Chapter 21
"Needle marks? Oh dear. Where should we look?" Nia asked after J'onn explained what the call he'd just had with Supergirl was about. The human-Naltorian hybrid had not left the Med Bay and made sure that Marie was not trying to harm herself or escape. The honorary Amazon had been oddly still and that was unnerving.
"Everywhere, I guess. Typically, with an injectable drug, the user needs to pick a vein but with a dual-pronged injector that doesn't seem to be necessary," J'onn shrugged.
"Marie, we need to look for needle marks. We're not trying to hurt you," Nia thought it best to announce their intentions so as to not cause the woman to react. With no response, they checked all the exposed sections of skin they could find.
"Nothing," J'onn frowned.
"If you're going to forcibly inject someone, it would be easier if they were strapped to something, like a chair," Nia said.
"The thigh would offer an artery to pump it everywhere in short order," the Martian said.
"Let's see if her pants have a couple of holes in them," Nia suggested. She bent over and explained to Marie again, still unsure if the message was actually getting through. J'onn carefully pulled back the blanket that had been keeping Marie warm. Nia ran her hand over the left pant leg from the waist to the knee.
"Nothing here," Dreamer was hoping that they wouldn't have to remove Marie's pants. J'onn carefully examined the right pant leg.
"Bingo. Two tiny rips in her pant leg," he announced.
"We need to cut her pants off. The injection site could be infected or there could be a clot that could break loose," Nia was concerned that the unnerving stillness of the woman could be a side effect of everything that had been going on.
"Let's run a body scan first. While you're doing that, I'll let Kara know what we're dealing with," J'onn told her. Nia nodded and went up to the equipment shelf and grabbed the portable unit while J'onn pulled out his phone.
"Ok thanks J'onn. As soon as I know something, you'll know something," Kara heaved a sigh and hung up her phone.
"Not good?" Lyla asked. The two women were watching Agent Rainwalker interrogate Fatima at ARGUS headquarters. The woman had been less than helpful to this point.
"Puncture marks in Marie's leg. Pike never mentioned that they injected Mary with a drug though," Kara realized.
"Natasha might not have required it. Or maybe because Mary was emotionally compromised, they didn't need a drug. No way Marie goes quietly into that good night," Lyla pointed out.
"True, she would not. Maybe because Enigma no longer had Pike and Fatima, she resorted to a less conventional method. I'm sure each captive would need different ways of being motivated to commit these crimes. Could be after Pike was apprehended that Mary has been on Snakebite ever since to help control her," the blonde said.
"Could be I don't like all these loose ends. Perhaps it's time for Supergirl to make Agent Rainwalker seem like a better option," Lyla had a smirk on her face.
"I thought you'd never ask," Kara chuckled. Lyla knocked on the one-way glass.
"Oh, you've done it now," Alberta shook her head at Fatima. The criminal raised an eyebrow as the room door opened and in walked Supergirl.
"Am I supposed to be scared?" Fatima asked.
"I would be. Cameras are off and I've suddenly become blind, deaf, and dumb," Alberta smirked and headed for the door.
"You either speak to me or Agent Rainwalker or I'll make sure that Safiyah Sohail knows where you are," Kara gave the woman a look.
"You wouldn't dare," Fatima wasn't totally buying it.
"She likes to play with her food, truth is, I do too, but there is a big difference between what I think is play and what Safiyah thinks is play," Kara's face remained emotionless. Fatima looked at Agent Rainwalker.
"I'm blind, deaf, and dumb, remember?" Alberta reminded her.
"There is an antidote for Snakebite but there is no antidote for Enigma's hypnotism," Fatima finally admitted.
"Let us worry about the last one. How do we get the antidote?" Kara wanted to know.
"You have to modify the antidote for Fear Toxin because the psychedelic mushroom oil binds very well with it. Neither one of you are chemists though. You mess it up and the cure will be worse than the drug," Fatima said.
"If it's not being injected on a regular basis would Snakebite eventually leave the system?" Kara asked.
"Yes. The fastest way would be to make sure the user drinks a lot of water, is kept in a fairly dark room, and is not left alone. The issue is that the longer which someone has taken it, those simple instructions will not work. That is why you need the antidote," the criminal explained.
"So, one dose, simple. More than one dose, not so simple," Kara frowned.
"Exactly so. Snakebite affects the hippocampus so their memories and emotions are compromised. Once those are altered, it can be hard to get the person right without the antidote. I didn't make a lot of Snakebite for Enigma. I'm the only one who knows how to make it the right way. Make it the wrong way… well let's just say the consequences are worse than death," Fatima said.
"What could be worse than death?" Alberta gave her a look, unable to not break into the conversation.
"The taste for flesh - cannibalism. That is why you must be precise when you make it. The first attempts were fed to rats and needless to say, it got ugly in a hurry. Worse still, Enigma knows what happens if it goes wrong, but somehow, I don't think she cares. That's why she goes after people who are outside the organization. If they die, she doesn't care, especially if they've served their purpose. As much sense as this makes, I was the only one who could actually make sure people weren't dying of the stuff," the woman told them.
"So, she injects them, messes with their minds using her hypnotism, and when they complete their tasks?" Kara asked.
"Well, when they cease to be useful, they are killed. If she likes them, then she removes their dependency on Snakebite using her tricks. Those same tricks keep the person bound to her," Fatima said. There it was. The person in question was in very deep no matter what the circumstances.
"Can you give us the recipe for the antidote?" Kara wanted to know.
"You trust me enough to do so?" It was a legit question from the criminal.
"Well, it's quite simple, you kill the person we give the antidote to, and bad things will happen," the blonde gave her a look.
"Fair enough," Fatima nodded.
To Be Continued…