The Serpent League

by Brendan Walsh

  “It doesn’t matter.” The dying animal man resumed. “I could feel your intentions. It was something so primal and evolutionary, I’m sure even our brothers and sisters miles away felt the warmth of your sacrifice.” Jacob smiled weakly, and raising his wet and bloodied hand again, he lathered more of his blood across his face. “In the name of the new world, I anoint you as one of us. I sincerely hope you survive the changes you’re about to undergo.”

  The gang couldn’t hold off anymore. Lindsey was the first to stop whatever curse or spell the fallen Jacob was trying to put on her father. Patrick and Slate grabbed him from under the arms, avoiding the bloodstains that had pooled on the backside of his purple uniform.

  His daughter wiped the blackened blood off his face. Some of it was stuck, printed on John’s face as if it were a birthmark.

  “Snap out of it, Dad!” she shouted.

  Patrick and Slate cradled her father’s head with their hands. Recovering from his injuries from the Serpent Leaguers, Edgar had risen to his feet.

  The bat began to use his wings to swat the excess blood off the detective’s chest.

  “Careful, buddy,” Patrick said. “No need to go on getting yourself poisoned. And we need to get out of here, now!”

  “We need to tell Gary about this.” Lindsey wrapped her arms around her dad’s shoulders. “He needs to be taken away. He needs to be taken to the hospital!”

  “Lin, I don’t think there’s anything a hospital could do for him.” Slate replied. “This stuff may as well be alien.”

  “The hospital is sure as hell better than sticking around here for this blood stuff to continue doing its damage! Patrick, get Gary’s attention. We’re going to need to use those watches of yours to poof us out of here.”

  There was no time to lose. Slate took a second to shoot Gary a text, since Patrick’s was broken. It simply read NOW, which he was certain Gary would be able to decipher. Gary and his team must have gotten a similar resolution to their Serpent League problem, because Gary was ready to watch-beam out in a matter of seconds.

  Patrick gathered everyone close. Lindsey, her sick father, Slate, and Edgar formed a circle around him and had dematerialized out of the battle-torn police station as the pocket watch reached maximum temperature and the mechanical hands reached peak speed.

  But one of them was left back. Edgar blinked confusedly as he was the only member of the gang left.

  Then he realized one of the Serpent Leaguers had their hand on his foot.

  None of his friends were left, and Edgar was just standing there staring at the dying animal woman who was holding his ankle as if she were hovering over a building.

  “You, bat,” she said weakly. She was seemingly trying not to choke on something. “you, forget about the humans.”

  Edgar wanted to say something. He wanted to tell her to go to hell and that he would go there himself before he was subjected to any treatment from them because of what they did to Hunter and what they tried to do to his friends. But all he could do is blink and hold his mouth ajar.

  “The attacks all over the country.” she continued. “It was never about knocking off the police. We don’t care about them. And it was never about getting your humans out from hiding. It was about you. It was so obviously about you.”

  His ears twitched. He could tell the beating of her heart was growing faint. Before it was gone for good, she dug into an inner pocket of her black and purple uniform and took out a small tuft of paper.

  She held her arm out to him. It quaked as if the slip of paper weighed a ton. “Take this. Go to where it tells you. We know you’re dying. If you want to have real meaning to your fantastic existence, do what the damn thing tells you.”

  In another two breaths, the woman was gone. The room was still vacant, with every other police officer either dead or gone calling for help. The giant bat was all that was left.

  Not knowing what else to do, Edgar shoved the paper into his mouth and took off from the entrance to the station. He would take a look at the message when he met back with Gary and the gang. He knew this would be another thing he didn’t tell them about. Hiding things from his friends was making him uncomfortable, but they wouldn’t understand. No human would understand.

  10

  Reunion

  It was a mess, and it was the longest the team had gone without everyone together since their start. The Raven Gang was divided.

