(AN) I'm still here, only two chaps to go.
I do not own the characters immortalized in this story.
Chapter 17: The History of Slade
"McGinnis…?"
"That's right, Bruce. McGinnis..."
Batman looked at the scarred face of Slade, wondering if he should have known the name 'McGinnis. Apparently Batman had some history with him, but no one told him about it.
"It's not ringing a bell, Slade."
Slade was still in front of Batman, glaring at him with his eye.
"I did not think you would easily understand", Slade said.
Slade turned from Batman's face, walking a few paces to make Batman a comfortable audience. Slade stopped with his hands behind his back, not bothering to turn around.
"To start at the beginning is to tell you of your end", Slade began. "Twenty years from now, during a hostage situation, you will take part in your last night as Batman."
Batman was listening intently.
"Old age had finally caught up to you, Bruce. Broken relationships with your comrades, along with your family's company being on the verge of a hostile takeover, began the domino effect that would end your reign over Gotham. During the following twenty years, you lost complete control of your company to a man named Derek Powers. He was the head of his own corporation, your main rival as the millennium progressed. He kept you on the board, of course, only because there could be no 'WaynePowers' without the 'Wayne'."
Batman glared at Slade's back as Slade continued.
"At the tail end of those twenty years, Gotham was even worse than it was today. The buildings today were replaced by corporate offices and unnecessary skyscrapers, symbolizing the new filth that infested Gotham, corporate greed. With Derek Powers at the head of the organized crime of the twenty-first century, Gotham was crumbling."
"Why didn't I do anything about it?"
Slade turned around with a patronizing look on his face.
"It makes me happy to see that you're participating."
Batman glared at Slade, staring the question back at him.
"You lost hope, Bruce", Slade said. "You were a broken old man, a pathetic shell of what you once were. You were lonely in a dying world, slowly dying yourself."
Slade turned away from Bruce again.
"Powers turned the board of WaynePowers against you. He was a brash, arrogant, ruthless young executive, willing to do anything to get what he wanted. He made examples out of everyone. Powers obviously studied under Lex Luthor's methods of running a multi-national conglomerate. Unlike Luthor, Powers let his emotions interfere with business. He succeeded in dragging the Wayne family name through the mud, using the business to gain military contracts to produce weaponry, along with bio-weaponry. Are you still with me Bruce?"
Slade turned around to see Batman's stare still on him. Slade smiled and gave Batman his back again.
"The first steps of his demise came when he developed a deadly nerve gas, selling it to international terrorist networks. Some of his customers were actual foreign governments. One of his employees discovered his plans, and was also exposed to the nerve gas himself. He had in his possession a disc that exposed Powers as the traitor he was. However, the nerve gas that he was exposed to began to slowly eat him away. In an act of desperation, he gave the disc to a colleague. That colleagues name was Warren McGinnis, my father."
Slade paused for a moment, reliving his past.
"I was foolish at my young age, Bruce", Slade continued. "I led a selfish life, wanting only for myself. Allowing family and personal frustrations to rule me, to allow them control over my life. The typical teenaged boy..."
Slade turned his full body around, wanting eye contact with the next part of his story.
"That's when I met you, Bruce", Slade said. "One night during a skirmish that leads me, along with the ridiculous bike gang whose identity they had stolen from one of villains of your past, to the front of Wayne Manor, I met you. You were well into your eighties and in remarkable shape if I may add."
Batman scowled at Slade's attempt at flattery.
"I'm getting tired of this…." Batman said with his menacing tone.
"The fact that you are in this very situation should be proof enough that this is very serious", Slade said.
"After we thwarted our would-be attackers, I helped your weakened and tired body back inside your home. As I was leaving after you had fallen asleep, I notice a peculiar sight. Inside the grandfather clock in your study, I found a bat stuck underneath the glass door on the face of the clock. I opened it to free the flying rodent, however as I opened the face, the clock itself proved to be a door."
Batman knew what came next.
"The clock opened up, revealing a descending staircase of stone. The curious youth that I was, I walked down the staircase to find that Gotham's greatest myth was in fact true…
"The Batman had existed."
Batman glared as Slade appeared to be enjoying his memories.
"I was in awe", Slade continued. "Never in my life could I have imagined uncovering one the greatest mysteries of the past hundred years. I looked around the cave, taking in the splendor of my discovery. I was doing so until you had awakened to find me in the cave. You threw me out of your home as quickly as possible, feeling the utter violation of me being in the cave."
Batman listened to Slade's story as he tried to find a weak point in the restraints.
"I returned home that evening, still in shock of what I discovered. My being awestruck was cut short when I found police around my father's apartment building. I ran inside finding graffiti plastered on the stairway going up to our apartment. I saw my mother talking with two police officers. I knew something was wrong.
"I ran up to the door, to find a crime scene inside the apartment. My mother had been crying, worried sick about me. She then told me what happened; my father had been killed."
Slade's face had shown a hint of sadness. Reminiscing the day of his father's death seemed to shaken even him. Batman knew that feeling all too well.
"I found out later that Derek Powers had something to do with it. I went back to Wayne Manor with evidence, wanting your help. After hearing my pleas, you allowed me to show you what I had. You agreed that Derek Powers was doing something wrong, but you wanted the police to handle it. I begged you to handle it the way you would have, but you refused. You sent me to see Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon, to tell her…."
"Commissioner Barbara Gordon?" Batman asked. "How could she have…?"
"I'm getting there, Bruce", Slade said. "After hearing the extent of where our argument was going, I decided to take matters into my own hands. One night, I snuck back into your home and into the cave. I 'borrowed' the last costume you wore as Batman.
"That particular costume was a work of art, Bruce", Slade continued. "You designed it when you came to the realization that your body would not retain its youthfulness as long as it had. You knew you would become weaker. The suit was designed to aid your decreasing abilities and to heighten them.
"I had taken the suit and quickly learned most of its capabilities fairly quick. You were furious when you learned of what I had done, as you deserved to be. You even paralyzed the suit, nearly killing me in the process. However, you knew what I was trying to do was right. You knew that Batman had to live again, to haunt the night. Gotham had forgotten its legend, its hero. Batman was needed once again.
"You allowed me to continue in thwarting Powers, and I succeeded. After that particular episode with Powers, you offered to take me in and train me to become Gotham's protector.
"Over the course of the next year, I had adjusted to life as Batman rather well. Being a high school student, living with my mother and younger brother, even having a steady girlfriend. I managed to balance the elements that would make up my life. I encountered countless villains, criminals, and whatnot. I even participated in saving the lives of the then Justice League."
Batman had no success in trying to find a weakness in his binds. The look on Slade's face indicated he knew that Batman was trying to find a weakness in the restraints.
"Bruce, I had a great run following you in your footsteps. We both rediscovered our purposes in life. We were a team. With your wise and tested knowledge, I was able to grow into the role as Batman faster than I had imagined. Also during that time, you managed to take back control of your family's company from Derek Powers. He suffered life altering 'complications' following his exposure to his own nerve gas.
"However, our biggest test had yet to come. After a year battling Gotham's worst over the course of a year, your greatest nemesis had resurfaced; The Joker."
Batman lifted his head at the sound of that name.
The Joker.
"Impossible…", Batman said.
"Exactly", Slade said as he smirked. "The Joker had made his return at a party in honor of the return of Wayne Enterprises and your return as the CEO. He was aided by the ridiculous biker gang that used his image as theirs; the Jokerz."
"Get to the point", Batman growled.
"Right…" Slade said. "His reappearance caused you to rethink my role as Batman, due to what the Joker had done to Tim Drake."
Batman gave a confused look.
"What are you talking about?" Batman asked.
"The Joker had broken into the cave one night, after I was dismissed from being Batman. You were working diligently on countermeasures for any of Joker's possible plans. He assaulted you, exposing you to his patented gas. I was attacked by members of the Jokerz while out on a date as Terry McGinnis."
Slade brought his hands from behind his back, crossing his arms in front of him.
"The Joker knew, Bruce", Slade said. "He knew all about you, everything."
Batman, no longer searching for a way out of his restraints, listened intently.
