Superman charged at him like a raging bull. Arms pumping at his sides, he closed the distance between them, drawing a large fist back, and throwing it at the last moment. Throwing an arm up, Batman blocked the blow with his forearm.

At least, that was the plan. The force behind the blow was stronger than he had anticipated and he found his upper body being forced back as he leaned to compensate, causing strain in his lower back. Not the least bit deterred, he swung his own fist, going in low and arcing up, landing the punch to Superman's abdomen.

The Kryptonian didn't so much as grunt, standing here as he looked at the dark-clad man blankly. In fact, they both stared at each other, holding their positions, seeming to wait for something, anything to happen.

Something did happen, though it wasn't in Batman's favor. Before he knew it, Superman's other hand had snaked up, taking hold of his shoulder in a vice-like grip. Drawing his head back, he then swung it forward, headbutting the Dark Knight across the forehead, stars exploding before his eyes.

Letting out a pained cry, Batman stumbled back, feeling the pressure from Superman's grip on his shoulder disappearing. He found out why a moment later as a fist rammed into the side of his face, snapping his head to a side, spit flying out of his mouth. The pain he felt in his face was soon overwhelmed by the one that erupted in his gut as he took another blow there, causing him to bend over and lose his breath.

Finally, he was struck again by a punch to the face, this one sending him careening backwards through the air, crashing to the floor a short distance away. His body bounced once, his legs flipping over his head and causing him to go into an uncomfortable roll, the vigilante ending up on his stomach, cape draped all over him.

That had hurt—really hurt. He had fought quite a few people on the super pill, but none of them had leveled Batman like this. He gasped for air, sucking in as much as he could.

"You're probably asking yourself 'why does it hurt so much?'" Superman spoke them, casually walking towards him. "You've fought quite a few of my guards on the pill and none of them had hurt you this badly."

Pushing himself onto his hands and knees, then onto the balls of his feet, Batman glared at the approaching Kryptonian. This didn't stop the man from answering his rhetorical question. "And the answer is pretty simple: those pills were made for my biology. The tech that made them is Kryptonian, so naturally their effects on me will be greater than a human."

"That a fact?" Batman drawled as he reached to his belt, pulling out a bat-shaped shuriken. "Then I guess I should stop holding back."

Whipping his arm out in front of him, he sent the shuriken spinning through the air as it flew towards the Kryptonian. Superman stopped his walking, waiting for the projectile to reach him, which it did, colliding with his chest.

An explosion suddenly erupted, the blast knocking the dark-haired man back a step as he cried out. Pushing off against the floor, Batman charged at his foe, leaping up into the air at the last moment as he leaned backwards, extending a leg out in front of him. Through the small smoke cloud, he felt his foot ram into Superman's face, the vigilante bouncing off of it as he dropped back to the floor. Leaping forward, he threw an uppercut into Superman's stomach, followed by another, and then another. This time he heard a grunt.

Then was promptly nailed in the side of the head with a casual backhand blow.

Because of his focus on the offensive, Batman had failed to see Superman casually crossing an arm over his chest, then the subsequent swing of it back, the back of his fist hitting him hard enough to send him flying back through the air again. This time, Batman's back slammed into the door, causing it to dent from the impact. Somehow, he managed to land on his feet, maintaining his balance.

"I have to say, I'm rather disappointed," Superman remarked, this time not even making a move towards him. "Here I am, at half-strength at best, and you haven't even tickled me. When are you going to get serious and bring out the Kryptonite? You know that's the only way to take me."

Batman narrowed his eyes. That was either a taunt, or a trap lying in wait. What other reason would a man bring up his own widely-known weakness in a fight? While he had lost his powers, the dark-clad man highly doubted the same spell took away his vulnerabilities as well. There to be an ulterior motive.

Not that it mattered. He didn't have a sliver of that irradiated rock, mainly because he had been so certain of his theory of Superman's lost powers. At least, he didn't have a solid form of it. He had underestimated the super pills effects on the man, but that was something he could compensate for.

Again, he went for his belt, pulling out a multitude of shuriken. Swinging his arms back and forth in front of him, he launched a shuriken with each swing, the projectiles flying towards their target.

Instead of letting them hit him this time, Superman began to dodge, leaning back and to a side to avoid the first one, stepping to a side with the next one, which left his profile facing the vigilante. Leaping in the direction he was facing, he dodged the next shuriken, ducking soon after as a fourth flew at him, going over his head. Each shuriken hit the floor or the wall the moment they passed by, an end sticking into the surface.

