159. Whispers part 2
"The salt water content found on the Zanzibar Piers equipment matches that of the evidence left at the prison. I don't think I even need to begin about the carbonite, but here goes anyway. The explosives have been divided into about two hundred and ninety-four units. But get this, there were exactly two hundred and ninety-nine detonators found at the Piers warehouse. This suggests that six units of carbonite quantities and one detonator are missing from the site. Which is interesting, because just about six units of carbonite of the sort of volume found at the site would have been needed to create the magnitude of explosive power as was witnessed at the prison's Omega Wing. That—combined with the fact that two out of the six creeps found at the Zanzibar site work on delivery routes that go near the prison—supports the supposition that the carbonite at the warehouses ended up at the prison. But Decker and his men can question the six individuals as much as he wants, cuz there's no evidence thus far that any of them actually set the explosives there. But they do seem to be the supplier."
Cyborg finished talking.
Raven—standing next to him—looked over at Robin.
Robin stood with his arms folded on the opposite side of the warehouse. He took a deep breath. "Well…we're getting halfway to nowhere."
"Somewhere speaking," Cyborg smirked.
"Well you seem in a good mood," Robin grunted.
"Why shouldn't I be?" the android shrugged. "I know you enslave me to do a lot of laboratory studies these days, but I don't mind when the job is something that actually has results. It didn't take Raven and I much time to come to some sort of conclusion with the wonderful samples provided."
"…….," Robin glanced over at Raven. "Nobody said you had to work on this experiment."
"I know," she nodded.
Cyborg smiled proudly.
A beat.
"Whatever…," Robin ran a hand through his head and wandered towards the door. "Good job, guys. Just keep at it. And if you can…try and scrounge up some background information on Killer Moth."
"Killer Moth??" Cyborg leaned his head to the side. "You mean we've found the bastard?"
"Though at the moment I'm concerned with another bastard," the Boy Wonder slurred. "But the one I'm focusing on doesn't exactly have much of a background check."
"Viper, huh?" Cyborg nodded. "You sure you three are gonna be okay searching after him on your own?"
"If there's anything I've learned about this creep from that one time we went toe to toe…," Robin tiredly muttered. "….it's that the more Titans who face him, the more at risk my teammates are of being hurt."
"But…you sure you can handle it, man?"
A beat.
Robin turned and looked at Cyborg funny. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Cyborg sweatdropped. "You just….ya know….recovered from—"
"There was nothing wrong with me," Robin said firmly.
"Robin…," Raven interjected with a drone. "…you were not acting one hundred percent of your own sentient choosing. Whether or not you choose to accept it, you were under influence by an exterior force. There is nothing wrong with your taking action with Viper. It is your place as a leader. But at the same time—as leader of the Titans—you have a responsibility as much as we do to your own well-being. Putting yourself in the possible line of fire with Viper may not be such a wise plan if you are still mentally and physically exhausted from your ordeal."
"And I'm telling you…," Robin began to growl. "It wasn't an ordeal!!"
"But—"
"If you guys know me…you know that the only way I can ever gather my senses again is to employ my senses in ass kicking!!"
"Damn straight!" Cyborg smirked.
Raven elbowed him.
"Ooff! Girl?!?!"
Raven looked up: "You know you just admitted to needing to recover, right?"
"No I didn't," Robin left the laboratory.
Schwissh!!
A beat.
"Finally…," Cyborg smirked at Raven. "An afternoon alone together."
"Whatever," she droned. "Robin is going to kill himself one day."
"Yeah well…as long as he isn't killing himself alone. He's got Starfire with him. I don't think he's got anything to worry about."
Cyborg went to work with computer equipment.
Raven stared at the back of his neck.
A beat.
"You do know Robin would hurt you for saying that, right?"
"Saying what?" Cyborg asked.
"That he needs Starfire to protect him."
"It's true, ain't it?"
"That's a matter of perspective."
"Pfft! My titanium ass! Starfire is all over Robin like stink on Velcro! Every time he's ever been tortured by Slade or tossed around by Atlas, that girl's been there to hug the stuffings out of him and stuff. There's a greater likelihood of the moon falling into the Pacific Ocean than Robin getting a papercut in Starfire's presence, I swear to God."
"Starfire isn't about to needlessly protect Robin," Raven said. "Every Titan knows that when Robin wants to tackle something on his own, nobody will make him fall short of such an effort. Not even Starfire."
"I swear. They're joined at the hip. Absolutely, positively joined at the hip. The 'Wonder' in the Boy Wonder has Tamaranian blood. You catch my drift?"
Raven folded his arms. "Allright, then. How would you enjoy it if some fan of our crimefighting troupe was to walk up to us and insist that the only reason Cyborg ever kicks butt is because Raven protects him?"
"You see, that's where the analogy falls short," Cyborg smirked. "Starfire doesn't smack Robin around for calling her 'cutie'."
"………..good point," Raven blinked.
"Just what I was thinking…………………..cutie."
ZAP!
"ACK!"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Starfire and Tempest turned to face the front steps of the Tower.
Robin came walking down the steps.
