Gotham City
Barbara looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a simple black dress to the funeral. In the background she could hear her father on the phone.
"I don't care if there's a low turnout!" Gordon snapped. "I don't want any punk trying to disrupt the service!"
Barbara sighed. Almost everyone on the GCPD was afraid that some freak or loon would try to disrupt the service in one last attempt to defame Batman. Her father was putting so much security at the funeral that she was surprised there were any cops left to patrol the streets as well.
"Are you sure you're alright Dad?" Barbara asked as she put on some earrings.
"I'm fine Kiddo," she heard her father grunted. "It's the rest of the world's that screwed up. Did you hear what Cobblepot's doing?"
"What's that?"
"He's hosting a 'memorial party' in the name of Batman tomorrow night at the Iceberg Lounge. Thugs like Maroni and Kolenkov have been invited to it. That little scum is just exploiting Batman's death as a cover to try to reboot his criminal career," Gordon said with disgust.
Barbara was angry at that news. Cobblepot had no right to use Batman's death as a way to promote himself in the criminal underworld.
"Can't you do anything about it?"
"There's nothing illegal about holding a party in your own private night club," Gordon growled. "And we can't get a warrant without probable cause."
Barbara sighed. Bruce probably would've been rolling in his grave right now if he had one. It was probably good Bruce left behind only ashes. If his body was buried, someone could dig up the remains and desecrate them. Barbara shuddered at that thought.
"You ready to go honey?" Gordon asked from the other room.
Barbara sighed.
"Yea Dad," she said and she walked out of her room to head to the car.
Central City
Flash made sure he was wearing his best Flash suit for the funeral. He was going to look his best while everyone said goodbye to Batman. There would be a public memorial service at a local Gotham church and a private one later in Wayne Manor that the Founders were invited to. He pulled out his phone to call Linda.
"Hello?" he heard her answer on the other line.
"Hey Linda, it's me Wally."
"Hey Wally, are you alright?" Linda asked, sensing the serious tone in his voice.
"Yeah I'm fine. I was just making sure we're still up for tomorrow night?"
"Of course, wouldn't miss it!"
Flash smiled and he said his goodbyes as he hung up. He was so glad he had Linda in his life. She was able to pull him out of his self-pity. He learned that as a superhero, he needed to be mature and strong, especially at Batman's funeral. For Batman, he would be brave. He then pulled out his commlink to call Mister Terrific to transport him to the location of the funeral. It was going to start in an hour.
Gotham City-St. Francis Church
J'onn was near the entrance of the oldest Catholic Church in Gotham. He never saw Batman as the religious type, but the priest of this church apparently worked on a case or two with Batman and the city allowed him to preside over the memorial service. He knew Batman wouldn't care really where they held it. Compared to Superman's funeral, saying Batman's had a low turnout would be an understatement. There was hardly anyone coming at all. The only people coming were the Justice League, a few local government officials and the GCPD. Other than that, J'onn saw only a handful of random civilians.
"Sad day my friend," a somber voice said. J'onn turned around to find the King of the Seas with his wife by his side.
"Hello Aquaman," J'onn said while extending his hand to shake.
"I owe Batman my life. The least I could do is come here."
J'onn was happy at least someone was acknowledging Batman for something good he did.
"Are there anymore of the Justice League coming?" Mera asked.
J'onn shook his head.
"Other than the Founders and a handful of others, no," he explained. "We still have a lot of work to do with helping the world heal from Darkseid's invasion. We have to go where we are needed."
"Understandable," Aquaman agreed before giving a disgusted look. "But I think the city of Gotham could've shown more gratitude to the Dark Knight."
"Yes," J'onn said, not really paying attention as he looked at the steps of the church. Queen Audrey of Kasnia had just arrived and was creating a stir among the few media outlets in attendance. She was one of the few heads of state to show up for the funeral.
"Ah, Superman is here!" Aquaman announced.
J'onn turned to see Superman had flown down to the entrance of the church. A few Gotham reporters began to surround him. Superman ignored them and slowly made his way inside. J'onn sighed with relief. It seemed Superman had managed to pull himself together this week. The League was going to need his leadership to survive. When Aquaman left to greet Superman, J'onn took this as his signal to leave and headed inside the church. He caught sight of Alfred and a teenage boy sitting in the civilian pews. J'onn felt great sympathy for Alfred. He knew what it was like to lose a child. To his right he saw Zatanna sitting with Green Arrow and Black Canary. She kept shooting glances back at Alfred and the boy while giving a reassuring smile.
Meanwhile up front Wildcat was having a conversation with the priest while Question was examining the altar, trying to see if there were any bombs. J'onn didn't try to stop him. The conspiracy theorist meant well. Finally the Martian made his way to the front pew where the Founders would be sitting. He noticed Shayera and John went out of their way to sit on the opposite ends of the pew, leaving a very uncomfortable Flash and Wonder Woman in the middle. Diana was wearing the royal gown she wore to Superman's funeral. J'onn always hoped he would never see her in it again.
