Marian’s
world was black, save for the two red eyes staring at her. Around the glowing
eyes a form slowly took shape and a fiery serpent opened its jaws to engulf her
whole. She tried to scream, tried to move, but all Marian could do was stare
into the abyss as the fangs closed around her, holding her in a perpetual state
of paralyzing fear. She was mildly aware of something pushing against her body,
but the touch seemed so distant. The faint view of the room around her spun,
and the floor came up to meet her cheek gently. The cold floorboards made the
entire view fade to a blue tint, and the snake’s flaming breath turned to steam
in the chill air. Marian imagined curling herself up into a tiny ball to try and
hide from the snake, but it’s hissing filled her head, causing her to scream in
silence for peace.
Tony
took the punch across his jaw, swinging a counter-attack and colliding with the
attacker. The man fell into a heap, but was replaced just as quickly. Tony did
not have super strength, but he was still in prime condition, and had enough
fighting experience to hold his own against a few common thugs. Unfortunately,
he had already fought through a few thugs, and was now getting overwhelmed.
Every second that went by added to his dread; this was the first time in his
life since his super speed manifested that he felt completely powerless. He
knew he needed Marian to win this fight, but he had no idea how to break her
from Snake’s spell.
Marian
felt someone trip and fall over her. She tried to look at who it was, but she
could not tear herself from the glowing eyes of the serpent. Then she felt a
hand under her arm, and the room spun again until the floor was underneath her
again. She could make out muffled sounds of yelling and chaos, but the details
were drowned out by the ever present hissing. Suddenly, the glowing eyes
snapped shut, and the spell was broken.
Instinctively
Marian crouched, sweeping her legs and knocking down the two men at either side
of her. She looked ahead at where the eyes were, only to see Tony lying on the
ground; his back arched and screams of pain ripping from his mouth. Snake Eyes
stood over him, delivering kick after kick.
“Snake!”
Marian yelled as she ran across the room, knocking through another guard. Snake
looked up and tore off his glasses, but Marian knew better this time. She spun
on her heel and kicked back, hitting him right in the gut and sending him into
the wall. Two more guards jumped at her, but she caught one by the wrists and
flung him over her shoulder, throwing him into the other.
Her
attention turned back to Snake, who was standing up slowly. “You think you can
beat me, little girl?” His voice hissed through his clenched teeth, sending
shivers down Marian’s spine. His eyes shone bright red, although Marian avoided
direct eye contact with him. “You have my venom in your mind already, it won’t
take much more to wear you down.”
“Then
I don’t have any time to waste!” Marian yelled as she leaped forward. Snake dodged
the attack and kneed Marian in the stomach, but she recovered quickly, elbowing
him in the jaw. The two fighters traded blows as the henchmen gathered
themselves together, waiting for the signal to jump in and help.
Steve’s
phone seemed louder in the quiet hospital room than normal. “Hello,” he
answered, his tone a flat sound conveying the sorrow he was feeling.
“Steve,”
the doctor’s voice sounded sympathetic, “first and foremost, I am sorry. I
heard about what happened, and it is truly a shame. I hope she pulls through
this.”
“Thank
you,” Steve muttered, barely audible.
“But
I have good news. The first batch of antidote was created faster than I
estimated and was a complete success. As we speak, agents are adding the liquid
antidote into the city’s water system. No harm will come to those who had not
taken the drug, but for those who did, the reversal will be, uncomfortable, to
say the least. The drug was a mutagen that modified the taker’s molecular
structure. That is why there weren’t any criminals flying or spitting fire; the
drug could only mutate the physical body, with a warped mind as a side effect.
But everybody needs to drink, and with the antidote spreading through the city,
the mutated ruffians will soon be a thing of the past.”
Once
Dr. Lopnol was finished with his explanation, Steve sighed in relief. “Thank
you again for all your help, doctor. I really don’t know what we would have
done without you. This is one big problem that has finally been solved.”
Now if only I knew how Marian and Tony were
doing, Steve thought as he hung up the phone and looked out the window.
Marian
landed on the floor and sprung back into action without a second’s hesitation.
Snake had stumbled back into the wall after she kicked him in the face with a
roundhouse kick. Her punch hit him hard in the gut, and he fell to his knees in
front of her. Before she could kick him again, the henchmen attacked, grabbing
her arms and pulling her away. Twisting her body, she shifted her weight and
threw one of the men over her shoulder. He went crashing into Snake, and a loud
popping sound went off in the room. In the blink of an eye, the rest of the
henchmen were blown back, either throw into the walls or just slammed into the
ground. Marian spun around to see Tony standing behind her, his face red with
pain and a smile on his face.
“Looks
like whatever was stopping my speed was just broken,” he laughed.
Marian
turned back to Snake, who had pushed the henchman off him and stood up,
although he was leaning against the wall. A small trickle of blood came from
the corner of his mouth.
“This
isn’t over,” he said panting.
“That’s
what they all say, right before it is,” Tony mocked.
A
hateful scowl broke across Snake’s face, and he screeched at the two heroes.
His eyes gleamed out, shining with supernatural intensity. Marian and Tony both
had to look away, and in that momentary blindness they heard a window shatter.
They ran over to the broken third story window and looked out, but all they
could see on the street was the glass pieces and a little bit of blood.
“Dammit!”
Tony cursed. “We had him! I can’t believe he-”
“Don’t
say it, Tony,” Marian said, “Don’t you dare make a snake joke.”
“Fine,”
Tony said, a smile breaking across his face. “But hey, we won. Just me and you.
That’s pretty damn cool, huh?”
Marian
looked back into the room at the dozen men lying on the ground. “Yeah, I guess
it is.” She looked back out the window. “But I’m not going to stop looking for
him til we get him for good, Tony. Not after what happened to Natalie.”
“Yeah,”
Tony agreed, and no more was needed to be said. They walked back to the first
floor, meeting the police officers who just arrived and handling the situation
like professionals.
Down
in the sewers, the cries of humans reverting back to their powerless forms
could be heard echoing down the tunnels. In a particularly clean and well-kept
room, an older man sat in the shadows, his features obscured by darkness.
Across the table sat Snake Eyes, bruised but alive, and healing fast.
“You
lost to them,” the older man said, his voice a flat, emotionless tone.
“If
your shitty tech wouldn’t have broken so easily, Bullet wouldn’t have come back
to the rescue.” Snake argued back. “And if your damn drug wouldn’t have been so
addictive there wouldn’t have been so many dopers constantly harassing and
following me around! Do you know how hard it is to stay in the shadows when
you’ve got a mile long line of addicts beating down your door?”
“Oh?
You mean that thing everyone is calling Fang?” The man chuckled, “Funny how you
took credit for it.”
“Hey
man, you wanted to be invisible in this whole thing. You needed me for a front
man, and now I’m out of men and supplies.”
“Which
is why I only gave you the ‘shitty’ equipment. I was testing to see if you could
work with anything given to you. You disappointed me, which does not put you in
a good position.”
Snake
looked around nervously before continuing. “Give me another chance, I’ll make
it up to you. Give me another batch of Fang, and we can do it better this
time.”
“I
think not. The antidote is already in the water supply.” The man paused,
brushing his mustache. “You will get your chance, but the drug was just an
experiment. The first phase, if you will. I have the information I wanted, and
I believe it is now time to start phase two.”
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