Legacy Part I

"The End"

Written by Artemis, Story idea by WonderWoman

Summary: The death of the Justice League by Darkseid leaves a world in ruins.  This summary sucks intentionally. ;)  Batman/Wonder Woman, ANGST!!!!, romance, action/adventure.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, especially all these DC characters.   So nyah-nyah!

A/N: I'm juggling three storylines here, which will all come together eventually.  Please bear with me.

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Part I, Chapter I

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"Batman!"

She struggled against Superman's grip.  "I never got to tell him!"  Her tears fell easily as her own words rang in her ears.  "I never got to tell him."

"Diana," Kal's voice was low, "He's already gone."

He loosened his hold as the flames shot higher, plumes of smoke darkening the sky. 

"I hope his sacrifice was worth it . . ."

She remained mute next to the Man of Steel, her grieving eyes turning to the sky as Parademons emerged from the smoke.  Wonder Woman and Superman immediately took to the skies.  Even as she fought Darkseid's minions, she could not resist a glance to the fiery pit below.

I never got to tell him.

A smack to her shoulder snapped her out of her trance.  She buried her fist into the creature, relishing the pain that shot up her arm.  She grabbed it and swung it at another one, knocking them both from the sky.  Fighting with an unfamiliar fury, she struck them often and quickly, not stopping until blood from knuckles intermingled with the monsters' blood.

Diana.

She grabbed another one, crushing its head between her hands—too easily.  Thirst unquenched, her reddened eyes now scanned the skies for more.

DIANA.

Shadows passed on the ground below her.  She looked up and sneered, her anger propelling her body towards them.  A yank on her boot lured her attention away.

"Kal!  Let go!  An Amazon never runs from battle!"

"Diana!  J'onn's been calling us!"

Confusion passed over her features.  "I never heard . . ."

"Obviously.  Now come on!"

Diana glanced once more at the flock of demons high in the sky above, heading west, before returning her glance to Superman.

"Come on!  I'll explain on the way!"

She flew after him.  Movement in the inferno drew both hers and Superman's attention.

"Oh Hera no . . ."

She felt a hard shove from Kal, just as a beam of energy shot from the flames.  Diana's heart stopped as she watched her friend disappear before her eyes.  She barely avoided a second blast as she dove down, and flew low to the ground, never stopping until J'onn called to her.

Diana.

I'm here J'onn.  But Batman . . . and Superman . . .

I know.  I am in Central City.  Please meet me here.

I'm on my way.

Hurry.

I know J'onn.  I will.

She flew higher in the skies, never looking back at the ruins that were once the Eastern United States.

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"Push."

The command was hardly a command, given in a hurried whisper.

She bit her lip and turned her attention back to the present.

"That's it . . . it's coming . . ."

Tears pricked her eyes when she heard her young friend's muted joy.  The miracle of life inspiring awe, even as she squatted in the dirt muddied by her own fluids.  Her arms started shaking as she continued to prop herself away from the ground. 

"Just a little more!"

She pushed then waited.  The baby didn't wail. 

"What's wrong?  Why isn't he crying?" Her tone was demanding rather than frantic.  Her companion held the newborn close to her face.  She squinted in the dim light of the cave.  Her son stared back with bright blue eyes.  He looked so serious, as though he was studying her just as intently, forcing her to fight an amused grin.

"How did you know it was a 'he?'"

She shrugged, a small smile danced upon her lips, before her usual sad countenance returned as she placed her attention back upon her son.  Biting her lip, she examined him carefully, never raising her hands to touch him.  That would make her love him.  She could not, for what she needed to do next.

"He looks healthy.  Go."

"But—"

"GO!" Her whisper was full of threat.

"There's more.  You're not done yet."

"I am done.  Go."

"But the placenta, you risk bleeding—"

She turned her face and pushed herself off the ground.  Despite staggering legs in a pool of her own blood, she almost regained her aristocratic presence.  It would be enough.

"Go."

He ducked his head and cradled the bundle carefully with his deformed arms.  He limped away, only glancing back once, when a dull thud signaled her collapse.

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"You know not to come up here."  Batman had heard the slow shuffle across the roof.  So predictable.

"Hey!  I was jumping from these rooftops before you were a pointy eared cell swimming around your Dad's crotch."

Batman raised an eyebrow, but never stopped watching the Hunger Dogs below. 

"What do you want?"

"I know you think you're now an expert because you stand up here and glare every night."

Batman remained silent. 

"But Darkseid defeated, and killed, the entire League.  You can't take him on single-handed."

Batman growled, deep in his throat, but bit back a response.  His companion tentatively put an atrophied claw of a hand to Batman's shoulder.