"After I fought with the Jokerz, I headed back to Wayne Manor. I entered the cave, finding you on the ground. You had been exposed to Joker's gas, with that disgusting grin on your face. I called Barbara Gordon shortly after I found you. She helped me care for your immediate needs and offered some insight on the situation."
"How could she?" Batman questioned. "Barbara Gordon was paralyzed by The Joker. Her condition was permanent."
Slade smiled.
"Remember that night you found Batgirl on the ground, Robin at her side as she soaked in a pool of her own blood?"
Batman slightly nodded.
"What if I told you something else was supposed to happen that night, something even worse than her tragic condition?"
Slade's smile left him, resuming a serious face.
"That night, Robin was out alone as you and Barbara were at the new Arkham, interrogating Joker's doppelganger who allowed Joker's absence to go unrealized. Robin encountered a woman in being mugged by two individuals."
"Harley Quinn", Batman said.
"Very good", Slade said. "Robin was fooled and fell in the Joker's trap. After this time, he was kidnapped by the Joker."
Batman felt his stomach turn.
"He had been missing for three weeks, Bruce", Slade continued. "You and Barbara searched the very pits of hell itself looking for him. Finally after the three weeks had passed, you had received a package containing obvious evidence of Robin's whereabouts.
"The old Arkham Asylum…"
Batman's glare never faded.
"Then what..?" Batman nearly spat.
"You and Barbara immediately infiltrated the old asylum, finding that Joker and Harley Quinn had made it their new hideout. He began to toy with you, pretending to not know who Robin was. Then, revealing the final joke, he showed you exactly what he did with Robin."
Slade turned around to walk towards the main computer. He reached into a pouch and pulled out a small disk. He inserted it into a slot on the console, beginning to work at the keyboard. The large screen came on, showing strange images to Batman.
On the screen was the view of Batman on the ground, bound. He was looking up at Joker and Harley who were at opposite ends of a theatre-style curtain.
"What is this?" Batman said.
Slade turned the chair around and sat down, wanting to face Bruce.
"I made a few stops along the way…"
On screen, Joker and Harley pulled the curtains to reveal their terrible efforts. Robin had been deformed, altered into the mold of the Joker. Batman tasted bile beginning to rise up into his mouth. Batman swallowed, now shouting at Slade.
"What is this?!"
Slade stood up from the chair, turning off the screen. He began to walk back towards Batman, who was beyond rage.
"This is what could have happened, Bruce. That night saw the death of the Joker, the death of the Robin mantle, the death the trust within you. After Robin was returned to as close to normal as possible, you disbanded the team you had. You refused to endanger anymore lives in your quest, choosing to be alone. Richard had already left you, now you were forcing Barbara and Tim out of your life. These were the events that lead you to become the broken old man that I would come to meet."
Batman's face stood very still.
"How did the Joker show up forty years after his death?" Batman asked.
Slade returned his hands behind his back.
"While he was altering Tim Drake, The Joker developed a new form of DNA transference. He encoded his own DNA onto a microchip and placed it inside of Tim. After a certain number of years, the chip was able to fully disburse Joker's DNA into Tim Drake and cause a physical transformation. Tim Drake was The Joker."
Batman decided not to allow Slade see his emotions by keeping his face perfectly still.
"As insane as The Joker was", Slade continued. "He was no less a genius. We played the usual cat and mouse with him, only to find that he had a military defense satellite at his command. He used the knowledge of the older Tim Drake, the communications engineer, to build a device to jam and control satellite signals. After I followed a lead, he began to attack Gotham with the satellite. Millions of dollars and thousands of lives were lost in his attack. Buildings, parks, freeways, and homes fell under the satellites bombardment. We tracked him to an abandoned candy factory, where he had been making his hideout. I fought The Joker as he used Tim Drake's fighting knowledge to its fullest. He seemed thrilled with his talent, but was not intent on referring to me as 'Batman'."
"He wanted ME.", Batman said.
"Yes, he did", Slade said. "His obsession with you survived after forty years, wanting to finish you. After I defeated him, I managed to short out the chip inside of him, bringing a final end to The Joker. Tim Drake was left, suffering only exhaustion. After a day in the hospital, Tim Drake was visited by both Barbara Gordon and you. You finally managed end your differences with them.
"After this time, you began to search for Richard, hoping to mend your relationship with him. However, Richard made it impossible for his past to catch up with him. You accepted the reality of it, ending your search of him. I finished high school and immediately began college courses. I wanted to work for you in Wayne Enterprises as well. After a few years as Batman along with college, I managed to gain degrees in business and engineering. You continued to work diligently as the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, even hiring Tim Drake into your fold. He began to move quickly up in the ranks, even putting himself in the position of being a candidate of taking over as CEO one day."
"A communications engineer…?" Batman questioned.
Slade smirked.
"You would be amazed to see how knowledge the boy grew to be", Slade said. "I joined Wayne Tech as an engineer. I was assigned to help with the development of countless products in prototype stages. During my first months apart of your company, the Justice League came calling again.
"A ship from Apokolips had appeared in earth's orbit. Darkseid had not been seen nor heard from in over thirty years. The sudden arrival of one of his ships caused an understandable panic. The Justice League was called in to investigate, since they were earth's heroes. Somehow, they knew that Batman was going to be valuable during this time. I joined them at the Justice League watchtower in Metropolis and…"
"Metropolis..?" Batman said confused.
"Yes, Metropolis", Slade said. "I joined them as Superman and, then League members Barta and Warhawk took a shuttle to investigate the ship in orbit. As they approached the ship, two more suddenly appeared from a boom tube. Those ships began to launch hundreds of smaller ships into earth's atmosphere... Earth was being invaded once again."
Slade began to shift his body weight, trying to make himself as comfortable as possible while he stood.
"It didn't take long for the world to react, Bruce. Our military was advanced well enough to handle this situation, unlike when Darkseid had first invaded forty years earlier. Thanks to Derek Powers, Wayne Enterprises had a military development division that you decided was necessary to keep."
"Let me guess", Batman said in his deep voice. "Wayne Defense."
"Correct", Slade said. "Wayne Defense was the leading developer of innovated weapons technology, along with Wayne Tech's brilliancy; the earth was more than a match for the forces of Apokolips. "
Slade lowered his head for a moment, collecting his thoughts. He had been giving this presentation of a future he has seen, trying to input all important details. He was beginning to feel the fatigue.
"Something the matter..?" Batman asked sarcastically.
Slade looked up with a poignant look on his face.
"Three years into the war, you stepped down as CEO of Wayne Enterprises, diagnosed with leukemia. You died shortly after"
Batman never moved.
"Your funeral was small, quiet, what you would have wanted. I felt it was far less then what you deserved, as did Barbara and Tim. Superman had and the Justice League attended as well. Tim and Barbara had your remains buried next to the grave of your parents."
Slade paused to allow Batman to respond. Batman remained silent.
"Your loss destroyed me, Bruce", Slade said. "As I worked tirelessly with Wayne Defense, Wayne Tech and the Justice League, I had little time to truly morn you. Also, Tim Drake eventually was voted in by the board of directors to succeed you as head of Wayne Enterprises."
"What about Barbara?" Batman asked.
"What else? She fell sick herself, staying on as Gotham Police Commissioner much longer than she should have, neglecting her own personal health. Buried in her own responsibilities; she failed to see a doctor regularly. Surely the doctor would have notice that she had developed breast cancer. The cancer quickly spread through her system ,and while staying at Wayne Manor she died in her sleep."
Batman couldn't help but feel a sense of validity come from Slade.
I had lost the two people who had helped me be Batman from the beginning", Slade continued. "Losing both you and Barbara so close together was almost too much to bear. Tim helped as much as he could, but I've never felt the connection with him as I did with you and Barbara. He was consumed in his work, making sure Wayne Enterprises flourished during the times of war.
"Ten years into the war, we won", Slade said. "The final barrage from the forces of Apokolips was easily thwarted by both the Justice League and earth's military. Minimal damage to earth was a blessing to us all. Earth's resources were in danger of being in poor condition after the war, but thanks to Wayne Enterprises and other organizations, the natural resources were plentiful. Wayne Enterprises continued on with being the most innovative company in the world.