"You done yet?" Superman asked him, giving him a bored look.

"Not quite," the Dark Knight replied. "I'm just waiting for the boom."

Immediately, the dark-haired man whipped his head around to look at the shuriken around the room. Instantly, Batman threw another shuriken, watching as it flew at the Kryptonian. By the time Superman realized his bluff, he had just turned his head around in time for the projectile to hit him against his shoulder.

Electricity blasted out of the shuriken, sending a jolting shock throughout Superman's body, the man crying out from the pain. Running again, Batman timed his run for maximum lift as he once more leapt as high as he could. Leaning forward as he swung his legs back and then up over his head, he flipped over his foe. He was at mid-flip, completely upside down above Superman's head when he shot his arms out, wrapping them around the Kryptonian's head and neck. Because of the insulation of his suit, the electricity shocking his opponent didn't faze him, which allowed him to use his momentum to swing downward, forcing the dark-haired man to bend backwards.

The moment Batman's feet swung underneath him and touched down on the floor, he pulled as hard as he could forward on Superman's head, feeling the Kryptonian's back press against his shoulder. Letting out a yell, Batman forced his foe to go into a back flip over the dark-clad man's shoulder, swinging him through the air and then down onto the ground. Superman slammed down hard on the floor, the electricity shocking stopping the moment his body crushed the shuriken beneath him.

Refusing to give up his advantage, Batman hauled one of his legs up before he sent it slamming down on the back of Superman's head, stomping him over and over. He wasn't sure if he was doing damage this way, but he was pretty sure he was making the man see stars at the moment.

And then Superman reacted. Shooting an arm out, he slapped at the vigilante's grounded foot, knocking it out from under him. Feeling himself tumbling backwards, Batman shot his arms out over his head, going into a back flip as his hands touched down on the floor, and then pushed off of it, landing back on his feet.

By then, Superman was back on on his own, charging at him with a raised fist. Stepping back, he avoided the first punch, backing a step again to avoid the second. As he saw Superman drawing back a third punch, he couldn't help but noticed just how wide the man had his legs.

This time, Batman jumped backwards, just as the Kryptonian threw his now-third missed punch. Instantly, he dove forward, dropping to the floor where he slid across it, sliding between his foe's open legs. As he slowed to a stop, he rolled onto his back, bringing both of his legs up, his knees damn near at his chest. Kicking out with them, his feet collided with the back of Superman's knees, causing them to buckle, a short cry coming from the man as he dropped to his knees.

This time, Batman didn't press his advantage, scrambling back onto his feet and putting a several feet between him and his opponent. Though he was sure he had caused some pain, he couldn't see any outward sign of injury, which was quite concerning. He narrowed his eyes as he saw Superman slowly get back onto his feet, turning around to scowl at him.

After all that, he hadn't even drawn blood, bruised the man, or even given him a fat lip. Damn it.

"If that's the best you've got, then you're going to lose, Bruce," the dark-haired man told him. "I really hope that was it."

In his current state, yeah, that was. He had been hoping that he wouldn't have to use this just yet, but it seemed he didn't have much choice. A de-powered Superman he should've been able to take; someone of Diana, or Shazam's class required more power.

It seemed so did a Superman on Kryptonian-made super pills.

Holding an arm up, he reached up with his other and pressed a button with on his gauntlet. A moment later, a green light lit up the back of his hands, the light forming a line that went up his arms. The inner edges of his triangle blades lit up as well as was as the outline of the Bat Symbol on his chest.

All of this caused Superman to narrow his eyes. "Bought yourself another toy, Bruce? I don't know what it is, but I'm going to take pleasure in breaking it."

And then he charged again. This time, Batman held his ground, arms at his sides as he waited. He saw the man draw another fist back, saw it be thrown for his head.

In an instant, the Dark Knight shot a hand out and caught the fist, holding it at bay as if it were nothing.

Eyes focused on Superman, he watched as surprise appeared on the man's face, eyes slowing glancing to where his fist was held by the gloved hand of his foe. Hardening his face, Batman then threw his own punch, slamming it into the man's unguarded face, causing his head to jerk back into an awkward angle.

Then the Kryptonian was flung backwards, sailing through the air until he landed on his back on the ground. Slowly, Batman lowered his hands and waited.

