[center][b]Chapter 2:  Showdown[/b][/center]

Two point eight hours had passed in Radiant Garden in silence, it seemed. Things were relatively quiet for the most part. Not so within.

There was a grunt, a sound of skidding as metal scraped against the flat floor of the control core. The spidering circuitry accentuated the similarly blue ones on the armor, the figure rolling like a log to sit up, gasping a bit.  Finally, feet flattened on the ground, and the defeated warrior stood, taking a battle stance that was tense, but not crouched at all.

A week into their training, and she still couldn't land more than a superficial hit. She had to get better, [i]had[/i] to find a way!

Granted, she was enforcing insomnia. She hadn't slept much at all in her training. Best to fight and get better when she was weaker, so she could be all the better when she had her full strength back.

"Not...done...yet..." she spat through her helmet, a dribble of blood dripping down the side of her mouth from the latest punch.

Now for the next round.

He admired her tenacity for continuing, but he easily recognized that she was forcing herself to continue on, even to the point of passing out.  She wouldn't allow herself much time to sleep.  But he knew that she needed it.  He knew enough that rest plays as much an important part of training as the actual training.  Continued training would actually make the body weaker.  Rest was needed in order to heal and repair from their sessions.  All he can do is shake his head.  So stubborn...

Nevertheless, he stands ready, prepared.  This first week has been purely on hand-to-hand combat.  No weapons, no tricks, no gadgets.  Just pure fighting prowess.  "After this, you need to rest."  He waits for her to throw the first strike.

The slightest hint of a smile. "I guess I'm not the first one to say to stop then," she taunted. "Feet first into Hell. That's my job."

She wasn't stupid, though. She knew he could easily turn any attack back on her. All she could really do is get hurt if she fought him head-on while on the attack. Best to try for distraction first. Stepping forward, she feigned a knee to Batman's chest, stopping halfway before going for a glancing blow at his right temple with one fist. Then, making sure he wasn't going to turn it on her, she backed off, waiting for him to take the bait.

Batman brings up a hand to act as a barrier for her knee strike, only to barely notice the tensing of her fist.  The blow barely lands against his temple, more of a pressure than an impact.  She was getting better, trying to hide strikes behind other strikes.  False-fronting, a classic tactic.  Now it was his turn.  It was the pattern that they set up.  She'd try a strike to show her progress, he'd respond with a potential counter or attack that could breaks an opponent's focus or crush an opponent's defense.

He strafes around her, sticking to her left side.  Grabbing a hold of her left arm by the wrist, he twists it, applying pressure to the elbow.  He was sure to apply just enough pressure to bring pain, but not enough to potentially hyper-extend the joint.  After he felt that enough pain was inflicted to distract her, he lets go, going for a spinning elbow strike to the back of the neck.

That went about as well as she had expected. Her vision blurred from pain as the superhero nearly broke her arm. She knew this was more of a distraction than anything, since he normally would not try to break her bones. At least not intentionally, as far as she could tell. She could see him spinning around as her vision began to clear, and reacted as quickly as she could. A duck straight downward caused the elbow to just barely miss her, going less than an inch above the helmet. In the same motion, she curled in her left leg, kicking sideways toward the man's chest. She knew she likely did not have a lot of strength, but thought she needed to win [i]once[/i]. Therefore, taking a step back to try to get around to his back, she turned to face him once more, trying to wrap an arm around his neck and a right leg around the back of his own from the outside, trying to throw him to the ground in a quick, heavily improvised judo throw.

Batman nods at the dodged elbow.  The amount of training that she must have undergone prior wasn't anything to scoff at.  He blocks the kick.  She was easily going at Tim's pace, but not quite at the level Dick was at, not yet at any rate. However, he feels the grapple of his neck and right leg.  He could escape from it, but he would more than likely guess that she would keep going until she passed out.  So, the only two choices he had were to break it and continue the cycle until she passed out, or take a dive, a notion that seemed so alien for him.  Both had their pros and cons.  In the end, he couldn't take the fall.  Instead, he responds with a swift left punch, aimed for her temple.  More than likely, her helmet would deflect the blow, and possibly distract her.  Of course, that also left him open for the throw to be executed.

The hit definitely disoriented her. As much as she wanted to keep fighting no matter what, she was tiring fast, had far less stamina than he. The helmet made it [i]better[/i] for her, but still not [i]good,[/i] as her grip loosened on him, the woman staggering forward as she let go of him, shaking her head to try to get back into the action. Not waiting, she turned, looking back at him, and tried for another kick. On her turn, the blow was aimed behind his knees, hopefully enough to bring him down for a moment. She had to win!

