Gotham City

A shocking sensation intruded and forcibly herded in a mind of a strong, calm villain of the story. He felt something busted inside like wires receiving electric surges. It almost mentally ached him, almost caused him to drop. Detection spread over the whole world under his eyesight. Detection of something so vast beyond comprehension based on the boundaries under this whole Universe and time. He realised he reactively placed his hand on his head. He lowers his hand down, in later date, he recomposes himself in the same calm expression he always retains. Although unbeknownst to him, his brief changed composure was noticed by someone close to him.

"Are you alright?", said the being with a feminine voice, placing her hands all over him.

The man silently grunts at the received agony, quickly disposing it. Within the mask he currently wears, his lips bend up to form a pleasant smile. He smiles over learning a sentient still breathes in this planet. But this individual he sensed is very extraordinary, and unrivalled from the most powerful beings in the cosmos. It was someone or something that seemed to be like him in every way. His brain processes these little bits and pieces of the little lightning shot that seethed inside, making the egocentric, sadistic devil acknowledge someone that he is heavily interest in wishing to take in.

"B-", the woman was about to say his name until her hand was firmly grabbed by the being the lady is currently speaking to.

"It seems the revelation hence forth reveals something spontaneous and astonishing", said the man, subsequent to loosing his grip on his attachment on the lady's hand.

"Revelation?", the woman wondered what the man is talking about.

"It means someone out there is living and breathing", he pleasantly stated, eager to taste the feeling.

The woman displays a serious expression. "Impossible. How could there still be survivors? You caused a wide-scale genocide that eliminated over 7 billion beings in this world, additionally, counting billionaires more if you add up the massive eradication of multiple planets across the Multiverse. Warlord, New Genesis, Apokolips. Even Darkseid and the three Monitors have been quickly destroyed, now served as tools to weaponize a doomsday countdown", the woman said, angered to hear this revelation. "If any of their beating hearts linger in this planet, this Multiverse, they'd spoil our plans".

"True. All the more reason why this particular being is a perfect asset to our doomsday countdown, and needs to be captured. I shall dispatch a horde of our creations", said the man.

"Why not kill him? And what makes this particular being such a perfect asset that he needs to be apart of our plan?", she questions.

"He is someone very much the same of what I have long been expecting since my rebirth", the man claims, causing the woman to be perplexed. "Rest now Shayera. The night is dark". He subsequently caresses her hair, while finally standing up to the woman. "Even you have an important role".

The lady gives the being a look that shows she understands the task she is assigned in.

Far, far, far away from Gotham City...

Bruce launches his legs across a mound of sand, sticking the lookout on his new target. After reading the newspaper and in a short while cried to himself and in the end brought himself out of it, Bruce would then uncover possible locations of survivors after listening in on a recorded message. Apparently, in Detroit, there are survivors that have occupied and housed a place in S.T.A.R. Labs due to to the lab having special resources, Bruce is unknown of around this time.

He move his legs up and down, creating the smallest craters on the sand, footprints. As of now, Bruce doesn't see anything that would convince him he is that close, prompting him to move far ahead. Swinging his legs on and on on front like pedalling on a bicycle, he makes his way across the sand, covering more of the path he draws upon. He views the area in front still not close, which provides Bruce the reason to pedal it more and more. His balanced body fronts farther and farther. Feeling it now, he comprehends the stage of walking is what he's doing. Bruce is used to it.

A few moments later, he moves across and reaches up to a hill. This made Bruce take the cue to push himself to press on forth the hill. He walks along the bumpy surface, stepping harder and harder on every spot he crosses, and was forced to lay each of his feet on every one of them. It's as if he is dragging the area he sees closer, zooming in, though in reality, he is simply walking ahead. He eventually manages to reach up past the powdery, silky, firm yet soft surface, having his eyes meet a light pole attached to a red lamp that's still in clear presence, much to Batman's surprise even though he shouldn't be surprised at anything that would be unexpecting. He presumes there will be more surprises in store for him.

The lamp is in its own fixed world in this post-apocalyptic reality.

