Birds of Prey
Disclaimer: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.
Chapter Three: Weapon Plus
Cold Lake, Alberta – December 31, 13:52 MDT
The Weapon X Facility was, without a doubt, the most secure location in all of Canada. The facility was well maintained despite being out of operation for more than three decades. The complex had been built directly into the base of the mountain backdrop, allowing multiple levels for extensive research, development, and experimentation. The board of directors and the financial advocates had gone through millions of dollars to keep the facility out of the eyes of the JLB and New Avengers, providing a self-sufficient power source to keep them invisible to the outside world. However, the system was not entirely perfect.
The security guard in charge of monitor duty looked vigilantly between the dozens of screens, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious or worth noting. They may have been in the middle of nowhere, but that doesn't mean it was impossible for someone to wander inside. The guard was just observing one of the border patrol switch posts when a white tipped arrow sudden flew past his ear and hit the edge of the monitor. The guard quickly stood up and reached for her gun, but it was too late; the capsule on the arrow released a green mist, causing the guard to cough slightly until her fell to the ground, unconscious.
There was a long moment of silence, waiting to see if someone was going to look into the disturbance. But after two minutes, no one had showed up. The ventilation grate above was suddenly peeled back with a loud creak and set to the side, and still no one had come to investigate. Speedy was the first to drop in, throwing of her hood to let her ponytail fly free, Impulse dived in afterward, pulling off her cap, and Batgirl landed quietly after them.
"I'm surprised they don't keep any security cameras or motion sensors in the ducts," said Speedy. She and Impulse walked over to the monitors while Batgirl hid the sleeping guard. "Okay, so we managed to get in…and it looks like we're in the security room, maybe?"
"Actually, this looks more like the monitor womb for the entire base," said Impulse, dashing back and forth between the panels. "This place is the central data storage for the entire facility. I bet if we can hack into their systems, we could get some inside information, maybe even figure out what they're working on."
"Better than accidentally walking into a room full of guards," said Speedy, looking to Batgirl. "All right, Batgirl, do your thing." Batgirl finished stuffing the guard into a box and looked at the archer, confused. "Well, what are you waiting for? Hack this sucker already."
"I…cannot."
"Eh?" said Speedy
"I…cannot…hack…commuters," said Batgirl slowly.
"Firstly, it's computers," said Speedy, looking very irritated. "And secondly, what do you mean you can't hack them? You're a bat! Bats are supposed to be good at this kinda stuff!"
"Strong…in body," said Batgirl, pointing to herself. "Weak…in mind. But…I know…someone…who can…handle this." She touched one of the ears of her cowl; an audible buzz was heard. "Oracle…can you… hear me?"
"Coming in loud and clear, Batgirl," said an unseen female voice. Speedy and Impulse looked at their teammate with interest. They had heard of the famous information broker and JLB's computer expert, but never had the chance to know her. "I just received word from Batman that he and the full Justice League Beyond roster have just made contact with Brother Blood and the Church of Blood. Things are getting really hectic over there. But besides that, what's up?"
"We need you…to hack…into…commuter," asked Batgirl.
"Computer." Speedy and Impulse corrected; Batgirl flushed embarrassingly.
"Easy enough," said Oracle confidently. "Just plug me in and I'll see what I can do."
Batgirl slowly nodded, even though Oracle couldn't see her, and reached into a hidden pocket in the wrist of her suit. From underneath the hidden layer, Batgirl retrieved a USB plug with a wire most likely connected to the electrical systems in her Batsuit. She passed the plug to Impulse – Batgirl didn't know a thing about computers and Irey would be able to find the port faster than her. Impulse dashed back and forth between the monitors in half a second before she found what she was looking for, plugging Batgirl into the system. Immediately, the computer screens changed to a vibrant-green backdrop with Oracles icon appearing on the monitors.
"Well, that was easy enough," said Oracle; her voice was coming directly from the computers. "I've seen cell phones with more security than this. Hello, people! Ever heard of firewall? Maybe next time you girls could give me more of a challenge. Anyway, what do you need?"
