Ascension 2

Chapter Fifteen: Nightwing Begins Part Seven.

Batman could tell that they were the most elite of the League of Assassins, led by the monster of a man known as Ubu.

"Make sure he does not reach the train, the master will not be pleased if he reaches that point!" Ubu growled as he cracked his knuckles.

The Dark Knight shook his head, he planned his next move. They closed in on him.

They jumped up to attack him, knocking him back onto the ground. He flew to the ground and just barely managed to avoid being stabbed with a dagger.

It was much different being out there in the field than it was training, that was a lesson that was pounded in his head by his instructors and reinforced here and now. He crouched down and blinded one of his enemies with a flash bang.

The Dark Knight sprung up over his head and cracked his foot down across the back of the neck of one of his enemies. He kept moving, never once breaking his attacks, knowing that if he had let up, he would be in trouble.

Batman was hoisted up by the throat by Ubu. The large man hurled Batman against a stake of crates.

"You're not so tough," Ubu grunted as he tried to stomp Batman from beneath his foot where he thought that whelp belonged.

Batman blocked the ankle to use the leverage. There was a huge crack as the Detective managed to cause Ubu to stagger back.

The sharp razor blades stabbed towards his costume but he repelled up into the rafters to avoid being sliced to ribbons.

"GET HIM, STOP HIM!" Ubu yelled and Batman was plucked down from the ceiling. He grabbed them and flipped them onto the ground.

He circled them, carefully trying to make his next move but he found himself slammed in the back of the head by a rapid fire force.

He pressed a detonator in his glove and a loud explosion went off, causing debris to fly. Batman pushed himself up and hurled a few smoke bombs at his adversaries. They were blinded, their eyes stinging from the brutal attacks.

Batman was almost to the edge of the tunnel but they fought their way through the debris, he was not going to be able to slip away that easily. Not that what he was dealing with was easy at the slightest. He felt a pair of hands grab his but he jabbed his enemy in the wrist, cracked his elbow around, and hurled him into the wall.

One grapnel later and Batman was above his head. He switched directions and the Dark Knight continued to move forward.

"I'll get him, move!" Ubu growled as he grabbed Batman around the legs and pushed him down off of his perch.

He drilled his elbow into the ribs of Batman but the Detective was ready for him. There was an explosion as several bricks were loosened. They sent cinderblocks flying, smacking into the back of Ubu's head. This served to knock the man unconscious and Batman felt a bit of warm blood trickle from his mouth. He nearly collapsed at the edge of the entrance but kept his head up straight.

When he fell down to the ground, Batman took a few seconds and he struggled to get himself up to his feet. He pressed his hand against the side of his ribs and felt how tender that he was. He grimaced but he had to keep moving. No matter what, he had to reach his destination.

After making a courtesy check to ensure that the members of the League of Shadows were not looming in the shadows, Batman saw that he was alone. He nodded his head, taking another step as he looked around for Ra's Al Ghul.

Much to his agitation, the Demon Head was gone. He and several more of his men were on the train. Batman knew that he had to catch a train but the Elite Guard and Ubu did their jobs, they kept him from reaching the train and thus reaching his destination. He walked forward and winced at his tender bruised ribs.

It was just another day's work and he could hear the sound of the train getting away from him. The Dark Knight could hear it chugging away from them and he staggered a bit more, trying to follow the train. He was about ready to drop to one knee and he violently hacked. It almost felt like he was hacking up pieces of his lungs yet he had to move on.

Kara was sitting back for a nice relaxing evening at home, dressed in a see through bathrobe that strained against her nice curves. The blonde offered a smile as she turned her head and peered over her shoulder. She was not the only one there, Diana, Karen, Faora, Barbara, and Pamela all joined her, relaxing in the comfort of the Penthouse sitting area.

"Dad wants me to hang out here for a while, after all of the insanity that's happened over the past couple of nights," Barbara informed them as she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "I don't know, he seems to think that I'll be a lot safer that way."

"Maybe," Pamela commented although she would have to agree with Gordon, it was going to be a lot safer in here, then out there.

Karen shook her head and said the one thing that had been on the minds of everyone else. "This has been a weird fucking week."

'Amen to that,' Amanda agreed as she shook her head. She was currently upstairs but she was coming down in a second. Emily was sitting in dining room as was Jaime, Lily, and Rose. Harry had left after the party, although given that Ra's Al Ghul guy, he did look a little shifty, so one might think that Harry would find out more about what he was up to soon.

