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Chapter 12: Battle-plan

Continued from Phoenix rising

Samuel MacEntee just stared at his sister. It had been over a year since he had seen her last and she had changed dramatically. Her once long, wavy brown hair was now cut short to just below her ears with the tips died a deep, dark red. He could see the tattoos peeking out on her wrists. It was a scary sight.

By contrast Samuel looked exactly how April had left him a year ago. His brown hair was cut nearly the same, only a bit longer and ragged. He was wearing a similar shirt and jeans, and his sunglasses were the same brand. Basically he had not changed at all on the outside. She hoped it was not the same on the inside.

After a couple of minutes looking at each other Samuel chose to break the silence;

"So what would you like to talk about?"

"Well for starters I'd like to know why the hell you're drinking that shite." April replied, indicating to Samuels americano coffee. Samuel looked at before taking a sip as he answered her;

"It's needed. Long night and crappy morning. Don't want to collapse in the middle of something. How are you still cognitively functional?" April shrugged as she sipped her own tea which had arrived.

"I had a good night's sleep and a lazy morning. I'm fully awake."

"Oh you got a place here in Gotham. Anywhere I know?"

"Yeah it's on I'm-not-an-idiot street on the corner of go-fuck-yourself avenue." Samuel couldn't help but chuckle but he immediately got serious as he sent a glare at his sister.

"Ok now that the pleasantries are out of the way let's get serious. What the hell are you doing here?" April took a final sip of her tea before setting it down, all the while not breaking eye contact with her brother. This was the hard part.

"I got new information. Enough to put Ra's al Ghul and his league of assassins out to pasture for good."

"The Grandson?"

"Yeah. I think I know who he is."

"So he does exist."

"Yep. And he's also the last heir Ra's has left."

"Talia's dead?" Samuel's eyebrow's shot up as this new information surprised him.

"Yep. Apparently she went to war with Batman incorporated and at the end of it she was killed. No idea by who but that doesn't really matter, does it?"

"No I guess not." Samuel thought for a moment before asking the all-important question. "You're going after the kid aren't you?"

"Of course I am he's always been the first target. He's the best way to get to Ra's." Samuel starred at his sister, realising that the only thing that hadn't changed was her desire for revenge against all that Ra's al Ghul held dear. Breathing he tried to reason with April;

"How old is he?"

"What?"

"How old is the grandson?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"A lot actually. Is he old enough to know right from wrong? Is he old enough to know who his grandfather is? Is he old enough to make his own decisions on what he wants to do? That's why age is important. So I ask again. How old is he?" April remained composed as she answered him;

"I think he's around ten or eleven."

"Ten years old. A ten year old kid. And you want to go after him. You want to hunt him like an animal. You really want to do that?" April narrowed her eyes, preparing to destroy her brother's argument like she had planned before meeting him;

"Do you trust Batman?" Samuel was taken aback by his sister's question. He leaned back in his seat and narrowed his eyes at her, ready to answer her;

"I've only really met him once. Despite being kinda cloak and dagger, as well as moody as hell, I think he's pretty trustworthy. Why do you ask?"

"And what about Robin? What do you think of him?"

"Kinda stuck up, a bit of a brat but honest. Would have your back in a fight. Why do you ask?"

"And who do you think they are?"

"Well my best bet would be that Robin is his son. As for who they actually are, I haven't the foggiest idea."

"Well you're right. Robin is Batman's son." April answered with a smirk but it instantly evaporated into a glare as she added one more piece of information, "But his mother was Talia al Ghul."

Samuel's mouth was now hanging as he processed this information. His faith in his mission had now been shaken to its core. April continued;

"Apparently Ra's wanted the ultimate living weapon so he got Talia to seduce Batman and Robin was the result. Batman went along with it. I wonder how that makes you feel? Betrayed? Broken? Worthless? Or all of the above?" Samuel finally gained some sense and glared death at his sister.

"How the hell do you know all this?"

"I have my sources. All you need to know is that I'm taking Batman and Robin down and if you have any semblance of common sense you won't get in my way. Not unless you want to still continue the mission." April got up and took out the amount needed for the tip. "I'll contact you when it's done."

With that she left, leaving Samuel slumped in his seat. He couldn't bring himself to stop her. All he could do was think. Think about how much he has been told was true and how much was lies. Everything and everyone he had met was in his head, trying to work out what to believe. He even thought about Kate, trying to work out if she was in on it.

Deciding that he needed the truth he got his phone out and opened Kate's messages;

"Need to talk to you. Midnight, my place."

Samuel didn't wait for a reply as he left the café, heading back to work to try and get his head back on straight.

Midnight, Samuel's apartment

Batwoman landed on the emergency exit of Samuel's building. Silently she opened the window to his apartment and crawled in. Out of habit she removed her mask and wig, tossing them haphazardly onto the coffee table. Shaking her real hair free she called out;

"Hey Samuel I got your message, were are you?" A familiar voice replied back from the bedroom.

"I'm in here." Kate followed the voice. When she entered the room she found Samuel standing in front of his closet, the secret back was open to show his armour and weapons hung up in set places. Samuel was staring solemnly at the mask. Kate became curious and spoke up;

"Hey are you OK? Said you wanted to talk." Samuel didn't turn around as he replied.

"What do you do if you find out something that shakes your entire faith in something to its foundations?" Kate was perplexed by Samuel's question.

"I don't really know what you mean?" Samuel sighed and explained further.

"I talked to April. And I know who her target is."

"Really that's good. Who is it?"

"Robin." Kate's eyes widened in surprise.

"What?"

"Robin is the son of Batman and the grandson of Ra's al Ghul."

"And she's going after him?"

"Yeah."

"OK we have to stop her." Kate became restless and was going to rush out but Samuel remained unmoved.

"How could he have done it?"

"Done what?"

"How could he have had a son with Talia? How could he have made a weapon with her?" Kate finally understood what was going through Samuel's head. She moved to stand directly behind Samuel.

"You know I don't think it's that simple. Every time I've teamed up with Batman and Robin I've known they were father and son. The kid is a miniature version of him. They think alike, they fight alike and they sound alike. They are the perfect team. Hell the kid's even referred to Batman as 'father' a few times. But I do not see any resemblance to Ra's or Talia or any member of the league of assassins. Yeah Talia might be his mother biologically, but I don't think she's family." Kate put her hand on Samuel's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. "And trust me when I say this but your family does not influence your final decisions in life. In the end it's all about you and your own choices."

Samuel stayed quiet with his head down, processing what Kate had told him. He finally raised his eyes towards the mask and spoke;

"We gotta move fast." He reached out and began to put on his armour. Kate nodded, turning to give him a bit of privacy.

"How long before she moves?"

"She's given me her target because she believes I wouldn't be able to stop her, or that I'd turn to see things her way. That basically means she's ready to move now." Green Dragon walked out in front of Kate, pulling on one of his gauntlets as he went. Kate caught up, grabbing her mask and wig, quickly pulling them on. "This is going down tonight." Green Dragon put on his own mask as he moved to the window.

The pair crawled out the window and grappled away. Batwoman activated her communicator and called the cave. Rather quickly a flustered Penny-two replied back.

"Batwoman, Green Dragon. Thank god. Batman and Robin have been attacked. Robin's been kidnapped. Batman is still fighting the attackers. He needs backup now!"

"Shit were on our way."

To be continued….

Next chapter: War of the myths

A/N So the shit is hitting the fan. The Next few chapters will be continuous so no big time jumps.