"Tell us…what they are…doing here," said Batgirl. "Are they…working on the…Weapon X…Project…again…or are…they…using this base…for something…else?"
"Give me a moment," said Oracle. A series of rapid-fire clicking noises were heard on the other side. "They have a number of projects going around that place, but it looks like they are focusing on recreating the Weapon X Project again. I started digging through the encryption files and found some interesting history about Project Weapon X – or should I call it Project Weapon Plus."
"Weapon Plus?" Impulse repeated.
"Yeah, that's the name of the original program when it was originally instated in 1942," said Oracle knowledgably. "Back then, Weapon Plus was involved in developing a Super Soldier Serum during World War II and was headed by Dr. Abraham Erskine under the name Project: Rebirth or Weapon I."
"Super Soldier Serum?" said Speedy. "Wait, does that mean…"
"Captain America was the first successful test subject of Weapon Plus," said Oracle. "Though at the time he didn't know what Weapon Plus was really doing. All he knew was that his country was in danger and he needed the strength to fight against villains like the Red Skull. He was just being a soldier. Weapon Plus tried to duplicate the Weapon I program several time, but with Dr. Erskine dead and Captain America missing at the time, they didn't produce a lot of success. They eventually stopped trying to replicate the serum after Weapon VII – codename: Nuke – went on a rampage. They started working with adamantium bonding from there and that's what brings us to Weapon X."
"So they're trying to recreate the bonding experiment that made Wolverine," said Speedy thoughtfully. "But how is that supposed to work? The only reason Wolverine survived was because of his mutant healing factor and no one can heal as fast as him…well, except maybe Daken and Sabretooth, but I don't really see them working here."
"What about Deadpool?" said Impulse.
"He's off making own video game," said Speedy.
"Who else…is there…for Weapon X?" said Batgirl, feeling the need to return to the main topic.
"I'm looking into that – hold on," said Oracle. There was a few seconds of fast typing. "That's weird. There's a separate file attached to the Weapon X data called Weapon X-23, but it has a lot of security measures around it. Wait…wait…oh man, this is some serious stuff. Eight layer encryption algorithms, twenty-six different firewalls, they even have multiple software drones – this thing is almost a fortified as the Bat Computer. Key word being 'almost'."
"Whatever it is, they don't want anyone finding out about it," said Impulse.
"Can you…hack it?" Batgirl asked hopefully.
"I'm trying my best, but they keep pushing me out," said Oracle with an aggravated grunt. "Maybe…"
"Hold it right there!" A new voice called out. Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse wheeled around and Batgirl accidentally disconnected the USB cord before Oracle had a chance to finish. The girls were stunned when American Dream stepped through the door. "Wait a minute. Batgirl? Speedy? Uh…Arrow Girl?"
"Uh…I'm Speedy," said Speedy.
"No, you're not," said American Dream, pointing to Impulse. "That's Speedy."
"I'm Impulse," said Impulse.
"Then who's Speedy?" American Dream asked confused.
"I'm Speedy!" Speedy yelled angrily.
"That makes no sense," said American Dream.
"You are…American Dream," said Batgirl. "You are…a hero…leader of the…New Avengers."
"That's me," said American Dream. "What are you three doing here?"
"We should be asking you the same question," said Impulse. "What are you doing all the way in Canada? You're American Dream, not Canadian Dream?" Batgirl and Speedy looked at her with their brows raised. "What?"
"I'm here on official business," said American Dream sternly. "I am the chief of security for the Weapon X Facility. Normally, I would take you down and hand you over to the proper authorities for trespassing, but I might be willing to make an exception for you three. I'll let you leave peacefully in exchange for forgetting everything you saw here today."
"You mean forget the fact that they're starting up the Weapon X Project again?" Speedy shouted. "You can't be serious!"
"She is…very serious," said Batgirl with certainty. "She knows…what is happening…and is willing…to fight us…for it. She is…different…from the…American Dream…we know."
"So what do we do?" Impulse asked worried.
