Chapter Six: S.T.R.I.K.E
On a isolated island stood a large building. Grey walls, helicopters on top, strict guards in uniforms.
This was S.T.R.I.K.E : Scientific Technical Remotely Isolated Killer Exhibit. The island hidden from the map. It was united with nearly every villain the world had to offer. It was the main facility, the top of the charts.
However, no hero really knew about it. It was a secret lair basically, and anyone who was not a welcomed guest would be killed if they stepped even slightly on to the island.
Somewhere inside a meeting was taking place, the room was filled of world-known villains, each more dangerous than the last. On a large platform stood Slade, Professor Chang, Hypnosis and Mad Mod. They all stood proudly.
Hypnosis coughed, the villains quieting down. "Thank you," she said flatly. Her long red hair came down in wavy curls. Her startling and hypnotising green eyes scanned every single person. "Now, we welcome you here today," she politely bowed. "My name is Hypnosis and these are my fellow colleagues," she gestured towards the others.
"Our top priority is to keep this base hidden from the world, and to do that we need to wipe out those who know," she explained.
Several villains piped up in agreement. "Yet," Slade came forward, his dry, mechanical voice striking fear into the weaker of villains. "Several so-called heroes have already discovered that we exist."
"Bring the girl in," Professor Chang said menacingly.
A large door opened and two guards came in, pulling a semi-conscious red-head with half-open emerald green eyes. She was quite tanned but bruises seemed to peek out from her skin.
"Tempest," a whisper cried out.
"Yes," Hypnosis replied darkly. "Our other colleague, Libitina Greyscale has in fact, gone undercover in this Underground Alliance. Tempest here was quickly taken, and Libitina has copied her appearance."
Tempest blinked, waking up some more and was faced with one of her nightmares. A room filled with millions of villains. "Ahh!" she yelled. "Let go off me," she squirmed, but the guards had a strong grip on her, each wearing an emotionless mask as their faces.
"I'm sorry, my dear, but until Libitina wipes out the Underground Alliance, you'll have to remain here," Hypnosis smiled sweetly.
Tempest growled, a wide strand of her hair falling in front of one of her eyes. She felt cold, furious, hungry and tired. Everything was becoming complicated. How did she get here and why was she here?
"Of course, Libitina had been slightly foolish not too long ago, and another member of Underground Alliance sought out her phone which had most of your contact details," Hypnosis continued. "And she gathered information and was going to speak to the other members. However..." Another two guards came in holding a tall, tanned girl with dark brown braided hair. "We put a stop to that."
The tall, slender woman put her hands on her hips, "Take them back to the cells," she demanded of the guards. "And expect more," she added darkly.
Turning back to the villains she smirked, "Now you see how important our job to remain secret is."
More agreements were made from the lower platform. "And Underground Alliance has discovered three main locations," Slade added gravely.
"Hawaii, Paris and London," Mad Mod replied, his bland eyes watching eagerly into the crowd.
"But if they discover this place, we're doomed!" someone in the crowd yelled. People began to rant and argue.
Hypnosis sighed, shaking her head. Putting her hand up, she created green flashes of light and shot them above the villains. Each member looked up at it dazed. The red-haired woman clicked her fingers and it disappeared, making everyone look at her.
"Thank you," she said drily. "Yes, if they do discover our lair, we could be in trouble. However," she began to step off the platform, going towards a large screen. She tapped it and options came up as well as a map. "Libitina has made sure to get a scan of each individual member, and we can track them, wherever they go." She smirked, tapping another button.
Slade coughed for attention, "We thank you all for being with us. That is all."
The room, slowly, began to empty of villains. As soon as it was just the leading members, Hypnosis stepped onto the platform, her eyes dangerously levelling the other members. Her head snapped around to the doorway and she smiled.
"Blackcat," she nodded. "I'm glad you could make it."
Mad Mod and Professor Chang gave each other confused looks, as Slade walked out.
"I wouldn't have missed it for all the tuna in the world," Blackcat replied, standing in the light. Hypnosis grinned as she studied the young girl. Blackcat had striking yellow eyes, black furry ears popped out from her head, a tail was seen behind her, long wavy brown hair and sharp feline teeth.
"I'm delighted that you've accepted our invitation," Hypnosis clasped her hands together. Blackcat walked up to the older woman in powerful, confident yet hunting steps. They shook hands, and Hypnosis managed to make out claws instead of fingernails.
