DC:The Darkest Knight

Standing in front of one of the prison cells in Batcave Layer 5, I looked at the Asian woman lying inside, pretending to be asleep.

Sandra Wu-San, better known as Lady Shiva, a member of the League of Assassins and leader of the League of Shadows.

[IMAGE]

I kept watching her as she continued her act before finally sitting up.

"Why are you here?" I asked as she stood calmly in the cell.

"I was actually here to see if you are a worthy heir, but now," she said as she looked around with interest and awe, a smile bloomed on her face. "Now I'm sure, now I'm here to give you a chance to be the salvation of this cursed city."

"You have so much potential, child, and we could harness that potential to bring out the best in you and make you a better version of yourself. With our help, you could save this corrupt city, bring order and justice, and become a hero that will be remembered for generations," she said, trying to manipulate me.

"I thought the League started grooming from childhood. Aren't you a little too late for me?"

Lady Shiva narrowed her eyes at my response.

"You know about us?" she asked, stepping closer.

"I know what I know, I don't know what I don't know, so I only know what I know and don't know what I don't know. I will learn what I don't know to know what I know."

"Your mind games won't work on me,child" Lady Shiva said, her expression unchanged.

"You are far too high up in the food chain to deliver a simple invitation. Does Ra's al Ghul know that you are here?"

At the mention of Ra's al Ghul, Lady Shiva's eyes lit up and she looked into my eyes with an even wider smile."You even know him, you are getting more and more interesting, child."

"When you attacked my home yesterday, why did you bring other assassins? To the League, I'm just a lonely rich kid."

"You're not worthy to question me, child, but I will entertain you for now. Because that butler of yours, who found out and eliminated multiple shadows effortlessly without getting a scratch, not to mention his unnatural strength. And now this place, this prison cell. I'm ashamed to admit it, but even I can't find a way out... yet."

"Ah, you guys were my stalkers, not the Court of Owls," I realized that I was being targeted by Ra's al Ghul.

Alfred, that old goat, I specifically told him not to do anything unless they entered the manor grounds.

what a fucking bother. I really don't want to be targeted by a manipulative, international terrorist cult leader who is obsessed with genocide.

Should I go to the League now since they sent me an invite?

I mean, I could, but it would just be a complete waste of my time.

They can't teach me anything I already know. What are they going to teach me? How to fight? How to use chi? I already know every fighting style in the world and how to utilize my chi. Teach me how to be sneaky? Even without my suit, which is capable of hiding even from Darkseid, someone with cosmic awareness, I am a master of stealth.

The League has nothing to offer me because I already have all the skills that Prime Batman has. Maybe I could study Lazarus Pit if I go there, but I can always do that after I kill Ra's al Ghul when he comes to Gotham.

"You just can't stop giving me surprises, child. To think that you even know about the Court of Owls. Since you know of them, it is even more reason for you to come with me. They haven't bothered you until now because it was the League that kept them in check. If you were to refuse us," Lady Shiva said, stepping closer to the barrier to intimidate me.

"League will stop holding them back, and you—"

"You're boring me, Sandra," I cut her off.

"How do you kn—"

"I know what I know and I don't know what I don't know," I interrupted her again.

"Sto-"

"No, Sandra, I'm not playing games," I said as I passed the barrier. The moment I stepped inside, Lady Shiva attacked me, pressing the pressure points in my body to paralyze me in the most painful way possible.

But what she didn't know was that the clothes I was wearing weren't normal clothes, but my bat-suit in casual clothing mode.

I simply watched her as she pressed my pressure points, waiting for her to finish. With each hit, her movements became slower, and she eyed me with suspicion.

"Wha-"

"Hush, Sandra," I interrupted again before I struck her pressure points just like she did to me, rendering her paralyzed.

Falling to her kness, her eyes turned bloodshot, and veins bulged all over her body, and her skin began to turn red, showing how much pain she was in. But I know that it was just her body reacting, not that she was really in that much pain since she had likely trained herself to endure pain.

I placed my hand on the barrier, and hundreds of different images covered the entire barrier, each one showing different person. "Every person you see here is part of the court, and they are being watched by my drones 24/7," 

"Don't speak, Sandra. It's pointless. Be a good girl and listen," I said, gently stroking her hair as she attempted to speak. "Every single one of them has a bomb inside their head and heart. Their lives are in the palm of my hand; they are only alive because I allow it," I said as I pointed to one of the images and made a fist, causing one court member's head to burst. His death won't affect me too much since He was a human trafficker that the police were already investigating and had some clear evidence, of course provided by me.

Then I opened my hand to reveal an hologram of a cloaked figure wearing an owl mask. "This is The Judge of Owls, their leader of some sort or the one with the most authority since the Court of Owls is ruled by many, but he is not the real one, mind you. I killed him last year before I altered his mind and put it into an android with absolute loyalty that will obey my every order without question. And He's not the only one; I control the Court of Owls from the shadows, Sandra, without them even knowing." I said, noticing Lady Shiva's horrified expression mixed with a fleeting obsession.

I stopped stroking her hair, held her face, and gazed into her eyes with a soft smile.

"Last night, you interrupted something very important to me—my time with my beloved wife. For that, I will make you suffer, Sandra. You will feel pain beyond your worst nightmares," I said, pulling out a syringe filled with yellow liquid and injecting it into her.

"I just gave you a serum I developed. It will increase your body sensitivity by double, and this is only the weakest version of the serum. But don't worry, it's safe because it's something I also use when I'm training my body's pain tolerance," I said as I began to undress her. She looked at me with disgust, probably thinking I was going to sexually assault her or something.

"I'm not horny like you, Sandra. Get your mind out of the gutter," I said, leaving her in just her underwear. "I'm not going to torture you in a traditional way like beating you, burning your flesh, or electrocuting you, I'm more creative. Those ways of torture are... boring, old, and uncivilized," I said as I stepped outside the barrier.

"I'm going to release hundreds of bats into your cell, Sandra. They are genetically engineered bats that contain poison that will make you feel like your blood is boiling and cause your muscles to spasm. I know you have a high pain tolerance, but with your body's increased sensitivity, their bite will feel like a punch—a hundred punches at once. And I'm not even counting the itching you will experience since their bites will cause itchiness, an intense itching all over your body, and you won't be able to scratch it. Isn't that delightful? I designed it that way, no need to thank me." I said with a soft smile, looking like a harmless child that never hurt even an ant.

[BAT'S IMAGE]

"Once you get used to the pain, I will inject you with a serum that increases your sensitivity by 4 times. I will continue doing so until I increase your body's sensitivity by 100 times, and if you can survive after all of this, which is actually impossible since you will go into shock because of the pain and die, but if some fucked up miracle you survive, I will set you free."I said, as handcuffs emerged from the walls and restrained all of her limbs, then retracted as she hovered in mid-air, while leaving out the fact that, in addition to the bats, a fear toxin will also be released inside her cell and a projection of me will constantly be within her line of sight, watching her. I will break both her body and mind as I become the living nightmare for her.

Yet, Lady Shiva remained calm, showing no fear, only excitement. She was probably thinking she had found a golden egg and would soon escape to report everything she had seen or find a way to manipulate me into doing her bidding.

"You don't have to worry about the league either since they will be thinking that you stay behind to teach me," I said as Lady Shiva's hologram showed up next to me. To fool the league, I just have to spar with Lady Shiva's hologram outside the manor a few times so they think that she is teaching me. They might eventually realize it's not the real Lady Shiva, but it will take them atleast few years.