"It was one thing to share a street with another bar that served beer and food to the people of Gotham City, it was another that it had to be run by an old boss who had an interest in genetically changing ordinary fish folk into hulking beasts to serve under his whim and have everything under the palm of his hand. That was Spinner and Slobster's life when they were first created by Dr. Paradigm, they were his muscle and help when it came to the control over Fission City. Which went nowhere since the doctor went on to create numerous Seaviates that had unique powers that were far superior to his first creations. Then came the day when he left the two in the city while he went off to join a band of evolved creatures to help him continue his experiments, Kite Man couldn't imagine what they had to endure after the doctor left them since they required treatments to keep their muscular forms. It didn't seem to matter since they were capable of defending themselves and able to handle themselves in a fight, hopefully, they can keep the bar running and not get fueled with anger and attempt to kill him."
Morning-Noonan's Bar
Everything had started to become normal in Gotham City and business had been getting quiet at the established villain bar that Kite Man had been given to by the former owner. Managing to bring in beverages and food to continue serving at Noonan's, they were able to bring in customers and make money to help keep the business running. Unfortunately, it didn't help that Villigan's had more technology and entertainment they could offer the people. Noonan's Bar? Not so much since they were a low-level place that wasn't modern-like. Staring at the building ahead and seeing the success that was being made, Spinner and Slobster growled in frustration and wanted to walk over to rip apart their creator and burn down the place.
"Hey, guys? Are you two ok?"
A voice interrupted their train of thought of what to do with their former boss which came from Volcana, one of the bartenders that Kite Man hired as a favor from Harley's friends who needed to find her way in being a villain. The swordfish Seaviate said nothing since he wasn't interested in making small talk with the metahuman as he decided to head inside the bar to check if there was any assistance needed.
"We're having an issue with the humans that running the place next door, he's responsible for making and ditching us. Spinner wants to kill him, me? Rip him to pieces."
Slobster told her about the reason why they had an issue with the owner of Villigan's as Volcana could see from the look on the crustacean's face that he had anger toward the establishment. The orange-haired woman decided to stand with him to observe their competitor to see the people entering the place, not knowing that their owner was a mad scientist and businessman who had a distrustful behavior that no one was able to notice.
"I know the feeling. I was used during the Triceraton and Apokolips invasion by someone who I thought saw potential in me, Lex Luthor. He tricked me into using my powers when the Earth Savior device was activated."
Explaining to him how she had the same feeling in being used by someone who saw potential in them to only then be tossed aside to achieve his needs. Slobster could feel the truth in her words along with the sudden change of temperature as he noticed Volcana generating heat around herself and melting the pavement. Taking a moment to smell the heat and cooking Slobster, she stopped herself as it left the metahuman embarrassed of not controlling her powers.
"But. Having learned to accept that Luthor was nothing more than a weakling who couldn't do anything by himself and needed to use others. I was helped by June in finding a place to find my true self, or to find an environment that isn't that hostile and makes me melt everything in sight."
Making a joke to try and make the moment humorous as Slobster tried to think if it was funny, the lobster creature laughed lightly at the joke as he could tell the human was capable of destroying everything around her. The two smiled at one another before hearing a commotion happening inside Noonan's, they walked inside to see the Fugitoid having a PowerPoint presentation for everyone since he wanted to assist in the success of the bar that Kite Man and Golden Glider were running.
"I don't think we need to have a karaoke night. The patrons would sing vulgar songs and would make the place less welcoming."
Bane spoke out to the robot's suggestion since certain customers at Noonan's would sing their hearts out to songs that would freak everyone out. They continued to talk amongst themselves as Kite Man was on the side looking at the group talking amongst themselves about making the bar noticeable and stand out from Noonan's.
"You should be the one in control of this meeting, kid."
Noonan told the new owner about this since he was the one who was in charge of everything as well as their boss. Charles should decide what would help the business instead of the employees since they had small positions, that wasn't how Kite Man saw it since they were providing ideas on making the bar different compared to Villigan's.
