When Black Hat passed by the gym, Lita was at the punching bag. He stopped to watch her swift punches and kicks. She wore a white tank top and gray sweatpants, appropriate attire for a workout. The injuries she'd received from Dementia were exposed for all to see.

But that wasn't all that was exposed. Lita had been so habitual in wearing hoodies and turtlenecks, Black Hat had never really gotten a good look at her body before. Though she was shorter than anyone in the house, she wasn't exactly petite. She had a reasonable amount of flesh, enough to make her not resemble a skeleton. Her chest was small, but strong. What particularly caught Black Hat's gaze were her arms. Along with the bruises, Lita had been hiding her healthily toned muscles.

She really had been keeping herself in shape.

The woman had been plaguing Black Hat's mind since his whistle discovery. There was no way this mere human could be his superior! She was talented, but not that talented! Not to mention she was mortal with no supernatural powers like him!

And yet…she was difficult for him to control. She didn't fear him like the others, and the whistle had no effect on her, not to mention she was annoyingly outspoken! She needed to be reminded who the boss was around here, but past threats had already failed to intimidate her.

Oh no. He'd spent all night thinking about it. He'd decided the best way to go about this was with a more…delicate approach. He knew it was the right method as he watched her box.

The girl had the potential for villainy, but she badly needed a mentor. If he couldn't control her through fear, perhaps he could control her through trust. If he built enough trust within her, she would look to him for guidance in everything, and trust that everything he said was right. All the while, she would have the delusion that she would be in control by coming to him by choice, when in reality, he would be the one pulling her strings.

Lita hadn't noticed her boss was watching as she fiercely punched the bag, pretending it was Paolo, then Dementia, then Black Hat. If anything, she was glad she had some way of unleashing her anger without getting herself killed.

With a mighty cry and roundhouse kick, she sent the hanging bag flying back. Black Hat caught it in one hand, smirking at her.

"Now, what did this bag ever do to you?" he asked teasingly.

Surprised by his sudden appearance, Lita dropped her foot. Black Hat glanced around.

"Where's Dementia?"

Lita shrugged. "Wasn't here when I got here." She held up her gloved hands. "I thought it'd be alright if I just started practicing on my own."

Black Hat rolled his eye. "Typical mutant. Always shirking her responsibilities."

He released the bag. Lita jumped sideways to avoid its impact. Grinning toothily, Black Hat decided this was the perfect opportunity to start his plan.

"Since Dementia has failed to make an appearance," he said, letting his trench coat drop to the floor. "What say you and I go a few rounds together?"

Lita looked at him in time to see him unbuttoning his vest. Catching her shocked expression, Black Hat smirked.

"I'm talking about sparring, of course," he said as he removed his vest.

"R-Right," Lita said, her face flushing. "C-Course."

Deciding to have some fun, Black Hat locked gaze with her as he walked past, undoing his tie. "I must warn you though. I can be rather…rough."

"Can't be any worse than Deme—the hell?!"

As soon as she turned around, she found Black Hat in the middle of the mat, removing his red shirt, his back now exposed to her. She was so startled by this sight that she stumbled back into the punching bag.

His gray back was decorated in…scars? Tattoos? Symbols she couldn't describe. They reminded her of the occult, but she had no idea what they represented. Tossing his shirt aside, Black Hat faced her, revealing his bare chest.

Needless to say, his outfit didn't do his muscles justice.

"Um, uh," Lita said, her face red as she forced her gaze away. "Is that really necessary?"

"You don't expect me to fight in my suit, do you?" Black Hat said, enjoying her reaction. "That thing's terribly expensive."

When she turned her gaze back, she was met with his dark, chiseled chest. Her throat went dry as she raised her eyes towards his.

"Like what you see?" he asked, his teeth showing.

Snapping out of her trance, Lita sidestepped away from Black Hat. "Nope!"

He frowned as she threw off her boxing gloves.

"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope! Don't think I don't know what you're doing!"

"Oh?" Black Hat said, crossing his arms. "What am I doing, Miss Gris?"

She whipped around, making sure to look in his eye and not at his chest. "You're doing that whole mock innuendo thing to get me all flustered and confused just so you can throw me off!" She crossed her own arms. "I'm not stupid, you know? I'm not Dementia! I know you're not serious! I mean…why would you be with the whole Rule 10V3 thing?"

