"Whoa, cool!" Axel called out loud with a grin as he watched Selina fall freely through the storm, arms loose by her sides, letting the wind buffet her.
She was exactly America's top female cat burglar, a legend since the age of fourteen, dominating Gotham's underworld and its higher circles for over a decade without ever being caught. This woman was a force.
From far above, Selina twisted her body against the wind and yelled back at Axel, irritation and panic in her voice.
"My house blew up, damn it! Don't compliment me right now! My lover is still at home! She's a student, Betsy! Please, nothing happened to her!"
As she cursed, her right hand worked quickly. She opened her coat's belt and pressed a small mechanism near the left chest. A lightweight frame snapped open in the fabric.
It wasn't a full wingsuit, but it allowed her to influence her glide. In a blur she cut through the space between the Gotham Stock Exchange and S.T.A.R. Labs, slicing across the rain.
Axel could watch it all clearly through the downpour, even from a distance. After a few buildings, Selina pulled a grappling gun from her lower back. With lightning‑quick movements, she fired it, descended down its rope, and landed on a street corner out of Axel's sight.
Axel had great eyesight, but not x‑ray vision.
He watched her vanish, then grinned, swinging a leg against the edge of Wayne Tower.
Tap, tap.
His heel struck the glass and steel, water spraying with each hit.
Checking his watch, he chuckled.
"Tsk tsk, 7:20. Gotham's nightlife just kicked off. My bounty's been circulating a while now. Iceberg Lounge assassins might not handle me, but now that I'm out of hiding — show yourselves, assholes!"
Axel looked up toward a building about seven or eight hundred meters east of Wayne Tower. There was a faint flicker in the storm, a hint of movement.
Then above him, the rooftop door of Wayne Tower burst open.
A squad of security guards poured out of the elevator, a dozen of them armed with pistols and shotguns. They sprinted into the downpour, heading straight for Axel.
But Axel didn't turn around. He kept his eyes trained on the distant building like a hunter tracking prey.
The lead security guard got close enough to shout.
"Hey, Buddy, this isn't a sightseeing spot. If you like heights so much, go check out the Empire State Building! Or take a flight… hmm?"
He didn't finish his thought.
Axel lifted a hand toward the sky.
Pfft!
In the heavy storm, the guard didn't see it, but Axel snatched a deformed bullet out of the air. Even the thunder couldn't hide the sound of metal in his fist.
The guard tried to shout over the wind.
"What are you gesturing at? This is Wayne Group private property, not some observation deck! I don't care what kind of lunatic you are, you don't scare us! Hands on your head, and get down!"
Before the guard could finish, Axel turned his head.
"You guys are slow."
He threw the bullet at the lead guard.
Pfft!
The projectile hit with such force the guard flew backward off balance. It was far stronger than a pistol round.
At that moment, another bullet hit Axel in the back of the head.
Axel scratched his head, annoyed, and turned to locate the sniper's position as the remaining security guards finally realized what was happening.
A storm of gunfire rained down on Axel. Instead of flinching, he calmly shrugged off his coat and then his shirt.
Bare‑chested in the rain, the guards froze.
Bullets bounced off him like water droplets, useless.
In the brief pause of disbelief, Axel lunged forward.
Whoosh!
He seized the nearest guard by the forearm and kicked him hard under the armpit.
Instantly, with brutal precision, Axel pulled and twisted, ripping the guard's arm clean off. The guard's scream cut off as pain and terror overwhelmed him.
Blood from the severed limb dripped to the ground in the rain.
Axel grabbed the detached arm by its wrist, swinging it like a heavy club.
Boom!
The upper arm slammed into the chest of another guard, forcefully catapulting him over the edge of the rooftop and into the night below.
In an instant three guards lay incapacitated, and the rest of the team's will to fight evaporated.
Axel walked calmly through the chaos, dragging the soft‑tissue arm behind him like it was nothing. None of the remaining guards dared fire.
He stopped behind one trembling guard, placed a hand on the man's shoulder, and grinned wickedly.
"Look at that," Axel said, voice casual, "you all saw it. I'm a kind batter. If I'd taken them out normally, every single one of you would be dead already. But since you're still stupid enough to stand here, can you answer me one thing?"
He leaned in close.
"Are you scared? If you are, then run. Get the hell out of here and sleep like a normal person tonight."
Axel nudged the terrified guard lightly.
The man collapsed to the ground, shaking so hard he couldn't stand.
The others snapped out of shock and began retreating, yelling like children.
"D‑Devil!"
"He is Satan!"
"Run!"
"My legs don't work!"
"Mommy, boo hoo hoo!"
One by one they withdrew from the rooftop, leaving only two unconscious guards in the rain.
Axel watched their backs with a light smile, then tossed the severed arm aside.
He turned and once again raised his gaze toward the distant building where the sniper was hiding.
Through the sniper's scope, the shooter saw Axel's faint motion.
He swallowed hard, voice trembling in his earpiece.
"Mission failed. My Barrett couldn't even punch through that guy's skull. I have to pull out. The bounty on him is wrong. Eight million Dollars is a joke. Someone's going to need to bump it up at least three or four times before anyone else bothers with him!"
____
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