"I was in my early thirties when I was promoted to President of Operations for Wayne Tech. Tim Drake oversaw my promotion personally."
Batman's new Meta abilities were preventing his arms and legs from getting tired of being in the same position.
"With no war to push the creative genius, Wayne Enterprises needed to accomplish something else to stay the top company. With that in mind, Tim Drake and I put our heads together. We felt that medicine was a route in which Wayne Enterprises could set itself apart from the rest once again. We combined all of the pharmaceutical companies purchased over the years and created a new branch of Wayne Enterprises; Wayne Medical.
"Wayne Tech once again was incorporated, highly influencing most of the medical breakthroughs Wayne Medical would make. The most significant influence was the use of nanotechnology. We used nanotechnology to strategically attack the cells of diseases, infections, etc.
"I personally had overseen the development of every nanomachine used in Wayne Medical. With the loss of you to leukemia and Barbara to cancer, I wanted to make sure no one else fell victim to these needless diseases. We had little success, to say the least. My frustrations were beginning to show more than I had intended, being overly brutal to Gotham's criminal element during my patrol as Batman. You can say I was beginning to be consumed by my work."
"It's hard, isn't it Terry?"
Slade raised an eyebrow.
"Hmph, how long it's been since I've heard that voice say that name", Slade said. "Yes Bruce, extremely difficult. I admit now, I was not ready to balance two demanding careers at once. I wanted to be just like you, Bruce. The one thing I failed to notice was that when it came to family, it was easy for you to lack in that department."
Batman scowled at that comment.
"I neglected my aging mother and my younger brother. I had offered my brother a job in the company, but he opted to travel the world. He felt the need to help those he knew nothing of. I gave him my blessing, of course, funding his trips. He was killed during a terrorist attack in Okinawa, Japan."
Slade had now kept his emotions well hidden.
"The news of his death was more than my mother could bear. Her fragile mind was diagnosed with a severe case of shell shock. She was admitted to a mental care facility, needing constant care. The pains of success, if you will..."
"It appeared that I was quickly losing stability in my personal life. However, the loss of my brother and the hospitalization of my mother allowed me to focus on my career, along with being Batman. I channeled all anger into developmental work at Wayne Tech. Tim Drake was pondering an early retirement, to spend time with his family. Something I greatly respected.
"My fifteenth year at Wayne Tech saw my promotion to Vice President of Wayne Enterprises, taking the seat also as CEO of Wayne Tech. Wayne Medical would soon be under my direct supervision, especially since the company was thriving on my genius."
Slade smiled as he recollected his past accomplishments.
"The nights I would take to rule Gotham's streets as Batman began to diminish considerably. With the advancement of military capabilities, local law enforcement had become for more efficient that it had ever been. Gotham Police Department was the first of many local law enforcement establishments to be replaced by the Wayne brand. Wayne Defense would soon become more than a R & D branch of Wayne Enterprises, but it would evolve into its own private security.
"As Wayne Defense slowly became the standard in local law enforcement in the United States, domestic crime was the lowest it had ever been. The Justice League would become obsolete. Wayne Defense had already developed military counter measures to protect the earth from another off world invasion, supplying arms to other countries as well."
"You became a traitor", Batman said.
"No, Bruce", Slade countered. "I was a business man. Like the United States, the powerful nations of the world had fallen under corporate rule. The United States was just the last country to admit it."
Slade smiled again.
"Its amazing, Bruce", Slade said. "As simple as I lead to speaking on the subject of corporate rule, it was nearly as simple as it took for the world to actually fall under it."
Batman tried again to move, finding it useless.
"By my twentieth year, two major breakthroughs came to pass. First, I was finally seated at the head of Wayne Enterprises. I began to hand pick those around me, wanting those who shared my image of what Wayne Enterprises would eventually become.
"Second, Wayne Medical made a breakthrough with nano technology. Using the DNA from a top secret specimen, we were able to imitate its genetic makeup using nanomachines and developed the medical breakthrough of the millennium.
"Bruce, I found the way to dramatically slow the process of aging."
Slade traced his slightly wrinkled face with his right index finger.
"The serum we developed was quickly patented by Wayne Medical, offering it as a method to not only slow the effects of aging, but to retard the development of disease within the human body. However, this particular serum was the not the original outcome of our research. The serum offered the fraction of what our new procedure could provide. The procedure that I carefully performed on you…"
Batman's eyes we fixed on Slade, burning with a fury.
"Who was the specimen, Slade?"
Slade turned his face away, taunting Batman as he smirked.
"The specimen that I personally hunted down as Batman was none other than the terrorist Vandal Savage."
Batman eyes burned hotter.
"I actually had him imprisoned secretly ten years prior to our breakthrough. It was a painstaking task to finally learn the secrets of his immortality, so I'll leave the details be. I was able to perfectly duplicate his genetic makeup, making his abilities available to anyone willing to go through the excruciating DNA transfer procedure."
"McGinnis…" Batman hissed.
Slade continued, paying Batman no attention.
"Being the head of Wayne Enterprises, and Wayne Enterprises practically running the country and soon the world, I was the most powerful man on earth. Soon, the domestic companies would be bought out and operate under the name 'Wayne'.
"The times had changes so drastically, Bruce. Money became the voting slip of my time. Soon, the poverty stricken would be collected like wild animals and domesticated to serve a practical use. The upper class would strive as their businesses prospered, being subsidiaries of Wayne Enterprises. The middle class would fall under the status of a financial purgatory, losing as it gained."
"How could you have allowed all of that to happen?" Batman spat. "You know without a proper economic structure, the economy would fall faster than the world could…"
"Again Bruce, the times had changed. The corporations provided to the needy as the working class played the role of delivery."
Slade stared at Batman as he digested what Slade had said.
"Detailed information was leaked to the media about the development of our aging solution. The media proved to be the only unaffected business from the corporate takeovers. It accurately reported our use of Vandal Savage as our test subject, along with the development of the immortality procedure. We denied it, of course. News had reached Superman and the Justice League of my genetic tests. I was approached by them one day, as they were questioning my morality. I defended myself by acknowledging the reports, saying that I only did it to develop ways to fight major diseases. They were right by not trusting me.
"I had become a product of my environment, Bruce. A scientist obsessed with changing the world, wanting to leave a legacy behind. However, Superman and the depleted Justice League did not share my vision of the world. I donned the mantle of Batman one last time, appearing at the watchtower in Metropolis. I had hoped to reason with the Justice League as Batman, conveying that everything I had done at Wayne Enterprises was in the best interest of the world's people. Superman was not convinced.
"In my twenty-second year in Wayne Enterprises, a new villain had appeared. Any guesses as to who that was, Bruce?"
Batman glared at Slade, knowing exactly who he was talking about.
"My intentions were not to hurt anyone", Slade continued. "What I was attempting to do was temporarily occupy the Justice League's attention away from Wayne Enterprises. It was very easy for the fading heroes to chase an imaginary villain. I developed robotic drones, accurately portraying the identity of Slade. Similar to the one that detonated in Egypt after its battle with Richard...
"After a short period of time, the Justice League learned my secret. While personally overseeing an attack on Metropolis with unmarked Wayne Defense Air Devastators, Superman boarded my ship and unmasked me."
"Kryptonite…" Batman muttered under his breath.
"However", Slade continued. "The Kryptonian failed to notice that with each breath he took, he inhaled an engineered virus made from sample of Kryptonite. As he unmasked me, the virus spread through his already weak system."
"You would have suffered from radiation sickness by inhaling the same air, McGinnis", Batman said.
Slade smirked and turned from Batman.
"I would have, but in my time, I had not only developed a vaccine for the radiation. I also had created a generic, yet similar Kryptonite solution. It worked just as Kryptonite did, but the radiation had no effect on human cells.
"Superman would finally die that night, and I felt even more empowered than I could have imagined. I decided that night was to be the final night of the Justice League. I had marked Wayne Defense Air Devastators ready to attack the ones I had controlled as Slade. I wanted to show the world that the Justice League was not needed, and that night I succeeded."
Batman could take no more. He began to thrust his body around as his binds were restrained him from freeing himself. Batman was growling at Slade's back until Slade turned around with a mournful look.
