The Secret Society of Super-Villains

Snake in Our Midst

by Martin Maenza

The home of famed San Francisco author Alexander Kingsley often got the occasional gawker or tourist watching from across the way, wondering what was going on inside the house and whether they might catch a glimpse of the man. Today, the onlookers were especially curious.

That could have been due to the various police cars parked out front and the yellow tape wrapped around trees in the yard. The later created a simple barrier to keep people out while an investigation was underway. A pair of uniformed police officers stood at both the front and back entrances to the home.

Inside, a number of crime scene investigators went over the place looking for clues. “A shame,” said an older detective in a tight fitting gray suit that matched the temples of his hair. The coroners had just finished placing the body on a stretcher and were carrying it out the living room. “Why someone would go and kill a nice guy like this is beyond me. I mean, really, what could he have done to deserve such a gruesome death?”

“Hate crime?” asked a blonde, younger detective, his suit much more stylish.

“Hate crime, Baker?” the older man repeated. “Why would you say that?”

“The victim was a well-to-do black man,” Baker said. “I mean, what other enemies could the guy have had?”

“There is the uniqueness of the death,” a third plainclothes detective said as he approached the others. “The hideous smile left on the man’s face is a telltale sign of venom used by the Joker.”

The first two men regarded the newcomer with a curious eye. They had never seen the man before. “Who are you?” asked Cooper. “I haven’t seen you around the scenes before.”

“Names Kelly,” the brown haired newcomer said. He pulled a badge out of his pocket and showed it to the two. “Homicide division. Just transferred in from the East coast. I picked up the traffic on the radio. Thought I’d come and see if I could be of help.”

“I think we’ve got it covered,” Baker said snidely.

His superior threw the younger man a disapproving look. “We appreciate the help, Kelly,” he said. So, you think it was the Joker?”

“The facial expression at time of death matches that clown’s m.o.,” Kelly replied flatly. “If the coroners come back with traces of venom in the blood stream, then there is a stronger match.”

“Their initial blood work did say there was traces of a foreign substance,” Cooper said. “They hope to learn more after they get the body to their labs.”

Kelly nodded. “Good. Though, I have to admit, this is a bit far from the Joker’s usual stomping grounds.”

“True,” Cooper admitted. “And what would be the connection to the victim?”

“Was there anything stolen?” Kelly asked.

“Kingsley’s ex-wife was here earlier,” Baker said. “We had her go over the place with us, to see if anything obvious jumped out. One thing she noted was gone was a sculpture from the man’s office. Some kind of tree thing with ornate snake figures to it. She said he got it on a trip to Africa a number of years back, when they were still married.”

“Worth a lot?” Kelly inquired.

“Marginal,” Cooper said. “The man surely had more things here of higher worth. If it were a just a robbery, why wasn’t the place cleaned out?”

“Why indeed?” Kelly pondered, rubbing his chin.

After a bit more looking around, the plainclothes detective left the house, giving a nod to the uniformed men at the door. He headed down the street and around the corner as if going to his own vehicle. When he was clear of the house and any onlookers, he moved behind the passenger side of one of the cars and crouched down.

Facing the side view mirror and reaching to his belt, he touched something.

The man suddenly shimmered and vanished! Had anyone witnessed what had just happened, they could have said the man was sucked into the mirror.

Across town, in a well decorated wood paneled office, the detective stepped out a full length mirror. As the portal became glass once more, the man smiled. Looking-glass express, the only way to travel, he thought. He then touched his wrist, and the appearance of the clothing on him changed.

He now stood in an orange and green costume, complete with mask. There, he thought. Much better. Mirror Master moved back to his desk and sat down in the high backed leather chair.

Now, for the hard part, he thought. Figuring out whodunit!

Over the next week or so, the Reflective Rogue had a lot of investigative work to do.
***

 

He knocked gently on the door to one of the quarters in the Sinister Citadel. He was about to step away when the door opened, and a raven haired brunette dressed in civilian clothes stepped out. “Oh, Mirror Master,” the woman said softly. “What can I do for you?”

“Just wanted to stop by and see how the baby was doing, Paula,” he said, glancing towards the door. He could see the room beyond her was dimly lit.

Paula Brooks closed the door softly behind her as they stood out in the hallway. “Hunter’s asleep,” she said still in a whisper. “Truth is, I’m glad to have the break. Infants can take so much out of you.”

