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"There are things that have to be done, and you do them and you never talk about them. You don't try to justify them. They can't be justified. You just do them. Then you forget it."
- Tom Hagen (Godfather)
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Hearing Blackmask's pain-fueled screams, Dinah couldn't help but flinch a little. Although she wasn't happy about it, she was still almost sure that Blackmask could have easily knocked out an inexperienced fighter like Helena. But the actual reality couldn't be more different. Helena wasn't just standing her ground; she was absolutely decimating the cri lord, having already permanently ruined one of his hands.
"You should never lose your focus during a battle, you know." Selina, using Dinah's montary distraction, quickly closed the distance between them, hoping to take her by surprise, before throwing a right hook at her face.
However, Dinah was quick to react. She effortlessly dodged the punch before countering with one of her own. "Look, I don't want to hurt you," she said, her voice low, almost apologetic, as her fist aid for Selina's stomach.
"I wonder why I am having trouble believing that." Selina raised an eyebrow before blocking Dinah's punch with both her elbows. "But that makes one of us, sweetheart. Nevertheless, you're in my way, so... h."
Without warning, Selina retrieved a baton concealed within her clothing and lunged at her, sweeping low with the weapon. Dinah sidestepped and blocked the subsequent jab with her forearm. She countered with a quick roundhouse kick, which Selina ducked with her cat-like agility.
"You've got so moves. You must be a regular rcenary for Blackmask, right? Doing his dirty work?" Selina asked, spinning away and hiding the baton back inside her clothes before once again raising her fists, her grin widening. "Using a weapon is too boring. Let's see how you handle my bare fists."
Hearing Selina call her a dirty rcenary for the cri lord, Dinah couldn't help but hesitate for a mont, long enough for Selina to close the distance and strike her with a rapid series of jabs. Dinah was still able to deflect most of them because of her excellent senses, but a sharp hook grazed her ribs. She winced, backing up to regroup.
"Tiger said that I am supposed to be superhuman now, but it seems you are still able to hold your own against . *Heh* You aren't a normal human, are you? But seriously, stop holding back." Selina teased, circling her. "That's no way to win a fight."
"I don't want to hurt you!" Dinah snapped while clenching her teeth, her frustration slipping through.
Selina capitalized on the distraction, feinting left before sweeping Dinah's legs out from under her. The blonde singer hit the ground but quickly rolled to her feet at the very next mont, her eyes narrowing.
The hesitation in Dinah's movents started to fade as she launched a flurry of punches and kicks. Selina dodged most of them, but a solid kick caught her in the shoulder, forcing her to stumble back.
"Better," Selina said, brushing herself off. "But not good enough."
'She brushed off a full-powered punch from just like that. How strong is that girl!?' Dinah took a deep breath, frustration and annoyance clear on her face. Her voice dropped to a low growl. "Alright, you want to give it my all? Fine. But rember, you asked for it."
Having made a tough decision inside her mind, Dinah Drake finally opened her mouth to unleash her Canary Cry, an attack of sonic sound that she could release from her throat much like her late superhero mother. However, before any sound could escape, Selina darted towards her with a burst of speed. Her fist shot out, connecting squarely with Dinah's throat. The cry choked off into a loud gasp as Dinah instantly staggered, clutching her neck while coughing violently.
"Huh, why did I do that? It rely looked like she wanted to scream her lungs out." Selina muttered to herself the mont she realized what she had done. When she saw Dinah open her mouth to scream, sothing inside her imdiately told her to either move out of her way or silence Dinah to stop her from screaming. Selina had no idea what it was. It wasn't exactly a voice inside her head but more like an instinct, so sort of innate animal-like danger-sense that could estimate exactly what could happen if Selina had taken Dinah's scream head-on. "Oh well, I guess. We are done for now." The cat-lover shrugged before swiftly landing another blow on the back of Dinah's neck, thereby permanently knocking her out of the fight.
(A/N: A certain spider-thed hero may be famous for his spider sense, but he has nothing on this cat girl)
Selina crouched beside her, checking to make sure she was still breathing. "Sorry, girl," she murmured. "But I have always been taught to never underestimate my enemies." Standing, she dusted her hands off and walked back to Sofia, her boots clicking softly against the floor. "Perhaps try not to work for a creepy skeleton-masked kingpin next ti."
