Chapter 7: Mercenary vs Vigilantes

Author's Note: Hey guys, I'm back with a whole new chapter. It's the fight you've been waiting for. We're going see Deathstroke face off against Batman and Nightwing. What will happen? Let's find out with the chapter.

Ren and Nora were with their teammates at a training field. Ren has decided to have the team train in order to see what Yang and Blake are capable of. As leader of a team, Ren needs to know how his team members fight. He already knows how Nora fights since they've been together, not together-together as everyone thinks, for nine years.

"Alright Ren, so how is this going to work?" Yang asked.

"I want you and Blake to come at me, double team me," Ren answered. "I need to know how you two fight in order to make this team efficient."

"That seems about logical. What about Nora?" Blake asked. Nora waved at the blonde and Faunus.

"She doesn't need to participate. I already know her fighting style," Ren explained. The orange haired girl nodded in response.

"Well I think it's going to be fun," Yang said. "I have to warn you Ren, I won't go easy on you just because you're our leader."

"I'm glad you're not going easy," the black haired male replied. He took out his hunter weapons and got into fighting position. Yang's Ember Celica transformed from bracelet form into weapon form. Blake took out Gambol Shroud and got into fighting position.

Yang charged towards Ren and threw a punch at the boy, who evaded the attack. Ren already knew from the Initiation that the blonde girl is a brawler type of fighter, all attack but no defense. He knew that she's going to get hurt if she doesn't change her fighting style or at least try to defend herself. He also remembered that she gets really angry if there was any damage to her hair, which he thought was really stupid.

After easily dodging more punches from Yang, Ren decided to fight back. He quickly kicked her on the stomach sending her back a bit. The blonde retaliated by shooting bullets from her gauntlets at him. Ren dodged the shots, but this gave Blake the opportunity to attack. She swung her sword at her leader, who easily blocked with his machetes. He kicked her back to create space between them.

Yang launched herself at Ren, attempting to hit him this time. The black haired male sidestepped the attack, making Yang hit her own partner Blake instead. The Faunus was knocked down to the ground but got back up looking pissed.

"Watch it!" she shouted at Yang.

"It was an accident," the blonde shouted back. Ren used opportunity to slice off a good chunk of Yang's hair with the machete. What he just did is what people would consider to be suicide. Anyone who would ever perform the action Ren just did would be hospitalized and traumatized for life. However, Ren knew his actions the consequences that came with them as he is a strategist. The moment Yang saw part of her hair fall to the ground, everything turned red for her.

She let out a large roar that literally shook the trees that were surrounding them. Birds flew from them in fear. The roar can be heard by the students in Beacon as well. Ruby shivered when she heard the roar. She knew that the roar meant death.

"Did you hear that? It almost sounded like an Ursa," Juane asked his teammates.

"Really? I thought it sounded more like a lion," Pyrrha replied.

"Ruby, do you know what it was?" Weiss asked her leader. Ruby quickly shook her head in response.

"N-N-No," the red cloaked girl answered as she shivered in fear. She prayed whoever cut her big sister's hair would be given a swift death as mercy.

Whenever people cuts or damages Yang's hair, it's usually by accident. However, Ren did it on purpose, and he knew it. Yang's hair seemingly caught on fire as her aura flared. Her eyes were now bloody red as she turned her attention to Ren. Blake stopped planning on attacking as he focused on what will happen.

"YOU MONSTER!" Yang roared as she charged towards Ren at amazing speed. The secret vigilante used his aura to enhance his reflexes and flipped over the raging blonde. When Yang turned around to face him again, she received a kick to the face. This distracted Yang long enough to allow Ren to get into a better fighting position. Unlike most others, he isn't going to run away.

"Was it a good idea for your partner to do that?" Blake asked Nora.

"Don't worry, Ren knows what he's doing," Nora replied. The two continued to watch Yang fail in attempting to maim their leader. Yang continued to throw punches at Ren, shooting dust bullets as well. Ren kept on dodging with ease as he has faced opponents with more experience. After dodging another blast punch, Ren gave landed an uppercut on the blonde.

"Enough Yang," he told his team member.

"Not until you pay for what you did!" the blonde girl shouted in anger.

"I cut your hair for a good reason," Ren calmly replied.

"There's never a good reason for cutting my hair!" Yang yelled. The black haired boy only sighed in disappointment. There was a reason why he cut Yang's hair, and her anger and actions was only proving it right. Between attempted hits by Yang, Ren landed his on the blonde. However, Yang wouldn't go down. The leader of Team RBYN knew at powerful hit would stop her. Ren moved back, luring the blonde girl towards him. Nora knew what he was planning to do and got ready.

