Kasnia-2006
All the council members rose as Audrey, followed by Vox, stepped into the council chamber. There was a bombing at a police station in one of the larger southern cities and more civil unrest had occurred in the north. The queen had declared an emergency council meeting with all her ministers. Attendance was mandatory.
"Thank you all for coming," Audrey replied formally, her face covered by a veil as usual. "Sit."
All the ministers, except Vox, followed suit. Vox elected to stand beside her chair instead.
"Your Majesty?" Dimitri inquired nervously. "Where is Yusef?"
"I dismissed him as representative to the opposition."
"That's the second one you've dismissed after Dragovic in the past month!" complained the finance minister.
"The Northern rebels will win more support if they continue to see their representatives dismissed," the security minister warned.
"I let Yusef go because he failed to do his job. Like his predecessor, he promised to quell the rioting and it has only gotten worse. Either they aren't trying hard enough on purpose or are weak and incompetent."
"If I may, your Majesty," Dimitri cut in. "Dragovic still remains popular with the sects in the North. Bringing him back to the table will make things look better."
"Your queen doesn't negotiate with terrorists or thugs!" Vox warned. "Your Majesty, if you call Dragovic back, you will have effectively surrendered your power to him. He is the one encouraging the riots and unrest on purpose until he gets everything he wants."
"You have no proof other than speculation!" the security minister shot back.
"We all know Dragovic," Vox accused. "We all know he's an agitator and a traitor. He never wanted peace, only to make it look like he did so he could garner international sympathy."
"Vox is right," Audrey added, finally speaking again. She then lifted the veil off her face so all her ministers could see the heavy scarring. They all did their best to not flinch or squirm uncomfortably. Audrey stood her ground though and remained calm.
"Even if Dragovic isn't responsible for what happened to my face, there is no denying he still allies himself with many different groups that encourage this behavior. I called this meeting together for one sole reason. It is time we arrest Dragovic for treason."
The room went silent for a second. Dimitri however, immediately stood up angrily.
"Your Majesty, arresting Dragovic without solid proof will just reignite the war!"
"We're already at war, in case you haven't notice!" Vox complained. "We've let ourselves grow weak while the rebels grew stronger. It's about time we stop pretending we have peace and start fighting back."
"Your Majesty," Dimitri protested and walked over to the end of the table and got on a knee. "I have been loyal to you and your father. Please, believe me when I advise you against pursuing this reckless action. We can't throw away all the good work we've done the last two years."
"What good work?" Audrey asked rhetorically before pointing to her face. "You mean this? Dimitri, we've been at war ever sense they attacked me. Dragovic is the face of the rebellion. We strike him now, it shall give us an advantage."
"Very well," Dimitri said in defeat and weakly got up. "You can have your war without me, your Majesty. I will play no part of it. I resign."
Dimitri then made to head out of the room, but when he approached the door, he found the two guards blocking it. They pushed him back.
"Move!" Dimitri ordered in frustration. The guards instead grabbed him and dragged him away from the door.
"What are you doing? Let me go! I'm a minister in the government!" Dimitri protested.
"Not anymore, you just resigned," Vox noted smugly.
"Your Majesty!" Dimitri protested and struggled to try to free himself. "What is the meaning of this?"
"I'm grateful for your service Dimitri," Audrey acknowledged. "And I will let you resign in good time, but you've just been privy to some sensitive information. Until Dragovic is arrested, I can't afford to let anyone leave this room and attempt to warn him."
"This is ridiculous! You can't detain me against my will!"
"It will only be temporary," Audrey assured.
"Are you just going to all sit here and let this happen?" Dimitri complained and looked at the other ministers who seemed too scared to look up and make eye contact with him. "This is breaking our own laws and customs!"
"Hold your tongue, you fool!" Vox commanded. "Or the queen could actually have you charged for treason and insubordination. Would you rather be delayed here for a few hours or locked in a prison for the rest of your life?"
Dimitri stopped struggling at that and swallowed hard. He had gone from one of the more powerful men in his country to one of the most powerless.
"Does anyone else have any issues with us arresting Dragovic on treason?" Audrey asked while looking around the table. Again, the rest of the ministers all remained stubbornly determined to look down at the table or their laps.
"Very good," Audrey noted. "Send word to our men Dragovic is to be arrested on charges. If we strike fast, we can cripple the rebels before we re-engage them."
