Chapter Six

"Cobra Queen"

"Ugh!"

'It's not that bad…'

"UGH!"

'We can figure something out'

"UGH!"

'…ugh'

"Don't you start too!" Dexter frantically spat. "I…I'm sorry Freak. I didn't mean to snap at you", Dexter stuck his thumbnail between his two front teeth and bit down gently on it as he thought and paced back and forth in his room; this was not good, not good at all. "If Audrey is half as crazy as Warner then we have two super powered evil nutcases running around Washington! One looking for you and the other possibly looking for me!"

'We've become quite popular lately'

"Yeah…popular"

Dexter flopped into his chair and bit down hard on his thumb, bending his nail till he thought it might break. This was too much stress for one teenage boy to handle. He looked at the tower of his computer and remembered that he had responsibility now and things weren't always going to go smoothly. But, jeez did they always have to be so chaotic? What the both of them would give for an old fashioned brawl with Caveguy; a day like that was a good one, you know beat him up, eat a huge dinner and sleep like a baby.

Simple.

"Okay, we need a-a-a plan", Dexter stammered as he roughly ran a hand through his hair. "Audrey needs to be found and Warner needs to be found", he turned and saw his reflection in the monitor, looked into his own eyes and as sappy as it sounded realized that he had to stop panicking; he could panic later, but right now he had to be calm while everything was quiet and pull a plan together- he had the whole weekend after all. "Freak, we need to find at least one of them"

'But Dex we have no idea where doctor Looney Tunes went'

"But we know where Audrey is"

Oh no, Freakazoid did not like that answer. He stomped his feet, shaking the insides of Dexter's subconscious. The boy held his head as a sharp pain throbbed, the harsh connections of Freak's feet hammering in the utter distaste he felt for the idea. Dexter let out a loud hiss and Freakazoid stopped. His alter ego softened his presence, tip-toeing about the brink of their subconscious to allow the pain to subside.

"I want to go down there as much as you do…but we have to go after her", Dexter's voice was tender as he pulled his hand from his easing temple. "Warner's obviously not going to be found till he wants to be found, and Audrey…she always happens to run into us anyways. Might as well utilize those little happenstances"

When Dexter stopped talking he noticed that Freak was exceptionally quiet. Nudging his alter ego Dexter hoped he would respond in some way, but Freakazoid was emitting such a pouty countenance that it was easy enough for Dexter to catch on. The last thing he wanted to do was go gallivanting through the dirty, dank, dark, damp, smelly, stinky, rat infested sewers that were also the very place where the only other thing he would consider to be a weakness thrived- poo gas. How he loathed poo gas.

"We're going Freak, whether you like it or not"

The sharpness in Dexter's voice reached Freakazoid, who knew that he could disobey Dexter's orders; but on top of all the gross things that dwelled in the depths of the sewers there was another factor that unsettled Freakazoid about them. The sewers were dark and Freakazoid knew of darkness and its cold embrace from before his birth, before Dexter had activated and rescued him. It was a tender subject.

'Okay, Dex…only cause you said so' Freakazoid felt the glare Dexter directed at him and quickly attempted to add. 'and also because…it's you know…the right thing to do…I guess'

"Good", Dexter rummaged through his things and eventually came across a flashlight, he gripped it tightly as he prepared to go out on patrol- in the sewers. "Alright, Freak I know how you feel about this but we can get through it so don't Freak out!"

ZAP!

"Aha…you caught me off guard that time", Freakazoid muttered with a subtle smirk as he observed the real word with a slight case of vertigo. "Okay Hugbee, let's do this!"

Freakazoid's heroic pose was shattered by the sudden banging on Dexter's door. Duncan was on the other end of it twisting the knob and not too subtly trying to break the door down. Freakazoid smirked as he considered unlocking it, but he knew how upset Dexter would be if he confronted the disgruntled older sibling. He quietly crept out the window instead and made a dash for the manhole cover in front of the Duncan home.

"Duncan!" Mrs. Douglas scolded, shooing her son from the bedroom by lightly batting him with her Home Decor magazine. "Leave yer brother alone, dear!"

"But mom!" Duncan whined. "I heard someone's voice comin outta there! And it wasn't Dexter's!"

"Oh, really?" she smiled ignorantly and doubled her efforts to remove Duncan from the upstairs. "Well if he's got a friend in there we don't want to disturb him, do we? He doesn't really have any friends, real ones anyway, not those strange people in the computer. Go downstairs and I'll make you a sandwich- he'll come on out when he's ready"

Duncan reluctantly let his mother herd him down into the kitchen. As she worked on autopilot to conjure him a distracting snack he starred down at his hands and thought. Now Duncan never really stopped to think, but he thought about his brother and the weird on goings in the Duncan household in the past year. His parents he knew never noticed because they hardly noticed anything…but he wasn't as stupid as Dexter gave him credit for. Duncan had eyes and he knew his brother.

