AL GHUL'S FORTRESS
Ra's Al Ghul surveyed the Lazarus Pit being created by the relic.
All was going well so far; the Justice League had not yet caught on to his plans. By the time they got here, his work would be done.
He smiled to himself. Perhaps the Detective had been able to stop him before, but back then, there had been a limited number of Lazarus Pits with which to flood the world. With the relic's powerful Chaos magic, Ra's could create many Lazarus Pits wherever he wanted in the world- then unleash their full power on the masses.
Before the sun rose, all his dreams would be realized, and the utopia that was Earth would finally be freed from the greedy hands of mankind.
The Detective might already know this, Ra's acknowledged. But without the might of the League behind him, he would not be able to stop the plan in this late stage on his own.
"Well? Did you find him?" Ra's demanded, turning to face the two assassins who had just entered the room. They bowed immediately.
"The Cheetah woman killed him," one reported. "She threw the Batman over the edge of the waterfall."
Ra's stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Was the body recovered?"
There was a pause. Then: "No."
"Then he's still alive," snapped Ra's. "How many times do I have to tell you not to underestimate him?" He addressed the second assassin. "You there!"
He looked startled at being talked to directly but nonetheless stood to attention.
"Mobilize another group and search for him. Do not rest until you do. And have the guard around the perimeter doubled. I want him found." Ra's turned away again, dismissing them.
"Right away," the first assassin assured, and the two of them left hastily.
BATMAN POV
The second assassin hurried down the hall. Damn it, he was sore. After Cheetah had thrown him over the waterfall, he had barely managed to grapple away from his death and climb his way back up the rock face. He had been bleeding profusely at that point and upon feeling faint, had been forced to crudely cauterize his stab wound before moving on.
The best way to get in now was the path of least resistance, which was why he had donned the unconscious assassin's clothing over top his armour, pulled his cowl down and the assassin's mask on, and blended in.
Now, Batman was doubling back to the Lazarus Pit room. He had to be sneaky about it, as Ra's would see him coming for the relic a mile away.
It was fascinating, really, what Ra's planned to do. It was Project Orpheus all over again, but no satellite required. With the Chaos magic, Ra's could create Lazarus Pits in key areas and cause them to overflow. It would be difficult to stop once the process was started. Which was why Batman needed to get the relic out of the picture first.
And to think no one understood why he hated magic.
"What are you doing?"
Batman stopped and turned around. Talia Al Ghul stood several feet behind him in the hallway, hands on her hips.
"Patrolling," he said with a bow, changing his voice to have the same accent as the assassin he had interrogated. Talia. He couldn't believe that he had trusted her, especially after that shoddy story about how Ra's was after her. He had known something was fishy about that- Ra's wouldn't just assume she was dead, he would have made sure.
Talia's glare was suspicious now. She walked forward. "I do not recall ever meeting you. What is your name?"
Batman really had no idea, so he took a chance. "I have no name, I do the work of the Demon."
Talia's eyes pierced his, and a moment later, her glare fell away. "Beloved!" she whispered. "I thought it was you. You hide your face and speak like our assassins, but I would recognize your lovely blue eyes anywhere."
Dammit. He really needed to invest in colour contacts if his eyes were really that recognizable. Or maybe Talia was just smart.
In seconds he had thrown enough batarangs to have her pinned against the wall by her clothes. She didn't resist, didn't even struggle when he pulled out a canister of knock out gas.
"I can help you get in," she said breathlessly. He paused.
"Why would you help me now?" He growled, narrowing his gaze. She seemed unfazed.
"My father was going to kill you," she said. "Believe me or don't believe me, but I cannot side with the man that lies to me, not anymore." She paused. "The wall beside the second door on the left is fake. Press the darkest brick and a door will reveal itself and will bring you straight back to the Lazarus Pit. In arm's reach of the relic."
Batman looked into her eyes, searching hard. She looked steadily back at him. Her gaze was genuine, not seducing, not fleeting like before.
