Viper went back to the alley where she gave Jason the jewel. She opened a door and entered. There was a flight of stairs that led down. When Viper made it to the bottom she walked through a door.
"Hey, Viper. You're back." said Myst.
Viper didn't respond. She just continued making her way to her room. When she got there, she lay on top of her bed and just looked at the ceiling.
"I hope you're not developing feelings for the boy, Viper." came a voice.
She quickly stood up and turned around. "Lightning!" exclaimed Viper. "Uh… no. Of course not." She stammered.
"Because we can't let feelings get in the way of our plans." Lightning said as he walked towards Viper. "Isn't that right, V?" he said as she sat back down.
"Yes." She said nervously.
Lightning looked into her eyes. "Are you afraid of me?" he said with a smile.
"Yes." Viper said softly.
"Hmm. Good." replied Lightning. "You should be. You do know what'll happen if you fail me, right?"
"No. What?" Viper asked nervously.
"Use your imagination." Lightning said with a smile. He then turned around and left the room. Viper lay back down on her bed.
The next morning Viper got out of bed and woke up Prowler and Myst.
"Okay, listen up. Today is the day we rob that bank." She announced.
"Are you sure?" asked Prow.
"Yes!" yelled Viper. "I'm sure."
So the three geared up and left their hideout in the alley, using the shadows to avoid being seen. Little did they know that they were being watched by a weasel and a hedgehog, both of whom were unaware of each other's presence. It was still a little dark out which made it easier for the Skulls to make their way to the bank without being seen. Viper snuck up behind the guard standing watch out front and whacked him on the back of his head with her gun, knocking him out. Prowler approached the front doors and picked the lock. The three entered the bank, setting of the silent alarm.
Jason sat down in the chair in the main office again, pulled out a red cell phone, and placed it on the table, just like he always does every morning. Raze walked in.
"Jason." she said with a yawn. "What are you doing?"
"I'm waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"A call from the cops."
Raze looked at the phone. "Oh, is that…" she paused. "What is that?"
"This," Jason began as he put his hand on the phone. "is a cell phone. The cops gave it to me after I saved the world for the third time. In case something big happens and they need my help, they'll call." Just then the phone rang. "Like that." Jason said quickly. He answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Where's the vault, Prow?" asked Viper.
"It should be over there." Prow replied.
The trio walked over to the vault door and Prowler took out some bombs and placed them on the door. The three stepped back and the bombs went off, knocking the door off its hinges.
"Quick. Someone could've heard that." Viper whispered.
Each member grabbed two bags of money and started to leave. Just then a guard appeared from a room and pointed a gun at Viper.
"Hands up! Don't move!" the guard yelled.
"As you wish." Viper said, placing the bags of money on the ground and putting her hands in the air.
The guard approached with hand cuffs. When he was close enough, Viper spun around, knocked the gun out of the guard's hand and grabbed him by the neck. The guard dropped the cuffs.
"Viper?" came a voice from behind.
The trio turned towards the front doors.
"Jason." Viper said with a smile. "Fancy seeing you hear."
"Let him go." demanded Jason.
Viper dropped the guard and he took off.
"What do you think you're doing?" asked Jason. "Robbing banks? This isn't the Viper I know."
"The Viper you know is a fake, Jason. This is the real me." she said as she pulled out her gun and aimed it at Jason.
"You know, I can't let you leave with that money, right?" asked Jason.
"Oh, come on." replied Viper. "Remember our little fight with the Blades? You saw how accurate I can be. Now step aside."
Jason stood his ground. "No."
"Very well, then." Viper said.
Just then the front doors flew off their hinges, knocking Jason to the ground.
"VIPER!" a voice yelled.
Jason turned around and saw Lightning.
"YOU!" yelled Jason. Lightning paid no attention to him.
"Viper. You're supposed to be getting the prototype weapon from the military base! Not robbing banks!"
"Prototype weapon?" Jason asked himself aloud. Lightning looked over at him.
