18 Lies And Half Truths

(Cheshire POV)

Being the daughter of a known assassin/hitman is not as glamorous as most would think. There was no hitman with a heart of gold under that mask and body armor, just a man who wanted to make use of my mother's skills and had my sister and me as a result of too many nights drunk on money and booze.

Sportsmaster had gotten "better" after joining up with the light, but only because none of his bosses would allow him to be drunk on the job. And while I received training and a chance to eventually beat him in a fight, I also learned how much you lose from this job. In addition to the injuries, you also can lose your name, your soul, and your individuality.

The prominent light members are royalty, genius inventors, monsters, or something else. While I have only met Ra's and Luthor in person, the others are less than welcoming as Queen Bee looks ready to smile at you while poisoning your drink, Ocean Master is a wanna-be king, Klarion is just an inhuman monster, the Brain lost his humanity and his emotions a long time ago, and Sportsmaster is just their muscle.

After three years of training with the shadows starting at age 12, I suffered and bled for every single advantage. From assassination to seduction, and when you have someone like Talia teaching, you learn fast, or you get a knife to the stomach before you can even blink.

But then something changed. A single boy who looked no older than 17 arrived looking skinnier than a bean pole and less experienced than a basic initiate. Yet after only sixteen days of training in martial arts, stealth, and other disciplines, they decided to send him on a mission. But I knew better; this was a test for the new guy as to whether or not he was willing to go all the way. Although even I feel unnerved by his presence like he is simply waiting for something.

His empty eyes sometimes shine red and then disappear as if they were never there, and what also makes him different is how controlled he is. Not in the way that he is a robot to be ordered around but how much self-control he has, like every step is calculated and every movement is made so precise you'd think he'd been training his entire life.

I sometimes watched the footage of him and Shiva fighting and sparring, and with the amount of force behind their punches and kicks, you would think they were trying to kill each other. 

What's even more messed up is that Shiva, a girl whom I had never even seen smile, was talking to him like an equal. He even made my Father slip up, even if he was underestimating him.

So now I have sat here and watched him meditate for hours on end, more still than a rock, yet the longer he did it, the more nervous I felt. I could never show such a thing, and I actually thank my Father for the mask, but those eyes are something I can't unsee.

If it were up to me, I would off the kid and be done with it, but Ra's may be getting senile after so many Lazarus pit dips. Not to mention how Sensei is essentially lauding this kid as his next official student.

For now, though, it's time to see how he deals with an official mission. We have our orders and a location, so let's see this new guy in action. As the plane landed, he opened his eyes, and I swear that his eyes were a deep yellow, but they soon returned to normal. With the door outside opening, he gestured for me to leave, which made me chuckle.

"Such a gentleman and people say chivalry is dead." My response only makes him shrug as he says.

"We are about to enter a civilian area, and I need to change, and I assume you do not want to watch." He then heads into another room on the plane. I sigh at his stale response. Take any other guy, and they would either be robotic or falling over themselves.

For him, though, it's not robotic or lacking in experience but simple indifference. It almost makes me a bit peeved at his lack of response to my teasing, but I am not a teenage girl, so I shake it off.

After leaving the plane in my civies, I wait a minute, and he comes back out, to which I comment, "Wow, who knew you had a face? I thought you only had a mask."

The deadpan stare is enough for me. While I was saying this, his looks surprised me as he looked nowhere near the kid they brought in before. While not overly muscular, he had the physique of a god that had been born to greatness.

So, as he found the car we were given, he opened the door as Ia asked, "Are you even old enough to drive?" He then reached into his pocket and pulled out an "official" driver's license, which had the name Loid Mercer on it. And I knew my Father made it so that he had a license, and I did not.

"I have prior experience driving vehicles at my previous job, and even though it was mostly supply trucks, I can drive a car easily." So, as he got to the passenger seat, I entered it, and he put the key in the ignition, and we left the private hangar. Gotta love Ra's making more investments than people fail at a lottery.

"So, since you are the leader of this mission, what's the play? We go in loud? Quiet? And at what time?" The questions, while pertinent, made me want to mess with him a bit.

"That is for you new guy to find out, or would you like it if I called you Loid?" He then turned to me, and with a smile on his face, he responded.

"Well, considering the location is outside of the city and based on the camera footage we received, they don't have any hostages other than some of our men. We should go in quiet as the last thing we need is triggered, cultists." I nodded as he asked.

"Are you planning on going in with me, or do you want to stay outside and keep watch?" While I would want to go in with him, I had other orders.

"I'll keep watch when we arrive. Someone has to make sure that those crazies don't have friends coming to the party. Take care of them as you see fit." He nodded and turned his attention back to the road, and as we entered some traffic, I played some music on the stereo, to which he switched the channel.

Smiling to myself, I changed it back to the electronic music I liked as he changed it back to classic pop, to which I did it again, and he said, "Am I going to need to keep you in the backseat? I will stop the car, young lady." I almost took out my sai at that as he smirked.

