Bialya February 5, 19:00
A magnificent beautiful palace stood high and proud over a city engulf by night, the palace was the main headquarters and home to the ruler of Bialya, Queen Bee, a tyrannical metahuman ruler who rules Bialya with an iron fist
Bialya isn't the wealthiest or the most fertile land there is, because it is located in the Middle East and surrounded by a scorching dessert by day and a freezing waste land at night, it lacks basic needs for its people
Although the Bialyan government is not corrupt, they certainly lacks the funds to run their entire system, upon the leadership of Queen Bee, she has authorized many what we may consider illegal tactics to keep Bailya from going bankrupt, be it through negotiations with LexCorps, political blackmail, or conducting secret military research from other sponsors like the Light
Bialya is also one of the meeting places of the Light members, since Bialya is not a member of the UN, they will not be monitored, another is that, Bailya did not sign the charter treaty in which the Justice League may legally mobilize and conduct operations inside their territory
A grand room decorated with exquisite yellow wall pattern, velvet curtains and banners was occupied by 5 individuals while sitting in a long meeting table
Their leader, Vandal Savage, a tall, muscular man with an extraordinary long life span, he was said to exist for so many generations, living with different lifestyles and then going into hiding and moving to another location, this prevented him from being detected up to the 21th century
The next man has an Arabic ethnicity and has an imposing figure, his name was Ra's al Ghul, also known as the 'head of the Demon' in Arabic, he too also has an outstanding lifespan, although not as long lived as Vandal Savage, he has done so many things with his life, he discovered the secrets of the Lazarous Pit, enabling him to be resurrected, the secret of his vitality, he is the founder and the current leader of terrorist group known as the League of Shadows, a criminal organization where members are trained in the ways of an assassin and conduct missions raging from assassination, extortion, manipulation, and power broking
The next one is dressed in a formal Business outfit, his name is Lex Luthor, an influential powerful business man and CEO of LexCorps, one of the world's top company, he doesn't possess any acknowledgeable abilities, but his knowledge on business and entrepreneurship makes him a highly valuable ally, with his resources, the media, and various connections to the underworld, the Light can conduct various operations all at once
The next one is no more than a man trap in a mechanical body with an exposed brain protected by a material as hard as diamond, he is known as 'The Brain', much of his life is unknown, even his real name, only that he came from France in origin, The Brain was the Light's personal mad scientist specializing in genetic and biomechanical engineering, granting them access to exotic technologies that's usually applied as mind control or to further their own research
The last one sitting on the opposite end of the table was Queen Bee, she was the Light's political expert and a political figure, managing to dodge various threats from the UN, conducting secret annexing operations to the countries around her, while maintain the Bailyan government at the same time which was an incredible feat.
"Ocean-Master was very inefficient, he has failed the light too many times, his replacement on the other hand is quite productive and has served the light well, his son, a former member of the League and the ex-protégé of Aquaman has managed to lure the Krolotean's to Malina island, with their competitors eliminated, we have managed to gain their trust" said Savage while smiling
"But, we still have yet to set our plans in motion, we have the pieces, but we need to move these pieces in the proper position, furthermore, we still require certain fail safes, as you may have noticed, Klarion has still not returned to the material plane, it would take him more months to reassemble his essence and place a beacon which is his familiar and imbuing said familiar with his essence to make himself corporeal " said Savage
"And why zo we need Klarion? We can achieve zour plan withzout him" said The Brain in his heavy French accent
"One of our agents has reported that League will be bringing in Doctor Fate in a search operation, and we cannot allow that happen, without mystic support, the Light will be discovered too soon" answered Savage
"Do we not have any means of defense against mystical force? We know that the League has more than 1 magic user, and so do we, we have Wotan, Blackbriar Thorn, Felix Faust, and the Wizard" argued Queen Bee
"They're powerful, but against the Lord of Order, they're weak, we need someone who is superior in the mystic arts" said Savage
"Do we have a candidate?" asked Lex Luthor
"I have one" said Ra's al Ghul
"Who?" asked Savage
"We don't know exactly know who this person is, my agents gave me a vague report about our little friend's sightings, apparently, we found a pattern" replied Ra's Al Ghul
"Go on.." Savage let him continue
"This person seems to be targeting artifacts with exotic backgrounds, although why this person is targeting such objects, I do not know, but, from my experiences with the hidden arts, this person is a powerful user of magic if they're able to elude the League for such a long time" said Ra's al Ghul
"Gather all we need to know about our mysterious assailant, once that is done, proceed with the contact" ordered Savage.
