Rails in the sky lit up like shiny gems, twinkling in sequence as the mass tran- still colloquially known as the 'train' to most people, in honor of its steam powered ancestors- flew between its track buoys with a low thrumming. Its underside glowed green to match the lights of the track, and its smooth movement was a triumph of engineering, organization and the peaceful collective will of the people.
Inside the first passenger car, however, the scene was anything but organized. Teenagers in various states of consciousness occupied the area. Sully had taken over in the engine after Shelly got it started. They were only able to get the train to move along its route, and it would loop around Locksmouth before going anywhere near their makeshift headquarters at the Burger Dictator.
Carrie stopped staring out the window for the moment. She slowly, gently got up from under Natalie, who had fallen asleep next to her. She glanced to one side and saw a sleeping Sam a few feet away, Erwin and Max sitting on either side of her in a similar state. Even Shelly Iverson was curled up next to Erwin- something that would've thrilled him if he'd been awake for it.
She looked the other way, toward the back of the car. Jacent sat on the floor by himself. As she stepped closer, she saw he'd unzipped his costume down to the waist. A far cry from the rest of his largely pristine features, his chest, shoulders and forearms held a great deal of scars, burns and recently healed wounds. The colorful costume, smiling face and goofy enthusiasm was an icon of worry-less valor... but a dull melancholy accompanied by dozens of violent mementos framed a different man. Well, boy, really- he seemed to be no older than they. She'd enjoyed his comic books for how conflict-rich they were, and how different it was to read about a homeless superhero... but seeing the result of those adventures was sobering.
Jacent pulled a dirty roll of wrist tape from his pocket and began wrapping up a burn Carrie recognized as the Mark of the Cult of Santos Diablos... issue 370-ish, maybe? He looked up at her and smiled generously again, as if drawing from an endless pool of good will. "Hello, Carrie. Enjoying the ride?"
She sat down next to him. "... Why did you hold back?" It came out a bit harsher than she'd meant.
His smile became a bit strained. "Your favorite comic book hero isn't exactly leaping from the pages to save the day, is he? These enemies... the Inked, was it? They're a lot tougher than most foes I faced."
She blinked. "Tougher than Tunnel Vision?"
He nodded appreciatively. "He had a lot of impressive mining technology, but he was still just a person."
"Than Sabotaj?"
"Incredible assassin and demolitionist, but still just a man."
"What about your arch-nemesis, Dr. Nhilus?"
He paused and drew a breath. "Incredibly formidable, but for different reasons. None of them were... monsters. Anyway... I'm sorry that I needed your help, and that poor Sam had to pay for my deficits." He looked up and winced as his stomach growled loudly. "I can only hope that I'll get a chance to make it up to both of you."
She sat quietly for a moment.
Then pushed him.
"Hey!" He called out, tipping a bit. "What gives??"
A smile crossed her face. "You could've just said 'I have to eat a lot and I was hungry.' Even my imaginary friends are drama queens."
Jacent just stared at her for a few moments. Was she... goading him? It was strange, but he felt an overwhelming urge to respond in kind. It was infectious. "You are a very formidable girl, Carrie. But I..." His arm wrapped around her shoulders. "Am very, VERY real!" Cap'n Comet gave the drill-haired girl a noogie, and didn't feel awkward about it for a moment.
"Nngh, are you sure?? I can't even feel that, wuss!" She pressed her fist to his cheek, pushing his head away and forcing him into an awfully goofy expression as he resisted. "Besides, she'll grow it back in a month, geez."
He stopped. "What??"
"Sam's leg. It'll regrow in a month, two, tops."
He shook his head. "You mean people can regrow limbs in the future- er, present? I could never have imagined that!"
Carrie grinned. "Well, you shoulda figured, dummy, it's the future. Duh!"
Jacent actually laughed at that. "Ohhh, ho ho ho, WELL then! If you're so advanced and superior..." He scooped up the cat girl, tossed her face-up on the bench-style seat cushion, and grabbed her leg under his arm. "... Then of course you're immune to tickling!"
