Zubatman TDT - Chapter 2

Zubatman – The Dark Type

Chapter 2: The Convoluted Cowl Conspiracy: Part 1



Lee groaned as he slowly came to. His vision was blurry and he ached all over. He tried to sit up and shake his head to clear his mind, but that only sent a pang of intense pain through his body, causing him to fall onto his side in agony.
"Okay." He said groaning, "Not gonna try that again."
Lee slowly lifted himself up to get a good look at his surroundings. He was lying on a gurney in the middle of what appeared to be a large, underground cave. At one end of the cave he saw what looked like lights from computer monitors while he appeared to be in some sort of medical wing. To his left there appeared to be a lab of some sort, but what intrigued him the most was a large sheet draped over what looked like some sort of small vehicle.

"I see you're finally awake." Said a feminine voice.

Lee turned to see a familiar female figure. She was about five foot eleven with long blue black hair hanging down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were a deep, all-consuming violet and her skin was very pale. She wore a long black skirt and a red, long sleeved shirt, along with a disapproving frown on her lovely face. A beautiful, but dangerous woman; one often considered to be the world's most powerful psychic.
"Sabrina?" He murmured.

Sabrina picked up a cane and started moving towards him. "As I recall I told you to stay out of Saffron four years ago." She said disapprovingly.

Lee suddenly snapped to attention. "Oh crap! Listen, Sabrina, I'm sorry but there was this tournament in town and I wanted to compete, but then this lady-" Lee started rambling incoherently.

"Please shut up." She said putting her hand over his mouth. "It's not like I'm intending to rupture your mind or something."

Lee looked at her suspiciously. "I thought you said if I came back to Saffron you'd make me a vegetable."

"I said what had to be said." Sabrina stated, turning away from him. "But that was then. This is now. And right now there's a job to be done."

"A… job?" Lee mumbled, confused.

"Yes," Sabrina sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't have to get involved though." She turned back towards Lee, smiling. "But honestly? It's really… good to have you back, Lee."

Lee stood up off the table. "Sabrina, what are you talking about? What job? Involved with what? Why do you have a cane? Why aren't you psychically zapping my brainstem right now?"

She waved her hand towards an elevator on the far side of the room. "I'll explain in a bit. Come on, the rest of your team is waiting." She started slowly walking towards the elevator, limping slightly as she moved. Lee stood there for a bit, utterly baffled at what was happening. Sabrina hated him, didn't she? Why was she being so nice to him; even saying it was nice to see him? And where on earth was he? He couldn't help but think it felt somewhat familiar but-
"Are you coming or not?" Sabrina said sternly.
Lee knew one thing: He had to figure out what was going on. He quickly followed Sabrina into the elevator, if for no other reason than to satiate his curiosity.

---

Lee's Pokémon team was busy lounging around in a living room of some sort. Most of the team was occupied with watching an old "Grey Ghastly" rerun on the television. Winry was sitting silently in the corner, while Jet and Sandra sat on the couch, talking about the strange events that had recently befallen them.

<…It doesn't make sense.> Jet said pensively, adjusting his hat. <If Team Rocket didn't disband four years ago, then what were they doing all this time? I mean, these are the guys that recite a cheesy poem every time they walk into a room. Subtlety isn't exactly their 'forte.'>

Sandra sighed. "As true as that may be, Jet, I can't say I'm too surprised they resurfaced. I simply never thought it would be so soon after we handled them last time..."

Jet paused, looking at Sandra quizzically. <What are you going on about, Sandra? We've never dealt with Team Rocket until today.>

Sandra shook her head. "Ohhhh… You'd be surprised just what we've dealt with, Jet."

Jet squinted his eyes in confusion. <…Are you high?>

Sandra laughed. "Not exactly." she said as shouting was suddenly heard coming from the hallway. "From the sound of it, everything will be explained in a bit."

---

Lee walked down the hallway, following closely behind Sabrina. The walls were decorated with numerous portraits of people wearing the strangest outfits. There was a man in a blue outfit with large red wings on his back and a red "S" on his chest, a man dressed in a green outfit with what looked like spider webs all over it, and a woman in a really skimpy, blue leotard with a one-horned tiara carrying a silver rope.  But the one that stood out the most was-
"Hey!" Lee shouted, stopping in front of a particularly large portrait. "That's me!"