That expression, that smile, and narrowed eyes made me want to stab him, but seeing as he was driving the car, I took a breath and put it away as he changed the channel back. "Electronic music isn't good for the ears, you know? And I am not a fan myself."

"Your tastes are about as boring as you are. Electronic music is the future of music." He simply sighs as he says.

"Just because it's new doesn't mean it's better, and you can never beat the classics. While many modern songs will be forgotten, most of the classics people can still remember off the top of their heads. It's not always about style but substance. You can have both, which can make it even better, but a song that reaches people will always be better than a song with more noise than sense." It's like talking to an old man, I swear.

"You know, you really should talk to the demon's head. I believe he would be a fan of such opinions. Are you really 18? You seem ten times older." He simply remains silent but says quietly.

"It does feel like that sometimes, doesn't it?" he then takes a breath and seems a tiny bit more vulnerable than before as he comes to a stop at an intersection. The silence becomes heavy, but before I can say anything, he beats me to it.

"You can change the channel, but if I hear you start playing N'Sync, I am throwing you out." I then smile and change the channel as I sit back in my seat and place my feet on the dash.

Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

(Nathan POV)

It's almost amazing how people can over-read an expression, as I've been mimicking stale body language for hours now, and with one purposeful flinch or chink in the armor, they believe they have you all figured out.

 The key is to fill in half-truths with lies, as people like her are essentially wired into believing that no one is ever truly telling the truth, and when you do tell the truth, it almost seems to trip them up.

I've already come to the conclusion that I can never trust a single person around me yet, and it's almost laughable how edgy that sounds, but it is true in this case as well. My mastery over the virus has become more prominent and much more efficient after devouring the NZT. It's almost made me realize how precarious my situation is.

While I am surrounded by enemies, I am also fighting myself. Thankfully, the essence of the inviolate self is keeping me from truly losing myself as well as repairing my fractured memories. I truly desire to finish these templates as quickly as possible and probably assimilate Roku, as I require a spiritual equalizer to all of this negativity and cynicism.

Actually, I do hope I get a therapist to summon for later as my summons can never truly betray me, nor reveal information pertaining to me or my goals or any personal information I reveal to them. 

And while that may seem a bit counterintuitive as since they are loyal, it would be like talking to a robot, but I know better. Also, as summons are pre-programmed to be loyal, it doesn't mean that they can't judge me for what I do and the decisions I may make.

 I would never try to enforce my will over them, but for others, it may be necessary, like Ra's and Talia's, as they are too set in their ways to change. It's not as if I would ask them to become Heroes but to use their resources and their intellect for Pursuits that really matter. We exist in a universe of Gods and Monsters, and they would play political games like Monopoly.

 It surprises me that even Vandal Savage would suffer such close-mindedness. He has had thousands of years to make his mark on the world, yet in every life, he seems to just be some type of conqueror or someone of great political influence. But I understand that there are things that just can't be planned for, like Lords of chaos or external factors beyond our world coming here.

During my training, I watched small videos that revealed some Heroes coming out to the limelight, like Green Lantern and the Flash. And when I see videos of them saving people, it almost makes me feel weak to feel happy for them, as even after everything that's happened, I am still an admirer of theirs. It is a point of weakness, and I know that, but even after everything, such irrationalities are innate to all life.

I can still feel a mental smile on my face as I recall that one episode From Justice League where the Flash gets Ultra-Humanite to get Christmas presents for kids. Or when he gets the trickster, who in that universe is just a broken man, some semblance of help.

The drive itself lasted for an hour as the base lay outside the town of Salem, but I could feel through the force the pure amount of negativity here. I could almost feel the devil on my shoulder in the form of Palpatine chuckling in anticipation of what I was going to do.

Regardless of what happens, I am going to have to kill them not only for moral reasons but for the necessity to keep up the lie, but no matter how much I try to sugarcoat it, I am going to a place to kill people. I would never have even considered such things before.

The influence of the dark side tells me that I am superior to them and that their choices would lead them to this, and I am the only one doing what is necessary to gain greater power. While the virus mostly agrees with it, it also promotes the fact that I would be able to consume them to gain even more power as well as memories. It brings me shame to admit that I could not totally refute them.

But enough self-reflection as I place the car a mile away from the base, and we get out and place our suits on, and as we make our way through the forests towards the base, the negativity only grows in size and volume as I almost feel sick being near it. 

Cheshire doesn't seem to be having much of a problem, but it may be because she is closed off to such things. But that adaptation may be a result of early humans not desiring to feel such things, as long-term exposure to such energies can lead to disastrous effects.

Arriving at the entrance to the base, it was disguised as an abandoned logging company under a shell organization owned by Ra's. I can see the bodies of the guards here strung up along the outside walls.

In blood on the door, it reads:

"Abandon all hope ye who enters here. For here we bring death to the earth."

"Real subtle of them. Well, since we're here, this is all you new guy. I would wish you good luck, but I feel like it would be insincere." She is right, as I would not even accept a thanks from here without thinking it was a lie.

And as she disappears into the forest, I finally feel prepared enough to let loose a bit, and as the blacklight flows through my veins, I enter the facility through a vent in the roof.