Chapter Ten
"Authorizing:Eternal, B-1-3."
As soon as Mercy, now as Eternal with her ring on, made it back to the Cave, she couldn't help but notice that it was eerily empty. Minus- or course, the Batman himself, standing in the center of the room, with only the glow of the holographic computer to light his silhouette. She could just make out his eyes narrowing at her as she strode into the room, and she stopped a few feet in front of him, and placed her hands on her hips, then raised a hand up and motioned around the empty room.
"Send them off without me?" She questioned as Batman's bat-glare grew even more intense. Eternal's hand returned to her hip, and with one last narrowing of the eyes, he turned around, and typed in a few codes on the computer.
"You have your own mission to complete." He stated in his usual monotone. "Go and suit up, you'll need to leave immediately after your debriefing. Eternal gave Batman a questioning look, but none the less, turned on her heel, and walked towards her room at her usually brisk pace. The Bat was already sending her on covert missions by herself? Since when did the Bat trust so easily?
Just as she pushed the door open, she heard the Zeta come to life, but ignored them as the door slide shut behind her, and walked to her closet to retrieve her uniform. She quickly put it on, then checked, and double checked to make sure that all of her weapons were in their proper place. She then quickly French braided her long red hair, and placed her mask over her blue eyes. Eternal blinked at her reflection in the mirror, and adjusted her mask slightly, then her kukri holster before finally tightening it, and securing it in its place, and then repeated the movement with her boots, and tightened the laces as needed.
Eternal gave herself one last glance, and then began to walk towards her door. Suddenly, she stopped, and then walked quickly back towards her bed, and reached underneath it to pull out her duffle bag full of knives.
She opened the bag, reached inside, and pulled out her glider. Her precious glider was the only thing she had ever stolen for herself. She had heard rumors that the Batman had used the same type of glider to construct his cape, but she wasn't going to admit stealing from Wayne Tech when she had never even been suspected of it. She had gotten in and out of Wayne Tech so easily, no one knew that the thief had even stepped foot into the building, or even in Gotham for that matter.
She quickly folded up the glider and tucked it behind her kukris. When she was sure it was secure, she finally left the room after kicking the duffle bag back underneath her bed.
Eternal jogged down the hall, her steps silent as she approached the doors. They slid open before her, and her first reaction at the sight of the two figures was to tense, and she scowled.
Red Arrow was standing next to Batman, his back to the door, and his eyes on the screen that contained the details of Eternal's mission.
Eternal quietly made her way inside, and then cleared her throat to get the two male's attention. Batman didn't acknowledge her, but Red Arrow turned around, and his eyes widened at the sight of Eternal. He then swiftly diverted his gaze towards Batman, and Eternal could already tell his temper was about to boil over.
"Eternal?"He snarled at the Bat, causing the Dark Knight to cast a swift glare at the hero standing next to him. Red Arrow looked away from Batman, but he didn't step back. "I have to work with her?" Eternal felt her own anger begin to boil at his tone.
"Oh boo hoo," Eternal taunted as she walked up to them. She stopped behind them, and Batman finally stopped typing, and turned around to face her. "Not like I want to work with you either. But it certainly would have been nice to know." She sneered as she shot a look at the Bat, who returned it with a narrowing of his eyes.
Red Arrow was opened his mouth to retort, and Batman raised a hand in threat. Eternal made her lips into a fine line, and Red Arrow glared at the hand that had appeared in front of his face.
"Enough." Batman shot as he glared at the two of them. Eternal continued to glare at him, while Red Arrow stepped back, and gave the Bat some space. "You two are easily the most combat ready members- and associates- of the league, and I'm expecting you both to be able to handle this swiftly and professionally. Understood?" Eternal gave a curt nod, and so did Red Arrow.
"Good. Now, your mission." He turned around, and Eternal's eyes gazed up towards the screen, while Red Arrow craned his head to get a good look at it from his spot a two or three feet away from Eternal.
Photos of Lex Luthor's mansion came onto the screen, and Eternal couldn't help but slap her forehead against her hand, causing Red Arrow to give her a confused look.
Of course he'd send you on a mission concerning Luthor. You know the most about him, dumbass. She thought to herself as she dragged her hand down her face, and looked back up at the screen, and Batman, who was now glaring at her. She shot back her own glare, and held it there. I'm starting to regret this hero crap. I should have just retired when I had the chance.
"Is there a problem?" Batman nearly growled at Eternal. Eternal shook her head, and motioned for Batman to continue. Red Arrow concealed his shock at Eternal's daring attitude towards Batman, and then turned his gaze towards the screen as well.
