Chapter 19
Deathstroke had hardly spoken when he found himself tied up and lying in the sand. Batman had shot the net from his gun almost as soon as Slade had seen him.
He spoke mockingly from on his back, "Hardly sporting of you."
Batman approached methodically, "I don't care about playing games with you. Lives are at stake."
"Very well then, I'd expect nothing less from you." He suddenly cut through the net in one stroke with a small blade he produced from his sleeve. He then flung it at Batman, who dodged easily. The eye peering through his mask seemed to darken, the inflection in his voice showed no emotion. "Let's get down to business then."
They circled carefully, each looking for an opening, exchanging occasional strikes, neither managing to score a blow. Slade attempted to slide toward his discarded weapons several times, only to be cut off each time. He watched carefully for any movement Batman made toward his belt. But no move was made. Not out of any sense of honor, Deathstroke guessed, but because he felt using gimmicks would only open him to a mistake.
The stalemate continued for several minutes, while in the sand about fifteen feet away, Deadshot began to recover consciousness. His eyes opened to see Batgirl lying silently on the ground. He silently turned his head to see the battle, with Batman's back to him. As his vision began to focus and his mind cleared, he realized the opportunity that had fallen into his lap. Quietly, he raised his right arm, his wrist shooter clicked-
A flash of light and smoke burst from his wrist. A bat shaped blade was lodged in his weapon. The explosion knocked him to the ground. Batman smiled at him, only to turn suddenly to strike Deathstroke, who had moved to catch him off guard.
In fact, Batman had counted on this, and in lunging to grab his perceived opportunity, Slade made himself just vulnerable enough. Before the mercenary could realize the mistake he'd made, his head was in Batman's grip. One turn would end it.
"Talk, who are you working for? What is your mission here?"
"Shut up and finish it."
"You think I'm joking?"
"Maybe, maybe not. But you're not getting anything out of me."
"Then-uh!"
Batman slunk to ground, a dart lodged in his back. Deadshot lay on his side, rasping for breath, as he lowered his left arm. It'd been awhile since he'd been forced to shoot left handed.
"You owe me Deathstroke. You can repay me by leaving me alone with him."
Slade rubbed his neck. "No such luck. You know our contract. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get your precious vengeance later." He picked up his sword, wiping the dust from it. "Now get me the tiger."
Lawton slowly rose to his feet. "It's gonna be a pain dragging all three of them back. She's just a corpse anyway, can't we…?"
"I'm miles ahead of you. Actually I have very special plans for her. In the near future, we're going to have to deal with several of them at once. Including the big one, and perhaps the Cheetah and Catwoman. We'll need a psychological advantage. Fear will do." As he said this, he went to retrieve the smaller blade he'd thrown at Batman. Sheething his sword, he reached down to pick it up, holding it gently.
"As always Deadshot, this mission will require a surgeon's precision."
From atop the hill over looking the stream, Selina sat watching Dorothy splash around in the water. The two cheetahs were resting quietly on the water's edge. She turned around and glanced up to see Paul not far behind her, in a tree, either on watch or sleeping, she wasn't sure. They'd made it to the rendezvous point, now they just had to wait for Tygrus and whoever he could gather.
How long would he spend searching for them? And then trying to get them to come? They could be here for days waiting. And if something happened to him…no, that wouldn't happen. Not to Tygrus. She couldn't consider that. As long as they were undiscovered, they could wait here indefinitely. She had done her part; she had to trust Tygrus to do his.
Tygrus, she thought back to that look in his face as he gave her orders. The same look she had seen in Batman at his most determined. He had purpose now; protecting others of his kind, protecting her…he wouldn't fail. Any moment, he'd come out of the woods, new allies in tow.
Suddenly the sound of something landing beside her snapped her out of her daydream. It was Paul. "You're awake!" he exclaimed. "You slept for almost a whole day. You really wore yourself out getting us here."
She smiled, "Hello Paul. So it's been a day. Tygrus should be here soon enough. Maybe a day or two, depending on how long it takes to convince the others."
Paul grinned, "I can tell you're eager to see him."
He smiled even wider at her reaction. "Don't worry about it, it's only natural. Well…as 'natural' as anything can be in our situation."
Selina looked at Dorothy in the water. "You and her…you're comfortable with this? What you've been turned into I mean. Why?"
Paul shrugged. "Our situation wasn't ideal back home. Dorothy always had faith, it kept both of us going. When we found out we couldn't have children. Even after I lost my job and couldn't get another one. Even when we lost our home. Even after…this. She figured us being saved by Tygrus was proof that this was all for a reason. Honestly, I could never say that with her conviction. But the funny thing is, I could never provide for her as a man, any other woman would have left me for someone competent. But here, as a cat…you should have seen her eyes when I brought back my first kill, a big bird thing. I'm finally able to take care of her. And trust me, compared to cold, hard, city streets, a soft jungle floor, seems downright heavenly. It's been so long since I've seen her…genuinely happy like this. Not just trying to prop me up all the time. All things considered, it's not too raw a deal. For the time being."
They were both silent for a few minutes. Finally Paul mentioned they should go inform the others that she was awake.