"What I didn't realize is the mistake I may have made", Slade said. "Four years after I killed Superman and destroyed the Justice League, Darkseid had returned to earth. However, he did not bring his invasion forces. He instead had orbited the planet in a single warship, as he originally had done. Our space defense system was working flawlessly, keeping Darkseid's ship at bay. Three hours after his appearance over the earth, Darkseid had unleashed arguably the greatest bombardment ever to be seen."
Batman had calmed himself, the unwelcome feeling of defeat washing over him. His restraints were perfect in design, unable to find a flaw to exploit.
"A series of boom tubes opened up strategically across the globe, over every major city on earth. Single bombs were launched through each opening, impacting on each city. Wayne Defense had tracked a small percentage of the bombs, deflecting those accordingly..
"Each bomb emitted a new from of radiation along with the typical force of immense explosions. This radiation attacked and broke down the human based proteins, causing a worldwide epidemic to those who survived the bombings."
"How…"
"We didn't know, Bruce", Slade said. "It was too sudden, we did not prepare for something of this nature to even exist. Gotham was one of the cities bombarded by these bombs. Everyone I cared about was killed. My mother, Tim, people who I worked with, everyone."
"Why are you still alive then?"
Slade looked away from Batman.
"Because I had the curse of Vandal Savage coursing through my body, Bruce", Slade said.
Slade turned around to face Batman's stare.
"Immortality has its demands", Slade said. "In the following days, Darkseid had fully invaded earth. His ships had breached the atmospheric defense, easily due to the ineffective auto-control system. No one was alive to control them from Wayne Defense."
"How and why did you come back", Batman spat at Slade.
"I had fallen to a madness, Bruce", Slade said. "I was unable to confirm it, but I may have been the last human alive. I had bunkered myself in the Batcave, watching the events of Darkseid's purging of all forms of life on earth. The world was lost, and no one in the galaxy helped, not even the great Green Lantern Corps.
"As a year passed, earth had become the second Apokolips. Darkseid left his original planet and settled on the larger, more fertile planet of earth. All of the cities of the world were destroyed, as Darkseid remade earth into his own image. I set up a most of the Batcave's equipment deeper into the earth years before Darkseid had conquered. Many of the weapons and vehicles developed by Wayne Defense were stored in the caverns under Wayne Manor. Through microscopic cameras that traveled like bacteria in the air, I witnessed the culling of the earth from the Batcave.
"Watching the world you once knew become something that God himself had not envisioned was more than a mind could handle. I wanted to end my life, Bruce. I worked many years in solitude to find a way to reverse the effects of what I had done to myself. It seemed as though I would live to watch the world slowly die. I contemplated an attack on Darkseid, knowing that he could never kill me. But I could not risk being captured and studied the way I did to Savage. I knew he would easily be able to duplicate the process I had created to gain Savage's abilities, and I wouldn't dare give him that.
"After fifty years of solitude and falling deeper into madness, I developed a serum to counter the effects of my condition. However, during this time, I also finished work on my side project. I rebuilt and modified Vandal Savage's time machine."
"Of course you did…" Batman said sarcastically.
"I pondered on whether I should just end my life then and there. Stop this purgatory I had been living in. But as a man, I felt cheated in life. I wanted to do something, one last thing to leave my mark on this world. When I killed the Justice League many years prior, the name 'Slade' was more notorious than any name in history. Even Judas had received more praise than I."
Slade smiled.
"I wanted that feeling again", he said. "I decided to hold off on my justifiable suicide, deciding that my work was incomplete. Using a modified boom tube, I opened a doorway into the past. It was large enough for two of my Devastators to enter."
"The two ships over Gotham…"
"Yes, Bruce", Slade said. "I had left behind a world I helped to destroy using your family name. With spending so many years in seclusion, I felt I needed to change the course of history. I couldn't allow the earth to become the homeland of Darkseid and his legions. It was not the earth I was trained to defend. I decided to come back to get the attention of you, Superman, and any of the heroes of this time."
"And this is how you're changing things?" Batman shouted. "By taking countless lives to get our attention…?"
"Correct", Slade said. "However upon my return to this time, I've noticed something very peculiar, the Justice League had formed almost ten years earlier than it originally had. The Members are not as I remembered either, with the exceptions of you, Flash and Superman. Diana, J'onn, Stewart and Hawkgirl, they were never apart of the original team. The original team comprised of you, Superman, Flash, Nightwing, Maxima, Steel, and Supergirl. That Justice League was put together by the U.S. Government, an unofficial agency."
"That's why the watchtower was in Metropolis…"
"Yes", Slade said. "But now I see that my venture into the past has changed a few things. Along with the major differences, the small differences were apparent. Like your costume, now it's a deep blue with longer ears. The costume I remember was primarily black with the dark grey. Just a subtle difference, nothing compared to the difference of Barbara and the Justice League."
"You have our attention, McGinnis", Batman spat. "Now what…?"
"Now, you prepare", Slade said. "When I first ventured back, I noticed that things were not as they seemed. With that, I looked at this new timeline and also noticed that the attack from Apokolips will happen much sooner then anticipated."
Batman scowled.
"How much sooner…?
"In the next ten years."
Batman had been told a story that bested any story that every vagrant had ever told him. Slade could feel the disbelief Batman had in him.
"Perhaps a little demonstration is in order…"
Slade walked over to the main computer once again, withdrawing another disk from a pouch on his uniform. He looked back at Batman and held it up.
"Bruce, I made it a point to study the past as close as possible", Slade began. "You can say I've become a voyeur of history."
"What are you getting at?" Batman spat.
"This present time is not the only time period I've visited…"
Slade turned around and inserted the disk into the computer. The screen came on again, however this time showing a sidewalk at nighttime.
"I specifically enjoy key moments in history…" Slade said.
On screen, an older couple walking with a child came from off camera. Batman felt his soul wrenching at the sight of this. As the camera zoomed in, it could be seen that this was Thomas and Martha Wayne with their eight year old son, Bruce.
"TURN THIS OFF!!"
Slade watched the screen as if he never heard Batman's cry.
Batman struggled against his restraints, trying to free himself. He felt the lining in his gloves and boots begin to tear as they rubbed between both he and the titanium bonds. Batman's struggle proved useless as he looked up in time to see his parents stopped by their attacker.
"One moment, Bruce", Slade said as he switched the audio on.
Just as the audio came on, the first shot had been fired. Thomas Wayne fell to the ground, next to a fear stricken child. The second shot had been fired, claiming the life of Martha Wayne. She fell to other side of Bruce.
Batman looked on as his nightmare of the last twenty-seven years played out so simply on the large screen in his cave. His helplessness at this very moment nearly mirrored his helplessness as a child.
"Bruce, when you first came into my life, I never expected for me to end up this way. I used to look at myself when I was secluded for those many years and wonder. Wonder how exactly I turned into what I became. You had one defining moment in your life, true. However, you failed to realize that one moment does not make a person. Your loneliness at your old age proved that you had sentenced yourself to that fate."
Slade pressed a key on the keyboard and the scene began to repeat itself. Slade walked back towards Batman as the death of Bruce's parents played out on the screen behind him. Slade stopped in front of Bruce, and began to take off his uniform. He lifted his shirt over his head, revealing another underneath it. This shirt was a pitch black long sleeve with the imprint of a red bat across it. Slade then reached into another large pouch and retrieved what looked like a piece of folded cloth.
"Bruce, my work is not completely done yet", Slade said. "My biggest test was to come with the inevitable meeting face to face with you. This predicament was only half of what my intentions with you were. Now I believe the physical confrontation between us must commence. But first..."
Slade took the cloth in his hand and unfolded it. He stretched it out and lifted it over his head, pulling it down to reveal that it was a mask.
The future mask of Batman.
"I'll warm up with your comrades first", Slade said. "Then I expect to see you in the middle of Gotham."
Batman looked at Slade in the future Batman suit with the most sinister look to ever come across Batman's or Bruce Wayne's face.
Like magic, the future Batman seemed to disappear into thin air, leaving the scene of Thomas and Martha Wayne's murder play out in the cave.
