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Darkest Knight	By : SteelMagnolia Category: DC Verse Comics > Justice League Views: 18860 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Justice League, or any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 4 – The Demon’s Daughter

Diana flew through the night sky over Gotham City, the chill of her passage cooling her heated blood. The warrior put Bruce Wayne firmly from her mind and focused on the task at hand. There would be time for humiliation and self-recriminations later.

Ahead of her the burning remains of a large freighter sent columns of flame leaping into the air. Diana quickly scanned the deck for survivors, but found only burning wreckage. She could hear sirens in the distance. She landed and listened at the hatch for any signs of life before tearing it off its hinges. She flattened herself out of the way as a backdraft of flame burst through the doorway with the influx of oxygen.

Mindful of the fact that her casual clothing was not as flame-resistant as her uniform she flew carefully into the freighter. She searched rapidly and systematically through the ship, but found neither victims nor survivors.

The freighter was well and truly burning within so she punched out a small hole for her egress. She brushed absently at the soot covering her skin and clothing as she flew along the hull, checking for any breaches. The freighter rode high in the water, and she breathed a prayer of thanks to the gods that it appeared to be empty. If the fire could be controlled, perhaps the ship would be salvageable. She had fair knowledge of structural engineering, and the damage done to the ship seemed rather mild for the explosion that had rocked the night sky.

Sirens and helicopters sounded faintly in the distance as the Gotham Port Authority responded to the fire. Diana looked around, but the freighter did not appear to be moored close enough to any other ship to pose a danger. She settled herself on theks tks to await the fire fighters and offer her assistance.

"What is this?" an accented soprano voice demanded. "You are not the Batman." A young woman stepped from the shadows. A mane of dark hair swirled around her exotic face. Bronzed skin was set off by white leather that hugged her supple body. Dark eyes flashed with irritation as she studied Diana with a critical eye.

"No, I am not Batman," Diana agreed. "Are you injured?"

"Of course not," the woman said withoss oss of her thick hair. "You may leave now."

"I think not," the Amazon replied. "Did you have something to do with this fire?"

"This is none of your concern. You must leave now, before he arrives."

"None of my concern!" Diana cried, incredulous. "A ship exploding in the Gotham Harbor is most definitely my concern. Who are you?" she demanded. She gauged the distance between them and knew that she could safely neutralize the woman before she could draw a hidden weapon.

"My darling Talia," a male voice spoke. "Do you not recognize the Princess of Themyscira?" Diana looked up to see a man leaning half-out of a sleek black helicopter, an RAH-66 Comanche prototype if she remembered her latest military weapons update correctly. She wondered briefly how he had acquired access to the Army’s secret stealth helicopter.

The man himself seemed almost out of place on the modern aircraft. A loose saffron shirt was open to his trim waist, whipping in the wind beneath the rotors. A sheathed scimitar was thrust through his wide belt. A receding hairline was streaked by white at the temples.

*****

Batman dropped silently from the Batwing, which sped away in stealth mode to its pre-designated landing site. He triggered the struts in his cape, transforming it into a glider that carried him gently to the rooftops below. The telescoping struts disappeared and the cape swirled heavily around him. He moved softly to the vantage point where Nightwing crouched. He could hear a helicopter approaching rapidly.

“What took you so long?” Nightwing grumbled good-naturedly.

“What’s the situation?” Batman’s tone discouraged any teasing comments.

“Wonder Woman just finished a sweep of the freighter and is on the far side,” Nightwing answered. “It doesn’t look like she found anybody, but I just got here myself.” Batman shot him a look. “Hey,” Nightwing protested. “I was at a robbery at Fifth and Lexington when I saw the explosion. Give me a break.”

Batman scowled as he watched Diana fly around the bow of the ship, obviously inspecting it for damage. Her skin and clothing were darkened, he presumed by soot. As he watched she brushed at her clothing and landed on the docks.

His lips tightened with he saw her torn shirt. The memory of her breasts in the moonlight and the way he had mauled her haunted him. Fortunately, Nightwing remained wisely silent. Batman had unlimbered his grapple when a feminine voice cut through the night air.

"What is this? You are not the Batman." His gut clenched in recognition. Great. What a wonderful way to end an evening. He glanced over at Nightwing, who already on the comm with Oracle.

"No, I am not Batman," he heard Diana say. "Are you injured?"

"Of course not." He could almost feel the heat of the desert sands in her voice. "You may leave now."

"I think n Dia Diana said. Batman could hear the dawning suspicion in her voice. "Did you have something to do with this fire?"

He braced his boot on the edge of the rooftop and looked down at the two women.

"This is none of your concern. You must leave now, before he arrives." Talia was dressed in skin-tight white leathers. It was an unusual color choice for her. Diana towered over the younger woman.

"None of my concern!" Diana cried. "A ship exploding in the Gotham Harbor is most definitely my concern. Who are you?" she demanded.

"My darling Talia," a male voice spoke, and Batman’s blood ran cold. "Do you not recognize the Princess of Themyscira?"

