"Diana!" Batman yelled after hearing Ra's give his orders. It was time to test the left gauntlet firing mechanism, and he did just that firing off an electrically charged batarang. The batarang flew straight and true, making contact with the face of Doomsday. It stuck there and sent a shock to the monster long enough to distract him while Superman flew in and slammed a fist into Bane's face, which sent him flying off into a far wall. Doomsday pulled the batarang out from where it had stuck in his face and crushed it in his hand. Superman focused on Doomsday and threw as strong a punch as he could muster, connecting on the bridge of Doomsday's nose. The monster barely flinched though. Superman's power had been sapped from being around the Kryptonite as well as the punishment he'd already taken from his battle with the monster earlier. Still he wasn't going to give in without a fight. Batman was there and certainly wasn't fully healed, so he used the thought of Bruce's will to help keep him motivated to push onward.
Knowing that Superman would keep Doomsday off of Diana, Batman went back to his task at hand of getting J'onn free from the assassins that had him pinned down with flamethrowers. As Batman was indeed not fully healthy, he wasn't relying as much on his martial arts skills to attack, but to defend until he could use his weapons to subdue the enemies. Quickly he found himself surrounded by a swarm of Ra's al Ghul's men. At least their attention had been removed from J'onn though. The Martian needed some time to recover from the torture he'd been put through with the fire. Batman used his cape to hide what he was doing underneath as he prepared to fight his way through the men around him. He waited for precisely the right moment before leaping over a charging assassin and throwing a putty batarang at a group of three men. It exploded upon impact of the man in the middle and the three of them were covered in the extremely sticky substance. They tried to separate themselves from each other, but found that task to be next to impossible. The putty like substance had them stuck to the ground and to each other. Batman then pulled out his grapple and shot it at another assassin directly across from him. When the grapple latched onto the man, Batman hit the retract button and leapt into the air. The retracting motion pulled Batman quickly over to the man where he strategically placed one foot on the man's chest while the second foot was used to kick the man in the face. That assassin crumpled to the ground unconscious, and Batman then dropped two smoke pellets on the ground. Soon he was covered in the smoke and that allowed him to get enough separation where he moved over and put J'onn's arm over his shoulders before firing off the grapple again and flying off through the hole in the ceiling. When they landed, he gave J'onn a once over to see the extent of the Martian's injuries. "Are you going to be alright J'onn?" He asked.
"I just need a moment." J'onn answered. "Ra's found Ma'alefa'ak, and discovered my vulnerabilities."
"Where is Ma'alefa'ak now?" Batman asked.
"Not sure, but most definitely not far away." J'onn responded. "I can still sense his presence."
"We need to get the rest of the League members free." Batman stated as he looked back down into the throne room where Superman was once again being pummeled by Doomsday. "I can't stop Doomsday and Clark's still too weak to taken him alone. I'll buy you some time before I go to get the others free."
J'onn nodded before Batman dove back into the throne room. He landed in typical Batman form before rising up to throw an explosive batarang at Doomsday. He pulled his arm back to throw the batarang, but his arm was stopped from being able to move forward. Bane had recovered from Superman's punch and grabbed hold of Batman's forearm. Thinking quickly, Batman moved swiftly and pulled Bane into a hip toss, slamming him into the ground. He used that moment to then throw the batarang at Doomsday. This time the batarang exploded when it connected with the back of Doomsday's head. He was already charging forward, and the explosion was strong enough to cause Doomsday to lose his balance momentarily. Diana was close by and saw this happening. She tried to shake off the cloudy haze in her head, and focused long enough to connect with an uppercut to the monster's chin.
Bane spun around and performed a leg sweep on Batman as his attention was focused on Doomsday for the moment. "I'm insulted that you would show such disrespect to the man that broke you when we last met." Bane said as he climbed to his feet. "I merely broke you last time, but now with your insult I am going to destroy you Batman."
"Shut up and fight." Batman fired back as he leaped into a crouched defensive position. Bane didn't wait long after the invitation was sent out as he pressed forward with mighty swings. Batman expertly dodged and avoided contact. When he had an opportunity to create some space, he executed a backward hand spring and upon landing on his feet again he had thrown another putty batarang at Bane's legs.
The batarang released the putty like substance as expected and webbed around Bane's legs while attaching to the ground around him. He didn't have time to react though as Diana yelled to gain his attention. "Batman!" She called out as she shoved him away. He hadn't realized how close he'd actually landed to Doomsday, as the monster had turned and was in the process of delivering a devastating blow. Diana saw this happening and mustered everything she had to save Batman from Doomsday. When she shoved him out of harm's way though, she placed herself in the path of that strike, and it connected straight into her face. She crumpled to the ground in a heap as she was barely conscious.