'Hey Freak…did you feel a strange chill going up our spine?'

"Figured it was just another rat", Freak spat irritated as he sloshed through the neighborhood's waste. "Dex, do you have any idea where we are?"

'How am I supposed to know? You're the one with a mindlink to the internet…just look it up or something'

"H-E-L-L-O Dexter. We're in the sewer. There's no internet connection down here" Freakazoid rounded a corner, and suddenly plummeted twenty or so feet down. "Ew"

Picking himself up and out of the smelly germ infested water Freakazoid wiped at his body, trying to get as much as the gunk off of him as he could. This method was poor but he was able to at least remove the chunky bits from his costume. He had dropped his flashlight, but in the dark sewer it was easy enough to see it floating ten feet away around another corner. Freakazoid scrambled after it.

When he had his only real source of light in his hands Freakazoid considered turning back, but down here where there seemed no to be no internet connection the walls separating their consciousness had become paper thin. Dexter's voice was clearer than it had ever been in his head. It comforted him, coaxing the blue superhero to continue his journey.

""

Freakazoid recoiled at the odd inflexion of his name echoing through the tunnels. It seemed at first to be coming from everywhere, but Dexter reminded him that he had to figure out which voice was the echo and which was real. He heard his name again, slower and with a hint of invitation. This didn't sound like any human they had ever heard, but knew in the pit of their stomach that it must be Audrey calling out to them.

"", she swooned. "Thisss way. Thisss way…"

Dimly in the distance Freakazoid could make out the abnormal smell of incents. He knew that even if he couldn't follow the echo he could certainly follow his nose. Freakazoid trailed after the smoky sweet scent of berry pie, trying his best not to make too much noise as he did. However everything was amplified in the sewer, every little sound escalating tenfold and he was certain that it didn't make much of a difference if he crept or flailed into Audrey's path.

"Have you figured it out yet Freeeaakazoid? Have you found meee?" she called again, reminding Freakazoid of the way siren's called sailors to their doom in movies. "Have you fooouund meeee yet?"

'She sounds waaaaaay too happy' Dexter noted nervously. 'Be careful Freak, she might be as far gone as Warner'

"Noted", Freakazoid kept close to the wall as he figured he was close to where Audrey was hiding; the smell of incents was strong and he noticed that the tunnels were getting slightly brighter. "I'll be as cautious as a cheerleader with a pimple"

'Uh, I…suppose that makes sense'

Freakazoid carefully walked out into the tunnel and looked around for Audrey. He found a section of concrete raised from the water, covered with candles and adorned with silk sheets hanging from the pipes above. The scene looked quite mystical in a weird way, like he had somehow stumbled upon the great fairy's fountain in real life. And Audrey was there, he could see her curvy silhouette lying across something behind the sheets.

Was she, had she been…waiting for him to find her?

"", she cooed. "I knew you'd be at my door eventually, we've alwaysss had a way of finding each other, haven't we?"

He really didn't know what to say to her and remained speechless as her arm languidly rose and pulled the sheet back. Audrey only showed him her left eye, but it was larger than he remembered it being, sharper than any human eye was capable and it beckoned him to come closer. Dexter warned him quietly to continue with caution no matter how friendly Audrey acted. She was always friendly at first, keeping her distance and making her prey feel comfortable until she could deliver an unseen ending blow. This was her way of doing things.

Audrey beheld the young man with her new eyes, from his wild hair to his broadened shoulders and toned frame and her painted black lips spread into a smile. She laughed like a temptress and rolled out into the silk sheet, letting the fine fabric cling to her body and drape down over her curves. Her slender hand kept the ensemble held up at her neck as she stood and continued to smile.

"A-Are you…okay?" Freakazoid asked with uncertainty. "You don't seem to really be…yourself…"

He was referring to the odd smile spread across her face which revealed her new fanged teeth. But, she knew that she had not always looked this way, had not always been the creature she had become. Audrey sauntered forwards a few steps and lifted her other hand and invited him closer. Yes, she wanted the blue creature closer.

"The candle'sss light only goesss ssso far in thisss dark placcce…come clossser", Audrey requested with a glint in her eyes. "Come clossser"

"Maybe you should use floating Chinese lanterns", Freakazoid suggested with a i-had-a-good-idea smile plastered on his face.

"Perhaps…" Audrey commented, taking the suggestion seriously.

Cautiously Freakazoid inched his way towards her, as he neared the edge of her set up he hesitated with his hand hovering over the edge. She gave him what he needed to trust her, a pleading smile matched with a softened expression. Audrey licked her lips as he ducked his head and climbed up onto the platform. Freakazoid felt a chill and knew it was Dexter trying to warn him. There was a gentle thud, like the sound of a fairy falling from the sky; he looked over to see Audrey's sheet folded around her slender ankles.

