“Whoa,” Tim marvelled, watching the highlight reel of the fight between the two god-like beings on his iPhone.
Punches were thrown, lasers were fired, frost was simply exhaled. The gods were amazing.
“Clark Kent,” Bruce said, spinning around in his chair. On the Batcomputer was a large image of Clark Kent’s face, with information about him scrolling along the side.
“That was fast,” Tim said.
“Is that an iPhone?” Bruce asked, pretending to be offended.
“Bruce, we both know Wayne Tech Phones aren’t fantastic,” Tim said, “Suck it up.”
“Whatever, traitor,” Bruce replied, turning back to the screen, “He works at the Daily Planet. Reporter.”
“What else do you do at the Daily Planet?”
“Get coffee for reporters. It looks like he’s just starting out.”
“And the silver guy?” Tim wondered.
“There’s no record on him,” Bruce admitted.
“On the news it said he called himself General Zod,” Tim explained.
“Maybe he’s not from Earth,” Bruce suggested.
“I was going to say that, but I didn’t want to sound stupid,” Tim said.
“These men can fire lasers from their eyes and shoot ice from their mouths,” Bruce pointed out, “Logic goes out the window at this point.”
“Laser eyes and ice breath,” Tim mused, “You may lose your job, Bruce.”
“What?” Bruce was offended.
“Well the blue one seemed like he was a good guy. If he keeps this hero schtick up, what’s the point of having a Batman?”
“What’s the point of- excuse me?” Bruce asked, shocked, “I help keep this city safe!”
“Chill, Bruce,” Tim held his hands out, “I’m just messing with you.”
“Go check on Damian. I’ll finish research on Mr. Kent.”
14 YEARS AGO…
“Split into your groups,” Ra’s al Ghul instructed.
Khafaash took his place next to Ra’s al Ghul as three groups of three formed in front of them.
“Dragon, you will begin the assault on Arkham. You know what to do from there. Serpent, you take the banks. Phoenix- the news outlets. Khafaash and I will take the Mayor’s house. When everyone’s task is complete, launch your flares into the sky. Reconvene at the Wayne Enterprises building. Understood?”
The groups nodded, and set off on their separate ways.
“When you kill Mayor Klass, the unraveling of Gotham can begin,” Ra’s smiled, reassuringly.
“And from the ashes of Gotham-”
“Will rise a leader stronger than the world has ever seen,” Ra’s said, “Stronger than I.”
“Then we shan’t waste a moment.”
Ra’s drew his decorated sword, and walked over to the edge of the building they stood atop of. He glanced down over the city. He opened his mouth to utter something profound.
Khafaash raced past him, and leapt off of the roof. Ra’s pursed his lips, then allowed himself to smile. He followed suit.
The master and apprentice cut through the air at breakneck speed. In synchrony, they flicked out their wrists, and cords sprang out, lodging themselves into buildings. This slowed their fall, and allowed them to dangle above the ground. They shook their wrists one more, and the lines disconnected.
All traffic had grinded to a halt, all drivers gazing on in awe. Bruce lowered his face, not wanting to be seen by the people of his city.
‘No,’ hissed Khafaash in the back of his head, ‘This is not your city. These are not your people. YOU ARE NOT BRUCE WAYNE!’
Khafaash flicked his head back up, and made direct eye contact with a driver. The driver was sitting in his hot pink Honda Accord, with his jaw hanging open. Khafaash marched over to the car, drew his sword, and slammed it through the windshield. The driver shrieked, and scrambled to the back seat.
“Out,” Khafaash ordered in English.
“Khafaash, this entire city must burn. All its citizens must die. This one is no exception,” Ra’s reminded him.
Khafaash slid through the shattered windshield, and gently placed his hands around the man’s throat.
“Ra’s, I must drive,” Bruce stated, knowing full well that the old-fashioned Ra’s wasn’t the greatest driver, “You deal with this man.”
“...Very well,” Ra’s said slowly.
Bruce took hold of the wheel, and began to drive back towards Wayne Manor. He had to make sure Alexis was okay!
Khafaash blinked, irritated. He whipped the car back around, and glanced back at Ra’s and the man. The man had already been killed, and Khafaash was slightly disappointed. He had been wanting to do it.
