Fan Fiction: Crossovers
Lineage

  As Bruce placed the journal back on the shelf he resigned all he had read to his memory. He now knew his suspicion was true, The Master, Ra's al Ghul was a madman bent on a world wide apocalypse and was also apparently immortal. Bruce knew he must leave the army of the shadow and be prepared to combat them if necessary. In order to be prepared to combat Ra's, Bruce knew he had to learn as much about the immortal as possible. Realizing he had limited time Bruce decided he could not possibly read all of the journals. Therefore, he focused only on the journals marked with a medallion, reasoning that the best way to prepare to battle someone was to study their fighting style. Bruce would see how Ra's al Ghul fought this Zorro.

  As Bruce read through the journals he learned about Ra's al Ghul's quest for the talisman and his history with Zorro. Zorro had first appeared shortly after the time of Mexico gaining its independence from Spain. Zorro himself was a man who completely clothed himself in black and wore a cape along with a mask and hat. Ra's had written that apparently Zorro wore the costume in order to help scare and confuse his opponents. Bruce liked that idea of using psychology to give yourself and edge in a battle before it begins. Zorro was also an expert acrobat and swordsman. He was also known to leave his trademark at the scene of every battle he fought in. At every battle scene, he would carve a Z for Zorro in the wall, or in the clothes of his opponent, or sometimes in his opponent' body itself.

  As the shaman had mentioned, a land owner then known as a Don had acquired the talisman intent on using to gain access to the weapons of Shambala to enslave the people around him but Zorro had stopped him. Zorro had then taken it upon himself to protect the talisman.

  From then on Zorro would only appear if the people in the town he first appeared in where threatened. Ra's carefully studied Zorro for several years whenever he sprang into action. Ra's even went so far as to create situations that would draw Zorro out for the sole purpose of studying him. Indeed Ra's had the patience of an immortal. At one point, Ra's noticed Zorro had suddenly become several decades younger in appearance. This fact intrigued Ra's. He began to study Zorro even more in depth following his every move. Ra's eventually came to realize that while he had a similar fighting style to the man he had first observed this was not the first Zorro. Finally, Ra's had tracked Zorro back to his lair a cave beneath the villa of a local land owner Don Diego De La Vega. "Again a cave used a lair" Bruce noted.

  De La Vega had been the first Zorro and had trained an apprentice to take his place when he retired. A thought occurred to Bruce even if he trained himself to the physical peak one day his body would grow to old to carry on his fight. While he had not thought about it before for the first time he considered that he may one day need to train an heir to his crusade. Bruce then chided himself, his "Crusade" had not even begun yet and he was wasting valuable time on thoughts he could process later. He went back to the journal.

  Ra's had managed to gain access to Zorro's lair. He described the cave in detail. The cave had high walls and was lit by candle light. It was huge easily twice the size of the villa above. In the middle of the cave, was a large stone platform which Zorro and his mentor used to practice their swordsmanship. On the far right side of the cave, there were a series of ropes and bars suspended from the ceiling used for acrobatic training. Next to the entrance from the villa there was a library with numerous books, atlases, and maps of the surrounding area. To the far left hand side of the cave, there were a series of large rocks apparently used for strength training. The back of the cave was a waterfall with a small path running along side it, which Zorro used for an entrance from the outside.

  Ra's took this all in and was careful to note where the prize he coveted was always kept, around the neck of Zorro himself. The talisman never left the heroes neck. This meant Ra's would have to defeat Zorro in personal combat. Ra's reveled at this idea he felt this is how the fate of men should be decided in personal combat, and finally Ra's had met someone worthy of himself in combat. This Zorro was at the peak of human conditioning. However, Ra's could not face Zorro at this time he had to travel across the world and engage in the rejuvenating embrace of a Lazarus pit. He would return later and even though he may not face this particular Zorro he knew the Zorro of the next generation would be a worthy challenge as well.