Title: Trails of Faith part 2: Reviving the Past

Author: Majin Gojira

Category: Crossover/Action/Drama

Rating:  PG-13

Type of Crossover: Wold Newton Universe Based Crossover AU.

Summary: Faith, after finding out Batman is Human, she struggles with what her next move will be…and decided to blow off some steam at a club…you know this won't end well.

Legal Stuff: I own nothing. Blah, blah, blah…you know the drill by now.

Distribution: Really? Ok, just ask (hey, it happened once…)

*

Lex Luthor the Third stared in surprise as his private phone began to ring. Only on person had the number of this phone, and he knew what a call from that phone meant.

He picked up the receiver and greeted the caller in a cheerful voice "Why, Hello, I take it everything has gone as you hoped?"

"You lied to me, asshole!" Faith shouted from the other end.

"Slander is a very serious accusation, Miss" Luthor kept his calm and cheery demeanor, much to Faith's annoyance.

"The Bat, he's human! You told me he was a demon!"

"We had reason to believe he was a HST. Since, I take it from the irritation in your voice, it turned out that he isn't-"

"You knew!"

"Pardon?"

"You knew he was human the entire time and still had me sent up with the idea that he was a demon! You SON OF A BITCH!"

"Now, now, there's no need to get angry. I was as in the dark as you were."

"You God Damn Liar! You tried to turn me into what I was! I NEVER WANT TO BE A KILLER AGAIN! AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO CHANGE THAT!"

"…Are you done?"

"…"

"Good. There is something you should know about me, Faith. I don't like Batman's kind"

"His kind?"

"He's a vigilante, taking the law into his own hands. Elevating himself above the common citizen."

"God knows we can't have anyone above the common citizen except for those elected by them to that above-them-state."

Faith could hear Luthor's grimaced, "You're just as bad as they are. You're expendable. But you also serve a valuable purpose. I need you to fill that purpose in Gotham. We've located several HST nests in the Gotham city, Metropolis and greater New York area—we want you to clean them out."

Faith subdued a growl before she could speak, "…What'm I dealing with, vamps, demons, other odd stuff"

"A mixture of all three"

"Damn…lemme guess, you're not going to pardon me until I do a satisfactory job cleaning up the city."

"My, you are a fast learner."

"No, I'm just getting used to working for super-villains" Faith tried to shrug off her guilt, "So how do I find these nests?"

"The phone converts to a tracking device when the star button is hit. That will lead you to your targets."

"Ya know… I'm really hoping that after all this is over, that you get vamped so I have the pleasure of staking you myself."

"The feeling is mutual, I assure you."

*

Faith hung up the phone and put it back in her pocket. "Great, now I'm another evil politicians lackey…my life just plain sucks…" Faith let out a remorseful sigh, then shouted, "Screw him! Why should I believe him? Or follow his orders after he set me up like that!? I'm gonna have some fun while I'm here. I'm in the Three Cities! I'll find some place to unwind here, hell, how could I NOT?"

*

Batman thought long and hard about what the commissioner had told him. He was afraid of what it might mean.  He thought the worst was over with. Now, there was this thing running around his city. A group calling itself "The Talons of the King of Terror", a blight upon the world like the thing they worshiped.

He knew that the Cult would wreak carnage wherever it went, it was only a matter of time before it killed en mass.

"Dad?" A slight voice called out from behind him, one he recognized immediately, that of his little girl: Lana Wayne; the third generation of Wayne's to take up the mantel of the Bat. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

According to the now Wayne funded Comics, this new Batgirl was Cassandra Cain. Dispersing these things to create disinformation, and a little extra money from them, was the purpose of those comics, that and to keep an aura of disbelief among the general public. Who would believe what was being told in the comics anyway? The only real similarity Lana shared with Cassandra was her look and some of her fighting ability.

In the Comics, Lana, or rather, Cassandra was a highly skilled martial artist. While true, they made sure not to include one important thing: She was one quarter Kryptonian. She couldn't leap tall buildings in a single bound, but she was naturally at peek human performance: able to give Captain America a run for his money (who, even after almost sixty years he was still at the top of his game).

She was also very perceptive. She could always tell when something was bothering Bruce, just by looking at him and his body language.

"There's something new in Gotham." He told her.

"Is it this Slayer character I've heard you talking about?" She asked.

