DC Infinity Presents
Batgirl # 34
Light in Shadows
Part 2
Gotham
"We lost contact with the team meant to secure Circuit Breaker less than ten minutes ago."
Batgirl had been in the middle of her patrol when Oracle called. She turned on a dime.
"Just a few hours before we lost contact we received reliable intel that a new player, Mr. Myth, had taken an interest in our snitch."
The address, as luck would have it, was only a few blocks away. Batgirl sighted the safe-house in minutes. The room happened to be a hotel penthouse suite, and even from half a block away she could see the damage done to the room. Checkmate had been babysitting Circuit Breaker, waiting for the DEO to pick him up and Batman had even put two of his best operatives on it.
"I don't know if you've read his file yet, but Mr. Myth is possibly one of the most dangerous men alive," Oracle said over their radio connection.
In a fluid, practiced motion, Batgirl removed her grappling hook, and fired.
"You need to be careful."
Batgirl's steel soled boots smashed through the glass, and she released her grappling hook, landing on shattered glass before sliding to a stop in the middle of the room.
Mr. Myth didn't so much as flinch at her arrival. He just glanced over his shoulder at her, with an expression that anyone could see, that said 'really?'.
Batgirl took a moment to access the situation. There were unconscious DEO and Checkmate agents all around, but besides herself, only three other people were even conscious.
Circuit Breaker, sitting in a chair, weeping like a child, the fingers of his right hand were all bent at the wrong angles.
Behind Mr. Myth were Circuit Breaker's Checkmate escorts, battered, sprawled out on the ground after a terrible fight, Huntress and Black Canary. Batgirl didn't need her skills at reading body language or any detective skills to know that both women had put up a tough fight against Mr. Myth, that ultimately didn't go their way.
"Tsk, tsk," Mr. Myth sighed, "what is it with you Bats and grand entrances? You like making the cleaning staff clean up your messes?"
"Help me, please!" Circuit Breaker begged.
"Hey now," Mr. Myth pointed a finger at the man, "say anything else, and I take your date hand."
"Surrender, or get broken," Batgirl hissed, "only warning."
"Only because you won't be conscious to give another," Mr. Myth said. He turned to face Batgirl, and clenched his fists, "no matter what you do, I'll have seen it coming a million times."
Batgirl assumed a fighting stance.
"Prove it."
For all his bravo, Mr. Myth was very aware of just how dangerous Batgirl was reputed to be, having defeated Shiva, to say nothing of all her past accomplishments. The very sigil she wore demanded a certain level of respect.
So he focused his fight enhancements on Batgirl as he stepped to the side, as he and Batgirl circled one another, like wild dogs preparing for that last fight.
So focused on Batgirl and the countless ways she could come at him, Mr. Myth failed to notice the barely conscious Black Canary, and the fact that she'd palmed an arrow of Huntress that had landed near her hand in the fight prior.
Black Canary knew better tan to give her enemy any hint, so without a word, she stabbed the arrow into the back of Mr. Myth's calf.
"Son of…!"
Mr. Myth turned around to retaliate, and that was when Batgirl leapt for him.
Mr. Myth turned to face her, his fight computer calculating her exact angle of attack and how best to respond. And it might have worked, had he noticed the flash grenade she had dropped before lunging for him.
The timing was almost perfect, as a blinding white light exploded in Mr. Myth's eyes just as he was about to attack. Batgirl's right fist slammed into Mr. Myth's jaw with such strength that a tooth was thrown free.
Batgirl pressed her advantage by swinging her left elbow into the side of Mr. Myth's face, followed up by a right kick to his kidneys.
Mr. Myth responded by slamming the palm of his left hand into Batgirl's jaw, holding back just enough not to break bone, and then swung his right elbow into her gut.
Batgirl stumbled back, both blows sending a ripple effect of pain through her body, echoing the aches she'd gotten fighting her last enemy, the Steel Wolf. As she tried to recover, Mr. Myth took a few steps aside, now very aware of the angry Black Canary on the ground
"So you are smart enough to back off," Mr. Myth said. His onboard systems had examined every last scrap of Batgirl's recorded actions, and it deduced that her restraint here was based on a healthy amount of fear. It had no way of knowing of the residual pain that hummed in her body, "you have to know you don't stand a chance. Even if I didn't have my fight computer, I have enhanced strength, increased healing, and…why are you smiling?"
