Alwatwat

Gotham City

- Wayne Tower -

Research & Development

Lucius Fox and Bruce Wayne look at the large monitor that displays a map of the city and all points of interest. Lucius mans the computer, selecting and focusing in on key details. Bruce too observes, eyes not withdrawing from their path. His vision tirelessly never stops trying to catch every single detail, no matter how minute or seemingly unhelpful. The years he spent training did more than tone his body and skills but also his mind. A thousand thoughts came from the littlest possible hint.

"Bruce... you are aware that some people believe that subtlety is an art form, right? That giant stunt back there... was way too outlandish and reckless" Lucius offers his reason, not taking his eyes from the screen, nor shuddering at the other man's disapproval. He couldn't see him, yet somehow he could feel Bruce's anger. Lucius was trusting of Bruce. More so than anyone besides his own family. He is aware of how Bruce would never bring him harm but that didn't stop him from dreading that there was a chance that he would somehow not conform to his trust.

"I'm not an artistic person" the billionaire scowls, rolling his eyes in detest "First night back and I had to make a strong statement. The G.C.P.D, the criminals and even Checkmate now all know that the Batman has returned"

"Bruce..." Lucius shifts his neck, glancing at Bruce with the corner of his vision "You're still hurt, remember? You could have used Gotham not knowing about your return to your advantage. Maybe you could have caught the targets off guard... but now? Now they know that you are coming for them... and they will be ready for you..."

"They'll think that they are prepared" Bruce glances over to an opened briefcase, one that was full of rows of newly formed Batarangs. He reaches over and grabs onto one and holds it up "Things are crazy out there, Lucius and unless I act now... whose know what other complications will make their self know"

"This will probably only result in a waste of breath but have you considered bringing Selina and Talia into the fold? They are equipped to deal with this... they have been doing just that. The pair of them have helped take some of Gotham's most notorious criminals" Lucius suggests all-but knowing that his proposal will most definitely fall upon deaf ears.

"No. They're not getting involved. This is my battle" Bruce was quick to dismiss the other man's plan. Bruce's features firm, his eyes slightly narrow as the harsh-toned words leave him. He keeps his eyes trained on the Batarang in hand "They've done enough already"

"I can't tell if that's pride or concern in your voice, Bruce" Lucius notes, seeing the subtle change in the man's expression. Lucius turns back to the screen, observing the city's map. Lucius' eyes open-wider as he sees a new tab open "Security Alert, Apparently there's someone in your office... which is strange since it's still locked and no signs of forced entry"

"Stay here and keep an eye on things. I'm gonna check it out. It's late so I can go up there with no problem" Bruce informs the man stood beside him.

Bruce's Office

Bruce walks into his office, slamming open the door and is greeted the sight of the back of his chair with blond hair poking out. The billionaire crosses his arms and glares at the man sitting in his chair "How the hell did you get in here?" Bruce demands, clearly out of patience. He slowly makes his away towards the desk of his office and the man that was sat in his own chair "I asked you a question and I'm not a fan of repeating myself!"

"All these years later and you haven't softened up one bit" the hidden man replies with a coy tone. His voice stops Bruce in his tracks. His whole body seems to become numb at the sound of it, preconizing both it and its owner. The dark-haired man's eyes narrow.

"You...? What are you doing here?" Bruce growls.

"Is that any way to treat an old friend, Bruce?" the chair spins around which puts Bruce in eye-contact with a blonde man whose dressed in a tight-fitting unbuttoned collar shirt. The man has blue eyes and a neatly trimmed beard. Oliver Queen smiles, getting up from the chair and holding out his hand to Bruce "It's nice to see you again, Bruce". Oliver greets the other man with a smile. However, Bruce couldn't be any further from the blonde's composure.

6 Years Earlier...

Tibet

- Nanda Parbat -

"You have proven yourself so far, but that was merely child's play compared to what trials yet await you, Alwatwat" a woman of Asian descent speaks from up high. Dressed in a shinobi shozoku which had long red streaks. Her long raven hair peaks out from her hood. Her hazel eyes stare down to a man kneeling before here. A man who too was dressed in an all-black gab. The man rests his right arm over his curved knee as he looks up to the woman above. The ancient-looking chamber was brightened by several flames that path around the room.

"If you keep fighting with mercy then you will most certainly die here soon enough" the woman walks down the stone steps and comes closer to the kneeling man. Lady Shiva draws her blade and swings it, just stopping less than a centimetre to the man's neck. Shiva takes notes of how the man before her was doing, not showing any fear, he did not flinch or appear to have been uneased by her announced play. A smile forms on her hips, though hidden behind her attire "Stand, Alwatwat."

The masked man ascends to his feet. Bowing his head in respect of the woman in front of him. Shiva returns her blade back to its sheath, not taking her eyes off of the man "The great Ra's Al Ghul told of you one day leading the Shadows... and to do such a task, you must first become one among the darkness." The man's dark hair escaped the confines of his hood, sweeping down on his forehead in a short fringe that stops just above his eyebrows.

