A/N: 2022.10.09

So... in reference to the One Piece reference I made a couple of chapters ago, I feel like I'm writing a One Piece fight, this fight is going so long!

Chapter 30

Batwing was thrown against the roof of the Wayne Enterprises building, parts of his armor severely damaged from the fight. While he had kept the Man-Bats from getting into building, it came at the cost of keeping their attention, and their violence, focused on him. Still, Batwing refused to give up or stay down, and he would never let them kill Tiana. Batwing pushed the pain and anguish out of his mind, standing as the Man-Bats approached.

"You're…" Batwing snarled out, "not… getting… in!"

Screeching, one the Man-Bats leapt for Batwing.

Only for Ghost-Wing's light baton to collide with its face.

Batwing gasped.

"You're right, Batwing." Ghost-Wing glared at the Man-Bats. "They sure as hell aren't."

Suddenly, Batwoman and Jaguar landed next to Ghost-Wing.

"By the way…" Ghost-Wing looked over at Batwing. "…I actually like the name."

Batwing chuckled a bit. "Thanks. And thanks for the save!"

"'Least I could do."

"Sit this one out, Batwing," Jaguar prepped her claws. "We got this!"

"Oracle," Batwoman declared. "We're here!"

Tiana laughed in relief. "Thank you!"

"No problem!"

"Now that you guys are here, can you do me one favor?"

"Sure. Whatever you want."

"BEAT THEIR FREAKIN' ASSES FOR HURTIN' MY LITTLE BROTHER!"

Batwoman erupted into laugher. "For you? Absolutely! And actually? I've got just the thing!" She hit a button on her backpack.

Armor pieces ripped forth from the backpack and transformed around Batwoman; seconds later, the pieces formed into a slightly smaller version of Bruce's last armor.

Batwing stared in shock, "Whoa…"

"Damn!" Tiana said.

"Wow!" Jaguar shouted, happily. "That's amazing!"

"Oh, that is so cool!" Ghost-Wing chuckled.

"Thanks!" Batwoman glared at the Man-Bats then looked at Jaguar and Ghost-Wing, "Alright!" She punched the inside of her fist, "You heard Oracle!"

"Loud and clear!" Jaguar smiled.

"Let's do this!" Ghost-Wing shouted. He jumped at the Man-Bats with Batwoman and Jaguar doing the same.

Due to the intensity of their battle, Ember and Frost left a substantial amount of damage in their wake and even crashed through several floors of the building they were in. After eventually landing on the ground floor, Ember threw Frost outside to the street. Frost stood up just as Ember was stepping out of the building.

On her last legs, Frost realized she had to go all-out if she wanted any chance of taking Ember down.

Frost quickly collected her power, dramatically plummeting the temperature of the street.

"Ohhhh, crap!" Ember flared up her own flames to counter Frost's temperature plunge.

Frost gathered all the strength she had left then shot an enormous, powerful ice beam at Ember.

Ember planted her feet and launched a torrent of flames in return.

While they struggled to overcome the other, Ember began steadying her breathing, gaining further control of her flames.

It was a lesson Bruce taught her.

"I've seen metahumans like you before," Bruce explained to Ember once. "They had so much potential but never bothered to use it or learned to push themselves further. They never used their brains to know how their powers truly worked."

Ember kept her breathing steady.

"You have fire, Michelle. Fire needs air. Short of being in a limited oxygen area or outer space, use the air. You have limits. Find out what they are. Then exceed them."

All that training and time and effort Bruce put into her. Ember knew she'd disappointed many people in her life. She would rather die than let Bruce be one of them.

Ember took more deep breath. Then exhaled. She opened her eyes and transformed her flames into a concussive, gargantuan wave of fire, launching it at Frost.

Frost did her best to block the fire, but it was useless as the fire melted her ice then detonated, hurling Frost back with extremely violent force.

Cutting off her flames, Ember hurried over to Frost, wanting to make sure she didn't kill her. Frost just barely managed to stand as Ember approached.