"No, something worse…something people are calling the Talons of the King of Terror…'The Talons of King Ghidorah'"

A profound silence filled the Batcave.

Everyone knew, at least in part, about what happened…and what that name meant. At the turn of the millennium, the space monster King Ghidorah came to earth intent on whipping out all life. He had been stopped in New York by the combined forces of Mothra, Godzilla and G-Force 'Raptors'—special Anti-Kaiju attack Helicopters.  The battle was long and bloody. In the aftermath of it, much of Gotham city lay in ruins, and it was quartered off as a 'No Mans Land'. Leaving Batman and his family to deal with the crime, the homeless, the Radiation and the toxic blood of the King of Terror. The comics attributed to an Earthquake what Godzilla and Ghidorah wrought. That way they could ignore the truly horrifying aspects of the rampage—Shokilas- five-foot parasites; Radiation; the toxic blood; the agents of various governments and corporations out collecting samples of both Godzilla and King Ghidorah for their own purposes. Batman and his extended family did their best, but when it was all settled, Bruce felt he didn't do enough.

"I thought we dealt with the last of the repercussions of that incident." Lana scowled.

"Apparently not."

"Damn…as soon as I finish with the Blood Rave Rapist Case, I'll deal with this one." She told him. "Dad…please don't go rushing off against these wackos."

Lana worried about her father getting to old for this, he was in his early fifties. He didn't heal from nightly excursions like he used to. Nor did he heal like she did. She could take far more punishment than he ever could. She worried about him; he was only human after all.

His answer surprised her though "Like you could stop me?"

He was right, though. In all of their training together, She rarely bested him. She also knew it couldn't be chalked up to him 'letting' her win. Her Father never would do that.

"I know, that's why I have to ask you not to." She told him as she wrapped her arms around his chest while he sat before the computer, giving him an assuring hug. "I worry about you, Dad."

"Just don't let it cloud you judgment." That was Bruce's way of saying 'I worry about you too'.

*

Faith left her apartment decked out in skintight black leather pants, a revealing, and yet classy deep maroon top. She knew where she was heading. This was not the first time she had been in Gotham. It was here, actually, New York, where she met her Watcher. She had told the folks in Sunnydale that her Watcher was dead. It was, at best, a half-truth.

When she came to New York, she came seeking America's greatest living authority on the Supernatural: Dr. Egon Spengler. He told her what she was, trained her, and was later officially recognized as her watcher.  She stayed in New York for a few months before she and Kylie Griffin went down to New Orleans to deal with a rising there…that's where she met Kakistos. That's where Kylie died.

'Damn it, why'd I remember that?' she thought; as her pace slowed down to match her mood.

Within seconds, she found herself surrounded by street thugs.

She looked over them and sighed openly "Not AGAIN!"

She was about to rant about how stupid they all were when a blow from a crowbar to the back of the skull surprised her. It hit her with a low 'thunk' and she fell to the ground in a daze.

'That HURT!' She mentally exclaimed as she rolled over to her side as the thugs moved in. The other thugs began to repeatedly hit her with their fists, feet and metal objects. Not doing much damage by themselves, no where near as much as the precision strike to the skull, but it was enough to keep her on the ground for now.

Her world was still painful when she heard a low voice bark, "Hey! You lousy punks! Leave the girl alone!"

"It's Old Man Grimm!" One of the thugs shouted.

"Screw Old Man Grimm! We ain't gonna let no old, has-been, ass-hole wrestler push the Scorpions around!" another yelled, obviously the leader.

The Scorpions, Faith remembered reading about them, and how Spider-man often thwarted their plans. She was currently wondering where the wall crawling hero was until she remembered hearing that he had unofficially retired from the costumed vigilante business.

Faith looked up at who her savior was: He was an old man; he looked about 70 or so. His short hair was grayed and his skin was tanned, wrinkled and callous. He was no small man by any means. Despite his age, he looked very fit, and at a little over six feet tall, he was a well-preserved old man.

"I told you kid's I'd unload a wuppin' if I caught ya doin' this crap!" Old Man Grimm growled.

"Shut up!" The leader yelled as he drew a gun and fired three times into Grimm's chest. He fell to the ground. "Now let's get back to business" he stated as they turned their attention back to Faith.

Her eyes were filled with pure hatred. She had witnessed, and done, many horrible things…but this struck a chord deep within her. She slowly rose to her feet and clenched her fists tight.

