This chapter is going to seem very familiar to some of you. I'll reveal its origins at the end of the chapter, but until then, I hope everyone enjoys.

A stiff wind blew through the port, causing wood planks to creak and towering cranes to groan from the bolts keeping them in place. Dust and dirt was kicked up, sprinkling against the wall of a warehouse, pelting the wooden boards.

The side of the warehouse suddenly burst apart, sending jagged pieces in every which direction. Legs coiled beneath him, arms crossed in front of his head in order to protect his face, Batman was in mid-leap as he emerged through the cloud of broken debris.

There was a light, one of orange, yellow, and red, which grew brighter rapidly. An instant later and an explosion blasted through the hole the Dark Knight had created, the force of the blast slamming into his back.

Batman cried out as he went crashing to the ground, skidding across it until he came to a stop. He felt debris hit his body, though thankfully they were just small pieces of the wooden wall he had broken through. Bearing his teeth, the vigilante began pushing himself up onto his hands and knees, tilting his head to a side so that he could look at what was left of the warehouse.

The stolen Queen Industries crate had been a trap. He should have known it would be considering the minimal security and the even smaller number of men involved with the theft. Looking behind him, he saw the warehouse smoldering, the wooden structure beginning to cave in on itself as a towering black cloud rose into the night sky.

First thing was first, he needed to see if Black Canary and Green Arrow were alright. They had been in the warehouse with him and they had about as much time as he had to escape considering the warning he had shouted. Rising up onto his feet, he began to reach for his comm link before he froze.

"Looks like you got my invitation," a voice called out.

Looking up, Batman found he was surrounded by rows upon rows of shipping containers. On top of one row, a man emerged into sight.

He had heard rumors of the man. Anyone familiar with the world of assassins had at least heard of his name and the reputation that came with it. The colors of black and orange clothed his physically perfected body, the ends of a headband waving in the wind behind his head. He stood there relax, yet his body was radiating excitement.

Deathstroke the Terminator.

Intel had indicated he was in Gotham, another of Bane's recruited assassins. Unlike Deadshot's shooting galleries and Merlyn's attacks on the GCPD, Deathstroke's handiwork had gone unnoticed in comparison. Yet, they had been there. This man had found Ra's men and they hadn't stood a chance.

This was not a man to underestimate.

"It's just you and me," he called down to the Dark Knight, holding his hands out to either side, revealing them to be empty. It was a taunt, one to say that he only needed his bare hands to fight. Instinctively, Batman moved a hand to his belt, sticking his fingers into one of the pouches.

"C'mon!"

Simultaneously, both men moved. With a swing of his arm, Batman sent three bat-shaped shuriken flying at Deathstroke even as the man himself took off running down the line of shipping containers.

Arms pumping at his sides, a shipping container rose up to form a backdrop behind the assassin. Racing by it, there were three sharp thuds as one by one the shuriken flew right behind Deathstroke and collided with the container. Each projectile stuck into the metal surface, giving off a brief burst of sparks.

However, Deathstroke appeared to be running into a dead end. Ahead of him, a shipping container rose higher, forming another level. Undeterred, as he reached the end, Deathstroke leap into the air, angling his leap towards the container next to him. Planting one foot on the long metal box, he used it to spring higher into the air. Stretching his hands out, they collided with the edge of the container, which he used to balance himself as he swung his legs up over his head. Going into a flip, Deathstroke even spun around in the air before his feet began the downward swing of the flip. Landing with a dull thud, the assassin took off running once more.

On the ground, Batman had given chase, running unimpeded on the dock. Noticing the row Deathstroke was on was about to come to a sudden end, he knew where he could intercept the man.

Pulling out his grapple, he fired it ahead of the intercept point, the grapple claw hitting and attaching itself to an anchor point. Immediately, he flew up into the air, rapidly closing in on his foe.

As Deathstroke reached the end of the container, he leaped into the air, spinning around as he did so. There was something in his hand, Batman was quick to note, even as he closed in on the man. A second later and he watched as the object extend in two directions, forming a staff.

Releasing his hold on his grapple, Batman allowed his momentum to carry him the rest of the distance between him and the assassin. He held his arms out, ready to catch the staff strike that was surely coming his way.

Because of his focus on the staff, he completely missed Deathstroke swinging one of his legs. The next thing he knew, the man landed his kick against the vigilante, the blow knocking him in a completely different direction.

