162. Whispers part 5
"…………….."
"…………….."
"…………….."
"…………….."
Killer Moth, Kitten, Viper, and Fang stood at four separate corners of the cave's interior.
Tables and racks of chemical test tubes and other bubbling experiments sat between the occupants.
They eyed each other and kept distance as if afraid of a giant elephant landing in the center of the place and collapsing a hole through the floor.
Killer Moth was still and emotionless beneath his mask.
Kitten folded her arms, impatient and annoyed.
Viper was grinning. Gently. Wryly. His bulbous eyes thin. Sharpening his broadsword slowly. His eyes were set on six other eyes.
Fang glared, his mandibles slowly clicking together suspiciously.
"So…..you say his name was Viper??" Killer Moth remarked in a droning voice.
"What do you mean was??" Fang's spider head hissed. "He always was and always will be Viper!! What….did he give you some sort of alias or some shit?"
"Actually….he h-hasn't given us a name…..at a-all…"
"Oh. Great. Perfect. Gotta hand it to you, ya old coot. You give supervillains a bad name."
"All this coming from a petty thief who's head went through the ugly laundry."
"WATCH IT!!!"
"Both of you shut up!!" Kitten hissed. She pouted and looked over at Viper. "You have a reason to hide your name?"
Viper smirked. He shook his head.
"See? There!" Kitten gestured.
"The Hell does that prove?!?!" Fang shrugged his human arms. He pointed with two spider appendages. "I'm still floored by the fact that you never heard of the guy!"
"I'd love to hear about where you learned of him," Killer Moth grumbled. "Because I'm still in the dark."
"Look. K.M. He's the only badass in the last five years to have infiltrated the Police Department and laid waste to cops all by his lonesome. That's quite a feat exalted by the criminal underground. Where's your head been at? Inside that stuffy helmet of yours, I bet."
"I've been too busy escaping from prison and gathering the tools needed to resurrect my beautiful children!!" Killer Moth warbled with a shaking fist. "The hive must thrive! The hive must grow! The hive must—"
"Dammit…won't you ever open your eyes for once?!" Fang glared. "Your real eyes?? You're so freakin' obsessed with your chemical Frankensteining that you ignore the real issues in this crummy world. That's why you're always done in, old man. You let passion instead of instinct run your life. It's pathetic. I at least have an eight-legged feel for the simple facts of light. The ebbs and tides of weakness and death. How else do you think I've escaped so many times and gotten in the Titans' hair? I keep my eyes open. I look for anything and everything in this world to exploit. I don't restrict myself to some sort of obsessive tunnel vision. And right now…I'm seeing a bloody, selfish swordsman tagging along with you like a hoodless executioner in some sick game of police tag. Two bloody heists in two days?!?! Do you have ANY idea how pissed the police and Titans and whole god damn City is at you three?? They're going to stop at NOTHING now to squash you and this damn 'hive' of yours. I mean…..what were you thinking?!?!"
Viper suddenly whispered.
"……………??" Fang glanced over.
Viper walked forward.
He grabbed the canvass bag taken from the Wayne Enterprises skyscrapers. He untied it, overturned it, and poured out the clinking/clanking contents of mechanical devices. He gestured at it with a smirk.
"Uh….okay…..what the Hell?" Fang's six eyes blinked.
"Isomeric Translators….," Killer Moth pointed. "Just what I need to accelerate the growth of my beautiful children by tenfold. Combined with chemicals in the truck outside that we just today swiped from Dayton Chemical Works, I've made twice as much progress in preparing a hive of killer insects in a single week than I have in the last three years of work. And I couldn't have done a single bit of it without the help of yours truly with the cheese slicer over there."
Viper looked proud.
Fang looked annoyed. "I don't like this. I don't like this one bit. That man's a cop killer and an assassin and a sadistic butcher all around. You're telling me you never heard about the death of the first warden and his associates at the prison months ago?"
Killer Moth shrugged. "Never really cared."
"Yeah!" Kitten…..barked. "And since when was all that a bad thing?? In case you haven't noticed, he fits the bill!! We hired him on the spot!!"
Viper nodded.
"That's what worries me…," Fang hissed. "You didn't give it much thought to begin with."
"Eh….what do you care??" Killer Moth gestured.
"I don't give a shit about you!!"
"THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?!"
"……………," Fang glanced across the room.
Kitten blinked. Kitten blushed.
Fang groaned and looked back at Killer Moth. "You said you had one more heist left….right?"
"Oh what?!?!" Killer Moth cackled, his suited arms folded. "You want a piece of the action now?? Gonna leech off of us like a good little punk on the run??"
"I'll have you know I've got a great niche out west," Fang said, his mandibles clicking. "Out towards Bludhaven. Everything's been crazy since the H.I.V.E. Academy was found and blasted. Blockbuster's goons are all in and out of the City, looking for vital stuff leaked by H.I.V.E. It's meant many stupid crackheads to mug for pocket change…..or tasty meat. I've gotten a decent street currency going. I might finally afford to put myself back into Intergang's lap. I'm taking it one day at a time. This last escape was the best thing that ever happened to my shitty life."
"But you still haven't answered me," Killer Moth pointed. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't trust this creep," Fang motioned with his arachnid head towards Viper. "I've been hearing loads of rumors in the underground. Something about a mysterious shadow running from gang to gang, City to City, region to region…killing indiscriminately. Some terrible stroke of death that even makes Luthor and Blockbuster wet their beds. And lately, dead bodies have turned up with their right hands missing. And when I heard the news about Wayne Enterprises….about the sword lacerations and such…….well……I connected it all in the juices squirming around in my cranium and here I am."
"And lemme guess…..here you'll stay."
"If it takes that, yes," Fang folded his human arms again and nodded. "I think I'll be lending a few helping hands with this operation of yours….for your own good, old man. And if you complain….then I'm willing to go toe to toe with the three of you to settle things. I've got enough hands to shove half the world up your asses, so don't tell me to back down."
"……..," Viper glared at Fang.
"……..," Fang glared at Viper.
A beat.
Viper was grinning again.
Fang hissed: "Stop….smiling……"
"Fang?? Does this mean you're our partner in crime now??" Kitten beamed.
"…….," he sighed. "Yeah, baby. I'm…er…..back."
"EEEEEE!!!" Kitten jumped up and down. "Just like Bonnie and Clyde all over again!! I miss those daaaaaaays!"
"Mary Martha of Magdalene….," Killer Moth gripped his masked face in his hand.
Viper raised an eyebrow.
Fang sweatdropped, cleared his arthropod throat, and uttered: "Anyways. I'm here to stay."
"And what if I want to kick you out of the 'team'?" Killer Moth asked.
Fang clicked: "So where's this hive of yours, old man? I'm drooling for a juicy snack."
"…………..welcome to the team, Fang."
"Bitchin'….," Fang looked over at Viper. "You're gonna have to share, baldy. Got it?"
Silence.
Kitten snuck her way across the room and hugged Fang. "Ohhhhhhhhh we're so going to kill people splendidly togetherrrr!!!"
"…….," Fang bore it with a thin inch of pride. He looked over the blonde's shoulder at Killer Moth. "Where next? The last heist?"
"Actually….we're a little stuck with something….," Killer Moth scratched the back of his neck. "Even if we get all the proper utensils, we still need a large body of water to spawn the hive so that my beautiful children can invade the City all at once."
"A large body of water??"
"That's how it works with the tools and chemicals we're using. But…ya know….location, location, location."
"You stupid old fart!! Don't you ever think ahead??"
