Talon chapter 7

Chapter 7 - Battle of the League

'Life is weird,' Jason thought to himself as he walked down the hallway, following behind the Al Ghul family.

It was a few years ago that he was 'Robin', the 'Boy Wonder' and sidekick to Batman. Together, the two of them were known as 'The Dynamic Duo' and spent their nights beating criminals to a pulp. One crappy night had occurred, and Jason had died, been brought back to life and was now a bodyguard for Batman's secret child. It must have been two years since Jason was brought into the League. Jason was now seventeen, and Harry was ten. They had tried all the brainwashing techniques that Harry had told him they would; he had resisted well enough and had played along convincingly, so much so that Ra's Al Ghul himself was fairly convinced that Jason was nothing more than his lackey now.

Thankfully, they hadn't tasked him with killing anyone yet. His primary duty was to guard Harry, to ensure his success; he was given further training from some of the League members. Jason wasn't the weakest of fighters, but he considered himself to be far better than he used to be. He was currently wearing a ninja costume that was all black, apart from the torso, which was a dark red, including the attached hood that was currently covering his head. He had heard more than one person refer to him as 'Qulunsūah', a word that apparently translated to 'hood' if his guess was right. He also wore a red face mask that covered the lower part of his face, along with a pair of black goggles. He had a sword attached to his hip; he also had a pair of knives and a small selection of throwing weapons around his belt, plus a gun in a holster by his leg.

In front of him was the Al Ghul family; Talia and Nyssa were dressed the same. Both wore tight, full-body suits with protective padding on their shins, thighs, forearms and shoulders. Nyssa's suit was grey while Talia's was black. Walking between the women and a step or two behind Ra's himself was Harry, AKA Hadrian Al Ghul. He wore a ninja costume with black and gold armour on his torso, forearms and shoulders, plus his shins. He was wearing the exact same clothes as Ra's, who was also supporting a green cape and a sword at his waist.

'I'm walking with a family that could easily fuck up hundreds of lives in a day if they wanted,' Jason thought to himself, not for the first time. The collective power amongst these individuals was frankly amazing.

Eventually, the group reached the top of the building, where they headed out to a large balcony. They walked up to the edge of the balcony, and everyone stopped just before the edge, except for Ra's, who walked right up to it and placed his hands on the balcony border. He gestured for Harry to come forward. Harry dutifully walked up and stopped next to him.

"Look at them," Ra's said after a brief pause, pointing down to a training area where dozens of members of the League were training. "All of them, they are all yours." He told Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Each and every one of them will one day come to obey your commands, to do as you instruct. This is not a gift that I am delivering to you, Grandson. It is a responsibility that I am entrusting to you when you are ready to take it. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Grandfather," Harry said softly.

"This is your legacy, Hadrian," Ra's continued. "This is your inheritance. The League of Assassins. They will be yours to command, to make certain the Earth abides in natural contentment...without the abuse of man."

"Yes," Harry frowned thoughtfully. "There are many in this world with power they shouldn't have." He said, staring directly up at his Grandfather. Jason couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his face and it was thankfully covered by his mask. It was clear to him that Ra's had no idea that his grandson was including him in that sentence.

"Exactly," Ra's agreed, proving Jason right. "Such is the nature of inferior beings. But you are different, my blood, you are the son of one of the greatest warriors of our time and the grandson of the Demon's Head. You are destined for greatness, a calling far beyond the imagination of others. I-" Whatever Ra's was about to say was cut off by the sound of a familiar owl. Hedwig, Harry's trusty owl, flew down and landed on the balcony in front of Harry. She quickly began flapping her wings, clicking her beak and making all sorts of alarming noises before gesturing behind Harry with her head.

"Shit!" Harry said suddenly in an alarmed voice, before pulling the gun from out of Jason's holster and turning around. He fired it at the closed Japanese-style sliding doors that they had entered through; the bullet pierced through the door, and a scream was heard. "We're under attack!" Harry yelled just before two men burst through he doors. Each of them was dressed from head to toe in a black and grey combat suit, plus a light grey mask that covered all but their eyes. The two of them raised their guns but were quickly put down with a bullet to the head each, courtesy of Harry.

