3: Where are the ah Ghul's?
This scene fit in right after the tests chapter.
Edit: This scene does not exist in the main story line. It's more of a what if than a deleted scene.
Batman stood impassive on the roof with Robin, Jr. standing close behind him. Both were in defensive stances, ready for a fight if it broke out. He had instantly been suspicious when Ra's al Ghul requested a meeting, and it had taken a few hours of begging from Jason to convince him to bring him along.
Ra's al Ghul stepped out of a helicopter followed by Talia. They also stood in ready stance, as the wind died down from the helicopter.
"Detective, we have come to propose a deal." Ra's began. Batman narrowed his eyes slightly, silently asking 'what deal?' "We have recently lost a rather valuable recruit, and we wish to get him back."
"Who would work for you? Did it occur to you that he wanted to leave? I mean, your organization has a reputation of beating the heck out of its recruits." Robin, Jr. would have continued, but Batman silenced him with a glare.
"Why would we help you find someone that you would then either hurt or kill?" Batman asked.
"We would not kill him," Talia said.
"Our deal, Detective." Ra's said. "We do not believe that our recruit would have left of his own free will. We think he was abducted. If the Justice League would help the League of Assassins to find him, we will help you search for your missing bird. A simple trade, really. You help us find ours and we'll help you find yours."
Batman and Robin, Jr. exchanged glances, considering it. Ra's al Ghul offering help was unusual and would do a lot to aid in the search for Dick, which had gone cold recently.
"I will have to speak will the Justice League, but we're in. Who are we searching for? How do you believe he was abducted?"
"We're looking for a young boy named Damian. He disappeared four months ago in Baghdad. He had a tantrum of sorts with his mother, slipped away into the crowd, and never returned to the hotel."
"Is there a possibility he got lost? How old was he?"
"He knew directions, and has superior genes, so even if he did get lost, he would have eventually found his way back." Ra's replied, ignoring the second question.
"How old?"
"Old enough."
"Fine. Send me the information. I will speak with the Justice League."
Ra's al Ghul nodded. He and Talia returned to the helicopter and left. Robin, Jr. and Batman watched as the helicopter flew away, over the horizon. Then, they returned to patrol. Later, in the Batmobile, Robin, Jr. asked.
"Are you serious about helping Ra's ah nutcase?"
Batman nodded. "If Ra's al Ghul is worried enough about this boy, and having enough trouble finding him on his own then either the boy doesn't want to be found and may join our side, or needs help. We'll help find him, but we'll only give him back if he wants to go back. Ra's has resources we can't access. If he can't find Dick, then, chances are," Batman cut himself off. Robin, Jr. nodded his understanding.
"If he can't find him and we can't find him, chances are no one will find him."
With the League of Shadows
"Father, why did you ask Batman for help? Ah Ghuls never ask for help."
"It keeps Batman off our back as he searches for the circus brat. Plus, he will return Damian if he finds him."
"The boy's useless. Clearly inferior."
"We need his DNA to make another clone. We've exhausted it on the other ones. All of whom were larger failures than Damian."
"Would you actually return the Detective's charity case if you found him?"
"Of course not. But I would return a clone under our control. Cadmus has gotten better at the cloning process since our last attempt with Damian. They would be able to pull it off. Richard would make a good trainee. He is certainly skilled enough. We would only need to be sure to enforce measures to keep him contained."
Talia grumbled. "Yes, Father. I hope Batman find the boy soon. He needs to be punished for his unworthiness."
Ra's did not answer her.
I wrote the first part of this chapter a while ago, but felt that bringing the League of Shadows in would overcomplicate things. Also, they don't actually care for Damian beyond using him as a lure and heir. So, I took the scene out. They never came back, so you can just assume they gave up the search and started plotting how to make another baby with Batman without Batman's consent. In the comics, Talia makes a bunch of clones of Damian, one of which later kills him. However, none of them work out as well as Damian does. The Damian in my story is the original Damian from the comics. I am also of the opinion that Talia is absolutely nuts and belongs in an asylum, but she's a powerful sort of nuts because she has many people following her. That said, she does seem to sort of like Damian, but she doesn't seem to truly love him. There's a lot that can go behind analyzing Talia ah Ghul.
On another note, I've gotten many requests to update The Medium Between. The next chapter is the start of the climax, which I've split into three chapters. After that will be one more chapter and an epilogue or just an epilogue, whichever works better. I will not post the chapter until all three are finished because I want them to be the best they can be. I don't want to write something later that needs a lead up in Chapter 26 when Chapter 26 has already been posted. The next chapter is also a bit short currently, and I want to lengthen it. Inky and I don't have the same Spring Break either, so it might be a bit.
If you have any specific requests for things you want to happen, little things not big plot points, I'll gladly see if I can add them in. Examples of little things are Damian trips and gets picked up by Dicks and character cameos. Examples of big things are rescue, League finding the kids, etc.
