No in Room Left In Hell.
Chapter four. Descent.
A/N. Thanks Darkness Within.
Every inch of the tunnel passed under her gaze for the third time and still, she could not see where the little blond girl hand gone in such a short amount of time.
"Ok," Raven said, keeping her voice even, "Let's move on."
"You worried?" Jinx asked Raven, but there was not mockery in her tone as Raven would have expected. Instead, it was coated with genuine interest.
"A little," Raven admitted, taking the lead. The other end of the dark, foul smelling, cylinder shaped room they were walking in held a door.
"Heh heh," Jinx snickered to herself, " I don't know why I'm surprised," she added shaking her head, "I guess I just had you pegged as this 'Holier than thou,' hard-ass. You have that down so well!"
"Um...Thanks?" Raven said. Jinx laughed as she caught up with Raven.
"We could down die down here," Jinx said following Raven through the door and into yet another dark, damp room. This one looked nearly identical to the last. It was lit only by a couple of crude lights. Dozens of flies danced before them. "There could be zombies behind any door. We'll be trapped. Snuffed out! Or maybe there's a giant mutant alligator like on tv!"
"Exactly. Keep thinking positively," Raven said flatly.
"I didn't think you'd want too!" Jinx said. "But I can give it a try if 'ya want. Here goes. Nothing against your friends, but If I have to die with any Titan I'm glad it's you."
Most of her wanted to ignore the comment. The other gave into the sloppy grin pasted on Jinx's face as the pink haired girl waited for Raven to ask why.
"Ok. Why?"
"Because you're the coolest one! Duh."
Raven was struck by the complement. Going through life with so few made her very sensitive to them, especially when she didn't see them coming. Count the fact that the source was an unusual one and you had a nearly blushing Raven, thankful the darkness of the tunnel hid her face.
'Note to self. Desensitize weakness for embellishment,' Raven vowed.
"I take back what I said about your cape. It actually looks quite puuuuuuuurty on us," Jinx said, ducking under Raven's cape and one of her arms.
Raven swirled, causing the cape to flow over Jinx's horned head and stepped away from her.
"And what did you say about my cape?" Raven asked her.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Jinx teased.
"No. Actually, now that I think about it, I wouldn't."
"Smart ass!" Jinx cursed. Raven repressed a grin that almost resulted from the spirited exchange.
Raven's communicator beeped then.
"Raven. It is Starfire. I am where you asked me to be, but where are you?"
"Change in plans Starfire. We lost the kid. Go back to whatever you were doing." Raven said.
"Alright." Starfire said.
"Hey Raven," Jinx called into the silence after traveling a couple more empty rooms and corridors. The rooms looked as if they hadn't been in use for quite some time.
"What is it?" Raven responded.
"Do you uh..." Jinx stammered.
"What?"
"Do you like me?"
Raven was baffled by the question. Was this an elementary school playground? Cause she had been under the firm impression that she was traveling a filthy sewer line looking for a frightened, little girl and avoiding at least a thousand dead people intent on doing something worse than simply killing her. Honestly! What a time to think about such things.
"What does it matter?" Raven countered with a hint of annoyance.
"It doesn't," Jinx said looking away, "I was just wondering...kinda sounded like you were enjoying my company back there..." Jinx mumbled hoping Raven would only hear the last comments if she agreed with them.
"Well..." Raven thought about it a little,"I suppose you're not ... so bad."
"Wha? Raven likes me? Somebody call Mr. Cool Aid! Drinks on me!" Jinx cheered making a rooting gesture with her arms. Raven shook her head and wished she hadn't said anything.
"How can you act so damn crazy at a time like this? You might die soon, remember? If those things don't kill you, it's still possible you might turn into one of them. Or worse." Raven voiced, not sparing the sensitivity of the subject matter.
Jinx's little celebration came to an end. She looked down at the ankle high water rippling at the sides of her boots. "It works for me when I don't think about it," Jinx said rubbing her arm and thinking of the poison swimming through her blood stream. "I donno. Maybe I just have a hard head but...I think I'll be ok If I forget its there. I function better this way. I know, it's stupid."
Raven blinked as she processed Jinx's response. It occurred to her that every one had there own way of dealing with stress and Jinx's, at the moment, was slightly similar to her own, although, Raven would try to put all her emotions aside to focus on the task at hand. In either case, now was not the best time to criticize or trade tactics.
