Chapter Eighteen: Hunting in the Darhk.
A normal looking facility which made cold medicine was a front for something else, at least according to Ivo. Nyssa looked over from her hiding spot and saw the workers. Most of them looked to be about nine to five types, all of them blissfully unaware of what was really going on in this factory.
Harry verified Ivo's information was true by reading his mind. They grabbed every single bit of information they could before sending Ivo on his way. The professor's corpse was shark bait, and Nyssa couldn't help but think he deserved his fate quite nicely. Someone who would willingly work with a cockroach like Damien Darhk, they deserved everything they got and then just a little bit more.
That horrific man in the basement was the pinnacle of Ivo's experiments. Darhk manipulated his desperation to save his wife, but Ivo was no choir boy even before then. His lack of ethics made Nyssa sick to her stomach. About as much as the fact so much lost time had passed.
More time passed in the real world, then when Nyssa was on the island. She kept her eyes sharp for anyone. Sara and Harry stood back behind her. They were just waiting for their moment to step into the facility, and take a look.
Nyssa extended her finger and pointed towards a man who exited a very expensive looking sports car. He moved past the men and said something Nyssa couldn't quite here.
"He said to make sure the shipment is ready by midnight," Harry said.
Nyssa tried to move in for a closer look, but this was a mission to see the scope of what Darhk was doing. They were manufacturing something here, although she didn't know what. She moved in towards the side entrances and moved closer towards the facility.
Both Sara and Harry followed. The guard has turned around, but if he moved to the side, then the cover would be blown. Harry was not going to let it happen. He leaned in and placed his fingers onto the neck of the guard. A nerve pulse went through the guard and forced him to stand up tight.
"He won't see anything which goes past for the next ten minutes," Harry said.
"And at the same time, no one will find him unconscious," Nyssa said. "Impressive."
Harry was full of all kinds of surprises. They made their way down towards the office at the end of the hallway. Nyssa motioned for Sara and Harry to stand back. She tried to open the door, but it would not budge. Two attempts to open it, and Nyssa pulled back.
Carefully, Harry traced a pattern around the keyhole. Once he had the light formed properly, a key manifested in his hand. Harry unlocked the door and the two of them stepped into the office.
Everything looked to be done on papers, no electronic records were left in this office whatsoever. Sara moved over to watch the door. The guard at the end of the hallway stood, blissfully unaware anyone had come down the hallway.
"I might have gotten something," Harry said.
He slapped the documents down on the desk. Nyssa leaned down and started to flip through them. She saw it too, information regarding some of Darhk's caches, maybe of weapons, maybe of money, she didn't quite know. He had cleared out this facility recently.
"Oh, we've hit the jackpot," Nyssa said. "And I believe he's keeping the virus here."
Now, Nyssa did wonder why Darhk didn't deploy the virus just yet. She had her fair share of theories as to why this didn't happen. She thought there were two components, but maybe there was something missing. Or maybe, Darhk intended to modify it to spread over a wider area and something like that took time.
"This matches up with what Ivo said, and so does this," Nyssa said. "How much time do we have left?"
"Three and a half minutes," Harry said.
Nyssa nodded in an agreeable manner. More than enough time to copy some of the more prominent names on Darhk's list and the addresses, onto a piece of paper. She had to move quickly, but Nyssa was used to writing quickly and making sure the writing was legible.
The writing had been copied down on the paper.
"We better move, quickly."
Sara nervously looked off to one side and could see the guard slowly coming to her senses. Harry grabbed both Nyssa and Sara by the hands and made sure all of the office was cleared up. They faded off into the darkness.
The next thing they knew, they were all standing outside of the office. Sara shook her head to try and clear the cobwebs. She felt like she was moved through a tube at hyper-speed, and then dropped down. At least she didn't eat anything heavy before dropping down onto the ground.
"That takes some getting used to," Harry said.
"I'd imagine," Sara said. She caught sight of the list and frowned. "I can't believe it, some of those names are just like the ones that were on the list."
She couldn't verify them completely because the list currently was safely jammed in the bag she was carrying. Harry charmed it so no one could pick it up, who would mean it harm, which suited Sara fine.
"Well, that makes it a high priority target, then," Nyssa responded. "We better keep moving through, we have a lot to get through, and not so much time to do it."
Nyssa planned to hit some of the softer targets first, to weaken Darhk just enough to cause him problems, without cluing him into the fact his men didn't finish the job when she crash landed on Lian Yu.
"So, where do you think we should go next?" Harry asked.
Nyssa consulted the information written down and thought about it for a couple of seconds before giving her answer. "This cache isn't guarded, and it's close by."
A very good chance existed, the cache was not guarded well, was because Darhk already cleaned out. Still, they had to start somewhere, and Nyssa intended to grab every single scrap of information possible before they headed off. And it was time for them to head out.
To be honest, Nyssa didn't get precisely what she wanted, but she got some information. And really, that was a very important and crucial thing. She would finally exterminate the blight which was Damien Darhk. Nyssa could feel it, he was not getting away, not this time.
Liv stretched out, her muscles were tense from what seemed like months away. Something else just didn't feel right, though, and she couldn't put her mind on exactly what didn't feel right.
'Okay, it could be because you're in a government facility, a top-secret black-ops one, which the public doesn't know of. And you have no real choice to help them.'
Liv stretched against the wall and reached to the sky. At least she had a clean change of clothes, a shower, and a nice, warm meal inside of her belly. That was progress which she could build on. Liv closed her eyes and took a deep breath before ascending and descending on the ground in her stretching exercises. Her tense muscles felt better, although she could really do with a good massage right now.
The door opened and she was on high alert instantly. Perhaps Liv was being paranoid, but coming face to face with the same woman who put a tranquilizer dart in her neck causes some pretty nervous moments.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you," Holly said. "Well, not now anyway."
"That's not exactly making me feel better," Liv responded.
"Come with me," Holly said. "Waller told me I was supposed to see if you had any real skills which we could use out there. And she seems to think you could be good for something."
Liv just shrugged and followed Agent Granger into the sparring room. Agent Tonks currently sat on the edge of the bench, casually drinking a soda when watching the two move into place.
"So, are you here to help assess me as well?" Liv asked.
"No, not exactly," she said. "I'm here to make sure Holly doesn't get too out of control and hurt you too badly."
"Hey, the rookie can't cut it, then maybe she shouldn't be here," Holly said.
"Actually, I have no choice, I owe this Waller woman a favor," Liv said. "Because you stuck me in the neck with a tranquilizer and….."
Holly swept Liv's feet out from underneath her mid-sentence and caused her to slam down onto the ground. The government agent grabbed Liv's arm and folded it behind her head, forcing it down extremely hard. Holly pushed the pressure down onto the hard, going deeper and causing even more agony.
"The first lesson you should learn," Holly said. "Talking isn't a free action. Don't talk to your opponents, unless you're certain you have the advantage."
Holly let up on Liv and the second she was up, Holly nailed her in the ribs with a huge roundhouse kick. Liv had been flipped down to the ground and Holly wrapped her legs around Liv's arm, before pulling her into scissored armbar. Liv thrashed underneath the attack.
"Never think your opponent is showing pity on you…."
Liv tried to break out of the move and managed to break from Holly's grip. She was surprised of the escape. It just went to show you, when the chips were down, and desperation was afoot, anything could be done. Liv charged towards Holly and tried to nail her one more time.
A couple of punches had been avoided. Liv didn't know where she learned moves like that.
Holly swept Liv's legs out from underneath her and pushed her down onto the ground. She pressed down onto Liv, folding her legs back. The hold once again had been broke, and Liv threw herself behind a bag, which Holly almost kicked off of the wall in an attempt to knock Liv's head off.
'She's crazy, really crazy,' Liv thought. 'What the hell is this woman on anyway.'
Holly rushed towards Liv, and Liv grabbed the first weapon off of the wall to defend herself. A bow and a quiver full of arrows. She armed the arrow into the bow and shot forward.
