158. Whispers part 1
He was hyperventilating.
His breath came out in thin vapors as he scrambled forward on all fours.
Thin, autumn-eaten trees stood coldly on either side of his awkward flight.
Moonlight filtered down through the trees in an awkward refraction of purplish hue.
Like the end of the world.
The end of life.
Arteries throbbed in the man's forehead.
Sweat ran down his neck and clung to his shoulders.
He was wearing a bathrobe and sandals in the cold dirt and soil.
Bloodstains laughed across the white folds.
He tripped and stumbled to the earth.
"Ooof!!"
He pressed himself up and looked over his shoulder.
Panting.
Nothing.
Silence.
The man swallowed.
He struggled up to his feet.
He ran forward again.
Numb in the cold breeze.
The cold air.
The mountain started to slope downwards.
He began skidding and sliding sideways downhill.
He struggled to regain his footing.
He pushed against trees to keep from getting a face full of bark.
He heard the distant shouts and engines of his henchmen trying to find him.
Trying to save him.
He gasped and panted…
…but couldn't bring himself to shout for help.
If he made any sound, he would be heard.
He looked over his shoulder again.
Still nothing.
Still silence.
He was short on breath.
He came to a clearing in the mountainous forest.
His vision nearly blacked out on him.
He wiped his brow, shook his head, and leaned forward.
He planted a hand on the nearest tree.
He leaned against it.
He breathed.
He breathed.
He breathed.
"………………….."
………
CHIIIIIIING!!!!
A glint of silver.
THWACK!!!!!!
The man's right arm exploded in a cloud of red mist and his hand was gone.
"AAAAAAAAUGH!!!" He slammed into the tree, clutching an oozing, meaty stub and howling. "NNNNNNNnnnnnghh!!!!"
As he convulsed and bled against the tree, a figure appeared over his shoulder. Clad in a gray jumpsuit and holding a red-stained broadsword of silver in a metal, prosthetic right hand. A pale bald head crowning bulbous, glaring eyes.
A metallic ring surrounding the man's neck lit up with a red glow as an electronic voice filtered out.
"You're a dead man, Garet."
Garet stumbled back, clutching his hacked off limb. He stammered: "V-Viper….what did I ever do to you?! I gave so much to Anderson!! I complied with Dagger!! I'm your god damn ally, for Christ's sake!!"
"Which is exactly why I am going to kill you…," Viper's lips didn't move. His eyes narrowed as the disc fluctuated. "Simply because I can. In fact, I always could have killed you. I regret having waited until now. The only useful ally is a dead ally…"
Garet stepped backwards, shivering. "You conniving, obsessive freak!! Why did we ever once trust you?! We should have had our agents bombed your ass to bits in Pakistan LONG before you ever squirmed your way over here!!"
"That would only have incurred my wrath sooner..," the assassin menacingly marched towards him. His broadsword dragged coldly through the forest floor. "Organized criminals like you disgust me, Garet. Smugglers, drug dealers, mobsters, crimelords. H.I.V.E., Slade, Dagger, Luthor. They are all petty, bureaucratic wastes of blades and blood. Do you see me, Garet?? I am clean. I am smooth. I am perfect. I am the epitome of death itself."
"Is that why you sl-slaughtered the Headmistress and everyone in that prison caravan to Decker's City??" Garet gritted his teeth. He backed up into a tree and shook in pain. "Is that why you're offing me?!?! You're trying to prove some sort of shitty point?!?!"
Viper leered down at the man. "As far as I am concerned….there is only one other soul on this pathetic planet who could ever best me in the art of death. He exists, though I do not know his face or his name. But I do know that he has brought about the deaths of many of Dagger's old cohorts. And he was also there at the City Prison when Decker and the Titans lost out. Assassins find names of very little importance, Garet. Their mark in the sand is through bloodshed. This is a contest that I must win so that I may wield true power. In the end, it'll be between me and him….to see who makes the biggest stroke of death in the land."
"Viper….w-we can work something out…," Garet shuddered. "Th-This man you're looking for…I-I can help you f-find him!! We can kill him together, Viper! T-Together!!"
CHIIIIIING!!!
Viper raised the silver sword up to the man's neck.
"Shhhhh…..," Viper's lips curved into an acidic smile. "Corpses don't talk…."
From behind…
In the distance…
"It's him!!"
"He's got the boss!!"
"Shoot him!!"
BANG!! B-BANG!!!
SWIIIIIIIISH!!! SWIIIIIISH!!! Bullets streamed by Viper's head.
Viper gritted his teeth and looked at the men.
Garet shouted at the top of his lungs: "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!! SHOOT HIS ASS---"
CHIIIIIING!!
SLIIINK!!
Garet's head rolled to the forest floor. Two seconds later, his body slumped down and joined it.
FWOOOOSH!!
Viper spun, twirled his sword, and ran directly towards the edge of the forest.
Two henchmen on dirt bikes were positioned on a dirt road leading down the mountainside. They aimed uzzis and fired madly at Viper.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!
Viper gritted his teeth and waved his broadsword in front of his sprinting figure.
"NNRRRRGHHHH!!!"
CL-CL-CLANK!!! He deflected the bullets.
He charged closer and closer to the henchmen.
Projectiles streamed past him.
Viper held his breath.
He side-stepped.
He jumped.
He bounced off a tree on his left.
He vaulted and jumped off a tree on his right.
He flipped in mid-air, came down into the midst of the henchmen, and dove his sword forward.
THUNK!!!!
One henchman quivered as the blade went straight through his heart and broke through his back on the other side.
Viper flexed his muscles.
He lifted the skewered the man by his blade.
He spun.
He aimed the sword at the other gunman.
Viper lifted his foot and kicked the skewered crook's body.
The twitching corpse slid off the long blade and slammed into the body of the second man.
WH-WHUMP!!!
"Augh!!" the gunman struggled under the dead body's weight. "Nnnghh—"
THWACK!!!
His head split in two from the impact of Viper's broadsword.
"………," Viper panted.
More engine sounds.
He looked uphill.
Three more henchmen on dirt bikes came throttling down towards him. The first of the three lifted an uzzi with one hand and awkwardly fired.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!
Viper crouched and twirled his sword in front of him. SW-SW-SW-SWISH!!!
CL-CL-CLANK!!!!
The bikers kept coming.
Viper looked to his side. CHIIIING!!! He sheathed the broadsword. He dashed over to one of the two bikes and mounted it. He kicked it into action.
VRMM!!! VRMM!!! VRMM!!
The engine roared to life. The headlight glared on.
SCREEEE-EEEEECH!!! VRRMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!
Viper started speeding downhill, trailing dust and autumn leaves along the dirt road.
The three bikers were quickly on his tail.
The chase loudly went on under the purplish moonlight.
Viper veered left and right to accommodate for the wavering path ahead of him. He ducked a few low branches from the trees on either side. He gripped the handles tightly, ramped over a dirt mound or two, and then sped down a straightaway.
Once the path was straight, the first of the three pursuers raised his uzzi once more and let loose a deadly barrage.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!
Viper ducked his head and steered his bike in a serpentine fashion. Bullets swished by and exploded in the dirt and trees all around him.