Batcave-2018
For what felt like centuries she stood there staring back at the aged man. His blue eyes continued to pierce her in shock and surprise. It was harder for her to read him due to all the thick, graying hair covering up most his face. For a second, she thought he had frozen up or had somehow been displaced out of time. Yet, she couldn't tolerate the creepy silence much longer and attempted to say something to hopefully start a conversation.
"Bruce…" she began but paused uncomfortably. What did she say to a man she hadn't seen in ten years? She struggled to find what to say and then swallowed hard and decided to be upfront as she could without being rude.
"I guess you want to know why I'm-"
"How did you get in here?" he asked in a suspicious tone, interrupting her.
"I-what?" she asked, startled by not only him speaking, but the fact that was the first thing he said to her.
"How did you get in here?" he asked again in the same suspicious tone. "I have alarms that can detect the slightest intrusion, including from unwanted visitors."
"Batwoman let me in," she said coldly. The emphasis on the word "unwanted" wasn't lost on her.
"Stephanie seems like a good girl," Diana noted. "Very spirited and tough."
"Why are you here?" he asked. "You have no business being here."
"I do-I mean…" she stopped herself before risking antagonizing him. She just needed to hold her tongue for a few more minutes and maybe she could convince him.
"I came here because I need your help," she admitted darkly. For another long moment, Bruce didn't say anything and just stared at her again. But, before she could find another way to restart the painful conversation, Bruce did something she never expected. He laughed at her. It wasn't a jovial chuckle or hearty snort, it was more of a mocking laugh. As if he got some sick pleasure in enjoying the current predicament she found herself in.
"Stop it!" she demanded. Bruce continued to laugh that it unnerved her. She never in all her years knowing him ever heard him laugh like that.
"Bruce stop it!" she complained again. "What's so funny?"
He managed to control himself again and smirked back at her.
"How desperate are you to come see me now?"
"I'm not desperate!" Diana denied. "I came here because you're one of the best detectives I know and-"
"Tell me the truth," he cut in. "Was I the first person you thought of visiting whenever this problem you're having emerged?"
Diana didn't answer his question. He didn't need one though. Her body language said it all.
"That's what I thought," he said with a triumphant smirk. "For ten years you and the others stayed away from me-"
"Only because you demanded us too!"
"And you were more than happy to oblige," he countered. "You thought you were better than me, didn't you? That somehow your foolish beliefs and faith in your mission made you the better person? And now you've come all the way here, begging for my help after everything. Even I find the irony of that amusing."
"I'm not begging! I'm asking! Regardless what has happened between us, I really need your help."
"Don't care," Bruce responded coldly while he turned his chair to face the Batcomputer again. "You can show yourself out."
"Why you-!" she swore and stomped forward. However, she froze right away and realized the dashboard was littered with what looked like liquor bottles. She also noticed canisters for drug medications. Curiously, she grabbed one to examine it and realized it was a prescription for pain killers.
"Bruce…"
"Leave," he hissed and snatched the empty bottle out of her hands, while giving her a glare. He then looked back at the screen and began to type. Diana remained standing there for a while, trying to ignore the sense of déjà vu bothering her.
"Listen to me Bruce," Diana said in a softer, calmer tone. "I know we have a history-"
"Which I successfully forgot about until you had to barge in here," he interrupted.
"Be as that may," she said, doing her best to avoid raising her voice again. "We can't let our pasts haunt us."
"Do what you want, I don't care," Bruce dismissed. "Just get out of here and never come back."
"I came here to ask for your help and this is how you treat me?"
"We had an agreement," Bruce reminded. "The League, including you, stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours."
"I-"
"Oh, uh it looks like you're already up," a voice noted uncomfortably. Both of them turned and saw Stephanie heading towards them, her hair still wet from her shower. She had on a long sleeve shirt and sweats. She looked uncomfortable at the notion of Bruce and Diana already reuniting without her being there.
"What did I tell you about letting people like her in our city?" Bruce asked Stephanie angrily.
"It was my fault," Diana quickly offered in defense. "I pressured her into taking me-"
"You stay out of this," Bruce snapped before looking back at Stephanie. However, the young woman just folded her arms and gave him her own glare.
"Yeah, I'm aware of our no metas, no Justice League policy. However, she came here with an interesting case and I think we should hear her out. It's not like we've been doing anything exciting lately."
