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Post by dragonbat on Feb 27, 2008 0:03:33 GMT -5
Bitter BlendWriters: Batkid and Ramon Villalobos Cover: Ramon Villalobos Editor: Ellen Fleischer
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Post by dragonbat on Feb 27, 2008 0:10:54 GMT -5
Nightwing #24: Bitter Blend Dick tossed the newspaper to the desk and leaned back in his chair. Another one? Over the past two weeks, severe cases of arsenic poisoning had been popping up sporadically across the globe. London, Tokyo, Chicago, France… New York. In fact, this marked the eighty-third case of arsenic poisoning in New York, alone—two of them his classmates. He had been painstakingly collecting what information he could on the victims, but it was a time-consuming task—there were thousands of sick in hundreds of places with no single interconnecting thread to tie them all together. No obvious one at least. His grumbling stomach diverted his attention. He checked his watch. If he ate a quick breakfast at the small restaurant down the road, he might make it to work on time. Grabbing his jacket, he locked the door and ran down to his ‘cycle. After a five-minute breakfast he hopped on his motorcycle and headed to work. The sausage was dry, the pancakes were stale, and the iced tea was lukewarm but it would do. He’d barely worked half the day when he began to feel dizzy and nauseous. He focused on the papers in front of him and tried to concentrate. That was when his situation seemed all too familiar. People were dying of arsenic poisoning and no one could find a connection between the victims. They resided in different parts of the world, lived different lifestyles—they appeared to have nothing remotely in common. In less than an hour he had to give up working. He told Tiffany he was leaving, and drove home. It was a miracle he made it that far. Back home, Dick parked his bike in the apartment garage and hurried into his building, clutching his stomach, gritting his teeth against the pain. Forcing himself up the stairs to his door, he unlocked it and pushed it open. He stood in the doorway for a moment, dizzy, before he walked in and flipped the light on.
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Post by dragonbat on Feb 27, 2008 0:12:58 GMT -5
“SURPRISE!!!”
Dick looked around in shock—his living room was filled with people! Great, he thought to himself. Just what I need right now.
“Oh, hi guys... I’m… surprised.” He said wryly, leaning against the wall in a manner he hoped looked casual. In truth, he needed it for support. His birthday had been over a month ago, but he guessed that this was the first free time they’d all had that they could hold a surprise party.
As he spoke, he instinctively surveyed the room and people therein, a slightly irritating habit he had picked up from his pixie boot and yellow cape days. He saw, with some annoyance, that Wally and Roy were playing pinball on his. No coasters under their drinks on his desk. Donna and Kory were on the couch—Kory had probably let everyone in with her key. And then there was…
“Hey,” the fifth guest said. “Umm, Happy birthday... sort of.”
Dick hid his surprise. He had no idea who this person was. He had non-descript ethnic features, and appeared to have some sort of paint on his fingernails. “Hey. Who’d you come with?” Dick responded, smiling politely as he reached out to shake the mystery guest’s hand.
The other man reached out and shook his hand, gesturing towards Donna with his head. “She invited me.”
Roy glanced up from the game, letting his animated ball fall between the paddles. “No, she didn’t.”
“Dick, don't you remember I told you about my boyfriend, Kyle.”
“Kyle?”
“Kyle.”
“Oh right. Kyle.”
“Yep, that's right, Kyle. Kyle Rayner. And you are Dick right?”
“Yeah, I'm Dick. Nice to meet you. Donna, could I talk to you in the other room?”
“Sure Dick. Kyle, it'll just be a second, you don't mind right?”
“No, ‘course not, leave me in alone with a bunch of people I just met and who don't seem too thrilled to meet me, that sounds like a great time.” Kyle whispered harshly back in return.
“Thanks.” She said patting him on the head before getting up and following Dick into another room.
“Are you out of your mind?” Dick said, closing the door.
“Dick…”
“Donna, I appreciate the party, really I do. But bringing outsiders to it is extremely dangerous. I mean, you don't exactly wear a mask to conceal your own identity, and neither does Kory. All he has to do is figure out the two of you, which isn't hard considering Kory is… Kory, and all of a sudden, he knows the identities of all the Titans. He has to know you are Wonder Girl, right?”
