FIC: Faith Wayne (17/?)

Arkham Asylum

The Joker's manic cackle rang around the corridor at the sound of gunfire. A breakout, he did love a good breakout! The corridor's door cashed open and a group of night-camouflage wearing men strode in, sub-machine guns grasped in gloved hands. The Joker started dancing around his cell, excitement pulsing through his veins. He laughed as the men surrounded his cell door. "Let me out! Let me out!" he trilled.

"Sorry," his eyes widened as a gun's muzzle was stuck through the bars of his cell door, "but our boss doesn't want any wild cards." Fire blazed out of the gun, crashing into him, tearing through him as he spun around and crashed to the floor, blood soaking the ground under him.

Arkham Asylum

"Dent!" the door to his cell crashed open. "Time to go, we're making a break for it."

Two-Face glanced down at the coin in his hand. "I can't, just tossed it, coin says I stay."

"Hey Xan!" Faith burst into her boyfriend's office. "Have you see the TV? There's been a major breakout at Arkham, everyone's out!" Xander's mouth opened, but she continued on before he could comment. "I tried callin' Pops, but Alf said he was out patrollin'. We have to be out there, helping people!"

Xander shook his head. "Oh no, that's not our -."

Faith grabbed hold of the desk as she leaned over and went eye to eye with her boy-friend. "You tellin' me helpin' people ain't our job?"

"I'm telling you leaning over the desk in a low-cut top is distracting," Xander joked then sighed at her unyielding glare. "I'm telling you, our priority is dealing with the supernatural-."

"Damn it Xan!" Faith snapped. "You're not tellin' me we should be hidin' under our beds!"

"No, you and me should be hiding in our bed-," Xander threw up his hands at her scowl. "Fine, fine, we go out, but in the usual trio patrols, we avoid the criminals, and concentrate on helping people who've been injured in the chaos, relief work."

"Relief work?" Faith shook her head. "You've gotta be shittin' me!"

"Faith," Xander seemed to struggle to find the words for whatever he wanted to say, "what would you do if I tried to fight the First Prime of Apophis?"

"Kick your ass, and by the way I still hate you for making me watch all of Stargate so I know who Teal'c is," Faith replied before grinning ruefully. "But you made your point, relief only." Xander nodded as he rose and reached for your jacket. "What are ya doin'?"

"I'm coming with you to supervise," Xander replied.

Faith opened her mouth to argue then remembered there was only one person more mule-headed than her, and that was her honey. "Hurry then."

Metropolis

Wonder Woman burst through the rubble then let out an unholy scream as yellow energy blasted into her face, knocking her onto her back, pain blistering through her. Blood roared in her ears as she struggled to raise her arms, place her bracelets between her and the agony coursing through her.

And then just like that the pain disappeared.

Wonder Woman blinked her eyes clear to see Wonder Girl and Power Boy battling Sinestro, dodging in and out of his blasts. Forcing her legs under control she leapt forward, catching the alien with a right hook that sent him crashing into a wall. She was on the alien before he could react, grabbing his ring hand and squeezing, bone cracked and shattered together with the ring, leaving him powerless.

Wonder Woman stumbled away, weariness filling her. "Thank you for your help," she looked towards her rescuers. "He shouldn't be any problem now. I'd appreciate it if you took him to pris-." Wonder Woman noted the duo's fraught expressions. "What?"

Detroit

Martian Manhunter bombarded his adversary with telepathic attacks as he flew towards him, cape billowing in the wind. And then they crashed together, Mongul's punches crashing through him, his teeth jarring with every blow's impact.

Then he caught the mammoth alien with a thudding uppercut, the alien's head snapping back. Mongul's retaliatory hook exploded against the side of his head, his equilibrium vanishing before the ferocious attack.

Martian Manhunter ducked another left, both hands shooting up to grab his rival's thick forearm as it flew overhead. The moment his fingers closed on the massive forearm, he lifted overhead, flinging his larger adversary into a clothes shop front. Martian Manhunter spun around in time to see Mongul hit the glass front and charged in to finish off his adversary.