"Oh, look, she still needs to be softened up," the gunman said as he approached Faith with a sauntering walk.

Before he could react, she reached out, grabbing the gun in his hand, crushing it and his fingers in one swift movement. She kicked him in the gut and sent him flying across the street. As she landed on her outstretched foot, she spun out with the other and hit three of the other thugs. They fell to the ground with a groan. Her look was of pure hatred as she sized up the others.

Suddenly, out of the blue, an oddly familiar voice rang out "Ok, you bastards asked for this! It's Clobberin' Time!" as a Stony figure proceeded to trample three other thugs before her. As it passed her, she noticed the Golem's shirt-it had 3 blood stained holes in it.

Faith put the pieces together very quickly: Stony Giant, Old Man Grim, "Clobberin' Time".

She was standing in front of the 'Ever Lovin' Thing, one of the "Fantastic" Four. But how did he survive the Bullets? After she was done thrashing these guys, she'd have to ask him.

She felt the blood rage she felt return to the recesses of her mind as the two of them proceeded to wipe the floor with the thugs.

The Thing grabbed two of them by the head and threw them into the side of a nearby building, where they slumped together in a heap. Faith began to get an Idea and began to throw thugs into that same wall, leaving one huge pile.

When it was over, the Scorpions were left unconscious and on the ground, strewn about like rag dolls.

The Thing breathed heavily and coughed—a sign of old age and deteriorating health (or possibly too many cigars when he was younger), "Damn Punks" he huffed, reverting back to his human form. "I told them not to come 'round here or there'd be trouble…maybe now they'll listen. You OK, little girl?"

"Yeah. Thanks for the assist…just don't call me 'little girl', K?" Faith looked herself over, "Fuck! Hey, you don't happen to know a place where I can clean up?"

Ben stood up, still breathing heavily, "My place is just across the street. You can probably clean up there…" Off Faith's look, he added "Please, I could be your Grandfather, don't take it like that. C'mon. I'll show you in"

Ben led her inside his humble home. She quickly scanned it over, it looked something like a bachelor pad of a 20 year old…but there was a definite elderly touch to the place that gave it an air of comfort, also the very distinct smell of 'old man'.

"So, how did you survive bein' shot?" Faith asked as she cleaned up in the bathroom.

"I heal real fast." Ben answered, "been that way since I changed."

"Guess that never made it into the comics, huh?"

"Hell, according to those things, I shouldn't be able to transform back and forth at will." Ben smiled, "At first that was true, but I've had transforming under control for the last twenty-five years."

"So, what was up with that 'I told them not to come 'round here' stuff?"

"Just that. I've kept this area free of gangs since I moved in and I intend to keep doin' that."

"Just can't drop the hero biz, can ya?" Faith smiled as she left the washroom, refreshed and cleaned up.

"Nah" Ben smiled, "It's like a drug; Helpin' people. It feels good every time you do it. Even if you don't get any recognition for it…it just feels right."

"I know what you mean…Thanks for lettin' me clean up." Faith smiled.

"No problem…uh…you never said what your name was."

"My names Faith" She said as she headed for the door. "Thanks again."

"No problem."  Ben smiled as the door closed behind the girl.

When he was sure she was gone, he went to the phone and dialed up an old contact. "Hey, Pete? Oh, Hi Gwen, It's Ben Grimm. Can you put your husband on-I just met someone I think you'd better keep an eye on…"

*

A tribal rhythm echoed through the concrete, steel and glass canyons of Gotham City. Attracting masses of young people to a place where primal needs were met for sustenance, lusts and other such guttural needs. The temperature inside the club was a good hundred degrees simply from body heat of the masses within, which created a good head of steam in the cool night air. The fact that they were moving around in at a quickening pace only increased the heat produced.

Hundreds of smells assaulted Faith's nostrils as she entered the club. Sweat, perfumes, flowers, pig and human pheromones…and of course, alcohol, pot, and a lot of ecstasy.

She slid across the dance floor moving her body in time with the beats. When she found herself a comfortable spot—surrounded with several well built men—she let it all out: her tensions, her frustrations, her pent up energy. All of it was released with the rocking and swaying of her body. All worries were forgotten and all problems put aside. This was a moment of happiness, one of the few ones in her life. Faith always felt at home on the dance floor. It was an escape from the troubles of her life when she was younger. Now, it fulfilled that purpose once again.