The next thing Batman knew, his back had collided with the side of a shipping container. He bounced right off of it as he grunted from the collision, landing on the top of another container. Due to his momentum, he slid across the metal surface until he reached the end, sailing over the edge and falling onto a lower container, where he landed with a hard, banging thud.

Batman coughed as he gasped for air, his landing having knocked the wind out of him. Jesus, this was a bad start. He had fights not go his way before, but never this early. As he caught his breath, his eyes caught movement above him. Jerking his head, he saw Deathstroke leaping from the container he had fallen off of, descending towards him as he yelled out a war cry, jabbing the end of his staff downward.

Immediately, the Dark Knight rolled to a side, just as his foe slammed the butt of his staff right where he had been lying. A low BONG! echoed throughout the area, a dent forming where the staff had struck.

Rolling onto his feet, Batman quickly stood up, raising an arm up just in time as Deathstroke continue to offensive. One end of the staff collided with the dark-clad man's arm, sending a shock down it from the force of the blow. Immediately, Deathstroke was attacking with the other end, which the vigilante blocked as well with his other arm.

However, with a quick rotation of his arm, Batman slipped his forearm underneath the staff and then pushed it up to position the weapon in too awkward a position for another attack. That was at least the plan, but Deathstroke spun to his right, pulling his staff away before swinging it out for another strike. Raising up both of his arms, Batman blocked the blow before it could hit him in the head.

That was when Deathstroke pulled back his staff while simultaneously lashing out with his leg, landing a kick to the dark-clad man's face. The force of the kick sent the Dark Knight flying into the door-side of a shipping container, which he immediately used to brace himself against, a grunt slipping through his lips.

That was when he heard metal scraping against metal. Hesitating for a moment, a shadow passed over Batman before he caught the bottom side of a container over his head. It seemed him crashing against a container caused the one above to slide forward albeit to the left. Deathstroke saw the giant box coming towards him, which forced him to jerk away in the opposite direction of the loose container.

The container finally reached a point where it lost its equilibrium and its face dropped downward, slamming down on the container the two fighters stood on. It then rolled to a side, falling towards the ground below, where it crashed with a loud BANG!

Darting forward, Batman took advantage of Deathstroke's moment of distraction. Getting a running start, the vigilante leaped up into the air, extending a leg out as he did so. His flying kick caught Deathstroke off guard, nailing him against his chest. The assassin was thrown backwards through the air, falling over the edge of the container as he disappeared from sight.

The moment Batman landed on his feet, he quickly made his way to the edge of the container to see where his foe had landed.

By the time he reached the edge, it was too late. The moment he looked over, he saw the bottom of Deathstroke's foot an instant before it slammed right into his face. Head snapping backwards, it was Batman's turn to be thrown backwards yet again. While he didn't fly as far as his previous unintended flight, he did land on his back on the opposite edge of the container, a jolt of pain racing up his spine.

Batman hissed as he slid over the edge, somehow flipping head over feet. Already he could feel just how tender his back was, especially where it had been injured from his fight with Bane. Being tossed around a shipping yard wasn't doing him any favors either. Though he was consumed by that pain, luck finally graced him with some as he landed on his front on top of yet another shipping container. In fact, it was the one that had fallen from earlier if he wasn't mistaken. Yet, he didn't just land so much as he went sliding across the metal surface. Ignoring the pain that was slowly going away, he maneuvered his arms so that he could dig the ends of his triangle blades into the container, finally stopping him in one place.

Teeth gritted, Batman took only a moment to take a couple breaths before he force himself back onto his feet. By then, Deathstroke had landed on the other end of the container, coolly staring down the vigilante with one eye.

"You know, I had heard you were good," the assassin spoke to him. "And I have to say, I'm not too disappointed."

"You're not bad yourself," Batman replied as he raised an arm up, rubbing the back of his hand against his mouth to wipe away a growing wetness from his lips. He didn't bother looking at his hand to know his lip was bleeding.

"Yet, I have to admit I'm not quite trying. You'll have to do much better to keep me entertained."

A scowl appeared on the Dark Knight's face, even as he took a breath and then released it. Unfortunately, Deathstroke was every bit as good as he had heard he was, if not better. He was still trying to figure out just how the man had turned falling off a container into an opportunity to land an attack. Seeing as the assassin wasn't holding his staff, he must have used it to rebound back up.

If such a move was Deathstroke playing, then he was in serious trouble.