Kara watched, wondering if the never ending stream of commercials would end. She tapped her foot against the ground to the latest repetitive jingle that rang through her ears. It was kind of getting absurd with how often that it was playing.

"Finally," Faora remarked, she suspected that they should all watch television a lot less. That being said, the commercials were repetitive and extremely annoying.

"Hello Megan has been interrupted by a special news bulletin. This is Jack Ryder on the scene where chaos has gripped Gotham City."

'Must be Tuesday,' Zatanna thought to herself blandly.

'Actually I think that it might be something worse,' Lily thought as she stepped into the room. The redhead threw her hair out from in front of her face.

'Oh worse than….well that's not good,' Hermione thought as she was able to switch on the television in the library. The news that something chaotic even by the standards of Gotham had come up had done a remarkable job in pulling her away from her books and studies. The brunette bookworm stood in rapt anticipation.

'What the hell is going on?' Ginny asked.

'Well, we're about to find out, aren't we?' Lucretia remarked patiently, although she wondered how much that this could affect them from across the pond. Still the seriousness of the situation was causing a panic.

"PANIC HAS SWARMED ALL OVER GOTHAM CITY!" Ryder yelled at the top of his lungs as there was static and there was a reason why he had to shout, as there was the stampeding of people all around him. His hand clenched together, as he held the microphone steady. He spoke, not quite at a full bodied shout but still loud enough where he could have gotten his point across. "Symptoms have infected many in the city, something that was extremely similar that the affliction of one Carmine Falcone."

'Oh boy, that can't be good,' Kara thought to herself as she looked at Faora who stared at the television scream in numb shock.

"Something has been released from a train that has just left Gotham City Metro Station," Ryder continued as he tried to catch his breath. It seemed like there were three or four people talking in his ear piece at once but he remained calm and professional on the air, even though it was difficult for him to keep his head off. "We don't know the exact details but the GCPD have been unable to track the train."

'Harry?' Diana thought to him, wanting to know if he found out anything.

'Sorry, on a mission, talk to you later, everything is in position though,' Harry thought as he was getting closer to getting his hands on the person that he had been after for days now. He could almost taste it. 'If I need help, I'll be back.'

'Well that was pretty much what it was,' Donna commented as she smiled in amusement although she shook her head.

Amanda was confused and decided to bring up one point that was bugging the ever living hell out of her. 'So….why doesn't he….deploy it?'

'I'm sure Harry has his reasons,' Kara replied, although she wondered how good they were. She was a damn slight bit curious herself as to why Harry was waiting around. Then again, since she knew Har-Zod well, she was pretty sure it was a good reason.

"The city's turning into a war zone by the looks of things," Karen stated as she peered over.

"Things are breaking down and in the center of the chaos….Vicki Vale….Vicki are you there?" Jack yelled as he managed to get out of harm's way, just in time for the microphone cord to be ripped out of his hand and said microphone going flying, nearly smacking his camera man in the face.

There was a pause as the group waited, on pins and needles before Amanda asked the question to the group that had been bothering the ever living shit out of her.

'So why doesn't he deploy it?' Amanda thought to them all once again.

Faora was the one who was best equipped to answer such a question. 'All of them are connected, everything is connected, once everything goes off, he can deploy the countermeasures. If he deploys them too soon, than everything is going to be messed okay, so he needs for the maximum impact to ensure that everything turns out as it should be.'

'Okay….so…'

'The device that is controlling the explosions needs to be negated,' Karen told the group. 'As long as the toxins are being pumped into the city, then the counter measures will be essentially useless.'

'That makes sense to me, I guess,' Amanda thought as she racked it over in her mind.

'It's Harry, he has a plan, trust me,' Kara added as she projected a warm thought towards the younger girl.

'Well, yes, it's Harry, naturally,' Amanda said blandly.

"This is….are we on….this is Vicki Vale….reporting from Downtime Gotham….OH MY GOD!"

A woman walked into the scene, the camera was flickering in and out, which meant that it was extremely difficult to get a visual on anything. The woman's blonde hair was in disarray, being pushed out of her face. She had vibrant blue eyes that shined out from the cameo, although they had a sense of disturbance in them right now. She was wearing a black button up jacket and dress pants, with black gloves and there was a thunderous explosion that could be heard in every direction.