"Because," Batgirl said, "that just means I get to have fun."
Batgirl stepped towards Mr. Myth slowly this time, and when she got within arm's length, Mr. Myth smirked, and his arm blurred.
And when he missed as Batgirl ducked underneath, Mr. Myth blinked, hesitating just long enough for Batgirl to come up with a devastating left uppercut that chipped another tooth, and a left kick that sent him stumbling backwards out of the room.
"Canary?" Batgirl didn't dare take her eyes off of Mr. Myth, "can you handle this?"
"Yeah," Black Canary rolled on her side, and tried to climb to her feet, "gonna have to. Kick his ass for me."
"Promise."
Black Canary listened as the battle carried itself away from her, hating how she could barely stand, much less help her friend. Mr. Myth had torn through the regular agents like a hurricane, and in an effort not to hit friendlies, he then took her and Huntress apart. Her partner was still unconscious, no doubt nursing a concussion.
"I have to get out of here," Circuit Break said, nursing his broken hand close to his chest. Mr. Myth had broken the man's fingers simply as a means of introducing himself. God only knew what else he would have done if Batgirl hadn't arrived.
The informant ran out of the room, his face a mask of fear. Black Canary pushed past the pain, her broken ribs burning like fire. She wasn't certain that she could catch him, but that didn't mean she wasn't about to try.
oooOOooo
Mr. Myth knew that, in the long run, it was a bad idea to try to fight a Bat on their home turf. While he was confident that he could handle Batgirl with little trouble, he knew that there was a high percentage chance that someone like Red Robin, Nightwing or some other self righteous do-gooder would show up, and the situation would get only worse from there. And he didn't care much for fighting fellow vigilantes, even if they were too soft hearted for their own good.
Confident that he could outpace the heroine, Mr. Myth made his way to the service elevator, only to run smack dab into the DEO security reinforcements. Mr. Myth skidded to a halt, as eight men and women leveled their already drawn weapons on him.
"Freeze!"
Mr. Myth raised an eyebrow. He could tell from the tremor in the guns that these people knew of him. His tactical read-out assured him he could intimidate his way through.
"You people really think you'll stop me?" Mr. Myth said, "I've fought this battle a million times in my head, and I can see every move…"
-Blam!-
Mr. Myth didn't, couldn't know, that Paul Brandt had been diagnosed with late stage lung cancer, and that the man erroneously blamed it all the meta-humans he'd come into contact in his life. When he got up this morning, and finally accepted that he was going to die, he thought that if he had a chance to bring one self-righteous meta-human down with him, it would all be worth it. It brought him the closest thing to peace he'd known in weeks.
So he fired, and though Mr. Myth managed to dodge the bullet, his fellow agents unleashed their own barrage at the vigilante purely on reflex. Batgirl, seconds behind him, threw herself through an open door to avoid the bullets.
But to his credit, Mr. Myth by no means a pushover. He removed a throwing knife from his jacket, and slapped aside every bullet that came too close, with only a single one managing to pierce his flesh, a clean through and through that began healing instantly.
When Mr. Myth got within arms length, all it took was a sweep kick and a few punches to disable the men and women.
"Tried to do this the easy way," Mr. Myth sighed.
He moved to take a step, when Batgirl's boot smashed into him from the back. In all the excitement, he'd forgotten about her, focusing his fight computer on the backup DEO agents.
But he recovered quickly enough, his artificial nervous system dulling the pain, and his fight computer now running through simulation after simulation as he spun around to face her. He knew how she attacked, how she defended, and with how much force.
To his fight computer, her odds were better than most, but not good enough.
But what he and his fight computer didn't know, couldn't know, was how Batgirl fought against someone like him.
Batgirl herself took a split second to do her own analyze of Mr. Myth. His fighting style was crude but perfect, a simple answer to any problem, no doubt a side effect of his fight computer. His fighting style wasn't immediately lethal, though ironically that only made him more dangerous. Fighting to kill was fat more difficult than it was fighting to disable, then kill.
Only a few people mastered fighting purely to kill, and were more effective for it. And they were all part of her family tree.
And on top of all that, he was strong and fast, just enough to be on the edges of meta-human. The only advantage that Batgirl saw for herself was that he was capable of surviving the worst of what she could dish out.