"She only came to us," Bruce started, acting like Diana wasn't even in the cave. "Because she has no other choice."
"Alright, fine you're right!" Diana shot back in frustration. "I'll admit it! I didn't want to go here, but you're all I have left!"
She couldn't see his facial expression because he had turned his back to her to work on the Batcomputer again, but she could tell he was probably smirking.
"I don't know if you noticed, but the media has crucified me," Diana explained. "Something is going on, and instead trash like Godfrey used elements of this case to destroy my good name and reputation. Because of that, no one in the media or government will help me figure out what's really going on here."
"Get over it," Bruce replied without turning around. "Media has crucified me both as Batman and Bruce Wayne a thousand times before. I'm not here to help the League get you some good PR again."
"I'm not on the League anymore, they were forced to suspend me," Diana said. She saw Bruce's hand pause for a fraction of a second, before he resumed typing.
"Of course they did. Clark doesn't possess the stones to stand up for himself," he chuckled. "Told you we should've stayed out of politics."
"This isn't about politics or my reputation," Diana justified. "There's something going on. There's a terrorist organization called the Crimson Flame and they're-"
"If it isn't connected to Gotham, it isn't my problem," Bruce dismissed and finally spun the chair back around to look at her. "Why can't the League handle it?"
"Because the government is watching them like a hawk now and they won't be able to chase the right leads. The government, like the media, seems more intent to focus on me rather than the Crimson Flame. You're the only one I know who could investigate the case without interference."
"I could, but I won't," he flippantly replied. "Again, if it isn't related to Gotham, it is not my problem."
"That's not true," Stephanie butted in. "When I first worked with you, you spent a couple months chasing after the last few remaining members of the Society of Shadows across the globe."
Bruce glared at her for contradicting him.
"That was different," he muttered. "I had brought down Ra's al Ghul and his organization finally. I didn't want one of his followers to try to bring it back to life again."
"Still though, last time I checked, the Society of Shadows was an international terrorist group, not a local Gotham gang. I think we should at least let Wonder Woman talk."
Bruce looked like he was about to protest, but Stephanie had somehow befuddled him for the moment. Diana seized the opportunity to make her pitch.
"I don't know who the Crimson Flame is," she hastily admitted. "All I know is they made some threats a few weeks ago before things started to happen. I'm pretty sure they're behind the murder of the ambassador."
"Which ambassador?" Bruce cut in.
"Uh, Ambassador Vox…" Diana admitted, knowing how Bruce would probably react.
"The Kasnian ambassador," he added. "You keep proving me right today, don't you? Let me guess, this probably has something to do with the Fourth Kasnian Civil War?"
"I don't know!" Diana snapped, although truthfully, she had her own suspicions it was connected to that as well.
"I warned you and the League about getting involved in international politics like that. But, you all had to stroke your own egos and get the false adulation from the media. And now look, it has turned on you and you're trying to make me help you get back into that lifestyle."
"I really don't care about that!" Diana yelled in frustration. "Quit trying to make it look like the only thing I want to save is my reputation! Gods be dammed! I'm really worried about the Crimson Flame! Not only have they managed to destroy my name and hurt some people close to me, they've already started to carry out some terrorist attacks successfully and more will follow if no one stops them! I'm asking you to help me find them before more people get hurt."
Bruce weakly stood up in his chair and walked over to her. Even hunched over, he was still slightly taller than her. Both of their eyes met and she tried to remain strong and stand her ground. But, she couldn't help but falter in his glare. He was right, she was desperate. And that made her feel weak, which terrified her.
"Please," she begged. "You're the only one I can trust right now to help me."
He stared back into her eyes, as if he thought about what he would say carefully, before he cleared his throat.
"No," he whispered apathetically and then turned his back to her as he limped to his seat.
"So that's it? You're just going to forsake innocent lives and remain in your cave popping pills and drinking yourself to death?"
"What happens outside of Gotham is not my concern."
"They kidnapped a little girl!" she snapped. Bruce froze and turned slowly around.
"What?"
"Erik and-er I mean I found this girl on the streets last Christmas and took her in. I've been taking care of her. Her name is Anya and she's the sweetest thing. While I was being blindsided by the media, the Crimson Flame broke into my embassy. They nearly killed my secretary and kidnapped Anya. I respect your desire to stay out of global politics and foreign affairs, I really do Bruce. All I'm just asking is that you help me find Anya. The Flame has her and I don't know where they've taken her."
