The Lone Knight (Under The Cowl Book #1)

CHAPTER 41

      As much as Stephanie didn't want to leave Daria behind, the kryptoian did not give her much of a choice.

Stephanie escaped the elevator the second she watched two blistering beams fired from Daria's eyes met the mountain wide wave of shadows expelled from the palm of Ruin's hand.

She did not bother to turn and watch the destruction of everything that surround. Instead Stephanie moved her legs as fast as she could and as far away from what she knew would only swallow her in a moment of hesitation.

Flames trailed behind her and danced on the edge of her cape. The urgency to escape the fire that followed would not be as necessary with the other batgirl suit. Fireproof and heavily armored, the first instinct would've been to cover up. But wearing a cape not so long on her shoulders and not so fireproof, Stephanie's eyes worked overtime in order to find her way to safety before she's brunt to a crisp.

Stephanie turned the corner only to find herself face to face with a dead end. 

Her heart sunk, the last thing she wanted to see.

There was no time to look behind her and gaze at what's surely death by flames. 

Stephanie, without thinking, reached into her utility belt and pulled out a tiny oval shaped device she didn't want use for an occasion like this. Unsure if it will actually save her life or turn her into ash faster than the flames will. But in this case, what did she have to lose?

At the push of a button Stephanie felt the rip and pull of her entire body pull into the device. What was up and what was down? There was no floor to stand on and no ceiling over her head. Spinning and spinning, there was seemingly no end. Was this what it felt like to be caught in the eye of a storm with no way out?

Without any notice it's at the pull of her hood when Stephanie felt her shoulders reel into a direction she could not see until thrust back into reality, where gravity did not deceive her.

With her feet back on solid ground, Stephanie turned and found Gyspy right beside her. "You're Vibe transporter actually worked."

"Congratulations, you're the first to successfully test it out."

"The first?"

"I never really needed it since I can create breaches. It was designed for emergencies."

"And if it didn't work."

"It would've likely trap you in the breach between universes."

Stephanie found herself in a rather large space, a basement of some kind. "Where are we?" she asked.

The base of the wall stood riddle with long electrical tubes, computers, and massive servers she's never laid eyes on before even in Bruce's batcave. Stephanie followed the tubes on the floor and walls, wires dangling from the ceiling like a mesh of snapped webbing. They all stood connected to what stood behind her.

Tall and circular in shape, wide enough to place twenty average size doors, "What is this?"

"When I followed you all into this building I immediately felt a breach leading me here. So I took a shot in the dark and portal my way here; to another portal. If I had to guess where we are, I think we are on the lowest level of the Argus facility. We'll likely find Alec here."

An echo coming from above drew Stephanie's eye towards the center of the large space on the far side in front of her. Stephanie hesitantly stepped down from the portal stage in order to find what it was she was actually hearing.

It was the parting of another door as tall as the ceiling. Never had she seen such a door so massive.

Pitch black on the inside, it felt somewhat like she was staring into an abyss. Normally the urge to go inside would draw instant uncertainty. She didn't know what lied on the other side, what concealed dangers are baiting her with the invitation to answer her curiosity. 

"What do you think is in there?" Gypsy asked.

"Only one way to find out."