"I think they're doing alright. A business needs to have employees to think of ways to keep it going, like any business. The only way to keep it stable and functional is to have fresh ideas fill the building. No matter how small they are."
Kite Man responded to Noonan that the help he'd manage to require what was important to help the establishment afloat was fresh ideas that would bring in customers. The former owner said nothing since he knew that Charles would regret saying that since the more ideas, everyone came up with, the more that everyone would argue about it due to it being idiotic or wouldn't make any money at the bar. Looking back at everyone talking, the only one who wasn't interested in the issue was Spinner who continued to look outside at Villigan's and see Killamari bringing in new customers to the establishment.
"That bastard. After all these years, he decides to show his face and presumes to have a change of heart. Forget what the human says, the next chance I get. I'm going over there and spinning a hole directly through the doctor's eye socket."
The swordfish thought to himself of not want to act like these people who've committed numerous crimes to make them infamous. Now to only become ordinary individuals who've decided to take it easy and not commit any high-scaled crimes anymore. Continuing to glare at their competitor, he didn't notice a sigh coming from the table which came from Fable who was watching Spinner looking angry.
"It's been a while since I've seen someone full of anger toward anyone that screw their life. That piranha guy that Kite Man and Glider must have fucked you over now, didn't he?"
She questioned him with a smile on her face at seeing the Seaviate upset since he was being denied revenge for what Paradigm did to him. Looking over to the woman's head, Spinner ignored her as he focused on any ideas that could be ideal in getting back at the doctor. The queen looked over at everyone talking amongst themselves and saw how they would continue to act dull and pretend to be normal, making her think up an idea that could be beneficial and get some excitement for herself.
"The one thing I admire from anyone is a taste for revenge. Maybe, if you are interested, I can help you get it. If you can help me in return."
Offering her assistance in offering the doctor's revenge on his creator in a way that could satisfy their needs. Taking a moment to look at the others who continued to talk about updating the bar's image, Spinner took Fables jar to the bathroom where he wanted to speak with her privately to see what she was offering him.
"For the last few years after I got knocked off my body, I've been trying to locate it since despite it being useless and stunning looking. However, during my internet hunt to secure a body, I found a certain 'bitch' who has it after posing a photo of her lair."
Fables expressed an urgency of getting back her body and soon found it online by coincidence which fueled Fables with anger since it had been procured by one of the villains in Gotham City. Nudging her head to the Seaviates phone that he'd bought with the money that he managed to save up after serving the humans during the alien invasion. Informing him about the website where Fables had found the image of her body and the person responsible for taking it, Spinner pulled it up to show an image of the Queen's body concealed in amber and standing near an incest woman. She had orange hair with green eyes as well as a dark yellow exoskeleton body, the lower part of her body had four legs attached to a thorax and stinger.
"Insect Queen. We've been rivals who claimed to be queens of our unique territory, mine were the stories of fairy tales and hers were bugs. She got a leg up after she drank herself a small batch of mutagen when Joker's tower fell, now she thinks she's hot shit."
Continuing about how the unknown woman became a femme fatale after transforming herself into an insect mutant that can telepathically control insects and had the tendency to eat people. The Seaviate chuckled at the suggestion of assisting her in this mission as Spinner took a couple of seconds before realizing what made him unique in helping Fables out in getting the body back.
"It's amusing. While I wanted to ask about what you be able to do to the doctor after I snag the body, it made me remember what I said about Malice's boyfriend having human DNA that was involved in human history. Mine, being a thief."
Spinner accused her of wanting his human side that would be capable of taking something valuable and then eventually discarding him since he remembered about the human that attempted to steal the Crown Jewels not ending well. Fables gave him a questionable look at that statement as her expression fell due to what she was asking from him.
"Cards on the table. I know what it's like to be forgotten by people after showing them I'm a threat to be taken seriously. To at one minute have everyone look at you in fear to then be knocked down to nothingness, as well as wanting to get back in the action. So whether you like it or not, we both need this to remind everyone we're not normal like those people outside. We fucking villains that live life on the edge."
