Viper's Bite

Chapter 7: Getting to Know You More

That afternoon, Hailey invited Jaden to have dinner at the mall's food court. She had texted Herman earlier asking if he had discovered anything new about Drevis yet, but the boy had yet to respond. "So hey, why'd you ask me to come?" Jaden asked, taking a sip of her orange soda. Hailey took a deep breath. "Jaden.....you know we've been close for quite a long time.....so there's something I need your opinion on. Suppose that two friends similar to us get along with each other very well, for several years. But one of them is harboring a secret that could massively changes the other's views on them. Once the other person finds out, they should always support them, right?" she asked hypothetically.

"Yes, definitely!" Jaden replied cheerfully. "......Wait, does the second person's view change positively or negatively?"

Hailey paused for a moment. She genuinely hadn't given much thought to how Jaden would react, if at all, if she found out that her best friend was The Viper. In fact, she was now wondering why Herman ended up being the first one in their circle to know instead of Jaden. She and Jaden became friends first, but Herman was the most useful to The Viper's strategy at the time. "Well....that would ultimately depend on the second person," she responded. "I guess it would be up to them to decide how to perceive it."

"See, that would depend on the secret, though," Jaden said. "It could be cool or it could be dangerous. It could be impressive or it could warrant arrest. Maybe if you were more specific, I could have a better answer."

Hailey rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Never mind, it's stupid.....don't worry about it." "Hey, listen," Jaden began, motioning for Hailey to look at her. "What kind of good friends don't tell each other everything? You can trust me with anything you decide to tell me, I promise," she told her with a smile. "Thanks, Jaden," Hailey replied. "That really means a lot."

Jaden checked her phone. "Well.....I'd say we're about done here, hmmm? My sister needs help with a school project...." she muttered. "Diamond? Yeah....that sounds like it's going to be hard work," Hailey remarked. "The sooner you get home, the better."

The two girls got up from their table and disposed of their tray in a nearby bin. "Come on, my mom's supposed to be picking us up in about ten minutes," Jaden directed.

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Meanwhile, inside a cold, sterile laboratory in an undisclosed location, Dr. Drevis was busy intercalating The Viper's blood cells into the chemical makeup of the Herculean Serum. He was almost done with the container when The Crawler walked into the room as well. "Oh, it's you," the doctor muttered, clearly more focused on his task at the moment. "I'm sorry that you had to take a beating from The Viper at the warehouse. Getting injected with her poison couldn't have felt good at all...."

The Crawler laughed. "Don't worry about it. As you said, one of the advantages of me still being part-lizard is that I have a rather significant healing factor. So, there's nothing to fear; that meddlesome girl won't be able to keep me down for long."

The doctor briefly stopped his procedure to continue chatting. "No, you know what actually surprised me? That the whole 'fake hostage' trap actually worked. I completely got the drop on her," Drevis bragged with a laugh. "Again, I apologize for making you have to face her on your own beforehand." "No matter, boss. It's the least I can do for you after you gave me life," The Crawler replied.

Drevis sighed wistfully. "It feels like yesterday when I initially found you cold and alone on the unforgiving streets of Mercury Heights....I had just started preliminary trials on the Herculean Serum in order to find the perfect recipe. I was hesitant to try it on humans at first, for fear that it could lead to legal trouble and my plans being foiled before they could even begin. So, I first tried it on some random small animals I found around the city."