Khafaash swerved through the cluttered streets of Gotham while Ra’s flicked knives at passerby.
Soon enough, they arrived at a nice house nestled in a peaceful neighborhood. Mayor Wilson Klass’s home. It was three stories tall, with a white paint job. Bricks were placed in an arch around the deep green front door, and they lined the corners. A busy garden sat in the front, boasting vegetables and plants of every shape and size.
“This is it, Khafaash. The beginning of the end.”
Khafaash sauntered up to the front door, and knocked politely.
A few moments passed. They weren’t tense by any means. Just moments.
A woman with large brown eyes and long black hair opened the door. She had brass earrings sagging from her lobes, and full lips. Catherine Klass, Wilson’s wife.
“Bruce Way-?”
Khafaash yanked out his sword, but Bruce Wayne put it back away.
“Yes,” Bruce whispered, “It is-”
“The final seconds of your life!” Khafaash hissed. He raised his sword, and brought it down on Catherine’s head, splitting her down the middle. The two halves of the woman fell to the sides, and a small boy shivered in the doorway. Wilson’s son, Emmet.
“Daddy!” Emmet sobbed, “Daddy there’s a bad man!”
“Move aside, Khafaash,” Ra’s growled, shoving Khafaash out of the way. Ra’s stormed over to the boy, and drew a small jeweled dagger from his belt.
“Ra’s-” Bruce said, his voice wavering.
“There is too much of Bruce Wayne left!” Ra’s roared, “He is clawing his way back to the surface. Allow me to surpress him.”
Ra’s drove his dagger through the child’s chest, then grabbed Bruce’s head. He dragged Bruce close to the boy, and put his eye next to the submerged dagger.
“This is what being Ra’s al Ghul entails!” Ra’s boomed, “Are you not ready for this?”
“I-” Bruce began.
“It is too late,” Ra’s sighed, defeated, “You have returned. You bastard.”
“This isn’t me, Ra’s,” Bruce said, “I- I have to stop you.”
“Khaf- Bruce, there is no way you can stop me. But I respect you. Leave now, and you can die with your city. Stay, and I keep you alive, so you live with the guilt of knowing you had a hand in this,” Ra’s explained.
“Gotham is my home,” Bruce stated, “I’m not going to let it slip through my fingers.”
With that, Bruce socked Ra’s square in the jaw.
“That was for Emmet.”
Bruce swung his leg up between Ra’s’s legs.
“That was for Catherine.”
“But you killed her!” Ra’s croaked, swallowing the pain.
Bruce sideswiped Ra’s in the face.
“That was to shut you up.”
Bruce continued beating down on Ra’s, naming off victims of the League.
“Alright, Bruce, I’ve had enough of this,” Ra’s said, finally. He brought his dagger up, and let it sink into Bruce’s gut.
“I thought I was going to have to see Gotham fall,” Bruce groaned.
“That was before you used me as a punching bag,” Ra’s said, readjusting his jaw, “Now, I want you out of the equation.”
Mayor Klass raced into the hallway, and saw the grisly scene. He broke down, and didn’t even try to resist when Ra’s snapped his neck.
“Goodbye, Bruce,” Ra’s said.
Once outside, Ra’s set off a flare that exploded into a demon’s head.
PRESENT…
Batman stared Waller down coolly. Neither one of them budged.
“You’re telling me you’re willing to risk the safety of the world so you can feel better about yourself?” Waller chuckled.
“Don’t pick on his fragile masculinity like that,” a red-haired agent mocked. Agent Katherine “Katie” Kane.
“You,” Batman said, “You just seem to pop up everywhere, don’t you?”
“Just trying to keep my little cousin out of trouble,” Katie shrugged, “You’re trying to box an alien. To what- prove you’re not useless?”
“Bruce, if it’s validation you want, look no further than the Arkham incident. Or Solomon Grundy before that,” Waller said, “Now go home.”
“Give me the Phantom Zone Projector,” Batman ordered, “I know that’s where you’re keeping Zod.”
“We don’t fully understand the Phantom Zone. I’m sure as hell not going to hand a portal to it over to you,” Waller stated.
“Don’t make me take it from you,” Batman warned.
“Don’t make me send the Suicide Squad after you,” Waller countered.
“Bruce, just go back to your mansion,” Katie advised.
