"Batman just killed a woman and her children."
For a moment there was silence in the communications and eventually it was broken by a stream of swear words from Deathstroke who cursed sonorously.
"Talia get out of there. Don't show your face and don't engage him in combat." ordered Nightwing in a firm, serious voice as he went into leader mode.
"I'm not going to run away like a coward while that monster kills innocent children!" spat Talia venomously, anger taking over.
Both children were younger than her Damian.
"Talia listen to the kiddo!" snapped Deathstroke's voice. "Already facing our Bat is difficult but fighting an evil Bat without morals and control is fucking suicide!"
Talia gritted her teeth furiously but in her heart she knew they were both right. She wouldn't stand a chance with this twisted version of the Bat.
Just as she was backing away Batman's cowled face snapped in her direction. For the first time ever, Talia shuddered as white eyes met hers.
"Repeat: get out of there as soon as possible!" repeated Nightwing in a frantic voice.
"I think it might be a little late for that." began the daughter of the Demon's Head uncertainly. "He just spotted me."
Deathstroke uttered more expletives as Nightwing took a deep breath. Talia's eyes went wide as Batman grabbed his grappling hook and stepped back just in time to prevent the Caped Crusader from hitting her.
"Well well, who do we have here?" chuckled this Batman, unclenching his fists menacingly, his suit completely bloody from head to toe. "What's a helpless woman like you doing on the rooftops of Gotham at this hour?"
Talia froze on the spot.
She knew this voice very well.
For a moment she had hoped that the man under the cowl was merely a random madman out of control.
It didn't.
That voice belonged to an important man and certainly a man she could never have thought possible of such actions, even in an alternate world.
Bruce Thomas Wayne.
Talia awoke from her surprise and growled, drawing the sword attached to her back. "I am not helpless, you filthy idiot!"
"Is there anyone in this shit trio who doesn't have suicidal desires?" growled Deathstroke sarcastically. "We just told you not to antagonize this fucking homicidal Bat and what the hell do you do? You insult him?"
"Insulting her won't help her Slade!" snapped Nightwing angrily. "Rather move your lazy ass to Talia's position!"
"What do you think I'm doing? Picking flowers from cemeteries?"
"What the fuck-"
Talia stopped focusing on the voices in her ear and instead all her attention ended on the Batman in front of her. His armor was the same as the Bat of her world and she would be unable to find any difference between the two.
"My fault, I rectify immediately. What's a woman with a sword doing on the rooftops of Gotham at this hour?" Batman corrected himself with a smirk.
He was damn scary and Talia felt no shame that he was scaring her.
However, she put her fear aside and growled, pointing her sword in the Bat's direction. "I'll kill you before you can even open your mouth!" she growled.
Batman's smirk increased. "We shall see."
Before Talia could even move she found herself shocked when Batman pulled guns from the holsters (which Talia had not noticed until then) and he shot her.
Talia rolled to the side with pure instinct dodging the barrage of bullets and ran toward Batman deflecting more bullets with her sword, noise of splintered metal echoing in the darkness of the city.
Ra's Al Ghul's daughter attempted a lunge but Batman blocked the blade and Talia kicked him in the chest causing him to back away and almost fall under the roof.
With almost uncontestable force Batman pushed back the blade and the handle struck her stomach and the woman felt a few ribs crack slightly at the blow. Reflexively Talia's head snapped downward and Batman gave her a vicious uppercut to the chin that sent her across the roof.
Talia fell to the ground with a grunt and quickly got to her feet, her jaw throbbing painfully. She swerved to the right, avoiding a kick, and Talia swept the only leg left standing. Batman grunted as he fell to the ground but backflipped, getting back on his feet.
Meanwhile, Talia had drawn two of her guns and fired in the Dark Knight's direction.
Batman ran zigzagging while avoiding the bullets but finally Talia smiled when a bullet lodged in his opponent's left shoulder. Blood began to flow down Batman's shoulder but he ignored his wound.
Finally the villain arrived in front of Talia and with a kick disarmed her. Talia blocked a punch and retaliated with an elbow that struck his solar plexus followed by a roundhouse kick that struck his temple hard.
Batman got back up and spat blood on the ground, a mad grin on his face. "I must admit that I underestimated you, young lady. I must say, though, you look quite familiar." he tilted his head to the side thoughtfully before shrugging casually. "It doesn't matter. In the end you'll be a victim like all the others." he said with a low, dark chuckle that made her shiver slightly. "That's enough now. I'm tired of playing with you."
With almost superhuman speed Batman arrived in front of her. Talia had a lot of difficulty dodging Batman's combo of punches and kicks (most of which connected painfully) and eventually he managed to hit her with a kick to the face that broke her nose and knocked her to the ground.
Before she had a chance to get up (and it was very difficult since she felt pain all over) Batman pinned her to the ground with the full weight of him and his armor. Talia found herself with a batarang pointed at her throat, and she felt a trickle of blood run off as the tip of the weapon dug into her skin.
"You fought well enough." Batman admitted in a calm voice before smiling madly. "But this will be the end of you."
