Imagine Book 2

The Price of Immortality- Ra's al Ghul (Young Justice)

Fem Y/N

Ra's al Ghul stood at the edge of the ancient balcony, his emerald cape billowing in the mountain winds. The Lazarus Pit bubbled beneath, its otherworldly green glow casting shadows across his weathered features. Five hundred years of memories weighed heavy on his shoulders, but none more so than those of her.

Y/N.

Even now, centuries later, he could see her as clearly as the day they met – her fierce eyes blazing with determination as she fought off three of his best assassins in that Damascus marketplace. She hadn't known then that the "merchant" whose pocket she'd tried to pick was the Demon's Head himself. He smiled at the memory, though the expression held more sorrow than joy.

"Master?" Ubu's voice interrupted his reverie. "The new initiates await your inspection."

Ra's raised a hand, dismissing his faithful servant without turning. "Let them wait."

Tonight was for remembering.

He closed his eyes, letting the cool mountain air carry him back through the centuries, to when his hair was still entirely dark and his heart still knew how to truly feel...

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Damascus, 1523

"You fight well for a common thief," Ra's said, watching as Y/N held her own against his guards. Her movements were raw but showed remarkable natural talent – the kind that couldn't be taught, only refined.

"And you dress too finely for a merchant," she shot back, ducking under a sword swing while simultaneously sweeping another assassin's legs out from under him. "These men move like shadows. Who are you really?"

Ra's laughed, genuinely delighted by her perception. Even surrounded and outmatched, she was analyzing, deducing. "Perhaps we should discuss that over a less combative meeting. Stand down," he commanded his men, who immediately stepped back and sheathed their weapons.

Y/N remained in her fighting stance, eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Why would I trust you?"

"Because, my dear, I'm offering you something far more valuable than the coins you tried to steal." He stepped forward, noting how she tensed but held her ground. "I'm offering you purpose."

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The memory shifted, blending into another: Y/N's initiation into the League of Shadows six months later. She had proven to be his most gifted student, absorbing everything he taught her about combat, strategy, and his vision for cleansing the world of its corruption.

He remembered how she knelt before him that night, dressed in the black garments of the League, her pledge of loyalty echoing through the torch-lit chamber: "I swear my life to the League of Shadows, to the preservation of balance, and to you, my master."

But when she raised her head, her eyes held something more than mere devotion to a cause. Ra's had lived long enough even then to recognize the spark between them, though he had tried to deny it at first. A leader could not afford such attachments.

Yet Y/N had a way of breaking through every defence he erected.

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Hindu Kush Mountains, 1524

"You're holding back," Y/N taunted, her sword clashing against his as they sparred on the monastery's training grounds. Snow fell around them, melting as it touched their heated skin.

"I assure you, I am not," Ra's replied, though it was partially a lie. He found himself increasingly distracted by the grace of her movements, the fierce joy in her expression as they danced this deadly dance.