  After the incident at the one police station, along with the one where Guajardo and Hunter were stationed, everyone met at the nearest hospital to deliver Lindsey’s father to the emergency room. They told the doctors that the detective had been poisoned. It probably wasn’t far from the truth, as none of them knew what the blood of the Serpent Leaguers was truly capable of. It didn’t matter. All they wanted was for the doctors to use any equipment they had to purge the fatal blood out of her father’s system. And if worst came to worse, their life-support machines would get some use.

  Lindsey and Slate were at the hospital with him. Jane was there as well, returning to her job as an assistant until they could come up with a new plan. It was easy for her to return to work, as briefly as it would be, because his cousin had yet to have been associated with the Raven Gang. As to her absence, she managed an excuse.

  Patrick felt sick. With the whole mess of crap happening, things were looking downer than ever. Morale was low, Edgar was acting like a moody preteen, and they weren’t any closer to solving the mysteries of the Serpent League.

  And BJ was M.I.A. When they regrouped after the attacks on the police stations, she was nowhere to be found. Everyone assumed she had transformed into a hawk and took to the skies, maybe with a transformed agenda.

  At least they still had Edgar.

  Johnny and Gary were worried that the League, considering their omnipotence thus far, knew about their hideout in the basement of the Bronstrom building in DC, so they didn’t want to return. It was then Patrick proposed to them an alternative. It had been many days since they last set foot in their little cabin of wonders in the outskirts of San Francisco. To their luck, it was still as they had left it.

  “Ah, home sweet home.” Johnny said.

  He flicked on the lights. Everything seemed to be just as they left it. The two bean bag chairs still were sunken in from being sat in, their coffee maker was still plugged in, and Patrick assumed that their leftovers from their one merry gathering from Gary and Edgar’s happy thievery were still on the far counter.

  Despite the dire situation, it did feel nice to be back.

  “We may be minus a few people, but this ‘Cabin in the Woods’ novelty is still cozy.” Gary said.

  Off to the side, Patrick let out a couple laughs.

  “What is it?” Johnny asked.

  “Oh, nothing.” He brushed off his smile. “You’ve just changed, Gary. And you’ve changed, Johnny. Hell, I guess we’re all not the same after everything. And how could we be?”

  Gary smiled before replying. Patrick saw a sadness in it. “Definitely. But that’s a good thing, isn’t it? Didn’t someone once say that new experiences were good for the soul? If that’s true, then our souls must be freshly enriched from having one-of-a-kind adventures like we’ve had.”

  “Befriending a giant bat and fighting werewolves and gryphons is definitely worth about a thousand life points.” Johnny smiled.

  Speaking of the giant bat, Patrick turned to look over at their friend in the corner. Edgar was crouched with his wings folded over his torso. Fighting the Serpent League had done a number on him. The bat blinked and twitched his ears, paying attention to their conversation like he usually did. But Patrick could see something else in him. He’d gotten to know his body language very well.

  “This isn’t right,” Patrick rose from his seat. “we should be with Slate, Lindsey, and Jane at the hospital.”

  The other two looked at him. With their looks of uncertainty, Edgar would probably have spoken before they did.

  “Come on
, guys,” he continued. “I don’t like the feeling of being separated by other members of the gang.”

  Johnny grimaced. “I don’t like it any more than you do, but do you also realize Slate is jeopardizing himself by being there with Lindsey and her father?”

  “Everyone knows who we are now, Patrick.” Gary added. “I think Lindsey and Jane are safe, but the four of us are still in deep shit.”

  “Maybe, but have you heard how people have been talking about us lately? With Elder nowhere to be found, many people are thinking that we’re the heroes.” Patrick said.

  “But that’s not all,” Johnny replied. “this whole business lately has also been about two things: keeping off the Serpent League’s radar and protecting Edgar. After the police station there’s no doubt that poor Eddie has been on every television in the country, and there’s nothing we can do to change that.”