Diana couldn't stop the tears coming out of her eyes at this point and while she partially hated herself for crying in front of him, she hoped that would snap him out of his apathy.
"Please do it for Anya, it's all I ask. Help me find and rescue her from the Flame and I swear by Hera, I will never bother you again."
For the first time since they started talking, she noticed he looked uncertain and conflicted. Perhaps she had finally found the way to appeal to him for help.
"It is like when Tim went missing. I'm going through what you experienced. I'm desperate to find Anya and keep her safe."
She had grown accustomed to seeing Bruce caught off guard by her plea for Anya's sake that she was surprised at how all of a sudden Bruce's eyes narrowed at her and he clenched his cane tightly in rage. Diana could feel the tension rising in the room and remained perplexed by what had just happened. Her hearing picked up a faint "Oh crap" from Stephanie in the corner.
"Get out!" Bruce snapped angrily and with his free hand he pointed at the stairs. "I never want to see you here again!"
"Bruce, what is it?"
"Out now!" he reiterated. Rarely had she seen him raise his voice like that. His body started to shake and she could tell in his eyes he hated her.
"Why are you doing this?" she demanded. "What did I-"
"The old man's right, I think you should leave!" Stephanie urged and quickly rushed over to her. "I'll show you out!"
Before Diana could argue back or protest, Stephanie whispered in her ear.
"I'll explain everything upstairs," she promised. Realizing there was no point in trying to convince Bruce when he was angry like that, she quickly followed Stephanie up the stairs. The temptation to look back at Bruce became too much for Diana though and she looked over and found herself making eye contact with him again. She saw the hatred and anger in his eyes, but she also found sadness as well which confused her. Perhaps Stephanie would shine some light on what just had happened. Eventually, they walked through the secret door and entered the living room of Wayne Manor.
Diana briefly looked around and realized how alien it had become to her, just like the cave. The Manor however also seemed to be messier and lost much of the warmth and charm it once offered. It looked like if the place had become disheveled, like its master. Seeing the layers of dust everywhere made Diana conclude sadly that Alfred definitely had been dead for a while. He'd never leave Bruce, nor would he allow the place to fall apart like that. She then turned around to face Stephanie who looked extremely peeved at the moment.
"You almost had him," she complained. "But, you just had to bring up Tim! Why did you bring him up?"
"When he and I dated, I bonded with Tim," Diana admitted. "I didn't mean to hurt him, I was just pointing out I'm going through exactly what he went through when Tim was kidnapped."
"Oh, you don't know do you?" Stephanie suddenly pointed out sharply.
"Know what?"
"You never heard what happened to Tim did you?"
"What?" Diana asked. She had assumed Tim either remained in therapy or had healed and moved on, but estranged himself from Bruce. Honestly, Diana didn't like thinking about it too much. It made her mad at herself how when she left Bruce, she had also left people like Alfred and Tim behind.
"The therapy didn't work. He killed himself later within the year, in front of Bruce and Leslie."
Diana felt something constricting her heart, and briefly she couldn't breathe. She leaned over and grabbed the chair for support. What originally happened to Tim was terrible, but to find out he had taken his own life in front of Bruce was enough to break her heart. Gone was the anger she felt towards him and now she felt pity. She should've been there for Bruce. Hera, no wonder he got angry at her for bringing up Tim.
"I'll tell you what, since he's probably not going to be happy to see you again, why don't you give me the file and I'll try to pitch it to him? Maybe with me he'll keep a cooler head and look at this objectively."
At first Diana didn't want to hand over all the evidence she had on the Flame, especially after Shayera took a great risk to get it to her. But, at this point, she was out of options. Reluctantly, she pulled the large file out of her purse and handed it to Stephanie.
"I'll put my best saleswoman skills to work. I'll contact you when he finally decides to look at this."
Stephanie then began to usher Diana to the front door and opened it for her.
"I'm sorry today didn't work out for you," Stephanie apologized.
"I am too," Diana admitted. She stepped outside and made to fly, but stopped herself to turn around and face Stephanie before she closed the door. Something had bothered her upon learning about Tim's suicide.
