Talon chapter 16

Chapter 16 - Robin vs Deathstroke

"All in all, not the worst workout I've ever had," Jon said in a satisfied voice as he gently landed. Taking a good look around at his handiwork, he had taken out dozens of turrets and what looked like hundreds of bad guys, complete with a few helicopters and even a tank or two. Seeing as his job appeared to be done, he was ready to contact Batman. As he lifted his hand up to his earpiece, he froze when he heard a large crash behind him. He quickly spun around to see what it was.

Or rather, who it was.

Standing a small distance away was a muscular man dressed in a black one-piece suit fitted with a mask that covered all but his mouth. He had on a silver belt along with silver gloves, shoes, shoulder pads and what looked like a silver mohawk on top of his black mask. On his chest was a silver planet, shaped like Saturn.

"Let me guess, you're the 'big gun' of this operation," Jon said knowingly.

"That's right," The man said with a smirk. "Deathstroke was wise to hire a little insurance in case someone mildly capable decided to interfere."

"Hmm," Jon snorted, amused at the less-than-subtle insult. "Yeah, well, never met an insurance company that I could trust. Tell me, who are you?"

"Who am I?" The man said with a humourless laugh. "Let me show you. I'm the guy who possesses the speed of Mercury!" He yelled before he suddenly ran forward, zooming towards Jon at a speed that would impress even the Flash. Jon quickly conjured up a green shield, but by the time it had taken form, his opponent wasn't there. A noise from behind had Jon turn his head in time to see the man pull his fist back. "The strength of Jupiter!" He roared, throwing a punch at Jon. Jon managed to redirect his shield in time; the man's attack might have possibly been slowed down by the shield, but it still broke through and struck Jon with deadly force. A shockwave exploded from the impact as Jon was sent flying back a few dozen feet. "Feel the cold ice of Pluto!" Two beams of ice burst from his hands and sped towards Jon. Thankfully, the Green Lantern managed to recover in time and raised his ring, forming a large dome-shaped shield that protected him. "You want to know who I am?!" His opponent laughed loudly as he ended his attack. "I am Planet Master!" He announced grandly.

Jon tossed the ice that had formed around his shield away as he stood up and rolled his neck a couple of times before he looked at the so-called 'Planet Master' with an unimpressed look. Sure, the man was strong, but Jon had fought stronger when he was just a rookie.

"You know," Jon said, his voice soft but still able to be heard from far away. "Pluto isn't considered to be a planet anymore." He said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"H...how dare you?!" Planet Master glared furiously at him, looking angrier than he had ever been. "You want to run that mouth? Let's see how well you're able to do that when you take me on! Now, WITNESS THE POWER OF URAN-"

"NO!"

(.)

The underground cave was dim, with only the green glow of the Lazarus Pit illuminating the captives. Talia and Nyssa were bound and bruised, but far from broken. The two men guarding them knew that, which was why their guns never strayed too far from being pointed at them. Deathstroke's instructions were clear to them: 'don't be distracted and don't let either of them out of sight for even a moment,' and they both knew better than to not listen to Deathstroke, especially when that could very well lead to their deaths. So focused that they were on their captives, they didn't even notice the other two that had snuck into the cave.

A moment later, both men found themselves pulled off their feet and yanked backwards as if an invisible force had grabbed them and pulled hard. They flew back, and an armoured hand grabbed each of their heads before slamming them face-first into the ground.

Batman looked down at the unconscious men and then back at his son, who had summoned them from across the room by simply extending his hand out. The two exchanged nods before they got up and walked over to the two sisters.

"Mother, Aunt Nyssa," Robin said in a relieved voice as he quickly got to work. He was untying his aunt since his father was already untying his mother.

"My sweet, brave boy," Talia said in a proud voice, staring at him with as much warmth as she had ever given anyone before she looked at his father. "Hello, Beloved," She said softly. "It's good to see you again." For a moment, she thought that he wouldn't respond. As she remembered, he was the quiet type. Especially when he was angry, and she wasn't stupid enough to think that he wasn't angry at her for keeping his son a secret from him, which was why she was surprised when he did speak to her.

"You raised him well," Batman said, finally finishing with her ropes. She looked away from him to look at her son, who was now hugging Nyssa.

"I suppose I did," Talia said quietly. "Still, I can't help but wonder how much better he'd be if you had been in his life earlier. I...I should have brought him to you...I should have told you about him and -"

"Yes," Batman cut her off as he helped her stand up. "And we will talk about that later."

