Hi guys, another update. It's been a while, I know, but I have been incredibly busy with personal stuff *sigh* Anyway, big thanks to swiftbolt99 for helping me with this chapter. Please make sure to check out his channel, because he has some pretty amazing Bruce and Selina stories as well. You will be able to find his channel in the review section xD
Also, thank you so much to those who reviewed, followed, faved, and read this story so far :D
Selina felt a genius once again. She thought a friendly paintball match would be a fun way to train Bruce's combat skills. They all agreed, except for Bruce who rather spend the day by scanning the newspapers to see what the riddler or Penguin were up to. After realizing Selina wouldn't take a no for an answer without him risking a punch in the face, Bruce agreed reluctantly.
The team set up was the easiest part. Bullock and Jim would form team one while Selina and Bruce formed together as a team, the Hayes sisters joined together which meant Alfred had to team up with Agent George Anderson.
A few minutes after the other three teams were dropped off on their starting points, Ashley and Sandra reached theirs. They were greeted by eight men rising up from the foliage.
"Whoa, what's this?" Ashley asked in surprise.
"Remember when I told you I had a special plan for us to win this?"
"Yes."
"Well here it is," Sandra replied.
Captain Mason stepped forward and said; "Greetings, ladies. Eight man Delta team at your service."
"You and your men are just in time, Paul," Sandra said. "The players are on the move."
"Roger! So what's the plan?"
"We're gonna hold our position for the time being, then once they are locked in combat, we'll close the net and finish them."
"Sounds good to me, Sandra. But how will we know when they are in place?"
"Our friends in the sky will give the word. Speaking of which, they should be on station now." Sandra activated her radio to check with said friends. "Ice Queen to Stalker Three, what's your status?"
Stalker Three, a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter that was circling five-hundred feet above the forest, replied; "This is Stalker Three, we are on station and tracking the players now. This should be a good match."
"Oh it will be. Just let us know when they are all together."
"Wilco, Stalker Three out."
Meanwhile, somewhere five-hundred feet below in the forest, Bruce and Selina were taking cover in the foliage. Selina was checking their surroundings while Bruce was drawing some sketch of a 'perfect' ambush.
"Stop wasting time, Bruce! We're sitting ducks here for far too long," Selina scowled impatiently.
Bruce, not taking his eyes off the paper as he drew; "Trust me, Selina, we'll be needing this to win. I've brought a bunch of tripping wires which we have to locate here, here and here then-
"Not now, B!" Selina said between clenched teeth as she covered Bruce's mouth. Her ears picked up the sound of footsteps through the leafy forest floor. She peeked through the foliage then saw Bullock stalking away from behind a tree, ready to sneak to the next unseen. Well, that was what he hoped for.
Selina rolled her eyes. She should have known it would be the cops, since they never cared about the sound of their footsteps as they snuck up to criminals. The street girl aimed her gun and fired a round of paintballs at the over-weighted cop.
"AAAGH!" Bullock screamed then quickly scrambled back behind the nearest three. Selina grabbed Bruce's arm and pulled him with her to find a new hiding spot. Bullock looked at his partner and said; "That Cat-brat has some good ears. Lucky though her aim is bad."
"Trust me, Harvey, there is nothing wrong with her aim. She's a cat, and first likes to play with her prey before moving in for the kill."
Bullock thought about what Jim just said then gulped, anxiously.
Meanwhile, Alfred and George stalked through the forest, carefully and quietly. So far they hadn't seen or heard any of their 'enemies'. Either the other teams were really good at hiding, or Alfred and George were further away from the other drop off points than they first expected.
"Our best move is to split up, Agent Anderson."
George nodded. "You're right. I bet the Hayes sisters have split up too. And knowing Selina, she might suggest…" George was cut off by Alfred who suddenly gasped. George looked worried. "What?"
"I really hope they do not split up."
"What? Why not?"
"Well, Master Bruce is very bad with directions. Not to mention, he never treads carefully. Last time he went into a forest alone, he stepped onto some slippery rocks and plunged a few feet down a steep hill."
George chuckled; "I'm pretty sure Bruce has grown more mature since then, with the court of owls and his twin brother etc. I'm sure he will be fine."
"Get down!" Alfred hollered, alarmed then pushed George to the forest ground. A splatter of purple (team BatCat's color) missed them by an inch. Quickly they stalked into the nearby foliage and scanned their eyes around. Though they couldn't see Selina, they could hear her.
"Sorry guys, but this match is over for you two!"
