Virgil walked back into the hospital waiting room just in time to see his mother turn in all of the paperwork she'd been filling out to the front desk, and couldn't help but marvel at her willingness to help. She seemed different from what he remembered: Older, sadder, more somber and less carefree, but he didn't mind. She was still the same person, and he couldn't help but bask in the radiance she seemed tog give off. He wasn't sure if he imagined it or not, but she just seemed to glow whenever she looked at him.

"Of course, Virg," he grumbled to himself. "You're the long lost son she never really had." How could his other self ever have done what he had to her? Where had "Static" gone right where "Viper" had gone wrong? What event or events had caused their worlds to be so different. It had to be something that would effect just about everyone if Batman (along with the entire Justice League it seemed) had gone bad too. He shook his head, and walked over to where Jean and the doctor now conversed.

"Yes, I can take responsibility for her," he heard his mother say as he approached. "When she's ready to leave, I'd prefer for her to live in a home than in some clinic, and..." She paused and glanced at Virgil out of the corner of her eye. "Besides," she continued, "I have experience with Bang Babies." The teenager didn't know wether to cringe or smile at her comment, so he proceeded like he hadn't heard.

"Hey moms," he smiled at her, "Doc," he nodded to the doctor. "Look, I have a question." The doctor looked up from his clipboard with a raised eyebrow. "Could you let Marci have her clothes back? She...er...kind of has a telepathy thing that I just found out about. She can't control where it'll take her, and–"

"We haven't detected any teleportation abilities in her," the doctor said as he checked his clipboard once again. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure, Doc," Virgil nodded. The doctor blinked at him, before returning once again to the clip board while Virgil continued. "She's afraid she'll...er...teleport somewhere with a lot of light, and wants some protection." The doctor nodded as if he hadn't heard, and waved to both of them.

"I'll see what I can do. We'll release her tomorrow if everything goes as planned, Mrs. Hawkins. Until then, there is nothing you can do here."

"I do need to get back to school," Virgil admitted. "Er, can I have a note?"

xoxoxox

Virgil Hawkins. Viper hated his real name. It reminded him of his father and his goody-goody family of weaklings. But, for once, his name (as much as he hated to admit it) might actually prove useful. He contemplated his plan with a hand stroking his go-tee. Should he use his given name, or his self-appointed name? In this new...world, or whatever it really was, he could use anonymity as a tool...something he'd been too young and reckless to try before.

Still, he might act on good faith with his (hopefully) soon to be employer. That had worked before, with Virus.

Suddenly, thoughts of his previous life, and the contrasting world around him came to mind. He remembered how excited he'd been when F-stop had handed him the gun, and told him to try and take out Wade..and then the Big Bang, and the suffocating purple gas. He'd gone with most of the other bang babies that night, and zonked in a local flop house. He'd been among the first to actually show signs of mutation, although he had been able to hide his abilities, unlike most others. Then he'd gone to the house of a friend to get away from the police and lay low for a few days. Richard Foley hadn't been too happy, but it wasn't like he'd had anything better to do. They'd been friends several years back, before Virgil dropped out. They'd been the loners of both Junior High and High School. No one wanted them around, and they didn't really want to be there...well, Virgil hadn't. School had been a major waste of time, and nothing more, in his opinion. Richard had seemed to like it though. He'd always been the dark kid in the corner, kind of obsessive and creepy. Most people stayed away from them when they were alone, let alone together.

Virus didn't start to show signs of power for almost a year after that, and when he did, they'd quickly become a "team", if you used the word loosely. Mutually tolerated acquaintances would be more accurate. By that time, the Electric Viper had built quite a reputation, and his own team, even if that stupid "Cloak" guy kept getting in the way. Viper hadn't let his team give up, no matter how hard the shadow and Firewall had defeated them. Those goodie goodies couldn't always stop him from conquering the world.

Of course, he seriously doubted that this WAS his world. That Gear guy acted a lot like Virus...only good, and everything else seemed to be...well...opposite. Of course there were only good bang babies around...which left a wide open niche for him to fill, so he wasn't really complaining. Still, he needed a gang, or some help to get around brain boy and "Shebang". What kind of a name was "Shebang"? And why would someone with as much promise as Shanice choose it?

He shook the thoughts out of his head, and brought himself back to the problem. He didn't want weak, pathetic non-bangers, so he'd been asking around, and that had lead him to the large building with a less than shining reputation.

"We'll wait for the real name, until after I know I can trust this guy," he muttered to himself, finally making a decision. In his reality, this guy had a shining name that seemed to overpower any tarnish. The powerful figure had been a saint, and the last person Viper would turn to. But in this reality...well, it just seemed fitting. With a shrug, he tied the snake-skin patterned kerchief over his face, and threw the trash-can lid into the air in front of him. 'This should prove...interesting," he thought to himself as he floated towards the highest floor of Alva Industries.

Wow...I know I've been saying "I'll get one up, I'll get one up," but I hadn't realized that it'd been this long. I 'm soo sorry guys, and I'll try to be better.

Thank you for all your reviews. It seems I have some very loyal readers, and I really appreciate it.

Rae Tarules: Thank you. I like knowing that my theories work, and that they're fairly easy to understand.

For anyone who wants them to meet up with Hotstreak and Ebon (which would have been a blast to write), I have a story in mind that would totaly contradict it, that I kind of want to tie into this one a little, so no. Hotstreak and Ebon are still monsters at the bottom of the ocean, gatehring stregnth.

Oh, and I changed the rating, because I'd rather overrate something than underrate it, and this post seemed a little...dark for a PG (or a K) rating.