Chapter ten

(A/N) Sorry that I didn't keep my promise on when I would get the next chapter up but A few things came up. First off was that there was an annual meeting for my church, then there were a few meetings for different comities for my church and also there was like a major load of homework projects piled on me. Well now that I have been freed from some of that responsibility I am free to work on and hopefully soon finish this story.

Thanks for those reviewers and readers who have a problem with my spelling I will try to catch more of my mistakes.

Now on with the conclusion.

"How did you manage to find my base and free your friends?" Death was sizing Batman and Batwoman up for the coming fight.

"Oh, you know, just sent a feed back tracer through the signal that your torture device was sending you." Terry stepped forward a little as he tried to goad Death. He hadn't missed that slip of temper that Death displayed and he also noticed how fast he reigned it back in. He must lose control of himself when he gets mad. Hmmm, I wonder how long the dreg can keep his cool? Terry was thinking of some good taunts that he could throw at Death to get him mad. Now that he knew of a possible weakness he would try to take advantage of it, but he knew it wouldn't be easy to do. Especially with all of the training that Death had probably put himself through. Now how to get the message to Max?

Just then Death moved his hand to reposition his glaive and to begin a run at the two costumed vigilantes. Just as death was about in weapons distance Batman and Batwoman both took to the air. Batman flew up and around and Batwoman flew off to the side and up. Death then, while turning around, pulled two throwing spikes from his belt and threw them at the two bats.

They just barely avoided the implements and flew to opposite sides of Death at about fifteen feet up in the air. They both nodded at each other and then flew strait at Death. Max veered off about three feet from Death's swinging glaive and a second later threw three battarangs at him. As Death was deflecting the projectiles Batman flew in a circle around Death to disorient him.

As Terry rounded to Death's front he grabbed hold of the glaive and ripped it from Death's grip. This caused a sharp pain to shoot up Terry's side because the maneuver pulled at his broken ribs and a grunt to escape his lips but did nothing to stop his flight.

Death cursed himself for being so careless as to let his main weapon to be snatched from his grasp but was not worried. In fact he was finding this turn of events to be quite intriguing. He hadn't been happy at how easily he had taken Batman out the first time they met and was hoping that that wasn't at the Batman's peak performance. Now it seemed that his first impression of the bat was being proved wrong. He seems to have improved since the last time. He turned and grinned at the regrouping bats.

Bruce was in the bat cave with some of the members of the Justice League who were just beginning to awaken as he saw Superman come flying with the last remaining member. Bruce then turned and started towards the bat computer and started to bring up the bat suit monitors. As he did so the Flash arose from his unconscious state.

"Oww, my aching head," said the Flash as he sat up and grabbed his head and started rubbing his temples. "Did we get him?"

"No, we didn't," stated Bruce from the computer.

J'onn, who had risen before Superman had left to fetch Diana, walked over to the computer beside Bruce. "How are they fairing?"

"From the looks of it they aren't in much trouble yet."

"How did they manage to get down to the surface," the Martian asked furrowing his brow in confusion, "there was no way for them to get here? The telaporters are non-operational and there were no other ships in the launch bay."

"They must have hitched a ride on your ship."

"That is not possible. I would have picked up on their thoughts."

"There is a device that I installed in the cowls of the suits that blocks telepaths. If they turned the devices on then you wouldn't have been able to detect them and with the cloaking abilities of the suits they'd be like phantoms on your ship."

"Whoa!" The Flash exclaimed as he watched the bat computer's screen. He had just seen the maneuver that Terry had pulled to get Death's weapon. "How did he do that?"

"By thinking on his feet," this was said by the approaching Superman, "right Bruce?"

"Yes, but that maneuver cost him." Bruce mentioned this at the sight of a spike in Terry's vital signs from the suit. "His ribs haven't fully healed yet and he won't be able to fight at his best."

The Flash just looked at Bruce as if he were crazy because he could see no difference in the movements. Superman and J'onn on the other hand knew that Bruce was correct, for they could see the difference in Terry. Although minimal it was only a matter of time before he would be slowed down too much and then he would be in trouble.

Back with the Bat duo, Terry had just taken the weapon in both hands and broke it in three pieces. Death snarled at him but looked over towards Max. Death noticed that she wasn't quite paying full attention to him but that she was keeping an eye on Batman. He decided that he should take her out first, or at the very least use her against Batman.

He turned fully towards Batman and made it look like he was only focused on him anticipating that Batwoman, inexperienced as she seemed, would try to come and attack him. He made for a lunge at Batman leaving himself open for attack. He knew the male bat would notice but hoped that the female would act before he could warn her.

It turned out he was correct in his assumptions. She came flying at him from his left with her jet boots firing while Batman was starting to yell at her to stop. It was to late though, for Death let one of his hidden weapons drop down from his sleeve and into his hand. He dodged the charge and rounded on Max and sliced a thin line down her back starting from her left shoulder and going down and across to her other side with his laser katana.