"We've traced back the items stolen by the thief Night to Lex Luthor. None of these items were found during the League's search of LexCorp, or during the Team's search of Lex Towers. The only location we could logically deduce that was left was Luthor's own home." Batman turned towards Eternal, his arms at his sides, but his demeanor still demanding authority. Eternal looked up at him, her eyes covered by her mask, but were burning with an angry fire underneath it. She knew that he was aware that Eternal, or Mercy, had grown up in the Luthor Mansion. She knew all of the hiding places, all of the secret passage ways, and every nook and cranny of the place.
"Find what you can. Observe, report, and retake what does not belong to him if necessary." Batman finished as he walked towards the Zeta tubes. "Use the motorcycles in the loading bay. You have twenty four hours to complete your mission." And with that, he stepped into the Zeta tube, and with a flash of light, the Bat was gone, leaving the two heroes to turn and glare at each other.
"You heard him." Eternal snarled as she turned and walked away from Red Arrow. Red Arrow turned and looked at her. "Twenty hours."
Red pointed at the screen, and glared at her back.
"I'm reading up on Luthor's security measures. Kind of important." He snapped back at her, causing her to turn on her heel, and glare at him. She wanted to tell him that she knew the house like the back of her hand, but decided otherwise, and decided on a small white lie instead.
"Eidetic memory. I've got it all. Let's go." She retorted, causing Red to glare at her back once more, and then hesitantly walk away as he tried to read as much as possible. Soon enough, he was walking after Eternal, who had already made it to the loading bay, and was throwing on a black helmet that had been assigned to her during the first week of her arrival. She then walked over to her own bike, and sat down on it, and plucked the jacket that had been thrown over it over her clothes. Red Arrow did the same, but with Superboy's old motorcycle, and threw on Superboy's jacket to cover his own uniform. He then took his quiver, and collapsible bow, and placed it in one of the saddle bags attached to the bike.
Eternal started her bike, and obnoxiously revved the engine as Red took his time getting ready. He glared at her as he put on his helmet, and she then began to roll forwards impatiently.
"Why are you in such a rush?" Red Arrow asked through the helmet's comm. system. Eternal narrowed her eyes at his question, and replied with a shrill growl from her engine. Red Arrow huffed, and rolled forward with her to the opening of the Cave.
"Red Tornado, Bay doors please." Eternal asked politely through her comm. system. Red Tornado complied swiftly, and with a considerate wish of luck to the two of them on their mission before closing the bay doors behind them after they pulled out of the Cave.
"Thanks, Red. I'll see you tomorrow!" Eternal chirped as the two of them drove away from the cave, and took the rural route to Metropolis.
-0-
As Eternal took off her jacket and threw it on top of her bike and added a few more branches, Red Arrow placed his quiver back in its place, and checked on the string on his bow. Eternal tapped the button on the collar of her uniform, and it switched to stealth mode, causing the uniform to turn completely black. Eternal couldn't help but smirk when she felt like she had just returned home from a long trip.
Even though the burgundy was a bold statement for Eternal, black would forever be her first choice.
"Ready?" Eternal asked Red as she checked her kukri holster, assuring herself that it was still in its rightful place. Red nodded in response, and she promptly began to move forward, her kukris drawn so that she could cut away at the foliage that blocked their path.
"Luthor's mansion is surrounded by woods. But by no means does that mean that-" Eternal plucked a stopped short, and held an arm out, causing Red Arrow to stop, and raise his bow and arrow higher. She looked back at him, and nodded slightly towards one of the trees. Red Arrow squinted, and upon close inspection, he realized that a knot in one of the trees was actually a camera- and above that camera was a small turret. "He's upgraded. Nice." She said casually as she pulled out a scrambler that the Batman had given to Red Arrow before they left, and aimed the special device carefully as Red Arrow checked his utility belt frantically to see if she had taken all of them. As he suspected, she certainly had.
Eternal threw the device with precision, and within five seconds, the camera was on loop, along with the entire grid's security devices. All motion sensors would believe nothing had passed them, security cameras would display signs of safety.
"Let's go." Eternal said as she beckoned Red Arrow forward, and she continued to lead the way. Red Arrow was beginning to grow curious about how the girl before him knew so much about Luthor, and took the opportunity to question her about her motives as he silently followed her through the forest before them.
"So, how do you know so much about Luthor?" Red Arrow asked bluntly, causing Eternal to roll her eyes as she continued to guide them through the forest. Did every team of heroes talk so much on missions?