Again, a whistle. Again, Viper.
Fang exasperatingly looked over.
So did the other two.
Viper smiled. He brandished his broadsword and pointed at a regional map on the cavern wall. A thin line stretching from river bank to river bank. Elevated.
North of the City…..
"Whoah….," Kitten uttered.
Killer Moth's masked jaw stood agape. "Amazing….genius…."
Viper basked.
Fang ran a hand over his spider face: "Oh give me a break…."
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"One guard. Skewered through the chest cavity. Back to front. Two service personnel members. Decapitated. Three other workers injured. Two more at the hospital right now dealing with hysteria…"
The Lieutenant read off a report in the cold breeze of midday Autumn. Decker sat on the back of a squad car, rubbing his aching head. He looked disheveled. As if he was sleeping for a long time.
"The attack started at approximately eight o'clock in the morning. This time, Viper was with the other two. Again…only the swordsman did all the killings. They left with four huge tanks full of—get this—the equivalent of isopropyl alcohol."
"Anybody hear of a God damn drug store?" Decker mumbled.
The Commissioner gazed across the grassy compound of the Dayton Chemical Works estate. State troopers and emergency vehicles had arrived on the scene. The leftover fire from the explosion was being cleared away. A few ambulances gathered to treat minor victims.
The T-Car was across the knoll. The Titans—now awake—were gathered around it. They wearily discussed the next order of business.
If there was a next order of business.
"Why is it always like this with Viper??" Decker mumbled. "Every other criminal in this city is a lollygagging, eccentric lunatic who loves to leave clues and eventually get himself found. But this man….This man…..n-no. He knows what he wants and he does what he wants and he kills anyone and everything that's in his way. All he leaves behind him is a trail of blood. And he does it all without making a sound. Not so much as a whisper."
The Lieutenant gazed out at the faint smoke rising from the chemical works. "He left a pretty fiery whisper last time…"
"Yeah…well…," Decker grumbled. "He's not working alone."
"Right. Killer Moth is in cahoots with him."
"………..," Decker's eyes narrowed. "Somehow….I don't quite believe that…."
The Lietenant gazed sideways at the back of the Commissioner's head.
Decker leaned forward and pressed his fingers together in thought. "Yesterday….at the Wayne Enterprises incident…I saw Viper up close, Lieutenant."
"…….."
"He was within arm's reach of me. And vice versa. I didn't do anything simply because I couldn't. The damn pollen was choking me and I couldn't even get a shot off on the creep if I tried. But he paused. And he looked at me. And he could have killed me but….he didn't. He purposefully walked on. There I was. A law enforcement officer. A keeper of legalized judgment….within his blade's touch. And he didn't so much as scratch me. Now……that is not the same Viper we fought before. He may look like him. He may smell like him. He may sure as Hell hack and slash like him, but it's not the same man. And I remember the horrors and evil of the old man too much to ever imagine it being tamed by Killer Moth. No, Lieutenant. Viper isn't working for Killer Moth. He isn't even working with him. Viper is the mastermind of all this. He's playing a game that is wasting lives away and toying with you, me, the police, the Titans, and—I'm pretty sure—Killer Moth himself."
"To what ends?" the Lieutenant asked. "What does Viper want with all the stuff he's doing for Killer Moth?"
"Death…..," Robin said.
The two looked over.
"Glad that you could join us," Decker droned.
"Not much to be glad about," Robin walked over with Starfire and Tempest.
"Aren't you superheroes supposed to be cheerful and optimistic?"
"……….," Robin glared.
"Right. Batman jailbait." Decker sighed and stood up straight. "You all got here on the scene quickly, didn't you?"
Starfire nodded: "We travailed upon arriving here as soon as we were capable of doing so."
"I was able to locate Killer Moth's company's last whereabouts," Tempest raised his hand.
Decker squinted. "You were??"
"He's Atlantean," Robin gestured. "His race is telepathically gifted."
Tempest nodded. "There wasn't a single animal in this wilderness that wasn't in some way privy to Killer Moth's movements."
"Well fancy that…," Decker scratched his head. "A Dr. Dolittle who doubles as a floatation device."
Tempest raised an eyebrow.
"I'm guessing there was nothing you could do, right?" the Commissioner looked squarely at Robin. "With the villains being an extra foot before us all and the sleep pollen and stuff straight from Oz…..the three crooks got away?"
"We fought them!!" Starfire held her hands together. "We fought them dearly!"
"You fought them, but you didn't conk them, sweetie."
"…….."
"Well, no matter….," Decker peered off towards the chemical works. "I was doing a little running-around of my own during this bloody mess. I've got a possible fix on where Killer Moth is located." He looked back at the Titans. "Believe you me….you're gonna love the ambiguity just as much as I do."
"I'm willing to hear anything at this point," Robin said.
"Heh."
"What?"
"That's rather flattering coming from a detective's apprentice."
"Flattery doesn't work on you, sir," Robin said.
"Damn right, kid. That's why I respect you." He gestured towards the line of trees surrounding the compound. "Somewhere within a ten mile radius is Killer Moth's hideout. No doubt hidden in an alcove or a cave or a mound of earth or something."
"Huh??" Tempest blinked. "Sir…h-how do you know that?"
"I've been informed by a privileged pervert."
"What?"
"Long story. Besides, stay out of it blue gills."
Tempest raised a finger--
"I want a thorough search of this landscape, PDQ. Unfortunately…it'll take more than a day for me to organize a team of my own men to do the scan. I don't want to wait a friggin' day. That's why I'm going to have you…," he pointed at the Titans in general, "…do the search for me. You're each very well gifted. You're few and far between. And—to be quite honest—you're cheaper. Besides, with less noise being made our targets won't expect a thing. Got it?"
"We….uhm…..I….," Starfire stammered.
Decker stared at her. "…….."
"That is to say…….ehm……," she blinked innocently at Robin. Then she looked at the Commissioner again: "I have sworn to follow R-Robin's orders."
"So?!?!"
"Do what he says, Star…," Robin said.
She gazed at him.
"You too, Garth," Robin spoke. "It's not so much Killer Moth that is important, but Viper and his murderous trail. When it comes to Viper….the Commissioner here should be as much concerned as the rest of us."
Starfire nodded. "I understand."
Tempest was silent.
Decker folded his arms: "And how has your end of the spectrum of search gone?"
"I'm sure we suspect the very same things you suspect, Commissioner," Robin said.
"………."
Robin gestured: "All Viper wants to do is kill."
"Isn't he doing that already?"
"But he wants to kill more….," Robin said. "Just decapitating or skewering three dozen people isn't enough for him. He has to make a record. He has to become an angel of death himself."
"But what for??" the Lieutenant asked, stepping forward.
"It's….It's all so vague and filtered through the white noise of the criminal underground."
"I'm all ears," Decker grunted.
Robin took a deep breath. "Viper is in competition with someone."
"……"
"Someone….so deadly…….he makes Viper look like a walk in the park."
"Who?"
"I have no idea," Robin shook his head.
Decker sighed and paced around.
The Boy Wonder spoke to his back: "But whoever it is….even if it's a figment of Viper's imagination……he's done enough to make Viper go to all odds to kill people. Not just law enforcers. Not just criminal gangsters. But everyone in general. A huge group of people. As many as he can access."
Decker swiveled and growled: "And just how the Hell does he plan to do that??"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"This is it….," Killer Moth said. "The Shepherd Dam."