I do not own the characters immortalized in this story.
Chapter 17: The History of Slade
"McGinnis…?"
"That's right, Bruce. McGinnis..."
Batman looked at the scarred face of Slade, wondering if he should have known the name 'McGinnis. Apparently Batman had some history with him, but no one told him about it.
"It's not ringing a bell, Slade."
Slade was still in front of Batman, glaring at him with his eye.
"I did not think you would easily understand", Slade said.
Slade turned from Batman's face, walking a few paces to make Batman a comfortable audience. Slade stopped with his hands behind his back, not bothering to turn around.
"To start at the beginning is to tell you of your end", Slade began. "Twenty years from now, during a hostage situation, you will take part in your last night as Batman."
Batman was listening intently.
"Old age had finally caught up to you, Bruce. Broken relationships with your comrades, along with your family's company being on the verge of a hostile takeover, began the domino effect that would end your reign over Gotham. During the following twenty years, you lost complete control of your company to a man named Derek Powers. He was the head of his own corporation, your main rival as the millennium progressed. He kept you on the board, of course, only because there could be no 'WaynePowers' without the 'Wayne'."
Batman glared at Slade's back as Slade continued.
"At the tail end of those twenty years, Gotham was even worse than it was today. The buildings today were replaced by corporate offices and unnecessary skyscrapers, symbolizing the new filth that infested Gotham, corporate greed. With Derek Powers at the head of the organized crime of the twenty-first century, Gotham was crumbling."
"Why didn't I do anything about it?"
Slade turned around with a patronizing look on his face.
"It makes me happy to see that you're participating."
Batman glared at Slade, staring the question back at him.
"You lost hope, Bruce", Slade said. "You were a broken old man, a pathetic shell of what you once were. You were lonely in a dying world, slowly dying yourself."
Slade turned away from Bruce again.
"Powers turned the board of WaynePowers against you. He was a brash, arrogant, ruthless young executive, willing to do anything to get what he wanted. He made examples out of everyone. Powers obviously studied under Lex Luthor's methods of running a multi-national conglomerate. Unlike Luthor, Powers let his emotions interfere with business. He succeeded in dragging the Wayne family name through the mud, using the business to gain military contracts to produce weaponry, along with bio-weaponry. Are you still with me Bruce?"
Slade turned around to see Batman's stare still on him. Slade smiled and gave Batman his back again.
"The first steps of his demise came when he developed a deadly nerve gas, selling it to international terrorist networks. Some of his customers were actual foreign governments. One of his employees discovered his plans, and was also exposed to the nerve gas himself. He had in his possession a disc that exposed Powers as the traitor he was. However, the nerve gas that he was exposed to began to slowly eat him away. In an act of desperation, he gave the disc to a colleague. That colleagues name was Warren McGinnis, my father."
Slade paused for a moment, reliving his past.
"I was foolish at my young age, Bruce", Slade continued. "I led a selfish life, wanting only for myself. Allowing family and personal frustrations to rule me, to allow them control over my life. The typical teenaged boy..."
Slade turned his full body around, wanting eye contact with the next part of his story.
"That's when I met you, Bruce", Slade said. "One night during a skirmish that leads me, along with the ridiculous bike gang whose identity they had stolen from one of villains of your past, to the front of Wayne Manor, I met you. You were well into your eighties and in remarkable shape if I may add."
Batman scowled at Slade's attempt at flattery.
"I'm getting tired of this…." Batman said with his menacing tone.
"The fact that you are in this very situation should be proof enough that this is very serious", Slade said.
"After we thwarted our would-be attackers, I helped your weakened and tired body back inside your home. As I was leaving after you had fallen asleep, I notice a peculiar sight. Inside the grandfather clock in your study, I found a bat stuck underneath the glass door on the face of the clock. I opened it to free the flying rodent, however as I opened the face, the clock itself proved to be a door."
Batman knew what came next.
"The clock opened up, revealing a descending staircase of stone. The curious youth that I was, I walked down the staircase to find that Gotham's greatest myth was in fact true…
"The Batman had existed."
Batman glared as Slade appeared to be enjoying his memories.
"I was in awe", Slade continued. "Never in my life could I have imagined uncovering one the greatest mysteries of the past hundred years. I looked around the cave, taking in the splendor of my discovery. I was doing so until you had awakened to find me in the cave. You threw me out of your home as quickly as possible, feeling the utter violation of me being in the cave."
Batman listened to Slade's story as he tried to find a weak point in the restraints.
"I returned home that evening, still in shock of what I discovered. My being awestruck was cut short when I found police around my father's apartment building. I ran inside finding graffiti plastered on the stairway going up to our apartment. I saw my mother talking with two police officers. I knew something was wrong.
"I ran up to the door, to find a crime scene inside the apartment. My mother had been crying, worried sick about me. She then told me what happened; my father had been killed."
Slade's face had shown a hint of sadness. Reminiscing the day of his father's death seemed to shaken even him. Batman knew that feeling all too well.
"I found out later that Derek Powers had something to do with it. I went back to Wayne Manor with evidence, wanting your help. After hearing my pleas, you allowed me to show you what I had. You agreed that Derek Powers was doing something wrong, but you wanted the police to handle it. I begged you to handle it the way you would have, but you refused. You sent me to see Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon, to tell her…."
"Commissioner Barbara Gordon?" Batman asked. "How could she have…?"
"I'm getting there, Bruce", Slade said. "After hearing the extent of where our argument was going, I decided to take matters into my own hands. One night, I snuck back into your home and into the cave. I 'borrowed' the last costume you wore as Batman.
"That particular costume was a work of art, Bruce", Slade continued. "You designed it when you came to the realization that your body would not retain its youthfulness as long as it had. You knew you would become weaker. The suit was designed to aid your decreasing abilities and to heighten them.
"I had taken the suit and quickly learned most of its capabilities fairly quick. You were furious when you learned of what I had done, as you deserved to be. You even paralyzed the suit, nearly killing me in the process. However, you knew what I was trying to do was right. You knew that Batman had to live again, to haunt the night. Gotham had forgotten its legend, its hero. Batman was needed once again.
"You allowed me to continue in thwarting Powers, and I succeeded. After that particular episode with Powers, you offered to take me in and train me to become Gotham's protector.
"Over the course of the next year, I had adjusted to life as Batman rather well. Being a high school student, living with my mother and younger brother, even having a steady girlfriend. I managed to balance the elements that would make up my life. I encountered countless villains, criminals, and whatnot. I even participated in saving the lives of the then Justice League."
Batman had no success in trying to find a weakness in his binds. The look on Slade's face indicated he knew that Batman was trying to find a weakness in the restraints.
"Bruce, I had a great run following you in your footsteps. We both rediscovered our purposes in life. We were a team. With your wise and tested knowledge, I was able to grow into the role as Batman faster than I had imagined. Also during that time, you managed to take back control of your family's company from Derek Powers. He suffered life altering 'complications' following his exposure to his own nerve gas.
"However, our biggest test had yet to come. After a year battling Gotham's worst over the course of a year, your greatest nemesis had resurfaced; The Joker."
Batman lifted his head at the sound of that name.
The Joker.
"Impossible…", Batman said.
"Exactly", Slade said as he smirked. "The Joker had made his return at a party in honor of the return of Wayne Enterprises and your return as the CEO. He was aided by the ridiculous biker gang that used his image as theirs; the Jokerz."
"Get to the point", Batman growled.
"Right…" Slade said. "His reappearance caused you to rethink my role as Batman, due to what the Joker had done to Tim Drake."
Batman gave a confused look.
"What are you talking about?" Batman asked.
"The Joker had broken into the cave one night, after I was dismissed from being Batman. You were working diligently on countermeasures for any of Joker's possible plans. He assaulted you, exposing you to his patented gas. I was attacked by members of the Jokerz while out on a date as Terry McGinnis."
Slade brought his hands from behind his back, crossing his arms in front of him.
"The Joker knew, Bruce", Slade said. "He knew all about you, everything."
Batman, no longer searching for a way out of his restraints, listened intently.