"You said Tim committed suicide later that year, by what year did you mean?"
"2007. In fact, it was the night of Christmas Eve based on what the gravestone says," Stephanie answered. "Why?"
Diana felt herself almost falling backwards by the wave of guilt from the answer that her question had received. She knew that night had more significance than just Bruce losing Tim. It was the last time they had talked.
"No reason," Diana said weakly and tried to ignore the tears. She then turned around and flew off into the sky.
Metropolis
Diana opened the door in her embassy that led to her apartment. She didn't remember getting back in her invisible jet and flying back to her home at all. All of a sudden she seemed to have just realized she had parked back on top of her embassy roof. Her mind had been distracted by a lot of things, but none more than what she had discovered about Tim. During the entire decade while she and the League went their separate ways with Batman, she forced herself to forget about Tim and Alfred. Thinking about Tim just would hurt her and make her think of Bruce, bothering her even more. That was how she convinced herself to forget about him.
She just always assumed he would recover. He was a strong kid, or so she thought. What if she had been there for Tim, could she maybe have made a difference? Then again, Bruce would probably not have let her see Tim at all if she made an attempt in the past. Still didn't make her hate herself less. Tim had taken his own life, and she remained unaware for ten years. And it happened on the same day she and Bruce had their last talk. Maybe she should consider herself lucky that he only lost his temper at her at the end of the fight.
"Di?" a voice asked, interrupting her self-hating thoughts. She spotted Erik standing up from the couch and looking at her with concern.
"It didn't go well?" he asked.
"No," she admitted sadly. She half-expected Erik to give her a speech on how he warned her on going to Gotham. Instead, he walked up and embraced her.
"It's okay," he whispered. "You did all that you could, including doing things you didn't want to do to try to solve this yourself."
"I failed Anya and Etta, along with many others," Diana replied back.
"Don't talk like that," he urged. "You're a good person Diana and even you can't do everything yourself."
"You really think I'm a good person?" Diana asked slightly with bitterness in her voice. She then broke free from her lover's arms.
"Why are you talking like this?"
"I've been thinking, maybe Godfrey, Faraday, and the others are right. Maybe I'm not good at all."
She couldn't help but think of Etta bleeding in her arms, the hate of the audience at Godfrey's show, the video threat from the Crimson Flame, the warning Gordon had given her, and lastly, the screaming face of Audrey between the flames. She could hear those words of condemnation again and again. And then, Audrey's face merged into the face of a disheveled Bruce who glared at her with hate and pain.
"You're the kindest, most caring soul I ever met," Erik dismissed and tried to hug her again. "Your problem is you care too much."
"Really?" she asked in disbelief and she realized all she could see now was Tim.
"Really," Erik said, not realizing his words of comfort didn't seem to help Diana feel better as he hugged her tightly again. She just stood there, leaving herself alone in her thoughts.
Batcave
Stephanie stood on the steps leading down to the Batcave while she watched Bruce from afar. He was currently working out on the training mat. She noticed he had his brace on his leg and he seemed to be pushing himself a little harder than usual. Clutched tightly in her hands was still the file Wonder Woman had given her. Originally, Stephanie wanted to go down there and force Bruce to read it right away, but thought better of it and decided to give a couple of hours for him to cool off. Except, he seemed angry and bitter the whole day, until he finally decided to do an intense work out to blow off some steam. Hopefully, that would calm him down.
At the moment, Stephanie kept checking her watch. She was due to go out on patrol soon and Bruce seemed to be prolonging this particular training exercise. That must've been a lot of anger he needed to work off. Stephanie was about to complain that he would overwork himself when he finally stopped and walked over to wipe himself off with some towels. That was the cue she needed. Quickly, Stephanie rushed down the steps and headed towards him. When she reached the mat, she saw him downing a couple of pills.
"I'm no doctor, but I don't think you're supposed to take so much of those before and after you do an intense workout like that."
"Shouldn't you be getting ready to go on patrol?" he deflected.
"In a minute," Stephanie stated. "We need to talk."
"About what?"
"About how rude you were to Wonder Woman today."
"Rude? She comes into my house to try to guilt trip me into cleaning up her messes. She's lucky I even showed her the courtesy of at least talking to her."
"I still think we should've looked over the case," Stephanie countered. "If she was willing to come all this way and ask you specifically for your help, she's earned at least a minute of your time."