It was a majestic, white structure at least eleven stories tall….stretching from two mountain ridges that formed the Shepherd Ravine miles northwest of Town. Pale, ivory stone held off thousands of tons of water in the grand river that lead eventually into the great Bay of the City. Torrents of water spilled out of over a dozen clefts carved in a row along the lip of the structure. The Shepherd Dam was so big, a four lane highway stretched across the top of the a semi-busy road carving through the elevated countryside.
Kitten, Fang, Killer Moth, and Viper all stood in a line atop a hill across the ravine. A cold autumn air pushed the mist of pounding water up past them, forming rainbows in the midday Sun. Killer Moth lowered binoculars from his helmet and pointed at the structure. "See? There. Shepherd Da—"
"I see it." Fang hissed.
Kitten giggled.
Fang groaned.
"……….," Viper stared. Deadpan. Quiet.
"The pool of water on the north side of the dam holds enough volume to house the largest hive I have cultivated…EVER. This will be four times the size of Westhaven. And six times that of the Bay Bridge incident. I'll house the larvae deep down in the water with reserves placed within the aqueducts and plumbing of the structure. Then…once all of the hive is set up….when everything is properly infested….I'll use the tools that our new friend has gotten us to give all my beautiful children the spark of life. The moths will burst free, and in their rage they shall demolish the dam from the inside out. The torrent of water will carry them amphibiously into the City. After half of the Town has been thoroughly cascaded over with a deluge of biblical proportions, my children will lay waste to the straggling survivors. It will be a horrific day of reckoning….IF!!!" Killer Moth held up a spiked, gloved finger with extra drama. He lingered—something that made Kitten roll her eyes—and finally said: "If and only if the Townsfolk fail to live up to my demands and hand me control over the City!"
"You're nuts, old man," Fang grumbled.
"EXACTLY!!! I'm nuts…and in a day or two, I'll be KING!! How's that for nuts!!"
"Oooooh!!! I'll be a princess!!!" Kitten jumped gleefully.
"You already are a princess, pumpkin. Only now you'll be a princess with money!!! Ha ha ha ha!!!"
The laughter echoed across the ravine.
"Sshhh!! God, are you psycho?! Keep your voice down!!"
"There's nothing on the Shepherd Dam but an elderly security guard or two. They'll be a cinch to take out….if I don't bribe or threaten them into silence first."
"How the Hell are we gong to infest a dam?!?!" Fang pointed with a spidery limb.
"I'll see to it," Killer Moth uttered in a low voice. "It may seem impossible…but not anymore. I have the chemicals, the resources, and the utensils I need to make it all happen. All except for a few, key, electronic components. But…just like everything else….our genius 'Viper' here is gonna help us out. Is that right, pal?"
"………….," Viper stared at the dam. He was now grinning…..
"Hey! Pal!! Yoohoo!!"
"………….," Viper blinked. He glanced over at Killer Moth.
Fang was staring at the swordsman suspiciously.
Kitten was doing a ballerina dance…..for some reason.
Killer Moth said: "One last stop, right?"
Slowly, Viper nodded. With a grin.
Fang glared at Killer Moth. "What last stop?"
"Nerd Zone!!" Kitten squealed. "Dead center of the City!!"
"The City?!?! Why're we going to the City now?! That's crazy!!"
"Cuz that's where S.T.A.R. Labs is!!"
"What do we need from S.T.A.R. Labs?!?!?!" Fang shrugged his human shoulders.
Killer Moth laughed. "You really are a dense one, boy. All the isomeric translators and extra chemicals are all good and fine. But I need special conduits to distribute the energy to my hive so that I can best activate my creatures by remote vocalization."
"………huh?"
"Underwater vibration systems to carry my voice, kid!" Killer Moth gestured. "My children respond to my voice. The hive must hear me underwater."
"You're going to go balls first into the City—where EVERYBODY IN THE BROTHER IS LOOKING FOR YOU—just to get underwater stereo equipment??"
"Do you enjoy repeating everything I say??"
"Don't you think someone will recognize you??" Fang clicked. "You're frickin' Killer Moth. You've been on the news channels for the last three days in a row. And of all places to rob…S.T.A.R. Labs?? They'll get the police on your gray-suited ass in a heartbeat!!"
"That's why someone a bit more camera shy in the past will be doing the dirty work for us."
"…….huh?" Fang's eyes blinked.
Killer Moth smiled beneath his mask. He pointed over with his thumb to Viper. "There's your man."
"You can't be serious…."
Viper cracked his knuckles.
"He's in and out like a whisper," Killer Moth said. "He'll get the job done. In the meantime….," the villain gestured towards the Shepherd Dam. "My daughter and I will set up shop. If all goes according to plan, we'll have materials gathered and the hive ready by sunup tomorrow. And I…..I will achieve the power I've so long sought to wield. You will be in my kingdom, Fang. Won't that ruffle your abdomen?"
Kitten giggled.
Fang's human fists clenched. "Fine. I'll go along with your plan."
"Good. Good."
The arachnid thug's mandibles clicked: "But I'll be going with him…," he pointed at Viper, "…to the labs in the City."
Kitten blinked.
Killer Moth glared. "Why do I get the feeling there's a problem in letting you two work together?"
"I want to keep my eyes on him. All six of them…," Fang sneered. He glared at Viper. "If all this time he's not double-crossed you and you still trust him….." He glanced back at the father and daughter. "How much more can you surely trust me?"
"…….."
"……."
CHIIIIING!!!
Fang spun.
Viper had his sword out. A beat. He smiled. He tossed the blade to the ground at Fang's feet.
"………," Fang glanced at the grounded sword, then at the unarmed Viper.
The assassin smirked, held his arms out, and half-bowed.
"Feh…..cute….," Fang muttered.
Viper's eyes thinned.
"It's settled then!" Killer Moth punched his fist. "There'll be two teams! Alpha Team! At the dam! Beta Team—"
"Oh Vishnu Almighty…," Fang rolled his eyes. "Don't do names. God, I hate it when you do names."
"Hehehehehe!!"
"It's for proper efficiency!!"
"Screw your efficiency and let's just do this already…," Fang sauntered down the hillside.
"Fang!! Wait up!!" Kitten scampered down after him.
Killer Moth planted his hands on his hips. "You'll grow to respect me in the end, boy! Once I'm king of this City!"
"Bite me!"
"I would…but I don't want to get poisoned. HA!" Killer Moth cackled. He looked over at Viper. "Forgive him. He's got silk on the brain."
Viper trudged over to his blade, knelt down, and grabbed the hilt. He took a lasting look at the retreating Fang. When nobody could see it, the assassin coldly frowned. He drew his blade against the rock of the hilltop as he picked it up.
Scraaa-aaa-aaape!
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Kitten….leave me alone….," Fang groaned.
"Hehehe! Just one second!!" Kitten bounced around till she was in front of him. She rested her hands on his shoulders and looked up lovingly into his grotesque face. "What do you think we should be called?"
"What do you mean???"
"When I'm princess and you're prince of this City!" her eyes fluttered.
"Ick!! Kitten…when you say that you almost make it sound like we're both your dad's kids."
"A prince can marry into a royal family, ya know…."
"Nngh….Kitten….I thought it was over between us."
"But things are going so well now!!" she hopped.
"So is that it?? Only when things are going well, you stop being a complete and utterly selfish bitch??!!"
"HEY!!!" she planted her fists to her hips and frowned. "I can have my daddy plant worms in your intestines still, ya know!!"
"Heh….," Fang's mandibles performed something akin to a grin. "I rest my case."
"Ohhh….won't you please trust that Viper guy?"
"Not on my life."
