Viper's Bite

Prologue: Drevis's Descent

-2003-

It was a completely normal day at Mercury Heights Middle School. Or at least....it should have been.

All the teacher was doing was calling roll. It should not have went as badly as it did.

"Gilbert Gatsby?"

"Here!"

"Penny LaFontaine?"

"Here!"

"William Hanford?"

"Here!"

"Duncan Drevis?"

"Here!" the young boy said cheerfully.

He had been placed into the gifted class for showing immense capabilities across all of his subjects, but he was fascinated by chemistry most of all. Being able to make "magical" substances that could cure illnesses or otherwise change the physical state of a human being enraptured him.

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Just then, loud gunshots rang out across the halls of the school. Remaining calm, Drevis's teacher directed all the students to huddle together behind her desk as she turned the lights off and locked the door.

It took ages for police to respond to the scene from the moment they were called, and even longer, it seemed, for them to actually enter the establishment. At one point, the culprit reached the classroom and attempted to open it, seemingly leaving of their own accord once it occurred to them that the door was locked. However, after a few seconds, they soon returned with a partner, who busted down the door for them.

Drevis saw his classmates and his teacher collapse to the ground within a matter of seconds, the impact being drowned out by the sound of shots being fired. Just as the two gunmen were about to finish him off, two police officers finally arrived on the scene and shot the suspects dead in the nick of time.

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The officers escorted Drevis out of the building while the rest of the team secured the area. As he saw the destruction that the gunmen had caused, the tears of sorrow that his classmates' parents and loved ones wept after realizing their children had been taken too soon, and the hysteria of bystanders attempting to breach the crime scene, his thoughts immediately turned to the policemen who had saved him.

He did not have gratitude in his heart for them, oh no. He had anger. Rage. Frustration. If they had responded faster, the gunmen might have been less successful in their assault. Fewer, or even no casualties may have resulted. He wouldn't have had to witness the harrowing sight of his friends slaughtered first-hand.

Perhaps, he concluded, their delayed response was because they were afraid. Afraid to confront the gunmen, despite that being their primary objective in situations like these. Afraid that they might get wounded or lose their lives in the process. Afraid of what would happen if they were to fail in subduing the suspects.

This incident led him to believe that fear is a completely unnatural part of a human being. All it does is make them hesitate to do things they would have done efficiently otherwise. All it does is hold them back, disabling from functioning as they normally should, and potentially result in innocent people dying.

His fist clenched in anger as he made an internal vow right then and there to solve this problem.

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But someday.

He would help humanity overcome fear.

And oh, what a glorious day that would be.