Cannot refrain himself from analysing, Batman takes no time in ushering to analyse the lamp. He motions his face to give rise to his eyes close to the lamp as close as it gets. When he looked at it, Batman could almost sense some comparison between watching a horror show and looking at this for the reason that he notes there is something lingering inside that makes this lamp not its way of functioning as the light its role is. Moments before he decides to crack it, a yellow-masked head appears, making the Batman realise who it is. He can recognise this face. He faced him once before when he teamed up with the Flash, in which one of their various adventures involved fighting this guy.

"What in...?", Batman fails to ask.

This being's face appears to dead.

"Eobard Thawne? What is he... ?", Batman failed to ask. Despite witnessing many gruesome ways a victim faced death, Batman has found this unusual for a supervillain and an arch-nemesis of the Flash to simply be killed regardless of possessing speed only rivalled by a speedster who possess the Speed Force. Batman short later notices the sand beneath him begins to vibrate.

Afterwards, a hurricane, surrounding Bruce, beams upwards.

The appearance of the surrounding hurricane renders Bruce to stagger. He can't keep his balance for long as though the hurricane is trying to pull the man into being involved in an extraction process needed to be taken.

Bruce can feel the sensation. It's almost close in resemblance of carrying temptations. And not just temptations but feeling like he is soon prepared to mark the end of Batman and his life. He then cries out an enormous wave that instantly causes the hurricane to vanish. Batman drops down, bent on his knees. He grasps for air, breathing in repeatedly in order to become less anxious and more sharp. In a slow motion, he gets up, dragging his legs from bending into being up-straight.

After getting himself up, Bruce hears multiple whirring noises nearby, which instinctively brought about Bruce to fly away. As he hops off, Bruce lands to hill of sand. Whatever it was, Bruce is certain facing it head on would put him in the chance of death. Whether or not it was Lex Luthor, Bruce isn't convinced yielding or allowing himself open would be the smart plan regardless of these incomers being good or evil. Viewing this world seems to be a battlefield where no matter how good or bad one person can be, the outcome will result in one being standing, whereas the others are left gnawed, mutilated, broken or shot. Bruce lifts his head up, opening his eyes, discerning two familiar beings in presence, which critically shocked Bruce because he knows who they are.

"Bane? Scarecrow?", Bruce exclaims, mentioning their names in low volume, avoiding their attention. The two people he sees appear to be attached together, formed by Scarecrow riding on Bane's backside. Without anymore thoughts to draw up on questioning this compounded appearance, Bruce eavesdrop on whatever Bane and Scarecrow are talking. It wasn't just the mixed appearance that Bruce found it difficult to think they'd stick together. Bane is all about breaking the bat and ruling Gotham City. Scarecrow pledges to strike fear into everyone with his fear toxin.

Bane started with saying someone has entered in this area, in which he names it for a numbered sector. Subsequently, he spreads his eyesight over everywhere. He than stated this being would fit in a category Bane stated, which he thinks is of capable people who could survive from what he calls it 'Speed Force Storm'.

"Surely why we should locate the sentient before it or its founded organisation attempts to thwart Omega's plan", Scarecrow replies to Bane.

"It could be Luthor still slithering the wasteland", Bane presumes. He is known of Lex Luthor being moving like a slug for the past few years. "He shouldn't be a problem anymore now that he is fragile, ready to be broken".

"Fragile foes can be somewhat of a bigger nuisance to Omega. Lex Luthor, as well as all else lingering, should not be underestimated. As for the Omega's desire for Bruce Wayne, we must be on the lookout in case he was the one who set foot in here", Scarecrow said.

Exactly after Scarecrow and Bane had a short conversation, they moved ahead, keen to find the individual they know hasn't gone too far because they know this person could be severely weakened. The two pressed their feet along the path, which is opposite of the direction Batman is hiding in.

