Selina Kyle. Catwoman.
And she was targeting the same Intergang operation James had hit yesterday.
'Of course,' James thought. 'A thief would notice alien technology being moved through Gotham. Would want to steal it.'
One of the blasts came close to Selina. She rolled aside, the energy scorching the pavement where she'd been.
James made a decision. Dropped into the alley behind the gunmen.
"You're outmatched," he said calmly.
The four Intergang soldiers spun. Saw Sovereign. Opened fire immediately.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Energy blasts filled the alley. James's enhanced reflexes let him track each one. He dodged. Ducked. Wove between the shots.
Closed the distance in three seconds.
His first strike disarmed one gunman. Literally. James hit his arm with enough force to break bone and send the weapon flying.
Second gunman tried to shoot at close range. James caught the barrel. Crushed it with his enhanced strength. The weapon sparked and died.
Third gunman swung his blaster like a club. James blocked. Countered with an elbow to the face. The man dropped.
Fourth gunman was backing away, trying to get distance for a shot. Selina's whip wrapped around his ankle. She yanked. He fell. His weapon discharged wildly, blowing a hole in the alley wall.
James and Catwoman stood in the alley, surrounded by groaning Intergang soldiers and disabled weapons.
Selina looked at him. Even through her goggles, he could see she was evaluating him.
"Sovereign," she said. Her voice was smooth. Amused. "Crashing my party?"
"Looked like you needed help."
"I had it under control."
"You had energy weapons pointed at you."
"Part of the fun." She moved closer. Circled him slowly. "You're stronger than you look. Faster too. What are you exactly?"
"Someone trying to keep Gotham safe."
"How noble." Her tone was mocking but not hostile. "I'm just trying to make a living. These weapons would fetch millions from the right buyers."
"You can't sell Apokoliptian technology on the black market. It's too dangerous."
"Apokoliptian?" Selina paused. "That's what this is? Alien tech?"
"You didn't know?"
"I knew it wasn't normal. Didn't realize it was extraterrestrial." She studied the disabled weapons. "That's actually more valuable. Collectors pay premium for authentic alien artifacts."
"Absolutely not. This tech stays out of circulation."
Selina smiled. "Going to stop me?"
Before James could respond, the warehouse behind them exploded.
BOOM!
The shockwave knocked both of them off their feet. James's enhanced durability absorbed most of the impact, but Selina hit the ground hard.
Fire erupted from the building. Secondary explosions followed as stored energy weapons detonated.
"AEGIS, what happened?"
"Analyzing. Explosion originated from warehouse interior. Hypothesis: Intergang detected intrusion. Activated self-destruct protocol rather than allow technology to be captured."
James grabbed Selina and pulled her behind cover as debris rained down. She was dazed but conscious.
"Can you move?"
"Yeah. What the hell was that?"
"They blew their own facility. We need to go. Now."
More explosions. The entire warehouse complex was going up in a chain reaction. Each detonation releasing exotic energy that warped the air.
James threw Selina over his shoulder. His enhanced strength made her weight trivial. He ran.
Behind them, reality itself seemed to scream as Apokoliptian energy was released uncontrolled.
James made it four blocks before the final explosion. A massive detonation that lit up the night sky. The warehouse complex was simply gone. Vaporized.
He set Selina down on a rooftop. She was breathing hard, staring at the mushroom cloud rising from where the warehouse had been.
"That was nuclear-level," she said quietly.
"Worse. That was New God technology releasing all its stored energy at once."
"Damn." Selina looked at him. "You knew. You knew what they had and you came anyway."
"Someone had to."
She studied him for a long moment. Then, unexpectedly, she laughed. "You're either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. I haven't decided which."
"Can't it be both?"
That made her laugh harder. "Maybe. Thanks for the save, Sovereign. I owe you one."
"Consider us even. You distracted them earlier."
Selina moved closer. Very close. Her hand touched his chest plate. "You're interesting. More interesting than the Bat. He would have lectured me about the sanctity of law."
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