Midnight...
Walking down dark streets on your own in any large city is considered stupid.... and the people who do so generallydeserve what they get, by many opinions. Whether that is true or not, it was little surprise that the man we now see issurrounded by several teenaged delinquents. Their bald and tattooed heads and studded leather jackets spokeflamboyently of how big and tough they were. See, they would beat this idiot senseless and take whatever valuables hecarried. Not like he wasn't asking for it anyway.
Yet the auburn-haired man looked calm, almost pleased, in fact. He looked at each of his three attackers, one by one, andsmiled pleasantly.
"Can I help you children?"
He was baiting them, this much was obvious to their drug-blown minds. Making fun of them. Prick. Rich prickuptowner!
"You can bleed all over yer suede shoes, fag!" The biggest of the three teens, probably the leader, leapt at him. Andrebounded, slamming against the alley wall. He choked, blood coming out of his nose.
"Whoa..." one of his friends said. "Hey...guy's some kinda jedi thingie!"
The auburn-haired man smiled, but the kids suddenly turned paler than they already were. His eyes...theywere...glowing...No! He suddenly seemed huge, no longer human, but some kind of nightmarish, horned creature.Antlers. They were antlers, sprouting from his forehead.
The two boys dropped their knives and started to run. Neither one got further than three steps before their skulls suddenlyshattered, turning their brains into mush. They fell to the ground, their heads sloshing sickenly like water balloons, bloodand grey matter oozing from their ears and mouths.
The horned creature approached the still-living teen and crouched down, animallike, to stare into his face. The boy wasin pain and coughing up red fluid. Still, he managed to glare at the creature.
"Now...if you've gotten over your need for violence, I require your assistance."
"F-fuck you!"
"Perhaps later," the creature said, tracing the boy's cheekbone. "If you survive this, anyway. I am looking for someone. Ifyou are cooperative, I'll give you an easy death. If not..."
He flashed a set of gleaming fangs.
"What I just did to your friends will seem like child's play, pun aside."
The boy considered. He gulped.
"Ehh...okay. Who ya lookin' for?"
The Next Day...
A game was going on up top. Leon could hear the cheers, even through the Pond's tough shielding. The shapeshiftersighed, wiping some grease from his face. The ducks hadn't asked him to do what he was doing now, which wastuning-up the Migrator to better resist saurian attacks. For that matter, they really hadn't asked anything of him yet.
Well, he had to do something! They had been pretty accepting after he'd told them about the "farewell message"Draganus had left him. That's fine, they'd said, stay here, stay safe. Safe. Leon sighed. No such thing as safe. He sighedagain, turned the radio up a little, and scooted back under the Migrator. They'd even allowed him to turn his room into asort of workshop. Forgiving people, after only two weeks. He had been given freedom to roam the Pond, though hecouldn't step outside, or use Drake1. He'd make it up to them, that much he promised himself.
An hour later the game was over, and Nosedive trudged into the main bay looking crestfallen. Leon wiped some greaseoff his hands and face and gave the duck a puzzled look, but the teen just walked past, heading for his quarters. Tanya,who was checking out the additions their main wheels, just shrugged at him.
"We lost. Nosedive made a play that, y'know, uh, could have succeeded if it were, well, y'know, .03 seconds, uh, umm,faster. Not his fault, but he, well, kinda takes that stuff pretty hard."
"Oh," was Leon's response. Well, you take your falls with your successes. Nosedive would just have to learn that on hisown, he decided, then moved to help Tanya make the last few adjustments.
"Aw man!"
Nosedive snarled to himself, sometime later, as he plodded down the darkening streets of Anaheim. It wasn't that theyhad lost that got to him so much really. It had happened before. He just hated it when it the call could have been made byhim. The crowds always noticed that, he could tell. He could almost feel some of the diehard fans' disappointment withhim as he'd left the rink.
He was so involved in feeling sorry for himself that he almost didn't notice the furball until it was too late. He stoppedcold and gave it a curious look, distracted for the time being.
It was gray, hairy, wet, muddy, and frankly, miserable looking. 'Dive had seen cats before, and knew by it's size that thisone was young, maybe only a couple months old. Which was too young to be out here on its own. It looked up at him andgave a pitiful sort of "meep" sound.