She gasped as he sat on her other leg and pulled her sneaker off. "Oh don't you dare!"
But before she could get up, Natalie- whom she'd believed to be sleeping- greeted her with an upside-down smirk as she crawled along the seat. Jace thought for a moment he would be contending with an angry girl wondering why his hands were all over her lover, but was pleasantly surprised to find her smiling. "Tickles?! Oh, I'm in!" The wolf girl laughed with playful malevolence as she scooted up and sat her plush rear on Carrie's neck, blocking her view with shining pink hills and a wagging black tail.
Jacent grinned. "Oh, you're finished now! Say your prayers!" He assaulted her foot with a barrage of merciless tickling.
The cat felt her arms pushed down by Natalie's knees as she wiggled and struggled. "Nooo nononono ahahahahaha!!" She grit her teeth. "I'm g-gonna kill you-hoo-hoo guuuys!"
"Shh! Quiet!" Natalie lifted her rump for a moment only to bring it down again, her cheeks pushing against Carrie's as if to shush her. "People are trying to sleep, for goodness' sake, Kitty-Cat," she chided playfully, her wiggling fingers moving dangerously close. "You can take some tickles, can't you? On the ribs?"
"Ahaha! N-No!"
Nat's grin grew, and her tickles migrated. "On the sides??"
"N- hahaha- n-nhaha NO!"
Natalie looked at Jace, who was barely suppressing laughter, and freely giggled. "Hooow about the... armpits?!"
She could feel the cat shaking her head vehemently. "Nonononononono- GGHHHMMPLLHHKK kkhhh HAHAHAHA!" Jacent had a hard time holding her legs down as she kicked them in hysterics. Finally, they let up and released her- Carrie rewarded them both with punches on the arm, both of whom braced for it mid-giggle. The overwhelming tension of the day melted in a sea of fading laughter. All of them quieted, however, upon hearing Sam clear her throat, then drift back to sleep.
"C'mon, guys," Natalie suggested in a hushed tone. "Let's go to the dining car, I'm starving."
Carrie smirked, shaking her fist at them. "Good idea- they won't be able to hear me revenge-beat you both in there."
-
- -
-
The city had never looked more treacherous.
Sully was used to the choppy seas. In a time of comfort and safety, he'd taken to the ocean for its danger, its uncoddling threat of peril, as so many of his ancestors had before him. Locksmouth was a port town, and much like any, a peaceful one- so it wasn't a difficult choice to make the move there. He'd joined the town, gone to the Council Speaks, and despite preferring solitude, even made a friend in Max, an odd boy who would come to 'bother' him by the docks. He enjoyed Locksmouth.
But now... the crusty sea captain barely recognized it. Buildings laid in ruin, midwalks crumbled and smashed... the docks were ripped apart in a swollen mass of splintered wood and gray goo. When the creatures had attacked, they'd taken his ship like a terrible sea monster of legend. He hadn't known what to make of it, and though he fought... soon he was one of them. Sully's old bones shook at the thought. He didn't know how those kids managed to save the day, but he wouldn't be caught off guard by those bastards again. He'd never hurt anyone else again-
Something in the night sky appeared in the corner of his eye. It was distant, small. Then it was gone. He shook his head.
God, he needed a drink. Something nice, a relaxant. Scotch flavored. Yes. That was what his plan when they landed. And then a nice, long nap. What a day.
-
- -
-
Jacent looked around the dining car in nothing short of wonder... and no small amount of confusion. From a fairly standard, if comfortable commuter train, he'd stepped out into the setting of a posh outdoor restaurant, set atop some sort of marble balcony. Even with the pay from the single job he'd ever been able to hold down- which lasted a week before his enemies had made it impossible- he couldn't have afforded to dive the dumpster of a place like it. Not to mention he wasn't sure how in the world it could exist inside of a train. Of course, his new friends Nat and Cat seemed either completely oblivious or unimpressed with the spectacle, so he tried his best not to gape like a slack-jawed, time-traveling tourist.
