CH 29: The Hand
As much as it could have served as a team-building exercise, Lex had absolutely no interest in spending hours trapped inside a private jet.
Instead, they teleported.
One moment everyone stood inside the mansion and the next they found themselves in the middle of a remote Japanese mountain range far removed from civilization.
The air felt different here.
Cooler.
Cleaner.
Ancient forests stretched across the surrounding mountains while layers of mist drifted between the valleys below. No roads were visible from their position. No villages. No signs of modern civilization whatsoever.
It was exactly the sort of place a centuries-old secret organization would choose as a hideout.
Since they would be operating in the region for several days, Lex decided it was finally time to test one of the stranger abilities he had acquired.
Build.
The skill presented him with seven options.
A wooden hut.
A wooden house.
A small stone house.
A two-story stone house.
A small mansion.
A castle.
A palace.
Lex immediately wanted the castle.
Unfortunately, Sharon had issued what she described as a "common-sense warning" about not constructing medieval fortresses in foreign countries.
Thus, after a lengthy internal debate, he reluctantly settled on the large stone house.
To his pleasant surprise, the structure appeared fully furnished the moment it materialized. Plumbing, electricity, furniture, bedrooms and even a functional kitchen had all somehow been included.
Magic remained weird.
The original plan had been simple.
Wait three days.
Allow the Teleportation Staff to finish its cooldown.
Then systematically dismantle the Hand's infrastructure.
Nobody liked that plan.
Not even Sharon.
After reviewing their intelligence, the group had ultimately decided there was little reason to remain idle when they already knew the locations of multiple important facilities.
Since splitting up immediately would be inefficient, they chose to target the six major facilities one at a time.
The first target also happened to be one of the most secure.
Reaching it required nearly an hour of travel through increasingly isolated mountain terrain. Eventually even the dirt roads disappeared, replaced by steep cliffs, ancient forests and jagged stone formations that looked untouched by modern development.
When the base finally came into view, Lex immediately understood why it had remained hidden for so long.
The facility wasn't built into the mountains.
It practically was the mountain.
Ancient stone structures protruded from the rock itself as though they had been carved directly into the landscape centuries ago. Massive torii gates stood along winding paths while weathered statues watched silently from beneath layers of moss and age. From a distance it looked less like a military installation and more like a forgotten temple complex abandoned by history.
Unfortunately, appearances were deceptive.
Sensors, hidden cameras and armed patrols were everywhere.
And according to Elektra, this wasn't even the most heavily defended Hand facility.
Kitty volunteered for reconnaissance.
After donning the Invisible Cloak Lex had given her, she phased through the outer defenses and disappeared entirely.
Everyone else remained inside Brise while her body-camera transmitted everything she saw.
The upper levels appeared exactly as expected.
Barracks.
Storage facilities.
Training areas.
Armories.
Cult chambers.
Hand operatives moved throughout the compound with military precision.
Yet as the footage continued, Sharon's expression gradually became more thoughtful.
Something felt off.
The security was good.
Too good in some places.
Strangely absent in others.
Several areas appeared heavily reinforced despite containing nothing of obvious value.
Other sections looked almost deserted.
It wasn't enough to conclude anything.
But it was enough to be noticed.
As ordered, Kitty avoided exploring the deeper levels. If mystical surveillance existed, there was no reason to risk exposing their reconnaissance before the operation even began.
When she finally returned, Sharon spent several minutes reviewing everything before making her decision.
"We proceed."
The holographic map generated by Cortana shifted.
Colored routes appeared throughout the facility.
"Donna."
Donna immediately looked up.
"You'll take Ava, Kitty and Alison."
All three younger girls straightened slightly.
"Your objective is the upper levels. Eliminate resistance, secure personnel and prevent reinforcements from reaching lower sections."
Donna nodded.
Simple enough.
"Elektra. Angela. Regen"
The three women focused on Sharon.
"You'll accompany me. Security center first. Once communications are compromised, we lock down the facility."
Neither objected.
That had probably been their assignment from the beginning.
Finally Sharon looked toward Lex and Kara.
"The deepest levels are yours."
Kara smiled.
Lex already knew what was coming.
"Leadership?"
"Leadership."
That settled things.
The operation began moments later.
Using Cortana, Lex disabled every camera within range before they even approached the entrance. Patrols vanished silently as invisible force crushed windpipes and severed spinal cords before alarms could be raised.
Normally Lex preferred avoiding lethal force whenever possible.
The Hand were one of the few exceptions.
Years of brainwashing, resurrection rituals and demonic corruption made non-lethal solutions increasingly impractical.
Sometimes killing them wasn't enough.
Sometimes they came back anyway.
The main entrance lasted approximately three seconds.
Two lightsabers appeared in Lex's hands and a glowing section of reinforced steel simply ceased to be part of the door.
The team entered.
Immediately splitting according to plan.
Donna led her group upward.
Sharon, Elektra and Angela disappeared toward the security infrastructure.
Lex and Kara headed deeper.
The deeper they traveled, the older the complex became.
Modern construction gradually gave way to ancient stonework. Electrical lighting disappeared, replaced by candles and braziers burning with strange colored flames. Ritual markings covered the walls while the faint scent of incense mixed with something considerably less pleasant.
Blood.
The deeper levels felt less like a ninja headquarters and more like a cult temple.
Which, Lex supposed, was technically accurate.
Something else bothered him too.
There wasn't enough resistance.