Alfred and George both tried to locate Selina's voice then the butler growled; "You're sneakier than I thought, Miss Kyle, I give you that!"
"Ha, if you think my stealth skills are impressive, watch how I handle a paintball gun!"
"Sounds like she's alone," George whispered. "Any ideas on what to do?"
Alfred thought for a moment then looked around. When he found a rock he picked it up, told George to be quiet then threw the rock as far as he could. It worked. Selina screamed something that sounded like; "Gotcha!" before running into the direction the rock landed. George and Alfred used it as an opportunity to get away.
Bruce felt quite proud of himself. Of course Selina had ditched him because she didn't see any potential in his perfectly enhanced booby-trap, but that didn't stop him for making it anyway. It didn't take long before an opponent arrived, George.
"That's right. Just keep walking straight on," Bruce thought to himself when he saw George head straight towards the securely hidden tripwire, unknowingly. Or so it seemed. Bruce snickered to himself. His plan couldn't fail. He was sure of it. Only a few more steps and…George suddenly stepped over the wire. "No way!" Bruce yelled a little too loud and George instantly opened fire on him. Bruce quickly took cover behind a tree.
"There's no way to run, Bruce Wayne. If I were you I walked carefully, or else you might end up caught in your own trap," George laughed.
Bruce chuckled; "Not bad, Agent Anderson, you actually saw through my expertly crafted scheme."
"Of course. Selina once told me everything about your obsession with strategies. I've got a pretty good idea of how you work. You better come out now so you can find out how defeat tastes."
"Agent Anderson is approximately 45 degrees behind me," Bruce calculated to himself, not ready to give up just yet. "If I move forty-seven centimetres then jump out, Anderson has no other choice than to step backwards. And when he does his leg will get caught in the trap." Bruce waited another five seconds then jumped out, shouting; "Checkma-huh?"
Bruce looked at the spot George should be, but there was no one. He then heard a soft whistle from behind. When Bruce turned his head, his vision gets blurred by paint splatters. While Bruce wipes his eyes in frustration, George sprints away, laughing.
Meanwhile, Selina pursued Jim Gordon till the point he couldn't go anywhere else than back and get shot by Selina.
"Eat paint!" Selina laughed, jumping from behind a tree and shooting paintballs towards Jim. She didn't have mercy on him at all, and a few seconds later he was fully covered with paint, head to toe. She then ran away, shouting; "You're dead, Gordon!"
Bullock quickly sprinted towards Jim and dropped to the ground next to his partner, yelling; "Jim, get up man!"
"I-I can't…" Jim choked out. "I'm afraid she wounded me too bad."
"Don't talk like that, Jimbo! You're gonna be fine! Just get up!"
Jim coughed loudly then whispered; "Please, make sure no one forgets me, especially Lee." Jim dropped his head to the side and stopped moving.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Bullock roared in sadness then slowly rose to his feet and clenched his fists in rage. "Cat-brat, I'll make you pay for what you've done, you villain! I won't stop until I avenged my partner!"
Selina, hearing the threat echo through the air, rolled her eyes. "Seriously, those two can be so dramatic sometimes."
The will to win between the remaining players was strong, especially for Selina and Bullock who had lost their partner during the battle. All of them were so engrossed with trying to defeat each other that neither of them were wondering about the Hayes sisters whereabouts. While Bullock was fighting it out with Alfred, Selina and George fired paint at one and another. The both of them dodged the paint easily then Selina ducked away behind a tree while George took cover in the nearby foliage.
"I'm out of paint, George," Selina said then dropped her gun in the grass and slowly stepped away from the tree. "You might as well come out and shoot me."
George chuckled; "You think I'm a fool, Cat? I know you have another gun, securely hidden in the belt behind your back."
"I should have known you wouldn't fall for a stupid trick like that," Selina replied, quickly taking her gun out and pointed it at George who stepped from the foliage with a wide grin.
"You're my stepsister, Cat. Ever since you were little, your antics learned me to think before the idea even has a chance to pop in your head." Selina slowly backed away while George closed in on her. Suddenly she felt the tree in her back. She froze in shock. George's smirk grew. "Look at that, there's nowhere else to run. Game over for you, Cat."
Selina pierced her eyes coldly into George's then said; "Don't talk too soon, George. You should know I'm not surrendering easily." Selina was right. Her finger was holding the trigger, ready to shoot. But so was George's.
