Regrets II
Again, Read With Caution!
She placed her face in between her knees as the tears turned into waterfalls. Her sobs getting undeniably louder, but she couldn't tell. The deal kept going, Deathstroke asking her to perform undercover missions and information gathering. Those were the things he kept asking her, nothing going overboard that makes her vulnerable. She remembered him coming clean about it that made their relationship better than just vigilante and mercenary. It became master and apprentice, something Deathstroke would not appreciate.
"BATMAN!" Robin called out as Batman was pierced with a bullet to the chest. Robin tried to finish off his share of thugs as quickly as possible. Seeing that his mentor is still fighting with a bullet stuck inside her chest is not be pretty. A few more minutes of fighting before the commlink came through. "Robin- gasp!- We need to retreat!" With a tut, Robin threw down a smoke bomb and distracted the assailants to get to Batman. "Batman!" Before Robin knew, he was grabbed by the cape and was out of the building.
It took a few minutes for the smoke to completely subside for Robin to take in the state of his mentor. "Batman!" He scurried over to his bleeding mentor who doubled over in pain. He tried to assess the damage, Batman started wheezing, struggling to get enough oxygen for her lungs. Robin was trying to find other options that may help his mentor. Alfred had to go back to England due to a family emergency. Leslie was in Asia, something about her position and her studies. Oracle or Barbara Gordon was useless in the wheelchair. Cadence and Fatboy, Seth, was in Hong Kong. Red Robin and Red Hood has not been reachable. The only person that can help is "her."
Robin reached for his whistle and blew on it. Knowing that "she" would come and help Batman. Batman leaned on Robin in pain, breath shortening by the minute. He let her lean on him, worry radiating off him. It took a few minutes before a person clad in black arrived. "Mother." Robin greeted as the person clad in black removed her hood. "Robin." With a quick glance towards the dying Batman, she beckoned him to follow. Ordering her minions to help bring Batman safely. She then took Robin in her arms and left.
With that a few hours passed with a worried, restless unmasked Damian beside his mother, Talia Al Ghul. "She will be alright Damian." She said with reassurance and comfort that eased most of his worries. It is what they say that the words of a mother are the best comfort you can get. Especially when his mother is always right, most of the time. But he just couldn't shake off the feeling of doubt and worry. Sighing, Talia brought Damian to her arms and carried him to the one-way-see-through window. Damian was let down from the warm comfort and looked through the window. There inside the room on the medical table was his mentor. In her original form being operated, bound to an oxygen tank and sweating. "She will be alright." Talia said once again, putting her hand on his shoulder. "There is something you must know." She started, "Something that happened when you spent your days in the manor." She gazed down at him with eyes full of regret and guilt. "Dixie came to me when she found out about you and your objective. Your objective to be known as the blood-son of Bruce and to be the strongest." She laughed silently, surprising Damian. "You should have seen her when she entered the base. She scared off the guards, the minions, and even your grandfather." Damian stared in shock. "She was so furious and confused as to why you were acting like this. Since I have known her since she was young." "Really?" Damian asked and she nodded. "She knew how I acted, especially since I, along with Selina and all the female villains, became her sister and mother-figures." Memories of the past flashed when Dixie was still young and small. Innocent and so carefree before becoming the mature woman she is today. "She knew something was wrong when I raised you differently. When you were full of pride and knowledge of something a 12-year-old should never have. She knew something was up." She turned to Damian and kneeled to eye-level. "Damian, I'm sorry." Damian didn't know how to answer to the confession his mother made. As he was taught that an Al Ghul never apologizes. "When Dixie confronted me, she told me I attacked her without a second thought. She told me she had to apprehend me, and she reminds me of how she was full of guilt. She told me that my father and I were under the control of a so-called "Puppeteer" that wanted revenge on the Al Ghul family." She confessed as the tears could not stop overflowing out of eyes.
"She taught me what it was like to be a real mother." She continued. "She made me realize all the mistakes I made. The regrets I kept hidden and the emotions I buried beneath." She sobbed out as she hugged Damian. "I'm so sorry Damian! I always meant to raise you better, but I failed." She said as Damian returned the hug. "I wanted to teach you of all the traditions of the Al Ghul family. I wanted to teach you all the languages we learned, the places we came from. I wanted to tell everything I experienced and teach you to become a normal child of the Al Ghul family." She rambled on as the tears could not stop. Damian clung to his mother as the truth was finally revealed. "It's not your fault mother." She just cried even harder when he said that, unaware of a certain Dixie who was awake during the whole operation. Smiling internally, she could not succumb to the darkness when she was trying to prevent the serum from completely fixing the wound with the bullet inside.
Hours passed by and Dixie heard the sobs subside and the mother and son laughing quietly. Hours passed before the duo came inside her room to worry over her. Hours since the operation was finished and the serum taking place to numb the pain. Hours since the exhaustion finally hit her harder than getting decapitated in a Talon mission.
It took exactly 20 minutes for them to enter her room after the operation. "Dixie…" Damian trailed off, as he scurried to her side. She laughed shortly before returning the hug he gave. "How are you?" Talia asked, brushing stray pieces of hair away from her face. "Quite asterous." Groaning, Talia covered her face, "Nooooo…" she let out. A few minutes of quiet conversations and broken English, Damian was sent out by a servant that was summoned by Ra Al Ghul.
Reluctant, Damian left after a quick reassurance from Dixie and his mother. They both stare at the door as it closed. They were content at the silence that was left in their hands. "Dixie, I…" Hesitating, she looked at her. "I need help- no- WE need help." Dixie's eyes widened, confused and worried. "The League of Assassins needs help; we are at the verge of falling apart." Without a second thought, Dixie looked at Talia, nodding.
She was the greatest asset and the most powerful being in the world. She became a Talon of the Court of Owls, the apprentice of the most powerful mercenary and the most dangerous assassin in the League of Assassins. Dixie could not believe that this all happened within the span of 1 year. One year since Bruce disappeared and reappeared after the trial. One year since she confronted her siblings and gathered the family together. One year since everything fell apart. When the darkness finally crept up to her, choking her. Strangling her until she cries and cries for unheard pleas of help.