Asprin, Robert Lynn – Catwoman – Tiger Hunt (With Lynn Abbey)

Batman knew what was coming, and how he’d react: carefully. Whoever this guy was, he looked to be useful. “What’s your name?” he asked on the off chance that an answer would be forthcoming along with the knife.

“Call me Tiger.”

It wasn’t a knife, but one of the hooks stevedores used to maneuver cargo pallets while they were swinging through the air. An ordinary hook could puncture a man’s lungs. This one had been filed and sharpened, and Tiger whipped it through the air like a pro.

Dodging the first two sweeps, Batman took the measure of the man and his weapon before closing in. His costume protected him from things inherently more dangerous than eight curved inches of sharpened steel, but his partially exposed face was open to mistakes and punishment. It didn’t pay to be careless. Nor would it pay to disable his attacker. Batman employed his forearms constantly in contact with Tiger’s, making his slash wide and pushing him steadily backwards until his back was against a proverbial wall.

As soon as Tiger felt brick behind him, his eyes glazed. He put all his strength and effort into a mighty sweep at Batman’s jaw. The masked man expected just such an overcommitment of energy. He got his weight underneath Tiger’s, shoving upward slightly, outward mostly, and getting his gauntleted hand over the haft of the weapon just before Tiger went flying along the pavement.

He landed on his butt, with both palms flat on the ground beside him and a dumbfounded expression twisting his face. He saw his weapon in Batman’s hands, and confusion transformed to white-hot rage. Batman took a stride forward, closing the fight distance before Tiger could launch an attack.