Batman rolled over to see Doomsday beginning to beat Diana mercilessly again and again. He was powerless to help her as he simply had nothing that could stop the monster. He looked around and saw Superman trying to get back to his hands and knees. "Superman!" He yelled. "He's going to kill her!"
Just that moment a red blur came and scooped Diana away from receiving another fist to her face. Flash stopped next to Batman before gently laying her down. "Wondy doesn't look so good Bats." Flash commented. Batman looked over her and probed with his fingers to find the extent of her injuries. At some point she had broken some ribs as some were trying to poke through her skin and armor, and there was blood coming out of her mouth. Her face was bruised and bloody from the amount of beating she'd received from Doomsday. The monster had once again focused on Superman for the time being, and Batman knew that he had to find a way to end this fight quickly. Unfortunately he didn't have much time to think of what to do as Bane had broken free and latched onto both Flash and Batman by the back of their necks. In a swift maneuver Bane connected the two hero's heads together with great force. It was almost enough to knock Batman unconscious even through the armor of protection that his cowl offered.
Batman was trying to find a way out of this predicament when J'onn phased in behind Bane and threw a hard punch at the back of the masked man's head. When he pulled his fist back though, J'onn noticed a green substance on the knuckles of his hand. Bane released Batman and Flash as he stumbled forward so that he could use his hands to keep himself upright instead of falling. When he turned and saw the Martian looking at his hand in a puzzling manner, Bane reached a hand to the back of his head, and pulled it in front of his face. Sure enough the same green substance was on his hand, the only difference was that he knew where it came from. The Martian had hit him it just the right spot to cause the venom to begin to leak out. Bane surmised that it was a minor leak, but he'd have to be careful in order to avoid losing more at a quicker rate. J'onn then flew over to Superman and landed while grabbing the arm of Doomsday. He used his momentum to fling the monster as far away as he could. Then he turned and quickly made a mental connection with each member of the Justice League.
Green Lantern is struggling with fear and believes himself to be blind.J'onn informed everyone who wasn't aware of the situation. His fear is uncontrollable and I was unable to assist him mentally of purging it. I was unable to free them as I sensed the trouble here and broke off with Flash to offer help where we could.
What happened to John that caused this?Batman asked as he delicately picked Diana up and moved her closer to the Martian alongside Flash, who was helping Superman to his feet.
He was injected with something by one of the League of Assassins. Superman explained. I saw it before they threw a flash bang grenade in his face.
Crane's fear toxin. Batman responded. I have the antidote in my belt. We have to move quickly. We're no match for Bane and Doomsday like this.
Agreed. J'onn concurred.
I hate to interrupt guys, but we have company coming up fast. Flash chimed in to get everyone's attention. Sure enough Bane and the League of Assassins were quickly approaching with Ra's and Doomsday at the rear.
Undue whatever Ra's is using to influence Doomsday. Batman ordered. We already know what he'll do when he thinks on his own. Remove him from the equation and we stop Ra's. We have to end this now. I'm going to set some charges and bring the building down. Be ready to evacuate quickly.
Flash took off and began engaging the League of Assassins, while making certain he kept aware of his surroundings. He didn't want to be knocked out again so he kept his distance from Ra's for the time being. Doomsday and Bane were joined by Ma'alefa'ak as they faced Superman and J'onn. The goal was to stall them long enough to allow Batman the time to set the charges, help John and Shayera, and stop whatever was being used to control the monster. They also had to keep everyone away from Diana, as she was in no condition to fight anymore.
Flash opened up a path for Batman to head through that would first get him to John and Shayera. There were only a few straggling assassins to deal with on his way out of the throne room. Once out, Batman worked his way around using J'onn's telepathy to help guide his way to their teammates. When he got there, he was surprised to see just how bad of shape Shayera was in. She was trying to talk to John, but he wasn't responding to her. He was too consumed with his own debilitating fears to know what was going on around him. Batman made quick work getting to John where he administered the antidote. Within moments, John's body stopped quivering and his breathing began to normalize. When he was back to acting rationally once again, Batman went over to Shayera and picked her bonds to get her free. She was nursing a badly damaged wing and broken arm, but once free she helped John to his feet. "I still can't see anything." John informed them.
"You will….in time." Batman explained. "Once the damage from the flash bang grenade heals."
