Two figures darted back and forth amid the raging flames.
Batman caught Deathstroke's descending blade between the blades on his gauntlet. With both men possessing peak human strength, they were momentarily locked in a stalemate.
Batman immediately adapted, driving a knee toward Deathstroke's lower abdomen to break the deadlock. But Deathstroke stepped back, bent low, and braced his sword wrist with his other forearm. As he sank his weight, the blade scraped sparks from the gauntlet, and he used the elbow of his sword arm to block Batman's raised thigh.
Thud!
Solid muscle covered in Kevlar armor collided with a muffled, heavy impact.
Using that brief exchange, Deathstroke pulled his sword free and twisted aside, avoiding a Batarang Batman tossed at him.
Both men retreated several steps. The fierce exchange forced them to seize every fleeting opportunity to breathe in a specific rhythm, supplying their blood with fresh oxygen.
Before Deathstroke could raise both swords again, Batman rushed forward with a flurry of short steps, rapidly closing the distance.
Straights, swings, hooks, shoulder strikes, kicks; fists, palms, claws, elbows, knees.
Over seven years of travel, Batman had mastered renowned fighting techniques from around the world. The Inch Force technique he had learned in an ancient Eastern civilization gave him a particularly decisive edge in close-quarters combat.
To overcome the inherent disadvantage of fighting medium-length blades barehanded, he had to maintain close range at all times. He could never allow the armed opponent to create distance.
From Deathstroke's perspective, Batman was like a wad of gum reinforced with superglue. Once he stuck to you, he was almost impossible to shake off.
Batman's fists moved fast enough to leave afterimages without sacrificing their crushing power. Against ordinary criminals, one or two blows from those iron fists, anywhere on the body, would leave