Mr. Myth was on her a split second later, swinging his elbow at her head. Batgirl just barely saw it coming, and as she dodged, she grabbed his wrist with her right hand and his elbow with her left. She twisted one over the other, and Mr. Myth leaned forward to keep his arm from snapping.
He was a second away from slipping out of the arm lock, when Batgirl swiftly kicked him in the face.
Mr. Myth gritted his teeth, yanked his arm free and spun one hundred and eighty degrees, his right boot armed at Batgirl's head.
The young crime fighter saw it coming, yet was barely fast enough to bring her wrists up to block. The blow lifted Batgirl from her feet and knocked her backwards nearly five feet.
"You're good, can't remember the last time someone tagged me like you did," Mr. Myth said through gritted teeth, , "wish we had longer together, to sort this out properly but I'm sure your friends…or is it family…will be along soon."
Mr. Myth took off in a dead run, and Batgirl followed behind quickly. She couldn't help but wonder how justified his fears were.
oooOOoo
Brazil, South America
"Are you insane? Recall her!"
Nightwing decked the H.I.V.E agent in his way, and began typing furiously on the consul. Oracle had sent him to investigate a tip six hours ago that had exploded into a full blown 'Save the City' deals.
Nigtwing had already done that, but now he had to make sure the threat never occurred again. And for that, he needed intel, on who H.I.V.E paid off, where they bought their material, how it was shipped in and a dozen other small things that made up a plan to hold hostage a city of millions.
"You really think I really could?" Oracle, half a world away, replied.
Nightwing inserted a modified thumb-drive into the computer, "It's too dangerous, even for her. The man is enhanced, to say nothing of his fight computer. She doesn't stand a chance!"
"Nightwing, calm down," Oracle said, "do you know why it's impossible to program a computer with every possible move in Chess?"
"Because there are over a billion possible moves," answered Nightwing, "but this isn't Chess, it's…"
"Real life," Oracle answered, "where there are no limits or possibilities as to what might happen. No matter what Mr. Myth boasts, he can't predict everything. I am trying to call in help, but the closest operative I can find is over an hour away. We'll just have to hope that Cassandra can pull a John Henry."
"Not a good example," Nightwing said, "John Henry may have won, but he also died."
oooOOooo
Batgirl lost sight of Mr. Myth as he turned the corner, and as she came around after, she just barely caught a glimpse of him as the door to the emergency exit slammed shut.
Batgirl reached into her utility belt, and flung one of her customized concussion batarangs, set it for impact detonation and flung it at the door.
On the narrow fire escape, Mr. Myth couldn't escape the explosion, or the surprise that Batgirl had resorted to such extreme measures. It ran against everything in his database, the use of such extreme force.
What his computer didn't know, couldn't know, was that Batgirl considered him a threat on par with Deathstroke, and wasn't about to pull her punches.
Mr. Myth barely managed to clear his head when Batgirl's fist smashed into his throat.
Barely able to breath, Mr. Myth acted on instinct and brought his knee up and caught Batgirl in the stomach.
Batgirl fell back only a step, not allowing herself to feel the pain, and Mr. Myth came at her, his right fist pulled back.
Knowing there was only one way to dodge, Batgirl leaned into the punch as she turned her head aside, the blowing glancing her jaw.
Mr. Myth, having never seen anyone lean into his punches before, was stunned just long enough for Batgirl to swing her right elbow into his gut as she hooked her foot behind his left heel.
Mr. Myth lost his footing for a split second, and that was enough for Batgirl to grab him by the neck with her left hand.
Batgirl shifted her weight as she pushed the off balance Mr. Myth, and it was just enough to get him to fall backwards. The back of his head slammed into the guard rail, and the cyborg began seeing stars.
"Surrender," Batgirl grabbed the collar of Mr. Myth's trenchcoat, and slammed his skull into the guardrail again.
"Looks like we were both wrong, huh?" Mr. Myth grunted, "I think I'll just stop under estimating you."
Mr. Myth moved like lightning, pushing Batgirl backwards in the span of a blink.
Blows rained down on Batgirl before she even realized that Mr. Myth was moving. A blow landed on her head, another on her ribs, and a snap kick slammed into Batgirl's stomach, and made her feel as if she'd swallowed an explosive.