Mirror Master nodded. “I bet. I didn’t want to keep you. I was just checking in.”

“We’ll be out of your hair soon enough,” the woman said. “I really appreciate the space these last few weeks and all…”

“No problem,” the costumed man said. “Stay as long as you need to.”

“You sure?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

She smiled. “If there is anything I can do to repay you…”

“Perhaps someday you can do us a favor as the Huntress,” he said.

Paula’s smile started to fade. “Maybe not,” she said. She noticed the man was curious as to her response. “It’s… it’s just I’ve been doing some thinking. I’m a mother now. I have someone who depends on me. I don’t know if I can risk the chance of ending up in jail. Who would take care of my son?”

Mirror Master nodded. “I understand what you are saying,” he said.

“It’s not that I wouldn’t do you a favor,” she said. “Maybe it’ll be something that Paula Brooks can do.”

The man nodded again. “Perhaps,” he said. “Don’t you worry about it. Now, go rest. You’ll need it when he wakes up again.”

Paula nodded in agreement, reached for the knob and started back into the room. She watched as Mirror Master turned and headed down the hallway.
***

 

Mirror Master stopped in the lab where he found two of the Secret Society members. He paused silently in the doorway and watched Gizmo and the Tattooed Lady conversing and laughing. He smiled slightly. Who would have thought those two would have become such good friends, he thought to himself, especially after the rocky introduction they had almost a year ago.

“And then the midget replies, ‘not from where I’m standing’,” Gizmo finished the joke.

The dark haired Greek woman chuckled a bit at the racy joke. “Gizmo, you are so bad,” she scolded him. Then she looked at the bearded dwarf in green and pointed a knowing finger at him. “Tell me, is that true?”

“Oh, c’mon, Lydia,” he said with a smile. “Would I do something like that?”

The Tattooed Lady chuckled again. “Yes! Yes you would.”

Gizmo winked at her. “Got that right, toots.”

“Ahem.”

The pair turned to see Mirror Master standing at the door. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” the Reflective Rogue said.

“Nah, Scudder, not at all,” Gizmo said. “Just takin’ a break from tinkerin’ is all.”

The Tattooed Lady rushed over to Mirror Master and gave him a hug. “Sam, how are you? You have been in your office all day.”

“Just working over some things,” he said. “I’ve got a mission to send the group on soon.” Mirror Master moved over to the table where the dwarf was standing on a wooden stool. “Tell me, have you made any progress on the Joker-toxin formula?”

“We are close,” Lydia said, “but not there yet. There is still something elusive in the mixture. I cannot put my finger on it yet.”

“Really,” Gizmo said. “That Joker – either he’s a genius or totally insane – to have come up with that stuff.”

“A bit of both,” Mirror Master said. “I take it the sample is in a safe place.”

“The safest!” Gizmo said. “Locked away in the armaments vault like you instructed. It would take a crack thief to get in there.”

Not like we don’t have enough of those around here, Mirror Master thought. “OK, good,” he said aloud. “Keep up the good work, you two.” And with that, he left the lab.

Gizmo turned to the woman whose body was covered with tattoos. “Uh, Lydia,” he said.

“Yes?” she replied.

“Can I ask your opinion about something?” the dwarf asked.

“Of course,” the Tattooed Lady replied.

“Well…” And Gizmo began to share something that had been on his mind for awhile now.
***

 

“I’ve told you before, Sammie,” an attractive woman with blonde hair tied back in a bun said. She wore round wire framed glasses, a dark skirt with watching jacket and a crimson blouse. “What is discussed between me and the others during session is confidential.”

Mirror Master knew Dr. Harleen Quinzel fairly well and vice versa. After all, he had seen her as a patient for awhile after he was ‘brought back’ from the dead, when he was conflicted about a lot of things. She was a great listener and her advice helped him get over a difficult time, allowing him to refocus and re-prioritize things.

“I know, Harleen,” he said, “but this is kind of important. I have reason to believe that someone here at the Sinister Citadel has been going behind my back.”

The psychiatric doctor suppressed a smile. She knew this place was full of its share of secrets. Why, even she had ones of her own. It was the very opportunity to get inside the workings of the minds of notorious super-criminals that she took up Scudder’s offer in the first place to be available to work with the SSOSV members. “So much for honor among thieves, eh?” she joked.

“There’s trust and then there is trust,” Mirror Master said.