Bruce pulls himself out of the stacked sand. He absorbs all the things he heard from Bane and Scarecrow's conversation. He now knows he is being searched by someone who is known as 'Omega'. Bruce also begins to note the chance this whole cause was never force-shoved by Lex Luthor. "Omega?", Bruce wondered who this being is. It added up to a whole new array of confusions. Unsure of who it is and completely comprehensive in his state not at a fitting edge to take on two of his greatest enemies in only Gotham. The last time he was wearied and was driven to fight without any rest was when he faced Bane at the time the latter attacked Bruce's home, which consequently damaged his back and left him unable to operate for a long time. Extremely uneased in mind and less prepared to take on Bane and Scarecrow, Batman steps backwards, choosing to run as far away as he can while possible. He turns around, readying to move on a faster pace, up till realising he is no longer in the wasteland.

His embellish eyes fish out, whilst walking along the path. He realises he is in a cave. The cave seemed very familiar to him. He reaches to the end of the path since his point was somewhere in the middle of a point on a narrow footpath. After reaching there, Bruce moves one step more and more. The more steps he stamps, the better his brain processes on this area. Vivid memories rising inside his head, picturing something that wants Bruce to remember. His mind starting to act the little pest attempting to engage him internally.

After a few more steps fronted on, Bruce reached up to one area. His vision is weak but he can see, though not levelled in clear the way he was when he was in good condition. Flickering images show Bruce, rendering him to condemn the images, swallow them, and understand them.

Images of a certain place Bruce would frequently be in. Bruce remembers it now. This isn't just some ordinary cave. It's the Batcave, and Batman now sees himself held up by someone that appears to be no other person to wear this appearance as Bane. Bruce sees Bane carrying a weakened Batman, lifting the latter up. He vaguely remembers this happen. It was back at the time when he was brutally gifted with a violent awakening of being broken, as stated by the younger Bane of that time years ago.

"I could kill you", Bane, from this hallucination or dream Bruce is seeing, addresses to Batman's younger self. "But death would only end your agony and silence your shame". Bane finally outreaches his lift on Batman, laying him over his head. "Instead, I will simply...". Bane readies one knee up, while starting to drop Batman's body down.

As Bruce watches it from a distance, his heart pounds, remembering this nightmare. The darkness of this monstrous formidable foe surpasses Batman as that man hails from the deeper side of it.

Bane drops Batman's body down to crashing on his right knee, instantly rupturing Batman's back, and thus exploding a white light, illuminating all over the real Batman.

"...break you!", the younger Bane, from that nightmare, hallucination or vision Bruce is seeing, finishes his line.

Everything seemed black for a bit, then everything suddenly lighted up. His sight captures numerous buildings far away from his point. Bruce isn't too concentrated on what's in front of him. He is dwelling on actually witnessing a past event. Each pool of that toxin resided as containers inside Scarecrow haven't reached that close to Bruce. The air is heavy. That's what Bruce assumes, though he can't get rid of what he saw. "Why did I watch myself beaten down by Bane?", he questions himself. He then looked down, acutely thinking about the cause of seeing a past event. "Am I afraid?". Seconds passed after thinking about it, Bruce decides to resume walking forward. His only path is wherever holds a building, a caravan, any other vehicles, shelters, water, food, or any person that survived from this apocalypse and still lived on.

"I can't allow myself to be haunted by my past", Batman talking to himself. Seemingly, his only friend is himself. His very own talkative self dwelling in his mind. His blood flows vibrate excessively the more he thinks about it. "I've got to stay focused, and figure out...". Bruce quickly realises there is no way. He is in a wasteland, which could possibly the same for most parts of the world, and if Bruce were the only person living, the latter certainly knows he can't fix it. Not alone. He'd need a huge bunch. "I can't believe still blind to acknowledge the truth there is no way fixing this". Precisely finishing his talking, Batman silences himself, carrying on forward to the path within-reach.

Detroit

Following a thousand steps printed forward, Bruce enters a broken city, which he doesn't recognise that Detroit since it is vastly from the last time Bruce saw of Detroit. It is definitely a ghost town. No inhabitants live in this town. Bruce guessed it had something to do with the apocalypse that ushered many people to run away, or they got captured and taken away by something Bruce doesn't know. He assumes Omega is implied to be the one partially responsible. Bruce is, in a distance, far from reaching his full success in his investigation. This world causes it all to be overshadowed, like the malevolent souls, inhabiting in here, blackens the truth.

