DC Infinity Presents
Batgirl # 8
Nature's War
Part 2
Nurturing Conflict
Gotham City
As a rule, Batgirl tried not to worry about the directions her missions took. No matter how a mission might change course, justice always needed to be dealt and there was no use complaining that something didn't go according to plan, largely because Batgirl never really had a great plan beyond 'make things right'. And so, Batgirl just allowed changes to just roll off her shoulders and make adjustments accordingly.
Usually.
This particular mission, however, truly tested her ability to do that. Batgirl was assigned to investigate the possible return of a terrorist organization known as The Council. It began easy enough, following some of their suspected clone soldiers after they committed a theft, but that went downhill when a trio of the Council's old enemies suddenly shot the soldiers out of the sky.
In the end, almost all the soldiers escaped. The only one Batgirl managed to hold onto was an apparent double agent, one Kirk Depaul, who she then had to save from the same people who had derailed the mission in the first place!
"Oh, that? It's an experimental tear gas created for population pacification control in prisons. Guards can take a pill and then not have to worry about the gas during a prison riot. At least, that's the official line Luthor has fed the Brass.
"But in actually, it's a mind control gas. In revenge for helping Paul Kirk defeat them, the Council has decided that Gotham will the source of their new army. And now that I've been exposed…I don't know how we can stop them."
And of course, as if a truly fouled up mission wasn't enough by itself, all of Gotham was apparently in danger, Batgirl reflected incensed by the entire situation.
"You're lying, you'd probably say anything to save your skin," Christine St. Clair looked at the clone of the man she once loved with undisguised contempt, "How do we know even know that your friends didn't just toss you overboard?"
"I believe him," Batgirl said, her tone implying that alone was enough.
"I'm afraid that's not good enough," said Asano Nitobe, his hand resting on his sword. Batgirl sneered at the ninja, not needing the ability to read body language to know what the man was secretly hoping for, "I need more than the word of someone I've never met before I trust you with my life."
"You spared my life once before, sensei," remarked the clone, "You remember San Francisco? You ambushed me on a roof top, and then Red shot me in the back. To honor a dead hero, of course."
Batgirl saw the surprise in the two's body, and relaxed somewhat.
"You're that clone who formed Power Company!" Christine gasped, "but the reports said you were dead!"
"The reports of my demise were slightly mistaken," smirked the clone, "I'd be willing to tell you all about it…if you don't mind the real criminals escaping!"
"…oh, right!" the former Interpol agent rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
"We can have Mbeya pick us up, and we can finish our discussion in the air."
"And if you don't like what I have to say, the trip comes with its own sudden stop?" Manhunter asked rhetorically, "yeah, I'd rather walk."
"We're both going," Batgirl said firmly. She didn't trust either side at the moment, even if she was sympathetic to this Manhunter, every instinct Batgirl had told her not to trust him, but she also knew that she needed him for this case more than the rest.
After all, information was deadlier and more valuable than any weapon and Manhunter had more information about what was going on than anyone else here. That was one lesson Oracle made a point to drill into Batgirl's until it was second nature.
"Mbeya, we need a pick up," St. Clair spoke into her radio, "we have two guests, so you know."
Tense moments passed as transportation arrived. Christine St. Clair and Asano Nitobe held their weapons as if they might be attacked at any moment, while Manhunter expected them to come at him any minute, and only became tenser the closer the helicopter came. Batgirl, for her part, willed herself to relax simply because the people all around her were taut, each expecting the other to be the first to attack the other.
After all, in a hair trigger stand off, Batgirl found that she actually reacted better when relaxed. Reacting to a tense situation with violence wasn't second nature to Cassandra Cain, it was first.
Finally, the duo's helicopter arrived without any violence preceding it, and the four climbed in silently while their eyes watched for any sense of betrayal.
"So we picked up a Bat and a clone," remarked the pilot. Batgirl could see that the man's dark features, and guessed that he was the final member of Paul Kirk's band that brought down the first Council, a brilliant weapons designer by the name of Kolu Mbeya, "how'd that happen?"
"This is Gotham," St. Clair answered, "as for the clone, make yourself useful and tell us where to go, and then kindly inform us why you're still breathing."