"After I fought with the Jokerz, I headed back to Wayne Manor. I entered the cave, finding you on the ground. You had been exposed to Joker's gas, with that disgusting grin on your face. I called Barbara Gordon shortly after I found you. She helped me care for your immediate needs and offered some insight on the situation."
"How could she?" Batman questioned. "Barbara Gordon was paralyzed by The Joker. Her condition was permanent."
Slade smiled.
"Remember that night you found Batgirl on the ground, Robin at her side as she soaked in a pool of her own blood?"
Batman slightly nodded.
"What if I told you something else was supposed to happen that night, something even worse than her tragic condition?"
Slade's smile left him, resuming a serious face.
"That night, Robin was out alone as you and Barbara were at the new Arkham, interrogating Joker's doppelganger who allowed Joker's absence to go unrealized. Robin encountered a woman in being mugged by two individuals."
"Harley Quinn", Batman said.
"Very good", Slade said. "Robin was fooled and fell in the Joker's trap. After this time, he was kidnapped by the Joker."
Batman felt his stomach turn.
"He had been missing for three weeks, Bruce", Slade continued. "You and Barbara searched the very pits of hell itself looking for him. Finally after the three weeks had passed, you had received a package containing obvious evidence of Robin's whereabouts.
"The old Arkham Asylum…"
Batman's glare never faded.
"Then what..?" Batman nearly spat.
"You and Barbara immediately infiltrated the old asylum, finding that Joker and Harley Quinn had made it their new hideout. He began to toy with you, pretending to not know who Robin was. Then, revealing the final joke, he showed you exactly what he did with Robin."
Slade turned around to walk towards the main computer. He reached into a pouch and pulled out a small disk. He inserted it into a slot on the console, beginning to work at the keyboard. The large screen came on, showing strange images to Batman.
On the screen was the view of Batman on the ground, bound. He was looking up at Joker and Harley who were at opposite ends of a theatre-style curtain.
"What is this?" Batman said.
Slade turned the chair around and sat down, wanting to face Bruce.
"I made a few stops along the way…"
On screen, Joker and Harley pulled the curtains to reveal their terrible efforts. Robin had been deformed, altered into the mold of the Joker. Batman tasted bile beginning to rise up into his mouth. Batman swallowed, now shouting at Slade.
"What is this?!"
Slade stood up from the chair, turning off the screen. He began to walk back towards Batman, who was beyond rage.
"This is what could have happened, Bruce. That night saw the death of the Joker, the death of the Robin mantle, the death the trust within you. After Robin was returned to as close to normal as possible, you disbanded the team you had. You refused to endanger anymore lives in your quest, choosing to be alone. Richard had already left you, now you were forcing Barbara and Tim out of your life. These were the events that lead you to become the broken old man that I would come to meet."
Batman's face stood very still.
"How did the Joker show up forty years after his death?" Batman asked.
Slade returned his hands behind his back.
"While he was altering Tim Drake, The Joker developed a new form of DNA transference. He encoded his own DNA onto a microchip and placed it inside of Tim. After a certain number of years, the chip was able to fully disburse Joker's DNA into Tim Drake and cause a physical transformation. Tim Drake was The Joker."
Batman decided not to allow Slade see his emotions by keeping his face perfectly still.
"As insane as The Joker was", Slade continued. "He was no less a genius. We played the usual cat and mouse with him, only to find that he had a military defense satellite at his command. He used the knowledge of the older Tim Drake, the communications engineer, to build a device to jam and control satellite signals. After I followed a lead, he began to attack Gotham with the satellite. Millions of dollars and thousands of lives were lost in his attack. Buildings, parks, freeways, and homes fell under the satellites bombardment. We tracked him to an abandoned candy factory, where he had been making his hideout. I fought The Joker as he used Tim Drake's fighting knowledge to its fullest. He seemed thrilled with his talent, but was not intent on referring to me as 'Batman'."
"He wanted ME.", Batman said.
"Yes, he did", Slade said. "His obsession with you survived after forty years, wanting to finish you. After I defeated him, I managed to short out the chip inside of him, bringing a final end to The Joker. Tim Drake was left, suffering only exhaustion. After a day in the hospital, Tim Drake was visited by both Barbara Gordon and you. You finally managed end your differences with them.
"After this time, you began to search for Richard, hoping to mend your relationship with him. However, Richard made it impossible for his past to catch up with him. You accepted the reality of it, ending your search of him. I finished high school and immediately began college courses. I wanted to work for you in Wayne Enterprises as well. After a few years as Batman along with college, I managed to gain degrees in business and engineering. You continued to work diligently as the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, even hiring Tim Drake into your fold. He began to move quickly up in the ranks, even putting himself in the position of being a candidate of taking over as CEO one day."
"A communications engineer…?" Batman questioned.
Slade smirked.
"You would be amazed to see how knowledge the boy grew to be", Slade said. "I joined Wayne Tech as an engineer. I was assigned to help with the development of countless products in prototype stages. During my first months apart of your company, the Justice League came calling again.
"A ship from Apokolips had appeared in earth's orbit. Darkseid had not been seen nor heard from in over thirty years. The sudden arrival of one of his ships caused an understandable panic. The Justice League was called in to investigate, since they were earth's heroes. Somehow, they knew that Batman was going to be valuable during this time. I joined them at the Justice League watchtower in Metropolis and…"
"Metropolis..?" Batman said confused.
"Yes, Metropolis", Slade said. "I joined them as Superman and, then League members Barta and Warhawk took a shuttle to investigate the ship in orbit. As they approached the ship, two more suddenly appeared from a boom tube. Those ships began to launch hundreds of smaller ships into earth's atmosphere... Earth was being invaded once again."
Slade began to shift his body weight, trying to make himself as comfortable as possible while he stood.
"It didn't take long for the world to react, Bruce. Our military was advanced well enough to handle this situation, unlike when Darkseid had first invaded forty years earlier. Thanks to Derek Powers, Wayne Enterprises had a military development division that you decided was necessary to keep."
"Let me guess", Batman said in his deep voice. "Wayne Defense."
"Correct", Slade said. "Wayne Defense was the leading developer of innovated weapons technology, along with Wayne Tech's brilliancy; the earth was more than a match for the forces of Apokolips. "
Slade lowered his head for a moment, collecting his thoughts. He had been giving this presentation of a future he has seen, trying to input all important details. He was beginning to feel the fatigue.
"Something the matter..?" Batman asked sarcastically.
Slade looked up with a poignant look on his face.
"Three years into the war, you stepped down as CEO of Wayne Enterprises, diagnosed with leukemia. You died shortly after"
Batman never moved.
"Your funeral was small, quiet, what you would have wanted. I felt it was far less then what you deserved, as did Barbara and Tim. Superman had and the Justice League attended as well. Tim and Barbara had your remains buried next to the grave of your parents."
Slade paused to allow Batman to respond. Batman remained silent.
"Your loss destroyed me, Bruce", Slade said. "As I worked tirelessly with Wayne Defense, Wayne Tech and the Justice League, I had little time to truly morn you. Also, Tim Drake eventually was voted in by the board of directors to succeed you as head of Wayne Enterprises."
"What about Barbara?" Batman asked.
"What else? She fell sick herself, staying on as Gotham Police Commissioner much longer than she should have, neglecting her own personal health. Buried in her own responsibilities; she failed to see a doctor regularly. Surely the doctor would have notice that she had developed breast cancer. The cancer quickly spread through her system ,and while staying at Wayne Manor she died in her sleep."
Batman couldn't help but feel a sense of validity come from Slade.
I had lost the two people who had helped me be Batman from the beginning", Slade continued. "Losing both you and Barbara so close together was almost too much to bear. Tim helped as much as he could, but I've never felt the connection with him as I did with you and Barbara. He was consumed in his work, making sure Wayne Enterprises flourished during the times of war.
"Ten years into the war, we won", Slade said. "The final barrage from the forces of Apokolips was easily thwarted by both the Justice League and earth's military. Minimal damage to earth was a blessing to us all. Earth's resources were in danger of being in poor condition after the war, but thanks to Wayne Enterprises and other organizations, the natural resources were plentiful. Wayne Enterprises continued on with being the most innovative company in the world.