“Fine, we’re doing this the hard way,” Batman sighed.
Katie lunged at him, and struck him across the jaw. She followed up with a kick to the chest.
“Want to keep going?” Katie asked.
“I can handle martial artists. I just don’t want to beat up on my cousin,” Batman explained.
“I’m not letting you get that Projector. You’re going to have to go through me if you want it.”
Waller just smiled from the sidelines.
“Wipe that grin off your face,” Batman and Katie send at the same time.
“Alright, children,” Waller said defensively, holding her arms out.
Batman started with a quick jab to Katie’s stomach. Katie caught his fist, twisted his arm, and threw an elbow at his cheek. The blow landed, and Batman stumbled back, rubbing his face.
“I’ve been studying you ever since the Grundy operation,” Katie explained, “I know what you’re going to do.”
“Wha- why?” Batman asked.
“We needed someone to watch over you,” Waller said, “And Agent Kane has always felt a special connection to you.”
“So… there’s no way I’m beating you?” Batman asked.
“No, sorry,” Katie said with a fake sympathy smile.
“Blackbird?” Batman called out.
Katie and Waller dropped, shaking. A drone hovered behind them.
“Just for the record, I’m not a fan of sucker punching two very powerful people,” Tim said over the comms, then muttered, “And all this so you can patch your broken ego.”
“People keep saying that,” Batman said, “This isn't about ego. This is about relevance. Does Gotham still need a Dark Knight?”
“Bru-”
Batman cut the communication feed. He tuned his cowl scanner to locate anything extranormal. It picked up on intense radiation pooling up within one room. But it wasn’t any known type of radiation. Its signature was there, but the toxicity was non-existent. Like a phantom.
Batman made his way to the room through the rafters. Outside of the door was four heavily armed guards. Each was gripping a machine gun, with grenades strapped across their chests. No, not grenades. Surely they wouldn’t be equipped with grenades. Not around such volatile material.
Batman shot his grappling hook through the barrel of one of the machine guns, and swung it as to hit the other guards. Then, he soared to the ground quickly, punching another guard on his descent. He flicked out a Batarang, pinning the third guard to the wall. Batman hoisted the fourth guard up.
“What do you want?” the guard squeaked.
“I want through that door.”
The guard shakily swiped his keycard while Batman still held him against the wall. One of five lights blinked.
“Y-you need four more cards,” the guard explained.
“Don’t move,” Batman ordered, pinning him to the wall as well.
Batman zipped away, and hung above a guard that was pacing along a different hall. As he passed directly under him, Batman dropped, wrapping the guard in his cape like a cocoon. Batman stripped him of his keycard, and disappeared.
Batman returned to the room with the Phantom Zone Projector, and used his five keycards. The door slid open. The film projector-looking device was sitting on a pedestal.
“Red, you ready?” Batman asked, reopening the comms.
“In position,” Tim responded as a drone hovered over to Batman’s head.
Batman pressed a few buttons, and thrust a lever forward. A starry portal tore open. Batman leapt in. The rift closed behind him as Blackbird, the drone, pulled the lever back.
- - -
“I have a demon for a visitor,” General Zod muttered. He had been stripped of his armor, and was now in a black skintight suit.
Batman was facing down General Dru-Zod in the void that was the Phantom Zone. They floated weightlessly.
“Mars has demons?” Batman asked, ditching the raspy voice. Zod wouldn’t recognize his normal voice.
“I’m not from Mars, imbecile,” Zod growled.
“It’s a quip,” Batman explained.
“I’m not a quip,” Zod said.
“How about we just skip to the punching?” Batman suggested, realizing his trash talking wouldn’t get him anywhere.
“So you came to punch me?” Zod asked, “I guess killing you will at least provide some form of twisted entertainment.”
“You seemed to have no problem killing people in Metropolis,” Batman pointed out.
“That was targeted at Kal-El,” Zod said, “The others just stood in the way.”
“Here on Earth, we care about life,” Batman said.
“Everything about you screams hero, aside from the darkness,” Zod said, “I think I’ve seen you before. In different databases. Man-Bat?”
“Batman,” Batman corrected.
“The media seems to think you’re invincible,” Zod said.
“I’m not. That’s why I’m here. To see if I’m necessary when we have people like your Kal-El zooming around.”