  He shot the bat a look again after his name was said. Edgar’s head was down, looking at the floor at his feet. Pensive.

  “If this is about those ‘episodes’ you’ve been having, you don’t have to worry about it.” Gary said, leaning forward. “We’ll still be able to help you. It might just be us three to help, but that’s more than enough. I think it seems worse in your head.”

  Patrick grew silent. He wanted to argue with Gary and tell him that it was certainly not his anxiety that was the source of his compassion for Slate, Lindsey and her father. But even he wasn’t sure about that. It could be just him being selfish.

  A few unpleasant memories of his feud with Gary surfaced. It suddenly felt like his stomach was sinking. All he knew was that he didn’t want to have another ‘episode’ with his father’s pocket watch anymore.

  A faint click! sounded from behind on of the cabin walls. It was the wall right behind where the bookcase was.

  Or, as they knew it, the stairway that led to Edgar’s hidden computer base.

  The bat was the first to hear it. Edgar sprang out from his crouched position like a jungle tiger, leaping in front of Patrick, Gary, and Johnny. His wings were outstretching like an angel’s as he went into full protective mode. The three humans behind him wanted to see what was causing the noise, so they peeked their heads over the bat’s outstretched wings.

  Whatever was behind the locked door sounded like dozens of angry raccoons trying to gnaw their way to freedom. Scratching was the most obvious sound. After all the scratches, the metal nob was turned.

  There was a pause after the sound of the heavy door swinging open. After that was the creek of the bookcase. Several books tumbled off the shelves from the sudden swing from behind, and the gang saw a blond man in a black coat step out from behind the shelves.

  “You!” Johnny shouted.

  Patrick was surprised Edgar didn’t bite the man in half right then and there.

  “Yes, children, I’m aware I’m not the man you want meeting you again.” Elder replied.

  “What are you doing in our cabin?” Patrick asked. “How did you even get locked in there?”

  “Remember my nifty teleportation technology with the gryphons from our big battle?” Elder asked. “It might not be as interesting as the way your watches do it, though. I still have a little bit. I just happened to have teleported myself to the basement instead of the cabin. I somewhat got locked inside…” He turned his eyes from the humans to Edgar, who was still standing in front of them like a parent. “Hello again, Subject Zero.”

  “No need to talk to him, pal.” Gary folded one of the bat’s wings back over his chest, easing him away. “Edgar can’t speak anyway, but I have an idea of some of the things he would say to you.”

  “Yeah, like maybe take a look in the mirror.” Patrick said. “Looks like you haven’t shaven in weeks, doctor. And doesn’t seemed like you’ve changed your clothes since the ‘big battle’ either.”

  “Cut me some slack. I’m a wanted man.”

  “Why come here?” Johnny asked. “Why come here at all?”

  “I watched the news. You guys are basically on every channel.” He looked at Edgar again. “Him more than any of you.”

  Edgar blinked twice, seemingly in annoyance, before hopping into the air and flying out the door.

  “Anybody want to go check on him?” Patrick said.

  Gary looked over to the door and sighed. “I think he’s just being angsty again. If he’s not back in fifteen, I’ll go see him.” He returned his gaze to the doctor. “You think we’ve forgotten everything you’ve done? Everything you tried to do? Give us one good reason why we shouldn’t tie you up in giftwrap and leave you at the government’s doorstep?”

  “After everything you’ve done,” Patrick added. “what we know about Elder Inc. and your hand in the death of Black, Mr. and Mrs. Frost, and my father, why should we listen to another damn word you say?”

  “It’s actually pretty simple.” said Elder. “I believe we have a common enemy: The Serpent League.”

  11

  The Invited

  It had gotten cool outside. Not as cool as the snowy outside of Washington DC, but still cool. Edgar didn’t know what to do. Of course, he wasn’t going to go out flying. Apparently his chiropteran face was all over the news as it was. He didn’t want to drag any more attention to himself.