"There's a condemned building in the Gotham district known as 'The Hill'," Manhunter stated, "we used that as our base of operations. Just go straight for about twenty blocks. But keep the speed down, I doubt we want too many people noticing us just right now and it's only a matter of time before the police find that chopper you were kind enough to shot down. I'm sure they'd like to give you a medal for that one."
"It's always the smart asses who walk away," Kolu muttered.
"Now explain to us, how you survived," ordered Asano Nitobe, "according to the reports we received, you were killed. You were said to be beheaded by a delusional Mark Shaw, a former bounty hunter who went by Manhunter himself, if I'm remembering the reports right."
"That's right, sensei," Kirk spat the last word as if it was a personal insult, "but that wasn't me. See, a while back some people from Luthor's administration approached me for a deep cover assignment. They received reports that several clones were still out there, trying to resurrect the Council. Or didn't you notice that the enemy you first fought against had returned while you were busy hunting down their foot soldiers?"
"I thought that was just some upstarts who took the name to sound impressive. I mean, how could the Council have survived?" St. Clair asked, "I led the Interpol taskforce that dismantled their network myself, I sifted through the ruins of their base with my own two hands!"
Manhunter shook his head, "If I knew, I'd tell you…"
Batgirl eyed the clone carefully, but kept her own counsel. This situation was already hair trigger…
"…but that doesn't matter. At any rate, they expected the cell to reach out to me, and that's just what happened. Turns out, you were better at drying up their resources than you thought, St. Claire. My contacts and operational knowledge was fresher, better than theirs. They needed me like a fish needs water."
"But why would they trust you?" asked Batgirl. She could easily tell his personal opinion of The Council, and she suspected anyone who knew.
Manhunter smiled, showing his pearly white teeth. Batgirl couldn't decide if it looked like a fox grinning or a shark smiling, but he certainly reminded her of a dangerous animal, "Who says they did? Part of our Council training includes a little brainwashing. I decided to play hookie with that class, so it didn't work on me like they thought."
"And the body?"
"They decided it would raise too much suspicion if I simply disappeared from the Power Company, so they had someone fill in for me," Kirk explained, "good thing too, otherwise it might have me who that wackjob who was hunting down others with the name 'Manhunter' killed."
A pause.
"But I guess you don't care if there's an insane killer out there calling themselves Manhunter," Depaul shrugged, "so long as he's not a clone, right?"
"I won't be lectured on ethics by you, of all people!" Christine hissed, "I know exactly how you stabbed your own teammates in the back for an extra buck! You don't have the high ground here!"
"We're here," Kolu announced before any retorts could be made, "which building is the one we want?"
"Third apartment building from the corner. We rented out the top floor, no questions asked."
"They'll be ready for us," Batgirl noted.
Kolu rolled his eyes expressively, even though Batgirl couldn't see his face, "We haven't gotten this far by being easy marks."
&
From two blocks away, the clone of Paul Kirk who claimed the name Peter watched a helicopter fire several canisters from the underbelly onto the roof. Within seconds, the entire roof was blanketed in a thick, white smoke that not even the chopper's blades could dispel.
It descended onto the roof, lingered for a moment and then climbed back into the air.
Peter counted to thirty in his head…and then depressed the remote detonator.
The apartment floor that he and his fellow clones had been using exploded with enough force to shake the entire block.
Unfazed by the level of destruction he'd just unleashed, Peter turned on his heel and jogged out of the area. After a massive explosion like that, he knew instinctively it would look more suspicious if he simply walked, and he had a lot of distance to cover before the day was out.
&
"Yeah," Kirk looked at the massive destruction below with a simple roll of his eyes, "never would have seen that one coming, Petey."
"Don't smirk too much," St. Claire snapped, "we have no idea where their fallback point is!"
Manhunter leaned back with his head behind his hands comfortably and smiled smugly, "Well, that's hardly my fault, now is it?"
"You smug…!"
"I planted a tracer," Batgirl broke in, "on the man…who shot Manhunter."
"Excellent work," complimented Asano Nitobe, "we can simply follow the man until he meets with his compatriots, and we will have them."
"Careful kid," Kirk warned, "this bunch don't know what to do with tips. I did them a solid, and all they did was leave one of the cell members dead in the street and left the others suspicious of me."