He didn't have to wait for very long. "What...what was that?" Superman asked softly as he began to push himself up, cradling his jaw with one hand.

"Kryptonite-powered combat suit," Batman answered him. "I made it after your demolition of Metropolis. After that fight, I realized that if I were to take you head-on, a large mech-suit was not the way to go. Mobility, as well as power and durability, would be needed."

A scowl appeared on the dark-haired man's face as he slowly got back onto his feet. "It always goes back to Kryptonite, doesn't it? Why can't you megalomaniac billionaires come up with something else?"

"The moment you come up with a power source greater than Kryptonite, I'd gladly use it. Until then, get used to me using it to kick your Kryptonian ass."

So this was the situation: there was a red robot standing in front of Ollie and Mr. Terrific. According to Terrific, this robot was a match for the weapons project Cyborg had been conducting here. For some reason, Ollie had been under the impression that said project hadn't been completed.

Goes to show what he knew.

"So, how much should I be hoping this thing doesn't see you," the blond archer muttered to his counterpart. It had only been a couple minutes ago, but Terrific had confessed that there wasn't a machine that could see him. If that was the case, they had an advantage here. It was better than not having one considering they were looking right at a robot with unknown capabilities.

"You don't have to hope," Terrific told him, clutching at his crowbar with both hands. "Right now the only person it should be focused on is you."

Perfect. "Then I've got an idea. I'll distract it while you sneak around and put it out of commission." Yeah, that was a good plan if he didn't say so himself. "You got another of those toys you used on Cyborg handy?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Well, now that was disappointing. "I only had enough time to make the one," Mr. Terrific explained, even as he slowly edged himself away from Ollie. He wasn't sure if the man was trying to stay out of hitting distance of him, or was attempting to work his way around the robot guy. "But don't worry, I'll come up with something. You just keep its attention on you."

"Or else what? It's not like it's going to see you."

With that said, Ollie did take off running to his right—and more importantly away from Mr. Terrific. This Tornado robot turned its head to follow him, which was a good sign that it was indeed locked onto him. Reaching up to his quiver, he pulled out an arrow, notching it as he skidded across the floor on his feet as he came to a stop. Taking aim, he fired the arrow right at the robot.

Only to see Red Tornado raise a hand up, and what was best described as a torrent of red wind blow out of its palm. The arrow never stood a chance as it was blown off course, being flung away uselessly.

Unfortunately, the wind tunnel continued moving forward and hit Ollie right in the chest, knocking him off his feet, and sending him flying backwards until his back slammed against a wall. "Ahh!" he grunted out before he dropped to the floor, sitting there in a heap.

That hadn't felt good.

By then, fortunately, Mr. Terrific had managed to sneak around Red Tornado. With his crowbar held high, he swung it down and low, hitting the robot on the side of its knee. The robot's leg gave, causing it to lurch awkwardly to a side.

Then out of nowhere, Red Tornado raised its right arm, holding level at shoulder height. Inexplicably it twisted it's upper body around, landing a backhand across Mr. Terrific's face. The blow sent the man flying backwards until he crashed onto the nearby wall, dropping to the floor where he sat limply.

Ollie stared agape at the sight. What...what had happened? Wasn't Mr. Terrific invisible to robots? How had Red Tornado even hit him? This didn't make any sense at all!

Red Tornado turned itself to look at Terrific, except he didn't look right at the man. Instead it seemed as if he were looking at the wall next to him. "Unknown threat detected," it said, head turning to the left and then the right. "Searching for visual identification of threat—status: progressing."

Was...was this actually happening? The robot had dropped its guard, actually facing away from the archer as it searched for Terrific. There was a time or two its actual head seemed to look right at the unconscious man, but didn't pause to regard him. This was too absurd and lucky to happen.

The fact that the robot had hit Terrific must have been a defensive action. Though it didn't see Terrific, it felt him hit its leg and thus reacted. It was the only thing that made sense at the moment. However, there was an opportunity before the blond archer and he wasn't going to let it slip away.

Immediately, Ollie was on one knee, an arrow notched on his bow. He didn't even have to pause to take aim as he let the arrow fly, watching as it flew right for the back of Red Tornado's head.

Then watched as the arrow collided with the metal exterior and bounce off harmlessly.

Now that was just sad.

Immediately, Red Tornado returned its sights to Ollie. "Target acquired: Oliver Queen."

