Save Him

Batman and all related and recognizable characters belong to DC Comics, not DC
Luder.

^V^

"It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was."

Anne Sexton

^V^

After leaving Wayne Manor, I decided to stop in at Metropolis before returning
to the Watchtower. I convinced myself that I needed the mental break from the
latest dilemma, but mostly I knew I just wanted to see Lois.

Corny as it was, seeing her reminded me how grateful I was to have her at my
side.

Being a Saturday afternoon, Lois would either be camped out on the couch
watching her season set of Desperate Housewives or would be at Dahlia's Day Spa
for a three hour long afternoon of pampering that totaled to a three figure
bill. I landed on the rear terrace of our apartment pleased to detect the scent
of grilled cheese sandwiches as well as the sight of the television flickering
in the den.

After changing quickly, I made my way out of the bedroom towards the sound of a
year's worth of primetime television available with the press of a button.
Despite the cool air pumping in through the air conditioner, Lois was in a tank
top and khaki shorts, eyes glued to the screen. Before I could make a sound, she
turned and smiled, "Hey, I missed you this morning… Where did you go last
night?"

I had been debating how much to tell Lois about Bruce's kidnapping. They were
friends, thus requiring me to tell her. But I knew the reporter in her would
result in a barrage of questions I had no answers for. Darned if you do, darned
if you don't…

Her voice interrupted my thoughts, "Clark? What's wrong?"

"There's an emergency situation in the League," I spoke as I sat beside her on
the couch.

She tensed slightly, drawing her legs up to her chest as she shifted to face me,
"As in an intergalactic space invader emergency?"

I smirked slightly before locking eyes with her, "No. I would actually prefer a
few global dominating alien legions right now."

Lois paused the DVD and took a breath before asking, "What's going on, Clark?"

"Bruce was kidnapped."

"What! I haven't seen anything on the news… Do you know who took him? What do
they want?" The tempo of her voice increased with each question, a tell tale
sign of her interest as well as her concern.

"No, Lois… I misspoke. Batman was kidnapped. Early this morning in Gotham…"

"But… How? Why? Who would---?"

I interrupted her, although my voice was barely above a whisper, "Ra's al Guhl."

She opened her mouth to reply, but then pursed her lips together. I had told her
little about Ra's but it was certainly enough to make the concern in her eyes
become even more troubled.

It was a moment before Lois replied. And when she did, her voice was softer than
usual, "What does he want with Bruce?"

"We don't know. We just found out that Ra's was behind it… We don't even know
where he took him…" I sat back on the couch, not surprised when she reached for
my hand. I squeezed her slender fingers before continuing, "We don't even know
if he's still alive…"

"Of course he is. After all he's been through, I doubt Bruce would die at the
hands of a gazillion year old whack job." The lack of conviction and humor in
her voice did little to persuade me.

I filled her in on the few details we knew, from Nightwing's frantic call in the
middle of the night to the tattered costume and blood drifting in the Atlantic
Ocean. I finished with the surveillance tapes showing Bruce's violent
apprehension as well as the images of Ra's and his daughter.

We sat in silence for a good ten minutes before I finally stood, "I have to get
back, Oracle should be contacting us with their progress."

She nodded, but otherwise her body remained motionless. Once on my feet, I
glanced down at her, certain I had ruined her afternoon of bliss. It was when I
began to leave the room that she stood, wrapping her arms around me tightly, "Be
careful."

"I will," I replied before kissing her brow.

Before she let me go, she looked up at me, locking eyes as she said, "Save him."

Without another word, she sat back on the couch, staring at the still image on
the television as she grabbed a pillow to hug. I paused for a second before
continuing towards the bedroom, donning the blue and red for the second time
that day. As I began to head out of Metropolis, I heard a bank alarm sound
thirty blocks away. Deciding I had time, I flew over just in time to see two
armed men garbed in black bust out of the back doors of the First National. Mere
seconds later, they were hanging upside down ten stories in the air, my hands
securely grasping them by their ankles. Even still, the successful apprehension
of the pair of criminals did little to brighten the day.

After the police arrived, I flew straight into the sky, my speed increasing with
every second. Once through the atmosphere, I changed course and traveled towards
the Watchtower. A quick scan of the station showed there were only two Leaguers
inside, as well as a number of reserve members.