“A trial,” Zod mused, “Inspiring. Well who am I to keep you from your trial. We shall battle.”
“Perfect,” Batman grinned.
“Will you even be able to navigate through this limbo?” Zod chuckled as he zipped around.
“I’ll do my best,” Batman said.
“And…?”
Batman sat around for a few more seconds.
“What are you doing?” Zod asked.
“Leveling the playing field,” Batman grinned. He grabbed Zod’s arm. Zod flew wildly, trying to shake Batman free. The rift reopened, and Zod flew towards it.
“Thanks for the ri-” Batman began.
“Bruce!” a voice called out. Batman looked around wildly, and found a young woman floating through the Phantom Zone.
Tam Fox.
“Tam!” Batman hollered moments before he was dragged back into reality, and the gap was sealed.
Before Batman had time to process anything, Zod began pounding on him. Batman rolled away, scrambled up Zod’s back, and put him in a chokehold. Zod unleashed bloodred eye beams, nearly shredding Batman’s arms. Batman grabbed a Batarang, and jammed it into Zod’s back. No blood came out.
“What are you?” Batman gasped.
“I am General Dru-Zod,” Zod growled, flinging Batman against a wall, “I am the Savior of Krypton.”
“I know that,” Batman groaned, “But-”
Zod glared at Batman. Then, he heard footsteps growing closer. He drilled a hole through the ceiling, and blasted off.
“Bruce, I can clear somewhat of a path for you… Just… Come home,” Tim begged.
- - -
Bruce stared out the window of his bedroom, over the sparkling bay of Gotham City. Wayne Manor was situated just on the outskirts of Gotham, on a hill. At the edge of the hill was a wall of cliffs below, leading to the glimmering water.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Alfred asked.
Bruce whipped around. Alfred wasn’t there. Alfred was gone. Alfred was never coming back.
But Bruce needed Alfred. He needed his guidance, compassion, and support. Tim provided compassion and support, but looked to Bruce for guidance instead of the other way around.
So maybe Batman wasn’t needed. Bruce sure as hell was. And Bruce needed Batman.
Batman was needed.
Bruce Wayne was needed.
Everyone was needed in their own way.
Punches were thrown, lasers were fired, frost was simply exhaled. The gods were amazing.
“Clark Kent,” Bruce said, spinning around in his chair. On the Batcomputer was a large image of Clark Kent’s face, with information about him scrolling along the side.
“That was fast,” Tim said.
“Is that an iPhone?” Bruce asked, pretending to be offended.
“Bruce, we both know Wayne Tech Phones aren’t fantastic,” Tim said, “Suck it up.”
“Whatever, traitor,” Bruce replied, turning back to the screen, “He works at the Daily Planet. Reporter.”
“What else do you do at the Daily Planet?”
“Get coffee for reporters. It looks like he’s just starting out.”
“And the silver guy?” Tim wondered.
“There’s no record on him,” Bruce admitted.
“On the news it said he called himself General Zod,” Tim explained.
“Maybe he’s not from Earth,” Bruce suggested.
“I was going to say that, but I didn’t want to sound stupid,” Tim said.
“These men can fire lasers from their eyes and shoot ice from their mouths,” Bruce pointed out, “Logic goes out the window at this point.”
“Laser eyes and ice breath,” Tim mused, “You may lose your job, Bruce.”
“What?” Bruce was offended.
“Well the blue one seemed like he was a good guy. If he keeps this hero schtick up, what’s the point of having a Batman?”
“What’s the point of- excuse me?” Bruce asked, shocked, “I help keep this city safe!”
“Chill, Bruce,” Tim held his hands out, “I’m just messing with you.”
“Go check on Damian. I’ll finish research on Mr. Kent.”
14 YEARS AGO…
“Split into your groups,” Ra’s al Ghul instructed.
Khafaash took his place next to Ra’s al Ghul as three groups of three formed in front of them.
“Dragon, you will begin the assault on Arkham. You know what to do from there. Serpent, you take the banks. Phoenix- the news outlets. Khafaash and I will take the Mayor’s house. When everyone’s task is complete, launch your flares into the sky. Reconvene at the Wayne Enterprises building. Understood?”
The groups nodded, and set off on their separate ways.