'What is she trying to do?' Dexter tried to convince himself it wasn't the first idea that popped into his head and excluded that possibility to hormones. 'Freak…just do your best to keep her calm. We don't know what Warner's concoction did to her exactly yet"

"Audrey", Freakazoid did sound genuinely concerned for her; she had been the first criminal he'd ever faced out on patrol after all. "Audrey, what…"

He couldn't help it, he trailed off. There she was, silver somewhat scaly skin, black hair slicked back making her inhuman eyes appear even larger, shiny black lips curled in a sly smile and she stood before him unabashed, barely covered by what appeared to be some kind of two piece black snake skin patterned bathing suit with long golden chains draped around her neck. Freakazoid couldn't help himself when he gawked briefly at her for as inhuman and creepy she appeared there was a gothic allure to her; she had a figure and a pretty face under all that mutation that his teenage hormones couldn't ignore.

'Freak!' Dexter scolded. 'Please, you've gotta keep a level head here! This is some sort of trap!'

"I know but-"

Freakazoid was silenced by Audrey's slender finger pressing against his blue lips. "Ssssssssshhhhh", she cooed, looking deeply into his eyes. "Ignore mild mannered Dexxxter Douglasss for a moment and lisssten to me, look at me…"

Once their eyes had met Freakazoid found he was in another world; everything grew hazy and dream-like. Audrey's words slurred through his slowing mind and became the only ones he recognized, the only ones that mattered. She held his chin with her finger and led him further into her den, her eyes never leaving his, and his eyes unable to leave hers.

Audrey stepped closer to him, leaned close to his face and smiled. Her painted lips spoke sweet words as her fingertips brushed against his broad chest. Freakazoid felt like he was going to pass out, his body slowly shutting down against his will. And there was Audrey whispering little soft hisses that swam about his head, inching their way deeper into his subconscious, coiling around it and taking hold. Dexter had no say as he was entrapped by her spell, held captive in the coils of her control.

"You're a very good boy Freakazoid", she brought her hands up to the sides of his face and ran her fingertips along his jaw. "I know thisss to be true", she leaned against him, her smile growing wider. "Ssso I feel that it'sss only fair that I tell you the truth Freakazoid"

She paused, brushed her lips against his briefly and breathed her hot breath into his now emotionless face. He felt her linger there for a moment, knew that tension was somehow building but Audrey had him under some type of spell. She wrapped her clawed hands around his face and pulled him to her like a hungry predator.

And when she released his lips he heard a little pop. Audrey smiled, holding him up as she leaned to whisper into his ear. She told him that things were going to be different from now on, that she was changing her ways. Warner, she said with venom beneath her breath, he was the cause of her disfiguration, the cause of everything. They had to work together, find and kill him, she whispered into his ear in a soft sweet voice.

But Freakazoid knew that killing was wrong, that Warner had not meant to become what he had. Quiet pleads from Dexter began to reach him, slowly things cleared just enough for him to coherently answer her questions in a slurred breathy voice.

"Heroes…don't kill…" he managed to form the words despite himself. "You're very pretty Audrey…but I have to decline the team-up offer…"

When Audrey heard him speak she altered her demeanor, slowly stopped smiling and narrowed her eyes. She ran one of her hands through his hair, like she was running her fingers through an unruly pet's fine coat. Audrey chuckled as she guided him back towards the edge of her new home.

"Sssweet innocccent heroic Freakazoid…" her tone dropped low and her tongue grew quick. "And oh ssso noble and ssstupidly naïve Dexxxter Douglasss…how I envy your childish ways, your ability to escape it all with a little turn of phrase", she paused to lightly run her fingertips over his face, which she found quite hansom. "I'll let you in on a little sssecret Freakazoid", Audrey hovered over him as he felt himself being eased out of a standing position, the hand on his face pushing him gently back.

"You do not faccce mere mortal Audrey any longer! I am no human, you ssspeak to a queen- The Cobra Queen!"

With a final shove she knocked him back over the edge and Freakazoid fell into the murky water, flailing as the bitter cold of it broke her trance. He had barely a moment to recuperate when something big and scaly wrapped around his leg and like lightning slithered up around his waist.

"Holy cra-"

((AUTHOR'S NOTE))

Ooooo, cliffhanger...sorry guys. Well I realized that I hadn't posted a chapter in nearly two weeks, it's hot as Hades over here (my glasses are literally fogging up from the humidity!) so I decided to sit back tonight and finish up chapter six. I hope you guys enjoyed it and didn't find Audrey- Cobra Queen's attraction to Freak too weird...I wasn't sure if I was going to add it in, but if you go back and look at their first meeting in book one I was thinking about it back then too. Oh well, it's in there now.

I'm trying so hard to fit Steff in here more, but all this action stuff is so much more fun. Plus i'm still trying to rewrite her character so her and Dex would be more compatible. Perhaps in the next chapter after Freak escapes the sewers...if he escapes!

Dun! Dun! Dun!

Please review! I love to hear the good and the bad about the chapter, or whatever you guys have on your mind.