The Next Generation

Nightwing sat behind the large computer screen in Titans Tower. He was trying to run various analyses on what little information he had about that mystery man to try and discover who his identity was. It was not Ra's al Ghul, he knew that much. Though he had never crossed paths with Ra's before, he knew enough about his appearance to know that this man was not even close to looking similar. But then who was? That's what he needed to find out. He hadn't yet contacted Batman about Cassandra yet, not quite knowing how to break that news yet, or even wanting to deal with it at the moment. He would soon, though.

With a large ice pack resting on his injured knee, Nightwing started uploading data from his communicator into he computer. Bringing up a recording of the couple minutes he was at the warehouse, he isolated several sentences that the man had spoken. Then, he ran it through a voice matching system. "Compare voice analysis to known villains in our and other heroes' rogue galleries," he said to the computer.

The computer began running the cross reference, taking five minutes to complete. "Three possible matches located," the computer voice responded. Two of the possible matches were definitely not the right person, but the third and closest match made Nightwing stare long and hard at the computer screen. That was who he had thought the voice had to belong to. But it didn't match the face. It wasn't him, and yet somehow he had the same voice? Something here wasn't adding up.

Next, he uploaded one of the clearer pictures he'd taken of the man's face that night. "Compare facial structure to known villains in our and other heroes' rogue galleries."

And so the computer ran the analysis, this time taking two minutes to finish. "One possible match located."

It was the same result as the voice match. But... how? It wasn't the same person, but had the same voice, and the same overall facial structure? This didn't make any sense! Unless... "Computer, age subject by twenty years," he ordered. The computer obeyed, and took the image of the mystery man and aged it, adding a few wrinkles, slight bags beneath the eyes, and other subtleties. Now the man looked to be in his fifties... and it was much closer to the computer's match result.

"Hair color, silver," Nightwing added. The man's hair color went from jet black to silver. Nightwing's heart skipped a beat. "No..." It couldn't be. Adding one final touch to be sure, he darkened one side of the image. The ice pack fell off his knee as he lurched forward in shock, staring at the image. "My god."

The next few days went by as if nothing had happened, and yet Neal could feel that something was very off about the League, but it was probably just his opinion. It was mostly the absence of Shiva that made Neal feel as if things were drastically different. Normally after Talia had beaten Neal to death they had enjoyed chatting and getting together in the springs in order to allow his injuries to heal. For the past few days though, it was evident that it was not going to happen. No one had seen or spoken to her since her daughter's death, she wouldn't even answer the door when Neal told her that it was him. Eventually, he gave up to wait for her to be ready to talk.

He had training to do.

---

He blocked the blow that came from Talia, using the position of his arms in order to increase the strength that he held on the weapon. In the past few days with Talia his mind was more focused than ever. He had seen the results of his training, he had defeated Nightwing! THE Nightwing! The person that he had looked up to for so long! Neal was growing powerful! More powerful by the day, and it was all thanks to the League. Without Shiva, the only thing on Neal's mind was his training against Talia.

Neal made a quick movement, trying to push Talia's blade away before he quickly snapped his arm up to try to hit her face with his elbow. If that was successful he tried to use the opening to move his sword and smack Talia right in the chest.

The combat was lightning fast on both sides, much better than it had been before. Usually, it was Talia that struck fast, with Neal struggling to keep up. But now, she had to work to her fullest potential to fight him. It was simply astounding at how quickly this man could learn. And as she was soon about to find out, he didn't just learn quick, he learned well. Really well. Talia blocked one incoming strike and thrust forward with her weapon, but to her surprise, she missed. Instead, her face ran straight into Neal's elbow pushing her backwards and clutching her nose, which was now bleeding. She barely managed to deflect the follow up blow aimed at her chest, only just pushing it up into her shoulder instead.

She stopped for a moment, bringing her hand down and inspecting the blood. There was quite a bit of it. "Good," she stated, reaching for a cloth to press to her nostrils. "Very good. You are my equal now... and in such a short amount of time. I'm afraid I underestimated you."