The girls were locked in some kind of playful lovers' quarrel, Carrie holding Natalie in a loose neck lock as they walked. "Cheeky little bitch," she laughed, giving Nat a firm underhanded swat on the butt- which caused her girlfriend to accentuate her giggling with a squeak of surprise. "Sitting on my face so you could tickle torture me."
"EEEP!" she squeaked again, getting a second dose of playful paddling before managing to break away.
"And as for you!" Cat turned to Jacent, who in turn faced her. She sent a playful punch to his chest, and for some reason it was amusing to her when her fist was stopped dead by his battle-hardened brawn. "Exactly who gave you all this special permission for the laying on of the hands?"
Jace felt a wry comeback on his tongue, but upon further thought, the realization jarred him. Who, indeed? He'd never acted this way toward someone he'd just met. There was just a strange kind of... comfort, an inexplicable familiarity that came of talking with either of them. He couldn't explain it, but he couldn't excuse it, either. "That was a bit strange. I haven't known either of you girls for a day... yet somehow it feels like we've been friends for much longer." He felt a blush gather on his face. "I'm terribly sorry if I've overstepped any boundaries."
Carrie rolled her eyes. "I was just kidding, you big sissy." A smirk cut across her face. "You better get used to being hands-on if you're gonna be friends with us. We like our hugs, cuddles and OC in this group." That last part earned a quizzical look from Jacent. "Right, Nat?"
Natalie said nothing, staring at her shoes in thought.
"... Nat? Natalie." Cat shook her shoulder. "Hey!"
"Wha-? Oh. Oh, yeah." A small, insincere laugh escaped her. "We're big on that, if you're in the group, you're probably gonna get hugged." She forced a smile.
Jace and Cat traded looks of concern. "Is there something the matter, my furry friend?"
"I..." Her smile cracked and curled into a purse-lipped frown. "I'm just so frustrated. We've been running around town all day, trying to track down the invading aliens responsible for all this, only to find out that Carrie and myself have two of those same aliens inside of us. After getting our butts kicked who knows how many times, we're still no closer to finding this monster Osoth. I could take that; I could take all that, if my friends didn't keep getting hurt!" She clenched her fist, red eyes blazing with anger. "We're stronger now, why aren't- HEY!" Jacent affixed his hands to her waist and lifted her up suddenly. She felt herself hoisted into the air and came to rest in a sitting position on his shoulder. The girl clutched his hand and forearm from her new perch as her pulse settled back down. "What're you doing??"
The affable vigilante bore her weight with a sunny smile. "You seemed very upset. I decided to try Carrie's advice."
Nat huffed. "I appreciate it, but-"
"Natalie." His tone became serious without losing its kindness. "I've single-handedly fought every two-bit villain in New York since I was a small child. But I also slept in a dirty box with my eyes open... and I had plenty of practice. When you factor all of that in, I still had to wait for them to make the first move nearly every time. You need more intel on Osoth before we can make our move; it would be best to save your righteous anger for the coming battles ahead!"
Carrie chuckled. "He's right, Sugarbutt." She gestured to Jacent. "Lemme up there, Muscles Gashes." Amused, he held out a hand as if beckoning a low-five, which she stepped into and felt herself lifted up by. Cat sat on Jace's other shoulder, completing an absurd image as if the two girls had become his comically oversized conscience.
"Fusion complete!" He grinned. "We are Deltatron, Combining Robot of Justice!"
Natalie shook her head and stifled a laugh. "Sorry, but that's not gonna make me feel any better about Erwin breaking his arm, or Sam's leg being..." She fought revulsion at the memory.
"Yeah, sure," Carrie conceded. "That shit makes me furious, too. But look on the bright side."
"There's a bright side to this craziness??"
"Sure," she replied coolly. "We're alive despite all odds."
"True, but not exactly confidence-building."
"We're on our way back to Biggy D's."