"Tempest. Starfire. Let's go."
Tempest saluted. "The murder site of the highway is just off the Jamestown Tributary, right?"
"Right," Robin saddled his R-Cycle. "Go splashy."
Tempest smirked. "More than happy to…" He turned, ran towards the edge of the island, and dove into the Bay waters.
SPLOOSH!!
Robin began fastening his helmet on over his head.
Starfire floated over. "Are we expected at the site by investigators at any specific time?"
"As soon as possible…," Robin said.
Starfire smiled. "Understood."
Robin started the bike. The engine purred.
Starfire played with her fingers. Her eyes fell to the side. "Uhm…R-Robin?"
"What is it, Star?"
"It is a long way to the Metropolitan Highway, and quite conceivably it may take a while for us to get there going our separately planned routes…."
His eyemask gazed thinly at her through his helmet's visor. "What are you getting at?"
"……," she exhaled. "M-May I….instead of flying….r-ride with you?"
"Star, we don't have any time for—" his voice cut off. He gazed at her.
Starfire bit her lip, her eyes sadly hanging to the wayside.
A beat.
"…….see the rear compartment of the bike, Star?"
"Uhm….y-yes?"
"There's a helmet in there. Why don't you grab it?"
She smiled ever so slightly, her cheeks rosy. "I shall d-do so…"
Starfire fit the helmet on her head, saddled herself behind Robin, and slowly placed her arms around his waist.
Robin kicked the bike into gear, and soon the two were throttling off along the land ridge to the City…then northward.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"………….," Viper glared out the window of the squad car's passenger seat.
As the vehicle rolled to a stop, there was nothing but thick thickets surrounding them in a forest clearing bordering a large mound of vegetation-covered earth. The morning light filtered down in a halo, creating an eerie glow about the lush place. It looked like the garden of eden….only with thorns.
Killer Moth cut the engine. He opened the side door and piled out, his artificial wings twitching in a slight breeze. "We're here…," he grumbled in through the force-open window.
"……………," Viper opened his door and slowly stepped out. His eyes thinly scanned the green clearing.
Killer Moth slammed his door shut.
"Nnnngh….," Kitten stirred in the back seat. She rolled over and slept with a drunken smile. "Jack Sparrow…."
Killer Moth groaned, shaking his masked head. He trudged through the tall grass and approached a wall of green vines.
No……
Viper blinked.
It wasn't vines…but rather……silk. Green silk. Organic camouflage. Upon closer examination, the rubbery material was slowly squirming. It formed a squishy but resilient wall of matter the filled a gap of missing earth on the edge of the thicket-strewn clearing.
"Be quiet for a moment as I open the hideout," Killer Moth pointed at Viper.
"…….," Viper glared.
Killer Moth cleared his throat, and spoke: "Larva Wall. Command. Open."
There was a gurgling sound. A tiny squeak liken unto the muffled voices of ten invisible bats. Then—with a disgustingly curdling sensation—the wall of green silk contracted and lifted upwards, revealing a dark passageway.
A cave.
"……," Viper blinked. He gazed at Killer Moth.
There was almost a smile to the villain's masked face. "It's all in the voice."
"????"
"I'll explain later." Killer Moth looked towards the squad car. "Kitten?! We're home, girl!!"
"Nnngh……."
"Kitten?!?!"
"Hehehe….nngh….just one more minute on the poop deck."
"Damn waste of DNA, I swear…," Killer Moth wandered into the cave. "Follow along. You need to get a feel for the place."
Viper took a deep breath. He ducked his tall head as he entered…wary of the slimy, retracted 'doorframe' writhing just above him.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
The cave's entrance twisted and turned twice before ending up in a wide, torchlit chamber. The rocky floor descended towards a set right out of Frankenstein. A flat bed of stone was covered with at least four long chambers full of bubbling chemical vials and electric shock tanks and various other equipment of questionable nature. In the far corner of the interior, there were three large tanks of cold green goo lit by bright bulbs above. Huge round frames of carved stone led to lateral chambers. One appeared to be a storage compartment full of rusty, metal lockers. Then there was an entrance into what looked like a warm, candle-lit study perfect for a mad scientist. And then there was a corridor leading into someplace horrendously…..pink.
Last but not least there was a set of three doorways leading into a wet, underground lake. Dripping sounds echoed eerily inward from the moist chamber.
"That leads to the Bay," Killer Moth pointed out the doorways and said. "In recent years, I've found that my beautiful children spawn best underwater."
Viper's brow furrowed and he mouthed: 'Beautiful Children'??
Killer moth seemed somewhat perturbed. Regardless, he explained: "My moths."
Viper nodded. He gazed out the chamber.
"This City is pretty much built into the Bay," Killer Moth gestured as he walked amongst his set of equipment…performing a long-needed, visual checkup. "It's surrounded on all sides by water. I've always wanted to exploit that. If I could…if I really wanted to…I could create a nest that would infest areas surrounding the entire urban area. But I've had numerous setbacks. At an opera house in Westhaven, I first performed an underwater nesting of my children. It was a successful endeavor…if you don't count the part where I get frickin' captured and thrown into jail!"