“When you kill Mayor Klass, the unraveling of Gotham can begin,” Ra’s smiled, reassuringly.
“And from the ashes of Gotham-”
“Will rise a leader stronger than the world has ever seen,” Ra’s said, “Stronger than I.”
“Then we shan’t waste a moment.”
Ra’s drew his decorated sword, and walked over to the edge of the building they stood atop of. He glanced down over the city. He opened his mouth to utter something profound.
Khafaash raced past him, and leapt off of the roof. Ra’s pursed his lips, then allowed himself to smile. He followed suit.
The master and apprentice cut through the air at breakneck speed. In synchrony, they flicked out their wrists, and cords sprang out, lodging themselves into buildings. This slowed their fall, and allowed them to dangle above the ground. They shook their wrists one more, and the lines disconnected.
All traffic had grinded to a halt, all drivers gazing on in awe. Bruce lowered his face, not wanting to be seen by the people of his city.
‘No,’ hissed Khafaash in the back of his head, ‘This is not your city. These are not your people. YOU ARE NOT BRUCE WAYNE!’
Khafaash flicked his head back up, and made direct eye contact with a driver. The driver was sitting in his hot pink Honda Accord, with his jaw hanging open. Khafaash marched over to the car, drew his sword, and slammed it through the windshield. The driver shrieked, and scrambled to the back seat.
“Out,” Khafaash ordered in English.
“Khafaash, this entire city must burn. All its citizens must die. This one is no exception,” Ra’s reminded him.
Khafaash slid through the shattered windshield, and gently placed his hands around the man’s throat.
“Ra’s, I must drive,” Bruce stated, knowing full well that the old-fashioned Ra’s wasn’t the greatest driver, “You deal with this man.”
“...Very well,” Ra’s said slowly.
Bruce took hold of the wheel, and began to drive back towards Wayne Manor. He had to make sure Alexis was okay!
Khafaash blinked, irritated. He whipped the car back around, and glanced back at Ra’s and the man. The man had already been killed, and Khafaash was slightly disappointed. He had been wanting to do it.
Khafaash swerved through the cluttered streets of Gotham while Ra’s flicked knives at passerby.
Soon enough, they arrived at a nice house nestled in a peaceful neighborhood. Mayor Wilson Klass’s home. It was three stories tall, with a white paint job. Bricks were placed in an arch around the deep green front door, and they lined the corners. A busy garden sat in the front, boasting vegetables and plants of every shape and size.
“This is it, Khafaash. The beginning of the end.”
Khafaash sauntered up to the front door, and knocked politely.
A few moments passed. They weren’t tense by any means. Just moments.
A woman with large brown eyes and long black hair opened the door. She had brass earrings sagging from her lobes, and full lips. Catherine Klass, Wilson’s wife.
“Bruce Way-?”
Khafaash yanked out his sword, but Bruce Wayne put it back away.
“Yes,” Bruce whispered, “It is-”
“The final seconds of your life!” Khafaash hissed. He raised his sword, and brought it down on Catherine’s head, splitting her down the middle. The two halves of the woman fell to the sides, and a small boy shivered in the doorway. Wilson’s son, Emmet.
“Daddy!” Emmet sobbed, “Daddy there’s a bad man!”
“Move aside, Khafaash,” Ra’s growled, shoving Khafaash out of the way. Ra’s stormed over to the boy, and drew a small jeweled dagger from his belt.
“Ra’s-” Bruce said, his voice wavering.
“There is too much of Bruce Wayne left!” Ra’s roared, “He is clawing his way back to the surface. Allow me to surpress him.”
Ra’s drove his dagger through the child’s chest, then grabbed Bruce’s head. He dragged Bruce close to the boy, and put his eye next to the submerged dagger.
“This is what being Ra’s al Ghul entails!” Ra’s boomed, “Are you not ready for this?”
“I-” Bruce began.
“It is too late,” Ra’s sighed, defeated, “You have returned. You bastard.”
“This isn’t me, Ra’s,” Bruce said, “I- I have to stop you.”
“Khaf- Bruce, there is no way you can stop me. But I respect you. Leave now, and you can die with your city. Stay, and I keep you alive, so you live with the guilt of knowing you had a hand in this,” Ra’s explained.