"I was in my early thirties when I was promoted to President of Operations for Wayne Tech. Tim Drake oversaw my promotion personally."
Batman's new Meta abilities were preventing his arms and legs from getting tired of being in the same position.
"With no war to push the creative genius, Wayne Enterprises needed to accomplish something else to stay the top company. With that in mind, Tim Drake and I put our heads together. We felt that medicine was a route in which Wayne Enterprises could set itself apart from the rest once again. We combined all of the pharmaceutical companies purchased over the years and created a new branch of Wayne Enterprises; Wayne Medical.
"Wayne Tech once again was incorporated, highly influencing most of the medical breakthroughs Wayne Medical would make. The most significant influence was the use of nanotechnology. We used nanotechnology to strategically attack the cells of diseases, infections, etc.
"I personally had overseen the development of every nanomachine used in Wayne Medical. With the loss of you to leukemia and Barbara to cancer, I wanted to make sure no one else fell victim to these needless diseases. We had little success, to say the least. My frustrations were beginning to show more than I had intended, being overly brutal to Gotham's criminal element during my patrol as Batman. You can say I was beginning to be consumed by my work."
"It's hard, isn't it Terry?"
Slade raised an eyebrow.
"Hmph, how long it's been since I've heard that voice say that name", Slade said. "Yes Bruce, extremely difficult. I admit now, I was not ready to balance two demanding careers at once. I wanted to be just like you, Bruce. The one thing I failed to notice was that when it came to family, it was easy for you to lack in that department."
Batman scowled at that comment.
"I neglected my aging mother and my younger brother. I had offered my brother a job in the company, but he opted to travel the world. He felt the need to help those he knew nothing of. I gave him my blessing, of course, funding his trips. He was killed during a terrorist attack in Okinawa, Japan."
Slade had now kept his emotions well hidden.
"The news of his death was more than my mother could bear. Her fragile mind was diagnosed with a severe case of shell shock. She was admitted to a mental care facility, needing constant care. The pains of success, if you will..."
"It appeared that I was quickly losing stability in my personal life. However, the loss of my brother and the hospitalization of my mother allowed me to focus on my career, along with being Batman. I channeled all anger into developmental work at Wayne Tech. Tim Drake was pondering an early retirement, to spend time with his family. Something I greatly respected.
"My fifteenth year at Wayne Tech saw my promotion to Vice President of Wayne Enterprises, taking the seat also as CEO of Wayne Tech. Wayne Medical would soon be under my direct supervision, especially since the company was thriving on my genius."
Slade smiled as he recollected his past accomplishments.
"The nights I would take to rule Gotham's streets as Batman began to diminish considerably. With the advancement of military capabilities, local law enforcement had become for more efficient that it had ever been. Gotham Police Department was the first of many local law enforcement establishments to be replaced by the Wayne brand. Wayne Defense would soon become more than a R & D branch of Wayne Enterprises, but it would evolve into its own private security.
"As Wayne Defense slowly became the standard in local law enforcement in the United States, domestic crime was the lowest it had ever been. The Justice League would become obsolete. Wayne Defense had already developed military counter measures to protect the earth from another off world invasion, supplying arms to other countries as well."
"You became a traitor", Batman said.
"No, Bruce", Slade countered. "I was a business man. Like the United States, the powerful nations of the world had fallen under corporate rule. The United States was just the last country to admit it."
Slade smiled again.
"Its amazing, Bruce", Slade said. "As simple as I lead to speaking on the subject of corporate rule, it was nearly as simple as it took for the world to actually fall under it."
Batman tried again to move, finding it useless.
"By my twentieth year, two major breakthroughs came to pass. First, I was finally seated at the head of Wayne Enterprises. I began to hand pick those around me, wanting those who shared my image of what Wayne Enterprises would eventually become.
"Second, Wayne Medical made a breakthrough with nano technology. Using the DNA from a top secret specimen, we were able to imitate its genetic makeup using nanomachines and developed the medical breakthrough of the millennium.
"Bruce, I found the way to dramatically slow the process of aging."
Slade traced his slightly wrinkled face with his right index finger.
"The serum we developed was quickly patented by Wayne Medical, offering it as a method to not only slow the effects of aging, but to retard the development of disease within the human body. However, this particular serum was the not the original outcome of our research. The serum offered the fraction of what our new procedure could provide. The procedure that I carefully performed on you…"
Batman's eyes we fixed on Slade, burning with a fury.
"Who was the specimen, Slade?"
Slade turned his face away, taunting Batman as he smirked.
"The specimen that I personally hunted down as Batman was none other than the terrorist Vandal Savage."
Batman eyes burned hotter.
"I actually had him imprisoned secretly ten years prior to our breakthrough. It was a painstaking task to finally learn the secrets of his immortality, so I'll leave the details be. I was able to perfectly duplicate his genetic makeup, making his abilities available to anyone willing to go through the excruciating DNA transfer procedure."
"McGinnis…" Batman hissed.
Slade continued, paying Batman no attention.
"Being the head of Wayne Enterprises, and Wayne Enterprises practically running the country and soon the world, I was the most powerful man on earth. Soon, the domestic companies would be bought out and operate under the name 'Wayne'.
"The times had changes so drastically, Bruce. Money became the voting slip of my time. Soon, the poverty stricken would be collected like wild animals and domesticated to serve a practical use. The upper class would strive as their businesses prospered, being subsidiaries of Wayne Enterprises. The middle class would fall under the status of a financial purgatory, losing as it gained."
"How could you have allowed all of that to happen?" Batman spat. "You know without a proper economic structure, the economy would fall faster than the world could…"
"Again Bruce, the times had changed. The corporations provided to the needy as the working class played the role of delivery."
Slade stared at Batman as he digested what Slade had said.
"Detailed information was leaked to the media about the development of our aging solution. The media proved to be the only unaffected business from the corporate takeovers. It accurately reported our use of Vandal Savage as our test subject, along with the development of the immortality procedure. We denied it, of course. News had reached Superman and the Justice League of my genetic tests. I was approached by them one day, as they were questioning my morality. I defended myself by acknowledging the reports, saying that I only did it to develop ways to fight major diseases. They were right by not trusting me.
"I had become a product of my environment, Bruce. A scientist obsessed with changing the world, wanting to leave a legacy behind. However, Superman and the depleted Justice League did not share my vision of the world. I donned the mantle of Batman one last time, appearing at the watchtower in Metropolis. I had hoped to reason with the Justice League as Batman, conveying that everything I had done at Wayne Enterprises was in the best interest of the world's people. Superman was not convinced.
"In my twenty-second year in Wayne Enterprises, a new villain had appeared. Any guesses as to who that was, Bruce?"
Batman glared at Slade, knowing exactly who he was talking about.
"My intentions were not to hurt anyone", Slade continued. "What I was attempting to do was temporarily occupy the Justice League's attention away from Wayne Enterprises. It was very easy for the fading heroes to chase an imaginary villain. I developed robotic drones, accurately portraying the identity of Slade. Similar to the one that detonated in Egypt after its battle with Richard...
"After a short period of time, the Justice League learned my secret. While personally overseeing an attack on Metropolis with unmarked Wayne Defense Air Devastators, Superman boarded my ship and unmasked me."
"Kryptonite…" Batman muttered under his breath.
"However", Slade continued. "The Kryptonian failed to notice that with each breath he took, he inhaled an engineered virus made from sample of Kryptonite. As he unmasked me, the virus spread through his already weak system."
"You would have suffered from radiation sickness by inhaling the same air, McGinnis", Batman said.
Slade smirked and turned from Batman.
"I would have, but in my time, I had not only developed a vaccine for the radiation. I also had created a generic, yet similar Kryptonite solution. It worked just as Kryptonite did, but the radiation had no effect on human cells.
"Superman would finally die that night, and I felt even more empowered than I could have imagined. I decided that night was to be the final night of the Justice League. I had marked Wayne Defense Air Devastators ready to attack the ones I had controlled as Slade. I wanted to show the world that the Justice League was not needed, and that night I succeeded."
Batman could take no more. He began to thrust his body around as his binds were restrained him from freeing himself. Batman was growling at Slade's back until Slade turned around with a mournful look.
