Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or DC
I felt inspired, so this next update came out quicker than the last, adjusting the New 52 a bit to fit what I have in mind for the story. Plenty of characters appearing in this one
The Redeemers
Chapter 21: Cooperation
The atmosphere of the operations control room or A.R.G.U.S was thick with anticipation. Waller stood over her staff with the same authority and discipline she always held over them. Except now it was with purpose and it had a clear target. The main screen showed the coordinates Hunter had provided, the last location his beacon had provided. Nanda Parbat was initially believed to be somewhere in Pakistan, either Hunter couldn't be trusted or Waller needed to have a serious discussion with her Intel department, neither sounded appealing. The famed 'shifting city' was by Cade's estimate located in the mountain regions of Tibet. Hidden by all forms of digital detection including drone and satellite, the city couldn't even be found by Cyborg. Magic shielded it from the eyes of even a telepath, not even the Martian Manhunter was reportedly able to pick up the thoughts of those in the city.
"Are your men ready Trevor?" she inquired over the radio.
"Yes Ma'am, we move on Cade's signal," Steve said.
He put his pistol in his holster, adjusting the straps of his gauntlets. His standard issue armour would be his 'costume' for Waller's proposed JLA, in truth all A.R.G.U.S soldiers wore them with the addition of a helmet. He grabbed a rifle from the rack and took a seat beside his other soldiers. The vertical takeoff aircraft could only wait, alongside the other A.R.G.U.S aircrafts and choppers. Cade had a different method of entry, one that would put him in the most danger. He assumed there were some amongst the assassins who would be eager to take his head for what he had done. But the loyalty of the assassins was strong indeed, cult like if they followed Ras's word to the letter. The two who had been assigned to 'guide' him to Parbat for his execution were both fighters and had plenty of opportunity to kill him. One in a black and green suit with goggles covering his scarred eyes went by the name Saiko, the other was an archer and an older man, probably even older than Cade but still in good shape despite not being enhanced. Cade had heard Saiko call the man Merlyn, though he had responded to Malcolm when one of his man servants informed him of their imminent arrival.
Malcolm Merlyn's private boat, the 'Al Ow-al' had been Cade's prison for the past few hours. He had been bought up on deck when they arrived in Tibet. The rest of the journey had been spent in a caravan, under guard from both the run of the mill assassins and the two elites. Occassionally Cade would see the fearful looks from the locals, they knew where he was going, they knew why he was going there and it made them terrified. Fear and superstition were powerful tools, and Ras had used them well. There was a path through the mountains that they took by foot, stairs one could walk up as if they were heading towards a temple. But it was no temple, as Cade soon saw when he got there.
"Hidden cities, damn magic," Cade muttered.
Nanda Parbatt was no New York, but it was large and grand enough to be called a city. Though it was in actuality a fortress, inspired by feudal Japanese architecture. There were modern inventions however such as arrays, radar, gun emplacements and drones. Cade could see the small aerial drones patrolling with the ninjas on the rooftops. The ninjas had armour and exo-suits on, as well as rifles to go with their swords. There were tank sized drones too with twin cannons and even a helicopter passing through the mountains. It wasn't a daily patrol, security had been tightened both as a precaution and a scare tactic.
'He knows,' Cade thought.
He looked over at the body bag, an unfortunate casualty in the war against Ras. If everything went to plan though Cade wouldn't have to live with the guilt of killing again. He had a plan, not just for integrating with the world but for stopping the assassins too. The Avengers or the X-men may have argued that stopping a band of assassins was nothing in comparison to, stopping an alien invasion or saving mutant kind. But the fights within a street could be just as important. Cade intended to stop the assassins whom killed the guilty and the innocent alike, and used justice as their excuse.
"Ras Al Ghul sees you as a genuine threat, you should feel honoured," Saiko said.
"Why, cause he takes things seriously? Or because he has common sense?" Cade asked.
Even though his energy was low, Cade was still a threat, Ras Al Ghul knew that.
"Off to your execution I suppose," Malcolm said.
'More like my initiation,' Cade thought as he was led into the city.
Earth 7119
Damian looked at the man who had his father's face. But he knew this Bruce Wayne wasn't his world's original Batman. His costume was all wrong, his father's costume didn't have such apparent armour, or the blades on his gloves. 'Bruce' scanned the area around the Hellbat's cockpit and huffed, as if he had already found a flaw he didn't approve of. Like a father scolding his child he continued looking at Damian as he walked around the Hellbat, the battle between the heroes of two worlds illuminating his figure.
