The Titans jet landed and the Titans with Black Canary poured out.
"This is the optimal location, as there is a river near to keep Garth
hydrated, we are within striking distance of Al Ghul's stronghold, but far
enough to draw the army out. Now, we just got to get them to notice us."
Black Canary looked as she saw dust rising in the distance. "Done," she said pointing to the horizon.
"Ok," said Troia, getting in battle stance. "Let's get ready to be a nuisance."
"Huhn," said Arsenal readying his bow. "My 6th grade teacher always said I was a nuisance.
"Honey," said Black Canary as she looked up and down the line of the invading army. "Your 6th grade teacher wasn't the only one."
********************************************
Ra's Al Ghul smiled. It was oh so predictable, these superheroes. With the exception of the Detective's family, superheroes were boorish brutes who relied on their physical attributes far too much. They had figured out that he had the Detective and his family. That was great, but they had not seen the greatness of his plan, the depth of his strategy, the sheer brilliance of each and every maneuver.
And they were going to die because of it. Ra's wanted Batman, and no superhero or team was going to deny him that. Armed with the Detective's protocols, no group would stand before him. The only disappointment was that it was not the Justice League that came in after their comrade. His sources and electronic bugs, placed when Talia captured the protocols in the first place, had told him that the League was off planet. Too bad. He would just have to settle for these Titans. Young upstarts. Without the Romany trash that was the adopted protégé of the detective to lead, they were little more than a superpowered rabble. Still...
"Ubu, I command you to lead the rest of the troops against the heroes. I want them as weak as possible when they breach the fortress," ordered the centuries old megalomaniac. Ubu looked a question. "I will be fine Ubu. I have my daughter... and my insurance policy."
Ubu left, taking with him the remnants of the Demon Head guard. Ra's gracefully draped himself in his throne, as his daughter, Talia approached her Al Ghul.
"Father," the intoxicating beauty cooed, "how much longer must we put my beloved through this torture. It pains me to see him go through this torture."
Ra's stared into his daughter's eyes and said, "As long as it takes to ensure that he is ours. Once we have wiped away what has come before, he will go through the Lazarus Pit and be made whole once again." Talia began to nod as klaxons went off. Talia hurried to the computers but before she could check the readouts, a large red laser beam blew through the door and a group of people bounded through the door, and for the first time in centuries, Ra's was completely surprised.
They were heroes to be sure. They had the look. But the only one he recognized was the one called Catwoman. The others, he had no idea who they were. His keen mind analyzed all of the players. Their stance and the way they carried themselves suggested that they had done this before, yet his lack of knowledge of them suggested...ah yes. Al Ghul smiled as he rose from his throne.
"Welcome my otherworldly friends," began Al Ghul. "My name is Ra's Al Ghul, but I am sure you know that already. Welcome to my home."
"How did you know that bub," asked the unpleasant ones with what appeared to be tiger claws attached to his hands.
"There is very little that I do not know about," continued the megalomaniac. "Although the general populace is not aware about the Justice League's little excursion, I was. What can you possibly hope to accomplish? You had to get bailed out by our earth's heroes. How do you expect to save one of them?"
Wolverine growled and moved forward, before Xavier, in his battle suit put out an extension of the machine to stop him. "Easy Logan. He is trying to get us off our game." Xavier stared and tried to peak in his mind, but was blocked. Xavier tried harder, but was unable to break through.
Al Ghul tapped his head where a thin band of metal sat. "Neural inhibitor. So you are a telepath hmm? You can't get in. This prevents it. Who are you, and what do you want?"
Xavier nodded, and used his metallic monstrosity to step forward. "My name is Professor Charles Xavier. I am a leader of this group, and we are called the X-Men. We have come to free Batman, Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, and Alfred Pennyworth. Set them free and we shall leave in peace."
"I am sorry my dear Professor, but I can't do that," said Ra's chuckling, as his daughter returned to his side. "You see, I have great plans for the Batfamily. Batman is to be my heir." At this Catwoman hissed, and Talia tightened her grip on her father's throne. Ra's continued. "With his family at his side, they shall become a force to be reckoned with."
"Well then," said Xavier. "We have a problem then don't we."
"Indeed we do," agreed Ra's.
"Before we commence hostilities," said Xavier, raising a mechanical hand, "I have a question. You suggested that Batman would become your heir. I know for a fact that Batman has repulsed your advances before and would not willingly follow your path. You mean to attempt to use some sort of emotional and physical coercion to bring him over to you, this I have determined. But how? How do you mean to use what you have gathered to control Batman?"
