4/23/2022
Gotham City/Argus Station
"So, this is a bit awkward." I said as I sat in the infirmary in a chair across from the Saurian female who was finally finished being questioned by my superior officers. She asked to talk with me, and the brass is letting it happen surprisingly, but I also know they are monitoring this conversation, so I need to be careful here. I don't think she is bad, but I don't want to accidentally inform people about too many of my abilities yet.
"It is but I will speak regardless. My name is Khameleon and I am the descendant of the royal lineage of Saurian's. I have been running from Dark Khan and his forces for a long time now." Khameleon said and that surprised me a bit since I wasn't expecting her to be one of the lesser characters in the old MK games and I certainly didn't expect her to basically be lizard royalty.
"Well, it's nice to meet royalty." I told her as she turned her head with a sigh which probably means that she isn't in a joking mood yet.
"I owe you a great deal and I wanted to speak with you about that. I live here in what you call Gotham within the sewers, but I have been discovered and removed from my makeshift home. I am requesting your aid and in return I will offer you and your realm my loyalty as well as a powerful artifact that once belonged to noble warriors of the Saurian's." Khameleon said as I took a moment to think about what I should do.
A powerful artifact will certainly help me out and she seems genuine, but I don't think Sonya and the other people in charge will allow this…But in the grand scheme of things I shouldn't let that stop me.
"Alright I'll help you." I told her as she looked at me.
"Thank you. Before you go can you please tell me about yourself a bit. I'd like to know more about the person I am swearing my loyalty too." Khameleon said before I told her a few things about myself as well as the fact that I am the current 'Champion' of the Outsider. It is a gamble but people from other realms know a lot about the god's and with Khameleon I am banking on that knowledge so she at least would give me a little more loyalty instead of just saying so and later backstab me.
"That's about all I have to say right now. I'll go speak with my bosses about letting you go." I told her before I left the room and sure enough, I got pulled into a meeting with Sonya and the other people in charge.
"There is no way in hell we are allowing you to lead a rescue mission for a Saurian's home in the sewers. For all we know she could be lying to lure us into a trap to help Outworlders weaken our forces." One of the generals said in a pissy tone of voice.
"Not only that but she could very well be assisting some villains or gang bangers in order to try and beat up some police forces." Another man said.
"I'm not asking to lead a team. I'm saying that I will go alone to help her." I told them as one of them scoffed.
"So, the big bad wolf thinks he can just do whatever he wants now?" The man said as that irked me, but I restrained myself and the clawing that appeared in my chest. Apparently, my inner beast didn't like this guy any more than I did.
"Well since you're trying to get personal than I'll say this. If I don't come back or if I'm hurt, then you can just blame me for being stupid and kick me out since all of you seem to hate the idea of a werewolf being involved in the Titans. I'm going to help her regardless and me being here is just me paying all of you respect but after this meeting I can firmly say that the only one I respect here is commander Blade. Goodbye gentlemen." I said before turning around and leaving the meeting room despite some of the generals shouting at me to come back or face severe consequences.
I made my way back to the infirmary and sure enough I was walking with Khameleon before we left the base as she led the way towards her hideout while remaining invisible. I could follow her well enough and after a lengthy walk we made our way to the docks and under a not so busy pier with a large sewer tunnel coming out of the concrete which leads into the Gotham sewer system as Khameleon became visible again and I deactivated my Void Sense before reaching into my Pocket as I took out an experimental vial capped with a cork.
Nikki came up with it after studying my blood and supposedly this is a vial of condensed Ether energy that should restore my reserves and after I uncork it and drink it, I can feel a surge of energy running through my body and sensed the Ether inside me slowly getting restored. I only have one more of these so I'm saving it for something important until Nikki can make more.
"So, this is where you live?" I asked her as we walk into the sewer tunnel and soon enter the sewer system as I follow Khameleon around this place lit by old florescent lights.
"Yes. The beings that removed me from my home are…Strange yet powerful. Even as a Champion to a God are you sure it was wise to come alone?" Khameleon asked me as we walked.