"Awwww..." he couldn't help it. It had the most amazingly big blue eyes. Without a second thought, he scooped the kittenup and stuck it into his jacket, then turned on his heel and headed home.
"Hey Raye! Check it out!" Nosedive entered her room, not bothering to knock, and plopped the cat down in her lap. She'dbeen propped up on her bed, reading "Crime and Punishment," and definitely not expecting anything like this.
"Uh....what is it?"
"A cat, Raye-Rah!! Oh, wait, you haven't seen one before?"
"Well, no..." Still, even under the filth, it was kind of cute. She straightened up and hesitantly touched it's tiny ear.
"Humans keep them as pets."
"So?"
"So maybe 'Wing'll let me keep it. He told me I could have a pet anyway, but I've never been able to take him up on theoffer yet."
"So I guess you're over feeling sorry for yourself, huh?"
"Ra-aye!" Somehow he turned the one-syllable name into two syllables. "C'mon....you gotta back me up on this!"
"Why me?" Raye wanted to know, not looking happy with where this was going.
"Cuz 'Wing has a soft spot for gi-irrrrls...." Nosedive grinned evilly. "Maybe if you ask him real sweet-like...?"
"You're sick, Flashblade. Very sick. And your brother isn't going to fall for that anyway. He's not stupid."
"Yeah, but still. Pleeeeeeease?"
Raye opened her mouth to refuse, but then she noticed that the cat had curled up in her lap and was purring lightly. Thattipped the scales.
"Oh...fine, alright. Just get this thing off of me!"
"Great!" Nosedive picked the furball up and stuck it in his jacket again, which by this time was already covered in furand dirt. "Let's go talk to Mal-mal first. If we can convince her, we can convince 'Wing."
"We should clean 'im up first, actually."
"What?"
Raye dusted herself off. Dang, cat hair on black clothing. Great. "Look at him! He's a mess! Nobody wants a dirty, smellyanimal around. First we give him a bath. Then we take him to Mallory."
"Um, cool, okay!"
Half an hour of hissing, mud, and wet hairballs later, Mallory was surprised to find herself confronted with a clean littlesilver-colored kitten and a pair of teenage ducks. Somehow she knew this was a bad sign.
"What up, guys?" She asked suspiciously. She'd been in a fairly decent mood lately, and her bright, clashing clothes wereevidence of such, even while she was cleaning her weapons. Now, she worried.
"Found this guy in the street, Mal. All alone and hungry...." Nosedive said. The kitty seemed to understand what wasgoing on, or simply recognized Mallory as an authority character....which meant food. It meowed and rubbed against herleg, purring. Then it noticed a disgarded yoyo laying nearby, which Nosedive had dropped in there weeks ago and neverbothered to pick up. It pounced on it playfully and swatted it in Nosedive's direction.
"Isn't he cute? Isn't he?"
Mallory sighed loudly, Raye rolled her eyes, and Nosedive bent down to pick up the yoyo and dangle it over the kitten'shead. The animal attacked it in delight.
"Well...? Whattaya think, Mal-Mal?" Nosedive looked at her expectantly.
Mallory eyed the cat again, then Raye, who looked pretty annoyed. Well, she guessed this was Nosedive's idea to beginwith anyway. "That's cute, 'Dive, but.....I'm really not the duck you should be asking."
"Yeah, I know, but if I can sell you I can sell my brother."
Mallory's eyes narrowed. "Kid, I don't know where you get your genes from, but every day you convince me more it can'tbe from the Flashblade clan!"
"Actually, it was Wildwing who was adopted," Nosedive smirked. He scooped the cat up again. "C'mon, Raye, let's gofind my bro'!"
"See ya, Mallory," Raye said on the way out. Mallory just scowled.
"So Cha-, um, Leon did this, huh?" Wildwing asked Tanya, eyeing the additions to the Migrator. They weren't anythingbig, really, mostly just upgrades, but considering the shapeshifter's knowledge of the enemy, it was a great help.
Tanya nodded. "And he is where now?"