---

"Nightwing, what is it?" Batman asked, as the face to face call opened up.

Nightwing, on the other end, was standing in front of his computer, leaning forward with his head bowed. "Bruce... you know how much I hate to ask for your help, but we really need it this time. I really screwed up."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

"It's Cassandra... she's dead, Bruce."

A long pause of silence passed between them. Batman didn't show any visible signs of anger or sorrow, but he wouldn't do that right now, not in front of someone. "Was it the League? Was it Ra's?"

Nightwing shook his head. "It was the League... but it wasn't Ra's. I don't think Ra's is running things anymore. Someone else is in charge now, and... and it might be worse than Ra's."

"What are you talking about?" Batman asked. "If Ra's isn't in charge now, then who is? Talia?"

"No, Bruce... it's-" When he spoke the name, this time Batman visibly tensed up. It was not the answer he was expecting by any means. And if it were true, then things had definitely just become more complicated.

"Listen," Batman said, urgently. "Robin and I will be there as soon as we can. I'll see if I can't find some additional help, as well. Ra's I might be able to handle alone, but him... we're going to need everyone. Try to find a way to locate where the League of Assassins is hiding out. We need to stop them before things get more out of hand."

Talia was one of the greatest weapon masters that Neal had ever seen, it was why he was lucky to get into the League of Shadows. He absorbed what he saw, and Talia fought like a real person would in a real fight. She didn't hold anything back, and because of that it was completely exposed for Neal's mind to absorb. He was grateful for it and for her, as anyone going easy would have only made Neal weaker. Shiva was right on day one, training with videos wasn't doing Neal any good. But THIS, this was getting him somewhere.

Neal got ready to launch another attack on Talia when she called the fight to an end with her words. He stopped and lowered his sword as she claimed that he was now her equal. "Do not apologize, I was nothing before I came here. My skill is only a showing of how good you are Master" Neal said as he gave a bow of respect to Talia. He rose back up again and looked right at Talia. "What will the League ask of me now?", he asked as he was already curious as to what he needed to do next.

"Now, you will be training with our leader himself," Talia explained. "He has been quite persistent lately that you learn how to strategize and plan out fights, to exploit an opponent's weaknesses to your advantage, and the like. Combined with what you've already learned from myself and Lady Shiva, it will truly turn you into a person to be feared and respected. You should be honored; you'll be the first that he has chosen to train privately."

Neal's eyes widened as he heard that he would be training with the mysterious leader himself. He still wasn't sure who this guy was, but if Talia and Shiva respected him than he had to be someone of power and authority. "I look forward to working with him" Neal said honestly as he moved forward and handed his wooden sword to Talia. "Thank you again for the training, you helped me get to this point" he said as he gave another bow. "Am I just supposed to report back here again tomorrow?", he added curiously.

"No," a voice said. The very man of which they spoke appeared behind them, walking calmly with his hands clasped behind his back. "You are to stay here, as our training together begins immediately. If you will excuse us, Talia." Talia simply nodded to them and left. The League of Assassins leader then circled Neal for a moment, looking him over. "You have come a long way since you first came to us, Neal. You have reached the peak of your fighting and physical prowess, but now it is time to work on the mental side of things. You have your illusion tricks and your soul-self, of course, but that is not of what I speak. I refer to strategy. A good strategy can allow you to overcome even the greatest of odds.

"While pure physical skill is fine against one, maybe even two opponents who are weaker than you, what happens when you're pitted against a group of enemies, those of which are even stronger than you? If you know about their skill beforehand, and you've studied them, or you've had a chance to plan out and rig the battlefield in your favor, you can take down as many opponents as needed with ease, no matter how powerful they are. That is what I am here to teach you, how to exploit your enemies' weaknesses and turn them into your own overwhelming advantage. We'll start with your former Titans, discuss their abilities and how to beat them, should you ever find yourself pitted against them. From their, we'll work outward to their allies, and then to other unrelated heroes as well. When I'm done with you, you'll be able to devise a plan to take down even Superman, if ever required."

