Legend

Settling in

When we got downstairs, we saw that in addition to Bruce and Alfred, we'd be dining with Dick and Ms Gordon. "Call me Barbara," she said cheerfully. Dinner was light conversation, then over cheesecake, Dick proposed that we go down to the bat cave.

"Bruce said he'd seen an impressive demonstration of your fighting technique," he said, squinting at me a little. "When did you start taking lessons?"

"I was in high school...junior year." Dick smirked.

"Well, I've been training since before I was ten," he said. "I'll go easy on you." I saw Bruce look heavenward, and Damian smirked at him but said nothing. Barbara looked between us but didn't say anything. We went down to the training room. I'd never been in it; it was uncomfortably like a high school gymnasium with wood floors (they must have a heck of a dehumidifier), mats, climbing ropes, and gymnastics equipment. I remembered Damian telling me that Dick's birth parents had been circus acrobats and that they'd had a family act. I presumed that after so long under Bruce's tutelage, he'd be a skilled fighter, but I also knew he wasn't enhanced. And he was assuming things about me.

The others stood against the wall as Dick and I squared off. I let him attack first, let him do is thing a little. He was good; he used escrima sticks, threw in some capoeira and gymnastics. I was getting good at identifying the different martial arts of the world. He jumped and twisted over my head, intending to drop behind me and try  to defeat me there, but it was easy to put him down as soon as he'd landed. He blinked up at me, a little dazed. "Anybody can get lucky," he said cuttingly as he bounced to his feet and we squared off again. This time I got him in an arm lock right from the get go, disarmed him, and put him down. He was pissed when he got to his feet.

"Surely you remember," I said peacefully. "My uncle is Bucky Barnes. When I was in school, I trained several days a week with him, something I picked up when I returned to New York. I boxed when I was in college and grad school, learned a few things there too."

Dick's pissiness was replaced by a look of calculation. Apparently that had slipped his mind. "May I?" Bruce asked, and I nodded. Dick stepped back and the three on the wall had eager expressions. Alfred looked inscrutable.

Bruce was a different kettle of fish; he'd been training hard and for a lot longer than his sons. And he was a non-powered superhero who deserved my respect. He turned out to provide the best workout I could get outside Bucky. I brightened up. Bruce used a mixture of Asian martial arts as well as brawling technique that would take care of most people. He was taller, more muscular, and heavier than I was, but I had my enhancements (Hank had tested me again shortly after I got back to New York and discovered that my genetic drift hadn't quite finished; I was now six times stronger than a woman of my height and build should be, but it looked like I'd plateaued there. The dance combat ability had likewise grown, but it didn't tend to really kick in unless I was working hard) which Hank had assured me was still quite rare. We fought for a good five minutes, longer than I would normally allow, but it was fun and I was learning a lot about Batman's skillset. I finally flattened him with the developpe-based kick that had flattened Thor. It did the same thing for Bruce.

I prudently stepped away from Bruce and bowed to him. "Well done, Miss Alex," Alfred said, and I smiled at him. Dick looked dumbfounded.

"Did I mention I have some enhancements, a good decade of dance training, and I'm in line to take over as the Avengers' combat trainer when Bucky steps down?" I said pleasantly.

"I think you're holding back," Bruce said, getting to his feet. His look was analytical rather than upset, I was glad to see.

"I am a little. It's a demonstration, not a serious fight."