Part 2 Stranded in the Jungle.

The alligator stood with open maw before Canary. "Crocodile." She yelled.

There was an audible snap as the alligator closed its jaws. Canary just barely avoided them it.

"Crocodile! Ha, ha!" Oracle laughed. "It's impossible Dinah. There are no crocodiles on the American continent."

Canary clung to the back of the alligator. She used one arm on the snout of the alligator to keep its jaws forced shut. "Tell that to Crocky I'm wrestling here, I have his jaws forced shut."

The spray from splashing of water flew everywhere around the alligator and canary on top of it. Canary used her semi free hand and grabbed something from her supply belt. "If I can just reach my taser wand."

Because she had loosed her grip the alligator shook her off. She landed away from the alligator with a splash.

Oracle called over Dinah's earpiece. "No Dinah! The water! You'll fry yourself too!"

The alligator opened its jaws once more and took a rush at Dinah.

Dinah tossed the object she grabbed from her belt at the alligator. It flew into its gaping jaws. "Damn! Thanks for the warning but I grabbed the fire extinguisher by mistake anyway."

The alligator chomped down on the object as Canary desperately tried to fling herself out of the way.

Oracle shouted to her. "Oh my god Canary! Dinah!"

The alligator came toward her again. It loomed large before her. It even seemed its torso started to swell.

Dinah stared in horror as it came at her. "Even though I hate them, I wish I had a gun."

The alligator puffed up like an inner tube and exploded. Canary raised her hands up to protect herself. "What the hell?"

Canary stood waist deep in the water. The water where the alligator was was now full of red and bubbles. Pieces of alligator slime covered Canary's costume. "It just blew up."

"What did you do?" Oracle asked astonished.

" I threw my portable fire extinguisher in its mouth."

Oracle stoked her chin thoughtfully. " I get it. It must have been punctured. The compressed fire retardants expanded upon release."

Dinah washed the chunks of alligator from her suit. "And crocky go boom."

Dinah moved up river close to the shore the. " Looks like more deadly predators up ahead. I can see smoke and hear gunfire not far from here."

Oracle stared at a blip on the computer screen in front of her." I got your location as being near loyalist lines."

Oracle sat in front of the computer screen. She reached out touching the wheel of her chair. " I've always found reasons for avoiding using handguns, I guess I fear them a little, circumstances being what they are. But just now you being armed could've helped save your life. I mean I never questioned my dad strapping on his gun every morning before work."

Dinah climbed up out of the river and looked out at the army encampment. Several large tents were erected before a huge mountain. Dinah hid behind trees and shrubbery. She looked out to see several loyalist soldiers hunkered down among sandbags. " I am armed Oracle, literally. My arms and legs are far deadlier weapons than most idiots with a gun will ever be."

"You're trying to tell me you have a killer body. The way you flaunt your arms and legs sometimes Canary makes me wonder who's the bigger man-eater you or the crocodile."

"You're just jealous." Canary reached into her backpack.

"Maybe I am."

"And I thought you said Crocky didn't exist in this part of the world."

"That's true. That wasn't a crock. Pardon the pun."

"Speaking of reptiles…" Canary pulled a frog out of the sack. "Your Kermit here has some recon to do."

Oracle 's computer screen filled with a fish eye lens picture of Dinah. " The image Kermit is broadcasting is coming in perfectly clear. Geez Canary you look awful." Oracle looked to a slime covered canary.

"I guess swimming in River Crocky isn't exactly the healthiest of pastimes." Canary controlled the robot frog on the ground with a joystick in her hands.

"Just point him in the direction you want and press the jump button."

The frog hopped along the ground. "This thing is wonderful. I have to get one for my nephew for Christmas. He'd love it."

"Just be careful you don't get it run over on the freeway."

"What?"

"Never mind. Steer him toward that group of soldiers."

The soldiers stood and sat on the sandbags nearby. They wore tattered and dirty uniforms. The frog hopped on the ground near them.

One of the soldiers spoke. "I told you, the general has assured me that in 24 hours time the rebel resistance will be annihilated. We shall march unopposed back to the capital, and throw the traitors out of the palace."

He added looking less confident. "Ahem… The one that wasn't burned to the ground."

Another soldier answered him. "I pray you are right captain, for if not we shall all surely die."

Oracle watched the two soldiers on her computer screen seen with a fish eye lens. "Looks like their moral is none too high."