Burned and depleted, Frost wheezed out, "Go… to… hell…"

"Oh, screw off!" Ember shouted, angrily.

Ember punched Frost as hard as she could, lifting Frost off her feet. Frost crashed onto the street, unconscious.

Ember exhaled fell to a knee, trying to catch her breath. After recovering a bit, Ember growled and stood up. She went over to make sure Frost was only unconscious, not dead. Once confirmed Frost was alive, Ember kicked her again.

"Bitch!" Ember grumbled. She looked up at the Castellum and flew back toward the ship.

Koutetsu and Tremor were locked in a struggle against each other; Tremor forcing his powers through his hands against Koutetsu's bokuto. Despite Tremor's power, he realized that he'd only put a slight crack in the bokuto. They continued to struggle until Koutetsu felt his knee began to shake.

"HA!" Tremor yelled, triumphantly. "Givin' up, samurai?!"

Koutetsu's face suddenly calm. "Never. I just now know… it's time to end this."

Tremor's blood ran cold. "…what…?"

Suddenly, Koutetsu headbutted Tremor, breaking his nose, and he pushed Tremor back.

Tremor looked to see Koutetsu charging at him.

Tremor had no idea what happened the next second. Or, rather, he didn't know how the next second happened. All he knew was the pain he felt from the innumerable times Koutetsu hit him.

The second after the strikes, Koutetsu was behind Tremor, kneeling with his bokuto a bit more cracked than before.

Tremor dropped to his knees. "What…" he croaked out, "…what…"

"It's called 'Phantom Thousand'." Koutetsu stood, a bit unsteady on his feet. "I haven't perfected it yet. But… I figured… it couldn't hurt to try."

Tremor wasn't able to respond. He fell face first on the ground, unconscious.

Once he sensed Tremor was comatose and not dead, Koutetsu exhaled, clutching at his ribs in pain. He fell against the wall, sliding down until he sat on the floor.

"BABY!" Ember shouted.

Koutetsu looked to see Ember running toward him. He smiled, "You're okay…"

Ember kneeled next to him, "You think someone throwing me out an airship would kill me? You're not getting rid of me that easy!"

Koutetsu chuckled.

Ember looked at Tremor, "I knew you had his sorry ass."

"He was stronger than I expected," Koutetsu admitted. "I had to use Phantom Thousand."

"You said you needed more practice."

"I do. But I had to try. He wouldn't go down otherwise."

Ember looked at his bokuto, "Aww, babe, your sword!"

"I can fix it," Koutetsu chuckled a bit. "It's not the first time I've cracked it. Don't worry." He looked at her, "Are you okay?"

"Little Miss Snow Cone is down for the count."

Koutetsu smiled and exhaled. "Never doubted you."

"Thanks."

Koutetsu leaned his head back, "We have not concluded our business yet. We need to find Batman."

"Couldn't agree more." Ember looked him over, "You good to keep going?"

"I think that's the first time you've ever asked me that," Koutetsu smiled, suggestively.

Ember grinned and shrugged a bit, "That's because I never question your stamina."

Koutetsu laughed as he stood, Ember standing with him. "Let's go," he said.

Batman was thrown hard against a wall by Bane. Batman moaned as pain shot through him. Despite his armor remaining intact, his muscles were burning, and he felt probably had a cracked rib, possibly two. Not unusual, but he definitely didn't need any disadvantages fighting Bane. And giving up wasn't remotely an option. Still, with all the injuries, Batman strained as he got to his feet.

Bane stalked toward Batman. "I'll admit it, boy," he said, "you've proven yourself to be a worthy opponent. But… not enough. I'll give you what you earned. An honorable death."

Bane charged at Batman.

Suddenly, part of the ceiling exploded apart, and Nightrunner jumped down, with a diving kick, hitting Bane across the face, followed by punching Bane in the stomach. When Runner hit Bane's abdominal muscles and felt no give, he jumped back and threw a series of concussive darts at Bane, forcing him back.

