73 Chapter 73: Reshaping Shadows
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"If we were normal, we might not be alive today. And that, my friend, is what gives us the edge we need."
– Makoto Shishio, (Rurouni Kenshin)
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<[One Month Later]>
<(Omniscient POV) >
"Are the weapons here? And what about the food, water, and medicines? We need the last shipment here by tomorrow for the remaining wounded who still haven't recovered completely." Talia asked the masked female ninja beside her as she walked through the streets of the partially destroyed League of Assassins city on Nanda Parbat.
"All of those resources are here my lady. They arrived this morning. Mistress Nyssa has even already started administering the medicines to the injured who have pledged their loyalty to the new Demon's Head." The masked assassin said in a stoic voice.
"My sister huh? It seems that she is taking her role as part of the newly established High Table quite seriously. Good for her. The sooner she grows up, the less worried I will have to be for her... How about our numbers? How many of our generals still haven't betrayed us?" Talia enquired with a calm voice.
"Surprisingly most of them didn't rebel and instead decided to join us after our new leader sent personally written letters to each of them. The only ones who didn't listen and completely cut off all connections after the recent attack were the divisions led by Lady Shiva, The Swiss, and The Magician. The Dragon has also been quiet and hasn't made his stance clear but again he was never a major force. Even the assassins under him could be counted on one hand.
However, the most dangerous of them all for us right now would be The Swiss or David Cain. Despite not being the strongest or the most influential among the generals, he is definitely the most cunning. Also, he currently occupies our oldest and second-biggest stronghold after Nanda Parbat, the Eth Alth'eban with the highest number of assassins among all of our generals under him numbering more than four hundred whereas we ourselves barely have two hundred of them left after we called in all of our reserves directly under our control. An all-out war with him right now would be... difficult." The female assassin said with a slight hesitation.
"David Cain? That man sure is ambitious. Even Father barely maintained his control over him. It was only because of Father's absolute ruthlessness and brutality, that the man had never dared to cross him. But it seems that the moment he has gotten a wisp of our disadvantage, he has started showing his true colors... But still, I am positive that he won't attack, not until he is absolutely sure that Father is dead... permanently. Instead, he will be biding his time and using it to increase his resources and soldiers." Talia stated confidently as she breathed out a tired sigh.
She had been working way too much the last month than she ever had in her life. She had always been a princess, a shadow warrior, and sometimes a tool for her father. But, this was the first time she had become a leader after Bruce gave her exactly what she wanted and made her one of the three founding members of the High Table beside her younger sister and Bruce himself.
Of course, at first, Talia was elated that she finally had the power she always desired and the chance to prove herself better than her father but after about a month of managing the League's activities, she finally understood why Bruce had included her in the High Table instead of just having the complete league to himself as the New Demon's Head while reducing her to a mere pawn.
It was because of the workload. The bastard didn't want to work at all. He liked making plans and preparing for the future but when it came to the actual execution of those plans, he liked to dump the entire thing on either Cortana, herself, or her sweet innocent sister Nyssa. Despite having power over the League 'almost' equal to Bruce, at least on paper, Talia didn't have any time to enjoy it at all. She had to work almost all day, especially with Bruce still supposedly recovering from his wounds and her sister not nearly being as adept in politics, leadership, and management as her.
But still, she had to admit that Bruce delivered on everything he promised, from control over the League to getting rid of her father, and he did all that too without trying to trick her even once.
One thing was clear to Talia, Bruce might not be as cunning, experienced, or knowledgeable as her father but he was definitely twice the man Ra's Al Ghul could ever have been. He was someone she and her sister could trust, someone who would not betray them just for a little bit more power or some glorious purpose. No, according to her observations, he was someone who put himself, his family, and his friends first, perhaps even before the world itself.
He was a better person than her father was but at the same time, this particular selfish trait of his also made sure that he had the potential of being a much bigger villain than Ra's could ever be. However, that didn't deter Talia at all but for some reason, it made her even more inclined to trust and depend on him. In fact after his recent... 'change', there have even been times when Bruce took complete control of certain situations and acted as the supreme leader of the League despite the presence of the High Table but Talia instead of feeling insulted in such situations, for some reason always felt turned on.
"*Ahem* Anyway, your name is Jade, right? You were one of the earliest ones who pledged their loyalty to us and fought in the battle on that day a month ago, which by the way, I should thank you for. But, I want to know how are you adjusting to your new life after the new Demon's Head came into power. Do you regret the passing of my fathe... the previous Demon's Head?" Talia asked her new ninja assistant while trying to forget all immoral thoughts about her sister's boyfriend.
While polygamy and a man having relationships with multiple women were common things in the culture her family originally belonged to with even her father doing it a couple of times over his centuries of long living, having received a modern education, she didn't want to be one of them and most of all, she didn't want to earn the ire and hatred of her own sister for doing that.
