~The Watchdog: A Night to Party~
The nights as the Watchdog were as exciting as they were tiring. Fully equipped and masked, the hero watched from the streets and rooftops, watching for any wrong-Doers. In his first night, the Watchdog had been lucky to find his arch nemesis, the infamous Captain Doom, but as the week drew on he felt less and less enthusiastic of finding him again.
Jay-walkers didn't deserve a beating, but an ample punishment was still in order, so he dragged them back to the other side of the street and gave them a talking to. Shop-lifters and muggers were fought and tied, then watched until the police arrived to the un-named caller's phone booth. Every night the Watchdog took down more and more wrong-doers, but every night he also fell into bed with more and more scrapes and bruises he had to explain the next day.
Carrot began to act a little worried about Eddy, always slipping and falling in the halls or getting into small scuffles with the school jock bullies, but it was always worth keeping his secret identity. Even with his apparent clumsiness, they still hung out every day to work on their little science projects, which Eddy would manipulate onto his own utility belt. His arsenal built on itself, having multiple smoke bombs and distracting devices, and soon he would have an arm mounted launching device. The two still argued about the size of the machine, but they developed on it more and more every day, as every night the Watchdog would make his own adjustments.
When the project was over and done, the duo had made a great arm mounted slingshot like device that got them both an 'A'. The two were proud of their work, and they celebrated with a game night, as usual. That night, the Watchdog would rest, but even as he fought with digital monsters on the screen, his mind drifted to the fight he longed for out on the streets.
Summer vacation came almost too quickly, but even without the school projects to lure him, Carrot still found excuses to visit Eddy almost every day. Eddy, however, had just as many excuses to go to bed early, sending the orange wolf home so that he could spend his night out on the streets.
It had been well over a month since he had last seen his arch nemesis, Captain Doom, but the Watchdog had a feeling that this night would be his night for luck. Word around the city was that there was going to be a big hit tonight. A club was going to loose all profits present and future all at once. No one knew where the hit was going down, but security was up even though none of it mattered. If this was Captain Doom, no amount of security would ever find him before he struck.
"And that's why I'm here, sitting in the cold dark alley in the rain, waiting for my chance to break in first... great." The Watchdog waited behind a dumpster outside a nearby Mexican restaurant, holding his nose and watching the backdoor to a large club known as the Blue Room. He didn't know why he thought this was the exact place Captain Doom had in mind to strike, all he really knew was this was where all the jocks in town went to have a good time, and where all the cheerleaders and popular girls in school go to get a quick second job.
The hero had waited almost two hours in the dark cold alley until finally he saw his first target. His name was Deno, a 5'8'' puma weighing in at 170, left handed. The Watchdog had started to do more research on his planned moments ever since he tried taking down a black belt in karate who had a hard-on for breaking into thrift stores after hours. A few bruised ribs will teach you to try new tactics.
Deno was a boxer in the making, but made his money bouncing at the Blue Room. He took three breaks every day for a ten minute smoke and sometimes a sandwich he brought from home. Right now he's smoking, which meant the Watchdog had four minutes until he would be looking through his pocket for his second smoke, and right then was when he'd strike.
As Deno's eyes went to his inner coat pocket, the Watchdog tried out a new toy. His old smoke bomb had a cloth outer casting that held enough catnip to disable a cat, but this new model was a thin but hard plastic. The time was set low, and the explosives set high, making a pop loud enough to stun a grown man. The distraction worked like a charm, blinding Deno in smoke, giving him a heavy ring in his ears and forcing his hands up to protect his face like he's been trained to do.
Now for the second new toy. The arm mounted crossbow was heavy, just like Carrot had warned, but it held three heavy shots and shot hard. The disks he had used in the past weren't nearly as strong as the new ones, and they flew fast and true, striking in a second from his hiding spot just below the boxer's arm. Just as Deno leaned down in pain, lowering his arms, a second disk struck his jaw, and then finally the Watchdog himself came in for the last strike, tackling the bouncer into the heavy metal door.
All was quiet for a few second. No-one inside the loud thumping club had heard the commotion. The Watchdog quickly climbed up the side of the building, using the window sills and rain gutters to hoist himself up to the vent shaft he had loosened the night before, and just like that he was inside.