"Of that, I have no doubt," She said, sounding almost amused, before she turned in time to catch her son, who hugged her tightly. "Hadrian, my son, your new look...it suits you well." She ruffled his hair before he stepped back and looked at her. He glared at her black eye as if it had personally offended him.

"You're hurt," He noted, looking quite upset.

"I've had worse from simply sparring with your Grandfather," She assured him with a small smile.

"Don't worry about us," Nyssa said, placing a hand on Robin's shoulder. "We've had worse and still survived. I'm sure your mother and I could have probably dealt with those two imbeciles eventually."

"We have to get out of here," Batman said before pressing two fingers into his ear. "Lantern, what's your status?"

"I'm nearly done with the outside, but I've got one last situation to deal with," Jon's voice replied via the comms. "Deathstroke brought a superpowered ally of his own. I can handle him, will be there soon."

"Come on," Batman said to the others, ending the call."We need to move."

"About that," Robin pointed across the cave. Everyone followed his gaze and saw what he was pointing to. Standing a small distance away, behind a small army of soldiers, each armed with guns, was Deathstroke.

"Sorry to interrupt the family reunion, but I think we have some business to take care of," Deathstroke said casually before he focused on Robin and let out a small chuckle. "Look at you, Hadrian. The heir to the Demon, reduced to just another boy playing dress-up."

"You're literally one of the people here who's wearing a mask," Robin reminded him. "Give up, and we'll make it painless...mostly."

"I'm the one in control here, Boy", Deathstroke replied. "The Al Ghul family, a family of warriors, of talent. It'd be such a waste. I'm not a man who constantly hands out second chances. So I'm giving you all one last chance. Step away from the sperm donor, let me kill him, and all of you take your rightful place at my side."

"We'd happily die before falling under your control," Nyssa said, looking at him like she was trying to incinerate him with pure willpower.

"And does she speak for all of you?" Deathstroke said to Robin and Talia.

"Oh, most definitely." Talia agreed at once.

"Are we going to stand here all day, or are we going to fight?" Robin asked impatiently.

(.)

"Mercury!" Jon heard Planet Master say before a silver and black streak rushed past him, hitting him across the face before spinning back around and hitting him with three vicious punches to the back and following up with a push kick that sent him flying several feet forward. Jon twisted in mid-air and managed to land on his feet, only to be shoulder-tackled to the ground. "Jupiter!" Planet Master yelled before raising his fist, but he didn't get to do much more than that since Jon hit him with a green blast from his ring that sent him flying up, up and arcing right back down, where he landed on his neck.

Jon took in a deep breath as he took a moment to centre himself. With that done, he quickly got up.

"That all you got?" Jon taunted.

"I have plenty more! More than you can handle!" Planet Master said furiously. "Mercury!" He yelled before running at Jon. This time, Jon was prepared; a green set of metal prison bars appeared instantly in front of Jon. Planet Master's eyes widened as he tried to quickly stop, but was unable to do so before he slapped himself against the bars. He stumbled back with a dazed expression on his face. Jon quickly capitalised and vanished the bars before following up with a vicious 'one-two' punch combo that knocked Planet Master onto his back.

"What's the matter? You can dish it out but can't take it?" Jon asked lightly.

Planet Master snarled. "VENUS!" A wave of shimmering heat blasted outward, warping the air and melting the metal beneath their feet. Jon countered by creating a massive lantern-forged fire door, the kind used in chemical plants. The heat splashed harmlessly off the construct.

"Next?" Jon asked, voice rising with confidence. He leapt off the ground and flew towards Planet Master at impressive speeds.

"NEPTUNE!" The panicked villain yelled out while taking a step back. Two torrents of pressurised water shot out from his hands. Jon dodged one of them with a barrel roll before creating a surfboard and riding the other one all the way over to Planet Master. The surfboard slammed right into the villain's face, knocking him backwards into a backflip that ended with a green, five-foot-tall hand slapping him in mid-air, tossing him a small distance away, where he landed face-first and rolled a good few feet. "I...you...you can't do this!" Planet Master said furiously, breathing heavily as he coughed repeatedly while trying to stand up.

"Green Lanterns can do anything," Jon told him firmly. "Like now, I can give you a chance to end this peacefully."

"No one can stop me!" Planet Master yelled furiously. "Feel the power of URANU-AARGH!" He yelped as a giant hammer crushed him. Once the hammer construct dispersed, Jon looked down at the unconscious villain.

