"The Sensational Night Shadow in… Nagini the Viper"

Chapter 11

Created by The Spectacular SpiderDom

Pyro Lad and Frosty Beetle were thrown against the walls by the supervillains. Even the two of them alone couldn't face off against so many enemies. Technolocity threw a punch across the pyrokinetic's face and Frosty Beetle was kicked by Nagini's tale. The two of them were thrown across the floor and they landed on their stomachs.

Gavroche skidded across the ground, but he landed on his feet.

Technolocity, the Void League, and Nagini gathered around them.

Night Shadow was trapped in Mojo's clutches.

"Взгляни вверх," Gavroche grunted. ("Lookup").

Pyro Lad, despite not knowing what he said, looked at what Gavroche pointed at. He snarled once he saw that the pink gorilla's greasy fingers were on Night Shadow's body.

He jumped up and twirled his nunchucks. "Let him go, asshole!"

"Or what?" Technolocity replied with a grin.

"Or you'll get a helluva lot worse than a sunburn."

"You don't scare me, Pyro. I'm sorry it has to come this way, but this is how it is. Now, I'd like for you and Frosty to be good kids and give me your demons."

"We're in our twenties, you dipshit!" Frosty Beetle snarled.

"Blah, blah, blah, whatever. Just give me your powers."

CRASH!

Monsoon Gal, still in her Ultimate State, broke through the glass ceiling and landed on the floor. A pool of water surrounded her, as he ghostly white eyes stared into the villains' souls. Technolocity jumped into Nagini's arms and shivered, but the serpent released him and lunged forward. A wave of water formed a hand and smacked Nagini across the face.

"Unfortunately, you're not infected by snake venom, Nagini," Monsoon Gal spoke. Her voice was deeper and intimidating. "I cannot cure you because your DNA was surgically bonded to a snake. But I managed to cure everyone else… your venom will no longer spread through Seattle… not while I'm still standing."

Nagini wiped her lower lip. "I'll kill you!"

"And I'll be ready for it."

Monsoon Gal turned her eyes to Night Shadow and waved her arm in a circle. Reaching forward, she heavily splashed Night Shadow with a pool of water. He fell out of Mojo's hands and fell towards the ground. Frosty Beetle, with her superspeed, flew forward and caught the superhero in her arms. She quickly flew back and laid him on the ground. Pyro Lad looked at him before turning back to the villains.

"My plan isss ruined!" Nagini bawled aggressively. "You've ruined everything!" She turned to Technolocity and grabbed him by the throat. "You dumb, usselesss pieccce of shit! I thought I could count on you, but what wasss I thinking!?"

"Hey, come on!" Technolocity retorted. "I'm a wonderful person to work with!"

"You lead usss into their trap! Now, becaussse of you, my plan isss-"

Feeling like she's heard enough, Monsoon Gal waved her left arm and trapped the villains into a water ball. She spun them around and around until she pulled her arm back. Reaching for her staff, she held it like a baseball bat and pressed her foot against the ball.

"Wait, Monsoon Gal," Technolocity pressed his hands together and begged. "Can we talk this out like civilized people?"

Monsoon Gal huffed. "Anyone who thinks infected my friends doesn't deserve a 'civilized' talking to. In other words…"

"No, MG, don't!"

"Goodbye, Technolocity."

WHAM!

In the blink of an eye, Monsoon Gal smacked the ball and it shot out the glass ceiling.

In the treatment facilities, Atticus and Darla were helping the civilians stand up on their feet.

Bertram, with his dog mask on, hopped back into Iron Maidan.

"Leaving already?" Atticus inquired.

"Just making sure Seattle's okay," Bertram nodded. "From the looks of things, I'd say Monsoon Gal did her job."

Just then, everyone heard an armada of screams coming from the sky. They looked up and saw a giant puddle splash onto the ground. With a crater formed, the cops and Bertram looked down and saw that Technolocity, Nagini, and the Void League were caught in a giant dogpile.

Mojo was on the bottom, Nagini was on top of Mojo, Technolocity was on top of Nagini, and Tender Soul fell over the side, sitting on Raven's back.