"THE WORLD HAS SUBMERGED INTO CHAOS!"

Kara wondered if the cable was about to be knocked out.

"Out of the way, move it, move it, move it, MOVE!"

Barbara recognized her father's voice and realized that he was right in the thick of things. Her nerves were escalating to a fever pitch and she placed her hand on the side of her head, trying to brush her red hair away from her eyes.

"It's going to be okay," Kara whispered although she could say that she was a bit anxious about this situation.

"I know, he can handle himself, it's just….well you know," Barbara commented as she trailed off rather lamely.

"Yeah, I know," Kara agreed as she placed her arm around the redhead.

"I'd wish we'd be able to get a clearer visual and the bond….Harry must be focused, I don't think I can get a lock on him," Diana stated as she closed her eyes.

"Well we need to accept that there are going to be situations where he has to shut down access to himself, we have no reason to panic just yet," Faora told them evenly and honestly.

They would have to agree and have faith.

It was eerily calm from where Harry was standing but he could sense the mood might change extremely quickly.

He was standing in the Wayne Tower, the Central Hub of Gotham City. From what he found out regarding the layout of the city was that if anything happened to this place, the entire utility system of Gotham City would be in trouble.

That was not going to happen, not on his way. Green eyes burned bright as he watched for them. He knew that they would show up here. It was too perfect for them, the opportunity to breed chaos.

He had his finger on the trigger to set off the countermeasure just yet before it was time because things would get extremely ugly really quick.

'Not yet,' he reminded himself.

The sounds of vans approaching were heard and Harry stood, wondering if this was the signal that he waited for.

"Move, quickly, before anyone catches up with us."

The five converted delivery vans pulled up and Zombie exited the nicest looking of the five converted vans, with a group of what Harry suspected was his best men, a squad of about eight. The other vans had squads of eight men as well, all of them were armored and carrying a huge duffle bag. They weren't small guys either, which meant that it was intriguing that they were lugging all of the weight around.

Harry tried to get a clearer visual without really being seen, because he knew that if he was seen, it would be game over for him.

They were straining hard underneath the weight and Harry was sure that he heard a shoulder muscle rip slightly. However, it was hard to tell. He could see Talia standing there in the shadows as way, overseeing the transfer along with Zombie.

He was getting so close.

"When is the Great One meeting us?" Zombie asked, impatience tripping from his tone.

"Ra's Al Ghul meets you on his own time table, never forget that," Talia told him in a voice that indicated that she was insulted by breathing the same air that he was. "Split up, you know the plan."

Five groups became three and Harry waited with bated breath to see which way they would go. He blended into his surroundings and they did not look up. Not that they would see him from where he was standing but he did not want to take any chances.

Group number one split off and they were making their way down to the basement. He was beginning to see that this was a multi-pronged attack and the green eyes of the wizard followed them. He knew that he had to keep an eye on where the others were heading before he made his move.

Group number two appeared to be heading to the very top floor. Which cemented in Harry's mind that this was going to be hit in three separate locations.

'They're accounting for Batman, they're accounting for me, they're not accounting for a third person,' Harry thought to himself.

The third group joined Talia and Zombie and made their way to the top level. Harry ensured that he kept his eyes locked onto them, never losing track of where they were going.

Three sets of people were normally a trouble for some people but it was not a trouble for Har-Zod. He closed his eyes and split off two dupes.

The first dupe made its way down to the basement level, sticking close to that group. It was not going to let them out of his sight, no matter what.

The second dupe, well he was going for a path that was closer to the higher up variety. He was not going to let his sights waver on them as well.

Harry, meanwhile, had his eyes on a bigger prize. He was close to solving this entire mess. They escaped him one night but now he would have his hands on him.

The main Harry, the prime model, had a smirk on his face.

Tonight, he would have them, he would win, no question about it.

Batman rushed onto the train, picking up the pace. He was a bit winded from the battle with Ubu but he pushed himself forward and kept running.

A guard dropped down in front of him and tried to deck him.

Batman lifted his head and blocked a punch and then he sent the guard flying backwards. The guard was taken down like he was nothing.

Three more were near but Batman pulled himself on the top of the luggage rack. He waited in anticipation as the gaggle of guards searched around, trying to get a fix on him.

He activated a decoy explosion which caused two more of the guards to rush forward. The explosive gel might have been crude but never the less, it did the trick.

The trick was that he was able to pick off the lone guard, picking him up and slamming his head against the metal.