Max let out a sharp cry but veered off and away from Death before he could tag her again. She landed near a stone-faced Batman and held her shoulder. Terry never took his eyes off of Death but asked in a hushed voice if she was too badly injured.

"It just stings a little bit," Max said in a grunt, "but it's not deep." She sighed for a second then inhaled and stood up to face the smirking Death. "Sorry, it won't happen again."

"Good, we need to figure out how to get this guy to lose his temper." Terry stated to Max when he was sure she was ready to go on.

"Is the poor bat to crippled to come at me again?" Death jeered to the two.

"Not on your life, we're just coming up with a way to take that blade away from you too. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with knives?" Terry shot back the flippant remark.

Death just growled at the two for he was still irritated about being careless enough to let the first one to be taken. He charged at the two with great speed and slashed at where Batman had been. The two bats had just barely gotten out of the way of the blade. Max flew up high again and started to release a barrage of gas pellets. The tear gas covered the entire surrounding area in a thick layer. Max and Terry both turned their visors to infrared and started to throw batarangs at Death. Death slightly disoriented by the gas but none the worse for the ware thanks to his built in gas mask blocked almost all of the projectiles. Three made it passed his blade but only two hit their mark; one in the upper right arm and one on left thigh.

While Death was occupied with this Terry and Max made their way quickly and silently towards Death. When close enough Max let loose a bola that wrapped around Death's arms and Terry charged up on the right side. Just as Death brought his sword up and cut through the cord Terry came upon him and slugged Death with an upper cut. While dazed Terry grabbed the sword but Death recovered and tightened his grip while punching Batman in the ribs with his free hand. Terry doubled over from the excruciating pain and Death doubled up his fists and brought the butt of the sword down on Terry's slumped shoulders. Terry fell to the ground to one knee and braced himself for the next attack. Death did not disappoint him and kicked him with a low roundhouse kick to the head.

As Terry flew backwards he let out a cry of pain but as he landed he heard another cry of pain and was stunned to realize that it was Death crying out.

While Death was beating on Batman, Batwoman turned from her flight to go at Death. While he was preoccupied she pulled out one of the special weapons Bruce had made for her when Terry had been missing. She pulled a rod out of her belt and twisted it. It extended and produced razor batarang at each end. She then squeezed on the handle and electrified it. As she saw Terry go flying and cry out she let her anger soar and she swung the staff with all of her and the suit's strength.

She nailed him on the right side and an audible crack was heard and then Death screamed as the electricity coursed through him and caused him to fly across the ground and crash into a pile of crates. When she hit him he dropped his katana and she picked it up and crushed the handle in her hand until the weapon was a crumpled piece of slag.

Max then ran over to Terry to see how badly he was injured. She didn't think that he could take much more punishment like that.

BACK IN THE CAVE

"Terry!" Bruce called out when Batman was thrown across the ground. Bruce had switched to the observation systems on the Watchtower to better keep track of the fight. The visors in the bat suits were good if there was only one bat in the fight but it was easier to keep track of two if seen from a different perspective.

The others around Bruce also gasped as they saw Terry hit the dirt. But they were even more surprised a second later to hear a scream and saw Death go flying in the other direction. When they looked back to where Death had been they saw Batwoman with an electrified staff walking in the direction of Death's dropped weapon. As she crushed it and started to walk over to Batman the Flash exclaimed, "Remind me never to get on her bad side." A couple of the others in the cave nodded in agreement.

"Don't cheer just yet. Batwoman may have been able to get a shot in at Death but we don't know what the damage was and Batman has sustained severe injuries," Bruce said this as he went about checking what he could of the two bats' vitals. "I think one or more of you should go back to help them out."

The rest of the League just stared at the request, not for what it was but for whom it came from. Superman was the first one to regain his senses and said that he would go and help the two out. "I'll go, I don't think that he will be expecting any of us back there again and I was the only one he did not prepare for out by the loading zone." Superman then took off before any of the other members could raise an argument. As Superman sped across the sky he couldn't help but hope that the two fighting Death were not encountering any other trouble.

Death lay there in the broken crates berating his himself for letting his anger cloud his senses when Batman slugged him. He had let himself be distracted by the pleasure in pounding the life out of Batman. That was why he had not been prepared for the attack from Batwoman. Now he was lying there with a right arm with several breaks in it and probably many bruised and cracked ribs.

Death got up as best he could and cursed himself silently again as he saw Batwoman destroy another one of his weapons. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few grenades and slowly moved behind some of the intact crates. When he was able to see the two bats clearly he armed and lobbed the handful of grenades at them. Batwoman was just reaching Batman who had rose to his hands and knees.

Just as the explosives were falling within sight Batman looked up and caught sight of them. He ignored the burning pain from his ribs and the dizziness in his head and lunged at Max. He covered her when he collided with her and grit his teeth in anticipation of the explosions.

