A/N: Hello to all my wonderful fans! I am so, SO very sorry that it's taken so long to get back to this story. I'd promised the fans of The Spider and The Spartan 2 chapters a month on that story long ago and that took A LOT more time that I had initially anticipated. Luckily, there's only a few short chapters of that story left, so this one will be coming back in full force!
But also, for those that haven't, please check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel, Sai Blade. I've actually learned how to edit now and make decent videos since the last chapter, so I promise it's actually worth your time now. And be sure to share my videos on social media. Spread the good word of Sai! I don't want to sound desperate, but... I'm desperate.
But without further ado! Let's get back to Yang bringing some insanity to Arkham City!
Yang entered through a door that said "Wonder City" on it, ignoring the message, sounding suspiciously close to something Ra's Al Ghul would say, continuing through the first set of doors, shocked to see an inmate wearily staggering towards her. "They're... everywhere!" He declared, before dropping to his knees, then falling forward, dead with a sword stabbed into his back.
"Well, if there was any question before, they League is definitely here." Yang said, continuing forward. She made her way through the next set of doors and halfway through the next hallway, before three puffs of smoke deployed from the ground, three female assassins standing before the blonde brawler, swords drawn. "Hey, there. Any chance one of you could go get Talia for me? It's kind of important." Yang said.
"No one sees our glorious mistress! She only graces someone with her presence as she chooses!" One of them said, rushing in and swinging at Yang, who deployed the Batman-like spikes on Ember Celica, trapping her blade and punching her in the face to knock her out.
"You could've just said no." Yang said simply, before firing a few rounds from her gauntlets at the one on the left. She managed to block the first two rounds, but the third one hit her in the stomach and launched her backwards. Her back hit a wall, stunning her and allowing Yang to launch herself forward, slamming her shoulder into the assassin's torso and slamming the assassin into the rock behind her, finishing her with an uppercut. The last one rushed in at Yang, but she fired a pair of rounds into the ground, cracking it and making the assassin lose her footing, allowing Yang to hit her with an uppercut, launching both of them into the air, before Yang did a forward flip and kicked her to the ground, firing another set of rounds behind her, flipping in the air once more and stomping on the assassin to knock her out.
"Sure, you guys are the world's greatest band of assassins in this world, but in mine, you'd just be mid-ranking White Fang thugs." She said, heading into an extravagant looking city, somehow managing to look both extremely advanced and authentically classic, like it came straight out of the 50's period Batman had told her about. "Wow... This is like what Mountain Glenn could have been if it was completed." Yang said, before continuing to the end of the trail, coming to a set of massive steel doors. "Dang. These things ain't opening without a Kryptonian ripping them open. But the assassin's have to be getting through somehow." She said, looking around and discovering a robot.
"Batman told me a little bit about this place, even though he thought it was a myth. These must be the famous guardians of Wonder City." She noted, scanning it. "Whoa. Whoever made these knew what they were doing. Ironwood might even be jealous. They can even record things like some kind of retro video." She said, starting to scan the memory. However, she only got to 29%, before the robot's head exploded. "Oh, come on! Why can't it ever just be quick and easy?!" She complained. "Oh, well. It looks like they shared their memory, so I only have to scan a few more of these things and I can find where the League went. And then I can kick their ass-ass-ins!" She joked, scanning the city and hurrying to the nearest robot.
She located several other robots and scanned them, each one short-circuiting, but still giving her a somewhat decent addition to their memory banks. She was also attacked by one or two more groups of the League of Shadows, but she was able to handle them with moderate ease. Soon enough, she had all the data she needed. "Nice! I got the full recording. Now, where did they high-tail their ass-ass-ins off to?" She pondered, before realizing what she said and groaning. "Oh, man. I must be worried about Bruce. I'm reusing old puns!" She said, before watching the data.
"Got it. So, there's a hidden panel to access a hidden door to their hidden hideout. Jeez, these guys take hiding as seriously as Bruce does." She said, walking over to where she noticed the hidden panel was in the video and pushing it up, revealing some kind of slot. "A sword could probably fit here." She noted, before an assassin dropped down beside her with a sword, preparing to slice her head off, but Yang blocked it with her gauntlet, punched the assassin in the face to daze her, then moving her arm in a way she stabbed the sword into the slot, at which point Yang twisted it to open the door. "Hey, thanks! That's just what I needed. Now I'll help give you a nap!" She declared, knocking the assassin's head against the wall to knock her out, hurrying down the unlocked path.