Bellwood February 9, 10:00
Ben was currently at the Mr. Smoothies with several empty cups beside him, Ben's facial expression was frustrated, confused, and his thoughts keeps on going around circles, making various theories, he hasn't stolen anything for 3 weeks all because he was so focused on studying the 3 orbs he has stolen
What were they? What was their purpose? Who sent them? Why are they here? So many questions and no answers, this made Ben's eye brows furrow, he angrily scratched his head and went over to the counter to grab more smoothies
"Get me another green pepper mango!" said Ben in an angry tone
"Easy kid" said the cashier at the counter
"Sorry, it's just been a rough week" Ben said apologetically
He then went over to his car and leaned himself at the car's hood, he was so stressed out, thinking about how much little progress he did studying the artifacts, all he knew is that they were definitely extraterrestrial in origin and they do not react to magic, with one final sip, he threw the empty cup away to the trash bin, Ben needs information, if there's one thing Ben love, it's a good mystery, the one thing he hates the most is being left in the shadows, this case became a personal operation to him, there was something out there pulling their strings, a conspiracy, a secret
He went inside his car and drove straight to his house, he can't do this alone, and he needs help
Ben arrived at his house's garage and parked his car outside, it was a typical average suburban house, nothing noteworthy to praise about, he then entered his house, the house was empty since his parents were out in a long vacation, they were confident that Ben could handle himself while they're gone
Ben went to the dark basement, he approached the opposite end of the basement wall, with practiced motion and an elegant hand gesture, the wall he was facing dissolved, an entrance to a new room appeared before him, he entered the room casually while the wall behind him reformed again with no signs of any activity
This large room was Ben's hideout, although many people may think that his hideout is in the basement, in reality, the hideout is actually located in an abandoned subterranean classified military compound, the basement was just a portal that links the two different locations
Ben entered his hideout and went straight to his work area with the 3 orbs lying motionlessly, Ben grabbed one of them and examined it
"I have no idea what I'm doing" said Ben in a deadpan tone
While examining the rest of the orbs, he shifted his attention to the computer screen which was beeping, indicating that someone left him a voice message, with no time to waste, he pushed the button allowing him to hear the message
"Hey Ben" said Gwen in a sweet tone
"You haven't went into your usual 'shopping spree' in weeks, just calling to see if you're okay, it's also spring break, I thought maybe you, me and Kevin wanna hang out? Call me back" the line ended
Ben was still in his thoughts and he knew he needs to do something to distract himself from his inner conflict, he then diverted all his attention to the computer screen, finding any interesting news article
"Hello, what's this? The royal family of Arabia is having an art exhibit?" Ben read the full article, although the royal family will only be showing ordinary works of art.
Ben was desperate to make an excuse just to clear his head, he then grabbed his Animagus outfit and changed
Ben wasn't really in a mood to go steal works of arts, especially ordinary ones, for him, it was boring and a waste of time and effort, there was no value in it, he then debated to himself if he should bring with him his staff and the magic satchel, after all, all he was going to do is steal objects, although he hasn't thought what kind of artifact he was going to steal
"Meh… I'll know it when I see it" said Ben, he then left his staff and brought with him only his magic satchel
"I'll do this quick, get in, find an artifact, get the artifact, then get out" said Ben in a bored tone
He walked by the center of the room to make a portal but one thing caught his attention
"I haven't use this before" said Ben going by the table and picking up what looks like a small talisman
"Oh yeah I remember, Gwen gave this to me" said Ben to himself
The talisman was none other than one of the famous charms known as the Charms of Bezel, this particular charm was the Charm of Luck and Probability, this charm works in mysterious ways, unlike other mystical items, this one influences the environment instead of directly influencing the state of the user or their foe through the limited manipulation of reality, any action the bearer would like to do would result in them accomplishing it flawlessly, granting them supernaturally good luck, but, only if there was a possibility of things to go their way in the first place. Ben picked the small charm and attached it to his left bracer
With a bit of focus and effort, he made a portal and walked inside it
United Arab Emirates Royal Library February 9, 21:00
The royal family of Arabia has turned their grand library into a miniature museum where important and influential guess can appreciate the culture of the powerful Arabic nation or talk leisurely to other guess
It was a dark, cold night, the library was currently close, Ben has been in the country waiting for the day to get dark, while waiting, he has been enjoying himself, going to places, and eating, he did enjoy the architectural marvels he has visited, but other than that, they were boring once he realized that most of them are offices sculpted into superficial buildings
Ben was floating atop the library's skylight, he then phased through the glass and landed quietly at the ground, he doesn't need to worry about the cameras though.