Diana was brutalizing the assault dummies in the training room as she vented
whatever frustrations plagued her. Nearly the polar opposite, J'onn was in his
chambers meditating.
Since my previous encounters with Ra's al Guhl had always been brief and
violent, I decided to read through his JLA file in order to get better
acquainted. There was a large research room with research, media and computer
resources available to any League member, although usually only J'onn or Bruce
could be found using it. Taking a seat before the massive monitors, I logged in
before opening the file that entailed the life and times of Ra's. I skimmed over
the basic physical characteristics, my eyes kept glancing over at the profile
image. The hatred in his eyes did something cold to my stomach.

I selected the title "Ra's Al Ghul �" HOSTILE" and waited as the file composed
itself on the screen. Moving to the dossier, I fought a frown as I recognized
Bruce's verbose phraseology, fluidly summarizing his arch-rival onto words.
Without reason, I began to read aloud, "Ra's is a fanatical, megalomaniacal,
ecological terrorist who is granted near immortality via his triumphant control
and exploitation of the Lazarus Pit. Superb hand-to-hand combat and mastered
sword-fighting skills are just two of his successful combatant methods, but
above all else is the heartless manner in which he uses his daughter, Talia, as
not only a lure but as an operative in his quest for global domination."

As I scanned the next sentence, I couldn't help but sigh, "But as much as Ra's
abuses his parental control over Talia, he also has made it his goal to find her
the perfect mate so that he could have a suitable male heir of supreme
bloodlines. I have often been seen as the superlative candidate but have turned
him and his daughter down religiously..."

I had been alone in the research area at the Watchtower for nearly an hour when
I heard soft footsteps approaching. Smirking, I stared down at the glossy
tabletop before acknowledging him, "J'onn."

"Casual reading?"

"I wish," I sighed, taking a moment to glance back at him before looking back at
the screen. I had just finished reading the account of the Clench Outbreak that
Ra's was responsible for and the coldness in my stomach had been replaced with
sheer disgust. I had yet, however, to open the file marked "Babel", uncertain as
to how necessary reliving that period of time was.

After closing the file, I looked back to J'onn just as he spoke, "Oracle is
calling."

I stood quickly, "Any news?"

"She said there was some progress, not much… but useful nonetheless."

Without another word, J'onn and I made our way to the monitor womb where a whole
score of communication equipment kept the Watchtower in contact with the league
and the rest of the planet for that matter. I recognized the computerized visage
on one of the smaller monitors and was pleased that once I came within range of
the cameras, it changed to Barbara's face.

"Oracle?" I asked as I depressed the outgoing transmission button.

She removed her glasses before replying, "Read you loud and clear…"

"What have you found?"

"First of all, I deleted the footage from the surveillance tapes so that some
security guard can't sell it to the local station. The last thing we need is
Batman on the six o' clock news… Nightwing, Robin and I worked on trying to
locate what vessel he was on after Ra's apprehended him."

"And?" I asked, finding it difficult to wait for a response.

"It took a little leg work but we narrowed it down to what plane he was on. As
they crossed the Atlantic Ocean they must have thrown out Bruce's suit, weighted
it down somehow to be sure that we would find it."

"That makes sense… But what about the blood?"

Barbara paused, "It must have already been on the suit, and then washed off once
it was in the water. I wouldn't doubt that there was bloodshed in that struggle
they had in apprehending him."

I sighed quietly, "Of course."

J'onn asked, "Where did the plane land?"

"First in Portugal. After refueling, it traveled over North Africa towards Egypt
before going off of satellite and radar detection. Most likely as they neared
the base, some sort of cloaking device was activated. He must have known we
would have figured it out eventually, wanted to cover his tracks." She paused
for a moment, a wave of frustration washing over her features, "If we'd figured
this out twelve hours earlier, we might have been able to follow the trail left
by the jet engines but now…"

I paused then replied, "It may not be entirely out of the question… I could at
least try."

The look on her face was full of doubt but she nodded, "I'll send you the
coordinates and the flight path."

"Any other leads?" J'onn asked, his deep voice resonating in the monitor womb.

"Batman has a massive file on Ra's in the Cave, lists of previous bases of
operations included. There is one main facility that we know of in the
governorate of Matruh, approximately thirty miles south of Siwa."

"Is that on the Nile?" I asked.

"No, actually it's closer to the Mediterranean coastline. Siwa is an oasis in
the desert... It's no wonder Ra's would set up a base near there. It's
practically unpolluted, residents practice organic farming… Near to the ideal of
what Ra's wants for the human race and for the planet," she paused before
adding, "Batman has blueprints of the facility so if it is where he is being
held, we can at least go in prepared."

"If," I sighed, "How many other bases does he have?"