“Dick, will you take it easy? I was under the assumption Kory was going to invite more then just the four of us. I already had to drag him here and I couldn't just send him away once I found out no one else was coming.”
“Why not?” He asked, trying to force a grin and hide the horrible feeling inside him.
“Look, had I known you'd be so... Dick are you okay? You look terrible.” Donna asked, concerned.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” Dick said, wrapping his arm around her neck and walking her back to the party.
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Post by dragonbat on Feb 27, 2008 0:24:18 GMT -5
Moments later...
Dick retched. He stood over the toilet a moment longer before straightening up, still holding his stomach.
Please… not me too…
He had just enough time to bend over the toilet again before he heaved once more.
Darn it!
Kyle peeked in the doorway to where Dick was leaning against the wall tiredly, the remains of his breakfast in the toilet. After a moment he broke the silence.
“Sausage?” he observed.
Dick turned his head to look at him, his lips pressed together in a tight line. “Get. Out.”
I am soooooo gonna kill Donna. Dick thought.
“Hey, sorry, I just needed to use the... I guess you do too, ’ey?” Kyle commented.
“Dick? Are you okay?” Kory asked from behind Kyle.
No. Dick wasn’t okay. He had the same symptoms that thousands of other people had around the world.
…Before they landed six feet under.
Dick didn’t want to worry anyone, though. Ever since he’d gotten sick, he’d been comparing it to what other people had.
It had to be arsenic poisoning.
Dick didn’t want to worry anyone, though. Ever since he’d gotten sick, he’d been comparing it to what other people had.
“Kory,” he gasped, his throat raw.
“Yes?” Kory asked, in all seriousness.
“Grab a small plastic bag.”
She hastened to comply. A moment later she returned, and offered the bag to Dick.
“What’re you doing?” Kyle asked as Dick pulled a couple of dark hairs from his head.
Dick didn’t have the energy or inclination to reply; he simply dropped the hair into the bag. Handing the bag back to Kory, he said, “Have these analyzed.
He retched, leaning over the toilet.
Kory looked as serious as Dick had ever seen her. “You think that you were poisoned or something?”
It was a moment before Dick could reply. “Maybe... yeah. Have the lab check for arsenic, foxglove, rhododendron, azalea, maybe elephant ear, just have them test it. But have them check for arsenic, first.”
“I shall,” Kory said, turning immediately to leave.
“You,” Dick said to Kyle. “Tell Donna and the guys that I’m sorry, but I’m not in any condition for a party.”
Dick threw up again, clutching his stomach in pain.
“Sure,” Kyle said. He appeared again a moment later. He waited till Dick had straightened up and looked at him. “They wanted to come see you, but… I told them that no, they didn’t.”
Dick glanced in the mirror. He did look awful, but he didn’t care.
“Should I be carrying you to the hospital?” Kyle asked, his tone light, though he looked concerned.
“No,” Dick muttered, thinking out loud. “They’d treat me the same way they’re treating other patients with my symptoms…”
“You think you deserve special treatment?” Kyle interrupted, smirking.
“… With charcoal tablets,” Dick continued. He stumbled to the medicine cabinet, searching for his own supply.
Kyle watched over Dick’s shoulder. “That one?” He pointed.
Dick didn’t have time to reply before Kyle's hand was in front of him, knocking a bottle of aspirin into the sink as it reached for the tablets. Dick grabbed the box before Kyle could, dumping five of the pills into his hand.
Hope I can hold this down, Dick though as he took the tablets.
“Now what?” Kyle demanded.
“Now we wait,” Dick said, sinking slowly to the floor. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the cabinet. If he was right, the charcoal tablets should at least help.
Fifteen minutes later he opened his eyes.
“Give me five more,” he said, looking up at Kyle.
Kyle dumped some out of the box and handed them to Dick, who downed them.
Dick leaned back and closed his eyes again, so pale that Kyle wondered if he really would have to carry him to the hospital.
“How long has it been?” Dick murmured.
“Uh… four, five minutes.”
Dick was silent a moment, then looked up at Kyle, confused.
“What’re you doing here?” He asked strangely.