"J'onn," Diana said softly as she got up to greet him. "Is Kal here?"
"He just arrived," J'onn explained and sat down next to Diana.
"How's he holding up?" John asked while trying to avoid making eye contact with Shayera.
J'onn sighed.
"Compared to last week? Pretty well."
"Did you see Dic-er Nightwing?" Flash asked hopefully.
"I don't know," J'onn said.
"Zatanna said he was coming," Diana reassured the speedster. She was just hoping Nightwing wouldn't be like his mentor and try to avoid coming to the funeral.
"Can I sit here?" Diana heard a tired voice behind her.
She quickly turned around to find Nightwing in full uniform standing in the pew behind her. He looked very tired and sick.
"Of course. We're so glad you could make it," J'onn said in a friendly tone.
Diana saw on the other side of the church that the commissioner was sitting with his daughter, Barbara. Diana noticed Barbara was looking in their direction with a sad but satisfied smile. The young woman must've managed to knock some sense into Nightwing and convinced him to come to the service. However Nightwing's arrival was interrupted by Superman finally reaching the rest of the Founders.
"Hey guys," Superman whispered quietly as he squeezed into the pew, between the two Johns. Diana thought she saw Nightwing glare at Superman for a second. She then noticed Nightwing looked the other way as if he couldn't stand being in the same row with Superman. It was then Diana realized while some of the Batfamily did not blame the Justice League for the death of their patriarch, there were others who still weren't ready to forgive the League yet. The Amazon hoped for Superman's sake that Nightwing wouldn't say anything negative about Batman's death during the funeral. However the Kryptonian didn't seem to notice the chilly reception Nightwing was giving him and instead he kept looking over his shoulder to the area where the press was sitting. Diana thought she caught sight of Lois Lane.
"How's she holding up?" Diana asked Superman with concern.
"She's doing better," Superman answered. "Just like me."
Before Superman could elaborate, the church doors swung shut and the priest made his way to the podium to speak. Diana noticed he had a wooden leg.
"Friends, family, and guests," the priest announced. "We gather today in the House of God to mourn the passing of not just one man, but an extraordinary man. A man who never lost faith in our city, even when he had every reason to. A man who wouldn't give up until he gave his last breath. A man that we could count on to always be looking out for us as our own guardian angel…"
John tried to listen to the priest's opening remarks but he couldn't. He didn't mean to be rude, but he was feeling too guilty to pay attention. He couldn't help but steal glances at Shayera. He was worried about her and wanted to make sure she was alright but he couldn't tell. She had kept a very cold demeanor, making it impossible for him to read her. If only they weren't so stubborn he could hold her in his arms again and comfort her. Feeling her made him feel so safe and secure. And he was willing to bet she felt the same thing…
What was he doing? He was in love with Mari! He shouldn't be thinking thoughts like that in a church. Meanwhile, Shayera herself was feeling unrest as the priest spoke. She was still mad that she had let her guard down, let alone in front of John. She was supposed to be over him and yet she had melted into his arms a week ago. When she rejoined the League, she wanted to move on from the past, but she was a fool. Those lingering feelings she had felt were still there. It made matters worse when she discovered she and John were potentially going to have a son in the future. A future she wasn't even sure existed anymore because John also said Batman was in the future as well. Batman was dead now though. The future was not cast in stone.
"And now Mayor Hamilton Hill would like to say a few words," the priest announced.
Shayera snapped at attention. She felt bad she had missed the priest's opening remarks. She didn't mean to drift off like that. She was losing her focus.
The small crowd in the church watched as an old man in an expensive suit make his way to the front. The man had thinning hair and thick glasses. From the press corps pew, Lois Lane watched the politician clear his throat at the podium. She didn't know much about Hamilton Hill other than he had served as mayor in Gotham for nearly two decades. Generally the reporter had a natural distrust of politicians but she decided to put that bias aside as she tried to objectively watch the funeral. When Superman had died a few years ago, she was too distraught and emotional to be a journalist that day. She even let Lex Luthor comfort her!
Now she was trying her best to do her job as a journalist. But that didn't change the fact she still felt a strong emotional reaction at this funeral. Not only did she feel grief at the loss of Bruce who despite everything, she considered a dear friend, but she also felt anger at the rest of the public. Everyone showed up to Superman's funeral but no one could make Batman's? Even though she promised to be objective, Lois already made up her mind. When she would write her article on the funeral, she would be sure to call out all those hypocrites who pretended to love Superman but publicly ignored Batman because of political correctness.
"Ladies and Gentlemen..." Mayor Hill said softly although his voice hinted at disappointment over the fact there were a few empty pews in the church. The Mayor paused to look down at his notes before looking back up with a renewed energy.
