The Last Bat

Earth. The home of some of the most powerful beings in the universe is dying. A mysterious virus has plagued Earth and as soon as it came nearly half of the entire population died, even heroes weren't immune to the virus as the Justice League numbers were dwindling. The smartest beings on earth, Heroes and Villains, put away their differences and worked together to find a cure. Batman was in the Batcave typing away at the batcomputer and was on screen with Lex Luthor, Mr. Terrific, and the Flash.

"Have you made any breakthrough?" Lex Luthor asked Batman as he wore a highly advanced hazmat suit to help keep away the virus as best as possible, but even then it didn't help as all of them had strange spores on their bodies and their skin looked pale like a vampire.

"The virus seems to somehow mutant and adapt to whatever host it comes in contact with, leaving no chance for the body to fight back in any way. However, his blood seems different. I can't explain it but somehow it can fight it off, almost as if it is adapting to the virus and killing it off before it could spread." Batman explained

"So, my blood could be used as an antidote, or at least a vaccine?" Red Hood, aka Jason Todd, said. He didn't wear a hazmat suit as for some reason he didn't show any signs of the virus and seemed to be immune to it somehow. Jason Todd agreed to let them have and experiment with his blood to help save the world, although, he wished the others were still here in hopes of saving them too.

A couple of weeks after the virus struck Dick, Tim, Barbara, and even Damian passed away. Alfred, Batman, and Red Hood all were heartbroken over the loss of their families all over again but had to push on, for them.

"What about you, Mr. Freeze?" Flash asked Mr. Freeze before going into a coughing fit, blood spilling out

"My technology can slow down the virus but for it to truly stop it the host needs to be completely frozen. I'm not sure how long it will take for the virus to die off, or even if it can die off." Freeze said as he shared some notes of his using inmates from Arkham who were infected as test subjects.

"Flash?"

"We've been experimenting with Jason's blood as well as mine over at Star Labs, I was hoping that with my speed I could burn off the virus but unfortunately it didn't work, We tried heating up Jason's blood and we were able to make a breakthrough. His blood quickened up the pace of killing off the virus, so if we can find out just how it works we could make a-" Flash then erupted into a bloody coughing fit as blood flew from his mouth and he fell back

"Barry? Barry!" Batman cursed under his breath as Flash's screen went black.

"Well, that was unfortunate." Lex said as he coughed

"Just do what you can. All of you." Batman ended the call and coughed, blood spraying in his hand.

"You gotta take it easy, Bruce. You, of all people, gotta beat this thing." Red Hood said as he handed Batman a cup of tea.

"I'm fine, Jason. Go and check on Alfred." Batman said as he drank his tea, still coughing a few times. Red Hood frowned at the state Bruce was in, he kept praying to whatever God that would listen to keep Bruce alive. Red Hood left the Batcave and headed up some stairs as he entered a room. Inside lying down on the bed was Alfred, who was currently hooked up to multiple machines to keep him alive. Red Hood took off his helmet to show his black and white hair, white skin, and dark blue eyes. Red Hood walked over to Alfred and held his hand

"Master... Todd... Good to see you... My boy." Alfred said weakly, Jason smiled sadly and held his hand

"Hey Alfred. You're looking good." Jason said as he tried to deny what was happening to Alfred

"Haha... Thank you... Master Todd. How is... Bruce doing?"

"He's... Fine. Just stressing out a little, but we're getting close to a cure, I know it. Soon you'll be up and making sure I don't miss dinner. And make sure Bruce doesn't work himself too much." Jason grabbed a wet cloth and wrung it out before patting the wet cloth over Alfred's head. Alfred coughed and some blood dripped down his lips. Jason quickly wiped it off and held back his tears.

"Stay strong, Alfred. You're gonna outlive us all, gramps."

"Jason.... We both... Know I... Won't-"

"No! Just... Just no, ok? You're gonna be fine. Once you're up we can make dinner. I know pizza is secretly your favorite, and we can make cookies like we used to do." Jason said but Alfred placed a hand on his head and smiled.

"Jason..." Alfred said softly, A few tears dripped down Jason's cheeks as he rested his head against Alfred's chest.

"Not you... Not you too... We need you, Alfred. You kept this family together." Jason said as he cried softly, not wanting to lose his family all over again.

"I... Am so... Proud of... You... And Bruce..." Alfred said softly and smiled weakly "Get... Master Bruce... It's... Almost time." Jason went wide-eyed and wiped away his tears, nodding as he stood up and headed down to the Batcave.

Jason walked up to Batman and placed his hand on his shoulder

"Bruce... It's Alfred..." Batman gripped the armrests of his chair as he heard this. Taking a deep breath Batman stood up and the two headed back upstairs to see Alfred. The two knelt at his sides and held his hands, Alfred smiled at the two lightly

"I... Love you... Both. So so... Much."