The captain scolded the soldier. "Such defeatist talk is near treasonous, I want to hear no more of such ideas from any of you."

"Yes captain."

Oracle spoke over Canary's earpiece. "Canary I've rigged Kermit with a psychoactive gas dispersion system. It acts on the brain to produce a lack of concentration. Their judgments and reactions will be impaired, without them realizing they've been drugged. The effects will last around two hours. It should give you the advantage you need to slip past them. Just press the fire button on the joystick."

Kermit's cheeks bulged out like a bullfrog. Clear smoke emitted from it's mouth.

The captain standing directly over the frog turned to his men. "You men just … Um what was i going to say?"

Another soldier slumped off the sandbag he was resting on." I don't know… what… huh?"

The group of soldiers looked blankly into space.

Canary sneaked past the group and headed toward the tents behind them.

Oracle spoke over Canary's radio. "From what I overheard they must be planning to use this secret weapon 24 hours from now."

Canary leaned her back against one on the tents. She remained unnoticed as two soldiers passed by near her.

Dinah whispered. "Whatever this Alpha Omega is, it's got to here in one of these tents."

Dinah entered one of the tents through the front flap.

Oracle called over her earpiece. "Are you planning on checking each one of them out? It'll take forever Canary. Not to mention might get you discovered."

Canary swept into the tent. Inside there were 3 surprised soldiers, behind them various supplies lined the walls.

Canary took out one with a kick, while striking another on the chin, knocking him backwards with her open palmed hand.

The two men slumped to the ground. The remaining soldier looked toward Canary frightened. He stumbled to bring his weapon to bear. "Santa…"

Canary kicked the last soldier fiercely in the groin.

He fell to his knees with a look of utter anguish on his face. He whispered in a quite voice. "…Maria."

A rope was tightly wound around the neck of the soldier. Canary held the end of the noose controlling how tight it was. "Oracle do you know any Spanish?"

"Some."

" How do I ask this creep where the boss is?"

Canary wore a uniform absconded from the soldier she questioned, who was now tied up behind her. The beret she wore was pulled down over her ears to hide her earrings. She moved through the encampment towards a tent that had two guards in the front.

She smiled broadly as she saw the man in the suit that she had spied on at the pentagon approaching the tent. "Pay dirt Oracle. The jerk from the pentagon is here. He's heading into the generals tent."

Oracle gazed at her computer screen. "If you use Kermit, I'll be able to see what going on inside."

The frog hopped along the ground toward the tent.

Dinah called gently to it. "Hop to it little fella."

General Francass was seated at a large desk inside of a rather large tent. The man in the suit leaned over the edge of the desk staring at the maps spread in out on it.

General Francass puffed on a cigar. " Well, what news? When will my soldiers be able to drive the rebels back?"

The suit replied confidently. "In the morning resistance will crumble, your enemies will be dead or dying."

"And my men?"

The suit smiled reassuringly. "Have nothing to worry about, everyone is receiving immunization their morning rations. It's already arranged."

Francass blew rings of smoke from his mouth. " And how are you sure that the agent will infect all the rebel scum?"

The general spread his fingers over the map before him. "The battlefield is spread over several kilometers."

The suit held up an artillery shell in one hand in the other hand he held a small metal object much like an overlarge coin. "The agent Alfa Omega is compressed into these magnetic spheres."

He compressed the sphere into a slot in the artillery shell. "They are fastened to the artillery shells before they are fired. When the shell explodes the agent's spheres are cracked open. The liquid agent turns to gas and is carried along with the smoke in whichever direction the wind blows. Only a small amount needs to be inhaled for the agent to be effective. The fog of war will bring death to our enemies."

Far in the distance a shell hit the ground. The smoke resulting from the explosion drifted over the rebel soldiers taking cover on the ground.

Canary wandered through the camp wearing her stolen uniform.

An officer yelled in Spanish at Canary. "You there! What do you think you are doing?"

Canary turned, taken by surprise. "Er, ah… um… bonjour."

The officer squinted at Canary suspiciously. He spoke again in Spanish. "You should be at the front. Do you mean to desert the cause?"

Oracle spoke over her radio. "In Spanish say you need to pick up supplies. Its…"

Dinah spoke to the officer in bad Spanish. "Er, non estes… er ondely."