Lights flashed and smoke rose from the crowd as Faith's pours opened up in an attempt to cool her body down, releasing a trickle of sweat laced with slayer-enhanced pheromones.

Something from the corner of her eye took Faith out of her blissful state, one of the other dancers on the floor. It was a girl, a little younger than Faith was. A long, yet pretty face and dark hair cropped to about the back of her neck topped her head. Her lithe form was garbed in pastel colored top and dark pants perfectly designed for a club like this. It wasn't so much the look of this girl that caught Faith's attention, but the way she moved. She was incredibly flexible. Laymen would not notice how fluid and…unnatural her motions and flexibility was, but Faith noticed. She made note to keep an eye on that girl through the night.

*

High above the dance floor in a secluded private box a meeting was taking place.

"Ah, Gwen, so nice to see you again"

"Fisk, always a pleasure to work for a guy who knows how to pay well"

"I have a job that requires someone with your special talents."

"When don't you have a need for them?" Gwen grinned coyly.

"The information required for the job is in the portfolio in front of you" Wilson Fisk, better known to the criminal world as 'the Kingpin' said as Gwen picked up the portfolio and looked through it. Few people knew that Wilson Fisk was a pseudonym. His real name was Lawrence Luthor, technically, he was a clone of the original Lex Luthor, but cloning never did produce exact duplicates. One of his 'brothers' was currently the President; the other—after getting a doctorate in 'Evil'—had frozen himself in the 1960s to escape a very 'shagadelic' British secret service agent.

"I trust everything is in order." Said Fisk.

"Yep. So, Dragon's Heart Ruby, also called "The Heart of the Dragon"…got special plans for it?"

"Indeed I do. I might suggest you take up your Grandfather's old mantle incase you encounter any of those annoying…costumed vigilantes"

Gwen frowned at the mentioning of her grandfather: Max Dillon, a.k.a. Dan McCormick a.k.a. Electro a.k.a. the Shocker. No matter what the name, she still loathed his very existence. It was his genes that made her what she is: a Mutant. A Freak.  She inherited a genetic anomaly created by random mutation, a freak accident and the Nazi's manipulation of various scientists. Now, she had that power to kill with a simple touch and even project lightning bolts at her enemies if she had enough power in her. She hated them all for it: her father, the scientists and the Nazi's; but tried her best to use her 'Freak' nature to the best of her advantage. Even once dressing as "Electra" to frighten a bank as a diversion for Kingpin. He paid her extra of that gig, and double it's original price due to the interference of Spider-girl.

"What's the weather like?"

"Spider. Bats. A Bird. Statues. And, of course our red and blue resident. Though word on the street is that there is a new player in the game who is acting much differently from the average vigilante in Gotham."

"How so?"

"Well, first off, she foregoes the normal formalities…she doesn't turn in criminals. She brutalizes them. She also won't be easy to spot…this one doesn't wear a costume."

"Why do they wear those ridiculous costumes anyway? It's like they got some deep-seated psychological issues or something"

"Probably. I suggest you hurry before this "Slayer" tries to make a name for herself…the same rules apply to her as they do for the regulars"

"I've never taken up on that extra, so why do you keep suggesting it to me Big Willy?"

"Because one day I hope you will." Said Fisk. As he did, Gwen could feel the cold darkness emanating from her employer. It unnerved her a little, but she had grown used to it.

*

Faith's attention was drawn away from 'flexi-girl' by a tingling sensation in the back of her mind—her slayer sense. She instinctively turned to see something freighting familiar: a dark haired woman being lead out of the club into a back ally by a man without a heartbeat.

There were probably more of them in here, but it would be nearly impossibly to track them. Their body heat would be room temperature, meaning that they would be indistinguishable from normal people except for the presence of a heartbeat. 'Best deal with this one first before I need to root out any others…damn it, I wanted a nice quiet night out!' Faith thought as she quietly followed them outside.

Unknown to the slayer, the girl she was watching also followed the out, though only after a quick change.

A third woman watched this scene with interest, and followed them out.

*

Faith knew this scene all too well, vamp leads victim to alley, vamp bites victim, vamp kills victim. It was a scene played out every night all over the world. As the Slayer, Faith did her best to stop it where she found it.

When she came on the scene, the vamp had already had her pinned and was about to sink his teeth into her neck. He was in for a rude surprise.

