Gala Gone Wrong

End

Bruce lay on the ground, panting, and staring at the ceiling above in satisfaction. He put his hands over his face, catching his breath. He had almost thought Jason would go through with it, but he wasn't too far gone, not yet at least; he was just a hurt boy who needed help. A boy who he needed to help. There would be time for all of that later though. Matt was still in danger.

"Hey! Are you alright?!" Dick yelled out from where he stood, blocked from reaching him, but still able to see Bruce on the ground.

"I'll be fine. Focus. The fight's not over yet." Bruce said, standing back up again with a grunt. "We'll have to deal with Jason later. How's Damian doing?"

"I'm unharmed Father." Damian, who'd managed to separate himself from his mother after a harsh struggle, stated confidently. "We have Deathstroke under control and Red Hood has...vacated the premises.There is only Mother to deal with now."

Damian appeared beside Bruce, before continuing in on a smaller voice. "It's just..." he paused again. "It is quite difficult to face my mother like this. I believe that I may be a hindrance to you all due to my...I am unsure if it is wise to continue this battle."

"You don't have to," reassured Dick, ruffling Damian's hair, much to his annoyance. "It's just her now and there are two..." Dick looked cautiously at the masked figure standing in the shadows. "Three of us. We can handle it. Go and make sure Matt is safe."

"But—"

Dick motioned for Damian to leave and took an offensive step towards Talia. "We'll call if we need you. Go."

Damian nodded and sprinted back into the darkness.

The click clack of her boots announced her. Talia emerged from the darkness of the batcave, a bruise marring on her face. She surged forward, a dagger slashing fluidly in front of her.

Dick was an amazing hand-to-hand fighter, but Talia had many years on him. With every whip of her blade, Dick grew more and more at a disadvantage. She drove him into an enclave and he was soon surrounded by cold, hard stone– the only way out was through her.

With a clang, the masked figure that had presumably hit Slade on the head attacked Talia from behind. She had barely gotten her dagger dislodged from the stanger's billy clubs when Dick began his offense. He surged forward in an attempt to throw her off balance or send her more in Bruce's direction.

Bruce swooped in towards Talia from the sides. Now she was trapped between the three men. Not wanting to get in Bruce's way, Dick took a step back. "Now then, who're you?" asked Dick, catching his breath and turning towards his new masked ally. "Friend or foe?"

Matt held up his hands as a sign of peace. "I'm not exactly helping Miss Ninja here, am I?"

"True enough, but friends don't typically find this place without an invitation. You gonna tell us who you are and why you're here?"

Matt just huffed, pulling the fabric around his face tighter.

"Alright, suit yourself," Dick grumbled, sharing a glance with Bruce.

Bruce gave Dick a nod before turning his attention back over to Matt. "When this is over, you will tell us," he said, staring Matt down with his infamous bat-glare.

"Maybe," Matt said with a small smile, almost teasingly, swiftly dodging a slash at his head. They had ignored Talia for too long. She had moved to higher ground, switching to throwing daggers.

She threw another dagger, narrowly missing Matt's neck. She missed on purpose, Matt noticed with unease. She was at the advantage, but there were more of them.

"Come on." Matt said authoritatively. "Let's close this distance."

As the group gained ground, they also began to gain an advantage, as three-on-one fights usually allowed. They soon had her almost surrounded, the walls of the batcave almost touching her back. Talia was growing fatigued as hit after hit landed. She, in an attempt to regain space between them, hoisted herself up onto a narrow rocky ledge.

Dick joined her on the ledge and he delicately balanced himself. The ledge was very jagged and he was worried how he would fare if they had to fight close distance; the fall down wasn't a nice one.

The masked figure joined Talia and Dick on the jagged ledge, tottering for a few seconds before finding his balance. He quickly rushed toward Talia, his billy clubs striking the wall beside him. Before she struck him, he launched himself into the air, landing on a higher ledge. Talia stumbled, but was able to regain her balance before Dick surged forward. Their weapons clanked loudly as they pushed back and toward on the precarious ledge. With an especially hard hit, Dick flew off the ledge onto the ground below and Talia flew down after him. He narrowly rolled out of the way of her knives. But then, she was on top of him. With a few carefully placed knives, she had his suit pinned to the stone. He couldn't move. Dick was sure that he was done for when Bruce, the mighty Batman, grabbed Talia from behind and body slammed her onto the floor. Dick rushed upwards, his suit ripping as he did so. At the sound of the fabric, he winced. 'Sorry Alfred.' he thought.

He rushed beside Bruce and quickly grabbed Talia's arms, pulling them behind her back. Her weapons clanked to the ground with a loud sound of metal on stone. Bruce manhandled Talia over to where Deathstroke was knocked out and now tied up. He quickly secured her to the stone wall with some special bat-equipment.

A thump and yelp sounded from the right of Bruce and the group turned to see the masked figure kneeling on the ground, clutching his chest. He must have landed poorly. With shaking fingers, Matt lifted up his shirt and saw that his bandages were stained red.

"Damn it!" (Blasphemy) Matt exclaimed. His stitches had ripped and he had begun to bleed again.

The group rushed to Matt, Dick grabbing a small first-aid kit that was stashed away in one of the Batcave's many hidden compartments.

"Let me see," said Dick, forcing Matt to sit down.

Matt jerked away from him. "I'm fine!"

"You're sure you're fine?" Dick asked, inspecting the wound. About half of the stitches had broken and the man would need serious medical attention very soon if they were not attended to immediately.

"Yes although it would be great if you—"

Matt was interrupted from issuing his request by Damian, who dashed back into the cave yelling, "I- I can't find Matt! I searched everywhere!" His face was pale and expression horrified.

Bruce's and Dick's heads snapped up.

"Excuse me?!"

"You can't find Matt," Bruce echoed. "What do you mean you can't find Matt?"

"Father, he's gone!"

Pure panicked looks appeared on their faces and the group was about to rush upstairs when Matt stood up, a small smirk growing on his face. He then raised his hand up, drawing their attention and briefly pausing their panic. "Don't...worry," he said between shallow gasps of pain. "You've already found him."

And with that, he took off his mask, a sly grin on his face.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

"I- you sly devil!"