Main Universe Justice League Base. Wonder Woman, Diana, stood in front of a gigantic mural. The light projected from above made the entire mural appear even more magnificent. The giant snake floating between the sky and the earth exuded an ancient and desolate aura typical of Ancient Egypt.
"Incredible," Diana said. "Even though I work in a museum, my specialty is artifacts from the Bourbon Dynasty Spain period. I hold scholars who can study Ancient Egyptian artifacts and those of other ancient cultures in high esteem. The older it gets, the more complex it becomes, and the art appreciation gradually turns into a study of ancient history. There's no doubt this artifact records a piece of history from the time of Tutankhamun..."
She heard a soft sigh from Deathstroke behind her. Diana turned around to look at him and said, "Thank you, Mr. Mercenary. I know you're busy and don't have time to listen to my history lesson..."
"No no no." Deathstroke quickly waved a hand, saying, "I'm quite interested in Ancient Egyptian history. And besides, I'm not busy recently. I mean, why don't you take a closer look?"
"As far as this artifact is concerned, I don't have much to say. However, I wonder if you've noticed that the patterns here seem a bit strange." Diana turned back to look at the upper left part of the mural. She said, "Even though I don't know much about Ancient Egyptian artifacts, I do know that during that period, they focused more on symbolic expression rather than artistic treatment. Apart from that, every other element of the mural is highly harmonious and unified. Except for this one area..."
Diana pointed to the upper left corner. "This moon looks strange. First of all, its craftsmanship is somewhat rough, completely different from the fine carving in other places..."
Of course, Deathstroke thought. Because other places might have been chiseled bit by bit, but this spot was dug out with a dagger. From start to finish, it took less than ten minutes; if it weren't rough, it would be strange.
"Of course, its method of expression is also somewhat odd." Diana walked back and forth in front of the mural with a furrowed brow. "The moon. Yes, apart from worshiping the sun, the Ancient Egyptians naturally also depicted the moon. For instance, Khonsu among the Thebes Triune is considered the Moon God in Ancient Egyptian Mythology, regarded as the King of Truth and the Decider of Fate. Typically depicted with a hawk head..."
It's a falcon head, Deathstroke corrected in his mind. And only the head was left.
"Very strange. Here they just drew the moon directly, without any mythological metaphors, nor did they mention the Moon God. Moreover, the shape of the moon is abnormal. It is split in half, and one side is missing. What could the broken moon symbolize?"
"I think it might be suggesting that the moon has a bright side and a dark side. The dark side could represent the far side of the moon..."
Oh my God. Deathstroke marveled inwardly. You two really have a tacit understanding.
"And here. Do you see it? These little things that look like miniature people don't quite resemble how the Ancient Egyptians depicted figures. I think you must have seen other Egyptian murals. The Ancient Egyptians depicted human-like creatures very flatly, and they were usually tall and slender, with long and thin limbs. But these little figures are not only short, their heads are somewhat disproportionately large. It's really very odd."
Clutching her chin, Diana speculated, "This moon and these strange little people were likely not part of the original mural; they were added later..."
Keen observation! Deathstroke gave her a mental thumbs up. Truly worthy of being Wonder Woman. This is the work of a real artist, much better than the spectators outside.
"This is likely someone's mark," Diana said, "Apparently trying to express something. Related to the far side of the moon, possibly related to aliens. But as to what exactly it means, I can't tell."
What is there not to see? Deathstroke almost facepalmed. Isn't it just telling you there's a problem on the far side of the moon? Can't you just fly up there and take a look? For Wonder Woman, this should not be hard, right?
"Batman once advised me that anything related to the Power of Seven Lanterns must be treated with caution. Moreover, the moon is not within the Earth's Magic Defense Network. If there's a trap up there, we may lose more people. That wouldn't be worth it. We should enlist experts instead."
Deathstroke paused. Diana turned to look at him and said, "To search for Batman's whereabouts, Justice League members can't leave. Since Shiller entrusted you with escorting this artifact back, it proves you can be trusted, Mr. Mercenary. Please make another trip and bring back a true expert in Ancient Egyptian artifacts."
An expert in Ancient Egyptian artifacts? Deathstroke sneered inwardly. Are you planning to invite Shiller? Or Shiller? Or Shiller?
Two days earlier. Hegada Port. A shipping container labeled "Glassware and Other Household Items" was loaded onto a freighter. Shiller and Deathstroke stood in the shadows of the checkpoint in front of the freighter.
"So, you're not getting on the ship?" Deathstroke asked, glancing at the container. It contained the very "Ancient Egyptian mural" they had worked so hard to recover—the Agent's annotated version.