"We've used fear before, but this isn't fear you're trying to use, its terror," he said.
"Is there some difference?" Damian asked.
"Yes, fear can be precise, it has an end goal, terror however is to incite chaos which in itself is without purpose. You could've just created a means to shoot the bomb into the planet's core directly or carried out a covert op, not turn the Incursion point into a war zone, all so you can show your Earth your power," Bruce explained.
"Really? then it is fear that I am using, inciting fear in the people of the world I protect so that they can see the means I will go to in order to protect them, and what happens to those who defy me," Damian explained as he took out one of his pistols.
Batman suddenly threw a smoke bomb to the floor, covering the cockpit in smoke. Damian quickly put his cowl on and activated his tactical vision, the equivalent of his father's detective vision. The two Batman clashed, their eyes shining as they used various holds and throws on one another, attempting to wrestle each other to the ground. Both seemed evenly matched, despite the age gap between them. For any Batman of any Earth, the greatest power they had was not the money or the genius minds, but the anger, the drive to keep fighting. They were both angry, not just with the situation they had been forced into but one another. Bruce never thought a son of his could become so callous and cruel, it made him proud to have had Helene even more. Damian only thought of his father, how he hadn't been there for him, how his city had always been his prized gem. Both wanted to kill the other, but only one held back. Bruce Wayne, the first Batman, some might argue the true Batman didn't appreciate the orders Virgil gave him, but he respected the rules he had set.
"No killing," he had said.
He slammed his fist into Damian's face, shattering the lenses on his cowl and knocking him over the Hellbat's control panel. Damian shielded his eyes from the smoke and looked towards his father. The man placed some kind of device on the panel, turning the interface blue instead of its usual red.
"What have you done?" the leader of the assassins demanded.
"Used a variation of the virus I used on Darkseid's tower on my world, its shutting down the Hellbat's targetting matrix, but more importantly," Bruce blocked Damian's haymaker and grabbed the ears of his cowl, "Its shields!"
Bruce struck Damian's nose with his knee, disorientating him and tearing off his cowl. He then grabbed the bat symbol on his chest and tore it off, revealing the heavy armour underneath.
"You don't deserve that symbol or what it represents, fear to the criminals and vengeance for the victims," Bruce explained as he blocked more of Damian's punches.
"You are not my father," he retorted.
"Of course, and you're not my son, I'm not even Bruce Wayne anymore, he died sacrificing himself to save his Earth. All that remains is me, I am vengeance, I am the night, I AM BATMAN!"
His punch knocked Damian to the ground, bloodied and eaten, it was clear to him that he was no match for the real Batman. The Hellbat itself shook as armed forces jets began to pound it with missiles. Superman fired her heat vision, dragging it across the side of the Hellbat. Starwoman fired an energy blast from her staff and Zero released a flurry of energy blades before firing a charged blast.
"Damn it, resistance shouldn't be this much, what's happening out there Rose?" Damian asked.
"The mind controlled soldiers, they're AAAGH!" Ravager screamed as Captain Thunder hit her with an electric blast.
"The virus, it attacked the control system for the chips as well," Damian snarled.
"Yeah, which means your slaves, aren't your slaves anymore," Batman smirked.
Ms Marvel threw the Punisher at the Hellbat, the hulking man smashed his fists against the side of the ship and ripped pieces off of its hull. Crimson Dynamo and Sunfire fired energy blasts alongside Lightwave and Barda.
"WE WILL NEVER BE SLAVES! BUT WE WILL BE CONQUERORS!" Orion declared as he bombarded the ship with blasts from his war harness.
"Just so long as the conquest thing comes after this mess is over," Vance said, ripping the front of the Hellbat off.
Ms Marvel threw Gwen up, allowing her to pull herself into the Hellbat with a web line. She fired a web into Joseph's eyes, and then kicked him in the groin.
"We can win this," Gwen smiled as she jumped out of the ship with Joseph wrapped up behind her.
A violet hand caught the two, revealing Arin Sur free of her mind control.
"You long to be with the man you love Gwen Stacy," Arin said.
"I don't know whether we can call it love sister, but it's something strong," Gwen said.