"We will wait." Batgirl declared, "we need them to believe…that they are not being followed. So we won't. We'll allow them to think…that they escaped."
"No, that's not good enough," St. Claire hissed, "we need to find them now!"
"I must agree with my compatriot," Nitobe's hand rested heavily on his sword, "time is of the essence."
As a rule, no Bat liked attempts at imitation. Batgirl was no exception.
"This isn't a debate," Batgirl's voice was as sharp as a razor, "if you disagree with my methods…you will leave Gotham."
"I'd listen to her," Manhunter advised, "You don't outnumber anyone here. I'm sure that's a first for you."
Nitobe's hand eased away from his sword and nodded reluctantly.
"We're getting out," Batgirl hissed. She stood up and grabbed Manhunter by the collar, forcing him to stand, "meet us at Robinson Park, by the lake…by ten."
Batgirl grabbed the door handle and forcefully swung it open. Despite the roar of the air, Batgirl made herself heard perfectly
"If you're not there…you better not be in Gotham."
Batgirl spun on her heels, and with a firm grip on Manhunter, leapt from the helicopter for the city below.
"…you know, I get the feeling she doesn't like us," St. Claire sighed.
&
"…feeling is mutual."
Standing atop a cold, windy apartment building, the Daughter of Cain watched the helicopter carrying her ester-while allies disappear across the horizon.
Batgirl pressed her finger against her ear, listening to the micro-radio within it, hoping for more revealing conversation from the trio, something that might give her greater insight into these people, insight that wasn't readily available in Oracle's files.
"You're a Bat alright," Kirk leaned back against the building's stairwell entrance, "watching both sides from the middle."
Batgirl glared at him for a moment, but offered no reply.
"Not that I'm offended. I dealt with big Daddy Bat, I know how it is," Manhunter reached behind his back, plucked a tracer that Batgirl had planted on him and then flicked it back to her. Batgirl, her face unapologetic, caught the devise in one hand, "you won't need that to keep tabs on me, though. I intend to see this through to the end."
"The people who hired you…"
"Were all Luthor's cronies," Manhunter finished, "they were among the first people to go down when his administration collapsed. So no, we can't get backup in time enough to matter."
"Understood. Do you need a…place to stay? I have safe-houses…"
"You mean Batman has safe-houses," Batgirl scowled at the mercenary, "thanks, but no. The Bat made it clear a long time ago he doesn't care about the lives of clones."
Batgirl said nothing, choosing instead simply throwing a grappling line and swing away. Arguing with the man was pointless, and she very much believed Manhunter when he said that he intended to see this through to the end. As a matter of fact, it was about the only thing she trusted in regard to that man.
Try as she might though, Batgirl couldn't banish Manhunter's last words from her mind.
'Batman doesn't care for the lives of clones'.
Manhunter believed what he said, his body spoke of resentment, anger, but also honesty. There was no trace of deception in either his voice or body. He wasn't lying, so what did he know that she didn't?
Batgirl moved through Gotham mechanically, avoiding attention with ease until she was back within her cave, her private headquarters. She activated the main computer, and Barbra Grayson's face came up on the monitor. Batgirl described the night's events as precisely as possible, as Oracle patiently transcribed everything (for which Batgirl was thankful. Batman demanded complete files on everything, and Batgirl agreed, even when she had great difficulty creating those files).
Finally, Oracle asked, "Is that all?"
"No," Batgirl removed her mask, preferring to look her mentor in the eyes, "Manhunter said…Batman didn't care about the lives…of clones. What did he mean?"
Cassandra almost felt guilty, implying that Batman might have committed some wrong, based on the word of a hired gun like Manhunter. At least until, Oracle gave her The Look.
Cassandra respected Oracle deeply, but every time the genius hacker gave her The Look, it was like a neon that the respect wasn't mutual. That what Oracle had to say next was 'complicated, confusing, and you were better off not knowing but I'll tell you anyways'. The Look was twice as annoying because Oracle was often right.
"Cassandra…"
Cass glared at Oracle and hissed, "If I'm really a member… of this team, then I have a right to know. "
"You're more than a member of the team," Oracle reassured her, "but you're right. You do have a right to know. Since you met Paul Kirk's friends and read the files, you know how dedicated they are to preserving and honoring his memory."
