Black Cat (Black Cat Chronicles, Book 1)

8. Second Encounter

"You're really annoying, anyone ever tell you that?" I called out to Robin.

"So I've been told," he called back.

"Tell ya what, you leave now and I won't leave you on your ass like I did last time," I told him, skidding to a stop and turning.

"I won't be the one losing tonight," he replied, seeming sure of himself.

"You know how many times I've heard that and how many times they've been left on the floor?" I retorted.

"I'm guessing a lot, but I'm not a lot of people," Robin said.

"Exactly, a lot of people are known. Where'd you even come from?" I asked. 'Keep him talking, keep him distracted. Search for weak spots.'

"Haven't you seen the news? I've been here for a while," he said, watching me as intently as I was watching him.

"You sound like an old man. 'Haven't I seen the news?'" I scoffed. I found that ordinarily, if I pissed off the person I was fighting, they'd get sloppy with what they're doing. I was hoping that it was the same for Robin.

"Hand over the Treasure and I'll try to make sure your cell at Arkham isn't as terrible as it could be," he said, putting out a hand.

"You'd think that you'd learn after last time, but nooooo, you insist on making it difficult," I said, using that as a chance to attack. I kicked down his hand, hitting his forearm. He grabbed my ankle, pulling me down. I landed on my hands and knees, careful not to break the piece of the Treasure that was attached to my belt. I could hear him walking up behind me, so I pushed off into a back handspring of sorts, kicking him under the jaw. I heard a grunt and the sound of him dropping to the floor.

"You're lucky I don't wear heels like the others," I said. straightening out. "I've gotta run, catch you on the flipside!"

"Oh no you don't," Robin said, sweeping my feet out from under me with his staff. I landed hard on my tailbone, knowing I most likely bruised it from the impact.

"You do know that if it breaks, it'll be worthless, right?" I asked, quickly making sure the Treasure hadn't broken. "And no one wants that, now do they?"

"Tell you what, take the piece off your belt. Whoever wins this gets to take the piece and leave. It doesn't break, and one of us gets to take it," he offered.

"I like the way you think, Bird Boy," I said, untying the bag from my belt. "If you run off with it, I will personally hunt you down and give you a slow and painful death."

"I won't, it's a deal," he said, holding the staff in one hand, and extending the other to shake mine.

"I don't shake hands with the enemy," I said, slipping one of my knives into my hand. "Take your shot, Bird Boy."

"Ladies first, Kitty," he replied, his ever present smirk making an appearance once again. We stood like that for a while, calculating each other's strengths, weaknesses, hesitations. The cut on my hand felt hot and throbbed as I tightened the hold I had on my knife. It was then that I remembered the gun in my jacket. It would be so easy, shoot the kid dead, break Batman's spirit, never have to deal with him again.

'Stop. You sound like Joker,' I reprimanded myself. The kid wasn't threatening my life, not yet anyways. I controlled my breathing, slowing down my heart rate so I could focus better. I could tell he was ready to try to knock me out with the staff, just by the sudden tension in his arms. I quickly raised by arm to deflect the blow, hearing a whistling noise as it went through the air. It cracked against my arm, stinging strongly even through my multiple layers. I quickly pushed off of it, shaking my arm out and sending a knife flying his way at the same time. It cut a line across his cape, leaving a jagged trail in its wake.