"Give my dad a break!! The swordsman has done a lot for us!! If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be—"
"Hatching some hairball scheme that could very well end up with all of our heads on the mayor's silver platter??" Fang pointed into Kitten's chest. "Look…..you need to think before you leap. Being a true criminal is like drawing a web. You gotta tell the adhesives apart from the silk and thread. If you're not careful where your feet go—even in the middle of building a web—you could get stuck. And right now, I see you and your dad tangled up completely in this guy. And it doesn't bode well with me. Not in the least."
"Does that mean that….th-that you care about us, Fang?"
The spider person looked aside. "Well….."
"You care….about me??" she clasped her hands together and cooed.
Fang walked away from her. "You're all nuts. Go to Hell."
"Heheheh! You do! You do care about me!!"
"Knock it off! HEY!!!"
Kitten pounced on his arachnid back and hugged him from behind. "Ohhhhhhh Faaaaaaaaaaang. We're committed at last!!"
"No we are not!! Kitten—KITTEN! Let go!! Sheesh! Alright. I'm going to S.T.A.R. Labs. I'm going to S.T.A.R. Labs right now….STOP TUGGING ON MY SPINNERET!!"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"All right, Titans…," Robin stood before us on the edge of the Dayton Chemical Works compound. "The Commissioner has gotten a lead. Killer Moth's base is somewhere within this general vicinity."
"Uh….," Beast Boy raised a hand. "Can it just be 'vicinity' without the annoying 'general' attached to it?"
"…….," Robin glared.
Beast Boy sweatdropped and rubbed his shoulder. "Guess that answers that," he simpered.
"I want a thorough search done of the City," Robin said. "At the same time, however…I want more research to be done on the reports coming in from the Wayne Enterprises incident and the havoc that broke out at this factory earlier today. Raven. Cyborg?"
"Yes?"
"Yo."
"Since you two have been employed in the research thus far, it's best that you carry on with it further. Use the satellite linkup to the Tower's Computer in the T-Car. Work together."
"Heh….that's a good excuse if I heard any."
"What?"
"Never mind."
Robin cleared his throat. He looked at me. "Noir. Stay here and help them out. The Commissioner sent his Lieutenant to get some special records and help out. I want you to touch base with him."
I nodded wordlessly.
"Beast Boy. Starfire. You're both going to be flying around the nearby forests and slopes, keeping a sharp lookout."
"What are we looking for exactly, dude?"
"A cave. An alcove. An abandoned structure. Anything. Even a treehouse if you find one. Killer Moth's hideout is near here. Once we find it, we'll cut off the source of his strategies or operations."
"Do you men Viper's strategies?" Starfire interjected.
Robin gazed off at that. After a beat, he exhaled: "Which reminds me….if or when we find the hideout, I don't want any of us infiltrating it unless we can do so together. Viper will be dangerous regardless of how we attack him. Solo or en masse. The fact of the matter is…we'll have to face off against him sooner or later. It might as well be in greater numbers."
"Understood…," Starfire nodded.
Robin looked Tempest's way. "Tempest…you did good overnight with your search of Killer Moth's tracks. It lead us here pretty quickly….even if it wasn't early enough. Still….I'm sorry for having doubted you."
Tempest smirked with a nod: "I'm sure you can make up for it."
"Indeed. I'm putting you on a similar assumption."
"Only now I'm looking for a hideout, right?"
"Right. Only don't get stuck in any rabbit hole. Keep your head clear, allright?"
"Yeah. Sure thing."
"I'll be searching too," Robin gestured. "Along the roadsides. I"ll take the R-Cycle and look for suspicious vehicles. I won't be alone either. Commissioner Decker and a handful of state troopers are out doing the same thing as we speak. The soonest I find something….or you, Tempest. Or you, Starfire. Or Beast Boy…we'll all close in on the signal and approach the site at once."
"Sounds good in theory…," Raven droned.
"It is good," Robin remarked. "But only if we make it good. Let's get to work!"
We all nodded.
Beast Boy flew westward as a green falcon.
Starfire soared east in a bright streak.
Tempest ran into the forest to find a stream to concentrate in.
Cyborg, Raven, and I rushed over to the T-Car.
Robin swiftly planted himself on the seat of his R-Cycle and….
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
…sailed through the window with a shattering thunder.
CRASH!!!
Two guards inside the portable turned and gasped.
"YAAAUGH!!" Killer Moth leapt at them.
THWUMP!!!!
The huge, suited man plowed the guards over. He gripped one up by the neck and tossed him through the doorframe.
CRUNCH!!!
The one man tumbled to a groaning stop on the asphalt of the highway stretching over the Shepherd Dam just outside.
Killer Moth turned to the other guard and leered over him. His mask bore razor sharp teeth as he bent down and hissed: "The passcodes to the interior of the dam…."
The guard scooted back, helplessly fumbling for his gun.
THWOMP!!!
Killer Moth's foot planted over his chest.
"Augh!!"
"GIVE THEM TO ME!!!"
"I….I…."
Killer Moth growled, raised his fist, and….
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
…kicked the R-Cycle into gear.
VRRRRMMMMMMM!!!!
In the distance, the motorcycle sped down the country road.
I turned and faced the Lieutenant as he walked over to the T-Car where I was operating laptops along with Cyborg and Raven.
"I've finally got information on what was stolen from the Wayne Enterprises Building," the Lieutenant said. "They were very reluctant to share details. But I think this recent event at the factory moved their hearts. They were willing to disclose information much more promptly."
"Gee….how nice of them….," Raven uttered.
I took the papers from the Lieutenant. I scanned them with black shades and black eyes. My brow furrowed.
Two words in particular that repeated often caught my attention.
'Isomeric Translators.'
I took a breath.
I walked past the Lieutenant and whistled.
Cyborg looked my way. "????"
I held up the sheet.
The android Titan walked over and…
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
…tossed two live grenades into the corridor.
Cl-Clink!!!
Maintenance workers inside the dam's industrial interior shouted and dove behind huge arrays of pipes and concrete bulkheads.
KA-BOOOOM!!!
Fire and smoke splashed across the claustrophobic, metal-jungle interior.
Kitten laughed maniacally, whipped an uzzi out of her purse, and frolicked down the corridor with a lead finger.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!
The men ducked and crawled out of the way as bullets ricocheted off of pipes, walls, floor panels, and even a hard-hat or two.
Kitten giggled insanely and tossed two more grenades.
Men cleared the room--
BOOOOM!!!!!!
Killer Moth waltzed in behind her mayhem-inducing daughter.
He folded his arms proudly, cracked his neck, and…
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
…said: "That's all they stole?? Isomeric Translators??" Cyborg rubbed his human head. "Of all the things in the world…."
"Wayne Enterprises gave us intense details," the Lieutenant said. "Viper strolled in, killed the scientists, stole those devices and those devices only, and left without saying a word. Heh. Not like he could."
I bit my lip.
"Cyborg….is that a bad thing?" Raven asked.
"Is what a bad thing?"
"Isomeric Translators being stolen."
"……….," Cyborg thought and thought.
I stared at him.
"Wait a minute…..," Cyborg slowly turned around and marched to a laptop attached to the T-Car. "Wait a minute…Wait a minute…Wait a minute…"
The other three of us eagerly looked over the robot's shoulder.
Cyborg typed a fury. "Raven….," he remarked. "…do you remember the other day when you and I first started brainstorming on Killer Moth info? I mentioned something scary about the chemicals he uses?"
"How can I forget?" she droned. "It was…..the other day."