  Any more would also put his friends on edge as well. Perhaps they cared about him too much.

  A soft rustling caused his ear to move. It was softer than a breeze against a falling snowflake, but he heard it. Once the initial sound passed, the sound of four feet pounding against the dirt came. Next the bat heard the creature’s breathing along with the rhythm of its tail swishing back and forth as it ran.

  So when the lion leaped out of the darkness and faced him, Edgar was already looking into her eyes.

  “Damn,” the lioness said. “just once I’d like to feel like I could successfully hunt you.”

  Edgar showed her some teeth in response.

  “I can sense you’re in a sour mood,” BJ replied. “so your jest is appreciated.”

  He hadn’t noticed it at first, but as she moved closer, Edgar saw that she wasn’t talking telepathically anymore. Her feline jaw was moving up and down, human-like.

  She saw the surprise in the bat’s yellow eyes. “This ability? Is this what’s got you?” she let out a human laugh. “It’s a new trick I learned, which brings me to why I’m here.” BJ took a few steps closer to him. Even on four feet, her lioness form could meet him eye-to-eye. “I wanted to wait until I had you alone, bat boy. This is serious now.”

  Her color started to fade. Her lion form followed right after, as her shape molded back onto its haunches. The bat watched the formless blob retreat until new limbs grew out of its sides with a head on top. The last thing that returned was her hair color. It was a very human brunette color. That was new too.

  “The police station.” she began. “the two of us were separated. Somehow I think that that’s what the Serpent League’s plan was all along.”

  Edgar wanted to reply, but he wasn’t under Elder’s technological bubble anymore. He couldn’t access the speaking devices in his head. And body language wasn’t going to suffice with this conversation.

  Her clothes had returned to their black with purple pinstripes shooting down the sleeves and pants. She dug her hand into an inside breast pocket and handed him a notepad with a pencil in between the spirals.

  “Here. I need to have a real conversation with you. Use this to reply to me.”

  The bat took the pad in his teeth, softly depositing the pencil onto the tip of his wing. With a twist of his neck he had the pad in his other wing and the pencil tight with one of his big fangs.

  “Ready?” She asked. Edgar nodded. “The Serpent League told you something, didn’t they?”

  His eyes widened. Edgar saw that she knew the answer from the look in his eyes, so he didn’t bother writing anything.

  “What did they tell you?”

  He quickly put it to paper, aiming to still make it l
egible. When he finished, it read ‘They told me that the whole thing with the police was all for me’.

  She took it from him and her eyes devoured his words. She must have been able to read it, because afterwards she said, “They said the same thing to me.” She paused for a second, not facing the bat’s eyes. “You and me. We’re different. We must have some connection to this strange group. And it must be something that goes beyond my lineage, and my father’s experiments on you and me. Two more questions: Did one of them touch you? Did they give you an address to go to?”

  Edgar returned to his composing. This message had more words than the last one, so it took a few seconds longer. With his teeth doing the writing a few globs of slobber drenched the page. It read, ‘One of them grabbed my foot as they told me the first thing. After that, they did give me an address. I haven’t been there, but something tells me that you took up their offer. Why else would you have disappeared afterwards?’.

  She read it fine, despite Edgar’s drool on the page. “You’re right. My curiosity got the best of me. Listen,” She leaned in closer to him, as if fearing the Serpent League were listening. “Don’t go see them. They might have taught me a few new tricks, but they are bad. You might think they make good arguments, but they’re just playing to your insecurities. They’re…”

  BJ stopped when she noticed Edgar blink several times and shake his head and then continue writing again.

  “What is it?”

  The bat shook his head a few more times with the pen in his mouth. ‘Your father is here’ it read.

  BJ’s eyes remained steady. After contemplating the words, she gave a sigh.

  “I’m not surprised.” she brushed her hand dismissively. “His life is pretty much destroyed, and he surely doesn’t have many more moves left up his sleeve.”