Batgirl nodded as her eyes narrowed. 'Honoring his memory' roughly translated into hunting down and killing the clones. As much as that angered her, Cassandra knew there was not much that could be done about it. Christine St. Clair and the others had the passive permission of law enforcement to kill the clones. Given how far and wide the Council was spread, and as a result, their army, it was all but impossible to stop them. As Cassandra understood it, it would have been next to impossible to stop them unless they were caught in the act.
"Well, the three of them tracked a Paul Kirk clone to Gotham. They ambushed him in his hotel room, chased the clone through the city and, well…killed him just outside of Gotham."
Cassandra's eyes went wide, "Did…did Batman know?"
The idea that The Batman would allow anyone to get away with murder in his city seemed like nothing but a sick fantasy to the young crimefighter. Batman possessed a willpower, genius unlike anyone else she had ever met, and as such, His city was subject to stricter rules. Only the police could kill, and only in self defense, that was Batman's unspoken edict for Gotham as far as Cassandra Cain was concerned.
Oracle shifted uncomfortably, "He did. He intervened in the chase, but the three of them were still able to…eliminate their target. Batman…decided against pursuit at the time, and didn't follow up."
Cassandra's jaw dropped. Someone had murdered another human being in the presence of Batman…and remained unpunished. Try as she might…Batgirl simply couldn't wrap her mind around the concept, it ran against everything she believed about her mentor, her idol.
"Why would he do that…?"
"It's complicated," Oracle sighed, "the courts might not have recognized the clone as a legal person with human rights, he was planning a terrorist attack and well…it was born, bred and trained by a terrorist organization from birth to be the perfect weapons."
Cassandra's mouth hung open.
"Cass?"
"…so am I…" Cassandra whispered and Oracle snapped back as she realized exactly what she had just said.
"Cass, wait… I didn't mean it like…"
Cassandra slammed her fist down on her computer's emergency termination button, and Oracle's face just disappeared from the screen.
Clenching her fists, Cassandra replayed the words in her mind, trying to reconcile the actions of her mentor with the image she had of him in her head, in her heart. For what seemed like a moment of eternity, nothing made sense and Cassandra felt more worthless than she ever had before.
But that moment broke, and in its place a feeling of weariness permeated the muscles of her body, her bones, her very soul. Cassandra felt as if this night and her brief discussion with Oracle had aged her a hundred years.
With nothing more to do, Cassandra absently removed her costume and went to bed, hoping that she could find some small bit of peace this night.
&
The next day was almost a blur to Cassandra. Classes flew by, and though her friends sensed her troubled nature, Cassandra projected the desire to be left alone as clear as a neon sign.
Tatsu cooked dinner early and with only an hour left before she was due to meet up with her erstwhile allies, Cassandra was in her gym, tearing through wooden dummies as if they were made of clay. When the final wooden dummy fell to the floor in splinters, Batgirl began preparing herself for later tonight
In her mind's eye, she recalled the brief recording of Asano Nitobe that Batman had on file. Combined, it was little more than six minutes, most of the action blurred and shaky.
But between that and her encounter with the man last night, Cassandra still had enough for her purposes.
In her mind's eye, she created a perfect image of the skilled ninja. The image of the Demon Ninja struck at Cassandra, who blocked and counter attacked instantly. Though some might have felt foolish fighting an imaginary foe, Cassandra Cain was an expert in translating body language into martial arts. And her brief encounter, coupled with the information Batman had stockpiled on the man, might have well have been a book detailing the man's fighting style.
Anyone observing Cassandra Cain now might have thought she was actually fighting an invisible foe, judging from the scowl on her face, how she moved with determination and reacted to fictional blows. Cassandra did this for five minutes until she finally landed the 'final blow'.
"You're obsessing about this," Tatsu observed. Cassandra snapped her head to the side, and cursed the fact that her guardian had snuck up on her so easily.
"It's just another mission," Cassandra muttered under her breath. A glance at the clock told her it was about time to leave, and she walked over to her weapons vault.
"I don't believe you," Tatsu countered, "I spoke to Barbara. And I think you're seeing too much of yourself, in this case."
Batgirl secured a prearranged utility belt around her waist. Unlike her usual ones, this one contained equipment that was used exclusively for tracking or combat. Cassandra didn't think that tonight would require the tools of a detective.