White Martian flew around the side of the ship, firing his Martian vision at Captain Britain. She protected herself however with a telekinetic shield and used a telekinetic mace to smash the White Martian into the ship. Betsy then dragged her sword through the ship, giving Mareena an opening to throw her trident through it.
"BOSS!" Red Adam screamed, flying towards his master.
He slapped Bruce aside, throwing him off of the side of the ship. The dark knight opened his cloak, gliding to one of the buildings.
"That SON OF A BITCH (sorry Grandmother)," Damian rushed to the console, attempting to salvage something from this disaster.
"Wayne it is useless, we must flee and prepare the final contingency," Abin Sur said.
"There's no time, we must manually place an Anti-Matter bomb," Damian retorted.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this, we're supposed to be winning why aren't we winning?" Red Adam asked, speaking like a panicked child.
"Shut up, shut up SHUT UP! Just let me think, damn it, we're getting out of here," defeated and resigned to his fate, Damian activated his teleporter.
He and Red Adam jumped to their Earth, leaving their allies to be arrested. Abin Sur continued throwing aside heroes left and right, not even hesitating to strike his own sister. Seeing he was outnumbered however led him to the stars, with Zero, Orion and Supergirl in pursuit.
"Fools, I will not be stopped here, I am the greatest of the Yellow Lanterns," he summoned a gun battery, knocking the chasers back.
"Then it is time old friend that you stood against the first of a new lantern corps," a voice said behind Abin.
He turned, widening his eyes at who he saw. Clad in the uniform of a Green Lantern, was his once closest friend and formerly the greatest of the Yellow Lanterns, Thaal Sinestro.
"Beware our power, Green Lanterns light," Sinestro said, as the members of his Corps revealed themselves.
Earth 9117
"You see Moira, there's still hope," Virgil said to his charge.
He took back his scope, placing it in his utility belt. Moira Queen saw in the sky what people across the Earth saw, green and blue lights all working in conjunction, building something around the Earth. Virgil saw exactly what it was, a field to slow the collision. His plans success was being assured, he only needed to keep going.
"Incredible, I once spoke out against Metahumans, now I feel like a fool," Lex said.
"Wow, Luthor admitting he was wrong, anything really can happen in the Multiverse," Wally muttered.
"The plans still not complete, the Green and Blue Lanterns can assist in evacuation but our top priority needs to be getting the help of the Atlanteans," Virgil said.
"We're ready to send the message, just shoot at the frequency I tell you Patriot," Silas said.
Iron Patriot nodded his head as he fired his sonic cannon into the water. Virgil waited, looking at the clock and counting down the estimated time till collision. Unlike other Earth's, Atrocitus and the other survivors of the Sector 666 massacre led the Blue Lantern corps, driven by the hope seen in survival. Sinestro formed and led the Green Lanterns. In one world already had the heroes needed to save it from a collision. But Virgil wasn't going to leave anything to chance. He narrowed his eyes as the king of the seas emerged to face him.
"Is it just me or does this Aquaman look like Khal Drogo?" Wally asked.
"Whose Khal Drogo?"
"Game of Thrones, TV show based on a George Martin book, like a sexed up lord of the rings, again Sean Bean dies, it pretty much kick started the fame of Kit Harrington, Emilia Clarke and Peter Dinklage," the speedster explained.
The natives of both colliding Earths looked at Wally and appeared even more confused.
"You're kidding me, next thing you'll say neither of your worlds had Star Wars!"
"You mean Galaxy Wars," Moira corrected.
Wally shook his head and groaned.
"Alternate realities," he muttered in disdain.
Nanda Parbatt was by all means a fortress, but still vulnerable to modern technology. The League of Assassins seemed too attached to old ceremony and tradition. In Russia Cade had seen hit men, an organised crime gang, in the city they were servants to a lord. A lord Cade was being bought closer and closer to, his arms chained, his weapons taken and yet still he wasn't afraid. He was cautious, but he didn't fear Ra's Al Ghul. Talia stood at his side, with Nyssa also standing close by. Her eyes were set on Cade, she seemed to want to kill him more than anything. He saw her bow arm twitch, but she stopped when her father turned his head towards her. The man had his back to Cade, he seemed to be looking at the Oni statue in front of him.
"Bow before Ra's Al Ghul, the Demon's head," Talia said.
"I've heard people say its Arabic, though not any Arabic I've heard," Cade dismissed her demand, looking at Ra's as if he was having a casual conversation. "If you were the Arabic Demon's head your name would be Raysh Shaitan!"