Viper smirked.
Killer Moth grumbled. "Now I have to start over from scratch. I need equipment. I need material to successfully breed enough larvae and exploit the bodies of water in this region. As much as I love this cavern….I don't think an underground lake is going to help me any. Still…I can't complain. I've got my daughter back. And as much as she can be a pain in the thorax, she isn't entirely useless. She's still not known in every household as a supervillain's offspring. She can perform as an unassuming secret agent. If only coaxed right…."
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!!
Kitten marched into the cave, fuming. "What's the big idea leaving me in that stuffy police car?!?! DADDY?!?!"
Killer Moth's gloved fists clenched. "You were sleeping….darling! Daddy didn't want to wake you!"
"Now my butt's all cramped up and I HAVE LINES IN MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!!! Rrghhhh!! I sooooo need beauty treatment!! I'LL BE IN MY ROOM!!"
WHAM!!
Kitten stomped into the pink chamber and slammed a metal door shut behind her.
Viper made a face.
"See what I mean?" Killer Moth grumbled.
Viper found himself gazing towards the 'study'. He blinked. He crept towards it.
From behind…
"Command. Study larva. Extend!"
SQUIKKKT!!
A column of silky cocoons lowered down and swiftly blocked Viper's passage.
Viper skidded to a stop. He turned around, frowning.
Killer Moth pointed. "I trust you….but only so far, chump." He walked over and pointed towards the study. "You're only allowed in there when I want you in there. And right now, I don't want you in there. I've got some heavy planning to do. And some stuff I may be needing your help with. If you decide to play along…you will be heavily rewarded. But I call the shots, got it?"
"…………"
"Got it??"
"………," Viper smiled.
"Good….," Killer Moth turned around and focused again on examining his chemicals. "Soon enough…you'll learn to respect my methods. Everyone who takes me and my love for moths learn to regret it in the end."
Behind Killer Moth's back, Viper glared. He reached his hand up and fingered the hilt of his sword. His gaze fell upon the villain's neck.
"……"
"Those cocoons….all of my children in fact….they respond uniquely to my voice. It's something I've spent many years in the making of. All of my moths have a voice recognition biological program that makes them obey everything my voice and only my voice says. The distinct fluctuations and tone of my vocal cords is like a fingerprint that is only recognizable to my creations."
"…….," Viper gazed off at hearing that. He slowly lowered his hand from his weapon once again.
"I'm quite proud of the effect myself. OH! Which reminds me…," and there was almost a bubblish touch to the Killer Moth's voice. "Entreat. Petite brood. Come!"
There was an obscenely cute amount of squeaking. Then exactly a dozen slimey, football sized maggots squirmed their joyous way into the laboratory cavern and danced around the supervillain's suited feet.
Skriiii!
Skriiii!
Skriiii!
"……..," Viper stared.
"Heheheheh….my precious children certainly have missed me!" He pulled out a yellow pellet from his belt pocket, snapped it open, and sprinkled golden dust over their mandibles.
The squirming creatures eagerly ate, chirped, and rubbed their 'heads' up against Killer Moth's ankles.
"The time is coming when I shall put you good offspring to use…," Killer Moth slurred. "I shall terrorize this City for every inch of its pathetic lives. The people, the police, the Titans….they will all learn to respect me. And you, my friend…" Killer Moth looked over at Viper. "…you will put that blade to good use."
"…….."
"Keep your hands clear of the equipment," Killer Moth droned as he turned around and headed for his study. "I need time to reconsider my resources and draft a plan for unleashing my children. I'll contact you when I've made sufficient plans."
"…….," Viper watched Killer Moth walk into his chamber. The slimy cocoon 'door' opened to make way for him and—
"Command. Study Larva. Extend!"
SLKKK!!
…the silk closed behind him, shutting him inside and beyond sight.
"………," Viper stared. He felt something on his leg.
Skriii……
Viper looked down.
A larva was 'smiling' and rubbing affectionately against his ankle. Skriiiii……
"……….," Viper grit his teeth. He raised his foot and kicked the larva across the room.
WHAP!!!
SkriIiIiIiIi!!!
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
VRMMMMMMMMM!!!
Robin's R-Cycle burned down the country road…uncontested.
Starfire clung to him from behind, demurely wincing from every little jolt. The Tamaranian girl gritted her teeth and uttered into her helmet's two-way communicator: "I am helpless to observe that many of our latest adventures are taking us to the countryside."
"Yeah…..good point….," Robin uttered.
Silence…save for the throttling engine.
The autumn air was cold against their limbs.
Starfire clung to Robin more.
A beat.
"Star?"
"Y-Yes, Robin?"
"I need to breathe more."
"Eep! I-I'm sorry!"
"You can hold on tight…just….don't crush my chest or anything."
"I shall ascertain not to…."
"……….."
"……….."
"……….."
"………Robin?"
"Yes, Star?"
"I…I am sorry that I was incapable of action when Viper last plagued this Town."
"Star, you couldn't help it. It was all part of the Tamaranian—"
"I know that I was helpless in the matter, but regardless I feel that more lives would have been saved if I was present at the time and with my superpowers fully employed."