"Take off your zukin" Shiva commands. The man obeys as he pulls down his hood and lifts his head up to look the woman in the eyes. Bruce Wayne stands motionless, not even blinking or shifting his gaze away. His hair was a mess with multiple strands poking outward or being stuck down to his forehead. His face has a growing beard, one that was somewhat untidy and messed. The metallic gauntlet around his wrists, the angled belt around his waist with a crafted bat-like buckle. The high-black boots that rise to his shins, the fingerless leather gloves and rope that too was placed over his arms, tied over and knotted.

Lady Shiva's lips begin to curve into a slight smirk "Again!" she screams as she readies her blade once again. Bruce pulls his hood back over and his fukuman over his mouth. He and Lady Shiva walk backwards to form distance between them. Alwatwat readies himself, lifting both of his arms up in a battle stance along with curving his knees. The Asian woman takes her time as she looks over the man from head to toe, all his previous injuries, all his openings for attacks and judging what moves he is too make against her.

"Begin!" She announces as she and Bruce run towards each other.

Wayne Tower

- Present Day -

Bruce was dazed, his mind flustering with his thoughts. He was quick to be pulled out of it when he hears Oliver's voice raise, loud enough to break through the magnitude of thoughts that were ramming against each other in his head. Bruce's eyes return over to the blond man "Why are you here, Oliver? I heard that Star City is having its own crises right now"

"Good to see you, Bruce. You haven't changed one bit since we last talked... or fought would be a more accurate term" the blond smiles as he slides his hands into the pockets of his jeans "Please, my friends call me Ollie"

"We're. Not. Friends" Bruce debunks the other man's notions with venom in his tone.

"Really? But we have so much in common" Queen shrugs "We're both billionaires who own one of the most powerful companies in the whole world, both of our parents are gone, we both saw the corruption in our cities and chose to something about it. Not to mention we are both news-worthy vigilantes, apparently, you were serious about that whole bat motif. Here I was thinking that you were just going through a phase" Oliver says to Bruce in a joking manner.

"Says the Robin Hood wannabe" Bruce exhales letting his annoyance be known by the blond "For the last time... what are you doing here? Don't you have an archery lesson to attend or something?" Oliver softly shakes his head.

"Don't worry, this isn't a social visit... I know how you are with anything that involves communication with another human being" Oliver explains as looks down to the desk and picks up a closed folder "A couple of nights ago, I stopped what I thought was a basic fetch quest for my rogues. But it turns out what they were after was a lot more interesting" Oliver sits down on the desk "It was a shipment from your company... which shouldn't have been anything special but... then I remembered that this whole city is on lockdown..."

"I wasn't made aware of any authorized shipments to Star City. In fact, Wayne Enterprise hasn't dealt in that city for years since Queen Consolidated took over as the tech major there," Bruce replies unsure of Oliver's words. He then sees a shift in Queen's expression. One that showed him that was the answer that he expected to receive, an answer that he was ready for.

"There's one more thing that you should know... that shipment was disguised. It was branded in Checkmate logos. But I've looked into it, that shipment did originate from a Wayne facility... which means Checkmate may be using your business as a backdoor for exporting their tech"

"You came all the way to Gotham to tell me that? You could have called" Bruce glares at Oliver.

"Not exactly" Oliver stands up grabbing his jacket from the desk "I've come here to put a stop to it. I can't have them sending this kind of tech to my city... or anywhere else. If Count Vertigo could get his hands on it, it's only a matter of time before someone worse gets their hands on it"

"Do you think that Oliver Queen can just waltz in the Checkmate base and demand answers? They've put people in the hospital just for loitering..." Bruce asks the other man. Oliver dismisses his concern with a well-placed smirk as he puts on his black overcoat. He walks past Bruce and nudges him.

"Who said anything about Oliver Queen?" he winks at Bruce as he walks out of the office which left Bruce standing alone. His mind was now buzzing once more, his mind full of roaming thoughts and wandering memories. His eyes narrow, viciously so, like a whole new feeling of hate was formed within him.

"Waller..." he growls under his breath.

6 Years Earlier

Tibet

- Nanda Parbat -

"Faster" Lady Shiva orders as she swings her katana at Bruce who dodges under it. Lady Shiva spins on her heels of her boots as she swings again with her sword, this time she aimed her attacks to move down vertically. With only less than a second to plan his defence, Bruce lifts up his right arm and with it, the blade collides with the gauntlet on his wrist; causing a small flurry of sparks to form between the weapon and the man's wrist. Shiva sees the result of the man's quick thinking. Her features soften for a mere moment before her ferocity returns.

