Shattered Remains
Whisper In The Wind
Ariana DeVanore darted through the wet streets of Gotham. Despite her lack of protection, Ariana ignored the freezing rain hitting the multiple bare spots on her body.
The streets were still busy, she could see from the alley. As Ariana sprinted past muggers, and thieves, she silently chuckled at their victims, Poor, defenseless fools. Ariana turned a corner leading to another alley. She ran toward a barbed wire fence reaching at least ten feet high. As she prepared to leap over the barrier a voice from behind stopped her.
"Hey, babay, " She turned to see drunken patron dressed in a black pinstripe suit, "Why don't you come give daddy some lovin'!"
Ariana rolled her eyes. Pathetic man. I'll make your death quick and painless, I've no time for the likes of you. In a quick motion, Ariana launched at the man, she dropped to the ground and swept her foot, knocking his feet the air. The man fell to the ground, hitting it hard. Ariana lashed out her blade and stabbed into the back of the fallen patron. She smirked.
"Sorry, no neckin'." Ariana got back into game mode. She dashed for the fence. The stealthy ninja kicked off of the wall with her right foot, performed a side somersault to the left wall, and leapt over the fence. She ran for the sidewalk and looked to her left. Just down the street was Wayne Enterprises. There it is. Her destination was now in plain view now. Wayne Enterprises was where it all began. She thought of the orders given to her earlier that week. Wayne Enterprises: infiltrate it and retrieve the Orb of Skirah.
Yes, with the Orb of Skirah, their plan would be in full motion. All that was needed was that Ariana only attracted certain attention. She would see to it that she proved herself. No more failures, she had promised herself.
Ariana now stood in front of the grand corporation that was Wayne Enterprises. She visually scaled the building, the largest in the city by far. Every light in every window was off. And why shouldn't they be? It was, after all, three o'clock in the morning.
Well, better get to work. There were certain protocols Ariana had to be sure were taken in order for the objective to work perfectly. She started at the outer perimeter of the building, she checked for any pedestrians that could jeopardize her situation. She started down the east side of the building, nothing. She turned the corner and saw a group of men huddled over something, or someone.
"Hey!" Ariana yelled. The men looked up at Ariana and brushed her off. Ariana decided that three more deaths would occur tonight. She pulled out one throwing dagger and launched it at the skull of the blonde male in the middle of the other two. Direct hit. He immediately fell backward as blood formed in a puddle around his head. The other two men stood motionless, fear ever present in their eyes. Ariana looked at their victims, a pregnant woman and her young son. A pain hit Ariana's chest. A tear formed in her eye. The tear lit a flame in her eyes. The flame was her anger burning so very strong. Ariana drew out her twin blades and charged the man on the left. She jammed one blade into his chest, pushing him back onto the ground. Ariana turned his fall into a somersault for her as she ripped the blade out of his bloody chest. She looked up to attack the other man and him heading toward the corner. In a mad dash fueled by anger, Ariana leapt over the man's head and landed in front him.
"You're not getting away that easily." With that said, Ariana readied her blades. She held them tight in her blind rage. She jumped a foot in the air, outstretched her weapons and performed a silhouette. Just as Ariana landed gracefully in a crouched position, the man's neck and abdomen began spilling with blood. He hit the ground with a thud. Ariana gave one last look at the woman and her child. She continued to the end of the alley to check the west side of the building.
"All clear." She said in a saddened tone.
Ariana rounded back to the side of the building. She eyed the area for a moment, and then spotted a camouflaged entrance. She broke the latch and entered down a case of stairs. After closing the door behind her, Ariana continued down the steel stairs. The room she had entered was massive, dark, and cold. Ariana reached the bottom of the staircase. What is this place?
Ariana began strolling through the room, examining every aspect of it. During her search, she bumped into a machine. The human-sized robot had a strange symbol on it with an "H" in the center. Ariana leaned in for a closer look. Suddenly its eyes lit up in red. Ariana made a quick effort to get out of the way. She executed a backward somersault. Just as the machine raised it's limb to slice her in two.
"What the--?" She mouthed.
The machine roared to life, it cranked up its based, adding another ten feet to the machinery. The robot brought its foot down in an attempt to crush Ariana. She rolled forward, barely missing the foot. Ariana then ran up the machines leg and all the way up to its head. Once there, Ariana dug her blades at the metal plate protecting whatever lay within. Ariana dropped into the robot and began lashing at the wiring and plugs.
The machine began jerking around until it started shaking uncontrollably. After a while, the robot exploded into a raining mess of wiring and metal. When the dust cleared, Ariana was left standing in the middle of the mayhem.
"Just a minor setback." She sneered.
Ariana headed to a staircase across the room to head to the level floor and into Wayne Enterprises. Her heeled boots clicked all the way up the stairs. Once she reached the door, she decided that her boots could cause as a major distraction. She abandoned them at the door and pressed on.