"We need to find Sherry."
"Don't worry about her. She's one tough cookie. I cant tell." Jinx said, actually giving Raven an encouraging grin. Raven noted this subconsciously.
"Always with the sugar related analogies," Raven said dryly, noticing the criminals concern for someone she barely knew. Raven wasn't sure what to make of this and she really didn't have time to analyze any further.
"My sweet side must be showi-" Jinx started, but was cut short by a deafening scream that originated from her own vocal chords. The microscopic intruder inside had decided to make it's presence know once again. Jinx clutched her head, as her heart beat became erratic. Her vision began to blur and her blood started to burn.
"Ahhhhhh!" Jinx cried, falling against the wall and sliding down to the water and slime soaked floor. Violent tremors running through her gave her frail form no peace.
"Jinx," Raven said, once again smothering any concern she might have for the suffering with reason and logic. Jinx either could not hear or was unable to respond. She continued to twist and turn, vain attempts to block out the pain her only intent.
Raven tried to pull her arms away from her head to inspect the girl, but had to fight with Jinx just to do that. Finally, Raven forced Jinx's arms to her sides and trapped her in an embrace before they could return. Jinx's arms instead rested around Raven's waist.
"I don't want to...die," Jinx sobbed.
"I...don't know many people who do," Raven said, finding the position completely strange. This job could be so demanding.
Jinx was quite for a while then. Her body relaxed and her breathing eased.
"Is that the best you can do to comfort people? Sheesh! Take some lessons," Jinx commented.
"Beggars can't be choosers."
"So can I beg you to tell me what you are?" Jinx countered. They were still in each other's arms and in a deep dark whole.
Raven froze mentally. Jinx had asked her this same question when they were in the foot ball stadium. She had refused to answer then for the same reason she should now. It was personal information that she did not share liberally with anyone. Not even her own teammates.
"Why do you insist on-"
"Kill my curiosity before the cootie-virus kills me," Jinx said weakly.
Raven thought it over for half a minute.
"I'm half demon. My mother was mortal and my father was not. Happy know?"
"Tickled pink!"
"We can go now?" Raven asked rising and taking away the warmth and comfort Jinx was beginning to like.
'Sh!t.' Jinx cursed. 'Either it's the drugs or I'm falling for this chick. Not good Jinx. When's the last time anyone held me like that when I was scared witless? When have I ever been held like that? It's not the chick part that has me worried, but a Titan?' Jinx thought, trying to put her fear of this development deep in the back of her mind with her other fears.
The girls traveled across a catwalk fifty feet above a cess pool. Jinx had been moving slowly at first, finding her limbs were a little sore from the last biochemical attack. Once she was sure of herself, she sprung onto the thin rail and walked across it one foot at a time. Raven's momentary show of shock, and what might have been concern, made her smile.
"Stop where you are!" a shout rang out. The girls turned to face it's source. They found her standing on the other end of the bridge from where they had just come from. She wore a lab coat and had a gun trained on them.
"Well, there's something you see every other day in this biz," Raven said flatly.
"You..." the woman said looking them over. Recognition registered in her eyes when she looked at Raven. Not so much when they rested on Jinx. "You are the Titans?"
"She is," Jinx sniffed, indicating Raven with her head, "It's your turn. Who are you?"
"That's irrelevant," the woman said.
"Your walking around a sewer with a gun while armageddon is going on upstairs. I think it's pretty damn relevant and I just so happen to be in the market for a science geek who can cure what ever the hell this Umbrella jerk shot me with!" Jinx ranted.
"Did you see a little girl come through her?" Raven asked suddenly, joining in. The woman's brows narrowed at this question.
"Why would a girl be wondering around here?" her interest gave her away. She knew something. Now that Raven looked at her she realized this woman favored Sherry. Especially the eyes.
"A small blonde girl about eight or nine years old..." Raven started.
"No!" the woman said, her hands went to her ears, trying to keep Raven's voice out.
"Her same is Sherry-"
"What! You brought my daughter down here?"
"So it's true. You sent her to the police station. You knew about the zombie outbreak. Who are you!" Raven demanded.
"I don't have to explain myself to anyone!" the woman cried, clearly not entirely mentally stable. Her gun was once again aimed at the girls. It was enveloped in black energy a second later and floated into Raven's waiting hands.