He turns his head slightly to look at her, and sees her disorientation.  He guessed that more than likely, she had the ability to take one or two more major blows before she was knocked out.  He backflips out of the way of the strike, rolling to a kneeling position behind her.  What he was planning was going to be a big strike on his behalf.  Hopefully she wouldn't be too injured after it.  He leaps up, runs towards her and performs a masterful roundhouse kick, this one also targeting her head.  Hopefully, this wouldn't give her a concussion.

She didn't have time to react but for a scowl as she missed. Too tired, too disoriented by the blow. She had to do this right, or she was going to l--

The kick sent her sprawling, landing on her back. Everything was starting to go dark...

[i]No![/i]

She stood, very weak, shaking on her feet. She didn't know if he was going to come to her, but she had decided. She was [i]not[/i] going down unless she went down swinging.

He shakes his head as he sees her stand up once again.  She was stubborn.  Almost reminded him of Huntress.  They both had that same streak where they wouldn't stop until they knew that had won.  It was admirable, but it could easily get a person killed if they went too far.  He needed to prove his point.

Running towards her, he prepares with his left elbow extended outwards, aimed towards her solarplexus.  It has good armor, and the amount of deflection on it would be pretty high, but there was still a good chance it could stun.  Despite that, he had a back-up.  If she dodged or blocked it, or if it had little effect, he would be close enough to perform a back heel trip on her, which he would couple with grabbing her by the front of the helmet and forcing her down to the ground head-first.

Though she did not have a lot of energy, Azumi still had a bit left in her. Quickly, she moved aside, the elbow only barely missing, but still making her stagger a bit more. The trip knocked her backwards, unable to stop herself. She felt a hand on the face of her helmet, and she plummeted rapidly to meet the ground. A sudden pain, then all went black.

Finally, a slight reprieve. Sleep, though dreamless.

Batman lets go of her helmet and stands, finally allowing himself to breathe heavily.  She put up a hell of a fight by any standards.  As he paces his breaths, he nods.  There was a lot of promise in her.  But he needed to get through to her, for her to learn how to pace herself and to at least ease up on that stubborn streak.  But, until she woke up, he'd be content to sit there and take one of his 10 minute micronaps.  He didn't know how long she would be out.  He wanted to be sure that he was there when she woke up.  His eyes close, and his rest begins.

Time passes, Batman reawoke from his micronap and saw that she was still unconscious.  Lifting her up and holding her over a shoulder, he proceeds to return to the Dataspace.  He noticed the console in there when they first met.  More than likely that had the information that he was initially looking for.  It would probably take a while to access the information, but with her unconscious, he had some time on his hands.  Entering the Dataspace, he places her down and looks at the holographic keyboard.  It was time to crack some codes.

Several hours later, Azumi's form stirred ever so slightly. She did not groan, did not make any noises. But her eyes opened. No helmet was in her way, if her clear vision and the hair touching the floor meant anything. She simply sat up, looking around without saying a word.

It had been a good rest, she supposed. But she needed to train, needed to get better, to be able to beat them next time. So she looked around, making sure of where she was. The Dataspace again. There was Batman, who she said nothing to, still ashamed that he had managed to knock her unconscious again. Maybe she wasn't cut out for this training after all.

Or maybe she just needed to train better.

Batman sat there, watching Azumi wake up.  After a few attempts at acquiring the password by manual input, he instead decided on a more subtle attempt:  uploading a cluster worm program that would seek out the password and record it for posterity.  It would take time, and there was always the chance that the system could quarantine the program as a potential virus.

He sits there, removing a few items from his belt.  A few small vials containing water, a few wrapped nutrition bars, some minor painkillers inside a bottle.  He slides two of the vials towards her, as well as a nutrition bar and the bottle of painkillers.  "Take them."

Azumi looked to the water, food, and painkillers. She wasn't in too much pain, save a bit of a headache, but was thirsty. While she was annoyed that he was acting like she needed that kind of help (not that she [i]didn't[/i]), she did recognize the benefits of medical assistance, especially since she had some training in it herself. So she took one of the vials, popping it open as she pushed the painkillers aside. Chugging the whole thing, she put it down, looking him in the eyes as she picked up and unwrapped the nutrition bar, only briefly looking to the massive monitor on which he was trying, with...little success to hack in.

