I watched as Tai sat near the kitchen table grading papers. He also had his laptop open and was typing something. Probably entering in grades, I guess. I needed access to the internet so I could start researching. But the only access I had was Tai's laptop. He wasn't going to just hand it to me unless I really needed it. And if I told him what I was doing, he would try to stop me.
I just needed a few minutes. If Black Venom was still alive, I needed to know. I watched as Tai closed his laptop and placed it in its carrying bag.
"Hey, Raven," he called.
I walked into the kitchen and asked, "Yes?"
He looked up at me as he was zipping up his laptop case.
"I'm heading to the store. I was wondering if you'd like to come with me? We need a few things for the house. And a few things for the baby, too."
I thought for a moment. This would be the perfect opportunity to use his laptop.
"I'm... not feeling to great right now. I think I'll just head to bed early. Is that okay?"
He nodded. "Of course. You get some rest. I'll be back in a little while."
He grabbed his car keys and headed towards the door. I wanted for a few minutes after he left before making my way over to his laptop case. I unzipped it and started it up. After a few minutes, it turned on, showing a log in screen. Tai's e-mail was already typed in, but the password field was blank.
"Dammit. I knew there would be a password," I hissed.
I thought for several minutes, wondering what his password could be.
"Hm... maybe it's his birthday?"
I typed in his birthday and hit Enter. After a few seconds, the password field turned red, with the words 'Your password is incorrect' just above it.
"Shit. What else could it be?"
I decided to try my birthday. The screen took a few seconds, and then pulled up the home screen.
There were several applications. Most of them I wasn't familiar with. I saw the Internet app near the bottom of the screen and clicked it. The search bar appeared and I looked up the public profiles. If there was any information about Marcus, it would be located there. After searching the public records, I found him. It showed that he had been attending Signal for a while, and it also showed some of his biological family. Particularly like his parents. Mark Black and Victoria Black.
"Surely it isn't the same Mark... is it?" I asked aloud, clicking his name.
It brought up his picture. He looked a bit older, but it was definitely the same man I remembered. He had several charges, including robbery and assault. The police issued him missing years ago, and there had been some sightings, but no arrested. ...Black Venom was still alive. And probably still killing. If he killed my parents, he could be going after the rest of my family, too. My brother was out there. If he ever ran into Black Venom, he wasn't going to stand a chance. At least not on his own. I quickly grabbed my scroll and dialed Qrow's number. I could try to warn him at least.
After several rings, he answered. He sounded a bit... off.
"Raven? What... the hell do you want?" I heard him ask in a broken whisper.
"Qrow? Are you okay?" I asked.
He coughed several times before answering, "No. I got stabbed my someone. They call themselves... Black Venom."
Dammit... am I too late?
I couldn't help him in my condition. But Tai could.
"Okay, can you stay safe for a little while longer?" I asked. "I'm going to get Tai to help you."
"Summer is trying to fight him off, but I can tell she's getting exhausted. Please... can you hurry?" he begged.
"I'll try. Stay safe. Please," I said, as I hung up the call.
I searched through my contacts until I found Tai's number. I pressed it and he answered within the first few rings.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Tai, it's me," I told him. "Look, Qrow is in trouble and I can't fight. Could you help? I think he's in danger."
"What do you want me to do?" he asked.
"I'll make a portal to Qrow for you," I said.
"Okay. I'll do my best to help. What going on?"
"I did some research and found out Black Venom is still out there. And he could be possibly hurting my brother. Could you please stop questioning and just help?" I asked.
"...Fine. I'll be home in a bit. Can you wait a few minutes?"
I growled in frustration. "Fine. Just hurry, okay?"
I hung up and waited. After about half an hour, I heard his keys opening the door.
"I'm back," I heard him say.
He walked into the kitchen and his eyes immediately went to his laptop.
"Do you... get into my laptop?" he asked.
"...Maybe. But I needed to do research!" I insisted.
"Raven, that's private property! You can't just use without asking me!" he snapped.
"Look, I'm sorry. But Qrow needs help, and I can't do anything. Can you help? Please?"
He glare softened a bit.
"Okay. Where is he?" he asked.
"I'm not too sure. But I can create a portal to him," I said, slicing the air with my sword. A red portal appeared within seconds.
"Go. Hurry," I said.
Tai kissed my lips quickly.
"Stay here and stay safe, okay? I'll go and help Qrow," he asked.
He didn't say anything else as he ran into the portal. It closed after a few seconds, and I was left alone. I sighed and closed my eyes.
Stay safe, brother...