"The police station was overrun. We we're in the process of transporting her out of the city when she ran off search of...her father," Raven said letting her last words sink in.
"Sherry," the woman moaned miserably. "I have to find her." she said, I defiant glint was in her eyes as she looked at Raven and Jinx. They were obstacles to a woman prepared, for whatever her reasons, to crawl on her belly through hell to find her offspring.
"We'll find her," Raven said, not to concerned wether or not this would calm the mother. "But you're going to have to tell us what happened and how we can stop it."
The woman weighed her options mentally. She decided the idea of having the Titans help did appeal to her, so began to tell them her story.
"You can't stop it, but I can tell your not the type to listen to logic. My name is Annette Birkin. My husband William and I use to work for the Umbrella corporation. Our Lab is below Jump city. We were researching the G-Virus when our employers became suspicious of our intentions. They sent operatives to retrieve our work and take us off the project. When William refused they shot him. I found him near death and went for help. When I returned, he was gone. I soon learned that in effort to save his own life, and to exact his revenge, he injected himself with the virus. He hunted down the operatives and killed them with the mind of a murder and the body of a bio weapon. And that's not the worst of it. Every G-Virus bio weapon has the ability to implant embryos. The bodies of individuals with non related genetic coding to the embryo are likely to reject it and are thus killed by it as it leaves their body. Sherry is his daughter; that possibility is nonexistent in her case. That's why he calls to her!"
"Poor kid," Jinx said, clouds of gloom developing in her eyes. "But how does any of that explain the zombies?"
"When William killed the operatives, the sample vials he did not consume were devoured by rats. They carried it to the surface. The virus was spread from person to person. Since the civilians were not infected with enough of the original virus they became inferior products of the G-Virus."
"What about that big guy in the police station-" Jinx started.
"My dear Annette. I do believe you've said enough," he said as he dropped from a higher level onto the bridge. His arrival put the Titan and the criminal on the defensive. It was Slade.
"You're a spy!" Annette accused Slade.
"I am many things," he replied.
"You are currently in my way!" Annette said moving to shove her way past him. Shade twisted his upper body and used her own momentum to flip her over the rail. She screamed a she plummeted to her death. Raven reached for her with her power, but a sudden blow to he head broke her concentration like a twig. Raven stumbled away from her attacker as he focused his attention on Jinx and tried once again to save Annette. It was too late. She could not feel the woman's psyche meaning she had likely hit the bottom died.
"What the hell are you up too Slade?" Jinx said throwing fist after fist at him. He backed away parrying them. "What do you know?"
"I know that I don't have to tell anything to a dead girl. Well...Not dead yet but soon enough, right?" Slade taunted. Jinx's features curled into a snarl. She leapt at him and positioning her self for a flying kick. Slade ducked under her and ran for Raven.
"You will not pass," Raven said raising her arms and her powers.
"I beg to differ," Slade said. He deflected the pipes and loose boards she tossed at him with her forearms. When she tried to grab him with her power he launched over her and kicked her in the back before landing. She whirled to face him but he was already long gone.
"That's it! We're done here y'all," Cyborg said looking at the panel on his wrist. "That's all of them. Anything else still moving in this city besides us needs to be shot. Good timing too. I'm running out of power," Cyborg tore his eyes away from his tracking devices just in time to deliver a sonic cannon blast to a couple of un-dead men coming at him.
"Alright," Starfire said lifting a large old dumpster full of panicked people over her head, "I should return after I deliver them to safety?"
Cyborg thought it over.
"I better call Robin to make sure," he suggested and opened a line with to their leader. At this moment the streets they were standing in were over crowded with the decayed forms that were once normal people. Their cries for sustenance were a chlorous of horror. The city was a shadow of it's former self.
"Someone's blocking my signal," Cyborg complained.
"Let me try mine," Beast Boy suggested pausing in the middle of a fight to try his own communicator. "I'm not getting anything-"
"B! Look out!" Cyborg shouted. He charged for his friend as dozens of zombies spilled out the window of a nearby restaurant. Cyborg shoved Beast Boy out of the way and was then swallowed up my the group.
"Cy!" Beast Boy cried. Seconds later, sonic cannon blasts ripped through the mob. Cyborg was soon visible. He kicked one zombie into another and tossed another by the head. His retaliation was cut short when his internal computer system warned him of his rapidly depleting power.
