Half an hour earlier, Jason and Dick had escorted the people from Wayne Castle away from the battlefield, only to encounter an uninvited guest carrying a scythe in the wasteland outside the city.
Blocking their escape route with six of the Court's Round Table members was the Original Talon, the Immortal Uriah Boone.
Although the two young men had never dealt with him, they had received intelligence from Thomas Wayne.
Their opponent was an unkillable monster with extraordinary martial arts skills, undoubtedly a fatal threat to an evacuation party already full of the sick and wounded.
Even Talia, who had secretly followed to protect them, furrowed her brow in the shadows.
"Uriah the Immortal! What a troublesome fellow. Other than Father, I honestly can't imagine anyone in Gotham who could match him."
The woman considered retreating, but Dick, the youngest of them, once again lived up to expectations and stepped forward.
"Leave this guy to me. You all fall back!"
Seeing her apprentice standing tall with his chest out and determination written across his face, Talia rubbed the bridge of her nose in irritation. She realized that apart from fighting skills, her precious apprentice had learned absolutely nothing in the past six months about an assassin's need to quit while he was ahead.
But since her apprentice had said it, his teacher could only tighten her grip on her scabbard.
She had no illusions about killing Uriah. Buying them a few minutes to escape once the fighting began would already be a fine result.
What happened next, however, once again took everyone by surprise.
Behind Uriah, six men in suits and owl masks stepped out of the shadows.
Their leader, Lincoln March, spoke. "It seems Bruce isn't here. Who's leading this group at present?"
"I am. What? Looking for revenge?"