Bruce, walking, sees the hoary, antique street, piled with hundreds of cracked vehicles located far off across the road. Step by step, Bruce eyesight grasps on the aged road as he rams across the road. He passes fewer cars mounded in an odd position, most likely caused from whatever devastation was unleashed. He walks further and further on, not counting on time to favour him, but rather his working legs to remain its status at a good degree. Step by step, Bruce walks along the road more. A weak man elevating his legs, while maintaining his motion at good rate.

Moments of strolling along the appearing short road, distinguished when Bruce saw the other side of the town appears to have been broken. He assumes it's someone like the things he saw earlier. Bruce rolls his head to one house metres away from his direction. His perception spikes like porcupines. He forgets his straight movement to stroll along the road, instead, walking to the house, relaxed and calm.

Bruce's outreach to the house is nearer, the additional he lays his legs swinging frontwards. As he gets closer, he suddenly stops at sound waves travelling up to his ears.

"You failed them", a feminine voice so terrifying, and so familiar to Batman, addresses towards the latter.

Batman promptly turns around. At that next second, everything changes differently. The town is filled with dying plans slithering around the town, and they are not green. This extremely shocked Batman. Not only owed to the fact of seeing an instant change in background, it's also because a woman stood in front of him. Batman's eyes widened. He didn't say a word but chooses to be quiet. He is sure of himself hallucinating. In was within his blood-side, his Batman side, one in which never desires to let go of multiple nightmares Bruce experiences repeatedly. The subject not anymore about victory, there's always this unpleasant, painful memory Bruce retains inside his head.

This woman appears in a leaner form. Her supposed outfit consists of yellow leaves sculpted to form a bathing suit. Her skin is coloured pale yellow. A dying Poison Ivy. "Nature would always win, and you shrugged it off like all of those mindless fools. I thought you'd protect the environment. The plants. All the work I did for this iniquitous world. My legacy. My fantasy. All is tarnished, shredded", Poison Ivy closed her distance with Bruce. "And I thought I could trust it all in your hands when I died to use the last of my life force to ensure the plants' survival from the Joker and Punchline unleashing their toxin".

Batman quickly pushes that thought away, gesturing his arm to swipe whatever is in front of him as if he was trying to rid gas off his face. Right after using his arm to brush the air away, Batman swiftly turned around, without looking, noted the town is back in the same way it always has been. "I need to make sure these hallucinations, blasting at me in random times, doesn't throw me off. Can't afford to get distracted. Must focus", Batman vows, subsequent to resume walking towards the house.

Batman enters the house. His first sight is the staircase. Batman notes on taking that route upstairs when he's done with the ground floor. He then hears a vague noise of someone heavily breathing. The Dark Knight registers the breathing is coming from the lounge, prompting Batman to run down to that room.

Once he comes in there, he sweeps his eyes around the living room. He notes the furniture, TV, and other things are laid everywhere as trash. After Batman looks on direction, he changes his eye-direction, therefore noticing someone leaning against the wall, blood surrounding that person. Bruce understands this wounded individual was breathing heavily. He runs up to that man's side, bending one knee to match his head levels with the individual.

The man continues to heavily breathe, whilst noticing someone placing a hand on him to display its keen to help him. "Who's there?!", the man questions out loud. His breathings become heavier and heavier the bigger his heart beats.

"Calm down", Batman assures him, holding the man, who attempted to be set to throw any punch at the unknown individual, which is Batman, unbeknownst to the man. "I am just like you: a survivor".

The man slowly opens his eyes. Once fully opened, the pitch-black mist boils his heart to pound extremely. He is frightened to meet one he never expected to see in this year. "No way...", the man failed to speak due to having breathing issues that continue to grow worse. "There's...". He started coughing, though supported by Bruce. "...there's no way. It's impossible". His ability to speak battles against his life for the reason that he coughs. "Many have died 30 years ago. No one should be alive. I saw the crowd storm your headquarters-". The man coughs again, and is forced to have it repeated.