"Shit," he cursed. He had the perfect set-up, an unguarded target, and he used a normal arrow against a clearly arrow-proof exterior. Why hadn't he used one of his trick arrows? His gift-wrapped opportunity was literally flying out of the window.

Before he could berate himself further, the robot raised a hand up, aiming it right at him. Eyes widening, Ollie shot up onto his feet and began running, just before the red wind tunnel fired out of his foe's hand and hit the spot he had been kneeling at. Red Tornado moved its hand to follow after its target, the wind tunnel giving chase. Arms pumping at his sides, Ollie ran as fast as he could to keep ahead of the machine-made tornado.

It was times likes these Ollie considered what he was doing with his life as a vigilante. On the one hand, he was standing up against tyrannical meta-humans, sticking up for his beliefs, and fighting the good fight. On the other hand, he was being chased by a never-ending blast of wind that could throw him around the room like a ragdoll, possibly snapping his neck in the process, and for what? People that would've preferred him dead so that he wasn't inconveniencing their head-in-the-sand lifestyle?

Unfortunately, there wasn't much time to get into that old debate as he had a slight problem that required his attention. He was running out of room to run and the moment that happened he was going to get hit by Robo-Red over there. He had to do something to keep that from happening.

So he put a full-stop to his running, his feet skidding across the floor. Twisting his body around, he saw the approaching swirl drawing closer and closer. The moment he came to a stop, Ollie leaped forward, falling to his knees as he leaned as far back as he could. The wind tunnel crossed over his face and chest, missing him by mere inches.

Once he had safely avoided the attack, Ollie had drawn a trick arrow, notching it to his bow. Firing it, it flew low to the ground, where it came to land, its tip embedding itself on the floor just by Red Tornado's feet. A series of red glowing numbers flickered and changed on the side of the canister on the arrow's shaft until they counted down to zero. The moment they did, the arrow detonated, the explosion throwing Red Tornado off of his feet, and sending it flying backwards through the air.

Too bad it didn't stay that way.

Throwing its arms out, Red Tornado fired out its wind tunnels, using them to straighten itself out as it began to fall back to the ground. When its legs were underneath it, they too began to fire out wind, twin wind tunnels that soon combined together to form one larger wind tunnel that enveloped it from the hips down to its feet. Because of this, it was now hovering in midair, staring Ollie down.

Oh great, it could fly too.

Leaning forward, hands pointed down its body, Red Tornado unleash another burst of wind, flinging itself towards the Emerald Archer. Eyes widening, Ollie immediately pulled out another trick arrow, this one with the freezing feature. He fired it the moment he had it on the bowstring.

In response, the robot moved one of its arms out in front of it and waved it over its face, using its wind power to blow the arrow off course. Ollie didn't see where it landed, mostly because Red Tornado rammed into him, its hands grabbing onto him as it carried the blond man through the air until it slammed him against the wall. He let out a cry of pain as he felt an incredible force holding him there.

"You will be eliminated," Red Tornado said to him, staring into his eyes through white, lifeless lens.

"Funny," Ollie gasped out. "That's what all my exs tell me."

Aside from a basic grasp of manners, it seemed this robot also lacked humor. Swinging Ollie to a side, the robot sent him flying through the air until he crash landed on the ground, skidding across it until he came to a stop.

And that was also what his exs did when he made that remark.

"A little help," he grunted out loud as he began to push himself up. That wasn't too much to ask for, was it? He didn't think so. Of all the twisted mechanizations he had to fight with against the Regime, this one he wasn't quite sure he'd walk away from. Normal arrows were useless and that wind the robot produced could push aside his trick arrows. He was running out of options.

No, wait; that wasn't quite right. He just needed to create a scenario to use his arrows. He had done much the same with the explosive arrow, using Red Tornado's own wind attack as a distraction. He just had to do the same, only on purpose.

That wasn't too tall of an order.

Forcing himself onto his feet, Ollie looked haggardly at the approaching android, which had taken the time to actually land on the floor and begin walking towards him. "So I've been thinking," he announced to it, the robot not even breaking its stride. "With all of your abilities, my arrows can't quite get to you."

"That is correct," it intoned.

"So you must be thinking to yourself: why does this puny human keep doing something that clearly isn't working?"

"That question is not worth the output to compute."

Ooooh, harsh. "Well, then, allow me to answer this question you hardly have time for." Pulling out his explosive trick arrows, Ollie began to fire them one at a time, always pulling out one from his quiver once he had fired another. Unlike his previous shots, however, they weren't going anywhere near the robot, which made it not even bother deflecting them. The ceiling, the floor, even the wall behind it was covered with his dwindling supply of explosive arrows.