Batgirl and Speedy didn't answer, merely stepped around American Dream, who was glaring down on them. Batgirl could see the small movements in her muscles: the little tremors in her left arm, a brief twist in her lips, her left hand clenching. She wasn't backing down; she was prepared to take on all three of them at once…and she was confident in victory. Hoping to dissuade her, Batgirl twitched her wrists and pelted a pair of batarangs faster than she could blink. Batgirl was good, if not predictable in American Dream's eyes. She steadily reached behind and pulled off the famous Captain America shield to deflect the flying batarangs.
While American Dream blocked the batarangs, Speedy had dived to the right and pulled back the drawstring to release an arrow at American Dream's feet. The arrow blew open and a set of bolas twisted around the American Dream's ankles, causing her to lose her balance. Impulse then dashed up to American Dream, jumping up and plowing both of her heels against her stomach, throwing her back by several feet, tumbling on the floor until coming to a stop. Impulse ran back to Speedy, giving her a congratulatory high-five.
"That wasn't bad actually," said Speedy.
"Ya ready to give up yet?" Impulse taunted; goofy gestures included.
"She will…not give up," said Batgirl seriously. "She is…a soldier."
"You're damn right I'm a soldier," said American Dream, ripping the bolas off with her hands. "I didn't become the American Dream by giving up whenever I got knocked down. I could have let you three off with a warning, but assaulting a soldier is a serious offense – America or otherwise. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to take you three in."
"Give it your best shot," said Speedy said, pulling back the drawstring with a fresh arrow. "It's three on one – you ain't got a snowballs chance."
American Dream did not seem affected by the taunt, rather she looked even more confident. Frowning, Speedy released the drawstring and sent the arrow flying, which was deflected by American Dream's shield. Speedy reached for another arrow, but American Dream pulled back and pitched her shield across the room. Batgirl quickly jumped to the side, Impulse dashed away, and Speedy successfully ducked beneath the shield as it flew over her head. Now with American Dream weaponless, Speedy reached into her quiver and shot two more arrows.
American Dream reacted very quickly to the threat and threw out her fist; there was a sharp click coming from her glove. Suddenly, miniature versions of her shield flew out of the hidden compartment of her glove and connected with Speedy's arrows in midair. Speedy gaped for a moment; she didn't know that American Dream had a disk launcher. Not to be outdone, Speedy reached for her quiver again and pulled out another arrow. But American Dream had already released two more mini-shields, one to knock the arrow out of her hand and the other to knock away the bow.
Speedy was breathing heavy. For a moment, she thought she might have been scared, but that was only partially true. Speedy gripped her arm; she had realized she had been exerting herself more than she should. But she didn't have time to think about that before American Dream's shield crashed against the back of the head after having ricocheted against the walls. American Dream caught the shield and pulled it on just before Impulse dived in with a flying kick. Impulse pushed off the shield and made a mad dash to the other side of the room, ducking under the flying mini-disks.
While American Dream had her back turned, Batgirl leapt out of the shadows and reached to grab her by the shoulder. American Dream was quick to catch on to Batgirl's plan and ducked under her arm, slapping her shield across Batgirl's face. Batgirl stumbled back, pulling up her mask just enough to wipe her bloody lip. When Batgirl pulled her mask back down, American Dream had tossed her shield once more, but Batgirl easily ducked under the shield and charge forward.
Batgirl started with two quick jabs, which American Dream pushed aside, and followed up with a quick knee to her stomach. American Dream doubled over and was then thrown onto her back when Batgirl hit her chin with a strong palm strike. While American Dream was dazed and confused, Batgirl startled her waist and pulled back her fist, ready to deliver the finishing blow. But before she could finish, Batgirl saw American Dream's shield flying in her direction and pulled back just enough to dodge a collision to her head.
Unfortunately, American Dream was able to shake off her dizziness and catch the edge of the shield at the last moment. Before Batgirl could react, American Dream whipped the shield around and slammed it against the side of Batgirl's head. The Silent Knight stumbled to the side, dropping to her hands and knees, suddenly seeing two of everything. American Dream took advantage of her disorientation and tossed her shield at Batgirl's chest, sliding her across the ground with Speedy.
