On a dark night, the rain was drizzling down.
A stone building was shown. Near the ceiling of the building, a person was squatting down on a gargoyle, with his back hunched over and his face looking down at the ground.
It was Batman
He remained still for a few minutes, and allowed the rain to pour down over him. He eventually reached into his utility belt, and took out a folded piece of paper. It was the note that Batgirl had given to him. He opened it up and began reading.
He read it in his head, with Melanie's voice reading off the words
Dear Terry,
There's a lot that I've done that I need to answer for. I've stolen, cheated, lied…but in my eyes, none of that's as bad having lied to you. The only one who I ever cared about as deeply as I did...
Batman put the note down and looked the other way. He rested his forehead in his hand.
-x-
"As we all know, we are here today to commemorate the life of Miss Melanie Walker." Commissioner Gordon was professionally dressed and speaking over a podium. The building that she was speaking in was packed with people of all ages. "I'm aware that most of you did not know her personally, but are family members and friends of the lives that she saved that day. And that speaks to the kind of sacrifice that she was willing to make. I did have the privilege of knowing her personally. And perhaps the greatest tragedy is that she never saw herself the way that we see her now. She saw herself as Ten, and briefly as Batgirl. But she never saw herself as Melanie Walker. The hero."
-x-
"This is Kevin Carr reporting to you live." The brunette news reporter spoke into the camera, "I'm standing in front of the memorial service for who has come to be the shining example of how criminals really can change, even after their lives.
-x—
Terry was dressed in a suit, and walked up to Bruce Wayne's front gate. He pressed the call button at the front.
"It's me." He said.
The gate opened and Terry walked in
-x-
"And we are pleased to report that the antidote to the mutagen that Paxton Powers distributed has been mass produced, and administered to any and all people who were affected." Kevin Carr reported
A shot showed a doctor injecting Max's arm with a blue liquid.
-x-
"Spellbinder, Kate Robinson, Chris Parker and of course, Paxton Powers have all been brought to justice, and will serve their allotted time in prison."
The news report was playing on the TVs at the prison, right before a prison guard threw Paxton Powers into a cell. Paxton jumped to his feet.
"You don't know who you're dealing with!" Paxton yelled, "I'll get the best lawyers! You'll see, I'll be out of here of here in one week, tops!"
"For your sake, I hope you're right." The prison guard said, right before he locked the door.
Paxton looked perplexed. Why would the prison guard say that?
And then the hard hand that clasped down on his shoulder told him exactly why. He turned around, and saw King tower over him.
As fate would have it, he was cell mates with Melanie Walker's father.
"Dishonoring our previous agreements is one thing."
King grabbed Paxton's shirt and held him up in the air
"Killing my daughter is quite another." King said.
"Now wait…hold on!" Paxton said.
King's fingers curled up into a fist.
"Let's see your lawyers get you out of this one."
"No! Wait, Stop! STOP!"
The prisoners could hear the banging from their cells, and most of them were cheering.
-x—
Terry walked into Bruce's family room, and opened the clock which led down into the Batcave. He watched the door open up, right before he walked in.
-x—
Batman continued to read over Melanie's note
"I told you the day that we first met that it was my first time in Gotham. But that was a lie. Months before, the Royal Flush gang had received a secure call from Paxton's father: Derek Powers. He knew that we hadn't been doing too well on our robberies as of late, so he offered us a job that was a little bit out of our alley. He wasn't talking about a heist. He was talking about a murder. My dad didn't ask any further questions. But I found out later that the target's name was Warren McGinnis. Your father."
-x-
"Paxton Powers almost took Gotham City and Verdeza out from under our noses." Barbara said on stage, "Even the police department would have never suspected a thing before it was too late. And that only proves that sometimes the people who we trust the most and the ones that let us down the hardest. And the ones who we would have never trusted to begin with, can end up being the ones who become the greatest heroes."
-x—
"But something happened, and our robberies continued to proceed as scheduled." Melanie's note continued, "And we soon became too busy to go to Gotham City anymore. And so, Derek Powers moved on, and decided to do the job himself. But that put me in an uncomfortable situation. I had all the information. I knew when and where his henchman would be, because Powers approached us first. It made me uneasy. Now that I look back, it must have been my conscious trying to push me to do the right thing. And I tried…I secretly went to Gotham City. I waited over a house and looked down, waiting for the car to come.
But then I became scared. What if I got caught in the crossfire? What would my family think of me going out and doing a "good deed" like this? The truth is that I was evil then. And even though I wanted to help, I didn't have the strength to. So I turned around and left. I didn't intervene. And in a weird twist of fate, I'd meet you months later
Your father's death was my fault. I could have stopped it, and I chose not to. That's why I can't be a hero. Heroes make the right decisions. And I didn't."
