The green light of the Lazarus Pit brightened the ceremonial room of the League of Assasssins, standing empty except for a single figure standing at the water's edge.
The green-cloaked figure of Ra's Al Ghul looked into its waters, a sunken-cheeked corpse looking back at him through his reflection.
The Demon's Head stepped towards the pit and removed his cloak before the doors of the hall flew open, multiple unconscious bodies flying through it.
Turning to look, he met the gaze of the Batman.
"Ah...Detective..."
The Bat advanced towards the Demon's Head.
"...to what do I owe the plea-"
A fist collided with his cheek, causing him to fall to the floor, within a second, his collar was grasped and he was pulled up to look at the Dark Knight.
"You resurrected my son!"
The Bat's voice was filled with rage.
Another fist collided with his face.
"You took his body!"
Another hit.
"Wiped his mind!"
The Bat spun and threw Ra's into one of the marble walls, cracking it.
Ra's recovered and swung for the vigilante but was dodged by the Bat's speed.
The Bat retaliated by planting his fist into Ra's gut before grabbing Ra's thinning hair and repeatedly slamming his head against the wall.
Upon the final slam, the Bat-clad vigilante let go and the injured undead assassin slid down the wall of the chamber.
"You...should...thank me...Detec-"
A kick smashed across his jaw, sending several teeth cascading into the water while his body fell sideways onto the cold chamber floor.
"His mind...wasn't my fault."
The breathing corpse was grabbed once more and was looking up at the angry Bat.
"He only remembered...the clown."
His breathing was pained.
"He wanted...to kill him...I assisted in...getting him ready."
The corpse fell backwards as the hands released semi-threw him down.
"He betrayed me and...slaughtered my assassins before...escaping."
The weakened assassin began to crawl towards the pit, desperate for its healing properties.
A hand clamping around his ankle dragged him backwards before raising him into the air.
"If you even touch another one of my family..."
"You'll kill me?"
The Demon's Head weakly laughed at the suggestion.
The laughter echoed around the chamber before the Batman spoke once more.
"Without your Pit, I have no need to kill you."
The undead assassin was thrown once more against the wall before the Bat stepped towards the Lazarus Pit, grabbing a small device from his utility belt and pressing it.
The silent hall was filled with a distinct beeping sound as the device was held out above the pit's waters.
"Alright!" The weakened ninja cried, "I understand."
The beeping got faster as the Bat crouched, closer to the water's surface.
"I won't...touch them! You have my...word."
The device was pressed once more, stopping the beeping before it was safely placed back into the utility belt as the Bat stood up straight.
Silence filled the hall once more before the deep steps of the vigilante sounded as walked past the half-dead corpse.
---
Gotham stood at early morning, the hue of the rising sun cast a deep orange light across the Gotham skyscrapers and streets. The streets were quiet with only the travelling of those foolish enough to be awake at such an early time.
The Batmobile roared through the streets of Gotham, disrupting the silence, as the Batman tapped the steering wheel anxiously.
"Something amiss, Master Wayne?" The voice of Alfred spoke.
"Just wondering how I tell Dick." He admitted, "Y/n was like his brother, he was distraught when he died."
"I believe it would be best to be direct, though I do wonder what Master Grayson's reaction would be." The butler advised, "he was terribly fond of Master Todd."
"And you, Al?"
"Master Wayne?"
"You were fond of Y/n too."
"Well, I'm certainly happy he's no longer amongst the dead, although I wish he'd walked a different path after returning."
The Bat simply hummed in response as the Batmobile turned and soared towards the end of the road, the Titan Tower in the distance.
---
When the Dark Knight entered the communal area of the Titan Tower, it was noticeably silent and empty.
The Batman walked over to the large window and looked out, the height of the tower showing him the skyline of the nearby city.
His mind raced with so many thoughts, old memories of training y/n, his first night and many of the battles he'd helped with. The criminals he'd put away. The Bat smiled briefly before his thoughts changed to what he had become now, the burning corpses, the shining ring on his hand.