But having been trained since birth, Batgirl caught the boot with both hands. Mr. Myth pulled his leg back, his fight computer convinced that she wouldn't risk getting within arm's length after taking such a beating.
But as Mr. Myth pulled back, Batgirl leaned forward and the 'perfect fighting machine' found himself off-balance. Having relied on his fight computer for so long, Mr. Myth fumbled for a split second, and fell back on his ass, his foot still in Batgirl's hands.
"Warned," said Batgirl, as she twisted Mr. Myth's at an angle it didn't want to go.
Mr. Myth's other leg lashed out, and Batgirl just barely managed to turn and raise her left leg, to keep him from shattering the joint, instead hitting the side of her leg with bone jarring force.
The distraction was enough for Mr. Myth to slip free, and get to his feet.
"You're starting to make me mad," Mr. Myth hissed. He reached into his belt, removing several throwing stars. He sent then flying with a flick of his wrist.
One nicked the ears on Batgirl's cowl as she ducked and she was forced to use her wrist gauntlets to block the other two. The stars wedged themselves into the metal even bit flesh, but not deep enough for Batgirl to even notice. She sensed instinctively that the intent wasn't to harm, but to buy time for escape.
Mr. Myth turned and leapt over the railing of the fire escape, plummeting to the street below. He landed with a grunt, the shock of the multi-story fall rippling through his body faster than he could shut off his pain receptors, the state of one foot not helping matters any.
It was an educated gamble, according to Mr. Myth's fight computers. Bats were exceptionally good at safely falling off of buildings, everyone knew that, but only under their terms. All Mr. Myth needed was several seconds to vanish, and then pick up Circuit Breaker later. The cyborg knew that the little coward had already fled law enforcement custody, and had taken a precaution of hitting the man with a nano-tracer before breaking the man's fingers. For the next four days, there was nowhere on earth that the sniveling snitch could hide from him.
Mr. Myth began calculating escape avenues, when he heard a flutter and turned around just in time for Batgirl's boots to smash into his face.
Batgirl deactivated her glider, the one Mr. Myth hadn't known existed, as she bent her knees and pushed off with all her strength. She flipped backwards, as Mr. Myth was thrown opposite of her.
By the time the ground was firmly underneath Batgirl, Mr. Myth had recovered his wits, and was already on his feet.
He came at her like a hurricane, with a right hook meant to shatter her jaw. Batgirl stepped underneath it with a second to spare and then stepped in close, kneeing Mr. Myth in the crotch.
She was met with an armored cup, and a left chop aimed at her neck. If Batgirl hadn't already predicted it, the blow might have snapped her collar bone, but instead she blocked it with her right arm and then slid her arm around his, catching Mr Myth in an arm lock.
Mr. Myth shifted his weight instantly, just as Batgirl predicted he would, yanking his arm free, but putting himself off balance for several long seconds.
Batgirl leapt forward slightly, and her boot came down on Mr. Myth's knee perfectly, shredding muscle and ligaments. Mr. Myth grunted, the agony smashing into the defenses in his nervous system like a tidal wave, and Batgirl moved swiftly, swinging her right elbow into the side of Mr. Myth's head.
But Mr. Myth responded with an upper cut that slammed into Batgirl's belly. Though the pain and shock was staggering, she still forced herself to bring her elbow down on Mr. Myth's left shoulder before taking a few steps back.
"I…don't know how you're doing this," Mr. Myth growled, "you some kind of meta?"
Today was one of the few days in which Batgirl was grateful for the fact that she handled verbal communications so poorly. Because otherwise she might have been tempted to say that no matter how many simulations Mr. Myth ran in his head, all that mattered was the one punch that he actually threw, the one punch she could predict with almost no effort. That his fight computer, the one he relied so much on, relied itself on only one rigid style for offense, meaning that she knew what he would do before Mr. Myth did.
So Batgirl said nothing of the sort, because she didn't want to give her advantage. Because for all his boasting, that style was fairly effective, and he was still a meta-human martial artist. The aches and pain she felt simmering in her body was a testament to his ability.
Instead, she simply smiled and said, as smoothly as she could, "Magic."
To her surprised, Batgirl saw Mr. Myth flinch, and realized that he believed her. He was so confident, and reliant, on his fight computer that a part of him truly believed that she was employing magic of some kind that he just couldn't detect.
That was the nature of magic, after all.
