Vengeful, Venomous Pain
Part One: Vacillant

"If she is beyond my reach, or dead, then so are you!" H.G. threatened, taking her eyes off of Myka's form for a moment to glare daggers in Artie's direction.

"Me? Me! You think I wanted this, do you! If anyone deserves the death penalty, it's you!" Artie shouted, throwing his arms in the air in complete frustration. "None of this would be happening if you weren't here!"

"None of this would be happening if you knew how to get over your ignorant prejudices, you -"

"I think we've all had enough threats for today," Pete interjected, trying to ease the situation that was extremely tense already. "Let's focus on Myka, here and now! She needs our help."

"Oh God," Claudia mumbled as she looked down at her friend and fellow agent. "She's getting worse, guys." This was no exaggeration either. Myka lay on the floor of the main office in the Warehouse, her body convulsing violently. Her internal systems were expanding and contracting rapidly, and her muscles were having fierce spasms. Her entire body was threatening to come apart in reaction to the artifact that now clung to her neck. Blood dripped down around its black surface from Myka's neck, and was forming a small pool beneath her.

H.G, who was knelt beside her, lifted up Myka's head and placed it in her lap. "Please, do something!" she begged to anyone in the room. Everyone seemed transfixed by the image of their closest friend struggling for her life on the floor. But it was Claudia who finally jumped into action.

"Okay, Artie! You're the one who knows all about this artifact," she said as she stood in front of him to make sure that he was paying attention. "We've tried pulling at it and putting fire to it, and that just seemed to make it worse. So how can we take it off?"

"You can't," Artie answered in an absent voice.

"What do you mean you can't, Artie?" Pete asked as he stepped closer to Artie. He could feel himself getting angrier. He didn't want to be angry, not towards Artie, and not while his friend was in trouble. Anger wasn't going to solve anything. But he couldn't help it. "You mean there's no way of getting that thing off Myka?"

"Artie, there's gotta be a way! You wouldn't just...use something like that if you couldn't reverse it, right?" Claudia asked, all too scared of what his answer might be.

"It's an artifact, can't we just drench it in the purple goo?" Helena asked from the floor, holding on to Myka tightly so her body wouldn't rattle all across the floor.

"It's impossible," Artie said, the weight of his words bringing him down into a chair. "That's why it was in the Dark Vault. Ivan's Beetle was designed to attach itself to a living thing, and not leave until it was done draining the life force out of its host. The only way the Beetle will release itself is if...Myka is dead."

"Ivan? Please don't tell me you mean Ivan the Terrible!" Helena asked. Artie nodded solemnly.

"And you were going to put that thing on H.G?" Claudia asked. "Knowing what it could do!"

"Man, Artie that's sick! That's just sick, man!" Pete exclaimed.

"I was trying to protect us! I was trying to protect all of us from that monster," Artie shouted in response as he pointed to Helena, unthinkably trying to defend himself.

"Protect us?" Helena scoffed. "Artie, do you realize how psychotic you sound? Your blind and ignorant beliefs are bringing you to kill us off, one by one, you despicable pig! If there is a monster in this room, it's you! And if you don't find a way to save Myka, so help me God, I will..." Helena's words got caught in her throat as a sob escaped in their place. Tears streamed down her face as her mind closed in on the thought of loosing Myka. Her dear Myka, her only friend, the only person she really had in this world. Grief began to overcome her.

"Artie please, tell me there's something," Claudia said in a weak voice as she failed to fight back her own tears. "Please don't tell me we have to watch Myka die." Artie said nothing; merely looked down from Claudia to Myka in H.G.'s lap. Her body twisted and contorted so gruesomely that the group thought she might snap herself in two. All any of them could do was look on in horror.

"Myka please," H.G whispered to her friend as she held Myka's pale face in her hands. "Myka, you have to be strong. You have to fight this." She tried desperately to see through the blur of her tears. She reluctantly let go of Myka's face for a moment to wipe them away. "Please Myka, my dearest Myka, you can't leave me."

Myka's eyes slowly began to focus on Helena as her own body fought against her. She opened her mouth to try and speak, but only a gurgling cough came out several times, accompanied by a thick trail of blood oozing from the corner of her mouth. Suddenly Myka's entire body stiffened and her hand shot up to grab hold of Helena's shirt. H.G took Myka's hand in her own instantly, hoping against hope that she would be able to pull through this.

"Guh...guh...guh..." She tried to speak through her blood-filled throat. Then a loud thud startled everyone out of their trance. They looked down to see Ivan's Beetle fallen to the ground on its back. It's legs kicked out and it made a small squeaking noise for a few moments before curling up and going dormant again. Myka took in one sharp breath, and then her body went limp in Helena's arms. A painful stabbing silence engulfed the room... ...