frightened about taking on Bane. I didn’t want to be the next one with a broken back.
Azrael was not as easy to find as Deathstroke. Well, at least, not until I remembered that Batman had placed a tracker on Azrael in case he ever broke free. I was able to track Azrael to the ruins of Arkham Asylum. The Joker had detonated a bomb there before he died, and Bruce had been unable to stop him. The asylum hadn’t been repaired ever since. The inmates had all been moved to Blackgate Prison. Azrael was kneeling on the floor when I walked in. I assumed he had been praying. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I’m here to take you back to prison, where you belong.” Azrael laughed.
“Do you know who I am, boy? I am Azrael, knight to the Order of St. Dumas. I will cleanse the world from evil by stabbing my blade into the hearts of wrongdoers. You are no match for me.”
“Michael, the Order is manipulating your mind. Can’t you see? They’re using you. They’re using you to carry out a dark reckoning against the criminals of this city.” Azrael was once a sane man, Michael Lane. He was the best football player I had ever seen, and he became a policeman. But that was before the Order came to him. “You’re better than this, Lane.”
“Lane is dead. I am Azrael, and I will do whatever I must to complete my mission. I will not fail my masters.”
Azrael instantly rose and leaped towards me, with his sword in his hand. I hadn’t been prepared, but I dodged the blade just in time. Azrael and I fought for quite a while, but eventually, I was able to break his sword and stun him with the electricity from my staff. I placed handcuffs on his hands, and took him to the GCPD. When I arrived at the holding cells, I found that Hush, Firefly, Man-Bat and Professor Pyg were already in their cells. Selina and Jason were there waiting. I told them I’d be back as soon as I finished off Bane.
Bane was hiding in a toy factory next to Wayne Tower. He was obsessed with stuffed bears, God knows why. When I tried to open the door, I felt Bane’s unforgiving strength for the first time, as he kicked me in the chest, knocking me down instantly. I had never faced off against Bane, but I knew how dangerous he was. Compared to me, he was a giant. He must’ve been taller than three times my height. Bane’s strength was given to him by a drug called Venom, which also drove him insane. That might explain his addiction towards stuffed bears. Bane looked at me straight in the eyes, and I looked back at his. His eyes were glowing green, as if an LED light had been implanted behind his eye. We began to fight. I feared that I wouldn’t be able to defeat Bane, and unfortunately, my fears were right. After a few minutes of combat, he broke my staff. Bane grabbed me and threw me halfway across the factory. In a single minute, I experienced more pain than I had ever endured in my entire life. I could barely move. When Bane reached me, I closed my eyes, waiting for him to deliver the final blow.
Suddenly, a dark figure came flying out of nowhere, and destroyed Bane’s backpack, which contained the Venom that gave him his strength. Within a few seconds, Bane was reduced from a hulking giant into a scrawny little man. The dark figure finished off Bane, and then turned to me. He spoke: “You still have a lot to learn, Dick.”
I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was Bruce. He wasn’t dead after all. He explained to me that he was the one who set off the explosion at Wayne Manor, and that he had done it to protect me, Robin, Catwoman, and everyone else he loved. He took off his mask and spoke in an ominous tone: “Dick, I can’t do this anymore. It’s time for someone else to be the Batman. You are my heir.”
I thought about what Bruce had just said. He had just invited me to become the next Batman. He continued speaking. “Dick, you’ve been a great friend. The best I could ever ask for. You’ve stood by me through my darkest hours and I’ve done the same for you. You were there at the beginning, and now, you get to see how it ends.” Bruce took off his armor and handed it to me. “The world needs a new Dark Knight.” He took the grapnel gun from the utility belt, aimed it at the sky, and fired. The rope that came swirling from the gun attached itself to the Batwing above us, and Bruce soared up into the air. That was the last time anyone ever saw Bruce Wayne. I took off my suit, and put on Bruce’s armor. It fit me perfectly. I took the grapnel gun from my own utility belt and attached it to the belt of the Batsuit. I shot the grapnel towards a nearby building, soared up into the air, and spread by new cape. It was a little hard to navigate with the cape at first, but I had gotten the hang of flying rather quickly. I had used a cape during my time as Robin, but it had been years since then. I looked to my left, and I could see the Batwing flying off in the distance. “Goodbye, Bruce,” I said quietly.
EPILOGUE
ONE MONTH LATER...
I stood on a gargoyle high above the streets of Gotham. I had never seen the city from such a high distance from the ground. It was so beautiful. I had given the role of Nightwing to Robin. I hadn’t really thought about who would become Robin after Tim Drake. I think that Stephanie Brown might be able to do it. She was one of the most talented gymnasts in Gotham, and she was also a vigilante. She went by the name “Spoiler.”
No one else knew about the talk Bruce and I had last month. Heck, no one knew that he was still alive. When Bruce and I met for the first time, I had asked him why he dressed as a bat. He gave me a pretty reasonable answer: “Criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot. You’ve got to give them something to be scared of.” Now, I represent the Dark Knight’s legacy. I am the one who strikes fear into the hearts of criminals. I thought about what Bruce had told me for the first time in what seemed like forever. Criminals really are a cowardly and superstitious lot. What will happen when they have nothing to be scared of? Who will protect Gotham when the legend of the Dark Knight ends?
It didn’t really matter now. It likely won’t matter for many years to come. From the gargoyle where I had been standing, I leaped and spread my cape wide, gliding above Gotham City. I am the new guardian of Gotham. I am vengeance. I am the night. I am Batman.
Nightwing: Shadow of the Bat Page 2