Seeing an opening, Batgirl stalked forward, ignoring the pain in her body. She saw Mr. Myth's first swing coming, and ducked under it, slamming a left fist into his kidney, followed by a half leap to give more power to a right cross that rattled Mr. Myth's skull.
But Mr. Myth's backhand caught Batgirl quicker than she could defend, and Batgirl found herself thrown backwards until she crashed into the alley wall.
"Magic or not, you're damn good," Mr. Myth said. He strode over to Batgirl's fallen form, looming over her, "just not good enough. Remember that, if you ever see me again"
Sirens blared in the distance, and Batgirl, still reeling from the blow reached into her belt with her left hand before she grabbed Mr. Myth by the ankle. He pulled his boot free effortlessly
"We'll settle this later."
Mr. Myth straightened his sleeveless trenchcoat, and darted towards the mouth of the alley, and out of sight.
Elsewhere, Gotham.
Jerry Digger took a moment to stand in awe as he pulled up to his ex-partner's new residence.
According to the agent, the mansion held some twenty three bedrooms, sixteen bathrooms, a garage large enough to hold a fleet of cars, among countless other amenities.
Jerry looked at the house that he couldn't afford in a million years, especially now, and couldn't help but think how it still wasn't enough. Still wasn't justice served, for his friend.
He let himself in without knocking, and listened for a moment before he knew where to find his friend.
"You should always knock, even if always welcome," Shane Crews said, as he slammed his fists into his punching bag, "just polite."
"Didn't think you'd hear me," Jerry said. He was about to say something else, but it was drowned out in a fit of coughing,
Shane stopped his workout, and for a moment held his breathe.
"You okay man?"
Jerry raised a hand, before he finally stopped.
"Been better. What about you?" Jerry gestured towards Shane's chest. There were countless scars, each one a testament to the danger of being a cop in Black Gate Prison. At best, his bare chest looked as if it had been mauled by a wild animal, "you sure you want to do this? At best, you'll end up right where you started."
"I don't want to do this."
Shane picked up a towel and began wiping his face down.
"I simply have to."
Gotham
Mr. Myth enjoyed the cool air as it blew across his skin. After ditching the tracker Batgirl had planted on his boot with an Uber driver, Mr. Myth had moved in the opposite direction, leaping atop a commuter bus while his cybernetic rebuilt the torn and weary muscles from his fight. He began running simulations for hunting down Circuit Breaker, while imagining all the havoc he wreck once he had that intel.
So confident that he'd outwitted Batgirl, Mr. Myth never considered that he shouldn't have worried about the tracking devise Batgirl had planted, but instead focused on the adhesive used to affix it to his boot. It was a Wayne Tech exclusive, a highly traceable radioactive substance with a half life of six hours. To anyone with the right technology, Mr. Myth might have been waving a flag in the middle of the afternoon.
So Mr. Myth's defenses were, relatively, down. He wasn't expecting pursuit. He didn't know that there were people in Gotham who knew the city so well that they could race through it while still remaining practically invisible.
So the only warning that Mr. Myth had anything was amiss, was the slight flap of a cape. He turned his head just in time to see Batgirl's custom made combat boots slam into his chest.
Batgirl released her grappling hook, and the two went sailing through the air, Batgirl riding the sociopath as if he were a sled. He smashed through the wooden fence of an in-progress sky scraper, landing towards the top of the inclined dig and slamming into the dirt, skidding to the bottom.
Batgirl leapt off at the last second, tucked and rolled as if she'd practiced it for years.
She swept her eyes over the construction site. This late at night, it was completely empty of people, but flush in weapons, if you were willing to improvise.
"You're getting…," Mr. Myth coughed, spitting up blood. Batgirl knew that if she'd attempted what she'd just done on anyone else, they'd be dead at least twice over, "…on my nerves. All I want is the computer geek. Why is that so much to ask?"
"Because you like hurting people," Batgirl said, "not hard…to see. Call yourself a hero as an excuse, not cause."
Mr. Myth rolled his eyes.
"You know your problem? You Bats are so damned self righteous."
Batgirl assumed a fighting stance.
"Your problem?" Batgirl said, "is that you are not righteous enough."
oooOOooo
Black Canary did her best to keep Circuit Breaker in sight, but with several broken ribs, it wasn't easy. On a good day she could run a four minute mile, but Mr. Myth hadn't pulled his punches.