Talia closed her green eyes, now resigned about her impending fate. She had several regrets but the biggest of all was surely not being a good mother to her son Damian and for preventing him from having a better childhood instead of growing up in a violent environment like the League of Assassins in the exact way she had.
Perhaps this was her punishment for being a horrible mother to her son.
If so, Talia could say that she deserved it, even though she at that very moment wished with all her might that she had been a better mother to Damian.
Just as she felt the tip of the batarang dig deep she heard sounds of a scuffle and the weight of Batman suddenly disappearing.
She opened her eyes again and soon after she opened them wide.
In fighting stance was Nightwing, escrima sticks in hand crackling menacingly with electricity, protectively holding himself in front of her.
"Get away from her, scum!" growled the Bludhaven hero dangerously in a low, dark voice the woman had never heard before.
It unnerved her enough.
"And you are? Her boyfriend?" taunted Batman, his shoulders tense ready for a fight to the death.
Nightwing was ready to give it to him of course, and he ignored his taunt. "Your worst nightmare if you don't back off!" he hissed menacingly.
Batman noisily craned his neck, a defiant smirk on his lips. "We'll see."
And having said that, the two began their battle.
Talia was completely shocked by the violence and brutality with which Nightwing was fighting this Batman. There was no smile or quip from him, no sign of levity.
Just violence, brutality, and even potentially deadly and lethal moves. Never before would Talia have used these words to describe the first Robin but here it was.
Grayson was completely unrecognizable and that scared her more than she would ever admit.
Talia gasped when an escrima stick hit Batman's jaw so hard that the sound of broken bones resounded strongly in the air. The Dark Knight fell to the ground in a bloody mess as Nightwing, also bruised and battered, towered over him.
Nightwing looked wild and menacing as he growled. "Go away and maybe I'll spare your life!"
At this point Talia was no longer sure if the acrobat's threat was real or not.
With a smirk Batman spat mix of saliva and blood that landed on the boots of Nightwing who remained completely unmoved. "You haven't won yet, hero."
Before anyone could blink Batman was on his feet again, several batarangs on his hands and the second after Nightwing and Batman fell back into another violent and bloody battle.
Talia tried to get up to help the former Robin but winced in pain. Her left ankle was probably sprained or something.
Talia stiffened when she heard another pair of footsteps land at her side but relaxed when she saw the familiar black and orange (and now that she thought about it, she didn't think she ever would).
"Don't worry." Deathstroke's gruff tone was gentler than usual. "Now I'll take you to the shelter to check your injuries."
"We have to help R-Nightwing! We can't leave him here alone!" protested Talia hotly, who missed the mercenary's smirk of understanding.
Talia and Slade simultaneously turned their eyes toward the ongoing battle just in time to see Nightwing strike Batman's head with a kick so violent that if it were not for his protective cowl he would surely be dead by now.
Talia was sure that kick would have permanently destroyed his skull if the cowl had been absent.
"I don't think Nightwing needs protection. If anything, it's the exact opposite." stated amused Deathstroke who effortlessly lifted Talia carrying her behind his back as if she were a sack of potatoes. "Damn girl. Do they feed you at the League of Assassins?" he joked as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop heading for their momentary refuge.
"Put me down!" argued Talia throwing punches at the back of the mercenary who merely huffed.
"Would you rather I carry you in bridal style as if you were a damsel in distress?" Slade chuckled when she did not answer. "Just as I imagined."
Nightwing pulled out the batarang stuck to his left shoulder and threw it to the ground as he wiped the blood that flowed from his split lips.
Batman held onto the ground with his hands as he crouched on one knee on the roof, his breathing more shaky and labored than usual. He looked up, the right white slit in the cowl that was torn away during the bloody fight.
Dick's stomach churned violently as he stared into the so familiar blue eye of Bruce Wayne.
His father's.
This monster is not my father. My real father would never do such a thing.
"Who-" Batman fell into a coughing fit and he spat out a fair amount of blood. It was visible that more blood had accumulated in his mouth as it oozed from his lips like a river. Nightwing had probably caused him to bleed internally. "who the hell are you?"
Nightwing could not resist giving a smirk as he uttered the next words.
"I am Nightwing."
"Well, Nightwing... I'm going to remember you. And when we meet again, I will kill you with the slowest, most painful death possible. You will plead pathetically for me to kill you. I will personally make sure of that." Batman threatened him.
The next second he threw smoke bombs, and when the smoke was gone so was he.
Nightwing tightened his lips into a frown and finally he sighed.
"Mission to put me in Batman's killing sight: successful." he chuckled weakly but the movement alone made him wince in pain.
"Come on, kiddo. I'll take you to the shelter."
Nightwing fell unconscious against Deathstroke The Terminator's chest knowing that with the mercenary he would be safe.
Before he fell into unconsciousness he only wished that his father, the real Bruce Wayne, was there with him.
Deathstroke gently brushed his former student's hair before sighing as he began to return to the shelter.
"You fought perfectly, Richard. You deserve some rest, kiddo."