"Um, went back to his, um, quarters I think. Mentioned not feeling too well."
Wildwing gave her a surprised look, concerned in spite of himself. He wondered if it had anything to do with the changeLeon was going through, from Chameleon to humanoid. It was conceivable...
"Hey 'Wing? 'Wingy..."
Wildwing poked his head out the Migrator door. Nosedive's tone already had him on his guard. His kid brother wantedsomething. He was instantly met with a small furry thing shoved into his face. It stared back at him with enormous blueeyes.
"Umm...." Wildwing tried to structure some form of thought. He really wasn't expecting this. Then the thing licked hisbeak.
"Aw, shoot, 'Dive. That isn't fair."
"Geez," Raye said in disgust. "You didn't need me to convince him!"
"So I can keep him, right?" Nosedive grinned hopefully. Tanya poked her head head out just then to see what thecommotion was. She noticed the cat.
"Aawwwwww......" She reached over to scratch its ear, then looked at Wildwing, who had a horrified expression on hisface. He was all alone in this! "Well, maybe it could, uh, you know, keep the rats out? When it's bigger, I mean..."
"Oh fine, whatever! Just make sure you get it food and stuff. And if it makes a mess you're cleaning it up, 'Dive!"
"Sure, of course. No problem!" Nosedive pulled the kitty back to his chest. It clambered up to his shoulder and perchedthere, seeming to enjoy the view. The younger Flashblade brother, grinning widely, swaggered back to the hall to showoff his pet to Grin. Raye stayed back, still looking a little disgusted as well as a little amused.
"So where's your shadow?" Wildwing asked her.
"Huh?"
"Cleech."
"Oh. At the mall, I think. Why?"
"Well, uh, like, 97.2% of the time he's with you, so, y'know," Tanya noted. Raye frowned.
"So he knows me a little better than you guys."
"H'yeah. Sure," Wildwing said, pulling back into the Migrator. "Whatever you say."
"D'uh, see ya Raye!" Tanya called after Raye's retreating form.
Cleech returned from the mall a pair of pants and three shirts richer. For the most part he didn't care about clothing, butwhen all your old clothes are torn beyond repair, falling apart, or so bloodstained that old ladies fainted in the streetswhen they saw you, he guessed it was time to get something new.
He wasn't really sure what to make of the sounds coming from the den. He recognized Duke's and Nosedive's voices,although the stuff they were saying was way out of character. He hoped to Puck they weren't talking to each other! Thenhe heard an odd sound, like a small siren, and decided he ought to check it out.
"Hey Cleech! Nice do!"
Embarrassed, Cleech ran his had self-consciously through his bangs. He didn't normally let it hang loose. It meantsomeone would remind him how badly he needed a trim.
"What's goin' on in 'ere?" he asked, trying to divert the subject from himself. Nosedive, who'd been seated on the floor,suddenly turned and shoved a furry, wiggly thing in his face. Cleech gasped and backed up.
"What th' heck is that?!?"
"It's a cat, Cleech. It's harmless."
"Shite, ye scared th' livin' puck outta me!"
"Well damn! Don't take it so hard. He's not gonna bite."
Cleech just backed off more. "I dinnae like animals. I'll see y'around."
"Have it your way," Nosedive shrugged. Duke leaned in.
"I gotta admit, kid, he is pretty cute. What are ya gonna name him?"
Nosedive paused. "I dunno. How about Sapphire? 'Cuz of his eyes..."
"Isn't that kinda sappy?"
"No way! There was this guy in this comic book I read once who was called Sapphire! He was a warrior! Big blonde guy,actually....besides, I can call him 'Phire' for short. S'pretty cool, I think."
"Well, it's your cat, it's your call." Duke scratched the cat's ear a little, then straightened up. "You better feed 'im. He'sprobably pretty hungry. Don't they like fish?"
"I'll open a can. Stay here, Phire. I'll bring you some tuna." Nosedive got up to do as he'd commited to, and Duke, after afinal pat on the head, went off his own way. Neither of them noticed, as they left, that the kitten's eyes began to glowwith a cold, blue light.....
~To Be Continued! Whatta pain.