"Get out of the way!"
Little boy, a kissing couple and an elderly woman. Black Canary made a personal list of people Circuit Breaker was all but stepping over in his mad dash for 'freedom'.
Driven by the pain of his broken fingers, the young hacker cared only about distance, not what was around him.
"Circuit Breaker, stop!" Black Canary yelled out.
Circuit Breaker looked back at her, just as he dashed into the street like a wild animal. He was bone scared of being turned over to Mr. Myth, and blocked out everything else in his otherwise genius mind.
Including the lessons he learned as a child.
Tires squealed, the hacker screamed, and all Black Canary could do was watch.
oooOOoo
For all his bluster, all his boasting, one thing that could not be denied.
Mr. Myth was fast.
Batgirl saw Mr. Myth racing towards her, she saw his he intended to close-line her, but she'd just barely crossed her arms to defend herself before he was on her, and wasn't quick enough to dodge when he swung his knee into her stomach.
Instead, Batgirl threw herself backwards, rolling backwards to soften the blow, but Mr. Myth wasn't about to allow her a second to recover, chasing after her, and trying to stomp on her before she could right herself.
Batgirl swung her right elbow, deflecting Mr. Myth's boot, and leapt to her feet, but before she could turn, Mr. Myth swung his elbow into her side, sending Batgirl stumbling into a large pile of bricks, as they moved deeper into the site.
"You're doing better than anyone has before," observed Mr. Myth, "but my enhancements just put me out of your league, little girl."
Batgirl removed two smoke pellets from her belt, and lobbed them on the ground.
"Prove it."
Mr. Myth rolled his eyes. Though he was temporarily robbed of sight, he could hear better than any human being on the planet. Which meant that him simply clearing his throat was good enough to act as sonar, and thus rob Batgirl of the ability to surprise him.
He sensed her coming as if she were a ship blaring its horn in a fog. He was a little surprised that Batgirl had decided to go with a left overhand swing, but that ultimately didn't matter. His fight computer already had the perfect response.
He brought his right wrist up to block, and was about to counter when a brick slammed into his face, breaking his nose.
Batgirl kicked Mr. Myth's right shin with enough force to chip bone, sending the leg flying backwards, as she caught the brick with her right hand.
So as Mr. Myth fell forward for a split second, Batgirl swung the brick up to meet his jaw, where it exploded in a hail of bits and dirt, connecting perfectly.
Stunned for a moment, Batgirl leapt forward with both feet, pulling her legs back and slamming her heels into Mr. Myth's pelvis.
Batgirl landed on her back, pain arcing through her body, while Mr. Myth threw himself backwards, trying to buy room just to breathe.
For a moment, neither had the strength to move. Agony overruled their anger and bloodlust.
But Batgirl forced herself to her feet, drawing on the discipline of a lifetime of training
"You Bats may really well be magic," Mr. Myth grunted, "but I'm combat technology made flesh and steel."
Mr. Myth became a blur of motion, and Batgirl leapt forward to meet him. Mr. Myth tackled Batgirl around the waist in a bear-hug like an NFL player, holding her up effortlessly as he ran further into the construction site. Rather than struggle for freedom, Batgirl instead brought both her elbows down on Mr. Myth's thick skull.
His head ringing, Mr. Myth prepared to pitch Batgirl through the air like sack of potatoes, but when he slowed and shifted his weight, Batgirl sensed it immediately. She had a batarange in hand with practiced speed, and sank it into Mr. Myth's right shoulder just as he'd committed to the throw.
Muscle, wire and tissue were torn as Mr. Myth threw Batgirl with none of the strength he'd intended, and she landed on her feet with little issue.
"I try to avoid killing good guys," Mr. Myth was growing angrier by the second, Batgirl didn't need her training to see that, frustrated that nothing was happening the way it 'should', "but you're tempting me to make an exception."
Batgirl popped her neck.
"Try it."
Mr. Myth, as a retort, cracked his knuckles, but as he readied himself for the fight, Batgirl saw the man's body falter while his facial expression remained unchanged, if only for a second.
Batgirl realized, instinctively, that Mr. Myth's implants were keeping the majority of the pain and damage from his mind. But in doing so, it threw off his timing, weakened his blows and in the end, made his physical state that much worse, because he was making his injuries worse by not compensating.