“Ra’s Al Ghul,” Batman said in a voice colder than Victor Freeze.

His nemesis crouched in the cabin door of the chopper, bracing himself with one leg on the skid. Very Errol Flynn, Batman thought. Probably knew him. A sniper knelt beside him with his weapon trained on Diana. A second larger helicopter swept around the scene.

“Detective,” Ra’s smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes. “So kind of you to join us.” Men in black rappelled out of the chopper and fanned out as Ra’s threw a rope ladder overboard. “You’ll forgive me if our conversation is brief. I am merely here to reclaim my wayward daughter.”

“Father, no,” Talia protested. “Not yet! This is all wrong. This isn’t the way it was supposed to happen!”

“You will abide by my wishes in this matter,” Ra’s ordered. “I am your father, and I know what is best for you.”

“You yourself chose the Dark Knight to be my mate!” Talia cried.

“And I was mistaken,” Ra’s said in a quelling voice. “The Detective is too righteous, too pious for the necessary tasks that lie ahead if we are to create a brave new world. Now come, child.”

“No,” Talia defied her father. “He could yet prove worthy.” She turned and pointed her weapon at Diana. “This is all your fault! If you hadn’t been here the Batman would have investigated the explosion.”

Dammit. Bruce fired the grapple at a nearby crane and launched himself from the rooftop even as Talia drew a weapon and opened fire. Bullets whined and he heard metal on metal as Diana deflected them with her bracers. He arced down and landed in a crouch next to the Amazon.

“Get out of here, Princess,” he snarled at Diana in sotto voice. “This is my city.”

“A warrior does not turn from battle,” she replied. Any further comment was lost as Ra’s signaled his men, who opened fire.

He saw Diana allow her reflexes to take over, blurred movements deflecting the bullets as she leapt toward the nearest man. She crushed the barrel of his weapon in her grip and threw him into the water. The next man fell beneath her fists even as she was attacked by two more. She pivoted on her left foot and struck out with a swift back kick. Her low-heeled boot stuck the man in the solar plexus, knocking the breath out of him. She took out the other with a savage uppercut followed by a solid left hook.e wae was magnificent.

Batman used his cape to disorient the gunmen and lobbed a couple of flash-bangs at them to obscure their field of vision. The grenades went off with a blinding light and a thunderous boom. Irritating smoke poured out and he was careful to breathe through the nose filters as he went for Talia. She had coverer ner nose and mouth with one hand and was making her way out of the cloud, coughing. She was her father’s daughter, though, and held her automatic weapon at the ready.

He caught her in a steely grip and hit the bundle of nerves at her shoulder, causing her arm to go numb and weak. Cursing, she dropped the gun and he kicked it deeper into the smoke. Wrapping his arm around her waist he carried her bodily from the cloud. Dark hair swirled around his face as she struggled. Her white leather clothing made it difficult for him to keep his grip on her small, lithe form.

“Did you blow the ship?” he growled in her ear.

“Yes,” she said defiantly. She turned her head to look up at him through the curtain of her hair. “I knew you would come.”

“Was there anybody onboard?” he asked.

“Of course not,” she said. “I am not a monster.”

“There’s better ways to get hold of me,” he told her. “You could have killed somebody.”

“But I did not,” she said. “And now we are together. I have something for you, my love.”

“Talia!” he heard her father cry. “Where is my daughter?”

“Too bad he can’t show that kind of concern for the rest of humanity,” Batman said grimly.

“Join with me, and together we will temper his harsh rule and create a new world for our children,” Talia pleaded. Batman did his best to ignore the heated promise in her eyes.

“I don’t think so,” he ground out.

“Batman, are you harmed?” D ask asked as he dragged Talia into the clear air. Men lay groaning on the ground around her.

“Where’s Ra’s?” he demanded.

“Behind you, Detective,” came the cold answer. Cold steel brushed his cheek.

*****

“Release my daughter,” Ra’s Al Ghul commanded. “Immediately.” He stood behind Batman, scimitar drawn, the blade kissing her teammate’s neck. Smoke swirled and eddied around him like living fog. He did not seem to notice its effects.

“She committed arson,” Batman replied. “I’m taking her into custody.”

“The laws of common men do not apply to such as you and I,” Ra’s said. “You know this to be true, else you would bear a badge instead of a cape and cowl.”

Diana wished absently for her golden lasso. A length of cable lying nearby would have to do. With a blur of speed she snatched it from the ground and flicked the end toward Ra’s, hoping to foul the blade.

With preternatural speed Ra’s swiveled and the cable parted as if by magic. Talia shifted in the Batman’s grip and Diana saw him stumble. The young female reached for something at her belt.

“Batman!” Diana cried warning as the woman raised a pouch. She caught the woman in a flying tackle, carrying both of them to the ground as Talia stumbled over Batman. Dust flew from the pouch at the impact, settling in a cloud around the combatants. Diana inhaled the fine powder and found herself wracked by spasms of coughing. Colors shifted and blurred around her.