“I’m sorry, Sam,” she said. “You know I’m bound by doctor-patient confidentiality. I think you, above all others, would appreciate that.” As she walked from the desk, she used her leather heeled foot to slide close the bottom drawer where a bunch of files were kept.

Mirror Master saw the action and noted it. “Yes, I guess so,” he said begrudgingly. “I certainly wouldn’t want you to violate anything.”

Harleen got a sly grin and approached him. “Yeah, I bet you wouldn’t, eh puddin’,” she said in a slightly flirty manner.

The man ignored her come-on. “Harleen, we’ve been over this before. I’m with Lydia now. You know that.”

Dr. Quinzel smiled. “Yeah, I know, Sammie,” she said. “I was just yankin’ your chain is all.”

Mirror Master stepped away. “Go yank some one else’s chain, doc,” he said. And with that, he left her make shift office that he had set up for her here at the Sinister Citadel.
***

 

“You want us to do what?” Chronos asked, dressed in his colorful costume of green, red, white and black with a yellow cape. The assembled group of super-villains were all sitting around the huge conference room table. Also present were the Tattooed Lady, Gizmo, Copperhead, Power Fist, Throttle, Blindside, Trident and Giganta.

“Nothing too difficult,” Mirror Master said as he stood at the front of the room. Behind him on the wall of the darkened room was a project of a government facility with high security fences. “I’d like seven of you to break in there and steal a spectral analysis device they have finished developing there.”

“I’ve read about that,” Gizmo said. “Sounds like a beauty.”

“But all of us need to go, boss man?” Power Fist, the muscular African-American male in a blue shirt and yellow pants, asked.

“Each of you has some needed skills,” Mirror Master said. “Especially Power Fist and Giganta for their strength, and Copperhead for his stealth.”

“Of coursssse,” the criminal in the orange scaly body suit with a large serpentine head mask hissed.

“Plus, you’ll need the image-makers,” Mirror Master said.

“Why?” Chronos asked, obviously not thrilled with the plan.

“We don’t want this trailed back to us,” their leader explained. “That is why I’ve programmed the units with some special disguises for this mission. You’ll be going a group called the Rainbow Seven – each with a dominant color of the rainbow. That way the crime won’t ever get traced by to us. Just becareful not to use too obvious abilities or weapons that could be easily traced back to your normal identities.”

“Sounds stupid,” Chronos muttered softly to himself.

Mirror Master raised an eyebrow. “Did you say something, Clinton?”

“No, no,” the Time Thief said.

“Good,” Mirror Master said. The jet is fueled. You leave in twenty minutes. Meeting adjourned.” With that, he pounded his gavel on the table.
***

 

A few hours later, Lydia Anastasios bolted upright in bed, shaken from a sound sleep by a nightmare. Sweat glistened off her tattooed body. Oh my! she thought as she put her hand to her chest. Her heart was racing. The thought of that vile Mr. Monroe and what he made me do still haunts me!

A few weeks back, a mysterious man got in touch with her and used blackmail to force her to commit a murder. Out of fear, she agreed to this Mr. Monroe’s one request. But after she killed his target in cold blood, the second time she had ever taken someone’s life, she thought that would be the end of it. Obviously the action was weighing heavy on her subconscious mind.

Lydia turned on the light on the night stand next to the bed. Lydia then turned and noticed something.

The other side of the bed was vacant.

Lydia got a concerned look on her face. I wonder if Sam is up working late again?

She resisted the urge to get out of bed, put on her robe and head up to his office. She knew he too often had trouble sleeping and would often retreat to his office to try and distract himself. Lydia didn’t want to disturb him there.

Instead, she picked up a book off the table and started to read. Maybe she could lose herself in a book, enough to calm herself before going back to sleep again.
***

 

From one darkened room to the next, Mirror Master moved about easily and undetected. Though the doors remained closed and locked, he had no problem slipping into and out of each room thanks to the specially designed mirrors he had placed in each of the rooms.

I doubt any of them suspected the dual nature of these looking glasses, he thought as he stood before one and clicked a button his belt. The glass started to shimmer. Then, he was able to step through the mirror over the bathroom vanity and disappear into it.

Moments later, he emerged in another of the rooms.

This allows me to search everyone’s quarters to look for clues, he thought. He knew it had to be one of the Society members who used the Joker toxin to kill Kingsley. If he could find either toxin samples or the stolen merchandise, he’d have his betrayer.