"Friend Cyborg! Get in!" Starfire shouted at him, she lowered the dumpster to the ground and blasted several zombies with her eye beams when they got to close. Cyborg thought about it for a second, kicked a zombie clear across the street and ran for safety, Beast Boy fast behind him. They both dived into the dumpster. Starfire took flight much to the relief of everyone in her makeshift transport.
"Where we head'n after we drop them off?" Beast boy asked, speaking of the civilians.
"We should find Robin and Raven," Starfire shouted so she could be heard. Her voice carried easily seeing as how the city was silent except for the cries of the damned..
"I'm going to have to recharge first," Cyborg pointed out.
"We cannot wait! They may need us!" Starfire insisted.
"You're right," Cyborg, reluctantly agreed," You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up with you when I'm done," He continued to curse at what would be his absence in the upcoming battle until his charger died. The machine man was unwillingly put to sleep.
Once again the girls trotted along searching every nook and cranny of their surroundings, but this time there patience was rewarded. Amongst the litter at the bottom of what appeared to be a some kind of disposal block was a familiar figure.
"Sherry!" Raven said, relief seeping into her voice. She rushed through knee high water to the small life form she hopped was unharmed.
Jinx followed at a more leisurely pace, noting once again Raven's softer side that resided not as far beneath her surface as she made it out to. Raven was currently rocking the girl from her slumber. She was unconscious, but she was still breathing. Always a good sign. Sherry stirred and opened her eyes.
"Th-the floor opened and I fell," Sherry was explaining. Raven used her power to mend the scrapes on Sherry's arms and legs while quickly looking her over for more.
"You'll be alright," Raven said. She looked Sherry in the eyes and waited to make sure she had her undivided attention.
"You have to come with us now. No more running off. Ok?"
"But my daddy..."
"We'll...be looking for him too," Raven added.
"Really?" she asked, hope so clearly evident in her large blue eyes.
"Yes, really," Raven confirmed, and was startled to have the little blond hug her. Raven didn't look to thrilled about the idea but reluctantly returned the gesture. Jinx couldn't stop grinning at the sight if she tried. And she didn't try.
"Shut up," Raven hissed at Jinx.
'I don't know what I'm suppose to tell this kid about her mother and what will likely happen to her father, but I guess I only have to worry about it if we survive this nightmare,' Raven thought as they happened upon an elevator that lead them to a turntable. According to the information Robin had sent her, It was actually a large elevator that lead to the Umbrella facility. She couldn't even brush the child off on someone else. None of the Titan's were responding to their communicators. She was left only with a decent map Robin sent her in his last transmission.
"What kind of train is that? And where are the tracks?" Jinx asked looking at what appeared to be only the locomotive. It was a rusty yellow color and sat alone on a large platform. Old barrels were stacked on top of each other all around it the perimeter.
"It's a turntable," Raven informed her. "This will lead us to the lab."
Jinx tensed once hearing this. Finally. She would get her answers.
It took Raven a moment, but she figured how to operate the oversized transport. Soon, with a thunderous hiss, the platform of a twenty foot radius around the train began to descend just like a hotel elevator. The girls watched for a minute seeing the metallic chassis of the tunnel swallow them up. It was a web work of steel beams and an occasional light revealing welcoming signs like "Level B 238."
The girls moved into the train compartment. It was simple long room with a control panel on one end. They all sat on a long seat and waited hearing only the hum of the machinery. The calm did not last as Jinx fell victim to another seizure like fit. This time, not long after Raven's attempts to calm her, she passed out.
"Is she..." Sherry asked, blue eyes wide with fear.
"No," Raven said checking Jinx's pulse. "She's just...sleeping." Raven grabbed Jinx under the arms and dragged her back to the seat they had been sitting on. Sherry moved to let Raven lay Jinx on it.
"Raven," Sherry suddenly spoke. She stood staring into nothing. Her tone was ominous.
"What is it?" Raven asked. She had lied Jinx down and was checking her temperature. She was burning up.
"I hear him. I hear my daddy!"
At that instant, something shot through the train like a rocket. It barely missed Raven's face before retracting as quickly as it came. Raven realized it had been a clawed limb, much like the strange creatures in the police station only much larger.