"ENOUGH!" Nyssa yelled.
She punched Cade across the side of his head. He smirked, knowing she had hurt herself more than him, her punch had been all rage and no technique.
"Nyssa," Ra's spoke firmly.
It was enough for her to back away as he turned. Finally Cade looked upon the Ra's Al Ghul, face to face. He was shorter than him, his robes hiding any muscle he may or may not have. The man had his hair cut into a fine style, his side burns were white and his beard had also been finely cut. He looked to be in his sixties, healthy for his age but still old.
"You are younger than I thought you would be," Ra's said.
"Most Metahumans are older than they look," Cade said.
The two men looked at one another for a moment, not glaring but analysing. Both saw someone with the upmost confidence in their abilities, bordering on arrogance. Ra's clicked his fingers and his two servants brought the body bag forward.
"Sara Lance was the inheritor of a great legacy, her mother Dinah Drake and father Kurt Lance were soldiers, part of the legendary team seven. She found purpose here, then she abandoned us, and then she became what western culture has named a 'superhero'," Ra's knelt by the bag and unzipped it, revealing a blonde haired woman, her eyes shut peacefully.
Nyssa looked away as her father unzipped the bag further, analysing the stab wound on the woman's heart.
"Why did you kill her?" Ra's asked.
"In spite of the good she did, she was for a time under your employ, the league of assassins believe themselves to be the champions of justice. They are not, you are glorified mercenaries that is all, I killed her in revenge for all the families she destroyed," Cade said, anger pouring from his voice.
"Perhaps you have taken your justice," Ra's said, stroking his bearded chin as he zipped the bag up and stood.
"He defied us in Moscow father, he tried to stop us killing the gangs," Talia said.
"Yes, your previous actions do not match what you have done now!"
"I realised that there's only one way to deal with people like us," Cade said.
"Us?"
"Yes us Ra's, you and I, the people who follow you, every last one of us...we are monsters, what we do doesn't serve justice, it only adds to a cycle of suffering. And worst we keep telling ourselves that it's in service of a cause. We do not serve a cause, we never have and we never will. Killing Sara Lance, the Black Canary was justice just as you killing me will be justice, or me killing you!" Cade explained.
"You dare threaten Ra's Al Ghul," Saiko snarled.
A pair of claws slid out Saiko's gauntlets.
"I've come across people with claws before kid, you're nowhere near as tough or scary," Cade said.
"You wish to judge me for my crimes as well?" Ra's asked.
"Yes, I'm sure you want to do the same," Cade shrugged his shoulders.
"Yes, for the murder of my daughter's beloved, for challenging the Demon's head."
"Still not believing it, but I'm sure it works with people who don't actually speak Arabic," Cade said.
Ra's smirked despite the insult and bowed slightly.
"We will judge each other Hunter, with a trial by combat!"
Earth 9117
Flying with the Atlantean army at his back felt like a victory for Virgil. Aquaman stood atop an Atlantean tank, his trident resting on his shoulders. Negotiating with him was easy, as Aquaman wanted to avoid the destruction of the ocean of either world. He saw Virgil's plan as the best possible way to avoid either outcome. To fulfil that objective, the Atlantean army began skirmishing with the regime's forces, whilst the Lantern Corps got others out of danger. Aquaman jumped into the League's forces, breaking weapons and bones with his trident. Kid Flash moved through the soldiers, beating some down, but mainly focusing on following Virgil towards a very specific location.
"Fortress of Solitude," Kid Flash identified the ice fortress.
"Actually its apparently called Fortress of gathering," Moira said.
"Really? You guys called Star Wars something different, you call Orios something different, your Batman didn't have a bat mobile and Aquaman looks like Khal Drogo," Wally ranted.
"What the hell is Khal Drogo?" Lex Luthor asked.
"Pipe down you two, we're almost there, Superman if you can hear me please open the door and let us in, you've probably figured out what we're here for," Virgil explained.
The group got closer and closer to the fortress. But both Earth's were being drawn towards one another as well. Virgil folded his wings back into his suit as he landed in front of the fortress gates.
"Please, let us in," he said.
"I heard you lost your planet, do you want to see the same thing happen to this world?" Iron Patriot asked.
Again there was no response.
