Chapter 65

-Nate Murtaugh. Sixteen years old. Lives with a single parent.

These were the details projected on the screen of the batcomputer.

"Why are you using the computer for this?" Terry freshly came out of the shower and was drying his hair with a towel.

"Well, you said I needed to make a friend."

Terry furrowed his brows and approached the computer. He turned it off.

"Hey!" Damian sounded out his complain.

"Don't treat this like it's a mission."

"But isn't this the mission? To make a friend? And I already chose my target."

"Like I said," Terry couldn't believe that he really has to repeat himself. "Don't treat this like a mission. That's not what being friends is all about. That's not how you form a relationship. You have to get to know them through conversing. If you want to know something about them, at least go through their social media, they'll post what they're willing to reveal about themselves. Don't go through government records!"

Damian crossed his arms and licked the inside of his cheek in annoyance.

Terry looked at him and heaved out a sigh before turning around and activating his suit.

"You're going out? Can I come with you?" Damian asked.

"No." Terry said firmly before flying out of the batcave.

----

Inside the museum, Diana, behind a magnifying glass, was meticulously brushing a metal shard that had markings on it.

"Terry, what are you doing here?" Diana seemed to be talking to herself, until a man appeared out of nowhere.

It was Batman.

"I came to ask a few questions."

"You didn't feel like asking me anything before." Diana turned around to face him and tilted her head.

"Because we were trying to stay out of your business, but now it's unavoidable and I might have to step in."

"You don't plan on stopping me, are you?" Diana glared at Batman.

"Killing Talia? No. She'll come to kill you too, anyway, once she finds you standing between her and the eye of anubis. That was the part that we were trying to stay out of." Batman moved closer to Diana. "My question, why is the eye of anubis required to making the omega bomb?"

Diana smirked. "Anubis, the egyptian god of death, was also a user of the omega effect."

Batman furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes as he prepared to hear her tale.

"After the war between the egyptian gods, they collected his eyes and buried them into two separate locations. One was unearthed by you, humans, and the other one was discovered by Gorilla Grodd deep beneath Gorilla city."

Diana took out the eye of anubis from her bag and held it. It looked nothing more like a precious gem. Who knew that it held something powerful and that it had a deep history? "My guess is, he studied it and discovered that it gave off readings of the omega effect."

"Hmmm..." Batman pondered for a while. "Jason Todd. He was ressurected by Talia Al Ghul. It's highly likely that Talia has a copy of the plans for the Omega bomb and Jason just stole it. But why is she after the eye of Anubis eight years later?"

"Who knows. She just probably found the proper use for it now."

"But how did you find out that she was after it now?"

Diana frowned. "She recently got the helmet of Fate...."

"What's that?"

"It belonged to the most powerful sorcerer in the universe. Whoever wears it gets possessed by Doctor Fate whose spirit resides in the helmet."

"Doesn't seem so powerful if he lost it."

"His only weakness is the wearer himself. A normal human, Kent Nelson. I rushed to where he was as soon as I heard of Talia's appearance, but their fight was over. He didn't survive the injuries he sustained when he fought Talia. He managed to say with his dying breath that Talia was after the eye of anubis next." Diana clenched her fists.

"Did he say why?"

"No..."

"So..." Batman crossed his arms and pondered. "We can only assume that she found a way to utilize Fate's powers without getting possessed and losing her free will."

"Correct."

"When your fight with Talia happens, hand over the eye to me."

"Sure. I only needed it as bait, anyway." Diana shrugged before turning around and going back to her work.

Batman decided to leave right after their conversation.

He leaped out of the window and put his arms behind his back like a captive. It looked like he was taking the leap of faith until his wings activated and stopped his fall then, the jets from his soles shot him upwards to the sky.

As he was flying through the sky, he took his mind off of what his previous conversation with Diana so he could focus on why he was out. To know what these criminals are doing in Gotham. Their intentions.

Batman has already picked a target and was heading there. An organization that was supposed to be based in Starling city.

The triads. They had a base in Gotham before, but Batman was able to chase their operations out of the city.

He got intel that they have occupied a chinese restaurant in Chinatown.

He had already activated the camouflage function of the suit and went inside the restaurant nonchalantly. The waiter didn't even take notice of how the door opened and just passed it off as a gush of wind as he proceeded to slack playing on his tablet.

Batman walked past security and entered the back door where they were doing their secret operations. An underground casino.

He passed through the casino, undetected, and entered the office he suspects where the leader was.

"Huh?" Batman muttered to himself. The office was empty.

All his senses were telling him to run away and escape immediately.

It was a trap. They knew he was coming.

But before he could make a move...

Boom!

Someone tackled him from the back and slammed him to the wall.

-Defense systems, sixty percent... (LUCIUS)

"Gurgh!" Batman grunted as his whole body was being pushed against the wall.

