This is no longer his diary
_______________________________
(3rd Person POV)
Bruce and Ra's were sparring. Bruce seemed to have difficulty keeping up with Ra's, who had a relaxed look on his face. They locked hands, and both pushed as hard as they could. But Ra's flipped 180° and threw Bruce on his back, winning the fight.
"Excellent. You're getting better," he said.
"Just not the best."
"I have no doubt that in time, you'll outshine the sun. You're my Demon's Heart. You've pledged your life to me, but with that comes sacrifice," Ra's said, beginning to dress.
"I understand, Master."
Bruce did the same and slipped into the 'new' official clothes Ra's had prepared for him. Being the Deamon's Heart and all that.
"Where are we going?"
"It is time I showed you my plan of going through with the Lazarus City," Ra's said and walked away.
Bruce followed him, and Ra's began to tell him once again about the purpose the League was created and what his plan to save humanity looked like.
"My Lazarus Cities will astound the masses and usher in a new era for mankind. Ecological, self-sustaining cities ... imagine that, Bruce. There are too many interests that will work against them, though. The world revolves around money. You understand this more than anyone.
Corporations rely on consumption; they won't accept my offer of nirvana, as that would make them powerless and cut into those ties that they call business. Their greed and arrogance blind them to the truth.
Have you ever wondered why I trained killers, Bruce? Why am I training myself when I'm simply looking to make peace in the world?"
"Not really."
"It's because the world needs to be ... forced into peace. It's the eternal paradox of this planet. Just like Lazarus, who rose from the dead, there is no miracle without the death that preceded it. Do you know what I'm saying?"
"You plan on using these missiles to kill millions so that the system falls and you can be there to pick up what is left of humanity and have them indoctrinated into your group of misfits," Bruce said.
"Out of the ashes, I will rebuild and make it better. I was never bothered by death. But I was a bit annoyed... at the death of nearly 50 men I sent to Mila..."
Ra's looked at Bruce, no longer smiling but serious and angry at the same time. Mila was a very special place after all. Bruce wrote about it in his DIARY.
"Do you understand? Imagine my surprise when I sent my men to Mila in search of your lab and only found death! That was a very twisted joke you pulled."
...
"What do you expect me to say? That I'm sorry? You should have seen this coming, oh saviour of the world. Did all those centuries of being alive not teach you anything? You're just as arrogant when it comes down to it. It is your own fault for reading my diary and falling for such obvious lies. I mean, the diary wasn't even consistent; there were several holes in it. Didn't that make you curious?"
"You planned on my reading it. You planned this from the beginning, the very beginning, even before setting out on this journey. You knew that I would know who you were and you knew that I would eventually contact you.
Ha ... Haha ... Hahahahahaha ... What a dangerous man you are, Bruce Wayne!! You got me. You outplayed the Demon's Head, and I had to pay the price, but what did you think would happen when I found out? Did you think I would just let this go?" Ra's asked Bruce, who still didn't look worried.
The demeanour of Bruce changed from the act he had displayed so far. All of it had been a lie, an act. From the very start, he knew that to get to Ra's Al Ghul, which he wanted, he would have to play the part of the broken orphan who sought justice.
The diary was a fabrication, all because Bruce knew Ra's would want to make sure he was who he appeared to be. Why would Bruce lose fights against anyone who wasn't Superman, Wonder Woman or something along those lines? He was Constanting Valdor for fucks sake!
"It didn't matter if you found out. No matter what you did, I was ready for it, the second day I was here. You fancied yourself the hunter, only to realise too late that you had unwittingly swung wide open the door for the true predator that is me. It was amusing, though, to see your little 'indoctrinations' and manipulations at work."
Ra's was angry. His stoic face slowly began to form a deep frown. He was outplayed by what he perceived to be a child. A pompous child at that.
"Then ... was everything you wrote in there ... a lie?"
"To the world, you and these warriors you have gathered around you and those masters I have 'studied' under seem like the greatest of weapons, the apogee of your 'martial and political genius'.