Ping! P-Ping! Ping! Ping!!
Viper's momentum slowed from the steering.
The bikers gained distance.
Viper glanced over his shoulder.
The frontman prepared to shoot once more.
CHIIIIING!!!
One handed, Viper unsheathed his sword. Purple haze shimmered off his metal knuckles as he held the blade in reverse.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!
Viper spun the sword backwards.
CL-CL-CLANG!!!
Viper veered.
The pursuers veered.
Another straightaway.
Viper's metal fingers tightened.
The front pursuer fired again.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT!!!
Viper swung once.
PING!!!!
The bullet deflected back and exploded into the front biker's throat.
THUNK!!! "Snkkkkkt---"
He fell back dead and his bike went tumbling across the dirt path behind.
The other two veered around his corpse, unleashed an uzzi each, and fired dually.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT!!
Viper held his blade down, ducked, and veered to the right.
Bullet streams exploded in the dirt path blurring past his left.
Viper looked up.
He caught sight of a thick tree close to the right side of the road.
VRMMMMM!!!!
He throttled towards it.
One of the two bikers got cocky and accelerated towards him, leaving the other speeder behind.
VRMMMMMMMM!!!
Viper focused on the tree ahead.
In four seconds he crossed a hundred feet and--
"NNNGH!!!" Viper leapt off the bike.
He stretched his blade out in to the side.
CHTINK!!!
His broadsword stuck into the tree.
Momentum carried his lower body forward and around.
SKKKRKKKK!!!
Viper spun three hundred sixty degrees around the tree, his sword carving around the body of the trunk.
When Viper's body returned to the path, he successfully mounted himself on the back of the foremost biker. THWUMP!!!
The two sped off together.
CRKKKKKK!!!
Adequately sliced, the entire tree fell down across the path behind them. THWUMP!!!
"AAAAAA—" The last biker couldn't break in time. CRUNCH!!!! His body and the bike violently smashed into the body of wood.
In the meantime, the last biker gasped and panted as Viper reached over him from behind and planted the cold silver of his broadsword into the henchman's throat.
"Give me your blood……"
The man's lips quivered.
Sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-iiiiiiiiii-iiiiiiiiiiiiink!!!
Viper slowly drew the entire length of the blade's edge across the man's throat. Blood sprayed out. The henchman's eyes rolled back and--
THWAP!!!
Viper shoved him off the bike, took control, and drove one-handed down the clearer part of the dirt path uncontested.
VRRRRRRMMM!!!
….but not for long.
Two bikers waiting for him on a hill overlooking the last stretch caught sight of the runaway assassin, throttled their cycles, and sped down in full pursuit.
VRMMMMMMMMMM!!!!
Viper's eyebrow raised. He looked behind him.
BANG!!!
An off-chance bullet.
"!!!!"
Viper gasped and jerked his bike to the side—
PING!!—CRUNCH!!!!
The bullet struck his neck. More specifically, it struck the electronic voice system around his neck. Red sparks started to short out and dance along his throat. ZZZZ-zzzz-ZZ-zzt!!!
"Nnnzzznnnghh!! Bastazzzzrdszzzzz!!!!"
He rubbed his broadsword holding metal wrist against his neck and winced. His eyes were hard and his teeth grit in fury.
"Zzzzznnttnncazzn'tzzzzzzzdammzzitzzzzz!!!"
ZZzzzztt!!!
The sparks stopped.
His voice was gone.
He panted.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!
More relentless bullets streamed by him.
Viper fumed.
He looked to his left.
Offroad, there was a thicker sea of trees overlooking the mountainside.
VRMMMMMM!!!!
Viper madly steered his dirt bike over and into the forest.
The bikers swiftly jerked at their handles and followed blindly after him.
Viper gripped the steering with one hand and his sword in the other. He ducked his head low and veered sharply to speed in and around trees swishing violently past him.
SW-SW-SW-SW-SWISH!!!!
The two bikers did their best to pursue. Leaves and dirt were kicked up by their tires. The front biker was getting the hang of it. The one in the rear—
"AAAA—" THWACK!!! He ran straight into a tree and collapsed.
The other biker throttled up and aimed his uzzi through the trees and branches.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!
P-P-PING!! THWAP!!! PING!!!
Bullets exploded against the trees and forest floor all around Viper.
Viper ducked a few bullets. He panted. He twirled his blade….and stuck it deep into the earth beside his cycle.
SNKKKKKKKKKKKT!!!!
The huge, silver blade dug into the soil. Clumps of rocks, pebbles, and autumn leaves shredded and kicked up in a flurry.
The pursuing biker squinted his eyes. The cloud of debris was starting to cloud his vision.
Viper took a breath. He dug his blade in deeper.
SNKKKKKKKKKKT!!!!
Leaves and dirt flew high.
The biker blinked. He batted debris away with his gun arm. He grunted and found himself swerving and almost losing his grip while all the time accelerating into a wave of flurried madness….
….and…..
The wall of debris cleared.
He reopened his eyes. "Huh?"
Viper had turned around and was throttling straight towards him--
CHIIIIING!!!!
--and the biker's vision was cut as his nerves was cut as his brain was cut from his spine.
VRMMMMM!!!!
Viper sped through the forest.
Panting, he looked behind him.
The biker's body lay silent, severed, on the floor.
Viper smiled.
He looked ahead…and saw half of the continent.
"!!!!!"
Viper plummeted with his bike over a sudden cliff in the forested mountainside.
Alone in the purple night, he and the cycle fell and fell and fell…
In a cold, downwards arc….
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
WRII!! WRII!! WRII!! WRII!!
"DADDY!!! WE'RE NOT LOSING THEM!!! STOP DRIVING LIKE AN IDIOT BEFORE THEY CATCH UP TO US!!!"
SCREEEECH!!!
"Kitten, Daddy's trying to concentrate!! Now be a good girl for once and try to use the Lepidoptic Acid Cannon on the state troopers and maybe Daddy won't have to go back to prison and you'll get your college tuition sooner!!!"
"I told you once before, this cannon thingy is TOO COMPLICATED!!!! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SHOOT ANYTHING BESIDES MYSELF WITH THIS PIECE OF CRAP?!?!"
"Don't tempt me, girl. Do not tempt me!!"
VRMMMMM!!!!
A stationwagon burned down the highway between mountainsides that night. A stationwagon with Killer Moth at the wheel and Kitten bouncing around in the back. A total of eight squad cars were madly pursuing the father and daughter, their sirens and police lights shooting off into the purple evening.
WRII!! WRII!! WRII!!
"Well maybe if you didn't have to be a party pooper and BLOW YOUR UGLY WAY OUT OF PRISON we wouldn't BE IN THIS MESS!!!" The blonde animal cackled.
"I did what I had to do, Kitten!! If we're ever going to make it big in this crummy world, Daddy's got to have access to his winged children!! Now…for the last time…fire the damn cannon!!!"
"But what if I—"
"DO IT!!"
"FINE!! FINE! BE THAT WAY!!" She fingered the trigger.
Killer Moth glanced back. The bug-eyes on his mask doubly-bugged. "NO!!! AIM IT OUTSIDE FIRST—"
SPLORCH!!!!!