The occasional guard appeared.
A few traps.
Several hidden defensive positions.
But considering this was supposedly one of the Hand's most important facilities, the opposition felt surprisingly light.
Not weak.
Sparse.
As though people were waiting somewhere else.
Eventually the tunnel opened into an enormous chamber.
A sacrificial ritual was already underway.
Ancient symbols covered the floor while dozens of candles burned with unnatural black flames. Hooded cultists surrounded the perimeter and at the center floated an impossibly old Japanese woman wearing crimson robes.
The moment Lex entered, her eyes settled on him.
A smile slowly spread across her wrinkled face.
"Ah..."
Her voice sounded ancient.
Not old.
Ancient.
"The Black Sky finally arrives."
The room grew silent.
The priestess laughed softly.
"As he foretold. Follow those around him and they shall lead you to him."
Lex immediately disliked that sentence.
Quite a lot.
Before he could ask who exactly "he" was supposed to be, another voice echoed through the chamber.
"Remember me, human?"
A figure dropped from the ceiling.
The presence was familiar.
The voice was familiar.
Most importantly, the hatred was familiar.
Lex recognized the demon immediately.
The same demon.
The same one responsible for forcing him through one of the hardest fights of his life.
The same one that would have killed him repeatedly if not for his immortality.
"Oh."
Lex smiled.
"I didn't expect to find you this soon."
The demon's grin widened.
"Then perhaps fate is kinder than I thought."
"No."
Lex shook his head.
"You're actually the reason I decided to stop treating the Hand like a nuisance and start treating them like a problem."
The smile disappeared from the demon's face.
"Bold words from a human."
The demon launched himself forward.
Lex raised one hand.
The attack stopped instantly.
The Force converged forward, locking the demon in midair before he could cross even half the distance.
The demon strained.
The floor cracked beneath him.
The restraints didn't budge.
Without hesitation Lex summoned the Archangel Blade and threw it.
The weapon crossed the room like a silver streak aimed directly at the demon's skull.
A knife intercepted it.
The impact exploded sparks across the chamber.
Only then did Lex notice the second attacker.
A woman moved along the elevated walkways near the ceiling with impossible agility. Knives flashed between her fingers as she repositioned from shadow to shadow.
Lady Bullseye.
Annoying, but not dangerous.
Completely irrelevant to him.
Unfortunately she only needed to delay the blade for a fraction of a second.
Lex glanced sideways.
A second demon had emerged near the ritual platform.
Heat vision erupted immediately.
"You handle your revenge," Kara said. "I'll handle this thing."
The demon barely had time to react before being launched through multiple stone pillars.
Lex turned back toward his own target.
Several knives suddenly appeared from different angles.
Lady Bullseye again.
Since the Force remained occupied restraining the demon, Lex simply experimented with something else.
Cursed Energy erupted from his hand.
The dark projectile crossed the room and exploded against the upper walkway.
Lady Bullseye barely escaped before stone and debris detonated around her position.
"Oh my."
The Archpriestess sounded delighted.
"One who wields such darkness."
The old woman slowly raised her hands.
"You truly are the Black Sky."
Black chains erupted from nearby shadows.
They moved like living tentacles, twisting and writhing through the air as they attempted to bind him.
Lex responded with the Force.
Lightning bolts exploded outward and shattered the approaching restraints before they could reach him.
"The perfect host for the Beast."
That statement was significantly more concerning.
Then the old woman spoke again.
This time the words weren't human.
"V̸̧̉̑̅r̸͚̽̈͆a̷̝͔͙̒͑ḧ̶̲̦́̕ù̷͈̙̲͇͍h̷͉̥̀͑̍͑͘̕."
The floor beneath Lex vanished.
Not collapsed.
Vanished.
A black abyss opened beneath him.
Meanwhile Kara was discovering that her own opponent had become considerably more disgusting.
The demon's body suddenly unraveled into something resembling a giant insect. Tentacles burst from its torso while massive mandibles split apart and black corrosive beams erupted from its mouth, dissolving stone wherever they touched.
Kara immediately decided she had absolutely no intention of punching that thing.
Heat vision and freezing breath would do just fine.
Then she saw Lex disappear.
Without hesitation she dove after him.
The darkness below wasn't a pit.
It was an entirely separate space.
Gravity dragged everything downward with unnatural force as endless darkness stretched beneath them.
Fortunately Lex had already released the demon and begun flying upward using the Force. The pressure was substantial, but not enough to stop him completely.
Kara reached him seconds later.
Together they accelerated upward.
Or at least what should have been upward.
The darkness around them remained unchanged.
Lex continued flying for several more seconds before slowing slightly. There was no sign of the ritual chamber above them.
No opening. No light. No visible destination at all.
"This is getting weird," Kara said.
Lex couldn't disagree.
Even with his enhanced senses, there was remarkably little to perceive. No walls. No ceiling. No floor. Just endless darkness stretching in every direction while the strange gravity continued pulling at them.
They should have reached something by now.
Instead, the environment remained exactly the same.
Which suggested one very unpleasant possibility.
They weren't falling through a hidden section beneath the temple.
They had been sent somewhere else.
Finally, Lex, who had been trying to rely less on Raphael today and fight on his own, asked Raphael for assistance.
<You are currently trapped in a pocket dimension which connects to two different places, however only its master can open and close its gates.> Raphael analysed not only by itself but even using other abilities of Lex such as Milim Eye.