Meanwhile, at their staging area, Sandra was looking at the video of the feed of the battle being provided by the Blackhawk. The stand-off between George and Selina looked intense. Ashley joined her.
"How's the battle going?"
"Cat and Agent Anderson are having a stand-off and it seems they're both trigger ready," Sandra said, watching the scene on the screen. "They been standing like that for a while now. Neither one of them has moved a muscle."
Ashley smiled. "It seems like they have a stronger bond than first expected. They know what the other person thinks, which makes it impossible for either of them to take the first shot."
"Intense," Sandra commented.
"They'll have to do something eventually."
The two sisters watched another minute at the stand-off between George and Selina. Then, suddenly, George sank to the ground. Selina looked utterly stunned. So did Sandra and Ashley.
"What just…" Ashley asked then suddenly Bullock's head popped up from the nearby foliage.
"Nobody takes down Cat but me!" Bullock roared in anger. Selina quickly bolted while Bullock started the chase. It didn't take long for Alfred to join the scene as well. Bullock didn't like it. "She's mine, butler! I have to avenge my partner!"
Sandra looked at the feed, waiting patiently for the remaining combatants were in the right place.
"Alright people, it's time to close the net," she finally said then she, Ashley, and the Delta team activated their active camo systems and got moving.
While Selina protected herself bravely against both Bullock and Alfred, Sandra, Ashley and the Delta team silently closed the gap and they took up positions behind the surrounding trees and bushes and took aim with their paintball guns, most of them were armed with paintball versions of m4 A15 or SCAR L assault rifles but Sandra and Frog, the sniper of Mason's team were armed with paintball versions of LaRue Tactical OBR's. Sandra had her sights set squarely on Bullock, Frog had Alfred.
"Everyone ready?" Sandra asked. The responses came quickly in the form of radio clicks from each member.
"Engage!"
The first round from Sandra sent Bullock stumbling backwards to the point of almost falling over, the second round put him on his back. At the same time, Frog dropped Alfred. Before Selina could react, she was mowed down by a fusillade of paintballs.
A few minutes later, Bullock recovered from the blows and looked up only to find Ashley and Sandra standing over him and the others, the match was over so it was safe for everyone to remove their masks.
"Tsk, tsk! This was way too easy. What do you think, little sis?"
"Totally," Ashley replied.
"What just happened?" Bruce asked who came running towards them, closely followed by Gordon and George.
"What do you think, Bruce? We got our asses kicked," Selina said through gritted teeth.
Bullock, still reeled from the blows, commented; "And I feel like I've been hit by two freight trains."
"But how were you two able to defeat us so fast?"
Sandra simply smiled and snapped her fingers, signalling Mason and his team to cloak themselves. "Surprise."
"Captain Mason."
"Hello again, Mr. Wayne," Mason said as greeting.
"Now that the match is over, I demand to know which one of you shot me!" Selina said.
"Just assume we all did. But if you happened to take a hit that sent your spinning, it was probably Sandra or Frog's doing. He's one of my snipers."
"Sandra, what kind of stealth system were you guys using?" Bruce asked, curiously.
"We call it, active camouflage. I decided to use this match to field test the prototypes."
"It seems they worked pretty well."
"I'd say, a little too well, whatever happened to fair competition."
"The Army never trained me to fight fair, they trained me to win and here is the end result."
"You're a real chess master, Colonel."
"Indeed I am, Bruce."
"Do you consider yourself a chess master, Ashley?" Selina asked.
"I'm more like a pro. I pale in comparison to Sandra."
"Don't sell yourself so short, little sis."
A little while later everyone were back at the manor, clean and freshened up. The adults were talking in the kitchen while Bruce and Selina snuggled together on the couch in the study, drinking hot chocolate milk.
"So, kiddo. George told me you tried to take him out with your 'professional booby-trap.' Told you it would fail."
"Yeah, only because you updated him about my so called, obsession with strategies. It would have worked I he didn't know what to expect. Next time I'm make a trap so perfect, even you will fall straight it into it."
Selina laughed; "Don't flatter yourself, Bruce. You know I would never be that dumb. But you know what, next time we have another friendly paintball match, you and I will be in opposite teams. I bet I have taken you down within three seconds."
Bruce rolled his eyes; "Sure, Selina, dream on."
Bruce received a smack to the back of his head from Selina. She then grinned; "You don't need to thank me, Kiddo. I'm always happy knocking some sense into you!"
Selina had to run for that one.
What did you think? Also, if you have some funny, or fluff adventures for me to write about, just drop a review and I will see what I can do XD