The arrow pierced Holly's side and it caused her to step back in surprise. Liv dropped the bow and arrow and looked towards her.
"Oh, my god, I didn't think…"
The still bleeding Holly rushed towards Liv with a feral fury and knocked her down onto the ground. Liv rolled over and Holly put her arm underneath Liv's chin before forcing her down face first onto the mat.
"Your next lesson is never, ever, let up on an opponent when you have her down," Holly said. "You wounded me, you should have finished me off."
"Okay, Holly, you've proved your point!"
Liv thanked whoever would listen for the timely intervention of Agent Tonks. She pulled herself to a standing position, rubbing her throat. The light headed feeling meant she was a half of a second away from being choked out.
"Thanks, Agent Tonks," Liv said.
"Sorry about her, she wanted to see how good you were," Tonks said. "I think the arrow to the side really pissed her off, though."
"It's fine, merely a flesh wound," Holly said. "What you should have done as kept on the attack. You can't do that against an actual enemy, especially one who would sooner kill you. I went easy on you, kid."
Liv thought Holly's definition of going easy on a person and her definition of going easy on a person, they were two very different things. Regardless of the fact, Liv stood up as straight as possible. She had her fair share of bumps and bruises.
"If you're worried about a couple of bruises, you won't get very far," Holly said.
Tonks responded with a nod, even if her partner could show a little more tact about what she said. "As abrasive as Holly is, she's right. You worry about a couple of bruises, and you're not going to get very far, at all."
Amanda Waller stuck her head around the corner. "I need to see the three of you, in the briefing room, immediately."
When Amanda Waller said jump, most people normally said how high. Tonks decided to lead the way because it would be over soon. A bleeding Holly followed and Liv picked up the rear. All three women wondered what did Waller want with them. There were most certainly ideas, but none of they could even guess.
"Agent Granger, you're bleeding."
Holly turned towards Waller and did her best to stifle the bleeding.
"It's mostly slowed down," Holly said. "Just tell me what you wanted me to know, and if it's still a problem, I'll go to the medical wing to get it fixed up."
She wasn't looking forward to going to the medical wing by any means, but if Holly had to, she had to. Her sister, Dawn, likely would have been the one to patch her up, and Holly didn't know if she could stand Dawn's reaction if she found out Holly got injured by a lucky shot from a rookie.
"I'll get straight to the point, then," Waller said. "I trust all of you know who this man is."
A picture of a smug looking blonde man in a business suit appeared on the screen. Both Agent Tonks and Agent Granger responded with nods, even though Liv looked very confused.
"I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with him," Liv said.
"You will be, soon enough," Waller said. "His name is Damien Darhk. He's number five on ARGUS's ten most wanted fugitives in the world. His crimes are too immense and too lengthy to go over in a briefing. All you need to know, Agent Queen, is he's very dangerous, and you should do everything in your power, not to approach him."
Okay, fair enough, Liv wondered why they were talking about this dangerous man.
"Our problem is not so much about Darhk, but the people who are targeting him," Waller said.
"If he's so dangerous, then why would it be a problem?" Liv asked. "Wait, this isn't one of those bigger picture things the government likes to talk about, is it?"
"What do you think?"
Waller's non-answer, answered the question of Olivia Moira Queen. She folded her arms and wondered what kind of game they were in.
"Two of Darhk's known facilities, have been targeted in the past few days," Waller responded. "The attackers left no trace they were gone. It's uncertain whether or not Darhk knows those facilities are being targeted. My source inside HIVE says he has far more pressing matters to deal with?"
"Um, far more pressing matters?" Tonks asked. "Like making sure he keeps his hair in pristine condition?"
Liv cracked a smile, and Holly just groaned, shaking her head. Waller leaned in and gave a stern expression to all of the parties involved. They wilted underneath the iron gaze of the Director of ARGUS.
"Damien Darhk is not a joking matter, Agent Tonks," Waller said. "And before any of you ask, Darhk's other operations are on a need to know basis. You are to focus one thing, and that is determining who is behind these robberies."
"They left no clues behind," Holly said. "Is this some kind of ninja thing?"
"It would be very likely, given the enemies who Darhk has fought," Waller said. "You are being sent off to investigate, so I suggest you get your injuries patched up, Agent Granter."
Holly didn't say a single word. It was time to take her medicine. She moved towards the door, walking a little bit more gingerly than normal.
"She'll be okay, right?" Liv asked.
"Comes with the territory," Tonks said. "Nice shot, by the way."
"Thanks…..um….you know, all of this time, and I don't think I've ever heard your first name," Liv said.
Tonks smiled and looked towards her with a smile on her face. "Nor will you, Ms. Queen….you should get some rest. We leave early."
Liv nodded in response. She still felt more than left out in the dark. She couldn't help, but think there was something Waller was keeping from her, that even Tonks and Holly were keeping from her. It was awful being kept in the dark, about Darhk oddly enough.
Bad pun not really intended, Liv resolved to get as much rest as possible.
The first two factories had been a bust. Much as Nyssa predicted, Darhk cleared out those factories in a blink of an eye. Now, the trio made their way to the third facility on the list.
"Secret room," Harry told them. "Stand back."
Sara and Nyssa stood back with Harry working his magic, very literally in this case. Runes were traced on the walls. This Darhk dabbled in some kind of rudimentary mystical arts. Who would tutor such a man in those arts, Harry pretty much had no idea.
"Did you know Darhk dabbled in magic?" Harry asked.
"There had been rumors, but I didn't know how true they were," Nyssa said. "This poses a bit of a problem if it's true."
"Maybe," Harry answered when he kept working through the runes.
A bright light entered the room and the trio entered the room to take a look around. Nyssa noticed several boxes in the room and she moved over to crack one of them open. Diamonds, some rare gold coins, and a couple of priceless artifacts rested in the box.
"Are they cursed?" Nyssa asked.
"Well, only if you actively use them," Harry said.
Some of the artifacts were very damaged, and if they were used, they would cause plenty of issues. Harry frowned and kept studying some of the artifacts. He held up a sword, very familiar looking to him. Could it be? Could it have existed in this world?
"The Sword of Godric Gryffindor," Harry said. "Or whatever this world's equivalent is called."
"What's the significance of it?" Nyssa asked.
"It has the ability to destroy even the most powerful of magical enchantments, and magical creatures as well," Harry said. "In another lifetime, a long time ago, I used it to slay a fifty-foot long snake. A Basilisk."
"The great serpent which could kill with one stare, and has poison which can kill in seconds," Nyssa said. "Not that most live long enough to be bitten."
"I did, and I survived its venom," Harry said.
Nyssa honestly wasn't surprised. The power of the dragon grew stronger, with each passing retelling, with each telling of the story. No one would be surprised by anything which happened.
A book caught Harry's attention on the table. He noticed an inscription which said it was the property of J. Zatara, but obviously, Darhk had swiped it from the owner, or maybe the owner died, and Darhk managed to get his hands on it. Regardless, Harry sat down in front of the table and looked towards the book.
"It's a totem, Darhk is after it," Harry said. "He intends to channel the darkest of dark magic, amplifying his power through human sacrifice."
"That's not all," Sara said. "Look at this."
She pointed out a map lying on the table. Darhk, or someone, circled several key spots on the map, one of the spots was Lian Yu. Harry looked from the map to the page on the book detailing the totem. Could this have been the reason why Harry could not have forged magic on the island without help of the dragon medallion? Harry figured out this potentially could have been the case.
"Everything is just getting more complex," Harry said. "He's already got what he needs from this book if he left it here unattended."
One of the pages had been folded back and Harry flipped through the page in the book. He frowned and could see details regarding the seven ancient medallions.
"Darhk's after the medallions," Harry said.
"They are not his to hold," Nyssa said. "They belong to the Dragon and his chosen disciples."
Harry thought Darhk would disagree with this fact, but regardless, he looked over the items on the paper. The seven medallions, the Spider, the Serpent, the Phoenix, the Merfolk, the Tengu, the White Canary, and last, but not least, the Dragon. The evidence Darhk was after them all were on this paper.