Two were down, two to go, with the Demon Head really close in his cross hairs. He wondered if it would be considered old hat to say that the Demon Head was so close that he could taste him but that was never the less an accurate statement.

"Hey, he's done, man…."

Batman grabbed him and pulled him into the next room and there was a loud sound of thumping in the shadows.

The guard rushed forward, pulling out a sword as he stabbed at the curtains, slashing at them when he heard something stir.

He pulled back the curtain and found that there was nothing behind it. He raised an eyebrow, abject confusion on his face.

Right before Batman's feet stepped on his face. His weapon was disarmed and the Detective concluded by ramming his elbow down into the side of his enemy's head. Batman flipped him down and punched him in the back of the head, causing his nose to shatter and blood to spill everywhere.

Batman picked up the communication device that one of the thugs had dropped. It allowed him to hack inside their communication link.

"The old man at Wayne Manor is putting up quite a fight….MAN DOWN!"

Bruce would have smiled had he not been so serious. He suspected Alfred would have put up quite a fight although it did not really surprise him that Wayne Manor was attacked. The Detective slinked into the shadows, as he tried to pick up more on the communication link.

He made sure that there were no more guards coming.

Batman could hear the gunshots over the communication link and more men dropping down. While he was not too keen on guns, his butler….well that was another matter entirely.

He might have wanted to have those ribs checked out and he was walking with the slightest limp but pain was something that he learned to live with. It was ingrained in his mind that he had to keep forcing his body to move forward.

"So we meet face to face, Detective."

Batman stepped out of the shadows and saw Ra's Al Ghul standing before him in the life. His face was fixed into an expression of chilling calm.

"You have learned your lessons well, but there is one final one that you should understand," Ra's commented as he charged forward, sword drawn, with speed and agility that men a fraction of his age were not even capable.

The sword metal clung against the edge of the wall and Ra's turned around, as Batman held up the blood stained sword that he had taken from one of the guards on the ground.

"What are you up to?" he demanded.

"It's quite simple if you learn to read between the lines, we're not so different, we both wish to meet this city, this world, a better place," Ra's told him as he dove in and the swords clung together. Despite Batman being much younger, Ra's was skilled and he nailed Batman in the knee, noticing his limp and making it worse. "It's just, you go along with your mission crudely, while I offer a more permanent solution to the problem."

"Your solution is madness," Batman growled as he blinded Ra's temporarily with a flash bang and repelled to the ceiling to avoid his next attack.

"Madness is often trying to redeem what cannot be redeemed, even when the government is corrupted, nasty, a disease, an infection that poisons all of society," Ra's stated as he knocked Batman out of air and held the sword to his throat. Batman struggled against the pressing grip of cold steal. "Any time, I could cut the cancer out but it could spread. I wish to change that."

"You wish to…."

Batman kicked Ra's in the jaw and managed to disarm him of his sword. He thought that he was in the clear but Ra's had a second sword which he sliced the side of Batman's face with.

Blood dripped to the ground.

"You have failed to learn your lessons properly, Detective," Ra's whispered as he slammed him into the ribs with an elbow and grabbed the other sword, crossing them in an "X" inches away from slicing Batman's throat. "You continue to make the same mistakes, you fail to learn, therefore all you've learned to do is to fail."

"I've learned more than you think," Batman rasped and with that word, the luggage rack above their heads exploded.

Ra's was caught off guard and Batman slammed him into a huge piece of luggage that dropped. He pulled one of the swords and swung it but Ra's blocked. The clang of metal resounded and sparks flew as the train continued on its destination.

The two of them fought each other, neither giving the other any quarter. They were not going to back down. In some ways, they were extremely similar and very stubborn.

James Gordon had the barricade set up but there was something that told him that no matter what he did, he would not be able to keep them back for long. Especially if any of his fellow officers got infected, than it was game over.

"Toe the line, behind it, make sure no one gets by here now!" Gordon ordered as he placed his hand on the top of his head. "VALE, I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT OF THE AREA!"

Vicki Vale, being fearless and bold, and like many reporters, had no sense of her own self-preservation stood there with wide eyes. She watched the progress of the fires that were erupting on Gotham City. She had not been fortunate enough to report on anything this insane, so this was a real trial by fire.

"Gordon, they're coming this…."

The young officer never had a moment to say anything, for he was trampled. Several feet stepped on his body and he gave a few blood curdling screams before he said no more.