Fables told him in a serious tone that people like them can't be normal and blend in with the public. If they wanted to continue being themselves and enjoy the abilities they were born with, they had to cause trouble and do whatever satisfied their inner desires. The Seaviate said nothing since after the invasion when he got the chance to relive his old days of fighting people and using his drill nose to destroy things, he felt alive again. Looking outside seeing Slobster talking amongst the gang about ideas for making the bar noticeable. He knew that he wouldn't want to be a part of this, he seemed happy to be with people who didn't mind him and welcomed his company.
"Fine. But I'm in charge of the planning, and if you leave me at that bug's place. I'm going take your head off with my bare hands."
He threatened her if there was a moment where she'd stab him and the back to make a getaway once he found a way to get her body out of the amber. Fables smirked at him being onboard with this caper and was interested to see what the Seaviate was capable of when they made it to Insect Queen's lair. The two didn't notice by the side was Golden Glider who happened to listen to their conversation and hear the plan for Fable's body recovery. Deciding to not interrupt their conversation, she decided to let it happen and inform Kite Man about this since the last thing that they and everyone else needed was another fight that involved a man-eater who can mentally command an army of bugs by her side.
Later-Insect Queen's Hive
It had become night in Gotham City and after having bought several items that were perfect for a body-snatching job, Spinner had gotten himself a cat burglar and the flight equipment that Charles got him to help with avoid being noticed on the street. Having his bag on and a set of thermal binoculars, Spinner looked upwards to see not that many heat signatures in the hive as it seemed empty.
"Why in the fuck did you put me in the bag?! I'm not an accessory item!"
A voice shouted within his bag which was Fable who needed to accompany him since he would need the help if he planned on escaping Insect Queen's hive and avoid being attacked by hundreds of her drones. Ignoring her complaints and activating his wingsuit, Spinner took up into the air and reached the lower part of the hive that wouldn't be noticed by the queen and was easy to enter. Using his drill to make a small hole for him to crawl through, the Seaviate took a moment to explore the interior and have people trapped in amber.
"How much money do you villains make to afford this crap? Not even Paradigm could get a place like this."
He questioned the success of how the criminals in Gotham could afford a place like this without having the public question about the lairs that were around the city. Focusing back on recovering the body, Spinner carefully watched his footing to see if any traps were lying on the ground and cameras that were watching the hallway. Cautiously avoiding making any sounds and checking out the rooms to see if Fable's body was stored, Fable sticks her head out of his bag to try and sense if it was nearby.
"While my body might have been difficult to look at since it was covered in amber, it's perfectly curved, and glutes can make an army of Amazons cry in shame."
She explained what it looked like but the Seaviate didn't respond as he was focused on locating it. Continuing to look for the body, Spinner stumbled upon a room where it had a set of lights shining upon an encased body to present itself as a unique piece to the queen's hive. The swordfish took a closer look at the body to see it had no head and wearing clothing that appeared to be fairy tale-based.
"Guess people were right to call you the 'Queen of Fables'. Because this body seems possibly to acquire."
Spinner informed Fables as she poked out of the bag to see her body preserved and her storybook. Dropping the bag by the side and trying to find the weakest part of the amber, he started his drill and started piercing through it while not making too much noise. Stopping each time to keep his drilling quiet, he didn't notice the sound of clicking coming from behind above him as it was watching the humanoid swordfish attempting to break the body out.
"Well, well, well. Talk about your late-night booty calls."
A voice told him leaving Spinner to not react to the stranger as he was strung up by a set of webs and thrown into another room. The Seaviate landed on a bed with a set of candles and smaller hives that had a set of larvae waiting to turn into killer drones. Approaching the entrapped Spinner was the Insect Queen who smiled at him as she was studying his body appearance to that of his growling at her.