"I'm so getting a Triple Dictator, Lord of the Fries and a Gulag Gulp when we get back."
"You not only found out your favorite super hero is real, but that he's a pretty nice dude who actually wants to hang out with you. Right??"
Jacent smiled at their expectant faces and nodded. "It's true, you're two cool dudettes. I'm very much hoping we can continue being friends after our lives are not in danger."
Natalie blushed and felt a smile creep up her face. "Okay, so that was really cool. And of course we will, Cap, you've only been my imaginary friend since I was a puppy! You're weirdly just like I imagined, too- it's kind of like you never left." She laughed, her blush deepening despite his smile of both amusement and approval.
"Another bright side? We're gonna have awesome OC tonight!"
Nat laughed and shook her head. "That's what you say."
Cat pulled close for a kiss. "And now I just need you to say it, too."
The wolf girl pressed lips with her, chuckling warmly.
"Mmm... and last but not least, your biggest wish since before you needed top stickers: You've got freakin' bona fide super powers! And they don't even suck."
Natalie held herself with elation. "Oh! I know! Aaa, and it makes me so happy! I'm... not that eager to force Echelon out of me anymore." She giggled.
"What are your powers, anyway?" Cap asked curiously, staring up at the two girls towering over him. "One moment you have mine, the next you seem to have Sam's."
"Let's sit down and pillage that breakfast basket over there, and I'll explain what I know!"
"Affirmative! Deltatron, disassemble!" Jacent held his hands out like before, easily holding the giggling girls as they used them as steps to climb down... and getting an eyeful of his fuzzy friends' fabric-traced rear ends on the way. A hot blush flooded his face. Why was he noticing that? First the kiss with Sam, now this? Then again, he hadn't hung around girls much in his occupation. Sure, there was the odd rescue or congratulatory peck on the cheek every now and then, but all of this being in close proximity was cracking his armor.
To Jace's horror, he snapped out of his daze to notice Carrie looking directly at him, her eyes drawing the connection between his gaze and Natalie's behind- especially exaggerated from bending over the table to sort out the food, the side seams fit to burst and only serving to remind how much more there was in the back of those shorts than the front. Panic struck his heart; he felt guilt and embarrassment settle in his gut, leering at the sweet lesbian couple who'd happily taken him on as a friend- one of them even so much as idolized him! And after all that talk about friendship? Unbelievable Cap'n Comet indeed. "I-... I'm sorry," he whispered to the drill-haired girl, incredibly ashamed. Carrie would call him out any moment, and when he was revealed, Natalie's disappointment in him would be unbearable to watch.
Cat's cerulean eyes went wide with something between surprise and confusion. She blinked a few times... then snickered under her breath, incredulous and amused. "For what?"
He stared breathlessly, baffled.
She rolled her eyes smugly, then looked over at Natalie with a grin. "Hey! Quit showing off. You're embarrassing our anachronistic friend."
Nat looked up and back... then laughed. "Oh, yeah, I guess that was pretty gratuitous. Sorry." She straightened up. "I do that a lot by accident. I don't mean to! It just sort of happens. You don't mind though, do you, Cap?" A note of concern came over her. "I mean, I-I can try to pay attention, if it makes you uncomfortable. I know people were pretty, um... repressed, back in your time..."
Jace looked into her honest, innocent eyes and blinked in surprise. This was nothing at all like he'd expected the exchange to go. Not only did neither one of them care, it was almost as if they expected the attention- not in an arrogant or desperate way, but as if it were a simple, uncontroversial fact of life. And worst of all, they were making exceptions for him, as if he were an elderly bigot, or an easily-frightened caveman. This was a new feeling... it was even more humiliating, and he hated it.
"... No." He crossed his arms. "If this is the way society works now, then I must change, not you. It may take me some time, but I can and will adapt. So... I'm sorry, for overreacting." He gestured to the table. "Now, please, explain the details of your powers to us."
Natalie smiled, relieved and very thoroughly not disappointed. "Okay! Well, basically, it works like this..."