"Ooops…."
A glob of gray acid splashed across the floorboard of the station wagon's interior, ate through the bottom chassis, and melted across the axle while it was still spinning.
SSSSSSSSSssssssssssss!!!
"Nnnnghh!!!" Killer Moth struggled to keep control of the vehicle.
The station wagon careened. Kitten was thrown back and forth in the rear. "Whoaaaah!! Whoaaaaah!!!"
"You stupid brat!! Don't you eer use your head?!?! You're just like your mom!!"
"HEY!!! DON'T BRING MOM INTO THIS!! She's DEAD ya know?!?!"
"Only because of you and your driving lessons two years ago!!"
"………oh right."
Killer Moth regained control of the station wagon. "Nnnngh….we're fine. We're still moving along. Now….I think we can still lose these creeps on our tail so long as nothing more stupid happens—"
VRMMM-SWOOOOSH—CRASH!!!!!
A falling dirt bike and the limp body of a muscular assassin slammed across the hood of the station wagon from high above.
"WHOAH!!!!" Killer Moth gasped and jerked as the station wagon grinded over the bike.
"EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" Kitten curled up in the back.
CRKKKKK!!!!
The bike shattered into the tires. The gears of both vehicles completely flew apart. The stationwagon came to a cold, smoking stop.
FHHHHHHhhssssssss……
"Nnnngh….," Killer Moth shook his masked head and groaned. "Mother of moth…."
FWUMP!!!! The airbag struck him in the skull.
"OW!! DAMMIT!!"
WRII!! WRII!! WRII!! WRII!! WRIiiiieeee……
The eight squad cars screeched to a stop. Two of them in the front drove parallel to the lanes of the highway before coming to a stop. Cops poured out and aimed over the cars as barricades with over two dozen pistols drawn.
Cl-Clik!
Cl-Clik!
Clik Clik Clik!
"Freeze!!"
"FREEZE!!"
"Out of the car!!"
"NOW!!"
CRUNCH!!!
Killer Moth kicked the front, driver's side door loose. He stepped out with his clawed gloves up.
"Turn around!!!"
Killer Moth grumbled and mumbled like Popeye. He twirled around. Synthetic wings limp. As he did so, he looked down.
The pale-skinned and palely dressed assassin lay on the asphalt, stirring in pain. Wincing.
"Way to go, chump…," Killer Moth growled. "What does Heaven think it is…….throwing a piece of crap like you to Earth??"
"Down!! On your knees!! Facing away from us!!"
Killer Moth slowly crouched in helpless obedience. His hands up.
Kitten marched out of the car. "Daddy?!?! What are you sitting around for??"
"You too!! On your knees!!"
"Aren't you going to beat the stupid man up, Daddy?!?! Look what his bike did to our car!!!"
"On your knees….Kitten….," Killer Moth growled.
"Huh?!?!" Kitten turned. Red laser sights danced on her blouse. "Holy Moses!!" She went pale and stuck her hands up high. "I s-s-surrender!!"
Killer Moth shook his head, groaning.
"Now turn around!! Now get on your knees!!"
The assassin blinked. He wearily looked up. He saw the supervillain and her daughter. But then he saw something else behind them. A group of people with guns. Cops.
Law enforcement……
The man mutely snarled.
He reached a steady hand towards the hilt of his broadsword lying on the asphalt…
Kitten knelt down besides Killer Moth. Her eyes were thin. She growled and spoke through the corner of her lips: "This is all your fault…"
"My fault?!?!" Killer Moth hissed back at her. "Girl, if you had properly trained yourself in the criminal arts long before I busted out of prison, we wouldn't be in this mess!!"
"It's not my fault Captain Picard on steroids fell onto our car!!! What is it?? Is ESPN doing Xtreme sports on mountaintops all of the sudden??"
"Listen to yourself!! You never take any of the family business seriously!! Just what have you been doing the entire time since Westhaven?? Door-to-door nail filing, I bet!!"
"Okay, Daddy. For one thing…I've been doing okay for myself until YOU showed up from PRISON!! For another…how can you take 'family business' seriously when you dress up like a giant bug?!?! And for the last part….THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH NAIL FILING!!!"
"Lie down on the ground!! Face first!!"
Cl-Clik!
"NOW!!"
The two sprawled out on the ground like it was every day routine. They even had their hands propped up behind their heads without being prompted by the authorities.
"Do you realize how much deep trouble we are in now, Kitten?? After the bombing and crud, when I go back to prison I may never come back!! They'll be entombing my prison cell with a titanium sarcophagus!"
"WELL I HOPE THEY DO!! AND I ALSO HOPE YOU GET PLENTY OF MIGRAINES AND HAVE TO POOP IN A JAR!!"
"Kitten—"
"OH I MEAN IT!! I AM NEVER FORGIVING YOU FOR THIS DAY, DADDY!! NEVER!!! NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVE---say, where did Mr. Zen monk go?"
"Huh??" Killer Moth looked ahead.
Where the dented station wagon and the leftover shards of the dirt bike were….the mysterious assassin was not.
Killer Moth cocked his masked head to the side. "Now where the devil---"
Sliiink!!
Sliiink!!
"AAAAH!!"
"!!!!" Killer Moth sat up and turned around.
Two cops at the front of the line were sprawled on the ground besides their squad cars. They clutched bleeding, right stubs where hands once were. The assassin stood between them with a red-dripping sword.
The second and third line of cops fired madly at the man.
BANG!! B-BANG!! BLAM!!!
He twirled his sword and deflected the blades. CL-CL-CL-CLANG!! He jumped to the side, rolled, snatched up one of the sliced troopers' pistols, ended in a kneeling position, aimed, and shot--
BLAM!!! BLAM!! BLAM!!
He struck down two cops in the heart. He shot through the head of a third.
Killer Moth's jaw dropped.
Kitten blinked.
BLAM!! BL-BLAM!! BLAM!! The man kept shooting.
The distant squad cars became pincushions of lead. Cops started running down the opposite end of the highway for their lives.
"…..," the man silently spied a squad car in the middle of the mess. He took careful aim and shot a single volley into the fuel compartment of one of the vehicle.
BLAM!!
PING—BOOOM!!!!
Flames erupted. The shell of the car lifted skyward and collapsed down in an splash of heat and metal. Troopers jumped into the rear squad cars and pulled back.
SCREEEEECH!!!
The assassin stood there, heaving.
"…..," Kitten blinked. She looked over.
One of the two front squad cars was now unattended.
"Pssst! Daddy!!" she hissed.
Killer Moth nodded. "Good idea. GO!!"
The two crouch-ran towards the vehicle as fast as their legs could carry them.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"???" Viper turned to look.
He saw the supervillain and his daughter rushing into the squad car.
Viper frowned.
He aimed at them with the cops' pistol in his hand.
He pulled the trigger twice, one for each head of the fleers.
Click! Click!
"…..??" Viper raised an eyebrow and looked at the gun.
The chamber was empty.
"………," he exhaled.
Cl-Clack!! He dropped the gun to the asphalt and gripped his sword with two hands. He looked around the smoldering highway for a possible escape route.
SCREEEECH!!!
Viper gasped.