Kyle crouched down so he could see the other man face-to-face. Against Dick’s muttered protests he easily slung him over his shoulder. Obviously, whatever plan Dick had made had failed. Kyle made it to the living room before the phone rang. The answering machine picked it up as Kyle opened the door, and Kory’s voice came on.
“Hey, it’s me. Looks like you were right—S.T.A.R. Labs confirmed that you have arsenic poisoning—”
Kyle dumped Dick on the couch and picked up the phone, and exchanged a few quick words with Kory. He updated her on Dick’s condition, then hung up and looked at Dick thoughtfully.
Picking Dick up again, he went out the door and down the stairs. Once on the street, he hailed a taxi.
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Post by dragonbat on Feb 27, 2008 0:27:38 GMT -5
Dick struggled to open his eyes. His eyelids seemed weighted down. He opened them a crack and looked around. Everything was a sterile white, and an I.V. drip stood beside the bed. The tubes were connected to his arm—what was inside the drips he didn’t know.
He struggled to remember how he’d ended up here… He remembered leaving work early, sick… and he thought he’d made it home…
“Hey, he’s aliiive!”
Dick turned his head slightly to see a grinning Kyle.
“What’re you doing here?” Dick mumbled.
“That’s a fine greeting for the guy who saved your life,” Kyle grumbled.
“Saved?”
“Uh-huh,” Kyle bragged, grinning. “You passed out in your apartment.”
Dick struggled to remember. “Why?” He asked. “Why’d I pass out?”
Kyle sobered immediately. “You were poisoned. Arsenic, same as what everybody else is getting.”
“Where are the others?”
“Roy got a call and they all had to split. Donna asked if I could stay behind to… you know...”
Dick was quiet a moment. “O.K…” he said slowly. It was starting to come back to him. “I guess the charcoal tablets didn’t work?”
“Charcoal?”
“They help with some poisons,” Dick waved a hand dismissively. “Since it was arsenic, for example, the charcoal tablets helped. A little.” He thought. “I probably came into contact with the poison sometime this morning—I hadn’t been at work long before I got sick.”
“So did you go anywhere before work?”
“No… well, I had breakfast at a restaurant.” Dick looked at Kyle. “I have an idea. Give me a paper and pencil.”
“You know, I liked you a whole better when you were unconscious. Awake you are so pushy,” Kyle grumbled, searching for the requested items. He found them and handed them to Dick.
“Let’s see…” Dick muttered, writing something Kyle couldn’t see on the paper. “Here,” he said, handing the list to Kyle.
“Sausage, iced tea, pancakes?” Kyle read.
“That’s what I had at the restaurant. If I was poisoned, that’s probably where it happened. Order that same meal, then come back here.”
“Umm, if you are right, doesn't that mean I could end up like you?” Kyle scowled.
“Yeah well... That's a risk I’m willing to take.” Dick said sternly and pointing to the door.
“Oh geez, thanks.”
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Post by dragonbat on Feb 27, 2008 0:28:10 GMT -5
When Kyle got back to the hospital, he found Dick trying to convince the doctor and nurses to discharge him.
“Aw, he’s fine,” Kyle said.
“He really should be kept here overnight—” The doctor interrupted.
Kyle waved at him dismissively. “Please, the guy’s clearly fine...” He leaned a little closer to the doctor. “I’ll keep an eye on him and drag him back here if he gets sick again. ‘Sides, considering how he’s behaving, consider it a favor that I take him off your hands.”
The doctor removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Fine. But if you show the slightest symptom,” he said, turning to Dick, “come back here immediately.”
“You got it,” Dick said. Smiling, he walked casually out the door and bolted for the rooftop as soon as he left the two men behind.
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Post by dragonbat on Feb 27, 2008 0:34:44 GMT -5
He had to find answers but he was still unsure where to get them. He had leads, sure, but it was hard to hunt down a threat when he still didn't know exactly what it was. Nightwing rose from his hunched position next to a snarling gargoyle and looked out across the bustling city below.
Where to start? He asked himself as he ran through all the data in his head trying to sort the whole mess out. Arsenic poisoning. Thousands sick. No visible connection.
He mistimed his leap and stumbled as he crossed the short gap to the next building. Hopping across the rooftops of New York City may not have been the best way to fight through the sickness but he couldn't sit around his apartment with Donna's boyfriend and wait for the answers to fall into his lap.
