"Here?" Claire asked incredulously, staring in slight disgust at the sewer water that flowed beside them in the underground tunnel where Batman had led them. "How did you even know about his place?"
"I'm Batman," He said simply, "This is my city…"
"Why fight her here?" Stalker asked.
Claire looked around her, stared up at the thick concrete ceiling, "She won't be able to find you down here- not as easily. The walls will block some of her energy… She'll know we went down here, but it will be hard for her to follow us."
"We need to split up; she'll have a harder time locating us." Batman said.
"We might get lost," Claire protested, surprisingly frightened by these tunnels. They were so dark and the walls were so close… She needed sky and air…
"I'll find you," Batman promised, and then he was gone, running off down one of the tunnels.
"I suggest we follow his advice," Said Stalker, heading down the other tunnel. Left alone, and unsure what else to do, Claire headed down a third.
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Victoria grimaced in frustration. The trail ended at the sewers. They had gone below ground. Batman must have figured out that underground, blocked by thick concrete walls, her psychic powers would be diminished, but still… All three of them traveling together left a thick scent. As she pulled up the sewer cover, and descended below, careful to keep her hands and feet from actually touching the ground, she could still sense them. The followed their trail until she reached and empty cavernous space, and then suddenly, the thick scent seemed to stop. They had divided up. Interesting… Well, perhaps she would just have to hunt them down, one at a time. She would start with Batman. Then Stalker. Then her treacherous daughter.
She followed Batman's scent until she reached another large cavern. Pipes ran across the ceiling and along the floor. Large machines seethed with life as they drew water in and then pumped it back out. "Where or where can that Batman be…" Victoria said, still floating above the ground, although her powers were starting to weaken, cut off from fresh air and humanity...
She heard low faint laughter, and carefully drew a gun, seemingly from nowhere, and aimed it in the direction of the laughter. Though her mind was powerful, she still preferred bullets. "You don't really think you can kill me with a gun do you?" A shadow passed behind her, quick, darting. She squeezed the trigger and fired off a shot. The low laughter again, to her left. "You hunt me like some animal… But I'm not an animal. I am a symbol, I am a legend… I am immortal." The voice said, taunting her. She spun around, and shot at a shadow she was certain had moved. "You're not frightened are you?" The voice taunted, "Your power grows weaker down here…" Sure enough, her feet had drifted slightly closer to the ground. The hem of her long white dress brushed against it.
"Ah… But so does your Claire!" The woman cried, and for a moment, Claire's guise faltered and in that instant, Victoria saw her daughter as clearly as if she were standing in an empty field. "Do not waste my time Claire!"
"Am I a waste of your time?" Suddenly, from out of nowhere, black feet were coming towards her, and before she could react, Batman had kicked her hard in the chest. She fell out of the air, and onto the ground.
"Batman be careful!" She heard her daughter cry. Victoria whirled to her feet, and fired the gun into Batman's chest. It was a direct hit, he crumbled to the floor. "No!" Victoria heard Claire cry out. "Mother! You've killed him!" Her daughter's psychic cloaking went in and out. In her distress, she seemed unable to maintain the guise for long.
"And now it's over, so will you come out and greet your mother properly? Then we really should go find your father… A little family reunion."
"No!" Claire leapt down from a pipe far above, and aimed a strong psychic energy wave at her mother. In the confines of sewer, Victoria was barely able to put up a shield before she was struck by the blast, which blasted the concrete floor, and filled the room with choking dust.
"My… You've grown much stronger." Victoria said, slowly lowering the energy shield, and watching Claire who stood nearby, panting, clearly drained. "But the student has not yet surpassed the Master. Get out of here Claire, this is your last warning."
"No!" Claire said, stubbornly holding her ground. Victoria could sense her trying to raise the energy to let off another blast.
"Then my dear daughter, you are no longer my flesh and blood- but my enemy." She pulled the trigger.
"No!" Suddenly Batman was there, leaping forward, pushing Claire out of the way and onto the floor. The bullet continued its flight straight into one of the huge water containers. Water began to pour from the container in a slow trickle. Batman grabbed a stunned Claire and pulled her back upwards. Bright spots of blood fell onto the floor. So one of them was hit. Both of them were alive. She had once again underestimated Batman. Why couldn't she just kill him? The water had slowly started to fill the space, and the tank seemed like it was under duress, more water pushed against its side and strained against the seams, splashing onto the floor.