Batman closed his eyes and put his hand on his fist. The hand that was holding the note was shaking.
"IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT!" He screamed it, and it echoed down the stone tower.
-x-
"And so it's with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to her. To the greatest Batgirl that there ever was. And even though she died, her legacy will always live on."
-x—
Terry walked up behind Bruce Wayne's chair in the batcave. He was sitting at the big computer screen, while the rest of the Batcaves was still in shambles. Bruce minimized the screen he was looking at right when Terry walked in.
"I see you got the computer fixed." Terry said
"I did." Bruce said bluntly, while continuing to work on the screen.
"Sorry about the Batcave."
"It's all replaceable." Bruce said
Terry swallowed before he spoke
"But Melanie's not."
Bruce stopped and turned around in his chair
"Why aren't you at the funeral?" Terry asked
"Why aren't you?"
"Because I knew I'd find you here."
Bruce folded his hands
"Bruce, of all people to go and respect the memory of, you'd think that the girl who saved your life would make the cut."
"It's not about that."
"Then what is this about?! You'd rather sit here in this empty cave then risk being seen caring about somebody."
Bruce remained silent.
"I did care about her." He eventually said
"Then why don't you prove it! I know you've gone through a lot in this past week, but we all have. The funeral's still not over, and I'm going there to at least ACT like her life even mattered!" Terry yelled. "And I came all the way here just to say that you're welcome to come with me."
Bruce stared up at him. He then turned his chair towards the computers
"I'm busy. So you better get going."
Terry stood still in anger, and let the silence settle.
"Whatever." Terry said.
He turned around and darted for the door. Bruce closed his eyes.
"Terry."
Bruce said, while turning his chair around once more.
Terry stopped.
"What?" He said
"I was in a mental prison the other day. And you somehow convinced me to come out of it."
Terry turned around
"That illusion brought a lot of memories back to the forefront. And I came to realize that there were a lot of decisions I made that I've come to regret. But there's one decision that I know was the right one."
He looked up at Terry when he said it
"Thanks." Terry said, "But now it's time to make another good decision. That is, if you still remember how to do that."
Terry turned around and exited the Batcave. He took the elevator upstairs.
Bruce turned back to his computer. He maximized the window he was looking it.
He was studying the footage of the aircraft that that crashed. He watched it happen, frame by frame. He rewound, and rewatched it again and again.
At one point, his eyes squinted
-x—
Commissioner Gordon parked her car in front of the field where the aircraft had crashed. The wreckage was still there, and the area was closed off by a police line. Six policemen were examining the area.
Barbara ducked under the line and went into the crash site
"What's all this about?" Commissioner Gordon asked her policemen.
"I apologize for taking your time, Commissioner, but I just wanted to confirm…" One of the men said while holding onto a singed part of the aircraft, "You said that you witnessed this place crash into the ground and explode?"
"Yeah. It happened right in front of me."
"That's rather odd." He said
"Why?" Barbara asked
"I've had a team take a look at the wreckage several times now, and they're suggesting that the burst was initiated by some sort of premature projectile detonation, not an impact"
"In layman's terms, officer." The Commissioner said
The police officer looked up at her
"This thing exploded long before it touched the ground."
The Commissioner looked confused
"Call me crazy…" The officer said while looking at the pieces "But this whole thing may have been a set up." The officer said.
Barbara stood with her face tense and her mouth open.
-x-
Bruce looked once again at the footage. He kept trying to stop it at one point.
Then he found it.
One a very particular frame, he paused the footage and adjusted the color settings.
After a few clicks, he saw what he wanted to see.
A black and white streak faintly ran across the aircraft one millisecond before it exploded.
Wayne cracked a smile
He shut off the computer, stood up, and left the Batcave right before he turned the lights off.
-x-
The night was dark and crisp
There was a layer of fog that obscured the metropolitan view of Gotham City.
Inside of a lonely alleyway, a figure in a long brown coat and large brown top hat emerged from the fog. Even if the fog wasn't hiding the person's face, their oversized hat and popped collar would have.
The gravel crunched underneath the person's boots right before they stopped in their tracks.
The person took a small travel bag off of their shoulder and dropped it on the ground. Their hand slowly reached into their pocket and produced a cigarette lighter. After a few seconds, the person dropped the lighter onto the bag. It erupted in flames.
The person turned the corner and waited by an empty street. They checked their watch to make sure that they were on time.
"You know, there are parts of the world where death is only an illusion."