"Oh hell." Canary head butted the officer knocking him unconscious. "Ondele, Ondele, he ha."

Canary picked up the body.

Oracle prodded her. "I see we're using the stealthy sneaky approach."

Canary carried the unconscious officer into a nearby tent. The tent was empty of personnel but was instead full of shells, rifles, and explosives. One of the containers was labeled. Top Secret. Property of U.S. Government. Agent A. O.

Canary smiled looking at the box. "I think I've just struck gold Oracle."

Dinah sifted through the box labeled A. O. It was filled with small metal sphere like objects. "Looks like I found agent Alpha Omega."

Oracle stared at the cinders through the robotics frog's eyes. "Careful Dinah from what I can tell there seems to be a powerful toxin a nerve gas or the like inside those cylinders."

Dinah rolled the cylinder in her hand. "The question is now that I found them how do I get rid of them, before they dump this stuff on an unsuspecting army. Largely made of farmers and deserters."

Oracle responded. "From what I overheard the loyalist army is already immunized against the agent."

Dinah smiled looking at a case full of high explosive. " So it's ok if I blow this place to smithereens."

Dinah placed a small object with a digital timer on the crate of explosives. "I'll just attach this small explosive to this big explosive."

Oracle replied. "Just so long as you're long gone by the time it goes up, you're not immunized, remember."

Dinah headed out of the tent, dragging the officer she head butted behind her. "Too bad I just can't leave senior pain in the butt here to get blown up."

Dinah was suddenly struck in the head with a blackjack.

Her world faded into blackness.

Oracle called out looking at the image of a group of tents she was receiving from the frog. There was no sign of the Black Canary. "Canary? Dinah are you ok?"

A bucket of water was splashed in Dinah's face. She lay bound with ropes on the ground. "Huh, wha… what's the…"

Dinah looked up to see four soldiers sticking rifles with sharp bayonets in her face. Behind them was the American in the suit. "Point… of this."

Canary's arms and legs were bound. she was sitting on the floor, her back up against a tent wall. Before her were 4 soldiers with bayoneted rifles pointed at her

Canary rubbed her head where she had been hit by the blunt instrument. "My head is killing me, any of you fellas got an aspirin."

The man in the slick suit laughed at this. "Yes I suppose you would like an aspirin soon enough."

The man in the suit leaned over her. "The Black Canary? Is it not? Your presence here could spell no end of trouble to my plans. Therefore I'd thought it best to remove you as quickly as possible. Do you see that patch on your arm?"

Canary looked at her arm the sleeve had been rolled up and a bandage resembling the patch used for people trying to quit smoking. That patch contains the agent Alpha Omega. Right now it's being absorbed into your skin. A very slow but secure way for the agent to infect someone. We used it to test the troops to see that they were properly immunized. If we were to use the gas compound you'd be out so quickly I wouldn't be able to get to tell you the terrible thing that's about to happen to you."

Dinah fiercely stared back at him. "I know what you're planning you psycho. But you won't get to release that poison of yours on those unsuspecting troops."

Oracle listened as a voice speaking Spanish came from nearby speakers.

Oracle shouted. "Canary can you hear me. It seems one of the soldiers got your necklace so I can't hear you but because they're harder to remove I'll assume you've got your earrings on still. That bomb is going to go off in about 4 minutes."

Canary smiled up at the suit. "In fact, I'll stop you soon, in about 4 minutes."

The suit took the small bomb that canary had attached to the crates and showed it to her. The timer had stooped at 8 minutes.

Canary looked down disappointedly. "Damn." She whispered softly.

The suited man explained. "Believe it or not the agent is not toxic in and of itself. Once a person is dosed, the liver metabolizes the agent. This metabolite is the actual toxin. The most immediate effect is the sudden onset of compete and utter muscular paralysis. Its chemical metabolite builds up in the blood making the victim's paralysis more acute, until it reaches such levels that the heart stops, usually in less than 24 hours."

Canary looked up at him disgusted. "The United States, using chemical weapons against innocent people?"

"Might I remind you dear that these innocent people you're talking about are armed soldiers. Soldiers loyal to a regime that has, like Cuba, broken off diplomatic relations with the United States. "

"Oh I get it. You want your little puppet what's his name Frank's ass back in the driver's chair."

"Frankly sweetheart, I don't give a damn about Francass, this country or what happens here. Just so long as those weapons get deployed."