"This a private party or can anyone join the fun?" She taunted.

"Wait your turn…" the vampire arrogantly replied as he turned to bite the scarred girl he had pin need to the wall.

Faith grabbed the guy and threw him across the alley in one smooth motion.

"I'm not much for waiting." She punned.

The humanoid leech was in shock, he didn't react as Faith kicked him in the head and sent his stunned form to the floor. She went in for the finishing blow when twin white globs shot forth, one pinned the vampire to the ground in a net of what appeared to be spider-webs, the other wrapped around Faith's stake and stuck it to the wall.

"Hey!" Faith shouted as she turned to the source of the white substance. On the wall, clinging like a fly was an infamous red-blue and black costume with a decidedly feminine shape to it.

"Sorry, I don't like killing on my turf, even if he is a rapist scum and deserves it." Intoned the wall-crawling Spider-girl.

"He's not a Rapist!" Faith shouted

"Who says I ain't!" the vampire yelled.

"Wow, a confession. Thanks!" said Spider-girl with a large grin even her mask could not hide.

The Vampire growled, uncaring.

"Ok, he's not only a rapist, he's a vampire!" Faith broke off a piece of wood from a piece of trash and moved towards it and rammed the stake through his heart, as Spider-girl shouted "NO!"

The vampire crumbled to dust before their eyes.

"I told you he was a vampire." Faith said smugly.

"He was also the Blood Rave Rapist" A new voice said.

"Batgirl?" Spider-girl asked as the woman in question landed between Faith and Spider-Girl.

Batgirl looked at Faith, "So, you must be this "Slayer" that Batman was telling me about."

"Yeah, that's me. Faith: the Vampire Slayer." Faith said "and that was me slaying a Vampire."

"Not just any vampire, I've been tracking him for months," Batgirl told her. "It wasn't until recently that I figured out what exactly he was."

"Lemme guess—around the time I plunged the stake into his heart" Faith teased.

"And Faith here finds him and deals with him a whole lot faster than you have, that's gotta hurt the ego" Spider-girl joked.

"It's what I do." Faith smiled "don't feel bad, I've been hunting vampires since I was teenager. This is old hat stuff."

"As is going around beating up street punks?" Batgirl asked, clearly not amused.

"Nah, that's new, and kinda required around these parts." Faith told her, a mild resentment building between them.

Spider-girl looked at them, slightly perplexed.

"I guess Batman filled you in on my past." Faith told the other girl as they inched towards each other in a threatening manner.

"He did." Batgirl told her.

"I hope you realize that it's exactly what I said it was, the past"

"…And I'm getting the feeling I'm missing a whole lot of back story here" Spider-girl thought aloud.

"The Slayer here hasn't just been slaying vampires." Batgirl told.

"I messed up, OK!" Faith added quickly, "That's behind me now and you really shouldn't bring that up."

"Saying you're sorry and being sorry are two entirely different things."

Faith scowled darkly, but before she could respond, Spider-girl interrupted,  "Now Ladies, I don't want to web both of you to the wall, but if you keep this up, I will."

A loud crash followed by a scream en mass.

"Saved by the scream … you comin' to help or no?" Faith asked the two costumed vigilantes.

"Yes" Batgirl answered.

"Why not." Spider-girl answered, but as they began to enter, she added. "Hey, we get to do the superhero team up thing without the gratuitous superhero fight! This has got to be a first!"

Faith let loose a sharp laugh as the door closed behind them.

*

**One, Hour-Long, Rousing Action Sequence Later**

*

"What a horrible adventure with that Ham Demon…" Faith sighed.

The three warriors were slumped against a table that had fallen on its side. All of them, as well as most of the insides of the club, were covered with a thin layer of pink, liquefied ham.

"I'll say," Spider-girl, whipping off some more pink slime from her suit, a futile effort for all of them. "Man…this stuff had better come out…otherwise I'll be down another suit"

"Which is why I don't bother with them…to much maintenance." Faith said as she flung some of the ham-smelling gunk off herself.

"I'll say" Spider-girl obviously smiled beneath her mask.

"You probably shouldn't have let it swallow you" Batgirl told her flatly. "Stomach acid stains are hard to get out…"

"Damn" Spider-girl cursed.

"How, exactly, do you know that?" Faith asked her, incredulously.

"Don't. Ask." Batgirl said firmly.