"The entire Justice League."

Batman cleared his throat.  "Not her," he said with a touch of defiance.

"Eventually even her," and then softer, "Her death was the worst."

"What would you have me do?  We can't just keep fighting his demons."

"You want revenge.  I get that.  But what you want to do is suicide."

The older man watched Batman's masseter muscles clench and unclench.  So predictable.  He continued, his voice more earnest.

"Your responsibility is to the living."  He swallowed before continuing. "Not the dead."

Batman snorted.  "Isn't it though?  Isn't that what he did?  Isn't that why I wear this costume?"  He spat the last word, not bothering to hide his contempt.

Tim Drake could only shake his head.  His charge still had much to learn.

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Diana landed in what was downtown Central City and froze.  Smoldering ruins of buildings lay in heaps.  The dead spotted the landscape in pools of blood.  She knew J'onn and Flash had come here to investigate Intergang, as Shayera and John headed west in response to reports that Kalibak, son of Darkseid, had appeared.  She, Superman and Batman went straight to Darkseid himself, as the tyrant had based himself in a Metropolis airport hangar.  Diana and Superman were going to find Darkseid and fight him, giving Batman time to get inside.  Batman brought a detonation device to take out Darkseid's makeshift palace, which housed his portal that allowed his armies access to Earth.  

But their plan failed.   

Kal.

Bruce . . .

She bit her lip.  Why did she survive and they did not?

J'onn?

Diana.  I'm in what used to be the hospital.  North of your position.

She flew north and found the building, never landing, just continuing through the doors. 

"Great Gaea. . . Flash!"  She ran to the makeshift infirmary J'onn had set up.  Flash's costume was gone, now simply Wally, he lay on a hospital bed, intravenous lines running into both of his arms.  J'onn was wrapping the Scarlet Speedster's limbs in gauze.

"He has suffered third degree burns over much of his body.  I am afraid I may be too late.  Infection has already started.  All I can do now is make him comfortable."

Diana raised her hand over Wally's head and glanced at J'onn, who nodded.  She lowered her hand to his hair and caressed him gently.

"Di?"

"I'm here Flash."  She forced a grin.

He smiled back and closed his eyes as the morphine finally took effect.  She continued gently stroking his hair as she conversed with J'onn.

Any word from Shayera or John?

No.  I have tried to establish a link, but I can't focus on their minds.

Diana sighed.  She knew what that most likely meant. 

I'm sorry J'onn.  I failed you.

Diana, it's not your fault.  Batman knew the risk when he remained to detonate the bomb.  Superman made a conscious choice as well.  You cannot be responsible for the decisions they made.

Why does it hurt so much then?

It always does when you lose people you love.

She turned away from the Martian's gentle stare and looked at the young man lying before her.

This is all wrong J'onn.  We can't lose anymore.

What are you doing Diana?

Finishing this.  She was once again airborne and flew out of the hospital.

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The young man clutched the precious bundle closer to his chest.  Surprisingly, the newborn never cried.

"Aw, come on.  You must be hungry."

The infant's intense blue stare never wavered.

"Don't you sleep?  I thought newborns slept a lot."

He made his way through the dark, instincts guiding him.  He knew the tunnel leading to their cave, his cave, was around here somewhere.  The ground was sloping down rapidly.  He had to be careful not to trip.  Cursing his wretched form, he barely managed small steps on his deformed legs.  He had been one of Darkseid's slaves, but only after Granny Goodness broke all his limbs.  An example, a lesson actually, to her precious "Orphanage." He glanced down at the long scars on his arms, flinching a little at the memory of the whip.

But then she found him.  An angel. 

Her belly swollen in pregnancy, she caught the whip by wrapping it around one of her silver bracelets and yanking, throwing the old hag off balance.

"Lord Darkseid promised me a slave.  I choose this one."

Granny laughed, "The cripple?  You're a fool, Princess."

"I want him."

Granny stepped closer and dragged her ragged nails across the swollen abdomen.  "Enjoy what little power you have now Princess . . . as soon as the heir is born . . . " Granny moved her hand to the Princess's throat and grinned.

The Princess lifted him in her strong arms and carried him to her chambers.

"Leave us."

The parademons exchanged a glance.

"NOW!"

Whimpering, they took off.  She laid him on the bed and closed her door.  With no lock, she had to move quickly before Darkseid returned.  She knew the demons were probably betraying her at that very moment.

He watched her with worried eyes.  "You'll get in trouble."  His tears gave way to a crooked grin. "But I sure am glad to see you!" 

Resting a hand on her belly, she ran her other hand lightly over his legs.

