As the dust cleared, Ra's began to make out the silhouettes of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern. He looked to the right and also saw the Flash, Hawkgirl, and the Martian Manhunter. "It's over Ra's." Superman declared to the Demon's Head.

Ra's merely smirked before turning to his throne and taking his seat. "Oh I think not Kryptonian." He stated. "While this…visit was unexpected so early, I had taken into account that inevitably there would be the possibility that the detective would aid you in your search for me."

Superman looked around for a moment to see what it was that Ra's could be talking about that would prevent them from stopping him. "None of your men can stop the League Ra's. Not even with this Bane in your employ." He responded.

Ra's laughed rather loudly with the utmost confidence in his posture. "No no, no my dear Kryptonian." Ra's said between laughs. "Bane is not what I've been referring to. You've truly not figured everything out as of yet have you? Perhaps the detective didn't help you after all."

~~ Batcave ~~

"Where the hell is he?" Bruce said aloud to no one in particular. He was scrolling through various camera feeds throughout the city. He was frustrated beyond belief. Bruce had finally put together his new suit and was anxious to field test it. He'd made steady progress in the last week with his rehabilitation. He was no longer using a cane to assist him with walking. He'd even begun some running and moderate weight lifting to test his motor skills and strength. Everything seemed to be finally coming back to normal. He just needed to focus and regain some of his lost strength from being bed ridden for so long.

"What's going on Bruce?" Tim called as he walked down the steps into the cave. "I thought I heard you talking to someone."

"No Tim, only myself." Bruce responded. "I can't seem to locate Bane. Just two days ago I had his location pinned down, but now it's almost as if he's left the city entirely."

"Well, maybe he did." Tim surmised. "You said it yourself that Ra's had hired Bane. Maybe he needed him for another mission. Maybe Ra's needed him to help keep the Justice League off his tail."

"Perhaps, but if that's the case, I've already helped the Justice League to try and pinpoint where Ra's is hiding." Bruce answered as he continued studying images on the computer screens. "Besides, I'm sure Clark or Diana would be able to handle Bane on their own, and the rest of the League should be equipped well enough to handle the League of Assassins. Unless…"

Tim perked up upon Bruce's silence. He could see that Bruce was working through some possible scenarios. "Unless?" He questioned to push Bruce to answer.

"Ra's always likes to be at least two steps ahead of his opponents." Bruce started to answer. "He most likely sent Talia and Bane to find out the extent of my injuries. With that knowledge, a man such as Ra's would have to account for the possibility that I'd still help the League."

"Okay…." Tim said with a hint of confusion in his voice. "So that means?"

"Bane and the League of Assassins with some outside influences, such as Kryptonite could help turn the fight in their favor, but only if they can stop Diana and the rest of the League with Superman subdued." Bruce explained. "But Kryptonite is still risky. If one Justice League member were to get their hands on it, then Ra's would lose his advantage."

"I see what you mean." Tim commented. "Well, maybe Ra's wants Bane for the other members, and he's got something similar to Kryptonite in store for Wonder Woman and Superman."

"Some thing." Bruce repeated slowly as his mind began to race again. "Oh God Tim, I hope that I'm wrong." Bruce began furiously typing on the keyboard. Within seconds a map was on the screen, pinpointing the destination of active Justice League communicators in the Himalaya's. When he had their location pointed out, Bruce shot up out of his chair and marched over to the cases that contained his suits along with the newest prototype Batsuit. Tim followed him over to the casing where Bruce had already strapped on the armored pants and boots.

"What's going on Bruce?" He asked as he watched Bruce continue changing into the Batsuit. "You're not even 100% healed yet. What do you think you're doing?"

"The League needs me." Bruce answered before grabbing the cowl and turning to make his way back over to the Cray super computer. Once there, he opened a channel and made contact with Dick. "Nightwing, this is Batman. Come in."

After a few seconds, Dick responded. "I didn't think I'd be hearing that voice again so fast. What is it Batman?"

"I need you to help cover Gotham tonight." Bruce responded. "I have to meet up with the League to stop Ra's. They're walking into a trap."

"Alright Batman." Dick called back. "I'll be there to pick up Robin within the hour. Watch yourself."