"Father," Nyssa said suddenly, before pointing out to the sky. Several helicopters were flying towards them.

"I can barely hear them, even now," Talia noted. It was a well-known fact that helicopters were loud, yet these ones had been able to sneak up on them relatively quietly.

"Not your standard equipment then. Talia, prepare our men for attack." Ra's said with narrowed eyes as Hedwig leapt onto Harry's shoulders. Ra's stared at Harry and Hedwig for a moment, a thoughtful expression appeared, but was quickly replaced with unadulterated pride. "Well done, Grandson, you have done well. But for now, you are not to be here." He said before turning to Jason. "Boy, get him to his room. Protect him."

"Master," Jason said in a raspy voice as he bowed his head obediently. He turned around and started walking quickly, with Harry following after him. Hedwig let out a pleased chirp before flying off.

"I shall accompany them," Nyssa declared to her family. "We can't take any chances with the boy."

"Do so," Ra's nodded dismissively, his eyes locked on the approaching helicopters. "Do whatever it takes to protect the boy, give your life if you must. He is my legacy, the future of our

"Thank you, Sister," Talia said gratefully, reaching over and squeezing Nysaa's hand. "Make sure he's safe."

"I will," Nyssa said sincerely before letting go and quickly following after Jason and Harry. By the time she had caught up to them, she found Jason knocking out another enemy with a vicious punch to the face, knocking him off his feet and onto his back. "Come," She said, not even blinking at the downed man as she walked past them, and the boys both quickly followed after her. "This attack is a surprise, but it could be advantageous," Nyssa said while drawing her sword. "Harry, how did you know there was an attacker there?"

"Hedwig told me," Harry said calmly, as if that was the most natural thing in the world.

"Right," Nyssa said, biting back a sigh. "Anyway, I'll have my men work on destroying the pit. We'll probably never get a chance as good as this. Jason, it's time for you and Harry to make your escape."

"Finally," Jason said in a relieved voice. There were two main factors holding him back from escaping earlier were the fact that while he had made several escape plans, not many of them were able to get him far enough away from the league without getting caught. The other reason was Harry; Jason didn't have it in him to leave Batman's son - Bruce's actual son - alone with the League. The boy needed to be with Bruce.

"I can't," Harry said firmly. "I'm not leaving mother here."

"Harry, your mother is a capable woman," Nyssa reminded him.

"Not a bulletproof one," Harry countered. "Skilled as she is, it'll only take one wrong bullet to end things. You and your men should destroy the pits. I'll find Mother and get her out of here."

"No," Nyssa shook her head. "Harry, I understand and applaud your commitment to family," She paused as they turned a corner and found two more men with guns. Nyssa's sword was up, and she had cut through the two of them in seconds and continued walking without breaking stride. "But now is not the time," She continued as their bodies dropped behind her.

"But Aunt Nyssa," Harry began, walking around the bodies.

"She's right," Jason said with a frown. So far, he had been able to avoid killing someone, but he got the feeling that he was going to see a lot of bodies today. It was also possible that he might end up killing as well today. Strangely, the idea didn't bother him as much as it once did; he was unsure if that was because of his dip in the pit or because he was just jaded by life. He was hoping it wouldn't come to actual murder, for Bruce's sake more than anything. "Harry, this is our best shot to get out."

"Then you can go," Harry told him. "I can handle myself, Jason. Aunt Nyssa, this is an opportunity that is too valuable to waste arguing with me. You need to destroy the pit, and you need to do it soon. Grandfather will likely end up using it soon and going more insane, and that's if whoever is attacking us doesn't get the pit themselves."

"Stubborn as both of your parents," Nyssa stopped in her tracks and gave him a look that was part glare, part fondness. "Jason," She said, turning to him. "I'm trusting you to get my favourite nephew out of here."

"I'm your only nephew," Harry couldn't help but remind her.