She punched down a weakened wall and hurried down the path, soon finding and climbing a ladder, opening a sewer-like lid and climbing out, rushing ahead. A set of large doors opened for her, allowing her to continue towards a set of smaller doors that somehow seemed more intimidating. But before she could reach the door, a number of assassins appeared around her. "You should have listened to my warning. There are no friends to save you down here!" One of the assassins declared.
"Look, I don't have much time left. Take me to Talia or Ra's Al Ghul. Now." Yang demanded.
"You are not worthy to speak the name of the head of the Demon! And no one sees him or our mistress without being sought out by them!" One of them declared as they all attacked. Yang rushed at one of them, jumping and putting her foot on the assassin's chest, pushing off to send her to the ground and launching herself at another assassin who she took out with a powerful haymaker backed up with a round from Ember Celica. She then dodged the blade of the next assassin, grabbing her arm and tossing her over her shoulder at the assassin she'd jumped off of, sending them back to the ground, knocking out the one who'd been used like a springboard. The last one sliced at Yang with her sword, but she blocked the attack and grabbed the blade, knocking out its wielder with a knee to the gut and punch to the face, then throwing the sword at the assassin she'd thrown, the butt of the sword hitting her in the head just as she got up, knocking her out again.
Another group of assassins came after Yang, but before they could attack her, a voice called out. "Stop!" The person called and the assassins immediately backstepped and withdrew their swords. Yang turned towards the direction she heard the voice come from and saw both Talia and Nyssa Al Ghul approaching from the doors ahead of them. "Yang Xiao Long. Have you come here to do the Dark Knight's bidding?" Nyssa questioned.
"Or, have you come with the usual warning? Trying to keep me apart from my beloved?" Talia questioned.
"Whatever is between you and Bruce is between you two. Right now, there's something more important going on. Bruce has been poisoned. We need your father's blood. If you really love him, you'll take me to him." Yang told her.
"Bruce..." Talia said in shock.
Nyssa looked to her sister. "Wayne is a master of deception. You know this already. We can assume all his sidekicks are the same." She said.
"But he would never lie about something like this. Not when lives are on the line." Talia told her sister, turning back to Yang. "Very well. But to speak to my father, you must take the trials of the demon." She declared.
"Fine. I'll take on whatever challenge you need me to." Yang told her.
"No, she won't." Another voice declared as Batman was then seen near the manhole cover Yang climbed out of to reach this place. "I will." He declared.
"Bruce..." Talia said, walking up to him quickly, kissing him, but also lifting his cowl, revealing his face was showing signs of severe illness. "It is true. Then we must hurry and you must take this trial. And you must be willing to take a life." She declared.
"I'll do whatever it takes." Batman said.
He convinced the assassins, but Yang knew he would never go that far. But, if it got him to Ra's, whatever works. "So, am I taking the same challenge, or what?" Yang asked.
"No. You will prove yourself in another trial by combat. You have done well, but you've far from faced the worst the League of Shadows has to offer." Nyssa declared.
"Alright, then. Bring it on." Yang said, following them as they led her to a separate chamber. She went to the middle of the room when three puffs of smoke appeared in a triangle around her with her in the center, three more assassins revealing themselves, wielding kusarigama. Yang did feel a minor twinge of sadness when she saw the weapons, thinking back to Blake on Remnant. How long has it been for them since she'd been gone? The same amount of time? How were they faring without her. Did they miss her?
"For the League of Shadows!" One of the assassins cried, pulling Yang out of her thoughts, spinning the weight at one end of the chain weapon at Yang, who lifted her arm, letting the weight and chain wrap around it, before pulling in a bit and bringing her leg up and over the chain to bring the assassin in even more, wrapping her foot around even more of the chain and bringing her foot to the ground, pulling the assassin closer and to the ground, allowing Yang to knock her out with a quick hook to the face.
The next one He was a bit more challenging, swinging the sickle end of the weapon first at her head, then swinging the weight at her feet, but she soon found his pattern and rushed in, jumping over the weight and chain again as he swung low, before firing two rounds behind her and flying in, feet first, hitting her opponent in the chest with her feet and staggering her, finishing with an uppercut.
And finally, the last one swung the weight at her again, changing which level of her body she was aiming at, while keeping the sickle close to himself so he'd have something to protect himself if she got past the weight and chain. Yang deflected this, sending the weight to the ground and rushing in again. The assassin waited with her sickle at the ready, but Yang jumped and cartwheeled, hitting her with both of her legs, dazing the last assassin and allowing the blonde brawler to knock her back into a wall, which knocked her out. "Alright-y! What's next?" Yang asked confidently.
"I see you share Bruce's overconfidence. Let's see how far that takes you." Nyssa said as they led her to another chamber where three more assassins waited, dual wielding sword.