"Viper was far too conniving for starbolts or super strength to overcome," Robin said. "N-No offense."
"None taken, Robin."
Robin veered around a roadkill and returned to the straightaway. "And…uhm….in a lot of ways, I was kinda…..g-glad that you were out of it at the time."
"Glad, Robin??"
His helmet nodded. "It was not a very pretty sight what Viper did…"
"I am certain I was more than prepared to face his horrors, Robin."
Robin sighed into his helmet. "You're right, Star. It's wrong for me to assume otherwise."
She leaned her head against his shoulder. "I do not think it is entirely wrong of you to think in such a manner, Robin. In fact, I find it ironically reminiscent."
He turned his helmet to the side somewhat. "What do you mean?"
She smiled into her visor. "Am I not always wanting to protect you in multiple ways? Despite our willingness at times to admit it?"
Robin bit his lip. "Uhhhh….y-yeah…."
She giggled slightly. "Could it be that you were feeling protective of me then?"
"………"
"Robin??"
"Yes."
She giggled again and clung onto him tighter….but not too tightly. "I think that is sweet."
"You do?"
"Mmmmhmmmmm."
A beat.
Robin breathed into his helmet's speaker while staring at the road again: "I….I wish I didn't make a big deal out of it myself."
"Hmm?"
"When you're there for me, Star."
"Understood, Robin."
"………but…..I suppose it makes me feell….."
"………"
"…..warm?"
She smiled. "That is an interesting testimony."
"Yeah….well…."
"????"
"Wish us both luck feeling warm today," he grumbled. "With what we're about to look into."
She nodded her helmet.
A beat.
"Robin?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you protecting me right now?"
"………"
"By taking me with you while Viper is possibly around?"
"………yes, Star."
And she acknowledged that in silence.
And he returned that acknowledgment in silence.
Silence is golden.
The R-Cycle burned down the take a look at this…"
The subordinate marched over and leaned over the back of Decker's chair at the Commissioner's desk. A bored wooden fan slowly swung overhead as they gazed at two separate, gruesome photographs of murder scenes.
"This was Warehouse 4146 at our City's Shipyards in October of 2004…," Decker pointed at the bloody pile of bodies gathered beneath a wall with 'S-T-R-O-K-E' painted in organic red. "And this was taken in Gotham City just weeks previous." A photo of a pile of bodies with 'D-E-A-T-H' splashed across a wall. "Now…."
The Commissioner pulled out the photo from the Headmistress' murder.
A bunch of bodies were piled unceremoniously up against the overturned prison truck. There were no red letters. And the bodies weren't entirely mutilated like in the other two photos. But the victims' right hands were missing.
"….this is most likely the work of Viper. It fits the bill in almost every way. Now look at the way the bodies are piled in his murder compared to the other two mysterious cases…."
The Commissioner and the Lieutenant took some time to study the images.
A beat.
The Lieutenant uttered: "It's a mimic!"
"What is?"
"Viper's murder….of th-the other two?"
The Commissioner sighed and slouched back in his seat. "If that's so, it's a friggin' ugly copycat."
"………..????" the Lieutenant looked at Decker sideways.
Decker pointed: "Whoever the murderer at the two warehouses was, he certainly had a hayday killing those punks. But with Viper…it was very swift and clean. The only pleasure he seems to take is his trademark removal of limbs. But I can't help but think that he's trying to make some bloody, god damn statement with this. It just…screams to me."
"Maybe it's not a message to us, sir…," the Lieutenant remarked. "But perhaps to the one who committed those other two murders?"
Decker eyed the old photos. The words 'D-E-A-T-H' and 'S-T-R-O-K-E'. He sighed.
"Why do I get the feeling that every crook in the world is a billion steps ahead of us at all times?"
A beat.
Decker turned and looked at the lieutenant. "I want to do a little homework. Bring me all the information we have on Viper's tools of the trade."
"Sure thing, sir…," the Lieutenant made for the door.
Decker stared out the window. "Those who live by the sword get frickin' I.D.'d by the sword."
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"You know….I never thought of it much, but Killer Moth certainly leaves a lot of evidence behind in his tracks…," Cyborg smirked as he typed away at the laboratory's computer station.
Raven fingered through notebook files. "You mean besides silky residue?" she droned.
Cyborg gestured at the string of data on his screen. "I mean…the guy has detailed schematics on all of his genetic research and chemical processes and ways of breeding giant-ass bugs and whatnot. It's kind of like the German managers of the holocaust at the end of World War Two. They were so meticulous in keeping a log of all their interments and exterminations and stuff. You get what I'm saying, right?"
"Somewhat…."
"Come on, Raven! I thought you'd be well-versed in this history stuff!"
"I'm gothic, not nazi."
Cyborg typed some more. "Well, nobody can blame you. If any of us really got to know Killer Moth face to face, it's either Robin or Noir and B.B. It's sheer coincidence that intimate details like his daughter's nickname ever became household names here."
"You mean 'Kitten'?"
Cyborg winced.
"Cyborg, Starfire isn't here. Relax."
