- Deathstroke -
Wayne Tower, Lower Floors
"Those were some quick reflexes there, Bruce," Jim Gordon compliments Bruce, throwing an uneasy look his way, "Guess we should be thankful that you were lucky enough to notice the laser sight in time. Any later and...," the commissioner turns to Maria Kyle who was been attended to by paramedics in the lobby. Bruce folds his arms and leads towards the woman with Gordon following. Bullock was off to the side, giving information to the cops around the scene.
"She stays here. Keep her away from the windows, lower floors, even vents. We can't take a chance, the price of it could be her life," Bruce orders Gordon, "The R&D department meet those requirements, as well it has its own security system. Maria will be the safest there."
"I want to keep her here? After an attempt was just made on her life? Hate to break it to you, Bruce, but this is now a police matter...which means that this is now under the authority of...," Gordon pauses, looking at the entrance where Amanda Waller enters with the company of SWAT, "Goddamn it."
Like a spider crawling towards prey trapped in its web, Waller saunters to the pair, "Bruce Wayne, how nice it is to see you again. I hear that you had an assassination attempt in this building, it's very strange how these weird events always circle back to you..."
"This day could not get any worse...," Bruce sighs, covering his face.
"That remains to be seen," Waller snaps her fingers, "I can't go having such a high-standing Gothamite such as yourself go unguarded when there's a merc around. Bruce Wayne, I believe that you would be better off in protective custody."
"No, no... you got this all wrong. Bruce isn't the target. Maria Kyle is," Jim tries to tell Waller, but to no avail," two Checkmate Soldiers surrounded Bruce at both of his sides. Waller stands with her hands behind her back with a smirk.
"Unless you two have actual proof of her being the target, I'm afraid that your Mr Wayne will be guarded. Maybe...we should go back to the G.C.P.D... You can count on me, under my care, you have absolutely nothing to fear...,"
Bruce sees one of the Checkmate soldiers reach out to grab his arm, he yanks himself away and glares to Waller, "That's not happening. I want you and the rest of your men out of my building, now!"
"I'm afraid that's not in the cards, we have reason to believe the culprit behind the attack is a... target of interest. One that we have been tracking for years...," Waller snaps her fingers again, "Bring me the file," she orders. A third checkmate soldier comes closer and hands a folder over to Waller. She takes it, "Meet Mr Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke," she passes over a seemingly old photograph of a member of the army, the image was in black and white and was torn at the edges, "We believe that this is the man that tried to kill Maria Kyle...which in of itself is strange..."
"How so?" Gordon looks to the image of Slade.
"Well simply put, Maria is still alive... not many people can claim that they survived an assassination of attempt from our friend here. In fact, I believe that she is the only one. You can imagine how I am a tad bit curious about the nature of the situation? How did she survive, in fact, it appears that she wasn't even shot...," Waller gives a disingenuous smile, "It's not like Wilson to miss like that or give a warning shot."
Gordon throws a quick glance at Bruce, for a split second they connect their gazes. Jim turns back to Waller, "I was watching her and spotted the laser sight. I jumped in the way and took her to the ground just in time. Any later and she would be dead," Gordon explains.
Waller eyes the commission from head to toe, "Quite the remarkable feat for a man of your age. But...that would mean that you were here at the time of the shooting...and NOT doing your job, no wonder that was emitted from your account along with Bullock's"
"As far as I am concerned, helping people when they need it is my job," Jim replies.
"It will be *Was my job* if you keep this up. Now...," Waller focuses her attention onto Bruce, "Mr Wayne... a word in private, please?"
"Does that also mean a lack of your personal militia?" Bruce asks coyly.
"Hold on," Jim jumps between the two, "Anything that you are going to say to Bruce, you're going to say to me too. I don't want you thinking that you can go manipulating him when no one is watching."
Waller shrugs, "Fine, but only if Bruce isn't concerned with what I might want to discuss with him. Something's telling me that this is something that he would want to keep to himself."
"Fine" Bruce recently agrees to Jim's dismay, "You wanna talk? Fine, but a bit of warning...I have my own choice of words for you too."
"You can't be serious, Bruce... you can't trust her-," Gordon interrupts.
