LOGINShare
7: The Monument
Last Updated:
2021-10-21 05:00:00S H E S T O O D A few feet away from the tall mound of stone and marble that cast a shadow over her from the setting sun.
For an unknown reason, Natasha found herself visiting that place more than once in a week, just to let out the day's weight and gaze upon the twenty-foot statue of the Blue Streak which captured him in a sprinting position and the large lightning bolt emblem plastered to his chest being the only thing that had color as a blue glowing lamp enclosed in a glass case was attached on top of it, highlighting the emblem.
The rest of the sculpture was a solid dark grey with one of his feet, the right one, erected onto a pedestal while the left one was raised and bending almost forty-five degrees to give the perfect running position.
TO WHOEVER SEEKS TRUE STRENGTH & BRAVERY
"A little off-putting, don't you think?" came a voice from behind, making Natasha smile.
She turned to find Carol standing there, holding a small container labelled Strawberry Ice Cream.
She was referring to the words that were carved out on the pedestal that the Blue Streak statue stood.
Natasha and Carol had grown to be really great friends over the years and would meet a lot, especially at the Blue Streak Memorial, which was where they currently were.
"He must've been a great hero, I guess," Natasha said, taking a scoop of her ice cream with the tiny plastic spoon that came with it.
"Yeah, he was," Carol responded, almost in a dazed tone, "but they made a mistake."
"What?"
"Well, I can tell you for a fact he wasn't that muscular!"
Natasha chuckled before turning to look at Carol.
"You've been talking about him like you kinda knew him. I mean, they don't say a lot about him in History class."
"He saved me once."
Natasha's face lit up a little and Carol raised a hand.
"He saved a lot of people."
"Did you ever get to see his face?"
Carol shook her head in denial.
Natasha turned her head to the statue and sighed.
"What is it with superheroes and masks? Doing all those things and never showing people who you really are... that must feel so lonely."
Carol looked up at the statue too.
"You forget one thing. They also have families and friends whom they wish to protect and maybe that's why they put on masks."
"I wonder who the Blue Streak's friends and family were..." Natasha said softly before adding, "even the pink speedster wears a mask."
Carol turned to her, observing her face while she still kept her gaze on the statue.
This is your dad, Nat and I'm the pink speedster.
The two things that Carol always longed to tell her but she knew she couldn't. Not after Jenna made her swear never to tell her daughter the truth.
Natasha shook her head.
"What?"
"Nothing. It's just so funny how the Blue Streak and my... my dad died on the same day."
"Yes. The day that he saved you from that accident," Carol responded, adhering to the words Jenna had picked out for her, every time Natasha would broach the subject about her father.
Natasha instinctively rubbed a hand just right between the base of her neck and her right shoulder, feeling that small line of skin. The scar that she got from the accident that took her father away from her—or so her mother had told her.
Natasha moved closer to the statue, passing two people—a man and woman who were taking a selfie with the statue in the background.
Carol felt a buzz from her pants's pocket. Her phone. She took it out.
Natasha...
It was the eerie voice again. The same one from her dreams and she began to feel the crackling sound of electricity filling up her ears. She felt as if she was being drawn to the statue—or something else?
The crackling grew louder.
Natasha...
Natasha...
Natasha...
"Natasha?" it was Carol who was calling her.
"What?" she blinked, turning away from the statue.
The crackling noise was gone.
"I just got a call from Carter."
"From CarterLabs?"
"Yeah, you wanna come?"
"Sure."
Related chapters
Viper 8: Carter•Labs
T H E L A S T T I M E she had set foot at that place was way back before she'd started high school.Apparently, her mother never really talked about that place as much.The building was one of the biggest structures in the city with five storeys. There were other buildings with more storeys but this one covered a pretty big area of land and was entirely made with glass from the outside.CARTER•LABSNatasha still didn't get the title which was plastered at the very center of the facility. Why was there no space separating the two. As in, Carter Labs.Oh well, must be a 'successful scientist' thing. "Hi there, Natasha!" called Katie Patterso
Last Updated : 2021-10-22Viper 9: The Trip
"M O M, F O R T H E one hundredth time, my stuff is okay!" cried out Natasha while dragging her wheeled bag out of her room."OK, just making sure you don't forget anything, honey."Natasha then noticed the long look her mother was giving her."You know I'm only going for three days, Mom."Jenna moved over to the door before grabbing her daughter's bag.She put the bag in the trunk of her grey Prius as Natasha got in the car."Alright, students. Listen up, please," began the fairly tall man in a broken suit and short brown hair.It was Mr. Gilbert-the History teacher.He was addressing his class."I guess everyone knows where we're going today.The Museum of Natural History in New York..."A student raised his hand."Yes, Lucy!"