"I am relaxed. I'm doing research. How can I not be freakin' relaxed?"
"Take this from me. Your sarcasm sucks."
"Yes'm."
Raven leaned over his chair. "What are you looking up?"
"I wish Robin had all of this stuff sorted a bit more clearly," Cyborg said. "I'm trying to find information on the chemical compounds used in Killer Moth's maggot-breeding. If he left detail of everything else in his psychotic life…you think he'd at least have a simple recipe book on mutant moths."
"Wait…," Raven pointed a thin hand towards a spot on the screen. "What's that?"
Cyborg narrowed his human eye. "On March 2nd 2004….Kitten bought a training bra and two bottles of lavender shampoo at a Wal-Mart in Metropolis."
Raven blinked. "Why would her father have information on that?"
"…………………y-yeah……….."
A beat.
"Ahem….moving on." Cyborg typed a flurry.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Later that day.
In the…….Moth Cave.
……..
Viper walked around the chemicals and vials and bubbling liquids located around the tables.
He eyed each solution with suspicious scrutiny.
Scanning the formulas.
Smelling some of the chemicals.
Looking over equations written on various scraps of obsessively gathered papers.
The penciled ramblings of a madman.
"……."
Viper shuffled over to a corner.
He eyed a bunch of metal utensils on a tray.
A beat.
He eagerly swiped a few of them.
He looked around.
He found a drawer.
He slid it open with a rusty creak.
He found more tools and picks and utensils inside.
He grabbed a handful.
He closed the drawer.
Looking over, Viper found a stool against the cold wall of the cave.
He shuffled over and sat on it.
He slid the scabbard with his broadsword off his shoulder and stretched his neck a few times.
Popping a few joints.
Viper exhaled.
He took one tool.
He took another.
He leaned his neck to the side and started picking at and tweaking the damaged part of his voice 'disc'.
His bulbous eyes narrowed into oblivion as he blindly worked on his implant.
He dug deeper with a tool into the conversion of metal and flesh.
The other tool he used to apply pressure to the cracked portion of his disc.
His brow furrowed.
He sweated.
He worked the tools harder. More delicately.
Zzzt!!
One spark.
Zzzztt-tt!!
Another.
He inhaled.
He dug deep with one tool.
Zzzzzttt!!
The disc flared red.
Viper concentrated.
"Zzzzzkkkkkkkkk"
He strained.
He pried with the tools.
More sparks.
More red light.
"Zzzkkktestkkzkzkzing"
A breath.
A flexing of finger muscles.
A stab—
Zzztt!!
"ZzztttTesting. Testing."
Viper paused.
The glow in his disc was faint…..but somewhat stable.
And yet his eyes lingered in the corner of oblivion.
And his tongue moved around in his mouth.
A beat.
He twisted the tools somewhat.
"Command……Command……Command…."
He monotonously repeated the same word in his trademark, computerized voice.
He twisted the tools more and more.
The inflection of the voice changed.
Viper applied pressure with his choices, distorting his own voice.
"Command……Command………….Command……"
Slowly, like an unfolding cocoon….the voice of the mute assassin grew deeper. Throatier. It had a ferocious tone to it. Like that of a muffled carnivore with a twinge of intellectual madness. Soon, the voice disc was emitting a fair mimic of none other than Killer Moth's ….."
Killer Moth's voice filtered out near-perfectly from Viper's disc.
The assassin paused.
A beat.
He looked over at the door to the madman's study.
The wall of biological slime rested there.
Silent.
Viper narrowed his eyes on it.
He took a breath.
His throat disc flashed red: "Command……..Larva……."
The slime and silk vibrated.
As if telepathically poked.
"Command……….LARVA….."
The slime curled.
Responding.
Viper smiled evilly.
He relaxed his eyes.
"Command. Larva. Op—"
ZZZT!!!!
Zzzz-zztt!!
A spark.
A pulse.
Viper gasped.
"No--zzztkkktkkkktt!!"
His voice died on him.
The glow left his neck.
"……..!!!" Viper snarled mutely. He tossed the metal tools to the floor and stood up, kicking the stool down.
Cl-Clack!!
Viper fumed.
He glared at the wall of silk.
CHIIIIING!!!
He had broadside out.
His lungs heaved.
He stomped over towards the cocoon 'door'.
He raised his broadsword.
He prepared to swing--
"Hey!! Baldy!! What gives?!?!"
"…….," Viper lowered his sword. He turned around.
Kitty stood in a very…..frolicky pink dress. She planted indignant fists into her hips and frowned at Viper. "And just what do you think you're doing?!?!"
"……" Viper looked at Kitten. "….." He looked at his broadsword. He looked at the cocoon. "….." He looked at Kitten again.
"The squad car is still out in the open, STUPID!! Why haven't you or Daddy pushed it out of the way before the COPS SEE IT?!?!"
Viper took a deep breath.
His metal fingers curled around the hilt of his sword.
Kitten stomped her foot. "If you don't start acting like a team member, I'm gonna tell Daddy you're out to castrate him with that sword of yours!!!"
"……," Viper smiled. He bowed.
