Sweat drips down my back as the desert sun beats down. It was entirely too hot for any person to be outside, but none of us were sane enough to realize that. At least not in the world's eyes.

So here we are, around a hundred assassins, fully dressed and training until fatigue hit. Ten hour days for us adults and six for the children. For the ones born into the league it was instilled at a young age, so all this was normal. However, me joining at an older age caused some adjustment delays where I had to suffer in silence. To say it was embarrassing for me to end every day passed out in front of my door was an understatement.

As I sit here lotus style and a jian sword laid across my lap, I watched my fellow brothers and sisters fight until their last breaths. Whether that meant passing out or throwing up uncontrollably, they didn't seem to mind. At least not outwardly, at this point they were only concerned with not looking weak.

Here in the league, the weak were seen as trash and cast out within the bat of an eyelash. I hadn't personally seen how they were casted out but the whispers were it was not something you wanted to see, in fact I had learned that parents used being casted out to scare their children into acting right. Not the most conventional type of parenting but who was I to judge when I had not the slightest idea of how to be a parent and was not interested in gaining one.

Taking a deep breath and refocusing on the children in front of me I watch patiently as their little shoulder rose and fell almost perfectly in sync with one another. Clearing my throat their little eyes snap open and focus on me immediately.

"I suppose we should get started before we all pass out," I smile.

They don't respond instead their eyebrows raise quizzically before they look out the corner of their eyes to their peers. These kids had little to no sense of humor, especially at this age. They'd been hardened in their young eight years and it was currently my job to instill the creases they would rely on later in life.

"That was a joke," I explain, "you can laugh."

I still don't receive a laugh and I decide to move on. There was reason to make this any more awkward than it already was. At least now they looked a lot more open to me.

Grabbing the hilt of my sword I use my left hand to rest underneath the blade and raise it up so they all could see it. Their backs seem to straighten even more if that's possible.

"Your weapon should not be foreign to you, it should be an extension of your limbs." Pausing I look them over and squint. "Do you guys know what limbs are," I question.

They exchanged quizzical glances with each other before turning to face me and shrug. Even though these kids weren't exactly comedians they did have me laughing every now and then.

"They're arms and legs," I laugh.

Standing up I motion for them to do the same and wait until they are all situated. Being as there are at least twenty of them and they all carry swords it is an awkward and long motion for them. Some of them even drop their swords with a quiet clatter that makes their faces tint red.

The adults closer to my age than the age of these kids' parents snicker and it makes the kids even more self conscious. Which seemed like such a butthole move. I mean these kids were just now at the age where they'd moved from hand to hand combat to finally laying hands on a weapon. There was no need to make them feel any worse.

Silencing them with a glare I mouth for them to leave and watch as they flee almost immediately. "Do not be embarrassed you all are learning." I try to keep my words encouraging as I talk to them, because I know how words affect the development of children. "The most important thing about wielding a weapon is knowing its purpose." This time my eyes sweep over how the children are looking at their swords.

Most are looking at it in astonishment, while this weapon wasn't exactly their own it was in their possession. Others looked at it in fear, afraid they could hurt themselves or others. Then there was the very few who looked down on it in determination, determined to conquer anything in their way with the weapon.

Stretching my hand out that holds the blade I stare at the gleaming steel, almost as infatuated with it as I was the day I got it. "The blade is sharp and only a disciplined mind should wield it." With hard eyes I drop the sword and instruct them all to do the same. "For if a weak mind wields it they will be destroyed by it."

By the time I was done with training the sun had set and had sent the kids back to their parents for baths and dinner. Following their lead I also head to my room to shower and change before heading down the dinner.

The dining hall is what I would describe as an up class cafeteria. Instead of linoleum floors they were wooden and instead of lunch tables there are dining room tables. All the meals were served buffet style with an occasional kitchen staff member watching to make sure you didn't get more than you were supposed to.