"Ah, Jason! Long time, no see." Lightning said with a smile. He raised his hand and shot a lightning bolt at him. Jason rolled out of the way just in time. He stood up and was about to charge at Lightning but stopped.
"That's right, Jason." Lightning teased. "You can't touch me, remember? Not without getting fried."
Jason looked around for anything he could use as a weapon. He spotted a chunk of the wall where the front doors hit. He used his psychokenesis powers and threw the chunk at Lightning. Lightning raised his palm to the flying wall chunk. On impact with Lightning's hand, the chunk exploded into dust and fell to the ground.
"You'll have to do much, MUCH better than that." Lightning said with a smile, as he lowered his fist.
Jason turned to look at Viper, only she was standing right in front of him, now. She punched him right in the face, knocking him to the ground. Lightning raised his fists and started attacking Jason with lightning. Since lightning is Jason's weakness, he could hardly move. After a while he blacked out.
When he opened his eyes, he was chained to a wall. He could tell by the texture of the stone that he was underground. He tried to free himself but it was no use. He looked at the chains and realized something; the chains were made of some kind of energy.
"So this is why I can't break these chains." Jason thought aloud.
"Very good, Jason. I knew you were smart." Viper walked towards him.
"You!" Jason yelled.
"Hello." Viper said, waving her hand.
"When I get out of here," Jason began. "I'm gonna kill you myself."
"Hmm." Viper replied. She turned around to see Lightning walk into the room.
"How's our favorite hero?" Lightning asked with a smile.
"Lightning! You're gonna pay for Wave's death!" Jason yelled.
"Me?" Lightning asked. "No. Wave's death was your fault, Jason. If you kept out of mybusiness and my factory, she would still be alive. If you want to look at the one really responsible for her death, you need only look into a mirror."
Jason tried to grab him but the chains burned his wrists, causing him to stop.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Jason. These chains were made specifically to hold you." said Lightning. "These chains start off like regular chains, but when pressure is applied, they zap you with lightning. Think of them as shock collars for dogs." Lightning turned around to leave. "I think I'll pay Jason's friends a little visit, Viper. Make sure he doesn't move." and he left.
Viper sat down in a chair and watched Jason. His mind was filled with thoughts of his friends back at FFHQ. This gave him a significant amount of strength. He pulled his arms away from the wall, causing the cuffs to zap him with a constant surge of lightning that any normal human would not survive.
"Haven't you learned?" asked Viper. "You can't break free."
Jason paid no attention to her. He kept applying pressure on the cuffs, using all his strength to try and break free. The pain was excruciating. He wanted to stop but e knew that his friends' lives were at stake. With a few more pulls and a few more screams, the cuffs burst apart and Jason fell to the ground. His whole body was smoking. Viper quickly stood up and ran to the door.
"VIPER!"
She turned around and saw Jason standing there. She pulled out her gun and fired. Jason caught the bullets in the air using his psychokinetic powers. Viper ran at him and threw a punch. Jason caught her fist and bent it back, almost to the breaking point. Viper screamed in pain, hoping he wouldn't break her wrist. He pushed down on her wrist. This forced Viper to her knees. Jason, using his free hand, picked up Viper's gun and aimed at her forehead. He looked into her eyes and saw every memory he had with her; the walk in the park, the fight with the Blades. Using his powers he kept the gun suspended in the air while he reached in his pocket and pulled out the purple jewel.
"You know, I was going to keep this but seeing as how none of it was real, I think you should have it back."
He threw the jewel at Viper and she caught it with her free hand. She looked at the jewel and then back at Jason.
"So, are you?" She asked in a frightened voice. "Going to kill me?"
He looked into her eyes and could tell that this fear was real. That she wasn't faking.
"No. I'm not." answered Jason.
The gun fell to the floor and Jason let go of her wrist. She clutched her wrist in her hand, trying to hold back tears. Jason looked at her for a second and then left the room.