A logic loop, Batgirl realized instinctively, though she didn't know the name. In keeping the pain from Mr. Myth, his fight computer kept the tactical information it needed from Mr. Myth, skewing its own calculations and thus, results. It was blinding itself from information it desperately needed, but refused to let itself see.
Mr. Myth raced at her again, and though Batgirl saw it coming, she couldn't move aside fast enough, smashing into her like a linebacker, and grabbing him around the waist.
Instead of trying to struggle free, Batgirl wrapped her left hand around the back of his head, and swung her right elbow into his face. She landed only two blows before Mr. Myth tossed her away, straight onto a nearby workbench.
For a second, Batgirl didn't move, and Mr. Myth almost breathed a sigh of relief. But her fingers twitched, and Mr. Myth stepped closer. He knew that leaving her conscious wasn't an option, and with her on the ground, he never had a better chance to take her down.
A million scenarios went through his fight computer, to how she might throw a batarang, knife or punch. He had a defense ready for everything for every weapon on her belt.
So when Batgirl tried to sweep his fight out from under him, Mr. Myth danced backwards perfectly. As she leapt to her feet, Mr. Myth had the perfect response planned.
But he had no way of knowing that Batgirl had grabbed a bag of nails that had been on the work bench, and was completely unprepared when she smashed it across his face.
The blow sent Mr. Myth stumbling back into another work bench, blood pouring from his mouth.
"Thunder Dome rules?" Mr. Myth grabbed the power-cord of an electric saw and swept it at Batgirl's head like a flail, "fine!"
Batgirl stepped back, and then rushed towards Mr. Myth just as the power cord took him off balance for a split second, and drove her right fist into Mr. Myth's kidney. When Mr. Myth tried to bring his arm back around, Batgirl ducked underneath, slashing Mr. Myth across his belly, the slice a half inch deep.
"Arrgh!" Mr. Myth put his left arm over the already closing wound, "you took one of my knives!"
"What?" said Batgirl, "didn't see it coming?"
Mr. Myth said nothing, and Batgirl could see the anxiety in his body. Having relied on his abilities for so long, he had no idea how could get out of this. Doubt was the most crippling thing to plague any fight, and right now he was filled to the brim.
"Why are you doing this?" Mr. Myth demanded, "we're on the same side! I just play harder!"
Batgirl said nothing, because she could see how it was all a lie. Mr. Myth enjoying the thrill of battle, the joy of inflicting pain. Batgirl had seen his type before, the kind of person who pretended to be a hero so that he could justify hurting people.
And she said nothing, because she could see how Mr. Myth was trying to buy time, to allow himself to heal. The longer they talked, the stronger he would become, and Batgirl could already feel herself reaching her limits.
So Batgirl mustered her will, and threw herself at her enemy one final time.
For all his supposed ability to predict any move his enemy could make, Mr. Myth was utterly ignorant to just how predictable he was.
So when he swung his right elbow at her head, she stopped it with both hands, and snap kicked him in the stomach. Mr. Myth recoiled for just long enough, and Batgirl, still holding his right elbow, twisted it behind his back, and pushed it up higher than nature ever intended.
Mr. Myth barely kept from screaming out, and swung his left elbow into her side.
Batgirl didn't allow herself to truly feel the pain, and stomped on the back of his ankles, and his knees smashed into the ground.
Batgirl gave him no relief, and grabbed him around his neck, and twisted, flipping him over her hip.
Before Mr. Myth got half way to his feet, Batgirl had smashed her knee into his face, and then swung her boot into his stomach. She then lurched to her left side, and fell forward, her elbow aimed at Mr. Myth's spine.
She smashed him against the ground, cracking Mr. Myth's ribs. She then scrambled to Mr. Myth's good arm, grabbing it with both hands, and wrenching it straight up. With her left hand on Mr. Myth's wrist, she swung her right elbow into his joint, tearing muscle and tissue.
To his credit, Mr. Myth snapped to one side, and dislodged Batgirl from his back. Within seconds, they were both on their feet.
"This is impossible," both Mr. Myth's arms hung at his side, useless. Unless they were set by a medical professional, they'd never hold so much as a teacup, let alone a weapon, "I've run our fight a million times…!"
"You see a million ways to fight," Batgirl said, "I only need one."