"I am not." Batgirl said simply.
"You're letting them get to you, and it's making you question your own self worth," Tatsu continued. "Don't let them. They are small minded fool blinded by both regret and a narrow definition of honor."
"I know."
"Then why are you letting them get to you?" asked Tatsu, "You've fought killers and all kinds of other scum. What makes them so special?"
Cassandra stopped her weapons check, and swallowed a lump in her throat.
"Because they're not evil," Cassandra said, her voice low and pained, "but they still see clones…as things, worthless. Because of how…and why they were born and raised…as weapons. Like me. And…I think Batman agrees with them."
"I know he doesn't," Tatsu answered, "to him, every life is important. But Batman accepted a long time ago that he cannot save everyone and he cannot do everything himself. That clone they killed all those years ago was a contract killer, Cassandra, who had already killed a family of four and was planning on spreading more death in Gotham. And while this St. Claire woman may be overzealous in defending her lover's honor, she spared Kirk Depaul. The clones she killed died as soldiers of the Council or criminals using their training to hurt the innocent, Cassandra."
"But how they… 'look' at them," Cassandra growled, "it's not right!"
"I agree," replied Tatsu, "but to be perfectly honest, I think you care too much, Cassandra. Simply because they aren't evil, that because they are not criminals, does not make them right."
"I know!" Cassandra said defensively.
"You say that, but I'm not certain that's what you've convinced your heart," Tatsu countered, "they don't you know Cassandra and have no right to judge you."
"They might have been me…" whispered Cassandra.
"Never. They're immoral clones of a great hero," Tatsu observed, "that alone should tell that they could have made anything of their lives, with the right chances, the right opportunities."
Cassandra had to admit to herself that she never thought of it like that. From what she gleaned from the files, Paul Kirk was a respected, capable and honorable man. And from all reports, his clones, even the one that founded the for hire hero team known as the Power Company, were anything but. Both heroes and villains, created from the exact same cloth…
Cassandra glanced down and saw that Tatsu wrapped her arms around her without warning.
"…what?"
"I thought you could use a hug."
"Oh….okay."
Several seconds passed.
"Didn't say stop..!"
&
"This is pointless," Christine St. Clair tossed a few pieces of popcorn towards the ducks that hovered near the shore, who gobbled up the offering without hesitation of fear. Even in her darkest hour, the Interpol agent found the purity of animals uplifting. All they saw was food, not what might be an attempted poisoning or potential health risk, "we don't need those two. Half the time I think they want to take us in more than they want to stop those damn clones!"
"This is Gotham," said Asano Nitobe, as if that were explanation enough, and it some ways, it was. Gotham was a special city to those in law enforcement. After a decade, everyone took it for granted that if something included extra normal elements, Batman or someone associated with him, would become involved. Given that all Bats were well trained and knew Gotham better than most long time residents, it was the consensus of most everyone that it was better to work with them than against them, if it could be helped, "plus, she is our only source of information on where the clones may be. We need her, more than she needs us."
"You got that right, sensei," Manhunter strolled into the clearing, wearing what Christine considered a mocking uniform. Kirk Depaul's black and white uniform was a twisted mirror image of his DNA donor and the more Christine saw it, the more she hated it.
"We may need Batgirl. But we sure as hell don't need you," Christine snapped, "so you watch your back. A leopard doesn't change its spots and if anything, your time down amongst the dogs likely gave you fleas."
"Wow, you really know how to abuse a metaphor," Manhunter crossed his hands over his chest, "I'm not as good with them, so I'll just say that the both of you are idiots obsessed with the past. You, mourning your lover and you…sensei, hoping to make up for being deceived for so long. Step down off your damn crosses. Or at least get them out of your asses."
"You smug piece of…" Christine St. Clair was an experienced, well trained Interpol agent who had seen more action than five average Interpol agents put together. In one fluid motion, she had unholstered her weapon, turned the safety off and leveled it at the clone with her lover's face.
But before she could pull the trigger, a batarange flew out of the darkness and smacked the gun from St. Clair's hand.
"That's enough," Batgirl stepped into the light, a scowl across her face, "we don't know what we'll be facing. Last thing we need…is to be fighting each other…while fighting them."