His first guess was that the poison had been imbibed.
A mass poisoning would have had to be spread in a manner that would reach thousands of people. Short of the League of Assassins pulling extreme overtime to individually poison everyone of the victims, the arsenic had to have tainted something all of the victims would have all had access to.
The water source? Seeing is how thousands were being killed as opposed to millions, he crossed that possibility off his list immediately. So what next? He added the piece of the puzzle he’d just happened to stumble across earlier that day. Himself. He was sick. That was enough.
The tea.
The timeline made sense. There was no way the pork from his sausage was distributed world wide but a tainted shipment of tea from even one harvesting field could sporadically pop up in different global locations.
It seemed to make sense, but he was still a little lightheaded.
But what about motive? Anyone could call a murder a murder, but that didn't get him any closer to actually finding the person responsible. Why tea? It was a specific target but not so specific that whoever cooked up this little scheme could directly affect someone they intended to kill.
Unless... unless, unless, unless. The people weren't the target. When the news finally came out that the tea was tainted, then a very specific person would be hurt. The person in charge of the company trying to sell or distribute the tea.
In his head, he made a list of priorities. First on that list would be to check out exactly what brand of tea he drank this way he could track down the tainted shipment or shipments and prevent any more people from getting sick.
His leg muscles burned as he bolted across the rooftop and leaped off the edge, arms outstretched, reaching for the heavens as he flew over New York. The cool breeze blowing back his hair eased the burning sickness.
But he stumbled.
His movements were not exact. His timing was off. His foot slipped again but this time, he was not lucky enough to catch himself.
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Post by dragonbat on Feb 27, 2008 0:36:44 GMT -5
Moments earlier, stories below...
Jeez, that Dick guy sure lived up to his namesake, Kyle Rayner thought to himself as he walked up the street to his cramped studio apartment. I knew I shoulda stayed home tonight. And what was Donna thinking leaving me with that stiff? That was when he got that familiar feeling in his gut. Aw no! Not again, not now, I just want to get home and get to sleep. But the feeling would not go away. It never did. Instead, it grew spreading through his body until it threatened to break through the skin on his toes and fingertips.
He ran into what he hoped was an abandoned alleyway and got ready for the light show. His hands started to glow and his eyes turned white. From his chest black matter exploded, which enveloped his body and covered him from head to toe before it tamed to a body suit.
Then of course came the beam of light. He tried to prevent its turning into the searchlight it had become the few times before but as uncontrollable as ever, the light burst from his chest, shot into the air, and turned the tight space between the buildings as bright as day.
He had changed, and not only appearance-wise. He was filled with unnatural confidence. His creativity which previously had been like a leaky facet was now completely uninhibited. He soared into the sky. He was braver. He was stonger. He was a hero. He was Ion.
That was when he saw a prowler hopping along the rooftops, dressed in black. A criminal, no doubt. His fists glowed and zoomed towards the shadow as it continued to flip and twirl across the night sky stopping only momentarily at a time to look around before jumping again.
Ignoring his natural instinct to do the sensible thing and call the cops, Kyle followed the man running recklessly away from him. That was when he saw him slip and fall. Kyle manifested a net underneath him catching who or whatever it was before it splattered onto the streets below.
“Hey there, need a lift?” Kyle asked pulling the net closer to him and putting handcuffs on the masked man wearing blue and black tights.
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Post by dragonbat on Feb 27, 2008 0:39:30 GMT -5
Dick noticed the voice, right away. Kyle?
“And where do you think you’re running off to in such a hurry?”
“Listen K-Green Lantern or whoever you are, you've got to let me down.” Dick spoke, altering his voice so that it would be less recognizable to his new acquaintance.
“I'm not Green Lantern!”
“Fine, Lantern Boy, whatever you want to be called, you have to-”
“My name's Ion! Wait a minute,” He begins suspiciously, “Aren't you....” Dick's gut tightened up. Nearly 8 years of being a cape and this was how his secret identity would be exposed. “NIGHTWING?”
“Huh? Well... yeah...”
“And you’re one of the good guys right?”