Admiring her cleverness, Black Hat grinned. "If you don't think I'm serious," he said, taking a step towards her, "then this," he gestured to his body, "shouldn't be a problem."

"You're right," she said, dropping her arms to her sides. "It shouldn't." She stepped towards him. "But even if you weren't half naked, why would I be stupid enough to fight you?"

"What if I were to give you the day off?" he asked, crossing his arms again.

Intrigued, Lita mirrored him. "Go on."

He leaned forward. "If you win a round against me, I'll allow you to spend the rest of the day with your father."

"And," she said, leaning towards him, "if you win?"

"You spar with me once a week."

She blinked. "That's it?"

"Come now, Miss Gris. I'm being more than generous."

"Please. Me beat you?"She straightened up. "I wasn't born this morning."

"You wouldn't have to necessarily beat me," he said, also straightening up. "All you have to do is hold me down for ten seconds. No more, no less. Consequently, should I manage to hold you down for just as long, the match goes to me."

She cocked her head. "Still not buying…"

He moved his head to match hers. "Really, Miss Gris. Most people would leap at the chance to throw a punch at their employer without consequence."

Lita had to admit she'd been itching to punch this guy for a long time.

"Okay," she said, lifting her head up. "But no tentacles or magic or anything…weird like that. Only fists and feet."

"Then how will you be prepared when facing another supernatural opponent like me?"

"Is there anyone as powerful as you?"

He threw his head back in a laugh. "Touché, my dear. Still, you can't rely on your opponent being on your level of strength, if not weaker."

"Well," she said with a shrug, "you don't want me getting strong enough to overpower you. Right?"

Oh hell, did he ever like this girl.

"Alright then, Miss Gris. I'll concede to your terms," Black Hat said, extending his hand. "Do we have a deal then?"

Determined to see her father again, or at the very least get a punch in with this guy, Lita shook his hand with an admirably firm grip. "Deal. Let's fight."

She went to fetch her gloves.

"You won't be needing those," Black Hat said, making his way to the mat.

Lita tensed. "Dementia said the same thing."

"She's right. For once," he said, facing her once he was on the far end of the mat. "After all, you won't have them out in the field. And boxing without gloves will make your knuckles more durable."

"Fine," Lita said, stepping up the mat. "Be more fun to hit ya with my bare hands anyway."

Black Hat chuckled in amusement as she readied her fists. "Whenever you're ready, Miss Gris."

She waited for him to raise his fists, but instead he placed his hands behind his back. His relaxed demeanor confused her. He didn't seem particularly worried.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"I'm waiting," he said tauntingly.

Oh, screw it. He's annoying me.

Lita charged for him, bringing back her fist for a right hook. Smirking, Black Hat grabbed her fist before it could strike him, then pulled it down, bringing her to his chest.

"Telegraphing?" Black Hat tsked. "Rookie mistake, Miss Gris."

Scowling, she wedged her heel into his foot. He didn't even blink. With a frustrated grunt, Lita lifted her other fist. Black Hat snatched her by the wrist.

"Oh, now, now, Miss Gris. You're just making this too easy for me." He leaned towards her. "Perhaps you're not as strong as I thought you were."

That snapped something within her.

Jumping up, Lita pushed her feet against his chest, giving her the force to wrench her hands free as she flipped backward. As soon as she was back on her feet, she swiftly jabbed at him four times, shuffling forward. Black Hat dodged these punches by moving his head from side to side, but did not see the swift kick coming to his stomach. He did not cry out as he was pushed backward.

"Aha," he said, finally raising his fists. "There you are."

He threw a punch at her, but she ducked. The second she came back up, she jabbed at him with her right. He dodged, then saw her other hand moving into an uppercut. He moved his head to his left, when he was met with her right fist. It didn't hurt, but the sudden impact had surprised him.

He backed away, massaging his jaw. He then realized she had pulled a fake-out with the uppercut.

"Not bad," he said, swinging two consecutive hooks.

She jumped backward to avoid his fast kick. "Not so bad yourself."

Lita had to admit. He was good. Even if without his demonic powers, she believed Black Hat could take out a hero no problem. His technique was unlike Dementia's—hers was to throw in as many punches and kicks as possible. Lita could tell in the way his one eye watched her calculatedly. Which…didn't explain why he hadn't won already. With every attack he dodged, she caught his smug smile. What exactly was his game here?