American Dream caught her shield – that was two down and only one to go. She didn't need to look very far as Impulse came charge in from behind. American Dream shook her head amusingly. She sidestepped out of Impulse's path and lifted her shield, watching the speedster collide face-first with her weapon. Impulse unconsciously flipped on her stomach and skidded across the floor, coming face to face with Batgirl and Speedy.
"Is it just me…?" said Impulse nasally, pinching her bloody nose. "Or are we getting our butts kicked?"
"Judging by the splitting headache…" Speedy moaned. "It's not just you."
"Ok, you girls had your fun," said American Dream, pulling Impulse up by the scruff of her suit. "But now you're in big trouble. We'll see what the board of directors has to say about trespassers."
Impulse thrashed wildly to break the American Dream's hand, but she had a firm grip on the speedster. Shaking her head free of dizziness, Batgirl silently unlatched one of the bottom pockets of her utility belt, releasing a bundle of silver capsules on the floor. American Dream felt one of the capsules tap against her boot and looked down. Suddenly, the capsules exploded into a cloud of black smoke, making American Dream cough and cover her mouth. She wasn't choking, so it wasn't poison. When the smoke cleared moments later, American Dream was alone in the monitor womb.
"Ok, I'll admit it," said American Dream. "That was kinda cool."
"I can't believe…," Speedy panted, holding a stitch in her side. "We got our butts handed to us by a woman with no superpowers."
"Oh, she has power all right," said Impulse. "Butt kicking powers."
"She is…a specially…trained soldier…of S.H.I.E.L.D.," said Batgirl, sounding somewhat downcast. She could only imagine the look of disappointment on Terry's face if he ever saw what happened. "Even…the Avatar…has trouble…against her."
"To be fair, she has trouble with a lot of things," said Impulse.
"Well, if I ever see her again…," said Speedy irritably. "I'm gonna – GYAH!"
Batgirl and Impulse skidded to a halt; Impulse felt a six foot long skid mark. Speedy had been pulled off to the side by her parka, which she threw off and readied one of her silver tipped arrows. It wasn't American Dream that had caught up to them, but Dr. Sarah Kinney. The facility geneticist raised her hands in surrender seeing as how the sidekick had a lethal weapon aimed at her jugular vein.
"Who are you?" Speedy questioned as Batgirl and Impulse joined her.
"Please, don't shoot," Dr. Kinney pleaded. "I don't wish to fight. I've seen you three on the news before. You're Batgirl, Speedy, and Arrow Girl…"
"Oh, for the love of…," Speedy growled.
"You're mentors are in the Justice League Beyond," said Dr. Kinney uninterrupted. "Did they send you here?"
"Yes," said Batgirl.
"American Dream will be coming any minute now," said Dr. Kinney worriedly. She quickly pressed her hands against the wall, tempting Speedy to pin an arrow through her palm. But to their surprise, a section of the stone was pushed inward and a secret elevator appeared. "Quickly, before she finds us."
Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse looked at each other in silent debate. They had a choice between following a complete stranger into the unknown and possibly risk certain death or go another round with American Dream. It only took ten seconds to decide. Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse jumped inside the elevator and Dr. Kinney pounded the twenty-third button hard enough the break it. They disappeared just in time as American Dream ran by, never knowing how close she had come to catching them. Inside the elevator, Batgirl and Speedy were acting composed in front of the doctor, but Impulse was whining loudly at the choice of elevator music.
"Thank you…," said Batgirl gratefully to the doctor.. "Who…are you?"
"I'm Dr. Sarah Kinney, the leading geneticist of the Weapon X Project," said Dr. Kinney. "Second-in-command of this facility under Dr. Zander Rice."
"So you're the one running the show, huh?" said Speedy with a suspicious glare. "Then talk to me, doc. What's going on around here? Why is Weapon X back online? And why is American Dream working security duty in Canada when she's supposed to be leading the New Avengers back in America?"