“What have you done, daughter?” Ra’s demanded, but did not give her time to answer before grasping her upper arm and pulling her with him. Through streaming eyes Diana saw the Batman also incapacitated by fits of coughing. Talia’s knees buckled and Ra’s swung her up into his arms. He gestured to his remaining men, who carried their fallen brethren to the waiting helicopter.

Diana struggled to her feet and staggered toward the aircraft. Her limbs would not obey her commands and she was unsteady as a newborn foal. She looked back and saw Nightwing land and kneel beside Batman, who was also trying to rise to his feet. She had to reach that helicopter.

Ra’s hooked an arm through the rope ladder and stepped onto it, holding his daughter in one arm. Talia lifted her head weakly and Diana’s acute hearing picked up the faint sound of her voice over the whine of the engines as the helicopter lifted them into the night sky.

“Deepest heart seek your mate,
Joined by fire and bound by Fate;
Your harsh desires you cannot fight,
Unleash’d, undone, my Darkest Knight!”

Diana tried to take off after the aircraft, but the world tilted around her and she almost slammed into the rooftop. The warrior in her wanted to snarl in frustration as her foe sped away while she remained earth-bound.

“Come on,” shouted Nightwing. “It’s time to go.” The sirens were close. Diana was not accustomed to fleeing the presence of law enforcement. It went against her grain, but she knew that Batman and his brethren worked differently.

She stumbled toward the two men as Nightwing gathered up Talia’s weapon and stowed it somewhere in Batman’s cape. Police cars and fire engines squealed to a stop. Policemen leveled their weapons at the trio over the cover of their car doors and shouted at them to . D. Diana, most certainly not accustomed to this situation, hesitated and wondered if she should identify herself.

“Let’s go, Huntress!” Nightwing called out, reaching for her arm. She felt him clip something surreptitiously to her belt. “There’s nobody onboard,” he shouted at the firemen running for the freighter. A double “pop” made her flinch reflexively in reaction, and then she was pulled upward with Nightwing and Batman.

She looked up to see the Batwing overhead. The three of them were tethered to its underside with two grappling hooks, already a hundred feet above the roof. T. The rush of air seemed to help clear her senses, and the world began to steady around her. Colors began to return to their normal hue.

A hatch opened in the bottom of the aircraft at some unknown signal, and she was recovered enough to wrap her arms around both men and assist their ascent inside. It was cramped, and they all had to stoop a bit. Batman pushed her arm away as soon as their feet touched the floor. Nightwing merely gave her a rather cheeky grin as she released him, and pulled the D-ring off her belt.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Anything for a beautiful woman,” he replied. His smile dimmed as he looked over her shoulder. “I’ll go take the controls,” he offered.

“Get us out of the city,” a voice growled immediately behind her.

She turned to find Batman looming over her. Well, looming more in appearance than in actuality as he only topped her by a few inches and neither of them could stand straight. She had never been particularly impressed by his attempts at intimidation. She admired his skills as a warrior and his intense will, but his methods had always struck her as a bit underhanded. She preferred the honesty of open battle.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” he demanded. His voice was low and harsh.

“I was responding to an obvious emergency,” she answered calmly.

“You’re in my city,” he said. “You will respect my wishes. Gotham is mine.”

“I respect your loyalty,” she said, “but you do not own Gotham City. It belongs to its citizens, and their duly elected officials.”

“The city officials can’t protect the people on the street,” he said savagely. “I can. I control the streets as long as the bad guys think that I can’t be beaten. The minute they see other so-called heroes around, they begin to wonder if the old Bat can’t hack it anymore. Your being here makes my job harder.”

“What about Nightwing,” she countered, gesturing toward the cockpit. “Robin? Batgirl? Huntress?”

“The public sees them as extensions of the Batman. Wonder Woman,” he continued, “is not part of the deal.”

“I am sorry if you feel my presence here has done you harm,” she said. “That was never my intention. Hopefully my lack of uniform and Nightwing’s quick thinking will cover my identity,” she said coolly.

She glanced out the window to see city lights disappearing beneath them as they reached the outskirts of Gotham. They had made good time from the docks. By her reckoning the Batwing could possibly rival her intra-atmosphere speed.

The aircraft slowed and began to hover above the trees.

Batman raked her with his gaze. She flushed, wondering what he must think of her disarray. “Are you hurt?” he asked grudgingly.

“No,” she said.

He punched a button and the bottom hatch slid open with a faint whoosh behind her. saidsaid nothing, but she could read the unspoken words in the harsh planes of his grim visage.

Silently she lifted her feet off the floor, hovering eye to eye with him a moment before slipping gently out the hatch. It closed with a seemingly impatient hiss as soon as she passed through. She could see Nightwing watching her out the cockpit window as she dropped twenty feet, then the thrusters kicked in and the Batwing roared away.

She was left in silence, hovering above the trees in her torn clothing, covered in soot. She felt very cold.

*****
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Darkest Knight