"I used to believe in accepting the inevitable, that there was no such thing as hope, today proved me wrong, hope is literally giving is more time. They say you're one of the most powerful beings in the planet, prove it by helping us achieve the impossible. Do you want what happened to your planet to happen to this one?"
Slowly the door opened, revealing Superman floating over the heroes.
"It's precisely because I don't want what happened to my planet to happen to this one, that I can't allow you to use the Paradise Zone projector," he said.
A portal suddenly appeared behind Virgil's group. Then a blast flew out, hitting Superman in the chest and throwing him through the walls of the fortress. Damian emerged from the portal, leading Blizzard, Blue Beetle, Red Adam, Atomic-Storm, Hro Talek, Mistress Fate and Doctor Doom. He raised his blaster and fired several blasts towards Virgil. Kid Flash immediately pushed him out of the way and ran to attack Damian. Blizzard however ran through him, slowing his speed.
"What, my speed," Wally gasped.
"Not only can I run fast, but I can stop molecules cold, you're not fast enough," Blizzard laughed as she proceeded to strike Wally multiple times.
Virgil ducked to avoid another blast from Damian's gun and threw a smoke bomb at the man's feet. Damian shielded his eyes and raised his hands to block Virgil's incoming punch. Iron Patriot fired blasts from his hands, hitting Fate and Doom. Damian threw a disc form his belt, hitting Steve in the back. Electricity surged through the armour, overloading its systems and deactivating it.
"LUTHOR, SILAS SEE TO PATRIOT, QUEEN GET TO THE PROJECTOR!" Virgil yelled.
He jumped, delivering two kicks that knocked Damian back. Virgil then activated his rocket boots, hitting Red Adam in the side and diverting his course away from Moira. Red Adam grinned as he flicked Virgil's forehead, throwing him into the wall.
"Pathetic, you don't even have any powers," he snickered.
"And you're no hero, none of you are if you choose to do this," Virgil said.
"I've never really been interested in heroism," Red Adam said.
He ripped off Virgil's mask, crushing the circuitry in the costume before throwing Virgil across the floor.
"V!" Kid Flash yelled, trying to reach his leader.
Blizzard however kicked him in the gut and then slammed his face into the ice.
"There's nothing you can do, he's going to die and we're going to shanghai it out of here," Blizzard said.
"What do you mean?" Blue Beetle asked.
"Exactly what she says, Wayne's gotten so desperate and so cowardly that he's going to take the Paradise Projector and use it to try and escape the blast, but if the collisions really are destroying reality it won't matter anyway," Virgil explained.
"I thought we were going to use it evacuate everyone," Atomic-Storm said.
"Evacuation at this point is useless, nothing will escape the blast radius," Damian said.
"What about Rose and the others, not to mention all the people we have to protect, what happens to them?" Blue Beetle asked.
"In his eyes, they're not worth saving," Virgil said.
"No, they're not!"
The cold look in Damian's eyes disturbed the two heroes, whom deep inside still believed in being heroes.
"You can either side with this murderer or you can be the heroes you've always wanted to be, help us," Virgil pleaded.
Blue Beetle immediately turned his sonic cannon on Damian, throwing the man back. Atomic-Knight then fired a blast into Red Adam's back, burning off his cloak.
"Traitors," Blizzard snarled.
She turned to Kid Flash and widened her eyes as he swung a fist towards her. Barely able to dodge the blow, Blizzard used her powers again, creating pillars of ice and a storm that should have frozen Wally solid.
"Impossible," she whispered, ducking to avoid a punch. "Even with super speed he shouldn't be able to move right now, his molecules should be slowed to a complete stop, unless," Blizzard gasped as she ran away from Kid Flash. "He's moving so fast that not even my powers effect him, but that's impossible, no one, no one is that fa..."
Wally suddenly punched her across the face and dumped her at Circe's feet.
"She was trying to say something, but she took way too long to say it," he said, before knocking off Fate's helmet.
Damian snarled as he got off of the floor. He immediately grabbed the helmet of Fate and put it on. The young man let out a scream as his body glowed yellow. A blue suit with Egyptian armour covered his body.
"Your fate is sealed!"
"And you made fun of doom," Virgil muttered to Kid Flash.
"All that remains will be your Doom," the said dictator declared.
"All right, magic against science bitches," Red Adam grinned as he hovered above the floor.
The three magic users flinched as they heard a boom tube open behind them. Gwen and her team mates jumped through first, landing in perfect battle positions. Then slowly, the heroes of both Earths emerged, looking at their leader/attacker with glares across their faces. Damian narrowed his eyes as he looked towards Virgil.