Bruce didn't respond as he knew that Dick was closing the channel immediately after giving his answer. Bruce then pulled the cowl over his head and began a systems check on his suit while he stocked the utility belt with all of the arsenal he felt he'd need. He loaded the belt with more explosive batarangs and the experimental putty batarangs he'd designed and created that week. A 3D image appeared from the right gauntlet showing a diagnostics listing. Bruce scrolled through the image and closed it before turning to face the questioning look from Tim. "I know what you're thinking Tim, but I'm not just going into this without having thought it through." He said. "I don't have time to explain so I'm just going to ask that you trust my judgment."

Upon hearing that explanation, Tim allowed Bruce to walk passed him, also knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop Bruce in the first place if Bruce didn't want to allow it. Tim watched as Bruce climbed up into the Batwing and fired up the engines. Within seconds, the Batwing disappeared from the cave. Alfred at that point had come down the steps and stood at the Tim's side. "Where in the bloody blazes is Master Bruce going?"

"He found out that the rest of the League was walking into a trap, and he left to help them." Tim answered while still looking off to the place where the Batwing had been just moments ago. "Bruce told me that he wasn't just going into the fight without a plan, and asked me to trust his judgment."

Alfred sighed as he placed a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder. "I'm afraid in times such as these; we haven't a choice but to do as Master Bruce asks." He said. "Even if we believe it to be a fool's errand."

~~ Himalayan palace throne room ~~

The Justice League had been surrounded by the League of Assassins, but none of them seemed overly concerned at the odds. They were all Meta's after all, and Superman could most likely handle all these men while the rest focused on Bane. That however wasn't how Superman felt like handling the situation. "I'll take Bane. The rest of you focus on the League of Assassins." Superman ordered.

They were about to engage the enemies until Ra's began to laugh after hearing Superman's orders. When he was finished laughing he explained his amusement. "I'm afraid, Kryptonian that your plan will not fare so well for the rest of your team. Haven't you been the least bit curious as to the means of moving my equipment down under the planet's surface?" He waited for a moment to see if anyone wanted to answer before continuing. "Your silence is deafening Kryptonian. Truly your band of Meta's is sorely lacking without the detective's intellect. Allow me to enlighten you then."

Ra's pressed a button on the arm of his chair, which caused a remote control to rise up from in front of his hand. He held the remote up and pressed a button on it. Soon afterwards some sporadic minor tremors occurred in the pattern of footsteps. "What the hell did you just do?" Green Lantern asked as he held his ring at the ready for an attack.

"Ah yes, the intergalactic police officer with fancy jewelry." Ra's said as he turned his focus towards John. "You see, I needed a rather specific tool in order to perform the necessary tasks for my plan to come to fruition. In fact, your removal of the previous devices only slightly hindered my timeline. The heat produced by the planet's core would have in time rendered the machinery completely inoperable even without your interference. You merely saved the masses a few days from what will be inevitable. Which brings me back to the original question of how did I manage to get my equipment there in the first place. One only need to look to the Kryptonian for the answer to that question."

The Justice League all glanced over to Superman with questioning plain to see in their eyes. "I had nothing to do with your plan Ra's." Superman called out.

"Of course not Kryptonian." Ra's confirmed. "But someone or something rather would have to be able to endure such as yourself in order to move the equipment where I needed, and here he comes now." Everyone looked over to the throne room's entrance where they found none other than Doomsday standing before them. "I will admit that it took a considerable amount of coercion to convince the Doomsday monster to do my bidding, but as you can see his obedience has been attained." Ra's pressed some more buttons on the remote before he began to bark out orders to the monster. "Kill the Kryptonian and then the Amazon, Doomsday."

The monster charged at Superman as the League of Assassins and Bane engaged the rest of the Justice League. "Get the remote!" J'onn called out to the rest of the team as he was met with multiple assassin ninjas.

"I've got it!" Flash shouted as he took off through the crowd of people towards his target. As he got close though, a blast of gas came up and he wasn't able to stop before sliding through. Flash began coughing as he gasped for fresh air. Soon he collapsed onto the ground unconscious, and two assassins picked him up by the arms and dragged him away.

"Flash!" Shayera yelled before breaking off to chase after their scarlet clad teammate.

"Shayera, wait!" John yelled in vain just before one assassin jumped on his back and injected a needle into the side of his neck. John quickly tossed him off, but as he reached his hand up to his neck to remove the now empty syringe, another assassin tossed a flash bang grenade into John's face blinding him.

