Chapter : Regrets part 3.

Bruce knew who that voice belonged to but never in a million years expected that he would hear that voice.

"Tim," Bruce acknowledged the person behind him.

He turned around and saw Timothy Drake formerly known as Robin, third and the last Robin alive.

He had aged a lot. The hairs on his head were starting to grey and there were wrinkles on his face. He was forty but his early vigilante career had taken a toll on him but he still had an athletic frame and bulk. He was wearing a black T-shirt and brown khaki pants.

"Hey Bruce!" Tim greeted as he waved his hand and came closer to Bruce and was greeted back with a falcon punch to his face.

He spat blood out of his mouth and yelled, "What the hell!"

Bruce only glared at him as he went back to his car and left the cemetery.

Wayne Manor

Bruce was sitting in his chair in his living room near the grandfather clock that would lead to the now destroyed Batcave.

Seeing Tim, it brought back some unwanted memories, painful and agonizing ones. He went to his own room, where there was a portrait of his butler and father figure, Alfred.

"I agree my behavior hasn't been fair to Tim but he shouldn't have come back to Gotham. After what he did, I do not have it in me to forgive him and perhaps I never will," Bruce said apologetically to the portrait. Bruce knew that Alfred wasn't alive but if he were, he would've been really disappointed but he wasn't here. Bruce then took out his tablets from his drawer and ate them and soon drifted into sleep.

Dream

Bruce woke up to find himself chained to a chair in a dark place and the only light source was a tube light above his head and he was wearing his old Batsuit but it shocked him because he burnt everything that reminded him of his clandestine and failed crusade and the people who lost their lives because of it.

He drifted out of his thoughts and yelled out, "Is anyone there?" No one replied. He could only feel his own heartbeat which was rising and he was getting tensed. He felt as if the suit was strangling him. He struggled to breathe.

"Why are you so scared?" A voice echoed in the place.

"Who is there," Bruce was alarmed, to say the least because he saw a figure move in the darkness or maybe it was made of darkness.

"I am someone you abandoned," The figure said as he came into the light and revealed himself to be the Batman! An exact replica of Bruce was in front of him but his eyes were glowing red.

"This is a dream or an hallucination," Bruce said in a stoic manner. He couldn't let this figure get the best of him.

"Always the detective, I see" 'Batman' said as he moved. "Well not always, you haven't been me for a very long time," He said as he grabbed Bruce's hair and the latter could see 'Batman'.

"What do you want from me?" Bruce questioned the hallucination and got an unexpected answer.

"To be let free," 'Batman' said.

"What?" Bruce was shocked.

'Batman' punched Bruce on the face. He spat the blood and spat on his captor's face.

Bruce was again punched by 'Batman'.

"You were eight years old when your guilt over the death of your parents caused you to drown in sorrow but something that was broken was put together, your ambition gave birth to something new, it gave birth to me and every night you went out there, I would reign, Batman would reign," The impostor said but after listening to his words, that man felt like an impostor, no more. He was Batman.

"I don't care," Bruce said as he struggled to get out of the chain.

'Batman' put his fist forwards but instead of a punch, only darkness came through and the whole scene changed into an alleyway,

"This can't be," Bruce murmured, he was shocked. This was Crime Alley, where Bruce's parents died. He changed and a darkness formed inside of him and he forged it like a sword through Gotham city's criminal element but it was a two way sword. The more he wielded the sword and became the Batman, his family suffered and even Gotham suffered. He then heard footsteps, those he recognized.

"Stop me if you have heard this story," 'Batman' said.

"Three people, a man, a woman and a child are going home through an alley. A happy family until they encountered a thief," 'Batman' narrated the story and Bruce watched the exact scene unfold in front of him. He wanted to stop but he was terrified. He felt like an eight years child again. Terrified, defenseless, no one to help him. He never felt this way in a very long time.

'Batman' continued to tell the story, "The thief only wanted the pearls on the woman's necklace but instead they were gunned down when they showed hesitation. Except the child, his whole family was dead. He then cried and cried and no one came to help him," 'Batman' was interrupted when Bruce yelled him to stop and soon tears started falling from his eyes.

"Why do you cry?" 'Batman' mocked Bruce.

"Isn't this tragedy the reason you became Batman?" He asked Bruce but they both knew the answer.

Bruce was angry now, he was being mocked about his parents death and the existence of the mission.

"You let me out of these chains and I will answer every question," Bruce aggressively said. He was struggling chains but he wanted to punch this person, hallucination or not.