"No," He said simply before touching his earpiece. "Batman, you there? Slight delay. Ran into their 'insurance policy.' Don't worry. Claim denied."

(.)

"Good day to you, Sir!" Robin yelled just before swinging his staff like a bat and smacking one goon right in the head, knocking him unconscious. A moment later, his mother leapt over his shoulders and drop-kicked one man in the face. As she fell to the ground, her right arm landed in a vicious elbow drop on the back of another goon's head, and she quickly rolled on top of him and pulled a handgun from the unconscious soldier's leg holster. She aimed it at a soldier that Batman was battling, and was about to fire it when Robin stopped her, placing a hand on her wrist. "No," Was all he said, calmly and quietly.

"And why not?" Talia challenged, lowering her gun and looking at him. "They are threats."

"Threats that we're more than capable of taking out without killing them," Robin countered.

"Hmm," A noise escaped from Talia's mouth, somewhat amused but also exasperated. "Your father made such a big impact on you so quickly?" She asked, not sure if she should be impressed. The boy had been raised to kill his entire life, yet a few days with Batman and he had adopted the man's code?

"This isn't about him," Robin said, absently pulling out a batarang or 'birdarang' as they were apparently called, according to Jason and Dick. Without looking, he tossed it backwards, striking a charging thug in the head, knocking him to the floor. "We've seen enough death, I don't intend to create any more unless I absolutely have to."

"A compromise?" Talia realised as she stood up and looked at him. "You've taken your father's code, but you'll not take it to the same extreme as he did."

"Take what works and make something better," Robin recited. Talia froze at that. She knew those words; they were the words her father had told her and Hadrian many, many times throughout the years. She found herself unsure how to react to her son; he hadn't abandoned everything his grandfather had taught him, nor had he taken on everything his father had told him. He would carve his own path, the best of both worlds.

"You do me proud, Hadrian," She eventually settled on saying, patting him affectionately on the shoulder before moving past him and kicking the man that Robin had previously knocked down when she saw him try to get up.

A small smile appeared on Robin's face. He looked around and took note of what was happening. His father moved like a demon possessed, moving far faster than any man his size should have a right to, taking down his opponents with swift and precise strikes. His Aunt Nyssa moved with practised ease and brutality, breaking limbs as easily as she shattered jaws. Robin's eyes narrowed when he looked past his mother as she shattered a man's kneecap with a vicious stomp. A small distance away, Deathstroke stood with a gun pointed at his mother.

'No!' Robin's body reacted to his internal thought, and he rushed forwards, pulling out a grappling gun and aiming it upwards. He fired and was yanked up into the air a second later. He aimed his hand and created a protego shield behind his mother's back in time to block a trio of bullets that had been aimed at her. Deathstroke adjusted quickly and aimed at Robin, but Robin was faster and had used his free hand to fire a wandless banishing spell that struck the gun out of Deathstroke's hand while also greatly damaging the wall behind him. Deathstroke's one remaining eye looked back at the cracked wall before he looked forward just in time for Robin to crash into him with a vicious dropkick to the chest that sent them both crashing through the wall and into darkness.

Robin's vision was quickly cut off when he found himself in nothing but darkness, but he didn't let that stop him from throwing his armoured fists at Deathstroke's face. He had managed to get a good couple of punches before they landed, with him landing on top of Deathstroke. Falling from a small height in the dark is never a good idea, nor is landing on top of an armoured mercenary, as Robin found out the hard way. Slade managed to recover from the landing quicker than Robin did and threw him off, with Robin landing harshly on his back. The younger boy quickly transitioned to his feet and stayed ready in a crouched position.

Right now, he knew that he couldn't see anything, and neither could Slade. Robin was tempted to create some light wandlessly, but didn't really want to give away his location. It was at this point that he remembered the 'Detective Vision' fitted into his mask and quickly activated it. From his point of view, everything became blue as a small pulse of white shot out, and suddenly, he could see everything. He could see Deathstroke; his skeleton was there in an orange light, and the rest of his body appeared in a semi-transparent silhouette. Robin saw Deathstroke reloading what looked to be a machine pistol.

The man fired in Robin's general direction. Robin quickly closed his eyes and turned his head so the muzzle flash didn't make his vision worse in this cave. A wandless shield formed and held against the gunfire. Once the gunfire stopped, Robin opened his eyes in time to see three suspiciously grenade-shaped objects land near his shield.