"Fight like you mean it!" the woman instructs Bruce as she takes another swing at him with the tip of her blade reflecting Bruce's masked image. The man returns his guard, ducking under the first attack, then rolling out of the way of the second. Now lying on his back he sees the third swing coming. His eyes narrow as he uses his arms to propel him upwards, readying his feet to kick the woman away and with it making her drop the katana. Realizing that he now had a chance, he made no waste of time. He regained his footing and grabbed the sword mid-air and holds against Shiva's neck.

Lady Shiva hums amused Her gloved hand comes up, tracing her fingers across the tip of the blade "My attacks would have proven to be fatal if they landed yet you still held yourself back. If you wish to go down the path of restraint you must always remember...". Shiva grabs onto the hilt of the blade and yanks it away from Bruce and rams it through his left shoulder. Bruce screams in pain as the blade cut through his body and through his shoulder "Your foes will not share your resolve" Shiva grabs onto the man's left shoulder as she forces the blade further through his left shoulder, earning whimpers from the man with him dribbling blood.

The pain overtook Bruce, making him kneel down with Shiva following down to retain eye-contact with him "Alwatwat, you must learn to overcome this childish pride of yours. You had the blade at my throat yet you were unsure of yourself, your grasp on it was weak, pitiful." she sees the man squirm under her, blood soaking his garbs and him wincing in agony. Shiva's gloved hand tightens around the hilt and she yanks the katana right out of the man's should with a single pull.

Bruce swoops onto the floor, grasping his hurt shoulder and grunting.

The woman's brown eyes firm on Bruce, her gloved hand reaching over and yanking the zukin which revealed his face to her. Her left hand constricts into a fist as she grabs his hair and yanks his head up towards her. Bruce's eyes stiffen at the action. Shiva curves her right leg and with her right hand manoeuvring her blade against the surface of his neck. Bruce's body shudders as the cold blade slivers against his exposed flesh "Relax yourself, American. If I wanted you dead... you wouldn't even see it coming. Ra's al Ghul foresaw your destiny and I will see his vision come true... otherwise... you shall die here"

Lady Shiva releases her grip on the man's hair and ascends until she stands. She returns her blade to the sheath on her back "Maybe I am going all about your training wrong, Alwatwat. It may be the case that you require a uke to help hone your skills, someone who is similar to you. Though you will still be the palooka. Return to your chamber. We shall speak again soon." Bruce hears the woman order him. He follows, fighting to move off of the ground, supporting his shoulder with his now bloodstained hand.

Wayne Tower

- Present Day -

"Bruce? Bruce, can you hear me?"

Bruce's eyes double-take as he is ripped out of his thoughts, realizing that he was still standing inside his office. His vision moves over, seeing that his right hand was over his left shoulder. He turns his head towards the doors to the room "I- I'm fine, Lucius. I'm just...- I'm fine"

"I've been trying to reach you for almost ten minutes. Something's come up, something that requites your attention"

"What's happening?" Bruce asks, his eyes looking over the photographs left by Oliver.

"Reports just came in, there's been a break in at the hostel at the edge of the Narrows. Most likely it's a guy trying to get his hands on the supplies there"

"Not again" Bruce grits his teeth "Prep the Batsuit, Lucius. There's people in desperate need of the medical treatment there. I can't let it be stolen" Bruce hurries out of the room.

Across Gotham

Batman, the Dark Knight swoops down onto the alley, his cape expanding and lightening the fall. His boots splash down in a trail of unclean water that soaks the path leading out. He rolls his shoulders back, his cape droops around his shoulders and his bright-white eyes shine within the dark shadow of night "I'm here, Lucius. I'm heading towards the back entrance,". The vigilante paces over around the corner leaning deeper into the path behind the building.

"You may be too late, Bruce. There is a high chance that the culprit is long gone"

Batman's eyes land upon the sight of the backdoors. He notices how they appear to have been rammed open. He slowly enters and stops as soon as he glimpsed the inside "I don't think he's going anywhere, I don't any of them are...". Batman looks all over, seeing a group of bloodied men lying on the ground in a pool of their own blood. He walks over and kneels next to one of the downed men. Moving his finger to the man's neck "They're all dead, Lucius. It's a blood bath"

"What could have done this, Bruce?"

Batman stands back up and looks over. His eyes widening as his vision lands upon the sight of a white rose resting over one of the corpses. His body was overrun by a sudden surge of fear. He carefully walks towards it and picks it up. His eyes were glued to the rose, his fist tightens around it "Not what but who. A ghost from the past..." Batman scrunches up the rose and drops it onto the floor. Batman's ear's pick up the sound of police sirens which were getting closer to him by the second.

"A ghost, Bruce? Since when did you begin to believe in such things?" Lucius inquires.

