Batman #616

HUSH CHAPTER 9 - THE ASSASSINS

Batman rappels down from the Batplane and boards the company jetliner, Lexcorp-One. Once inside, he kidnaps Talia Head and takes her back to Gotham. He tells her that Ra's al Ghul will not tolerate a threat to his daughter. Talia points out two flaws with the problem: she and Ra's are not on speaking terms, and Batman would never hurt her.  Returning to Gotham, Batman leaves Talia in the care of Catwoman. The message is quickly received as Batman soon finds a scimitar sticking out from a computer terminal in the Batcave. Concerned, Batman hurries upstairs to check on Alfred. After seeing he's alright, Batman quickly deciphers the context of Ra's "message", but is confused to learn that he is being summoned to North Africa. Alfred theorizes that Ra's may be luring him away from Gotham, but Batman has no choice.  Later, Harvey Dent sneaks into the home of former police commissioner James Gordon. He tells Jim that Batman will need their help in resolving the current string of crimes. He also tells Gordon that the gun used to kill Tommy Elliot was Jim's old service pistol.  Batman arrives in Africa and meets with Ra's. The two engage in a sword fight, and Batman surprises Ra's by running him through. With Ra's incapacitated, Batman begins questioning him. Ra's is not responsible for the recent attacks on Batman. In fact, he wants Batman's opponent equally dead, for the person recently used and defiled one of the last Lazarus Pits.  Back in Gotham City, Lady Shiva breaks into Catwoman's penthouse by Ra's command to rescue Talia. She gets into a fight with Catwoman, and easily takes her out. To her surprise however, Talia turns the tables on her, smashing a chair across the back of Shiva's head.  Batman returns to find Catwoman has been healed by Talia. Talia says that Catwoman would have died if she had not returned, but decided to come back for Batman's sake. Talia kisses Batman and warns him that his mysterious opponent knows about his affection towards Catwoman and will use it against him. She asks Batman if Catwoman is worth the risk, and he silently answers yes.