The Dark Knight was only pulled out of his thoughts when the sound of a door opening nearby caught his attention.
Turning, he watched as the Titans all filtered in, they looked tired, with noticeable bags under the eyes of the younger team members.
The teams attention shifted away from their tiredness as they looked over and noticed the Bat vigilante that stood within their tower.
"Is there a situation, Bruce?" Asked Nightwing, stepping forwards to the front of the group as they approached.
"No..."
Bruce reached upwards and pulled his cowl off, causing Dick to remove his domino mask.
"...Dick...Y/n is alive."
A look of shock and disbelief spread across the groups faces as what Bruce had said registered.
"But we had a funeral, was that pretend?" Garfield asked.
"No, he was dead. But Ra's Al Ghul brought him back."
Dick looked around the communal area, his tiredness replaced with hope. A look of realisation spawned on his face before he walked over and looked upwards into the lighting area.
"He isn't here, Dick"
Bruce walked past the group and placed a hand on Dick's shoulder, causing Dick to look towards Bruce.
"Where is he then?"
"Currently, we don't know."
"We?"
"The league is searching for him-"
"The league? You're treating him as a threat?"
His voice was layered with disbelief as he pushed Bruce's hand off of his shoulder.
"Dick, he's killed more than 10 people."
A sharp gasp was heard from the Titan team as they heard this information. Each of them considering whether the happy boy they met was capable of such a thing.
"You must be lying." Starfire said, stepping forwards.
"I truly wish I was."
"There's no way that y/n would kill, Bruce." Nightwing said, stepping an inch from his face, "you've got it wrong."
"Y/n doesn't know who he is anymore!"
The sudden shout of annoyance floored the entire team. For most of them, they'd never seen the Batman get worked up before.
Dick's face faltered and he begun shaking his head.
"No, Y/n would never kill, the League has it wrong."
With those words Nightwing placed his domino mask back on and begun walking towards the exit of the communal area.
"Dick, where are you going?" The Bat asked.
"To find my brother."
---
The orange hue that bathed the Gotham City had now changed to a bright yellow as the sky brightened showing the high of the morning sky.
Y/n was left sitting on a building within Gotham, weaponless and uncertain of his next move.
The being in blue and red was a problem, a problem that he could see no way of defeating with just the power ring.
Y/n pushed himself to his feet as he looked over at the building across from him, a large screen displayed on the side.
A news programme was being played with speakers sounding out the report that a man with glasses was reading to all of the local area.
"In other news, Lex Luthor was released from police custody today after a court case. The judge presiding over the trial ruled not guilty due to an apparent lack of evidence."
The display changed to a camera on a helicopter watching as a bald and suited man entered a large building.
"Owner of the controversial scientific powerhouse Lexcorp and rumoured enemy of Metropolis' own Superman, Lex Luthor appeared in court over welfare concerns within the tests of his company, allegations of human test subjects were made. It is at this time Gotham must wonder who it is that the Police is releasing back onto its streets. Is now not a time to consider the Mayor's allowance of a Gotham-based Lexcorp building 5 years ago a failure of leadership? Only time will tell. Now onto the topic of a spate of murders around Gotham, Commisioner of the GCPD James Gordon has said..."
Y/n turned away from the broadcast, words ringing in his mind.
"...rumoured enemy of Metropolis' own Superman..."
He scanned the skyline of Gotham before seeing a large tower at it's peak. A large symbol, a golden 'L' within a green octagon with the purple letters of 'Lexcorp' beneath it.
Channeling the red ring on his hand, Y/n took off into the sky and rocketed towards the Lexcorp tower.
As he flew, only one being was on his mind.
Lex Luthor.
A/n: I have returned! It's been just over a month so many thanks for your patience! Truth is I planned to return about a week ago but it took me a bit to get back into it.
Alot of rewrites took place for this chapter cause I wasn't happy with it but I think I'm back into the swing of writing so I should be back to releasing chapters.
No set schedule since I'm taking final exams soon but I will write when I can!
- Pugg