6 Years Earlier

Tibet

- Nanda Parbat -

Bruce sits shirtless on the floor of the chamber as he bandages up the wound in his shoulder, unwrapping the bandage. His expression shows his feeling of discomfort, the pain that attacks his nerves each time a new layer was made over his shoulder. The few layers that he had managed to secure around him were already showing to be stained by the blood that leaks from his injury. The sombre cackling of the flames that soar in the lanterns placed around the room. The faint sound of rain that he could hear, all of it helped deviate the haunting thoughts of isolation, loneliness and even some of helped as a small distraction of the physical pain that plagued the inside of his body.

"Selina..." he closes his eyes and whispers, trying to remember the girl that he left behind, the girl who he wanted to be with. His mind wondered about her every day, how she was doing if she had met anyone else. if she moved on. He wished her the best, he wanted the best for her. The feeling of regret clawed away at him, the thought of him hurting her, breaking her heart. Not a single day goes by where he doesn't regret leaving her and not giving her a proper farewell.

His short-lived feeling of tranquillity was soon broken as the doors to the chamber were kicked open. Bruce jumps to his feet, seeing Shiva standing with her hands on her hips. There were two other League of Shadow members stood on her sides. He sees the two shadow members run towards him, grabbing him by the arms and forcing him to kneel before the woman who saunters her way to him. Bruce struggles to break free, trying to pull his arms out of the men's grip but he didn't have enough strength. As well the strain on his left arm caused a whole new level of pain for him, to the point where he couldn't even hold back his screams of agony.

"What - What are you doing!? What's going on!?" Bruce panics as he keeps up his attempts to escape.

"The time has come, Alwatwat" Lady Shiva kneels down and grabs Bruce's chin, forcing his gaze to focus on her own eyes and pulling down her fukuman which left Bruce to see her lips curve into a smirk "You have been at Nanda Parbat for a few weeks now yet you refuse to follow our customs, you fight against doing what is needed to join the shadows, your failure to even have the vision to one day lead us...". Bruce stares into her mesmerizing brown eyes as they reflect his gaze "Ra's believed that he saw a dark saviour within you, but I? I see nothing more than a waste of air. You must prove yourself to the shadows or die by our hand"

"I'm not taking anyone's life, so you might as well kill me now..." Bruce grits his teeth as he growls.

"Death comes in many forms, Alwatwat. By the time we're finished, you are going to desire to become food for the worms." Shiva stands back up and folds her arms "You like to pretend that you aren't a monster, that you can fight for the people without spilling a single drop of blood. Let's make sure that you shall always remember the darkness within you... we shall see to it that you honour your new name, Alwatwat... The Bat."

Lower Chambers

Bruce stands with his wrists shackled to the ceiling which strung him up. He shakes his arms, trying to break free of their hold on him "Let me out of here! What the hell are you doing? What the hell are you doing!?" he yells. Shiva circles around him, her hands tracing over the bare skin of his torso. Her fingers harshly guide along his flesh, almost like claws - like she was making an active effort to cause damage "What the hell are you doing? Let me go!"

"Hush, Alwatwat. Save your breath for what comes next..." Shiva whispers as she picks up a branding iron from over the heater. Bruce sees the iron in the woman's grip which made him increase his fight against the chains, he violently tries to rip his arms out of the shackles but to no result. Shiva smirks as she slowly moves the iron to the man's bare chest. The end of the iron was welded into the shape of a bat "Like it? I designed it myself, it was shaped to resemble the Chiroptera... I'll take it that you know the more common name, right?"

"... Don't you dare!" Bruce keeps fighting against the chains.

"Where was this anger earlier?" Shiva lifts her eyebrows. She then presses the hot-red brand against the man's chest. Bruce's eyes widen, he screams in pure agony. He throws his head back and let loose a blood-curdling cry, one that filled the chamber and many floors above. Bruce's eyes water, his breath spikes and his body is thrown into an abyss of torture. The pain of his sizzling flesh being scarred by the brand, the absolute affliction of his skin peeling away, his body that was fighting the urge to give up, to surrender to the pain.

He screams, over and over as his flesh is burned deeper and deeper. His vision blurs, making the world feel like it was spinning out of control. The sounds of his own screams and flesh sizzling were all that he makes out with all of his senses going into disarray and shutting down. Soon everything became dark as his vision fades away and eventually so does the sound around him, eventually he was left in a pitch dark void.

Present Day

Wayne Tower

- Batbunker -

Bruce stands before a glass case which holds the Batsuit on display. His reflection looks right back at him, returning his cold glare. From the other side of the room, Lucius could see the troubled look that Bruce was giving off "So, do you want to tell me what's going on with you, Mr Wayne? You've been acting strange ever since you got back from that crime scene"

"No, Lucius. I don't" Bruce keeps his eyes on the display case "You're a whole lot better off not knowing"

Not happy with Bruce's answer, Lucius made his disappointment known by asserting himself. He stands between Bruce and the Batsuit "No, Bruce. This is now how we are going to play it. You were all but eager to get this whole vigilante thing going again but now your clearly shaken by something and I want to know what. You cannot leave me in the dark here, Bruce. I'm the only person helping you right now and I can't do that unless you tell me what we are dealing with here"

"You need to listen to me, Lucius. This isn't something that you want to get involved with" Bruce replies, his voice taking a commanding tone. Lucius displeased with Bruce's response steps out of his way and walks over to the large computer placed in the side of the room.

