Suddenly, a loud metallic ringing filled the room as Sensei's sword broke in half when he hit what felt like a brick wall instead of cutting through Benjamin's chest.
Everyone's eyes widened at the sight as Grayson alternated his gaze between the broken blade and Sensei, the latter holding it with an equally appalled expression.
"You people just don't seem to get the hint, do you...?" Grayson said as he briefly inspected the area and connected the dots, getting a rough understanding of the situation.
"First, it was Lady Shiva, and now you fools from the League..." He added, a burst of energy leaking out of his body, which caused almost everyone present to stagger.
Much to his credit, Sensei quickly gathered his bearings as he brought his fist back and shot it flying toward Grayson's neck. However, it barely moved an inch before he and every League assassin froze as dark tendrils of energy emerged from the young man's body, latching on to everyone.
"You've fucked with my friends and my city for the last time..." Grayson said as he watched Sensei fall to his knees, his wizened visage visibly aging and his body withering until he could no longer stand straight.
He wanted to give the League's assassins the same treatment but decided against it and merely knocked them out. He shook his head before he healed Benjamin's injured arm and flew towards Crush, cleansing her body of the potent sedatives running through her veins.
"You... will not get away with this..." Sensei gasped as he struggled to lift his withered body off the ground. "The League... will destroy you... our blades will strike you when you least expect it..." He added, using the last vestiges of his strength to speak as he instantly fell unconscious.
Grayson merely scoffed at Sensei's words as he removed the nets binding Crush and helped her to her feet.
"Sure took your sweet time, pretty boy," Crush said with a grin, still feeling the lingering effects of the sedatives as her healing factor kicked in and she began recovering.
"Showing up late is better than not showing up at all..." Grayson said with an exasperated expression before he turned to Richard. "Fancy meeting you here, teacher. I was about to go looking for you," He said as he approached him.
"Oh? I take it you're done torturing yourself, then...?" Richard asked in amusement, raising an eyebrow.
"More or less..." Grayson said, awkwardly scratching his head as he stopped in front of Richard. "Here..." He added, his expression easing up as he materialized a gray robotic arm with a red logo into his hand.
"I call it the Dragon Claw, and it's every bit as awesome as it looks and sounds..." Grayson confidently stated as he presented the arm to Richard, who took it with a puzzled expression.
"You just put it over your shoulder, and science will do the rest," Grayson said with a chuckle, gesturing for Richard to do it. "Fair warning, it will sting..." He added with a shrug.
"If you say so..." Richard said, trailing off at the end of his sentence as he obliged, only to freeze as the arm attached itself to his body, its processing unit flooding his brain with information through his nervous system.
Richard remained frozen for a minute, much to everyone's shock. "I think you just broke your teacher, kid..." Benjamin said, alternating his confused gaze between Grayson and his friend.
"I did no such thing..." Grayson replied, sounding incredibly offended at Benjamin's words. "Give it a minute. He'll be as good as new," He carelessly added.
"If not, we can reboot him or something... I heard that fixes pretty much everything..." Benjamin jokingly said, seemingly ready to keep bantering, only to stop as Richard suddenly snapped out of his daze.
"Thnks, kid. I appreciate it, I really do..." Richard said, his expression growing weirder and weirder by the second as he looked at Grayson. "But don't you think you went a bit overboard...?" He asked as he began testing his new arm, starting by moving the fingers.
"Kind of, yeah..." Grayson replied with a sheepish expression. "Well, you know what they say about life and lemons, so do with it what you will." He added with a chuckle.
"What are you two talking about...?" Benjamin asked with a frown, only for his expression to suddenly turn into shock as Richard lightly tabbed the ground with his finger, causing it to shake and crack under his feet. "Damn... now I wanna lose an arm, maybe two..." Benjamin said, his eyes wide as he slowly turned to Grayson.
"Don't get any ideas," Grayson said, giving Benjamin a sidelong glance. "I used alien special metals to create this thing, and I'm all out..." He added, giving him a casual dismissive wave.
"Stingy brat..." Benjamin jokingly said, shaking his head. "So what the hell are we supposed to do with these guys...?" He added, gesturing towards the unconscious David Cane as Cassandra kneeled next to him, inspecting his vitals with a concerned expression.
"I only came here for that piece of shit sensei of theirs..." He concluded, trailing at the end of his sentence.
"I don't really care, and it wouldn't matter either way..." Grayson replied with a shrug. "I'll need to set an example for any idiot who might think Gotham is easy pickings now that Batman is gone..." he added with a chuckle as I turned to David Cane.
"And it looks like the League of Shadows just volunteered..."
...
GCPD headquarters
The commissioner's office
"So... what can I do for you today, Mr. Whitcloak?" Deborah Tiegel asked blankly as she sat behind her desk, sounding all businesslike as she spoke formally.
"Oh god, not you too..." I said, rolling my eyes in annoyance at Deborah, drawing a chuckle out of her.
It's been several hours since the little League incident in Crime Alley. I didn't care about the assassins, and neither did the others, so we agreed to have them arrested, and so I called Deborah.
She quickly arrived with a dozen or so police cars, taking the assassins into custody, and it would have ended there. But I had business with the commissioner, so she invited me to her office to talk shop, and here we are.
"I know you're busy with all the extra responsibilities as the police commissioner, so I'll be brief," I said, putting on a more serious expression, to which she nodded, waiting for me to go on.
"I want to take out the League of Assassins, and I want to do it by the book," I asked, causing Deborah to frown. "The way things are going, gangs and hoodlums from all over the world will keep flooding Gotham unless we set an example," I added, pausing to let Deborah process my words.
"We take out the League, and we do it by the book for all the world to see, and everyone will think twice before stepping into the city..." I concluded, trailing off as I waited for a reply.
"I know what you mean, and I'd like nothing more than to help..." Deborah said, and I patiently waited for her to keep talking as I saw the "but" coming from a mile away.
"But the league is not only outside of my jurisdiction, but also way above my pay grade." She added with a helpless shrug.
"True, but as the commissioner, you have a direct line to those in the proper jurisdiction and pay grade..." I said, crossing my arms. "I know the location of their headquarters, and I'm willing to provide my personal support," I went on.
"The government's spooks will jump at the opportunity." They've been starving for a win for a while now, especially after Waller's scandal..." I concluded.
"Well, when you put it that way, I can definitely help..." Deborah said after a brief pause, nodding at me. "I'll call my superiors and set something up. Sit tight..." She concluded as she retrieved her phone and began dialing.
...
Infinity Island
The Demon's Head's ever-stoic expression slowly turned ugly as he watched his subordinates retrieve the Sensei's body from the Lazarus Pit, still weathered, aged, and emaciated.
Not only did his plans to take over Gotham fail miserably, but his second-in-command, the Sensei, was brought to such a pathetic state that even the police had no interest in detaining him, throwing him into the closest homeless shelter instead of prison. ridden
To make matters worse, the Sensei suffered from what the Demon Head could only interpret as a malicious curse to keep him in this weakened, useless, and shameful state, and he had no idea how it happened.
For the first time in hundreds of years, Ras Al-Ghul, the Demon's Head, felt fear gnawing at the back of his mind as he got reacquainted with the concept of mortality.
...
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