Chapter 187: Forces At Work Part 1

That same night, as many events were unfolding, another situation began to arise, right within Gotham. 

Rose had been investigating any students who posed a potential threat to the foundation of the academy, and thus far, her case had led her to conducting extensive background checks and history investigations. However, her current case was rather odd. It had led her back to the Ark Academies themselves, or to be more precise, to its outer areas.

She stood atop a building not too far away from the Ark Academies' dormitories, with a pair of binoculars in hand. 

"Let's see what we have here," she muttered as she brought the device to her one functional eye and looked through it.

It was then that she saw a close-up of the many lit windows of the student dorms. However, given the fact that Arias had built the Ark Academies to be incredibly secure, she could see nothing clearly. 

*What a pain in the ass. Maybe I should just ask the boss to—* Quickly lowering the binoculars in irritation, she was about to think of alternatives when, all of a sudden, something caught her eye.

"Well, well, guess it won't be such a boring night." A smile flashed across her face as she saw a dark sedan driving along the road near the wall. 

That on its own wasn't strange, but the car's speed aroused a sense of suspicion within her. Her gut feeling would soon prove right as the car screeched to a stop, and the two front doors swung open.

Seeing this, she raised her binoculars again and looked through them to see who was coming out. She saw two older men with very strange appearances. 

That alone didn't cause her to act, and she continued to watch as they both looked up, clearly toward the dormitory building on the other side of the wall. 

*Are they staking the place out?* Rose thought. Seeing no gear, she quickly assumed that these two were just some wannabe meta-traffickers who wanted to kidnap a child. Stupid, yes, but not impossible.

Her suspicion, though, was quickly shattered when one of the two men jumped off the ground and onto the wall, clinging to it like some sort of lizard. 

*What the fuck? How come the sensors didn't pick them up?* Rose questioned oddly, having deep knowledge of the security that surrounded the Ark Academies.

Among the measures were sensors that could detect the use of meta-human abilities nearby, which would, in turn, alert the on-campus security force. But here, right in front of her eyes, an unknown man was about to break into the academy. Their security had been compromised. She knew it wasn't impossible to break through, but she didn't expect it to be done so easily. 

*Damn it.* With this new variable, Rose couldn't decide the outcome herself. So she quickly lowered her binoculars and reached for her satellite phone, still keeping an eye on the vehicle and the lone man standing beside it now.

Within a few seconds, her phone connected.

"Yes?" Arias's impatient voice resonated from it. He, too, was in the midst of dealing with the problem that had arisen mere hours ago.

Rose didn't mind the tone and just reported her findings. "...and if I don't act now, it's more than likely they'll manage to snag what they came for."

Hearing the description of the situation, Arias remembered encountering such an odd pair before, but he couldn't be sure, so he asked, "Which child are you currently investigating?"

"Rachel Roth. Everything about her is off. Forged birth records, no family tree, more than 10 years of unregistered information—it's like she didn't exist until not too long ago. I was planning to stake out her room when this happened," Rose quickly explained, shedding light on Arias's suspicions.

"So there is a connection. I see. Alright then, for now, I need you to let them accomplish their goal, then observe and track the vehicle. You're free to employ the use of on-campus security forces, so ensure you don't lose them. We need to know just what is at play here," Arias instructed clearly and simply.

"Roger that. And if the kid is in danger?" Rose inquired, seeking clarity in case things went south.

"As long as it's not fatal, allow it."

"Copy that." Click.

With that final confirmation, Rose received her new orders and acted accordingly, immediately putting away her binoculars and pulling over a duffel bag nearby.

*And people call me heartless,* she scoffed upon thinking of Arias's demeanor, though she had no qualms about it. 

A job was a job to her. Without wasting time, she unzipped the bag, revealing numerous disassembled pieces of a rifle.

Keeping an eye on the vehicle, she began assembling it.

…

At the same time, in the opposite building, on the 66th floor of the girls' section, Raven was making her way to the last room on that floor—room 66. 

Her expression lacked joy, and she looked devoid of any form of care as she nonchalantly walked into her room and let her bag drop off her shoulders. 

The room carried a dark blue aesthetic, with many odd pieces of art and décor of a somewhat gothic nature. 

She immediately walked over to what was supposed to be a study table, now turned altar of sorts, and lit the candles on its sides. 

She repeated this for all the candles in the room until finally stopping at the center, where she sat down cross-legged and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and falling into meditation. 

*Control your emotions, control your emotions,* she whispered to herself inwardly, until her whispers became but a distant echo. 

A faint, ethereal glow now surrounded her figure as her body began to slightly hover above the ground. 

Unbeknownst to her, at that same moment, a gloomy figure lurked right outside her window. The figure, which had once been a man, had slowly lost more and more of its features until it now resembled an otherworldly existence. 

It—or rather, he—now had dark crimson skin and a body resembling that of an imp from demonic mythology. It soon stretched its claws to the window, and its hand seemed to phase through it.

Its entire body silently slipped into the building, moving past the dark curtains and finally seeing Raven's figure, absorbed in meditation. 

Upon seeing her, it raised an oddly shaped stone of sorts and slowly approached from behind. Once close, it held the stone tightly in its grip, causing a bright surge of red energy to erupt, striking Raven's back. 

"Ahh!!" Raven's body jolted as she screamed in pain and confusion, feeling her whole body go numb before she collapsed to the ground.

Panic rose in her heart, and before she could question anything, she saw the impish feet approaching her head, along with a daunting voice. 

"Kekeke, your father awaits you."