"Hey!" Shiller shouted indignantly, "What's with closing the coffin lid? We've worked so hard to fight to the end, and now you're telling me the final boss won't appear? Reality doesn't have a refund button!"
Shiller took two steps back and extended his hand toward Deathstroke, "Sword."
Deathstroke, a bit perplexed, handed the great sword to Shiller without much thought after all those brain-numbing puzzles they went through.
Shiller grabbed the great sword, jumped onto the coffin, inserted the tip of the sword into the opening where the coffin had been opened, and pried it open. After creating a small gap, he tossed the great sword aside, grabbed the gap with his hands, and tried to pull the coffin lid outward.
Of course, it wouldn't budge, but it wasn't as if it was jammed in place—someone was clearly resisting him from inside. It could move, but only slightly.
"What are you doing?" a slightly resigned voice came from inside the coffin. "Why did you find me? What's Greed doing?"
"Why wouldn't it be me who found you?" Shiller was also puzzled, "If not me, then who?"
"Of course, it should be Batman," the voice lowered. "Or Superman, at the very least, it should be another member of the Justice League. What are you doing?"
"Isn't this a coincidence? The Justice League hired me; come on out!" Shiller gave another strong pull.
"No way, there's supposed to be a plot where I've been sealed so long that I go mad and battle the Justice League for three hundred rounds. You skipped the story!" The person inside the coffin refused to let go.
"They can't come! How about I fight you for three hundred rounds?" Shiller strained to pull harder.
"No way! Go get the Justice League!" The person inside the coffin firmly held onto the coffin board.
The two of them struggled for about three minutes until Shiller was exhausted. With a bang, the coffin lid closed again. He leaned against the coffin, gasping for breath. When he saw Anatoli described as the First Lantern in memories before, he didn't quite believe it. Now it seems he indeed packs a punch. Say what you will, but he's definitely strong.
"What happened?" Deathstroke asked, "Did you get it open?"
Shiller, still panting, shook his head, gritted his teeth, glanced around, and picked up the great sword nearby. This time he didn't pry the lid from the top of the coffin, instead, he went to the end of the coffin, inserted the great sword into a gap there, and pried open another gap, starting to pull from the opposite direction.
"Why are you so stubborn?" The person inside the coffin was caught off guard and almost had the lid pried open, but was quick-handed and grabbed the coffin board again. "I told you it's no way, go and hurry..."
"I don't care if it's no way!" Shiller exerted another forceful pull, "I've fought all the way here, and you say the quest failed? Dream on! Get out!"
"No, seriously, who are you, how are you so..."
Shiller braced one hand against the coffin lid and reached into his clothes with the other hand, pulled out a badge, and tossed it through the gap. Three seconds later, a surprised shout erupted from within the coffin, "FBI?!"
"Open up!" Shiller knocked on the coffin lid, "Otherwise, I'll charge you with resisting arrest and obstructing official duties!"
"No way! You think I don't know the FBI? Even if I come out now, you'll still charge me with resisting arrest and obstructing official duties!"
"Anatoli!" Shiller emphasized, "Do we really need to speak through this lousy coffin lid? Can't you just come out?"
"No way, I don't negotiate with the FBI. You either bring the Justice League here or get someone I know!"
Shiller sighed helplessly, released his hold, and the coffin lid closed with a bang. Deathstroke stepped forward and picked up his sword, asking, "What if I just cut it open?"
Shiller stepped back a bit, and Deathstroke hesitated. He looked at Shiller and asked, "Which generation of Pharaoh is inside?"
"The Soviet generation."
"What?"
"I don't think you can beat him," Shiller said.
"But we've come this far," Deathstroke gestured, "There should be a monster in there for us to fight, right?"
"That's how it should have been."
"And now?"
"The issue now is he thinks we skipped the storyline." Shiller tried hard to explain to Deathstroke, "All those messy checkpoints outside weren't even all of it. The correct clearing process is to bring the Justice League here to fight him before we can proceed to the next step."
"Why does he want to fight the Justice League?"
"I don't know."
"Because unless they see how amazing you are, they won't take you seriously," a voice came from the gap of the coffin again.
"How do you know?" Deathstroke turned to look at the coffin, "We haven't fought the Justice League either; they offered us quite a high price."
"Heh, wait until Batman orders you around doing this and that while coming up with thousands of plans to guard against you; you won't think that way anymore," the voice in the coffin said again.
Deathstroke had no rebuttal because, after all, Batman wasn't here now. But he thought for a moment and realized this job might not be simple if Batman actually returned. Gaining his trust would be difficult, and he might attach a listening device to every notch on his great sword.
"So you're saying, theoretically, the Justice League should be here, but they thought it was too troublesome and outsourced the job to us. But when we get here, he won't fight us; he insists the Justice League has to come?" Deathstroke summarized.
Shiller nodded. Deathstroke also sighed and said, "So do we have to go back and find the Justice League? Isn't this a wasted effort?"
"No need." Shiller shook his head and said, "Wait for me a moment."