Atticus and Darla exchanged a grin and folded their arms.

"Get… off of me!" Nagini snarled, trying to push Technolocity off of her. "Why do you keep falling on me!?"

"I don't know," Technolocity replied. "I know I made this joke earlier, but you're really comfortable."

Upset that she lost and that she's being crushed by a colossal idiot, Nagini let out a low sigh before she slowly rested her head against Mojo's fur. Atticus and Darla jumped down, ready to take the Void League into custody.

Bertram watched from above. That's what you get for turning me into a villain, you son of a bitch.

Back at the Pacific Place Mall, Monsoon Gal took one last breath before she collapsed on the floor. Her suit returned to its normal colors and her pupils came back. She was low on energy and she fell on her back, panting softly.

"Does anyone have any orange slices?" she asked with a laugh.

Pyro Lad rushed towards her and helped her up.

"Are you all right, MG?"

She coughed. "I'm fine, Pyro… thanks… did I do it?"

Every pedestrian in the mall came out of hiding and saw their infected loved ones return to normal. Much like everyone in the city, they all rushed to them and showered them with hugs, kisses, and claims of "Thank God you're okay". They all turned to the superheroes in front of them and clapped endlessly, whistling loudly, and chanting their names.

"From the sounds of it… I'd say you did," Pyro Lad smiled, holding his bleeding shoulder. "Good job."

Monsoon Gal gave her partner a one-armed hug, as everyone went on with their business. They slowly went out of the room they were in, leaving the superheroes alone. From there, Monsoon Gal and Pyro Lad turned to Gavroche and Frosty Beetle, who surrounded an unconscious Night Shadow.

Sydney, Amber, and Jerry entered the room, looking at the same thing.

The hero's girlfriend cupped her hands over her mouth.

"Dios mío," ("Dear God").

Muttering in Spanish, Sydney rushed towards Night Shadow and held him in her arms. She gently shook his head, hoping he'd wake up. She noticed that his skin was back to its pale color and the tiny mole on the right side of his cheek was back. She gasped with hope, but she would be happier if he opened his eyes.

"Hey," she whispered. "Come on, NS. It's me, Sydney… don't do this to me. Don't you dare do this to me."

Everyone around her was silent.

"Come on, NS, wake up," Sydney muttered. "Mason… please…"

SHING!

Hearing a strange sound, everyone turned around and saw someone they didn't expect to see…

…it was Melody. She activated her sword.

"Give me his powers," she demanded with a snarl.

"What the hell? I thought I shot you across the sky," Monsoon Gal grunted.

"I swam out of your little bubble. Now, give me your powers."

"In case you haven't noticed," Frosty Beetle smirked. "There's more of us and one of you, you walking treble clef!"

"I don't care," Melody snarled. "Those powers will be mine! I will not disappoint my mas-"

POW!

Before she finished her sentence, Melody was socked across the jaw by a wave of darkness. She tumbled across the floor before she crashed into a table, breaking it in half. Pyro Lad, Frosty Beetle, and Monsoon Gal widened their eyes and quickly jerked their heads behind them.

The Sensational Night Shadow was standing on his feet, Dunnere sat on his shoulder.

"Jesus Christ, if I had a nickel for every 'I don't wanna disappoint my master', I'd be rich as hell by now," he joked. Dunnere snickered and playfully punched his master's cheek.

"Thank God!" Sydney cried with glee, as she jumped on top of her boyfriend and embraced him in a large hug.

"Sydney!" the superhero laughed. Dunnere, who jumped out of fright, landed on his master's head and hugged Sydney. Amber and Jerry leaned down and gave their friend a hug before they pulled him up on his feet. Sydney still had her arms wrapped around him. Monsoon Gal and Frosty Beetle, not wanting to get in the way of Sydney's moment, gave their friend a fist-bump. Pyro Lad just gave him a handshake.

"Good to have you back, NS," Pyro Lad nodded with a smile. "And thank God you're not talking in snake speech anymore."

"Same here," Night Shadow replied. "Thanks for having my back, Pyro."