And Harry suspected they held the key to the totem Darhk was also after. Otherwise, why would the Dragon medallion have restored his full powers on the island? Providing, of course, it was the totem, and it was on the island, and those things were blocking his powers.
One more surprise caught Harry's attention. He pulled out a box and inside the box, there were two vials of some kind of chemical inside of them. They were mostly drained, but just enough to show Harry there was something in there worth testing.
"Get everything out of here we can carry," Harry said. "We're going to have to burn this facility to the ground."
"Won't Darhk know we were here if we burned the facility down?" Sara asked.
Nyssa responded by shaking her head. "Not if we set it up, where it looks like an accident because one of the magical artifacts exploded."
"Oh, I don't think it would take too much to make that look like an accident," Harry said. "I'm going to have to get the two of you out of here, and then, I'll be right behind you."
Both nodded, trusting on what Harry was doing. Harry pushed the book, and the vials into a bag, while keeping the sword on his back.
The sword had been rumored to bring down gods. How true that was, Harry didn't know, but if it was that powerful, Harry most certainly would prefer it to be in his hands and not the hands of Damien Darhk.
"Be with you at the safe house in a minute."
Sara, Nyssa, and the riches they took from Darhk disappeared. Harry pulled one slightly bent and splintered staff out of the box. It already started to spark and hiss when Harry held it between his thumbs. This would work perfectly in destroy this place.
Harry pointed the sparking wooden staff at the ground and a bolt of energy shot from it. The energy incinerated the area where Harry stood. When Harry could verify the facility would be burned in magic fire, he disappeared to leave it to be destroyed, never once turning back.
One thing struck Harry as very interesting and that was the nerve agent he found. The vials on the table hissed when he pulled it out of the box. Harry reached underneath the table at the League Safe House and put it down on the table. He unshrank the equipment that he took on the AMAZO.
"Stand back," Harry told his two companions. "We're dealing with a highly unstable chemical here."
Harry placed the vial on the table without another word and opened the vial. A light green smoke poured out. Harry siphoned it away. The fumes didn't appear to be toxic, but appearances could be deceiving. He put a small drop of the chemical out on a slight.
The chemical hissed and burned through the slide. Harry frowned and took a closer look towards it.
"It's some kind of nerve agent," Harry said. "If I'm to guess, Darhk's intention is to cause the person he inflicts with it the worst pain possible."
Was Nyssa or Sara surprised? Not in the slightest to be honest. Harry removed a drop of his own blood and added it to the slide. The chemical reaction was very interesting to be perfectly honest.
"Actually, it might be the opposite," Harry said. "Darhk is creating an agent which will cause a person who is infected by it no pain whatsoever."
"So, it's useless?" Sara asked.
"Actually," Nyssa said. "If I'm correct, it causes a person to be completely unable to feel pain. Which isn't an ideal situation."
"It's actually quite devious," Harry concluded. "The nerve-endings of the victim are so hyper-sensitive that their ability to feel pain is shut down. Eventually, causing their minds to break, their internal organs to fail, and one of the worst, most painful deaths possible. It's very nasty."
"This is the component," Nyssa said. "It's the component which Darhk needs to spread the nerve agent across the planet."
"Which is why we need to track him down."
Three days, Ivo was due to give an update to one of the agents of HIVE. This was when Nyssa hoped, she would get this much closer to Darhk. They had been destroying some of the softer safe houses at first, although this one, it hit paydirt.
"I need to check something about this component."
Harry slipped off into the next room and left Sara and Nyssa alone with each other.
"Darhk's plans are greater than even my father knew," Nyssa said. "Men like him seek to be invincible…..but this power doesn't belong to him. It shouldn't belong to him. He's not worthy."
Just a cockroach, which was a word Nyssa kept mentally going back to. They would have three days to wait. There were other areas where they could attack, but they were too heavily occupied. It was curious why Darhk left an important artifact like this Sword of Godric Gryffindor, or whatever it was called lying around.
Unless, he was ignorant of the power which the sword held, and Nyssa would not be surprised if he is.
"So, are you ready to make your move?" Sara asked.
"Regarding, Darhk, yes, when I meet up with his associate in three days," Nyssa said. "I'll find out what he's up to now."
Sara folded her arms and listened for Harry's return. She turned back to Nyssa and started to open her mouth. Much to her surprise, Nyssa leaned in and touched her fingers on the edge of Sara's mouth to stifle the next words which came out of her mouth.
"I'm well aware you're not referring to Darhk," Nyssa said. "And I'm well aware you're referring to the debt I owe the Dragon, which I can never completely replay. And how he has a tendency to get into the head of women, and invade their minds, their thoughts, both conscious and subconscious."
Instead of giving Sara a chance to response, Nyssa leaned in and planted one passionate kiss on Sara. Sara closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of Nyssa's mouth on top of hers. The two of them pulled away from each other.
"I ask you one favor," Nyssa said. "Tonight, I want him alone."
"Of course," Sara said. "I wouldn't deny you that."
"Good, I'm glad," Nyssa said. "It's a lot to ask, but I certainly intend to make it up to you in the future. Given your prominence in his circle, it would be arrogant to think I outranked you, regardless of who my father is."
Nyssa knew she needed to settle matters now with the Dragon, with Harry, at least temporary. The images of what happened to Rose were a constant reminder in Nyssa's mind. Her stubbornness caused problems with the entire group.
Sara noticed the book which had been left open and her eyes traveled to the page detailing the Amulet of the White Canary. She looked at the depiction of the woman in the picture and saw how it could be her doppelganger. And maybe it was some kind of ancestor or something.
"You do resemble her," Nyssa said. "I thought it was obvious, but now seeing you next to the picture, is more obvious…..but we'll see if you're her avatar, once you get your hands on the medallion."
Flipping through the book, Sara noticed all of the avatars, sans the dragon, were female. Curious, but to be honest, it was oddly fitting.
"Let's worry about finding the other medallions when we find Darhk," Sara said. "Let's face it. He's after the medallions. If he gets in our way, it might make finding the rest of them difficult."
Shado mentioned they unlocked some great power, but she didn't mention there were individual people who held the amulets. She read a note about how the medallions were forged by the sacrifice of a thousand slain warriors, by four powerful mystics to give to the Dragon and his Generals.
Sara put the book away, and she saw Nyssa slip out into the evening. No doubt the powerful warrior woman prepared for tonight. Sara could not help, but smile.
The experiment would take a few hours before the results were clear to Harry. He made his way into his bed quarters, but it was occupied. Nyssa sat on the bed, dressed in some lacy green lingerie which matched Harry's eyes. She wore an opened robe, a corset top, with a green pair of lacy panties, green garter belt, and stockings which stretched all the way down her legs.
"I wondered."
"Great one, I don't think we should waste any time," Nyssa responded with a smile. "As you know, I have a debt to pay. And before we go out to take care of the blight of Damien Darhk, I insist you give me a chance to pay it."
Nyssa rose to her feet and moved across the room to meet with Harry. She reached in and placed a hand on his hip before leaning forward.
"If you would allow me to offer the oldest, most universal payment to serve our debt."
Nyssa leaned closer towards Harry, a flickering smile on her lips. She crossed the room, getting a little bit closer towards Harry. Harry reached up and stroked her hair. The silkiness of her hair brought a smile to Harry's face.
"Of course."
The two leaned together and their lips met together in a very sensual kiss. Nyssa's tongue sought entry into Harry's mouth and he opened his mouth to allow Nyssa to ease her way into his mouth. The kiss deepened and Harry maneuvered his tongue into the back of the mouth of the Daughter of the Demon. She gasped the very moment Harry slid his tongue into her mouth's depths.
Nyssa would have been lying if she said she wasn't a bit nervous. Her leg wrapped instinctively around Harry, and he slowly ran his hand down it. Nyssa closed her eyes to feel the pleasure of him. She never thought of a man this way.
The only thing was, though, this was no man, this was a god. Harry deepened the kiss and guided Nyssa down to the bed. His hands caressed her body and sent tingles down the spine.