Shayera continued charging after Wally until she was stopped by a large hand grabbing hold of her by a wing. She turned, swinging her mace at the one that had stopped her from helping Wally, but her wrist was grabbed by Bane's other hand. He was chuckling slightly as he squeezed and snapped her wrist. Shayera screamed in pain before Bane then focused on her wing. He quickly grabbed it with both hands and slammed it down over his knee, practically breaking and ripping it off her body. Shayera looked up at Bane as he grabbed her mace off the ground and raised it over his head to smash it across her face. She closed her eyes as she waited for the final blow to strike her down, but instead heard another thud above her. She opened her eyes to see the sight of Bane picking up an assassin from off the top of him and tossing the man away.

"Why don't you pick on someone your size Bane?" Wonder Woman called out. She had taken the assassin and threw him into Bane before he could kill Shayera with her own mace. Bane looked over to Hawkgirl and saw that the League of Assassins were handling her before he climbed up to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Do you think you can provide me with a proper challenge Amazon?" Bane asked defiantly. "As fast as your Justice League is falling, it doesn't appear likely."

Diana approached Bane with caution, but not lacking in a confident stance. She was the first to take a swing at the other, and Bane deftly dodged out of the way before countering and striking her in the face, which drove her back a few steps. She wiped the back of her hand across her face checking for blood before returning to her attacking stance. She swung first again, but this time offered a feint. Bane moved in a position not unlike Batman had during sparring sessions. She knew what to do, and a swift spinning heel kick was what she offered next. That blow hit it's mark, spinning Bane onto the ground as he lost his balance. "Is that challenge enough for you little man?" She taunted as she placed her hands on her hips.

Bane reached over to one hand and Diana could see him turning his other hand before smacking the top of the other hand and charging forward. She wasn't prepared for this and Bane drove his shoulder into her midsection, which knocked her off balance and into the ground. He rose up to begin throwing down multiple blows to her head, and Diana met each challenge with a block using her bracer covered forearms. After a handful of unsuccessful punches, Bane began to become increasingly frustrated. Diana used that frustration to her advantage, countering a block into an open handed strike which struck true to Bane's chest. The blow forced him up slightly, just enough so that Diana could pull a leg out from underneath the large masked man. She wasted no time in using that free leg to kick in a downward motion. Her leg struck across Bane's chest and was successful in driving him completely off the top of her. Having the space to take in her surroundings, Diana gave a quick glance over to Superman in an effort to see how he was faring against Doomsday before returning her focus to the task at hand.

J'onn was left to fend off most of the League of Assassins at this point. Diana had her hands full with Bane and a few assassins, and Superman was struggling against Doomsday. He needed to help his Kryptonian friend, but the line of assassins seemed to be endless. Superman was trying to maintain a full frontal assault on Doomsday, but the monster was just as impervious to pain as he himself was. There was also the fact that Superman was taking care so as to not cause the facility to collapse, while Doomsday didn't seem to care one way or the other. Every time Superman would ease up to keep the area stable around him; Doomsday used that to his advantage. He was slowly and methodically pounding Superman into submission. It wasn't a matter of if, but when it would be that Superman would fall at this point, and he knew that as well unless he could change the scenario in his favor where he could cut loose. As if his prayers had been answered, an opportunity finally presented itself as the monster had caused the floor above them to collapse around them, which left an opening that would be perfect. Superman allowed Doomsday to approach with a downward slamming fist that dropped the Kryptonian to his knees, but he used his body to absorb some of the punishment and rose back up with a forceful uppercut to Doomsday's jaw. That punch sent the monster flying up into the higher floor above them. There were only two more levels to go before he could take this battle outside. He was planning to bait Doomsday into being the aggressor so that he could back his way up and out of the palace. An occasional punch and counter would come, but his focus remained on backpedaling.

J'onn continued to fight his way through the League of Assassins. Slowly he was heading towards the Demon's Head and a hopeful end to the confrontation. When he was within one person from reaching Ra's however, the man before him molded into a creature he'd not seen on Earth before. It was large and elephant like but without the trunk or tusks. There were instead four dull fangs that protruded out of the monster's mouth and large dull white eyes. J'onn rolled away from being trampled before standing and turning to the creature. " Ma'alefa'ak?" He asked.

"Quite perceptive brother." J'onn's twin responded.

"What are you doing here?" J'onn asked.

"I'm ensuring your death." Ma'alefa'ak answered before he began to back away.

J'onn quickly noticed he was again being surrounded by the League of Assassins, but this time they were carrying more than swords. This time they were carrying flame throwers, but before J'onn registered what the weapons were, they all fired at him, dousing J'onn in flames. He screamed in pain as Ra's walked up behind some members that had surrounded the Martian.

