The Watchwomen

Chapter 30 (Intermission): Mind-Control Mayhem

We last read Chapter 29, in which The Crawler and Herman visit the Waikiki Shopping Plaza in Honolulu, Hawaii as part of their last minute vacation which was organized by Herman's longtime friend Hailey a.k.a. The Viper. Although The Crawler is having the time of his life, Herman clearly isn't, and one of the major stops on their tour ends up being the Reptiles-R-Us pet shop, courtesy of a mascot dressed in a ridiculously cartoonish lizard costume who happens to coincidentally cross their path. Though Herman spends most of the time in the restroom, the mascot takes the opportunity to show The Crawler around, and when they pass a pen of scrambling non-sentient lizards---the species that The Crawler used to be before his boss Dr. Duncan Drevis mutated him with a serum---the mascot asks The Crawler if he ever wished he'd stayed normal.....to which the reptilian Paragon declines, asserting that he's grown to love his new life and all the benefits that come with it. The chapter ended with Herman exiting the restroom and taking several pictures with The Crawler and a random Burmese python---with the help of the mascot, of course---before the duo leave the pet shop and continue about their day. 

This time, we catch up with Allie and Ringo whilst The Viper is still in the middle of her brainwashing process, before George joins them and the trio have a discussion on recent events.....

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-Diamond Legion Skybase, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States-

While The Viper stood in the middle of the square-shaped brainwashing chamber, with the goggles forcibly affixed to her face and the ceiling apparatus successfully conditioning her, Allie Bannister casually leaned against the wall nearby, surfing the Internet on her phone while waiting for the process to conclude. Also nearby was one of her bodyguards, Ringo, who vigilantly stood at the contraption's control console to ensure that all of The Viper's numbers were stable and that nothing bad was happening to her besides the brainwashing; after all, if something malfunctioned and the heroine died, it would be a severe waste of resources for the Diamond Legion.....not to mention that they would begin gathering suspicion from the public due to the Viper's popularity, which would likely lead to their eventual downfall. 

The Viper's head hung limply on her neck, as though she were regularly nodding off to sleep. Besides the slight swaying, she wasn't speaking nor moving nor emoting, and she was completely unresponsive, like a husk. 

Just then, the door to the room opened and Allie's other bodyguard George walked into the room, observing the scene for himself. 

"You weren't here when Ringo and I delivered The Viper," Allie admonished him. "Ringo told me you'd be waiting in this room with the protocol. What happened?" 

"Apologies, Ms. Bannister," George replied, bowing. "It was simply a case of bad timing; I merely had to use the restroom." 

Allie and Ringo looked at each other briefly, before Allie sighed. "All right. Pray it doesn't happen again." 

"Yes, ma'am." 

Allie exhaled. "Meanwhile, there's Ringo, who not only brought The Viper here for me, but also probed her memories so I'd have a more efficient time interrogating and tempting her. Of course---"

"You didn't succeed, ma'am," George pointed out rather bluntly, much to Allie's chagrin. 

"Yes! I didn't succeed! That's why we're here, idiot!" Allie yelled before composing herself again. "Anyway, before I was cut off, I was going to say that it didn't matter whether or not I succeeded. And do either of you know why?" 

"Because you're smart beyond compare and you thought of a failsafe?" Ringo hypothesized. 

"Oh! Flattery will get you everywhere, friend," the Diamond Legion leader commended. "But you'd be right. And thank you! No one ever says a lot of nice things to me, so it's a neat change. Claude.....Blake.....Bryan.....his son B.B......they were all lucky enough to have me in their lives, but did any of them thank me? Did any of them give me the treatment I deserved?! No!"