August 18, 037h "You must be the master of the one I killed," the man nodded, "here to avenge his death." "The boy is his own master," Batman growled. "And I fight as his second." Batman sprang into the opening gambit. The assassin sidestepped the lunge and grabbed Batman's wrist in an iron grip as it shot by him by scant centimeters. Batman instantly locked a hand on the assassin's arm below the elbow and threw. The assassin landed gracefully on his feet and rose, machetes at the ready. "You are unwise to challenge me unarmed," he hissed. "Who said I was unarmed?" Batman growled. Two Batarangs appeared in his hands, glinting in the moonlight as the combatants circled each other. "Toys." The blades sang as they slipped through the hot summer night. Toys they might be, but in a flash they were linked and when the blades invited them to dance, the Batarangs flashed out, a hooked end latching over each blade and Batman twisted his wrist, spiraling the swords away from their master and sending them spinning to the ground, poised on their ends. The assassin leapt, heel aimed at Batman's throat. The Dark Knight redirected the heel with the flat of his hand, pushing it upward. The assassin gracefully flipped backward with the momentum the deflection and leant and drove his arm upward, two fingers extended. Batman sidestepped the attack but found himself in poor position to attack. He executed a rapid snap kick that only grazed the assassin's shoulder. The other man tried to leave the ground again, only to have Batman's ankle hook over his own and deny him the air in a quick jerk. With a feral growl, the assassin fell back to let Batman take the offensive. This was going to be a long fight.