The Dark Sister
The Watchtower
March 9 18:45
Nightwing entered the mission room to find Batman staring at the map of the U.S.A. The signal from the device given to the mysterious knight seemed to dance around the country at a blinding speed.
"Is he still just zooming around the country?" he asked.
"He hasn't stopped since he left the sewer." Batman answered.
"It's almost been a day. No way this guy is human."
"Maybe, but it's obvious he has abilities of some sort that allow him to perform these feats. I'd wonder about him being another meta-human, but I've never seen this young man before."
The signal suddenly stopped at Chicago, Illinois, before slowly moving west where it came to a halt in northern Kansas.
"Looks like he finally stopped." Batman said.
Suddenly, the device began calling back towards the tower.
"He's trying to contact us, get everyone in here." Batman ordered. Nightwing made the announcement for everyone to gather in the mission room, the Team and members of the Justice League.
As everyone gathered in the room, Batman connected the call. The map was replaced by a large screen, showing the face of the knight.
"Oh, my apologies, I thought this was the device to call the martian girl from last night." he sounded embarrassed.
"You've reached the right place, we're the Justice League. I understand you told Miss Martian you'd give us a call if your Grandmaster agreed to working with us on stopping these cultists." Batman reassured him.
The knight shifted the camera to show two more people with him, both wearing the same armor as he was. One was a young girl, with tan skin, amber eyes and long, black hair that reached the middle of her back. Next to her was a fair-skinned young man with bright, green-blue eyes and dirty-blonde hair.
"My name is Arin. This is Maya, and Raiku. I've been given permission to tell you at least that much, but the Grandmaster still wants us tight lipped about our business here." Arin said.
"Understood for now, but you have to understand that with what we've found out about these kidnappings, we're going to need more answers. It's a conversation for another time however. What was it that you were calling about?" Batman asked.
"We tracked the Dark Sister Miss Martian, Superboy, Wonder Girl, Robin and myself ran into last night to this abandoned factory in northern Kansas. If she's involved I fear they may be more innocents trapped inside who may we may be able to save again. Unfortunately, between the three of us, we'd have our hands full trying to take down the Dark Sister, and she's not above killing the captives to escape. We'd appreciate it if you could aid us again." Arin said.
"You'll definitely get aid, but can you tell us more on who or what these people are?" Batman asked.
"Followers of a witch we've been hunting. The Dark Sister is a follower she who's soul she has twisted beyond repair. She thrives on the misery and pain of others, which makes fighting her with innocents around difficult. She's looking for something that I...can't reveal to you over a channel such as this. I understand you all operate with four man teams correct? If so, three squads should be enough, as each of us can go with a squad to ensure you will have protection against their dark magic." Arin said.
"Alright, we'll send three squads to meet you at once. Sit tight." Batman said.
"Thank you. Raiku, scout out the perimeter for entrances we can use to get inside." Arin ordered.
"On it!" Raiku said cheerfully and dashed off the screen.
"We'll wait here for you. Arin out." he said as the screen turned off.
"Well, at least we have some names now." The Flash said.
"And, apparently there are more of them." Green Arrow added.
"Do any of you have anything to add on this 'Dark Sister' Arin mentioned?" Superman asked.
"Aside from the red eyes and extremely creepy getup? No. We didn't even fight her, she left and we had to fight that Feeder thing." Robin answered.
"We'll leave this to you all then. From the last meeting he's given us his name and more information on who are enemy is. Let's hope after this his 'Grandmaster' can be persuaded further to work with us against this threat." Wonder Woman said.
As the Justice League walked off, the Team assembled to be divided into squads.
"Alright, from what we know about fighting these things so far, we'll need a combination of light-emitting attacks, and people fast and strong enough to pull out victims." Aqualad said.
"Team Alpha will consist of myself, Miss Martian, Superboy, and Tigress. Team Bravo will be Kid Flash, Robin, Lagoon Boy, and Blue Beetle. Team Charlie, Wonder Girl, Static, Bumble Bee, and Batgirl. Blue Beetle, Batgirl, you'll take charge of your teams when we all split up. Keep in mind, not only are we going to gather more information as we thwart the plans of these cultists, we also want to extend the hand of friendship to these three. They look powerful, and are obviously very guarded about revealing too much of themselves. So far extending the olive branch has gotten us a callback and names. Let's hope after this we'll get some answers as to what's going on, as well as possible teammates to work together with. Move out!"
"Wait! I'm gonna get in on this one too." Nightwing said.
"Then let's suit up and go make some new friends." Aqualad said happily.
Kansas
March 9 20:12
The Team arrived to find all three knights waiting in the fields a mile away from the factory.
"You seemed to have brought the cavalry. Thank you." Arin said, extending his hand.
Aqualad shook his hand,"Always happy to help, especially for something like this."
"I'll reintroduce you all to Maya and Raiku, so...here they are." Arin extended his arm towards them.
While Raiku smiled and waved, Maya stared at the factory as though she was watching for something.
"A pleasure to meet you both." Aqualad said.
"Same, can't wait to make some memories busting some heads." Raiku said.