"We love you too, Alfred. You... You're the heart of our family." Batman choked a bit as he took off his cowl "I... I... Thank you... For everything..." A few tears escaped his eyes as the monitor soon went to a long beep. Jason and Bruce looked down to see Alfred with his eyes closed and a small smile on his face. Jason and Bruce both hugged each other and tried to comfort each other over the loss of their beloved family.

Bruce and Jason stood over the grave of Alfred as he was buried with the rest of the family, both of them placing a rose on his grave just like the others. The two had their heads bowed down as they took a moment of silence for the loss of their family.

"I'm sorry... I let you all down. You all trusted me and I failed you all. But... I won't fail you, too." Bruce looked over at Jason and wrapped an arm around him as Jason tried his best to stop crying

"Come on, old man. We... We still gotta find a cure." Jason said as he walked off back inside. Bruce followed behind him as the two headed down to the Batcave. Bruce took another sample of Jason's blood and looked at Jason.

"Come." Bruce stood up and headed over to the Batcomputer and typed something in, suddenly in the center of the room a large pod came up. Jason walked over to it and examined it

"The hell? Isn't this one of Mr. Freeze's cryopods? Why do you-" Jason was cut off as he was pushed inside and Bruce shut the pod. Jason banged against the glass and shouted "Bruce?! What the Hell are you doing?! Bruce!"

"There is no time." Bruce said as he started coughing and fell to his knees, blood spewing from his mouth "I'm sorry, son. Live... For us." Bruce said as he stood up and walked back to the batcomputer and typed a few buttons

"No no no! Bruce! Don't do this! Bruce! D-" Jason was then frozen solid inside the cryopod. Bruce dropped back in his seat and panted.

"You... Have to... Live..." Bruce then made a quick recording of his last few moments, leaving behind a message for Jason. Bruce took one deep breath... And he was gone.

UNKNOWN TIME

A beeping could be heard inside the darkened batcave and suddenly an automatic voice spoke

Malfunction detected! Opening Cryopod!

The cryopod was then thawed and opened. Jason gasped as he fell down to his knees on the floor, panting heavily as he looked around. It was dark but Jason could see a flashing button on the batcomputer, Slowly getting up, and trying to remember how to walk, he made his way over and pressed the button as the screen lit up, but barely. He wiped away the dust on the screen and gasped as he looked over to his side to see the skeletal remains of Bruce in his Batman suit

"Jason." Bruce's voice rang out on the screen "I know... You're furious with me, and I don't blame you. But... I did it because... You needed... To live. I know... You still have that rage and darkness inside you... But I know... You can... Be the best... Of us. I... Love you... Son..." The recording ended and Jason knelt in front of Bruce's body, letting out a few tears as he cried.

After crying for a couple of minutes Jason put Bruce's suit away in the glass chamber along with the other's suits. Jason then put on his gear and helmet. He lifted Bruce's skeleton and headed up. When he came upstairs he was shocked to see that the manor was in ruins, the walls and ceilings were broken down and collapsed which made it hard to move around, everything was covered in debris, rubble, dust, and other crap.

"What the hell happened here?" Jason asked out loud as he was able to finally make his way outside to the back. Wayne Manor looked over Gotham City, and what Jason saw shook him to his very core. He saw Gotham City in complete and utter ruins, buildings were collapsed, large craters littered the streets, and everything was just... Destroyed. "What... What the hell?.... What the FUCK HAPPENED?!" He shouted, just how much time has passed?! Jason shook his head as he needed to take care of Bruce first.

Jason looked down at the makeshift grave he made for Bruce, burying him alongside the others. Jason used his knife to cut away at the vines and thorns that grew on the tombstones and cleaned them off of dirt. Jason then bowed his head

"I... I'm sorry, everyone. After everything I've done. All the pain and suffering I have given others... I shouldn't be alive. You all... Were the best of this world. I'm sorry... I'm so so sorry." Jason said softly. Clearing his throat Jason made his way back inside the ruins of Wayne Manor, Luckily the Batcave was still intact, unfortunately, the manor couldn't be said as well. Jason wiped off the dust from the glass chambers of the suits and opened them, taking out the weapons. Nightwing's Batons, Red Robin's bo-staff, Robin's katana, and Batgirl's tonfas. He saw a framed photo of him and the others, they all were wearing their suits but without the masks, and they were all smiling at the camera. Jason took out the photo and folded it up as he put it in his pocket. Jason then sat down at the batcomputer and just... Sat there. Wondering what the hell happened and what he should do.

"Hmm... There still seems to be some power left." Jason started typing away and looking at any information he could find to figure out what happened. He saw some news videos about the virus and the death toll, and he saw looters and rioters going nuts all over the world, but nothing as to what happened next. Jason cursed under his breath and sighed heavily. Slamming his fists down on the computer he stood up and walked over to the Batmobile, Taking one last look at the Batcave he sighed and got inside the Batmobile

"Thank God you always keep this thing full, Bruce." Jason muttered as the Batmobile roared to life and he sped out of the batcave, leaving Wayne Manor behind Jason raced through the ruins of Gotham and just drove off. He didn't know where he would go, or if there was anyone left. He just drove.