"I understand why you are so confused, but please remain calm," said Dr. Kinney tiredly, wiping her glasses with a spare cloth. Batgirl noticed the subtle hints in the scientist's movements that suggested she was suffering from severe stress. "To answer your second question, Dr. Rice thought it would be best to increase security around the facility, so he thought the leader of the New Avengers would be suitable for the job. He collected some technology used by the Mad Hatter and paid Deathstroke the Terminator to implement the device."
"So now we're dealing with mind control," Impulse groaned. She reached into her pocket, retrieving a sugar loaded snack. "I need more energy for this."
"What about…Weapon X?" asked Batgirl.
"I was originally hired on by Dr. Rice to replicate the Weapon X Project," said Dr. Kinney. "He understood that none of the test subjects could survive the injection sequence without the same healing factor as James Howlett. So instead of looking for new lab rats, he decided to duplicate the experiment through genetic manipulation."
"Cloning," said Batgirl.
"Yes," said Dr. Kinney. "They wanted me to create a perfect clone of the original Weapon X. But the genetic sample they provided me was damaged and one of the Y-chromosomes couldn't be repaired. I suggested they make a female clone, but Dr. Rice wanted to make a perfect replica of Wolverine. But after twenty-two failures, Dr. Rice finally agreed to make a female clone of Wolverine."
"Hence, X-23," said Impulse.
"I'm all for making advancements in science to improve the world," Speedy sneered. "But experimenting on living creatures like they're lab rats is just cruel, like Joker cruel."
"I didn't care, I was just in this for the research," said Dr. Kinney honestly. Speedy hissed angrily. "The ability to replicate and manipulate mutant DNA could unlock the secrets of human potential and ultimately change the world for the better. But…that was before…"
"Before what?" Impulse asked curiously.
"Dr. Rice only agreed to allow the female cloning…if I agreed to become its surrogate mother," said Dr. Kinney. Impulse and Speedy gasped. "I agreed because I wanted to see all my hard work come to life…but after carrying her for nine months and holding her in my arms, I just couldn't go through with it anymore. How could I even think of harming such a sweet and innocent child? I wanted to stop the experiment, but Dr. Rice is a cruel man." She covered her eyes with her hand, trying to fight back the tears. "He took my daughter away from me the moment she was born and limited any contact between me and her. I had to watch in silence for fourteen years as he put her through all that torture for his own sick pleasure. He even hired Kimura to be her handler and let her…," she hiccupped, "have her way with her whenever she felt like it."
"Kimura…," said Impulse, tapping her chin with her snack. "That sounds familiar…"
"Kimura…," said Batgirl lowly. "Was a…top killer…in the…League of…Assa…Assa…you know. She left…the League… close to…ten years…ago."
"Are you sure?" Speedy asked.
"Vividly," Batgirl leered.
"Dr. Rice and Kimura constantly push her until she breaks down," said Dr. Kinney, sniffling. "Dr. Rice forced her mutation at an early age by exposing her to radiation poisoning with ten times the normal dose and Kimura forcibly extracted her claws. I've been trying everything to make things easier for her, but it's all just too much. Then…two weeks ago…Dr. Rice went ahead with the experiment. I wanted to put it through a trial period, so he had already injected her hands and feet with adamantium. The experiment was a success, but now she's in more pain that before."
"So you sent off that electrical charge in the grid to call for help," said Impulse.
"I was hoping to get Wolverine's attention and have him save her," said Dr. Kinney. "But since you three are here, you'll have to do. Dr. Rice is planning to do a full body injection in an hour and if that happens, there's no telling what could happen to her. Please, you have to save my daughter before it's too late."
"Look here, lady," said Speedy, sounding unconvinced. "That a sad little story, but how do we know you're telling the truth."
"She is…truthful," said Batgirl with an air of certainty. "She wants…to save her…daughter…because…she loves her." She stared down at her feet with a distant look. "Any mother…would do…the same."