The Watchdog had to slip in his earplugs as he slipped through the vents of the night club, the music loud enough to make his skull feel like it was shaking. He looked through each vent, seeing the dark rooms full of colored lights and lasers and smoke as all the popular kids from his school and other schools all drank and danced and made out in dark corners. He continued to push through the vents, finally stopping where he could see almost the entire club. He watched, looking through the colored lights, trying to catch a glimpse of a black cape and orange fur.
The Watchdog found himself distracted from time to time because of the thump of the music and the many many people down on the floor dancing and kissing and gripping and... He shook his head and glared down on the floor, straining his eyes to try and focus on his goal.
Apparently he wasn't the only distracted body in the vents as two heads bumped into each other.
"Ow! What the..." Two masked faces looked into each other, the Watchdog and Captain Doom freezing where they lay in the large vent. After they felt the hesitation was adequate, both super hero and villain grabbed for their weapons, Captain Doom pulling out one of his heli-balls while the Watchdog pulled out a smoke bomb!
Captain Doom looked at the small bomb in his opponent's hand and watched as a very small clock clicked down to '0'. He whispered, "Is that an explosive?"
"Um...well, it has some...oh crap."
The next few moments were very hazy. All that our hero could remember was a bright flash, a deafening bang, and feeling a chemically induced artificial smoke push into ever pore of his body, making his lungs and eyes burn. He could barely see though his tears and he couldn't hear anything but a loud annoying whining in his ears, but he also felt a heavy pain through his body as if he had been hit by a car.
The masked mutt crawled forward, feeling the cold steel of the vent change under his hands into a warm sturdy surface. He tried to blink around to see what was happening, and could barely make out a crowd through a thin mist and many blinking lights. They had all backed away from where the section of ventilation had fallen from the ceiling, and backed further as the Watchdog stood on wobbly legs to look around for his nemesis.
"Uuuuhg... wh... where did he go...?" With his ears still ringing and his eyes burning, the Watchdog barely made out Captain Doom's cape slip otherwise unnoticed between the legs of those in the crowd. Without thinking, the Watchdog jumped over the fallen vent and made his way towards where he saw the orange villain escape.
As the hero rushed forward, someone jumped out from the crowd and grabbed him around his middle, tackling him to the ground. "Stop him!" The command fell on ringing ears, but as the Watchdog struggled to stand, more bouncers jumped onto him to hold the masked man down!
The hero struggled, twisting and turning, kicking and pulling away from the grabbing hands. They didn't understand he was trying to save them and that the real culprit was trying to escape. Through a brake in the crowd, he saw Captain Doom making for the door! A well aimed shot would turn this whole situation around, so the Watchdog quickly aimed and shot his last disk towards the legs of the infamous orange wolf.
The efforts of the bouncers doubled, and the hero's heart sank as someone ran accidentally in front of his disk, catching the projectile in the side. As he felt himself being pulled once again to the floor, strobe lights and lasers from the ceiling spraying dots into his eyes and the thumping bass making his whole body shake, the Watchdog's life began flashing through his eyes. Not his whole life, just specifically the last few weeks when he had invited his brother and good friend to help him learn the ropes on fighting...
"Are you guys freakin' serious?" Eddy felt in front of him, trying to figure out which direction he was facing. As his brother's voice sounded behind him, his ears twitched in that direction, slowly pulling his body with them.
"Well yeah, you were getting good enough at blocking and striking what you could see, but what if you're blinded? The blindfold isn't too tight is it?"
"So what if it is?" Justin scoffed, the shirtless monkey cracking his neck from side to side before spinning the long bamboo staff in his hands. "He's not supposed to be all comfy when he's going to be fighting, right?"
"I guess..." Eddy didn't sound so sure. "But how am I supposed to...?" WHAP! "Sonofa!" Eddy grabbed at his head as the pain from the stick sank into his skull. As his hands went up, a light but solid kick landed on his stomach. The attacks continued until Eddy was swinging wildly around him, trying to get a hold of his attacker.
The Watchdog wasn't been sure how that was supposed to help in his battle situations, but now that he was blinded and surrounded by so many attackers... well, he still didn't know what he was supposed to do. At least the punches and kicks seemed strangely familiar as they pushed into his head and sides.