Bane backed up and waited for the smoke to clear, before glaring at Runner, "You're as remarkable as you are obstinate, Nightrunner!"

"Gee, thanks!" Runner ran, jumped, and drove his knee into Bane's chin.

Bane recoiled, but, when Runner tried attacking again, Bane swatted Runner out of the air, causing him to bounce once then crash next to Batman.

"See what I've been dealing with?" Batman asked.

Runner groaned as he pushed himself up, "What… the hell!"

"I know, right?"

"Now that I have a second, why does he look like a fusion between Brock Lesnar and Broly?!"

"First off, great comparison!" Batman grinned, causing Runner to chuckle a bit. "Second, he was seriously prepared! He took something called Titan, injected it right into his arm."

Runner's eyes widened and quickly looked at Batman, "DID YOU SAY 'TITAN'?!"

"Oh, God! What?!"

"It was something the Doc came across when researching Venom. It started off as the TN-1 project." Runner looked at Bane, as did Batman. "It's supposed to be incomplete!"

"Quite right, Nightrunner," Bane smiled. "It was. I completed it."

"You're really irritating, I hope you know that."

"So I've been told. This battle was meant to be between myself and Batman, only. But I was more than positive you wouldn't stay away for too much longer, Nightrunner."

"Yeah. I'm obstinate that way."

"Very well," Bane grinned. "Shall we continue?"

Runner looked at Batman, "Need me to hold the line for a minute?"

"No." Batman spit. "I'm good. Got a couple of tricks left. Didn't wanna use 'em because I didn't know how powerful they were. Then… he blitzed me faster than I was expecting. Now? I don't care."

"Got you. Ready when you are."

"Let's go."

Batman and Runner ran at Bane, who charged them in turn.

Inside the control room of the Castellum, Azrael and Nyssa fought their way through the remaining Scourge soldiers, Ikram, and Athanasia. Ikram and Athanasia showed their mastery of martial arts, confirming their lineage to Ra's al Ghul. Despite being outnumbered, Azrael and Nyssa showed no sign of fear or discouragement, or any sign of losing ground. After a few more minutes, Nyssa looked over at Azrael, "NOW!"

Azrael threw a batch of smoke grenades, all of which exploded and covered the entire control room in a thick, heavy fog. Nyssa threw a series of bolo whips, entrapping a few Scourge members. Azrael hurried out of the thicket of the fight and went to a nearby computer console. Azrael opened a panel, finding another hub. He quickly inserted a USB drive and put the panel back.

"And that's four!" Azrael activated the comms, "Oracle! We're in! It's your show!"

"Got it!" Tiana started typing. "Thanks, Azrael!"

"That's my line to you!" Azrael jumped back into the fight.

Tiana was typing, furiously.

"What's the word, Oracle?!" Batwoman asked.

"It's gonna take some time to shut down the weapons system," Tiana answered. "The safeguards in place are good and they're even starting to get around my first slowdowns!"

"How long?"

"Ten minutes, maybe eight."

"Good enough for me!"

"We need to get the word out!" Nightwing interjected.

"I can't reach Batman, Runner, or Huntress," Tiana informed. "I found what I think is Bane's chamber but it has its own jamming signal!"

Sally's eyes widened. "Wait! Are you talking about calling in the backup?"

"Yeah, why?"

Sally grinned. "I can call 'em!"

Tiana jerked her head back.

"B… gave me the numbers. In case of a critical emergency. I was about to call them for you when Batwing showed up."

Tiana smiled, "Glad you waited. But you don't have to anymore!"

"Making the call!" Sally selected a number on her phone.

A couple of minutes later, Batwoman and her team had defeated the Man-Bats. As Jaguar finished tethering the last of the Man-Bats, she tightened the binds, "That's the last of them!"

Batwing exhaled, "Thanks, again, for saving my ass."

"You had these guys, Batwing," Ghost-Wing reassured. "We just made sure you did."

Batwing chuckled. "You did a bit of a one-eighty."

"Batwoman had to hit him," Jaguar giggled.