Barbara barely kept herself from frowning, "Nearly two dozen that we know of.
Several have been destroyed over the years, and I'm certain there are many more
that we'll never know about."

A small display screen showed the coordinates of the jet's path of flight as
well as a set of latitude and longitude figures. She explained, "That's where
the Matruh base is. It won't be in plain site and it will definitely be lead
lined… but while you're over there you might as well have a look around. See if
anything is out of the ordinary."

"We'll get down there as soon as possible," I smiled slightly, "Thank you,
Barbara."

She shook her head, "No, thank you." And not a second later, the screen was
blank.

As I stood, J'onn spoke, "Should we invite Diana on our search?"

I paused before replying, "Someone should stay behind in case something comes
up…"

He nodded in agreement before offering, "I will remain behind; continue my
attempts to contact him telepathically."

I was momentarily confused as to why he had suddenly volunteered to stay behind,
but my answer came with the sound of solid footsteps on smooth granite. I nearly
missed Diana as she entered the room.

"Diana," I greeted her.

She offered a curt nod, her Amazonian features flawless even in the fluorescent
lighting. But her voice belied her appeasement, "Any word from Oracle?"

I nodded but J'onn responded; recapping the information we had just learned from
Barbara.

"What are we waiting for then?" she asked immediately after he had concluded.

"We were actually just heading out. J'onn was going to stay behind to keep up
the effort on the telepathic front."

She nodded slightly, "Excellent. Then I'll accompany you to Egypt to help you
look for him."

I paused, wanting to correct her that this was just one possible location of
many and that the odds of him being there were slim. Instead of adding fuel to
the fire, I led the way to the exit chambers. Once in the sealed compartment, I
entered the security code and waited for the massive metal doors to unbolt and
let us into outer space.

It was a long silent fifteen minutes before we came upon northwestern Egypt.
Even once we flew over Egypt; neither of us uttered a word. As dreaded, there
was no way of determining the jet's path as too many others had passed since
then, mixing the particles chaotically. I stilled myself in the air and Diana
followed suit, "What is it?"

I sighed, "I can't differentiate the jet's path. It's been too long… Might as
well start looking on the ground," I scanned the area, finding the flourished
city of Siwa not ten miles away. Directing my gaze in the opposite direction, I
spoke again, "It's less than twenty miles in this---," but before I could
finish, Diana had already taken off.

It took a second to catch up with her, and once I did she only flew faster. Once
we arrived to roughly where Oracle said the base was, I slowed and a second
before she did, coming to halt midair before making my way to the sandy ground.
She did the same, landing a good fifty yards away. Although I could have asked
her what was wrong, there was no point in risking my well being.

That and I had a hunch as to what the answer was.

She and Bruce had always been entangled in an odd relationship. His instincts
had forced him to be wary of her, as well as the others in the League; his
concern for those with super powers beings no secret. An odd friendship had
developed, not one of a traditional sense, but of two beings doing their best to
outdo the other for amusement. And it wasn't long ago when that odd friendship
had blossomed into something even stranger.

Courtship.

Brief, unsuccessful but a courtship nonetheless. At first I had trouble
believing it, after seeing them quarrel so over the years. Then again, it wasn't
as if they were broadcasting it publicly. But the way they glanced at one
another and would then quickly look away spoke volumes.

Then, at some point, things went back to normal, par a bit more tension between
them. I had always wondered what had been the defining factor that brought their
brief tryst to an end. Actually I wondered just how much of a tryst it had
actually been. I knew that Bruce's reputation as a playboy was purely for show
and I couldn't help but think he hadn't enjoyed the company of another person
for his pleasure in years.

Well, he certainly had plenty of company now, I thought as the image of Talia
flashed in my mind.

After an hour of fruitless searching, my eyes gazed the flat horizon, spotting a
fast approaching sandstorm. Nothing too threatening but certainly not the ideal
forecast. When I pointed it out to Diana, she looked at the approaching storm
with the same disgust I had seen her show for our opponents.

It was then that I heard it.

A voice, barely there. Before I could focus on it, the quiet sound vanished.

As I moved in the direction I had heard it originate, I heard another voice,
this time the low, even tone of J'onn J'onnz, "There is word from Oracle. She
wishes to speak with you."

"What is it?" When he told me, I fought a gasp before responding over the
telepathic link, "We're on our way back."

"What is it?" Diana asked.

"J'onn said that Oracle wants to speak with me…"

For the second time that day, I watched a pair of blue eyes grow with concern.
"What's happened?"

"Ra's has made contact."

^V^

Chapter Five: Family United