Chapter 2
Five Plus One
Several hours had passed and dawn was not far away, but it had still been a sleepless night for doctor Arden, not that he minded when he was deeply consumed in his work.
A large pod stood in his lab, filled with a clear and illuminated liquid that bubbled violently, blocking its contents from outside view.
Arden himself stood by a computer, punching in more commands as he monitored the progress with a wide grin. Eventually, all systems finished and a green light was lit on the pod, and Arden's grin grew even wider.
"She's reborn… She's reborn!" he roared in glee. "My genius knows no bounds! Oh, how I have missed this thrill! To see the results of my genius! It was well worth the wait for the new sample."
The pod was drained and opened, revealing what Arden had been so excited about. A new, female snake mutant with green eyes and long black hair, and her scales were in several colours. Her head, tail, chest, stomach, hands and feet were bright red, while her back was a blue so dark it was almost black with white shining through between the scales, and broad lines of an intense blue ran on her sides from her shoulders and down, covering her arms and legs.
She coughed as her lungs cried out for much needed air, revealing her wider mouth and the pair of long fangs that it held.
"The Blue Coral Snake…" Arden mused as the mutant tried to get her bearings. "A 'killer of killers', specialises in hunting other venomous snakes, including the King Cobra. Possesses the largest venom glands of any snake, filled with cytotoxin that destroys muscle tissue, causes full body spasms and paralysis, a quick and horrifying death. A truly glorious creation!"
At that point, the reptile noticed her creator, her eyes locking on to him as she stumbled out of the pod.
"Welcome… Coral." Arden said with a grin.
"Coral… is that my name?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the doctor.
"That is correct. Now, tell me, whom do you serve?"
For a short moment, Coral didn't answer, she just stood there, still looking at Arden. Then, she knelt before him, lowering her head.
"I serve only you, my creator… my master."
"Excellent!" Arden said, extending a hand to Coral. "Now, rise, my dear. You have a very important job ahead of you."
"What do you ask of me, master?"
"You are to join my earlier creations, the Venomous Five, deadly reptilian mutants just like you. Learn from them and aid them on their missions. However, that is only what the rest of our organisation is to know, for you have another objective that no one else shall know about."
"And that is?"
"I am no longer certain that the Venomous Five can be trusted, that they are truly loyal to me. There are signs that could indicate it, but there is nothing conclusive. Thus, your true mission is to keep watch for signs of their possible lack of loyalty and report back to me, all in secret of course."
"I understand, master. I won't let you down."
"Good. However, know that this will take a long time. Getting a new member will put them on edge, so you will have to make them trust you over time, but during that time they might just get their act together, improving their performance."
"Understood."
"And never forget to whom your loyalty belongs, regardless of what the others do."
"My loyalty is to you, and you alone, master."
"Excellent. Now it's time for you to meet your 'team members'. Try to get along, but don't let them push you around."
A short while later, in the den that belonged to the Venomous Five, the mutants in question waiting for their next mission, spending their time as best they could.
Nile Monitor was training by striking a log with his sharp claws, each blow sending small chips of wood flying.
Cobra was sleeping in her room, drool and a small amount of venom was dripping out of her open mouth as she snored.
Gila was almost half asleep himself, sluggishly changing between channels on the TV.
Black Mamba sat in front of a mirror in her room, tending to her appearance with some grooming.
And Komodo Dragon sat quietly in a corner, thinking of how to best defeat their enemies in battle next time they met, smirking as he imagined himself victorious.
Suddenly, the door into their den was opened, and their creator, Arden, stepped inside.
"Attention!" he shouted, and the reptiles instantly stopped what they were doing and scrambled to their feet, even the previously sleeping Cobra, though she was still not fully awake as she lined up together with her fellow mutants. Trying to stifle a yawn, she received an elbow to her ribs from Mamba, to whom she hissed silently before focusing on her master.
"Master Arden. What is your command?" Komodo asked.
"Are we going out to search for the freaks again?" Gila asked with clear excitement.
"No, the sun will rise shortly, they will not risk staying on the surface once daylight breaks." Arden corrected. "But don't worry, you'll all get your chance soon. Until then, however, there is someone I'd like you all to meet."
With a snap of his fingers, he signalled for his newest creation to enter as well, and once the Venomous Five saw her, their eyes widened in shock.
"This is my latest creation, Coral, and she is to be your new team mate."
"Team mate?!" Cobra and Mamba exclaimed.
"Why would we need a new member?!" Nile asked.
"You five haven't really been pulling your own weight lately, or need I remind you of that Christmas a few years ago?"
The doctor's words cut deep and made the five mutants wince in response. They would never forget how they had been so badly outwitted, and by a child at that.
"Coral is to reinforce you, to give you a greater advantage in numbers. She is also a new breed of mutant, one that I have made several adjustments to, a test if you so will, and I want to see if she is up to the task. Treat her as one of your own. Those are my orders."
"As you command, master." Komodo said through clenched teeth.
Content that the mutants would do as told, at least for now, Arden left them, but the smirk on his face wouldn't leave him for quite a while. Now he had his insider among the Venomous Five, and if they ever did anything that would display a lack of loyalty, Coral would tell him.
Back in the den, the original mutants were less than thrilled with the new addition, and they weren't subtle about it either.
"I can't believe this!" said Gila. "We're gonna have to babysit this newbie?!"
"Tell me about it!" said Nile. "This will ruin our team balance! And 'Venomous Six' don't sound right either!"
"That's enough of you two!" Komodo snarled. "If our master demands this, we will do as he say. The last thing we want is to get on his bad side."
"But-"
"I said that's enough! We will talk more about this another time."
Meanwhile, Cobra and Mamba were inspecting the new female.
"Our master thinks this one will be able to help us? What a joke!" said Mamba. "Her colours will make her stand out like a sore thumb!"
"Maybe she's meant to be a distraction." Cobra chuckled. "An easy target for the freaks!"
Coral narrowed her eyes, and quick as a flash she lashed out and grabbed both snakes by their wrists, and with quick tugs and twists she soon had them both with their backs against her and their arms locked in a painful position.
"Let me make a few things clear for you two bitches." she snarled. "I'm a Blue Coral Snake, one of the deadliest snakes in the world, I specialise in hunting other venomous snakes, like yourselves, and there's no antidote for my venom. Remember that."
Releasing her grip on the duo's wrists, Coral shoved them both to the sides, causing Mamba to fall over while Cobra managed to keep her balance.
"You don't like me, and I don't like you…" Coral continued. "But our master has given us our orders, and I won't be the one to disobey my creator. But if any of you attack me, I will defend myself to the death."
As Coral walked away, Komodo watched her with a small smirk. Like the others, he wasn't too happy about the new member, but he couldn't deny that he liked her attitude, and perhaps she could help him keeping Cobra and Mamba in line eventually. Still, there was something about all this that felt off to him.
And there you have it, Arden's newest mutant, Coral. I really like how that snake looks, so eye catching.
As is to be expected, the others of the Venomous Five aren't too thrilled about their new member, and they have all right not to.
Now for a quick reference: That Christmas that Arden mentioned is from fellow author Bloodrayne666's story 'Fairytale of New York'. Lovely story, check it out when you have the chance.
Also, the Venomous Five and doctor Arden are her characters that I'm using with her permission.
Until next chapter, see you!