"Well said," Nitobe bowed respectfully, hoping that it might defuse some of the tension.
"Yeah, well…tell that to them," Manhunter snapped, "I'm not the trigger happy one here."
"You knew I was there," said Batgirl, "don't try to manipulate my…sympathy. I'm only here to do the right thing. Anyone who stands in my way…will be my enemy. Understood?"
Manhunter rolled his eyes, and St. Clair holstered her weapon without a word, but Batgirl could easily tell that that they had taken her message to heart.
"Summon your man. We need to move."
&
The conversation after that was light, and focused entirely about the direction that the tracer was leading them in. Batgirl gave directions curtly, making sure everyone knew how dependant they were on her. Batman recommended, and Batgirl agreed, that it was best to give outsiders a short leash when you absolutely had to work with them. She was determined to keep them at arm's length, thus making it easier to beat the crap out of them if need be.
The tracer led the five across half of Gotham. Batgirl instructed them to set the helicopter down when they were within two blocks of their target, knowing that no matter how silent the machine was, no one would miss heavily armed air craft. Mbeya was left behind as reinforcement, and the four of them scaled the nearest building and moved across the roof tops like shadows, until they reached their target.
It was a van parked next to a small park. The area was what Oracle described as 'depressed'. Not a lot of gang violence, but more than enough drugs and not enough business that meant everyone who lived here had little choice and kept indoors as a matter of self defense. Batgirl barely needed her ability to read body language to tell who, of the five people total, were actually on their way home and who was outside standing guard in civilian clothes.
From their rooftop vantage point, Batgirl and her erstwhile allies could see everything. Peter, the clone who had shot Manhunter, was setting in a beat-up 1986 Toyota truck while his friends stood watch. Batgirl pointed them out for her comrades and then turned to Manhunter.
"What are they waiting for?"
"The second cell most likely." Manhunter offered.
"Second cell?" asked Nitobe, "there are more clones?"
"No, more like middle management," Manhunter explained, "they were people the Council paid off, converted or bribed back in the beginning. True believers, from what I gathered. They're supposed to handle the stuff like infrastructure, contacts, stuff like that. Cell one, the guys I infiltrated, handled the stuff like wet works and whatever snatch and grabs Cell two needed."
"So you were the muscle and they were the brains," St. Clair smirked, "Why am I not surprised?"
"Maybe because you made your mind up about me years ago?"
"What would they be waiting for?" interrupted Nitobe.
"According to Pete, the Second Cell was handling something vital to the Council's resurrection, but he refused to tell anyone, and I mean anyone, what that entailed."
"We need to get to the street…and ready to move," Batgirl said, as she pointed to an incoming delivery truck, "their allies are approaching."
Batgirl swung down, while Manhunter leapt to the crowd and St. Clair and Nitobe descended down the fire escape. Within moments, they were at the mouth of the alley, ready to move.
The delivery truck pulled up to the clone named Peter, and turned on its warning lights. Batgirl was too far away to read lips, but it didn't really matter. She could tell that they were simply confirming their plans, using whatever codes that they might have pre-established to assure one another everything was alright.
Batgirl was about to signal for her allies to move, when the shrill pitch of a police siren cut through the quiet of the night. Three cars came in from the front and three from the rear and skidded to a halt, boxing in the soldiers of The Council. Officers jumped out of the car, guns drawn and yelling for the men to put their hands up.
"Did your buddies tip off the cops?" accused Manhunter, "do you have any idea how much more complicated this is going to be now?"
Batgirl ignored him. This situation didn't feel right. Where was the Swat team? No police force would even think about using regular officers in a case that involved metahumans unless all others options were exhausted. Plus, the body language for the police was completely off. But Batgirl only needed to make one call to discern the truth.
"Oracle," Batgirl whispered into her radio, so that even her allies strained to hear her.
"Here. What do you need?"
"Code GPD, please."
GPD was Bat-family code, asking for the proximity of the police in relation to their location. Oracle replied, and Batgirl reacted instantly, running from the alley and towards the scene at full speed.
"What is she…?"
"…lost her mind!"
"They're fake!" Batgirl shouted at the top of her lungs. She leapt on top of one the fake cop cars that were blocking the street from the front and by the time the fake cops realized she was there, Batgirl was already lunging for her first target.
