1 The End

My name's Dick Grayson. Former Robin the Boy Wonder. Current Nightwing. And today is a day I never thought I would see. Today is the day the Justice League died.

I say died because we don't really have another term for it at the moment. We've had the experts from STAR Labs in to look into the residual energy, and from what we can tell, they weren't teleported anywhere. They just stopped existing.

It was a day like any other for them, I had just finished a patrol of Gotham with Batman, when a priority alert came through on his communicator, I asked if he needed help, but he replied in that gruff tone that only Batman could pull off a single word. "No"

That would come to be the last word he ever spoke to me. It's been two weeks, and they're just gone. The world hasn't fallen into chaos just yet, but their disappearance creates a unique oppurtunity for someone to take their position in the world.

I mean it's not everyday that 20 of the worlds greatest heroes just aren't here anymore. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom, Black Canary, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Shazam, Zatanna, Green Arrow, The Atom, Doctor Fate, Plastic Man, Firestorm, Power Girl, and Mister Terrific. All gone in an instant.

For weeks now the world is in mourning, but none more than the superhero community. We lost friends, mentors, family. I lost my father, and for what, to save the world. Well what is the point in saving the world if you aren't here to see it Bruce. The Bat-family as we have grown to be called is meeting up for the first time since the incident. All except Damian. He contacted me once since we lost Bruce to tell me he was going to Smallville to be with Jon.

I know the hurt he is going through better than most, and I know the only way for him to heal is time. I know he'll be back when he's ready. We don't meet in the manor, we don't even meet in the cave. We meet on top of the GCPD building that houses the bat signal. It's only right that we meet up here, to say goodbye.

The last few years have been rough. First we lost Alfred, and now Bruce. It didn't feel right to go anywhere near the manor. The final resting place of Bruce Wayne - The Batman.

I make it to the roof first, or so I thought, I look to the doorway, and see a man there, not quite ready to turn the light off, but he knows that Batman is never coming. The Commisioner looks over at me, and says "Hey Dick, how you holding up?"

I look at him confused, "Sorry, who's Dick?" Gordon lets out a chuckle.

"I only played the game for him Dick, I've known who you all were for years. So I'll ask again, how are you doing?"

I try to keep my composure, but I can't Commisioner Gordon may not have been in my life quite as much as Bruce, but I trusted him just as much. And I let my guard down. "Not great to be honest, hard to say goodbye you know"

"That's what I always liked about you kids, even though you spent all your time with him, you still became some of the best people I have ever known."

"Jim. Stay. We're saying goodbye tonight. Up here."

Gordon hesitates for a minute "I've said all I need to say to him, this is a time for family"

I try one last time to get him to stay, "Jim. You are family. He never said as much, but we all thought it. You were as much one of us, as the rest of us. You have every right to be up here."

"That means more to me, than you could ever know. Give Barbara a hug from me", and with that Jim was vanishing down the stairs, back to the precinct below.

It only takes a few minutes for the first of us to appear, and surprisingly it's Jason. He takes a moment before approaching me, and removes his helmet. He gives me a hug, that's how I know Bruce's death is hitting him more than he's letting on, but I say nothing, and we wait for more to arrive.

Next up is Tim and Stephanie. The irony of the Robins turning up in order of their appearance isn't lost on them, and they all let out a brief smile before remembering why they're actually here. That's when Barbara arrives.

I go over to her alone, and give her a hug, as she wipes tears away. Seeing all of us here has taken it's toll on her.

"So. Your Dad knows who we all are."

"What! Really? Even me?"

"Yep, we just had a chat, he's giving up the charade, he's known for years. I'd like to think that's why he and Bruce worked so well. They both knew the truth, but pretended they didn't"

"That sounds just like Dad, and Bruce"

Barbara, and I keep hold of one anothers hands, god knows we need the strength, but that wasn't the only reason. If Bruce's death brought one good thing to us, it's that Barbara and I truly found one another again.

Over the next fifteen minutes, the rest of the family arrives. Cassandra, Duke, Kate, Luke, Jean-Paul, Harper, Harley, and even Clayface turned up.

We waited another twenty minutes for our final member to arrive. We were about to give up hope when we saw her, standing a few rooftops away, but clear as day. Catwoman, Selina Kyle. As soon as she caught my eye, she solemnly nodded, as if to say, this is as far as I can go, I'm sorry.

And we got underway. A lot of things were said about Bruce that night, both good and bad, but that was how he was. There was no perfect man behind the cowl, for Bruce Wayne was the mask, and he was Batman.

No! Why are they here? Tonight of all nights, why are they all here. From Penguin to Riddler all his rogues were here. All except the Joker, he had vanished at almost the same time we lost Bruce.

Penguin stepped forward, and removed his hat. "Not tonight, tonight we say goodbye. Whilst we all may have been his enemy, tonight we pay our respects to our greatest foe"

For one brief moment, we all stood in harmony, was it wrong to let all these villains to just leave after we all said goodbye? Maybe. But tonight wasn't about them, it wasn't even about us. It was about him. It was about the end of The Batman.

----------

After a while the crowd whittles down to just 5 people. Myself, Jason, Tim, Barbara, and Steph. There are too many things left unsaid for tonight, and we all know that, Bruce had so much of an impact on all of our lives than we could possibly imagine.

As everyone starts going their seperate ways, it starts to rain down on this lonely roof. I shout out.

"Wait!"

They all turn around, it wasn't often they hear me yell. They knew this was serious.

"This isn't what Bruce would've wanted. He would've wanted us to rally. He helped build the league, and in an instant it's gone. We are his legacy, but so is the league. This isn't the end of the league. This is our beginning."

Barabara turns to me, "What are you saying Dick? You're going to make a new Justice League?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying Babs. And I need you four to help me."

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