'Oh, this bodes poorly,' Was all Robin was able to think before the grenades exploded. His shield managed to hold up against the grenades, but the ceiling wall didn't. A portion of it dropped down, nearly crushing Robin, who barely managed to jump back in time. He landed on his back with the rocks from the ceiling, landing a small distance away. He took in a deep breath and looked up in time to see Deathstroke running away. "Hey!" Robin snarled as he got up. "I'm not done with you!"

(.)

Dust drifted down in slow curtains, the Lazarus Pit's sickly-green glow flickering like a dying heart. Batman, Talia, and Nyssa stood amid unconscious mercenaries, each of them breathing steady, even if it was a bit faster than normal, as if they had taken a light jog for a couple of minutes on a treadmill.

The moment Robin vanished with Deathstroke and the wall collapsed behind them, all three adults upped their fighting and made quick work of their opponents. Nyssa immediately seized a fallen soldier's weapon—only for Batman to snap a glare at her sharp enough to freeze her mid-motion.

"We're not killing anyone," he said, voice gravel-dark. Nyssa paused and looked at Talia, who gave her a small nod.

"If you're so sure," Nyssa replied dryly, tossing the weapon aside. "But I will add that it would make this faster." She pointed out.

Talia stepped toward the broken section of wall, fingertips brushing the jagged edge. "Hadrian…" Her usually perfect composure wavered—just for a moment. "He's down there. Alone."

"Not for long," Batman said. His cowl lenses narrowed, shifting through multiple vision modes. "He and Deathstroke fell into an uncharted chamber. Structure's unstable. We move now." He ordered. Nyssa snorted.

"There is no 'uncharted' when it comes to Grandfather's empire. He always knew everything there was to know about the locations of his pits."

"Knowing your surroundings was a lesson that our father had instilled in us, all of us, including Deathstroke," Talia added.

"A lesson that Deathstroke will most certainly remember," Batman said sharply. It was a good lesson, one he taught to his own students. "Which means Robin is walking into Slade's territory"

Talia's jaw tightened. "Then we change the outcome."

Batman turned to them both. "Stay close. Stay quiet. If we split up now, Slade'll isolate us the same way he just isolated Robin."

"I don't think he isolated him so much as he got tackled through a wall," Nyssa cracked her neck. "I don't need a lecture on Slade Wilson. I need a direction."

Batman paused, listening.

A faint rumble, almost lost under the drip of the Lazarus Pit, echoed from below.

"He's using explosives," Batman said. He crouched and touched the ground. His eyes hardened. "And Robin just survived at least three."

Talia inhaled sharply. "He needs us."

"No," Batman corrected, rising. "He needs us to be smart. If we rush blindly, Slade wins. And I don't lose my son to Slade Wilson. Not tonight."

Talia stared at him for a long beat, her expression softened by something rare—agreeing with him completely.

"Then lead us, Beloved."

(.)

The lower chamber yawned like a dark maw, carved out of ancient stone. A second Lazarus Pit bubbled in the centre, green light making the place visible, thankfully.

Robin's boots hit the uneven floor with barely a sound. His eyes adjusted to the eerie glow. Across the chamber, Deathstroke stood tall, mask glinting against the green light. A staff appeared in his hands as if materialising from the shadows themselves.

"You had a chance to run, and you didn't take it?" Slade's voice was low, lethal, and calm. "So much like your grandfather in so many ways, but he at least knew when to back down from a fight. Is that bravery you're supporting? Or stupidity?"

"I get it from my father," Robin replied, staff in hand, shoulders squared.

"You barely know him," Slade said softly. "What has he ever done for you? I trained you kid, I taught you damn near everything you know."

"You'd be surprised how much I know," Robin said, the chuckle that came out of his mouth was not one of amusement. "As for my father, I don't know him. But I know he's a man who will always choose to do what's right over what's easy, and that makes him better than you."

The two circled the pit, each step deliberate, each movement measured. A bubble of heat radiated from the pit, and the air hummed with the magic-infused energy still lingering in the chamber. Robin knew that he couldn't underestimate Slade; this fight needed his full focus and all of his skills and then some. He knew that Slade wouldn't be underestimating him much either, not after the previous fights. He could tell simply from the armour that Slade now wore, a simple fire blast wouldn't take him out.

Without warning, Slade lunged. The clash of weapons rang out—a metallic, echoing note that ricocheted through the cavern. Neither of them had been expecting to end the fight with their first attack, as evidenced when they quickly kept attacking, their weapons moving so fast they almost looked like a blur. Robin ducked a swing, his reflexes a fraction of a second ahead; he countered with a horizontal sweep that Slade easily blocked.

