The Adventure of the Speckled Band [invite]

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The serpents eyes narrowed at both Inks and Robins words in thought. 'I still don't like it, fear can turn even the most level headed of people into monsters.... I know this truth all to well...... Although the chance to let Rose be normal is just too good to pass up....' The large snake man let out a slightly frustrated sigh. "Miss Kaie, I fear for the world if you ever decide to go into politics..... And maybe I can do a little good beyond just being a 'guard-snake' against this Slade." His eyes drifted to Robin for a moment before going back to Ink, the serpent then rose to the full height that the large tunnels allowed as he continued. "I agree to your demands Miss Kaie..... More for Rose then my own benefit." The snake man took a glance at the silent chameleon for a moment, before putting the matter to the back of his mind.

"If you don't mind, I would rather have Rose within the safety of your tower sooner rather then later......" His body turned slightly as his lower half did a one-eighty in order to slither away. "If you two would be so kind as to accompany me? There are things we should probably discuss, and as well that Rose misses you terribly Miss Kaie."

[Silv]

Once the Titans had made up their minds the snakeman didn't stand a chance. It was better he had acknowledged that sooner as opposed to later mostly because Robin preferred efficiency to wasting time. When the man suggested he could do more than simply guard their underbelly the Titan leader gave him a respectful nod. The truth was, however, that they were the Teen Titans. They were slightly more legit than your average tree house club, thanks to Robin's connections and Cyborg's technical skills, but they weren't really a real superhero league and their leader was still just a kid. Robin wasn't sure he could trust an adult to follow his orders. Maybe Naga would surprise him.

He watched as the snakeman twisted around in the tunnel, nodding again that he would follow him and Ink. Robin was curious to see the fortifications the man had managed to build for himself and his daughter. To see how resourceful Naga was. To see what he and Cyborg would have to start setting up that very afternoon. He was also a tiny bit curious to meet the man's daughter. The Titans leader had already promised himself he wouldn't get roped into baby sitting or anything. He was far too busy. Of course, it was doubtful he'd be able to keep his nose out of it anyway.

As they walked Robin's gaze slid down each tunnel they passed. Naga had mentioned they had some things to discuss. That was certainly true. When they passed the tunnel Robin recognized as the one they'd been down earlier the boy jerked his head in the same direction as it. “What happened down there?” his masked eyes narrowed as he glanced up at Naga. He didn't expect the man to turn, or even slow down, but he wanted some sort of explanation. If only so he could tell Naga never to do it again. “I found bullets and one of your scales. There was a scuffle. You want to tell me what happened?” or are you going to make me guess was the unspoken ending to the boy's words.

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ooc: this is going to be short guys sorry my wrist is bunged up again.

bic: Ink beamed as Naga finally agreed to come home. She was just so happy and relived that she had found Naga and Rose, and that now she could keep them safe. No cop or civilian would mess with either of them, and no one would ever be able to use Rose. Ink was already planning lessons in her head, and how to fit them in between her shifts. Ink would also help Naga rearrange the space under the tower to help him feel more at home as well.

As she made her mental checklist in her head she followed back down the tunnel, to lost in thought to hear Robin.

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As the motley crew slowly traversed the tunnels, Robin once more brought up what had happened when he had initially entered the underbelly of Jump. 'Now the question is would they view me as a killer worse, or a opportunistic carnivore.....' With a sigh the serpent decided he would tell most of the truth, better to keep the horror story to one 'evil' after all.

"I stumbled across two punks, A shot was fired that nearly hit Rose. I got angry and began closing, more shots were fired while one ran away and the other fell over dead before I could touch him." Naga had nearly perfected the art of the lie, what with keeping that her mother was dead from Rose for two years. With the minor alteration to what really happened he continued. "Maybe it was a ricochet or maybe his partner shot him in the back in a panic. I didn't know, and frankly I didn't really care at the time since he had come very close to putting a hollow point round into an eight year old girl." He said with a hiss of anger. "However, Rose had not seen the man die. And well, I hadn't eaten for a while so I took what I could until I could set up someplace safe for Rose." He looked back at both Robin and Ink. "As monstrous as it may seem, my bodies extreme mutation has left me both as a strict carnivore and with an extremely high intake requirement. I had a dead body that I did not want my daughter exposed to and I needed to stave off my need to eat for at least a few hours." He grunted as he turned his head back forwards. "His fleeing partner probably saw me, and thought the man was still alive." He let out a somewhat dark chuckle "There was a reason I never denied your accusations of being a man-eating monster, because technically I am." He let out a sigh as his slithering slowed slightly. "With what little equipment I've been able to get my hands on, I am quite literally barely human. Only three percent of my genetics are now the same as a human, about the same amount as a primate I believe......"