Then the grenades hit the ground and several explosions resounded in the air that could be heard from blocks away. The two bats were thrown back with the force of the explosions as well as being seared with heat and peppered with shrapnel that tore through the suits and into them. Batman got the worst of it as he was covering Max. Even though, Max was still bleeding on her arms and legs.

Not far away now, Superman saw the flare of the explosion. He was horrified at what might have happened and flew the last leg of the flight in under a second. When he got there he saw Batman and Batwoman lying on the ground slightly coughing and trying to rise. He flew over to them and then scanned the area for Death.

When he spotted him behind some of the crates he shot his laser vision at Death's leg. He grazed the upper part of the leg and Death grunted in pain. Death came out from behind the crate wielding some more explosives and prepared to throw them but Superman was faster. In his rage Superman barely held back his full power from the punch he threw at Death's abdomen. Death went flying back and crashed with a thud on a metal crate. Superman then flew up to him while grabbing a metal pole on the way and stood above Death.
"You will never harm another again," Superman all but yelled at Death. He then bent down and wrapped the pole around Death's wrists and arms and welded the seams. The then did the same with the legs, made sure that he was unconscious and dragged Death to where Batman and Batwoman were trying to recover.

Superman dropped Death in revulsion and went to help the two youth sit up. Max was in a sad state. She had cuts all over her from the grenades and a large scrape on her back from sliding across the ground. She didn't have any broken bones but she did have a couple bruised ribs, which he concluded from a thorough x-ray. He helped her up, "Don't worry yourself too much Death is no longer a threat."

"Oh, that really hurts," Max said as she touched her ribs, "That bastard better go away for a long time for this. Hey Batman, are you okay? Batman?" Max called to Terry as she looked over to him.

Superman also looked over to him when he didn't answer. Batman was face down and bleeding a fair amount. He had large gashes in his back along with a few shards of wood. Superman checked for broken bones and was relieved to find that only the ribs had taken anymore damage. Superman then went to kneel by Terry and rolled him over while calling him again.

When he was on his back he coughed a second and then said in a hoarse voice, "Man, I was comfortable on my stomach. Five more minutes mom and then I'll get up." He chuckled a little but then stopped with a grunt.

"Batman you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Max yelled as she crawled over to the two men. "Don't you dare not answer me again." Then she smiled, bent down and kissed him.

When they came up for air Terry said, "Damn, but I've got to do this more often if that's the reward I get." Terry smiled real big for effect, then he ruined the moment by coughing again.

"We need to get you two and Death out of here so…" the words died on his lips as Superman tuned to look at Death and saw that he was gone. "He's loose!" Superman then scanned the area for any sign of Death but none was to be found. "And he's gone!" Superman bellowed.

"Don't worry, he'll show up again soon enough. Right now we need to get Batman some medical attention." Max had gotten up and was standing behind Superman.

"You too," Superman said. He then turned to go and collect Terry. As soon as he had Terry in hand the batmobile showed up. Superman thought of Bruce being with the rest of the League by himself and smirked. Then he turned to address Max. "You go in the car and I'll take Batman. I'll meet you at the cave." Superman waited for Max to enter the car before taking off for the cave himself.

At least it's over for now. Hopefully that lunatic will stay away long enough for you two to heal. What am I thinking, I hope he doesn't come back at all for yours and Max's sakes. Superman then concentrated on getting back to the cave while taking quick glances at Terry to make sure he was all right.

Elsewhere an hour or so later Death could be seen making his way through a deserted warehouse towards an office. He was meeting with Mr. Powers.

As he entered and shut the door he heard a sliding noise and realized that a metal door had just slid into place behind the door. He was being trapped and he didn't like that. He turned to the desk behind which sat Mr. Powers. "What are you doing?" demanded Death.

"I hear that you did not complete your mission. In fact I hear that you failed in every aspect of the job." Powers was speaking in a smooth chill voice that carried a lethal quality to it. "Is this true?"

"It is," Death replied with disdain. He was not at all happy about the turn of events but could now see why his apprentice Curare had failed, twice, against her foe.

"That does not make me happy. This was also the last chance I gave you. I do not tolerate failures!" Powers was becoming increasingly angrier and his skin was starting to peel and fall off. Death stared at Powers and then took out his last laser katana, which he had used to escape only an hour ago.

"You think that that is going to kill me? You make me laugh." Powers said maniachly while starting to laugh. He tore off the last of his skin and charged up his hands. "You will never fail Blight again!" Then he lunges at Death.

All that is visible from outside the warehouse are slivers of green light. Those are accompanied by horrible screams from inside it. Soon they stop and the light fades.

Back inside the office only Blight is visible with his eerie glow while he wipes the blood from his cheek "One day you will die Batman, by my hand, for in our business death stalks us all." Blight chuckles deeply as he looks down at the charred and blackened remains of the assassin.

A/N- All done! Except maybe an epilogue if I have time with Exams. But I hope you all liked it! Tell me what you thought!