Disclaimer: DC owns the characters within, not I.
"Should I expect your return soon?" Alfred's voice faintly echoed across a vast rooftop. There were several beats of silence.
"Soon,"Batman's response finally came as he squatted down and placed a hand against a large stone gargoyle to steady himself. He glanced out across the city in front of him just a crash of thunder boomed overhead.
"Don't overdo it, you know you still have not fully recovered from the battle with Steppenwolf," Alfred's slightly scolding but still caring voice echoed in Batman's ear.
"I know my limits," Batman responded as surveyed the area below him upon hearing some voices. He saw it was merely a young couple walking along holding hands, oblivious to his presence. Batman watched them for a moment until they got safely inside of their car. He then shifted his eyes down the street at an oncoming car.
"Very well sir, another late night it is," Alfred stated.
"You don't have to wait up," Batman replied.
"I know... but I will," Alfred countered. Batman nodded his head slightly and then glanced up as a blast of lightning caught his attention. He tensed up when he saw what he thought was a silhouette on the building across from him. He focused his eyes and saw nothing. Batman shook his head, chalking it up to an overactive imagination.
"I guess I'm coming home," Batman said as he stood up from his position. He started to reach for his grappling gun when he heard the faintest sound of a footstep behind him. Batman lowered his hand from his belt and glanced out of the corner of his eye for any sign of movement. He turned fully to see there was nothing behind him.
Batman knew though he was not alone, he could sense it. He backed up from the edge of the rooftop to center himself on top of it. From this position, he was less likely to be sneak attacked. Batman felt a shift of air to his left and turned to it.
"Guess I still can't sneak up on you," a voice spoke from the shadows.
There was a flash of lightning that lit up the roof, giving Batman as look at who was speaking.
"You should know better," Batman responded as Deathstroke took a few steps to emerge into the dim light.
"Long time no see," Deathstroke said stopping just out of striking distance from Batman.
"Not long enough," Batman countered, turning to face him fully.
"I bet you say that to all the hired mercenaries you come across," Deathstroke stated.
"Actually... yeah I do," Batman agreed. "What do you want?"
"Oh... such a loaded question," Deathstroke answered as he steadied his stance, prompting Batman to firm his footing as well. Deathstroke nodded to the city behind Batman. "You have no idea what's really going on out there."
"Enlighten me," Batman said.
"There is no need," Deathstroke replied. "You are old... broken down... nothing more than a liability at this point, I'm here... I'm here to give you an honorable death."
"I'm not amused," Batman stated.
"I wouldn't expect you to be," Deathstroke reacted. "What's coming... what's happening... you won't be here to see it."
"I think you are overestimating yourself," Batman responded as he glanced down to see Deathstroke shift his footing in preparation for a strike. Deathstroke was quick to lunge, but his reflexes were enough that he sidestepped it and hit him with a quick kick in the back on the follow through. Batman spun to see Deathstroke steadying himself up against a wall.
"See... the only thing you are good for these days is your mind..." Deathstroke said as he turned to Batman.
"I don't know about that," Batman countered as he initiated the strike this time but found his punch blocked and felt an elbow hit him hard in the chest. Batman stumbled backward.
"The rest of the group... as powerful as they are, if you are gone," Deathstroke said as he landed a kick in the same spot his elbow had connected with earlier. "They will be lost."
"Nope," Batman replied as he anticipated the next kick and swatted it away to lunge forward and hit Deathstroke with a punch. Deathstroke barely registered the shot against his armor and countered with a series of kick punches to Batman's midsection backing him up against a brick wall. He threw a higher punch that Batman ducked, prompting the blow meant for him to shatter some brick.
"This is not going to end well for you," Deathstroke said before Batman landed a knee on his stomach, followed quickly by an uppercut that rocked him backward. The two regained their footing at the same time and began to circle one another, awaiting the next attack.
"I'm still waiting for you to enlighten me," Batman said. "Why are you really here?"
"I told you," Deathstroke replied. "I wanted to personally be the one to end you... one on one... as it should be."
"You say that like you are not working alone," Batman noted. "Who is paying you?"
"Someone is always paying me... it changes all the time," Deathstroke replied.
"Is it Luthor?" Batman questioned. Deathstroke was silent for a moment
"You don't get it..." Deathstroke began. "You can die here, at my hand, or I can let you go... and you will get to watch everything you worked for, all the years, be for naught."
"You are speaking in riddles... it's starting to irk me," Batman rebutted.