"She's earned nothing and never has," Bruce dismissed and took the brace off before wincing in pain. He grabbed his cane and began to limp away.
"Putting aside that whole soap opera drama you and she had," Stephanie said and hurried after him. "I kept the file from her case and have been looking it over. There's some interesting elements we should-"
"Throw it into the fire," Bruce ordered. "Or trash, I don't care. It has nothing to do with me."
"That's not what Gordon said," Stephanie interjected and watched Bruce stop dead in his tracks. He turned around and gave her an inquisitive look.
"What did you say?"
"Before we came here, I took Wonder Woman to Gordon to ask for his advice. He looked over the file and saw something. I mean I assume he saw something because-"
"What did Gordon recommend you to do?" Bruce interrupted.
"Well, he said we shouldn't take the case to you because-"
"He knows it would waste my time," Bruce finished and continued walking towards the steps to the upper level.
"No, you didn't let me finish!" Stephanie snapped in frustration. "He started freaking out on us as if he knew you would know something about the case. He was worried about us taking it to you!"
"Probably because he feared I would suddenly start getting involved with things I shouldn't be," Bruce offered as me made his way up the steps. "He's always worrying too much about me. He should've known me better though. I have no interest in this crap that Wonder Woman is trying to force us to get mixed up with."
"On the contrary, this case has our name on it!" Stephanie protested. "Murder, secret cults, possible terrorism, assassins? We're probably the only two in the world that can figure it out."
"Doesn't matter," Bruce replied without turning back as they continued to make their way up the steps.
"At least look at the damn thing!" she complained angrily and opened the file and started reading what she could find out loud.
"'The Crimson Flame originated as an organization to aid Turkish overlords in the Kasnian territories, but since evolved into a secret society…'"
"Like I haven't seen one of those before," he muttered.
"'Ambassador Vox had a decorated career as a symbol of the rebellion during the forceful occupation…'"
"I don't care for politics," he reminded.
"Alright fine! Well here's the information on the assassins at least!" Stephanie complained and flipped to that page. "They have funny names and gimmicks and what not! That has to appeal to a guy who fought villains called the Penguin or the Riddler!"
Stephanie stopped on the step to read the list of possible suspected assassins.
"'Based on the slashes with the Achilles tendons by a sword of some kind, five possible assassins have been narrowed down,'" Stephanie read the summary out loud. She didn't realize Bruce had stopped walking up the steps and had frozen suddenly.
"'The possible candidates are Azrael, Deathstroke, Katanna,'" Stephanie began before pausing. "Geeze, some of these names just sound cheesy like your old foes. 'Shiva, and-' hey!"
The entire file had been snatched out of her hand so quickly, it had taken her by surprise. It also alarmed her how he had gone back down the stairs to her level without her noticing. She realized he was suddenly reading the file intently.
"What is it?" Stephanie asked cautiously. "Was it something I read? Do you think you know who the assassin is?"
Bruce didn't say anything and quickly began to flip through a few more pages in the file. He read them and Stephanie thought she could see a burning intensity in his eyes that she hadn't seen in a long time.
"You saw something didn't you?" Stephanie said with excitement. "We're on the case now right?"
"Pack a bag," Bruce barked grimly.
"What?"
"Pack a bag. We're going on a long flight," he explained.
"I-er, what about patrol?" she asked.
"Get upstairs and get ready now," Bruce commanded. "Or you're not coming with me."
"Where are we going?"
"To Switzerland. It's time I had a chat with an old friend."
"Alright, should I let Wonder Woman know?"
"No!" Bruce barked angrily. "She has nothing to do with this!"
"But she gave us this case-"
"Doesn't matter," Bruce dismissed. "This our case, not hers. Last thing we need is her getting in the way again."
Stephanie thought about protesting some more, but gave up and began to run upstairs.
"Fine, whatever you say Boss," she replied mockingly. Bruce however, didn't really pay attention to her tone in that last statement. He was too busying re-reading parts of the file that stuck out to him. Quickly, he limped down the steps and made his way to the Batcomputer. Turning it on, he immediately opened a digital folder that was titled "Unresolved Cases."
Looking through the encrypted folder, he clicked on one sub-folder that was titled "Deathstroke."
"Finally found you again," Bruce said grimly as he opened the sub-folder.