"It's because of this," Ollie said, stopping his firing and flicking a small switch on the grip of his bow.

Suddenly, the arrows exploded. They weren't big ones, but they were loud and there were enough of them to cause the robot to stop in its tracks, turning its head from the floor to the ceiling to determine if it needed to evade the blasts.

Holding his bow sideways, Ollie notched two more arrows, one held between his index and middle fingers, the other between the middle and rings fingers. Because of this, they created an acute angle, small, but noticeable if you knew your way around a bow. "And now that I have your attention!" he shouted, right before he released the arrows.

Because of his shout, Red Tornado turned its head to look at him. By then, the rather ordinary arrows Ollie had fired were traveling too fast and were too close for it to dodge or deflect. His aim rang true as the arrows impaled the robot right in its eyes, puncturing through the lens, and sticking out of its head.

Immediately, Red Tornado began to spasm, its body twisting and turning as it tried poorly to remove the arrows. A gap appeared in its face, right about where the mouth would be, a bizarre screeching sound being made.

So robots could feel pain. Huh.

Though most of this android had been reinforced with steel, which made arrows rather useless, Ollie knew there had to be a weak point. Upon seeing the lens that made its eyes, he had realized the material there had to be different in comparison to its body. He was rather glad he was right in that regard.

However, there was a new opportunity before Ollie and he wasn't going to waste it again. Pulling out his last explosive arrow, he notched it and took aim, then coolly released. The arrow flew through the air until it hit its mark: Red Tornado's mouth. Though it did nothing to stop the sound, it was definitely lodged in there.

Until it exploded, that is. The robot's entire head was enveloped in flames as a loud BOOM! rang out. For once, Red Tornado went still, at least the part of its body the blond man could see. As flames turned into smoke, it them fell to its knees, then collapsed completely onto the floor. The moment the smoke was clear, there wasn't even a head left.

That was Insurgents: 2, Regime: 0.

A low groan reached Ollie's ears, causing him to look towards Mr. Terrific. The man was beginning to shift where he sat. "Well, well, well, look who just got back from dreamland."

"Yeah, yeah," Terrific grunted as he started to move, gingerly getting to his feet. "Did I miss anything?"

"Oh, nothing too exciting. Just a robot that could use wind as a weapon. I blew up its head in case you were wondering."

"Good for you." Terrific rubbed a hand on the back of his head. "So now what do we do?"

Ollie looked to the computer terminal, seeing that it wasn't too damaged. "How does calling in the Calvary sound?"

"Calvary? What Calvary?" the dark-skinned man asked perplexed.

"Well, we're talking about the Regime here. I'm pretty sure their usurpation of power didn't set well with all of the governments in the world. Who's to say they aren't waiting for a moment like this to rise up?"

"It's at least worth trying," Terrific shrugged.

Oh, yes, yes it was.

This wasn't the first time Ra's al Ghul had laid eyes on the radiant Amazonian Princess. He had seen her rage first hand once and dismissed it as a mere triviality. This time he could do no such thing. The Amazon was not restrained to a wall and had the full arsenal of her abilities at her beck and call.

Perhaps she would provide him a worthy challenge.

As she shifted her feet on the sand, the toe of one of her red boots moved underneath the edge of a discarded shield. With a jerk of her foot, she sent the shield flying up into the air, where she snatched it, and placed it on her arm. She did not seek out further armament as she leaned forward and launched herself towards her foe, unleashing her battle cry.

She was quick; much quicker than Ra's had anticipated. Regardless, he threw himself out of her path, twisting his body to a side so that he could strike at her unguarded back as she passed by. His blade failed to touch her as her speed carried her right out of its reach, leaving him to only slice through air.

Princess Diana skidded to a stop across the sand, leaving trails in her wake. The moment she stopped, however, she twisted her torso around, swinging her shield arm out and wide. The shield slipped right off her arm and went spinning right for the older man, much to his surprise. Swinging both of his swords up and crossing them in front of him, he attempted to block the attack.

He was partially successful in this endeavor. The shield collided with his crossed blades, just as he had planned. The force in which it hit, though, pushed his weapons into his face, Ra's crying out as he was knocked off of his feet and sent falling to the ground. Stinging pain ripped into his face as the edges of his swords bit into his flesh, leaving shallow cut marks in their wake.