"If I can't see, I can't use my powers." John admitted. "It would be better to leave me here. Get out while you all can."
"Never leave a man behind." Batman countered with marine beliefs to stop John from arguing his point further. "Shayera, get John to the Javelin as soon as you can. The rest are in the throne room keeping everyone distracted while I'm prepping the building to be demolished."
Shayera nodded in understanding and headed off in search of an exit. Batman went the other direction and pulled out a handful of plastique explosives. He began strategically placing the explosive material around the load bearing walls and columns, making sure that there would be no saving the palace once the explosions occurred.
Back in the throne room, Diana had come to, and was refusing to sit out the fight. She went straight after Bane to provide J'onn and Superman with better odds. The first thing that she had noticed was that Batman was nowhere in sight, but she didn't question it because of all the chaos going on around her. Ra's and Talia had disappeared from the throne room as well, but with Doomsday, Ma'alefa'ak, and Bane to deal with, the Justice League's hands were more than tied for the time being. J'onn had to keep going back and forth between his twin and Doomsday because in Superman's weakened state, it left him in a manner that he simply couldn't keep up with the seemingly indestructible monster battling with him. Flash was doing well against the League of Assassins. So far in the battle, none of them had been able to lay a finger on him at all. He had created a small pile of unconscious assassins, but even with all the assassins he'd taken care of, there still seemed to be an endless line that remained.
Diana was actually faring rather well against Bane on her own. While she was far away from being in her prime condition, she was still delivering powerful blows to Bane that he was having trouble with taking and handling. She also made sure to protect her midsection from attacks at all times. The pain that she was in was excruciating, but while she could still draw a breath and stand, she would continue to fight for victory. Bane had realized that he was quickly beginning to lose this fight with the Amazon. She was putting up quite the effort even though she had suffered painful injuries. Bane tried going after her damaged ribs, but Diana held her defense well to keep herself protected in that area. All of her counter punches were starting to land regularly as Bane was beginning to quickly wear down the longer the fight went on. He'd already taken quite a few shots from Diana before she had been injured by Doomsday, and she still packed quite a bit of power behind her punches. They were beginning to take their toll on the masked man. In a move of desperation, he lunged forward trying to get close enough to get his hands on her ribcage. Diana wasn't caught off guard though and side stepped before latching onto Bane's head and pulling it down while her knee flew upwards. There was a crunching sound that could be heard just before Bane screamed in pain. He was on his knees with his eyes watering profusely from the knee strike when he looked up at Wonder Woman. He'd been defeated and he knew it as she stood before him. "This is for what you've done to Batman." She announced to him., and Bane merely closed his eyes as he waited for what she was going to do next.
~~ Palace halls ~~
Batman had made his way around the palace and was putting the last few pieces of plastique explosives on a pillar. When he detonated the explosives, there'd be nothing left of the palace. Especially if there was indeed a Lazarus pit anywhere nearby. As he finished prepping the last of the explosives, a Shuriken star stuck into the pillar just above Batman's head. He ducked and rolled away from the pillar before shooting back up with a batarang at the ready to be released in the direction of the transgressor. "You've been a thorn in my side for much too long detective." Ra's called out to him from down the hallway. "You should instead be at my side with my daughter as your loving wife."
"So long as you intend to take innocent lives, I'll be standing where I've always been Ra's." Batman responded.
"Then have it your way detective." Ra's said as he pulled a samurai sword from its sheath at his side. Ra's charged quickly over to Batman as he brought his blade down from over his head in an attempt to strike Batman down. Batman used his gauntlets to block the strike and side step his way out of the danger of being sliced. He moved around Ra's, waiting for the next attack, and didn't have to wait long before the Demon's Head attacked again. This time he used the scallops of the gauntlets to pinch the sword tightly so that Ra's couldn't pull it free. He was face to face with Ra's as both sneered at the other.
"What do you think you're going to do Ra's?" Batman asked as he kept the sword from being used. "You've lost."
"I have?" Ra's questioned with much confidence in his voice. "Soon you'll be the only member of the fabled Justice League left standing."
"Your over confidence is going to be your downfall." Batman commented before violently pulling his arms, causing the blade of the sword to snap into pieces between the scallops of his gauntlets.