Somewhere in the Australian Outback-2009
"I don't trust him Father!" Talia complained as she leaned over the desk where her father sat.
"He has continually proven to be the best soldier we ever had," Ra's dismissed.
"I don't doubt his effectiveness, I doubt his stability. What you did to him violates nature itself."
"We bathed in the Lazarus Pits for years to keep us alive a lot longer," Ra's reminded. "Some would argue that is a violation of nature itself.
"This is different. What you did to Deathstroke and plan to do across the world violates nature and the main purpose of the Lazarus Pits. They were meant to give life, not bring death and destruction."
"I've heard enough of your complaints," Ra's said, his voice tinted with his annoyance. "The Apocalypse will happen and finally allow me to save the world from mankind. This is what I've been working towards for over six hundred years. The Purge is upon us and I will not hear any more of your tedious complaints. Now please leave me."
Talia glared at her father and turned around to walk out. She opened the door and in alarm, froze to realize standing on the other side was an armored man in orange and black.
"Yeah I could hear you through the door," Deathstroke said smugly as if to confirm he could tell what she was thinking. Looking away from him, Talia squeezed by him and walked away. Deathstroke walked in and bowed his head slightly.
"You wanted to see me, Master?" Deathstroke said with reverence.
"I first want to apologize for some of the things my daughter said about you," Ra's explained. "She's just never been comfortable with this plan since we improved you and she has been like a petulant child ever since."
"You shouldn't trust her," Deathstroke warned. "I don't think those were just complaints. She seems to be really against what you're planning to do. If I were you, I'd handle her appropriately. I can do it myself if you want."
Ra's angrily stood out of his chair.
"You are not to harm a hair on her head," Ra's warned. "Talia is my daughter and even when she resists, she still remains loyal to me. She always has, and always will."
"If you say so," Deathstroke said in a disbelieving tone.
"Speaking of trust in loyalties, I called you in here because I'm starting to question yours."
"What do you mean? Haven't I faithfully served you for the last year and a half? Haven't I proven myself as the best disciple you ever had?"
"Yes, you have been a skilled member of the Society. We found you as a broken man, but then we fixed you and made you fulfill your true destiny. You have developed into our best assassin in the last six hundred years. But, I notice something that has bothered me. Twice, you have encountered the Detective on your trail. Both times, he hasn't been dealt with."
"Oh I did deal with him," Deathstroke assured. "I not only kicked his ass, I humiliated him both times. Killing him would rob the fun of that."
"I'm more concern if you have other motives for not killing the Detective," Ra's warned and walked around his desk to approach Deathstroke. "Is there something that's personally holding you back from killing the Batman? Some weakness or obstacle you can never overcome? Any lingering feelings that shouldn't be there?"
"There's nothing holding me back!" Deathstroke snapped. "I hate the Batman, more than you can ever imagine and you know it. Some of us just like to play with our food before we eat it."
"Well I want you to stop playing around. Within a fortnight, we will start the Purge and restore balance and harmony to this damaged world. If you encounter Batman again before we start the process, I want you to kill him."
"If you want me to kill him so badly, I can head over to Gotham right now. It will be easy. I can break into the cave and kill him while he remains vulnerable and completely at unawares."
"I don't want you leaving my sight," Ra's ordered. "With the eleventh hour upon us, I want you by my side at all times, ready to protect me if needed. Do you understand?"
"Yes Master," Deathstroke said reluctantly with a bow of his head. "I will honor your command and stay here."
"Very good," Ra's said calmly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I need you at my side when we establish a new and better world."
Deathstroke looked back up and made eye contact with his master.
"You are truly the son I should have been given," Ra's acknowledged. "My biological children have always been disappointments. You however, you have risen from the ashes to become my true heir."
"Thank you Master," Deathstroke said gratefully.
"I'm serious," Ra's assured. "I'm not long for this world. I will fix it in my own image, but I don't intend to rule it. I intend to pass that off to my rightful heir."
"You...you mean me?"
"Of course," Ra's answered. "Who better to carry on my legacy than you? That is why I need you at my side for now on. It will make the transition of power easier."
Deathstroke got on a knee.
"You honor me Master."
"Rise, my son," Ra's ordered. "You and I will save this world together from mankind."
Up next, Bruce goes to Switzerland to visit someone with possible information only to be confronted by someone else.