An armored truck had been called to the scene. It veered in and around the shot-up and burning vehicles, heading straight towards him.
CHIIIING!!! Viper readied his sword. Teeth gritting, he rolled to the side and slashed out at the side of the vehicle.
SNKKKKTTT!!!!
Sparks flew off the side of the armored truck.
SCREEECH!!
The vehicle came to a stop.
A bullet proof window rolled down.
An expert marksman aimed out and shot an automatic at him.
POW!! P-P-POW!! POW!!!
CLANG!! CL-CLANG!! Viper deflected and circle-strafed the firing passenger, planning a next course of attack.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Come on….," Killer Moth's clawed gloves were hard at work at hotwiring the squad car.
"Hurry up Daddy!! Let's get the Purgatory out of here!!!" Kitten squealed.
Zzzztt!!
VRMMMMMM!!!
Killer Moth cackled. "Yes!! Mwahahaha!"
He gripped the wheel, shifted the gears, and swerved the car into the middle of the road.
SCREEEEEEEECH!!!
And then he stopped.
He stared numbly out the dashboard.
Kitten panted. "Wha--….What gives?! Why arne't you getting us the Purgatory out of here!!"
"Hrmm….," Killer Moth's mask tilted to the side. A beat. He glanced behind him at the fight going on between the assassin and the armored truck. "Ya know….."
"What??!?!?!"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
POW!! P-P-POW!!
Viper grit his teeth and dove to the asphalt.
The gunman aimed at him. P-P-POW!!
Bullets ricocheted off the ground as Viper rolled out of the way, twirled his blade, and rushed towards the armored truck.
FWOOOOOSH!!!
And then--
SCREEEECH!!!
The passenger with the gun gasped and ducked inside just as--
CRUNCH!!!!
Killer Moth backed the squad car into the truck's side. He kicked the passenger side door open. He motioned with his glove. "You gettin' in or what?!?!"
"………," Viper blinked. He looked at the armored truck. He looked back at the other state troopers and squad cars regrouping on the burning highway. "………." He swiftly sheathed his sword and dove into the squad car.
Killer Moth wasted no time in hitting the gas.
SCREEEEEEEEEECH!!!
VRRMMMMMMM!!!!
The squad car pealed down the road and shoved a great deal of distance between itself and the law enforcement. The armored truck was delayed in pursuing the getaway. The other state troopers even more so.
It was a good half a minute before at least four vehicles were speeding down the highway after the three miscreants.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Viper panted in the front seat of the vehicle.
Killer Moth drove madly at the wheel.
A beat.
Suddenly, Killer Moth's hand jerked into the glove compartment.
"….," Viper's eyes dashed--
"You!!" Killer Moth pointed a gun at Viper's forehead.
"……," the assassin sweat. Frozen.
"…..Here!" Killer Moth turned the gun around not a second later so that the handle was facing Viper. "Shake them off if they come closer!"
"……….," Viper looked at the gun. He took it. A beat. He looked at Killer Moth. "……..," he smiled. He nodded.
"Those were some fancy moves you pulled on those coppers back there….," Killer Moth grumbled and refocused on the blurring highway ahead of them. "We wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you, and THAT'S the only reason I let you hop in. Got it?"
Viper cocked the pistol.
Kitten stared in from the back seat. Blinking.
"You have a name, pal??"
"…..," Viper was silent.
"Anything we should call you?"
"………"
"Won't talk, eh?"
"………"
"………….can't talk?"
Viper shrugged.
"Well, whatever. A badass is a badass." He looked in the rear view mirror at squad car lights increasing. "Now you've got a second chance to prove yourself. The three of us can talk or not talk later. Got it?"
Viper nodded. He mouthed: 'Yes sir.' A corner of his lip was curved.
"……," Kitten glanced at Killer Moth. "Can we let him off at the first Seven Eleven we find?"
Viper rolled down the window, leaned out, and fired back at the pursuing vehicles.
BLAM!! BLAM!! BLAM!!
Kitten winced and covered her ears.
VRMMMMMM!!!!
The three sped off under the purplish night….
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Commissioner?"
"…………….."
"Commissioner Decker?"
"………………"
"S-Sir?"
Decker looked tiredly up from his desk finally.
The lieutenant stood before him in the commissioner's office. He swallowed. He leaned forward: "It's two in the morning. Are you going to call it an evening or not?"
"Hmm…….," Decker uttered. He ran two hands through his hair and sighed. He gazed down at sheets of photos, text, reports, schematics all collected from the overturned prison van and the dead victims. "Evening….to sleep…..perchance to dream….."
The Lieutenant's eyes thinned. "You're starting to worry me sir."
"It's not your place to be worried about me, Lieutenant," Decker leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Your job is to oversee this department's checks and balances without running into sixes and sevens."
"You've been staring at those photos of the murder scene for four hours straight. What possible good could that be doing, sir?"
"No good at all, Lieutenant," Decker grumbled. "No damn good at all. That's why we call it a 'murder' in my business. Murder isn't necessarily a good thing." The Commissioner lightly hit his desktop with a fist. "I was this close. This close to having the biggest key to the explosion's mystery in my grasp!! The Headmistress was just miles outside of the City Limits when that sword-swinging teletubby jumped in on the party. Who the Hell thought Viper would be alive after all the shit we put the bastard through??"
"That is the final conclusion, then?" the Lieutenant asked. "That it was Viper?"
"You haven't been paying much attention, have you son?" Decker remarked. He pointed at the things on his desk. "Sure, I've got pictures and physical evidence up the wazoo. But there is actually testimony. Eyewitness account of what happened."
The Lieutenant nodded. "Cortez…"
Decker looked at the file of the young police cadet. "He was riding shotgun in one of the two squad cars at the time…."
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"So……I-I'm confused. Has H.I.V.E. actually disbanded c-completely?"
"Heh…hardly, kid," spoke the driver. A state trooper in his early forties. He followed closely behind the prison van, his hands loose on the wheel. The sides of the Metropolitan Highway blurred past them that night. "A criminal organization like that doesn't crumble overnight. No matter how many Titans you toss at 'em. But don't get me wrong. This is a damn good step in the right direction. In some way or another, this prisoner ahead of us is gonna give us some really good meat of information that law enforcement has been drooling over for a long time."
"The Commissioner of the City we're doing to…," Cortez read off a clipboard. "………Dunkle??"
"Decker."
"You think he's gonna get anything more out of the Headmistress than Sawyer?"
The driver chuckled. "Decker? Oh hell yeah."
Cortez looked at the driver funny.
The man glanced over, grinning. "Decker could interrogate a camel through an eye of a needle. No need to worry your badge off."
Cortez nervously chuckled.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"The suspect entered from seemingly nowhere," Decker said.
A street map of the Metropolitan Highway was slid into view atop the Commissioner's desk.
His finger pointed.
"Experts presume one of the light poles erected within the central barrier of the opposing lanes…"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"…can't wait to get back to my wife and kids after this," the driver said. "These long distance escorts are a real bitch."
"Aye, sir."
"Heheheh. I like you, kid. You'll be going places. Just watch and learn."
"I-I'm trying my best, sir," Cortez smiled.
