The crowd was on their feet cheering. She grinned at the splendor of it all. This had all become so easy! Fight. Win. Repeat.

Her challenger lay on his side, knocked out cold. He was breathing heavily and a small trickle of blood rolled out of the side of his mouth. The medics were quick to put him on a stretcher and take him off the field.

Domino, however, didn't see that. She was too busy waving up at the crowd, her fans. After 6 months in Madripoor they couldn't get enough of her. She was their champion, their hero, and she was only 20.

"And the winner is DOMINO!" The loudspeaker screamed out!

She waved one final time and walked out of the fighting arena. A stagehand threw her a towel, which she gladly wiped herself off with. The locker rooms were coed so she would wait until she got back to her apartment before she showered.

As she walked towards her blue locker she noticed the quiet in the room. Usually there was some discussion about upcoming matches, but there seemed to be a solemn air in the room.

"Hey Domino, you hear the news?"

She turned to Jimmy Craig whose locker was next to her own. He was a few years older than Domino but had been in Madripoor since birth. His parents had left the United States after they were accused of Bank fraud. His father had been from Madripoor so it seemed the logical place to go. Jimmy had been fighting in the arena since he was 15. With dark brown eyes and a shy smile, Jimmy had been winning hearts long before then.

"What news?"

He shot her a sly smile that few people ever saw. "Management brought in a special fighter from the States. He's supposed to be good with martial arts and stuff. They think he can beat even you!"

Domino shot him an even slyer look. "I'd like to see that." At that moment she heard loud groans from the room.

There was a crowd gathered in front of the small black and white TV in the room. Sometimes they'd watch the current match, but usually no more than five were in front of the screen. This night everyone who wasn't readying for a match was seated.

Jimmy and Domino made their way over to the crowd. One of the men in the back turned and smiled at them. "Good match today Domino, Stan didn't know what hit him."

"He hasn't practiced in awhile, it showed. I think he'll be at the bench press tomorrow." She turned serious then. "What's with the crowd?"

He nodded to the TV screen. "New kid. He's wiping the floor with Donely."

"Donely?"

Michael Donely was considered the best fighter Madripoor had to offer. He had beaten everyone in the room, Domino included. He was their champion.

"So what's this new guys name?"

No one seemed to know, but they soon found out as the match quickly ended, leaving Donely lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.

"The winner is CABLE!" The crowd was on their feet screaming and stomping at their new champion.

"Humph." Domino turned away from the TV and went back to her locker. He didn't look all that tuff. Anyone of the boys in the room could probably beat him easily. Donely must have been drunk or hung over from the night before to let himself get beat.

"Here he comes!" The shout was low enough so that the incoming champion couldn't hear it, but everyone in the locker room couldn't. It was a sign to move away from the TV and go to the lockers. By the time Cable walked into the room everyone was going about other business.

Domino watched him out of the corner of her eye but caught herself staring. He was huge! He must be around 6 foot 8 at the least. He was powerfully built about the chest and shoulder, but he was fluid in his movements, his muscles didn't hamper his movement.

"See something you like?" She heard whispered in her ear.

She turned to see Jimmy smiling at her. "He doesn't look all that tough," she whispered back to him.

"Sure Domino, whatever you say." His face grew serious then and he lowered his voice even lower. "Can you go tonight? You aren't too sore after that last match are you?"

She shook her head back and forth. "No, I'll be fine. Pick me up at my apartment at midnight."

He nodded and shut his locker. With a quick nod at other fighters, he left the room. After a few more minutes, Domino shut her locker and followed after.

There was a bus stop just on the corner of the arena. The night was young and the fighting would continue until near dawn. This was one of the few nights when she was able to leave before 10.

She glanced at her watch and then at her watch. The bus was late. Again. She sighed, leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Is the bus always this late," a soft voice whispered in her ear.

She started awake and gasped as she found herself staring into one intense blue eye. The other eye was completely white, but not glassy as some blind eyes she'd seen. The face that was looking at her was carved from marble itself. He had high cheekbones and a straight chin. His hair was a shock of white, but not from age, by her guess he couldn't be more than 30, it was more from a childhood disease.

"Excuse me?" She managed to stammer out.

He smiled at her confusion. "The bus. Is it always this late?"

"Oh.." She smiled hesitantly up at him. "Most of the time. I can't think of any instance when it was on time."

He threw her a lopsided grin. "Something I've got plenty of is time."

They both grew silent for a moment and seemed to stare out into the street. Finally he broke the silence. "I saw you fight out there. You're good." He said his opinion was the only one that mattered.

"Oh, I saw you fight too. You're OK." He raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at her again.

"OK? I'm OK? Dare I ask what I did wrong? I did win the match you'll notice."

She turned to him with the air of a woman who knows what she's talking about. "You won the match but it was hardly a good performance. You charge in, fists flying. That might work with powerhouses like Donely, but some competitors use their heads. Their cunning, rather than physical."

"Are you one of these cunning competitors?"

She shrugged and answered plainly. "I'm a woman, I can't exactly compete physically with any of those fighters, but mentally," she hit her temple to emphasize her point. "I don't think I'd loose a chess game to them."

He was once again intrigued. "The lady plays chess? You are indeed an interesting person. I've deduced that you're an American, can I ask were you're from?"

"Look, here comes the bus." She quickly walked away from the building and stood next to the sidewalk. As soon as the doors had opened, she leapt on and rushed to a seat in the rear near the door. Unfortunately there was no one else on the bus, so Nathan sat down across the isle from her.

"The announcer called you Domino. What's your real name?"

"Domino," she answered simply.

"No, not your stage name, your real name."

