Chapter 33
There hasn’t been any sign of that Tyrian guy since yesterday. And when we meet at Weiss’ place, we go over again what I knew about him so far, until we get our first call from Vernal.
Ruby: “Scarlet Spider. Talk to me.”
Vernal: “Oh. Good. It works. Okay, listen. I have that info I was talking about. Facial recognition helped us identify our suspect. His full name is Tyrian Callows. A well-known serial killer who has slaughtered people all across Anima. And as you know, he is well known for concealing his tail until opportune moments. And as expected of a scorpion, forensic analysis of the stinger revealed traces of a deadly poison. One that can kill a person within a matter of hours at worst and days at best, depending on how much is administered. But regardless of how much is there, death is inevitable unless an antidote is administered.”
Ruby: “Good thing I didn’t get stung. Otherwise, I would’ve been in trouble.”
Vernal: “Still, while he’s willing to play waiting in desperate situations, he prefers more to kill up close and personal. And there are a lot people in the city. We'll need to try and handle one fast.”
Ruby: “I understand. Don’t worry, Black Cat and I will double down on our efforts to search for him.”
Vernal: “And us in the force will do the same. Catch you later.” And we hang up.
Weiss: “At least now we a firmer grasp on who he is and his methods.”
Yang: “Now we just need to find him.”
Blake: “Which’ll be about as easy as all the other villains.”
Weiss: “Right. We've really only managed to track them down after they start causing trouble for the police to find.”
Ruby: “Unfortunately, it’s all we can do without crossing a few lines. For now, let's just get out there so we’re ready to act immediately when he’s found.”
Blake: “And don’t forget, if the Tinkerer hired him, then he’s bound to have gained some kind of special gadget or machine or aid him. Maybe even a replacement stinger after what happened, so we need to be careful.” And with that, we take off to do our patrol. And after a while, we catch the police radio.
Officer: “Attention all units! We have an armored assailant attacking people in the town square! His helmet is obstructing his face, but he is likely Tyrian Callows based on his scorpion tail. Mobilize immediately!”
Blake: “It definitely sounds like Tyrian.”
Ruby: “And it sounds like your hunch was right. The armor is likely from the Tinkerer. Let's go!” It didn’t take us long to arrive in town square, and witness the now armored Tyrian attacking people, the arms now having blades two blades each placed in a way to resemble pincer claws. Even his tail was covered with armored plating with a yellow glowing part in the chest plate, and his stinger was now replaced with a techno looking yellow prosthetic.
Blake: “That’s far enough, Callows!” As we land nearby.
Tyrian: “I don’t blame you for not knowing, but Tyrian Callows is a name of the past. Now it is the future of the Deathstalker!”
Weiss: “Yet another name based on mythology. His armor looks high tech. Just keep him busy while I run the scan.”
Tyrian: “And what do we have here? This must be the infamous Black Cat I’ve heard about. Too afraid to face me yourself you need to bring some help?”
Blake: “Look who’s talking with that suit.”
Tyrian: “I prefer to call it an upgrade. And I finally have the perfect targets to test its full power!” As he unleashes his pincers and charge right at us! Like last time, we have to be careful not to get stung as we try and land some blows. With me, it's easy because of my spider sense, but Blake is especially struggling, even with her quick reflexes, and her claws are only scratching the paint job. He also seems to be physically stronger and faster than last time, he’s even giving me a run for my money as I get some close calls with his blades. “AHAHAHAHAHAAA! What a rush! But I think is time for me to even the playing field a little.” As he glares at Blake. He does some crazy spin move to push us back, and then used his tail to quick grab and toss me aside while he goes for Blake. His new strength overwhelms her as he breaks through her guard and stops every escape attempt before he eventually gets her at her abdomen with his stinger, which i did end up witnessing when I finally recovered.
Blake: “AH! Ah...” It may just be a small cut across her stomach, but we all know where this is going.
Tyrian: “Heheheh...”
Yang: “BLAKE!” As he kicked Blake aside before turning to me.
Tyrian: “Well, now you have a real dilemma.”
Ruby: “You monster!”
Tyrian: “Why thank you! But if you ever want to save your friend, then come and find me at central park tomorrow. I’ll be waiting!” To which he does a high jump to climb the nearest building to the roof before taking off, as I run in to attend to Blake.
Ruby: “Blake! Please, talk to me.”
Blake: “Ngh! It hurts... real bad!”
Weiss: “We need to attend to her now! Get her back here as soon as possible.”
Ruby: “What about the scan? How did that go?”
Weiss: “The scan was complete. I’ll run the analysis while you're on your way.”
Ruby: “I’m on it! Just hang in there, Blake. I’ve got you.” I carry her over my shoulders, holding on to her with one arm while I swing back to Weiss’ as fast as I can with the other. When I finally get there, we waste no time in changing her into something more comfortable, lay her on an operating table and run the necessary tests on her.
Weiss: “Just as we thought. The prosthetic is still capable of injecting poison from his tail, and it is running through her as we speak.”
Yang: “Damnit! Is there anything we can do!?”
Weiss: “Calm down! I already have a solution, but it’s not going to be easy. Like with certain snakes and real scorpions, we can synthesis an antidote if we can just get a sample of the poison directly from his tail. Unfortunately, the traces in the stinger the police have aren’t enough for a thorough enough analysis to make it, which means we’ll have to go to Tyrian himself.”
Ruby: “And he himself is aware of this. It's why he told me to go to him if I want ‘save my friend’. He knows I need his poison to do so.”
Yang: “And what about Blake? She can’t possibly go to school tomorrow like this.”
Weiss: “I can excuse her and myself from school tomorrow under the guise of me taking care of her while she’s sick. Unfortunately, I can’t make the same arrangements for you two. As much as I realize you may not like to hear this, the less of us that are absent from school, the less chances there are of someone catching on.”
Ruby: “It works for me. Signal is closer to central that here, so I can go straight there after school to proceed quickly.”
Yang: “You really think you can handle him alone?”
Ruby: “I don’t have a choice. If Blake’s in no condition to go to school, then she’s definitely in no condition to fight.”
Weiss: “Then you’ll need every advantage you can get. PENNY?”
PENNY: “Yes Ma’am. Analysis of the suit showed it to be a wearable performance enhancer. The whole suit is what enhances his strength and speed to superhuman levels.”
Ruby: “So it was the suit the whole time. And what about a weak point? Any way to stop it?”
PENNY: “As expected from the glow, with his prosthetic stinger as the only exception, the power source for the whole thing is housed in the chest plate. Shut that off and he reverts back to normal.”
Yang: “Which’ll definitely be easier said than done.”
Ruby: “Don’t worry, I’ll stop him and get sample.” To which I look over at Blake, muttering to herself as she lies there. “I have to. Or we’ll all be losing a friend.”