There was no time for this. As soon as he had a free hand, The Watchdog grabbed into his utility belt and pulled out a small rectangular object, bracing himself before flipping it on, a supersonic pitch screaming into the building. All of the K9s in the dance hall screamed in shock and then grabbed their ears in pain, including the Watchdog himself despite his earplugs, who quickly tossed the device behind him as he ran for the door to try and catch Captain Doom!
The Watchdog kicked open the back door of the dance club, feeling the heavy metal door slam into poor Deno, who had just been getting up from his previous beating. The Watchdog silently hoped he could make it up to the guy, but wasn't holding his breath as he turned down the alley, looking for...
It felt like a hard sharp punch to the chest, but whatever it was wrapped around his arms and squeezed tightly. The Watchdog barely had time to think of what happened before he saw Captain Doom down the alley spinning something on his wrist. The spinning stopped as the evil doer took aim again, launching a very small disk low towards the Watchdog's legs. The disk opened into a bola and wrapped tightly around him, pulling his legs together and making him fall flat on his face.
Captain Doom was getting away... The Watchdog had to escape! He gritted his teeth as he wiggled his legs, finally kicking off the bothersome bola, but as he stood up he was met with more bouncer-goons. One kicked the back of his leg, another kicked into his ribs. A few more kicks, and they finally stopped at the command of Deno, their boss.
"Don't mess him up too bad, I want to see his face. Stand the bad boy up." The Watchdog could feel how big the other two guys were just by how easily they lifted him up off the ground, holding his still tied arms as he dangled inches off the ground. His head was spinning, but he could see a beaten Deno cracking his knuckles. Apparently the cat wanted a hit or two, and gave them out quickly to his prisoner's ribs then jaw.
The cat gritted his teeth and shook his hand out. "That'll soften him... now, take off his mask."
"W...wait..." The Watchdog cringed as he tried to talk, feeling a small bit of blood on his teeth.
"What, little super duper villain wants to keep his secret identity? Heh... should have thought of that before you were caught."
"J..just let me... let me say this...Before you..."
Deno rolled his eyes. "Just out with it so we can unmask and get you to jail."
The Watchdog grinned, happy he'd be able to say what he had been planning since his arms were bound to his sides. He turned his head, feeling his neck crack, happy it was loud enough for his captors to hear. "Who let the dogs out?"
In the split second of confusion, the Watchdog tugged hard at his bindings, snapping the thin bola as his elbows came high, crushing one of the men's noses and the other's neck. Before he fell to the ground, the masked mutt gripped both of the men by their collars and pulled down hard, flipping both onto their backs.
The Watchdog had thought Deno would be stunned, but the bouncer was quick to recover and was running forward for a heavy kick. Down on his knees from the throw, the Watchdog raised his hands to catch the bouncer's foot, and then quickly rose to push his knee into Deno's.... well...
"Chopper Sic Balls!"
The Hero didn't look back at his damage after his last strike, deciding to simply run and try to catch up to Captain Doom, if that were even possible.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Watchdog searched for over an hour, running around the streets he knew, checking alleys, phone booths, bus stops, trying to think of where Captain Doom might have escaped. He even climbed more than a few trees and light poles to get a better view of the area. He had no idea how he thought he might find the super villain... maybe someday he should invent some kind of tracking device. He could keep it in his collar, and slip it onto his enemy during a fight in case he got away.
The masked mutt thought of his new needed tool as he stood on a corner, looking up and down the street looking for any sign of a black cape. As he looked up and down the street, the headlights of the downtown bus shone brightly in the distance. Maybe he should have walked away as soon as he saw, but a sense of defeat dawned on the hero, and he waited patiently for the bus to come to a stop and open its doors.
The driver looked The Watchdog up and down. The boy was bleeding from his lip and bruised with a swollen cheek, wearing a mask and a large cross-bow like appendage on his arm and a belt no doubt full of various weapons. "So, you getting on or not? This is my last round tonight, I'd like to go home please."
The hero quickly stepped onto the bus, having hesitated to take a bus dressed as he was. He went to pull out his bus pass, but grabbed some cash instead. He couldn't just show someone his ID while the Watchdog, so he had to spend the extra money to get home easily. He sighed as he dropped a few crumbled dollars into the front cash box, and stumbled as the bus started moving before he had found a seat.
The bus ride was only a half an hour since the driver didn't stop at his stops unless someone was standing there waiting for him. A few seemingly homeless men were getting onto the bus and sitting around where the Watchdog sat, his head in his hands as he pulled his hair back.
