I don't own DC.

This one took days, but I knew it had to be perfect.

Chapter 9—

The seven founders were the only ones in the Watchtower, with the rest down on Earth and the sun was rising over the planet. Batman sat cross-legged on one of the tables with a mug of coffee in hand as he watched the panorama light up before him. There was so little time in the day between Batman and Bruce's responsibilities but he had woken up early that morning to check on the Watchtower. He was taking the day off today for Martian ManHunter's simulation, as had the rest of the seven founders. J'onn refused to tell him about what he had planned and so the Dark Knight could only trust him.

He could hear Barry and Hal arguing in the other room about who would be the one to screw up this training exercise and he knew Diana to be watching the fight. The faint whirring of the Zeta beam in the background as the Man of Steel graced them with his presence told Batman that they would no doubt start soon after Aquaman and J'onn himself arrived. He finished his coffee and stood, his meditation session coming to an interrupted end.

Once they were all gathered in the main room, Martin ManHunter ran them all through with the protocol, the equipment and what would happen and yet he gave no indication as to the goal of the simulation. On could guess of course, tam building, hypothetical strategies, throwing the unlikely to prepare them for if it or something ever was to happen—just in case. They had to be prepared, Batman knew that most of all. They all took their bay and lay down, allowing Martian ManHunter access to their minds.

Everything changed.

They were in the Watchtower as usual, sitting around a conference table; all of them but Martian ManHunter; they waited for a second, not knowing what to do yet. A few were even confused, that was until a streak of white light blinded them all as a beam passed them, hitting the earth. Everyone jumped to their feet, every curse under the sun spilled from their mouths. When the radiance died down, it left a smoking planet. The Leaguers all looked between one another in shock and ran for the zetas.

"Atlantis needs me."

"I need to check Themyscira."

"Okay, rendezvous outside the Hall of Justice." Batman ordered as they vanished.

"The kids!" Flash exclaimed, worry staining his features, "I'll check the mountain; rendezvous I got ya."

"Should head on down and start looking for anyone alive?" Hal asked as he put in coordinates for the Hall.

"Yes." Superman answered and Batman nodded.

Dust encircled what used to be the Hall of Justice. The whole world had torn itself apart and now everything lay in ruin. The League gazed over what had been Washington. Batman searched through the rocks for clues of what had vaporised most of the planet. He collected rocks and sifted through dirt but none of it processed in his head. Everything was gone, everyone was dead. Those who he had just passed in the office yesterday were merely atoms now. Superman flew over head, scanning with each and every one of his visions for signs of life; nothing.

For all they knew, Batman, Flash and Green Lantern were the last three humans; Superman and ManHunter had both lost the planet that had been so kind as to take them in and Wonder Woman and Aquaman…

"Themyscira is wiped out." Wonder Woman's voice broke their morning as she came through the broken Zeta beam with a sullen Aquaman behind her.

"Atlantis too."

Next, Flash's comm. link buzzed and I sad voice filled their ears. "I've checked the mountain, only half of it is still standing, Red Tornado is scattered in pieces and Superboy, well, he could withstand it but he didn't survive. I checked by all of the kids, they're…"

"Don't say it." Hal bit back.

"I don't think I could. But I'll never be able to forget what I've seen, that's for sure."

"After we were worrying about putting the kids in danger, and in the end it meant nothing."

Superman landed just as Flash skidded to a stop, everyone tried to ignore the tears leaking from under his mask; to see the normally optimistic speedster so distraught was what did it for Hal, who turned and kick the nearest rock he saw. All of the Leaguers stood in a circle, staring down, none wanting to voice the survivor's guilt.

"Look I know there's an investigation but I have to check Smallville."

"We have an hour to straighten out any personal grieving; then we meet back here to find out answers."

The manor was a plain of dust, the wh9ole thing had been vapourized and now nothing stood. Batmancouldn't search around for fear of finding the man who had taken him in and raised him since he was just a child. Instead, he ran to where the entrance to the cave was and dug out the door that the clock should have opened. He ran down the dusty steps and booted up the computer for it to analyse the rock samples. Batman turned to his armoury and restocked his belt, as he did do he found the remote.

It still tracked Trace's GPS and it was moving. Boy Wonder had survived and was walking the world alone. How many people had he lost today? Consumed with grief at such a young age would be unbearable, Bruce knew from experience how that could tear apart a child's life. It was bad enough, he thought, the boy seemed unstable after the outburst concerning Kid Flash. HE thought back; he had never mentioned parent or whether they knew of his double identity and, thinking back to what the boy had said during their first encounter, things became clearer. 'I'm ready to kill myself'.

It was decided, he needed to find him. He checked the GPS again; he was heading for the inner city. He still had forty minutes and he could easily se the Zeta to get back. Climbing into the Batmobile, he thought of showing him the League now, he would have to since there was no other way the boy could survive but he didn't think they would appreciate waiting until the end of the world to meet him. His hand paused over the ignition. What would they do now? He knew what next, find who caused the Armageddon and why but what about after that?