She turned and stared at him coldly. "Domino."

He took a hint, but continued in his conversation with her. "All right, Domino. I was wondering if you were interested in a freelance job. I'm actually here to recruit some experienced fighters. I've got brawn, but I could use some brains, and some beauty," he interjected smoothly.

She turned another cool gaze in his direction and stood up heading for the exit as the door opened. "Well this is my stop. It was a pleasure to meet you Cable."

"It's actually Nathan, but the bus isn't slowing down."

"I know, it never does." She smiled over her shoulder and jumped out of the door, rolling when she hit the ground. The bus driver deemed her neighborhood to dangerous to stop at, so he would just slow down a little and open the doors.

She stood up and wiped the dirt from her pants and shirt. Without thinking she looked back at the bus and could see Nathan standing in the doorway staring at her in disbelief. She grinned and turned around to walk back to her apartment. It was almost midnight; Jimmy would be by to pick her up soon.

The rooftop was deep in shadows as Domino and Jimmy crouched near the edge. They had been in this position for over an hour. Occasionally they'd stretch to ease their muscle tension, but for the most part they remained perfectly still.

"They're late," Domino whispered as she stretched out her right leg.

"They'll be here," Jimmy whispered back at her.

Sure enough, no sooner had the sentence been finished, two black vans turned the corner and pulled down the street. They parked in front of the building and four large men each got out of the vans.

"Four for me, four for you," Domino whispered smoothly.

This had become a ritual for the two fighters. Jimmy's father ran underground dealings. Jimmy would find out where one of the deals went down, then he and Domino would wait for the criminals. It was a simple "stop the bad guys" scenario, one that both Jimmy and Domino thrived on. One that kept them at the top of their game.

"On my count," Jimmy whispered.

"Yeah, whatever." Domino slowly lowered a rope down the side of the building. Only 4 of the goons had remained outside of the warehouse.

She quickly began lowering herself down the rope. The goons didn't even see her. She had jumped to the pavement and knocked one out cold before the other two knew what happened. Jimmy was right behind her and had knocked out 2 more while Domino knocked out the fourth.

"That was easy," he whispered.

She only nodded and quickly tied up the four unconscious men.

Jimmy meanwhile rummaged through his pack and grinned when he found what he had been looking for. "Dom," he whispered, tossing her a gun. She caught it with ease and quickly checked to see if it was loaded.

They stood on either side of the door and together walked in quickly, ducking behind boxes and doorframes.

The four men were arranged in a standing half circle, they were facing a man who had apparently been in the warehouse waiting for this meeting. Jimmy and Domino caught snippets of the conversation.

"Meeting... no deal... money.... guns...." Domino strained to catch some of the words and in her hurry she bumped the stack of boxes she'd been hiding behind.

The four goons turned, guns already out and aimed at her. Instead of rolling out of the way, Domino caught site of the man the goons had been meeting with. It was Cable. She hesitated for a split second and in that time the goons were able to get off four shots.

"Dom!" Jimmy didn't even think as he threw himself in front of her. He was facing her as the bullets hit him. He gave her a weak smile before he gave a small groan and rolled over onto his back.

Domino had pulled out her gun to fire, but saw that the four men were already taken care of. Cable's gun was still smoking. She took her eyes off of him to stare at her dying friend.

"Why did you do that?" She whispered at him. The tears in her eyes temporarily fuzzed her vision and she wiped them clear. Jimmy was just smiling up at her.

"Why not?" He whispered back. He gave a small cough and clutched her hand violently. "Get out of here Domino. Get out of Madripoor. You don't belong here."

She nodded and squeezed his hand tighter, as if she could will him to stay a little longer. He was silent for a moment and she thought he had passed on but then she heard his small whisper.

"Dom?"

"Yea Jimmy?"

"What's your real name?"

She paused for a moment before leaning down and whispering it in his ear. He smiled and stared up at her. "It's a beautiful name Domino. It fits you well, you should use it." He gave a last cough and then closed his eyes as his life drained out of him.

"Thanks Jimmy," she whispered and sat back on her heels.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"Yea, I think so. What were you doing here anyway?" She glared up at him.

"I was trying to do the same thing you were doing, stop these guys from buying the guns they were trying to purchase." His voice grew soft. "I'm sorry he died Domino. If I'd gotten my shot off a few seconds earlier, he wouldn't have."

She shrugged off his hand and stood up. "Yea and if I hadn't knocked over the box, they wouldn't have had the chance to shoot."

He gave her a strange look and seemed to come to a decision among himself. "What will you do now?"

"Now? Keep fighting in the ring until I've got enough money to get out of here."

"Would you consider a job proposition?"

She regarded him closely. "What kind of job?"

"I'm forming a team of mercenaries, I need good fighters for some freelance jobs, interested?"

With a laugh and a shake of her head, she began walking towards the door. "Nah, that's kid stuff, you'll never catch me with one of those outfits. Good luck to you Cable." She was almost out of the door before she turned back to smile at him. "The sooner you get out of Madripoor, the better. You'll never find whom your looking for." She pointed to Jimmy's body. "That was the kindest person on this island. I'm number two. You'd have better luck in the states."

"Yea, thanks." He watched her go and then smiled. She'd join his team eventually; she just needed a few years to figure out what she wanted in life. Yea, he'd give her a few years. She was to good of a fighter for him to just let her go do her own thing. She was also too beautiful for him to forget.

"Domino," he mumbled to himself. "What a pretty name."

NEXT: Next issue we're right back on track with the conclusion of "Banks and Bombs." Who is the mysterious Domino look alike? Bridge and Domino hurry to find out. But can Bridge protect the real Domino from Nick Fury?