Gotham Knight (TWO)

The Legend

Bruce Anthony Wayne, The Batman

Darkness. So much darkness. Nothing. No light. No humans. No life. No hope. Just darkness.

I am alone. I have always been alone. No one to help me. No one to provide for me. Ever since my parents died, I've been alone. No one there. Just me.

A failure. I am a failure. I tried to give back to this city. I failed. I tried to be a father figure. I failed. I tried to save one of the only people that cared about me. I failed. Jason Todd is dead, and it's my fault. Dick Grayson is broken, and it's my fault. Barbara Gordon is paralyzed, and it's my fault. Alfred is lonely, and it's my fault. I am dead, and it's my fault.

Bruce Wayne does not exist. Bruce Wayne died when his parents did. There is no remaining Waynes. There is only Batman.

Gotham, is hell on earth. No one will come to visit. Scared by the murderers and tales of a human-sized bat. I tried to protect this great city that has nurtured me, that has brought me back . . . that has made me who I am today.

Sometimes I like to think what would happen if my parents hadn't died. Would Gotham be in a better state today? Would The Joker have existed? Would Killer Croc and Bane have killed so many? Would The Court of the Owls have taken my life? Would I even exist?

Death isn't as painful as some would think. It's just darkness. The pain is over quickly, as long as your murderer has some respect for you. There is no heaven. There is no hell. There is only darkness.

Death is being left alone with your thoughts, to think about all your mistakes and failures, your hopes and dreams that were never accomplished.

As a kid, I always wanted to have a child. A son named Thomas, after my Dad. I would teach him baseball, and let him trade his first stock. The dream died with Bruce Wayne, thirty years ago.

As a kid, I wanted a wife. A nice wife who would provide for me the way Alfred never could. I would walk down the aisle, my dad smiling and patting my back. "Good job, son." he says as a tear streams down his face. The dream died with Bruce Wayne.

I wanted to save Gotham. I wanted to bring it back to the way it was before Bruce Wayne died. I wanted a clean GCPD. I wanted a nice future for the new generation. I wanted the alleyways thug-free. The dream died with The Batman.

I wanted to leave behind a legacy. The Legacy of the Batman. I wanted Dick to become what I am today. I wanted Barbara to find a happy ending. I wanted Alfred to die a peaceful death after me. The dream died. Today. With The Batman.  

Because the truth about death is, there is no death. There is only darkness.



Flick. Lights. They're on. Everything is white. No darkness. What happened to the darkness. What happened to my thoughts. I can't see. Only white.

There. In front of me. Five yards. It's moving closer. A speck of black. Yellow eyes. No. No! It can't be. My killer is back. I'm reliving my death. He's staring down at me. The Talon. Words. He's speaking words. The sound is running through my ears. I need to make out what he's saying. I need to fight back. I need to take him out. I need to reverse the cycle. I need to live.

"Welcome, Mister Wayne." Where am I? How does he know who I am?

"This is your ninth day in the maze. But It's time for you to actually run it. Welcome, Mister Wayne. Welcome to the Labyrinth." The Talon stopped speaking and walked away.

Labyrinth. Labyrinth. What is a Labyrinth. My training, I need to remember words. A maze. I'm in a maze. My muscles. Do they still work? I need to move. Forward, always forward, never back. I need to escape. My story is not over. The Legacy of the Batman will be continued. It has to be continued.

My muscles. They work. I can stand. I'm walking straight. My eyes. They're adjusting. I can see. The Batman is alive. But he's not the only one alive. I can feel him back inside me. He's alive. It's Bruce Wayne. I think I'm crying. Bruce Wayne is back. Oh, how I've missed you Bruce. I hope you're doing well. My name is The Batman. And we're going to get you out of this maze.

Remember. What did I tell myself? Ah, that's it. Forward, always forward, never back. I keep moving. Dead end. Left. Right. Forward. Right. Dead End. Right. Left.

Bruce, be careful. We're not alone. They're watching us. They're hunting us. They're alive. They're everywhere. The Bat's natural predator. The Owl.

What's that? Forward, Bruce. Forward. It's a fountain. With real water. No, Bruce we can't drink it. It's drugged, it's definitely drugged. We'll die. I've already died. It's not that bad. We need water.

The water. It's amazing. I haven't had a liquid in nine days. I feel alive now. I feel my bones come back to life. The water, it's taste. I recognize it. It's-

"So you've made it to The Fountain, Mister Wayne. Thank you for playing." Talon is behind us. We did it. We made it through the maze.

"And now," What? What now?

"The Court of the Owls sentences you to death." No! This can't be! We made it! We made it through! We lived!

Speak. I need to speak. Words, form them in your mouth. I grab more water, I drink it. Behind me. I turn, The Talon kicks me back into the fountain, smashing it. Chants. Everywhere. Above, they're coming from above. I look up. They're everywhere. Men, women, children all with the masks on. It's The Court of the Owls. They chant down at The Talon.

"Break his spine!"

"Crack his skull!"

"Stab him!"

"Choke him!"

"EAT HIM!"

The Talon moves closer and closer to me. The Batman has already died once at the hands of The Talon. Never again. Now, we have the strength of Batman, and the caring of Bruce Wayne. It's over for Talon. He jumps at us. We doge, kicking him aside. Never.

He throws a punch and leaps at us. I grab his fist, while Bruce kicks him back. One body, the power of two. He smashes into the ground. My cape flutters. I jump, Bruce puts all of his force down to smash into him. The ground. It's breaking. The Talon, he's wounded. Again. I jump, Bruce slams. The ground is barley hanging on. I punch the Talon in the face. His final blow.

It's over. The ground has broke and me, Bruce and Talon are zooming down the bottomless pit. We're going to Gotham. That fountain. The water. Natural spring water only found in the harbor between Metropolis and Gotham. We continue falling. The Talon is dead.

Smash.

We're underwater. A thick layer of ice is over us. I kick, I punch. I'm running out of breath. I need to get back to Gotham. I'm about to run out of breath. The strength of two. That's it. Come on, Bruce. We need to break the ice. We need to escape the maze. We need to get back to Gotham. The Legacy needs to live on. We need to finish the story.

Crack. The ice is broke. My body is weak. I crawl, right over to the dirt. The river. We were in the river. That means . . .

I look to my left. Woods.

I look to my right. There it is.

Shining bright, in all it's glory. Gotham City. 

I am alive. Batman is alive. Bruce Wayne is alive.

We have been resurrected.