"It would be politically safe for me to just say some flowery, empty words that I read from a speech someone on my staff wrote. However I think this occasion demands that I speak not as a public official of Gotham but as a citizen."
The mayor then crumbled the written speech in his hands.
"For awhile when I was in this office, I had called for Batman's arrest. It seemed like the most expedient political move at the time. The public was divided on whether it should accept a vigilante who took the law in his own hands. Therefore with my own personal bias I demanded that Batman be stopped immediately. However I now admit that I was sadly mistaken at that time. It took me a few a years to realize how wrong I was, but eventually I saw the Batman for what he really was. He was not an elected official like me but he was also not a madman in a costume taking out his personal issues on the streets."
Mayor Hill smiled sadly before he continued his introduction.
"Batman was a force of justice. He was something above the pettiness politics, elections, and bureaucracy. He was someone that strove to do the right thing no matter what the cost. His methods may have been unorthodox, but it doesn't change the fact he was what this city needed the most. And today in front of all of you, I hereby make a public apology to Batman for horribly misjudging him and to thank him for what he did. I know my public apology and gratitude comes too late, but it's the least I could do for a man who showed me that right versus wrong was something that transcended politics."
Mayor Hill then sighed.
"But I'm only here to give an introduction to the person who deserves to speak in front of you today. Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the one man who proved us all wrong by supporting the Batman since the beginning; Commissioner Gordon."
Both Barbara and her father were surprised at Mayor Hill's very open and honest speech. They expected him to be his usual political savvy self and say the right buzzwords. Instead he had bluntly and publicly admitted that he had been wrong about Batman and had been late in admitting it. The Gordons were so taken aback by Mayor Hill's candid speech they didn't react when the mayor called the commissioner forward.
"Commissioner?" a random officer behind the Gordons whispered when the old man didn't stand up when his name was called.
Many people in the church began to stare at the Gordons with anticipation. Gordon slightly embarrassed cleared his throat and stood up. Barbara squeezed her father's hand tightly before he began to walk out of the pew. She wanted to let him know that she was proud of him and she would be there if he needed her. Her father gave her a sad look before slowly making his way up to the podium. Barbara knew he was angry that only the police seemed to show genuine care for Batman's death. However Mayor Hill's surprisingly touching introduction did seem to soften her father a little. Despite the small turnout, Barbara could take comfort in the fact that almost everyone who was in the church was actually sorry Batman was dead. She remembered Tim describing Superman's funeral as having a lot of people who only attended it to make themselves look good. According to Tim, only a handful of people in the funeral were actually sorry Superman was dead. She continued to watch as her father put on his glasses as he approached the microphone on the podium.
"Batman was…" she heard father say quietly. Everyone in the church was leaning in, ready to hear what he had to say next.
The commissioner paused before finding the strength to continue.
"…a man of few words. So in honor of his memory, I will keep this brief."
Barbara smiled at her father. She felt this type of speech was what Bruce would've wanted. She just wished she could see Bruce one last time. She had fallen in love with him over the years, but it was just a school girl crush. The recent tragedy forced her to mature and realize the truth; Batman and her were never meant to be. She just was too blind to see that he wasn't living a life of romance and adventure. He was living a life of sacrifice and loneliness which was something she could never really understand. She was just glad Bruce went down fighting instead of becoming too old and weak to carry on. It was a better ending to his legacy.
Zatanna listened to the commissioner talk. She loved Gordon because he was probably one of the few people who saw Batman as a person, not as a masked vigilante. Gordon probably was one of the only few people Batman ever trusted. It was fitting he would say some parting remarks on behalf of the city. Zatanna could tell it was going to be difficult not just for Gotham, but for the Batfamily to move on without Batman. As much as Bruce always liked to characterize himself as a loner, he was never alone.
There were people out there who would miss him, and Zatanna was one of them. She was glad Alfred was allowing her to stay with him and the rest of the Batfamily. It comforted her that although Bruce may have died, she would at least help his family heal and move on.
"...but it really doesn't matter who he was," Gordon said as he wrapped up his speech. "He was the Batman. The only thing that matters now is we remember what he stood for. Our city's future prospects remain unclear, but at least we know one ordinary man believed in this city and us despite every reason not to. If we hope to finish what the Batman started, we must believe in Gotham too."
J'onn listen to Gordon finish his speech before sighing. He was next. The Martian watch the commissioner slowly walk away from the podium as the polite requisite applause was given. Gordon's speech did have a foreboding tone about the potential future of Gotham though. What would happen next without the Batman?
"And now, J'onn J'onnz will be speaking on behalf of the Justice League," the old priest announced.