Last Updated : 2021-10-29Viper 10: A Bitter End
N E W Y O R K C I T Y. They got there towards noon as the coach cruised through Manhattan."We're here!" said an exhilarated Cassie Richards, dragging Natasha out of the bus.Natasha took a moment, observing the scenery filled with skyscrapers with jumbo-trons and the streets lined with theaters as well as yellow taxi cabs moving to and fro on the freeways."Well, it's pretty much like Atlanta but way bigger and with taller buildings, I guess," Natasha said.They got to the entrance of the Museum of Natural History where they were lead through the reception by a guide. Lucas lagged a little behind to look at the statue erected in front of the museum which depicted a sculpture of a man riding a horse.
Last Updated : 2021-11-10Viper 11: Questions
"W E A R E S O dead!" began Cassie after she, Natasha, Lucas and Bianca got back to the museum only to find out that everyone was gone — the students, that is."Hey, why were you following us?" Cassie turned to Bianca.She gave a faked surprise expression."I don't know what you're talking about.""You...""Speaking of death," Lucas cut in, "Here comes Mr.Gilbert."The History teacher appeared from an office while walking with a security guard. His face clearly showed he was furious or was it concern and/or relief?"Where have the four of you been?""I was the one who saw them sneak out!" Bianca blurted out."Nice going, genius!" Cassie shot back, "and that's how I know you followed us!"Bianca rolled her eyes."Ok, the important thing is that all of you
Last Updated : 2021-11-12Viper 12: Mac's
J E N N A G O T H O M E from the hospital just in time to find her daughter alighting the school bus.She grabbed her and hugged her, almost squeezing the life out of her."Mom, it was just three days!""Well, you're still my daughter and nobody's taking that away from me, so deal with it!" Jenna said comically, hugging Natasha even tighter."I missed you too, mom."Natasha was more than relieved to learn that her mother had no idea of what had happened back in New York. She would have been freaking out as if the embrace for having not seen her for less than three days wasn't enough.The beeping noise of the alarm startled Natasha after which she suddenly found herself lashing out her left hand and hitting the device to make it stop.Her face was smothered into a pillow and did not feel like getting out of be
Last Updated : 2021-11-14Viper 13: Answers
T H E Y S T O P P E D A T Natasha's place where Lucas helped her set up the new Life Cell before arriving at Carter•Labs towards the afternoon."Hello?" called Natasha at the entrance."Shouldn't there be like security for this place?" Lucas asked, still marvelling at the size of the building.A whirring sound followed the moment Natasha set foot at the entrance and a machine that looked like a large kind of gun appeared right in front of Natasha."You sure you've been here before?" Lucas asked, wanting to pull back Natasha from the entrance.A bright green beam of light then flowed out of the machine and traced down Natasha's body from head to toe.Identity confirmed. Natasha Austin-Johnson.It was an automated voice that came from the interactive consciousness installed in the
Last Updated : 2021-11-16Viper Prologue
"...Betty!" called out a man while he fumbled in his seat.He was tied up with duct tape all round his torso to a seat, down to his feet save for his mouth."Betty!" he called out again, turning to the person seated next to him.The last time he had seen her, she was hosting a beach party in Sydney, her white face now red and unresponsive as she sat there, tied up like him.It had happened so fast, he hadn't gotten the chance to do anything.The couple were in a dark room which could have been darker had it not still been daylight outside as the man in the chair figured from looking across a window.He spotted the large white Opera House out through the window when suddenly, a door burst open followed by what appeared to be white flashes of light. Lightning.The man managed to smile after realising what it was or who it was.In an
Last Updated : 2021-10-14Viper 1: Loving Father, Husband & Friend
T U N E S O F T H E famous Amazing Grace swayed along with the sombreness of the vicinity as the trumpets blew to the wind.Six men, soldiers, dressed in black, carried a casket with white gloved hands, walking at a slow pace as a twenty-one gun salute was held.Large cannons emitted their contents at the heart of the city, with thousands of people walking behind the casket until it was lowered to the concrete six foot hole below.Far out in the city, thousands of fans had laid out flowers arranged in a way that they formed one large lightning bolt on the ground.The casket was black and sleek, reflecting the dark sky up above which was blanketed with clouds that threatened to release their bowels down on the forsaken city.It was lowered down with conveyer belt bindings as the large blue lightning bolt emblem repres
Last Updated : 2021-10-15
Latest chapter
Viper 13: Answers
T H E Y S T O P P E D A T Natasha's place where Lucas helped her set up the new Life Cell before arriving at Carter•Labs towards the afternoon."Hello?" called Natasha at the entrance."Shouldn't there be like security for this place?" Lucas asked, still marvelling at the size of the building.A whirring sound followed the moment Natasha set foot at the entrance and a machine that looked like a large kind of gun appeared right in front of Natasha."You sure you've been here before?" Lucas asked, wanting to pull back Natasha from the entrance.A bright green beam of light then flowed out of the machine and traced down Natasha's body from head to toe.Identity confirmed. Natasha Austin-Johnson.It was an automated voice that came from the interactive consciousness installed in the
Viper 12: Mac's