-
- -
-
Samantha Masterson sat at a table in the patio section of a Mediterranean cafe. A warm summer breeze blew through, teasing the tasteful awning and tickling her wing membranes as she sipped a cup of hot cocoa. A dreamy smile came over her face as she rested her head in her hands and sighed contentedly. "Tell me more about Sabuoi City, Jean-Carde?"
A roguishly handsome mallard regarded her fondly as he sipped his own brew. "Madame, it is but a speck on the map by comparison to what I see right here, right now in... what was this town's name? No matter." He took her arm and gave her dainty hand a kiss.
"Oh, you rapscallion~!" Sam giggled and looked away, making no move to reclaim her hand. "Always putting the moves on me. What will I do with you??"
"Probably what you do with him every time you have this dream."
Sam looked up and saw herself. Or rather, what would happen if she covered herself in bubblegum-colored bondage latex and polished it to a mirror shine. She gasped, "Egad! You're not Jean-Carde!"
"Indeed not!" it answered. "Though I'll bet you know who I am! Or at the very least, what I am."
"Y-You're... one of those slimy alien things! Like Argus or Ascalon!"
Her pink duplicate laughed. "How flattering. Yes, I'm an ally of Arus and Echelon. But it would be rude to undergo introductions before our guests arrive."
Sam blinked, uncomprehending. "Guests??"
A moment of insanity struck. From the sky, a spacecraft of fanciful design fell and crashed into the ground next to the cafe, kicking up a cloud of debris, but miraculously harming nobody. Erwin hopped out from the wreckage, dressed as some kind of space captain and coughing. "Sam??" He coughed. "What're you doing here?"
Immediately, an old, dilapidated Spanish galleon crashed onto shore, glowing of ethereal green energy while a crew of toga-wearing beatniks conga-lined across the deck. Max, dressed from head to toe as Montezuma, stepped off board. "Oh, hey guys! Thank goodness you showed up, that was such a boring dream. Let's play fairy princess guerrilla commando cyborgs!"
"Boys??" Sam fretted a bit. "How did you get into my dreams?"
Erwin scratched his head. "Uh... I was about to ask you the same question. Ooh, is this a dirty dream??"
"No such luck! It was my doing." The pink Sam admitted.
"Who are you??" Max inquired. "You look like those two crazy jello chicas what live in Carrie and Natalie!"
"Well, not just like them, hopefully." A caramel-colored doppelganger of Erwin formed up into a chair next to Sam's double, soon joined by a green one on her other side who resembled Max.
"Whoa!" Erwin adjusted his glasses. "Are you... Inked??"
"Clever boy!" Sam's double confirmed. "Or rather, you are Inked; we are inklings."
Max's slimy clone grinned. "What's more, we're your inklings!"
The three of them stood in stunned silence. Moments passed. "Wait, what?? Since when?" Erwin inquired.
"Since that time where you guys all blacked out, six years ago!" Max's double responded.
"Oh... wait... I know what you're talking about," Erwin confirmed, adjusting his glasses and nodding as the others began to recall.
"The asteroid..." Sam remembered with intrigue. "I thought it was all a dream... Wasn't that-"
"-The day that Cat got hit by that trans..." The bespectacled ferret confirmed. "... Without a scratch. And that's why..."
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Max peered suspiciously at their gooey doppelgangers, which looked preposterous in his tribal outfit. "How do we know you're cool and stuff?? Maybe you're secretly eeevil~!" He made scary hand gestures. "We don't even know your names!"
"Well if you'd give us a second, we'd tell you, bro!" Max's double exclaimed. "The batty pink bubblegum girl is Mhend. The geeky caramel filling is Phactys, and I'm Koralo, Lord of Adhesives!" It proclaimed boldly. "Second in title only to Erwin in the bathroom, wahaha-NGH!"