"Shut up," She told him as she reached down and kissed his forehead. "Please, please get out of here safely." She all but begged.

"They couldn't kill me if they tried," Harry told her. She smiled at him once more before turning and leaving.

"Alright, Harry, come on, let's do as your incredibly dangerous aunt says and get out of here as quickly as possible," Jason told him.

"You can leave if you want, Jason. I'm going to go and make sure my mother is not killed." Harry said, about to start walking again, when Jason stopped him by placing his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Look, I get it, really, I do," Jason said in a soft voice. "But this is our best chance to leave. We need to get out of here," He said, keeping his gaze locked on Harry, who sighed before eventually nodding.

"As you say, Jason." Harry nodded.

"Good," Jason nodded in a satisfied voice. "I wouldn't worry about your mother; she'll be fine. Come on, we've got to go, now." He said before he started walking again. "Alright, our best bet to get out is to head to the north exit and - hold up a sec," Jason turned around and saw that Harry was no longer standing there. "Oh, for fucks sake. That kid is definitely Bruce's."

(.)

"Stupid fools," Ra's thought to himself as he casually separated one of his attackers' heads from their bodies with his sword.

There had been dozens and dozens of people who attempted to attack him in the last century alone, but none of them had been courageous or stupid enough to attack him in his home. The men who had come were trained, that much was clear; he had seen several of his own men and women taken out by them, and thought they also had the element of surprise. Walking through the hallway, he intended to head down to the pit, as he needed to make sure none of these fools had reached his pit. It wasn't the first time that somebody had tried to steal his pits from him.

"You look stressed, old man." A voice called from behind him. Ra's turned around and glared at the newcomer.

A muscular figure, dressed in a black and grey bodysuit. He had an orange utility belt along with matching coloured armoured boots, gloves and shoulder pads. His head was covered by a mask; the right side of the mask was black, while the entire left side was orange. He had two swords hanging from his back and a gun holster on his leg.

"You've made a grave mistake in coming here, Slade," Ra's said in a low voice. He might have disguised his face, but he hadn't bothered hiding his voice.

"Recognised me, huh?" Slade said in an amused voice as he lifted his mask up enough to show his face. Looking exactly as Ra's remembered him, the same grey beard and dark eyes. "Good, I'd have been offended if you hadn't."

"What do you think you're doing?" Ra's demanded. "Coming back here, into my home?"

"Let's call it a hostile takeover," Slade said casually. "I think it's about time that the league falls under new management."

"Such arrogance," Ra's stared at him like he was an irritating bug. "I had such high hopes for you."

"I know," Slade growled out, pulling out one of his swords. "But then you threw me to the side! For what?! A vigilante that is stupidly trying to save a city that we both think should have been burnt to the ground a long time ago?! I was your right hand! Your best warrior! And you cast me to the side for lesser warriors!"

"Hmm, a docile lion is better than a wild dog, Slade." Ra's replied easily. "My chosen heirs have more potential than you ever had. You're just a wild dog, begging and scrapping for more than you deserve."

"And you're just an old man whose lived far longer than you had any right to!" Slade spat out. "I'm going to put an end to that!" He roared before charging at Ra's.

"Bring it, boy!" Ra's shouted before swinging his sword at Slade as the two engaged each other. They dodged, blocked and parried each other's attacks. Moving at speeds that the average person would struggle to keep up with. Slade tried to slice Ra's head off, but Ra's ducked and stabbed at Slade. His blade narrowly missed his opponent's neck. Slade capitalised and quickly knocked Ra's sword out of his hands. Ra's backstepped to avoid the following attack that Slade had aimed at his stomach.

"Die, old man!" Slade raised his sword up and brought it down, aiming to slice Ra's in half. He grunted when Ra's had actually raised his hands and caught his sword with both hands. Ra's snatched it out of his hands before following up with a kick that knocked Slade onto his back. Ra's flipped the sword around and grabbed it by the hilt, ignoring the blood dripping from his hands.