"Five people are dead, Bruce. Sure, they may not have been role model citizens... but that doesn't change that there are five bodies. Since when are you fine with letting a murderer walk the streets?"

"I'm not" Bruce growls "I will look into this, I swear. But I can't have anyone else getting involved... I can't take that risk" Bruce's hand lightly touches his chest, mimicking the pattern of the brand he was given years ago "I need your expertise on something else in the meantime. Oliver Queen stopped by, he gave me photographs of Checkmate using my Company to export their technology to Star City and who knows where else... I need you to look into this" Bruce turns to Lucius.

"I'll see what I can do" Lucius agrees.

Bruce sombrely nods as he hands the folder over to the man "Thank you, Lucius"

"Don't go making me regret letting you go off on your own. Don't go getting yourself killed"

- Across Gotham -

Jim Gordon kneels on the ground, looking over multiple body bags laid out across the ground. The sight was swarming with other G.C.P.D officers along with a number of Checkmate soldiers who keep the perimeter up around the sight. His eyes look over the trail of blood that was stained into the ground, the harsh iron smell and the cold mixed together to create a metallic stench, like the true scent of death. His mind was too preoccupied with his forethoughts that he didn't pick up on the sound of someone approaching behind him.

"You've come here to mess up my operations even more?" a cold voice blasts the commissioner. Turning his head, Jim sees Waller standing next to him "Forensics are saying that these poor sons of bitches deaths were caused by a sword. So I'll save you the breath that you would have used to defend your precious vigilante. These men are estimated to have been dead for over an hour, we haven't gotten a rundown on their identities yet. Still waiting for the results"

"What about the person who did this? You got a suspect yet?" Gordon stands up and slides his hands into the pockets of his overcoat "Crane, Eduardo, Pike, Nygma, Cobblepot, Sionis, Falcone. None of them is known for this modus operandi"

"Clever boy" Amanda remarks giving Gordon a patronizing smile "Though some of Gotham's worse is known for these tactics of dismemberment, this was too... clean. Whoever did this must be quite talented with their swords. Forensics told me that whatever went down here... happened in seconds"

"So we know how, but not who and why? There's got to be something here that may lead to the perps reason for doing this. That should help us find out who did this" James Gordon asks his superior. Amanda simply blinks, not replying to the man's quarry.

"You already know why, don't you?"

"Unfortunately, I do" Waller confirms. She beckons one of the officers over to her and he hands over a plastic bag. She takes it off of him and shows it to Jim. The commissioners is confused by the inclusion of a crushed white rose in the bag "Beautiful, is it not? Well... looks can be deceiving"

"It looks like just a rose to me" Gordon remarks.

"That's the point" Waller muses "This little thing is a rare breed... home to Tibet. It may look pretty but do not be fooled... its thorns are laced with a poison that can kill an elephant in hours and a man in mere minutes. The natives there have come to know of it as the aljamal alqatil, also known as beautiful death" Waller explains to the commissioner.

"So how does the rose fit into their reasoning for doing this?"

"It's a calling card, for someone who also knows of this deadly flower. A man who just made his presence known to the whole entire city... it looks like Batman's past has just returned to haunt him"

6 Years Earlier

Tibet

- Nanda Parbat -

Bruce was ripped out of his slumber when a bucket of water was thrown over him, soaking him and the floor. He jolts up into a sitting position, his mind instantly becomes flooded with a powerful stinging sensation around his chest, the soft burning feeling of his skin and the pain of the water washing over his scars. Bruce looks down to his chest and finds the outline of a large bat scar on his chest. The moment he saw his wound was when it all came rushing back. The memories of what happened before he passed out.

"Alwatwat, come. Your next test awaits" Lady Shiva stands before Bruce along with several other League of Shadows members "Let that scar always remind you of what you really are. And who you must become in order to survive here"

"Go to hell..." Bruce spits.

"Only if you are to kill me yourself" Shiva claps her hands. Two of the Shadows members walk around her and over to Bruce, grabbing onto his arms and lifting him up "But there will be time for that... but for now. A new test awaits you." Shiva walks out of the chamber along with the League of Shadows members that drags Bruce after her "The anger that I saw in your eyes earlier was breath taking, Alwatwat. It revealed to me your true colours. Not only have you killed before, in that moment you wanted to kill me too. You need to learn to harness that resolve of yours, and I believe I know the perfect motivator for doing so..." she hums, leading the rest of the assassins.