It was Bruce Wayne's voice. The person turned around and saw Bruce walk up to them.
"And until now, Gotham City wasn't one of them."
Bruce looked straight into the person's covered eyes
"Isn't that right, Melanie?"
The person remained still for several seconds. Then they took off the hat and unzipped the coat halfway. Sure enough, Melanie's blonde hair, blue eyes and smooth white face were hiding behind.
"So you know. How?"
"You're not the only one who's ever pulled a stunt like that. And I saw the footage. He's gotten me out of a number of scrapes too."
"Does Terry…"
"No. But that's why I came out here in person. He has to know."
"No he doesn't. No one can." Melanie said
"Why not?"
"The city needed a hero last night. And Batgirl gave it to them. And I don't know what that means for me. But what I do know is that if I came back, all of it could be undone."
"That's not necessarily true."
"Well even if it isn't. I can't afford to find out."
"So you'll just run away again?"
"I tried leaving Gotham behind once. And that didn't turn out so well. This way, there is no way back. So yeah. I'm leaving again. But this time, for good."
"Where will you go?"
"Somewhere where I know I can start over."
"That's a bit hard to put into a GPS."
"That's the point." Melanie said "You're not supposed to follow me."
"If a new start is what you're looking for, then I can help. It can be a thank you for what you did the other night."
"I'm flattered, but this time I'm serious about wanting to make it out on my own. Which means that I have to burn every bridge. All of them."
"Suit yourself." Bruce said after a short pause "But somehow I believe that you'll always leave one open. For him."
"Terry doesn't need me to do what he does."
"Maybe not Batgirl. But as for you, I wouldn't be so sure."
A taxi cab drove towards them
"Sorry to keep disappointing you. But I can't afford to see him again."
"You can at least afford to think about it."
Bruce held the Batgirl mask up in front of her
"This was salvaged from the crash site."
Melanie looked down at it. She then looked back up at Bruce's eyes.
"Terry I'll think about. But as for the mask…you know where to put it." Melanie replied
The cab stopped right next to them
"They never did find your body. What if people start asking questions? What do I tell them if they start looking?" Bruce asked
Melanie put her hat back on and stepped into the back of the taxi. She rolled down the window.
"You can be honest. Tell them that Batgirl died in Gotham City. And if they want to find her, they can drive over to the cemetery."
She looked at him one last time
"Good bye, Mr. Wayne. Thanks for everything."
She wound up the window and the taxi cab drove off.
"But that's why there are real heroes" Melanie's narration continued
Bruce Wayne was left alone, looking down into the distance.
-x-
The ones who protect us
Batman held onto a happy picture of himself and Melanie from the time they were dating. His eyes rested on it for a while.
He then put it in his utility belt.
-x—
"The ones who help us."
Commissioner Gordon was seen sitting at a desk in her house. She opened up a drawer and saw one of her old Batarangs inside. She slowly pulled it out, and gently rubbed her thumb along it. She then looked up at the night sky
-x—
"The ones who make the choices that few others will dare to face. The right ones."
Bruce Wayne walked over to the flaming travel bag on the side of the street. He peered over and saw what was inside.
Sure enough, it was the Batgirl suit. Bruce held Batgirl's mask in front of him, as if studying it. He then dropped it into the fire. He turned around and walked away.
-x-
Batman jumped up and landed on the roof of the building. He walked forward and fastened both of his gloves.
"The ones that we see up in the sky, and the ones that we see down on earth below."
-x-
The taxi cab dropped Melanie off at her location. She stepped out of the cab soon before it drove away. She was looking at a white building with a circular frame. It had three words over the top.
"HALL OF JUSTICE"
She looked back down at the Justice League ring that Batman had given her long before, and then looked back up at the building. She walked forward.
"Some are made, and some choose."
-x—
Batman turned on his suit and jumped off of the roof.
"And some rise from the ashes of their past. To become a symbol. To become a guardian. To become a legend."
Batman flew forward towards the screen
"To become like you—the Batman of the Future…"
Batman's symbol was the last thing to appear at the forefront.
"Batman Beyond."
-x—
And there you have it! The final installment of the Batgirl Beyond Series!
Now to those of you guys who were familiar with my Digital Crisis series, I used to make these things called "FAQs" where I'd open it up to the readers to ask me whatever questions they want that pertained to the series. So I'd really like to do that for this too, if you guys are so interested.
I've also mentioned this in passing before, but this will probably be the last story I'll write…so it was kind of a goodbye to my stories as a whole. You can ask more about that if you want to in the FAQ thing as well!
I hope you guys liked it. Please comment and tell me what you think. I really like reading them :)