"You are the world's greatest detective right... figure it out," Deathstroke replied before he moved in to throw a punch that Batman dodged. Batman countered with an elbow to the back of his stronger opponent dislodging his footing once more. Batman then swept his feet out from under him with a kick. Deathstroke crashed hard to the ground but was up in seconds and on the attack once more.
Deathstroke jumped over Batman and hit a front kick that knocked him backward. He moved in only to be met with a response in the form of a jumping knee that made him bite down on his own lip. He tasted the blood even as Batman hit a series of punches into his sides. Batman had always been able to deduce the weakest points of his armor and exploited it. He swung down with his forearm, knocking Batman's strikes away.
"Not today," Deathstroke said as he used an opening to grab Batman by the throat and used his superior strength to slam him to the ground. He pinned Batman down and reached for one of his swords. Batman managed to wriggle free and use momentum to propel Deathstroke forward. Deathstroke managed a roll and got to his feet just as Batman did.
"So it is Luthor..." Batman began as he produced a Batarang and threw it at Deathstroke who used a sword to slice it down the middle. "Did you break him out?"
"Fewer questions, more fighting," Deathstroke replied as he brandished his sword, the lightning above causing it to illuminate brightly. "You are attempting to get information out of me... so you can run back and tell your super friends... but I already told you, you are not leaving this rooftop."
"This would assume there is something to tell," Batman replied before he quickly produced a rope and to it pull the sword from Deathstroke's hand. The distraction was enough to allow him to hit a flying kick to his chest that knocked him to the ground. Deathstroke reached for his sword but Batman kicked it out of his reach.
"I didn't want to do this... well... that's a lie," Deathstroke said as he pulled a firearm out and quickly got to his feet. He took aim and fired a shot at Batman who barely managed to avoid it. Batman rolled clear and threw a Batarang that knocked the gun out of his opponent's hand. Batman quickly went on the offensive and hit a sidekick.
Deathstroke countered a second kick and his Batman with an uppercut that lifted him off the ground and sent him to his back. Deathstroke ran over and retrieved his sword, allowing Batman the chance to get back on his feet. He had not readied himself for the sword slash that cut into the front of his chest armor knocking him backward.
Batman steadied his feet and prepared himself for another slash, this time he managed to block it with his gloves and countered with a group of punches to regain the upper hand. On the last throw, he felt a stabbing pain in his back and silently cursed at the injury that was slower to heal than he liked.
"What's wrong?" Deathstroke said as he backed up and caught his breath. He sensed with the last punch that something had happened to Batman.
"Nothing," Batman replied as he through another one, gritting his teeth through the pain. Deathstroke swatted the punch away and hit Batman with a headbutt that prompted him to gasp and see stars for a moment.
Deathstroke eyed his posture as he stepped back to regroup, pinpointing the injury. He smiled under his mask and then moved in quickly to leap over Batman and land a hard punch to his lower back.
Batman let out an audible groan as he stumbled forward and landed on his knees and fists. He started to stand but felt his legs go numb. Soon he felt another hard punch to his back, coming from above him. Batman rolled away and threw a smoke bomb into Deathstroke's face. He gritted his teeth and rose to his feet just as a sword came flying from the smoke and pierced his shoulder.
Batman stumbled backward up against a wall. He attempted to reach to remove the sword when Deathstroke quickly appeared in front of him and swatted his hands away. He hit Batman with another headbutt and then gripped the handle of his sword and began to sink it deeper into Batman's shoulder.
"I told you... you will not leave this rooftop alive," Deathstroke said quietly as he continued to press forward despite Batman's resistance against him. Batman in desperation through a headbutt of his own, it only managed to damage him more than his target though. "It... ends... here."
"For you," a voice from behind Deathstroke startled him. He turned in time to see a blast of energy hit him. His body crackled with electricity as he hit the ground and writhed. Batman stumbled forward feeling someone catch him just before he hit the ground.
"Hey... are you okay?" Victor's voice barely registered with Batman as he glanced over to see Deathstroke recovering. Batman moved to get loose from Victor's grasp to move towards Deathstroke but he collapsed to his knees.
"Stop him..." Batman said as he nodded to Deathstroke who was making his way towards the door leading down into the building beneath him.
"You are hurt," Victor countered as he knelt down to help Batman up once more.
"I'm fine!" Batman said curtly as he pointed to Deathstroke. "Just... stop him."
Victor watched as Batman lost consciousness and collapsed faced first to the ground. He heard the door open in front of him and saw Deathstroke disappear. He started to go after him but shook his head and knelt down to retrieve Batman's lifeless body off the ground before he took to the skies.
