The future of the BatFamily is always shifting, never fully settled in one moment or another. This is of course because of the nature of comics, that all of the stories take place in the here and now. Glimpses of the future are fleeting and dependent upon the writer of the current story.
I've taken several large liberties with this chapter to make it as coherent and satisfying as possible. Basically, everything is officially non-cannon. Take it as you will, envision the characters however you wish. The future is anyone's guess.
Neo-Gotham stood as a bright, glaring pinpoint against the backdrop of dark surrounding countryside. A lot had changed in the last fifty years, but some things stayed the same. The Bat-signal stood brightly against the clouded sky, proclaiming once again that there was a need for the masked vigilante known as Batman. His presence was a constant in a city wrought with turmoil and treachery.
The original Dark Knight has long since passed from this world. His heirs had taken it upon themselves to continue the fight in Gotham. Dick Greyson had spent several years as Batman before passing the title to its blood heir, Damien Wayne. Publicly known as the heir to the Wayne fortune, Damien spent decades preforming the same ritualistic life of his father, opposing criminals and saving the world. But as does happen, time passed and the once young boy became too old to wear the cape and cowl of his father.
Damien sat in the study of Wayne manor, overlooking the city which had grown significantly in the past fifty years. He would need to get down to the cave in a moment in order to run operations for the current Batman. But for the moment he reflected upon the others who had come and gone through the years.
After retiring the role of Batman, Greyson had gone into semi-retirement. He and Gordon had finally gotten married but ultimately produced no offspring, citing their lack of normalcy for not wanting to raise a child predestined to become a costumed crime-fighter. Such a shame, the two had quite good attributes to pass on. When Dick died, it tore much more of a whole in Damien than he would have cared to admit. Gordon was still involved with the police force even after being a retired commissioner for a great many years now. There were just some habits you couldn't break.
Brown spent a good number of years as Batgirl before rebranding herself as the second Nightwing. She was far more mature at that point, wanting to start a family with Drake and lave a lot of her childish antics behind. The two now lived a quiet life retired out in the country, far removed from any activity that might draw them or their kids back to Gotham. Damien resented them for their decision for many years, but eventually came to realize that their path was one of honorable discharge rather than willful neglect of the cause.
Cain had spent some years in Hong Kong before returning to Gotham upon the death of Kate Kane. She adopted the Batwoman persona and had been a great force in the arena for many years. Perhaps better than any of them, Cassandra took to being a Bat. Her entire life was devoted to the cause, never for a minute thinking about her own life unless forced to by a concerned family member. She never married or had any serious relationship as far as Damien knew. She did however, train several Robins up until her death during a universal crisis.
Finally, there was Todd. He had left Gotham at one point to travel the world, perhaps with a purpose or perhaps not. That had been a great many years ago, and he had never been seen since. Damien couldn't believe that the force of the Red Hood had succumbed to anything less than an apocalyptic threat, so he chose to believe that the hardened old soldier had found a better life somewhere and simply never returned.
The Justice League was still around, though greatly reduced in stature due to public opinion and diminishing numbers. The Kryptonian hadn't been seen for years, but his fortress still stood. The newest Green Lantern was odd to say the least. Still the world looked bleaker every day.
Damien's own life wasn't all that exciting. He had spent far too many years running his body and mind into brick walls of crime, corruption and evil. It took far more than one man to stem the tide of humanities troubles. His load had lightened when he met Lian Harper and though the two were never officially married, Damien still felt like they were meant for each other. She had passed some years ago. Every day was a terrible burden without her, but now Damien had something else to live for.
"Are you coming old man?" Terry McGinnis stood at the entrance to the Batcave, poised and ready for action. The boy had come to Wayne manor one night running from some thugs, what he found was a hidden legacy more profound than anything he could have imagined. As was typical for most newcomers to the cave, he stole a suit and began to go about righting wrongs in the city of Neo-Gotham.
Instead of shutting the boy down, Damien had begun to train him and provide him with the best possible support. The city had changed a lot in the last fifty years, much of which Terry was very familiar with. But those old techniques and tricks still held true to the world of the future. Damien had no delusions that Terry would be able to save the city by himself, not any more then Bruce or himself had ever been able to do. It took more than Batman to change the way people lived and what they expected from their city. But it was a start.
Damien had allowed Terry to become Batman not because of his similarities to the previous bearers of the title, but because of his differences. This would not be a Batman of old but rather something beyond. The start of a new chapter for the legacy of the Bat, one that was not a soulless force but an empathetic human. Terry had yet to lean of it, but Damien had already found a suitable Robin for him. A girl by the name of Carrie Kelley who was enthralled by the idea of this new Batman and had been going out of her way to try and find him. She was talented in gymnastics and if Greyson had proved anything, it was that gymnasts could make excellent acrobatic fighters.
All in time. There was still the night at hand to think about. Damien rose and walked to the staircase that led to the cave. By the time he made it down to the lower levels of the hidden base, Terry had already changed into the black and red suit that had become the new standard for Batman. It was fan more technologically sophisticated than anything previous and could enhance the wearer to near superhuman levels. Though that was only part of the hero, the man inside the suit was just as important as the tools that he possessed.
"I should be at the River District in five minutes, I'll scout and try and see if I can find what the problem is. See if you can keep the police out of the way, I don't want to have to worry about them too." Terry's voice had dropped a register and become like gravel. Some things never changed.
"Keep your head in the job, prepare for everything, then work around anything. Don't disappoint me." Damien had never been one for pleasant motivation.
"Will do old man." Terry jetted into the cockpit of the Batmobile and kicked it into overdrive to burst out of the hidden entrance. Damien watched him go with a sense of anticipation. Not only for the night, but for the future. Change was inevitable, but Batman would always be vigilant over his city.
And that's the end of it! If you've made it all the way through, thank you! It means a lot to me. Though it might be a while before I start another project of this size. It was a lot of fun to write when I had the motivation and time to do so. But life tends to get in the way of things, doesn't it?
Reviews of the whole story are very much welcome.