After school, Batman walked to his locker and started packing up his stuff. Poison Ivy walked up to him and said, "We better get to detention."
Batman replied, "I'm not going to detention."
Poison Ivy looked surprised, while responding, "I'm not of going there either, but Scarecrow makes us go. If you don't get in there, he'll punish you."
Batman replied, "I'm not scared of Scarecrow's threats. Most students have to worry about being expelled, but I don't have that problem. Hugo Strange is fascinated with me and he considers me his most exciting opponent. Because of that, he's not going to kick me out."
Poison Ivy seemed concerned, while asking, "Are you sure about that?"
Batman answered, "He'd only leave me behind if I became boring." He lightly smiled and said, "I better put on an act, so I can keep on amusing him. I'll see you tomorrow, Rose."
A moment later, Batman started running to Ra's al Ghul's place. He walked inside and saw some ninjas. Batman was prepared to fight them, but Ra's al Ghul and said, "There's no need for that. You've already proven how impressive and fierce you are, Mr. Batman. I believe we should begin focusing on defeating Bruce Wayne. Are you ready?"
Batman shook his head and replied, "I'm afraid not."
Ra's al Ghul looked confused, while asking, "What do you mean?"
Batman showed him reports about Bruce Wayne's recent donations. Bruce donated over twenty-million dollars. Batman said, "If I may be so bold, it seems like Bruce Wayne is more generous than you thought."
Ra's al Ghul started pacing around, while asking, "Does Mr. Wayne think a one-day donating spree can clear his guilt?"
Batman asked, "Why would Bruce Wayne be guilty?"
Ra's al Ghul turned around and said, "Don't be naive. While millions of people struggle, Bruce Wayne does nothing. However, I guess this is to be expected. When Joe Chill tried to rob Thomas and Martha Wayne, Thomas had the foolishness to complain about Chill trying to steal his wife's pearls. He could of fought back, ran away, or called the police, but his dimwitted mind couldn't think of that." Batman was angrier than ever before. He punched Ra's al Ghul to the ground.
Batman looked down and realized what he had done. He helped Ra's al Ghul get up, while saying, "I'm so sorry."
Ra's al Ghul grabbed Batman and asked, "Why did you do that?"
Batman tried to think of a quick explanation for his actions, that didn't reveal his secret identity. He said, "I've met Bruce Wayne before. He's made some mistakes in the past, but he's a decent person. That's why I don't think we should go after him."
Ra's al Ghul replied, "I understand. You and Mr. Wayne have a sentimental connection, don't you?"
Batman tried to not look amused, while responding, "You could say that." He paused and said, "I'm really sorry for punching you."
Ra's al Ghul replied, "It's okay. In fact, I've been punched by several of my greatest students. Standing up, for what you believe in, is important. I will leave Mr. Wayne alone, at least for now." Batman smiled, while feeling relieved.
Ra's al Ghul looked back at Batman and asked, "What is your true goal?"
Batman answered, "To defeat Hugo Strange, along with the Scarecrow."
Ra's al Ghul thought about it and replied, "Admirable and very understandable. Those two are both creeps."
Batman had a serious look on his face, while responding, "They're much more than that. They're the two most corrupt people in Arkham Asylum."
Ra's al Ghul replied, "Then we will continue your training and I'll teach you what's needed, in order for you to save the goal."
Batman responded, "Sounds excellent, Mr. Ghul." Batman and Ra's al Ghul started doing battle practice.
Meanwhile, Deathstroke was in the hospital, because of the grenade incident. It was his own fault, but he blamed Batman for it. He was furious at Batman, for taking the spot of Ra's al Ghul's favorite student.
Professor Hugo Strange entered Deathstroke's hospital room. Deathstroke had heard of Hugo Strange, but he had never talked to him. Hugo Strange tried to look as friendly as possible, while saying, "Greetings, Mr. Wilson."
Deathstroke sternly replied, "Call me Deathstroke."
Hugo responded, "Okay then, Deathstroke. Your encounter, with the Batman, probably was a damaging experience."
Deathstroke took off his mask and revealed he had an eye-patch, on his left eye. He said, "Batman's responsible for that."
Hugo replied, "You must have a great deal of anger for him."
Deathstroke responded, "Indeed I do. I'm intending on getting revenge, but I don't know how to do it."
Hugo calmly sat down and said, "I know how to make that happen. I'm the leader of Arkham Asylum and Batman is my most troublemaking student. Can you rough him up, to show him who's boss?"
Deathstroke grabbed one of his swords, while replying, "Indeed I can."
The next day, Batman was much more calm and felt more sure of himself. His success with Ra's al Ghul was a big part of his new happiness. He walked inside of Arkham Asylum and saw more panicked students. In order to stop the tension, he tried to be as friendly as possible. He greeted several students and shook their hands.
Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn saw Batman being more cheerful. Poison Ivy gently nudged Batman and said, "You seem to be doing better."
Batman replied, "I think things are looking up. I'm getting closer in my training and Ra's al Ghul is starting to trust me more."
Poison Ivy responded, "That's wonderful news."
Harley Quinn looked confused, while saying, "Raw Al Ghoul? Talia's dad has a bizarre name."
Batman lightly smiled and replied, "Harley, that's not his name."
Harley responded, "Well, he needs to change his name. He should get a more understandable and catchier name."
Throughout the school day, things were going normal for Batman. He went to his normal classes and although he got Professor Crane angry, he was doing well in class. He hung out with Ivy and Harley, during lunch, and got excellent grades.
After the school day was over, Batman started walking to his locker. After he packed his stuff up, he was planning on going to Ra's al Ghul's place.
Poison Ivy walked up to him. Batman was more than just one of her friends. She had a big crush on him and she thought that, asking him to get a soda with her, was the first step to being in a relationship with him. She tapped his shoulder and said, "Hi, Batman."
Batman turned around and replied, "Hi, Rose. What's going on?"
Poison Ivy shyly said, "If you weren't busy, I was hoping you'd get a soda with me."
Batman replied, "I'm sorry, but I have to get to Ra's al Ghul's class. He has a strict schedule."
Poison Ivy tried to hide her disappointment, while saying, "Okay then."
Batman said, "I'll get a soda with you, when my schedule's free."
Poison Ivy smiled and replied, "Okay."
Batman walked outside and got suddenly got punched to the ground. Batman had a surprised look on his face, while realizing that Deathstroke was at the school. He asked, "Why are you here, Slade?"
Deathstroke calmly said, "Slade? That's my wholesome name and I'm a very dangerous person. You'll be referring to me as Deathstroke. Actually, you won't live much longer, so it hardly matters."
Batman was surprised that Deathstroke had come back and he wasn't thrilled about it. He asked, "Why are you after me?"
Deathstroke answered, "For revenge."
Batman folded his arms and replied, "I didn't do anything to you, Deathstroke."
Deathstroke responded, "You're incredibly wrong about that, Batman. You ruined my reputation. In my advancing years, I still remained a formidable opponent. I scared away several potential candidates for the League of Assassins."
Batman replied, "That's not the name of Ra's al Ghul's team."
Deathstroke grabbed Batman and responded, "That will be the name, after I become their new leader."
Batman started punching and kicking Deathstroke. Deathstroke grabbed his sword and tried to use it on Batman. However, Batman learned fast-agility lessons from Ra's al Ghul, which helped him avoid the wrath of the sword. Batman grabbed batarangs and threw them at the sword. They damaged the sword, but didn't break it.
Deathstroke said, "You have a lot of special abilities, but you rely on such silly gadgets. In general, you're a silly person."
Batman sternly replied, "I'm serious."
Deathstroke tried to humiliate Batman, by saying, "You dress-up as a bat, you keep your toys in a belt, and your school's an asylum. That's fitting, because you're crazy."
Batman kicked Deathstroke into the school's garden-bushes and said, "You're the crazy one. You think you can get rid of me and take over Ra's al Ghul team. In order to get that done, you'd have to get rid of Ra's al Ghul."
Deathstroke replied, "I'm willing to do that."
Batman angrily asked, "How could you consider such a thing? Don't you have any honor?"
Deathstroke answered, "Not really, at least not to Ra's al Ghul. He trained me, but he failed to see my true potential. That's why I only listen to myself. I'm the only one who knows what I need and what I can accomplish."
Batman thought about he acted. In the past, he only relied-on and trusted himself. However, he recently started seeking advice from Poison Ivy and Ra's al Ghul, so he wasn't alone anymore. Despite everything Deathstroke had done, Batman saw potential in him. He reached out his hand and said, "Let's put an end to this fight."
Deathstroke angrily asked, "What's going on?"
Batman answered, "I'm offering an end to this. We can stop fighting. You can take more classes with Ra's al Ghul and sort out your issues."
Deathstroke replied, "If I did that, I'd be his second-favorite student and I couldn't deal with that lackluster honor. I must be the best student, but most importantly, I must become the leader of the League of Assassins."
Batman confidently responded, "That's not going to happen. You don't have the heart for that."
Deathstroke stroke chuckled. He punched Batman to the ground, stood on his stomach, and asked, "You think being the leader of assassins requires heart? If that's the case, you're an idiot."