"I'm with you so I'm not alone. Besides it was made clear to me that I wasn't getting any help due to recent events." I replied and Khameleon didn't ask questions about what happened and instead just walked through the sewers. Soon enough though we turned a corner, and I immediately summoned my pistol as I saw the enemies she spoke about.
There are three of them and they are each dressed in what looks like old samurai armor with spears in their hands but the beings underneath the armor are undead skeletons with their eyes glowing the classic emerald green from the MK games.
They readied their spears and charged at us as I fired my gun at the first two skeletons which hardly did anything to them as Khameleon and I dodged out of the way of the spears before I put my gun away and decided to test out my new strength as I grabbed the spear from one of them and ripped it out of its hands before swinging it at the skeletons head with as much strength as possible and sure enough the head came right off with a sickening pop sound as I tightly gripped the wooden spear in my hands.
Khameleon was evading the blows while delivering her own strikes at the soldiers which made them stagger but not stop as I charged in with my spear and repeated my previous actions and smacked their heads off their bodies. Any undead story always has the main character aim for the head to kill an undead and I am not breaking that sacred rule.
"Thank you for your assistance. It seems I'm deteriorating faster than anticipated." Khameleon said which confused me as we saw the green glow vanish from the skeletons.
"What do you mean?" I asked her as she sighed.
"Even with the food and water you humans gave me. My body is still getting weaker due to a curse placed upon me by a foul sorcerer. At most I can turn invisible and attack with a fraction of my old strength but even now my power is weighing. I fear that in a short amount of time I will be weaker than a baseline human." Khameleon said as I thought about that for a moment before the mental image of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi came into my mind.
"We could talk with Raiden. I'm sure he could remove the curse." I told her as she nodded her head.
"I'm sure he could if we had enough time, but I've made my peace with this. My goal now is to stay away from the growing storm and live out the rest of my life in peace far away from the battlefield." Khameleon said and frankly I didn't know what to say.
If I was some main anime character, I could tell her some poetic bullshit line about living or whatever, but this isn't an anime and any advice I'd give her might now even work since she has clearly given this a lot of thought.
"I'm sorry. I can't say anything that might help but I will tell you that if I find the sorcerer who inflicted a curse on you. I will make him pay for it." I told her as she gave an exhausted sigh.
"The sorcerer is powerful. A demon from the Netherrealm known as Quan Chi. If you are strong enough to put a end to the sorcerer you could take me up as a concubine if you wish." Khameleon said in a joking manner that made me smile a bit.
"How far away is your home?" I asked as she looked in the northern direction.
"It isn't too much farther." Khameleon said back as we continued walking through the sewers killing undead samurai monsters with a spear and my super strength before we made it to a large area that was furnished with a mattress, food wrappers and containers on the ground, a few books and the oddest thing was a sword on the ground near the mattress.
The sword was fashioned in the shape of a rapier, but the grip, pommel and hilt were not normal as it looked to be a green serpent as the grip with the tail being the pommel and the hilt being the snakes head as the thin blade came out of the snake's mouth as its eye glowed a menacing amber color.
"Is that the artifact?" I asked her as she walked over and grabbed it.
"Yes. This is Serpentera. A blade formed to serve the Saurian race and is held by those of royal blood. It is yours however Serpentera must also accept you as its wielder if you want to use the blade." Khameleon said as I scratched my head a bit.
"What does that mean exactly?" I asked her.
"The blade must taste your blood and if you are worthy Serpentera will form a bond with you. You can than use the weapon freely." Khameleon explained as she handed me the blade.
"What can this thing even do?" I asked her.
"The blade can absorb and redirect magical energy as well as focus your own energy into the blade to enhance its powers and abilities." Khameleon told me and honestly that did sound pretty OP.