"Foolish child," Taunted Ra's as he walked over to Slade and stopped over him, the sword in his hand pointed at Slade's throat. "I've been around for hundreds and hundreds of years, I've fought and trained with the best masters in the world. What hope do you possibly have of defeating me?" Ra's finished with a grin, one that promptly vanished and was replaced with a gasp as Slade's foot shot up and kicked him between the legs. Slade dropped his leg and followed up with a mule kick to Ra's chest, shooting the older man off his feet.

"Trained for hundreds of years," Slade chuckled as he stood up. "Yet you still hadn't developed a counter for a good old kick in the dick? Now, that's just disappointing. I expected better."

(.)

"Damn it, Harry, where the hell are you?" Jason muttered as he made his way through the building. It was quickly becoming an exercise in not tripping over bodies; there were many scattered all around the building. Some from the league, some from the invading force. "I've got to find Harry soon," He thought out loud. Jason knew that he was a stubborn sort, which came with being a part of the dynamic duo; he also knew that he was extra stubborn when it came to protecting those he cared about.

He cared about Harry, not just because he was the actual son of the man that Jason looked up to, but also because the kid had been his one and only friend the last couple of years. Not to mention that he knew that if something had happened to Harry, then he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. Providing Nyssa or Talia didn't gut him first for letting their kid's favourite family member die.

"Kill the bitch!" A voice shouted up ahead.

Jason quickened his pace and turned the corner in time to find one man thrown out of one of the training rooms. He quickly rushed inside the room, and several league members were fighting the invaders. He spotted Talia jam an entire sword down someone's throat and into their stomach. She pulled a knife from the now dying body and turned around in time to spot a guy lunge at her with a knife of his own. She sidestepped his attack and plunged her weapon into his armpit before taking it out and stabbing him repeatedly in the torso before finishing with an elbow that knocked the dying man onto the floor.

Jason rushed in, tackling one invader off his feet and slamming him headfirst into a pillar. Jason quickly followed up with a harsh knee that knocked the man out. Jason jumped to his feet, rushing forward and leaping into the air, hitting another attacker wth a kick to the face before he landed and followed up with a vicious left-right punch combo into a judo throw. Another tried to attack him with a knife, but Jason redirected the knife into the man's leg. His attacker screamed in pain before Jason kicked him hard in the other leg and grabbed him by the head before hitting him with a brutal headbutt to the nose.

"Stop holding back!" Talia shouted at him before hitting another man with a spinning kick to the neck, her shin smashing into his throat. When he stumbled back, she swept his legs out from under and followed up with a hard stomp to his head.

"I'm not," Jason said, pulling out a pair of knives. He rolled under a sword attack and jammed one of his knives into the attacker's backside before grabbing the man and slamming him hard onto the ground.

"Yes, you are," Talia said, taking a staff from the wall and swinging it hard at an approaching attacker. She then jabbed one of the ends between the legs of another attacker. Once he hunched over, she brought the staff back up and slammed it hard into his head. "My beloved's training is evident in you; you train to harm but not kill. Don't show them mercy, they won't do the same to you."

"I..." Jason was cut off as one of his attackers wrapped his arms around Jason from behind, pulling him into a bear hug. Jason saw three men rushing towards him with knives in their hands. It was then that something unexpected happened.

The centre attacker stopped suddenly as blood burst out from his chest, shocking the other two enough to stop. They all stared at him as he looked down with wide eyes at the blade that had pierced his chest. A moment later, he was pulled off his feet as the blade was pulled out of his body by the rope it was attached to. The blade was pulled back to Harry, who caught it. A ten-year-old boy with a rope dart in his hands shouldn't look dangerous, yet Harry certainly did as he swung the rope-attached blade in circles.

"You guys couldn't wait until after dinner before attacking?" Harry sighed deeply as if his attacker's disruption of his schedule had genuinely offended him more than the invasion itself. One attacker tried to sneak up on Harry from behind. Before Jason or Talia could shout a warning, Harry shot his rope dart behind him without looking, causing it to pierce through the attacker's stomach. Harry pulled it out, while spinning on the spot, the blade spun around and sliced the man's throat before Harry pulled the rope, bringing the blade closer and catching it.

