Light and Dark

Two Sides to Everything

The cold air of the night cut into the open back of my suit. The hood prevented my hair from flying free in the wind and revealing my position on the side of the building. I breathed. So far, so good. The good thoughts in my brain clashed with the bad. The thought of killing this man being a benefit and being tragic fought so intensely that it hurt. If I didn’t do the deed he would kill me. If I did the Justice League would be hunting me down. I had to if I wanted to live. A black hand made of pure shadow lifted off the ground and into the dark air of the bedroom. Then someone slammed into me, wrapping their arm around my waist. It was too muscular to be a woman’s arm. This person must have been a guy. The stranger and I crashed through a glass ceiling of an abandoned warehouse and they dropped me onto the floor. I landed with a thud and rolled a few times on the cold concrete. The glass shards dug into my arms that shielded my face and stabbed the back of my thighs. I slowly got up and brushed the glass off. The stranger landed on the ground behind me and on their feet.

“You know, sweeping a girl off her feet doesn’t mean you try to clean up glass with her.” I said, taking off my hood. This was the moment I was happy Poison Ivy made me wear the black mask around my eyes.

“Well you were dangling off a ledge, between two windows.” The foreigner said. His voice was familiar, but I couldn’t place it to a certain face or super suit.

“I’m sorry, I like living life on the edge. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a few things to dispose of.” I started to walk off until something hit me across the top of my back. A rod or a pipe? No, it wasn’t hollow. It had to be a staff of some sorts. I collapsed onto the ground and the stranger straddled my lower back. I used my powers and picked him up with hands made of shadows. I threw him against the wall in front of me and jumped up. I turned and started to run. Something hit me in the leg and I fell again. He got on my back again, but this time I rolled onto my back. “Nightwing?”

“I’m not falling for that.” He responded “Why were you outside that window?”

“Now why would you ever want to know that?”

“Just tell me.” He pinned my arms to the floor

“No big reason. Just doing a little business for the Crooked Man.”

“Who is he? Where can I find him?”

“You’re cute.” I wrapped his arms and legs in vines that pinned him to the floor beside me. I moved and knelt beside his head. “You really think I would tell you where he is?” he kept silent “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some business to attend to.” I walked off, making sure that I extenuated my hips as my boots made a sound similar to heels on tile flooring.

“Wait,” he said, speaking up “who are you?”

“You’ll find out eventually.” I responded as I pulled my hood over my head and used the shadows to teleport to the outside of a local bar, The Bandersnatch. I pushed the door open and walked in. The whole bar seemed to pause as I walked through to the back.

“Where do you think you’re going?” A strange man said as he got up in my way.

“To the back.” I responded with the same attitude

“I don’t think you will, doll.”

“I think I will.” I said as I grabbed his arm and flipped him onto the floor. “And by the way, don’t ever call me,” I flipped the bangs out of my eyes “doll.” I walked through the door and to the desk at the back of the room, passing by the flowery throne of the deadly, evil beauty, Poison Ivy.

“Hel,” The Crooked Man said as he turned his chair around and faced me “did you successfully eliminate the target tonight?”

“No.” I responded as I sat in the chair in front of the desk

“What got in our way?”

“Nightwing. He took my off the ledge. I didn’t dispose of him, but I didn’t reveal our plans either.”

“Good girl. I have a new mission for you.” He leaned forward and handed a picture over to me. The picture was of a girl who looked like she hadn’t done anything wrong. “This is the president’s daughter and we need you to kidnap her. She takes strolls in the hedge garden every night. That’s when you will get her.”

“Why don’t we just isolate her at the costume ball tonight?” Poison Ivy spoke up. She walked over to me and put some seeds in my hand. “The green ones are full of a power that allows you to convince people for only a short period of time. And the purple ones will allow you to knock someone, or possibly a crowd, completely out.” She walked back to her throne of flowers and sat down. “Just remember, don’t get caught.”

“Exactly.” The Crooked Man said as I got up and put the seeds in my pocket “And, Saden, you have two options. Go undercover or do what I would like to see and make and entrance. Your call.” He paused “And please remember, daddy wants you home safe.”

“Okay, Dad.” I left and headed to the costume ball. I hated parties. When I was a child, before my father became a super villain, I couldn’t stand the Russian balls that he made me attend with him. He says I was too young to remember, yet I can recall the confusion that a young girl could face at a party of that scale. After my mother died from a member of the Justice League accidentally tossing a car on top of her, my father swore he would get revenge. He never had a reason to use his powers at all, but that was perfect. The shadow power that I had, came from him, except that his are more powerful than mine will ever be. Once I got to the entrance I took a seed out, crushed it into powder. I opened my hand and blew the dust into the guard’s face. “I’m part of the entertainment. So I need to go through.” He just nodded as he stared blankly at me. “Thanks sweetheart.” I walked through the metal gates and made my way through to the back entrance. I shadow traveled onto the stage and the party went silent. “Ladies and Gentlemen,” I spread my arms out, seeds in hand “this is my party now.”

A voice raised from the crowd “What kind of entertainment is this!?”

“Good, I have a volunteer.” I raised him up from the crowd with hands made of shadows and raised thick vines to black all exits. “I obviously don’t want to hurt anyone. So let’s make this easier on everyone.” I put the guy back down and released the powder from the broken seeds. I covered my face quickly as it settled on the crowd. One by one they collapsed onto the ground. I put my hands down and then the stained-glass window behind me burst. I quickly turned and was looking at heroes my age. I was looking straight at Miss. Martian, Artemis, Nightwing, Superboy, and Beastboy. “Oh goodie, the wannabe super heroes are here, just in time to see the villain disappear with the girl.”

“You really think we’re that stupid?” Nightwing questioned. As soon as he said that Superboy charged me and brushed him aside like a pesky fly with one movement of a shadow hand.

“No, but I know that he is.” I pronounced, sounding like my father. Beastboy leaped into the air. I wrapped a vine around his waist and slammed him against Superboy. They both flew into the wall and collapsed, laying there unconscious. “And so is he. Now none of you move and we’ll be the best of friends.” I shadow traveled over to my target and picked her up. Miss. Martian used her powers and knocked me back. I dropped the girl and slammed against the vines that blocked the main door. I quickly got up and she turn invisible. I laughed and then my eyes instantly turned solid black. “You can’t escape me, sweetheart.” I located her and slammed her against the ground with a mass of pure shadow. I threw off my hood and my samurai style hair changed from midnight blue to a pale blonde. My clothes shifted colors as well. Instead of being in a black jumpsuit I was covered in a white one. The blue detailing turning into bright red thread. Artemis shot an arrow in my direction. I raised a wall of light and the arrow tapped it and fell uselessly to the ground.

Nightwing raised his voice in disbelief “How is that even possible!?”

“I am Hel. I am both light and dark. Both the sun and the shadows.” I dissolved into light and appeared in front of Nightwing. “Now you know my name.” I kissed him and he stabbed a needle in the back of my neck. My legs felt like jelly and my eyelids were anvils. I collapsed to the ground and passed out.