"I guess I should get this over with." I said as I gripped my off-hand onto the blade of the sword as I held it in my right hand and in a quick motion I slid the sword downwards slicing my hand and drawing blood as I removed my hand and saw blood travel down the sword until it reached the snakes maw as its eyes shifted colors between amber and a dark purple color and I felt some kind of energy coming from the sword as well as a strange sense of connection with it before its eyes stopped glowing.
Its eyes now remained a dark purple color as the blade somehow retracted into the snake's mouth before the snake itself grew longer and wrapped around my hand and forearm. It grew long enough to wrap around my entire arm as well as my chest as its head rested at the base of my neck and for a moment, I thought it was going to try and kill me, but the snake head simply rested at the base of my neck before it somehow sunk into my skin through my clothes.
The feeling didn't hurt but it was weird to say the least and as I rolled up my shirt, I saw a newly formed snake tattoo on my body. The tail started at my right wrist and traveled through my arm and around my chest before reaching my neck.
"It seems you are indeed worthy. Being able to use Serpentera is a huge honor and as I said earlier. I will swear my service to you and to this realm despite the fact that I no longer wish to be involved in the coming combat." Khameleon said as I straightened out my shirt before asking her a question.
"What combat are you talking about?" I asked her.
"Dark Khan is gathering strength and soon he will invade the Realms. The level of combat he will bring to the earth will be unimaginable and as I just said I don't wish to be a part of it." Khameleon said before I looked around at her so-called home.
"Are you sure you can stay here? It doesn't seem right to just leave you here." I told her honestly.
"Where else would I go?" Khameleon asked with a bit of confusion.
"I think I know a place. It isn't the coziest place but it's ten times better than this sewer. Also, how on earth did a bunch of skeletons invade the Gotham sewers?" I asked her as she shrugged.
"That is the same question I asked when I was forced to flee but as you can tell the undead aren't exactly talkative." Khameleon said before I cracked my knuckles and stretched.
"Well, we can ask more questions about that later. Right now, I am going to be taking you to Star Labs." I told her before we started making our way out of the sewer system.
-VWR-
"This is a big ask Andrew and it could very well get me fired." Nikki said in a bit of agitation as I brought Khameleon to Star Labs where scientists were either scared or wanted to ask her some…Intrusive questions.
"I know it's a big ask but she was literally living in the sewers before this. Please do this for me." I said to her as we stood in the main lobby of the place while Khameleon looked around in awe as Nikki gave a heavy sigh.
"Fine but your bosses aren't going to be happy with either of us. She can rest in the infirmary and well get her cleaned up and what not." Nikki said as I gave her a warm smile.
"Thanks Nikki. Also is my suit repaired yet?" I asked her as she rolled her eyes.
"Yes, and thanks to some…Experimental science we've managed to upgrade the suit in accordance with your new bestial abilities." Nikki said before she, Khameleon and myself travel to one of the many labs in this place as I see my suit folded up on a table.
"What happened to the helmet?" I asked her.
"We've enhanced the suit with experimental nano technology. The helmet and its displays can now be deployed or shut down with a press of the new button on the collar of the suit so you shouldn't break the helmet again if you need to transform. The suit is also more malleable due to the nano technology, so your body mass won't tear up the suit again." Nikki explained as I stored my suit into my Pocket space.
"Thanks Nikki. I owe you one." I told her as she scoffed.
"Right now, you owe me two. In fact, I'm going to be calling in one of those favors right now." Nikki said with a cocky smile.
"What do you need?" I asked her bluntly.
"You're taking me out to dinner tonight." Nikki said back and that actually caught me off guard a bit, but it wasn't unpleasant.
"Where to?" I asked her.
"There is a fancy Mexican place that just opened nearby. Wear something nice and I'll call you around eight o'clock." Nikki said as I gave her a smile.
"No problem." I told her before I left her and Khameleon in order to return to the Argus Station where I told Sonya about everything that happened, and I also showed off Serpentera. Apparently, I can summon the sword through my hand with a bit of mental focus. Like Finn from Adventure Time when he had the grass sword but a bit more gross since it comes out of the palm of my hand. I didn't really use it though. I just showed it to her and retracted it back into my body and Sonya told me to return to the barracks which I did as I just passed the time while waiting for my scheduled date.