Using a small hand mirror that projected light, Mirror Master began to search this next room.
***

 

Hundreds of miles away, one muscular male figure dressed head to toe in an indigo costume and a similarly built female dressed head to toe in a red costume slammed their fists into the side wall of a research facility. After the jackhammer approach, the wall crumbled inward. “Yo, we’re in!” Indigo called.

A group of other similarly costumed criminals, each dressed fully in a single color rushed in through the opening. Counting the first two on wall-breaking duty, there were seven in all. “We’re not blind!” a thinner man dressed all in yellow replied. “Besides, who made you in charge anyway?”

“The sssame could be sssaid about you!” hissed a man dressed all in orange.

“Come on, fellas,” an obviously shorter man dressed all in green said as he soared overhead with a small jet pack on his back. “We have ta get that spectral analysis device.”

“You’ll get nothing, you thieves!” a voice called out from above.

A male figure dressed all in violet was the first to catch a glimpse of the source of the call. “Look!” he said pointing.

“It’s a bunch of talking robots!” the male in blue exclaimed.

Indeed, six figures were rushing towards the criminals. Two were larger in size, one a dull gray and the other a shiny blue. Above these two obvious power houses stretched one in glittering gold, another all crimson red with a huge head, and a pair – one male and one female with shiny silvery-like surfaces.

“It’s the Metal Men!” shouted the man in yellow.

And the battle began!
***

 

Mirror Master had been making good progress through the rooms when he stumbled upon a slight problem.

One of the mirrors did not let out in the bathroom like he expected but instead inside one of the closets. The hanging clothes surprised him as he passed out of the mirror and tumbled through them.

“Hmmm,” he said, reaching for his light-mirror. “Someone doesn’t seem to be the trusting type.” Glancing at the clothes in the closet, he knew exactly who it was. “Interesting! I should have suspected as much. I wonder what else is hiding around here.”

Carefully, Mirror Master looked about at the shelf above to see what else he could find.
***

 

“Abort mission! Abort mission!” Green shouted to his teammates as he rocketed overhead towards the exit.

“I knew this was a stupid idea!” Yellow grumbled as he ran towards the door.

“No one’s going anywhere!” Iron boomed. “Except maybe to jail!” The strong robot reformed his body into a giant wall to try and block the opening. “Lead, give me a hand!”

“Uh…right…” the slow-thinking robot replied to his comrade as he changed shape to try to interlock with Iron to form a more solid barrier.

“Forget that!” the thief in Indigo said. He turned to the woman in red who had kept by his side the entire time. “Come on, lady!” He wound back his fist, and she followed suit. “Let’s show these suckers how we do it uptown!”

Red nodded, and together the two powerhouses struck the two Metal Men hard. Their combined punch sent the robots reeling.

“T-T-Tina! Stop-p-p them!” the small Tin stuttered as more of the villains ran past.

“I’m on it!” Platinum replied. The robot with cute female features stretched her body into a coiling form about the man in orange. “That’s as far as you go, buddy!”

Orange smiled. “Oh really?” To the robot’s surprise, the man slide easily through her grasp before she could tighten it. “If you want to act like a sssnake, you ssshould ssstudy them more, sssweetie!” The man laughed as he took off once more.

“Who are these guys?” Mercury balked. “For a bunch of nobodies, they’re certainly givin’ us a run for the money!”

“Quit your complaining,” Gold said as he and the other stretched towards the criminals who were boarding an awaiting jet-flier. “We can’t let them get away empty handed, whoever they are.”

From the hatchway of the slowly rising jet, two of the figures stood. “Wanna bet?” Blue said. “Hit it, Ricky!”

“Right, Chad!” Violet replied. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash projected from the man.

“Aaaaah!” Mercury explained.

“Our optical-sensors!” Gold cried. “Overloaded!”

“Try this on for size!” Blue said. With a wave of his hand, the blinded robots suddenly were moving forward faster than they planned. They slammed hard into the hull of the jet and then fell helpless downward. “Nothing like messing with their momentum!”

From inside the jet, Yellow called forth as the illusion of his costume faded to reveal Chronos. “Stop messing around, you two, and sit down! We’re out of here!”

In the cockpit, the costume of Green faded to reveal the dwarf Gizmo. “Punch it, Leon!” he told the man in purple and yellow at the controls.

“We’re gone!” Trident said. The engines kicked into full power, and the jet rocketed into the clouds and out of sight.

Below, the bewildered Metal Men regrouped with their fallen comrades. “Who w-w-were those g-g-guys?” Tin asked.