"You do realize that Tron is in the system, as is Kira. They could easily give you some access to files, especially him. No need to hack anything." She seemed to be deliberately avoiding the situation at hand. "I mean, we've been here what, a week straight?"

Batman pauses as he reflects on her words.  That was a good point, but the reason he did so was because he lacked the information.  With this current information, though, the program was moot.  Pressing a button on his belt, he triggers the killswitch on the cluster worm program, eradicating any trace of it.  He could find this 'Tron' or 'Kira' at some other time in the near future.  However, he once more puts that as a side-mission of sorts.  He unwraps his nutrition bar and begins eating.

After half of the bar was eaten, he looks over at her.  "Eat."  He continues to eat his own bar, letting the nutrition slowly be absorbed into his body.  After their lunch break, as it were, he'd need to talk to her.

She just glared at him for a few more seconds. He thought he could just bluntly order her around? At least her old COs had common decency. [i]Oh, fine.[/i]

"Yes, sir," she grumbled. Relenting from the useless glare, she ate as well, finishing it relatively quickly. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was somewhat hungry.

After the bars were finished, Batman looks at her.  "You're doing good.  But you need to learn to balance your training with rest.  Not a simple rest from being knocked out, but actual conscious rest.  You are still human, after all."  He takes a drink from one of his water vials.  "The rest you get is just as important as the training you receive, and you cannot expect to be proficient right away."  His voice softens a little.  "It took me years to get where I am.  So don't expect a quick fix."

She frowned at that, looking down. "Can't stop," she muttered. "I can't let it happen again, won't be controlled. I need to be stronger, need to be better. Better when I'm weak, even better when I'm stronger..." Even quieter. "Can't let their memory down. Feet first into hell."

Then she looked to him, her face hardening again. "I can't just stop. I know I'm human, I know I'm a shock trooper, and that thing is only a data storage unit. I'm not backing down, or I'll be weak when I have to fight a villainous group of Interferences again. I won't allow that."

Batman gets to his feet, shaking his head.  [i]Definitely like Huntress.[/i]  "And are you planning to fight them alone, then?"  Not bothering for a reply, he merely looks at her.  "You have to learn to accept your limitations.  If you don't, if you continue down this path, you're basically going to commit long-term suicide."

Silence for a few seconds as she looked away from him, toward the monitor near them. She had to think about this.

"You have no idea..." she muttered at last. "I can't be humiliated again, I have to catch them before they get anyone else." Again she rounded on him. "Don't you get it? I accept that I'm not powered like the others, but at least I'm not an emotionless Spartan [i]freak![/i] At least I'm [i]human![/i] I'm trying my damned best to get better, trying to work just so I can keep up with these guys." A deep breath. "Most of these people I face use [i]magic[/i] and other superpowers. How in the [i]hell[/i] am I going to keep up with that unless I train as hard as I can? Unless I do, I'll always play catch up, never be able to work well at all."

She turned away, shaking in rage. "They caught me because I was weak, because I'm not equipped, not trained enough to handle people on that level. You know what? Maybe I'm not going to face them alone."

And back again to the glare. "But what if I do? Should I not be trained well enough if they gang up on me and humiliate me again?"

She paused at last. She didn't want to talk about what Dani and Rikka had done to her, rarely did. He seemed to be someone she could trust, but maybe her self-restraint was beginning to crack from lack of sleep.

"You're not listening fully.  You're pushing yourself towards unrealistic goals.  You can't be the absolute best.  Hell, I can't be the absolute best."  This was an honest insight for Batman.  Azumi acted not just like Huntress, but also like himself.  He had these thoughts himself as well, and still do from time to time.  "And if you're concerned about fighting at a disadvantage against those with special powers, find alternate ways to even the odds.  Allies, tricks, planning, knowing your enemy.  Physical strength alone is not enough to win the fight."

She paused, just listening. She never wanted to be the best. She just wanted to be able to stay on level with others. But still, he had a point. And so she sighed.

"Fine. I'll sleep more. But I can't promise by much. I need to be ready if I [i]am[/i] alone. Need to be ready for a lot, like if I'm blinded again." She closed her eyes. She didn't want to say it, not really. But she knew the real reason she was doing this.

She just didn't want to be weak. Didn't want to fail her friends again like on the Shield World.

Batman nods.  "We'll continue when you feel rested enough."  [i]Looks like the chances for her success have increased.[/i]  He once more nods off as well, this time for more than the 10 minutes he did before.

She nods, rolling onto her back.  She wouldn't sleep.  No, she would rest, instead.  And rest she does, waiting for the next session.

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