"Tranquilizer darts at the ready, snipers at the ready, don't shoot to kill unless…"

Gordon was hurled over the barricade by one of the rabid Gotham City citizens. He could see something in his eyes, something horrifying.

"Vicki, maybe we should get out of here now," her cameraman told her as he tried to grab her around the sleeve of the shirt.

However, the cameraman was clonked in the back of the head with a brick. Vicki screamed as she saw him go down to the ground, not moving, not responsive.

Vicki's scream alerted one of the brutish figures. He was staggering around. She managed to pick up the cameraman's camera and shatter it over the head of the approaching figure with all of the strength that she could muster.

The man walked towards her and kept walking through the fire which made Vicki wonder if he was on LSD or something. The man kept walking and she reached into her purse, to grab a can of pepper spray, but she was grabbed around the throat and hurled down into the pavement.

Her purse went flying into the chaos, likely never to be seen again as the smell of smoldering debris filled the air. She nearly gagged on the putrid smell of piss and ash, along with brimstone as the man grabbed her by the hair.

She struggled but his strength was now enhanced several other times by what was happening. She was kicking and furiously trying to scratch her way out but she was being dragged off out of the way by the hair. The brute was making like a caveman and it seemed like no matter what she tried to do, she could not escape his grip.

"LET ME GO!" Vicki yelled as she tried to push her way out of the grip but there was no way that she could do.

Gordon managed to sedate two of them but he saw the reporter being dragged off. He sighed, but he knew what he had to do.

It was all in the day's work. He rushed over the pile of rocks and dove at the brutish figure.

He slammed the infected onto the ground. He kept struggling but Gordon had a stun gun which he zapped the infected with twice.

"Get down!" Gordon yelled as he dragged Vicki off to the side and there were three more of them but they were sluggish and slammed against the side of a police car, trying to get to the two.

Vicki managed to have a backup camera, all good reporters should have one on them at all times and while she did not necessary need a camera man, it did make her life a lot easier. Still, with shaky hands, she managed to manipulate the camera through the broken windshield of the overturned ring of cars that made the makeshift barricade. The street was cracked and there was broken glass laying on it.

"They shouldn't be able to get through," Gordon muttered as he loaded his gun. He did not have that much left, so he should make his shots count. Gotham City was essentially hell on Earth, even more so than usual.

Vicki could feel a chilling breeze that she was not sure whether or not it had anything to do with the situation that was presenting itself in Gotham City. She was pretty sure that she had just stumbled upon the story of the century.

Whether or not she would live long enough to cover it, that was another matter entirely. For all she knew, the next story that could be reported would be her own obituary.

Still she would have liked to see that Summer Gleeson trying to get out of her in the middle of this chaos, with all of her puff pieces.

There was a thump as one of the men looked at her, wide eyed. There was a stampede of footsteps and she could have sworn that things were not improving. Some of the less experienced police were dragged off into the shadows, although others struggled to keep fighting.

Vicki had her hand on a tire iron that was left on the ground as she steadied her camera. She had no idea how much good that was going to get her.

"I'm not going to mince words, Vale, the next time we blink, could be the last time," Gordon whispered but he had no intention on that happening.

Vicki was unblinking and fearless with her arms folded as they were caught in the middle of Ground Zero right in Gotham City.

It was go time, as the group on the bottom floor was walking around.

"Just do what the guy says and we'll be able to get this done tonight," one of the men told him.

"So, what's the plan?"

"The last person who said that got his tongue cut out for being so direct," one of the men warned him.

"There's something there," the man grumbled as he took a step forward but nothing except for some vermin. "Rats."

"Well with a place this old, it's not a surprise…."

"Keep up, hold it up, don't you dare drop it, or we'll be dropped," one of the men whispered as his shoulder slightly strained against the weight of the duffle bag.

Harry watched them, a calm expression on his face. He kept watching them as he did a head count of the group on the basement.

There were fourteen men who entered the basement area but soon there would be none. He opened and shut his hand, bringing some life back to it. His green eyes flashed as he heard the hiss in the light.

He knew that he had to take out these men without the others from the other levels knowing that something was up. He had to synchronize the attack perfectly as to not get the attention of the group in the middle before he was ready.

His emerald eyes once again flashed as he activated a remote control in his hand. A device he planted was able to cause their radios to be blocked; all communication within the building would not be smooth.

