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Batman 2039

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image 1: Melanie Walker (Ten from the Royal Flush Gang) holding an umbrella in the rain

image 2: A group of motorcyclists racing down a street at night into oncoming traffic

image 3: Terry McGinnis’ Batman leaping through the air towards the massive GoLeM robot

image 4: Inque, in a state between solid and liquid form

Heroes & Villains The DC Animated Universe - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

Inque

Not much is known of the origins of the shapeshifting mercenary and saboteur known as Inque.  How she came to possess her metahuman abilities remains unknown.  Her form is composed of a dark, ink-like substance that is entirely malleable.  This allowed her to alter her shape at will, forms her limbs into sharpened weapons, slip easily through cracks and slide across surfaces at great speeds.  Her one vulnerability appeared to be water, which caused her to become defuse and lose her ability to maintain structural integrity.  Although water was not lethal for Inque and she has been able to re-manifest her form once dried.

Inque was hired by Derrick Powers during a time in which Wayne/Powers was competing with Foxteca over a highly lucrative governmental contract.  Powers tasked Inque with sabotaging Foxteca facilities so to ensure his company landed the contract.  Bruce Wayne investigated the matter and assigned Batman (Terry McGinnis) to stand guard over the additional Foxteca plants in the case that the saboteur were to strike again.  This indeed occurred yet Batman was unprepared for an altercation with someone as formidable as Inque and she easily evaded capture in their initial altercation.   

Learning that Batman was once more meddling in his affairs, Derrick Powers tasked Inque with assassinating him and any accomplice he might be working with.  Sneaking into the Batmobile, Inque accompanied Batman back to the Batcave before attacking him.  Transforming into a torrent of ink, she nearly succeeded in suffocating Batman but was stopped by Bruce Wayne (who used an old Gray Ghost costume to hide his identity).  Bruce ultimately utilized Mr. Freeze’s freeze gun to incapacitate Inque whereupon she was delivered to the authorities.  Without the services of his saboteur, Powers lost out on the contract to Foxteca.  

Inque would return on subsequent occasions to battle Batman.  Some time thereafter, the mutagenic substance that bestowed Inque her abilities began to break down making it difficult to maintain a physical form.  She turned to her estranged daughter, Deanna Clay, for aid.  She had Deanna steal a mutagenic compound from Gotham Genetics that could stabilize her condition.  Deanna went through with this, but cut the compound with a solvent as part of a plan to kill her mother and pilfer her savings.  Inque discovered her daughter’s betrayal too late. Starting to dissolve, she attacked Deanna yet Batman arrived in time to save her. Together they watched Inque seemingly melt into nothingness.