After combating the criminal organization of Galanthus for a year, the silent hero of justice Crimson Hopper has managed to find out the true identity of their leader, White Snake, as Ivarella Kagura—none other than the famous businesswoman who singlehandedly created Kagura Industries, one of the leading high-tech companies in the city of Duval much less the entire world. Not only that, Kagura was a known philanthrope who had made countless contributions to the city's public school system and to many charities concerning children in need of aid.
With this new information, the masked vigilante decided to confront the crime lord behind the veil of Ivarella Kagura in order to put an end to the heinous flow of a particular and extremely dangerous drug called "Vipom". This drug was being sold in Duval under the direct supervision of the aforementioned crime lord through her unlawful organization, and distributed throughout the many streets of the bustling metropolis. With White Snake's arrest on the horizon, Galanthus' operations would most definitely cease after the defeat of the crime lord at the hands of the vigilante.
White snake restlessly sat in her office, her long nails tapping against the fine-oak desk in front of her while her thick, girthy tail swayed back and forth behind her, slithering about the room feverishly. Through the black digital speakerphone, she could hear the frantic voice of her newly-appointed chief security officer, a young human man by the name of Gafan.
"D-damn… Ms. Kagura! We... We were not able to stop the Crimson Hopper! He is… He is coming up to your office right now!"
She felt a sense of irritation, hearing his stammering voice over the phone. He had been quite a capable subordinate, but now he seemed like a complete fool. Clenching her fist and forcefully slamming the black receiver, Gafan's voice crackled into nothingness as she broke the connection.
"…Useless. All of them are useless."
White Snake's sensitive, finned ears twitched, picking up the faint sound of footsteps in the hallway, growing louder as they approached her door. He was indeed coming, no doubt about it. The man who thwarted her plans, who ruined all of her carefully laid schemes, was finally here. Her war with the Agav was a long and grueling one, and tonight she would finally face her nemesis.
She rose from her chair and smoothed down the skirt of the floral kimono she wore, standing tall and proud, her serpentine lower half occupying a sizeable portion of the floor. She fixed her reptilian gaze straight upon the door to her front, waiting for him to arrive.
And then, the door swung open.
A figure dressed in a red-and-brown spandex suit, a mask concealing its identity, stepped through the doorway and came to a stop. Drenched in his own blood and panting, he nonetheless stood tall and proud before the older woman, his aptly-colored crimson scarf fluttering in the nightly breeze that came through the window.
"Crimson Hopper..."
She smiled, her long, sharp teeth glistening in the light of the LED lights as she finally met her most-hated foe.
"So you have come to pay me a visit. Surely, a pre-arranged meeting would have better sufficed if you had desired my company, no? And what does poor old me owes the visit from the famous—or rather, infamous—hero of justice? For what have you come, and made a mess of my company in the dead of night?"
He took a step forward, his masked, featureless visage looking at her with a void of any expression nor emotion whatsoever. Instead, the mysterious man raised his right hand, his insectoid index finger pointing directly at the middle-aged, voluptuous businesswoman.
"Me?," the cunning woman feigned surprise at his accusation, "Why would the morally-just Crimson Hopper be interested in me? I am nothing but a simple, innocent, and unassuming citizen of this great city, after all…!"
She placed a hand on her hip, smiling arrogantly as she continued. "I am afraid you have no right to barge in here and accuse me of anything. If you wish to make a complaint, then go ahead and do so to the authorities—that is, if you can explain to them how breaking-and-entering a private office residence in the middle of the night does not count as a crime. Now, get out of here, or else I shall call the police myself."
Her voice grew cold and threatening, but the masked man did not budge.
"You are nothing more than a common criminal, after all. You may claim innocence, but your actions prove otherwise. Didn't you just beat the living daylights out of my guards on your way here? What was their crime? Protecting me, their boss? Let me assure you they are just innocent men, doing their duty to provide for themselves and their families."
His insect-like hands yet clenched into fists, the masked Crimson Hopper silently stared at the older woman before him through his goggles. Though he indeed was familiar with White Snake's true identity, Ivarella Kagura, through her public persona, her visage had somewhat stunned the young man.
Her silken locks of pure-white hair cascaded down her back and over her shoulders, flowing freely as she spoke the usual villain monologue, her serene, mellowed voice carrying an air of authority and confidence. Her narrow eyes, slanted downward, almost pierced through the mask of his and right into his souls with their alluring gaze. Her full lips, crinkled with a touch of age, flapped about with precise movements as words left her mouth, entered one ear and exited the other.
Her white kimono was evidently tailor-made for her body by an artisan, its floral patterns and designs were exquisite and beautiful, contrasting with her reptilian lower half. It sat snuggly against her voluptuous, curvaceous figure, draping over the sagging flesh of her breasts and hips, accentuating the ample curves of her bust. The white feathers of her serpentine lower half, which resembled a snake, granted the powerful businesswoman a majestic, regal aura that the Crimson Hopper's true identity was mesmerized by.
"…And yet, here you are, brazenly threatening to ruin everything I have worked for. Me, who has long devoted my life to this city, its people, and the children that live in it. And now, you have come to destroy the very thing that gives meaning to all that I have done. Don't you—wait, are you even listening to me?"
Crimson Hopper merely stood there, his gaze fixed on the older woman, unmoving. The older woman had finally noticed the subtle leers and glares coming from the masked vigilante, and she could tell he wasn't paying attention to a word that came out of her mouth, but rather, her looks.
"You… are staring quite intensely at me, aren't you?"
She looked at him with a sly smile.