Seeing that their conversation was over, Deathstroke took a step towards him, and then another, all the while reaching up to a sword hilt that stuck out from behind his head. Grabbing the handle, he then pulled out his sword, then lunged at the vigilante less than a fraction of a second later.

The first sword strike was a thrust aimed right at Batman's face, which he immediately parried with his left forearm. Backing up a step so that he could maintain a visual on his foe, he saw Deathstroke slash back at him with his sword, prompting the vigilante to lean further back, his right arm practically pressed up against his chest so that he could block the blade. Sparks shot off from where steel bit into metal, the sword bouncing off a triangle blade. Undeterred, Deathstroke took another shot as he slashed once more, only for Batman to copy the same move, only with his left arm.

With each strike, Batman backed up a step, which prompted Deathstroke to step forward to maintain the same distance between the two. A sword strike accompanied every step the assassin made, which was successfully blocked by the dark-clad man in turn.

Then, as Batman blocked another slice from the sword with his left, Deathstroke then leaped into the air, spinning as he did so to gather circular momentum for his next strike.

Again, Batman blocked the attack, though he was quick to notice the blade had slipped right in between two of his triangle blades. Immediately, he crossed his other arm until it pressed down on top of his blocking arm, so that he could ensure Deathstroke wouldn't overpower him.

Taking a step forward this time, the edge of Deathstroke's sword scraped against his gauntlet, closing the distance between the two combatants. Without hesitating, Batman then swung out his right arm, delivering a backhand blow to the side of his foe's face. Not allowing his arm to complete the full swing, he immediately dropped his hand to grabbed onto Deathstroke's right shoulder, to which the assassin shot his free hand up to ram a palm strike against his forearm.

This caused his arm to bend uncomfortably until he lost his grip on the man's shoulder. Drawing his sword back, Deathstroke immediately swung it back, which again Batman was quick to block with the same arm as before, the blade bouncing off harmlessly.

Again, Deathstroke tried another strike from the same side, being parried once again. He then spun around as he moved his sword out so that he held it with the point right by his side. With a quick jerk, he attempted a thrust that slid by his side, aimed right for the Dark Knight. In response, he blocked the strike with his right arm. The one-eyed assassin then spun again in the opposite direction, swing his sword right for the vigilante's head.

This time, however, Batman shot both of his arms up and caught the sword between the triangle blades of both gauntlets. Having exhausted his patience with the sword, Batman twisted his body to one side even as he pulled both of his arms in opposite directions.

This put an incredible amount of pressure on the sword until it shattered between the triangle's blades. Small shard shot in all directions as the top part of the sword went falling to ground, clattering against the shipping container before falling off it's side.

Because of the turning of his body, Batman took a page right out of Deathstroke's book and spun around on his heel. Holding his right arm up, keeping it bent at the shoulder, he tried to ram his elbow into the man's face, to which the assassin blocked with his own right arm. The two bounced off of each other, which gave Batman a second to fully complete his spin so that he could face man.

Because of this, he realized that even though Deathstroke's sword was broken, he was still fully capable of using it. Instinct saved the vigilante as he kept his raised right arm up, just in time for the base of Deathstroke's sword to collide with it, a sharp, scraping sound echoing out.

Though skilled, it turned out Deathstroke's determination to continue using his sword had left him vulnerable. As his sword arm crossed over his chest, the man tried a back swing, to which Batman shot his left hand up and caught his foe's arm right at the forearm, stopping the swing in mid-air. With his free hand, Batman balled it into a fist before swinging it, slamming it right into Deathstroke' side, which caused the man to flinch from the blow.

That was when Deathstroke tossed his sword from one hand to the other, allowing him to swing it right for the Dark Knight's head. Leaning backwards, end of the broken blade passed a few inches away from his neck. As he leaned forward, he immediately jerked back again as Deathstroke tried a backswing, missing him as the blade cut through the air.

Lunging forward, he then shot both of his hands out, one grabbing onto Deathstroke's shoulder while the other clamped down on his face. This time it was Deathstroke's turn to back up a step as Batman pressed forward.

Eying the shipping container next to them, Batman poured his strength into his arm and rammed his foe's head up against the metal side, hearing a bang echo out from the collision.

That was when Deathstroke shot up his left arm, forcing against the arm Batman was using to pin the assassin's head, and knocked it aside. With that same hand, he then pressed it against the side of the vigilante's head, holding it there. Pulling back his head, Deathstroke then threw it forward, delivering a stunning headbutt to his opponent.