Neal's head turned as the familiar voice suddenly came back, as the leader revealed that he was now present in the room. Apparently his training was going to start immediately. Neal had to admit that he was a bit surprised, but once the man spoke he was going to understand. He spoke about how physically Neal had achieved an extremely high goal and was probably one of the stronger people out there, however he wanted Neal to learn about mental warfare now. He wanted Neal to learn strategy.

Well, at least this guy wasn't going to be beating Neal over and over again with a stick right? That was a positive to this. Neal would definitely have to train in his free time to keep his body in good shape. Hopefully Talia would be willing to have a sparring match again, but it would be better if Shiva would come back out and just talk to Neal.

Neal continued to listen as the man spoke, saying that he wanted Neal to be able to change the battlefield and learn the weakness of his enemies. If he had that, he would be able to manipulate any situation to his advantage. He could easily see why it was so important to learn. The man wanted him to start with the other Titans. Instead of talking about them all at once, Neal decided it would be better to focus on them one at a time, hear about how the man would critique his strategy. "I'll start with Nightwing, who is probably easier to deal with than most of the others," he admitted. "If you're stronger than him in a fight there isn't much that he's capable of. Other than that it's just learning his gadgets and what each of them does in order to avoid them, such as his barriers that he uses to hold dangerous enemies in one spot at a time, or his promethium binders" Neal said as he looked towards the leader. "If you know or remove his gadgets, the only thing he has are his fists.....and he can't use those to defeat me anymore"

"Yes, Nightwing," the man said, pacing several steps as Neal began to talk about him. "Probably the easiest of the Titans to deal with. He has no enhanced abilities of his own, relying only on his physical prowess, his gadgets, and his own preparedness. His physical ability is nothing to sweat over, as you've already discovered. On a scale of one to ten, I'd rate him... oh, and eight, maybe. Good, but not great. As for his gadgets, knowing what they are in advance is half the battle against them. You have the advantage of knowing most of them already and how to counter them, but keep in mind that after having faced you once already and knowing that at least some in our League are simply better than he is, he will not come unprepared next time. He will likely have a plan of his own in mind to fight against stronger opponents, and if you forget that, then he may very well surprise you. In my experience, don't show your true ability to him right away. Even allow him to 'win' for a short time, so that he thinks he is doing better against you than he really is. This creates overconfidence and results in a very high chance that he will fail to see a debilitating counter attack when you decide to strike. Do it right, and you can end him in one blow."

He folded his arms across his chest now and looked back at Neal. "Let's try Cyborg now. How would you go about fighting an opponent who is both physically stronger and more durable than you?"

Neal listened to the man as he spoke about how Neal was only partially right. Neal had to admit that the man had several good points, Nightwing wasn't going to keep the same arsenal of tricks after having been bested so easily. Granted, he didn't know that Neal was aware of his gadgets but he'd probably still try to come up with something new just in case. The leader was merely saying that even when creating a good strategy don't assume that you're going to win, because something new could always come up that you couldn't plan for. Let your opponent thin that he was winning, so that when you pulled out your true power he wasn't prepared for it. Neal would definitely keep that in mind. "Excellent points, I'll make sure not to forget them"

As the leader brought up Cyborg, Neal was silent for a moment. In truth Cyborg was the one that he wasn't quite sure how to deal with. "In truth I don't really know. I think a front on attack would be insane unless I had some sort of device that would help take out the electronics of his body", he admitted as he thought about it curiously. "If I had to pick, I would say if I was given the chance in advance I would try some sort of sabotage to mess with his circuits. If I didn't have that, I'd need to outsmart him or outmaneuver him.........to be honest I have to admit I'm not sure what I would do"

"Cyborg is outfitted with the most highly advanced weaponized cybernetic prosthetic," he explained. "And more importantly, he's also smart. Brawn is even more dangerous when mixed with smarts. Getting close enough to him to try and sabotage his circuits in a direct way suicide... if he's fighting at full capacity. In my experiences with him, he has shown concern at times about being more machine than man. Target his humanity, and he will hesitate in using his cybernetic half. This results in a 300% increase in your ability to react to his attacks, allowing time to employ this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device, tossing it to Neal. "An EMP charge. His automatic system reboot allows for 4.4 seconds in which to eliminate the threat; more than enough time. Now, let's move on to Beast Boy."