"Nora, now!" Ren shouted as he moved out of Yang's path. The orange haired girl whipped out her hammer and slammed it at the blonde's face when she got close. The hit was strong enough to send her crashing through trees and finally knocking her out. Ren looked at the path of destruction and shook her head. He needs to work with Yang.

"So was there a point of cutting Yang's hair and getting her dangerously angry?" Blake asked curiously.

"I was testing her anger," Ren answered. "And I was proven correct."

"What do you mean?" the hidden Faunus asked in wonder.

"Yang is too emotional. Not only does her fighting style only focuses on attack and not defense, she lets her anger take over from something as little as her hair being damaged. She's going to get herself injured or even killed if she keeps up like that. Sure a few Grimm will be easy for her. But with a large horde or even dangerous, sentient opponents, the tides won't be in her favor," Ren explained.

"Did you analyze me just as you analyzed her?" Blake asked curiously.

"Truth be told, I was planning on doing that. I decided to solely analyze Yang instead," Ren stated. "I need to work with her so she can adjust to the team. Don't get worried. I'll be analyzing you as well." He went to join Nora. "We need to collect Yang and take her to the infirmary. She might get concussion from the hit." Blake nodded and went to join her teammates.

Later that day, Ruby was walking through the hallway when she noticed Nora walking down on the opposite path. She heard what happened to her sister earlier. While she thought Ren was a fool for cutting her sister's hair, she was also amazed that not only he survived her sister's anger but also the fact not a single hit was landed on him.

"Hey Nora!" Ruby greeted the ginger.

"Hey Ruby," Nora greeted back. "Sorry about what happened to Yang. Ren was just testing the best of her abilities. She should be making a speedy recovery."

"Thanks for letting me know, Nora," the cloaked girl replied.

"By the way, how's your team?" the ginger asked.

"Oh well, Pyrrha is personally training Juane every night so he can be a better fighter, and Weiss already accepted me as a leader. I'm already thinking of cool team attack names for us to use," Ruby stated.

"That's awesome. Things are going really well for you guys," Nora replied.

"Yup. By the way, I was thinking of starting a Batman and Nightwing fan club. The way you and Ren beat up Cardin and his team kind of reminded me of them," Ruby told the ginger. Nora was caught off guard and froze a bit by the statement. While she knew Ruby was young and naïve, Nora hoped that the girl did figure out her secret identities.

"Really? I don't think so. Batman seems to be dark and gritty while Ren is silent and calm. Besides, Ren and I beat up Cardin because he was picking on Velvet. While Ren and I aren't Faunus, we didn't get the best treatment because of our statuses as orphans and street rats," Nora explained as best as she could to protect her identity.

"Oh. While we aren't the kind of heroes that Batman and Nightwing are, us huntresses can still be heroes!" Ruby proclaimed in excitement. Nora nodded in agreement. While she and Ren won't become hunter and huntress after graduation as they would go full time in their vigilante careers, she agreed that hunters and huntresses can be heroes.

"So, what did you say about a fan club?" Nora asked.

"Oh yeah, I want to start a club that will appreciate their greatness. I'm still trying to get members. Weiss doesn't want to join, but I think she secretly likes them. Juane wants to join. He's a big comic book fan, always reading X-Ray and Vav comics. Pyrrha, for some reason, doesn't want to join," Ruby explained.

"Really? Why?" Nora asked.

"She says that Batman and Nightwing operate outside the law, which she says is illegal. But they're doing the right thing, aren't they? They're fighting all sorts of bad guys out there," Ruby stated.

"Some people feel the way Pyrrha feels. It's not uncommon. However, both Batman and Nightwing are doing things that sometimes that law can't do by itself. They're doing the right thing and putting bad people away," Nora replied. "They're trying to do good things. There's a reason why they're doing what they're doing."

"You mean like truth, justice, and Remnant's way?" Ruby asked.

"Nah, more like justice and vengeance," Nora answered. Ruby giggled.

"You're right. That does make Batman dark and gritty," the red cloaked girl replied. "Anyway, I have to go now. See you later Nora!"

"See you Ruby!" Nora called back. As she watched Ruby leave, the ginger couldn't wonder if she would have ended up just like the girl. Ruby is always so cheerful and happy, innocent to the terrors and cruelty of the world. Then again, Nora knew that the innocence of Team RWNJ's leader won't last that long.

