A/N: I don't own any members of the Justice League. They belong to Cartoon Network, Marvel, and DC Comics. I do, however, own Taipana.
Chapter 13: Brutally Honest
While Batman, Superman, Shayera, and Vixen were headed back to the Watchtower with the antidote, a war was going on. While they had been off finding Lex and fighting his goons, Taipana had gotten worse.
Scales had erupted all over her mocha skinned body in a sickly shade of green. That same color appeared in her fingernails, which had grown to be oddly long and sharp, and her teeth had grown to give her the appearance of a vampire. Her dark mud eyes had whited out in her fever, and were now consumed in a bright golden yellow, even the whites. The usual tight, well-groomed appearance was gone as her hair, with it's dark green steaks, was flying every where and her clothes were tattered and torn. The gloves and belt had been ripped away, as had the choker. Her shirt, pants, and boots were destroyed and tossed aside as her muscles grew to an abnormal size, for a woman.
While four members of the League were trying to save Taipana, ever other member who wasn't on a mission on Earth was in the Watchtower, trying to kill her. Or at least slow her down. When the transformation had been complete, Taipana knocked out J'ohn and escaped the confines of her sick bed. She immediately started attacking everyone she saw. J'ohn, who had eventually woken up, went around the Watchtower to collect the injured Leaguers with a few others by his side, such as Hawk, Dove, Green Arrow, and Blak Canary. They were running around and collecting as many heroes as they could, who had tried and failed to bring Taipana down. She wasn't lying to Shayera when she said her scratches and bites were deadly.
"I knew you were just another killer," Diana hissed as Taipana. "Batman will take care of you when he gets back," she promised.
"A bat is just a mouse with wings, Princess, and I just happen to eat mice," she hissed, her voice changed to sound almost demonic.
The two had been fighting one on one since J'ohn had alerted Diana, who had remained in the training simulator after her discussion of Batman's past, and she rushed to fight the snake she hadn't trusted since day one. There were a few Leaguers surrounding them as they fought, like Supergirl, but all were told to stay back or help J'ohn with the ill.
"You can't win," she gasped painfully, a hand resting high on her ribcage. "Batman will take you down."
"Bruce. Ah, men," she sighed wistfully, almost sounding like her old self. "Can't live with them – might as well beat the crap out of them…or their friends," she added viciously before lunging at her, teeth bared and practically dripping with poison.
"We could do this all night," Diana gasped as she dodged not only Taipana's punches but her fingernails as well.
"That's always been one of my two favorite sentences," she replied, punching Diana in her face, knocking her to the ground. "Of course, Bruce knows that all too well," she added with a devious grin. Diana growled and clenched her fists, angry that Taipana was bringing up her love life with Bruce, as if to rub it in her face.
"I think its high time you faced extinction," she stated vehemently, shooting a slender leg out to kick Taipana's feet from under her. Unfortunately for Diana, Taipana back flipped after her feet were hit and her body never touched the floor.
"Extinction is for wimps," she retorted and kicked Diana in her gut before she got up to fight again. They were throwing punches and kicks until Diana had the upper hand and kicked Taipana in her back, effectively pushing her far from her and into a wall. That kick had left a large number of cracks and a hole.
Slowly but surely, Taipana rose to her feet, a bit shaky but not much. As her back was facing Diana, she looked like some ominous shadow. She looked as if she was going to reach for a weapon, Diana picked up a thick beam that had fallen from the ceiling earlier in their fight, and threw it at the wall above Taipana's head as a warning. Without thinking, she picked up another beam and moved in to attack her, maybe even kill her, but Taipana spun around and kicked the beam from her Diana's hand. She spun again and twirled a piece of steel from her and into Diana, blinding her for a moment. Taipana took the chance and kicked Diana in her throat, and then spun to kick her head once Diana had thrown the sheet from her. But, just in time, Diana tucked and rolled out of the way.
"I know you are not yourself right now, Taipana," Diana stated as the snake stared her down, "but I really am going to enjoy this."
Diana decided to kick Taipana's abdomen, effectively making her fall back with her superior strength. She stomped over to Taipana's fallen body and stood over her, prepared to pummel her into the ground, but received an uppercut to her jaw from her enemies foot. This gave Taipana enough time to get up and elbow Diana in her jaw again. As Diana recovered from the blow, she had an "I-bit-my-tongue" expression written all over her face. Taipana went to punch her again, but Diana grabbed her arm and pulled her into a nasty head butt.
Arms still locked, Taipana's back was now to Diana's chest and so she backhanded her to try and escape. It worked and their arms became unlocked, and so Diana took her shot and went in to punch the snake's again. But, once again, Taipana grabbed the princess' arms and kicked her side and then tried to kick her head but missed her target when Diana ducked.
Luckily, at that exact moment, the teleporter lit up and the missing heroes returned.
"Where is she," Batman asked hastily to Flash, who had been at the teleporter to let his friends back into the Watchtower.
"Well, Taipana has gone bye-bye and the mutant killer we all thought would come out is roaming free and beating up Wonder Woman," he replied easily, smirking weakly as he tried to lighten the mood.
"WHAT!"
"Chill, Bats!"