Neal gave a small nod as the man explained how he would personally dispatch Cyborg. Neal found it strange, how did this man know so much about them? He had even found out that Neal was Fade without any sort of slip up on Fade's part. How could he have known? Was he just that smart? Or had he been around the tower and heard them talking about who they really were? Either way it didn't matter. Neal caught the EMP device and quickly pocketed it, memorizing the time limit that he'd have. Should he not want to use it though, he'd have to target Cyborg's humanity. Easy enough.

"Beast Boy" Neal said with a chuckle. "He'd be the easiest to deal with. Out of all the Titans he's the least serious and the least brightest. He can shapeshift but his human form is weak compared to all the others. Even on one of my first days as a Titan I was able to trick him considerably. I would just need to see his form and figure it out from there, working differently depending on how he was using them against me. I'd prefer to just sneak up on him and knock him out, Shiva showed me that knock out gas affects him no matter what form he is in"

The man smiled a small smile. "Yes, quite right. Beast Boy is in all likelihood the least dangerous of the group, and your alternate abilities are more than capable of tricking him into his defeat. With how you are now, he should be no trouble at all. Now, moving along... let's focus on Starfire. Quite possibly the most destructive of the group, and though I haven't seen her around lately, it never hurts to be prepared."

"Starfire, she's a tricky one," Neal admitted as he thought about what he would do. "From what I've seen she gets too passionate. If you harm any of her friends or are about to kill them, she goes into a rage and loses focus on what she needs to be doing. Especially if you attack Nova, yes I would say Nova might be her biggest weakness. She makes rash decisions when she gets infuriated, and with her abilities it makes her slightly more dangerous but believe me when I say she makes BAD decisions" Neal emphasized. "She once charged Black Adam all on her own just because she lost her temper. It nearly got her killed too"

"Yes, precisely," he said, pacing several more steps with his hands behind his back. "Her alien physiology provides her with superior levels of strength and stamina, but also comes with quite the temperament. Under normal circumstances, all she would need to do is hang back and nuke you with starbolts, but frequent taunts will increase her frustration levels and drop the accuracy of her starbolts by nearly 50%. This drop in accuracy will force her into ground based melee attacks, which become wild and easily predictable in her rage. In doing so, this increases your own efficiency and lethality twofold."

He paused a moment and glanced back at Neal, eyes narrowing. "And now... what about Raven?"

As Raven was brought up, Neal was silent for probably a whole minute before he looked up at the leader. He wasn't sure what to say, he already knew the answer but for some reason voicing it felt like it would be an utter betrayal of Raven's trust. "You have to make her feel emotionally vulnerable if you can. When she's not in control of her emotions she's a wreck, I've seen that first hand" he admitted as he kept his eyes level with the leader. "Taunt her about how she's nearly destroyed the world, make her feel like she doesn't belong" he added. "If you can do that, get in close to finish the job. Her spells and magic are powerful, but she is not the best hand to hand fighter"

"Good," the man said, standing suddenly straighter, even though he'd already been standing perfectly straight. "You've figured out already that her abilities make a direct frontal assault far too risky. Exploiting her self-doubt, on the other hand, is the easiest way to deal with her. Employing psychological tactics will decrease her overall proficiency by 75%. This constant negative stimuli will result in laughably predictable combat tactics, elevating your own success rate by 82%." He was silent for a moment and then began slowly circling around Neal. "I commend your use of your experiences with the Titans to come up with strategies to use against them. Keeping in mind my added intel, none of them should ever be a problem for you, should you come across them. But there is more to cover. There are other heroes out there to devise strategies against. We'll start with Bat Family."

