AUTHOR'S NOTE: Welcome to Lost Souls Remain! This is a dark DC fanfic set in a post-apocalyptic world. I have several projects I'm working on right now, so I don't know how frequently I'll update this fic, but it's currently holding my brain hostage and demanding I at least start the story. I'm hoping I can stay focused on it and keep updating regularly.

Comments and votes are always appreciated. Thanks for your support!

ONE: The End Was Just The Beginning

"Hello? Is there any intelligent life out there? I need your help!"

The message came in over technology I'd thought was long dead. The radio was ancient, and its partner had been lost in the apocalypse. As far as I knew, I was the only survivor.

"Hello? If you can hear me, please answer me! Hello? Anyone?" The voice begged. Whoever this girl was, she was terrified.

I sighed before replying, "I'm here."

"Oh, thank goodness! Where am I? Why is everything in ruins? Who are you?"

"This is Gotham City, or what's left of it. Everything is destroyed because Lex Luthor unleashed the end of the world and pretty much blew up the planet. And I'm Rob-"

I hesitated. Bruce was dead... Everyone was dead. What the hell was the point of having a secret identity anymore?

"I'm Dick," I said. "Dick Grayson."

"Dick... I'm Kara," she replied. "Kara Zor-El. I'm looking for my cousin, Kal-El. You would know him as Superman."

I cursed silently. I was not looking forward to telling this girl that her cousin was missing and presumed dead.

"I'm going to track this transmission, Kara," I said. "I'll find you, and we'll figure the rest out after."

I carried the radio with me as I left the safety of the Bat Cave for the first time in three months. I knew it might be a trap. I knew I might finally end up dead like everyone else... But if there was the slightest chance that Kara was an innocent who needed me, I couldn't leave her out there alone. Besides, it might be nice to have someone else to talk to.

There was carnage everywhere. I tried not to look at the bodies. I couldn't handle seeing proof that anyone else I knew was dead. I'd found Alfred's body two days after the attack. That had sent me into a meltdown. I was already broken from everything else that had happened...

I'd seen so many friends die. I'd watched Lex's machine rip Bruce apart right in front of me while I was powerless to do more than scream. After everything calmed down, I'd retrieved him and Alfred and buried them side by side in the same cemetery where Bruce's parents had been buried. I owed the two of them that much. 

I forced myself to focus on the present. The radio's signal wasn't far. I stealthily walked in the shadows for a few blocks until I spotted a spaceship on the ground. It was sparking and was probably going to blow up any second.

"Kara?" I called softly.

I spotted a girl with blonde hair standing behind the ship. "Dick?" She asked nervously.

"Yeah," I replied. "It's me."

She looked incredibly relieved to see me. The fact that she instantly seemed to trust me surprised me. Life with Bruce had taught me to be suspicious of everyone, and the end of the world hadn't exactly changed that, but something about Kara's innocent blue eyes made me decide to trust her, too.

"Come on," I said. "We can't stay out here. It's not safe." I began walking back toward the Bat Cave, so she followed me.

"Do you know my cousin? I have to find him, Dick. I have this terrible feeling that he's in trouble," she said.

I sighed. "Clark's missing, Kara. Honestly, there's a very good chance that he's dead. Everyone is dead."

She shook her head. "He's still alive. He's strong..."

"They were all strong," I mumbled.

"Dick..." She hesitated. "My entire home planet was destroyed. I lost everyone, but my cousin survived that. He'll survive this, too."

"I'm sorry, Kara. I know how strong Clark was... Is. But I saw a lot of strong people die after Lex's plan was unleashed. It makes it kind of hard to keep the faith."

She softened a bit. "Sometimes, when it seems impossible, having hope is what keeps us going," she said.

"I've been running on fumes," I admitted. "I've just seen too many people I cared about die. I'm all out of hope."

"Then I'll hope enough for the both of us."

Suddenly, a massive creature approached us. I moved in front of Kara automatically to protect her. She might be a Kryptonian,  but I wasn't about to risk one of Lex's underlings finding a way to kill her.

"King Shark is a shark!" He informed me.

"Yeah," I replied dryly. "So I've heard." I prepared to fight.

"Did that shark just talk?" Kara asked in confusion.

"He does that, although he doesn't really know many words," I replied.

"King Shark is a shark!" He shouted. Apparently, I'd offended him.

