Londyn grimaced as she rewatched the video on her monitor. On the screen an elephant covered in flames rampaged through the streets of New Delhi. Icy Rose stood before and tried to trap the beast in a giant glacier. She then began to tremble and spots of frost appeared all over her. The girl suddenly collapsed as the glacier shattered.
If it weren’t for the timely intervention by Wonder Knight, Icy Rose could have been seriously injured, or even killed. Even now she rested in the med-bay of the ILS Mobile HQ. Londyn turned to the other woman in the room.
“What do you think? Can you help her?”
Dr. Ueda smiled at Londyn as she scanned Londyn’s notes on Icy Rose’s profile.
“I believe I can. In fact, this is excellent timing for one of my other patients. I will need your approval for this though.”
Londyn raised an eyebrow but she nodded. Dr. Ueda hadn’t let her down thus far, so if she thought they were ready, then they were. And honestly…she needed Icy Rose back in the fight. But not if she was going to kill herself in her desperation to make things right.
“I’ll make the arrangements once you talk with Rose.”
Dr. Ueda nodded and flickered away.
Constanza stopped at the door. Dr. Ueda stopped at the side and turned with a soft smile on her face.
“How are you feeling?”
Constanza closed her eyes.
“I’m…fine…I just…need a minute.”
Dr. Ueda nodded.
“Take your time.”
Constanza placed hand over her beating heart and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes once more.
“Let’s go.”
She opened the door and stepped in. It was a small office with two armchairs and one wooden chair set up. A man stood by the window looking out it. He turned around, his eyes quivering as his gaze landed on Constanza. His shoulders drooped, his head started to drop before he caught it and held her gaze.
“Constanza…”
“Hello, Icy Falcon.”
The man gave her a sad smile.
“...I don’t deserve that name anymore.”
Constanza crossed her arms and looked away as she moved to one of the armchairs.
“You will always be the Icy Falcon to me, sir.”
Icy Falcon took a deep breath and then moved to the other armchair, eyes on his feet. Dr. Ueda silently took the wooden chair and waited. Icy Falcon took another breath and looked up, looking Constanza in the eye.
“Constanza…I’m sorry.”
Constanza hugged her sides and looked down and to the side.
“...don’t be. I’m the one who’s sorry. You were Mexico’s hero…and I messed it up. If I hadn’t been there…if I hadn’t gotten involved…you never would have…”
“With respect, Constanza, that’s wrong. This was my mistake, my failure. Don’t you dare place that on yourself.”
“But…”
Icy Falcon took a deep breath.
“Look, Constanza. I was in a dark place, even before you met me. What happened was not your fault. The choices I made…the things I was doing…what happened was going to happen, regardless. In fact, it was you who made me realize what I had become. If anything…you saved me. My only regret is that you were hurt in the process.”
She slowly looked up at him. He held her gaze, this time without wavering.
“But not once did I ever regret bringing you on board. It was my honor to have taught you. And I couldn’t be prouder that you rose above my mistakes, of who you have become.”
Constanza felt her chest tighten and her eyes moisten. And she felt her body lighten, as if a dark cloud hanging over her had started to fade.
“Do you…do you mind if we talk some more?”
Icy Falcon smiled at her.
“It would be my pleasure.”
The pair talked for a long time after that. Neither of them noticed when Dr. Ueda slipped out of the room, a smile on her face.
Somewhere else in the world, Bob froze and held his head. He didn’t know why. He had no reason to think this. But for some reason…somehow…he suddenly felt extremely annoyed at Londyn.
“Good afternoon, all you denizens of the planet Earth. This is GNN and I’m your host, Brendan Baird, bringing you all the updates you need. Today we’re talking about the only thing everyone’s talking about: the ongoing crisis, and we have breaking news! Today we have a special guest: Dr. Maximilian Fraser from the ILS. The ILS believes they have isolated a cause, which Dr. Fraser is here to tell us about today. Dr. Fraser, thank you for coming.”
“Thank you for having me, Brendan.”
“Well, Dr. Fraser, I hear the ILS has some insight into the current crisis?”
“That’s right Brendan. We’ve isolated a compound in the upper atmosphere. After comparing it to some of our records, we’ve identified it as an experimental super-soldier serum.”
“Goodness, how did something like that get into the atmosphere?”
“That’s still unclear, Brendan. What we do know is we found a devastated chemical factory at the origin point. Local fishermen mention a waterspout recently.”
“So this all happened because of some sort of accident?”
“Possibly, but we can’t say for certain.”
“Would it be possible then, to remove it from the atmosphere?”
“Unfortunately no. Perhaps if it were caught earlier but at this stage it is too widespread for any practical method to make a noticeable impact.”
“Unfortunate. Since it seems this serum is here to stay, can you tell us more about the compound itself?”