"Likewise. I appreciate that talk we had earlier. The one about Billy and your cousins. Thank you for that."

"Hey, you're welcome. Billy may not be back now, but who's to say he won't come back in the future."

"Right."

Monsoon Gal and Frosty Beetle gave the pyrokinetic a playful glance before they prepared to thank Gavroche for his assistance.

"Hey, Gavroche," the former smiled. "Thanks for… oh, you gotta be shitting me."

Everyone looked around and saw that the green-hooded man was gone.

"Huh, that's funny," Jerry snickered. "He did the same thing to me."

"What an enigma," Amber folded her arms. "He always disappears when we thank him for help. He's like a real-life Batman."

"I'm sure we'll run into him again," Night Shadow replied with a loud yawn. "Right now… I just want to go home and get some rest."

"Me too," Frosty Beetle mirrored Night Shadow's yawn. "I gotta search for Alvin and Sarah. Then, I'm taking the rest of the day off."

"I think we all deserve some rest after a day like today," Monsoon Gal nodded. "Let's go home."

Later that night…

Night Shadow stood inside Street Dawg Munchies. He was in the middle of thanking Bertram Van Cyrus for his help.

"Dude, I owe you a freaking beer, man," the superhero gently punched Bertram's furry arm. "You saved the whole city."

"Technically, Monsoon Gal saved the city," Bertram replied with a chuckle. "All I did was mix ingredients together and make some antidote."

"You obviously don't give yourself enough credit, Doc," Dunnere said through sign language. "You saved us all. And for that, you've earned my respect."

"What did he say?" Bertram asked.

"He said you need to give yourself more credit," Night Shadow folded his arms. "Because of what you did today, you've earned his respect… same as mine."

Bertram smiled.

Night Shadow grabbed the doctor's dog mask from the side. "Though, I hope that the next time I need you, you won't be walking around wearing this thing."

"I can't help it. I'm not ready to show my face in front of the other superheroes. If I do, they'll throw me in jail. I almost got exposed by Darla today and if she found out who I was, she would've murdered me!"

"Knowing her, she would've done worse, but I see your point."

"I can't show my face in front of anyone, Night Shadow… not yet… I know I said I want to be a good guy and change my ways, but I don't think I have what it takes to show everyone I can change."

"Hey, listen… what you did today proved you have the potential to be a hero… Monsoon Gal, Frosty Beetle, and Pyro Lad may not have known it was Bertram Van Cyrus who cured the city, but as time progressed, and you help us out more… I have a feeling they'll learn to accept the fact that this is who you want to be."

The scientist smiled again and took a deep breath. He and the superhero exchanged a handshake.

"Thanks again for believing in me, Night Shadow. I'm glad to have met someone like you."

"Likewise, Doc."

"Go home and get some rest. You deserve it."

"Ha, that's assuming Technolocity doesn't cause a ruckus… have a good night, Bertram. Or as we say in French, Bonne Nuit."

"Bunnie newt," Bertram repeated the "French" word.

Night Shadow laughed once he heard that and walked towards the door. But before he opened it, he had one more thing he wanted to ask.

"Hey, Bertram… can I ask you something?"

"When do you think you'll be ready to tell the other Seattle Strikers who you really are?"

Bertram stroked his chin and took a deep breath. He shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly… I have no clue. Guess only time will tell. Which reminds me, thanks for keeping me a secret. I know it was selfish of me to make you promise that, but-"

"Hey, don't worry about it," Night Shadow winked, leaning against the door. "Trust me, they're gonna be more mad at me for keeping this a secret, but I am hoping they understand. Frosty's probably gonna give me her usual 'Night Shadow, you stupid dumbass' lecture, which I'm used to by now. But in all seriousness, they won't be happy… but I will explain why. As I said, I'm hoping they understand."

Bertram nodded.

Night Shadow opened the door and yawned. "Goodnight, Bertram."

"Good night, Night Shadow."

The superhero left the building and took off into the night.

But he was unaware that a shadowy figure watched him from above. His whole body was black, and he had a large cowboy hat over his head. With red demonic eyes, he squinted and released a soft chuckle.