Neal just gave a nod as the man commended him once again for the use of his own knowledge to come up with plans against the Titans. He had stumbled against Cyborg but now if it was brought up again he would know exactly what to do about it. It was than that the man said that they needed to focus on the other heroes that were out there. He needed to be ready to fight anyone. Neal opened his mind, and listened and talked with the man for as long as he deemed suitable.

---

The next day Neal was walking towards the same area of training, curious about who they were going to cover today. There were a LOT of heroes after all, how on earth were they going to decide who he should focus on? Neal supposed it didn't matter, once it was in his mind it was never going to go away. With that in mind, he approached the training area right on time. Ever since that incident with Talia he made sure to never come close to being late.

The League of Assassins leader was already waiting for Neal when he arrived. He gave a small nod in greeting. "Welcome again. Today, we're going to cover something a little different. We'll go over strategy again a little later, but for now, I'm going to teach you an ability that will elevate your combat proficiency threefold. It's called body reading. Each person has a distinct body language about them, little twitches or mannerisms that they don't even realize they do. In combat, if you can read this body language, you can predict when and where your opponent will attack before they do. Quite simply put, if you can master this ability, you become untouchable. There are rare cases, however, when you will face someone who makes no unnecessary movements, who doesn't sweat, doesn't twitch, and is impossible to read. There are very few of those combatants out there, however, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Now, be sure to pay attention."

---

Rain pattered against the large window of the Titans Tower lounge. A storm was brewing outside, complete with a downpour, thunder, and flashes of lightning. Nightwing stared down at the image he had printed out of the League of Assassins leader. he altered one, which he had used to determine his true identity. He still hadn't figured out how it was possible for him to have reversed his age. He knew of the man's abilities, and none of them could accomplish something like that. But then how? And why was he in charge of the League of Assassins at all? It didn't fit his M.O. in the slightest. Something wasn't adding up.

"You alright?" Cyborg asked, approaching Nightwing from behind. "Batman and Robin will be here in a few hours. How's your knee?"

"It's fine," he replied, quickly. In truth, the knee was still bothering him, but he couldn't afford to show it. "But I still don't have a way to track down the League."

Cyborg was silent for a moment. "Well, I'm sure Batman can help. He is the master detective, after all."

"Yeah, maybe," Nightwing said, bowing his head. "I just hope it's sooner rather than later. With the way things are going... we might not even be around here long enough to do anything about it."

"Don't worry, I'm sure-" Cyborg started to say, but was suddenly cut off as the tower's alarm system began to go off. It wasn't the exterior alarm, which indicated a trespasser on the premises, rather it was the interior alarm... meaning someone was inside the tower. "What the hell? How'd somebody get inside without triggering the exterior alarm first?"

Beast Boy and Raven appeared a moment later just as the lights went out. "...power's been cut," Beast Boy said.

Raven glared at him from the corner of her eyes. "Thank you for the obvious."

"Titans," a voice spoke. But no one was there. The only thing they could see was their empty, dimly lit lounge area. A flash of lightning lit of the room suddenly, but still nothing. Then a second flash of lightning, and suddenly standing in the middle of the Titans was a man, a man that Nightwing vaguely recognized.

"Holy shit!" Beast Boy yelled jumping back in surprise. "You trying to give us a heart attack?! "

Raven glared at the man. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The man stood straight and tall, looking around at them, and then finally stopping at Nightwing. "My name... is Ra's al Ghul. I'm here to help you, Titans."