"Bruce Wayne would struggle against these chains, Batman wouldn't," The hallucination continued to mock him.

"Why did you quit being me?" 'Batman' asked him. Bruce didn't reply so the impostor started punching him repeatedly and yelling," . . !?"

Bruce continued to take the punches. He wasn't going to be taken and broken by a cursed remnant of his but then something snapped.

"ITS BECAUSE YOU ARE A CURSE" Bruce snapped as he blocked the oncoming punch.

"You bring nothing but suffering and death and you are a curse," Bruce said as he punched the impostor and punching him harder and harder while gaining the upper hand. His rage plummeted when he took the man by his cape and saw what he had done to his impostor. Black eye, broken face and teeth and bleeding gums. He stopped himself and he stumbled back a few meters, dropping his impostor on the ground.

"You bring pain and darkness, you bring pain and darkness," Bruce kept repeating as he collapsed, he was trying to convince himself to not fall into that darkness ever again. His body was young, in his prime but the realty was that he was an old person, a sixty year old person and his breathing became ragged.

He looked in front of him and saw that 'Batman' had disappeared and in his place was smoke.

From the smoke, came out one of the most terrible and powerful opponents of his, Bane. He was wearing his usual attire, grey sleeveless shirt and dark blue cargo pants and a belt custom made for his large size and black fingerless gloves and his face covered in a black and white mask. There was a regulator or a dimmer on his glove and it had a tube connected to his neck. It was what contained Venom, the steroid that gave Bane incredible strength. His strength and cunning and the fact that he broke Bruce's back made him a formidable opponent.

Bane finally spoke, "I have broken the Bat, what chance do you, a washed up and a person who is already broken person have?"

"I don't know, I am pretty swell," Bruce said as he ran towards Bane only to be punched hard in the gut and kicked back on his head as he stumbled back against a wall. He fell down on his knees, coughing up blood. He looked up to see Bane grinning wickedly, like a maniac and lifted Bruce from his cape and started punching him in the face.

"Back when you had the cowl, you could at least fight but now," Bane stopped his assault and spat at his enemy. Bruce's face was bloodied and eyes were closed. "I pity you," Bane dropped his mortal enemy and turned around to walk but he was stopped by Bruce, limping.

"Why is it so important for me to be Batman? It took everything away from me! My chance at a normal life, my children and even the city I swore to protect!" Bruce cried, finally letting all of those buried emotions out and as if all energy left him, he fell down.

"You say that I at least had a chance while I was the caped crusader but this brought me nothing. Gotham is still rotten in its core, people died around me and when Gotham needed me the most, I failed," Bruce yelled as tears flooded his eyes uncontrollably.

"Bruce," The latter heard his name called out and saw Thomas Wayne! His father who died in this alleyway.

Thomas Wayne came closer to Bruce and knelt down to his son and put a comforting hand on his head and rubbed it affectionately.

"Why do we fall, Bruce?" Thomas asked.

Bruce recognized his father's words and it felt as if power was returning to his body. Power, that was something he hadn't felt in a very long time.

"So that we can learn to pick ourselves up," Thomas said as he helped his son rise out of the darkness.

Bruce felt old strength surging into his body. After a very long time, he had a purpose.

He closed his eyes as if in peace with himself and he finally opened them and found himself wearing a new Batsuit. He then looked towards his father and said," Thank you," And for the first time, he truly meant it.

Dream end.

He woke up and realized his purpose.

Over the next few days, he began reconstructing the Batcave. It now had the latest Wayne Tech Model R computer with seventeen layers of seventeen encryptions and this computer could connect with Wayne satellites as well. Besides the Computer, there was a glass case that contained thesuits of his fallen comrades including Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl and Batwoman. And in the last was his new Batsuit.

It had a black color scheme and a bat symbol that glowed white and had a mechanical and a blue glow to it. It was made of titanium and had a black helmet with glowing eyes and the helmet was custom fitted with a HUD that was uploaded with everything. Schematics, blue prints, locations, facial recognition software and an A.I.

There were energy shields that would come out of the suit and Batarangs and other gadgets inside the utility belt which was seamlessly added into the suit.

Now he was ready.

A month later.

"Gotham crime rate which was at a record high since twenty five years ago has went down one percent since the arrival of a virtually unknown vigilante but he works in night time. Many suspect he is the Dark Knight, Batman himself but it has not been confirmed," This report was being heard from a T.V in an unknown warehouse.

In front of the T.V, there was a cloaked man sitting. His face couldn't be seen.

"He has returned," The cloaked man said and soon erupted in laughter, maniacal and evil laughter.