"Thank you, Mason Moonstone… for showing me the location of Bertram Van Cyrus."

Moments later…

Alyssa Cordelia, wearing a black sleep shirt and camping themed pants, hung out with Lyra Song, who was wearing a pink sleep shirt and red pants, Alvin, and Sarah. They were listening to the kids' story about becoming serpents.

"And then, the next thing we know, we wound up in the ice cream shop!" Alvin exclaimed with joy. "It was awesome!"

"Until Alvin ate all the ice cream and got a stomach ache!" Sarah folded her arms.

Alvin touched his stomach. "Urgh, but it was totally worth it."

"Well, I'm glad you two are okay," Lyra hugged her relatives. "You had me worried sick."

"We're okay, Aunt Lyra," Sarah smiled. "Thanks to you, Monsoon Gal, Night Shadow, and Pyro Lad!"

"Yeah, those guys are awesome!" Alvin commented. "Pyro Lad's the best superhero!"

"No, it's Monsoon Gal!" Sarah retorted.

"Pyro Lad!"

"Monsoon Gal!"

"Pyro Lad!"

"Monsoon Gal!"

"Pyro Lad!"

"All right, enough!" Lyra broke up the argument. "You two, head to bed. I'll come in a few minutes and read you a story."

"Can we read a Pyro Lad comic?" Alvin asked.

"No, I wanna read Monsoon Gal comics!" Sarah whined.

"Go to bed and we'll find out," Lyra smirked.

The two Asian kids jumped off their aunt's bed and rushed down to their room, closing the door behind.

"Are you offended that you're not their favorite superhero?" Alyssa teased her partner.

"Maybe a little," Lyra replied. "Okay, I am! I mean, seriously! How can they not think of me as their favorite superhero! Who helped their father change their diapers? Yeah, it was me! Least they could do is give me some credit!"

Alyssa chuckled and continued posting students' grades onto her laptop. But as she typed, she suddenly stopped. She smiled turned into her frown and her eyes looked at the ground. Sitting in bed, she thought of how Nagini's infection caught everyone by surprise. Yes, they won. But they nearly lost due to Nagini's many tricks. Letting out a deep breath, she turned to her partner and spoke.

"Hey, Lyra."

"Yes, Alyssa."

"I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"We couldn't predict Nagini's attack today. The four of us barely stopped her. Yes, we managed to defeat her, but with Mason becoming infected and the Void League entering the picture, we almost lost. The four of us have dealt with the Void League before, but this was different… what if new supervillains start to come around because of this? What if there's ever a time where the four of us aren't enough to stop them?"

"Well, then that's something we have to prepare for," Lyra smiled. "I know you'll lead us through whatever situation we're stuck in… and hopefully, if that does happen, we see that Gavroche fella again. He's kinda hot."

Alyssa chuckled before she made a heavy grin. "Yes, Lyra… that is something we have to prepare for."

"Hmm?"

Alyssa typed on her computer and loaded up three separate files onto her search tab. Lyra sat next to her on the bed and leaned on her shoulder, looking at the documents she uploaded. The headlines appeared…

Vancouver's Mysterious Vigilantes: The Dope Squad secretly apprehend neighborhood gang: The Money Dawgs. Residents do not know what the costumed heroes look like, but despite what the police have said, they assume they're here to help.

The Dope Squad have officially revealed their names: Sagittarius, Valentine, and Poncho Mom. While nobody knows what they look like, people are glad to know the names of their protectors. However, police are still searching for the vigilantes, believing they're doing more harm than good.

Money Dawgs are once again arrested, thanks to Vancouver's superheroes: The Dope Squad. Photos have finally been leaked online, showcasing three people in multi-colored clothing.

Lyra raised an eyebrow and glanced at her partner.

Alyssa continued typing on her computer and brought up more headlines of the three superheroes listed. She did this until she brought up three high-definition photos of the heroes.