They all rushed in and attacked together. Two blades at once was not exactly a challenge, but it did make Yang's job a bit harder, as they could strike about as fast as she could now, so six blades together proved to be somewhat difficult. They were managing to push Yang back as she struggled to do much more than defend, until she noticed she was coming up to a wall behind her and got an idea, jumping back towards and onto the wall, then pressing off and throwing an aerial round kick, knocking down one of the assassins, landing in a crouch, where she spun with her leg extended for a sweep kick, knocking another one of the assassin's down and punching the remaining one in the stomach, launching her back with a round from Ember Celica, allowing Yang to smash the head of the one she sweep kicked into the ground.
The one she hit with the round kick in the air got back up and swung her swords down on Yang, but she caught them in the spikes on her gauntlets and broke them, headbutting the assassin, before knocking her out with an uppercut. The final assassin ran in again, striking fiercely, but still maintaining her skills and keeping Yang on her toes. However, eventually Yang was able to block one blade, then knocked the other one out of the assassin's hand with a strong backhand punch, she then grappled for the blade and disarmed the assassin, hitting her in the head with the butt of her own sword to knock her out. "So, have I passed?" Yang asked.
"Yes. You and Bruce have proven your capabilities. But there is one more trial Bruce alone must face. However, you will be allowed to watch." Talia explained as they entered one final chamber. As they entered, they noticed Batman came through another door as well and they all faced a man in the middle of the room, kneeling in front of a glowing green pool. None other than Ra's Al Ghul himself.
"Ra's Al Ghul." Batman said.
"Father." Both assassins declared.
"Welcome, detective, to your final challenge." Ra's said, then looked to Yang. "Excellent, you've brought your newest disciple as well. But now, detective, you must kill me and replace me as head of the demon." He instructed.
"I will never kill. Not even you." Batman declared.
"What?! You lied to me!" Talia snapped, glaring at him.
"Treacherous snakes, both of you!" Nyssa snapped, drawing her sword.
"Just give us a sample of the old man's blood and we'll get out of here. No one has to get hurt." Yang told them.
"Allow me to help you." Ra's said, holding his sword out and stabbing it into the ground. "Use my sword, take all of my blood." Ra's declared.
"No." Batman refused.
"Thanks, pal. But we've got syringes." Yang said, holding one up, before Talia sliced it in half, before both sisters went after Yang.
"Yang!" Batman called after her, about to help, before Ra's voice was heard again.
"My daughters are her challenge, detective. Your challenge is to face me." Ra's told him, before falling back into the Lazarus Pit, which powered up some strange machines and shot a bolt of lightning into the pool, which turned pink as Ra's emerged from it, no longer old and decrepit with skin missing in places, but young and strong-looking once again. "No, only one of us can leave this chamber alive." Ra's declared, picking up his sword.
Ra's then somehow sent them to a desert land, suddenly bursting from the sand in a meditative pose, with a massive version of himself from the waist up forged from sand, wielding a sword, with dozens of smaller Ra's clones surrounding it. The massive Ra's then threw energy shurikens and sent energy blades at Batman, who dodged them, throwing several batarangs at Ra's, but they couldn't reach him.
"Batman!" Yang cried out, rushing to help, but stopped just in time to avoid a downward slice that would have cut the front half of her head off if she didn't have aura, before jumping back as Nyssa swung her sword, aiming for a decapitation, skidding to a stop and glaring at the two daughters of Ra's Al Ghul who now blocked her path. "What are you doing?! I thought you loved him, Talia!?" Yang snapped, glaring back and forth between them.
"I do love him, but I'm willing to set that love aside for the greater good and the future of the League of Assassins." Talia declared.
"His test is not yet finished. Our father will give him no other option than to kill him and take his place, or die. Now, you have the same choice. Join the League, or you will die." Nyssa told the blonde brawler.
"I'm part of the Bat Family and I'm going to be a Huntress! Someone who protects people, not kills them! You'll never make me take a life." Yang said resolutely.
"Then it's time for you to die." Talia declared as the sisters rushed in.
Background Music: "My Demons" by Starset
The two assassin sister's attacked Yang together, easily pushing her back with their combined assault. It almost reminded Yang of her initial fight with Melanie and Militia, only they used a similar fighting style, rather than all claw attacks or kicks she had to deal with from the Malachite sisters. It also seemed that Nyssa was not quite as skilled as her sister, so that would be her point of attack. She deflected a stab from Nyssa and grabbed her arm, pulling her in front of herself, using her as a human shield. Talia hesitated at this, so Yang moved Nyssa to the side and delivered a side kick to Talia's stomach, throwing Nyssa to the ground.