The air in Wayne Enterprises remained especially cold at night, when everything was shutdown. Ariana could see traces of her breath in the air. She looked down the long corridor and started up for the corner. Her bare feet left no sound to echo on the hard walls, ceiling, and tile. Upon reaching the end of the hall, Ariana heard a voice.
The first voice could not be deciphered due to the static it possessed. Walkie-talkie?
The second voice was perfectly clear, "I'll down there as soon as I can." The guard put his communication tool in his back pocket and continued down the next hall. Ariana decided it was best to follow him. Perhaps he'll lead me to the rest of the security team. Then I can take them out and their monitors.
Ariana crossed to the nearest means of stealth, a large pillar in the middle of the room. Ariana waited for the guard to turn the corner when she noticed a surveillance camera rotating in her direction. She dove to the side, out of its range of vision. Once the camera rotated back to the opposing side, Ariana jumped up and darted for the corner the guard turned. She checked the corner just in time to see him making a quick right. She also took notice of another surveillance camera, but this one did not move. Ariana debated her minimal options and quickly decided to simply stay out of its range. She jabbed her blades into the wall and moved a good three feet above where the camera was. She used her blade to jab in and out of the wall and hold up her weight. Once she was safe from the surveillance camera, Ariana dropped down to the ground with a soft thud. She stood to see the guard leaning into a room and talking.
Ariana approached him with caution. She readied one of her throwing daggers. In fast motion, Ariana dug the dagger into the side of his skull, which was being covered by the doorway, and placed an arm around him to hold up. The men in the room, four, Ariana concluded, continued talking. This meant that the guard's death had gone unnoticed. Ariana dropped the body to marble floor. Loud obscenities were heard from the room. Moving quickly, Ariana took place above the doorway. She had jabbed her blades into the wall so that she was hanging upside-down with the front of her body touching cold wall. One man stepped out and looked up. Ariana quickly pushed forward so that her feet dropped down, cracking the skull of the man below. Ariana jumped directly back into the room and threw both of her blades to either side of her, they each cut through the guards.
Ariana tore her weapons out of the chests of the guards and cleaned the blood off of them with their clothes. Before Ariana took the cameras offline, she dragged the other two bodies back into the room. The automatic door slid shut behind them. Ariana crossed to the security control panel and observed the various buttons. Impatience overtook her; she reached beneath the panel and began pulling wires. The first wire she pulled took surveillance camera seven offline. Ariana continued pulling until she took all thirty-five cameras offline.
Done with the third protocol of her objective, Ariana exited the room and darted down the halls. She reached the end of the hall and another staircase leading downstairs. Ariana leapt over the railing and dropped at least 3 stories. She hit the ground with a loud thud but appeared unaffected. Ariana stood and headed down the deserted corridor to a door that read, Staff Only.
All of her work this evening led up to this, it was now or never. Ariana headed to the pathetically disguised door. She reached the large metal structure and used a dagger to remove its bolts. The door dropped toward Ariana, she caught it and attempted to keep it from dropping on her. Every inch of her body trembled under its weight. She lowered the door to a mere inch above the ground and let it drop. The thud still pounded through the halls. Ariana let out an exasperated sigh as she huddled over her knees.
Once she recuperated, Ariana looked into the next room and saw the Orb of Skirah is a glass case. But between her and the orb were dozens of red lasers. Coming in contact with would set off an alarm bringing every crime-fighter right to her. Not exactly the best way to end this mission. Ariana decided to limber up. This would not be the first time she had done something like this, but then again, the stakes were not this high before. After a good five-minute stretch, Ariana stepped into the room, she eyed the lasers all the way the Orb of Skirah, mapping out the movements she'd take and where.
Once she had the general idea of what she'd do, Ariana stepped into the first opening. Then pulled her body through. Then the next, and the next. Ariana continued bending and sliding every curve of her body to execute the perfect placement. Before she knew it, she was standing before the Orb of Skirah. All that she had done had gotten her to this moment, here and now. She carefully lifted the glass covering, awaiting an alarm to sound, but when none came, she grinned and slid her hand underneath and pulled out the orb.
Now, with the Orb of Skirah in her left hand Ariana felt, immortal in the world around her. She just wanted to test the power of the Orb one time.
"I don't know who you are or what you want with the Orb of Skirah, but the Titans will take you down!" A young male voice boomed through room. What luck. Ariana turned to be faced with five you heroes.
"The Teen Titan, how lovely that you'd drop in on me. But isn't this Batman's territory?" Ariana taunted.
Robin was losing his patience, "Consider a favor for an old friend. Besides, he wouldn't waste his time with a criminal so futile."
"Futile you say? Ah, little birds like you should learn to keep their beaks shut!" Ariana remained calm, "Besides, I have obtained the Orb of Skirah. What could you five brats possibly do to stop me?"
"We'll do whatever it takes! Titans, G-…"
Ariana intervened, "Ah, ah, ah. I'm ever so sorry Titan, but it appears I must take my leave. Maybe some other time." Suddenly a black portal formed around her feet and she began sinking into the ground.