'However, casual sex or a one-night stand doesn't count, right? I mean if both of us are heavily drunk, then it wouldn't be anyone's fault in case something taboo happens... God, when did I become such a loose slut? I should hang myself in shame.' She thought to herself while keeping a stoic expression on her face as she waited for the ninja in front of her to answer.
"... Not really. I was actually a relatively new recruit who didn't perform very well initially when I first joined the League. Although loyal, I was too young and inexperienced at that time. The old Ra's Al Ghul not only didn't value my loyalty but even sent me and a couple of others on a suicide mission to a mountain filled with undead without even warning us, despite knowing that we probably wouldn't even be returning alive.
But the new Demon's Head and Lady Nyssa were also on that mission. Under his command and leadership, we were able to return alive without any significant casualties. So no, my lady, I do not miss the old Ra's Al Ghul. Since that day, I have owned a favor to... my liege, one that I am finally able to give back by pledging my utmost loyalty to his cause. I am loyal only to one person now Lady Talia and that will never change." Jade, the assassin made her thoughts clear without any hesitation or fear.
"I see. Good for you, I guess. You can go now." Talia said after a while of thoughtfully looking at her face like she was searching for any signs of a lie.
"Oh, and I would appreciate it if Lady Talia could kindly call me by my League alias instead of my real name. Jade makes me sound weak like I am only something that is meant for decoration and I don't want to be weak ever again." Jade requested with a small bow.
"Fine, you can leave now... Cheshire." Talia said, dismissing her with a careless wave of her hands before focusing her attention on the beautiful scenery of the mountainous city in front of her, or at least what was still left of it after Cortana's explosions that fateful night.
'Maybe I should take up a new code name too. Father wanted to give me the name Penumbra but I didn't like it, so I never used it... Perhaps, I should ask Bruce for his opinion. He might suggest a good codename for me.' She thought to herself, not knowing that she had begun to depend more and more on the young genius billionaire than even she herself realized.
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<(Bruce Wayne POV)>
As I walked past the rows and rows of books in the massive library that was my mindscape, I noticed certain changes that had taken place in it for the last month which even I was unaware of. These changes were not made by me, despite this mind castle being my own.
For example, there were now certain intensely glowing deep-green and slightly glowing black crystals protruding from all over the walls of the library. They looked like they were put there deliberately by someone to strengthen the walls and thus as a result the core of my mind but I absolutely had no idea whom or even why.
Even the fireplace in the library behind which the secret vault containing my personal memories and top-secret knowledge was kept, had changed somehow to look like a grand Victorian-style fireplace with fire strong enough to even melt metal. Truthfully, it looked more like a large fancy-looking incinerator than a fireplace.
'What the hell happened here?' I mentally thought to myself as I pushed a few random books in a unique combination after which the fire dimmed down and a small hidden locker behind the fireplace could be seen.
I had to further verify my identity by giving my iris scan and fingerprints as well as a unique voice-activated password (it may or may not have been 'I am Batman') to the locker, only after which did the secret vault completely open.
'It seems my mind has changed a lot after I absorbed all of Ra's Al Ghul's memories. It has become bigger and...stronger but it also revealed something I had no idea about before.
It showed me that the parts of Ra's Al Ghul's soul or... mind or whatever it was, weren't the only things that had been absorbed inside my mindscape. No, there was something else in here, something that had been present in my mind from the very start but had remained hidden.
It was broken pieces of the mind of the old and original Bruce Wayne, who had died before I even came to this world. His ego was gone, but parts of his soul and mind had been left by him in his body, something I had unknowingly absorbed into myself, the moment I took over this body.
The black dimly glowing crystals were proof of that. They were parts of his broken soul which had been passively strengthening the core of my mind and soul, giving me some additional protection.
I had always carried a part of the old Bruce within me, a hidden shield that acted as the final barrier to my mind and soul even without my knowledge. It was his legacy, his gift to me, that allowed me to survive the pit's soul-corrosive effects longer than Ra's Al Ghul, who succumbed to death wayyy before me. But when I absorbed the memories of the ancient assassin through the ritual, I also ingested some of his shattered soul fragments, which triggered a reaction in my own psyche. The pieces of Bruce that lay dormant and hidden in me awakened and emerged to full view, finally giving me access to them.
But as much as I was glad to have that protection, this also begged another question. Did I just get a minor protection against mental and spiritual probes and attacks from these fragments or did I inherit something else as well? It was a curious question, one whose answers I would find real soon.
"There it is," I whispered to myself in awe as I took out and opened the laptop from the secret vault in which I had previously stored all my personal memories except my future knowledge of DC and saw a file titled 'Unknown Life' which was heavily encrypted just beneath the newly downloaded file named 'Ra's Al Ghul's Amazing Experiences'.
"Should I decrypt it?" I thought out loud as I wondered about the implications that could result from this if the file somehow affected my ego and suddenly changed who I am, something that would be akin to a mental death for this me. After all, you are only what your memories are, what your experiences make you.
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