Chapter 9: Ladies and Germs

Contagioness

                I parked the car in the underground parking garage beneath S.H.O.V.E.L. headquarters, and we all got out.  On our way into the facility we tried not to notice the empty parking spot that belonged to the stolen car, as if not looking at it would keep Super Demon Baby unaware of its absence.

                I was mad at Vertigo, but that didn’t stop me from worrying.  I didn’t want her or any of the others dead, and it seemed like the new authority favored the death penalty.  Just ask my sister. 

                We silently entered the building from the underground entrance that lead directly into the trap room.  Waiting for us at the end of it stood the Proliferator with his arms crossed. 

                “Super Demon Baby would like to see you in his office,” he said, multiplying by five to escort us.  There was a solemn look on his faces.

                Surrounded by the Proliferator, we marched toward the office silently.  The feeling of dread in the air was almost suffocating.  When we arrived at the door, the Proliferator knocked three times.

                “Come in,” said that deep voice, more disturbing now than ever.

                We entered.  I had never been in this office before, but I had a feeling it had changed a lot since it belonged to Eugene Erickson.  Once my eyes adjusted to the dim light, the first things I noticed were the bugs.  Ants, spiders, centipedes, and many others practically blanketed the walls, the floor, the furniture, and the ceiling.  I saw a several crosses on the wall that had been turned upside down. However, the vilest thing of all was the smell.  It was a strong odor, like a combination of some rotting old dead thing, the tang of fresh blood, and sulfur.  It was enough to make me gag.

                “Who would care to explain to me what happened?” 

                I shivered and turned to find Super Demon Baby crawling down the wall from the ceiling.  He sat in a chair behind a large desk and stared at us.

                “Speak!” he demanded.

                We looked at each other.  There was no way I was talking for them.  I hadn’t even been on the mission.

                “We, um, uh… The… Well, the car was stolen… sir,” the clerk informed him uncomfortably.

                “The car was stolen,” Super Demon Baby repeated slowly.  “Now how does a thing like that happen?  Four young, healthy individuals, with superpowers, go out on a simple mission, and manage to have a car stolen, presumably by normal people?”

                “We got the toys, sir,” offered the clerk.

                “I DON’T CARE IF YOU GOT THE TOYS!  A CAR IS WORTH A LOT MORE THAN TOYS, YOU IMBECILE!” exclaimed the infant, insects spewing from his mouth. His tiny fists were clenched and he stood on surprisingly steady legs atop his chair. If he weren’t so repugnant I’d have rushed over and removed him from such a dangerous situation. The evil mastermind, a baby? It was difficult to comprehend.

                Super Demon Baby fixed his stare on me. “You are not a part of this. You may go,” he dismissed, before adding, “Although you might want to say your goodbyes now, girl.” Confused, I paused mid-turn to take in what he’d just said. With a gesture towards Vertigo, he commanded, “Ray her! She is to be an example. Besides, the team was one person too big anyway.”

                His infantile eyes seemed to light up as a Proliferator pulled his ray gun from his pocket and aimed at Vertigo. It was finally sinking in that this was happened and I made to drag Vertigo away, however a Proliferator had come up behind me and was now keeping me in place.  The beam glowed and shivered its green noxiousness, entering Vertigo, and I stopped struggling. It was too late, how could I save the already infected? My eyes pooled and I looked away.

                “Whoa,” Vertigo’s voice sighed in relief. I whipped my head up to deliver a scathing remark on the value of life when I noticed she seemed to be suffering none of what my sister suffered. A hot pang struck through my chest and I wasn’t sure if it was happiness she was alive or anger that such an idiot would live while my sister died. Even as I thought it, I knew I didn't mean it. I couldn't even remember what we'd been arguing about and as terrible as it may sound, I wouldn't trade her life for my sister's any day.

                An especially large and cumbersome earwig slowly crawled forth from Super Demon Baby’s slack, open mouth. He quickly recovered himself as he noticed a large string of drool falling from his mouth. A swipe of his arm and it was detached.

                “So, you are immune,” his rumbling voice mused. A gleam had entered his eyes. “Well, Vertigo, I’ve decided to offer you another chance. If you go on a special mission for me, then I will let you and your little friends live. If you fail, well… that’ll be that. I’ve heard of your exploits and that none of you were really going to amount to much so you wouldn’t be missed, I assure you. So. Do you accept this mission?”

                I could see it in her slightly defiant eyes that she didn’t much like what was going on, and who would? However, she stepped forward, looking him right in the eyes.

                “I accept.” Her voice was unwavering and for a moment I felt impressed before remembering that I was supposed to be angry at her and she’s undeserving of my respect.

                “Good, good. You lot,“ he said, gesturing to the rest of us, “except for the germ girl and the bank kid, leave us.”

                Everyone except Vertigo, the clerk, and I filed out. I could see the relief on their faces as they left and wished to be in their shoes for the day.

                “Clerk, you were supposed to monitor the mission and make sure nothing happened. That’s part of why I placed you on their team! For having failed me, it’s the time out chair for you!” He swung an arm in the general direction of a chair with a sign above it saying “Time Out”. There was something a little off about the chair, but before I could figure out what it was Super Demon Baby was speaking again. “I need you, Vertigo, to team up with germ girl over here to get the latest strain of what you ate in your lasagna. The Proliferator will get you maps and supplies. You already know your options by now: accept or death.”

                I hesitated. Our argument hadn't been settled yet and I was still angry, so be paired up with Vertigo? Of all the arrogant people in the world, it just had to be her.

                “I accept,” Vertigo answered. I suddenly felt embarrassed she’d beaten me to the punch.

                “I accept with all of my heart,” I replied with gusto.

                “I don’t care about your heart,” he snarled, “just the mission! Now, off you go. Make haste, you have a week long time limit, and you know what failure means.”

                Suddenly motivated to get going, I left the office with Vertigo right behind me. I turned to her to say that I was still mad, but she spoke first.

                “I’m so glad I didn’t eat that lasagna!”

Author's Note

any review is a great review!

Reviews

[SomeTypeOfArtist]

“Super Demon Baby would like to see you in his office" is a fantastic line, never get rid of it! Don't know why, but it just sounds hilarious. Which is weird, because immediately following I get the first real impression of what an evil guy he is. I don't know if it's because he was targeting one of the main girls or because of the wonderful description of his office, but I feel like this is the first time we get to see how nasty and villainous he is, even despite what's happened already. One thing that threw me off, though, was the line "I wasn’t sure if it was happiness she was alive or anger that such an idiot would live while my sister died." Maybe I'm just cruel, but it's still hard for me to believe that she would be more upset about the death of a sister she just found out she had than the survival of a close friend she's had for years. Maybe I'm looking into it too much, as well, I tend to do that : b But the whole situation makes me think that all three of your protagonists are taking this fight really seriously, maybe a little too seriously. Perhaps you could try showing them what they're really thinking and why they're so upset, or maybe even make the initial fight last longer of be more extreme. Anyway, another great chapter, can't wait for next week!

[selkietales]

Thanks for the review! And lol, I think it's because he's a baby with an office. I sort of fixed that line because I definitely see what you mean, and I made it so she's kind of just mad because no one has said sorry to her. I've had those arguments before, where we have no idea why we're fighting but we just have the sense that the other person is wrong lol.

[SomeTypeOfArtist]

Oh okay, I thought it might have been something like that, but I wasn't sure : )