Chapter 21

" Kara?"

Feeling her shoulders being gently shaken Kara slowly opens up her eyes to see Barbara along with Dick looking towards her with a look of concern across each of their faces. Hearing a groan coming from the hospital bed Kara suddenly snaps up from her seat and makes her way over towards the hospital bed before a smile forms on her face when she sees Jason's eye lids slowly opening. With her eyes getting watery Kara watches Jason's eyes open revealing his blue eyes to her before she sees a small smile forming on his face.

" Hey gorgeous."

As tears fall from her eyes to the hospital bed below Kara lets out a laugh of joy before she leans down and gives Jason a passionate kiss. After just a few seconds Kara breaks off the kiss before she smiles down towards Jason as she gently cups his cheek with her right hand.

" Did it work?"

" You will have to tell us. Kara is the only one that you allowed access into your mind after all."

" I bet it was pretty lonely in there."

Taking his eyes away from Kara's smiling face Jason sends Barbara and Dick a small glare before he looks over towards Talia.

" Okay that was my bad. But thank you for helping me."

Suddenly Kara watches Jason's eyes go wide as his hands clutch into tight fists.

" Where is he!? Where's Bruce!? I'll kill him!"

As he tries to sit up from the bed Jason feels a pair of hands gently pushing him back to the bed before he looks over towards Kara.

" No Jason. You need to get some rest."

" But…."

Before he has a chance to react Jason feels Kara pressing her lips back to his for a gentle kiss before he feels her pulling back from the kiss as he feels her forehead leaning against his own.

" I know Jason. But he won't ever bother us again. I promise you that."

" Oh yeah what did you do to him anyways Kara? You didn't tell Dick or I yet."

Kara looks over her shoulder at Barbara and Dick with a small smile on her face.

" I destroyed the Batcave."

Kara watches as suddenly Barbara's and Dick's eyes go wide before her smile widens.

" You what?"

" I destroyed the Batcave. Well most of it anyways. It's going to take Bruce quite a while to finish repairing the damages done to the cave."

Hearing a chuckle below her with her smile widening Kara looks down towards Jason before she lets out a small laugh when she hears Jason starting to laugh until he suddenly stops laughing as he winces in pain.

" Don't make me laugh gorgeous. It hurts to laugh right now. Wait? Why does my chest hurt anyways?"

" Allow me to explain. While you were in a comatose state my father drove his word through your chest. Kara ended up storming into the base and rescued you while killing my father in the process."

With his eyes going wide Jason looks away from Talia to look towards Kara before he sees her smiling down towards him.

" What? I had to rescue my damsel in distress."

Seeing the way that Jason and Kara are looking towards each other reaching over Barbara nudges Dick in the ribs before she watches him looking down towards her. With a quick nod towards the open doorway Barbara slowly leads Dick out of the hospital room with Talia following behind them. As she hears door to Jason's hospital room closing Barbara turns around and gives Talia a smile before he extends her hand out towards her.

" Thank you for all that you've done."

With a small smile forming on her face Talia grabs Barbara's hand and gives it a firm shake before she watches Barbara looking down towards the ring on her hand.

" That's a nice ring."

" Thank you. It's the ring that is worn by the leader of The League of Assassins."

" You? What about Raus al Gaul? Isn't he the leader?"

" My father is now dead. When Kara stormed into Nanda Parbat she presented me with an opportunity that i couldn't afford to waste. I took it without any hesitation."

" What do you mean? What exactly happened in Nanda Parbat?"

" When Kara encountered my father inside of the lower chambers where the Lazarus Pit is kept she sent a immense laser beam through by father's chest that caused a fatal wound to form across his chest. When he had attempted to use the waters of the pit to heal regenerate himself, I drove my sword down into my father's cold heart."

" Okay then what is going to stop members of the league that were loyal to your father from resurrecting him? He surely must of had men and women in the league that were only loyal to him."

" That is correct. My father had men and women under his command that were only loyal to him just like i do. However it will be hard for my father's followers to resurrect a corpse that has been decapitated."

Looking over seeing the shocked looks across each of Barbara's and Dick's faces makes a ghost smile appear across Talia's face as she starts to slowly walk away down the hallway.

" If you will please excuse me. I must take my leave now and claim my prize."

" What are you talking about? What prize?"

" When Bruce contacted me and asked me if there was a way for me to help rid Jason of any effects that Lazarus Pit had on him a deal was struck between us. In exchange for helping Jason overcome the darkness and madness that was building inside within him then Bruce would join my side in The League of Assassins. I have held up my end of the bargain and now it is time for him to hold up his."

Meanwhile back inside of Jason's hospital room Kara looks down towards Jason with a smile across her face as she strokes Jason cheek. After a few seconds of stroking Jason's cheek lovingly the smile on Kara's face slowly starts to disappear when she sees the medical wrappings around Jason's chest. But Kara's focus is quickly averted from Jason's chest to his face when she feels him laying a hand gently on her cheek.

" Hey what's with the long face gorgeous? I'm okay now."

" I'm not. I thought i was going to lose you again. I wouldn't be able to survive if i lost you again."

" You're not going to lose me. Not now nor never."

" I almost did."

" I'm hard to kill. There is a secret that i have never told anyone before. Not even you. Want to hear it?"

Jason watches Kara nod her head before he takes a deep breathe as he strokes her cheek.

" Everytime i think i'm not going to make it, I think of you. I would think of you and you would give me the strength to go on. Your voice would just pop into my head telling me to get up and fight back. You have always been my strength and forever will be."