"Aaaah!" he screamed as the beam from the alien's chest weapon hit him, every bone and muscle protesting as pain tore through him, knocking him into a parked truck, the momentum flipping the vehicle onto its side. Before he could rise Mongul was hitting him, blow after blow pounding him into oblivion.

"Allow me to assist." Suddenly a fist crashed into the side of Mongul's head, knocking him off Martian Manhunter.

"Thank you," Martian Manhunter rasped as he recognised the figure bombarding Mongul with a flurry of punches and kicks as the Kryptonian, the Eradicator. Leaping up, he flew into Mongul, clipping him with his shoulder on the alien's knee.

The road fractured under the impact of the alien falling to the ground, but in the same second Mongul was back up but retreating under their combined attack. "Let us take it from here."

Martian Manhunter looked up when a green glow enveloped the rampaging Mongul, a smile pulling at his lips as he recognised Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, and John Stewart hovering overhead. "Thank you for your -." His smile withered as he read John's mind. "Oh dear."

Fawcett City

Blood filled Marvel's eyes as Cyborg Superman continued in his unceasing bombardment, every blow adding to the agony. Then suddenly the car fell away, leaving a groggy Marvel to look up to see Captain Atom assailing his adversary.

Cyborg Superman threw a looping right that Atom ducked under before ramming an uppercut into the robot's jaw, the blow connecting with enough force to lift the Cyborg from his feet and fling him up into the air and through a billboard.

Marvel forced his still shaky body under control and flew at the falling super-villain, hitting him side on and into the side of an apartment building. The cyborg crashed through the wall to land on the lounge floor, but then Marvel was on him. Blood still dripping from him, Marvel grabbed hold of the cyborg by his shoulder and leg, lifted him up, staggered under a blow to the torso and flung the cyborg out to Captain Atom who grabbed the cyborg in mid-air and threw him down, and through the roof of a car.

Even as the cyborg impacted the automobile, Captain Marvel flew over to Captain Atom. "Thank you for your assistance, however I am at a loss as to how we can imprison him."

"Perhaps," Red Tornado flew up to them, "I can be of assistance. I have been working on a capsule that would imprison Amazo should he ever return. It would be ideal for Cyborg Superman."

"That sounds ideal," Marvel nodded. "Thank you."

Star City

Green Arrow kicked out, driving his heel into Bane's ankle even as he reached out and grabbed the giant's other foot and pulled. Bane cursed and stumbled towards the edge, but failed to fall. "Nice try- ahhhh!" Bane toppled forward when Green Arrow kicked out and hard, catching him in his elephantine left hamstring.

Climbing to his feet he looked over the edge to where Bane had splattered into the pavement. "It's not the fall that kills you, it's the landing every time," he muttered.

Metropolis

Superman pulled his knee up into his chest and kicked out, his foot slamming into Despero's stomach knocking the gigantic alien from him. Superman leapt up and attempted to shake his head clear only to be forced back on the defensive by another blistering attack, his forearms aching from blocking the powerful blows. Suddenly he saw an opening, and quick as thought itself darted in, straight right crashing into the alien's throat.

Despero grunted and stumbled backwards, Superman started after his stunned enemy only to fall back when a wave of agony crashed over him, his very bones seeming to burn.

And then a hammer crashed into the side of Despero's head, knocking him off balance. "Need a help, Supes?" John Henry Irons queried as he swung his hammer back in, steel armour gleaming.

Despero swatted the sledge-hammer away, darting in to backhand the human hero into and through a near-by park's iron railings. "Your allies won't help you now-, ahhhh!" The alien let out a scream as he was bathed in a blood-red glow.

"Are you sure about that?" Superman looked up in time to see Super-Girl and Super-Boy hovering over the gigantic alien, blasting him with heat-vision. Leaping forward, he caught his distracted rival with a looping overhand right to the forehead that knocked him on the back.