[Silv]

Robin's masked eyes narrowed at the snake-man as he told the story of what happened in the tunnels. He didn't have any probable cause for Naga to be lying. It didn't make any sense. And yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The boy frowned as he mentally reviewed the evidence he had found in the tunnels. There had been signs of a body, which fit with the story, but there had been barely any blood. If order for that to have happened the man Naga had eaten either couldn't have been shot or the opportunistic carnivore had his meal before verifying that the man was actually dead.

More confused than perturbed by the story, people-eating monsters were nothing new to the Gotham native, Robin glanced back at his teammate to see how she was handling the news. This would be harder for Ink to stomach, he was sure, because she wasn't used to the harsher realities of life. So far as he knew she'd never been held hostage, blackmailed, or tortured and the Boy Wonder wanted to keep it that way. You okay? he mouthed back at her, frowning in a concerned fashion.

His attention then turned to Naga who had slowed. “I don't care how human you are or you aren't,” the kid replied still frowning, though, this time it was less in concern and more in suspicion. “The Teen Titans don't kill. If you want to be affiliated with us, you won't either,” it was a warning, more of less, for Naga to not do it again. There was a pause then, as the Boy Wonder narrowed his eyes, “And never lie to me again.” he said this much softer, hopefully so Ink wouldn't hear it. He didn't like being lied to. It made him feel like he was being treated like a little kid. Like he wasn't respected the same way an adult would be.

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Ink slowed to a stop as she listened to the answer Naga gave to the question she hadn't heard. Logically she knew predators had to eat. How many documentaries had she seen where the shark ate the seal, the lion ate the zebra, and the man ate the beast? To many to ignore the fact that carnivores had to eat just like everything else, they just had a stricter diet. Logically it made sense that Naga would have to eat what ever meat became available when it did, like most reptiles he would be an opportunistic hunter at best.

But she had never stopped to consider the implication that would have on the local wild life, and what would happen if no wild life was around for him to eat. The little Scott frowned as she mulled over the thoughts in her head. The only thing that separated a predator from a monster was the level of intelligence as far as she was concerned. And despite the genetics the father before her still had enough human intelligence to know right from wrong. And eating any human was just wrong. Very very wrong.

She looked up in time to see Robin silently asking her if she was ok. She chewed her bottom lip but nodded. She trudged a bit behind the rest of the party, her brain and her heart waring with each other. In the end her heart won, she felt responsible for Naga and Rose, and keeping them safe. And despite his past she still felt the same way even though she knew Naga's secret.

She nodded at Robin's demands, though she couldn't make out the soft mumble that followed the warning. "Nay more eating people, even the scum o the sewers deserve better then that. Ah'd rather yea eat wan o mae beasts then any other human begin again." She added. Only Robin knew just what she was saying, and just what the loss of one of her creatures would mean, but she meant every word. The red headed lass stopped, she wanted Naga to turn around and see the look on her face and how serious she was.

She wouldn't follow him until he did, and agreed to their rule.

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When both teens objected to the information he presented them, the serpent stopped and tilted his head to the side. A lone eye looking at them both as he thought on their words. While with Robin, the boy wonder would get no guarantee from him.

He knew better then anyone his request was impossible to agree with. The serpents lone eye narrowed at the bat's protege for a mere second before it moved to Ink and her request.

Ink's request of him was much easier to meet and agree to, although it would make hunting take higher priority in his future. Eating humans both dead and alive was a conscious choice he made every time, acting against aggressors with brute force was not always a choice he had.

"Your terms I can agree to miss Kaie, your friends however I can not make a full guarantee. There is a primal side to me that I can not fully control, thankfully there is very little that can bring it out..." The serpents head turned to look strait ahead, the lair he had made not much further. "I can do my best to keep that side of me under control, miss Kaie has already seen that part of me when we fell under fire....." The serpent man began to move forwards "My temporary home is just ahead, what we have discussed here does not reach the ears of my daughter.

[Silv]

Robin had a good reason to be worried about Ink. The nod she was alright was reluctant at best, and her response that she'd rather him eat one of her beasts than another person again caused the boy to glance back at her in a worried fashion. Naga wouldn't know the significance of what she had said. Of course the snakeman wouldn't. But the Titan leader did.