"Ah and it must have slipped my mind that I had found a special guest for you my Martian friend." Ra's said. "He delivered such secrets about your nearly extinct race. I hope you enjoy the accommodations."

Diana was beginning to gain the upper hand over Bane as she swept his legs out from under him and began to repeatedly land haymakers against Bane's face. She only stopped to look up when she heard a loud crash happen. It was Doomsday that had landed violently back into the throne room. She was about to pound on Bane some more when she was met in the face by the shin of Talia al Ghul. Bane used the distraction to throw Diana off of him and into a nearby wall. She was furious that Talia had snuck in and attacked her from behind in such a cowardly fashion. Especially because she knew that Talia had some type of past history with Bruce. That thought caused her anger to increase even further as she gathered herself for both Bane and Talia. "How could you take his side in this Talia?" She asked. "How would your beloved feel about this?"

"He knows where my loyalties lie, Amazon whore." Talia fired back. "And with witches like you lying in wait for my beloved, I must do what is necessary until he discovers that father's way is the only scenario to bring this world back to peace."

"So your just as mad as your father." Diana spat at Talia. "No wonder he wouldn't be with you."

"Silence Whore!" Talia screamed before coming out swinging at Diana's face.

Ra's was taking in everything around him thus far in the battle. So far Flash, Shayera, and Green Lantern had been subdued. The Martian was well on his way to being defeated, and Talia along with the League of Assassins were beginning to take their toll on the Amazon with the help of Bane. What was troubling was that Superman didn't seem to be losing any ground any more against Doomsday. In fact, he was beginning to win the battle. This wouldn't do at all. Ra's had to make a change, and reached into his inner coat pocket before removing a small metal box. When he opened the lid, a brilliant green light could be seen clearly, and he approached the two super Meta's with the piece of Kryptonite placed firmly in his hand. Superman could feel the effects of the Kryptonite weakening him with each step that Ra's took towards him. The Kryptonite was all the leverage that Doomsday needed to take control of the fight once again. By the time Ra's was a few feet away, Doomsday was on top of Superman ramming his fists into the Man of Steel's face repeatedly.

There was a pile of assassins attempting to pin Diana down when she happened to catch a glance over to Superman falling to Doomsday. She took the weight of all of the men piling on top of her and used all the force she could to explode upwards into the air. With great speed she headed over towards her friend to stop the brutal beating he was receiving. When she was mere inches away though, the monster raised an elbow which collided with her chest. It had actually knocked the wind out of Diana as she fought to catch her breath. Doomsday wasn't about to allow her to catch it either as he quickly turned and stomped on her chest repeatedly. Diana managed to catch his foot with her hands after the fourth stomp and shoved it away, giving her a chance to get back to a vertical base. She dodged an attempted right hook and overhand left from the monster before countering with a straight right of her own. That caused the monster to stumble backwards a step before he lunged at her again. She blocked another attempted hook shot, and went to attempt a hip toss to get Doomsday off of his feet, but he stomped on the back of her knee and sent his other fist crashing down onto the place between her left shoulder and neck. She grunted in pain, trying to hold back the scream inducing pain that resulted from that strike. The monster then followed up with a head butt to the back of Diana's head. She fought to get him to release his hold on each side of her head, but with each head butt she received, she could fill herself slipping into unconsciousness.

Superman managed to get to his feet despite the Kryptonite being so close and he leaped onto Doomsday's back as the monster was still focused on attacking Diana. "Leave her out of this Doomsday." Superman demanded. "Your fight is with me." Superman then used all his might to slam each of his fists down on each side of Doomsday's neck. The monster quickly tossed Diana away and spun around, whipping Superman off of his back before he again engaged the Kryptonian in their battle.

Diana climbed back onto her feet after her body came to a stop from the momentum of Doomsday's throwing her aside. She was about to re-engage with the monster when she was blindsided by a left hook that connected with her jaw. She was already dizzy from the violent strikes she had absorbed from Doomsday before that hook shot, and that caused the hook to almost drop her to her knees. She focused her thoughts on her Amazon training though to fight her body's growing need to succumb from the shots she had taken, and regained her center quickly enough to block the next attempted strike from Bane. She countered quickly with an overhand right, and followed that up with a forward snap kick that hit it's mark and drove Bane up against a wall. She quickly approached and began to assault Bane with lefts and rights followed by knees to his midsection, but she was caught off guard by Ma'alefa'ak as he morphed into a giant creature and slammed a massive forearm into her.