"I have seen your fate Virgil Hawkins, death is imminent!"
The snowy regions of the Tibetan landscape could be described as beautiful. Overlooking Nanda Parbat was a mountain range. An elevator was used to get to it though apparently in the past combatants had to climb up it. It was a means to test both the one on trial and the executioner, if one was weaker and fell then the outcome had already been decided. Ra's apparently believed that the fight was the true test, one individual against the other fighting for survival. He stood on the peak, overlooking his city. Cade's shackles were removed and he was directed to a rack of weapons. There were many variations of swords and blades there, many of which Cade was proficient with, though there wasn't a scythe in sight. He removed his shirt and turned away from the weapons.
"Take up arms," Nyssa commanded.
"I won't need one for the likes of him," Cade said.
Ra's smirked and laughed for a small moment. The humour then faded as he began to remove his robe and rings.
"I killed my first man when I was eleven, at the time I felt guilty for I had taken from him the most precious thing in this world. Life, but I also felt something else, pride, because I had taken up arms against someone who sought to do ill to my family. I realised then that what I had done was necessary, I had replaced evil with Death and that is what the league exists to do, I have taken thousands of lives since then," he explained.
"Maybe you should take that as a sign like I have," Cade said.
"Oh and what did you discern from the many people you had killed?" Ra's asked.
"That when we kill we take not just life but the potential of that life, the bad and the good, any chance of redemption people have is gone too. I realised that justice should not be the grand goal, but redemption," Cade explained.
"And do you believe there was redemption to be found in killing Sara?" Ra's asked.
"No, but if I resurrect her with your Lazarus pit then that'll be a start," Cade smirked.
Saiko popped out his claws and ran towards Cade, yelling in fury as he jumped. Cade released a yell of his own, creating an energy pillar that threw the assassins back. Only Ra's remained still as the pillar took to the sky. When the energy passed, Cade raised his hands defensively. Al Ghul's fist was already making contact with his gut. Cade felt his ribs shake from the man's punch. He slid back across the snow and aimed a punch for his opponent's face. But Ra's tilted his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the blow before kneeing Cade in the chest. He then slammed his elbow into Cade's cheek, causing him to spin around from the momentum.
'Damn it, he hits harder than a man his age should, is it the pit or is he naturally this strong?' Cade wondered.
He raised his head and saw that Ra's had gone to the weapon's rack.
"Today would mark my 611th birthday, the anniversary of my first kill," Ra's smiled as he took two scimitars from the rack. "Or is it 711th, it's been so long really, age, it's frustrating when your mind and body no longer move at the speed you expect them to!"
Cade widened his eyes as Ra's sprinted towards him, again moving faster than someone his age should. He was barely able to react in time, stepping back as Ra's swung his left sword around. The blade swept over Cade's chest, painting blood across the snow. Cade let out a grunt in pain and backhanded the assassin. Ra's thrust his feet into Cade's chest, knocking him to the floor. He then immediately jumped to his feet and thrust his blades towards Cade's arms. The blades clanged against something metallic, shocking Nyssa and Talia. Cade stood with both his hands covered in red armour, gripping the two swords. He snapped them in half and then slammed his knee into Al Ghul's chest. Ra's however quickly recovered and back flipped, kicking Cade's jaw.
"HA! Not even the detective lasted this long, he however fought with a blade and not with his primal fury. It's been a long time since anyone's forced me to fight without discipline, to fight as savagely as I had hundreds of years ago. You are strong Hunter, but not as clever as you give yourself credit for, the detective wouldn't have come here alone," Ra's explained.
"That energy blast earlier wasn't just for show, it was a signal, and I didn't come here alone," Cade retorted.
It was Ra's Al Ghul's turn to be shocked as Cade vomited out a green liquid. The liquid formed a clay like material that slowly began to expand. Then it formed arms and legs, and altered its colour to blue and red fabrics. J'onn J'onnz stretched his neck and looked towards Ra's Al Ghul with his glowing eyes.
"Don't think about where your pit is located," he said.
Ra's ran at the two heroes, yelling fury as they flew off of the mountain.
"WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!" he yelled at his daughters.