When Naga refused to follow Robin's rules that was the last straw. The Boy Wonder didn't care that he'd agreed to Ink's terms. Agreeing not to eat people wasn't anywhere near the same as agreeing not to kill. And Robin knew, for certain now, that the snakeman would continue to lie to him. “No,” he replied sharply, stopping much the same way Ink did since the snakeman was refusing to listen to him. “If you want to live on our island it has to be by our rules.”

Naga might have had an eight year old daughter to protect, but Robin had a team of over twenty teenagers. He wasn't about to let an adult who thought he knew best jeopardize the safety of his entire squad. Feeding Naga would be no problem, all it would take was a lot of grocery trips, maybe a Titan's cow herd. He would make sure the man didn't have to resort to eating people. But, above all, what he needed to know was that he could trust Naga. Every sign the man was giving him currently lead to no.

Naga could glare at him all freaking day. There was no way Robin was budging.

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Ink remembered the raw and primal fury she had witnessed before she and Annet could smack Naga out of it. Granted it had taken a back full of military grade shrapnel to bring that side out in him then. Slowly in her head she mad the same connection Robin had ages before she did. Naga wasn't telling them a part of the story.

And his response wasn't good enough for her or Robin. She stood by her team mate " Yea cant lose control again Naga. We cant house people who continue to kill, that needs tae bae en the past now. Ah know yea dae et tae keep Rose safe, but she will be now. No wan will bae able tae hurt her anymore wance she es en the tower." she reasoned. Robin needed his promise, not killing was a core part of what made them heroes. And if Robin needed it then she did as well.

"And Rose will never hear a word about what we said." she promised. her word for his. In the back of her mind she wondered if her mouth was making to many promises, and just what would happen if something tipped the delicate balance she had made for herself by making all those promises.

ooc: repetitive and short. Sorry dears.

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The serpent man let out a small hiss, barely audible when they both reasoned that killing was bad but had not listened to the problem he had. The serpent then turned quickly, almost instantly as his amber eyes locked on to Robin. "If you can ensure my daughters safety, that she will never come under harm. Then I can promise not to slay again, all I need is my daughter safe to keep the beast within tame." The serpent let out a sigh as his body seemed to sag, but the sigh was not of anger but more of depression. "As long as Rose can be kept safe I will agree to whatever terms you wish, I owe her mother that much." His eyes lingered on Ink for a second. "I owe Vanessa more then that....." His body turned round once more before slithering forwards once more.

((short as well but eh what you gonna do))

[Silv]

Robin was relieved when Ink stood besides him, especially since the snakeman seemed to take more interest in what she said. They had a prior history, it made sense, but that didn't make it any less frustrating. Those amber eyes locked onto Robin's masked ones and they had a stare down, but it didn't last nearly as long as the Boy Wonder had originally feared it would.

“I swear, as a hero, to do everything in my power to protect your daughter,” Robin replied like he'd just sworn an oath. He took the care of his team and the people they lived with very seriously. While their security wasn't always the greatest (they really needed to work on that) Robin did everything he could to keep his teammates safe. Now that the matter of his daughter was out of the way, Robin and Naga could get along...maybe. Naga's agreement not to kill people was the most important thing. Everything else was gravy. He stored the name Vanessa safely in his head for later research as he moved to follow the giant snakeman down the sewer tunnel.

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"She will bae safe with mae Naga."Ink promised seriously. She knew the bonds between a Father and his daughter were something special, and the lengths they would go to protect their children, so she knew how serious the words were when she said them. She assumed Vanessa was the name of Rose's mother and put the name away in her mind, just in case Naga ever wanted to talk about her.

The seriousness of their conversation faded away for her as they started moving forward again. Ink was so excited she was practically skipping. She remembered just how kind the little girl had been on their first meeting, such a sweet little heart. All she had to do to see her again was follow Naga, and they could do that now.

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As the motley crew of two teens and a monster continued down the tunnels, the sewers ahead seemed to become nearly pitch black. The service lights for a good chunk of the tunnel seemingly burnt out, or more likely torn out by the large serpent leading the way. The serpent man then stopped as he turned to the side, the sewer wall covered by a massive piece of sheet-metal. It would look like a cheap wall repair if it wasn't for the serpent man lifting it to the side, exposing a dug tunnel that wound upwards. The serpent man slithered in, waving the two teens to follow. Once both teens had entered the dug tunnel, Naga dragged the sheet metal back into place. With that done the serpent man continued down and up the tunnel he had carved, the gradual incline leading up still walkable for Ink and Robin. The tunnel continued on for a good thirty feet before reaching another steel plate covering the hole. With a careful hand the serpent slid the plate slowly, exposing the crew to a half-lit ware-house.