"I like this guy already." Nightwing said.
Maya turned around,"It's a pleasure indeed. From what I can sense, the Dark Sister is still in that factory, and she's definitely not alone."
"Is it more of those Feeder things?" Robin asked.
"We're not sure. For the moment, we were waiting on you guys to show up before we split off to do our reconnaissance. If we find out it's just the Dark Sister and some cultists being weird and creepy, we take them out." Raiku said punching his hand.
"But, if we do see that they're doing some unspeakable thing in there, depending on what it is we'll have to observe what we see and report back to the Grandmaster for further instruction." Maya added.
"The most important thing to find out first however is whether innocent people are once again caught in the crossfire." Arin said.
"Then let's get to it. Arin, Alpha team will go with you. Maya, you can get Bravo and that leaves Raiku with Charlie." Aqualad said.
"Works for me. I suggest we all take a bit of time to see how we can help each other out should a fight happen. We owe you that much." Arin said.
"I've scouted four possible ways into the factory and marked them. So if each team wants to follow their respective knight we've got a bit of a distance from the factory that we can use to get to know each other better." Raiku said.
"Before we go, I'll establish a telepathic link so that we don't have to worry about being overheard." Miss Martian said.
"Oh, that's going to be extremely useful." Mara said happily.
They split off and headed for a different entrance.
So what kind of abilities can we expect from you three? Aqualad asked.
As far as what will come in handy? Flight, strength, speed, and magic. Raiku is more melee oriented, while Maya prefers range. I sit in between that to add my own skill wherever we start to come up short. Arin answered.
I'm not really clear on how the magic works between you three and those cultists. Do you cast spells or what? Nightwing asked.
The cultists use spells, though mostly dark magic. It's less of an incantation and more evocation. They expel the darkness in their souls and use that to power to affect the world around them. For example, the Dark Sister in there likes to use ice when she attacks. When powered by how dark and twisted her soul is, that ice becomes corrosive, freezing and eating away at whoever gets hit by it. he answered.
We use runes, magical symbols that enhance our abilities, or add an effect to us. Most of the runes we have either help shield us from their dark magic, empower our own, allow us to summon each other, and so on. Maya added.
Why is she called 'Dark Sister'? Batgirl wondered.
She's part a set of sisters, seven in total, along with a big brother they call the 'Dark Brother.' Raiku answered.
What other capabilities does this Dark Sister possess? Aqualad asked.
She's physically stronger than probably most of you, and as agile as a jaguar ballerina. Ice is her weapon of choice, freezing her opponents only to watch them slowly die. She's pretty twisted. If we end up fighting, you guys might want to take a step back and let us handle her. Raiku said.
I think you might be underestimating us there pal. We can take her down if we all work together. Robin said.
I'm not trying to be insulting, it's simply the lack of defenses you all have if we fight her. She's fast, she's strong, and she'll use that to hit you with her dark magic; a weapon you guys don't have a way to defend against and could potentially be fatal to you. If you are hit, then one of us will have to come to your aid before her ice eats away at you, leaving us open to an attack as well. Raiku assured them.
As I said before, we're here to lend you whatever assistance you may require. Aqualad said.
And we'll need you all to take on the cultists and rescue whoever they may have captured. I see each of your teams has someone who fought with me last night. I guess I don't really need to go over how to take down a Feeder if there are any down there. Arin said happily.
They each approached a hole on different sides of the factory, quietly slipping in only to find the abandoned factory to be anything but abandoned. The actual floor of the factory was twenty feet deeper, and full of cloak wearing cultists. In the northern corner was crudely built pen containing seven terrified kidnapped civilians.
As we feared, they have more victims. Maya said.
I recognize some of those people. They've been missing for weeks. Kid Flash said.
There were more than just seven who've gone missing. Where are the rest? Nightwing wondered.
Either they're in a different area, or they've been killed. Arin said sorrowfully.
Then let's save them before they're killed too! Wonder Girl exclaimed.
First, we need to find out what they're doing. More importantly, we can't act until we have eyes on the Dark Sister. Arin said.
But- Wonder Girl began.
I understand that you want to save them, I do, but if we charge in there without taking inventory of their assets we'll only be putting their lives in more danger. Once we've located the Dark Sister we'll go after her, leaving you all to take down the cultists and save those people. Arin reassured her.
In the middle of the factory floor were cultists gathered in a circle around a strange symbol with one cultist standing in the middle.
That looks like a soul rune. Maya said.
What's it do? Blue Beetle asked.
The soul rune is the first rune we're branded with, allowing us to eventually unlock what is called 'Soulflame'. When a practitioner of certain schools of magic reaches a high enough level of magical proficiency, they can use this rune to unlock a power that reflects what burns in their soul. she answered.
Branded? Like with a cattle prod or something? Nightwind asked, shocked.
Not exactly. It's more like a magical tattoo whose power we're able to invoke without the use of incantations. Some we can activate at will, others have requirements before they activate. The soul rune is one of those. she corrected him.