"Oh Tim, what have they done to you?"

Shrugging, he said as casually as he could, "I'll survive.  What about you?"  He couldn't resist staring at her pregnant stomach.

"Darkseid thinks it's his.  Granny was right--as long as I'm carrying this child, I am afforded certain . . . freedoms."  A bitter smile flittered across her lips.

Tim frowned, "I don't understand.  Then who is the--"

"Rest now.  I will get bandages for your arms."

There were a million more questions he wanted to ask her, but his weariness betrayed him and he soon slept. 

Tim snapped to attention when his feet tripped over a rock.  The bundle in his arms stirred.

"Sorry little guy, I was day dreaming there.  Thinking about your mom actually."

Two crystal blue irises simply stared back.

"Hmm . . . I can't keep calling you little guy.  I need a name they'd both like."

The baby yawned.

"Well, as long as you don't care, how about I think about it later?  In the meantime, I know the entrance must be around here . . . somewhere . . ."

"Stop."

Tim froze and peered into the shadows. 

He died, didn't he? 

Had he in fact . . . survived?

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Batman flew down from his perch atop what was once, twenty-five years ago, Gotham Cathedral.  It was a place for him to think, as well as connect with the man who created Batman.  A man whose reputation he feared he would never live up to.  He felt like a fraud.  Sure, he wore the suit; he protected the small pockets of freedom fighters that made Gotham home.  But he had yet to find any of it satisfying.  All he did was keep Darkseid's minions at bay; he never fought a real battle.

He was nothing more than a bouncer outside one of those underground bars.

He paused in his self-loathing long enough to offer a gauntleted hand to Tim, who ignored the proffered hand and continued his slow repel with his own grappling hook. 

"You realize you have her to thank for your flying ability."

Now it was Batman's turn to ignore Tim.  Batman preferred not to think of her—too many conflicting emotions about her.  He was often successful in avoiding thoughts of her, except for just a few minutes ago and now, when Tim had to mention her and the Justice League.  Tim defended her for as long as Batman could remember, but he knew the truth.  His mother was a whore and a coward.

The two made an odd pair as they covertly ran back to the nearest sewer drain.  Tim stopped growing prematurely—malnutrition and trauma leaving him forever his teenage height at five feet one, as well a slight build due to his atrophied, disfigured limbs.  Batman towered next to him, six feet, six inches, as well as over two hundred fifty pounds of pure muscle.  Several alterations had been made to the suit over the years to accommodate his large size.  To Tim's relief, the young man had finally stopped growing.

"Hey—you boys done playing yet?"  A male voice came over the communicator in his cowl.

"Scott.  We're on our way back." Tim answered, correctly guessing Batman was not in the mood for small talk.

Stepping into the sewer tunnel as Batman held open the swinging grate, Tim turned to his brooding companion.

"What is it now?"

"I need to kill him."

"I told you.  You can't take him on alone.  Scott's working on a teleport tube.  We may be able to get help from another dimension."

Batman frowned.  "I need to fight, not sit around while Scott tinkers with his toys."

"And you do fight.  You protect all of us, hell, saved us—I don't know how many times."

"I'm capable of more than that and you know it."

"I'm not arguing that.  But no sense doing something we'll all regret later."

"I don't have any regrets."

"One of these days, you will."

Batman elected not to respond—he refused to be baited into another debate about his mother's character.  Instead he stepped into the sleek Batmobile that waited for them.  Tim pulled himself into the passenger side. 

"Home."

"Batman voice recognized."  With that, the car flew forward, hugging the curves of the sewer tunnels.  Black was the only thing this version shared with his father's Batmobile.  The rest was built by Scott Free, courtesy of stolen parts from Darkseid and fashioned with hybrid New Genesis technology.  Only a couple minutes later they were back in the Batcave.

"Hey guys!  I've made real progress . . ." Scott watched Batman brush past him, "What's wrong with him?"

Tim shrugged, "The usual.  Take Bruce's mood and multiply it by fifty."

Batman heard the comment but ignored him.  He kept walking to the deepest part of the cave.  Well out of their hearing and visual range, he allowed the shadows to envelope him.  Turning on his night vision, he crouched before his grave, the only man buried within the Bat cave, although that was simply because he and Tim didn't dare hold a funeral outside.  But, Batman had to admit, he probably belonged in the cave, alongside all the mementos of the real Batman.  This was where he came to think.  Sharing a cave with two other people, it was hard to find privacy.  But an unspoken agreement among the three men allowed this spot, by this marker, to be his and his alone.  Tim had long since said his goodbyes. 

Batman never did.

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