Ra's nodded and then replied. "If you are right, and I am not saying you are, why should I tell you?"
Xavier smiled and said, "Because you want to reveal your plan for its brilliance, and you wish to reveal it to someone who can understand all of the facets of it. Normally Batman fills that role, I presume. I merely offer my services as a stand-in for him, as I hope that my demonstration of my intellect can measure up to your lofty standards."
Ra's nodded and smiled. "Your intellect does indeed meet my standards my good man, and you are right; it is so much nicer to defeat a worthy opponent, who can understand how exactly they were beaten. So be it. You wish to understand why I have pursued this path, so be it.
"It is no secret that I have attempted to woo Batman to join my army. I have attempted peaceful means and I have attempted not so peaceful means. Others, others have tried to crush him. They have tried to crush Bruce Wayne. They have tried to destroy Batman. They have attacked him physically. They have attempted to harm him emotionally and mentally. None have attempted to do all of those things at once. Until now.
"I am sure you noticed the fact that all of the attacks that I have authored have been videotaped. That was done for a purpose. Have you ever seen a 'Clockwork Orange?' Fascinating movie. I do not normally waste time with such things, but this one taught me something. That's where I got the idea.
"You see all of these people were hurt because they were close to Bruce Wayne or Batman. And a fundamental portion of Batman's and Bruce Wayne's essence is to protect those closest to him. So, those who were close, I put in a hospital. But those who were closest, his 'Batclan,' they have been tortured over and over and over again. I tortured them with care, so that they would not be scarred physically. That would defeat the purpose of the exercise. No, no permanent damage has been caused to them. I must admit that a particular masterstroke was capturing that man Alfred. He is the one bridge between the Detective's personality, and his torture has cause spectacular results in the Detective.
"However, every day, I force the Detective to watch these torture sessions of his manservant and his family, as well as the beatings of his CEO, his Comissioner, and his formal Batgirl. Over and over. Right now, he is quite catatonic, which is good; the screaming lasted for days. First there were the threats, then for mercy, then, for his own death. Right now, I must admit, I do not know where he is mentally."
The X-Men stared in abject horror at the man as Catwoman had to be physically restrained by Rogue, Gambit, Cyclops and Iceman. "But why," asked a baffled Xavier. "Why cause all this damage to the person you wish to be your heir? What purpose does it serve?"
"Foolish man," said Ra's. "His natural physical and mental skills are inherent and cannot be taken away. I want to destroy the code of ethics and other basic elements of his essence that prevents him from joining me. By performing these acts I shall wipe the slate clean, as it is said in the Western World. He is the perfect physical specimen, but his rigid morality, his sense of good and evil is a handicap that I cannot bear.
"It is true that it will take a little time to return him to his full potential, but through my help, that of my daughter's, and the Lazarus Pit, is a mere several decades, he shall be stronger than he was before. His vision will be clear. With their father at my side, the Batclan will have no choice but to follow me. They shall even enjoy the benefits of the Lazarus Pit. Such is my generosity. The world will transcend to a higher plane of being with the Detective and his family at my side.
"Now I know this is the time when you come against me to save the day, free the other heroes, and 'bring me down.' And with it being nine on two, you might think you have a shot. Allow me to introduce six of my associates. They have all clashed with Batman with various levels of success. I give you Deathstroke the Terminator, a mercenary and an excellent killer. Bane, a strong man who once broke the Detective's back. Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and Mr. Freeze who have a variety of powers which you shall encounter shortly. They make up a large portion of the active Gotham Rogue gallery. Finally, a man whose presence I find odious, but necessary, I present the Joker.
"Well, I would love to watch this, but I am sure that you a few of you will follow me. Come my dear, we have places to go." Ra's turned away and began to walk off.
"Oh Ra's," said the Clown Prince of Crime, "I didn't sign on to fight colorful pretenders. I came on to torture the Bat. This is not torturing the Bat."
Ra's turned to face Batman's other nemesis. "Joker, I promise you this. If you can dispatch of these interlopers quickly, you may have your time with the Detective. But not until then. Consider this sigh a warmup."
"Tee hee hee. I get to play with the Bats. I get to play with the Bats," sang the Joker.
Xavier nodded and said, "Catwoman, Logan, you are with me. You two are going after Ra's and his daughter. Cyclops, you take the rest of the X-Men and deal with this lady and these gentlemen. Then try to find the other members of the Batclan. As for me, I am going to go inside Batman's mind and see if I can find him."
