"Batman: Farewell" prologue/credits

If the broken tarmac of Gotham's streets could speak, boy would they have some stories to tell.

More so over the last 12 years than ever before, but this story was coming to an end.

The streets as they were now, crawling with thugs, henchmen, militia and all the other scum that had crawled out of the woodwork when the city went into lockdown at the start of this Halloween night, were silent. Small groups huddled around oil cans alight with fire, coats pulled tightly around them to shield themselves from the rain. A few smaller groups were breaking windows and doors, looting what few stores were left to ransack and steal the contents from.

A few heads turned as the ground began to shake, a low rumbling sound coming from the buildings at the end of the street.

"What the..." One thug muttered, breaking away from the group and moving into the street, squinting through the rain towards the glowing blue lights in the darkness. As they quickly grew closer, his eyes widened, his mates able to pick out his broken nose and black eye, before he threw himself to the ground.

"DANNY! IT'S BATMAN!" another cried, pointing frantically in the direction of the Batmobile. The thugs scattered, running in any direction away from the street, disappearing between buildings and diving through smashed windows in fear, leaving their friend cowering in a ball on the floor. Danny screamed as it roared past, the engines almost deafening him, then blinding him with a bright flash of flames spat out of the exhaust as it flew by, and out of sight into the darkness.

As Danny's sight and hearing returned, one of his mates ran over and began helping him up. "Dude, you okay?"

"Get off me! You assholes left me!" Danny replied, shoving his friend away from him. "Let's get outta here!" He said before jogging lazily towards the buildings for shelter.

In the Batmobile, Batman stared into the distance as he contemplated his next move, his instincts guiding him through Gotham's dingy streets on autopilot. The holographic map before him flickered, and turned to Alfred's widened, but ever-concerned face.

"Master Bru-" Alfred began, but was interrupted by Batman's stern voice.

"Alfred, I'm going to give myself up to Scarecrow. It's the only way to save Tobin and Jim."

There was a moment of silence between the two, as Alfred mulled over Batman's words.

"Very well, Master Bruce. But consider your decision wisely, there'll be no coming back from this."

Batman said nothing, and disconnected the video call.

He knew the consequences of this decision, as did Alfred. There was no going back after tonight. But first, there was something he needed to do.

He snapped the wheel to the left suddenly, slamming the brakes to make the sharp turn down a narrow side street, the Batmobile scraping the walls noisily, taking chunks of concrete and brickwork with it as it cleared the other side.

He straightened the Batmobile on the road, and hit the afterburners, pushing the car to its top speed before forcibly ejecting from the drivers seat. He opened his cape and soared through the air, a dark shape against the black night sky.

The clouds broke, and allowed the full moon to carry Batman's shadow across the streets and rooftops, before diving down to land atop the rooftop of the Gotham gazette.

Standing there, waiting for the Gotham News chopper, was Vicki Vale, the blonde haired reporter, and Bruce Wayne's current lady-friend.

Batman landed silently, straightened, and walked towards her, stopping when he was approximately seven feet away.

"Why am I not surprised you're still here?" He said, making Vicki start with a jump, and turn to face him. She squinted against the brightness of the full moon, struggling to pick out the features of Batman's mask, cast in shadow from the clear moon behind him.

"I never miss out on a scoop." Vicki replied curtly. "Care to comment on tonight's events? Are you going to give in to Scarecrow?" She asked, extending her arm, holding out a digital recording device.

Batman's eyes turned down to the device, and then to his gauntlet, pressing a few keys and activating the disruptor in his suit. There was a quiet whine as the device died.

"Well that was rude." Vicki muttered, glancing at the recorder before sliding it into her pocket.

"Vicki..." Batman said, taking a step forward. "There's no going back after tonight. Things will never be the same."

"You're telling me. Penguin, Firefly, Scarecrow, this...Arkham Knight. This is the biggest event in Gotham's history, Batman." She said, folding her arms. "You can defeat him, right? Scarecrow?"

Batman remained silent, and took another step forward. "Scarecrow has something planned. Something big." He said, his voice softening a little. "There's something I want you to know, from me, and not from anyone else."

Vicki took a small step back, but watched curiously as Batman's hands rose to his helmet. It buzzed, whirred, and clicked open. He slid it off, and Vicki gasped.

"Bruce!?" She stared at him, "This is a joke, right?"

"I'm sorry, Vicki." Bruce said, looking into her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Vicki spat, anger boiling through her.

"I couldn't put you in any further danger."

"Wasn't Arkham City enough to show you I can handle myself?"

Bruce smiled a little.

"Is this funny to you?" Vicki asked, staring up at Bruce as if he was a stranger.

"No, Vicki, this isn't funny." Bruce said.

"What's going on, Bruce? What does Scarecrow want?"

"He wants Batman dead."

"So...what does that mean?" Vicki asked, "Bruce, please tell me you have a way out of this? You have a way to stop him, right!?"

Bruce stayed silent.

"Bruce..." Vicki whimpered.

"I'm sorry, Vicki...this is goodbye." Bruce said, stepping up to her and embracing her. He pulled her flat against his armoured suit, bending his neck to kiss her.

Vicki's body trembled against the cold armour, but kissed him back, a deep, meaningful embrace for them both.

Then a voice broke the mood.

"Oh, yuck!" The Joker's voice exclaimed, appearing from behind Batman to circle them. "Y'know I never saw you two getting together...I always thought you had a thing for Catwoman! The bat, and the cat, sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!" The hallucination, a result of the residual titan in Batman's bloodstream and Scarecrows fear toxin mixing in his system, paused to cackle loudly. "Well, maybe not a tree, perhaps not even a nice cushy bed in Wayne Manor." The Joker's voice growled menacingly. "At least you get to say goodbye!"

Joker stopped walking, and stood a few feet from the couple, leaning on a railing with his arms crossed, watching them with that ever-present smirk.

Their embrace broke, and the two lovers looked deep into each others eyes. Vicki's eyes narrowed when she saw flecks of piercing green breaking Bruce's usually cold grey eyes. "Bruce..." She started, but Batman stepped back, sliding the helmet back on. "Don't go..."

Batman turned, but stopped when she said that.

"I love you..."

Batman grimaced, and Joker bounced up beside him, muttering into his ear. "Isn't that sweet! She loves you! Y'know Batsy, when I take over the controls, maybe I'll visit her first, before I lock you away for good..."

Batman greeted his teeth, closing his eyes, trying to black the Joker's words.

"I...I love you, too." Batman said, turning to look at her.

A loud whirring filled the scene as the Gotham News chopper fly overhead, circling to land. Vicki turned to the chopper, and Batman took the distraction to dive off the building.


BATMAN: FAREWELL

Starring

Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne/Batman

Martin Jarvis as Alfred Pennyworth

Grey DeLisle as Vicki Vale and SELINA Kyle/Catwoman

Mark Hamill as The Joker

Henry Cavill as Superman

Grant Gustin as The Flash

Stephen Amell as Green Arrow

Troy Baker as Harvey Dent/Two Face

Summary

Having made the decision to give himself up to Crane, Batman says his goodbyes to his closest friends and allies.

Disclaimer

I do not own Batman or any of the related characters that appear in this story. Except Danny the thug, he's mine.

Author's Note

Set toward the end of Arkham Knight, so spoilers ahead for the game. Some details added in are of my own thinking. Such as the conversation between Two Face and Batman, which came to me after watching Batman the Animated Series.