Nora couldn't help but wonder if Ruby or Yang lost anyone precious to them. Yang never told her team their past, at least not yet. As for Blake, Nora only knew that she's a former member of the White Fang as she did fight her in her Nightwing persona. Ren is still distrustful of the Faunus because of the organization's criminal activities, but Nora's still trying to get him trust Blake. Nora's scroll began to ring, seeing that's Ren through the I.D.

"Hey Ren, what's up?" Nora asked

"I just got a notification from Ozpin. There was a murder that we need to investigate. The victim was a club owner who was killed at his club. Right now, the police are investigating, but we'll investigate later tonight. I need you to get ready," Ren explained.

"Alright, I'll be on my way," Nora responded. After turning off her scroll, Nora made her way to their dorm room. It's been a while since they last investigated a murder. All they've done lately was stopping robberies and terrorist acts. Whoever committed the murder already got her attention.

That night, the Batmobile drove into the night as Nightwing drove besides it on her motorcycle. They were on their way to the club where its owner died. Batman didn't like murder. He was going to find out whoever committed this crime and bring them to justice.

Once they arrived at the city, they arrived at the club. Both got out of their respective vehicles and entered the empty building. They can already tell that the police already investigated the place as there was many police tape surrounding the scenes of the crime.

What they didn't know was that they were being watched by someone. That person is the mercenary hired to kill them, Deathstroke. He watched them conduct their investigation, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. There were three people left in his contract to kill, and the vigilantes are two of those people.

"There has to be a reason why that club owner was murdered," Nightwing told her partner.

"We'll check his records, see if he did any illegal business that resulted in his death," Batman replied. When the vigilantes' backs were turned, the mercenary took this as the opportunity to attack them. Deathstroke took out his sword and leaped at them. Batman turned around and saw the attack, Enhanced his legs with his aura, the vigilante jumped in between Deathstroke and his partner and blocked the sword with the scallops of his glove. Nightwing turned around to see what was going on.

"Who are you?!" Batman growled at the mercenary. Deathstroke jumped back and raised his sword.

"I am Deathstroke," the mercenary answered. "I was hired to kill both of you."

"By who?" Nightwing asked. This guy was hired to kill them, and they needed to know by who.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you," the mercenary answered.

"Were you the one who killed the club owner?" Batman asked.

"Yes. His death was merely to lure you two towards me," Deathstroke replied. "But don't worry, I'll make your deaths nice and easy."

"Like hell you would," Batman growled. He took out three Batarangs and threw them at the mercenary. Deathstroke blocked the projectiles with his sword, but what he didn't know was that they were explosives. When the Batarangs came into contact with the mercenary's sword, they exploded and knocked him back.

Nightwing quickly attacked Deathstroke with his Eskrima sticks. The mercenary blocked both the sticks with his sword. The female vigilante enhanced her muscles with her bioelectricity, overwhelming the mercenary. Deathstroke kicked the vigilante away and swung his sword at her. Nightwing ducked and landed a kick at the side of the mercenary's head.

Batman took out a bola and threw it at the mercenary, wrapping and pinning his arms together. Deathstroke, however, broke free of the bola. Batman frowned. Since this new opponent isn't going to go down lightly, the vigilante decided to engage the mercenary in close combat.

Batman launched a kick at the mercenary, but he evaded the attack. Deathstroke threw a punch at the vigilante, but it was blocked by the vigilante. The two engaged punches, but each of them either dodged or blocked each other's punches. Nightwing connected her weapons together into form a bo staff and leaped towards the mercenary, swinging the weapon at him.

Deathstroke moved away back from the vigilantes to avoid getting hit. He knew that taking them on at the same time would be dangerous, but he has no other choice. Switching from his sword, Deathstroke took out two submachine guns and began shooting at the duo. Batman and Nightwing dodged the hail of bullets that came at them.

Batman threw a small metal orb that released large walls of smoke. The smoke began to surround the mercenary, forcing him to stop shooting. He has to be careful now. He's blinded and now the vigilantes have the advantage. Deathstroke held his guns close and waited for an attack.

However, when the smoke cleared, the vigilantes were gone. Deathstroke looked around but couldn't see the two vigilantes. He growled, thinking that they fled the fight. What they didn't know was that the vigilantes were still in the building.

Suddenly, Deathstroke felt agony in his ears. He quickly covered them with his hands, forcing him to drop his guns. He didn't know where the sound was coming from, but he notices that everything glass shattered. As he looked up, Deathstroke saw a somewhat gliding Batman heading straight for him. Batman landed a kick on the mercenary, knocking him to the ground. Batman turned off his sonic devastator, stopping the sound that was plaguing Deathstrokes ears.

