"Arrghh… My head." Raven murmured due to the pulsating headache she woke up to as she tried crawling down the alter. Noticing she had regained consciousness, Ra's gave an instructive nod to the assassin by his side, signaling for him to pump her full of some more sedatives.

"She needs to be weak and unconscious during the extraction of the gem or else she would fight back and make the process a more difficult one." Raven was injected with some more sedative and placed upon the alter, laid in the middle of a pentagram drawn with her very own blood.

"Let us begin." Ra's commanded, proceeding with the ritual before Tom could get in his way.

….

*BOOM...BOOM...BOOM*

The sounds of destruction reverberated through the structure of the building, all the way down to the caves as Tom lashed out upon anyone who dared to stand in his way, leaving a gruesome trail of bodies at his wake.

A sudden cloud of smoke screen engulfed the air as Tom was making his way down the path which led to the cave.

The sound of arrows piecing through the air came from behind, they hit him and bounced right back in the direction they came.

He heard a grunt from the dark and smoky hallway as the arrow seamed to graze it's shooter. As the cautious assassin made his way towards Tom in the midst of the smoke, Tom appeared behind him, broke his right hand before realizing it was actually Damian as the sword fell to the ground.

Arrghhhh*

"Shut it you little prick." Tom instructed, kicking him to the ground. "You and I are going to take a little walk to your grandpa, and your betraying bitch of a mum."

"I would rather die than lead you to him, peasant." Damian replied through the pain, taking a step back as he picked up his sword and took a battle stance.

"Enough already, it's no longer entertaining to watch you get back up just to get kicked in the dirt like am some kind of bully." Tom exasperated as he watched Damian get a grip on himself and charged forward.

Tom caught Damian's sword in the pam of his hand, shattering the blade as he grabbed him by his clothing. "Like for real kid, can't you see you are of no match for me?" Tom said, raising him high into the air. "The only reason you're still alive is because your humor entertains me and someday… Just maybe, you might be of use to me." Tom added getting boxed up by reinforcements who blocked the hallway from both directions, trying their best not to shake in their boots as they knew the possibility of the kind of end Tom could deliver to each and everyone of them.

"Young Master!" One yelled out as they released smoke bombs from each side to disorient Tom.

"Unhand me you scoundrel." Damian said as he struggled against Tom, kicking and punching but none of his strikes made Tom budge even an inch.

"I don't have time for this, down we go." Tom said to Damian as he jumped off the floor and reached his hand to the ground while they descended.

The instant his hand touched the ground it made way as he drilled his way down the ground and through different layers, only coming to a stop when they dropped into an open underground space, crashing on one of the cloaked personnel present at the scene of the ritual.

"You sick maniac, are you out of your mind?" Damian yelled at Tom as he braced himself from the shock of what just happened. As he turned to stare daggers at him, when he noticed Tom staring at Ra's in a distance and with fury in his eyes.

Another cloaked figure took a spot in the empty point of the pentagram as they continued chanting the incantations for the ritual.

"Stop this Ra's, or I will put an end to this madness myself. You wouldn't live to see day break if I do so." Tom warned, standing his ground even though he knew he was susceptible to magic at the moment.

Tom's path was immediately blocked by an army of masked assassins, with Talia right behind them as the incantations continued while Ra's paid Tom no mind but focused more on the proceeding ritual.

Being that his powers were still weak at the moment, charging head on wasn't a smart idea for him because he couldn't use multiple aspects of his powers at the same time, so he needed to use an ability he could manifest and utilize with such a low percentage of control.

He focused more on condensing the air around his hand so thin, almost as solid as his reflective field, and so sharp that it cut the first person ahead of him in half.

The assassins charged forward as Tom leaped into the air, morphing and extending the condensed air into the shape of a whip as he easily dismembered the crowd but avoided Talia, as if leaving her for last.

As he closed in on Talia the incantations suddenly changed and was instantaneously recited with a faster and more intensed rhythm.