"…….," Kitten blinked.
The mute assassin walked past her. But at one point he paused. And he lifted his hand….and patted her on the head.
Kitten made a face.
Viper left the cave, dragging his sword.
Kitten ran a finger along her temple. "Uhm…..does that count as my 'special area'?"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Viper walked out into the forest clearing.
He came to a stop.
He stared at the squad car.
"……….."
Fuming, he walked over towards it.
CHIIIIING!!!
He twirled his broadsword.
He struck low on the front left.
THWACK!!
He struck low on the front right.
CRACK!!!
The brakes shattered.
Viper clenched his teeth, planted his foot on the hood, and kicked hard.
THWOOOSH!!!
The car rolled backwards, drove reverse over a mound, and crashed loudly down the mountain side into aluminum oblivion.
CRUNNNNNCH!!!!
Viper sheathed his sword and dusted his hands off. He marched towards the cliffside where the car rolled to its death. He folded his arms and glared out at the mountains and urban landscape beyond. Autumn wind clung to his purely bald complexion and muscular arms. Bulbous eyes narrowed and he slowly breathed.
Contemplating.
"…………………"
A beat.
Viper's eyes widened some.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Walking through the cave.
Looking at Killer Moth's chemicals.
Vials of strange juices.
Multiple
compounds and substances in storage.
Equations and chemical formulas.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Viper's lips parted.
A breath seeped through.
He blinked once….twice….
Silence.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Looking closely at the equations.
The chemicals and detailed agents.
A small chain of molecules.
Phosphorus and Oxygen in the center……
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"………."
Viper rubbed the back of his neck, leaning his head to the side.
A beat.
He gazed beyond the autumn sky.
He smiled.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Whoah…..," Cyborg sat back and blinked. "Damn."
Raven looked over. "What is it?"
Cyborg rubbed the human part of his head and pointed at the laboratory computer. "I just…uhm…found something interesting about Killer Moth's breeding chemicals."
Raven folded her arms and stood behind him. "What about it?"
"Well……you get the idea that Killer Moth pretty much uses toxic chemicals in the spawning of his 'children', right?"
"I do now."
"Yeah. Remember when you, me, and B.B. went toe to toe with him in his basement laboratory over a year ago?"
"How could I forget?" Raven droned.
"Well…you see….we were all safe because all of his chickens had pretty much hatched, pun intended."
"Of course."
"Ahem. Anyways…we never truly encountered the creatures while they were in their chrysalises. Killer Moth's monsters were almost always in either larva form or full blown moths. Even at Westhaven, that was the case. The suckers were inside this bigass, glass dome underwater."
"Why underwater?"
Cyborg shrugged. "Maybe they breed best down there. Who knows? Anyways…Killer Moth must have some sort of metahuman immune system built into his frame if he tries so much as to handle these things in person. The compound ironically enough resembles a pesticide. In fact…I bet he chose such a deadly substance to raise the larvae in so that they would survive any deadly agents that they'd be subjected to in case the government tried to counterattack his creations through chemical force."
"Which undoubtedly they would."
"Exactly," Cyborg nodded. "But to tell the truth, I can see now why this guy's a complete and total madman."
"Do explicate…"
"Killer Moth gets off of terrorizing the people of this City through his monster moths, right?"
"Right."
Cyborg pointed at the chemical compound on display. "But if he so much as wanted to…the 'fluid' that he creates those creeps in is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from a full blown chemical agent of potential mass destruction. If he wanted to…he could use that as a basic stepping stool to royally screwing the population of this entire City. Maybe even the entire County!! Depends on how much he has!"
Raven's eyes thinned. "And he hasn't done this yet because…."
"Moth fetish, I guess."
A beat.
Raven looked back up at the screen. "What type of chemical agent are we talking about?"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Viper stumbled into the cave.
He silently paused and looked towards the neighboring corridors.
Kitten was humming in her pink-massacre of a bedroom, making love to a hair dryer.
"…….," Viper crept along the chemicals.
He squinted his eyes and focused his vision on the scribbled compounds.
He exhaled gently as he perused the formulas and chemical structures and quite blatantly discovered:
-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate…," Cyborg matter-of-factly rolled off his tongue.
"……………….."
Cyborg sighed and explained: "Commonly known as Sarin. Perhaps one of the deadliest if not THE deadliest nerve agent in the modern, tap-dancing world."
"And you're saying Killer Moth has the formula to make this?"
"Not….exactly."
"What, then?"
"I mean to say that his chemical compounds that serve as a birthing fluid for his creations are similar to it. Or at least—given the right manipulation—the chemicals can be 'excited' into a molecular structure that essentially does the same thing as Sarin……which is royally screwing with the rate of neurotransmitter acetylcholine being fired in the body."
"And that's a bad thing?"
Cyborg smiled sadistically. "Imagine a chemical agent so strong that it not only kills you but the molecules practically rape your corpse once you're dead."
"Lovely."
"I knew you'd say that."
"Just what needs to be done exactly to bring forth this apparent apocalypse?"