Across Gotham

- Present Day -

"Can this week get any worse?" Selina sighs to herself as she walks through the halls of the apartment complex "My mother's back in town, I'm Carmine Falcone's daughter, I think that I'm going crazy and my vigilante ex is such a narcissist that he has to announce his return to the whole city. Oh, Selina... what a normal life you have" the dark-haired woman groans. She reaches the door to her apartment, searching in her jacket pocket for her keys "I... just need one normal day without any-"

Her eyes spot that her door was already opened, slightly creaked opened. Her breaths stop and every muscle in her body stiffens as she realizes the possible danger that she was in. Either over confidence or very poor decision making, she couldn't think which one it was that drove her open the door and enter her apartment fully. Her eyes nervously look over the place, not seeing anything stolen. She tip-toes through the rooms, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, everything was still there, nothing was broken either.

"Hello? You better get out of here before I get mad! I'm not as delicate as I look!" Selina warns, calling out to the whole room. Her emerald eyes tremble as she hears the door to her apartment slammed shut. Selina turns around and comes face to face with someone unexpected. A figure dressed in royal white robes and a hood. He has two swords residing on his back. His face was concealed by a white mask with sharpened pure black eyes.

"Alwatwat's inamorata, greetings..." the masked man slowly reaches for one of the swords on his back and then repeats the action with his other hand until he had both hits in his grip "I don't believe that we have met before... allow me to introduce myself..."

"Who the hell are you?" Selina hisses.

"Think of me as a champion of the people. Prometheus if you will" the man in white replied, his voice distorted by his own modulator behind his mask. He brings out both of his swords.

"You're just goin' to attack a defenceless woman?" Selina's eyes glare as she holds her hands behind her back, slipping on the metal claws.

"I know all about you. You harbour the spirit of Bastet, a ferocious goddess with a heart of gold" the man in white muses as he readies his blades, spinning them in his grip "But not even she could protect you from me." The man in white swings his blade at Selina who jumps to the ground to avoid the swing. She jumps up and uses her claws to slash at the man, cutting his shoulders, arms and even neck. The man in white spins on his feet, swinging his blades at her again and again, and again with Selina barely evading his attacks.

"I can see what Alwatwat saw in you..." the man in white comments, stepping aside and avoiding a swipe of the woman's claws. Selina turns on her heels and kicks at the man, but he uses his blades to block every single attempt that she made, over and over like he wasn't even trying. Selina then begins throwing punches at the man but that too ended in the man in white blocking her advances "A fiery spirit, yet something is drowning your flame, something is chaining you down..."

"Go to hell you bastard!" Selina growls, swiping her claws across the man's neck, cutting across the material and into his skin like a hot knife through butter. Blood splatters across the next to them, but after a moment there was nothing. Almost as if the wound was completely gone, like it wasn't even there. Her mind was now racing, cluttering with dread. Now she comes to think of it, all the times she clawed at him, all the cuts she made, all the blood she drawled from him. He wasn't hurt nor did he have any wounds, even though she saw herself make them.

"Death gave up on finding me a very long time ago" the man in white then catches another punch from Selina and twists her wrist which brought the woman into a scream. The masked man manoeuvres her to the ground, twisting her right arm as he kneels over her. Selina's body aches, she realizes that her right arm was broken and that her breathing had staggered. The man in white grabs one of the swords off of his back and rams it into the woman's left shoulder; making her screech in agony, her mind overthrown by the pain that her body was in.

"Fear not, today is not when you will die..." The man in white pulls his sword out of the woman's shoulder as he stands back up, returning his blade to the sheath on his back "This is merely the moment when Alwatwat must learn that he cannot protect you, nor anyone else that he loves." He reaches into his garbs and pulls out a white rose which he drops onto the woman's back "For this world to survive, no one must stand in my way. He'll come for you and when he does... tell him not to get in my way"

A flash of light bleaches the room in pure white and when the light fades, the man in white was gone and Selina was left alone.

The Narrows

Batman grapples between the rooftops, gliding across and launching himself across with his grapple gun. All of his movements made swift work of traversing the city's roofs "I've been looking into Checkmate using Wayne Enterprise's shipment centre as per requested and I think I found something." Bruce hears Lucius voice through the communicator. Batman leaps across onto another roof, stopping in place and tapping his earpiece.

"What did you find, Lucius"

"Something that I got a feeling that you won't like to hear. I was checking into the company's finances to see if there was anything irregular, and well beside us spending all that money on this crusade of yours. Wayne Enterprise has been haemorrhaging money for a few months which I found odd since you weren't active as Batman during that time."

"So Waller has been stealing my company's money?"

"That could be the case but there is something more alarming going on right now. Someone unknown party has been buying up shares in Wayne Enterprise. Right now, you own 51 percent of shares, after her little ploy last year, Talia owns 11 percent which did leave the other 38 percent shared among the other board members but in the last few months someone has been sweeping up those shares and buying them at an alarming rate... well actually looking at this data, it seems that there two competitors trying to outbid the other"

"You mean there are two people trying to buy my company? Two people that you can't track?" Batman questions.