As Ra's Al Ghul predicted, halo jumpers and vertical landing air craft began to descend from the clouds. The halo teams activated the rockets on their exo suits, slowly their falls as they landed on the rooftops of the fortress. They removed their rifles and SMG's, firing into the ninjas, whom fired back. Steve landed with his team, immediately taking cover as a heavy machine gun fired on them. Several of his men were already mowed down, and the drones were making it difficult to stay in cover.
"We need someone to take out that gun emplacement at our flank," Steve said over the radio.
"We're pinned down here as it is Trevor," a soldier wearing a red cloth mask said.
Cole Cash, AKA the Grifter slid between cover, firing his twin pistols into the assassins. They made a rush towards him, only for a pair of swords to slide through their necks. A white haired girl, wearing blue armour twirled her swords around as she ran at the ninjas, deflecting their bullets. She slashed two across their chests, then stabbed another in the chest. Grifter ran out of cover, shooting six more assassins as they jumped towards the girl.
"Not bad Wilson, daddy would be proud," he said before shooting another assassin in the head.
Bane and the other elite assassins emerged from their quarters, looking at the forces attacking what was essentially their home base.
"Ra's Al Ghul has failed us," Hook said.
"Hold your tongue," Ubu snarled.
"It would hurt him," Cheshire quipped.
"Enough, fight to escape whatever way you can, this is not the end of our trade," Bane said as he removed his jacket.
He revealed a series of wires running from his mask to a device on his wrist. Bane turned the dial attached to the device and flinched as chemicals flowed into his bloodstream. His groans of pain turned to snarls of rage as his muscles expanded. He ran towards two A.R.G.U.S. soldiers, grabbing their heads and slamming them against the floor. His strength left two puddles of blood in his wake. He grabbed two more and threw one into one of the men on the rooftops. Then he slammed the other back first into his knee.
"I'm out of here," Cheshire said.
She ran into the area there was the least fighting, intending to get to one of the passageways. Suddenly an arrow flew into her path, a red arrow.
"I hope you weren't planning on leaving before we had a dance," a voice said on the nearby roof.
Cheshire looked up and grinned as she drew sais. Her path was being blocked by a super hero, though he had no powers beyond his incredible archery and hand to hand skills. He wore a red sleeveless suit with padded gloves and a domino mask covering his eyes, strangely the man also wore a baseball cap.
"Mr Harper," Cheshire curtsied.
"Its Arsenal when we're at work," the young man grinned before he released another arrow.
Cade looked down at the battle between the archer and the assassin and smiled. He was glad his Intel sharing with Green Arrow paid off. J'onn dropped him, allowing him to land into the fight. He knocked out two ninjas as he landed, kicking a sword into his hand and easily incapacitating two more opponents. Cade threw the sword, slicing through the barrel of the heavy machine gun.
"NOW MOVE OUT!" Steve yelled.
He and his men ran out of their cover, shooting RPG's into the drones and hitting the assassins with rifle fire.
"None lethal incapacitation where you can, get to the records room, secure any artefacts they have but make prisoner rescue top priority," Trevor continued to command his troops, in between shooting assassins.
"Trevor, I am relaying the location of the prisoners into your men's minds!"
"Thanks J'onn, I think," Steve groaned for a moment.
Talia landed amongst the assassins, taking a sword from one and a shotgun from the other. She threw one soldier back with a shot and beheaded another. The woman was as deadly a fighter as her father, decapitating and blowing off heads. When the shotgun was out of ammo she threw it into a soldier's head, then took out her pistol and began firing shots from that. Several bird shaped blades span towards the woman. One sliced her pistol apart, but the others she deflected. She looked up and held her sword in a high guard as her two opponents landed. Cade also looked towards them curiously, both were women with similar shaped lips and chins (a subtle and easily ignored hint of a family relation) and had almost deathly pale skin. He could tell it was make up, both were black suits, but the oldest and tallest had a red bat on her chest, red armoured boots and gloves and a black cape with a red inner lining. She wore a black cowl with red hair attached to the back. Her younger cousin or sister had gold utility pouches on her hips and wore gold boots and gloves. A gold bird symbol ran across her chest and back and her top face was covered by a gold, beak shaped cowl.
"Good to see Batman sent some help too," Cade muttered.
J'onn landed amongst the tanks and drones, lifting them up and smashing them against the ground. He threw one off of the mountain and cut a helicopter in half with his Martian vision. The Manhunter retreated back as a group of ninjas fired flame throwers at him. Suddenly, arrows flew into their backs.