"The security system may have been disabled, but that does not mean we should be speaking." Eternal said flatly as she vaulted over a large fallen tree. Red scowled, and vaulted over the tree as well.
"We're too far out for anyone to hear." He retorted quietly. Eternal scowled.
"And how can you be so sure?" She questioned just as quietly. Red Arrow glared at her once again, and for his own benefit, he took aim at the back of her head, and imagined firing the arrow at her, and then another, and another, and maybe another. Eternal frowned, and sighed.
"You know, if this mission is going to go smoothly, I'd recommend you aim your arrows elsewhere, Red." Eternal said almost casually, but with a hint of frustration. Red Arrow couldn't believe the girl had noticed, but he aimed the arrow away from her once more, and continued to follow.
"Just answer the question. You don't need to go into extreme detail… right now, at least." Red Arrow practically demanded as they continued. Eternal sighed, stopped suddenly, and yet again, placed her hand against her forehead in frustration.
I should have just retired. She thought to herself as she dropped her hand to her side, and gazed up at the opening in the trees towards the night sky. It had taken them several hours and many complaints on Red Arrow's part to get to the outskirts of Metropolis from Happy Harbor. They certainly had plenty of time to complete the mission, but they had to take into account that anything could happen.
"My mother." She stated bluntly before turning around, and scowling at Red Arrow through her mask. She shot him a sarcastic look, and her mask rose with her eyebrows. "Anymore questions or can we get on with the mission?" She snapped at him. Red Arrow frowned, and then after a moment, motioned forwards with his bow and arrow, and Eternal turned her back on him to continue guiding through the forest.
After a few moments of silence, Eternal paused to peek through the trees, and she listened carefully for the hum of the electric fences. Red Arrow appeared next to her, and she couldn't help but feel that aggravated feeling rise in her chest she had whenever she was near him.
"How did your mother know Luthor?" Red suddenly asked. Eternal's eyes shot wide open, and she turned her head towards Red with an incredulous expression on her face. Red just looked back at her with wide eyes, and shrugged.
"Really? Now? You want to question me, right now?" She snarled as she roughly shoved Red Arrow. To his surprise, her strong push nearly knocked him off balance. He shot a fierce look at her, and then huffed as he turned back to look out the opening in the trees.
"I can hear the fences." Eternal whispered to herself. "Which means they're turned them all the way up tonight. Brilliant." Red Arrow cast his gaze over the fence, which after a moment's listening, he also confirmed that he could hear the electric buzz.
"How far up would all the way up be, exactly?" Red asked as he searched for a weak point, or something he could shoot at to turn the fence off. He found nothing, but when he looked back towards Eternal, she could see her staring at the top of one of the brick columns of the fence.
"Enough to kill an adult elephant," She replied bluntly as she squinted at the column. She nodded towards the columns, and Red Arrow followed her gaze. "The tops of the columns have metal coverings at the top." She held up her hands in and created the shape of a circle. "But they're circular, leaving the corners bare."
"So we're going to use less than an inch's worth of space to climb over this fence?" Red Arrow asked sarcastically. Eternal narrowed her eyes at him, and then without another word, she sprinted towards the fence.
"Eternal wait-" Red Arrow stopped short when he watched with amazement as Eternal jumped into the air, climbed to the top of the column, and then did the most graceful back hand spring off the column by the tips of her fingers. She landed silently on the other side of the fence, and began to sprint away.
Red suddenly became furious, and was about to chase after her when the comm. in his ear chirped quietly, and her voice came through.
"Stay put. I'll shut off the fence. You're too bulky to pull off a stunt like that." She whispered as she ran through the large garden, keeping a close eye out for any more security measures. She paused behind a statue of Lex's grandmother to hold her finger to her comm. and take another shot at Red's abilities. Red was already steaming at her last comment, and she knew another would get him riled up enough to possibly get himself shocked.
"And I wouldn't want you to drop all of your precious arrows now would I?" She whispered as she peeked around the corner of the statue, and focused her eyes on statue across the garden that also doubled as an electric fence. As Red Arrow crossed his arms like a child, and quietly whispered swears at Eternal's well being under his breath, Eternal turned on the stealth vision on her mask, and studied the lasers that surrounded the switch. She smirked.
How easy. She thought to herself as she ran towards the lasers, and dove through them, evading them all with one swift movement.
She quickly opened the fake statue, and shut of the system with a quick hack that would make the computer believe that it was still up and running. Once Red Arrow no longer heard the humming sound coming from the fence, he quickly climbed over it, and made his way to the gardens.