"Okay, this is the spot," one of the men grunted.

"Quiet," one of the men whispered as he saw something in the window.

Harry reached from the ceiling and cracked their heads together.

"Something's in the shadows," another man whispered but his legs cracked together and he was hurled into the wall. The sound proofing spells prevented any sound from going upwards.

"We need…."

Harry caught him in the kidneys and knocked him down. He flipped up and suddenly two of the other men were wrapped up thick cords.

An electrical pulse caught them off guard, knocking them down to their knees. The men dropped to the ground.

'Seven down, seven to go,' Harry thought as he threw a metal ball onto the ground.

Liquid sprayed from the gas balls, a little nasty creation that Lucretia helped him create. It immobilized them for a moment, although it was expensive to create. Still it packed a punch as it temporarily shut their nervous system down and made them a nonfactor.

One of the final men lost their head and began to fire wildly, trying to get a shot in on Harry. The green eyed wizard caused the ground to be transfigured into paste.

His feet were stuck to the ground and he flipped into the air, driving his knees into the top of the head of his adversary. The cracking sound resounded and the goon landed hard.

A split kick wiped out his enemies just like that.

On the floor above, it was more of the same. Harry waved his hand and he caught three of the men in one fell swoop. The men rushed for him but he dodged their attacks. He used a throat jab to take him down. He watched the man drop like a big redwood in the forest.

One of the men rushed to the shadows but a well-placed kick to the ribs put him down and a sleeperhold took him out.

Harry rushed over them and made them knock each other out with a swift maneuver. He made sure that they stayed down.

The prime version of Harry Potter made his way up towards Talia and Zombie. He was beginning to figure out what was happening.

Three female ninjas dropped on either side. They were far more skilled than Zombie's goons, who were dangerous.

Harry dodged the attacks of his adversaries, working up a slight sweat and he felt the cold hot steal going into them.

The green eyes of Harry was focused and he knew that he had to do one of his failsafes.

"Two, nine, two, five," Harry offered and the lights went out with a loud boom.

The ninjas were not put off by the lack of light, in fact they rushed towards the young wizard in the darkness. He kneed them into the face and there were several loud sounds as Harry took them out in the darkness like they were nothing.

Running kneelift drilled one of them in the face and another tried to knock him out. Harry grabbed her arm and flipped her over.

Another trio rushed forward and Harry slid underneath the swords, causing them to clang together. He tied them up and made sure they did not do anything to attack.

Harry got a few wounds and while they were not pleasant, he had worst. He knocked them out and there were huge crunches in the dark.

The backup power was on as Harry ensured that the females were down without any fatal injuries. He stepped forward and saw Zombie in the shadows. He shoved one of his remaining men towards Harry.

Harry dodged an attack and the green eyed Kryptonian caught the hand. He twisted around and caused him to stab his own knife.

The man was hurled into the wall extremely hard where he landed with a huge crunch.

Talia watched from the catwalk above and saw that Harry was standing by Zombie.

"Stand back!" Zombie yelled as he fired a shot at Harry but Harry dodged it, rolled forward, and knocked the weapon out of his hand.

"It's time to come face to face," Harry stated as he looked at Zombie but he kicked Harry off and ripped a pipe off the wall.

He dodged the attack and Harry nearly dodged another attempt to get decapitated with the pipe. Zombie swung the pipe with all of the force of a home run slugger. He dodged the attacks again and again, the pipe swinging over and over again. He blocked the swing with his hand and pushed him back, and elbowed him in the stomach.

Harry jumped up and nailed his adversary down on the back of the head with the point of the elbow. A rolling elbow smash popped him right in the face but Zombie fought back, elbowing Harry in the ribs.

He tried to stab him but Harry dodged and he stabbed the floor. He bounced up and knocked the knife.

"Come on!" Harry yelled, as this might have been the final obstacle to Neville's killer.

Zombie rushed him but Harry nailed him in the back of the head and caused him to land head first into the ground.

"Where's your boss?" Harry demanded.

"You don't get it," Zombie growled as he tried to attack Harry with a wrench but once again Harry dodged out of the way.

He knocked him down across the back of the head and grabbed him around the arms. Harry struggled but he then reared his head back and cracked him in the head with a blunt force.

Zombie gave a loud howl of pain as he was rocked with a huge headbutt. He winced in pain.

Zombie tried to attack Harry with another concealed blade but he grabbed his wrist and forced it back into his own thigh.