*flashback*
Ben was currently in front of the door leading to the control room to deal with the guard and temper the surveillance device, he then phased through the wall, he saw only 1 guard watching the monitors and taking a sip of his cup of coffee
He was about to stun the guard but then the charm suddenly lit up, a gurgling sound was heard from the guards stomach, the guard's face expression became in pained, it suddenly dawned at Ben that the guard has to relieve his bowels at the bathroom, the guard quickly sat up, in doing so, the guard accidentally knocked his cup of coffee at the control panel in the process, the surveillance control panel short circuited
The guard was now contemplating whether he should fix the control panel or go to the bathroom to defecate, the sound of his stomach gurgled again answered his dilemma, with that, he rushed outside the control room to go to the bathroom with no time to waste.
*end of flashback*
"hehehe…. Good times" said Ben quietly laughing
He then looked around, there were various incased objects like vases, weapons, and paintings, most of them were jewelries
He then went by the case where a manikin's hand is wearing 10 rings ranging from diamonds, opals, emeralds, topaz, and rubies
"Boring~" said Ben
He then went to another case, this time, a golden scepter decorated with rubies
"Meh~" said Ben
"What am I looking for exactly?" said Ben said to no one but himself
"I was about to ask you the same thing" said a foreign voice
Ben then faced the direction of where the voice is coming from, but all he saw was nothing but darkness, Ben was then in his guarded stance
"Show yourself!" demanded Ben, his charm then lit up again, where once the moon was covered with clouds, it now shone with radiant unhindered beauty, illuminating the room through the skylight, the mysterious stranger was then illuminated
The mysterious stranger was none other than Ra's Al Ghul with his 4 elite League of Shadows personal bodyguards
"Greetings" said Ra's Al Ghul in a welcoming tone
Ben was silent, he was thinking of ways to take both Ra's Al Ghul and his body guards down
"I am not here to fight, I came here to give you an invitation" said Ra's al Ghul while performing a hand sign to his guards indicating them to stand down, his guards respectfully bowed to him and retreated back in the darkness
"An invitation? Sorry to tell you this but I'm not League of Shadows material" said Ben
"You've heard of my organization, then do you know who I am?" said Ra's al Ghul
"Yeah, I do, you're Ra's al Ghul, leader of the League of Shadows and someone who's been hiding from death" answered Ben
"I never knew I was quite popular, anyways, on to business, me and my partners have a special offer for you" said Ra's al Ghul
Ben raised one eyebrow, an expression saying 'what?'
"You see, me and my partners are lacking a member, we were looking for someone with great talent and skill, and so, we have nominated you, you are quite famous in the magical community with your debilitating magical abilities, and with your previous encounter with the League and you neutral status, rest assure you that joining us will not be a burden, in exchange if you were to join us, me and my partners will provide you with any intel, support, or various objects that you may wish you want to get your hands on to further your own goals" explained Ra's al Ghul
"Who are this partners that you're talking about, the League of Shadows?" asked Ben
"Not quite, we are small in numbers but we have the same goal, the League of Shadows is merely a part, an extension, the eyes and ears of our 'little group'" answered Ra's al Ghul
"We will be waiting for your answer, find me in Infinity Island by the Easter islands", and with that, Ra's al Ghul retreated back in the deep shadows, his presence quickly vanished from the room
The room was quiet, Ben looked at the incased artifacts, deciding that none of this things interest him in anyway, he made a portal back at his hideout