"What I didn't realize is the mistake I may have made", Slade said. "Four years after I killed Superman and destroyed the Justice League, Darkseid had returned to earth. However, he did not bring his invasion forces. He instead had orbited the planet in a single warship, as he originally had done. Our space defense system was working flawlessly, keeping Darkseid's ship at bay. Three hours after his appearance over the earth, Darkseid had unleashed arguably the greatest bombardment ever to be seen."
Batman had calmed himself, the unwelcome feeling of defeat washing over him. His restraints were perfect in design, unable to find a flaw to exploit.
"A series of boom tubes opened up strategically across the globe, over every major city on earth. Single bombs were launched through each opening, impacting on each city. Wayne Defense had tracked a small percentage of the bombs, deflecting those accordingly..
"Each bomb emitted a new from of radiation along with the typical force of immense explosions. This radiation attacked and broke down the human based proteins, causing a worldwide epidemic to those who survived the bombings."
"How…"
"We didn't know, Bruce", Slade said. "It was too sudden, we did not prepare for something of this nature to even exist. Gotham was one of the cities bombarded by these bombs. Everyone I cared about was killed. My mother, Tim, people who I worked with, everyone."
"Why are you still alive then?"
Slade looked away from Batman.
"Because I had the curse of Vandal Savage coursing through my body, Bruce", Slade said.
Slade turned around to face Batman's stare.
"Immortality has its demands", Slade said. "In the following days, Darkseid had fully invaded earth. His ships had breached the atmospheric defense, easily due to the ineffective auto-control system. No one was alive to control them from Wayne Defense."
"How and why did you come back", Batman spat at Slade.
"I had fallen to a madness, Bruce", Slade said. "I was unable to confirm it, but I may have been the last human alive. I had bunkered myself in the Batcave, watching the events of Darkseid's purging of all forms of life on earth. The world was lost, and no one in the galaxy helped, not even the great Green Lantern Corps.
"As a year passed, earth had become the second Apokolips. Darkseid left his original planet and settled on the larger, more fertile planet of earth. All of the cities of the world were destroyed, as Darkseid remade earth into his own image. I set up a most of the Batcave's equipment deeper into the earth years before Darkseid had conquered. Many of the weapons and vehicles developed by Wayne Defense were stored in the caverns under Wayne Manor. Through microscopic cameras that traveled like bacteria in the air, I witnessed the culling of the earth from the Batcave.
"Watching the world you once knew become something that God himself had not envisioned was more than a mind could handle. I wanted to end my life, Bruce. I worked many years in solitude to find a way to reverse the effects of what I had done to myself. It seemed as though I would live to watch the world slowly die. I contemplated an attack on Darkseid, knowing that he could never kill me. But I could not risk being captured and studied the way I did to Savage. I knew he would easily be able to duplicate the process I had created to gain Savage's abilities, and I wouldn't dare give him that.
"After fifty years of solitude and falling deeper into madness, I developed a serum to counter the effects of my condition. However, during this time, I also finished work on my side project. I rebuilt and modified Vandal Savage's time machine."
"Of course you did…" Batman said sarcastically.
"I pondered on whether I should just end my life then and there. Stop this purgatory I had been living in. But as a man, I felt cheated in life. I wanted to do something, one last thing to leave my mark on this world. When I killed the Justice League many years prior, the name 'Slade' was more notorious than any name in history. Even Judas had received more praise than I."
Slade smiled.
"I wanted that feeling again", he said. "I decided to hold off on my justifiable suicide, deciding that my work was incomplete. Using a modified boom tube, I opened a doorway into the past. It was large enough for two of my Devastators to enter."
"The two ships over Gotham…"
"Yes, Bruce", Slade said. "I had left behind a world I helped to destroy using your family name. With spending so many years in seclusion, I felt I needed to change the course of history. I couldn't allow the earth to become the homeland of Darkseid and his legions. It was not the earth I was trained to defend. I decided to come back to get the attention of you, Superman, and any of the heroes of this time."
"And this is how you're changing things?" Batman shouted. "By taking countless lives to get our attention…?"
"Correct", Slade said. "However upon my return to this time, I've noticed something very peculiar, the Justice League had formed almost ten years earlier than it originally had. The Members are not as I remembered either, with the exceptions of you, Flash and Superman. Diana, J'onn, Stewart and Hawkgirl, they were never apart of the original team. The original team comprised of you, Superman, Flash, Nightwing, Maxima, Steel, and Supergirl. That Justice League was put together by the U.S. Government, an unofficial agency."
"That's why the watchtower was in Metropolis…"
"Yes", Slade said. "But now I see that my venture into the past has changed a few things. Along with the major differences, the small differences were apparent. Like your costume, now it's a deep blue with longer ears. The costume I remember was primarily black with the dark grey. Just a subtle difference, nothing compared to the difference of Barbara and the Justice League."
"You have our attention, McGinnis", Batman spat. "Now what…?"
"Now, you prepare", Slade said. "When I first ventured back, I noticed that things were not as they seemed. With that, I looked at this new timeline and also noticed that the attack from Apokolips will happen much sooner then anticipated."
Batman scowled.
"How much sooner…?
"In the next ten years."
Batman had been told a story that bested any story that every vagrant had ever told him. Slade could feel the disbelief Batman had in him.
"Perhaps a little demonstration is in order…"
Slade walked over to the main computer once again, withdrawing another disk from a pouch on his uniform. He looked back at Batman and held it up.
"Bruce, I made it a point to study the past as close as possible", Slade began. "You can say I've become a voyeur of history."
"What are you getting at?" Batman spat.
"This present time is not the only time period I've visited…"
Slade turned around and inserted the disk into the computer. The screen came on again, however this time showing a sidewalk at nighttime.
"I specifically enjoy key moments in history…" Slade said.
On screen, an older couple walking with a child came from off camera. Batman felt his soul wrenching at the sight of this. As the camera zoomed in, it could be seen that this was Thomas and Martha Wayne with their eight year old son, Bruce.
"TURN THIS OFF!!"
Slade watched the screen as if he never heard Batman's cry.
Batman struggled against his restraints, trying to free himself. He felt the lining in his gloves and boots begin to tear as they rubbed between both he and the titanium bonds. Batman's struggle proved useless as he looked up in time to see his parents stopped by their attacker.
"One moment, Bruce", Slade said as he switched the audio on.
Just as the audio came on, the first shot had been fired. Thomas Wayne fell to the ground, next to a fear stricken child. The second shot had been fired, claiming the life of Martha Wayne. She fell to other side of Bruce.
Batman looked on as his nightmare of the last twenty-seven years played out so simply on the large screen in his cave. His helplessness at this very moment nearly mirrored his helplessness as a child.
"Bruce, when you first came into my life, I never expected for me to end up this way. I used to look at myself when I was secluded for those many years and wonder. Wonder how exactly I turned into what I became. You had one defining moment in your life, true. However, you failed to realize that one moment does not make a person. Your loneliness at your old age proved that you had sentenced yourself to that fate."
Slade pressed a key on the keyboard and the scene began to repeat itself. Slade walked back towards Batman as the death of Bruce's parents played out on the screen behind him. Slade stopped in front of Bruce, and began to take off his uniform. He lifted his shirt over his head, revealing another underneath it. This shirt was a pitch black long sleeve with the imprint of a red bat across it. Slade then reached into another large pouch and retrieved what looked like a piece of folded cloth.
"Bruce, my work is not completely done yet", Slade said. "My biggest test was to come with the inevitable meeting face to face with you. This predicament was only half of what my intentions with you were. Now I believe the physical confrontation between us must commence. But first..."
Slade took the cloth in his hand and unfolded it. He stretched it out and lifted it over his head, pulling it down to reveal that it was a mask.
The future mask of Batman.
"I'll warm up with your comrades first", Slade said. "Then I expect to see you in the middle of Gotham."
Batman looked at Slade in the future Batman suit with the most sinister look to ever come across Batman's or Bruce Wayne's face.
Like magic, the future Batman seemed to disappear into thin air, leaving the scene of Thomas and Martha Wayne's murder play out in the cave.