Chapter 394: Barbara Gordon and Kara Zor-El (2)
The Phantom's Retreat
"No, I have to change it. This is too embarrassing."
"I think it looks great."
Linda slipped behind Barbara, reaching out to give her chest a light bounce. "See? They even jump!"
"Stop it!"
Barbara blushed, batting Linda's hand away. Just as she was about to change clothes, Linda suddenly suggested,
"Don't you want to see Luke? Snap a photo and send it to him. He won't be able to resist coming out to see you."
Barbara asked suspiciously, "Where exactly isLuke Shaw?"
"Where else? In the underground base beneath the villa."
"He's been in there for half a year? Hasn't come out once?"
Linda shrugged. "Heaven knows what he's tinkering with down there."
"He won't run into any trouble, will he?"
"Relax. Even if the Earth is destroyed, he won't die."
Linda sat down at the computer, modifying the design blueprint as she spoke. "Right, why are you so desperate to see him?"
Barbara was silent for a few seconds, then whispered,
"Because of the Court of Owls."
"You mean that terrorist organization the news was always talking about a while back?"
Barbara nodded slowly. "The underground labyrinth was destroyed by explosives, and the Court of Owls disappeared without a trace. My father has been investigating them, but he hasn't been able to find any leads."
"There's something I haven't told you: I was also in the underground labyrinth that night. After I was severely wounded and collapsed, someone brought me to the hospital. That person... it was likely Luke."
Linda frowned. "You're not suggesting Luke is the one who blew up the labyrinth, are you?"
"I don't know yet, but he definitely knows something."
Barbara clenched her fists, then shifted her tone to plead, "Help me. Just let me meet with him."
Linda sighed helplessly. "It's not that I don't want to help, but I really can't."
"Before he went in, he issued a strict order that no outsiders were allowed to disturb him, no matter what happened. If you confront him over this, believe me, the outcome will be very bad."
"But..."
"Enough. I'm hungry. Let's go eat. Tonight, I'll introduce you to a new friend—she's a metahuman too."
The Silver Banshee's Predicament
At nine o'clock that evening, in a second-floor apartment in Metropolis.
Siobhan McDougal stood by the window, quietly gazing up at the starry sky. The lights in the room were off; the darkness perfectly concealed her strange and ghastly body.
Silver Banshee!
A terrible curse, a terrifying power.
As the mutation continued, her personality had subtly changed. Siobhan used to be an outgoing girl who dared to show herself despite her strange appearance. Now, she preferred only darkness.
The constant whispers of the demon Crone echoed in her ears, continually awakening the Silver Banshee's primal nature.
Perhaps Crone didn't want a mercenary; he wanted an obedient puppet!
When she was lucid, Siobhan often asked herself why she had agreed to Crone's demand to find that ancient book. Her father often said that a demon's contract was a bog leading to the abyss, sinking you deeper with no chance of return.
"I can't go back now."
Looking at her pale, gray claws, Siobhan's eyes held a complex sadness.
Suddenly, a familiar scent wafted through the air.
Siobhan quickly wiped away her tears, closed the curtains, and turned on the light. A moment later, footsteps approached the door.
"Siobhan, I'm coming in."
Linda opened the door and placed a bag full of food on the table.
"I brought a new friend, a very interesting person. Come down quickly."
She gave Barbara a knowing look. Barbara nodded firmly, indicating she would remain calm and show no reaction. Yet, when she saw the monstrous figure descending the stairs, her eyes widened in horror.
What is that?
Silver-white hair, a skull-like face carved with dark, moon-like patches, and yellow, inverted-oval pupils with a red vertical slit in the center—she looked like a demon from hell.
"Sh-She..."
"That's Siobhan McDougal, my friend. She's only like this due to certain circumstances," Linda quickly explained. She then introduced Barbara.
"This is Barbara, Barbara Gordon. She's from Gotham, a very interesting person. Her father works for the police, so maybe she can help you." Linda signaled desperately with her eyes, but Siobhan had no intention of making new friends. She grabbed the food and retreated back upstairs.
Linda was immediately embarrassed.
"Don't worry about it. She's actually a really nice person."
Barbara nodded slowly, her mind still replaying the sight of the creature.
Due to the deep reluctance of one of the participants, the "social gathering" broke up unhappily after only half an hour.
By the upstairs window, Siobhan watched the two figures gradually walk away. She turned off the light again and crouched silently in the dark corner.
The familiar, unsettling murmur once again echoed in her ears, sounding like both a prompt and a warning.
She had been in Metropolis for a year, but still had no news of the ancient book. Searching for a single book in a major city with millions of people was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Without the book, she couldn't complete Crone's task, and she couldn't escape the Silver Banshee's curse.
No one wants to be a monster. She was Siobhan McDougal, the direct descendant of the McDougal magical lineage, not the Silver Banshee.
"What should I do?"
Siobhan muttered to herself, a trace of hesitation in her eyes. "Perhaps I can ask him for help."
"That's the only way."
A Ritual for the Demon
Under the cover of night, a ghostly figure left the small building and vanished into the dark street corner.
Siobhan, in her Silver Banshee form, began her hunt. She first went to the zoo and killed a wolf. Then, using a form of entrapment, she captured a street robber.
With the man and the wolf prepared, Siobhan traveled to the depths of a forest north of Metropolis.
She stripped the wolf's hide and spread it on an altar.
The wolf's liver and lungs were soaked in herbs. Then, she walked up to the robber, who was nearly wetting his pants, and with one strike, severed his head. She used the blood spurting from his neck to engrave a magic circle. As for the head, she secured it to a stake and placed it directly in front of the altar.
Having completed the setup, Siobhan pressed her hands together and knelt before the magic circle, mumbling to herself.
As the strange, raspy incantation, heavy with mystical power, spread through the woods, the air suddenly became agitated. A gale rose out of nowhere, blowing upward, and a blotch of dense, dark ink drifted across the clear night sky.
The wind grew sharper, mixed with sounds of wailing ghosts, as if countless wronged souls were crying out.
Siobhan closed her eyes and continued the incantation, ignoring everything around her. As the last syllable fell, the severed human head suddenly opened its eyes and spat out a huge cloud of blood mist. The blood mist merged with the magic circle, and from the blurry phantom, a tall, indistinct, unnamable, terrifying figure that could not be looked at directly began to emerge.
"Siobhan McDougal, my loyal servant. What good news do you have for me?"
The demon's voice was so unique, it seemed to pierce the soul and echo deep within her mind. Siobhan trembled and lowered her head.
"Respected Master, I have encountered insoluble trouble in my search for the ancient book. I beg for your guidance to pinpoint the book's location."
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