"Don't worry, I can make you feel really good."
Nyssa couldn't help, but think she would be getting a lot out of this, despite being the one with the debt to hold. Harry's kisses deepened and moved all the way down Nyssa's body. She gasped the moment Harry sent pleasure shooting down her body, and it was just beginning.
The waiting body of the skilled warrior was at Harry's disposal. He slid the top of Nyssa's corset down and revealed her breasts to the world. Her dark nipples stuck out, begging to be sucked. Harry took some time to tease the powerful woman and leaned down to latch onto her breasts.
The little moan coming from her body was Harry's reward. He gave another suck and received another moan. He rolled his hand down the side of her leg. Harry slowly figured out all of the spots on Nyssa's form which caused her pleasure.
Weakness was not something Nyssa encountered very often. Her position in the League, as the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, meant there was no time to weakness. Still, when weakness, there came reward.
"Please!" Nyssa begged him.
Harry's hand edged over Nyssa's legs and felt the smooth softness. Her silky stockings were captured in Harry's grip and he slowly moved closer towards her. Nyssa's breathing quickened the further Harry moved his way over her. His fingers dipped between the thighs of the Daughter of the Demon.
He moved around and started to kiss Nyssa's body. Her corset ripped off, revealing the well toned, and trained body. Her tanned skin glistened in the moonlight coming from the window. It lightly dripped with sweat and arousal from what Harry did to her.
"I can't wait to taste you," Harry responded.
Nyssa thought the feeling was more than mutual. Harry slid her panties down to reveal the smooth pussy of the beautiful woman. It dripped with so much moisture,
Harry could feel his mouth watering at the thought of what he wanted to do to Nyssa. And there was a lot possible he could do with her. He moved closer towards Nyssa and spread her thighs to reveal her dripping womanhood.
"Such a beautiful pussy!" Harry hissed.
Harry's tongue struck a high note. Nyssa reached up and gave a daring grab to the back of Harry's head. The handsome face of this god was buried between her thighs and eating her pussy out. His tongue knew the exact spots to hit, and strike. All Nyssa could do was hang on and more importantly, enjoy the ride.
And it was a hell of a ride to enjoy. Nyssa kept rising and falling on the bed. Her fingers lightly squeezed the back of Harry's head.
"Deeper!" Nyssa begged.
She came, and much sooner than from the females in her Elite Guard did, as well. Harry's tongue vibrated as far inside Nyssa as possible. Harry held onto the woman's legs and slowly shifted deep in between her thighs.
Each moment of pussy eating drove Nyssa closer over to the edge. Her hips jerked up from the bed and dropped down. Harry drove his tongue deeper and then pulled it out of her.
Eventually, Harry pulled back and surveyed his handiwork. He started to unbutton his shirt, but Nyssa reached up to grab his hand.
"No, allow me."
Nyssa sat up despite receiving a hell of an orgasm and she grabbed Harry by the shirt. She pulled Harry into a deep and passionate kiss. The taste of herself lingering on Harry's lips made Nyssa really hot. She pushed back slightly and allowed herself to remove Harry's shirt.
The skilled warrior mounted Harry's lap and pressed her breasts up against him, before kissing him even more. Harry laid back on the bed, and Nyssa pulled back at him with a smile.
Positioned perfectly to worship her god, Nyssa went in for the kill. A series of kisses caused Harry to close his eyes and feel the moment. He reached in and grabbed the back of Nyssa's head, encouraging her to keep up what she was doing. Nyssa leaned in closer and sucked the side of Harry's neck before pulling back.
More hot kisses came down the side of Harry's neck, to his collarbone, and his chest as well. Nyssa stroked Harry's well-defined abs, before kissing it. Her breasts slid down over his crotch, which she could feel growing in his tight pants.
The Daughter of the Demon slid a hand into Harry's pants and grabbed onto his crotch. She squeezed him with a smile on her face.
"Oh, the legends did understate something," she said.
"You'd be surprised how often I hear that."
Only a smile and Nyssa unveiled Harry's throbbing erection for the world. Her silky black hair formed a curtain on her face. Nyssa took her tongue around his cock, experimenting it. Harry tasted her, so now it was time for Nyssa to taste the god before her. Her tongue caressed every last inch of Harry's engorged cock and moved it deep inside of her mouth.
Nyssa cupped Harry's balls and moved down to the base. She sucked the base and slipped the balls into her mouth.
"You were born to do this," Harry groaned.
A suction-like effect formed around Harry's balls from Nyssa's warm lips, sucking on him. She slowly kissed his balls and moved all the way down. Nyssa worshiped the head, the length, and anything else of Harry's she can get her mouth and hands on.
Harry grabbed two hands full of Nyssa's hair and made her bottom out on his cock. Nyssa responded by giving Harry an extremely sloppy, deep throated blowjob. Her mouth wrapped around Harry's massive cock and then came all the way.
"Fuck!" Harry groaned.
Nyssa pushed down his cock and drew it from her mouth.
"If you insist."
Nyssa climbed on top of Harry and lowered her pussy down on his hard, throbbing cock. Harry reached in and grabbed Nyssa's hips and slowly inched his cock towards her. Her warm lips caressed the tip of Harry's cock.
The two of them met together at the center, with Nyssa easing her womanhood down on Harry's mighty pole one single inch at a time. She almost bottomed out on Harry's engorged prick. She slowly rose up off of the bed and then dropped down onto Harry's mighty rod. Her thighs smacked down onto Harry, sending great sensations between the two of them.
It was inside her, somehow, slowly burying its way inside of her body. Nyssa rolled her hips and then tilted back before planting herself firmly on Harry's cock. Harry grabbed onto her hips with Nyssa raising and lowing on him. Her breasts hung tantalizing several inches away from Harry's face. There wasn't anything Harry could do, other than suck Nyssa's beautiful breasts.
"Mmmm!" Nyssa moaned hotly.
Harry's face guided between her round, supple breasts. She bounced even higher and higher. The sucking of her generous tits continued and Harry also squeezed her ample ass. Nyssa rose up off of the bed and stretched her pussy around Harry's hard, throbbing cock.
Inner muscles contracted the moment Harry pushed his engorged rod deeper inside of Nyssa. She bounced up and down, squeezing on his cock. A nice and pleasurable feeling centered around Nyssa's body. Harry touched her body and pumped himself into her inside. The pleasure exploded through her body. Nyssa's heated loins rubbed up and down on Harry's cock and filled up her tight pussy with him.
The warmth surrounding Nyssa's loins surrounded Harry's cock as well. He cupped Nyssa's breasts, squeezing them together, before moving down to grab her hips. Nyssa held Harry's head and encouraged his sucking of her breasts.
"I think you're going to drive me mad, beloved."
Harry just smiled and reached behind Nyssa, taking a handful of ass. She squeezed down on his cock in response. Harry's love organ pushed deeper inside of Nyssa's body. The slapping of flesh and the pleasure involved made the two of them feel really good.
"Yes, very mad," Harry said. "Mad with lust."
A single light squeeze of her nipple shot Nyssa over the edge. Nyssa slammed her hips down onto Harry and kept riding him. His thick balls bounced up against her waiting pussy. Another excellent orgasm shot through Nyssa's body and made her feel very good.
"Again," Nyssa said. "Don't stop, please, I beg of you, don't stop, great one."
Harry's engorged prick slammed into Nyssa's warm, succulent depths. Her hips ground down on Harry's rod and squeezed it hard. She sprung up and came down on his manhood with several lifts and lowers on Harry. Harry pushed her back down.
Another orgasm and Nyssa's dazed feeling increased. Harry latched his mouth around her nipple and sucked it which brought her back to life. Harry held onto the Daughter of the Demon and drove himself into the depths of her dripping sex. Every moment Harry pushed into her, Nyssa found herself feeling new sensations.
The plan to make Nyssa feel really good was working. Harry lightly caressed her breasts, just enough to send jolts of power through her body. Nyssa thrashed up and down on Harry's throbbing rod to milk him as much as humanly possible. Her warm thighs slapped down onto Harry's.