Meanwhile, Black Hat was enjoying himself immensely. In all honesty, magic or not, he could end the fight within seconds, but where would be the fun in that? Besides, he wanted to see what Lita was made of.

And oh, was she ever fierce. With each attack, she didn't pause or hesitate. Even her acrobatic dodges were a sight to behold. Her style wasn't exclusive to one type of art, using elements of boxing, judo and karate. He wondered if her telegraphing at the beginning had been a ploy to get him to underestimate her. Needless to say, he was interested to learn more.

"You say your mother taught you to fight?" Black Hat asked as they continued to exchange punches and kicks.

"Surprised you remember," Lita said, ducking into a somersault to get around him.

He watched wide-eyed as she sprang to her feet and spun around to face him. "What exactly did she do for a living?"

"Music," she said in between kicks, "teacher."

He sent her a puzzled look as he stepped to the side. "How did a music teacher come upon knowledge of the martial arts?"

He grabbed her arm upon her next punch, pulling her into a headlock.

"Well, ya know," she said, throwing her hands around his waist. "In this town," with a grunt, she lifted him up, "girl's gotta," as she put him down, she squatted out of his hold, "defend herself."

As she backed away, she attempted to kick his spine, when he spun around and snatched her ankle. He pulled her to the ground, but she rolled away before he could get on top of her.

"Certainly helped when Papi," she said, panting as she sprang up, "broke into her home."

Black Hat raised an eyebrow as he dodged her next attack. "And he ended up marrying her anyway?"

Lita smiled a little as she jumped to avoid his low, sweeping kick. "He liked strong women."

He huffed. "Excuse me if I fail to see how affection can develop during a fight. Ooh." He grinned as she managed to strike his shoulder. "Good shot."

"Thanks," she said, spinning out of the way as he swiped at her. "As my mom used to say, you can tell a lot about a person in the way they fight."

"Oh?"

He caught her arm as she attempted to strike him from above. He used it to spin her around and wrap his arms around her so that her back was pressed against his front.

"And what can you tell about me?" he whispered in her ear.

Lita frowned at their position, but decided not to let it bother her. After all, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to mess with him, as payback for all the times he'd messed with her.

Smirking, she said to Black Hat, "That you're holding back."

"Am I, now?" he said, tightening his grip on her.

"I've seen what you can do," she said, turning her head slightly to meet his gaze. "You could've ended this at any time."

He tried not to let his surprise show. Instead, he conveyed his awe at her having figured this out.

"You forget I agreed to your terms," he said, grinning further. "No magic, remember?"

"But that's not all you can do, is it?"

They stared at each other for a few seconds, each one trying to dissect the other.

"You know what I think?" Lita said smugly. "I think…you don't wanna hurt me."

"Oh, you think that, do you?" Black Hat said with a chuckle. "Perhaps you're right. I should up my game."

Her smile dropped at the dangerous look in his eye. Deciding she'd stalled long enough, Lita lunged her rear backward, moving Black Hat back and giving her room to sweep her arms through his, breaking them apart. Stepping forward, she spun around and grabbed his lowered head. She was about to knee him in the face when Black Hat's arms shot out, grabbing her thighs.

In a move that shouldn't have been possible, he flung her over his head. Lita tucked her head in an attempt to roll, but ended up landing on her shoulders. She yowled in pain as her body fell into a flat heap.

"This…was a mistake," she said with a groan.

"At least you've acknowledged it," Black Hat said, coming around her. "That's a mark of high intelligence."

When she saw him crawling on top of her, Lita lifted her fists to avoid him getting high mount. Cackling, Black Hat snatched her wrists and pushed them down on either side of her head.

"You fight well," he said, leaning towards her. "But you still have much to learn, Miss Gris."

The seconds ticked off in Lita's head. He was going to win. If she wanted to see her father, she had to think of something and fast. She knew the right move, but Black Hat's grip was strong. It only further confirmed her theory that he'd been holding back before. If she could just distract him…

Then it hit her. She would take a page from his playbook.

"Really, boss," she crooned, batting her eyelashes. "Did you start this fight as an excuse to get on top of me?"

His smile dropped as he processed the suddenly sultry tone of her voice…and the insinuation behind her words.

"What?" he grunted, his grip on her wrists loosening.