“Gotham is my home,” Bruce stated, “I’m not going to let it slip through my fingers.”
With that, Bruce socked Ra’s square in the jaw.
“That was for Emmet.”
Bruce swung his leg up between Ra’s’s legs.
“That was for Catherine.”
“But you killed her!” Ra’s croaked, swallowing the pain.
Bruce sideswiped Ra’s in the face.
“That was to shut you up.”
Bruce continued beating down on Ra’s, naming off victims of the League.
“Alright, Bruce, I’ve had enough of this,” Ra’s said, finally. He brought his dagger up, and let it sink into Bruce’s gut.
“I thought I was going to have to see Gotham fall,” Bruce groaned.
“That was before you used me as a punching bag,” Ra’s said, readjusting his jaw, “Now, I want you out of the equation.”
Mayor Klass raced into the hallway, and saw the grisly scene. He broke down, and didn’t even try to resist when Ra’s snapped his neck.
“Goodbye, Bruce,” Ra’s said.
Once outside, Ra’s set off a flare that exploded into a demon’s head.
PRESENT…
Batman stared Waller down coolly. Neither one of them budged.
“You’re telling me you’re willing to risk the safety of the world so you can feel better about yourself?” Waller chuckled.
“Don’t pick on his fragile masculinity like that,” a red-haired agent mocked. Agent Katherine “Katie” Kane.
“You,” Batman said, “You just seem to pop up everywhere, don’t you?”
“Just trying to keep my little cousin out of trouble,” Katie shrugged, “You’re trying to box an alien. To what- prove you’re not useless?”
“Bruce, if it’s validation you want, look no further than the Arkham incident. Or Solomon Grundy before that,” Waller said, “Now go home.”
“Give me the Phantom Zone Projector,” Batman ordered, “I know that’s where you’re keeping Zod.”
“We don’t fully understand the Phantom Zone. I’m sure as hell not going to hand a portal to it over to you,” Waller stated.
“Don’t make me take it from you,” Batman warned.
“Don’t make me send the Suicide Squad after you,” Waller countered.
“Bruce, just go back to your mansion,” Katie advised.
“Fine, we’re doing this the hard way,” Batman sighed.
Katie lunged at him, and struck him across the jaw. She followed up with a kick to the chest.
“Want to keep going?” Katie asked.
“I can handle martial artists. I just don’t want to beat up on my cousin,” Batman explained.
“I’m not letting you get that Projector. You’re going to have to go through me if you want it.”
Waller just smiled from the sidelines.
“Wipe that grin off your face,” Batman and Katie send at the same time.
“Alright, children,” Waller said defensively, holding her arms out.
Batman started with a quick jab to Katie’s stomach. Katie caught his fist, twisted his arm, and threw an elbow at his cheek. The blow landed, and Batman stumbled back, rubbing his face.
“I’ve been studying you ever since the Grundy operation,” Katie explained, “I know what you’re going to do.”
“Wha- why?” Batman asked.
“We needed someone to watch over you,” Waller said, “And Agent Kane has always felt a special connection to you.”
“So… there’s no way I’m beating you?” Batman asked.
“No, sorry,” Katie said with a fake sympathy smile.
“Blackbird?” Batman called out.
Katie and Waller dropped, shaking. A drone hovered behind them.
“Just for the record, I’m not a fan of sucker punching two very powerful people,” Tim said over the comms, then muttered, “And all this so you can patch your broken ego.”
“People keep saying that,” Batman said, “This isn't about ego. This is about relevance. Does Gotham still need a Dark Knight?”
“Bru-”
Batman cut the communication feed. He tuned his cowl scanner to locate anything extranormal. It picked up on intense radiation pooling up within one room. But it wasn’t any known type of radiation. Its signature was there, but the toxicity was non-existent. Like a phantom.
Batman made his way to the room through the rafters. Outside of the door was four heavily armed guards. Each was gripping a machine gun, with grenades strapped across their chests. No, not grenades. Surely they wouldn’t be equipped with grenades. Not around such volatile material.
Batman shot his grappling hook through the barrel of one of the machine guns, and swung it as to hit the other guards. Then, he soared to the ground quickly, punching another guard on his descent. He flicked out a Batarang, pinning the third guard to the wall. Batman hoisted the fourth guard up.