"It's time you pay the price for crossing me, you fucking bitch!" Tom said as he stepped forward while he made his way to Talia, in an attempt of claiming Talia head with his bare hand when he ossified in place.

In the midst of the arcane ceremony, Tom found himself frozen, his hand poised to strike Talia. "I'm sorry." She stood unflinchingly, whispering a haunting apology before turning away. The mystical chant shifted, and Raven, bound on an altar, contorted in agony, seemingly trapped in an internal struggle.

"Raven!" Tom's voice echoed, desperation evident. "What did you do to me?" Struggling to breath, he confronted Ra's al Ghul, questioning the strange paralysis rendering him immobile.

"You've been ensnared in a paralytic spell which would shut down your heart for five minutes, a prelude to the soul ritual," Ra's explained, revealing the ominous intent. He divested his cloak, passing his sword to a subordinate.

The chanting reversed back to the earlier one and Raven began to groan, struggle and moved her body like she was in serious pain internally but she wasn't conscious.

"Killing me will only win you the mantle you reject. I have legions who live only to see my will done, they would continue with the soul ritual and make your body my new vessel." Standing near Raven, he warned Tom.

Ignoring Ra's words, Tom's focus was pulled to Raven's torment. As Tom watched her writhe and screamed, he felt the creeping slow-down of his heartbeat, each breath a laborious endeavor. Blurred vision enveloped him, leaving only the rhythmic thud of his heart.

Amidst the darkness, Raven's scream pierced the air, drawing Tom's attention to the radiant glow of the gem on her forehead and saw as her eyes opened but were completely black, looking like the depths of an abyss. "Finally, the power of Trigon is mine, the demon shall heed to my will." Ra's al Ghul, reveling in impending power, declared the imminent subjugation of Trigon.

"Goodbye, Tom," Ra's sneered, relishing the impending victory. "Trust that I would put your vessel to appreciate use."

"Put him in the soul tomb." As Talia ordered Tom's placement in one of the coffins, his weakened mutterings revealed a desperate determination to thwart Ra's master plan.

"No, Rachel… I can't possibly lose now," Tom whispered as consciousness waned.

Attempting to lift Tom, Ra's henchmen barely caught his words. "It can't end like this… I can't let it end this way for neither of us."

An unsettling screech emanated from Tom, accompanied by a gust of wind swirling around him, repelling anyone attempting to approach.

A black vortex materialize on both sides of his scapula's, forming what appeared to be a spiraling dark energy. "What is he doing?" Ra's, perplexed, queried Talia about the phenomenon as she made an immediate retreat to her father's side.

"I don't know, but they look like some sought of wings without a definite form but spiraling dark energy," Talia responded as Tom rose from the ground, his eyes ablaze with rage and a newfound power from the depths if his desperation to save Raven and bring Ra's al Ghul to his knees as he does so.

"Arrghhh!" Tom bellowed, launching into a frenzied assault, disrupting the ritual as he randomly slammed adversaries, bashing some against the pillars and walls of the cave. Instead of his heart stopping, Tom used his powers to kick start his heart and keep it beating.

He smashed a few of them against the top ceiling of the cave, disrupting the ritual as most of them were participants of the ritual.

The grounds of the cave rumbled as the vortex like wings collided against the walls and pillars.

"His heart should have stopped beating by now, how is he still conscious?" Talia asked as they started to repeat the spell that almost had him in a dead like state.

"That is the will of a man so desperate that that he refuses to let things end just like that, he doesn't care if he had to tap into unholy powers just to see my plans fall into ruins." Ra's commented.

Due to the disruption of the ritual, the gem on Raven's head lost its glow and her pitch black eyes became shut.

"Grab the girl and let's go, at this rate he would bring this place down." while both him and Talia made a run for the surface as debris began to fall from the top of the crumbling cave, crushing a few unfortunate souls.

The last assassin alive in that section laid in a puddle of blood with his eyes wide opened as he tried to comprehend what just happened.

"All our soldiers serving at the front lines to guard the ritual and prevent any external abnormalities, suddenly died." He stared at Tom who stood in the midst of a gruesome scene that looked like it was straight out of the Mortal Kombact universe.

