Hello, all my loyal readers. Back with yet another chapter. I'm getting a clearer idea of exactly how I want to take this with every passing chapter, so hopefully updates will come more frequently.
Alright. Here we go. You're finally gonna learn the mystery woman's identity in this chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 4- The Serpent Strikes
Dinah sighs as she climbs out onto the roof neighboring their target building. "What are we doing here?" she demands of her new ally.
"We're here because Sean Sonus is taking in a major shipment of slide. He'll be exposed. Out in the open for long enough for us to hit him," Adrian says. He then flips up his mask and hood, and says in the voice of Prometheus, "And that's when you can exact your revenge."
Dinah looks at him, still wondering who exactly he is. Then, Prometheus says, "There he is."
Dinah looks out at the roof across from theirs. A group of men is on the roof. Dinah raises some binoculars to her eyes, and sees Sonus in the middle.
"Come on," Prometheus orders, and runs to one corner of the roof. He then draws a grappling hook arrow and shoots it across to the other roof. "Let's go," he says before he begins to slide down the cable. Dinah only hesitates for a moment before she follows him.
On the rooftop, Sonus watches as the helicopter slowly comes down towards the roof. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an explosion blows off the tail and the chopper goes spinning down, trailing flames.
Sonus just stares in surprise at the sight. Then, there's a twang from behind him, followed by a scream.
Sonus and his men turn around in surprise, and see Prometheus standing there. Sonus looks at him for a moment before saying loudly, "Wow. The throwing star killer. A surprise to find you out this far. What did I do to engender your attention?"
Prometheus laughs. "Because I'm not here to fulfill my agenda. I'm here to help someone else fulfill theirs," he declares. Before anyone can say anything, an ear-shattering scream causes everyone in Sonus' group to clutch their ears in pain, disoriented from the scream.
Then, as they're still disoriented, Dinah leaps into view. She quickly attacks Sonus' men, striking them with her gun or kicking them in the head, knocking them unconscious, while unleashing an occasional scream. Prometheus joins her attack, yanking out his sword and cutting down everyone in his path.
Dinah clubs down one final man, then whips around to see Sonus standing just a few feet away from her. Sonus grins before his eyes begin to glow. Dinah instantly begins to grow nauseous and starts to collapse. That is, until an arrow pierces his shoulder from behind. Sonus collapses, with Prometheus standing behind him, slowly lowering his bow.
Dinah raises her gun, aiming it at Sonus. Sonus looks up at her, and grins. "What are you waiting for?" he asks.
Dinah hesitates, her gun still aiming right at his heart. After a moment, Prometheus says, "What are you waiting for? You've been waiting for this moment for years. Why are you hesitating?"
Dinah stands there for a moment. Then, Prometheus says in a lower voice, "Pull the trigger, Dinah. Avenge Vincent."
A bang echoes out, and Sonus falls dead instantly. Dinah stands there for a moment before releasing the gun.
"Good," Prometheus says slowly. Dinah looks up at him.
"Why? Why have you been so determined to see me kill Sonus? Why were you so determined to see me kill?" Dinah demands.
"Because," Prometheus says as he removes his mask. He looks at her for a moment before continuing, "You need to see the truth. That you need to do whatever it takes to see justice done."
Dinah narrows her eyes a bit. "What do you really want?" she demands.
"I came to help you bring down the man who killed your former partner and lover. I am trying to bring down the man who killed my father. And unfortunately, he has a very dangerous friend trying to protect him. Several, in fact. I helped you. Now, I am asking for you to return the favor," Chase responds.
Dinah looks at Chase, feeling there's more than he's letting on going on here. But, at the same time, he did help her take down Sonus. In a way, she owes him this much. And, getting to take down another murderer would be a nice break.
"Alright. I'm open. Let's get some drinks, and you can tell me more about who this guy is, and why you need me," Dinah replies.
(Star City, the following night)
Bucky walks down the darkened streets of Star City, heading towards the bunker. Suddenly his phone rings. He quickly picks it up and answers the call. "Hello, Bucky Barnes," he says into the phone.
"Hello, Mr. Barnes. This is District Attorney Chase. I just thought I would let you know I'm on my way back to town, and headed to meet with Mr. Diggle right now. I've got a few ideas of how I can stop General Walker from taking Mr. Diggle. Just give me some time," Chase says.
"Alright, thank you, Mr. Chase," Bucky says. Right then, he hears a crunching of gravel, and stops short.
"Excuse me, Mr. Chase. I'll have to talk to you again later," Bucky says before he hangs up. Bucky stands motionless for a few moments. Then, he whips around and catches a flying fist aimed right for the back of his head.
Bucky stands there for a moment, just taking enough time to realize his attacker is a woman. Then, he forces her arm down and kicks at her. She lets go of him and does a backhand spring. When she stands up, Bucky gets a good look at her.
She has green hair down to her shoulders, with some green lipstick. She's wearing a green body suit that is sleeveless, but with a collar around her neck. Several weapons are at her waist, and she's wearing a pair of green boots.
"Who are you?" Bucky demands.
She laughs. "I haven't given my true name to someone in years. I don't intend to change that trend now." She then launches at him and spins into a roundhouse kick, which Bucky stops by grabbing her ankle. She grins and whispers, "But you can call me Viper."
Bucky shoves her away, then throws a punch right at her head, which she manages to duck under and strikes back at him. "You're working with Prometheus," Bucky states.
"Maybe," she says with a chuckle. Bucky growls, and the two then launch into a flurry of blows.
Bucky is privately impressed. It's clear that this Viper has been trained very well. She's just about as skilled as him.
For nearly a minute, the two continue to fight. It slowly becomes obvious that Bucky is the more skilled of the two. Finally, Bucky manages to land a kick on her leg. She stumbles back, before Bucky manages to land a punch to her head, knocking her flying back.
Viper sprawls on the ground, but quickly gets onto her knees. She looks up at Bucky, then smiles. "That was a good Round 1. I have some friends who want to say hi to you. I'll see you later," she says. Right then, two men race out from an alley and attack Bucky.
Bucky ducks under the first one's blow. He manages to get him in a headlock and quickly snaps his neck. He then draws the man's knife from his hip sheath and slashes at the man. The man ducks, pulling out his own knife and slashing at Bucky, who blocks it with his vibranium arm. He then drives his knife into the man's chest. The man quickly collapses, dead.
Bucky stands there for a moment, breathing heavily. He looks up, and sees that Viper has escaped.
Bucky sighs. "S***. Things just got more complicated," he says to himself.
And there we go! Hope you liked this chapter.
So, yes. The mystery woman, Talia's replacement on Chase's team, is Viper. The woman also known as Madame Hydra. I considered a number of people to fill this position. The main other candidates were Grim Reaper, Constrictor, Baron Zemo in his comic form, Lizard, and Count Nefaria. But, in the end, I decided to go with Viper. The character has showed up in the MCU, as a character on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. This is a different version of the character, native to Earth-1. I imagine her being portrayed by Liv Tyler.
I hope you guys are liking this so far. I hope you're excited to see Viper in action, and see one more new character I have plans to introduce in this story at some point.
Until next time. Review, and stay tuned.