"Maybe not. But I remember a time when I trusted you," Bruce leaves Gordon's side and follows Waller.
- Across Gotham -
"What do you mean by *you missed her,* just what the hell is that supposed to mean?," Sofia stagnates, standing still and glaring at the man before her, "Just what the hell am I paying you for when you can't even kill a regular human woman! Two million... Two million dollars, we agreed on that. I even paid you half of that upfront, because I thought that you could accomplish such a simple task..." she clenches her first and bites her lip "Why is she still alive?!"
Slade Wilson, a fully grey-haired man that sports an eyepatch over his right eye sits across from her, he wears a grey muscle shirt, cargo pants and black combat boots. He smirks, full of confidence and fearless. He holds a glass of wine in his hand that he taps his digits against, "My job is to kill, not explain myself to you. She will be dead before sundown, mark my words."
"And heed mine, Mr Wilson, don't fail again! Or the deal is off, hear me?" Sofia throws her issues to the front of their conversation, "If you don't accomplish your mission, this and any future business between us will officially be cancelled..."
Slade sits forward, hands over his knees, "Then you best hope that I will never be paid a price that warrants you to feel my blade."
Wayne Tower, Lobby
Selina Kyle walks in through the lobby, spotting the ground of Checkmate soldiers that were crowding the floor. She then finds Harleen stood by the café. Selina makes her way towards the blonde, barging past several of Wayne Tower's own security guards who were conversing with the Checkmate commanders, "Harles? What's going on here?," she asks as she comes into range of Harleen. The blonde quickly grabs the dark-haired woman's arm and leads her away.
"Thank god that ya here, ya aren't gonna believe this, some nut shot into B-man's office...," Harleen explains, clearly perplexed and hyper.
"W-What? Oh my god...is Bruce..."
"Nah, he's fine. Ya mother was the target, luckily the boss got her to cover before the whacko could finish his job," Harleen looks around, "And to make things worse, look who's here?," she pans around the room at the Checkmate Guards, "Dunno who tried to kill Maria, but whoever it was...these thugs are gettin' involved... it's completely nuts here..."
"Where's Bruce?" Selina asks.
"There are some nasty rumours goin' 'bout that he went off with that Waller lady. Who knows why B-man thought it was a good idea to do so..."
"Lucius?"
"He's busy chattin' up the Checkmates guys and Gordon 'bout this buildin's security and all the weak points...," the blonde adds.
"Wait, Jim is here?" Selina keeps her surroundings known to here.
"Yep, an' that partner of his is with Lucius. Bruce called them over to watch over ya mother before things went down here. Just the thought of some mad man goin' after your mother to kill her in the same place as I am is making scared..." Harleen chirps as she rubs her hands over her red cocktail dress and black leggings, "I'm so nervously that I am sweating like crazy..."
"Well try to get yourself together, you're not the target, neither is Bruce," Selina rolls her eyes, "This is exactly why I told Bruce to stay out of my mother's business. He's going to get himself killed over something as worthless as her..."
"S-Selina?"
Time stops for Selina, seconds suddenly held the weight of entire days. Her emerald eyes widen and her lips dry, seemingly all at once as she hears the voice, the voice of the woman who had caused her so much grief and suffering, the voice of her mother. She feels her entire body freeze and her spine tingle. Her hands stiffen and her legs unbalance and shake. Then it happened, all the anger, all the hate and pain that she did her best to hide, all her darkest emotions that she hid from the world, all became too strong and broke through any mental barrier she had.
Maria stands, dressed in a black capelet coat, blue jeans and a scarf around her neck. She wears a pair of boots that were severely worn and gloves that appeared to be falling apart. She stands before Selina, but not with the courage to look her daughter in the eye, instead she desperately avoids eye-contact, even hanging her head in shame, "I...I-... It's good to see you again... you...look good. I-...didn't know if you'd even come here..."
Try as she might fight against her body, Selina couldn't stop her eyes from watering, "I-I'm not here for you. I thought Bruce was...never mind," she forces her gazes away from her mother, "I hear that Bruce got you to cover before you were killed..."
Maria nods, "Yeah, that friend of yours seems to want me to live even more than I do...he's quite a hero. I can see why you-... why you find his company so comforting...he makes it seem like everything is going to be okay...even when you know that it's not."
