Edited the previous chapter to make sure it's chronological. Go back and read it. It's awesome.
Something snapped around my ankle, sending a wave of dull awareness rippling through the surface of my technique. Then gravity asserted itself rather aggressively as I was yanked into the water. Dull pain thudded through my back as I slammed into the brick wall of the waterway, and I banished my katana, replacing it with a flashbang.
Agony ripped through my flesh as the water churned around me. Killer Croc jerked me this way and that, hoping to exhaust me, drown me, or rip my ankle off—whichever came first.
The flashbang went off before I had to find out, but even that hadn't been enough to free me. I switched tactics, summoning a pair of daggers and stabbing down with Cursed Energy, Overdrive, and Inverse Cloak layered on. The blades sank bone-deep into his face, and we surfaced violently. He flung me into the wall hard.
I dropped several feet, landing on my feet with a grunt. I dove aside as his massive jaws snapped at me, then lashed out with a powerful kick that punted him sideways. I followed up with an axe kick, then a double push kick chained into a backflip, sending him crashing into the channel, while simultaneously pulling my daggers free.
I put distance between us before he could recover, summoning my katana and dropping into an iai stance as Cursed Energy filled the blade.
The rock around us groaned as roots tunneled in through cracks. Ivy was coming, and I had no desire to fight an entire root system.
Killer Croc climbed out of the water, blood gushing out of his bleeding face. His roar echoed through the tunnel.
"You're a dead man!"
His voice was deeper than I expected, like rocks grinding together.
"I don't want to kill you," I said evenly. "But if you attack me, I will stop holding back."
Croc licked his lips and snapped his jaws. "Been a while since I've had human."
His muscles bunched and exploded forward. The ground shook with every stride as he closed half the distance in a blink.
I gathered energy into my lower body and blade, and the world dimmed just before I moved. An unfamiliar scene flickered in my mind. Artisan stood in front of me, dressed in a sword training gi with a sunset behind her. We were in some remote location in Japan.
"I've been at it for days," she whined. "If you just showed me one more time…"
"Focus is what you need, not another demonstration," a familiar voice rumbled out of my mouth. Seeing her distraught look, I sighed. "However, I suppose one more time couldn't hurt."
"Yay!" she clapped, hurrying to the training rack to pull out a practice sai. There was a pause before she flung the weapon.
He—no, I—breathed.
New Shadow School: Simple Domain.
Batto Sword Drawing.
A dome of Cursed Energy radiated out, much like Curtain, except this time it wasn't meant to hide me. Energy gathered at my waist, not compressed and constipated like my solo drills, but rotating, folding into itself in a tight cycle that reinforced and maximized compression with each turn.
The domain extended about 2.1 meters, and I felt myself create a binding vow.
As long as my feet remain on the ground, I will automatically cut anything that invades my domain.
The sai arrived. It was split into two. Then four. Then six.
The memory faded just as Killer Croc breached my barrier. My blade exploded from its sheath, wreathed in Curse Energy, and I split the crocodile man in half with a diagonal stroke. His body sailed past me, bathing me in blood and gore before splashing into the channel behind me.
A notification flashed at the corner of my mind, but I remained frozen, shuddering at what I'd just done. What the hell was that?
Binding Vow Lv 5
New Shadow Style Lv 1
Batto Sword Drawing
Curtain Lv 8
Simple Domain Lv 1
Another vision. I hadn't had one since…since that night.
I thought it was just a one-off thing. A perk of getting half your brain blown off. But if it came with more memories of the past…more memories of her…
Maybe I should try to learn more.
I should—
The brick wall behind me exploded, cutting off my thoughts. Dozens of roots and vines shot at me. I twisted, assumed the Batto Drawing stance, spun up a Simple Domain, and went to work.
My hands blurred as I swung, cutting through the wall of plant life. My muscles sang, my technique roared, and my Cursed Energy drained at record speed.
It was too much, yet I managed the impossible, cutting against the tide.
The first Black Flash exploded out of me like an exhale, a threshold shattered without realization. It ruptured the writhing avalanche, breaking the tempo, but my attacker recovered quickly.
The second came just before I was crushed, putting a dent in the wave. The third, charged with Overdrive, punched an even larger hole through.
The tunnel cleared for precious seconds, and I exploited every moment. A quarter of my bombs flew out of my inventory with a flick of my hand as I leaped back, breaking my Simple Domain.
I rocketed into the back wall of the tunnel and used it to launch myself towards the manhole I nearly escaped from earlier. Bombs and grenades trailed behind me.
The roots and vines flooded the sewer a breath later, but by then it was too late. I pulled the pin on the final grenade and dropped it just as I blasted out of the sewer, sending the manhole cover flipping into the air.
A mess of vines reached for me midair. I sheathed my katana and drew it again using Batto Sword Drawing in under a second. The first slash was a flash even to my awareness, but the five that followed were crystal clear, my blade vibrating with Curse Energy.
The grenade went off at the apex of my leap, triggering a chain explosion that shook Gotham's streets and left a slight depression in the ground.
A notification flashed before my eyes. A new level.
I vanished under Cloak just before I landed and sped off.
It was going to be hell explaining all of this to the League, but that was a problem for tomorrow Julius.
Tonight Julius had a date with Catwoman.
I returned to the apartment to find her packing up a few things while Slim tried to stop her.
"We should wait for him," Slim insisted. "He's pulled through worse."
"Half of the sewer system exploded," she hissed. "Only Superman could've survived that. We need to leave before Ivy comes looking."
"Oh ye of little faith." I materialized from the darkness. "I'm not Superman, but I'm plenty tough. And you were right on the money with the Ivy thing. She came after me with several buildings worth of vines. Also, Killer Croc is dead."
Catwoman stared at me, jaw slack. I got the sense that wasn't a common occurrence for her.
"So…are we going to divvy up the loot or what? I've got a curfew and a few people to check on tonight."
—
I got a split of the cash, and Catwoman offered to hold all the art until she found a fence, but I insisted my share was safer with me. After some quick Googling, it was easy to figure out the real worth of what we stole. I obviously kept 30%, though I almost asked for more, considering my trouble.
Instead, I settled for the contacts I asked for. Surprisingly, Cat didn't stiff me. She gave me the numbers and prices of several port authority guys, rough clientele she could afford to part with, and even threw in a few strategies she thought might work.
However, she emphasized that nothing would get me in the door faster than running smuggling jobs with her.
"I know clients that could net us enough money to retire on private islands."
"Can't you already do that?"
"Not if I wanted something larger than a small country estate," she said
"And the other thing?"
"That," she said somewhat reluctantly, strolling over to her table. She scribbled something down and sauntered back, handing out a paper. "Streets are a lot more hostile than they used to be. Gotham hasn't been easy since Black Mask went down. The kids on this list are just as likely to burn you as they are to help you. Be careful."
"Then why are you sending me their way?"
"They're skittish. Doesn't mean they don't need help."