"I can make you as cum as many times as I want," Harry said. "And I bet it doesn't take much, does it?"
One light touch at the base of her neck sent Nyssa flying over the edge. She nodded when coming up and down.
"Ride my cock," Harry said. "Show how much you worship me like a god."
Nyssa ground her body up against Harry's. Her hips rose up and dropped down with a solid smack. Harry held onto her backside when she dropped and lowered down on the ground. Harry pushed his rod inside of her body and buried as much of his thick length inside of her as possible.
"That's it, cum for me again!"
Oh, that spot on the side of her leg, shot Nyssa over the edge. She kept riding Harry's cock. Two huge, swollen balls pressed up against Nyssa and teased her. It teased her something fierce.
"YES!"
Harry drove his entire cock inside of Nyssa and made sure she felt it. Every single inch of his engorged prick pressed through the gloriously sexy assassin. Nyssa drove her hips down onto his hard cock.
She could feel every single inch of that engorged cock, and it was splitting her in half. Nyssa pushed herself all the way up off of Harry's cock and dropped down onto him. Her warm center engulfed him and dropped down to the ground. Harry stretched out her pussy, feeling the pleasure.
Harry worked her through many more orgasms with his hard pounding. He held Nyssa up and ensured she kept going down on his cock. It was a very intense speed between the two of them, but Harry held her in place.
"Cum again," Harry said.
Nyssa came and drove herself down onto Harry.
Time ground by and constant orgasms passed. Harry's balls swelled up and moved closer and closer to their edge. He made sure to hold onto Nyssa and allow her to pump down onto him.
"You want all of this cum inside you," Harry said.
Her body craved the gift of buckets full of cum buried inside of her body. Nyssa drove herself down on Harry's cock and squeezed him with her center. She channeled all of her strength in her inner muscles and tried to milk Harry's engorged prick inside of her.
Harry pushed inside of Nyssa and started to fill her body with his cum. The feeling of release, stored up for quite some time, filled Nyssa's warm pussy. Harry pushed his rod into her. The intense pleasure of having his cock slammed into tight and amazing sheath of female flesh made Harry empty every last drop inside of Nyssa's waiting body.
The moment Nyssa had been blessed by his offering, she saw stars. Her body bounced and made sure to drain every last drop of cum.
Both of them must have cum for a long time. Sometime in this process, Nyssa shifted into auto-pilot before passing out.
But, she passed out with a smile on her face and satisfaction between her thighs.
Chapter Nineteen: Chasing Ghosts.
A trail of breadcrumbs was being laid out. One of their raids uncovered a clue, one which indicated the fact Damien Darhk might have been present at one of the facilities. The facility looked like a standard factory, three stories high with windows. The docks had trucks both coming and going, shipping something into the factory during the day.
At day, the shipping company trafficked lumber and other household products out through the doors. During the night, there were other kinds of shipments going out of the warehouse. Harry waited for Nyssa and Sara to circle around before he got a closer look at one of the trucks which had been loaded.
One step brought Harry closer to the edge of the truck. He paused for the longest moment and slid out one of the crates before anyone had a chance to see it. Harry slipped into a loading garage area and put the crates behind another stack of them.
The crate opened to reveal more of the drug Harry found in the underground facility. Darhk found a way to mass produce it, but what were the means to this end? What did Damien Darhk hope to accomplish by shipping these drugs out? Harry had so many questions and not a sufficient amount of answers. He threw his head back a second later.
"We need to get all of these crates out, and the sooner, the better," one of the leaders said. "I don't get it. He has a successful shipping yard which makes him millions of dollars a year. And he ends up using it as a front for something, whatever is in these vials. What's in them anyway?"
"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to. Everyone, get going."
The man who asked the question grumbled and showed he was getting going. He moved towards a forklift which had several more of the crates stacked on it. Harry Potter didn't need to peer behind the crates to see what was in it. It was more of the same.
Harry could not under any circumstances let this shipment leave. He took a second to look around the corner, looking to the right and then looking to the left.
'Let's move.'
The foreman looked around. Did he really know what was in the drugs or was he just following orders? Harry checked his watch. Darhk should have shown up by now, and the fact he hadn't meant something was up. Darhk must have either gotten tied up or maybe he had gotten wise.
"Are you saying he's not showing up tonight?" one of them asked.
"Yeah, one of his benefactors wanted to meet with him on short notice," the foreman said. "Look, don't question what Mr. Darhk does. It's a lot easier on you. Just collect your paycheck every two weeks, and smile about it. Your life will be a lot easier…..unless you want to become like that guy."
The foreman pointed towards a man who had a vacant look in his eyes. The lights appeared to be on, but no one was home. Harry could tell a lot of Darhk's minions were like that.
"No kidding," the man muttered.
Little did he know, a dark-haired woman moved through the shadows. Nyssa would have to take out this guy. He was big, but not very coordinated by what Nyssa could tell. She swooped in and grabbed the worker around the neck. Nyssa applied enough pressure to drop him to his knees and drag him back into the shadows. Nyssa stepped back enough to allow herself some room to breathe.
"Someone is here," the foreman said.
The foreman turned around and tried not to betray the fact he was very nervous. His heart quickened, and he reached into a satchel to pull out a gun. He rotated three hundred and sixty degrees to attempt to locate the person who had taken out one of his men.
Thump, never mind, two of the men. The goon turned around a half of a second later and held his gun down on the ground.
"Come out!" the foreman yelled. "I'm not scared of you….."
An arrow caught the foreman in the back of the neck and dropped him down to the ground.
Sara, who perched from a high point, was about ready to make a shot, but she didn't have a chance. Someone, from across the way made a shot and took out the foreman with a crisp, clear, and mostly clear shot.
'Something's up,' Sara thought to herself. 'We've got company.'
She could see from Harry's body language, he realized the same thing. Harry turned around to take a look at the location where the arrow had been fired. A thick cloud of mist filled the air around them and obscured the vision of not only Nyssa, Sara, and Harry, but also, Darhk's men.
Harry worked quickly and parted the mist with one raised hand. A figure dressed in black moved in, and the facility exploded seconds later. The chemical cloud disappeared into nothingness before it could affect anyone.
'We're dealing with someone who can perform magic,' Harry thought.
Harry dodged a blast of red light which came towards his direction. The figure rushed towards Harry in an attempt to take him down. Harry raised his hand and used a shield to block both the magical incoming attack and the physical incoming attack.
A figure dressed all in black stepped back towards the figure. She caught sight of the glinting dragon medallion which had been fastened to his neck.
"Bloody hell, you are real."
Harry heard enough of that voice to realize it sounded very familiar. He noticed another explosion off to the side and saw another figure dressed in black. Two of the trucks had been destroyed, thus preventing the shipment from getting sent out.
"You're in our way!" the second figure said.
"No, you're in my way," Harry answered.
An arrow fired off to the side, and the figure almost caught it right in the back of the leg. Her reflexes were just enough to avoid Sara's arrow from impacting the side of her leg. The figure's face contorted, even beneath the face mask. Sara dropped down to the ground and face off against the second of the figures. She pointed the arrow at her.
"Talk!"
"I don't talk."
She withdrew a weapon in a blink of an eye. Nyssa proved to be even faster than that and disarmed the mysterious woman with a well-place to the kick. The woman did a flip and dropped down to the ground. She armed an uppercut punch towards Nyssa's throat. Nyssa caught her arm, and twisted it around, before flipping her attacker down to the ground in one fell smack.
This woman, in particular, was very good, but she wasn't on the same level as the Daughter of the Demon. Nyssa grabbed the arm and twisted it around. She held it in perfect position.
"Tell me who do you work for," Nyssa said.
"I don't negotiate with terrorists," the woman muttered.
An arrow flew over the heads of both women, and it hit a gas tanker to cause an explosion. Harry flashed over to pull Nyssa and Sara out of the way of the explosion, and Harry could see the first government agent pulling the second one out of the line of fire.