"Raven! Don't let her escape!" Robin ordered.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" A black link emitted from Raven 's hands into the portal. She struggled, trying to pull the criminal back up. The Titans were shocked to see Raven get pulled in.
"Raven!" They each yelled as she screamed, being dragged into the portal.
Raven fell to the floor of a room very similar to the one they were just in. She looked up to see Ariana floating above her.
"Who are you?" The hooded Titan deadpanned.
"Why my dear Raven, the more important question is; who are you?"
"Why would I tell you anything about me?" Raven snapped.
"I could ask you the same question." Ariana paused, "Besides, I already know everything about you. Trigon, Arella, Azarath, The Prophecy, everything."
Raven's eyes widened in shock as something shattered in the background.
"I know all you secrets… half-breed."
Raven's eyes doubled and turned red, "NOOO!" Raven charged Ariana through a portal of her own and they returned to the floor the Titans were at.
"Raven!" Starfire exclaimed.
"Dude! Uh, are you all right?" Beast Boy questioned.
The two women tumbled for a bit before Ariana spoke, "Enough!" Right on cue, a beam of black light shot Raven clear across the room.
"Raven!" Robin screamed in sympathy for his fallen comrade.
"Why you--!" Cyborg was suddenly filled with rage, the girl he'd grown so protective of was just brutally attacked by this thief! He wasn't taking that lying down.
Ariana spoke softly, menacingly, "Cyborg you should really control your rage. Before it controls you!" Ariana disappeared in a black a light. The floating light flew straight into Cyborg's head.
Cyborg began hearing her voice in his head. Cyborg, Cyborg, Cyborg. Do you not realize? Why are you getting so worked up over Raven? She doesn't care about you, no one does. Face it; your teammates only want you because they need some muscle on the team. They're just using you and once you're obsolete to them, they'll just get rid of you. Sorry, but the truth hurts young Titan.
"No, No, NO! Get outta my head!" Cyborg clutched his skull and began stumbling about.
"Cyborg? Friend?" Starfire approached her friend with caution. Suddenly Cyborg froze in place. A black light left his robot eye and expanded into a portal. Starfire was sucked in. her screams lowered to nothing. Starfire was standing in a pitch-black realm.
"Hello? Someone is there?"
"Ah, sweet Starfire. Your kind naïveté is rather saddening."
"Who are you?" Starfire's eyes and hands began glowing green.
"Uh-oh, did make the wittle Starfire upset?" Ariana taunted. "Do you not see that your friends are taking advantage of you kind-heartedness? They don't care about you or your problems. Raven can't stand you, Cyborg and Beast Boy think you're an idiot, and Robin is waiting for your worth to expire. Then he can go running Blackfire."
Tears filled Starfire's eyes, "NOOO!" She began shooting eye-beams all around her in a blind rage.
"Yes…" Ariana responded. "Now girl, FLY!"
A portal reopened and Starfire was shot out, she was sent colliding with the pillar that once held the Orb of Skirah.
"Starfire!" Robin quickly ran to her side, Beast Boy joined him.
"Dude, what's going on?"
Robin didn't answer. The black light levitated in the middle of the room. It approached Beast Boy from behind and entered his head.
"Wow, it's empty in here." Beast Boy heard the voice echo in his head.
"Huh? Who's there?"
"That's not important boy. But look at yourself; you're a freak, a green freak. No body likes you. Nobody wants to be seen with you. Who would? They're planning on dropping you from the team anyway. You're useless!"
"NOO! Leave me alone!" Beast Boy began morphing into animals uncontrollably.
Robin looked to his friend, "Beast Boy! She got you too!"
Beast Boy suddenly dropped to the floor. Robin looked at all of his friends, "BB, Star, Cy, Rae. Where are you! Show yourself you coward!"
The woman materialized in front of Robin, the Orb of Skirah glowing in her hand. "How very rude. Did you talk to your mother with that mouth? Oh wait, of course not! Your parents are DEAD! And it's all your fault!"
Tears streamed from under Robin's mask, "You bitch! I swear I'll kill you!" Robin pulled out his Bo staff and charged Ariana.
Ariana waved her hand to form a black force field between them. "You mean like you killed your parents? Why didn't you run faster Robin? If you would have tried a little harder to get to the tent in time then maybe your parents would still be here! And then you wouldn't be stuck with these people who don't even care about you. Their only here because they pity your soul!"
Ariana raised her hand, a shot of black energy sent Robin flying across the room.
Ariana looked at the fallen Titans and looks of pain on their faces. "Pathetic, I'll leave you all to think about what I've said."
Ariana slid her blades into the sheaths at the sides of her legs. She held the Orb of Skirah high in the air. A black cloud began to circulate above her. I a flash of white light, Ariana vanished into the cloud, leaving the lifeless, tattered bodies of the Titans in a cold, dark, enigma.
Mission Objective Status: Complete