Once he found Eternal, who had moved to a statue of Lex Luthor himself, she pointed towards the glass windows above them.
"So how are we-?" Red Arrow whispered. The back of Eternal's hand shot up in front of his face, and he have a quiet growl as she turned around and glared at him. She then held a finger to her lips, and motioned for him to follow.
With a blink of an eye, Eternal vanished, and Red Arrow looked around the gardens, now alarmed at the sudden disappearance of his comrade. A small whistle came from above him, and he looked upwards towards the ledge above. Eternal was crouched upon it, a bored look on her face. Her eyes narrowed at the eye contact, and Red Arrow aimed his grappling arrow at the spot a few inched from her head, and fired before Eternal could confirm if he was aiming directly at her or not.
When the arrow lodged itself in the wall next to Eternal, she growled quietly, but did not move a muscle as she rope pulled taught, and Red Arrow pulled himself up.
"Ass." Eternal muttered loud enough for him to hear before pulling out her knives again, and climbing up the wall. Red Arrow glared at her, and looked for the best place to fire his next arrow.
Red Arrow let loose his arrow, and as he glided up the wall past Eternal, he immaturely shot her a rude gesture, and without warning, she snatched his ankle, and hitched a free ride off of him. Red grunted slightly at the sudden added weight, but did not speak; they were too close to possible contacts to risk giving away their position.
As the two of them pulled themselves onto the roof, Eternal gave a quiet chuckle. Red Arrow shot her a look.
"Skylight." She whispered as she pointed ahead of them. As the two of them moved towards it, Red Arrow couldn't help but notice how his footsteps crunched because of the tiny rocks on the flat roof, and Eternals were still silent- as if she were walking on carpet.
Eternal made it to the skylight first, and began unscrewing the dome carefully with one of her knives, pausing every few turns or so to listen for any alarms. Her mask didn't show any kind of security activity at the moment, so she continued. Red Arrow hesitated, and then pulled out an arrow, and began to do the same.
Soon enough, and without raising any alarms, they were able to remove the skylight dome from the roof.
"I'm going in." Red announced in a whisper as Eternal scanned the room. Just as Red Arrow jumped inside, Eternal's eyes widened in panic, and she let out a loud whisper in protest as she snatched Red Arrow by his quiver, and grunted loudly as she tried to not fall into the room with him. Red Arrow grunted as well with his sudden stop, and then quickly looked around him, and then up at Eternal with a fierce look in his eyes.
"What are you doing?" He hissed, his teeth clenched as he spoke. Eternal glared at him, and tightened her grip on his quiver.
"Ever stop and think about checking for infrared lasers, Red?" She snarled in a whisper as she adjusted her grip once more. She hadn't gotten a very good hold on him, and that wasn't helping her since she didn't have much to hold onto to keep herself on the roof.
Red was about to make a retort at Eternal's statement, and then stopped short when he realized the terrible mistake he had made.
"And to think, you were trained by a member of the Justice League." She said with a sarcastic tone dripping from every word. Red Arrow shot another fierce look at her, and she just glared back.
Before he could say another word, Eternal began to speak again.
"You have one chance to make it past the lasers. I've got to swing you towards the bookcase, where I can only hope you make a solid landing." She whispered with an expression of impatience on her features. Red Arrow narrowed his eyes at her again, and crossed his arms, causing Eternal to huff loudly, look away, and adjust her hold on him again. She was only holding him by two fingers.
"Or I can drop you, and leave you here while I make my escape." She groaned quietly as she gritted her teeth, still looking away from Red Arrow, who was tempted to wriggle his way free and just shoot Eternal through the eye with an arrow… or five.
"Just start swinging." Red Arrow seethed as he tried to ignore Eternal's quiet swearing under her breath.
Without warning, Eternal started moving him back and forth, gaining momentum, and within three swings, she released him without a word, and Red Arrow had to quickly compose himself in order to avoid the lasers.
Eternal then gave a quiet cough to get the man's attention, and he turned to her with a huff. She pointed directly at a book with a red spine, and imitated the motion of taking the book off of the shelf, and opening it. Red Arrow slowly copied her motions, and discovered as soon as he opened the book that it contained another one of Luthor's keypads, and shot a look up at her.
How did she know that? He thought as he glared. He watched her carefully as she signed out the numbers to type in, and then carefully typed them in just as she had signed them, and he looked up to confirm that the lasers had shut off- but Eternal had disappeared.
"Better than I thought you would do." She whispered from behind him, causing his insides to jump. But of course, outside, he was as collected as he always was. Red turned around with a glare, and shoved the keypad towards her.