Wordlessly, J'onn got up and slowly walked to the podium. With the amount of bodies he had to bury over the course of his long life, one would think it would get easier, but it never did. Every lost life was a reminder to J'onn that he had failed again. Sometimes he wished he just stayed on Mars by himself. He was tired of seeing people die before him while he received the punishment of living. But he knew that was a selfish thought to think. It was never about him. He had forsaken anything about him long ago. He kept going for the other people who still had families; their lives didn't deserve to suffer like his did. J'onn slowly approached the podium and looked at the crowd before him. He didn't know what to say or if he could even say anything at all.
But then he saw movement in one of the front pews. The Martian made eye contact with Diana. She was giving him a reassuring smile. He was so lucky to have met her. She helped calm him down. He then thought of his current wife and how she was there to support him. And for the first time in awhile, things didn't look bad anymore.
Finding a new sense of purpose, J'onn began to speak.
Superman listened to J'onn's speech with rapt attention. J'onn was very well versed and poetic in his eulogy to Batman. He basically reminded everyone how Batman never stayed in the spotlight and would always operate in the shadows while never asking a thank you. J'onn was encouraging everyone in the church that today should be the one time they thank Batman even if he wouldn't be around to hear it. Superman listened as everyone in the church whispered a quiet thank you to the fallen Dark Knight. The Kryptonian couldn't help but grin a little. If Bruce could hear what everyone was saying.
"Gotham, the Justice League, and the world have lost not just a man, but a true hero," Superman heard J'onn say as he finished his eulogy. "I hope that the rest of us can try to strive for what he believed in; a world where justice is still worth fighting for."
J'onn backed away from the podium and started heading to the pews. It was then Superman realized he couldn't stay silent anymore. Before the priest could say the closing remarks, the Man of Steel got to his feet.
"I…I…like to say something," Superman said nervously. He had never been this nervous addressing a crowd before. His superhearing could pick up everyone's curious whispers. He saw many were giving him confused looks. Lois however was giving him a look of pride.
"Batman was…" Superman said slowly. He had not planned what he was going to say next. He was just going off the top of his head and speaking from the heart.
"Batman meant a lot to everyone here. To some he was a savior, to others he was a partner, but to people like me, he was a friend and a brother."
There were a lot of murmurs following that. Batman and Superman being friends seemed unlikely to a lot of people.
"I know he wasn't always the best person to be around. He could be arrogant, abrasive, standoffish and he had an ego the size of Montana…"
That earned a few encouraging polite chuckles.
"But deep down, he always cared for everyone, especially the people he let get close to him. He would be too proud to show that he cared overtly, but there were times he would find subtler ways to express it."
Superman noticed Diana was smiling at him. He at least had her and Lois's support as well.
"I just…" Superman began. He was beginning to choke up. He knew he shouldn't do it in public but he felt for once, it was okay to show some tears. "...always thought he would be too stubborn to die and that he would last forever."
The silence in the room was deafening. Everyone was waiting to see how Superman would react next. The Man of Steel let out a few sobs before wiping the tears from his face and regaining his composure. He needed to stay strong to finish his speech.
"But even I sometimes forgot he was human. Not just physically but emotionally as well. He didn't just die for the sake of the mission, but to save the life of a friend. For that Batman, I'm forever grateful, and I will say it with pride, that if I had the choice, I would gladly give up my life for yours as well."
There was a brief pause. It seemed Superman still had one thing left to say. Superman turned to face the altar. Like his premature funeral, they had a coffin without a body at the altar. There was nothing in it other than a spare cowl and cape since Bruce's ashes were going to reside in Wayne Manor. But to Superman, it was as if his friend's presence was in the coffin and waiting for his friends and loved ones to say goodbye one last time.
"Goodbye Batman," Superman whispered softly before bowing his head.
As soon as it was clear his improvised eulogy was done, a large amount of applause broke out. Pretty soon everyone was standing, letting Superman know they appreciated his speech. Superman was blown away by the reception he was receiving. He didn't expect a response like this. He was so stunned he almost didn't hear the priest ask for the six Founders, Gordon, and Nightwing to help carry the coffin to Batman's memorial site.
Diana got up with the Founders, Nightwing, and Gordon and slowly approached the coffin. She hesitated as she stopped at the coffin. Picking it up would mean the beginning of the end. Dropping the coffin into the grave would bury Bruce from her life forever. She slowly bent down with the other seven and lifted it up. Even though with her superior Amazon strength, it seemed really heavy and she didn't know why. She could see that Superman, who was across from her, was feeling the same way. She gave him a sympathetic smile. She was proud of Superman and the speech he gave. For a second, Diana had been tempted to say something as well to the crowd even though she wasn't even sure what she would say. Something in her heart was yearning to say something. But it was too late now. The group was already taking the coffin out of the church. She didn't have the opportunity to speak anymore.
When they had stepped outside the church, she was truly amazed by the sight before her she had almost let go of the coffin.
"Whoa..." Flash whispered.
