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As you follow him you strain your senses, but even heightened you can't hear the faintest rustle of his feet in the grass, even his figure in the low light evades you at times. Blending or joining the shadow around him, breaking up the familiar silhouette of a man. You imagine spotting this in a dark alley at night and gulp. It's a good thing he's on your side.
His cape opens and he ascends the stone stairs at a slow pace. You can't see his eyes but you can imagine they're a lot like your own at any given scene, glancing and scouring all directions. You extend a foot to the first stair and it feels like passing your limb through a mister of ice water. Goosebumps rise simultaneously all over you as the rest of you follows through. You even groan slightly.
"You'll get used to it." Batman says over his shoulder.
"What was that?" You reply, a very slight amount of nausea rising in your gut.
"A veil. This house is concealed unless you've visited before, I should have warned you."
"Concealed? I saw this place down the road, it's impossible to miss."
His hand retracts from a brass door knocker hanging from a gargoyles mouth and spins to look at you.
"You could see the House of Mystery before passing through the veil?"
"It's a massive mansion, I don't know how I could have missed it. Also, 'House of Mystery'? What kind of place is this?"
"Hm.." Batman grumbles quietly. "We should get inside."
He turns and grasps the brass ball tightly in a gloved hand before pulling it back once and dropping it with a powerful crack against the dark polished oak. The sound echoes into the surrounding fields and dies off as you both stand staring at the door... for more than a minute.
"Big house but not that big, maybe your friend isn't home?"
"He's home."
"Maybe we should knock again then? Maybe he didn't hear-"
"He heard. He just isn't answering because he hasn't done what I've asked."
"You asked him to-"
Your question is interrupted by Batman reaching out another gloved hand and grasping the knob to the door which causes a loud clunk to come from the other side. You hear the leather creak as his grip tightens around it and it resists his efforts. You can see his arm shaking but the little of his face that is visible beneath the mask doesn't shift in expression at all until he leans forward and whispers through a scowl.
"Open up before he has to replace you."
The knob gives and Batman releases, letting it fly open into a hallway that seems... impossibly long.
"What the hell?" You mumble, stepping past him. "Place looked big from the outside but this is.."
Batman steps in and the door slams shut violently. You hear the loud clunk again and watch as a metal bar on the door drops itself.
"This is insane." You whisper.
"Worse." Batman mutters. "It's magic."
He sets off down the hall and you scramble after with wide eyes.
"Did you say magic?"
"Yes."
"As in MAGIC, Magic."
"Yes." He answers again, firmly.