After a decent amount of time, I set out to a nice clothing shop and get a fancy blue business suit with a white undershirt and black tie with matching blue dress pants and black dress shoes before I make my way over to Nikki who was waiting for me at Star Labs. When I make it there, I see that she is dressed in a single shoulder purple dress that hugs her frame as she also sports some light make-up on her face.
"You look beautiful." I told her bluntly as she blushed a bit with a chuckle.
"Well don't you know how to compliment a girl. I usually like punk rock outfits when I'm not working but my mother kept bothering me to take out this dress on a proper date." Nikki said as I extended my arm outwards as she wrapped her arm around mine as we started walking towards the Mexican place she wanted to visit and sure enough the place was packed but not in a bad way. It was just lively, and it feels very welcoming.
Soon enough we got seated at a table and order some appetizers and drinks before we started talking.
"So, I don't really know much about you outside of the fact that you know about the Outsider so do you have anything you feel like sharing?" I asked her as she took a long drink of her beer while I had something called a peppermint cocktail...Don't judge me. It looked good and it is.
"Well, I've lived in Gotham my whole life and I've got some pretty cool friends. Back in the day we would hang out at Gotham's central mall all the time and have a bunch of stories to tell but mostly we just had fun and enjoyed our time together." Nikki said as I smiled at that while choosing to ignore my meta knowledge.
"Sounds nice." I told her as she nodded.
"It was and I miss it, but Gotham has a way of putting friendships to the test. My friends Jude, Wyatt and Caitlin got killed near the end of our school year by a criminal group of metahumans. It sucked but after a while things got a bit better." Nikki said and that caught me by surprise.
"I'm sorry to hear that." I told her as she grabbed her fork and stabbed it into one of her fried mushrooms she ordered.
"It's fine Andrew. I've had more than enough time to accept what happened." Nikki replied before eating her mushroom on the fork. "Soon after that I started going to college learning all sorts of stuff but the information that sparked something in me was information on the Outsider and the Void."
"He is a god that has the alignment of true neutral and rarely does anything that doesn't interest him. He offers power to people to see what they will do with it and neither helps nor hinders his champions even if they fight each other. To him it just adds to his entertainment." Nikki told me as I started eating my pork taco.
The green sauce and veggies complement the pork and adds a spicy burn as well.
"Yeah. The Outsider certainly isn't my enemy, but he also isn't my friend." I said back before we got our drinks refilled and our main courses. I had hot gumbo and nachos while Nikki grabbed a mixed plate of veggies and fish.
"True enough but the fact that he interacts with you at least shows that you have been giving him good entertainment. A bored god isn't a happy one." Nikki told me as I smirked at how right she was as we ate more of our food.
"What about you Andrew? Any wild tales you can tell me about?" Nikki asked as I thought about that question for a moment.
"My mom was always single and worked a lot, but she somehow made time for me. She put me in soccer when I was young, and I was pretty good at it but I got a bit tired of it and took some self-defense classes to maybe try and get into MMA but things didn't turn out that way. My mom always supported me though and I'm grateful for that." I told her as I took a heavy breath just thinking about the fact that I'm never going to see my mom again.
"She sounds nice." Nikki said back.
"Yeah. I bet you and my mom would have been good friends." I told her before we finished up our meal and headed out of the restaurant. Nikki is a bit sauced from her drinks, but I'm not even buzzed. My body is probably handling alcohol differently now.
"I can walk you home if you want." I told her as she nodded her head.
"Sure." Nikki said before she guided me to her apartment where I take her to the door as she gets in. "Why don't you stay for a bit?"
"Huh?" I asked her as I was walking away and when she said that I turned around and I was kissed on the lips by Nikki who guided me into her apartment.
The night got a lot more fun after the door to her apartment closed.
A/N: Okay a new chapter has been completed and this chapter was to have a more in-depth look at Andrew's character. I hope everyone liked it.