A shadow blurred ahead of them.
Both jerked to look through the dashboard.
"H-Huh??"
"Whoah!!"
A gray figure leapt from a spot high above, landed with his feet planted on the front of an escort's motorcycle, and vaulted towards the side window of the van.
THWUMP!!! The motorcyclist lost balance and his bike fell over on the blurring asphalt. CRAAAAA-AAAACK!!! The van rolled over the body of the cycle and the cop in one sickening crunch. Vehicle shards and a crushed body tumbled across the highway pavement behind.
The figure perched on the side of the van pulled out something long and silvery. He proceeded to shatter the glass of the van's front window and shove the blade in. A fountain of red poured out from the driver's seat.
"Holy……," Cortez murmured.
"Mother of god……"
The van swerved left. The van swerved right. It fishtailed hard to the left again and started to teeter over while simultaneously crashing into the concrete barrier.
Cortez and his partner found themselves soaring seventy-miles-per-hour into the belly of the van.
"LOOK OUT!!!"
SCREEEEEEEEEECH!!!!
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Cortez was dazed, but awake and in tact," Decker mumbled.
He flipped through a few photos.
He pointed at the overturned van with his finger.
"He soon made his way out of the vehicle and approached the other side of the crash site."
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Cortez
winced.
He struggled to pry himself out from his half-crumpled passenger seat.
He whipped out a knife and cut loose the seatbelt sticking him in place.
He looked left, panting.
The driver's neck was in an impossible position. His body was slumped over a steering wheel that refused to deploy the airbag. Blood trickled out of the man's ears.
"…….," Cortez exhaled.
Outside: "AAAAAAAAUGH!!"
SLIIINK!!!
SLIINK!!!
Cortez panted. He elbowed the glass window a few times. He shattered it and crawled through, inescapably cutting his arms with a few shards. He tumbled to the cold asphalt outside, scrambled to his knees, and pulled out his gun.
Shaking.
BANG!!!
BANG!!
Cortez looked right.
A state trooper with disheveled hair was backing up, firing at something out of view with a pistol. BANG!!! BANG!!! "GET BACK!!!!"
Cortez blinked.
The man gasped and flinched--
SWOOOOSH---CHIIING!!!!
A shadow blurred by him with a glint of silver and was out of view.
The trooper's body stayed upright for a few seconds before collapsing to the earth, his brains spilling out.
Cortez's mouth dropped.
From behind--
SCREEEEECH!!!
He spun and looked.
A motorcycle coasted eerily on its own across the highway before donut-circling to a scraping stop. SNKKKKT!!!
There was a yelling, struggling sound.
A gray figure dragged a trooper by the leg—kicking and screaming—into the center of the highway.
"Nngh!!! Sonofabitch!! My hand!!!"
The figure let go of his leg and twirled a broadsword over his head.
The man on the ground writhed and shuddered: "No……n-no!!!"
The figure dove down, hacking and hacking and hacking on the twitching body.
"NOOO-NNGHHAAAAASKSKKKKKT-TTTT-TTT!!!!"
Cortez hyperventilated.
He stumbled backwards.
He tripped over something.
THWUMP!!!
His gun fell out of his grasp and hit the ground hard—BANG!!! A bullet sounded off.
Cortez winced. He looked down at his feet and saw that a dismembered right hand had tripped him.
He began to taste bile on the back of his tongue. He looked up and froze at the sight of two bulbous eyes beneath a bald crown staring at him.
The origin of the bullet.
Cortez shivered.
TH-THWISH!! The assassin twirled his sword and marched towards Cortez from afar.
Cortez scrambled backwards on all fours.
The figure prepared to sprint--
SCREEEEEEEE-EEEEECH!!! The second squad car caught up and nearly ran the figure over.
The swordsman jumped out of the way and held his blade at ready.
Two officers—pumping a shotgun each—poured out and aimed over their doorframes.
"SMOKE THE BASTARD!!!!"
BLAM!!!
BLAM!!
BL-BLAM!!
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"The attacker was inhuman," Decker spoke. "Cortez said that 'he was a demon', and that he killed 'like the wind'. Silent. Emotionless."
A beat.
Decker glared up at the Lieutenant.
"But especially 'silent'…"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
BLAM!!
BLAM!!!
BL-BLAM!! BLAM!!!
The figure side-stepped, jumped, and ducked the shot. He then performed a massive forward leap, flipping and landing on the top of the squad car itself.
THWUMP!!!
He jabbed his blade down left.
THUNK!!!!
A trooper dropped his shotgun as the broadsword sliced through his voice box and shattered out the back of his neck.
"AAAAAH!!!" the partner yelled and aimed his shotgun up at the killer. But he was out of cartridges. He panted.
SLINK!!! The assassin yanked his blade out of the corpse's neck.
The other tossed his shotgun at him, panted, backed up, and fumbled for his pistol.
CHIIIING!! The swordsman pounced on him.
"NOOO—" THUNK!!! "AUGH--" SLASH!!! "SNKKKTTT!!!" SLIIINK!!! "………"
Cortez scrambled behind the van. He flattened himself back against the metal body. Hyperventilating.
Sweat ran cold down his face and upper body. It stung in the autumn air.
Silence.
The cries and the carving sounds had gone away.
The wind was stale and still for a moment.
And……
Footsteps.
Cortez gulped.
Footsteps…
Cortez's forehead throbbed.
Footsteps……
The cadet's fingers curled against the surface of the van.
A beat.
CREAAAAK!!!
The van shook.
The doors were opened.
Cortez couldn't see from where he hid.
But he could……
"Y-You!!" the Headmistress voice shuddered from within the aluminum death cocoon. "But……th-that's impossible!! You died at the desalination plant!!!!"
An electronic voice in the darkness.
"Don't be so quick to judge death until you taste it, bitch."
"Nnngh!!! Help me!!!!"
A struggled.
Vibrations through the van.
A dragging sound.
The thumpings of kicking feet.
"Help me!! P-Please!!!"
"Cry on, you siren. Lull me to insanity."
PLOP!!
Th-Thwish!!
"You've sung your song one decade too long. Now that you are a lost and lonely puppy, it is so very easy for me to drown you in blood."
"Who sent y-you?! Why are you doing this?!?! Haven't I lost enough already?!"
"Dear Headmistress……nobody sent me but myself. This is but a game between me and he who desires to become death. It's rather ironically hilarious, is it not?"
"………………WAIT!!!"
SLIIIIIINK!!!
"!!!!!!!!"
"Think about it…..and laugh. It'll make the first century in Hell pass by quickly."
SLASH!!!!!!
THWUMP!!!
Cortez shuddered.
"If only silence was all that there was beyond. Maybe your soul will speak to me about it someday. I'll keep a souvenir with your blessing…….or with your curse."
TH-TH-TH-THWISH!!
THWACK!!!
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Decker turned to the final photo. The Headmistress' and the officers' bodies all piled together in a pyramid against the side of the van. He pointed at their bloody, right stubs.
"Their hands were never found at the scene. They were left with only their 'unclean' limbs still in tact with their corpses. An absolute trademark of the Viper of olde."
The Lieutenant took a deep breath. "And what became of Cortez?"