When Batgirl came at him again, Mr. Myth could see with iron clad certainty where she was going to strike, but with all the damage that had already been inflicted on him, was helpless to stop her.
She grabbed his left wrist, twisting it so that agony shot through his body as she swung her right leg straight up, smashing his jaw before bringing her heel down on his shoulder, and after a split second to get her footing, slamming left foot into his knee.
Mr. Myth tried to shift his weight, to snap his arm free, but Batgirl saw it coming, leaning forward with the pull before all but throwing herself backwards, yanking Mr. Myth straight forward, his damaged knees once against slamming into the ground.
For his meager efforts, Batgirl slammed her right elbow down on his skull, swung another knee into his face. Mr. Myth fell backwards, his head striking the pavement.
Batgirl abandoned all pretense of finesse, hailing blow after blow down on Mr. Myth, his skull bouncing back and forth between her fists and the concrete. In the forefront of her mind, she was more than well aware that the amount of force she'd used thus far was enough to kill a man three times over, and yet he still refused to fall.
So she held nothing back, beating him into the ground. Warnings flashed through his HUD, but Mr. Myth was helpless to heed a single one. His body refused to heed a single command, until finally, his implants took the only recourse they could.
Batgirl had just pulled her fist back, when she noticed Mr. Myth's body go limp.
She froze, mindful that it could be a trap. But for a full thirty seconds, he simply lay there, unmoving.
"Batgirl?"
Batgirl snapped her head to the side, and inwardly sighed in relief when she saw Nightwing. His body went from fear to relief the second he accessed the situation.
"He's down," Batgirl said. She could feel a wellspring of pain creeping up on her, "secure him. Please…"
"Of course. I'm so glad you're okay…"
"…no," with the surge of battle having faded, and the certainly that she no longer had to fight, that she was safe, Batgirl began to feel lightheaded, and the world beneath her beginning to shift, "…catch me."
Batgirl fell forward, her world nothing but a pain fill darkness.
oooOOooo
Later
"Where do I start?" Oracle sighed.
Batman, a hundred miles away in Checkmate HQ, leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands.
"Start with the bad," Batman said, "maybe by the time you're done, we could find some good."
"Lets hope," Oracle said, "because there's no shortage of bad. Circuit Breaker ran right in front of a city bus. Dead at the scene. Calculator let it be known that he was a snitch, and that we couldn't protect him, so…"
"Any other possible informants will be reluctant to come forward," Batman finished, "how is the DEO taking the loss?"
"They're blaming Checkmate," Oracle said, "nothing more than sore egos really, but it's going to put a damper on future joint ops."
Batman grunted in acknowledgement. After Max Lord's attempted coup with the OMACs, the Dark Knight had taken over Checkmate, turned it inside out and stocked it with handpicked personnel.
Though it was twice as effective, there were those in the government who abhorred Checkmate's continued existence, the fact that Batman had taken an entire intelligence agency, or both.
As a result, Batman had been forced to make overtures to various agencies, giving them intelligence they would never otherwise have, or allow them to take credit for Checkmate's work. Handing the DEO Circuit Breaker would have been a peace gesture that might have bought Batman enough goodwill to make Checkmate legitimate in their eyes.
But that died with Circuit Breaker.
"And Cassandra?" said Batman, "how is she?"
"Like she just went a round with Shiva," Oracle said, "Tatsu and Dick are seeing to her now."
"Mr. Myth's been contained?"
Oracle nodded, "Nightwing injected him with special brew designed by Mr. Terrific, so his implants are offline and the DEO picked him up as a consolation prize. According to internal chatter, they want someone they publically try for vigilantism, so no Suicide Squad for him. Just twelve of his peers."
"Good," Batman said.
Oracle raised an eyebrow.
"Don't start," Batman said, "the difference between us and him is that we know where the line is. I don't kill because anyone can be redeemed, Barbara. Because life is precious. But also because killing isn't a solution. It's a just a bigger problem, that leaves us all with one less solution."
"Yeah," Oracle said, "and one hell of a mess."
Next Issue: As Batgirl tries to recover from her fight, a new and deadly player bursts onto the Gotham crime scene!
Afterword:
I really dislike taking the easy way out, and the idea that killing solves every little problem. Hence, this little arc. Hope you enjoyed the action!
But do remember, I promised two dark arcs. Wait till you see what's up next!