Batman kicked Deathstroke off of him. Deathstroke grabbed one of his spare swords and used it to fight Batman. Batman used his utility-belt's gadgets to protect himself. The two enemies battled each other, for several minutes. In order to get Deathstroke away from innocent people, Batman started running away. Deathstroke looked confused, while asking, "Has the Batman become a coward? Either way, it shouldn't be hard to end this fight." He started running after him.
Batman ran to a cliff. He figured it would be a good place to end the fight. Deathstroke started punching Batman, while not paying much attention to his current location. Batman started punching back, while saying, "We should put this fight to a close."
Deathstroke asked, "Why?"
Batman said, "Look at our current area. Our lives are in danger, while we're on this cliff. I brought us here, so we can both realize the importance of survival."
Deathstroke took off his mask, while asking, "Do you think I care about survival? I care about success and getting rid of Batman counts as success." He looked down and saw that the cliff was in poor shape. He started using his sword to break the cliff apart.
Batman nervously asked, "What are you doing?"
Deathstroke answered, "Cutting this cliff apart, so you'll fall off. I'm Gotham's best runner, so I'll get off the cliff before it breaks." Deathstroke's broke the cliff sooner than he expected. Batman and Deathstroke started slipping off the cliff.
Batman used his grappling hook to swing away from the cliff. He looked around and saw that Deathstroke was close to falling off. Batman spent a brief moment wondering if he should save Deathstroke. However, before he got to make a decision, Deathstroke fell off the cliff and met his demise. Batman started walking back, while feeling guilty about not saving Deathstroke.
After walking by Arkham Asylum, Batman saw that Poison Ivy was waiting for him. He looked surprised, while asking, "What are you doing here?"
Poison Ivy answered, "While I was leaving the school, I saw a guy fighting you. I wanted to go help you, but Harley pulled me back and insisted I stay put. I couldn't stand to go a night without knowing if you got through the fight, so I waited for you."
Batman said, "I won the fight, but I feel like the fight's loser."
Poison Ivy put her hand on Batman's shoulder and asked, "What do you mean?"
Batman said, "I defeated Deathstroke, but he lost his own life. I considered saving him. If I hadn't felt a moment of reluctance, I could of saved him. I failed to be a real hero."
Poison Ivy replied, "Listen, Deathstroke was trying to destroy you. He seemed like a terrible, corrupt person."
Batman responded, "He was, but I should of saved him. A real hero protects all people, even the villains."
Poison Ivy replied, "You might have made a mistake, but you've made a lot of progress. You're Arkham Asylum's greatest hero and you're my hero."
Batman looked surprised, while asking, "Really?" Poison Ivy nodded and smiled at him.
Batman smiled back and replied, "Rose, I can't you thank you enough."
Poison Ivy said, "If you want to thank me, how about getting a soda with me?"
Batman replied, "Okay, but I don't know where the soda shop is."
Poison Ivy stuck her hand out and said, "Hold my hand. I'll lead you there."
Batman replied, "Okay." Batman and Ivy started holding hands, while walking to the soda shop.
Meanwhile, Hugo Strange sat in his office, while watching Batman and Ivy's conversation on his security camera. He said, "Batman defeated Deathstroke. He's too formidable of an opponent. Is there any way to stop him?" Hugo Strange put his hand on his chin, while thinking about his own question.
During their walk, Batman bumped into Ra's al Ghul. Batman explained what happened.
Ra's al Ghul said, "Slade Wilson's defeat is a shame, but things are going to be okay and you shouldn't blame yourself. In fact, you should be proud of yourself."
Batman asked, "What for?"
Ra's al Ghul answered, "For being smarter than the master. You see, I unfairly judged Mr. Wayne. I thought he was a greedy, immature playboy. However, his donations are already making a positive impact on Gotham. Mr. Wayne isn't a menace. In fact, he's a good person, maybe even a role-model."
Batman smiled and replied, "I'm glad you think that."
Ra's al Ghul said, "You've truly impressed me, Batman. Shall we go back to practicing?"
Batman replied, "Maybe tomorrow. I have something more important at the current moment."
Ra's al Ghul responded, "Until next time, Batman." He shook his hand and walked away.
Poison Ivy looked at Batman and asked, "What's more important than your lessons?"
Batman answered, "You are. Despite Ra's al Ghul's incredible help, nobody's supported me and helped me more than you. It's about time I thanked you."
Poison Ivy replied, "Thank you, Batman. I can't think of anybody, in my life, more helpful than you." Batman smiled at her and they continued walking to the soda shop, while holding hands. Batman had several strong qualities, but his strongest was his heart. Because of his heart, he planned on being a symbol of hope and knight of justice. He planned on protecting and saving people and hoped to even save the villains. No person in Gotham had a stronger heart than the Batman.