"You don't know a thing about him," Selina bites her dry lip.
"I know that he loves you. And that's all I need to know... you and him...are perfect...," Maria replies, scratching her nose, "I'm relieved that you have him in your life, vice versa. You two are from two different worlds, that's often when the strongest forms of love are found..."
"You don't know anything about loving another person. You didn't even love your own daughter, you never even tried... and honestly, I'm glad that you didn't. My life would have been worse with you in it...," Selina confesses.
"I know...," Maria shyly keeps her head locked to the floor, "I know that you'll never forgive me, but I just want you to understand...understand that everything that I did...was for you..., I need to tell you the truth...I need to...please... that's the last regret that I have..."
"I'm done talking. I'm done listening... don't you get that? I'm done with you...," Selina wipes her eyes and turns, "There is nothing you could say, nothing..."
"Selina..." Harleen looks to her friend, "Are ya sure this is where ya wanna end it? I'm not going to fault ya for whatever ya choose, just know...I'm here for ya, no matter what ya decide."
"Good to know that someone is," Selina exhales.
Maria slowly lifts her head and locks onto Selina, "You already know, don't you? She's told you...?"
"Who told her what?" Harleen ponders.
"Selina... Sofia's already told you, hasn't she? Of course, she did...just one last way to get to me...," Maria repeats, "You know who your father is. You know that Sofia is your sister..."
"S-say-what-now?" the ice blonde's eyes widen, "Should've taken B-man up on his offer to pay me..."
"Yes, yes she told me. She told me...she told me...," Selina hisses, "Everything you ever told me about my dad was a lie, just another way you tried to manipulate me. Well, Y'know...I'm done. Done with you and Bruce. Now get the hell out of here! Go find some dark alley and die there...," she spits, then storms off. Harleen calls out her name and tries to reach out to her, however, Selina barges past and ignores her attempts to grab her attention.
Maria covers her mouth in shock, "...Selina..." she merely whispers her daughter's name. She too breaks, stepping away and rubs her eyes as she sobs. Harleen looks between the two fleeting women, one her friend and the other someone in need. She sighs and follows after Maria.
"B-Man's never gonna let this one go if I let her wander off..."
- Outside Wayne Tower -
Amanda Waller and Bruce Way stand shoulder-to-shoulder, "I'm sorry for what happened to Dent. I know that the two of you are close," Waller begins, arms folded and left leg curved back, "I've seen my fair share of troubled cities, but Gotham certainly takes the cake. This city is full of crazed maniacs, now guys like them are popping up all around this country. This city has always been ground zero for these freaks, they don't listen to reason, only power."
"Is that you attempt at a half-baked apology? Don't make me laugh, Waller. You're not interested in making friends," Bruce scolds her.
"Neither are you apparently," Waller bats her eyes, "I was just trying to clear the air, that's all. So I'll just cut to the chase. Anyone that wasn't born yesterday would know that Gordon couldn't have moved that fast to get Maria out of the way of the shot. Bullock would have even worse luck and I doubt Miss Kyle spotted a target on the back of her own head in time. That only leaves you, Mr Billionaire himself...," she smirks, "Am I correct?"
"..."
"Okay...then, I'll take that as confirmation," Amanda slants her neck to Bruce, "Now that's one answer, yet so many more questions. How were your reflexes that sharp? You spotted the target and threw Maria to the ground, just in time to evade the fire...without even getting hit yourself..."
"...Just got lucky, I guess..." the man was quick to answer, faking a smile.
"*Luck*?," the raven-haired woman says with a clear tone of amusement, "Let me tell you this, I doubt any of Checkmate could have done the same movement as you and come out on the other end as unharmed. And then there's something else that is bothering me... you could have died, you would've died if not for *luck*, yet you are remarkably calm and collected. Most people would be frightened for their life, begging to be put into protection... but not you, not you..."
"That's simple, Waller. I'm not the target, never was. But right now, Maria needs help, I can't get distracted. Every moment I waste is another opportunity for the shooter to strike again," Bruce holds his hands together.