Harry, Nyssa, and Sara dropped down on the ground. Darhk was not there, but there were other people who were going after them. Nyssa took a second to catch both her breath and her bearing before saying one word which didn't really explain much, at least not straight away.
"Argus."
Rose followed the former Bookworm up a small grassy hill leading to a nice extravagant house. It wasn't exactly a mansion by any means, but it was very nice. Rose took notice of her surroundings, instinctively, where anyone could jump out and attack her if they were so inclined to do so. Rose didn't really care, she was ready.
"So, this is the house where I grew up," Mia said.
"Not bad," Rose said. "So, do you think your parents are still here?"
Mia responded with a shrug, to be perfectly honest she had no clear idea whether or not they would still be around. It had been a long time ago, to be honest. Perhaps, they thought she had long since died, perhaps they had a funeral. Mia didn't really know.
"Well, the mailbox says Jensen on it, not Granger," Rose said.
"So, it looks like they moved out," Mia said.
Rose nodded in response. Whoever lived her kept the house rather nice, there weren't too many weeks leading up to the path. There was a small garden of herbs off to one side, and Rose had to walk up the hill to take a closer look at her surroundings. She watched Mia follow her.
"Maybe they know where my parents have gone?" she suggested.
Nervously, Mia bit down on her lip. Twelve long years passed, and the person who moved into this house might not have known where her mother, father, sister, had gone. Mia took a step up the gates, and knocked lightly, politely on the door. She waited for the door to be opened up.
The door opened up and a kindly-looking little old lady opened the door. She wore a nice printed sweater with a cat on it and a pair of casual black sweat pants. She had her hair pinned back in a bun, and wore a pair of wire rim glasses.
"Hello, dear," she responded. "May I help you?"
"Maybe you can," Mia said. "I used to live in this house when I was younger…"
"Is your last name Granger?" the little older woman asked.
"Yes, it is, Granger, well it was Granger, but legally it still is," Mia said, folding her arms over nervously. "I was hoping if you knew anything about where the last people who lived here. I've been out of touch for a few years, and I was hoping to get in touch with some family members."
"Why don't you and your friend come in?" the kindly old woman asked.
Rose opened her mouth and was on the cusp of telling the old woman, that she and the Bookworm were by no means friends. However, her tongue became tied and she just looked forward, nodding in confirmation.
"I….it's alright, I can stay outside if you want to."
"Nonsense, there's a storm coming, and I'd hate you to stay outside in it," the old woman responded. "Why don't the two of you come in….and settle yourself in? I'll make you a cup of hot chocolate."
Rose couldn't argue with an old woman, even she didn't have the heart to do that. She moved her way into the house and stopped a second later. At least a dozen cats of various colors and breeds moved around the living room area. A lazy orange cat laid on his back, purring, with a ball of yarn being batted across the leg with her paws. Another cat moved across the room to the litter box to do its business.
Sighing, Rose took a moment to adjust her thoughts.
'So many cats.'
Rose took a moment to step inside, with Mia following her. Both of the girls sat down on the couch. One of the cats moved over towards Mia, the lazy orange cat, who started purring.
"I think he likes me," Mia said.
"Well, someone has to," Rose said.
Mia ignored the very obvious slight at her person by Rose and leaned down to scratch the cat on the ears. The cat purred a few seconds later and enjoyed the attention. The other cats moved around and looked like they were trying to compete for the attention.
"Miss Misty, Mr. Curly, that's enough, you shouldn't bother our new friend," the old woman said in a reprimanding voice. "I hope you girls are hungry, I've got a nice fresh plate of…"
"Cookies!" Mia cheered in a loud voice, almost jumping off of the couch, and causing the orange cat to hiss in surprise.
She had never been allowed sweets back when she was a child. Holly and Dawn occasionally managed to sneak chocolate in for Halloween, but that was about it. Trying to explain to her mother that she couldn't get cavities because of magic was a fruitful endeavor.
"Are we five?" Rose asked underneath her breath.
Mia took the plate of cookies and the drink of hot chocolate. She took the cookie and put it in her mouth, shoveling it in for a moment. It had been a long time since she had a nice home cooked meal, and while a plate of cookies wasn't exactly a meal, she would take it.
"Sorry," she said.
"It's not a problem, dear, I always make way too much for the neighborhood bake sale anyway," Mrs. Jensen said with a smile. "Do you want any?"
"Well, I'd take some, if I wasn't afraid of losing my hand," Rose said.
Mia stopped and placed a cookie in Rose's hand, and Rose took it with good grace. Food had been slim on Lian Yu, and while Harry had done a fairly good job out of making chicken salad out of chicken shit, there was still only so much he could do.
"Thanks, Mrs. Jensen," Mia said.
"Yeah, thanks," Rose said.
"It's no problem at all," the old woman said. "Now, you want to know about the family who used to live here, don't you? The Grangers."
"Yes," Mia said.
"Well, they had to sell the house in a hurry, about eight years ago," Mrs. Jensen said. "There's a lot of nasty neighborhood gossip which I don't think is fit for the ears of polite young ladies."
Rose almost snorted in her hot chocolate. Funnily enough, the term "polite young lady" suited the Bookworm more than it did her if Rose could be brutally honest with herself.
"Did the Grangers get divorced?" Mia asked.
"That's what I've heard, but there was a lot of drama before I moved in, dear," Mrs. Jensen said. "All I know is I got this house for a bargain."
"So you don't know where they are?"
"I'm afraid not," Mrs. Jensen said. "I don't want to badmouth anyone because I wasn't here, and I've never met any of them. So it would be unfair of me to speculate."
Mia answered with a sad nod. She wasn't going to get any answers. There was one place where Mia was going to have to go, and she wasn't going to like it.
'Bloody hell, I'm going to have to bite the bullet and visit Grandma Granger,' Mia thought. 'If that old bat is even still alive….ah who am I kidding, she's hanging on out of pure spite.'
A battered and beaten up gentleman opened up his eyes. He would be another face in the crowd, other than the bruises on his face, and the fact half of his teeth had been missing. He tried to bite down, only to realize someone removed the failsafe in his mouth, preventing him from conducting a suicide style end to his life.
"You're looking for this, aren't you?"
A figure in the shadows held up a blood-stained tooth which looked to have been painfully ripped out of his mouth.
"You're not going to learn anything from me."
The chains rattled and the hung up man slammed down onto the ground. A sickening impact rattled pretty much every single inch of his body. The figure in front of him grabbed the man's jaw and forced him to look at her.
"What are the chemicals about?" the figure demanded.
"ARGUS, ARGUS, you think you're very clever, don't you?" the gentleman asked, completely evading the question. "You're about three steps behind for every step you take. HIVE will be the undisputed masters of the world. You will all bow before this brand new order."
"I don't bow, nor do I bend," the figure in the shadows responded.
Needless to say, Holly Granger's patience was starting to become worn. She spent about an hour performing emergency dentistry on this HIVE drone, or ghost, or whatever, they snagged, so he didn't try any kind of suicide by cyanide. They also took a sample of the chemical back, while destroying the rest.
ARGUS would have had another chance to look around, had it not been for the intervention of the League of Assassins, who had their own problems with HIVE. They were officially branded terrorists by ARGUS. While Holly understood one person's terrorist was another person's freedom fighter, there was more than enough information about the League out there to make her realize what was going on.
"We're going to have a nice conversation," Tonks interjected. "You'll find my friend hits very hard when she doesn't like the answers you give her."
"He's not afraid," Holly said. "I say we beat it out of him, break a few of his bones. Maybe he'll change his tune when he's beaten within an inch of his life."
"You really think I'm not willing to die for HIVE?" the drone asked. "Trust me when I tell you one thing, and I want you bitches to remember this. As far as the world is concerned, I'm already dead. And soon, ARGUS will be obsolete thanks to…."
A sudden stop and for a second, Holly thought some kind of failsafe had been triggered in the man. He still breathed and still hung upside down, swinging back and forth like a completely grotesque pendulum. Holly reached in and grabbed the man by the throat.