The turnout in the church may've been small, but the turnout outside was much larger than what Diana and the rest had anticipated. It almost looked like the entire populace of Gotham was outside, flanking the main street to pay their respects to their fallen savior. Diana wanted to know why none of these people went inside the church which still had plenty of room during the funeral. Maybe the people in the cordon felt the funeral should only be for those who worked side by side with Batman. But still, they were out on the streets ready to show their appreciation and give their thanks. Batman might be forgotten to the world in a month or two, but Gotham would never forget. The people would make sure of that.
For a while the funeral procession was standing still. Everyone was stunned by the unexpected large crowd flanking the streets. Finally the commissioner cleared his throat.
"I supposed we should get going…"
And with that, they slowly began to walk to the street towards Gotham Central Park.
Nightwing wasn't exactly sure what to feel. He didn't anticipate that this many people would be coming out to say goodbye to Batman. It seems being in the line of work he was in had made him forget how much of an impact his actions could have on other people. The young vigilante noticed many civilians were taking off their hats and bowing their heads as they walked by. A lot of the civilians were muttering prayers as well. Thank God Barbara talked him into coming. He was originally planning on watching the procession from the rafters, but now Nightwing was glad he was able to participate in the ceremony. It helped relieve the heavy load he was feeling in his heart a little.
Speaking of watching from the rafters, the slightest movement out of the corner of his eye caused Nightwing to glance up at a tall building they were passing. It, like most of Gotham's buildings, was cast in the shadows and thus making it easy for anyone to blend in up there. If it wasn't for Nightwing's personal experience in working in the dark, he might've not noticed the shadowy figure watching the procession on the roof. He was only able to watch it for a second before the figure disappeared. But Nightwing saw enough. He knew that feminine shadow too well.
"Selina," he muttered suspiciously as he turned his head forward again. Apparently she was back in town now.
The rest of the walk was pretty uneventful despite taking what felt like an hour to Nightwing. They finally reached the memorial site which was on the outskirts of the Gotham Central Park. The coffin was to be buried there with a simple black monument dedicated to Batman marking the spot. It wasn't much, but it said a lot in its own subtle way. Nightwing sighed sadly as he and the rest slowly lowered the coffin into the plot. They were all saying goodbye as they lowered the coffin. Nightwing had refused to believe it when he first heard the news, but now he accepted it; Bruce was gone and with him, the Batman. It was as if lowering the coffin into the plot was the living proof Nightwing needed to convince him that his mentor was dead.
For awhile everyone just stood and watched as the plot was slowly filled up. Even after the land was replanted, many people were still standing by and keeping vigil on Batman's memorial throughout the night. Finally though, everyone started to fade away and go back to their lives. Nightwing saw Barbara follow her dad. She was clutching his arm tightly. Unfortunately Barbara wasn't going to the private party in Wayne Manor later that night. She told Nightwing her father needed her to stay with him for the night. Meanwhile, the rest of the populace watching over the monument began to disappear as well. Even the heroes representing the Justice League were leaving. One by one, they were teleported away so they could be secretly transported to Wayne Manor for the private memorial party. The only people left standing in front of Batman's grave were Nightwing, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The three were just looking at the simple monument silently.
"Thank you Clark. Bruce would've appreciated that," Nightwing finally whispered reluctantly in a grateful tone that sounded forced. Although deep down he did appreciate Superman's gesture, Nightwing still couldn't find himself to forgive Superman. He never would.
Superman couldn't help but smile sadly at that remark. He still remained oblivious to Nightwing's negative attitude towards him. Or maybe the Kryptonian was simply choosing to pretend he didn't notice. Diana seemed to have picked up on Nightwing's subtle signs but said nothing as Superman approached the young hero.
"Nightwing, I know this is last-minute but would it be okay if I brought Lois to the Manor as well? She was close to Bruce…"
"Alfred and the rest would love to have her," Nightwing responded coolly, accepting Superman's request.
Superman beamed before taking off.
"I'll see you there," he said before flying away.
That left Nightwing and Diana.
"Are you coming too?" Nightwing asked without even looking at her. He didn't really care if she showed up as well. Honestly he could care less if any of the Justice League members except Flash went to the memorial party. To Nightwing the Justice League members were all just strangers whose carelessness got Batman killed.
"I can't Nightwing. I have to catch up with stuff at the UN. I've been gone too long."
She was about to turn around but paused and looked at Nightwing who was still staring at the monument.
"I may not have known Bruce as well you did, but I do know he was proud of you and the rest."
And with that she walked away. If Nightwing had turned around he would've noticed that the Amazon had paused to take one last look at the monument like she wanted to speak to it. But Nightwing didn't turn around and continued to stand stiffly in front of the monument as if he was a statue in the park. Diana gave a reluctant sigh and looked forward as she slowly began to walk away from Nightwing and the grave.
"Hera, watch over him..." Diana whispered softly as she disappeared into the darkness of the city.