“No clue,” Gold said, his vision clearing. “It was a good thing though that we happened to be here for Doc Magnus.”
***

 

When the group arrived back at the Sinister Citadel a couple hours later, they were all worn and in low spirits.

“Man,” said the brown haired Blindside. “I’m beat. I could use a long hot shower right about now.”

“Mind if I join you,” the blonde haired Throttle said.

Chronos frowned at the interchange between the two men. “Are they always like…that?”

“Pretty much,” Trident said.

The eight villains were about to depart the hanger bay when a figure in orange and green met them at the door, arms crossed and looking rather serious. Behind him stood the Tattooed Lady with her bathrobe tied rather tightly.

Gizmo approached the couple. “Uh, we’ve got some bad news, boss,” he started to say. “About the mission…”

Mirror Master put up his hand to the dwarf. “Debriefing can wait!” he said sternly. “Everyone to the conference room now!” He turned on his heel and took off without another word, leaving the rest of the group confused.

“Lydia, what’s going on?” Gizmo asked.

“I do not know,” she said. “He woke me a few minutes ago and told me to join him down here. Said he needed to speak to everyone as soon as they arrived.”

None of the group liked the sound of this. They headed up to the conference room, whispering among themselves.

Once everyone filed back in and took the seats pretty much as they had occupied earlier that night, Mirror Master took control of the meeting. “All right, all right!” he shouted, pounding the gavel. “Settle down!”

“Ssscudder, what’sss thisss all about?” Copperhead hissed.

“Really!” Chronos said. “First you send us all on some odd job, and then we get ambushed by the Metal Men. Can’t this wait until morning!”

“No, Chronos!” Mirror Master snapped. “It can’t!”

For those who had been in the group for awhile now, they were surprised to see Mirror Master this agitated. That usually was a sign that something big was up. The last time he was this hot was when Grodd had double-crossed them. Some of the more newer members had not seen this side of their leader before.

“I’ll cut right to it!” he continued. “It has come to my attention that one of you has been rather busy of late with outside activities, activities which could jeopardize the very nature of this Secret Society!”

There were glances shooting about the table. A number of folks, those with secrets to hide, tried their best to keep on their best poker face.

Mirror Master started to circle the table behind the seated members. “Many of you were involved in our mission to Qurac where we recovered samples of the Joker’s infamous toxin. We brought that prize in house so we could study its properties.

“Obviously, one of you is a quicker study than most!” He clicked a button on a small controller in his hand, projecting a picture of author Alexander Kingsley on the screen at the front of the room. “One of you took some of that toxin and used it to kill this man!”

Many of the criminals glanced about the room to see if they could tell which among them was the killer.

“Why would any of us do that?” Trident piped up, risking the wrath of their boss. He felt confident in doing so. “What would be the motivation?”

“Personal gain, Trident!” Mirror Master answered. “Pure and simple! Something was stolen from Kingsley’s home, something one of you would find of value!”

“Ssso, tell usss, Sherlock,” Copperhead quipped,. “which of usss offed the guy for sssome goodsss?”

“You!” Mirror Master said, pointing his finger directly at the serpentine criminal.

Copperhead was taken aback. “Me??? You can’t be ssseriousss!”

“Deadly serious,” Mirror Master said. “Just like your venom! You know poisons as well as have a powerful immunity to them. Plus, what was stolen from Kingsley’s home had a serpent motif to it!”

“That’sss crazy!” Copperhead countered, bolting upright in from his chair. “I didn’t do it!”

“You know the rules,” Mirror Master said as he reached under the table and produced a duffel bag. “Here’s your stuff! I collected it from your room! Hit the bricks, traitor!” He threw the bag across the room; Copperhead instinctively caught it.

The snake glanced about the room then back at Mirror Master. His old friend had an unforgiving look on his face. “You’re making a missstake, Ssscudder!”

“The only mistake I made was trusting you!” Mirror Master said. He flung open the conference room door. “Get out!”

Copperhead glanced about at the others. Most had looks of disbelief. He shook his head. He knew he was set up, but by who? Which one did it?

He slithered to the door and turned back. Mirror Master, with his back to the room, gave him a wink.

This just confused Copperhead. He was about to speak when he saw Mirror Master glance down at the bag in his hands. There was more to this than met the eye. The snake decided to trust his old colleague, thus he turned and departed the Sinister Citadel without another word.