"Yes, good, Koralo, insult our hosts the moment we meet them," Mhend sarcastically thanked her colleague, pulling on his neck frill. "Much like the others, the only thing we have to show you our loyalty is action. We've given you our powers- my healing, Phactys' future sight and Koralo's climbing and retrieval abilities- and you've certainly availed yourselves to them without a thought," she pouted.
"We're sorry," Erwin apologized. "We really are thankful, but it's just... difficult to cope with."
"But wait..." Sam shook her head, struggling to understand. "Why wait until now to reveal yourselves?"
"I'm glad you asked," Phactys nodded. "See, when we landed, like Arus and Echelon, we were gravely injured by the force of entry into the atmosphere. We needed hosts, so we chose you three. Unfortunately, we also had to go into hibernation. Using our powers and close proximity to other inklings have brought us around. But we're still kind of weak. We're only able to do this right now because you three are touching each other and we could pool our efforts."
"But the real reason we chose now to show up is... you were hurt." Mhend pointed to Sam, whose fully intact dream leg receded into the stump she had in the real world. "There's a clear and present danger. Please... stop following Carrie and Natalie."
The three flesh and blood kids stopped and stared. "What?!" They demanded in unison. Sam shook her head. "I thought you agreed with Echelon's view of things! I thought you were helping her!"
"Ngh... I don't... I mean..." The pink girl struggled for words. "If it were up to me, we'd never make ourselves known to people. I wouldn't rule them, but there are so many complications to conscious hosting! To tell you the truth, I... I'm... terrified of you..."
"So why get on the crazy rock and almost bite the big one??" Max asked, bewildered.
Phactys shook his head. "Because... even if we're not brave warriors like Arus and Echelon... we had to escape Osoth. She is nothing short of a living nightmare."
"Bad juju, my friends, very bad juju," Koralo warned.
"Well." Sam stood up in a huff. "Don't expect me to flee. I'm scared out of my wits, and I'm still helping. AH!" She nearly fell, but her bespectacled friend caught her. "Th-thank you, Erwin. As I was saying, I won't abandon the dear friends who have kept me safe from bullying and loneliness all these years."
"I'm not gonna run away, either," the ferret agreed, helping Samantha to her feet... well, foot. "Carrie and Natalie have been good friends to me since before I knew what friends were... and I'm worried about them."
All eyes fixed on Max. He opened his mouth, but instead of the spastic, high-pitched voice he usually had, a more subdued and humble tone emitted from him. "... They took care of me when I was sick."
"What??" Sam asked incredulously.
"It's true. They probably don't remember, but I used to get very sick, and they would come to my house after school. Natalie read me stories, and Carrie sang songs to cheer me up. I still remember her beautiful voice..." He clenched a fist. "So... I can't give up on them either!"
"So, you're unanimous?" Mhend asked, disappointed. "You'll be risking your lives and ours."
"The risk is incalculable," Phactys added. "You can't win. Nobody can. We knew that when we joined Echelon's rebellion- we just wanted to find a safe haven from Osoth."
"If it's that terrible," Erwin sternly stated, "Then you can leave our bodies anytime."
Sam nodded. "Well said. Now- enh!" The ground beneath them began to shake.
"What's wrong??" her friends asked in unison.
"I... I think I'm waking up..."
-
- -
-
Finally, hunger was sated.
Nat, Cat and Cap sat down at one of the finely decorated tables in the dining car as Natalie explained what she'd learned about her new endowments. With Echelon's help, she apparently could copy others' powers and abilities by touch, and though it seemed to extend to things that person had touched, the powers given tended to be somewhat less effective than the originals no matter what the source.
Carrie delicately polished off a piece of lemon cake. "So, what? You get the knockoff version?"
"Essentially, yeah," the dark-furred girl confirmed, easily into her fifth bagel now. "My healing powers weren't as potent as Sam's, my version of your invulnerability back fighting Cedric seemed a bit limited, and even though I hit like a trans with your powers, Cap, it feels more like a personal model than one of those great big cargo haulers. Can't seem to do your badass counters, either- I think I'm just too slow." She ended on a note of slight disappointment, but it was smothered under the electrified excitement of having such abilities at all.