For a few seconds, the three sat in the filth left from the demon's combustion, not saying a word, just in a mild amount of shock at what had happened.

"That was…interesting" Batgirl intoned, "Is it always that messy with Demons?"

"Thankfully, no." Faith told her, "They usually don't pop like a zit when they die…but the slime…yeah, that's usually there."

Finally, catching up with the sheer absurdity of their current situation, the three heroines simply laughed aloud, at least, until their injuries caught up with their laughter and they moaned, and then laughed again at the simultaneous nature of it.

*

Faith left the club very wet. She had done her best to clean up in the sink. She didn't want to walk back to her apartment covered in pink slime.

Egon had told her what doing that could bring.

But still, she was walking back to her room extremely wet.

"I take it you're the Slayer" a distinct and harsh voice caused Faith to turn around sharply to see its source.

Standing before her was an Asian woman, several inches taller than her. She was lithe yet muscular; the way she held herself sent chills down her spine. This woman was a trained killer…very well trained.

"I am Lady Shiva"

"…Good for you"

Lady Shiva looked at Faith incredulously and continued. "I have been searching around the world for many years to find the ultimate warrior. I never expected to actually encounter a Vampire Slayer. Now, I can find out if I am truly the greatest fighter in the world."

'Damn, this lady is nuts' Faith thought.

"You and I will fight until the one of us is dead."

"What? Right now?"

"Preferably"

"Listen Lady Diva—"

"Shiva"

"Whatever. I just finished up a long night of fighting street thugs and battling with a Ham Demon…yes a HAM demon: fifteen feet of Pork muscle. I'm tired, I'm bruised and I really am in no mood to deal with some who wants to get beaten to death…and I'm not one to do that kind of thing anymore. I don't kill humans"

"Than that will put you at a disadvantage, hopefully, it will mean I will be able to stand on par with you."

"You really have some kind of complex don't you."

With that, Lady Shiva and Faith took fighting stances. Faith knew there was no avoiding this fight, all she needed to do was knock her opponent out and that would be that. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she was unprepared for the skills of Lady Shiva.  In less than a second, several masterful blows struck Faith, causing her to stagger back. A strong kick caught her off balance and Faith landed on her butt.

"You are supposed to be the Slayer" Lady Shiva snorted, "Show me what you truly are!"

"Fine!" Faith growled and launched herself into a furious attack.

Lady Shiva parried and dodged the untrained blows—but they were coming faster than even she expected. She attempted to block the next hit, only to have her own fist shoved in her face. The punch was too powerful to block, she landed on her back with a puff of wind escaping her lungs.

She rose slowly; smiling as she wiped blood from her now cut lip. Faith was the essence of focus.

"Very good" Lady Shiva quietly spoke as she rose "this will be an excellent battle"

"Why does she have to be a masochist…" Faith whispered before attacking again.

Lady Shiva gave up trying to block any of her attacks and focused more on dodging and parrying them. When the moment presented itself, she struck out at Faith's knee, which spun out with a thunderous crunch.

Faith howled in pain as she fell to the ground—she slowly pulled herself up and with one sharp flexing of her muscle, she set her knee back into place.

Shiva smiled wickedly at this newest development.

Faith quickly looked around for something she could use to end this fight quickly—she found an empty, half-crushed soda can by her feet. She tapped her foot sharply on an end of it, sending the can into the air in front of her. With one swift kick, she launched the projectile at her opponent.

Lady Shiva contemptuously blocked the can that was careening toward her head. That one-second lapse of concentration was the opening Faith needed to spring to the attack.

Faith punched Lady Shiva in the jaw, sending a spray of blood, as well as a single tooth, from her mouth. Faith followed with a knee to Shiva's stomach, and a kick to her back that sent Shiva into a nearby wall.

Shiva was ready though and bounced off the wall and nailed Faith with a corkscrew kick to her skull. Faith fell but recovered into a cartwheel and landed on her feet—a little worse for wear.

Lady Shiva went on the offensive, trying to injure Faith with a series of well-placed kicks. Faith countered with a few punches of her own, which seemed to do a lot of damage to Lady Shiva. Lady Shiva retaliated with a devastating combo: A Heart punch followed by a 'spear-hand' to her kidney.

Faith doubled over in pain as her body recovered from a combination that could kill a normal human being—but Shiva did not relent her assault. Shiva crack Faith's skull on her knee and sent the slayer sprawling on her back.