"Being a part of S.T.R.I.K.E? It's an honour," Blackcat replied. The cat-girl studied her superior closely. Hypnosis had startling auburn hair, that floated past her waist. She had a sharp, pointed face, very clear peachy skin, bright green eyes, a pouty mouth covered with dark red lipstick and a small nose.
She was tall, definitely. Very slender and curvy. She seriously couldn't be past her twenties' in age. The woman wore a long ivy green cloak, with a large circular clasp. She wore a darker green cat-suit, lighter green knee-length boots, and gloves. A delicate belt surrounded her waist.
"Good," the woman smiled casually. "I want to show you two of our newest guests," there was a coldness to her voice, capturing Blackcat's interest. "Have you heard of the Underground Alliance?" she asked, leading the brunette out of the room and past guarded corridors.
"Some hero thing?" Blackcat replied, confused.
"Precisely, they're onto us, and we've captured two of their members," Hypnosis boasted proudly.
"Already?" Blackcat followed the woman through a locked door. Hypnosis nodded, opening it and taking the younger girl into a darker room. Large cells surrounded them. Inside one was Hack, and in the other was Tempest. "What an accomplishment," Blackcat blinked, amazed.
"Yes, we favour these girls highly," Hypnosis laughed.
Blackcat nodded, "So, you captured these girls, yet the others are still free?"
"We wouldn't want to arouse suspicion," Hypnosis replied bluntly, leading the girl to another room.
"Why is this place so big?" Blackcat asked, staring at the endless corridors.
"We have six floors," Hypnosis replied quickly, "Each with different resources. A lot of our clients and allies do tend to stay here temporarily. It's on an isolated island, not many can find that much tranquillity."
"I see," Blackcat said thoughtfully, her eyes narrowing. "So the purpose of this facility is to keep you colleagues safe?"
"Basically, yes," Hypnosis led the younger girl into another room filled with screens. Blackcat blinked, confused.
"Spying, much?" she noticed that some screens were recorded in hotels with people walking through the corridors.
"We only want to see how well our enemies have come to discovering us," Hypnosis smiled slyly, closing the door and stepping onto the hard, metal floor. Her heeled boots made a small tapping sound as it conflicted with the stubborn floor. "I they know too much, it'll be easy enough to round them off."
"That's cheating," Blackcat smirked.
"I never did play fairly," Hypnosis chuckled. "Well, if you're willing to join us then your first task would be to watch over Tempest and Hack."
"Guard work?" the younger girl blinked.
"They're too weak to try and escape. Just make sure they don't do anything...Drastic," Hypnosis, with her hands behind her back, left the room. Blackcat bit her lip nervously, already tasting the metallic droplets of blood.
"You're new?" came a voice. The brunette blinked and looked over to see a fair-skinned girl with hot pink hair and startling orange eyes. She wore a blood-red boob-tube and and a black mini-skirt. She wore black ankle boots and a red studded belt. Short black gloves covered her hands and she put them on her waist. "I haven't seen you before," she almost said suspiciously.
"I'm Blackcat," the girl replied, tilting her head slightly.
The pink-haired girl raised an eyebrow, "Uh huh, I'm Lava Girl."
"Wait, wasn't that from Shark Boy and-"
"Don't start," Lava Girl raised her hand sharply.
"Sorry," Blackcat shrugged. Lava Girl rolled her eyes.
"Newbies are always the first," the hot-pink-haired girl sighed.
"Hm?"
"How long do you reckon you'll survive here?" the other girl asked dangerously.
Blackcat thought about it, "I don't know, a while?"
Lava Girl snorted, shaking her pink hair in disapproval, "Just stay on the good side of the higher guys and you'll be fine."
"Thanks for the advice," Blackcat raised a slim eyebrow.
"Don't mention it," Lava Girl strolled from the room, leaving the brunette to ponder over her situation.
Her piercing eyes slowly crept towards the screens. Grunting, she pulled herself from her stance and tapped towards the main screen. The girl folded her arms, and watched curiously. "S.T.R.I.K.E, huh?" she thought out-loud, "This should be interesting."
Hey, been a while, hasn't it?
Sorry this chapter is a bit of a disappointment; I have been really ill and busy recently so it was difficult to increase any enthusiasm towards my stories, which suffered tremendously. I'm still quite busy now, so this chapter is short.
This is probably quite a boring piece, but it had to be done. Hopefully, you'll still like it to some extent.
All of the OCs used in the story belong to their appropiate owners.