"Thank you sir," Neal said as the Leader gave Neal a greeting. Neal stood at attention and listened as he spoke about what it was that they would be doing today. They were moving away from strategy and going to focus on something else, but what? At the next statement Neal couldn't help but have his eyes open in shock as he heard what was to happen. Something that would increase his physical skill by three times? Was such a thing possible? He listened at the explanation, could Neal really become stronger by being able to predict his opponent's move just from something as simple as a twitch or movement? Neal had a hard time believing it, but he cast aside his doubt for the time being. The Leader saw Neal's potential, and he wasn't going to start being suspicious after he had gotten so much stronger already.

"I look forward to learning this skill, what's the first step?", Neal asked as he took a fighting stance. He figured if he was going to learn how to predict someone's movements he'd still need to be ready to fight and deflect whatever was coming at him.

"The first step is observation," he explained. "You must watch your opponent's actions very carefully. Memorize the movements they make when they go in for an attack, and when they defend themselves. If you've never faced a particular person before, you won't have the necessary information required yet, but you'll pick up on it quickly, once you've mastered the art. For example, did you know that Batman's right shoulder twitches ever so slightly just before he throws a cross jab? Or that Nightwing shifts his body five degrees to the left before delivering a roundhouse kick? Once you can read such actions, you'll never be hit by them"

---

The Titans immediately took a defensive formation, awaiting any hostile move by the man. Ra's was not exactly a good person, and so his offer to help had to have strings attached. At least, that's what they assumed. "And why should we trust you?" Nightwing asked, already reaching into his utility belt.

"Because I've lost something very important to me," Ra's said calmly, making no aggressive action. "And I very much want it back, but I cannot do it alone. I want my ownership of the League of Assassins back; it rightfully belongs to me, and I will not stand by while it is run by traitors."

"You expect us to help you get your group back under your control?" Nightwing asked. "To trade ownership from one crazed psychopath to another? You must be joking. That's like trading Hitler for Stalin. One evil for another."

Ra's narrowed his eyes at Nightwing. "We need each other. I need you to help me get my League back, you need to find a way to stop the League from overrunning this city. If you aid me, then I will remove the League's influence from New York. You'll never hear from us in this city again."

This statement caused Nightwing to pause, actually considering the offer. The others were looking at him, also realizing just how enticing it sounded. Eventually, he responded. "It's a deal."

As the Leader just continued to speak Neal slowly went out of his defensive stance, wanting his entire attention focused on what was being said rather than worrying about some sneak attack punch. So it was just the art of observing someone long enough in order to learn their habits? It sounded like this was something that Neal would easily be able to pull off. No, not easily, it would still take time like all the others but he WOULD learn it. It was not beyond him, he'd learn the art just like he had learned everything else; by throwing his whole heart into it. "Now that you mention it......you're right," Neal said as an image of Nightwing delivering a roundhouse kick appeared in his mind. The Leader was right! That WAS what Nightwing did. "Amazing.....I can already begin to imagine the usefulness of this! If you knew this technique and your opponent did not....he'd have practically zero defense against your attacks"

"Precisely," he said, smirking. Neal was starting to get just how powerful an ability this was that he was learning. "Now, be sure to pay attention. I have much to teach you..." And with that, he began to guide Neal through all sorts of tactics and methods to read a person's body language. It would by no means be easy to master, but with Neal's ability to learn, it would come naturally to him much faster than most.

---

"Batman, do you copy?" Nightwing asked, speaking into his communicator. The Titans, plus Ra's, were speeding down back roads in the country-side of New York state. These were the directions that Ra's had given them to arrive at the League of Assassin's secret base. "We're going in with Ra's now. How far out are you?"

"Robin and I are twenty minutes from the destination," Batman's voice replied. "But we need to make a small detour first. I've been doing some research in the bank records of the city and discovered something that needs my attention before we go in there."

Nightwing just blinked. "What? Are you kidding me, Bruce? What's so important about the banks? We're going in to fight the League now!"

"We'll be there as soon as we can," Batman assured. "I have Tim coming in ahead of us, he'll meet you at the location and provide assistance until Robin and I arrive."