"Son of a bitch," Zombie growled as Harry reared back and rocked him with another headbutt, which backed them into the next room, away from the downed female ninjas.

Talia watched, not even moving at that moment. There was a loud rumble as the two of them circled each other. The dark haired woman kept watching their battle, focusing on everything that transpired beneath her. She placed her hand on the side of the railing to steady herself against the rumbling.

Zombie went for Harry once again and tried to put Harry into the wall. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw him one more time and he drilled his adversary in the knee. He slammed his elbow into the side of the neck and another series of headbutts in succession.

Despite his nose getting shattered, Zombie was moving towards Harry and he kept going towards him. He could see Talia below, watching him and Zombie brawl. She resembled an Empress who was casually grading two gladiators who were rumbling for her benefit.

Harry could see his blood pouring down his face and once again, grabbing his arms and nailed him with a series of strikes to the face. Headbutts rocked his face and once again knocked him back. He must have headbutted him at least a dozen times and he banished him backwards, causing Zombie to fly backwards, going head over heels and landing down hard.

Zombie pulled himself up and nailed him in the face with a punch.

With the watch on, Harry was feeling the punch of the punch.

Zombie searched for something and he found it. He was going to crush his skull and show his worth to Ra's Al Ghul and his daughter, showing that this Harry Potter, he was nothing, nothing.

He lifted the canister of gas above his head, intent to cave his enemy's skull in. The canister was in his hands never the less but Harry squinted his eyes and launched a blast of heat vision.

The heat vision impacted the chemicals and Harry flew up above the blast zone, putting up a shield charm.

The explosion knocked the man down. Zombie was rocked with a huge explosion, his back slamming against the metal with the force and speed of a truck careening through a wall as he inhaled the chemicals.

Talia stood as Harry slowly turned his head to face her. The daughter of Ra's Al Ghul stood nervously.

"Once again, you fail to learn the lessons that I have taught you, time and time again," Ra's stated as he kicked Batman in the back of the leg. "You are tenacious, I will give you that, but you are never the less, severely outmatched."

Batman backed up, to an arrogant person, it might look like he was fleeing but it was all strategy. The sword swung but he dodged it.

'Just a little closer,' he thought to himself.

He was now up against the train controls and the very last second he dodged it.

Ra's sword slammed into the train controls and there was a loud squeal as he realized what happened. He tried to remove the sword from the panel but it was causing the train to go haywire.

The train was on a collision course towards the tower and Ra's let go of his hands, fighting Batman hand to hand.

"Very good, there are lessons that…."

Batman dodged the attack and nailed him in the back of the head. He did not need to do much more than to stall him.

The end would come and Batman crossed his fingers, waiting for it to happen. Any second now, he would be closer.

There was a loud whirling sound and the train was about to head into the tower. Ra's tried to take out Batman instead of figure out an escape plan.

That proved to be his downfall as Batman rammed his elbow into the side of the head and whipped him into the wall. Bones cracked as Ra's grimaced as he slid to the ground.

"Kill me then," Ra's hissed he was unable to escape from where he was pinned down when a huge piece of luggage fell onto him, along with half of the rack.

"I don't have to kill you," Batman whispered gruffly. "But I don't have to save you.

Batman escaped the train as it was about to crash. He repelled up to the ceiling and there was that moment where time stood still for everyone involved.

With furious fury, the train careened into the tower, crashing. The explosion could he heard from miles around and Batman saw the smoking rubble. Ra's Al Ghul never once made an attempt to extract himself from the train.

The fiery wreckage proved this much and Batman eyed it, carefully. He finally allowed his pain to take over him, dropping down to one knee, as he collapsed, letting out the breath that he had been holding.

"Stay back!" Talia warned him as she waved a sword threateningly. She saw what he could do and knew that she was no match for him, at least at this stage.

She tried to attack him but Harry blocked the sword and ripped it from her hand and hurled it over the balcony. It flew to the ground and smashed inside the debris where Zombie laid in a critical state.

Harry was then behind her and he grabbed her arms. Talia grimaced as she was forced down to her knees.

"Talk," Harry demanded harshly and she felt a chill that went down her spine.

"I don't know…."

"Then allow me to spell it out for you clearly," Harry breathed in her ear and Talia was trying to push herself out of his grip but she held onto her tightly. "Outside of the night club, why was it done?"

