Chapter 289: Responsibility #289
nside a warehouse near Gotham's docks
Bruce couldn't help but frown as he, Talia, and Damian fought a seemingly endless horde of robotic monkeys that made horrible screeching noises, disappeared into the shadows, and reappeared when the trio least expected it.
Talia and Damian were more akin to murder machines than humans, and Bruce was one of the greatest martial artists on Earth himself, but he lacked his usual set of tools, and the damned things vastly outnumbered them.
If he had his suit and gadgets, Bruce reckoned he'd make quick work of the machines, but he wouldn't put it on if it were right in front of him. He knew that he would never be able to take it off again should that happen, which won't end well for anyone.
"There's no end to these things..." Damian said as he dodged an attack and moved behind the closest machine, putting his short sword into the back of its neck.
Frowning, Damina quickly took the blade out and threw it towards another one trying to sneak up on his mother. "You need to be more careful, mothe--" He said, stopping halfway through his sentence as he realized that yet another machine managed to sneak up on him from behind.
"Look out!" Bruce said, his eyes widening as he and Talia rushed toward Damian, despite knowing they wouldn't make it in time. Luckily someone else was present to save the day.
Suddenly, a loud gunshot echoed in the building as the machine's head exploded into many tiny pieces. Bruce instantly tracked the bullet's trajectory to the skylight, where he found a man in a black and orange suit looking down at him.
"Deathstroke..." Bruce muttered to no one in particular, instantly recognizing the man.
"Well, well, and who do we have here...? Talia Al-Ghul, and Bruce Wayne, what a strange combination..." Deathstroke said without bothering to hide the amusement in his tone as he began shooting.
"Or maybe you prefer to go by Batman...?" Deathstroke added, much to Bruce's chagrin. "I'd recognize those movements anywhere..." He continued with a chuckle.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Bruce replied as he slammed a robot into the ground and swiftly ripped the wires in its throat. "But you seem capable enough, help us out, and I'll pay you," He added, trying to change the subject.
"As it happens, I'm here to do a job, and the job is to protect you. Ironic, isn't it...?" The Mercenary said, drawing his katanas as he jumped into the ground, crushing a robot with his landing.
"Besides, you're a quitter, no longer worth my attention..." Deathstroke added as he cut another robot lunging at him in half. "I don't deal with washed-up has-beens," He concluded as he charged into the shadows, decapitating and blasting every machine in his path.
"Deathstroke... I like this guy..." Damian said with an impressed nod as he retrieved his short sword and followed behind Deathstroke. "He's as tall as I expected, too," He added, giving Bruce a brief smirk before pressing on.
"We're going to have a few words about how you raised him once this is over..." Bruce said, his expression slightly darkening as he turned to Talia before charging after Damian.
"Men..." Talia said, clearly amused as she shook her head. She smiled as she looked around and saw no one around her before retreating into the shadows and disappearing with no one the wiser.
...
Gotham's docks
"Alright, you slimy bastard..." I muttered in annoyance as I short-circuited the last of the sentry drones that the nanomachine freak managed to steal from me.
It wasn't easy, as I had upgraded all of my machines after the fight with Black Adam to make them more durable and capable of at least buying some time when facing powerful opponents. Then there was the nanomachine, which kept hounding me every step of the way, making my work that much. more difficult
"Time for payback!" I said as I equipped the Starheart ring and retrieved the Leviathan's axe from my inventory. The robot seemed to sense the danger as it quickly attempted to fly away.
"Too late for that," I added as I manifested a giant barrier and confined myself alongside the robot within it, going out of my way to electrify it to ensure no nanomachine could escape.
"Incoming lethal attack, danger detected...." The robot said in its blank robotic voice as it watched me raise my axe high into the air, sending out ripples of cold energy.
"Error. No immediate countermeasures are applicable. Evasive maneuvers are impossible. Critical failure chance is at 99.8% and increas--" And that was all the robot could say as I lowered my axe, unleashing a beam of concentrated blizzard directly into its chest.
I quickly turned the robot into an ice sculpture before tightening the barrier around it and exiting as I dismissed the put away the axe. "Fuck off, you thieving little bitch!" I said as I sent a fireball two times my size into the barrier and closed it.
I could help but pause and smile in extreme satisfaction as I watched the flame devour the nanomachines, practically wiping them out of existence alongside the slimy robot.
"Now back to big blue...'
...
Somewhere in North America
"Hello, J'onn," Wonder Woman said, raising her wrist to speak into her communication device. "No, I managed to capture Physco, albeit with some difficulty," She added as she looked down at the unconscious short-statured man lying on the floor.
"Kal, you say...? Again...?" Wonder Woman said, trailing at the end of her sentence, only to sigh and shake her head. "Never mind, I'll hand Psycho to the authorities and be on my way to Gotham shortly," She added as she hung up the call and took to the sky.
"Hopefully, I'll make it there before Kal causes too much damage..."
...
Inside the warehouse near Gotham's docks
"The job's done..." Deathstroke said as he decapitated the last automaton in the buildings. "I trust you can find your own way home. Farewell, Bruce Wayne," He added as he turned to leave.
Damina watched the mercenary leave before slowly scanning the area, then turning to Bruce. "I guess I'm your responsibility now," He said, having found no traces of his mother in the warehouse.
"Yes, you are..." Bruce said with a sigh as he came to the same conclusion as his son. "It's been a long night," He added, clearly tired as he uncomfortably adjusted the collar of his white shirt, now stained and damaged beyond repair.
"Let's go home..."
...
Somewhere in Gotham
"I thought you said your worthless creation would be able to buy some time at the very least..." Maxwell Lord angrily said, his deteriorating state worsening by the second due to frustration.
"And you said the boy was out of town..." Professor Ivo replied with a scoff as he began packing up his gadgets. "Besides, it already bought more than enough time... I didn't expect Deathstroke to involve himself," He thoughtfully added.
"And where do you think you're going, you bastard?" Lord asked, sounding angrier with every word he spoke as he noticed Professor Ivo's unsubtle actions and his intention to flee.
"Away from here, of course..." Professor Ivo replied in a matter-of-fact tone as he finished packing his possessions. "I've seen what happened to the League of Assassins," He added as he headed for the exit.
"I'd rather not share their fate," He concluded as he left, leaving Lord to stew in his frustration and anger as the latter began bashing computer screens to vent.
...
Gotham's suburbs
"I'm already flying over Gotham, but it would be futile to fight Kal for now," Wonder Woman said, speaking into her communication device. "We need to find whoever is controlling him and force him to free our friend," She calmly added.
"I'm ahead of you in that regard..." Came Martian Manhunter's soothing voice from the communication device. "I couldn't break into Kal's mind to free it or track down the one responsible, but I sensed a faint psychic presence north of your current location," He added.
"Then that is where I will go... show me the way,"
...
Gotham's docks
I couldn't help but frown as I raised an energy barrier to shield Kara from Superman's heat vision. "He's getting more and more unhinged..." I said as I conjured a giant mallet and swatted the man of steel away as he charged Richard.
"At this rate, we'll either have to kill or knock out big blue to stop him," I continued as I processed the situation. "I don't think knocking him is even possible without enough Kryptonite, and killing him is not an option..." I added as I turned to Kara, who gravely nodded at my words.
'There's only one way this could end...' I mused to myself this time as I firmed my resolve. "Keep him busy. I know what I need to do," I added as I flew away without waiting for a reply.
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