Chapter 188: Forces At Work Part 2

Less than a minute had passed since Rose witnessed the odd creature disappear into Raven's room. The first thing she felt was worry, as there was no guarantee that the two strange beings who arrived wouldn't kill the kid.

"Shit," she cursed under her breath, looking ready to make a move. But a moment later, Raven's window opened, and the strange-looking creature came out, with an unconscious Raven being carried under one of its arms.

Rose couldn't see this clearly, so she quickly raised her binoculars and zoomed in. Only then did her worry dwindle, despite the appearance of a creature she had never seen before.

"Never a dull moment in this line of work. Anyway, this works better if the kid is unconscious," she sighed before quickly lowering her binoculars and crouching down to pick up the rifle she was in the midst of assembling.

With the creature slowly descending from the 66th floor, Rose quickly made the final adjustments to her rifle before reaching for the duffel bag and taking out a small cache of silver-like bullets. She then took out two, slotted them in, and aimed down her sights.

"First shot, to track," she muttered before taking a deep breath and lining her shot onto Raven.

Less than a second later, she pulled the trigger. A silenced shot flew out and struck Raven at a slightly exposed spot on the back of her neck. The bullet hit Raven with needle-like precision, but given the distance between her and the creature, it noticed and heard a strange noise.

Before it could investigate, Rose lined up her next shot and fired, this time purposely missing. 

Once again, the noise rang out, this time whizzing past the creature's face, grazing its cheek before impacting the wall with a tiny spark.

"Hm!" The creature was stunned and immediately looked into the distance, where Rose was standing proudly at the top of the building, wanting to be seen.

The other creature, still posing as a man below, noticed the odd situation and also looked toward Rose before panic set in.

"??????" it soon yelled up at the creature holding Raven, speaking in a language that Rose couldn't even comprehend.

Whatever was said, the creature descended faster, not caring about the noise it created. It quickly entered the vehicle and drove off.

Rose observed this without flinching. Instead, she reached for a metallic pouch strapped to her left thigh and took out a device, which soon flashed on and showed a bright green dot flashing and moving across a real-time map of Gotham.

"Same shit, just a different race," she muttered. Seeing that her plan had worked perfectly, her concerns about the plan's success dwindled.

…

At the same time, away from all the drama and schemes, a different set of troubles lingered in the night. 

Just two buildings over, in a separate dormitory on floor 70, room 70, Barbara Gordon was lying on her bed, leaning against its frame while holding a cell phone in one hand. Its screen read "ringing," and soon, it clicked on.

"Hello, Barbara?" a voice answered.

"Hey, Terra. I saw your missed call. Sorry, I've been busy with class and assignments today and only got back a little while ago. Isn't it late over there?"

"It is, but I already slept earlier because I was supposed to have a flight soon, but things changed," Terra's voice carried its usual distant tone when talking to others.

Terra and Barbara weren't really friends, but Terra chose to make it seem so and get closer to her via Arias's instructions. 

As for Barbara, she didn't lack friends, but she did lack friends who knew about her secrets—the only girl her age being Terra. 

The two found common ground and spoke on occasion, but it had yet to bloom into a solid friendship.

"Oh? How come? I thought you were supposed to be here by tomorrow to meet your dad?" Barbara, wanting to distract herself from the worries troubling her mind, also chose to listen and speak to Terra more, hoping it would shed light on what kind of person Arias was.

Unbeknownst to each other, both were trying to use the other for information, thinking they had the upper hand.

Barbara always thought herself smarter than those her age and even most adults. This nature of hers led her to becoming infatuated with Bruce; his intellect, charisma, and purpose were unlike anything she'd seen—until Arias appeared.

In turn, Terra also thought herself to be much smarter and less naive than her peers. She could easily fool others with a mask of pity surrounding her past and even her ascension to the heir of Markovia. In reality, she felt no remorse and only looked to please the person who had given her a different life—Slade. However, this was slowly changing to Arias, and even she couldn't realize it.

"I was, but Mercy suddenly canceled the flight, saying Dad doesn't want the media bombarding me with questions over the recent allegations. It's so unfair…" Perhaps for the first time since the two met, Terra showed some weakness and sadness in her voice to Barbara.

Barbara couldn't help but feel for Terra and ask, "Oh, I'm sorry. I know it's probably a lot to take in."

Barbara's words were genuine, and so were her feelings of guilt regarding her choice to use this suffering person for her own investigations.

"I know he's not my real father, but he's the one who gave me everything when I had nothing. It hurts so much seeing him get thrown dirt at just for trying to help people like me, who felt lost," Terra continued, her act flawless, though not even Arias had told her to perform it.

Yet, she found herself eager to bring him results and show she could provide more than what was asked of her.

In turn, her words made Barbara feel even worse about herself. So, she quickly made up an excuse, her conscience craving an end to the conversation.

"I'm sure everything will work out, and people will realize the truth. Look, Terra, I've got early classes tomorrow, but I promise I'll call the second I'm free."

"No problem. Sorry if I sound like a pain. Probably pathetic for a princess, huh? It's just, I've never really had a friend I could talk to openly, so thanks. Good night, Barbara."

Click!

Not giving Barbara time to react, Terra cut the call immediately, leaving Barbara feeling far more guilty than before the conversation had started.

…

Meanwhile, Rose was also wrapping up her little operation. 

It had led her to an abandoned apartment building in one of Gotham's former crime dens. She observed it from the highest floor of another building, using the cover of night to go unnoticed through the windows. 

Rose was inside a rotting room, shrouded in darkness, but her expression remained casual as she leaned against a wall and took out a miniature drone. 

She simply tossed it into the air, and it sprouted little wings, now looking like a silent fly.

"I don't like where this is going," she sighed before taking out a separate device, the size of a tablet, with the drone's controls on its screen, as well as night vision footage of what it saw, live.

Without wasting time, she seamlessly piloted the drone into the target building and began her search. Before long, she found that the two unknown beings had taken Raven to the building's basement, where a terrifying scene awaited.

Seeing the footage, Rose couldn't help but frown.

Within the room, numerous fleshy bodies hung from the ceiling, some still dripping blood onto the floor. 

At the basement's center, a strange altar of sorts was present, and it was there that Raven's figure could be seen slouching against a pillow.

As for the two creatures, they began to draw strange symbols all over the ground while reciting mysterious words. 

Rose had seen many things and knew such practices existed from her father, but it was her first time witnessing it herself. 

She tapped the earpiece she wore and spoke with concern. "Uh, boss, are you seeing this feed?"

Click.

"I am. Keep observing and be ready to step in if needed. I'll be there soon."