“From what we can tell it causes rapid genetic mutation. We are still unpacking exactly how it works but what we know is this, it causes massive changes and the development of new organs in the target.”
“Meaning?”
“In layman’s terms, they become supers.”
“Wow, couldn’t something like that be dangerous?”
“Hypothetically, but from what we can tell there haven’t been any sort of negative reaction thus far. The process itself seems quite painful but fortunately the side effects are temporary and only last for a few moments in every documented case.”
“Well that’s a relief. Now on to the question on everyone’s mind: why is there so much violence? Is there anything in the serum that might shed some light on the recent chaos?”
“There is, in fact.”
“Oh?”
“From what we can tell, the serum does have a side effect on the subject's personality.”
“So people are being changed into villains and monsters?”
“Not quite. The serum seems to have an amplifying effect on personality, not a transformative effect. It takes everything about a person and turns it up. So good becomes great, bad, becomes worse. Likewise, it intensifies their emotional experiences, especially in the period immediately after the transformation. Combined with the magnified personality traits and dramatic physical changes, it is no wonder we’re seeing an increase in violent outbursts.”
“I see, and what about the animals?”
“The serum was designed to work on humans and so has an unpredictable effect on the behavior of affected animals, but as we’ve all seen increased aggression is quite common.”
“This is all quite worrying, I must say. Is there anything we can do?”
“Not about the serum, but the ILS is working hard to contain the violence and rehabilitate the affected individuals. The ILS is continuing to construct shelters in major cities, so I advise all individuals to research the closest shelter in case of an emergency.”
Several figures gathered around a table in a dark room. There was an old man in flashy purple robes and a pointed hat, a humanoid hippopotamus standing on its rear legs, a pale white woman with four pairs of red eyes and black spider legs coming from her back, a woman in a lab coat with frazzled hair and flanked by, a dark-skinned man in a cape, a man in a suit with red and white stripes that continued onto his face and a candy cane staff, and a massive three-headed dog with red eyes and black fur. At the head of the table sat a middle-age man in an expensive suit, flanked by two men in suits and white, featureless masks. The man at the head took a sip of a drink before he began to speak.
“I’m sure you all are wondering why I’ve invited you here. Much as I’m sure most of you would like to tear my face off. I can sympathize, there is something refreshing about unspeakable violence, is there not? I only ask that you hear me out to the end.”
The hippopotamus growled at the man. “Then speak quickly, I grow hungry.”
“Very well. We have many faces gathered here. Supergeniuses. Billionaires. Mercenaries. People who do not like to be tied down by society’s chains. We even have those that society has labeled as ‘villains’, and some among us who were never human to begin with. There is very little we have in common. But there is one thing that all of us can agree upon.”
“And what’s that?”
The man at the head smiled darkly.
“Heroes…are so annoying.”
There were nods and growls around the table.
“All of us, no matter what we look like, no matter what we can do, will be hunted down and slaughtered without mercy by those ‘heroes of justice.’ And should we proceed as we have, each standing on our own, then alone we shall fall. So I had a simple thought: if the heroes have a league, should we not have a league of our own?”
The caped, dark-skinned man raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t take orders, least of all from an inferior such as yourself.”
The man at the head shook his head.
“Nor should you. I do not envision something has…restrictive as the ILS, where all the power of the world follows the command of a single woman. I see this more as…an understanding between equals. An agreement to lend a hand to those in need. And an agreement that we should all focus on the common threat, until the day comes that we each are free to do as we please.”
The figures at the table glanced at one another. There were some murmured whispers as they rubbed their chins, minds running through their calculations. The man at the head made a small grin. One by one, the figures turned to him and nodded.
“That is…acceptable.”
“If divided we fall…I suppose we have no choice but to stand together.”
“...we’ll see how this goes, human. But know that you are, and will always be, our prey.”
“So what are we calling this…league of our own? Some sort of league of villains?”
“How about an injustice league? Poke some fun at the heroes.”
“I always thought of myself as a dark avenger, righting the wrongs from the shadows.”
The man at the head shook his head.
“I propose we keep things simple. Since we are not interested in the restrictions of the league, let’s not follow their example. Let us have a simple Association for Villains and Superbeings. For we are associated, and nothing more.”
The group murmured and nodded at that. They began to move the conversation along, discussing the next steps. And finally, each departed, going their separate ways until their next meeting.
The spider woman smiled to herself as her spider legs carried her down a dark tunnel..
“My my, I’m getting a bit excited. I feel this development has great…potential.”
Her grin grew wide and she scuttled off into the darkness. She would need to make plans if she were to take full advantage of this…association.
In another dark hall walked a man in a mask. He held his head as the pounding within it grew. The villain organizations he could handle. Magic one might be a bit tricky. The crazy…well he’d manage somehow. But how on Earth was he supposed to infiltrate a band of monsters?!
This might be…a tad annoying.