"Give up while you still have a chance," the dark vigilante warned him.

"Never," the mercenary responded, but he was still disoriented from Batman's weapon. Deathstroke took out his bo staff and shot a red blast at his opponent. The vigilante dodged and threw a batarang at it. The mercenary dodged the projectile and ran towards Batman. Deathstroke swung the staff at Batman, but the vigilante blocked it with his glove's scallops. Batman used the scallops to hook themselves onto the staff, putting the two men in a stalemate position.

"Nightwing, now!" Batman shouted. Deathstroke looked up to see Nightwing shooting a grappling hook that positioned itself to the other side of the building's roof. The female vigilante jumped and swung her body towards the two men, with her legs sticking out. Batman ducked while Nightwing slammed a double kick on Deathstroke, forcing him to let go of his weapon. The mercenary was pinned onto the ground with Nightwing standing on top of him.

"For a guy who's trying to kill Vale's best heroes, you do suck at your job," the female vigilante told her opponent.

"At least I don't use cheap gadgets to win," Deathstroke responded.

"Enough. Tell us who sent you after us," Batman demanded. "You already lost."

"You're right. I lost, but I won't tell you who hired me. I'm not the kind of guy you can force information out of. I've been in battles and have experience much more than you possess," Deathstroke explained. "There's nothing you can do but send me to Blackgate."

"You're right. Nightwing, knock him out," Batman told his partner. Nightwing nodded and send volts of electricity into the mercenary, knocking him out through electrocution.

"Looks like we'll have to figure out who hired Deathstroke another way," Nightwing suggested.

"You're right, but I have a feeling we're closer than we think," Batman replied.

"This is Lisa Lavender with breaking news. A mercenary who goes by the name of Deathstroke was found unconscious and tied up inside a club. Sources say that he was the one responsible for the death of the club's owner. These sources also report that the mercenary was beaten by none other than Batman and Nightwing. The only evidence that supports the theory is a bat shaped projectile found at the crime scene," the newswoman stated.

Roman slammed his fist on the desk he was sitting at. He had high confidence that Deathstroke would be able to kill the vigilantes. He was also hoping that once after, Deathstroke would go after and kill Cinder. Apparently that won't happen now that the mercenary he hired will be going to jail.

"Deathstroke is reported to be sent to Blackgate Penitentiary," Lisa Lavender continued to report. It seems that the mercenary will be going to the same prison as Adam Taurus. Roman pointed his cane at the television and fired a blast that destroyed it. The crime boss didn't want to hear any more of this. Neo walked towards Roman with a smirk on her face and typed into her scroll.

I told you he wouldn't be able to kill them. They won. Your mercenary lost.

"Shut up Neo, or rather, stop typing. I don't want that "I told you" stuff coming from you," Roman told his partner. She mocked a frown and got behind him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and started massaging them. "Neo, stop."

Neo shook her hand and continued to massage Roman's shoulders. She knew that her partner is too stressed out between hiring a mercenary, receiving tasks from Cinder, and having those tasks become undone by Batman and Nightwing. She knew that the only way to relieve his stress is to calm him down. Eventually, Roman gave in to his partner's massages.

"Okay, so what do you suggest?" Roman asked. Neo typed into her scroll and showed it to Roman.

Like I said once before, let me take them on.

"And like how I responded. No. I don't want you to be captured," Roman replied. The ice cream themed girl typed into her scroll again.

Come on, do you have faith in me?

"I do have faith in you, but I think we should focus on Cinder right now. She could find out that it was Deathstroke who killed Emerald and Mercury, then connect him to us. She'll kill us with the first chance she gets. For the time being, it's her that we need to be worried about," Roman explained.

Neo thought about it and decided that he was right. Cinder seems much more powerful than the two vigilantes combined. She needs to be taken care of. With Adam, Emerald, and Mercury out of the picture, Cinder is losing her manpower. Roman still has some influence over the White Fang and can use them against her. Neo typed into her scroll.

You're right. Right now, Cinder is weakening due to losing her subordinates. It's only a matter of time for us to attack.

"And that's the reason why we have her as our top priority," Roman stated. "Now then, we need to come up with a plan for the future. Any ideas?" Neo only gave a smirk as she began rack up some thoughts.

Author's Note: There you guys have it. In the fight between Deathstroke and Batman and Nightwing, our favorite vigilantes came up on top. As for Roman and Neo, what kind of devilish plans are they thinking for Cinder? Continue reading the story to find out.