Meanwhile Nightwing kept his vigil over the monument. He knew he needed to get going before Alfred and the others became worried but he wasn't ready to leave just yet.
"What are you still doing here Kid?" Nightwing heard a gruff voice.
Nightwing turned around to find a corpulent figure behind him. Nightwing realized it was Harvey Bullock who was holding a pistol in one hand and a flashlight in the other.
"What are you doing here?" Nightwing asked, turning the tables on the grumpy detective.
Bullock growled at the retort.
"I volunteered to patrol around the park tonight with a few other cops. If some punks try to mess with the monument or grave, they'll be hearing from us."
Nightwing was very surprised that Bullock out of all people was volunteering to help prevent Batman's memorial from getting desecrated.
"Thanks…Harvey," Nightwing said with genuine sincerity. He was glad that there were people like him who still cared.
"Least I could do," Bullock muttered grimly. "I'm gonna check out the other side. Don't stay out here too long though. One of us might mistake you for a crook and shoot you."
And with that, Bullock walked away, leaving Nightwing alone to himself again. But as usual, Nightwing wasn't alone for long. As soon as Bullock walked away, the young man sensed a familiar presence behind him. Closing his eyes and sighing, he spoke up.
"What are you doing here Selina? I thought you were still in Paris."
"I was seeing if the rumors were true," the seductive voice of Catwoman responded. Nightwing turned around to face the thief.
"I know you saw me on the roof," she mentioned. "This kitty is getting old."
Nightwing glared at her.
"Don't even think about stealing anything tonight."
"I wasn't here to steal anything!" Catwoman snapped. "I've put Gotham behind me long ago. I'm just paying my respects."
Nightwing then realized she was holding a rose in one of her hands.
"Sorry," he muttered.
Catwoman let her guard down and sighed sadly. It was a rare sight to see her show this much vulnerability in front of someone else.
"Don't be," she said as she walked up to the monument. "I don't have the best reputation after all."
Nightwing watched as she slowly placed the rose on the foot of the monument. She then turned around to look at Nightwing.
"I'm going back to Paris," she explained.
"Good for you," Nightwing remarked sarcastically.
"I'm just letting you know that Batman will have one less criminal to worry about. Now that Bruce's gone, there isn't anything in Gotham for me anymore."
Nightwing was confused by what she had just said. She was making it sound like Batman was still alive.
"Batman's dead."
Catwoman grinned.
"Bruce's dead but Batman isn't," she said calmly. "You can't kill the Batman."
Nightwing caught onto what she was saying.
"I'm not doing it. The cowl was buried with him, as it should be."
"If you say so," Catwoman said as she began to walk away. "But I've been around the block long enough to know one thing about Gotham."
"And what's that?" Nightwing asked reluctantly. He wasn't in the mood for her games.
Catwoman turned around to face Nightwing and smile mysteriously at him.
"Gotham will always need a Batman," she said before turning around and leaving Nightwing alone for the third time.
Nightwing was caught off guard. Catwoman's words were resonating in his head. Batman had made such an impact on Gotham, it seemed impossible that the city could survive without him. But Nightwing refused to take up the cowl. Batman was Bruce's legacy not his. It wasn't his duty. Realizing if he didn't leave soon he would be obsessing over Catwoman's words, Nightwing finally made to leave so he could join the others at Wayne Manor. However he turned around one final time to face the monument before leaving it for good.
"Goodbye old man," Nightwing said sadly as he departed.
New Arkham Asylum-The Next Night
Dent and Crane watched the local report on the TV. It just finished showing a replay of the funeral from yesterday night.
"That was pretty nice," Crane mused.
Dent flipped his coin.
"Yes it was. Ready to get out of here?"
"I thought you'd never say that," Crane said excitedly.
BOOM!
"ARRGH!"
BANG! BANG!
"Look out!"
BANG! BANG!
Almost on the dot, an explosion was heard in the distance. Dent and Crane could hear faint screams and yells in the distance. The two men calmly got off the couch while the other inmates panicked and ducked for cover in the recreation room. There was the faint sound of gunfire in the distance, but that didn't faze them. They calmly walked toward the source of the noise.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
"WE NEED BACK UP!"
"AHHHH!"
Within a minute, they were at the scene of the crime. Armed men were in a shootout with the guards. Even though this new asylum had much more security upgrades than the last one, it still was no match for the large amount of firepower that Dent's men had brought with them.
"Get the boss!" one of the men shouted as he started shooting cover fire at the guards.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Two goons ran up and escorted Crane and Dent out of the asylum into one of the cars waiting for them. The driver began to start the car when the two passengers were put in it.
VRRRROOOOOMMMM!
"Where're we going Dent?" the driver asked as he sped out. The rest of the goons were falling back to their getaway vehicles as well.
"It's Two-Face," the escaped criminal corrected. "We're going to crash a party later tonight but first, we need to change. And the good doctor here needs to pick up some essential medical supplies."