Yang then focused her attention on the older sister, dodging and deflecting more of her attacks, before blocking and holding her sword back, allowing her to deliver a punch to Talia's stomach, backed by a round from Ember Celica. She then delivered an elbow to Talia's chest, before raising her arm and bringing her fist up into Talia's face, staggering her and allowing Yang to blast her back with one more round from Ember Celica.
Nyssa then got to one knee and flung some shurikens at Yang, who blocked them and fired a round from her gauntlets at Nyssa, who rolled out of the way. Talia then ran in and slashed the back of Yang's knee, causing her to drop to that knee. Though, thankfully, her aura still protected her from that. Both sister's rushed in and attacked before, Talia eventually managed to land a kick on Yang that sent her rolling back into a kneeling position. Both sisters leapt at Yang, who looked to the sandy ground they stood on, put her goggles on and fired down into it. Sand erupted everywhere and threw off the assassins' attacks while Yang could still see perfectly fine, launching herself into the air and uppercutting Nyssa, before firing two rounds from Ember Celica into her, sending her down to the ground and bouncing off it, unconscious.
Meanwhile, Batman now had Ra's' blade to his neck. They were now back in the Lazarus Pit room and Talia disengaged from Yang to try and convince Bruce to murder her father. "We are destined to rule the Earth. To wipe clean the scum of humanity. My father is old. Ours is just beginning. Take his blade, kill him and accept your destiny. Our destiny." Talia told him.
"Hey!" Yang declared, getting Talia's attention just in time for her to see a round from Ember Celica slam into her chest and knock her back. "I'd start looking for another destiny if I were you. Maybe one that doesn't involve killing millions of innocents. You ever think about knitting?" She questioned.
At that moment, Ra's pulled away and they returned to the desert world. "Very well. Then if you will not kill to save yourself, perhaps you will kill in order to save your dear apprentice." Ra's voice echoed out.
"No." Batman said in horror. "Yang! Look out!" He cried out, trying to rush over but Talia had gotten back up and grabbed him.
"And it is her destiny to die and be the catalyst to what leads you to be a killer." She declared.
Ra's then erupted from the ground behind Yang and attacked with his sword. He was easily more of a challenge than his daughters, but Yang was still managing to keep him at bay. Eventually, she managed to trap his sword and pull it away from him, flinging it into the distance. Now without his weapon, still certainly capable as he fought barehanded, but Yang had the advantage and pressed it, countering one of Ra's attack and knocking him down.
Talia quickly rushed to her father's side and began to help him, but Ra's pulled out a knife and held it to her neck. "Last chance, detective. You either kill me or I kill the only person you ever loved!" Ra's declared.
"You bastard! You'd kill your own daughter!?" Yang snapped.
"For the future, Dragon, I'd do anything." Ra's declared.
Batman then stormed up beside Yang and flung a batarang that turned around and came back, hitting Ra's in the back of the head, causing him to stumble forward, where he was blasted back by two rounds to the face at once from Ember Celica.
End Music
Batman grabbed the downed man and jabbed an extraction gun with a cannister into his neck, the gun acting like a syringe and withdrawing blood from Ra's' body, filling the cannister with it. As that was happening, Yang quickly checked on Talia. "Are you alright?" She asked, offering the assassin a hand up, which she quickly refused, getting to her feet and making her way towards her sister. "Jeez. sorry for trying to help." She grumbled, before quickly moving towards Bruce to make sure the sisters wouldn't attack him once they were back on their feet.
"You'll pay for your lies. Both of you!" Nyssa snapped.
"We said what we had to for the greater good. Isn't that what your whole League is about?" Yang questioned.
"Yes, but we are honest in our noble goal. Nothing noble ever came from deceit. You all deserve each other." Talia snapped, helping her sister as they left the room.
"You're looking old, Ra's. What's really happening here?" Batman demanded.
"I've used the pit too many times. I have lived for 600 years. But it's taken a toll on my mind and body. I'm not sure I can handle much more. Every time I go in, I'm scared of what might come out." Ra's explained.
"Then that sounds like a good reason to stop using it, then." Yang said.
"And imagine if your Lazarus Pit fell into the wrong hands? You'd be powerless to stop centuries of destruction. This is your chance for Redemption, Ra's. Shut down your Lazarus Pit. Or I'll be back to do it myself." Batman said as he turned to leave.
Yang followed him closely. "You really think he'll do it?" She asked.
"No. He's addicted to the pit. It was a show of good faith, but the only way the Pit will be shut down is if someone else does it." Batman said.
"You work in REALLY strange ways." She told him.
"You haven't figured that out by now?" He asked with a small smirk.
"Alright, alright. Let's just get back to Freeze with the blood." Yang said as they left the lair of the League.