"Uh... yeah? Listen, Bruce. Even if one of them gets the complete 38 percent and even Talia's holdings. That won't be enough to lose you Wayne Enterprise. Whatever is going on, it must go deeper than simply controlling your company"

Batman paces back and forth on the rooftop, arms folded "You're right, Lucius. I need you to dig deeper. We know that at least one of buyers has to be either Waller or someone at Checkmate, that should be a good place to begin. Maybe that could get us the answers that we need"

"Will do, Bruce but... how's it going on your end? Have you found the person responsible for that blood bath?"

"I'm looking, Lucius - that's all that you need to know right now"

"Fine, Bruce... Oh my..."

"Lucius? Lucius, what's happened?" Batman's white eyes sharpen.

"It's Selina, Bruce. She's been attacked and was found with a white rose..."

"Is-is she...?" Batman's voice shakes as he fears the worst.

"She's alive, but hurt. Apparently, she was being transported to a medical facility but she never showed up. Bruce, you need to find her. Lord knows what might have happened to her, please Bruce. She needs you" Batman hears Lucius pleads "Come back to me, we can locate her from the Bat-bunker"

"On my way, Lucius" Batman pulls out his grapple gun and fires it, launching himself into the air as he begins to glide across the skyline of Gotham City.

6 Years Earlier

Tibet

- Nanda Parbat -

Bruce sits across from Lady Shiva on the floor of the chamber. They were surrounded by lit red candles scented of oak and other outside aromas with one candle placed between them. The room they were in is mostly dark besides the light emanating off of the candles surrounding them and the lanterns scattered all through the walls. Shiva was dressed in her gear, though her hood was down which gave Bruce a good close look at her face and her features which the candles brighten.

Bruce was too dressed in his garb with his hood also resting down. He sees that the walls of the chamber had League of Shadows members standing before them like they were almost wooden statues, not even moving a muscle.

"Focus" Shiva orders, clearly out of patience for him.

"Focus? I don't even know what the hell you want me to do" Bruce refuses to play along with the woman's whims "We've been sitting here for almost an hour, my legs are numb and let's not forget that you branded me earlier which still hurts like hell"

"Do not take the tone with me again" Shiva glares at him as she inches her gloved hand over the flame of the red candle, holding it in place without showing the slightest feeling of pain "Believe my words, earlier was a test. One for both your body and mind"

"You... branded me... what sorta crazy test do you call that?" Bruce grows under his breath, pulling his shirt out to look the burned symbol on his chest. Shiva remained silent for a few moments, watching the man closely.

"If you are looking for an apology, I'm afraid your in the wrong place" Shiva keeps her hand over the flame, not even showing a hint of discomfort "Earlier was indeed a test, a test of how you react to pain. You've been here for a few weeks now and I've seen potential in you but you are easily brought down by pain, both physical and mental..."

"What are you trying to say? You branded me because you... care?" Bruce stammers, clearly annoyed.

"Pain is a powerful tool to use to your advantage, think of earlier. The pain you endured enough to make you pass out, or before that when I stabbed you through your shoulder. That blow should not have been enough to keep a true warrior down, but you? You didn't even try to get back up" Shiva moves her hand away from the flame, her palm was sizzled and blistered. She takes off her glove and shows Bruce her palm "Put your palm to the candle"

"This brings back memories..." Bruce comments as he remembers first doing this right after he lost his parents. He moved his hand over the flame and starts to feel his skin burning. He twitches his eyes and tries to hold back showing any sign of pain.

"Do not move your hand away until I say otherwise" the woman commands as she sees the discomfort present in the man's expressions "There are things that we must discuss, your task is to ignore the pain and only focus on my voice, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Bruce says as he grinds his teeth, trying to fight off the pain.

"You would be understanding if I were to say that your progress has been less than desirable, right? Alwatwat, you have a long journey to go until you become the man that Ra's al Ghul envisioned you as" Shiva checks Bruce, seeing the pain that he was trying to hide "That is why that I have seen to it that in the morning, you shall be taken to an isolated location. One that will force you to lose that moral code of yours, you'll be given a mission that I expect you to accomplish"

"And- if... I-don't?" Bruce was desperately trying to fight the urge to take his hand away from the candle flame "W-what will-what will happened-to me... then?"

"If you can't even complete a simple scavenger mission, then I will just be forced to kill you or your partner will do it for me" Shiva answers.

"P-partners, what?" Bruce's hand was shaking above the flame "W-what are you talking-about?"