He had lost Captain Doom again, and he was now probably a wanted criminal. He had beaten up at least... well Deno definitely, and his two guys outside. Probably three more in the club, so six good guys. Oh, and the bystander hit by the doggy-disk.
"I'm a sucky hero..."
The bus doors hissed open a few blocks from Eddy's house, and the Watchdog lazily and half heartedly stumbled out, watching the bus pull away and turn down a neighboring street a few blocks away. The hero let out a deep sigh, growing more and more depressed at his achievements the closer he got to his home where he would fall his cape and become ordinary Eddy Holmgren, waiting for his alarm to wake him for another day of ordinary life.
The masked hero didn't even bother running through the alleys and climbing over the houses to not be seen entering his house, dragging his feet as he walked down his street to his front door. He pulled his house key out of his utility belt and fiddled with his lock until it clicked open. Before walking inside he turned and looked across the street at his friend Carrot's house. He gave a sigh as he thought of what his friend would think of him if he told him what he had been doing at night and how he was messing everything up.
As the Watchdog turned once again into his house, he quickly glanced back across the street as he thought he saw the flutter of a dark cape. He squinted up at the tree in Carrot's back yard, seeing the flutter up in the tree-house he had helped Carrot build years ago when they were kids...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Captain Doom sat with his back to the cold bark of a thick tree, his cape mostly wrapped around his scantly dressed form, keeping the slight chill of the night breeze off of his shoulders. His deep green eyes reflected the bright moon, dotted through the leaves of the green canopy above him. For some reason, the roof of the tree-house was always just that much more relaxing than sitting inside, the walls restraining you, not letting you catch the stars as they danced from behind the leaves. Even with the chill of the night tempting him to leave to somewhere warmer, Captain Doom felt himself take a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh, wanting nothing more but a few more moments to the stars.
Thin dark clouds passed over the dark sky, misting over the wolf's vision of the glittering diamonds far above. As the clouds seem to thicken and move faster and faster, the thoughts Captain Doom was lost in slipped out of his mind. He turned his head, a heavy wall of smoke spilling slowly over the side of the tree-house he was perched on.
"Don't move, Captain Doom. You can't escape me, and I'd rather you didn't try to run again." The Watchdog's silhouette pushed through the smoke until his image cleared, his arm pointing at the restful villain, his wrist launcher armed and aimed with a dog-disk. The much taller hero of the night walked slowly and softly, towering over the sitting Captain Doom.
The caped boy looked at The Watchdog for a moment, and then turned back to the sky. "I can't even see your eyes through your mask."
For a moment, The Watchdog was confused, almost lowering his weapon before remembering who he was dealing with. "Don't try to talk your way out of this, Captain Doom. You're coming with me."
"Why?"
"For the crimes you've committed."
"What crimes have I committed?"
"You were going to rob the Blue Room."
"But I didn't. You saw me, I wasn't carrying any money. The Blue Room has all of their money."
Again, The Watchdog felt his arm lower in question before he took his stance harder still. "You've been robbing toys for months that I know about. You....you bribe the authorities. But your bribes won't work on me. ... again." As his mind fell on his first night, he remembered how the villain had escaped, having lost his catch of toys for the night, but had stolen the hero's dignity before slipping off through the night.
"I haven't stolen anything that wasn't already in the wrong hands. Haven't you even noticed that?" The smaller boy turned to the Watchdog, his green eyes reflecting the dampened starlight, shimmering with a threatening tear. "I would never steal from just anyone..."
The hero looked into his adversary's eyes, trying not to lower his arm any more than it already has. His eyes slipped away from the boy's and saw something in the wolf's hand under his cape. "What's that? A weapon? A 'justly' stolen toy?"
Captain Doom looked to where The Watchdog pointed, and he gently moved his cape aside, showing a small stuffed otter, stitched and patched almost to the point of being made completely of rags. "It's just Oscar... he was cold in the open, so I put him in my cape."
The silence in the air was only broken by the sound of the leaves dancing with the gentle night breeze. The Watchdog's smoke had blown away, leaving the masked mutt exposed in the darkness, but his arm finally fell to his side. His eyes were still trained hard on his enemy, sure the villain would try to escape the moment he saw a chance. The Watchdog took a few soft steps closer, looking at the stuffed animal. "Oscar? Is he yours?"