The serpent man, now able to be at his full size cracked his neck slightly from the (to him) cramped conditions of the sewer-way and his own carving. The warehouse itself had been a metal shipping and receiving warehouse. Equipment meant for loading heavy sheets and girders covered in dust from lack of use, although all the metal that had been left behind had gone into Naga's thrown together fortifications. Sheet metal lined the walls, the sheets having partial cuts in them and linked together to form a single mass like a child making a card-board house. Further reinforced by girders stabbed into the ground and propped up to hold them in place. The only ways into the building with what the serpent had done was the tunnel he had made, and high explosives. Only a few of the main lights were on, as well as the lights for the office-room. The office door opened, revealing the small frame of Rose who was rubbing at her eyes. "Hey dad, did you eat we-" The girls words halted as she looked up, to see her father, Robin, and most importantly.

Ink.

"KAIE!" The girl shouted excitedly, her voice bouncing off the walls as she closed the distance between her and the red-haired Scott in the blink of an eye and practically tackling her in a hug. "OhthisisawesomeIthoughtIwouldnevergettoseeyouagainthisisthebest!" The girl said rapidly and excitedly into Ink, the small girl having yet to let go of Ink from her tight tackle-hug

[Silv]

Robin followed the snakeman down the dark tunnel. He didn't trust his eyes, or his feet, in the darkness and as soon as it got too dark he pulled his flashlight back out of his belt and the beam bobbed along in front of him. In the torchlight Naga looked quite terrifying. Being a Gothamite, the Boy Wonder had seen worse, but that didn't mean he wasn't still afraid. After all, fear kept you sharp. There was nothing to fear from Naga, however, the man had made that perfectly clear.

He stopped when they made it to a sheet of metal pressed against the wall. It didn't look terribly special, Robin would have never tried to move it on his own. The sheet was dropped back into place behind them once he and Ink were through. They were in a tunnel. It looked like it'd been dug out by Naga himself. Robin wondered how the man had done it and how long it had taken.

They made it through another steel door construction made in a similar fashion and suddenly they were blinking in an open warehouse. Robin squinted at the lights above them as the boy flicked off his flashlight and stuck it in his utility belt. He was studying the fortifications around him critically when he heard a girl's voice coming from a little ways away. The man and his daughter might have at one point looked alike. Now there was no telling their biological resemblance.

The Boy Wonder smiled as he watched the girl rush excitedly over to his teammate and the two young women hug. He'd let Ink and Rose catch up. Leaving them to their own devices he went over towards Naga's fortification and gave it an experimental shove. It held strong. “Impressive,” he said softly before turning to study the snake man. “How long did this take you to build?”

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As they walked the tunnel grew steadily dimmer as the light from the still working lights faded behind them, she knew that the lights that were out had had some help to get to their dark states. It was Clever of Naga to rip out the lights, the darkness would dissuade most scum from coming into his territory, humanity has always feared the dark and unknown. Even as a Titan she shivered as she faced the wall of black that her lousy human eyes couldn't penetrate. But Rose was down there so into the black they went, though it was only dark until Robin turned on his flashlight again. Ink gave him a grin and tried to pay attention to the way they went and find landmarks in the sewer walls, just in case she ever had to come back here again.

Naga stopped at a patch of metal on the wall, she was about to ask which way they had to go when he lifted the piece of metal back to reveal yet another tunnel, though this one looked much cruder then the sewers they were in now. Ink followed Naga again, turning to see him put the metal back in place before he took the lead again. She walked next to Robin, pleased to feel the incline that meant they would be above ground soon. Maybe she and Rose could go for a fly around the city later, or at least go outside. The Scott was ready to see blue skies again. After another metal door they were there in the warehouse.

Ink beamed as she looked around for Rose. The tiny girl emerged from an office room and yelled her name. she could feel her face muscles protest as she smiled even wider, holding her arms out to catch the charging little girl. Rose glomped her with enough force that it made her take a few steps back and for a second she was worried they would both fall. Laughing Ink squeezed her back as she said a whole sentence in one word. "Ahm happy tae see yea tae lass!!" she exclaimed "But ef yea dant let mae go yer gonna squeeze me right in half!" she joked, ignoring Robin and Naga for the moment.