"You've grown," Slade remarked, the words almost casual, even as he pressed forward, pushing Robin back. "But you're predictable, weak."

"Says the man who got his ass kicked by me," Robin replied through gritted teeth. "I've got enough tricks for you and then some."

Their weapons collided again and again. Robin avoided using fancy manoeuvres, keeping everything tight, quick and efficient. Slade answered with precision strikes, each blow designed to test Robin's stamina and patience. The vibrations from each strike shook Robin's arms so much that it was becoming hard to even hold the staff.

A sudden kick from Slade sent Robin skidding across the stone floor. Robin rolled and came up, staff whipping into a spinning strike that Slade barely deflected. The two locked eyes, both panting lightly, the intensity of the fight mirrored in the glimmering pit light.

Slade feinted, ducking under a high sweep, then swung low. Robin jumped back—but the tip of Slade's staff nicked his torso, making him stumble back. Pain flared, but he pressed on, spinning back into a strike that sent Slade deflected. Slade thrust his staff at Robin's face, Robin deflected the attack, but his own counter-attack was quickly back.

"You're holding back," Slade growled, almost amused. "What's the matter? I thought you had plenty of tricks left."

"I don't need those tricks," Robin said with narrowed eyes. "You went after my family, you hurt my mother. No more tricks, this is personal now."

"Oh yeah?" Slade smiled from under the mask. "Bring it, kid."

They clashed again, the staffs slamming together mid-air, sparks flying in arcs. Robin ended up being pushed back, with him barely stopping near the edge of the Lazarus Pit. Slade followed immediately, a second swing aiming for Robin's head. Robin barely deflected, the force rattling his grip.

Then, Slade shifted. The staff was tossed away quickly. In its place: a sleek, razor-sharp sword that Slade had pulled out. The blade sliced through the air, narrowly avoiding taking off Robin's head.

Robin froze for the briefest instant—then lunged, staff striking out as he tried to adapt to the change in weapon. Slade feinted an attack, his sword cut through the air and changed directions at the last second, narrowly missing Robin's torso. The next few minutes became a blur for the newest addition to the Bat family. He'd like to believe that he had everything under control; he would have liked to tell everyone if he came back home that it was easy.

It wasn't.

Robin's mission shifted into simply staying alive long enough to find a way out, as it often did whenever he had an adventure. Slade took up every bit of Robin's focus; he couldn't muster the intent or energy to try a spell. The fight developed very quickly into a very lethal game of chess. Overhead strike to the head, opponent counters with a raised block. Sword thrust at face, opponent closes distance and goes for legs.

Strike.

Counter.

Swing.

Block.

Stab.

Parry.

Deflect.

Thurst.

Robin couldn't tell how long the fight had been going on. Minutes? Hours? He genuinely couldn't tell anymore. Slade might not be the biggest fan of Ra's Al Ghul, but he had certainly taken many of the man's lessons to heart, as evidenced by the way he fought. The fight was relentless. Sweat stung Robin's eyes, and he could hear Slade's breathing through the mask—steady, controlled, merciless. Every swing, thrust, and strike carried the weight of years of training; every block Robin made was born from instinct and the combined stubbornness of the Potter and Wayne families.

Slade pressed his advantage, forcing Robin back toward the pit. A high slash barely missed Robin's shoulder. Robin's mind raced. He needed one opening. One perfect strike.

He shortened his staff with a swift motion, ducked a sword strike to the head and tossed the staff. He bounced it off a rock—Nightwing-style. The staff ricocheted off of it and struck Slade across the back of his head, sending the man forward into a spinning back kick to the face from Robin that had the man nearly stumble into the pit. Slade and Robin both knew the side effects of the pit, knew the madness that it could bring, especially for someone unprepared for it; neither wanted to go in.

Slade spun violently, ready to counterattack attack but Robin rushed at him, his staff back in his hand. It extended to full length, seeming to hum with lethal intent. Robin drove the staff down in a vicious, crushing arc. The strike connected squarely with Slade's helmet, sending the mercenary sprawling across the stone floor. He tried to get up, but Robin had closed the distance, smacking Slade's weapon out of his hand. The sword clattered uselessly against the cavern wall before Robin jabbed him in the head with one end of his staff

Slade lay there, chest heaving, the green glow of the pit reflecting off his mask. Robin stood over him, staff at the ready, eyes cold and unyielding.