Black Canary looked as she saw dust rising in the distance. "Done," she said pointing to the horizon.
"Ok," said Troia, getting in battle stance. "Let's get ready to be a nuisance."
"Huhn," said Arsenal readying his bow. "My 6th grade teacher always said I was a nuisance.
"Honey," said Black Canary as she looked up and down the line of the invading army. "Your 6th grade teacher wasn't the only one."
********************************************
Ra's Al Ghul smiled. It was oh so predictable, these superheroes. With the exception of the Detective's family, superheroes were boorish brutes who relied on their physical attributes far too much. They had figured out that he had the Detective and his family. That was great, but they had not seen the greatness of his plan, the depth of his strategy, the sheer brilliance of each and every maneuver.
And they were going to die because of it. Ra's wanted Batman, and no superhero or team was going to deny him that. Armed with the Detective's protocols, no group would stand before him. The only disappointment was that it was not the Justice League that came in after their comrade. His sources and electronic bugs, placed when Talia captured the protocols in the first place, had told him that the League was off planet. Too bad. He would just have to settle for these Titans. Young upstarts. Without the Romany trash that was the adopted protégé of the detective to lead, they were little more than a superpowered rabble. Still...
"Ubu, I command you to lead the rest of the troops against the heroes. I want them as weak as possible when they breach the fortress," ordered the centuries old megalomaniac. Ubu looked a question. "I will be fine Ubu. I have my daughter... and my insurance policy."
Ubu left, taking with him the remnants of the Demon Head guard. Ra's gracefully draped himself in his throne, as his daughter, Talia approached her Al Ghul.
"Father," the intoxicating beauty cooed, "how much longer must we put my beloved through this torture. It pains me to see him go through this torture."
Ra's stared into his daughter's eyes and said, "As long as it takes to ensure that he is ours. Once we have wiped away what has come before, he will go through the Lazarus Pit and be made whole once again." Talia began to nod as klaxons went off. Talia hurried to the computers but before she could check the readouts, a large red laser beam blew through the door and a group of people bounded through the door, and for the first time in centuries, Ra's was completely surprised.
They were heroes to be sure. They had the look. But the only one he recognized was the one called Catwoman. The others, he had no idea who they were. His keen mind analyzed all of the players. Their stance and the way they carried themselves suggested that they had done this before, yet his lack of knowledge of them suggested...ah yes. Al Ghul smiled as he rose from his throne.
"Welcome my otherworldly friends," began Al Ghul. "My name is Ra's Al Ghul, but I am sure you know that already. Welcome to my home."
"How did you know that bub," asked the unpleasant ones with what appeared to be tiger claws attached to his hands.
"There is very little that I do not know about," continued the megalomaniac. "Although the general populace is not aware about the Justice League's little excursion, I was. What can you possibly hope to accomplish? You had to get bailed out by our earth's heroes. How do you expect to save one of them?"
Wolverine growled and moved forward, before Xavier, in his battle suit put out an extension of the machine to stop him. "Easy Logan. He is trying to get us off our game." Xavier stared and tried to peak in his mind, but was blocked. Xavier tried harder, but was unable to break through.
Al Ghul tapped his head where a thin band of metal sat. "Neural inhibitor. So you are a telepath hmm? You can't get in. This prevents it. Who are you, and what do you want?"
Xavier nodded, and used his metallic monstrosity to step forward. "My name is Professor Charles Xavier. I am a leader of this group, and we are called the X-Men. We have come to free Batman, Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, and Alfred Pennyworth. Set them free and we shall leave in peace."
"I am sorry my dear Professor, but I can't do that," said Ra's chuckling, as his daughter returned to his side. "You see, I have great plans for the Batfamily. Batman is to be my heir." At this Catwoman hissed, and Talia tightened her grip on her father's throne. Ra's continued. "With his family at his side, they shall become a force to be reckoned with."
"Well then," said Xavier. "We have a problem then don't we."
"Indeed we do," agreed Ra's.
"Before we commence hostilities," said Xavier, raising a mechanical hand, "I have a question. You suggested that Batman would become your heir. I know for a fact that Batman has repulsed your advances before and would not willingly follow your path. You mean to attempt to use some sort of emotional and physical coercion to bring him over to you, this I have determined. But how? How do you mean to use what you have gathered to control Batman?"