"Where is she," he growled, his face very close to Flash's, who pointed meekly in the direction of the fight. The group immediately ran, or flew, in that direction. As they arrived on the scene, all but Batman and Shayera paused. The latter two slowly approached Taipana, effectively moving her attentions away from her strong desire to pummel Diana.
"Taipana, you look…different," Shayera ventured with uncertainty, looking the transformed hunter up and down.
"What can I say? Being a reptile woman isn't pretty, but it's got its upside – like having the strength of an Anaconda, for instance," Taipana replied, and quickly punched Shayera, making her fall back into Flash. The speedster, thankfully, caught her and helped her steady herself.
"Oh, yeah. I think we've definitely moved on to the anger stage of grief," Shayera mused whilst detangling herself from Flash.
"You mean there's more than one stage," Flash asked confusedly.
"You have no idea," she replied quietly, her eyesight flickering briefly to John.
"Kendra, we have the antidote. We can cure you now. You'll live; you'll go back to normal," Batman told her reassuringly, stepping up and holding the antidote in the air for her to see.
"Now, why would I want that ridiculous antidote? Look at me," she said, holding her arms out wide. "I'm a goddess amongst men, Brucey. I can finally exact my revenge…on you," she said vehemently and crouched slightly, preparing for an attack.
"An eye for an eye," he asked, securing the antidote in one of the many pockets of his utility belt.
"Or any available limb," she retorted, and hissed as a few heroes tried to approach.
"Everyone, stay back," Superman ordered. "No one interferes!"
"How sweet," Taipana sneered at the Man of Steel before diving at Batman.
"I'm just trying to save you, Kendra," Batman shouted urgently.
"Well, it seems that everyone woman you try to save ends up dead…or deeply resentful. Maybe you should retire," she shouted, slashing at him once again, but he tucked and rolled. "You know they used to call Killer Croc, "The meanest dude in the wrestling federation". He hoped they'd call him the guy who iced the Batman," she told him, chuckling quietly. "Maybe I'll get a title like that after I kill you," she mused fiercely.
"This isn't any seedy back alley," he told he darkly, finally ready to take the gloves off. "You're on my turf now."
Batman lunged at Taipana without a hint of hesitance, and tackled her to the ground. To get out of her predicament though, Taipana effectively flipped her entire body forward to land with her butt on the ground. Their hands were locked as Batman managed to get Taipana into a chokehold. She struggled for a minute, gasping for air, hissing and snapping at his arm until her mutated strength kicked in. With her free arm around Batman's head, Taipana flipped the Dark Knight over her head and quickly got him into a chokehold of her own.
"You're going to die, just like all the others," she hissed into his ear as he struggled to break free.
"Maybe, but I'm going to make you work for it," he replied and shoved her off of him with a firm elbow to her gut. Taipana back flipped away from him, landing gracefully.
"You never should have put me in Arkham, Bruce," she hissed angrily. "You should have let me help you!"
"If I had, I'd be a mouse with wings," he retorted, smirking at her. She growled at him and charged. Her mistake was a simple lesson: to never attack in anger. She had managed to suppress it until that point and it would cost her. Before she could even raised her arm to attack, Batman ducked and threw her over his back. Taipana crashed to the floor and Batman straightened up to stand over her, appearing to have won.
"It's over," Flash sighed in relief.
"I would not be so sure," J'ohn told him, eyes never leaving the fight as the others looked at him curiously.
"You want to live like this, abandoned and alone? A prisoner in a world you can see but never touch, with the monster you're becoming in control," he asked her. "I'd trade a thousand of my darkest years for your worst day."
"You were there when it happened," she replied, and he knew she meant the day he arrested her. "Today's a close second!"
Taipana lunged at him once more, grabbing him by his throat. The force of her lunge made Batman fall backwards and onto the ground. She was straddling his waist, strangling him. Suddenly, Batman flipped her over him. She landed with a sickening crack on the floor. Taipana was groaning in pain when Batman picked her up, moving to punch her out. Unfortunately, she literally gave him the slip and twisted his arm mid-punch around, holding it against his back and into a chokehold. Kneeing him in his back, Batman succumbed to his knees whilst struggling to break free and breathe once again.
"We have to help him," Diana shouted and tried to run to him, but Superman pulled her back.
"No, he has to do this alone," he told her, holding her tightly. Everyone else knew better than to interfere.
"You've got nothing," she told him whilst he struggled against her chokehold. "Beg for mercy! SCREAM MY NAME!"
"Never," he gritted fiercely.
"You're beaten. Now I will break you," she said with calm resolve, letting her teeth grow sharp, venom dripping, and leaned down to bite him. "This is what's wrong with our relationship, Bruce. You always let me get too close," she told him and leaned in even closer, ready to bite.
"I couldn't agree more," he replied and deftly kicked her feet out from under her and stood up. As Taipan rose to her feet, she gawked at him and how calm he was. "What's the matter? Bat got your tongue," he asked sarcastically, smirking with a cocked head.
Taipana growled deep in her throat and moved to lunge at him, but Superman had been moving up behind her. He grabbed her to held her in place as she kicked and screamed, thrashing as she tried to break free. While Superman had his unbreakable hold on her, Batman pulled out the antidote and quickly injected it into her neck. Seconds later, she passed out.
P.S.: Five pages total.