"You are a real monster when it cos to fighting, aren't you? But how the hell are you SO strong and fast? The Carmine family is supposed to have so strong genes, but not that strong." Sofia, who had been watching their fight from the beginning, wondered aloud with a sigh, though the truth was she was asking the question more to herself than Selina.
"... I ate my vegetables when I was a kid," Selina answered with a shrug after thinking for a few seconds.
On the other hand, Blackmask, who was already writhing on the floor in pain after losing his balance and receiving a severe beating, couldn't believe what he was witnessing. He already knew of Dinah's martial talents and "peak human" physique, but he hadn't brought her to this eting just because of that. He brought her here because he wanted a tahuman using their gift to assist and protect him, sothing a lot of erging cri lords had been employing tahumans for recently. But for her to keel over without even being able to use her gift was truly unfortunate for the masked criminal.
"Oh, it seems that Selina is already done with your bodyguard. I guess I should stop toying with you, too." Helena snorted inattentively before using the knife in her hand to chop away the fingers of his still remaining functional hand, as well as the tendons in both his feet. "There, this should be enough to keep you from moving."
As Roman Sionis writhed in agony, his mangled fingers throbbing with pain and his legs rendered numb, Blackmask couldn't help but let out a guttural yell that echoed off through his skeleton mask, "GODDAMN! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU ALL WANT?" He snarled with a hoarse voice between his ragged breathing. The man was genuinely confused about why he was being slowly tortured instead of just being killed. 'What the hell is her ga here? He thought bitterly, his teeth clenched against the next wave of pain. If this was about her family, she'd have gone straight for the kill—or at least made it ssier. No, this... this is surgical... like she is preparing for sothing.' He thought inwardly.
"Kill you, you say? Well, honestly, we would have done exactly that if we didn't need you to do sothing for us first." Sofia, who had been listening in to Blackmask's words, clicked her tongue in annoyance as she checked the ti on her wristwatch. "Well, it's almost ti for him to arrive. So, you will see for yourself what you will be used for." She completed before suddenly looking towards the door. "Talk about the devil..."
At first, Roman Sionis struggled to piece together exactly what the Falcone matriarch was trying to convey. Her words were elusive at best, but one thing ca through loud and clear—the Falcones had a use for him. And he was confident that as long as he could prove his worth, his life would remain intact. Yet, all of that confidence evaporated the instant his gaze fell on the figure now standing at the entrance of the VIP room.
At that mont, Black Mask felt a chill so intense it crawled over his skin, leaving him with the most severe goosebumps he had ever experienced in his life.
"The assassins seem to have done an excellent job cleaning the filth." The figure who was radiating a feeling of cold intense murderous instinct was clad in a matte-black helt with no visible features save for cold, white slits for eyes. A black leather jacket frad his imposing fra, with a white crescent moon symbol emblazoned across his armored chest. His gloves and boots looked battle-ready as if they were made for combat. There were also a couple of tools and weapons strapped in various holsters around his belt that glinted ominously under the dim, ever-changing light of the nightclub, thereby completing the grim visage of a grim reaper.
"Ah, Blackmask, I almost didn't see you there. It's really nice to finally et you. You can call Black Hood... By the way, I am a fan of your look, as you can already see." The figure chuckled while pointing to his black featureless mask, which was sowhat identical to the cri lord's. "But before we proceed, I have to say I am imnsely grateful that you have agreed to hand over your entire criminal empire to us. I promise you, as your successor, I will make sure to one day achieve your dream of unifying the entirety of Gotham's underworld under a single cri family. Dattebayo." Black Hood stated while looking at him with a serious deanor, his left hand proudly displaying a thumbs-up towards the masked cri lord. "Now, let's film your final farewell video where you declare your heir. After that, you will need to go through a minor brain surgery as well, so we should hurry."
"...?"
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(A/N: Black Hood is back to rule the dirty cri-filled alleys of Gotham, where even the vast influence of Bruce Wayne's wealth and the Dark Knight's strength can't seem to be able to reach in ti)
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