"Pop."
Barbara snapped her gum and, without a word, lifted the SR-25 and pointed it straight at Lex's face.
"Watch your mouth."
Her tone wasn't childish. It wasn't emotional.
It was controlled.
Lex raised both hands slowly.
Ah.
Touchy subject.
She hated being reduced to "Commissioner Gordon's daughter." In a world where everyone had to fight for survival, implying she'd earned her place through nepotism was an insult.
Even if that wasn't what he'd meant.
John Blake stepped in smoothly, lifting the curved kukri so the flat of the blade gently nudged the barrel aside.
"Easy," he said lightly. "He's new."
He glanced at Lex with a half-smile.
"He'll figure out soon enough that you're one of the best shots in Gotham."
Barbara lowered the rifle a fraction but didn't look impressed.
Lex studied her.
Small frame. Maybe twelve. Maybe younger.
But her posture was perfect. Shoulders steady. Trigger discipline clean.
Yeah. Definitely the sniper who'd tagged his windshield earlier.
"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," Lex said calmly. "I'm surprised Gordon would risk someone he cares about. That's all."
There was no shame in softening your tone when a precision rifle was aimed between your eyes.
Barbara's jaw tightened.
"There are no fathers and daughters here," she said flatly. "Only soldiers."
She slung the rifle back over her shoulder.
"To survive, everyone fights."
John nodded.
"She's right. Titles don't matter anymore."
He extended his hand.
"John Blake. Former GCPD."
Lex shook it firmly.
"Jack Lee. Actor."
He smirked faintly.
"Guess I'm a soldier now."
John's grip tightened approvingly.
"You handled yourself against Two-Face. That counts."
Then he leaned in slightly, lowering his voice.
"Word is you pulled Catwoman out from under his gun?"
"Something like that."
John grinned.
"Then watch yourself."
Lex arched a brow.
"Why?"
"Selina doesn't like owing debts."
The message was clear.
Especially life debts.
Lex exhaled through his nose.
"I assumed as much."
"Good."
A voice drifted down from above.
"Looking for me?"
All heads tilted upward.
Selina Kyle stood along the second-floor railing in full catsuit—black leather, mask on, posture balanced like gravity was optional.
Every time Lex saw her like that, he had the same thought:
Unfair.
Barbara rolled her eyes and blew another bubble.
Jealousy was subtle—but present.
The tension between them was complicated.
Barbara had grown up idolizing her father—James Gordon—as a symbol of justice.
Then Batman entered her world.
Mentor.
Hero.
Symbol.
And somewhere along the line, childish admiration had blurred into something warmer.
Something hopeful.
Selina's presence complicated that fantasy.
Not that anyone said it out loud.
Lex cleared his throat dramatically.
"Oh, look. The great Catwoman herself."
He bowed exaggeratedly.
"I save her life, and she locks me in a room for ten hours. I'm honored she didn't shoot me."
John's eyes widened slightly.
You absolute idiot.
Selina didn't descend the stairs.
She vaulted.
One light step onto the railing.
A leap.
Her fingers caught the chandelier. She swung once, rotated midair—clean, controlled—and landed in front of Lex without a sound.
Fluid. Precise.
Deadly.
"Lee," she said evenly. "I'm aware you saved me."
Her eyes were cool.
"You don't need to remind me."
"If you pass tonight's test," she added, "I'll thank you properly."
That wasn't a promise.
That was a challenge.
She turned to John and Barbara.
"Ready?"
John flipped the kukri once before sliding it back into a ready grip.
"Always."
Barbara hopped off the couch, rifle slung effortlessly.
"Been ready."
Selina pulled Lex's Glock from behind her belt and handed it back grip-first.
"I believe this is yours."
Lex popped the magazine out automatically.
Full.
He slid it back in and glanced at the team.
"So that's it?"
He gestured.
"Sniper rifle. Kukri. Glock. That's the loadout?"
Barbara tilted her head.
"What else do you want?"
Lex spread his hands.
"Maybe some armored suits? Tactical gear? You know… the usual billionaire basement collection?"
Selina walked toward the exit.
"This is reconnaissance," she said. "Not a parade."
"If we're lucky," she added, "we won't fire a shot."
She paused and glanced back at him.
"Low profile. Understand?"
Lex shrugged.
"Sure."
He wasn't worried.
His inventory was loaded with enough firepower to start a small war.
He just wasn't advertising that.
They stepped outside.
The armored Hummer he'd brought to Wayne Manor rolled forward and stopped before them.
Convenient.
John slid into the driver's seat without hesitation.
Barbara climbed into the back.
Selina claimed the passenger side.
Lex walked around to the roof hatch and grinned.
"You don't mind if I take the M2, do you?"
Mounted atop the Hummer was an M2 heavy machine gun.
Big.
Loud.
Beautiful.
No one objected.
John fired up the engine.
Barbara adjusted her position for line-of-sight shooting through the rear window.
Selina didn't even look back.
The M2 was Lex's.
Perfect.
If things went loud, he'd farm experience.
Before they could roll out, Gordon stepped forward carrying a small case.
"Hold on."
He opened it.
Inside were compact earpieces—sleek, minimal.
"Wayne Enterprises design," Gordon explained. "Encrypted. Long-range. Direct uplink to the Batcomputer."
The Batcomputer.
Now that got Lex's attention.
Each of them inserted an earpiece.
Static flickered—then cleared.
"Testing comms," Gordon's voice echoed cleanly in Lex's ear.
"Reading you," John replied.
Barbara gave a casual thumbs-up.
Selina adjusted hers without comment.
Lex tapped his.
"Crystal."
"Good," Gordon said. "I'll monitor from here."
The Hummer rolled down the long drive of Wayne Manor and reentered Gotham proper.
The city at night was something else entirely.
Abandoned high-rises.
Flickering emergency lights.
Distant fires.
And silence.
Too much silence.
Lex scanned rooftops from the M2 position, rotating slowly.
After a few blocks, he spoke.
"Question."
Selina didn't turn.
"Make it quick."
"Why not run this during the day?"
He gestured at the dark skyline.
"Visibility's better. Less risk."
John chuckled softly from the driver's seat.
"You're thinking like someone new."
Barbara answered instead.
"Zombies see worse in daylight."
Lex blinked.
"What?"
"UV degradation," she said matter-of-factly. "The virus reacts differently under sunlight. They're more aggressive. Faster."
John added, "Night slows most of them down."
Selina finished the explanation.
"And humans are easier to track during the day."
Lex absorbed that.
"So nighttime is our advantage."
"Exactly," Barbara said.
A flicker of motion caught Lex's eye three blocks ahead.
A shadow slipping between cars.
Not shuffling.
Not staggering.
Moving.
He rotated the M2 slightly.
"Movement. Twelve o'clock."
John eased off the accelerator.
Barbara shifted the sniper rifle toward the windshield gap.
Selina leaned forward slightly.
"What kind?" she asked quietly.
Lex narrowed his eyes.
The figure stepped under a streetlight.
Humanoid.
But taller.
Broader.
And the way it stood—
Too steady.
Not a normal infected.
The system interface flickered in Lex's vision.
"Mutation detected."
Threat level: elevated.
He tightened his grip on the heavy machine gun.
"Guess we're not that lucky," he muttered.
The figure turned its head toward them.
And smiled.