Captain doom clutched the toy tighter, gritting his teeth in a soft growl. "I didn't steal him..."
The Watchdog stopped in his tracks, hearing the first sound of anger from his nemesis. "I... I believe you, I was just curious..."
Captain doom lifted his toy to his chest, holding him as he turned away from the hero, looking back upwards at the sky. "He's been mine since before I could remember... but he wasn't always like this. His beautifully soft body wasn't always scarred with hard stitches..."
Even when the wolf wasn't looking at him, The Watchdog could see the building tears in his eyes. "...What happened?" Somehow, the masked mutt had come closer once again to his enemy, leaning against the large tree behind him and sliding to sit a few feet away.
"He was taken... and he was..." The villain sniffed, pulling his knees to his chest, looking more like a child than the evil mastermind The Watchdog had always seen in his head. "They broke him... and they wouldn't let me save him."
"...Who? Who would do that?"
"They didn't let me do anything, and they made me feel powerless." Captain Doom went on, ignoring the question, or perhaps not hearing it through his own needed words. "No one should ever have to see that. No one should have to feel their best friend pulled from them and destroyed..." The mask under Captain Doom's eyes darkened as tears finally fell. "I swore... I swore to myself and to them, that I wouldn't let them make another boy or girl cry without me being there."
The Watchdog gave a very light nod, scooting a bit closer, feeling the want to just put an arm on Captain Doom's shoulder, but he held himself back, clearing his throat gently. "That's admirable. But then why...?"
"Why am I evil? Why do I steal?" The two met eyes again, the orange wolf seemingly trying to read why the hero even cared. "Because you can't be there. You can't just save everyone... one person can't protect the masses. What do you do with the bad guys when they attack and you're not there?" That was a very good question, and made the masked mutt shiver slightly as he thought of all the wrong doing he couldn't be around to stop. "So I don't focus on stopping the crime. I punish the ones responsible for it all. I steal THEIR toys, to let them feel the emptiness they made me feel. I ruin their playhouses and clubs to darken their lives into a joyless burden. I act as their conscience when it's obvious their own has withered and died."
The Watchdog listened intently, trying to understand how Captain Doom must feel about everything that has happened to him, and how he was going about trying to make things right. He thought back to what made him want to be a hero. He thought of the feeling of helplessness after witnessing a theft, and remembered looking around and deciding that no one else was doing anything about it, and that he would step up to be the hero everyone wanted. Captain Doom was so similar...
"...." Captain doom scooted a bit closer to The Watchdog, and then laid himself down gently, resting his head in the hero's lap. A small grin pulled on his lips when he felt the hero's body become a bit tense. "Are you nervous that I'm doing this? Embarrassed?"
"W...well no, it's just...um, I..."
"You're warm... thank you for listening to me. Are you going to take me in or something now? If you are, can we please stay out here a bit longer? I've been trying to find Cassiopeia, and I can't seem to find it."
The hero looked up into the sky with his nemesis laying in his lap, pointing up into the distance. "It's that one. Those four stars there? They kind of make an 'E' kinda? That's her.... the queen in the upside down thrown."
"Oh...Oh, I see it now. Thanks." The villain's cape jumped as his tail wagged under it. The two sat on the roof of the tree-house gazing up at the stars for a good while, not saying a word until Captain Doom felt The Watchdog's strong hand touch over his head, petting gently down. Captain Doom looked slowly up, and then reached up towards the mask covering his enemy's eyes. The Watchdog gently pulled his head back, turning his face away. "I just wanted..."
"I know...but I can't. If you knew, then..." He went silent, the argument sounding weak even in his own head, but knowing that he could not pull off his mask to anyone.
"If I knew?" The boy grinned wide. "You really don't know, do you?" As the hero looked confused, Captain Doom slid closer, crawling up the larger boy's chest until he was giving him a gentle hug. "You really are a dolt. Just perfect."
The Watchdog blushed under his mask and very softly put his hand on the other boy's back, returning the hug shyly. After a moment, he glanced down out of the tree-house, into the window of his best friend. He could see Carrot's outline under the sheets, and thought more of how his friend would see him if he only knew his other life. He gently stood up, letting Captain Doom's arms slide slowly off of him. He took a few slow steps towards the edge of the tree-house, but felt a small hand slip into his.