"Damn," Jason whispered to himself before bringing his head back and slamming it into the nose of the man holding him. After that, it took him mere seconds to send the man face-first into the floor.

"Mother," Harry said, tossing his rope dart to the side as he ran over to his mother, who had finished dealing with the last of the invaders. Harry quickly hugged her; she had no hesitation and hugged him back, as if she hadn't just murdered a great many people. "Are you okay?" Harry asked once they had separated.

"Don't worry about me, my son, I can take care of myself." She said warmly before a frown appeared on her face. "I thought you were told to -"

"I don't want to leave you," He cut her off. "Come, we can escape together."

"Yes," Talia said thoughtfully. "I suppose it would be a good idea. But first, I have to make sure my sister's little revolution doesn't get her killed."

"What?" Jason blurted out.

"You knew about that?" Harry frowned.

"Of course," Talia chuckled. "I'm the older sister, after all. It didn't take me long to work out. Though I must confess I didn't know that you were involved." She said to Harry with a questioning look.

"Found out a couple of years ago when she was just getting started." Harry shrugged.

"Hmm," Talia hummed, sounding as if she didn't know how to feel about that. "Well, either way, I'm going to go and make sure that your aunt doesn't get herself killed. Hadrian, you need to go with Jason."

"But Mother, I-"

"But nothing," She interrupted. "Hadrian, it was always my hope to bring you to meet your father. I always felt that you could benefit from his guidance, his wisdom. Go with Jason and find him. Go, I will settle matters here."

"I could help,"

"You could," She agreed. "But that is not what I want from you right now. There are few things in this world that will bring a mother peace like knowing that her son is safe from harm. Would you gift me this, at least?"

"That's just not fair," Harry huffed.

"No, it isn't," She said with an amused smile before turning her attention to Jason. "Get him out of here, please." She said softly.

"Happily, providing he doesn't pull another vanishing act, I've dealt with enough of those from Bruce," Jason said, sending a pointed look at Harry.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry said immediately before tuning back to Talia. "I'll go, but please, please be careful. I don't want to lose you."

"You won't," She assured him. "Now, go."

(.)

"Come on!" Jason said as he and Harry rushed through the building towards the nearest exit. "We're nearly there! It's the next floor down."

"I know, I lived here!" Harry replied just before they turned a corner and froze just in time to see Slade use his sword to slice Ra's head from his body.

"Shit!" Jason cursed as Ra's head dropped to the floor with his body following after him.

"Slow, sloppy," Slade took a moment to spit on his remains. "You've grown soft, weak; victory has cost you your strength. Don't worry, I'll take good care of the league while you're gone." He said before turning his attention to Harry and Jason. "You know, I dreamed of this moment, never dreamed it would be interrupted by my former student and his new dog."

"Slade," Harry glared deeply at him, staring between the man and his grandfather's body. Harry's feelings on Ra's Al Ghul were a mixed bag to say the least. In his opinion, the man had become the very thing he used to fight against; likely, he had been twisted by centuries of using the Lazarus pit. Still, knowing that the man was evil didn't change the fact that he was still his grandfather.

"Long time no see, Student," Slade smirked at him. "When last we met, I took a chance to try and convince your mother to be mine. To become my wife, to make you my son. There's still time for that, you know, it can still happen."

"Dude, killing her mother and attacking her home isn't the best sales pitch," Jason pointed out, pulling out his gun. He was about to raise it when Harry snatched it out of his hands. "What are you doing?!" Jason hissed at him.

"You haven't killed anyone yet, don't cross that line, like I have," Harry told him, staring up at him. "There's no going back. Killing damages your soul, Jason, leaves you with less of yourself every time. Start now, one day you might end up like him." He finished, gesturing to Slade.

"As a rich man in charge of the strongest group in the world, there are worse fates," Slade snorted amusedly. "You can't really preach about morality when you're a born and raised killer. You developed some sort of code while I was gone? Trying to take after your weak-ass daddy?"

