"It's time to wake up," Shiva's cold voice cut through the haze as a shock of icy water splashed across my face. I gasped, eyes snapping open, every nerve jolted awake along with my awareness. At last, I saw clearly the place where I had been taken.
The walls were bare, featureless, and unforgiving—smooth slabs of blackened stone, cold and ancient. The ceiling and floor matched in bleak solidity. If I had to describe it, I'd call it a reinforced cavern, shaped by human hands but steeped in silence, carrying none of the warmth of life.
Instinctively, I tried to move, but the attempt made me curse under my breath. My arms were bound above me, chained directly to the ceiling. My legs too weren't left free; shackles bit cruelly into my ankles. I was strung up completely, like prey displayed by its captors. To worsen matters, there was a device affixed around my neck, one I'd already recognized—vaguely reminiscent of the monitoring collar I'd once seen on Poison Ivy when she was shackled back in Arkham. And with that memory came the dawning realization of exactly what purpose such a collar might serve here.
"Welcome to Nanda Parbat," Sandra Wu-San—better known as Lady Shiva—intoned without sympathy.
"Ah, yes. Couldn't think of a better welcome? Maybe blow up some dynamite beside my head instead? And this water…" I shook, teeth clacking. "Don't tell me you store it in freezers? It's icy enough to break bone!" My indignation slipped out in sharp protest.
"The water comes directly from the mountain river that runs nearby," she explained calmly, almost amused. "A simple mechanism allows us to channel it here—fresh, pure, and constant. The chill? That's thanks purely to the Himalayan climate. That is our freezer."
I whistled softly. "Nanda Parbat… I'll be damned. My whole life I've wanted to set eyes on this place—this hidden city, hidden high among the Hindu Kush, whispered to be a site of healing, transcendence, and enlightenment." I tilted my head, grin slipping onto my lips, despite the shackles that bruised my skin. "Tell me—do you happen to house a Bodhi Tree here, by chance? Just idle curiosity, you understand."
Her approach was sudden, deliberate. Shiva came close—too close—until her hot breath brushed my cheek. She leaned in with eyes sharp as knives. "If there's one thing I'll ensure, it's that you lose something here," she hissed. "That ridiculous sense of humor."
"We'll see about that, my dear—aaahhhh!" My retort cut short into a guttural cry as the collar lit up. Agony surged through me. A flood of raw lightning coursed through bone and nerve, thousands of needles tearing every fiber beneath my skin.
Who would've suspected—the damned collar wasn't just some tracking device. It was a shock-giver. Efficient, merciless, perfected for torment. Five survival-shredding seconds later, the flow cut off, leaving me shuddering and gasping.
I raised my head weakly, lips twitching into grim humor. "What are you doing, exactly?" My voice rasped. "That actually hurts, you know."
"Good," Shiva replied flatly. "That's precisely the point. Don't fear—you won't die… not from this." She circled me like a predator circling its tethered prey. "Interesting that you immediately recognized Nanda Parbat. Your knowledge is… impressive. But knowledge won't serve you here. You're not expecting the Dark Knight to come flying to your rescue, are you?"
With deceptive tenderness, she reached out and brushed a lock of soaked hair away from my forehead. "No, I should disappoint you. He has no idea which of our bases you've been brought to. Dozens scattered across the earth, and not a trace left. We checked you thoroughly. No transmitter, no bugs. Your guardian angel cannot find you. He won't."
I gasped theatrically, widening my eyes in mock horror. "Wait—thoroughly? You stripped me down and searched every inch? Sandra! You mean to tell me you saw me—completely? Shiva the merciless, turned voyeur? Gods above, I'm ruined—defiled! I'll never find a wife now!" I sagged in my chains dramatically. "Oh no, this means you'll simply have to take responsibility. Propose, marry me, and make an honest man of me. Never thought my fate would entwine me with such a lethal beauty. How bittersweet—should I rejoice or sob?"
My theatrical lament ended as another current tore through me, fiercer than before. Six seconds. An eternity stretched thin with white fire.
Panting, I muttered through clenched teeth "Easy, woman! A few more like that and—phew—my heart really will give out. And, you know, my heart is fragile…"
Shiva watched me, as unflinching as stone, though a flicker of amusement might have shadowed behind her merciless eyes. "Still calm. Still laughing. An amazing will. I wonder… How long will you last? You realize of course that here, in Nanda Parbat, time flows differently. Like Shangri-La, the stream here runs slower. Outside months pass; here, far less. Which means…" She paused, lips curling. "I will have plenty of time to… raise you. To break you."
I forced a wobbly grin, panting through cracked lips. "Music to my ears, sweetheart. The more time you have, the more we'll truly get to know one another. Let's see… fun fact: I hate alcohol, love good strong coffee, and in moments of leisure—I crack nuts." I blinked playfully. "Look at that, you already know so much more about me. Aren't you lucky?"
That earned me a shorter burst—four seconds this time—but sharp enough to wring an involuntary cry from between my teeth.
Her voice was cool, precise: "You think you'll rely on your little trick, don't you—your spatial pocket. But this device isn't merely a shock collar." Her fingers brushed the cruel steel at my throat. "It's a nullifier. We're more than convinced you are a mutant. And if we're wrong—if somehow you're a mage instead—look to the corners."
I followed her gesture. At each of the chamber's stony corners, strange markings etched in glittering precision. Symbols foreign, faintly shimmering, and utterly alien to me.
"It's Ororo's Binding Script," Shiva explained. "Utterly seals surrounding mana. No particles to call, no threads of magic to weave—spells are impossible here."
"You people don't skimp on precautions," I muttered.
"Fear strikes yet?" she said levelly.
"Not once," I answered with a defiant shake of my head, though the iron around my neck pulsed uneasily.
"Then let us discuss terms." Her voice dropped colder. "What you must do… to earn freedom."
I raised an eyebrow in mock solemnity. "Allow me to guess: grovel at Ra's al Ghul's feet, swear lifelong allegiance, proclaim him as sun and sky? I'd sooner gag on molten lead." I braced for the sting again. It did not come.
"Good," Shiva said evenly. "Then you know what awaits you if you resist. But I warn you—this place changes those who resist."
"Don't tell me…" I widened my eyes in feigned revelation. "You used to be black, didn't you?"
Her glare could have cracked stone. Without hesitation, she twisted the control.
Eight seconds. Eight brutal, excruciating seconds of lightning shredding every tendril of will. By the end, my body arched taut as a bow before slumping slack, smoke nearly curling in phantom illusions from my skin.
Her voice slid like steel across ice: "There are ways we have… to alter attitudes. Beyond pain, beyond fear. Techniques that leave men begging for release by death rather than endure another breath. Do not assume strength alone makes you immune. Torture is only the beginning. Think harder—your strength lies in those who orbit you. The shadows of the League already cast toward those closest to you. Their involvement will… accelerate your compliance."
Her eyes lingered, cold promise dripping from each word.
I met them fully, emotionlessly, letting silence stretch before replying as calm as ever. "Tell me, why are you so insistent?" My voice sharpened, deliberate. "Let's improve our acquaintance. Because threats against my people—those I care for—aggravate me." My lip curled faintly. "If some crude man said such words, there'd be no hesitation. I'd erase him. No man—no problem. But a woman…" I tilted my head toward her. "A woman like you—a beautiful predator—well, then I'm torn. Killing wastes beauty, wastes rarity. That is something I cannot abide by. Women, even killers, are my weakness—rare gems of the earth. But make no mistake: I cannot live leaving such a threat unforgiven, either."
I leaned forward despite the iron's pull, voice falling steady and cold. "So tell me, Sandra Wu-San… what should I do?"