"I said that if the electrons of his mutant moths' birthing agent was accelerated just right, they would form another isomer that would produce a compound nightmarishly similar to Isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate."
The Lieutenant gasped. "My god….Sarin?!?!"
I did a double-take at the man.
He looked back at me. "What?? I took Biology in college."
I blinked. Sarin?? A beat. I gasped. Sarin!!
"Killer Moth….and Viper….were going after the exact same instrument needed to create that isomeric change…," Raven remarked.
"Exactly."
"But….how—"
"Viper's no obsessed idiot like Killer Moth. He knows the sort of dangerous shit they're all dealing with. But Killer Moth could possibly be seeing only into the surface of these plunderings. The translators. The stolen alcohol. They're all pieces of a deadly recipe. But Killer Moth may only be thinking that Viper is helping him create something to speed up the mutant birthing process….instead of the dangerous chemical agent."
"So….Viper is helping Killer Moth achieve his goal…," the Lieutenant uttered. "But….he could very well be going much further than that…."
Cyborg nodded. "Killer Moth has the potential for the largest hatching of mutant insects in his entire career yet. At the same time…he has his hands on something that could potentially destroy every living human, animal, and lawyer in the surrounding county."
"Just like that??" the Lieutenant snapped a finger. "That simple?"
I shook my head. I hand-signed.
"Noir's right…," Cyborg nodded. "It's not that simple."
Raven's eyes narrowed. "What else does the recipe of death need?"
"A way to connect the dots…," Cyborg gestured. "Something so high-tech that it can effectively juice up the translators to all of the birthing fluids at once."
"I'm guessing that's something Killer Moth and Viper don't have…," the Lieutenant uttered.
"Exactly."
"So…who would they strike next to get it?"
"I'm working on that…," Cyborg typed and…
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
…smacked a man in the head with the butt of the shotgun before taking aim at a pair of guards across the top level of the dam.
BLAM!!! BLAM!!!
The two men ran for their lives, their guns dropping to the floor in their panicked flight.
Kitten giggled, pumped her shotgun, and stomped after the frightened would-be-defenders.
Killer Moth chuckled. He opened a huge satchel over his shoulders and reached a gloved hand in. He scooped up hundreds of tiny cocoons and larvae pellets. He walked over to the north edge of the dam where the water was closest to the top, being blocked off. He started sprinkling the eggs down in droves as he walked down the perimeter of the dam.
The cocoons broke the surface of the water and drifted down…down…down…until they clung to the ivory surface of the dam under water and began to throb and twitch on the inside.
Killer Moth then began the arduous process of suspending wired isomeric translators into the water from over the side while Kitten patrolled the edges of the huge dam and chased everyone off by pumping her shotgun and…
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
…finishing a keystroke.
"There….," Cyborg pointed at the laptop's screen.
We looked over his titanium shoulders.
"S.T.A.R. Labs??" Raven's eyes squinted.
I blinked.
"They're working on a special technology to replace fiberoptics and….uhm….," the android Titan's voice lingered. He shook his head. "Dammit…why do I even bother explaining??"
"Works for me."
"They're the only ones in the area who possibly have what would be needed to complete the deadly experiment."
"Why them and not Phaser Labs? Aren't they our….uhm……'home team' or something?"
"Phaser Labs isn't international, Rae. S.T.A.R. has its anchor in Metropolis. That City has funding up the wazoo. No doubt they could afford to extend some of the experimentation on the next generation's power converters over here."
"Well…that's perfect," Raven blinked. "Especially if Killer Moth and Viper are in the neighborhood."
"That's just it…," Cyborg rubbed his chin. "It's all entirely too perfect. Just as Dayton Chemical Works was perfect."
"And Wayne Enterprises…..," the Lieutenant added.
A communal nod.
A beat.
We glanced at each other.
I hand-signed.
Cyborg said: "We've got a drop on them for once."
"They could strike at any second! I've got to tell Decker—"
Raven placed a hand up on the Lieutenant's shoulder. "So that he can do what?? The more policemen we suddenly send to S.T.A.R. Labs, the more people are likely to die by the blade. Viper doesn't care much for your kind."
"But I've got to tell the Commissioner anyways!" the Lieutenant said. "It's my duty. It's our duty to face this creep!"
"When or if Viper strikes the Labs, it'll be a job for a Titan…," Raven said.
"Well, we gotta hurry if we want to intercede," Cyborg said. "And it's at least a forty-minute drive to the downtown of the City!! Beast Boy and Starfire ain't even here!!"
"…….," Raven looked my way. "We have one person fast enough."
I took a deep breath and nodded firmly.
"Noir….," Cyborg pointed. "You must run to Town. You must hurry to S.T.A.R. Labs in any eventuality of an attack. We're depending on the smoking of your legs. I'll see what I can do about getting the rest of us there PDQ."
I nodded.
CHIIIIIING!!!
I whipped Myrkblade out, spun around, and blurred across the green pasture without a moment to loose.
"Wow….," the Lieutenant shaded himself from the burst of wind of my departure. "He sure doesn't waste time, does he?"
"Damn straight…," Cyborg nodded. "Now call that Commissioner of yours."
"Ours."
"Whatever. We might actually be meeting the bastards' charge this time."
"Somehow it seems too good to be true…," Raven droned.
Cyborg's human eye was thin. "Girl….you're always saying that."
"And you're always asking for it."
"………………I'm calling Robin."
"You do that."
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
SWOOOOOOOOSH!!!!
I leapt up and bounced from tree-top to tree-top in my flight.
The yawning green forest and mountain ranges stretched before and past me.
I huffed and puffed and moved my legs faster till I was practically a torso hovering paranormally on a cloud of smog.
Myrkblade screamed through the air on my side.
My black hair and the straps of my bandanna danced behind my head.
I gritted my teeth as wind danced across my black lenses.
I……I don't like this so much.
I hopped over a clearing.
I was a bird for a split second.
I came back down, sprung my legs against a branch, and continued blurring over the forest canopy.
I don't like going it alone.
Not this time.
The silver spectacle of the bayside City appeared before me.
I held a breath and pushed myself even faster….if that was possible.
Not when I'm dealing with these guys.
I want my friends by my side.
And I want them safe……
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
From a building top across the street, Viper stared.
"……………"
S.T.A.R. Labs' facility was just across the way.
It was like how the assassin had seen it before.
A one story building of seeming insignificance surrounded by a significant, concrete wall.
Fang scurried up and stood alongside the killer. "There're deep basement levels to it…," the arachnid crook clicked. "The laboratories are housed under the ground."
Viper glanced at him. "???"
Six eyes glanced back. "A spider who's lived in this town as long as I have learns all about cubby holes."
Viper nodded.
Fang glared and stood in front of the assassin. "Why are you even in this Town to begin with anyhow, man??"
Viper gritted his teeth and shoved Fang out of the way.
GRIP!!!
Fang wrapped two of his spider feet harshly around Viper's wrist and squeezed hard…glaring. "You first came here and took out that old fart Judge Carson and the first prison warden. I thought you were great for it at the time. But then you went up missing. And now that you're back….the best you can do is work alongside a weak minded psycho like Killer Moth? Man…what is your deal?? You could kill half of this Town's uptight law enforcement heads and everything would be peachy keen for the underground finally! Where'd you break, man?? What happened to get you so…so…..w-weak?"
"…………," Viper glared.
Fang hissed: "Aren't you even gonna speak? You dumb or something?"
"…………," Viper smirked.