Decker gathered the documents and photos. He stacked them together. He straightened them against the desk. Thap! Thap! THAP!! He leaned forward and sighed. "………," he glanced up. "Psychiatric evaluation. Post-Traumatic stress from Hades. What else do you think?"
"What of obsession and overstress?"
"Nah…the doctors didn't mention anything about Cortez in that fashion—"
The Lieutenant smiled and pointed: "I was talking about you, sir."
"……………..Bastard."
"Heheheheh."
Decker ran tired hands over his face. "I suppose I could use with making love to the leather couch out in the lobby or something."
"I'd be more than willing to give you a lift."
"Not in your first year, Lieutenant."
"Sir??"
Decker stood up, paced over to the windows of his office, and looked out on the autumnal night over the city with an aging sigh. "When you get as old and cranky as me, kid….I don't ever want to hear from beyond the grave you saying anything like: 'I've seen it all'. Cuz once you say that, all sorts of shit are gonna be put into play by the powers that be just to prove you wrong. Life has this ironic sense of humor…..not to mention a penchant for psychological sodomy."
"I just think you need to get some sleep, sir."
"Gotta love you and your one-track mind," Decker groaned. He sighed. He shook his head. "I hate having to say it…..but…..I can't wait until the Titans and I can talk about recent calamities."
"Nobody can blame the best minds of this City for coming together, sir."
"Yeah. Stop flattering me already, k?"
"….."
"Here's hoping no other crazy crap happens anytime soon."
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Reports are in that a police chase of the suspected prison escapee Killer Moth ended last night in a bloody fray upon the Metropolitan Highway just miles south of the grisly murder of the H.I.V.E. Headmistress and seven other police officers over twenty-four hours. Details of this most recent tragedy is still sketchy, but at least three officers are believed to be dead and even more have been injured. Killer Moth could not be arrested, and he is believed to still be at large. It is far too early to draw any connections between this and the previous night's deadly debacle. State Troopers at this time are issuing……"
In Carman's diner the next morning, the t.v. rattled on and on.
Lindsay was returning to behind the counter with a table of used plates for cleaning. She paused at what she heard. She looked up at the t.v. JCN News Broadcasting was showing a slew of photos depicting the sight of the highway battle. The charred vehicles. Body bags.
"……," the freckled teen looked out at the body of the diner.
At a booth beside a window, a family was eating. Two wide-eyed kids were gazing up at the screen.
Lindsay swallowed. With her dolphin bracelet rattling, she gently reached her hand up and changed the station. Spongebob Squarepants exploded into comical action in place of the violence. She wandered into the kitchen.
When she came back out without the plates, there was a new patron entering from the City streets beyond.
"Hello," she routinely smiled and spoke with a menu or two hoisted. "Welcome to Carman's diner, how can I--…." Her voice trailed.
"Hi," Tempest smiled. He waved with warm, dark eyes.
"Uh…..h-hi," Lindsay blinked.
"Are you working?"
"Uh….yeah."
"Good!" Tempest nodded. "So am I!"
Lindsay looked at his traditional blue and black wetsuit. "Oh. So you are." A beat.
"Well…I'm somewhat working," Tempest motioned. "The Police Department isn't too far from here. We're conducting an impromptu meeting. When I say, I mean Robin and whoever he's chosen to drag along with him. He's the type to do that. You wouldn't know that unless you were to hang around with the guy so much that the smell of hair gel becomes analogous to vigilantism. Like me."
"Uh huh….," she looked.
"But anyways, I was in the area. And I couldn't help but think of you and your freckles and your little sibling whom I have only seen as a C-Span quoting pumpkin and I thought I might as well visit you and prolong the running gag. Surface dwellers are passionate about familiarity, right?"
"……."
Tempest's dark eyes thinned. "Uhm….are you okay?"
She stopped staring at his wetsuit. She looked up, blushing. "Uh…..huh?"
"Your melanin is giving way."
"I-I'm sorry…I just…uhm….," Lindsay fidgeted. "I've been working and…I-I wasn't quite expecting a Titan like you to come by…and….um…."
"Oh say, that reminds me!" Tempest remarked.
"???" Lindsay blinked.
He raised a hand. "You got a glass?"
"Uh…s-sure thing! Hold on a sec." Lindsay wandered over beneath the window-counter into the kitchen. She came back with a glass. "Here you go. What did you need it fo—??"
Tempest flicked his wrist. The hose attached to his arm squirted a stream of water from his tank into the glass, filling it with questionably murky liquid.
"…….," Lindsay made a face. "Um…..th-thanks. What's that for?"
"Weeks ago you were so kind as to supply me with water when I requested it," Tempest half-bowed. "I'd be a total tramp and misrepresentative of Atlantis if I wasn't so kind as to return the favor."
"But….r-remember?" Lindsay simpered. "The water was free. You didn't need to pay anything for it then. And you don't need to do so now. As much as I…er….appreciate the offer."
Tempest's face fell. "But….everyone knows it's the right of every living thing to share the world's water. At least….everyone in Atlantis."
"Ah, you see….that's where it's different. I'm from Illinois."
"Oh, I get it now!" Tempest pointed at the water. "It's gotta be edible, huh? Silly land-dwellers."
"You know what?" Lindsay smiled hopefully and took the glass. "I will take the water. Don't you worry about a thing."
"Ah! She comes through! You know, you've given me hope in this parched land yet." Tempest folded his arms and smiled.
Lindsay blinked. "I-I have?"
"Yeah! You know you're the only sane homo sapien I've met since coming out of the Pond?" Tempest gestured. "All of my teammates are so self-possessive when it comes to their superpowers. And all of them are either too giddy or too angsty to be of sound mind. And then everyone else I've had to run into is either a psychotic villain or a feces-mouthed commissioner of law enforcement."
Lindsay raised a humored eyebrow. "Where do I fit into all of this, exactly?"
"Last time I checked, you had on an aesthetic dress that Robin explained was a 'pilgrim'."
Lindsay giggled.
Tempest made a face.
She recovered. "Gracious be……Carman's going to kill me at this rate."
"What have you done to warrant execution."
"Nothing…," she cleared her throat and smiled. "You're just really silly, is all."
"…..huh."
"Why did you come here?? I mean…obviously you have to be here and I'm working and all. No offense, but it is a kinda awkward timing."
"My apologies," Tempest nodded. "It's only been a month or so now and I'm still feeling a bit awkward about adapting to this culture an---" Tempest went bug-eyed. He shook his head. "You know what? Scratch that. That's no longer a viable excuse."
She giggled again.
"You needed your water back," Tempest pointed. "And….uhm. I was in the area…so…..simple miscalculation again—"
"You want to hang out, don't you?"
"………..hang out?"
"Mmmmhmmmm," Lindsay nodded. "Why don't you just say so? It's simple, really."
Tempest bit his lip. "I hear that 'hanging out' is a surface-dweller form of execution. Beast Boy won't frickin' stop rambling about movies of the 'Wild East' and 'Clint Westwood' or something."
"Nah, it just means….ya know…..'hanging out'!" Lindsay shrugged. "Mostly when I'm not working and you're not…um…..in a wetsuit." She blushed again.
