An: Almost done. I think. Good Gods, it's taken a while hasn't it?

Also- It's friday. Oh yeah. 3


The trail lead him to this place. A strange mountainous peak in the middle of a lush valley below. It hadn't been his first time here, he wished it would be his last time.

Putting the bat-plane on autopilot, Batman opens the hatch and shoots off the grapple before sailing upwards to a ledge. Stealth is needed here.

Silently, he took out some of the guards he couldn't possibly slip by and enters the compound that was built at the summit of this strange mountain.

It took him very little time to find the room where Ra's al Ghul resided in.

Really, he shouldn't be surprised when the man turns around to look him square in the eyes, as if he had expected him to show.

He probably had.

"Detective." Ra's al Ghul simply fishes out something from his pocket, "I see you've finally figured out to come here. If you wait a moment, I'll call my men off."

"You knew I would once I found out what Waller knew."

His lips twisted in a thin smile, "Indeed. That woman..." Shaking his head he moves quietly towards him. "What do you want to know, since you've made it all the way here?"

Batman narrows his eyes, "I want to know everything. Why did you give the Xebelian's the Atlantean items. You should've known what it would lead to and that's not your style."

"Or is it?"

"I also have a feeling you know where the body is."

"Do you now?"

"I am not in the mood for your games- or anyone else's."

Ra's al Ghul contemplates this for a moment before moving past him, "Very well then, Detective. I suppose I owe you that much. After all, I never intended for that boy to die in such a scheme. It would've won no favors, but became simply unavoidable."

"Why would you need to win favors with me?"

He glances at him, "Because, Mr. Wayne, I believe you are the perfect heir for my legacy."


He could have a second chance now. Even as he drew wet lines along the boy's tattoos, over his heart and forehead, he could only think that he had a second chance.

If everything went right in the world, he could have his boy back.

David just wished life to be like that. To be easy enough for him to take Kaldur and walk away from everything. Everything he's done had been in the name of revenge and now he was able to actually give something back. Something real and physical enough.

Yet even as he watches as the spell enacts, he felt something in the pit of his stomach squirm in disgust. This was the same feeling he's felt before every time he crossed a line.

He's crossed one now that he believes he'll never be able to return from.

His shoulders sag slightly as the memory imprinted on his arms had been of the first time he's ever held an infant. It was just a shame it had to be the same time when he was to bleed the child dry in order to bring back his son.

If only Aquaman had done his job.

If only-

His attention turns, his son groans before settling back into a restless sleep. The blood is gone now. All absorbed into the body as if the skin had been a sponge.

David wonders now, what should he do?

What would Shelia want him to do?

Shelia..

"Dav!"

He had been busy fixing something when she came in, smiling that wonderful smile of hers. "What is it?"

"Well." Coyness replaced that bright smile when she slipped her arms around his shoulders, "Happy early father's day."

"I'm not a father."

She laughed and kissed the side of his throat then cheek in amusement, "You will be."

The only time in his entire life that he had ever looked forward towards something good. Something so right and-

They tore that away from him. Bitterness had consumed him almost completely until he had seen him again. In the company of Aquaman. The hate had been so powerful and so consuming that it overrode the bitterness.

That is why...

David turns, putting his helmet on again and began to walk away.

Who was he kidding? He had nothing to offer his son but scrapes of memories and a legacy of hatred.

For once, Black Manta did not wish to inflict that kind of feeling on someone else.

Perhaps, Shelia would be proud of him now. He is leaving their son to be found by the goddamn Justice League and Aquaman.

Even if he hates it with every fiber of his being.


Mera had never wanted to kill someone so badly as she did that moment. The one place that should be safe- that should be secure- for their child was not.

Bitterness and rage could not be tempered and everyone that had approached would suddenly become wary of the Queen and turn away.

Her grief consumes her and she knew then she would not stop until Black Manta's blood drench her hands. Until he was screaming in agony and pain that she felt.

She had not lost just one son, but now two.

Her children...


"To speak first, " Ra's al Ghul says taking the long way about, "I learned of them years ago-almost seventeen to be exact- when a woman by the name of Hila appeared on my shores after a rather terrible storm. She was ill at the time and seeing as I had no other projects, I personally tended to her."

He turns a corner, descending into the spiral staircase, "From there, we had something of a mutual interest that gave us the bond of friendship for some time." He glances at Batman, "Of course, you wouldn't believe it to be like that, do you?"

"Keep talking."

He suppresses a smile, "Over the course of my long life, I've found quite a few writings of the existence of another dimension. Of course we know there are many but this one was particular in the sense that it was from the time that Atlantis was still part of the world -or perhaps even before then. With the proven existence that Hila provided I decided to causally pursue this interest. Old gods sealed away for some reason or another- no one could quite discern why but they had worshipers everywhere."

Frowning he presses a button that lead them into another corridor, "Disgusting creatures. I abandoned this line of questioning for some time until I became aware of something else in the last few years." He turns as they came to a stop in front of a door in the long stone hallway, "Did you know that by the end of this month, there will be seven billion people walking this earth? The strain of such a population increase on the resources- not to mention on the balance of nature itself would have been too immense."

"So you used Waller to help you track down the rest of the items to eradicate a good portion of the human population by using the excuse it would be good for the country's sake." Batman kept his hands hidden behind the cape. One hand curled into a fist at the nerve of people making such arbitrary decisions. "You two make such a nice couple."

"One would think." Ra's al Ghul ignored the latter of the comment, "That a decrease in population would be for the best for everyone involved, so yes. I did entreat her to help and the decision to give those from Xebel the items as a proxy to see if it worked was something of a serendipitous moment. We had no idea that there had been some that wished to open that dimension."

"More like you didn't realize that those 'Old Gods' could influence others to open the dimension for them." Batman had his answer for that though, "And the boy?"

"Well, yes." Ra's al Ghul simply opens the door they were standing in front of, "He is here. Alive and well thanks to the efforts of someone else. Apparently, Hila's spell causes a temporary holding cell if you would, of the soul. So while he may seem dead to all that check-and indeed is- it recalls the soul back to the body once a sacrifice has been given."

Batman heard this, but still he almost really couldn't believe what he was seeing. Kaldur was alive, sleeping really, on a bed on the far side of the room. Standing where he was, he could see the rise and fall of his chest.

He almost didn't notice the other man standing next to him until he looks. "How do you know all this?"

"Simple, Detective." Ra's al Ghul smiles slightly, "I had unintentionally helped her create such a spell. Upon further examination, I found out what I could of it. It's quite ingenious except for the need of death before and after. Other then that, I believe he is fine."

"What do you want?" He knows there's nothing free in this world. Let alone this. Ra's al Ghul wanted something from him for this.

The older man's smile widens a bit, "I wish for you to become my heir."

"No thanks." Batman moves forward to collect Kaldur from the bed, "I have enough on my plate then to deal with assassins."

"A pity." Ra's al Ghul said, "Well then, Detective, you have approximately five minutes to get both you and him out before my guards kill you on sight."

Batman hadn't expected any less from him then that. Actually, he thinks while carrying Kaldur out and trying to evade capture, this is almost the nicest thing that he's ever done.

He must be slipping up in his old age.


AN: Easter Eggs-

Ra's al Ghul and Batman have a history. Also Ra's knows Batman's secret idenity. Originally, though, instead of Bruce, he had wanted Robin to be his heir. Despite the fact he has a daughter.

Seven Billion People- This is actually -true-. At the end of October there will currently be about 7billion people on earth. The concerns Ra's listed are actually also true.

Aquababy- Yeah, Black Manta actually does kill aquababy in the comics. Though by another means of course.