Taking advantage of his confusion, Lita thrust her hips upward, pulling her wrists inward and out of his hold as he fell forward. With his hands now on either side of her head, she clasped her hands around his right arm and pulled it towards her stomach. Before he could react, she hooked her left foot around his right, giving her the leverage to roll him over so that she was now on top. She quickly sat atop his chest so he couldn't try the same move on her.

"Wasn't there something in your rules about never underestimating your opponent?" Lita said cheerfully.

Black Hat stared up at her open-mouthed. She…she had actually played him! Him! Thrown him off-guard with mock-flirting…just like he'd been doing with her all week.

Was it possible…that she was his superior?

"What the hell?!"

Both heads turned at the sound of Dementia's voice. She stood in the gym's doorway, staring with her mouth agape at the sight of her rival on top of her beloved…who was shirtless.

"You…you little skank!" she shouted, scowling as she clutched her hands into fists.

"What?" Lita said, then gasped. "Oh no, wait! Dementia, it's not what you—"

While she was distracted, Black Hat twisted his leg joints around so that his heels were pointing upward. Grinning, he caught Lita's waist by his feet and hoisted her off. Crying out, she landed on her back. She quickly scrambled to get up.

"Oh, no, you don't," Black Hat said, sitting on her chest, holding her head down with one hand while clutching her wrists together in the other. "Not this time."

"Love muffin!" Dementia whined, running up to him. "What's going on?! What are you—?"

Without taking his eyes off Lita, Black Hat momentarily released her head to push Dementia away. Lita tried moving her head, but his hand was back in an instant.

"Five…four…" Black Hat counted off the seconds, grinning in triumph. "Three…two…"

Lita struggled against him, but it was no use. He'd left no room, no weak spots for an escape. He'd beaten her.

He was truly the master.

"And that's game," Black Hat said, releasing her as he stood. "Next time, don't assume victory prematurely."

Lita sat up, rubbing her sore wrists. She hoped this match hadn't left any new bruises when the old ones were almost completely healed. Black Hat held out a hand, but she chose to hoist herself up.

"Smart move," Black Hat said, using his magic to pick up his garments. "I will say though, Miss Gris. You nearly gave me a run for my money there." He smirked at her as he swung his trench coat over his shoulder. "I'll see you next week."

Lita watched as he sauntered out of the gym, chuckling to himself. Whatever had been wrong with the dog whistle, it was clear that Lita was in no way Black Hat's superior. In that, he could be sure of.

"That sneaky bastard," Lita murmured as soon as he was out the door.

With fire in her eyes, Dementia sprang up from the floor. "And just what was that all about?!"

"Before you pummel me," Lita said, holding up her hands in surrender, "you should know that Mr. Black Hat and I were only sparring."

"Yeah, right! And why," the lizard-girl shouted, yanking at the front of her hoodie, "was his shirt off?!"

Lita shrugged. "You watch wrestling, right? Those guys practically wear nothing at all."

"He never takes his shirt off! He never took it off for me whenever we sparred!"

Lita blinked. "Really?"

"So why," Dementia said, advancing towards her, "would he take it off for you?!"

She pressed herself up against Lita, exerting her power as she glared down at the smaller woman.

"Look," Lita said, gently pushing her away. "Black Hat and I made a wager. If I could beat him, he would let me visit my father." She sighed. "Obviously, he was playing me, making me think I stood a snowball's chance just so he could humiliate me."

Dementia calmed down a little. "That…seems like something Blackie would do." She looked the other girl over. "Man. He really did a number on ya, didn't he?"

"What, these?" Lita said, holding up her bruised arms. "These were all you."

"Oh, yeah." Dementia snorted. "You look like crap!"

Deciding it was high time the subject was changed, Lita asked, "Where were you all this time?"

"Chasing some racoon invading my favorite garbage can." The lizard-girl cocked her head. "So…what did Black Hat get from winning the fight?"

"Oh," Lita said, waving her hand dismissively. "Just that he and I spar every week."

Dementia stiffened. "So…you and he…gonna fight…weekly?" Her eyes narrowed as her teeth seethed. "While he's shirtless?!"

Lita glanced at her wrist, pretending there was a watch there. "Oh, would you look at the time! Sorry, gotta go make lunch!"

She raced out before Dementia could figure out that it wasn't Lita's turn for lunch.

Inspired by two "fights": Marianne vs. the Bog King in "Strange Magic," and Green Arrow vs. Black Canary in "Justice League: Unlimited."