The picture was a huge painting of Lee, dressed up in a dark blue outfit fitted a long cape containing a deep purple lining. It sported a mask that looked to have two large horns. The mask had what looked to be lenses fitted into it, glowing a faint yellow. A large belt worn around the waist had enough pockets to put Rob Liefeld to shame. Lee was swinging from a building on a long rope ending in a grappling hook.

Lee shot Sabrina an incredulous look. He pointed at the painting. "What the heck is this?! Why do you have a painting of me like… like that?!!"

Sabrina continued to limp slowly down the hall. "I like to paint in my spare time. Is that a crime?"

Lee shook his head. "So you painted me?! Dressed up as that embarrassment?!!"

Sabrina turned, raising an eyebrow. "Does it look like an embarrassment to you?"

Lee looked at the painting again. "Well… no, but… that's not the point!!" He said getting increasingly agitated. "You zapped my brain! You made me dress up in that stupid costume!! I ran around town for over a month making a fool of myself!!" He fumed. "And now I find you have a painting of me doing all this?!! What do you get some kind of sick thrill out of making innocent people- *URK*" Lee was cut off as his vocal cords were suddenly locked in place.
Sabrina held her hand in the air, using her psychic abilities on Lee and halting his rant.

"I suggest you stop talking." Sabrina growled, with fire in her eyes. "You may not remember them all that well, but I do have some anger issues…" She said quietly, opening a door into a living room type place. Turning to Lee she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, waving a hand in his direction, releasing his voice from her grasp. "Come in. We have a lot to talk about here."

Lee begrudgingly followed her, almost afraid to say anything else.

"Wait in here." Sabrina said, leaving the room. "I'll be right back."

As he entered the living room, he was enthusiastically greeted by his Pokémon team, who all dogpiled on him in glee save for Winry and Sandra. His mood suddenly uplifted, he started laughing with his Pokémon. "Hey, guys, cut it out. Let me up." he said, playfully shoving them off and regaining his stance. He looked over at Jet "Think you could tell me what's going on, dude?"

<Beat's me, man.> Jet said, shrugging.

"The rest of us are as confused as you" Winry said blankly. "We were only released from our pokéballs by Lady Sabrina when we arrived at this location. However I have reason to believe that we are currently in the back of the Saffron City gym."

Lee looked around. "Looks a lot more like a big house to me. I guess Sabrina lives at her job or something."

"Indeed." Sabrina said, reentering the room. A tray of tea and Pokémon food was floating in the air behind her. "Most gym leaders have… sizable apartments in the backs of their gyms. You'd find the business pays rather well." She said smiling, limping over to the nearest comfy chair, levitating the tea tray onto a coffee table. "But we aren't here to talk about my income. Please sit down. There is much to discuss."

Most of Lee's team quickly rushed over to get at the Pokémon food. Jet, on the other hand leaped onto Lee's shoulder.

_{"Something's fishy here, Jet."} Lee whispered to the Charmander. <sub>"I was sure Sabrina hated my guts. Why's she suddenly being so…nice?"

<Can't say, Lee></sub> Jet whispered back. <sub><But she isn't the only one acting odd. Sandra seems to be hiding something as well.>

"Sandra? What could she be hiding from us?"</sub>

"You boys coming?" Sabrina asked.

The pair looked at each other before tentatively sitting down upon the couch. Lee began silently pouring himself a cup of tea.

"I suppose you want to know what all this is about." Sabrina said, leaning back in her chair.

"I was starting to get curious." Lee said, sarcastically.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Same as ever…" she mumbled. "I guess I should start at the beginning." She said sighing. "Do you recall anything about what happened four years ago?"

Lee squinted angrily. "Yeah. YOU zapped my brain and made me run around the town in a Zubat suit for almost a month with my underwear on the outside of my pants." He growled. "Temporary insanity or not, embarrassment like that isn't easy to forget!"

Sabrina shook her head and chuckled. "I see my work has held up." She reached across to Lee and put her hand on his. "But I'm afraid that's not what actually happened."

Lee frowned, eyebrow arched. "What? What are you talking about?"

Sabrina shrugged. "To put it in the most simple of terms, your memories are false"

Lee paused. "I don't understand."

Sabrina smiled widely. "Then why don't you let me tell you about a good friend of mine named Zubatman"

To Be Continued…