"Much appreciated Cupid," J'onn projected to the red haired archer who saved him.
"That was creepy," she muttered, and then knocked back her bow.
Unknowingly she was being targeted by Nyssa. The second daughter of Ra's Al Ghul released her bow, widening her eyes as a black blur grabbed it. Her opponent landed, turning around to reveal a red haired woman in a suit with a yellow bat symbol and yellow gloves.
"Batgirl," Nyssa snarled.
"Nyssa," the young lady said formally before rushing towards the assassin.
Cade ran through the corridors of the castle, making his way to what he knew would be the Lazarus pit chamber. But first he made a stop, kicking down one of the doors. Sara's body had been led out on a gurney, wrapped in a silk blanket. He lifted up the fabric, making sure it was her before moving towards the door.
"Stop right there," Hook said from the opposite doorway.
Cade narrowed his eyes at the assassin, preparing to drop Sara if he had to. Hook fired his signature weapon, but a cloud of smoke appeared between them. The hook was sent back to its master and a man clad in white and red stepped out, brandishing a sword. He wore a templar tunic and hood over modern mesh armour. His chin was covered by a blood red mask and his arms were protected by gauntlets similar to Batman's.
"Go Redeemer, the longer you wait the further Sara Lance's soul will drift away," he said.
"Thanks," Cade nodded before taking off down the corridor.
On the battlefield, the men themselves arrived, Batman and Green Arrow swooped into the fray, punching and kicking their way through the ninjas. Green Arrow fired projectile after projectile and Batman 'flowed' between targets, performing flawless and brutal takedowns.
"So you got an invite too huh, consider this my try out for the League," Arrow smirked.
"We're not recruiting," Batman said, causing GA to drop his head in shame.
Bane suddenly landed in front of the two men, letting out a venom fuelled roar.
"Well I suppose if the league isn't recruiting...you can take him," Green Arrow grinned sheepishly as he backed away from Batman and Bane.
The Lazarus pit chamber didn't have the elegance and grandeur of the upper halls. But the underground cavern was no less wondrous. The pit at the end of the room was filled with a green liquid that would bubble occasionally. Cade didn't take the time to admire it, carrying Sara to what he hoped would resurrect her.
"Carrying a shape shifter in your body, dangerous and ingenious," he stopped and frowned as he heard Ra's behind him.
He knelt and gently placed Sara's body on the edge of the pool.
"One could call it insane as well," Cade said.
"Often the two go hand in hand, but you have accomplished something today not many men have, to have exposed me like this, to bring an army at my door and to succeed in breaking our defences is admirable," Ra's explained.
"It was superior numbers and technology that won this day, the League pales in comparison to a real trained army," Cade retorted.
"Yet still we will make them tremble before we die, unless...unless you lead us into the modern age, I am in need of an heir, the Lazarus pit resurrects once and it prolongs aging only for so long," Ra's raised his arms slightly, as if wanting to embrace Cade.
The man had a black shirt and gloves on and four swords strapped to his hips.
"The Detective has rejected my offer time and time again, Nyssa will never have a child of blood and Talia...well, old age is making me impatient," Cade narrowed his eyes, disturbed over the implication of the man's last statement. "With you leading the league of assassins into the modern age, you could save this world from chaos," Ra's Al Ghul said.
"One step towards saving this world from chaos, would be to reduce the league to ash," Cade said.
Cade raised his arms, summoning a flow of energy like water. The energy shaped itself into a pair of scythes with a chain attached to each end. Cade narrowed his eyes at the old warrior as he drew his swords.
"I see, oh my kingdom for a worthy successor, I have already plenty of worthy opponents...one I must unfortunately end today!"
Next Chapter 22: Demon's head
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, is was going for Arrow with Cupid's look and Arkham Knight (fantastic game) for Azrael's. Next chapter will be the end of the assassin's arc , who will live and who will die? will Virgil succeed in saving an Earth? will Cade save Sara Lance and stop the League? Read to find out.
Next time expect Batman and Green Arrow vs. Bane, Arsenal vs. Cheshire, Hawkfire and Batwoman vs. Talia Al Ghul, Batgirl and Cupid vs. Nyssa Al Ghul, Merlyn and Saiko Vs. Steve Trevor, Grifter and Rose Wilson, Ra's Al Ghul Vs. Cade
And Damian Wayne vs. everyone :)