Batwing tried not to laugh while Ghost-Wing threw his head back and groaned. "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" Ghost-Wing asked.

Jaguar smiled at him. "We make it out of this? We can talk about it over dinner tomorrow."

Ghost-Wing stared at her. "I'm in."

Batwoman smiled at them both. She got on the comms, "Oracle, where are we?"

"Slow and steady," Tiana answered. "The damn's ship has an automatic countdown to fire, indiscriminately. It only activated since the main systems are being tampered with."

"Oh, my God!" Ghost-Wing said, exasperatedly.

"That'll wreck half the city!" Batwing shouted.

"What didn't Bane think of?!" Batwoman growled.

"He didn't think we'd find the bomb," Tiana answered. "There was fail-safe for the signal to detonate it. It's not gonna work now. Thanks to you."

"That's something, at least."

"What should we do now?" Jaguar asked.

Batwoman thought for a moment. "We're going back to that ship. Help everyone out and shut down that clubhouse of death."

"Right!"

"Batwing, stay here and watch out for Oracle."

"I can still fight!" Batwing declared.

"You did plenty tonight," Batwoman countered. "Watch out for Oracle. I know you want to, anyway."

Batwing found that hard to argue. Though he had another reason for wanting to return to the ship.

Batwoman already knew. "And, not that she needs it, but I'll look out for Huntress for you."

Batwing perked up. "Well. Okay."

Batwoman laughed. "Oracle, I know you're working on the weapon's system, but can you control the ship's flight path?"

"A bit," Tiana answered. "Might be able to trick the system a little."

"Try to move it back toward the bay where it came from. Get word to Gordon and Bancroft to make sure that area is completely evacuated. Most of Gotham may be clear, already, but just to be sure."

"You got it!"

Batwoman looked at Ghost-Wing and Jaguar, "Ready to keep this insanity goin'?"

"I live for this," Ghost-Wing answered.

"Let's go!" Jaguar agreed.

Batwoman looked at Batwing, "Great work, Batwing! Watch your back and Oracle's!"

Batwing nodded. "Be careful."

Bane had just thrown Runner against a wall, but Batman managed to kick Bane across the face. Batman used an electric current setting Max had installed to shock Bane as Batman hit him. While these strikes were stunning Bane a bit, it wasn't enough to full knock him down. Bane managed to catch Batman's punch and slam him down to the ground.

Bane lifted his foot to stomp on Batman.

Then a part of the floor exploded, causing everyone to recoil. Via a cable, Huntress launched herself into the room. She threw a series of kunai-like blades at Bane, causing him to block his face as Batman rolled away from Bane.

Bane growled. "Interesting."

"Sorry I'm late!" Huntress drew an extendable staff from one of pouches. "Got held up."

Huntress ran, jumped, dove down, and kicked him across the face. She followed up by kicking him in the knee then smashed her staff across Bane's face. Huntress just barely dodged a retaliatory punch from Bane. Huntress flipped back and landed next to Batman and recovering Runner.

Bane chuckled, "Another new member of the clan."

"This ends, here and now!" Huntress declared.

"Oh, it does, my dear. No one knows that better than me."

"You sure you wanna be here, Huntress?" Runner asked.

"Absolutely!" Huntress answered.

"Glad you made it," Batman grinned.

"I'll be glad when he's unconscious!"

"You and me both." Batman took a breath. "You guys ready?"

"Ready!" Runner and Huntress replied, simultaneously.

The trio charged at Bane, who smiled and entered a defensive posture as they initiated their attack.

A/N: The Titan and the TN-1 are direct references from Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham Origins. Those really were a great series of Batman games. I hope Gotham Knights is good when it comes out. For that matter, I heard Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League takes place post-Batman: Arkham Knight. That will be very interesting. I wonder if they'll explain anything Batman related.

Anyway! Enough about video games! Runner and Huntress join the battle with Bane and Ember and Koutetsu are on the way. Will finally see the end to the Titan-powered mad man? We'll see!