Batgirl landed in front of three men. They were still turning around to face her when Batgirl struck the first one in the back of the head with her flattened palm, knocking him out instantly. Batgirl pushed his limp body towards man number two and then balancing on her right foot, swung her left leg out and smacked the gun hand of thug number three aside before he could get off a shot. Bring her foot back, Batgirl shattered the man's jaw while rendered him unconscious.
The final man had just pushed his fellow coworker aside when Batgirl's forehead collided with his, and all he saw after that was darkness.
&
"I absolutely hate this city and its freaks," growled Martin Stromm. When he and his men agreed to undertake this mission, it was with the full knowledge that it might involve the city's capes. But the employer wasn't a man you said no to, the money was too good and the risk seemed minimum.
But Murphey's Law had a way of screwing up a good thing…
Martin slammed a clip into his uzi and was about to spray bullets in the general direction of his enemies (men be damned, this called for desperate measures) when he felt a sharp stabbing in his hand that made him drop his gun.
A man with a demon's mask stepped forward, sword in hand, "Stand down and live."
Martin removed his custom made bowie knife from behind his back, "What, you think you're a ninja or something? Eight years special forces, freak."
"A ninja?" A feint and a simple twist of the wrist, and Asano's sword was in Martin's chest, within a quarter inch of lethal depth, "more like the ninja. Apply pressure to the wound and you will live. Fight, and you will surely die."
&
"Die, die for the Council!" The clone of Paul Kirk had a gun in each hand, and just barely managed to direct his fire at the enemy. In comparison to his brothers, he had neither a great deal of skill or powers of reason. But he made up for it with an amazing amount of passion. The Council was his will, his way. Without them, he never would have existed and so, in his mind, exterminating their enemies was the least he could do in repayment.
His passion for his creators however, left little room for anything else. Kirk took aim with his side arm from five yards away and with two simple shots, disarmed his genetic brother.
"Looks like someone played hookie during target practice," Manhunter commented, "stand down, Bob. Don't make this harder than it has to be."
"My name is Number Four!" shouted the clone. He charged at the man he considered an abomination, a traitor.
Manhunter sighed. As much as he wanted to put a bullet through his fellow soldier clone's eyes, he just couldn't. Working undercover with them for so long, he found that he lacked his usual ruthlessness when it came to dealing with them. So instead he holstered his gun and removed his bhundi dagger. Passion was no substitute for skill and of that, Kirk Depaul had aplenty.
&
Batgirl knocked another mercenary aside, and glanced around the battle field. All sides appeared to be evenly matched, but who knew how long that would last?
Batgirl made her way towards the rear of the delivery van. Right now, whatever the second cell was delivering was a wild card in this fight. They might have bio weapons, explosives or any number of things that could make this chaos even worse, and that made securing it top priority.
The door was locked naturally, but Batgirl knew how to pick a lock at age six. She kept her eyes open while she worked, mindful of any stray bullets or people about. The lock clicked open, and Batgirl hesitated for a moment or two, examining for any hidden traps or tricks, before she grabbed the handle to pull the door open.
"No, stop!" The clone identified as Peter grabbed Batgirl around the waist and pinned her arms to her side, "you're insane if you think I'd let you take our most important weapons!"
Batgirl swung her legs up and pushed off the van, throwing Peter off balance. He stumbled backwards and Batgirl hooked her leg behind his, bringing them tumbling to the ground with the clone on bottom.
The grip around her arms loosened just enough and Batgirl wasted no time in taking advantage. She rammed her right elbow into Peter's stomach repeatedly, with enough force to kill a normal man, but just barely enough to slow down the clone armed with a healing factor. Flipping to her feet, Batgirl rushed to the van and flung the doors open.
Batgirl thought she was ready for anything. Dangerous weapons, a gang of metahumans, canisters of toxic gas, perhaps even piles of drugs and money.
Instead, she saw that the Council's most powerful weapons…was a half dozen children, boys no older than ten, handcuffed to a bench, confused and absolutely terrified.
Batgirl did a double take. These children were the Council's ultimate weapon?
Next Issue: Batgirl and allies seem to have found the Council's ultimate weapon, but can they prevent their return as a third party becomes involved? Things go from bad to worse in Nature's War 3!