Dazed, Batman was helpless as Deathstroke then released his head, only for his hand to quickly clamp down on his neck. He didn't have time to gag as the assassin pushed forward, causing him to bend over backwards. There was a flash of metal and Batman was just fast enough to get a hand up in time to grab onto Deathstroke's sword arm, holding the blade's edge off mere inches from his throat.

Gritting his teeth, Batman fought as hard as he could to keep that sharp edge away. His back was straining from the awkward position it was and his arms were beginning to protest how long they had to hold off his impending death.

"You're finished, Batman," Deathstroke said, strain evident in his voice as he fought to slash the dark-clad man's throat. "You just...haven't realized it yet."

Batman's eyes flickered up to the one-eyed man, then they darted away, looking for something, anything that could help him. What he found was the side of the shipping container the two had bashed each other up against. It was close; maybe close enough.

He had to try.

Pulling up a leg, he then stomped it down on the side of the shipping container. Tightening his grip on Deathstroke's arm, he then swung his other leg up, beginning to run up the side of the container. This caused him to whirl around his foe's extended appendage, his world spinning down and then up. Deathstroke's hand slipped off his throat and the pressure from his broken blade vanished as his world spun.

The moment he landed on his feet, the Dark Knight latched his free hand onto his opponent's shoulder. Twisting his body to a side, he grunted as he pulled as hard as he could, lifting Deathstroke off of the container they stood on. Letting go, he threw Deathstroke through the air, the vigilante watching as the assassin landed on his shoulder and slid over the metal surface.

Even then, the one-eyed man's body was moving, maneuvering until his legs were underneath him, a hand pressed down in front as he came to a crouched stance. His slid came to a stop at the container's edge, Deathstroke staring him down before he stood up to his full height.

That's when he made a mistake.

It was a small, one that he shouldn't have ever made. Yet, there it was. As Deathstroke stood, his right foot had ended up too close to the edge of the container. In fact, the back of his foot ended up hanging over it, so when the assassin rose up, the weight he put on it went unsupported and his leg jerked down. In response, Deathstroke looked down as he readjusted, jerking his leg up so that he could put it back down on the shipping container. It was a purely instinctual response, even an animal would've done it.

In an instant, Batman had his backup grapple in hand. Pointing it right at his foe, he fired it, the grapple claw flying through the air until it latched on to Deathstroke's throat. Immediately, the man grabbed onto the cable as he yanked his head back up to look at him wide-eyed.

Simultaneously, Batman hit the retraction button on the grapple gun even as he pulled it backwards and down, holding it by his hip. The twin action caused Deathstroke to come flying towards the dark-clad man, leaving him wide open as Batman immediately released the grapple and extended his arm out to one side. A moment later and Deathstroke slammed right into the arm, his upper body stopping from the clothesline as his legs continued forward. He went into a flip, where he ended up landing on his stomach on top of the shipping container.

Spinning around, Batman began swinging his leg, timing himself to land a kick to Deathstroke's head as he would inevitably begin pushing himself up. However, his recovering time was slightly faster than expected. Before he had even landed, Deathstroke had both of his hands out in front of him, letting go of his broken blade so that he could catch his body against the container they fought on and minimize the full impact landing would have done. He then pushed himself up even as he brought his legs under him.

Reaching a hand to a gun holster at his hips, the assassin pulled out a gun, leaning his body to one side as he took aim at the vigilante. Already in mid-kick, Batman changed targets as he swung his leg shallower, the toe of his boot colliding with the side of the gun and forcing it to a side. A fraction of an instant later and the gun went off, a bullet flying harmlessly by. In fact, the force of the kick, knocked the handgun out of Deathstroke's hand, sending it falling to the container, where it bounced off and fell over the edge.

Bringing his kicking leg down, Batman continued to spin, lifting up his previously grounded leg and lashing out with it. Unfortunately, Deathstroke was ready. Though the vigilante's kick landed, hitting the man at his hip, Deathstroke's arms immediately pinned the leg against him. Sure that he had a lock, the assassin shot a hand up and then swung it down, landing a blow to Batman's hip and sending a jolt of pain down his leg.