"Why don't you help me?"
The hero turned to look once again into the eyes of his nemesis. The green eyes showed determination, strength, and somehow need and wanting. "Help you? You mean join you in punishing those that harmed you?"
"Those who have harmed the innocent. You can't fight this darkness in the heart of the corrupt alone. You can stop one or two thefts, but together we can strike deep into the soul of the bad. They will learn our pain and they will accept it, and they will change their ways." Captain Doom pulled at The Watchdog's hand, turning the large mutt until he could slip his other hand to his cheek. He raised himself on his tiptoes and pushed his lips to his hero's.
Eddy couldn't tell what made him feel it, but he felt more that a wanting and a needing in that kiss. As his body relaxed and he felt the warm slick tongue slide against his own, but he felt more than passion. Captain Doom released his hand and let both of his arms wrap loosely around the large strong shoulders before him, but as the large strong arms wrapped gently around his hips there was more than a lustful heat building between them.
The Watchdog opened his eyes, pulling finally away from the embrace. He was feeling his heart breaking itself as his hands slid to the other boy's chest, pushing him very softly away. "I...I can't." He turned away, biting his lip to keep the pain in his chest from turning him back.
"You can't? Or you won't?" Captain Doom stood, his cape gently swaying behind him, Oscar peeking out from where he was kept warm in the cape's safe embrace. "You can't fight like this alone..."
"I have to." The Watchdog didn't turn back to speak to his nemesis, scared not of him, but of himself. Without waiting for more inviting words, he jumped from the tree, leaving Captain Doom with himself. "...ow...ow ow ow..." He limped to the gate of Carrot's backyard and hopped over.
Captain Doom watched as The Watchdog slipped into the alleys, not having to watch the distant shadows to know where he was heading. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the night air. "Eddy... why can't you see things clearly? Why won't you show me your own eyes through your mask? Are you worried I might see how you truly feel, why you're really fighting?"
"Do you really need some dumb muscle? There must be a better and easier way, Captain." Through the shadows of the trees climbed a white furred girl with dark tipped large ears, a panda doll clutched to her black clad chest, her masked eyes looking towards the hero's home in disgust. "He's almost a child in the head." Small wings on the girl's back fluttered disapprovingly.
"For once, I agree with Private Destruction." A second girl pulled herself from the inside of the tree-house up onto the roof. Her simple clothes almost distracted fully from her dark mask and sharp illusive mind. Her long striped tail flicked as she walked, a thin flared whip dragging like a snake behind her. She raised her arm, the leather weapon jumping from the floor to wrap around her shoulders like a pet. "You do not need him, why do you fight so hard?"
Captain Doom lowered his head in seeming defeat, lifting his hands to gently pull off his mask. He turned his back to Eddy's house, facing his subordinates with a soft determination. "Oracle. Your words are as sharp as your whip, yet you can not waiver me from what I want." The feline huffed and turned her head away from Carrot's gaze, her dark almond hair spilling to her shoulder. The orange wolf turned to his other partner. "Private Destruction, do not speak so quickly when you do not know of what you speak. The Watchdog is not just some big muscle head with a dim whit, and you would be good to remember that." The smaller girl clutched her doll and whimpered very softly.
"Then what are we to do?" Oracle took a step forward, using her strong personality to force the question more than was perhaps necessary. "If this Watchdog is so needed, then what are we to do now that he's turned his back on you?"
"We have time. Eddy has not agreed to join us yet, but I stand here and not in his custody. He has already showed me his weakness, and he only knows my reasoning mirrors his own. He will join us eventually." Captain Doom rubbed his eyes and walked towards the edge of the tree-house. "I need to change. Eddy will be over to make sure I'm okay."
Private Destruction tilted her head. "But he just stormed off... how do you know he will come see how you're doing?"
"Because, I know Eddy, and he doesn't know that I am Captain Doom. He will worry for his little friend and come to make sure everything is okay." Carrot turned and stepped down onto the thin make-shift latter that lead to the ground. "I need both of you to be well rested for tomorrow. We will be showing the Watchdog that he cannot fight alone, and I need both of you to be ready."
Private destruction gave a large salute with one hand, still clutching her panda with the other. "Yes sir Captain!"
Oracle nodded slowly in understanding.
The dark trio parted ways, slipping into the night just as the sun began to paint the sky with its coming.