"Oh you're one of that kind huh, just following orders? General Mills is behind all this."

"You know about Mills? Well it doesn't matter. You'll be dead soon enough. General Mills is an easily manipulated fool. I'm here halfway around the world for the thing that makes the world go round. Money."

"The best of it all, my dear, is that the cure for your malady is simple acetylsalicylic acid."

"What?"

He bent down and whispered in Canary's ear. Canary's eyes widened.

She looked to him unable to speak "…"

"What's the matter dear? Frog in the throat?"

Canary smiled, staring at the robot frog as it hopped into the tent.

Oracle moved the joystick controller. She stared at the computer screen in front of her, which displayed the image of the suited man and Dinah inside the tent. "I'm going to release Kermie's confusion gas, it'll give you a fighting chance to get out of their, hold your breath Canary."

The frog's cheeks puffed out, it blew gas out of its mouth.

The suit frowned down at canary oblivious to the frog emitting the clear hazy gas. "This is unfortunate. In truth I really do hate to kill anyone as beautiful as… about… whatever… What was I talking about?" He stopped at looked blankly into space.

Canary quickly used one of the bayonets pointed at her to slice through the rope tying her hands together.

The men in the tent looked into space, completely unaware of what was going on around them.

Canary then grabbed a bayonet off of one of the surprised soldier's rifles.

Canary tore a hole in the back of the tent with the bayonet.

Canary approached the soldier guarding the front the tent. In his hands he was admiring the necklace he had taken from Canary.

The soldier whipped around to face her.

"Don't worry I know you're only a soldier and you might have a family. But you hit me and took my jewels. So I'll just hit you it the family jewels." She kneed him in the groin.

Then she hit him cleanly in the back of the head and he slumped unconscious.

Canary spoke into the necklace that the soldier had stolen from her. "Oracle can you hear me?"

"Oh thank god. I guess the gas worked."

"They dosed me Barb. They dosed me with the agent." Dinah ripped the patch off her arm. "And I gotta tell ya I feel pretty crappy right now. I don't think I'm going to make it out of here."

"Move Dinah head for those hills on your left. Go, go now."

Dinah ran from the camp groggily, her head swam. " I really, really don't feel so good Oracle, get me out of here."

Oracle typed away at her keyboard. "Don't worry Dinah. I'll send somebody to get you out. You just get to those hills."

Canary reached up and grabbed the rock face above her. Oracle assured her. "The Calvary is on the way girl."

A soldier spotted her as she climbed up one of the hill. He shouted in Spanish. "There she is."

Canary ran up toward the mountain foothills. Shots were fired at her but missed her above her head.

Canary stood on one side of a 6 feet wide crevice in the rock. A few shots were fired missing Canary and ricocheting off the rock behind her. "I'm between a rock and a hard place Oracle. I mean that quite literally."

Canary looked down into the pit below her. "There's a small chasm between me and freedom, normally I could jump it no problem. But the way I feel now. God I'm so tired."

Oracle said. "Jump it Canary, you can't give up now. We've still got an entire army to save. I know you can do this. I have faith in you"

Canary spread her legs wide as jumped in the air between the two ledges. "I guess that would make this a leap of faith."

Canary's foot touched the other side of the ledge. "One gigantic leap for womankind."

Canary ran along the side of the mountain. She heard a whoop, whoop, whoop in the background. "I'm clear Oracle, where's that rescue you promised me."

"I think I hear him now."

Canary looked up to see hank's helicopter approaching her. "It's Hank but there's nowhere for him to put down."

The side hatch of Hank's helicopter opened and a rope ladder was tossed out the side.

Canary looked up. "Oh."

The ladder swung by Canary. She grabbed on to it while bullets whizzed past her striking the rock behind her.

"I hear gunfire." Oracle's voice bleared.

"Dammit sugar, that's cuz they's shooting at us." Hank called into his radio.

Canary climbed the rope ladder as Hank gained altitude. Several more bullets whizzed by in the air past her.

Canary crawled in through the side of the chopper on her hands and knees.

Hank pushed the flight stick forward. "Man that was close, almost like back in Nam, extraction under enemy gunfire. You ok sugar?"

Oracle asked. "Are you alright Dinah?"

Hank looked back at Canary. She lay unconscious on the floor of the helicopter. "Sugar?"

"Dinah? Canary?"

End of Part 2

"The Chemical Weapon" m