In this chapter of “Birds of Prey” fanfiction, the ninjas get the better of Batgirl. Will her backup arrive in time? And just who is it?
Want to read from the beginning? CLICK HERE!
Batgirl glanced at one of the other rooftops. Three more ninjas moved in her direction. Despite the swords on their backs, they held bows ready to launch arrows.
Luckily, Batgirl’s concealment gave them no target.
Sneaking around the fixtures on the rooftop, Batgirl moved to a position of advantage. The ninjas leaped across the space between rooftops and continued their search for the Gotham vigilante.
When the ninjas came within striking distance, Batgirl attacked.
She quickly downed two of the ninjas. The third swung at her with his bow but missed.
Batgirl’s fist didn’t miss. She shattered the ninja’s jaw.
She didn’t wait to see these ninjas dissolve into ash. Instead, she returned to the headset and spoke into it. “I’m still here. Maybe you should handle me yourself?”
An arrow pierced Batgirl’s cape. She turned in time to see three more ninjas, also brandishing bows, standing on another rooftop.
Two more arrows flew at her. She dodged one; the other caught her in the stomach.
Batman’s supplier engineered the Batsuits to defend against the ballistic impact of a bullet. The suit did so by spreading the bullet’s kinetic force over a larger area, thus blocking damage.
Piercing weapons like arrows were another matter. They defied the intent of the armor and allowed for injury.
Batgirl ducked behind a fixture on the rooftop. She heard two of the ninjas leap across the gap between rooftops and move toward her position.
Batgirl pulled the arrow from her stomach, noting the trickle of blood that escaped her suit.
The vigilante crouched down just as two ninjas rounded the fixture, their swords at the ready.
A swift kick from Batgirl swept one ninja’s legs out from under him. That ninja crashed onto his back.
The other ninja tried separating Batgirl’s head from her shoulders. She rolled away from the blade, but it caught her shoulder.
More blood spilled.
An arrow shot past Batgirl. In her desperation to avoid the sword-wielding ninja, she’d inadvertently set herself in the path of the one with the bow.
Reaching into her utility belt, Batgirl popped a smoke capsule. A voluminous cloud of black smoke obscured the location where Batgirl once lay. She rolled to a position unknown to the ninjas.
Not seeing her movement within the smoke, the ninja’s blade cut smoke, but not the vigilante.
With her infrared lenses still in place, Batgirl could see the ninja swinging wildly amid the smoke. The ninja on the ground stood but fared no better with his attacks.
Batgirl crept up behind one ninja and knocked him out.
Despite the smoke, the other swordsman turned and looked right at her.
Batgirl feinted, but the ninja read her movement. She brought up her gauntlet in time to parry the blow that would have thrust through her chest.
She then punched her attacker in the jaw, but the ninja shook it off.
The swordsman tried to sweep Batgirl’s legs from under her. She leaped over his kick and punched again. He used her momentum to spin around her and grab her in a chokehold.
Batgirl’s injuries slowed her down.
The auburn-haired vigilante couldn’t get the leverage she needed to break the hold. She felt blackness coming.
Then the hold broke. Batgirl fell backward as the ninja pulled away from her. She coughed as she caught her breath.
“Lead with the smokescreen and flashbangs,” a familiar growling voice told her. “Make them come to you and use the chaos to defeat them, particularly when outnumbered.”
“Thought I could pick them off before numbers became an issue,” Batgirl said.
She looked up to see a tall man in similar black armor standing over her. He possessed an athlete’s build, a bronze utility belt, and a black cape even more flowing than hers.
Like her, he wore a mask and cowl with pointed protrusions that looked like ears, with the symbol of a bat emblazoned across his chest.
The man went by many names: the Dark Knight Detective, the Masked Manhunter, the Caped Crusader.
She knew him as Batman.
He extended his gloved hand to Batgirl. “Control the chaos, and you don’t have to think.”
Batgirl accepted Batman’s hand in getting to her feet. He looked at the piles of ash and ninja costumes around them.
“Your Australian man is most likely Kano, a mercenary from Thailand,” Batman said.
Because of course he got all this information before getting here, Batgirl thought. To my credit, I was busy making deals and fighting for my life against ninjas!
Batman continued his lecture. “Kano has ties to China White, a crime lord operating from Seattle who also employs ninjas known as the White Fang, believed to be a rogue offshoot of an organization of ninjas called the Hand.”
Batgirl used a packet of Quick Clot from her utility belt to staunch her stomach wound. “What are any of them doing in Gotham?” she asked.
Batman’s eyes narrowed. “Going to jail.”
Awwww shit! Batman’s in the house! He and Batgirl will team up to take down Kano! But can they do it before any of the innocent people gambling get harmed? You know what to do…
While writing this fanfiction, I used Green Ronin’s Mutants and Masterminds, 3rd Edition RPG, to leave some things to chance. Check it out!
Like this Birds of Prey fanfiction? Check out Mark’s original “Shadowdance” saga books!
