhaps I know someone who could benefit from something like that." I respond. Alfred nods his head with a smile and leaves the room to fetch the number. I lean back in my chair and sigh. I will try to help. I don't know what I can do for her or even if what I have to offer will help but I will try.
"Hang on Spencer, just a little longer."
New York
"Absolutely not!"
"Lisa maybe it's not such a bad idea."
"Hiro she didn't even consider asking us before she applied."
My parents are arguing about the recent letter from the Wayne Foundation that I received in the mail. Apparently I applied through all the proper channels to a summer internship at Wayne Enterprises and then a scholarship to Gotham Academy for troubled and at risk youth. Both programs are positive reinforcement for youth who have behavioral problems and are at risk of hurting themselves or others. On all accounts these programs seem tailor made to help me with my little delusion. Well played Batman.
"Spencer is this… Is this what you want?" My mother asks with tears threatening to spill.
"Mom I don't know what I want. I, I don't know how to do…" I look around at our normal apartment, at my normal family. "This. It doesn't fit. I know, I know I've caused you and Dad so much trouble and I really don't know how to fix it. I don't want to leave but, but maybe I can fix it. Maybe somewhere else can help. I mean did you see this brochure? That is a serious amount of therapy. College isn't that far off. I need to fix this my grades and me."
"But you would be living alone all summer and then a dormitory." My Mom's arguments are losing steam.
"An apartment right in The Wayne Enterprises building. I wouldn't even have to go outside." I counter.
"Gotham is dangerous."
"Again, I wouldn't even have to go outside."
My Mom moves to sit beside me on the sofa wrapping both her arms around me tight and squeezing. "I don't want you to go Spencer but if you really think this will help, I'll support you. I just want you to be happy again. I love you."
My parents are good people. I have lived a privileged life in Manhattan, the middle child of a doctor and a dentist. I have never wanted for anything until now. It's not that they can't provide love and support it's that I have experienced something that for them never happened. It is beyond what they can offer to help me with. Maybe it is beyond anyone but I think being closer to Bruce Wayne might be easier then it is here. He remembers and that is the one thing no one else can give me.
Gotham
The signal had been up and I spent far too long on that rooftop speaking with Gordon but three new cases had occurred. Children have begun to disappear and as that is a horrifying prospect what keeps both me and the GCPD from a sense of urgency is that they are always found within a two hour duration. The disappearance is reported and an amber alert is sent out. The children have been found wandering usually close to home unharmed. One child actually approached a traffic officer on his own. When questioned they all respond with the same story. They were asleep but awoke suddenly to find themselves elsewhere in their neighborhoods. I have been keeping tabs on these cases but there is simply no evidence on why or how. Dick is now in Gotham to follow this case as it occurred several times in Bludhaven but the occurrences have stopped leaving only questions.
I linger in the Narrows having intercepted a substantial drug deal. The men are restrained and I decide to return home when I hear the sirens approaching. The police will handle it from here. I am surprised to note that I am looking forward to the Honda girl's arrival tomorrow. I have made everyone aware of her coming and left a reminder that she would remember them even though they did not know her. Damian is away for awhile and I think that is best. I struggled with how much I should tell everyone especially him and decided it was not my story to tell. I feel responsible for the girl, whether that is irrational or not is of no concern I only hope that having someone near her that knows she is not delusional will help her start to find her footing again.