Tempest scratched his head. "Well….sure. I mean, you're a nice enough person."
"Oh?"
"……..with the water and stuff."
She chuckled. "I see you're still stuck on water. How about the Bayside Plaza?"
"The Bayside Plaza for what?"
"To hang out! I'm there with my friends every other evening or so. We do it too much for our own good, to be honest," she rolled her eyes, then smiled. "You could….I dunno….meet us there or something. Get to know 'surface dwellers' up close. That sound good? I-I mean…..Titans are allowed to have normal lives, right??"
"Normal is a word that knows no definitions," Tempest simpered. "I'm willing to experiment."
Lindsay blinked. "Experiment?"
"Er…..'investigate'?"
"That sounds better."
"Allright then."
She smiled nervously.
He smiled even more nervously.
Something vibrated.
"Wuh oh….," Tempest reached into an impossible pocket and extracted a yellow communicator. His dark eyes read something on the device's LCD screen. He glanced at Lindsay and spoke: "The bird speaks."
"I don't get it," the waitress leaned her head to the side. "Are you referring to Robin or Raven?"
"The mature one."
"…..Cyborg?"
"Stop reading magazines," Tempest gave a humorous smirk and turned around.
"You know, the Titans have a magaz—"
The Atlantean was gone.
Lindsay sighed. With a smile, she fingered the dolphins on her bracelet and gazed towards the door.
Silence.
"Lindsay!! Bread rolls!"
"Eep! One second!!"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
There was a knocking sound on the window.
"???" Robin looked over. He walked across Decker's office and opened the window.
Tempest crawled in from the fire escape. He smiled. "Sorry I'm late."
"Where were you?" Robin asked, his eyemasks thinned.
"Giving a waitress her water back."
"………………..whatever," Robin sighed. He shook his head and motioned towards the other half of the room where Commissioner Decker, the Lieutenant, and Starfire gathered. "Listen and learn. We're dealing with stuff before your time with the Titans."
"Alright," Tempest nodded and took his quiet place on the side.
Decker cleared his throat and continued speaking, pointing at a map of the county. "The Headmistress was murdered here. And here….," his finger dragged down a few 'miles'. "….the last batch of state trooper deaths transpired last night, as I'm sure you've all heard well enough about from the news."
"Indeed," Robin nodded.
Decker sighed and leaned lethargically to the side with folded arms. "Now….everything about the first night's murder points to Vincent Patrick Matthew Thames the Third, a.k.a. Viper—the assassin of Judge Carson, Chief Warden Georgeton, and countless prison guards nearly four and a half months ago. The slash marks in the victims' bodies, the decapitations, and most of all…the sliced off right hands of all the dead. There is also a testimony by a police cadet survivor by the last name of Cortez who bears witness to a swordsman causing the ambush and murders."
"Sounds clear cut to me," Robin nodded. He gestured with a gloved hand. "Either it was Viper or a very accurate imitation."
"Now with Killer Moth….," Decker pointed at the lower spot on the map. "The details are still hazy. Mainly because the situation at hand is something that took place explosively and with such suddenness that it's difficult to make a fair assessment. But essentially…Killer Moth and a post-adolescent female—presumably his daughter Katrina "Kitten" Walker---"
Robing cringed.
Starfire's face tightened.
"---were speeding away from a simple toll booth complication when police squad cars identified the escaped supervillain and a huge chase ensued over the following hour and a half. At some point passing the Azure Mountain Range, Killer Moth's car halted. The squad cars formed a barricade. Killer Moth and the girl complied with police officers at first, but then……."
Silence.
Starfire blinked. "Something transpired thereafter?"
Decker scratched his head of hair. "That's the troubling thing. Yes, something bad happened. And it cost the lives of three officers and the loss of three or four squad cars. The thing is….nobody's entirely sure how Killer Moth or anyone with him could have caused such sudden mayhem. The only people to get a truly good look at who was doing what are either dead or recovering from grave injuries now. But there is one nasty-as-shit commonality at work here."
"Do tell….," Robin slurred.
Decker cleared his throat. "Two of the surviving cops lived on barely. But they had their hands chopped off. Their right hands."
Starfire bit her lip.
Tempest blinked. "Excuse me for being a rookie….but….that's a 'Viper' thing, isn't it?"
"It should be….," the Lieutenant pointed. "But the confusing thing is…."
"….it happened at Killer Moth's confrontation," Robin scratched his chin.
"Killer Moth is a supervillain, indeed…," Starfire nodded. "But I have not assumed him to be someone capable of the intimate sadism described of this 'Viper' person."
"'Decribed of'??" Decker made a face. "You mean you don't remember, girl?"
"I….I-I was in a biologically-induced comatose state during the brutal massacre of Viper," Starfire admitted with a flushed expression. "I must apologize. I am here partially for the same reason as yon Tempest."
"Robin….," Decker lethargically sighed. "Couldn't you have brought with you some Teen 'experts' for once? Why couldn't you truck along that robo-nerd, Calypso?"
"'Cyborg'. And these are experts, Commissioner," Robin said, trying not to frown. "I believe that Starfire and Tempest will be most helpful in conducting a search on recent events. As for Cyborg, he's busy helping you out in another field. He's examining the evidence found at the Zanzibar Piers. Despite numerous setbacks with these recent murders, there's an end to this prison-explosive mystery yet."
"Well I sure as Hell hope so," Decker muttered. "If God were one of us, he must have been a clown. Cuz this is all feeling like one bigass joke to me."
"If I may implore, sir….," Starfire raised her hand. "What about this situation is feeling liken unto an enlarged donkey?"
"Wow, you're an innocent one…aren't ya?" Decker slumped down melodramatically in his chair. "I don't like losing members of my best friends' forces. Right now as we speak, they're performing a grand funeral over in Metropolis. I'm sure Maggie Sawyer's balling her eyes out and the entire population of the Blueboy's city is pointing fingers at us for getting them involved in this entire mess." A beat. He slammed his fist down onto the desktop. "Dammit!! If Viper killed the Headmistress, I want to know why!! It doesn't fit his bill one hundred percent!! He was a psychotic moron with the hots for wasting law enforcement officials like yours truly! Not that I want to be lying six feet under with my romance hand chopped off right now, but I sure as Hell want to make sense out of it all!!"
"This Killer Moth….," Tempest interjected. "Has he ever worked with Viper before?"
"No," Robin shook his head. "The man's too egotistical. He couldn't even keep sane when he was coerced by Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo to 'work with' H.I.V.E. during the Westhaven incident." A beat. He looked at the Atlantean. "You're thinking Viper and Killer Moth are working together?"
Tempest shrugged. "The dead cops had the 'hand thingy', right? Surface dwellers are terribly iconographic, I've noticed. With Black Manta made a kill, all he ever left behind was a charred corpse. Your villains leave clues. I think what we're seeing with the Killer Moth debacle is nothing of the same."
"'Your villains' is 'our villains' now, Tempest," Robin pointed. "Don't forget that."
Tempest took a breath.
Robin looked at Decker. "But he has a point. It's a stretch. It may even be an improbability. But it's still a possibility."
"The Hell are you talking about?"
"Viper and Killer Moth," Robin nodded. "Working together."