"You won't get anything. All of you are dead, you just don't really know it."
Liv watched the scene play out before her. She had no idea what to make of this. Holly reached over and pulled out a case before she held a knife. She reared back and stabbed it into the inner thigh of the man hanging upside down. He screamed out in agony and slowly removed the knife.
Tonks healed the man of any potentially critical injury, but the pain still lingered thanks to a well-placed charm.
"Do you want to talk yet?" Holly asked.
"You can choke on it, bitch, I'm not telling you anything!"
Holly showed the goon it was the wrong answer by stabbing him once again, this time harder. The cold hard steel brushed against the man's testicles and caused him to scream out in agony. She didn't cut him in a very sensitive area, not just yet. The threat of pain in there made the ghost curse and sputter.
"You….you might be going a bit too far," Liv said.
"No, he's already dead," Holly said. "Dead people have no rights. And you can't prioritize the life and comfort over one person."
Liv looked about ready to protest even further. Tonks reached over and lightly touched the hand of the tall blonde and made her look towards her. "I know it's not the most pleasant thing in the world. But when you're dealing with people like this, you're going to have to bend all of the rules. They won't play by the book, so we shouldn't really either."
A nod followed a half of a second later. Liv decided to choose her battles wisely, and not point out she didn't really sign up for this. She would say she was drafted, but to be honest, someone had to sign up for a draft, and Liv didn't really sign up for that either.
Tonks watched Holly overdue it and make the HIVE goon pass out from the pain. She reflected back tonight, coming face to face with the Dragon. Her mother told her the stories about the legendary figure, but never, in her wildest dreams, did the shape-shifter think she would encounter him in person.
Now, she half-hoped to meet him again, but right now, they had to focus. Exactly what role he played with the League of Assassins, they would have to figure it out as well, after they finished up their game with HIVE.
"Darhk not being there indicates he knows someone is on to him, and he's changing plans accordingly," Nyssa said. "But, we have another problem, with ARGUS getting involved."
Nyssa got both Harry and Sara up to speed about how ARGUS was a super-secret covert government agency, who the League encountered a time or two ago. They meant well, but Harry knew all about people who meant well not exactly doing well.
"So, what do we do?" Sara asked.
"Well, I recognized one of their agents," Harry said.
"So, you ran into another alternate dimension version of someone you knew?" Sara asked. "What are the odds of that happening?"
Harry thought the odds of encountering someone he knew from another universe would be very high. They actually would have been beyond very high, if he had to say so himself.
"Her name is Nymphadora Tonks, and in my world, she's a shapeshifter," Harry said.
"That would make her very useful to our cause then," Nyssa mused.
"And she also isn't the most graceful person in the world," Harry said.
Sara could not resist offering a small smile to this statement from Harry. "Okay, this makes her a bit less useful than before."
Harry moved over what little they had been able to find from the warehouse. The problem was, Darhk not being there ruined a lot of plans going forward. There was still the meeting with Ivo which Darhk had set up, but now, Harry, Nyssa, and Sara all feared Darhk would be on his guard.
"I believe it's very likely someone tipped off Darhk to the planned ARGUS raid," Nyssa said.
"So, someone is working a double-agent angle," Sara said.
"Darhk is a cockroach and he has the survival instincts of one," Nyssa said. "He remains alive despite the fact he should have died countless times over by manipulating the circumstances to favor him."
Harry thought about it for a minute.
"We should assume Darhk would turn the trap around on us when Nyssa goes to meet him," Harry said.
"It's a good thought," Nyssa said. "We might not get a better chance to pin Darhk down. If he thinks he's prepared for us then maybe we can turn the trap back around."
Nyssa would not have believed Darhk to be finished until the last ounce of blood had been drained from his body. The final breath had passed through his lungs, and he was all gone.
"I still can't believe we let those government agents get away," Sara said.
"We didn't," Harry said.
Sara and Nyssa understood immediately where Harry implied as well. They also understood they needed to get to the ARGUS headquarters, before dealing with Darhk.
"I think we should inform them what they're up against, and why they shouldn't get in my way."
Harry hoped this particular government organization was not as stubborn as some of the government organizations he ran across during his time back home. Something told him, though, he would have to deal with an unfortunate amount of stubbornness no matter what the organization.
"The results of the tests are back," Sara said. "Looks like the sample we snagged is far more refined than the one we snagged earlier."
"So, Darhk is improving on the formula," Nyssa said. "We're going to need to stop him and soon."
"We'll have a word with ARGUS, there's a chance they might have information we don't," Harry said. "I know they are going to have to be convinced to hand it over."
A trio would be good for stealth purposes, but for intimidation purposes, not so much. Harry mentally crossed his fingers. He noticed the tracking charm he slipped on Tonks was on and she was on the move. Exactly who were her two companions? Harry had no idea, but he would find out.
Mia took in a deep breath at the edge of the driveway leading up to the Granger Mansion, the house her grandparents lived in for a long time. There were rumors, whispers, about how the money was really made by her grandparents. And while Mia couldn't verify whether or not they were true, she knew her grandparents, her grandmother especially had been a particularly nasty piece of work.
Ah yes, her charming grandmother, who Mia was named after. Mia raised an eyebrow when leaning closer towards the door and took in a deep breath.
'Here we go.'
Rose could tell by the body language the Bookworm gave, this was something she did not want to do.
'Well, this is going to be pretty painful,' Rose thought. 'I shouldn't really feel sorry for her at all, but….she looks scared to death.'
"If you don't want to go here, you shouldn't," Rose said.
"I have to, and I am," Mia said. "I just need to take a moment and prepare."
Prepare for this meeting, for better or for worse. Mia drew in a very prominent deep breath. She remembered that old door knocker which looked uncanny. She remembered the house, with the yard standing out far better than the rest because her grandparents thought they were better.
'My mother was this wicked woman who seduced their poor innocent son away from his family,' Mia thought. 'Okay, here goes nothing.'
Mia knocked on the door a couple of times. When she didn't receive any answer, Mia didn't know what to feel. Relief or more tension? She tried to knock again on the door and decided to go for the doorbell.
"Maybe nobody's home," Rose suggested.
Mia chewed down on her lip in obvious frustration. Oh, there was someone home alright, and she heard the rustling footsteps. Someone made their way to the door, and it swung open. A very frail looking black woman, the housekeeper of Granger Mansion, looked at the girls.
"Mrs. Hermione isn't entertaining any company tonight," the housekeeper said in a nervous, shaky voice.
"Agnes, I wish to speak with my grandmother," Mia responded.
The housekeeper caught sight of a familiar face in the door and staggered back, almost as if seeing a ghost. Her eyes widened in response, those brown eyes focused from Mia.
"Agnes shut the door, you're letting a draft in here."
Mia heard the voice she had not heard in over twelve years. An older woman with wispy gray hair dressed in a silky blouse and a pair of dress pants appeared. She wore a pair of wire rim glasses and held a walking stick against the ground. She moved down the steps, the walking stick clunking against the steps.
"Madam, you don't understand, it's….."
"OH, IT'S YOU! YOU DARE DARKEN OUR DOORSTEP AGAIN!"
Mia came face to face with crotchety old Hermione Granger, the namesake of her former life, standing against her. Mia tried not to back down from her old bulldog of a grandmother. Age had not been too kind to her.
"Grandmother, I'm back," Mia said.
"I thought you would have been sold into prostitution by now," Granny Granger said.
Rose took a second to frown at the very blunt comments. She marveled at Mia's ability to keep her cool because if it had been her those comments were directed at, she might have blown up at the old biddy.
"My parents moved away…"
"That harlot sold my son out!" Granny Granger barked. "My poor David, he's now currently rotting away in prison, because he was caught embezzling money. And she took my other granddaughter and left the country, leaving poor David to rot. And she left with it."
"Where did they go?" Mia asked.
"I don't know, if I ever find them, though, I'll make Charlotte Edwards pay for what she's done to my family, and what she's taken from us," Granny Granger said. "You're lucky I don't have you arrested for trespassing on my property."