I consider all of you as my natural prey."
.
Bruce had planned from the beginning to show Ra's al Ghul the middle finger and ruin all his progress. He created a Bruce Wayne character that Ra's was expecting. He knew that he was being watched on this journey. The fact that someone tried to cut his brakes in Rio de Janeiro was all the confirmation he needed to know that Ra's had indeed been watching him and would act soon.
All the notes he entered in his diary served only one purpose. To trick Ra's into believing he was manipulating and forming Bruce's mind. He wanted to give him the feeling that Ra's was in control. Even that about Talia, where she drugged him. That part was particularly amusing to write.
He did indeed have a lab in Mila, but there was only a big bomb inside it. He was hoping to have Ra's overextend on this mission to find the drug that made Bruce so powerful.
And he was successful.
Not only did Ra's al Ghul send many of his assassins, but he also sent many of his scientists. And they all died. Killing was not something Bruce did for fun; he didn't feel anything when he did it. He killed the Gotham branch of the Court of Owls and the assassins of the League of Assassins, but that was not the norm.
Bruce wrote the diary as if he didn't know anything about the DC universe. Everything he wrote was things he figured out himself, not by having meta-knowledge. Otherwise, why would he only be 'suspicious' of Ra's and not already know who he is? Ra's was clearly not the only one who was confused.
"If you repeat a lie often enough and enough people believe it ... it becomes the truth. Isn't that what you told me?" Bruce said and pulled a detonator out. It was the detonator to the bombs he had planted on the missiles. He was busy in the last couple of weeks. The city was good; he would return for it eventually, so that wasn't about to explode.
"Wha--"
"I played you, Ra's ... I, the 'traumatised' boy, played you. And you never saw it coming. Let this be a lesson. You led a worthless life." Bruce said and pressed the trigger.
All the rockets exploded in violent blasts, destroying the entire ramp and the advancements the League had made on the matter. Bruce wouldn't accept poor equipment at his future base.
"NOOO!!! You INSOLENT ... who- who do you think you are?!", Ra's was furious.
"I am vengeance! I am the night! I am... Batman!"
"ARGH!" Ra's yelled and began to attack Bruce. He pulled out his sword and slashed at Bruce. They begin to fight all over the compound. Above burning rooms and in labs ...
Ra's was a master of martial arts. He had mastered countless ancient fighting styles, and his experience was centuries old. But all that didn't matter. Bruce allowed the man to vent his frustrations for a moment.
Bruce casually dodged a swing of Ra's' sword and grabbed the man's wrist. He kicked him in his thorax and sliced Ra's wrist with a small knife. The sword fell out of Ra's' hand, and Bruce grabbed it. He stabbed Ra's in the leg and pinned him to that spot, limiting his freedom of movement.
"Argh!"
Ra's didn't give up and tried to attack Bruce with his fists. Bruce caught his fist, punched his elbow lightly and caused Ra's arm to bend in the wrong direction, breaking it brutally.
Bruce, finished playing games, unleashed a barrage of punches and elbows on Ra's.
Ra's didn't give up and tried to punch Bruce once again. But Bruce didn't even dodge. The fist hit his body, which seemed to be harder than steel. Bruce grabbed Ra's arm and pulled lightly...
*RIPP*
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!", Ra's screamed in pain as his right arm was ripped off.
The formerly proud leader of the League of Assassins screamed for a few minutes and continued to bleed from his right shoulder, where his arm once was.
But Ra's al Ghul was nothing if not a professional. He quickly tried to apply something to the wound to stop the bleeding and very narrowly succeeded.
*Haaaaa Haaaaa Haaaaa*
"What ... what ... was that?" he managed to say.
But as he looked at Bruce, there stood no longer the boy above him, but a monster in human skin. A figure of 10 feet (3 meters) towered above him and looked at him as if he had found him worthless.
Ra's lost his voice upon seeing Bruce like that, and his heart stopped for a few beats.