"Yeah…whatever….," Fang shoved him aside with spider legs and approached the edge of the rooftop they were one. "…I'm gonna get you to fess up on some shit eventually. Even if it comes down to making you squeal, Mr. Nobody."
Viper's blood boiled. He eyed the thick neck of Fang's spider mutation attached to his human torso. The assassin fingered the hilt to his broadsword. His knuckles tightened. He took a deep breath…another….and exhaled.
He shut his bulbous eyes.
He swallowed.
"……"
He gently lowered his hand.
A beat.
Viper reopened his eyes. And when he did so, they were glaring. And soon they were accompanied by a drunken, bloodlusting grin.
The murderer was patient….
"Allright….," Fang pounced over the street in a single, mutant bound. "Let's do this."
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
VRMMMMM!!!!
Robin throttled the R-Cycle down the road.
In the midst of his speeding, he fingered a button on his helmet and communicated back over a broadcast signal: "What do you mean, you sent Noir back into the City??"
"It's a hunch, Robin. A very fateful hunch. We're thinking that—"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"—the next attack by Killer Moth's gang could very well be at S.T.A.R. Labs," Cyborg spoke into a T-Car communicator.
Raven and the Lieutenant hovered about, listening in.
Cyborg continued: "There's this ugly-ass puzzle being slowly filled out here. A highly improbable one, but not impossible."
"What puzzle is that??"
"Killer Moth's chemical processes for birthing his monstrosities….it shares many properties with—"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"—a deadly nerve agent that could mean curtains for this whole section of the country."
Commissioner Decker was tuned into the conversation on his squad car's radio.
He pricked his ear while cruising down the road, his eyes scanning the medians and opposing lanes for curious vehicles or individuals in some grand search.
"What kind of nerve agent, Cyborg?"
"Something very close to Sarin."
Decker nearly choked on his cigarette. He coughed and wheezed at the wheel. "Mother of God!! You kids can't be serious!!"
"I wish I wasn't. But everything fits in perfectly. Killer Moth is only one step—"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"—away from acquiring just what he needs to change the chemical structure of his birthing agent and make a biological weapon out of it."
Starfire listened pensively as she flew over the forests and mountainsides.
He green eyes scanned the green world below for any sign of a haven or a cove.
She was unsuccessful thus far.
"What does he need now??"
"What S.T.A.R. Labs has, Robin. Something which can carry energy between the isomeric translators just now stolen and the hive of Killer Moth's."
"And just where could such a hive be?"
"There's no way of telling. Not right now."
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"But you figured it all out about S.T.A.R. Labs?? I mean, are you certain that that's the place of raiding next?"
Beast Boy hugged himself to the top of a tall tree in sloth form. He peered down at the earth around him before leaping off, morphing into an albatross, and gliding over the landscape.
All the time…he listened.
"Pretty sure. At this point, I don't think the Titans can afford to waste time on delaying a move when the opportunity presents itself."
"So you sent Noir over to investigate……"
"Absolutely! And I want Raven and I to go too, dawg! We can't leave the smoke ninja alone against any odds!!"
"I dunno……I still find this all to be supposition."
"What kind of facts do you need, Robin?"
"Hang on a second……Lieutenant, are you there??"
"C-Commissioner??
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Decker slowed the movement of his squad car a bit.
His brow furrowed as he talked into the radio device.
"You and I, Lieutenant, we were reading up on S.T.A.R. Labs just the other day….."
"Yes, sir. We were."
"I dunno what Killer Moth would want from that place. But I sure as Hell do know what Viper would want."
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"And what's that, exactly?" Robin asked. He had the R-Cycle momentarily parked at an intersection of two country roads meeting on the road.
"Viper's weapons and gadgets went primarily to two places immediately following his disappearance from the desalination plant incident months ago."
"Uh huh. A bunch of them went into our evidence vault…."
"Yup. And the rest went to—"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"S.T.A.R. Labs….," the Lieutenant muttered. Blinking. He leaned forward towards the T-Car's communicator. "S.T.A.R. Labs still has some of Viper's old disc communicators as evidence!!"
"Correct. Now……do any of you super-kids remember that son of a bitch ever speaking as we butted heads with him over the last few days??"
Raven blinked. She looked at Cyborg.
The android Titan rubbed the human part of his head.
"Nuh uh."
"No."
"Not at all."
"Well there you have it……," the Commissioner's voice crackled. "Viper is going to go shopping."
The Lieutenant took a deep breath.
Cyborg looked at the others. "He….H-He may not need anything else to mutate Killer Moth's formula into a weapon of mass destruction after all."
Raven nodded. "He's simply going to get his voice back."
"But why? What purpose does it serve a cold killer like Viper to have a voice again??"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Command. Drones. Patrol!!!"
Killer Moth shouted.
A dozen giant moths shrieked in obedience, hovered up with a buzz of wings, and flew in orbit around the Shepherd Dam.
Killer Moth turned around.
Ten more moths recruited from his small breeding grounds in the cavern awaited his voice.
Killer Moth throated:
"Command. Drones. Scan the river!!"
The huge bugs warbled and flew off. One group north. One group south.
Killer Moth folded his arms and chuckled proudly.
Kitten leaned against a nearby wall bordering the edge of the dam and polished an AK-47. She giggled.
Killer Moth tilted his head up and exhaled: "Fang! Viper! I wish you luck! Come and fulfill my destiny!! I await you!!"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Scientists screamed and ran down the hallway of S.T.A.R. Labs.
Fang marched ahead of Viper, occasionally shoving a random victim out of the way with huge, batting spider legs.
"WAAAAH!!!" TWHAP!!! "Nnngh…"
Viper glanced down remorsefully at the unconscious bodies…..still alive.
"What's the matter?" Fang grumbled at him without looking. "Am I making too much noise?"
"……….."
"Or does it actually piss you off that a job can be done without shedding blood?"
"………."
"I only kill when I need to, pal. And as long as you're with me in this little raid of ours, you won't be killing unless I tell you to. I've worked with Killer Moth longer than you pal. Since you're working for him, you answer to me now. Got it?"
Viper smiled sarcastically.
Fang knocked another scientist aside and glanced back at the assassin with narrow spider eyes. "And don't give me that face. The more you kill at this point, the more you make the law enforcement of this City pissed at us. I know you just love ripping people to shreds….especially cops. But that ain't happening today. Otherwise…I'd just have to assume you're working for yourself and not Killer Moth. We wouldn't want that…… now would we?"
"………….."
"Heh….god how I hate the silent treatment….," Fang looked ahead and marched on. "Remind me to put a fly in your soup later," he clicked.
Viper's metal and flesh fingers clenched.
But he remained still as the two marched on.
They reached a door to a basement laboratory.
CHIIIIIING!!!
Viper drew his sword.
Fang anchored his spider legs down into the tile floor and bent his human legs.
Viper dove forward with the blade.
Fang swung his lower body…
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
CRACK!!!!
The two villains smacked the door down, littering the tile floor with splinters and bits of plaster.
S.T.A.R. Labs technicians gasped and fled the scene through exit doors in the back.
Viper helplessly smirked.
"Heh…..that's a change….," Fang marched forward on all six. "I enter a room and other people scurry about."
Viper's bulbous eyes peered around the room.
He spotted counters full of chemicals.
A closet cabinet stacked to the brim with gadgetry.
A tall metal cylinder that seemed to house an energy core of sorts.
Rows of microscopes.
More counters and more chemicals.
Finally, a set of tables covered with what looked like futuristic power tools….the likes of which were commonly found in Metropolis.