Shiller shook his head and said, "Wonder Woman understands very well the principle that professional matters should be handled by professionals. Otherwise, she wouldn't have sought me out. This means one thing: she is not easily fooled."
"Ah, I thought you'd never considered that," Deathstroke replied with a hint of sarcasm. "What will you do if she finds out you tampered with the artifact?"
"Are you mistaken about something? Is my biggest problem tampering with an artifact?"
Deathstroke slapped his forehead. He had lost count of how many times he didn't respond to this—there was no real artifact at all. The entire mural was fake.
Shiller continued, "It seems Diana's specialty isn't really Ancient Egyptian artifacts. This means she might not see any issues, but it also means she'll find someone who can. There aren't many experts on Ancient Egyptian artifacts in the world, but there are a few. Once they see this mural, they'll know it's a forgery."
"Well said, so didn't you consider this when you were forging it?"
"That's not important," Shiller said, "Things have reached this point, the mural can't be a fake, no matter what."
"So I need you to escort this mural back, and in the meantime, I'll take care of the trouble."
"I have no problem escorting the mural. But how do you plan to solve this trouble?"
"That's not for you to worry about." Shiller shook his head, "I'll handle it."
"Alright. I just hope the Justice League can reimburse me for all my equipment losses." Deathstroke headed towards the freighter.
"What do you think, Mr. Deathstroke?" Diana asked.
"I'm a mercenary, as long as you pay, I'll do any job. But do you really think having me ask an expert is a good idea? Most people just scream when they see me."
"It's a last resort," Diana sighed, "Of course, usually we just have The Flash run a trip, or Superman fly there is fine. But right now, Batman is our biggest problem. Investigating the anomaly of the Power of Seven Lanterns is important, but we can't let it distract us."
"As for the reward. Every member of the Justice League can access our activity fund. I'm sure the price will meet your satisfaction. Of course, if there's any equipment here you can use, feel free to take it. But you must promise not to use this equipment for tasks outside the mission, otherwise, I can't guarantee Batman won't trouble you when he returns."
"I don't need the equipment," Deathstroke said, "Just reimburse me for the wear and tear on my equipment."
"Of course." Diana nodded, "We can convert it to cash for you, and if some complex equipment needs repairs, you can wait for Batman to return."
"Just give me cash, I'd rather not get myself into trouble." Deathstroke said, "Give me the name and address, I'll make sure they arrive promptly."
"No need to rush," Diana said, "I have some questions for you. It's about Shiller. How did you meet him? What happened with you two in Egypt?"
"That's a long story," Deathstroke said, "Shiller went to the Red Sea, and my target happened to be nearby. But some problems arose, causing my mission to fail. I owed him a favor, so I helped him look for the mural."
"That French arms dealer is very cunning. He got in touch with the curator Hayven of the Cairo Museum, and the two of them tried to secretly move the mural. But it happened to be when armed forces attacked Cairo Airport, so they couldn't leave. Hayven hid the mural in his safe house. It took us some effort to find it."
Diana showed a look of realization, then said, "Sounds like quite an adventure. Since it wasn't your mission, I suppose revealing more details doesn't breach your professional ethics. Did anything strange happen during this?"
"Of course," Deathstroke replied, "Didn't you know? When we approached the mural, a meteor suddenly crashed down. Then you called, mentioning some power fluctuations."
"Yes, that's exactly what I meant. Did you find anything later?"
"Shiller took that instrument and went to the meteor's crash site. It was the Hufu Pyramid, you know, that famous landmark. The place was surrounded by people. The police and military were there. It took us a lot of effort to get in. But it was just an ordinary meteor. We didn't find anything there."
"You didn't go inside the Pyramid to look?"
"Oh God. Just getting close to the meteor was hard enough. We couldn't enter the Pyramid under such public scrutiny. Besides, what do you expect there? A mummy's revival?"
Deathstroke paused for a moment and then said, "I don't think there's anything unusual in the Pyramid. You know, that place is a famous attraction, and it opened as usual the next day. That proves the Egyptian authorities didn't find anything there because if there was a problem, the site wouldn't be open. Plus, tourists would notice."
Diana nodded thoughtfully, saying, "Alright, I understand. Then, please do us a favor by visiting an expert in Ancient Egyptian artifacts and invite him here to help us analyze the truth of the mural."
Diana picked up a pen and paper from the side, wrote down an address and a name, and handed it to Deathstroke. Deathstroke took it and saw it read, "Carter Hall—Midway City Museum manager, Michigan."