"Is this the Slayer? The chosen warrior?" Lady Shiva sneered, "You are pathetic. You are supposed to be a warrior of great repute. Why should that repute be given to you?"

Faith went to attack her in her arrogance, but Shiva kicked her blow aside. Faith spun around only to meet Shiva's knuckles. Faith was ready with a counter this time and spun herself around and delivered a kick to Shiva's temple. The blow was powerful enough to send Shiva flying into the street. Where she slid for ten more feet before stopping at the other sidewalk.

"Oh, I can see some reasons for it…" Faith said as Shiva lay there unmoving.

Faith began to worry…not even Shiva's breathing was evident. She quickly made her way over to the fallen martial artist and checked for signs of life. She felt a grip on her throat as Shiva rose.

"You...You will have to kill me…if you want to stop me" Shiva coughed out as she then rolled Faith over her and kicker her away. Faith was sent careering toward a dumpster—her spine nearly snapping on the edge of the open dumpster, which she did not have the honor of flipping into. Instead she fell foreword and hit the pavement face first.

Shiva waltzed over to the pain-wracked body of the slayer and picker her up to her knees by raising her head.

" Maybe the next in your line will provide me with the true challenge I need." Shiva sneered again as she moved into kill the Slayer with a move from her Krav-maga arsenal—a strike to the throat with the skin between the thumb and first finger, a move designed to snap the base neck of any opponent.

Faith pivoted her head sharply as the hand of the world's foremost martial artist zoomed toward her and changed the destination of the blow. Instead of hitting her neck, it hit her collarbone, which produced a sickening crack—both of Faith's ribs and of Lady Shiva's Thumb and index finger.

Shiva reared back as Faith fell forward and clutched her chest. Faith soon rose as her body began to mend itself.

Shiva clutched her broken hand long enough for Faith to rise and partially recover, streaming out a string of expletives and curses in a language that to Faith sounded like tiny stones falling in water.

"You want the Slayer, Shiva? I'll give her to you!" Faith roared as she initiated the next attack. Reduced to defending with only one hand, Shiva was no longer holding her own as she once was with the shorter girl before her.

Faith saw her opening and took it—punching Shiva squarely in the nose with a sickening crack as her nose shattered in a bloody display. But as Shiva flew back, Faith grabbed her by the ankles and swung her around—slamming Shiva into the brick wall of an adjacent building. Faith heard Shiva call out in pain as her shoulder dislocated and her hop cracked. Faith swung her up against the wall again, further damaging her hip, arm, shoulder and also slamming her skull against the brick. This time, Shiva did not scream. Faith dropped the unconscious warrior at her feet and promptly collapsed herself, gulping air like a fish out of water.

She rolled onto her back and was met with a very unpleasant sight: Bane slowly applauding.

"Very well done, Slayer," He intoned, "You've managed to defeat the greatest martial artists alive today"

"Yea me" Faith breathed as she rose to confront the giant of a man.

"When I break you and bring you before my master, it will be even more satisfying when I tell him of your latest conquest."

"I'm more known for breaking big guys like you…but in a much different way" Faith turned on her 'charms' as she spoke. To her horror, they didn't seem to have a noticeable effect on the giant. "…And by the way, have you ever met a guy names 'El Santo'?" She joked—knowing right then that there was no way out of this situation without violence she was no longer physically able to deliver.

"I have yet to have the pleasure." With that, Bane turned a dial on his wrist and his muscles expanded to enormous proportions. As Faith marveled at the sight of Bane gaining strength and size, he slammed his fist into the Slayer's slight form and sent her careening into a wall on the other side of the street.

"Gee, you got no problem beatin' on a girl who's at the end of her rope, do ya?" Faith coughed as blood spattered down her lips and onto her chin and neck.

"I will break you, Slayer, just as I broke the Batman!" Bane yelled. "The Great Fu Manchu will have himself a Slayer thanks to my efforts!"

"At least you're not here to kill me…It's a welcome change of pace" Faith coughed again as she stood up. When Bane went to punch her again, she ducked under it and delivered an uppercut that went up just behind his rib cage…at least, that was Faith's intent. Her fist struck Bane as he staggered back, hardly damaged by the blow.

Faith knew she was in deep. Her vision was blurry, her ears were ringing and she probably had a concussion. 

That is when a sound similar to the roars of big cats seemed to descend upon the street….

*