With Natasha's furious roar, lightning flashed outside the window. Gotham's heavy rain always came at the most inappropriate times—or perhaps at exactly the right times. The flash illuminated the darkness on the first floor and let Natasha see the direction her opponent had fled.
She shot after her like an arrow. The explosive power and physical advantages of a genetically modified human were on full display. Her straight-line acceleration was unmatched, and she had almost grabbed the other woman's shoulder.
But her opponent dodged with nimble footwork, then leaped down the stairs. Natasha chased after her. They raced down the stairwell, descending who knew how many floors, until finally, at a turn in the stairs, the other woman rushed into a corridor.
Natasha did not hurry after her. Instead, she stood at the entrance to the straight corridor, raised both pistols, aimed at the woman's back, and said, "Run again, and I'll shoot. I'm sure you're not like me—able to take a bullet anywhere in your body and act like nothing happened."
"I did underestimate you." Her opponent's voice was deeper and raspier than Natasha had expected. With a soft sigh, she added, "You really are a lot like that guy. Completely beyond the limits of humanity."
Natasha kept her guns raised as she slowly advanced, stopping a little more than two meters away. She did not let down her guard in the slightest, her muzzle trained on the woman's chest the entire time.
"Tell me what this is all about," Natasha said. "Who are you? What did you do? Why did you do it?"
"Tell me your deduction first." The woman turned around, but the baseball cap on her head was pulled low, its brim hiding most of her face. Only the shape of her mouth and chin was