Gotham City

Black dots forming before his eyes, Batman hooked his arms around the assassin's waist, bent his knees and then powered up, lifting the hired killer over his head and flinging head first into the wall behind.

At least that was the plan, Batman spun around in time to see Deathstroke twist in mid-air, catch the wall feet-first and spring-board off it at him. Batman cursed as he dropped to his knees and pulled his head down, Deathstroke sailing overhead and crashing to the ground. Batman leapt up and turned to his adversary in time to manage to duck under a straight right and retaliate with an uppercut to the jaw that saw the assassin's lights briefly dim then flare again as he charged back in. Batman's knee shot up, catching the hired killer in the gut as he snatched at the assassin's lead arm and started to turn into a judo throw.

Pain exploded in his kidneys when Deathstroke caught him with a hammering hook. And then an arm was around his neck, choking him from behind. Darkness closed in around him.

"Damn it dad! I didn't go through all this shit to lose you now!"

His daughter's voice inside his head sparked something, recollections of what he might lose if he didn't fight harder perhaps. Whatever the reason, he kicked off the refuse strewn ground, driving the hired killer backwards and into the wall behind. Deathstroke grunted as he crashed into the brick, Batman letting out a rattling gasp as he gulped in air, his right elbow driving backwards and into his rival's gut.

And then he was spinning to face his rival, driving his head down and into Deathstroke's face, bone shattering in this collision, his punches beating out a brutal tattoo on the assassin's ribs, ignoring the varying attempted karate chops by his adversary. A knee to the groin later and Deathstroke plunged to the ground, easy victim to a kick to the chin that had his head bouncing off the concrete as his jaw cracked.

"Looks like you didn't need my help after all and I was feelin' all kinds of noble too."

Batman forced himself to straighten, decades of self-discipline allowing to temporarily at least ignore the hurt raging through his battered body. "Selina," he gazed up at the rooftop and to the lithe, leather-clad figure crouched there, "I think we need to talk don't you?"

"Ohhhh," Catwoman shivered, "I just love that school-mastery tone, Bruce." Catwoman leapt off the roof, her long mane billowing behind her as she dropped to the ground. "Please say you're going to spank me."

Batman glared at the mostly-reformed super-villainess. "She's my daughter, Selina. I appreciate your concern, but I doubt Faith would react so well to your questioning a second time."

Selina flashed him a coy smile so unsuited for her beautiful features. "Are you saying she has claws?"

"Like you wouldn't imagine," Batman crouched over the downed assassin, quickly cuffed his legs and arms, then for extra insurance injected a sedative. "I approached her, she's the spit of her mother twenty-five years ago."

Something, jealousy, envy, flickered in Catwoman's eyes. "And she couldn't be a plant, a plastic surgery or cloning copy by one of your enemies? Or a con-woman after your money?"

Batman shook his head. "There's things you don't know about her that would make such an effort hugely problematic not to mention counter-productive."

"Nicely vague." Selina sighed when he didn't react to the snarkily put prompt. "What's it like? What's she like?"

"What do you think she's like?" Batman challenged as he continued divesting the downed killer of his assorted weaponry.

"Strong-willed, confident, full of life," Selina replied. "And don't change the subject."

Batman chuckled. "She's all of that and brave," he shook his head. "She had a terrible start to her life but she still believes in helping people, is still courageous enough to put her trust in others."

"And what about her criminal record?" Selina challenged.

"If I was you I wouldn't bring that up, especially given your past." Batman spun to face his sometime girl-friend. "There's things about those murders no-one knows about."

"Okay, okay," Catwoman backed away from his anger. Batman took a calming breath before turning back to Deathstroke and lifting the limp body over his shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"Arkham," he curtly replied.

"Oh boy," Catwoman said. "Haven't you heard?"

Batman turned to face his rival\friend\lover. "Heard what?"