We begin with flashes of MOS. The destructive battle between Superman and Zod through the ruins of Metropolis. Superman pleads with his fellow Kryptonian to cease his madness...but it falls on deaf ears. The hero has no choice but to break the villains neck. The sound of the crack and screams of anguish fill the room...Clark Kent awoke in his bed, filled with the feelings of guilt and regret. If he could go back in time to change things, he would. The haunting memory of Zod's death at his hand had only increased with the passing years...Lois Lane could only reason that he did what had to be done, but it did not ease that regret and pain.
Out of his bedroom window, The Memorial Park was in view. Built after the destructive mess was cleared from the ruins and ash left behind. It simply added to the pain...
He heard a storm brewing to the East...a thousand miles to the East and another sound. An unusual sound. Superman would investigate.
The unusual sound he heard was that of a submarine...firing of a single nuclear warhead. The destination, according to the readings onboard the sub, was Metropolis. As it flew under the night sky and over the land, so did the Man of Steel. The thing seemed like a juggernaut, defying Superman' attempts at stopping it. He couldn't push it back, so he decided to push it up. The alien and the warehead soared further and further, reaching past Earth's atmosphere. A mighty explosion. Superman was victorious. Now, he was to confront the attackers....
"We have done Mother Russia proud"
But before the celebrations could even start, the submarine began to jerk and rock. Something was repeatedly and violently attacking it from every angle...Fire and debris rippled through the water as the sub was destroyed. Even a shocked Superman could do nothing for those inside.
Screams. Police Sirens. Gunshots. The three most common sounds in Gotham City.
But tonight, it was almost deathly silent. The rain was calm, almost tranquil to listen to...Peace was very rare, but it was here, for some reason. Of course, some maniac's insatiable appetite for murder would bring an end to the peace.
Inside a broken down warehouse, a woman dared to even make a sound, as she tried her hardest to hold back her tears. She didn't know whether the scarred man enjoyed it or not, if he got some sort of sick thrill. He was taking his time, she'd been waiting for her torment to end for what seemed like days.
He would feed her and let her drink, even let her go do he business, if needed. But he wouldn't let her go.
"Please, let me go...I dont want to die"
"Every sow goes to the slaughter..."
"Then do it, already."
"Not yet. You still want to live. You've got to want death because you want to be free of life..."
Zsasz was looking to break this girl down, til she begged him to end her existence.
But she'd have the last word.
"They'll find you in the end..."
"Probably. But I'll be sent back to Arkham, to rest my weary head..."
"He'll find you before the police do! He's looking for you!"
"It's impossible"
"And you best pray to God when he -"
"HE'S DEAD!!! I SLICED HIS HEART OUT!!! I KILLED HIM!!!...He begged for death when his little Robin died...and I gave it to him"
"Keep telling yourself that, you sick freak! You're done!"
"DIE, *****!!!"
Before his raised knife could fall down to enter her flesh, an explosion of bricks and debris came from behind. The killer fell to the ground. His face filled with fear as a huge flying Bat came hurtling towards him as he tried to pick himself up. It knocked him down, hard. He was out cold.
The drone flew over to the girl, where a short heat blast broke through her bonds.
"I knew it. Thank you, Batman"
Inside a damp dark cave, thousands of bats screeched high above. On a computer screen, hundreds of live images are showed the Bat Drones patrolling and fighting crime in Gotham City.
Tired and burning eyes scanned each and every image on a large computer. Slight grey around his temples, sporting a moustache that wouldn't suit him in a hundred years, according to his Butler, Bruce Wayne sat slouched in a chair, his face resting against his fist.
Approaching behind, Alfred stood by him.
"Everything alright, Master Bruce?"
"Fine. Zsasz was caught"
"What about the girl?"
"She's alive"
"Thank the Heavens...and the Bat Drones, of course!"
"What are you doing up at this hour?"
"The bloody thunder woke me. Hell of a storm picking up! If you want, sir, I can take over for you? Keep an eye on things?"
"It's fine, Alfred. Thanks. You head back up. Try and get some sleep."
"With all due respect, sir, I wish the same for you"
Bruce slowly turned his chair around to face butler. His bloodshot eyes meeting the ones filled with old warmth. He tried his best to reassure.
"Don't worry about me. I'm not a child anymore"
"You're not Batman anymore either, but I still worry all the same. Come to think of it, sir, I worried about Batman less, than I do with who you've become now. Because at least I knew who he was, who you were. "
"Alfred -"
"No, sir, listen to me. All this business, with the drones. While of course, I respect the things you've done with them, I more so hate what they're doing to you. Everything. It's been about ten years now, since you last came down here, since Gotham last laid it's eyes on The Batman...After what happened, why are you going back?"
"Batman, is dead, Alfred. He's not coming back. That's why the drones exist. I can never go back...but I can still help"
"But you've been doing amazing things with the Wayne Foundation. You help so many, in so many different ways with that, sir. So, why this?"
Bruce rose from his chair and placed his hands on the computer, his head lowered to his chest.
"Because, I just can't handle these feelings anymore...
"What feelings, sir?"
"Guilt. Anger. Hate...
"For whom?"