"So, do you have a plan?" A voice called out to Jason as he slammed on the breaks and looked around

"W-Who said that?" Jason asked, looking around he then saw Grayson in the passenger seat "Grayson?"

"Yeah, more or less." Nightwing said

"Great. Now I've gone insane."

"More than usual anyway." Robin said in the backseat, Jason turned back and saw the rest in the Batmobile

"You all are really...."

"Dead? You tell me, you saw us get buried." Red Robin said

"So what? You all here to haunt me?" Jason scoffed, Of all things to happen he had to lose his mind too.

"Not exactly." Batgirl said

"But we could." Robin smirked

"No, we're not here to haunt you. My best guess is that your mind is just trying to find some type of closure or some way to keep you from breaking." Batman explained

"So, I'm just talking to myself? Perfect." Jason said as he started driving again.

"Well, sort of. I mean, we're responding back." Batgirl said.

"But you're all figments of my broken, fucked up, and damaged mind." Jason said as he gripped the steering wheel and hit the gas, speeding up down the road. Jason gritted his teeth as he was heading straight for a building

"Jay, what the hell are you doing?" Red Robin asked as Jason kept speeding

"You need to stop, now!"

"Jason, don't do it!"

"You can't give up!"

Those words fell on deaf ears as Jason kept driving, getting closer and closer to crashing into the building

"GrrrAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jason screamed in rage and heartbreak as he quickly swerved right to avoid crashing, he then slammed his fists against the steering wheel

"How?! HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE?! WHY AM I THE ONE THAT LIVED?! I NEVER SHOULD BE ALIVE IN THE FIRST DAMN PLACE!!!" Jason shouted as he took off his helmet and tossed it aside. Jason gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he punched the steering wheel. The others had disappeared and Jason was left alone, again. Jason didn't know what to do, hell, he wasn't even sure if anyone was left alive anymore. He looked down at his hands and rubbed his face, sighing heavily as he started driving once more. He avoided the craters and debris that were shattered all over, memories came flooding into Jason's mind. He drove passed a diner where he and the others would come to after seeing the movies. Jason would always get the double-stacked cheeseburger with fries and a large chocolate shake, he chuckled coldly as he remembered Barbara warning him that he would get fat eating all that junk.

Jason drove passed a park that was leveled and destroyed like the rest. He would come here as a kid with his parents, sitting on the swings as his dad would push him while his mom would be on the swing next to him. He could hear their laugh echo through his mind. As he drove he then stopped in front of the GCPD, or at least what's left of it. Jason stepped out and looked at the destroyed building, while half of the entire building was torn down it was still standing, somewhat

"No matter what kind of Hell this city goes through it always stands strong. Guess you guys really do have that shit at heart." Jason said, taking a small moment of silence for all the true good, and lawful cops that worked here. Gordon being the best there is in the GCPD. Jason made his way inside and looked around, seeing desks flipped over, some debris, and saw some skeletons around the place. Jason saw some bullet holes around the place

"Hmm. From the looks of it, some rioters figured there was no point in following the law and decided to go nuts." Jason said as he started making his way to the armory where they kept good toys. Batman helped with making the doors to it damn near impossible to break in without the granted access, luckily he had that access. Jason opened a door, or more like it just fell down, that led down to the armory. Walking down the steps Jason looked at the steel doors and looked at the keypad, wiping off the dust he typed in the code. The door then opened and Jason saw the weapons inside.

"If this was way before now, I would be scared of what you planned to do with these things." Red Robin said as he eyed the weapons

"I'm still concerned about what you have planned." Robin said as he leaned against the wall. Jason grabbed a duffle bag and started loading up on some weapons. The first was a black AK-103 with a handgrip and holographic sight. Next was a British L96A1 sniper rifle. An MP5 with a flashlight and red dot sight was next. Lastly was a Remington V3 Tactical shotgun. Jason stuffed a few other weapons and gear and then started stuffing another duffle bag with ammo for his new weapons. Jason then left the armory and sealed it shut

"Still amazed that this thing even works. One hundred percent working forever, Batman guaranteed." Jason chuckled as he walked out and headed back into the Batmobile, setting the bags down in the back Jason got in the driver seat. He looked down at his phone, Tim was able to make their phones run forever without charge, how he did it Jason didn't know nor bothered to figure out

"Guess that's on me." Jason said to himself as he went to his playlist and started listening to music.

Jason drove off, he didn't know where he was going, if there even was somewhere to go, anything to see, or even anyone to find. He didn't know if he could truly live in this world, or what was left of it. He had nothing else to lose. Nothing to gain. Just a dead man out of time. Nothing but the music and the sound of the engine running was heard as Jason drove off. Leaving his home for good.