#plot: fear toxin

[felinesfury]

[Text] Dinner at yours?

She paused from the text.  Bruce.  Someone trusted.  She didn't trust many people.

You shouldn't.

[TEXT]  Yes.  Dinner.  8.

[itsthelettere]

A moment away

Eddie slammed the door, cursing under his breath as he tossed the clean towels into the bathroom and went back to the bed of his hotel room. He'd been out of Gotham for several days now, and he was starting to get anxious. He'd made a considerable dent in his work just by use of his contacts and 'resources'. It was so nice to have someone to do the leg work for him.

Pouring a fresh cup of coffee, he turned on the news as he sat down at the desk to do some more work.

"In other news, Keystone City is still reeling from what can only be described as an attack of fear earlier this week."

"What?" Eddie said aloud to no one, putting on his glasses and looking up at the wall mounted TV.

"Witnesses say that there was pandemonium in the streets, and some police speculate involvement of criminals outside the usual Rogues. People were screaming and rioting, running from things no one else saw. Local hospital admissions skyrocketed. Most notably, our resources say that the city's hero was no where to be seen. This is Linda Park, signing off."

As the news cut back to the studio, Eddie covered his mouth with a trembling hand. Attack of Fear...hallucinations...And the warning he'd gotten to get out of town for a few days.

"Oh Jonathan," he breathed. "What have you done..."

[felinesfury]

In The Night

[After Ollie enlists her help looking for surveillance, and well after the events of this.]

The guards really didn't think much of Selina walking through the Watchtower in full uniform--after all, this was a superhero headquarters--but they did notice.  They noticed the way her hips swung, the way her legs slid past each other, the way her whole body arched as she stretched; that was exactly what she wanted.  She made just enough of a show of getting a snack at the galley and going to her room that she would be seen, but not questioned. "Feel all right, Catwoman?" a guard asked as she opened her door. "Exhausted!  Thought I'd catch a cat nap." "Heh, a catnap since you're dog tired?" Selina laughed easily and slipped into her room, Isis right behind her. "Gurl, dat wasn't funny." "I know, girl."  Selina pushed off from the door and headed for her bed.  "Come on.  We have work to do."

She dropped to the ground and pulled out a suitcase.  When she had first moved up to the Watchtower, she had made a point to bring up her equipment.  One never knows what one might need in this business.  She fitted her goggles with all the lenses she might need, packed her belt, and triggered the signal jammer in her suit.  If she did run into any surveillance equipment, she'd find it before it found her.  Satisfied she had everything she'd need, she undid the grate and shimmied up into the vents.

Lanterns, Manhunters, Arrows, and Bats.

The Lanterns' rooms turned up exactly what was expected, little in the way of personal or professional belongings.  Jordan's room was almost bare except for the built-in furniture; Gardner's room looked barely lived in; Kyle's--surnames only, this is professional--Rayner's room still had some art and scattered around, and certainly the most memories for her; but the new one--shit, there were a lot of these Lanterns crawling about--seemed half unpacked.  She paused in her search to examine it.  Maybe he wasn't unpacking, just organizing.  It occurred to her that he might have just left everything there while he was away.  Keeping your life's possessions in a floating exposed hunk of metal halfway between the Earth and moon that could get attacked at any time--  Selina shivered and crawled back into a vent.  That was certainly not her idea of a place to live.

The Martian's room was next.  Selina had to admit she was a little hesitant to investigate his quarters, him being mind-reader and all who seemed to appear and disappear whenever he felt like it, but he didn't seem to be around, so she gritted her teeth and slipped inside.

Of all the sparse rooms, this was the utmost.  Simple cushions, a stereo, a box of Chocos...all so relatively harmless.  She found nothing untoward in the room, nothing that looked even slightly out of place or suspicious.  That fact alone was making her more anxious by the minute.  Five rooms and she'd found nothing.  No news never meant good news in her world.

As she ran her hand along the stereo cabinet, she pressed into something that made a terrible squelching noise.  "Yeuch!"  She withdrew her hand and examined the strange goop.  Black, tacky, a little like tar, but no tar she'd ever come across.  It didn't seem to be holding anything to the cabinet, just sitting on it.  She put a small sample in a tube and passed it up to Isis in the vent.  Selina wiped off the excess on the cabinet as Isis scurried off back to her room to drop off the tube.  Mollified that there was at least one potential clue found, Selina made her way to Kate's room

Kate kept it neat and efficient, just as Selina expected.  The walls revealed nothing, nor did the floor or ceiling.  Good.  That left more time for the fun part of her job.  She flipped through what files she could find, copying down anything that caught her interest.  She was so engrossed in her search, that she didn't notice the extra slight pressure on her until it reached her waist.

It was that black goop again, oozing up her body from the floor.  The damn thing was sentient!  She clawed at it, the nails of her gloves raking across her suit, but the liquid just spread between her fingers and up her arm.  She dragged herself over the desk, scattering papers everywhere as she fell on the floor, hoping to wriggle away from it somehow, but it climbed faster.  Selina opened her mouth to scream, but was cut off as it covered her face and blocked her air.  She thrashed and bucked, trying to get away, trying to breathe.  Her rushing blood was deafening in her ears and her body spasmed in silent sobs and search for air.  Just as she felt herself start to go limp, the pressure of tiny claws slashed across her hip and the liquid rushed away.  Selina found herself gasping on the floor, Isis at her cheek.

"Mama!  What was that?"

Selina shook her head, unable to speak, and dragged herself to her feet.  She staggered back to the vent, blindly stumbling as she crawled back to her room.  She fell into the shower, turning the water on its hottest setting, and shivered under it.  Her mind was fuzzy, like a gauzy spider's web had wrapped it up.  Isis hopped over and shut off the water, giving Selina a concerned look.  Selina just stepped out and pulled off her suit, looking in the mirror.

Her suit was crumpled on the floor, but the reflection showed her fully clothed.  The blackness covering her writhed gently, humming, almost speaking to her.

Kill.

Destroy.

Before you're next!

"Kill them all," something said through her voice.  "Destroy the League."

[flylikearobin]

[echo] You've already killed more than you can handle.

no.....

No!

[flylikearobin]

[echo] There's no point in saving them from yourself Grayson.

love....

won't hurt them.....

[flylikearobin]

[echo] You need to leave.

but....

need me....

[flylikearobin]

[echo] You should leave.

i'm safe....

safe now....

[flylikearobin]

[echo] Aren't you hurting your loved ones with your body Grayson?

no.... no more....

'm better....