She was telling the truth, he decided. Still holding her gaze, he opened the canister of knockout gas and held it in front of her nose. She inhaled, coughed, and fell silent within moments, her head drooping down to her chest.
Batman cautiously followed the directions Talia had given, and found the bricks moved aside with a heavy slide to reveal another door. It swung open at his touch. It was too easy...
He once again surveyed his surroundings. It was a large, expansive room, computers and tech in one corner, with many workers milling about the place.
The middle of the scene was really what concerned him. The Hindu relic, a very unassuming statue of a many-armed, blue goddess whom Batman, with his extensive knowledge, knew was Kali, the goddess of destruction and rebirth...
Yeah, he should have seen the signs of Ra's Al Ghul behind this.
The relic emitted an odd sort of light, floating gently above the Lazarus Pit that Ra's had created. The only thing he could think of at the moment was to take it out.
He had to admit to himself that most of his hatred of magic came from the fact that it wasn't scientific- not easily understandable. He found himself wishing for a moment that a magician from the league was here- Dr. Fate would be most suited to dealing with Chaos magic.
As he took a step forward, just feet away from the Pit, he noticed something else- Ra's was nowhere to be seen. His heart jumped.
Ra's would never just abandon his little project to the hands of his workers. No, he would be in this room the whole time, which meant if he wasn't in Batman's line of sight-
He swung around, just in time to avoid a hypodermic dart. It made a quiet little schick sound as it zoomed past him.
"Well done," said Ra's, almost admiringly. He stood where Batman's blind spot had previously been, cloaked in shadows and loosely holding a hypodermic dart gun and a remote in one hand.
Batman knew his cover was up and widened his stance. Talia had tricked him... And he'd been so sure this time...
"Who are you?" Ra's asked curiously. "The Detective? I imagine it must be you. No one else would be able to find this door."
Batman hesitated internally. Talia's information wasn't Ra's doing? He didn't dwell on it, but calculated whether he could grab the relic before Ra's could stop him. He decided he could, and leaped for it.
His fingers brushed against the statue- and suddenly a huge shock went through him. With a pained yell, he was thrown back and hit the wall violently with a thud.
Ra's observed him groaning and slumped on the floor with amusement. "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Swiftly, Ra's pulled Batman's head wrappings off, revealing Bruce Wayne's glaring face.
Bruce reached behind him and pulled the cowl attached to his suit back on. "With you involved, it usually isn't," he acknowledged.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, Detective?" replied Ra's. Even as he spoke, a group of assassins was clustering around them; and now, emerging from somewhere unknown, the metas of the Injustice Gang. "It's fitting that you're here to witness my greatest plan yet." He paused.
"And your least original," Batman ground out between clenched teeth. How did he keep hitting the same broken rib over and over again?
Ra's chose to ignore that comment. "Isn't it wonderful? The magic will replicate whatever I choose, in this case the chemicals of the Lazarus Pit, and wherever I choose. Anywhere. Tokyo, Dubai, St. Petersburg, Cairo, London, Toronto, Metropolis... Gotham..." Batman growled as Ra's continued on in a dangerously soft voice.
"I say the word, the magic causes the Pits to overflow... destroy much of the human filth that infects earth. No satellite, no science involved for you to destroy and foil my plans. Just magic. I know your weaknesses, Detective." He nodded knowingly, and pressed a button on the small remote he held in his hand. A trap door on the high ceiling began to open slowly with a hiss. Batman's eyes widened in disbelief and horror at the objects that were slowly lowered from the gaping hole above the bubbling Lazarus Pit. The coffins of Thomas and Martha Wayne hung precariously in the balance.
Ra's smiled triumphantly. "All of them."
A/N: Oh and I'd like to thank guest reviewer Senpai Gabby who helpfully corrected a technical error in the last chapter. Senpai Gabby I think you are probably right about it and since I wasn't totally sure myself, I changed it since you seemed quite certain lol. I would PM you about this but can't for obvious reasons :D
Anyway as always I would so appreciate if you left a review! Constructive criticism is welcome; I know action isn't really my forte. Thanks to everyone for sticking with the story so far!
