Not Until We Are Lost

This.

This was much better than the place she had been before. The University was too loud, there were too many people for her liking in too close of quarters. Being an RA was not something particularly high on her list of things she wanted to do or be. It disgusted her. She was worth more than being in charge of brats, better than solving problems for youngsters that wandered lost like a scattered herd of sheep.

She hadn't had the chance to kill anyone. It was a compromise she hadn't been willing to make and the opportunity had escaped her. But it was no matter. She would claim someone else in time. Killing was one thing she was good at. In Gotham it had been her pride, her honor. She had been powerful, a force to be reckoned with and Batman's greatest enemy. She was not his equal. She had no equal. She was unique.

The darkness of the cave overtook her instantly and despite the draft and the faint, maddening constant drip of water far behind her, Inque found that she could deal with all of that because of the peace.

The wonderful peace.

Had she been aware that there were others, she would still have taken the moment to bask. She did not awaken unclothed as the rest of them because no matter how many layers they took from her she always regained. She always had the advantage over the others.

Next to her was a swarm of velvet. A group of bats nestled on the rocky ceilings, cuddled together to keep themselves safe. Inque decided she was alright with these rodents for the time being. She had always liked bats...there was just one in particular she wanted to rid the world of. He was an annoyance. These creatures were actually quite pleasant.

Outside the crisp sunlight poured in through the entrance to the cave. Down below, if one peered out of the mouth, one might find themself overlooking the jungle. A wide canopy spread below, concealing the Earth beneath it.

She could get used to the view. As long as it remained peaceful, that was.

Inque was dumbfounded.

She stared openly at the sign pressed firmly against the side of the door that faced out in to the hallway. RA. She was an RA at what seemed to be some sort of University on God knew what planet. She had hated the pirate ship, that was no lie, but at least there she could be by herself if she wanted to. Here it was far too noisy. No. She certainly hated this much more. She was not a social creature. At one point in her life she had been, when she was a girl not much older than some of the ones that crept down the hallways here she craved attention. She wanted to be accepted, the daughter of poor parents from a dying, starving country. She had earned attention alright. And she had made bad decisions but Inque was past that now.

No longer did she suffer in a life that she had no control of. Or, at least she hadn't until now. She didn't particularly care for all of this jumping around. But it couldn't be all bad, could it?

A quick scan of the corridor coupled with a scowl given to a young man that had been staring at her from across the hallway, and Inque allowed herself to see the potential in the situation.

She had murdered one of the aliens in cold blood. It had been in disguise but it had been one of theirs. She would do it again, too, if it came down to that. She would survive and prevail.

"What label is that?" Came a slur of a woman's voice. Instantly Inque whirled around to face the young woman, eyes narrowing with hate, "What hole did you crawl out from?" Inque snapped. The girl frowned and backed off a few paces, "Uh, sorry. I was just curious. Kay?" With a roll of her eyes the girl turned and was gone. Inque was fuming. "I hate this planet."

She knew the rocking of the water before she even opened her eyes. The sounds of the ship as it moved slowly, listlessly. She knew that they weren't going anywhere by the way the waves rocked it.

In a flash, Sympathy was up and out of the big comfortable bed. She looked around and realized that she was in the captain's quarters, just where she should be. She dressed quickly and burst through the door onto the deck, a great smile on her face.

This, this was where she should be.

This was what she should be doing.

Her eyes scanned and found no sign of the crew, which meant there wasn't one. She was going to have to motivate her fellow travelers. Well, it was a good thing that she could motivate with the best of them. Her crew was always loyal. Unfortunately, the pirate imagined she was going to have to begin with fear.

With her heavy boots, Sympathy tromped to the middle of the deck, making as much noise as possible. She then slammed her foot three times down as hard as she could.

"Get up! Get up! All hands on deck!" Her voice rang clear and strong in the sea air. She felt more alive than she had since she'd started this ridiculous journey.

It had been a strange few days at the resort. The staff had disappeared and for some reason, the even emptier halls felt eerier. Laurel didn't mind having to fend for herself in terms of food and cleaning and fetching her own towels for the pool, and so on. But she did have to worry about what might have happened to send all of the staff away. Or what might be coming down the pipeline that they could see whereas the abductees could not.