~~ Outside the palace ~~

The Batwing was descending towards the palace that Batman had discovered his fellow League members were located. He used the time during the flight to continue investigating the means and end goals of Ra's al Ghul's plans. He'd deduced that whatever it was Ra's was up to, he'd need to have some very specialized equipment in order to travel down under the Earth's crust to move the tectonic plates. He also went about running diagnostics against the new Batsuit. He hadn't had a chance to test much if any of the new suit's functionality. It was more armored than any previous version, but still remarkably light. The armored plating was much smaller to allow for as much flexibility as possible without giving too much access for bullets or knives. While no suit would be impervious to such attacks, Bruce limited those accessible points as much as possible. His left gauntlet was loaded with five batarangs that jettisoned out by compressed gas, much like his grapple gun. It was capable of firing all five shots at a high velocity. The batarangs he inserted there were electrically charged, containing enough voltage to send a normal human instantly unconscious. While it wouldn't subdue a true Meta, they would certainly feel the pain from the voltage, and allow Bruce time to attack or escape if need be. He was interrupted from his diagnostics scan as the Batwing alerted him that he'd arrived at his destination. He quickly inverted the plane and opened the hatch before plummeting towards the ground below him. He wanted to enter the palace as quietly as possible.

There was no telling what had become of the Justice League, as Batman had maintained radio silence, not wanting to disturb them if they were in a battle. After a few seconds of freefalling, he engaged the cape's hang gliding capabilities, slowing his descent incredibly. He made a soft landing on the top of the palace, and from there he could see clearly where all the guards were stationed. Some of the stations were surprisingly empty, although he could guess where those guards would be if the entire League was there. It would take everything Ra's had at his disposal to defeat the Justice League. He quickly found a place to enter the facility and slipped in unnoticed. Batman wondered throughout the palace, blindly following his instincts and detective skills to locate where Ra's and the League were. He didn't have to wait long for a clue though as the whole building shook from what sounded like a Meta slamming into a wall extremely hard. He wasn't sure, but he thought the cowl's enhanced hearing picked up the sound of Diana screaming in agony.

That sound caused something in Batman to snap as he ceased with his methodical and careful approach and instead rushed towards the source of the noise. Turning down two hallways, Batman eventually came upon a grand room with a large hole in the floor. It was easy to see that the hole had been recently created, most likely the effect of Superman's attack. Batman eased up to that hole and peered down into what he quickly discovered was the throne room. He surveyed the area as best he could, and quickly found that J'onn was down on the ground surrounded by flames as flamethrowers were being used all around him. To another side were Superman and Ra's. The monster was standing while Superman was on the ground barely crawling forward. Batman watched Superman wince in obvious pain as Ra's tossed a piece of Kryptonite right next to Superman's body. He then followed Ra's over to Diana who was on her knees, bloody and beaten with Bane holding her one arm and Doomsday the other. Batman knew what he had to do, and timing would be crucial.

Ra's knelt down in front of Diana and used his hand under her chin to lift her blood stained face where he could look into her eyes. "You are defeated Amazon." He proclaimed. "But such beauty and power shouldn't be left to destruction when you could be used for so much more."

"Wha….What are you talking about?" She asked.

"I am going to provide you with an option." Ra's answered. "You can be added to my harem and provide me with a powerful heir to my empire, and thus save yourself from destruction; or you can decline my generosity and not only cause your own demise, but your friends as well. I leave the choice to you."

Diana would never allow herself to become a concubine to any male. Especially one so evil as Ra's. She also wasn't sure if Ra's would even keep his word and spare the League. If Ra's were to leave them alive, then he would be susceptible to defeat in the future. Batman would surely devise a plan to defeat Ra's with the rest of the League to provide him with the necessary firepower. She was about to offer Ra's her emphatic decline to his offer when she could just make out the sound of a cape above her. Hearing that caused her to smirk defiantly to the Demon's Head before looking him in the eye. "I would rather die a thousand deaths then to ever allow you to touch me." She said in a condescending tone.

"You dare insult me Amazon?" Ra's questioned angrily. "Then join your friends in their…."

"I don't think so." Superman's voice called out from across the room.

Ra's looked over at Superman completely puzzled. "Where is the Kryptonite?" He asked in a raised almost panicked voice. Just then he heard a scuffle and turned to see Batman engaging the group of assassins with flamethrowers around J'onn.

"Doomsday, Bane, kill the Amazon and then the Kryptonian!" Ra's yelled. "Rip her apart!"