"How did you know the code?" Red snarled at her. She tapped her temple, and then reached down at the keypad to type in another code, except this one was over ten characters long.
"I've spied on this household many times before." She said, and then nodded upwards towards the skylight without looking away from the keypad- she was still typing in codes. Red assumed that she was disarming most of the house's security system. "That skylight give me a perfect view of Luthor or his lawyer Mercy typing in codes." Red Arrow seemed to tense at the name Mercy, and Eternal looked up from the keypad, her eyebrow raised at her comrades sudden change of demeanor. She gave him a once over, and he felt it, which caused him to look back towards her.
"What?" He hissed. Oh, well someone took a bite to the ass. Eternal thought as she glowered at him.
"Something bothering you?" She whispered in return as she looked back down at the keypad, and typed in another code. Her mask alerted her that the motion sensors in the sanctum below them had been deactivated.
Red Arrow hesitated to speak, but then sighed quietly, and rubbed his face with his hands.
"I think I know Mercy." He said quietly underneath his hands. Eternal suddenly stopped typing, and looked up. The way he said her name…. it sounded far too familiar for her liking. She gave him a quizzical look.
"The android?" She questioned. Red suddenly looked confused. Eternal continued. "She looks incredibly life-like. Blonde hair, great body, the whole package." Her voice held a bit of sarcasm as she spoke, but she could feel Red Arrow relax slightly next to her, which made her wonder- How many Mercy's could be wandering around Star City. "Terrible social skills though." She finished with a mumble as she typed in the last code.
The staircase behind Red Arrow suddenly, and loudly, shrunk back into the wall, causing him to whip around, and aim his arrow forward.
Once the bookcase finished its painfully slow slide to the left, and disappeared behind the bookcase next to it, a light flicked on before them, then another, and another until the entire staircase was lit before them.
Red Arrow narrowed his eyes, and then took a step forward, intending to lead the two of them down the stairs. But before he could continue, Eternal's arm shot out in front of him, and he was forced to stop. When he turned to glare at her, she was watching him for a moment, her white eye slits slightly wide.
"Ladies first." She whispered before lowering her arm, and then leading the way down the stairs. Red Arrow huffed quietly to himself, and then after a moment, followed Eternal down the stairs. Soon after Red Arrow followed Eternal, the bookcase gave a sudden jerk, and closed behind them. Eternal did not acknowledge this, but Red Arrow stopped, turned around, and swore a bit too loudly for Eternal's taste, causing her to turn around and glare at him.
"Do you mind?" She said at a normal volume. She knew that the walls were sound proof, but she also knew that the question would infuriate Red Arrow, who whirled around, and gave Eternal an incredulous expression, and pointed his finger at the door.
"Our only way out just closed behind us, Eternal. You got a plan for that?" He spat, causing Eternal's expression to go from a playful scolding, to downright bored.
"I noticed, Red Arrow." Eternal's nonchalant tone made Red Arrow want to rip her face off. "It opens when the sensors at the bottom of the stairs detect a presence leaving the sanctum-" Red Arrow was about to interrupt her, and she held up her hand to stop him. "Which I've already set for it to wipe all files from the systems hard drive so that our little visit here is never recorded, in case you were concerned…" She turned around, and continued down the stairs, one of her kukris drawn as a precaution, and Red Arrow shot her back a fierce look, and then aimed his arrow forward as he walked down the stairs, just over Eternal's head.
The door at the bottom of the stairs slid open, and Eternal tensed in her place. Red Arrow wasn't close enough yet to see what had caused the seasoned hero to stop, but he could feel Eternal's demeanor change quickly, and waited for her signal.
"Red…" Eternal's voice sounded slightly different, less confident, and more… worried. This change in the tone of her voice set off an internal alarm in Red Arrow, and he approached her slowly.
"What is…. It…." He nearly dropped his bow and arrow, and his face grew pale. He finally got a good look at the walls of the sanctum.
"Is she…?" He couldn't finish his sentence. Eternal couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight before them.
"Alive?" Eternal's voice only came out in a whisper, and she swallowed hard as she slowly walked forwards towards the cold metal table with the sad excuse for a mattress the woman was laying on. Eternal had to resist the urge to smooth the woman's hair, or touch her skin, for she might wake up. "I don't know, Red." She whispered again. "I don't know."
-0-
Who do you think it is?
Okay, so, you guys made me kind of sad these past two chapters. I like hearing from all of you, but I've only seen one or two reviews stemming from the last two chapters.
So, let's up the ante a little. Say, four reviews for this chapter, and I'll update? ;)