"Which could end up doing us a favour...," Amanda smirks, "Slade Wilson has been a person of interest for two decades. We have never been able to catch him, but today may finally break that cycle. For the first time, we have a Target of his right in our grasp. Mr Wilson's only option is to come to us."
Bruce turns his torso, facing his top half at the woman, "Please tell me that you are joking. You can't seriously be willing to use Maria as bait."
"What if I am?" Waller challenges Bruce, "What will you do? Slade has murdered dozens of high-ranking officials, both from this country and all around the world. He has come close to starting international incidents numerous times. So what if I have to use some washup criminal to draw him out? Better her than the next guy to be on his hit list."
"You...," Bruce looks away, "That is beyond wrong, Maria is not a tool for you to use."
"She is whatever I want her to be, Wayne. Slade is far too dangerous to get away, far too dangerous..."
"You have no right to-," Bruce stops when he hears his phone ring. He takes out of his pocket and flips it open, holding it to his ear, "Lucius?"
"Get up here quick, Bruce. I'm in the R&D wing."
"Lucius, what's wrong?"
"It's Maria, she's MIA. I looked everywhere for her. She's not in the building."
"What? 'kay, I'm heading up now," Bruce ends the call and returns his phone to his inside pocket, "Gotta go, business beckons," without saying another word, Bruce was already taking his leave. Waller looks in silence, slowly forming a grin.
Wayne Industries Labs
- Research & Development -
"I'm here," Bruce enters the lab and walks to Lucius, "Any luck with getting a fix on her location?" the older man looks to a monitor, bringing up footage from the cameras across the streets of Gotham. Lucius looks through the feeds, stopping on one.
"This might take longer than expected, Bruce. Without the bunker active, I'm forced to use a less advanced system to locate her. We aren't even working with facial recognition software... we are going to need to do this the old fashioned way, with our eyes..."
"Keep looking," Bruce turns his head, "Slade isn't one to waste time. Most likely, he's already on the prowl."
"This Slade guy, you seem to know a lot about him. I'm guessing it's not because he's a real stand up guy," Lucius turns to face the computer, "Jackpot. Over here, Bruce," he points to the feed in the top right. Bruce leans forward and spots Maria trudging through the streets a few blocks away, along with Harleen who was frantically following behind, "It kinda looks like that they're heading to..."
"Gotham State Park, this is bad. It's a popular attraction for families around this time of the year if Checkmate finds out where she is. We could be facing a mass shootout there if Deathstroke gets there...," he makes his cue to leave, "I need to get there before things get out of hand. Try to keep this under wraps for as long as you can."
"You suiting up, Bruce? It's nine-thirty, the sun has barely set. Harleen and Maria will likely be on their own there" Lucius tells Bruce.
"More reason for me to get there quickly."
"Be careful."
Gotham State Park
- North Side -
"So are ya willin' to talk 'bout what happened back there?," Harleen asks the woman sat next to her. Both her Maria were sitting on an old bench. "Some words were said, some...less nice than others. Mostly on Selina's side...," the blonde sees the nervousness from Maria, spotting her slow yet rigid movements, "Ya may not want to hear it, but I'm here for ya...if you wanna talk."
"I'm sorry...uh-," Maria stammered.
"Harleen. Friends call me Harley," Harleen replies.
"'Kay, Harley. I appreciate the effort, but I know that you are only doing this because of Bruce," Maria rubs her gloved hands together, "It's strange how some guy that I barely know is more willing to help me than my own daughter... this is something that he shouldn't be so fixated over..."
"Honestly, that's just the kinda guy that he is," Harley kicks her legs, "Did B-man tell ya that I'm a licenced psychiatrist? He's indeed driven to save you, but it's not to be herald as a saviour or anythin' like that. Truth is, he's so focused on saving your life cuz there is nothin' that he wishes for more than to have the same chance to save his own parents. In a way, he sees you as a way finally make peace with the fact that he was helpless to do anything to save 'em."
"Figured something like that was going on. You'd need to have been living under a rock to not know what happened to his parents," Maria scratches her scalp, "I'm beyond grateful for what he has already done for me, but now I'm coming between him and Selina. The last thing that I want is to ruin their relationship, probably the only thing that I haven't tainted in Selina's life..."