"I have been attending to another student, one that has just returned from her last mission... I think it's about time you two were finally introduced." Shiva looks down to Bruce's hand "That's enough, remove your hand from the flame." Bruce was quick to pull his palm away as he grasps in his other hand. His palm was now blistered and bleeding, his eyes almost water and he does his best to hold back any screams. Shiva stands up and looks around the chamber.

"Not bad" Shiva complements Bruce's efforts, she brings her gloved hands together and claps "Welcome home," she looks over to the doors to the chamber that open. Bruce turns his head, his body following with the motion. His eyes land on a woman who looked to be of a similar age to him. She has long auburn hair that came down to her lower back. She is dressed in a black jumpsuit that zipped up near the top of her chest. Her outfit looked to made of a leather-like material. Her sleeves stopped at the top of her wrists, fingerless leather gloves and a sword of her down that attached to her back.

But it was her eyes that stood out the most. They were emerald green, almost the exact same shade as Selina's. It was uncanny on how he felt like he was almost staring into the eyes of the woman he left all those years ago. Though Bruce wasn't too naïve. This woman's eyes had a coldness in them, like the same darkness that he had inside of him. Bruce then sees her begin to walk towards him with each League of Shadows member bowing to her as she walks past them.

Shiva steps close to Bruce "Bit of advice, you might wanna be bowing right now". Bruce kneels down before the woman approaching him "You're back earlier than even I imagined. Tell me, how did your mission go?"

"They're all dead, they all dropped like flies" the woman smirks with uneasy malice in her tone, one of no regard for human life. Bruce felt an ice-cold shiver journey up his spine. The woman spots the man kneeling before her, an amused smile replaces her smirk "And whose the newbie"

"He came to use for training weeks ago since then he has taken the name Alwatwat" Shiva answers.

"Alwatwat? As in *the bat*? Oh yeah, most of the cooler names are already spoken for"

"Alwatwat, stand before her" Shiva requests. Bruce slowly stands up, not taking his eyes away from the other woman's emerald eyes "Behold the daughter of the great Ra's al Ghul: Talia al Ghul"

"She's Ra's daughter...?" Bruce stammers.

"Indeed and now she's your partner. Your life is now in her hands, now you still must rest for you are too embark on your mission tomorrow" Shiva tells Bruce which made him even more uneasy.

Gotham Undergrounds

- Present Day -

Selina's eyes open, seeing that she was lying on a metal bed in what looked to be a black market medical centre. She jolts up, sitting up and finding herself in her bra and jeans. Her shoulder was bandaged up and looked to have been taken care of. She supports her shoulder with her right hand, wincing in pain "Where the hell am I?".

"Safe"

Selina snaps her head back and sees Sophia Falcone stood behind her. The older woman gives a pleasant smile to Selina "That remains to be seen..."

"Tell that to your bandaged wound. You should consider yourself fortunate that Hugo Strange was close by" Sophia chirps as she circles around the table "I stayed near you to make sure he didn't pull any funny business with you. I promise that there isn't a chip in your head, nor did he mutate you. He took care of your wound, that's it"

"Why? You went through a lot of trouble to make sure I got a few bandaids" She swings her legs around the edge of the table while still supporting her shoulder.

"You're family, Selina. You know how important that is to me" Sophia smiles.

"Yeah, right. You killed your own father..." she slides off the table and stands up.

"Technically the guy I hired killed my father, it wasn't pleasant for anyone" Sophia looks over Selina's shoulder and at the bandaged "You mind telling me who did this to you so that I can have him killed, no one messes with my sister and lives"

"I don't know. He didn't give a name, he was just some nutjob dressed in all white. Just another day in Gotham I suppose" Selina dismisses Sophia's concern "Where's my shirt?"

"Strange had to tear it to stop the bleeding as fast as possible"

"Great, looks like I'm about to make a teenage boy very happy on my way home" she sighs "What about my jacket?"

"Gone too, apologies" Sophia shrugs "But give me a minute, I can sort you out something"

"That jacket cost $300... I stole it but still... that's beside the point"

"I give you my word that I will hunt down the man who hurt you... and I will have him ripped apart" Sophia vows.

Unknown

The man in white walks through an advanced hallway with neo-blue, red, greed and yellow lights mapping all across the walls like circuits. He pulls down his hood and takes off his mask which revealed the face of a man with short dark brown hair that was combed back with brown eyes and a scar over his left eye. Vandal Savage reaches into his garbs and pulls out a futuristic metal box with blue-glowing circuits that fit in his open palm. His eyes reflect the object's glow.

"Mother Box, show me the final days of this world" Vandal orders.

The Mother box's circuits flash brighter as it projects a hologram upward. Savage's eyes narrow, the hologram was of a news broadcast that held the image of a blood-red sky with black clouds and a large planet in the distance, one covered by flames and ash. His eyes glance down at the byline underneath the image.

JUSTICE LEAGUE PERISHES

Vandal's eyes reflect the image of the broadcast "Apokolips is upon us"

- To Be Continued... -