"Something's out there," Raven said in inhaling sharply. She turned and moved for the exit.
"Raven!" Sherry cried following close behind her.
"Stay inside," Raven said closing the door behind her and activating a lock mechanism she had just now noticed on it.
Raven peered around cautiously as she stepped out on the elevator platform. She heard no one and saw no one. She moved slowly, searching in all directions for a threat. Finally. It found her.
It fell from the rafters and caused the platform to jerk under it's weight. It's height reminded her of the giant that had been chasing them in the police station, but this was clearly a different monstrosity. It was covered in fleshy black armor. Sore looking red and white flesh was gathered at it's joints. It had huge arms and blade like claws where each finger should have been. Two red slits were it's eyes and they resided an inch above a mouth full of nasty teeth. One more memorable feature was a large red eye on it's right shoulder.
If all this wasn't enough, the creature lurched in place and grew another foot making it a total of eight feet. Two more arms burst from its sides sending blood to the floor in torrents. These arms were half the size as the originals, but also armed with bladed digits.
"You're Sherry's father," Raven said. Although, all logic pointed to this, she still could barely believe this thing was once human.
The beast showed no understanding. All four arms rose like a tarantula prepared to do battle and it stalked toward her. Raven used her powers to summon what ever objects were available to her side. Rusted pipes, bolts and tools were among the biggest things she could find. She rolled them up into several balls and fired them at him in three second intervals. The shrapnel tore into the creature and occasionally it staggered back a step, but it kept coming. It grew tired of the punishment, hissed and charged for her. Raven ducked under the claws that came down for her and rolled under him, nearly getting snared by her own cape. She flew to her feet wishing for more projectiles.
The creature slowly turned to face her and rose it's arms again.
Raven's choice's were limited. She couldn't be certain what steal beams might be integral to the operation of the turntable. She hoped the ones on the very top wouldn't be missed, but as she tried to safely bring one down with out damaging anything, William charged for her again. With her focus on the heavy steel beam, Raven didn't begin to evade until it was too late. Williams claws tore in and sent her across the platform. The beam fell, longways and towards the train housing Sherry and Jinx.
"No!" Raven said, propping herself up on one arm and reaching for the beam with the other. It stopped barely an inch from the locomotive. William stalked up behind Raven's grounded form. She was in so much pain. Where her blood was running free, the flesh it left burnt like fire. She could barely concentrate. William took position to continue his attack. Raven lurched with all her strength, dragging the steel beam in her direction. She rolled as it fell towards her and onto the abomination behind her. Raven turned to see the beam crush her enemy. To her disappointment, he caught it, though he struggled to stand in place.
Raven needed more ammo.
"Ammo!" Raven was hit with inspiration. She searched herself for the gun she took from Annette. She found it lying beside her. She lifted it with her powers and fired every shot into William while he struggled with the beam. The monster howled then tossed the beam behind him causing the platform to lurch. One gun obviously wasn't enough. William walked into the bullets assaulting his flesh. Raven used her powers to drag herself across the floor away from him coming to rest against the safety barricade outlining the platform. With out time to even consider standing, she summoned Jinx's guns. With a great deal of stress she managed to pull them from the locomotive and a spare clip for Annette's gun. The Guns hovered before Raven, one dropping is empty bullet casing and receiving a fresh one, by invisible hands. She fired all three until the only released clicking sounds. The monster roared with protest and kept coming. Thinking quickly, Raven yanked the bullets inside William from his body and sent them back in all at once.
A deafening roar resulted as well as a red spotted canvas as his blood reached nearly every part of half the platform. She repeated the trick with urgency. She was losing blood rapidly her self, if she didn't stop him soon she would pass out and be at his mercy. Again, the bullets ripped from him only to return. Feeling her self drained, Raven pulled the bullets one last time, but they would follow her desire no more. She pushed them, but they only fell to the ground like rain drops. She was slipping out of consciousness.
"No! I must keep fighting..." William continued to stagger towards her. Everything was starting to blur. At what she was sure would be her last moments alive, he turned and fell to one fleshy black knee. Then to the other. Blood shot out of his back in a river. Able to take no more, he jumped on to the quickly passing rafters in order to get away.
Raven sighed with relief and tried to stand. She did. Then she fell. Hard.
"Sherry...Jinx..." she called and then all went black.