“What do you want?” the guard squeaked.
“I want through that door.”
The guard shakily swiped his keycard while Batman still held him against the wall. One of five lights blinked.
“Y-you need four more cards,” the guard explained.
“Don’t move,” Batman ordered, pinning him to the wall as well.
Batman zipped away, and hung above a guard that was pacing along a different hall. As he passed directly under him, Batman dropped, wrapping the guard in his cape like a cocoon. Batman stripped him of his keycard, and disappeared.
Batman returned to the room with the Phantom Zone Projector, and used his five keycards. The door slid open. The film projector-looking device was sitting on a pedestal.
“Red, you ready?” Batman asked, reopening the comms.
“In position,” Tim responded as a drone hovered over to Batman’s head.
Batman pressed a few buttons, and thrust a lever forward. A starry portal tore open. Batman leapt in. The rift closed behind him as Blackbird, the drone, pulled the lever back.
- - -
“I have a demon for a visitor,” General Zod muttered. He had been stripped of his armor, and was now in a black skintight suit.
Batman was facing down General Dru-Zod in the void that was the Phantom Zone. They floated weightlessly.
“Mars has demons?” Batman asked, ditching the raspy voice. Zod wouldn’t recognize his normal voice.
“I’m not from Mars, imbecile,” Zod growled.
“It’s a quip,” Batman explained.
“I’m not a quip,” Zod said.
“How about we just skip to the punching?” Batman suggested, realizing his trash talking wouldn’t get him anywhere.
“So you came to punch me?” Zod asked, “I guess killing you will at least provide some form of twisted entertainment.”
“You seemed to have no problem killing people in Metropolis,” Batman pointed out.
“That was targeted at Kal-El,” Zod said, “The others just stood in the way.”
“Here on Earth, we care about life,” Batman said.
“Everything about you screams hero, aside from the darkness,” Zod said, “I think I’ve seen you before. In different databases. Man-Bat?”
“Batman,” Batman corrected.
“The media seems to think you’re invincible,” Zod said.
“I’m not. That’s why I’m here. To see if I’m necessary when we have people like your Kal-El zooming around.”
“A trial,” Zod mused, “Inspiring. Well who am I to keep you from your trial. We shall battle.”
“Perfect,” Batman grinned.
“Will you even be able to navigate through this limbo?” Zod chuckled as he zipped around.
“I’ll do my best,” Batman said.
“And…?”
Batman sat around for a few more seconds.
“What are you doing?” Zod asked.
“Leveling the playing field,” Batman grinned. He grabbed Zod’s arm. Zod flew wildly, trying to shake Batman free. The rift reopened, and Zod flew towards it.
“Thanks for the ri-” Batman began.
“Bruce!” a voice called out. Batman looked around wildly, and found a young woman floating through the Phantom Zone.
Tam Fox.
“Tam!” Batman hollered moments before he was dragged back into reality, and the gap was sealed.
Before Batman had time to process anything, Zod began pounding on him. Batman rolled away, scrambled up Zod’s back, and put him in a chokehold. Zod unleashed bloodred eye beams, nearly shredding Batman’s arms. Batman grabbed a Batarang, and jammed it into Zod’s back. No blood came out.
“What are you?” Batman gasped.
“I am General Dru-Zod,” Zod growled, flinging Batman against a wall, “I am the Savior of Krypton.”
“I know that,” Batman groaned, “But-”
Zod glared at Batman. Then, he heard footsteps growing closer. He drilled a hole through the ceiling, and blasted off.
“Bruce, I can clear somewhat of a path for you… Just… Come home,” Tim begged.
- - -
Bruce stared out the window of his bedroom, over the sparkling bay of Gotham City. Wayne Manor was situated just on the outskirts of Gotham, on a hill. At the edge of the hill was a wall of cliffs below, leading to the glimmering water.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Alfred asked.
Bruce whipped around. Alfred wasn’t there. Alfred was gone. Alfred was never coming back.
But Bruce needed Alfred. He needed his guidance, compassion, and support. Tim provided compassion and support, but looked to Bruce for guidance instead of the other way around.
So maybe Batman wasn’t needed. Bruce sure as hell was. And Bruce needed Batman.
Batman was needed.
Bruce Wayne was needed.
Everyone was needed in their own way.