Somewhere in the universe...
Metron fiddled with his computer that showed him the future in his lab. The computer was part of his Mobius Chair and was a one of a kind machine but it had been shown to have its faults. It hadn't always accounted for a few variables and thus made a few near-fatal miscalculations. Since the final defeat of Darkseid, Metron had been tinkering with his computer to try to mitigate any more miscalculations. Well Metron was making sure this time it would not make any assumptions or mistakes. When he was done, the machine would show him the true future hopefully. Metron was optimistic that the machine would show him the a better future brought about by the new timeline that he had help create. While he never directly interfered, he did make sure to steer a few individuals in the right direction. Nonetheless, not everything went according to the plan, so Metron wanted to make sure the future was not still in jeopardy.
BEEP!
The machine began to make noises, signaling it was ready.
"Computer," Metron commanded as he sat back down in his chair.
"YES MASTER?" the machine's AI spoke. Metron liked having his machines talk to him.
"Show me the future a hundred Earth years from now," Metron ordered.
"AFFIRMATIVE," the machine complied. A screen suddenly appeared from the chair and in front of Metron. The screen went blank for a second before the picture became clear although Metron didn't see much difference. All he saw was pure darkness.
"Computer," Metron commanded again. "I said show me the future."
"THIS IS THE FUTURE MASTER. WITHIN FIFTY EARTH CYCLES, THE UNIVERSE WILL BE DESTROYED."
Metron frowned.
"That was not what you showed me before. If I managed to get Luthor to trap Darkseid into the Source Wall, you showed me the universe would be safe in the future."
"THINGS DIDN'T GO EXACTLY AS PLANNED," the machine explained. The screen then showed Darkseid shooting his omega beams at Batman, incinerating him.
"WITH BATMAN GONE PREMATURELY," the machine explained. "THE NEW TIMESTREAM LEADS TO A CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT DESTROYS THE UNIVERSE."
Metron froze in his Mobius Chair. How could this have happened? He thought he had all the answers.
"How does the death of one man doomed to failure lead to the end of the universe?" Metron asked himself bitterly. Batman was just a mortal who didn't have much importance to the world anymore.
"How will the universe be destroyed?" Metron asked the AI curiously with skepticism. He needed to know if he did something wrong or more likely, the programming was still faulty.
"WITHIN FORTY EARTH CYCLES, THE CIVIL CONFLICT OF APOKOLIPS WILL END. A NEW DICTATOR WILL EMERGE AND DECLARE WAR ON NEW GENESIS. THE WAR WILL END UP DESTROYING THE UNIVERSE IN ABOUT TEN EARTH CYCLES AFTER THE WAR STARTS."
Metron was shaking his head.
"That's impossible. The Justice League would still be around. They would've interfered before the conflict spiraled out of control."
"THERE IS NO JUSTICE LEAGUE AT THAT TIME ANYMORE," the computer spoke analytically. "EARTH WILL BE DISTRACTED WITH ITS OWN CONFLICTS."
"What conflicts?"
"WITHIN HALF AN EARTH CYCLE FROM NOW, THE JUSTICE LEAGUE WILL BE NO MORE. EARTH WILL HAVE DESCENDED INTO ANARCHY AND TYRANNY. ROUGHLY FIFTY EARTH CYCLES FROM NOW, THERE WILL BE SOME WHO TRY TO FIGHT BACK," the AI announced. The screen then showed a montage of images that showed a dystopian future of Earth. The last image Metron saw was what looked like a bunch of irregular forces fighting an army in powerful mechanical exo-suits. So Earth was doomed to destruction after all this time.
"BUT IN THE END, THE OUTCOME OF THEIR EFFORTS WON'T MATTER. IT WILL BE TOO LATE. THE EARTH WILL BE DESTROYED ALONG WITH THE UNIVERSE."
"How?" Metron asked. For once he didn't have all the answers. "How does Batman being gone have to do with the Justice League and universe being destroyed?"
"WITHOUT BATMAN, THESE EVENTS DON'T HAPPEN," the computer spoke as it flashed two images briefly. One was a man in a purple suit, with a clownish face being shot in the heart by a dart gun. Another image was Batman dueling with a man by sword. The strange man wore an emerald color cloak. They were fighting in what looked like a lab that was blowing up. A computer screen with the words PROJECT OBLIVION glowed in the background.
"INSTEAD THIS HAPPENS," the computer revealed analytically before showing a slideshow of more images.
Metron was only able to make out a couple of them:
A green monster bearing its teeth transformed into something even more horrendous. A giant man with a tube in his head flexed his muscles as he grew even more. A man with a burnt face flipped a coin while firing a large rifle rapidly. A man wearing a strange mask that looked like a sack sprayed a sinister looking gas everywhere. A man with a question mark cane stood in front of what looked like an army of machines. A short man in a funny looking hat sipped a cup of tea while being surrounded by a few dead bodies. And lastly the man with the emerald cloak appeared again. Except this time this mysterious man wasn't fighting Batman but was instead standing over what appeared to be fire surrounding him. The computer then showed one last image. Out of all the images of the future that this machine had showed him, this one disturbed Metron the most.
