Chapter Two – The Stygian Bombs
He opened the next layer of the package, and took out a small plastic and metal ball, which was black. He read the note attached, also in Otto's scrawl.
'There are three buttons,' it read, 'The first button, with a net on, puts a net around anything that you throw it at. The second button attaches itself to what it is thrown at, digging in - a tracker can be attatched. The third button is, when thrown and pressed, is a grenade (probably lethal, I haven't sampled it) with a ten second timer. The third button is "one use only".' He turned the paper over. 'I am planning to make slightly more non-lethal versions of these, but currently the Pentagon loves them. I call them Stygian Bombs. Enjoy.'
Dr. Nero smiled. This gadget would be the kind of thing that he felt Raven would enjoy. He opened his Black Box (again).
"Raven?" He asked.
"Yes?"
"Mr. Malpenese has sent a package, with some gadgets you would enjoy. Come to my office, please."
"On my way, Max." He expression was slightly wary, as though (even though she didn't know what it was) she thought that Otto was trouble.
The screen went black, and Dr. Nero put his Black Box (again). He pulled back the other two flaps of the box to reveal five more of the black balls (Stygian Bombs), sitting in two rows, and smiled.
The doors hissed open, and Raven entered. She came over eagerly, and looked down at the balls.
"What do they do?" She asked.
Wordlessly, he handed the paper.
She read it. "Quite clever," She commented. She picked one up, and flung it at the wall, pressing the button for a net. It hit the wall, and covered a patch of it. They went over to examine it.
The edges of the net were covered in a thin layer of magnetic metal and what looked like small suction pads. Raven found what looked like the shell of the ball in one corner. She pressed the net button again, and it contracted together, and fell, now back into a Stygian Bomb. She caught it quickly, and raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Malpenese has been getting on, hasn't he?"
Nero nodded. "Do you want the others?"
Raven turned to return the Stygian Bomb to the box, and spotted the others. A smile curved at her lips. "Yes. I think I will. They are quite smart little items to have. I wonder what Malpenese will have in the 'non-lethal version'." She paused, looking down at the box. "What's in the next layer?"
Nero hurried over. "I don't know." He said. "Let's check."