Ra's nodded and then replied. "If you are right, and I am not saying you are, why should I tell you?"
Xavier smiled and said, "Because you want to reveal your plan for its brilliance, and you wish to reveal it to someone who can understand all of the facets of it. Normally Batman fills that role, I presume. I merely offer my services as a stand-in for him, as I hope that my demonstration of my intellect can measure up to your lofty standards."
Ra's nodded and smiled. "Your intellect does indeed meet my standards my good man, and you are right; it is so much nicer to defeat a worthy opponent, who can understand how exactly they were beaten. So be it. You wish to understand why I have pursued this path, so be it.
"It is no secret that I have attempted to woo Batman to join my army. I have attempted peaceful means and I have attempted not so peaceful means. Others, others have tried to crush him. They have tried to crush Bruce Wayne. They have tried to destroy Batman. They have attacked him physically. They have attempted to harm him emotionally and mentally. None have attempted to do all of those things at once. Until now.
"I am sure you noticed the fact that all of the attacks that I have authored have been videotaped. That was done for a purpose. Have you ever seen a 'Clockwork Orange?' Fascinating movie. I do not normally waste time with such things, but this one taught me something. That's where I got the idea.
"You see all of these people were hurt because they were close to Bruce Wayne or Batman. And a fundamental portion of Batman's and Bruce Wayne's essence is to protect those closest to him. So, those who were close, I put in a hospital. But those who were closest, his 'Batclan,' they have been tortured over and over and over again. I tortured them with care, so that they would not be scarred physically. That would defeat the purpose of the exercise. No, no permanent damage has been caused to them. I must admit that a particular masterstroke was capturing that man Alfred. He is the one bridge between the Detective's personality, and his torture has cause spectacular results in the Detective.
"However, every day, I force the Detective to watch these torture sessions of his manservant and his family, as well as the beatings of his CEO, his Comissioner, and his formal Batgirl. Over and over. Right now, he is quite catatonic, which is good; the screaming lasted for days. First there were the threats, then for mercy, then, for his own death. Right now, I must admit, I do not know where he is mentally."
The X-Men stared in abject horror at the man as Catwoman had to be physically restrained by Rogue, Gambit, Cyclops and Iceman. "But why," asked a baffled Xavier. "Why cause all this damage to the person you wish to be your heir? What purpose does it serve?"
"Foolish man," said Ra's. "His natural physical and mental skills are inherent and cannot be taken away. I want to destroy the code of ethics and other basic elements of his essence that prevents him from joining me. By performing these acts I shall wipe the slate clean, as it is said in the Western World. He is the perfect physical specimen, but his rigid morality, his sense of good and evil is a handicap that I cannot bear.
"It is true that it will take a little time to return him to his full potential, but through my help, that of my daughter's, and the Lazarus Pit, is a mere several decades, he shall be stronger than he was before. His vision will be clear. With their father at my side, the Batclan will have no choice but to follow me. They shall even enjoy the benefits of the Lazarus Pit. Such is my generosity. The world will transcend to a higher plane of being with the Detective and his family at my side.
"Now I know this is the time when you come against me to save the day, free the other heroes, and 'bring me down.' And with it being nine on two, you might think you have a shot. Allow me to introduce six of my associates. They have all clashed with Batman with various levels of success. I give you Deathstroke the Terminator, a mercenary and an excellent killer. Bane, a strong man who once broke the Detective's back. Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and Mr. Freeze who have a variety of powers which you shall encounter shortly. They make up a large portion of the active Gotham Rogue gallery. Finally, a man whose presence I find odious, but necessary, I present the Joker.
"Well, I would love to watch this, but I am sure that you a few of you will follow me. Come my dear, we have places to go." Ra's turned away and began to walk off.
"Oh Ra's," said the Clown Prince of Crime, "I didn't sign on to fight colorful pretenders. I came on to torture the Bat. This is not torturing the Bat."
Ra's turned to face Batman's other nemesis. "Joker, I promise you this. If you can dispatch of these interlopers quickly, you may have your time with the Detective. But not until then. Consider this sigh a warmup."
"Tee hee hee. I get to play with the Bats. I get to play with the Bats," sang the Joker.
Xavier nodded and said, "Catwoman, Logan, you are with me. You two are going after Ra's and his daughter. Cyclops, you take the rest of the X-Men and deal with this lady and these gentlemen. Then try to find the other members of the Batclan. As for me, I am going to go inside Batman's mind and see if I can find him."