"For myself...For EVERYTHING I've done. I abandoned Gotham...I failed Dick and Barbara. I got Jason killed
...I killed, 'HIM'. I let the guilt, anger and hate get to me...and for all these years, I've felt everything I did about the Joker, for myself...and I can't bury it anymore. I ran away from it, because he'd won. I lost...and I have to do something, now. Something to put Batman's - my sins, right...I'm tired, now. "
"I'm sorry, sir...I'm so sorry"
In the distance, Bruce saw the past...the withered and worn, unused costume of the Batman. He placed his hand upon the glass case...and punched it, with all his guilt, anger and hate in one single blow, before collapsing to the floor...
"Mother. Father. I'm sorry"
The following days were filled with chaos. Russia denied giving any orders to attack the US. While they investigated, they wanted a full US investigation into what caused the destruction of their sub. To the mother land, it was Superman that caused the destruction and the deaths of the men onboard. The US promised they'd investigate, even going as far to draft Superman to the UN building in order to question him. Some believed he was innocent, others however, like the Secretary of Defense, John Anderson, seemed to believe the Alien was not so truthful when he protested his innocence. Whether he was innocent or not, Anderson discussed with General Swanwick, that the Alien could be a threat to National Security.
"I believe him, Mr. Secretary"
"Well, frankly, I don't know what to believe. But the evidence we're collecting seems to suggest he destroyed that submarine. The President and I both had heated discussions with the Russian President and the head of the Ministry of Defense earlier. It's not good, General"
"What's happening?"
"Well for starters, they're after the Alien's blood. Whether these men were renegade or not, Russia seems to think the idea of him being permanently contained is something that we should be considering and I don't know whether to agree with them or not. And it's not just them that think that as well."
"Mr. Secretary. I don't believe he destroyed that submarine and I don't believe he's -
"That's just the thing. He IS a threat. Not one single country is happy that he considers the United States his home. I know he claimed he wasn't going to get involved with government affairs, but how is the world supposed to believe that?
Stopping the warehead was commendable, but destroying the submarine and murdering those men onboard? Whether innocent or not, he's a political liability. The whole things a nightmare. This could start another world war"
"So, what are we to do?"
"I'll have to think about it, discuss it with a few people. Before it gets anymore out of hand"
In the city of Metropolis, Superman was praised left, right and center. Despite the accusations against him, an event was to be held, in honour of his continuing protection. In Memorial Park, thousands flocked to witness the Mayor of Metropolis handing Superman the key to the city and unveiling a solid gold statue of their angel.
"Thank you, everyone. Thank you, so much. It's overwhelming, I must say, to be treat in such a kind manner, by you all. Of course, you probably all know, I'm currently under investigation over some terrible accusations...I don't know exactly how I should address the matter. Perhaps I shouldn't talk about it to dampen the mood for you all. Personally, while I'm flattered and humbled, I don't think I deserve any of this. I did the right thing - stopping the missile. But so do a lot of people out there who don't receive the credit they should be gaining. I'm bullet proof. I can fly. I can bend metal with my bare hands. But it's not my powers that make me a hero to you all. It's my spirit. You all have that spirit, too. You don't need powers to be a hero. All you need is that courage, determination and most importantly, the heart. You're all capable of amazing things, together. Together, you're more powerful than I'll ever be. It's you, you, and you, all of you...All of you that fights for Justice and Truth, that can have that power. The world can be a terrifying place to live in...but together, I know we can make brighter days. Never give up on hope and never stop fighting for the right thing. Thank you"
The crowd erupted into cheers and applause.
Watching the event live from his high rise office, in the tallest building in the city, was Lex Luthor. Lying on a couch with his feet propped up, his head resting on one hand and slurping on a can of Red Bull with the other, he watched. The drink really didn't give him the energy anymore, he just liked the taste of it. He tossed the empty can towards his waste bin beside his desk. It went straight in, much to his delight, punching his fist in the air.
"YES!"
Mercy Graves, a woman trained to near physical perfection, Lexcorp's Vice COO and friend to the chairman, came into his office.
"Working hard as usual, I see!"
"Why does that THING get a statue?"
"What?"
"Everything I've done, right? Not just for this city, but for the world in general, and I've never had a statue built for me...I've never had a key to any city."
"Well, you've never stopped a warehead from blowing up places though, have you?"
"Well, you know me, Mercy. If it ever happens again, just give me 10 seconds to think of something and 50 seconds to build it...then I'll be called the hero"
"Come on, Lex. Are you really THAT jealous of him?"
"I just find it frustrating. Obviously, the Russian Submarine that fired the warehead, was trying to kill him. So, that's the second time he's brought trouble to our doorstep...and these blind sheep are calling him an Angel and rewarding him with keys to cities and creating statues out of his image. I picked up the bill for the mess he left behind and they've quickly forgot that. How many close calls are we going to have before they realise his presence in the city, and the world itself, could potentially get us all killed? It's beyond insane. "
"That. And the fact you're totally jealous of him"
"...One day, they'll see the truth about him...I'm going for a game."
"Lex...you haven't forgotten have you? Morgan's interview with the Daily Planet is happening tomorrow. And I did try again, he wouldn't accept the money."
"It's sorted. The only place he'll be in that hack newspaper is in the obituaries...Have you seen my basketball anywhere?"