"I… told you…" Robin said, voice steady. "I don't need my abilities for this fight."

"So...you won," Slade said with a bitter chuckle. One hand reached up, his fingers shook as he took his damaged helmet off and looked up at Robin. His one eye was covered with an eye-patch, and a small part of his face had a leftover burn mark from their first encounter. "I'm down, kid. It's time. Follow the teachings of your grandfather, of the league, of your mother, of Cobra Kai and every man and woman with a single functional brain cell. Do as I taught you. End it." He said, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. He awaited his final blow, staying still until a clicking sound echoed throughout the cave. Slade's eyes shot open, and he looked up at Robin, who had put his staff away.

"I'm not killing you," Robin said, his voice heavy, his eyes burning with intensity. "Even if I really want to."

"You really should," Slade advised him, sounding as genuine as ever.

"I'm sick and tired of people who don't want to offer this world anything more than death. My family will be here soon, you can't take all of us. Surrender."

"You're a bigger fool than I thought," Slade sneered. His leg shot out, knocking Robin his feet. By the time the younger boy looked up, Slade had a large rock in his hand. The man raised it up over his head, ready to smash Robin's head with it.

"ENOUGH!" Robin roared, a banishing spell burst from both hands. The blast didn't connect fully with Slade, who had tried to move out of the way when he saw Robin raise his hands, but it had clipped his chest. Slade shot across the room, slamming into the walls behind him while the rest of the blast hit the ceiling. Large rocks, some even bigger than Robin, dropped from the ceiling. Robin rolled out of the way as one nearly crushed him. He looked across the room and saw Slade's hand poking out of what looked to be a large pile of rocks. He had been crushed under them.

"Robin!" A voice shouted. Robin spun around in time to see a wall burst open. Inside a green sphere stood his parents, his aunt, Jon Stewart and lying next to them in green shackles and chains was an unconscious man in a planet-themed outfit. Robin wanted to ask about that, he really did, but with the now crumbling cave, he decided to forget about it and quickly rushed forward, leaping into the sphere when a hole opened up for him.

"My son!" Talia quickly pulled him into a hug as the sphere closed behind him.

"Hold on tight!" Jon said before they all shot up, tearing through Earth and eventually metal before they reached the sky, hovering above the oil rig. "Everyone okay? Kid?"

"I'm fine," Robin sighed deeply as he looked down at the oil rig. He looked up at his mother and father. "I tried to spare him," He said softly.

"That's more than he deserves," Talia said at once, pulling him into a hug.

"Son," Batman's voice cut through their moment. Talia released him, and he looked up at his father. Batman placed a hand on his shoulder. "Robin. You did good in there," He said softly. "I appreciate you trying."

"We have to do what's right, not what's easy," Robin said, as firm as he could.

"You raised him well," Batman told Talia.

"I raised him to fight. What he's showing now is all him." She said as Nyssa knelt down and began looking Robin over.

"This is going to take some time to clean up," Jon said as they landed. He got rid of the sphere. Letting them touch the ground. "You guys finish up your...whatever this is...I'm going to go secure astrology boy over here and organise a clean-up." He said before flying off with Planet Master floating behind him in chains.

"Hmm," Nyssa looked up after having decided that her nephew wasn't going to die in the next few minutes. "I want one of those rings."

"Same," Robin agreed. "Now, what are you guys going to do, now?"

"There's still work left to do," Talia said with a deep sigh. "Our men will be on the way here, looking for us. Better to intercept them before the League of Shadows ends up meeting the Justice League."

"Yeah," Nyssa agreed. "I don't see that going well in our favour. We need them, for now at least."

"Father still has a few pits left to destroy. After that, we need to make a decision on how to proceed."

"I can help with the pits," Batman offered.

"Thank you, Beloved, but no," Talia refused. "You're needed in that city of yours, my son needs you more than I do."

"I could go with you," Robin said, looking up at them.

"You could," Talia nodded. "But you shouldn't. I've often wondered what would become of you if I were the right person to raise you. Seeing you now, I can see that meeting your father was the best thing possible for you. You have a good heart, Hadrian. With him, you could be better than I could ever make you."

"I'll take care of him," Batman vowed. She gave him a grateful nod before looking back at Robin.

"I will see you again, my love," Talia leaned down and kissed his forehead, before pressing her own against his. "Never forget who you are, remember that as you grow into who you were meant to be."