"No need to jump to conclusions!" Jacent smiled encouragingly, having scarfed as many foodstuffs as he could manage. "Laibon was too fast even for me before Carrie helped me out with him. Just keep trying, girl wonder; I'll bet you do great."
A smirk tugged at her face. "Okay."
"Ah, which reminds me!" He began unclasping, unbelting and unzipping his large, solid boots. He pulled his feet free, which were still covered in some manner of thick padded sock. "Carrie? These are for you."
"Hunh??" She shook her head in surprise and confusion. "What, your boots?" She received a nod and returned an incredulous face. "I can't take your boots!"
"You most certainly can. Just put your foot in and twist the weight sock until it fits snug around your ankle."
"No, I mean, don't you need them??"
He chuckled, considering that question for the second time that day. "Actually, they're hindering me. You see, the weight socks that I mentioned are filled with various metals in pellet form."
"They help you keep your balance in midair!" Natalie added cheerfully, ever the factoid dispenser.
"Right," he nodded appreciatively. "The problem is, they weigh 20 lbs. together, and that slows me down. However, they're incredibly good for making you more stable when you have to take a hit. Seeing how solid and flat-footed your style of fighting is, I think you could put them to good use!"
Cat played around with the boots a moment, stepping into them loosely before tightening their grip on her ankles. As her knees bounced, she discovered that they were solid and had a good feel to them. With some effort, she walked- rather noisily- around the table. "Heh." She folded her arms and smirked approvingly. "Not bad. Thanks, Cap."
"Awesome, now we both have one-of-a-kind gear!" Natalie grinned, holding up her braced arms. "I'd have killed to have this stuff when I was a kid- if they didn't have your powers in them, I'd put these in a museum."
"Hm." The surly cat thought a moment. "Hey, Natalie?" She reached up and played with her bow until it wriggled free. Long powder-blue curls fell a few inches, bouncing gently to a rest. One creamy white hand extended toward her girlfriend, her expression serious. "Here."
The slate-colored girl tilted her head, fingers gingerly touching the silky purple item. "This? It's your favorite bow. You wear it all the time."
"Yeah. It's got me all over it." She smiled gently and closed Natalie's hand around it. "Please, hang onto it. I want you to be protected in case anything happens."
Nat blinked for a moment, her expression softening. "Aw... Carrie..." She wrapped her arms around the girl and hugged her tightly. They exchanged a kiss. "I love you so much. I promise I'll hang onto it. Thank you." Holding it in her hands, she puzzled for a moment where to put it. Eventually, she smiled and tied it around the leg of her shorts, its showy knot hanging off the outside of her thigh. A small, pleased sound escaped her, and the two of them bent forward, closed their eyes and rubbed noses affectionately.
Cat pulled away after a moment and glanced over at Jacent, who chuckled, arms folded and smiling. "What're you looking at?" She smirked.
He shook his head. "Your relationship is adorable."
Instead of responding, Carrie reached in her pocket and threw something at him. "Think fast!"
He caught the object casually, examining it. An electric blue rectangle with a familiar screen greeted him. "Ah... this is..."
"My first PET. It was in these pants. I told myself I'd give it to a younger sibling if I ever got one. You can keep it." She cleared her throat. "Oral code nine-six-eight-one. Deregister previous user. Register new user."
"Please state your name," it chirped.
"Huh?? Oh, ah, Jacent Danger."
"Confirmed. Hello, Jacent."
Natalie giggled softly as he struggled with it. "There's a button on the side. Hold it down and press it to your hip."
Jace tried it, eliciting a cry of surprise as it stuck to his belt, as if by magic. "Ah!" He flashed a nervous smile. "Thank you. I will be careful with your cellular phone."
"My wha-"
Before the pretty pugilist could finish, Samantha slammed the door to the dining car open, panting and covered in sweat. "H-Help! Something... out on... the wing!"