The clownish looking man in the purple suit was back again. He was standing over the bodies of what appeared to be the Justice League, including Superman. They were all beaten and bloodied.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The mad man was laughing wickedly; a laugh that was even causing Metron to be a little nervous.
"THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE TOO..." the AI warned ominously.
"What do you mean?" Metron responded sardonically. How could things be worse than that?
"SOMETHING ELSE HAS BEEN INTERFERING WITH THE TIMESTREAM. THERE IS SOME OTHER FORCE OUT THERE THAT SETS OUT TO BRING EVEN MORE DESTRUCTION."
"More destruction than the end of the universe?" Metron asked skeptically. "How is that possible?"
"I DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH VARIABLES TO MAKE AN ACCURATE ANALYSIS OR TO INTERPRET MY DATA COMPLETELY. HOWEVER MY SENSORS DO DETECT SOMETHING ELSE IS CAUSING RIPPLES ACROSS THE TIMESTREAM. AFTER THE END OF THE UNIVERSE SOMETHING WILL EXTEND THE DESTRUCTION ACROSS THE ENTIRE MULTIVERSE..."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Metron demanded. The programming definitely had to be faulty.
"MASTER, THERE IS A GREAT DISTURBANCE IN THE TIMESTREAM THAT SEEKS TO BRING ABOUT...THE END OF ALL THINGS..."
Metron's face grew pale by the threatening prediction.
"You've miscalculated," Metron denied. "The End of All Things is just an apocalyptic fairy tale. The laws of interdimensional travel and ad infinitum make it impossible for anything to destroy the entire Multiverse at once."
"BUT MASTER I SPEAK THE TRUTH. SOMEHOW THE NEW TIMELINE YOU CREATED, THE END OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE, THE DESTRUCTION OF THE UNIVERSE, AND THE END OF ALL THINGS ARE CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER. ANOTHER UNKNOWN FORCE IS OUT THERE MANIPULATING EVENTS..."
"I've seen enough," Metron said before spinning his chair away grimly. He was feeling angry and frustrated at the same time. All this work and either he had to accept his computer had made a mistake or he himself had made a bad assumption again. Either way it didn't bode well for his universe's prospects. All that work in trying to preserve the timestream only to discover the future was doomed still.
"I SENSE YOU ARE TROUBLED MASTER?" the machine's AI asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Metron replied cynically. "All my research and experiments have been a waste. The universe will be destroyed soon and an impossible myth is about to become a reality somehow."
"YOU COULD TRY TO CHANGE THE TIMESTREAM AGAIN."
"I don't interfere directly," Metron corrected. "It would be almost impossible for me to try to steer the timeline away without breaking my rule."
"BUT MASTER THE FATE OF THE UNIVERSE AND POSSIBLY OTHER UNIVERSES ARE AT STAKE. YOU CAN CHANGE..."
"Too risky," Metron warned. "Actions have consequences and if I interfere even just a little, I could make things even worse. For example if I try to stop Batman from getting killed to save the Justice League in the future, I risk letting Darkseid survive and thus dooming the universe anyways. Batman needs to stay dead."
"BATMAN IS NOT DEAD MASTER," the computer corrected.
Metron spun his chair back around so fast he almost fell out.
"What did you say?" he demanded angrily.
"BATMAN IS NOT DEAD MASTER," the machine repeated. Metron felt his anger rise. This machine was definitely faulty now. No mortal could've survived Darkseid like that.
"You said so yourself that Batman was dead earlier," Metron countered. This computer had to be defective. Its logic components weren't working.
"ANALYSIS SAID BATMAN WAS GONE PREMATURELY BUT NOT DEAD. BATMAN IS GONE FROM HIS OWN TIME, BUT HE IS NOT DEAD TECHNICALLY."
"What do you mean? Explain yourself!" Metron demanded, finally raising his voice. He was growing frustrated and impatient with his computer.
The machine complied and showed the scene of Darkseid confronting Batman again. Except this time the machine was playing the dialogue Darkseid said to his vanquished foe before he annihilated him.
"I should kill you right now. But death would be too merciful. Instead I will give you the most painful punishment of all; oblivion!" Metron heard Darkseid speak as his eyes glowed red.
Metron almost fell out of his chair again. He didn't just hear that! Even Darkseid wasn't that arrogant. He wouldn't dare…
But the machine replayed the scene again and Metron heard Darkseid make it clear again that he wasn't killing Batman.
"The Omega Sanction!" Metron gasped, clasping his hands on his head. "Darkseid, you fool! What have you done?"
