The smaller of the two men was very quick and exceptionally skilled with his blades, but Bloodshot had the advantage of not being entirely human. The echoes of the exchanged blows rebounded up and down the alley for several minutes after Malia left the scene, and before the end Bloodshot was in possession of several new cuts that would become scars before too long. The end itself, however, had been all but decided from the beginning. Skilled as he was, Copper's speed and agility was merely a match for the other man, who still dwarfed him in strength and tenacity. He had been raised on combat, learned to harness pain and anger and fear, learned to weaponize them and turn them against the enemies that caused them. The pipe in Bloodshot's hand had become just as effective a weapon as the katana's of his opponent, and while Copper didn't yet bleed, he had only narrowly escaped several bone-shattering blows that would still leave sizable bruises.

The battle was beginning to take its toll on both men, though the evidence of flagging stamina shone more prominently in the face and movements of the katana-wielding assassin than it did in that of the mercenary. Copper was outmatched, and he was only now realized the extent to which that fact applied. He had begun getting desperate, taking risks that left him open and hoping to get lucky, but Bloodshot gave him no room for luck. A dual horizontal slash was countered with a solid cross-ways swing and answered with a boot to the chest, and Copper found himself laid out flat on his back on the pavement of the alley, his opponent looming over him as he kicked the katanas away. "You get one chance to walk away. If I see you when I come for your boss, you die." Then he turned and left, snatching up the undamaged katana as he went. "I think I'll keep this though. Might come in handy later." That final insult was tossed casually over his shoulder as he rounded the corner of the alley, and then he was gone.