With tears forming in her eyes Kara leans down and gives Jason a deep kiss before she pulls back a few seconds later to give him a bright smile.

" Well i'm tired."

A smile forms on Jason's face when he hears Kara letting out a few giggles as she wipes away the tears in her eyes.

" Jason how can you be tired? You've been in a coma for the last few days."

" Don't know but i am. This bed is quite comfy and has room for one more."

With her smile widening Kara watches Jason move over slightly on the bed as she lays down on the bed next to him before she gently places her head on his shoulder. As she feels Jason wrapping his arms around his waist Kara leans up and gives Jason a kiss on the cheek before she closes her eyes and her world goes black.

Just a couple of hours later back in Gotham City using the shadows that are being provided to him a lone figure watches as the guards of Arkham Asylum continue to do their patrols. But this time he will ensure them that they will be finishing their patrol early.

Taking careful aim with the sniper rifle in his hands Deathstroke slowly looks up towards the watch tower just above the prison before he finds his target standing next to an overhead light. Moving his sight up towards the guard's head Deathstroke rears back on the trigger before the echo of a gunshot echoes through the air where within seconds that sound of the bullet hitting its mark echoes in the air sending the unfortunate guard down to the ground dead with his own blood forming under his corpse.

Hearing the guards on the ground starting to shout Deathstroke quickly turns his attention away from the watch tower towards the ground below where he sees the two guards he had been watching for the past few days regrouping near the entrance. Right as he sees one of the guards reaching for the walkie talkie on his belt another sound of a gunshot echoes through the air that drops the guard to the ground with a bullet in the middle of his forehead.

Within a second Deathstroke turns his attention towards the other guard as he sees him running away from the entrance before he rears back and sends a shot his way that connects to the middle of the guard's back dropping the guard instantly. As he watches through his scope the guard attempting to take out his handgun Deathstroke sends a round towards the guard's head that silences him forever.

Glancing around the area seeing no one in sight slowly Deathstroke emerges from his hiding spot with a pair of swords in his hands before he slowly makes his way forward into the prison. After a couple of minutes of pure silence suddenly the sound of the prison alarms going off echoes throughout the air. As the alarms continue to go off alerting every nearby citizen and cop to stay clear suddenly an explosion takes place at the side of the building causing a large gaping hole to appear in the building with smoke clouds rising up into the air for all to see.

Meanwhile miles away deep inside of the Batcave a lone figure works on making the repairs needed to the newly installed Batcomputer while another figure watches from the shadows in the corner of the room. As he finishes the repairs to the Batcomputer wincing in pain Bruce reaches up and wipes away the sweat that was dripping down to the cold floor below before he suddenly stops when he senses another presence in the room.

" Hello Talia."

Looking over his shoulder Bruce watches Talia slowly emerging from the shadows before he watches her make her way towards him.

" Hello beloved. You have looked better."

As he sees a small smile appearing on Talia's face slowly Bruce looks away from Talia before within seconds he feels a hand being gently placed on his cheek.

" I know. You don't have to say anything. My father chose you for a reason to be his heir just like how i chose you to be my love."

Talia watches Bruce slowly turn his head to look in her direction before she places her other hand on his cheek and moves to stand in front of him.

" I have kept my end of the bargain."

A small smile appears on Talia's face when she sees Bruce's eyes go wide.

" Jason is alive and completely cured of all effects that Lazarus Pit had on his mind. He is currently recovering in Metropolis. For the time being i have some of my personal guards watching over him and his lover."

" You shouldn't have. If your father finds out…."

" We no longer need to worry about him. He has been taken care of beloved."

As he gives Talia a confused look Bruce glances over towards her left hand before his eyes widen when he sees the demon's head ring on her finger.

" What did you do?"

" I did what was necessary. I knew one day that i would have to choose between you and my father. I have chosen you. Now we can be together beloved. We can now bring justice to this world together. You can now join my side in The League of Assassins."

Leaning forward Talia captures Bruce's lips with her own and proceeds to give him a deep passionate kiss as she feels him wrapping his arms around her waist before she feels herself being pulled closer to him. Suddenly after a few seconds Talia feels Bruce breaking off the kiss when the computer screen next to them comes to life as a alarm echoes through the Batcave.

Turning her head Talia looks over towards the computer screen along with Bruce before suddenly her eyes widen at what she sees. All across the screen from a overhead view is a image of Arkham Asylum in total chaos as it's inmates run out of a large hole in the side of the massive building. Looking away from the computer screen Talia looks over towards Bruce seeing his eyes glued to the computer screen before she watches him turn his head to look at her.

" I have to go."

Shaking her head Talia slowly turns Bruce's head towards her.

" No. You have given this city enough. It is now time for Gotham City to fight it's own battles."

Before he has a chance to respond Bruce feels Talia placing her right index finger on his lips.

" I know beloved. I know why you go out there every night. You go out there to honor them. To honor the memory of your parents. But they wouldn't want you this for you. They wouldn't want you to throw your life away. They would want you to live. To not be consumed for vengeance as many other have before you. You have saved so many lives beloved but who is there to save you? You saved me but it is now time for me to save you. You have suffered so much pain for way too long. It is now time for me to save you from your own demons that are lurking inside and are consuming your soul."

Leaning forward Talia captures Bruce's lips again with her own as she proceeds to give him a passionate kiss while on the computer screen a lone figure emerges from the smoke with a sinister smile across his face.