However, Ra's was not one to be bested so easily. The moment his back hit the ground, he was swinging his legs up, rolling from lower to upper back in an instant. Soon, he was back on his feet, raising his head up as he completed his roll.

Only for Wonder Woman to ram into him, leading with her shoulder. The brunt of the blow landed against his chest, Ra's once more being sent flying back. This time he crashed onto the beach, flipping head over feet and over and over until he ended up on his stomach.

The Demon's Head didn't get up as quickly this time. He laid there for a moment, gasping for air, spitting out grains of sand that clung to his lips. He had known of the Amazon's superior strength; yet, knowing was not the same as experiencing. She had held nothing back in that attack. Burning pain lanced throughout his chest, informing him that he had fractured, if not broken, ribs.

How inconvenient.

Forcing himself up, he soon stood on his feet, just as the Amazon stormed towards him. Raising his arms, he held a stance as he waited for his opponent to enter his reach. The moment she did, he lashed out with a sword, swinging it for her shoulder. In response, she raised her arm up and blocked the strike, his sword clashing against her bracer.

Undeterred, he held his other sword high above his head before swinging it down for her head. She blocked this too as she moved her other arm above her head, performing a high block. Seeing an opening, Ra's lunged forward, thrusting for her face with his sword.

In response, she swung a hand up and across, using her palm to slap against the flat side of the thrusting blade, pushing it away. Keeping her arm crossed, she leaped forward, swinging the arm out a moment later. The back of her hand collided with the side of Ra's face, stopping his forward progress and throwing him backwards.

This time he managed to stay on his feet, stumbling with his steps until he managed to regain his footing. All of this occurred in spite of the burning pain in his chest with every breath he took. Unfortunately, he did not have time to be consumed by this as the Amazon was on the attack, throwing her other fist right for his head.

Ducking low, Ra's avoided the blow, lashing out with one of his blades. He finally struck true as his sword cut right into the armor at the woman's stomach, drawing blood as he completed the swing.

In an instant, Wonder Woman had jumped away, putting some distance between them. One of her hands was pressed to her stomach to stanch the blood. Eyeing the wound and the amount of blood he saw, he was sad to say it was a shallow one, a flesh wound at best. Still, it was enough to put the Amazon on her guard.

"It has been quite some time since I last saw you, Amazonian," Ra's greeted her then. He needed for her to drop her guard again, only this time he would go for a deadlier strike. To do that, he needed to prey on her emotions—a simple endeavor.

"Not nearly long enough," Wonder Woman spat out in response. "How dare you soil this land?"

"I could say the same of you," Ra's replied evenly. "I once believed that you would be the driving force that would save this planet from the human race, only to be disappointed when you began contaminating the environment for the 5-U-93-R."

"That is no reason for someone as evil as you to show yourself. You should have remained in hiding."

"The Great Ra's al Ghul does not hide," the older man snapped back. "I have lived in this world for centuries; I have long since learned of the necessity of indirect action."

"And I have millennia," she countered. "Age is not a determining factor for wisdom."

"You may have more years, perhaps, but you spent most of those hidden from the world. That is no way to live one's life; your departure from this island is evidence of that."

"Neither is sending one's child out to do their dirty work."

Ra's clenched his jaw. How dare this creature invoke the image of his daughter? "I promise you, Amazon, before this day is out, I will raze Themyscira to the ground. You have robbed me of my flesh and blood; I will now take away your culture's legacy, one of hypocrisy and isolation."

Princess Diana's face darkened. "For those words, I will personally rip your head from your shoulders."

And then she charged at him, arms pumping at her sides. Waiting until the last moment, Ra's then spun to a side, dropping low as he swung his sword out in an attempt to slice open her hamstring as she passed by him. Seeing this, Wonder Woman leaped off of the ground, soaring through the air passed him and beyond his blade's reach.

Coming to a landing, she dropped to one knee before she shot back up onto her feet, an Amazonian spear in one hand. Spinning around as she reversed her grip on the weapon's shaft, she drew her arm back before throwing it forward, sending the spear flying towards Ra's.

Moving both of his swords to one side as he leaned in the same direction, he then swung them up one at a time, the first striking the spear at its neck, knocking it away from him. The second sword collided further down the shaft to make sure the back end didn't smack him across the face.

