[2 days later]
It's been 2 days since the battle where Ra's al Ghul died. Talia has already sent information on the latest development to all the league members who were outside, on missions, informing them about the change in the leadership and ordering the major group leaders for an emergency conference that would take place in a week. They were to gather on Nanda Parbat within the week. She also ordered them to keep quiet about the death of the demon head to avoid unnecessary problems at this critical point.
Meanwhile, Bruce didn't waste time and started checking all the ledgers and information available in Ra's room. He discovered lots of interesting things about what Ra's been up to recently. Most of the info was about assassinations, spying, manipulating world leaders, etc. Then, there was the list of the kids, who were brought to the base from orphanages. Just as he predicted, it wasn't just his father... Ra's was using many other powerful people to provide him with kids who showed some talents or promising talent at a young age.
"It would seem, Ra's wasn't just training assassins," Diana, who was helping Bruce sort out the information said.
Bruce closed his file and looked at her, "That's obvious. He must have trained various talents and spread them all over the world to be his eyes and ears."
"Yup. But isn't it too many of them?" Diana asked.
Bruce took out another book filled with lots of names, "The League was always bigger than you would expect. They are everywhere and could be anyone. From our neighbor to our driver to our cleaner. And they are trained so well that they are practically invisible to normal humans. The League of Assassins has existed for hundreds of years, so who knows how many members it has in total? It would take too long just to count them. Talia has already called the meeting, so, we will get a rough gist soon enough."
"What are you going to do next now that you are the new leader of the League? Will you go to Infinity Island or return to the city after stabilizing the situation?" Diana asked as she stacked some documents.
"Infinity Island sounds interesting. But first, I need to stabilize the situation here and make some changes. Then, I'll make sure that Thawne doesn't do stupid shit like blowing up the entire Metropolis," Bruce replied as he leaned back on the chair and stretched his arms and a large yawn escaped his lips.
"You think Barry is ready to face him?" She asked with a worried face.
"Ready or not, Barry needs to face him sooner or later. Or, I'll just find him and kill him before he could do any more chaos."
"The metahuman army?" She asked while tapping the table with her finger.
"I have already prepared for such a situation. You see, back in the other world, there were also metahumans. Pamela and I have already made a universal cure for that. One shot will turn them into a regular human. So, if we spread them through the air, then even Thawne would lose his army. And if my calculations are correct, every metahuman within the city radius will become human. Now comes the difficult part, Thawne came from the future, so, he'll know about this cure and will act accordingly. So, I will use this..." Bruce leaned forward and took a file, handing it to Diana.
He continued, "Ra's kept track of every single metahuman in Gotham and Metropolis. All I need to do is give the cure to the assassins and unleash them out there. They'll track them down and shoot them with the cure. And considering the number of assassins I have under my thumb, it won't take more than a day or two to complete it."
Diana read the contents of the file. She nodded in satisfaction, "But Bruce, Thawne might use the nuclear bomb if he gets a wisp of it. You might endanger millions of lives."
Bruce smiled confidently, "Don't worry about that. My eyes are everywhere and considering it's a nuclear bomb, there's only one place he can launch it from."
"A.R.G.U.S. Base?" Diana guessed. "But they must have a backup plan..."
"Yes. Remember the Plutonium shipment we tracked back then when we were tracking Lex's activities? That shipment went missing after Lex's death. If I were to guess, that's their backup plan. If Thawne fails, Lex will activate the backup plan. In short, we will need two teams, one will go after Thawne and the other will go after Lex."
Diana nodded in understanding, "And we both know who is going where."
Bruce smiled as he got up from the chair and walked toward the door, "Yup. Anyway, I doubt they will do anything so soon. Thawne lost big this time. He's smart, so, he'll take a step back for now and plan things carefully. Right now, relax a bit."
.
.
[Noon] [Training ground]
Talia brought food personally to Bruce. She watched Bruce training alone in the training ground. Bruce was practicing with two short swords at high speed. She observed everything silently until Bruce stopped his movement and looked at her.
She walked forward and placed the lunch boxes on the nearby table.
"What's the point of practicing like that? You have technology in your body, and you are probably a metahuman. A strong one at that... Do these jumping around with weapons far inferior to yours really helps?" Talia asked. Bruce put away the swords and grabbed a towel hanging on the wall to wipe his sweaty body.
"Technology or no technology, strength is always important. And I'm not a metahuman, Talia. Just an evolved human. Besides after fighting with your dad, I've realized that my nanites are both a curse and a blessing at the same time. It gives me incredible power but there are so many things that can cause harm to me. I thought I upgraded them to max, but alas, it's never enough. Technology is something that keeps evolving every day. What is sufficient today might not be sufficient tomorrow. That's why, if someday I were to lose my tech and evolved body, I'd still remain strong. After all, physical skills can only be honed through constant practice," Bruce replied as he opened the lunch box and started eating the food inside.
He walked over to the bench and sat down, followed by Talia, who sat beside him.
"Aren't you going to ask if there's poison in the food? What if I added something in the food that even your eyes can't see, nor your scanner?" Talia asked teasingly.
Bruce smirked as he took another bite, "Then it would mean that I underestimated you. Poison is nothing special anymore these days. Besides, even if you did add something to the food, you would've hidden it till it took effect. By then, it would be too late for me anyway. Also, I'm immune to poison. So..." Bruce shrugged as he continued to eat the food.
"Immune to poison?" Talia asked in surprise. "I wonder what else are you immune to." She tried to gain more information on Bruce by talking in roundabout ways.
Bruce chuckled and said, "There's a saying, curiosity killed the cat."
Talia laughed, "But satisfaction brought it back."
"If you want to ask something, then come straight to the point, don't beat around the bush. I'm not Ra's who plays word games all day," Bruce replied calmly.
Talia narrowed her eyes, she felt as if Bruce saw through her intention, so, she decided to go straight to the point, "Infinity Island. Do you know what's or who's residing there?"
Bruce finished his lunch box and wiped his mouth clean with a tissue paper before replying, "Enlighten me."
"An old monster... An old enemy of Ra's. The world's greatest martial artist, and the leader of the League of the Shadows, Lady Shiva!" Talia replied seriously.
Bruce nodded, "Lady Shiva... So, that's where she hid herself."
"You know her?" Talia asked in surprise.
"Doesn't matter. I'll tame her sooner or later," Bruce replied confidently.
Talia shook her head, "No one tamed her before! Not even my father! And considering the untainted Lazarus Pit on that Island and other ancient magic, we don't even know what kind of power she has gained after all these years."
Bruce grinned, "That makes it even more interesting. By the way, are you perhaps worried about me?" He teased.
Talia frowned as she got up and replied, "Worry? No way! I am just warning you! If you die there, then the League belongs to me!" She stomped away angrily as Bruce laughed behind her.
----[Powerstones & reviews]----
If you want to support me or read advance chapters, check out my Patr éon.
Support Link: https://www.patr eon.com/XcaliburXc
⭐As of now, Pat reon is 17 chapters ahead⭐
[Exclusive r18 contents] [No double billing]
---
Next, Ch: 145: A drunken mess
Ch: 146: Diana's decision
Ch: 147: Catfight
Ch: 148: Unshackled
Ch: 149: Talia's first love & pleasure
---