Ra's dropped the useless hilt of the sword and took a step back while reaching for a remote from his belt. He pulled it out and pointed it towards a wall. "Let's just see shall we." Ra's said before turning on a security monitor screen hanging off the wall. It revealed the throne room. They could see Diana gaining the upper hand over Bane while Flash struggled to keep on top of all the League of Assassins. J'onn was still up in arms with his twin brother and Superman was losing his fight with Doomsday, but he still hadn't given up. "It appears that you've caused the Galactic policeman and Hawk winged woman to escape, but they shouldn't be hard to defeat on their own. Superman's death quickly approaches and once Doomsday has finished with him, the monster will then kill the Amazon. You already know that I'm aware of the Martian's limitations."
"But I'm here to stop you." Batman stated.
"No beloved, you're not." Talia said as she entered the hallway from a doorway behind Batman with a gun pointed at him.
"Talia…." Batman started. "Sometimes I wonder why I ever believed that your feelings for me were real."
"That hurts beloved." Talia responded showing the hurt on her face. "My feelings for you are real, but I need for you to compromise and come with father and I."
"You know that's not going to happen Talia." Batman said.
Talia glanced over Batman's shoulder for a minute before smiling. "That's a shame beloved, but not entirely surprising with seeing that harpy in your home. At least I'll get the satisfaction of seeing her end since she decided to try and steal you from me."
"What are you….." Batman started before turning to face the monitor once again. What he saw made his jaw drop instantly. He almost couldn't believe it at all before he turned and left Ra's and Talia to make their escape.
~~ Back in the throne room ~~
Diana picked Bane up and was ready to slam his back down across her knee when she was hit from behind by Superman. He'd been tossed by Doomsday and flew straight into her. Bane dropped to the ground as the two heroes finally came to a stop. Diana was coughing up blood now while she tried to get out from under an unconscious and severely beaten Superman as Doomsday closed in on the two of them. She knew that if she didn't get the both of them out of there soon, then they'd meet their demise right there. Diana finally got Superman off of her when Doomsday had reached the two of them. She awaited her destined trip to the Elysian Fields and issued a prayer that should she fall, the rest of the Justice League find a way to stop the mad man responsible from harming any more innocents, but before she finished her prayer, she was interrupted by an explosion that occurred very near to her. She opened her eyes to see a second batarang swiftly flying towards the monster. Diana watched the batarang as it traveled through the air, and saw Doomsday turn around to catch the second explosive batarang before it exploded in his hand. Batman had gotten the monster's attention at that point, but Diana knew it would only be a matter of time until someone would have to do something to stop Doomsday.
Batman had come running into the room like a man possessed. He didn't even think twice when he let the first two batarangs go. When he had placed the monster's focus on him, he knew that he had to think quickly going forward. He didn't stop running forward into the room, and when he reached the center of the room, he took another two explosive batarangs and tossed them straight up through the hole that had been created during the early stages of the battle. He had concocted a plan as the two batarangs exploded on contact and brought down debris from what used to be the ceiling from two floors above. "Diana!" Batman yelled. "Bring Superman over to where I'm standing as soon as I make my move!"
Diana nodded before making her way up to her feet and working to scoop Superman up into a fireman's carry. She then watched as Doomsday was stalking towards Batman, and he remained where he stood, not backing up in inch as the monster continued to get ever closer. She was amazed that Bruce was just standing there when facing such a formidable opponent. Why would he do such a thing when he'd have to have seen what this monster had done to Superman? What plan did the Dark Knight have in store for when he lured Doomsday to where he wanted the monster to be? She almost eagerly awaited for the answers to her questions to come in the next few seconds as Doomsday had made his way right next to Batman by that point. There was a mighty swing taken by Doomsday that Batman avoided before reaching forward and placing something on each of Doomsday's shoulders and back flipping away. When he was in the middle of his flip, Diana saw two black objects fly up into the air from where Batman was, and she figured that was the signal, so she took flight, heading to where Batman had instructed.
Two explosions happened where Batman had placed charges on Doomsday's shoulders, followed by two more up above where the batarangs had landed. The explosions on Doomsday caused the monster to step back slightly for a moment, but not long or far enough so that Batman would be able to get away. It was when the new debris from the roof of the palace came crashing down on top of Doomsday that he had gained the separation necessary to escape, but he still wasn't backing away. Instead he stayed there until Diana arrived. She knew what Batman was doing when she saw the debris falling the second time. Sunlight began pouring through the opening in the palace roof that Batman had created. Diana set Superman directly in the light, and in seconds Superman had come to. Unfortunately by that time Doomsday had emerged from under the rubble. Diana was right in his path, and he wasted little time in disposing of her with a mighty backhand to her face. She flew across the room and landed in a heap next to the outer wall of the throne room. Batman went to go after her, but Doomsday stepped in between him and where he was headed. The monster almost had a devilish grin on his face as he reared back to throw a violent strike that would surely be the end of Batman's life. When he came forward to strike Batman down though, Superman stepped in front and caught the punch before it could hit it's intended target. "I'm getting Diana and we have to get out of here." Batman instructed before taking off after her. Superman used his heat vision to blast Doomsday in the face, temporarily blinding the monster so that he could try and cause some serious damage to the monster before they departed.