As the cultists began to chant, the rune beneath the center cultist began to glow. After a few moments, he began to scream as his body was suddenly enveloped in purple fire before he was suddenly reduced to ash. The Team looked on in horror as another cultist slowly took his place, only to be met with the same fate soon after.
Looks like his future just went up in flames, am I right? Raiku joked.
What are they doing? Batgirl asked, horrified.
It looks like they're trying to force out their soulflame, but that kind of power will overwhelm one who isn't skilled enough to control it. Arin answered.
They've formed a line. Looks like they're all willing to give their lives for this...whatever this is. Maya sounded confused.
So then what are the captives in the pen for? Nightwing asked.
One cultist stood on a platform overlooking the entire factory. He grimaced as each cultist that stood on the rune were soon reduced to a pile of ash.
"It's like looking at your current status in the eyes of our Lady, is it not?" Came a sweet, but dangerous tone from the shadows.
Out walked the Dark Sister, her footsteps leaving an icy trail behind her.
"N-no, dear Sister. This is simply a minor inconvenience, no thanks to these weak spirited fools. Most of them can't even use dark magic. This is as much use as we will get from them. Please, my Lady's will shall be done tonight, and we will unlock the secrets of the souldflame." he voice sounded seconds from breaking.
"Fools? Like the one you sent to Gotham, who informed the knight and his comrades of my whereabouts beneath the city? My Lady was not pleased that one of her children was lost thanks to one of your fools." she spat.
"Please dear Sister, I already have men on the way to retrieve him to face judgement for his actions."
"So now we waste even more resources on him? You are proving to be nothing more than incompetent in my Lady's eyes." she said, walking up to him.
As she extended her hand a spear made of ice formed; she pressed the tip against his throat.
"I should get rid of you now and spare my Lady more irritation from your failures," she hissed. She then pointed the spear at the pen,"However, these lambs will make up for your idiocy, for now. Take them to be reborn." she ordered.
"Before we do that," Arin yelled, dropping down with Maya and Raiku,"Let's continue our conversation from yesterday."
The Dark Sister glared at the lead cultist,"And now you can't correctly secure the perimeter."
She stabbed him in the chest with the spear, leaving it in as the he was slowly frozen to death. She jumped off the platform and made another spear of ice.
"Dear sister," she said sweetly, looking at Maya.
"Do not call me that!" Maya snarled.
"Mother will be hurt that you've once again gone against her."
"Tell mommy dearest she should come say that in person." Raiku said.
"Impudent boy! You will not-" the Dark Sister noticed Kid Flash opened the pen, and along with Beast Boy were quickly making their escape.
"FOOLS!" she bellowed at the cultists,"IF THEY ESCAPE I WILL HAVE ALL OF YOUR HEADS!"
"Now!" Arin yelled.
The rest of the team dropped down, surprising the cultists and buying more time for the hostages to escape.
"Didn't that guy you just deep froze say something about most of these guy not knowing any magic?" Raiku smirked.
The Dark Sister charged at him as the rest of the factory erupted into a brawl. Raiku dodged her lunging attack and attempted to knee her in the face. She blocked his attack and readied her spear for another thrust, but Arin quickly sliced it in half. In the split second between that and the Dark Sister forming another spear, Raiku kicked her in the chest, knocking her back. She quickly regained her footing and formed a shield of ice to block the blasts of magical energy Maya threw at her. This turned out be a distraction as Raiku smashed threw her shield and knocked her into the wall.
"It's over, stand down." Arin warned, pointing his sword at her as the other two surrounded her.
"Three on one isn't a very fair or heroic thing to do." she said mockingly.
"Please feel free to direct all you complaints to the decaying wall behind you." Arin shot back.
Arin barely managed to move out of way as a portal opened behind him and the blade of a sword shot out at him. The sword was soon followed by a large man clad in black armor; red eyes gleaming like taillights from behind his helmet. He quickly grabbed the Dark Sister by her arm, and without another word pulled her into the portal.
"Because of course it wouldn't have been that easy to catch one of them." Arin sighed.
They turned to see that the Team had taken down the cultists and evacuated the hostages.
"Victory! Well, sort of." Raiku declared.
"What happened to the Dark Sister?" Aqualad asked.
"Her brother happened." Arin answered.
"We've gotten all the hostages out, and I believe these cultists aren't going to be a problem anymore." Aqualad said.
"They're all yours." Arin grinned.
"Well, if you pick up on their trail again, we'll be more than willing to help you out." Aqualad extended his hand for Arin to shake.
"We'll be in touch." Arin shook his hand.
The Watchtower
March 10 00:14
"Well done on rescuing the hostages. The authorities were able to reunite them with their families, and those cultists are behind bars." Batman said.
"Were you able to find out more about those three?" Superman asked.
"The Dark Sister referred to the one called Maya as 'sister', and it visibly upset her. They're definitely connected to whoever these individuals are, but they're still not saying much about themselves." Aqualad answered.
"They seem willing to trust us more as we help them out with these cultists. Hopefully they'll come clean with what's going on in the near future." Nightwing said.
"We can only hope." Superman said.
"For now," Batman looked at the map where the signal for the communicator began darting around the country again,"We'll keep an eye on them."