I didn't witness the moment they died… Even though I was watching them." The words that's played in his head as he tried to comprehend what just happened. "Before I knew it, they were dead and blood was pooling under them." Gritting his teeth as he struggled to look up at Tom in the distance as he muttered to himself.

Overwhelmed by such amount overwhelming amount if power, Tom wondered how he could draw out such power when his back was completely against the wall. In the depths of desperation, he had found power.

Looking towards the alter in the middle of his massacre, he notice Raven was gone and so was Ra's, along with Talia.

"Ra's al Ghul!!!" He yelled as the spiraling vortex bore a hole through the top of the cave and he flew right to the surface.

"Come out Ra's, give me back my girlfriend and accept punishment for daring to interfere with our lives." Tom said as he haunted for Ra's, barging upon an open space where Ra's and his army were in wait, armed and regrouped.

"I'm right here, your flashy display doesn't faze us at all." Ra's stated.

"There you are." Tom said with a maniacal smile on his face, stomping his feet on the ground as the ground swallowed every masked assassin surrounding Ra's, leaving only their heads above the ground.

"What are you going to do now that you don't have an army to protect you?" Tom asked, willing to enjoy the hunt before killing him off.

"I still have a human shield." Ra's said as he pulled a weak Raven from Talia's hands, placing a sword at her neck.

"Raven!!" Tom called out.

"The shackles on Trigon has loosen up and am too weak to hold him down for long, kill me if you have to, just make sure you don't let him have his way with things." Raven said as she understood the situation they found themselves. "I… I love you." She said through an almost teary voice, knowing Tom often made rational decisions and might kill her to save this world from her father's wrath.

"Isn't that sweet." Ra's said.

Tsk!!

Tom reacted as he gritted his teeth. He looked to his side and saw a small stone from all the ruckus he made earlier then kicked the stone, embedding it with dark energy as it moved through the air with sound breaking speed.

The stone cut through Ra's al Ghul's elbow which held the sword on Ravens neck as it almost scratched on her face but shot through her hair.

Arrgggghhh!!!*

Ra's exclaimed with agonizing pain as blood splattered all around. Tom telekinetically caught the weak Raven and pulled her into his arms, tears of relief dripping down her eyes as she clung on to his arm.

No one could approach Tom due to the fear he had instilled into their frozen hearts. His unholy power was too unpredictable and versatile, that it made their months of reckon on him seem utterly useless.

"Father…!" Talia exclaimed, rushing to her father's side as Tom had kicked another stone and took out Ra's left leg from right above his knee, leaving Ra's standing on one leg and using Talia as his support.

Talia glared daggers at Tom, biting her lower lip, trying to contain her anger as the surrounding assassins kept their stance and ready to attack, their numbers had greatly diminished, while four of them quickly worked on stopping Ra's bleeding from his arm and leg.

"Stop!" Talia ordered, noticing the devilish smile Tom had on his face the moment he saw they were wiling to put aside their fear of him to attack and it would have been another one-sided slaughter. "Do not engage him, it would just lead to further casualty on our end." She added.

"Smart choice." Tom commended. "Right from the night I encountered the League, I did my research on you, Ra's." Tom said. You would have been a valuable asset to me if we had been partners, but you choose to either have me under you or take my body." He continued.

"I kneel before no man, neither do I bow my head for anyone. Especially not to a boy like you." Ra's said, sounding like he had adapted to the pain. "You haven't won just yet, I still have so many cards and pawns at my disposals.

Laugh!*

Tom laughed in an utterly disrespectful manner. "You know, during my research on you and the League, I came across a prophesy." Tom said, taking note of Ra's expression as he looked for any subtle changes but there was none.

"The man who kills Ra's al Ghul, the Demon Head, shall be known as Al Sah-him and would take over your place as the new Ra's al Ghul." Tom pointed at himself and gave a sarcastic gasp of surprise as he continued. "I guess that's me, when I claim your head that is." He said with a sudden switch of tone.