"Let's just find what we need and get the Hell out of here….," Fang stumbled forward. "Where do you suppose they keep the circuitry y'all need?"
Viper nonchalantly pointed towards the cabinets across the room. His eyes were elsewhere though.
"Great…," Fang crawled spideresquely across the room and started viciously yanking the cabinet doors off their hinges with his massive limbs.
While the arachnid villain looked through the compartments, Viper marched to the opposite end of the room.
The assassin looked through a glass display at a myriad of devices hanging before naked view.
A beat.
He saw something very familiar.
A black rectangular solid with blacker wires.
Dangling.
"……..," Viper smiled.
"Okay….I think I found the stuff….," Fang said, pouring electrical conduits into a black satchel he found. He tied the thing up with some silk and stuck it under his spider-head abdomen. "Let's blow."
CRACK!!!
Glass shattered.
Fang spun around.
His six eyes blinked.
"The Hell are you doing??"
Viper finished breaking open the glass display with the hilt of his blade. He fished his hands in and stuffed the devices into his pockets.
"This is no time for taking souvenirs, man!! Killer Moth's waiting for us back at…at….at you know where!!"
Viper glared over his shoulder at the spider person. He inhaled and scooped up two more devices.
"Fine. Do whatever you want. But I'm telling on you, if it all comes down to me being a brat for the greater good of Kitten and her dad!"
Viper gritted his teeth, but shrugged it off. He felt the devices in his pockets. His lips curved somewhat. Th-Thwish!! He twirled his broadsword, swiveled around, and walked towards the center of the room.
Fang met him there. "Ready now?!?!"
Viper nodded, smilingly smugly.
"You're like a neo-nazi Cheshire cat. Anyone ever tell you that?"
Viper gestured out the door through which they loudly entered.
"Just what I was thinking….," Killer Moth led the way.
Viper followed.
Both villains stomped towards the exit.
"Better make a hasty exit. Last thing we need is any vigilante punk catching up with us at the last second and—"
SWOOOSH!!! I materialized in the doorway with a murking swing of my sword.
THWACK!!!!!
The wooden blade struck Fang across the mandibles and sent him flying back through a table of lab equipment.
CRASH!!!
"OOF!!!"
Viper gritted his teeth and raised his sword--
WHUMP!!!!
I surprised him with a kick to the stomach.
"!!!" he stumbled back.
TH-TH-THWISH!!! I twirled Myrkblade and stood in a one legged pose. Panting. Sweating all over from the sprint there.
"God!!!!" Fang stumbled up to his six feet. "I hate this one!!!!"
Viper frowned.
I swallowed and glared back through my shades.
"Two against one, shithead!!" Fang got up, raising human fists. "You don't stand a chance against us!!"
I clenched my teeth.
The badder the asses………
I blurred forward.
SWOOOOOSH!!!!
I swung Myrkblade.
Viper raised his sword.
CLANK!!!
He pivoted his blade and struck at me.
I side jumped and cartwheeled to the right.
Fang dove in. "YAAAUGH!!!"
I leapt over his stabbing spider legs.
Viper leapt at me.
I deflected him in my ascent.
CL-CLANG!!!
I landed, spun, and swung my foot out in a high kick.
Viper ducked.
WHAM!!!
I rear-kicked Fang's spider head.
He stumbled forward. "Ooof!!!"
Viper charged at me, stabbing and swinging and slicing like mad.
I deflected and twirled my blade. CL-CL-CL-CLACK!!!!
Sparks showered the floor as he pushed me back through the lab.
Viper snarled mutely and swung down hard.
I backflipped.
CRACK!!!!
A table of equipment flew into two pieces from Viper's blade.
I landed in a slide, twirling Myrkblade.
Viper ran at me.
At the same time, Fang crawled like a bullet across the ceiling and dove down from above.
I held my breath and dove forward.
I vaulted over Fang's arachnid body in mid-air.
Viper swung his blade dead-center on my forehead.
In a split second I concentrated and--
FWOOOSH!!!
--teleported in smoke form through Viper's swing and his body in tow.
I materialized behind him, rolling to the ground and hopping up onto my feet just in time to perform a spinning kick that knocked Viper into a counter, causing vials and glass tubes of putrid solution to spill over the floor.
Fang was already springing back at me and firing jets of silky strands at my person.
SPLORCH!!! SPL-SPLORCH!!!
I gasped and dove to the side, hopped, and skipped over his blasts.
Fang anchored his body down to the ground with his spider legs while pivoting his mandibles about and firing more and more strands.
I blurred my feet. I ran up the wall and around the perimeter of the room, the sticky shots landing just at my heels.
I gasped as I realized my unstoppable momentum was carrying me around the room and straight towards Viper who had the tip of his broadsword aimed at me--
CHIIIING!!!
I deflected down the length of his blade with Myrkblade stretched forward and inevitably rammed my body into his.
WHUMP!!!
"!!!!"
"!!!!"
The two of us went tumbling across the floor till we slid literally underneath Fang's umbrella of an arachnid body.
Viper gritted his teeth and shoved me off of him.
I rolled to the side.
WHAM!!!
Fang's dangling human feet kicked me in the spine.
I gasped in pain and rolled back towards Viper's body…and blade.
CHIIIING!!!
With a pulse of murk, I vaulted myself over Viper's body like a leaping log and slid to a stop on the other side. I grabbed one of Fang's spider legs with my metal hand and stabbed upwards at another arachnid limb with Myrkblade.
CLANK!!!
Fang's left side was upended.
I tugged on his one leg, tripping him.
"Whoah!!!" Fang toppled through a tray of electrical equipment and gadgetry.
CRASH!!!!
I stood up, panting, and dove for the satchel tied to him--
WHAM!!!
Viper rammed me in the side.
I slid across the room, wincing, my boots scraping into the floor.
A flash of silver glinted reflectively off my black shades.
I gasped--
SLASH!!!!
I dashed my head back in time to avoid the kiss of Viper's massive broadsword.
CLANK!!!
His blade stuck into the tile floor.
Nimbly—with smoked feet—I ran up his blade and backflipped, uppercutting him with a boot to the chin.
THWACK!!!
Viper stumbled back with his sword.
"YAAAAUGH!!!" From the right.
I glanced over.
Fang ran. Fang jumped. Fang's legs spun like a buzz saw.
I held Myrkblade up.
CL-CL-CL-CL-CL-CLANK!!!!!
Myrkblade knocked back all of his stabbing feet in a sequence.
I gritted my teeth, sprung back, and shot forward with a stab.
Fang darted to the side.
I swung again.
Fang ducked, twirled left, and pounced at me.
"!!!" I defensively held my left arm out.
CL-CLANK!!!
His mandibles bit onto my metal prosthetic.
I gasped. I yanked and I pulled to pry my metal arm loose.
No luck.
It was stuck in the spidery jaws.
"Ged hig!!!" a muffled Fang shouted.
With a single breath, Viper charged at me. He swung his blade down towards my left shoulder.
I gasped.
Time slowed down.
I tossed Myrkblade up to the ceiling. Quick-as-lightning I blurred my right hand to the metal disc of my left forearm and--
POP!!! HISSS!!
Shivers.
Viper's blade came down.
I spun left, my left arm detached from the metal hand.
SWIIIISH!!! Viper's sword met nothing but air….until it met the floor again.
CLANK!!!
I ended my spin with my right arm stretched out.
GRIP!!!
I caught Myrkblade on its descent by the hilt.
SWOOOSH-CLACK!!! I shoved my left limb so that the disc reattached to the arm in Fang's mouth.