J E N N A G O T H O M E from the hospital just in time to find her daughter alighting the school bus.She grabbed her and hugged her, almost squeezing the life out of her."Mom, it was just three days!""Well, you're still my daughter and nobody's taking that away from me, so deal with it!" Jenna said comically, hugging Natasha even tighter."I missed you too, mom."Natasha was more than relieved to learn that her mother had no idea of what had happened back in New York. She would have been freaking out as if the embrace for having not seen her for less than three days wasn't enough.The beeping noise of the alarm startled Natasha after which she suddenly found herself lashing out her left hand and hitting the device to make it stop.Her face was smothered into a pillow and did not feel like getting out of be
Viper 11: Questions
"W E A R E S O dead!" began Cassie after she, Natasha, Lucas and Bianca got back to the museum only to find out that everyone was gone — the students, that is."Hey, why were you following us?" Cassie turned to Bianca.She gave a faked surprise expression."I don't know what you're talking about.""You...""Speaking of death," Lucas cut in, "Here comes Mr.Gilbert."The History teacher appeared from an office while walking with a security guard. His face clearly showed he was furious or was it concern and/or relief?"Where have the four of you been?""I was the one who saw them sneak out!" Bianca blurted out."Nice going, genius!" Cassie shot back, "and that's how I know you followed us!"Bianca rolled her eyes."Ok, the important thing is that all of you
Viper 10: A Bitter End
N E W Y O R K C I T Y. They got there towards noon as the coach cruised through Manhattan."We're here!" said an exhilarated Cassie Richards, dragging Natasha out of the bus.Natasha took a moment, observing the scenery filled with skyscrapers with jumbo-trons and the streets lined with theaters as well as yellow taxi cabs moving to and fro on the freeways."Well, it's pretty much like Atlanta but way bigger and with taller buildings, I guess," Natasha said.They got to the entrance of the Museum of Natural History where they were lead through the reception by a guide. Lucas lagged a little behind to look at the statue erected in front of the museum which depicted a sculpture of a man riding a horse.
Viper 9: The Trip
"M O M, F O R T H E one hundredth time, my stuff is okay!" cried out Natasha while dragging her wheeled bag out of her room."OK, just making sure you don't forget anything, honey."Natasha then noticed the long look her mother was giving her."You know I'm only going for three days, Mom."Jenna moved over to the door before grabbing her daughter's bag.She put the bag in the trunk of her grey Prius as Natasha got in the car."Alright, students. Listen up, please," began the fairly tall man in a broken suit and short brown hair.It was Mr. Gilbert-the History teacher.He was addressing his class."I guess everyone knows where we're going today.The Museum of Natural History in New York..."A student raised his hand."Yes, Lucy!"
Viper 8: Carter•Labs
T H E L A S T T I M E she had set foot at that place was way back before she'd started high school.Apparently, her mother never really talked about that place as much.The building was one of the biggest structures in the city with five storeys. There were other buildings with more storeys but this one covered a pretty big area of land and was entirely made with glass from the outside.CARTER•LABSNatasha still didn't get the title which was plastered at the very center of the facility. Why was there no space separating the two. As in, Carter Labs.Oh well, must be a 'successful scientist' thing. "Hi there, Natasha!" called Katie Patterso
Viper 7: The Monument
S H E S T O O D A few feet away from the tall mound of stone and marble that cast a shadow over her from the setting sun.For an unknown reason, Natasha found herself visiting that place more than once in a week, just to let out the day's weight and gaze upon the twenty-foot statue of the Blue Streak which captured him in a sprinting position and the large lightning bolt emblem plastered to his chest being the only thing that had color as a blue glowing lamp enclosed in a glass case was attached on top of it, highlighting the emblem.The rest of the sculpture was a solid dark grey with one of his feet, the right one, erected onto a pedestal while the left one was raised and bending almost forty-five degrees to give the perfect running position. TO WHOEVER SEEKS TRUE STRENGTH&nbs
Viper 6: A Botched Deal
P O L I C E C A P T A I N S U S A N Claire slid her glock into her holster next to her hip as she walked out of the precinct, wearing sunglasses.She stopped next to her car—a Dodge Challenger Hell Cat and watched two detectives move past her with another man between them whose hands were cuffed in front of him. She waited until they had gotten with him into another car, a yellow cab and she did the same.The cab was first to get out of the precinct's parking lot, followed by the captain's car.Claire checked the time displayed on a small screen at the dashboard, next to the steer wheel, which was charged by a high power battery as well as the rest of the car after an advancement was made to replace fuel energy. Half past four o'clock in the afternoon—the exact time the delivery guy was expected to show up at the exch
Viper 5: Tryouts
T O W A R D S T H E E V E N I N G of the same day, Natasha was just getting back home from school to find piles of boxes lying all around the living room.Her mother appeared from the stairwell in a sweater with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and her hair was ruffled up a little. She had a large box in her hands."Oh, hey! I was just gathering some old stuff from the attic.""What old stuff?"Natasha set down her bag and went to help her mother with the box she was carrying."Well, you know...stuff. The attic's getting crowded.""What are you going to do to with it?""Katie told me about this charity home and I it sounded like a good idea."Natasha's eyes moved past where her mother was standing, making her turn to see what she was looking at."Are those...Dad's clo