Joining the line I head all the way to the end since I wasn't that hungry. Grabbing a bowl I load it up with lettuce, grilled chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms and honey mustard. Next I head to my usual table and grab one of the glasses of water that sits in the middle of table.

Dinner for me usual was quiet seeing as most people liked to keep their distance. I think they were afraid of what Ra's might do if they stepped out of line with me. The littler kids liked to come up to me by they were usually always intercepted by their parents.

"Are we going to talk about it?" His velvety voice makes me tense inwardly but on the outside I keep my eyes focused on the bowl of salad in front of me.

"I don't see what needs to be talked about," I exhale before lifting my eyes to stare into hooded brown ones.

Danny looks a lot more calm than a couple of nights before and I know it's because his anger had been let out with training. Which was good for me because that meant I could forgo another night of arguing with him until I was red in the face.

"You don't think we need to talk about this," he pauses trying to find a word with his face twisted in disgust. "This fetish Ra's al Ghul has with you." He hisses while sinking into the chair in front of me.

The word fetish makes my lips quirk up slightly just before I shove a forkful of lettuce covered honey mustard into my mouth. "You had three days to think it over and fetish is the word you came up with?" The snort that escapes me has the couple at the end of my table looking at us.

"This isn't a damn joke!" His hand slams against the table top and I watch as the water in my glass vibrates.

I can feel the heat wanting to waft off of me so I take a deep breath and push my food away. "You knew what The Demon's Head wanted for me before you got in a relationship with me."

Her jaw ticks and it's all I can do to keep from rolling my eyes. It was the same thing every single time he felt threatened and I was tired of fighting with him.

"I also know that deep down you're nothing but a damn kid," he hisses between barred teeth. "You think you'd be anything without me? Without a significant other to secure your place?" He lets out a humorless laugh before placing his chin in his hand to smile at me.

"And yet you aren't the one the Demon's Head arranged for me to marry."

The smile on his face disappears just as my sentence finishes and a surge of pride bubbles up inside of me. He was at a loss for words and now his image was hurt even more than he was at the summit.

Looking past him I spot Nyssa in the door way of the dining hall starring directly at me. Her lips quirk up into a honest smile before she nudges her head to the side in a silent call.

"I have to go." I mumble to Danny ignoring the way his nostrils flare. Grabbing my tray I expertly dodge the other patrons crowding the dining hall.

After depositing my dishes I meet Nyssa at the door and greet her with a bowed head.

"Stop it." Her hand pushes gently against my shoulder in playful annoyance that I can only laugh at in genuine amusement.

"Of course." My voice takes on a air of diplomacy that has both of us laughing hysterically as we walk through the halls.

Our laughter dies down as we walk through the familiar dark halls that usually extinguish the playfulness we exhaust. The mud brick walls always fascinated me when I entered this hallway, maybe it was the fact they had chosen such an odd material in such a modern age. Then again, the league had been together for hundreds of years from what I learned. The torches attached to the wall burned lowly and at a easy pace that instantly calms me.

"Do you know what he wants to talk about?"

Nyssa hums briefly before I see her brush her inky black hair behind her ear. "Specifically, no. In general, the usual." Her voice is much more gentle than any other assassin in this place and I think that's what drawer me to her in the first place.

She had the motherly atmosphere around and she was just so easy to talk to. Like her father she'd taken me under her wing when I first got here. Since then the two of us had been what I would classify as friends. She also assisted in giving me advice on how to abide by league rules without completely losing myself, something that was only supposed to be between the two of us.

"So a new mission." Blowing out a loud breath my eyes flicker to the torches along my left, making sure that they keep their flames.

It doesn't take long for us to come upon a set of red oak doors with golden circular handles in the shape of a dragon's body. Nyssa steps forward and pulls a key from her sleeve and inserts it into the door before a soft click sounds and the door opens inwardly.