The rest of the trip was silent. Speedy was still a little skeptical of the doctor's story, but she trusted Batgirl's judgment. Moments passed as they steadily climbed the mountain until they finally reached the twenty-third floor. Batgirl, Speedy, Impulse, and Dr. Kinney pressed themselves against the wall once the doors open with Speedy poking an arrow around the corner. Once establishing that the coast was clear, Speedy ventured ahead down the hall with the others following behind.
The floor was empty. It was mostly a lengthy hallway leading up to a gargantuan steel door at the end of the corridor. The door was well fortified; even Batgirl's strongest explosives wouldn't be able to pierce the surface. It was a good thing they had brought Dr. Kinney with them. While Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse secured the corridor, Dr. Kinney pulled out an ID card from her pocket and swiped it through the slot of the lock computer.
"Access Granted!" said the computer. "Welcome, Dr. Kinney."
"Is it just me or are all the computers starting to sound the same?" said Impulse.
There was a loud rumble, a few clicks, and a heavy thud before the massive door slid sideways and the girls followed Dr. Kinney inside. The chamber they entered was very small. The walls were covered in glaring-white tiles arranged in a perfectly shaped cube like solitary confinement in Arkham. But on one side of the room, there were splotches of crimson-red splattered across the walls and trace amounts of torn black hair. There was even a pile of sharpened bones starting to pile up in to corner; Impulse shivered involuntarily. It was in that corner that they saw her.
She looked like a normal human teenager with a curtain of raven-black hair tailing down her back. The resemblance between mother and daughter was undeniable from the similar facial structure to the pale-green eyes. From the thin hospital gown that she wore, she did have a solid muscle mass, but there were some parts that were very thin, as if she hadn't eaten in months. The worst part of it was finding her with the entire right half completely covered in blood, which was starting to pool around her feet.
"No!" Dr. Kinney screamed, running to her daughter.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse wheeled around to the corner where Kimura was causally leaning against the wall. "Dr. Rice was always saying you were going to ruin all the hard work you put into this little project, but the board of directors had always been adamant about keeping you on. I wonder how they'll feel once they find out you let these…sidekicks into a top secret facility."
"You won't get the chance to tell them," said Speedy threateningly, drawing back and arrow.
"Don't bother," said Kimura laughing. "I underwent some experiments myself and now my skin is completely invulnerable. Superman could take his best shot and I wouldn't feel a thing."
"We're not afraid of you!" said Impulse confidently.
"Oh, it's not me you'll have to worry about," Kimura chuckled darkly. "X-23…why don't you 'play' with these three. If you're a good girl, I might even give you a break from playtime tomorrow."
"X, please listen to me," said Dr. Kinney pleadingly. "You don't have to listen to her."
X-23 slowly was teetering dangerously on her feet, almost threatening to fall over as she lifted her head. Through half-lidded eyes, she stared at the woman who carried her during those nine months and gave her life, the one she was supposed to call mother. X-23 shoved Dr. Kinney away without remorse. X-23 brought her fists up into view and, with an inhumane shriek, two silver claws ripped between her knuckles on each hand. She hunched forward like a predator stalking their prey; her savage eyes barely visible through tangle of black hair
"I believe…the term is…," said Batgirl slowly. "Crap."
I am so glad I had the chance to go over this again. I wish someone had told me the original draft was complete crap the last time this was up. Anyway, the next chapter will hopefully be better as well and it is a good chance to show where each character stands in terms of strength and skill. Also, people have been asking for the Jinchuriki story and I have been offer, but I never get a reply. If you are one of these people, please respond.
Birds of Prey Profile
Name: Impulse
Real Name: Iris "Irey" West
Aliases: Speedy (Mistake)
Designation: B03
Age: 8
Relatives: Flash III (Father), Linda Parks-West (Mother), Jai West (Brother)
Mentor/Partner(s): Flash IV (Bart), Flash V (Danica)
Affiliation(s): Flash Family, Birds of Prey
Occupation: Student
Powers/Abilities:
- Speed Force Conduit
- Multi-Purpose Goggles
- Genius Level Intellect
Notes:
- Childish Mannerism
- Accelerated Metabolism
- IQ of 200