"..."
"I've been adding something to the water for the last couple of weeks. A special virus of my own design that entered your brain into the Hippocampus. I programmed it to self-destruct and fry your brain, should you, Talia, or anyone else ever tell anyone who I am. That is knowingly or unknowingly. If you are aware that it is because of you that someone knows, it will activate.
And it won't kill you. It will fry your brain and make you a useless vegetable for the rest of your life. But just to be sure ..." Bruce said, and then, in a burst of speed, tapped Ra's with his two index fingers on both sides of his temple and then stopped again.
"Kyomu Shidan. This erases memory. I just erased some of your memories. Although I am not sure how much was erased... I reckon it is quite a bit," Bruce said, lying of course and then turned around, catching the sword that was about to impale him between his fingers.
.
Talia stood there with a sword in hand, trying to strike Bruce, but was surprised by what she saw and heard.
"You were never the Demon's heart, little boy. I am. And you will learn what it means to go against--"
*SLAPPP*
Bruce slapped Talia, throwing her through the room. He looked at her as if she wasn't worth the dirt she lay on.
"What a pathetic display of you mortals. No matter what you believe, you aren't strong enough to fight me. Did you truly believe that such a drug would work on me? Pathetic.
I will leave you with it. Someone needs to keep this place pristine until I return to take it. You can watch me stop men and women like you. Watch me as I make this world a better place and bring about real change. Not the easy solution that you were about to choose. A solution that would have never worked. Humanity has great potential for greatness, but also for foolishness and petty squabbles.
I will show you just how little you matter. Don't ever step foot in Gotham." Bruce said and then left.
.
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(Talia POV)
I watch as Bruce disappears from the building. His skill surprised me, as did his demeanour and that power, what was with his height? He had to have been acting the entire time, and we never noticed. And his 'diary' was perfectly fabricated to throw us off track and walk right into his trap. He is dangerous, very dangerous. I will have to run the test with one of our assassins to see whether his threat to reveal his identity is real.
But for some reason ... I don't doubt him.
I look at Father and see that he is defeated ... on all fronts. Bruce has bested him in planning, fighting and pretty much everything else. It is time to bring him to the Lazarus Pit. The question of whether his memories will recover ... well, that is another topic entirely.
"Don't worry, Father. It is not over yet. The true successor has already been secured. Bruce Wayne might think he has planned for everything ... but our child will be born, and we will use him to grow beyond him."
Bruce Wayne might be smart, but he is a man at the end of the day. And that is why he was weak to my advances. But I must commend him for trying to resist. The drug was a strong one, no matter what he said just now. He was like a puppy; he even made me coffee the next day. How cute.
We will meet again, beloved.
.
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(Bruce POV)
I made my way through the desert and even met Minhkhoa Khan. It seemed like Ra's al Ghul wasn't planning on killing him. How bothersome, now I have to take care of this myself.
"Bruce Wayne ... it seems like you won. I am surprised. You bested me, a small boy who lost his parents and has grown this powerful. I won't fight you now. We already did that. Go back to Gotham, crawl back to that dark and gloomy place and let me take care of the world.
And when I'm done with the world..."
"... What? What do you believe will happen then? You are planning that far into the future, but I doubt you'll leave here without a fight," I tell him.
"Oh? Do you want to fight? Come then, I'll--"
I stop him and fire a tranquiliser dart. I hit him in the neck, and he looked surprised at me, not knowing where I took that from. It's a weak dosage, but it will be fast, so I have to hurry. I press my watch, and it grows bigger. Then, there is a tool that looks suspiciously like the memory-erasing device from Men in Black.
"Think about Bruce Wayne ..."
*Click*
I activate the device after telling him what to think about. It works on deleting the memories that are most on the person's mind. So telling him to think about Bruce Wayne pretty much deleted all of that.
Right after that ... Khan falls unconscious.
I walk over to his horse and put all of his stuff down, and then begin to ride away. It is time for one final stop.