"Oh c'mon, there's no need to be like that," Harleen looks to Maria as she taps her hand against her hip, "Ya shouldn't be blamin' yourself for this. All Bruce is trying to do is save you, Selina can't call foul him for that. Sure, she might not like all the trouble that he is puttin' himself in, but she would never demonize him for doin' it."
"Bruce doesn't know, does he? Selina hasn't told him," Maria breathes into her hands, "She hasn't told him about who her father is. Once he finds out, it's going to cause tension between them. It may even break them apart...if Selina isn't the one to tell him," she then looks up, hearing thunder. Then she sees rain begin to pour from above, first gently that becomes heavier over time. Harleen holds her hands over her head to protect her hair as she squeaks.
"Is that what you're worried 'bout? The secret that you kept from Selina her whole life could potentially split her and Bruce up for good? So what if it does? If their love is strong enough, not that or anythin' can break them apart. If B-man can't accept her after learnin' the truth, that's not your fault," she stands and holds her hand out to Maria, "C'mon, let's head back. The tower is the safest place for ya right now, plus we're kinda gettin' soaked here."
Maria nods, "You're a sweet girl, I hope Bruce and the others appreciate you," she stands up and pulls up the hood from her coat, "Be honest with me, do you think Selina will ever be able to forgive me? For everything..."
Harleen pulls back her soaked knotting hair, "I believe that she'll try. That's the best that you can hope for. No one can force her to, not you, not me or Bruce. This has to happen naturally and by her own choosin'," she removes her glasses and rubs her eyes. Her dress was soaked and clinging to her body, "Let's go, B-Man is probably throwin' a fit tryin' to look for ya," she and Maria then begin to move, taking the path that leads out of the park.
Lighting reigns down from above and thunder soars through the sky as the two women head to the exit. From behind the trees, Deathstroke stands, aiming his rifle at his moving target, her head being the home for the recital. Deathstroke focuses in with his eye, pressing his finger against the trigger of the gun, "Nighty-night, princess..."
From the shadows, a Batarang is hurled that cuts into the riffle, messing with his aim as he fires. Maria and Harleen both jolt, looking behind them to Deathstroke. Within milliseconds, Slade sees that it was flashing. With little care, he throws the gun away and turns his back as it explodes. The assassin reaches behind his back to grab his blade. Behind him, Batman charges and tackles him over onto the field, "Get out of here now!" he orders the two women. They run off in the storm.
Slade kicks the vigilante off of him and jumps to his feet with the other man standing up too. Deathstroke eye locks onto Batman, "I was wondering if I was ever going to bump into you..," his raspy voice carries its way to Bruce.
"You come to my city and try to kill. I'm taking you down, Slade," Batman snarls.
"The Terminator, that's what they call me. As far as I remember, I've always been a man on a mission, between being a good little solider to being an assassin, I always eliminate my target, without mercy or hesitation. And today will not be any different," Deathstroke slides out one of the blades from his back holsters as he and Batman circle around each other, "I heard the stories about you, not many people can walk away from the shadows, still breathing, let's see if you are as good as people say..." he lifts his blade, holding it straight and pointed at the vigilante.
Lightning strikes down, rain storms down on the two men. Batman's eyes narrow and he grits his teeth, readying his fists, "Sofia hired you to kill Maria...why? Hiring you makes it seem that this is more personal to her than just an unpaid debt..."
"Very perceptive. Maybe you should try asking her for yourself... enough with this meaningless chatter, let's have our fists do the talking...," Deathstroke lunges forward and swings his blade at Batman, he dodges out of the way. Deathstroke then throws a punch with his other hand which Batman catches and throws back at him. Lighting strikes down again, this time mere metres away from them. Deathstroke takes another swing with his sword that Batman counters.
The Dark Knight catches the tip of the blade with his armoured gauntlet and pulls Deathstroke forward, elbowing him with his right arm. Slade kicks up with his knee, Batman slides out of the way and grabs the man's shoulders. The vigilante then uses his full strength to ram Deathstroke's chest down onto his raised knee with force. Slade flips over sideways, grabbing his sword along the way and shoving it back into its holster while he was airborne.