By then, Wonder Woman was practically on top of him, fist drawn back and ready to be thrown. In response, Ra's thrust with the first sword to strike the spear, which caused the Amazon to jerk to one side. She was too slow to completely dodge the thrust though, the blade biting into her shoulder as it passed by, leaving another shallow cut in its wake.

Not content with such wound, Ra's fully extended his thrusting arm out, and thus his sword, before swinging a side slash at his foe. Wonder Woman blocked this in spite of her wound, her bracer clashing against his steel.

Before he could strike with his other sword, however, the Amazonian Princess suddenly shot her other hand out, grabbing onto the front of his armor by the collar. Pulling him forward, she then lunged forward, leading with her head. The top of her skull collided with his forehead, which caused an explosion of stars before his eyes, leaving him stunned and crying out in pain.

This left him blind to the Amazon releasing him as she leaned backwards, raising up a leg. Kicking out with it, the bottom of her foot slammed right into his solar plexus, sending him sailing backwards through the air. The bottom of his boots grazed against the top of the sandy beach until gravity forced him down. Throwing his arms out wide, Ra's managed to maintain his balance as he came to a stop.

Unfortunately, much to Ra's chagrin, Wonder Woman was no longer in front of him. It was as if she had vanished while his eyes were closed from the headbutt. Immediately, alarms were going off in his head. She was still here, somewhere, of that he had no doubt. He knew she was a warrior at heart and a warrior always sought out a foe's weakest point. For a seasoned swordsman as Ra's al Ghul, that meant only one place.

Spinning around, Ra's moved his swords to assume a defensive stance, only to be a moment too late. While he had correctly guessed the Amazon had moved behind him, his accumulated injuries had slowed him down enough for her to impale a spear right through his body. A choked gasp left his lips as his felt the sharp spear enter his body and exit out his back, blood trickling down the shaft.

Kneeling down in front of him was Wonder Woman, her hands on the spear's shaft. "You are finished, Little Man."

Ra's didn't even respond as he stumbled back a step, only to lose his footing and fall onto his back. Because of the spear head sticking out from his back, the ground pushed it back into his body, causing searing pain as the spear moved within him. He let out a strangled cry, specks of blood flying out of his mouth.

And then the Amazon was standing beside him, a hand on the spear. With one tug, she removed it from his stomach, then moved the tip to his neck. "I have fought many warriors in my time," she spoke to him, "and I find you quite lacking."

Taunting a fallen foe? So be it. Ra's had been in such a position before many a time, so he could not fault his vanquisher. Though if she thought she would have the last laugh, so to speak, then she was sorely mistaken.

"Though I have been felled," he said softly, "my will shall be done regardless."

The dark-haired woman narrowed her eyes. "No, your will ends here."

He tilted his head towards her, a haughty look appearing on his face. "Do you honestly believe this is the end? Ask yourself this: why would anyone attack your island?"

"Greed, evil," she immediately rattled off. "It does not take much to divine your reasons."

"Such simplicity. The Detective was right about you."

A scowl appeared on the Amazon's face. "Do not speak of Bruce to me, you vile monster."

"If you would humor me, Amazon, perhaps you will realize just how much of a fool you are," Ra's retorted. "It is widely known how you keep yourself at the Kryptonian's side. It is nearly impossible to separate you; yet, here you are."

His words must have reached her as he saw hesitation in her eyes. "I can truthfully say that it was my idea to attack your island, the inspiration for it was not my own. I truly wish this was not the case, considering how obvious it is to remove you from Superman's side. You blinded yourself the moment you heard of your island's bloodied shores, abandoning your post." He turned his head away as he looked up to the cloudless sky. "As I said, my will shall be done regardless."

He waited for the finishing blow because he knew it would come. It never did though, as he caught sight of the Amazon taking off into flight from the corner of his eye. A bubble of dark humor welled up within him and he did not resist the urge to chuckle.

Indeed, the day would be ultimately his, regardless of when the Amazon returned to Neo-Metropolis. The Detective would have won the day and sealed their victory. That thought comforted him as he took in and released his last breath.

As I've mentioned to some reviewers throughout the story, the battle armor Batman is wearing is the one he uses in the Injustice 2 video game. I add a couple more details to it, like the outlining of the Bat Symbol, but it's largely the same.

To Guest: Well, that's up to whatever you want it to be. But I can say what that what he saw was the same thing he saw the first time he was dosed with fear toxin in Genesis.

To FlackAttack: Well damn, you guessed that twist in the nick of time