"Well….," Cyborg stroked his chin and looked at the monitor. "I suppose if Killer Moth suddenly went twice as insane and decided to make a chemical agent out of his own devices…the cheapest and most ghetto way to do it would be to acquire the tools necessary in order to speed up the electrons and sorta….reshape the compounds into something a hell of a lot more lethal."
"Could Killer Moth have the equipment to make such a thing happen?"
"Pfft! Not very likely. The dude is a poor as belly button lint."
"So….it's an impossibility….?"
"Not quite. There's only….like….one device I can think of that could adequately manipulate the compound in question. A isomeric translator. Damn rare and expensive stuff these days. And you have to be rich as King Midas to possibly ever produce stuff like that."
"I'm guessing there's not many scientists or entrepreneurs rich enough to go that route."
"Well….there's one."
"Who?"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Through the shaky magnification of the long-range telescope, the huge sign: 'Wayne Enterprises' glistened in the mid-afternoon sunlight. They rested atop a huge skyscraper just two blocks away from the trademark summit of Kobayashi Tower in the middle of the City.
"………….," Viper lowered the telescope.
He stood at the edge of the plateau a mile's hike from the cave.
He stared with naked eyes at the Cityscape across the Bay, looked through the telescope once more, and gazed nakedly again.
A beat.
He smiled, turned around, and hiked back….
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Then of course you would need a major chemical byproduct in such manipulation…," Cyborg droned on.
Raven stared at him with a hand resting against her head. As if she was interested still. "Yes…..and?" She tried to hide a smirk.
Cyborg explained dutifully: "Lots and lots and lots of water," Cyborg said. "As a solvent." A beat. He lifted a finger. "And isopropyl alcohol."
"Isopropyl alcohol?"
"Yes….if he wanted to go the route of making a doubly deadly, binary solution."
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Riing! Riing! Riing!
A secretary picked up a phone inside a room with windows overlooking a factory surrounded by forested hills.
"Dayton Chemical Works, Central Plant. Thanks for calling the Board of Maintenance. This is Judith, how can I help you?"
A beat.
"Hello?"
A beat.
The secretary stopped what she was typing on her computer and looked suspiciously at her phone. "Is someone there?"
A beat.
-Click.-
The woman sighed and put the phone back down on its base. "Another glitch…."
She went back to typing.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"…….," Viper left the payphone off the hook at the roadside, country convenience store. He adjusted the shadowing jacket around his frame, dug his hands into loose pockets, and quietly sauntered back into the nearby density of forest.
There was a slight grin on his face.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Hey…hang on a minute…," Commissioner Decker held his finger up.
The Lieutenant stopped shuffling through gathering papers of evidence.
Decker pointed at one sheet of paper. "What the Hell is this about?"
"What? Oh…..remember that sheet you signed two months ago?"
"………."
"Ahem….," the Lieutenant gestured. "The one about…..S.T.A.R. Labs…um….doing research on villainous gadgetry for….better understanding of nefarious technology."
"Well, you remember something new every day. Refresh my deteriorating memory."
"Well….you see here….Viper's vocal communicator was among the devices sent over to the expansion of S.T.A.R. Labs into our City. Remember when you and Maggie Sawyer agreed to joint sharing of data for the sake of national crime fighting advances and what not?"
"Sounds like a bunch of hooiey to me."
"Sir?"
"Bullshit."
"Ah….well….no offense, sir, but you agreed to the bullshit at the time."
"I would….wouldn't I….," Decker scratched his chin. "Oh and Lieutenant?"
"Yes?"
"Wash your mouth out with soap."
"……s-sir?"
Decker scanned over the page. "It says that we sent S.T.A.R. Labs' facility one of Viper's confiscated communication devices. So like…the thingy that attached to that wyrdass metal disc in his neck, right?"
"According to the Titans, he was reportedly mute."
"You don't say!" Decker gasped dramatically.
The Lieutenant merely stared.
Decker patted his shoulder. "So…this is S.T.A.R.'s way of getting a foothold over Phaser Labs since they've been doing so well, huh?"
"I suppose so, sir."
"Is Viper's communicator still there?"
"I would imagine so…..is that a liability, you think?"
"………," Decker looked over the sheet. A beat. "Nah….." he said.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"I frankly don't understand why we're in this boring Town…," one scientist muttered to another as they walked out of the front gates of the S.T.A.R. Labs facility….a flat, one story pavilion surrounded by thick, concrete walls. The two men sauntered down the sidewalk together in the waning sunlight. "There's little to no funding…sometimes I wonder if Metropolis really cares about this facility….and furthermore, we've got freakin' kids as superheroes instead of some serious supporters like the JLA."
"I dunno…I sorta like the Bay."
"'You like the Bay'…you moron…"
"What???"
A shady figure in a jacket bumped into the two.
Whump!
"H-Hey!" the loud scientist jolted and frowned at the passing figure. "Watch where you're going!!"
"………," the figure walked past them…his head hung.
"Hrmph….," the scientist frowned. "Jackass…." He marched forward with his companion. "Come on….Panera Bread….now…."
"But I—"
"I'm not done talking!"
"Alright…."