"Longbottom was never supposed to die," Talia said. "No one regrets what happened more than my father does, innocent blood should never be spilled."

Harry's glare was burning into the back of her neck and Talia knew that she better talk quickly, less she wanted to end up living out a few miserable seconds without a body part.

It went without saying that Harry would never hurt a female that he could use as a resource but the fear in her mind got her to speak.

"It was a test to see how you would react, even if the results were….less than favorable, you passed the test with flying colors," Talia commented. "The one on the ground he's pathetic and failed his trials, he should have never….."

Harry could hear something approaching that interrupted what she was going to confess.

There was a runaway train on its way there and it was about to crash into the tower.

Harry rushed over, throwing himself out of the window to avoid getting hit by the explosion. He put a shield charm up, which wouldn't really do him much help on the inside.

A huge explosion went off, and boy could he hear it. He managed to block out most of it and his hearing was not as sensitive as it would have been without the watch. Still he could see that they went up in flames.

He used siphoning spells inside and he could see the wreckage of the train, along with the damage and the debris in the tower.

However, he knew what he did not see.

There was no Talia, no Zombie, no anyone. They had all escaped. It took a quick scan of the wreckage to see that there was not even one body.

Harry growled in annoyance. Now it was the time to release the antidote.

'Done,' Harry thought, re-opening bond traffic and hopefully Gotham City would return back to normal or at least what passed for normal in Gotham City.

Without his gun, Gordon had to resort to a tire iron and a crowbar to keep the hordes of the infected citizens back. He had several scratches over his face and hands but he had far worse. He looked forward and the swelling madness was getting worse moment by moment.

'Well at least it isn't raining,' Gordon thought to himself, trying to keep his spirits up, fully aware that Vicki Vale was at work with her camera, even though she had a few near death experiences tonight.

To prove that this night could in fact get a little worse, thunder was hear. There was a sense that Gordon was on the edge now as rain began to pour from the sky.

Then something happened, the hordes of the madness staggered back. Some of them dropped to their knees and shivered, looking extremely pale and sickly.

Others looked around, like they had come out of comas. They had no idea how they had gotten here or what they had done.

Gordon figured that they might not want to know. He rubbed the side of his face, he would have to get some of these cuts checked out and then phone his daughter to ensure that she was not worrying up a storm.

Right now however, he was just trying to figure out if he could keep his head above the water or not. He saw Vicki who watched in awe.

'And yet, the chaos stopped just as suddenly it started,' she thought to herself. Her keen senses began to wonder if this was any ordinary rain.

She was now intrigued to see what was going to happen next.

"What do you think happened?" Vicki asked Gordon.

Gordon paused for the merest of seconds before he came back with another retort. "You're the reporter, Vale, you tell me."

That really told her all that she needed to know. There was a huge mystery at hand and things went back to normal or what passed as such for Gotham City.

She looked up, she could have sworn that she saw a figure above her but when she looked around, there was nothing there.

A mirage or was there actually something to the sight. That's what she wanted to know.

Batman viewed the wreckage from afar. He knew that it would be time to rebuild and he turned around, to see a young man dressed in a sleek black costume in front of him. The costume had hints of red and a symbol of a strange dragon like creature. He had gloves and a mask that covered his green eyes, with completely straight dark hair.

"Who are you?" Batman demanded in a gravelly voice.

"You know having a voice like that, one might think that you smoke about ten packs a day," the young man offered him lightly as the two of them locked eyes from the building that they were standing on. It was an intense stare down between the two of them.

A staredown where neither man backed off, neither man tensed up, and neither man said anything, at least for a second.

"So, I'm guessing that you caused the train crash," the young man continued.

"Ra's Al Ghul did, I just directed him in the right path," he said with a throaty growl. "I suspect that you had something to do with the city calming down."

"Come now, I can't reveal all my secrets to you, can I?" he asked as he looked at the man in the shadows. "You're getting quite the reputation aren't you….Batman?"

"One could say that," Batman replied gruffly as he heard news reports of a ninjas at Wayne Manor but they fled once they had got more that they bargained for at the hands of the butler.

"Yes, one could, but who knows what the future would bring," he commented as he locked his eyes onto the cowled crusader.

"Who are you?"

That question was asked and then answered swiftly.

"I'm Nightwing."

The moment that Batman looked up to answer, he saw that this young man, Nightwing, was gone.

'So that's how it feels when I do it,' he thought calmly.