-
- -
-
"What... whoa. Slow down, Sam!" Natalie quirked a brow. "What's wrong??"
The bat's chest heaved as she leaned on the door frame. "I said... there's something... GYAAH!!"
A deafening ~BOOM~ shook the train suddenly, ironically knocking all except Sam off their feet. "RNGH!" Natalie held onto the table to try and rise, but a second impact rattled the train and their skulls. "Command Line, end simulation!" she shouted over the din. The illusion of a fancy five-star restaurant melted in moments, and heavy blinds of the now quite ordinary train car opened from over the windows, revealing the terrifying scene. Amidst the dark night sky, a large, ominous, raptor-like shape stared at them upside-down through terrible, elongated eyes. With an awful shriek, it bashed its head against the window. A second attempt, and it began to crumpled inward. A third strike, and its head crashed through the window, screeching and snapping at them all.
Jacent hopped forward, accosting the creature at point blank. "Sorry, sir! No ticket..." Two devastating hooks hit hard, sending its cranium reeling left, then right. "... No ride!!" He finished the combo with a boosted uppercut, slamming its head into the ceiling.
In a daze, it groaned and shook, taking a look at the injured Sam and bolting for her, jaws open. As Sam screamed in abject terror, Carrie superimposed herself between the two. "Not happening!" The creature champed down on Cat, finding that its serrated beak made zero purchase into the feline fighter. "Ha HAH! Eat me! Oh, right, you can't!" She worked an arm free for the sole purpose of viciously and rapidly punching the thing's long, shiny orange eye while keeping the rest of her body rigid.
With a scream of rage and pain, it released Carrie, its head swinging away from the cat. The birdlike monster's cranium crashed into Natalie, sending the girl sailing into the wall. "Nngh!" She grunted mostly out of surprise, protected by Carrie's power.
Natalie saw an opportunity. She ran forward and opened up a barrage of blows, her fists thudding against it half a dozen times before she realized that she wasn't using Cap's powers. "Crap!" Natalie looked plaintively at Jace's gloves, then Carrie's bow, a sinking feeling settling in her gut as she realized something very unfortunate. "I don't know how to switch powers..." The confused wolf pounded at her oversized attacker wantonly. "Jacent! I need your muscle over here!" No sooner did she speak, however, than she began throwing boosted precision punches into their flying foe's skull. "Oh! Nevermind!" It was at this moment that the thing's serpentine neck writhed, tired of getting its head beaten. It reared up to strike. Nat tensed, time slowing down as it drew back. She turned and ran for the wall, sensing its pursuit as she did, feeling its malevolent maw bearing down on her. Just before she reached it, Natalie flipped backward with nary a handhold. Her foot flew up and over in a perfect crescent, landing a flawless butterfly kick that slammed into the blunt edge of the monster's beak, cracking it like a walnut. She looked up and back, watching with incredible satisfaction as it screeched and writhed in agony, its head finally hitting the floor.
"Wow... great work, Natalie!" Jacent grinned, running over to her as Carrie helped Sam sit at an undamaged table. "Incredible thinking, I'm impressed." He held up a hand.
"Seriously, Sugarbutt, that was awesome." Cat chuckled.
A blush heating up her face, Nat nonetheless high-fived her girlfriend and childhood hero at the same time. "We make a great team. But what is that thing, and where did it come from??"
"Whatever it is, it startled the dickens out of me," complained Sam.
Jacent nodded seriously, prodding the unconscious monster's head with his foot. "I believe this Osoth person is on our trail, now. We are being followed."
"You think so?" Cat asked with serious concern. "I know we pissed off her lackeys, but now she's gunning for us?"
"It makes sense," Natalie confirmed. "We're probably the biggest threat to her plans... JACENT!!"
Much too late, the red-haired fist fighter found his uniform in the grip of the huge beast's beak. "What the- AAAAH!!" And with that, he was pulled across the floor and out into the cold night, disappearing above the window along with the monster's terrifying head.
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