"30 years ago?", Batman has a questioning thought about it. "What happened 30 years ago?".

The man shakes his head, remembering the events that occurred. "An apocalypse...", he answers. His hefty breathing rises exponentially. "It destroyed everything. That man...". The man started thinking about a dangerous individual who was what traumatised him. "He was no man. He was a malicious, godly titan. A devil emerged to punish us all, destroyed our lives, and made us suffer".

Batman is coerced to account all blasted information from the man, while this person is slowly dying. He has already known the bleeding, still dripping out, is coming from a big wound on the man's flank. "How'd you get this?", Bruce points a finger on the wound.

"Not too long ago, I was venturing across the wasteland to scour for supplies. I was in the middle of finding an abandoned store a couple of miles away. But I got the drop from those things that attacked me, and left me with a big scratch", the man explains the story in short. He then coughs very hard he lost a lot of air, subsequently having blood fall out of his nose.

"Things?", Batman wondering who the man is referring to. "Bane? Scarecrow?".

"No. But they are apart of... it. They are apart of Omega's forces... No one can get their claws close on... Omega unless you... you cross through their forces", said the man, coughing increasingly.

Batman lowers his head, realising he has woken himself up to face a post-apocalyptic world where he is at a greater disadvantage. He has no allies. No close friends, not even Superman is there, especially not Wonder Woman. The weight of everything on Batman's hands is unbalanced, meaning he will be overpowered if he tries to attack or set his course to challenge the dark forces.

"But...", the man fails to utter again, caused by coughing that carries on disturbing him. "...there is a way to fight an army with an army of your own".

Batman begins to have his ears wide open, knowing an army is what Batman needs, in spite of whether or not they are enemies or rivals of Batman's.

"A vague rumour was spread about a league of defenders pursuing a chance to have peace and everything restored, rumoured to have assembled in Coast City", said the man. He slightly looks up to Batman with his eyes indicating his downfall. "If you can reach Coast City, then may fate assure us all... that... you and... them... reform this broken world back to what it was supposed to be". After the man uses the last of his breath to express his belief of Batman's involvement with this new organisation he heard of, the man collapses, succumbing to his injuries, resulting in death, and leaving Batman alone and alive.

"I'm sorry that you had to experience this dreadfulness. I will make sure your death isn't in vain", Batman making a solemn promise he wouldn't wish to break easily. "Rest in peace". Bruce finally lets go of the man, causing his corpse to slide down to lay on the ground, trailing behind blood on the wall. Batman turns around, preparing to set course to Coast City.

A/N: When Bruce entered the city, I was planning on plotting Bruce entering Central City in this chapter. But then something popped in my mind, making me think about some other plot. Something that was inspired from watching the episode DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Season 1 Episode 6, 'Star City 2046', as well as being inspired from seeing a fan-made trailer of DC's Legends of Tomorrow, 'Central City 2046' that depicts the Legends happening to be in Central City 2046, where Eobard Thayne has released all the metas to start a 'metapocalypse', likely happened following the Flash's death as it was never mentioned on when that event took place, but nevertheless, the city went in ruins. Whereas in Star City 2046 from the episode viewers had seen in DC's Legends of Tomorrow, it showed the city also in ruins caused Slade Wilson's son, Grant Wilson, when he invaded Star City with an army. The reason why I didn't write it in on Batman entering Central City, and instead, plotted him in entering Detroit is because I wanted to set up a plot to explore on Star City and Central City in later chapters. Fan-made or not, they do give me an idea on what I could make up for what happened to both those cities in the year 2050. Season 1 of DC's Legends of Tomorrow was the best season of all the seasons. It had a great story. Enough talking about that show.

As far as the readers would want to look at the story focusing on Batman's adventure, yes, it is still on. The story is still focused on Batman and his adventure. I just had an idea of setting up future plots mostly due to having joy in making them.