"Damn it, Bruce," Nightwing uttered, as the communication cut out. "Shit... hurry this vehicle up, Cyborg. Let's get there and finish this, now."

The T-car sped along until finally it reached its destination, the entrance of the League of Assassins' lair. Quickly, they all exited the vehicle and looked around for any signs of enemies.

"Five assassins in the trees," Ra's said, drawing his sword. "Four behind the pillars at the front entrance, and seven more on the ground surrounding us. Best of luck to you, Titans... don't expect me to cover your backs."

And with that, all hell broke loose. The assassins poured out of the surroundings and launched an assault with their overwhelming numbers, though the Titans and Ra's still managed to hold their own. Their success was only aided when several flying disks came out of the trees and knocked out two of the assassins that were leaping at Nightwing from behind.

Another figure lunged out of the trees, taking out another two assassins in one blow. Within seconds, everything was silent. The figure went over to retrieve the disks he'd thrown, disks with a red "R" symbol on them. "Thought you could use my help," he said, giving Nihtwing a firm handshake."

"Tim," Nightwing said with a smile. "Good to see you again."

The man called Tim turned to the other Titans and gave them a nod of greeting. "For those I've already met--how you doing, Raven?--good to see you again. For those of you I haven't met already, you can call me Red Robin. I hear we have an assassin problem that needs taken care of. Let's get on it, shall we?"

---

Just as their training was coming to a close for the day, a frantic assassin ran into the room. "Master!" he yelled, coming to a halt and dropping to one knee. "It's the Titans! They've discovered out location and are attacking... and they're not alone. We've spotted Ra's among their numbers."

Their leader narrowed his eyes, but did not show much concern. "Is that so? Well then... let's give them a warm greeting. Neal... go gather Lady Shiva and Talia, meet us in the grand atrium."

Neal couldn't help but just smile at the idea of watching an opponent and being able to tell what their next attack would be. It excited him greatly, he couldn't help but think of the possibilities! To be able to read someone's movements just as they were making them, it would make him stronger than a machine if he was able to learn it well! "I'm ready, teach me everything my Leader", Neal said with a bow before they continued on with their training for the day. Neal did his best to follow, but it was going to take time. At least his ability was going to kick in quickly, that was a plus.

---

As their training was starting to come to a close, Neal turned his head sharply as an assassin came running in with a quick message. The Titans!? But how!? That was impossible! Not even Neal knew how to find this place, how did they!? That was a question for another time though. His head looked at the Leader as he was instructed to go get Talia and Shiva. "Yes Master," Neal said before running off at a quick speed.

It was some minutes later, but Neal had gathered them both up and explained the situation. Apparently Shiva was willing to stall her grief in the face of an attack, Neal was glad that she would have his back for this though. The Titans weren't going to put up an easy fight, that much was a guarantee. They probably wanted payback for Batgirl too. They still had no idea who they were going up against though.

Neal was going to show them true power.

Most of the League's assassins were all gathered in the grand atrium when Neal, Talia, and Shiva arrived. Their leader wasn't present at the moment, though they were sure he would join them shortly. Some assassins had been assigned to defend the tunnels, but chances were, they were not going to find much success. And of course, that worry proved to be true. They could hear the sounds of fighting deep within the tunnels, sounds which gradually grew closer. It wasn't long before the six attackers broke through the main tunnel and into the grand atrium. Nightwing, Red Robin, Ra's al Ghul, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven all walked forward into the much more brightly lit atrium, where dozens more of the League's assassins were awaiting them, including their best in Talia, Shiva, and now Neal.

"Sorry to crash the party," Cyborg announced. "But we have business we need to be taking care of. Who wants a piece of the action first?" He was answered with stone dead silence. "Man... you'd find more sense of humor in a graveyard."

Ra's took a step forward next, his sword already drawn. He showed no fear, even in the face of so many enemies. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves. None of you are fit to call yourselves members of the League of Assassins! Following traitors over the one that made who you are today-" he glared up at Talia and Shiva "-makes you all traitors."