Cobra's Beginning: A Raren Thyme Story

Rescuing a Superhero

Raren parked her car a block away from the abandoned warehouse, and jogged the rest of the way. She wasn't quite sure if there would be a humongous fight scene with explosions, and her car had been good to her. Raren would prefer her car to stay in one piece.

Her hands hadn't stopped shaking since the radiation had flowed through her body, although she had put on a pair of rubber gloves from Taiko's garage. She balled them into fists, hoping to quell the shaking. She took a deep breath, and pushed open the side entrance door.

Her eyes lit upon a figure in a black chair. She muffled a sigh of relief. It was Taiko. Raren rushed to his side, almost tripping over one of the surrounding gray tables.

"Taiko." She whispered. His eyes were closed, his head hanging. Raren was petrified.

Then, she heard light snoring. Oh, thank goodness! He was just asleep, though Raren wasn't sure if that was from some sedative, or if the Hyenas knocked him out with something else. Though, there was a chance he had taken the opportunity to catch a nap, seeing as he really couldn't do anything else.

"Taiko. Taiko Mayes!" No response. 

Raren clenched her teeth, hissing. He had always been a sound sleeper.

She set to work on the ropes binding him to the chair. After several attempts to untie the knot, a lightbulb flashed in her head.

Raren yanked the gloves off, tossing them to the side. She closed her hands around the rope. Trying the mental push she had done earlier to trigger the poison, a hissing sound came from the rope. In seconds, it was nothing but ash. Raren had to contain a victorious cheer as she dusted it off her hands.

She moved herself to address Taiko, kneeling in front of his limp form. Instead of saying anything, she just brushed her fingertips against his pale skin.

He wore a mask and suit identical to what Heron usually wore, except it was dark gray instead of royal blue. Maybe he was trying a new style.

His eyelids fluttered open to her touch, startling Raren into falling back. "Who is it?" Two fists came up defensively, but relaxed as he frowned to himself. His eyes narrowed, and Raren had to admire his use of grey color contacts to match the suit. "What's going on? Who are you?"

Raren snatched up the discarded gloves, tugging them on. "It's me, Raren. you know, your best friend for, well, forever?" When he opened his mouth, she shoved her arm into his mouth, as she hadn't put the gloves on, and she didn't necessarily want to see what the poison did to human flesh. "No time for questions. we need to get moving. Head for the door. I need to take care of something."

She scanned the tables. there was a small plastic bag on one. The others just had strange instruments and tools. She aimed for the bag, and grinned as the venom hit the corner of the plastic. Her accuracy was improving. She moved closer to deal with its contents, a couple of hairs, when a large crash reverberated through the warehouse.

Raren swiveled to see the cause. Taiko had tripped over one of the empty tables on his way to the door. Hissing softly, she quickly destroyed the hair and rushed to his aid. 

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"I must've tripped over something. A table, maybe."

"Yeah." In the middle of helping him up, Raren stopped. "What do you mean, 'maybe'? Can't you see it?"

"Raren, it's too dark. I can't see anything but the light from the open door." 

Raren looked up, expecting to see the moon shining down through a skylight. There was no skylight. there was no moon. There were no lights on in the whole building. She shouldn't be able to see.

What was going on? What was happening to her? Was she going crazy?

She almost slapped herself for being so stupid. night vision. Right. That explained why everything was monochrome.

"The sounds I hear do not sound like a person staying in his chair! What are you up to, Heron?" A familiar voice called out. One of the Hyenas, Mary Jane, stepped out onto the catwalk above. She flipped a switch, and Raren rubbed her eyes as her vision flooded with color.

"Wait, who are you? And why isn't he all tied up?"

"My name?" Raren paused. She almost gave Mary her real name, but decided against it. Thinking back to her interactions with MARE, she smirked. "It's Cobra. I'm rescuing my dear friend here, in case you couldn't tell." Then, as an afterthought, she decided to play into the split personality. "I got a call from Taiko. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. He rambled on about a letter, and how Heron needed a bit of help. I don't live too close, but a friend doesn't abandon a friend."

The other Hyena, Ryker Jones, appeared behind Mary Jane. He growled, hands gripping the catwalk railing. Raren wondered why they didn't come after her. She was standing there, giving them a speech. And they're just taking it?

Then, she remembered the countless times Heron came to get her. They never pursued him. Not after he had made it through their traps and tricks, and rescued Raren.

Raren grinned at the two helpless villains, and walked towards the door, Heron close behind. Ushering him out, she spun in the doorway. She eyed the Hyenas, and raised her hand, pressing her palm to the door. She spun on her heel, stalking out after Heron. In a few seconds, the door was disintegrated, leaving a warning:

Don't mess with me.