Betrayal

     Bruce was tied to a chair in the control room. Talia watched over him from across the room, her arms crossed.
     They were alone in the room; Ra's and his army had left for Nanda Parbat, leaving only a few men at the base. Bruce didn't want to even think about the slaughter that was taking place.

     "Why, Talia?"
     "Why what?"
     "Why kill?"
     "Don't be so naive. Do you really think the world can change without the death of evil men?"
     "I believe men can change for the better."
     "All of them?"
     "...Maybe not all. But some. The others can rot in prison. But they don't have to die."
     "Why not, Bruce? Why not? Your parents were killed, were they not? Would you hesitate to kill the man who killed your parents?"
     "...I wouldn't kill him, no."
     "You wouldn't want vengeance for your parents?"
     "Of course I want it. But if I killed him, I'd be no better than he."
     "Oh, spare me the philosophy! Would the world not be a safer place without him in it? Why not execute every rapist and serial murderer in your accursed city?!"
     "Because every one of them might have a family, like I did. Like you did. Killing them all would only create more empty homes, and ruin those mens' chances for redemption."
     "And what if your justice system judges those men guilty and executes them?"
     "That's the prerogative of the law. We elect representatives to help decide what justice is."
     "Is every judge unbiased? Is every jury? There are things the law cannot do. You yourself know this. Your parents' killer was never caught, correct? My father told me you came to this place seeking vengeance for them. If the law is so perfect, why is your journey necessary?"
     "There are flaws in the system, like any system. But it's better than wholesale slaughter. I seek justice above and beyond what the law is capable of doing, yes. But not through murder."
     Talia shook her head. "I can't imagine you're upset that Deadshot was 'murdered.' He even escaped that supposedly-inescapable prison they put him in the first time."
     "...I'll admit, I'm not sorry he's gone. But that doesn't give you the right to execute him. What right have you over the life and death of others?"
     "You don't understand, Bruce. My father and I... our league... we have no country. No home to go to. We hold no allegiance to any laws of any country. And we will kill those who are evil."
     Bruce noticed Talia's voice quiver slightly over her last few words.
     "Talia, if your father says he only wants to kill those who are evil in his quest, then why is he killing the monks out there right now?"
     Talia didn't respond for a long moment. Bruce saw doubt and sadness creep into her face.
     "My father... says that the monks are impeding his progress in his quest. That they stand in the way of knowledge."
     "The monks of Nanda Parbat are the most peaceful people in the entire world. They hold no malice whatsoever. And your father is going to kill them... for what? Some vague great knowledge?"
     Tears welled in Talia's eyes. Bruce had seen tears like that only once before, once when his mother visited dying veterans in one of their family's hospitals.
     "You don't like killing, do you?"
     "...I care not if I kill those who deserve it."
     "But the people that don't... the people your father steps on in his quest for personal gain..."
     Talia looked into Bruce's eyes for a moment. She wasn't sure she could trust him. There was no one in the world she trusted with her inner thoughts. Not any of Ra's' men, not Ubu... not even her father.
     She relented. "I love my father," she said, her voice trembling. "...But I do not share his apathy for innocent blood. He claims that... that it is necessary. That every life we take in our quest is justified by the righteousness of our cause."
     "But you don't believe that."
     "...I... no. I do not."
     Bruce recognized the look on her face.
     "Because of your mother?"
     Talia looked up, surprised at first. But of course Bruce would understand this, she realized.
     "Yes. My mother was a selfless woman who cared for my father despite his harshness. She loved me and raised me when my father was too busy at war or planning the next battle. She never deserved to die. Not even if her death had been 'necessary' for the cause... she would never have deserved to die."
     "Then stop your father. Help end this madness."
     "...I cannot. I may not agree with him, but... I love him. I could never fight him."
     "Then let me."

     Talia wiped the tears from her face, walked across the room, and cut Bruce's ropes.
     "Go," she said, turning to the computers. "I will divert the troops still in the base away while you head for the temple. The armory is on the way; make use of it."
     Bruce put his hand on Talia's shoulder.
     "Thank you."
     Talia nodded, doing her best to retain her resolve and ignore her betrayal.
     "Hurry."