The Watchwomen

Chapter 10 (Act I): Red Dread Redemption

We last read Chapter 9, in which The Viper and Commissioner Marvin's contact engage in a lengthy car chase with one of the Diamond Legion's pink SUVs---with the Commissioner himself trapped inside it---which had been hijacked by an A.I. and compelled to return itself to its last known location: the streets outside the Tessa Gardenhigh Therapy Institute. Despite initially managing to free the Commissioner from the SUV, The Viper is forced to retreat back inside the vehicle via the sunroof after an attack squad of Legionnaires shows up to eliminate them on two more pink SUVs, killing Commissioner Marvin's contact in the process. Though the duo take out both of the vehicles, one of the Legionnaires manages to sneak onto The Viper and the Commissioner's SUV, and engages the heroine in a brutal close-quarters fight while the Commissioner attempts to stop the vehicle, even resorting to "killing" the A.I. by riddling the control console with bullets. However, since the Commissioner lacked an ignition key and forgot to adjust the SUV to Manual Mode, the vehicle violently crashes; the Commissioner and The Viper survive, while the Legionnaire undergoes a drastic change in behavior, appearing to have snapped back to her senses.

Panicked, the last attack squad Legionnaire pleads for The Viper not to hurt her before handing her a small silver container filled with red vials, cryptically informing the heroine that "there are more" of them and to "free" them; a stark contrast to the misandrist views exhibited by the other assassins during The Viper's interrogation at the Mercury Heights Correctional Facility. Then, the Legionnaire is forced to fatally shoot herself in the head on Allie Bannister's orders, much to The Viper's heartbreak.

Now having obtained a significant amount of clues, The Viper and the Commissioner decide to split for the time being, with The Viper heading to Duncan's apartment complex to regroup with the other female Paragons and the Commissioner staying behind to clean up the mess.

This time, we watch as Hailey a.k.a. The Viper, Carla Rosenblood a.k.a. Nightclaw, Cassie a.k.a. Coldsnap, and Monica Drevis a.k.a. Voltara decide what to do next now that The Viper's mission has succeeded.....

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-Dr. Duncan Drevis's Apartment Complex, Mercury Heights, New York, United States-

The Viper walked through the automatic sliding doors and entered the grand lobby of Dr. Duncan Drevis's apartment complex. The civilians lounging around in the cushioned seats and sitting at tables doing work paid her no mind, even though she was in her costume; by now, they had mostly learned to not mess with her while she was on duty, unless they themselves had an emergency that they needed her to address.

Keeping the small silver container filled with red vials safe in one of her combat shorts' back pockets---mostly out of sight---she walked with purpose towards the elevators, intent on quickly reaching Duncan's apartment so she could talk about her findings with the others.

She pressed the button on the silver control panel to call one of the elevator cars, and waited patiently for it to arrive. However, once the doors opened and she could swiftly step in---due to said car being empty---an aged man carrying a few bags of groceries began approaching, motioning for her to hold the elevator doors open, and The Viper's heroic conscience meant that she couldn't bring herself to close the doors in front of his face.

"Hello, sir!" The Viper greeted kindly. "Which floor are you headed to?"

"5th, Viper!" he replied with a cheerful smile; he was obviously happy to be within reaching distance of her, but at his age, he had learned to dial back his reactions to pretty much anything, lest he suffer from an unprecedented elevation in blood pressure.