Chapter 140: Bat vs World's Best Killer?

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"Patience is not the ability to wait, but how you act while you're waiting."

– Joyce Meyer, (Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind)

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<(Omniscient POV)> 

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is 9 pm, here in Metropolis, on Saturday, August 27th and I am Catherine Grant from Catherine Grant Hour... Tonight, we bring you a breaking and very disturbing story. Bruce Wayne, one of America's most cherished and ideal citizens, has narrowly escaped a heinous assassination attempt in Italy. The incident occurred earlier today when Mr. Wayne was attending a prestigious business conference in Rome. After the conference ended and he was going back to his hotel, he found that his car was rigged with explosives, detonating in what can only be described as a cowardly and vile act of terrorism. Although the attack did not take Mr. Wayne's life, it left him critically injured, resulting in his admission to the emergency ward of an Italian hospital, where he is currently hanging on the brink between life and death." An attractive and charming woman with blonde hair started with a sad and disappointed expression on her face.

"Now, let's not mince words here. We all know that Bruce Wayne is more than just a billionaire. He is a pillar of our community, a beacon of hope and philanthropy who has dedicated his life to bettering both our country and the world. His family was one of the founding fathers of the great city of Gotham and has contributed more to America than most political families in the country. From his company's groundbreaking innovations in different sectors of technology to his unwavering support of numerous charitable causes, Mr. Wayne represents the very best of what it means to be an American." She elaborated, her face lighting up with "patriotism" and encouragement. 

"And an attack on Bruce Wayne is an attack on America ITSELF. It is an assault on the values we hold dear: courage, integrity, and the relentless pursuit of justice. We must stand united in our condemnation of this despicable act and support the swift and decisive efforts of both American and Italian authorities to bring those responsible to justice. As an American myself, I condemn the authorities who were unable to protect Mr. Wayne and I implore everyone to stand by him in his support." 

"In times like these, it is imperative that we remember the resilience and strength of the human spirit. The Wayne family including Mr. Bruce Wayne has faced countless challenges and emerged stronger each time. Tonight, our thoughts and prayers are with him, wishing him a speedy recovery and continued strength in the face of adversity."

"This attack will not deter us. It will not break our spirit. Instead, it will reinforce our resolve to stand by Bruce Wayne and Wayne Enterprises who fight tirelessly to make our world a better place. We will not be intimidated. We will not be silenced. Together, we will rise above this dark moment and shine even brighter." The woman encouragingly said while looking directly at the camera, her face filled with infectious determination. 

"... Stay tuned for more updates as this story unfolds. You are watching Wayne News Network, and this is Catherine Grant, from the Catherine Grant Hour, reminding you to stay strong, stay vigilant, and above all, stay proud to be an American. Good night." 

[{(Image in Discord)}]

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<(Bruce Wayne POV)>

"Where the fuck did you recruit her from? She took the term 'passionate foot-licking' to a whole other level. The way she made me seem like some sort of capitalist Messiah, even I had cringe from it." I struggled to close my mouth after switching off the TV in my hospital room. 

"What are you talking about? She did AMAZING. Wow, I can't believe I found a talent like her, I should be starting my own talent management agency. That woman... you have no idea how she is going to soon change the face of your media company. Till now, we have been the leading news network in Gotham and one of the top 10 in the US but with her help, Metropolis is in our bag as well. In fact, not just Metropolis, if we can continue to recruit talents like her, I can guarantee you that Wayne News will easily become the biggest media and news company in the country if not the world in no time." Vicki confidently stated with an impressed look on her face.

"... Well, whatever you think works, I guess. You are the media genius here, after all, not me. Just make sure that she doesn't go... too over the top." I said with a tired exhale before taking another sip of my grape-flavored smoothie. 

Currently, I was comfortably reclining in a bed in my private hospital room, with a significant part of my body wrapped in bandages to conceal the fact that the explosion had actually left me unscathed. This hospital was among the countless beneficiaries of the Martha Wayne Foundation's generous donations which meant the hospital was happy to go on with my demands. Alfred was also acquainted with some of the senior management here and ensured that news about my health condition would not leak from the hospital. As far as the public and the media were concerned, I was fighting a battle with death right now which meant that I could truly relax here until I chose to go back and make a public appearance once again. 

"I admit this was quite "cringe" as well but in all fairness, so is the media in every other news channel nowadays. Yours was actually quite entertaining. For a few moments, even I felt bad for Gotham's messiah and America's true hero. I guess I am still an American from the heart, aren't I?" Slade Wilson, aka, Deathstroke uttered while chuckling like a madman as he entered my room followed by Ace. 

"Haha, laugh all you want. I'll see how you like it when this happens to you. Maybe I'll try and make you into America's darling soldier one day to take revenge or maybe even force you to run for president." I snorted. "Anyway, what news have you brought me, my highest-paid employee?... Also, how the hell did you get Ace inside the hospital?" I asked while petting my favorite pet dog behind his ears.