I wait until she steps to the side and beckons me to go ahead before I enter into the small room and she closes the door behind me. The room's walls are covered in bamboo paneling, and similar to outside the light sources are mounted on the wall instead of the ceiling, the exception is that instead of torches they were candles. The floor of the room is grass and in the dead center in the form of a rectangle is a box of sand. In the corner of the room is a small water fall and pond filled with koi fish.

The room always had a calming atmosphere to it and I could understand why he was usually in here. With the stress this life put on its lower class I couldn't imagine what kind of stress was resting on the shoulders of the ruling class. Although, I suppose I would find out one day.

Slipping my shoes off I seat myself into the grass to focus on the smooth rocks residing in the sand. "It is almost time for your beauty rest is it not?" I smile at the laugh my question produces and look up to see him walking into the room with a smirk on his face.

"Quite the comedian today." His tone in even as he sits in front of me and hands over a manila folder. "Your new assignment, I assumed you would want to get right back to work." Without sparring me another glance he picks up a hand rake and turns his focus to the sandbox.

I silently go through the folder trying to catch up as fast as I can. The first two materials in the folder are pictures and upon closer inspection I realize it's a person in some dark and heavily armored uniform. The helmet had ears shaped like a bat and they were wearing a flowing cape that matched the rest of their uniform. At the bottom was a caption that read: The Gotham Bat.

Gotham bat, I had heard that name before. Flipping to the next page it was just another photograph of the person this time swinging through the air on some kind of wire. After two pictures I decided to move on to the news clipping also placed in the folder. Some go back about three years while others were as new as a month ago. In those clippings the figure is referred to as both: The Great Detective and Batman.

"Makes for quite the interesting read doesn't it?" Hesitantly tearing my eyes away from the contents of the folder I look up into Ra's green eyes. "A man dressed as a bat."

"The man obviously has some kind of inner turmoil. Who dresses like a bat?" I snort before shutting the folder and laying it in my lap. "So what do you want me to do exactly?"

Ra's takes a deep breath before he continues to take the sand. "I want you to end him of course, he poses a threat to everything we stand for." His tone is full of boredom and a hint of annoyance. "I trust your judgment on this so you can take however long you want."

My eyes widen at that before I hear him tsk. He hated when I did that. "Such a blatant show of shock, expressing your emotions so freely will get you killed." Steeling my face I wait until his head lifts to focus on me. When he nods slightly I know it's my opportunity to question him.

"You're just letting me run wild, you are letting a rabid dog off it's leash?" I press while holding up the folder for emphasis.

"Jade, I have no desire to repeat myself." His green eyes are in slits as he sets the rake down and reaches in his robes to pull out a small brown pouch. "Here are your identification, keys to an apartment, and money to get you situated." He drops the pouch into my lap and stands to head over to the koi pond. "That will be all."

His dismissal of me has me rolling my eyes but nevertheless I stand and bow before leaving the room. The walk back to my own room to pack is a long one with me contemplating everything that was in the folder. Seeing as the folder was relatively light I knew there was probably more information to be delivered later on. It wasn't like Ra's to half do anything.

Free reign, free reign to do whatever and take however long I wanted to. That was rare not just for me but for anyone. When you were given an assignment it was usually accompanied with explicit instructions on what you could and couldn't do. For Ra's to give me free reign he was again blatantly saying I was to be his heir.

Oh what I would give to see Talia's face when she hears about this.

Upon opening my door I'm proven right with the boxes of files lined along my walls, at least ten of them. Groaning I kick my door closed and fall back onto my mattress. It was going to be a long day of packing and getting ready to leave.

Turning on my side I reach underneath my bedside table and unlatch the picture frame that resides there. Bringing the silver frame closer I sigh as I study it.

A child being held in the crook of a silver haired old man wearing black glasses that covered green eyes. Right beside him was a brunette woman with a gentle face. All three of them are smiling at the camera and the picture just alludes an air of happiness.

Tapping my fingers against the glass I go ahead and grab the backpack on the floor and shove the picture frame inside it. "Might as well pay you guys a visit."