"I see... I'd recognize those moves anywhere. So you really did train under Shiva," Deathstroke paces around the Dark Knight, "But it seems that she did not teach you the most important lesson," he reached to his sides and grabs his dual pistols.
"And what's that, Slade," Batman growls.
"Never show your opponent all of your tricks right off the bat," Deathstroke opens fire with both pistols, launching a barrage of bullets that was quickly coming Batman's way. The crime fighter rolls in a cycle, rolling out of the range of the bullets, with Slade turning his body to track the vigilante as he keeps up the bombardment of bullets, "You think you got those hits on me because you bested me? No, you naïve fool... overconfidence often leads to errors in judgement..."
The pistols cease firing. Deathstroke unlocks the clips and discards them to the ground, grabbing replacements around his belts. He loads the pistols and aims them back at Batman, "Your style is lacking. You leave little alternatives for yourself other than close-quarters combat," Batman stops his movement and grabs a dual exploding Batarangs and hurls them at Slade who shoots them in mid-air, leaving them to explode before they could even reach him, however, they will still close enough to the vigilante to send him flying back.
Batman is thrown into the muddy field on his sides, trying to pick himself back up. Before he could, Deathstroke was already next to him and kicks him over onto his front "When it comes to a match between youth and experience, the latter always triumphs...another lesson that you were evidently not taught," he returns is dual pistols to his sides, reaching behind his back and drawing his sword, "A fatal error." Batman stands, rising slowly as his glowing white eyes glare at Slade.
"This isn't over. Far from it. I will not let you take any lives in my city!," Batman grabs his grapple launcher and fires it at Deathstroke. The assassin spins around, swinging his blade to cut through the gadget's cable within one single motion. Deathstroke slants his neck.
"Those toys won't work on me. If you wanna fight, then do so with your own skill!" Deathstroke yells as he and Batman charge at each other. Slade takes a swing of his sword, Batman rolls under the attack. The Dark Knight swings his legs around to strike Slade's legs, the merc twists his hips and grabs the vigilante's leg and throws him off balance and forces Batman to retreat back. Deathstroke follows after and tackles the vigilante, throwing both him and his target into the field of mud.
Another flash of lightning strikes down.
"What's going on, Bruce? Your suit's readings are spiking!" Lucius' voice comes over the coms in the vigilante's cowl, "Bruce? Do you read me?"
Batman rolls over and crawls, slowly finding the strength to stand. But by now, Deathstroke was already back up, "Still alive. Maria is heading your way, be ready!" he is then kicked back down by Slade. Batman gasps as Deathstroke kicks him again, this time in the chest, - Oh my god, Bruce... get out of there! Get out of there now!"
"Can't. Need to buy time...Need to... Nee-" Batman gargles with a bloodied mouth.
"Your spirit is commendable, but you are still just a man. You are no legend to me," Deathstroke grabs his blade and holds over the Dark Knight's shoulder, "Consider yourself grateful that you are not my target. To kill you now will only cause me to receive one less contract. It's nothing personal kid, just doing my job," he rams his sword through the Batsuit and into Bruce's back, "But a reminder to not mess with me will be with you for the rest of your days...what small number there are..."
Deathstroke pulls out his sword and swings it back to throw the blood off it, "Don't feel too bad about today," Batman collapses on his front. Slade kicks him over to look to him as he holsters his sword, "You're not the first wise man who thought that they were some hero. I fought plenty of your type in my day. I single-handedly eliminated the JSA, you stood no chance." He turns his back on the vigilante and walks away with little concern. Batman weakly crawls through the mud as the rain continues to pour down with lightning still striking down.
"Your vitals are off the charts, Bruce. Hang in there, I'll get you help. I'll think of something, just don't go dying on me...I'm on my way, I'm coming to you, just wait."
"NO! I'm ordering you to get Maria s-secured. I'm fine...I can take c-care of myself! The only thing that matters is keeping her alive, that's an order, Lucius!" Batman dribbles a pool of blood from his heaving mouth, "I'm going to be fine! Now focus on Maria!"
"At what cost, Bruce?"
"Any..." Batman trembles, putting weight on his feet to try and stand. He punches the ground and growls, "I can't stop him. I can't even match Deathstroke," he heaves holding his chest with his other hand.