Bearing his teeth, the dark-clad man yanked his leg back, ending up surprised as Deathstroke allowed this. He found out why as the assassin had already drawn a fist back and was in mid-swing. Unable to think, much less dodge or counter, the fist slammed into Batman's face, which was followed up by another, the force of each blow knocking his head from side to side.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a third punch coming. Forcing himself out of the brief daze he felt from the fist two blows, he shot up an arm and blocked the incoming punch. Immediately, he held his other arm by his hip, hand balled into a fist. Swinging it upward, he tried to land an uppercut, but Deathstroke had begun yanking his head back to avoid the fist.

However, he was a hair too slow. Though it wasn't perfect, Batman's punch glanced off the one-eyed assassin's chin. This caused Deathstroke's head to jerk back further than he certainly wanted to while leaving Batman's arm crossed in front of him.

Bending his extended arm, he then lunged forward, ramming his elbow right into Deathstroke's face, stunning the man as he began to stumble a step backwards. Bringing his arm down, Batman shot his other hand out, slamming his open palm against his foe's chest even as he moved one foot between the man's legs, placing it right behind the black-and-orange assassin's foot.

Pushing as hard as he could, his foot causing Deathstroke to trip, the man's legs flying upwards as he was slammed down hard on his back on the shipping container.

Before Batman could follow up, Deathstroke brought one of his flailing legs up to his chest before he kicked out with it, his foot ramming into the Dark Knight's chest. The blow sent him flying backwards, the vigilante taking only a split second to marvel at how fast his opponent had recovered and promptly delivered a counter.

The moment he felt gravity take hold of him, Batman was leaning towards one side. He ended up landing on top of the shipping container on his shoulder, immediately going into a roll even as he twisted and turned his body until he miraculously ended up on his feet. Taking a quick moment to take a deep breath, he then rose up to his full height, seeing Deathstroke doing the same.

"You're good," Deathstroke complimented him. "I think I'm actually starting to try."

"Same here," Batman retorted. However, in his head he knew he was bluffing. It was clear that Deathstroke was the better fighter. As a trained martial artist, he knew he needed to be honest with himself; this man had the advantage. Everything he had thrown at him, Deathstroke had countered, adjusted to, or flat out defeated. Unless a miracle came, he was in serious trouble.

Raising a hand up, Deathstroke reached for another sword handle, one that was situated on the opposite side of his to the one he had drawn earlier. "I'm not sure if you are the same Batman from before, but I'm more than willing to find out."

Batman did a mental check of the gear he still had on him. He highly doubted his shuriken were going to make a difference other than buying him some time. Perhaps an exploding shuriken might be of use, but he needed to time its use perfectly. Bolas were out of the question and the smoke pellets could be used against him. He had no doubt that Deathstroke would use the smoke cloud to his advantage, using it to obtain a vantage point to follow the vigilante before striking, much like he would intend to do. Perhaps his electrified brass knuckles could—

That's when he saw it. From the top of his vision, he saw something—no, someone—falling downwards. They held their hands above their head, a sword held tightly in their hands.

As his head tilted up to better look at this person, he never lost sight of Deathstroke. There was a growing shadow on the assassin's head, a clear indication of who this person intended to strike.

Deathstroke must have sensed the deadly intent, or he noticed Batman's diverted attention. Either way, his eye widened and he dove forward, going into a roll just before the mystery person landed, their sword slicing downwards and cutting right into the shipping container.

Continuing his roll, Deathstroke ended up on his feet, staying crouched though this time his back was facing the Dark Knight so that he could better look at his attacker. He had his hand firmly gripping onto the hilt of his sword, pulling it just enough to reveal the steel of the blade.

Immediately, the two combatants realized this interloper was a woman. Short dark hair and an oriental design to the clothes she wore, she slowly rose to her feet, her sword sliding out of the ruined metal surface so that she could hold it at her side.

Batman felt himself go cold, numb even. His stomach dropped into a dark abyss as he saw her Asian features and the small, cruel smile that graced her face.

Shiva...

For those who haven't guessed by now, this chapter was based off of the Arkham Origin's trailer, where Batman and Deathstroke duked it out. There are small changes towards the end, but for the most part this was a blow-by-blow retelling. I rather like that trailer and had wanted a similar fight between these two. So I though, why not use this one? For those who want to have the visual, you can find the trailer on Youtube. Again, I hoped you enjoyed. The next chapter is going to get very interesting.

To FlackAttack: It would go in a scene similar to the Justice League cartoon. They're on the run, need to hide and one is reluctant to reveal themselves. And then Batman drops the bomb. "Dinah Lance, Oliver Queen, Bruce Wayne." I get the feeling I'm ripping off a lot of other media lately.