"Yeah, your grandmother is really a nice woman, Mia, I'm glad we came," Rose said.
"You dare allow your name to be purposely shortened, by this…this…this slut!" Granny Granger said. "Are you ashamed….you should be honored by being named after myself. But, it seems like you're ashamed of me."
"Yeah, imagine being ashamed because of you," Rose practically spat out.
Granny Granger's eyes bared down on Rose. Rose stared the woman straight in the eye, and she stared into a soul far colder and far more malicious than anything Rose ever saw. She stared into the eyes of someone who was completely and utterly evil beyond all reproach.
"You better not have been with another woman, you've disgraced this family enough," Granny Granger responded.
"What have I done to you?" Mia demanded. She started to breathe as heavily as possible, her knuckles flaring when they clutched together. "I've done everything I can to please you, to live up to your standards. I worked myself to death because of you."
"You will never be good enough," Granny Granger said. "You are just a reminder of what she's done to this family. You would have done the entire world a favor if would have killed yourself. It's a shame we don't burn your type at the stake anymore!"
"Yeah, because if we were burning people at the stake, you would be first in line because you're nothing but a witch," Rose fired back.
Mia cringed, and the look on her grandmother's face made the old bat resemble someone who had been force-fed poison. The word "witch" was something which was a point of contention. She slammed the door in both of the girl's faces.
"I'm honestly surprised you didn't turn out worse than you did."
These words from Rose caught Mia completely off guard. She heard her grandmother order, Agnes, to report to the basement.
"Thanks, I think," Mia said, with a sigh. "She didn't really tell me much of anything. Dad's in prison, Mom and Hailey left, I don't know where."
"If they had any sense, they would leave as far away from her as possible," Rose said. "I take it age hasn't softened her any."
Mia shook her head in negative, no, age had not softened Hermione Granger, the elder, at all. She was far worse than ever before, far more intolerant towards people who didn't fit her narrow worldview.
"She seemed surprised to see you alive," Rose said.
"Well, I've been gone for twelve years, I'm sure she hoped I was dead," Mia said.
"No, it's almost like she had something to do with you ending up on the AMAZO," Rose said. "Maybe, I'm reading too much into it, but you never know. I wouldn't put selling her own granddaughter to someone like Ivo….even if you weren't aware she made the deal."
Mia thought at first Rose was being paranoid, but she almost thought there could be something to it. She moved as far away from Granger Mansion as possible and stopped short of the exit. Rose pointed towards a peculiar figure who stepped inside of the side entrance of the entrance. He carried a briefcase and looked to be in a hurry.
"Must be one of Grandfather's business deals," Mia said.
She didn't know how much credence there was to the rumors her grandfather was smuggling drugs in and out of the country, concealed in crates of false teeth. Mia recalled one of the last arguments she heard between her parents, with Charlotte telling David to back out before they all go down with his greed and the greed of his parents.
God bless her mother for trying to keep their family together, despite all of the obstacles. Mia couldn't help but think Charlotte should have given up before she did, it might have saved some grief.
Mia never knew what it meant, it could mean anything. She was about to leave, but Rose had taken a step closer to the Mansion and made her way towards an open window.
"I don't think we should let her catch us here," Mia said.
Rose didn't answer. The guy looked pretty incriminating and kind of shifty. She stopped and dipped behind a bush. She motioned for Mia to join her.
Two figures exited a limo and made their way up the driveway. One of them carried a briefcase with a logo on it. Mia slipped on a pair of glasses which allowed enhanced vision and she made out the letters.
"HIVE," she whispered.
The very same thing Harry, Sara, and Nyssa went after on their mission. Rose smelled a rat, or two, here. Were the Grangers in with Damien Darhk and his little organization?
"We better go," Mia said. "This is something way too dangerous for us to be involved with….come on, Rose, I'm being serious."
It should have come to no surprise for Mia that Rose performed an action which was the direct opposite of leaving the area. She slipped through a partially opened window and made her way to get a closer look at these illicit transactions. Mia took a second to consider her options, and she stepped towards the window.
'Why do I allow myself to get into these messes?"
Harry sensed the government facility was very well guarded, but there was one blind spot which no one expected someone to exploit. They could have gone around the building discreetly. However, Harry decided it would always be far more amusing to head in through the front door.
"Well, you always know how to make an entrance," Nyssa said.
"The lock shouldn't be that hard to open," Sara chimed in. "Without triggering the first set of alarms at least. Every single individual set alarms after that, I don't know."
"Actually, let's just do this the easy way for once."
Harry flickered his finger and caused the alarms around the facility to temporarily be disabled. The doors swung open on his own accord. The trio stepped inside of the area. They didn't walk three steps inside when they came face to face with ARGUS agents.
"They have some pretty good reaction time, I'll give them that," Harry responded. A small shifty smile appeared on his face when he looked at the various members of ARGUS who stepped around the room.
"Freeze, don't move an inch."
Harry moved his finger about a half of an inch. One of the more trigger happy ARGUS agents turned around and fired a warning shot. The bullet turned into a harmless little butterfly before the bullet could reach their boss.
"You tell Waller the Dragon is here to meet her," Nyssa said.
Needless to say, all hell broke loose in the facility. Nyssa, Sara, and Harry stood their ground. Harry made sure the medallion on his person was in prominence. Some of them understood what it was all about and others, they would learn sooner rather than later.
"Call for Director Waller," one of the ARGUS agents responded.
Damien Darhk read the report of one of his facilities having been destroyed. His mood, always on the edge of being sour these days due to the lack of progress from certain members of his organization, darkened a moment. He turned his attention to the helpless drone who had given the report.
"Several months worth of hard work and investment, down the drain just like that," Darhk said. He snapped his fingers in respond. "And you didn't get a good look at any of them, did you?"
"Sir, I was lucky to get out of there alive…"
"And, you're lucky I don't kill you now," Darhk said. "But, rest assure, I can make you wish for death. I can give you everlasting misery in your life just like that."
Darhk snapped his fingers and the man in question had been pinned up against the wall. Every single nerve ending of his body had burned up in agony. He pushed the drone against the wall.
"It just takes one motion to squeeze the air out of your lungs," Darhk said. "I lost months of research, a valuable step to refining the chemical, and wiping out the League of Assassins."
As long as Ra's al Ghul lived, he hunted Darhk like a well-trained attack dog. Darhk would never get a moment of peace. He took out of his aggression on the power. Blood started to spill out of the man's nose, but Darhk retracted him.
He needed the totem to increase his ability to perform magic, and also the powers of the medallions would allow him to access nearly god-like powers with usage of the totem. Seven ancient magic, created along with the blood of main slain warriors.
"Oh, it is so hard to find good help these days, my brother."
Darhk turned around and came face to face with a rotund gentleman with scraggly hair, and a wild beard, and even wilder eyes. He dressed in a white tank top and black pants which had been stained with grease, and maybe just a little bit of blood. His hands were coated in soot as well.
"Two questions, how did you get in here?" Darhk asked. "And exactly, who are you?"
"I'm always where I need to be, Brother Darhk," the bearded man said. "And I am the salvation, the last link to a dying world, which has been corrupted by sin and bloodshed, my brother."
"Sorry, not interested in whatever religion you're peddling," Darhk said.
Darhk reached towards the man to grab him by the throat. The HIVE representative's hand passed through a cloud of black dust which caused him to step back.
"You will listen to this warning!" Blackfire howled. "The AMAZO has been taken over. Ivo is no longer in control of it, and the Dragon rises again."
One raised eyebrow had been followed by a deep breath. Darhk knew Ivo was to meet with him within the next few days, and whoever took over ship may have used this as an opportunity to compromise his operations.
Darhk turned to the mysterious man who vanished into a cloud of dust. Exactly why he came to warn him about the AMAZO being taken over had been lost on Darhk.
'My plan to acquire the serum will be delayed,' Darhk thought. 'Providing Ivo wasn't following a white whale, to begin with.'