She'd spent this particular morning in the gym and was just coming out of that room when she heard snarls. Which was strange, to say the least. She looked around, only to see a pack of gigantic hyena-type creatures. They were a bright crimson, but resembled hyenas in shape. And in the laughter-like sounds that bounced around the hallway once she spotted them. She silently ran through her options in the split second or so before the beasts would pounce. Running on its own wouldn't do much good. So she whirled and knocked over a table lining the hallway and adorned with some decorative vases. The vases shattered as they hit the floor. Laurel didn't wait to see the reaction, but turned and made a beeline for a nearby exit.

Once outside, she found a tree to climb. She just had to hope that the mutant hyenas couldn't climb trees too. There were coconuts on a nearby palm tree that would have to do for attempting to take them out before they went looking elsewhere for prey. She had to wonder how they'd gotten in here. And if they'd gotten in, what else was lurking in the resort?

Snooping around always had come at a price but often Inque had more than enough to pay it. In Gotham the money flowed freely when one could get their hands on something priceless and mostly unobtainable. But that was where she had the leg up on all of the rest. No man made thing could stop her. No door, no window, no lock. Inque was resourceful enough to know the channels and avenues of travel that most couldn't get through. She was special and that was what made her so deadly.

None would ever hear her coming. She wouldn't use footsteps unless she needed to and even then the soft patter of footfall was a taunt. No, she was as silent as the very shadow. Like the unending darkness that came once the sun sank beneath the horizon, though she lacked a moon and stars to really claim to be part of the night.

The two from the bar had spurned in her the need to overcome and she had been being good for far too long to allow her aggression to continue to remain pent up. None of these people could be taken or sacrificed. And the aliens? Those puppets of people propped on strategic places to ensure that the guests were happy, docile and without need? Hah.

One of those puppets lay dead at her feet now. Inque peered down at it with her black eyes as her arms shifted from the almost too sharp black points back into actual limbs. "That'll teach you to sneak up on someone, won't it?" She offered, voice lifting in amusement. Of course he couldn't possibly retort. How could he when his blood was surrounding her boots? The color was unique, a blueish black. She liked it very much. The sharp slashes evident of the quick fight were what stood out most against the white work shirt.

Inque had travelled initially through the duct work, looking for some kind of hidden room. Anything she could use and take back to the others. She had found something and of course they had sent someone to collect her without knowing what she was capable of. And they had paid the price. "Maybe you shouldn't be so withholding next time someone comes looking," Inque breathed. She folded her arms across her chest, peered up at the closed door that was locked from the outside and smirked. "Time to play. Catch you later?"

A laugh and her arms dropped. The limbs turned black and twisted once more into razor sharp points meant for slicing and jabbing. She closed the distance between herself and the door in an instant, lifted her arms and drove the sharp points through the metal door. In only a few swings she had taken the door down and it lay in a heap of twist and smoke. Her arms returned to normal and casually Inque stepped around the rubble, turned and moved back towards her quarters. She left the mess in the hallway for anyone to happen upon, for anyone curious to discover. But they would never find a trace of her.

The silent killer.

Not a sound was to be heard and that was fine with her. Inque preferred the silence. Her favorite noise was screaming but this place didn't cater to those types and so she welcomed the silence instead. With confidence Inque strolled down the empty hallway that held the rooms, each door similar to the last one as she passed them. Each held a resident that was currently trapped on this island alongside her. Each room held potential allies and potential enemies. She was curious to see which numbers held her in the favor, the together or the apart. She wasn't used to being forced to work alongside others but she had never been kidnapped and made to maintain a presence in a group of strangers either.

This was not a vacation by any means but no longer did Inque worry about being captive. No. Each step she took was relaxed. While she was still on her guard, something that came with the nature of the beast, it was with ease that she slipped through the shadows. The people here were so different than she was used to. None of them carried insignia of connection with the Bat or Gotham, some knew of the city while others had never heard of the place. Not that she got around to asking, but some did overlook the fact of an extra shadow or two lurking about on a wall or a tree nearby. It was easy to keep herself concealed and listen. Observation was key to survival.

Inque bypassed the vacant information desk at the lobby and pushed through a doorway instead. The empty area of the bar greeted her. It was quite possible she was breaking some unsaid rule about being out of her quarters past a certain time but Inque didn't care. Let them come for her. She would not be taken easily and they would get a fight if they wanted one. If they didn't, then that was fine too. A shame, but fine.