People entered the room from a secret door.

An elderly lady wearing traditional chinese clothing walked towards him.

"I was worried if you can really handle him yourself." She said, talking to the person that was immobilizing Batman. "I apologize for doubting you."

"It's understandable, Madam Yin." A feminine voice replied to the elderly lady known as Madam Yin that could very possibly be the leader of the triads that entered the city. "He is, after all, that formidable."

It was a voice that Terry wasn't familiar with. But he already has a hunch of who she was.

"Even though you say that, you're handling him very well." Madam Yin sniggered.

"Grrr!" Batman tried to turn his head but his head and back were being pinned to the wall. "Are you Talia?" He asked.

"Yes." She casually replied.

"Even if you kill me now, Wonder Woman will come after you."

Talia laughed, leisurely. "Then, that's good. I need her for my plan, anyway. I understand that the eye of anubis was entrusted to her. If she comes to me with it, then it would be more convenient."

Batman widened his eyes at the sudden revelation.

"And whoever said I was going to kill you?" She let him go.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Alarmed, Madam Yin yelled.

Batman, finally free, threw a punch immediately.

Talia caught his fist with her hand and pushed him back, slamming him onto the wall.

"Tsk tsk tsk." She waved her finger. "After I graciously set you free, you immediately threw a punch at me? Rude." She grinned. "You should properly hear what I have to say first."

Left with no choice, Batman just glared at her and gritted his teeth, waiting for her to continue talking.

"Good." Talia smiled in satisfaction.

"This wasn't part of the deal-" Madam Yin said but was cut off by Talia raising her hand.

"I would have gone with your predecessor's wishes. Anything at all. I would have gone along with him. Do you know why it didn't end well for us? The one thing we didn't agree on?" Talia asked Terry.

"Because you're a crazy bitch?"

Talia laughed. "You're funny..." She covered her mouth, only revealing her fierce eyes, and continued talking. "It was because he refused to kill."

"What's the point of telling this to me?"

"Because I don't want you to make the same mistake as him. If you really want to create your ideal world, you should erase those hindrances."

"Ha." Batman scoffed. "Are you telling me to kill these people?" He looked around the room. Madam Yin and her guards were very alarmed, slowly pointing their guns at the two of them.

"Exactly." Talia nonchalantly replied.

"I refuse."

Talia sighed. "I expected as much." She lifter her eyes again and looked at Batman. "But I'm not giving up. What would it take for you to kill? That's what I want to find out."

"Then you'd be wasting your time."

Talia, delighted by the challenge, grinned. "Is that so?"

She immediately slammed him into the wall again with a front kick.

"Gugh!" Batman bounced off the wall and used that momentum to attack Talia.

Talia smirked at him and caught his arm. She manipulated his joints and made him face backwards, pinning him to the wall again.

He was no much for Talia whose strength and agility was multiplied by the equipment she stole from Diana.

"Gurgh!" Batman grunted.

Talia drew her mouth close to his ear. "What if your loved ones get threatened? Would you kill for that reason?"

Batman widened his eyes. "GrrrAAAAA!" He pushed the wall with his other arm with all his might. " Graaaah!!!"

"Yes! That's it! Focus all that anger! Give in to your instincts!"

Slowly, the wall he was pushing started to form cracks.

Talia was visibly very delighted at this scene.

But, Terry suddenly gave up pushing and started to pace his breath calming himself down. "I'll never give in to your wishes!" He declared.

Talia looked very disappointed.

Without any warning, he grabbed his head and started banging it onto the wall.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

She was furious.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

She kept slamming him until the wall crumbled.

-Warning! Defense systems are down! (LUCIUS)

Terry, at this point, was barely conscious.

Talia grabbed his head again and ripped off his cowl and turned him around to reveal his face to everyone in the room.

"Wh-Who is that?" Madam Yin, very frightened at the scene she just saw, asked.

"His name is Terrence McGinnis. His information will be easier to find now that you know his name." Talia smirked. "Now, McGinnis." She looked at Terry's eyes. "What will you do now that everyone close to you could be endangered because they know who you are?"

He glared at Talia first before glaring at Madam Yin and the others at the room. With all his energy left, he wiped his bleeding mouth before opening it. "I'll remember everyone here... if you don't kill me now, your lives will be a living hell. You'd wish that I should have just finished the job and killed you. More so if you go near everyone close to me..." His words were calm, but the intent behind it were delivered properly.

Everyone unconsciously stepped back just by him looking at them.

"Ha." Talia scoffed. "So, in the end, you'll choose to be stubborn... just like your father."

Terry just replied with a devilish grin.

"If that's how you're gonna be..."

At that moment, she immediately moved to the nearest triad minion and pierced his chest with her hand.

"Urk..." The man groaned.

"If you can't finish the job, then I personally will..."