Batman quickly knelt down next to Diana, checking her injuries momentarily. He let go of a breath he'd not realized he was holding when he noticed that she was still breathing. It was then that Batman's neck was grabbed by none other than Bane. He was lifted off the ground and Bane adjusted their position so that Batman would only be able to see his face. "Now I end you Batman." He said as he began to squeeze. The suit's armor offered much more protection this time around though. Bane was struggling to hurt him at all as the suit had energy absorbing technology which allowed it to absorb some of the power of any strikes against it. Bane was surprised by how much he was struggling despite his injuries, and Batman used that distraction to his advantage as he began punching at Bane's arm, trying to get free of the masked man's grasp. Realizing this, Bane focused back on his opponent. "So, you've made some modifications to your suit. No matter. I broke you once, and I will do it again."
"Nn….Not...this…time." Came a quiet voice from behind.
Bane turned to see Wonder Woman on her knees, but a hand was on Bane's back. Before he had a chance to do anything, she gripped and pulled causing a tube to come free from his back. Bane screamed in pain as the venom began to bleed out of his body. Soon Batman's feet were back on the ground, and at that point Batman used a chopping move to hit Bane in the elbow, forcing his arm to bend. When that happened, Batman followed that up with as strong a punch as he could manage into Bane's face, and that was enough to get Bane to release his hold on Batman's neck. Taking advantage, Batman jumped up pressing a foot against the wall to climb slightly higher, and right into a swinging roundhouse kick to Bane's head that staggered the big masked man backwards and off his feet. Batman then made a mental connection to J'onn so that the other members would know that now was the time to make their exit. Batman pulled out a trigger and pressed a button before he knelt down and picked Diana up to carry her out.
Flash was informed of the pending explosions, and he cut off his fight with the League of Assassins and scurried over to the Martian where he quickly spun his arms around to create a large wind gust that pushed Ma'alefa'ak into a wall. J'onn quickly approached his twin and landed a shot square against Ma'alefa'ak's jaw. By that time the first of the explosions started to go off, and J'onn then grabbed Flash before he flew up and out of the rooftop. Superman saw them all leaving and quickly hit Doomsday once again before following J'onn out the quickest exit they could use.
The heroes all gathered around the Javelin as the palace seemed to implode on itself. J'onn made his way over to Diana, and he checked on her vitals before looking into the white senses of Batman's cowl. "We need to get her to the Watchtower as soon as possible." He stated. "She's lost a lot of blood already."
Batman would've panicked had he only had the choice of the Javelin. "Come with me J'onn." He commanded before turning and walking away from the group. Within seconds the Batwing came into view and landed before them. Batman entered and set Diana down gently. He quickly coded in the auto pilot commands after taking off, and he reached out to anyone that might be in the Batcave. When no one answered his pages, he then called his still upset and angry Butler. Alfred did pick up, but was remaining quiet. "Alfred, you can be pissed at me any other time but I need you now more than ever."
"I already told you…" Alfred started before being interrupted.
"Diana needs you Alfred." After saying that there was a momentary silent pause.
"Very well sir." Alfred responded. "What do you need of me?"
"I need you to triangulate the Justice League frequencies that are with me here and perform a site to site transfer from the Batwing to the Watchtower medical bay."
Alfred wasted no time in hustling down to the cave teleporter where he followed Bruce's prompts and locked onto their coordinates before sending them to the requested destination. He knew then that he'd have to wait to hear how the princess fared, but prayed that she'd be alright.
As soon as the three of them were aboard the Watchtower, they began furiously working to get Diana stabilized. It was when her heart rate began to falter that J'onn had to have Bruce leave. His feelings were betraying his stoic stance, and J'onn needed to be able to concentrate on Diana's condition. Batman knew that Diana was in good hands and moved to the waiting area of the medical wing where he stood watching J'onn work through a viewing window. Something inside Batman was tearing him apart at the sight of Diana in the condition she was in, but he couldn't bring himself to walk away so that he wouldn't have to see her that way. Instead he would wait for her to wake back up not matter what. To hell with anything else until he knew that she would be alright.