He drove from the cave and searched, constantly checking between the road, the GPS and the time. There was no one else to be on the roads but he did have to avoid the odd abandoned car that had happened to avoid being turned into automobile powder in the blast. He caught up with the GPS in Wayne Industries and used his grapple to reach the top. Looking out, he saw death in its purest form. From people to the plants, everything was burnt. Buildings were smashed and strewn across the road like a pasta art project that had been stood on by a big brother.

This had been his home. The city he had sworn to protect. As he looked over the ruined world, caught in his guilt plagued Trance, he hadn't realise Trace hobble to sit at the edge of the roof by his feet. He only noticed him when a small noise escaped his throat, something painfully close to a sob. The Caped Crusader looked at the boy for a second, half his face was blistered and bleeding, his costume was little more than singed polyester, beneath it angry burns reflected in the light from the few lights that actually worked anymore. Slowly, Batman sat by him.

"How did you survive?"

"Sewers, I was thrown into one by some thugs, I hit my head on the concrete at the bottom and when I woke up everything was…what happened?"

"The League is investigating, well the original seven are, and everyone else is gone."

"How did you survive?"

"I was in the Watchtower?"

"Oh…I mean—what's the Watchtower?"

"It's a brightly striped pram, surprisingly resistant to massive lasers coming from unknown sources in space."

"Where is the League now?"

"Trying to see what still stands of their lives. We meet at the Hall of Justice soon. You're coming too, you need serious medical aid."

"There's no point, I didn't come up here for the view you know." He peered over the edge to the drop and concrete below; it got the point across.

"Why? I mean, I know a lot has happened but…"

"No, I haven't lost anyone today, I didn't have anyone in the first place. But Gotham was my chance to mean something, I didn't want another kid ending up like I did, alone and hurting."

"You don't have to be like that, you can…"

"Get better? No, there's no hope for me." He stood and looked over the city, Batman copied, thinking of ways to comfort him. "You're the great detective; you tell me what these mean." He pulled sleeves up to reveal cut and scars; all deliberate and deep.

Batman remembered back to Richard Grayson trying to use that as an escape, oh God Richard. How long has it been? That kid had been living in hell, and now he was dead. So much for making his life better. He was miserable and alone in his last few seconds, just like the last few days, weeks or months; take you pick but Batman hadn't done anything to help. How could he help Boy Wonder now though?

The boy wandered to the corner, "I didn't want you to be here, I didn't want you to see how week I was but you know me more than anyone so it's only fitting that you witness my…liberation."

He stepped over the edge and Batman dived to catch him but was too late. He fumbled for his grapple hook—maybe he could still swing down—but it wasn't in his belt. Trace had taken it; that smart, devious, poor boy had known this was coming. No, he couldn't let the boy end it like that, no matter how much it hurt, Bruce knew there was always a chance for happiness.

Crack.

Then silence.

The noise stole his breathe and soul. Shaking on his knees, he leant over the edge and saw the small pale corpse and the pool of blood in which it soaked. With muscles like solid ice, he forced his body to take him to ground level, after stepping out of the building and letting the doors swing closed behind him, he crouched by his former partner. He'd had so much ahead of him; such a child prodigy that any mother or father should be proud of. He should be proud of himself, not hating himself and wanting it to end.

"Batman, I heard the noise, what happened?"

"You heard?" He asked, his voice like a mouse muffled by towels.

"Yes, without car and millions of people talking, I can hear everything. You sound terrible. What happened?"

"Boy Wonder…"

"Is he alive?" Flash's voice joined their in the comm.. link.

"Not anymore he's not." He snapped back, his voice breaking with tears of sadness, pity and guilt.

After losing everything that day, the boy had given up it all because it had hurt that bad. How had Batman not noticed? That made two young boys he had now failed, killed even. He broke down, sobbing over the kid's corpse, something Trace had probably imagined no one doing, not so much as blinking an eyelid. No he didn't understand what he meant to the world, as a hero or an idol. Even if he denied those things. People ready to end it all, never understood what they meant tot the people around them, trapped in their own bubble of destructive self-hatred, it wears them down until they just can't take it anymore.

Bruce should know. Alfred had saved him from going down that road a long time ago but no one had been there for Boy Wonder. And now with everything gone, there was no one to help either of the lost orphans, young or old, dead or alive.

"Bruce?" Superman crouched by Batman, when he had arrived, he didn't know.

Martian ManHunter materialised before them, "I suggest we terminate the simulation before damage occurs."

"What simulation? Oh my God, I forgot." He shook the crying playboy next to him, "Bruce, this isn't real? Can you hear me? J'onn, terminate it now."