THWAP!!! I stabbed Fang in the exoskeleton with the tip of my blade.
"Augh!!" he let go of my arm and stumbled back.
I gritted my teeth and bitch-slapped a recoiling Viper with my reattached limb.
WHAM!!!
Time resumed to normal.
THWUMP!!
THWUMP!!!!
Both villains collapsed to the ground from the blows.
I stood between them, panting.
"………"
Chew on yourselves, bastards.
"Nnngh…."
"……….."
Both slowly got up to their feet….both human and otherwise.
I stepped back, Myrkblade held high.
Black eyes narrow.
Readying myself…..
"Why couldn't the Titans send someone more squishable to try and attack us??" Fang grumbled. "Like Beast Boy or that Crow girl??"
Raven!!
I contemplated killing Fang then and there.
Clank!!
"????" I glanced to the left.
Viper had picked up a huge chunk of a shattered table. He palmed it in his flesh hand.
"……….???" I leaned my head sideways.
He smirked. He prepared to toss it at me.
He's joking……right??
"……….," at the last second Viper's aim pivoted. He tossed the object over my shoulder.
SWOOOOSH!!!
"?!?!?!" I spun and watched the projectile.
CHUNK!!!
It stuck halfway into the core of the glowing cylinder at the side of the room. Steam started hissing out as the glow fluctuated and sparks began to fly.
I sweat-dropped.
"Whoopsies….," Fang's mandibles smirked…if that was even possible. "Better call the party short! I don't know what in the Hell that thing is, but it certainly looks explodable. And—might I say—Viper here threw it into extra-explodable mode!!"
I eyed the contraption. Steam was escaping through the breach caused by the projectile. The cylinder started shaking.
"Someone better go patch that thing up!! We are in the edge of Downtown, ya know. And heavens to betsy! What would happen to all the poor mothers and kids in strollers and dog walkers on the sidewalks above us if that thing went kablooie!!"
Son of a……
SWOOOOSH!! I blurred over, yanked the object out, and stabbed Myrkblade in its place.
CLUNK!!!!
I concentrated and extended a veil of murk to cover the breach. It took a great deal of power and concentration, but I was capable of producing an obsidian forcefield that contained the leak. The cylinder—whatever it was—started to glow and spark less. I exhaled sharply and turned to look at the two villains.
Fang bowed and made for the doorway: "Another day, and I'll suck your juices out yet…punk. Until then…enjoy being S.T.A.R. Labs' new bitch. Come on, quiet-ass!!"
Viper lingered. He walked backwards, smirking at me. He sheathed his broadsword and—to my half surprise—hand signed: 'I will be back for your other hand someday.'
I smiled sarcastically and then gave him the only response I could afford with just one hand free.
He chuckled breathily, turned around, and raced after his accomplice.
And I was powerless to leave my spot….
I groaned and hit my head against the cylinder I was pacifying.
Conk! Conk! Conk!
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Crud….Crud, Crud, Crud, Crud….that was way too close!!" Fang panted. "Now…just what the Hell are we doing back here anyways, man?? Aren't we supposed to go to the dam???"
Viper walked through the cave past Killer Moth's equipment. He didn't so much as look back at Fang.
"Harumph…fine….be that way," Fang folded his human arms. "Just remember, I've got the gadgets KM wants. As much as I'd love to rest here and stuff….I'd rather us get our asses in gear so that the old coot can be through with you and I wouldn't have to……." Fang's mandibles stopped. His eyes narrowed. "What are you doing??"
Viper stood at a bench. He took the black devices out of his pockets. He pulled out a few devices and began tweaking them.
"Hello??" A beat. Fang stepped forward once. "Hello?!?! I'm talking to you!!!"
Viper didn't glance back. His hands were at work. He attached a wire to the black disc around his thick, pale neck. He fastened the other end of the wire into a rectangular device. He stabbed both the gadget and his neck disc with a sparking tool of sorts.
"………," Fang crept sideways, staring suspiciously.
"………….," Viper breathed.
A flash.
A sparkle.
The disc flickered red.
Black again.
Then …..," an emotionless electronic voice uttered. "Snkkkt…snkkt…." Silence. Then, stronger: "Command. Testing. Command." More tweaking. More flashes. The disc glowed red and the voice altered, changed, melted….into something familiar. ….." Killer Moth's voice.
A beat.
Viper turned.
He faced the passageway into Killer Moth's study.
The slimy cocoon blocked it….
"Command. Larvae. Retract."
Slpppsllpppppp………
The slimy material drew itself upward in response.
Fang's mandibles parted. "Uh uh….no man. That's not cool. That's so not cool…."
"……," Viper glared. He started tweaking the neck disc some more.
Fang lifted two spider legs at serrated readiness. He glared at Viper and practically hissed: "Just what is this?!?! How'd you pull that off?!?!"
Viper slowly turned and faced Fang head on. Without moving his lips, he uttered in his electronic stoicism: "What does it matter??"
"Was this part of Killer Moth's plan or something?!?!"
A beat.
Viper smirked. "And here I almost thought you were a smart pest…."
Fang's mandibles clicked. "I knew it! I knew it from the start!! You were no good!! You were planning to take over Killer Moth's devices from the start!!"
"Please……," Viper shrugged suavely. His lips frozen in a gently sickening curve. "…what have I done that's so treacherous??"
"Nothing yet….ya know why?" Fang glared.
"Enlighten me."
"You may be a killer assassin…but you're too damn slow on the draw……punk!!!" ZAAAP!!! A paralysis beam flew from Fang's mandibles and struck Viper dead center.
THWAP!!!
The assassin fell down to the ground, frozen solid from the metaphysical trademark of Fang's.
"……..," the arachnid fiend took a deep breath, flexing his eight limbs. He slowly crawled over towards the grounded assassin.
"…………," Viper lay silent.
Fang's legs came to a stop.
He hung over the pale swordsman.
"………….," the spider-person sighed. "Gotta admit….you almost made me sweat there, shit-for-nothings…."
"…………..," Viper blinked.
Fang's mandibles spread wide in shock.
Viper sat up easily, mobile. He smiled. "You'd be surprised how accustomed I am to…..venom."
"……," Fang nervously twitched.
"You know…….I'm really tired of your existence."
CHIIIIIIIING!!!!!
SLUNK!!!
The silver broadsword ate its way straight through Fang's right human leg.
"AAAAUGH!!!" the mutant screamed. He twitched and convulsed. He shakily fingered the blade piercing straight through his thigh. "NNNNGH!!!! JESUS!!!!"
Viper slowly stood up, twisting the blade, digging into the meat. His eyes thinned and he purred an exhalation of heat against Fang's warbling mandibles as his disc glowed and the voice broadcasted electronically: "You have one too many legs……"
SLAAAAAASH!!!! Viper mercilessly yanked his blade out.
Fang's right lower limb literally flew apart. A meaty string was all that connected the two halves of his shattered femur. He fell down to the floor, covered in his own spraying blood. Convulsing. Panting. Six eyes darting every which way and spider legs curling freakishly in the air.
THWOMP!!!
Viper stepped onto his chest.
Fang wheezed, blood and venom dribbling out of his mandibles. The mutant shook and convulsed as fear and death gripped his heart coldly for the first time.
Viper bent down and smiled at him. He brandished a soaked red blade.
"Considered yourself squished……"
"……….," Fang only twitched.
"Heh heh heh heh heh….." Viper twirled the blade over his forehead, snarled, and slashed straight down.
SLIIIIIIIINK!!!!!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!!!"
And…
Crimson.