Deathstroke stepped back a bit, because he could tell that Shiller might be switching people. Soon, Shiller smiled at him, walked over, and gently knocked on the coffin lid.
"Come out, or I'll go find Lucifer."
With a click, the coffin lid opened. A long sigh came from inside. The light flickering within the coffin was not the glow of the power of seven lanterns, but something that seemed to be fused with another kind of power, shedding rays like the Milky Way. A tall figure floated into mid-air.
Deathstroke looked up and saw those eyes emitting a faint glow. He directly drew his great sword, but heard Shiller say, "Wait."
After the light faded, a man's silhouette gradually came into view. Judging by his appearance, he was a typical Slavic man, with a high brow ridge, deep eyes, and a strong jawline with a soldierly hardness, a look that would fit perfectly on Soviet recruiting posters. His blue eyes still emitted a faint glow, adding a touch of the uncanny to his solemn face.
"Long time no see, Anatoli," Shiller said in Russian, "How have you been lately?"
"You mustn't go find Lucifer." Anatoli responded in Russian as well.
"You two haven't seen each other in a while, have you?"
"Seems that way to me," Anatoli looked at Shiller and said, "But for an immortal species like him, our cold war just lasted two and a half days. If I go to him now, it would mean I lost. That's impossible."
"And also," Anatoli paused, "What's the deal with the FBI? I remember I told you not to mess around in America, didn't I?"
Shiller displayed a bright smile, "I apologize for triggering your CIA allergy, but joining a law enforcement organization can't be considered messing around, can it?"
If Anatoli disagreed, he didn't show it. He merely took a deep breath and said, "Don't let him be with me. That guy is too stubborn, at least half as stubborn as you were when you were young."
"Then evidently he's not persistent enough." Shiller smiled and lowered his eyes, "He's exactly the kind of average person you want."
"Come on, the FBI? At least a normal person wouldn't spend half an hour arguing over a coffin lid with me!"
"You didn't let go either!" Shiller pointed out sharply, "That shows you both are stubborn. You might get along well with him."
"With the blue-skinned dog? Never."
"Didn't expect you to be so prejudiced against him."
"I'm prejudiced against American police," Anatoli spread his hands and said, "It's rare to see such pure capitalist running dogs in human history, basically a bunch of legally armed thugs."
"Oh, so that's what you mind." Shiller said with a smile, "Do you know how to become a top FBI agent?"
"Kill enough people?"
"Kind of, but you kill your own people."
Anatoli squinted and asked, "What have you been doing over there?"
Shiller remained silent. When he raised his eyes again, he looked at Anatoli in surprise and said, "You're out?"
Anatoli was about to say something when Shiller said, "Alright, let's talk about the next step. The Justice League wants to find you, probably to help find traces of Batman in the multiverse. No matter what they say, just agree first, and then we'll go find Batman."
"No." Anatoli said, "I'm more concerned about you right now than Batman. How did you become an agent?"
"This isn't a good place for a flashback scene." Shiller said, "Let's head back to the Justice League base first."
Shiller surveyed the surrounding environment, and finally his gaze settled on the coffin. He noticed the pattern on the ground resembled the ritual array Dr. Hall created, and it seemed likely that after dealing with Anatoli, he could use this teleportation array to leave.
But what if he hasn't dealt with him; what should he do? Shiller pondered for a moment and ultimately decided to take the simplest approach: "Khonsu!"
Khonsu did not respond. Shiller took a gentle breath and said, "Appear within three seconds, and I won't hold this crappy design against you."
"It wasn't me who designed this." Khonsu sounded indignant, his bird's beak making clicking noises, "A certain little pet of yours didn't stop playing around."
"Greed and Gray mist? I knew it was them." Shiller murmured, "Send me back."
Evidently, Khonsu didn't want to be crushed into a pile of bones again; he tapped the ground lightly with his scepter, and the teleportation array lit up. But Shiller paused and then said, "Don't send us directly back to the Justice League base. Take us to Egypt first."
Khonsu's movements paused slightly, but he didn't ask why. With another wave of the magic wand, the array flickered briefly, and he nodded gently. Shiller stepped into the array, and Deathstroke hesitated for a moment before following. Anatoli glanced at Shiller and also stepped onto it.
The array's light suddenly intensified, once again bringing the familiar pure white and haziness. When they regained their senses, they found themselves on the road heading to the Giza Plateau, just like last time.
It was still nighttime, and the road was seldom traveled, so they could only slowly make their way back to Cairo city. Shiller was walking briskly, seemingly not in the mood to talk. Deathstroke glanced at Anatoli, and lowering his voice asked, "Do you know him? What's your relationship?"
"What does it have to do with you?" Shiller glanced at him and asked.
"I'm just curious," Deathstroke said, "Anyone seeing a Russian come out of an Egyptian Pharaoh's coffin would be curious, right?"
"He's not Russian." Shiller snorted lightly and said, "Former Soviet Union military, and KGB."
"Hiss..."