(****)
Bruce opened his eyes to see light invading them. He quickly closed his eyes once more and grimaced. He opened his eyes slower this time to allow for the light overhead. He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and glanced over to see it heavily bandaged. He could see the small red stain seeping through, reminding him of his last waking memories.
"Bruce..." a voice from next to him prompted him to turn his head to see Clark rising from a chair.
"Clark..." Bruce responded as he attempted to sit up only to be met with a hand on his chest from the opposite side of Clark. He turned to see Diana standing over him.
"You should rest," Diana's voice was stern but gentle. Bruce shook his head and sat up in bed, swinging his legs off of them nearly hitting Clark. Bruce got up and felt lightheaded. He fell forward to be caught by Clark who coaxed him to sit him back down on the bed.
"Is he always like this?" Clark asked as he glanced behind Bruce to see Alfred entering the room.
"More or less," Alfred replied as he made his way over to kneel down before Bruce with a light to check his eyes.
"Enough with the light... I'm fine," Bruce said as he swatted the flashlight away and rubbed his eyes. He got up slower this time and orientated himself to recognize he was in a bedroom in the old Wayne Manor, that had been fitted as a makeshift medical bay. He got up and walked out of the room towards the main hall. He opened the door to see Victor and Barry sitting at the table.
"There he is... how are you?" Barry asked as he quickly got to his feet.
"Annoyed," Bruce responded.
"So all is well then..." Barry replied with a side glance and a shrug to Victor.
"You sure you are okay, on that roof..." Victor began.
"That was just the beginning," Batman cut him off as he walked over and sat down in front of the main computer in the room.
"What do you mean?" Diana asked as she and Clark entered the room.
"Deathstroke kept talking in riddles but..." Bruce paused as he turned to face the group. "Something is going on... something we are not aware of."
"Like what?" Clark asked.
"I don't know," Bruce replied. "We have been so focused on attack coming from outer space... maybe we are being blind to one that's about to come in our own backyard."
"You think this Deathstroke is working with someone?" Diana questioned as she stole a glance at Clark.
"I know he is," Bruce replied." He is a hired gun... a mercenary... but no one paid him to come to that roof."
"I'm not following," Barry spoke up.
"That was personal..." Batman replied. "He kept talking about something coming... it was almost like he was trying to spare me from it."
"A cruel way to spare someone," Victor stated. Bruce glanced over at him and nodded before turning to Clark.
"Yeah... I think he is working with Luthor," Bruce said.
"We have to find him," Clark responded as he stepped forward and gestured to the computer.
"It's not that simple," Bruce said. "Guys like Slade Wilson cannot be found unless they want to be."
"So what do we do?" Barry asked as Clark walked towards him and leaned his hands on the table, the frustration clearly evident on his face.
"Keep our eyes open... keep doing what we have been doing," Bruce replied.
"We can't just go on and blindly leave ourselves open to attacks like that," Clark countered as he stood and turned back to Bruce.
"Clark's right," Diana agreed.
"I know... but how can we fight what we can't see?" Bruce replied with a shrug, prompting him to wince in pain and reach up to grasp his shoulder. Clark watched him for a moment before he turned and began to leave the room, walking purposefully.
"Where are you going?" Bruce asked.
"You say we can't find the person who did this to you... but I gotta try," Clark answered as he stopped and turned back to the room. Bruce nodded.
"I'm going with you," Diana said as she approached Clark.
"Same," Barry said rising from his seat.
"I'll search too, but not on land... in cyberspace... now that I know who we are up against, I can maybe see if he left a trail," Victor spoke up as he opened his palms and various data began to appear in front of him. "I'll also contact Arthur and let him know what's going on."
"We all have our assignments then," Bruce said as he took a deep breath and turned to the computer behind him. Clark continued out the door with Barry and Diana close behind. He stopped once they had reached the yard and turned to them.
"Barry... you take the ground, cover as much area as you can, he can't have gotten far in one night," Diana said. Barry nodded and disappeared in a flash in front of Diana's eyes. She turned to Clark. "You will take the skies?"
"Yeah," Clark replied.
"Care if I join you?" Diana asked with a gesture upward.
"I didn't know you could fly?" Clark responded furrowing his brow. He racked his memory in an attempt to discover if this was something he should have known.
"Well, stick around and I might have more surprises," Diana said with a grin before she rose up into the air. Clark watched her until she had nearly disappeared out of sight before he ascended as well. Soon he caught up and was flying next to her as they made their way towards the city.