"You know, I never had someone come to my hive before. It's often the other way around since I have to lure in my prey here to then eat them, might have a bit of fun but I'm usually interested in getting a meal. You? I think I might want to eat first, never had fish food before. Especially, that fish stick you have packed in your pants."
The insect woman talked about how fit his body appeared and noticed that there was a body part that caught her attention. Unsure of how to react to the Insect Queen and her interest in his body, they heard a rumbling sound coming from the hive as it showed the right side of the woman's room melting. Moving back to see it fully melted, it showed a surprising sight of backup which came in the form of Kite Man and Golden Glider who were accompanied by Slobster and Volcana who noticed their colleague on the bed with Insect Queen hovering above him.
"I thought you said he was stealing a body. That bug lady looks like the one who's trying to steal."
Slobster asked Glider about what Spinner and Fables was up to which Kite Man questioned as well since it looked like the Seaviate was going get lucky with the Insect Queen. Hissing at the intruders invading her hive, the queen lets out a powerful screech that forces the larvae around her to break free from their hives and force them to change into drones. Pointing at the four intruders that they were intruders, the drones flew directly at them as they swarmed over the four and attempted to sting and poison them. Meanwhile, the queen focused her attention on Spinner and rips off his shirt to see his exposed chest.
"Lady. I need to tell you this right now, I haven't been with anyone for a long time. Since I'm not interested in having a relationship since the women I've met in this city are bat shit crazy and filled with murderous intent!"
He shouted at the queen in the hopes that it scares her off and give him the chance to break free from the webbing that was on his arms and legs. It only made the insect woman attracted to him as she showed him her mandibles and preparing to take a bite out of him. With the chaos ensuring and everyone busy, it was stopped by the sound of something breaking in one of the queen's rooms as it caused the group to look at what happened where they saw a figure stepping out of the room. It was the Fable who had attached her head back onto her headless body and strutting herself to the fight that was happening in the bedroom.
"Murderous intent? Nah, that's for the usual crazies in Gotham City. There aren't women like me in this city, let me give you an example."
Fables responded to Spinner's comment as she opens up her enchanted book to summon a horde of mice that came from Cinderella's story. They appeared innocent looking to the group before changing their appearance to small mercenaries as they pulled out a set of miniature bows and arrows. The queen snapped her fingers as the mice fired their arrows at the Insect Queen's drones which killed them on impact. Looking over at the orange-haired woman above Spinner, she pointed at the hole Volcana made and forced her to leave before she lets out another fairy tale character and had them kill her.
"And don't let the wax hit your ass on the way out!"
She shouted at the runaway bug before looking over at Spinner to see him upset at him being captured easily and was about to be eaten alive. The others wanted to intervene on the moment but wanted to see how this would play out amongst the two.
"I could have handled her by myself, I have a nose that can drill a hole through her face."
"You were too busy on ogling at her skinny ass body that you weren't able to use it. Bet you couldn't get it up if she gave you the chance."
Responding to the swordfish about being distracted by the insect woman on top of him and being unable to perform since he brought up about not being with a person he would want to be intimate with. This caused the Seaviate to start an argument with Fable about how he could handle himself in a fight to that of pleasuring a woman. The two continued to argue amongst themselves while not paying attention to Kite Man and the others who were cleaning off the dead bugs that were on them.
"Guys? While I'm glad that you both were able to work together on accomplishing this feat, I think you should have run this by me since we're friends and all. Along with it could draw unwanted attention from the wrong folks and could ruin the reputation of our bar."
Kite Man spoke about that while their teamwork was amazing in saving them from being devoured by a horde of bugs, he should have been informed about this caper. It sadly wasn't heard as Fable and Spinner's moment went from arguing to that of kissing since it seemed to have turn them from the bickering. The four watched how the swordfish started to rip off the queen's clothes to that of Fable removing Spinner's pants as it was clear sign of them needing to leave. Kite Man and the gang decided to head out of the former Insect Queen's lair and leave the pair to have their personal moment, while thinking about how he could keep his people at Noonan's together so they don't jeaprodize the business.