Geez, this guy must be clueless, Dick thought to himself. “Yeah, that's right. Member of the Teen Titans... I work with Batman from time to time...”
“Okay, okay, I don't need your resume.” Kyle set him back onto a rooftop. “So… I suppose you had a plan for jumping off the rooftop, right?”
Nightwing grunted. “I do have a grappling hook, I would’ve been fine, thank you.”
Kyle stifled a laugh, earning a glare from Dick. “Right, right, I’m sure. It looked like you had everything under control.”
Dick refused to answer, and simply turned around and walked off in the opposite direction. The one person he had to fall in front of… he’d almost had rather landed on the street below!
Willing himself to walk steadily—he would not fall again in front of Kyle!—he leapt onto the next rooftop, intent on putting as much distance between Kyle and himself as he could.
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Post by dragonbat on Feb 27, 2008 0:39:57 GMT -5
Behind him, Kyle watched and shook his head.
I shoulda just let him fall, Kyle thought to himself half regretfully.
Almost out of eyeshot now, he could just see Dick narrowly miss falling again. Kyle smiled. Obviously, the media had made a bigger deal out of Nightwing than what he really was. This guy could barely clear a 6-foot gap!
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Post by dragonbat on Feb 27, 2008 0:41:11 GMT -5
Dick gritted his teeth. That darn net of Kyle’s! He hadn’t been expecting it, and now he’d twisted his ankle. Things couldn’t get worse.
Of course they could!
Kyle flew up. “Looking a little wobbly there, Nightwing,” he drawled, floating beside him.
“Go. Away.”
Kyle laughed, and hovered alongside anyway, much to Dick’s annoyance.
“Working on another case, Nightwing?”
“Yes,” he said shortly. “And it’s urgent.”
If I ever see Donna…
Dick didn’t get a chance to finish the thought before Kyle said, “Want some help?”
“No.”
Kyle stopped flying and dropped lightly to the ground. “You sure?" He asked, as the vigilante continued to ignore him. "I'm really not doing anything. We can like... you know, team up. I've never really gotten to do that yet..."
Dick refused to acknowledge him.
"Come on, you can barely walk, man."
"The LAST thing I need right now is a sidekick, especially one that won't shut up." Dick grunted, finally snapping at Ion.
"Well, you got one anyway! I mean… ”
Nightwing paused. He really wasn’t feeling good, and though he’d never say so, he would’ve been splattered all over the sidewalk if it hadn’t been for Kyle.
He turned to Kyle. “Hope you like tea.”
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Post by dragonbat on Feb 27, 2008 0:42:47 GMT -5
Nightwing peered into the darkness, searching for any guards. So far, he and Kyle had done great at disabling and avoiding any alarms.
Behind him, Kyle said, “all clear.” He wiped off his hands and a small gang of green robotic soldiers disappeared.
Dick shushed him, then said, “We’ll split up. If you come across anything or anybody that looks suspicious, call me, you got it?”
“Are you sure it’s this company?” Kyle asked as loudly as before.
“Yes. This is the kind that I drank, and the same kind that at least a few others did.”
Kyle gave him a mock salute, then walked away from Dick, studying his surroundings.
Nightwing went the opposite way, looking around more carefully. Wandering through the warehouse, he found crates full of boxes of Eastern Leaves tea. Rapid calculations told him that there had to be several thousand boxes in the visible crates alone.
He pulled out a few boxes of tea and ripped open the bags. He shone a small flashlight to illuminate them. He shook some, but no telltale white powder came out.
Nightwing looked through several more boxes, coming up empty-handed each time. Checking the date on the crates, he found that they had been delivered earlier that day.
Struck with inspiration, he hurried to find Ion. He peeked around several crates, before…
“Hey, Nightwing!”
Dick winced. That maniac!
Well, if anyone was there, they knew they had company. “Yes?” Dick said, his voice chilly as it echoed in the warehouse.
“C’mere a sec.”
Dick followed his voice, but stopped short when he found him.
“Does this count as suspicious?” Kyle asked him.
Dick paused, then said, “Oh, yeah…”
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Post by dragonbat on Feb 27, 2008 0:43:23 GMT -5
To be continued!!!!
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Post by Admin on Feb 27, 2008 2:25:54 GMT -5
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