To the far left was Poncho Mom; a superheroine in her early twenties and she wore a vibrant/dark-toned costume. For her attire, she wore a dark purple, skin-tight, suit made out of denim. She wore black combat boots with golden buckles on them and she had highlights that matched the same color as the buckles. On her back was a violet poncho with a golden streak running from the bottom to the top. She had blue gloves with black fingertips and a black belt with light blue spots. Over her left hand was a paper bag with a red button for a left eye and a blue button for the right eye. It had a purple mouth and had a drawing of a suit on it; it was drawn in black marker. Lastly, she wore a wrestling mask that matched her suit's colors. The eyes had a gold outline and her mouth was exposed.

In the middle was Valentine: a woman with pale skin and hair was red as a tomato. For attire, she wore a pink leather suit with a single red heart emblem on both of her shoulders. There was a red strap that ran diagonally down her right shoulder and reached her belt of the same color. The center of it was a silver buckle with the letter "V" sculpted on it. With red leather pants, she had pink kneepads and black combat boots. On her kneepads were the same heart emblems as the ones on her shoulders. Both Alyssa and Lyra noticed red brass knuckles over her fingerless black gloves, and a pink domino mask with a red outline and white lenses for eyes.

And lastly, to the right was Sagittarius: a man with dark skin and a costume that was mostly black. With faint orangish shading on his abdominal area, he had two golden straps running down his left shoulder to his black belt with yellow pouches on both his hips. The middle of his belt had the head of a horse sculpted in gold. He had black goggles with green lenses and yellow gloves with black fingers. With the legs of a horse, which were thankfully covered in black pants with a golden strap on his knees and thighs, he had a black bow in his hand with a series of golden arrows pulled back against the string. The silver tips shined in the photos.

Both girls stared at the pictures, read over news articles related to them, and watched Eartha Withers report on these new superheroes.

"Well?" Alyssa grinned.

Lyra rubbed her purple-haired head. "I may now know what you're up to… but I have a feeling it's something I should prepare for."

Both girls exchanged a nod before looking at the computer screen.

Deep inside the Seattle Police Department…

Nagini the Viper was having the "time of her life".

"HELLO!?" she shouted in utter anger. "Sssomeone, let me out of here! I demand you let me out thisss inssstant!... HELLO!?"

There were no cops in the prison and the room was being monitored by security cameras. Nagini was stuck inside her cell with a silver collar on her neck; one that restricted the use of her powers. She slammed her fists against the door and whined.

"Get me out of here!" Nagini snarled.

"Do you mind?" said her cellmate, Technolocity, who was reading a book on fuzzy penguins. "I'm trying to look at adorable pictures here."

"Shut up!" Nagini pointed at the villain. "Thisss isss all your fault! If you hadn't dragged you Elemental messs into my plan! None of thisss would've happened! The whole cccity would be under my control! But no, you had to go and drag me into your problemsss!"

"Calm down, Astryd."

"It'sss Nagini now!"

"Tomato, tomato, it's the same difference. Look, I know we're stuck in jail, but don't worry, it gets better from here. This is coming from someone who's to jail more times than Miley Cyrus and Lindsay Lohan."

"How do you get out here?"

"Well, normally, the Void League would bail me out but since they're in jail too, I usually sit back and pass the time with a simple little song."

With that, the supervillain whipped out a small banjo and strummed it.

Nagini's yellow eyes widened. "No… no… no, please, no!"

Technolocity began to sing. "Ninety-nine cute fuzzy penguins in my lair, ninety-nine cute fuzzy penguins. Take on out for a cute little walk, watch him waddle till your heart pours out."

"Ssstop, ssstop!"

"Ninety-eight cute fuzzy penguins in my lair, ninety-eight cute fuzzy penguins. Take on out for a cute little walk, watch him waddle till your heart pours out!"

Nagini began to cry, as she slid against the cell's bars and down to the floor. "Make. It. Ssstoooooooooooooooooooop!"

"Ninety-seven cute fuzzy penguins in my lair, Ninety-seven cute fuzzy penguins!"

END OF STORY

Tune In Next Time For…

The Sensational Night Shadow – Issue #6: Ketchup King & Mustard Queen's Deadly Antics