The assassins enraged and angered by Tom's disrespect towards their leader made them shun their fears and charged at Tom, disobeying Talia's orders.

"On your knees." Tom commanded, exploiting the gravitational force in his radius as it brought every soul to their knees and unable to move. "How many of you are there? Cause' am sure I've killed hundreds of you guys already." Tom remarked as he noticed glaring at him with rage behind a blood lustful eyes.

"Goodbye Ra's, but unfortunately you bit more than you could chew this time around. On the bright side this could either be the end of the League of Assassins, or the beginning of a new era for the League." Tom said with an hint of casual sarcasm, but the disdain in his voice made it difficult to tell if he was serious or joking around.

"No… don't do this." Talia pleaded.

"Do not tarnish my name, daughter." Ra's said to Talia, stopping her from pleading with Tom. If you're waiting for me to lay at your feet begging for mercy, then you…."

Ra's was suddenly stopped half way through his speech with his mouth open as his jaw dropped.

"Finally, I thought he would never shut up." Tom said with a cold demeanor, his pupil emitting a crimson glow in the midst of the drama. "I suddenly began to feel sleepy right from the very moment he began to speak, I didn't take him for a geezer who wouldn't shut up."

"Noooooo…!!!" Talia's loud scream echoed through the chamber as the decapitated head of her father fell to the ground. His head was severed from the upper jaw, reveling the gruesome scene of having his tongue and lower jaw exposed as blood sprinkled up in the air and his body dropped to the ground.

"Grandpa!!!" Damian's voice echoed from the entrance as he ran into the chamber, but dropped on one knee as his every movement was suddenly restricted by the intense gravitational force acting on Tom's radius.

"Show some respect, brat." Tom said with an icy demeanor he increased the intensity around Damian, forcing him flat on his belly as it crater the ground beneath him.

"Young Master!!!" The league called out in unison.

"Damian!!!" Talia called out as she tried moving, but wouldn't bulge.

"Stop I beg of you.. Not him too!" She pleaded with Tom, her marital concern for Damian could be heard as she pleaded.

"Do you hate me?" Tom asked, staring him down right in his eyes filled with rage. "If you do and insist on getting revenge, then I would make an exception and fight you head on. Although I'd take my sweet time ripping you limb from limb as your mother is forced to watch your slow and agonizing death." The rage in Damian's eyes intensified as he watched Tom look down on him like the bratty kid he actually was.

"Have mercy on him please, he's just a child." Talia pleaded.

"Now why should I show mercy on this brat." Tom said as he telekinetically lifted Damian in the air, pulling towards him as he grabbed him by the throat.

"Please, I will do anything you request, just don't hurt him." Talia pleaded.

"Tom." Raven softly called out, giving a slight squeeze to his free arm.

"I'll let him live… For now." Tom said as he abruptly hurled Damian to the ground right next to his mother.

"You lost Ra's al Ghul to my invisible blade, and according to the prophesy the League shall be under my rule from this moment onward." Tom declared, slowly approaching Talia as he continued.

"You shall continue as the new Ra's al Ghul but the League shall heed to my will when I call for it. I shall be known as Al Sah-him to the members of the league and not as Tom as every member of this association serves under me, if anyone has a problem with that, speak up and I shall grant you death in the most dishonorable way possible." He said as he reached for Talia's chin, lifter her face upward as he added.

"Stay toned for further instructions." He said as he turned around, flying off with Raven in his arms as she firmly held on to him. While Ra's al Ghul's corpse including his severed head followed right behind him, a precaution against letting the League use the Lazarus pit to resurrect the immortal bastard.

"Once again you rescued me from an unfortunate faith which seems to linger around me like a curse." She uttered as they soared through the desert night, bathed in the ethereal glow of the full moon. "Thanks." She murmured, pressing a tender kiss upon his cheek.

"It's alright sweetheart, from here on you just need to focus on getting some rest and probably get some detox while you're at it, only God knows what they might have pumped into your system just to sedate you and your magic." He replied as he gracefully flew across the desert's sky.