As King Shark tried to bite my head off, his head suddenly exploded. Kara shielded me from the blast as I stared at the dead shark in confusion.

"Sorry, Sharky," a voice I hadn't heard in three months said. She knelt beside him, touching his body gently as she added, "You're free now."

I'd recognize the pigtailed lunatic anywhere. "Harley..." I said softly.

"Robin! You're alive!" Harley cried. She pulled me into a tight hug, confusing the hell out of me as usual. "Good for you!" She added.

"You saved us," Kara said. "I'm Kara... Supergirl."

"Hiya, Supes," Harley replied, shaking Kara's hand. "Harley Quinn. Nice to meet ya!"

"Harley... How are you still alive?" I asked. "I watched Joker's head get blown off. It was the only part of all this that I actually enjoyed."

Harley started to cry. "He killed my Puddin'!" She sobbed. "He thought he got me, too. I played dead. I've been spying on his operation ever since. I'm on your side, Robin. He has to pay!"

"Why does she keep calling you Robin?" Kara asked.

"Secret identity," I replied, hoping Kara wouldn't use my real name in front of Harley.

Harley sniffled and wiped her tears away. "He's got the original Supes," she said.

"Superman is alive?" I asked.

"Yeah. Wondy, too."

For the first time in three months, hope crept back into my heart. "Wonder Woman..." I shook my head in shock. "They survived... They're alive," I whispered aloud.

"Yeah, but don't get too excited. They're not themselves."

"What do you mean?" Kara asked.

"Lex's machine mutates good guys. It turns the ones who are strong enough to survive evil. I'm talking way more evil than me. They're basically killing machines," Harley explained.

"My cousin could never be evil. He's pure of heart," Kara protested.

"That's how it works," Harley replied. "The more pure good they were before, the more pure evil they become. Trust me, it ain't pretty."

"We'll save them," Kara said firmly. "There has to be a way. Right, Robin?"

"Right," I agreed, although I wasn't so sure. The good guys hadn't exactly fared well in this fight so far.

"We should get indoors," Harley said. "It's safer."

I hesitated for only a moment before letting Harley follow Kara and I into the Bat Cave. If he was still alive, Bruce would have killed me, but he wasn't, so...

Stop it, Dick, I scolded myself. Don't think about that. It doesn't matter right now.

"Whoa..." Harley mumbled as she looked around. "Nice place!"

"Welcome to the Bat Cave," I replied.

"Awww! You have a pet turtle!" Kara said.

"What? No I don't," I replied in confusion. That was when I noticed the turtle in her hands. I nearly started to cry.

"Gar?" I asked softly, scared that I was hallucinating. It wouldn't be the first time since everything had happened.

The turtle suddenly transformed into a green boy, causing Kara to squeak and drop him on his butt. "Busted," Garfield Logan, also known as Beast Boy, replied. "I sort of followed you guys in."

I pulled him to his feet and flung my arms around him. "You survived!" I said as I hugged him tightly. I almost began to cry in relief, but I held myself together.

Gar could be annoying sometimes... Okay, a lot of the time, but he was one hundred percent one of the good guys, and with him being even younger than I was, I felt the need to protect him. It was a relief to realize that one of my friends was still alive after all.

"I've been staying in animal form, adapting to whatever situation I found myself in," Gar explained. "I thought I was the only one left, but as I was flying through the sky as a parrot, I saw Blondie's ship crash. By the time I found the ship and followed your trail, you guys had already met up with Harley, so I followed you here."

"I'm Kara," she explained. "Or Supergirl, if you prefer. I'm Superman's cousin."

"I didn't know Superman had a cousin! Welcome to Gotham City, Kara."

"I can't believe this," I said. "I'm not alone after all."

"Nope! You've got us," Harley replied cheerfully. "We're your own team of ragtag misfits seeking justice!"

I was about to protest that we weren't a team when I noticed the way they were looking at me. Kara and Gar both had so much hope in their eyes.

Kara was full of faith that we could set things right. She was brave and determined, and she was counting on me to help her.

Gar was smiling brightly, but I could see the pain behind his facade. He was just as traumatized and broken as I was.

Harley might be a lunatic, but she'd lost the one person who mattered to her. She needed this as much as any of us did.

I knew what I had to do. I shifted into leadership mode, because that's what I do, and I said, "Alright, team... It's time to figure out our next move."