"Oh. Great. Perfect." Commissioner Decker tossed his arms and sighed. "I'm seriously liking that! That's like Bing Crosby and Bob Hope reuniting……...with gas grenades."
Robin's fists clenched. "Commissioner, if you don't mind me saying…..you're rather testy today."
"Yeah, well, love it or leave it, kid," Decker rubbed his temples. "And—ya know what??—it wouldn't be fair of me to assume that you and your pimply friends haven't been going through your fair share of shit yourselves. But over the last week, everything in this Town has been hitting the fan….and you can just guess in the shape of what, too."
"Perhaps the results that Cyborg provides will be of consolation to you, sir…," Starfire smiled pleasantly. "In the meantime, I am certain that the combined collaboration of Robin, Tempest, and myself shall bring into fruition certain progress on the murder investigations at hand."
"Yeah…well…start with the highway scene where Killer Moth sped off," Decker pointed. "I've got half of my department crawling over where the H.I.V.E. mistress died already. I don't need you three crowding them up."
Robin headed towards the door to the office and motioned for the other two Titans to follow. "We'll get right to it, Commissioner. Though forgive me if I check up on Cyborg first. I want to make sure he has something presentable to you before it's too late."
"Yeah…..much appreciated, Wonder Bird…," Decker motioned tiredly. "Go…fly to action or something."
Robin cleared his throat and silently motioned the others out the door.
The Commissioner and the Lieutenant were alone.
"…………..Lieutenant?"
"Yes, sir?"
"…..the murder of the Headmistress…….."
"What about it, sir?"
Decker's eyes were tired. They were thin. But they were resting upon something on an invisible horizon. Something small and specific. "It…..It reminds me of something…."
"What's that, sir?"
A beat.
Decker swiveled to face the Lieutenant.
"You remember the grisly murder at Warehouse 4146 about a month ago?"
"How can I not, sir? It's both one of the bloodiest and most unsolvable mystery to date."
"…..," Decker rubbed his chin. "Go fetch me some of the files on it. I want to….research something…."
The Lieutenant went towards the door. "Should the Titans know about this?"
"Should the Titans know about my grandmother's panties?!?! GO, dammit!! I mean it!"
The subordinate was gone.
Decker gazed off again. He mumbled to himself: "Viper……are you but a player in the game of death?"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
In the Police Department's elevator…
"I don't see why we couldn't have just….I dunno….hopped out of the window," Tempest smirked at Robin. "Between your grappling hooks and Starfire's flight and my water manipulation, we could make quite an exit—"
"Why the Hell are you so cheerful today?" Robin grumbled.
"Well, that answers that," Tempest gazed ahead at the closed doors.
Robin rubbed the bridge of his nose beneath his eyemask. He sighed.
A beat.
The Boy Wonder gazed to his left. A pause. "How're you doing, Star?"
The alien girl glanced at him. "Robin, today I am full of sadness and regret for the brave lives lost in these two horrific disasters. At the same time, I am incited to exert courage and righteous fury in the act of unraveling this mystery before us."
"………so….um……you're doing okay?"
"Hehe…I am glorious, Robin. Why do you inquire?"
Robin shrugged and faced forward. "Just….checking on you. That's all."
A beat.
Starfire fidgeted. "It is not that I am desiring to complain, however the necessity to inquire presents itself to my psyche."
"Shoot."
"Is there a specific reason for your desiring of my and Tempest's talents during this search instead of that of the other Titans?"
"First of all…I want you two properly educated on Viper," Robin dictated. "Neither of you ever met him in person, and I'm prone to believe him to be the most deadly, artfully conniving, and elusive enemy the Titans have faced just short of Slade."
"So I have gathered…."
"As it seems, he's escaped both death and a dismembered limb. That sort of tenacity is scary, especially regarding a man such as Viper. We need to explore these murders deeper and hopefully figure out just how strong and dangerous a man we're dealing with. I wouldn't expect anything less in strength and bloodlust than what the Titans faced last time."
Starfire nodded.
A beat.
She simpered. "The last time you faced Viper, I was incapacitated. Do you feel I would not fare well to confront Viper on my own now that I am likely to do so?"
Robin raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Starfire bit her lip. "It would mean nothing if my supposition is false…"
"……," Robin stared at her for a while before gazing ahead. "Whatever."
Starfire's eyes fell to her feet.
A beat.
"Star?"
"Yes, Robin?"
"If worse comes to worse and we do face Viper….well….."
"…….."
"…….stay by my side, got it?"
Starfire nodded. "Understood, Robin."
"Good."
Ding!
The elevator doors open.
Robin walked out first.
Starfire floated out second.
Tempest stood in place for a while. He smirked sarcastically: "Love ya too, Robin."
The Atlantean shook his head and followed last.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
The Sun was halfway up the sky when the beat-up squad car rolled to a stop on the top of a forested hill offroad.
Killer Moth put the car into park. He leaned on the steering wheel with a sigh.
A beat.
He looked to his right.
"……….," the assassin stared back.
A beat.
Killer Moth looked into the back seat.
"Zzzzzzzzzzz," Kitten was asleep and drooling.
Silence.
The masked villain glanced again at the assassin and motioned with his head. He exited the car.
The assassin did so too.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Viper slowly followed behind Killer Moth as the supervillain lead him to the top of the hill overlooking a sun-kissed landscape.
Killer Moth folded his arms and looked out. "You see this? This is my territory. My territory and my territory alone. There'll be many a crook and cop alike who will argue and say that it has never belonged to me. It was once H.I.V.E.'s. Then Dagger's. Then Slade's. Even the Titan's. But they were all wrong. I own this City, mister. I just haven't been able to prove it yet. But now that I'm free from prison, I have the chance to. I have a hideout nearby. Just a few twists and turns, and even you yourself could see it. But up to this point, the only persons to see it are myself, my daughter….and my beautiful children."
Viper groaned mutely. He could care less about gazing out at the City. He eyed Killer Moth's head. The back of his head. The thinness of his neck.
His neck……
Viper's bulbous eyes thinned.
He snaked a hand back silently to the hilt of his broadsword—
"I am planning something big," Killer Moth muttered. "Something involving tens of thousands of lives."
Viper's hand stopped. "…….," He gazed intently at Killer Moth.
The villain turned around. "I have enough larvae to replace the stars in the sky. And with just the right funds…with just the right materials….with just the right formula…..I will have this entire pathetic populace begging for mercy."
Viper walked over and stood alongside Killer Moth as the villain pointed out to the land.
"This is not an easy world to conquest. It will take time. It will take effort. And it will take talent." He turned. He glared at Viper through the bug eyes of his mask. "You…..Mysterious stranger…..You have much talent. Much talent that I could use. You have shown your willingness to help just recently….on the highway. I would be honored….and I would be willing to reward you….if you contributed your talents to my grand plan. Something tells me that you would very much appreciate the City I will build."
"……..," Viper looked at the City again. His brow furrowed as he eyed a familiar stretch of ocean. A familiar Bay. A familiar suspension bridge. A familiar skyline. And finally, a familiar Tower. "……………." His metal fingers flexed. He looked at Killer Moth. "…………." He smiled.