"Trying to protect him from becoming another asshole like you!" Harry snapped back before suddenly aiming his gun behind him. Without looking, he fired several shots, taking down a trio of attackers that had tried to sneak up on them. Jason stared at Harry, looking between him and the dead attackers. This wasn't the first time that he had seen Harry defend himself without looking at his attackers. "I've killed, and I'll do it again out of necessity, not because I'm like you." He said, tossing the empty gun to the side.

"Oh, for God's sake," Slade let out a deep sigh as he shook his head. "This whole family has been one big letdown." He said before pulling his gun out and aiming it at the two.

"Protego!" Harry yelled. A light blue shield of light appeared in front of Harry, blocking Slade's bullet. To Slade's credit, he didn't stop firing.

"How the hell are you doing that?!" Jason blurted out as the shield withstood Slade's attacks.

"Magic," Harry grunted out before charging at Slade once his bullets had run out. Slade threw the gun at Harry, who narrowly avoided it, slamming into his face. Harry leapt at Slade, who caught him and slammed him against a wall, where he held him up by the throat.

"So you got some new tricks?" Slade stared Harry in the eye. "Don't think for a moment that you-urrrghh!" He grunted as Jason had kicked him in the side, shooting him away from Harry. Slade recovered and quickly got to his feet, pulling out his remaining sword. "You're out of your league, kid."

"You alright?" Jason asked Harry.

"Oh, don't worry about me," Harry told him, stepping between Jason and Slade. "I'm just about to show my old teacher that I'm not out of tricks." He said before he raised up his hands. Balls of flames appeared, one hovering above each hand. Harry brought his hands together, and the flames combined before shooting towards Slade.

"Oh shit!" Slade managed to get out before he found himself blasted out of a window, and he landed on his back and ended up rolling several feet before he was lying face-first on the ground. He let out a pained grunt as he forced himself to his feet, his body feeling like one large bruise. The fire had burned his arms and torso, thankfully not too badly, but he'd still need some time to deal with this injury. He looked up and immediately regretted it as a shuriken quickly struck him in the eye, sending him stumbling backwards and onto his back.

It took a lot of effort for him to be able to open his other eye and see his former Harry and Jason fighting off several of his men, a few feet away from him. Slade quickly pulled out a walkie-talkie and forced himself once more up to his feet.

"Drop the big one!" He yelled into the walkie-talkie. "On the Demon's brat, North of the building, quickly, while our guys are distracting him,"

"But Sir," A voice replied from the other side. "They'll be..."

"Just do it!" Slade roared before cutting the call.

Meanwhile, Harry leapt off Jason's shoulders and slammed his elbow down onto one of his attacker's noses before Jason followed up with a drop kick that knocked that man off of his feet and ended with Jason slamming his elbow onto the head of another attacker as he landed. Harry helped Jason to his feet, and the two quickly stood back-to-back as several more attackers arrived and surrounded them.

"Not going to lie, I like our chances here," Harry said, rolling his shoulders.

"That helicopter is getting awfully close," Jason couldn't help but note, looking up at an approaching black helicopter. Soon, everyone followed his gaze and looked up in time to see a missile shoot from the helicopter and right at them. "Shit!"

"Get down!" Harry told Jason before raising his hands. The same shield from before formed a dome around Harry and Jason just before the missile crashed into it.

Jason found himself knocked off his feet and landed harshly on his back. He groaned as he slowly got up and blinked when he saw a large collection of smoke and dust in the air. Eventually, he was able to make out the burnt and battered bodies of their attackers surrounding them. They had all been taken out by the same missile that had just tried to kill them. Jason's gaze drifted over to Harry, who was knocked unconscious and lying next to him.

"Damn," Jason whispered to himself. "What the hell are you, Harry?"

(.)

A.N: For those who are wondering, the Harry in this story is not a fan of killing, and won't do so if he has other options, but unlike Batman, he will kill if he has to like when he's in a big battle or if he's in a situation where he has to kill someone to save a life.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to leave a review.