As the two scientists walked one way…the figure marched past the front gates of the Labs. He paused for a moment and lifted his head.
Viper glanced over at the labs through the gate. He raised his hand and brandished a shiny security keycard that he had just pickpocketed. He smiled, hid it away beneath his jacket, and marched onward.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Robin??" Starfire spoke into the helmet's communicator as the two throttled down the last stretch of highway before the site.
"Yes, Star?"
"Something has been troubling me about this investigation…"
"What is it?"
"Could Viper truly have been at the scene with Killer Moth?"
"That's something we have yet to determine—"
"I do know that the dismembered hands found at Killer Moth's murderous site are all up to supposition, but I am attempting to consider the logic of it all. If Viper is truly the lonesome, cold killer that I have read up on….how could he possibly deign to work alongside Killer Moth?"
"That's exactly why we must have a null hypothesis about all this," Robin spoke as he steered them along. "Viper just couldn't conceivably work with someone. If he was at the scene of bloodshed, he would have murdered Killer Moth and his daughter just as easily as he may have murdered those three police officers. The man simply does not make friends! He works alone. He epitomizes silence itself as a crimson wielder of death. He would kill his own mother if he simply could!"
"What could ever possess him to aid Killer Moth in an escape?"
"Well, Star…..barring a dissociative personality taking over him or something…..it'd require an innate need of his to get exactly and only what he wants."
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Slap!!
Killer Moth laid out a map on a table in the middle of the cave.
"Allright….now that you're part of the team….," he glared through his mask at Killer Moth that afternoon. "I think I might as well let you in on my plans…"
"Augh….," Kitten dramatically leaned her head back against the wall and whined. "This is the borrrrrrring paaaart!!"
"Quite, precious!! This is important!! Now…ahem. I'm—of course—in great need of gathering resources for my cultivation…so…," he dragged a pointy, gloved finger along the perimeter of the City. "If we hit a few of these chemical warehouses where the surveillance is low and the police patrols are limited, I am fairly certain that—"
Suddenly, Viper snatched the map out of Killer Moth's grasp.
"……," the villain looked up.
Kitten blinked.
Viper smiled.
And…
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiip!!
The assassin shredded the map entirely in half.
Kitten gasped and planted to pink hands over her lips.
Killer Moth instantly snarled. "Say!! What's the big idea---"
Viper held a finger up.
"……," Killer Moth stared.
Viper whipped out a road map picked up at the convenient store.
THWAP!!!
In one, swift flick of the wrist he unfolded the gargantuan design of the region and splashed it over the table. He whipped out a charcoal pen and circled three spots which he promptly labeled in order.
'Wayne Enterprises Building.'
'Dayton Chemical Works.'
'S.T.A.R. Labs Facility.'
He pointed at them all, drew his finger back and forth between the City and their home base, and then produced a piece of paper that he held out to Killer Moth…..smiling.
Smiling….
"……..," Killer Moth mutely took the sheet. He adjusted his helmet's 'eyes' and read off of it: "'Infiltrate Wayne Enterprises for Isomeric Translators. Raid Dayton Chemical Works outside the City for Isopropyl Alcohol reserves. And steal electrical conduits from S.T.A.R. Labs in the City….'"
A beat.
He looked up with a snarl: "What in blazes' name would I need all that for?"
Viper smirked. He snapped his finger for the paper.
Killer Moth handed it to him.
Kitten eyed the transfer blinkingly.
Viper scribbled something down. He handed it back to Killer Moth.
Kitten eyed it again.
Killer Moth read: "'To increase the speed of breeding.'"
A beat.
Killer Moth gazed into the horizon.
He slowly turned around and looked at his formulas.
He thought…..and thought….
And thought…..
Viper stared.
Not smiling at that freeze-frame moment.
A single bead of sweat formed on his temples--
"Remarkable…..," Killer Moth muttered. "It might….indeed….work as a catalyst……wow….," he looked over at Viper. "Especially with the equipment from Phaser Labs and the chemicals from Dayton……it…….i-it would need a lot of water….much more than this drafty cavern….but it may work. It may work indeed. But….B-But just a moment!!" He growled and pointed at Viper. "How would you expect me to just march into those places in broad daylight and walk away with all of that vital stuff?!?! It's just ASKING for a trip back to prison!!"
Viper shook his hand…then pointed at himself.
"You……You have a plan??"
Viper slowly nodded.
Killer Moth crumpled the sheet in his glove and spoke: "I'm not so sure about this…."
CHIIIIIIIING!!
Kitten winced.
Killer Moth eyed Viper wearily.
Viper stared at the masked freak. "……." He laid his broadsword out onto the table. It still had blood from many a killed cop.
"…….."
Viper smiled and mouthed: 'You will have to trust me'.
Killer Moth rubbed his chin.
Kitten watched nervously.
A beat.
There was almost a curve to Killer Moth's masked. "Allright, Mr. Professional…," he extended his hand. "It's a deal."
Viper smirked. He held his hand out too.
And the two villains shook.
Kitten's eyes squinted. She could almost see a chuckled breath coming out of the corner of Viper's lips.