*GRRRrrr* Ace let out a happy rumble from his throat as he felt my hand ruffling the fur on his head. With a satisfied and happy expression, he sat down beside my bed and looked toward Slade as if signaling him to go ahead and answer my question.

"I get paid the highest because I have the best skills in the world. Don't make me sound like a leech or something. As for your dog, believe me, not a lot of people reject multi-billionaires from bringing their dogs inside someplace. And yes, I have figured out who tried to kill you. But before I tell you that, I just want to inform you that I have called some of your newly bio-enhanced bodyguards here. They will be guarding the hospital as long as you are here and everyone else who is close to you until we eliminate the person responsible for this. You don't even need to lift a single finger. I'll take care of everything and..."

"Slade, quit dilly-dallying and just tell me who it was so that I can take care of it?" I interrupted him with a frown. 

"... Although it was a professional assassin who attempted the assassination on you, someone who was... very good at what they do, the order, however, was placed by someone else. And it was not done through the League of Assassins, Nyssa confirmed that. The League or should I say the High Table has termed you and your close ones as untouchable targets. No one is allowed to put a bounty on your head through their services. So, the people who did it used a more traditional approach instead. They used the dark net. However, even then, most assassins would not dare take on the task like this since you are too much of a high-profile target and you have me, the great Slade Wilson, aka, Deathstroke as your chief of security... or whatever else fancy position you have given me." Slade 

"You seem to be deflecting the question, Slade... Wait, are you... afraid?" I asked, furrowing my brows, "No, not afraid maybe. But you do seem to be weary of something. The question is what?" 

"I am NOT afraid. Slade Wilson is not afraid of anyone. It's just that the person who tried to kill you is not your normal run-of-the-mill assassin..." Wilson replied with a snarl. "*Sigh* Have you heard of Colonel Rumaan Harjavti, the current supreme ruler of Bialya? He was the one who put a bounty on your head in the darknet. Apparently, he came to power because the previous king got weak after he was diagnosed with third-stage lung cancer. The King is still alive since Harjavti is not politically powerful enough to actually kill the royal family, but he won't live for long without some miraculous cure... something like the xenobots you recently developed and are planning to spread around the world. But if the king were to pass away, his teenage daughter would be the only one left in the royal bloodline and I am pretty sure you can understand how easy it would be for Rumaan to make his military reign over Bialya permanent if he just married the princess." Slade explained.

"That's it? That's what you were cautious about? A king trying to kill me because he wants to stop the cancer drug developed by my company from being sold all over the world. God, he is really stupid, isn't he? Does he even understand how companies work? Even if I die, someone else will just inherit the company and continue selling the product. What a buffoon. *Sigh* Anyway, I think you grossly underestimate just how powerful a big-time capitalist in America is." I said with a relaxed chuckle. "This is nothing a few discussions and threats won't solve. Worst case scenario, I'll just assassinate the Colonel and put the princess in power or something if this escalates."

"That was not what was making me so worried, kid. The one who accepted the bounty... at first, I thought that it was someone from the remnant League of Shadows, the one that is still operating under Lady Shiva using some unknown island as its base but turns out I was wrong... The one who just tried to kill you, it's one of your old mentors... David Cain, the most feared killer in the world." Deathstroke completed in a grim tone.

"David Cain?" I repeated his word, as I remembered the man who had taught me everything there was to know about killing someone in the most effective manner possible during my tutelage in the League of Assassins. He was not just one of the "generals" under Ra's Al Ghul but his most effective assassin and an absolute master in his craft.

David considered himself an artist when it came to killing his targets. In fact, he didn't even do what he did for money or power but simply to prove that he was the very best in his profession. Even though he was the most effective killer in the world, he still didn't consider himself perfect. Instead, he wanted to train someone perfect, and for some time he thought that I was it, the perfect killer that he always dreamed of being. Of course, that was until he realized that I wasn't so keen on killing innocent people after which he just regarded me as another failure and disappeared.

However, I never thought that he would be back to try and kill me especially since I was his favorite student and all. Also, if the assassin really is David Cain, then this car explosion wasn't his attempt at killing me but a simple... "hello" before he truly started the job. 

Now a lot of people might ask why I was concerned about someone like David Cain, a mere human who had no supernatural or superhuman power whatsoever. Well, remember the 'preparation hack' that Batman is famous for? The reason why Batman always wins against all of his enemies? The reason why Batman can even defeat extradimensional all-powerful entities with enough time? Guess who taught it to him. Yep, it was David Cain, the man who can kill anyone with enough time and preparation.

That man has no limits or boundaries. He can and will kill children if it would help in killing his target faster. He isn't some villain who will try to stupidly kill you with a bunch of guns and missiles but someone who will use anything at his disposal to plot and take away your power, weaken you, wound you, and then kill you when you are at your absolute weakest. He was a true monster in man's skin, and I am pretty sure that whatever he had planned for me was much MUCH worse than a damn car explosion.

"This is going to be a fucking headache." 

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