The last knight

ABSOLUTE UNIVERSE

Issue #5 — THE LAST KNIGHT

Opening

The world waits.

Nobody knows it.

Nobody feels it.

But something is changing.

The drones still fly.

The towers still watch.

The Bat-Citadel still hangs above Gotham.

Yet for the first time in centuries, Batman has stopped giving orders.

The systems continue running.

The contingencies continue calculating.

But Bruce Wayne sits alone.

Watching a sunrise.

Not analyzing it.

Not predicting it.

Simply watching.

---

Scene One — Alfred

Inside the Bat-Citadel.

Bruce walks through old halls.

Past trophies.

Past suits.

Past memories.

He enters a room he hasn't opened in centuries.

Alfred's room.

Everything remains untouched.

A chair.

A desk.

A teacup.

Dustless.

Preserved.

Controlled.

Frozen.

Bruce sits.

For a long time.

Then activates an old recording.

Alfred appears.

Older.

Smiling.

Tired.

Human.

ALFRED

«If you're watching this, Master Bruce, then either the world has ended...

Or you've finally learned how to live in it.»

Bruce laughs softly.

The recording continues.

ALFRED

«I suspect the second possibility is far less likely.»

Another laugh.

A genuine one.

The first time Alfred's joke has landed in centuries.

---

Scene Two — The League

The Justice League gathers.

Wonder Woman.

Flash.

Green Arrow.

Martian Manhunter.

Kyle Rayner.

Superman.

No emergency.

No crisis.

No battle.

Just waiting.

For Bruce.

He arrives.

No cape.

No armor.

Just Bruce Wayne.

The room goes silent.

Even Clark looks surprised.

FLASH

«Wow.»

GREEN ARROW

«Took him long enough.»

Bruce smirks.

BRUCE

«Don't make me change my mind.»

The room laughs.

Even Diana.

Even Clark.

Even Bruce.

---

Scene Three — Gotham

Bruce walks through Gotham.

No escort.

No drones.

No protection.

People recognize him.

But not as Batman.

As Bruce.

A child runs past.

Trips.

Gets back up.

Keeps running.

Bruce almost intervenes.

Then stops.

And smiles.

The child didn't need saving.

The child needed a chance.

---

Scene Four — The Joker

Bruce visits The Vault.

One final visit.

Joker sits alone.

Watching old footage.

When Bruce enters, Joker grins.

JOKER

«There he is.»

Bruce sits opposite him.

No glass.

No weapons.

No fear.

Just two old enemies.

Silence.

Then Joker notices something.

Bruce is smiling.

Not much.

Just enough.

The Joker stares.

Almost shocked.

JOKER

«Oh no.»

Bruce raises an eyebrow.

BRUCE

«What?»

Joker laughs.

A genuine laugh.

JOKER

«You figured it out.»

Bruce says nothing.

Joker leans back.

Still smiling.

JOKER

«That's not fair.»

For once, Batman doesn't need the last word.

He simply leaves.

---

Scene Five — The Transfer

Night.

The Bat-Citadel.

The League stands together.

The Omega Power burns above Earth.

A red star in the heavens.

Waiting.

Bruce stands before Clark.

No speeches.

No ceremony.

Just honesty.

BRUCE

«You were right.»

Clark closes his eyes.

Not because he won.

Because he knows how hard that was.

Bruce looks at the city.

At the world.

At the people.

Then back to Clark.

BRUCE

«I thought defeating Darkseid meant I had to carry everything.»

Silence.

BRUCE

«I was wrong.»

The Omega Power begins to move.

Slowly.

Like a tide.

Like a sunrise.

Like destiny changing course.

The energy leaves Bruce.

For the first time since he killed Darkseid.

The burden lifts.

---

Scene Six — Absolute Hope

The Omega Power enters Clark.

The sky explodes with light.

Not red.

Gold.

Blue.

White.

Hope.

The world feels it.

Children stop and look upward.

Families pause.

People step outside.

Across Earth.

For one moment.

Everyone looks at the same sky.

Clark rises.

Not as Superman.

Not yet.

Something greater.

Absolute Hope.

And yet...

His eyes remain kind.

---

Scene Seven — Bruce Wayne

The power is gone.

The universe waits.

Bruce stands there.

Human.

Entirely human.

No Omega Force.

No godhood.

No contingency.

No certainty.

Just Bruce Wayne.

And he smiles.

Because he has never felt stronger.

---

Final Scene

Days later.

A small house.

No cave.

No fortress.

No tower.

Bruce sits on a porch.

Coffee in hand.

Watching the sunrise.

The same sunrise.

The one he never had time to watch.

Birds sing.

Children laugh somewhere nearby.

The world continues.

Without him controlling it.

Without him watching every second.

Without him carrying it.

And for the first time in his life...

Bruce Wayne is at peace.

---

Final Page

Far above Earth.

Absolute Superman watches the world.

The burden already settling on his shoulders.

The responsibility.

The hope.

The endless possibility.

And somewhere inside him...

A quiet fear.

What if hope isn't enough?

Caption:

"Every Absolute believes they have found the answer."

"Every Absolute learns they are only the beginning."

TO BE CONTINUED...

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN

Issue #1 — TOMORROW WILL BE BETTER