The polymorph made her way through the darkness, not bothering with the lights. There was a warm glow from a neon sign above the bar that rendered all of the light that she needed. Her pace remained easy as she approached the counter and once the destination had been reached, Inque slipped over the bar and settled behind the counter. A flick of an arm and the liquid portion of the limb flipped a few switches, the bar lighting up. Her arm moved back to her side and became normal again. Her eyes swept the slick counter, noticed the glasses stacked on a mat to dry. Overhead hung more glasses with stems from a rack. Behind her a mirrored wall lined with shelves and upon those shelves bottles sat with about any base for a concoction one could think of to mix together. At her shins beneath the counter were ice boxes and coolers with varying drinks chilling inside the glass.

Inque had never been inside of a bar before so seeing the innerworkings of one was quite fascinating. She doubted even consuming the beverages could get her intoxicated, she had a high tolerance to most things. But it was an interesting idea nonetheless. Why she had come here she didn't know. But now that she was here she would poke around and see if there was anything useful. Her room had held a secret shelf designed to hold weapons, she had noticed it entirely by accident simply by bumping into it. Within lay a baseball bat, a wooden one, and she had left it in her room. She didn't need it, but it was curious. Inque wondered if they had secret places all over the resort and if they did she would find them. But why not start at the bar? Wouldn't that be the perfect spot to hide something? In plain sight of anyone else that used this place on the regular? Especially while everyone else was asleep.

Inque crouched behind the bar and began to shuffle through things, taking her time to know each object she touched in case the information would come in handy later on. She doubted it, but one never truly could tell.

Lucifer felt the cool sheets and the warm sun. Turning over, she realized that she was indeed a she today. The long, lean body stretched and loosened muscles, happy. Content. The ride with the aliens had been more than interesting. Better than television, better than trying to manipulate humans into giving up their souls. Better than anything that had ever existed, really. And it just kept elevating in amusement.

The note was on the nightstand, and she picked it up to look it over. An resort vacation was a perfect place to thaw out, she thought. Stasis. Lucifer wondered if the aliens would have been able to use that if she hadn't been complying with everything else already, or if their technology was so advanced that they could retain even the devil against her will.

When she stood up, she found she was in a little white bikini already. Digging through the drawers revealed a matching white wrap that went elegantly around her hips. She decided to forgo the sandals, as she expected that sooner or later she'd find herself on a beach and unwilling to keep track of those things. Not that she particularly cared about them, but they were awful cute to lose on the first day.

So people were gone, were they? Lucifer cast out with her power and discovered that the pesky angels were missing. Good. Two less faces to worry about. Nobody else knew the truth. The game could go on for longer, now.

Lucifer grabbed a pair of fashionable sunglasses with white rims and plopped them on her head as she left the room, intent on exploration.

Sunlight filtered in through the windows, and Laurel groaned as consciousness started to overcome her sleep. Her head was aching and she struggled to get her thoughts straight. What had happened last night? She hadn't been drinking. Of course she hadn't, though the headache and confusion certainly made her worry a bit. No. She remembered now. She'd gone up against that gigantic blond vigilante-wannabe and had her ass handed to her. She winced and chanced opening her eyes finally. If Savant, as he'd called himself, had knocked her out... then where was she?

That thought cut through the grogginess and the headache and she sat up straight and looked around. She was no longer in her Black Canary outfit, which was disturbing all on its own. Instead, she was in a sundress. She tried not to shudder at the idea of Savant undressing and dressing her again. She stood and paced around the room, which appeared to be a well appointed hotel room. A glance out the window made her stop and stare at the beach outside. She frowned at the expansion of white sand and the rolling aquamarine waves. Beaches like this didn't exist anywhere near Starling City. So she'd been knocked out and taken somewhere else? She forced herself to take a few deep breaths and circled the room yet again, looking for anything she could use as a weapon. And where was Roy? Had he gotten away, or was he here somewhere too? She wasn't sure which she hoped for. If Roy was here and she could find him, they might have a better chance of getting out of this together. But if he was back home and safe, then he'd be able to rally the rest of the team to find her.

She didn't find much in the way of weaponry or even makeshift weaponry, but she would just have to improvise if it came down to it. It was more of a surprise when she found that she was able to leave the room. The door wasn't barred and nobody was guarding it. Which was extremely strange. If Savant was behind this, then where was he? What was his plan here?

She grabbed the keycard on her night stand and then ventured out into the hallway, senses on high alert as she looked for anything or anyone that might be a threat.